2023 roundup

[rarsneezes]

2023 roundup....



well fuck man let’s start with

MAJOR LIFE UPDATE

moved in with my girlfriend!!!!!!!!!! WAHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! turns out moving is stressful and so that ate up a large chunk of my attention span, as well as Unstable Schedules meaning that i also don't have energy to be quite as creative as i used to be lmaoooo

BUT THAT'S OKAY!!!!!!! I MOVED IN WITH MY GIRLFRIEND!!!!!!

I FUCKING DID IT I GOT HER OUT OF THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!! SHE'S WITH ME NOW!!!!!!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHH okay no but seriously im so happy and i love her 🥰🥰🥰🥰

anyway so it's been twisty turny kind of year but not only did she visit me but also i visited her to help her pack AND i got her out of there AND we live together AND we have a cat who loves us (MY GOD, WILLOW LOVES US SO MUCH) and i'm !!! JUST!!! MY LIFE IS DIFFERENT NOW BUT I HAVE AN APARTMENT WITH MY GIRLFRIEND AND WE CAN CUDDLE WEHENVER WE WANT AND WE HAVE PRIVACY THAT YOU DONT' GET WHEN YOU LIVE WITH YOUR PARENTS AND TWO SIBLINGS IN A HOUSE WITH THIN WALLS (I LOVE MY FAMILY B UT) AND I DIK IT'S NEAT. WE DID IT. I DID IT. IM ADULTING . WE EVEN BUILT IKEA FURNITURE

willowwwwwww what if a cat loves you so much and is obsessed with cuddling you....... i'm still so in awe that she loves aera just no questions asked also like literally when aera visited willow just was sleeping on aera's legs instead of mine IT WAS SO!!!!! i was a little jealous but also happy that my cat loves my girlfriend!!!!!! MY CAT DIDN'T HAVE TO WARM UP TO SOMEONE NEW AT ALL!!!!!!! she was just like yay warm blanket and legs :) she even would bully aera when she got home from work to sit down Right Now and pet her which she used to only do to me 🥺

she's a good cat she loves us !!!!!

i'm also glad my other cat that i left with my sister is acting......... fine. she's acting like juno. becuase she's juno. it's so funny tho that juno and willow didn't like each ohter at ALL so afaik they just like. don't even care that they don't see each other any more. wild.

but yeah lol major life changes have occurred this year AND i live with my girlfriend now so i'm often gay instead of indulging in any of my other hobbies.... maybe not wholly valid of me but it's not like i have been Too Deppressed To Create this year i've simply been Too Fucking Busy lol and it's not IDEAL but like

no complaints!!!!!!! i'm cuddling with my gf right now as i type this up!!! and my cat!!!!!!!!!! ITS' GOOD!!!!!!! I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THESE LIFE CHANGES!!!!!!!!

fic roundup

how i feel emotionally about fic this year is Mid because my creative energy has been in the pits and i've only written sparse amounts and barely finished anything BUT!!! like gesturing above. Major Life Changes have been inflicted upon me (nevermind my undiscussed health issues which haven't entirely improved since 2023 started smh)

BUT!!! i have had a lot of fun poking at dywc fic, and some other wips i have sitting around, and even if i don't have longfic energy in me right now, that's ok!!!! i'm satisfied with the dywc fics i'm poking around on and excited for where it's going and the . the everything. even if i still haven't made it to the Next Major Plot Point that i was considering haha oh well soon

anyway!!! satisfieeed about the dywc fic i've written, satisfied about the AUs i've tossed around even if i haven't written more than scraps for, glad for the wips i have sitting around, even if i don't have a lot of postable stuff

i mean i also did monsterfucking march and that was fun waha

oh yeah word count. i think i did eek out like 100k this year: 20k posted fic, 40k unposted wips, which makes 60k of prose, plus 30k of meta posts (i'll count it!!!!) and also like 5k of rp, which i guess is 95k, but i'm sure there's 5k somewhere in my wips and if not it's within sneezing distance of 100k,

not that the numbers matter but its fun to do the math and see wow, like, this isn't the 200k average i'm used to, but it's not nearly as bad as the 20k perceived wordcount that ao3 shows me. working at half power is way more refreshing than knowing i've only manged 10% power this year you know!!! yeah

anyway look forward to dywc. that's where my energy is going in 2024 i think, and i'm excited for it!!! GOT SOME FUN STUFF PLANNED. GGGGGGGGET READY!!!!! TO RUMBLE!!!!!!

ftpverse daily

i started this this year too!!!!!!!!!! it's been fun to email out a chapter or so of ftpverse 3x a week for all of 2023, even though i know a lot of ppl have fallen off of it, but!!! i'm enjoying the reread and the scheduling process and the replies i DO get from people (SINCERELY THANK YOU SO MUCH) !!!

it's been a lot of fun i love to revisit ftpverse!!! wahoo

ART!!!

