#finished gen one recently and I’m not sure my opinions of it yet tbh

[vivianveil]

Skins Unseen, 2007

[mockturtletale]

2021 fic year in review 🌟

total number of completed works: 7. in my defense i also finished a phd, started and half completed another (entirely unrelated) masters and dealt with the mess and confusion of moving back home to take care of my family due to medical emergencies. so like yes i’m a slacker but also i had other things to do!!!! 

total word count: 79k posted, which is deplorable. a further 162k in WIP though. 

fandoms i’ve written in: i only posted fic for kpop (BTS and SVT) but i’ve got WIPs for kdrama (True Beauty) and BL (Kieta Hatsukoi)

looking back, did you write more fic than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected: less, definitely less. i posted 452k in 2020 and i didn’t think i’d match that but i definitely figured i’d get at least 200k done. i guess i was kind of on course to achieve that, though, because i posted the 79k i did get done this year between january and the first week of may, so i didn’t write or post at all for 7 months this year. 

what’s your own favorite story of the year? definitely so say goodnight ( gimme xs, xs ) - i had a lot of fun trying my hand at the somno trope and trying to expose some different and relatively unexplored angles of that. 

did you take any writing risks this year? the story linked above was definitely a risk for me personally. i tend to - especially in more recent fandom - avoid some specific genres of kink fic just because i think the way they’ve become popularized in nu!fandom is trending in a direction that doesn’t really interest me, so i’m pretty ~aware that how i’d want to write it probably isn’t how anyone would be interested in reading it. but a friend prompted me with this fic, which gave me a push, and i actually really enjoyed the process and product of tackling this kink trope. 

do you have any fanfic or profic goals for the new year? there’s a few series that i really want to finish off and/or post the next parts of, for sure. 

most popular story of the year? by a slight margin; ATM (push my button, again). even almost a year later it’s still way out ahead of the 10:1 hits to kudos ratio that can roughly be used as a measure of whether or not a fic is considered ~quality, so that’s pretty dope. i don’t often write short fics like that one, so i’m very glad it’s one i was not only able to have a lot of fun with, but that people apparently enjoy too. 

story of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: out of the ones i posted this year? i don’t think any of them are under-appreciated tbh. they all did pretty excellently. overall though, i guess maybe territoriality, base physicality. that’s not a surprise in any way though because it’s a very short fic, it’s gen fic and it’s also based on a pretty heavy and complicated topic so i’m just pleased that anyone at all read it and liked it enough to leave a kudos or a comment. 

most fun story to write: definitely need a couple number ones. that was the first fic i wrote after not having the time to write at all for like six months and that was the longest break from writing i’ve taken since i got into fandom well over a decade ago, so it was a huge relief and delight to find i still had it in me tbh. 

most unintentionally telling story: probably the one above tbh. the fact that it’s WIP and as short as it is is very telling of how desperate i was to get something finished and posted again, i think. 

biggest disappointment: i’m not disappointed by anything i posted this year. only the things i haven’t been able to finish and post yet. 

biggest surprise: the SVT fic, for sure. i’ve had SVT feelings for almost as long as i’ve had BTS feelings so i really thought that if those were gonna manifest in fandom it would have happened before now if it was ever going to happen. 

my favorite part of the fandom this year: getting back to tumblr, maybe? there isn’t really a fandom for the fandoms i’m in that’s active on tumblr in a creative community kind of way, but just being back around people who do fandom the way i do it is super comforting and motivating for me even if that’s for fandoms i’m not actually in. deleting my fannish twitter was the best decision i’ve ever made with regard to fandom but i miss the community of it all so i’m very glad that i was able to find a space that fits for me in that sense. 

