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fred_mouseToday was my second radiation treatment, and it was better than the first. ... I guess I should talk about the sensory hell that the first treatment was, and the way that it completely derailed my day (the second didn't completely derail the day, but some of my choices made it less than optimal)
( this got long, and I do not have the oomph to trim/edit )
2 down, 13 to go.
alias_sqbrWhich do you like best?
Promises: Mama Kin Spender
1 (20.0%)
Run: Flight Facilities
0 (0.0%)
The Bomb! [These Sounds Fall Into My Mind]: The Bucketheads
0 (0.0%)
Weather With You: Crowded House
3 (60.0%)
City of Angels: The Distillers
1 (20.0%)
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
otw_news_feedAO3 Tag Wranglers continue to test processes for wrangling canonical additional tags (tags that appear in the auto-complete) which don’t belong to any particular fandom (also known as “No Fandom” tags). This post overviews some of these upcoming changes.
In this round of updates, we continued to adjust existing canonical “No Fandom” tags to add or remove new subtag and metatag relationships. We also continued to streamline creating new canonical tags, prioritizing more straightforward updates which would have less discussion compared to renaming current canonical tags or creating new canonical tags which touch on more complex topics. This method also reviews new tags on a regular basis, so check back on AO3 News for periodic “No Fandom” tag announcements.
None of these updates change the tags users have added to works. If a user-created tag is considered to have the same meaning as a new canonical, it will be made a synonym of one of these newly created canonical tags, and works with that user-created tag will appear when the canonical tag is selected.
In short, these changes only affect which tags appear in AO3’s auto-complete and filters. You can and should continue to tag your works however you prefer.
The following concepts have been made new canonical tags:
Additionally, we continued to adjust existing canonical tags to add or remove new subtag and metatag relationships, which help users find related content and filter in/out content as they browse works on AO3.
While some of these tags may be tags and concepts you’re intimately familiar with, others may be concepts you’ve never heard of before. Fortunately, our fellow OTW volunteers at Fanlore may be able to help! As you may have seen in the comments sections of previous posts, Fanlore is a fantastic resource for learning more about these common fandom concepts, and about the history and lore of fandom in general. For the curious, here’s a quick look at a few articles about concepts related to this month’s new canonical tags:
While we won’t be announcing every change we make to No Fandom canonical tags, you can expect similar updates in the future about tags we believe will most affect users. If you’re interested in the changes we’ll be making, you can continue to check AO3 News or follow us on Bluesky @wranglers.archiveofourown.org or Tumblr @ao3org for future announcements.
You can also read previous updates on “No Fandom” tags as well as other wrangling updates, linked below:
For more information about AO3’s tag system, check out our Tags FAQ.
In addition to providing technical help, AO3 Support also handles requests related to how tags are sorted and connected. If you have questions about specific tags, which were first used over a month ago and are unrelated to any of the new canonical tags listed above, please contact Support instead of leaving a comment on this post.
Please keep in mind that discussions about what tags to canonize and what format they should take are ongoing. As a result, not all related concepts will be canonized at the same time. This does not mean that related or similar concepts will not be canonized in the future or that we have chosen to canonize one specific concept in lieu of another, simply that we likely either haven’t gotten to that related concept yet or that it needs further discussion and will take a bit longer for us to canonize it as a result. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Lastly, we’re still working on implementing changes and connecting relevant user-created tags to these new canonicals, so it’ll be some time before these updates are complete. If you have questions about specific tags which should be connected to these new canonicals, please refrain from contacting Support about them until at least three months from now to give us adequate time to do so.
The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, OTW Legal Advocacy, and Transformative Works and Cultures. We are a fan-run, donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.
ailelierunpunkrun posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
fancakealias_sqbrmific posting in fancakeskygiantsquestionable_content_feed
I'm a boy, I'm allowed to say boys are dumb
yarn_harlot_feedI’m sick today – some minor sort of dread lurgy the main symptoms of which seems to be low self-esteem and the overwhelming urge to lay around glumly watching the Olympics. It’s a raging snow-ice storm outside and I am so sick of winter that I can scarcely look out the window, so I thought I’d break up the misery of the day by telling you a little story.
