#ao3 author wrapped

[zee-has-commitment-issues]

okay! It's time!

AO3 wrapped (writer’s edition) 2024!

I did not write as many fics this year, but I got a big kid job and I traveled and I started a very VERY long outline for Dead Draw, plus I finished Reckless Abandon, but here we go!

1. How many words have you written this year? 205,699 more words than 2023, but less quantity of fics.

2. How many works did you publish this year? six. less than last year by five.

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? Same answer as last year, but Reckless Abandon is a part of my soul now I think. There was blood sweat and tear put into that fic.

4. What work of yours has the most hits? Reckless Abandon still! 16k hits, which is batshit insane.

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? Skin. I didn't imagine it would get any readers at all, actually. It was a really stupid little idea, but i'm glad people liked it!

6. Favorite title you used? If You Give A Prince A Cookbook (He'll Get Weirdly Good At Cooking) based on the childhood If You Give A Mouse A Cookie books!

7. If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? No song lyrics this year!

8. Pairing you wrote the most for this year? No one is surprised by it being Wilhelm/Simon in 5 out of 6 of my published fics this year.

9. Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? 100% wilmon, but nilcent would have been second.

10. What work was the quickest to write? Six Sentence Stories From Tumblr because they were literally six sentences each lmao.

11. What work took you the longest to write? Toss up between Dead Draw and Reckless Abandon. Both are long fics, but one is still ongoing, and one was brought into 2024 part-way done so it's hard to compare.

12. How many WIPs do you have in your docs for next year? I currently have four WIPs that I'm working on. A rewrite of Voicemail Box, a continuation of Just Some Guy, a crack fic I'll never finish, and Dead Draw

13. What’s your longest work of the year? Reckless Abandon technically, but again it was brought in from 2023. So only like 20k words were actually from 2024. Behind that is Dead Draw with a current 41k words and counting.

14. What’s your shortest work of the year? Six Sentence Stories From Tumblr - 2,703 words

15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you? Dead Draw! chess fic is my passion project.

16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? "Wilhelm Loves Simon Eriksson" and "Simon Eriksson Loves Wilhelm" so...

17. Your favorite character to write this year? Always Wilhelm, I fear. I relate to him so much that I absolutely have to get up into his fucked up little head. But I found that I wrote a lot from Simon's pov this year.

18. What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? ... Madison and Alexander???

19. Which work of yours have you reread the most? The fic from this year was Nils' Room. My stupid little nilcent fic. I love it passionately. But I went back and read some of my old old fics this year too, so I probably spent more time on those.

20. How many kudos in total did you get this year? 1,302. Holy shit.

21. Which work has the most comments? Reckless Abandon and no one was shocked.

22. Did you do any collaborative works this year? Still none this year. All the love to Dani who helps me write and outline fics all the goddamn time. I hope I'm as useful to her as she is to me lmao.

23. Did you write any gifts this year? I did not this year unfortunately. I just didn't have time to join any of the exchanges. But I wrote for a few of the events I think!

24. Did you receive any gifts this year? Again, not this year, since I didn't have the chance to join any of the exchanges 😔

25. What’s your most common category? M/M in a whopping all fucking six.

26. What do you listen to while writing? video essays were a godsend this year. I'd just put them on in the background and lock in.

27. Favorite work you wrote this year? Dead Draw is my passion project and Reckless Abandon ripped my soul in half so probably a tie

28. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? GodDAMN that one's hard to choose. But I think one there are two that stick out to me, both from Reckless Abandon:

Stella reached across the counter and squeezed his hand with a sympathetic smile. “He is an exceptionally easy person to love,” she said. And then she pulled away, grip tightening on her glass. “He’s just an easier person to leave.”  What made Simon the most upset — more than anything else in this fucked up situation — was that his heart hadn’t shattered until this moment. Not like it should have. It didn’t break him in two and threaten to overwhelm him.  His heart had broken, surely, when he found out what the others had done behind his back. His heart had broken, absolutely, when he realized Wilhelm wasn’t who he thought he was. But Simon’s heart didn’t shatter until right now. 

and

Wilhelm loved Simon like he was supposed to love Sweden. 

