#i've written a review for all 23 stories i've finished

[wlwvampirism]

My goodreads page has never been more organized

[kiwiana-writes]

2024 Fic Year in Review

I was tagged by @cha-melodius and didn't think I was gonna do it because I've already done a couple of similar ones, but I've just posted my Absolutely Definitely Last Fic Of Twenty Twenty Four and y'all know I fucking love statistics, so let's do a final round.

AO3 Username: kiwiana (also KiwianaPods and yourbuttervoicedbeau) My Page: Link Active Fandoms: Red, White & Royal Blue New Fandoms this year: The Pairing (also, technically, RWRB film) Total Number Of Completed Works/Word Count This Year: 59 fics + 9 podfics; 156,624 words + 7:03:11 audio minutes All Time: 264 fics + 29 podfics; 821,192 words (personal, not including words written by co-authors on cowritten fics) + 23:26:31 audio minutes

Most Popular One Shot (by kudos): This Year: Warm like the glow that you feel head to toe (RWRB; Alex/Henry; E; 5,131 words) All Time: Kinda think that I might be his type (RWRB; Alex & Bea, Alex/Henry; E, 12,864 words)

Most Popular Completed Multi-Chapter (by kudos):  This Year: Never want to live (or die) without you (RWRB; Alex/Henry; E; 9,999 words) - also my *only* completed multi-chapter this year, and the multi-chap that's still a WIP does in fact have it beat for kudos lmao. All Time: With so much of my heart (that none is left to protest)  (RWRB; Alex/Henry; E, 65,586 words)

Events/Challenges: Voiceteam 2024, A Royally Big Bang, Kinktober, Fandom Trumps Hate, idk do what you want exchange

More reflections, stats, and planned fics below the cut!

Additional Random AO3 Stats

Words written in 2024: 162,302

Words written in 2024 that are still unpublished: 9,367

Words written in 2023 that are still unpublished: 7,990 (whoops)

By rating: 86.44% explicit, 3.39% mature, 6.78% teen and up, 3.39% general audiences

Title sources: 83.05% song lyrics, 8.47% literature/poetry, 3.39% pun, 3.39% quote from the fusion/AU media, 1.69% no source/my brain

Song lyric sources: 14.29% Taylor Swift, 10.20% Matt Nathanson, 6.12% Sabrina Carpenter, 4.08% each The Jane Austen Argument, Bon Jovi, Hozier, Mýa.

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? Less, for sure. I hadn't really factored in Transing My Gender and how much that was going to fuck with my creative energy.

What’s your own favourite story of the year?  Like loving the stars themselves, Doctor Who AU my beloved.

Did you complete your writing goals from last year?  IDEK what my goal was, but probably not to be honest lmao.

Do you have any writing goals for the New Year? Finish my original novel. Which mostly means editing, at this point - don't be fooled, though, this fucker was fast drafted, so it needs a LOT of editing.

Did you take any writing risks this year? I mean I quit my entire job to focus on original writing soooooooooo

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Also Like loving the stars themselves, as above. But also maybe all the non-FirstPrince Kinktober entries!

Most fun story to write: Life was a willow (and it bent right to your wind). The entire premise is SO SILLY and it was just a blast to present it for Kinktober.

Biggest disappointment: Oh, let's not go there lmao.

Biggest surprise: Don't think I had any big ones.

Coming soon/planned for 2025: The only thing I am actually committing to is finishing the Anastasia AU and my subscriber shindig fics. After that... idk. I'm a bit adrift at the moment, fandom-wise.

[azriona]

10 and 23 please!

I see what you're doing there, Paula. I'M ONTO YOU. 😘

10. What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

&

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

Fine. Fine. I think the most satisfying writing moment this year wasn't just a single moment, because it was a string of them while I was writing NAFTK. I think most writers, when they write long enough, have a story that just pours out of them, no idea where it came from, and that was NAFTK for me. I've had it happen before, but it's usually a much shorter fic, or over a shorter period of time. (Katsudon was like that. So was 3:07 a.m.)

But NAFTK's first draft was much, much longer (100k or so) and written over three weeks, and I... don't remember ever doing anything like that before. Not even during Nano, back in the day. Plus it was the first full story I'd written, beginning to end, since my writer's block hit.

(I should add, if you're wondering: it might have been written in three weeks... but then I spent the next six months editing and re-editing and rewriting it, adding chapters and rearranging scenes and that whole Cleveland mission went through something like four versions, so. Yeah. What you see is NOT necessarily what I wrote initially.)

Writing NAFTK was incredibly satisfying, because it felt amazing to be writing again, it felt amazing to have it all come out so easily, it felt amazing to get to write a female character who kicks ass and takes names (despite not having one of her own) and to do it in the MCU, which has historically treated its female characters (particularly those who are moms) like crap... that was particularly satisfying. It was just fun.

(But the most satisfying to finish was the sequel, which no one's gonna see for ages, so. Much less satisfying an answer for you, I know.)

Ask Me an End of Year Writing Review Question

[annabtg]

8, 9, 11, 15, 17, 18, 20, 21, 23, 30 :) 💜

Oooh, thank you for the extensive list, jayne!! 💜💜

8. What fic meant the most to you to write?

A few fics could fit this bill but the top place goes to Verses Written In '74. I've had the skeleton of the concept in my head since I finished writing My Best Friend's Girl (the fic that probably takes all-time top place in 'meant the most to me') and it was wonderful to actually put it into words. Also, I hadn't written Sirius/Lily in a while and I have a soft spot for them - I had to! And lastly, it makes use of one of my favourite songs ever. ❤️

9. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

The Big Little Moments. Not that it didn't give me trouble at some point, but overall it was so fluffy and I was so happy with my writing in it and I got to fit all the late 70s headcanons I wanted in it so :D

11. What fic was the most difficult to write?

Perhaps counterintuitively, Verses Written In '74. It's a setup not many people, um, agree with, so I had to set it up properly, make it read independently from MBFG (Idk why I just didn't want it to be a sequel??) get the characterizations right, and do all that without destroying the atmosphere that I wanted it to convey. The smut was the easiest part. :p

15. What was the hardest fic to title?

The Three-Minute Initiative was the only one that gave me real trouble! And I wasn't sure about the title even after posting it - though I admit it sounds catchy!

