#started this one in october 2022 and finished in january 2023

[crescentfool]

my piece for the memories of you zine (@p3-zine)! thank you so much for having me, it was a ton of fun getting to draw my favorite trio~

🛒 leftovers sales are open from now to november 30th! https://p3zine.bigcartel.com/

[oflights]

2023 fic review!

ahhh thanks for tagging me, @citrusses and @oknowkiss! i'm going to tag @teledild0nix @elskanellis @arminaa8 @thecouchsofa @stationintern and anyone else who'd like to do this!!

my 2023 AO3 stats are...alarming lol. AO3 counts Close Behind as a 2023 fic because i finished posting it in 2023, but i really wrote it all in 2022. so if we discount that (which was 134k) i still wrote...over 330k words of fanfiction. 🆗����

do i have regrets? no. should i have regrets? maybe??? in any case, 2023 was the year i really started using tumblr for fandom again (thanks, elon!) and i made so many wonderful friends who were so supportive and inspiring! that word count is all your fault, basically.

here's the (all drarry) damage:

January

Close Behind (134k words, M)

To rescue Draco from the Underworld, Harry has to look forward. Unfortunately, Draco has to look back.

February

find a new place to be from (47k words, E)

Something is wrong with Malfoy Manor, and it’s driven Draco into the Muggle world. Thankfully, Harry is now on the case. A story about houses that haunt you and homes built for two.

April

along each garden wall (61k words, E)

Draco has to have a baby (or have one on the way) at the time of his fast-approaching 35th birthday, or he's going to lose his home to his vile cousin. Harry offers to help, but their complex past—even beyond Hogwarts—prompts Draco to set out on a long journey of friendship, kittens, gardens, motorbike rides, and more.

May

the first in line (29k words, E)

Harry finds out he's a Veela. That's not so bad, and then he finds out his allure only works on his enemies. Even that's not so bad, since his safe, boring, post-war life means he doesn't have very many enemies these days. And then Draco Malfoy lands a hot air balloon in his front garden, intent on courting him.

June

please come to boston, Byzantine, and go to it laughing

(tumblr prompt fics! i was not good at this lol)

August

Cool About It (16k words, M, for @hp-bodiceripper)

Harry is so excited for his first date with Draco. But what follows isn't so much a date as it is an all-night odyssey including a malevolent lift, a Gringotts heist, a Sleeping Curse, a trip to the kebab shop, a lack of dancing, a Muggle drug, a rooftop pool party, a black eye and, eventually, a sunrise over a Quidditch stadium.

October

if the bees know (19k words, T, for @hd-fan-fair)

Scorpius' playground is haunted, Harry specializes in helping ghosts pass on, and Draco just wants his son to be safe.

December

The Star Splitter (WIP, 119k words so far, E)

On a routine time travel assignment to the past, Draco stumbles upon 7-year-old Harry Potter and witnesses his neglect and mistreatment by the Dursleys. In the moment, there is only one solution, even if it goes against all his training as a Time Agent: he has to bring Harry back to the future with him. In which Draco burns his life down for the sake of his former school rival.

[couch-house]

2023 baybeeeee. havent done an art summary in a while since i basically stopped drawing early 2020 and didn't get back on the horse until mid-2022 (i wonder... what could have caused that!) i dont feel like my art has really changed this year, only in the ways that I draw specific sonic characters (looking through my archive is fun bc i can see the progression of the diseases known as Giving Them Big Eyebrows and Drawing The Monoeye) and--more exciting 4 me--my practice with paneling comics! :)

i think the progression is much more noticeably when you line it up with last year's sonic art... i can see all the Milestones.. more talking abt that under the cut

May: couch gets into sonic. June: Yucky Sonic 1.0. this was also the month when i Heard Of fleetway super. July: couch comes back from brazil, having read stc. this is also when i start dong actual short comics. compare may -> june -> july. (also please forgive whatever tf i was doing with skintones. i needed some practice)

august: merger au takes shape. dog invented. also i just really like that speed racer sonic mspaint picture. its fun :) september: deep in the fleet mines. october: i lose a lot of steam and mostly just doodle. another comic comparison for those three months:

november: frontiers comes out. i go crazy mode and make that sonic + knuckles comic with the pretty backgrounds and LOTS OF TINY TEXT. december: winter break AND im tired. january 2023 i come back insane crazy mode and write some fanfiction?? still havent finished that LOL. made some nice cover art :) february: i shift into knuckles mode fora month. make another comic. this one is much better i think :) november -> february

march: i shift into transfem metal sonic mode. also just stick to a lot of doodling. also write more fanfiction. crazy. april: transitory period as i shift back into stc/exit: sonic mode. may: more fanfiction. more comics. i really like how both of these turned out :) while the last two were definitely taking a lot more notes from stc, i think around here i start paying attention to and trying to learn from more creative panelling from artists i admire. like @/superemeralds THOAM and @/starrjoy's pandora au.

june: i play sa2 and it's good. july: i play unleashed and it is both miserable and good. i get in kind of an artistic frustration zone and wiggle my way out. august: idk i think im just chillin. super react dot jpeg happens. it's not even named that, it's named after the other image on the canvas, which was maria holding baby shadow. more comics.

september: i burn out for a bit. get real tired. eventually get back up and make more comics. the goal here and last month has become "try to make more interesting panel shapes. I've noticed other artists don't just use rectangles--try playing with irregular polygons and see where it gets you." well it gets you mixed results as you learn :) also i think after that pause i accept the monoeye into my life. sigh...

october: oc showdown starts and @/neurotypical-sonic asks me to make some halloweeny art :) feels like i dont do much this month bc i focus on those. november: A LOT OF ART?? INSANE. more oc showdown stuff. i play shadow the hedgehog (2005). it's good and i love it. i draw a ton of shit on one canvas for it. Fucking Dember: i have shifted back into stc/EXIT mode. motivation's a little weird bc work's a little weird. doing commissions also makes it weird. well im having fun and being myself :) a final handful of comics from this month:

idk maybe ill do something sicko crazy b4 the end of the year. mayb i'll follow exit sonic's example and #GetWorse. who knows :) well this is fun i love looking at my art and seeing and noticing things. thank u all for your support and I hope we all have a great 2024!

[lunastars21]

Welp, today is one year since Sonic superstars came out,

so for this special day I’ll finally put all my thoughts in this blog, so I can finally put this gosh darn game behind me! XD, so read if you like and enjoy the ride!

My (Hopefully) last Superstars Rant:

Well, this is it. Today is Sonic superstars first anniversary, and unlike the two classic games before it, this one doesn't come with a plus version at all. To say I'm not surprised is an understatement.

Now before we start let me get some things out of the way, First of all: This is MY OPINION on the game, if you like it that's fine, if you hate it that's fine too! I just want to get my thoughts out now and finally bury this game into the ground where it can stay there, alright! Second of all, I have no hatred for Trip, I may sound like I hate her, but I do think she is really neat and fun to play as and I hope she returns in future classic titles.

Now with that out the way let's begin:

I became obsessed with Fang the Sniper/Hunter on August 15, 2022 (yes, I remember the exact date), and when I finished reading all the information, one thing was clear to me.

Okay, I'm NEVER seeing him again

Pretty simple mindset I gave myself because of a few reasons!

1. He's a classic character, so he isn't allowed in modern with cool cutscenes nor voice acting

2. He hasn't had a big appearance since sonic the fighters and only had a cameo in mania

3. What kept him relevant was Archie, and that got canceled in 2017, so his only hope was idw. But they only do classic for anniversary specials, so once again, nothing for a good while anyway

All of it was clear to me that Sega wasn't going to use him, nor Bean or Bark. So I immediately adopted them as any fan who has been waiting for their return for over 20 years would, I gave them headcanons and their own story, Because if sega wouldn't, I will!

