#this is my magnum opus I’m SO proud of this thing

[countinglegoclowns]

Chill lofi beats to cram to

(Click for better quality!)

[spineless-lobster]

Being silly and manifesting patroclus hades II by redesigning him in the hades art style (tap for better quality because tumblr hates me)

(Full portrait under cut)

[digitaldiseas3]

laying in bed with a headache but closing my eyes just makes me focus on the pain more so i’m staring at this piece of artwork that i made in high school that i’ve got hanging on my wall now and. god man i’ve always loved this piece but looking at it harder rn its composition is just so perfectly done i couldn’t recreate it better if i tried

[itsokguysimquirky]

❥ coffee delivery 📓☕✒️

❥ lip gallagher x reader, no use of y/n, college!au, pre-relationship / potential friends-to-lover, cute little thing i wrote as a writing warm-up because I haven't in ages :p wrote it at 3am. proof read it 2 days later at 1am. so apologies if it's nonsense

❥ w/c -> 988

Consistency and Lip Gallagher were basically sworn enemies. Or at least, they weren’t very familiar with each other. That was until he managed to get roped up into your study sessions. The two of you got paired together for a group project near the beginning of the semester, and considering the near perfect grade you achieved with surprisingly little effort compared to most group projects, Lip hadn’t spent much time debating when you asked if he wanted to be your ‘study buddy’. Plus, he had to admit your time management skills greatly outshined his, hence the project running so smoothly. Sure, he had the natural intellect, but staying on top of things that weren’t survival-related was not Gallagher-forte.

But you kept him in line. He had never seen someone spend so much time organising their google calendar of all things. It was your ‘magnum opus’, you told him when he first questioned the colour-coordinated schedule, and he was starting to get why. Without fail you met three times a week, three hours at a time. If Lip had to cancel or cut a session early, another was scheduled to replace it before the hour’s end. Part of him hated it, little miss life together’s hounding on availability, but he couldn’t deny his more recent grades were too good to complain. And he also couldn’t deny your company was much nicer than most on campus, both in the talking sense and the visual department. Sure, your mind was great, but he didn’t mind the face stuck in front of it either.

“Coffee delivery!” Your cheery voice mock-whispered, sliding into your seat across from Lip and placing the cardboard tray of to-go cups inbetween you. The library’s fourth floor was practically empty, or at least the corner you two had tucked yourselves away in was. Seven pm on a sunday wasn’t usually prime study-time, but with Lip’s work-study, your own obligations, and class, it was a surprisingly good fit for you guys. Plus, the quietness made it much easier to focus.

“Thanks,” Lip didn’t look up from his book, one hand scribbling out nonsense into a notebook and the other grabbing a coffee. It was only after he took a sip did he look up, meeting your eyes with a look of offence. “The hell’s this? I told you, black, two sugars, none-”

“Of that cream shit, I know.” You finished, smiling wide as you recalled his very precise order. Your smile turning a little mean, you swapped your cups, bestowing Lip his beloved cream-free coffee, “Wanted you to learn to look up when you grab a hot beverage through a consequence that didn’t involve burning your hand or spilling coffee all over my notes.” With a wink, you happily took a sip of your flat white.

Lip bit his tongue, fighting back a smile at how proud you looked at your little coffee-swap-prank. It was admittedly cute as fuck, but he couldn’t exactly give you the satisfaction of acknowledging that. Instead, he hid his smile behind his coffee, relishing in the taste of its bitterness. This was how coffee was meant to be, none of that milky crap.

“So, what’s on your agenda today, coffee snatcher?” Lip asked, dropping his pen to give you the undivided attention you seemed to be asking for. He could see through your little tricks, swapping coffees was basically the college girl equivalent of little boys pulling pigtails.

You set your coffee aside, pulling off your fingerless gloves and getting your laptop out of your bag. “Advanced thermo. Shit’s kicking my ass, so I’m hoping three solid hours of that will make it… I want to say ‘make it my bitch’, but I’ll take understandable at this rate.” You laugh, flipping open your laptop and powering it on before disappearing back into your overfilled bag to hunt down the rest of your study material. “You?”

“Physics paper. Put it off for too long, now I have a Monday nine am deadline and only an opening paragraph.” Lip answered, nursing his coffee like it was a warm glass of whiskey. He watched as you dug around in your bag for what was, by his guess, probably just a pen he could’ve offered. But you were specific, you had a study pen, a notes pen, a maths pen, probably a pen exclusively for signing the declaration of independence if you searched in your bag long enough, and you were particular enough to not settle for substitutes until you knew for a fact you had no other option.

Finally emerging with a triumphant smile, your study pen grasped in your hand, you return Lip’s gaze. Offering a sympathetic wince, you slide the pack of pretzels you picked up at the coffee shop towards him, “Brain food. You’re gonna need it with a deadline like that.”

A shockingly genuine smile formed on Lip’s face, willing to admit that the gesture, while small, was sweet. He hid the smile behind his coffee of course, waiting til it schooled down to passively appreciative before he dared lowered his hand to reveal the quirked lips behind the lid. “Uh, thanks. That’s- um, that’s nice.” He cleared his throat, hating how he stumbled over his own words, “I, uh, can still walk you back to your dorm at ten, I’ll just head back here after.” Lip always walked you home after your evening sessions, the late hour and dark skies didn’t exactly make a safe environment for a girl like you, or any girl really, to wander around in.

You shake your head, “No, no, I’ll stick around. If you’re pulling an all-nighter I will too, could probably do with one to get my head around this stuff. We’re in this together, gotta keep you company, right?” You tilt your head, smiling at him.

Your smile’s returned, his grin almost dopey. He nods, messy curls bouncing in time, “Yeah, yeah. You’re good company.”

[orchid-prince]

My 1st Year of Drawing through Fanart

I really started in July, so it’s not a full year, but taking a look back at where I started in 2024 is pretty cool! Checking for improvement, noticing where I was struggling. I can even see what skill I was trying to pick up at the time based on the jump in the skills quality/the lack of focus on others. So before the year ends here is:

✨My First Year Trying to do Art✨ through the fanart I’ve made! Enjoy!! <3

Would you believe it took me 3 tries to get freaking BILL CYPHER right ?!? This is V2 actually but it’s a good indicator of where I was starting.

This was the first day I decided drawing was fun for me. I woke up, and immediately picked up my pencil to spend all morning drawing, without truly realizing it. Keep in mind I didn’t even have a pencil to draw with before this session, the other work in this notebook are, like, all pen.

🎀My baby spinel!!!�� I adore her🥰

Is the art good, not really, but you can tell who she is and at this point that’s kinda my only goal. If it looks like ‘em it’s close enough for me.

Side note: This is the piece that instilled the fear I will mess up any nice sketch by coloring it, a fear I still have to this day.

She may look decent here but in my sketchbook she’s ruined foreverrrr XD

Ok…maybe there’s a pattern with the kinda characters I’m compelled to draw.

Aaaanyway this is where I started focusing on hair more, the spikey look was my thing in the beginning while I was still trying to figure out how hair works. Lowkey I’m still trying to figure it out.

Also WHY DID I DRAW THE EAR LIKE THAT?!? What was I even going for 💀

Fun fact: Daria is my benchmark for progress! She’s been my favorite character since I was a teenager & she’s made of pretty simple shapes. I imagine when I get more confident I’ll take more liberties with how I draw her, like Jane, instead of trying to make it a one to one mimick.

Also bonus Sir Integra Hellsing, she was my first attempt to an actual anime style especially in the hair. And similarly to jinx you can tell this was more focused on learning on drawing her hair rather than her face. This was a trend for a few weeks which did come back to bite me in the ass with this next piece

Ya know what I didn’t see a theme with the characters I draw before I started making this post, and now I definitely do.

But OH you can SEE my struggle with her on the page🤦🏾‍♀️! This genuinely took me 2 days to do because her face frustrated me so much I rage quit till the next night.

After this I went back to practicing eyes and finally trying finding out how to draw mouths and lips in different ways and positions to avoid this problem (Didn’t work, I still often refuse to draw a face if the hair/body is pretty)

And to top it off I inked it & accidentally made her lids look like eyebrows, so now I have a fear of inking 🙄 Thanks Catra >.>

Now THIS is where I actually started staring at my hands for a good 30 seconds after drawing like “MY HANDS MANAGED TO MAKE THIS??” Because this was only 6 DAYS after I rage quit on Catra. Yet I can make this?!!? What?!?

This was genuinely just supposed to be a doodle to practice using his big ol’ grin to learn how mouths work cuz he’s all mouth and teeth. But lowkey, still have no idea how this and the next one happened. It was a weirdly good art-day for me but I had never been more proud. And shockingly I’m still really happy with how these came out, usually I get pretty ‘Meh’ on my favorites after a while. Maybe even kinda nitpicky, but these two feel like my magnum opus for the year.

^^Look at this!! If I could inject this I would! Angel Dust with Pinchers is the BEST version. I will not take criticism.

This, similar to Fizz, was mostly for his eyes and to try to get the flow of hair and fluff down.

By this point I discovered if I find which of my favorite character has a design quality that is unique that correlates to the skill, I can trick my brain into picking up the skill through hyperfixations and sheer force of will.

Aaand welcome to Valentine fails to figure out expressions and head positions, ;-; someone give me back my 3/4 front facing view cuz obviously I can’t do anything else.

This was the most low effort fanart but Marcy became a pretty easy character to draw by this point so I attempted a spooky vibe to try something new. Unfortunately they all just look traumatized, yet that kinda works for her character.

This is the point I started having a little problem, towards the end of October and beginning of November I screwed up.

I usually tried to draw every day if not every 2-4 days. Right before this I skipped over a week, for some reason tho that made me feel like my quality has begun slipping. Like if I don’t try to put lines to the page every day even if I’m just doing circles and not drawing anything productive I’m ginna lose all my progress and go back to square one. This Anya (from the game Mouthwash) is from my 4 inch doodle book I got to combat this problem.

While I’m not particularly proud of this one I will say if July Me saw this I think she’d be really proud and actually love it. So I chose to as well. Besides I adore that sweetheart Anya in any form she takes!

And last but never least: KEN TAKAKURA AKA OKARUN!!!

This is by far my favorite of my most recent drawings. Playing loosely with his shapes was pretty freeing, since I have a very stagnant idea of lines and forms, especially with hair, so getting to do Okarun was fun. His hair and collar felt very ‘scribbly’ to me which was actually fun because I wasn’t so focused on exact shapes how I usually am.

It’s not perfect (like those lopsided ears) and it’s not a direct mimick like Fizzarolli but I still really really like it.

If you go back and compare this one to even my first three I feel like I’ve gotten so much better in the last 6 months. It only makes me wanna keep trying!

***************

If you read all this, firstly thank you!!

Also keep drawing, draw every day you can. Or pick up the pencil right now and start, idc if you think it’s “bad” idc if you make 100 “bad drawings”. Art is first and foremost about having fun, feeling good while creating. Not just to get good at it, which ,not gonna lie, was my focus in the beginning. But what’s actually FEELS good in the moment is to finish up a picture and be like “WHOA I MADE that! It didn’t exist before, I made it exist!” Everyone deserves that feeling.

So pick up the pencil and get to it!

The world deserves to see what you can create <3

[yosajaeofficial]

AUGUST/SEPTEMBER UPDATE

Heya everybody! We’re back for a double episode of, “The Monthly Jayce Myles Comics Updates”! The reason why August wasn’t fulfilled like normal was due to college and how busy I immediately got when entering in, which is what I figured would happen so I’m not too surprised with it to be honest. I took some time in order for me to make a fulfilling update instead of doing a rushed one to pump out yk? We’re now gonna get to the updates and bonus content I’m gonna show.

