#snowflakechallenge2017

[tielan]

2017 Snowflake Challenge Wrap-Up

In 2012 the first Snowflake Challenge was held on akamine_chan's personal journal.  The next year this community was created and aka wrote about that first year:

The band My Chemical Romance put in a guest appearance on the kids show Yo Gabba Gabba that December, singing about every snowflake being different, and that was what I wanted us to celebrate - how each one of us was unique and beautiful, broken and imperfect and intelligent and talented and lovable.

This year's Snowflake Challenge seems to have gone by so quickly.  It's been a whirl, the comment pages a flurry of people saying, "I did it" - taking on challenges that were difficult for them, reveling in nostalgia, spreading joy and love, being creative, being giving, doing a challenge every day or a bunch at once or just one challenge.

It's a 15 day challenge, and that 15th day is over, but Snowflake Challenge is still here, and you can participate year round, browse through entries, leave comments, and fill wishes, too!

Whether you participated in every challenge, just one, or somewhere in between - well done, you.  Doing these challenges takes time and effort.  However you participated this year, thank you.  You've made this challenge that flurry of joy and love and creativity and a hundred other things.

Thank you.

[malkaleh]

So I’m doing the fandom snowflake challenge  and I thought I’d post here as well. Because it is an excellent 15 day fanworks challenge. 

Day One:  In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that you've created, or fanworks you feel no one ever saw, or fanworks you say would define you as a creator. 

Such A Time As This (aka Jewish Anne Boleyn):  (Tudors TV & Megillat Ester): This is the Mizrahi Jewish Anne Boleyn interpretation of the story of Ester or 'Lil has feelings about her heritage and identity' When I read that one of the sermons Anne Boleyn had her chaplain preach just before she was arrested was on the story of Esther my brain went '!!!! Jewish Anne though!' and off I went. I am very very proud I finished and published this story despite my doubts about whether I researched it enough - it's a very personal story really. (accompanying graphic) 

Wizardry Most Humble And High:  (Historical Farm & Kate & Cecelia): Written as a Yuletide Treat last year and honestly it was SO MUCH FUN. Genuinely just fun (I want to write the 5K epic with footnotes story of the Royal College tbh because it was so much fun to think about). Also contains magical flying sweets.

The Biracial Pundit Id Fic Drabble: (US Pundit RPF): Shameless id fic about being biracial pretty much. I don't even care I love it.

[wingedwords]

Fandom Snowflake Challenge Day 1

Okay I know this challenge has been over for two days already, but just go with it.

Day One’s Prompt:

In your own space, post a rec for at least three fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that you've created, or fanworks you feel no one ever saw, or fanworks you say would define you as a creator. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

This was kind of hard for me because I’m so new to creating fanwork myself. At first I thought to myself, oh no I haven’t created any fanworks! But then I remembered podfic, duh. Even still, I only have seven works to choose from.

1. Podfic of Shaken Still by echoinautumn [ST:DS9 Julian/Miles/Keiko]

Summary by echoinautumn:  After Julian makes a different choice on the runabout in "Body Parts", Keiko and Miles do their best to make him feel like he belongs.

My first rec would have to be my first podfic. I can’t remember what made me choose it but I’m still fond of the fic. I recorded this before I even tried to establish a podficcing voice, and I was up-talking almost every sentence. The quality is surprisingly good for the first three minutes and then something goes terribly wrong, but I love my recording anyway.

2. Podfic of your mask may as well be cellophane if you’re trying to hide from me by AppleJuiz [Daredevil Matt/Foggy]

[image description: Podfic Cover art. The background is a picture from inside of an apartment of a fire escape and a brick building across the street. Over the picture are words in orange letters that say “your mask may as well be cellohane if you’re trying to hide from me” on the top and “A Daredevil fanfic written by AppleJuiz read by wingedwords” on the bottom.]

Summary by AppleJuiz:  “Hey Karen,” he whispers, because Matt is in the other room, and he doesn't really want to share this with Matt yet. So many years of pining over Matt and it still feels like he's cheating ever time he's interested in someone else. “Can I ask you something a little… weird?” “Sure,” Karen says, sitting up a little straighter. “Is something wrong?” “No, no, nothing wrong,” he assures her. “Just… When you got rescued by the man in the mask, did he... flirt with you?”

