#snowflakechallenge2018

[mythopoeticreality]

Fandom Snowflake, Day 11

Alright, still playing catch up today. Will I make it? Lets find out!

Day 11

Share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Nightfall in Middle Earth. If it were not for this album I seriously think I would be a completely different person. This is the album that first really introduced me to metal,  without this album I’d probably not be nearly as big of a fangirl over all of these elves as I am now, and really...I don’t think I’d be as involved in fandom at all.

Alright so, I had read Lord of the Rings and even the Silmarillion before ever listening to anything off of Nightfall in Middle Earth. I had some trouble with Tolkien’s writing and wasn’t really used to his style. I liked Lord of the Rings well enough, and thought that Éowyn and Faramir were cool. It wasn’t really something I could see myself picking up again, however. And when I first read the Silmarillion? I’m sorry but...yeah I could barely get through it. I was expecting something far different (and more novel-like) at the time than the history book of an alternate reality that I ended up getting.I just...didn’t get it.

And then, I stumbled across Blind Guardian. I remember reading about the Nightfall in Middle Earth album while going on a wiki-walk through TV Tropes one day. I was looking to put together a new playlist for a fantasy novel I’d started working on, so I figured, eh, why not?

I went on Youtube, I looked up the album, I listened to this song:

And that was it for me. It was...it was amazing. Everything I was looking for in music but never knew I wanted. Dramatic, and intense and near operatic at times and...I was in love. I listened through the entire album. And then I listened again, and again. 

This album was based off of that book I had read? The dry history tome that I could barely finish? I decided I needed to pick up the Silmarillion again and give it another read. And now, with those songs playing through my mind, looking at these elves, these characters that had been brought to life in Blind Guardian’s music for me, I was finally getting it. Maybe knowing what I was going into the second time around helped, and without those expectations I had before the book as it was was finally able to speak to me. But  had fallen in love. I could see events unfolding in my mind. Fëanor’s confrontation with Fingolfin became an image burned brightly in my mind. The deaths of the trees became something altogether more heartwrending and tragic to me. It hurt me in a way it hadn’t before when  Fëanor died. And I found I kind of loved this book? And I wanted to re-read it more and more, and each time I did I discovered something new that I’d missed in other readings. Maglor, Maedhros, Fingon, Finrod, Aredhel, Haleth, Amlach, Azaghal...I fell in love with these characters and soon I couldn’t shut up about them.

By now, music wise I was going on Pandora and discovering new bands by the song: Elvenking, Korpiklaani, Nightwish, Helloweeen, Battlelore... I was becoming obsessed.

I was sucked up into fandom soon after, because...well I needed to find other people who loved these things as much as I did. This year will be the 10th year I have been involved in Silmarillion fandom, and really, fandom in general, and it all started with this album. 

[forochel]

Day 2:  In your own space, share a favorite memory about fandom: the first time you got into fandom, the last time a fanwork touched your heart, crazy times with fellow fans (whether on-line or off-line), a lovely comment you’ve received or have left for someone.

a lot of memories came surging to mind immediately, to be honest, but I suppose the fact that I’m here at all (in fandom, in slash fandom, writing fic...) is entirely thanks to @seofeng/meiface, whose fujiryo fic I tripped over on ff.net aaaaaaaaaaall the way back in the day.

through her, I discovered LJ (i.e. where fandom used to be before all that crap and we splintered across different platforms /croaky old sigh), the fandom community on LJ, and ... the die was cast.

mei honestly was so welcoming of this weird rando with no sense of social appropriateness commenting all over her posts & fics and brazenly forcing my way into her life that without the amazingly warm and inclusive atmosphere she (and the entire EF <3) created over ten years ago on her LJ and in the fujiryo niche within the larger tenipuri fandom which ...uh ... had ... more than fair share of wank/drama ... I genuinely wouldn’t be the fannish person that I am today. I would not be writing fic the way I write fic today, and I would not be participating in fandom the way that I do today.

she’s literally seen me grow up (I mean I guess we’ve watched each other grow up) as a person and as a fan (not that the two are mutually exclusive), and she definitely played a part in shaping me into who I am today. (pls to bury your face in your cat now mei, fur is good for soaking up tears or something.) 

and I guess -- that’s one of my favourite things about fandom, when friendships cross the line from being squee-based to life-based.

SO ANYWAY THANKS MEI, ILUSM2U 

[meridianrose]

Love Letter to Fandom

For the snowflake challenge, day 15:

Day 15

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 your love and squee as loud as you want to.

Dear fandom

You've been such an important part of my life for so long. I've seen so many changes, many good, some bad. You've helped me develop as a writer. You've given me so many hours of entertainment via fanworks. You've let me make friends, even if they don't always stick around.

I hope the good things and good friends stay. I hope the not so good things lessen. I hope some of the things I miss – more nuanced discussion and thoughtful meta on a platform designed to handle those things – come back.

I hope we can continue to show how much good fandom has done and can do – some of the stories shared during the Snowflake Challenge about fandom experiences have been truly moving. Media can save a life. Friends made through fandom can support it.

The lack of community feeling I've seen happen, that comments have become fewer and even nonexistent in some cases, the shipping wars and sexuality policing with its bisexual and asexual erasure, the idea on who it's okay to ship...I've thought about quitting, more in the last year than in all the years previously, and I've been in fandom when it was zines, not AO3 pages. But I'm still here because I can still find the joy sometimes and I can't quit the good over the bad. I'm finding more places to connect with like-minded people and that helps.

