#i'm surprised i didn't have more results in my WIPs for that

[iron-parkr]

Fanfic Work in Progress Guessing Game: Solace

-Rhuben

Ooh, that's a good one!!

From from my Doctor Who fic, A Single Thread of Gold Chapter 4: Harbinger of Death:

"Crossing her arms over her chest, nails digging half moons into her skin, she looked out at the console room, eyes dancing over the round things on the wall like they might give her the solace she craved."

Not a super recent WIP, but a WIP nonetheless!

Thank you so much for asking!!

Fanfic Work-In-Progress Guessing Game

[riaaanna]

It's well past a "recap" moment but Queen I (2024) was an absolutely delightful surprise with some memorable gems 🥹❤️ so I wanted to make a gratuitous, shameless list of Top 5 from my own archive, just as a memory of how lucky we are to still be able to get so much new content, from a 50+ year old band, in the year of our lord 2024.

#5) Brian and Roger on a press conference for a Queen release.

Sounds like nothing at first but when was the last time this happened that wasn't the 2018 movie or anything QAL related? Not even the Miracle boxset got this treatment. Feels like the start of a new era, the flip of a new page. If they so decide to take tours a lot slower or eventually retiring completely, I would be #1 to say I don't mind them doing it in favour of digging into the old vault, or even possibly releasing new material. (That video was the most crumbs I could collect ANYWHERE btw, and even then it was by request and buried af 💀 amazed at how scarce any video was from that event...)

#4) The boxset of unseen lyrics handwritten by baby Queen.

As if I haven't been vocal enough, the entire boxset is absolutely precious. But my personal love is for these new handwritten materials (which... may have been more in quantity than the unseen photos maybe? I didn't keep exact count but it certainly feels that way). Freddie's WIP lyrics, the band's early gig deals, Roger's diary entries and Brian's personal gig reports (!!). Underrated and hope people appreciate more of these in the future, so the band can see that there's demand for it and release more of them!

#3) My Fairy King: raw acapella and piano (without using AI splitter!)

For legal reasons please note that I've never had an iPhone ever 💀✌️ Please listen to these amazing vocals AND piano (the latter used to be buried in the original mix, listen to the 2024 version during the instrumentals near the end, they definitely had newfound appreciation to the piano and pulled it up to be significantly audible!!) . This, and the outtake in the boxset, is further glorious evidence of their musical complexity sooo early on in their career ❤️.

#2) John Harris' official reappearance to the public Queen fandom.

What a moment to behold, this one. John Harris got in touch with the fanclub and was supposed to appear in 2023 (when I was there!) but it finally happened last year and I don't think words could do justice how historical this one was! There was a preamble to this where he was a guest for a Japanese tour group visiting Ridge Farm, which was SO difficult for me to get anything from, for literal MONTHS (bit of language barrier, bit of gatekeeping, lots of both lmao). So it was only until October at the convention that we finally got to see him and his wholeass Comic Sans Powerpoint.

From this point I will redirect you all to @justlike-awoman's post of the recap of his full conversation above (I'm sorry to keep tagging you on my shit like this El ily ❤️) from the fanclub magazine!! Read through!!

Bonus: among all the posts, this is the least where I had a hand in that actually produces a result, BUT to justify this having a place in my list of contributions, here is a stupid diagram I drew for El for where to get a seat at the convention during his session, in case of a Hunger Games scenario 😂 that's as far as I can claim lmaooo

#1) (re)Discovering baby John Deacon!

Gosh, I think that whole post is self-explanatory. Obviously, the first-hand credits aren't mine (which applies to all the posts I link here btw). But I will take that I Thanos-hand-memed this to fruition lmao. From randomly finding Jim Jenkins' post and him guessing incorrectly and me being gatekept by a website admin and finally getting confirmation from Brian himself lmao what a ride and a highlight of the year.

So thank you Queen in 2024, it's been a blast! Excited for 2025 where we'll hopefully get in time: Queen II (2025), Live at Brixton Academy (Gold Series) and... other Queen official and fan events to come! 🤞💖

[septembriseur]

i just went in for another reread of the old words, and it remains one of the most gorgeous and brutal character studies ever posted on ao3 dot edu lol. i have found myself thinking about it a lot recently, since it is so much about violence and survival and existential anxiety when one's country has basically ceased to exist and one's citizenship is toxic. your musings on that kind of victimhood/perpetration balancing act and the resulting power paradox have really clarified things for me. but it is quite a different experience to be reading it in october 2024 than it was to read it in may 2021. and i know that your own life has changed so much since then. i seem to remember you saying somewhere that you went into writing it with ethical questions, and writing it didnt answer those questions, but it got you closer. it would be interesting to see you do a postmortem on that fic now. only if you want to! much love.

Well, first of all, THANKS.

It's crazy reading that story and seeing how clearly ideas (or revelations?) were percolating that would become fully formed after August 2021.

In terms of the central moral statement, I think it holds up. Actually, I'm struck by the light it sheds on a struggle I've been having recently: how to explain to people why torture and collateral damage are wrong. (Yes, this is a real, practical problem I'm dealing with.) I find myself wanting to explore the idea more, particularly because I'm surprised by how much I really like the Zemo that I created. (I was so good at writing dialogue then!)

I suppose I also feel that I didn't too badly at communicating other things, because there are parts that I feel so much more strongly about now that I could almost cry reading them, even when they're a little heavy-handed.

There are definitely technical things about the story that I would change. I don't think I had a fully formed idea of what I thought Sokovia was, and that ended up developing in more detail in my subsequent WIP. (Somewhere I have an extraordinarily detailed timeline of Sokovian history.) I had a shallower understanding of almost all of the issues involved: what it means to live with a history of violence; what it means to have lost your homeland; what it means to be "developing." I also think that I was more cautious and less radical than I am now:

I'm struck, in particular, by how I felt the need to clearly signal (at least inasmuch as I ever clearly signal anything in my stories) that, while rape was used as a weapon of war by Sokovian forces, Zemo did not participate. This seems cowardly. I'm very troubled by the way that, in general, fic treats rape as a kind of moral horizon. Characters can torture, murder, even mass murder— commit a variety of other war crimes— but to rape makes one an Evil Person. This, of course, is crazy. The men who rape in war are just as banal as other war criminals. I can imagine a more effective and less popular version of this fic in which Zemo did use rape as a weapon of war, which is consistent with the historical examples I've drawn on, and must overcome that as well as the rest of his sins. In fact, I very much want to write that story— if only I could carve out the time to do it.

