#during the entire 2022 i read only one book and only two short fics

[katyspersonal]

(@ anon I got your message, and I will recommend the fanfics soon-ish when I blow the dust from my brain and actually read some. I am yet to read ANY Bloodborne fanfics o_o" I'll spare you the details on what has to be SO wrong with my life and brain to not read stories about my special interest, but yeah- If you are a follower, I will respond your ask later! If you just check the blog casually... well, just check it once in a while, I always tag my answers with #ask replies)

[preseriesdean]

if you don’t mind me asking, could you share some of your favorite fanfics or authors? thanks ❤️

oh hi hello!! yes of course!! i actually haven't read any spn fic in a while but i have spent a lot of time organizing my bookmarks. i'm going to assume that you meant samdean fic but i'll add a few non-samdean ones at the end.

authors!

@zmediaoutlet (deadlybride on ao3)

candle_beck (ao3)

@goshen-applecrumbledore (ao3)

whereupon (livejournal)

Linden (ao3)

sevenfists (ao3)

there are so many more great authors but these came to mind :)

fics!

i am going to list my forever-favorites first - the ones i would recommend to anyone and everyone, screaming-from-the-rooftops kind of love - and then many many more under the cut.

beloved by urchinesque (2016, 1.9k, NR, warning: death) It might be the gentlest thing that's ever happened to them.

in my opinion everyone should read this once. it's quick. they die. it's-- happy, somehow. beautiful. i think about it all the time.

Last Day on Earth by candle_beck (2009, 10.8k, E) A list of things to do if you only have one day to live, presented in inconvenient non-list form.

last year my best friend and i were pondering which fic felt quintessential to samdean for us and somehow settled on this one. i still agree with the choice.

Odysseus, American by coyotesuspect (2010, 10k, M) Dean finds Peter O'Toole's recording of the Odyssey in a bin marked “Audio" in Casa Grande's only used bookstore. The place smells like cigarette smoke and old books, and it reminds him of Sam. Stanford era.

my favorite stanford era fic. i think it captures dean's loneliness and desperation beautifully.

A man with his insides out and his outsides off by britomart_is (2016, 5.3k, E, time travel, underage) They say there are only two stories in the world: man goes on a journey, and stranger comes to town.

another fic i want everyone to read. it's so short and feels like a novel. sam is messed up and dean is in love and everything is miserable.

Breathing Hard by whereupon (2009, 9k, E) The day Dean figures it out.

this is so simple and yet-- everything to me. i can't think about dinosaurs without thinking about this fic, which doesn't tell you much, but you'll see. sometimes this is really all you need.

The Last Outpost of All That Is by gekizetsu (2008, 59k, E) The world ends while they’re asleep.

this fic has stayed with me my whole life. i thought about it even during my years away from spn and fandom entirely. they're alone and you don't know why and they build their life together and you end up wondering, is this hell or heaven? whenever i come across a screenshot of the last couple of paragraphs i want to cry.

see things so much clearer by deadlybride (2020, 11.7k, E) Sam's been acting oddly. Dean learns how to use the history on an internet browser and finds out why.

this is a fic that hits the spot for me personally so well. another favorite preseries fic. i love the idea of sam using livejournal, and of dean finding out this way.

Stay The Distance by lazy_daze (2011, 24k, E) Sam is dependent on Dean's touch and closeness after the wall falls - Dean's presence reminds him of why he chose to wake up, and keeps the memories at bay, allowing Sam to function.

i love enmeshment, and i love that here it's literal. i love that they're just sort of fine with it.

more fics below!

in absolutely no particular order whatsover. please check the warnings and tags on these before reading!

Recall by De_Nugis (2012, 6.3k, E) Sam's having a hard time telling what's real and what isn't, especially when it comes to some voicemails from Dean.

Living in god's blind spot by applecrumbledore (2022, 25k, E) Of all the situations Dean didn’t need his dad to see him in, ‘getting off to being pushed around by a guy’ was in the top three. And ‘a guy’ was a massive glossing-over of reality. Any guy—any other guy—would be bad enough, but Sam was fucking cataclysmic.

Almost At Home by balefully (2008, 24.3k, E) Sam graduates from high school in early June in rural Tennessee. He and Dean start the summer with an all-nighter of celebration; the day after, while both fight hangovers, John calls to assign them their first hunt by themselves.

they said it was the fall of man by jukeboxhound (2016, 7.4k, M) Sam gets his soul back on a Monday.

When I Fall Asleep It Is Your Eyes That Close by britomart_is (2009, 1.9k, E) Post-Season Two. Sam is alive. Dean is happy.