..and then Jun 8, 2023 arrived during a direct. Sonic superstars was revealed, and Fang would return in it. A coincidence I got into him a year before his return!? I dunno! But I thought it was a blessing in disguise! I was excited about it! October 17th was gonna be the best day of my life, I thought.

I was there for the comic short, I was there for the trio of trouble animation, and I was planning to buy his miniseries books once they were READY in January! I was prepared to give my full support so Fang could have more appearances just like Mighty and Ray! Hell, even hearing that Sonic Superstars takes place BEFORE Sonic Adventure gave me hope that if this game does well! They'll finally put classic characters in modern, this is where the barrier was and if Fang could break it! That would be awesome! I had my hopes way too high, and that was my mistake.

October 17th finally arrives and I buy the digital deluxe version, giving sega 70 smackeroons for the art book mostly and to support my jerboa in his career.

And then I played the game. It took probably 3 to 4 days to finish all the stories. My pros about it! Mostly great stages and atmosphere, I love the little cutscenes that were in, the controls were okay, and Trip as a playable character was fun to play as! Basically, being a better knuckles and Amy combined, the emerald powers could use work, but overall, I thought it was a neat idea to have these gems show they weren't useless on their own! This game has a ton of potential with all the ideas they were cooking with!

And uh

That's about it

Now for why you're probably here and why I'm writing this to begin with

The cons..

First off,

WHY DOES THE MUSIC SWITCH BETWEEN GOOD AND DOG SHIT!?

I WAS ABSOLUTELY EXCITED TO HEAR FANG'S THEME REMIXED AFTER ALL THESE YEARS AND YOU GAVE THAT TO THE OTHER GUY INSTEAD OF TEE LOPES!? YOU DIDN'T PICK THE COMPOSER WHO MADE THE FIRE SONIC MANIA SOUNDTRACK YOU GIVE IT TO THE GUY THAT USES THE SONIC 4 SOUNDFONT!?(No offense to them)

I have mixed feelings about Fang's theme in this game, it's groovy at first but then when we get to the part the song usually drops and goes into an absolute banger, it LOOPS early and doesn't play the part! My favorite part of his theme is CUT OFF from the song! Making it shorter and more annoying! And I can only listen to it maybe 2 times before I get sick of it!

Listen to the srb2 version that is more of a banger.

Another Con is the lack of story! I KINDA get the idea of what's going on, but where is this STUPID EGG FROM, HOW DID IT GET UNLEASHED? There's no cutscene that shows Eggman or Fang opening it up! It just spawns on its own and then gets sealed away, fucker doesn't even have a name it's just DARK DRAGON. Also the animation in this game that's 2D went down in quality compared to its trio of trouble short! What happened!? And why does Fang have SHREK EARS, just remove the tube's, don't give him earholes its fine! It's not supposed to make sense anyway!

Also, Trip's story is the same as knuckles, she's the last of her kind in an isolated island because her people fucked with the emeralds, she's now it's quote on quote guardian and she gets tricked (more like forced) by Eggman and Fang to be their tour guide through the islands untill she meets sonic and defeats them together, Lack of FIGHTING sonic because despite the game calling her an antagonist she doesn't really do shit against the heroes at all. But she's BASICALLY knuckles but a shy girl. We got this story before man, come on.

Okay, got the small points out the way, now for the spotlight of the hour..

Why the fuck does this game market Fang when he RARELY SHOWS UP!

This game went full force on marketing for Fang when it was announced, he got a mini comic explaining why he's there, he got an animated short, he got a miniseries announcement, HE FINALLY GOT A MINI FIGURE! He had comics in super fast friends that were going on at the time! And other official art from the main account!

But when you play the game, yes he shows up in cutscenes, but you only face him off 3 times and TWO OF EM ARE OPTIONAL, you have no choice but to play level sonic to run away from him, but the golden capital Boss fight (which is really time consuming) can be skipped via a glitch, and you DON'T have to fight him In trip's story if ya don’t want too, ya could just play and finish the main story and put it on the shelf bam boom ya done!

“But I wanna fight the dragon”

Not worth it, it's a pain in the ass like the other boss fights. So in reality if you skip golden capital and never play trip's story, you fight Fang

ONCE

And it's not even a fight you just run away from him!

This game was fully marketed for him, and he only made ONE ACTUAL SHOWING, and that's it! He doesn't have an ending cutscene. He doesn't show up at all during or after the dark dragon fight. He just vanishes. The End.

When I finished the game, I was absolutely pissed about it. I gave Sega 70 dollars to show my support, and he only showed up for a few minutes, and then he peace sign vanished. Ya wanna stay with him for 2 hours? Play his final boss fight because that's how long it took me to beat him.

Speaking of, I actually had a more annoying time with the Eggman final boss than Fang's. The second phase of eggmans was always buggy with me and kept killing me, at least with Fang my deaths were more of my mistake than a bug and his ending blow with his nose made me actually laugh because I didn't expect it and found it funny, and his boss theme is a banger too. (So that's a plus)

Another fault with Fang is the scene after his golden capital fight, where Trip stands up to him after he kicks Her in which the whole Fandom started calling him an abuser (even tho she has armor on so it shouldn't even do much) and now it's all over his god damn wiki, doesn't help his miniseries supports that now more too. And I know, people will love a genuine asshole character, but what bothers me is that

He is just EGGMAN 2.0 IN THIS GAME

Who else mistreats their allies, eggman

Who else builds a giant robot of themselves, eggman

Who else runs away when things get dire, EGGMAN

The only difference between them is that Fang is still greedy, but they are basically the SAME CHARACTER HERE.

I thought this game would go a different direction for him because the animated short and Fang's big break have the same morals.

Learning from your mistakes.

In both stories, Fang struggles against a giant animal ( the giant flicky and giant snake), but once he calms himself down or remembers a past experience, he focuses and defeats the foe! Both stories show how smart Fang can be if he puts his mind to it, and he is not called a hunter for nothing!

So I thought superstars would do the same thing in that scene in golden capital Zone, Fang would realize he is out numbered, his robot isn't done and Trip moved to the hero side, taking all the emeralds he had. at that point, it wouldn't be worth it, especially if Eggman already paid him in advance, and team up with the heroes instead to save his own hide. At the start of the game, Fang ALREADY got what he wanted. He could leave if he wanted to. Those stories showed Fang was smarter than he seemed, but instead in this FUCKING GAME he doesn't do that! He still goes in the UNFINISHED ROBOT and gets one shot by Trip.

I get that at the end of the day he's still an antagonist, BUT PREVIOUS STORIES SHOWED ME HE WASN'T THIS STUPID, SO FUCKING WHY.

This continues in his miniseries! Doesn't wanna go back for Bark, wastes TWO ISSUES searching for an 8th Emerald and getting nothing, and the 4th he separates from bark and bean because of his stupidity Not learning at all to be grateful or show any remorse, which is fine if people like him that way it's cool, but once again that just makes him EGGGGMMMMAAAAAN.

What I found cool about Fang is that he could be NEUTRAL! he'd be an enemy of sonic in triple trouble, but then the next beats up eggman and saves the world in sonic the fighters, and even fights THEN TEAMS UP with sonic at the end of the season of chaos special.

It was clear to me that fang can be a bad or good person as long as it benefits HIM. So him jumping in that Mech and kicking Trip DIDN'T benefit him at all, and losing Bean and bark didn't either because them not being there leads to his fate in superstars.

You can like the hooligans being together or not, but the whole thing stands, these boys were last seen in archie together, which got canceled and didn't show up again till season of chaos. At this point, specifically archie fans, WE GOT ATTACHED TO THEM as a team, we saw them up there with the other teams! And I got an entire discord server to prove it!

So, just splitting them up like that is a stab in the gut. That despite all of the waiting, sega decided to listen To fucking 2, 3, or more people (no offense to you) who hated team hooligan to seperate them and blame it all on fang.

