patrick stump appreciation post: feat. pete – 13/∞

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Alrighty, now we're getting into the Hurt/Comfort Exchange fics, which I couldn't talk about while they were unrevealed! :D Thou Shalt Not Taken Him From Me: This is a fic I wrote and gifted... to myself... Yes, you read that right!! XD I knew I wasn't going to get an Octopath fic for this exchange - no one else was offering it. And I was looking over my request, reading the tags, and inspiration struck. I figured, well, if no one is going to write this for me, maybe I should write it? Then, when it was done, I was ready to post it separately from the exchange, when I thought... huh... *could* I gift it to myself? The date was April 1st as I was considering this, and it tickled me so much that I emailed the mods and asked if it was okay. They said sure! So I did it! And it's hilarious to me!!! XD

A Delayed Farewell: If anyone remembers me talking about having written a fic at 3am because I was violently attacked by a plot bunny, this is that fic. Not only that, but it's also the treat I wrote for the Hurt/Comfort Exchange prior to the assignments having gone out! I figured if I got assigned Hitman, I'd make that the gift as long as it fit the request, but I got an Octopath assignment instead, so the Hitman fic did indeed become a treat. I've been waiting soooo long for y'all to read it! :D Coming Home: I don't know what happened when I was writing this one, but I think I got possessed by the word spirits or something, because it just flowed so well. Like, I got the first draft done so fast, and there wasn't much I ended up editing. The fic just... happened. And I am very happy with the result!! ^_^ Such a Pretty Mouth: My actual assignment for this exchange, and it's funny because I had previously written Alfyn/Miguel on a whim as a Chocolate Box treat for this same recipient (see Twin Spears commentary) - and then I got assigned to them! So it was a nice assignment, because I was already familiar with the pairing and what the recipient wanted. I got it done nice and early, for this reason!

A Shroud That Brings Only Pain: My first time claiming a pinch hit! Since I had written all my other fics so early and still had a month left before the (original) deadline, I decided to pick this one up because I've watched and really enjoyed Penny Dreadful. However, it's been a few years since I've seen it, and I couldn't find a way to watch it for research purposes without signing up for a streaming service I didn't already have. Whoops! So I decided to do art instead. I spent soooo much time working on this piece, but I'm also sooooo happy with how it turned out! The clothing in particular, as it's so hard for me to wrap my mind around rendering clothing folds realistically. But I did it! :D

End of the Year Recap – 2022

This has certainly been a year, hasn't it?

In the spirit of this being the last month of the year, I thought about doing a small recap of what this year has been for me in here and my writing. I have famously bad memory (thanks adhd) so I'm probably gonna miss some things here and there, but I'll try my best to remember as much as I can. So, let's go on a trip down memory lane!!

In the beginning - Starting 2022

I had a good start of the year, followed by the breath of fresh air that 2021 was for me. We we're still in quarantine but around March/April we went back to in-person interactions, so there was a lot of moving during those months. Around that time is where the first very important thing of the year happened: I finished draft 2 of The Monsters Only We See, my standalone wip, as well as starting to look for more beta readers. I have to admit, I haven't followed o the whole beta-ing of the wip as I should, but I want to continue it, specially with me continuing the English translation.

I also started said translation roughly after finishing draft 2, and like I said, I haven't been the best at keeping up with it. But I still have time while I look up how to get the money to register it and where/how to share it, mainly digitally but also maybe physically.

A very special month - June 2022

This year's main highlight for sure: on June 9th I finished the first draft of Book 1 of Where Camellias Blossom, my fantasy trilogy. Man I was so happy. This was my second time experiencing finishing a draft (the first one being TMOWS) and there really is something so special to watch a project's phase be complete. It's a mix of the ecstasy of "holy crap I did it!!", a nostalgia for the journey walked and the comfort of a path in the back for finishing it. I think the experience of writing the first draft is unique, it doesn't compare to doing the 2nd or the 3rd.

I started the first draft for Book 2 and I already have notes for changes to draft 2 of Book 1 in order to keep the continuity 😅 so I'm looking forward to both continuing the draft of Book 2 and coming back to work on Book 1.

Guys I think we're getting burnout - July to October 2022

Y'know, in retrospective think I might have wasted all of my energy on finishing the first draft of WCB Book 1. There isn't a lot to say about this months because I didn't do a lot. Most of what I did here was continuing the work with the wips I had, throw there are two important things that happened on October:

1) I finished the 3rd draft of TMOWS. It was easier and I'm very happy with this as the last version. Maybe I'll do some tweaks here and there if I get to have a few more beta readers, but I like the structure and the plot the way they are now.

2) I started Little Shadows, my horror podcast!! I had the idea for it since months ago and decided to do it just in time for spooky season, with it premiering on Halloween. I've been wanting to do something with YouTube for the longest time, and free realizing video essays would take a lot of work that I wasn't willing to put into them, I decided something like this, short format and focused on writing, would be the best option. I'm very happy that I'm doing it and I wanna keep it up, since I have ideas for where the overarching story will go later.

Hoo boi - November 2022

I was very excited for Nanowrimo this year since I wanted to use it to write the 1st draft of Book 2 of WCB, but in the end I barely wrote +4K words. Guys, I was not feeling it at all. It was like all the stress and work for the semester in college suddenly hit me and wouldn't stop hitting me until the month was over, a few days ago. Sadly, Nano was a miss, but not everything was lost:

I finished the first volume of my comic, The Demon in My House. At 129 pages, this little hobby of mine is now long enough to fill a complete volume if I ever printed it, and that makes me so, so proud. I've tried making comics before, short and long format, and this is the first one I feel I can really commit to. I've never done so much for one, and I'm only getting started. The story I have planned for this is really long, so we'll see how many volumes I end up filling, haha. But it also makes me happy and proud cause it shows I can do what I set my mind into, and I hope I get to finish it one day and reread it from begining to end to see the story completed. For now, it's all baby steps towards the next plot point.

And now, at the end - December 2022

If I'm honest, I don't think I'll write a lot this month either. I'll continue drawing for TDIMH, sure, but as for advancing my writing wips... yeah, not happening. This semester was weird and we're gonna finish it on January next year instead of this month, which means I'm gonna have homework for vacations 😩 Plus, I wanna rest. I just. I really wanna rest. And this being the last month of the year is the perfect excuse for it.

Overall, this has been a good year for my writing. A lot of highs and lows, but very much productive. I also wanna appreciate all of you who remained with me this year or that came here for the first time and have decided to walk alongside me. Thank you!! Your interactions and interest have been helping me a lot in not giving up midway with my writing.

Happy holidays, happy soon-to-be new year and happy writing!!