Fanfic Year in Review - 2020

Thanks for the tag, @noirshitsuji ! It took forever to get to this, is it still early enough in 2021 for it to be retrospection time? Magic 8 ball says yes so here we go 😂

1) List of fics completed this year in the order they were finished: Unsurprisingly, not that many (I’m so bad at keeping a schedule, it’s something I’m working on, though), so most fics on this list are one-shots (and I’ll cheekily add one actual fic which was finished in January, but would have been done earlier had I not had exams)

- 24 Marichat May one-shots, which are gathered here on AO3 (c. 28k words)

- Ladynoir July fics: they’re a mix of one-shots and connected fics, all gathered here (c.24k words)

- A not-so-handy situation: a Ladynoir reveal fic, where Ladybug breaks her wrist, written for the September event of the ML Writer’s Guild (c. 3k words)

- Heartbeats: a one-shot where Marinette lands in the ICU after an Akuma attack, and the heart-rate machines give away her feelings for Adrien (c. 5k words)

- You and me against the world (especially sliding doors): an automatic doors Ladynoir reveal - the New York “curse” follows them back to Paris (c. 2k words)

- It’s not over tonight: Another New York special one-shot, in which Ladybug decides to find her partner, if only to tell him there are no hard feelings (c. 4k)

- Better Fate than Never: Hallmark-type fluff, Ladybug and Chat Noir decide to meet up without the masks, years after Hawkmoth has disappeared. They find each other, just not the way they thought they would (written for the MLWG’s December event, c. 7k)

- Series of fluffy oneshots: Ladynoir, Marichat 1, Marichat 2, Marichat 3, Ladrien (still unnamed, will make it to AO3 eventually, one day, maybe)

- Friends who cook together...: University Years - Hawkmoth has been defeated, masks have dropped, Adrien and Marinette have moved into the same building. What started with Marinette trying to help Adrien get healthier eating habits ends with their feelings coming to a boil (c. 17k)

2) Number of words written: 115k-ish, since April 

3) Your most popular fic: Back in December, it was Heartbeats (it has since been overtaken by Friends who cook together...)

4) Your personal fav: This is a really tough question... Even if it isn’t finished, I actually think it’s Dear Chat Noir

5) Your fav scene: Probably the Canal St Martin walk in Heartbeats, in which Adrien figures out that Marinette might like him.

6) A fic or scene that challenged you: The proposal scene in Friends who cook together...; apart from my exams, it was definitely the reason it took so long to finish (I had everything before and everything after written down - I was just missing Adrien’s speech) 

7) A line of writing you’re proud of: “The future may be blue, but it would also be bright.” from day 26 of Ladynoir July

8) A comment that touched you: Tbh most comments I get really touch me because people? taking time to comment? on my fics? makes me feel very giddy

This one, though, from a guest on Chapter 21 of Marichat May, mad me smile a lot though: “ARGH I love the way you set the scene in this one. I felt cozy just reading it. Sometimes I feel like the 'domesticity' vibe in marichat fics is a little forced, but it was just seamless in this chapter. 10/10; positively heartwarming.”

9) Something that inspired your writing: Life, I guess?... Like seriously, anything will do it; the fantastic fandom content we get on here, discussion with MLWG friends, random things I see in the street, songs on the radio... You name it

10) Your proudest accomplishment (that one scene; finally finishing that one fic; posting your first fic; etc): Like Stsi, getting back into writing. It had been a while, and I really missed it! (also, managing to still get good grades despite spending so much time writing; I was fearing a wake-up call at some point, but so far it hasn’t happened, so guess you’re stuck with me for the foreseeable future haha)

11) Do you have any writing goals for the next year? Continue writing regularly (which is the case so far), and finish the fics I start/started (I’m on the right track with You can count on me (I will be there for you), next up will probably be Dear Chat Noir, if I don’t get side-tracked)

Tagging: @theladyfae, @sukker-sugar, @hanaasbananas, @apopcornkernel and @activechataclysme, if you feel like it!

Guilty as Sin? has sounds that make me think of I'm going slightly mad by Queen, which is feels like a neat coincidence (if it even is one) given the overall themes of the album, and more importantly the fact that imagining things that never happened does slowly and quietly make you go mad

In anticipation of THE TORTURED POETS DEPARTMENT I've been (obsessively) relistening to Taylor's albums, making friendship bracelets and lurking around for clues and crumbs (RIP to us who don't have Apple Music/Threads), and here are some thoughts I've been having, in a not necessarily very organised fashion (forgive me, I'm on less than 4h of sleep, but I needed to write this down)

The vibe of the album: obviously the fact that it's very black and white kind of reminds me of Reputation and Folklore, but listening back to Lover, there's also something devastating about looking at it with Daylight in mind :

I could probably write an essay on what I imagine black and white could mean in this context, from something you only see in old pictures (in black and white), something that's completely clear-cut (no grey area, either there is or there isn't, either it's good or it's bad), to something that's associated with some kind of mourning. But there was a period of time when love, for her, was golden - shiny, solid, scintillating, unvaluable, that can't rust.

And now we're back to black and white.

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The quotes we've been privy to from the Spotify library: I haven't been able to not draw parallels with other lyrics...

I want to hypothesise this quote is from Clara Bow, simply because of the use of "she". Beyond the link to breathing, there's just a vibe there I can't shake.

Except that whoever she is walked away, unlike what Taylor did in most situations she describes in her songs, ending up drowning in the aftermath (adding to the death imagery linked to breakups).

It also has a Why She Disappeared vibe.

Again, Daylight. I am so, so afraid of the parallels there are going to be between Lover and this album (starting with the obvious London Boy and So Long, London parallel), mostly because there was so much love in the lyrics of Lover, so much faith in this love. Look at All Of The Girls You Loved Before. It's no wonder a lot of songs are in Taylor's Denial playlist. The uncertainty from his part was already quoted then (Cornelia Street, to only quote one), and yet they, she, went for it. And it's awful to look back and see the signs were actually there, before even Folklore/Evermore. That she maybe had an inkling that she'd be the unlucky one, already.

Screaming, crying, throwing up, etc.

Okay so I don't know if this is just me reading into this because afaik it's the only two times she mentions daggers in her songs. The way I read this is that she perhaps feels like she was a temptress in a situation, stabbed as a result, but the person she's talking to in Tolerate it looked beyond it and even helped her heal from the situation, before turning away, leaving her to wither away.

This one is the one that hurts most, but maybe it's just me projecting. Because it reads a hell of a lot like she was trying to convince herself she was one of the "good ones", pretending she could leave, when she was already too attached. So she waited, making herself a statue, (e)motionless on the outside, slowly but surely crumbling away at the lack of reciprocated love (and maybe the other person did love her; just not enough - after all, "you know there's many different ways that you can kill the one you love; the slowest way is never loving them enough"). And in this situation, you can't help but wonder why you're waiting, because ultimately, if "the good ones never wait", but you do, then does that make you one of the bad ones?... (Again, this resonates a little too much with me atm and it might be me reading too much into it).

This one is giving The Story of Us; the story-telling aspect, this time inviting us to listen in, like a Bard would usher people to listen to their tales. A (Tortured) Poet inviting us to share their woes.

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And, finally:

It's not just the post-mortem of her relationship we're invited to. It's her post-mortem, as per You're Losing Me. Dissecting where it all went wrong; and seeing what's left after it- agony, grief, and poetry.

I can't wait to hear the full album 🤍

You know it's really getting to me that Instagram is pushing threads at any given occasion. Why do we need a new app. Why can't we do with the old ones, or remain on one.

Boy what would I give to have been a fly on the wall during the meeting that lead to the glory of booping day

The concept? Inspired

The execution? Fan-fucking-tastic

@staff I am booping you all on the head <3