End of Year Fic Overview 2021
Every year, just for fun, I go back and look over all the fic I wrote in the past twelve months like those fic meme things that used to go around. (I didn’t follow any specific template, but anyone is welcome to use this one if they want). So here are the results for 2021!
I posted a total of 16 complete fics on AO3, with a wordcount totaling 91,342 words. That was not as many fics as last year, but I'm pleased I managed to surpass last year's total (which was just under 85k). This year, I also started keeping a wordcount tracker, which would also include wordcounts from incomplete fics too. I started it in late February so it’s not completely accurate for this year, but the total was 124,422! A lot more words than I expected, given the difficulties of this year.
The fics
1.) 5 times Todoroki thought dorm life was strange + 1 time it felt like home (2556 words) (for Shouto Week)
2.) As the leaves change (11660 words)
3.) Balance and Swing (10091 words)
4.) The Completely Ordinary Lives of Daywalkers, Nightcrawlers, and Other Monsters Who Lurk in the Shadows (13595 words) (for Todoroki Big Bang)
5.) comfort memories (3108 words)
6.) And miles to go before I sleep (2323 words)
7.) Iida Tenya's Getting Ready Guide to Fancy Events (2277 words) (for Bakuiida Week)
8.) Invitation for a vampire (2366 words) (for BNHA Vampire Week)
9.) A Series of Unexpected Battle Declarations (8950 words) (for Bakuiida Week)
10.) all I see is you (3489 words) (for Kacchako Week)
11.) Perfect way to procrastinate (5047 words) (for Pod_Together)
12.) Fated for all eternity (11613 words)
13.) An ever-changing sky above us (2479 words) (for BNHA WLW Week)
14.) Wear it well (3792 words) (for BNHA WLW Week)
15.) Making up the dance as we go (2553 words) (for BNHA WLW Week)
16.) My true love gave to me… (5443 words)
Wow, I really got carried away with long titles this year!
What fandoms did you write for this year?
It was almost completely just My Hero Academia this year. It wasn't intentional to do just one fandom, but I was just drowning in bnha ideas. There are just so many interesting characters to explore, and all the ship weeks kept giving me an abundance of prompts to work with.
For other fandoms, I did manage to post one old hsj fic and I wrote Yu Yu Hakusho fic for the first time! That was fun, even though it's an old fandom that doesn't get a lot of attention these days.
There are a few things from other fandoms that I worked on this year, but they're still incomplete. Maybe next year!
What did you write this year that you wouldn’t have expected last year?
More pairings for bnha! I'm a shameless multishipper, and that really started shining through this year. I wrote bakuiida, tsuchako, and momojirou for the first time, which was a lot of fun to explore different dynamics for different characters.
What was the most challenging thing to write?
All of it 😅 This was not an easy year for writing, mostly due to me having to balance work burnout with my desire to write fic for fun. But I think this year has helped me develop some better ways to cope with that (hopefully).
But in terms of being technically challenging to write, it would be The Completely Ordinary Lives… fic. This was really my first time really feeling successful in doing that experimental documentary style fic. The formatting made me want to tear my hair out, but I think it turned out so well in the end. And I learned some new ways to make fic visually interesting, so that unexpectedly helped me out when posting Iida Tenya’s Getting Ready Guide later in the year
What was the most fun to write?
I always enjoy the silly stuff the most! Fated for All Eternity was a lot of fun just because "5+1 Things" fics always provide a good challenge to see how much you can vary and play around with the main theme. And writing in the fantasy AU adds an extra layer of leeway to play with. (On that note, I think A Series of Unexpected Battle Declarations might have been the second most fun.)
I feel like it’s been a long time since I let myself really go all out in writing humor fics, so I think it was fun to finally get to do that bnha fandom this year.
Favorite opening lines?
The leaves are just starting to change-shifting slowly to bright yellows and oranges and reds-when they first meet Isui.
-As the leaves change
Bakugou dreams of floating.
-all I see is you
Favorite closing lines?
He smiles, with one fang poking out from under his lip, just as he finally finds the right button and the screen cuts to black.
-The Completely Ordinary Lives…
“Good,” she says, “because I’m never gonna stop wearing them.”
-Wear it well
Thing that made you laugh the most?
There are so many choices, but I still crack myself up over this bit in A Series of Unexpected Battle Declarations:
Todoroki shrugs. “Yeah, I wasn’t really interested in listening to you two flirt.”
“It was not flirting!” Iida gasps, scandalized. “It was an insult battle.”
“I’ve been told flirting can take many forms, depending on maturity levels.”
(Bonus thing, but Kaminari’s pull quote from the summary of The Completely Ordinary Lives… is the best joke I’ve written all year, but you have to read the fic first and then go back and read the summary again to notice it)
Thing that made you cry the most?