MAN!!!! i didn't do a ton this year at all but i did do angsty soshad+shadkai companion pieces that i would've been drooling over in 2014 (view those here), AND i did some fun ywkon art too!!!!!! including the jade stabbing citan art that i've like wanted to do since first writing installmenet 24 of 25 lives, neverMIND the fun companion piece!!!! (jade here, mythra companion here)

i didn't do a LOT of art but i'm really really really impressed by the quality of the art i did finish!!!!

i even got a ftpverse main four drawing!!! with a background!!! (here)

AND updated functional ref arts for shad and joseph after TEN YEARS of not having great ones LMAOOOO (view them here) WHAT A GREAT THING TO CHECK OFF THE CHECKLIST, TBH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i have little to show but i'm so proud of what i do have. you know. that's how i feel.

other things i'm doing

> hanging up artwork around my apartment!!!!!! that takes creative energy and it's fun!!!!!!!!!

> slowly moving my fanmixes onto neocities!!!!! slow work because i have adhd but very satisfying to do!!!!!

> finished my khux mixes even tho i haven't like uploaded any of htem yet lmaooo

> i'm working on subtitling stupid mario brothers.... just because i realize subtitles are kind of important accessibility and they don't alraedy have them (fair enough) but due to all of the unique or video game terms the auto-captions from youtube just fall APART over them... this is a very silly project but i'm enjoying hte time i've spent working on it.... i think it'll be fun to do and fun to complete. wahoo!!!!! also i'm learning so much about closed captioning standards... my power it grows

> i haven't worked on it much in 6 months but the FIRST six months of the year i was spending a lot of time building my funny marble puzzle!!!!!!! it's a wooden 3d puzzle that works as a marble roller as well.... i finished the gears part!!! its so satisfying to turn the crank and it just functions!!! I BUILT THAT!!!!!!!! i've put off building any more because the next step means it won't be able to fit in my drawer anymore BUT I MISS IT... HOPEFULLY SOON!!! SOON I CAN WORK ON IT AGAIN!!!!!!

> i learned how to bake cookies!!! I MADE SOME GOOD FUCKING SNICKERDOODLES!!!!!!! TAKE THAT!!!!!!!!!!!

> i've been making my stickers into magnets and its SOOOOO fun to cover my fridge with stickers that i can move again whenever i want (buy a sticky magnetic sheet of amazon they're SO CHEAP)

> also i got an itabag to display my charms and pins and stuff!! or at least some of them. I THINK IT KIND OF RULES!!! ITS SO CUTE.......

> also i've been working on mario rp stuff.... like just rping mario in the rp scene... working on apps and a journal and stuff.... mario i like him.... i'm excited to run him around places and excited for a g ame my friend is planning on running... wahoo...

> I SURVIVED IKEA

COOL THINGS I READ/WATCHED/PLAYED/WHATEVER

> i have yet to FINISH kirby and the forgotten land but i've gotten further and i'm really enjoying it and what scraps of plot i've seen.... i can't wait to see more and understand what that tumblr post i saw was about (PLEASE DO NOT MESSAGE ME ABOUT THE PLOT OF THE KIRBY GAME I WILL FIND OUT ON MY OWN TIME)

> i own so many cute plushies now i am the winner

> SOULSOV!!!!!!!!! SOULSOV SOUL SOV SOUL SOV SOUL OF SOVEREIGNITY BY GGDG YOU HAVE GOT TO PLAY THIS VISUAL NOVEL RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S SO GOOD!!!!!!!!! GG IS SO ON THEIR BULLSHIT!!!!!!!!!!!! its jademythra (evil) i recommend it wholeheartedly its just SO fun the dialogue is SO good the pacing is SO fun so if you're a fan of the jrpg vibes of ff8 and tales of (various) you should defnitely definitely DEFINITELY play it. or if you like hot clown ladies. it's so good