A little over a week ago I got a phone call that someone had an emergency (minor) and needed my help. I immediately booked a flight to the (even more) frozen (even further) North and set about packing my knitting. I’d be gone a week, I was going somewhere really cold, and to my way of thinking this somehow equalled a metric tonne of knitting that I’d be doing. I put my Self-Imposed-Sock-Club socks in there, then I put the shawl I’m working on in there, then I went and got all the extra yarn for the shawl and added that. Then I frowned and fetched a little baby set that I’m working on and have barely started and laid that on top. This I thought, this was a decent amount of knitting. Loads really. Then I opened instagram saw the Canada Mittens and thought – I should make those. I should make those right now. Actually (as the Olympics flickered on the screen near me) I realized that all the knitting in my suitcase was trash and I should make several pairs of those right now. Lucky for me the yarn shop that made the pattern and had the yarn (Briggs & Little sport, the OG Canadian brand for yarn) is nearby-ish and they have been super quick to ship in the past, and so I ordered a ball of each of the red and white, then paused… hovered my hand over the cart to checkout online and… ordered more. 2 red and 2 white. That’s lots. I’m good. I added a little note that said something like “Quickest possible delivery please” noted that I was leaving on Sunday (this was Friday and let me assure you this seemed really reasonable to me) and clicked send.
Almost immediately someone awesome emailed and said no. It was too late, there’s no delivery pickup on weekends so the soonest they could mail it was Monday. Did I want to come get it, they asked? I did. I did very much want to come and get it, but Galt House of Yarn is in Cambridge and I was in Toronto and Joe had the car and so it was a no. I thought about it for a minute (I cannot stress to you how much I wanted this yarn right away) and then asked the next best thing. Could they ship it to my destination- send it North? They could – swiftly the shipping address was changed, I was assured it would arrive there at the end of the week, and I set about maturely coping with the disappointment of waiting a week for yarn I wanted right now.
Apparently I was both terrible at this and transparent about it, because the next day (Saturday) Joe offered to drive to the shop and pick it up for me. “Really?” I asked “No…” he said “I’m just trying to torture you.” That was a joke it turned out, and Joe left for the yarn shop in the afternoon. For my part, I took Elliot skating and sent a quick email to the yarn shop telling them that my glorious spouse was on his way to get the order. A little bit later – when Joe was pretty much in the parking lot of the shop, they emailed back to say that my glorious spouse was no match for their intrepid shipping staff and that they had already shipped it – a staff member choosing to do me a solid by taking it to Canada Post themselves so it would have a head start getting up North.
I sat there, and then I laughed out loud. I’d been defeated by fabulousness and fantastic people who were so dedicated to getting me my yarn that I couldn’t have it, and in that moment I snapped, and told Joe to get more. “Just get it” I texted. “Just tell them to give you a skein of red and a skein of white just like the two red and two white they shipped. Just say that.”
Now Joe’s been a knitting adjacent spouse for a long time, so he didn’t say anything. He didn’t say “Hold on, you’ve already got this yarn coming could you perhaps … wait a few days?” He didn’t say “How many pairs of these mittens are you fixing to make Steph?” He didn’t say “My bride, my sweet – are you sure?” He said nothing. He especially didn’t say anything when after reflecting for a few seconds, I texted again and said “Double that. Just tell them to sell you what they shipped.” Moments later Joe walked into that yarn shop and said that, and you know what? The yarn shop didn’t say anything about it either.
He brought home the yarn, I cast on my mittens, putting two balls into my carry on, and put the other two balls (I wound them) into my suitcase – even though there would be four balls arriving in a few days. Nobody said a single word about that either. I got on the plane, I stayed there for a week before coming home with this much of ONE mitten knit and pretty much all eight skeins intact.
Further to that, I do not feel like this was a learning opportunity and I am happy with all my choices.
Peace out. Go Canada Go.