Somewhere inside me is a great truly radical postcolonial fic. Or, well, I have an original sci-fi novel that I've outlined that gets into some of the same issues, but really I'd love to write a truly savage Zemo fic, in part because I want it to be a commentary on the sanitized antipolitics of the MCU.

In summation: it's not perfect, but I still love it, and I wish I could write more.

[wildlife4life]

Inspiration Saturday

Tagged by @steadfastsaturnsrings Thank you!

Do I have other wips besides NFL Buck? Yes. But lately I have been on an writing roll with this fic and I love all the anticipation there is for it. So, here is a mood board (collage?) and short snippet for inspiration Saturday. It is a continuation of Buck's perspective of draft night from yesterday. (Go here for all things NFL Buck)

"Ali is the sneakiest bitch." Buck mumbles in his boyfriend's shoulder and it shakes with his amusement, "She's also becoming my favorite person in the world." Eddie unburied his face from Buck's hair and dragged the tip of his nose down to press into the younger man's temple, "I agree with the sneakiness. I'm still trying to figure out how the hell she was able to get me in the theater to see you be drafted on such short notice. Also, either Ali is the nicest, most compelling agent or just downright frightening because that woman got the hotel staff to break their privacy policy and give me a key to your room over the fucking phone." Buck lets out a barking laugh and squeezed Eddie even tighter, "I've learned to never question her methods and just enjoy the end results." He pulled his face from the paramedic's shoulder and put a scant few inches between them so he could look into those soft tawny eyes he'd had hoped to see this day. God they were so much better than his imagination, wide and sparkling with pride and elation. "I am enjoying this result so fucking much." Eddie's warm calloused hand gently clamped the back of Buck's neck and closed the short distance put between them. Plush, warm lips pressed eagerly into Buck's and pushed away the last of his disheartened emotions from the draft. Almost everything he'd been wanting that evening, came to fruition, just not in the way he expected. But it was okay. Buck was kissing a man who he never even hoped of finding, yet here was Eddie, wanting him, loving him just as much as Buck does. The unexpected, helped him achieve his NFL dreams and so much more. So it was okay that Christopher wasn't present. Buck would see his best friend in a few short days and throw a just as grand celebration with him. (As for Maddie, soon the rookie quarterback will have the means and connections to help her.) It was okay that a part of himself had to be kept hidden, it wouldn't be forever. Eddie supported and understood staying a secret because he truly loved Buck and wanted him to achieve his dreams. It was okay and the ache in Buck's chest loosened. He still wants so much, but Buck understands he can't have it all at once. For the time being, he can embrace what he already has and that especially applied to his surprise guest. Eddie's kiss deepened and the fingers on his free hand traced the top button on the Texan's draft pick's dress shirt. Buck's own hands released their tight grip on Eddie's forearms and slid down to his hips. Buck breaks the kiss, just a for a quick second to whisper, "I want you." "You have me." Eddie replies breathlessly before giving Buck a devilish smirk, "But you can have me however you want." And Buck is definitely okay with that.

I know we all want things to be more than okay for Buck and Eddie. And maybe it will be. Or maybe, just maybe I really put these the boys through the ringer a few times... Wouldn't be a 911 fic if I didn't. Lol. But I do hope you all enjoyed!!!!!

Tagging (no pressure): @daffi-990 @diazsdimples @theotherbuckley @disasterbuckdiaz @devirnis @fortheloveofbuddie @wikiangela @exhuastedpigeon @spotsandsocks @lover-of-mine @jesuisici33 @bekkachaos @thewolvesof1998 @giddyupbuck @eddiebabygirldiaz @hippolotamus @rainbow-nerdss @spaceprincessem @athenagranted @eddiescowboy @evanbegins @elvensorceress @malewifediaz @911onabc @911-on-abc @loserdiaz @hoodie-buck @try-set-me-on-fire @ladydorian05 @bigfootsmom @watchyourbuck @thekristen999 @spagheddiediaz @monsterrae1 @rogerzsteven @honestlydarkprincess @bitchfacediaz @buck-coded @housewifebuck @glorious-spoon @buddierights @prosperdemeter2 @lemonzestywrites @gayedmundodiaz @cal-daisies-and-briars @transboybuckley

[bokutos-last-brain-cell]

Hii I absolutely love your bakk ajr series so much!! I love reading fics where bokuto has adhd and you write it with so much care and love. Your fic series is so beautiful and the hurt/comfort is so good!!

I'm sunshinebokuto btw, this is a sideblog so I didn't want it to get confusing since tumblr doesn't let you send send asks from sideblogs hence the anon ajdhdkd I just wanted to say that I saw your tags on my bokuto post and went "wait bakk ajr series?? I remember that!!" ajdhdj it was a nice surprise and it'd be so exciting if you decide to write that in the series!! No pressure or anything at all I just thought I'd let you know that I really love your series <3

OMG wait, you’re one of my readers? That is so cool, what a weird little bit of serendipity that I stumbled across your post!! (Though it does make sense as a fellow Bokuto lover)

Thank you so much for the kind words about my writing in that series, it’s one that specifically holds a very dear place in my heart as a neurodivergent person!

I have been meaning to continue working on the series, I already have multiple WIPs going even, but the reason I haven’t gotten to upload another part to it is because I’ve been running into a couple roadblocks that I can’t seem to figure out, largely due to continuity.

(You don’t necessarily have to read this next paragraph, it’s partially me voicing my thoughts out loud as I ruminate on things, though if anyone has some input on it, I’d love to hear what y’all think) The main one is that I realized about a year and a half ago that alongside being ADHD, I’m also autistic, and it occurred to me that I’ve unknowingly also been writing Bokuto as autistic as a result, but I haven’t included anything about him being autistic in the narrative and introspection of the stories. With the timeline of the main events of the series, he’s already established in his career, but what made me realize that I’m autistic is how much I was struggling with the massive change in routine of living away from home for my last two years of university. Maybe I’m overthinking this and just getting in my own head about it and it really isn’t that complicated but part of me is wondering if it’s too late to incorporate him being autistic??? I want to have his realization be due to the same circumstances but even though I’ve included things into the other stories that allude to him also being autistic, I don’t know if it’d mess with the continuity. Granted, most of the neurodivergent-specific things I’ve touched on in the series have been ADHD-related but Idk if there’s an organic way to just slot in him being autistic too

Either way, I do hope to get to writing more for the series and there’s already a couple I can think of where I could include that little detail you mentioned in your post, so that’s absolutely going to be in the series if I have anything to say about it (And I do, because I’m the author :D)! Thank you once again for the sweet comments, I love hearing from the people who read and enjoy my stories!!

