necessarian | Entries tagged with event: snowflake challenge

January 2023

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Style: Plain for Tabula Rasa

this prompt is for a list of things i, personally, wish for in fandom. i managed to think of four before i ran out of steam. this list is very indulgent and probably a little bit wanky and... these are my 2020 fandom energies. what can i say.

1) people reading & commenting on my work. i feel like this is super duper self-explanatory so i'm not going to belabour the point, nor do i want to shake anyone by the shoulders and shout, you know? but this is a wishlist. and this is my eternal #1 wish when it comes to fandom. so. yeah.

2) for people to stop leaving mean/backhanded comments on public ao3 bookmarks. like, you know that if you bookmark something publically, everyone can read it, right? including - and especially - the author? some people leave ratings on their bookmarks; clicking through the bookmarks of your fic and seeing 1/5 is really fucking disheartening. i've also seen concrit in bookmark comments, backhanded compliments, and one bookmark of my own work that contained nothing but a demoralising "ehhhhhhhhhh." i mean it's not like... illegal or anything... i just think it's a dick move. it feels a lot like whispering behind someone's back. if you have something to say, say it in the comment box.

3) for the Discourse to slow down. i don't know if i need to explain this one, nor to mention which discourse, just that i think people on both sides of it need to stop and actually think about what they're saying. i have deliberately refrained from weighing into any serious social discourse, ever, because once i start i can't stop and that kind of single-focus debating strangers online is bad for my mental health. but i have so many opinions. my big one is this: SLOW DOWN. twitter in particular is TERRIBLE for discussing big social issues. nobody is getting anywhere with this sort of short-form, snappy, quip-based discourse. it is so tiring. it is so much of why i'm less active in fandom. i just want to be able to breathe clean air, you know?

4) to see an end to the Punching Bag Zacharias Smith trope. okay. this is the big one. if you've seen my dreamwidth journal header, you might have some of idea what i'm talking about. but basically: in a lot of HP fics, people turn to zacharias smith when they decide they need a random character to commit murder, sexual violence (both verbal and physical), bullying, or make bigoted comments. yes, i have seen all of these things, and yes, if you ask, i WILL pull receipts. it's mostly in drarry fic, which is a real shame, because there are so many fics i'd enjoy if not for this thing ruining it. i get the feeling that a few people did it, and then people just started copying it, perpetuating this sort of lazy shorthand which uses character bashing to write about violence and bigotry without actually addressing the issues, and turning it into a trope. and before you say "but if this guy's such an asshole, why is he your favourite character?" - i have THOUSANDS of words of meta in me, a list of every single time he's mentioned in the entire series, and a WIP manifesto which i'll finish and post one day - but basically the fact is zacharias smith does NONE of these things in canon, with the exception of a bit of minor bullying in the form of verbal teasing, and pushing first years out of the way to run away from a battle IN WHICH PEOPLE LITERALLY DIED. (sorry to all of the conscientious objectors of history, but being a draft dodger is just as bad as killing someone yourself!!!!)

like ok, pushing children and taunting people doesn't make him a nice guy - i KNOW he's an arsehole - but also he's a teenage boy, and he is summarily punished with threats of and ACTUAL PHYSICAL VIOLENCE following several of his lame taunts. this is like. A TREND. in the books. HOW FUCKED UP IS THAT? so - he is not a murderer. he never says anything bigoted, but people decided that just because he doesn't believe harry, he must be Evil. he is not a sexual predator - the only woman he canonically interacts with is ginny, who i love, but she also does fly straight into the quidditch commentator's tower, crashing it, leaving zacharias lying in a pile of rubble and presumably fucking injured because he fell?? from a TOWER?????? i also want to point out that, as a quidditch player, he would've known cedric, which very obviously explains why he's asking harry what really happened to him. and what does he get? a frosty reception and fred and george threatening to stick a metal rod inside him????? ok, deep breaths. you can see why i have a problem with this. my BIG wish for 2020 and beyond is that this fucking stops so i can read fic where my favourite character is tagged without having to be like "i wonder which kind of bigotry or malice this low-grade asshole will commit in this one :)" - and to stop stumbling upon it in perfectly harmless-looking fics where he isn't tagged.

ducking in and out of the snowflake challenge this year, but i really wanted to do this one. the specifications say any goals, but since this is a fandom space for me, i'm making these specifically fandom goals for 2020. over the past few years i've really changed the way i interact with fandom. i've gone from being a fairly prolific author to about as much of a lurker as you can be while still posting fic. this is for a number of reasons: 1) the media i love keeps hurting me, cf the magicians fucking up, jkr continuing to be antisemitic and transphobic, making me less inclined to want to celebrate this media in fic, 2) i was finishing my phd and ostensibly had less time to write, and 3) i didn't actually end up writing any less overall because i started focusing on original fiction in a big way. and now that i've got a few indie & self-made publications under my belt, i'm feeling a lot happier hanging around original fiction spaces.

but what about fandom? i could never leave entirely - no matter how much my favourite media turns out to be made by cranks, i'll still be here, obsessing, writing canon divergence and fix-it and all that fun stuff. plus, fic is still a lot of fun for me to write. so here are my goals for making it even more fun in 2020, and making fandom a space i'm more comfortable in:

1) write whatever the fuck i want to. in the past i've been hung up on kudos and comments and readership, which i've used to direct the kinds of things i write. look, i'm still hung up on all that stuff. i'm constantly desperate for feedback - it's a huge part of the fandom experience for me, being able to share my work and get people telling me what they liked about it. it helps me improve, and it's a valuable source of social connection in my life. but i was really getting bogged down in sentiments like "i have to finish this before i can start that" and "i have to update this in X days/weeks" and "people won't want to read this so i won't focus on it." well in 2020 i'm saying fuck all of that! you'll get my fic whenever the hell i post it, in whichever order i desire. and some of it may be weird and niche and largely unapproachable, and that's fine! i'll be having fun, and that's the point of fandom.

2) minimise my participation in events. as part of writing whatever the fuck i want, i need to avoid deadlines. as much as i love doing fannish events - such as exchanges, prompt fests, etc - i need to stop writing rushed fics at deadlines just to fulfill some responsibility. there are some fests that i'll always do, such as the wolfstar big bang, and yuletide. i might even have another crack at the wolfstar games, if it runs this year, since i had to drop out last time due to my phd. i'll of course keep an open mind about any fest that crops up, but i'll try to only sign up for new fests if i don't already have one hanging over me. like right now i'm on the look out for a fest to join, because i don't have one on the go and i wouldn't mind an excuse to write something brand new! but yeah. in general, fewer fests.

3) read, comment, rec. reccing is something i started doing more seriously a couple years back, but i want to really commit to it this year. i want to start posting regular recs on this journal, as well as kicking off

potterwatch again. i want to read more fic in general, too. maybe 2020 will be the year that i finally clean out my years-old marked for later list! (which i keep adding to, because i have no self control.) but in general, i think fandom at its best is when it's about sharing other people's works, not just your own. i want to fully commit to that as part of my fannish practise this year, to give as i would like to receive, so to speak. while i recognise that the rest of my goals may not be ones that work for other people, this one does, i think, and i want to urge people to join me in it. 2020 year of reccing, anyone?

❄️ fic about any of the ravenclaws and hufflepuffs in harry's grade, at hogwarts, post-war, in an AU setting, i don't care. bonus points for anthony/zacharias, my minorpair otp. (why? "Something very odd was happening to Zacharias Smith. Every time he opened his mouth to disarm Anthony Goldstein, his own wand would fly out of his hand, yet Anthony did not seem to be making a sound." more canon interaction than a lot of other ships can boast!) bonus points for anything that takes place during sixth year or in an eighth year scenario.

