#Probably the most *finished* piece I've done so far in 2022

[zarvasace]

It’s “appreciate yourself” hours! Pick five pieces of writing/art that you’ve done that you love and talk about them! ❤️❤️❤️

Ahhhh okay, thank you!! 💜🌻 I finally have a free moment (aka work is slow) so I'm going to work on drafting this out :) I have far too much art I'm proud of—I'm at a stage in my progress right now where I think my art looks pretty awesome. So this list will be stuff from my Greatest Hits collection on AO3. In order of oldest to newest, I think:

incandescently happy

An LU post-adventure work, one of the first longer fics I posted. I released one chapter a day over the summer of 2022, so a lot of the notes have something about my day in them. It's about 30k all told.

I absolutely adored expanding on what the boys might do after the whole LU adventure happens (though I did forget about the fact that I think Time and Malon have a kid during this time!) This work features some proto-Shatterproof stuff, like Wind having a prosthetic leg and Four starting to specialize in crafting prosthetics/disability aids. I gave Hyrule longer hair and a job making maps for the royal family. Legend got another adventure but also started a magic garden/orchard, which pulls in more business than Ravio's stuff. Four and his grandpa adopted a single mother and her two kids. Man I went off with some of these headcanons. I've always considered writing more in this world, but I think it stands very well on its own. Maybe someday I might revisit and rewrite it with some of my new skills. :)

Rise and Shine and Fall

Whumptober 2022, focused entirely on LU! Guys this thing is almost 78k. I realize now that most people pre-plan or pre-write for things like Whumptober, but I wrote these one by one every day, which was extra-hard because I had both college classes and a day job at the time. I came up with some fun AUs, learned a lot about writing (especially whump), and proved to myself that I can do hard things like this!! I've adored doing daily challenges since, though I haven't done it in a while. I look forward to this year's whumptober though!

I really like the table of contents in the first chapter—it makes things easy to find. I know individual works are probably more accessible, but I was still getting to know AO3, and those big numbers are fun. XD I have a hard time picking favorites, because I really went off on these, but I'd say a couple of them are:

Chp 3, "Right Here" about Sky

Chp 7, "Proof of Life" about Four and Shadow

Chp 18, "I'm onwy a babey :(" about Wind

Chp 21, "6:13" about Hyrule and Time

Chp 26, "Silence is Golden" about Wild

Chp 31-32, "The Worst Thing About Earth" about Legend, but kind of more specifically the rewrite/expansion I did last year... haha...

The Marvelous Misadventures of Wind and His Merry Band or Maybe-Human Heroes

It's been a while since I updated this story (56k, 6/8 chapters), but it's constantly on my mind. I've started chapter 7 twice, and I know what I want to happen, but I am easily distracted by the siren call of some other whump fics. XD

I freaking love this story, though. I really want to finish it. It's kind of an... experiment? I guess? I want to get published someday, and I picture myself writing middle-grade novels. This story is sort of my attempt to hit that tone. Also I just love Wind so so so much. Let him be cool!!

Blood-Sucker's Guide to High School

56k Four Swords completed story! I wrote this in a frenzy of like two or three weeks, then took another two to edit. It takes plot points from a vampire novel I enjoyed and twists and applies them to a story about Shadow and the Four Swords manga boys. I'm very proud of what I accomplished here, and that it's a complete story! I think it worked out really well. I learned a lot about plotting and handling larger stories, and it helped that I had the half-remembered structure of an existing novel to use as training wheels.

I love the worldbuilding in this story! The premise is that Shadow is an evil soulless vampire from a (rather abusive, not that he sees it) family of the same, but then he gets the ability to walk in the sunshine. He's assigned to go to high school for a while to get a feast for the vampire gala, but meanwhile he's developing a conscience and getting very attached to these human boys. I think I did a good job. I love rereading this, every scene is just so fun! :)

Counterbalance

55k exactly of a stupid LU darks AU. This started life as a series of oneshots and then the plot progressively got more and more convoluted and I love these stupid boys so much. The plot is very much not tight, in contrast to Blood-Sucker's Guide, but I learned a lot about how I write and how I like to plan with this one, too.

The characters are stupid and the plot is just kinda silly and there is both a bathhouse scene AND a spa scene. Legend blows up multiple things, my lovely nasty little Dark Links need smacks and therapy, and Prince has a legitimately emotional moment at the end. I love how it turned out, it's like an ugly little stuffed animal I made and hug until the eyes pop out.

That's five but I would be extremely remiss if I did not also mention something from Shatterproof:

The Incredible Shrinking Chain

About 10k, this is entry 31/68 in my series Shatterproof, which is a close-canon AU in which each of the boys has a different physical disability. This series also plays into my publishing ambitions, because whatever I publish will very likely have some disability representation. I'm rather passionate about it, actually! Shatterproof is close to my heart, and I'm so honored that so many people seem to love it too. :) I need to work on the next entry again!!

This entry in particular is so much fun. In it, the whole Chain sans Four is stuck mouse-sized, and Four has to travel out to Twilight's castle with them to get Dusk to help break the curse. They all have to figure out how to navigate while tiny, and Four pulls some very silly stunts. I love them.

Anyway, there's my list!! I've written a lot over the last like two and a half years, and I'm so so glad that I get to be here and part of this community. The LU fandom as a whole (or at least the parts I've seen!) is so welcoming and positive and I try to give back where I can! I'm going to suggest looking through my bookmarks and ultimate rec list collection to find some new favorites from some very talented authors! :) (oof I need to update the collection soon!! I've been seeing some awesome stuff!)

[bellascarousel]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. (If you feel like it, no pressure.) Spread the self-love ❤️

All right! In no particular order...

History Repeating - Written for Anthony Week 2022, for the prompt Heartache and the ravages of grief. It's scenes of Anthony with Francesca and Michael after John's death, and then with Gregory and little Kathani while Lucy was nearly dying after the twins' birth. Fair warning, it's a tear-jerker.

Holding On For Dear Life - One of my old Haylijah fics. Though, actually, Elijah isn't in this one. It's a companion piece to another fic I was writing. And is Hayley and Klaus helping each other deal with Elijah's decision to erase his memories. Unfinished, and semi-abandoned. But, the first chapter especially is possibly some of the best writing I've ever done.

The Path To Forever - Another unfinished Haylijah fic. This one is a fix-it fic that changes how the meeting between Klaus and Elijah went when Klaus tried to get Elijah to go back with him to help find Hayley. There are so many really emotional chapters in this.

Getting Back On The Horse - A one-shot for Kate and Anthony Week 2022. The theme was Riding At Dawn. This one is about Anthony helping Kate get over her new fear of horses after her accident - and then Kate helping Anthony get over HIS fear of seeing her on a horse.

Let's Run Away Together - So far, my only multi-chap Kathony fic that I've finished. After their night in the gazebo, Kate and Anthony decide to elope to Gretna Green. A lot of heartfelt talks between them, and with their families ensue. Probably my most popular fic.

Thank you so much for the ask. This was fun!

[megidoreyn]

Hihi! For the ask meme, perhaps 4, 8 and 14?

Hey there! Aw, thank you for the questions! It's super rare to get asks like these, so it really made my day! 😇🙏

⭐️4. What defines your artistic style?

That's a good question!🤔 (Especially since I don't know how others might perceive my art!) Due to my own visual agnosia as well, it skews my perception of my own works... So I actually end up disliking the grand majority of the things I create tbh🤣 It's hard for me to become cognizant of any strengths due to the weaknesses being highlighted (in my skewed POV) sometimes! But from the comments I have kindly received before, I would say that my art is defined by: clean/polished lineart, round/"squishy" chibis, warm colors, and "an aura of softness/tenderness"! Truthfully, I would love to be known for having a well-rounded and versatile style! As in: switching from a dynamic + appealing full-body style to a charming chibi style with precision and confidence!💪 And in general: I'd like to be known for drawing handsome faces on full-body characters instead of only having a "cute" style tbh LOL

⭐️8. What is your favourite piece that you have done?

Oh man…For a self-critic, this is a tough yet great question too!!😂--There's usually elements of a picture I enjoy working on VS how the overall picture eventually turns out! But looking back at everything I've posted publicly so far on twitter from 2022-2023…I think it'd have to be these! ↓

And a special shout out to this Walter-Lucifer pseudo-fiend character turnaround sheet that started off as a "haha just messing around :^)" sketch but then quickly turned serious 2 days later LOL. I did like incorporating SMT4 Lucifer's Phase 2 wings on him, since the in-game design includes this gradient on the wings too. 😇🙏

⭐️14.What do you like drawing the most?

