2023 Review/2024 Visions
1 Jan 2024 22:00![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
extrapenguinNow actually posted on the 1st!
Miraculously, I wrote more in 2023 than in 2022. Only by 2k, but considering the RL year I've had, I was not expecting anything along the lines. I had a nice October, but the rest of the year was kind of 0/10. 2024 would have to expend some serious effort to be as bad.
I posted 47 things to AO3 in 2023. Mostly fic, a bunch of art and vids, also a fanmix and an IF.
Like in previous years, one thing was the most popular thing on all metrics:
The Road that Reaches (SW PT, gen, 11.5k)
This is straightforward gen TPM canon divergence fixit that also does a fixit for Shmi. There's nothing wrong with it. It is perhaps simply safe, and it might be the Battleshipper in me, or perhaps simply being the person who is crawling through the muck of my life, but I want odd, now. I want weird. I want deranged.
...let's look at the runners-up. Perhaps they're more unique.
#2: Hits
Till I Die of Light (TCW, Obi-Wan/Maul, 3k)
The elements of a good fic are present in this Battleship offering. It is simply slightly rushed and a bit overcrowded. It is, however, a touch more weird and also funny. I am capable of being funny. I enjoy being funny. I like it when people like that.
#3
Attempted (TCW, Obi-Wan/Maul, 1k)
Obimaul porn. I think Obimaul is the largest ship I've written this year maybe? That would make sense.
#2: Kudos
Force-Found, Fetter-Free (SW PT, gen, 11.7k)
The better gen TPM canon divergence fixit that is also a fixit for Shmi. Mostly because it's funny in places and also the tripartite POV structure with an escalation of context/narrator knowledge, so that Anakin thinks this is a Jedi come to free them, Maul knows he is no Jedi but thinks he is fooling the Skywalkers, and finally Shmi with her knowledge that Maul is pulling a con and also the ability to recognize things about Maul that Maul himself is refusing to acknowledge. Look, I can too do craft and shit.
Note that the top kudosed one has like 800+ kudos and this has like 140. RIP.
#3
Desert Sons (SW PT, gen, 1.8k)
Oh hey, another good one! Anakin fesses up his Tusken massacre to A'Sharad Hett, the (Legends) canon Tusken Jedi, and then there's discussion of, like, law relativity and restitution. This is a good fic. I like it.
#2: Comment Threads
Force-Found, Fetter-Free again
#3
Intrusion Into (gen comic!)
A dialogueless charcoal comic about the Sandia Labs report on how to deter human intrusion into the nuclear waste storage facility. I like how this one turned out! I should really scan it while I still have scanner access. Also I did the sketching/drafting on a long roll of paper so I managed to have infinite scroll issues in analog. *g*
#2: Bookmarks
Force-Found, Fetter-Free again (52 bookmarks vs the top fic's 369)
#3
Desert Sons again
#2: Subscriptions
Force-Found, Fetter-Free again
#3
Desert Sons again
Apparently some people use subscriptions as private bookmarks or something? IDEK.
Interactive Fiction
I made one. I like it! You play as Maul and you're investigating rumors that Obi-Wan Kenobi has been seen at the local university:
Crossing Over
Art/Comics
I think the Expert Judgement on ... comic with the explorer and her kitty is the best art of mine:
Intrusion Into
Fanmix
I made a fanmix and posted it onto AO3! I should perhaps crosspost it here at some point. It's for the Investigator from the Expanse (books), and thus engages also with the worldbuilding about the Builders. I think I should maybe make a post on the book series actually.
Wake the World for Me
Vid
Y'all already know what I'll rec.
Reincarnation
Fic
Here I have four "main" recs that all do something different.
Force-Found, Fetter-Free is a gen TPM canon divergence fixit and also the longest thing I wrote this year (at under 12k, but w/e). I like the POV structure and the fact that the concept is not the most popular one.