The Snowflake Challenge has reminded me of how much good there is in fandom, and within people. It's been a truly moving experience to be involved in this year.

Thank you to everyone who supports fanwork creators, everyone who has participating in the challenge this year, and to those behind sites like AO3 who make connections possible and protect and preserve fanworks.

You can see other days at the comm or visit @snowflakechallenge

[sidleyparkhermit]

Snowflake Challenge, Day 12: Thala-Siren Lattes

Day 12: In your own space, create a fanwork.

This is a double fill for Snowflake Challenge and the gameofcards Fandom Food Challenge; originally posted in the LiveJournal comm here.

Inspired by Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi, I devised a recipe for -- what else? -- Luke Skywalker's Green Milk of Loneliness.

The base of this recipe was this simple vegan matcha latte from Minimalist Baker. I don't have a milk frother, so mine are creamy but not foamy. If you have a frother you can get it looking more like this, apparently:

I made one other important adjustment: The matcha will bring a lovely green color, of course, but I wanted that thala-siren seafoam. So if you're like me and you have a little bit of blue spirulina on hand from a moment of foodie trend weakness, you too can be truly Extra with this recipe, just like a Skywalker (or an Amidala) would. It brings that essential note of true blue -- and of course the mystical food powers of the sea. Thala-Siren Latte (Serves 1) Caffeine content: about 32 mg 1/2 teaspoon matcha powder (ish? I used one of the teapigs single-serve packets, which is 1 gram) 1 tablespoon hot water a little bit of maple syrup (to your taste) 1 cup (8 oz) cashew milk* 1 teaspoon coconut butter 1/8 teaspoon blue spirulina a dash of turmeric powder

* or your favorite nondairy milk. Dana at Minimalist Baker recommends half coconut and half macadamia; I got good results with the cashew, and I had a coupon for it Whisk the matcha and hot water together in your serving mug with as fancy a whisk as you have until the matcha is fully dissolved. Add the coconut butter, maple syrup (or whatever sweetener you prefer), blue spirulina, and turmeric and get all that stuff fully dissolved too. Heat your milk in a saucepan on the stove until it is hot and steamy. Pour into the mug, whisking vigorously all the while. Enjoy immediately whilst poring over some sacred Jedi texts in your tree-library of sadness.

P.S. There's now an official Star Wars dot com recipe for another green-milk-inspired drink, which hadn't yet been posted when I got to work on this. It's a very different interpretation, anyway, basically a dessert milkshake, not what I'd be drinking in my lonesome island penance exile but probably more appropriate for Star Wars parties

[mythopoeticreality]

Snowflake Challenge, day 8

Day 7? What is this Day 7 you speak of? No, but seriously, Yesterdays challenge kinda completely slipped my mind. Yeah...>.> So! Moving on!

Day 8 In your own space, share a favorite piece of original canon (a TV episode, a song, a favorite interview, a book, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

Mmmhhmm...now here’s a tough one. In both of my main fandoms there are so many awesome scenes and instances and choosing one...I mean, even choosing between books is difficult enough xD Today I’m going to talk about Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, and I mean, there *is* just so much I love about this book? The atmosphere, the characters, how every story thread comes together in the end of the book so perfectly, and god, the footnotes! I could seriously spend this entire post talking about the footnotes alone and how each one is a glimpse into a world and history beyond the story of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, a world just glimpsed and lying beneath the surface, teasing you with just how little you know and just how much there is to know, much like Magic and Faerie in the book itself.

But actually, speaking of the magic in Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, I’d have to say that one of my favorite scenes is at the beginning of Chapter 46, The Sky Spoke To Me:

It was a dark day. A chill wind blew snowflakes against the windows of Mr. Norrell’s library where Childermass sat writing business letters Though it was only ten o’clock in the morning the candles were already lit. The only sounds were the coals being consumed n the grate and the scratch of Childermass’s pen against he paper.

From this first paragraph, the atmosphere of this scene is so clear, so chilling. This is one of the things I love about Clarke’s writing the most, just how atmospheric it is. The fact that it is only mid-morning and yet the candles need to be lit is such a wonderful detail, I can feel the deary shadows hanging over the room, and see the ice and snowflakes being blown against the window, beneath a heavy sky. The quietude of this opening scene and how isolated and alone it feels, with only the sounds of the fire in the grate and Childermass’s pen scratches are soo good too.

and then it only gets better:

Somewhere a bell was tolling, a mournfull sound. It was very far away. Childermass barely noticed it and yet, under the influence of the bell, the room around him grew darker and lonelier...

...The magic will keep the water within the confines of rivers’ customary courses. However Mr Leeves, the young engineer employed by the Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk to assess the strength of the present bridges and other structures adjacent to the rivers has expressed some doubts...

The image of a dreary landscape was before him. He saw it very vividly as if it were somewhere he knew well or a landscape he had seen every day for years and years. A wide landscape of brown empty fields and ruined buildings beneath a bleak grey sky... 

...weather the bridges over the Stour and the Orwell are capable of withstanding the more violent flow of water which will certainly ensue at times of heavy rains. Mr Leeves recommends an immediate and through examination of the bridges, mills, and fords in Suffolk, beginning with the Stour and Orwell. I am told that he has already written to your lordship about this matter...

He was no longer merely thinking of the landscape. It seemed to him that he was actually there. He was standing in an old road, rutted and ancient, that wound up a black hill towards the sky where a great flock of black birds were gathering...