Buckle your seat belts, close your eyes and take your hands off the wheel cuz this is gonna be a ride~

THE COMIC

(OFFICIAL W.I.P: PAGES 28 & 31)

The comic’s gotten slower due to college, however, I really needed a break from it in general so I could prioritize my personal life and also refresh myself on drawing what I want to instead of rushing my age physically and turn 78 years old when I haven’t even reached 20 yet. Nothing much to say but showing the w.i.ps because of the slower progress, it’s getting there though. We got to 30 pages! Which means that the first section is sketched out (calculated to be approximately a fourth of the full chapter done, it could go lower or higher in the numbers depending on what I want/vision). I’m hella proud for getting 30 of them pages done honestly. A huge accomplishment for doing this story for a long while.

Ya’ll don’t really know, but I am indeed changing things here and there about the story where I’m shifting small details, doing redesigns, and reboots with other small things overall. I would be honest and say that’s where I’m progressing the most and not the debut chapter, I’m able to have a clearer vision of the story in my head and on paper when doing future chapters yk? I won’t go into details about redesigns or those details being changed since they’re hella spoilerish and a bit unnecessary considering that the JMC hasn’t even debuted yet. Ya’ll will get those details later when the comic functions and I will reveal more in future updates!

Also, last month Jae, no you haven’t drawn the turtles yet. However, we’re close to their debut for the chapter so keep strong! You’re doing great! :3

BONUS CONTENT: Jayce Myles Over The Years

Many of you know that Jayce Myles, whose name is in the title of the series, is our protagonist for this ROTTMNT comic! She’s my OC that I’ve had when going through my senior year of high school. We’re gonna be getting into a deep dive with her as a character and how their designs came to be during the process!

This is the first ever drawing of Jayce that I’ve done, the day I made it is so vivid in my head because I was going through it… I was in my Pre Calculus class and I had failed another test after multiple attempts through the school year. My initial idea was to cry (which I did) but then I just started doodling on my phone and I created this drawing, then from there it was history. This was in 2022, not too long ago. I became a Rise fan a couple weeks after the movie came out (which I didn’t know at the time, it was a pure coincidence) and I wanted to create a Rise OC for a while. So that day in Pre-Calc, I was able to take advantage of my mathematical suffering and create my magnum opus (exaggerated). She didn't have a name at the time so it was actually a stand in for me. Jayce got their full name until a couple days later.

EVOLUTION OF JAYCE MYLES

(October 2022- February 2024)

As you all can see, Jayce did indeed have lots of designs and ideas being sketched out while I created her as my official Rise OC. I had ideas for them to have an androgynous look from the start based off of my own self! I knew they were gonna have a Rise comic, but there were ideas for them to originally come from the 2012 TMNT universe with their "serious demeanor". It was quite interesting but there isn't much media of those ideas since they were cut a bit early on.

(Older Renders of Jayce from 2022)

Their signature color looked like it was gonna be this denim blue for quite a while but then I scrapped it cuz I thought it wasn't showing their personality like how I want it to. There was also another scrapped concept where Jayce's demeanor would be more monotone and "soft" (as in a blank slate, which doesn't give her a true personality). It was cut because it made me think that I wasn't giving her the best potential as the protagonist then I should've been giving them. Jayce was more introverted and quiet, but now they're much more expressive and full of personality. Ya'll will see in a more better light when the comic debuts, I'm not holding back with Jayce's personality anymore.

("Issue 1: Graffiti" Panels from page 1. The only page that was completed until the plot got scrapped.)

There were lots of pitches and concepts for the JMC over the years too, where lots of storyboards got drafted and one of the first of those drafts got their first page completed. However, I'm pulled a Richard Williams and kept being like "No, I don't like this" and kept going back to the drawing board. I like to look back on these old drafts especially after seeing the older interactions and how different they're gonna be in the official comics. I for sure was learning over 2023 and 2024...

Now finally, we're gonna touch on the last thing for this update~

JMC'S FINALIZED PILOT (ADDITIONAL CHARACTER)

We are going to talk just a teeny bit about the debut chapter but I'm able to become vague without spoiling too much since lots of the older pitches were scrapped. But yes, this was when I came up with the idea, "What if Jayce had a job?"

That's where the idea of Jayce working at a deli joint came from. Where she would have to get a 9-5 and possibly fired, it was pretty funny when doing the drafts since I never knew how a real deli worked and my dumbass just used my mom's experience at Denny's as referenced (she walked out and quit after almost a year).

Thus, our pilot was born.

You can go read a non canon comic I did that touched on this concept when it was fresh in development right here! [Jayce and Mikey Phone Call] & [Splinter/Randall and Jayce Interaction]

The shop itself was based off of a friend's film back in junior year. He made a FNAF parody called, "Five Nights At Fernando's" and it was such a stupid assignment but that gave me the idea of making use of the dumbass "Fernando's Shop" and make it a reality. So then Fernando's Taco Shop was created and we had the shop Jayce worked at. We already talked a bit about Archie and his deal in the first JMC Monthly Update and I can't say anymore due to spoilers but he was also involved of the creation of the pilot.

The older pitches had a cashier or a manager be like some NPC ahh character that never was gonna be brought up ever again but something in me thought it would be a cute idea to create an actual character for this manager that wasn't a stupid bossy ass hoe. It was very sweet in the drafts so I thought I could create more with that concept in mind.

Introducing: Rogelio Andazola!

(Rogelio Andazola Evolution: 2022-2023 | Still Not Showing The Finalized.)

His design is one that is the most consistent when compared to the rest of the roster, I guess that I hit the nail with his because I couldn't imagine him any different. There are only minor changes like his gray strands disappearing (bro reverse aged) and his facial expressions are much more expressive after I played around during the soft reboot. Once again (and as annoying as it is), you will all see where I'm coming from when the debut chapter releases! Rogelio as a character has also altered his personality, he's based off of my grandpa, can't wait to show you how that comes into play in the story!

Thank you all so much for sticking around for this very heavy update! I worked way too much for the photos to be sent on here and dug up lots of my old art in order for this to become a reality! It was actually insane that I kept lots of it instead of making it turn into lost media, I'm happy I got to show lots of it instead of having to make it the fuck up by memory (which I wouldn't have done in the first place and is an exaggeration). The comic is slaying in the runway and I'm working on it here and there at my own pace. Maybe next time I can finally show ya'll the turtles in the next W.I.P in the comic section. Have an amazing day/night everyone and we're on the way to victory!

[spencer-is-alive]

my top five FAVORITE fics I wrote this year

it’s almost new year, and I got a lot…

A lot done this year

so, let’s go over my top five favorite fics I wrote (and finished) this year, not in any order

thanks to @unhappy-sometimes for the idea!!

Tapes and Face me

This one is a twofer, mostly because they’re connected. I’m very proud of tapes because I really wanted to capture that analog horror feel, mostly because my irl friend was really obsessed with the Mandela catalogue at the time. Face me was like my first huge foray into whump. My favorite part of this fic was Sylvia and Anya’s relationship, and the letters Anya wrote to her as “mission reports”.

Open eyes

I wish this one got more love and attention. It was a very weird character study I wrote where Twilight meets Loid Forger and Redacted, who are separate but also the same as him. It bounced off from @buf309’s doppelgänger comic, but sort of became its own thing, it even had some fanart that I’m too eepy to find rn, I’ll have to reblog it later.

Tastes like blood

an idea that was over a year in the making, where Yor gets to enact revenge on someone for (almost) killing her husband on their wedding night. This fic is so important to me because Maya Rowan, the would-be killer, was such a fun character to write. I love her so much. This fic did have a sequel that I have yet to finish unfortunately, but IT WILL BE DONE (at some point)

Clementine

your stock standard “Anya gets kidnapped by those gosh darn scientists” plot, based on my initial interpretation of the song “my darling Clementine”, where, in my mind, it was about a father who lost his daughter in the river, and he couldn’t swim, so he “lost his Clementine”. The “swim” here was meant to represent how twilight couldn’t deal with his own feelings for his daughter, so he lost her, but then he gets her back again, fighting tooth and nail to keep her safe. For those who don’t know, I am especially weak for father-daughter stories (my relationship with my dad is great dw) so this one his very close to my heart. The scene where Loid finally says “I love you” to Anya was inspired by Ai Hoshino’s death scene from Oshi no ko (which unfortunately ended very badly this year, spare yourself the trouble and just look up Ai’s death scene, that’s as peak as the story gets) and I was listening to the ost of her death scene while writing it. And my god does it just tear you up inside.

also his mom’s ghost saying “you’ve been holding her like that all along” still rips me to shreds okay?

and last but not least

A way out

“Yay Norman mention”

“Update wtf?”

— @unhappy-sometimes, 2024

what CANT I say about this fic? It’s, imo, my magnum opus. It was so goddamn cathartic to write it. If you’re going to read it, please, please mind the trigger warnings.

getting on with that, this fic is so important to me. It started out as a very angsty whump fic that somehow became a very personal look into a narrative about self harm and coming to terms with one’s existence. Really, if you’re in the right headspace, I would suggest you read it. BUT ONLY IF YOU’RE IN THE RIGHT HEADSPACE. it genuinely reflects a lot of the dark thoughts I’ve struggled with since my hospitalization when I was thirteen. I hope that, if I can find some catharsis in it, maybe you can too.

well, that’s a wrap. I’ll still be writing, but I just wanted to get this post out there. Love yall, and happy new year!

[poshbiscuit]

Hello all!

Sorry for being so elusive and hinting at future projects and then disappearing again. Things are very full on in my private life at the moment and I am finding little free time. Now I finally feel able to share with you what I have been dying to release for months!

It is my pleasure to announce my brand new project: ‘Yours, Veronica’. An extremely slow-burn story that is far more mature than my usual style.

I am going to be releasing this final story, and then stepping away from writing permanently. I have other career prospects and academic pursuits that I need to focus on, and the truth is that I’m grown up now. But, I want to go out with a bang.

This is an extremely ambitious prospect. I’ll be telling you more in time, but for now let me just say that I hope for this to be my “magnum opus” for lack of a better term. As in… 250k words at least. I want this to be a challenge for me, and I want to create something substantial that will test my abilities.

I do just want to reiterate that things are hard at the moment, I am at University, and my life is very different now to when I was writing my other fics. Nevertheless, I am incredibly inspired and I am already immensely proud of and excited for this fic. I hope you will love it.

Yet again, stay tuned for more info ;)

[moistvonlipwig]

Fandom Wrap-Up 2024

Total words of fanfiction published: 25,807

Fandoms written for: Once Upon a Time, Supergirl, Teen Wolf

Events participated in: Scottuary 2024, OUAT Appreciation Week 2024

Fanfic I’m proudest of: This one has to go to my Supergirl fic "the most recent evidence seems to favor the sea gulls" (AO3 | SquidgeWorld), not just because it's long as hell and covers a ton of ground but also because I really challenged myself to do new things with it (choose-your-own-adventure format! POV of a character whose canon version I sometimes struggle to really grasp!) and I think the end result turned out really well. So that's definitely my magnum opus for the year.

Other fanworks I’m proudest of: I'm really proud of my BtVS meta "Eternity, Growing Up, and Why Buffy Keeps Dating Vampires"; I think it's one of my best analyses ever. I really love this Amphibia edit I made to Mary Ruefle's poem "The Tenor of Your Yes." I think this OUAT edit showing the main characters as animals is just plain cute, frankly. And I'm incredibly happy with my second ever fanvid, my Amphibia AMV “In the 99” (Tumblr | YouTube), which was more ambitious than my first fanvid and IMO has smoother editing.