Life As We Know It by sevenfists (2007, 13.7k, M, curtain fic) On the morning that Sam woke up, Dean ran five red lights on the way to the hospital, his half-empty coffee cup sloshing in the holder.

tied up like two ships by orphan_account (2014, 3.1k, E) Dean liked to hold hands.

Gospel Truth by Cerberuss (2020, 15.2k, E, case fic) ‘DOES YOUR BROTHER KNOW THAT YOU WANT HIM?’ Individually placed letters, bold and tinged brown with the weather. Sam can’t look away and he prays, dream dream dream.

Buy You A Mockingbird by candle_beck (2011, 10.3k, M, underage, outsider pov) A genuine horror story.

because you want to die for love by hathfrozen (2021, 27.3k, E) Sam and Dean settle into their Heaven—and into each other, too.

the constant vow by deadlybride (2022, 119k, E, fem dean-ish) They've just finished up a pretty standard job and are killing time in snowy Wisconsin when Dean wakes up no longer looking like Dean. That's just the start of their problems.

This Fortress Made of Us by mickeym (2009, 10.8k, E) Sam really didn't do very well without his brother. Coda for Mystery Spot.

State of Love and Trust/As I Busted Down the Pretext by cormallen (2010, 2.9k, M) When you know exactly what your brother's thinking, there are some chances you just don't take.

Quiet with the Rain by Linden (2014, 5.3k, T) Dean can spot an undercover cop at thirty paces, a hooker at twenty, and rims that will match his baby's at ten. But the fact that his little brother is in love with him—that, he can't see worth a damn.

have a cigar by deadlybride (2020, 5.6k, E) What happened with Andy and Ansem unsettles Sam. Dean doesn't seem worried.

Heart Shaped Balloon by winsive (2022, 18.5k, E, underage) Sam and Dad are fighting. No surprise, but it's the weekend before Valentine's Day and Dean isn't missing out on the chance to bang a cheerleader just to console his bratty little brother. He does bring back a heart shaped balloon for him, though. It's not supposed to be cursed.

Bare by gracerene (2022, 2.2k, T) Of all the things Dean hasn't done before, Sam never expected something as innocuous as skinny dipping to be on the list.

Speechless by candle_beck (2008, 11.2k, T, case fic) Dean loses his voice and their rapport is only moderately impaired.

Like It Was Yesterday by nomelon (2014, 4.9k, T, fem dean, amnesia) Sam can't remember a time when Dean wasn't there. Dean is always with him. Sam's whole life, there's never been anyone else.

Like a Ghost with Two Voices by Dyed_Red (2022, 46k, E) To cure Dean from the Mark of Cain, Sam has to let Dean, in all his demonic glory, possess him for 28 days. It goes about as well as expected.

Breathe You In (Choke You Down) by orphan_account (2021, 5.9k, E, pwp) Dean really likes the way Sam smells.

lost in yesterday by margaryes (2023, 1k, NR, john pov) John hasn’t seen his youngest son in 18 months.

Unraveling by Linden (2017, 855 words, E) No, he’d said, the first time Sammy had tried to kiss him, sixteen and half-drunk and stupidly beautiful, even though he’d wanted so badly to say yes.

pack up the moon by deathdreamt (2021, 5.9k, T, pre-slash) Sam storms back out from their room, his backpack on and his duffel hanging off his shoulder and isn’t it kind of tragic that his whole life fits in two bags. He looks suddenly much younger than he is, eyes shining. John is back at his guns, whiskey at his elbow, and Dean can hardly believe how rapidly his life is cracking down the centre.

Yesterday, minnesota by applecrumbledore (2022, 30k, E, case fic) Any initial awkwardness filtered away over a hundred miles of highway as Sam thumbed through the missing witch’s diary again. Some people had secret coke habits or secret second wives, and some people had passionate, pitch black, no-kissing sex with a family member every four to six months and never talked about it. You had to find ways to cope.

All Heartless Spectres, Happiness by orphan_account (2021, 5.6k, E) Lisa Braeden receives an email with the subject line, "You Deserve to Know." It contains a single video file and nothing else. (soulless sam)

The Palm Oasis by fictionallemons (2022, 12.3k, E, underage) John strands Dean and Sam at a middle-of-nowhere motel while he investigates possible demon omens in Arizona. The place is nothing to write home about, but at least it has a pool. Dean resolves to think of this as a vacation for him and his studious little brother, but when their money runs out sooner than expected, he considers turning tricks at a nearby truck stop so he can feed Sam.

