elrhiarhodan

Ganked with love and gratitude from sallymn:

"choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. 1 book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. no explanations, no reviews: just covers."

Haven't really been doing the Fandom Snowflake Challenge this year, but maybe I'll catch up.

Day 6 - Best Canon

The last scene of the last episode of Season 2 of The Mandalorian.



I'd casually enjoyed The Mandalorian, but I wasn't particularly fannish about it until this moment. The return of Luke Skywalker into the franchise just grabbed my by the throat and dragged me quite willingly into the Star Wars fandom. Unfortunately The Book of Boba Fett killed a lot of my Din/Luke love (at least for the canon characters, and honestly, it had to -- given the whole hot mess of the Sequel trilogy.

But this scene is an amazing bit of canon and it opened the door to something I have really come to love.

Taps mic, hears crickets... anybody here? Anybody care?

1. Favorite fic you wrote this year
2. Least favorite fic you wrote this year
3. Favorite line/scene you wrote this year
4. Total number of words you wrote this year
5. Most popular fic this year
6. Least popular fic this year
7. Longest completed fic you wrote this year
8. Shortest completed fic you wrote this year
9. Longest WIP of the year
10. Shortest WIP of the year
11. Fandom you enjoyed writing for the most this year
12. Favorite character to write about this year
13. Favorite writing song/artist/album of this year
14. A fic you didn’t expect to write
15. Something you learned this year
16. Fic(s) you completed this year
17. Fics you’ll continue next year
18. Current number of WIPs
19. Any new fics to start next year
20. Number of comments you haven’t read
21. Most memorable comment/review
22. Events you participated in this year
23. Fics you wanted to write but didn’t
24. Favorite fic you read this year
25. A fic you read this year you would recommend everyone read
26. Number of favorites/bookmarks you made this year
27. Favorite fanfic author of the year
28. Longest fic you read this year
29. Shortest fic you read this year
30. Favorite fandom/ship to read fic from this year

*feel free to specify fandoms or a fic depending on the question.

Fic writer questionnaire, ganked from the lovely and eloquent minoanmiss! If you want to play, the questions are in a textbox after my answers.

( Answers under the cut )

Day Twenty-Nine - A song you remember from your childhood
Cat Stevens - Morning Has Broken (Teaser and the Firecat)

I really wanted to do Into White for this entry, which is a much better song, but Morning Has Broken was one of the songs chosen for the third grade chorus, and the lyrics are embedded in my brain. When I hear the song, I'm nine years old again and consumed with nerves and excitement about my first performance.

It's a good memory.




( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Day Twenty-Seven - A song that breaks your heart
Bob Dylan - Hollis Brown (The Times They Are A-Changin’)

Nothing to say about this one except you need to listen to it.



I actually prefer the Old Blind Dogs version to Bob Dylan's original, probably because I don't like Bob Dylan's voice. Even then, it was nails across a chalk board.

Old Blind Dogs version (Legacy)



( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Day Twenty-Five - A song you like by an artist no longer living

Ehren Starks - Lines Build Walls (Lines Build Walls)

Musically, this one is a bit of a departure, as it's a solo piano work and not a "song" per se.

I'd discovered Ehren Starks via Magnatune in the early 2000s, back when Magnatune was the anti-Napster and had the tagline "Don't Be Evil" - and you set your own price for their music, which was DRM free and thus iPod friendly.

I did a lot of exploring through the Magnatune catalog and fell in love with the album, Lines Build Walls, and it was my go-to writing music for a decade or more. I would look for a new album from Ehren Starkes on-and-off over the years, and one day - to my joy - I discovered a new album on iTunes. I bought it (of course) and then Googled Ehren Starks, hoping to find a concert tour.

What I found was his obituary notice. Even though the new album had been out for about a year (remember, I looked on-and-off), he'd died two days before my not-so-serendipitous search. And he had been a young man - in his early 30s.

I am still saddened by this loss. But his music lives and please listen, it will bring you joy.






( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Day Twenty-Three - A song you think everybody should listen to
Chumbawamba - Homophobia (Anarchy)

Honestly, this song needs no explanation or introduction. Just listen, okay?

The pop-music version:



And the more powerful a capella version (with typical Chumbawamba media bits in front):



( The Lyrics )

( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Day Twenty-One A song you like with a person’s name in the title
Black 47 - James Connolly (Black 47 - EP)


Gah! Almost forgot to post this.

The theme for today's entry was the reason why I decided to do this meme - it gives me the chance to share a truly fantastic political song that still resonates today.

And a bit of a history lesson.

James Connolly was one of the principal leaders of the 1916 Easter Rebellion in Dublin. He was a Socialist through and through, and considered as much of a threat to English rule because of his trade unionism as he was for his Irish nationalism.

He was shot by the British at the General Post Office and executed (murdered) by the British while on his deathbed - he'd been taken from the hospital to the firing squad at Kilmainham Gaol and carried into the execution square on a stretcher. He could not stand and was tied to a chair and shot.

So much for the civilizing effects of the British Empire.





( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Day Nineteen - A song that makes you think about life
Queen - I’m Going Slightly Mad (Innuendo)

Mother's Day isn't a great day for me, so I think I'm going to give the discussion of today's song a pass.

Enjoy Freddie Mercury at his finest:




( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Day Seventeen - A song you’d sing in a duet with someone on karaoke
Supertramp - Breakfast in America (Breakfast In America)

This is actually the only song I've ever performed as karaoke - at a company holiday party about 25 years ago.

I was booed off stage - my co-workers were a very hard to please crowd.

I cannot believe this song is over forty years old - it feels as fresh today as it did in '79.




( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Halfway there!

Day Fifteen - A song you like that’s a cover by another artist
Club Nouveau - Lean on Me (Life, Love & Pain)

No particularly poignant memory associated with this, other than watching MTV in the Rathskeller at college. I've always liked this version of the classic Bill Withers song, which I remember hearing on the radio when it came out in the early '70s. I also liked the video, and watching it now, I feel a bit sad for the lost artform.





( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Day Thirteen - A song you like from the '70s
Gordon Lightfoot - Sundown (Sundown)

I have such vivid memories of listening to this song on the radio in the car, although I can't ever remember my parents listening to music. My mom was a devotee of talk radio and my dad loved sports. And Gordon Lightfoot wasn't really eldest sister's tastes - she was all about The Who and Jethro Tull and ELP (album-oriented rock for the win). So maybe at night? Or on the little transistor radio we all had?

It's kind of a stupid song, when you listen to it - but it's catchy. And I always pitied the girl - the singer sounded like such a total asshole.



( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Day Eleven - A song you never get tired of
Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More (Sigh No More)


I'm a bit pasted today - didn't sleep much last night, so this entry's going to be very brief.

Honestly, the whole album is one I will never get tired of - before I'd lost the metadata for my iTunes, it had over 1000 plays. I'd discovered Mumford back in 2010, when someone had done an amazing fanvid for White Collar using The Cave, another favorite song. For this and so many other reasons, this song will be forever associated with Season 2A of White Collar (well, probably because of the fanfic I'd wrote while listening to this during endless hours in Starbucks).



( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Thank you, tjs_whatnot for this fun and thoughtful meme.

1. Are you an Essential Worker?

No, but I’ve been working from home for health reasons since last July, so I can keep on doing what I’m doing very easily.

2. How many drinks have you had since the quarantine started?

I’ve never been one to reach for the alcohol when things get stressful. Mostly it’s a control issue. I did purchase a six-pack of Angry Orchard hard cider when this started, and had one bottle so far. Last time I bought hard cider, it took almost two years to finish. Likely looking at the same timeline.

3. If you have kids... Are they driving you nuts?

No kids, and I thank the stars for that.

4. What new hobby have you taken up during this?

None, sticking with the ones that spark joy. I used my sewing machine to make a couple of masks and that was not a fun experience. Also, it’s got problems and it either needs a repair or replacement. Prefer repair, but that’ll have to wait.

