You're afraid to be corny, but I was born on the cob

Snowflake Challenge 2026 #15

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 23:53:20 GMT

Challenge #15

How did the Fandom Snowflake Challenge go?

It went quite well! Although I was relatively "late" to a few prompts, I tried to keep the pressure off of myself and have a good time. I still did every prompt, after all. I'm especially proud of the amount of wishes I granted for the wishlist-related challenges!

I made an effort to read other people's posts that were linked in the comments of the challenge announcements, but no particular effort towards commenting. Next year, I think I want to try commenting on other people's posts more!

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Snowflake Challenge 2026 #14

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 23:41:04 GMT

Challenge #14

In your own space, create a promo and/or rec list for someone new to a fandom.

I actually wasn't sure what to do with this one (thus, the delay), but, since I'm getting into Kingdom Hearts, and I'm saving a lot of links related to it, I thought I'd share a very small list of the things I am using, or that I think are neat. So not quite a promo post, not quite a rec list, but something in-between, perhaps? Please pardon the clear Soriku bias.

Kingdom Hearts scripts (Kingdom Hearts 1 to Dream Drop Distance)
THE six-hour "Riku is gay" essay
A Keyblade clique for indie sites
Necklace Theory masterpost
"traveled half the world to say (i belong to you)" (my favorite KH fic)

(Maybe next year, I'll make a reclist with a certain trope as a theme in fanworks, rather than a particular fandom? Assuming this challenge comes up again.)

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Snowflake Challenge 2026 #13

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 21:45:41 GMT

Challenge #13

Talk about a community space you like. It doesn't need to be your favorite, or the one where you spend the most time (although it certainly can be). Maybe it's even one that you've barely visited. But talk about that space and how it helps support fannish community.

I feel like I find a way to talk about the indie web every other question when it comes to the Snowflake Challenge, but it really is my favorite way of experiencing fandom these days. Between the fandom webring, the fanfiction webring, and fanlistings, it's easier than ever to find the websites of fannish creators, who are able to present what they create any way they desire on their website. It encourages more long-form communication, such as emails and response posts, which, itself, encourages making interaction more meaningful. Each website being so personalized means that visiting each person's site is an entirely unique experience, as well, rather than feeling like visiting mildly-customizable templates.

Everybody should make their own website and put their fannish stuff on it NOW!!!

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Snowflake Challenge 2026 #12

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 20:03:05 GMT

Challenge #12

Make an appreciation post to those who enhance your fandom life. Appreciate them in bullet points, prose, poetry, a moodboard, a song... whatever moves you!

Is it silly to say that reading today's challenge actually kind of filled me with a genuine sense of dread? Imagine my internal sense of self running around my mind palace in circles, screaming, "NOOOO, BEING BAD AT THIS IS EXACTLY WHY I HAVEN'T STARTED RESPONDING TO COMMENTS ON MY WRITING AND ART UNTIL RECENTLY AAAAHHHHHHH"

But! I think it's important to make fancreators feel appreciated. There's been an issue worsening with the online climate, where people just want to consume, consume, consume, and then just... leave. Comments on fanfics are down significantly compared to the early days and, although I don't have any proof of this, in my experience, it certainly feels like fanart is being shared less. On Tumblr, this issue is especially bad, where likes don't even really do anything to help with reach. I don't like it. I don't like that the fandom community is feeling less like a community.

That's exactly why my New Year's resolution this year is to comment on fanworks (and general art) more. Specifically, I want to comment on at least one piece of art or writing, every two days. I've kept this up so far, and, you know, it's easier than I thought it would be! I spend most of my time on Tumblr where there's a very quick and easy reply feature, so I've just been replying to the art that I've come across that I think is especially impactful in some way. And that's the sort of thing that I like to do! Instead of writing thank-yous (and making myself throw up in the process, probably), I like to show that I'm thankful for somebody's contributions to fandom by supporting them in other ways (that don't make me want to throw up).

Does this response even really meet the letter of this challenge...? I dunno, but it's true to myself and how I interact with artists online, at least, hahaha!

