#2021 tumblr year end review

[rmd-writes]

2024 Fic Writing Round Up

I've been tagged by @kiwiana-writes @cha-melodius @firenati0n @stereopticons @hippolotamus @porcelainmortal @heartstringsduet @whatsintheboxmh @thisbuildinghasfeelings @strandnreyes @alrightbuckaroo @lemonlyman-dotcom @carlos-in-glasses @heartstringsduet @reyesstrand in a couple of versions end of year reviews recently (loved seeing the art ones!!) so I'm going to combine a couple of them because I only have one round up post in me.

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either.

Words and Fics

Words published to ao3: my ao3 stats say the total is 148,658 but that's a lie when you account for the three collabs/co-written fics I've posted this year. I'd estimate that my actual word count is somewhere closer to 70,000-75,000 excluding drabbles.

Fandoms: Red, White & Royal Blue and 911 Lone Star

Most recent drop: Home for the Holidays

Longest fic: Call Me (By My Name) at 65.5k but I didn't write all of those words

Top 3 Fics by Kudos

never the same twice || RWRB || E || 34k || a collaboration with @three-drink-amy @athousandrooms @welcometololaland @indomitable-love @everwitch-magiks (and also bleedingballroomfloor, chasingshadow and ifigo who aren't on tumblr).

Call Me (By My Name) || 911 LS || E || 65.5k || co-written with @welcometololaland

he wrote mine on my upper thigh || RWRB || E || 6.2k

Upcoming Projects for 2025

Lola and I have something that we want to get going in 2025, but the reality is that I've struggled with writing this year and I've got a lot going on in the first part 2025 that will require my creativity so other than my project with Lola, I'm really not sure what I'll be writing. There are a couple of things I'd like to write, but we'll see.

As for the fics I've posted in 2024:

In 2023, I posted 15 fics which weren't just updates to my drabble collections. I'm pretty sure this was a reduction in what I'd posted in 2021/2022. This year, I've continued that downward trend and posted 7 fics, 4 ficlets (less than 1k words), and a smattering of drabbles (ie. strictly 100 words) here on tumblr, some of which have been cross-posted to ao3.

January

lol hello forgetting how to make words

February

if you scroll down, you can see the drabbles I posted in response to some prompts I requested here

March

never the same twice || RWRB || E || 34k || a collaboration with @three-drink-amy @athousandrooms @welcometololaland @indomitable-love @everwitch-magiks (and also bleedingballroomfloor, chasingshadow and ifigo who aren't on tumblr).

The thing about sex with Henry is, it’s never the same twice. Sometimes he moves easily, caught up in the rush, and other times he’s tense and taut and wants Alex to work him loose and take him apart. Sometimes nothing gets him off faster than being talked back to, but other times they both want him to use every inch of authority in his blood, not to let Alex get there until he’s told, until he begs. It’s unpredictable and it’s intoxicating and it’s fun, because Alex has never met a challenge he didn’t love, and he— well, Henry is a challenge, head to toe, beginning to end.

Or: series of snapshots of Alex and Henry’s versatile sex life throughout the years – because the more life changes, the more some things stay the same. A Firstprince birthday celebration collaboration.

Each chapter can be read as a stand alone chapter and I wrote chapter 3.

April-May

[crickets]

June

who am i if i can't carry it all || RWRB || T || 9.4k

Alex lives his life like he has a fire under his ass for no good reason and always has. Except June knows that there is a reason, there always has been. In some ways, June has spent her whole life trying to protect Alex from himself, watching him shove himself down behind impressive wit, gregarious personality and a charming smile in his effort to set the world aflame, despite the fact that he could have done so almost effortlessly, simply by being himself. Or, five times June looks after Alex and one time she realises she doesn’t need to.

Call Me (By My Name) || 911 LS || E || 65.5k || co-written with @welcometololaland

The last thing Carlos Reyes ever expected was to find himself calling a phone sex line. But Austin feels like a small town when it comes to finding a one night stand and desperate times call for desperate measures. The last thing TK Strand ever expected was for someone to mistake his phone number for a phone sex line. But he’s lonely, horny and the guy sounds hot, so he gives into temptation and tries his best to sound professional. OR The accidental phone sex AU.

July

More drabbles

August

he wrote mine on my upper thigh || RWRB || E || 6.2k

Thick thighs save lives. An Olympic rugby AU that features just the barest seasoning of the Olympics and rugby, a sprinkling of sports-flavour, if you will.

September

[crickets]

October

A Christmas Mix Up || 911 LS || T || 952

A seasonally inappropriate Christmas ficlet for the prompt: “And you’re sure this is… for me?”

easy like (any) morning || RWRB || M || 836

For the prompt: Alex eyes the toast Henry handed him a minute ago with horror. "And you eat this voluntarily? For breakfast? Baby, why?"

kiss you twice 'cause it's gonna be alright || 911 LS || T || 520

A prompt fill for the dialogue prompt: “Uh, crap. Let’s hope nobody sees that.” Or, TK just really loves kissing his husband.

floating around in ecstasy || RWRB || M || 762

A prompt fill for the dialogue prompt: “did you think I wouldn’t notice?” Or, the brief return of my lawyer au

green is the colour of the grass || 911 LS || M || 1.5k

A prompt fill for the prompt: Two strangers trapped in an elevator together or "Are you wearing my clothes?"

November

Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) || 911 LS || E || 16.9k || co-written with @welcometololaland

Sometimes, settling the score is as simple as falling asleep. OR Five times TK pretended to fall asleep during sexy time, and one time he actually did.

December

Home for the Holidays || RWRB || M || 9.3k

When Alex discovers that Henry's Christmas plans involve staying in their apartment alone, he does what any good roommate would do and drags Henry along to his family Christmas at the lake house. It's a win-win situation, since everything is better for Alex when Henry is around. Henry is his person. Completely fucking platonically, of course.

It's very late in the year now, and I feel like everyone’s already done this, so consider this an open tag if anyone wants to share their own round up and hasn't done so yet x

[seidenapfel]

2024 in Review

In 2024, I posted 17 fics, ranging from 334 to 27,731 words. Although I feel I joined too many bangs this year, only six fics were bang collabs. Addionally, there were eight art collabs as well. I haven't counted the art pieces, though. However, it probably felt that much because there are nine collabs I'm currently working on for 2025. So, if you like my fics and art, please subscribe to me on AO3 for fics and art, and/or follow me on Tumblr.

Making a List, Checking it Twice (Rated: E | Word Count: 1,369)

Summary: Dean forgets a naughty list in the kitchen. There's only one person/angel who can have found it.

The year started smutty with my first fic for the 12 Days of Smutmas.

Heating Up a Snow Cave (Rated: E | Word Count: 2,907)

Summary: Caught in a blizzard, Cas and Dean have to find a way to warm each other up.

My second fic for the 12 Days of Smutmas.

You Ain't Him (Rated: T | Word Count: 840)

Summary: “Dean?” Dean winced. No. It couldn’t be. His entire body started to tingle as the gravel voice vibrated through him. A voice he thought he would never hear again. This wasn’t happening. He was gone. He was—

A little birthday fic for Dean Winchester.

Books, Pies, and Roommates (Rated: E | Word Count: 27,731)

Summary: Everything seemed easy when Castiel landed a job in Lawrence as a literature professor at KU. He even found a place to stay with his cousin in Topeka. But the daily commute quickly gets on his nerves and he begins looking for a room in town. When he finally lucks out on a house, it comes with a catch. His mysterious landlord/housemate works and lives in Topeka during the week, and will only be at home for the weekend while Castiel is back at his cousin’s to honor a promise he made. When Dean walks into his favorite pie shop, the new sales assistant takes his breath away. Steve is gorgeous, and part of the owner’s family. Dean doesn’t even mind that he picks up Gabriel’s stupid moniker for him. After all, Deano has one syllable more, and Dean will do anything to hear Steve’s voice just a little bit longer. Though, as breathtaking Steve might be, he isn't Angel. If only Dean's book-loving best friend weren't a mystery in himself — a guy who Dean has only met online, but who has slowly taken his heart away. And it seems that Dean isn't alone in his feelings. When the lines blur and fantasies merge three guys into one, disappointment and heartbreak seem to be inevitable.

Pinefest ( @deancaspinefest ) is always one of the highlights of the year and this year @kitshay claimed my fic and created some beautiful pieces. Besides, I had a great time writing this two-person love hexagon.

Maybe not yet, but eventually (Rated: T | Word Count: 1,032)

Summary: Screaming, Dean wakes from a nightmare, trapped inside his memories.

This is the first of several time stamps this year. This one was for my 2021 DCBB fic Maybe not a comedy (according to Jack), but he likes the happy ending that can be read as a standalone.

Setting Sail (Rated: T | Word Count: 334)

Summary: 1805: Nodding at Lieutenant Davies and Midshipman Alfie, and leaving command with Lieutenant Hester, Castiel walks towards his cabin when he sees him.

Another timestamp, this time for my 2022 Regency Big Bang fic Forty Shillings on the Drum. Written for the Tumblr May Trope Mayhem. Can be read as standalone.

Maybe not magnificent, but damn awesome (Rated: T | Word Count: 1,137)

Summary: Movie nights aboard the Impala have become something of a routine after they reunited Sam with his family on Terra. Once a week, Charlie picks some classic movie from back in the days, and their little found family comes together in the living room.

Timestamp number three, once again for my 2021 DCBB fic Maybe not a comedy (according to Jack), but he likes the happy ending. Another entry for the May Trop Mayhem. Should work as standalone.

Filling the Empty Space in My Heart (Rated: T | Word Count: 5,035)

Summary: After Cas let himself be taken by the Empty, Dean's life continues in a blur. Only Jack keeps him going, who has turned himself into an actual four-year-old boy after defeating Chuck and giving up the majority of his powers to stabilise Heaven. However, Dean knows he isn't good enough to raise a nephil. Jack needs his dad. And there might be one way to bring him back. Even if it leads Dean back to Hell, and beyond.

Inspired by an art piece for the DCRB 2024 where I ended up empty handed, and written for the Profound Bond Gift Exchange as a gift for @thecadenceimperfect. With art by me. I later wrote a smutty timestamp as well called:

A Place to Stay (Rated: E | Word Count: 3,157)

Summary: After getting back from the Empty, Dean’s entire body tingled, too edgy for his skin. He barely paid attention to the others and couldn’t stop fidgeting since he had returned to the library and joined them once again at the table. Cas’ presence was electric, pulling him into its orbit. Dean felt it in every fibre of his being as he slumped down on the chair next to him. Echoes of Grace pulsed through him, and for the first time since Cas pulled that stupid stunt and let himself be swallowed by the Empty, Dean felt alive.

TFW 2.0: Siren Adventures (Rated: E | Word Count: 4,727)

Summary: After Charlie and Sam's plan to save Cas and Dean goes sideways, Charlie doesn't give up. There must be another way. When she finds help in an unsual ally, the future is suddenly starting to look brighter.

My Crack in the Chassis catch ( @crack-in-the-chassis ) for @notreallyaroad 's fic TFW: Just Add Water. At first, I claimed for art, but due to the special kind of bang, we agreed for me to write an alternate ending / fix-it as well.

A Part of Me Shall Still Remain (Rated: T | Word Count: 6,918)

Summary: In 1805 Commander Castiel returns home after long years at sea. The Battle of Trafalgar has left him a broken man. For years, he shuns society and withdraws to his estate, until a scandal involving Sir Castiel’s disgraced cousin and a young noblewoman shakes the ballrooms of London and Bath. It introduces him to a doomed woman, who not only does approve of his deepest secrets, but who also does give birth to a child that will alter the commander’s life forever.

My fic for the Dadstiel Bang ( @dadstielminibang ) with stunning art by @twinone1221. This fic is set in the verse of my 2022 Regency Big Bang fic Forty Shillings on the Drum, but can be read as standalone. I had two other collabs for the Dadstiel Bang, both art.

Everlasting Fall (Rated: E | Word Count: 3,136)

Summary: Tendrils of Grace trickled from Dean’s fingers as his hand ghosted along Castiel’s flank. Gasping, Castiel shivered and Dean smiled. “You like that?” Stripped of their combined Grace for the night, Castiel gives himself over to Dean, ready to be taken apart.

Another timestamp because after demon and angel smut, I wanted to write some Grace kink. Set in my Calming the Weather verse.

That's Purrfect (Rated: T | Word Count: 1,262)

Summary: Castiel would do anything for him. He would level entire civilisations for Dean Winchester, or dress as a cat — it didn’t matter as long as Dean was happy.

Another Halloween fic to add to my annual tradition, and the only fic I managed to write for Suptober this year.

Highly Professional (Rated: E | Word Count: 25,565)

Summary: On his first day of college, Dean feels like a fish out of water. After years of working his ass off with several jobs at once to fund his brother’s studies, his family and friends have decided to pay him back. That’s how he finds himself panicking in the lecture hall. Thankfully, a fellow student distracts him. She promptly becomes a good friend, and Dean has no idea how badly he will need her. The moment he lays eyes on his physics professor, Dean is lost. Castiel Novak seems like the man of his dreams. And when the professor’s son appears from under the podium, several lives take an unsuspected turn.

My fic collab for the DCBB 2024 with wonderful art by @sasanka-27. I started this fic for the Dadstiel Bang, but changed it for the one I ended up with.

Your Own Personal Heaven (Rated: T | Word Count: 3,004)

Summary: After arriving in Heaven, Dean's nursing a beer in the crowded and snowed-in Roadhouse when the door opens and Cas enters. Crowding him, Dean makes out with him in front of everyone present, believing that he is stuck in his personal Heaven and none of it is real.

I haven't shared this Christmas fic on Tumblr before because I was too busy with bang collabs and the holidays. Inspired by a prompt by @macy2me.

It's a Stabby Life (Rated: T | Word Count: 4,370)

Summary: Dean Smith’s life as Director of Sales and Marketing at Sandover seems perfect. If there weren’t the dreams, and his new colleague. When he runs into Castiel and accidentally stabs him with a knife in the cafeteria, the guy walks away as if nothing happened. Maybe it didn’t and Dean is simply overworked. But then it happens again, and again, and Dean’s perfect life slowly falls to pieces.

The first of two fics for @deancas-stabfest. @arlington-chamber-of-gay claimed it an created beautiful pieces for the stabs. I had never written Dean Smith before, so this was really fun.

Gonna Find Out Who's Naughty or Nice (Rated: T | Word Count: 8,859)

Summary: During a case involving an entire coven of witches, Dean tries on a Santa hat. Nothing seems wrong, until he can’t remove the hat. Jingles start following his every step while his body changes. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, until he can’t hide it any longer from Sam and Castiel: Dean is transforming into Santa, and there seems to be no way back.

My Stabfest collab number two is the last fic for this year. This time, I claimed a wonderful art piece by @masoenart. It was the second collab with @masoena this year after our collab for the Midam Bang during the summer where our roles were reversed. One reader called this fic Christmas horror. I just had a lot of fun writing it.

Art Collabs

(you find the links to the fics when you follow the links to the art, either on AO3 or Tumblr)

Destiel Pinefest 2024: Art for 'Given to Fly' by MittenWraith, colalb with @mittensmorgul [art on Tumblr]

Bottom Cas Big Bang 2023/2024: Art for 'Raising Kids, Finding Love, the Family Business' by Mydestielbabies_67, collab with @spnisthewayoflife [art on Tumblr]

Dadstiel Mini Bang 2024: Art for 'Make a Wish' by Avonlady, collab with @avonlady42 [art on Tumblr]

Art for 'Always Memorable' by golbygloom, collab with @golby-moon [art on Tumblr]

Crack in the Chassis 2024: Art for 'TFW: Just Add Water' by notreallyaroad, collab with @notreallyaroad [art on Tumblr]

Midam Bang 2024: Art for 'Breaking Light — A Future Earned' by Masoena, collab with @masoena [art on Tumblr]

DCBB 2024: Art for 'Marriage of Heaven, Hell & Humanity' by draechaeli, collab with @draechaeli [art on Tumblr]

Stabfest 2024: Art for 'Monsters and Men' by FriendofCarlotta, collab with @friendofcarlotta [art on Tumblr]

Over the summer, I also posted several sketches I drew in my sketchbook.

And I posted some photos taken at PurCon which ended up my most shared posts of the year.

[mcytrash]

Every end of the year when tumblr drops its year in review I have flashbacks of 2020 or 2021 when they hadn't quite understood the mcyt fandom thing of duo and ship names and emerald duo got put in the list of most popular ships of the year

[greyeyedmonster-18]

(so i found this in my archives from 2021, and wanted to do it again. i am a sucker for year-end recaps. tagging everyone who loves these things as i do.)

2024 YEAR IN REVIEW

BY THE NUMBERS:

words published this year: 105,730 (on AO3, and I might guesstimate like....10,000 here on tumblr? no more than 120,000 words this year though)

# of fics published: two! and i made art for one

# of one shots: zero on AO3

# of completed multi chapters: two-- The Crimson Kiss and Clear Eyes, Full Hearts

# of WIP multichapters: zerooooo

# of drabbles on tumblr: three (best day for wolfstar candyhearts, we meet again my prongsfoot AU, and most recently jingle all the bidet). There might have been like...a few more but I don't recall

# of ideas waiting their turn: at the moment, none.

# of WIP one shots: zeroooo.

Longest work: Clear Eyes, Full Hearts (Can't Lose Either Way)- 60k+ words

Shortest work: I think? jingle all the bidet (1.5k)

Highest Kudos: clear eyes, my baby (455)

Highest Hits: clear eyes again (12,772)

Top 3 by kudos: clear eyes, the crimson kiss

Top 3 by Hits: clear eyes, the crimson kiss

-

BEHIND THE NUMBERS:

Most challenging fic to write: The Crimson Kiss-- this big bangerang was on the struggle bus the entire way. I kicked and screamed the entire process. I think, admittedly (and also i think you can feel it when you read it), i bit off more than i could chew, and really did not do this plot justice.

Fic that came easiest to write: i loved writing clear eyes. i love writing football and stupid silly teenage boys. i think i had the brain child of "oh a Friday night lights au, wheres all the football au's" and wrote the 2nd chapter in the same day.

Most true-to-the-outline fic: i would love to know what an outline is. i didn't outline for clear eyes, so by default The Crimson Kiss and i think i largely outlined to spare my poor beta from guessing.

Most unlike-its-outline fic: all of them.

Favorite Reader freak-out: i

Most controversial scene: I don't think i wrote any this year??? but i will say that there were MANY questions regarding "WHAT HAPPENED TO SIRIUS AND REG IN NY" "HOW DID ORION LEAVE THEM THERE!"

Hottest ask box topic of the year: where is chefs kiss? what happened?

Most loved OC: not applicable, i do not know here

Most hated OC: see above

My favorite thing about writing Wolfstar: I am actually going to keep my answer from 2021 here because it's still true!!!! "i love writing dialogue between them. i think they are both like exceptionally smart and Sirius in particular has a really quick wit so it feels like a spar when I write them together and then it'll just SKRRRT into the most feelings ever."-- 2021 dr. grey.

Most I’ve laughed writing a scene: Idk if i like LOL'd but i had a lot of fun writing jingle all the bidet, and remus just rambling. i also very much enjoyed writing the scene in clear eyes where remus was going through the backseat of Sirius's truck while he was driving and making fun of the teen quizzes he had done in a magazine.

Most I’ve cried writing a scene: i cried writing the entirety of the crimson kiss (i joke, i joke, kind of), but i don't think i cried writing anything?? i don't tend to do this

Smuttiest smut scene: not applicable!

Favorite Wolfstar kiss: the first kiss in clear eyes!!! no but actually, i found myself quite clever (not to toot a horn but toot toot beep beep etc) writing their first kiss scene because it's remus's inner monologue, and he doesn't know what to say because he's feeling too much and like says a two word sentence, and sirius responds back with two words. and then the rest of their dialogue counts down from five words, four words, three, two, one, before they kiss and.

“Y…you play.” Is what Remus settled on. Two words seemed easier to manage than every novel he had ever read about romance and burned into his long-term memory. “I do.” Perhaps two words were easier for Sirius too. “You’re good.” “I know.” “That’s infuriating.” Sirius laughed quietly, “I’m sorry.” “It’s alright,” Remus shrugged, stopping at the edge of his porch just before the broken first step. “Thanks for wakin’ me up.” Five.