[rmd-writes]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

thanks @liminalmemories21 @lemonlyman-dotcom for the tags! It's been a minute since I've done a version of this game

1. How many works do you have an AO3? 92

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 678,345 but that includes a bunch of collabs and co-written fics so not all of those words are mine. I never tracked my actual word count, but at a guess I'd say at least 150,000 of those words aren't my own

3. What fandoms do you write for? Red, White & Royal Blue, 911 Lone Star and, theoretically, Schitt's Creek although it's been a very long time since I've written any SC fic.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? leaving out the multi-author collabs that I've contributed a chapter to, I am unsurprised that these are all RWRB fics:

Everybody needs good neighbours | RWRB | E | neighbours au | 14.3k

to the victor, the spoils | RWRB | E | lawyer au | 19.4k

yours for the afternoon | RWRB | T | coffee shop meet cute | 4.6k

What, like it's hard? | RWRB | E | lawyer au prequel | 65.1k

this one surprised me because I haven't actually checked my stats in ages:

Are You Screwing With Me? | RWRB | E | grindr au | 6.5k

5. Do you respond to comments? I try to! I'm not particularly punctual about it though.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? The only fic(let) I've ever written with an angsty(ish) ending hasn't been published and I'm not sure it ever will, but it's the result of @howtosingit saying something like, "whatever you do, don't imagine that the Huntington's test went the other way and the ending of Queen Charlotte."

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? all of them? idk they all have happy endings, maybe What, like it's hard? (obligatory A/N to say do not read that fic if you haven't read to the victor, the spoils first, please.)

8. Do you get hate on fics? It's not a regular thing, thankfully.

9. Do you write smut? lol (that's a yes).

Oh actually! Lil bit of railmedaddy lore: when I first started writing SC fic and chose my ao3 name (which was inspired by Dan Levy's appearance on SNL), it was meant to be a joke because railmedaddy was never ever going to write smut, didn't think she'd be capable of ever doing that, actually. That lasted all of ... maybe 6 months.

10. Do you write crossovers? The closest I've ever come is this snippet in response to an ask about how and where David, Patrick, Alex, Henry, Carlos and TK might meet.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of, I hope not!

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Yes! Make the Yuletide Gay (Tarlos) was translated into simplified Chinese. I was honoured that anyone would want to go to the trouble of doing that!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? yes, with @welcometololaland my beloved 💖 and I love doing it because it's so much fun

Call Me (By My Name) | Tarlos | E | phone sex au | 65.5k

(Un)professional Services | Tarlos | E | lawyer/accountant au | 63.3k

I do have a bunch of other collaborations, but they're not co-written per se, in that we each wrote a chapter but didn't necessarily write the whole thing together.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? I'm not sure that there's anything in actual WIP form with words on the page that I both want to finish and don't think I will? There are a lot of ideas that I'd like to write but don't think will ever actually happen.

16. What are your writing strengths? Someone tell me, please. Thinking about comments on my fics and the things that I actually like writing (I think my writing is better when I'm really enjoying it), it's probably banter and smut with feelings.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? World building, pretty metaphors and similes. I think my writing is repetitive so don't look too closely, especially if you read my fics in more than one fandom.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? If it's in character, then why not? The times I have included substantial Spanish dialogue, I have a native Spanish speaker look over it and help with translations because I don't want to rely on google translate.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Schitt's Creek

20. Favorite fics you've written? The collabs with Lola I linked ^^, The Grindr Toolbox: A Guide to Getting Nailed series is something that I had so much fun with and I'm very proud of, who am i if i can't carry it all aka June fic which I poured my heart and soul into, I don't think there's any other fic I've written that has so much of myself in it, this year i will fall which is my RWRB Hallmark Christmas fic.

tagging @welcometololaland @kiwiana-writes (mostly to make you compliment yourself again ily) @indestructibleheart @three-drink-amy @reyesstrand @carlos-in-glasses @heartstringsduet @orchidscript + open tag

[lennsart]

Thank you to everyone who voted on my previous poll, there were more of you than I expected :D

And the winner is The Knight and the Hare chapter 2 ! I did kind of expect it, but I was pleasantly surprised by how many people voted for the 'Four apology' wip hahaha. We must all be on the same wavelength, because those two are the closest to be done !

(I do intend on finishing these three wips though, don't worry if you didn't vote for the winner, it will come !)

So, how is the demanded chapter going, you ask ?

Please make them stop talking. I thought this chapter would be shorter than the other, but I'm not even at the conclusion yet ! I will try to contain it under 5k words... But no promises !

In the meantime, can I interest you in a teaser snippet under the cut ?

(tw : brief mention of gore/violence, but it's not actually happening)

[...] Now Warriors was rushing towards the beast, vainly trying to push it away, terrified that his second of surprise and confusion had resulted in the loss of a life—

Another ally victim from a friendly fire, someone Warriors could have known that had been taken away by this horrific war again—

“ - Let him go ! ” he yelled, pushing against the wolf without managing to make him move at all. “ He’s not dangerous, we talked ! ”

And as he was expecting the worst case scenario, the beast slowly turning to him with blood pouring from its mouth, falling back to the open throat of the lifeless corpse laid before him...

Wolfie, whose muzzle was clean, threw him a flat look that was so human, so unimpressed that Warriors almost felt embarrassed.

Of course, this was Wolfie, not a monster. They were in random woods, not a battleground, and Legend was unconscious... Nothing else.

The captain took a shaky breath, terrible thoughts tainted in red still haunting his mind.

He was fine, they were fine.

“ - We're both stupid, ” he admitted, trying to keep a stable voice that wouldn't betray his state of mind. “ He attacked me because he thought I'd do it to him first. I don't think he's dangerous, he was scared. ”

Just scared, like Warriors had been, scared to wake up with a blade in the guts, scared to have seen a betrayal coming and have done nothing about it on the account of being reasonable...

Now, all of these thoughts were turning in his head and he didn't know what was right anymore. He just held onto Legend's tone, how sincere he had sounded, "what the fuck is going on ?"

" We, we really need to talk, and I can't do that if you maul him, ” he concluded.

[cursedvibes]

2024 Fic Review

Tagged by @voxofthevoid thank youu 😊 I'm not gonna get anywhere close to your word count holy shit xD

Statistics

My Top 5 Fics by Hits: (only counting 2024)

Surprisingly enough TakaKen fans even managed to overtake my Yuuji fic here. Then again, TakaKen has more chapters, so that might help.

