#sorry if thats not the right tag i haven't finished the game yet so i'm not plugged into the fandom

[ragecndybars]

persona characters ranked by ability to drive

(i know most of them canonically can't but we're assuming a few years have passed here and they all ended up getting their licenses for the sake of argument)

[lalaurelia]

2023 Fic in Review

Another year gone, so let's see how it was for me writing-wise. I haven't written a lot in English this year because I was still hijacked by the game, and then by the Russian fandom-wide event that stretched on for months, and then the work was hectic - you know, the usual. On top of all the rest that's been going on.

Okay. So. I think it's the first time I'd be counting my Russian-language stories in this review, because without them it's gonna look very sad.

total number of completed stories: 19, but 7 of these are translations, and 4 were, I think, written earlier than 2023 but I don't know the exact date - but I brought them over to Ao3 in 2023, and so be it. +1 micro game for the fandom event.

total word count: 45046 words. And maybe around, like... 10K into the game and the fandom extras.

fandoms written in: It's still exclusively Gotham and Gobblepot.

looking back, did you expect to write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? This was probably one of the years when I was being realistic and thinking I would write very little. But then somehow the event sparked some kind of competitiveness in me that urged me to finish some of my myriad of WIPs and edit the ones that have been lying around ready for years. Oh, and there was this time when I whipped up a story in like an hour or so and completed it five minutes before the fandom event deadline closing and published it mere seconds before the event closed. That was fun XD I wouldn't have done anything like that without that kind of fucked up motivation lol

what’s your own favorite story of the year? You know what, it's probably that quickie one I mentioned previously - К вопросу об устрицах. Yup, sorry, no English translation available yet. It was fun to write though.

did you take any writing risks this year? Well, getting involved in that fandom event was a risk XD But when it comes to writing per se, hm... I suppose The Coffee Place counts - as I've wanted to do an outsider perspective fic for a while, and somehow it mashed up with Coffeeshop AU in my mind, and I kinda liked the result.

do you have any fanfic or profit goals for the new year? This time I'm kind of intrigued by what is meant by 'profit goals' in this question. I guess I'm mildly curious if I'd be able to produce something people would want to pay for - but it is a pipe dream on so many levels right now. So, anyway. Fanfic goals for the new year? Finish at least some of the WIPs. We'll see how it goes from there.

best story of the year? I think it would be Выбор для живых - yeah, sorry, no translation for that one either yet. But it's an alternative take on that one ep where Jim ends up in Valeska's blown up maze. So he's lying buried underground and contemplates things, and Oswald as well, and then rescue comes unexpectedly.

most popular story of the year? Ao3 stats tell me it's Ice, and other things which is not surprising, since it was the first story I put out once the year began. It had some time to accumulate kudos xD

story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: I can't name a single one, to be honest. The ones I've written in Russian aren't very popular, which I expected to happen. The ones in English are being read, so. There's that.

most fun story to write: Hmmm, I guess it would be И кое-что еще, because I needed to write a short and I wanted it to be sexy without being explicit, so I had some little fun with words there.

story with the single sexiest moment: Now that would be Skirting Around, no doubt.

sweetest story: I don't think I had anything particularly sweet written this year. It just wasn't a year for that.

“holy crap, thats wrong, even for you!” story: You know what, I'll just skip this one, because I always give the same answer here. Write whatever you want, just tag it appropriately.

story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters & most unintentionally telling story: Nothing for this one either, sorry.

hardest story to write: I'm afraid it's Skirting Around. I've been stuck at several spots in it for ages, and I'm still not completely satisfied by the ending. I'm not sure if I'm going to do anything about it. We'll see.

biggest disappointment: How little energy I seem to have for writing - doing anything, really. These past years haven't been kind and the emotional drain and constant fear are very exhausting. So every written word is a win. I can't be disappointed with what I manage to create.

biggest surprise: That there are still people I can make happy with my Gobblepot stories. It's really nice when I think about it. So thank you for that.

Not tagging anyone, but I'd be curious to see if you guys do year reviews of your stories.