❄️ tropey garbage! seriously, if you're writing anything for me, the best way to get me to love it is fake dating. the second-best way is any other romcom trope. or like, an AU based on a romcom movie. even one i haven't watched. i don't care. i love that shit when it's fic. give me all the cute-awkward umbrella sharing and secret passed notes. give me kisses in the rain or under a flurry of fireworks. give me fake marriages and woke-up-marrieds. bonus points if this is using the characters mentioned above. shh.

❄️ i don't like calling this beast by its name but if you've never heard of "identity porn," basically what it means is two characters meet on two different levels and don't immediately reconcile each other as the same person. i.e., a pair of bitter rivals meet on a forum and, not knowing who the other is IRL, really hit it off. this is one of my favourite storylines ever, ever, and i feel like it's woefully underutilised in fanfiction. if you see this and decide to fulfill one item on my wishlist: please, make it this one.

it's always hard to choose what to put on a reclist. do you put fics that you've read recently or fics that have stayed with you for years? fics written by friends or fics written by strangers you admire? well-loved fics or fics that need more exposure? i think in the end it has to be a mixture. on this list, i've chosen three fics that have affected me deeply in whatever way, because of the content, because of the writing, because they just happened to hit on something that i, personally, love. i've gone with haikyuu!! fic, because it's where i've read the most deeply in recent years. i hope you find something to love here too!

❄️ One Gray Morning by SterlingLee ❄️

in brief: futakuchi POV datekou genfic, rated G, 3k

i regularly refer to this as "my favourite fic ever," which is perhaps an overstatement, but i unconditionally love everything about this fic so it's definitely up there. the author is one of my favourite haikyuu!! writers, not just because of their focus on datekou and genfic (my favourite team and my favourite weird niche, team bonding) but because of their way with words and their sense of humour. this fic is hilarious on every level: situational, textual, in the characterisation, in the plot. it's also touching. like, it's genuinely very sweet. that's something rarely done well, so it's great to read a fic like this that totally nails it, on every level. (also, it's raining the whole time. for those who don't know me. i love rain.)

opening three paragraphs:

It’s pissing rain when Futakuchi rolls out of bed at 5:40 A.M. and attempts to find his way into his school uniform without opening his eyes. His mother scoots him out the door twenty minutes later and when his shoes go squish in the puddle of wet leaves in the storm drain at the edge of the yard, he knows it’s going to be one of those days.

The umbrella his mother shoved into his hand is one of those fancy transparent ones, and through its slick dome he watches the clouds do absolutely nothing overhead. They are not moving. They are locked in place and emptying their guts down on him, out of personal spite probably. While he’s staring up at the sky he steps in another puddle.

He makes it to the station on time, though. His stop is early up the line and most Datekou students aren’t on their way to school this early anyway—Coach Oiwake has maintained the volleyball team’s strict morning practice schedule since time immemorial, or at least since the early 2000s. It being this kind of day, he’s perfectly content to stand at his usual spot with all higher functions on standby until the lady on the PA announces that his train is here.

❄️ Riptides by Kuleshov ❄️

in brief: tsukkiyama getting-together, rated T, 12.6k

this is the only fic on this list that i didn't discover alone; it was rec'd to me, and i'm eternally grateful for that. one of the things i look for in fic is a real sense of place, an atmosphere. this fic has atmosphere in spades. there's something about summer stories set at beachside resorts that's nostalgic for me, which is part of it, but the writing in Riptides is great too and sets the scene brilliantly. the characters are true to themselves and the dialogue is well-paced, clever, sharp. this is one of those fics that stays with you. i recommend it as a lazy afternoon read; for something this length and of this quality, be sure to give it enough time.

opening three paragraphs:

A few blocks south from Yamaguchi's house, across from the stationary store, was a parking lot bordered by a four-meter high concrete wall. For the first full week of August, during the off-hours of the salon, cell phone repair shop, and wholesale seed store that shared that space – Yamaguchi practiced alone. Using a meter stick, chalk, and masking tape, he recreated the dimensions of a volleyball net and court along the wall. The lines were imperfect, and the window of time between the shops closing and sunset was only a little more than an hour. Nevertheless, Yamaguchi only had until the weekend to better hone his footwork, toss, accuracy and power.

