#I’m so so so excited for this zine y’all have no idea

[lilbitofmac]

Some fun little holiday sketches I whipped together for the @iamironmanzine!! ❄️✨

[journalsouppe]

My zine spread for the Homemade in Hyrule zine!! This zine was so cute and charming with such unique recipes, I am so glad to have this in my collection! I ended up transferring all the recipes to my recipe app because I was terrified of getting the book dirty while cooking.

This zine was my first exposure to cookbook zines and I just really love that. Art comes in so many forms and I’m excited to find more creative zine themes in the future!!

Thank you to all the creators on this project, it was such a delight to receive this and try out some of these recipes!

Spread typed out below!

Zine theme: A recipe-based zine themed around all of the Zelda games

Multiple recipes per section: breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinner, dessert, drinks

Merch:

Digital Recipe Cards

Digital Wallpaper

Bookmark

Stickers

Link and Korok Lollipop Charms

Measuring sizes magnet

Coaster

Tea Towel

Side zine with written fics (digital)

My thoughts: Such a cute zine with beautiful art, incredible writing, and tasty recipes. Although each recipe is paired with artwork, photos of what the recipe looks like are provided at the beginning of each section. I honestly can’t pick my favorite merch since they’re all so cute and well made. I think I’m most excited to try the dig digger empanadas, manbo’s jumbo, and the zora egg tea!

TYSM to all the creators! I absolutely love this and y’all should be proud!

Side Comments

Sidon 👀👀👀

This is making me SO HUNGRY

PUMPKIN PANCAKES

Zora eggs??? T-T That’s so funny and horrible

I adore the magnet it is truly the perfect merch idea for this zine

Omfg I didn’t know who Lana was I thought that was hatsune Miku

Omfg I didn’t know who Lana was I thought that was Hatsune Miku

Link crying on fire ??? T-T

[hareefluffs]

ART CHECK IN FOR START OF JUNE

I should really make this account an art account…. I have a lot of work guys I promise I just am too nervous to finalize them and scan them and format them and do the performance/interactivity aspect of them… and being an active participant on social media is hard ;-;

Some stuff I’ve been pushing onwards on!

procrastinating on my reel (rip my hireability it’s just hard to deal with file management and I suck at editing)

slowly but sure printing my interactive anti-suburb fungus zine project (my current printer is being a dick so I currently have two prints in the wrong color, one of which I need to bind), I’m going for 10 prints before I release them into the wild and get the documentation site up

ignoring my unfinished animation projects bc. I just don’t have mental energy y’all work is exhausting. Of these, I’m backburning finishing my during-the-school-year films and trying to get in the headspace for a short film I’m working on with a friend (which needs a script and a storyboard) and my thesis script.

the two t&b fanarts!! I wanna do more but the other things on this list need to take priority ;-;

I’m organizing a charity Pride zine with an org I’ve been part of for a while and I’m super excited!! My personal entry is a poem/illustration about queerness in the suburbs and fungi and how you can’t kill fungi or queerness bc we’re there and we’re important even if we’re invisible to the naked eye!!

learning unity 2D and C# for unity2d so I can actually start getting my game ideas in a place!! I really wanna make a point/click about how warehouse work fucking sucks since that’s where I’m stuck this summer and I want to do a story-based co-op game about a codependent mother-daughter relationship at some point. I’m super excited to be taking a narrative design class this year ahhhh

oh shit, finishing my commission sheet for 2022-23!! I’ll be trying to do illustration commissions throughout the year so I can have some extra grocery/supply/student loan payoff money since my work money will be focused on rent while I’m in school ;-; capitalism sucks y'all

Anyway!! That’s where I’m at! I’m still pretty behind unfortunately but I’ve also finally been prioritizing my social/emotional well-being and trying to earn some monies in a regular way since I’ve generally been unsuccessful with getting commissions :(. Maybe that will change but if not, I’m just trucking on!

Uh. If ur curious about my work or want to push me to like. Push out a specific project listed here, lmk. It kinda feels lonely and hard to find the energy to work on stuff in part bc very few people engage with what I’m making outside of classmates in the art-school bubble. My asks are opening if ur interested in my stuff or even the weird shows I’ve been sillyposting about. Or if people are interested I can post some poetry or other works I’ve been working on here.

Bye sorry for the long post, enjoy y’all’s day!!

[falloutghoulzine]

With the interest check wrapped up, we decided we would like to address some of the questions and comments we received! We got over 100 responses to the interest check which provided us with a lot of insight.

All questions/comments will remain anonymous. Hopefully our responses will give you something to look forward to!

---

How has your day been?

Every response we’ve received made us giddy. We’ve been great! Hope you’ve been well! (bonus: It’s @radiationgroove‘s birthday so toot a horn for her before the night is up!)

I love y'all already xoxo

We love y’all, too xoxo

This is an idea I've considered doing myself, so I'm very excited to see like minded people!

We’re happy to have the support of a community with highly refined taste.

please for the love of god include some gob content i love him thank u ily 🙏

We love Gob too! With any luck, we’ll get some contributors itchin’ to tackle our favorite ghoul bartender.

I love this zine idea! I would love for there to be a focus on already-existing characters since the ghoul NPCs are so underrated!

Our interest check has shown us that all ghouls are welcome in the zine. We will however be working to keep an appropriate ratio so that canon characters, including companion, NPC, and feral, will be the focus. There’s clearly a lot of love for ghouls of all sorts!

I've seen a lot of mentions of Fallout 3, 4, and New Vegas ghouls- would we be able to do some ghouls from fallout 1, 2, and possibly BOS in our work? Thanks!!

What, no Tactics? No, seriously, we’re happy to have any ghoul from any reach of the franchise. Do keep in mind however that many of the ghouls from the early games used the same sprites as other ghouls and did not have unique ‘talking head’ versions. This may make it difficult to include them, but mods are willing to work with contributors on the issue.

Perhaps a sign up/way to organize illustrations of characters and a certain quota or limit of a particular character? To prevent illustrations leaning heavily toward Hancock, Raul etc

When we accept contributors, we will be implementing a process to ensure no one (or two) ghoul(s) end up dominating the zine. We love Hancock and Raul and Charon and and and- as much as the next, but we can always do a more focused zine some other time.

Fallout is an 18+ game

It sure is! As such, we have decided that all organizers and contributors must be 18+ to participate. In addition, the zine itself will be rated M/18+. However, NSFW content is going to remain in a separate optional ‘addendum’.

Did a nsfw zine a while back through Short Run Printing and they were totally okay with nsfw and had a really good price, so you might check them out!

Thank you for your suggestion. We have been shopping around for printers (including Short Run Printing) and found a handful of options that also are okay with NSFW printing.

be careful when producing charms for zines - from experience these can cost as much to manufacture as the zines themselves!

Thank you for your concern. We’re shopping around for suppliers for our various merch ideas and making sure we can get what we’d like in a budget that allows for fair pricing.

who did the nuka ghoul pin-up used in the graphic? i love it!

