#lae'zel mancer week

[saveuswhitegirl]

08.26.2024 | Lae'zel x Shadowheart

Day 7: Freestyle

Cambion and Gith Armor by Cerberry. Ophelia’s Darkness Secret Collection by a9145056060904. Modular Pants and Skirts by Cerberry. Psychotter's Goth Dyes by Psychotter. Shadowheart Dyes by ilikedetectives and I. Camera by Frans Bouma. Captured using ReShade.

[virtualfotodivision]

Lae'zel | 08.26.2024 | Baldur's Gate III

Myrkul Bane Armor and Helmets by Cerberry. Shadowheart Dyes by ilikedetectives and I. Camera by Frans Bouma. Captured using ReShade.

[ziskandra]

2024: Fic in Review

The lovely @hazelestelle tagged me in this fic in review meme, and even though I didn't write much last year and am slightly late, I thought it might be nice to reflect nonetheless!

Total Number of Fics: 6

Total Wordcount: 7,260 🙈 my quietest year since 2019!

Fandoms: 3 (Ace Attorney, Baldur's Gate 3 and Dragon Age)

Smut scenes: 0, in a surprisingly sedate year for me. If my Meresino fic Hand in Glove had gone on for much longer, it probably would have gotten there, though!

Most Popular Fic (by bookmarks): Brilliant Things, my Johanna Hezenkoss-POV Emmrook fic that I posted all of three days ago.

Most Popular Fic (by kudos): Also Brilliant Things

New things I tried: Writing something that wasn't for a fandom event or exchange for the first time in seven years and actually working on it over multiple days despite it being a one-shot and not giving up, haha.

Fic I spent the most time on: Brilliant Things, again, because it was by far the longest and the one I was most nervous about getting right.

Fic I spent the least time on: Proof, a Franmiles ficlet I wrote for the Battleship exchange which basically flowed out of my fingers with limited input from my actual brain. They're one of those pairings I have spent so many years thinking about (a decade? plus?) that I could probably write about them in my sleep.

Favourite thing I wrote: Definite toss-up between Brilliant Things and Proof, although I feel like Brilliant Things might be affected by recency bias.

Looking Back, Did You Write More Fic Than You Thought You Would This Year, Less, Or About What You’d Expected? More, honestly! I actively planned to severely reduce my fandom participation at the start of 2024 on account of returning to uni, and I only started writing again when life blew up in my face last June.

Story Of Mine Most Under-Appreciated By The Universe, In My Opinion: tbh, I think my fics more or less got the appreciation they deserved, but if I must answer, I think it would've been neat if more people had read Ordinary Days in Baldur's Gate, even if it is a very short piece of Half-Orc Tav/Lae'zel fluff. It's probably the only BG3 fic I'll write because apparently I cannot spend hundreds of hours in a game AND also be fannish about it, I must choose or the other. lol

Most Unintentionally Telling Story: Not to like, psychoanalyse myself through fiction, but part of why I was struggling to write despite having so much free time in the latter half of last year was because I'd grown out of the themes that used to permeate my works when I was younger (there was a LOT of exploration of generational trauma going on, even before I knew the words to describe it). But the process of writing Brilliant Things made me realise what story beats and themes I'm interested in exploring going ahead, and my return to academia has empowered me in feeling like I might actually be doing it on purpose this time.

Biggest Disappointment: I don't think there were really any major ones. I was a bit disappointed I couldn't write more when I was unemployed, but in hindsight I think I was fully unprepared for how much brainspace job hunting takes up, even when one is actively taking a break from it.

Biggest Surprise: Dragon Age: The Veilguard not only existing, but coming out AND restoring my writing drive. Honestly, it's only in the past couple of weeks that I've been seized by this surge of energy (unsurprisingly co-inciding with my return to the workforce).

My Favourite Part Of Fandom This Year: A few things! Firstly, bonding with fellow Emmrich-mancers. I am just starting to be more active in DA fandom again, and given my previous experiences in wider Bioware fandom I am always a bit wary but Emmrich-spaces are overwhelmingly positive compared to the community at large because everyone is focused on the shared goal of sexualising that old man, and I just think that's neat-- But also, talking to and befriending @freddy-eynsford-hills-cuck-chair who has also helped me returned to the world of reading fanfic with unbridled enthusiasm of My Fair Lady and Henry/Eliza AND having written so many amazing fanfics for me to catch up on. I am still working my way through them. How do they do it? I honestly do not know <3 Also, shout out to my buddies in (what is nominally) the Meresino server; it may be small but we just celebrated our two-year anniversary and our conversations continue to sustain me 💖 There's definitely a common theme running here, and I dare say it is ENTHUSIASM!! 🗣️

Writing goals for next year: I would like to finish at least two of the one-shots I have outlined that take place in the same continuity as Brilliant Things. As a stretch goal, I'm even considering working on a chaptered long fic again for the first time in YEARS. We'll see how I go.

Did you meet last years goal?: Given it was roughly "write less" and I wrote like, 40k more words in 2023, I GUESS Not tagging anyone because I think most people have already done various 2024 fic reflections, but if you would like to do this one, please go ahead and tag me because I'd love to read it!!

[saveuswhitegirl]

08.26.2024 | Lae'zel

Day 1: Cloud/Stars

Myrkul Bane Armor and Helmets by Cerberry. Shadowheart Dyes by ilikedetectives and I. Camera by Frans Bouma. Captured using ReShade

[saveuswhitegirl]

08.29.2024 | Lae'zel

Day 6: Blood-Red/Death-Black

Myrkul Bane Armor and Helmets by Cerberry. Astarion's Gear (cloak) by Cerberry. Dyes for the Dark and Wary by ilikedetectives and amisthiosintraining. Camera by Frans Bouma. Captured using ReShade.

[saveuswhitegirl]

08.28.2024 | Lae'zel x Shadowheart

Day 4: Devotion/Submission

Astarion Corset Clothes by KinntheGreen. Shadowheart Alternate Hair - Updated for Launch by vyrelis. Project Violet / Kalius Dyes (WIP) by ilikedetectives and amisthiosintraining. Camera by Frans Bouma. Captured using ReShade

[saveuswhitegirl]

08.26.2024 | Lae'zel

Day 2: Sunrise/Sunset

Cambion and Gith Armor by Cerberry. Psychotter's Goth Dyes by Psychotter. Camera by Frans Bouma. Captured using ReShade.

[saveuswhitegirl]

08.29.2024 | Lae'zel

Day 5: Silver/Rubies

Project Red/Lily Dyes (WIP) by ilikedetectives and amisthiosintraining. Camera by Frans Bouma. Captured using ReShade.

[saveuswhitegirl]

08.27.2024 | Lae'zel

Day 3: Peace/War

Extra Dyes for the Fashionable Folk of Faerun by AstralSprout. Camera by Frans Bouma. Captured using ReShade.