peaked | Entries tagged with snowflake challenge

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.

Jumping back into

snowflake_challenge with #13: Make a rec list of fanworks!

I had a few notepads open from when I was answering wishlists (and one when I was starting to make a rec list of

ficinabox and then… forgot), so here are some fanworks I recommend!

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Avalanche by exceptionallyunfortunate
Toph/Zuko ; Mature ; 200 words
Even the earth bows to the blind Beifong girl, and the banished prince is no exception.

A gift for me for one of my rare pairs. It's just exceptional; it focuses a lot on earth imagery for Toph (who is an earthbender), and I've never been able to forget this one.

Beauty and the Beast

Coaxing by Missy
Beast/Belle ; Mature ; 426 words
Belle eagerly gives herself up to the town's beast as this century's virgin sacrifice. But she's surprised by the creature she meets.

Short and sweet look into a more mature Belle and the Beast. Beast's gentleness is stunning. Belle's curious nature gives her a freedom and strength that rings so true here.

Enola Holmes (Movies)

sing the body electric by the magpie said (hollowmen)
Enola/Tewkesbury ; Mature ; 8.2k
The problem with having an eidetic memory, Enola discovers, is that she can recall with perfect clarity the sounds Tewkesbury made in that thin, hazy half-dark.

Really fun casefic with fake dating and great banter.

The Hunger Games

reflect / refract / diffract by waveridden
Katniss/Peeta + Haymitch, Effie + OCs ; 3.9k ; teen
After winning the 73rd Hunger Games, Katniss gets her first tribute to mentor.

A fantastic, harrowing AU looking at Katniss and Peeta as first-time mentors. The first person reads like Collins' writing—very effective. This one didn't leave me for a while.

The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Happiness is a Warm Gun by perfectlystill
Lucy Gray/Coriolanus Snow ; Teen ; 3.1k words
"I'm looking out for you, too. I'll find a way," he promises.
Coriolanus teaches Lucy Gray to shoot a gun.

I'm planning to go through perfectlystill's THG works because they really captured Snow's toxicity and need to control Lucy Gray, so if you like complex, unhealthy dynamics with power imbalances, I think you'll like this one!

Little Women (2019)

zombie (what's in your head) by misura
Laurie/Amy ; unrated ; 1.2k words
“I think that deep down inside, you’re a romantic,” Laurie said. “Maybe everyone is. Maybe that’s why so many people are miserable.”
“I think that right now, a lot of people are miserable because there are things out there that are actively trying to kill and eat them,” Amy said. (zombie!apocalypse!AU)

This was a gift for me last year that I have not been able to get out of my head. It's Amy and Laurie during the zombie apocalypse set during their canon. It's simply superb.

MCU

Bargaining by gamerfic
Wanda/Vision ; Teen ; 1k words
After the bite, before the end.

One of my favourite gifts. It's Wanda/Vision during What If…Zombies? and it's such a poignant exploration of their experiences with the zombie virus. It's been three years and I have never forgotten this one.

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Glass Hours by Major
Wanda/Vision ; Teen ; 5.6k words
Time took Vision from Wanda.
It seems only fair for Wanda to take Vision from time.

This is a heartbreaking and hopeful Wanda/Vision.

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The Monsters in the Dark by Rubick
Yelena & Natasha & Alexei & Melina ; Teen ; 1.8k words
It was 1994. Natasha was ten years old. Yelena was five. It was a different time back then, when kids were allowed to bike or run around their neighborhood and no one would worry about someone stealing them away.

But Natasha knew better. And why would Melina and Alexei worry, anyway? They didn’t have to worry about the monsters that crept through the night. They were the monsters.

This is set pre-Black Widow and explores what it was like for Natasha and Yelena before entering the Red Room program. Be aware that there is some violence in this.

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A Letter Undelivered by alchemise
Natasha & Yelena ; Teen ; 300 words
Her sister was quiet next to her.

This was a lovely triple drabble exploring the idea of Natasha coming back post-Hawkeye.

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Marvels by persephonereturned
Monica & Carol; Gen ; 100 words
"Maybe I can fly up and meet you halfway.""Only if you learn to glow, like your Auntie Carol.""Or maybe I'll build a spaceship. You don't know!""He doesn't."
- Captain Marvel (2019)

The dynamic between Carol and Monica is perfect.

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Exit Interview by MalevolentLighthouse
Yelena & Val ; Teen ; 200 words

The Val voice is great in this one, and the power dynamics is established incredibly within 200 words.

