Hey, Wait A Minute, These Aren't Legs.
It's time for the self-indulgent end-of-year fic meme!
Number of fics written in 2020: twenty-three. You can find them on my AO3 account:
Riona.
Fandoms: Ace Attorney, Silent Hill 2, Your Turn to Die, Vargas (the Johnny the Homicidal Maniac fic by
zarla), Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Red Dwarf, The Last of Us Part II, Horizon Zero Dawn, Death Note, Exit/Corners, Persona 5, Night in the Woods, Higurashi: When They Cry and Danganronpa. Twelve videogame fandoms, one television fandom, one anime/manga fandom, one... fic-for-a-comic-I've-never-read fandom.
Two crossovers: Your Turn to Die/Silent Hill and Final Fantasy VIII/Final Fantasy X.
A lot of revisiting old fandoms this year; I first got into six of these canons over a decade ago. Exit/Corners and Persona 5 are the only canons in the list I first experienced in 2020. (Well, The Last of Us Part II came out in 2020, but I'd already played The Last of Us.)
Best title: Metamorphosis (Death Note) isn't going to win any awards for originality, but I do genuinely like it as a title for a fic about Light's transition from ordinary boy to unstoppable mass murderer.
Worst title: In Fainter Ink (The Last of Us Part II) bothers me slightly because its relevance is impossible to discern. I went down an extremely tortured path of logic when titling this fic, and the resulting title only makes sense to me.
(Basically, Ellie, Dina and Jesse are in a sort of triangle-shaped relationship, but Ellie and Jesse's side isn't romantic or sexual; Ellie has no romantic interest in guys. That said, their friendship is still an important part of the relationship as a whole. If you were trying to convey the relationship visually, you'd draw clear lines connecting Dina to Ellie and to Jesse, but leaving it at that doesn't feel right; you need a line between Ellie and Jesse in fainter ink.
I originally considered calling this fic Third Side, but I thought that might be misunderstood. I didn't want people to think this was an Ellie/Jesse fic; it's very much an Ellie and Jesse fic.)
Best first line: He remembers very clearly, in the haze of her illness, the first time he looked at Mary and thought, Mary’s already dead. (like nails in my feet, Silent Hill 2)
Worst first line: The first person Light killed - the first person whose name he wrote - was someone involved in a hostage crisis that was being broadcast live. (Metamorphosis, Death Note) - the idea was 'Light quickly edits his thoughts to avoid thinking he killed someone', but it ended up sounding clunky.
Best last line: “Okay.” Ellie nods, slowly. Turns the guitar over in her lap. “Let’s figure this out.” (If Nowhere Else, The Last of Us Part II) - I just like the dual meaning of 'let's figure out how I can play this guitar' and 'let's figure out how we can coexist'.
Worst last line: He smiles. (Blank Pages, Your Turn to Die)
He's smiling. (Home Front, Vargas)
I end far too many fics like this and I have to stop.
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?
Twenty-three fics and 51,000 words isn't a bad result at all, but I am a tiny bit disappointed that I didn't manage to keep up the 'over thirty fics, around 80,000 words in total' pace of the past two years.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?
I really wasn't expecting to write fanfiction for
zarla's Vargas, a Johnny the Homicidal Maniac fic I was obsessed with sixteen years ago. I have never read Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.
Writing Death Note fanfiction for the first time in 2020, over a decade after I actually got into Death Note, was also a bit of a surprise!
What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.
I'm really happy with Try Again (Your Turn to Die/Silent Hill), actually. I hadn't written a Silent Hill crossover in far too long. I enjoyed working with Keiji and Sara's weird tense dynamic, and I'm pleased with the way it ends.
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
By a long way, it's If Nowhere Else (The Last of Us Part II), in which Ellie and Abby reach an uneasy truce. I'm glad to learn there's so much demand for the concept!
Story most underappreciated by the universe?
I was a little surprised by how few people read Binding Contract (Final Fantasy VIII/Final Fantasy X), although I suppose neither of the games I'm crossing over are exactly timely. (It's not the fic with the fewest kudos, but the others are for smaller fandoms.)
If you're asking which fic of mine had the most negative reception, it's In Fainter Ink (The Last of Us Part II), which didn't do badly on numbers but keeps getting comments from people who hate it! I've started getting nervous whenever I get a new comment on this fic.
Story that could have been better?
I always sort of envisioned And All the Drawers Were Full (Danganronpa) as a longer story, with more wacky corpse-disposal adventures. Turns out I can't actually come up with that many wacky corpse-disposal adventures.
Sexiest story?
