enchantedsleeper | Entries tagged with snowflake challenge

One of my favourite prompts for the

snowflake_challenge is always setting fandom (and fandom-adjacent) goals for the year ahead: it feels like a really nice way to set out what I'd like my year to consist of. Since fandom has positive connotations for me, it's essentially a list of "some cool things I want to do in 202X!"

(They're also the only new year's resolutions I bother to set, these days xD)

Since last year I've also taken to reviewing my goals for the previous year before I set new ones, just to see how I did. It doesn't matter if I missed any (I never make all of them) - often thinking about how my year was different to what I anticipated is just as interesting.

In 2024 I was really ambitious and set eight(!) goals, so I'm going to split this into two parts, otherwise it would be like... 3,000 words long xD You can check out my goals for 2024 here if you're curious.

1) Make a fanvid (not for a challenge/event)

( Read more... )

Current Mood: introspective

I know I wasn't the only person who was a little sad that the

sunshine_challenge didn't run again this year! I hope that the organiser is doing okay.

However, for anyone who is yearning for some prompts to inspire them, the mod of Pillowfort's Snowflake Challenge community is revisiting Snowflake's challenges during the summer so that people can have a second go, revisit their thoughts, or do challenges they didn't get to in January.

This is just happening on Pillowfort, but for anyone who doesn't feel like signing up there, there's no reason you can't answer the challenges over on your DW! (But also, if you'd like to join Pillowfort to take part, don't let me stop you :D I even have invite codes!) They're being posted at a rate of three per day, and challenges 7-9 just went up.

So far, I've done Day 1 (updating my Pillowfort blog description, which was a touch outdated now that I've been there a while) and Day 4 ("Tell us about yourself"), for which I created a Fort Brochure - a Pillowfort post that describes your blog policies on things like commenting, following, blocking, etc.

I'm looking at doing Day 9, "Recommend a new thing", next and posting one of the fandom manifestos I've been meaning to get to.
( Read more... )

I managed to tick off a few more Snowflake Challenges this year than I did last year (I never aim to do all of them, but more is good!) and so I thought I would make a little round-up of the challenges I fulfilled, especially as some of them were off DW!

1. Challenge #1: Update your fandom information: I updated my sticky on Dreamwidth and made an intro post on Pillowfort

2. Challenge #2: Set yourself some goals for the coming year: I looked back on my goals for 2023 and set new ones for 2024!

3. Challenge #4: Icebreaker challenge: I answered 5 randomly-generated questions about myself!

4. Challenge #5: Scavenger hunt: I scavenged!

5. Challenge #6: Share a favourite piece of original canon & #9: Rec us your newest thing: I wrote about why I love Harvard/Aiden from FENCE, drawing on a particularly good early scene <3

6. Challenge #7: Make a list of fannish and/or creative resources: I rounded up some resources for making a personal fanworks archive

7. Challenge #11: Create a fanwork: I posted Height Advantage, a D&D: HAT fanfic which was also a prompt fill for Funuary!

8. Challenge #13: Make a rec list of fanworks: I posted about my favourite Pan-fics (this was a really nice nostalgia trip ^^)

9. Challenge #14: Try something new: I did my first Blanket Box (a list of prompts to help you build/furnish your Fort) over on Pillowfort!

10. Challenge #15: Fandom Wrapped!

A round 10! I like that :D

Current Mood: accomplished

Now comes the part every year where I bawwwwww because the Snowflake Challenge is over for another year. 😭 But it wouldn't be as fun if it wasn't finite, and I've got the Sunshine Challenge to look forward to in the summer (as well as other events during the spring!)

Snowflake Challenge #15 is Fandom Wrapped! If you've come across Spotify Wrapped (and it's pretty everywhere) or one of its many variants, then you'll know this is a sort of "Top X" retrospective on the past year. (I was a bit sad that Tumblr didn't do their Wrapped this year, probably because of that whole "skeleton crew" thing...)

So here's my Fandom Wrapped for 2023, à la Snowflake Challenge:

Your top 5 fandoms for 2023 were:
( Read more... )

Current Mood: bittersweet

I've decided to suspend doing the Snowflake challenges in order so that I can jump on something a bit more timely!

Snowflake Challenge #13 is "Make a rec list of fanworks!" I've been in a bit of a Peter Pan frame of mind lately, what with travelling to Dublin to watch a theatre performance of Peter Pan (okay, I was visiting a friend, but we did very much make the plans around going to see that show xD) (I should do a DW post about it) and then the other day I pulled out an old notebook to use for something and unexpectedly found a Peter Pan fic I'd been writing inside xD

Originally I thought of doing this rec list for one of my more recent fandoms, but then the idea of a Pan-fics roundup took hold (also because I enjoy using the term Pan-fics :D). It's quite a small collection, but it's fun to bring together works from through the years with different takes on the canon and characters. I hope you all enjoy the result!

My favourite Peter Pan fics: a short list

( Read more... )

Current Mood: nostalgic

This is a list that I originally put together for the 2024 Snowflake Challenge (as the name shows :D), but I've decided to turn it into a rolling list of resources, guides and tutorials that I've found helpful in my small/indie web journey to create a personal fanworks archive.

I rely heavily on how-to guides for making my site (and I like to save cool/helpful things I find), so there'll always be plenty to add to this list! I've added each one with some notes about how I found or used it, which should hopefully be helpful for anyone consulting these sites.

I've added headings to break up the list and also make it easier to find a specific resource, though the categorisation may be a little idiosyncratic xD

General indie web

How To Make Your Own Fanfiction Archive, In Just 10 Easy Steps by melannen

This guide is specific to Neocities, so I didn't really use it for reference myself, but it's a nice step-by-step for anyone who might feel intimidated by the prospect of creating a site from scratch. You can't get simpler than this! Also, there are lots of site examples and interesting discussions in the comments.

IndieWeb 101 by fLaMEd

This post was made as part of 32-Bit Cafe's August Code Jam and is a cool primer on the IndieWeb (it also differentiates between the IndieWeb and Independent Web, something I haven't come across before).

It contains some suggestions for things that people can do to get started on the IndieWeb, focusing primarily on marking up content with microformats2 and making an h-card, which is a sort of integrated contact card for your website, and an h-entry, which marks up individual posts or articles. It also touches briefly on webmentions. This was my first brush with all of these concepts, and I haven't done any of these things myself, but I felt like it was a resource worth passing on.( Read more... )

Current Mood: accomplished

Challenge #6 for the Snowflake Challenge is: In your own space, share a favourite piece of original canon (a show, a specific TV episode, a storyline, a book or series, a scene from a movie, etc) and explain why you love it so much.

For the FENCE Secret Santa last month I had the pleasure of writing Harvard/Aiden, my favourite ship in FENCE. Harvard/Aiden is a brilliant ship pairing the fencing team captain with the 'school playboy', which you can imagine is a very fun combination of personalities. Despite this, it doesn't really have much of a dedicated fandom - it's one of those ships that everyone is happy to ship but that kind of plays second fiddle to the main canon ship (Seiji/Nicholas), usually appearing as a side pairing in fanworks.

As part of canon review for my Secret Santa, I enjoyed re-reading Harvard and Aiden's interactions in the comics (they are also a canon pairing in the spin-off novels by Sarah Rees Brennan, but I'm not a fan of the books) and so for Challenge #6, I'm going to break down a scene that shows why I love Harvard/Aiden so much. I think this also works for Challenge #9, which is all about reccing a thing you love!

But first, who are our characters?

( Read more... )

Current Mood: mellow

I love the Snowflake Challenge Scavenger Hunt, but I was drawing a blank on what to answer for most of the questions this year, until I had a bit of an epiphany this morning while half-asleep, and then I hit my stride 😄 I prefer to use brick-and-mortar/physical objects because it feels more like a "hunt", but it can also be more challenging to find something physical for each question! Still, the challenge is part of the fun 😊

Snowflake Challenge #5: Search in your current space, whether brick-and-mortar or digital. Post a picture (a link to a picture will be fine!) or description of something that is or represents:

1. Something your favorite character would like

This was one of the first ones where I blanked, because first of all - how can I choose just one favourite character?? But even thinking about some of my faves, it was hard to pick a physical object I'd associate with them.

However, I realised that I had an object that Sakurayashiki Kaoru, aka Cherry Blossom, my favourite character from SK8 the Infinity, would probably like:

Close up of a fluffy black wristband with three cherries across the centre.

Close up of a fluffy black wristband with three cherries across the centre.

Actually, it suits him, doesn't it? 😄

An image of Sakurayashiki Kaoru from SK8 the Infinity wearing a Paint edited wristband with cherries on one wrist.

An image of Sakurayashiki Kaoru from SK8 the Infinity wearing a Paint edited wristband with cherries on one wrist.

Haha, well, he'd probably wear it with his Cherry Blossom outfit and not as part of his traditional Japanese attire, but it was easier to find space on his wrist in this outfit 😉
( Read more... )

Current Mood: cheerful

Okay, so I'm trailing a bit behind with Snowflake Challenge posts, but that's okay because there's no deadline! I will still try to do them* in "order", though I know that doesn't really matter either; that's just my organisational preference ^^

(*them = the challenges I am doing, because there are some I've decided to skip)

Snowflake Challenge #4 is: "IceBreaker Challenge! Tell us about yourself. [...] Think of it as an elevator pitch, or a manifesto; give us bullet points or lyrical prose. Want to make a game out of it? Tell us things that are true and things that aren’t and let us guess. Don't know what to say? Hate elevator speeches, but don't want to skip a day? Try this Random Question Generator and make yourself a meme all your own."

I really liked the idea of a Random Question Generator, as I like answering varied questions about myself but thinking up questions is hard when you have a completely blank slate. So, here are my answers to five questions that the question generator threw out:

( Read more... )

Current Mood: contemplative

Challenge #2 for the Snowflake Challenge is:

In your own space, set yourself some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.