My most popular podfic is also the one I am proudest of. It’s not my best quality work, (I’m so new to podficcing that every time I make a new podfic, it becomes my best work by virtue of practice) but there are so many new things that I tried with this recording: music, different voices (though you can’t really tell), coverart, formatting. Also I think this coverart is one of my prettiest, though the image doesn’t even belong to me (I’d source it but it’s been copied on so many websites so many times I couldn’t find the original source).

3. Podfic of Flirting With Disaster by willowbilly [ST:AOS Kirk/McCoy]

[image description: Podfic Coverart. The background is a picture of the San Francisco skyline with part of the Golden Gate Bridge in the corner. Over the picture, large orange words read “Flirting With Disaster”, and below that smaller white words read “written by willowbilly, read by wingedwords”]

Summary by willowbilly: "The shuttle is small, just a two-person craft, but it's warm, at least, which is nice given the fact that in lieu of actual clothes Bones has mutinously decided to use his blanket as a cape over his ratty tank top and sweats, shove his feet into the tall, thick synth-sheepskin slippers Jim had gotten him as a joke gift on his birthday, and call the resulting ensemble good enough of an outfit for the occasion. It's not like he's a debutante at a ball, after all; just trudging after Jim to the turbolift while resentfully clutching his not-coffee close to his chest, glowering both at the world at large and at the back of Jim's head in particular."

This is one of my newest podfics and it really helps show where I’m at in terms of podficcing ability. The sound quality is better and my podfic voice is more established. Also it’s a really great story which made it a lot of fun to record.

[spokespider]

Day 1

In your own space, post a rec for at least three  fanworks that you have created. It can be your favorite fanworks that  you've created, or fanworks you feel no one ever saw, or fanworks you  say would define you as a creator. Leave a comment in this post saying  you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing  so.

This wasn't so easy, because it is hard to praise myself and because I spend so much time being down about that I forget why I'm proud of things pretty quickly. Which makes this a good exercise for me!

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts

A lot of my fannish life was spent in a wonderful community of weekly challenges on LJ that's been dead for a few years now - a theme would be set, we'd write usually drabbles to that theme, and then vote for the winner - whose prize was to set the next theme! It was fun and kept me actively writing, or at least trying to. So most of the things I really like are for this fandom, though I will do one for another.

<a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/528400">Beneath</a> This was for the challenge 'Starting Out' and was a fun little stab at expressing how I felt the main villain of the series feels about his chief henchman (which is a status I took seriously even back when a lot of people didn't, or so it felt at the time). Idk, I think Braig/Xigbar and Xehanort are both fascinating assholes who will absolutely screw each other over, but that at least in the beginning Xehanort felt like Braig was a more innocent darkness.

Now I'm feeling like I should maybe explore that more...

<a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/528389">Three of Wands</a>  Mwahahaha, I made the three good fairies in Sleeping Beauty the villains! I cannot tell you how much unholy glee I still feel about this. XD  >:D I just. I love this! I love the idea of this upside down world where Flora and Fauna and <i>most especially</i> Merryweather are out to fuck up the world and Sora just does not know how to feel about these nice old ladies who are trying to ruin everything, whyyy?!

Someday I <i>will</i> write the companion piece I've always meant to, wherein Maleficent is the kind hermit lady who's been raising Aurora in the woods.

Fandom: Ronin Warriors/Samurai Troopers

<a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/600498">castle in the clouds</a>  Of all the things I love and wish I'd written more for, this. THIS. And okay, thinking about it now is making me want to cry, because I have so many notes and things, and had so much writing it and feeling these characters I love come alive for me in a way thats different, somehow, than anything else I've written for this series. I'd never written anything where I didn't feel like I could live up to the scope of it the way I feel about this.

But I want to so much.

[tielan]

Snowflake Challenge Day 12

Today’s challenge is all about community. I’m really excited to be posting today because of that, because of the comms that taught me how to write and the challenges that gave me the motivation to do so.  The newsletter that taught me about vids and recs and the people I met because I really needed to talk about a fictional character’s sexual orientation.   There are places in fandom that bring us together.  They teach us things and give us amazing gifts, places to hang out and fannish content to consume.  Sometimes they’re bustling hubs, and sometimes they’re quieter places.  Where are you hanging out in fandom these days?  Are there places you wish more people knew about? Here’s your chance to tell us about them. In your own space, post a rec for fannish spaces and resources - comms, challenges, twitters, tumblrs, etc.   Tell us about where you hang out. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Introduction * Master Post * Day 1 * Day 2 * Day 3 * Day 4 * Day 5 * Day 6 * Day 7 * Day 8 * Day 9 * Day 10 * Day 11 Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.