I’m not going to copy/paste several paragraphs, but it’s the scene in As the leaves change where Isui first gets his quirk, and Todoroki decides he wants Isui to have good first memories of his quirk, unlike what happened to himself. I think this bit is probably the whole turning point for Todoroki in his journey in becoming a parent. Definitely one of the best scenes I wrote all year.
Character you like writing the most?
Last year I said Bakugou, and gave an honorable mention to Mina. And I’d say that’s probably true again this year too. They’re both just really expressive characters that are so fun to play around with. I have so many ideas for them both in 2022!
Character you need to apologize to?
It’s gotta be Yusuke, just because he barely got to appear in Perfect Way to Procrastinate. Don’t worry though, I’ll write something in 2022 to let him say all sorts of snarky insults to people.
Obligatory apology to Daiki… who will never get his chance to shine. LMAO
Favorite story of the year?
It’s so hard to choose this time because I’m really proud of a lot of what I managed to finish in 2021. But I think it’s probably Fated for all eternity. It was a fic that had no deadlines, which meant I could work on it at my own pace. And, like I mentioned earlier, I have so much fun getting to see how many ways I can play around with one theme.
Most underappreciated story of the year?
I’m going to have to mention more than one actually. Because I really wished more people would have checked out Perfect Way to Procrastinate. Ansa did such an excellent job on the podfic part of it, and I’m still a bit disappointed more people didn’t get to experience that.
But also, all my wlw fics for bnha feel very underappreciated too! Why don’t y’all like cute stories about women as much as you like cute stories about guys?? I’m just gonna write more next year and hope more people get interested in these pairings!
Biggest surprise of the year?
I’ll talk about this more in the wordcount section, but I was really surprised I managed to write multiple fics over 10k. Every time I was like “this will only be 3k”, I ended up surpassing that amount by A LOT. I think this is a nice sign though that I’m really getting better at writing descriptions, because in the past, I would just gloss over things that probably needed more attention. And now I’m adding those things and writing a whole lot more to fully tell my stories.
The only downside is that it takes me so much longer to finish anything now LOL
Wordcount Breakdown
0-1k: 0 of 16 (0%)
1k-5k: 9 of 16 (56%)
5k-10k: 3 of 16 (18%)
10k-15k: 4 of 16 (25%)
15k-20k: 0 of 16 (0%)
20k+: 0 of 16 (0%)
So in 2021, my wordcount wasn’t as spread out as it was in 2020. It all kinda clustered in the middle, with no outliers. But overall I’m happy with it. I’m happy to see some longer fics mixed in there with the shorter ones. I feel like I’m telling more “complete” stories when the wordcount is longer, which is why I feel pretty satisfied with the results this year.
What did you learn from your writing this year?
I think what I learned this year was more of a reiteration of something I already knew: there are no limits in writing. Because I branched out so much this year in terms of characters, ships, and even somewhat structure, I was able to remind myself that I can write about anything I want. I had so much fun, for example, writing Balance and Swing. Firstly, because I really love the ochamina pairing and secondly, because I really miss contra dancing. It’s a super niche idea for a not-very-popular pairing, but I enjoyed writing every bit of that fic. It was disappointing that more people didn’t enjoy reading it, but I’m still in the process of learning how to deal with that, so that’s okay.
Goals for 2022?
As usual, looking back at 2021’s goals… I fell short once again. But that’s okay! I’m not getting graded on my inability to check off every box on my list. We’ll try again in 2022.
A few things I want to focus on: finishing at least one long chaptered fic (I just need to stop getting distracted by other fics), getting back to writing for a variety of fandoms (other characters have stories to tell too), writing more wlw fics (because women characters need more attention in fandom!), and getting better at writing endings (something that always causes me a lot of stress when I’m trying to finish a fic).
Also, I’ve told myself I have to finish my kacchako time loop fic or quit writing forever! I’m tired of writing and rewriting it! (Only half-kidding)
…I’ve also been thinking about the Mercenaries AU, but I’m not sure I’ll get back to it this year or ever… we shall see.
Special thanks?
Firstly, a very special thanks to ansa for collaborating with me again for Pod_Together once more! It’s one of the most fun events I’ve participated in, and it was really cool to get to contribute my own voice to the podfic this time too.
And a hearty thank you to everyone who’s left kudos and comments this year. A lot of this year was a struggle, but it really helps to see friends and strangers alike supporting my work. It really means so much to me.
Final thoughts?
Overall, it was a year of ups and downs. There was a stretch during 2021 when I thought I may never complete any fic ever again. But I pushed through that, and I managed to write some things I’m really proud of. And I’ve started on plenty of other stories that I’m looking forward to finishing. Right now, I’m excited to get back to writing!
