August Wrapup

This is a helpful exercise for me but you're welcome here too!

August hasn't been the most consistent month for writing (if I write today and tomorrow that'll be 16/31 days), but I'm happy with that since a good portion of my non-writing days were art days, and those that were neither were either taken over by IRL caring duties or recuperation from IRL caring duties. But things are looking positive health-wise here!


What's New This Month
Fandom:
- I wrote a (for me) hideously large amount of words for my Just Married assignment before realising it just kept creeping up in scope and having to temporarily push it to the side in favour of a gift that would actually be finished by the deadline. I'm so deadline motivated that I don't know when it might eventually resurface, but I hope it does, because I'm proud of what I have (and several people were involved in brainstorming and helping me pick away at it).
- I've been deliberately not signing up for all the fun flash exchanges because I have two outstanding assignments and that's the sweet spot to play procrastination pinball with. Three is also acceptable, but any new entries to the list need to have a farther out deadline.
- Started my Crossworks assignment early because a) I'd like to get a chunk of it done before FIAB assignments go out and b) it's in an unusual format that'll slow down my creation speed
- I decided that if I can be coaxed into a fandom by repeatedly seeing requests for it, I can try that tactic on other people cough cough 

Pokemon:
- My partner and I are doing another monotype soulbond run of Emerald Imperium. My fairy run is going SO much more smoothly than my steel run did... but I am a little bit stuck in the poison room of the trick house. We pair pokemon and make portmanteau nicknames so we know who's matched to who, and my current team is: Hatsea the Hatterene, Dratinee the Whimsicott (my shiny starter), Marizar the Azumarill, Turting the Galarian Weezing (who we joke is just my partner's koffing starter from their failed Snakewood run that I went into with nostalgia goggles and immediately realised my mistake. He has anxiety.), Poplu the Primarina, and Ponible the Galarian Rapidash. My partner is doing a dragon run, if you fancy guessing who their current team has to be based on the names!
- Pokepod project, writer stage: remoraid finished and submitted, quagsire has an outline!

Misc:
- A couple of fun things happened: I've gotten back into drawing again, I made a new friend, and I realised I can post more than just exchange letters on my DW account.
- I've had both the songs Your Idol and Poison running around in my head despite not really watching either KPop Demon Hunters or Hazbin Hotel.
- Mindcrack is back!! Hell yeah. I went off Hermitcraft after Skizzle's whole 'I don't want to say trans rights because this is an apolitical place' and having MAGA twitch mods thing...


Thoughts About Next Month
- I briefly thought about preparing ahead of time for No True Pair and then failed at the first hurdle when I realised I didn't know how to bring my brilliant idea to life because I lack the artistic knowledge (Invinc Incognita in baby reins). 
- I also briefly thought about preparing ahead for some kind of -tober event but I think I'd rather spend September focusing on my Crossworks assignment and keeping a free slot so I can treat everyone I want to in FIAB


Some Fun Youtube Videos I Found This Month
(Judgement-Free Zone, be nice)
- [K-POP IN PUBLIC][ONE TAKE] SAJA BOYS - 'YOUR IDOL' full dance cover by Polarity
- GOLD || Fire Emblem: Three Houses Animatic
- Cave exploration videos be like
- What if you had a mole of moles?
- Adam Savage Learns About Full Body Puppeteering at Henson's Creature Shop!
- Pygmy Hippo baby makes a splash


Reveals 
Battleship creator reveals happened on the 13th! My offerings to the Grentity (grape entity) were (With Bonus Behind-The-Scenes Director's Commentary):

Fire Emblem: Three Houses
- a hole in my soul
- Explicit
- 2.5k of Sylvix sex pollen
- This felt like a fic I've been meaning to get out of my head and onto 'paper' for a long time, so I was really happy to finally get the excuse to do that

... I have three WIPs I started for Fire Emblem but didn't finish before the tags were fully filled, but I was feeling good about them, so hopefully they make a comeback

Invisible, Inc.
- cheap shot, a clean miss
- Teen and Up
- 1.5k of Banika with the author's barely disguised inspection kink
- Six Shooter is too catchy of a song to be naming fics after. Every time I see this title, the song gets stuck in my head again.

- Chinese Violet Weed
- Teen and Up
- 500 words of Sharp going >:( at the soulmark he has linking him to Tony
- Was worried this was going to be too introspective and not actiony enough, but I really enjoyed it, as did the recip, and that's all that matters!

- Lightning in a Bottle
- Gen
- 700 words of  pre-canon Sharp going >:( at Tony's response to Sharp being a dick (spoiler: Tony brings a shock collar to work)
- a risky gift since it's a bit of an odd concept, but it was a hit! I found it very easy to write Sharp and Tony in this one.

- made me complete
- Mature
- 1k of Xucker bio BDSM AU
- I rewote most of it after realising we no longer needed the 'grape' tag, because using frozen grapes as sensory deprivation sensation play just doesn't hit the same when you can't even pretend it's to claim a square. Can't remember why I named this fic after the Keane song tbh. Such is battleship.

I Was A Teenage Exocolonist
- Field Research
- Teen and Up
- Dysym xenoflora sex pollen triple drabble
- I love 'Sym being a little shit' but alas, that doesn't appear to be a canonical tag in IWATE yet.

- Lilac
- Teen and Up
- 500 words of Dysym body horror hanahaki but it's cute
- This little fic is everything I love about Hanahaki! I had so much fun with it.

Original Work
- Consecrated Ground
- Explicit
- 1.8k of F/F nun/vampire captivity, bondage, and sexy torture
- I like what I like. Another fic that I've had percolating for aaaages!

Annoyingly, everything I actually made this month is locked behind either work or creator reveals for another few days. My gift list for this month include any battleship gifts that came in 'post-deadline' as late treats! They're all Invisible Inc because it's a lovely fandom.


My Gifts
- [Art] Borrowed Style
- Little Black Dress
- Xucker borrowing clothes!
- 'CW Decker smiling' kills me

- [ART] Swimsuit Model
- Battleship (Grape)
- by Hekateras
- Rush in a swimsuit
- Rush in a swimsuit!!!!

- [ART] Relationship Maintenance 
- Little Black Dress
- Xarp taking care of your partner's augments
- I'm not going to let a silly little thing like 'was gifted to somebody else' stop it from also being a gift for me in my heart. 

- i know, you know 
- Seasons of Drabbles
- an autistic artist has a vision
- a beautiful and visceral love letter to both neurodivergence and art

- Model Vulnerability
- Seasons of Drabbles
- Rush, Sharp and Tony all being little shits (affectionate)
- Calling Central 'Liv' is the absolute scariest thing possible

- One-Off
- Battleship (Grape)
- by Sokrates
- Xucker makeout fakeout
- Decker being a depressed pining menace is my favourite

- Post-Sensory
- Battleship (Grape)
- by Hekateras
- Xucker sensory deprivation PTSD
- [to the tune of Bullet with Butterfly Wings] despite all his rage Tony is still just mildly concerned he may be a brain in a vat

- We
- Seasons of Drabbles
- Experimental alien/human drabble
- This is a really breathtaking and poetic drabble about attempts to coexist

And then very soon I shall have a lovely Just Married haul!