#AO3 wrapped 2023

[sitp-recs]

My AO3 Wrapped: Drarry Recs

This year I’ve embraced a change of pace and read way less than I intended to. This made me feel a bit disconnected from fandom but also allowed me to put this list together in record time so let’s not complain too much 😂 this is shorter and lacking my usual commentary but I didn’t want to break the tradition of sharing my fave reads of the year! Be it for their creativity or peak romance, these 16 amazing fics made my heart beat faster and got me even more in love with Drarry. I’ve read most of them in the first half of the year and it was interesting to see so many fics over 40k, as my usual sweet spot is 10k - 20k. I love the mix of tropes featured here and am very excited to rec authors I’m reading for the first time. ps: I haven’t included any Erised fics since the fest is still ongoing.

Thank you dear creators for sharing so many brilliant works with us this year! 2023 wasn’t my best year fandom-wise, but life has been so generous in other areas that I can’t help but feel humbled today. I wish everyone a lovely start to the new year! As always, please mind the tags and take some time to shower these authors with the appreciation they deserve. Oh, and stay tuned for a rare pair list sometime soon ;)

🍆 Snug by @moonflower-rose (E, 6k)

8th year | touch-starved Harry | soft cock kink

Potter can't keep his hands off himself. Draco can't look away.

🧩 Muscle Memory by @corvuscrowned (E, 8k)

curse breaking | partners to lovers | memory magic

There's something just beneath the surface, just at the periphery of Harry's mind. They've been here before — they've done this before. If only he could remember it.

👹 draco malfoy's substitute murder service by @oknowkiss (E, 10k)

odd jobs | D/s undertones | open ending

When Harry joins the Curse Breakers shortly after his twenty-fifth birthday, he’s surprised to find himself assigned to the Department of Creatures, Cryptids, and Associated Calamities.

🏰 the earth from a distance by spqr (E, 15k)

time travel | Wizarding history | only one bed

“Well,” Harry said gamely, once they’d managed to find the Leaky Cauldron – still under construction but mercifully open for business – and he’d turned up a few knuts from his pockets, enough to get them a room for the night, “it could be worse.”

🎚️ O Come, All Ye Faithful by @toomuchplor (E, 20k)

vicar Draco | established relationship | Church of England

Aunt Petunia died, that was what began everything. Or rather, Aunt Petunia was dying. In the act of dying. In which Draco finds faith in the church, and Harry finds faith in Draco.

🎄 Waking Up Slow by @sweet-s0rr0w and @ihopeyoubothstaysafefromharm (E, 22k)

shop owner Draco | summer romance | light angst

'Twas the night before Christmas, although it’s July / Draco’s a shopkeeper, no-one knows why / There’s hiking and witch caves, freak snowfalls and more / Bad Christmas jumpers, nosy neighbours galore / Narcissa’s here too, but… something’s amiss / And what’s in those chocolates that’s making them kiss?

🚬 Sun Thief by @floydig and BlackRose532 (E, 28k)

slice of life | fast sexual burn | dark humour

It’s 2005, and Draco Malfoy says, “Fuck the Ministry,” Harry works as a handyman in muggle London, and Draco should really stop pissing off the Squib gangs.

🍷 Winner Takes It All by @skeptiquewrites (E, 41k)

break up make up | down & out Draco | hurt/comfort

As with all his friends’ wagers, it starts small. Fifty Galleons for one kiss from Harry Potter is easily done.

🏖️ LA, Who Am I To Love You? by @epitomereally (E, 42k)

Draco in the Muggle World | pining Harry | recreational drug use

Harry’s summer in LA is not going as expected. Pansy Parkinson keeps inviting him to parties in the Hollywood Hills and harassing him to finally go to the physical therapist, Blaise Zabini keeps slipping new strains of his company’s magical weed into Harry’s pockets in hopes of an endorsement, and Draco Malfoy keeps having sex with everyone but Harry.