Original

The Napping Hour by shetiger
Witch's Cat; Gen
He goes wherever she goes...and naps wherever he naps.

Very atmospheric.

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Pre-occupied by debirlfan
Gen ; 100 words
They're still here.

This drabble is incredible.

Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story

Harvest Season by nasimwrites
Charlotte/George ; Mature ; 3.9k words
Sometimes, Charlotte finds solace in the heavens, too.

This is one of my favourite gifts I've ever received. It's an exploration of King George's illness through the seasons. It's so beautiful that I have to put it in other people's faces to enjoy. I cannot stop thinking about it even to this day!

The Vampire Diaries

A Clockwork Dream by nemali
Bonnie/Kai ; Teen ; 3k words
She kills him every single day. At some point, he stops hating it.

nemali is quickly becoming one of my favourite TVD writers. This was a gift for me; Bonnie and Kai get trapped in another universe (a "prison world") where she kills him over and over. It's a great exploration of Kai, who canon describes as a sociopath and paints with a one dimensional brush that nemali expands upon beautifully. CW for abuse.

The Witcher

Do What Pleases You by facethestrange
Geralt/Jaskier/Yennefer ; Gen
Sometimes that's watching the rising sun together.

A very warm picturesque scene — stunning art.

If you like any of these, please consider leaving the creator a comment!

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

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.

snowflake_challenge #13: In your own space, rec three fanworks that you did not create.

I'm going to do fanvideo recs since I rec a lot of fic and art already (which you can check out here, if you like!). I wish I could make videos.

There are plenty that I love, but let's go with just a few:

me and the devil by

EMILYTHRONES
the boys | queen maeve/the homelander; 2mins 39secs

I love Queen Maeve/Homelander and this captures everything that I love about their fucked up dynamic. The editing is fantastic; I love how the clips build against the music. It feels so very much from Maeve's POV.

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Solitude by

Daddynegan
the vampire diaries | katherine pierce; 4mins 34secs

This is one of my favourite Katherine videos. The editing, the sound clips, the music, the build to Katherine being The Fucking Villain that she is, but it also builds up to her softness and how she's always carried that with her. Honestly, this is such a love letter to Katherine and Katherine fans. Daddynegan makes such great character study videos.

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are you using your night vision, vision? (wandavision humour) by

simplymaterial
wandavision | wanda/vision; 8mins 20secs

I cannot not recommend simplymaterial's videos. They are my favourite, favourite, favourite Wanda fanvidder. I stalk them on Twitter and let them know that I adore their videos. The editing, the music, the storytelling—it's all amazing. This is one of their videos where they put a lot of work into keeping it in line with WandaVision's essence. They did a lot of research on fonts and I think it needs to be appreciated a lot more!

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I have plenty more, but I want to actually keep a challenge response short for once.

One of my goals for this year is that I want to start making more recs throughout the year. I need to sort through my liked videos (I have over 600 liked, heh) and rec them!

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 #8: In your own space, create a quiz or a poll (or tell us your thoughts about answering quizzes/polls).

How did you guys know I wanted to try and make a poll since I have a paid account (and never make polls) and am in my indecisive era? Damn, mind reading snowflakes!

I finished my reread of Crooked Kingdom (planning to post about that later!) and I need some help picking what I should read next! (I have so many options now.)

Poll #28213 help me, i'm indecisive af

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 29

View Respondents

What should I read next?

View Answers

Continue reading The Great Library series (books I own)
6 (20.7%)

Read something new that you own (your bookshelf is crying for help)
11 (37.9%)

Read something that was recommended to you recently so that you have to borrow from the library (renew that membership NOW!)
12 (41.4%)

What comic should I read next?

View Answers

Continue reading She-Hulk.
11 (45.8%)

Continue reading Nightwing.
8 (33.3%)

Something else from DC — there's no such thing as enjoying *too* many things!
3 (12.5%)

Something else from Marvel — there's no such thing as enjoying *too* many things!
2 (8.3%)

Should I do everything my cats want?

View Answers

Duh!
26 (100.0%)

Thank you for your help during this very difficult time.

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 #6: In your own space, post the results of your fandom scavenger hunt.

The list:
1. A favorite character
2. Something that makes you laugh
3. A bookshelf
4. A game or hobby you enjoy
5. Something you find comforting
6. A TV show or movie you hope more people will watch
7. A piece of clothing you love
8. A thing from an old fandom
9. A thing from a new fandom

I gave myself a mini challenge: All of these had to be photos of things I physically owned except for one. (It's crazy how I have nothing offline of one of my oldest and most favourite fandoms, ha.)

