Fanfiction: A Year in Review (2023)
Jan. 12th, 2024 09:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
abby82I've done these in the past for 2008, 2021, and 2022. I wrote fic in 2007 and 2009 but didn't do one for those years.
Fanfiction I wrote this year
January
the hour of separation [La Femme Nikita, Michael/Nikita] - 5475 words
April
i’m bare boned and crazy for you [La Femme Nikita, Michael/Nikita] - 60,601 words
June
in the early morning [La Femme Nikita, Michael/Nikita] - 3,743 words
July
dealing with the devil [La Femme Nikita, Michael/Nikita] - 4,856 words
October
a reminder of how we were [La Femme Nikita, Michael/Nikita] - 24,600 words
November
the most primitive form of comfort [La Femme Nikita, Nikita & Mr. Jones] - 2,670 words
December
you are the space in my bed [La Femme Nikita, Michael/Nikita] 105,000 words
Total stories: 7 stories in one fandoms, 204,945 words written
My favourite story this year: I’ll go with the hour of separation. When I first got into the La Femme Nikita fandom in 2020 and I went in search of LFN fic, there were certain stories that I was looking for. One of them was boat fic set during the penultimate episode of season 4. Michael and Nikita together on a sailboat and on the run from Section One. It’s a shipper’s dream. I was expecting an epic number of fics exploring the subject. Um, there were two. Or at least two that were archived. I didn’t exactly set out to write boat fic with this story. I was intrigued by the scenario that Section, as the ultimate punishment for their escape, were going to make Michael and Nikita choose who would live and who would die. Michael spelled out a scenario of long term sedation and then reintegration into Section. Michael wanted Nikita to live but the show told us that Michael was the one who would live. The scene in which he realized this was the decision made was so heart-wrenching. That’s what this story was about. Michael is kind of living in a fugue state. I wanted his grief for Nikita to be palatable. There’s a slightly more dreamy quality to this story because he was using his memories of his time with Nikita on the sailboat to comfort/torture himself. For me, it worked.
My best story this year: This one would be dealing with the devil. I’m so happy with this story, especially the first half. A lot of my stories are an attempt to fill in the blanks from episodes, but me being me, they have a healthy amount of smut. I incorporate what I think is a plausible amount of it, but an actual episode might not go there. This fic is the closest I get to an actual missing scene. The antagonistic dynamic between Michael and Petrosian is never explored and I’m rather disappointed by that. Nikita’s dalliance with power is a major part of the episode ‘New Regime’ and Michael is mostly in the background, but this scene did happen in ‘Offscreenville’ if I can borrow a phrase from my Smallville fandom days. Petrosian did order Michael to go and make Nikita happy. He said as much. This is a story were I can see Nigel Bennett and Roy Dupuis’ performances so clear in my head. That makes me so giddy.
My most popular story:
Hits: i’m bared boned and crazy for you has 648 hits. the hour of separation has 328.
Kudos: dealing with the devil has 28 kudos while the hour of separation as 24 kudos
Bookmarks: the hour of separation has 6 bookmarks. In the early morning has 5 bookmarks.
I’d say the hour separation is my most popular story.
Story most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion: This one is easy, the most primitive form of comfort. There’s no Michael/Nikita so I think that’s an automatic strike against it gaining a readership. I was never too invested in the the whole “Nikita was recruited into Section for reasons other than what the first episode suggests." The idea of her recruitment being intentional was not something I was behind. Nor was I enthused by the idea that Nikita was “special” because of her parentage and therefore destined to run Section One and then rise to lead Centre. Honestly, I got the impression that not many people were keen on it either, so any season 5 story that doesn’t feature Michael and Nikita was going to be a hard sell. That being said, Nikita suddenly having to deal with parental issues was an intriguing scenario, especially the disappointment she had to deal with when it came to Mr. Jones' detachment about her wellbeing.
Most fun story to write: I had a lot of fun writing i’m bare boned and crazy for you. It’s Michael and Nikita so young and flushed with reckless teenage love. All they know is each other and everything else just seems to disappear into the background. I loved doing all this research into Paris and trying to figure out what different and low-cost activities they could do to spend time together. I really didn’t want to go cliched and that was part of the appeal. Also, this passionate and revolutionary side of a young Michael was also very appealing. Heck even the slightly lothario background (hey, he’s young) was fun to play around with. It really did add to the forbidden nature that their relationship took on as the story progressed.