Other Brothers by homo_pink (2020, 7k, M, underage, outsider pov) A callow boy can go from infancy to someone’s lover in the space of two wildflower summers.

Leader of the Pack by astolat (2007, 14.9k, E) Teaching old dogs new tricks.

Underground Wires by eggnogged (2012, 15.8k, E, fem sam, underage) It’s hard enough being a teenage girl even without all the extra crap: they move around all the time, her family is as far removed from normal as it’s possible to get, and she’s in love with her older brother. Sam has no control on any of it, she’s just trying to stay afloat.

Multitude of Sins by Linden (2015, 4.4k, T, outsider pov) Every now and again, Jim Murphy would look up from his altar and find the Winchester boys at the back of his church.

Like Arrows in the Hands of a Warrior by ADeedWithoutaName (2018, 10.3k, E, underage, dub con-ish, john pov) John Winchester loves his boys, and would take a bullet for either of them. He knows that he's doing it right, the way he's raising them, the things he's teaching them. Not every problem, however, has an easy answer. Like what to do after an incubus case in which their target got his pollen all over both of John's sons.

You Can't Lose What You Never Had by nigeltde (2016, 5.6k, E) You can't spend what you ain't got, and you can't lose what you ain't never had.

Flagstaff by Linden (2014, 7.3k, T, pre-slash, john pov) John tracked Sam down in Flagstaff, four days after he got home to find him gone.

I'll take my chance on a beautiful stranger by fleshflutter (2007, 3.8k, M, outsider pov) If Chase were a better friend, he might try to end the game now, before Brendan loses even more money. But if Brendan is a dick at Stanford, it’s nothing compared to how he is on break.

Cupid's Got A Gun by geckoholic (2012, 13.5k, E, non-con) Fuck-or-die, set in early S4. But they've been fucking for years, so that shouldn't be a problem, right? Wrong. Ever since hell, Dean's in no hurry to get that show on the road again.

Someone Else's Blood by sevenfists (2006, 6.7k, E) The first time, of course, was an accident. (pretend dating)

How Many Floors to Realize by lazy_daze (2009, 26k, E, swesson) AU from the end of It's A Terrible Life, in which Zachariah decides to keep stringing them along a little while longer, because damn if they aren't somewhat entertaining, right?

Worthless cartography by applecrumbledore (2022, 15.6k, E) Dean didn’t know what finally made him go for it. The djinn’s dream was a catalyst, but the call was coming from inside the house, and he’d been letting it ring for a very, very long time. (They get one night together right before Sam is taken to Cold Oak. Dean has to deal with that.)

The Space Between Sense and Memory by orphan_account (2021, 4.8k, T) There are a hundred unwritten rules on all the acceptable ways brothers should touch each other. There are hardly any ways at all to break them. Or; five times they follow the rules and one time they don’t.

Ions in the Ether by nigeltde (2019, 10.9k, E, case fic) When was the last time you trusted happy.

Crossed Wires by rivkat (2015, 10.9k, E) Dean thinks Sam is dead.

Crown and Anchor Me (or let me sail away) by Sena (2010, 23.7k, E, underage) Sam Winchester is fifteen years old, at yet another new high school in yet another state, he doesn't get along with his distant, distracted father, he's figuring out that he likes guys just as much as he likes girls, his clothes never fit and his limbs ache at the joint ever since his growth spurt started, he has to study for the PSAT and, oh yeah, he's a little bit in love with his brother, Dean, who's taken a break from hunting monsters to work at a local garage for minimum wage.

Wear Him Lika a Habit by sevenfists (2008, 2.2k, M) Their first kiss isn't an accident. It's anticipated well in advance, discussed for weeks, argued over, second-guessed.

Amor Prohibido by phoenixflight (2020, 3k, M, underage) They spent the spring of Sam's sophomore year living in a shitty apartment south of San Antonio. Every Friday night the clearest channel played three hour marathons of a Spanish soap called La Casa del Corazón. There was a mutually understood truce about watching it, because the alternatives were infomercials or creepy kids’ cartoons that futzed into static every fifteen seconds.

Open Road by Mollyamory (2010, 2k, T) Sam's old enough to know what's good for him.

It's the Blueprint of Your Life by queenklu (2011, 38.4k, time travel) Sam jerks awake in the middle of the night and everything goes to hell. Well, not literally, though Dean is staring down the barrel of less than a year before his deal comes due. In the midst of dealing (or not dealing) with his impending death, a killer ghost ship, and Bela showing up out of the blue, Dean also has to figure out what’s going on in Sam’s head to make him so twitchy, why he’s suddenly breezing through this case while writing endless notes in a notebook he won’t let Dean see.

