Year-end fic meme

[nonelvis]

Fic written in 2017
I Blend You, You Blend Me (Juicero/Unicorn frappuccino, Teen)
The Trolley Problem (Twelve/Missy/Simm!Master, Adult) (AO3 link)
A Brief History of Time (Bill/Romana II, Adult) (AO3 link)
The Man in the Brown Tweed Jacket (Twelve/Liz Shaw, Teen) (AO3 link)
Untitled and unpublished Lorca/Cornwell (Teen)

Leitmotif of the year
Just like 2016: not writing fic, although the reasons were slightly different. I was incredibly busy at work for the first ten and a half months of the year, which is great for my bank account but less so for anything creative. Also, when I did have creative energy, I either had Hugo Award reading to do or was probably too angry at that barely sentient shitpile in the White House to do anything useful.

Overall thoughts
I'm counting the Lorca/Cornwell this year (and will count it again next year, when it's finalized and published) because it is a complete story at this point, and it's also my first time writing for Star Trek: Discovery. I haven't been seeking out Disco fic -- yet -- but I admit I find Lorca/Cornwell really compelling because they are two grown-ass adults not that far off from my own age, one of them is emotionally damaged, the other is emotionally remote, and also, Jason Isaacs is really hot.

... uh, where was I again? Right, overall thoughts: it's tricky getting started in another fandom! I have no plans to abandon my beloved Doctor Who, obviously, but ramping up to other character voices and remembering Star Trek canon, and weirdly, remembering to write in American English and idiom, is surprisingly hard.

Anyway, it's been nice to finally have time to settle down and write -- especially because the reason I have the Lorca/Cornwell at all is that I was pushing really hard to have a draft before several new work projects ramp up in January. Hopefully I'll be able to have a better balance of writing and work in 2018.

My best story of the year
The Trolley Problem (AO3 link). I'm really pleased with the dialogue between Missy and the Master, it has something vaguely resembling a plot, and I think the imagery and framing device work very well.

My favorite story of the year
The Man in the Brown Tweed Jacket (AO3 link), mostly because I have been in a BAN MEN mood for much of 2017, it totally shows in this story, and GOOD, BAN MEN, THEY ARE TERRIBLE. Also, I snuck in a cameo I don't think anyone has caught yet, and if I can't write fic that occasionally includes a private joke or two to amuse myself, what's the point?

Most fun story to write
I Blend You, You Blend Me, due to a combination of trying to hit bingo on all the AO3 tags cups-of-tea-and-history had pre-generated for me, the completely ridiculous premise of the story, and probably being somewhat tipsy at the time. Also, I am usually inordinately pleased with myself when I can take a premise like this and actually make it work, or make it work well enough that I and a few other people enjoy it.

Story with the single sexiest moment
The blowjob in the woods scene in The Trolley Problem (AO3 link) between Missy and the Master. It was one of the first scenes I thought of for the fic, and to some extent, I wrote the fic around it.

Most "holy crap, that's wrong, even for you" story
I dunno, does what is essentially bukkake fic between a juicer and a Starbucks drink feel wrong to you? Maybe it's just me.

Story that shifted my own perception of the characters
The Lorca/Cornwell you can't see yet has been interesting simply because Cornwell is so underdeveloped in the show, at least so far. I mean, I love her -- she's an older, confident, competent woman who also gets to have a sex life -- but we basically have maybe 30-45 minutes total screen time with her in the series to date, so I've had to do a bit of work to capture her voice and consider backstory elements. I still don't feel fully confident in either, but I've got a month and a half before the story is due to refine those.

Hardest story to write
All of the Doctor Who fics were about equally difficult, but I'm going to go with The Man in the Brown Tweed Jacket (AO3 link), which originally had an entirely different plot I just couldn't make work and eventually had to throw out entirely.

Biggest disappointment
My biggest disappointment this year: myself, for an element in "The Trolley Problem" that I removed the instant platypus pointed it out. Originally, the Doctor responds much more positively -- even happily -- to Missy's picnic invitation, which would have been fine had it not taken place while he was in the barn with Bill contemplating how he'd screwed things up for her. Her racist treatment in that episode was bad enough; I sure didn't need to compound it in my fic, and I should have caught this problem myself in the first place. But my fuckup led to the winner of Most Unintentionally Telling Story below, so I suppose that's a very tiny bit of good I tried to do to make up for my mistake.

Biggest surprise
I don't think any of these stories or the reaction to them surprised me. I have had a wicked bad craving for artichoke dip ever since writing "The Man in the Brown Tweed Jacket," though.

Most unintentionally telling story
A Brief History of Time (AO3 link). Because I'd fucked up with Bill, even privately, I wanted to write a happy story focused on her. That's what prompted "A Brief History of Time": wanting to show Bill's good cheer, her intelligence, her dedication to doing whatever she needed to do to get an education and a life on her own -- and I also wanted to give her a girlfriend, albeit a temporary one so I could slot the story into canon. So this story is my present to Bill, in a way, and I'm happy with how it turned out.

Story I haven't written yet, but intend to
Lorca/River will exist, dammit. I blame lizbee.

Comments

[lizbee]

I find Lorca/Cornwell really compelling because they are two grown-ass adults not that far off from my own age, one of them is emotionally damaged, the other is emotionally remote, and also, Jason Isaacs is really hot.

LEGITIMATE REASONS.

I dunno, does what is essentially bukkake fic between a juicer and a Starbucks drink feel wrong to you? Maybe it's just me.

As long as all parties are consenting, right?

...we basically have maybe 30-45 minutes total screen time with her in the series to date, so I've had to do a bit of work to capture her voice and consider backstory elements.

I've sort of hit a problem where my headcanons for her background (and Lorca's) are so powerful in my head that I might end up being one of Those Awful Fans if/when the show tells us otherwise. Which is more of a risk in Lorca's case, but I'm still gonna be cross if he turns out to have heterosexual parents who have never done anything shady in their lives.

Lorca/River will exist, dammit. I blame lizbee.

I GLADLY ACCEPT BLAME. You'll be in your nursing home, browsing the internet from inside your brain, being waited on by robots and sentient cats, and I'll just ooze in, like, "Heyyyyyyyyyyyy, how's that fic coming? No pressure! *stare*"

[nonelvis]

I have very little in the way of Lorca headcanon in the fic, but there's a little Cornwell backstory to explain her interest in a specific plot device. It's nothing I feel emotionally attached to beyond this fic, though, so if I have to throw it away in favor of more canon information -- which there had better be, dammit -- I'm okay with that. If it conflicts with your headcanon, though, COME AT ME, SIS.

You'll be in your nursing home, browsing the internet from inside your brain, being waited on by robots and sentient cats, and I'll just ooze in, like, "Heyyyyyyyyyyyy, how's that fic coming? No pressure! *stare*"

I am pretty sure it will be done well before then. Well, probably sure. Mostly sure. Optimistically sure, let's go with that.

[lizbee]

If it conflicts with your headcanon, though, COME AT ME, SIS.

I AM A REASONABLE ADULT WHO CAN ALMOST CERTAINLY COPE WITH HER MADE UP IDEAS ABOUT FICTIONAL CHARACTERS BEING CONTRADICTED.