17. Share your favourite opening line.

Going through my fics, I realize that my opening line is usually a statement, and the good part comes right after. xD I'd say that the first line from Drunk With Power is a fun one!

“Sit up straight, Evans.”

18. Share your favourite ending line.

Hah, ending lines are much more my strength! I'll go with the last line of crawl home, which was different in the first draft but I had it in my mind that it had to end with a sentence similar to the one we see here and I was very pleased with myself when I got it right:

There was nothing to fear — he was already dead. And nothing else to do but clamber out of that wretched grave, face the right side of the earth again, and crawl home.

20. Share your funniest line.

Have I even written anything funny this year? Lol 😅 Probably this exchange from Drunk With Power:

“You have to set a good example.” His wand tip presses harder into her back – it doesn’t hurt, it’s just annoying enough to keep her head up. “Correct posture is very important when you’re reading. You don’t want to get back pain.” “I do have a pain in my back, as it happens.”

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

Well - Anemoia was supposed to be a Jily fic from Harry's POV, but it ended up becoming a Harry-mourning-Sirius fic with some Hinny. I'm not too upset about it. xD

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

Sadly, I don't think I had THE moment. Writing Fixed Luck might be a good candidate, because when I started working on it I hadn't written anything in exactly two months and was already questioning whether I'd be able to ever write again at all.

30. What would you like to write next year?

I want to finish my Ironmaster AU!! AAAAAAH I was on such a roll with it until I got stuck in my own head about the worldbuilding etc. and now the words aren't wording at all. I need to restart my brain somehow. Hopefully once this stupid cold goes away I'll be able to focus better!

2024 in review questions here!

[librarylexicon]

2024 Writing Review

tagged by: @daringyounggrayson - ty!! 🫶 tagging: I already tagged a bunch of people very recently so I feel awkward 😅 hmm how about @freyafrida @goldenraeofsun @babblingbookends and any other other followers/mutuals who write. I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE.

number of stories posted to ao3: Ten! Which I'm very happy about, because it's the most I've posted in a single year since 2015(!). Here they are:

Family Crisis (almost 90k and counting)

A Manor of Speaking (3k) - Corners series

Duty and Care (400 words)

Better Out Than In (200 words)

Catch and Release (300 words) - Corners series

Belated Vigil (100 words) - Corners series

Ends and Beginnings (500 words) - Corners series

At the Gate (500 words) - Corners series

Happy Birthday (282 words) - Corners series

Now and Then (14k) - Corners series

word counted posted for last year: AO3 says it's 109,554, which I know is not really accurate, because I posted the majority of Family Crisis in 2023. Rough estimation puts the actual number closer to 33k.

fandoms i wrote for: Batman (Comics)

pairings: TimSteph in At the Gate, and some minor BatCat and TimSteph in Family Crisis.

stories with the most kudos, bookmarks and comment threads: Family Crisis is the obvious winner of all three categories, as the oldest and only chaptered fic.

work i’m most proud of (and why): Outside of Family Crisis, because I don't want it to dominate these answers, it would definitely be Now and Then. I'm a big fan of Dick & Tim's relationship in Post-Crisis and have long wanted to do them justice in a fic. It became a 14k behemoth that I think captures why I love them so much, and I hope that it will inspire more people to read the comics and appreciate Dick & Tim in them.

work i’m least proud of (and why): This is hard to answer, because I try not to post anything that I'm not very proud of. That said, it's probably A Manor of Speaking, simply because I rushed to finish it for an event and couldn't make it as long or developed as my usual one-shots. I don't dislike it, but it's really more of a vignette than an actual story, and Cassandra deserves a full character study, in line with All the Corners That Are Left for Dick or Flight Mode for Tim. One day!

share or describe a favorite review you received: I like this question because it made me reread the last few pages of my AO3 inbox and relive reading those delightful comments. I don't receive a whole lot of comments, but so many of them make me blush from how kind and effusive they are. Here's one from Now and Then that I absolutely adore (warning: contains spoilers). This person also left a bookmark saying "I love everything from this author but THIS is SO [keysmash]", and I remind myself of it whenever I feel down about my writing.

a time when writing was really, really hard: Whenever I work on Family Crisis, there comes a time in the latest chapter draft when I hate everything I've written and think it's super predictable and boring and I'll be letting down my readers. And so I write an abominable number of drafts for that thing. *headdesk*

a scene or character you wrote that surprised you: I don't know if it surprised me, per se, but I did not expect to conclude chapter 23 of Family Crisis with the scene that I did. It was a very sweet moment that practically wrote itself, but there was no trace of it in my chapter outlines!

a favourite excerpt of your writing: I think Ends and Beginnings is my favourite of the seven ficlets I wrote for a zine last year. Dick and Bruce are, as always, the centre of it all, and I especially loved fitting a ton of characterisation into 500 words.

“We’re a family of only children—but you’re not the one who has to deal with siblings who weren’t always there. Or who once tried to kill you. And Damian’s still not used to living here instead of at the penthouse. He was bound to be on edge.” Bruce shook his head. “You give yourself too little credit, Dick. And I was too blind to appreciate how much you’ve done to hold this family together.” He passed a hand over his face. “I’ve missed too much.” A lump rose to Dick’s throat. “Give it time, Bruce.” “I’ve been gone too long. Damian’s two inches taller. Damn it, Tim became an adult and I wasn’t there.” Dick swallowed, eyes prickling. “Speaking from experience… needing your dad isn’t something you grow out of.”

how did you grow as a writer last year: I'm not sure how to answer this. I'm too slow and deliberate of a writer to follow challenges or push myself to meet certain milestones or statistics. I did write a bunch of zine fics, which was a good exercise in sticking to a word count and letting loose with some fluff, silliness and slice of life. Ideally, I'll continue that mindset, because it was really beneficial to just Get The Words Out. (IRL, I was published in an anthology, yay!)