My soul left my body and joined the poets with those two I fear.

29. Biggest surprise while writing this year? I'm a slut for writing a prickly Simon/arrogant Wilhelm dynamic. Absolutely love it. Devour my own writing every single time.

-

I hope you enjoyed this year's writing wrapped! Sorry it took ten days into 2025 for me to post it lmfaoooo.

[psalmieee]

Writers when it's time to write the story no one forced them to come up with in the first place 🙄

[become-potatoes]

my 2024 ao3 author wrapped!!

ur girl (gender neutral) wrote 18 fics this year, and with how busy my 2024 was, i’m satisfied with that amount! i definitely think i’ve improved as a writer in general this year, and that has carried over into my fic writing. soo - now it’s time to yap about them!

how many words did you write this year?

40,175

how many works did you publish this year?

18

what work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)?

definitely still just different. it’s extremely stupid and self indulgent, but i feel like i’m doing ten year old me a solid by writing the season 2 that we never got. i’m glad i have effectively killed the part of me that cringes and have just decided to not gaf.

what work of yours has the most hits?

yaelokre: if i crawl out, it leaves you hollow (1,364)

which work of yours got more feedback then you expected?

weirdly enough, ponytail (project sekai). so many people commented and were like “if you write more flustered tsukasa i’ll jump off a bridge /pos”

favorite title you used?

prince of my heart, bastard of none. it just kind of popped into my head. truthfully, in context, it makes no sense. but it sounds fire.

if you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did u pull from the most?

i used a bunch of song lyrics as titles this year, and they were all from different artists - so let’s just run through all of them!

“if i crawl out, it leaves you hollow” - cole’s response by yaelokre

“and it felt great to be a liar” - molly by mindless self indulgence

“oh, everything will be alright” - a day in falsettoland from falsettos

“appearing unsightly with devils inside me” - christmas kids by roar

“i loved you then, i love you still” - merry sinsmas from helluva boss

“you and me, we’re not the same: i am a sinner, you are a saint” - problems by mother mother

pairing you wrote for most this year?

ruikasa and lautski equally….i am nothing but predictable

favorite pairing you wrote for this year?

KAIMON they’re so fun to write. i cant wait to write them more

what work was the quickest to write?

oh, everything will be alright. i wrote it during a road trip.

what work took you the longest to write?

still just different, as it’s still…not…done…

how many wips do you have for the upcoming year?

too many.

what’s your longest work of the year?

still just different and shes still being written hell yeahhhhhhh. she’s currently at 10,285.

what’s your shortest work of the year?

fuck, spankoffski, who taught you how to drive? at 578.

what wip are you taking into next year with you?

unnamed kaimon bookshop employee x flower shop employee au

what’s your most common “additional tags” tag?

fluff. sorry i know what i like

your favorite character to write this year?

tie between stephanie lauter and tsukasa tenma.

the character that gave you the most trouble writing this year?

damon maitsu. tf does his brain work

what’s one pairing you want to explore next year?

KAIMON. and also getting around to writing a saiteru fic

which work of yours have you reread the most?

none. i dont reread my works. once i put them into the abyss i dont look at them again out of secondhand embarrassment

how many kudos did you get this year?

1,075

which work has the most comments?

ponytail!!

did u do any collaborative works this year?

no but id be down so like hit me up 👍

did u write any gifts this year?

yes! two, but one was for an irl friend and technically isnt a gift by ao3 standards, but i count it

did u receive any gifts this year?

no bc i have no friends

whats ur most common category?

m/m, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort

what do you listen to while writing?

this

favorite work u wrote this year?

prince of my heart, bastard of none. i was COOKING and idk how to bring that back

favorite line/passage u wrote this year?

i have two ~:

The two young men were quiet once again, the sound of the evening breeze echoing in their ears, before both spoke once more.

“Your magic, if I’m being completely honest, is absolutely incredible -“

“I daresay, I’ve heard that no one’s as handy as a sword as you and if the rumors are true I’d love to see you in action -“

The two broke off, both exhaling small laughs at their awkwardness.

“Well, I do pride myself in my swordsmanship!” The loud, crazy booming factor of the prince’s voice was beginning to return. Rui hoped that meant he was growing more comfortable with him. “You watching me would certainly be splendid for all parties involved! But, ah, I don’t quite know how we should go about that…”

“…you think my magic is incredible?” Rui whispered.

Tsukasa didn’t say anything for a moment, just returned to fidgeting with his hands. Eventually, he sighed.

“Well, I…yes. Ever since I was…really young, I’ve dreamed about…doing incredible feats like what you’re rumored to be able to accomplish. B-But I…had to hide. So…I think sorcerers are actually…kind of fascinating.”

“Then why are you trying to kill us.”

Rui phrased it as a statement, and not a question. Tsukasa flinched.

“I-I…”

Tsukasa didn’t say anything for a moment.

“Because it’s my purpose. It’s what I’ve been told to do.”

“Even though you are one of us?” Rui replied, voice not cold but not warm either.

“…I’m not like this because I want to be.”

“I see.” Rui nodded. “Not an excuse, but an unfortunately understandable backstory. I cannot wait to see where your character arc goes from here, Your Highness.”

“I - hey! Somebody reads too much.” Tsukasa huffed, and Rui laughed. He couldn’t help but feel…a little fond towards the prince. Perhaps, in another timeline, in a different situation…they could be friends.

“Magic,” Rui said slowly. “Gets stronger the more you believe in the fact that you can do it.”

- from prince of my heart, bastard of none.

-

“No, I don’t.” And suddenly, her entire demeanor changed. “I don’t know - I don’t know if Lee even likes girls, if she even likes anyone at all - she’s not interested in dating or boys and she’s said that a million times and I feel like I need to respect that but I…I like her so much. I like her so much that it consumes me. You…you wouldn't know or care, but no one…no one ever said I was smart. No one believed in my brain - until her. She took the time to understand me. Do you understand how - how wonderful that is? Because she’s wonderful, god, she’s so wonderful. One day she’s gonna run this whole place, I know it - and I want more than anything to be by her side, for even just a moment. And it’s so fucking scary, because I’ve never felt like this before. Ever. And I’m happy to even just be her friend but I want more and I hate that I want more. I don’t deserve someone like her I really don’t - I talk a lot of shit but I’m just me , I have nothing to my name and she - Lee - she’s got so much going on and if she wants to date she. Deserves someone who can be her equal.”

- from still just different

biggest surprise while writing this year?

that i’m slowly learning to be less hard on myself, and to not immediately critique every single word i write. that even when u think ur writing something obscure and niche - someone out there will care. there will always be someone who matches ur freak.

-

any moots feel free to do this!

[unendingwanderlust]

AO3 Wrapped 2024 (where the only number you'll see is my word count) let's gooooo! Questions from here. Answers and director's commentary below the cut.

Last year's AO3 wrapped here.

Words published this year: 190,435

Most written rating: Explicit

Most written category: a whooping 27 F/M fics, followed by M/M (14), and F/F and Gen (12 each)

Most written fandom: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth

Most written relationships:

Rupert Giles/Buffy Summers (10)

Thranduil/Thranduil's Wife (5) and Thranduil/Original Female Character(s) (4) (Listing them together because they're the same relationship)

Gimli/Legolas, Sigrid/Tauriel, Fingon/Maedhros, Maglor (Tolkien)/Original Female Character(s) (3)

I've technically written 11 Buffy/Giles fics this year, if you count this one that was only posted on tumblr.

Top 5 characters written:

Buffy Summers, Original Female Character(s) (12)

Thranduil (11)

Rupert Giles (10)

Maglor, Maedhros, Legolas (9)

Thranduil's Wife (6)

Someone participated in Tolkien OC week and it shows...

Favourite additional tags (eg. hurt/comfort):

Romance (19)

Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot (16)

Humor, Fluff (15)

Cunnilingus, Anal Sex (12)

Established Relationship, Vaginal Sex (11)

Greatest Hits (AKA top 5 by Hits):

To Lose Oneself In Elven Song (Gimli/Legolas, E, 42,566 words). Gimli recognizes that Legolas is his One in Rivendell. Cue every stage of grief known to dwarf, man, and elf.