Cheers to all the stories we’ll create in 2022!
I posted a total of 16 complete fics on AO3, with a wordcount totaling 91,342 words. That was not as many fics as last year, but I'm pleased I managed to surpass last year's total (which was just under 85k). This year, I also started keeping a wordcount tracker, which would also include wordcounts from incomplete fics too. I started it in late February so it’s not completely accurate for this year, but the total was 124,422! A lot more words than I expected, given the difficulties of this year.
The fics
1.) 5 times Todoroki thought dorm life was strange + 1 time it felt like home (2556 words) (for Shouto Week)
2.) As the leaves change (11660 words)
3.) Balance and Swing (10091 words)
4.) The Completely Ordinary Lives of Daywalkers, Nightcrawlers, and Other Monsters Who Lurk in the Shadows (13595 words) (for Todoroki Big Bang)
5.) comfort memories (3108 words)
6.) And miles to go before I sleep (2323 words)
7.) Iida Tenya's Getting Ready Guide to Fancy Events (2277 words) (for Bakuiida Week)
8.) Invitation for a vampire (2366 words) (for BNHA Vampire Week)
9.) A Series of Unexpected Battle Declarations (8950 words) (for Bakuiida Week)
10.) all I see is you (3489 words) (for Kacchako Week)
11.) Perfect way to procrastinate (5047 words) (for Pod_Together)
12.) Fated for all eternity (11613 words)
13.) An ever-changing sky above us (2479 words) (for BNHA WLW Week)
14.) Wear it well (3792 words) (for BNHA WLW Week)
15.) Making up the dance as we go (2553 words) (for BNHA WLW Week)
16.) My true love gave to me… (5443 words)
Wow, I really got carried away with long titles this year!
What fandoms did you write for this year?
It was almost completely just My Hero Academia this year. It wasn't intentional to do just one fandom, but I was just drowning in bnha ideas. There are just so many interesting characters to explore, and all the ship weeks kept giving me an abundance of prompts to work with.
For other fandoms, I did manage to post one old hsj fic and I wrote Yu Yu Hakusho fic for the first time! That was fun, even though it's an old fandom that doesn't get a lot of attention these days.
There are a few things from other fandoms that I worked on this year, but they're still incomplete. Maybe next year!
What did you write this year that you wouldn’t have expected last year?
More pairings for bnha! I'm a shameless multishipper, and that really started shining through this year. I wrote bakuiida, tsuchako, and momojirou for the first time, which was a lot of fun to explore different dynamics for different characters.
What was the most challenging thing to write?
All of it 😅 This was not an easy year for writing, mostly due to me having to balance work burnout with my desire to write fic for fun. But I think this year has helped me develop some better ways to cope with that (hopefully).
But in terms of being technically challenging to write, it would be The Completely Ordinary Lives… fic. This was really my first time really feeling successful in doing that experimental documentary style fic. The formatting made me want to tear my hair out, but I think it turned out so well in the end. And I learned some new ways to make fic visually interesting, so that unexpectedly helped me out when posting Iida Tenya’s Getting Ready Guide later in the year
What was the most fun to write?
I always enjoy the silly stuff the most! Fated for All Eternity was a lot of fun just because "5+1 Things" fics always provide a good challenge to see how much you can vary and play around with the main theme. And writing in the fantasy AU adds an extra layer of leeway to play with. (On that note, I think A Series of Unexpected Battle Declarations might have been the second most fun.)
I feel like it’s been a long time since I let myself really go all out in writing humor fics, so I think it was fun to finally get to do that bnha fandom this year.
Favorite opening lines?
The leaves are just starting to change-shifting slowly to bright yellows and oranges and reds-when they first meet Isui.
-As the leaves change
Bakugou dreams of floating.
-all I see is you
Favorite closing lines?
He smiles, with one fang poking out from under his lip, just as he finally finds the right button and the screen cuts to black.
-The Completely Ordinary Lives…
“Good,” she says, “because I’m never gonna stop wearing them.”
-Wear it well
Thing that made you laugh the most?
There are so many choices, but I still crack myself up over this bit in A Series of Unexpected Battle Declarations:
Todoroki shrugs. “Yeah, I wasn’t really interested in listening to you two flirt.”
“It was not flirting!” Iida gasps, scandalized. “It was an insult battle.”
“I’ve been told flirting can take many forms, depending on maturity levels.”
(Bonus thing, but Kaminari’s pull quote from the summary of The Completely Ordinary Lives… is the best joke I’ve written all year, but you have to read the fic first and then go back and read the summary again to notice it)
Thing that made you cry the most?