By Friday, he was working on a new approach to his serve. He took one long stride with his left foot – follows by two quicker steps – and lifted the ball as he jumped. Upon service, the ball rolled against the tip of Yamaguchi's fingers. His heart sank as it traveled to the wall, thudding only a few centimeters above the slight dip in his makeshift net line.

“You're tossing the ball too far in front of yourself.”

❄️ bystander by harklights ❄️

in brief: ennofuta meet-cute, rated T, 2.2k

this is another one of those fics that has a particular place in my personal mythos. sometimes i reread it and think, wow, remember when this changed my life? bystander is not just a fic. it's a philosophical exploration of the bystander effect, presented dramatically, cinematically. and it's so impressive to see these ideas packed into such a short fic. ennofuta is a ship i'm very invested in, given it's so rare, and the characterisation here is impeccable. the writing is great too; there's one bit that's the culmination of incredible pacing and build-up and every time i read it, it still gives me chills. i would recommend this to anyone, even if you don't know the fandom.

opening three paragraphs:

“You’re here.” Someone says. “Again.”

Kenji turns around to see that a man had joined him in leaning against the wall. It’s a little too dark in the tiny room to be sure, but it looks like he’s wearing all black.

Pretentious, he thinks. He should have expected it the moment he turned into the building on a whim after seeing a sign on the street advertising a graduate thesis exhibition, open daily and free to the public. Kenji assumes that this black-garbed person created the work that Kenji is currently parked in front of. He hadn’t read the tiny plaque on the wall to see what the artist’s name was. Hadn’t bothered to catch the title of the short film currently playing either, for that matter.

some writing goals for 2017:

❄️ write what i want to, with love

❄️ write first, edit later

❄️ allow myself lapses in productivity, moments of weakness

❄️ start fewer projects, give up on fewer

❄️ finish my novel

this is a very open question (it didn't need to be a fanwork, but i went with that in the spirit of fannish positivity) and as such i am giving a particularly strange answer. as some of you might know, my forever fandom is the harry potter fandom. i was an awful, contrary little child and for a few years i refused to read harry potter because everyone liked it, therefore it was too mainstream for me. when i was 9, on a few-hours flight home with my parents, they bought me philosopher's stone to read. i had always been restless, but for that one flight i read non-stop and didn't look up once—and i haven't looked back since.

so, i started writing harry potter fanfic shortly after, of the very basic sort that children write, self-inserts and simple plots. i found online communities at 11, and published my first fic at 12. i very quickly discovered that i had a niche in the harry potter fandom: i was absolutely taken with the minor characters in harry's grade who never got much of the spotlight except in their roles in dumbledore's army. in particular, i was passionate about anthony goldstein, because as a young jew who was lacking representation and role models (outside of, like, rugrats,) the surname "goldstein" leapt off the page at me, and as they say, the rest is history. unfortunately for my budding obsession with anthony goldstein, michael corner, and terry boot (who were barely mentioned in the half-blood prince! i was scandalised!) there was always very little fan content. enter the hp lexicon.

in a world before wikia, the lexicon was there for those of us who were sticklers for canon and needed the detail in our fics to be absolutely perfect. i don't remember exactly how old i was when i stumbled upon it, but it very quickly became another obsession. apart from wiki-like cataloguing, the lexicon also has essays asking the big questions about the potterverse, deconstructing its minutiae with love, never pretension. this was pure, earnest attention to detail, and it was one of the best things i could've been exposed to as a kid. i read all the essays and absorbed their details into my version of canon, but there was one essay in particular that has stuck with me forever.

it's this: secrets of the classlist by diana summers. it's an in-depth demographic study of the known (and unknown) students in harry's grade, and it places them all over britain and gets into issues like class, religion, and ethnicity. some parts of the essay are a little reaching, such as the assumption that terry boot is from an evangelical family just because of the possible reference to jesse boot, or the idea that justin finch-fletchley will meet a violent death because finches are small and vulnerable and fletchley means "field of arrow heads." (and the customary blaise zabini speculation!) but that aside, i'm glad i read this when i was fresh and new to fandom, because it sets a bit of a standard for acknowledging diversity, something the hp books themselves don't do all that well. it's deeply researched and cleanly presented, and has continued to inform my headcanon over the years.

(also, in light of the wank that happened years later, it's worth noting that this essay acknowledged what we all knew: anthony goldstein is jewish!!!)

there's no set theme for this, but i've decided to go for personal favourites of mine that i feel are underappreciated in some way. i have elected to rec fics from before this year, since i just covered all my faves in my 2016 summary. these are all haikyuu!! fics. i hope you find something here to interest you!

❄️ Coincidence ❄️

summary: oikawa and suga keep meeting, by chance, and take to each other instantly. but the course of true love never did run smooth, and sometimes anxiety gets in the way. featuring scallions, selfies, and a convenience store that acts as matchmaker.

this is only the third haikyuu!! fic i ever wrote, but nonetheless i'm fiercely proud of it. i had just discovered the joy of rarepairs, and oisuga was (and remains) my poison. so when i signed up to the very first hq hols exchange, i said i'd write oisuga on a total whim. am i ever glad i did! i was hit with a really inspiring prompt and it led me into a beautiful spiral of obsession, of late nights and emotional outbursts that made this fic what it is. this really is a self-rec because there is so much of me in this fic. it marks the moment i went from an okay writer to a good one, in my opinion. i love it so much and compared to some of my later oisuga fics it's much lesser known, mainly because oisuga was still tiny when i wrote this. if you want to go back to the early days of oisuga, this is the fic for you!

❄️ Mutually Assured Distraction ❄️

summary: there's a bit of rivalry beetween konoha and akaashi that has nothing to do with volleyball. they both like bokuto, and a miscommunication ends with both of them scoring a date with him. at the same time.

this was for haikyuu!! rarepair week in 2015. i was determined to write something each day because i'm such a rarepair evangelist but i was struggling a bit with ideas. i'd been interested in konoaka for a while after seeing some cute fanart and i kind of went with it because i wasn't writing anything else featuring the tokyo teams. i had basically no plan when i started other than "romantic rivals end up getting together with each other." and then in like the space of an afternoon, i'd written the entire thing. this fic was so much fun to write. it's a total farce and unashamedly silly in parts, which i think is what makes it so great. you can tell when a writer really loved what they were writing. however it's such a micropair that it's not as big as some of my other hq stuff. a diamond in the rough!

❄️ imperfect, tense ❄️

summary: it takes a lot to fall for someone, more still for that feeling to grow. in spring, hitoka falls for kiyoko as the blossoms grow on the trees. by winter, their love is in full bloom.

i couldn't do a self-rec post without this fic. it was written for 2015's hq winter hols and i think i really pushed myself with it, to write something a little different to my usual. so there's a lot of lovely language and nature metaphor in here, but i managed to pull it off. despite my love for the ship i hadn't written kiyoyachi before, and i think because of the differences in their experiences so far it's a ship that has to be handled with some delicacy. i know why it's underappreciated, it's because it's a fic about female characters, which doesn't do well in the hq fandom. but, that's an occupational hazard. i think some of my best writing is in this fic, and i love the whole mood of it, the hesitancy but the passion, the force of feeling overcoming all the natural nerves. if any of this interests you, please give it a try!

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Entries tagged with event: snowflake challenge

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January 2023

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snowflake challenge #6: fannish wishlist

snowflake challenge #4: fannish goals

❄️ snowflake challenge day 6: a fannish wishlist ❄️

❄️ snowflake challenge day 5: three recs ❄️

❄️ snowflake challenge day 3: set some goals ❄️

❄️ snowflake challenge day 2: a fanwork that changed my life ❄️

❄️ snowflake challenge day 1: three self-recs ❄️