🫃Shine On, You Crazy Diamond by @lagerloutfic (E, 42k)

fwb to lovers | gay awakening (Harry) | mpreg (Draco)

Harry has probably always wanted Draco, it just took him a few years to figure that out. A story about the joy of discovering exactly who you are and how easy it can be once you do.

🚣‍♀️ Our Objective Remains Unchanged by @citrusses (E, 46k)

rowing AU | enemies to lovers | university setting

Harry Potter, returning member of the Oxford University Boat Club, has two goals for the spring of 2005: beat Cambridge, and beat Draco Malfoy. Perhaps not in that order.

🧶 Polar Night/Midnight Sun by @toomuchplor (E, 54k)

cabin fic | wintery vibes | only one bed

Harry travels to arctic Norway on the trail of dragon egg poachers, only to find he's been assigned to work alongside the only NorMagPol Auror north of sixty: one Draco Malfoy.

🎩 Nights With You by @the-sinking-ship (E, 58k)

holiday fic | fake relationship | mutual pining

Draco is mortified when moments prior to departing for the most anticipated destination wedding of the year, he is cruelly dumped. But when he learns that Harry Potter has, at long last, split with his horrible boyfriend, Draco is certain his luck has changed.

👮🏻‍♂️Rookie Moves + Again And More So by peu_a_peu (E, 75k)

auror partners | slow burn | humour

Aurors Potter and Malfoy crack the case.

🖼️ where all the veins meet by @saxamophone (E, 146k)

sad bois | Grimmauld Place | found family | 8th year

It's the summer of 1998. The battle is over, and Voldemort is dead, but Harry still has more questions than answers. Who is he without a piece of Voldemort's soul in his head? What is he supposed to do now?

📼 Always Already by @aibidil (E, 170k)

time travel | forced proximity | mutual pining

Harry and Draco are perfectly fine, separately minding their business in 2004, when the Unspeakables conscript them into service... in the First War against Voldemort.

[evelinessa]

AO3 Wrapped 2023

I did this last year, but had shared on Twitter instead. Canva template was made by @/cassibee_ on Twitter. With a link for the template in this tweet, if you wanted to try it yourself.

Named fics for AO3 Wrapped 2023:

Mile(s) High Club - Narumitsu | Angst & Fluff & Smut *18+ NSFW*

Tasked with assisting Interpol in a dangerous mission, Miles boards a plane bound for Germany. Against Miles' wishes, Phoenix accompanies him. But before they reach their destination, they'll have to work through an unexpected situation they find themselves in—thirty-five thousand feet in the air.

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not - Narumitsu | Fluff & Angst

As a child, Phoenix plays a game to determine if Edgeworth loves him back. Twenty years later, he plays once more.

After All This Time - Narumitsu | Angst

Miles Edgeworth knocks on Phoenix Wright's door, one year to the day he lost his badge.

To Propose (Un)traditionally - Narumitsu | Fluff & Humor

Phoenix learns of an old Edgeworth family tradition, wherein they always get married to someone they defended in court. Coincidently, Iris' prison release is drawing near. Phoenix knows exactly what he needs to do to resolve this issue.

All That Remains - Narumitsu | Angst *Major Character Death*

In the aftermath of The Time Loop Ritual, Miles is left to deal with everything that transpired.

Halloween Magic - Gen | Narumitsu | Fluff & Angst

Trucy is in her first semester of college. Living in a dorm several hours away from home—away from all her family and friends—she's finding it difficult to adjust. Even the approach of her favorite holiday, Halloween, isn't bringing her joy. Sensing the change in their daughter, Phoenix and Miles do what they can to lift her spirits.

Nothing too wild here, but as always, please check tags before reading! 🥰

[innytoes]

ao3 wrapped: 5, ooh 16, aaaand 19 :D

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected?