Across the Spectrum (Red Dwarf), in which Rimmer asks Lister to hurt him, is just pure self-indulgence. I had to tag this as 'porn without plot without porn'.
Saddest story?
Ripples (Persona 5) is a look at how ten different characters experience grief and is exactly as cheery as that description suggests.
Most fun?
Possibly No Thanks for the Memory (Red Dwarf), in which Lister accidentally implants all his own memories into Rimmer's head. Red Dwarf was one of my earliest fandoms, and I had a blast revisiting it this year.
Story with single sweetest moment?
That might also be No Thanks for the Memory (Red Dwarf), actually, when Lister takes the burden of Rimmer's gazpacho soup agony.
Most fucked-up story?
Sharp Teeth (Horizon Zero Dawn), a fic about one person who's way too turned on by murder and one person who's slightly too turned on by murder going on murder adventures.
Hardest story to write?
I enjoyed working on Cornered (Death Note) but also struggled a bit; I can't write sex scenes! Fortunately, Light was so busy making internal calculations that I didn't have to write the sex in any detail.
Easiest/most fun story to write?
I had a really good time writing Second Chances (Higurashi). Awkward teenage romance is fun to write, hideous murder is fun to write, time loops are fun to write, and this was a great opportunity to combine all three.
Did any stories shift your perception of the characters?
Second Best (Red Dwarf) gave me a little more fondness for the 'back to the start, none of our Rimmer's character growth' Rimmer of series eight, although I still miss hologram Rimmer. (Much like Lister.)
Most overdue story?
I started writing And All the Drawers Were Full (Danganronpa) in response to a kinkmeme prompt seven years ago. I always felt pretty bad that I posted the first part of a fill and then just vanished. Glad I finished it at last, but I'm not sure the prompter will ever see it!
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
I really wanted to write a fic where Light's having sex with L and obsessing over whether he's making himself look suspicious, but I dismissed the idea because I can't write sex scenes. Rei and Ginger persuaded me to try writing it anyway, and I ended up with Cornered (Death Note). I suppose I learnt that I shouldn't assume something is beyond me just because it's outside my comfort zone. It's often possible to work around your weaknesses. (Also, even if something's outside your comfort zone, it can be fun to write!)
I've cut the 'What are your fic writing goals for next year?' question at the end because my answer is always the same: write stuff, have fun.
Number of fics written in 2020: twenty-three. You can find them on my AO3 account:
Riona.
Fandoms: Ace Attorney, Silent Hill 2, Your Turn to Die, Vargas (the Johnny the Homicidal Maniac fic by
zarla), Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy X, Red Dwarf, The Last of Us Part II, Horizon Zero Dawn, Death Note, Exit/Corners, Persona 5, Night in the Woods, Higurashi: When They Cry and Danganronpa. Twelve videogame fandoms, one television fandom, one anime/manga fandom, one... fic-for-a-comic-I've-never-read fandom.
Two crossovers: Your Turn to Die/Silent Hill and Final Fantasy VIII/Final Fantasy X.
A lot of revisiting old fandoms this year; I first got into six of these canons over a decade ago. Exit/Corners and Persona 5 are the only canons in the list I first experienced in 2020. (Well, The Last of Us Part II came out in 2020, but I'd already played The Last of Us.)
Best title: Metamorphosis (Death Note) isn't going to win any awards for originality, but I do genuinely like it as a title for a fic about Light's transition from ordinary boy to unstoppable mass murderer.
Worst title: In Fainter Ink (The Last of Us Part II) bothers me slightly because its relevance is impossible to discern. I went down an extremely tortured path of logic when titling this fic, and the resulting title only makes sense to me.
(Basically, Ellie, Dina and Jesse are in a sort of triangle-shaped relationship, but Ellie and Jesse's side isn't romantic or sexual; Ellie has no romantic interest in guys. That said, their friendship is still an important part of the relationship as a whole. If you were trying to convey the relationship visually, you'd draw clear lines connecting Dina to Ellie and to Jesse, but leaving it at that doesn't feel right; you need a line between Ellie and Jesse in fainter ink.
I originally considered calling this fic Third Side, but I thought that might be misunderstood. I didn't want people to think this was an Ellie/Jesse fic; it's very much an Ellie and Jesse fic.)
Best first line: He remembers very clearly, in the haze of her illness, the first time he looked at Mary and thought, Mary’s already dead. (like nails in my feet, Silent Hill 2)
Worst first line: The first person Light killed - the first person whose name he wrote - was someone involved in a hostage crisis that was being broadcast live. (Metamorphosis, Death Note) - the idea was 'Light quickly edits his thoughts to avoid thinking he killed someone', but it ended up sounding clunky.