Events I’m looking forward to next year: Scottuary 2025, High/Low Zine

Projects for next year: Aside from my projects for the aforementioned events, probably my biggest priority for next year is finishing my Steven Universe WIP "Hard But Brittle," which I started almost two years ago at this point. I also have a Buffyverse fic and a Teen Wolf fic that I've made good progress on that I hope to publish relatively early in the year. I also have yet to finish out my fics from the Year of the OTP 2023 event; I got one of them done this year, but I still have four left. I know the basic premises of all of them at this point, I just have to write them. And...I have a ton of other WIPs that may or may not see the light of day in 2025, I guess we'll have to see what happens. I'm also planning 2 AMVs that I'm hoping to put out next year -- one for Revolutionary Girl Utena and one for Adventure Time. I'm super excited about both of them, but it takes me a while to plan AMVs, so I'm not sure when they'll actually get published.

I’m no-pressure tagging:

@nocticola, @02511213942, @loisfreakinglane, @jioinfocommlimited, @sideguitars

@spikeface, @rhyslahey, @all-seeing-ifer, @coraniaid

...& anyone else who wants to do an end-of-year fandom retrospective, whether it’s about fic, art, gifs, vids, meta, or whatever other preferred medium you work in. Feel free to use whatever format you want, you don’t have to use mine. But tag me if you do it! :)

[focusontheheart]

Meet the Team - @boobaloof

Hi! My name is Babs. I worked on Aloy’s lineart for the Erend route on FOTH! I first discovered Horizon when I purchased my first ever PS4 in 2019 (The version that came with Shadow of the Colossus, God of War, and Horizon). I had been a bit adamant on playing it at first, seeing as how I sucked major ass at managing the Ps4 controls— but when I got over myself and bravely opened the game, I got thrusted into the most beautiful, lush world that soon dragged me under in the most blissful of ways.  From that day onwards, my creative side took over, drawing and writing to my heart's content. I’m a deeply creative person who didn’t quite have that something to create about back then— so when I  played this game, I fell in love. I could finally let that creative side of me thrive freely.

See the Q&A with Babs below the cut!

Q: What is a favorite piece of work you've done (i.e. completed, working on, in concept)?

I personally can’t choose from my artworks because— I mean, who knows what comes next. I know I’ll always one-up myself for the next one, so just choosing one is pretty difficult. I feel a special connection to each of my pieces, each telling a different story and showcasing what techniques I knew back then. 

But if I had to choose, I’ve been quite proud of my latest Ereloy piece— That one where they’re kissing in the middle of the smoke in the battlefield? Yeah. This one.

When it comes to writing it's completely different. My favorite piece, my magnum opus thus far, has been and will probably always be Allow.  That was a monster of an emotional fic for me and where I pulled at my own hair the most during the process. Building that ‘something-special-between-two-people’ in writing is such a difficult process— and a frustrating one for me, too, seeing as I’m a very emotional person.

Q: What are some of your favorite tropes to write, draw, or read?

I am very corny and very bitter. I like character introspection, angst, and character studies, I like drawing/writing/watching relationships develop and create small pockets of reality where everything feels like a dream. 

Friends to lovers is a must for me, and I like Modern AUs every now and then, too. 

Also— I adore re-imagining characters in different styles and worlds, be it canon or AUS. It’s fun to play around with what’s been established and translating into other AUs while keeping what makes the characters them, well, them. It’s also one hell of a creative exercise. 10/10 would recommend.

Q: What is an unexpected or fun fact about you?

Marine biology student over here! I’ve always loved the planet I live in, and the life it nurtures— I used to be a rowdy kid with an unhealthy obsession with wildlife, animals, dinosaurs, and adventure. Having a limitless source of undying curiosity didn’t help, either— so, this is the life I’ve chosen for myself. 

I hope to bring honor to it one day.

Q: What has been your favorite thing about working on this project so far?

Watching it all come together! It’ll be like this massive book with many different stories and special moments– who doesn’t love stories made with the utmost love and devotion? That aspect alone is what makes them special. 

And this project is certainly special.

Working with the Erend team was super fun, too. Balancing life and working on the project certainly taught me many things! Especially when the outcome is just. so. good–!

[mryaksalot]

Plans for the rest of 2024 and beyond.

2024 has been a turbulent year for me, to say the least. I went into this year with an entire agenda as for what I wanted to accomplish in terms of writing. Little did I know how differently things would turn out for me.

My mental health back in March/April was not great if I’m being honest. I found myself not having nearly as much motivation to write as I did before. I decided to take a break from social media, fic-writing included, in order to work on my mental health. I’m happy to report that I’m doing a lot better now, and my motivation to write fics has increased significantly since June.

During my time away from the internet, I had time to reconsider what my intentions were when it came to my writing. I always enjoyed writing for the fun of it, but I also wanted my stories to stand out from the rest. I wanted to create something that was entirely unique, something that I can look at and be proud of.

The following is a list of all of the things I want to accomplish for the rest of 2024 and beyond, highlighting future stories as well as major changes in regards to my writing.

Backstory AU/The Road To Success

I’ve always viewed The Road To Success as my flagship story. I created this AU all the way back at the beginning of 2021. Hours upon hours have been put into fleshing out this AU into the multi-chapter saga. So many changes had to be made along the way(including starting the whole story over from scratch back in 2022). The story is now over 140k+ words, and it’s nowhere near finished.

Admittedly, I went a little overboard with how much thought and ideas went into this AU. I was not aware that this project would take so many months, even years, to put together. I don’t have an editor – I write, edit, proofread, and publish every one of my stories by myself. That takes a while to do.

Back in January 2023, The Road To Success went viral. This was around the time the 3rd and final season of the reboot came out, and AO3 was flocked with fans eager to catch the hype train. For a good few months, my story was gaining an immense amount of readership, which encouraged me to pump out as many chapters as possible in a short time frame.

