What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? I finally wrote for Mamamoo again. It just kinda worked out, as I'd joined a fest that was not group-specific.

What's your own favorite story of the year? My favorite is between The End of Summer and Doom Advances to Zero. The End of Summer was my first fic after a few months of nothing, and Doom Advances to Zero includes a game I was actually playing recently and included a recent, real-life event. Hip with the times.

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? I would like to return to old stories even more. It's not something I used to do, but I do it now and even enjoy it! There are some stories I would even bold-facedly call good. I would also like to write more. I enjoy writing, and I joined some new (to me) fests that were fun. They ran more frequently, so the writing period was shorter and expectations were less than a months long fest. Those seem to be better for me, although I still dropped from a couple. I don't feel as bad about that as I used to, which I consider personal improvement.

From my past year of writing, what was ... ?

My best story of this year: I'm quite pleased with Doom Advances to Zero. It didn't give itself away until the story is actually completed.

My most popular story of this year: Sorry, Your Feet Must Hurt from Running through My Thoughts received 87 kudos on AO3. I reply to most comments, so the comment counts are about double what they technically should be. I don't really have any other quantifiable way to determine popularity... A few fics got retweets during posting, but that could mean they liked it, want to read it, or just share posts to boost the fests' or pairings' audience.

The story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: Looking at kudos again on AO3... Being a -centric fic, rather than a pairing, Stay Hearty, Stay Vigilant, Love is Just Around the Corner was kinda slept on. It's also more psychological horror, which I have seen a few others on Twitter mention they are fans of, but it's not up there in the mainstream, I guess.

Set Sail Under the Black Flag wasn't all that received, either. It was also more -centric, with allusions to/flirting with an actual pairing. I didn't push it as much as the original fic I'd remixed. Maybe pirates aren't popular anymore.

Kinda like the first fic mentioned, It’s Hard to Find Inner Peace with the Worst Parts of Yourself Running Free is more -centric and psychological. It's a bit gross, too. I like these all. Even when a little weird, they were fun. Horror, psychological and otherwise, are just my jam, I suppose. I don't care about pairings or characters banging. I really think that's the big downfall: Not including the most favored pairings having . What a world we live in.

The most fun story to write: The End of Summer was so much fun. It's a summer camp fic with a mysterious monster and suggestive ending. I was definitely thinking of Friday the 13th as I wrote it (with a bit of Creature from the Black Lagoon).

The story with the single iest moment: Sausage Casing. The whole story was like ual torment to Chanyeol, but I made it more comedic and sweet than y. Maybe "sultry" would be a better description. A more teasing tone.

The most "holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story: It's Hard to Find Inner Peace with the Worst Parts of Yourself Running Free (I won't spoil it. Just read it, if you haven't.)

The story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: None of my own fics did, but the principle function of a friend by sophluorescent (remix of my a most undesirable sentiment) had me in awe, focusing on a side character and their own reaction to the happenings in my story. They took the events to heart and carried so much guilt that I never once considered. It was a masterful take, in my opinion. Just because there is a conflict between two people, that does not mean they are in a bubble. Their actions and reactions touch others around them; there's just no way to be aware of every single thing in someone else's life, no way to know how their own relationships and feelings.

So while my own fic was pretty straightforward in immature feelings and actions to preserve what the main character felt to be most important, there is even greater tragedy explored in sophluorescent's continuation. People carry their trauma with them and deal with it in different ways. Some address it and may finally be free from it; others just live with it and hide it.

Together, I think, the fics work well, and give greater depth to the characters.

The hardest story to write: I struggled with Deep Waters Don't Run Still. There was a sort of vision in my head, but it was greater than I had the ability or motivation to write or something; it was always on the verge of going completely off. I managed to tamp it down and get it submitted, but I'm still not entirely pleased with it. Part of it is the length, I'm sure. I still kinda tap out at three thousand words, and this fic is over five. I'm considering trying to break it down by scene or maybe just by day and trying to write that one scene/day as its own fic. Then move on to the next. Kinda like writing chapters, only in that they follow one another in the same timeline and story. Making them stand alone could kinda trick my brain, maybe. Because the story is still fun to me. Jongdae struggling to keep his little brother safe but not necessarily knowing how, because he doesn't entirely understand or accept the problems his brother faces. A bit of spirituality mixed with realist "if I can't see it, it doesn't exist."

The biggest surprise: I rewrote three fics: my very first EXO fic, A Future in Love, and a really short vampire story, Good Deeds, and a hybrid fic, Prey for Mercy! (Prey for Mercy was fixed up more than rewritten, but still. I used to never even look back on my fics; once they were posted, that was it. I've been going back to stories lately.)

The most unintentionally telling story: Maybe Crush Hour, because if Jongin unexpectedly opened a door in front of me, I'd lose my mind a little, too.

Favorite opening lines:

Meeting someone through injury or physical mishap was such a weird trope before Jongin experienced it himself.

→ When I Said I’d Bleed for You, I Didn’t Mean It Literally

Captain Joonmyun “Suho” Kim sails a sinking ship into harbor.

→ Set Sail Under the Black Flag

5 favorite lines from anywhere:

His eyes sparkle, and it could’ve been a trick of the atmospheric lighting, but his downturned eyes and the tops of his cheeks wear actual glitter. Even his hair has some sparkle to it, probably on accident. His T-shirt reads TEAM EDWARD, also showing evidence of an overzealous application of glitter.

→ Tricked Treat

"C'mon. I'll pay for your ticket." "Thank you! I have pockets but no money."

→ That Familiar Magic

“My uncle? The strangest thing happened,” Jongdae relays amiably. “He comes home with a pocketful of money, telling me how some nice young fella gave it to him to reward himself with a good meal tonight. Didn’t know the man. He’d never seen him before. I said he should go and that I’d look out here tonight. Just in case.” Chanyeol holds his shovel behind him. “In case of what?”

→ Striving for the End of the Medical Middle Ages, Mistakes are Made

“Can you stop it?” “Yes, but not without killing you.” “Oh.” Chanyeol coughs and wipes the spatter of blood on his thigh. “Is there any way to avoid that?”

→ It’s Hard to Find Inner Peace with the Worst Parts of Yourself Running Free

“So you accepted because I was exposing myself to you.” “Just your belly,” Jongin laughs. It took a couple dates for any other exposure. “But yeah.”

→ from this day forward

fic writing goals for 2024: