2020 Creator Wrap: Favorite Works
I was tagged by the wonderfulĀ @thrillingdetectivetales. Thank you so much! ^_^
Rules: itās time to love yourselves! choose your 5 (or so) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought to the world in 2020. Tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome works!
This year has been rough. I honestly thought I didnāt even have 5 works from 2020. But I do! Finishing and posting fic is new to me. I started in August 2019. And with the horrors of a global pandemic, the stress of work, and my own exciting medical issues throughout 2020, it has been tough to stick with writing anything. But somehow I eeked out 5 different works in 5 different fandoms for a total of 17335 words published. And thatās something Iām very proud of. Here goes:
Endeavour, 4,939 words (incomplete)
Peter Jakes/Endeavour Morse
This is by far one of my favorite works Iāve ever written including my unpublished WIPs. One of my weakest areas in writing is description. Iāve written dialogue for years but only just recently started pushing myself to flesh out and finish fics which required a lot more prose than Iām used to writing. I feel like Iāve captured the images in my head very well for once in the descriptions Iāve create for this work along with Jakesā inner thoughts on his affections for Morse. Itās still in work. With everything going on I havenāt felt I can give it my best effort as of late. But I do wish to finish this fic in 2021.Ā
Jakes hadn't been in a church except for the odd case since school. He didn't like churches. Never had. But there was something different about this one. With the morning sun trickling in through stained glass and the harmonizing notes of the choir resonating throughout the halls, it felt as close to heaven as Jakes had ever been. Or at least what he supposed it was from all the rhetoric spouted at him as a child.Ā Ā
Jakes stood there watching the choir in awe. Watching Morse more specifically. He had an ethereal aura about him. And the music that surrounded him, came from him, set Jakes heart aflutter. He couldn't look away. Couldn't stop watching how the glow of the church lighting softened his features. Or how his lips and tongue curled around each note. How he took in a breath between the notes. How his nimble fingers turned the pages of his songbook.
Thursdayās voice shook him out of his stupor. Jakes spun toward his superior doing his best to compose himself having completely forgotten the detective inspector was beside him. He shrugged off the question with a quick grunt, "Don't much like churches. Just need a cig. Be out by the car."
2) Night Habits on the Unreliable
The Outer Worlds, 1,819 words
Female Captain & Vicar Maximillian DeSotoĀ
This was such a fun fic that sprung up from a delightful fan art that ran across my Tumblr dashboard one day.Ā Iām proud of this fic for two reasons. First being I had a solid idea for a one-shot then finished the first draft within a week and didnāt expand it into a massive plot as so many of my āshortā fic tend to do. And secondly, it has a fair bit of humor that seemed to hit well with readers that commented. I think Iām hilarious, but a lot of times I hesitate to bring that into my work as it may feel too campy or cheap. Iām finding a balance. And this was a fair one I think.Ā
āVic, I-ā she began to apologize for the intrusion. But she abruptly stopped mid-sentence as her brain registered the full situation.
In addition to being awake and reading a book, Vicar Max was completely naked. He was lounging on his side with one leg bent up foot flat on the bed and the other relaxed out. The position left nothing to the imagination. It also stunned Alysia into complete silence, her mind unable to work through the initial shock. The doors swished closed behind her as she stood there a proverbial deer in the headlights.
Having found whatever stopping place he deemed sufficient, Max closed his book using his thumb as a bookmark and looked up at Alysia with a critical eye. āCaptain, did no one teach you that staring is rude?ā he admonished.
3) Seven Nights in Rose Creek
The Magnificent Seven (2016), 6,970 words (incomplete)
Joshua Faraday/Vasquez
Another multichapter fic Iām still working through. I started this technically in 2019 but three of the five published chapters have been posted this year. Working on this, I develop more of my Spanish chops for Vasquezā lines, made some friends in fandom (mostly to help me edit my Spanish for Vasquezā lines), and got to flex a bit more with my humor. Iāve struggled with voice in this fic. Faraday and Vasquez have such distinct voices in the movie. Making them sound like themselves and capturing Faradayās internal thoughts have been difficult. In the end, Iāve made their relationship very soft and witty. Itās just such a pleasure to write them. I also hope to finish this fic in 2021.
āStruck out, gĆ¼ero?ā Vasquez hummed softly without looking up.