Most sexy story: Really? All of them for the most part. If the story had Michael and Nikita together, there were going to be sexy times. I think I’ll go with in the early morning because it lives in that magical period in the show’s canon that has them in the first heady rush of their new relationship. Section has yet to infringe on it. It’s their first real morning after and a soft, sexy, no-need-to-rush, exploration of their bodies as the city awakens around them. They have nowhere to be but right where they are, loving each other and flushed with all the possibilities of a new relationship. The episode that this is a missing scene for brings down the reality of life in Section harshly on them, but for this one morning, the world is perfect.
Saddest story? the hour of separation originated out of a desire to explore a scenario in which Michael believes that Nikita was cancelled by Section. The survivor’s grief that envelops him is a huge part of it. He would willingly kill himself it if wasn’t for the threat over Adam’s head. He exists merely to keep his son alive and safe from Section One. Memories of his time with Nikita on the boat haunt him at night. His dreams of Nikita are the only place where he’s alive.
Story with single sexiest moment: I have three. The first one is from you are the space in my bed. The first time Michael and Nikita make love without a condom. There is so much happiness between them and they both feel like the decision to do so stems from the realization that they both want this relationship to be permanent. They are that much in love. The second one is from the same fic but occurs much later on. I adore the dinner Michael and Nikita go on as friends two years after they’ve broken up. They both clearly want each other and even though they’re single, engaging in a one night stand wouldn’t be the smartest thing for them to do. However, the intense sexual energy between them is palpable. They’re both so beautiful and they can’t stop admiring the other. It’s a slow sensual tease the entire evening between them. The third moment comes from a reminder of how we were and is much more naughty. Michael and Nikita have been interrupted by a phone call from Nikita's boyfriend Gray. She stands there naked while she talks to Gray and Michael stalks over to her naked. Together, they pleasure Michael while Nikita distractedly tries to wrap up her phone call.
Story with single sweetest moment? I've got two. I really liked how in i’m bare boned and crazy for you Michael presents Nikita with a bag of eclairs, pain au chocolate and sweet wine to munch on because he always hears her stomach grumbling after they make love. They are completely unaware that it will be their last night together before they break up.
There was also the moment in the hour of separation while they're on their sailboat in which Michael softly sings along to the radio for Nikita and she's absolutely floored by this. She drags Michael to a bench and they hastily but enthusiastically make love. It's really a celebration of learning to let go of the darkness that Section had in their lives. Their lunch of freshly caught fish ends up burning and they end up eating a box cake for dinner. It’s also the moment that they conceive their daughter.
Hardest story to write: I'll go with the most primitive form of comfort. Just getting the characters voices down worried me. I really haven’t watched season 5 too many times and Mr. Jones is only in a handful of those episodes. Some dialogue exchanges are super easy. They’re often the first things I write if I’m just throwing things into my random snippets folder. With this story, I had to come up with their conversation from scratch and without any previous random inspiration. What would they talk about? The invitation for dinner was an olive branch from Mr. Jones, so I felt he really did want to learn more about Nikita. That was sort of my entry way, but I also didn’t want Nikita to let him off the hook completely for his total hands off approach to her life on streets. I think it came out okay, but I do feel it was still on the weak side.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: Mr. Jones in the most primitive form of comfort. He didn’t have to invite Nikita to dinner. He wasn’t going to apologize for all the hardships he put Nikita through, but I did find a desire to forge something resembling a relationship with Nikita. He’s very much a pragmatist when it comes to the continued operation of Section and he feels Nikita is the key there. Emotions shouldn’t play a role, but I think the reality of meeting Nikita in person, rather than having her be this abstract concept that he could distance himself rom affected him more than he thought.
Biggest disappointment: There are several AUs that have stalled out completely.
Story I don't like: No candidates here. There are elements in all my stories that I like and am very proud of. I don't cringe when I revisit them.
Biggest surprise: That I’m still writing smut. Of course I think that once that well runs dry, so does the LFN fic. I hope that’s not anytime soon.
Things to work on in 2024: I don’t want to slow down. I have a lot of fic ideas in my drafts folder. Even if they don’t see completion yet, I want several of them to garner their own pages rather than living in my drafts folder.
Fic projects I definitely want to get finished this year: I've decided to call the trilogy of stories that started with my high school/university AU story into your heart, I'll beat again. The final part that finally gets Michael and Nikita together and it needs to be completed this year. There's also my Android AU strategic automation, which I’ve had in the works since 2020. I've signed up for![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
smallfandombang to help push this story out. I also want to finish a fic I received as a prompt in which Michael and Nikita have three different sparing sessions, three different dinner outings that follow it and then three different sexual encounters to conclude the evenings. I also have a story that focuses on the rather somber bathtub scene between Michael and Nikita in the episode "Third Party" and contrasts it with the first time Michael and Nikita share a playful bath together. One is at the beginning of their relationship and the other is on the eve of their forced breakup.
