You certainly may, Messy! 🥰

4. Creator you'd like to see more from

They don't have a Tumblr account as far as I know, but I adore joschmo's Last of Us fics. They've moved on to a few different fandoms, but I really hope one day they'll come back to write for this fandom, because they're so talented. I think I've shouted out I Told The Doc I Didn't Want Brain Surgery, But He Changed My Mind on this blog before, so here's a few others of theirs that I love: A Second Wind, Ballet at the End of the World, No Rest for the Wary, printf("hello world") and Meet Not So Cute (the latter is an absolutely hysterical send-up of Mary Sue OCs that infiltrate the world of TLOU).

9. A work from another creator you keep coming back to

Oh, God, so many. if you never bleed you're never gonna grow by @lauronk is a fic I've re-read literally dozens of times, there's just something about Ellie healing herself through tending to plants that lifts my heart, and her navigation of her relationship with Joel is woven in between it all perfectly. I'm always re-reading @hypnotisedfireflies, @chronicallyonlinewriter and @deervsheadlights's fics because they inspire me so, the dialogue, character work and world-building is always so on-point and what I aspire to be as a writer. And of course, I'm constantly re-reading @march-flowerr's fics, because they're perfect for comforting fluff or delicious angst, depending on what I'm in the mood for 😊. I'm actually in love with her version of Jackson, sometimes I remember that characters like Carlos, Alice and Clem, Mrs Linden, Selah and Dr Gil aren't canon and then I get sad.

my darling cha, that gif kills meeeeee 🥵 i love him to bits omfg... anyway, thank you for asking!! <3

3. favorite line/scene you wrote this year

i dread this question bc i am my harshest critic, but this scene from chapter 3 of a A Man Called Joel i think i'm mildly proud of:

And yet, here you were, comforting him at his lowest, seeing the ache he’d carried for so long pour out into the world. Joel had not been able to contain the tears, the desperation trickling out the cracks of his shattered soul, soaking the fabric of your cardigan. And as much as he hated being vulnerable, he just couldn’t rein his demons back in. The loss he felt was greater than anything he’d experienced before. So loud, yet so quiet in its disguise; so alien, yet so eerily familiar in its pain; so suffocating, yet so freeing in its release. He’d lost so much of himself over the past few months, there was nothing left of him—just a carcass of his existence, a cocoon that kept the jagged pieces of his being feebly glued together, just enough to keep him standing for the people he loved.

14. a fic you didn’t expect to write

definitely Spoils of War with my dear General Acacius. that shit wormed its way through my brain and left permanent damage in my hypothalamus. now i'm a pyscho who daydreams about subduing men on a daily basis.

24. favorite fic you read this year

well, it is no secret that i have been in the biggest reading slump ever this year (which i'm hoping to change in the new year), but here are some i really, really enjoyed (catch me dead before choosing only one):

The Morning Commute by @iknowisoundcrazy - i haven't finished this one yet (shame on me t.t), but the action was spot on! Meghan is crazy good at keeping you on your tiptoes and it's written with such a good pace too! 🙂‍↕️ Blocked and Begging by @gothcsz - javier peña written by the one and only Kat? yeah, sign me the fuck up! toxic fuckboy javi will always be famous. this was so freaking delicious i almost ended up on A&E with a broken hand 😏 More Than Letters by @almostfoxglove - lost my frankie virginity with this fic and omfg, the angst was killing meeee! i haven't finished it yet, but my heart was aching so bad, i trust Freya will help me patch it up... right? RIGHT? 😭 Will you be the sunshine to my grumpy? by @bergamote-catsandbooks - Cha... you broke me with this one, i hope you know that! the way you described the reader's feelings, and how joel helped her by being the sunshine to her grumpy (we love reverse tropes in this house)... just beautifullllll ❤️‍🩹

you are for sure one of my favorite comfort blogs, besides how amazing your writing is you are so kind to everyone, your blog is filled with lovely interactions and it just feels like a big safe space <33 you have without a doubt helped me get through this trainwreck of a year lol :’)💕

for the asks, there are so many good onesss lol but i’ll only ask a few 😅 👉🏽👈🏽

1. describe your journey this year (in three words)

7. comfort character to create for

8. most challenging character to write

12. a concept you’d like to develop next year

13. a fic or artwork by another creator that made you happy

sidenote: I can’t wait to get home & read the final part of ATW :p have a wonderful day!!🤍🤍

Hello my lovely!! Same to you, friend! A lot of us have had a crappy 2024, me included, but you know what, we're here and we're getting through -- hopefully with a little kindness and support from our friends here. 💗

Wow, I'm honored to be one of your comfort blogs. 🥹🥹 I really appreciate you saying that mine feels like a "safe space" because that's exactly what I've tried to do. I'm truly grateful people who read my writing and interact with me on here. Like you, a lot of them have become mutuals and lovely friends. 💕

I talk to some people on here on a weekly basis now, and tbh those connections have not only fueled my creativity to keep writing, but have also just made me happier as a person. Or like you, they've gotten me through the hard times I've gone through this year. (I do reread comments and reblogs btw -- yours have never failed to make me smile. 🥰)

But yep, on to your EOY Asks before I just keep rambling on and throwing hearts at you. 💓💓💓

**Lots of fic recs/author recs below the cut!!

#1. describe your journey this year (in three words)

Oh God lol. Like I said, I've had a rough year personally. But in 3 words?

Exhausting. Painful. Creative.

I've been mentally, physically, emotionally exhausted for the better part of 9 months. I've been in physical pain and discomfort for much of that time and have had 2 surgical procedures, countless doctor visits, and too many life changes to list.

But through all of that, I feel like I've also done some of my most creative writing in 2023-2024 than ever before, including starting a Patreon, and dipping back into writing the fantasy romance novel I've been working on since grad school. Use the pain, I guess. 😅

#7. comfort character to create for

It's changed over the years depending on my fixations, but right now (and for the past 2 years), it's definitely Dean freakin' Winchester.

#8. most challenging character to write

Lmfao. Definitely this guy:

#12. a concept you’d like to develop next year

Oof, how much time you got? 🤣

I have a few WIPs that are already drafted and in the editing phases for next year -- including all of my remaining fics for @jacklesversebingo. (Jacklesverse Bingo24 Masterlist here!)

More specifically, I have plans to write sequel fics for the following series:

20. Something that made you laugh

this sketch of my oc putting the smack down on solas 🙂‍↕️

(dw i still adore him, these two just don't get along)

28. A song that relates to one of your creations

'Wide Awake - A Thousand Mad Things' inspired this WIP-

I remember what you told me

All that I, all that I can do is scream-

And now, my bones, they shake

You are with me every step I take

29. Shout-out someone who inspires you

Thank you for the ask!!

The EOY asks are here if you want to play <3

9. A work from another creator you keep coming back to

Basically whatever @mythals-whore writes, but also @gingervitus's blackwall/inquisitor series. I need to actually sit down and give it a proper read through once I get all my thoughts together, but it's had a dedicated tab in my phone for a while now lol

12. A concept you'd like to develop next year

In my head, I have this vision for a sort of speculative piece while Leithe's stuck in the Fade where Davrin and the gang are actively trying to find ways to free her. But they're writing letters to each other they know the other person will never get as a way to cope. So the story's kind of told through whatever it is they choose to write down. It's a very squishy idea right now lol

26. Something that inspired you this year

hello thank you for the ask :3

2. a piece you're proud of and why

I'm still really proud of this art that I did earlier this year of valentine/goro and it reminds me I need to get back into drawing now that I'm easing out of carpal tunnel hell:

for a long time I told myself that I couldn't do visual art, and that I would have to be content with writing (which is and always will be my first love), but really I was just scared to fail and make work that is amateurish and bad. but this piece proves that if I'm willing to risk failing and being frustrated and still falling short of what something "should be" (whatever that means) that I can create art that still resonates with me for me. the only way forward is to start and muddle through and then stop and then start and then stop and then start and then muddle through!

12. a concept you'd like to develop next year

I'm really excited to be getting into the thick of valentine & johnny as a merged entity for the next leg of the longfic. It's been happening already in previous chapters, but a lot of it has been dialog and events happening to set that up, and I'm really looking forward to some juicy sensory bits and how it feels for them to be crossing that divide. I want to capture the unexpected joy of it and also the knowledge hanging over them that this absolutely cannot last.

26. something that inspired you this year

<3 Thank you for sending these!

11. Fandom I'd like to create more for next year. That's a really good question. At present, I don't know. I just know I'd like to spend more time writing in another sandbox, but I'm not really feeling any particular pull to write for anything atm.

14. Something new I tried this year. I played around with some non-linear prose in the short story, A Golden Cadillac, which is a Tommy x Maria tale set within the 70s bodyguard/boss universe. As much as I liked writing it in this fashion, it kind of bit me in the ass, because I couldn't really add a second chapter without disrupting the flow.

25. A scene or image that lives rent-free in my head. Tess and Tommy blowing bubbles in One Step from Grace by @ameerawrites. It's so cute. And look at this:

Tess picks up the bubble wand again and blows a few bubbles in Benji’ face. He perks up from where he’s resting against Tommy’s chest, eyes still puffy and red from his earlier outburst. She blows a couple more times before he reaches his hand out, trying to capture a bubble in his fist. She imagines Ellie at this age, curious and playful. Would she have been as desperate to find her purpose, sacrifice her life for it, if she’d been cherished the way Benji is? 

“Seems to be goin’ real well,” Tommy interrupts her train of thought.

Tess looks back up at him. “Have you got some sage parenting wisdom you’d like to pass on?”

Hi iktend, thanks for your ask! <3 I hope you had a nice year <3

15. An area of your art you feel you improved upon

Hmmm good question! When I look back at this year I sort of have the impression (whether accurate or not) that my writing plateaued because my focus ended up being less about building up my skills and more about bringing as many of my WIPs to the finish line as I could. I think my improvements were more to my workflow and getting more confident and efficient with the writing process I have settled into. I’m hoping that will serve me well in the future, trusting the process and all.

16. Something interesting you researched as part of the process

I had a lot of fun researching for Daylight Express! Not just aspects of the 1920s (fashion trends, technology etc) but I also went down a bunch of rabbit holes learning about the history and culture of cruising (I briefly had possession of guidebooks that warned me they could be used as evidence against me if I happened to be caught committing certain crimes 😂) I also learned about Polari, a secret language spoken by gay men in Britain until the decrminalization of homosexuality in the 1960s as a way to safely identify and communicate with one another in public (and also that words I use like “zhuzh” as in “zhuzh it up” are in fact polari loanwords!) I briefly considered incorporating it into the story somehow but I ultimately decided not to for various reasons, but I still think it really informed the vibe of the character interactions.