Hardest trope/thing to write: while writing Crimson Kiss, i realized i truly do not have the patience or the...skills or the anything to properly write a mystery/properly write a pseudo thriller and in my opinion this fic leans more towards absurd crack fic. i left a lot of this fic simply up to the readers imagination/choice because i did not want to write it and figure out the hows and the whys and the whos. like it's just too much work, and better left in the hands of...someone who is not me.

Easiest trope/thing to write: dialogue/flirting. also just romance 5ever.

Any fic regrets?: I am going to again quote 2021 grey, "Yes. We're trying not to have though. I keep reminding myself that at one point this was the story i wanted to share. and someone else reading it might be at that point in their life as well...so it's all worth it."

2024 fic habits to break: i struggled really badly with decision paralysis this year (across all forms of writing i do) and it impacted me a lot. so...that. stop thinking about whats right and just do something.

2025 fic habits to make: go back to writing nonsense, stop thinking so hard.

[velvet-cupcake-games]

Made Marion Development Update, December 2023

Happy Holidays!

Will's more of a "Bah Humbug" kind of guy than a Happy Holidays one, but he's what we've got.

Thanks to everyone who has played through Robin's route and left lovely reviews and feedback!  I'm so happy about the response we received to our first Early Access release, and will be doing my best to make sure all our routes are up to that standard.

Development Progress

We're settling in to creating Will's route now.  Unfortunately, shortly after Robin's route launched I contracted Covid for the second time. I was down for a few weeks between the virus and the Paxlovid I took to beat up the virus. But now that I'm feeling better, it appears the Paxlovid also helped beat up some of my long Covid symptoms.  I'm feeling close to normal for the first time since Dec. 2021!

Since recovering, I have finished writing 3.5/6 major scenes in Will Chapter 1.  I'm hoping to finish Chapter 1 by the new year. Writing Will is quite different from Robin.  It's not difficult to know what he's thinking at any given moment!  As you might be able to guess from the end of Sherwood Common, Will and Marion don't exactly get off on the right foot. It's pretty fun to write their awkward attempts to work together and the bickering that ensues.

For those of you who follow our weekly Tuesday Tidbits updates on Tumblr, I'll be taking a week or two off of those as I celebrate the holidays (though I'll still be writing, just taking a social media break), so I'll see you all in the new year!

[ninja-muse]

2023 Reading Wrap-up

I feel like this year was pretty average in terms of my reading. Some great books, some awful books, a lot of books in the middle. And while I feel as if I kept hitting slumps, I don’t think my stats really reflect that. I kept reading and even though I didn’t hit my goal of 140 books, that’s more because I read more thick and dense books, spent more time writing, and am one year further from the direness of 2020 and 2021.

This also seems to have been the year of T. Kingfisher for me (and also Ursula Vernon). I read several of her horror novels, as well as Digger and a bunch of the ebooks she makes free for patrons, which are really easy go-tos when you want something light and right now. I was kind of surprised when I realized she was my top author because usually that’s Seanan McGuire.

And I read more ebooks in general, because why should I wait for two months for the library to get a physical book in circulation when I can wait two weeks for it to come in on Libby? I’m still trying to reserve Libby use for lighter, faster, less involved books, because I tend to end up skimming a little more and there’s something about physical paper that helps me retain info better when the text is dense.

Now, stats! Yearly total: 128, excluding rereads and picture books Queer books: 44 (34%) Authors of colour: 15 (11.7%) Books by women: 74.5 (58%) Authors outside the binary: 7.5 (5.8%) Canadian authors: 14 (10.9%) Off the TBR shelves: 39 (30.4%) Books hauled: 41 ARCs acquired: 57 ARCs unhauled: 60 DNFs: 9 Rereads: 3 Picture Books: 6

If you look at last year’s stats and the year before’s, I’m pretty much holding steady in terms of my diverse reading—a little more than a third queer, about 60% female and 10% Canadian, around 6% gender-diverse authors. I’m way down on authors of colour though, and I didn’t hit my stretch goal of 20 Canadians, so those are things I’ll have to pay attention to in the year to come. It would be nice if I could manage more queer books too, but that’s not something I’m going to try for quite as much.

Two of my reading goals for the year were to read more books from my TBR than I acquired, and to keep my ARC levels about even. Seems like I pretty much hit them! I expect that 2024 will see fewer book acquisitions because a lot of my 2023 haul was bookstore visits with my dad and we’ve now hit pretty much every store in the city. I was honestly kind of surprised that my ARC problem stands where it does. I was so sure that I was going to have at least 10 more incoming books than outgoing. Go me! My spring ARC purge really, really helped.

I did all right on the rest of my reading goals. All but one book read (The Great Cat Massacre), which was the real point of the list! I only managed to finish one StoryGraph challenge, if you don’t count my pages goal, and as always I failed to read as many classics as I wanted. I’m starting to suspect I’m not a classics person, despite my interest in history and historical fiction. If anyone has classics recs for me, let me know?

To be completely honest, though, I'm not sure I'm going to continue posting to Tumblr. I pretty much stopped updating my feed in the summer and I've felt more relaxed, both in terms of Things To Do Each Day but also in terms of my reading. When I was more active on here, I felt pressured to read diversely at all times and though I try to have a healthy spread of perspectives, I know that I generally don't and am therefore a bad person by Tumblr standards. I am curious what my mutuals have been getting up to this year so please, sound off! And let me know if you do want to see reviews and wrap-ups continue here.

(Friendly reminder that I'm ninjamuse on Storygraph and LibraryThing, if you'd like to follow me there.)

And if anyone’s interested, here are the rest of my year’s highlights:

Top Five Fiction (not ranked)

The Hollow Places - T. Kingfisher

Menewood - Nicola Griffith

Bookshops and Bonedust - Travis Baldree

A Half-Built Garden - Ruthanna Emrys

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi - Shannon Chakraborty

Top Five Non-Fiction (not ranked)

Magisteria - Nicholas Spencer

Diary of a Misfit - Casey Parks

Evidence of Things Seen - Sarah Weinman, editor

Lay Them to Rest - Laurah Norton

Like Every Form of Love - Padma Viswanathan

Most Impressed By:

Shubeik Lubeik - Deena Mohamed

Diary of a Misfit - Casey Parks

The Hands of the Emperor by Victoria Goddard

A Half-Built Garden - Ruthanna Emrys

Most Disappointing:

Tortilla Flat - John Steinbeck

British Columbiana - Josie Teed

A Killing in Costumes - Zac Bissonette

Tauhou - Kōtuku Titihuia Nuttall

Longest Book: The Hands of the Emperor - Victoria Goddard

Best queer book: Diary of a Misfit - Casey Parks

Did I beat 2022? No. Did I beat my Best Year Ever? No. That would be 2021. Did I read more classics? Not even close. Did I read more Canadians? No. I held about steady. Did I whittle my TBR shelves down any? No. Was it a good reading year? Probably about average?

Breakdowns by month:

January February March April May June July August September October November December

[mania-sama]

Fanfic Writer Review

AHH thank you so much for tag @doctorweebmd! I love doing silly little tag games. I used to hate them in my Wattpad days, but now they are good fun on Tumblr. I also love yapping about my fics, and it made my heart full to know I was tagged by an author who I deeply admire for their writing technique and ability.

➼ How many works do you have on AO3?

I have 78 active and visible on my profile. I have 3 under Anonymous and AT LEAST 1 that I have orphaned. That makes for 82 on Ao3. I have also deleted a few fics, but I don't know how many there are. Two, I think, but I can't be sure so it's not going in the tally. My account dates back to 2019, with the first visible fic being a Dream SMP fic in 2021. However, I know my earliest fic was around when I joined because I had previously written on Wattpad under an account that is not associated with my current mania_sama identity. For the sake of my sanity, no details will be disclosed on that fic. It haunts my nightmares.

Simplified: 78 on profile, 82 total that I know of on Archive of Our Own.

➼ Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

I will preface this by saying that I am not ashamed of my history with Dream SMP. Do I keep up with any of the members? No, and I haven't for years to be honest. That's why I haven't transferred those fics over here; I just don't care anymore. But, you know, it is what it is, and I, for one, refuse to be shamed for once being a young person who liked to enjoy things.

Without further ado:

1. tommyinnit's slightly beatable method of avoiding sudden death ❧ Dream SMP | 2.1k kudos | 29.7k hits ❧ This fic is not my most popular because of its quality. I reread a few sections of the first chapter, and I'll give credit to myself that I was funny and hit my target audience well for when it was written. But that isn't why it blew up. It blew up because this is a fanfic for an extremely popular, well-written Dream SMP fic titled tommyinnit's unbeatable method of avoiding sudden death. Yes. I was creative with the naming of my fic, I know. But this is to say: the popularity came from there. I don't claim it to be my incredibly humorous and charming personality. Regardless, I do think I was funny and the fic is funny, except for when I added an alternative ending as a second chapter in which I killed all of the characters in various manners. That wasn't funny but it kinda is in retrospect. Considering the plot was Tommy attempting (failing) to take down a child trafficking ring, it was bound to end horribly.

2. ask for help, call it weakness ❧ Genshin Impact | 1.7k kudos | 14.3k hits ❧ It still makes me mad that THIS is my second most popular fic. It's entirely based off of a TikTok edit. I said I would write a fic based on it in the comments. Little did I know, both the TikTok and the comment would blow up like a pipe bomb, and suddenly I was completing this at 1 in the morning. You may say it's only 3k words, but 3k words is a lot for ME. I am a slow writer. Very slow. Anyway, I would not say this is my best work. It's just Xiao comforting Aether during a PTSD-induced panic attack. That's literally all there is to it. I don't know man. It's funny how life works.

3. lone star ❧ Genshin Impact | 1.1k kudos | 13.9k hits ❧ ANOTHER. FIC. BASED ON A TIKTOK. It's a curse, really. But I will give myself more credit here; this fic gained a lot of popularity on its own, disassociated from the Tiktok (because neither the Tiktok nor my comment was insanely popular like the last one). I had a lot of comments that were very confused on the plot and why Venti would mentally torture Diluc, and all I could do was shrug at them and say that the Tiktok made me do it. Peak torture writing though, and the second chapter was fun because I got to experiment a bit with an outsider's point of view. I think this is where my talents for whump started to shine through, and I realized that my full potential lies in making characters disassociate from reality through intense trauma. Woopee!