The Red Book (Bilbo/Thorin, E, 4,907 words). Thorin reads Bilbo's account of the quest of Erebor. It's... inaccurate, to say the least. And very spicy.

Above The Clouds (Fingon/Maedhros, E, 1,042 words). Fingon has an oral fixation and a huge crush on Maedhros. It goes exactly the way you'd expect.

These Cravings In The Night (Fingon/Maedhros, E, 1,338 words). Maedhros returns from Angband as a werewolf. Fingon digs that.

4 Expert Tips To Help You Survive Your Boring Family Vacation! (Maedhros/Indis, E, 7,841 words). Maedhros has the hots for his step-grandma. Indis can tell. Features Huan being the best boy, dramatic Maglor, and hungover Celegorm swearing off alcohol forever (or at least for the rest of the century).

Favourite fic you wrote (+why if u want): AKA me crying in the club while I try to choose my 5 favorite children. The rest of my fics look at me judgmentally for not picking them. In no particular order:

Rise To Set The World Aflame (Buffy/Dragon!Giles, E, 434 words). A Medieval Fantasy AU that I really hope to expand in the coming year. Giles is the dragon Buffy was ordered to slay by the Council... but she ended up laying falling in love with him instead.

Fragile (Vampire!Gimli/Legolas, E, 708 words). A hot secret affair develops between Gimli and Legolas during the Quest. However, the cherry on top of all the typical gigolas conflicts is that Gimli is a newly turned vampire and Legolas is the Slayer's son. This is another oneshot I'm hoping to expand on.

Where The Heart Is (Too many relationships to list here, M, WIP). What started as a quick character study for my OC Elvenqueen snowballed way beyond my control. This fic has it all: Fëanorion drama, dark magic used with good intentions, questionable medical practices, exploration of the different cultures of Middle-earth, and quite a bit of criticism of LaCE for a LaCE-compliant fic.

Make me happy (and I again shall be virtuous) (Thranduil/Thranduil's Wife, E, 5,324 words). I just love how my OC for Thranduil's Wife has developed so much that I get to put her in an AU and her characterization makes perfect sense. Also, this fic features Thranduil in skimpy lingerie of his own making.

Gilesbot’s New Feature (Not A Bug!) (Buffybot/Gilesbot, E, 975 words). Buffybot deserved so much better, so she gets a cute bot boyfriend. Their relationship is really fluffy and sweet and I love this for them. Features really corny sexy vampire/Slayer roleplay!

Favourite paragraph(s) you wrote: Legolas and Gimli's first meeting in To Lose Oneself In Elven Song. The entire scene feels kind of fairytale-like to me, but specifically this part:

In the clearing, an elf sat on lush grass with his back propped up against a tree. The entire world around him awakened with the beauty and might in his voice; it filled with color and life. Little birds, squirrels, and rabbits formed a circle around him, a captivated audience to his concert.

And, oh, such beauty! How could one face hold such divinity, as if it were ivory lovingly carved by the hands of Eru Ilúvatar Himself? The elf's hair flowed down his shoulders like mithril and gold, and the radiance of his smile could overpower the sun!

(Gimli doesn't just pine, he's the entire damn forest)

Favourite dialogue snippet you wrote: A tough choice to make because I have many candidates in mind, but whenever I read this from Celegorm's perspective, it makes me giggle (x):

Laergliriel turned towards the cabin’s interior and called, “Míri! Russo peed on the carpet again!”

Celegorm opened and closed his mouth, contemplating his words. After what felt like an eternity of awkward staring at each other in silence, he asked, “I take it that this is a… common behavior for him?”

Just then, Maedhros bolted to her side. “They are not talking about me! Míri just named her new cat Russo because she hates me.”

WIP ideas for next year: Continuing last year's tradition, let's just do a top 5:

Buffy/Giles AU in which they're two regular people living in Sunnydale and all hell breaks loose around them. (The Slayer is Kendra.)