I love the interplay here with Childermass between the letter he’s writing, and the vision he’s having. I love how slowly and with what subtlety the vision comes upon him, where it seems at one moment the vision of the landscape is nothing but a daydream, and in the next he’s actually there. I love how very portentous and important every detail of this landscape in his vision seems, while in comparison, the magic that Norrell’s preforming and he’s describing in his letter seems so utterly mundane compared to this vision. 

My favorite detail in all of this has to be that implication of familiarity his vision holds, however, “as if it were somewhere he knew well or a landscape he had seen every day for years and years.” It’s such a wonderful hint at what the true nature of magic really is in this book, that something so ineffable and alien is also something that does evoke familiarity. It speaks of the stories and legends and folklore, the very magic that has become so much a part of the culture and that Childermass has spent growing up surrounded by, as a native of the North. Even more than that, however, it speaks of all of the magic that still exists in England, just out of everyone’s reach.

And Childermass Catches a glimpse of that Magic! He begins to see the birds as black letters against the sky and the stones as symbols which will fortell the traveler’s journey! They Sky speaks to him, and he knows deep down that if he could only understand it, it would change the modern understanding of Magic forever!

I love this scene, it pretty much encapsulates everything I love about this book. The magic in Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell is perhaps my favorite thing about it,in that, it feels like magic. It’s ineffable and beyond human understanding and so much...bigger than us. And Clarke captures that feeling beautifully when she writes:

Childermass came to himself with a start. The pen jerked from his hand and the ink splattered over the letter. He looked around in confusion. He'd not appeared to be dreaming, all the old familiar objects were there: the shelves of books, the mirror, the ink-pot,the fire-irons, the porcelain figure of Martin Pale, but his confidence in his own senses was shaken. He no longer trusted the books, the mirrors, the porcelain figure were really there. It was as if everything he could see was simply a skin that he could tear with a fingernail and find the cold, desolate landscape behind it.  

[snowflakechallenge]

Introduction 

The Snowflake Challenge is about reminding ourselves why we choose to be part of fannish communities, and embracing what being part of that community means to us, and celebrating who we are. It’s about celebrating our specialness and our talents and what it is that makes each one of us amazing. – kiki_eng Welcome to Fandom Snowflake Challenge 2018! If you’re a veteran Snowflake participant, welcome back; if this is your first year, welcome aboard! All of your mods, old and new, are excited to be bringing you a new round of challenges. Hi. My name is wendelah1 and this is my second year as a moderator. For me, the entire holiday season is a source of stress rather than joy, let alone peace on earth. This past year was one long ordeal, both personally and politically. Now that January is nearly upon us, I am looking forward to the return of snowflake_challenge more than ever. Participating allows me to recharge my fannish batteries for the year to come. Each day from January 1-15, we're going to post a fannish challenge. Some will be simple. The first challenge will be to tell us why you're participating in snowflake_challenge. Some will be a little more complicated. Just follow the instructions to complete the challenge. Sometimes you'll post in your own journal and drop a link in the challenge post. Sometimes all you'll have to do is say, "I did it!" in the comment section of that particular day's post. By the way, you never have to unlock your posts. Just comment to let us know that you completed the day's challenge and we're good. This is meant to be a low stress challenge, not a soul-killing endurance test. You only do the challenges you choose for yourself, the ones you feel comfortable doing. We aren't keeping track, and we aren't going to issue a failing grade if you don't complete a challenge. I got stalled out last year on number 13 myself (I can't remember why). Of course, the goal is to stretch your limits—that's why it's called a challenge—but not to the point of breaking! We're supposed to be having fun here. The snowflake_challenge is for everyone: all fandoms, all media, and all platforms; fandoms of one or ten thousand and one or something in between. You can be focused only on canon, or prefer alternative universes. You can ship real people, strictly fictional characters, or some combination of the two. You don't have to ship anyone at all. I'm a gen person myself. Fandom itself can be your fandom. For the purposes of this challenge, a fanwork is defined as all creative endeavors for a fandom. This can be everything from meta to fic writing to picspamming to hosting a comment-ficathon to running a challenge. Yes to vidding and podficcing and reccing and pretty much anything you can think of. Do we want your crafts, your knitted Wonderwoman dolls, repurposed rubber duckies, and MCU finger puppets? Bring 'em on! Do you write promo posts for your favorites? Fantastic. Star Wars quote lists, Touhou Project wiki entries, Trek canon guides, Lost time-lines, X-Files episode recaps and/or action movie reviews? Excellent. Gifsets. Graphics. Fanart. Yes, yes and yes. Concert write-ups. Filking. Icons. Hello Kitty/Star Trek fusion tattoo designs. Yes, please. The bottom line is this: if you spent your valuable time and emotional energy creating it, it fits under the general heading of "fanwork." Although snowflake_challenge is being hosted on DW, if you don't have an account here, please feel free to comment anonymously and sign your (fan)name. You can also sign in with OpenID, which allows you to use your LJ (and other platform) credentials to comment. We want everyone to be able to participate, regardless of where you hang your fandom hat: LJ or DW, Tumblr or Twitter, dA or Mibba, FanFiction.net or AO3, mailing lists or old-school BBS. Come one, come all to Fandom Snowflake Challenge. Tomorrow the master post for 2018 will be sticky-posted to the top of the community to help us navigate this year's challenges. An introduction to this year's moderators is also in the works. One more thing. An important reason for this challenge is to celebrate fandom itself and the awesome people in it. One way we can do that is by interacting with each other. Some of the challenges are designed to make it easy: leaving feedback on fanworks, creating a love meme, and so on. The other way we can do that is to read individual posts and comment on them. Fandom is about love: love of books and writers, movies and actors, music and musicians, comics and their creators, etc., but it's also about being with and appreciating other fans, and letting them know they matter. 