But, like all hype trains, the excitement from the new season release cooled down. By the fall, the only fans left were diehards like myself. I was also experiencing some major burnout from pushing myself so hard. I had other responsibilities outside of social media like work, school etc. This burnout led to several delays of new chapter uploads.

During my break, I had time to rethink several components of my Backstory AU. I made a handful of changes to The Road To Success. The most prominent one was making the story much more Yakko-centric. I wanted to make a story showing how hard work and dedication to your craft can get you to places in life you’d never imagine. Yakko is the perfect character to convey that sort of message.

Initially, I wanted to include more character perspectives beside Yakko, but I ultimately decided to size it down. We’ll still see some of their perspectives (Wakko will get his own chapter at some point), but for the most part, the spotlight will remain on Yakko. This is his story, after all. Because of this, the current version of TRTS is much shorter than I originally drafted 2 years ago.

I have thought about expanding the universe even more with additional stories, but I have decided to hold off on that until I reach a certain number of chapters (you’ll understand when the time comes). I’m currently working on a 2-parter, chapters 17 and 18, which will take priority for the time being. I will save an announcement about bonus content for another day.

The Backstory AU has really become a passion project of mine. You can say it’s my magnum opus. I intend to take my time with future updates going forward. I used to pump chapters out as fast as I can, but I don’t really feel like I need to do that anymore. I feel like my content is better when I take my time to make sure everything is right. I want this AU to be executed to its full potential. Rome wasn’t built in a day, as the saying goes.

Oneshots/Additional projects

I have always been open to doing external projects on top of working on the Backstory AU and The Road To Success. Though recently, I have cut back on the amount of oneshots that I put out. There are two reasons for this:

1. The time I spend on these oneshots takes away time that I could be spending to write up the next chapter of The Road To Success. That story is a much higher priority to me, so I would like to put my time and effort into that before I decide to work on something else.

2. There really isn’t much demand for me to pump out as many oneshots now than there was 2 years ago. As I said in the hype train analogy, when a show gets new seasons/episodes, it draws fans to social media – it gives fic writers the motivation they need to push out new content. But now that the Animaniacs reboot has ended, a majority of the casual fanbase who had jumped onto that hype train had left to other fandoms.

But while the Animaniacs fanbase is much smaller now than it used to be, it allows me to focus less on the demand and more on the product itself – that product is the Backstory AU. I feel like I can take my time on new chapters knowing the diehard fan base will still be there. As long as there is an audience, I will write for as long as I still feel value in my work.

With that being said, I am going to be putting most of my focus on the AU going forward, rather than adding onto the load. I feel less anxious that way, knowing that I have a clear path in getting a fic done with little delay.

However, I am still open to doing oneshots in the not so distant future; I’m just putting priority on a bigger project at the moment. That might offset some readers who enjoy shorter content, but do know that all of my oneshots currently posted will remain on the platform for anyone to enjoy. Not to mention all the other great content getting posted on AO3. We’re a small, dedicated community, working together to make content for our own enjoyment.

But while I’m cutting back on individual oneshots going forward, I have something that you might enjoy.

Splats Of Ink/The Drabble Collection

Back in January, I decided to try my hand at a drabble collection. I saw that a couple of my fellow Animaniacs writers were doing it, so I thought “Why the heck not?” So far, I have written 6 entries to the collection, all of which have received decent feedback from readers.

I’m really enjoying doing the collection so far, because it gives me the chance to write out those strands of ideas floating around in my head. None of the drabbles in the collection are directly related to anything major, but that was the intention. The drabble collection is like my own personal sandbox – a place where I can figure out what works and what doesn't.

I won’t say yet what you can expect for future ideas for the collection; the collection itself is sporadic for the most part. But I would like to write out some deleted/extra scenes from The Road To Success which didn’t make it into the story. There is a lot of cut content from that story which I feel is still worth sharing. Other entries will include character study, and characters which I feel aren’t shined upon that often.

These drabbles will take the place of oneshots, and will typically be released during a wait period(when I’m in the midst of working on the next chapter of TRTS). As I said previously, I will still do oneshots on occasion, if I am able to come up with an idea that I can expand upon. For the most part, however, expect much more of the drabble collection in the near future.

Conclusion

If you made it all the way to the end, I just want to express how thankful I am to everyone who has supported me and my fics after all this time. I’ve been at this for 3 years now. I have made several new friends during my time here, and I’ve seen the talent of so many people in this community.

With that being said, I will be taking my time with my fics going forward. That doesn't mean I’m gonna quit necessarily, but I will be taking my time with my fics to ensure that they can hold up to their full potential. As long as there is still engagement in the fanbase, I will continue to write fic for as long as I still hold value to my craft.

If you have any questions about any of the information above, do not hesitate to ask. I will answer any questions you have, whether it’s about the Backstory AU or another project of mine. I want to be as transparent to you guys as I can.

Cheers.

[bigtreefest]

When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. ✍🏻 ✨

Hi nonnie! Thank you so much for dropping in and thinking of little ol’ me!!🤭🥰🤗 To be honest, I feel like I haven’t written nearly as much as so many others here, but I’m excited to reflect some!! I won’t dare to rank them, but here are some fics of note:

I think I’ve got to start this off with my Ari series, Bigger Houses, specifically Chapter 4: Neon Cowgirl. Like, it’s before Ari and reader are officially dating, but you can see right from that point how much they get each other. There’s a moment where it really seems like things won’t work out, but it’s full of reassurance and understanding that makes me so whole every time I think back to it.

Something I really love right now is Curtis in I’m So, So Proud of You. He’s just so goofy, and loving, and devoted, and it’s literally everything I would want in a partner. The softness make me feel like I’m wrapped in a warm hug.

I also really love my Steve series The Rainmaker. It’s so fun and legitimately funny to me, and I wish it would get more attention than it does. As for my favorite chapter in that, I don’t think I’ve hit it yet, but I’m excited to see what happens when I write ch. 11.