Desert Sons is a gen post-AotC fic where Anakin confesses his Tusken massacre to A'Sharad Hett. It is a serious fic with themes like law relativism and restitution and I think I tackled the topic well.
In the Shadow of Korriban is a gen crossover between SW PT and Babylon 5. I like how I interwove the worldbuilding here.
Starless Void of Ageless Night is 442 words of gen for Europa Report, but readable canon-blind. It's in future tense! I think I did it well. I like being experimental.
There's some other honorable mentions as well – I liked the traps I constructed for the tomb in Beyond the Thunder Sounds (SWTOR), the mythology ~vibes~ of Trust in the Might of a Miracle (SW PT), and the dark mood and such of Ascent (The Luminous Dead).
Comments with critical praise
LOL no. 2023 was terrible IRL and I simply did not have the brain to anything like this.
Finish All That is Solid Melts into Air
No. I did add some words, but I did not have the wherewithal in me to sink into a long word-based project.
Find some workable longform writing meta
No. To be fair, I don't think I tried at all. I just forgot this was a thing I resolved to do and it whooshed out of my brain by the 6th.
Write some fic just for me
Yes! Desert Sons, mostly, and In the Shadow of Korriban, definitely.
Improve my vidding skillz
Yes! I think I leveled up with Begin Again (process notes), and then again with Reincarnation (very brief notes). I should probably post full process notes on Reincarnation at some point.
I've decided to include some RL ones this time, since those are ones I should 100% be able to tick off the next time I'm making this post.
Find love
I'll be moving, possibly internationally, later this year. I'll give Tinder etc a second chance there. I want to love and be loved and be physically close with someone. I want to fuck a hot chick. I guess I can suffer through ten billion awkward first dates that people agree to solely on the basis that I am one of the few people in the queer woman dating pool capable of asking people out.
Do [redacted RL sports thingamajig]
The next stage of commitment, if you will. Redaction because the community is small enough I might be doxxable if I mention it.
Finish the work project
It was supposed to be done in October, but shit broke. I want to be fucking done with it so I can move on with my life.
Make a vid from a baihe short film
Either from something longform, like Legend of Yunze, or a patchwork of different sources like for the reincarnation romance project (notes the first, notes the second).
Finish my![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
vid_bingo card
This will include:
- Return to the Sea. A Rey/Leia vid to Sirens - Of Blood and Water by Epica. Technically done, but I need to rip out and redo the first verse.
- character study of [redacted] to [redacted] by [redacted]. I just need to clip it.
- the reincarnation romance project above to Until Eternity by Blackbriar. I need to decide on the source set and figure out how to run cleancredits.
- 00's music. Possibly a Rey vid to either Mortalitas Part IV: From Beneath You It Devours by Nemesea or Show Me the Way by Elis (or the shorter version or original version of the latter). The music deep dive was worth it, esp. when I realized Metal Archives has a Related Bands tab for each entry! Though Elis I found when it was mentioned in a review for a completely different album, so you should read the reviews as well. :)
Write some fic that is weird/wild/experimental
I like doing this. I want to stretch my wings. I want to become me, blobbing out of the boxes of typicality and write something utterly and completely deranged.
AO3 Stats
| Stat | 2023 | 2022 then | 2022 now | All years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| User Subscriptions: | 235 | 203 | - | - |
| Kudos: | 2002 | 2826 | 4449 | 43877 |
| Comment Threads: | 147 | 178 | 220 | 2960 |
| Bookmarks: | 619 | 648 | 1117 | 9631 |
| Subscriptions: | 60 | 77 | 113 | 1218 |
| Word Count: | 70555 | 68204 | 68204 | 903014 |
| Hits: | 15074 | 22390 | 35448 | 456741 |
Miraculously, I wrote more in 2023 than in 2022. Only by 2k, but considering the RL year I've had, I was not expecting anything along the lines. I had a nice October, but the rest of the year was kind of 0/10. 2024 would have to expend some serious effort to be as bad.
I posted 47 things to AO3 in 2023. Mostly fic, a bunch of art and vids, also a fanmix and an IF.
Popularity
Like in previous years, one thing was the most popular thing on all metrics:
The Road that Reaches (SW PT, gen, 11.5k)
As the Council sits down on Naboo to consider the newly-knighted Obi-Wan Kenobi's request to take young Anakin Skywalker as his padawan, they're informed of what transpired on Tatooine – and that Anakin used to be a slave. Mace Windu goes to interview the young child to confirm this, and gets rather more than he signed up for.
This is straightforward gen TPM canon divergence fixit that also does a fixit for Shmi. There's nothing wrong with it. It is perhaps simply safe, and it might be the Battleshipper in me, or perhaps simply being the person who is crawling through the muck of my life, but I want odd, now. I want weird. I want deranged.
...let's look at the runners-up. Perhaps they're more unique.
#2: Hits
Till I Die of Light (TCW, Obi-Wan/Maul, 3k)
Maul's ship crashes in an upcoming snowstorm during his pursuit of Kenobi. He makes his way through the snow to a sheltered cabin and discovers an all new side to his nemesis.
The elements of a good fic are present in this Battleship offering. It is simply slightly rushed and a bit overcrowded. It is, however, a touch more weird and also funny. I am capable of being funny. I enjoy being funny. I like it when people like that.
#3
Attempted (TCW, Obi-Wan/Maul, 1k)
As soon as Maul's new, lifelike prosthetics are installed, he's off to hunt down and kill Kenobi. Though perhaps he should've examined the sensitivities first...
Obimaul porn. I think Obimaul is the largest ship I've written this year maybe? That would make sense.
#2: Kudos
Force-Found, Fetter-Free (SW PT, gen, 11.7k)
Sidious has a vision of Jedi landing on Tatooine and thus sends Maul there while the invasion of Naboo is getting started. While on Tatooine waiting for the Jedi, however, Maul's plans get completely derailed.
The better gen TPM canon divergence fixit that is also a fixit for Shmi. Mostly because it's funny in places and also the tripartite POV structure with an escalation of context/narrator knowledge, so that Anakin thinks this is a Jedi come to free them, Maul knows he is no Jedi but thinks he is fooling the Skywalkers, and finally Shmi with her knowledge that Maul is pulling a con and also the ability to recognize things about Maul that Maul himself is refusing to acknowledge. Look, I can too do craft and shit.
Note that the top kudosed one has like 800+ kudos and this has like 140. RIP.
#3
Desert Sons (SW PT, gen, 1.8k)
Anakin Skywalker comes to A'Sharad Hett's door with a water-filled gourd, as if in repayment for a favor, and a grim expression.
Oh hey, another good one! Anakin fesses up his Tusken massacre to A'Sharad Hett, the (Legends) canon Tusken Jedi, and then there's discussion of, like, law relativity and restitution. This is a good fic. I like it.
#2: Comment Threads
Force-Found, Fetter-Free again
#3
Intrusion Into (gen comic!)
An intrepid explorer goes to a location marked oddly on an ancient map, accompanied by her cat.
A dialogueless charcoal comic about the Sandia Labs report on how to deter human intrusion into the nuclear waste storage facility. I like how this one turned out! I should really scan it while I still have scanner access. Also I did the sketching/drafting on a long roll of paper so I managed to have infinite scroll issues in analog. *g*
#2: Bookmarks
Force-Found, Fetter-Free again (52 bookmarks vs the top fic's 369)
#3
Desert Sons again
#2: Subscriptions
Force-Found, Fetter-Free again
#3
Desert Sons again
Apparently some people use subscriptions as private bookmarks or something? IDEK.
Self-recs
Interactive Fiction
I made one. I like it! You play as Maul and you're investigating rumors that Obi-Wan Kenobi has been seen at the local university:
Crossing Over
Art/Comics
I think the Expert Judgement on ... comic with the explorer and her kitty is the best art of mine:
Intrusion Into
Fanmix
I made a fanmix and posted it onto AO3! I should perhaps crosspost it here at some point. It's for the Investigator from the Expanse (books), and thus engages also with the worldbuilding about the Builders. I think I should maybe make a post on the book series actually.
