My Year In Fic (2018)

[between_time_and_42]

 Found this and thought it would be fun, even though I didn't write many fics in 2018. 

I'm filling out stats for the fics I posted last year, not for all my fics overall.

General Fic Stats: 

Fics: 10 written (with 1 unposted WIP), 7 posted, 2 continued/updated from a prior posting, 2 edited & re-posted

Kudos: 28

Comment Threads: 3

Bookmarks: 0

Word Count: 31,068 (not counting the WIPs and the ones I edited and re-posted)

Hits: 270 (counting all fics posted on Ao3 regardless of whether or not I wrote them in 2018; not counting fics on Fanfiction.net that I didn't post on Ao3)

Favorite Fic: "From the Upper Slopes of Mount Nicaragua." (The Truman Show, teen, gen, 5,838 words, complete) A not-so-ordinary day in the life of one Hannah Gill.

I got very into The Truman Show for a few months over the summer (I'd seen the movie in 2017 but a re-watch strengthened my love for it; it's now one of my favorite movies) and decided it would be interesting to write a character study of Hannah Gill, the actress who plays Truman's wife on the show. This is by far my favorite fic I wrote last year because I'm happy to contribute something new to a tiny fandom, and I found it interesting to write from the POV of a self-victimizing person whose actions are despicable. I wanted to see if I could expand on her character while still making it clear that I don't support anything she does, and I think I succeeded, and I'm proud of that. 

Funniest Fic: I really don't do funny (except when I was writing for The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy- the fandom, not the in-universe book!! :D) It's just not my forte because I have such a strange sense of humor.

Cutest Fic: "Optimistic Pleasures" (Kingsman, teen, romance (Harry Hart/Merlin), not sure how many words) Part of a larger drabble collection- Merlin & Harry ride on the London Eye.

 This was only one of 1 shipping fics I posted throughout the year, and since the other more closely falls under the next category, I have to nominate this one for the cutest one. I wrote it after riding on a Ferris wheel with a person who was terrified of Ferris wheels, and I thought the scenario could translate well to my OTP. It was nice to get back to writing them, if only for a little bit.

Kinkiest Fic: "Bubbly" (Uglies, explicit, romance (Tally Youngblood/Zane), 3,110 words) Tally's first time, with Zane, set between Part 1 & 2 of Pretties.

During a re-read of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies series, I realized that I have been in love with his character Zane for nearly ten years. (Eleven, now. Good god.) I also realized that this old fic, which I wrote a few years ago, had some merits, so I edited & posted it. Because I rarely write any PWP fics (which, while the sex isn't overly detailed, this fic pretty much is), this vanilla love scene counts as "kinkiest fic." To be fair, it might be considered kinky if you get off to the idea of wearing gloves and staying silent during sex. Which apparently some folks do, given that "glove kink" and "silence kink" were already tags. (Ngl, I can see why.)

Angstiest Fic: "Dreadful Sorry" (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, teen, 955 words, warning for references to eating disorders and abuse) A short character study of Clementine, before she met Joel.

 I didn't mean to write fic for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. I don't even like the movie very much, and I certainly don't like Clementine. But her character stayed with me, because I saw several women I've personally known in her, and I had to write her- and their- story. If it wasn't for the "darling Clementine" reference I could easily pass this off as original fiction- in fact I only added that reference later.  

Most Popular Fic: "From the Upper Slopes of Mount Nicaragua" again. Most kudos, most hits, most comments of the whole year. 

Least Popular Fic: Out of the ones I posted for the first time this year, "Bubbly" again, but if we count re-posts, A Clockwork Headroom. Though probably for a good reason, because it falls under the next category...

Most Cringe-Worthy Fic: A Clockwork Headroom (Max Headroom/A Clockwork Orange, mature, gen/romance (Bryce Lynch/OC, Theora Jones/OC), 71,497 words, warning for rape) When teenage gangs start terrorizing the streets, Edison Carter and Theora Jones are pointed toward a supposedly reformed criminal named Alex Burgess as the possible mastermind behind it. Alex seems to have put his days of crime behind him, but a tragic incident proves he's not as "cured" as he claims to be. Soon the claws come out, and the manhunt is on...

 Yeah. That warning is why I constantly flip-flop back and forth between my opinions on this. On the one hand, I'm ashamed of its existence. I'm ashamed because, stuck for ideas on the story's main conflict, I turned to another writer in the fandom for help, who suggested the main conflict revolve around the rape of a certain character. I'm ashamed that I went ahead with that idea without questions, figuring it fixed my plothole. I'm ashamed it didn't dawn on me until much later, after reading the writer's works, that most of their stories involved this character being physically tortured in various ways, which did not sit right with me at all. I was so ashamed that I took the story down. 

But at the same time... I'm proud of this story because I pulled off a novel-length crossover between two fandoms, blending their various universes while staying as true as possible to their characterizations. I'm proud because it was the first entry in a series that I'm proud of overall. And I was proud enough that I went back and edited the story- not completely rewriting it, because I still don't know what the main conflict should be and I also would have had to rewrite the sequels, which I'm not currently up to doing. Maybe someday I'll pull off all of those goals. But I did manage to feel, with my edits, that I had turned the story into something worthy of sharing that exists on its own, as my own work. Though I'll still feel a lot better if I rewrite it entirely, in the future.

Most Challenging Fic: Born Again (Kingsman, teen, gen/romance (Harry Hart/Merlin), 23,698 words) A movie fusion between Kingsman and Invasion of the Body Snatchers. When Harry Hart begins to complain of his lover James' strange distance, co-worker Merlin soon realizes this is no mere domestic argument. It soon becomes clear that James has been replaced by an alien impostor overnight- and it's up to Merlin and Harry to stop everyone else in the world from befalling this fate.

I really lost interest with this one, and that's why it's currently unfinished. Note to self- never start posting a fic until it's completely written & edited.

Honorable Mention: Tough Nut to Crack (Mad Max, teen, gen with one Nux/Capable shipping section, 9,719 words) Four stories about Nux, set before and during the events of Fury Road.

I'm so late to the boat on this fandom, it's not even funny. But I still felt the need to contribute something to it after watching the movie. Nux (or as I like to call him, Nuxy boi) is my favorite character, and I really enjoyed writing about him.

General Reflections: I wrote a lot less last year than I have in a while, as my main fandom Kingsman cooled down and I became more interested in writing original fiction. I still hope I'll have something to share this year- namely, a couple one-shots I've had simmering for a while, and a multi-chapter fic I'm currently working on that makes me want to bounce up and down with excitement.