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nonesensedMaaaaan, but this year has rushed by in a whirlwind!!! I am so behind on so many things, but here’s a little wrap up post ✨ Hope everyone is having a good end of the year, whether you celebrate any particular holidays or not 💖
First things first, the fics for the Yuletide Fic Exchange have been revealed 🤩 I got super lucky this year and got two wonderful Yuletide fics!!!
For the game Fear & Hunger I got this brilliant worldbuilding-by-historical-document fic:
Ales Bestia, or, the Winged Beast, A Broadside, written for the education and enlightenment of members of the Royal Knights of the Tomb of the Rondonian Empire. Written est. 1862, archived 1927.
For the book series Rook & Rose by M. A. Carrick, I got this wonderful post-canon look at what my favorite character Vargo might be up to:
disturbed circles, "The first thing to know is your tools," Vargo said. "Tell me what they are and why they're important."
They’re both exactly the kind of fics I wanted in those fandoms 💖💖💖
Next up! I saw this Yuletide meme over onpeasina ‘s journal and thought I’d take a stab at it! Am of course not including the fic and/or fics I wrote for this year’s Yuletide 😁
Four Most Popular Yuletide Fics (by kudos)
1. Why not sister? (BioShock Infinite, Robert Lutece/Rosalind Lutece, 1.2k)
Elizabeth asks Rosalind an interesting question.
Ah, BioShock Infinite, I’m so nostalgic for this fandom. Definitely could do with a revisit, especially for this weird, wonderful self-cest-ish ship 😆Two genius scientists finding their alternative selves and falling in love with “themself”? Love it! Not replaying the game though, I sucked at it 😅
Kudos: 199
2. The Incident at the Mazeitheileian (The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison, Cala Athmaza/Deret Beshelar, 10k)
The reign of Edrehasivar VII Drazhar was one full of change. One of those changes will be explored in this story, though it is not the focus of our tale. No, this story will follow Edrehasivar's nohecharis Cala Athmaza as his Emperor makes a decision that sets of a chain of events that leaves to a hotel in ashes and the imperial retinue sleeping in pavilions under the stars. Who set fire to the Golden Serpent? And why?
I reread the book before I wrote this fic, just to be on the safe side about remembering canon and especially the language rules - I do love fictional (and real) linguistics 💖Plus, getting to write Cala/Deret was a treat!
Kudos: 161
3. Ask (大神 | Okami, Amaterasu/Ushiwaka I Waka, 4k)
The tale of how the sun goddess Amaterasu ascended to the heavens is now a legend. Is a legend enough to keep humans' faith in the gods? In a small mountain village, faith is about to be rewarded.
Not my first, but one of my very earliest contributions to Yuletide. With an Okami sequel on the horizon, I have extra fondness for it at the moment 🌸
Kudos: 141
4. Consort Communication (Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells, Gen, 3.4k)
Shade is visiting the court of Indigo Cloud. It's not a social visit. Well, not really. It's a bit complicated and a bit unusual.
Had a lot of fun exploring the different consort characters’ POVs of the same situation. I both adore and am deeply frustrated by the many misunderstandings among the main cast of this series, so I had a good time playing around with that~!
Kudos: 131
Four Personal Favorite Yuletide Fics
1. Coworkers Can Surprise You (in stressful ways) (Humans Are Space Orcs (Meme), Gen, 4.2k)
Ulunn hasn't had the best time at work of late. During shore leave in a once familiar harbor, she takes the opportunity to vent to her nestmate Årad. Working alongside a human sure has its ups and downs - or is Ulunn just overreacting?
I had a really good time cramming in as many references to recurring elements of this meme (e.g. “Stabby the Roomba”, “Dog or Not” etc), and I LOVE writing humans from the POV of aliens~! Had a blast with this and still have fun rereading it 💖
2. A Minor Incident With Time (Sapphire and Steel, Gen, 3.9k)
Everyone who was there on the day Sertika Station experienced sabotage remembered it. This is why it's so curious that no one ever spoke of what truly happened that afternoon.
If I get to set a non-space canon IN SPACE, I will be joyful and thrilled (and I will add cats, if allowed)~!
3. Sometimes You Should Listen to the Romans (How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Gen, 0.6k)
All rumours that the Romans make up aren't lies. Honestly!
An oldie but a goodie 😆Wrote this as a treat back in 2010 and still really like how it came out 💗
4. A Friend in Need (Because of You) (Ookami to Koushinryo | Spice and Wolf, Gen, 3.4k)
Lawrence runs into an old friend he might have wronged more than he knows. Thankfully, Holo has a plan.