Think of snowflake_challenge as a 15 day love meme to Fandom. Go forth and spread the love!

[forochel]

The @snowflakechallenge is an annual event celebrating fans and fandom.

Day 1 - Day 2

Day 3: In your own space, post recs for at least three fanworks that you did not create. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

so I’ve dug into my old bookmarks and things, since I’ve somehow decided that this is going to be ... forochel: a fandom retrospective. 

this one’s a bit of a cheat, because it’s a series of fics written by Rosie_Rues for the old dogdaysofsummer and wellymuck seasonal challenges on LJ. The Rising Storm, by @rosierues it’s ... character study, relationship study -- touched with melancholy, because we as the readers know what’s going to happen (n.b. these were written roughly 05-06) inevitably to all these people: the Black family, whom I always enjoy explorations of, Remus, the Marauders, the Order ... *sighs* the last ficlet ends on a hopeful note, with my favouritest of HP tropes. I reread this from time to time, if I want to feel a little achey and wistful, and take a little trip down nostalgia lane. 

and the next one is meta from ... what seems ages ago but really ... uh, is. oops. Eowyn, female agency, blah blah by anna_wing I’ve had this bookmarked since 2010 -- don’t remember how I came across it, to be honest, but there you go. it’s short, succinct, and pre-dates the tumblr meta I’ve seen that explains why Eowyn’s choice to turn to Healing is not a cop-out, as well as very simply (and succinctly!) identifies what sets LOTR apart from later epic fantasies that attempt to follow in Tolkien’s vein. 

lastly, fic from someone whose writing makes me want to fling myself upon the uncaring shores of the universe’s indifference and wail because i have no words The Starless Road by @emilyenrose if you’re a Tolkien nerd, and if you’ve read the Silmarillion, you’ll probably think that one of the greatest romantic tragedies of that long and winding tale is the story of Maedhros and Fingon. Tolkien has never dedicated an entire lay to them, more’s the pity, but IT’S OK. HERE IT IS!!! THE FIX-IT FIC YOU’VE BEEN WANTING SINCE YOU WERE 15 AND HAVING TOO MANY FEELINGS OVER TRAGIC INCESTUOUS ELVEN COUSINS, WITH HOBBITS EX MACHINA.

[meridianrose]

Day 9: Rec 3 or more fanworks you've created (many recs below) Day 10: Share your love for a trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme (h/c and more) Day 11: Share something media related that changed your life Day 12: Create a fanwork (icon)

Day 9 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. I usually go with my longest to date work, a Da Vinci's modern au Weather Every Storm I'm really proud of it and the relationship issues I dealt with in it and the depth of detail (I tend to write more dialogue than description) I managed, really pleased with the sfbb art I received for it, really pleased by the comments I've had on it. "London, present day. Leo and Riario were in a tempestuous but passionate relationship until they recently broke up. Leo, believing they'll get back together, is stunned when he gets a call saying Riario has attempted suicide. Desperate to win back the love of his life, Leo will go to any length to bring Riario home and repair their relationship." The regency AU Revenge fic Compassion and Conjugality; it's sort of a sequel to a previous historical au but it stands alone. "Facing execution for sodomy, Nolan is saved when Emily declares him to be her fiancé. Despite her affection for Aiden, she decides to wed Nolan to further her own agenda; Nolan's only regret is that it will not be a real marriage." My fic series Everything's Better With Dragons, The Borgias fantasy au. "In a world where magic is real but witchcraft is banned, the Borgia family face the threat of the supernatural as well as more mundane enemies. A witch secretly resides within the House of Borgia, while a spell gone awry gives the family control of a dragon. " Three works so far, I had planned on more but the series finished and I had issues with the next fic, but I do hope to one day write the rest. I'm also proud of my Black Sails big bang, modern medical drama au, Bad Case of Loving You, my GoT fic au series It's Snowing Men where Jamie and Tyrion join Jon Snow at the Wall, my DvD pre-canon au Through All Hardship We Endeavour (Riario x Lucrezia), and my unconventionalcourtship Black Sails regency au Unconventional Countess which let me explore a nonsexual but deeply committed partnership between Silver and Max. Historical AUs, canon AUs, fantasy, h/c, nonsexual intimacy are probably key components of my work :) Fanfic is my go to but I do dabble in graphics and even fanvids; my youtube channel is RosettaGray and I have some Da Vinci's Demons vids there – of the four this is probably my favourite along with a crack CSI: Rome(if the Borgias were a crime show) and a Francois Arnaud/Morrocan Gigolos movie fanvid. But I am a very amateur vidder! Day 10 In your own space, share your love for a trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme. (Or a few!) Tell us what makes it work for you, and why it appeals to you so much. Talk about what you like to see in fanworks featuring that theme most. Feel free to include recs and examples! Hurt/Comfort has always been my go to for reading and writing. I could wax lyrical about why but it's my jam and always will be. On tumblr it seems to be tagged more as "whump" and I've found more gifsets and fic recs that way :) Hair kink – give me all the long haired men! Talk about hair washing and brushing, let fingers run through tousled locks! Bed sharing – I just love this idea of intimacy and it's related to… Nonsexual intimacy – I'm asexual and I adore nonsexual intimacies in fic. Hand kissing, showering, the aforementioned bed sharing and hair brushing. There's a particular kink I've tried exploring more and which I read more of but in private and I'm still not brave enough to come out and say it outright yet, though my love of h/c is always front and centre, unashamedly so. Day 11 Share a book/song/movie/tv show/fanwork/etc that changed your life. A few key moments. I think Star Trek: The Next Generation was the first fandom I wrote in, though in a notebook and never to be shared (this was a time long ago before the internet!) Quantum Leap and Babylon 5 I participated in by reading fanzines but I never wrote fic, but that was a new experience for me in terms of fandom. Brimstone is one of the earliest oneline fandoms I wrote fic for, via yahoo groups! Legend of the Seeker; I felt very connected to fans here especially in the community dedicated to the Rahl family. I've written more fic in this fandom than any other. Discworld; I came later to the series but Pratchett's work has been a touchstone ever since. Whedon; I know there's now much (warranted) criticism of the man and his newer works, but Buffy and Firefly made lasting impressions on me. CSI: I read a lot of forensic books when watching early seasons of CSI. Fandom often leads me to gain knowledge in areas it has piqued my interest in. Day 12 In your own space, create a fanwork. Make a podfic, an icon, a sketch, a meta, or a rec list. Arts and crafts. Cross stitch. Draft an essay about a particular medium. Put together a picspam or a fanmix. Write a review of book you love, a ship manifesto, a you-should-be-listening-to-this-band essay. Create something. I posted fic just two days ago Men of Vision and Ambition, I've got a draft fanfic WiP, plus I have original fic I work on these days. I also reviewed 3 books (1 great, 1 good, 1 awful) on tumblr yesterday, and I've got gameofcards to make things for soon enough ;) Just in case none of that counts (and of course they count, it's Snowflake Challenge!) I made an icon for the tv series (based on the books) Strike