My beloved Gimli/Legolas Silent Hill AU! A preview lives in this tag, and I plan to share more.

Arranged and Rearranged should get a new installment because it's fun. (Any guesses on which Fëanorion Elwing and Eärendil get to bang?)

An in-universe research paper on elven cannibalism in the context of Melkor worship. Yes, you heard that right. Lindaeareth is on nerd duty and Elrond is about to have a terrible time.

A multi-chapter sequel to Glory Days, Long Passed and All The Way From The Start. It's got much more plot than its predecessors, including shy background post-reembodiment Russingon, Gimli charming every elf in sight, Maglor's daughter being the literal devil's advocate... and Thranduil's wife being newly released from prison after serving a 15-year sentence. No one knows what her crime was, and every time someone asks, she gives them something ridiculous ("Break-in at the art museum. No, I didn't want to steal a painting- I just wanted to put a specific one in the storage. It's an eyesore, trust me". "I was a political prisoner because I supported the Gingerbread King during the coup! Oh, the price a lady must pay for sticking to her ideals!". "I stole the cheese factory's entire supply. I'm telling you, my midnight cravings get intense!". "I stabbed the tooth fairy. Stingy bitch only gave me one coin for my tooth when it was clearly worth at least five!"). Thranduil doesn't want to pry. Maglor figures it out in 0.2 seconds.

What you learned from writing this year: Everyone should write something completely self-indulgent and insane. Just for the fun of it. It's so liberating!

BONUS: Updates on last year's WIP list: Find it here.

[tippilo]

I usually don't post these on tumblr (the last three months are on insta) but most tomione authors are only on tumblr

Taggable authors: @allofthelights11 @ginnyruin @peppershark @desmathewu @thoronris @nerysdax

Taggable artists: @bis-art @garfunkelworld @avendell

I did my best to tag everybody I could, but I likely missed people (sorry! If your account name isn't like your username on ao3, I'm not going to hunt for you)

[golden-letters]

"So what if we don't need you? We want you with us. What more do you want? Why isn't that enough for you?"

Because being needed is safer, he thinks. Because someone needing you, that's not something they can easily change their mind about. This is not something that he knows how to explain.

ao3 authors out here destroying me again

(faking it by calypsio)

[i-used-to-be-a-spy]

AO3 Wrapped (writers edition)

Words written this year: 168k

Works written this year: 34 (for now haha)

Work Most Proud of: Can't choose between the two which are Being Transgender is a Lot Like Being a Spy and the series Spy In The Machine

Work with Most Hits: Believe in the Machine (part of Spy in the Machine)

Fav title: Shock Notice

Pairing You Wrote the Most For: SamMikeFi

Favorite Pairing You Wrote: Michael x Fiona

What Work was the Quickest To Write: the PolyamShip Week ones b/c had to write one a day quickly!

What Work Took You Longest To Write: Being Transgender is a Lot Like Being a Spy because it went from Michael's childhood to CIA time to show time and I took a break while writing it

How Many WIPS do you have for next year: Zero. I crank out an entire fic at once and then publish I don't do WIPs really

Longest Work of the Year: BTisLLBaS or Spy in the Machine if you count the series as one

Shortest Work of the Year: Trying to Focus which is 600 words

Fav character to Write: obviously it's Michael Westen who is the only character I currently write!

Which work of yours have you re-read the most: omg it's all the smut ones of Michael x Fiona like each of them equally

Total Kudos this Year: 156

Total Hits This Year: 1974

Total Bookmarks This Year: 27

Total Subscriptions This Year: 8

What Do You Listen To While Writing: I usually just shuffle my entire library of music

Fav line or passage: so hard to choose but here is one of my favs:

Being transgender is a lot like being a spy. You spend your life worried that the people around you, whether neighbors or family, would turn on you if they learned you were trans. Just like an outed spy often winds up dead, washed up on a beach chopped into little pieces.

You don’t let people get too close, you build up walls, you act a certain way around people you don’t feel safe around. You wonder if this is your true face, your true personality, or if it’s just a cover you hide behind.