how do you hope to grow this year: Somewhat related to my previous answer, I always say that I have excellent attention to detail, but in practice this means I'm a habitual perfectionist. If I could learn to turn off that part of my brain more often, that would be great! Also, I'll be able to write about so much more if I stop shying away from action scenes.

who was your greatest positive influence this year as a writer (could be another writer, beta, cheerleader, etc.): Undoubtedly this would have to be @tevyaa, who is the most supportive person I have ever met in fandom. Whenever I feel discouraged about my writing (and then guilty about complaining), she's always there with a pick-me-up, and her comments are the most lengthy, detailed and complimentary ones I've ever received. She's a fantastic cheerleader and I owe so so much to her. One gift fic is not enough!

anything from your real life show up in your writing last year: When I wanted to make Dick and Tim take a brotherly bonding road trip, I sent them on the Great Ocean Road in Now and Then, because I have firsthand knowledge of it and knew my depiction would be accurate.

any new wisdom you can share with other writers: When it comes to fanfiction, characterisation is everything. Without accurate characterisation, you're just writing about OCs. You'll know you've got strong characters when they start bucking your outline and doing what they want instead. So yes, outline all you want, but be prepared for your characters to have their say along the way.

any projects you’re looking to starting (or finishing) this year: I feel like a broken clock saying Family Crisis again and again, but there are only a couple more chapters left (but the most difficult ones), and they're the top of my priority list. Otherwise, I'm looking forward to continuing my Corners series, including filling that mysterious gap between A Manor of Speaking and Belated Vigil. And I never start out thinking I'll do fandom events, but the Dick Grayson Anniversary Week looks interesting...

[jinkoh]

big thank you to @sungbeam for tagging me in her wrapped! i've actually been meaning to make a wrapped of sorts anyway so this was a very welcome motivator to actually do it~

i decided not to include the drabbles that i've written (and am still writing) for my anniversary event bc i felt like they'd mess with the statistics lol

anyway this was very fun to put together so i hope you'll enjoy my year in review~

first: younghoon - lipgloss(feb 22, 4.8k)

this fic wasn’t just my first fic of the year but also my first time writing for tbz and the fic that got me out of a rather bad writer’s block. it felt so fun to explore a new group even though i didn’t know them that well at the time and maybe couldn’t portray them well either. idk it rlly marked a new start and made me enjoy writing again~   

last: jay - still monster(nov 10, 0.5k)

another group I only started writing for this year. it’s just a teeny tiny drabble, but it was still fun to write~

longest: haknyeon - rat in the trap (jul 12, 10.6k)

it took me months to finish this tbh. my fics are usually very character driven but this one actually came with more plot and word building and that kinda made it harder on me to finish. it’s not perfect but i still love this sm and it somewhat opened the door to me finding joy in writing more twisted things.

there is also (don’t) wait up on me which is technically longer (13k), but because it mostly wasn’t actually written this year i feel like it doesn't really count?   

most popular: eric - sleeveless (oct 6, 2.5k)

y’all need to go to horny jail but who am i to judge i literally wrote this (and it isn’t even that kinky anyway).

personal pick: haknyeon - seeping through the cracks (jul 23, 2k)

it was my first time writing a y/n who is. just not a very good person and it was so much fun. unsurprisingly the fic didn’t do well at all but i genuinely don’t mind because this is a v self-indulgent fic written just for me. it’s awful and experimental but i love it and in a twisted way it just feels comforting to read.

another thing i greatly enjoy(ed) working on is my soulmate series~

ateez — 1 fic

did i add the artist category just so i could talk about this? maybe so. but aside from tbz and enha i also wrote my first ateez fic this year. it’s only that one story currently (there are more in the works) but the experiences i had with posting it made me think that atinyblr is a very kind place so i wanted to take this chance to say thank you<3

pentagon — 1 fic

i swear i still love them endlessly--but writing for them has been feeling difficult this year, both for obvious ptg related reasons but also for private ones so i couldn't really bring myself to work on the ideas and wips i had for them. i'm glad i at least got to finish that one wooseok fic that i had in my drafts for a year or so.

enhypen — 3 fics

i kinda got into them over the last few months and though i’ve only written a few short drabbles for them, i’ve found it very fun so far~

the boyz — 40 fics

that is. kind of an insane amount. i know a lot of them are short blurbs bc i don’t really differentiate between full length fics and drabbles but. that is still a lot for me. especially because my writing process tends to be rather slow. but i suppose with how much i've come to love tbz it's not that surprising~

most fics: sunwoo — 8 fics

as kate said in her wrapped: “i may not bias him- but oh boy- i love writing fics for him.” there is just something about sunwoo that makes it very fun and easy~   

most words:

#3 hyunjae — 15.2k (7 fics)

#2 haknyeon — 15.5k (4 fics)

#1 younghoon — 15.9k (6 fics)

i do bias all three of these guys (some more than others) so it seems fair enough?

total fics: 43

(incl. 1 text fic)

total word count: ~80k

1.9k words per fic on average (i just love me my little drabbles~)

frankly this year was a huge mess and i'm glad it's over--but at least in terms of writing it's been very fun! i feel like i've challenged topics and formats i haven't really touched before and generally let myself experiment a little more. it also feels like the first time that a lot of my works were really written for me, because i enjoyed the idea and found it intriguing or comforting to work on, rather than writing with other people in mind, and that just feels nice and freeing~

i've also made some new connections this year that i am really grateful for! it's mainly to blame on deep diving into tbz and honestly? zero regrets. i've found deobiblr to be one of the sweetest and warmest communities i've ever engaged with and i'm so thankful to everyone who welcomed me with open arms and treated me and my writing with kindness<3

also let me just say special thanks to my dearest friend @blizzardfluffykpop. without kate a lot of my fics would have probably never seen the light~ there's so many stories that have their origin in our dms and bouncing ideas off you makes writing so much more enjoyable! and of course i probably wouldn't be a deobi without you, so thanks for pulling me under with you♥️

anyway--with that 2024 comes to an end! thank you to everyone who's been along for the ride this year, and let's make 2025 a good one~

[jamiesfootball]

23 and 30 for 2024 in review?