As a surprise to no one, my favorite thing to draw would be WalterJonathan---both the pairing and the individual characters LOL. There's actually a personal reason for this, but maybe that'll be a story for another time! Whether or not the majority of these (finished/ polished) sketches will ever see the light of day is also to be determined in the future...😂 Despite these canon Satan Husbands going through the many unspeakable horrors they suffer within base SMT4 + SMT4 Apoc's canon (and even the duology of the SMT4 manga's canon too!), I'll always prefer to draw them being sweet with each other...🥺 To at least give them a single soft moment of reprieve that they deserve...!😭🙏

↑ I also enjoy drawing the details of the SMT4 samurai coat/uniform! As well as other things and details like: 💙the SMT protags' COMPs + SMT4 Gauntlet 💙Clothing folds 💙Side profiles 💙Backside angles 💙Painting hair 💙Drawing hands 💙Dynamic chibis + dynamic body language in general (that convey a character's personality)

…and probably some more things I'm forgetting LOL.

💙↑ edit: I forgot how much I like sketching out Pokemon as quick warm-ups + other critters like the MOTHER/Earthbound Mr.Saturns too! It's good practice in understanding different shapes.

Again, thank you so much for the questions!🙏 It was fun to answer these!

⭐️⭐️⭐️It's still 12/31 here in my neck of the woods, so I wish you and everyone reading this a Happy New Year as well!

[sheliesshattered]

I did a lot of sewing in 2023, and spent more time on my sewing projects than on any of my other hobbies, even though I ended up with relatively few finished products. I drafted patterns, fitted mock-ups, and worked with specialty fabrics, several of them new to me. I'm pleased with how all of them came out, and feel like I improved my skills in both sewing and drafting. And most importantly, I had a ton of fun wearing each one of these projects!

The majority of the year was spent on my Rhaenyra Targaryen cosplay, starting last January with drafting a pattern from my measurements, sewing a mock-up, fitting the mock-up to achieve a more screen-accurate look, and adjusting the pattern accordingly. I worked with silk for the very first time, black silk organza for the underdress and red silk jacquard (woven by a small maker in India) for the main dress. I dyed lacing cords to match, hand-sewed several yards of trim, set a couple dozen grommets by hand, sewed on several different types of beads, and did a lot of handsewing to complete the whole thing. I worked on it continuously for just over seven months, in between work and alongside other sewing projects in the last month or so.

The other major sewing project last summer was the sequin shorts for my Harley Quinn/Taylor Swift mashup cosplay. I based them on the sequin shorts in the first Suicide Squad movie, but made them red and black to match both Harley's more typical color scheme and Taylor Swift's Red color scheme. I drafted a pattern by altering a swimsuit pattern I drafted in 2020, and made a lining out of swimsuit fabric to check the fit, then cut out the exterior sequin fabric. I'd worked with sequin fabric before, but never one with sequins attached in one continuous chain of stitches, which took a little while to figure out how to best handle to keep from unraveling when cut. I ended up handsewing extra sequins onto places of the shorts where the sequins had fallen off.

I purchased the Taylor Swift tshirt but added quite a lot of hand-sewn details, to make it look more like the Suicide Squad tshirt. In July and August I also finished a bunch of other small cosplay crafting items, everything from wig styling and jewelry making, to gluing rhinestones to a pair of bunny ears, repairing the beading on a purchased dress, and adding a hidden pocket to a purchased skirt, all in preparation for Dragon Con at the end of August.

After Dragon Con I needed a couple of months to recover, and while I did start (but not yet finish) a simple knitting project, I didn't do any sewing or pattern drafting again until late November. At that point I knew I wanted to make a cozy stay-at-home winter dress and get it finished just as soon as possible, so I could start wearing it as the weather turned colder.

I drafted a new dress pattern based on the pattern I drafted for Rhaenyra's dress, and a pair of funky wide legged pants from a pajama pant pattern I'd drafted in 2022. The whole project, from drafting the pattern and ordering a sample of the heavy fleece fabric I wanted to use, to the final hand stitching on the hem, took just under a month -- much faster than the Rhaenyra project, with much less fussy fabric and far fewer details. Now that I've gotten to wear it around the house over the last week and a half, there are a few small changes I may make to it in the future, but generally I'm very happy with it.

