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Snowflake Challenge #10, 11, 12
Jan. 24th, 2026 07:21 am( Read more... )
Fannish 50: Post 4!
Jan. 22nd, 2026 08:41 pm"Blue wondered what sort of creating they meant. She was always creating things, taking old things and cutting them up and making them better things. Taking things that already existed and transforming them into something else. This, she felt, was what most people meant when they called someone creative.
But she suspected that wasn’t how Calla meant it. She suspected that what Calla meant was the true meaning of creative: to make a thing where before there was none."
( Read more... )
But she suspected that wasn’t how Calla meant it. She suspected that what Calla meant was the true meaning of creative: to make a thing where before there was none."
( Read more... )
Snowflake Challenge #9
Jan. 18th, 2026 09:02 amTalk about your favorite tropes in media or transformative works. (Feel free to substitute in theme/motif/cliche if "trope" doesn't resonate with you.)
Often when I'm reading a book or watching a show, I find myself wishing all the *plot* would stop so the characters could just hang out. I like quiet moments and small but significant gestures; I like seeing how characters interact when they're not trying to do Some Big Thing but rather navigating mundane reality together. So I tend to like slice-of-life type stuff, especially post-canon/future fics set after the dust settles and people have to try to adjust to a new normal, or to deal with some emotional stuff that was left unaddressed while they were busy trying to do Some Big Thing. I'm also less interested in seeing people get together or live happily ever after than wrestling with some challenges related to how exactly they want to be parts of each other's lives.
I've also always been really drawn to the theme of mind control. I can trace this interest to a specific moment in my childhood, when I caught a glimpse of some weird live-action Transformers performance at the local mall. One of the human characters--I forget who--had gotten their mind zapped by some villain (if anyone reading this is a Transformers person, maybe you have some idea who I might be talking about), and I found it simultaneously terrifying and captivating. I think I've always been interested in questions about why we think what we think, to what extent our thoughts are our own, and how our conscious and unconscious minds interact with each other.
That said, I don't tend to seek out fics based on tropes or themes; there are plenty of stories that have some of these elements but just didn't do anything for me, as well as fics that I found beautifully written but feature characters and tropes I'm generally disinterested in. I think I tend to be drawn to language first and foremost.
And *that* said, if anyone has any fic recs that sound similar to anything I described above, please feel free to share!
Often when I'm reading a book or watching a show, I find myself wishing all the *plot* would stop so the characters could just hang out. I like quiet moments and small but significant gestures; I like seeing how characters interact when they're not trying to do Some Big Thing but rather navigating mundane reality together. So I tend to like slice-of-life type stuff, especially post-canon/future fics set after the dust settles and people have to try to adjust to a new normal, or to deal with some emotional stuff that was left unaddressed while they were busy trying to do Some Big Thing. I'm also less interested in seeing people get together or live happily ever after than wrestling with some challenges related to how exactly they want to be parts of each other's lives.
I've also always been really drawn to the theme of mind control. I can trace this interest to a specific moment in my childhood, when I caught a glimpse of some weird live-action Transformers performance at the local mall. One of the human characters--I forget who--had gotten their mind zapped by some villain (if anyone reading this is a Transformers person, maybe you have some idea who I might be talking about), and I found it simultaneously terrifying and captivating. I think I've always been interested in questions about why we think what we think, to what extent our thoughts are our own, and how our conscious and unconscious minds interact with each other.
That said, I don't tend to seek out fics based on tropes or themes; there are plenty of stories that have some of these elements but just didn't do anything for me, as well as fics that I found beautifully written but feature characters and tropes I'm generally disinterested in. I think I tend to be drawn to language first and foremost.
And *that* said, if anyone has any fic recs that sound similar to anything I described above, please feel free to share!
Fannish 50: Post 3
Jan. 16th, 2026 06:46 am"Gansey closed his eyes to calm his pulse. He saw a dimly gray image of a king in repose, hands folded on his chest, a sword by his right side, a cup by his left. This slumbering figure was dizzyingly important to Gansey in a way that he couldn’t begin to understand or shape. It was something more, something bigger, something that mattered. Something without a price tag. Something earned."
