2024 memes are still valid throughout 2025

A fic meme that appeals to me more than the one that usually circulates on DW, most directly via ~javert but originally here, questions lightly edited because see post title.

How many fics did you work on in 2024?

15 that I posted, plus A Shot At Life, plus three things in my WIP document, plus one more WIP I remember working on but then deleting = 20.

What’s something new that you tried in a fic in 2024?

Pokémon fusion, picking up a canon specifically for an exchange, edging closer to kink than I had previously dared go; in as yet unposted material, egregious use of ligatures (Final Æon, etc.).

What piece of media inspired you the most? (This can be the fandom you wrote the most for, the one that spawned the most ideas, the one you thought about the most, etc.)

I don’t think I need to answer this question.

How many fandoms did you write for in 2024?

Four: FFX, Nightshade, FF16, plus Rise Of The Ronin WIPs.

What ships captured your heart?

Koto × Sana (Rise Of The Ronin) was the only new ship I wrote for (although nothing was posted). Femslash at last!

What characters captured your heart?

80% of my posted fics involved Auron, plus ça change.

Did you write for any new fandoms or ships in 2024?

I hadn’t written for Nightshade before. Two of my still unfinished WIPs are for Rise Of The Ronin, so that too.

What fic meant the most to you to write?

A Shot At Life … really just me living my truth and telling the story of the boyos as I want to see it.

What fic made you feel the happiest to work on?

Literally the same answer as to the above question.

What fic was the most satisfying to finish writing?

A Shot At Life because it’s so monstrously long.

What fic was the most difficult to write?

The two Rise Of The Ronin WIPs have been hard, actually, because I don’t really feel like I know the characters and their voices properly yet. This is why I haven’t made much progress with them.

What fic was the easiest to write?

A Shot At Life, because I planned it in extreme detail, and also because I had already got into the swing of its specific writing style, to the extent that I now need to remind myself not to drift into omniscient third person in everything else I write.

What were your shortest and longest fics posted in 2024?

Shortest: 31 words, for a challenge to write as short a fic as possible while also including references to pumpkins and fireflies. Not linking because cringe.

Longest: 1833 words, not very long at all; Auron/Braska sickfic.

What were your go-to writing songs?

I don’t usually listen to music while writing, it’s too interesting and distracting!

What was the hardest fic to title?

Unusually, 14 out of the 15 fics were posted on AO3 so I had to come up with titles for all of them, boo. The shortest is always the hardest.

What’s your favorite title of 2024?

The only one I included on my own archive was “Distraction”, but I don’t think that was particularly good. Usually I can only give good titles to fics that are at least a few thousand words long, which explains why none of these had titles I deemed good enough to display on my archive. But I actually think いただきます! was quite a nice title.

Share your favorite opening line

It’s always Jecht, isn’t it.

“Man,” said Jecht. “You know, I always thought of myself as a fire guy. You can tell I’m a fire guy, right, Auron? Or I could’ve been water, at least. Why is grass even a thing? Not like it can do anything. How’s this cat gonna fight, give everyone hay fever?”

Share your favorite ending line

My definition of “line” is apparently “three sentences at the end of a paragraph”.

Braska was merely grateful. Five aeons within him now, each proof that he had chosen the right path. The journey north awaited, and their vindication with it.

Share your favorite piece of dialogue

💋

“Um,” said Braska, “well …” He fiddled with his headdress. “I don’t think that was very sporting, Jecht. You hadn’t even spun it. You’re not supposed to choose the, er, the target yourself.”

“Fair,” said Jecht.

Share your funniest line

(dick emoji)

Auron rolls his eyes; he tugs the trousers down in a deliberately unsexy way. That’ll serve Jecht right, he thinks; for what, he’s not sure, but he definitely deserves it.

Or maybe this, which is just funny because the idea of clearing one’s throat in a refined manner is clearly ludicrous.

“But –” said Gekkamaru, and he found himself interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat in an undeniably refined manner.

What’s something that surprised you while you were working on a fic? Did it change the story?

I wouldn’t say there was anything in-universe that surprised me … I was surprised, after having produced relatively little for most of the year, that I managed to bring out three substantial-ish fics for the #ficwip all ships week.

What writing programs did you use? Did you write by hand?

I used (boo, hiss) Google Docs until I finished the draft of A Shot At Life. My main workflow now is Orgzly to draft (yes I almost always write on my phone), Emacs to edit and typeset. I haven’t written fic by hand since 2016 iirc (it continues to be literal drawerfic!).

If you had to choose one, what was THE most satisfying writing moment of your year?

Finishing the draft of A Shot At Life, obviously, quelle surprise! Also maybe receiving the copies of my actual book that was also published in 2024 lol.

Did you do anything special to celebrate finishing a fic?

I’ll save that for this December.

How did you recharge between fics?

I’m not sure there really is a “between fics”, given that A Shot At Life has been ongoing for nearly four years.

Did you create fanworks other than fic?

I semi-improvised a couple of brief piano arrangements of things from Final Fantasy soundtracks. I wrote some FFX meta. I cut out a picture of Auron, put it in a tiny frame, and stuck some stickers on it. I made a very small, very low-effort zine at Citrus Con. I spent literal hours recreating Auron, Braska, and Jecht in the Rise Of The Ronin character creator. I started at least one thing still in progress.

How many events did you take part in? (bangs, exchanges, ship weeks, zines, prompt memes, they all count!)

7: three #ficwip events, the traditional Kiss Battle, filled a few prompts on meme, one for /ffprompts, and /yuletide.

If this were an awards show, who would you thank?

~lissajous for putting up with me talking about Auron all the time and reading my chapters; anyone who shows the slightest interest in what I produce despite my efforts to be as cryptic and obscure as I possibly can.

What would you like to write in 2025?

Rise Of The Ronin fic, although I have already written and posted some in January! Yet more FFX meta.