PS – probably worth mentioning that there are one or two spots left at the Spring Retreat at Port Ludlow in a few weeks, if you’d like to talk about yarn in person, and if you happen to be more of the day-tripper type, there’s room in Debbi’s ace class where you make a custom dummy out of ducktape and an old teeshirt. email to info@strungalong.ca if you’re the type.
otw_news_feedAre you a developer who has submitted pull requests to the otwarchive GitHub repository? Want to help shape the future of the OTW in a flexible, collaborative role? Are you interested in following checklists to administer personnel related tasks? Would you like to wrangle AO3 tags? Can you read and translate from Portuguese to English? Can you read and translate from Chinese to English? The Organization for Transformative Works is recruiting!
We’re excited to announce the opening of applications for:
We have included more information on each role below. Open roles and applications will always be available at the volunteering page. If you don’t see a role that fits with your skills and interests now, keep an eye on the listings. We plan to put up new applications every few weeks, and we will also publicize new roles as they become available.
All applications generate a confirmation page and an auto-reply to your e-mail address. We encourage you to read the confirmation page and to whitelist our email address in your e-mail client. If you do not receive the auto-reply within 24 hours, please check your spam filters and then contact us.
If you have questions regarding volunteering for the OTW, check out our Volunteering FAQ.
Are you familiar with Instagram or Facebook? Do you want to help connect the public with the OTW?
The Communications committee is recruiting for Social Media Moderators to help us manage our Facebook and Instagram. Social Media Moderators will help the OTW maintain an active presence on their platform, creating or reblogging a range of posts of relevance and interest to the OTW’s userbase, and doing outreach to fan groups and individuals on the site. Moderators are also responsible for handling user questions and managing responses to the OTW’s news content. You will be working as part of a team, and you must be able to dedicate at least 3-4 hours each week to the OTW.
For this position, we are seeking people who are familiar with the conventions of one of these platforms and who ideally have experience moderating a social media page. We are also interested in hearing from those with customer service experience, especially in an online environment. We expect you to have an interest in fandom at large and an understanding of the concerns and activities of the OTW (although we will, of course, provide you with training once you start).
You must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. If you’re a frequent Facebook or Instagram user who enjoys helping others, have wide-ranging interests across the fandom space, and are curious and willing to learn, we’d love to hear from you!
Applications will close 25 February 2026 or after 60 applications
Apply for Communications Social Media Moderator at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
Want to help shape the future of the OTW in a flexible, collaborative role? Organizational Culture Roadmap (OCR) Volunteers support the implementation of OTW Organizational Culture Roadmap goals by assisting with planning, documentation, and team coordination. Whether you prefer jumping into projects, offering behind-the-scenes support, or helping teams stay on track, there’s space to contribute in a way that works for you.
This role is great for those with clear communication skills who enjoy collaborative work. Time commitment is 1-5 hours per week. As an OCR Volunteer, you’ll play a key role in ensuring smooth operations by:
We’re looking for volunteers who are proactive, driven, and committed to the OTW’s long-term success.
You must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. In addition to the initial application, you will be required to complete an assessment to help us understand how well you understand and can complete the committee’s tasks. This will be emailed to you after you complete the application form.
Applications will close 25 February 2026 or after 60 applications
Apply for Organizational Culture Roadmap Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
The Accessibility, Design, & Technology (AD&T) committee coordinates design and development of the software that powers the Archive of Our Own. It is currently seeking Ruby on Rails developers to enhance features, fix bugs, review code, and test new changes in line with the priorities established by AD&T committee chairs and senior developers.
Please note: applicants must have submitted a minimum of two pull requests – at least one for an issue with medium or higher difficulty – to the otwarchive GitHub repository that have been deployed to production prior to applying for the software developer position.
If you don’t have the time to commit to formally volunteering for the OTW, we gratefully accept bug fixes from anyone on GitHub! Please check out our contributing guidelines before submitting a pull request.
