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

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 #9

Tue, 20 Jan 2026 14:21:42 GMT

Challenge #9

Talk about your favorite tropes in media or transformative works. (Feel free to substitute in theme/motif/cliche if "trope" doesn't resonate with you.)

Since I already talked about my all-time favorite trope last year, internalized homophobia, I'll talk about another favorite: character studies!

"Character Study" is actually my most-used tag on AO3 (if we're not counting "Betaed", which I don't), and that's because I absolutely adore both writing and reading them. The name of the game is exactly what I love about fanfic: getting into a character's head.

In writing, it's a very fulfilling exercise. It's an exploration of the character in question, and how you (you, specifically!) interpret their actions, their motivations, and their mental state. And, in reading, it's a fun way to explore how other people interpret the character, helping you appreciate your faves through a fresh set of eyes!

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Snowflake Challenge 2026 #8

Thu, 15 Jan 2026 20:18:58 GMT

Challenge #8

Talk about your creative process.

I could've answered with a few different creative processes (art, editing, coding, essay writing, etc), but ended up going with fanfic writing, because it's definitely the most uniform!

1) Inspiration
Sometimes, the ideas that pop into my head get added to my big document of fic ideas to write at a later date! Other times, it takes over my soul and torments me until I exorcise it via writing.

~~1.5) Make sure that you take your attention medication on the day(s) that you're planning to work~~

2) Outline
Basically every writing community I've joined seems to expect outlines to come in paragraphs. My outlines, however, have always come in bullet point lists. This stage is extremely informal, to the point that I will often slip in little jokes for myself. (Probably my favorite example: a bullet point dedicated to the statement, "KEEP IT LIGHTHEARTED, YOU ANGST-LOVING FUCK!!")

Sometimes, I'll have multiple bullet point lists. The one that I always have is the plot outline. Other, optional lists include inspiration for the intended tone (lines from movies, poetry, etc), ideas I'd like to touch on at some point without knowing where they would fit (for example: "I'd like to imply that this character has (XYZ disorder)," when that's not the focus of the fic), and/or notes on the research I've done for the fic. (Research is a part of the outlining phase, as well, when applicable!)

( Continue? )

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Snowflake Challenge 2026 #7

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 07:33:06 GMT

Challenge #7

LIST THREE (or more) THINGS YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF. They don’t have to be your favorite things, just things that you think are good. Feel free to expand as much or as little as you want.

I did this all on my own. I definitely did nooot need my husband to help me come up with these. Nope. 100% naturally Azure-grown! *Lying*

1) I like being an artsy person
2) I like that I can make my friends laugh
3) I like being tall

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Snowflake Challenge 2026 #5 & #11

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 14:26:40 GMT

Challenge #5

In your own space, create a list of at least three things you'd love to receive, a wishlist of sorts.

I'm sooo happy to see a version of this challenge back! I loved fulfilling people's wishlists last year~ As for myself, I have a couple! (Don't mind the soft-recycling of my holiday_wishes list...)

1. Help me move! I'm currently saving up to move out of my parents' home! They forbid me from going on HRT, so I'm trying to move ASAP. Plus, I live in a red state with lots of anti-trans legislation.

My Paypal.me is here, and my Ko-fi is here!

2. Comments on my fics! I am AzureMist on AO3, and some fandoms I've written for include Dungeon Meshi, MILGRAM, Splatoon, and Pokémon, among other things! If you're familiar with any of the fandoms I've written for, from 2021 onward, I'd really, really appreciate it if you could spare some kind words!

3. Digital giftcards! Specifically Nintendo eShop, Steam, Pokémon Center and DoorDash gift cards! I have a long gaming-related wishlist, so if you could help make even a dent in that, it would be very appreciated. The Pokémon Center is the official Pokémon merch store, and Pokémon is my one true fandom, so it makes sense why I would love some items from there (especially Pokémon plushies, as I collect them)! And lastly, DoorDash cards will be used for yummy treats~

4. Support for my art accounts! A share, a kind comment, or maybe even a follow for any of my art accounts would warm my heart!! It's brutal out here for us artists online in this day and age... I am primarily active on Tumblr and Bluesky!

