Writing Roundup 2022
Mar. 1st, 2023 02:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
out_thereRemember how I said I was going to post this in January? Well, it's now the 1st of March. (But last year was the 29th of April, so it could be worse.)
January
Keep on Finding Things I Wasn't Looking For (3556 words) by out_there
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Characters: Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Niè Huáisāng
Additional Tags: WangXian, Fandomtrees Mulitfandom Gifting Fest, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - After College/University, college pining, LWJ would wear the hell out of a corporate black suit, wwx is great with kids
Summary:
Reflection:
A title from a Something for Kate song, which surprises no-one. (Also, if I was capable of vids, I would have made a wangxian vid to "Situation Room", really playing on that idea of them stepping into that relationship without a plan; dealing with regrets from things that never quite happened; and the line about the party would definitely be WWX with the Wens -- "I'm the life of every party I never threw / I collected a thousand friends I'll never meet again".
And if it was just a WWX-centric vid, it would be to SFK's Kamikaze because that song is WWX all the way down. And not just because the whole band wears black and red in the video.)
But, yes. I've read a lot of Untamed fic in the last two years but I think this was my first real attempt to write them. It's short, it's a modern-AU, but it really captures the things I love: Wei Ying's obliviousness and casual brilliance; Lan Zhan's devotion and social awkwardness and recognition of how amazing Wei Ying truly is. It's a short little self-contained story, but I really love it.
June
Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits (39686 words) by out_there
Chapters: 6/6
Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén/Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Jīn Zǐxuān, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Jiāng Yànlí, Niè Huáisāng
Additional Tags: Boyband, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe, POV Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, POV Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, POV Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo, Oblivious Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Meng Yao pining with restraint, Jin Zixuan has no game, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín is So Done, set in the USA because this was inspired by popslash from the early 2000s, Smut in the last chapter
Summary:
Reflection:
And then I wrote this. Over months and mostly over Discord (yay for threads where I could spam the two interested people without making everyone else hate me.) and it was so much fun. It's heavily inspired by popslash stories of the 90s (I never wrote, but I read NSync back in the day) and it's a really fun way of writing multiple characters. I got to write from three different POVs (which I almost never do -- but each POV tells a different scene so I didn't fall prey to my personal pet peeve of reading the same scene from multiple viewpoints in the same story). I got to have the slowburn angst of xiyao and the rush to wedding bells from wangxian and even better, I got to spend time with a much bigger cast that I usually write. I cannot say how much I enjoyed writing this.
Sew a Thousand Sequins to Your Sorrows (21256 words) by out_there
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Loki (TV 2021), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Loki/Mobius M. Mobius
Characters: Loki (Marvel), Mobius M. Mobius, Frigga | Freyja (Marvel)
Additional Tags: lokius, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode 2, Loki loves his mom, freedom comes at a cost
Summary:
Reflection:
This doesn't feel like it belongs in 2022. Honestly, I thought I wrote Loki stuff in 2021, but AO3 posting dates don't lie. The first thing I wrote in this fandom was OT3, and then I came back to Loki/Mobius. Mostly as a thought experiment of how would that work -- and for me, it had to go AU before we meet Sylvie. Loki is the kind of POV character who's very fun to write -- always scheming, always thinking of more than he says, not entirely aware of his own motivations and feelings. He's both unreliable and insightful, and it was great to see Mobius through his eyes. (I love Mobius dearly, but he's right on that other end of the character spectrum that I fall for: competent, accepting, rebellious beneath a very conservative appearance.)
And interesting how mourning your mother your was a common theme in this story and the story above. I hadn't realised I'd written about that twice, but interesting. (And, really, two-faced schemers who dearly love their mothers? People desperate to prove their worth and be recognised as they deserve? That fits both Loki and JGY.)
It's also one of those stories that was fun because it made me stop and think about how I define a happy ending. I wanted a happy ending for Loki and a big part of that was finding a way to give him agency, to allow him to make a choice for what he wanted his life to be. Honestly, that freedom of choice is amazingly important to me.
