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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.
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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.

snowflake_challenge #5: In your own space, tell us about 3 creative/fannish resources, spaces, or communities you use or enjoy. (One or two is fine, especially if you're in a smaller fandom or like many people at the moment, fannishly adrift right now.)

It's great to see many of the communities I wanted to mention got mentioned already! This is maybe an easier question, but still hard to answer.

1. The Latest Kate — I know this isn't a creative or fannish resource, but I think it's one that's helped me when I've felt like my creative endeavours have been pointless (what a great word, hey!). Kate is a mental health author and illustrator who has a daily newsletter that includes at least three pieces of artwork with positive reminders that aim to help you navigate your mental health. By no means are they the be all and end all of helping someone out of a rut, but they're the positive voice that we sometimes suffocate in our heads. I've been following her for a year now (I think I actually started following her because it was suggested to me last Snowflake) and I haven't regretted it at all. In fact, I've only shared her with more people in my life! I figure it's worth sharing this resource again as I've returned to my folder of newsletters to remind myself of a few important facts Kate takes the time to illustrate.

2. stocklove_ic — Over the last several months, I've started to participate in this challenge. It's been fun challenging myself to create stock icons (I never used to make them before) and create to themes. The challenge is great, especially since the moderator uses other icons as inspiration for setting the theme and that exposes me to other icon makers to check out.

3. common_nature — I really like the photos people share. Some of them are epic snaps.

And a bonus:

4. 750words.com — It encourages you to write every day, and to meet the goal of 750 words every day. I haven't really participated in it in a long time (even though I get email reminders and write more than 750 words when I sit down to write, even if it isn't every day) but I know some people might find it useful to get them started or to keep them on track. If you sign up to the site (it's free), it'll track your progress. I know I turn to this website when I need encouragement to write.

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I wanted to give a variety of different answers since not everyone's into the same thing. Hopefully, someone finds one of these useful. :)

I've finally finished cross-posting all of my three sentence ficathon fills—and just in time for 2022 to end! If you're a poor soul who has subscribed to me, you can breathe a sigh of relief as you won't be getting any more daily notifications.

I won't be listing them all individually here because there are 39 of them (it kills me that it's not even, curse past me!) and that's too many, but you can find them all in my three sentence ficathon series. They're not sorted by fandom because that's too logical.

Stories include Kaz/Inej (Shadow and Bone + Six of Crows), Kaz & Jordie (Six of Crows), Jesper & Milo (Shadow and Bone), Alina + Darkling/Alina (Shadow and Bone), Jaskier/Yennefer + Geralt/Yennefer (The Witcher), Yelena/Kate + Yelena & Kate (Hawkeye), Bucky/Natasha + Bucky (MCU), Elena + Katherine/Elena (The Vampire Diaries), Jess/Rory (Gilmore Girls), Clark/Lois (Smallville).

Some of my favourites include:

sankta
six of crows/shadow and bone | kaz/inej; mature; 67 words
"Sankta Inej," Kaz murmurs and chuckles as she hides her face beneath the cover of her hands.

one of the crew
six of crows | kaz/inej; gen; 87 words
Inej is exasperated when Kaz refuses to act like he's a guest on The Wraith.

i hope when i die, you barely survive
six of crows | kaz & jordie; mature; 80 words
Kaz looks for Jordie in the canal.

she herself is a haunted house
the vampire diaries | elena; mature; 90 words
"I’m sorry," she whispers to the chipped and discoloured tombstones.

flirting
the witcher | jaskier/yennefer; teen; 116 words
Jaskier flirts with Yennefer through song.

grey
shadow and bone | alina; mature; 77 words
Sankta Alina reclaims what the shadows had thieved so brutally from her.

get your shit together so i can love you
six of crows | kaz/inej; teen; 101 words
She watches soundlessly as Kaz sheds all of his armour but his gloves.
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Or: Kaz takes off his armour, except for one piece he leaves for Inej.

braiding hair
six of crows | kaz/inej; teen; 77 words
With bare hands, Kaz braids Inej's hair.

together we're lost
six of crows | kaz/inej; teen; 141 words
Kaz chooses the sea over Ketterdam.

to be loved and love at the highest count
six of crows | kaz/inej; mature; 95 words
When Inej bumps into a previous Menagerie client, Kaz comforts her before planning his revenge.

when i'm alone with you
six of crows | kaz/inej; teen; 89 words
It's in the shadows where they're able to touch.

fairytales
the witcher | jaskier/yennefer; teen; 131 words
Jaskier writes a song for Yennefer. She, of course, has some edits.

singing like a bird
six of crows | kaz/inej; teen; 131 words
Kaz confesses his love for Inej and enjoys her embarrassment.

you bear your fangs and drink me
the vampire diaries | katherine/elena; mature; 85 words
Elena's no longer afraid of the big bad vampire.

we’re slaves to any semblance of touch
six of crows | kaz/inej; mature; 183 words
Inej glides her naked fingers against the bared skin of Kaz's neck and shoulder, down the muscle of his bicep and to the crook of his elbow.
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Or: Inej studies Kaz without his armour.

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I might have a Kaz/Inej problem.

If you like any of them, please leave a comment if you like! Feedback is always appreciated. :)