Pretty proud of this one regarding how well I achieved the canon vibes~! I love all comments I get, but for this fic I especially treasure the comment I got from the translator of the English editions of the canon novels & manga. Knowing someone who’s spent that much time with the canon material thinks your fic fits in said canon warms my heart 💗
As for other people’s Yuletide fics, I’m still far from finished reading everything in fandoms I’m familiar with, but here are some recs 💖
In other news, right here at the end of the year I got a ton of great fandom news! Not only has the old anime series Mononoke (not the Princess one, my current icon one) finally gotten that movie, it’s out on Netflix now and full of most excellent new lore! Adored it 🤩 And on top of that, an aesthetically similar fandom of mine, the game Okami suddenly has a new sequel announced!!!
In Star Trek news, Lower Decks not only made one of my favorite ships alt-universe-canon with the original actors (yes yes, I’m a hopeless Garak/Bashir shipper) BUT ALSO I (very belatedly) learned that the actors have been performing their own stories on Youtube, one that makes the “original” Garak/Bashir a married couple (if I understood things correctly). I have so much fandom stuff to dig into and enjoy!!!
Finally, I’m taking a moment to look back at my accomplishments this year and what I’m hoping to get done next year.
At the start of the 2024 I made an overly ambitious list of what I wanted to get done this year. And I did get a lot done!
What I didn’t quite achieve was:
For next year’s plans, I’m definitely going to focus on A) de-stressing and taking things waaaay slower, and B) prioritizing writing. I’ll make a separate posted about that later, but I’ve got several things I’m itching to write and I want to spend 2025 doing so. Wish me luck 😆💖
PS. I recently commissioned more beautiful artwork from my friend Linn, featuring the main character of my story “The Crawling Dark of Your Lover” and his love interest. I’ve posted the artwork both on Blusky and on Tumblr, to share the beauty with the Internet 😁.
First things first, the fics for the Yuletide Fic Exchange have been revealed 🤩 I got super lucky this year and got two wonderful Yuletide fics!!!
For the game Fear & Hunger I got this brilliant worldbuilding-by-historical-document fic:
Ales Bestia, or, the Winged Beast, A Broadside, written for the education and enlightenment of members of the Royal Knights of the Tomb of the Rondonian Empire. Written est. 1862, archived 1927.
For the book series Rook & Rose by M. A. Carrick, I got this wonderful post-canon look at what my favorite character Vargo might be up to:
disturbed circles, "The first thing to know is your tools," Vargo said. "Tell me what they are and why they're important."
They’re both exactly the kind of fics I wanted in those fandoms 💖💖💖
Next up! I saw this Yuletide meme over on
peasina ‘s journal and thought I’d take a stab at it! Am of course not including the fic and/or fics I wrote for this year’s Yuletide 😁Four Most Popular Yuletide Fics (by kudos)
1. Why not sister? (BioShock Infinite, Robert Lutece/Rosalind Lutece, 1.2k)
Elizabeth asks Rosalind an interesting question.
Ah, BioShock Infinite, I’m so nostalgic for this fandom. Definitely could do with a revisit, especially for this weird, wonderful self-cest-ish ship 😆Two genius scientists finding their alternative selves and falling in love with “themself”? Love it! Not replaying the game though, I sucked at it 😅
Kudos: 199
2. The Incident at the Mazeitheileian (The Goblin Emperor - Katherine Addison, Cala Athmaza/Deret Beshelar, 10k)
The reign of Edrehasivar VII Drazhar was one full of change. One of those changes will be explored in this story, though it is not the focus of our tale. No, this story will follow Edrehasivar's nohecharis Cala Athmaza as his Emperor makes a decision that sets of a chain of events that leaves to a hotel in ashes and the imperial retinue sleeping in pavilions under the stars. Who set fire to the Golden Serpent? And why?
I reread the book before I wrote this fic, just to be on the safe side about remembering canon and especially the language rules - I do love fictional (and real) linguistics 💖Plus, getting to write Cala/Deret was a treat!
Kudos: 161
3. Ask (大神 | Okami, Amaterasu/Ushiwaka I Waka, 4k)
The tale of how the sun goddess Amaterasu ascended to the heavens is now a legend. Is a legend enough to keep humans' faith in the gods? In a small mountain village, faith is about to be rewarded.