5. Paid time on Tumblr and Dreamwidth! I'm azuremist on Tumblr! Tumblr is my main online platform of choice, so I'd get a ton of usage out of it, and I'd love to get more icons on Dreamwidth!

6. Spare my beloved's site some kind words! This one's a secret, okay? Don't mention that I sent you! But my long-suffering husband has a simple website! It contains things like some of his art, and a work-in-progress guide to shiny hunting. Pup often gets discouraged with pups site, and hasn't updated it in a while because of it. So, please consider looking around, then signing the guestbook at the bottom of the homepage with some kind words!

7. Steam games! Steam gift cards too much of a hassle? I understand. (What kinda digital store doesn't let you send an e-gift card by email? In 2026??) Then maybe consider gifting me a game more directly with Humble Bundle! I have a lot of visual novels on my wishlist; specifics include Canvas Menagerie, Love Curse: Find Your Soulmate, Afterlove EP, Necrobarista, Heart of the Woods, and Letters From a Rainy Day -Oceans and Lace-.

8. Consider joining and posting to my Dungeon Meshi comm if you're a fan? dunmeshi I try to keep the community active by doing reoccuring posts, but I don't think anybody else has ever posted to it except in the comments. Rec something (including self-recs), post your meta, art, anything at all!

My email is azures.mist@protonmail.com, and my Steam account is azuremists! Much love~

Challenge #11

In your own space, grant someone's wish from Challenge #5.

I decided to combine Challenge #5 and #11 into one post, as, upon Challenge #11's release, I found that this was something that I actually already did, and kept track of, in my original post for Challenge #5!

( Wishes I've granted )

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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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Snowflake Challenge 2026 #1

Sat, 03 Jan 2026 07:20:01 GMT

Challenge #1

The Icebreaker Challenge: Introduce yourself. Tell us why you're doing the challenge, and what you hope to gain from it.

Howdy-hey! I'm Azure, but I also answer to Bede and Siffrin! I use he/she/bun/fae/moon pronouns (if you don't know how to use neos, I totally understand; just alternating he/she is a-okay!), and I'm a queer 20-something who's been into fandom since before I hit double digits. I am what you might call an "interdisciplinary artist": a webmaster, artist, author, and editor!

If you'd like to know more about my fandoms/fannish likes and dislikes, I recommend checking out my 'fandom ID card' on my personal site! (Since I'm multifandom, if I wrote it all down here, we'd be here for ages...) The TLDR is that I'm most often a video game fandom participant, a shameless wearer of favorite character goggles, and a connoisseur of the internalized homophobia trope!

Why am I doing this challenge? Well, I did it last year, and I loved it! It's a challenge which seems to bring a lot of people out, and I loved how many strangers were up for discussion with me. A lot of those strangers turned out to be super-cool people, and I hope I can meet a lot of super-cool people this year, too!

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Happy Holidays To You! (2025)

Fri, 05 Dec 2025 19:41:24 GMT

(Cross-posting from the holiday_wishes community.)

Hi, hello! My name is Azure, and I'm a queer and disabled young adult, and certifiable fandom geek. I'm look forward to fulfilling some wishes (I have a few bookmarked and fulfilled a few already!). In the meantime, here is my list!

˚˖𓍢ִ໋ ୧ ✉️ ‧₊˚ .⛸️ ❄︎ ⋅

1. Help me move! I'm currently saving up to move out of my parents' home! They forbid me from going on HRT, so I'm trying to move ASAP. Plus, I live in a red state with lots of anti-trans legislation.

My Paypal.me is here, and my Ko-fi is here!

2. Comments on my fics! I am AzureMist on AO3, and some fandoms I've written for include Dungeon Meshi, MILGRAM, Splatoon, and Pokémon, among other things! If you're familiar with any of the fandoms I've written for, from 2021 onward, I'd really, really appreciate it if you could spare some kind words!

3. Rec me your favorite indie games! I loooove indie games!!! Especially queer indie games. If you know any hidden gems fitting that description, please, tell me about them! Break out your niche itch.io faves!!! Some of my favorite games along these lines include In Stars and Time, Bad End Theater, Celeste, Fields of Mistria, Great God Grove, Smile For Me, Our Life: Beginnings & Always, and Dead Plate! (No games with incest, please.)