Which by the way Bean ANNOYED me in the miniseries, and not in a good way, him and Fang arguing EACH issue was getting on my nerves, issue 3 being the best of the whole thing because they RARELY argued in that one. That issue showed the potential of the Hooligans and how good they worked as a team. AND SEGA THREW IT OUT THE WINDOW!!!! FUCKING GENIUSES HERE.

Plus they could've EASILY left In issue 2 if they could separate the side cars from the Queen since they could already LATER ON in issue 4. (Bean and Bark ya both fuckin stupid ya not escaping my wrath either I'm ANGY

I Still love yall tho)

I'm fine with Fang being a jerk, But there should be a limit and getting him to “abusive Level” isn't it, despite issue 3, I wasn't happy or laughing as I thought I would for the game or miniseries, Because the hooligans are like looney tunes for me, when I see them, I wana laugh and have a good time. Not be depressed. And I know people like when Fang is cool and serious, I do too, but he was also made to be funny. If you want a 100% serious character, Shadow is RIGHT THERE.

Superstars was marketed for Fang fans. Everything related to it was, it was SUPPOSED to be his grand return. But no, it's a lie. This game was made so you could feel bad for Trip and like her. Fang was just a tool used to lure people to the game and love this lizard. That's all it was. He was just bait, so once Trip got the fans sega wanted, they would throw him away into the vault again, but this time with no Bean, no Bark, not even a bloody popgun, they just left him there to suffer.

That's how I view sonic superstars, a game baited to classic sonic fans, making it seem like an old character's return, when in reality, it's to get people to like Trip, a new character. Who won't even fucking show up till a new classic sonic game comes out or a new anniversary special.

That's why I find it so frustrating, and no matter how much I try, I won't be able to fully like this game because of this information, HELL SHE GOT A FULL SUPER FORM! NOT EVEN AMY, TAILS, NOR KNUCKLES GOT THAT SHIT.

They just got “Super powers” ooOoOo

Bullshit, and the fact your friends can't play as the same character in their levels sucks, Kirby easily did it for magolor, but nope! Ya gotta play level sonic with one player as your friends watch.

Anyway, I think that's everything. Thanks for reading this far. Once again this is just my opinion, I wanted to finally let that all out as for certain there's no plus adaptation for this, and that I want to finally forget this game, I already made a fanfic chapter doing it my way to satisfy how this story actually ends while being consistent. And maybe Fang will get another chance in another 20 years. But until then, I'll enjoy the small moments that did make me smile in that game and his miniseries, like him using an ice sword or having a big mech, and if you actually Enjoyed the game and everything it came with, and still love Fang despite it all, good for you! I'm glad you still like fang, whether he's good, bad, or neutral in your book! All I care about is that you like him, so thank you. :] but I'm fairly certain. Rarely any Sonic fans will celebrate its anniversary. If anything, mostly Trip fans will as it's her birthday.

…

ALSO BRING BACK HIS POPGUN YOU COWARDS! WHY DIDN'T HE USE IT DURING THE MINISERIES HE DIDN'T BREAK IT YET BY THEN AAAGGHGG

Cough if you want a better 2D game with more playable characters and a good story with great music.

Play Mario Wonder

Or play the new mario party! That's out today! ^^

Okay, have a nice day <333

[burningdarkfire]

blood moon (author's notes)

Putting this post on my resume as proof that I am committed to seeing things through to the fucking end. It might be 2024 now but here is a finished author's note for blood moon!!

It's been long enough that the below is more of a retrospective than what we usually think of as an author's note. Some of it dates back to two or three years ago, a lot of it doesn't. With the goal of finishing these notes, I recently reread the fic in its entirety, twice, and I still very much enjoyed it. That's all I can really ever ask of a fic, so I'm happy 💕

Writing Timeline

Blood Moon was a fascinating writing problem. I always knew it was going to be a long fic, longer than I usually wrote, and I also knew that I was bad at finishing long fics. I started writing in November 2021 with the promise to myself that even if I didn't finish it, I would eventually share whatever I had. I initially planned to upload chapters without editing because I suspected that it would bog me down in a lot of small details … and I was entirely correct! So here is the 18 month journey of the fic, in monthly word counts, from start to finish:

November 2021: 18723 

December 2021: (no work)

January 2022: 3591

February 2022: 2872 (finished the shadowgast oneshot, outlined the rest of the fic)

March 2022: 4353 (this is when i first thought "the ending was in sight" LOL)

April 2022: 3667 (i made the decision to edit/rewrite some chapters—at this point i had already written up to fjord meeting back up with the m9 after getting the third eye)

May 2022: 1163 

June 2022: 2028 (this was my initial estimate/deadline for finishing)

July 2022: (no work)

August 2022: (no work)

September 2022: 3371 (i copied over my existing work—up to fjord and astrid's conversation—and started a major edit/second draft)

October 2022: 1228 

November 2022: 2278 (posted the first chapter to ao3)

December 2022: 2144 

January 2023: 1876 (finished my second draft and sent to beta for edits)

February 2023: 126 (finished edits! left some very minor points to polish)

March 2023: 17

April 2023: (finished posting!)

Blood Moon Universe

Blood Moon is an original universe of mine that dates back to 2011. It has all the cliché vampires vs. werewolves vibes that I will shamelessly admit I have never grown out of. We didn't get to see a lot of it in the fic, but it's a very fertile, flexible environment—this is the fourth story I've set in this world, and even though they've all been vastly different from each other, the shell concepts have always served me well. Unsurprisingly, one makes original worlds that are conducive to the themes and motifs that one likes to write about.

Caleb and Fjord live in a dark age, where the last war between the vampires and werewolves decimated both populations so severely that the world is simply emptier than it used to be. Molly and Yasha raid abandoned manors, Caleb lives on ceded vamp territory where the wolves are also absent. Caduceus is alone in the Clay family home except for his temporary companions. Everyone is busy with their own survival, and there's no way for the scarce, scattered populations of the northern forests to repel the Shades on their own.

It was a big decision to write a story about two humans in this world, but Fjord and Caleb have always been underdog stories struggling with established powers. It's hard to imagine them any other way.

Canon-Related Concepts

One of my favourite arcs of Campaign 2 is the pirates arc, because the characters are asking themselves such deliciously heavy questions about their place in the world following Molly's death. I wanted to explore those facets of these characters. 

I've also always found it so interesting that Travis said Fjord would have left to find the third orb if the Wildmother hadn't come through for him. 

Caleb seeks an impossible magic for selfish aims, but he does it because he loves his parents. Fjord would make a deal with the devil for power, but he does it because he equates power with agency, and he wants the ability to protect himself and others. Caleb had a taste of that power, but it soured when he used it for the wrong reasons. Fjord is tasting it now, and can't imagine ever letting it go.

Related Works

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

The initial pitch of Blood Moon explicitly referred to Caleb as a "Frankensteinien" character. Pervasive in that book is the desire for a domestic life, in which love, happiness, and security are enclosed. Frankenstein loses his mother, and then loses everything else as a consequence of the actions of his grief and uncertainty. What if Caleb's desire to undo what he did to his parents outweighed everything else?

Blood Moon borrows heavily from the magic in The Raven Tower, where one can literally speak something into existence. The idea of a world where "if you say something, it must become true, or you die trying" is extremely evocative and has stayed with me. It was a beautiful way to explore how grief can change the world.

If I can be honest here for a moment, I actually no longer remember why I have The Magicians listed as an inspiration for the fic. I started Blood Moon 3+ years ago and read The Magicians shortly afterwards, and I've since forgotten everything about that book except for what it made me feel: a despair that was hard to look in the eye.

Themes

These are phrased like high school essay questions because I couldn't think of a better way to present them. These are some of the questions that I asked myself while writing:

"With great power comes great responsibility …" Perhaps the defining question of the entire story. How is the question of duty explored in the fic? What do different characters feel responsible for and how do those responsibilities compete? How would each character answer the question "What do we owe to one another?"