North of Wednesday by Mollyamory (2008, 3.5k, G) Sam's behind the wheel before he realizes he doesn't have the keys. Coda to Mystery Spot.

non-wincest fic.

dean/omc. We Drank a Thousand Times by glorious_spoon (2010, 43k, M, warning: death) They meet in a bar fight in North Carolina when Dean is nineteen, broke, and desperate, then again when a hunt brings the Winchesters into town a few years later. Neither one of them ever puts a name to it but every once in a while, through the years, Dean finds his way back.

dean/cas: terror & desire intertwined by rupertgayes (2022, 39k, M) Faced with Castiel suffering a fate worse than death, Dean makes the decision to let Cas use his body as a temporary vessel. All things considered, Dean thinks, it could have gone worse.

gen, sam&dean: what lasts by deadlybride (2021, 17.2k, M) Not long after they move into the bunker, Dean loses a leg. Most of a leg. After the hospital, Sam brings him home, and they figure out how to live with what remains.

gen, dean-centric: To Repair Broken Men by procrastin8or951 (2015, 3.1k, T) Dad and Sam keep fighting. Dean can't fix his family, so he fixes things around the crappy apartment they are staying in.

dean/michael: our hour came round at last by orphan_account (2015, 1.8k, NR, pwp) "I want to be inside you," says Michael, low and velvet and hungry and that really shouldn't turn Dean on but it does.

dean/lucifer, dean/cas: exploratory by sp8ce (2022, 4.9k, E, non-con) One night, Castiel proposes he and Dean have sex. Except it's a little more complicated than that.

dean/cas: for a healthy heart by Askance (2013, 2.4k, T) A strange black box appears in Castiel's bedroom one afternoon.

gen, sam&dean: charmer & gentle by Askance (2015, 3.7k, G, outsider pov) The afternoon girl calls them Big and Tall, the strangers who come in late every now and then, buying this or that. The night girl doesn't think those names fit quite right.

dean/cas, past sam/dean: whose wings, though tattered, shall carry me home by fleshflutter (2009, 2.2k, T) There is a breeze moving across the field. It stirs the long grass in lapping waves like the sea. Castiel runs his fingertips through it and remembers flying.

[clevercatchphrase]

2021 Year Review~

Sometimes I can’t stand the fact that time is constantly progressing forward. What do you mean Christmas was almost two weeks ago? Wasn’t it just yesterday? What do you mean it’s been a year since the coup happened?? Already??? I’m due for an oil change again? I’m due for a dentist appointment AGAIN?? Can... can time please just stop so I can catch my breath... so I can take a nap? I don’t like how recent-and-yet-spaced-out all these life events feel to me. It’s all moving too fast and I can’t keep up, please stop the ride I want to get off.

But sadly it doesn’t stop, so the most I can do is look back on the year, reflect on what I accomplished, and write down what I remember to keep my mental time line organized and sorted as more years pile on. I’m a little late in making this retrospective, but just like in years prior, I’ll start by looking back at my 2021 goals, go over them, then move on to my goals for 2022. Let’s begin...

I had 11 goals for this year. They were the following;

Read 12 new books (roughly 1 book a month)

Finish the first draft of 2019’s Nanowrimo project and rewrite it

Script TDV

Finish Scripting Ghost Switch

Build A Comic Buffer

Sew 1 Stuffed Animal

Finish 1 Song Comic

Make another Enamel Pin

Finish 2 short original comics (this one counts as 2 goals)

Finish the 5 remaining one-shot fics

Right of the bat I know I didn’t accomplish 6 of these 11 goals, which is a really bad ratio, but pretty much the same outcome as 2020 surprisingly enough. Now let’s dig a little deeper...

Read 12 new books: I did this! I read a lot of free books through the kindle app, and a few books that have been siting on my shelf for a couple of years now. In no particular order, the books I read this year were;