Build A House From Cinders TakaKen, Kenjaku Survives AU

Eat Your Young Yuuji & Choso, Being Raised By Kenjaku AU

An Old Nightmare Jin-centric, him dealing with memories of being Sukuna's twin (not actually as it turns out, thanks Gege)

Can't Let Go TenKen, Modern/No Powers AU

Out of Touch, Out of my Head TenKen, Tengen notices that she is starting to lose control over her body and soul and asks Kenjaku for help. The resulting discussion leads to the first crack in their relationship.

Very thankful to the handful of TenKen fans who keep reading my very self-indulgent word vomit about Old Person Yuri

My Most Bookmarked Fic:

Eat Your Young

It has Yuuji and Choso in it, probably the most popular characters I ever wrote about, so it's not that surprising.

How Many Words I Wrote in 2024:

Officially 73,525, but the unpublished stuff is much higher. Not sure how high, since I don't keep track of what I wrote when and adding it all together would be a hassle. Save to say that I didn't write as much as I wanted to, particularly in the second half of the year, but I'd say it's still a decent number.

Question Stuff

1. What was the most surprising thing about writing in 2024?

How much work got in the way of me actually writing anything and then publishing it 🥲 Also that while I lost quite a bit of passion and interest in JJK overall, that doesn't apply to TakaKen and TenKen. They thoroughly keep me engaged. :D

2. What was the most enjoyable to write?

Toss up between Build A House From Cinders and Can't Let Go I'd say. Easy to tell by this also being the fics with the highest word count lol. I think it's especially the domestic (but still somewhat unsettling) aspects in both of them that I love a lot.

3. Which fic is the most underrated?

Any of the TenKen stuff, but the ship is just underrated in general. That's why I appreciate the few people who keep checking out fics. 😊

4. Which fic(s) had something "cut" or an idea that never happened?

in search of connection was originally supposed to be the beginning of a much longer fic spanning basically Kenjaku's whole life. I'll still publish the second half of it as a separate fic though.

5. Which fic(s) did you want to write but didn't get around to?

Countless...one part of it is my TakaKen No Powers AU I'm still mulling over. It's coming along, but both ideas I have are not quite finished yet.

6. Any WIPs that never got published?

more like what WIPs did I get published Basically the answer from above. I also wanted to write more about Jin and how him being Sukuna's twin affected his relationship with Kenjaku, but I'm a bit stuck there...

7. Share a snippet from a WIP fic?

Part of the second half of in search of connection that I ended up cutting and is becoming it's own unrelated thing

"Dream On"

Letting go of her and sending her to another relic of the past to keep her safe is not as unimaginable as it used to be, it doesn’t twist their insides as much. All they can think about is that man, lying there on the forest ground, blissfully unaware of the chaos breaking out around him. He is still caught in a dream, relishing in the after effects of their comedy show together. Kenjaku can’t fault him. Not even the blade piercing through their brain can chase away the image of his smile burned in the back of their mind. The thrill making their brain tremble in memory of their souls’ resonance. Takaba Fumihiko has given them joy at the end of their long life they wouldn’t have been able to imagine before. That is enough for them. Enough to be able to embrace death with only a slight twinge of regret and the hollowness of Tengen’s absence not quite as cold anymore. Void surrounds their mind and swallows them up, taking the memories of their final encounter and the loss of their first friend with them.

8. Which fic was the one you were most excited to write?

Can't Let Go I always had a lot of ideas for how Tengen and Kenjaku might interact in a non-jujutsu world. How they might meet, how not knowing each other quite as long might affect them and how there might actually be a chance for them to live relatively conflict-free together. Imagining Tengen as an old shut-in ex-professor was also fun. There was just so much to play around with and a chance to finally have them interact in a non-antagonistic way. Just lots of fun to write.

9. Fic hopes for the New Year?

Write more 🙃 So far my focus is mainly on getting that fic I posted a snippet of above published and at least one of my WIPs for No Powers AU TakaKen as well. We'll see about the rest.

Tagging: @hxhhasmysoul @kaitakushi and anyone else who wants to do it

[discordantwords]

2023 Fic Year in Review

Total number of completed stories: One fic and two ficlets

Total word count: 30,066 for the fic and about 2,700 words in ficlets

Fandoms written in: BBC Sherlock

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected?

Less. So much less. The past few years have been terribly challenging for me. I won't delve too deeply into personal issues, but we've been enduring the painful decline and slow loss of a beloved family member. There's been a significant financial and emotional burden that my family has shouldered as a result of this (on top of typical work/life stress), and it's been very hard to think about writing when each day feels like survival.

That said, writing is my outlet and my preferred form of stress relief, so I try to eke out some time just to maintain some semblance of my own sanity.

What’s your own favorite story of the year?

There's really not any competition this year, so Nothing to Celebrate wins by default. :)

(I am very pleased with how it turned out. There are a lot of complicated emotions at work beneath the plot, and I'm particularly proud of some of the dialogue where characters are talking past each other and not quite saying what they mean.)

Did you take any writing risks this year?

Nothing to Celebrate is the first time that I've written an unapologetically evil Mary Morstan. I like to think I pulled it off!

Do you have any fanfic goals for the new year?

I plan to finish up my current WIP, Time in a Bottle, early in 2024. Much of the last two chapters are already drafted and just need some retooling.

Beyond that-- I have a few WIPs languishing in my WIP folder that I'm absolutely dying to get back to. One is an angst monster of an amnesia story. The other is a cracky AU fusion. Both will get written even if it kills me.

And I'd like to do more ficlets. They keep my writing skills sharp.

Most popular story of the year?

Nothing to Celebrate! I was delighted by the reception this one received.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:

Out of the three (completed) things I posted this year? Probably Distraction, an angsty little ficlet where a captor forces John to hit Sherlock. It didn't get much love compared to some of my other ficlets, maybe because of the subject matter. It's also posted here if you prefer reading on Tumblr

Most fun story to write:

I had a big smile on my face revisiting the storm chaser boys in my ficlet After The Storm.

Biggest disappointment:

Not writing more. But it is what it is.

Biggest surprise:

How warm and welcoming and passionate this fandom remains, even after all these years. I love you all.

[yeowninefive]

My 2024 Art Retrospective (Part 1)

Sorry for this lackluster introduction, but I've worked on this for quite some time and this is (once again) super long as it stands. So here goes.

Fanart: Last year I talked about how at the start of 2023, I had a decent start in drawing fanart; only for it to fall at the wayside due to my work on OC projects at the time. The story is pretty identical for 2024 where an OC project I worked on for the spring (Mime En Blanche) and some big major changes IRL (taking up on a new job following my degree completion/graduation) ended up scuttling my plans quite a bit to do more fanart work. I do think I tried to make up for it somewhat in that for the rest of the year, I made quite a few works of my OCs in the appearance or attire of characters from notable works (and at least a couple works featuring the other way around).