> mina's linkverse!!!! it's been a lot of fun i like watching mina's links run around and i love ravio and how much they love ravio and i'm getting so so so so SO attached to the links and hte worldbuilding and im having a lot of fun!!!! can't wait to find out what masks' deal is tbqh

> AGAIN BY DRICH AKA THE BOTW TIMELOOP FIC!!! MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what a good fic!!!!!!!!!!! forever feeling strongly about botw link now, and it even sold me on botw zelink even tho i'm like mostly just [holding them up and shaking them] i see the potential of their dynamic now, whether romantic or platonic. i see the potential, now, how they would interact, how they would care for each other, how they would be friends. highly rec this fic if you like timeloops but also if you like trauma recovery but also if you don't mind The Horrors tm played kind of lightly, like, they are addressed as the Horrors but it's still somewhat lighthearted. positive. it's so fun to see the sheikah gang hang out and have a monk become a literal character and the worldbuilding is just SOOOO RICH i love zelda getting pissed off at hylia i love the inclusion of fierce deity i love love love how the great fairies are written its just SUCH a good fic!!!! i rec it so strongly

> THIS BOTW ANIMATION SOMEONE DREW... TO SASAKURE.UK'S AMARA.... my god.... i am feeling things about botw.... what great emotions i'm going to lose my WHOLE mind between again and this amv i am like. i care botw link now. i didn't used to. also i love how angular zelda is drawn (hylians SHOULD be funny pointy elves!!!) ANNDDD i love the bit where link finds the master sword and then there's that burst of previous links. those five seconds where link is screaming but it cycles through various different links is just SO much fun and lives in my head RENT free. the emotion packed into that bit is just. i'm going to lose my whole fucking mind about it, you know

> KHUX FANDUB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT'S REALLY GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! I THINK IT IS , FOR REAL , THE BEST WAY TO EXPERIENCE KHUX AT THIS POINT!!!!!!!!!! my literal only complaints with it are 1) they didn't subtitle the chirithy-narrating-the-disney-world-montages (bc they skimmed over disney worlds, fair enough) and i wish they had ..... 2) they chose to put everything chronologically (roughly) and while i do think it was the best choice for incorporating KHUX footage with Back Cover, it does make Strelitzia's introduction (placed pre-war) kind of clunky.... BUT LIKE. THAT'S MY ONLY COMPLAINT. AND OTHERWISE THE DUB IS SO SOLID!!!!!! i used it to get my sister rae into khux and made her cry about it >:) success i got another one boys

> BRAIN TEASER.......... what a great khux video analysis wrt what the fuck is going on with brain at the end of khux and how we DON'T KNOW and the analog horror fits GREAT with the theory AND the chirithy interludes are sooooo cute i love love love LVOE brain teaser so much like it opened my mind about the future of video essays - or maybe just waht CAN be done with them that often aren't. you know? yeah

> spaghoner and chess playing B3313!!!!! man this made me actually get through all of B3313 after all the hype - that crazy whacky mario 64 romhack that makes a castle that's a huge maze and maybe wants to trap you the player. or maybe just mario himself. mike's really good at warning when the creepy stuff is going to happen and avoiding the worst of the jumpscares, and it's just SOOOO fun and delightful to watch them explore it and interact with it with genuine curiosity and love... i'm so glad i got to watch it

> some other fun chess streams!!! missing link, which was a fun exploration of that zelda hack!! the mario kart 8 hell stream, MEMORICK.... WHAT A STRANGE GAME.... I'M ENTHRALLED...., loved Playing Two SMRPGs At Once as well, and knight's try is great background noise..., mario 64 point and click is also a lot of fun, as is fucking SHOTGUN MARIO.... lots of fun romhacks,

> speaking of romhacks monstrous manor 64 is kinda compelling and i'm enjoying watching simpleflips going thru it. waiting eagerly for next upload.

> some video essays i liked.... enjoyed a normal creepypasta retrospective for being just. extreemly good at going over the emotional beats of creepypastas. it was so good it made me have a dream about creepypastas that i nearly turned into a fic before i was foiled by lack of time

> i also loved the alternate universe pokemon iceberg explained. what a GREAT creepypasta about what pokemon was like in a different world. waugh.

