visualjyushi | Entries tagged with challenge: snowflake (2025)

In your own space, talk about one of your fandom firsts.

I talked about a few of my fandom firsts in my fandom origin story. But, another first I thought of that I didn't already talk about was how I got into stageplays. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't ever really interested in stageplay adaptations. I didn't think stages were something I'd ever be into until I became active in the UtaPri fandom.

UtaPri was a fun idol series to be into, because the first mobile game, Shining Live, had an event/story rotation in place that allowed for every combination of the guys to have interactions. Aside from the game, it was also common for the guys to be "shuffled" together for songs outside of their unit work. In-universe, it was implied that they would sing some of these songs for drama/movie or stage appearances, because in real life, they were either paired with a drama track or they were to have an accompanying stageplay in the first place.

All of this made it pretty fun to ship basically whoever you wanted. I was really into a ship that was considered a rarepair– Otoya and Ranmaru. Someone I talked to for a short time in the fandom showed me a stageplay that featured them as two of three main characters: Pirates of the Frontier. Otoya's character was the captain of his own ship, and I forgot who Ranmaru's character was exactly, but he was basically like his right hand man. It was a very heartwarming story, and Otoya/Ranmaru's characters were very close in it. I wasn't sure that I was going to enjoy the singing as much since they were obviously not played by the seiyuu, but I was very wrong! The actors were really great and brought the characters to life so well. Despite the fact that they were doing acting-ception, you could just tell that they got Otoya and Ranmaru's mannerisms down. This experience single-handedly made me really like stageplays and be much more open to viewing them.

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

I guess something I always really like is light and dark or sun and moon themes for duos/ships. There's just so much symbolism that can be done with them. For one, they show how a duo compliments each other since they're polar opposite motifs. I'm also just a sucker for symbolism that's deep and represents a character's inner struggles, so characters with the dark/moon theme are always right up my alley. One of my absolute favorite things that tends to happen, especially with the light and dark characters, is that both can apply to either character usually. Also, the fact that they can symbolize how the other really views them. For example, the "moon" character may seem gloomy, but to the "sun" character, they are actually warm and inviting like sunlight. So, in each other's eyes, they may be associated with the opposite motifs.

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

Obviously, I have to talk about Jyushi Aimono from Hypnosis Mic.

He was a difficult character to decipher during the time of his debut in 2019. He was officially described as a narcissist, and his occupation was stated to be a vocalist in a visual kei band. On paper, he read as a stereotypical 18 year-old brat. However, his first drama track appearance proved him to be otherwise, and it's what made me truly love him.

His first few lines in the track introduce his habit of talking in a confident and grandiose way, similar to the way chuunibyou characters typically act, but he soon begins to speak in his natural voice. It immediately becomes obvious that he is timid and anxious in actuality, and he speaks in a much higher, softer voice. The "chuuni" persona he puts on is just a front, allowing him to appear more confident than he is. But, why does he do this? Basically, he has a tragic backstory.

CW for bullying, character death, and suicide under the cut. Also, spoilers for the BAT manga!!!

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To me, Jyushi's appeal is that he is determined to persevere despite his past hardships continuing to trouble him. He also wishes to better himself, so he doesn't have to be so anxious around new people and can rely less on others. Of course, he has a very cute design and personality going for him, too. He is known for being kind, and he is generally upbeat when he isn't feeling self-conscious. Overall, I find him to be a very relatable, comforting character.

Share your favourite piece of original canon.

The first thing that came to mind was just the general depiction of Shu and Mika's relationship in Ensemble Stars. I think it would be fun to go through some of my favorite stories/moments involving them, but that's an entry for another day (and a long one, at that). Instead, here's a summary of how they met and why I'm drawn to their story:

Shu and Mika have a very endearing relationship that revolves mostly around growing together as equals. They are often shown dealing with their own mental health struggles and/or character flaws and trying to help each other through it all. They met as children by coincidence, and then again as teenagers when they attended the same performing arts academy. Mika thought Shu was ethereal when they first met as kids because of his physical appearance and clothes. Mika was an orphan, so he didn't have access to nice clothes; it's also implied Shu gave him some during this meeting. Due to this, Mika began to view him as a "god". Shu is a year older, so Mika later sees him on TV, already leading his own idol unit at the academy. Mika is inspired to get into the same academy/pursue an idol career specifically so he could meet Shu again. And, somehow Mika is recruited into Shu's unit (I really wish they addressed how exactly this happened in canon but alas). From there, they have a really great development. Their relationship can be seen in almost any way, but as Mika lived with Shu in his family home, it is implied that they did everything together, including sleep (and cuddle!), and they took care of each other.