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

Getting the first chapter of Muzzled posted. For whatever (or more than likely a myriad of) reasons, I just could not get my brain to focus and finish things this year, and it was incredibly frustrating. I wrote a fuck ton (nearly 300k) and I tried my best to keep things going when it came to smaller projects, but the longer things were harder. I am a very slow writer, and I often have to tinker with things a lot to make them sound coherent let alone good. But it felt like every time I would finally get into a groove on one of the bigger projects, Some Big Life Thing would happen, and by the time I got back to working on it, I would be starting from scratch again from the bottom of a hill, trying to refamiliarize myself with what I'd already written. I accidentally wrote multiple scenes twice because I'd forgotten I wrote them, or I'd have what sounded like a good thought only to realize I'd already brought the same thing up four pages later.

I have an 80 page draft lying around - eighty fucking pages. Do you know how long it's been taken me, trying to find one chunk of time where I can sit down and go over eighty fucking pages.

Anyways, all that to say that when I finally got the first chapter of Muzzled out at a cool +7k, I was very pleased with myself.

Now if Events could just stop happening to me, that would be great!

30. What would you like to write next year?

More of my ongoing projects! Particularly the ones I've already started posting! Fucking hell, I just want to write my little stories!

[phoenike]

ao3 meme

Thanks for tagging me @natsora, I'm going to try and answer this to see if it cheers me up a bit. Don't feel like much of a writer right now tbh. To start with a sob story, I've been super sick with the worst flu in at least 30 years, nearly sent me to emergency when the pain in my throat wouldn't let me drink. After 10 days I'm still feeling rather weak. Add to that how an old friend of mine passed away about 6 weeks ago, and it's safe to say I haven't felt very creative as of late.

I really don't feel like bothering anyone by tagging them. Whoever sees this, please consider yourself tagged whether we're mutuals or not, and do tag me back if you'd like.

How many works do you have on AO3?

A grand total of 23. Over time, I've orphaned and removed a handful of stories.

What’s your total word count?

539,434

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Size of Perfection (Captain America) 4019

The Leonardo Effect (Assassin's Creed 2) 2421

Unresolved (Mass Effect Andromeda) 1080

That Which Remains (Detroit Become Human) 768

Fragile (Mass Effect 2) 712

Do you respond to comments? Why/Why not?

I respond to all comments left on works in progress. Feedback is so incredibly precious at that point. It's a bit more difficult to find the spoons to reply to comments left on older works, but they still mean a lot.

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

A couple of my fics (The Leonardo Effect, Fragile) have epilogues that make the endings bittersweet. My current WIP The Edge of Memory is going to end bittersweetly as well. But I don't think any of these can be called angsty or unhappy in a real sense.

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

Most of my fics have what I consider HEAs? I suppose I like to instill a little more realism than some other writers. Still, people do get together and the implication is that they stay that way. (Incidentally, I'm still sad that I never finished the wedding epilogue I had in the works for That Which Remains.)

Do you write crossovers?

No

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Years ago I got some not so glowing comments about consent issues in my fics, despite always picking the "author chose not to use archive warnings" category. I've gotten more careful about tagging since then. But the only true hate I can recall receiving was from a certain rather infamous character on ff.net who 'reviewed' TLE and basically accused me of pedophilia because a 17-yo apprentice had a one-sided crush on Leonardo. It was what finally made me stop posting on ff.net.

Do you write smut?

Against my better judgment, yes.

Have you ever co-written a fic?

No

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Whatever I'm currently writing for.

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

My only ever AU, Innamorarmi (AC2), which I finally deemed perpetually unfinished last year and concluded with a chapter that contained an outline for the remaining story.

What are your writing strengths?

This question reminds me painfully of being in a job interview, but I've gotten some nice feedback over the years about my dialog, characterization and descriptions.

What are your writing weaknesses?

Simply getting the words out. Other than a passing episode of inspiration every once in a blue moon, I've always been a slow writer. Also, I tend to put characters in situations that don't create a lot of forward momentum. Mostly they just sit around and talk.

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

The occasional expression or short sentence is fine. As long as the writing flows, I don't think the reader always needs to understand every single word.

What’s the first fandom you wrote for?

I wonder if the Donald Duck comics I drew as a little kid count? I suppose the first real piece of fanfic I wrote was for Polidori's The Vampyre in the 90's, it's actually up on AO3. Another really old one was for Elric of Melniboné by Michael Moorcock, on AO3 as well. Whether these can be considered written for a fandom is a different matter. The first 'real' fandoms I wrote for were Dragon Age and Mass Effect.

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

There have been some characters I desperately wanted to write for but never found an idea that would have kept me going past the beginning. The latest one was The Emperor from Baldur's Gate 3.

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

My favorite tends to be whatever I'm working on at the moment, but if I had to choose between finished stories, I might pick That Which Remains and The Offer, possibly for no other reason than that they are more recent than others and my skills as a writer have improved. I've gotten a bit better about feelings of crushing self-criticism towards finished stories, but it's something I still struggle with from time to time.

[eusuntgratie]

9, 15, and 23 for the fic year in review asks!

thank you sara!!

9. What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

ooooh love this question. disaster and anything in that 'verse bc it's fun to write with somebody else and i'd never written anything that long and i just had a blast writing it (when i wasn't suffering). i also LOVED writing vlamburn porn this year bc they are SO RIDICULOUS that it is just really easy to write them. aaaaaand dance with me so we don't cry bc lonely dancers possessed me and i listened to it on repeat until that fic fell out of my brain and i always love it when that happens.

15. What was the hardest fic to title?

a;dslkfalskdf almost all of them. @bigassbowlingballhead has probably titled at least half of the fics i wrote this year. every now and then a title comes to me in the beginning but that is RARE usually i am crying and bitching and moaning about not having a title when i'm done and ready to post.

i had a really hard time with i don't know how to say it, my sidgeno exchange fic, and i like the title bc its a quote from geno and it does fit the vibe, but i don't know how many people reading that story know its a geno quote and it fits but it's not *perfect*, y'know? and i really wanted a great title bc its an exchange fic. so i ended up happy with it but it's not perfect.