[neo-shitty]

toffee!

ah yeah i suppose ur right. yeah i think quarentine has had that sort of effect on a lot of people :( sorry to hear abt ur strict parents, hopefully ur friend will be able to come back soon. small outings (even with family) are still good tho, make sure ur taking care of urself toff.

youre totally right! ah yes thats good advice (/gen) ill try and use that when im in a slump ty. any music suggestions?

lol sames. even some of the stuff abt seungmin, innie etc is a little uncomfortable, like theyre grown ass men for sure, but at the same time, theyre still young, still just over being a teenager in the grand scheme of things. (on that note, i do struggle with worrying that im infantalising them, obviously theyre adults but at the same time, theyre still young. i do treat all fictional characters as my children, but i guess its different when its real people. idk. what do you think?) yeah some stans rlly need to take a chill pill, some are rlly walking the wire between 'ah theyre attractive/that look rlly suits them' and making fucking smut fics abt minors, like... they do not see a problem with that?? yeah tbh i feel like unless theyre 18 they shouldnt be put into the spotlight, weve seen what it does to peoples mental health, but modern day kpop industry is a lot like old hollywood with a lot of popular child actors -_- hopefully the big companies will learn but i agree, its unlikely

suuuuure toff haha. ill go searching for them, but idk if ill be able to find the fluff needle in the angst haystack (jkjk) yeah, fair i groan and complain but you do write angst etc rlly well, so if its what ur comfortable with, then pls continue, it is one of your strong suits, well as you write fluff aside

ah okay good! ill continue to send you essays then

THE ALBUM YES. so ive been looking forward to it for literally months, this is actually my first skz album release as a stay (since the last on was 9 months ago) i was sitting there hitting refresh on my spotify the second 6pm kst came around. (speaking of which, how did you do the release? i couldnt decide whether to watch or listen first but i ended up on listening cos there would be more material) okay: so cheese was super cool, very skz ya know? tho i almost wish theyd made domino the title track, tho obv it was a more experimental track and would have been a bit controversial (much like whistle for bp) i looooved domino and thunderous was absolutely impeccable. all the songs were amazing but standouts were- secrets, secrets which lowkey made me tear up idk why, red lights which almost killed me (it did not have to go that hard, but it did) and OT8 WOLFGANG omgggg i wasnt sure if hyunjin was going to be included in it but i was hoping and, ya know people had said hed be in there, but the further i got in, the less i was sure and then BAM hyunjin started what had been jisung's part and i just sat there grinning for about 5 minutes. surfin was absolutely adorable and gone away almost made me cry AGAIN. star lost was so touching, almost a nod to hyunjins little star? silent cry was relatable beyond anything. SSICK was funny? for some reason I was laughing while it was playing, idk the combination of added cheering and minhos aggressiveness and the totall seriousness they sung it. but i rlly enjoyed it. sorry i love you showcased their vocals like nothing else. the view is THE BOP of 2021, absolutely going to be stuck in my head for the next decade, that hook is genius. what did you think?

also did you watch their grow up performance? with all the stays and ALL THE TEARS? ;n; i feel like this is the end of an era of skz and tbh im kinda happy but also sad. super excited for their promotions but super bummed they wont get to tour. ah well

<3 w.a. 🐺

answer under the cut bc i gave an equally long answer to this already long ask HAJSH

oh yeah, abt quarantine having an effect. my friend and i talked about this earlier actually. i didn't realize the world was moving so fast until the pandemic happened. being in quarantine gave me time to think and i got to know myself more. it's just the sole good thing i got out of the isolation lmao. and abt my strict parents, ironically i got to go out today so i got to hang out with a few of my bestfriends. i had fun but my legs are a bit sore from walking. but they're a different set of friends. i'll get to hang out with the others when my getaway driver comes home in december.

hmm music recommendations for writing? depends on the plot you're writing. care to share what story you're working on and i'll try to rake my brain for a song that might match the vibe. i listen to classical / lo-fi if i don't have song inspo for a fic because lyrics sometimes distract me.

i don't think that's infantilizing tho. for me, it has something to do with my environment and the way i was raised. maybe it's the same the other way around? like this certain age (for the ones above 18 but below 20) is thirst-able for them. idk really. it's just not for me ?n? what i do NOT condone is writing smut for minors??? like get checked : D // i agree with everything with the idols being 18+ before they debut simply because it's for the best for their well-being like. how can young idols decide that this shit is the thing they want to do for life? or at least until their contracts last. idk :// it's unfortunate that it's unlikely to happen.