I’m not going to copy/paste several paragraphs, but it’s the scene in As the leaves change where Isui first gets his quirk, and Todoroki decides he wants Isui to have good first memories of his quirk, unlike what happened to himself. I think this bit is probably the whole turning point for Todoroki in his journey in becoming a parent. Definitely one of the best scenes I wrote all year.
Character you like writing the most?
Last year I said Bakugou, and gave an honorable mention to Mina. And I’d say that’s probably true again this year too. They’re both just really expressive characters that are so fun to play around with. I have so many ideas for them both in 2022!
Character you need to apologize to?
It’s gotta be Yusuke, just because he barely got to appear in Perfect Way to Procrastinate. Don’t worry though, I’ll write something in 2022 to let him say all sorts of snarky insults to people.
Obligatory apology to Daiki… who will never get his chance to shine. LMAO
Favorite story of the year?
It’s so hard to choose this time because I’m really proud of a lot of what I managed to finish in 2021. But I think it’s probably Fated for all eternity. It was a fic that had no deadlines, which meant I could work on it at my own pace. And, like I mentioned earlier, I have so much fun getting to see how many ways I can play around with one theme.
Most underappreciated story of the year?
I’m going to have to mention more than one actually. Because I really wished more people would have checked out Perfect Way to Procrastinate. Ansa did such an excellent job on the podfic part of it, and I’m still a bit disappointed more people didn’t get to experience that.
But also, all my wlw fics for bnha feel very underappreciated too! Why don’t y’all like cute stories about women as much as you like cute stories about guys?? I’m just gonna write more next year and hope more people get interested in these pairings!
Biggest surprise of the year?
I’ll talk about this more in the wordcount section, but I was really surprised I managed to write multiple fics over 10k. Every time I was like “this will only be 3k”, I ended up surpassing that amount by A LOT. I think this is a nice sign though that I’m really getting better at writing descriptions, because in the past, I would just gloss over things that probably needed more attention. And now I’m adding those things and writing a whole lot more to fully tell my stories.
The only downside is that it takes me so much longer to finish anything now LOL
Wordcount Breakdown
0-1k: 0 of 16 (0%)
1k-5k: 9 of 16 (56%)
5k-10k: 3 of 16 (18%)
10k-15k: 4 of 16 (25%)
15k-20k: 0 of 16 (0%)
20k+: 0 of 16 (0%)
So in 2021, my wordcount wasn’t as spread out as it was in 2020. It all kinda clustered in the middle, with no outliers. But overall I’m happy with it. I’m happy to see some longer fics mixed in there with the shorter ones. I feel like I’m telling more “complete” stories when the wordcount is longer, which is why I feel pretty satisfied with the results this year.
What did you learn from your writing this year?
I think what I learned this year was more of a reiteration of something I already knew: there are no limits in writing. Because I branched out so much this year in terms of characters, ships, and even somewhat structure, I was able to remind myself that I can write about anything I want. I had so much fun, for example, writing Balance and Swing. Firstly, because I really love the ochamina pairing and secondly, because I really miss contra dancing. It’s a super niche idea for a not-very-popular pairing, but I enjoyed writing every bit of that fic. It was disappointing that more people didn’t enjoy reading it, but I’m still in the process of learning how to deal with that, so that’s okay.
Goals for 2022?
As usual, looking back at 2021’s goals… I fell short once again. But that’s okay! I’m not getting graded on my inability to check off every box on my list. We’ll try again in 2022.
A few things I want to focus on: finishing at least one long chaptered fic (I just need to stop getting distracted by other fics), getting back to writing for a variety of fandoms (other characters have stories to tell too), writing more wlw fics (because women characters need more attention in fandom!), and getting better at writing endings (something that always causes me a lot of stress when I’m trying to finish a fic).
Also, I’ve told myself I have to finish my kacchako time loop fic or quit writing forever! I’m tired of writing and rewriting it! (Only half-kidding)
…I’ve also been thinking about the Mercenaries AU, but I’m not sure I’ll get back to it this year or ever… we shall see.
Special thanks?
Firstly, a very special thanks to ansa for collaborating with me again for Pod_Together once more! It’s one of the most fun events I’ve participated in, and it was really cool to get to contribute my own voice to the podfic this time too.
And a hearty thank you to everyone who’s left kudos and comments this year. A lot of this year was a struggle, but it really helps to see friends and strangers alike supporting my work. It really means so much to me.
Final thoughts?
Overall, it was a year of ups and downs. There was a stretch during 2021 when I thought I may never complete any fic ever again. But I pushed through that, and I managed to write some things I’m really proud of. And I’ve started on plenty of other stories that I’m looking forward to finishing. Right now, I’m excited to get back to writing!
Cheers to all the stories we’ll create in 2022!