> haley whipjack's once upon a time retrospective / recap has also been fun. can't wait to see whre the plot of ouat goes especially since i stopped watching after season 2 haha

> OH YEAH SOME BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!! there's a new murderbot book and its SOOOOO good i love murderbot

> started reading sabriel of the old kingdom by garth nix and it's GOOD!!!!!! SABRIEL I LIKE HER!!!!!!!!!!!!! MOGGET I LIKE HIM!!! i'm only halfway through but i'm enjoying it a lot!!!!!

> aera made me watch the last unicorn and my GOD!!!!!!! I'M SO FUCKED UP!!!!!!!! WHAT A MOVIE THAT WILL FUCK ME UP!!!!!!!!!!!!! it's also so funny that aera's dvd is a release that plays at 4% faster speed.... that's so funny.... we could barely recognize christopher lee LMAOOOOOOO but it's a good movie.... the only unicorn that can regret.... waugh waugh WAUGH waugh waugh

> GOOD BONES!!! THIS IS OWL HOUSE FANFIC WHWERE EDA ADOPTS HUNTER AND THEN THINGS JUST GO OFF THE RAILS THANKS TO CANON DIVERGENCE WHICH IS THE KIND OF FIC I FUCKING LOVE!!!!!!!!!!! i enjoy it so much read good bones

> they put kosmos in tales of the rays ??? ????!!!!! her event is just about her, a copy of hte real kosmos, being forcibly taught by velvet that she can have emotions and do things without orders, and also laphicet puppy dog eyes @ her until they become friends... and they DO the whole thing ENDS with kosmos like i have no purpose i have no orders but i did make a promise to laphicet to live so i am going to try living. and i'm SO !!!!!!!!!!!!! ITS SO!!!!!!!! i redownloaded rays for this and it was SO worth it

> finished watching star wars clone wars animated show with my friend grace and it's GOOD??? AHSOKA NEW BLORBO??????? they made the best characteer in all of star wars tbqh. obsessed frankly with teh fact they had to write her out of revenge of the sith otherwise anakin would have NEVER turned to the darkside, also obsessed however with ahsoka like. hey it's kind of fucked up that the jedi kicked me out becuase they thought i MIGHT HAVE done a crime. no, i don't think i'll rejoin. i have to rethink my life choices as well. i'm obsessed with her. i'm giong to lose my mind. she's the best. i loved every moment of obi-wan and anakin banter as well. i loved every moment of anakin and ahsoka teamwork. i love how the show had not just ahsoka but ALSO R2D2 end up in mortal peril and in thinking that they might be dead nearly converted anakin to the dark side on the spot. love that it didn't have to be padme. it could have anyone anakin loved. it could have been.....

> spent time revisiting stupid mario bros bc i had to rewatch season 4 to be sure of some content warnings for a friend i rec'd it to - NAD I ENJOYED REWATCHING IT IS THE THING. I ENJOYED REVISITING IT. I'M SO FOND OF THIS SHOW, IT WAS SO FORMATIVE TO ME FOR REAL!!!!! i like it so much... sincerely i rec anyone who likes my taste in media + shadow clone narratives to consider it haha it's very. RVB energies.

> spent time revisiting ftpverse as well for ftpverse daily like i said AND YOU KNOW WAHT. IT'S STILL GOOD. I WRITE GOOD SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!! I WRITE THE BEST SHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK YOU

> grundos!!! grundos cafe!!!! it's a neopets clone to capture the site's energies circa like 2008-2010, pre pet conversion, and it's fun!!!! i have so many cute pets!!!!!!!!!!!! because the whoel thing about grundos is that they make it SO EASY to make money and get items, so it's so easy to get paint brushes you never would have DREAMED of on neopets vanilla!!! i'm enjoying it!!! dream pets and more!!!!! YIPPEE!!!!!!!! they have cute custom colors!!!!!! LOOK AT MY PETS!!!!!

sleepy_baby is eri my keykid btw :D

i think that's everything!!!!! 2023 was not the best year but there was still a lot of cool things that happened this year!!!!!!!!! yippee!!!!!!!

here's to 2024!!!!! 🎉🎉🥳🥳