Best/worst title?
I rather like “dealing with the devil” It’s a play on Nikita’s line, “Well if I’m dealing with the devil, it’s because the devil is the only one open for business,” when she’s talking to Michael about working for Petrosian.
I also like, “i’m bare boned and crazy for you” which I took from the Dave Matthews Band’s “Crash into Me.”
“a reminder of how we were” is a lot better than what the story was originally titled, but I do find the title a little forgettable.
Best /worst summary?
“You have a well documented protectiveness towards you material.” From dealing with the devil works for me. It’s a line from the fic and I feel it captures the one thing Michael always tries to do, down play how much he looks out for Nikita. The episode “War” tells us that the closeness between Michael and Nikita is in their files and I bet Michael would love to have that observation deleted.
“Nikita and Mr. Jones break bread” from the most primitive form of comfort”. It’s what's in the tin, but it’s not exactly spectacular.
Best first line?
“There’s a spot on Nikita’s skin, just to the right of her nape, that Michael often likes to zero in on.”
As an outdoorsy Australian, actress Peta Wilson clearly loves spending time in the sun. She has the freckles on her body to prove it. In the episode teaser, Michael first kisses Nikita on the nape of her neck. I like to think that he’s aiming for a space between two freckles, now that he has free reign to kiss her wherever he pleases.
Best last line?
“The safety of distance is all he can give her, at least for now.”
This line is from dealing with the devil. Nikita would love to have the occasional friendly drink or coffee with Michael outside of Section. She tells him that. Michael knows that he can’t open that door. Section will come between them again and it would crush her even more if they get any closer. As much as he wants to, he can’t allow himself the pleasure of her company. It will hurt too much when he has to deceive her again.
“My question to you is, will I be enjoying it alone?” From the the most primitive form of comfort. At dinner Nikita is opting for dessert first. One of the lessons Nikita learned on the street is to enjoy the simple pleasures when they come. Lessons that Mr. Jones orchestrated. After a difficult conversation, this is Nikita offering her own olive branch to Mr. Jones.
Fanfiction I wrote this year
January
the hour of separation [La Femme Nikita, Michael/Nikita] - 5475 words
April
i’m bare boned and crazy for you [La Femme Nikita, Michael/Nikita] - 60,601 words
June
in the early morning [La Femme Nikita, Michael/Nikita] - 3,743 words
July
dealing with the devil [La Femme Nikita, Michael/Nikita] - 4,856 words
October
a reminder of how we were [La Femme Nikita, Michael/Nikita] - 24,600 words
November
the most primitive form of comfort [La Femme Nikita, Nikita & Mr. Jones] - 2,670 words
December
you are the space in my bed [La Femme Nikita, Michael/Nikita] 105,000 words
Total stories: 7 stories in one fandoms, 204,945 words written
My favourite story this year: I’ll go with the hour of separation. When I first got into the La Femme Nikita fandom in 2020 and I went in search of LFN fic, there were certain stories that I was looking for. One of them was boat fic set during the penultimate episode of season 4. Michael and Nikita together on a sailboat and on the run from Section One. It’s a shipper’s dream. I was expecting an epic number of fics exploring the subject. Um, there were two. Or at least two that were archived. I didn’t exactly set out to write boat fic with this story. I was intrigued by the scenario that Section, as the ultimate punishment for their escape, were going to make Michael and Nikita choose who would live and who would die. Michael spelled out a scenario of long term sedation and then reintegration into Section. Michael wanted Nikita to live but the show told us that Michael was the one who would live. The scene in which he realized this was the decision made was so heart-wrenching. That’s what this story was about. Michael is kind of living in a fugue state. I wanted his grief for Nikita to be palatable. There’s a slightly more dreamy quality to this story because he was using his memories of his time with Nikita on the sailboat to comfort/torture himself. For me, it worked.