Ancient, Strange, and Lovely

The Griffin’s Feather

Dragon Slippers

Dragon Flight

Dragon Spear

The dangerous Gift

The Bastard Prince

The Black Egg

Eyrie

Skyfire

Shard of Sun

By the silverwind

The Junglebook

Rise of the Dragons

14 books again this year! That totally wasn’t planned. I wish I could say I had a fun time reading these books, but sadly, I only enjoyed about 6 of them. Ancient, Strange, and Lovely, by Susan Fletcher. It was the first book I read in 2021, and I absolutely hated it. The condescending enviornmentalist message, the weird teen-speak and “clipped” sentence structure, and bland characters. I hated the repetative use of the words “critter”, “sesmic” and “monster”. I hated the “new” words used, like “sleep-dep”, “skwebbing”, and “phaging.” At one point she used the word “grok”, and I had to put the book down and stare out of my window for a solid ten minutes. This book was written in 2010. How many people does miss fletcher think will understand that reference. Heck, I only understand it because I saw OSP’s video on A Stranger in a Strange Land this same year. (also does miss fletcher really think the word “fuck” is going to go out of style?? or is she just trying to be more pg?) the plot was a blatant rehash of her previous books, Dragon’s Milk, and Sign of the Dove. Infact, I had to go back and reread dragon’s milk just to make sure I still liked it, and I do, so it’s not like her writing was always bad and I just didn’t notice. This entire book reads like a college student’s shorthand lecture notes, and the only positive I can say is that my reading experience only went up hill after this, compartively. (but as I said I only enjoyed 6 of these books, that hill didn’t go up very high).

The next books I read were Dragon Slippers/Flight/Spear by Jessica Day Georce. I’d owned the first book for years (and read it years ago, too) but it was only fairly recently that I learned this book had two sequels. I had completely forgotten everything about the first book aside from stained glass, embroidery, and magic dragon hide slippers, so reading it again was like reading it blind. I read all three of these books in the span of 3 days during the february freeze down here in texas. Over all? This series is really good! Although, after reading the first book again, I can’t help but wonder why no one, especially Shardas, just doesn’t TELL the main character anything important. I can’t help but feel like a lot of strife would have been avoided if he just TOLD Creel the truth about the slippers upfront. Overall, again, It’s a nice series. The third book got a little weird and there was one scene that felt like a boarderline description of blackface, but if people complain there aren’t enough “Strong female protagonists who like girly things but also stand up forthemselves”, look no further than Creel. She ticks all those boxes, and it was refreshing to see a character enjoy dress making, and rescuing dragons at the same time. (Can’t for the life of me figure out why it’s called dragon spear, though. Spears were made, but never used, and the scene is so minor, I honestly feel like it could have been cut with no consequence)

The next book I read was The Dangerous Gift, by Tui T, Sutherland, which is the 4th book in the 3rd Wings of Fire Series, and 14th book overall. My general thoughts are... it was alright? No where near as action packed, or as thought provoking the previous three in this arc, but I didn’t think it was boring either. I don’t care for snowfall, and I felt her constant paranoia got repetative at points.I’m a little nervous how miss Sutherland is going to wrap up this arc with only one book left to go. Glad to see Sky and Wren back, though I half wish they didn’t get tied in to the “main series”. I can’t help but feel it shrinks the world if all the “main characters” know each other, if you know what I mean. it makes it feel like.... there’s only one epic story happing in the WoF world at one time, you know? I think it would have been neat if The dragonslayer storyline continued concurrently with the pantala storyline, because people all over the world are all doing interesting things at the same time, and if they never interacted or crossed paths with one another, then the world could branch and grow, instead of feeling... sequental? History is not a single chain of events, it’s a web of complex people with complex feelings and thoughts crashing and bumping into eachother, each changing the course of history a little bit at a time, but when all the “main characters” get together, it feels like the rest of the world is put on pause because it’s not allowed to do anything unique or epic if the fan favorites aren’t there to witness it. I also kinda sorta didn’t like the jerboa chapters. I think it would have been much more interesting as a standalone novel like Darkstalker, seeing Jerboa’s slow descent into a controlling, manipulative monster, and Boa’s slow realization of what’s happening to her. (I was half hoping we’d find more unique dragon races on Pantala, as well. You know that mountain-y area up in the “wing” of pantala? How come we never go there in the books. what’s up there. What if there’s a race of dragons who have feathery wings instead of bug/leaf/bat wings. They could be called Birdwings and I hope we see more unique draogn races in the future)

Rise of the Dragons by Morgan Rice was bad. I didn’t even know that Morgan Rice was apparently contentious in the Author World until I finished this book and did a little more research on her. The writing is juvenile, super repetative and straight up unedited. At one point the main character straight up says “Sorry I’m not like the other girls, father.” and I had to put the book down for a solid two days. It was a fun hate-read, though, and I will be reading the follow up books illegally for free later this year~

The Bastard Prince by Patty Jansen and The Black Egg by James E. Wisher are both books in a collection of 9 dragon-themed books all for free on kindle, called “Dragons and Lore”. I think each of these books are part of their own seperate series, but the first are bundled together for free for people to sample and get interested in. Unfortunately for me, it didn’t work! The Bastard Prince is a unique story about a 50 year old woman working for royalty, but my god. The dragon doesn’t come into the picture until the very end. This book feels like nothing but gossip and eavesdropping, and it was a slog to get through. The black egg was MILES better, and reminded me heavily of How To Train Your Dragon, strangely enough (mostly because of character descriptions). I almost wanted to read more, but when I learned that the series was 9 books long, I quit on the spot. The Black Egg WAS more dragon focused, but the dragons weren’t the main focus, and I didn’t want to read a 9 book series were draogns were on the sidelines most of the time. There are still 7 books left in this collection, but honestly, I was getting burnt out by this point.