The Werewoof AU! Way more people read AND commented on it than I thought, considering I was very upfront that I only wrote it for the werewolf orgy and the other plot and fluff just... happened.

16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

Because I participated in Knot In My Name and posted all the fics separately for maximum AI Scraping Bot Chaos, it's Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics.

The second if Fluff, which is fair. I do love my fluff.

19. What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

I'd love to write some Rayleb. I've never actually done it, but I love the idea of Best Dad Ray Molina and 'Oh God I Got Custody Of My Nephew Now What' Caleb together. (Or better yet, some ELSE write me that.)

[orchidyoonkook]

So I didn’t even know this was a thing until I saw the wonderful and incredibly talented @theharrowing post about it, so!!

Here’s my AO3 stats!!

How cool is this!?? I had to Google what I couple things were but!?? I’m actually so pleased with this!??

Yeah. Definitely super cool!

[killerandhealerqueen]

ao3 wrapped 2023

Thought this would be a fun little thing to do at the end of this year!

Works Published: 42

Word Count:  971,046

Hits:  32,075

Bookmarks:  272

Most Popular by Kudos: 恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer

Most Hits: 恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer

Longest:  恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer | currently sitting at 120 chapters and 219,809 words

Shortest: Dancing in the Rain | 1,198 words

Most Comments: 恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer

Fic that made me cry:

恨君不似江楼月 | Killer and Healer

This damn fic will always make me cry, just because I'm reliving all of the emotions that I experienced when I first watched it except I'm feeling more because I know what's going to happen

Fic that made me smile:

Dancing in the Rain

It's just a cute little short and fluffy fic of Jiang Yuelou and Chen Yuzhi dancing in the rain. What's not to love about that?

Gifts: None

Collaborations: None

Events: None

Underrated: Um...I'd say Stolen Hearts but that's just because it's Junchun (but I love them)

Coming in 2024:

Hopefully some finished fics as well as some new fics. I've got a lot of good ideas for next year, so I'm really excited for y'all to read them

Tagging: @fourth-quartet @hils79 @clawbehavior @ahhhnorealnamesallowed @dramaloverrants @missfangirll @godotismissingx @zennialemo and anyone else who sees this and wants to play

[pipitwrites]

2023 fanworks round-up

taken from @francophonesfictions, thank you for creating a formatting template, hehehe. sticking to the things that made their way to my ao3...

the fics:

1 • but i like you, we can howl at the moon (piarles, explicit, 2.4k) -- posted incredibly on january 1, 2023

“Usually, I am better at controlling it.” “Usually,” Charles repeats numbly. Pierre smiles, rueful. “It is harder with you.”

2 • in faith (sebchal, mature, 1.8k)

At his side now, Charles sat taller than Sebastian with a weariness in his sunlit eyes that belied his relative youth and beauty. A simple golden circlet lay nestled in his hair, his only adornment. "You might smile," Sebastian whispered, the rough edge of his untamed beard brushing against Charles's cheek. "One might think you are at your funeral."

3 • this little space in between (chalex, teen, 2k)

When he reaches the station, Alex finds Charles curled up with his knees against his chest on the lone splintering bench by the platform, pushing a roller bag back and forth with the tip of his shoe.

4 • in my ribs and under my chest (piarles, explicit, 2.8k)

"I already know what you look like naked," Pierre reminds him with a smirk and Charles flushes at the implication, which is stupid. They've been living out of each other's pockets since they were children, before Charles had ever considered what it might be like to be wrapped up in Pierre. "I am not," Charles finally admits. "Not naked." Pierre's eyebrows climb up his face again, intrigued.

5 • a thing most new (piarles, explicit, 3.6k)

Pierre comes back home with a mustache. It is neatly trimmed, following the line of his full mouth. Charles feels as if he is greeting a stranger when Lorenzo comes back from the station with Pierre in tow. He hangs back toward the end of the hallway—everyone in the house has come out to welcome Pierre back from his first year away at university, popular as he was with the rest of the staff.

6 • as unchanging as the sea (piarles, mature, 2k)

Like most of the petits rats, Charles keeps a small box of personal effects in the dressing rooms. A bit of powder and a nub of rouge for his cheeks, a bundle of letters from home, a sachet of dried herbs from his grandmother’s garden that has long lost its scent. There is a cross embroidered on the yellowed cloth and although Charles no longer attends mass, it is still dear to him as is the thin gold crucifix that he hides in a loose panel at the bottom of the wooden box. warnings: implied off-stage sex work with coercion/violence, typical of the historical period/setting. this is non-graphic and obliquely referenced in the text.

7 • little bright things (piarles, explicit, 2.2k)

The skirt is too short, stealthily taken from the box of outgrown things Marie, the gardener’s daughter, had packed up to donate to the church. It barely covers Charles’s ass, hem skimming the tops of his thighs, but the waist had just fit with a cream-colored polo shirt tucked in. Charles’s professors might have scolded him about the contrasting whites, but they aren’t here right now. It is just Charles and the moonlight and the soft strains of music filtering in through the high windows. And, of course, Pierre.

8 • give a kiss, get a cab (chalex, explicit, 1.5k)

Alex nearly spits out her drink when she spots Charles in a corner by the windows. Charles has more than put in the effort tonight, wearing a glittery tight little mini skirt and strappy sandals that show off the long line of her legs and the pert curve of her ass where it meets her thighs.

9 • the bride of gévaudan (piarles, explicit, 12k)

At the altar, Charles’s hands trembled as he took the cup of sweet wine from the priest and drank. It was only a small sip, but he felt the rush of heat spreading from his stomach, making him dizzy in a matter of seconds. There was a soft tickle at the back of his hand, barely even a touch. The tip of the Wolf’s tail swayed back at Charles’s elbow. Startled, Charles met the Wolf’s eyes. They were a shocking shade of icy blue and almost human in their regard.

10 • a blessing, a fable (sebchal, explicit, 6.8k)

“I carry a message from the abbot of Maranello,” Brother Charles announced, voice ringing across the courtyard like a bell. He wore the short white tunic of a novice under his cloak, which was enough to set Sebastian on edge. As far as Sebastian knew, Maranello did not send initiates on missions before they had taken their full vows. There were too many temptations outside of the abbey walls, the former abbot had told Sebastian once, his mouth loose with wine and good humor. Brother Charles would have been a temptation himself, long dark lashes sweeping across his delicately carved cheekbones. His eyes were bright and unguarded as they met Sebastian’s without a hint of fear.

11 • a christmas reel (piarles, teen, 6.5k)

When his girlfriend had first told him she wasn’t coming with him anymore to Nicolas’s wedding, Pierre had been confused, worried even that something urgent had happened—a death in the family, perhaps. It had only been when she had failed to answer, unusually hesitant, that it had become clear to him that there was nothing wrong—except them. It’s not just this, she had said, unusually somber, and Pierre had understood. So Pierre had come home the night before with just a single suitcase and a long garment bag holding his best suit.

the ficlets:

double entendre (piarles, explicit, 528 words) (yes... this was me...)

sovereignty (piarles, mature, 499 words)

a sea-change (piarles, teen, 473 words)

EN-20 (sebchal, teen, 461 words)

like water to wine (piarles, explicit, 671 words)

like you a little (chalex, general, 595 words)

let me crack the code (piarles, teen, 788 words)

total # of completed works: eleven works that i would say are finished, plus seven ficlets of varying lengths

total word count: 47,936, which is, like. an insane amount of words for me. i've been visited by the chuse (charles muse) sdfkljgkjli

what’s your own favorite creation of the year: "a thing most new" and "give a kiss, get a cab," which speak to different parts of my soul.

do you have any goals for the new year: just to continue to have fun!!!! sdfkljfk i'm going to be honest and say i've never approached writing fic for myself as like. an exercise for honing any sort of craft.