Applications are due 25 February 2026
Apply for Accessibility, Design, & Technology Software Developer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
Are you great at admin and enjoy the satisfaction of completing short tasks and ticking them off to-do lists? Or do you have experience in CRM or database software, data privacy, managing software access, or other related areas? Volunteers & Recruiting is looking for additional volunteers to help our busy team!
Volunteers & Recruiting supports the Organization for Transformative Works as a volunteer-driven organization by ensuring that volunteers are in the right roles, at the right time, with the right tools.
We recruit and manage incoming volunteers, handle exiting volunteers, and handle all committee setup as well as chair and board turnover. We help answer volunteers’ questions about the OTW or the tools we use, or direct volunteers to the right places. We set up tools for committees and subcommittees, mentor volunteers in their work, and track the service of each and every volunteer throughout their time with the organization. We ensure that every volunteer in the organization has the resources they need to complete their work efficiently and effectively.
This recruitment round we’d especially love hearing from applicants who are interested in regularly helping with our day-to-day work! This includes following checklists to answer tickets related to personnel changes, software access, recruitment setup, and general queries. Shortlisted applicants will be invited to a live text-based chat interview.
Applications will close 25 February 2026 or after 30 applications
Apply for Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
The Tag Wranglers are responsible for helping to connect and sort the tags on AO3! Wranglers follow internal guidelines to choose the tags that appear in the filters and auto-complete, which link related works together. This makes it easier to browse and search on the archive.
If you’re an experienced AO3 user who likes organizing, working in teams, or having excuses to fact-check your favorite fandoms, you might enjoy tag wrangling! To join us, click through to the job description and fill in our application form. There will also be a short questionnaire that will help us assess whether you have the skills and attributes that will lead to your success in this role.
Please note: you must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. For this role, we’re currently looking for wranglers for specific fandoms only, which will change each recruitment round. Please see the application for which fandoms are in need.
Wranglers need to be fluent in English, but we welcome applicants who are also fluent in other languages, especially Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian), Čeština (Czech), Español (Spanish), isiZulu (Zulu), Italiano (Italian), Polski (Polish), Suomi (Finnish), Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese), Türkçe (Turkish), Українська (Ukrainian), ไทย (Thai), Русский (Russian), беларуская (Belarusian) and 한국어 (Korean) — but help with other languages would be much appreciated!
Applications will close 25 February 2026 or after 125 applications
Apply for Tag Wrangling Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
The Tag Wranglers are responsible for helping to connect and sort the tags on AO3! Wranglers follow internal guidelines to choose the tags that appear in the filters and auto-complete, which link related works together. This makes it easier to browse and search on the archive.
If you’re an experienced AO3 user who likes organizing, working in teams, or having excuses to fact-check your favorite fandoms, you might enjoy Tag Wrangling! To join us, click through to the job description and fill in our application form. There will also be a short questionnaire that will help us assess whether you have the skills and attributes that will lead to your success in this role.
Please note: you must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. For this role we’re currently looking for applicants who are fluent in both English and Portuguese. We welcome all Portuguese dialects! The work will involve both regular Tag Wrangling work and translating tags from Portuguese into English.
Applications will close 25 February 2026 or after 30 applications
Apply for Tag Wrangling Volunteer (Portuguese) at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
The Tag Wranglers are responsible for helping to connect and sort the tags on AO3! Wranglers follow internal guidelines to choose the tags that appear in the filters and auto-complete, which link related works together. This makes it easier to browse and search on the archive.
If you’re an experienced AO3 user who likes organizing, working in teams, or having excuses to fact-check your favorite fandoms, you might enjoy Tag Wrangling! To join us, click through to the job description and fill in our application form. There will also be a short questionnaire that will help us assess whether you have the skills and attributes that will lead to your success in this role.
Please note: you must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. For this role we’re currently looking for applicants who are fluent in both English and Chinese. We welcome all Chinese dialects! The work will involve both regular Tag Wrangling work and translating tags from Chinese into English.