[vaunteir]

today i learned that ao3 wrapped was a thing

my only complaint is that sodapack got a spot in my top 3 instead of cotag when i'm not even in the hfjone fandom anymore like. seriously how did they get there

(the pic says '2022' but it's actually for '2024')

[sees-writes]

Hey so I always love to see everyone’s AO3 Wrapped templates so I made one for the end of the year! Thank you all so so much for your love and support this year has been so fun 😁

No pressure tags: @c-c2224 @momentofmemory @spikeface @moonlightwarriorqueen @sunshinesdaydream @saturn-sends-hugs @dystopicjumpsuit literally anyone that sees this consider yourself tagged

Here are some color variations for you to use if you’d like

[justtothesea]

My ao3 wrapped for this year! Do yours here! I followed this tutorial, which helped a bunch ♡

[zee-has-commitment-issues]

I'm 100% stealing this from @pagegirlintraining

AO3 wrapped (writer’s edition)

I had a long year, so I didn't get to write as much as I would have liked to, but we still got a ton done.

1. How many words have you written this year? 180,453 words.

2. How many works did you publish this year? Somehow the answer is eleven.

3. What work are you most proud of (regardless of kudos/hits)? Reckless Abandon. Hands down. It took so much time to plan and so much energy to write and I am so proud of it. I'm writing the ending of the first draft right now and I'm sad to leave it behind.

HOWEVER I also very much enjoyed The Last Time, which is my Nilcent fic. I think just in terms of quality, this is one of my most beautifully written fics.

4. What work of yours has the most hits? The fics I have with the most hits is Reckless Abandon, but I think that's because it's the only one from this year that had more than one chapter.

5. What work of yours got more feedback than you expected? Dress Up As ! I wrote that in like 30 minutes while half asleep and then didn't edit it, so I didn't think anyone would read it at all lol. It's not my most popular fic by any means, but more people read it than I thought would.

6. Favorite title you used? Wilhelm's Frog Addiction because it's so ridiculous. It implies that Wilhelm needs a rehab for frogs, and I think that's great.

7. If you use song lyrics, which artist’s songs did you pull from the most? I used the title of The Last Time from a Taylor Swift song, but I think that was the only one.

8. Pairing you wrote the most for this year? Wilhelm/Simon Eriksson with 9 out of 11 fics being about them or containing them in some way. (damn thats an unfortunate statistic)

9. Favorite pairing you wrote for this year? Obviously Wilmon. I feel like that's a given at this point.

10. What work was the quickest to write? Dress Up As... again, I wrote it in 30 minutes while half asleep💀

11. What work took you the longest to write? If we rule out the one that's multi-chapter for fairness sake, then the fic that took me the longest to write was probably Not Entirely Screwed (But Almost). But take that with a grain of salt.

12. How many WIPs do you have in your docs for next year? Two or three that I actually plan on finishing. I have others that are started, but I don't know if I have enough plot to actually get through them.

13. What’s your longest work of the year? Reckless Abandon, containing 123k of my 180k words this year 💀

14. What’s your shortest work of the year? A Fool Proof Guide - 507 words.

15. What WIP are you taking into next year with you? Finishing Reckless Abandon! One chapter to edit and an epilogue to finish writing, and then it's done. I just can't finish it in the two days I have left of the year 😭

16. What’s your most common “Additional Tags” tag? Simon Eriksson Loves Wilhelm, followed by Wilhelm Loves Simon Eriksson

17. Your favorite character to write this year? I simply cannot answer this. My mind has been so consumed with Reckless Abandon and the switching POVs that I literally cannot choose one.

18. What’s one pairing you want to explore next year? I think I might like to write more of Felice's platonic pairings next year. I feel like I neglect her because I don't really ship her with anyone.

19. Which work of yours have you reread the most? The Thing In The Mirror. It's kind of a love letter to my grief, so sometimes I go back and read it when I'm feeling down.

20. How many kudos in total did you get this year? 2,754

21. Which work has the most comments? Reckless Abandon, but again, it's the only one with more than one chapter so that makes sense.