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

finishing and posting the last chapter of disaster. i know i haven't shut up about this fic for over a year but. she's our baby. the longest fic i've ever written, and i didn't think i could pull it off, but i really love how it turned out. i'm really proud of the last chapter (and not just bc me and jon have the gift of prophecy). i love that i told the story I set out to tell, even though it made some people uncomfy and isn't for everyone and lots of folks bailed halfway through and i got some weird hate about it... i don't care. i wrote the story i wanted to write and its a good story and it's, in my opinion, a lot more interesting than the story the people who didn't like it seemed to want me to tell. i love that fic and i'm really proud of it 🥰

is my writing legacy a long porny rpf fic about infidelity? i'll take it.

2024 Year in Review

[wondereads]

Weekly Reading Update (01/15/23)

Reviews and thoughts under the cut

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (10/10)

It's been a year since I reread Howl's Moving Castle and that's a bit too long in my opinion. This time it was with my book club, and it was so fun to see everyone's reactions to the story. I feel like every time I read this book I notice something new about Sophie's character or the magic or the romance. I just love this novel so much, the characters and plot are all just amazing and it has such a unique, comforting feel. Diana Wynne Jones is a master of the fantasy genre, and I have yet to read a book by her I didn't like.

Emily Wilde's Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett (9/10)

This was a lovely continuation to the adventures of Emily Wilde. She's still a stellar protagonist with a really strong voice and lots of tangible flaws while still being incredibly likable. As usual, her dynamic with Wendell, both in a platonic and romantic way, is top tier; they really have me giggling and kicking my feet during this books. There are two new major side characters, who introduce a lot of good character conflict, and the return of some old favorites from Encyclopaedia of Faeries. The beginning is a little wonky in terms of pacing, but there are some great subplots in this one and some surprising throughlines from the previous book.

The Evil Queen by Gena Showalter (8/10)

Another reread, I think I'm just in the mood for fantasy romances. I will be completely honest and say that this book is a guilty pleasure of mine. I cannot look anyone in the eye and say this is well-written, but it certainly is enjoyable. Gena Showalter writes some really good chemistry, even if Everly and Roth are the fantasy equivalent of that one high school couple that can't stop getting mad at each other and breaking up before getting back together again. There's a lot of wish fulfillment in this story, and it's just a fun time for me.

Wolf-Speaker by Tamora Pierce (CR, 68%)

While I love this series, Wolf-Speaker was always my least favorite in the series. However, my opinion of it is improving because a) the message of unity and Daine's character growth are really good and b) I'm listening to an audiobook and it has a full cast and just has great voice acting. Unfortunately, I'm at a point in the book where Daine and Numair have been separated for a while, and I won't lie, I love his character and I'm missing him.

Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation Vol. 4 by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu (CR, 12%)

I'm so excited to finish up the MXTX novels! I've been putting them off because I wanted to read my physical copies thanks to the beautiful illustrations, and I've been abroad without them. I am kind of nervous about this one because I'm fairly certain this one includes the end of Wei Wuxian 1.0, which is going to be so painful to read. Still, I'm really excited to finish this one and Heaven Official's Blessing!

[blackbird5154]

10, 23, 37, 38, 40 from meme for fic writers questions

10. Which fic has been the easiest to write?

"The Third Advent". There is a state of writing fever, when images and scenes come into your head, the plot begins to form as if by itself. Everything comes out smooth and perfect. I hardly had to invent  anything, no writing routine: the story just unfolded before my eyes. I wrote it in three weeks. But there were some downsides too: at one point, my friend had to convince me to sleep...

23. If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why?

Well, my first fic in this fandom, "CMLS", was simultaneously my first attempt at PWP. In fact, I've already done one revision since I wrote it. Despite that, I realize it's still banal and naive stuff, and there's nothing I can do about it. It's just the way it is.

37. Talk about your current wips.

I have nothing new to say, sorry. No new mushrooms in the basket.

38. Talk about a review that made your day.

Is it about feedback? One day a user came to the comments on “The 3rd Advent” and wrote some sort of literary analysis, really cool. That was really nice to receive. I think comments like that are the most valuable and you're lucky if you get a reader like that. I try to leave reviews like that myself. I think it's every author's dream to have someone reflect what they've written like a mirror. Unfortunately, that commenter hasn't appeared since then. 

40. Write an alternative ending to [insert fic title] (or just the summary of one).

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if, at the end of the "Missionary Men," Cardi had changed his mind and walked into Terzo's room as he was reading his letter. I think we would have seen Terzo crawling across the floor and clinging to Cardinal's leg, able to repeat only "Don't leave me, please don't leave me." Then they would lie in bed together for a long time, Terzo gradually calming down on Cardi's chest. Finally, he would say in a calm and devastated voice that he is giving up all his claims and voluntarily giving Cardi the title of Papa.  We would have seen him pledge allegiance to the new Papa, becoming his loyal subordinate, promising to do everything for him no matter what his consequences. He doesn't need anything if Cardi isn't around.

He was so desperate in that scene.

[cbk1000]

2023 In Review: 13, 23, 30!

13. What fic was the easiest to write? Probably the mixed media/social media fic I wrote. There are definitely challenges to telling a story that way, but it's easier to write a bunch of conversations between characters than it is to write something more traditional where my brain has to be a little more on it. Now uploading images to ao3 is another story. lmao

23. Share the final version of a paragraph or sentence you struggled with. What about it was challenging? Are you happy with how it turned out? This wasn't written this year, but I can't actually think of something off the top of my head that I wrote this year and really wrestled with. That's probably because the last few years have just sort of blended together, though, so trying to sort out when I wrote what is a challenge. lmao Also, this is specifically the ending to a larger section that I struggled with; I had to keep restarting the whole scene because as I got into it, it didn't feel right, and I had to keep back up to where it did and starting over. I didn't necessarily struggle with this specifically, but a good couple of pages of a specific scene and how I was going to end it:

And now he felt into the land, felt where the vegetation was only a scrim over the depths, where there were things living under it, and unliving. He felt that in the peat were a thousand voiceless organisms, breathing in the night: and told them to speak.