4. with every line, a comedy ❧ Genshin Impact | 787 kudos | 11.8k hits ❧ Now, this fic. This fic is one that truly deserves to be on this list. I am incredibly proud of this fic. Honestly, I think it's my favorite thing I've every written. It's a Kavetham fic set directly after the Akasha system is abolished and dreaming is returned to Sumeru. Kaveh starts sleepwalking, and Alhaitham tries unsuccessfully to get to the root of the issue. I truly worked hard on this fic; every line is imbued with love and care for these two characters. I wanted them to work this out, and I wanted them to achieve their happy ending. It's jam-packed full of pain, sorrow, and long-forgotten trauma swelled up to crash over their lives. And a few sex jokes, because I can't help myself. Wet dreams. Ha ha HA. Anyway, I truly love every single person that read that fic and stuck with me through it. I seemed to have really reached people's hearts with it's contents, and I'm really, really grateful I had the opportunity to connect with people in that way.

5. gojo satoru's guide to being a good father: cheating is only tolerable if it happens in monopoly ❧ Jujutsu Kaisen | 786 kudos | 4.7k hits ❧ I think this fic is evidence that if I just let myself go while writing, amazing things happen. I truly did not give a fuck while I was writing. All I wanted was to live out my fantasy of destroying a nice car, preferably while listening to Before He Cheats by Carrie Underwood. But I cannot destroy a nice car, nor have I ever been cheated on, so that fantasy is far away. Now, I did not just write about the car. I threw in just. Random shit in there as well. They watch Human Centipede 2, eat at Subway, and play Monopoly. Why? I don't know. I just wrote the first things that came to mind. And you know what? This fic got a PODFIC. You see what I mean when I say amazing things happen? I truly do love this fic. I think I am EXTREMELY hilarious and I still laugh at the things I wrote in there. Dad Gojo to Megumi and Tsumuki is my everything.

➼ Do you respond to comments. Why or why not?

I do! I try my very best to respond to every single one of them. I think it'd be a lot harder if my focus was on long fics, but the majority of my collection is one-shots, so it's much easier for me to keep up with.

➼ What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Angsty one-shots are my specialty. Major Character Death graces many of them, not even including all of my whumptober prompts that end poorly. Even if they don't die, some of their fates are just sad. That being said, I think I have to give the hats off to the difference between hurt and injured. It's long enough (20k) that the reader can get attached to the characters, understand their wants, dreams, and motivations, before a character takes his own life. It's not a senseless whump or angst 1-4k one-shot; it's a series of developments that leads up to an ending that was entirely predictable from the beginning, yet hurts just the same. It teaches a lesson, one that I've had seared into my brain: if you don't act, then the world will act for you. The reality of the situation is what makes it the most depressing, I think.

➼ What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

I was a little stuck on this one. I had a few in mind, but I think the one where the characters made it out objectively the happiest with the MOST payoff is toss a coin to your witcher. It's a Dream SMP Sweet Tooth AU that sort of follows the first season of the show. If I were still in the fandom, I think I would rewrite this to be leaps and bounds better in terms of plot and regular writing, make it a more fleshed out fic that explains/makes it more obvious WHY I chose that specific song, of all songs. But regardless, the characters go on a long, long journey, both physically and mentally taxing, to get to their ending, which is why I think it's the happiest.

➼ Do you write crossovers?

My answer varies slightly on what is defined as a crossover. I have written and posted AU's for other shows and medias before (previous fic in example). In terms of characters meeting other characters from different shows? ... Kind of? Not really. It's hard to explain that fic. It's one IRL person traveling from universe to universe, but the universe characters do not meet each other.

HOWEVER. Just because I have never posted a tried and true character meet-and-greet crossover doesn't meet I haven't written one. I have a Saiki K x Bungou Stray Dogs fic sitting in my drafts right now. Yes, Dazai Osamu goes to PK Academy to kill Saiki K. Yes it exists and no I will probably never finish it. Also, I used to write character fights. Like, Karma from Assassination Classroom vs Bakugou Katsuki from My Hero Academia. I did post that but that's long since been deleted from my profiles, and they weren't typical fanfiction anyway. They were just sort of a list of occurrences during a three-round fight (regular, loser is bloodlusted, both bloodlusted) or just a regular fight by different parameters. So I don't know if it really counts or not.

I guess the short answer to the question is: YES! I am literally down for anything remotely interesting.

➼ Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, but two were hate-adjacent I think. Both of the cases were a little odd, and neither were directed at me or my writing. The first case was on a Ragbros fic where a commenter complained that they couldn't ship Kaeluc, even though people ship Eren and Mikasa from Attack on Titan together. Another commenter ripped into them before I could delete the comment, which was kind of funny. Comment had nothing to do with my fic though. I didn't mention Kaeluc once anywhere in the tags, story, or notes.

The other one was under an IwaOi fic that complained about Oikawa's characterizations in the fandom's fics in general. It makes much more sense in context why I don't consider this hate. Also, I was able to turn it into a dialogue on the topic, and they ended up complimenting my writing style. No harm, no foul.

➼ Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do not have a single fic rated above Teen. No. I do not write smut. I don't like reading, watching, or writing sex scenes. No shame to anyone who does, though!! It just isn't for me!

➼ Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Interestingly enough, yes. It was brought to my attention by a wonderful Tumblr user, who recognized the fic on ao3 as being incredibly similar to mine, and DM'd me about it. I took a look into it and found that they copied almost the entire fic word-for-word, except for adding in a few small paragraphs and segments of their own to "hide" it. It might not have bothered me so much if not for the fact that their work was getting more popular than mine, and I'm a petty bitch. So I commented with ALL of the segments that they plagiarized (it was a very, very long comment. Multiple parts. Many segments. I also had a few words to say of my own), and said that they could either give me credit (meaning they get to keep the fic), or they can take it down themselves, write their own words, and reupload the fic.

They orphaned it after I'd commented, so I took it to the OTW and had the fic removed. I know some people don't mind when it happens, but it was kinda like spitting in my face when a commenter had said that they thought the work was like mine and they replied "oh, yeah, I liked her stuff." And then proceeded to not credit me or say I did any of the work in any capacity. It would be another thing if they had simply transferred it to another site. But the same site? Really? I was a little upset. Just a little.

For anyone curious, the fic that was plagiarized was rule #4 - fish in a birdcage.

➼ Have you ever had a fic translated?

No, but I don't want to diminish the fantastic things that have been gifted to me before! A lovely person on Instagram drew fanart for as you wave me goodbye (I have yet to figure out how to imbed images. One day I will. It's a process of hosting the images, I know. I'll get it eventually). I have since lost touch with the person and don't know their new Instagram account so I can't even credit them, which makes me sad. I've had a few works gifted to me, and one person even made me a podfic! I am so incredibly grateful for everything!!

➼ Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No. I write at the pace of an emaciated snail crawling on salt. I do not see myself ever collaborating with anyone ever, even though it would be cool. I just couldn't put that pressure on myself and the other person, only to let us both down. I do not do deadlines. I do NOT.

➼ What’s your all-time favorite ship?

I don't think I can reliably answer this question. I've given direct answers before, but it changes so often that I can't say for certain that I have a favorite. I will say, though, that all of my ships can lead back to one. One damned ship. Klance (Keith/Lance). It's always them. Always. It never stops. Voltron leaving Netflix? Good riddance. It doesn't matter. Even if Voltron is wiped off the face of the Earth, those bitches have dug a whole in my heart and will never leave. I'm literally reading a longfic about them right now. Will I ever stop? NO.

Merthur (Arthur Pendragon/Merlin) taught me what good fanfiction is, though. They have a scar over my psyche, a hot brand on my brain. It's not a painful one, but I also will never forgive BBC for what they did. No self-respecting Merlin fan can. Merthur is very, very special to me. They are definitely high up in my favorites. I can link a lot of ships back to them

as well.

➼ What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I'm going to be honest with myself: the righteous hand of god. DON'T GET ME WRONG. All of the ideas are still there. I want to finish it so, so badly. But it's been almost two years. My writing style has changed a bit, and I'm scared of uploading. Everything is still there though. I know exactly how to end it. I just wrote myself into a corner and I'm too afraid to write myself out of it.

Other than that, I have two on-going series that definitely will get more fics. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. The fics I've posted in them are completed, though, so I feel less bad for the wait.

➼ What are your writing strengths?

I think I excel when it comes to writing grief. Perhaps it's because I've had the most time with it, but my writing style shines brightest when a character is grieving something. Grief comes in many forms, and anything can be grieved. An object, a relationship, a place, a person, a personality trait, a memory - grief is not limited to death. A loss of any kind can trigger such intense emotions. I've become comfortable with it, which means I can explore and play with styles and ideas. I have two fics I'm currently actively writing: one is on the funny side, the other is more serious. They both tackle grief in a different way. The funny one explores preemptive mourning; a character is preparing himself for a relationship to be broken, thereby hardening his exterior and playing pretend. The serious fic is one that is constantly surrounded by death because the main character is immortal. He doesn't care much for death until death comes for him. Or, rather, comes for someone he's come to love. And for the first time, he understands what dying really means.

Yes. I think grief is my writing strength. It's my home, the place I find myself running back to over and over again.

➼ What are your writing weaknesses?

Grammar. I used to not proofread my works at all. Now I give them ONE read before I post them, as per my 2024 New Years Resolution. Obviously, you can see the issues. I'm sorry. Reading my own work makes me want to throw up and burn my computer. It's very hard for me, and it takes me a long time because I have to take frequent breaks. I also refuse to get a beta reader due to my inability to write at ALL and for other personal reasons, so that's definitely not helping.

I also will not rework the story most of the time. If I write a scene in it's entirety, it is STAYING and it will not get changed. It's different if I get halfway through, decide that it's dogshit, and delete it. Fully completed? I'm working around it. Unfortunately, it can make for weird pacing.

➼ What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I really don't have a strong opinion either way. When it's one or two words at a time, keeping it in the language you intend it to be in is just fine. But a lot of authors don't speak the language they are writing the dialogue for, so they Google translate it, and then don't provide a translation sample for the reader (Voltron authors are frequent offenders). As a reader, it honestly doesn't both me much? As a writer, I'll just say "'[dialogue]' They said, in Spanish." or whatever language I'm writing for. I picked up this habit from Rick Riordan when he introduced Latin in The Lost Hero, and I prefer doing that for longer bits of dialogue. When the character I'm writing doesn't know how to speak the language they are listening to, I will write it so that there isn't any written dialogue, just an indication that a character is speaking. In example, from if you need me, dear, i'm the same as i was:

Tooru’s voice is strangled and hoarse between his gasping breaths in mangled Spanish Iwaizumi doesn’t understand.