Nuka Ghoul has become our unofficial mascot alongside Vee and Sunny. The header graphic for the interest check as well as the upcoming contributor applications feature official pinup art of Nuka Girl, the Vim girl, and a Sunset Sarsaparilla lithograph that have been edited by @digitalduckie. The chibi artwork of the trio that we’ve been using were also made by Duckie.

I love this idea! I hope there are enough people interested to do this thing.

I'm so excited for this zine

I think it's a great idea! Ghouls don't get enough love in the fandom imo.

Only that i love the focus of this, ghouls are lovely!!

I think it's a great and fun idea for a zine, looking forward to contributing!

This sounds super fun! Can’t wait to see all the art in the zine!

This is an awesome idea! Stoked to see what everyone comes up with :)

This is super awesome!

This sounds like a really fun idea, with the amount of ghoul lovers in the fandom im sure there will be no shortage of people wanting to take part and purchasing the final product.

I just want to say I'm excited about this and I hope there's enough interest for this zine to get started! ;)

not really, it seems youre doing great so far, so keep it up! :)

Just gotta say, I adore this idea and am very excited to see what comes of it!

Look at all this excitement! We’re grateful for all the support and we can’t wait to share the final product with everyone when we get there. We’ll be doing our best to keep y’all informed and engaged so we can share in our love for ghouls and Fallout!

good luck with this! i'd love to apply to contribute if the interest check goes well! (- v -)b

Thank you! We’ll be emailing everyone who asked to be notified when applications go live. But we also will tell you right here, right now, contributor applications will open Fri, Aug 20 at 3pm ET/2pm CT! We’ll share the links on all of our socials when they go live.

Let’s make this happen ghouls are good ghouls are great 🙌

2-4-6-8 ghouls are really super great!

[aawriterzine]

THANK YOUUUU for this zine. so many zines have such a small number of writer slots open especially compared to artist slots and it makes things super hard. i’m so excited to even apply y’all have no idea cksvndbd

We're so glad you're excited! The mod team has wanted to do a project focusing on writers for a while now, and we can't wait to start making it a reality!

[kakairu-big-bang]

🌟 Meet The Mods 🌟

Here at the KakaIru Big Bang, we have an awesome team of experienced moderators, who, between them, have organised and run many fan events and fanzines. We understand that this event is a huge project, and want to assure you that we have what it takes to run this event smoothly and see it through to the end.

Sign-ups open Nov 1 for writers, and Dec 14 for artists, so save the date on your calendars!

Please check out our bio’s and experience below!

MagnusTesla: 

Hey there! I'm Magnus, a 33yo nonbinary trans writer, and self confessed fandom weirdo with an obsession for all things eldritch and body horror. Outside of fandom I really enjoy reading, crochet, photography, collecting rare comic covers, and looking after my pet chickens! I am the Head and Socials Mod for this event, and I cannot wait to see what everyone creates!

Mod Experience:

⭐️ Co-Head & Social Media Mod - The KakaIru Zine 

⭐️ Co-Head & Social Media Mod - A Thousand Lights Zine

⭐️ Head Mod & Social Media - KakaIru Mini Bang

⭐️ Owner & Admin - The Umino Hours Discord Server*

⭐️ Co-Head & Social Media - Naruto AU Week

⭐️ Contributor To - The KakaIru Zine (Writer) + many other events/exchanges

 *Including creating and running several closed events and exchanges

Aryagraceling: 

Hey, my name's Alex and I'm the neighborhood angst cryptid. I'm a 24yo transmasc author and fandom nerd with a passion for spreadsheets who always has too many WIPs. In my off time, I'm usually binging fic and TV shows, then falling entirely too hard into new fandoms. I’ll be taking on the role of writer mod for this bang!

Mod/Contributor Experience:

⭐️ A Thousand Lights Zine - Beta Mod

⭐️ Intimacy Zine - Beta Mod

⭐️ Contributor To - The KakaIru Zine, Body Heat, Bloom vol 2, Lionhearted, Dry Heat, XueXiao Banquet, and Intimacy

⭐️ Owner & Admin - Creation Hub Discord Server

ohmoka:

Hello! I’m Moka, a 25yo writer, who’s far too invested in zines and daydreaming about finishing her AO3 WIPs. I’m super active in the BNHA fandom, and I’ve wiggled my way into the Naruto fandom now too! When I’m not writing, I’m usually binge-reading fics about fake dating, mutual pining, and body swaps. I’m a massive multishipper and rare pair lover. I’d tell you what I do outside of fandom, but my life currently revolves around BNHA and Naruto when I’m not at work. I’m honored to be part of such an amazing team, helping out as a Writing and Social Media mod, and I’m super excited to see what y’all cook up for us!

Mod Experience:

⭐️ Owner & Admin - Togachako Freaks Discord Server

⭐️ Admin & Social Media - CTABB Dabihawks Server*

⭐️ Writing & Beta Moderator - Bloody Sugar: A Himiko Toga Zine & Hop, Step, Fly!!: A Hawks & Mirko Zine

⭐️ Guest Contributor - Boku No Fashion: A BNHA Fashion Zine, The Ties That Bind Us: A BNHA Gen Zine, BNHA’s Monster Ball (event), Lilies in Bloom: A Sapphic BNHA Anthology

⭐️ Contributor To - Twelve additional zines, KiriKami Mini Bang (event in progress), & several CTABB Dabihawks discord server mini bangs and exchanges

 *Including creating and running several closed events and exchanges

Caped-Ace:

Hello hello~! I'm Tav, otherwise known as Caped-Ace/TavacadoToast depending on where you find me, a 31yo nonbinary trans dude who writes and (occasionally, when the ADHD releases me from my executive dysfunction cage) draws. When I'm living my best life outside fandom I really enjoy reading, especially Korean webtoons/webnovels, and watching cat videos with my two bastard cats. I am the art mod for this event, and cannot wait to see what content you all create!

Mod Experience:

⭐️ Art Mod - The KakaIru Zine 

⭐️ Admin - The Umino Hours Discord Server (as well as several other servers)

⭐️ Contributor To - The KakaIru Zine (Merch Artist) + The KakaIru Mini Big Bang 2020 (Writer) + The KakaIru "Oh Sensei!" Zine (Artist)

Intern Mods:

On our team we have two super enthusiastic and wonderful intern mods! It’s important to give back to fandom, and one of the things we wanted to do here at the KakaIru Big Bang was to give two people the opportunity to learn the ropes with fan event planning, so that they can start up their own events in the future! Please give a warm welcome to Miriam and Camila!

jessicamiriamdrew:

Heyy! I’m Miriam. I’m a 30 year old woman who became a Naruto fan in 2020 and is now obsessed. I love cats of all kinds, making Jewish fannish content, comics, and knitting. When I’m not at my day job or working on fandom stuff, I’m reading and bugging my cats. Kakairu is my first Naruto ship and what got me to participate in the fandom! I’m super excited to watch everyone’s ideas come to life and be involved with the process from multiple angles!

Camilita:

Hi! I’m Camila and I’m a 34yo female KakaIru writer (not very prolific, but oh well). I love to read, pamper my dog and eat sweets. When I’m not at work you can find me binge-reading fics with a cup of coffee as a companion. You can also find me on the Umino Hours Discord server where I came to know our favorite mods. 