most popular creation of the year: by hits, "in my ribs and under my chest," aka the corset fic... but by kudos, "but i like you, we can howl at the moon" just edges out ahead (ha!).

under-appreciated creation of the year: i'm so thankful for any bit of love & appreciation i have received tbh!!! if i had to choose one thing... perhaps "a blessing, a fable" because i had this idea percolating in my mind for so long, that it getting out there in the world even in the form that it is in is a minor miracle to me sdfkljdslkfjljg

most fun thing to make: "a thing most new" and "give a kiss, get a cab" again sdflkjsdlkfj or honestly any of my off-the-cuff ficlets which usually come out of me being extra ridiculous and self-indulgent.

most unintentionally telling thing: um. perhaps "little bright things."

biggest surprise: i'm not going to lie... i did not think "double entendre" would garner the attention it did when i somewhat shamefully posted it on anon. but i understand. we are all holding hands together and wanting to see charles leclerc be [sirens blast by].

[michelleelizabethtanner]

16, 28, and 29 for AO3 wrapped!

Hey! Tyty for the ask ❤️❤️❤️

16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag?

So far my most common addl tag has been “cannon compliant.” Which makes sense, because AU has been a journey for me. I just feel so rooted in who these characters are in canon, find that the magic centers around who they are in these particular circumstances, and I have a lot of trouble finding a connection to them in circumstances or settings that remove me too far from their canonic characterizations. There are fics by others that have immersed me and allowed my rigid mind to see the Brio magic in unlikely circumstances. But in my own writing, this has been difficult. I’ve been practicing though!!! I made that baby fic. Which kinda keeps them canonically themselves mostly, I think. Except they have a baby. So maybe that’s more canon divergent than straight AU. My current WIP is a full AU, though, and it’s breaking my brain. Part of my struggle is that I have such a hard time accepting Brio as not really Brio. Or Brio but different. The “Rio would never” runs through my mind incessantly and I keep having to set the work aside because I don’t like him like that. (I honestly just wanna post the done pieces of it already so there’s an element of not going back. Because otherwise I keep wanting to just scrap it.) So goal for 2024 is to finish that AU and get more comfortable with actually having an imagination. 😂

28. Favorite work you wrote this year?

I think My Girl is my favorite work of the year. It was the most challenging (at least of the completed works), and as I mentioned before, the most autobiographical. It’s so funny that the trope I was the most against has come to be my own favorite work. I think I also used the most sophisticated (and let’s not get too excited here, it still wasn’t anything that would pass a professional edit) writing conventions in this work. I really enjoy stories told from the present gazing into the past to give us a better perspective on the present. So I wanted to try that for myself and run it through an entire work. I had done some of that kind of style in Rough Night a bit, and those actually usually ended up being the best-received chapters that I liked the best too. So I gave it a shot. Some elements came out just as I had hoped and I’m really proud of myself for being able to “make a thing the way I think is a nice way to make a thing.” Other aspects didn’t come out quite so elegantly, and there are certainly plenty cringey, unreadable (to me) parts where it’s just so glaring where I went too heavy-handed on the descriptiveness, where quiet moments just stretch without much meaning because I wasn’t sure exactly how to give them appropriate weight.

29. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year?

Ok, I’m gonna seem so over the top here, but this one right here, from My Girl:

Not because it was some poignant piece or anything, but because this is the secret conversation, the unspoken sentiment I feel like I needed, and the type of support I needed in those middle-of-the-night hours when nothing’s really wrong, the baby is asleep, but you still don’t know how you can keep going on like this. When living “like this” is aaaaaalmost not worth it and maybe not living at all would finally allow you the reprieve and let you rest. I gave Beth the voice I couldn’t find for myself. And I gave Rio the emotional intelligence to really hear her without personalizing it. Anyway, super dramatic but definitely cathartic to write.

