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Challenge #6:
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.



The "you wrote a book" scene from season 6 of Gilmore Girls. It is definitely one of my favorite scenes in a show of which I have many, but as someone who loved Jess and Rory/Jess, this was extra special. Jess was someone who fell into a lot of "bad boy" stereotypes. The guy who everyone else and her mother thought was bad news, but she saw more into, yet in the same way, he also beat some of those same stereotypes. She never said any form of "oh, he is better with me" just that he was good at heart, and at the end of the day, Rory couldn't change him. And it wasn't her job. When he showed up and left in s4, I didn't think we would see him again and while I did think he was in a better place and had a chance to be better - he was reading self help books and had made amends with Luke, promising to pay him back for the money he lent him - where he left off with Rory was kind of sad. I always agreed with her decision to tell him "no" at the dorm, because it was good for Jess to realize that even though he could be better, people weren't going to wait on him to change. To see him return and the way he returned was just the best surprise.

Jess had to change and improve himself, and he did on his own (with support from Luke of course). This scene where he came back and found himself and not only had he gone in a direction that made sense for him, he was expressed gratitude to and for Rory, who believed in him first. And leading to the infamous "this isn't you" scene, I do like how he subtly noticed and picked up that things aren't quite right but didn't confront her on it just yet too. Also, I loved Rory's "I knew it" because she too is at a place in her life where she's uncertain about herself. She fought for Jess for so long, against her own mom of all people, and he ditched her; there must've been something cathartic about realizing that no, she wasn't wrong about him. :D

Challenge #4:
IceBreaker Challenge! Tell us about yourself.

I'm svgurl (and svgurl410 | svgurl410 | svgurl on discord). I am in my mid 30s and have been in fandom, on and off, for about fifteen years. I started reading fanfic when I was about 13 - my introduction to fanfic was through Sailor Moon after I stumbled upon an Usagi/Mamoru fansite while looking for something else. When I was a teen, I began writing original fic that I liked to imagine were Bollywood movies. I was inspired to start writing fanfic though when I fell for a rare pairing while watching Smallville. I couldn't find enough fic and one day decided, 'maybe I'll just write it'. I created a LJ in early 2007 and didn't look back. :D

After Smallville, which was my main and only fandom back then, ended, I gradually drifted away from writing fic and fandom. I was got into rp'ing on Tumblr for a few years before I left that behind too. I went back to reading fic but didn't think I would write again, until the pandemic hit, and all of a sudden, I felt inspired to do so.

I got into exchanges in 2021, which really helped me try to write new pairings/fandoms/ships. Thanks to lands_of_magic, I've also worked on improving my graphic making skills, especially icons, and that has been fun too.

My main fandoms are MCU, Gilmore Girls, and Smallville, and I have dabbled in a few others, like the DCEU and Power Rangers.

I currently mod comment_bingo, a bingo challenge that uses prompts to inspire people to comment on other people's fanfics (an idea that actually came from a response to a snowflake_exchange challenge!), rarefemslashexchange, and co-mod rarepairexchange.

In my free time, outside of writing/reading fanfic, I love to bake, watch sports, and do yoga, and have recently gotten back into reading too.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! :)

Challenge #2:
In your own space, set yourself some goals for the coming year.

I'm going to list a few fandom goals and non-fandom ones and to be honest, a lot of them are repeats from last year.

Fandom:

Finish my current long standing WIP, my Clark/Lois role reversal fic. I would ideally like to post a chapter every month, and worst, every other month

Write more for myself rather than just go from exchange to exchange. I've been saying this for a while but I still want to try again. I have a lot of ideas in my head and I'd like to see how they play out

Read and comment on more non exchange fanfic. Again, if I wasn't jumping from exchange to exchange, I would have time to do this.

Do more with comment_bingo; I want to make it a little more interactive - maybe a couple in round posts

Try to watch one new series or movie every month. It will be easier once the NFL season is over :)

Non-Fandom:

Get more organized - my space is a bit of a mess and I need to go through my closet and get rid of what I don't wear, to say the least

Read at least three books a month - I've finally gotten back into reading this past year and I want to be consistent

Travel. I said this last year too, and I managed to get out of the state at least (for a wedding but it counts). One of my closest friends lives in Tokyo and this is the year I would finally like to go visit her

Try to bake at least six things I've never done before. I'm not very good at leaving my comfort zone but I would like to give a shot

In your own space, opine on the future of fandom.

I'm not the greatest at making predictions. All I know is that fandom will always exist in some form and people who love something will find a way to share and come together, hopefully in a mostly positive way. Negativity can't be avoided completely but I like to imagine a fandom without certain toxic traits (the antis, the harassment, etc). There will be new fandoms that take over and old fandoms that have staying power, even if it is just a few people still holding it down. I say this as someone whose main fandom has been done for over a decade, but that doesn't make me love it or want to create for it any less. I always love seeing people whose fandoms are 30, 40 years old going strong and it is exciting when someone new gets into a closed canon. I saw some people binge watching Smallville during the early stages of the pandemic and watching them get into and create works really was exciting for an old fan who was ready for some new faces and content.I hope no one ever feels that they are "too late" for something because there will be fans who appreciate it, even if it is only a fraction of what was there during its peak.

In terms of platforms, it is hard to figure out in which direction it will go. AO3 seems to have lasting power (*knocks on wood*) and as a fan of journaling sites, I hope DW sticks around, but I'm sure there will be new ways to communicate. It'll be interesting to see.