[sidleyparkhermit]

Snowflake Challenge Day 9: Rec Yourself [Before You Check Yourself]

Day 9 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. I love to make stuff in some rare-ass canons, so this day is really tailor-made for moi. 1) May I interest you in A Maze of Twisting Passageways, All Different? I wrote this Kentucky Route Zero story for the M/M Rares exchange, and my recipient was happy with it, but it's been seen by almost no one else since KRZ is such a niche game, and the overlap of people who play KRZ and people who read fanfic must be an even smaller niche than that. I have to say this story is one of my favorite things I've done, and it did eat my life for a bit. (I even created a solvable puzzle to embed in it.) 2) Something fun and weird I remembered while poking through my archives trying to figure out what else I should rec: S. & M., a Sam and Max fanmix! Fun fact: At least one of these tracks ("I Want Out of the Circus" by Cracker) was on my hard drive because I got it in someone else's Sam and Max Hit the Road fanmix that I think I downloaded on LiveJournal circa 2006. 3) From obscure to esoteric to the biggest star there is: I made a fanmix for Luke Skywalker last week, it's titled 8, let's listen to it together and process some feelings. Or not process them. I keep listening to this mix, anyway. Also I used that weird spooky "eight, eight" poem from the Tank Girl movie on the cover and I want someone to notice. 4) And a short post-TLJ Leia story, Space. x-posted from my livejournal | comment there

[notsanguineatall]

Fandom Snowflake Challenge - Day 3

In your own space, post recs for at least three fanworks that you did not create.

Let’s see if I can do this correctly...

The Habits of a Lifetime (54237 words) by out_there Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Sherlock (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade

(I beta read THoaL but that doesn’t make me love it any less. So much Mycroft!)

Half a World Away (28418 words) by divingforstones Chapters: 4/4 Fandom: Lewis (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: James Hathaway/Robert Lewis

(One of the stories that made me fall in love with Lewis fandom. Wonderful descriptions and world building.)

There's a Dearth of Poetry About Spies (17759 words) by Thassalia Chapters: 6/6 Fandom: The Avengers (Marvel Movies) Rating: Explicit Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Bruce Banner/Natasha Romanov, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov, Bruce Banner & Tony Stark, Bruce Banner & Clint Barton

(A fabulous, complicated, sexy road trip of sorts.)

reviver (1533 words) by repeatogirl Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: DCU (Comics), DC Animated Universe, Justice League Dark (Comics), Hellblazer & Related Fandoms, Hellblazer, Constantine: The Hellblazer (Comics), Constantine (TV) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: John Constantine/Zatanna Zatara

(Gets John and Zatanna just right!)

Type (299 words) by marginaliana Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Sherlock (TV) Rating: Explicit Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Mycroft Holmes/Lestrade (Inspector)

(Pushes all my Mycroft/Lestrade buttons in less than 300 words!)

The God of Badass Secret Agents (3703 words) by TardisIsTheOnlyWayToTravel Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

(Takes a clever, absurd idea about Phil Coulson and just hits it right out of the park.)

[snowflakechallenge]

Introduction * Master Post * Day 1 * Day 2 * Day 3 * Day 4 * Day 5 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.