Nonetheless, still not too satisfied with that outcome; so what I'm hoping to do is take a "one for me and one for them" attitude with my art for 2025; where I actively make sure to have a more even production cycle of art of my OCs and art of works I like or have a passing interest in.

Animation: Again, similar to 2023, I made some pretty small results, though I think they represent some notable advances. *batteries were included (as part of my Mime En Blanche project) was an interesting one where it was originally supposed to be just artwork, but somehow I managed to find time to develop it further into a short animation, so that was cool. It may not be too surprising that it was made at the same time as the bigger --and standout animation project-- Pan Rebanado, which I actually took additional steps to expand it into a very small video (with some technical elements such as a camera pan and later added sound effects). Both of these also fulfilled a goal I wanted to do for 2024 where both animations were done in color.

Unfortunately, this is pretty much where my animation efforts for the year end for 2024. Both of these animations were from the spring, and my aforementioned job pushed it way towards the back in terms of priority. There is/was one other animation that I only barely started and haven't done much with. Moreover, all of these were in Clip Studio Paint, I didn't do much --if anything-- with OpenToonz.

My hope for 2025 is that I try and work on animation more consistently, in more casual/small doses. To that end, I hope to address that by getting back into learning animation more, publishing more "WIP" works for stuff I started on but didn't/haven't finished, and trying my hand at animatics when not publishing small/simple animations/doodles.

Backgrounds/environments: I think my focus on backgrounds/environments weren't quite as strong as last year (which I feel was a better return to form after the dip in 2022), but it was still a pretty good effort. Namely with some of my character-specific artwork (Name, Come On Home, and Strum Against the Storm to list as highlights) and some of the environments I made for my Mime En Blanche project, though I also got at least one landscape (Merge) and mixed media artwork (Zoe and Coffee) in for this year as well. As a negative, meanwhile, I again didn't get to try and revisit any of my previous landscapes for a remake, unfortunately. I'll be surprised if I ever get around to making one at any point for 2025.

Speaking of my mixed media artwork, one of the goals I mentioned I wanted to do was to produce more mixed media work with my OCs, as I still have photos left over from my 2023 Canada trip I haven't gotten around to yet. As a matter of fact--I actually have *more* photos from another trip from this year that I'd like to use for my art as well. So my goal is return to those photos and start cranking out more of those throughout 2025--this will probably be a domain The Commodities OC band will be occupied in for quite a while. (I also imagine any additional landscape/environment work I do will be showcased in future comics, which I'll talk about in my next section.)

Comics/stories/OC projects: The aforementioned Mime En Blanche (MEB) project was my landmark for this year; and while I'm still pretty pleased with it, I do wish it garnered a little more interest like my Clock Robin Caper did. (Part of it I feel is besides a smaller OC roster, I honestly don't know if one of the creators of the featured OCs ever saw or noticed it.) I probably would had gotten another OC project done this year, but my new job disrupted a lot of my art plans.

In the meantime, I also do like the handful of comic strips and one-page cartoons I also made, the main thing I like about them is that a good number of them had pretty short production turnarounds—the path fro idea to product for at least two (Woe Betide Deu in particular, which was actually reworked from an older idea for a comic strip) was actually pretty brief, compared to numerous other ideas that still remain on the shelf.

My goal for 2024 was the hope to improve my time management to get more of my ideas/stories I've written done adapted into an artform (via illustration, comic, or animation/animatic); and it's pretty much the same goal for 2025. Though at this point, I feel like anything I get done at the rate things are going is going to be a win inof itself. I'm going to elaborate about this in length later.

Art trades/commissions: Pretty much the same as before--no real movement towards commissions, and any art trades I wanted to do was taken up by my MEB project, and then later by my current job. (I did get a couple of art done in lieu of then-current trends, but that was before I got my main job.)

The main difference I would say going into 2025 is that in light of my current job (in that it's not related to either my recent education/studies or my hobbies) I think I feel confident enough that I want to do some kind of standalone test run for some sort of commission/freelance work. I'll probably end up doing some research or asking some other creators for advice. On a related note, I might also open a Patreon, Ko-fi, or some other equivalent. I just want to try and force some movement in this area, especially if pushes me in a direction to be more conscious in how I arrange my time.

Art output/reception: Honestly, my job and changes regarding art platforms has changed things enough to the point that the best I can do is point to individual/specific achievements and use that as a yardstick to show any evidence of growth. Normally I would be been able to produce a tally of the total art I made in 2024, calculate the total number of interactions (based on certain metrics), and compare it to previous years to show the differences; but I simply haven't had the time and/or interest. This is where I will active give tumblr some genuine credit here in that it's actually been telling me in my art notifications certain milestones I've crossed with my likes and my reblogs (with at least over 2000 reblogs and over 2500 likes across all of my blogs, if I understand correctly). Maybe I will submit a post out of the blue somewhere in 2025 that does this (or at least compares that point in 2025 instead of 2024's end), but I'd advise not to hold your breath.

The one thing I can say is that in 2024, I wanted to try and take a step back from my art for my other hobbies; as well as start adhering to a more predicable art publishing schedule. I'd unfortunately say I failed on both aspects, though I definitely think my current job situation played a factor in both aspects. (I feel that I did net myself a minor win in discovering and starting to regularly use PostyBirb+ to publish my art across multiple platforms, although at times it certainly feels like it takes almost as much time publishing art individually to other platforms. I also do have to publish individually sometimes, since there are certain features PostyBirb+ doesn't support.)

So my desire to spend less my time on my art feels like it's hit a major crossroad with my art goals for 2025, which I feel would demand genuine time for me to develop certain skills and make certain accomplishments (like the animation and comics/stories stuff). I feel like the best scenario I can come up with is try and take more of a monthly (if not weekly) scheduled approach, where I try and focus on a particular goal for each month. (You may have noticed that try is a major key component of this retrospective.)

–

Much like with last year, I think this has gotten long enough that I’m splitting this up into two parts (I was trying my damnedest to avoid doing so, but one section just spiraled out of control). A link to the second part should eventually show up here. Here is my genuine gratitude to whomever that bothered to parse the whole thing (so far). Normally I would say "have a Happy New Year's Eve/Happy New Year's Day," but we're past both days. So I'll just say for now, have a Happy New Year...or at least, have a 2025 that's as least-awful as possible.