4. Digital giftcards! Specifically Nintendo eShop, Steam, Pokémon Center and DoorDash gift cards! I have a long gaming-related wishlist, so if you could help make even a dent in that, it would be very appreciated. The Pokémon Center is the official Pokémon merch store, and Pokémon is my one true fandom, so it makes sense why I would love some items from there (especially Pokémon plushies, as I collect them)! And lastly, DoorDash cards will be used for yummy holiday treats like cookies~!

5. Pledge to support the Starbucks strike! I know, I know, believe me, I know! This is the best time of year for Starbucks! But Starbucks workers are currently undergoing a national ULP strike to end the company's union busting, and demand better wages, amongst other things. I worked for Starbucks for a brief time this year, so it'd mean a lot if you could pledge to not cross the picket line.

6. Paid time on Tumblr! I'm azuremist! Tumblr is my main online platform of choice, so I'd get a ton of usage out of it.

7. Art of my OCs! I'm basically always looking for art of my fursona and persona! Since they're both fat like I am, it can be hard to find artists willing to draw them, so it'd be super appreciated. Linked is a page with each character's information and gallery!

8. Steam games! Steam gift cards too much of a hassle? I understand. (What kinda digital store doesn't let you send an e-gift card by email? In 2025??) Then maybe consider gifting me a game more directly with Humble Bundle! Specific games on my wishlist include Great God Grove, Volcano Princess, and Ikenfell! (Maybe even get me a surprise game, based off of my likes listed in #3? Yes, this is me inviting you to try to indoctrinate me into your video game fandoms!)

9. Support for my art accounts! A share, a kind comment, or maybe even a follow for any of my art accounts would warm my heart!! It's brutal out here for us artists online in this day and age... I am primarily active on Tumblr and Bluesky!

10. Spare my beloved's site some kind words! This one's a secret, okay? Don't mention that I sent you! But my long-suffering husband has a simple website! It contains things like some of his art, and a work-in-progress guide to shiny hunting. Pup often gets discouraged with pups site, and hasn't updated it in a while because of it. So, please consider looking around, then signing the guestbook at the bottom of the homepage with some kind words!

˚˖𓍢ִ໋ ୧ ✉️ ‧₊˚ .⛸️ ❄︎ ⋅

Thank you and happy holidays to you all! My email is azures.mist@protonmail.com, and my Steam account is azuremists!

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Another Site Falls to Internet Enshittification

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 14:02:40 GMT

Moved my fandom list page from Rentry. The huge-ass porn banner ads, and the un-closable “support Rentry!” banner when you have adblock, was the final straw. That said, the "URL reclaim" system having its rules be stupidly inconsistent, and, thus, causing multiple of my pastes that I thought followed the rules get deleted with no warning also didn't help. Plus, I've been seeing some people saying that, when they click on links outside of the ad, Rentry treats it as if it was a click on the ad. So if you click any link in Rentry, there's a chance it'll just straight up send you to malware or a porn site. As a treat.

I've moved this information to pastry.diy. I considered a lot of different pastebin sites, but none of them won out over Rentry, given that it is probably one of the best-known pastebin services with decent customization. Pastry.diy relatively new, so I could get all the same URLs as I did on Rentry with no problem, and it's a pastebin service that uses HTML and CSS, which means better customization, as well. My fandom list is at pastry.diy/chara now.

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Snowflake Challenge 2025 #15

Sun, 02 Feb 2025 01:53:56 GMT

I'm a little bit late to this one, but, I guess if there's one to be late to, it's the very last prompt! Nothing wrong with bringing up the rear.

Challenge #15

Talk about an unexpected joyous moment you experienced last year.

I had a few joyous moments last year, but a lot of them were, in some ways, expected. Something that truly felt like it came out of left field, though, was the Pokemon megaleak! I don't condone everything the leakers did, of course, but there was so much interesting information released all at once!! Never-before-seen full-res art, beta Pokemon, character profiles...! AH! For those days when information was still being leaked, I was undoubtedly in autism heaven.

