Daily Check-In

Jan. 27th, 2026 05:59 pm
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[personal profile] starwatcher posting in [community profile] fandom_checkin
 
This is your check-in post for today. The poll will be open from midnight Universal or Zulu Time (8pm Eastern Time) on Tuesday, January 27, to midnight on Wednesday, January 28. (8pm Eastern Time).

Poll #34142 Daily Check-in
Open to: Access List, detailed results viewable to: Access List, participants: 2

How are you doing?

I am OK.
1 (50.0%)

I am not OK, but don't need help right now.
1 (50.0%)

I could use some help.
0 (0.0%)

How many other humans live with you?

I am living single.
1 (50.0%)

One other person.
1 (50.0%)

More than one other person.
0 (0.0%)




Please, talk about how things are going for you in the comments, ask for advice or help if you need it, or just discuss whatever you feel like.
 

[ SECRET POST #6962 ]

Jan. 27th, 2026 06:50 pm
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[personal profile] case posting in [community profile] fandomsecrets

⌈ Secret Post #6962 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.


01. Image



More! )


Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 01 pages, 24 secrets from Secret Submission Post #994.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.
[syndicated profile] the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Braden Bjella

woman warms people about sweet treats (l) Cheesecake bowl (r)

Recently, a new dessert has been taking the internet by storm.

Spend a little time on TikTok, and you’re likely to see someone posting their reaction to the “Japanese Cheesecake.” This is a simple, two-ingredient recipe that, per Food & Wine, involves sticking a bunch of Biscoff cookies into a high-protein yogurt, such as Greek yogurt or Skyr.

[syndicated profile] the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Sarah Fimm

A mecha soldier wanders a technological wasteland in "Armored Core VI"

A whole new world! A new fantastic point of view! No one to tell us no, or where to go! Well, except for the giant robots, the vicious monsters, and the cosmic horrors—they’ll definitely limit our options a little bit. While promises of a “new world” might be enough to seduce someone into a magic carpet ride, the realities of traveling to fantastical faraway places can certainly be harsh (sometimes fatal). Video game worlds are some of the most dangerous travel destinations around, but hey, they’re also the most breathtaking. It’s a tradeoff! Is getting eaten by an extraterrestrial monster worth a gallivant around a distant planet? That’s for you, the gamer, to decide. In these 10 games with the best worldbuilding, you’ll have plenty of time to weight the pros and cons for yourself.

Disco Elysium

Kim Kitsuragi and Harry Du Bois in the Disco Elysium header art
(ZA/UM)

Arguably more of a work of literature than a video game, Disco Elysium offers one of the most politically, socially, and ethically complex worlds in the entire medium. You play as Harrier “Harry” Du Bois, a lieutenant of the Revachol Citizens’ Militia—this post-war world’s equivalent of a drunk disaster cop. While nursing the final boss of all hangovers, you have to figure out both the details of a murder case and the world you live in (you got so blasted you forgot literally everything). An RPG where combat is conversation and your party members are the voices in your head, Disco Elysium is set in an island nation reeling from the fallout of a major global conflict. Capitalists, fascists, socialists, and moderates are all attempting to fix the broken nation of Revachol, and it’s up to you to decide your politics and your morals. The days of disco are over, and a broken-down, has-been cop like you better learn to adapt to the Bad New Days of the present, or else you’ll end up yesterday’s news.

[syndicated profile] the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Kopal

Karoline Leavitt throws Stephen Miller under the bus for domestic terrorist comment

At a White House press briefing on Jan. 26, 2026, reporters asked Karoline Leavitt about comments from her own administration about Alex Pretti. Apparently, the Minnesota ICE victim is considered a “domestic terrorist” by Leavitt’s peers. But her response? It’s on them. 

During the briefing, one reporter cited that the DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called Pretti’s alleged actions “domestic terrorism.” In the same spirit, Stephen Miller had also Labeled Pretti a “domestic terrorist.” But Leavitt’s answer was basically: I haven’t heard Trump say that, so, let the investigation play out. 

[syndicated profile] the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Kopal

Border Patrol Commander Bovino is protecting Alex Pretti’s killer

In the wake of the Jan. 24, 2026 killing of 37-year-old ICU nurse Alex Pretti by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis, federal officials have been scrambling to control the narrative. Even now, the Border Patrol Chief, Bovino, refuses to expose the monsters who did it.

On Jan. 25 and 26, Border Patrol commander-at-large Gregory Bovino held press appearances defending the agents involved in Pretti’s murder. At one point, he even publicly praised them as “the true victims.” But that framing is sharply at odds with bystander videos. Footage from multiple angles show Pretti was disarmed and was holding only a phone moments before the shooting. If anything, he was only stopping the agents from assaulting a woman protester.

[syndicated profile] the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Rachel Thomas

woman shares how she surprised herself (l) Miu Miu sunglasses on woman (r)

A woman accidentally gave her favorite Miu Miu sunglasses to a retail employee. Now, it’s too late to take it back. But, TikTok user Pia (@sophiacuerquis) is still hoping that she may be reunited with her favorite (extremely expensive) sunglasses. 

Pia posted the video on Jan. 22, and it’s since gotten 5.3 million views. In her comments section, people referred to the TikToker as a “people pleaser final boss.” 

[syndicated profile] askamanager_feed

Posted by Ask a Manager

A reader writes:

I have the oddest situation. I have given my notice at a healthcare nonprofit (let’s call it the Wellness Alliance). I’ve been a part of Wellness since the very early days. One of the people I mentored, Katy, went into leadership, became the lead social worker, and turned people against me when our last CEO left. I recently gave notice because Katy got the leadership team to bully a young staff member out of Wellness after they asked for my help on a case, even though Katy had ignored their request, and that was the final straw for me.

Katy had a sessional gig at our local college, and I recently met one of her students, Fergus. Fergus was looking for an unpaid internship placement required for school and wanted to know if I could serve as his supervisor and secure a placement at Wellness (placement supervision is Katy’s job).

I laughed and told him I was leaving Wellness and, besides, Katy would never allow it. Fergus was surprised and said, “But isn’t Katy your girlfriend?” And I sputtered, “Oh no, Katy hates me.” Apparently, in the class Katy taught, every non-white student wrote in to complain about how she was racist in the social work class and targeted non-white students specifically. I explained that I wasn’t surprised given what I saw at Wellness. (Katy is every bad trope of the Liberal White Woman, and I am a white woman.)

But I asked Fergus why they thought Katy and I were romantically involved. And it’s because Katy told her class, “I’m a lesbian and met my partner Jen at my organization,” and I’m the only Jen here. Fergus was very relieved to know I wasn’t dating Katy, and said he had been reluctant to even ask for my help for the last couple of months because I was Katy’s girlfriend. I cannot have young people in our profession hesitant to reach out to me.

The only reason I can think of is that she’s aligning herself with me to increase her credibility. I am highly respected in our community, and I’ve received awards and accolades. And Katy has definitely pushed to take over my jobs.

I don’t think Wellness cares about any of this because of all of my attempts to fix issues caused by Katy have been ignored. However, it’s quite shocking to hear that her racism is much worse than I thought and is turning off potential hires (especially ones who would bring much needed diversity to the organization). And allowing people to infer an intimacy that only benefits her and possibly alienates people from getting my support is deeply upsetting.

What should I do? I want Katy to stop saying we’re dating, but we haven’t spoken in months, and that is such a weird accusation to level at someone who has everyone’s ear. Also, it’s very sad that Wellness is alienating the broader community, and this time it isn’t just me seeing the problem. I’ve been considering asking to do an exit interview with the board because of the way racism impacts our work, but what could they even do about the weird relationship allegation thing?

This is extremely strange, but I’m not sure it’s really actionable or that you need to find a way to address it.

First, though, is it possible that Katy does have a partner named Jen and met her at a different organization? “I met my partner at my organization” could mean “I met my partner at the organization I was working at three years ago, before I started my current job” or “I met my partner at the volunteer organization I run in my spare time.” Both of those seem more likely than Katy lying and saying she’s involved with a specific person who she’s actually worked to turn others against! It’s possible that if you discreetly asked around, you might find that Katy does have a partner named Jen, at which point I’d assume the rest of this theory explains what happened.