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Snowflake Challenge 2026 #10

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 15:45:36 GMT

Challenge #10

Choose something you love and create a mini mood collection of three (or more) items that evoke your feelings about it. You don't have to limit yourself to visual media, or collect the items into a special format like a square (though you can if you'd like).

Subject: In Stars and Time (indie video game)

Moodboard:

Playlist (click the "play" button):

ENCORE!

1:07 / ∞

▶︎

THE RECORD PLAYER SONG ☆ Daisy the Great

"i need a dictionary
someone look me up and define me
please remind me who i'm supposed
to be around you
so you will do what i want you to
i'm always winning the wrong game
i don't remember my real name"

FLIGHT OF THE CROWS ☆ Jhariah

"well, i think that i've gotta go and i don't know why
but i need you to promise me that you won't cry
'cause you'll be fine and so will i
so, just let me out of your mind
in the morning, you'll learn i disappeared off into the night so quietly
that your love for me will vanish, too."

LOVE LIKE YOU ☆ Steven Universe OST

"when i see the way you look
shaken by how long it took
i could do about anything
i could even learn how to love like you
love like you
love me, like you"

code

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Foremost Thought on the Cookie Run Leaks

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 07:46:35 GMT

FOUNT OF KNOWLEDGE HAS CHRISTIAN-CODED DOUBTS AND HE STRUGGLES WITH HIS FAITH!!! I WIN!!!!

I used to prayyyy for days like these... and it's so much more explicitly about struggling with religious faith than I thought they would make it!!! Clicking my heels and skipping and whistling a lil tune in response to my guy being psychologically tortured the way I'd hoped

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Snowflake Challenge 2026 #6

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 07:03:49 GMT

Challenge #6

Top 10 Challenge.

I struggled for a looong time on what subject to use for this, but I finally settled on my top 10 favorite vocal synth songs released in 2025! (With links!)

( Bonus: Top 10 under the cut... continue? )

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Shocking No One, Azure Once Again Talks About Gender in Cookie People

Tue, 13 Jan 2026 03:00:39 GMT

Was not a fan of the new Shadow Milk costume at first, but it’s slowly growing on me, specifically as a potential alternate universe where Shadow Milk fell into repression.

First, there’s the outfit itself. Shadow Milk, as we know him, is obviously associated with Satan (the snake form referencing Eve and the apple, opposing Jesus/Mary figure Pure Vanilla, the tree of knowledge, etc etc). He abandoned his duties as a religious figure. So, why does his crown have a cross on it? Plus, the fact that he is now a king with a sword, as opposed to an androgynous jester with theatrical associations. He’s so much more traditionally masculine — his hair is even cut short.

Which is kind of horrific, in and of itself, right? We know that his hair is alive; would that not be akin to cutting off a limb? And he looks so tired… Shadow Milk has bags under his eyes in his usual form, of course, but it’s the eyebags in combination with the small smile, upturned eyebrows, and the scar.

We can assume that this version of Shadow Milk is some sort of soft roleswap with Eternal Sugar. Perhaps, in this universe, Shadow Milk feels he is unable to be loved unless he scrubs all of his traditionally-queer forms of self-expression away?

... What does that say about Eternal Sugar, and her relationship to gender expression?

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Snowflake Challenge 2026 #4

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 03:48:14 GMT

Challenge #4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page

Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!

The last website that I was on was TheFanlistings.org! You might recognize it, as it's been around since 2000 as a directory of approved fanlistings.

What's a fanlisting? In the words of the site itself: "A fanlisting is simply an online listing of fans of a subject, such as a TV show, actor, or musician, that is created by an individual and open for fans from around the world to join. There are no costs, and the only requirements to join a fanlisting are your name and country. TheFanlistings.org is the original (but not only) web directory for fanlistings, dedicated to uniting fans across the globe."

Basically, it's an old-fashioned way to connect with other fans of a subject, by listing all fans who sign up in the same place for easy searching! They were popular in the early internet, when social media wasn't as prominent, so fellow fans were harder to find. They're making a comeback, thanks to the revival of the indie web, though!