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Snowflake Challenge 2025 #14

Mon, 27 Jan 2025 20:46:45 GMT

Challenge #14

In your own space, create your own fandom challenge.

This is a really fun one!! After a bit of consideration, I decided to, once again, use a challenge to try to push my own, personal agenda. This time, turning more people to the indie web! So, my self-imposed challenge was to create a reclist of modern indie web fansites! Going in no particular order...

It's Not Stupid, It's Advanced! - an Invader Zim fansite featuring episode transcripts, the history of the show, adoptables and more
Monkie Business - a LEGO Monkie Kid fansite featuring fan analysis, a gallery of crew art, a fanlisting and more
CANDYPOP GARDEN - a Pikmin fansite featuring merch, fanart, downloads and more
Moonlight Promise - a Sailor Moon fansite featuring a fortune-telling page, fandom resources, a webring and more
Klance is Canon King - a Klance (Voltron) fansite featuring all K/L crew art, fandom history, an essay on the subject of the show's queerbaiting, and more
Inkposting - a Splatoon fansite featuring pixel adoptables, the webmaster's Inkopolis Square art, a "which idol are you" quiz, and more
Soulsilvers - a Pokemon fansite (mostly focused on the Kantrio characters - Red, Green and Blue) featuring a fanart gallery and lots of information on their portrayals in various Pokemon media
Dan and Phil GAMES Fansite - a Dan and Phil fansite (mostly focused on their joint gaming channel) featuring calendar and card scans, the chronology and characters of their Sims 4 series, the channel's yearly traditions, and more
GEKIYAKU - a Hatoful Boyfriend fansite featuring theories, a timeline of all events, a guide to all supplemental media, and more

If any of these sound interesting to you, check them out! And if you like what you see, and see a link for a "guestbook", consider "signing" it with some nice words to the webmaster! I'm sure it'd make their day!

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Snowflake Challenge 2025 #13

Sun, 26 Jan 2025 19:40:59 GMT

Challenge #13

Interact with someone in fandom you haven't talked with before.

I sent an (... anonymous) ask to a pixel fanartist I really admire, telling them what I like about their art! I don't know if making it anonymous defeats the point of the challenge, but I have anxiety. Heheh.

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Small Question

Sun, 26 Jan 2025 01:23:38 GMT

Is anybody else having trouble clearing their inbox? Whether done individually or by "Mark All Read", I've been unable to mark my inbox notifications as read for a few days now. I tested on both my laptop and my phone, but the issue persists.

Any information anyone could offer with regards to this would be appreciated!

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Snowflake Challenge 2025 #11

Thu, 23 Jan 2025 18:54:32 GMT

Challenge #11

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

The people who know me already know where this is going.

Listen. More and more these days, I see people saying, "Less stories ruined by internalized homophobia, more genre fiction where characters happen to be queer!" And I understand that it's because there isn't enough of the latter, but also, the answer to there not being enough queer stories is Never to make less queer stories. And also, these people have yet to consider that internalized homophobia is my jam. My bread and butter. When a queer character has internalized homophobia in a series my friends are watching, they'll message me about it, THAT'S how all about it I am.

I need characters who don't accept themselves in order to live. Deep repression narratives are my lifeblood and I want them injected into my veins. People act like, for whatever reason, it's regressive to show characters with internalized homophobia, or like it 'ruins' a ship. But homophobia is a key part of the FLAVOR of a queer ship to me, you know? An essential spice.

It doesn't even necessarily have to be the "I wish you were born (the opposite gender)" flavor. It can be "we're the same gender, so it doesn't count/it isn't serious"-flavored. "Religious trauma 'same-sex attracted, not gay'"-flavored. "This will ruin my reputation"-flavored. Any flavor of internalized homophobia, I eat it up like a 4-course Michelin Star meal!!!

The fact that I grew up as a preacher's queer child in a religious town in the deep South may or may not be relevant to my enjoyment of this trope. Who knows? /sarcasm (Also, shoutout to my second-favorite trope, cannibalism and hunger as a metaphor/analogy for overwhelming desire, especially as it intersects with queerness.)

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Snowflake Challenge 2025 #10

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 03:45:06 GMT

I'm having Not The Best Mental Health Time, so I'm gonna keep this one short!