AO3 Wrapped

[tokuvivor]

1, 11, 18 for ao3 wrapped

1. How many words have you written this year?

63,818.

11. What work took you the longest to write?

One Night Ultimate Duck (Or Hummingbird, or Parrot). Approximately 9 months in all for 4 chapters.

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

Probably Gladstone. I definitely wanted to write in his luck, but didn’t want to be over-the-top with it. There were really multiple aspects that I really wanted to do my best with when it came to him, especially considering it was for my Secret Santa story.

[sapphicscholar]

✨ao3 wrapped 2023✨

Tagged by @lilolilyr - thanks for kicking it off!

Works published: 9 (much lower than in years past and a testament to how much time the job market + wrapping up the dissertation have taken)

Word Count: 57,926 - this is my first ever year since getting an ao3 account where I dropped below a 6-figure number with most other years averaging ~300k or 2 years between rounds of grad school with 600k+ words each (lmaoooo truly laughable amounts of free time compared to now)

Extra Stats:

Most popular by kudos: Two corpses. Everything's fine. (Hacks post-s2 murder mystery party)

Most popular by hits: see me in hindsight (Hacks post-s2 dream AU)

Longest: indulgence (Julia, Blanche x Judith) coming in just barely shy of 14k words

Shortest: (coming apart) at the seams (Julia, Blanche x Judith smutty missing scene one-shot) at 1,859

Most Comments: adrift with 34 comment (although it's a multi-chapter, so a bit of a leg up there, that I will get back to after i have some real work done)

Fics that made me cry: none sorry haha

Fics that made me smile: I like to think all of them did! There's a joy in creating something!

gifts:

- tangled up with you all night from the very person who tagged me! I *still* have this in my AO3 to read 😭 I think I've read maybe 3 fics all year with how much work has been kicking my ass

-and I gifted flicker to @trying-to-get-somewhere-real as our lovely champion of the Judith x Blanche fandom <3

collaborations: none this year! the handful of things I've written have been mostly unexpected time I carved out for myself (some of which perhaps I shouldn't have taken but ya know...) so I wouldn't have wanted to collaborate with anyone and subject them to the whims of this very hectic year

events: I organized the Hacks Week 2023 fandom event and added my Good, Tomorrow fic to the AO3 collection!

Consider yourself tagged if you'd like to participate! I know lots of people are traveling and with family and friends this time of year, but it's always fun to see what other people got up to during a year I feel like i've largely missed in fandom (not in a sad way, more just in a literally: I was so logged off/out that I straight up didn't know what was up haha)

[stillpartofthisworld]

AO3 Wrapped (but this one works)

This is a code I created that will essentially let you generate an "Ao3 Wrapped" of any year your account has been active in. I know there are other codes out there that also do this but I personally have never gotten them to work; specifically, this code is a re-tooling of klipklapper's code, with code also being borrowed from tessmonical's work to get the login stuff to work. The biggest difference is that I got this to run on all years, not just 2023. I also plan on expanding this a bit futher when I can (adding fun little tidbits I can find in the data, creating video like Spotify's Wrapped using MoviePy, etc.)

This is what the first half of the code looks like; there are little play buttons beside each step that you simply have to run and input things when asked.

The bottom half (with some of my results):

Since the code has to go through your entire history (and only then filter for the year), this may take longer for some users; there will be times where AO3 will also send back a retry in a few minutes message, but the code will handle this! Just be patient :)

[i-write-hurt-not-comfort]

my AO3 wrapped for 2023

i'm posting this as a tiktok but thought i'd put the actual slides here. note i still haven't finished writing my final fic of 2023 so technically december would be about 8k higher but well, i can't include that.

[three--rings]

My 2023 AO3 Wrapped

Surprised by some things, like the number of words. I wouldn't have called that much that I actually published. These numbers feel mostly fine in terms of engagement, until I compare it to a different year and these numbers look tiny.

Get a blank version by OP to fill out here.