Currently I actually have two other sewing projects in process, too: hand-sewing/quilting the print from an old tshirt onto the back of a hoodie for Jack (slow going but getting close to done), and a surprise birthday gift for a family member. I'll post pictures of each once they're done, but probably won't post about the surprise project until the gift has been given.

After that, I have plans to start making some layering pieces to put over (and under) the fleece dress. I have some scrap fabric from older projects I'd like to turn into wearable things, and that bolt of cotton herringbone fabric I got a good deal on on Ebay arrived the other day, and needs to be washed and ironed and such before I start figuring out what I want to do with it.

I'm hoping to continue my streak of 2023 sewing into 2024, with that focus on more practical, everyday wearable items, rather than on cosplay. I don't know yet if I'm going to have any cosplay events to attend this year, and even if I do, I'd be quite happy bringing older projects, including those I finished in 2023, out to play again. As much as I love making those big show pieces for conventions, and pushing myself with new-to-me fabric types like silk and sequins, I'll get a lot more use out of everyday pieces, and feel better about my day to day wardrobe at the same time.

Thank you to everyone who liked and commented on my sewing posts throughout the year! I mostly post about my projects here as a way to document them for myself, but it's always so wonderful to hear that other people like my work, too. I hope 2024 treats all of us well, and to any of you out there with sewing projects you're working on, may your thread stay untangled and your scissors sharp!

[agbpaints]

2022, A year in minis

Well we're almost at the new year so I decided to drag everything I've painted out of its many boxes and lay it out to see what I've done. Overall I think this is the most productive year of painting I've had yet, with 123 figures finished in total. I crossed some big milestones with my admech, surpassing 1,000 and 1,500 pts of total painted models. I also started collecting necrons, started collecting battletech, and finished the last few stragglers from my cursed city box. My speed at painting increased this year considerably and I've definitely improved my confidence in my own skills- I've started using basic freehand and weathering techniques on my models and my airbrush is becoming a significantly more used tool even if my motor coordination isn't good enough for it to be a tool for anything more than monocolor base coats.

My favorite 2022 projects

Scrap-mech. Equal parts infuriating and awesome. Cawdor bodies have some of the jankiest connection points I've ever seen but their aesthetic is top notch and slots right into admech. This was the first project I did using citadel contrast paints, and while I don't think they're the one stop replacement for normal techniques they were billed as they work fantastically as like an 'extra thicc' wash.

Battletech. I really did not expect to have as much fun as I did with these big stompy murder bots. The models are appropriately chunky and gave me a lot of practice with panel lining. I also discovered how much fun flocking is!

Vargskyr: One of my favorite monsters that I've painted and my absolute most favorite piece from cursed city. I had a lot of fun getting the hair to blend in with the skin on this big chunky boy.

Tech-wraith Kitbash. This was an idea that came like a bolt from the blue while I was buying discount models that went from notion to build to done in less than 3 days. It's mostly bits and pieces from a kataphron kit welded into a cairn wraith but I'm super proud of it.

Flayed One Kitbashes. Flayed Ones are one of my favorite necron things period and after my initial spooktober idea hit a roadblock I fell into my backup plan, a flayer killteam. The lord is probably my favorite model I built out of the mix- he's mostly a primaris intercessor mashed together with an old warrior sprue.

Goals for 2023

Pile of shame busting: holy shit do I still have a lot of bare plastic to get rid of. My biggest goals for next year are going to be finishing my warcry and infinity starters that I've left to molder in their boxes and building/painting the rest of my admech backlog. In total I believe this is about 60 models

Spooktober project: last year I recieved a Seraptek heavy construct second hand that's been hiding in a box in my attic ever since. After reading twice dead king I've decided to make it the Seraptek from That Scene (you know the one) but life and the overwhelming size of the project meant I wussed out for spooktober this year. With another year of experience and time to plan ahead, it's gonna happen this time.

Advanced techniques: I've been experimenting recently with non-metalic metal and its absolutely nerd sniped me. I suck at it, but I see a glimmer of something I could get better at that I'm gonna try to claw towards. I'd also like yo try messing around more with various blending techniques in general.

Model photography: so far all of my models have had their photos taken using a desk lamp, a piece of calligraphy paper, and the phone camera on my Samsung. They're OK but I want to devote some time and resources into upgrading my kit and skills here.

[leavesdriftinginthewind]

AO3 Fic Tag Game

tagged by @persephoneed. I'm soooo late to the party but thank you for tagging!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 6.

