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kitewithfish: (Once upon a time; i do love a loophole)
Bit of a milestone: I was trying to record what I've been reading this year and see how many books I actually read without putting much effort into it. I just went in and totted up all the books so far, and we're nearing a nice round number!
(For the purposes of this accounting, fanfic over 50K count as novels.)

What I've Read:
walk by faith/tell no one what you've seen by Killbothtwins
Fandom: Star Wars prequels and novels
My thoughts: The ending on this first part was a bit of a woo-woo magic solution, but it was *very* emotionally satisfying. I really enjoyed the slow building of Obi-Wan's network of people to include almost all of the Jedi who Fall in canon - he's not just fighting the existing dark siders, he's actively seeking ways to support people so they don't fall in the first place.
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31805044

Winter's Crown by Astolat
Fandom: Game of Thrones
Author's Summary: “When the Night’s King rides,” the giant said, each word slow as cold honey pouring, “the King in the North must answer. The King in the North…whose name is Stark.”
My thoughts: This fic is divided between Robb's and Jaime's POV pretty equally and that works really well. It feels like an extension of Astolat's published work, Spinning Silver, in its focus on a darker folklore element and the idea of promises made to inhuman powers and what those will cost you to keep or to break. I loved Robb's determination and slow descent into not being a being not entirely human, and the way Jaime kept pulling him back from that.
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/42924834


What I'm Reading:
A soul that's born in cold and Rain knows sunlight by KillBothTwins
Fandom: Star Wars
Author Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi, time traveler, finds trouble once again when he and Qui-Gon are called to Mandalore— but not THAT Mandalore mission. This one involves still pretending to see the future, babies, a slavery ring, and bothering even more people into becoming his friend. As usual, Obi-Wan drags everyone else along for the ride, including some interesting allies.
My thoughts: This is FUN. I really enjoy the way that the ripples of the first fic are helping save the galaxy, including making Jango Fett just a better dad.
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33144037

Carry On by Tamryn Eradani
Fandom: Supernatural
Author Summary: When Sam gets into Stanford, Dean needs a bigger paycheck than Bobby's garage can give him. Luckily, he knows a guy.
My thoughts: This is Supernatural version of Needs Must by thatotherperv, which is a wildly perfect Suits fic. This variation, which was removed from AO3 when the author went pro, is delightful and indulgent in similar ways. I'm savoring.

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey - Post-apocalyptic queer women using their position of trust to circumvent the controlling powers of patriarchy and patriotism? A Western that focuses on a baby bookbinder? Adorable. I pulled this out of my metaphorical stack of ebooks that I got for free from Tor because I read this author's discussion of how this book helped her tease out why she kept calling herself "straight" and giving her queer characters tragic endings. https://www.thebooksmugglers.com/2018/06/between-the-coats-a-sensitivity-read-changed-my-life-an-essay-by-sarah-gailey.html


Still Reading - Holdovers from last week:
Westerns: Making the Man in Fiction and Film by Lee Clark Mitchell
Moby Dick by Herman Melville - Whale Weekly

2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson - Book Club - I'm technically not actually finishing this in time for book club and I'm okay with that. I think it's probably better to just bask in it -plot is very much secondary. Honestly, I feel like the summaries and discussions I have read of this book undersell just how much of it is about the messiness of human relationships - there's a great deal of hard scifi awesomeness, but also a great deal about the main two characters and their slow romance.


What I'll Read Next:
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance by Dorothy Johnson - I watched this movie for the Westerns portion of the Great Queer Supernatural Re-Watch, and I was curious. The movie stars John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart, and it is so perfectly apt for their types that I wanted to see if the story had been greatly altered to fit. I find Jimmy Stewart excellent in comedies and tragedies, but his style of acting is pre-Stanislovsky and it seems like it would work better for me in a theatrical setting. It felt a bit odd here. John Wayne is a piece of shit who supported the House Un-American Activitoes Committee and was ardently racist. As an actor, he's usually boring and uninspired, tho I will admit his role in Stagecoach was charming.

Library books in the house:
Maul: Lockdown - Joe Schreiber
Tiger's Daughter - K Arsenault Rivera
Riot Baby - Rochi Onyeuchi
The Silence of the Wilting Skin - Tlotlo Tsamaase
Whispers Underground - Ben Aaronovitch
Penric's Demon - LM Bujold
The Book of the Unnamed Midwife - Med Elison
The Uncle's Story - Witi Ihimaera

Newly purchased: Man, this is just an ongoing backlog

Owned and need to read: NK Jemisin's The World We Make, Frey Marske's A Restless Truth, California Bones, the Grief of Stones by Katherine Addison, Raven Song by IA Ashcroft, Kraken's Sacrifice by Katee Robert, Even Though I Know the End by CL Polk, True Colors by Karen Traviss, At The Feet of the Sun by Victoria Goddard, Tamryn Eradani's Enchanting Encounters Books 2 and 3, Like Real People Do by EL Massey, Rescued by the Married Monster Hunters Ennis Rook Bashe


kitewithfish: (supernatural)
Supernatural is dead! Long live Supernatural!

At long last, Supernatural, the show, has passed from this mortal veil.

The canon is closed - nothing more can be added, nor can anything be taken away.

The last queer has been baited, the last woman murdered for stupid reasons.

The power to change these characters has passed from the hands of their creators, into the hands of the fans.

My last word to the writers: Thank you. But also, fuck you. 

Let's have some fic recs!

***

Title: Nothing Is Left of My Voice in My Mouth by Iphys
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27511255
Author Summary: It would be weird, he decides. Kissing Cas. Post 15x18. Dean imagines what it would be like.

Why I Love It: I helped beta this! - it is a tight and deadly and lifegiving addendum to the post- 15X18 body of work. The post date is important! This was written before the series ended, before 15X19. It is heartbreaking and lovely and everything Iphys writes is worth a read.

***

Title: Cinderwings by bendingsignpost
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12847041
Author Summary: Under the cover of a masquerade ball, Castiel has five nights to recover the key to his people's freedom. The world has changed greatly in the six centuries since their banishment into the void, but the task isn't impossible. Unfortunately for Castiel, this is going to involve talking to people - especially the Knight Prince who has taken an interest in Castiel and his "costume" wings.(Destiel Cinderella AU)

Why I Love It: This is a mostly-Castiel POV fic, set in a fantasy world where Dean is a knight prince and angels were accidentally banished to a void world hundreds of years ago. Castiel is anxious and kind and goal-oriented while also being a bit swept off his feet with Dean's attentions. He's lying by omission, on a mission to save his people, but he's also met this person who has the power to give him what he needs to do that - and who is also just, a wonderful person who he's immediately attracted to. It's wonderful and interesting and the magical system is twisty and there is also a LOT of great plot that adds depth to the characters. Iphys rec'd this to me while we were waiting for Supernatural to air its final episodes and it is a wonderful comforting fic that I also think it just a great take on Cinderella. It's got some heft to it- highly, highly recommend.

***

Title: r/supernatural by renrub
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27626783
Author Summary:
whatbaby
[checks post history] uh… is this the m30s friend that everyone thought was your boyfriend?

LiketheGun79
Yes but that's not relevant

Dean's on Reddit.

Why I Love It: Supernatural is a world where the mundane world is portrayed as safe and ignorant of the monsters that could hurt them. To have knowledge of the monsters usually means trauma and suffering and sometimes death - almost all hunters in the show become hunters as revenge for the death of a family member. As a result of this, we get a lot of 'Hunters Idealizing Suburban Life,' and very little outside view of the Winchesters. This fic is 100% outside view of Dean's life, and everyone's just like, 'damn girl you live like this?" DEAN IS ON REDDIT. He is an INTERNET CRYPTID! He asks for family advice and people tell him to maybe consider whether his dad abused him! He asks about parenting! He asks about relationship advice! People think he's in the mob! They think that he should date Castiel! It's so good. It's so, so good.

***

Title: And This, Your Living Kiss by opal_bullets
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18083927
Author Summary: Only a very few people in the world know that the celebrated and reclusive poet Jack Allen is just Kansas mechanic Dean Winchester, a high school dropout with a few bucks to his name. Not that it matters anymore; life has left him so wrung out he never wants to pick up another pen.

Until, that is, a string of coincidences leads Dean to auditing a poetry course with one Dr. Castiel Novak. The professor is wildly intelligent, devastatingly handsome...and just so happens to be academia's foremost expert on the poetry of Jack Allen.

Why I Love It:This is a fic about poetry by someone who loves poetry, loves writing, loves the deep knowledge of the craft, and has NO PATIENCE AT ALL for assholes who want to gatekeep or make writing pretentious. It's so sweet and loving and about being a queer kid and how the kindness of a few people can be transformative when you have nothing to rely on. This fic was a gift. I learned so much about poetry, I think the characterization is spot on, the romance is slow and sweet and deft. Also, it includes a GREAT survey of the wonderful cast of minor characters that Supernatural has pulled together over the years, and it really does a wonderful job of giving them all personality and value and heft. I love Literature Professor Missouri Mosley, I love foster parent Sam Winchester... This fic was raft in a sea of sadness.

***

Title: Good One's Gonna Be by remmyme
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12127812
Author Summary: Castiel Novak receives a rather alarming text message from an unknown number, and what started as a simple misdial quickly turns into the greatest friendship Castiel has ever known. But Dean has many secrets, dangerous truths about the life he lives, and would like to tell Castiel exactly none of them.A (slightly) AU, (mostly) text fic, S3 fix-it romance (of sorts).

Why I Love It: This hits my delight in outsider POV's Supernatural, while also being a fun read, showing how Castiel, Normal Human, might encounter Dean Winchester (season 3 version), and how that might change his life. One thing I adore about this fic is that it takes Season Three and says, NOPE, FIXING THAT. This is the version of Dean who is facing down a year to live, and who never expected to fall in love over goddamn text with someone he's never actually met. But he does. And it's awful, because he expects to just be a scar in Castiel's life, a dead end that never got a chance, and Castiel is like - Yeah, fuck that.

***

Tiny note - I am also reading With Understanding by apokteino, but since I have not finished this truly massive fic, I am not going to rec it yet. It's 450K, and I have read 40% in 48 hours. God help me. It's so good.



kitewithfish: (Default)
ETA: Corrected the mistaken episode number and added a note on just what I'm spoiling

Spoilers: Thru episode 521, but mostly just random thoughts about the portrayal of the Horsemen.

Here lie spoilers and thinky-thoughts )

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