The ground lurched under him. All the way up the hill he saw the convulsions where the land broke itself to comply, and showed what soil had never been allowed to show. And the peat under him, and the peat under the villagers rose on a wave, separating them from one another. What had seemed to them solid, or solid enough, now stirred under their feet, or opened in the middle, on the windowed abyss. 

“I said leave!” Merlin thundered.

They did.

As to whether I'm happy with it, yeah, I think the section accomplished what I wanted it to in the end and I felt much better about the version I ended up with than some of my false starts.

30. What's something you want to write in 2024? I'll probably be finishing up Book of Merthur, so since I'll be bringing a huge project to an end, I'd like to start another overly ambitious multi-chapter. I have a few ideas knocking around, but have purposefully avoided developing them/researching for them too much until I've finished that project, so I'll see when I'm done where I'm at and which idea I'm leaning toward.

[ravenelyx]

Kai, I bloody love your writing! And you already know much I cherish you. ♡

Please answer 13, 23 and 33 for me. 😊

And you already know how much I adore you !! <3<3

Thank you for asking ♡ here we goo

13. What’s a common writing tip that you almost always follow?

That's a tip that might feel controversial, but it's the best one I heard.

Steal. But don't copy.

Artists do it all the time. Every artist or writer who tells you they have never stolen is a liar. Every artist or writer who tells you they've never copied is a good person.

"Stealing" in this sense is simply a process of imitating and making it yours.

Pov: you've just finished the best-written book you ever read. You're going to reproduce that same writing style after that.

It is now engraved in your brain.

People say "reading makes the difference" when referring to writing for a reason. We all stole. We stole from that book, that sentence that made out skin tingle. We have it in our brain; we have it on paper now, albeit with different words and meaning.

I've 'stolen' from many fics and books. My writing made a 180° turn ever since I posted my first fic. I now would not be satisfied with my old works, but I respect them as part of my journey. Everything I've ever read and watched is something I stole and made mine.

Copying is bad. Copying means taking something from someone else and placing them somewhere in your works with no meaning and no personal emotion behind it (we would legally call it 'plagiarism' in this particular context). Stealing is a personal growth: that particular sentence structure you'd never have thought of had you not read that page; those strange ways to describe happiness, with metaphors and poetry, that struck you as if you felt it yourself. Steal ideas, steal information, steal advice, steal weaknesses, and steal strengths. And make them your own.

23. Best writing advice for other writers?

What I said before, and also an advice I barely follow myself.

People will never care more than you do.

People will never feel those same feelings you get when reading your own work, because they're personal to you and they stem from a much deeper understanding of your story and what you poured in it.

What people will feel is what they need to feel at that particular moment, while reading that particular piece of work.

Don't expect someone else to be you. But don't expect them not to care either.

After all, two cakes are better than one, even if you feel like your icing is too liquid or your cream not neat enough.

People will taste it, most will eat it, others will devour it. And the baker is always behind the scene, left to review their recipe over and over, as if there were ever something wrong with it.

33. Do you want to be published some day?

Oh dear, I do have ideas for a few books, honestly, all falling on the "fantasy" genre or something along those lines. I'm not sure I'll ever get to it: I'll see how this all goes and what life will bring me <3

→ Ask game

[cartograffiti]

September '23 reading diary

I finished 5 books in September, plus 3 re-reads, and enjoyed all of them thoroughly.

Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater is a very charming fantasy of manners romance about a woman who discovers half her soul was stolen by a faerie. Dora's emotions and social skills are unusual as a result, and her family believes she will never marry, but she hits it off with the highest-ranking sorcerer in England and the two of them tackle curses and class issues with a lot of reflection and heart. There are more original romances and fairy-based fantasies, but all the elements together are (like Dora) more than the sum of their parts. Refreshing.

Something Human is the second of A.J. Demas' stand alone fantasy Mediterranean novels I've read, a lovely chewy romance about a not-Greek official and a not-Celtic or Germanic(?) warrior priest who save each other's lives after a battle in which they fought on opposite sides. The first of two parts is my favorite, focusing on their recuperation and fledgling romance while they hide in a deserted temple. They cooperate to achieve political and personal peace, and the narrative has a lot of faith in humanity without making it too easy. Well worth seeking out.

A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel is the second of K.J. Charles's Doomsday Books duology, and while I latched onto the first more strongly, this is still a five-star top-tier of her work pick from me. A troubled teen from book 1 now stars as a hugely likeable adult with ambitions to resolve a mystery introduced then, and he's formulated the perfect plan...if he has to help the warm-hearted, short-fused sexy local earl get a handle on his paperwork in the process, that's not a problem, right? Great atmosphere, thrillingly horny even by KJC standards, and very moving writing about trauma.

The Last Devil to Die is the fourth Thursday Murder Club mystery by Richard Osman. A group of friends, most of them elderly, crack murders together, this time because someone they know was shot in some sort of heroin deal. I solved this case more quickly than previous entries, but not in an annoying way. Don't start with this one if possible, go right to the beginning, but these are highly personable books with wonderful character portraits.

I also grabbed the next Wells & Wong book I needed, First Class Murder. Not my favorite of this series's cases either, because it's a homage to Murder on the Orient Express and at moments it had a slight retread quality, but it's very much its own story. It deals heavily and effectively with Hazel's relationship with her father, and how both of them are treated as Asians in Europe. A favorite character of mine from book 2 reappeared, to my delight, and I continue to be impressed by how much more emotionally honest and sensitive this middle grade series is about the death side of murder mysteries than many written for adults.

My re-reads this month were a Band Sinister canon review for a K.J. Charles fanfic exchange, which remains a favorite, and two of Tamora Pierce's Emelan books, Sandry's Book and Tris's Book. I'm a little behind in the group read of Emelan and am excited to catch up. There's a lot of striking and moving content in this series about craft and personal growth. Sandry's book is noticeably stronger on a plot level than Tris's, but the difference isn't great enough to be a letdown.

[plantcrazy]

Progress Update 20.05.23 - Lost Children of the CCC

I've got quite a few changes & updated stuff to talk about (as well as chapters to renumber... again >> )

FIRSTLY! I figured out why my word count has been stupidly high for the amount of chapters I actually have written vs to write. The average YA book word count is 90,000 ish, and I'm on 102,000 at 40% done.