Obviously, though, if Katy is telling people you’re her partner, that’s incredibly bizarre. There are really only three things you could do about it, though:

1. Do you have the kind of relationship with Katy where you could just ask her if she’s dating someone named Jen and explain there’s a case of mistaken identity, and see what she says? I realize you might not, but you did used to mentor her and if there aren’t open hostilities, you could probably just mention it the same way you would if you thought it was a genuine miscommunication.

2. Do you have the kind of rapport with Fergus where you could tell him you’re concerned that he was reluctant to contact you because he thought you were Katy’s girlfriend and that you worry others in the class might feel the same, and ask that he correct the record with classmates he talks to, at least if it comes up organically?

3. Alternately, you could do … nothing. Yes, this is weird and unsettling to hear, and you don’t want to be affiliated with a racist jerk (ever, and especially when that affiliation may turn people off from approaching you). But this just might not be something you have the ability to widely correct, short of taking out “I’m not dating Katy Mulberry” ads in industry publications.

My vote is for #3 (minus the ads), and maybe #1 if you’re up for it, while making a point of being warm and approachable to people in your field and demonstrating through your behavior that you aren’t like Katy.

Separately, you could ask for an exit interview with the board, but if you do that, stay focused on the racism concerns; the board isn’t the right forum to raise the strange relationship thing.

The post my office bully told her class we’re in a relationship appeared first on Ask a Manager.

[syndicated profile] otw_news_feed

Posted by Caitlynne

Open Doors is pleased to announce the completion of 9 archive import projects in 2025, plus an additional 5 subcollections, a total of over 34,000 works! We hope that you will find old and new favorites in the collections listed below.


Remembering Tiger Lily Roar

Completed: February 2025

Remembering Tiger Lily Roar is a memorial account for fanfiction written by Tiger Lily Roar, who was active in many fandoms, especially Young Justice. This memorial account was set up with the assistance of Open Doors with permission from Tiger Lily Roar’s family and is maintained by Eva.

Find works at the Remembering Tiger Lily Roar AO3 account.

For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the Remembering Tiger Lily Roar import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the Tiger Lily Roar Fanlore page.


due South Seekrit Santa

Completed: March 2025

due South Seekrit Santa (dSSS) is an annual gift exchange challenge for fans of due South. The dSSS archive was originally on http://dsss.crocolanthus.com/. After many attempts to communicate with the server admin/owner went unanswered, the crocolanthus dSSS archive went offline, and the domain name was lost. To preserve the archive, the works from the 2004-2009 exchanges were imported to AO3 by Open Doors and dSSS.

Find works at the due South Seekrit Santa AO3 collection.

For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the due South Seekrit Santa import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the due South Seekrit Santa Fanlore page.


Snow Lands

Completed: April 2025

Snow Lands was a fanfiction and fan comic archive for The Lion King (1994 animated movie) online until June 2023 and was run by Athari. The website hosted works in English and Russian and preserved some of the fandom’s masterpieces.

Find works at the Snow Lands AO3 collection.

For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the Snow Lands’ import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the Snow Lands Fanlore page.


Slash Advent Calendar

Completed: May 2025

The Slash Advent Calendar was a multifandom slash challenge that ran every December from 2002 to 2005. Founded by kira-nerys at Lady Kardasi Productions, it included works from fandoms such as Star Trek, Harry Potter, The Sentinel, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The archive went offline in 2010.

Find works at the Slash Advent Calendar AO3 collection.

For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the Slash Advent Calendar import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the Slash Advent Calendar Fanlore page.


My Mongoose Ezines

Completed: August 2025

My Mongoose is a Sentinel fanfiction and fanart ezine collection archive. In an effort to consolidate all My Mongoose Ezines, including all stories, art and miscellaneous, the creator and moderators decided to house the works at Archive of our Own.

Find works at the My Mongoose AO3 collection.

For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the My Mongoose import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the My Mongoose Fanlore page.