Magic is intention. In this world, anybody can do magic. How is the magical presented in relation to the mundane? How much agency do the characters have? What kinds of choices do different characters make? How much does magic change their perception of the world? 

The knowing is part of the price. Caleb and Fjord are both characters who don't know who they are or don't fully understand what made them. Initially, Fjord is resistant to the idea of learning more about his teacher at all. Vulnerability, he understands, is something that can only be given when you have power. What role do alter egos and second identities and our strange other selves play in this fic?

Life and death are the greatest changes of all. Caleb is determined to bring back his parents at any cost. Fjord is determined to live at any cost. Both of our lead characters have other forces calling for their dues. How are death and grief explored in this fic? How about ideas of rebirth and change? 

I am nothing like I was. I cannot teach you; I cannot protect you. The story of Blood Moon is the story of what happens when Fjord goes looking for a teacher. In fact, many of the primary relationships in this fic are a mentorship or potential mentorship between a teacher and a student. What role does learning and teaching play in interpersonal relationships? How do different characters challenge these categories?

Home is where the heart is. The residences of several prominent magicians feature heavily in the fic as their seats of power. What role does "home" play in Caleb and Fjord's lives? How do they imagine, think of, and build their homes? What happens when someone's home is destroyed or otherwise absent? 

Return. What is Fjord's relationship with the sea?

Misc. Notes

The enduring image of the fic that still lives rent free in my head is the burning house. Caleb's childhood house goes up in flames -> Isharnai's house goes up in flames -> the manor goes up in flames, and each time the axis of the world shifts just a little bit.

If you read and enjoyed the fic, please know that you have my eternal thanks. It means a lot to me.

And of course:

[likesdoodling]

It has been a while since I started digital art,

Quite a while.

So here is a 'progress over the last two years' since I gained access to a drawing tablet.

:D

This is my first ever digitally illustrated piece- compared to my latest one-

So, a little bit different.

I do think my art took quite a jump around June 2022, when I took a break from my Steve comic strip, (for obvious reasons- it was about Technoblade's polar bear so...) and decided to try practicing gesture drawing to see if it helped my general anatomy knowledge. This is before,

And this next one is after.

The most obvious change here is that I switched to using thinner lines. There is a gap of about two months between these.

This was when I realised that you could improve art by practicing it (mind-blowing I know), and then started to do just that. Some other notable jumps forward would be when I discovered the airbrush-

Well, discovered a new method of shading with it anyway.

Then after that I had a few pictures that I actually still like, despite them being pretty old at this point, the one below is actually from September of 2022-

I mean, the hands are a bit iffy, but the rest looks alright. This was when I was going through a bit of a melanie martinez phase-

This next one was from January of 2023, I'd only just gotten into bungou stray dogs via some random memes on pinterest about this weird brown haired guy who had lots of bandages and who had this running gag with wanting to die- I actually looked him up at one point, but that didn't really explain much. The main one that I remember was 'life is short, so make it shorter, shorter than chuuya~'

Which at the time was just kind of confusing,

Then I watched the show and it made perfect sense.

I'd discovered ascendance of a bookworm in like, 2021, but I hadn't really been doing fanart of it since I was mainly doing dsmp related stuff and I kind of assumed nobody would know what on earth I was referencing. Turns out tumblr has a lot more bookworm fans than I orignally anticipated. Instagram still has no clue. I think maybe one person out of my followers on instagram knows what I'm on about-

Then we've got these two which I am still proud of btw-

The first one is from a dystopian/time travel fanfic called viridian.

The second one was after I learned about rim lighting. It was inspired by a song actually, 'crash' by noevaii. (and yes I found that song from a sad-ist animatic, it was cool) The character isn't anyone in particular. They're both from February 2023.

Then there's probably my most liked picture on instagram, (not tumblr, since tumblr knows about bsd and bookworm, but y'know. This was even sadder than I originally intended since the last half of my comic strip was finished AFTER everything happened)

Then the final conclusion of my Steve comic strip in May of 2023.

I don't think my art really changed much in between those, but eh.

Then I switched to doing a bunch of ascendance of a bookworm stuff to see what would happen and turns out there are way more fellow fans out there than I anticipated-

Then I guess my next breakthrough in tumblr popularity, (even if it might not have been a breakthrough in art skills necessarily) was when things went DOWN in the bsd fandom with chapter 109 and I did probably one of my most liked tumblr posts I have ever done-

If you want to see the rest of that, feel free to scroll down on my tumblr page, the original's like eight pages long-

This was before anyone knew what was going to happen btw.

I still think it's hilarious that I put in chuuya having contacts. My reasoning being, they're on a film set,

It was a pretty interesting exercise in shading in monochrome.

Then I started a 30 day art challenge in October that I didn't get past day six of, but it was still pretty fun. This is the best one of those-

After that I spent most of my time studying for the jlpt n5, so I didn't really do that much art related stuff,

This is one of the two non-commission related pictures that I finished over the two months after I kind of gave up on the art challenge. This one's from November,

Then I finally finished an art commission I'd been working on for the three months prior, as well as studying. Here is an example of the type of pictures I was doing for that,

Then I was occupied with christmas and birthday presents for my siblings, both my little sisters are into ascendance of a bookworm- (completely my fault I am proud to say) so I was able to do stuff related to that, here's a couple of snippets, but you guys don't get the colour version hehe

And one of them has also read the entire fma manga just like I have so-

Anyway, it's been quite a progression since I resolved to master digital art in 2021.

I reckon I've come a fair way since then. I mean. My art skills in general are way better than they used to be. The last two or three years have been pretty interesting.

Also-

Just had to include this one, I'm gonna do a more detailed version but still-

I think it's funny so I'm posting it here. Even if it's not really related to art progression-

[myheartalivewrites]

2023 Writing Round-up

Thanks for tagging me @kiwiana-writes @cha-melodius 🩷 I've saved doing this for a little while just because I wasn't sure I was quite done for the year.

JANUARY

Happy NY (E, ~11k) started in 2022, finished in 2023. Henry and Alex meet for the first time at a NYE party, have a super intense hook-up--and then Alex disappears. An NYE story in two parts.

Down by the Water, I Saw You (E, ~63k) another fic that started in 2022, finished in 2023! Exes to lovers, meeting on holidays/vacations, angsty-emotional-horny.

Tumbled Down and Tangled Up (E, ~4k) canon divergent, hooking up for the first time in THAT hospital cupboard.

FEBRUARY

Started writing Deep Blue, wrote Don't Wanna Be A Fool, no idea why I didn't publish it straight away. I've got a feeling I was a lot shyer back then.

MARCH

Don't Wanna Be A Fool For You (E, ~6k) roommates to lovers, mutual pining, Henry-based angst.

APRIL-JUNE

Gave myself a nice little patch of writer's block. Read a lot. ✌️

JULY

Love and War (E, ~11k) WWII training camp 1st meeting, no angst. Had a lot of fun writing this in one day.

Finished writing Deep Blue and started posting it.

AUGUST

In His Wildest Dreams (E, ~11k) went on a big family holiday, wrote this incredibly horny post canon somno fic. The way the brain works is truly baffling.

Awakened (E, ~2k) a little Alex POV follow-up to the fic above, again: super smutty. Uh, also written on (a different) holiday for some reason.

SEPTEMBER

Oxford Days (E, ~6k) my ode to slutty Henry, a roommates in Oxford fic.

Deep Blue (E, ~76k) started in July, finished in September, don't know which month to put this in. Seaside dreaminess, angsty writer!Henry, lawyer/waiter!Alex, pining while fucking.

Just like that. (E, ~10k) roommates + getting together + prostate orgasms + lots of feelings. Most surprising performer of the year for me.

OCTOBER

Twice the speed (of you and me) (E, ~17k) Alex/Henry/Pez threesome, some of my favourite smut I've ever written

NOVEMBER

NaNoWriMo! I managed to reach 50k on my NaNo project, but that means very little fic writing was done.