It’s my first time organizing an event and I’m very excited to be working with all these wonderful people (writers and artists alike) so I hope we have a great time together! ~

If you have any questions at all, please do send us an ask or message on here, or send an email to kkir.bigbang@gmail.com

We look forward to working with you all!

- The KakaIru Big Bang Mod Team 💖

[angst-in-space]

november ‘20 writing progress

total words written: 50.1k

most words written in a day: 3,024

least words written in a day: 268

current yearly total: 233,516

projects worked on:

- sylvix dreamscape fic - finished a draft of the sylvix christmas fic for the sylvix advent calendar event! - finished a draft of the klance hotel au! - worked on altea rising recap summary, and worked a tiny bit on chapter 19

november goals: - win nanowrimo?? lol - finish/submit final draft of my piece for long live zine (note: ok i only didn’t accomplish this bc it’s not due til mid-december, the deadline changed so lol) - finish a draft of the sylvix xmas fic - work on the sylvix dreamscape fic - finish (or at least work on) the kl hotel au?? - uhh at least finish the recap summary thing that i’m writing for altea rising? maybe if i feel extra spicy i’ll actually work on the actual fic lmfao (note: well, i didn’t FINISH the recap summary but i did want to note i worked on it a lot and only have like a chapter and a half left to summarize so YAY!) - perhaps do some more planning on my original story idk

december goals: - reach my yearly goal of writing 250k words....*sweats* - finish/submit final draft of piece for long live zine - finish editing and publish the sylvix xmas fic! - finish/publish [redacted] and [redacted] (two short secret things i’m working on, lol) - work some more on the sylvix dreamscape fic - finish the altea rising recap summary (and....maybe work a little on chapter 19 if i have time)

notes:

WELL UH.....that was certainly....a Month. there was a lot going on in the world, plus doing my part-time editing job, etc. etc. but i somehow managed to win nanowrimo?? which still doesn’t feel real to me, since i haven’t won in like....5 years. so i’m not really sure what possessed me to write so much but I DID IT and that was such a good feeling!

i finished two fics during november which i feel like is an all-time record lmao. but anyway, first of all i finished a draft of the klance hotel au that i started like...last summer, so i’m excited about that!! honestly not sure when i’m gonna publish it because i have three fics i need to publish this month already so uhhh might put that up in january, but we shall see!

i also finished a draft of the sylvix christmas fic, which i will be publishing on december 16th, so look out for that one!! it’s being beta’d right now and i will probs have to do a bit more editing but over all i’m quite excited about it and can’t wait to post it :’’)  other than that, i’d say most of my efforts went into the sylvix dreamscape fic. right now i think i’m like five(??) chapters into it, and saving up chapters so i can post them one by one on a somewhat regular schedule, but that might still not be for a month or two because i have several other things i need to post in the next few weeks anyway, lol. 

i also worked a ton on the altea rising recap summary which i’m almoooost done with, i just have like a chapter and a half left to summarize so *wheezes* i’m almost there... i also got a teensy bit of progress done on chapter 19 which is the first time i’ve worked on the actual fic in ages dkfdj. not rlly sure when i am going to start updating it again but....i do have a few more chapters of it done, they just need to be edited and whatnot. but idk it may still be a while (oh god it’s been like two years since i updated it huh....sobs violently). 

in addition to that.... i have two other fics i plan on publishing this month, both of which are Secret. one of them is for a fandom/pairing i’ve never written before but i’ve had a lot of fun writing it and i really look forward to publishing it when the time comes! the other is for a lil secret santa exchange and i only have a vague idea of what i’m writing for it but....AAAAH i think it will be fun to write!! 

so uh yeah december is gonna be a bit of a crunch for me bc i have three fics i need to publish, plus a piece i need to submit for a zine...*falls on the floor* but hey it will be cool to actually publish some things this month, so y’all can look forward to that! ;) 

[withthekeyisking-writer]

How many WIP's do you have on the go, and which are the ones your currently working on? X

Oh my god so many 😅 Too many. I have an actual problem taking on more projects than I should, because I get so excited by new ideas and immediately add them to my plate.

So if we’re not counting fics that are still waiting on their next chapters (such as Rules of Architecture, Tremble for yourself, A Current of Fate, et cetera...😬) this is my list of current projects:

- My piece for the NSFW Dick Grayson zine, which is Sladick of course (because I am predictable, and will always love this pairing)

- A Jason Todd/Joey Wilson commission fic, which has been a bunch of fun to write and is almost complete

- A Brudick noncon commission fic, which is delightfully messed up and I look forward to showing those of y’all who are into this kind of thing!

- Of course, my weekly updates for NPOS

- A fic for Alpha Dick Grayson Week, which may or may not actually come out on time, which involves Jaydick and arranged marriages and assassination attempts

- A DC Big Bang fic, which takes place in the YJ cartoon world, and where Dick is a Batman/Superman clone CADMUS cooked up.

- A DC Mini Bang fic, which is a Greek myths Sladick AU with god of the dead Dick. I am extremely excited about this fic, and I hope y’all enjoy it when it comes out!

- A fic for my friend’s bday, which she deserves for always having been in my corner when it comes to writing, but is turning out to be much longer than anticipated lol. I’m keeping the details of this to myself because I don’t want her finding out but it’s gonna be cool!

- An ABO Sladick fic which was supposed to come out Sladin Weekend in April but I wasn’t gonna finish it in time so it got put briefly on the backburner. Dick is the omega prince of Gotham, which gets conquered by the king of another nation, Luthor. Slade was a major force in helping Luthor win the war, and as a prize Luthor offers him Dick. This is a backhanded prize because everyone knows that Slade likes other alphas. However, Dick is no meek omega, and takes Slade by surprise.

- A Brudick fic for the DC kinkmeme that I was almost done with and then accidentally deleted 500 words of and haven’t been able to look at it since. We’ll see whenever that comes out.

So there you have it! My list of current projects. Totally reasonable 😂

[ronanvespertine]

I would love to see your work in the gen hawks zine

ERMAHGAWD THANK YOU FOR LIKING MY WRITING THAT MUCH—!

I try not to talk about which specific zines I applied to because I don’t really want people to know while the application period is going. Idk, I don’t really like knowing who is “competition” or not, cause it might discourage me, other writers, etc. So I tend to keep quiet about it. And if I got rejected, I don’t say anything either and just hype up the zine. (I’ve gotten rejected once, but it was for an MCU zine that I wasn’t really feeling anyway, so in a way I’m kinda glad lol.)

Although in hindsight, I guess that would mean I shouldn’t talk about which ones I’m considering applying to, either. 😅 Honestly, maybe I should be a little quieter when rambling about zines. Put them on my rant blog, which is absolute trashy chaos and has no theme.

