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scytale asked for Little Women's Amy March.

The Amy March I'm familiar with is the Amy March from Little Women (2019). (I've bought the book, but in true me fashion, I haven't read it yet.)

( AMY MARCH RULES! )

(You can bet your butt I'm doing a Zoya meta. The Ianthe one will have to wait as I'm stuck in the book and haven't met her yet!)

This was a lot of stream of consciousness. I hope someone enjoyed reading me waxing questionable poetry about Amy!

Hello, snowflake_challenge! I wanted to combine two of the recent challenges together.

#14: Try something new.


I did not position these in the centre and it will annoy me until I forget about this crime.

So, I got into tarot! Finally! I told my perfectionism to shove it and I am allowing myself to be a beginner-slash-learner with tarot. I have experience using oracle cards and decided to just go for it.

I have so many decks I want to buy, but I'm not allowing myself to go crazy. This is a hobby I think I'll be in for a long time, so there's always time to get those decks on my wishlist.

I'm currently studying so I can understand the traditional meanings behind the cards and learn the decks I have. I… treated myself a little bit a few days ago and bought the Disney Villains, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Cat tarot decks and the Seasons of the Witch Imbolc oracle deck.

I'm practicing reading for myself and a couple of friends, but once I'm more comfortable, I'll most likely offer a few readings to my flist.

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#15: Fandom Snowflake Challenge's 2023 Fandom Wrapped!

Your top 5 fandoms for 2023 were:
In no particular order:

1. MCU (I'm now kind of burnt out on it now, so we're putting this away on the shelf so I can miss it again).
2. Grishaverse, specifically Shadow and Bone (TV show) and the Crows and Nikolai's (really Zoya's) books.
3. The Hunger Games.
4. The Boys.
5. The Vampire Diaries (now located on the burnout shelf).

Your top 5 fandom spaces (Discord, Twitter, etc.) in 2023 were:
1. I guess Dreamwidth for exchanges.
2. Twitter when I livetweet shows.
3. I guess Discord but that's more or less to talk to my friends about things.
4. Does getting back to DWRP on Dreamwidth count?
5. I guess Tumblr even though I have no idea how to use it and my layout changed somehow without me understanding why.

The top 5 things you did to contribute to fandom in 2023 were:
1. A lot of fic.
2. A lot of icons @ shithouse.
3. Got back into DWRP, so a lot of trash.
4. rarepairexchange, which I co-modded with the fantastic, wonderful, irreplaceable.mp3 ( affectionate ) svgurl.
5. A few comments on fic and art!

Your top 5 most appreciated fandom contributions were:

Sorting by kudos because my brain hurts otherwise (and I have no idea if I filtered this correctly, so YOLO!)

1. you kept me close
hawkeye | yelena/kate; teen; 2.9k
Five times Yelena and Kate wore one another’s clothes.

2. the little mallet of death
bridgeton | kate/anthony; gen; 463
Anthony wants to find the perfect way to inform his family that Kate's pregnant.

3. all i hear is your heart
the hunger games (movies) | katniss/finnick; mature; 16.4k
It’s been two years since the rebellion and Snow’s tyrannical reign of Panem ended. Despite having settled in District 13, Finnick and Katniss are still struggling to try and pick up the pieces. It’s an impossible task, especially when they still have ghosts to face.

4. i'll be there when your reality drowns
the vampire diaries/the originals | elena/klaus; mature; 18.8k
Klaus Mikaelson was the last person Elena ever wanted to be trapped in a time loop with. And yet, here she was.

5. the ghosts crawling on our skin
six of crows | inej/kaz; explicit; 10.5k
Kaz and Inej explore what it means to be intimate with one another.

Bonus questions:

Your fandom personality in 2023 was: (i.e. Fandom Eeyore, Twitter Refugee, Discord Party Animal, etc.)


I don't know how else to be.

In 2023, you discovered: (that you adore hockey RPF, but you hate the Liberty Mutual emu, etc.)
Apparently I like to write kinks I never thought I would ever write. They were fun! I like that I challenged myself and that I got to explore some things I wasn't entirely sure about, but I'd love to read/explore a little more.

Your fandom home in 2023 was: (Bluesky, Mastodon, Middle Earth, lying in my bed, with a good book, etc.)
Dreamwidth.

I'm tired so no thoughts, brain is just buzzing with white noise. I saw dolorosa_12 and svgurl do this meme so I thought "I want to be cool, too".

Rules: go through your last 5 fics and share the first and last line. No context.

Obviously not including anything I may have written for unrevealed exchanges! I will also provide a note for my NSFW fic since you know I write horny stuff and I think it's fair I warn for this.

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i'm desperate for your adoration [ IMPLIED CONTENT ]
first line: "So, does this mean I get to be your dirty little secret?" he murmured against her skin.
last line: Before he could utter another ridiculous word, she kissed him.

*

falling in my den full of lions
first line: "So, you’re sleeping on the floor," he declared with a swish of his cape.
last line: Instead, it held her and kept them at bay.

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unafraid [ NSFW ]
first line: "You know, when I suggested you take me up against a wall, I was partly joking."
last line: Rather than shush her, he laughs loudly, letting the sound echo around them like he’s finally unafraid of being seen.

*

a broken clock
first line: With a jolt, he slurred, "I had fantasies about this."
last line: Turned out, Maggie Shaw’s a better kisser than him.

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bleeding in the snow
first line: The snow is cold against your back.
last line: You’re no longer in the snow.

*

In other news: did y'all feel the tectonic plates shift? I'm writing again! My brain is full of ideas. I'm writing things for myself and they are indulgent af. AND I'M LOVING IT. I hope to finish something soon. 🤗

I was going to write a life update post and then decided to just tell you guys about what I've been reading and watching instead. Life is lemons and I've been making some nice lemonade. I'm cold, I'm installing boundaries for myself, and as a part of those boundaries, I've been really putting self-care at the forefront. I just hope to get back into the swing of journalling. (I think I'm burn out? I don't even know anymore.)

Anyway.

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What I've read:

Grishaverse!

* Shadow and Bone: I did not like this book at all. I was ready to dump it, but someone I rp with encouraged me to stick it out and I somehow slugged through it. The worldbuilding was interesting but I didn't find Alina very compelling, and the writing was dull. I love Mal. I am probably his only fan, and I am okay with this.

* Siege and Storm: I felt this started off strong and then the writing and pacing came apart. I kind of wish we spent more time hunting the Sea Whip and pulling apart how fucked up amplifiers really are. Again, I loved Mal. Nikolai was honestly the saving grace of this book.

* Ruin and Rising: This one was my favourite out of the Alina books. I felt the stakes were higher, the writing and pacing was slightly better, and Zoya was featured more heavily in it despite her shallow characterisation. I still felt it could've been shorter. This book worked better for me as it felt more like an ensemble book told from Alina's restrictive POV.

The one thing I did like about the Alina series was how it finished with Darklina being a toxic relationship. I didn't enjoy the journey, but I'm really vibing with how Darklina was not endgame and was, in fact, called toxic because that's what it was. Alina didn't allow him to suffocate her while he suffocated himself with his desire to possess her. I really liked that end note because that's why I find the ship so fascinating. I can't explain that, but I loved that.

* King of Scars: I adored this book, except for the Nina and Hanne plot. I found the worldbuilding to be intriguing. I absolutely love Nikolai and Zoya as a duo. I really loved seeing Genya and David developed as characters. I wish there had been more romance between Zoya and Nikolai on the page, but I still really enjoyed it. I finished this book in 10 days. I never finish books of this size in such a timeframe unless I enjoy it.

What I'm reading:

* Rule of Wolves: I'm currently reading this, and I feel that it's a bit too bloated with the POVs. I'm only interested in Zoya, Nikolai and another POV. Zoya is one of my favourite characters, and I like that I can see myself in her when it comes to her discomfort in being vulnerable. Nikolai remains incredibly charismatic. I think I'm going to finish it at the end of this week! I feel it could've been shorter and tighter plot-wise, though. This doesn't feel like a Nikolai book because of the bloated POVs/plots.

What I plan to read next:

* The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins in preparation for the movie. I wouldn't be surprised if I reread The Hunger Games and Catching Fire next (none for Mockingjay) since I did rewatch those movies.

* Scarlet Witch by Steve Orlando once the next issue is out. It's been fun and the last issue wasn't as much of a letdown as the previous ones.