"Please, I need you to." (E, 0.1k lol) rimming drabble-ish for Smutsgiving 2023

DECEMBER

Red Light Indicates Doors Are Secured (M, ~3k) bickering co-workers getting trapped in a cab together (and figuring shit out)

***

2023 has been SUCH A YEAR for writing RWRB fic, it feels really good to see it all lined up like this. Open tag for everyone who wants to do a little self round-up!

Here’s to more next year! x

[uroboros-if]

Please please share some coding/designing wisdom. Your game is so damn pretty 😭😭😭 Could you tell us what template you used and how hard it was to make it look like it is today? I imagine so much work must have gone into it

😭😭 I am no expert, but these are just my rationale/methods behind the visual choices I made!

For the template I used—I used Vahnya's Template! However, this post by @/manonamora-if has a whole section for templates that I wish I saw or checked out before making my IF! In another lifetime, I might've just used nyehilism's template to achieve the bottom sidebar instead of torturing myself learning how to do it... ;;

Below, I go into detail the timeline of designing Uroboros, as well as advice through the process I went!

Design Timeline

I started designing the UI late October 2022, and kept fixing, changing, editing it well into February and maybe a little bit of March 2023.

October 2022 - Early iterations of the design. Looked for stock images and began implementing it to add a background to the sidebar and the actual passages. Swatched some color palettes and began implementing them into the IF. Later decided to make the sidebar on the bottom instead of on the side. Also, added a title screen.

November - Testing different backgrounds for the IF's sidebar. Added a textbox to the passages, also worked on the black fade transitions.

December - Finished working on the sidebar background for both light and dark theme, began work on the background of the IF instead.

January 2023 - Finished working on the dark and light theme backgrounds! Started work on drawing the skill icons for light and dark theme, and finished!

February - Changed the title screen to look better on mobile, created a circle logo, added a border to the textbox. Also, made further edits for light theme.

March - Just remade the "Uroboros" logo.

If you're wondering why it took approximately 5 months to get to the final version—don't worry! I wasn't working only on the design for 5 months. My partner helped make the edits for the design, while I worked on coding them in and writing.

I spent a lot of time trying to get a grasp on Javascript, SugarCube, and HTML all throughout this time as well, to know how to fluidly add these things. Meaning, while I was working on these visual elements, I was also figuring out how to do the "looking" mechanic, black and white transitions, figuring out how Tweego worked, radio buttons, and so on.

Do note I've been busy the entire time throughout, so perhaps you can do this much quicker than I can!

The "Secrets"

1. Please—look at IFs you love! What are some visual aspects of other IFs that you love and want to include in your story? I started by analyzing parts of other IFs that I love. I liked Wayfarer's textbox; I liked how the choices looked in When Twilight Strikes. I liked the textboxes in the beginning of Zorlok. Find the things that amaze you about other IFs, and implement it your own way!

This seems like super basic advice—but trust me, once you think, "How can I put this in my game?" you will not only be able to have it, but most likely, you'll also learn a LOT.

While seeing how I could make the radio buttons, for example, I started researching. I googled "How to live change text?" and then I found out about jQuery, how to use the replace macro, etc. etc. JUST from researching how to do exactly one (1) feature.

2. What is missing in other IFs? Think about your own reading experience. I didn't like the clunkiness of some, how the sidebar is on the side when space on a mobile-screen is severely limited length-wise. So, I put the sidebar on the bottom.

I didn't like how other choices look in IFs, so I wanted a way to do mine that's nice and elegant(though it's still a little hard to read, admittedly).

Again, researching how to do the things you want opens many doors for you. I learned how to style <li> and change how bullets look, learned how to style links in Twine in general, etc. etc. again with just this ONE thing I wanted to change/add.

3. Don't do the work all by yourself. I struggled so hard because I hate asking for help. I was happy to Google other people's problems, but I never thought to open up my own thread or ask anybody in the community for help. Please, not only ask, but also—your work doesn't have to be completely original.

Use templates. Look at manon's amazing masterlist of things you can implement. I also have a few macro's that you can use, like multipronouns for MC, that does the work for you, for free.

Rip people's codes—respectfully. I'm not saying from other IFs, but online in other places. If they appear on help forums or are publicly available through places like CodePen, chances are that they're open-source or licensed in such a way that anyone can use it (e.g. MIT license).

Again, here is Manon's masterlist, which includes custom macros you can use in your game (Chapel, HiEv and Cycy are my high recommendations)! Additionally, here's my code for multipronouns here and my code for setting RO genders here.

4. MAKE IT READABLE!! Even if you want your game to look pretty... please, I'm begging you, make it easy to read. This is the most important thing ever.

I have a short attention span, and so does my partner. We reviewed the game to make sure we are NOT compromising the reading experience with our design. As much as we want fantastical backgrounds, we wanted to make sure it was at least not distracting. As much as we want gaudy styles, we want the actual passage to be suited for the long haul.

The most, most important part is to enhance the reading experience--not by adding things on, but by making it simple and intuitive. As someone in the computer science field, the user experience is CRITICAL. Put yourself in their shoes, think about them first and foremost.

Twine is amazingly customizable, and its powers can be wielded for good and evil. Plenty of amazing writers but inexperienced UI designers, especially from CoG, get into Twine. CoG almost completely takes away the design element, so Twine is a whole new ballpark.

Uroboros has a lot of pomp, but the actual textbox is uncharacteristically simple in comparison. The simplicity against an otherwise fantastical, but non-distracting background helps give it elegance. The sidebar, in contrast, is very eye-catching—but, it's also out of view most of the time, and isn't built for long reading.

To add on, make sure it's readable on mobile. I guarantee 80% of your readers are going to be reading your IF on their phone, and probably at 3 AM, so you will want the mobile to look as good as PC, or even better.

Closing Thoughts

Anyway, as basic as this advice is, this is really what guided my entire thought process behind my visual choices! -- Picking and choosing what you like from IFs, figuring out how to do them through research, and making sure your IF is built to be read for a while.

Thanks so much for asking, thinking that I have wisdom to impart!! 😭🫶💕

[andithiel]

End of year wrap up

I am so super late to this, but I’ve done this in the last few years and I think it’s a nice tradition to look back at the accomplishments I’ve achieved. 2022 was a very bleak year writing wise, and I’m happy to say that I’ve slowly started to get my mojo back a bit. My AO3 wordcount for 2023 was 36,936 words, but I’ve also posted some shorter things on tumblr, and I actually made a spreadsheet to track my progress and tally all my written words, including those that get deleted and also those not yet posted, and according to the spreadsheet I wrote 10k more. I still have a lot of WIPs hanging around in my drive, but I’ve managed to finish some of them, and I feel like I have more energy and excitement to finish some more, so, here’s hoping that 2024 will be the year that I actually end up with fewer WIPs at the end than at the beginning (something I tried back in 2020, before the world went up in flames).

Under the cut is what I published in 2023:

January 

Fading in Love (locked to logged in users) (Drarry, Explicit, 5k) I wrote this as a belated birthday present for @sassy-sassy3, it’s an 8th year secret relationship with a lil’ sprinkle of magical theory regarding the Dark Mark. 

February 

I decided to try a few prompts for HD Candyhearts and ended up having a lot of fun with them: 

Second Date AO3 tumblr (Drarry, Teen, 1,3k) with an insecure Draco after having spent the night with Harry.

The microfic Taste the love (for the prompt Sweet treats)

How deep is our love? AO3 tumblr (Drarry, Teen, 762 words) featuring established Drarry bickering and absolutely ridiculous Valentine’s cards.

The secret language of flowers AO3 tumblr (Drarry, Teen, 2k) featuring the classic tumblr post the fuck you bouquet.

Pillow microfic with Draco being a little shit

Charm me 8th year drabble FWB/secret relationship sort of vibes.

