mostly void, partially stars

Challenge #2  In your own space, write a promo, manifesto or primer for your fave character, ship or fandom

I got stuck on this because I feel like all the fandoms I main'd this past year are 1) already massively popular and 2) if I started actually writing a manifesto for any of them (but let's face it, mostly for Steve/Eddie) it'd probably reach dissertation length, so I never quite found the strength to start.

There is however an animated series that gave me an existential crisis (positive) and almost made me cry in front of my mom, even though I wouldn't say I'm in the fandom for it: Tear Along the Dotted Lines. It's a Netflix show but an Italian production, which means the international crowd didn't get bombarded with it when opening the app so you might have missed it even though it's been out a little more than a year (it's also available on all the best pirate sites near you, obviously).

Zero is a thirty-something cartoonist from Rome dealing with your classic millennial woes, which fundamentally amount to struggling to grow up and find your place in the world when all the milestones you're supposed to be hitting don't happen. The six-episode show follows him on a trip out of town with his friends and the personification of his conscience, a talking armadillo, and that's about how much I can say without spoiling the experience. It's mostly a comedy show, then it gets too real. It deals with grief and feeling directionless and behind everyone else and not knowing how to value the relationships in your life, which means it's probably either not for you because you're done with all of that or just what you need to watch right now, depending on how many friends of your age are starting to get mortgages and children. I belong to the second group, so it's one of my favourite things I watched in 2021.

I don't have enough stuff up to do Day 1 properly, I can't pick a single meaningful work for Day 2, and I already wrote some resolutions as I should've done for Day 3. Day 4 will come in a few days when I have more spoons.

Day 5 - In your own space, post recs for at least three fanworks that you did not create. (snowflake_challenge)
I tried not to include anything insanely popular and decided to limit myself to only one work per fandom. All of these are in my perpetual list of absolute favorites and deserve more hits/kudos/comments than they already got.

Friday by boxoftheskyking (The Raven Cycle, Adam/Gansey, Mature, 9k): From this great prompt from ninnieamee: "Gansey dies. Cue Groundhog Day/Peggy Sue shenanigans for the character of your choice as they try to figure out the one course of events that prevents the death." Adam tries to save Gansey twenty-one times.

This was just heartbreaking and splendidly-written. It aligns perfectly with my vision of the characters and their relationship, has a plot that actually involves magic in a prominent role, and deals with a theme that I think isn't often talked about in a satisfactory way in fandom (Gansey's suicidal tendencies).

Been Here Before by tuesdaysgone (RPF My Chemical Romance, Frank/Gerard, Explicit, 22k): Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge took off faster than My Chemical Romance could have imagined. Gerard's downward spiral was even faster. He hit rock bottom, got sober, and moved across the country to Portland practically as soon as he'd detoxed, leaving his band and his relationship with Frank behind. Four years later, he's still clean. His graphic novel is a surprise smash hit. And he's avoided New Jersey until now. However, everything he left unresolved is still there. Gerard knows he needs forgiveness. When he sees Frank again, he realizes he needs much more than that.

One of my first MCR fics. Excruciating, will always hold a special place in my heart.

Thursdays by mintleaftea (Heroes of Olympus, Jason/Nico, Not Rated, 10k): AKA The Cruise!AU. When bartender Jason Grace befriends wizard-for-hire/performance magician Nico di Angelo, he can say with almost 100 percent certainty that his life of biweekly paychecks and cheap beers is behind him.

This is a series of standalones set in the same universe, so I suggest looking at the tag for it in the author's Tumblr and read everything. Lots of fun and enough clever ideas to write an original trilogy.