Because of this, I've broken the story up into 4 part for what was going to be the escaping the wall section. I think the story will have a total of 6 or 7 parts when finished.

Progress

Part 1 as you can see is about done. The biggest hold up is the two comic chapters (Ch.20 & 21) and Ch.1 & 11. The only thing I haven't started on is the final chapter. But everything else is in some stage of editing, either an old version getting updated or final tweaks.

Part 2 is a very patchy with lots of edits to be made to what chapters are done or started. However, I know what I'm wanting to write so I'm quite confident once part 1 is done, it won't take me long to make some good headway.

Ch.20 - ArE wE hAvInG fUn YeT~ [Part 1] I've got two pages to colour & everything is finished & ready to upload.

I've got a lot of school work & Ch.21 to get done in the meantime, so I'll be sticking with the Monday & Friday uploads till all the pages are out, at which point the full chapter will go up on A03.

Ch.21 - ArE wE hAvInG fUn YeT~ [Part 2] The first script is done, and I've sketched out pages 1-8. I've found some edits I might need to make to the backend of this chapter and will be reviewing if those changes are needed over the next couple of days.

Art wise

Chapters 1, 2, 11, 19, 23 - 26 need covers making still.

All chapters need cover numbers updating (again) as the intro chapter I was debating making, will be the new Ch.1

I'm on the fence about adding bio's or not at the end of the respective chapter. I looked at it, but never got around to it in the past.

Looking on other art ideas to go with the chapters.

A03 Updates

I've updated tags, so they're more accurate to the updated version of the story. And yes, I gave in. I added the shipping tags. I've never done romance, but I've been inspired by everyone's amazing works over here so... shippers, you may celebrate. I'm joining your cult, lol.

Story description updated to be more accurate for Part 1

Chapter no. changed from 17/?? to 17/26

Update chapter 19/11/22 removed.

Current Ch.17 is actually Ch.22 OLD VERSION. I haven't taken it down, as A) I don't want to upload all those pages again. B) I'm pretty near to 'releasing' that chapter with my current speed. I've put a disclaimer on it so readers are aware it's an old version.

[phantom-does-a-thing]

for the ask game: 32 13 26 29 24 11 34 17 18 5 35 30 33 39 16 31 68 10 7 19 3 36 50 20 4 21 12 25 28 15 38 1 23 37 9 27 2 14

tee hee

SCREW YOU I AM ANSWERING THEM IN THE ORDER YOU SENT THEM.

32) How do you feel about smut? I am asexual so its kind of nasty to me but I also have morbid curiosity

13) What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever come across? UH I think the best writing advice I've ever seen is the one about practicing a ton because that's really just what it is. "Write what you want no matter how cringe or if you think no one will enjoy it because there will always be at least one person that will enjoy it" Write for yourself and keep practicing, write whatever you want.

26) Do you beta yourself? If so, what kind of beta are you? no if you try and make me edit my fics I will kill you

29) If you could write the sequel (or prequel) to any fic out there not written by yourself, which would you choose? I don't know if I would write anything like a continuation of a fic but I do enjoy asking to write something inspiried by other people bc like its silly anyway let me see.

I don't know if I would want to write a continuation to this fic bc the author does it SO well and I don't think I could do it any better but its such a good series that I OUGH

24) Have you ever deleted one of your published fics? yes. I have deleted everything on my fanfiction.net account which I don't remember how many fics was published, about 14 I think but I deleted all of them. I do not want to say what they are on tumblr but Sky, you know

11) Is writing your passion or just a fun hobby? this is my passion I am a writer, I would not be Phantom if not writing, I am a writer first and foremost and a person second

34) What are your thoughts on non-con and dub-con? ICK ICK ICK ICK ICK ICK ICK why is this a question

17) Do you write your story from start to finish, or do you write the scenes out of order? Start to finish usually, sometimes I start writing a scene and then that just becomes the whole fic because then I just don't write an actual beginning to the scenes

18) Do you use any tools, like worksheets or outlines? no? I do not know what tools these would be

5) Share one of your strengths. descriptions are my favorite thing ever they are my babygirls I love Descriptsions. I also am really good at subtly changing perspectives in the middle of fics, is this a good skill to have? idk it depends on the fic. But I think its cool.

35) Would you ever kill off a canon character? would I kill a character like IN canon or would I kill a canonical character in a fic? bc in canon the only character I would genuinely kill is Filipe bc I hate him so much. But also I have written character death fics, I might write one for bitb but that's just gonna be canon adjacent so not really. I won't normally kill a character outside of it

30) Do you accept prompts? If you do it in the comment of a fic, no I will probably be very annoyed by you. But honestly like yeah sometimes. Mutuals can send me fic ideas at any point in time, I might not write them but like yeah I do accept prompts I just might not write them

33) How do you feel about crack? I don't really like it, I don't hate it but some of it just straight up feels like shock factor for shock factor. I've only w ritten it once and never again.

39) Do you ever get rude reviews and how do you deal with them? No, I don't ever actually get hate but I do just get really really weird comments sometimes and I do not understand them and they are just weird

16) If you only could write one pairing for the rest of your life, which pairing would it be? uh oh no. Either Nightmare blunt rotation or polypd

31) Do you take liberties with canon or are you very strict about your fic being canon compliant? Canon is mere guidelines and I very rarely follow them lol. With Riptide I do not understand canon enough to make a ton of canon adjacent fics, same thing w Prime defenders. I just very rarely understand canon enough to actually w rite something adjacent

68) you are just giving me fake numbers

10) Which fic has been the easiest to write? I don't know like any specific fic, but fluff is very easy for me to write just because it takes the least mental energy to create. It's silly and I like writing it. Usually a good bit of my fluff fics were probably really easy to write, I cannot remember any specific fic that was easy.

7) Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Something human (and yet it wasn’t), something alive, something dead (something that wasn’t supposed to be dead or alive), a monster, a spirit, a demon. Something not right, not normal… unfamiliar. Something unsavory, blasphemous, corrupted. Something incomprehensible.