Best last line: “Okay.” Ellie nods, slowly. Turns the guitar over in her lap. “Let’s figure this out.” (If Nowhere Else, The Last of Us Part II) - I just like the dual meaning of 'let's figure out how I can play this guitar' and 'let's figure out how we can coexist'.
Worst last line: He smiles. (Blank Pages, Your Turn to Die)
He's smiling. (Home Front, Vargas)
I end far too many fics like this and I have to stop.
Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?
Twenty-three fics and 51,000 words isn't a bad result at all, but I am a tiny bit disappointed that I didn't manage to keep up the 'over thirty fics, around 80,000 words in total' pace of the past two years.
What pairing/genre/fandom did you write that you would never have predicted last year?
I really wasn't expecting to write fanfiction for
zarla's Vargas, a Johnny the Homicidal Maniac fic I was obsessed with sixteen years ago. I have never read Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.
Writing Death Note fanfiction for the first time in 2020, over a decade after I actually got into Death Note, was also a bit of a surprise!
What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.
I'm really happy with Try Again (Your Turn to Die/Silent Hill), actually. I hadn't written a Silent Hill crossover in far too long. I enjoyed working with Keiji and Sara's weird tense dynamic, and I'm pleased with the way it ends.
Okay, NOW your most popular story.
By a long way, it's If Nowhere Else (The Last of Us Part II), in which Ellie and Abby reach an uneasy truce. I'm glad to learn there's so much demand for the concept!
Story most underappreciated by the universe?
I was a little surprised by how few people read Binding Contract (Final Fantasy VIII/Final Fantasy X), although I suppose neither of the games I'm crossing over are exactly timely. (It's not the fic with the fewest kudos, but the others are for smaller fandoms.)
If you're asking which fic of mine had the most negative reception, it's In Fainter Ink (The Last of Us Part II), which didn't do badly on numbers but keeps getting comments from people who hate it! I've started getting nervous whenever I get a new comment on this fic.
Story that could have been better?
I always sort of envisioned And All the Drawers Were Full (Danganronpa) as a longer story, with more wacky corpse-disposal adventures. Turns out I can't actually come up with that many wacky corpse-disposal adventures.
Sexiest story?
Across the Spectrum (Red Dwarf), in which Rimmer asks Lister to hurt him, is just pure self-indulgence. I had to tag this as 'porn without plot without porn'.
Saddest story?
Ripples (Persona 5) is a look at how ten different characters experience grief and is exactly as cheery as that description suggests.
Most fun?
Possibly No Thanks for the Memory (Red Dwarf), in which Lister accidentally implants all his own memories into Rimmer's head. Red Dwarf was one of my earliest fandoms, and I had a blast revisiting it this year.
Story with single sweetest moment?
That might also be No Thanks for the Memory (Red Dwarf), actually, when Lister takes the burden of Rimmer's gazpacho soup agony.
Most fucked-up story?
Sharp Teeth (Horizon Zero Dawn), a fic about one person who's way too turned on by murder and one person who's slightly too turned on by murder going on murder adventures.
Hardest story to write?
I enjoyed working on Cornered (Death Note) but also struggled a bit; I can't write sex scenes! Fortunately, Light was so busy making internal calculations that I didn't have to write the sex in any detail.
Easiest/most fun story to write?
I had a really good time writing Second Chances (Higurashi). Awkward teenage romance is fun to write, hideous murder is fun to write, time loops are fun to write, and this was a great opportunity to combine all three.
Did any stories shift your perception of the characters?
Second Best (Red Dwarf) gave me a little more fondness for the 'back to the start, none of our Rimmer's character growth' Rimmer of series eight, although I still miss hologram Rimmer. (Much like Lister.)
Most overdue story?
I started writing And All the Drawers Were Full (Danganronpa) in response to a kinkmeme prompt seven years ago. I always felt pretty bad that I posted the first part of a fill and then just vanished. Glad I finished it at last, but I'm not sure the prompter will ever see it!
Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?
I really wanted to write a fic where Light's having sex with L and obsessing over whether he's making himself look suspicious, but I dismissed the idea because I can't write sex scenes. Rei and Ginger persuaded me to try writing it anyway, and I ended up with Cornered (Death Note). I suppose I learnt that I shouldn't assume something is beyond me just because it's outside my comfort zone. It's often possible to work around your weaknesses. (Also, even if something's outside your comfort zone, it can be fun to write!)
I've cut the 'What are your fic writing goals for next year?' question at the end because my answer is always the same: write stuff, have fun.