I feel like there’s no way I could do this list without mentioning my first ever one-shot starring Jake: Touch My Butt. I think I’ve called this one my magnum opus. I was really proud of it and had the idea on my mind for awhile and it came out exactly how I had planned it. Jake is just so dorky and awkward and it’s sweet.

And I don’t think I could make this list without the fic that started it all: You Catch More Bees With Honey, which is the source of the AU where The Rainmaker takes place. It’s just so playful and sweet. I love making a love interest grovel at the feet of a reader

[pastelwell]

With a new season airing I figured I would do a lil post of tomgreg fics I’ve written that I’m kind of proud of, just for funsies 🙈 I've loved being part of this fandom, and I'm hoping to contribute even more as the final season plays out :) I have two things half finished right now, so I guess we'll see.

I love to make friends (I know I'm so laaame shut upppp) and talk about succession so if you see this feel free to reach out here or on Twitter :) 💜

Hope you enjoy! Let me know if you did ahhh...

~

Truth or Dare Rating: E Probably my magnum opus lol. Tom & Greg play an insane game of truth or dare that drastically alters their relationship and throws everything they know into question. I love when Tom’s a little insane, and he is definitely insane in this (in a hopefully canon-typical way at least?!).

Landslide Rating: E A bit of a character study on Tom and his complex and layered emotions. He goes on a bit of a journey in this fic, trying to figure out how to be the most authentic version of himself after repressing it for so long (with Greg being enduringly patient).

Little lies Rating: T The blossoming of Tom & Greg’s relationship through the eyes of Shiv. I loved writing this so much that I made it into a mini series.

For what it’s worth Rating: E Tom propositions Greg over dinner and it goes better than he expects. The dialogue is some of the best I’ve written, I think, which isn't bad considering I'd watched like 5 episodes of Succession when I wrote it (plus about a million tomgreg fancams :'))

Pictures of the past Rating: E Wrote this for my iconic pal @chasingbodies birthday, who actually came up w the idea in the first place. Tom’s friend from college unearths pics of him from his youth and Greg kind of becomes obsessed with seeing them. Such a fun concept, Ana has the best prompts.

The Hirsch Foundation for Waifs and Strays Rating: T Throwing this in here because it’s just silly and cute. When I’m sad I write the softest nonsense and I was so sad when I wrote this 🫣 the plot is essentially ‘Greg can’t stop adopting dogs, and Tom let’s it happen bc he’s in love with Greg’

Surreal, but nice Rating: E Notting Hill AU. Ewan gives Greg his aging bookstore as an early inheritance, and in attempting to run it he meets mega famous actor Tom Wambsgans, who develops an interest in him 🤭 it’s literally a reimagining of the movie Notting Hill, which I highly recommend if you haven’t seen it. (Though I don't think you need to have seen it to enjoy this, it's just like if tomgreg were a romcom)

Microfics Rating: Varied An ongoing project that I have neglected of late, but just a home for drabbles that I’ve written to submitted prompts! You can see a chapter-by-chapter list of prompts here.

~

I’ve written quite a few tomgreg fics since I started posting 12 months ago, and you can find them here if you like! I always welcome prompts, though there’s no guarantee I’ll fill them. I have a bit of a list I’m working through though so… you never know :)

[wisheduponastar]

Oh my god. I want to simply send every emoji from the ask game.

If it’s ok, I’m going to send a few:

⛅️💧⛈️

- 🚑

Aww, thanks. I'm sure if I searched through my WIPS for long enough I could come up with some things. In this process, I discovered how little I have written down for one of my main (eventual) longfics, how many plans I have with no many words, and many wips that haven't seen sunlight for many moons. Some of them are here :

🌤️Share your favorite piece of dialogue from your WIP.

I have rather a large amount of wips, and far too much dialogue between them. Is this the best I've written? Probably not. Is this even my main fandom? No. Is this my most recent wip and something I'm proud of because I struggle with writing banter? Yes.

"I may yet forgive you," Astarion quips, "Depending on why you've spent so long admiring me."

"Admiring you?" Gale echoes, at first looking confused before realising Astarion's implications, "I assure you, it's simply-"

"Academic curiosity." Both of them say at the same time, Astarion grinning. He keeps the smile on his face as he asks, "But I'm in a generous mood today, what do you desperately want to ask me?"

"It's nothing." Gale insists again, "I wouldn't want to make you uncomfortable."

"We've both been honest with each other about our afflictions," Astarion says it so casually that Gale almost wonders if they're talking about the same problems. "Besides, if I had been offended by your asking I doubt I would have given you enough information to write a book."

Gale makes a doubting noise, "Perhaps a brochure, a research paper."

"A short book?" Astarion asks.

"Perhaps not even a research paper," Gale muses. "I'd only have one source, after all."

"Well, ask what you want too." Astarion gestures to himself, "I am an open book."

"I was..." Gale seems apprehensive still, "Wondering about your mouth."

Astarion's eyes shine at the opportunity of an innuendo, before Gale talks over him, "Wait- your fangs, specifically."

"My fangs?" Almost absentmindedly, Astarion runs his tongue across his fangs. "It's an uncommon kink, but I'd be more than-"

"Academically wondering."

"I thought I wasn't even enough for a book." There's a fake hurt in his tone, and an element of teasing.

"Well, you can help support my hypothesis," Gale says amicably.

"Very well." Astarion smiles larger than he usually does, and for some reason Gale doesn't even interpret the show of fangs as threatening. But as- and then Astarion speaks, "What does our wizard need?"

🌩️ Share something funny/cracky from your WIP.

The humour is sprinkled throughout my cracky-est WIP, so I shall give a summary. We have the lovely Hawthorne finding a weirdly cheap place to rent. Unfortunately, students don't have too much choice.

Queue a fic's worth of shenanigans featuring eldritch-horror Mog, horribly confused Hawthorn, and a least seven times he's accidentally locked himself in the room with her and they've both been horrified about it. (it's nevermoor fandom for the people who inevitably won't get it)

💧Share something romantic/hot from your WIP, or just something sweet if it's gen.