Not my first, but one of my very earliest contributions to Yuletide. With an Okami sequel on the horizon, I have extra fondness for it at the moment 🌸
Kudos: 141
4. Consort Communication (Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells, Gen, 3.4k)
Shade is visiting the court of Indigo Cloud. It's not a social visit. Well, not really. It's a bit complicated and a bit unusual.
Had a lot of fun exploring the different consort characters’ POVs of the same situation. I both adore and am deeply frustrated by the many misunderstandings among the main cast of this series, so I had a good time playing around with that~!
Kudos: 131
Four Personal Favorite Yuletide Fics
1. Coworkers Can Surprise You (in stressful ways) (Humans Are Space Orcs (Meme), Gen, 4.2k)
Ulunn hasn't had the best time at work of late. During shore leave in a once familiar harbor, she takes the opportunity to vent to her nestmate Årad. Working alongside a human sure has its ups and downs - or is Ulunn just overreacting?
I had a really good time cramming in as many references to recurring elements of this meme (e.g. “Stabby the Roomba”, “Dog or Not” etc), and I LOVE writing humans from the POV of aliens~! Had a blast with this and still have fun rereading it 💖
2. A Minor Incident With Time (Sapphire and Steel, Gen, 3.9k)
Everyone who was there on the day Sertika Station experienced sabotage remembered it. This is why it's so curious that no one ever spoke of what truly happened that afternoon.
If I get to set a non-space canon IN SPACE, I will be joyful and thrilled (and I will add cats, if allowed)~!
3. Sometimes You Should Listen to the Romans (How to Train Your Dragon (2010), Gen, 0.6k)
All rumours that the Romans make up aren't lies. Honestly!
An oldie but a goodie 😆Wrote this as a treat back in 2010 and still really like how it came out 💗
4. A Friend in Need (Because of You) (Ookami to Koushinryo | Spice and Wolf, Gen, 3.4k)
Lawrence runs into an old friend he might have wronged more than he knows. Thankfully, Holo has a plan.
Pretty proud of this one regarding how well I achieved the canon vibes~! I love all comments I get, but for this fic I especially treasure the comment I got from the translator of the English editions of the canon novels & manga. Knowing someone who’s spent that much time with the canon material thinks your fic fits in said canon warms my heart 💗
As for other people’s Yuletide fics, I’m still far from finished reading everything in fandoms I’m familiar with, but here are some recs 💖
- FAQ: The Dramatic Car Chase Portion of Your Graduation Ceremony (FAQ: The “Snake Fight” Portion of Your Thesis Defense - Luke Burns, Gen, 1.2k): You've successfully defeated your snake and defended your thesis - congratulations! Now, here's everything you need to know about your upcoming graduation ceremony.
- FAQ: The Snake Fight Portion of Your Online Thesis Defense (FAQ: The “Snake Fight” Portion of Your Thesis Defense - Luke Burns, Gen, 1k):
- Semasiography (Arrival (2016), Gen, 1.5k): I’m fifty-six and I’m wearing a black suit at Louise Banks’ funeral.
- The statistician who took a minor in philosophy (Trolley Problem (Thought Experiment), Gen, 100 words): And so was prepared.
- when you see a lore video for a franchise you know EVERYTHING about (When you see a lore video for a franchise you know nothing about (Short Film - Sir Matteus), Gen, 1k): Every single time anyone posts bullshit about the Fuuuuuuk, I am summoned to the scene like a demon from hell. I know I shouldn’t rise to the bait, but: duty calls. Someone on the internet is wrong.
In other news, right here at the end of the year I got a ton of great fandom news! Not only has the old anime series Mononoke (not the Princess one, my current icon one) finally gotten that movie, it’s out on Netflix now and full of most excellent new lore! Adored it 🤩 And on top of that, an aesthetically similar fandom of mine, the game Okami suddenly has a new sequel announced!!!
In Star Trek news, Lower Decks not only made one of my favorite ships alt-universe-canon with the original actors (yes yes, I’m a hopeless Garak/Bashir shipper) BUT ALSO I (very belatedly) learned that the actors have been performing their own stories on Youtube, one that makes the “original” Garak/Bashir a married couple (if I understood things correctly). I have so much fandom stuff to dig into and enjoy!!!
Finally, I’m taking a moment to look back at my accomplishments this year and what I’m hoping to get done next year.
At the start of the 2024 I made an overly ambitious list of what I wanted to get done this year. And I did get a lot done!
- I listened to more than 310 podcast episodes!