My best story this year: This one would be dealing with the devil. I’m so happy with this story, especially the first half. A lot of my stories are an attempt to fill in the blanks from episodes, but me being me, they have a healthy amount of smut. I incorporate what I think is a plausible amount of it, but an actual episode might not go there. This fic is the closest I get to an actual missing scene. The antagonistic dynamic between Michael and Petrosian is never explored and I’m rather disappointed by that. Nikita’s dalliance with power is a major part of the episode ‘New Regime’ and Michael is mostly in the background, but this scene did happen in ‘Offscreenville’ if I can borrow a phrase from my Smallville fandom days. Petrosian did order Michael to go and make Nikita happy. He said as much. This is a story were I can see Nigel Bennett and Roy Dupuis’ performances so clear in my head. That makes me so giddy.
My most popular story:
Hits: i’m bared boned and crazy for you has 648 hits. the hour of separation has 328.
Kudos: dealing with the devil has 28 kudos while the hour of separation as 24 kudos
Bookmarks: the hour of separation has 6 bookmarks. In the early morning has 5 bookmarks.
I’d say the hour separation is my most popular story.
Story most underappreciated by the universe, in my opinion: This one is easy, the most primitive form of comfort. There’s no Michael/Nikita so I think that’s an automatic strike against it gaining a readership. I was never too invested in the the whole “Nikita was recruited into Section for reasons other than what the first episode suggests." The idea of her recruitment being intentional was not something I was behind. Nor was I enthused by the idea that Nikita was “special” because of her parentage and therefore destined to run Section One and then rise to lead Centre. Honestly, I got the impression that not many people were keen on it either, so any season 5 story that doesn’t feature Michael and Nikita was going to be a hard sell. That being said, Nikita suddenly having to deal with parental issues was an intriguing scenario, especially the disappointment she had to deal with when it came to Mr. Jones' detachment about her wellbeing.
Most fun story to write: I had a lot of fun writing i’m bare boned and crazy for you. It’s Michael and Nikita so young and flushed with reckless teenage love. All they know is each other and everything else just seems to disappear into the background. I loved doing all this research into Paris and trying to figure out what different and low-cost activities they could do to spend time together. I really didn’t want to go cliched and that was part of the appeal. Also, this passionate and revolutionary side of a young Michael was also very appealing. Heck even the slightly lothario background (hey, he’s young) was fun to play around with. It really did add to the forbidden nature that their relationship took on as the story progressed.
Most sexy story: Really? All of them for the most part. If the story had Michael and Nikita together, there were going to be sexy times. I think I’ll go with in the early morning because it lives in that magical period in the show’s canon that has them in the first heady rush of their new relationship. Section has yet to infringe on it. It’s their first real morning after and a soft, sexy, no-need-to-rush, exploration of their bodies as the city awakens around them. They have nowhere to be but right where they are, loving each other and flushed with all the possibilities of a new relationship. The episode that this is a missing scene for brings down the reality of life in Section harshly on them, but for this one morning, the world is perfect.
Saddest story? the hour of separation originated out of a desire to explore a scenario in which Michael believes that Nikita was cancelled by Section. The survivor’s grief that envelops him is a huge part of it. He would willingly kill himself it if wasn’t for the threat over Adam’s head. He exists merely to keep his son alive and safe from Section One. Memories of his time with Nikita on the boat haunt him at night. His dreams of Nikita are the only place where he’s alive.
Story with single sexiest moment: I have three. The first one is from you are the space in my bed. The first time Michael and Nikita make love without a condom. There is so much happiness between them and they both feel like the decision to do so stems from the realization that they both want this relationship to be permanent. They are that much in love. The second one is from the same fic but occurs much later on. I adore the dinner Michael and Nikita go on as friends two years after they’ve broken up. They both clearly want each other and even though they’re single, engaging in a one night stand wouldn’t be the smartest thing for them to do. However, the intense sexual energy between them is palpable. They’re both so beautiful and they can’t stop admiring the other. It’s a slow sensual tease the entire evening between them. The third moment comes from a reminder of how we were and is much more naughty. Michael and Nikita have been interrupted by a phone call from Nikita's boyfriend Gray. She stands there naked while she talks to Gray and Michael stalks over to her naked. Together, they pleasure Michael while Nikita distractedly tries to wrap up her phone call.
Story with single sweetest moment? I've got two. I really liked how in i’m bare boned and crazy for you Michael presents Nikita with a bag of eclairs, pain au chocolate and sweet wine to munch on because he always hears her stomach grumbling after they make love. They are completely unaware that it will be their last night together before they break up.
There was also the moment in the hour of separation while they're on their sailboat in which Michael softly sings along to the radio for Nikita and she's absolutely floored by this. She drags Michael to a bench and they hastily but enthusiastically make love. It's really a celebration of learning to let go of the darkness that Section had in their lives. Their lunch of freshly caught fish ends up burning and they end up eating a box cake for dinner. It’s also the moment that they conceive their daughter.