Wake the World for Me
Vid
Y'all already know what I'll rec.
Reincarnation
Fic
Here I have four "main" recs that all do something different.
Force-Found, Fetter-Free is a gen TPM canon divergence fixit and also the longest thing I wrote this year (at under 12k, but w/e). I like the POV structure and the fact that the concept is not the most popular one.
Desert Sons is a gen post-AotC fic where Anakin confesses his Tusken massacre to A'Sharad Hett. It is a serious fic with themes like law relativism and restitution and I think I tackled the topic well.
In the Shadow of Korriban is a gen crossover between SW PT and Babylon 5. I like how I interwove the worldbuilding here.
Starless Void of Ageless Night is 442 words of gen for Europa Report, but readable canon-blind. It's in future tense! I think I did it well. I like being experimental.
There's some other honorable mentions as well – I liked the traps I constructed for the tomb in Beyond the Thunder Sounds (SWTOR), the mythology ~vibes~ of Trust in the Might of a Miracle (SW PT), and the dark mood and such of Ascent (The Luminous Dead).
2023 Resolutions & did I do them
Comments with critical praise
LOL no. 2023 was terrible IRL and I simply did not have the brain to anything like this.
Finish All That is Solid Melts into Air
No. I did add some words, but I did not have the wherewithal in me to sink into a long word-based project.
Find some workable longform writing meta
No. To be fair, I don't think I tried at all. I just forgot this was a thing I resolved to do and it whooshed out of my brain by the 6th.
Write some fic just for me
Yes! Desert Sons, mostly, and In the Shadow of Korriban, definitely.
Improve my vidding skillz
Yes! I think I leveled up with Begin Again (process notes), and then again with Reincarnation (very brief notes). I should probably post full process notes on Reincarnation at some point.
2024 Resolutions
I've decided to include some RL ones this time, since those are ones I should 100% be able to tick off the next time I'm making this post.
Find love
I'll be moving, possibly internationally, later this year. I'll give Tinder etc a second chance there. I want to love and be loved and be physically close with someone. I want to fuck a hot chick. I guess I can suffer through ten billion awkward first dates that people agree to solely on the basis that I am one of the few people in the queer woman dating pool capable of asking people out.
The next stage of commitment, if you will. Redaction because the community is small enough I might be doxxable if I mention it.
Finish the work project
It was supposed to be done in October, but shit broke. I want to be fucking done with it so I can move on with my life.
Either from something longform, like Legend of Yunze, or a patchwork of different sources like for the reincarnation romance project (notes the first, notes the second).
Finish my
vid_bingo cardThis will include:
- Return to the Sea. A Rey/Leia vid to Sirens - Of Blood and Water by Epica. Technically done, but I need to rip out and redo the first verse.
- character study of [redacted] to [redacted] by [redacted]. I just need to clip it.
- the reincarnation romance project above to Until Eternity by Blackbriar. I need to decide on the source set and figure out how to run cleancredits.
- 00's music. Possibly a Rey vid to either Mortalitas Part IV: From Beneath You It Devours by Nemesea or Show Me the Way by Elis (or the shorter version or original version of the latter). The music deep dive was worth it, esp. when I realized Metal Archives has a Related Bands tab for each entry! Though Elis I found when it was mentioned in a review for a completely different album, so you should read the reviews as well. :)
Write some fic that is weird/wild/experimental
I like doing this. I want to stretch my wings. I want to become me, blobbing out of the boxes of typicality and write something utterly and completely deranged.
no subject
Date: 2024-01-01 20:21 (UTC)I'm glad you posted this write-up, because I'd missed your Rey vid and it was amazing!
no subject
Date: 2024-01-01 20:26 (UTC)no subject
Date: 2024-01-02 18:04 (UTC)