Year-ending [fic for 2011 and life for 2011]

[aphrodite_mine]

Fic written in 2011: See here

 

Fandoms written in 2011: Parks & Rec (41) Degrassi (17) Mad Men (8) Sucker Punch (6) Black Swan (6) X-Men First Class and The Uninvited (5) Disney RPF, Party Down, Skins (4) Our Idiot Brother, Warehouse 13, United States of Tara, Castle, Original, The Office (3) Fringe, The Inside, Firefly, Game of Thrones, The Ruins, X-Men, Imagine Me & You, Bridesmaids, Damages, Lost Girl (2) and with one story each, Better Off Ted, Whip It, Alias, X-Men Evolution, Sleeping Beauty, Thor, The Romantics, The X-Files, True Blood, Dexter, The Killing, The Millennium Trilogy, The House of Yes, Runaways RPF, Peter Pan, Coupling
All numbers include crossovers, so stories may be counted twice. Plus xx, xx, xx and two additional numbers from unrevealed fics.

 

Ficathons participated in during 2010: femslash100 's Greek Myth challenge (27), kink_bingo 's december mini-challenge (5), yuletide  (2), fandom-stocking, femslash11  (3), demi_selena's time period challenge, fall fandom free for all (2), Gay as in Happy comment-a-thon, womenlovefest (4), femgenficathon, skins-bigbang, junetide , nbckink, femslash_today 's summer porn battle, 1stclass_kink, degrassi_kink, 3_ships  (2), qldfloodauction (4), helpbrazil2011, abovethedot 

 

Stats (includes five unrevealed/unposted stories): 150 fics. Word count from 50 to 9500

Total fandoms: 45

Total previously unwritten fandoms: 23

Pairings: Het (20) Slash (3) Gen (9) and Femslash (ALL OF IT or 121)

Looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you'd predicted? More, definitely. Especially compared to last year when I had less than fifty stories. Of course, I'm out of school, I have a lot of free time at work, so I was freer in general to take more pinch hits, to explore a little and find new communities, to try my first big bang. I feel good about this year's numbers.

 

What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted in January? Aside from the fandoms that came out during the year, in January I was just starting Mad Men, was looking strangely at my Fringe-obsessed friends, and had no idea I'd ever get in to Warehouse 13 or Lost Girl or get back into Disney RPF.

 

What's your own favorite story of the year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you happiest? Definitely all of the random Parks & Rec femslash I wrote for femslash100 .

 

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them? I made a concerted effort to write more sex/kink/threesomes, and dude. It is HARD.

 

Do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the New Year? I have a few big bangs on the horizon, because I really really want to be able to write longer fic. Write more sex/kink/thresomes also. 

 

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

My best story: Ready to Fight (United States of Tara, gen) 

My most popular: The two most popular according to stats are i'm spun out so far (Skins, Emily/Naomi, Katie/Naomi) and By Leaps (Parks & Recreation, Ann/Leslie). They were both written for something with public attention (skins_bigbang and femslash11) and featured the "canon" popular pairings. I'm not shocked by the popularity, and I'm not to upset with it either as I worked quite hard on both.

Story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: In terms of quality fic vs. number of hits, I'm leaning towards Nothing Ever Happens (Mad Men, gen) which I'm really proud of and because of, I don't know, the lack of fucking or length, or Don, has like no hits. 

Most fun story to write: The Leslie/Ann parts of my femslash100 claim, specifically your brown eyes are my blue skies and Unbreakable Vow. 

Sexiest story: Got to give props to my porn efforts, though they weren't always super porny. Here's two I really like, even heaven gets rough (The Uninvited, Rachel/Anna) and Please (The Inside, Rebecca/Web)

Most "Holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story: Thank Molly for this one, as I wouldn't have had the guts to post it without a request, but you will not remember this (United States of Tara, ALL THE FEMSLASH) is full of incest and dubcon and alters using Tara's body for sex.

Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: Another femslash100 drabble, you have always worn me well (Parks & Recreation, Ethel/Muriel) taught me not to be so damn afraid of writing "older" characters.

Hardest story to write: several ways to die trying (Degrassi, Fiona/Holly J, Bianca/Adam, others) was supposed to be my big accomplishment of the year, and while I definitely had fun and LOVE LOVE LOVE what I ended up with, my original goal fell far short because of characters not wanting to be written and the lack of a written narrative connecting the scenes.

Biggest disappointment: Slow Motion Tag Team (Parks & Rec, Ben/Leslie, Chris/Ann) was supposed to be an epic long story building to an awesome orgy but ugh. This is what happens when I bite off more than I can chew. I ended up with a barely mediocre short fic. And no sex.

Most unintentionally telling story: Not sure how much they actually reveal about me, but the words you picked so carefully keep coming out all wrong (Parks & Rec, Ann/Lucy) and i fell into the water and now i'm free (Castle, Alexis/Beckett) definitely have some autobiographical bits here and there.

 

---

 

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before? Was in a wedding, was 26 years old, wrote over 9000 words, totaled a car, won a derby bout, got a tattoo.

 

2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I can't find any written out, but I know my goal of "write more, damnit" was achieved. However I did mention wanting to finish my thesis, and I don't think that will ever happen.

 

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Um. My cousin did, again (a cute girl unfortunately named Paisley). My former(?) friend from college had an ugly baby named Samus. And a gal I know from derby.

