Challenge #15
Talk about an unexpected joyous moment you experienced last year.
How are we at the end of Snowflake 2025 already?
There were lots of nice moments last year, but there is one standout moment, that I have unforgettable photographic evidence for!
Challenge #14
In your own space, create your own fandom challenge. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Hmm, I’ve had to think about this one, and I’ve eventually come up with this…
The Snowflake Challenge is all about positivity, so in that same vein, my challenge is tell us about your happy place, or at least one of your happy places. A place, either physical or virtual, that brings you joy, or peace, or just good old-fashioned contentment.
And secondly only if you want to, no pressure, incorporate your happy place into a fanwork as or when the muse takes you. Maybe link it back to this post.
I’ll start:
One of my happy places is at conventions with my fandom family, but I’ve already written in this Snowflake challenge about the joy that conventions and fandom bring me, so I’m going in a completely different direction here.
In the autumn of 2024, I went away for a few days with my husband, the long-suffering Mr Dizzo, to Stratford upon Avon, here in the UK.
On the first full day we were there, we had been walking around the town and we stopped off at a coffee shop and bought a couple of lattes and cakes.
The weather was beautiful with cloudless skies. It was warm enough not to need a coat, but mild enough not to get hot and bothered, so we sat outside the shop.
On that lovely morning, we sat and drunk our nice coffee, soaking up the atmosphere of this amazing town with Shakespeare’s house right opposite us. There was a busker playing good music a little way away, and we sat, chatted, enjoyed our drinks, enjoyed each other’s company, listened to the music, people watched, and lived in the moment.
It had been a long time since I felt that relaxed and contented.
I will, no doubt, go back to Stratford upon Avon again because it is one of my happy places. We may even go back to that same coffee shop, but on that one day, the stars aligned and gave me the perfect experience.
I have a weekend with no commitments coming up and so have time to spend, so let’s see if I can convince my muse to write a fanfic about the Winchester Boys in Stratford upon Avon!
Challenge #12 Create a Rec Countdown.
Wow, this one got me thinking!
Okay, so my recs are going to consist of:
5 books
4 films
3 Fanfics
2 songs
1 self-rec
Challenge #11
In your own space, share your love for a trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme.
I’m going to write about the humour within Supernatural.
Supernatural is by definition a show that has elements of drama, horror, tragedy and pathos. Some of its themes are dark and painful, others are deeply entrenched in family, friendship and love.
But for me, the episodes of Supernatural I love the most are the funny ones. Jensen (and by extension, Dean) is a born comedian, and Sam and Dean make such a perfect double act with Dean as the clown and Sam as the straight man.
The humour within Supernatural can be brief and nuanced, such as Dean stuffing his face full of caramels or his infamous death by taco in Mystery Spot, and then it can be all-out belly-laugh hilarious, such as with scaredy-cat Ghost sickness Dean or Dean corrupting Castiel in his favourite den of iniquity; ‘you full-on rebelled against God. Iniquity is one of the perks…’ classic Dean line.
I’ve noticed that within the fanfiction sphere, the darker, sadder and heavier themes are very much the default themes, and they’re great. I enjoy a good dose of hurt and drama as long as it’s not too dark.
However, a good humorous story, or crackfic is just an absolute tonic for me.
It’s my favourite genre to write. With his smart mouth, total lack of shame, and his childlike glee in certain situations, Dean is a gift for a humour writer. Not to mention Sam’s constant exasperation, and Castiel’s constant naivete as a bonus. Then of course, there’s Crowley. He’s Crowley, and he’s Brit with all the acerbic snark you associate with British humour.
Just for fun, here’s a couple humour fics that I really enjoyed writing:
Bunker Brother
Challenge #10
In your own space, talk about one of your fandom firsts. This could be your first fandom, your first fandom friend, the first fanwork you created, the first fanwork you interacted with... The options are endless!
So, I’m going to talk about my first convention.
I discovered the supernatural fandom in early 2010. In late 2010, I met a friend via Fanfiction.net, and we discovered that we only lived about ten miles apart. So, we had a couple of real life meet ups and during those meet ups she occasionally mentioned to me these things called conventions that she’d attended.
I’d heard of conventions in a broad sense, but wasn’t really familiar with what happened at them or who went to them.
Eventually, she talked me into attending the next convention in the UK, Asylum 7, with her. The convention was October 2011 and I was excited to find out what it was all about. I was also invited that Julian was one of the guests and I was going to get the opportunity to ‘hug Death’. Who could turn down an opportunity like that?