December
Pearls (260 words) by out_there
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Goncharov (1973) dir. Martin Scorsese - beelzeebub
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Katya (Goncharov (1973))
Additional Tags: Katya's Pearls
Summary:
Reflection:
Yes, I jumped on the Goncharov bandwagon. That was a very fun moment on tumblr and I couldn't resist signing up to for a short challenge. I only wrote 260 and it wasn't the f/f romance I'd originally assumed I'd write, but I'm happy with it. (Also, there are some great Katya/Sofia stories out there. I really enjoyed reading those.)
Reasonable Delays (1503 words) by out_there
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Clint Barton/Phil Coulson
Characters: Clint Barton, Phil Coulson, Natasha Romanov (Marvel)
Additional Tags: Clint is hilarious (just ask him), Getting Together, Natasha is the worst best friend, Getting together at Christmas
Summary:
Reflection:
I signed up for the Phlint Winter Phestival and the started writing the story that really appealed to me. And then got assigned my prompt so I had to write this story as well. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with a bit of old school Phil/Clint work together at SHEILD and fall in love between missions stories. I still love them. And it's always so much fun to write Natasha as the trusted best friend, who loves Clint and also recognises that he's such a human disaster.
And added points for being able to write these guys as being functional adults who can use their words to ask someone out. I love a bit of competence.
We Could Call It Even (11451 words) by out_there
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Clint Barton/Phil Coulson
Characters: Clint Barton, Phil Coulson, Barney Barton
Additional Tags: Getting Back Together, Small Town Christmas, secret high school boyfriends, DADT, staying closeted in high school, Barney's a good big brother
Summary:
Reflection:
This was the story that really spoke to me. The song itself is very evocative -- all Christmas nad roads not taken and loving someone but not quite enough to give up everything else for them -- and I loved writing it. Admittedly, I listened to that song on repeat while writing it, but... yeah, it was an easy story to imagine and I love when a story just flows.
Conclusion
6 stories in three fandoms (I'm counting Loki as part of the MCU), which is higher than I was expecting, honestly.
Breakdown by fandom:
1 Goncharov - 260
3 MCU - 34,210
3 MCU - 43,242
Total word count: 77,712
11k lower than last year but still much higher than I'd expected.
What's your own favourite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest:
This is a hard one, but it's probably "Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits". But I also really like all the other stories written this year. (Okay, I'm less fond of Reasonable Delays and Pearls, but the other four I remember and think of fondly, so I genuinely like them.)
Now your most popular:
By bookmarks: Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits
By comments: Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits
By kudos: Keep on Finding Things I Wasn't Looking For
Proving that the Untamed is a very big fandom, honestly.
The other top 4?
This question is so silly when I've only written six stories in the year, but in order of popularity (by kudos):
- Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits
- Reasonable Delays
- We Could Call It Even
Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
You know what? I'm skipping this this year. Maybe "Sew a Thousand Sequins to Your Sorrows" but honestly? I'm not complaining about 78 kudos and the comments I received on that story bring me joy.
Easiest story to write:
"We Could Call It Even", maybe? That just flowed so easily. But so did "Sew a Thousand Sequins to Your Sorrows" once it got going.
Most fun story to write:
"Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits" - I usually write chronologically, working my way through a story. For this one, it was all whatever scene idea appealed to me to write that night/day. I jumped around the timeline and to the POV I wanted, and got immediate feedback so the writing itself was incredibly fun. (The editing it back into a structured story and working out where extra scenes had to go? That got tricky. But writing itself was joyous.)
Hardest story to write:
"Pearls" -- it's short, yes, but I haven't written *for* someone else in a challenge in forever, and I did worry the recipient wouldn't like it or would think it was too short or a thousand other issues.
Fic writing goals for 2023:
To keep writing anything? I don't really have any specific goals, but I do enjoy the process of writing and having a story take up space at the back of my brain.
Favourite opening line:
It's a tie between:
"Like all of Wei Ying's best and worst stories, it starts as Nie Huaisang's idea." - Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits
Of course Wei Ying's best and stupidest ideas were egged on by Nie Huaisang.
"The trouble with warlords and dictators, Clint thinks to himself, is their annoying sense of self-preservation." - Reasonable Delays
Because I love an opening line that gives a lot of attitude up front.
Favourite closing line:
"(For the same reason, she slides the small Makarov pistol into her sequinned clutch.)" - Pearls
Because of course I love a last line in parenthesis.