22. Did you do any collaborative works this year? Not this year! Maybe next year. Dani and I don't write "together" per se, but we do bounce a lot of ideas off each other, so if that counts then yes, but nothing plotted and written and posted together.

23. Did you write any gifts this year? I did! I wrote for YR Week, which wasn't a gift, but an event. And I wrote a Christmas gift for Nic!

24. Did you receive any gifts this year? Yes yes yes! A beautiful, perfect Christmas gift from @pagegirlintraining I enjoyed every word of it.

25. What’s your most common category? M/M

26. What do you listen to while writing? Not much, actually. I have the Reckless Abandon Playlist, but I only really used that when outlining.

27. Favorite work you wrote this year? For the sake of not repeating myself, out off the ones I haven't mentioned yet, Isn't That Your Thing? and Patience Is A Virtue are my favorite little crack fics.

28. Favorite line/passage you wrote this year? Oh jesus, that's impossible. I don't think I can choose just one. I can give you one that makes me think "holy shit I can write" though:

This piece of work — the one staring Stella in the face — was a revolution made of oil paint. 

29. Biggest surprise while writing this year? I can write smut. And people don't hate it somehow.

Thank y'all for a fun year. Can't wait to see what my brain does to torture us all in the next one.

[writersmorgue]

made myself a 2024 Ao3 wrapped. because why not.

the free template I used

[lauronk]

🎁My 2024 Fanfic Wrapped🎁

@sixhours put together this cool template for end-of-year fic stats! here's mine, as accurate as i could make them with what ao3 gives me lol

*word count includes two fics i technically published last year but added chapters to this year and i wasn't about to do the math lol

**WIPs started doesn't include the fics published, just the docs in my drive with varying states of wordage and plans in them that will hopefully see the light of day eventually

[unendingwanderlust]

1 year update: What happened to those WIP ideas?

Fully posted as of 2024-07-15: To Lose Oneself In Elven Song (Gimli/Legolas, E, 42,566 words)! (Just don't ask me about its sequel, or I'll start sobbing hahaha)

Nocturne is still a WIP, but I've managed to add quite a bit to it this year. Not to spoil anything, but that Maglor-Elrond Third Age reunion was both tough and immensely cathartic to write! Still, I got to write and post a little slice of life snippet of this AU for this year's Imladris week: Solitaire (Legolas & Maglor & Elrond, G, 761 words).

Still in WIP status. The subject matter is very heavy, so I'm taking my time with it.

I ended up writing something very similar based on a few prompts a friend picked for me: Protocol Thirty-One And Its Practical Applications (Sigrid/Tauriel, E, 3,954 words).

Complete and posted: Never Before (Éowyn/Arwen/Tauriel, E, 873 words).

Saw a few of those AO3 Wrapped for authors templates and they looked fun! Questions from here (I love how writing-focused it is! Way too many of these templates focus on stats, which can't be the best for one's mental health).

Answers and director's commentary below the cut:

Words written this year: 116,462

Most written rating: Explicit (is anyone surprised?)

Most written category (gen, m/m, m/f, f/f, other): M/M, followed by F/F.

Most written fandom: The Hobbit

Most written relationships: Here's the top 5:

Gimli/Legolas Greenleaf

Bard the Bowman/Thranduil

Thorin Oakenshield/Thranduil

Bilbo Baggins/Thorin Oakenshield

Bard the Bowman/Thorin Oakenshield/Thranduil

3 of the above made it to the top 5 because of the Summitry series, I'm sure.

Favourite characters to write: I interpret this as "most written" because I couldn't pick a favorite to save my life. My top 5 is as follows:

Thranduil

Legolas

Tauriel

Thorin Oakenshield

Bard the Bowman

I feel like I must blame the Summitry series again for these results.

Honorary mentions: Gimli (always a pleasure to write!) and my OC for Thranduil's Wife, Laergliriel (I just know I'm going to have the time of my life when she shows up on the page).

Favourite additional tags (eg. hurt/comfort):

Established Relationship

Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot

Kinktober/Kinktober 2023

Anal Sex

Humor

I expected so, so much worse. There's always next year, right?