So the convention came, and I loved every second of it. I did indeed hug Death, and he was an absolute sweetie. I told him that he was my very first ever convention photoshoot and he seemed more excited about that than I did!
Since that fateful day, I’ve been to probably about forty conventions (who’s counting), many of them still with that same friend, I’ve met Jared, Jensen and Misha multiple times, and my convention-going has crossed borders into Italy, France and Germany.
I went to that first convention all those years ago to please my friend and because I was curious, and I am so very, very glad that I did!
Challenge #9
In your own space, create a fanwork.
So this afternoon, I worked on this pastel portrait of Sam – season 8 hair!
In your own space, write a promo, manifesto or primer for a beloved character, relationship or fandom.
So, I’ve seen this question before in the Snowflake challenge and, in the past, I’ve written about the Supernatural fandom, Dean, Sam and the Impala.
So, this time I’m going to pay homage to Supernatural’s Bobby Singer, as he holds a very special place in my heart!
Whether or not John was a good father is a hot debate within the fandom. I absolutely respect everyone’s individual opinion, and mine is that although I fully understand that John was a deeply damaged man, some of the ways he treated the boys was unforgivable to my mind. I don’t hate John, but he’s not a character I have a great deal of affection for.
Bobby, on the other hand, stepped into the void created by John and in his own blunt and unsentimental way, became a brilliant father figure to Sam and Dean. His assessment ‘I adopted two boys and they grew up heroes’ says everything to me about Bobby’s relationship with the Winchesters. He took them under his wing because he knew they needed that support, and he was so proud of how they turned out.
But another reason I love Bobby is his wit and wisdom, and his quote ‘family don’t end with blood’ is probably my favourite quote in the whole show (although Crowley’s ‘they ate my tailor’ runs it a close second!!)
Whilst I know that Bobby was referring to the Winchesters being his family, that quote resonated deeply with me. You see, I’m an only child and, as a result, with the exception of my husband and my parents, my friends are and always have been the most important people in my life; they’re my chosen family, and it was great to hear someone describe my reality so simply but yet so perfectly!
A few years ago when I turned fifty, I treated myself to a big Supernatural tattoo as a birthday gift to myself – and Bobby’s quote was the centrepiece of my tattoo.
I hope Bobby would approve!
Challenge #7
In your own space, create a list of at least three things you'd love to receive, something you've wanted but were afraid to ask for - a wishlist of sorts. Leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your wishlist if you feel comfortable doing so. Maybe someone will grant a wish. Check out other people's posts. Maybe you will grant a wish. If any wishes are granted, we'd love it if you link them to this post.
I’ve sort of gone off the boil a bit for reading fanfic, so I would love some recs for good slow burn J2 fics along the lines of Just One Breath
Or the Play Nice Proviso
The Play Nice Proviso - Master Post
My fanfiction writing has also been in the doldrums recently. I always appreciate any Supernatural plot bunnies, especially ones that lend themselves to gen humorous or cracky fics.
Now that I'm working form home most of the time, I spend a lot of time on Youtube, and I'm always looking for good stuff to listen to. I'm only just discovering the world of podcasts via Youtube, but If anyone knows any good sources of podfics, particularly J2 slash, then I would love to know!
Challenge #6
Share your favourite piece of original canon. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Oh, good grief, here in the Supernatural fandom, we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to original canon. I’ve given this a lot of thought, in terms of character arcs, plot lines, dialogue and production quality but I finally decided to go with the one short but impactful scene at the beginning of Season 1, episode 4, which was the scene that made me totally and utterly, unequivocally and irredeemably fall in love with the fine figure of a man that is Dean Winchester.
Yes, I’m shallow, I know that, and I celebrate it. Love of Dean’s character and personality evolved over the following episodes and seasons, but on viewing this snippet for the first time, I felt like I started and completed the menopause all during this one ten second scene.
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apachefirecat 
edina_clouds128, sasha_dragonChallenge #5
Talk about what has improved in your life thanks to fandom. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
This is any easy one – the friends I’ve made.
At my journal I’ve often waxed lyrical about my fandom friends.
It’s not like I was lonely or friendless before I found fandom; I wasn’t. I had – and still have – many lovely friends who aren’t involved with fandom at all. But there’s just something extra magical about fandom friends.
Fandom isn’t just a group of people who happen to like the same TV show. We’re a family; a community. We’re a community of like-minded people who all love the same thing and who can openly share our likes and loves with each other.