Anyway, thanks for liking my writing that much to say that! And trust me, I try my hardest at zine apps and zine work. And so do a lot of the other writers I’ve met! There are so many good writers out there, and I’m betting the applications for the Hawks zine are extremely hard to narrow down (rip mods), because there’s so much talent in this fandom. Either way, regardless of who gets accepted or not, you’ll have an awesome zine to look forward to! (I already have post notifs on for the zine so I can snatch a copy in the first 24 hours—)

I’ve also been playing around with the idea of making my own mini zine. A free, digital PDF anyone can access. It only be me working in it, though, so like a personal zine (kinda like kadeart’s fashion Hawks zine in her store), but hey maybe if some mutuals or readers are interested I’d put y’alls work in it too? That’s an iffy prospect, however, cause I’ve never modded a zine and idk if I can handle other ppl working on it with me. I’d draw and write, maybe include coloring pages cause I freaking love lineart. I don’t really like digital merch, though. But DISCORD EMOJIS! I’d totally make discord emojis for everyone. XD

Don’t get too excited about it because again—never modded a zine and I’d be going in a little blind. Also I have no idea what formatting is so I bet I’m absolute shit at it. But hey, learning experience.

[etcetera-dolls]

Another Belated Review

This Time it’s Wild Hearts Crew

So I assumed that I wouldn’t be able to get ahold of any of the WHC dolls because there isn’t a Walmart really anywhere near my apartment. However... I stumbled into one a few weeks ago and managed to snag my two favorites of the WHC (I passed up an Epic Moves Bo-Peep for them. Was it worth it? keep reading to find out.)

Here we have Kenna Roswell and Cori Cruize. Cori was my initial favorite, upon seeing the dolls online, but I think as of now, Kenna might have become my number 1 (screw that hat though). 

They come with these adorable little zines to explain their characters, and honestly, usually I don’t care about things like this, but I really do like these. They’ve got lots of info about the girls, they feel like real teens, and they don’t simply push more consumerism. 

Cori’s headphones are held on (besides the plastic tags) by her hair. My Cori looks like not all of her hair got pulled into the updo in the front, there’s a chuck just hanging out loose. 

Here’s a picture of her hair freed of all constraints.

One side of her head is molded plastic to look braids. I’m always a fan of something on the side of your head, hairstyle-wise. I just wish all of her hair was curled all the way to the roots. I know it doesn’t make sense if her hair is pulled up, but I don’t want it pulled up like that.  

The dolls can stand up on their own, which is suuuuper nice. Like, y’all have no idea how happy and excited I was about this. 

Taking their shoes off, I was excited to see that their feet are only slight accursed by high heel syndrome. They would probably look good in flat shoes and high heels. I’ll take it.

the clothes are of decent quality, at least in my opinion. They’re actual separate pieces of fabric sewn together in a way that is reminiscent of real human clothes. Although the fabric feels a bit cheap. 

Removing the dolls’ clothing shows molded on bras and panties, as well as the dolls’ inability to sit up straight. 

They can almost touch their faces, though.

Cori had some sprue issues though. (Is it still considered sprue if it's not intentional?)

Here’s another close-up of the dolls, showing how I dressed them after the review. 

Some notes:

Kenna is wearing her mesh shirt backward and her suspenders are hanging down. I’d like to make a little flannel shirt for her instead and I think I’ve found just the pattern. And I removed the hat.

As for Cori, I feel like she’s wearing two outfits smashed together. The jumpsuit looks great on its own. I think then I’d like to make her a black teeshirt and some jeans (or shorts? maybe a skirt?) to go with the jacket

[thehoneyedhufflepuff]

30, 37, and 39 for the fic meme, if you’d be so kind

Thanks for the ask!!! 💜

30. Do you accept prompts?

Sometimes! I put up a kissing prompt list in August (here’s the link to the collection of ficlets I wrote based on those prompts) (one of those also inspired Housewarming, so that was a blessing I guess). I also put up a cuddle prompt list right after I read Wayward Son, but I haven’t answered any of the prompts I’ve received yet. I still have a few asks from both lists in my inbox that I hope to get to eventually!

Here’s the thing, I guess: I love taking prompts, & I REALLY love some of the fics I’ve written that probably wouldn’t have been written without the prompts that inspired them. But I also know that I’m a generally slow writer, & I don’t like to disappoint people. I won’t say no to receiving prompts, they just might end up sitting in my ask box for a while.

37. Talk about your current WIPs

I answered this in another ask, but now I can officially say what my secret project is!

One of the raffle prizes you can be entered to win when you preorder @goldendayszine is a handwritten ficlet by me! I have an idea for what I want it to be, & I’m just super excited about it. (Now for the hard part: actually writing it 🙃) (If y’all didn’t see the post earlier today, there’s all sorts of info on how to get a copy of the zine + a list of all the awesome raffle prizes!!!)

39. Do you ever get rude reviews & how do you deal with them?

I think this fandom is pretty lovely in general. I did get one pretty gnarly comment on one of my fics about a year ago now, & ever since then I’ve turned off the anon option on AO3 comments. I know how my brain works, & I know that even when I want to ignore something it doesn’t always work. That comment had me feeling pretty shitty for about a week, & I have moments to this day where I’m embarrassed the fic even exists, or I think about taking it down, ALL BECAUSE OF ONE COMMENT. And trust me, I am ALL ABOUT taking initiative & facing your fears & strengthening mental fortitude, but in this case it was worth it for me to turn off that anon function. I’ve been really trying to not let others’ opinions of my work get me down—or, more accurately, to value my own opinions of my work above all, I guess?—but sometimes it’s not easy. (I do of course welcome anon asks & comments on tumblr, for the record. I realize going on anon is preferable for some people to say what they mean, & that’s valid. What I deffo don’t support is going on anon solely to be an ass.)

40 questions for writers 💜

[asterlizard]

2019 and decade summary

For some reason it hasn't clicked with my brain that we're entering a new decade. Probably because the decade technically ends in 2020, but I don't blame anyone for thinking otherwise

But I will write one of these journals anyway! ----- 2019 was definitely the year of art for me: Although it kinda started in 2018, over the past year I have felt a lot more proud of my art than before. I think I have finally found a much better pace that I can work with that doesn't take me too much time to work on, or doesn't leave me bored or tired of what I'm working on. I could refine it a bit as I practice more with it, but I definitely feel comfortable with what I'm working with.

I'm also very pleased to find that a lot of people liked my SpongeBob pic I drew for the 20th anniversary. I haven't had the chance to say anything sooner, but I'm really glad you all like it! (it's also now my new most popular pic at 750+ notes!) I believe we artists shouldn't be afraid of using gentle and positive ideas every so often in our work. I believe I also was able to finish all of the anniversary pics that I wanted to do that I thought about in 2018 👍

On the life side, I'm continuing to learn more about myself and to explain my thought processes more clearly. However, it's still always difficult and annoying when the words cannot show up.

I also feel like I'm becoming a little more brave in encountering content that makes me uncomfortable. I'm still having PTSD-related nightmares every once in a while, but sometimes I feel like some of the things that used to make me uncomfortable are not as harmful to me as they used to be. I'm still definitely in the healing process, and there are still certain things I will be staying away from for a long time, but I think I might be starting to (very slowly) recover???