In your own space, rec three fanworks that you did not create.

I think this hit home exactly how much I've just been jumping from exchange to exchange lately. I definitely want to read more fic this year that weren't just written for me (though I love all the ones that were). I still can't limit myself to 3 so I picked 5 fics and 5 fanart. Not all were from the past year of course.

( recs from Gilmore Girls, Pride & Prejudice, MCU, Smallville, Suits & Star Wars )

In your own space, Talk about your favorite trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme.

I love all tropes that involve a lot of pining - mutual pining is just one of my favorite themes and I really am interested in tropes where it can play a big part, or other types that can explore what we didn't see/the possibilities.

Fake Dating: One of my favorites. I love it in all forms - whether one side has feelings, both sides do or neither. I like it when it is just to avoid being set up or needing to go undercover. The way they agonizing over how it is all fake, the forced first kiss, the potential 'oh' moment and misunderstandings galore ... it just speaks to me.

Friends with Benefits: Another favorite. The way they're convinced it is going to be casual and then they realize they want more/worried the other person doesn't. Another 'oh' moment potential.

Soulmates/Soul bonds: I'm just a sucker for the romance tropes. I am partial to tattoos/marks or unseen connections. I"m not a huge fan of the whole 'can't see color' but the rest is great, especially when one or both sides is skeptical to the whole concept.

Amnesia: I really like this one, again for the misunderstandings and the confusion, especially when the person who lost their memories assumes the (future) love interest is indeed already someone they are in a relationship with. Lots of pining and angst with a happy ending. What can I say? I know what I want. :D

Canon Divergences/Fork in the Roads: What ifs are great! It is nice to wonder what would've happened if one decision had been different and consider the possibilities.

There are way more, like domestic stuff (sharing a bed/only one bed, taking care of a sick partner, etc) and hurt/comfort themes too. I'm sure there's more I'm forgetting but I feel like when asked what I like, my mind goes blank and wonders if I have ever liked anything ever lol :D

In your own space, celebrate a personal win from the past year: it can be a list of fanworks you're especially proud of, time you spent in the community, a quality or skill you cultivated in yourself, something you generally feel went well.

I'm going to keep it fandom related, and share two things I'm happy about from the past year. The first one would be the reveals of the first AO3-based exchange I've ever run/co-modded, rarefemslashexchange. When I saw someone on FFA wanted a Rare Femslash Exchange (somewhere in 2021), I replied and was all "I'm down if someone else can join me" and I was lucky enough to have two people who agreed to join in! We never interacted before but it worked out and thankfully, they were more experienced with running AO3 exchanges than I have and it was a helpful way to learn too. :D

The second is running my first community since I've been back to fandom, comment_bingo. I got the idea thanks to Snowflake actually, because it was on the list of 'fandom wishes' and well, I don't have any self control. I started putting it together, but I kind of faltered but it was discovered by a few people who showed enthusiasm and that really pushed me to the finish line. The response has been positive and I was so glad to see others interested! It makes me very happy I went through with it. :D

In your own space, interact with a community or a fic.

I left prompts on threesentenceficathon Post 1 and hopefully, I can fill a few this weekend.

Speaking of fics/fanworks/comms, if you ever want to leave recs or find some, fancake and recthething are great for doing just that. recthething even has a weekly post every Thursday to drop some recs in the comments, if you are not comfortable making your own posts, though you can any day of the week. Also, if you need a little encouragement in commenting, I have to give a shoutout to my own comm comment_bingo, which a bingo table comm where you use the prompts and comment on fanworks instead of creating them. The current round ends at the end of January (though you can still totally sign up for a card!) but it will start up another one soon after! :D

In your own space, tell us about 3 creative/fannish resources, spaces, or communities you use or enjoy.

There are so many great comms/resources out there! I listed two comms and a website here. :D

1. threesentenceficathon: It has its own community now and it is such a fun fest that is going to start soon so I have to mention it.

2. fandomcalendar: It is a great place to keep track of exchanges/fests and promote your own.

3. Canva - it is a simple editing site that really helped me practice making icons and other types of graphics. There aren't a lot of options for free editing so people who want to do more will have to use something else (I like GIMP) but it was a useful place to start.

In your own space, Scream Into the Void. Get it all out.

Okay, I'm actually bad at this, at least online, because I always feel the need to correct myself at the end or be all "but it's not that bad" because I'm doing the whole "in the grand scheme of things", comparing it to what I feel are real problems. With other people, I will definitely be like "just because other people have it worse doesn't mean your problems are less valid" but somehow the brain doesn't really let you extend that kind of sympathy to yourself. Funny how that works.

Since I'm avoiding real life/politics talk and *gestures to the state of the world* all that, my gripe is currently my inability to write. I want to write fic, I have to write fic with the deadlines I have (both real and self imposed), but somehow, when I stare at a word document, I'm getting nothing! It's not like I don't know what to write either. I even have ideas on what I want to do or where I want to go with my stories, but the scenes that sound so great in my head will just not come out. I barely wrote in December and I have nothing so far this month. It's just extremely frustrating to want to want to do something yet not be able to.

I thought maybe stepping back for a few days and not thinking about it would help, but it's just a few more days that I'm not writing and it's not any easier. I may just have to go back into writing sprints and force it out but I wish it could come more naturally. I miss when it came more naturally.

If anyone has any advice on what they do in similar situations, please feel free to share!