I have been doing a lot of beading. Finished my homemade2homemade gifts very early, but then had a bit of executive disfunction in getting them to the post office…

I haven’t been stretching myself skills wise in my beading - creating things that are fun and comforting, rather than frustrating. I’ve started projects that frustrate me and have had to put them aside.

5. How many grocery runs have you done?

I go out one day a week. ONE DAY. I have to get everything done in one day. No excuses. I’ve been to my local small-chain market which has had most everything in stock, although chicken is iffy and prices on some things have skyrocketed. I’ve also gone to Costco (panic buying TP) a few times. Last Tuesday, I went two Costco, two local markets and Ocean State Job lot, which was an utter bust. The masks I made are extremely dense (300 thread-count cotton sandwiching a layer of wool/rayon felt) and are hard to breath through. I was utterly exhausted when I got home.

6. What are you spending your stimulus check on?

Bills and savings.

7. Do you have any special occasions that you will miss during this quarantine?

My birthday was earlier this month and plans to spend the day with friends were scuttled. If I actually celebrated Passover, that would have been difficult, too.

8. Are you keeping your housework done?

Oh, hell yes! I can’t stand a messy space. I have always kept up on housework, and admittedly it isn’t hard when you’re one person in a generous space. I do laundry on Sundays, vacuum every other week, kitchen is usually pristine since I hate having dishes in the sink. I’d say the house is no cleaner or no dirtier than it usually is.

9. What movie have you watched during this quarantine?

I haven’t been bingewatching movies, but I’ve watched a couple of old-favorites: Murder on the Orient Express, Elizabeth, L.A. Confidential, Shazam, Rocketman.

10. What are you streaming with?

I’ve become addicted to the Bon Appetite Test Kitchen videos on YouTube. Claire! Molly! Brad! Carla! Chris! Gaby! Delaney! Rick! Solah! Christine! I can’t live without them and their gentle sweetness. Tomorrow, they are doing a live fundraiser and we’ve been promised pets - more than Molly’s Tuna, too.

Also become addicted to Adam Savage, who had been my favorite Mythbuster by lightyears. He’s so sincere and charming and dedicated and very slightly crazy. I’ve even enjoyed watching him do Lego builds which is, in any other case, as boring as watching paint dry.

Also watched the first six eps of The Witcher on Netflix. I’ll eventually watch the last two.

11. What's your go-to quarantine meal?

Been indulging in corn muffins with too much butter. This has got to stop.

13. Is this whole situation making you paranoid?

A little?

14. Has your internet gone out on you during this time?

Shhh. You might summon the bad faeries.

15. What month do you predict this all ends?

I think the lockdown will start to lift too soon and we’ll see another wave of sickness in October and November - probably worse than what’s happening now.

16. First thing you’re gonna do when you get off quarantine?

Hair cut and color. I look like Albert Einstein right now.

17. Where do you wish you were right now?

I am exactly where I want to be. Safe and cradled in House Wonderful

18. What free-from-quarantine activity are you missing the most?

Beading with my Saturday peeps at the local bead store. We get together on FaceTime three evenings a week, but it’s not the same.

19. Have you run out of toilet paper and hand sanitizer?

No. I always have at least one six-by-six package of TP in the house and have added to the stock when I can (right now have three six-by-six packages in reserve).

As a general principle, I avoid hand sanitizers - they are, in a normal time - not good as their overuse contributes to antibiotic resistant bacteria. So I never had them in "stock" at home, but I had/have plenty of regular hand soap.


20. Do you have enough food to last a month?

Between freezer and pantry, probably more than a month, but I need fresh veg and fruit, otherwise I’ll go mad.