Favourite fic you wrote (+why if u want): That's such a hard question to answer because I enjoyed the process of all 50 fics that I wrote this year. If I absolutely had to pick one, I'd go with Of Spider Silk And Escaping Prisoners, my beloved! It was so much fun to work on from beginning to end.

Honorary mentions:

The King's Most Precious Jewel. Bagginshield with Thorin at the height of his dragon sickness? How could I not love writing this?

To Covet And Treasure. I'm SO NORMAL about this fic, I promise. It's also attached to the crown jewel of the World Of Our Own series, my biggest writing project to-date that I have no idea when I'm even going to finish/post. Hopefully soon.

On The Edge Of A Knife. There's just something so fun about Thranduil's mutually awkward crush on his wife-to-be. I also love writing him in his War of the Last Alliance era. So much angst, so much opportunity for character development.

Favourite paragraph(s) you wrote: That's a tough one. I'm going to go for a couple of paragraphs from This Time, Next Year because I love the Gothic romance ambiance of it:

That night, she dreamed strange dreams. She was in her body, and yet it belonged to another: male, with unfamiliar scars and different tattoos. Another body draped over hers, its weight a comfort for her weary heart. A sense of impending, inescapable doom hung between every kiss they shared, only momentarily chased away by whispered words of undying love and devotion.

and:

Legolas told her a tale of deep friendship that had blossomed in the ashes of ancient hatred; grudging respect between warriors that had grown into mutual affection, and eventually blazed into fires of passion. He told her of their first and last night as lovers, when they had joined their bodies and hearts before the final battle against evil. Legolas’s tale was long enough that, when he concluded, the sun sank into the horizon, only to be replaced by the waxing moon.

Favourite dialogue snippet you wrote: Another hard choice to make, but this takes the cake (from here):

Thranduil caught a whiff of pipeweed. Not even a heartbeat later, Laergliriel parted the foliage and came into view. She smiled and tucked her hair behind one ear, exposing the thin red line that ran from her temple to the corner of her mouth; a new acquisition.

“What is wrong with your face?!” Thranduil exclaimed.

Off to a splendid start. Those had to be his first words to her tonight!

Laergliriel sank to the ground beside him with a barely audible oof. She preserved the smile. “Of all the ways to call me ugly, Thranduil. Unfortunately, not all of us have been blessed with stunning good looks.”

WIP ideas for next year: A lot! But let's just do a top 5:

An untitled for now Gimli/Legolas fic set during the Quest of the Ring, during which Gimli recognizes that Legolas is his One and goes through every single stage of grief under the sun. It's about 60% finished, which means it might be the first multi-chapter fic I'll post in 2024. I estimate it's either going to be this or our next candidate:

Nocturne, a snippet of which lives here. Essentially, an AU where Maglor is the one who raises Legolas. A lot of fluff and a lot of angst with seriously complicated family dynamics (because, y'know, Second Kinslaying and Thranduil being from Doriath. Among other stuff).

The events of the War of the Last Alliance from Thranduil's point of view. A couple of scenes already written, lots of it outlined.

This is only an idea with no execution so far, but I'm itching to add a ghost hunting story to the There Goes The Neighborhood series. Especially since neither Legolas nor Tauriel believe in ghosts, but their half-sister surely does!

My AO3 profile will be 10 years old sometime in 2024, and what better way to celebrate than with a filthy little oneshot? It'll be Tolkien femslash, but that's all I'm going to reveal on the matter.

What you learned from writing this year: JUST POST THE DAMN THING! I have a chronic over-editing problem, which can be an issue if you're crazy enough to participate in Kinktober, Flufftober, and Whumptober in the same year. I re-wrote entire 2K+ word fics from scratch even though there was nothing wrong with them... never again.

[whim-prone-pirate]

looooove fics where chris talks like a teenager while maintaining canon characterization❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[eddiemunsonsmum]

These certainly do get more depressing every year. I beat my yearly record for words by about 20k but less interaction than ever.

Thanks so much to @spicedrobot for the template. 🥰