2. Whats your AO3 word count? 23,442

3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently, I only write for Wednesday (2022), but I have written a single fic for Supernatural (2005) before.

4. What are your Top 5 Fics by Kudos?

wake up screaming from dreaming

paper rings

Quads and Countermoves

sleep well, my love

let your tears fall

5. Do you repond to comments? Yes! After I post something new, I tend to get overwhelmed and take a day (or two or three..) to respond, but I DO respond to comments! I always think it's very sweet that folks take time out of their days to read and then COMMENT on my things, so I try to comment back most of the time to express my gratitude.

6. What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Definitely you can't be gone. I had an idea to get in the mind of Tyler Galpin while he was in the woods after he'd been told that Wednesday was dead, and the whole thing is rather sad and angsty. However, I did have fun writing it as it was how I thought his mind had been working since I watched the show in December 2022, and even though it's the least read fic of mine so far, I'm quite proud of it and happy with how it turned out.

7. Whats the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Hmmmm, I'm a genuine sucker for fluffy fics so all the rest of mine have happy endings haha. But I suppose "paper rings" would have the happiest ending out of the lot.

8. Do you get hate on fics? No, thankfully. I've never gotten a nasty comment on a fic yet and I hope that streak continues.

9. Do you write smut? I had never written smut, HOWEVER I have my first (and perhaps only, who knows LOL) smut fic half-written in my drafts right now... 😳

10. Do you write cross-overs? No, and I probably won't? But who knows.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated? I have not, but it would be an HONOR if ever someone would ask to translate one of them.

12. Have you ever cowritten a fic before? I haven't, but I'd be open to it!

13. What is a WIP you would like to finish but doubt you ever will? I am hopeful that both of the WIPs I have right now will get done, and I do have every intent to get the both of them done and published. HOWEVER, just because I am shy and nervous about it, I do doubt that I'll ever actually finish + publish the smut fic.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship? W(e)yler, no ship has ever given me brainrot like they have and I'm not sure any ship ever will.

15. What are you writing strengths? DIALOGUE, God I love writing dialogue so much. Part of me thinks I should just write scripts.

16. What are your writing weaknesses? Having to DESCRIBE things drives me batty, I'll sit and parse over how to describe a room or a facial expression for entirely too long.

17. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic? I have never done it, and I'd be SOOOO nervous about doing it in anything other than German, which is the language outside of English I'm most comfortable with writing/reading/comprehending. I'm not opposed to it if the need arose?? But outside of the stray pet names in different languages that may arise in Wednesday and Tyler dialogue, I'd probably want to consult with someone who's fluent if ever I was trying to write something substantial in a different language.

18. First fandom you wrote for? Supernatural. I still need to collect my fic from fanfiction.net and post it on my AO3 account.

19. Favourite fic you’ve ever written? Oh, this is hard. Ummmm, if I had to pick, I think my most favorite (as of now!! I've got so many ideas that this could change) is "wake up screaming from dreaming." It was the first Wednesday fic I wrote, and it was also the first time I'd attempted to write any fanfic since like 2015, and I genuinely adore the story. Not to sound self-absorbed, but I'll literally reread pieces of it if I'm feeling down because I think it's just so sweet and comforting and I'm very proud of it.

20. What fic would you want to rewrite one day? Mmmm, I don't know that I really want to rewrite any of the ones I've published so far. If I ever got comfortable with writing and publishing smut, I'd maybeeeee rewrite "Quads and Countermoves" to be spicier? Because it definitely COULD have gone spicier if I hadn't had a panic about taking it that way.

I do think this game ran its course on here ~10 days ago, so I'm not directly tagging anyone, but if you see this and haven't done this yet, pleaseeee consider yourself tagged!!

