Combined writing and fandom memes for 2025

[shallowness]

As with last year, I won’t be doing the writing meme separately, because once again the only fanfiction that I posted in 2025 were three-sentence ficathon fills, all ten of them coming to a total of 1,108 words (which would make a respectable-for-me word count for one fic once upon a time.) Four were original works, two were from Mansfield Park, one the 2007 Persuasion adaptation, one Harry Potter, one St. Trinian’s and one for Wicked – Part 1. They can be found here. I don’t think I really wrote much else fictionwise over the year, perhaps some other drafts for the three-sentence ficathon, and some editing. Let’s hope 3SF inspires something and, ideally, something I watch or read sparks a fic.

I reposted seven fics (all ficlets), five of which are in the same collection, and there are still fics that need to be reposted here and at AO3.

My version of the fandom meme

Your main fandom(s) of the year: For reading fic, Harry Potter, Marvel Cinematic Universe and The Rings of Power, which are the same as last year, for the same reasons.

For writing fic: original, Jane Austen, but St. Trinian’s and the first Wicked film were new. (But, again, these were three-sentence ficlets.)

TV shows I was fannish about: Strictly Come Dancing, although I wasn’t superinvested in a couple – I voted the most for Amber and Nikita by the end, knowing they wouldn’t win, but the run of the jive, Charleston and couples choice was really strong. I appreciated Lewis and Katya’s couples choice, Charleston and paso, and Karen and Carlos’s couples choice and Blackpool paso, as well as other dances, ooh, like Amber and Nikita’s showdance and George and Alexis’s too. End of an era with Tess and Claudia leaving.

I suppose I was pretty invested in Hotel Portofino, as I finished watching season 2 and started watching season 3 in 2025 while I put off watching the next series of The Wheel of Time and Miss Scarlet and the Duke.

Films I was fannish about: Wicked part 1 in that I went to see it for a second time, bought the soundtrack, wrote and read fic, and then went to see Wicked: For Good, but I didn’t go to see a singalong version etc. Thunderbolts* (and to a lesser extent Fantastic Four: First Steps) meant I was somewhat fannish about the MCU: phase whatever it is. Zootopia 2/Zootropolis 2 as a shipper and fic reader.

Books I was fannish about: I looked up fic for Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith and Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, and kept on reading in quite a few series…

Best film you watched this year:
In the cinema: Wicked Part 1 (best rewatch), The Ballad of Wallis Island (best film I saw for the first time.
On DVD: Wall-E (I treated myself to a rewatch around my birthday.)
On Blu-Ray: Black Widow (rewatched in preparation to see Thunderbolts*. I should note it was the only Blu-Ray that I watched in 2025.)
Streaming: The Artist (rewatch) The Wanting Mare and My Zoe (new to me.)

Best book you read this year:
Hamnet: Maggie O’Farrell (this was a gift, I wouldn’t necessarily have bought it, but I loved it for how vividly and sensually it was written, how rich Agnes’s inner world and own knowledge were.) So, I will read literary fiction if it's historical, from a female perspective and has some relationship with theatre...

Your favourite album and/or song to listen to this year:
I suppose it was the Wicked Part 1 soundtrack.

Your favourite TV show of the year:
Strictly, Code of Silence up to a point, The Wheel of Time for some things too.

Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year:
It’s probably a good thing that I’m not using the ‘grumbling’ tag, but it doesn’t help me fill out this meme. That there weren’t more movies out there that I would want to see at times.

Your biggest squee moments of the year:
What I was able to see when, post-treatment, my eyesight settled down and I had a new prescription.

Your biggest fan anticipations for the coming year:
The ‘Hamnet’ adaptation, as it has awards buzz. I’m also looking forward to Project Hail Mary (Ryan Gosling’s version of Matt Damon in The Martian only about the sun and without a crew.) The third Dune movie. If that ends up coming out on the same date as Avengers: Doomsday, I will prioritise watching it. I have the next Strike mystery, ‘The Hallmarked Man’ in my to be read pile. ‘Butterfly’ is on my to be watched list, although I haven’t heard much buzz about it, and I do intend to get round to watching the third series of Wheel of Time and Miss Scarlet and the Duke.

Favourite couple of 2025:
TV: Alison/Liam (Code of Silence),
Films: Judy/Nick (Zootropolis 2),
Books: Melaria/Vidnaric (Crown Duel)

Favourite main character of the year:
Cheyenne Toussaint (Etoile) I know I couldn’t stand her in real life, but on TV, she is my favourite force of nature right now. From films, Yelena Belova, probably.

I give up on answering supporting character and team.