If you want to play along, here’s the code:

<B>1. Are you an Essential Worker?</b> <B>2. How many drinks have you had since the quarantine started?</b> <b>3. If you have kids... Are they driving you nuts?</b> <b>4. What new hobby have you taken up during this?</b> <B>5. How many grocery runs have you done?</b> <b>6. What are you spending your stimulus check on?</b> <B>7. Do you have any special occasions that you will miss during this quarantine?</b> <B>8. Are you keeping your housework done?</b> <B>9. What movie have you watched during this quarantine?</b> <B>10. What are you streaming with?</b> <B>11. What's your go-to quarantine meal?</b> <B>13. Is this whole situation making you paranoid?</b> <B>14. Has your internet gone out on you during this time?</b> <B>15. What month do you predict this all ends?</b> <B>16. First thing you’re gonna do when you get off quarantine?</b> <B>17. Where do you wish you were right now?</b> <B>18. What free-from-quarantine activity are you missing the most?</b> <b>19. Have you run out of toilet paper and hand sanitizer?</b> <B>20. Do you have enough food to last a month?</b> Meme courtesy of <user name=tjs_whatnot>

Day Eight - A song about drugs or alcohol
Billy Joel - Captain Jack (Piano Man)

This one is almost too easy, no?

But the point of doing this meme, at least to me, is putting up songs that have meaning and don't just tick the box.

Does Captain Jack have any particular meaning to me? Not in the conventional sense - I have never used heroin.

But, I was eight or nine when the song first got some airplay, and then an intense thirteen year old when Billy Joel simply exploded on the scene in '77 with The Stranger, and all Billy Joel's songs consumed the radio. So it was inevitable that Captain Jack became a formative part of my pre-teen life. Growing up on Long Island, Billy was the Hometown Boy made good. And for me and my junior high classmates, he was the hometown boy from the next town over.

I had terrible English teacher in seventh grade. Mr. Fontaine. He was a trashfire of an educator and a horrible human being all the way around (I'm pretty sure I've talked about he here). But there was one day where he rose above his petty competition with the thirteen year olds who were a lot smarter and creative than he was, and we spent a whole class discussing Billy Joel's music, including Captain Jack.

I don't remember what he said about the song, I do remember classmates sniggering about him explaining "closet queens" and him telling them to shut their traps. So a good memory, I think.





( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Day Six - A song that makes you want to dance

This girl doesn't dance (despite 4 years of ballet lessons when I was in elementary school plus Hustle lessons in 7th grade that had been an exercise in terminal humiliation). But there is one song that actually will get me up an onto the dance floor.

Unfortunately, videos of Hava Nagila are weighed down by disgusting antisemitism in the comments, which I don't want echoed here, so I'm putting up something utterly unobjectionable.

David Bowie's Let’s Dance (Let’s Dance)





( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

I'm posting this one without comment.

Day Four - A song that reminds you of someone you’d rather forget

Ani DiFranco - Untouchable Face (Canon)




( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Look at me! Posting two days in a row!

Day Two - A song you like with a number in the title

Janis Ian - At Seventeen (Between the Lines)

This song could have gone on a number of different places in the list, especially because I have two entries for Day Two, but I love it so much and it has so much meaning for me that I wanted it early in the list.

I wasn't seventeen when I first heard this - I was probably closer to twelve (but maybe as young as eleven). My eldest sister had a car with an eight-track player in it (!) and we used to hang out a lot together - the mall, the pizza parlor, the beach. It wasn't unusual for her to take me to Record World and spend hours browsing the racks - and on this particular day, she bought a copy of Between the Lines to listen to in the car (she had the LP for home listening). Of course, after we left the store, she popped it into the deck and we listened and drove and I remember talking about the lyrics (we did that a lot). At Seventeen was the song we talked about the most.

In later years, when I did turn seventeen and was the ugliest of ducklings, I had my sister's copy of the LP on permanent borrow, and listened to At Seventeen so often, I heard it in my sleep.



Bonus Track: Eurythmics - Seventeen Again (Peace)

I definitely did not love the Eurythmics when they hit the charts with Sweet Dreams (are made of this), during my senior year in high school. It was overplayed and ridiculous and nothing like the music I preferred (I'd been heavy into folk, singer/songwriter, British Invasion, and classical - my tastes were about 20 years out of sync). But years later, driving with a friend, I was re-introduced to the group and fell deeply in love.