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( THE HUNT. )

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. :)

snowflake_challenge #4: In your own space, add something to your fandom’s canon.

Let's go with Six of Crows since I'm currently in the middle of re-reading Crooked Kingdom and this canon is fresh in my mind. Be mindful of spoilers. (I haven't read anything outside of Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom, and am aware that there's a book set post-Crooked Kingdom. In this house, we ignore what we want to ignore!)

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When everything's done and dusted and the band of crows seemingly has parted ways:

• Inej sends Kaz letters from The Wraith detailing secrets she's discovered. This is her way of sharing her adventures on the seas with him while pretending that her reasoning for sending letters is all business. Eventually, she removes her own armour and sends him letters because she wants to, not because it's business.

• Kaz writes to Inej detailing the day-to-day of Ketterdam. She's his spider; she needs to know what's happening so she can stay informed. It's not because he misses her or anything. But the letters stop being business-oriented and including only details about the comings and goings of certain people in Ketterdam, and become a little more heartfelt as Inej transforms from his spider to the person he chooses to be emotionally vulnerable with.

• Inej continues to return to Ketterdam to see Kaz—and, sometimes, she brings those she's rescued who have no home to Ketterdam to start anew. Kaz helps them settle—it's the least he could do; he was once them, after all, and history will never repeat itself ever again.

• Kaz helps settle Inej's parents in Ketterdam. While they do want to return to Ravka, they want to see the home that Inej has created for herself here—and they learn very quickly that Inej will always come back to Ketterdam. The heart is an arrow and Inej's arrow always leads back to here.

• Matthias never dies. He and Nina travel to Ravka, where he's continuously exposed to the Grisha culture and sees similarities and differences between his culture and Nina's. He helps train Grisha in how to protect themselves in physical combat in the instance their powers are inaccessible. Nina learns how to use her new power and harness it.

• Because I am a fucking sap, Matthias and Nina travel to Fjerda and find Trassel. TRASSEL LIVES HAPPILY EVER AFTER. HE IS A GOOD DOGGO.

• Jesper learns how to use his Fabrikator powers to make weapons that complement Wylan's bombs. He also learns how to use his powers to guide his bullets and teaches that to other Fabrikators to give them an edge with their abilities, since they're not seen as an offensive type of Grisha. He and Wylan may travel to Ravka and Novyi Zem to learn, but he always comes back to Ketterdam. That's home.

• The Dregs become a safe haven for everyone without a family. Kaz never lets anyone ever starve or be sick or die without dignity again.

• Of course, there's another heist.

• And when they hear a version of jurda parem is being created under a different name, they, of course, go to destroy it. No Grisha will ever fall prey to its consequences again.

snowflake_challenge #12: In your own space, tell us who you would recast in a film, tv series or webseries, or maybe someone voicing a cartoon or videogame. Or who would you cast to play a character in a book, comic or maybe even your own fiction!

MY TIME HAS COME.

Anyone who talks to me about DCTV and DCEU knows that I have Opinions. This was and has been my main fandom for years. The Flash has always been my favourite show and I've developed a little cast in my head of who I'd love to see act against Barry.

If I could cast it so that DCTV and DCEU were the same universe and all on Earth Prime, this would be my cast. ( my casting director hat is on )

I hope no one is surprised to know that I do have a fic in development hell that is most of these characters all interacting in the one universe. It's a self-indulgent thing I started years ago and wish to finish one day. One day, it will see the light. One day!

I usually don't like doing fancasts so this was a lot of fun!

snowflake_challenge #11: In your own space, Interact with someone.

The most important person I interacted with was my cat. Waking up to her on my shoulder as the queen she is was definitely the best interaction I've had all morning. (Of course, since I'm not Lucille Bluth and do not have favourites, interacting with my other two cats was obviously the highlight of my morning, too… when they appear. They're busy with Official Cat Business.)

I've been having a lot of fun commenting around on this challenge and talking to and meeting new people! When Snowflake first started, I was hesitant to comment around on journals because I wasn't too sure if it was welcome. (Silly, I know, but I feel like this could be a collective fandom experience from time to time? I definitely know it's Anxiety Brain.) But I figured that if it wasn't welcome, people wouldn't be sharing links to their posts saying they've completed the challenge and welcoming comments. Did anyone else feel a little hesitation at first before taking the plunge and commenting around?