[picnokinesis]

Question similar to that post you reblogged about fics: if you were to write a fic that was completely self-indulgent, like the target audience was just you? I love your fics :) 💗

Ahh hello!! Thank you!! <3 But also, this did make me laugh a little, because all my fics are very self-indulgent - that's why there are so many concussions, so many nosebleeds, so much telepathy, and so many stories about memory hahaha! BUT! There are definitely some that are more niche and self-indulgent than others, and out of all of my wips, I think that one of the fics that I actually mentioned in the tags of that other post - trestle - is probably the most self indulgent. The full title is The Trestle at Kasterborous Creek, and it's a very weird matrix-based academy-era-but-make-it-spydoc fic that's heavily inspired by a play that not many people have heard of called The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek. You definitely won't need to know the play to understand the fic, but I feel like there are so many references littered throughout what I've written so far that only someone who knows the play really well (which is like. no one HAHA) would appreciate them all. It's also quite...structurally/temporally weird. The scenes are not in chronological order, and some happen at the same time but also before and after each other simultaneously. A lot of the dialogue is talking about two different things at the same time. But what I have of it so far is like...some of my favourite pieces of writing that I've done. I came up with it in like, 2022? And then wrote 37k of it at the start of this year. I feel like if I could write another 40k of it at some point, it would finish it off...but we'll see if I ever get back into it again. It's possible because I have a rough plan for it! (for once in my life)

[awritingcaitlin]

10 First Lines

@elbritch-kit tagged me for this a month ago! 👋🏻 Sorrynotsorry I'm late!

Anyway, I've done a couple of these before, but this one's rules is very specifically:

rules: share the first lines of the last ten things you’ve written

So, uh, this should be interesting because fun fact about me, I rewrite the same stuff over and over again.

🔥TBW: Mama Cass normally prided herself on her composure.

🥃LGO: In all honesty, Rinnie was too drunk to remember who hit the bed first.

👩‍🦰RA: “Where are we?” Taryn asked.

🎻ROTG: A Temple of Adelus wasn’t her favorite place for a gig, but considering Em was avoiding Seamus Finn establishments, she’d take what she could get.

💥SB: The wind on Berthingtonn’s eastern docks always seemed to blow far more strongly than it did on the west side.

♟TGG: “Eileen,” Aravae said, trying to put enough warning into her tone that Eileen would get the message, but not so much warning that Finley would pick up on it.

💨WH: “Wind’s howling,” Teagan mutters in her best Geralt impression.

❄CTQ: Two women walked along the busy evening streets of Himmelmauer, their course pointed towards the castle.

🍲AEB: First there is chaos, and then there is cold.

💎TWS: Rinnie is on a beach, but it's not a beach she recognizes. The magic feels different. 

Okay, that actually wasn't too hard to track down all things considered. I feel like elaborating with more stats, so I'll do that under the cut.

But first, I'll tag: @sentfromwolves, @tananaphone, @legiomiam, @mjjune, and @muddshadow (no pressure, anyone!)

The Brewing War: aka Book 1, it's up at the top of the list (most recent) because it's been in steady revisions of it since April. That first line? Totally new.

Lights Go Out: is a character study of Rinnie, Aravae, and Ciara and I was writing it separately from TBW because that content does not actually belong on the pages of TBW, but it's up there because I wrote it in June.

Redheads Abound: is a AU fanfiction essentially combining my characters with characters from 3 others writeblrs on here. Wrote that back in April.

Relic of the Gods: aka ViolinHeist, happens in the same universe as TBW but is not a prequel. It got a few revisions in April, but after rewriting the first three chapters of Draft 3, I set it down to let other stuff percolate in the back of my head.

Siege of Berthingtonn: aka Book 2 got some edits back in March, though that first line is older.

The Great Game: aka Book 4 where I've done bits and pieces of that so that's the first line I've written but it's definitely not Chapter 1 or a prologue even. That was back in March.

Wind's Howling: is a flashfic I wrote back in February. Experimenting with present tense.

Cure for the Queen: aka Book 3. It got finished back in March of 2022. April-August was ROTG Draft 1, August-October was then SB Draft 8, November-February was ROTG again which explains the break and reemphasizes that I just write the same things over and over again.

Soup 2 Another Electric Boogaloo: was something I was working on back in October of 2021 (in between working on CTQ). It was fanfiction of fanfiction and I wrote it primarily while still working at GameStop because I could just write it on my phone.

Team W Shenanigans: was also something I was working on back in the Fall of 2021, same time as AEB. It was fanfiction that Rinnie was also involved in.

Hilariously, Rinnie never seems to get first lines unless it's a character study, or fanfiction. I should probably change that. But also, Rinnie's not really a candidate for the prologues of the main series of books so there's also that.

Okay I'm done rambling now. Have a cookie if you read this far 🍪

[crypticcodexcreations]

2022 Writer Year-In-Review

@inkspellangel tagged me for this, so let's see how 2022 writing went! I got rambly, so a read more!

Total number of completed works:

Um..... None? Oops. Really thought I was going to finish Hell's Casino when I started on it in August and then I didn't!

Total number of WIPs worked on this year:

Six, unless you count the vague concepts that all I've done is try to design characters. Then it's eight, but I don't count ones that I haven't done any writing on.

WIPs neglected this year:

That depends on the way you want to define 'neglected' because each WIP has kind of been left mostly untouched as soon as I started a new one. I've definitely gotten a little more on some of them, but honestly, all of them have been at least a little neglected except Reapers as it's my newest one.

Total word count:

I have a few things I haven't typed up, so those aren't counted, but with what I do have typed. 27,455 words.

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

Oh, way more. I had stopped writing for a few years, and then just. It all came rushing back in August this year and I really didn't think I'd get very far.

Did you take any writing risks this year?:

The honest answer is probably no, but just getting back into writing at all felt like a huge risk in a way I don't know how to explain.

Do you have any goals for the new year?:

To just not stop, no matter how slow it feels.

Biggest disappointment?:

I think that would be the fact that Hell's Casino has kind of gotten buried under everything else. It's a pretty straight forward story and I'd like to get back to it. Every other WIP has so many more moving pieces so to speak.

Biggest surprise?:

Honestly? Just how much all of my stories have gotten attention. I know there are others here who get way more attention, but that doesn't really matter to me tbh. I have a nice handful of people who get super excited about what I do write, and honestly? The tags and such are so much more valuable than twice as many likes and nothing else, you know?

Most popular story of the year?:

This is hard to judge because each story has had about the same amount of interest, just from different people it feels like. I might have to give the title to Reapers though, as it's the one that caused me to actually make a tag list, because I got a request from someone to be added to it.

What's your own favourite story of the year?:

Oh, you're going to make me pick a favorite child? Honestly, it's hard to say because I love them all for different reasons. Reapers has given me the most moments of absolute giddiness writing it so far though, so I guess Reapers wins another award lol.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:

Cross Over could use some more love to be completely honest, but I also can't say I'm super surprised. That one is just completely self indulgent shenanigans and also didn't have as much posted about it.

Most fun story to write:

That's been Only Human. While Reapers has won out on making me absolutely giddy, Only Human has made me really think a lot about where I'm going with it, and gotten me to smile a lot while also getting me both out of my comfort zone and into it at just the right moments. Out because I usually don't write such low stakes type stories, but in because it's always there with my completely queer cast of almost no humans. It's fun because some aspects have been challenging, but also a refreshing break from some of the more heavy stuff I've been writing.

Most unintentionally telling story:

I feel like this might be Only Human, just because of how much of my personality and identity William stole from me. Although, Reapers is likely a close second, but only for the parts that haven't been shared, which hardly counts I think. To be honest though, I feel like all of my stories are very telling and I'm kind of aware of this whenever I write. I see the me going into every piece, and I know that the only way to hide it would be to write something I'd hate, which I just can't do.

[starwalker03]

Ayo it's late but 2023 Digital Art Progress

I drew the most digital stuff I've ever drawn last year. I finally pushed past a lot of my issues with the digital medium and figured out how to actually Do The Thing per se. so I think I got a lot better over the course of 2023. I definitely changed my visual style a lot, that's for sure.

Unfortunately I did lose my USB in 2023 as well so I lost a lot of my files. much sadness.

LONG POST. lots of drawings to get through and I have Thoughts.

Anyway these are dated in my files as March, which is my earliest I have rn, so this is kinda a representation of how I started the year.

I was busy most of April so May has two files. these were both a part of my semester one project of my degree.

I've got a lot of things dated for June, which is surprising. and not a lot of things dated after. I'm all over the place with starting wips and when it comes to finishing them... ehhh it happens eventually.

I really wish I could go back in time and fix that leg. I just wanted to avoid drawing toes lmao. the thick line art really is a problem to me but that's neither here nor there.

I think I finished a bunch of thing in June, because these are dated two days apart and I definitely started one before the other lmao. hell I think the one on the left was started in 2022.

I'm not sure when this was but it was early in the year. I tried to veer away from the harsh lines and ended up swinging too far into semi-realism. I loved how it was looking (this is still a wip) but the amount of time it was taking was too much for me to replicate again.