Fast forward to the early Oughts and the iTunes Music Store. I thought I had all of the Eurythmics on CD, but discovered that I'd completely missed their 1999 reunion album. I bought it and typical me, didn't listen to it for years. And by years, I mean almost a decade. I even remember the first time I listened to it - January, 2010, just as I was falling deep into the White Collar fandom - which is why several songs will always be associated with Peter/Neal and Neal/Kate.

However, this one isn't one of those. This one bookends with the Janis Ian song, and tells the opposite story of the ugly duckling who is shunned and degraded by her more physically attractive peers.



( If you want to play along, here are the thirty days of song )

Haven't done one of these in a very long time. Ganked from Tumblr and revised. Ask up to three, please and thank you very much!

1) How old were you when you first starting writing fan fiction?

2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favorite if you write for more than one?

3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer.

4) What is your favorite genre to write for?

5) If you had to choose a favorite out of all of your multi chaptered stories, which would it be and why?

6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why?

7) When is your preferred time to write?

8) Where do you take your inspiration from?

9) In your (pick a fic of mine), what’s your favorite scene that you wrote? Or, what is your all time favorite scene you’ve ever written?

10) In your (pick a fic of mine), why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind?

11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it?

12) Who is your favorite character to write for? Why?

13) Who is your least favorite character to write for? Why?

14) How did you come up with the title for (pick a fic of mine)? Or, how do you come up with titles?

15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names?

16) How did you come up with the idea for (pick a fic of mine)?

17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on.

18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them?

19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to?

20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently?

21) Tell me about your current favorite canon, what attracted you to it? What will make you abandon it?

22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it?

23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence?

24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes?

25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story?

26) Which part of your (pick a fic of mine) was the hardest to write?

27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow and pants your plots?

28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fan fiction?

29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like?

30) In contrast to #29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at?

31) Send me a fic recommendation for one of your own stories

32) Are any of your characters based on real people?

33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten?

34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten?

35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest?

36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s?

37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written?

38) Have you ever collaborated? Was it a good experience or a terrible one?

39) Do you prefer first, second or third person?

40) Do people know you write fan fiction?

41) What’s you favorite minor character you’ve written?

42) What do you think about song fic? Have you ever written on? Why wouldn’t you?

43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it?

44) What is the last line you wrote?

45) What spurs you on during the writing process?

46) I really loved your (pick a fic of mine) fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it?

47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made up title. What would this story be about?

48) What’s your favorite trope to write?

49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about?

50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

If you want to play along, here's the code:


1) How old were you when you first starting writing fan fiction? 2) What fandoms do you write for and do you have a particular favorite if you write for more than one? 3) Do you prefer writing OC’s or reader inserts? Explain your answer. 4) What is your favorite genre to write for? 5) If you had to choose a favorite out of all of your multi chaptered stories, which would it be and why? 6) If you had to delete one of your stories and never speak of it again, which would it be and why? 7) When is your preferred time to write? 8) Where do you take your inspiration from? 9) In your (pick a fic of mine), what’s your favorite scene that you wrote? Or, what is your all time favorite scene you’ve ever written? 10) In your (pick a fic of mine), why did you decide to end it like that? Did you have an alternative ending in mind? 11) Have you ever amended a story due to criticisms you’ve received after posting it? 12) Who is your favorite character to write for? Why? 13) Who is your least favorite character to write for? Why? 14) How did you come up with the title for (pick a fic of mine)? Or, how do you come up with titles? 15) If you write OC’s, how do you decide on their names? 16) How did you come up with the idea for (pick a fic of mine)? 17) Post a line from a WIP that you’re working on. 18) Do you have any abandoned WIP’s? What made you abandon them? 19) Are there any stories that you’ve written that you’d really love to do a sequel to? 20) Are there any stories that you wished you’d ended differently? 21) Tell me about your current favorite canon, what attracted you to it? What will make you abandon it? 22) Do you have a story that you look back on and cringe when you reread it? 23) Do you prefer listening to music when you’re writing or do you need silence? 24) How do you feel about writing smutty scenes? 25) Have you ever cried whilst writing a story? 26) Which part of your (pick a fic of mine) was the hardest to write? 27) Do you make a general outline for your stories or do you just go with the flow and pants your plots? 28) What is something you wished you’d known before you started posting fan fiction? 29) Do you have a story that you feel doesn’t get as much love as you’d like? 30) In contrast to #29 is there a story which gets lots of love which you kinda eye roll at? 31) Send me a fic recommendation for one of your own stories 32) Are any of your characters based on real people? 33) What’s the biggest compliment you’ve gotten? 34) What’s the harshest criticism you’ve gotten? 35) Do you share your story ideas with anyone else or do you keep them close to your chest? 36) Can you give us a spoiler for one of your WIP’s? 37) What’s the funniest story you’ve written? 38) Have you ever collaborated? Was it a good experience or a terrible one? 39) Do you prefer first, second or third person? 40) Do people know you write fan fiction? 41) What’s you favorite minor character you’ve written? 42) What do you think about song fic? Have you ever written on? Why wouldn’t you? 43) Has anyone ever guessed the plot twist of one of your fics before you posted it? 44) What is the last line you wrote? 45) What spurs you on during the writing process? 46) I really loved your (pick a fic of mine) fic. If you were ever to do a sequel, what do you think might happen in it? 47) Here’s a fic title - insert a made up title. What would this story be about? 48) What’s your favorite trope to write? 49) Can you remember the first fic you read? What was it about? 50) If you could write only angst, fluff or smut for the rest of your writing life, which would it be and why?

Fanfic asks for readers AND writers

Found this on Tumblr, thought it worth porting here.

Ask me up to three.

1. What is the strangest fact you’ve learned from reading fic?
2. What is the strangest fact you’ve learned from writing fic?
3. What is the last thing that a fic made you google when you were reading it?
4. What is the last thing that a fic made you google when you were writing it?
5. Where is the most dangerous place that you’ve read fic?
6. Where is the most dangerous place that you’ve written fic?
7. What was the first commercial property (book/movie/tv show/etc) that you realized was actually professional fanfiction?
8. What’s the weirdest reason you’ve ever shipped something?
9. What’s the best insult you’ve read in a fic?
10. What’s the best insult you’ve written in a fic?
11. What’s the most unexpected crossover you’ve read?
12. What’s the most unexpected crossover you’ve written?
13. What is the smallest tag you read on AO3? (fandom, ship, trope, other)
14. What’s the smallest tag you’ve written for on AO3? (fandom, ship, trope, other)
15. What is your favourite title for a fic you’ve read? (whole fic or chapter)
16. What is your favourite title for a fic you’ve written? (whole fic or chapter)
17. Which show that you watch has the best theme song/opening credits?
18. Which scene from your fandom do you read most often in fics?
19. Which scene from your fandom do you write most often in fics?
20. What is your favourite line from the source material (book, tv show, film, etc)?

Ask me up to three. 1. What is the strangest fact you’ve learned from reading fic? 2. What is the strangest fact you’ve learned from writing fic? 3. What is the last thing that a fic made you google when you were reading it? 4. What is the last thing that a fic made you google when you were writing it? 5. Where is the most dangerous place that you’ve read fic? 6. Where is the most dangerous place that you’ve written fic? 7. What was the first commercial property (book/movie/tv show/etc) that you realized was actually professional fanfiction? 8. What’s the weirdest reason you’ve ever shipped something? 9. What’s the best insult you’ve read in a fic? 10. What’s the best insult you’ve written in a fic? 11. What’s the most unexpected crossover you’ve read? 12. What’s the most unexpected crossover you’ve written? 13. What is the smallest tag you read on AO3? (fandom, ship, trope, other) 14. What’s the smallest tag you’ve written for on AO3? (fandom, ship, trope, other) 15. What is your favourite title for a fic you’ve read? (whole fic or chapter) 16. What is your favourite title for a fic you’ve written? (whole fic or chapter) 17. Which show that you watch has the best theme song/opening credits? 18. Which scene from your fandom do you read most often in fics? 19. Which scene from your fandom do you write most often in fics? 20. What is your favourite line from the source material (book, tv show, film, etc)? <SMALL>meme text from <user name=elrhiarhodan></small>