If you want to join some fanlistings, I recommend browsing the approved fanlistings of TheFanlistings.org (as previously mentioned), and their partner site, AnimeFanlistings.com. You can put your Dreamwidth journal in the "website" space, so other fans can find your journal!

If you want to look through some fanlisting collectives (which is a website where somebody hosts their fanlistings), I recommend browsing through EPHEMERAL, which is a directory for exactly that! I have a fanlisting collective myself, as well. It's very small for now, and I aim to keep it that way.

I really like fanlistings, because it means that I don't have to put my stake in search engines and unreliable algorithms to find other fans. Plus, it doesn't have any requirements that you sign up to anything, unlike social media! You can find any fan across the whole, wide internet.

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Fount of Knowledge Leaks

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 03:14:29 GMT

So, Shadow Milk Cookie's corruption involved ripping off his flowing, religious-coded robes, revealing a skintight bodysuit underneath. A skintight bodysuit that, mind you, he looks much happier in.

I’m stuck between wanting to commentate on the inherent queercoded nature of this, and just wanting to call him the word.

( NSFW joke under the cut... continue? )

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(The Emoji Spam Is for Comical Effect)

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 03:05:24 GMT

Do you ever see a piece of fiction that you wish you had gotten into as a kid? Like, you love it Now, but you wish you had the experience of enjoying it as a child, too? Although I often wish I could experience pieces of fiction for the first time again, too, so I suppose the grass is always greener.

I guess what I’m saying is that, in a universe slightly to the left from ours, a tweenage Azure became SICKENINGLY obsessed with Riku Kingdomhearts. Just an absolute BLOODBATH. Because if I have one thing in common with my tween self, it's undoubtedly that we both love mean queercoded characters who experience SHAME 🔥🔥💥💥💥🍾🎉🔥💥💥💥🎉

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Snowflake Challenge 2026 #3

Thu, 08 Jan 2026 02:51:57 GMT

Challenge #3

Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.

I hate to use the exact same fandom twice in a row, when I am a multifandom girlie at heart, but I feel like this couldn't be for any other fandom but Pokemon. You'll understand why thanks to the contents of the letter itself.

Dear Pokemon,

( Letter under the cut... continue? )

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Snowflake Challenge 2026 #2

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 19:55:01 GMT

Challenge #2

Pets of Fandom: Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!

This is the perfect opportunity to talk about something I have spent far too much of my life thinking about... If I had a Pokemon, what Pokemon would I have? As I have always thought that, if I was in the Pokemon world, certainly I wouldn't be a battler. Any Pokemon I had would be my companions! Pet Pokemon!

For those not aware, my favorite Pokemon is Celebi, with Zorua following close behind... but, I don't think either would be my partner. Celebi is, of course, a mythical Pokemon. I think that, if given the opportunity to, I wouldn't want to capture a mythical Pokemon in-universe. It would feel disrespectful, you know? Especially since Celebi is something as important as the protector of forests and time! And, as fun as Zorua's shapeshifting is in concept, I would find it to be rather difficult to manage in real life.

I believe that my partner Pokemon would be one of my other favorites: Sylveon! It actually seems like a perfect service Pokemon. As stated in its Pokedex entries, it likes to wrap its feelers around its Trainer's arm, and walk with them. These feelers can also emit a calming aura, and can be used to read its Trainer's emotions. It's also a surprisingly large Pokemon (please see its official life-sized plushie, pictured below), which is great, because I love big pets the most!

I have pets in real life, as well! I have 3 dogs in my household, one of which is my own. My dog is named Sammy! He is my beloved, retired service dog. He's a rescue mutt, and is the sweetest guy ever. I love him so much, it makes me feel like exploding!!! He's pictured in his Christmas vest below. Isn't he handsome?

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AO3 Tag Game

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 06:28:52 GMT

I saw this being used by tinkaton and thought it looked fun! I love statistics.