“I create for myself. I don’t need to have people to read/see/listen/appreciate it.” --said no Fan Creator ever. Okay, maybe the first part. A lot of people create fanworks for themselves because it’s an idea they NEED to see through in a story, art or musical interpretation. But, I know of NO ONE who puts their work out there for the world to see and doesn’t want to have any feedback on it. Nothing more lonely then to contribute the only way you know how to a fandom and have nothing but crickets accompany it. Day 6 Leave feedback for a fanwork. Or multiple fanworks. It can be as simple as I liked this to a detailed list of all the things you loved about the fanwork. The key is to leave some sort of feedback. If you've already left feedback in the course of a previous challenge, it totally counts. But you're free to leave more feedback. Afterwards, leave a comment in this post with the equivalent of "I did it!" If you feel so inclined, leave a link to the fanwork you left feedback for so others can check it out. We get it. It’s hard, it takes time, sometimes there are no right words. But, here’s the thing, there are many ways to leave feedback. Don’t stress yourself about the right words, just use a few if that’s all you have. There’s no reward for Best Comment Ever and there are no Comment Police handing out citations for doing it wrong. There is no wrong. ♥

Check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge! Need something to read/view/listen to? Check out the rec posts from Day 3’s Challenge! And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.

Remember that we’re tracking the tag #snowflakechallenge2018 and will reblog any new posts made using that tag.

[forochel]

Day 1: In your own space, talk about why you’re participating in Snowflake and, if you’ve participated in the past, how the challenge has affected you. What drew you to it? What did you take away from it? What do you hope to accomplish this year?

bit late, but this seems like a lovely idea; I only literally just (like .. 5 minutes ago) learnt about this and decided on the spur of the moment to do this. nothing like a bit of navel-gazing, eh? but I liked the sound of “reminding ourselves why we choose to be part of fannish communities, and embracing what being part of that community means to us, and celebrating who we are”.

YOI c. Dec 16 was the first time in a very, very long time that I felt that tug of -- active fandom participation, I guess, again. I wrote a little fic sporadically in the 3-4 years before, but had basically fallen out of the fandom community as I got used to Adult Life and not really finding a thing and a space that motivated me to connect. 

I’d forgotten, basically, by the time I hit Dec ‘16 and my best friend literally sat me down and made me watch eps 1-3 of YOI (during which I shouted “who is this asshole!!!” at viktor and flat out refused to continue watching it -- l o l) what it felt like to be part of a fandom community and how it felt to write fic for a new and expanding audience, and the exhilaration of making new friends. 

and my time in a fandom always starts out with that tentative first fic, feeling my way through the social dynamics of the community, unbridled squeeing, and then the competitiveness kicks in and I ruin it all for myself, basically. so Snowflake is a good time to remind myself of the goodness in fandom and -- in a way, I guess, a reflective bookend to a generally really good year in a fandom as I head into academic madness.

[meridianrose]

This is a multiday post, under the cut are my entries for Day 1 - 8

Day 1 Why you're participating in Snowflake

Day 2 Favourite memory about fandom (Legend of the Seeker, People's Palace, landcomms)

Day 3 Rec fanworks you did not create (5 x au fics in 5 fandoms)

Day 4 Create a fannish wishlist (more comments for everyone, be nicer, create more, I can haz art pls)

Day 5 Rec a fannish or creative resource (scripts, screencaps and promo pics, image hosting)

Day 6 Leave feedback (I'm always doing the thing)

Day 7 Create a love meme (please leave comments/gifs)

Day 8 Share a piece of canon (Starz shows and how I fell truly in love during S2 moments, Da vinci's Demons, Black Sails)