[mintchocochipsposts]

2024 Writing Review

I was tagged by @vechter & @androxys; if anyone else wants to participate, consider this your tag!

number of stories posted to ao3: Only 2 this year :/

word count posted for last year: 7,239

fandoms i wrote for: Detective comics

pairings: All gen this year

stories with the most kudos, bookmarks and comment threads: usher down the sky by far.

work i’m most proud of (and why): usher down the sky was in the works in various different iterations for over a year and wound up becoming really, really personal.

work i’m least proud of (and why): some things that fly there be; I wanted to do something way longer with Selina but it didn't really make sense with a pre-Robin Tim. This one was also sitting in my drafts for over a year before I finished it up. But writing Tim in the Robinson Park apartment was really fun!

share or describe a favorite review you received: @vechter and @androxys left such really nice reviews on usher down the sky :) But also a giant thank-you to everyone who's commented on my fics, I know I'm really slow at replying but I appreciate everyone's comments <3

a time when writing was really, really hard: Basically all spring and summer; I was working full time and essentially doing school full-time and this was not conducive for writing (or for having a life 😂). I finished school in August and have had way more time to write since then! You can really tell from my Works tab when I was taking my licensing exams in 2023 and when I went back for my next degree right afterwards. Hoping this year is a whole lot more conducive for writing!

a scene or character you wrote that surprised you: I couldn't get the plot beats to iron out writing from Cassie's POV in usher down the sky; I wound up writing the whole thing from Dick's point of view, and he was a lot harder for me to write for than Cass.

a favourite excerpt of your writing:

The sky behind her is lit up, electric; the city looks like it’s on the edge of a storm, like lightning’s about to burst forth any second, like the atmosphere’s about to bloom into viridescent light any second. “Everybody dies. But not like that,” she says somberly. “And I let them kill. All those people, and I was dead when Blüdhaven needed me.” She reaches out her hand, like she’s trying to grab onto something. “The pit. It felt like burning.��� Batgirl looks at him, almost swaying in the drizzle, and he feels flayed by her eyes. “I couldn’t stop them either. Chemo burned too.”

how did you grow as a writer last year: I read a lot of really great books and quite a bit of poetry and I'm hoping my prose is getting better as a result!

how do you hope to grow this year: I want to figure out how to stick to my long-term plotting. Maybe won't be a pipe dream this year!

who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.): everyone, and especially all my mutuals! For people I haven't thanked yet, thank you @apokoliptic, @zahri-melitor and @jjohnnyutah who've all been in my inbox and interested in my wips! Also thank you @cherrystainedknuckles for your Oracle posting!

anything from your real life show up in your writing last year: Pleading the fifth.

I took photos as a kid like Tim Drake, but I didn't have any camera near as good as his lol.

any new wisdom you can share with other writers: The hardest part is the first draft; you can edit if you have a framework to edit from. Also read, from a huge variety of books; it will give you so many new ideas for phrasing and construction!

any projects you’re looking to starting (or finishing) this year: I am going to finish my Donna and Oracle fics; my goal was to finish them in December but I moved twice and started a new job this week and did the holidays with my family and that might have been a pipe dream; I'm hoping to get them done this month and posted. I might have to split the Donna fic into two chapters, so the Oracle fic is probably going to be done first. I also really really want to finish fireflies this year!

[primadrawz05]

SURPRISE ME COMMISSIONS ARE CLOSED

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INFO

"Surprise Me" commissions are only limited for you to see the end result of your commission, and you aren't allowed to see the process of it.

I will be updating you about the progress of your commission from time to time!

My artstyle may be inconsistent because I'll be experimenting with artstyles, poses, colors, etc.

The deadline may range from a few days to a week! It depends really-

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PRICES AND TIERS

The complexity of the art will depend on how much you're willing to pay. The more expensive, the more effort.

You have to pay first before I start the commission ^^

Payments will be only be through Paypal!

I will NOT accept any payments below 5$. It's the lowest price available.

Additional money past the intended amount of the Commission will be accepted and counted as a donation :D

The amount of money you pay will correlate to the tiers.

Example: You paid for 20$, you have the option to do: 3 Characters Half Body Sketch + Flat Color and 5$ Donation 2 Characters Full Body Chibi + Fully Colored 1 Character Half Body + Fully Colored

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PRICE TIERS:

The examples of artworks below might not be as accurate to the end result.

5$ - Half Body Sketch + 1 Flat Color

10$ - Full Body Chibi + Fully Colored (With Shading)

15$ - Bust up + Fully Colored (With Shading)

20$ - Half Body + Fully Colored (With Shading)

EXTRAS:

+3$ Simple Background

+?$ Additional Character

+?$ Meet a Deadline

Above are some options that you're free to include!

If you didn't pay for a bg, it will automatically be white or transparent. You're free to request a white or transparent bg of your commission even if you paid for a simple bg ^^

The price of an "Additional Character" will depend on which tier you want me to draw them. The maximum amount of characters is 3.

The fee for meeting a deadline depends on how close the deadline is. The sooner the deadline, the more expensive it is. Price may range from 5$-10$.

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WILL DO:

Fanart

Ocs/Sonas

Furries/Anthros

Humanoids

Mild Gore

WILL NOT DO:

NSFW

Muscular Characters

Mechas

Hate Speech or Political Art

Elderly Characters

Characters with a lot of Body Hair

Characters with overcomplicated designs

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NOTES

Please send a clear image of your character. The colors of the character should also be easily seen. I will be taking the image as reference, and use the colors of the image for the commission.

Please clarify to me what options you picked + if you have a donation so it won't be too confusing for me-

Please don't bother me by repeatedly asking for updates. That would be annoying lol

Please credit me/leave a link to any of my socials if you're using my art for personal purposes ^^

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IF YOU COMMISSION ME, YOU ARE AGREEING TO THESE TERMS:

I have the option to reject your request

You will not claim the art as your own

You will not edit the artwork

You will not use it for Hate Speech/Political Speech

You will not use it for commercial/monetary purposes

I will be posting your commission in social media (it has a watermark ofc)

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CONTACTS

Contacts will only take place in Discord DMS. I will unfriend you once I'm finished with the commission, and when you give me feedback.

Once I have you added, send me your request! First come, first serve!

Those who did not make it to the slot count will be added to the waiting list, you guys will have to wait for me to finish the previous commissions before I do yours! :D

KEEP IN MIND THAT I WILL ONLY BE TAKING A TOTAL OF 10 REQUESTS MAXIMUM FOR NOW.

STATUS: 3/10 REQUESTS

3 FINISHED

0 WIP

I WILL TAKE A BREAK FOR A WEEK OR TWO, THEN I'LL REOPEN COMMISSIONS AGAIN (IF I FEEL LIKE IT)

DISCORD USERNAME - alter.05

[hazelpuff]

I just wanted to say that I'm in love (and a bit jealous haha) with your style. It's so pretty and unique! Your hoods are gorgeous and your sims even more! (may i ask you what technique do you use to make them? Pooklet's? Face templates? A lot of sliders?)

