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

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!!!

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!

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

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? )

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!

(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!

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.

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.

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.)

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 )