"He drops his hand to the middle of Loki's back and guides him inside, like it's somewhere Loki belongs." - Sew a Thousand Sequins to Your Sorrows
It's a nice call back to the themes of the story, to Loki choosing his future and where he wants to be.
Favourite line from anywhere:
"You're asking me out to dinner on a Tuesday night?"
"Is there something wrong with Tuesday? Did a Tuesday beat you up and steal your lunch money?"
I will always love "did a Tuesday beat you up and steal your lunch money". I feel like a comedic genius for wirting it.
Favourite title:
"Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits" -- because it was a title I thought up all on my own. (It's literally a "best of" album title, but I really like it.) Of course I also like the song lyric quote ones ("Keep on Finding Things I Wasn't Looking For", "We Could Call It Even", "Sew a Thousand Sequins to Your Sorrows" but I didn't think of those so much as listen to those songs a lot as I wrote.)
January
Keep on Finding Things I Wasn't Looking For (3556 words) by out_there
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn
Characters: Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Niè Huáisāng
Additional Tags: WangXian, Fandomtrees Mulitfandom Gifting Fest, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Alternate Universe - After College/University, college pining, LWJ would wear the hell out of a corporate black suit, wwx is great with kids
Summary:
Wei Ying doesn't look away until Jiang Cheng groans beside him, "Don't start this again."
"Don't start what again? I'm not starting anything. I'm not doing anything. I'm just standing right here, keeping my loser brother company," Wei Ying says, grinning widely. Somehow, Lan Zhan looks even better than Wei Ying remembers.
Reflection:
A title from a Something for Kate song, which surprises no-one. (Also, if I was capable of vids, I would have made a wangxian vid to "Situation Room", really playing on that idea of them stepping into that relationship without a plan; dealing with regrets from things that never quite happened; and the line about the party would definitely be WWX with the Wens -- "I'm the life of every party I never threw / I collected a thousand friends I'll never meet again".
And if it was just a WWX-centric vid, it would be to SFK's Kamikaze because that song is WWX all the way down. And not just because the whole band wears black and red in the video.)
But, yes. I've read a lot of Untamed fic in the last two years but I think this was my first real attempt to write them. It's short, it's a modern-AU, but it really captures the things I love: Wei Ying's obliviousness and casual brilliance; Lan Zhan's devotion and social awkwardness and recognition of how amazing Wei Ying truly is. It's a short little self-contained story, but I really love it.
June
Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits (39686 words) by out_there
Chapters: 6/6
Fandom: 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī/Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén/Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Characters: Lán Zhàn | Lán Wàngjī, Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo, Lán Huàn | Lán Xīchén, Jīn Zǐxuān, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, Jiāng Yànlí, Niè Huáisāng
Additional Tags: Boyband, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe, POV Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín, POV Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, POV Mèng Yáo | Jīn Guāngyáo, Oblivious Wèi Yīng | Wèi Wúxiàn, Meng Yao pining with restraint, Jin Zixuan has no game, Jiāng Chéng | Jiāng Wǎnyín is So Done, set in the USA because this was inspired by popslash from the early 2000s, Smut in the last chapter
Summary:
Meng Yao glances out at the passing green fields, trees a blur as they move past them. "A band needs talent but it also needs wide appeal. A band is built around basic archetypes, and you fit that very well."
Wei Ying scrabbles through the pile of plastic packets and empty wrappers on the seat beside him. He finds an unopened bag of peanuts and holds them up triumphantly. "A band needs to fit into Teen Vogue. The bad boy, the fun guy, the baby. The soulful, artistic one. The boring, good one."
"I'm not boring," Jin Zixuan says sulkily. It honestly proves Wei Ying's point.
Reflection:
And then I wrote this. Over months and mostly over Discord (yay for threads where I could spam the two interested people without making everyone else hate me.) and it was so much fun. It's heavily inspired by popslash stories of the 90s (I never wrote, but I read NSync back in the day) and it's a really fun way of writing multiple characters. I got to write from three different POVs (which I almost never do -- but each POV tells a different scene so I didn't fall prey to my personal pet peeve of reading the same scene from multiple viewpoints in the same story). I got to have the slowburn angst of xiyao and the rush to wedding bells from wangxian and even better, I got to spend time with a much bigger cast that I usually write. I cannot say how much I enjoyed writing this.