Okay. So, I love all things dragon-themed, but by this point in the year, I was starting to get burnt out on them due to all the trash I had read. I thought to myself “you know... gryphons are a cool mythical creature, too. How come I don’t see any books about them?” A couple of years back I bought Song of the Summer King, by Jess E. Owen (fun fact, it was the first kindle book I ever “bought”, because I could get it for free with the kindle download) and I loved it! I loved the prose and description of the world. I had always known there were at least two sequels, and I read all of Skyfire, Shard of Sun, and By the Silverwind within two weeks of each other. Definately a good series over all, though I feel Shard of Sun is the weakest in my opinion. (aaand not too impressed by how the major conflict is resolved in the last book by teaching the Big Bad what “love” is) Still! after I’ve given myself a break from the series, I’d love to read the 5th companion novel, The Starward Light, later this year! I just don’t want to read it too soon, because I know it will be good, and if everything else I read this year is trash, I want to save something I know I will enjoy when I can’t stand all the garbage anymore.

Eyrie by K. Vale Nagle is another gryphon book, but it is subpar compared to the Summer King Chronicles. The writing is very flat, and at NO point do characters get physical descriptions or hints at their thougths or feelings. There were some unique worldbuilding ideas, but over all this book was just plain boring. It was free, though, so luckily it only wasted my time and not money.

The Griffin’s Feather is a relatively new book by Cornilea Funke, and you may recognize her name, because she has written beloved books such as The Theif Lord, Inkheart, Inkspell, and my favorite, Dragonrider. Dragonrider was first published in 2004, and then, 13 years later without me ever even knowing, she wrote a sequel. And that sequel had griffins! The book was slower paced than Dragonrider, and there was waaaay too much of Twigleg’s perspective with no payoff, imo. (He spent the whole book thinking about/looking for a jenglot, but never found any) I wish firedrake was in the book more, and Skrii, a newly introduced griffin character, needed WAY more screen time. Fun Fact, In refreshing my memory for this little review, I learned that Cornelia Funke wrote ANOTHER book in her now-dragonrider series called The Aurelia Curse, and it’s only been out a few months. Maybe I’ll check that out later this year~

The last book I read this year was the classsic The Jungle Book, by Rudyard Kipling. I’d read excerpts of it in the past, (mainly rikki tikki tavi) but never the whole thing. It was enjoyable~ The one story with the elephant dance and the little kid felt kinda racist at points, but over all I’m glad I read the original story and now know more than just what the disney movies could tell me. I’m going to read Just So Stories later this year since I had a good time with this one.

WOW I SURE SPENT A LOT OF TIME TALKING ABOUT THE BOOKS I READ. Are you still there? Still reading? Thank you! I really appreciate it! Let’s move on to my other goals, shall we?

Finish the first draft of my 2019 NaNoWriMo project and rewrite it: I didn’t do this. Just straight up. After reading so many bad books this year, I got angry, and started plotting a new story instead, about things I WANTED to read about with dragons and gryphons and unicorns. Infact, it became my nanowrimo project for 2021, and I’m still working on that and enjoying it immensely~

Script TDV: Another thing I didn’t do. Parly because I got sidetracked with a new writing projet, and partly because I worked full time this entire year, and on my 2 days off each week, I focused more on my UT fan comic and fantasy novel instead. As for this year? Nah, this project is on perminant pause until either my current writing prject or fan comic is completed. THen maybe I can go back to thinking about game development.

Finish Scripting Ghost Switch: heh hhhhehhhh.... I didn’t do this either. I got the majority of waterfall planned out! And you might even be pleased to know it won’t be anywhere near as long as snowdin is! (maybe.. hopefully. The flash backs might end up making it just as long if not longerrrr...) I’m almost done with it though! It’s like... 4/5ths figured out. Then it’s just the hotland and new home arcs, and I’ll be done!... with the scripting... the making of the pages will still take me several years to finish *sobs in comic artist*

Build a comic buffer: I did this! It only lasted me about 2 months while I worked on a song comic and wrote some one shots! I wish it had been bigger, but any buffer I make allows me to work on other projects now and then. I’m building another one right now as you read this! Hopefully to last me a a couple months again! (But MAN, I wish I was proficient enough where I could post 2 pages EVERY week. We’d get done so much faster that way!)

Sew 1 Stuffed Animal: I did not do this for the same reason as last year. Hello delta and omicron variants. Please fuck off so I can go to the craft store again.

Finish 1 Song Comic: I DID THIS TOO! But the song comic I finished was one I completely didn’t expect to even start this year! The song comic in question was Wanderer’s Lullaby for the video game, Wandersong. Check it out HERE if you haven’t seen it yet!

Make anther enamel pin: I Didnt do this! Mostly because I was no longer having a life crisis, and partly because, while I have made a few sales of my other pins, they don’t sell frequently enough for me to justify making even more, and building up stock I may never sell back. Maybe in the future, but for now this goal is on pause as well~

Finish 2 Short Original Comics: I scripted one, but stopped at that. I probably won’t be doing much art that isn’t related to my fan comic for the forseeable future. Gotta save all my art motivation for the story. (I also kinda completely forgot this was a goal of my tbh)

Finish 5 one-shots: I only finished 3 one shots, and 2 of those three weren’t even planned, if you can believe it. I even started 2 of the 4 one shots I had originally planned, but they just weren’t coming out the way I wanted to, so I scrapped them, and will try to rewrite them again this year when I feel more inspired. (but hey, at if I never finish the oneshots, then in theory, there’s always more story to look forward to, because I’ll never be “done” which means a weak, but still very possible promise of more content for this ship!)

Aaaaand, that’s all I have to say about my goals from last year! Do I have any goals for 2022? Absolutely! I’ll list them next, but probably wong’t go into much detail on them. I’ve been typing this thing for over 2 hours non stop now and I would like to go to bed.

GOALS FOR 2022

Read 12 New Books on anything (1 book a month)

Finish and rewrite my 2021 NaNoWriMo project

Finish chapters 4 thorugh 8 of/and edit Clemency (2020 NaNoWriMo project)

Finish scripting the Waterfall Arc of Ghost Switch (and then maybe the Hotland Arc, but not the whole thing. I just know I can’t get that far yet)

Build a Comic Buffer for Ghost Switch

Reach 208 Pages of Ghost Switch by June 18th

Finish 1 Song Comic

Finish 4 one shots

Find a sulfate-free bodywash and hand soap.

Write that one crack fic.

I’m really tired and it’s almost 11pm at the time of writing this, so I’m not gonna go in depth about my goals for this year. But before I sign off, I’d like to just recap my year based on what I remember.  Ok? ok. Here we go.

FIRST OFF, the orical of Delphi thinks she’s reeeeeal fucking funny, hitting me with the baseball bat of prophecy last year. In my 2020 year review, which was posted on December 30th, one of the very last sentences I wrote was “why do I feel like shit is about to go down on inauguration day?” and then what happened exactly one wek later on January 6th 2021? HMMMM???? Coincedence? I! think! NOT!

Okay, now that that’s out of my system, I’d like to say that, for me, 2021 was the year of The GAMER! I bought... so many ps4 games and steam games. I’ve played so many new things that I now love and enjoy and reconnected with games I haven’t played in years. The Talos Principle, Untitled Goose Game, Wandersong, Hue, Abzu, and Unravel all for ps4, (as well as horizon zero dawn, and journey, which I haven’t played yet) Snakebird, the witness, typoman, chromagun, LINELIGHT, A short hike, carto, the first tree, and the ENTIRE humongous entertainment series of games for steam. I can honestly say I’ve played more games this year than I ever have in my life, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of every challenge.

I bought a lot of jigsaw puzzles this year, and have been doing them with my mom. we find we have to get the ones that are 2000 pieces or more or we just... finish them too fast. We’ve got puzzling down to a science, and they’re not really challenging when we can finish most puzzles in under 3 days. 

In addition to all the books I read above, I also reread the entire first WoF arc as well as darkstalker. the whole process only took me 5 days. I’m rereading the second arc now, but it’s a slog because I forgot how much I disliked darkstalker in this arc for being stupid, and how little I cared for the second arc characters accept for peril. 

Being an adult means trying new things. This year I decided to try to take better care of my hair, and I started by finding a new shampoo specifically for my hair texture and sensitivity. I found a really nice plant based shampoo that is sulfate free and it smells lovely. My scalp is slowly becoming less dry and itchy. Now I just need to do the same for body wash.