March

Take that ride (Drarry, Teen, 1,6k) I finally managed to write a fic idea that’s been scrambling around in my brain for ages. I wanted to create a mood and a feeling with this and I’m so happy with how it turned out.

I also wrote a short fuck or die drabble that I’m super proud of: Let me show you  

June

Hold back the tide (Drarry, Teen, 2k) Another idea that’s been with me for years that I finally got out (despite not having written the fic that preludes this).

October

Thunderstruck (locked to logged in users) (Drarry, Explicit, 8k) My god, my beast, this fic resisted me and to top it all off I got covid right when I was about to finish it. I struggled with this so damn much, also wanting to create a vividness that doesn’t really come natural to me, but I’m so happy with how it came out in the end. Plus I got to collab with the amazing @fictional who, as usual, knocked it out of the park with her glorious art.

November

The Potter Malfoy bathroom war of 2007 (locked to logged in users) (Drarry, Explicit, 8k) Another fic that’s been with me for some time, although “only” a year. I saw the prompt for last year’s Suds when claims had closed, so I tried to forget about it but it wouldn’t leave me. I had so much fun writing this, I love writing Harry and Draco bickering and fighting with each other when we as readers know it’s basically their form of foreplay. 

December

When it’s exactly twelve o’clock that night (Drarry, Teen, 6k) This was also a fic one year in the making. I started writing it to post on last New Year’s Eve, but I couldn’t finish it in five days (to my own astonishment), but I’m happy it got to marinate for a while because I added a scene with Scorpius that I’m very fond of.

I wasn't tagged by anyone and I'm sure people have already done this, but if this means you get another tag, consider pointing me to your own year wrap up so I can see it! @sassy-sassy3 @fictional @mystickitten42 @uncannycerulean @goblinmatriarch @phdmama @crazybutgood @dragonbornphoenix @wo2ash @rei382 @nv-md

[dracothelizard]

My February fic round-up post!

Lieve Ed - OFMD, Ed/Stede, G. Written for the Ecclesiastical Latin Fest, so it's in Dutch. What if Stede decided to give Ed a lovely letter in 1x07, filled with compliments and dutifully written down by Lucius, who still deserves a raise?

Your Love's Coming Down Like Rain - OFMD, Ed/Stede, R. I started writing a watersports fic that was a canon divergence of S1 in 2022, updated it in 2023, and now I finally finished it! Join Stede as he is absolutely miserable and does a lot of self-shaming for being into watersports before embarking on kink acceptance.

The Polyamorous Pirate - chapter 12 - OFMD, Ed/Stede, NC-17. For the prompt of pearl necklace. I will complete all kinktober 2023 prompts before the next one starts!

Strapped In - OFMD, Ed/Stede, NC-17. Ed straps Stede into his fuckery harness and then they fuck about it.

October 2023 fic round-up post

November 2023 fic round-up post

December 2023 fic round-up post

January 2024 fic round-up post

[dotty-literati]

So one fun thing you’re able to do is check the archives of newish Tumblr users and pinpoint a specific Twitter Event that caused them to join. For your convenience, I've compiled a timeline of notable Twitter Events.

2022

Elon plans to buy Twitter

- April 4: Musk formally discloses a 9.2% stake in Twitter

- April 14: Musk offers to buy Twitter for $44 billion

- April 25: Twitter accepts the offer

- July 8: Musk withdraws offer citing issues with spam bots

- July 12: Twitter sues Musk to enforce the deal

- July 29: Musk countersues

- October 4: Musk revives the original deal to avoid a trial

- October 26: Musk carries a bathroom sink into Twitter HQ

- October 27: The acquisition is complete & Twitter goes private

Mass layoffs and resignations

- October 27: Musk fires several key Twitter executives

- November 4: Twitter lays off half of its employees

- November 4: Twitter decimates its communications department

- November 10: Security, privacy, & compliance leaders resign

- November 15: Musk fires employees who criticized him on Slack

- November 17: Hundreds of Twitter’s remaining staff resign

- February 2023: Twitter lays off 10% of its remaining employees

Twitter banlist updates

- November 18: Andrew Tate and Jordan Peterson unban

- November 19: Donald Trump unban

- November 20: Kanye West unban

- November 21: Marjorie Taylor Greene unban

- November 24: General amnesty for past banned accounts

Blue check mark arc

- October 30: Musk announces monthly verification subscription

- November 9: Twitter launches verification subscription

- November 11: Twitter suspends verification subscription

- December 12: Twitter relaunches verification subscription

- December 12: Twitter announces removal of legacy verification

2023

Blue check mark arc (continued)

- March 23: All accounts must pay for verification starting April 1

- Late March: Celebrities and organizations refuse to pay

- April 11: 4/20 is the final date for removing legacy verification

- April 20: Musk reveals he pays for certain people’s verification

- April 22: W/o legacy, verified becomes status symbol for losers

- April 23: Accounts with 1+ mil followers receive free verification

Spring cleaning

- May 8: Twitter plans to remove accounts inactive for 30+ days

- May 11: Musk announces he's stepping down as Twitter CEO

- June 1: Ella Irwin, head of trust and safety, resigns

- June 4: Linda Yaccarino becomes Twitter's new CEO

Summertime madness

- June 30: Twitter requires users log in to see tweets/profiles

- July 1: Twitter limits the number of daily tweets users can read

- July 5: Users are now able to see tweets without logging in

- July 23: Twitter rebrands to X

- July 26: Brands must buy ads or lose X verification

- July 28: X opens ad revenue sharing for verified creators globally

- August 2: X Blue users can now hide their check marks

- August 18: Musk says "Block is going to be deleted as a 'feature'"

- Sep. 2: X will limit poll voting to verified users

- Sep. 4: Musk threatens to sue ADL for alleged ad revenue loss

Fall

- Oct. 9: X Blue users can limit replies to verified accounts

Winter

- Nov 29: Elon Musk tells advertisers: ‘Go fuck yourself’

Miscellaneous Events (mostly Twitter)

- January 10: Musk’s net worth dropped $182 billion in 2022

- January 10: Algorithmic “For You” page is now the default

- January 24: Users can now set chronologic timeline as default

- February 1: Twitter moves to discontinue free access to API

- March 26: Twitter reports parts of its source code leaked

- March 27: “For You” page will only show verified accounts

- March 27: Only verified accounts will be able to vote in polls

- March 29: Twitter introduces three tier system for API access

- April 3: Musk changes Twitter logo to Doge

- April 20: SpaceX Starship launch concludes with explosive finish

- May 12: Tesla recalls 1.1 mil cars in China citing safety concerns

2024

TBD

ye

[exsequar]

August 18 is my birthday. I feel like I need to say something about this year of my life... and this is the closest I have to a blog. Pull up a chair.

Tonight I stood on the roof of my beautiful modern apartment building, in the most vivacious neighborhood of Seattle, gazing at the panoramic view of the downtown skyline, Space Needle, mountains and water and the rolling hills, all backlit by a softly electric sunset, listening to my gorgeous and sweet neighbor working shirtless on his bike behind me, and reflected on what a fucking year it's been.

Tomorrow I turn 36. One year ago, I thought I would never be happy again.

This 36th year of life, a perfect square as I am fond of pointing out, has been anything but perfect and certainly nothing so predictable as a square. But as I sprint across the finish line, proudly taking the trophy that declares I Survived Thirty-Six, I am deeply grateful for how this year has shaped me and set me on course for the life I want... for the first time ever.

One year ago, I was at the nadir of a monthslong spiral of anxiety and depression. The night of August 18, 2022, I did not sleep one wink, despite attempting many substance interventions, because my soul was so wrought with torment and guilt and fear. And this was a new experience for me; I had had low points before, but absolutely nothing even resembling this black hole that felt impossible to escape. I won't go into why, but suffice to say there was one new toxic ingredient in my life that had slowly devoured my happiness, my confidence, and my hope. I couldn't see a path out.

Then... slowly, then abruptly, things began to change.