I have also had to alter my language-learning methods, because I have been juggling multiple languages for so long, and I'm not fluent in any of them yet. So I've decided to focus mainly on one language at a time. Since I feel the most advanced in German, I want to keep that up for now. I'm certainly not giving up any of the other languages in the meantime (because that would be painful for me, haha), but I'm making German a priority for now and putting my efforts into finding more resources for it.

I'm also pleased to end this year and decade with a bang, or rather a zine. For those who don't know, I'm working on contributing to my first zine! The theme is steampunk BNHA, and I'm very excited to work on it! I can't disclose any details about it until April though, so I’m afraid y’all will have to wait ----- Accomplishments in the 2010's: -Graduating high school, and getting into two colleges over the years -Improve my knowledge in various fields, particularly geography, astronomy, computer science, and maths -Travelling to new countries, moving my total from 5 to 8 (9 if you separate England and Wales) -Travelling by myself a few times and learning how to do things more independently -Making new friends and keeping in touch with some of them up to now -Meeting an online friend in person -Getting my driver's license (I want to note this one, because I never imagined myself doing this, and I want anyone reading this to know that you would be surprised at what you can accomplish) -Leaving a toxic environment, and focusing on building myself as a person and learning about myself better -Dabbling in some job and volunteer work -Finding an art style and technique I'm comfortable with

New Decade Resolutions: -Improve my art (even though I'm proud of what I have, it's still a never-ending journey) -Draw more food -Get Photoshop on my current computer that I bought earlier in the year -Learn more social skills (important for someone like me) and keep in touch with friends -Start job-hunting, and get a better idea of what I want do do career-wise -Manage time better -Travel to many more places -Become fluent in at least one other language -Graduate college within the next couple of years (unless I get really interested in studying a new subject) -Get a story finished or at least well started (I've had a few short stories in mind during the past decade) ----- I hope 2020 and the new decade will be a good one for you! I wish the best for all y’all!

[samdesantis]

Okay.  Hello!

I’ve been hesitating to put myself out there. I’ve been hiding behind a full-time job and exhaustion and I’m over it. I want to dive back into the version of myself who loves to document life. It’s not that I’m not that person anymore; I’ve just fallen so far out of the habit that it feels really distant. It feels like I’m avoiding eye contact with my camera because I’m embarrassed that we haven’t hung out in so long. And then I get worried, I’m like - well maybe I’ve forgotten how to do it. Maybe I’m not good at it anymore. Was I ever good at it?

It spirals fast and then I just go about my day and don’t create anything. I miss connecting with y’all and inspiring and being inspired by you! I hope by me doing this it will light a fire in you as well. I’m not just going to sit around and complain about not doing it; I’m just going to do it.

So here we are.

I’m creating a patreon and am going to commit to creating something I love every month. I want to hold myself accountable for doing what I love and creating again. I’m not sure when I became so afraid of my love for documenting. I think I just got too serious about it. I started to think that I had to do it right, when in reality there is no right or wrong in doing what you love and are passionate about. You just have to do it, feel it and let everything else go.

My patreon will be linked below. It’s $3.00 a month and I will create something each month that you’ll have full access to! I really like that I don’t have to stick to one thing with patreon and I’m excited to see where this takes me! So, one month I’ll do a zine and the next month I may do postcards.  I was also thinking about doing Lightroom presets. Maybe one month I could do something interactive with you. We could take a broad idea and just shoot that specific idea that month. My wheels are turning and I’m very excited.   I have tons of ideas and I want to get the ball rolling!

Thank you for joining me on this journey! I love you!

https://www.patreon.com/samdesantis

[breziarchive]

beach majimako plz ty ilu!!!!

just for you, after i said “catch me never writing this”. superficial typos remain because i didn’t have time to edit asdflj

toying around with extending requests since I couldn’t work on them for almost a full day due to being sick, so stay tuned!

valentine’s day boogaloo - guidelines - ko-fi - majimako zine

~~

“Stopfidgeting,” Makoto implored with a smile as she brushed a straystreak of sunscreen on Majima’s cheek, “No one can see anything,”

“Sure,” Majima grumbled, clearly upset, “But, what if—,”

“It’ll be fine. Just enjoy the summer day,”

Majimahuffed, glancing around the array of colorful towels, umbrellas, andswimsuits as families relaxed, played, and wandered about the beach.The sun was warm but not oppressive, the breeze brisk and refreshing,and the water clear and calm. Makotowas wearing the swimsuit they had bought together, simple and paleblue. He wore trunks and a white button down shirt, all long enoughto cover the tattoos that would ban him from so friendly a beach.Frowning at her from behind sunglasses that barely concealed hisruined eye, he sighed and flopped back on the towel.

“Fine. Ya win this round.”

“Do I?” Makoto asked, amused as she rummaged in their bag, “Tothink, Majima Goro admitting defeat so easily!”

“Oi,watch it,” Majima grunted, “Or I’m gonna start keepin’ scoreand then you’ll be in trouble!”

“WillI be, I wonder,” Makoto mused under her breath as she finally foundthe book she had brought to read. Majima made a noise that suggestedhe had heard her but ultimately the conversation ended in favor ofthe playful sounds of kids running about the beach with the undertoneof the rhythmic waves. Majimadozed. Makoto read.

Thespray of kicked sand jolted Majima awake.

Rowdy, drunk youths cackled as they passed by, carelessly kickingmore sand onto him as they went. Makoto yelped, first in shock thenin worry as Majima started coughing and heaving, curling in panic.

“Goro? Goro!” she brushed sand off his shoulders as he tore hissunglasses off and pawed at his eyes. Taking one of his wrists as herother hand dove into the bag, she started to coo as he cussed andhissed.

“Don’t scratch! Don’t scratch at it, just blink!”

“Blink,”Majima rasped, angry but not at her, “Itfuckin’ burns!!”

“Iknow,” she pulled a water bottle out and frantically twisted thecap off, “I know, I know, here—,”

Takinghis cheek to turn him to her, she frowned, watching him blinking inpanic and pain as tears rolled down his face. Pouring the water overhis eyes and trying to avoid his shirt as much as possible, Makotocontinued to coo and help him rid the sand from his face. She brushedher thumbs as gently as possible along his eyelids, taking care tonote his ruined side once he regained his sight. As she coaxed grainsof sand out of the scar tissue, he scowled.

“Fuckin’shitbags,”Majima spat to the side, “See them get away with that on a tatbeach, I fuckin’ bet they’ll be cryin’ between their ass cheeksin two seconds flat! Whereare they?!”

“No, don’t,” Makoto said quietly, “Let them be, they’ll gettheir own soon enough,”

Grumblingand cussing, Majima still scanned the beach for them, locating themnot too far away causing havoc in their own little circle.Disgruntled, he slouched asMakoto started petting sand off of other areas.

“GuessI wasn’t so different, back then,” he muttered. Makoto chuckled.

“I bet you were a terror,”

“Were?”he pinched her cheek and she playfully swatted him away.

Hehelped Makoto brush the rest of the sand off, slowly building hismood back as they idly chatted about the more innocent parts of theirpast that weren’t too dark for whatever ears could be listening.All the while, though,Majima kept his one eye constantly glancing back to the rowdy youth.Makoto noticed, but didn’tsay anything until she tapped his arm.

“Goro,that family—,”

“Yeah,”he confirmed, low. The youths had started picking at a grandmotherand her two young grandchildren, harassing and kicking apart whatevercastles the youngest was trying to build. Anyprotest was met with the reasoning that they were simply playingGojira despiteabsolutely no invitation. Majimasnarled, snatched hissunglasses back up, and gotto his feet, “Fuck that! If nobody’s gonna give ‘em their ownthen I will!”

Makotodidn’t stop him.

“Oi!One bad turn deservesanother, you punks want sand kicked in yer face?!” Majima toweredover them but they were too drunk on their own might to care.

“Huh? You got a problem, old man?” one challenged, swinging astill-full bottle of booze. The others all turned towards him, whichwas good, since it gave the grandmother a chance to pull her kidsaway from the tension.

Majima grit his teeth, wanting so very badly to escalate farther—hecould pull all the real insults from every orifice and make them crybefore he beat their faces to the dunes. But the round and scaredfaces of the grandkids behind the punks forced him to reel it in andhe swallowed. Summoning a state of mind he hadn’t had to use in avery long time, he adopted the patience of a cabaret manager.

“Listen,guys, if yer gonna cause trouble, do it somewhere else, yer ruinin’some kids’ day fer nothin’, a’ight?”

“What’samatter, can’t take a little excitement in your life?” one of theskinnier ones prodded.

Thecomment roused a chorus of nasty chuckles with compliments to thechef of such a lame insult. Majima narrowed his eye, thinking of allthe many, many, manythings he had done inthe past several years of his life just for the fuck of it only tocome out of them (surprisingly) alive—not that Makoto had to knowhalf of them, but regardless. It popped a smirk on his face.

“What’re you laughin’ at, huh?” the booze-swinger steamed. Atfirst his friends laughed but then they shied away when he, angerclearly triggered, stormed up to Majima, “Somethin’ funny toyou?!”

“Actually, I feel like cryin’,” Majima supplied calmly, “Y’allare just so sad to look at.”

“Youtryin’ to start a fight?!”

“On this beach?” Majima feigned innocence, “I would never. So,listen to yer elder and haul ass outta here if yer feelin’ likethrowin’ down,”

“Idon’t have to listen to anyone!” the youth raged, swinging thebottle wildly.

“F-Furukawa, hey, maybe—,”

“Shutit!!” Furukawacommanded, causing the only dissenting youth to flinch. Majimasniffed.

“Yer friend’s got the right idea. Blow yer steam off somewhereelse, kid.”

“Youcan’t tell me what to do, old man!!”Furukawa roared, swinging the bottle down hard. Caught off guard byhow quickly the kid snapped, Majima grunted as the bottle shatteredover his head, scraping his brow and knocking his glasses off. Hestared at where the sunglasses landed in the sand nextto the bottle’s shards,sake dripping from his harsh features. For a moment he almost wishedit was champagne again, if only because that smelled better. Raisinga calloused thumb to wipe his upper lip, he inhaled, loosening hisshoulders on the exhale. The sake soaked into his white shirt andMajima looked up.

Theeyes of everyone in front of him, from the youths to the grandmotherbehind them, widened until the whites shone in the sun. Majimadidn’t have to look down to know that his tattoo bled through thewet fabric, having hemmed and hawed over it with Makoto some hoursprior.

“C’mon,kid,” Majima said, low and dark and edging on dangerous, “Whatare ya, 21? 20?”

Theyouths huddled together behind Furukawa who was too frozen to cower.The more his tattoo bled through the more anxious they became.

“Ain’tya a little old to be pullin’ thisshit?”

Furukawa’sjaw hung open, staggered, then shut.

“Ifya don’t want a little excitement in your life…,” Majima woundhis leg back and kicked sand at the youths, “Fuckin’beat it!”

They scrambled over each other, tripping and faltering in their hasteto leave the scrutiny of the unveiled yakuza. Majima would’vewatched them go, but the faces of the family in front of him stolehis attention. What must he have looked like? Hiding a tattoo wasterror for the grandma, but for the kids? They couldn’t stopstaring at the hole in his face. Frozen and awkward, he gulped andgave a little bow, earning a flinch from the grandmother. Shit.

“Goro!” Makoto called. Turning on his heel to see herrunning, Majima called back.

“Wait, don’t, don’t! There’s—,”

An ear-splitting shriek left Majima’s throat as he stepped on theshards of glass he was trying to warn her about. Hopping erraticallyon one foot, he attempted to go in her direction. Makoto braced hisshoulders when she reached him, guiding him back to their towel asgracefully as they could manage.

“Shit,” Majima expunged as he collapsed on the towel, “I’dalmost rather get another foot massage from ya,”

“Don’t tempt me,” Makoto said as she pulled his bleeding footonto her lap. Majima groaned, covering his face as she went to workcleaning the wound.

“Makoto?”

“Hm?”

Majima’s voice was defeated like a kid that had lost thechampionship little league game, “Where’s my eyepatch?”

In turn, her voice was gentler than normal, taking time to brush athumb along his shin, “Front pocket of the bag.

“’Kay…,” he mumbled. Keeping one hand covering his face, heblindly pawed around until he found the front pocket. Pulling thepatch out, he sullenly put it back on, wincing whenever Makoto hit aparticularly sensitive spot.

“Call me unprepared…,” She frowned, “But I didn’t bringanything to bandage you up…,”

“Naw,” he dismissed, “I can’t blame ya. This wasn’tsupposed to happen,”

A pause. Makoto rinsed her hands with the rest of the water.

“I’m sorry, Makoto,”

“Don’t be,” she assured quietly, “You did the right thing.”

Majima sighed, then started unbuttoning his shirt. Makoto eyed himwarily.

“You sure?” she asked. He sighed again.

“Cat’s already outta the bag. Plus it’s soaked with booze.Can’t hurt.”

Makoto didn’t argue and simply wrapped the shirt until his foot wasnothing but a bulk of soaked fabric. He seethed, somehow managing tokeep his ticklish foot in place for her. Makoto finally sat back,sighing with him.

“Well.”

“Well.”

She reached up and ran her hand up his arm, soothing with her firmgrip. Majima, his arm over his eye, started mouthing off a countdownas Makoto kept massaging him.

“You there! Sir!” an authoritative but painfully local voicecalled.

“Aaaand right on time,” he grumbled as the policeman jogged up.

Already intimidated by his appearance the policeman was trying coverup any stammering by standing straight. Majima only gave himattention by moving his arm so his eye could peek out.

“S-Sir, this is...This is a public beach,”

“Haw?”

“A family beach,”

“Uh-huh.”

“Tattoos aren’t allowed,”

“Ya.”

The policeman shifted, becoming as annoyed as he was nervous. Majimasqueezed whatever enjoyment he could by watching him struggle.

“Please lea—,”

“Wait, Officer,” an old and sweet voice interrupted. Majimajolted, looking up in utter bewilderment with Makoto. There stood thegrandmother, granddaughter in one hand and grandson in the other.

“Let him stay here for the day,”

“Sorry, ma’am,” the officer shook his head, “But I was toldthat this man assaulted several youths just now, I can’t allow suchbehavior here.”

The grandmother shook her head, her floppy sunhat following hermovements, “They were lying. This man took it upon himself tointervene and chase those ruffians away. They caused the violencefirst,” she gestured at his foot and brow, “Just look at whatthey did to him!”

“Self-defense?” the officer guessed. The grandmother narrowed hereyes, her voice turning into a harsh scold like he should’ve knownbetter. The officer winced, confused.

“No, those boys attacked first. I’m just thankful he washere to stop them,”

The policeman stammered, trying to bolster his defense. Rules arerules, so on and so forth. But the grandmother wouldn’t budge,resorting to shouting until the officer relented and allowed Majimaon the beach for that day only.

“Oh…,” Makoto said when the officer finally left them alone,“Thank you, really, thank you!”

“Granny,” Majima propped himself on his elbows, “Ya reallydidn’t have to, we can take a little beatin’ here and there,”

“And?” The grandmother turned her scolding to Majima in aninstant, much to Makoto’s giggling, “It’s a beautiful summerday and you deserve a good rest. Come now.”

The grandmother allowed the two of them to entertain her twingrandchildren, Makoto walking the boy into the shallows and pluckingsea shells with him while Majima (injured as he was) stayed on thebeach while the girl dug in the sand. Majima’s leering hannyaglared out at all the rest of the families, but the grandmother wasnever far away to sit and smile, diminishing the fierceness of thetattoo.

“Hohh? Whatchu got there, scamp?” he asked as the girl flinchedbut started poking curiously around a moat she had built. The girlwas much quieter than her twin brother, and simply looked at Majimabefore pointing down. He craned his neck, seeing a small crabscuttling about.

“Ohh yah, got some creatures in yer moat to guard it, huh? Nothin’to sneeze at either. Look,” he reached down and picked the tinything up, “See these claws?”

The girl nodded. Majima grinned, then stuck his finger square in thecrab’s claw to be pinched.

Gasping, the girl brought her sand-covered hands to her mouth. Majimacringed, biting his lip so as not to cuss—the little sucker pinchedfar harder than he had imagined. But still he stuck it out and kepthis wonky smile on for the girl.

“Goro!” Makoto called from the water, “What are youdoing?”

“Important stuff! You ain’t invited!”

“Would you stop hurting yourself at least?”

“Hurtin’? Ow—,” Majima flinched as the crab’s other clawfound the flesh of his palm, “This ain’t hurtin’, it’splaying, there’s a difference!”

The girl giggled. Makoto rolled her eyes so forcefully he could seeit from where he was sitting, and he started to giggle too as the sunbeat warmly on his back.

[quirkfics]

wips (for mobile!)

For those interested in knowing what I’m working on, you can either go to the WIPs blog page, or you click the read more here on this post!

If you’re not interested in knowing, and read more is being a brat on mobile again SPOILERS for quirkfics!! Keep scrolling past this! …Still want to know? Keep reading!

I have so many BNHA ideas, I doubt I’ll ever get all the time I need to actually write them. Goodness gracious, it would be a full time job! But, by golly, I will do my best to bring some content into the world. If you’re curious about what I’m working on, this is the place to peruse!

I have one request: I don’t have a set schedule for posting, so please don’t use this list to pester me about something in particular. I’m excited about them too! Feel free to chat with me - but please don’t send me repeat questions about when they’ll be posted. Thanks so much!

Now, please recall that just because they’re listed, doesn’t mean they’re done, or even close to being done. I have outlines for the reader fics for sure, but otherwise I won’t be sharing how close I am with each piece. (Y’all will know when I’m editing, I promise)

Commissions

4 out of 5 slots filled!

Character x Reader fics

Mirio x Reader x Tamaki (95% finished editing!)

Mr. Compress x Reader

Shinsou Hitoshi x Reader pt 2

Ashido Mina x Reader

Fatgum x Reader

Shindou x Reader x Izuku

Ficlet Fest I’m roughly estimating the next ficlet date for August 5th!

Zine Work I’m currently a contributor for After Hours: An 18+ BNHA Zine and the Cellophane Zine!

Miscellaneous I love AUs, I love self-insert fics, or fics where someone is “dropped” into another world. Sometimes I do write character x character fic! (Jsyk, I am a multishipper - if there’s well written fic for something, I can get behind it. I don’t really have OTPs unless it’s character x happiness) I will almost always post these exclusively to ao3, but as it still all involves BNHA~

Big Bang - details are, at the moment, underwraps! It is a character x character piece though (100% finished writing and editing!)

Todoroki x Midoriya x Bakugou - Buffy the Vampire Slayer AU

Modern OC/SI x ____? - I have over 8k of outlines y'all and I still can’t decide who she has better chemistry with T_T

[hailqiqi]

2019 Fic Round-Up

Writer buddies, let’s do this (as in, if you haven’t yet, do yours too!)

Stats:

(I’m going with a random quote from each one because I’m a fan of long summaries.)

Fics Posted (Gen): 3

A Little Taste of What Should Have Been

And that was how Pidge found herself kneeling sideways on the couch, face inches away from Lance’s shoulder as he disinfected first two sewing needles and then the earrings with a professional air.

Wriggle, Jiggle, Bake!

“Okay, so you’ve been magically de-aged — because apparently that’s a thing. Why is that a thing? Whatever. Of course it’s a thing out here."

Here

“Don’t make it weird, Lance,” she huffed, already tugging him into the room and closing the door behind them. “C’mon. I’ll help you wash all that off.”

Fics Posted (Plance Oneshots): 7

2 x 100 word drabbles

(Domestic Fantasy & Kabedon)

The Advantages of Being Small

“I couldn’t help it! It was just too tempting!”

Untangle to Wait, Unravel to See

Of course a fortune teller would appear as soon as he started talking about one. They were on a magical world with magical aliens and Lance was like, the hero of the story, so it made sense that events would be tied to his dialogue. Most importantly, it was not creepy at all, and anyone who said Lance was creeped out could go suck it.

the world is out there, my dear, but we're in here

Pidge froze. The reaction was so subtle that Lance would have missed it if he hadn't been watching for it -- she relaxed herself almost immediately, eyebrows raised in casual challenge -- but she'd reacted, all the same.

so it turns out I kinda missed you

Grumbling, Lance crossed his arms and sunk back into his seat. “I could’ve come to get her on my own, you know.” “Yeah, but then you wouldn’t be able to make out in the back seat on the way home.”

The Stars Aren't the Same for You and I

Dancing with Pidge was fun.

Fics Posted (Plance Chaptered): 2 (1.5?)

Skirting Katabasis

"So... Do you think you could put it back together?" Pidge tilted the tablet towards her and looked at him hard. His expression was hesitant, but his eyes were soft...almost pleading. She smirked. "Who do you think I am, Keith?”

The Future in Snippets (Chapters 3-5)

In truth, she had no idea what was fine. Her brain had switched off several heartbeats ago, but she couldn’t really find it in herself to care.