Hardest story to write: I'll go with the most primitive form of comfort. Just getting the characters voices down worried me. I really haven’t watched season 5 too many times and Mr. Jones is only in a handful of those episodes. Some dialogue exchanges are super easy. They’re often the first things I write if I’m just throwing things into my random snippets folder. With this story, I had to come up with their conversation from scratch and without any previous random inspiration. What would they talk about? The invitation for dinner was an olive branch from Mr. Jones, so I felt he really did want to learn more about Nikita. That was sort of my entry way, but I also didn’t want Nikita to let him off the hook completely for his total hands off approach to her life on streets. I think it came out okay, but I do feel it was still on the weak side.
Story that shifted my own perceptions of the characters: Mr. Jones in the most primitive form of comfort. He didn’t have to invite Nikita to dinner. He wasn’t going to apologize for all the hardships he put Nikita through, but I did find a desire to forge something resembling a relationship with Nikita. He’s very much a pragmatist when it comes to the continued operation of Section and he feels Nikita is the key there. Emotions shouldn’t play a role, but I think the reality of meeting Nikita in person, rather than having her be this abstract concept that he could distance himself rom affected him more than he thought.
Biggest disappointment: There are several AUs that have stalled out completely.
Story I don't like: No candidates here. There are elements in all my stories that I like and am very proud of. I don't cringe when I revisit them.
Biggest surprise: That I’m still writing smut. Of course I think that once that well runs dry, so does the LFN fic. I hope that’s not anytime soon.
Things to work on in 2024: I don’t want to slow down. I have a lot of fic ideas in my drafts folder. Even if they don’t see completion yet, I want several of them to garner their own pages rather than living in my drafts folder.
Fic projects I definitely want to get finished this year: I've decided to call the trilogy of stories that started with my high school/university AU story into your heart, I'll beat again. The final part that finally gets Michael and Nikita together and it needs to be completed this year. There's also my Android AU strategic automation, which I’ve had in the works since 2020. I've signed up for
smallfandombang to help push this story out. I also want to finish a fic I received as a prompt in which Michael and Nikita have three different sparing sessions, three different dinner outings that follow it and then three different sexual encounters to conclude the evenings. I also have a story that focuses on the rather somber bathtub scene between Michael and Nikita in the episode "Third Party" and contrasts it with the first time Michael and Nikita share a playful bath together. One is at the beginning of their relationship and the other is on the eve of their forced breakup.Best/worst title?
I rather like “dealing with the devil” It’s a play on Nikita’s line, “Well if I’m dealing with the devil, it’s because the devil is the only one open for business,” when she’s talking to Michael about working for Petrosian.
I also like, “i’m bare boned and crazy for you” which I took from the Dave Matthews Band’s “Crash into Me.”
“a reminder of how we were” is a lot better than what the story was originally titled, but I do find the title a little forgettable.
Best /worst summary?
“You have a well documented protectiveness towards you material.” From dealing with the devil works for me. It’s a line from the fic and I feel it captures the one thing Michael always tries to do, down play how much he looks out for Nikita. The episode “War” tells us that the closeness between Michael and Nikita is in their files and I bet Michael would love to have that observation deleted.
“Nikita and Mr. Jones break bread” from the most primitive form of comfort”. It’s what's in the tin, but it’s not exactly spectacular.
Best first line?
“There’s a spot on Nikita’s skin, just to the right of her nape, that Michael often likes to zero in on.”
As an outdoorsy Australian, actress Peta Wilson clearly loves spending time in the sun. She has the freckles on her body to prove it. In the episode teaser, Michael first kisses Nikita on the nape of her neck. I like to think that he’s aiming for a space between two freckles, now that he has free reign to kiss her wherever he pleases.
Best last line?
“The safety of distance is all he can give her, at least for now.”
This line is from dealing with the devil. Nikita would love to have the occasional friendly drink or coffee with Michael outside of Section. She tells him that. Michael knows that he can’t open that door. Section will come between them again and it would crush her even more if they get any closer. As much as he wants to, he can’t allow himself the pleasure of her company. It will hurt too much when he has to deceive her again.
“My question to you is, will I be enjoying it alone?” From the the most primitive form of comfort. At dinner Nikita is opting for dessert first. One of the lessons Nikita learned on the street is to enjoy the simple pleasures when they come. Lessons that Mr. Jones orchestrated. After a difficult conversation, this is Nikita offering her own olive branch to Mr. Jones.