( Read more... )
Snowflake Challenge #7 and 8
Jan. 15th, 2026 05:12 pmChallenge #7
LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.
1.) I like that I frequently seek out new things to learn or do related to my hobbies and interests.
2.) I like my sense of amateurism. I think I'm pretty decent at certain things I do, like writing, and it's nice when I notice a positive shift. But I don't really have any strong ambitions to get "better" or "bigger" or something. And plus, at a time when so much of what we see and consume feels super polished and "perfect" or aspirational, I have more appreciation for things that are rough around the edges and seem comfortable existing in their particular little lanes, including the things I make and do.
3.) Related, I like that I'm generally content with my life these days.
Challenge #8
Talk about your creative process.
I guess it depends on the project, but I'll focus on writing. Usually a story or a poem starts with an image or a line of dialogue that gets stuck in my head, and I start building around that by imagining moments or ideas that connect to it. When I'm ready to sit down to write, sometimes I start with that original image/dialogue and then go back and write my way up to it, or if I feel like I have a plot already pretty well-structured in my head, I'll just start at the beginning. Sometimes I find a full conversation just rolls out of me pretty quickly once I have a first piece of dialogue in my head, so I'll just write that all out and then go back and give the characters somewhere to be and something to do while they're talking.
I tend to write short stuff (like three minute poems or fics of 1,000 words or less), in part because I'm more interested in sort of zooming in on and out of significant, loaded moments than telling big long stories, and also because I really like playing with language. Even if I really like the content of what I've written, I don't really feel comfortable putting it out into the world if I haven't given a good amount of attention to rhythm, rhyme, figurative language, and that kind of stuff (mostly in poetry, but in prose too). I also try to give a lot of attention to the moment/line a piece ends on, but I'm trying to see how it feels to write and share things that end a little more abruptly or less tidily.
I usually share my poems with my partner before I go read them at an open mic or something, but with fic, I tend to just post it as soon as it feels done. I do tend to go back and edit little things here and there after I post, though.
LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.
1.) I like that I frequently seek out new things to learn or do related to my hobbies and interests.
2.) I like my sense of amateurism. I think I'm pretty decent at certain things I do, like writing, and it's nice when I notice a positive shift. But I don't really have any strong ambitions to get "better" or "bigger" or something. And plus, at a time when so much of what we see and consume feels super polished and "perfect" or aspirational, I have more appreciation for things that are rough around the edges and seem comfortable existing in their particular little lanes, including the things I make and do.
3.) Related, I like that I'm generally content with my life these days.
Challenge #8
Talk about your creative process.
I guess it depends on the project, but I'll focus on writing. Usually a story or a poem starts with an image or a line of dialogue that gets stuck in my head, and I start building around that by imagining moments or ideas that connect to it. When I'm ready to sit down to write, sometimes I start with that original image/dialogue and then go back and write my way up to it, or if I feel like I have a plot already pretty well-structured in my head, I'll just start at the beginning. Sometimes I find a full conversation just rolls out of me pretty quickly once I have a first piece of dialogue in my head, so I'll just write that all out and then go back and give the characters somewhere to be and something to do while they're talking.
I tend to write short stuff (like three minute poems or fics of 1,000 words or less), in part because I'm more interested in sort of zooming in on and out of significant, loaded moments than telling big long stories, and also because I really like playing with language. Even if I really like the content of what I've written, I don't really feel comfortable putting it out into the world if I haven't given a good amount of attention to rhythm, rhyme, figurative language, and that kind of stuff (mostly in poetry, but in prose too). I also try to give a lot of attention to the moment/line a piece ends on, but I'm trying to see how it feels to write and share things that end a little more abruptly or less tidily.
I usually share my poems with my partner before I go read them at an open mic or something, but with fic, I tend to just post it as soon as it feels done. I do tend to go back and edit little things here and there after I post, though.