*

What I've watched:

* Game Night: As part of Friday movie night with Dad, I picked this movie and it was one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. The acting was fantastic. The plot was so much fun. I really love Rachel McAdams and this movie was so great at capturing her comedic acting chops.

We watched other movies after this one, but none worth noting imo. Before this one, we did watch Uncharted, which I found really fun.

I'm currently watching Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest when I ride my bike. It's still one of my favourite movies and still one of the best sequels I've ever seen.

* Firefly Lane: Katherine Heigl stole the show. I found it to be a fun show about female friendship (although very codependent). It tells the story in flashbacks and present moments, which can get very confusing if you're not paying attention to hairstyles. It was fun and campy.

* The Witcher: Season 3, Part 1 is solid imo. I really enjoyed how Yennefer was front and centre, and how Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer formed a great family. Yennefer's outfits are a huge letdown, though—and Anya's wig is distracting at times because I think it's too thick and heavy and makes her face look very, very thin. She looks gaunt at times, which doesn't feel very complimentary of Anya. Episode 5 is honestly one of the best of the entire series and I will say no more on it.

* American Gods: I watched this because of rp and I cannot tell you a damn thing that happens except that it's pretty, there's a lot of nudity and hardly any dick. I really enjoyed Sweeney and Laura's bits (which were the easiest to follow) and their dynamic/chemistry the most. I'm not happy with how season 2 ended and I'm not sure if I'll continue with season 3. It's a fun show but a bit convoluted for me in terms of how it delves out lore.

I'm currently rewatching WandaVision and am really enjoying noticing things again, remembering all the theories we had as a fandom, and the disappointments we felt at some of the things that fell flat.

What I plan to watch next:

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ NO CLUE.

* I'm rewatching American Gods now that I've seen it in its entirety to see if I can understand it, but I'm honestly on the lookout for something new to sink my teeth into.

* BARBIE! Getting my Kenergy on, baby!

*

Podcasts I've listened to:

* Jessica Rowe with John Edward. This was very insightful and I felt the content was in line with a lot of what I've been researching and trying to instil in my life. John speaks about boundaries and energies, and it's something I felt resonated with me. If you're not interested in psychic-like stuff, I don't think this is the episode for you.

* Abby Medcalf's Relationships Made Easy has been a huge changer for me. I've wanted to find a psychologist on podcasts who gives tools you can use, and I really appreciate how she outlines the problems, how they can show up in and for you, and the various ways you can combat them. I think she's a fantastic resource. Not all of her episodes are relevant to me, but the ones that are have been worth a listen. I've been taking notes whenever I listen to her so I can refer back to the lessons, and I've found them incredibly helpful in my day-to-day.

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I've really enjoyed taking time out in my afternoon to sit and read a book for thirty minutes (and then again by bedtime). It's been so good, and I've been looking forward to these moments during the day.

I have a massive backlog of books to read (my bookshelf has gotten worse). One day I will give my library card a workout. One day!

A four day weekend means I lost track of time! I owe comments to responses and posts and will get to them this week. :)

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snowflake_challenge #14: In your own space, do the Fandom Wrap Challenge.

What were your top 5 fandoms for 2022 based on the amount of time you interacted with them?
1. WandaVision
2. Six of Crows
3. The Vampire Diaries
4. Marvel Comics (The Scarlet Witch, Hawkeye)
5. DC Comics (Batman: The Long Halloween, The Dark Victory, Hush, and Nightwing)

The first three are my top fandoms from AO3 and the last two are from my Goodreads.

What were your top 5 fandom spaces (Discord, Twitter, etc.) you experienced fandom in terms of time spent?
1. AO3
2. Dreamwidth
3. Tumblr
4. Discord
5. Twitter

What are the top 5 things you did to contribute to fandom in terms of time? Did you write? Comment? Send positive energy into the universe? Create art?
1. Participated in exchanges, filled a lot of pinch hits, and wrote a lot of treats.
2. Commented on a lot of fanfic and art, especially as part of the exchange scene.
3. Participated in comment_bingo.
4. Made icons @ shithouse.
5. Participated in snowflake_challenge for the first time.

What were your top 5 most appreciated fandom contributions? (i.e. in terms of likes, kudos, reblogs, comments, etc.)