I've also been participating in

rthstewart's 3 Sentence Ficathon! It's been so much fun slamming into comments with a few sentences to tell a story and it's been fantastic to see how others have been filling prompts, too. This is what I've been missing in fandom (I mentioned ficathons in one of my challenge responses and then here comes

rthstewart with the answer!) Come join us! We're on the second post now, but you're more than welcome to go fill prompts from the first post.

I'm planning on spending some time replying to some comments today, dropping into some on posts, and maybe shooting my shot with a stranger via message. We'll see what happens!

snowflake_challenge #10: In your own space, rec a fanwork (fic, art, vid, playlist, anything!) you did not create.

Yooooo, LET'S DO THIS.

Sorry, "a"?

Now that's out the way…

( a lot of recs this way )

snowflake_challenge #9: In your own space, list your Fandom Wrap categories.

What are your top five fandoms for 2021 based on the amount of time you interacted with them?
1. The Vampire Diaries.
2. WandaVision.
3. Bob's Burgers.
4. Black Widow.
5. Hawkeye.

So… I turned into a bit of a MCU head. I never, ever thought I would ever dive deep into MCU fandom as I was happy to sit on the sidelines, but 2021, I decided to take the plunge with WandaVision and I have not come up for air since.

What are your top five fandom spaces in terms of time spent? (AO3, Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, Dreamwidth, and others)
1. AO3 (I'm at

buries.
2. Tumblr when it bloody loads (I'm at

finnicks).
3. YouTube (shoutout to the Meanwhile in Australia series becoming my go-to for news lmao).
4. Twitter (I'm at

thereafter where I spent half the year livetweeting Aussie Bachelor/ette).
5. Dreamwidth.

What are the top five ways you interacted in these fandoms? (Reading fanfic, writing, commenting, watching videos, chatting with friends, making art, or anything else you can think of).
1. Writing fanfic (both for myself and for exchanges).
2. Commenting on fanfic.
3. RPing in DWRP.
4. Watching a lot of YouTube videos—I went through phases where I listened to BookTubers, people who reacted to tv, people who broke down WandaVision theories, and now I'm into watching people do art.
5. Making icons at

shithouse.

What are the top five things you did to contribute to fandom in terms of time? Did you write? Comment? Send positive energy into the universe? Create art?
1. Wrote a loooot of fanfic.
2. Participated in exchanges for the first time and wrote a lot of stories.
3. Commented around in exchanges. I can only hope that my comment made someone's day just as their work made mine.
4. Making icons.
5. Reblogging a lot of gifs.

What things did you create that took the most time?
1. Making icons, posting them, and cross-posting them takes forever. In conjunction with this one, doing so, so many commissions!
2. This isn't technically fandom, but pottery! I took up pottery last year and, oh man, just getting the hang of the wheel took a whole damn term.
3. Writing fic, especially somewhere between hello and goodbye (Wandavision, Wanda-centric) — 25k of grief exploration. While it was fun to write, there was just something about the idea that I spent a lot of time with because I wanted it to be the best it could be in representing Wanda's personal grief journey. This was for a Big Bang so I put a lot of pressure on myself to try and get it done quickly. I felt my idea was ambitious so it took a lot of time and energy to try and ensure it became the story I wanted to tell.
4. someday you will ache like i ache (The Vampire Diaries, Katherine/Elena) — 24.8k that I wrote in around two weeks and I kept wanting to make it BIGGER but had to dial it down to try and showcase the emotional and mental journey of two distrusting women coming to trust one another. It was a lot of fun to write, but definitely an exercise in asking "Is this scene serving the story?"
5. i'll pretend that you're watching the sky, too (Gilmore Girls, Rory/Jess) — 24.9k where I spent a lot of time trying to format lol. I learned a lot about how to use skins on AO3 and how to try and make this notepad skin work, even though one letter doesn't work as I want it to because it's too short to align itself properly. It makes me mad, but the inner perfectionist in me is currently letting it go. This one took a long time because I couldn't stop rereading it because I couldn't believe I wrote it LOL.

Top 5 books read in 2021.
1. Sword and Pen by Rachel Caine, last book in the Great Library series. (I am obsessed with this series.)
2. Smoke and Iron by Rachel Caine, part of the Great Library series.
3. The End by Lemony Snicket, the last book in the A Series of Unfortunate Events series.
4. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. (Can't believe I am obsessed with this book.)
5. The Flash vol. 4: Reverse.