And like any community, we interact, we have fun, we take care of the vulnerable members of our community, we support each other’s dreams and cheerlead each other’s challenges.
Bu for me, fandom isn’t just an abstract thing; it’s a place. It’s a place with no borders, where us fans, regardless of or race or age or sexuality or whatever other characteristics we may have can belong, to be welcomed into a community that is accepting and fun; a community that GETS us.
Somehow, friendships made through fandom are easy; easier than friendships forged in real life. Real life friendships have to form and evolve. When you start out, you’re just two disparate strangers working for the same business or living in the same street. Friendships made through fandom, on the other hand, begin with both parties knowing something about each other – what we love and what we have in common. And although those friendships may start out as something as simple and superficial as a shared love of the same TV show, they quickly grow into something far more meaningful.
Many of my fandom friendships have outgrown the computer screen and crossed over into real life, and those friendships have given me more joy than I could ever put into a simple post like this. The fandom friends who I haven’t had the opportunity to meet in real life, the ones that live in my laptop, are still loved and nurtured as much as ‘real life’ friends.
Members of fandom are often those of us that society thinks of as ‘weird’ or a bit quirky. A lot of us probably suffered through school and have never been regarded as 'cool' or in with the ‘in’ crowd; but in fandom, ‘weirdness’ is embraced, individuality is celebrated, imagination is admired. Fandom is where we can be ourselves, and fandom friends are the ones who help me to be all that I can be, and more.
Challenge #4
Since this is the start of a new year, this challenge will be to set your own goals! Of course we can all make large or ambitious goals, remember that small and/or short goals are also good!
I’m currently working on one significant goal with Mr Dizzo. We’ve all heard of dry January, well Mr D and I have decided to do dry first three months of the year.
There’s no secret that I like a drop of wine, but it’s very easy to slip into bad habits, so we have both decided to give our livers a well-earned rest, and then at the end of the three-month period, we will reconsider our alcohol consumption for the future.
I don’t think I could ever go completely sober, I just love the taste of white wine too much, but I can certainly cut down, so that’s my goal for this year!
Challenge #3
In your own space, talk about a fannish opinion you hold that has changed over time. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Wow, this one has really tested my grey matter!
When I was deeply immersed in the supernatural fandom, I always said that this would be my last and only fandom because it brought me so much joy and inspiration, anything else would be a pale imitation.
Now that the show has long since ended and the fandom has dwindled somewhat, so has my participation. Livejournal is a shadow of its former self, both the communities that I modded there have retired and my Fanfiction muse is AWOL, and it’s a simple fact that the creative drought brought about by the show’s end has left a hole in my life.
Thankfully I still have the amazing friends that fandom has given me, and I’m in the lucky situation to be able to catch up with them regularly – in fact I seem to be attending more and more conventions at the moment!
However, given all of the above, I have revised my opinion regarding another fandom, I would be open to immersing myself in another fandom, however, I just haven’t found anything yet that inspired and energised me the way Supernatural did. Maybe I never will, but who knows? My mind is open!
In your own space, talk about your fannish origin story. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
Apologies for the lateness - I've been away visiting family for a few days!
Update your fandom information. Post your answer to today’s challenge in your own space and leave a comment in this post saying you did it. Include a link to your post if you feel comfortable doing so.
I’m so thrilled that Snowflake Challenge is back! New year can sometimes be such a dour time. It’s a time of horrible weather and long nights, made even more bleak because we’re all coming back down to earth after the festive season. The Snowflake always gives me such a great little positivity boost in that dreary time.
So fandom-wise, I'm still active in the Supernatural fandom although my participation has, in some ways, dried up. I say, in some ways, because although my fanfic muse has been mostly AWOL for a few years now, and because the two LJ communities that I used to manage have been retired, my participation In digital art has pretty much stopped, I’m still churning out a fair amount of traditional fan art, and seem to be going to more conventions than ever before!
I am eternally grateful that although the fandom may have diminished, the friendships I made through it haven’t; they only seem to have grown stronger!
Anyway, in terms of fandom information, mine is mostly the same:
All of my fan fiction can be found at Fanfiction.net and AO3
All of my fan art, both digital and traditional can be found at Deviantart
My current fandom home is still Livejournal with a back-up account at Dreamwidth.
I used to have a Twitter account which was mostly based in fannish stuff, but I deleted my account a few weeks ago for reasons which I’m sure need no explanation. I have walked away from that hellscape and into the much fresher Blue Sky world where I am thoroughly enjoying giving my fanworks another airing!
timeasmymeasure