Sew a Thousand Sequins to Your Sorrows (21256 words) by out_there
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Loki (TV 2021), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Loki/Mobius M. Mobius
Characters: Loki (Marvel), Mobius M. Mobius, Frigga | Freyja (Marvel)
Additional Tags: lokius, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Episode 2, Loki loves his mom, freedom comes at a cost
Summary:
What Loki needs is access to information and technology, like the TemPad in Mobius' hands. If Loki could find some time with one, he's sure he could figure it out and find some leverage on the TVA. Or at least prove his usefulness.
Loki considers it carefully. He could use magic; he could overpower Mobius and take it but that would be too obvious. Mobius would report it -- he'd have no time to investigate before those jackbooted thugs came after him. And if he needs to convince the Timekeepers of his loyalty and trustworthiness, he can't start with stealing and violence.
This requires a little more finesse.
Reflection:
This doesn't feel like it belongs in 2022. Honestly, I thought I wrote Loki stuff in 2021, but AO3 posting dates don't lie. The first thing I wrote in this fandom was OT3, and then I came back to Loki/Mobius. Mostly as a thought experiment of how would that work -- and for me, it had to go AU before we meet Sylvie. Loki is the kind of POV character who's very fun to write -- always scheming, always thinking of more than he says, not entirely aware of his own motivations and feelings. He's both unreliable and insightful, and it was great to see Mobius through his eyes. (I love Mobius dearly, but he's right on that other end of the character spectrum that I fall for: competent, accepting, rebellious beneath a very conservative appearance.)
And interesting how mourning your mother your was a common theme in this story and the story above. I hadn't realised I'd written about that twice, but interesting. (And, really, two-faced schemers who dearly love their mothers? People desperate to prove their worth and be recognised as they deserve? That fits both Loki and JGY.)
It's also one of those stories that was fun because it made me stop and think about how I define a happy ending. I wanted a happy ending for Loki and a big part of that was finding a way to give him agency, to allow him to make a choice for what he wanted his life to be. Honestly, that freedom of choice is amazingly important to me.
December
Pearls (260 words) by out_there
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Goncharov (1973) dir. Martin Scorsese - beelzeebub
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Katya (Goncharov (1973))
Additional Tags: Katya's Pearls
Summary:
The pearls rest on a bed of deep red velvet. They are round and perfect, and each one could be ransomed for a small fortune.
Reflection:
Yes, I jumped on the Goncharov bandwagon. That was a very fun moment on tumblr and I couldn't resist signing up to for a short challenge. I only wrote 260 and it wasn't the f/f romance I'd originally assumed I'd write, but I'm happy with it. (Also, there are some great Katya/Sofia stories out there. I really enjoyed reading those.)
Reasonable Delays (1503 words) by out_there
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Clint Barton/Phil Coulson
Characters: Clint Barton, Phil Coulson, Natasha Romanov (Marvel)
Additional Tags: Clint is hilarious (just ask him), Getting Together, Natasha is the worst best friend, Getting together at Christmas
Summary:
"Phil broke up with the cellist."
Clint hisses in a shocked breath. Then he checks his sights and alignment. The park opposite him is still empty, no new cars, but he doesn't want to miss a shot because he was surprised. "When did it happen?"
"I don't know," Natasha says with rarely shown annoyance. There aren't many people who can keep a secret from Natasha, but Phil Coulson is one of them.
Reflection:
I signed up for the Phlint Winter Phestival and the started writing the story that really appealed to me. And then got assigned my prompt so I had to write this story as well. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong with a bit of old school Phil/Clint work together at SHEILD and fall in love between missions stories. I still love them. And it's always so much fun to write Natasha as the trusted best friend, who loves Clint and also recognises that he's such a human disaster.
And added points for being able to write these guys as being functional adults who can use their words to ask someone out. I love a bit of competence.