I jumped around a lot between maxis-match, semi realistic, etc. trying to find something i liked (and i still feel i didn't quite found something i like 100%) and I'm in awe of how you made something that doesn't look like ts4 nor ts2 but a so cool and pretty in between!!!

(also a disclaimer because I'm a tiny ball of anxiety: this is no shade to anyone who likes other styles, i find them pretty awesome in other people's games, they just look a bit boring on mine. The sims is about having fun and everyone deserves to play it as they like!)

Hi! Thank you for your sweet message!

(disclaimer at the beginning of the post, my keyboard is dying since half a year and i'm putting aside the moment to replace it, but after this post, I think I'm gonna make my mind soon lol. So sorry for any misspeling - you can get double nn, no n, no m, no c, double cc, no c and many other surprises - i tried to fix everything but I could miss something xd).

I've restarted my hood 5 times I think before I got it to my recent version. I'm terrified every time through most of the process, it doesn't come easily to me xD.

Also ofc, everyone can have whatever aesthetics they like - the sims is the perfect series to express that.

With my sims it really depends. I mostly make a sim that I really like and then use it as a base for other sims, but not always. Sometimes I make a sim that I think looks quite unique but it's still missing somethig when it comes to features and makeup face details. During those moments I just open up my body shop sometime later or the next day and try to tweak this sim, sometimes it's more than once. And other times I end up liking the idk 3rd attempt but i still keep going since i want to make more similair sims, and also it's tiring to start the process from the beginning every time xD.

(pics under cut)

or

OR

OR

sry for the baldness xD - i deleted the wip hair conversion files they had and now i can't never change their hairstyles lol, idk how i did it for those two last sims seriously.

As you can see, all those sims have this maxis chain necklace, which means that I started the process using the same base sim and it just evolved into many differet results lol.

Other times I'm editing some maxis face templates to make them more my style (it's really fun!)

I also made one of my sims face into face template to make the rest of the family. I didn't want their faces to be - mouth: mom; eyes: dad; nose: mom - just a mix of both and adding something extra to make them a little more unique. Kinda pookleted their faces with two face templates.

I just really like this face. It can look either goofy or good xD.

I sometimes get inspired by images of some real life ppl (models, actors). When I'm really out of ideas I'm also dowloading sims made by others and use them as a base - just tweaking their features to be my style, mostly it's about face proportions and replacing the cc they used to the one I have. There is muuuch more examples that I could give but a lot of times it's just a result of tweaking some sims a couple of times xD.

Also due to the fact that i make my sims in body shop, idk how their faces will look whit face expressions. I was always using my sims to create previews for my cc conversions so I'm also testing them that way and if something looks too off - I'm just going back to body shop to fix that.

I think I've developed my style around the clay hair conversions that I've made - I wanted the sims in my previews to go well together with clay hair. I remember that I've picked the hair first, THEN sculpted my sims faces. There just werent that many to choose from at 1st.

I don't really use face templates - I have some, but I don't use them much - i think the proportions on faces of my sims are the closest to the maxis sims 🤔. I like their sharp features so when I'm stuck with making a sim, I'm using the pooklet method with those maxis templates but only a tiiiny bit - like 10-20% and only on those parts of the faces that I want to tweak a little more. After that I'm going back to editing the face myself.

(also a lil bonus of my sim from 2017, the only older picture that i have, i found it recently by accident and i think this is the only time when it's kinda in-context to post it 🤣).

[deadgirlwalking91]

For the ask game!! I feel bad but also not really for having so many- and I deleted a few too.

10, 12, 14, 20 ,21 ,23 , 25 & 28

Going back to the final chapter of FWB 😭 ( such mixed emotions )

Oh my God there's so many, I love it 😂😂😂 10, 12 and 28 have already been answered so I'll focus on the other ones!

14. What were your go-to writing songs?

Oooh there were a few...these are the standout ones though:

I Caught Fire - The Used (Thank You for the Venom chapter 17 aka face reveal chapter)

Forget Me Too - mgk feat. Halsey (Thank You for the Venom chapter 9)

Feeling This - blink-182 (At Ease, Lieutenant)

Preaching to the Fire - Age of Madness, Jeremy Jordan (Thou Shalt Not)

20. Share your funniest line

"Respectfully, Sir, go deep throat a cactus." - Lute, Thank You for the Venom chapter 2

21. What's something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

Something that really, really surprised me was how attached I got to Adam and Lute in Forgive Me, Father. The fic was only ever meant to be a one-shot, but by the end I didn't want to let that particular version of them go—and thankfully, neither did @a-dose-of-comatose. I think it was ultimately their personalities and dynamic that made us want to explore them more, which resulted in Thou Shalt Not being created.

23. If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

I think writing and finishing chapter 17 of Thank You for the Venom. The face reveal was something I'd had planned for so long, and to finally be able to write that was incredible. Sometimes scenes like that end up drastically different to what was initially imagined, but I'm really happy to say that this played out exactly as I imagined was pretty incredible.

Additionally, I feel like I was able to pull off the subsequent sex scene the way I'd imagined and hoped, too. Reading back over it—especially in comparison to all the other smut I've written—it really felt like the sex was secondary to the emotional connection that was being solidified, which is what I was aiming for.

25. How did you recharge between fics?

What's that? 😂

Just kidding. In the early days when it was just Thank You for the Venom, I'd let myself have a night off writing before getting back on it the next night. Now, it feels a bit like ticking something off my to-do list and then moving onto the next. In 2025 I'm hoping to really cut down on the amount of WIPs I have and (mostly) keep it to TYFTV/TGOY and Thou Shalt Not once I clear my plate. Maybe the odd one-shot here and there, but no more than one!

[bi-bats]

timkon exes to lovers? 👀👀

(also, hi!!! how’s it going?)

