Who the heck do I think I am?

Title: Trost und Freude (Comfort and Joy) (Chapter 17/17)
Author: gwendolyngrace
Recipient: celtic_cookie
Request terms: Sam and Dean of course, and I love John: Lots of John! A Pre-series Christmas Story! Familial bonding, maybe a holiday-themed hunt?
Summary: Saginaw, Michigan, 1990: Going holiday shopping may hold more hazards than just the insane crowds and parents hell-bent on the buying the latest toy. John goes undercover to look into a series of accidents at the local mall. Meanwhile, Dean and Sam respond to Christmas-season festivities at school with unexpected results.
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen
Wordcount (this chapter): about 6,860
Wordcount (total): 75,100
Spoilers: All three seasons through 3x08, may or may not be Origins-compliant
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, not mine, just my fantasy.
Author’s Notes: Done! Done, done, done! I think the only person who’s happier than I am is my beta of awesomesauce. (Seriously, gang, she did a little happy dance in her comments on the last chapter: “la, la, la,” I was told. But she still re-read this chapter about six times to fix all the things that were nagging at her.) So here it is, complete and DONE. Now I can concentrate on my Big Bang fic. Oy!

Oh, and a little warning: there’s an image in this file that may not be friendly to dial-up users. My undying gratitude to etakyma for the use of her digital camera. Please don’t overanalyze the handwriting! It’s not very good.

From the Top

Then

( Now: Dean waited up for Sam so they could compare notes, but after Dad left, Sam asked so many questions that Dean had been tempted to duct tape his mouth shut. )


~*Fin*~

I posted a little flopsy for the SPN_Thur_nights blind challenge, a while ago, and voting is open.

The post with the poll (and links to all the fics) is here.

So go read them, and if you liked mine, vote for it as one of your top three. If you didn't like it best, that's fine, too.


In other news:

Everyone who is mourning anjenue AKA rosesanguina, I'm so sorry. We are poorer for losing her. I remember her fiction, and I think I remember her from those early days of FA and LJ, but I'm sorry to say that if I ever met her, I don't remember. But it doesn't matter; it's never easy to lose our young people, and especially someone who clearly was loved by those whose lives she intersected.


On a related note, I've been meaning to blog that etakyma and I finally watched "A Bridge to Terabithia" Tuesday night. We had been soooo antsy about what we'd heard about this movie that even though ordinarily we would have seen it long before now, and even though I borrowed the DVD from my mother about... a year ago? Maybe more? we hadn't actually watched it yet.

I'm very relieved to say that it's good. It does not, contrary to the rumour, completely veer off from the significant moment of the book, but meets it and carries it through.

The thing is? The marketing and promotion of this movie was done ALL WRONG. I understand that they might not have wanted to spoil the story (especially for kids who hadn't read the book), but focusing on the digital effects gave the impression that they were treating the story as bubblegum, or alternately making it into a poor-man's Narnia/NeverEnding Story kind of thing. It's not. Okay, it gets a little silly at times, and some of the "imagination" sequences were too long, but that's how kids of that age play. At least that's how I played when I was their age.

If they'd wanted to avoid spoiling, but give a much more vivid impression of what the movie was, and get those of us who *know and love* the book to go to the movie, they should have focused on the fact that Jess and Leslie are both misfits in their class, Jess's relationship with his sister and the way he is uncomfortable at home, the friendship that develops, and then out of that, the "magic" that they discover in Terabithia beyond the stream. THAT? would have made me want to go see it, instead of dreading the ruination of the book so much, that it took me 3 years to watch it.

Anyway. I'm finishing up a bunch of work, I have WAY too many LJ tabs to get through before I leave, and then? FLORIDA, bay-bee.

Title: Trost und Freude (Comfort and Joy) (Chapter 14/17)
Author: gwendolyngrace
Recipient: celtic_cookie
Request terms: Sam and Dean of course, and I love John: Lots of John! A Pre-series Christmas Story! Familial bonding, maybe a holiday-themed hunt?
Summary: Saginaw, Michigan, 1990: Going holiday shopping may hold more hazards than just the insane crowds and parents hell-bent on the buying the latest toy. John goes undercover to look into a series of accidents at the local mall. Meanwhile, Dean and Sam respond to Christmas-season festivities at school with unexpected results.
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen
Wordcount (this chapter): about 4,905
Spoilers: All three seasons through 3x08, may or may not be Origins-compliant
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, not mine, just my fantasy.
Author’s Notes: This week has been a doozy, and I have SO MUCH to do before the end of the next week, but hey, I have my priorities straight! etakyma keeps reminding me that this is not a dialogue-fic and therefore I do need to include physical descriptions during those long stretches of conversation. I'm not sure about the EyeCon finish line, with so much to do, but I'll try to keep it moving. The next chapter is short, though (well, it is currently, but I haven't got it back from the awesome beta of awesomeness, yet), so I may even be able to post it tomorrow. No promises, sorry!

From the Top

Then

( Now: “Dean! Dean!” Sammy’s high voice cut through all the electronic clamor of the arcade. )


Continue to Chapter Fifteen

Title: Trost und Freude (Comfort and Joy) (Chapter 12/17)
Author: gwendolyngrace
Recipient: celtic_cookie
Request terms: Sam and Dean of course, and I love John: Lots of John! A Pre-series Christmas Story! Familial bonding, maybe a holiday-themed hunt?
Summary: Saginaw, Michigan, 1990: Going holiday shopping may hold more hazards than just the insane crowds and parents hell-bent on the buying the latest toy. John goes undercover to look into a series of accidents at the local mall. Meanwhile, Dean and Sam respond to Christmas-season festivities at school with unexpected results.
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen
Wordcount (this chapter): about 4,285
Spoilers: All three seasons through 3x08, may or may not be Origins-compliant
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, not mine, just my fantasy.
Author’s Notes: I'm kicking my beta's cute little ass to get comments on the rest of the fic so that I can finish posting before EyeCon. But she loves me, so she's sitting here reading the end as we speak. Thanks, etakyma: you're the bestest. I should be able to keep up the posting now that my show's over. Only a week and a half before Florida! YAY.