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!

I went to my first fan convention at around 14! It was an anime convention that I went to with my best friend at the time (we're still in contact!). I went cosplaying as the Hetalia character, Romano. Except my mom really hated that I wanted to cosplay a male character, so I just told her, actually, I'm cosplaying the genderbent version of him! (I did not do the genderbent version of him.)

I remember I got a few buttons of Hetalia characters, a Chibiusa print and a plush cat! I didn't go to any panels that I can remember, instead just shopping around and talking to other fans. I had a great time, but my mom apparently despised the whole thing so much that she made my aunt go with me instead to my next con, haha.

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Snowflake Challenge 2025 #7

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 20:18:04 GMT

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. ... Maybe someone will grant a wish. Check out other people's posts. Maybe you will grant a wish.

I love this topic! I'm going to be fulfilling folk's wishes to the best of my ability, and updating this post with each one I fulfill. As for myself, though...

1. Mutual aid request: Help me move!

The obligatory mutual aid request. I'm currently saving up to move out of my parents' home, because they forbid me from going on HRT. Plus, being trans in a red state has never been the safest or most accepting experience.

My Paypal.me is here (https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/azuremist), and my Ko-fi is here (https://ko-fi.com/azuremist)!

2. Software: Aseprite

I've been getting very into pixel art lately, and the pixel art software is Aseprite. It's a fantastic piece of software, available on Steam for $20 USD. I very much want it, but I can't justify the purchase, due to the aforementioned saving up. However, you can buy someone software on Steam, then gift it to them! My Steam email is azures.mist@protonmail.com, and my Steam account name is azure_mists. Fulfilled by volkameria! Thank you!

3. Fic rec: Internalized homophobia

This is my favorite fic trope, to the point that my friends will watch a show, see a queer character with internalized homophobia, and send it to me being like "yooo Azure, new queer character with internalized homophobia just dropped". So, obviously, I'd love some fic recs involving this trope! I can go in fandom-blind, but I prefer fandoms I'm familiar with!

4. Self promo: Comment on my partner and I's fics

I am AzureMist on AO3, and some fandoms I've written for include Dungeon Meshi, MILGRAM, Splatoon and Pokemon! If you're familiar with any of the fandoms I've written for (from 2021 onward), I'd really, really appreciate it if you could spare some kind words!

My partner is verdantscribe on AO3, and lately, he's been really bummed about the lack of comments on his fics. So, if you'd comment on any of his 3 most recent ("Le Judas", "Dissos: NMDA Receptor Antagonist", and "Hallucination Panic"), that would be amazing! Especially if you're familiar with their source materials (Dead Plate, Dungeon Meshi, and Cold Front, in order).

5. Fandom rec: Play Dead Plate

Please give the free game on itch.io, Dead Plate, a try!! I need more people on here to talk about it with or I will simply pass away.

Listen to me. It has everything. Toxic yaoi. Cannibalism. Codependency. A wet dogboy of a protagonist. Canon queers. Themes of love as consumption. A narrative haunted by a character who doesn't appear much but who the story wouldn't exist without. Literally what else could you need???

( Bonus: Wishes I've granted )

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Snowflake Challenge 2025 #6

Tue, 14 Jan 2025 01:47:11 GMT

Challenge #6

Share your favourite piece of original canon.

I wasn't sure what fandom to answer this with at first, but eventually ended on sharing my favorite scene from Professor Layton!

( Contains spoilers for Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask... Continue? )

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Snowflake Challenge 2025 #5

Sat, 11 Jan 2025 21:05:05 GMT

Haven't written anything for a few days! All my free time has been going into coding my website redesign, and this weekend, I'm gonna be spending a lot of my time playing Frostyfest in Splatoon 3. (Gotta get up to Ruler ranking, and hopefully get a pic with Frye!)

Thankfully, I set aside some time in between matches and coding to write today, though.

Challenge #5

Fandom can be a highly meaningful experience for many! We'd love to hear about how being part of a fandom has helped your life change for the better. Have you made any cherished memories or connections? Does fandom bring you joy? Tell us about the ways that fandom has helped you.