WELL. i have a list so you won't have to go search for them! in class (minho), in the rain (seungmin), gladius maximus (chan) and you've read five star already. and i just realized that most, if not all, of my upcoming fics are fluffs and i'm fond of all of them :D i used to focus a lot on angst because fluff disgusted the living shit out of me. i think things changed when i wrote champagne problems and hurt myself so bad i wanted to drop angst entirely. i didn't, of course, but i allowed myself to be self-indulgent now.

for the release of the album, i was on twt and watched the vid at 12 views (if i remember correctly, i watched back door at 14 so HASJH) i’m gonna talk by track so it wont be too confusing? bc i wrote this in paragraph format and it just ???? beware im very picky with tracks even if they’re my ults. so no offense if we have opposing opinions and i’m not fond of reading lyrics so these are all music wise.

cheese - oh god i hated cheese at first listen but it grew on me easily. i was singing the yeahyeahyeahyeah bit all day today :D

thunderous - i cant say that it’s my favorite title track. it felt really dry sometimes, both mv and music wise. but at the same time, it’s not that bad. the choreography carried the song tho o.O it’s so fucking cool. but like go live, another track has my heart and it’s

domino - AND YES I AGREE THAT THEY SHOULDVE MADE DOMINO TITLE TRACK UGHHHHH WHAT A WASTED FUCKING OPPORTUNITY. WORDS CANNOT EXPRESS HOW FOND I AM OF THIS SONG. it stands close to the level i love easy.

ssick - was a skip on first listen too because i found the chorus underwhelming but it grew on me? not that much but i can bear listening to it.

the view - it’s something the gen public like, hence its something i dislike. im not fond of songs that are structured like this? it’s not a bad song, just not the type of song i like. but i agree that the hook is very not catchy but it would get stuck in ur head.

sorry, i love you - it’s not as sad as i expected but i actually like it??? i can’t wait to write a fic out of it (1) HAJSHAJ it’s like a 3/5 for me. it’s angsty but chill?

silent cry - i’m pissed at this song bc it hits but sometimes it doesn’t?@?#!? but it’s starting to grow on me but definitely not my fave track.

secret secret - glad i found a secret secret enthusiast because my irls thought it was a skip?$?#@$? it gives me ikon vibes and i’m a huge fan of ikon’s discog so this was a win for me T_T +

STAR LOST - gives me bigbang song vibes and now im very sad :(( in case u didnt know, i’m a hUGE yg fan and 2ne1/bigbang introduced me to kpop so when i heard this track that gave me yg feels i just <3___<3 and it’s one of my favorite tracks anw moving on,

red lights - I WANT TO SKIP THE FIRST TEN SECONDS OF RED LIGHTS EVERY TIME IT PLAYS LIKE IT MAKES ME FEEL AWKWARD KDSJFSK but fine. i’m adding this to props and mayhem’s playlist LMAO it’s more aggressive than sexc tho. more enemies to lovers o. O

surfin’ - this coming right after red lights just wasn’t the best decision arrangement wise because how did we go from ooh sexc to aigh pARTAY. felix saying sheesh T___T it’s such a fun song i want to go to the beach ;n; do you like beaches?

gone away - i have yet to read the lyrics because i’m using this as inspo for a jeongin fic jskjash it’s not the type of ballad i like but it’s so fucking sad to listen to :’ ) the pitch change caught me off guard? still does. it’ll grow on me prolly.

wolfgang - I YELLED WHEN I HEARD HYUNJIN IN WOLFGANG. i didn’t like this song until recently. it gives me the confidence boost i need to pick myself off self-esteem crashes.

and no i haven't watched that performance and i prolly wont because i’ll cry. i’m excited for the promotions too. do you think they’ll still have a repackage?? i cant fucking believe that i just finished waiting for 12am kst for skz teasers and now i have to look forward to 12am for nct 127??@?#? NOT A SINGLE DAY OF REST FOR THIS STAYZEN