OH - I want to ask now, while I'm thinking about it and there's a little time: Does anyone know how to get a handwriting font to show up in LJ? Clue me.


From the Top

Then

( Now: Dean rooted through his jeans pockets for his Secret Santa slip. )


Continue to Chapter Thirteen

Title: Trost und Freude (Comfort and Joy) (Chapter 7/16)
Author: gwendolyngrace
Recipient: celtic_cookie
Request terms: Sam and Dean of course, and I love John: Lots of John! A Pre-series Christmas Story! Familial bonding, maybe a holiday-themed hunt?
Summary: Saginaw, Michigan, 1990: Going holiday shopping may hold more hazards than just the insane crowds and parents hell-bent on the buying the latest toy. John goes undercover to look into a series of accidents at the local mall. Meanwhile, Dean and Sam respond to Christmas-season festivities at school with unexpected results.
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen
Wordcount (this chapter): about 4,240
Spoilers: All three seasons through 3x08, may or may not be Origins-compliant
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, not mine, just my fantasy.
Author’s Notes: As you may have guessed from the definitive /16 up there, the rough draft is complete and it’s just a matter of typing in the last two chapters, cleaning it up, and getting it to (and back from) the betas. Speaking of which, etakyma gets the nod for this chapter. Sorry it took so long, but she is the bestest beta anyone could have and I had to wait for her. She won’t let me post anything too embarrassing.

From the Top


Then

( Now: Dean assured him he’d be fine alone, and since he hadn’t lost his breakfast like his last three meals, John acquiesced and rushed to make his Macy’s shift at 9:00. )

Continue to Chapter 8

Title: Trost und Freude (Comfort and Joy) (Chapter 5/at least 15)
Author: gwendolyngrace
Recipient: celtic_cookie
Request terms: Sam and Dean of course, and I love John: Lots of John! A Pre-series Christmas Story! Familial bonding, maybe a holiday-themed hunt?
Summary: Saginaw, Michigan, 1990: Going holiday shopping may hold more hazards than just the insane crowds and parents hell-bent on the buying the latest toy. John goes undercover to look into a series of accidents at the local mall. Meanwhile, Dean and Sam respond to Christmas-season festivities at school with unexpected results.
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen
Wordcount (this chapter): about 3,885
Spoilers: All three seasons through 3x08, may or may not be Origins-compliant
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, not mine, just my fantasy.
Author’s Notes: So obviously, this will not be completely posted by January 31. But I’ll keep going until it’s done, if y’all will keep reading! Many thanks to etakyma the most insightful beta, who after leaving me hanging for so long on the last chapter, got forced to read 5 and 6 this weekend while I had her in my evil clutches…. And thus the continuity between this chapter and chapter 6 is much better than it was when it was just me. So you get them both at once! And even though there's more Sam in this chapter, and more Dean in the next one, we'll just dedicate them both to our birthday boy, 29 years young today. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAN!

From the Top

Then

( Now: It took a little finessing to convince Gina Tupelo, office manager for the Holiday Happenings regional office, that he was not hunting around on behalf of a lawsuit. )


Continue to Chapter 6

Title: Trost und Freude (Comfort and Joy) (Chapter 3/?)
Author: gwendolyngrace
Recipient: celtic_cookie
Request terms: Sam and Dean of course, and I love John: Lots of John! A Pre-series Christmas Story! Familial bonding, maybe a holiday-themed hunt?
Summary: Saginaw, Michigan, 1990: Going holiday shopping may hold more hazards than just the insane crowds and parents hell-bent on the buying the latest toy. John goes undercover to look into a series of accidents at the local mall. Meanwhile, Dean and Sam respond to Christmas-season festivities at school with unexpected results.
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen
Wordcount (this chapter): about 4,770
Spoilers: All three seasons through 3x08, may or may not be Origins-compliant
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, not mine, just my fantasy.
Author’s Notes: I'm thinking this will probably wind up being about 12-14 chapters altogether. Thanks as always to etakyma, beta extraordinaire.

Then

( Now: Dean sulked through the rest of the morning. )

Continue to Chapter 4

Title: Trost und Freude (Comfort and Joy) (Chapter 1/17)
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Author: gwendolyngrace
Recipient: celtic_cookie
Request terms: Sam and Dean of course, and I love John: Lots of John! A Pre-series Christmas Story! Familial bonding, maybe a holiday-themed hunt?
Summary: Saginaw, Michigan, 1990: Going holiday shopping may hold more hazards than just the insane crowds and parents hell-bent on the buying the latest toy. John goes undercover to look into a series of accidents at the local mall. Meanwhile, Dean and Sam respond to Christmas-season festivities at school with unexpected results.
Rating: PG
Genre: Gen
Wordcount (this chapter): about 5,140
Spoilers: All three seasons through 3x08, may or may not be Origins-compliant
Disclaimer: No copyright infringement intended, not mine, just my fantasy.
Author’s Notes: As luck would have it, 1990’s Thanksgiving and Christmas fell on the same dates – and days of the week – as this year’s. Helpful! This fic started as a small casefile and it’s grown like whoa, so look for additional chapters between now and the January 31 deadline. But I wanted to at least *begin* posting in time for the holiday. So:

Happy Christmas, celtic_cookie!

( Wade Ellis’s boot treads squeaked slightly with every step he took down the wide, central mall corridor. )

To Chapter 2