Go to your Works page on AO3, look at the tags, and see what the answers to these questions are. (Or any other site that has tags)

( Continue? )

That ended up... a lot more reflective than I expected it to. Stars, I have GOT to shake off this perfectionism and just WRITE MORE!

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Finn/Fionna Parallels

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 20:26:32 GMT

Finn's physical degradation is being paralleled by the degradation of Fionna's moral backbone.

She's losing herself. She agreed to work with her friend's abusive, power-hungry mother (thus pushing him away), and is obsessively chasing this fantasy with Phelix despite him having a girlfriend. She doesn't recognize the effort her friends put in to the event. She is single-mindedly chasing this fantasy of being a hero, while, in reality, she is hurting those she is trying to "save".

The threat looms — both of a physical death (Finn), and a symbolic death of the self (the "Fifi" future).

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"A Berdly"

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 01:38:16 GMT

It's funny that "a Berdly" is now used colloquially to mean "a character who is obnoxious in a funny/silly way, used affectionately", because for those first few weeks after Chapter 2 released, the vast majority of people were saying Berdly was transphobic and lesbophobic and killed their grandmas. The Weird Route’s discovery did insane PR work for him. Crazy what almost dying can do for an autist!

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Silent Salt IS a Beast

Wed, 03 Dec 2025 01:36:03 GMT

I looove that Silent Salt isn’t able to see White Lily as separate from Dark Enchantress. It reinforces the flaws that were already established previously, via his treatment of the Virtues.

His beastly traits are that he is ruthlessly unforgiving, and that he dehumanizes others. Silent Salt sees others as their duties and their duties alone — their struggles do not matter.

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The Ages of Team MZ

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 23:24:29 GMT

( Contains spoilers for Pokemon Legends Z-A... Continue? )

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"Friends Behavior"

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 19:46:58 GMT

Cannot stress enough how integral this comic in the artbook was to understanding Isafrin for me. So many questions I had regarding Siffrin's actions/feelings towards Isabeau can be explained by "We're Friends. This Is Friends Behavior. *blushing*"

"Why does Siffrin say he doesn't know how he feels towards Isabeau, despite his internal monologue showing that he does with decent clarity?" They simply believe that it is Average Friends Behavior. Thinking about Isabeau when shown a buff man in a romantic evaluation context? Friends Behavior!

This, of course, interacts with him saying that he hates that he feels romantic attraction. They don't want to experience it. So he tells himself that anything he feels isn't romantic; it's Friends Behavior!

TL;DR: me when I'm in an "avoiding confronting my feelings" competition and my opponent is Siffrin

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Pain's Localization (The Good and the Bad)

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 14:52:10 GMT

I am extremely cross with the MILGRAM translation team for translating "可哀想" (kawaisou) as "baby", when Muu refers to Haruka. "Kawaisou" is a word that means someone who is pitiful. You use it in order to express sympathy with someone who is in a sad situation. It does not imply age.

"Poor boy" would be a much more accurate translation. And it doesn't have the unfortunate side-effect of infantilizing an intellectually disabled character, and implying motherly feelings on Muu's end that she pointedly does not harbor. (Haruka saw her as a mother, but Muu viewed Haruka as a friend.)

I will ALSO say, though, I 100% commend the English translation team for localizing that one line as, "I won’t stop hurting you, ‘cause I’m a mean girl."

They seemed to understand the weight the phrase "mean girl" holds with English-speakers. The blonde girl, the "rich bitch". These ideas, these stereotypes internalized as facts in English-speaking audiences due to misogynistic teenage fiction, have been held against Muu from the release of her very first MV.

This is the idea that they invoke as they humanize her, show her trauma, show her love for Haruka.

"You thought I was nothing but a mean girl. That’s why you chose to punish me, even when it came at the cost of someone else's life… So I will become the villain from the PG movies of your past. I'll flatten myself into someone so 2D like that, as long as you apologize to him."

It turns the mirror back on the audience, and shines a light the misogyny Muu has been facing from the very start. I've said it many times, and I will say it again: Muu Kusunoki, they could never make me hate you!!!