But, again, it doesn't really bother me either way. It's fun when they are in other languages! I read an IwaOi fic recently that integrated Tagalog really well into the fic. And I don't mind going back and forth between Google Translate. It's interesting sometimes! And especially with Spanish, I like to guess if I'm translating it right in my head before I Google it. The different languages can also really add to the story if done properly.

➼ What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

I've never gotten around to completing any stories for Methur from Merlin. I've written an a Merlin AU before, but it was technically an Identity V fic, so I don't think it counts.

➼ What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

with every line, a comedy, easy. Do I think it's my best-written work? ... Not anymore. I think if you need me, dear, i'm the same as i was is better. However, WELAC stands as my longest completed work, and it holds a very, very special place in my heart. It's also the only fic that I have transferred over to Fanfiction.Net!

➼ Tagging:

@pinknips @kingofech0park @3l91 @iwaoiness @kings-highway

NO pressure to anyone to do any of these. Tagging people already makes me want to throw up and pass out, so PLEASE. PLEASE know there is no pressure; I just like your guys works!

[c-goldthorn]

Hi 😊, what about 19, 22 and 25 for 2024 in review?

omg i completely forgot i rbed that list but fun! thanks for asking! here's my answers:

19. Share your favorite piece of dialogue

i'm not super big on dialogue (which i knew but looking through all the fic i've written in 2024 to answer this question: wow i avoid dialogue and the majority is hmbtr which is almost all from the notting hill movie lol) buuuuut to answer this question, this is from my hyni pink dress wip (the drabble version is somewhere on my tumblr, its not on ao3 bc i have't finished the longer version):

“Well don’t you just look darlin’,” Johnny says when he glances up and sees Benny is nearly back by his side. Benny glups, unable to hide the blush rising on his cheekbones. “Just gorgeous,” Johnny continues, patting the thigh closest to Benny. 

(and not technically dialogue but this was super fun to write in hmbtr ch 4 lol)

Lost in thought, he doesn’t see the glaring headlines printed on the tabloids, grainy photos taking up the front page of every edition below words like “"Save a Horse Indeed: Ride Gale Cleven Instead” and “"Cleven's a Real Blonde!” and "It's Definitely Him!: Cleven's Stint As An Adult Actor.”

22. What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand?

i write in pages (the apple writing app) on my laptop mostly. i dipped into google docs for a few short things, but i mostly use pages.

25. How did you recharge between fics?

haha um. so. need to find a balance there. bc i don't? 2024 was my first year writing fanfic since 2021 (and that was only one small drabble, haven't been this active writing fanfic since 2018 really) so i don't really have a system. i think i'm going to still write a little more fanfic this year so maybe i'll come up w a way to recharge in between fics (bc idk i think i got a little resentful towards my own writing at the end of 2024, if that makes any sense)

[astralscrivener]

For the End of the Year Book Ask! #3, #10, #16 <333 Let your correct onions be KNOWN Beautiful <3333

I LOVE TALKING ABOUT MY BOOK ONIONS

3. what were your top 5 books of the year?

FUCK this one took a lot of thinking

i had to go to my shelf of favorite reads of the year and it was. very tough to choose.

firstly is yellowface by r.f. kuang, which i talk about more in the next question (i answered these out of order oopsies)

second i think is the fifth season/the obelisk gate by n.k. jemisin. i read the fifth season both last year and this year for two different classes, and then finally got around to the sequel + am currently reading the third book and i am bonkers about them. i am thinking about essun and nassun and alabaster and hoa constantly. deeply unwell. a lot more geology than i had initially expected but i'm having a GREAT time

the long way to a small angry planet by becky chambers. my fucking beloved. i've literally owned the book since like 2021 but took forever to read it but i love it sooo much i love the entire wayfarer crew but i think about kizzy and ashby constantly. the socks match my hat scene was so small but lives in my head rent-free

circe by madeline miller!!!! this one is popular for a reason. i know a lot of people tend to prefer TSOA/their first introduction to miller's writing is TSOA but circe was mine bc i love the odyssey (and also the emily wilson odyssey came out before wiliad. so. i have not had the brain power to get thru the fagles translation of either one yet). anyway i loved this a lot. i connected a lot with circe as a person and a character and her entire web of relationships...i am so emo about it. also i am a circe/penelope truther and when i write a sci fi or fantasy novel very loosely inspired by their dynamic. then what. ....wait i might have just had a breakthru on one of my wips wait a minute—

and finally the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson. i think about eleanor too often. way too often. someone in the goodreads reviews commented on her loneliness and it clicked for me why i like her so much and i have not recovered <3

10. what was your favorite new release of the year?

out of the ones i read this year? yellowface by r.f. kuang. i don't read thrillers much but this one was so much. i loved it. chaotic satirical thriller criticizing the publishing industry and raising questions about ownvoices and representation, which authors and stories the industry rewards and prioritizes, the pitfalls of being a young prodigy, and also it was just bonkers. i know this one was divisive for some people but i loved it. i had a great time. i have not stopped thinking about "they called it a globule" for months.

16. what is the most overhyped book you read this year?

you know DAMN WELL what you were doing when you chose this question. kissing you on the mouth

anyway is this a safe space. is this a safe space for me to be bitch. f**rth wing. it was f**rth wing. spoilering so tumblr doesn't put it in the search for the stans to find me

it is bad. it is bad. i initially gave it i think 1.5 stars (rounded up to 2 on GR) but i hate it more every single time i think about it. there is just so much wrong with it as a book but is also emblematic of a lot of larger issues in publishing, and particularly with red tower as an imprint, but i do not have all day to rant or we will be here forever

end of year book ask!

[celinamarniss]

Year in Review

In 2023 I posted 4 fics at 58,153 words.

Previous years:

2022: 4 fics at 45,096 words.

2021: 3 fics posted, 55,788 words.

2020: 7 or 10 fics posted, 125,738 words.

2019: 7 fics posted, 72,149 words.

2018: 7 fics posted, 87,752 words

2016: 9 fics posted, 51,643 words

2017: 9 fics posted, 115,336 words

2016: 9 fics posted, 51,653 words

In total, 49 fics posted to Ao3.

We Can't Keep Meeting Like This

34,355 words, gen, Din/Luke/Mara

The Din/Luke/Mara fic I told myself I wasn't going to write! As these things tend to do, it expanded into a much longer fic than I expected. The "five things (plus one)" structure helped to keep it from spiraling even further, but those individual chapters ended up being much longer than I expected and took much longer to write. At first, I serialized the first couple of chapters in smaller excerpts for WIP Weds on tumblr. It was fun to get a little feedback and the weekly deadline compelled me to write those chapters quickly. But when engagement dropped to basically nothing I stopped posting updates and waited to post each chapter to ao3 when it was done. My progress slowed down considerably, but the chapters got longer. I had fun, most of the time.

The Girl Who Traveled the Ways Between the Walls

4,938 words, gen, Animalis verse

Written for the 5k AU fic challenge. Luminous Creatures begins with Mara and Luke's daemons settling, and I regretted never writing a story with an unsettled daemon character. I wanted to write a fic with a fairy-tale vibe and I wanted to explore the weirdness of the Imperial Palace. The Palace becomes a fairy tale wood, and Mara sets off on a quest in which she encounters strange people who aid her or demand aid. Does she learn the right lesson in the end? Perhaps not.

Echo, Revenant, Targeter, Phoenix

15,431 words, gen, Winter Retrac character study

I wrote this one for the Star Wars Big Bang, an experience that ended up being so stressful that I dropped out. I still finished the fic on time and posted it. The fic attracted a modest number of readers (unsurprising given Winter has been basically forgotten these days), but their enthusiasm was very gratifying. I've always liked Winter and I wanted to give her a chance to shine.

However, while I love the worldbuilding and individual scenes and images in this fic, as a whole I don't think it's very gracefully written and I've never been very happy with it.

Cascade

3,429 words, mature, Luke/Mara

I wanted to include A Non-Zero-Sum Game in Vol II of my printed fic collection, but the series felt unfinished without the fourth and final story that I planned to write after Tether. So five years later, I finally wrote it. It was interesting to go back to those old fics and try to write a story that fit the series. I wanted to post it before the new year broke so that I could count it in the 2023 list, and I rushed to get it out. It could probably still use some work.

As the year went on, I failed to meet a lot of the arbitrary deadlines I set myself, and that made writing frustrating and unfulfilling. I don't want it to be like that! I want fic to be fun.

However, I have a lot of non-fandom projects coming up in 2024, and I'm going to have to shift my focus away from fic, at least a little bit.

GOALS FOR 2024

(almost exactly the same as the goals for 2023)

Triumvirate Finale! (explicit, very) The big finale of the Triumvirate series, in which the trio returns to Coruscant to face the Emperor. Doesn’t have a proper title yet. Progress so far: three chapters drafted, 15,410 words.

A Smuggler’s Guide to Joining the Rebellion (gen) The sequel to The Things You Find on Tatooine. Progress: the first chapter finished, 2,241 words.

Lando Calrissian and the Jewel of Andara (gen) The Lando and Mara heist romcom I’ve been promising forever. Progress: three chapters drafted, but in need of heavy revision, 6757 words.

Other fics on the backburner:

Courtship remix

Experiments

Daughter of the Rain and Snow

More daemon fic! 

[manonamora-if]

Retrospective 2023 (3)

Haven't looked at numbers in a minute, and since my presence online has been super inconsistent (especially here) recently, I have no idea how this will end up looking. I've updated this sheet a couple of time during the year, but not in a way it tracks old numbers... Because Tumblr has a limit of 20 images per post, I won't include the graphs here, like I did last year, but in this doc (for those interested). Also, I realised I didn't even do celebration posts for milestones this year... And there were quite a few ;-; sorry

For the relevant projects, I've also included a more detailed recap of what's been done this year. All of it is under the cut.

The projects are ordered in date of release.

Forewarning, those stats are not a good representation of IF/Tumblr popularity. The numbers should not be taken as a baseline for comparison. There are many different factors that resulted in those, most of them being out of everyone’s control. I am only comparing myself to Past-Me.

2021 Releases

Status: Complete.