Hello!!!!! Yes I am SO stoked about that one honestly because I have literally like. 17k words of it or something cause it's one of my older fics! Here's a snippet:

“Hey,” Kon said, and the room was too heavy, too thick for him to be sarcastic the way Tim knew he wanted to be.  “Hey.” It was barely a whisper out of Tim’s throat, and for a moment he wanted to lean forward and wrap his arms around Kon.  Then he remembered to be angry. It had been so long since he’d been in his room that he barely remembered how he’d left it, but he knew somewhere in his head that it shouldn’t have been so clean. Everything was tidy except for his bed, which wasn’t made, and that wasn’t quite right. He knew he’d made it before leaving, the last time. He wanted to smell his sheets to be certain, but he was pretty sure Kon had slept in his bed.  No, Tim. Bad Tim. Creepy Tim.  There was an easier way to find out, anyways.  “Did you sleep in my bed?” he asked, and he hadn’t quite remembered to leak the anger into his voice. It came out soft, too soft, the way being around Kon always made him.  Kon’s face flushed, but he didn’t drop his gaze. “Didn’t seem like you were going to be using it,” he mumbled, shrugging, and that was the spark Tim needed to remember he was mad.  “Well, I wasn’t, to be honest.” His voice finally found that icy tone he knew Kon would recognize, saw the moment his posture stiffened as he recognized exactly which Tim he was talking to.  “I was just planning on stopping in here to breathe for a moment, because that party is starting to get a little too drunk for my liking, so imagine my surprise when-” “Why didn’t you leave?” Kon interrupted him, his gaze burning into him.

jadkjfak I LOVE that fic so much 💚 would love to finish it one day lmaooo

send me an ask about one of my WIPs!

I'm going to answer how I am under a read more because that is sort of a complicated answer, and I'll be talking about health stuff so consider that my health CW/TW for it

Hi!!! Thanks for asking!! I have been wanting to give a little update on how I'm doing because the answer is... not great, honestly.

I got put on medical leave for two months and got diagnosed with degenerative disc disease in my spine (which is something that doctors keep telling me I'm very young to have), and I'm doing 6 weeks of physical therapy for that. Honestly, I've had chronic back pain for 8 years, and I really haven't had time to process that information with all the rest of the stuff I have going on. I'm waiting for an MRI to see what's causing the degeneration.

I've also been having heart palpitations and lightheadedness and chest pain that were mostly addressed when we figured out that I have anemia (not the traditional kind, though, and it seems to be being caused by something else). That said, I wore a heart monitor for a week before addressing the anemia, and the results on that were very reassuring, so my heart looks okay. I've still been having some symptoms, but much less.

However, I've also been having really horrible GI issues that I'm waiting for a bunch of tests to see if I need any procedures or surgeries done to fix, or if it's a problem that can be solved more easily. I have severe nausea, acid reflux, problems actually digesting food, and I've lost like... 12-13 pounds in the last month I think? I get hungry and then I eat and then food makes me feel awful, but if I don't eat, I also feel awful. My body is flat out refusing to digest certain foods and I do not know why. There are other symptoms that I just don't want to share. It's been really frustrating. I feel horrible all the time. I wasn't staying at home for almost a month because I just didn't feel safe staying by myself. I actually answered some of these asks tonight while sitting on the bathroom floor because I wasn't sure that I wasn't going to throw up (I didn't though! yay!).

But basically, just about all of my energy is going into figuring out what's wrong with me right now. And when it isn't going into that, it's going into spending time with my friends and loved ones in an attempt to get through some of the pain/stress.

So yeah, things are rough. It's why I haven't been super active on here or ao3 this year. I am having a really difficult time focusing on writing, and that sucks, because I love writing. It's my #1 outlet and like. I fully can't focus on it.

Anyways. I don't really know where to end this, but that's what's going on with me. I might post a little update later on next week if I get any answers. I have a CT scan and an upper gi scan next week to see if they can see anything wrong just from that, and then more tests after that too.

Thanks for asking, though! I appreciate everyone's asks, this was a fun little distraction from all the stuff I just talked about💖

Also want to add for anyone reading this: I have many doctors trying to figure this out right now and they are running every test we can all think of. Please, please do not tell me what thing you think may be causing this in a reply or a tag, because it'll send me down a medical anxiety rabbit hole and then all I'll be doing for the rest of the night is panicking. I know the goal of any kind of comment like that would not be to make me panic, but that is what it would result in. So please, anyone can feel free to reply, but please don't reply with any sort of diagnosis or suggestion of what you think the problem might be. Thank you for understanding 💚

[fivexxxxx]

2024 Fic in Review

tagged by @desperatepleasures

Total Number of Fics: 5 (*hides stack of 30+ unpublished personal fics that'll never see the light of day*)

Total Wordcount: 14,508 (don't ask me to include complete chapters of unfinished fics. please. my children starved)

Fandoms: 1.....

Smut Scenes: 1 (and here I feared I'd get a reputation as a horny writer, oh dear... but most of my wips are porn, sooo)

Most Popular Fic (by bookmarks): They're all tied! But The Summer Withers Away has the most hits, tiebreaker win.

Most Popular Fic (by kudos): Another tie.... so The Summer Withers Away again by fiat :x

New things I tried: Sister-Flower was really fun, to try doing a more folklore/horror-inspired story, I wasn't sure of it at first but I'm more proud of it now.

Fic I spent the most time on: A Fox's Wedding. God. I beat my head against that one, rewrote it 2 or 3 times, and still wasn't super happy with the result. But it's got some nice lines! But the *real* most time spent on is, uh... perpetually incomplete Watayou wip #2. Bless its eternal soul.

Fic I spent the least time on: The Summer Withers Away, which was so easy and quick. I was going to make it longer, then I stopped and went... "nah."

Favourite thing I wrote: IIIIIII'm going with At the Mountains of Zagros, because I spun all that out of eating a pomegranate and spilling it all over my stovetop, and I feel like I cooked with the imagery.

Looking Back, Did You Write More Fic Than You Thought You Would This Year, Less, Or About What You’d Expected? More. Ohhh there are reasons for this dear reader, but they're locked in the deepest darkest heart of my hearts.

Story Of Mine Most Under-Appreciated By The Universe, In My Opinion: At the Mountains of Zagros... probably because I couldn't think of a title and I went with the first, most garish, thing that came to mind. I'm sorry. But as long as one person reads a story I've written and it warms their heart or makes their day, I'm glad.

Most Unintentionally Telling Story: The Summer Withers Away. It told on me in a particular special way...

Biggest Disappointment: I will probably never post another Tactics fanfic, despite having so many nearly finished and in-progress. I lost my muse and that's the end.

Biggest Surprise: I got into a funky manga, and it's genuinely really good. And mostly that I remembered I'm a writer after all.

My Favourite Part Of Fandom This Year: Getting out of fandom honestly. I write things for 1 or 2 weirdos and I've realised that's what makes me happy.

Writing goals for next year: I want to get back to original fiction, even if no one reads it. If this year taught me anything, through all of the pain and heartache of it, it's that I need to write in order to survive, like my heart is an organ that's really meant to pump ink. I just never realised until 2024 how much of myself I'd lost when I stopped writing.

Did you meet last years goal?: I didn't have a goal last year! Woohoo!