Snowflake Challenge #6
Jan. 12th, 2026 06:38 pmMy ten favorite non-DW blogs:
Winnie Lim
Annie Mueller
Keenan
Tracy Durnell
Ava
Tiramisu
Draft Four
Sasha Frere Jones (I don't actually read this regularly, but I always look forward to reading his end-of-year reflection compilations, heavy as they are)
And, because I can't think of two more...two places where I look for non-DW blogs:
Ye Olde Blogroll
People and Blogs
Winnie Lim
Annie Mueller
Keenan
Tracy Durnell
Ava
Tiramisu
Draft Four
Sasha Frere Jones (I don't actually read this regularly, but I always look forward to reading his end-of-year reflection compilations, heavy as they are)
And, because I can't think of two more...two places where I look for non-DW blogs:
Ye Olde Blogroll
People and Blogs
Snowflake Challenge #3
Jan. 6th, 2026 04:28 pmWrite a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.
This one was a little tricky for me, because I don't really consider myself part of "fandom," aside from the fact that I write/read the occasional fic or something, and while I've found a lot of other people's responses to this prompt sweet, touching, and inspiring, I also found them a little difficult to relate to. But like I've mentioned before, it's been gratifying to explore this world little by little, and I think I'll continue to do this year. I'm really grateful to have found a place to explore/express some ideas and feelings and share them with others. Maybe if this prompt comes up again next year, I'll have more to say. :)
The main thing that came up when I thought about this prompt though is that I feel grateful for a lot of the things I've read, watched, and listened to as a result of my tentative explorations of fandom world. Specifically, I feel like for the past couple years, I've been specifically seeking out media and literature that features types of male characters I haven't seen in the things I typically read and watch. Without getting into a whole thing about it, I have a lot of negative feelings about men, and the parts of myself I consider "masculine," and I've been trying to find male characters I find relatable or lovable so that I can maybe connect to these parts of myself in a more loving way, if that makes sense. Writing fics about these characters has made me feel closer to them and also to the parts of myself that they remind me of, and which I feel like I'm starting to look at with a little more fondness and compassion. I don't think I would have found some of these characters if not through some of my explorations of certain canons and fics that I learned about by poking around here and there in fandom world, and yeah, I'm really grateful for that.
This one was a little tricky for me, because I don't really consider myself part of "fandom," aside from the fact that I write/read the occasional fic or something, and while I've found a lot of other people's responses to this prompt sweet, touching, and inspiring, I also found them a little difficult to relate to. But like I've mentioned before, it's been gratifying to explore this world little by little, and I think I'll continue to do this year. I'm really grateful to have found a place to explore/express some ideas and feelings and share them with others. Maybe if this prompt comes up again next year, I'll have more to say. :)
The main thing that came up when I thought about this prompt though is that I feel grateful for a lot of the things I've read, watched, and listened to as a result of my tentative explorations of fandom world. Specifically, I feel like for the past couple years, I've been specifically seeking out media and literature that features types of male characters I haven't seen in the things I typically read and watch. Without getting into a whole thing about it, I have a lot of negative feelings about men, and the parts of myself I consider "masculine," and I've been trying to find male characters I find relatable or lovable so that I can maybe connect to these parts of myself in a more loving way, if that makes sense. Writing fics about these characters has made me feel closer to them and also to the parts of myself that they remind me of, and which I feel like I'm starting to look at with a little more fondness and compassion. I don't think I would have found some of these characters if not through some of my explorations of certain canons and fics that I learned about by poking around here and there in fandom world, and yeah, I'm really grateful for that.
Snowflake Challenge #2
Jan. 3rd, 2026 08:35 pmChallenge #2: Pets of Fandom
Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!
When I first saw this prompt, I kinda drew a blank, until I remembered Chainsaw, Ronan Lynch's dreamed-up raven from The Raven Cycle, who I love because of the ways she allows us to see the quiet tenderness the otherwise often feral-seeming Ronan is capable of...but mostly I found myself thinking of this sad, sick old cat that Arita, one of the main character in Kemutai Hanashi, finds in one of the early chapters of the manga. I'm not sure if she really counts as a "pet," but I'm gonna go with it.
( Some minor spoilers and also some sad stuff about sick stray animals etc. )
Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!
