Fanart, Fanfiction and Fangirling

Challenge #15

Talk about an unexpected joyous moment you experienced last year.

I wanted to post the last Snowflake entry during the month of January, but I had a slight change in plans these last couple of days. Anyway, a joyous moment from 2024 was definitely when some friends who play in a band dedicated "Black Celebration" to me during a concert. It was the weekend just after my birthday, which I promptly renamed "Black Celebration Weekend", because I went to see these friends on Friday night (they play '80s/New Wave/Electro covers) and then to a Depeche Mode concert on Saturday. I was really hoping they would dedicate that song to me, and was so, so happy when they did! :D

Challenge #11

In your own space, share your love for a trope, cliché, kink, motif, or theme.

My favourite tropes/clichés haven't changed much in the last couple of years. Let's see:

Friends to lovers: I just love this dynamic. Two people who have known each other their whole life (or at least a few years) slowly (or suddenly) realising what they feel is not just friendship. Wanting more but being afraid their feelings are not returned, with the risk of ruining their friendship forever. Finally confessing their feelings, being terrified of what might happen, but unable to hide any longer.

Pining/Mutual pining: it could be a variation of friends to lovers, but not necessarily. I just love seeing two characters dance around each other until they can't take it any more. Or one of the two following the other around like a puppy, convinced their feeling will never be returned, but unable to walk away. Just as long as there's a happy ending.

Hurt/Comfort: I love when one character suffers, either physically or emotionally or both, and the other one is right there to comfort them. Cradling them in their arms and whispering that everything will be all right. What's not to love?

Challenge #8

In your own space, write a promo, manifesto or primer for a beloved character, relationship or fandom.

Challenge #9

In your own space, create a fanwork.

I fell a little behind with Snowflake this week, but this delay gave me the perfect opportunity to kill the proverbial two birds with one stone.

I'm going to ramble about my favourite character from Lupin III, Daisuke Jigen, but first, have a little drawing by yours truly:



Lupin III is one of the anime I grew up with, I remember coming home from middle school and watching it on TV before doing my homework. Jigen is not just Lupin's sidekick: he's a loyal partner, his best friend, the one person Lupin can always count on to save the day (and get his sorry ass out of the most absurd situations). He's an excellent marksman and can use just about any kind of gun/rifle/weapon, just like he can drive and fix any kind of vehicle (cars, airplanes, helicopters etc.)

He's a chain smoker, a little lazy (he's often portrayed lounging on sofas or on the floor in between jobs or while Lupin prepares for a heist), and he's usually the voice of reason when Lupin's plans get a little out of hand.

He's often described as a misogynist and generally doesn't trust women, but he sometimes shows interest towards a woman. Too bad his potential love interests tend to either die or betray him (hence his distrust towards them).

He's taciturn and kinda grumpy, but he's also fiercely protective and can be very gentle, especially towards people who need help (and children, even if he's always saying he can't stand them). I personally think he's a marshmallow of a man: scorched and bitter on the outside, but soft and sweet on the inside.

As a hardcore Jigen fan, I loved the live-action "Jigen Daisuke" film, but I think my favourite is "Jigen's Gravestone" (both are available on Prime Video). The latter has the added bonus of Jigen "dying" and being gently cradled in Lupin's arms.



I could go on and on, but I think I rambled enough for today. :3

Challenge #5

Talk about what has improved in your life thanks to fandom.

I could write an essay about this, but I'll try to limit myself to a few key points.

First of all, fandom made me realise I can write and draw. Shortly after I discovered fanfiction, I decided I wanted to try my hand at it. It was a challenge at first, as English isn't my native language, but I improved a lot thanks to all the fics I read and wrote. Same with fanart: I've always like drawing (I started drawing my own comics in primary school), but I've never been particularly good. In the last few years, though, I've tried to put some effort into my drawings and, even if I'm not what you'd call a "talented artist", I definitely improved.

Then, thanks to fandom I made friends and built wonderful memories. This is especially true for the Die Ärzte fandom (a German band): I'm still in contact with a few of the people I met online and, even if we live in different countries (or different continents!), we still write to each other and meet up when we happen to be in the same area. Last time it was just a few months ago. I went to so many great concerts and had so many crazy adventures, and none of that would have happened without fandom.

Lastly, fandom is what has been keeping me sane for years. Whenever real life gets too stressful, I know I can count on fandom to distract me for a while. In part it's also the reason why, when I really couldn't go on at my old job any longer, I decided to quit, leave everything behind, and move to Berlin. That was one of the best decisions of my life and exactly what I needed at the time, but I don't think I would've done it without fandom. Of course there's a long story behind that, but I'm not getting into details here.

Anyway, these are just some of the reasons why fandom is so important for me and how it improved (and continues to improve) my life.

