themeless no. 35

 

people always ask me "what comes first, the puzzle or the poster" (no one has ever asked me this). usually, it's the puzzle! this time, it's the poster. happy earth, wind, and fire day to all who observe! the holiday inspired my choice of muppets from space for this poster because of this iconic scene. also, gonzo is such an aquarius; we're very spiritually connected. ANYWAY— this might be one of my favorite posters i've made! i''m so happy with it. the puzzle? it's just okay. the date was really just a happy accident— i sat down a week ago to make a grid and realized that, if i hustled, it could be ready by this glorious occasion. so here it is! 

i had a much longer blog post here originally, because i have a lot of things simmering in my heart and on my mind at the moment, but i reckon you guys are here for a crossword and not my meditations on what it means to be a person in this world. i will say, though, that lately i'm working on a few things for myself: accepting that trying and wanting are not embarrassing, shameful things; not replying to compliments by telling someone they're wrong, actually; no longer taking every bit of criticism as a referendum on me as a human being. i've had mixed results so far (it's mostly just really hard to rewire impulses you've been working with for [redacted] number of years), but i do feel that i am ultimately happier just for the effort. i guess i'm sharing this here for accountability reasons!

('get a diary!' the crowd roars. 'i have one but i get so anxious about whether or not my handwriting looks nice that i never write anything in it!' i yell back in tears)

so anyway! here's the puzzle. i'm 80% happy with it, and i decided that was good enough for me, for now. i promise my puzzle next month (for the 3rd birthday of crosstina, holy shit) will be better. it wasn't exactly test solved but i did make kate look at it first but PLEASE I'M BEGGING U tell me if you find a typo. i'm just a girl!

[FULLSCREEN | JPZ | PDF]

themeless no. 34: let's work it out on the remix

 

brat summer is over when we say its over! 

we actually had nothing to work out on the remix, but it was such a thrill to finally work with may (a self-described “long-time solver, first-time collaborator of the blog")!!! we've known each other since the 2022 lil avc x roster, and she was also on the midi roster at the modern (rip in peace, baybeee!) when may listened to the new charli xcx album she immediately knew [REDACTED] would shine as a seed entry in a puzzle that needed to be a collab! i was so honored when she hit me up and beyond excited (and probably should have replied to her text faster!!). we had a blast on this puzzle and are amped to share it with you! if you're looking for more from may, check out crossworthy.net, a free crossword construction platform she runs with her husbae, kevin! they just added the ability to live-edit a puzzle together, google docs style, which is huge!

xcxc crosstina & may

[FULLSCREEN | JPZ | PDF]

themeless no. 33

i don't know where this summer went, truthfully. i blinked and it's almost august— what the hell? the past few months have not been without tremendous amounts of emotional pain, existential crises, and love island binges, but that's just the stuff that makes life worth living. we're here now, and that's what counts! i don't have much to say about this particular puzzle, but i hope you have as much fun solving it as i did making it. thank you to kate for kicking my ass to make it and then reassuring me that i was not going to humiliate myself in posting it. 

over the next ~6 weeks i have 6 puzzles running all over the place, so keep your eyes peeled for those. i'm also excited to be a constructor for the midwest crossword tournament— see more here.

be kind, be safe, wear your sunscreen. 

e-sims for gaza

[ FULLSCREEN | PDF | PUZ ]

themeless no. 32 (feat. erik agard)

welcome to the redesigned crosstina! i forgot i changed the header a few weeks ago and jumpscared myself. i still have a hard time believing that this thing has been going (at varying speeds) since late 2021. what a time to be alive!

to paraphrase a haus of decline comic, it's a treat to make something and pour your excitement and joy and love and all that important stuff into it, in hopes that whoever then experiences the thing gets a share of that. to make those things with friends is even more special, so it's a real thrill to have erik here again! it's been a while since our last blog collab, but erik is in high demand and i have been very busy eating stale swedish fish and trying every limited edition coke flavor. you understand, surely.

a note from erik: 

what an honor, joy, and privilege to be able to bring you another Crosstina Collab! hope you enjoy it and your day! 

and that's all we wrote! besides the puzzle. good luck, have fun, wear your sunscreen, and be kind.

[ FULLSCREEN | JPZ | PDF ] [ puzzles for palestine | these puzzles fund abortion ]

themeless no. 31

i made this puzzle as a joke, and then i got sick. i'm posting it now because i've been cluing it between 14-hour long "naps" and literal fever dreams and i think it's funny. you aren't obligated to tell me you like it, but *cough cough* it would make me feel better. there is no poster for it because i didn't feel like it :) changed my mind :) 

please check out these puzzles fund abortion 4, if you haven't yet. here is a list of ways you can support palestinians in gaza.

OH by the way did you know that manatees CHIRP? you're welcome!!!

[ FULL SCREEN | PDF | .JPZ ]

themeless no. 30

themeless no. 29

video of me writing clues for this puzzle

it's always great to be back here. it's not like i ever really leave, but it's kind of an 'absence makes the heart grow fonder' deal. the time i spend not constructing for the blog is spent longing for the creature comforts of home; i'm never happier than when i'm posting puzzles here. i hope that comes across, in some way. maybe it will be conveyed with the new CONFETTI POP feature of the nexus solver, under the jump!! i started half-jokingly asking alex for this feature a while back, and as an all-around good person who has long-suffered my insufferability, he actually took on the challenge to delightful result (if i say so myself). i think it's joyful. (p.s.— there is also a surprise for people who solve in amuselabs! volume ON)

if you're looking for some crosstina-in-business-casual-clothing, i have six (6) eight (8) puzzles running between late october and mid-december that i'd love for you to check out. i am very fond of all of them, especially an upcoming usat collab with amie walker. please enjoy!

i can't promise i will get another puzzle out here before the end of the month, so i do want to wish my beloved blog an early 2nd birthday! i started crosstina on 10/31/21 and...quickly realized this was something i really, really enjoyed. my first byline was a lil avc x on 3/28/2022, my print debut (usa today) was ~5 weeks later, and...the rest is history! as you can imagine, it's been a wild ride. there is no possible way i could have predicted any of this, and it makes it incredibly hard to guess where i'll be at this point NEXT year. however i really, truly, madly, deeply want to thank every single person who has ever solved, left a comment, sent a dm, etc. it has all meant so much and sharing this with you is the deepest well of happiness in my little life. 

[ nexus solver below the jump | amuselabs (fullscreen/mobile) | .pdf | .jpz ]