schneefink

Time for snowflake_challenge again.

Challenge #3:
Create a wish list of fandom things (podfic, graphics, playlists, canon recs translations, research help, vids, sky's the limit!) that you'd like to receive.

I think in every other year I might have wished for fanfic comments, but actually recently I have felt very lucky with the amount of fanfic comments I got. So while I would of course always love some more, I thought of something else I would especially love: feedback on rec posts.

I made regular rec posts last year, mostly fanfic but also some art and vids, and for those and future recs I would love to know if they made people interested in checking the fanworks out and if they enjoyed them if they did. I know that many of them are probably for fandoms most of you are unfamiliar with, but I try to note whenever I think a fanwork can be enjoyed without knowing canon (and if that turns out to be incorrect for you that would be useful to know as well.) And if there is something you would be interested in seeing recs for that you think I might be familiar with, please let me know as well!

…speaking of fandoms most of you are unfamiliar with. Please let me know if you would be willing to check out some Minecraft roleplay videos if I wrote an intro/primer (and if yes, maybe what kind of tropes/characters/stories you are currently most interested in) because I would happily write intros/primers for my current shiny things for any audience greater than zero.

And, as a bonus, some Hermitcraft/Life series icons, especially for Scar/Cleo/Etho, would be very nice.

I've stumbled across "this fic was written by Chat GPT" on AO3 for the first time and I hate that this is apparently a thing now. I also found a post with replies on Tumblr that articulated some of the reasons for that. It feels a bit like, hm, regurgitated writing mush: no thought behind it, no ideas. I think Chat GPT could be useful as a tool for writing sometimes, for prompt generation or brainstorming or something like that, but I don't want to read stories written by an AI. I know that probably at some point soon an AI will be able to read a story that I can't say for sure is written by a real person or not but that's not the point. I want fandom and the fanworks in it to be in conversation with other fans, not translated through a machine copying from other writing.

I also think that out society is woefully underprepared for the current challenges posed by the use of AI but that's entire topics on top of that.

Snowflake challenge #12:
In your own space, set yourself some goals for the coming year. They can be fannish or not, public or private.

I already did that, but I want to add one fannish goal: rec something at least once a month. For a few months last year I managed to rec something fairly regularly on the community recs post on recthething but then I fell off again. To my own surprise I've realized how worried I sometimes am about being, hm, ~judged for the stories I like - which is stupid, and something I've made progress with when it comes to fandoms themselves but apparently not fic. Huh. Weird, and I don't like it; I'll try to work on it.

I already recced things in January thanks to the snowflake challenge (MCYT emduo, 4 fanart + 7 fic recs), but maybe I will manage a few more, and if not then next month.

Hey, I can combine that:

Snowflake challenge #8:
In your own space, create a quiz or a poll (or tell us your thoughts about answering quizzes/polls)


No guarantees but it might give me a starting point.

In my head for a while I have been idly drafting a post about "fandom spaces" in fandoms like MCYT where interactions with the content creators are in some ways completely normal but also platform-dependent and how that clearly influenced some parts of these fandoms having "rules" that seemed completely alien to me. What do you mean I'm not supposed to create fanworks a content creator said they don't want to see, as long as everything is appropriately tagged, they're adults who are responsible for their own internet experience. Also, do not link content creators to fic especially not someone else's, WTF.

And then today as one of the results of *gestures at Twitter*, TommyInnit joined Tumblr and I'm still laughing. His username is "tubbosfriend," his first (and so far only) post is a terrible selfie tagged "ranboo mcyt", and his first liked post is a screenshot of tumblr RTing a DSMP joke xDD This could either be hilarious or terrible and I can hardly wait to find out.
(Yes other MCYT streamers have been on Tumblr for a while but, uh, Tommy is a different potential level of chaos. Plus, if more fans come to Tumblr from Twitter and are unfamiliar with how fandom there "works" then conflicts seems likely. But I'm hoping for the best.)

I almost forgot about Vienna Comic-Con this weekend, which would have been a lot more annoying than usual because this time I have tickets! I bought them before they had to postpone the event, that's my excuse for why it wasn't on my radar anymore, but fortunately someone I'd told about it way back then reminded me.

It was a lot of fun today. I mostly walked around looking at all the art and stuff, played some game demos, went to a panel about voice acting in video games, and then to the cosplay contest at the end. So many cosplayers, and so many of them looked fantastic. A lot of Genshin Impact, I noticed that even though I barely know the game (LB was into it for a short while, which is the only reason I even recognized anyone.) Quite a few very cool Star Wars and A:tla cosplayers too, a great Jester&Fjord couple, and a wonderful Obelix. I only saw one Hades cosplay, a Hypnos, but unfortunately that was at the very end and they'd already taken half of it off.

I managed to resist buying anything because I knew I'd be back tomorrow, so tomorrow the challenge will be not to spend too much money, on books (that I am skeptical I will find time to read, my to-read pile next to my bed just keeps growing) and other stuff (I know I don't need a Minecraft mystery bag but. I kinda wants it.) I was looking for some art for our kitchen but sadly didn't see anything that speaks to me yet. Lots of very cool "I'd want this if it was one of my fandoms" art.

Right now I'm too tired to do anything but not tired enough to go to bed yet. Tomorrow I'll try to go earlier than today, and I'll take a break for lunch with my parents, who conveniently live not too far away. I look forward to seeing hopefully even more great cosplays tomorrow :)

Over on fictional_fans, melannen is holding a fandom bracket challenge and the first three rounds are already open for voting: 1a, 1b, 1c. Worth checking out for the poll questions alone.
There are absolutely no criteria. I'm surprised by just how much Naruto and One Piece are losing, though considering the fandoms popular on DW I probably shouldn't be.

I want to sign up for sunflower_auction, an charity auction for Ukraine, but am not sure what to offer. I've never done this before, and the stupid part of my brain keeps asking who would even be interested anyway. So, a poll. Please ticky if you think that someone might be interested if I offer this.

Thanks for the responses to my poll about lemon chicken fic! I got curious after I read their days are darker by always-a-slut-for-hc, a Star Wars: The Clone Wars Fox-centric lemon chicken fic, and the author didn't understand what my comment meant.

For some background, there are two Fanlore articles (Lemon Chicken, The Post-Trinity phenomenon), but even for people unfamiliar with SGA I would recommend reading the original list that gave post-"Trinity" fics lemon chicken ratings. It gives background, explains the trope, and is funny. Post-Trinity stories are like drag queens, they're just not dealing with reality. But they are fabulous!

For me, "lemon chicken fic" generally has the following elements:

- A does something that their friend(s) consider in some way bad or wrong.
It could be a mistake, it could be something done on purpose, it could be the consequence of inaction etc.
- As a consequence, A's friend(s) shun, exclude and/or punish them.
Blame, shunning and disdain is the classic. The trope name comes from fics in which to showcase all of this, the mess hall serves lemon chicken, which Rodney is allergic to.
- A is hurt by this.
A can either feel that they deserve the punishment or not, they can be resigned or angry etc., as long as they care.
- At some point, A's friend(s) realize that they wronged A.
Either because A didn't do what they thought, or for different reasons, or simply because A's friend(s) realize that they went too far in their punishment.
- Common but optional: A's friend(s) regret what they did and apologize.
Often includes abject groveling, and usually A forgives them. But sometimes A has left and/or has found better friend(s) and/or does not forgive their old friend(s).

Agree/disagree? I think some might also count fics without point 4, where A simply leaves and decides not to care about their friend(s) anymore, but I usually find those less satisfying. In addition from the classic post-Trinity fic I've also seen the trope in many other fandoms and in many variations, so having a term for it is nice. (I assume other fandoms/fandom corners might have different terms for it?) Lemon chicken fic can often be OTT or even OOC, but like with idfic in general, sometimes it's exactly what I'm in the mood for.

I got my first fic comment in a different language. I'm somewhat baffled - either your English is good enough to read my fic or you know how to use a translator - but it kinda feels like I reached a milestone.
(I would have understood German, a little, because of my username, but Spanish? Huh, okay.)

I stumbled upon Some nights I stay up (reading AO3 fic) on Tumblr, and shortly afterwards found an entire article: The Archive of Our Own lyric trend brings a Tumblr meme to Twitter. Fun! I wonder for how many other songs this could be done without too much difficulty. Maybe next time I have trouble coming up with fic titles I should listen to music.

Today is a meh day and in theory I have exams in two weeks and pretty much no studying is happening and I hate it. (I know that PMS is a factor and that I did not go running this weekend because last time my knees hurt but still, bäh.) At least I bought fruit yesterday. They didn't have strawberries but the apricots and cherries are very good.