Fannish year in review: 2016

Using the same template as last year.

Your main fandom of the year?
Gotta be Critical Role (see below).

Your favorite film watched this year?
The new Ghostbusters. Arrival was objectively a better movie, and I have more fannish attachment to Civil War, but no other movie was quite as much fun.

Your favorite book read this year?
In the Labyrinth of Drakes by Marie Brennan, the fourth book in the Lady Isabella Trent series. I love the directions this story took, and the way the ending has set up the final book in the series. I also need to give a nod to the last Temeraire book, for providing a satisfying and surprising end to one of my favorites series of all time.

Your favorite album or song to listen to this year?
If I'm being honest, probably Hamilton again.

Your favorite TV show of the year?
Either the final season of Agent Carter (sniff) or the most recent season of Orphan Black, which returned to form after a slightly off third year. Honorable mentions: Luke Cage, the current half season of Agents of SHIELD, Top Chef season 13.

Your favorite video game of the year?
I haven't played many games this year. The only one that really sticks with me is Solstice, which I mentioned in my mid-year roundup, the new game from the makers of Cinders.

Your best new fandom discovery of the year?
I think you already all know the answer to this one: Critical Role. My first new fandom in the last couple of years, I spent the second half of 2016 watching the series, then re-watching it (I caught up to the most recent episode and then re-watched it a couple of days ago), wrote a handful of stories, and basically became completely consumed. A part of me is glad that the rewatch is over so I can have my life back. A part of me wants to go back and start all over again, again.

Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?
US presidential election season finale Agent Carter not being renewed for a third season. :(

Your fandom boyfriend of the year?
Matthew Mercer. Is it weird for your fandom boyfriend to be a real person? But it's true -- Matt's performance on Critical Role, both as DM and as a large percentage of the cast, is a huge part of the show's appeal to me.

Your fandom girlfriend of the year?
Peggy Carter, forever.

Your biggest squee moment of the year?
"Anything can happen in the woods..." (Spoilers for Critical Role Ep. 72)

The most missed of your old fandoms?
Oh, I don't know, all of them? I feel very out of touch with fandom right now. But at least lately, I suppose I'm most disconnected from Dragon Age. Maybe it's the lack of new content, and also I basically quit all my replays when I started spending all my free time on Critical Role instead. Now that the catch-up project is over, I hope to get back to that.

The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to?
I never did get started in Supergirl or Star Wars, despite my interest. Solstice might have some possibilities, too.

Your biggest fan anticipations for the coming year?
Star Wars: Episode 8. The final Lady Isabella Trent book, and the last of the new N.K. Jemisin trilogy. The Defenders on Netflix.

Fic Year in Review: 2016

Because I'll be out of town for the rest of the week, and not bringing my laptop along, I think it's time to call it in terms of fic writing and posting (although not writing goals for the year -- I'll take care of that when I get back).

( Stories Written )

( Questions and Answers )

In Conclusion

Not a great writing year, for a number of reasons both personal and structural, although it could have been worse. It seems so long ago, now, with everything that's happened since, but dealing with Lexi's illness, then losing him, took a toll on me in the first part of the year, and then during the second half I was consumed with the election. Either of those issues would have been a problem at any time, but they only worsened the problem of what feels like a long-term writing slump. One thing I did manage to mostly do, though, is meet most of my writing goals, especially the annual ones. I'll be able to take a closer look at that next week; I'll also decide at that time whether to participate in getyourwordsout again. Right now I'm leaning toward no, although I could easily be convinced otherwise. One thing I've really lost over the last few years is the feeling of being part of an active community of writers. I fell out of touch with ushobwri this year, and never really jumped into GYWO at all, and have been mostly off Tumblr lately as well. I need to think about what types of communities and challenges are the most useful to me, and how it all plays into my longer-term issues with motivation. Giving up writing is the last thing I want to do, but I have some big questions to ask myself about what I want out of it.