No major updates, since the game is complete. Only some maintenance fixes. The source code of older versions is also available on my GitHub.

Stats:

5.475 total plays (+1.7k-ish)

30 ratings (+5), with an average of 4.4/5 (+0.1)

Inside 316 collections (+108)

Almost 2.3 views/play (+0.1)

Unsurprisingly, the interest for MtP is going down. The game is complete, has not and will not have new updates. It would surprise me if it would gain any traction at this point. I expect the additional plays not to pass 600 by the end of 2024.

2023 Milestones:

5k plays

30 ratings

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Hiatus

I wanted to have an update for this project in 2023. It didn't happen. There is actually quite a bit of work to do in the code, which I had started but didn't complete.

Stats:

40.326 total plays (+12k-ish)

97 (+28), with an average of 4.6/5 (-0.1)

Inside 2.679 collections (+913)

About 2.0 view/play (+0.1)

For a year without any update, I am honestly surprised so many people still played the game this year (average of 30 plays/day). I'm very grateful about it, nonetheless. Hopefully, I'll have something to show for this year!

2023 Milestones:

30k + 40k plays

75 ratings

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Hiatus

This was another project I had planned to complete this year and... didn't. I managed to write a bit for the game, but nothing that would warrant an update.

Stats:

2.203 total plays (+760)

13 ratings (+2), with an average of 4.3/5 (+0.1)

Inside 126 collections (+38)

Went to 2.9 view/play (+0.2)

There were a few jumps in interest in Exquisite Cadaver this year, especially considering there were, once again, no updates (especially at the start of April). But nothing very substantial... I'm honestly pretty happy peeps still enjoy the game, because the whole thing is a bit strange xD

2023 Milestones:

2k plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

2022 Releases

Status: Completed

Absolutely nothing has been happening with this game, not even a bug fix or anything. When I get back to this project, it will be for a complete re-haul. Which won't happen in a long while.

Stats:

3.205 total plays (+790-ish)

19 ratings (+4), with an average of 4.3/5 (=)

Inside 293 collections (+90)

About to 2.2 view/play (+0.1)

2023 Milestones:

3k plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Completed

There was a plan to fix the issues in the game AND add new content. But, if you've followed me this year, you've seen... nothing happened! Honestly, a whole re-code of the game is needed at this point.

Stats:

1.458 total plays (+785)

16 ratings (+6), with an average of 4.5/5 (+0.3)

Inside 103 collections (+59)

About 2.1 view/play (=)

The lack of blowing up stands on two things: the game is not that good... and I don't really have an intro post peeps can share...

2023 Milestones:

1k plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Ongoing

Out of all the WIPs I have, this one got the most progress. It got two major updates during the first half of the year (one of which included a maze!). The second had been spent working especially on Chapter 5 (it's a chunker) and starting Chapter 6 (for MelS). We are trying to wrap up the project for 2024.

Stats:

9.379 total plays (+6.4k-ish) (so close…)

56 (+28) ratings, with an average of 4.8/5 (=)

Inside 783 collections (+444)

About 1.9 view/play (+0.1)

A pretty decent growth for the game, though it is not always consistent. Most interest in the project happens during updates (duh), with some dozen returning players weekly. I don't think it will ever reach the level of CRWL, but it is doing pretty well considering the genre.

2023 Milestones:

5k plays

50 ratings

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Completed(-ish)

Until the first anniversary of this project (coinciding with the EctoComp once more) this game was in French only. Since last October, it was re-written to include more rooms inside the house, and a proper ending beat. It was then translated into English, and the whole thing was recoded. There are still a few kinks I need to handle, but it is essentially complete.

Stats:

252 total plays (+181)

1 rating with 5 stars (=)

Inside 13 collections (+7)

About 4.9 view/play (-0.7)

Unsurprisingly, there was little to no interest in the game. The page was visited a bunch of times, but few people clicked (probably because it was in French. Since the translation, more users have checked out the game and played it. I don't really expect much more interest from players, unfortunately...

2023 Milestones:

100 + 250 plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW Oh... it doesn't have a page... omg.. stpid me.

Status: Completed

This year, the game was re-edited, translated to French, and recoded - a proper remaster including sound! And another game I can call complete and shelved!

Stats:

605 total plays (+270-ish)

10 ratings (+3), with an average of 4.8/5 (+0.1)

Inside 31 collections (+17)

About 3.2 view/play (+0.1)

I am not shocked to see this, honestly. It's a short meme game around a gimmick mechanic that gets old pretty quickly. Still, some interest made in late last June (somehow???) and when I published the remaster in autumn.

2023 Milestones:

500 plays

10 ratings

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Ongoing

At the start of the year, I updated this game to add a tiny bit of content (a few passages) and ensured it could be played on mobile. And published a template from this UI.

There was more content written for the game, as well as mechanics coded, but nothing is coherent enough (or devoid of bugs) to be playable.

Stats:

500 total plays (+333 !!!)

4 ratings (+4), with an average of 5.0

Inside 39 collections (+28)

About 3.0 view/play (+0.5)

Combined a tiny demo with a pre-set character, a not super popular genre, not much to do or little replayability... and you get this. I'll just check back when the game is actually complete :P Honestly, I'm just glad some peeps caught the inspiration for P-RIX.

2023 Milestones:

500 plays !!!!

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW (oh and it has both an intro post and an IFDB page now!)

2023 Releases

Now that we are going into the new releases, there is less comparing, and more putting down the base.

Status: Completed

Biggest high of this year! Released the game in January, won the comp in March, was interviewed shortly after, remastered the whole thing during the summer break (which included a total re-haul of the UI, an English translation, and increased content). Hands down my best game of the year.

Stats

967 total plays

7 ratings, with an average of 5.0

Inside 68 collections

About 3.1 view/play

Lots of views on the game page without plays for the longest time, because, up until the remaster, the game was only available in French. Things picked up then the remaster was uploaded (though it coincided with the IFComp). The game is also not available for mobile play due to its interface...

2023 Milestones:

Won the French Comp!

100 + 250 + 500 plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Hiatus

The first Act of the story was created for the SeedComp! (which didn't win anything because I organised it, and it would have been unfair :P ). There was a plan to complete the game after the SeedComp! was over, but that didn't pan out. I have notes for it, though a re-write of Act 1 may be necessary...

Stats:

633 total plays

5 ratings, with an average of 3.6

Inside 46 collections

About 2.6 view/plays

While bummed by the average, Not surprised. The game is incomplete and plays on the noir codes, which are... something (also the twist is silly). I'll pay a bit more attention to it when the game is actually complete :P Also... It never got an intro post....

2023 Milestones:

100 + 250 + 500 plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Complete

Released for the SpringThing in the Main Garden, this game was supposed to be updated by the end of last year and... it ended up needed a lot more work than expected. I am still working on it. This was my attempt in experimenting with Twine, creating a parser with a non-parser program. It... didn't work all that well as a conventional parser, but it worked pretty well for other peeps.

Stats:

650 total plays

5 ratings, with an average of 5.0

Inside 56 collections

About 2.8 view/plays

Honestly, not bad considering this is a weird parser, that worked eh and still has some issues. I won't ever expect it to blow up, honestly, but it's nice to see a play or two popup on my screen sometimes.

2023 Milestones

100 + 250 + 500 plays

PLAY | INTRO POST | RATE | REVIEW

Status: Complete-ish

Created for a French Jam where I could not choose the program, the game was then upgraded and translated into English for the Text Adventure Literacy Jam a few weeks later. It was my first proper parser game (and made with Adventuron). I still need to fix some issues and typos with the English version, and retranslate back into French...

Stats: The game has currently two pages: French and English

160 (58+88) total plays

4 ratings, with an average of 5.0 and 4.0

Inside 4 collections

About 2.8 view/plays

No surprise here. Parsers are not popular on itch. (I should maybe add it to the textadventure.co.uk website....)

PLAY FR - EN | INTRO POST | RATE FR - EN | REVIEW

Assets and Other Tiny Games

Loads happened with this sections this year, with the addition of 5 new templates, and a whole Guide for SugarCube.

In January, the Setting Template was added - with the Space-Tech UI one following at the end of March, the VN-lite UI one in July, the Character Creator in November, and the Title Page UI in December.

The Guide was released in two periods, with a pre-release before the summer, and a complete one mid-december (which included a download point).

As of last month, all templates are also available on Github, and the Guides are all "playable" on itch.

CScript to SugarCube Guide/Folder

105 downloads (114 plays)

4 rating at 5 stars

Inside 36 collections

Get it here.

Tweego Ready to Use Guide

425 downloads (51 plays)

1 rating at 5 stars

Inside 6 collections

Get it here

Note: this guide got its own page in November of this year, despite being available since 2022

SugarCube Guide

1.300 "plays" (76 download)

11 ratings at 5 stars

Inside 102 collections

Get it here

Templates

2105 downloads

25 ratings, with an average of 5.0

Inside 274 collections

Get them here

After the release of Le Jeu de la Dévotion in late December 2022, I've been participating in other game jams with tiny entries. While one did get a bit more interaction than even my larger piece (Collision, wtf), little really happened to warrant a proper section (they are really tiny!).

And so these were released:

April 2023: À la Campagne [English]

June 2023: Clarence Street, 14, Collision, Intersigne [English + French]

Aug 2023: Le Diner [English]

Oct 2023: In the Blink of an Eye [English + French]

Nov 2023: Tower of Sleep [English] <- BINKSI :D

Dec 2023: Dévoiement [French]

2023 Overall Graph

Ok I lied, one graph:

Compared to last year, the graph is less very high peaks and very low down time (with a slow increase), but a more consistent base (higher than last year) with some moderate peaks for releases (namely Harcourt's and DOL-OS). The downloads have boomed, but that's because of the templates...

The increase of overall small releases (with jam/comp entries) probably helped in this staying a bit consistent (though I could do a better job at hyping up releases before and after they happen here and in other places). It would probably have looked much different if my release focus was somewhere else (like CRWL).

And that's it for stats (I'm skipping the follower/note counts)! The 2024-plan is next!

[marshmallowgoop]

2023 Writing Review

[2017] [2018] [2019] [2021] [2022]

2023 feels like it went by so quickly that it's a little hard to find much to say about my experience with writing this year.

The fact that my free time was more devoted to video editing than to writing probably also has a lot to do with that. (2023 AMV review to come!)