 

4. Did anyone close to you die? Not that I know of.

 

5. Which countries did you visit? I stayed in the Midwest this year. The farthest travel was Omaha, NE for derby.

 

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011? More functional mental health, monies, Lizzy Caplan and Rashida Jones working on something together? (You know, if we're shooting in the dark)

 

7. What dates from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? Julie's wedding. My wreck. 

 

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year? Kept my job, moved (again), wrote a lot of fanfic.

 

9. What was your biggest failure? Mental health. Whoa.

 

10. Did you suffer illness or injury? Minor derby stuff, minor contusion from the wreck, a foot thing that I'm still watching to see if it's an issue, my eyes getting a fuckton worse really fast.

 

11. What was the best thing you bought? Reservations for WisCon and CONvergence. And Fringe and The Good Wife.

 

12. Whose behaviour merited celebration? My sister is doing AWESOME after earlier in the year (shit was that this year? *shudders*)

 

13. Whose behaviour made you appalled and depressed? My mom, mostly. Um. Sometimes derby people.

 

14. Where did most of your money go? Bills, bills, bills.

 

15. What were you really, really, really excited about? Parks and fucking Recreation. Derby. My cats.

 

16. What song will always remind you of 2011? Um. I don't really connect music to time frames. I just like it and then I don't as much and then I do again.

 

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

a) Happier or sadder?  I am being more productive about it, but sadder.

 

b) Bigger or smaller? I'd just started losing a lost of weight from derby, and now I'm gaining it all back. Plus some, because now I eat like an athlete. (Well, an undisciplined athlete.)

 

c) Richer or poorer? My rent/utilities went up about 200$ and my pay stayed the same, so. Do the math.

 

18. What do you wish you'd done more of? Been social. Done things that matter. 

 

19. What do you wish you'd done less of? Hiding out in anxiety coma.

 

20. How will you be spending Christmas? I split it between the parents. Already wrote about that chiz.

 

21. What was your favourite month of 2011? Um.

 

22. Did you fall in love in 2011? Again, yes.

 

23. What was your favourite TV programme? PARKS AND RECREATION.

 

24. How did you see in the New Year? Last year? There was a big party and I went and I don't remember much.

 

25. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year? Other than the generic "everyone" no, not really.

 

26. What was the best book you read? Probably Maggie O'Farrell's The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox

 

27. What was your greatest musical discovery? Shitty pop.

 

28. What did you want and get? A break from derby. Friends who give a fuck about me. A girlfriend I can plan for the future with.

 

29. What did you want and not get? To not move again. To not wreck my car. To not be broke. To be healthy. 

 

30. What was your favourite film of this year? Our Idiot Brother, maybe?

 

31. What did you do on your birthday? Had people over for birthday/housewarming, got drunk, watched Ellen Page's giant forehead in Ghost Cat.

 

32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying? MORE DRINKING.

 

33. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011? Work clothes are not derby clothes.

 

34. What kept you sane? Writing. Derby.

 

35. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most? Rashida Jones. See: Tumblr.

 

36. What political issue stirred you the most? Trying to figure out what sort of feminist I am, and learning about race and gender and all sorts of stuff I'd plead ignorance to before.

 

37. Who did you miss? My sister, a lot. 

 

38. Who was the best new person you met? New derby people! My sisterwives Wham and Blame, and my I've-no-clue Ms. Teri. 

 

39. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2011. I've spent a LOT of time thinking about how I come at the world, and it was actually sort of a revelation that not everything is about me. Everyone lives in their own lives and we just happen to intersect once in awhile. BLEW MY MIND.

 

40. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year. "Fill You In" by Josh Pyke

And then the weatherman said to go back to bed, 

because it's shame to go outside when the wind keeps howling now. 

So for a little while there I lived inside a cave, 

and there were bears and bugs and leaves and love 

and a dark that only left you when the night came crawling home. 

And I was happy there for a while until I woke one day to find the roof had blown away 

and the wind blew through me, 

and then the very next day it began to rain 

and it rained right through me. 

And then the lightning struck right beside my head 

and a branch fell down and came to rest upon my broken legs, 

and to my surprise that bough began to grow. 

And then the weatherman said to look at the sunset 

and if the sky was red the very next day it would be dry instead, 

and I was happy in the sun like a lazy one, 

like a lazy one.

And then that broken bough it began to grow, 

and it grew right through me. 

And then the very next day, 

well the grass did blade and it cut right through me. 

And then a rabbit dug a tunnel right between my ribs, and she lived right through me. 

And then a bird came and pecked at the space in my chest and then he flew right through me. 

Now there's a hole in the ground where I used to lay down and I can't fill it in.

And there's a colouring pad in the back of my head and I want to fill you in. 

And I was nothing more than an impression of myself and I want to fill you in.

Yeah you could lay your' body in the hollow where I used to be and you could fill me in. 

And then that broken bough it began to grow, and it grew right through me. 

And then the very next day I believed in something new well, what can I say?

And then a bird came and pecked at the space in my chest and then he flew right through me. 

And then a rabbit dug a tunnel right between my ribs and she lived right through me. 

I'm a man, I'm a man like I used to be, 

I want to fill you in, 

cos there's hole in my chest where the animals lived and I want to fill you in. 

And I do a very fine impression of myself 

and I want to fill you in cos there's a colouring pad in the back of my head and I want to fill you in.