This definitely a June piece, because I wanted to do one character every few days throughout Pride Month. Didn't finish it.

last year my friends and I considered starting to record and post our dnd games, so I did some arts of the characters of our current campaign.

I think the solid black line art all of the same thickness was one of the main things I always disliked. I could never quite make it work with everything else I was doing.

This is probably the only work I did with solid black lines that I really liked. it seems to work okay here.

The July came around, and artfight with it! (this character belongs to Crimson_Deceit. You can find Crimson on instagram as Lova.cos or twitter also as Crimson_Deceit)

and then the DCU rarepair exchange came in September and I didn't have time to write treats so I drew them, which spawned a new attempt at shading things that I've been messing with ever since. I prefer the way my linework looks with it.

I messed around with clown oc designs in October, cause that was a mini trend on instagram. didn't finish fast enough to post it but i really like some of the designs.

in December I drew the OCs of some of my friends, as we finished our playthrough of CoS last year. this is our cleric, a changeling who went through many names and faces, depicted holding hands with their player @angelicsky64817

Last piece of the year was this muck around. I'm still trying to figure out some of these new style choices I'm making.

Finish off with a sneak at what I'm currently doing in the new year! I've been drawing one big piece so it's stretching over from january. It's still a wip. And it's such a big image I've gotta compress it.

woo! now I gotta go finish that thing. there's gonna be three more characters to the right of the yellow one. why have I done this to myself.

i hope that in 2024 i can get more of a grip on the saturation of my newer styles of drawing. and learn some more colour theory. and also get better at drawing skin, cause I think I'm mostly okay at clothes but skin always looks boring or weird.

[mimimarilynart]

[deepperplexity]

hello! 👋 🙈 Hope you’re doing well 😸

How about 2, 11, and 19 ?

Hi there darling! 😍❤ I'm doing pretty good, a bit emotional atm after having watched the HP 20th Anniversary but it was so good 😭👏

Okay, answers, here we go!

2. Least favourite fic you wrote this year: - Wow, going straight in there, aren't you? Well, I'd have to say the 15th prompt of Rickmas, Carols with Nottinghamn. Not happy with that one really, I'm like fine with it but I had sooo much planned for it and there were a quite elaborate plot underneath it all but I ran out of time completely and had to cut, press and twist it so it's not at all what it was supposed to be and I think that's the biggest issue I ahve with it xD

11. Fandom you enjoyed writing for the most this year: - That would be Turpindom. Snapedom is all good and well and lovely and all that jazz and has always been my absolute favourite to write for, Snape being my all-time fav character and all that but to be perfectly honest I've enjoyed writing for Turpin far more 2021 than I have for Snape. He's grown on me immensely and I can no longer say that Snape doesn't have competition for first place 👀👉👈 Obviously that's only if one takes my series into account - go by cannon only and Snape is still, and will forever probably be, my number one. But Turpin, my Turpin, is so special and I just love him to pieces. So, for 2021, Turpindom surpasses Snapedom in my writing enjoyment. (Stil la bit shocked about that tbh.)

19. Any new fics to start next year: - Apart from Seized And Condemned (that I've already started) I actually have only 1 other fic planned for 2022. And it is for Snape, I won't reveal too much about it since it'll be coming up within just a few days time, after all, it's almost the sacred and hallowed January 9th... 👀 But I am kinda, well, almost saying goodbye to fanfiction - for the time being - as I cannot do more than one work at a time. I want and need to do my own works. I need to write my own characters, my own stories, fully mine and mine alone. It's almost a desperation at this point given I've put all of it on hold for The Death's Judge Series and Rickmas this year and I can't do that any longer.

I'm 28 and I've been given 3 years of freedom (meaning my husband has agreed to me not working a regular job and him taking on the financial responsibility for our family while I start my own business - as I've already done) to try and kickstart my career as a writer working with it full time and 2022 is the year I'm hoping to publish my first work - I need and want to release at least one book this 2022 and I'm absolutely dying to start it. I just have to finish Seized And Condemned first, one work at a time kind of person as I just said xD Hopefully, I'll be able to reach my goal within these 3 years so I can stay with this passion and have it as my occupation and career. However, fanfiction is my free joy and releaser of fandom joy so I will most likely publish more fics in the future - after all, there are so many characters I am still dying to explore further.

Thank you so much for asking these questions darling! 🥰❤

Here's the Fanfic End Of The Year Ask post!