Fics Posted (Plance Collabs): 2

Smack, Kiss, Fall in Love (even chapters)

The prince doesn’t ignore the princess for the nerdy sidekick. Even if that sidekick was a badass fighter who’d saved his life countless times. Or a genius who constantly left his head spinning. Or totally into the same video games that defined Lance’s childhood, and the owner of a smile so blinding it made the stars look dim.

(shoutout to @sp4c3-0ddity​, my co-conspirator who made Pidge’s star so bright!)

It's Beginning to Look a Lot like A Christmas Carol  (Prologue & Chap 1)

“An intervention?” “Sure. Have you ever seen A Christmas Carol?” His mind freezes. “You mean the Dickens book?” “Uh…” Keith’s dad trails off, blinking. “No, the movie. With the little green man? I think they made a version with the grouchy duck, too.”

(shoutout to the awesome @rueitae​ and @sp4c3-0ddity​ who brought both the crack and the tears essential items for any Christmas party all we’re missing is the food fight and divorce)

Total Fics Posted: 14

Oooh wow. That’s more than one a month!

 Ship/Character Breakdown:

Ship Breakdown: Plance, with over 75%

[colleen image]

Character Breakdown: Pidge and Lance are in 100% of my fics. Hunk is next in 5 (with 1 POV!), then Keith and Allura both get 3 (both even get POV parts and Keith’s a major focus in Skirting Katabasis), then Shiro, Coran and Lance/Pidge’s families are more bit players.

I only just realized that the chapter in Smack, Kiss, Fall in Love is the only time I’ve really written Shiro. And now I’m horrified because Shiro was my first love.

Characters that had the Main Focus: 6 +1 Lance POV, 4+2 Pidge POV, 2 Switching POV fics and then the drabbles don’t count.  I actually started out the year tearing my hair out because I related to Pidge so much more, but now I really enjoy writing Lance. It’s actually a little tricky to get into Pidge’s headspace to work on my chaptereds sometimes.

Specifics

 Best/Worst Title?

Best Skirting Katabasis. C’mon. That’s like, literary (Katabasis being hell or destruction in Greek mythos). Worst Untangle to Wait, Unravel to See. I had help with it but this fic was just so hard to name.

Best/worst last line?

Best I tend to structure my chapters/one-shots around the last line so…this is hard.

"What took you so long? I've been waiting for you."

(Untangle to Wait, Unravel to See)

My personal favourite, though, is from so it turns out I kinda missed you:

Luis laughed. “Hi, Not-My-Girlfriend. I’m Not-His-Brother, Luis.”

Worst

Hunk just laughed. “You can’t fix that right now, so you might as well have some fun!”

(Wriggle, Jiggle, Bake!) So cheesey.

The last line that gives me personal arghs is from Here:

He buried his face in her sodden hair and cried.

...because a day after posting I realised that I should’ve written wept, dammit, and now it annoys me every time I see it.

Honourable mention to The Advantages of Being Small for winning the no-context award:

“Reckon I could fit three fingers up there?”

 General Questions

 Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

Way more than I thought!  I think I had planned out about 8? Of those I wrote two (zine fics), started but haven’t finished 2, and the other 4 are still pending.

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?

None, my obsessions are long-lasting and constant.

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

Skirting Katabasis or It’s Beginning to Look a Lot like A Christmas Carol. Though TBH I enjoy re-reading most of the stuff I posted in the last 6 months.

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

In every single metric on AO3 it’s The Future in Snippets. Y’all like your porn (even if there’s not much of it).

On tumblr it’s Wriggle, Jiggle, Bake! by like 100 notes.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

If this is a roundabout way of saying ‘What’s your LEAST popular story?’ it’s The Advantages of Being Small, but TBH that’s a very short crack-ficlet so it doesn’t bother me (same with the drabbles).

If the question is “What fic do you think people should like MORE?” the answer is Skirting Katabasis. It’s fifth on the list for bookmarks and 9th for Kudos, and I’m not sure why?? Does it sound too gen? Do you not like Platonic Adventure Kidge? Honestly y’all are missing out it’s like the best thing I’ve ever written. Hands down.

Story that could have been better?

The Future in Snippets. Hands down. It was started on a whim, as a practice fic for another idea I’ve been nurturing for even longer, and back when I was newer at this writing thing. It wasn’t very tightly plotted – in fact the plot was expanded upon and changed multiple times before I settled on what I have now, several chapters in – and certain things that should have been seeded were left out of earlier chapters because I wasn’t experienced enough to figure out how to work them in and foolishly thought ‘oh, it won’t matter! Such a small detail!’, so now I’m scratching my head trying to figure out how to compensate.

I tend to work off very tight outlines, but Snippets was missing that for a large part of the process and I think it shows. I do think I’ve done a good job nailing the emotion in it, though, and that’s like 95% of the fic so as long as I keep that up it’ll all be fine.

Sexiest story?

The Future in Snippets is smut so… First place for SFW sexy goes to the world is out there, my dear, but we’re in here.

Saddest story?

I think The Stars Aren’t the Same for You and I wins because it’s a heartbreaking situation with no good resolution. There’s no comfort to be found there.

Most fun?

A Little Taste of What Should Have Been. It’s just…fun!

The most fun I had writing was Smack, Kiss, Fall in Love, because it was challenging, and I’d wake up every day excited to find out what had happened in the last chapter overnight.

Story with single sweetest moment?

The Future in Snippets (Chapter 4) 

“Um…” She turned the brush in her hands over again before holding it up sheepishly. “Do you remember how you said you’d braid my hair?”

Lance’s whole face lit up like a Christmas tree. “Really?!”

A giggle escaped her lips and she smiled, nodding. “Really.”

Hardest story to write?

The Future in Snippets. The emotions in this fic have become a convoluted mess and it is growing exponentially harder to write as I continue. I simply don’t have the level of skill required, but by God I will find it so that I can finish it properly.

Easiest/most fun story to write?

Skirting Katabasis!  The outline for this fic is tight, and I freaking love writing this fic. Like I just feel like smiling the whole process. I don’t know why. It feels like the wrong answer because it’s a fairly involved fic, but I just enjoy everything about it.

Did any stories shift your perceptions of the characters?

Smack, Kiss, Fall in Love actually gave me a much better understanding of Lance. Skirting Katabasis made me really look at Keith and realise that hey – the dude is actually very emotional, very chatty, and very soft (he’s so often typecast as the ‘moody loner’ because that’s what they call him in the show but he really doesn’t act like that).

Most overdue story?

Uh. The Future in Snippets was originally scheduled to be finished in January 2018, so… I also have a soulmate WIP which was meant to be for V-Day 2018.

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I started to play about with other POVs, and discovered that I can write other POVs? I also did two collabs!  The first one I discovered that Reem really is a sweetheart, and with the second I discovered that either I’m really bossy or really persuasive or both maybe I should go into politics.

I also did a couple of events and zines and exchanges. I discovered that piece-writing – like writing with a target/deadline/outside expectation – does not agree with me, and I will no longer sign up for events/zines/exchanges.

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

1.     Finish my WIPs.

2.     Write my Pidge Makes Bad Decisions fic!

3.     That’s about it really. Can you take over the world by writing fic? If so, that’s going on the list.