Stayka’s Saint Seiya Archive

Completed: October 2025

Stayka’s Saint Seiya Archive was a Saint Seiya fansite that started in 1998. It was an important early contributor to the Saint Seiya fandom, as one of the first sites on the internet to use English, unifying the uniquely global and diverse fan following. The site went offline in 2019, after which Tracy began contacting individual creators and collecting permission to ensure permanent preservation.

Find works at the Stayka’s Saint Seiya Archive collection.

For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the Stayka’s Saint Seiya Archive import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the Stayka’s Saint Seiya Archive Fanlore page.


Oz Magi

Completed: November 2025

Oz Magi is an annual gift exchange for the HBO Oz fandom that has been active since 2004 on LiveJournal and Dreamwidth. The moderator created an AO3 collection for Oz Magi in 2012, but wanted to also archive the earlier fanworks. This will be an ongoing import, with each year’s fanworks being transferred across to AO3 on behalf of the creators.

The related imports of HBO Oz archives Unit B and Twisted Sisterhood are still in progress.

Find works at the Oz Magi AO3 collection.

For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the Unit B, Twisted Sisterhood and Oz Magi import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the Oz Magi Fanlore page.


InDeath.net Fan Fiction

Completed: November 2025

InDeath.net Fan Fiction is a fanfiction archive for the In Death book series by Nora Roberts, writing as J.D. Robb. It was a sub-section of the InDeath.net forum community, and the forum had sections for discussing fanfiction posted to the InDeath.net Fan Fiction archive.

Find works at the InDeath.net Fan Fiction AO3 collection.

For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the InDeath.net import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the InDeath.net Fanlore page.


Absolution – The Inugrrrl Memorial

Completed: December 2025

Inugrrrl was a longtime fan and fanfiction writer of InuYasha and the InuYasha/Kagome pairing. In her own words, she was known for “writing characterization-breaking, smut-filled, angst-riddled, alternate universe pulp fiction without a hint of shame, regret, or apology.” She was active in the fanbase from 2005-2024. Inugrrrl tragically passed away in June of 2024 and her daughter wished for her mother’s fanworks to remain online for the fanbase to enjoy.

Find works written by Inugrrrl at the Absolution – The Inugrrrl Memorial AO3 account, and works gifted to Inugrrrl at the Inugrrrl’s Gifted Fics collection.

For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the Absolution – The Inugrrrl Memorial import announcement post. To learn the history of Inugrrrl or to share some stories of your own, check out the Inugrrrl Fanlore page.


And one more…

In June 2025, Open Doors imported the following subcollections from FictionAlley: AstronomyTower, HPInkPot, Riddikulus, Schnoogle, and TheDarkArts.

Find works at the FictionAlley AO3 collection.

ArtisticAlley is yet to be imported, which means the import of FictionAlley is still ongoing.

For more information about the archive and its move to the AO3, see the FictionAlley import announcement post. To learn the history of the archive or to share some stories of your own, check out the FictionAlley Fanlore page.


We want to give a huge THANK YOU to all of the archivists and volunteers who made these imports possible, as well as all the creators who have transferred or claimed their works! We look forward to importing more archives in 2026.

Commenting on this post will be disabled in 14 days. If you have any questions, concerns, or comments regarding these imports after that date, please contact Open Doors.

[syndicated profile] the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Rebekah Harding

woman shares her job tricks (l) Woman counting all the money she makes (r)

A Chicago bartender makes thousands of dollars working at a ‘midnight ballerina’ club and shares how different the job is from a traditional bar. Now, she says she could “sell water to a fish” after learning sales tactics from the dancers she works with.

TikToker and strip club bartender Jay (@honduranlove) warns that the job is “not for the weak” before sharing her thoughts on the gig. The now-viral video has reached over 14,000 views.

[syndicated profile] the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Teresia Gray

Harry Styles at the Met Gala

Harry Styles’ new music is crushing on streaming. But, fans are irate that they can’t get tickets to his “Together, Together” tour.

Presale launched this week, and it’s harder to get your Ticketmaster confirmation for these dates than a reservation to a Michelin-starred restaurant. With social media broiling over other controversies, it’s interesting to see tour ticket discourse managing to cut through other pressing topics affecting the United States at the moment. But, all of these recent tour shenanigans with other artists has the topic at the top of our feeds once again!