In a spur of nostalgia, I downloaded a Gameboy Color Emulator on my phone and have been replaying Pokemon yellow on it. I never beat the game as a kid because I was incompatent, but myabe this year I’ll try to nuzzelock it for shits and giggles. 

There is a very hig probablity I contracted corona virus this year, and didn’t know it. I got my booster early december, and just last week there was a confirmed case of it at my job. I had an itchy throat for a few days, but no other symptoms. Thank you face masks and vaccines!

Speaking of my job, I’m starting to get tired of it. There’s this one guy there who’s 5 years my junior but talks to me like I don’t know shit and it’s incredibly condescending. He’s trying to become a supervisor, and will likely succeed because he is the Owner’s grandson and the nepotism is rampent there, even though he self admits he is not emotionally or mentally stable. I will quit the minute he is put in a position of power over me because I will not tolerate even a second of his obnoxious man-splaining attitude. I will be sad to go when the time comes, but only because I wouldn’t get to see them crash and burn without me and I want to watch them struggle.

Spite can be good sometimes actually. It’s helped me stand up for better treatment of myself and a great motivator to boot. So do your worst to me 2022. I’ve conquored these last 29 years, and will gladly wrench my third decade from your unforgiving jaws. Bring it on. I’m ready for you.

[fogsrollingin]

SPN reclist: love letters to location

This fic reclist is a bit more of a spotlight on three specific fics that I adore in part because the authors really drove home the magic of these locations. My sweet spots: hurt!Sam (or Jared), comforting!Dean or Jensen, horror, action, and mystery. ✧ My fic recs are updated regularly on DW and quarterly on Tumblr. Link to the possibly updated reclist on DW here ✧ My entire catalogue of fic recs on tumblr here ✧ This post was last updated 1/21/2022 ✧ So let’s get started!  🤗 ❤️   

Wyoming series by aceofhearts61 (AO3). Rated PG-13, queerplatonic Sam+Dean, 78k. Summary: Sam, Dean, and Castiel have retired from hunting and live together in Wyoming. They're happy. ao3.org/series/27777 my thoughts: This fic is in my GOAT spn fics. It is like the curtain fic to end all curtain fics for me... and I've read and loved a ton of curtain fics. And I genuinely want to get married or have a home in Wyoming now because of this damn series, lol. Traumatized!Sam is harrowing. He gets a service dog tho!

The Only Twenty-Four-Hour Bookstore in Brooklyn by tsukinobara, rated NC-17, Jared/Jensen, 38k. Summary:  Jared is the proprietor of The Moose and Mayhem, New York City's only twenty-four-hour bookstore. It takes up most of his brain but he loves it – the employees, the customers, the shelves and shelves of books. Jensen is co-owner of Two Brothers Bar, Red Hook's finest purveyor of bourbon, beer, and country bands. It takes up increasing amounts of his time but he loves it – the bartenders, the customers, even line-dance nights. Jared's weird year begins on No-Pants Day with the unusual presence of people riding the subway in their underwear in January. Jensen's weird year begins with an impulse to cross the river into Manhattan at three in the morning to see if the tall Texan guy he met a week ago is as cute as he remembers. But neither of them is expecting the challenging year that follows, and they'll need the things about New York that keep them sane to help them survive it.  ao3.org/works/4576272 my thoughts: This fic was utterly, absolutely unparalleled in charm. Like just such a relaxing, sweet, wholesome read combined with equally amazing artwork from petite madame. Genuinely wanted to either work in a bookstore or live in NYC after reading this, lol. This fic is also rec’d in my mundane AUs reclist

Summer Film Festival of Death by OldToadWoman. NC-17, Sam/Dean, 127k words. Summary: Sam's point of view as he and Dean go on a hunt at a Florida movie theater where a person has died at every Saturday matinee for a month. They are short on clues leaving them an excessive amount of time to watch movies and drink booze and there's nothing to distract Sam from his increasingly inappropriate thoughts about his brother.(Per the prompt, this fic contains spilled popcorn and Winchesters clinging together watching a scary movie. As a bonus, this fic also contains Winchesters in various stages of dress and undress in the Florida heat. "Your un-flannelled Kansas ass needs sunscreen.") ao3.org/works/11965716 my thoughts: This fic is in my top favorite spn fics of all time. season 11 setting, Sam and Dean as mature consenting adults, sweet loving huggy cuddly slow burn romance during an interesting/quirky case of movie-based murders, brilliant atmospheric detail (muggy Florida, outrun movie theater aesthetics, hot motel rooms). I am SO HAPPY to have found this fic. One of the best I’ve read in awhile. And so long! 127k WOO! Also yay fake/pretend relationship trope!