[liptonrm]

Day 03

In your own space, set some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private.

I've never been a real fan of New Year's Resolutions, they're always a little overwrought, always something to use to make yourself feel like shit when you don't live up to them, and, more often than not, they're all about losing weight because that's what the 10 billion diet commercials tell us we should be doing.

Fuck that noise.

But goals in and of themselves aren't bad things. It gives us something to reach, to achieve. Something to be proud of.

Blerg, I'm having a weird day, anyway, thinking about my life, about how I'm older now than my parents were when I was born, about what I've done and haven't done, what I've achieved and haven't achieved. Just a generally weird day.

But I have achieved things. In fact, I achieved something today. I called my US Congressional Rep's office to voice my support for Obamacare. Believe me, this is a big fucking deal, because I hate the phone and I hate cold-calling and I stuttered through the whole thing but I did it.

I mean, it won't change my Rep's mind, I know him of old, but I'm not going to go quietly into the motherfucking night.

Anyway, goals. In 2017 I will:

Write more. Write something every day. 

Be kinder. And look for ways I can help and then actually offer my help, if it's appropriate. I tend to stand back, hesitant to step in, even when that hesitance is unwarranted.

Speak up. I don't have a lot of faith that I, alone, can change anything. But that's not the point. Saying something is the point. Not letting my silence communicate acquiescence is the point. 

Not be a dick. It's, like, the baseline of civility. And it's amazing how easy it is to forget. Seriously,  just don't be a dick.

Exercise. I'm not talking "I have to lose ALL the weight" exercise, but the "Just do something, anything, with your body" kind of exercise. Because it's true, if you don't use it, you lose it and I'd like to put off losing it for as long as humanly possible.

I think that's a good start. Those are good goals to have. That's a good place to start.

[malkaleh]

Fandom Snowflake Day 2:  

In your own space, share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life. Something that impacted on your consciousness in a way that left its mark on your soul. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

There are actually six: Tolkien, The Tudors, The Bill, The West Wing & Criminal Minds. I’ll start with Criminal Minds or the show that genuinely saved my life and through which I met some of the dearest people to me, Band of Brothers through which I met my best friend (hi @armyofthedaegiloth you are excellent), The Bill in which I also met some of my chosen family, The Tudors which also helped save my life (genuinely Natalie Dormer and Anne Boleyn has helped me stay alive), The West Wing through which I went to the USA and fell in love with New York City and learned that I wasn’t useless as a person, indirectly. 

And Tolkien. Tolkien who for this Jewish girl writes a world that informs a whole whole lot of my faith. Tolkien who has inspired the tattoo I will eventually get. Tolkien who gave me grace in loss, knowing that doing the right thing, the kind thing mattered even if you lost. Tolkien is love, is kindness, is laughter (genuinely the books have a lot of joy in them), is trauma staying with you absolutely and it’s horrible but the good matters as well. 

[tielan]

Snowflake Challenge Day 14

This one is going to be SO EASY! For real. Most of you have been doing this for the last two weeks through other challenges in this fest, or in fandom stockings, and there’s even a Pay It Forward meme already floating around. Some of you do this challenge on your own on a pretty regular basis in your everyday lives throughout your year. However, some of us really need the excuse built in that this challenge allows. It’s a challenge that makes everyone feel better, and maybe, makes the world a better place, and who wouldn’t want a piece of that? What is the challenge you ask? Kindness. Commit a random act of kindness for a fellow fan. Send a note to someone telling them how awesome they are, buy some paid time, tokens or what-have-yous, craft something, check out some fellow Snowflake’s Wish List from Day 6 and do something for a stranger. Proclaim it to the world or do it quietly, anonymously. Anything. Go forth and commit an act of kindness.

Leave a comment in this post saying you did it, tell us about it if you’re comfortable doing so. Tag with “snowflakechallenge2017″ if you’re posting on tumblr.

Introduction * Master Post * Day 1 * Day 2 * Day 3 * Day 4 * Day 5 * Day 6 * Day 7 * Day 8 * Day 9 * Day 10 * Day 11 * Day 12  * Day 13 Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.