  Day 1 In your own space, talk about why you're participating in Snowflake and, if you’ve participated in the past, how the challenge has affected you. What drew you to it? What did you take away from it? I'm assisting with mod duties this year and this is what I wrote for my introduction there: I've been in fandom a long time. I've seen some good changes and some not so good. Lately in some places there's been a lot of negativity in fandom and overall it seems there's been a steady decline in interaction. For me fandom is about the joy of connecting with other fans, discussing, creating, consuming - and also commenting on fanworks of all kinds. I'm hoping Snowflake Challenge will give us all a positive boost and encourage us to focus on the good and to rediscover the community side of fandom. And because I'm assisting with mod duties I'm seeing a lot more of the content being produced and its amazing and heartwarming to see people sharing their personal stories and how fandom has helped them, talking about their passions, sharing their favourite fandoms and resources and fanworks. It's wonderful to see so many journal entries and activity! Day 2 In your own space, share a favorite memory about fandom: the first time you got into fandom, the last time a fanwork touched your heart, crazy times with fellow fans (whether on-line or off-line), a lovely comment you’ve received or have left for someone. Legend of the Seeker. This is one of my longer and more active fandoms. The peoplespalace was where I felt very welcomed and encouraged and I wrote a lot of fanworks and participated in a lot of the activities there. I miss the Darken/Cara/Rahl family side of the fandom a lot. There was also legendland a landcomm which ran for many years – we even had a reunion battle last year which was nice! I wrote so much fic, made icons and other graphics, even fanvids. I tried to do every challenge where possible. I was on Team Cara for the longest time. Cara, Darken, Zedd were always my favourites ;) Before legendland there was whedonland and again I felt part of something there. It pretty much saved my life a couple of times. These days there's gameofcards and it's fun and I encourage everyone to check it out, but the more specific fandom landcomms seemed to make for more tight-knit teams and I miss them. Day 3 In your own space, post recs for at least three fanworks that you did not create. There are so many things I could rec! But I'll pick 5 AU fics from 5 different fandoms to spread the love a little Side by Side – Cormoran Strike http://archiveofourown.org/works/12036537 Fantasy au that ends in Strike/Robin, highly recommended. Murder – Dark Matter http://archiveofourown.org/works/12000579 College au based around an actual tradition of a game called "murder". As Glory Turns to Dust – Hamilton http://archiveofourown.org/works/11359656 Modern au with magic. Hamilton is cursed to be forgotten, leaving him alone in the world except, briefly, for Jefferson. Warning this is a fantastic fic but a sad ending. There is however a linked sequel by another author to put things right :) Skin Full of Lies – Black Sails http://archiveofourown.org/works/7570540 Soulmate au Silverflint "Every lie your soulmate tells you appears on your skin. Between outward lies, manipulations and stories told the crew John Silver's ink quite quickly takes over most of James' body." a gift fic for me, The Princess' Bodyguard – The Shannara Chronicles http://archiveofourown.org/works/13113129 pre-canon au in which Eretria is Amberle's bodyguard. One-shot but with potential for more, strong hints of Eretria/Amberle Day 4 In your own space, create a fannish wishlist. No limits on size or type of fanwork; just tell us what you’d like to see. Can we please do as most people asked on their fannish wishlist for day 4 and leave more comments? Can we journal more and create more? Can we rediscover the joy of fandom and stop with the "anti" behaviour? Please. More specifically for me, art for fics is always welcome. (I have a transformative work statement at LJ/DW and AO3 and have had translations of my work and podfic which are lovely!) In particular for my sfbb fic Bad Case of Loving You. I've got beautiful artwork for most of my sfbb fics, the DvD fics in particular. For sfbb I provide pinterest boards to help with resources and generally try to help artists out, as I did here. This is a Black Sails modern au medical drama with Silver/Flint/Miranda and Silver&Max and it was a labour of love and I'm still amazed I managed to write the thing. However it seemed to be cursed. My first beta dropped out. My first artist dropped out. My second artist swore they were ready to go then didn't post, then after the fest posted a basic stock photo+text "cover". *sigh* I made my own art in the end, banner and mini picspam for the tumblr promo post but I'm an amateur artist. Day 5 Recommend a fannish or creative resource. Springfield!Springfield! has movie and tv episode scripts. kiss them goodbye has a huge amount of screencap galleries. farfarawaysite has a smaller amount of pictures but tends to have high quality promotional pictures. Cloudinary is the site I'm using for image hosting since the photobucket debacle. Day 6 Leave feedback for a fanwork. Or multiple fanworks. It can be as simple as I liked this to a detailed list of all the things you loved about the fanwork. The key is to leave some sort of feedback. If you've already left feedback in the course of a previous challenge, it totally counts. But you're free to leave more feedback. My new year's resolution last year was to leave a comment on every fanfic, hosted on AO3, over 100 words, that I finished reading. (I needed some parameters; this doesn't mean I didn't leave comments at LJ/DW or on drabbles because I did, on occasion). I did the thing. I read a little less than usual. I noped out of more fics. But the fics I read and finished got a comment. I'm going to try and keep doing that. I've already left comments on some fics this year. My additional resolution for this year is to write down more of my ideas. Having plot ideas or dialogues while showering or in bed is one thing, but if I don't write/type at least the basics up, I forget them partially or entirely when I try to write the thing weeks or months later. Day 7: In your own space, create a love meme for yourself. Let people tell you how amazing and awesome and loveable you really are Come and tell me how amazing I am ;) Seriously though, I'm working on being more positive and telling myself I'm worthwhile, I deserve more, I am achieving more. But it always helps when other people are backing that up. Drop me a gif in the comments if that's easier, gifs are like greeting cards for saying the things we don't know how to otherwise express. Day 8 In your own space, share a favourite piece of original canon (a TV episode, a song, a favourite interview, a book, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much. My love of Starz shows seems to kick off in second seasons. For Da Vinci's Demons in S2e04 – starts around here: https://youtu.be/cQi4xjrBmgI?t=11m27s This is the moment I fell in love with younger!hotter!Riario, aka Blake Ritson in a wig, because hair kink. But also the moment I finally liked Lucrezia too, seeing her devotion to her sister. If you want me to like a character, have them adore and protect their little sister, if you want me to hate them, have them throw little sis under the bus. Riario tries to spare both girls, succeeds in saving only one, and his grief is evident as he speaks with a heartbroken Lucrezia. This scene changed how I felt about both Riario and Lucrezia and thus about the show and my fannish involvement. Similarly this humorous moment changed my feelings about Silver and SilverFlint in the opening episode of S2 Black Sails : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wIt9u7CkBf0 when Silver completely misunderstands the plan and volunteers for a risky mission. This tumblr post shows what happens next: http://alightabovethearbys.tumblr.com/post/168194826519 It's even better later when they get on board, leading to Flint's exasperated "Well what the fuck did you think was going to happen?" You can see some gifs from all those Silverflint moments in S2 here: http://jolinarofmalkshur.tumblr.com/post/168381696381/john-silver-appreciation-week-day-6-favorite

[sidleyparkhermit]

Snowflake Challenge Day 4: Wish List

Day 4

In its purest form, fandom is people wanting more out of a story and creating what they want — and what others want. We express our love for media in the form of words, graphics, audio, meta, art, even knitting projects or songs! We gift each other the things we want in exchanges, and we show appreciation to the best of our ability, whether that’s comments or recommendations or notes.

Today, I want us to think about the things that would make us happy, because we deserve them — and read about the things that would make other people happy, because maybe we’re in the perfect spot to grant their wish.