When I first saw this prompt, I kinda drew a blank, until I remembered Chainsaw, Ronan Lynch's dreamed-up raven from The Raven Cycle, who I love because of the ways she allows us to see the quiet tenderness the otherwise often feral-seeming Ronan is capable of...but mostly I found myself thinking of this sad, sick old cat that Arita, one of the main character in Kemutai Hanashi, finds in one of the early chapters of the manga. I'm not sure if she really counts as a "pet," but I'm gonna go with it.
( Some minor spoilers and also some sad stuff about sick stray animals etc. )
Snowflake Challenge #1
Jan. 1st, 2026 08:36 pm
The Icebreaker Challenge: Introduce yourself. Tell us why you're doing the challenge, and what you hope to gain from it.
I've never really considered myself a particularly "fannish" person, but the more I explore fandom world (or at least the small corners of it I've poked around in), the more inspired I feel, and the more I feel like the part of me that needs to create and connect could find a home here (despite some lingering ambivalence about some of the things I actually create in these spaces). I like the regularity and structure it provides to my creative life, with all the challenges and events and stuff, and I love the exchanges: it's so cool and sweet to me that people put so much effort into making little gifts and treats for each other! I also feel like the more time I spend writing and thinking and "talking" (on here) about stories and characters I like, the stronger my feelings for them/relationships with them become, and I've really enjoyed that process.
I'm hoping that this Snowflake challenge will give me some opportunities to think more deeply about my relationship to my creativity and the things that inspire me. I'm looking forward to reading other people's posts too and reflecting on other people's reflections. :)
Fannish 50: Post 1!
Jan. 1st, 2026 10:25 amOK so like I said the other day, I'm going to try this Fannish 50 thing by doing a re-read of The Raven Cycle, picking one quote per week (chosen from roughly four chapters of re-reading) to reflect on using these prompts. And I'd love it if anyone else weighed in on any of these quotes, whether or not you've read the books. OK here we go!
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
Fannish 50
Dec. 27th, 2025 11:03 amSo I'm going to try to do this Fannish 50 thing! Because I'm nearing the end of the Dreamer Trilogy, I'm thinking of going back through the Raven Cycle chapter by chapter, choosing one quote per week, and writing about it using these prompts. I definitely won't get through all of the books by the end of the year at this rate, but I think it'll be a good way to think more deeply about some of the characters and themes...and who knows, maybe I'll carry it over into 2027. Or maybe I'll fizzle out way before that! We'll seeee!
Week notes: November 10-16, 2025
Nov. 16th, 2025 11:15 amTeaching: Another up and down week. I'm kinda getting used to this rhythm: Mondays and Tuesdays are so bad I often find myself looking for, or at least fantasizing about, other jobs. Then Wednesdays are a little better, and Thursdays and Fridays I kinda coast into the weekend feeling generally okay. This Thursday we had a staff get-together thing after school ended...food, drink, chatting, sing-alongs led by a beloved and recently-retired theater teacher. Going into it, I wasn't feeling it at all (in part because I failed badly in my two attempts to bake something to bring), but once I got there I started feeling better, and left feeling something like affection for the little crew of colleagues who were there. Most people I talked to are feeling similarly ground down and dispirited (though I can't think of a time when any of my colleagues felt differently), and if nothing else it was kinda refreshing to know I'm not alone in what I'm feeling.
Yesterday I also did the fourth session in my creative writing workshop series, and it went well!
Learning: Our regular Chinese teacher had to travel back to China for some reason, so this week we met the substitute who will be our teacher for the next three-four weeks: Simon, a kinda dorky guy in his mid-twenties with a *very* different vibe than out normal teacher. The class starts at 19:00, and as soon as the clock struck that time, he announced to the mostly silent room "Time's up!" and jumped into the PPT (he also ended the class at 20:30 on the dot, which I appreciated, given that the regular teacher often goes ten or fifteen minutes over time). So far, our regular teacher has been reassuring us that at our level, we don't really need to bother with reading characters--learning pinyin is enough. But Simon scoffed at this idea, and his PPT was full of characters he expected/insisted that we know how to read. So far, no one has really spoken up or asked a question during any of our lessons, but this time one girl interrupted Simon at one point to say she was absent last week and felt like she'd missed a month of lessons--she had no idea what he was talking about. Things loosened up a little after that, and Simon eventually really started feeling himself, making jokes and sort of vibing with this one student sitting at the front of the room. For whatever reason he mostly avoided interacting with my side of the classroom, though. Anyway, all this is say that it's been a while since I've been a "student," and it's really interesting to observe a teacher from this perspective, and also to observe my own reactions to the teacher's energy, style, quirks, and the dynamics in the room.