Applications will close 25 February 2026 or after 45 applications
Apply for Tag Wrangling Volunteer (Chinese) at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.
otw_news_feedFor International Fanworks Day (IFD) 2026, we once again came together from all corners of the fandom cosmos, and celebrated an Alternate Universe-themed IFD! First, we ran our annual Feedback Fest, where we asked you all to recommend to each other fanworks around your favorite AUs. Fanlore hosted their annual IFD editing event from February 14-20, and we signal boosted several community events along with our own. Some of these are still on-going, so make sure to check out the post!
We also hosted chatrooms and games on our once-a-year IFD Discord server for 30 hours. Thanks to everyone who came by! You can check out the fruits of our collective labor–several fandom-themed poems, song lyrics, and stories–by visiting our collected IFD works on AO3.
We’d like to thank everyone who participated in our IFD activities and events, and give a huge shoutout to our OTW volunteers who modded chats and games! We hope to see you all again for IFD 2027!
mific posting in fancakekingstoken posting in fancakeskygiantsosprey_archer asked for a post on my last-year-end round-up so now seems as good a time as any.ailelie"I'm fine," he insists yet again.
"Why not rest here?" you suggest, the idea forming as you speak.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean sleep," you clarify. "We have a while yet until third bell."
"And you're suggesting I nap here?"
"Why not? No one is going to disturb you or notice down here."
"I can't just—"
"Frey," you interrupt him. "Trust me. I'll keep watch while you rest." You trace along your lower lid where his skin is a dark, smudged gray. "You need it."
His shoulders slump in resignation. "If you insist."
"I do."
"I have a cot in the storage room I can use," Frey says. Looking away, he adds, "I have a chair, if you wanted to keep me company"
"All right," you agree.
Frey leads the way to the backroom. A blade of light from a high, narrow window illuminates the center of the room, leaving the rest in darkness. The cot, wider and nicer than you'd anticipated, sits pressed against one wall. The pillow and tangle of blankets suggest Frey's slept in it recently. In one corner, a thick quilt is folded on the promised chair. Other than a sliver of space from the door to the cot and chair, the room is all cabinets, overflowing shelves, and boxes.
"This is a bit awkward," Frey says, laying down on the cot.
"What if I lay down, too?" The fit would be tight, but his cot is large enough, you think you could manage.
( Read more... )
otw_news_feedFor anyone who’s missed our earlier posts, you can find all of our activities for this year’s International Fanworks Day in our “What We’re Doing For #IFD2026” post.
The OTW’s chatrooms and games session is a 30-hour party that lasts from February 14th, 21:00 UTC until February 16th, 03:00 UTC. The game times listed below are all in UTC, but you can click the links to find out how that converts to your own timezone.
The games will be hosted on our dedicated Discord server and moderated by OTW volunteers throughout the day. Every two hours you will be able to participate in a different fandom-themed game! The timetable and game descriptions are posted below; join us on Discord for the games you’d like to play!
NOTE: The games will be played and moderated in English.
February 14th
February 15th
February 16th
5 Things
How to Play: During this game, the host will name a topic and players in the room will call out examples from their favorite fandoms. This will repeat for at least 5 rounds. Be prepared to explain why your answer counts (maybe you’ll recruit someone new to your fandom!)
20 Questions
How to Play: During this game, the host will think of a person, place, or object. Players have exactly 20 yes-or-no questions they can ask the host to determine what the correct answer is.
Storytime
How to Play: The host will paste a starting sentence into the chat. Players take turns coming up with the next sentence–the host calling out whose turn it is–until everyone has gone once, and the story is complete!
List Builder
How to Play: List Builder is a collaborative game in which players work together to come up with a list of fandom characters or items belonging to a particular genre, starting with consecutive letters of the alphabet. Start at A and work your way through to Z (you can be as flexible as required on the difficult letters!)
Lyrics Round Robin
How to Play: During this game, we’ll collectively write FANDOM lyrics to replace those of a familiar song. The host will choose the song and type out an alternate first two lines. Then those in the room will write the next lines until the song is finished.
Poetry Round Robin
How to Play: During this game, we’ll collectively write FANDOM poetry! The host posts a poem as an example of a specific poetic form (like sonnet, haiku, etc.), as well as a title. The players then write one (or more) original poems of that form together, one line at a time.
OTW Trivia
How to Play: Like most trivia games, the host will ask a question and the first person to answer correctly wins that round. Because we’re online and you’re free to do searches we’re going to add another factor, which is time — you must answer within 2 minutes. But you can call out your answer as soon as you think you know. If you’re the first to have the correct answer, the host will type your name and award you a point. At the end of the game, whoever has gotten the most points will be named the winner!
Two Truths and a Lie
How to Play: The host will paste into the chat 3 statements. Because we’re online and you’re free to do searches we’re going to add another factor, which is time — you must answer within 30 seconds after the third statement!
We also want to hear from you about other celebrations taking place today. Leave us a comment here to tell us about what your fandom communities are doing!
runpunkrun posting in fancakePick the next theme of fancake:
Fantasy
27 (27.0%)
Just Like Canon
34 (34.0%)
Siblings
39 (39.0%)
skygiants
fred_mouseI'm reading an Ellery Queen detective novel from, hmm, the late 1920s, I think? And I was highly amused to read the following line:
“It was Friday morning and the Inspector and Ellery, garbed romantically in colorful dressing-gowns, were in high spirits.”
Methinks that 'romantically' has shifted in meaning. I can kind of work it out, but also, only at a kind of intellectual understanding rather than really getting it.
(for those not familiar, this is a parent/adult child dyad)
savagelove_feedRight after her ketamine infusion, she ran home as fast as should could. And then her boyfriend got busy… Have YOU ever seen the face of a lynx in the sky? Didn’t think so. Have a sordid, sexy, weird, funny or freaky tale to tell? We are listening… Write it up and send it in … Read More »
The post After Action Report #16 appeared first on Dan Savage.
savagelove_feedStruggle Session is a bonus column where I respond to comments — just a few — from readers and listeners. I also share a letter that won’t be included in the column and invite my readers to give the advice. We’re getting ready to do Savage Love Live at noon today — curtain up, light … Read More »
The post Struggle Session: Savage Love Live Today at Noon! appeared first on Dan Savage.
skygiantsfred_mouse - Radiation treatment notesxkcd_feed - Amperagealias_sqbr - Music Meme Pollquestionable_content_feed - comicsotw_news_feed - Updates to “No Fandom” Additional Tags, February 2026ailelie - Writing over timerunpunkrun in fancake - Stranger Things: Roll To Charm Person, by harriet_vanealias_sqbr - Music: Full Flower Moon Band – Smoking ft. Drunk Mumsalias_sqbr - Fantasy story with loner male knight and cross-dressing female pagemific in fancake - Heated Rivalry: Tuna Melts and Longitudinal Studies by OpalApparitionxkcd_feed - Eliminating the Impossibleskygiants - (no subject)xkcd_feed - Plumsquestionable_content_feed - The Dumbest Genderyarn_harlot_feed - Securityotw_news_feed - The OTW is Recruiting for Social Media Moderators, Organizational Culture Roadmap Volunteers, Softwaquestionable_content_feed - Comicsotw_news_feed - Thanks For Participating in #IFD2026!mific in fancake - SGA: on purpose by dedkakexkcd_feed - SNEWSkingstoken in fancake - Good Omens: Love is a Curious Thing ghost_daddyrunpunkrun in fancake - Theme Reminder: Inept in Lovequestionable_content_feed - Teensskygiants - (no subject)ailelie - Moment from Chapter 3otw_news_feed - It’s International Fanworks Day 2026!runpunkrun in fancake - Round 184 Theme Pollxkcd_feed - Bad Map Projection: Zero Declinationskygiants - (no subject)fred_mouse - Language shiftsavagelove_feed - After Action Report #16questionable_content_feed - Shorts In The Winterwondermark_feed - #1582; Limit Your Scream Timesavagelove_feed - Struggle Session: Savage Love Live Today at Noon!skygiants - (no subject)xkcd_feed - Installationbranchandroot