There are so many ways that fandom has improved my life with. I've met most, if not all, of my best friends through fandom -- including my romantic partner! It taught me about what the world was like, outside of my sheltered upbringing. It helped me understand myself better through using the characters as an indirect means of exploring certain topics, and I discovered I was queer and autistic through fandom.

I wanted to go a bit more in-depth about the point about autism, though, because I mention it in passing a lot.

( Continue? )

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Personal Site Ramblings

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 20:57:27 GMT

I'm currently working on completely recoding and rethemeing my personal site! I've been considering doing it for over a year now, and I finally recently decided to go for it. I've got the skeleton of my layout done right now, which still leaves lots of art and CSS-work to do.

Things I want to do for this layout:

More room for links
Submenus
No more iFrames -- ability to activate page reader on every page, and ability to link each page easier
Use Javascript to preload the layout, so the viewer doesn't have to reload it each time they enter a new page
Make a custom banner (done, pretty proud of how it turned out!), background (working on this!), and multiple pagedolls -- 1 human, 1 creature, 1 human with creature (I may use official art as placeholders and come back to this later)
"Back to top" popup

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Snowflake Challenge 2025 #4

Wed, 08 Jan 2025 20:22:42 GMT

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 don't really "do" New Year's resolutions or goals -- especially vague, immeasurable ones. I am participating in getyourwordsout this year, though, so one could say that I have a resolution to write more regularly? I'm also hoping to get my driver's license this year, although that's not fandom-related, haha.

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Snowflake Challenge 2025 #3

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 00:55:04 GMT

Challenge #3

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

Despite describing myself as a fanfic author partially specializing in genfic, I didn't understand the appeal of gen fanworks for a very long time! For me, a self-defined hopeless romantic aromantic, romantic shipping was one of the main appeals of fandom, and I fell into the amatonormative belief that platonic relationships couldn't be as deep as romantic ones.

I believe what really changed this was being super into the Professor Layton fandom. At the time, I was sorting out how I felt about my parents, largely using Luke Triton (the young apprentice to the main character) as a method for that. While doing so, though, it always felt natural for it to conclude with him finding solace in Hershel Layton, who acts as a father-like figure to him throughout the game.

I also later began to unpack my amatonormativity specifically in the LEGO Monkie Kid fandom, thanks to the friendship between the main characters Mei and MK. I discovered I was arospec around this time, and I headcanoned Mei as aromantic too. Viewing Mei and MK as a queerplatonic partnership was a big catalyst to exploring the idea that platonic relationships could be equally as deep and meaningful as romantic ones.

Which, of course, leads me to today! A huge enjoyer of gen works, to the point of purposefully subverting typically-romantic AUs (such as hanahaki) in my fic, for platonic uses. I've basically done a total 180, in other words!

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Snowflake Challenge 2025 #2

Sat, 04 Jan 2025 04:33:29 GMT

Challenge #2

In your own space, talk about your fannish origin story.

I think the funny thing about my fandom origin story is that it took me several years to begin engaging with "social" fandom, but basically my whole life, I was actively trying to get into it. It's just that my parents' "no unsupervised internet" rule thwarted me at every turn.

My first fannish interest came about when I was around 5. I made my first friend in Kindergarten, Sarah (not her real name, but similar vibes), and she was super obsessed with Pokemon, and urged me to watch the anime. As I ate breakfast the next morning, Pokemon 4Ever happened to be on TV, so I watched, and cried when Celebi nearly died. From there, I was hooked. I played some of Pokemon HeartGold at Sarah's house, on her DS, and I immediately asked mom if I could have a gaming system and Pokemon game when she came to pick me up. For Christmas, later on, I got my first DS, and Pokemon Mystery Dungeons: Explorers of Sky. I collected plushies and Pokemon cards, even though I didn't know how to play the card game – I was hooked. Pokemon definitely triggered my first instances of fannish behavior.

During this time, I would watch copious amounts of AMVs on my mom's iPad, whenever she would give me time. I would have to be somewhere she could watch me, in the same room. She would often bemoan that I would watch the same AMVs over and over – "obsessively", she once described it, very derogatorily. I wasn't deterred, though.

( Contains discussions of poor parenting, homophobia, and implications of grooming... Continue? )

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