We Could Call It Even (11451 words) by out_there
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Clint Barton/Phil Coulson
Characters: Clint Barton, Phil Coulson, Barney Barton
Additional Tags: Getting Back Together, Small Town Christmas, secret high school boyfriends, DADT, staying closeted in high school, Barney's a good big brother
Summary:
Clint should probably ask again if there's someone waiting in New York, but he doesn't really want to know. Phil kills the headlights, and suddenly the old chestnut trees around them seem familiar. Familiar like the old vinyl seats of Phil's truck, the weight of Phil pressed against him, the soft curve of Phil's lips. "Did you park in our old spot?"
Reflection:
This was the story that really spoke to me. The song itself is very evocative -- all Christmas nad roads not taken and loving someone but not quite enough to give up everything else for them -- and I loved writing it. Admittedly, I listened to that song on repeat while writing it, but... yeah, it was an easy story to imagine and I love when a story just flows.
Conclusion
6 stories in three fandoms (I'm counting Loki as part of the MCU), which is higher than I was expecting, honestly.
Breakdown by fandom:
1 Goncharov - 260
3 MCU - 34,210
3 MCU - 43,242
Total word count: 77,712
11k lower than last year but still much higher than I'd expected.
What's your own favourite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest:
This is a hard one, but it's probably "Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits". But I also really like all the other stories written this year. (Okay, I'm less fond of Reasonable Delays and Pearls, but the other four I remember and think of fondly, so I genuinely like them.)
Now your most popular:
By bookmarks: Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits
By comments: Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits
By kudos: Keep on Finding Things I Wasn't Looking For
Proving that the Untamed is a very big fandom, honestly.
The other top 4?
This question is so silly when I've only written six stories in the year, but in order of popularity (by kudos):
- Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits
- Reasonable Delays
- We Could Call It Even
Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion:
You know what? I'm skipping this this year. Maybe "Sew a Thousand Sequins to Your Sorrows" but honestly? I'm not complaining about 78 kudos and the comments I received on that story bring me joy.
Easiest story to write:
"We Could Call It Even", maybe? That just flowed so easily. But so did "Sew a Thousand Sequins to Your Sorrows" once it got going.
Most fun story to write:
"Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits" - I usually write chronologically, working my way through a story. For this one, it was all whatever scene idea appealed to me to write that night/day. I jumped around the timeline and to the POV I wanted, and got immediate feedback so the writing itself was incredibly fun. (The editing it back into a structured story and working out where extra scenes had to go? That got tricky. But writing itself was joyous.)
Hardest story to write:
"Pearls" -- it's short, yes, but I haven't written *for* someone else in a challenge in forever, and I did worry the recipient wouldn't like it or would think it was too short or a thousand other issues.
Fic writing goals for 2023:
To keep writing anything? I don't really have any specific goals, but I do enjoy the process of writing and having a story take up space at the back of my brain.
Favourite opening line:
It's a tie between:
"Like all of Wei Ying's best and worst stories, it starts as Nie Huaisang's idea." - Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits
Of course Wei Ying's best and stupidest ideas were egged on by Nie Huaisang.
"The trouble with warlords and dictators, Clint thinks to himself, is their annoying sense of self-preservation." - Reasonable Delays
Because I love an opening line that gives a lot of attitude up front.
Favourite closing line:
"(For the same reason, she slides the small Makarov pistol into her sequinned clutch.)" - Pearls
Because of course I love a last line in parenthesis.
"He drops his hand to the middle of Loki's back and guides him inside, like it's somewhere Loki belongs." - Sew a Thousand Sequins to Your Sorrows
It's a nice call back to the themes of the story, to Loki choosing his future and where he wants to be.
Favourite line from anywhere:
"You're asking me out to dinner on a Tuesday night?"
"Is there something wrong with Tuesday? Did a Tuesday beat you up and steal your lunch money?"
I will always love "did a Tuesday beat you up and steal your lunch money". I feel like a comedic genius for wirting it.
Favourite title:
"Always, Sunshine Smile and Other Greatest Hits" -- because it was a title I thought up all on my own. (It's literally a "best of" album title, but I really like it.) Of course I also like the song lyric quote ones ("Keep on Finding Things I Wasn't Looking For", "We Could Call It Even", "Sew a Thousand Sequins to Your Sorrows" but I didn't think of those so much as listen to those songs a lot as I wrote.)