- I’ve read 111 books (and will be posting a full book bingo soon - hopefully before 2025)! I finished all my planned reading in English, German and Swedish re: novels, comics, and game books 🥳
- I reread and organized all my notes for one of the D&D campaigns I’m currently DMing and have gotten started on the rereading and organizing of the two others~!
What I didn’t quite achieve was:
- Writing Projects: Had too much else planned to realistically achieve this whole list. Still got all the line-editing I’d planned done on “A Werewolf in October” and wrote 50k words on “The Crawling Dark of Your Lover” PLUS participated in Yuletide. That, plus a lot of writing for the LARP I helped host in September and doing a little work here and there on both fic and my OC-stuff, isn’t exactly nothing. Still could have used a more realistic plan, to lessen stress and disappointment 😅
- AO3 Readings: Spent most of my reading time on books this year, but I did get through ~55% of my list ✨
- Cleaning Plans: 22 out of 24 ain’t bad, but it’s not everything, so it goes on this list as well.
- Video Games: I’m close to the end of Dredge, I’m close to fulfilling all the prophecies in Hades, I’m halfway through a replay of Control and I’ve only got the new DLCs left on Alan Wake, which hadn’t even come out when I started the 2024 to-do list. Haven’t even opened Death Stranding and have bought myself a feeeeew new games during the holiday sales...😅
- Youtube Catch-up: Watching 511 of 545 planned videos isn’t too bad ✨ 93,7% completion, I can live with that 🌸
For next year’s plans, I’m definitely going to focus on A) de-stressing and taking things waaaay slower, and B) prioritizing writing. I’ll make a separate posted about that later, but I’ve got several things I’m itching to write and I want to spend 2025 doing so. Wish me luck 😆💖
PS. I recently commissioned more beautiful artwork from my friend Linn, featuring the main character of my story “The Crawling Dark of Your Lover” and his love interest. I’ve posted the artwork both on Blusky and on Tumblr, to share the beauty with the Internet 😁.
no subject
You did so well with your goals/plans! What were some of your favorite podcast episodes and/or series this year?
no subject
Thank you! I'm pretty happy with how it went, all things considered ✨ Of the podcasts I listened to this year, my favorite story ones were The Silt Verses and The Strange Case of the Starship Iris - especially loved their season finales~!
My favorite discussion podcasts remain Worldbuilding for Masochists and Strange Studies of Strange Stories. I have a hard time picking my favorite episodes, but I have some favorite stories that SSoSS has introduced me to and/or reminded me to read:
The Birds by Daphne du Maurier, The Summer People by Shirley Jackson, Dress of White Silk by Richard Matheson, I Can't Help Saying Goodbye by Ann Mackenzie, The Professor's Teddy Bear by Theodore Sturgeon, and Bears Discover Fire by Terry Bisson.
Have you had any favorite podcasts this year?
no subject
Worldbuilding for Masochists and is aptly named lmao
My absolute most favorite continues to be Old Gods of Appalachia! But I also started listening to The Magnus Archives this year and I'm really enjoy how they've started to build up an actual plot--I'm around episode 27 now!
no subject
The hosts of Worldbuilding for Masochists definitely knew how to name their podcast correctly 😆
The Magnus Archives is an old fave of mine 💚 Hope you enjoy it all the way through! I should get back into Old Gods of Appalachia - don't quite remember why I paused my listening of it. Probably just got crazy busy 😅
no subject
Thanks! I'm really liking TMA so far and am eager to see how the plot is going to go bonkers :D And yes pls go back to Old Gods when you can!
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no subject
Oooh, neat Yuletide meme! It's so cool to see the variety of fandoms people write for Yuletide over the years. :D
And thank you for the recs for this year's collection! :)
Congrats on your achievements and progress on your goals! That's pretty amazing, whew.
no subject
IT WAS SO DELIGHTFUL!!!! And it got my attention to the shippy video Siddig and Robinson did four years ago that I'd completely missed! I'm so back in Star Trek fandom mode now 😁😁😁
Yay for Yuletide! I love getting gifts, but I love the challenge of writing a fic that my recipient(s) will love just as much 💖 If I can, I try to offer different fandoms every year, so I get to try writing something new every December. Can't wait for next year!
You're very welcome for the recs and thank you for the congrats 💖 I've been working pretty hard on a gazillion things, so this year's going to be A Writing And Self-Care Year Darnit 😆
no subject
I haven't watched this, though I knew it existed! Thrilled for any and all Garak/Bashir content to exist, tbh :D :D :D
no subject