Much of my writing even wound up being about video editing. One of my longest essays this year—and one of the most rewarding, insightful conversations I've ever been a part of on Tumblr—detailed the struggles of an AMV editor (or just any artist at all). I really gotta give a shout out to standardquip's thoughtful responses. Seriously, give it a look!

I usually try to highlight a post or piece of writing from each month with these reviews, but that'd seem awfully lopsided for 2023, where the majority of my essays and fics were posted in late winter. So, here's a handful of favorites instead!

HeiShinRan Love Triangle?

Shinichi and Heiji’s Parents

The Boy’s Return of a Favor - Chapter 1 (Detective Conan fic)

take the bullet (Detective Conan fic)

Thoughts on Mamoru Hosoda's Belle

Mixing an Old Anime Dub with HD Footage

Short AMVs Aren’t Inherently Effortless

Unethical to Like an Anime Dub That Makes Dialogue Changes?

Or most of them because this year wasn't a heavy writing year.

The end of 2023 admittedly makes me feel a bit sad; there was so much more writing that I wanted to finish before it came to a close. But I'm so grateful for the support and kind comments that the writing I did post received across all 12 months. Thank you, and Happy New Year! On to 2024!

[merv606]

How'd you get into KK/CK, and how'd you get into Silverusso? :3

Long post is long and rambling

I never even made it through KK3 before I was whipping out my phone checking AO3 for stories 😂

I actually go into it through Tumblr - although I never created an account I would check certain blogs on Tumblr for other things and would see posts for it.

The 80’s is my least favourite decade - for fashion music and movies 😂 - and I suppose I’ll be run out of town for that statement - so I had never seen any of the KK.

I did know who Ralph Macchio was and I did know Karate kid - the story of it and of course the crane kick is literally part of the pop culture lexicon.

I read some Lawrusso stories on AO3 and ended up looking up the movies - reviews and summaries etc and general research on it - to know what was canon Vs fanon.

I remember reading the reviews and even stuff in KK3 thinking - no way is that in a kid’s karate move from the 80’s lol

Of all the KK movies it was KK3 I wanted to watch the most - I went hunting for clips on YouTube etc

I eventually watched CK by myself - and was explaining it to a friend of mine - we get together and watch movies every week - and he loves the KK movies and the 80’s - so I suggested he watch it and he told me to watch the movies.

So, we decided to marathon the three KK movies (for me) before starting the two seasons of CK (for him) - that were available at that time - which we also marathoned.

We ended up doing it out of sequence though - we watched CK two seasons first then the KKs.

That was mid to late December of 2020 I believe - when I did the movies and shows.

We actually did the first two seasons of CC mid December and KK was after Christmas before new years.

I do remember that cutting into Christmas movie watching so we could get it done in time for season 3 lol- which premiered Jan of 2023 - we ended up marathoning that the day it released and have down every subsequent season lol

He also wouldn’t let us watch the KK series out of sequence when I said to start with three first.

My memory is crap but pretty sure that’s how it went

So spring/summer of 2020 was kind of my introduction to it all - when it first pinged my radar because, I’m pretty sure that before I wrote the first story - the pegging series - which was late Nov/early Dec of 2020 - I hadn’t actually watched the show or any KK at that point - I wrote that blind - based on clips, gif sets and the summaries/reviews I read.

Considering it was Covid and I marathoned the movies and show with a friend and Season three premiered Jan of 2021, it was definitely December where I actually watched it.

We did the KK1 and 2 back to back and then the next week was KK3 and a Christmas movie lol

I remember KK3 - after the dojo scenes 🥵- phone out checking AO3 - not even joking - never even made it though before I was checking and was so crushed when there was only like two stories - because the potential - the size difference the sugar daddy AUs - and I chalked it up to the age of the movie and the fact that it wasn’t the most popular of the franchise.

I remember thinking Daniel was early 20’s - considering Macchio’s age and Daniel leasing a building lol and when I googled his birthday it said Dec of 1966 making him 18 almost 19 in it.

The enigma that is his age and that movie in general - such a hot mess the timeline.

I also looked up TIG and Macchio while watching it and found out Ralph’s four or so months older than TIG - we got a kick out of that 😆

[iiyanadesu]

I'm back on tumblr! \o/ Maybe not

A lot of things happened between the last post (should be 2021 bc it was about SAO Progressive: Aria of the Starless Night and Free! Final Stroke vol. 1) and now.

Eh. More under cut, I guess.

My life is a bit messy right now. My mom and sister-in-law have been ill (mom with stroke since August last year, sister-in-law with something angina / mild heart attack last June) so I've been on part-time caretaker + driver duties. Add my husband and yeah, 3 people to take care of. Haha. Still manageable I guess, except that I have to go back home every weekend so I have too little time to clean up my rental room here.

Good thing tomorrow is a holiday so I can do that. I wanted to get rid a lot of "treasures" lol

(People have been telling me to just move workplaces nearby home. Uh, nope.)

I have been a fan of SAO doujinshi (mostly bottom Kirito), but money is somewhat tight for now. Lots of doujinshi shops are closed, e.g. Meikido and C-Queen. Luckily I found a new proxy named Buy Doujinshi which also offers scanning services (a relief because I no longer want my doujinshi to be confiscated lol so embarrassing). There are a lot of titles I have missed (as usual), but maybe I can review those I have bought. Or maybe even share the pdfs I have lol idek

My family also built a new house! It's a small one just beside the old house. Everyone now moved there, but we still keep the electric and water lines connected for feast cooking or whatever. Too many plates for a house with 3 people though 😂😂😂

I also haven't been drawing. I don't know what to draw. I just go to work, eat, play games, sleep nowadays. Yeah.

Oh, and I have become a manhwa fan. I don't read many manhwa though. My favourites are:

1. The Greatest Estate Developer

2. Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint

3. S-Classes that I Raised

4. Solo Max-Level Newbie

5. Death is the only Ending for the Villainess

Ok I guess, that is all.

[daja-the-hypnokitten]

Jukebox reviews part 53! For context, see my post “A Project” under  this same tag. If you want to see a full list of his EMCSA stories,  they can be found here, sorted alphabetically.And if you want to see some of his drabbles, check out his blog at @jukeboxemcsa​ 

This will be a longer review post than the rest, as there were 535 stories and I’ve been posting in sets of 10. This one has the last 15, and is the final one unless and until I decide to start going by year (so do the rest of 2021,say). This has been a fun project, and best of all I’ve taken ideas whole cloth or in patchwork to use with my partners, and gotten a better sense of what I want in my mind control fiction. Seriously, though, I can’t recommend Jukebox’s work enough - whatever you’re into, I’m sure you’ll find *something* to like in his stories.

(The next story after this one, “Never Have I Ever”, was the first story Jukebox cross-posted to Readonlymind.com, hence the cut-off)

 Language Barrier (Jukebox)

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

10/10/2020                                   mc mf md

Well, I've been hypnotized in a language I didn't understand before - also French, as it happens - and it can be really fun. That said, I wish I knew enough French to figure out what he's saying, but alas, I took Spanish instead. And it doesn't really matter; if anything, the lack of understanding adds to the story a little. It's a good story, too! Though the ending is a little bit meh to me, being mostly purely about sex. 8/10 spirals 

 Rabbit Hole (Jukebox)

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

10/17/2020                                   mc mf md ma

Oh hi there tumblr, that sounds so very like you. (in the best of ways). Tumblr's good for rabbit holes like that, and gosh, Jukebox has a way of making a (somewhat condensed) process feel entirely too real. I'm fairly sure I've seen a few of the names/users/files/etc he's referencing or was inspired by. (Brain Blaster? Yeah, I know a file with a similar alliterative name that gets reblogged around now and again). This is just a fun story, really, especially for those of us who remember the days of Hypnotumblr pre-tumblr porn ban. 9/10 spirals 

 Kiss on the Neck

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

10/31/2020                                   mc ff ft

*shudders* nope, sorry, I don't like things against my neck, I have to be extremely particular about what sorts of turtlenecks I wear, and usually I go for mock turtlenecks, so the tactile imagery early in this one literally made me shudder. Especially for Silicon Valley, where it doesn't even get that cold!! Turtlenecks are for below-freezing weather, not Bay Area weather, c'mon! That all said, it's a good image, the contrast inherent to the style, and used quite well. 9/10 spirals 

 Under My Skin

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

10/31/2020                                   mc ff sf

Another horror-style story, not so much erotic, and so not to my taste. Kinda zombie-like only not quite, and in a way that's unsettling. Not my style. 

 You Don’t Have to Worry

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

11/7/2020                                     mc mf md

Oh, well, that sums up one of the many draws of hypnokink, clearly. Being blank, no thoughts meaning no worries, just ... all of it. Yeah, unsurprisingly, Jukebox gets it. And makes puts it on the page so well. The unethical nature of it is naturally a little bleh, but easy to look past in the context of the story. He just gets it. 10/10 spirals 

 Familiar Taste of Poison

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

11/14/2020                                   mc mf md

Why would you ruin a perfectly good cup of cocoa with something bitter? Seriously, put it in coffee, that's bitter enough she'd never notice anyway. Or I guess you could do Mexican hot cooca, that has more bitterness to it, but not that much ... ok, ok, I'll stop being passionate about my hot cocoa now. That aside, the making her trust him only to betray her ... it rubs me wrong. But then, if you've been reading my reviews, you know betrayal is a turn off, so there's that. And it's a little villain monologue-y for me. 6/10 spirals 

 Me Time

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

11/21/2020                                   mc ma

Hee, I enjoy this. Especially because I'm tentatively planning to use rose scent to bespell one of my girlfriends at some point here. So the use of rose in this story? yes, it jumps out at me. And seeing her just relax into it, like she knew and was inviting what's to come, even as she's so clearly forgotten? Oh yes, consensual amnesia for shenanigans is a personal favourite. I could do without the water, but otherwise? This is right up my alley. 9/10 spirals 

 Worth the Wait (Jukebox)

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

11/28/2020                                   mc mf md

Eee, Rosita and Mateo are back! This is a sequel to Plain Gold Ring, and it's just as sweet and cute as the last. Also the use of "noptepus" makes me grin, it's such a cute bit. I'm glad they're talking it out and being smart about it, and also that they're clearly happy together. Even if Rosita feels like she's been waiting rather too long for it. Patience is rewarded, though. 10/10 spirals 