āAny promiscuously inclined woman not spoken for in this one-horse town is either too scared of our impending doom or too young. There ain't no whores left. And Miz Cullen has an iron fixation on that dead husband of hers.ā
āI can't imagine why.ā There was a slight hint of amusement in his voice.
āMe neither. Man's dead,ā Faraday grumbled. There werenāt no sense in it. Heād never had such trouble scrounging up a one-night stand. Maybe he was losing his touch. Maybe all this do-goody shit was affecting his appeal.
4) Scrapping at the Bottom
Fallout 4, 952 wordsĀ
Sole Survivor & Codsworth
This is a start to a much larger series I have in work for Fallout 4 and Calder. I decided to make it a one shot and Iām glad because it very much stands on itās own outside of my other WIPs for him. But this was mostly character development. Working on this fic really helped me define Calder in my head. I have a better understanding now for his motivations, his history, and his voice for my other WIPs. Again, Iām proud of some of the imagery Iāve put in this fic. And also I feel like Codsworth is often an under appreciated companion and was happy to give him some space here. There was also a bit of this fic that was cathartic for this year being stuck inside watching the world I knew fall apart.
He gulped down the last swig. It didnāt make him feel better. Fixing up Mr. Parsonās workshop, building the water filter, running water and electric, barricading his old house, boarding up all those memories he couldnāt bear to remember, burying his neighbors, burying Nora. None of it made him feel better. Ā The past week of drinking hadnāt made him feel better. But when the booze ran out, he would definitely feel worse.
The familiar whir of a model 238B nuclear power unit alerted him to the approach of Codsworth, his faithful Mr. Handy who was back from scavenging. āFind anything?ā
āOnly empty bottles Iām afraid. You may very well have drunk the county dry, sir.ā
5) It Was Love From Above
Supernatural,Ā 2,655 words
Dean Winchester/Castiel
First Smut Fic! Woooo! Popped my cherry...in that sense. Iām still a bit embarrassed about it. This really had been a dormant script of dialogue from 2013 left in my personal archive folder until Destiel becameĀ ācanonā in November and I was galvanized. One major highlight for me from this fic is I took a bare bones dialogue and added prose and ran two drafts basically in a weekend. Iām still not confident in my smut writing, even with the bit of praise Iāve gotten on this from a few friends. But I am no longer opposed to writing full fledged smut in the future and have a couple WIPs for other fandoms already in work. This was a big hurdle for me. And one I am glad to have cleared especially with such an old work revitalized and completed. Thatās always a good feeling.Ā
āNo,ā Cas mused in that flat tone he had whenever discussing human behavior, āItās perfectly natural to seek sexual release after a particularly stressful day, especially alone if one has been in a dry spell.ā
Dean felt his chest tighten as he snapped defensively, āI have not been in-ā
āDo you want some help?ā Cas interrupted him casually.
The suggestion threw him off. āWh-wh-what?ā he stuttered softly.
And thatās what I got. All the work Iāve published in 2020. Iām proud of my 17k. With the year weāve had, I try to remind myself that anything is better than nothing. And that number is a bit under representative of my overall works most of which remain unfinished. I have joined many other fandoms this year and started quite a number of WIPs and continued work on many others.Ā In a more general sense, I really started moving through fandom space more this year. Posting my own thoughts on Tumblr, replying to others posts, joining a few discords, making friends in fandom. Prior to 2020, I was very insular in my work and love for fandom. There are many days where I feel Iām in uncharted water and so behind because I started participating and publishing so much later. But looking back on this year, I am so so happy to have met and interacted with so many lovely people this year. And I hope the best for us all moving forward. 2021 offers hope for a better year. A more inspiring year. And hopefully a more productive one as well.Ā
Iām tagging @soba-riri, @ronniebox, @robinfai, @ladyaj-13, @athena1138, @trewloves, @fitzrove, @foundynnel, @nybrat007, @itwoodbeprefect, @bryndeavour, @booking--it, @boarix, @alwaysbethewest, @wildishmazz, @ohstardustgirl, @asaara-writes, @wherehefoundtheporcupine, @aleexcarrera
If you guys have already done 2020 wraps awesome! If not please join in the fun and self-love. You are all lovely wonderful creators! ^_^