In September, I decided to look for a new job, to change at least one variable and cut out some toxicity. With what felt like shocking speed, interview offers started coming in after just four taster applications. After a brief interview process, I was astonished to find myself in a new job much closer to home, joining a team that included one of my favorite past coworkers.

In October, I took a couple weeks off to try to gain my footing before starting my new job, and traveled home to see family. During these two weeks, I suddenly learned that my landlords were renovating my building and I was being kicked out from my apartment of four years (with 6 months to move out). I quickly recovered from my shock, went on one round of apartment visits in the coolest area in town right near my new office, fell in love with the third building I saw, and signed a lease within a week. Importantly, around the same time, a huge element of the toxic drain on my life became suddenly much, much better, which started to free me from that suffocating weight. Additionally, the relentless, deeply kind support of some close friends finally started to lift me out of the darkness. (You know who you are, I love you.)

On Halloween, 2022, I started my new job. I instantly hit it off with the other two women on my team. The third day, I tested positive for COVID - IN the office! No longer a COVID virgin, I slunk home to do my various new hire trainings in quarantine.

In November, I bought an e-bike to use for my new 1.5 mile commute. I immediately loved being back on two wheels and frequently commuted by bike even in the grey Seattle winter.

Two days before Christmas, 2022, I moved into my new apartment. I shed most of my furniture, many belongings, and started from a beautiful almost blank slate. My new place has the aforementioned roof with panoramic views, huge windows, and all kinds of amenities I didn't have before (a dishwasher!!!!!! laundry!!!!! being mid-thirties is losing your shit over in-unit laundry).

I traveled home for the holidays and had a wonderful break.

January 2023, I began preparing for the biggest fucking trip of my whole entire life. To ANTARCTICA. Yes, you heard that right. I began preparing for an EXPEDITION to ANTARCTICA. For FUN. I still can hardly believe it myself. My friend had invited me in Dec 2021 to join a trip to Antarctica in March 2022, but omicron kiboshed that, and I think the universe knew I needed this to happen in 2023. That I would be just emerging from The Great Dark, and what a better place to beckon me forward than the White Continent?

January, February, and March all felt like a frenzy of preparation. I continued to learn and grow more happy and confident at my new job, growing ever closer to mhy awesome little team, but all the while my mind was floating among the icebergs and penguins.

March. Two days before I was supposed to leave for Chile, the first part of my trip, I tested positive for COVID. IN MY OFFICE. AGAIN!!!

After a brief bout of despair, I ended up getting paxlovid, moving my flight back a week (for $1000 extra ;_;), and joining my friend and her mom in Argentina instead.

March 20, 2023, I set sail aboard the m/v Plancius for Antarctica. What followed was the most deeply spectacular, yet also the most deeply healing, two weeks of my life. I don't know how to summarize it. I felt true peace for the first time... certainly in a year, but in what felt like decades. Possibly forever. I was soul-happy. It's the only way I can describe it.

I landed back home on April 5.

On April 6, my company was hit by a massive cyber attack. Yay!!!!?

The next few months were a chaotic scramble of new experiences and creativity. But through it all, my team only grew closer, and the uncharted territory was in some ways an exciting challenge that only enhanced my sense of feeling alive.

The peace I felt in Antarctica came home with me and spread through my life in waves. I began doing things for joy, and getting my body out moving in the world. I had quickly fallen back in love with biking, so I started looking for groups to ride with and began joining free bike rides all over the county as often as I could. I met delightful people on every ride. I bought a second bike that would be zippier and easier to tote around. I bought a new car that would let me carry around this second bike more easily. I joined a summer rec soccer league, biking to a local field to play under the setting summer sun every Friday, and met some of the fabulous queer folks in my new neighborhood. I watched halftime drag shows on artificial turf. I started feeling physically healthier to match my sense of my soul healing. I laughed all the time.

August 18, 2023 starts in less than an hour. Today, the penultimate day of my 36th year, I worked and laughed with my team for the morning. I flirted with a darling guy in my building, who I have been lightly flirting with for months, for over an hour. I went to the farmers market outside our office and bought beautiful berries from the handsome farmer who loves his bees so much. I picked up an order of fantastic cookies, an early self-gift. I took my new car for a fun new type of car wash (the car sits still and the washing robot arms move around us??). I called my dad. My best friend of nearly 2 decades asked if she could call and we talked for over an hour. I went home to my kitties. I played Stardew Valley and listened to my favorite music. I finished a spectacular audiobook (Strong Female Character by Fern Brady, a memoir of growing up an autistic girl with no diagnosis, and getting diagnosed in middle age). I went to the store to pick up ingredients for my favorite birthday cake that my dad always made for me when I was a kid.

I climbed up to the roof, where my handsome neighbor was quietly and shirtlessly fixing his bike, and gazed out over the gorgeous deep red horizon.

I didn't quite cry. My eyes stung softly as I bit my lip and smiled. Yes. This is where I want to be.

And I can't wait to see what 37 - a prime number, harder to come by as we age - has in store.

[just-my-latest-hyperfixation]

I was tagged by @medusapelagia, thx love ❤️

January

My year truly started with a bang. I published the first chapter of Hic sunt dracones on January 16th, and was immediately blown away by the wave of positive feedback. I was still very new to the fandom, had just gotten back into writing after a 15yr break, and had never dreamed of this sort of reaction. I didn't know it then, of course, but HSD would go on to become my fic of the year and probably the one I'm best known for. 🐉❤️

February

Didn’t publish anything new, but continued working on my WIPs and signed up for the @steddiebang

March

Finished Someone who cares and got a bunch of lovely comments. I had been writing it since October 2022, publishing it since early December. The first-ever fic I finished, the first I ever shared publicly, the one that rekindled my passion for writing, and still one I'm immensely proud of. 👪❤️

Started working on my BB fic (You got me) in the palm of your hand 

April

Published See you in a crown, which got over 700 hits in the first 24 hours. Feral bathroom mirror sex with added tiara really seemed to do it for a lot of ppl. 🤣💕

May

Didn’t publish anything new, but was hella busy with my WIPs. 

June

Published Someone like you, a bonus chapter to Someone who cares. 

Also trembled my way through the BB claims weekend and ended up with not one, but two lovely artists, @xgumiho and @peachypurr. 💕

July

Finished Hic sunt dracones (on the day of the big AO3 blackout no less), cried over the lovely comments and the fucking FANART

Wrote my first microfic for the @steddiemicrofic challenge, found it sooo hard. 🤣

Started writing Just add water and Possession 

August

Published Just add water, which was such a feel-good fic for me. I loved writing it, it always put me in a good mood. 🧜‍♂️❤️

September

Published the first chapter of Possession 🦇

Also wrote three Microfics for the “charm” prompt ✨️

October:

Published (You got me) in the palm of your hand throughout the month. The feedback was lovely, and so many ppl told me how they remembered me from the claims sheets! 🔮

Finished Just add water. Was honestly sad to let it go, even though I only worked on it for a little more than 2 months.

November:

Continued working on Possession

Also wrote a lot for the @steddieholidaydrabbles and developed the first ideas for a longer fic and art project based on Blast to the past/The kings's gift together with @house-of-the-moving-image

December

Published Let me be good to you, a sequel to See you in a crown

Published the holiday drabbles, which was such fun! ❄️❤️ Ended up with exactly 50 published works for 2023, wow!!

Next year: 

I'll Finish Possession some time in March or April if everything goes according to plan 

I've got two fics for the ST Reverse Big Bang coming up in March, which are keeping me very busy rn

Turn Blast to the Past into a chaptered fic and art project, together with @house-of-the-moving-image 

I'll also probably hit 1k followers on tumblr early this year and have something special planned, so stay tuned! 🥰

No pressure tags: @penny00dreadful, @rainbow-nerdss, @sourw0lfs, @wynnyfryd, @aidaronan

[mirjam-writes]

It's been a wild ride!