Ganked from sallymn






This makes me unreasonably happy. It's random and completely unscientific, but Other people might not always understand your taste or style, but it's yours is one of the most accurate descriptions of my creative output that I've ever seen.

Okay, so I'm a sheep and I can't resist all the shiny things I see on my reading page. This one is scarily accurate: Ultimate Fanfic Trope Showdown, via lazaefair by way of ellimists

( click for the list of my top tropes )

Not surprisingly, "Royals/Political Marriage Turns Into Feelings" is my number one trope. Thank you, kyele.

Day 15

Talk about why you participated in Snowflake &/or what you got out of it. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.


I'd participated in the first Fandom Snowflake Challenge, back in 2012, when I'd truly believed that my fandom, White Collar, could last until eternity, that there was no better and more far-reaching platform than LiveJournal (although I'd been posting from DW). I'd also just come through a health crisis and needed something to fill in the hours while I was recovering.

In the intervening years, I'd participated in the FS Challenge but more often than not, dropping out by the fifth or sixth day. When I'd migrated over to Tumblr, I tried doing it there, but it all seemed so pointless. Most everything that wasn't a political screed or a cute cat picture or a fannish reblog got utterly lost. So I'd given up and I'd let my Dreamwidth account languish (although I'd never stopped paying for it).

But then the December 17th Ridiculousness happened and I realized that I was wasting far too much time on something which had no emotional or fannish value, and that it was time to come home.

And so, for the first time in a very long time, I did the Fandom Snowflake Challenge, as a way to get back into the habit of blogging on an adult platform. In the two weeks I've been participating, I've added more friends to my circle than I can count. I've reconnected with people I'd lost touch with, and I've found a new resolve to bringing fandom back to a community based platform.

My deepest thanks to all of the mods for continuing the work that began in 2012 and making it better, more meaningful, more important than ever.

And to everyone I've connected with, let's keep the dialogue going.

Day 13

In your own space, set 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.

For this entry, my goals will be fannish.

1 - Complete at least two big works in progress: Cold Wind to Valhalla and A Wolf in the Fold. Both are for The Flash and are EoBarry. The first is partially published, and needs just another two or three chapters to be complete. The second is a no-powers A/B/O that has a lot of words yet to go, but I don't know if it will have an audience, which makes me reluctant to put a lot of time into it. I write a lot of my EoBarry for my dear kyele, but this one isn't to her taste, so I'm struggling with it. A third EoBarry that's a major work in progress (about 165k now) gets sporadic updates, but I doubt it will ever get done. The story is just too big and has too many moving parts. I enjoy writing it, but I have to be in the mood for it.

There are several Kingsman WIPs that will be finished, but (so far) none are on any major scale (10k - 20k and I just have to sit down and finish them without getting distracted by some new shiny plot idea). There is one that could possibly be epic, but that's a co-written piece that hasn't really gotten off the ground yet.

2 - Speaking of Kingsman, I'd really like to push the fandom to Dreamwidth. I know it will never leave Tumblr, but I'd like to run a challenge or exchange here (see yesterday's entry about a Kingsman Reverse Bang).

3 - Continue to be present and aware here on Dreamwidth and continue to cut back on wasting time on Tumblr. Fandom Snowflake has really driven home how much I love this type of blogging and interaction, which simply isn't possible on the other platform.

This means posting more personal entries, linking my fanworks here, getting the next promptfest off the ground.

I'm sure if I was less tired and gave this more thought, I'd have more goals, but these three are doable, and that's the whole point, isn't it?