In your own space, create a fannish wishlist. No limits on size or type of fanwork; just tell us what you’d like to see. 1) A global fandom wish, which I've seen on a lot of other people's lists too: In 2018, we should all try to leave more feedback on the things we like! I know, it's always easier said than done. I'm going to have to put some effort into it myself. 2) A little vain wish: It would be super cool if anyone wanted to make art to go with anything I've written (AO3 and miscellany). Or any of these gift stories I've received since I started doing exchanges again, all of which I want to keep in a fancy display case and brag about to visitors. <3 3) I'd love to have more people to talk about Star Wars with! Feel free to join me in this open TLJ spoilers thread whether or not we've ever talked before. I've been eager to have like normal conversations about this movie, but I feel isolated both by Camp It's Perfect Because Rian Supports Our Creepy Hellship and by Camp Disney Bought Uranium From Hillary Clinton To Silence Mark Hamill's Brave Dissent -- so, anyone I didn't alienate yet, come on in and have a nice talk about movies?

x-posted from my livejournal | comment there

[snowflakechallenge]

Wrap Up Post

Wow. I know this is said pretty much every year, but it's still true. The past 15 days have gone by so quickly! Some of that is because life keeps on going, time trucking along whether we want it to or not. But honestly, I think it's mostly because the old adage is true - time flies when you're having fun. And as with every year of this challenge, I had a blast! Sometimes (more than I'd have liked) I was posting late at night, but it never felt rushed, or like I was pressured. I just wanted to participate, every day.

Some of y'all were able to do that. Some only took part in a few challenges. Some of you may only have lurked. And you know what? All of that is fine. No, better than that - it's amazing. Amazing that here, in the start of the year, when so many are exhausted from all the craziness that comes with December, when for a lot of folks it's cold, and dark for far too much of the day, you still found the energy to come together and be part of this. You were able to be present. Whether or not you were actively letting us know you participated, your energy and spirit added to the magic that is Fandom Snowflake. I've been a part of Fandom Snowflake since the beginning, first as a participant, and then a co-mod, and every year I'm grateful for each and every one of you. I may not comment on every post, but seeing all of the replies, the sheer number of folks who completed a challenge, warms my heart, and makes me so very glad to be part of this community.

And it doesn't have to end! If you didn't complete a challenge - there's no deadline! You can come back tomorrow, or next week, or even next year. Participate in someone's challenge, rec some fanworks, create something, maybe even grant a wish.

One more thing - I have to thank all of my amazing co-mods, who stepped up, took this on and made it run like a dream. spikedluv, fadedwings,summerstorm,tjs_whatnot,analise010,rscreighton,wendelah1,meridian_rose,kiki_eng - I'm in awe of your talent, organizational skills and energy. I'm proud to have been part of such a wonderful team!

mizface More individual mod comments are below the read more link:

This is my first time assisting with the challenge and I've been so thrilled to see so much participation and enthusiasm. Thank you all for joining in, and thanks to all the mods for making this possible.

This was my first time participating as a mod and it was a blast. I loved watching everyone be brave and post on days where the challenges were especially difficult. You all have inspired me to conquer my fears as well. Looking forward to seeing everyone again next year!

First, I must reiterate my deepest gratitude to akamine_chan for passing the Fandom Snowflake Challenge into new hands and trusting us to keep it going. Secondly, huge thanks to my fellow mods without whom this round of Snowflake would not have been possible. And last, but not least, my eternal gratitude to all of YOU who have taken the time out of your busy schedules to participate here for however many challenges you could manage. It’s been wonderful to read your posts, and to experience your courageous hearts and generous spirits. You’ve all been awesome, and I hope you had as much fun this round as I did.

I wasn't sure I'd have the spoons to help with the challenge this year, but I'm so glad I went for it anyway. It has given me more joy than I even anticipated, from seeing people's love for their favorite things, their wishes, to being on a wonderful, supportive modding team, I've felt like part of a community again. That's exactly what I wanted. Thank you (all of you) for making it happen.

I thought this year's Challenge was going to be special, was going to be needed, but here at the end, I can't believe how right I was. When I still see comments trickle in from the first few challenges, when I see people struggle to catch up, to finish--doing a week's worth in a post--I know I'm not the only one who needed this to reconnect with a missing piece. When I see the conversations still going on all over the boards and on everyone's posts, I know I'm not the only one who needs this feeling to continue. Let's hold on to this as long as we can, yeah? And we'll see you next year. ♥

[snowflakechallenge]

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. Today's challenge is one of the hardest for me. I’m a podficcer by trade, so every year I attempt to write fanfic, with words. I scream and cry and tell myself to STOP DOING THIS BECAUSE EVERYONE WILL MAKE FUN OF YOU AND THINK IT’S TRASH. Then I take a deep breath and close the Google doc. However, today, I’m going to be brave like all of you and post a fanfic that I wrote on Tumblr and tidied up a bit. Day 12 In your own space, create a fanwork. Make a podfic, an icon, a sketch, a meta, or a rec list. Arts and crafts. Cross stitch. Draft an essay about a particular medium. Put together a picspam or a fanmix. Write a review of book you love, a ship manifesto, a you-should-be-listening-to-this-band essay. Create something. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so. Check out the comments for all the awesome participants of the challenge! And just as a reminder: this is a low pressure, fun challenge. If you aren't comfortable doing a particular challenge, then don't. We aren't keeping track of who does what.

Remember that we're tracking the tag #snowflakechallenge2018 and will reblog any new posts made using that tag. If you want to help spread the word you can reblog our introduction post