My top five fics via kudos.

1. bite
bridgerton | kate/anthony; explicit; 4.6k words; written for dick_or_treat
When Kate purposefully wears lily-scented perfume to drive Anthony crazy, it ends with him on his knees.

2. incorrigible
bridgerton | kate/anthony; teen; 417 words; written for battleshipex
Kate wishes Anthony would stop touching her pregnant belly for just one moment.

3. you came back as the underdog
wandavision/the falcon and the winter soldier | wanda/bucky; mature; 120k words
After the events of Westview, Wanda’s content to isolate herself away from the rest of the world in Sokovia. Unfortunately for her, Bucky has other plans.

Started in 2021; finished in 2022.

4. geomancy
bridgerton | kate/anthony; explicit; 10.5k words; written for dick_or_treat
In preparation for their wedding, a nervous Anthony asks Kate to show him how the Haldi ceremony is performed so he can practice. Naturally, things escalate.

5. i am right here
bridgerton | kate/anthony; teen; 21.6k words; written for fandom5k
When Kate finds solace in Edmund Bridgerton’s library, she doesn’t expect to find it with Anthony.
—
Or: Kate and Anthony actually talk while at Aubrey Hall. [ Library scene extended. ]

This makes my top 5 fandoms look like a LIE.

Have a Top 5 List you'd like to share?? By all means!

Top 5 icon posts @ shithouse, in no particular order. (I didn't make a lot of icons last year for personal reasons, but I like what I made!)

1. Jennifer Walters in She-Hulk 1x01



2. Max Mayfield in Stranger Things Season 4



3. Jesper Fahey in Shadow and Bone Season 1



4. Halloween Stock



5. Sam Wilson in the Falcon and the Winter Soldier 1x06



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snowflake_challenge #15: In your own space, opine on the future of fandom.

I'll keep this really short, but I really think fandom is what you make of it these days.

It's never going to be what it was back during LiveJournal's prime. While there's definitely new blood in fandoms these days, the majority of us who were active (as participants and lurkers) in fandom are older now. We no longer have the same amount of time as we did back when we were teenagers or young adults, and I think that's okay. I think those of us who want fandom are subconsciously drawn to likeminded individuals, who tend to be the ones who experienced the change in fandom over the last ten years and are older and (supposedly) wiser now.

Over the last year since I last participated in Snowflake, I've found my Dreamwidth circle grow and become fannish because people found me via interests or we did an exchange where they either gifted a work to me or they were cursed with a gift (or few) from me. Last year's first Snowflake post encouraged me to put together an "info post" that had a friending policy, and I think that friending policy of "If you want to friend me, do it, idc if you say nothing and just press the button!" has helped a lot because, otherwise, no one would've known I was keen for new friends just clicking a button and saying "Hi, I'm here now; letmein.gif". I think putting yourself out there and not being afraid to ask someone to be friends is an effective way to really develop a fannish space around you.

There are so many platforms out there now, which means fandom is stretched thin. I'm honestly not interested in following the latest platform trend. I'm on Dreamwidth, as I know many others are, and I intend to develop my fannish circle here where I interact with people about fandom and share my thoughts and fanworks via here. I host my fanworks on AO3, Spotify and Dreamwidth, and that's enough for me. (I use Twitter as a separate fandom space where I live tweet my reaction to shows and reality tv shows, but I have no intention whatsoever to share my complete fandom self there; it's just a space I use to connect with people who like the shows I like and who don't participate in fandom in the same way I do on Dreamwidth and AO3—Tumblr is my fannish space to share that fandom side of myself. I like this distinction.)

I suppose I decided to take this prompt and answer "What does the future of fandom look like for me?" and my short answer is that it's going to be one where I finally put myself out there and trust that there is a welcoming space for me to do so, and whoever wants to be involved in it can be. So far this year, I've enjoyed getting involved in other's prompts, asking people for help to brainstorm a bingo, and encouraging people to write things for me (without realising I was doing it!) and looking out for ways that I can gift things to friends outside of exchanges. (The year is young; all I want to do this year is check off the bingo of 'I have this pairing in common with someone I like and so I wrote them a story and gave it to them because I wanted to' because that's something in the LJ era of fandom that I do miss).