[innytoes]

For ao3 wrapped: I'm late so just take this as an excuse to answer any questions you really wanted but didn't get ❤️

I'm using this one to shout about all the birthday gifts I got on AO3, because I was spoiled this year. Friends know that all of these are in my scrapbook.

25. Did you receive any gifts this year?

Growing old can go to hell by @invisibleraven Set in the 'Reggie is the one who survived' universe, with Rose/Ray/Reggie.

The Birthday Gift by @floating-in-the-blue Where Yeo was like 'I'm going to make Caleb/Alex/Willie a tag on ao3 so help me' and I enabled and then got smut for my birthday.

And not on ao3 but still: this delightful Ray/Reggie fic by @jatp-spinsb where Reggie is like 'oh yeah Luke my photographer boyfriend can help capture your proposal to Julie' and then OOPS IT'S MR MOLINA. REGGIE YOU'RE DATING JULIE'S DAD????

And of course art of Caleb Furbington by @jmrothwell

[f1amboyant]

17, 19 and 28! 🩵

Hi anon! Thank you for the ask 🩵

ao3 wrapped [writers edition]

17. Your favorite character to write this year?

Carlos. He is such the perfect blend of dorky and soft and sexy and angsty. I just love writing him so much even though going through my works, I realize that I usually write from Charles' pov. That needs to change, we need more Carlos' pov!

(Also, shoutout to bottom!Carlos, truly my favorite this year ❤️)

19. What’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

Versainz. I love them so much. I just need an idea to write about. Any suggestions?

28. Favorite work you wrote this year?

Argh! That's so hard to choose! As I go over my works, I keep changing my mind 🫣 So, let's say Tell me we have it. I'm really happy with how it turned out, capturing the high and giddiness of the Monza podium, complicated feelings between teammates and an awkward love confession.

(But I also love all the a/b/o fics I wrote, don't make me choose 😭)

-> ask me!

[brisquad-unit-4402]

pssssst. slips u a note

(3, 11, & 18) (can i also have some lunch money)

here kiddo i packed you something for lunch at school

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

hmmmmge this is really hard, tbh. two answers! stars above your skin is kind of like my crown jewel. it’s the longest fic i’ve ever published. i feel like i get burnt out of fics once i hit 4k so whenever i pass that number or so, i always feel so accomplished. SAYS got to explore a ton of headcanons (ike with freckles is the main one lol) and totes opened up a full world with the pliskinverse! i want to revisit it intimately and inherently.

maybe this is because it’s a recent fic as well, but prosthetics means a lot to me. i didn’t realize how much of myself bled onto the page until after ~500 words were down, especially not for an impulse fic. i find that i impress myself when i try not to. i feel especially happy because this was also written for a dear comfydant friend of mine and i love whenever said friend blows up my dms

maybe not pride but i’m always happy when i get the go-ahead to write violence or gore. i have a soft spot for in pursuit to and from the sun and vox, shu and luca’s parts in the lost in time/found in time series because of it.

11. What work took you the longest to write?

surprisingly not the long ones. trading a heart was about one week? SAYS and in pursuit took a month each.

however. and i do not like to admit this. i’ve had a doppio x reader bf headcanon post in my drafts since maybe february or april. and it’s been 80% done since february or april.

if we’re talking published works i don’t remember how long i had the request, maybe april, but this request [nsfw] for massaging and teasing luca and mysta took about 3 months to get out. admittedly that’s bc i learned some stuff abt my own personal boundaries on smut writing and bc i think that was one of my first forays into smut as well

18. The character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

this breaks my heart to say. sonny and shuey

i have this thing where the characters i simp for hardest, tend to be the most difficult to get on paper. i think it’s because i get attracted to laid-back personalities but i relate to loud ones more.