The somatic movement workshop this week was pretty good, and I also booked a one-on-one session with the facilitator to talk about some strategies I can use when I feel really overwhelmed or overstimulated in the classroom (and on the walk home, when I've got all sorts of nasty thoughts and feelings roiling inside me). It was a kinda intense and emotional session.
Listening: Finished season one of It Makes a Sound. Loved it, and loved sharing it with T. and seeing her get into it. Some other stuff too, but nothing much stood out.
Reading: Still working on The Dream Hotel. Smart and bleak.
Watching: We've finally gotten to the last season of Big Bang Theory. I'm ready for it to be done. Everyone is just so mean to each other all the time. Also watched this movie Weapons, which was pretty entertaining. Tried watching the new Frankenstein but was not feeling it at alll. The first scene looked and felt like a video game, and we didn't have the patience for all the visual bloat in the fifteen minutes or so that followed before we turned it off.
Writing: Kind of a quiet week on the RP front, which allowed me to write a couple short things for that unconventional formats challenge. I would've liked to write more, and to try some of the unconventional media prompts, but I feel satisfied with what I did. Also wrote a little triple drabble thing for the weekly drabble challenge community I joined a few weeks ago. Should probably start working on my Yuletide fic (I have the rough outline in my head, more or less, but now I need to start doing something with it). Also looking forward to participating in Fandomtrees for the first time. 2025 will go down as the year I really got into writing fanfiction, I guess, and these little events feel like nice ways to cap off the year.
Also tinkered a bit on some poems in preparation for the big spoken word festival next week.
In the news/on my mind: Whatever the fuck is going on with/about to happen to Venezuela just feels so dizzyingly stupid and wrong, and again it feels like there's just nothing to do be done about it...
Yesterday I also did the fourth session in my creative writing workshop series, and it went well!
Learning: Our regular Chinese teacher had to travel back to China for some reason, so this week we met the substitute who will be our teacher for the next three-four weeks: Simon, a kinda dorky guy in his mid-twenties with a *very* different vibe than out normal teacher. The class starts at 19:00, and as soon as the clock struck that time, he announced to the mostly silent room "Time's up!" and jumped into the PPT (he also ended the class at 20:30 on the dot, which I appreciated, given that the regular teacher often goes ten or fifteen minutes over time). So far, our regular teacher has been reassuring us that at our level, we don't really need to bother with reading characters--learning pinyin is enough. But Simon scoffed at this idea, and his PPT was full of characters he expected/insisted that we know how to read. So far, no one has really spoken up or asked a question during any of our lessons, but this time one girl interrupted Simon at one point to say she was absent last week and felt like she'd missed a month of lessons--she had no idea what he was talking about. Things loosened up a little after that, and Simon eventually really started feeling himself, making jokes and sort of vibing with this one student sitting at the front of the room. For whatever reason he mostly avoided interacting with my side of the classroom, though. Anyway, all this is say that it's been a while since I've been a "student," and it's really interesting to observe a teacher from this perspective, and also to observe my own reactions to the teacher's energy, style, quirks, and the dynamics in the room.
The somatic movement workshop this week was pretty good, and I also booked a one-on-one session with the facilitator to talk about some strategies I can use when I feel really overwhelmed or overstimulated in the classroom (and on the walk home, when I've got all sorts of nasty thoughts and feelings roiling inside me). It was a kinda intense and emotional session.
Listening: Finished season one of It Makes a Sound. Loved it, and loved sharing it with T. and seeing her get into it. Some other stuff too, but nothing much stood out.
Reading: Still working on The Dream Hotel. Smart and bleak.