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There Is No Easter Bunny, There Is No Tooth Fairy, and There Is No Reliable Narrator in MILGRAM

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 14:22:16 GMT

"Woaw I can’t believe that (XYZ thing that happened in the MVs) is 100% true, canon and real" So there’s thing funny thing called 'the whole concept of the MVs is that they are based off of how the prisoner feels, not facts'.

We know that the end report cards can lie, too. The thing that we can trust the most is what comes out of the prisoners' mouths, and even that comes with the caveat that they can lie, have their feelings/viewpoint manipulated by others, etc.

There is no reliable narrator in MILGRAM, and there is no 'canon' information about their crimes. At least, not yet.

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Gender and Cookie Run

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 15:37:33 GMT

I think it's interesting that the Beasts are conform to traditional gender roles, especially when compared to the Ancient Heroes. The warriors are men, and the women are in more nurturing positions. While Shadow Milk is far from traditionally masculine now, while he was still a Virtue, he was an academic – a position often seen as strictly for men. (And I feel it goes without saying that he almost certainly wasn't a shapeshifter until after his fall, given that his shifting is an extension of and aid for Shadow Milk's Deceit. That means no fluidity between masculine and feminine forms.)

Compare this to the Ancient Heroes. Pure Vanilla is an effeminate male healer (often voiced by women in different languages), and there are two strong warrior women. Dark Cacao and White Lily are the closest to being gender-conforming, but they still fall short, so to say. Dark Cacao is a strong king with a noted soft side, and White Lily is a delicate woman with a thirst for knowledge. (Remember: academia and knowledge are traditionally seen as men's territory.)

Furthermore, the Beasts have a majority of men, and the Ancient have a majority of women.

I like to imagine this is has to do with the fact that the Beasts were made for their roles, while the Ancient Heroes grew up as normal people before being gifted their sacred status. When the Virtues were hand-crafted, they were imagined up as 'suited' for their designated roles in every way. But, once these attempted manifestations of perfect ideals failed, it fell to normal people. And normal people are much more variant, much more diverse. But one can argue that it is also through the Ancient Heroes' upbringing as normal people that they are able to thrive where the Virtues once fell.

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Writing Is Hard

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 02:03:37 GMT

I hate having to write down my coherent thoughts on Siffrin having implied internalized homophobia for this analysis essay. Can’t I just point to Siffrin saying that he wishes he didn’t experience romantic attraction, Bad Touch, and their religion being implied to be based in ideas of unchanging fate, and then gesture at all that vaguely for a while

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Local Nerd Complains About Localization Differences

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 02:01:11 GMT

CRK localization can be really bad, specifically WRT Shadow Milk.

English localization: “Excuse me? I’m sorry to disturb you… But I’m still the MAIN CHARACTER here!” // Original text directly translated: “Sorry, but I’m still the main character. You haven’t forgotten about me, have you?”
In response to Shadow Milk saying she should trust him (“her colleagues”), Eternal Sugar says in the English localization: “Would you~?” // Her response directly translated: “Would I trust you if I were you~?”
English localization: “Well well! Where are my favorite minions?” // Original text directly translated: “Kids~?” (Context: he’s calling out to Black Sapphire and Candy Apple.)
English localization: “We all live for some spicy drama, amirite?” // Original text directly translated: “Is it okay to say when hard things are hard?”

That last one is especially egregious imo. I don’t even know where they got that

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My Thoughts on the Appare March Preview

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 01:53:22 GMT

Part of the reason why I find Fuuta singing in pre-war Japanese so interesting is because, up until now, he's always been a character focused on progress, thematically. An intense focus on the internet, technology in its many forms, and progressive views. Even spraypaint is associated with rebellion, punk, and the like.

But, of course, religion is associated with its opposite. Stagnation, or regression, perhaps. "Traditional values"... While we don't know much about Amaneism quite yet, we know that Amane's original cult stressed a refusal of modern medicine, and the values of purity/non-vulgarity.

So now, Fuuta is singing in such old Japanese that many Japanese viewers either borderline or outright do not understand him. From "progress" to "regress", from the future to the past.

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