Something that didn’t belong because saturation didn’t belong. Colors didn’t belong because everyone had forgotten what colors are like. Everyone forgets what colors they were supposed to be when the memories were long faded. The only color they ever had was white, the white of bones. The darkness of the churning clouds or the gray of the swaying grass.

And yet. Still, something that did belong. Because it too was a memory, a faded… flickering memory. Its form was so corrupted by the flames it was consumed in that the fading shone differently. It was different. It was unknown. It had no idea where it was supposed to be or what it was supposed to be doing. It didn’t know what it was. Just a flickering mass of something that used to be. An ember, a glowing, blue ember that spreads like droplets of blood in a lake.

A remnant, a memory (a dream created by a much more powerful creature), a ghost, a spirit, a human, a monster, or some unholy blasphemy against god. What was it supposed to be?

Its face was shrouded in a blue that was much too saturated, a color that was too bright. It made it impossible to see its features or what it was supposed to look like. It didn’t even know what it was supposed to look like. Who it was supposed to be. What it was supposed to be. Human? It took the vague shape of a human. But shapes and forms were misleading… shaky… wrong… Formation didn’t make sense here. Anything could pose as a human when there weren’t the same laws to confine them. But it was sure that it was supposed to look human.

What was it supposed to look like? What form was it supposed to take? The flickering blue flames that corrupted it seem to glow a little brighter as if reinforcing their claim over its trembling form.

This isn't my favorite piece of prose because that's a very very hard thing to choose but from this fic which I am genuinely very proud of because I REALLY love this fic and I think that the prose is super fun. I just wanted to make it as spacy and confusing as possible like you do not know what is going on throughout the entirety of it. I also really like the juxtaposition of all the different phrases to describe William because he doesn't know what he is or what he is supposed to be so it's just very very confusing and it's like that on purpose.

19) Stephen King once said that his muse is a man who lives in the basement. Do you have a muse? ????????? Stephen king is an interesting man. I guess my muse is JRWI bc that's what I've been writing the most fic over I suppose, these characters are my muse.

3) Is there a trope you wouldn’t touch with a ten foot pole? soulmate aus. I hate it so much

36) Which is your favorite site to post fic? archive of our own

50) you are literally just sending me fake numbers bestie

20) Describe your perfect writing conditions. Average temperature, not to warm, not too cold, a nice cushioned chair and possibly a blanket, my water bottle within reach and nothing in my body hurting ever because it will be kind to me, having the blinds open with the sun shining and the window open so I can have fresh breeze

4) How many fic ideas are you nurturing right now? Care to share one of them? UH quite a few, I constantly have fic ideas in my head I am always thinking of new things to write and new things to do. One of my current ideas that I dont know if I will post is William body horror poking n proding in organs

21) How many times do you usually revise your fic/chapter before posting? Usually I don't, I'll just write it, throw it through grammarly and then post it

12) Is there an episode above all others that inspires you just a little bit more? an episode? Like just any episode of anything? UH?????? I have no idea genuinely. I do not remember any episodes of anything ever. I guess episode 3 of bitb? idk

25) What do you look for in a beta? a non corporeal form (I do not look for a beta)

28) Share three of your favorite fic writers and why you like them so much. NYXXXXXXXXXX NYX NYX NYX NYX I love Nyx's writing so so so so so so so much oh my god all of its writing makes me absolutely insane its just sooooo good and I love it dearly. All of its fics are just so soft and theres something so whimsical about the writing style that just makes me ough

PeriPerson VERY Good writing I eat it so much. Something about their wrting just makes me sooo oough its described so well and I love the writing style

Achilleshq MRrrbghghgmmg descriptions so good very very very good Their writing is just ogmuguhghjhx <3

15) If you could choose one of your fics to be filmed, which would you choose? do you recognize the bodies in the water I am just very proud of this fic and I think that it would make a cool film

38) Talk about a review that made your day. Got asked if I ever considered a career as an author and that made me very very happy because YES! I HAVE! That's my dream job and has been since I was a kid and it really made my day to be asked that

1)Describe your comfort zone—a typical you-fic. characters cuddling, soft touches, over indulgent descriptions, focusing way too much on describing one thing. UHH. Probably only two characters because I have a hard time writing more than that at once.

23) If you were to revise one of your older fics from start to finish, which would it be and why? I would revise my first pjo fic on ao3 because it's like 200 words cuddling fic thats very bad and I want to see how much better I can do because I know how to describe now and I know how dialogue works and I want to see how I could do it differnetly.

37) Talk about your current wips. For the fnaf bitb au I'm planning on at least two more chapters for it with just describing all the spooky stuff happening at night and I am very excited to write it because unlike the games, Rand is not confined to the office and can and will walk around the pizzaria which is gonna be a little silly goofy also the animatronics just make me a little tee hee. This isn't really a WIP because I have no actually writing on paper but I want to write more apotheosis fics

9) Which fic has been the hardest to write? the halloween fic. I don't know why it's so hard but I cannot write it oh my god it haunts me. But if we;'re going off of completed fics that was really hard to write u8h The fic I wrote with the alternate ending to pd ep 10 was also pretty hard just because I couldn't figure out how I wanted to write that or whatever idk I'm so exhausted rn. this fic

27)How do you feel about collaborations? I am not good at working with other people also I don't really know what a collaboration would be or how to do one so. I guess not well? Idk???? I am a solo kind of guy

2) Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to? not really a trope but I think I need to write more toxic relationships it's very interesting to me, that and more smoking fics. I wanna write a shotgunning fic tbh but I just have not gotten around to do that. What else have I not done that I want to do? IDK what tropes are there?????

14) What’s the worst writing advice you’ve ever come across? Something something don't use said or whatever, the show don't tell argument because it's super nuanced and usually any sort of writing advice giving that show don't tell thing is not going to describe in enough detail to actually be beneficial because there are SO Many nuances behind it. Uh, I don't really listen to writing advice because I am self confident and a bit of an egotist when it comes to writing so that's probably it.

I am so freaking tired you can probably see my deteriorating state as this list goes on, I don't even know what one you left off all I know is I am so tired.