 Catch Your Shadow

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

12/5/2020                                     mc mf md

This is really good, right up until the horror influences peak out towards the end. Which makes sense for a JB story, seeing as how he's a horror fan, but for me it kinda pulls the rug out from under me? Still, it's a good story, even if the actual mind control part is a little abrupt, and of course it's all magic, that's the basic premise from the beginning. 8/10 spirals 

 Absent Minded Me

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

12/12/2020                                   mc

Another induction, and using pleasure to train amnesia. It's a solid approach, though one I'm not really qualified to evaluate the efficacy of? I'm one of those folk who did spontaneous amnesia from the jump until I was actively trained out of it, and amnesia suggestions come naturally for me. But hey, if you're trying to practice, maybe give this a read and let yourself go with it? 9/10 spirals 

 Boy Inside the Man

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

12/19/2020                                   mc mm rb

There's probably something to discuss between the Girls(tm) coming off as gentle and caretakers (right up until they take control) and the Boys being so aggressive. The Girls(Tm) playing on underlying cultural associations to be disarming, maybe, and Revolution Technology betraying their own assumptions and biases? IDK, but every story with the Boys just makes me like them less and want more stories with the Girls(tm) more. Personal preference, I suppose. either way, I don't like the aggression here, even if Tommy seems to have enjoyed himself. 7/10 spirals 

 Jailbreak

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

12/26/2020                                   mc mf ff md fd ma cb

Ok, but *why* was it? How was it? Jukebox, that ending is NOT FAIR. At ALL. Who is only one of the important questions. That all said, this is another Liberty Legion story, so I naturally really enjoy it, especially seeing even one of the strongest of the team pushed to her limits. But it does leave me with more questions than answers. 9/10 spirals 

 Zoinks!

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

1/2/2021                                       mc mf ff md

Of course a story with this title is a Scooby Doo parody. There was never any choice in the matter, was there? And as someone who's entirely too fond of rendering my redheaded girlfriend helpless with a gold (ok, brass, but STILL) coin, I'm fond of this story. The end isn't my cup of tea, exactly, (betrayal never is) but the rest is wonderful. 8/10 spirals 

 Desire Brings Me Back

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

1/9/2021                                       mc ff

Oh, I enjoy Staysa's delivery rather a lot here. The rest of it isn't .... it's a bit "magic drug does whatever the author needs it to" for my personal tastes, and the "bisexuality to be used in spywork but never acknoweldeged" hits a little too close to home, with how society fetishizes but also demonizes queer identities. I prefer escapism to seeing these things reflected in my stories, as a personal preference, so that's a bit of a turnoff for me. Seeing Clarice's attempts at rationalizations, even as she knows that they are rationalizations, are fun though. 7/10 spirals 

 Queen Lullabye

 date uploaded   date updated     Tags

1/16/2021                                     mc ff

And the last review of the current stage of this project! After this, Jukebox started posting to ROM as well as the EMCSA, and that's my arbitary cutoff (because I needed A cutoff). And what a story it is, a story of a Fae Queen of sleep and slumber and dreaming. Such a story to read right before going to a hypnocon with my Fae-like girlfriend. Not that either of us would do the sex thing in this story, but the "you may pay in service"  line might just happen? Thanks for the inspiration, Jukebox! And while there's a fair bit of sex in this one, it's all in service of the control so it doesn't bother me as it does sometimes. 10/10 spirals

[treesap-blogs]

Happy Saturday! Here’s a review of “The Outlaws Scarlett And Browne” by Jonathan Shroud!

Hello, Tumblrians! Whilst we may not be nearing our 20th Tumblr Review yet (although the combined superpowers of my depression and my ADHD may get us alarmingly close to that goal in a short period of time if I don’t exercise restraint and stick with the 3 books per week thing), it is a special occasion nonetheless! This marks my 13th review! I don’t know if any of you guys know this, but 13 is my favorite number!!! (I like the supernatural/superstitious connotations with it. Mysterious!) (and partially out of spite, I like to think of it as lucky. Not that we’ll need that for this review, anyhow.)

Anyhow! Time for my personal favorite section, presumably your least favorite: 💫Book Backstory Time💫, the segment in which I explain how I encountered a book, a la Blob Of Text On A Recipe Before The Actual Recipe! I found out about it from Mellowkotto’s stories on Instagram, particularly when they talked about the bank robbery scene at the beginning. For some reason that was enough to sell it to me(which is so funny, because they just talked about liking Scarlett), and I ended up talking about the book to my mom because I’d put it on my notes app TBR. Didn’t catch onto why she asked at least twice or thrice for the title despite her only reading nonfiction books, but she messaged my mildly rich grandfather who gets my brother and I annual Christmas gifts, and swear I remember I opened up a December 2021 Christmas present to find it inside! (Goodreads lists a different release date for that?! Maybe it’s just the UK version or something, I live in the U.S. and it probably was put out at a different time. Plus, my copy has a different cover than the one I put under my “Read” folder/shelf.) I read the first fifty or so pages that night by the light of a Skittles-scented candle, and got to 100 or so by the end of winter before being a little burnt out and stopping. That was before I had a consistent reading schedule, though! Once I got one in 2022, I read a bit further until I forgot about it in my reading queue that was full of library books(literally the only reason I read fast haha), until I basically cleared that up this year and finished it! So it has technically taken me over a year to read this book. Lovely.

The Outlaws Scarlett And Browne is the first in a trilogy(only 2 books are out at the moment), following young adult crook Scarlett McCain. She’s on the run after committing a bank heist(which is slightly unusual for her because the stakes brought on by being chased by the law after just robbing a small bank are weirdly high?), and whilst doing so she encounters a boy around her age named Albert Browne. How did he end up the only remaining person in a bus that got completely totaled? Scarlett doesn’t know. But he tags along, and whilst they flee from the law through the woods, it seems like Albert’s hiding a lot of things from her. Is he a threat? Is he as he seems? What even is he hiding that makes officials so eager to catch him, and why is he wanted? Again, Scarlett doesn’t know. But she’s about to find out when they hesitantly form an alliance of sorts that develops into a friendship.

To be honest, I knew nothing about Jonathan Stroud until I picked up this book. Lockwood & Co., while not being his debut series, was by far his most popular (and no longer has a niche audience now that the Netflix series is out), and that’s kind of all I knew about? Ghost stuff and teens. And before that there was a different series that flipped magical realm morals on their head, and got him in the public eye(Barthemius, was it called? Some distinctly European fantasy name like that). So that set a lot of peoples’ expectations for this book very high, and many believed it didn’t deliver on that because it wasn’t as strong or original as some of his other works. I can’t comment on it that much, as I have no other works of his I can go off of, but I do think the overall world just doesn’t stick out for me.

Firstly! The plot, while interesting, didn’t really have anything I was all too surprised by. It felt like other things I’d find in other novels: a heavy reliance on “biological perfection” and the extreme lengths went to preserve that(albeit they were barely shown for this book, only mentioned frequently and remaining a looming threat), futuristic European setting (divided England was an interesting concept though, and London being split up into the islands for the refugees to inhabit), guy with secret dangerous powers that are probably enough for the FMC to worry about if their motives are unclear. (Here though, Maroon’s dynamic—the ship name for Albert and Scarlett, get it because scarlet and brown(e) make maroon—is left up to interpretation as to whether it’s strictly platonic, or a romantic thing, something worth nothing because that last bit is usually something an FMC is drawn to in a romantic subplot.) It was also simultaneously the first and not the first fantasy dystopia-ish novel I’ve read?! (I started it a year before The Belles, but finished it afterwards.)

With that said, though, there was one welcome change of pace I enjoyed: the lack of gender stereotypes with our main characters? While Scarlett faces some sexism during the book, her femininity isn’t used as a way to paint her out to be “less than”, nor is she automatically reduced to a “Not Like Other Girls” archetype by putting other women down for being “too girly”(something that might happen, with an action heroine written by a straight male author). Albert was also one of my favorites!! He’s unashamedly that person who posts about “haters being jealous of his childlike wonder”(please don’t take this literally it’s a meme reference, social media does not exist in TOSAB lmao), but then he..sometimes kills people too lmao?!?! Morally reprehensible ones, granted, but he’s still doing it with his volatile abilities and it does get suspicious the sheer number of foes trying to track him down(which is due to his abilities, he can make things go ka-bloom if he gets too scared, and he can also read minds without the tiring emotional outtake). I loved his duality as it was humorous at times, and that he was written to be more like a young adult than a stereotypically “guyish” or “manly” deuteragonist. 

(Shoutout to Joe though, for trusting Albert with Ettie because he’s good with kids, even though he has abilities that could accidentally kill her, and not trusting Scarlett with her because she’s not good with kids even though she’s just some powerless person who’d have to put physical effort into harming Ettie lmao. Saw a reader point out the irony in that, though it was funny in hindsight.)

Him and Scarlett were solid protagonists, too! It took a bit for Scarlett to warm up to Albert, but by the end of the book they cared a lot about each other, and it was sweet to see that both in how glad they were the other person was still alive, and how Albert took a page out of Scarlett’s book and was inspired to stand up against Dr Calloway(the scientist who’d been abusing him for years). (Heck, the two even decided to briefly take care of their companion’s granddaughter together! The moment in that sketchy building where they’re trying to calm down Ettie and lead her back to the boat so she doesn’t get eaten by monsters is my favorite part.) They also had distinctive personalities, which contrasted in a way that made their dynamic interesting. Their banter was interesting! (I giggled a few times but Scarlett definitely went a bit too far in some of her insults before she warmed up to Albert, like..girlie was out of left field once in the book particularly, and I think people who’ve read it will know when💀)

Anyways. Conclusion is, I thought this book was okay. Had I not been brought here by a pre-established Shroudverse fan, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed it as much! About 1/3rd through, I relied on the guidance of My Chemical Romance’s music in order to give me motivation to reach the halfway point. Perhaps Shroud’s other books are stronger in themes and plot, but at least the characters stuck. (I’ll give that to him, he can write MC dynamics well.)

Book rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. (This rating’s a versatile one, I’ve realized? Some 3 star books are mediocre, others are enjoyable but lack a few things to make them amazing.)

~Paz, signing off!

(Book content/trigger warnings: Some instances of physical/emotional abuse,  frequent mentions of ableism and slavery(the latter is not racial and isn’t described on page), general violence like guns and a bit of blood, sexism/misogyny.)