Lets be friends on Goodreads!

I added an extra Top 5, but this is a special Top 3.

Top 3 cats in 2021, in no particular order other than alphabetical.

( cats )

snowflake_challenge #7: In your own space, tell us about 3 fandom resources, spaces, or communities you use or enjoy. (One or two is fine, especially if you're in a smaller fandom!)

Let's see if I can keep this one short…

I've been enjoying listening to podcasts on Spotify lately. The ones that I've enjoyed include:

• DIRECTIONALLY CHALLENGED WITH CANDICE KING AND KAYLA EWELL. If you know me, you know I absolutely love The Vampire Diaries, so it should be predictable that I'd listen to these two. I prefer their episodes that are about lifestyle and mental health. They're great interviewers and have a great dynamic.

• DRAMA QUEENS WITH SOPHIA BUSH, BETHANY JOY LENZ, AND HILARIE BURTON. This has been such a wild ride listening to these three women recount their experiences on a toxic work set, how they stood up for themselves at such a young age, and breaking down storylines. I appreciate how they break down some very concerning storylines and character decisions. Some fans don't appreciate it because it tears into their favourite show from time to time, but I think it's important to look at old media we once consumed and that did impact people shaping their identities and question it. They, of course, bring up many positive things and praise the series as well.

• INSIDE OF YOU WITH MICHAEL ROSENBAUM is fun to listen to. I listen to it solely for Smallville deets and he does interview some of my favourite actors, like Sophia Bush and Charisma Carpenter.

• THE SHIT NO ONE TELLS YOU ABOUT WRITING WITH BIANCA MARAIS, CARLY WATTERS AND CECE LYRA has been so interesting to listen to. I know writing is completely subjective, so not every piece of advice works, but I enjoy listening to Bianca's accent (she's South African and so easy to listen to) and really enjoy how prepared she is in asking her questions. I've gained some useful information that I use now when writing.

• SO YOU WANT TO BE A WRITER WITH VALERIE KHOO AND ALLISON TAIT is an Australian podcast that I enjoy listening to. They have great Q&As and do readings of new releases. I like listening to it especially because it's Australian!

And then some blogs for those who don't like podcasts or may have their podcast calendar already full…

These are not all the writing resources I follow, but they're the ones I can find easily on my Tumblr posts rn:

• ao3commentoftheday is a great resource for community advice on writing, although I can sometimes take it or leave it. I do appreciate that community members do give each other advice and validation, and that the blog does reblog this. It's a great starting point imo.

• bettsfic posts really great writing resources and advice. I find that she has really great advice on how to write profic and fanfic and have found a lot of her tactics invaluable.

Last, but not least, mental health accounts that I've really valued finding include:

• positiveseed is a new blog and a great resource for mental health reminders. When I feel a little blue, I like seeing them on my feed reminding me that I'm awesome.

• selfcare_journey is another great blog that focuses on giving people tips on how to validate themselves and mental health resources. This was a great find.

Other great accounts include…

myselflovesupply • doodledwellness • myeasytherapy • anxietyhealer

I follow a lot of great positive mental health accounts on Instagram, but those are just the ones I've recently saved posts from. I find that their posts are great reminders and conversation starters, and find that they validate my experiences and even some of my tactics in trying to overcome my own mental health woes. By no means are these accounts fix-its, but they provide great explanations and thought starters for people to do their own research and may help them begin a conversation with their mental health providers.

I know that they're not fan communities per se, but I always find that fandom is a great space to find mental health resources and tactics because a lot of people are so kind and generous in sharing resources and posts that helped them get through a tough time and also their own personal stories. I've had a lot of people over my 10+ years in fandom share their stories with me in the hopes of helping me work through my own mental health struggles, and I can only hope that I can pay it forward and this helps someone else.

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March 2025

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Page Summary

336. snowflake #14 + #15: where i am an old (wo)man yelling at clouds.
335. snowflake_challenge #13: here are my recs.
313. SNOWFLAKE_CHALLENGE #14 AND #15.
312. SNOWFLAKE_CHALLENGE #13.
310. SNOWFLAKE_CHALLENGE #10 AND #11.
307. SNOWFLAKE_CHALLENGE #8.
306. SNOWFLAKE CHALLENGE #7.
304. SNOWFLAKE_CHALLENGE #6.
303. SNOWFLAKE CHALLENGE #5.
301. SNOWFLAKE CHALLENGE #4.
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237.
236.
235.
233.

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