This week I'll start posting the final part of Be Still My Soul, my Good Omens Human AU that's set in Finnish history. It has been my first longfic, a trilogy with over 150k words combined. It's my baby, it has taught me so much, and brought me so many friends in the fandom. In the spring 2018 I participated in a live action roleplay series about the Finnish civil war, and dove deep into the research hell while preparing my character. I felt I wanted to write a story set to that period, and started plotting a Sherlock AU (my main fandom at the time). It didn’t quite fit, so I forgot about it for a while. 

In 2020 I read a book called Good Omens, and realised there is a TV series. I fell head-first into fandom hell. 

In summer 2021 I remembered the old story idea, and realised Aziraphale and Crowley fit to the narrative of opposite sides perfectly. During one long car drive I plotted the first outline for this story (mostly what would later become part 3). 

September 2021 I started writing. I decided to call Azirafel’s horse Milto, in the memory of a horse I knew in real life, who had just died. 

January 2022 I asked HKBlack to beta for me. I had the first story arc almost done (we didn’t call it a trilogy at that point), and told her the whole story would be 15 chapters long. Now, 32 chapters later, she will tease me about it forever. We become friends on the way! My writing was super clumsy back then, and she did a lot of work teaching me better English!

May 2022 I started posting the first part, and finished by Midsummer. 

October 2022 I started posting part 2 and finished by Christmas. That was the part that exploded the most, it was supposed to be five chapters long, and ended up being 14 because I severely miscalculated how much more historical context I needed to write in for an audience that isn’t Finnish.

In July 2023 (this week!!) I’ll start posting this final part—the story that I originally outlined on a piece of paper in a car two years ago. 

It feels unreal. Thank you for following my journey 🧡

[july-19th-club]

READ IN 2023

TOTAL LIST LENGTH: 532 BOOKS LONG (jesus)

NUMBER OF BOOKS READ:  52, but like 18 of them were Animorphs books

The dates are from when I started the book to when I finished it, so sometimes there’s a considerable gap if I picked the book up, took a break, and put it back down again. Sometimes the gap is two or three years. Don’t worry about it.

TITLES & DATES:

Last Smile in Sunder City (Sunder City #1) – Luke Arnold (July 2020 – BREAK – February 2023)

Practical Magic – Alice Hoffman (reread; September 2022 – January 2023)

The Farm – Joanne Ramos (December 2022 – January 2023)

Leech – Hiron Ennes (December 2022 – January 2023)

Late Eclipses, October Daye #4 – Seanan McGuire (December 2022 – February 2023)

Close Range – Annie Proulx (reread; January)

A Head Full of Ghosts – Paul Tremblay (January)

The Pallbearer’s Club – Paul Tremblay (January)

“Red Ballooning,” short story – Aimee Pogson (reread; January)

The Visitor, Animorphs #2 – K. A. Applegate – (January)

The Encounter, Animorphs #3 – K. A. Applegate – (January)

The Message, Animorphs #4 – K. A. Applegate – (January)

The Predator, Animorphs #5 – K. A. Applegate – (January)

The Capture, Animorphs #6 – K. A. Applegate – (January)

The Stranger, Animorphs #7 – K. A. Applegate – (January)

The Andalite’s Gift, Animorphs #7.5 – K. A. Applegate – (January)

The Alien, Animorphs #8 – K. A. Applegate – (February)

The Secret, Animorphs #9 – K. A. Applegate – (February)

The Android, Animorphs #10 – K. A. Applegate – (February)

The Forgotten, Animorphs #11 – K. A. Applegate – (February – March)

The Reaction, Animorphs #12 – K. A. Applegate – (March)

Dark Places – Gillian Flynn (January – March)

Gather the Daughters – Jennie Melamed (January – February)

The Woman in the Wall – Patrice Kindl (reread; February)

“Through This House,” October Daye short story – Seanan McGuire (February)

The Dream House – Carmen Maria Machado (February – March)

Bunny – Mona Awad (February – March)

Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead – Tom Stoppard (March 23)

Let The Lord Sort Them: The Rise and Fall of the Death Penalty – Maurice Chammah (March – April)

Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie (March – April)

Feast Your Eyes – Myla Goldberg (March – May; skimmed to finish)

One Salt Sea, October Daye #5 – Seanan McGuire (March – December)

When You Reach Me – Rebecca Stead (reread; April)

The Twyford Code – Janice Hallett – DNF April

Screams From the Dark: 29 Tales of Monsters and the Monstrous – ed. Ellen Datlow (April – June)

Sex Cult Nun – Faith Jones (April – July)

Some Desperate Glory – Emily Tesh (April – July)

American History – Alexandra Petrie (June)

The Andalite Chronicles, Animorphs #12.5 – K. A. Applegate – (June)

The Change, Animorphs #13 – K. A. Applegate – (June)

The Unknown, Animorphs #14 – K. A. Applegate – (June)

The Escape, Animorphs #15 – K. A. Applegate – (June)

The Warning, Animorphs #16 – K. A. Applegate – (June)

The Underground, Animorphs #17 – K. A. Applegate – (June)

The Emperor of All Maladies – Siddhartha Mukherjee (June – August)

Let Me Tell You: New Stories, Essays, and Other Writings – Shirley Jackson (July)

The Well of Sacrifice – Chris Eboch (July – August)

Plato & A Platypus Walk Into A Bar: Understanding Philosophy Through Jokes – Thomas Cathcart & Daniel Klein (July – August)

Babel – R. F. Kuang (July – October)

Boredom, Death Note #1 -Tsugumi Ohba/Takeshi Obata (reread; August)

Confluence, Death Note #2 – Tsugumi Ohba/Takeshi Obata (reread; September)

Hard Run, Death Note #3 – Tsugumi Ohba/Takeshi Obata (reread; October)

I Sing the Body Electric – Ray Bradbury – DNF October

Nickel & Dimed: On Not Getting By in America – Barbara Ehrenreich (October – December)

i actually can't find the ask game i thought i'd had last year and i might have just made that up in my head but if you want my opinion on any of these books please throw it in the ask box and i will do my best to answer :D

[legendfinder]

I maded Kyle Is Famous mods (UPDATED),

(If you have Kyle Is Famous, click me to go to the mods!)

I spent the past year and a half making Steam mods for Kyle Is Famous; the game calls itself a non-visual visual novel, but I think I’d call it more of a text adventure crammed into a choose-your-own-adventure book. Lots of puzzles, lots of choices, lots of absurdity. @callibones​​ introduced me to the game back around October 2021 and my life has never known peace since.

I’m finally done. As of August 5th 2023, I’m done making mods.

They’ve been great experiences, don’t get me wrong! I love how easy it is to branch out from a single concept into a huge sprawling mess of choices...

...But these mods have also consumed my life. It hasn’t been very healthy, especially considering I haven’t gotten much of a payoff from them.

That saying, I really do hope you enjoy them! I think there’s a LOT of great moments in them. I poured all my creative energies into them. Each mod has one true ending, if you want to shoot for them.

There might still be bugs, but I suppose that’s just par for the course. These are bulky mods, and I’m one guy. If you want to be a playtester, be my guest!

If you do play them, please let me know your thoughts on as many things as possible. I eat your thoughts like a little giddy grasshopper.

...Oh, you’re still here? Let me tell you something.

There’s one mod, that I started writing in January 2022, but never finished. It’s called Kyle Is Warrior, and it was going to be my attempt of creating an RPG (or at least, as close to an RPG as possible) in Kyle Is Famous.

I never did finish it, but every ending and detail had been planned already.

I won’t finish it. At least, not here.

You see, the Kyle Is Famous editor is a bit... Shit. Not blaming the game, though! The editor really isn’t a main part of the game at all.

This unfinished mod is an incentive I’ve given to myself.

If I want to finish Kyle Is Warrior, I’ll have to code it myself. In my own game.

We might return, years in the future. Who knows.