Watching: We've finally gotten to the last season of Big Bang Theory. I'm ready for it to be done. Everyone is just so mean to each other all the time. Also watched this movie Weapons, which was pretty entertaining. Tried watching the new Frankenstein but was not feeling it at alll. The first scene looked and felt like a video game, and we didn't have the patience for all the visual bloat in the fifteen minutes or so that followed before we turned it off.
Writing: Kind of a quiet week on the RP front, which allowed me to write a couple short things for that unconventional formats challenge. I would've liked to write more, and to try some of the unconventional media prompts, but I feel satisfied with what I did. Also wrote a little triple drabble thing for the weekly drabble challenge community I joined a few weeks ago. Should probably start working on my Yuletide fic (I have the rough outline in my head, more or less, but now I need to start doing something with it). Also looking forward to participating in Fandomtrees for the first time. 2025 will go down as the year I really got into writing fanfiction, I guess, and these little events feel like nice ways to cap off the year.
Also tinkered a bit on some poems in preparation for the big spoken word festival next week.
In the news/on my mind: Whatever the fuck is going on with/about to happen to Venezuela just feels so dizzyingly stupid and wrong, and again it feels like there's just nothing to do be done about it...
Yuletide letter
Oct. 24th, 2025 06:39 pmDear Yuletide author,
I've never written one of these letters before, so I'm not totally sure how to go about it. First of all, thank you for offering to do this thing! I'm relatively new to fandom world, but the fact that people voluntarily offer to create things like this for strangers to enjoy...it's really sweet!
So yeah, if it's helpful: in addition to the DNWs I mentioned in my sign-up (whump, heavy angst, character death, a/b/o, sexual violence [either on-screen or implied/referenced)], sex involving animals or minors), I should say that I'm generally more interested in gen or gen-ish content than shippy or smutty stuff. More specifically, I really enjoy post-canon future fics in which characters meet up to reminisce, patch things up, or maybe rekindle old friendships/relationships. I tend to enjoy quiet, carefully-observed slice-of-life type stuff, as well as fics written in epistolary or journal form. Oh and also, trans headcanons are more than welcome. Aside from that, I'm just curious and excited about what you might come up with!
Some specific stuff about the fandoms I requested:
Wayfarers series: I love these books a lot, and one of the things I love about them is the ways that the characters try to offer each other understanding and comfort. Speaker and Roveg's dynamic is one of my favorite examples of this, and I'd love to see them meet up again sometime down the line.
but I started liking her a little more when I saw the occasional glimpse of vulnerability or humanity beneath her hard-boiled persona. I'd love to see what more a correspondence/meeting with Bruno might reveal about her.
I think that's it! I can't wait to see whatever you come up with! Thank you again!!
I've never written one of these letters before, so I'm not totally sure how to go about it. First of all, thank you for offering to do this thing! I'm relatively new to fandom world, but the fact that people voluntarily offer to create things like this for strangers to enjoy...it's really sweet!
So yeah, if it's helpful: in addition to the DNWs I mentioned in my sign-up (whump, heavy angst, character death, a/b/o, sexual violence [either on-screen or implied/referenced)], sex involving animals or minors), I should say that I'm generally more interested in gen or gen-ish content than shippy or smutty stuff. More specifically, I really enjoy post-canon future fics in which characters meet up to reminisce, patch things up, or maybe rekindle old friendships/relationships. I tend to enjoy quiet, carefully-observed slice-of-life type stuff, as well as fics written in epistolary or journal form. Oh and also, trans headcanons are more than welcome. Aside from that, I'm just curious and excited about what you might come up with!
Some specific stuff about the fandoms I requested:
Wayfarers series: I love these books a lot, and one of the things I love about them is the ways that the characters try to offer each other understanding and comfort. Speaker and Roveg's dynamic is one of my favorite examples of this, and I'd love to see them meet up again sometime down the line.
but I started liking her a little more when I saw the occasional glimpse of vulnerability or humanity beneath her hard-boiled persona. I'd love to see what more a correspondence/meeting with Bruno might reveal about her.
I think that's it! I can't wait to see whatever you come up with! Thank you again!!