This is a small extract from a fic I hope to become my magnum opus, that exists largely in my head. Have one of the few scenes that is written down - and will almost certainly change once it is published.

“Thank you.” The pause comes. “But my heart already belongs to another.”

“I thought you had no partner?” There’s some disappointment in Éowyn’s tone, and now a confused inflection for her.

“I do not. And what I have is not a longing I have shared with many, you would be right to assume there is no one in my life.”

“And you have not confessed? Most women have hopes of a man like you; I cannot see a lady who you knew well turning down your advances.”

“You may be overestimating, my lady.” Aranuir laughs, small but lighter than he has been for most of the conversation. His gaze lingers on Éowyn for a second, as if debating something in his mind. “Although even if your words are true… I am not convinced they would be helpful.”

What Aranuir has just said - has just admitted - hangs in the air as Éowyn processes them. This time minds go through her head, and a name briefly on her lips before she looks up at him. As if asking permission for the words, the writing on his heart, to finally be acknowledged and spoken aloud. A silent understanding passes between them, and then she straightens. Smiling, if only a little. “Well, if I am to lose you to someone - I am glad that it is to Boromir.”

I'm sure I have more snippets for more emojis if you're inclined, and thanks so much for sending them in! Hope you enjoyed the little snippets <3

original ask game

[arcane-vagabond]

I read the latest chapter of Fool’s Fare. Not going to lie, I wasn’t really current with this particular fic but I did go back and read a few other chapters.

One, the chapter from Tom’s POV is very tear jerking. Like, how dare you?! I totally cried.

Two, does Guppy being a product of Tom’s magic give her some level of precognition and whatever went down with the sea serpent?

And three, was Tom Peleus at one point? Because Thetis was the mother of Achilles.

In any event, I really need to read this fic from the beginning. Thank you!

Ohhhhhh you gotta go read the whole thing to get the whole effect ngl

Fool’s Fare might be my magnum opus

But to clarify, we’re going to get a little bit more of an explanation in the final chapter, but yes! Guppy is the way she is because she herself is a product of magic, so she reacts to it like other magical beings or magic in general

And yes! This chapter implies that Tom was Peleus since he was married to Thetis and they had children together with only one making it to adulthood aka Achilles!

I’m so proud of this fic and I tried to incorporate as much lore and pirate accuracy as I could into it. I really, REALLY love this fic, and I’ll always recommend it to people. I’m not a huge fan of my writing (I find it fun to do though), but I think this one is really good 🥰

[idontknowreallywhy]

🍄🤡💾

🍄 Describe your wip/one of your wips in the format of ____ + _____ = _______

“Small Enthusiastic Tracy + Uncle Virgil Getting Carried Away = Glitterpocalypse”  

💾 What is your document of your wip/ a wip called? (not the stories actual title but what you’ve saved it as)

Hahaha “Final straight” - hilariously I titled it that when I thought the thing would be at least ten chapters less than it has turned out to be so I’ve been on that “Final Straight” since… um… May…

🤡 How many Wips are you actively working on?

Uhhhh *rubs back of neck* soooo it depends how you define “actively” but assuming we say it means I have at least half a plan for it and a decent chunk written (albeit not chronologically, let’s not kid ourselves here) … hmm lemme figure this out…

(Under the cut for rambling and links)

The big boys (2)

Resurface My Earth & Sky magnum opus (so so close to finishing this beastie now and I am so very proud of it)

Estera - my co-written mad sprawling razorfluff Scott-finds-a-friend-and-they-help-each-other-to-live universe… with parts for possibly two sequel fics which I may never use but I keep adding to them so… active… I’ll call it one WIP tho (at risk of @sofasurf locking me up because I keep trying to leap down plot rabbit holes). This one takes up a significant proportion of my brain in daily life, her back story, how that interweaves with Scott’s and their future story is vastly detailed now but will probably mostly not see the light of day. OC fics are never the best at getting engagement with people so I guess time would be better spent on others, maybe, but I’m inherently hopeless at writing the stuff I think I should be and so… yeah, I just love this story and how the two of them interact and the rest of the Tracys’ eyeview on it all (inc EOS, especially EOS) and I actually reread it a fair amount… your primary target audience is yourself, right?

Currently small but could easily get big:

Unnamed Wingman Ash story - so many notes and bits of prose and IDEAS. Constantly at the top of my “last updated” note files but other than posting some random snippets I haven’t actually worked out how to Start that one yet…

Octopus House - teeny adhd Scott at school

Red - the Alan & Havoc one

Shorter ones that should be easily finished off AND YET…

Play it Out - 3/4 just lacking that final chapter to fix what I broke

Sparkly cockroaches - a one-shot gift fic that I’ve been poking at for over a year 😏 whatever state it is in when I finally post it, it will not have been worth the wait but would be good to finish this at some point. Maybe before the second anniversary of the gift date 🙄

Fathers Day - 3/4 chapters done, 4th on its way slowly. Dad!Scott and the Tinies.

An Eyebrow-razing incident - 3/4 done, just gotta do the deed and raze those brows. Because I am a terrible, terrible human.

FishTanked-Up - 2/? I’ve got a morning-after chunk in draft but I have my doubts about them getting to the gallery. Also they might have accidentally adopted Juan… which could complicate things.

Music is Everything 4/? - my first ever TAG fic and although I haven’t made any progress on the finale in a while, I absolutely intend to finish it because it was my first. I might just have to rewrite half of it before that…

Misc insanity

A Very Silly Christmas Fic - the fic that confirmed I have no control over where a supposedly one-shot goes 🙄 Also ACTUAL ICELANDIC volcano erupted and made my crack Hrómundartinhurmindur fic a bit weird. Maybe I’ll finish it in time for this Christmas…

So… if we just count those and ignore the snippety / bullet points / too many exclamation marks plot bunnies then… twelve? That’s actually not as bad as I thought…