I had a lot of fun setting some fannish goals for 2023, so I'm excited to think up my goals for 2024. This post has a Part 1 where I looked back on how I did against my goals for 2023, which isn't a "do or die" thing, but it's nice to see which ones I hit! This year, I wanted to include a couple of not specifically fannish goals, but the focus is still mostly on fandom and creativity. So without further ado...

( Read more... )

Current Mood: ambitious

Last year when I did the Snowflake Challenge I had the most fun setting fannish goals for the coming year, because I feel like it's a nice spin on New Year's Resolutions. Not an "I must do this every day" type thing, but more like "Here's some things I'd like to tick off/add more of into my (fandom) life", and that feels like a more positive framing.

I've been thinking about my 2023 goals a lot over the past year, and I know I definitely ticked off a few. But looking back at the list now, there are definitely some I just forgot about 😆 I could have been more systematic about completing them, but I had some other new things I focused on last year instead, so some of those took precedence.

Anyway, Day 2 of the 2024 Snowflake Challenge is setting goals for 2024 - they don't have to be fannish, and this year I think I'll set some non-fannish goals too, but they'll all be creative in some way. First, though, I want to look back at my goals from last year and how I did:

( Read more... )

Current Mood: reflective

It's that time again (

snowflake_challenge time!) and I've decided to refresh my blog sticky post ❤ While I was originally going to keep the old one and just make light edits, I decided to remake the whole thing, but a lot of the text will be familiar ;3

Transformative Works Policy: Blanket permission to transform! You can find this over on my AO3 profile. I made this official a couple of years ago and have received so many lovely podfic adaptations of my fic since then (especially during Voiceteam!), which was probably predictable but I didn't see it coming at all 😂 Rock on, podficcers! Maybe one day I'll finally join you...

Fannish Things I Love to Do: You'll always find me writing fic, and I'm trying to make more time for fanvids in my life (so many ideas, so little time X3). I draw the odd fancomic, and I also love to edit wikis - primarily Fanlore but also fandom-specific wikis, which are a resource I call on constantly during my fic writing, so I like to give back, too.

Some of my recent fandoms have been: D&D: Honor Among Thieves, FENCE, The Murderbot Diaries, Across the Spiderverse, and SK8 the Infinity; I feel like I fall into new fandoms a bit too easily, but I'm always excited to come back to my past fandoms and rarely completely "leave" them.

Where to Find Me: Social media-wise, I'm mostly on Mastodon (I have my profile set to request to follow - I don't mind follow requests, but I prefer to have some idea of who the people are that are following me) and Tumblr. I've also just started (as of this Snowflake Challenge!) posting to Pillowfort, so please say hi if you're also there, as I'd love to make some friends! But I also want to be more present here on DW, so please also come hang with me here if you're not on any of the other sites (or even if you are!)

Fanworks-wise, I post mainly to AO3 and cross-post to Fanfiction.net if it's a fandom or ship that I think people there will want to read. I use SquidgeWorld for miscellaneous things I don't want to post to AO3. I have published fic to Tumblr in the past, mostly for The Strange Case of Starship Iris, but I still haven't got around to setting up a proper page for it. You can also find my vids on Youtube and Vidders.net.

I wish everyone a healthy and happy 2024!

Current Mood: content

I'm completely thrown by it almost being the end of January (how is it February this week???) and also that we're coming to the end of the Snowflake Challenge, which I've dearly loved taking part in this year. I have multiple posts to my DW that are not Dear Yuletide Author letters! I've commented on posts! Subscribed to journals! And had lovely comments from other people on my posts, which is so nice. I'm hoping to squeeze in one or two more Challenges before January is out, but first I wanted to do Challenge #14, which is the Fandom Wrap(ped?) Challenge.

I love year-end wraps (though as the challenge post says, they are EVERYWHERE now which is a bit tiring), so this is a super fun idea. I'm going to use the prompts from the post but as a Top 3 instead of Top 5, because I don't think I would have enough for 5. I didn't do as much fanstuff as I would have liked in 2022 (there were a lot of other things going on. I got married!) but it's nice to look back on a few highlights.

( Keep reading... )

Current Mood: reflective

I was really pleased to see this come up again in this year's Snowflake Challenge, because I meant to do this challenge when it came up last year (I think it was Challenge #2?) and never got around to it; when I didn't see it in the beginning of this year's challenge, I assumed it wasn't in the rotation. But here it is! \o/ So, I wasn't going to let my second chance pass me by (even after DW ate my first partial draft of this post 😢).

I've also done a few other days of the Snowflake Challenge so far, not all of which are on DW, so here are some links:

#1: Update your fandom information
#6: Post the results of your fandom scavenger hunt
#10: Create a fanwork (MastoDrabbleeeeeeee)

The challenge is: "In your own space, set yourself some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private." I definitely wanted these to be fannish goals, which for me is what makes it fun, so here are my fannish goals for 2023:

( Keep reading... )