Challenge #3

In your own space, talk about a fannish opinion you hold that has changed over time.

I didn't know what to write at first, then I remembered how I got into the CSI fandom a few years ago. I was going through a very stressful period at work and started watching CSI reruns as a way to relax. (Yeah, I found a TV show about people getting murdered relaxing. It was a stressful period.)

Anyway, at first I just enjoyed watching the show and wasn't interested in the fandom side of it. Then I started thinking Hodges and Wendy were cute together and looked for fics on AO3, but only found a handful. I read a couple of Grissom/Sara fics, but that wasn't really my thing. Then I saw there were A LOT of Nick/Greg fics. And I clearly remember thinking "What? No, they're just friends!" (Oh, sweet summer child...)

But after a while I got desperate for content and decided to give it a try. I mean, I usually love slash, so why not? And all of a sudden, everything just made perfect sense. I kept reading fic after fic, I just couldn't get enough. (Carolinecrane's account on AO3 in particular was a goldmine.)

Still, I was convinced I wouldn't create anything in the CSI fandom, I would simply limit myself to reading fics, and that would be it. Well, 41 fics, a few WIPs and some fanart pieces later, I can say without fear of contradiction I definitely changed my mind about the Nick/Greg ship and my involvement in the fandom.

Challenge #1
Update your fandom information

It's time for the Snowflake Challenge! My DW and LJ profiles weren't too outdated, but I changed a few things and fixed a broken link. I'm glad this challenge gives me a reason to check my info, I always tend to neglect doing it during the year.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the month!

Challenge #14

Try something new.



This isn't something I'm doing for the Snowflake Challenge, but I've never done it before, so I suppose it counts: I'm trying my hand at podficcing! When I was a teenager my dream was to become a voice actor, which sadly never happened, but last summer I realised I could try turning one of my fics into a podfic. I started with a drabble, but I wasn't 100% satisfied with the result, so I didn't post it. I haven't worked on this little project lately, as I was focusing on the Nick/Greg Advent Calendar and then was attacked by other fanfic ideas, but I want to try again. Practice makes perfect, right?

And talking about fanfic ideas, I'm currently writing a Lupin/Jigen fanfic. The fandom itself (Lupin III) isn't new to me, but the pairing is, so I might as well mention it.

Challenge #12

Tell Us about a Personal Win.



I'll take this literally and write about the Christmas raffle I won last December! There's a "tradition" in Italy: before Christmas (and sometimes before Easter) shops will have a raffle. You choose one or more numbers between 1 and 90 and pay a small sum for each number (usually around €5). The raffle is linked to one of the lotto draws of the week before Christmas and prizes are stuff like hampers full of Christmas products, bottles of wine, or something else, depending on the shop organising the raffle.

In my family, my dad's usually the lucky one: he won various Christmas hampers and Easter chocolate eggs over the years, but last year it was my turn! A couple of days before Christmas I had coffee with my colleagues at the usual coffee place near our office, and I saw they had a Christmas raffle. First prize was 10 free lunches, second prize was 10 free aperitivi, third prize was 10 free breakfasts. I saw my lucky number was still available and decided to invest €5 on it. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision and guess what: I won the first prize! :D

I already claimed the first of my free lunches (and brought a colleague with me, because this kind of luck should be shared), and it was a delicious meal. I'm looking forward to more yummy lunches in the next weeks. :)

Challenge #10

Five Things! The five things are totally up to you.



I have to admit I didn't know hot to respond to today's challenge at first, then I got a sudden idea. I'm not a cosplayer (I dressed up as some of my favourite characters for Halloween a few times, but I'm not sure it really counts as cosplay), but there are some characters I'd love to cosplay, if I had the time, energy, dedication and capability to put together the outfits. That's probably never gonna happen, but nothing's stopping me from talking about it.

So, here I bring you...

( Five characters I'd like to cosplay )

Challenge #8

Talk about a current fannish project (fic, art, vid, crochet, funko pop village) (that you are creating or enjoying).



We're only halfway through January and I already have 4 new WIPs, 2 CSI and 2 Lupin III.

CSI

• A fluffy Nick/Greg ficlet inspired by this prompt.
  
  
• A Nick/Greg fic in which Nick comes out to Warrick.
  

Lupin III

• A Jigen-centric future fic inspired by the Jigen Daisuke film (apparently there are no fics related to that film on AO3? How is that possible?)
  
  
• A smutty Lupin/Jigen fic inspired by Jigen's Gravestone.
  

And of course there's still that Nick/Greg fic I've been working on for the last couple of years, one of my goals for 2024 is to finally finish it.

As for fanart, I haven't started working on my Lunar New Year illustration yet, but I've already looked up references. Like the last two years, it will be silly and feature Greg Sanders from CSI.

So, yeah, I have quite a lot going on at the moment. Let's see what I'll actually finish...