I was never an active participant during LJ because I was shy and lurked, but I'm confident now, and anyone who wants to be in my fandom space and wants me in theirs, well… get in loser, we're going shopping.

Doing the unthinkable for me and combining two challenges since I purposefully stalled on Challenge 10 because I was tossing up on what to do.

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snowflake_challenge #10: In your own space, create a fanwork. 

My first fill for my hc_bingo card and another fill for slippery_fish's weekly music prompt:

to the devil that i love in you
the vampire diaries | katherine/klaus; mature; 1,520 words
During captivity, Katherine and Klaus reminisce about their relationship in England during the 1400s. Even after five hundred years, one of them remains in denial about their shared truth.

I love rare pairs and I love fucked up rare pairs. Bring on the toxicity! (Bring on writing for myself! Guys! I wrote for myself!)

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snowflake_challenge #11: In your own space, Talk about your favorite trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme.

I really like ambiguous/open endings and I like not reading or writing love declarations that say "I love you". Sometimes I feel like these two go hand in hand for me.

I mean this in the sense that a story follows a certain plot or problem, and by the end of the story, that specific problem is solved. If I follow two people getting together, I want to see them together at the end. In this scenario, what I love about the two people getting together at the end is the story ending on a note of "They're together, they're happy, but what comes next is left up in the air".

I'm not the biggest fan of declarations of love as I prefer it being shown rather than told to me as a reader. I feel like this is often seen as being ambiguous as a lot of stories I read and watch have a love declaration that ties up the "getting together" nice and neatly. But what I love most about a getting together story is that they work through the hurdles that keep them apart and get together in the end, and it's not all rainbows and butterflies. They still haven't gone on a date. They haven't moved in together yet. They're not in a place emotionally to say "I love you". I like the ambiguous endings because I feel like they're more realistic. (I classify people not saying "I love you" as open because, well… I've grown up with love stories that conclude with "I love you" and that's it with no real promise of anything further. The story ends here. The "I love you" is the neatly tied bow.)

(That said, I do like it when "I love you" is featured in a story, but one person says it and the other person denies it. I love it when that declaration brings on more problems than solutions, and introduces yet another hurdle for two people to work toward. I guess in that vein, I really like trust issues and insecurities flaring up.)

And even outside of this example, I just prefer open endings because I feel like it gives the impression that the story I read exists in a bigger story itself. Not everything is hunky dory in real life, and while I know we escape to fiction to get away from real life, I really like having that impression of "More can happen and will happen". The story isn't over yet, but this thread of it is.

I recently reread one of my favourite book series (Six of Crows) and I really like how it ended on an open ending. The main plot thread that spanned two books is concluded, but the characters' endings are open and offer promise of further stories and movement. I find this more fulfilling than anything else, really. I have my closure, I'm satisfied, but I'm not left with what I feel is unrealistic which is a neatly tied bow at the end of it. I like my bows wonky.

I have no idea if that even makes sense, but it's often a driving force for me as a writer. As I've mostly engaged with fanworks in exchanges, the gifts I receive that have open endings (with the plot thread coming to a nice closure-giving end) are the ones that I really love the most. I like my open endings because I feel like they offer a closure that promises that the characters' journey doesn't end with the story. The plot thread I took you on does.

snowflake_challenge #7: In your own space, interact with a community or a fic.

I have:

* commented on readingtogether (a community I've been intimidated by as I feel I'm a slow reader) and committed to the train rides challenge, where I said I'd like to finish my reread of Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo by tonight (Sunday night).

* dropped a handful of prompts, saved a whole bucket load from threesentenceficathon, and am commenting around on the stories I find that are of things I love. I've been slowly filling in the ones I've saved. (I love how this year's round is going to turn out like last year's where I just write a lot of Kaz/Inej. I've accepted my fate.) I plan to do a little round-up post of my fills and prompts a little closer to the end date this time.

* posted summer stock icons in my icon community, shithouse.

* posted a double drabble (Six of Crows; Nina/Matthias; Crooked Kingdom spoilers) as part of slippery_fish's weekly challenge where you have a week to write a short fic (of whatever size you like) where the story is inspired by the song.

I thought this challenge prompt would be difficult lol.