[syndicated profile] the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Myra Drake

two men standing together

After months of speculation, we might finally know what allegedly led directing duo Josh and Benny Safdie to part ways. The two brothers, who made a splash with their work on 2019’s Uncut Gems, have been in the spotlight separately for a while now.

Benny has landed a few high-profile acting gigs in Christopher Nolan films and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, as well as directing Dwayne Johnson in the recent biopic The Smashing Machine. Josh, meanwhile, just got nominated for the Best Director Oscar for his work on Marty Supreme. But what led to them falling out?

[syndicated profile] the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Jenna Anderson

The cast of Looney Tunes standing in front of the trademark circles background

The Looney Tunes are about to enter a new era. On Monday, it was announced that Turner Classic Movies will become the ongoing television home for the existing library of Looney Tunes shorts.

The library, which spans more than 750 shorts, will be actively programmed into TCM’s schedule beginning in February. The licensing deal will reportedly last for the next six years — a move that is encouraging in its own right, given how the fate of the network itself has been a subject of worry in recent years.

am I not cut out to be a manager?

Jan. 27th, 2026 05:29 pm
[syndicated profile] askamanager_feed

Posted by Ask a Manager

A reader writes:

I’m a newish manager, and I have one direct report. My new employee, “Susan,” quit this week. Her old employer had reached out to her and made her a dream offer. I spent five months training Susan. She had learned a lot and was starting to work well independently. The thought of starting over training a new employee is exhausting and depressing, and I feel completely defeated.

Susan isn’t the whole story. Before Susan, my employee was Joe. Joe worked for me for three months before his serious mental health issues became apparent. His anxiety and depression made it impossible for him to come to work on many days, and he told me that the job was too stressful. After a very unpleasant and dramatic three months, he resigned and I accepted his resignation. Then he tried to rescind his resignation and there was a period of time that I was genuinely afraid of him.

Before Joe, there was Emily. Emily was my first employee and mediocre in every way. She left after a year. In hindsight, she was fine and I could have done a better job training and managing her. At that point, I had never managed before, and I had no idea what I was doing! I didn’t know how good I had it with her!

I acknowledge that I made some mistakes as a manager, but some of the circumstances were out of my control, like Joe’s illness. Another complicating factor is that the job is focused on boring research, but due to company policies I’m not allowed to advertise it with a title that makes that completely clear. Instead, the role has a title that makes the work sound somewhat more interesting. For that reason, it’s difficult to recruit candidates who are okay with completing boring research 90% of the time.

So in less than two years, I’ve had three employees in the job. Any confidence I had as a manager is gone, and I worry about what others may think when they see the turnover in this role. Am I just a terrible manager? Can I chalk up my employees leaving to extenuating circumstances (mental illness, dream job offer)? Am I not cut out to be a manager? Or should I try again?

I answer this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here.

The post am I not cut out to be a manager? appeared first on Ask a Manager.

[syndicated profile] the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Gisselle Hernandez

woman shares product she is addicted to (l) Bachelorette gift basket (r)

What started as a harmless little bachelorette party freebie has spiraled into a full-blown beauty dilemma. One tiny bottle of eye drops made this woman feel so good she started using it daily…until she realized her “addiction” comes with a $26 price tag and a very small vial. Now she’s crowdsourcing the internet for a cheaper dupe. While commenters argue over Costco hacks, others side-eye the daily use and offer up classic TikTok armchair medical expertise.

Eye-drops or Hard Drugs?

In a controversy many couldn’t have predicted, Cait (@bangbangskrimpp) has opened up the floor on eye-drop addiction. Her one-minute confession clip has garnered 418,000 views and almost 700 comments.

[syndicated profile] the_mary_sue_feed

Posted by Sandeep Sandhu

Alan Cummings, host of The Traitors

It’s that time of year again! The Traitors is back with a bang and the nation is once again wondering: who can you trust? Who can handle the pressure? And who looks damn good in those suave cloaks?

If you’re wondering when the next episode of the Peacock favorite is, you’re in the right place. Read on to find out the full release schedule for The Traitors.

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