[tielan]

Snowflake Challenge Day 15

I am just the kind of sappy fool who's written many love letters in my lifetime, so today's Challenge is perfect to my mind, and a great pinnacle for this year where the climate is doom and gloom in the wider world. Let's share the love that brings us all to fandom again and again. We might get frustrated and ranty at things, but we always come back, so let's celebrate that. In your own space, write a love letter to Fandom in general, to a particular fandom, to a trope, a relationship, a character, or to your flist/circle/followers. Share you love and squee as loud as you want to.

Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. And tag with #snowflakechallenge2017 on Tumblr!

Introduction * Master Post * Day 1 * Day 2 * Day 3 * Day 4 * Day 5 * Day 6 * Day 7 * Day 8 * Day 9 * Day 10 * Day 11  * Day 12 * Day 13 * Day 14 Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.

[tielan]

Snowflake Challenge Day 13

We're all here because fandom means a lot to us, right? I mean, why else would we be so passionate about it, so inspired by it, so involved? And for some of us, part of the draw is sharing that enthusiasm, that joy. Or conversely, finding someone else to vent to when canon is Getting It Wrong, having someone who can commiserate. For others, it's sitting back and letting all the fandom feels wash over you. There are as many ways to be a part of fandom as there are fanfolk- each experience as wonderfully unique as the snowflakes this challenge is named for. But one of the universal constants is that we all have those moments, times in fandom that stick with us, resonate with us.

Reading just the right fic at just the right time in your life. Getting to go to a fancon. Finding out you're not the only one with an Unpopular Fandom Opinion. Receiving a comment on something you created right when you needed it. Seeing fandom come together to support a cause, or a person. There are so many ways, big and small, that fandom touches our lives. In your own space, write about a moment in fandom that meant a lot to you.

Don’t forget to tag your response with #snowflakechallenge2017 so others can find it!

Introduction * Master Post * Day 1 * Day 2 * Day 3 * Day 4 * Day 5 * Day 6 * Day 7 * Day 8 * Day 9 * Day 10 * Day 11 * Day 12

Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.

[tielan]

Snowflake Challenge Friending Meme 2017

Last year’s Friending Meme was such a rousing success that we decided to close out this year’s round of Fandom Snowflake with another one, so come and make some new friends! You will have to go to the Dreamwidth Post to participate in this.

[tielan]

In most of the fandoms where I've actively participated, my interests are a bit...off center. For example, I don't ship pairings except in rare cases. I don't often enjoy reading or looking at explicit material. I'm a gen person. This means I have to look a little harder to find fanworks I enjoy (or create them myself...). But every now and again, I find creators who are my perfect match. It's almost as though they are seeing the world through my eyes: they view the characters just the way I do, their head canons are my head canons. I still remember vividly the excitement I felt the first time that it happened. It was magical.

Snowflake Challenge Day 11

In your own space, talk about a creator. Show us why you think they are amazing. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. How else might you demonstrate your love for your chosen creator? You could make a recs list of your  favorites. Or post a link to their personal website or to an archive, whether it's at fanfiction.net or Instagram. You could even create a page for them at Fanlore, or add to an existing one.

Introduction * Master Post * Day 1 * Day 2 * Day 3 * Day 4 * Day 5 * Day 6 * Day 7 * Day 8 * Day 9 * Day 10 * Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.

[tielan]

Snowflake Challenge Day 9

Most of us in fandom participate because we love it; we’re seldom getting paid for it and feedback is one of a few things that makes us feel appreciated, whether that is a simple kudos on ao3 or a longer comment detailing how much you loved a fanwork.

Day 9, we at the snowflake challenge want to single out the people who get even less than that — the people who run challenges and exchanges, moderate communities, give us spaces to chat and bring us together. But we also know what an impact a single story can have; a person’s output in their chosen fanwork type; a little meta reaching out to say 'I feel the way you do.' Send feedback to two fannish people — they can be anyone you want: a writer who’s made you happy, a moderator of your favorite exchange (not us!), a fanartist you avidly follow… There are so many possibilities. Just let someone know you appreciate their work.

Introduction * Master Post * Day 1 * Day 2 * Day 3 * Day 4 * Day 5 * Day 6 * Day 7 * Day 8 Remember that there is no official deadline, so feel free to join in at any time, or go back and do challenges you've missed.