Recent stories mostly focus on Mika trying to become his own person, because he struggles with codependency issues. Shu also often demonstrates effort in trying to understand Mika better, not only as a person but as a partner in the arts. In essence, they are gay to me your honor.

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.

I'm humbly wishing for:

BL recs (of any genre) that I can potentially read on an Amazon Kindle, or any queer manga/books if I'm honest.

Literally any fanworks involving Cloud and Vincent from FFVII (separate or as a romantic or platonic ship, etc). They are new blorbos moving into my brain, and I want to consume them.

New friends that will listen to me ramble about FFVII or let me listen to them ramble about it. I love FF, and somehow, none of my friends do. I'm rattling my cage about it.

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

Fandom has allowed me to make a lot of meaningful connections with people! Which is generally very difficult for me to accomplish. Most people I talk to now are actually people I've met in fandom spaces, including my partner. I met many of them because of Ensemble Stars. I quite literally don't think I would have met my current partner, or a lot of online friends, if I wasn't into Enstars when Valkyrie's Eternal Weaving music video dropped. This is why my AO3 user (eternalweaving) doesn't match my other socmed— it's incredibly sentimental to me.

Aside from that, I think my writing has improved a lot. I started writing fanfiction with the intention of just trying to write more so I would get a little better at it. Although I still have much to work on, I think I've come a long way. Writing fic/roleplaying with friends has felt rewarding as well. I was even involved in a fanzine once, which reminds me that I should have more confidence in my writing abilities. (I struggle with imposter syndrome often.)

Since this is the start of a new year, this challenge will be to set your own goals!

I recently made a post about my writing goals for 2025. There is one fanfic idea that I would like to finish this year, and I'm aiming to at least work on some other WIPs I have on my radar. I have executive dysfunction issues, so I'm not trying to bite off more than I can chew lol. In general, I'm also hoping to relax a little more this year. I'm a college student who typically takes courses even through summer and winter breaks, and the lack of adequate breaks has really been catching up with me.

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

When I first discovered fannish communities, I very much understood the concept of "Ship and Let Ship." However, I was young and impressionable, so the rise of anti-shipping made me believe there were certain things in fiction that couldn't be justifiably enjoyable. There was a distinct ship I liked at the time that allows me to kind of pinpoint when it all started for me.

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And, this is a pretty good TL;DR for this answer: I don't care what you ship. I don't care how you ship it. And, I really don't care what you choose to draw or write and choose to read. If I see something I personally don't want to see, I know how to see myself out.

This turned into more of a narrative than I wanted it to be, but I've been thinking about this a lot lately. I especially find it hard to befriend people in fandom anymore due to all of this. I either see people who just simply are not okay with dark or problematic fictional content, which I can respect, or I see people who basically only talk about dark content. I'm a person who is in the middle: there are some dark things I enjoy, but honestly, a lot of it is not my cup of tea. Most of my interests also tend to lie therein what "antis" are more likely to enjoy (I find it really hard to make Hypmic friends anymore because my favorite ship is considered an "anti" ship over there). I fear that it's difficult to find other people who don't care that much anymore.

Current Mood: apathetic

In your own space, talk about your fannish origin story...Whether you've been in fandom for a while or just discovered fandom, we'd love to know how you came to fandom! Was it that one book or a TV show or movie or anime/manga or a band/song that gave you that first spark? Or a character or characters that you wanted more of but the canon material just didn't have enough of them? Or were you introduced to fandom by someone?

I discovered different aspects of fandom in a few ways! Under the cut is a short narrative of how I came to be in fandom through some of my fannish "firsts".

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