they have the opposite problems; shuey is incredibly versatile and i never know whether i should let him be shy or play it cool. it really depends on the day. sonny, however, is a very specific type... his humor is dry and deadpan which is hard to nail down, and he's not quite a romantic but he's not a hardass. i think i'm getting a bit better at him since i'm in a sonny lovebot arc rn and writing more for him and noctyx but while all my other characters have a mental list in my head of their traits and how they act, sonny's mental list is of how he should NOT act you know?? he's slippery he's hard to pin down!

ike also gets a shoutout because i feel like his character goes much deeper than "soft nerd prone to shyness but secretly gutsy" but whenever i write him i feel like he's shallow. it's hard to show the hidden depths in such short fics sometimes, since i usually write him in <1k fics

despite not writing him often i think my best character may be vox. he and alban are tied for easiest

[purlturtle]

✨AO3 wrapped 2023✨

got tagged by @lilolilyr - thanks, Lil! <3

Works published: 18! This might be my record, honestly. Hang on - nope; in my very first year on AO3, 2012, I published 24. Still, second most proliferous year is pretty dang good too!

Wordcount: 142,803 - wow! Nice!

Kudos: 482

Hits: 5,804

Bookmarks: 53

Subscriptions: 49

Most popular by kudos: Bering and Wells for Year of the OTP 2023, with 50 kudos - that is a surprise, honestly! And I like it!! That one was a challenge I set for myself, and it's lovely to see that people liked the results!

Gonna put the rest under a readmore:

Most hits: "Not This": What To Expect When Faced With H.G. Wells - A Field Guide by Myka Bering with 1,117 hits - the surprising thing here isn't that this is as high as it is, it is that out of my Top 5 by hits, 3 are smut with a much lower hits-to-kudos rate 😅

Longest: also "Not This" with 58,063 words. Runner-up: The Pearl Diver with 19,958 words

Shortest: The Two New Lance-Constables, a drabble/100 words

Most Comments: It's "Bering and Wells for Year of the OTP 2023" again, with 22 comment threads. Runner-up: Surprise Tomatoes with 15!

Fics that made me cry: Gonna go with "Not This" again, because it's certainly the angstiest, and also in general the emotionally deepest, I think.

Fics that made me smile: Come To Bed, for reasons I describe in this summary: "In our zoom meet-up last weekend, Ida (vestwearer) continuously reminded me to take breaks, lest I overextend myself and end up with a migraine. This fic is a thank-you for her, because I very much needed her reminders." I also challenged myself "to make Helena's "come to bed" the concerned one and Myka's the… other one." Both of these things make me smile, and the actual fic itself isn't half bad either for sweet feelings. :)

gifts: 12!! Wow! A lot of them from @lilolilyr - thank you so much :D And a veritable birthday gift in form of a podfic I'm super stoked about: [Podfic] I have wanted to know you, lover of books by @tryingthisfangirlthing thank you too!! And the amazing art for my Big Bang fic "Not This": Tea and Toast by @galactic-pirates ! Thank you so much!

collaborations: The much-mentioned Big Bang fic was a collab between @anandabrat as a beta reader, @galactic-pirates as an artist, and myself as a writer.

events: The aforementioned Big Bang at the beginning of the year, which @galactic-pirates and I co-hosted, and then the Bering and Wells Advent Calendar collab this December! with @lavendelhummel @lilolilyr (who organized the whole thing) @akittennameddaisy @viharistenno @jesstrel @sallysetonbw @violetren @thiakerrigan and @tryingthisfangirlthing! Both were a lot of fun, and I definitely wanna do it again some day!

I'm gonna tag everyone who's already been mentioned, and also @madronash and @amtrak12 and @nerdsbianhokie and @smarterinabsentia and @roadien60 and @performativezippers !

For ease of copying: Works published: Wordcount: Kudos: Hits: Bookmarks: Subscriptions: Most popular by kudos: Most hits: Longest: Shortest: Most Comments: Fics that made me cry: Fics that made me smile: gifts: collaborations: events: