i don't wanna keep secrets just to keep you
2026-02-22 19:30![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
musesfoolI got up to watch the hockey this morning and despite Team USA pulling it off in OT, I do not accept that Bill Guerin was proved right in his choices. Eighty-five percent of the game was played in their defensive end and they only won because Connor Hellebuyck stood on his head. Maybe a little more scoring power on the team could have given them some breathing room. I am just saying. I'm happy for Hellebuyck and the Hughes brothers, and I got a little teary when they brought out the Gaudreau jersey and his kids, and I'm not gonna lie, watching Jon Cooper and Connor McDavid (along with Sam Bennett, Tom Wilson, and Brad Marchand) lose was pleasing to me on a deep, personal level, but overall, I'd still have preferred the Finns or the Swedes take home the gold.
I then baked some oatmeal for breakfast for the week, and made macaroni salad for a few days of lunch, and then for dinner, I made angel hair as planned, though when I actually read the recipe, it was not anything new to me - it was what I always do for a super quick tomato sauce, except they were adding chile crisp to it, which I guess is the thing nowadays - every recipe I read has chile crisp in it, but I'm not really a chile crisp person. I have the heat tolerance (in terms of spiciness, though I also don't like my food super hot temperature-wise either) of the whitest baby you know.
Anyway! It is a super easy but delicious meal and if you don't mind waiting a few extra minutes, you can do it all in one pot. Boil your pasta - angel hair is best for this, imo - and reserve a cup of pasta water before you drain it. Return the pot to the stove over low heat and add in a nice glug of olive oil (2 tbsp if you need a measurement), and then add a whole can or tube of tomato paste to the oil (so between 4 and 6 oz). Stir it around and season it as you like - I used garlic and onion powder, oregano and red pepper flakes and salt, but if you want to get fancy, you could probably saute a diced shallot and some minced garlic in the oil for a minute or two before adding the tomato paste - for 2-3 minutes, until it's all hot and sizzling. If you are so inclined, add chile crisp to suit your taste. Then add the pasta back, and about half the reserved water and toss it until the pasta is coated. I only used 4 oz of angel hair, so if you have more, you might need more water. Then put it in bowls and sprinkle it with parmesan cheese. If you are in an even bigger rush, you can sizzle the tomato paste in a frying pan while the pasta cooks and then combine it all back in the pasta pot. The couple of minutes you save isn't worth having to wash an extra pot to me, but it might be to some people.
*
I then baked some oatmeal for breakfast for the week, and made macaroni salad for a few days of lunch, and then for dinner, I made angel hair as planned, though when I actually read the recipe, it was not anything new to me - it was what I always do for a super quick tomato sauce, except they were adding chile crisp to it, which I guess is the thing nowadays - every recipe I read has chile crisp in it, but I'm not really a chile crisp person. I have the heat tolerance (in terms of spiciness, though I also don't like my food super hot temperature-wise either) of the whitest baby you know.
Anyway! It is a super easy but delicious meal and if you don't mind waiting a few extra minutes, you can do it all in one pot. Boil your pasta - angel hair is best for this, imo - and reserve a cup of pasta water before you drain it. Return the pot to the stove over low heat and add in a nice glug of olive oil (2 tbsp if you need a measurement), and then add a whole can or tube of tomato paste to the oil (so between 4 and 6 oz). Stir it around and season it as you like - I used garlic and onion powder, oregano and red pepper flakes and salt, but if you want to get fancy, you could probably saute a diced shallot and some minced garlic in the oil for a minute or two before adding the tomato paste - for 2-3 minutes, until it's all hot and sizzling. If you are so inclined, add chile crisp to suit your taste. Then add the pasta back, and about half the reserved water and toss it until the pasta is coated. I only used 4 oz of angel hair, so if you have more, you might need more water. Then put it in bowls and sprinkle it with parmesan cheese. If you are in an even bigger rush, you can sizzle the tomato paste in a frying pan while the pasta cooks and then combine it all back in the pasta pot. The couple of minutes you save isn't worth having to wash an extra pot to me, but it might be to some people.
*
My Plan Has Come to Fruition. Why Do I Feel Sad?
2026-02-22 16:08canyonwalkerI tendered my notice of resignation last week Friday. Before then I was often feeling apprehensive about doing it. Since then I'm just feeling sad.
You might remember me posting this meme a few weeks ago:
It's still a great summary of how I feel. I think of it basically every day. Some days twice or more.
I've been asking myself why. Why do I feel bad when I should feel great because my plan to retire early— a plan I've worked on for decades— has finally come to fruition?
I'll tell you one thing it is not. It is not "Oh, I will miss working." I will not miss working. I will not miss "friends" from work. Work hasn't provided friends for years, just colleagues with whom I have a mutually amiable working relationship. Our common interests end at the end of the workday.
What has me feeling down are the conditions under which I'm retiring. It doesn't feel like a win.
I am not stepping out at the top of my game. (I got virtually none of what I wanted last year.)
I am not leaving with a bang but a whimper.
I am going gentle into the night.
You might remember me posting this meme a few weeks ago:
It's still a great summary of how I feel. I think of it basically every day. Some days twice or more.
I've been asking myself why. Why do I feel bad when I should feel great because my plan to retire early— a plan I've worked on for decades— has finally come to fruition?
I'll tell you one thing it is not. It is not "Oh, I will miss working." I will not miss working. I will not miss "friends" from work. Work hasn't provided friends for years, just colleagues with whom I have a mutually amiable working relationship. Our common interests end at the end of the workday.
What has me feeling down are the conditions under which I'm retiring. It doesn't feel like a win.
I am not stepping out at the top of my game. (I got virtually none of what I wanted last year.)
I am not leaving with a bang but a whimper.
I am going gentle into the night.
I guessed people would call out, and I was right
2026-02-22 18:27conulyI didn’t guess that I’d be stuck with the roads closed until at least noon tomorrow.
Well, I’m getting paid every hour I’m here, at least.
Well, I’m getting paid every hour I’m here, at least.
GetFit
2026-02-22 17:03magidEvery year $Employer has run a voluntary exercise program in the late winter, where people form teams to cheer each other on to make weekly goals (minutes of movement, not intensity, so open to a fairly wide range of folks). After last year’s program, there was an announcement that it had been cancelled, presumably as part of the cost-saving measures put in place to mitigate the deficit by the sudden change in tax rate on money from endowments. I was a little sad, but as a wholly non-essential program, it made sense.
This fall, there was an announcement that it would be happening again this year, as part of a different department’s programming, and as an 8- rather than 12-week program.
It’s still motivation to get moving during a time of year it’s easy to cocoon, so I signed up. In the old program, there were weekly goals of however many minutes. In the current one, there’s also a weekly goal, but when I looked at it, I was overwhelmed: the 8th week had over 8000 ‘wellable’ points, with a maximum of 1500/day (for scale: 1 mile walked = 100 points). What?! I started freaking out just a bit, trying to figure out how in the last week I’d manage that many points. Then I was chatting with the leader of the tunnel walk I went on Thursday, and she said that she thought it was cumulative, not weekly, goals. Which made a lot more sense, when I thought about it.
So I’m trying to work in more exercise, but not go so overboard that I injure myself or something.
This fall, there was an announcement that it would be happening again this year, as part of a different department’s programming, and as an 8- rather than 12-week program.
It’s still motivation to get moving during a time of year it’s easy to cocoon, so I signed up. In the old program, there were weekly goals of however many minutes. In the current one, there’s also a weekly goal, but when I looked at it, I was overwhelmed: the 8th week had over 8000 ‘wellable’ points, with a maximum of 1500/day (for scale: 1 mile walked = 100 points). What?! I started freaking out just a bit, trying to figure out how in the last week I’d manage that many points. Then I was chatting with the leader of the tunnel walk I went on Thursday, and she said that she thought it was cumulative, not weekly, goals. Which made a lot more sense, when I thought about it.
So I’m trying to work in more exercise, but not go so overboard that I injure myself or something.
advice from camera nerds
2026-02-22 16:43jadelennoxI take a lot of pictures of three classes of things:
- Cats: This pictures are good on any camera, including my agéd single-lens SE.
- Birds: These pics are shit on the aforementioned handheld phone.
- Moss and lichens and bugs: These pics are fine on the phone, but could be much better.
My real constraint is my hands and arms. I can't hold my arms above my head, I can't hold a phone still very long, the non-ergonomic controls and shape of a phone are shit, I realistically can't carry a tripod on a hike, and I can't bear weight on my shoulders or the back of my neck for any length of time. (I recognize that this collection of constraints means my pictures will never be great, and that's okay.)
So, questions:
- Are there any cameras that have particularly good ergonomics, are particularly light, or have a good reputation for accessibility?
- I believe I could get a remote shutter trigger & a remote focus, so I could prop the camera somewhere and get a good pic from a less painful angle; do you know how to choose a hand-friendly one? (Not finger-fiddly, easy to attach & detach, easy to click buttons.)
- On a modern camera, is it possible to get lenses good enough for bird pics that are not, you know, heavy? Last time I had an SLR I was taking pictures on film, so that tells you how out of date my knowledge is.
- What's the lightest tripod that works well for people with shit fine motor control and no finger strength? I can sort by weight on hiking sites, but hikers put up with a lot of fiddly controls that I can't handle.
(I'm only looking for advice from your experience or from the experience of people you trust. Please don't GoogleKagiGoPT it for me!)
2026 Rules and Guidelines
2026-02-22 15:55mimihylea posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
worldbuildexThe rules for the Worldbuilding Exchange v3 are mostly taken from the previous incarnation of this exchange.
Quick Links: Schedule | Tag Set: Coming Soon | Collection: Coming Soon | Evidence Post: Coming Soon | Mod contact: worldbuildmod@gmail.com
What is "worldbuilding"?
For the purposes of this exchange, "worldbuilding" is defined as any exploration of how a fictional world works beyond the information presented in canon. This includes (but is not limited to) more detailed extrapolation of information presented in canon, filling in gaps in the canon backstory, attempts to reconcile apparent contradictions in canon information, exploring the perspectives on canon events of characters implied to exist but not considered within the canon, and so on.
This exchange allows all fandoms whose content is predominantly fictional. RPF or fandoms that are largely based on historical figures or events with very little fictionalization are not eligible. (For example, the film “Lincoln” would not be accepted, but “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Slayer” would be.)
It is absolutely fine for the gift you create to be an action-adventure story/shippy fanart/etc (provided your recipient hasn't expressed a desire for you to avoid such things), so long as there are also worldbuilding elements present in a significant way.
Participants are expected to create one of:
Fanfiction - a complete fic of at least 1000 words
Fanart - a finished piece of art, not on lined paper
In-Universe Media - a complete piece of in-universe media (any format of text or documents that might exist in-universe) of at least 1000 words
Podfic - a complete podfic of an existing work (fic or in-universe media) of at least 1000 words, OR podfic of a newly written work of at least 500 words.
When you sign up, you will need to request at least three fandoms with distinct lore, and offer at least four. The maximum number for both requests and offers will be ten. You may request/offer the same fandom in more than one slot, but the total number of distinct fandoms must still be three or more (for requests) or four or more (for offers). You may request specific characters, Any or No Characters, or Original Characters, or any combination of these. If you choose Any or No Characters, this means any characters in the canon, not just in the tagset; however, you may DNW particular characters from the canon. You may specify a gender for original work characters if that gendered tag was nominated in that fandom.
Worldbuilding tags are requested in the relationship slot and are specific to each fandom.
Nominations
You may nominate up to five fandoms. For each fandom, there are five character slots and six "worldbuilding" slots. Because of the limitations of AO3 tag sets, we will be using the "Relationship" field for worldbuilding elements.
Nominate only single characters in the Character field; groups or relationships (/ or &) will be rejected.
Nominate only worldbuilding tags in the Relationship field; groups or relationships (/ or &) will be rejected.
Fandoms must have at least one worldbuilding tag nominated by the end of nominations, or they will be rejected.
Fandoms
Please nominate fandoms in a way that makes it clear which canons you are looking to receive/create worldbuilding fanworks about, whether the names match AO3 canonicals or not. Unlike many other exchanges, in Worldbuilding Exchange it is expected that in some cases overlapping canons will exist within the tag set, since the worldbuilding ideas people might come up with will differ depending on which source materials they are considering. For example, previously both Dragon Age (All Media Types) and Dragon Age II were in the tag set. However, if it’s possible to nominate a more distinct fandom rather than a larger umbrella, it’s probably better for matching purposes to do so.
Please check already-approved tags before you start nominating, and try to be consistent with what has already been put in the tag set if your ideas are compatible.
"Original Work - [Genre]" will be allowed as a fandom. For example, "(Original Work - High Fantasy)", "(Original Work - Hard SF Space Setting)", etc.
“Creator’s Choice of Fandom” will not be allowed as a fandom.
Real Person Fiction (RPF) and fandoms that are closely based on real events (such as “Hamilton” or “The Crown”) will not be allowed, on the grounds that "real world worldbuilding", if it means anything at all, covers essentially all forms of human intellectual enquiry from quantum cosmology to celebrity journalism, and is therefore outside the scope of a fanworks exchange.
Crossovers are eligible if the crossover actually happened within one or other of the canons involved, as this implies shared worldbuilding. Please provide evidence on the Evidence Post for any crossover nominations before nominating, and nominate with a "fandom" tag consisting of the two crossed over canons names separated by a "/", eg "Bones/Sleepy Hollow".
Recursive (fanworks) fandoms are eligible with permission from their creator. Please provide a link to a public statement from the creator giving permission for recursive works on the Evidence Post for any recursive nominations before nominating.
Characters
Please nominate only single characters in this field. Nominations for groups or relationships will be rejected.
Please disambiguate your character nominations to indicate the fandom you’ve nominated as clearly as possible. For example, if nominating Darth Vader for the TV show Obi-Wan Kenobi, nominate as "Darth Vader (Kenobi TV)" rather than simply “Darth Vader (Star Wars)”. If nominating Amos Burton under “The Expanse Series - James S. A. Corey”, you could nominate him as "Amos Burton (Expanse Books)".
Mods will ensure that you can select original characters by adding the tags "Original Character(s) (Name of Fandom)" and "Any or No Characters (Name of Fandom)" to each fandom in the tag set. You do not have to nominate these tags. However, if the gender of original characters is particularly important to you and you strongly prefer to only create for or request particular genders, please use one of your character slots to nominate specific genders, such as "Original Non-binary Character(s) (Name of Fandom)" or "Original Female Character(s) (Name of Fandom)". Otherwise the choice of gender will be up to the creator, not the requester.
Please do not nominate any other kind of specific original characters. Please incorporate any canon-related specifics into your worldbuilding tags, for example, "WB: Surface Dwarf Culture (Dragon Inquisition)" or “WB: How halfbloods balance two worlds (Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling)”.
Worldbuilding
Tags for fandom-specific worldbuilding elements should be nominated in the Relationship field. Use "WB: " at the start of each of these tags, and disambiguate with the fandom name at the end (for example: "WB: Belter Culture and Customs (Expanse TV)"). Do not nominate any type of actual relationship (/ or &); any such nominations will be rejected. You may wish to look at previous tagsets for ideas; see 2025’s tag set here, and previous tagsets can be found through the parent collection pages for v2 and v1.
Worldbuilding tags for fandoms that overlap closely with the real world should concentrate on topics where a creator has leeway to make things up rather than being predominantly researchable. For example, “WB: Casino Security (Ocean’s Eleven)” would not be accepted, but “WB: Urban Legends about the Bellagio Heist (Ocean’s Eleven)” would be.
Signups
How matching will work
Matching will be OR, on characters, worldbuilding elements ("Relationship" tags), and category (“Freeform” tags). That is, you will match on one (or more) character and one (or more) worldbuilding tag and one (or more) category of fanwork (fanfiction, fanart, in-universe media, and podfic). From the point of view of your sign up, please ensure that you are happy to receive or create any combination that might come up. The “Any or No Characters” tag in a prompt means that the requester is leaving the use of characters (including original characters or canon characters not in the tag set) up to their creator. It should be taken to indicate an interest in receiving/creating works where the primary focus is on worldbuilding and characters are secondary, if they appear at all.
The boundary between "Fanfiction" and "In-Universe Media" is intentionally somewhat fuzzy: if you are signing up to receive one but not the other and have strong preferences about which side of that boundary you would like your gift to be on, or certain types of media you do not want to receive, please make that clear in your request.
Requests (3-10)
You may make between three and ten requests, which must include at least three distinct fandoms amongst them. You can repeat fandoms in different slots as long as you have a minimum of three distinct fandoms requested overall. “Distinct fandoms” for this exchange are defined as fandoms that do not (or would not reasonably) share an “All Media Types” or similar parent or metatag. For example, "Marvel Cinematic Universe" and "Marvel Comics" would not count as distinct because they share the "Marvel" metatag.
For each fandom, you can request 1-10 characters (including the "Any or No Characters" tag), 1-10 worldbuilding ("Relationship") tags and one to four categories of fanwork (fic, art, in-universe media, and podfic).
You may use the AO3 optional details box and/or a separately linked letter to provide extra detail for your assigned creator about your likes and dislikes, specific prompts, etc. Alternatively, you may simply leave the tags you have selected to speak for themselves.
"Do Not Wants" (DNWs): Please ensure that anything you definitely do not want to receive is clearly stated in the AO3 optional details box. You may also repeat this information in your letter, if you write one, and provide further information on your likes and dislikes, but only DNWs in the AO3 box will be enforceable. Only reasonable DNWs that do not contradict your requested tags will be enforced, and please do not use Do Not Wants to try to box your creator into making one very specific type of fanwork.
Requests will be visible throughout the sign up period.
Offers (4-10)
You may make between four and ten offers, which must include at least four distinct fandoms amongst them. You can repeat fandoms in different slots as long as you have a minimum of four distinct fandoms offered overall.
For each fandom, you can offer 1-10 characters (including the "Any or No Characters" tag), 1-10 worldbuilding ("Relationship") tags and one to four categories of fanwork (fic, art, in-universe media, or podfic).
You may offer all tags in either or both of the Character and Worldbuilding categories for a fandom, by ticking the "Any" box. However, please be very sure before you do this. In particular, please bear in mind that "Any" Character tag includes the "Any or No Characters" tag.
If your offer turns out to be unmatchable, you will be contacted shortly after sign ups close to discuss the situation. Please try to avoid deleting your sign up if your only reason for doing so is that you are worried that you are unmatchable: it may be that you are someone else's only potential recipient.
Posting
Assignment
Your assignment should be a new fanwork for your recipient, in the sense that it should not consist of work which has been previously available in public. (To give some specific examples: If you have drawerfic that is a good fit for your recip's prompts, and the exchange gives you the impetus to finish it, no one except you is going to know. If it's something you've posted large chunks of in venues such as the WIP threads on FFA, that's a problem.)
Works produced using "AI" such as large language models (e.g. ChatGPT) or "art generators" (e.g. Midjourney) are prohibited.
Please keep your assignment secret until creator reveals. (Artists may sign their work, but may not cross-post until creator reveals.) If you want to ask your assigned recipient (or a recipient you are considering treating) anything, please do so by emailing the mod, who will forward your question(s).
Please turn in a complete assignment on the due date. You are welcome to edit your fanwork as much as you like in the period between the due date and reveals, but please ensure that the version that exists in the archive when assignments are due -- and any subsequent version you save -- is of a quality that you would be comfortable with your recipient receiving if circumstances were to prevent you getting online again later.
Tagging
Please don’t use the worldbuilding tags used in signups (that is, the relationship tags beginning with WB) for tagging your work. If you’d like to indicate worldbuilding content, please use freeforms (additional tags) to describe your work (for example, “Blood of Eden recruitment (Locked Tomb)”). If you do not use a freeform tag that resembles the worldbuilding request you are filling, please indicate what worldbuilding tag you are fulfilling in your top author’s note for work-checking purposes.
Please also use canonical character tags where possible rather than the specially-disambiguated character tags; when tag set tags are used on works, the wranglers syn them to the canonicals, and that may make them useless for future exchange tag sets.
Defaulting
You may default for any reason at any time, by using the "Default" button on the AO3 assignments page. The only penalty will be that if you default and your assigned creator also defaults, you will not go out as a pinch hit.
There will be a soft "default deadline" (one week before assignments are due) check-in. This exists to provide a prompt for participants to think carefully about whether they will be able to finish in time, or whether it would be better for their recipient to go out as a pinch hit with a longer period available than an at-deadline pinch hit.
Pinch Hits
Initial pinch hits generated by the matching process, and any pinch hits which become necessary due to defaults, will be posted to the exchange Dreamwidth community with comments screened. Claim by commenting with your AO3 username and the number or recipient name that you would like to claim. Comments on these posts will not be responded to; if you see that the pinch hit has been claimed and you do not have a new AO3 assignment, then someone else claimed it before you did, but please do feel free to treat the participant in question.
There is no need for potential pinch hitters to sign up to any separate pinch hit list. You may claim pinch hits even if you are not signed up to participate. There will be a post for pinch hitters who are not signed up to the exchange to submit prompts for possible treating.
Treats
Treats are very much encouraged. Treats do not have to adhere to the minimum requirements for main gifts, but should still be of a quality that you are comfortable giving as a gift and in a medium that the recipient requested.
As a recipient, if you would like to receive treats, please ensure that you have “Allow anyone to gift me works” checked in your preferences under “Collections, Challenges and Gifts.” It will help others to indicate whether you accept treats in your signup and/or letter. If you have a preference against any particular types of fanwork that fall below the minimum requirements, or are open to receiving treats in mediums you didn’t otherwise request, please make this clear in your sign up.
Treats that meet the minimum requirement for main gifts may become main gifts in the extreme circumstance that we can’t find a pinch hitter in the last few days before the collection is scheduled to open. In most situations we will endeavor to find a pinch hit regardless of treats.
You may give treats even if you are not signed up to participate. Treats may be added to the archive at any time. While treating before creator reveals is encouraged, the collection will stay open indefinitely for late treats.
Acknowledge your gifts
Please acknowledge your gift. Ideally, this would be commenting to thank the creator for their efforts, but contacting the mod to raise an issue with your gift will also be considered as acknowledgement of your gift. (You may also use the “Refuse Gift” functionality on AO3, but please also contact the mod to let us know you have done so.) If you do not acknowledge your gift you will be ineligible to sign up for future rounds.
Mod Contact
If you have any questions, you can contact the mods via email at worldbuildmod@gmail.com or comment on this post (please note that this post is unscreened and comments will be public). If you do not have a Dreamwidth account, you may comment anonymously, but please sign your comment in some way.
Pretty much the opposite of a scientific method, I suppose
2026-02-22 12:50brithistorianI was reading this morning's edition of Dan Rather's Substack newsletter, where he was writing about the song "Stand By Me". (Apparently he writes about a song or musician every Sunday.)
Anyway, he mentioned that "Stand By Me" was "numbered among the Recording Industry Association of America’s 25 Songs of the Century." This naturally got me curious: A ranked list of things? That's like catnip to me!
So I went to look for it. Turns out that there's no such things as the RIAA "25 Songs of the Century." What there is is the "Song of the Century" list, produced by the RIAA in conjunction with the NEA and Scholastic Inc. It's a list of 365 songs. So where did Rather get this idea of "25 Songs of the Century"? Because "Stand by Me" is #25 on the list, and the Wikipedia entry for "Songs of the Century" only includes the top 25 songs on the list. Apparently Rather (or, more likely, one of his research assistants) looked at the Wikipedia entry, didn't read the text carefully, and based on the table of songs assumed that it was a list of 25 songs.
If you read the text carefully, not only do you get the correct number of songs. You also start to question the RIAA's methodology for creating the list. According to the entry, "[h]undreds of voters, who included elected officials, people from the music industry and from the media, teachers, and students" were asked to select the songs. These voters were selected by the RIAA (and one is forced to ask "how many students does the RIAA know?"), and of the 1300 voters selected, only 200 responded. Seems kind of sloppy and haphazard.
Then, if you read the list, you see that the voters were rather sloppy and haphazard in their definition of a song: #7 on the list is the entire album of West Side Story, which is not "a song." Altogether there are 18 albums on the list: 11 Broadway shows, 6 jazz albums, and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Obviously I don't have a copy of the instructions that the RIAA sent to the voters, but I think we can all agree that (with the exception of Thick as a Brick and possibly a few others) an album is not a song.
Also, just as an aside, I think 2001 (when this survey was conducted) was a bit premature to be choosing the most impactful songs of the 20th century.
All that being said, I think any other such list would be just as subject to being haphazard and subjective, and on skimming over the list I do think it would be an enjoyable and/or interesting list to listen to. Plus, unless you were born on February 29, you can figure out what day of the year you were born on and then look at the complete list and see what song your birthday corresponds to. (Mine is "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy.)
trobadoracandyheartsex author reveals have happened! And here's the fic I wrote for facethestrange:**
Title: in the darkness with you
Word count: 4,233
Fandom: 镇魂 | Guardian (TV)
Pairing: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan
Rating: Mature
Content tags: Blind Zhao Yunlan, First time, Hand-Feeding, Finger-Sucking, Clothed Sex, Zhao Yunlan's oral fixation, Episode Related, Episode 21, Missing Scene, Blindness Arc
A/N: Many thanks to
china_shop for beta-reading.Summary:
Zhao Yunlan woke to the smell of citrus, sweet and strong in the air. Without fully turning his face out of the pillow, he slitted open a sleep-heavy eye - to complete, unchanged darkness. Reality came crashing down like a landslide. Right: still blind.
Stranger Things: Roll To Charm Person, by harriet_vane
2026-02-22 09:51runpunkrun posting in fancakeFandom: Stranger Things
Pairings/Characters: Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Rating: Explicit
Length: 59,047 words
Content Notes: Bullying and homophobia.
Creator Link:![[archiveofourown.org profile]](https://archiveofourown.org/favicon.ico)
harriet_vane
Theme: Inept in Love, Pretend Couple, Friends to Lovers, Canon LGBTQ+ Characters
Summary: Will needs a date to his mom's wedding. Mike volunteers.
"I have an idea," says Mike.
Ice cubes form in Will's stomach. "How dangerous is it? Like, should I call Dustin to talk you down, or should I call Nancy to be ready to drive us to the hospital?"
"No," says Mike, "you can't tell anyone or it won't work."
"Or what won't work?" Will asks. It's like picking up a rock you know a spider will be under.
Mike gets up and closes Will's door. Hopper doesn't make them keep it open but sometimes Will does anyway, because every now and then lying around alone with Mike on his bed just makes his chest ache too much. If the door is open he can tell himself You can't do anything right now, someone will see.
Mike leans back against the door. His eyes are lit up with that special maniacal gleam that the Wheelers get right before they do something insane, like when Nancy says, "Then we have to go kill Vecna ourselves," or whatever. "Take me to the wedding," says Mike.
"Yeah," says Will slowly, "you'll be at the wedding. Obviously."
"As your date."
Reccer's Notes: They've fixed Hawkins' Upside Down problem (though this predates the final season), and it's the kids' senior year, and Will is worried his mom is worried about him, so Mike hatches a plan to be Will's (fake) date to Joyce and Hopper's wedding because of course he does. That means we've got Will pretending to pretend he's into Mike and Mike playing gay chicken against himself and...losing? winning? both?? Neither of them is doing a great job (or any job) communicating, but their fake relationship thrives and does what all the best fake relationships do, becomes real. A sweet friends-to-lovers romance with just the right amount of agonizing feelings.
Fanwork Link: Roll To Charm Person
Pairings/Characters: Will Byers/Mike Wheeler
Rating: Explicit
Length: 59,047 words
Content Notes: Bullying and homophobia.
Creator Link:
Theme: Inept in Love, Pretend Couple, Friends to Lovers, Canon LGBTQ+ Characters
Summary: Will needs a date to his mom's wedding. Mike volunteers.
"I have an idea," says Mike.
Ice cubes form in Will's stomach. "How dangerous is it? Like, should I call Dustin to talk you down, or should I call Nancy to be ready to drive us to the hospital?"
"No," says Mike, "you can't tell anyone or it won't work."
"Or what won't work?" Will asks. It's like picking up a rock you know a spider will be under.
Mike gets up and closes Will's door. Hopper doesn't make them keep it open but sometimes Will does anyway, because every now and then lying around alone with Mike on his bed just makes his chest ache too much. If the door is open he can tell himself You can't do anything right now, someone will see.
Mike leans back against the door. His eyes are lit up with that special maniacal gleam that the Wheelers get right before they do something insane, like when Nancy says, "Then we have to go kill Vecna ourselves," or whatever. "Take me to the wedding," says Mike.
"Yeah," says Will slowly, "you'll be at the wedding. Obviously."
"As your date."
Reccer's Notes: They've fixed Hawkins' Upside Down problem (though this predates the final season), and it's the kids' senior year, and Will is worried his mom is worried about him, so Mike hatches a plan to be Will's (fake) date to Joyce and Hopper's wedding because of course he does. That means we've got Will pretending to pretend he's into Mike and Mike playing gay chicken against himself and...losing? winning? both?? Neither of them is doing a great job (or any job) communicating, but their fake relationship thrives and does what all the best fake relationships do, becomes real. A sweet friends-to-lovers romance with just the right amount of agonizing feelings.
Fanwork Link: Roll To Charm Person
(no subject)
2026-02-22 17:07ravenThere's a feeling, I hope, a unidentifiable but deeply uncomfortable burn, felt by white women, who don't know, but should know, how many private brown group chats are typing.
And as I don't want to take on a cringe middle-class racist white woman (at this point there's about five of them that I have at various times decided not to take on, all terribly right-on, right-thinking, probably-vegan feminist pro-Palestine queer white women), that is all I have to say about that.
And as I don't want to take on a cringe middle-class racist white woman (at this point there's about five of them that I have at various times decided not to take on, all terribly right-on, right-thinking, probably-vegan feminist pro-Palestine queer white women), that is all I have to say about that.
squidgiepdx posting in whenisitdueHere are items with dates between Sunday, February 22nd and Saturday, March 1st, as well as items added recently that started this past week. Remember, you can comment here on new items that need to be added to the list.
Items starting since the last update & this coming week
Items ending this coming week
NOTE: Here are a few challenge communities that (can) have challenges that (usually) aren't part of the list:
Items starting since the last update & this coming week
| Open Date | Close Date | Community | Type of Challenge | Prompt/Information | Link |
| 02/22/2026 | 04/18/2026 | tardis_remix (DW) | Fanworks | Doctor Who: Signup and prompt fill period for Doctor Who and Related Fandoms Remix | click here for details |
| 02/23/2026 | 03/02/2026 | the_mane_event (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: Signup period for The Main Event, a gift exchange for all things hair-related. | click here for details |
| 02/26/2026 | 03/07/2026 | unsent_letters_exchange (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: Signup period for Unsent Letters - An Epistolary Exchange. | click here for details |
| 03/01/2026 | 03/31/2026 | marchmetamatterschallenge (DW) | Meta | Multifamdom: March is the time for backing up Meta entries to backup sites. | click here for details |
Items ending this coming week
| Open Date | Close Date | Community | Type of Challenge | Prompt/Information | Link |
| 02/15/2026 | 02/22/2026 | the_mane_event (DW) | Tagset Noms | Multifandom: Tagset nomination period for The Main Event, a gift exchange for all things hair-related. | click here for details |
| 02/18/2026 | 02/25/2026 | goreswap (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: Sign up period for Goreswap Exchange 2026 | click here for details |
| 02/18/2026 | 02/25/2026 | unsent_letters_exchange (DW) | Tagset Noms | Multifandom: Tagset nomination period for Unsent Letters - An Epistolary Exchange. | click here for details |
| 02/01/2026 | 02/28/2026 | allbingo (DW) | Fanworks | February's theme is Valentines Fest Bingo | click here for details |
| 02/01/2026 | 02/28/2026 | allbingo (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: Aromantic February Prompt List bingo fest | click here for details |
| 01/01/2026 | 02/28/2026 | beagoldfish (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: A multimedia microbang with all types of media encouraged | click here for details |
| 12/10/2025 | 02/28/2026 | blackcestfest (Tumblr) | Fanworks | Prompt filling period for Harry Potter Blackcest Fest 2025 | click here for details |
| 02/01/2026 | 02/28/2026 | bookclub_dw (DW) | Book Club | The book for February is Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds & Shape Our Future | click here for details |
| 02/08/2026 | 02/28/2026 | dove_drabbles (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: February Prompt is "Chocolate's the best way to say 'I love you'"" | click here for details |
| 02/01/2026 | 02/28/2026 | elasticella (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: Fresh Femslash Salad Bar is underway all of February | click here for details |
| 02/01/2026 | 02/28/2026 | emotion100 (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: February Prompt is Desire | click here for details |
| 12/01/2025 | 02/28/2026 | falloutbang (Tumblr) | Fanworks | Author signup period for Fall Out Boy fandom's Big Bang | click here for details |
| 02/01/2026 | 02/28/2026 | fancake (DW) | Recs | Multifandom: Round 183 - Inept in Love | click here for details |
| 02/01/2026 | 02/28/2026 | likealighthouse (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: Fall Out Bou Femslash February Ficathon (based on Fall Out Boy titles, lyrics, etc.) | click here for details |
| 02/14/2026 | 02/28/2026 | romancingmcshep (DW) | Fanworks | Stargate Atlantis: Posting period for Romancing McShep | click here for details |
| 02/01/2026 | 02/28/2026 | selfcest_fest (AO3) | Fanworks | Multifandom: SelfCest Fest runs all of February | click here for details |
| 02/14/2026 | 02/28/2026 | sga_saturday (DW) | Fanworks | Stargate Atlantis: Posting period for Romancing SGA Fest, a "Everything but McShep" romance fest | click here for details |
| 02/01/2026 | 02/28/2026 | small_fandoms (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: The Frbuary 2026 Small Fandoms Drabblethon! | click here for details |
| 02/14/2026 | 02/28/2026 | stargatefests (DW) | Fanworks | Stargate SG-1: Posting period for Romancing SG-1 | click here for details |
| 02/02/2026 | 02/28/2026 | sweetandshort (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: February 10 out of 20 | click here for details |
| 02/15/2026 | 02/28/2026 | sweetandshort (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: February's challenge for Unique/Rare Words - The word is "petrichore" | click here for details |
| 02/01/2026 | 02/28/2026 | trope_of_the_month (DW) | Fanworks | Multifandom: Prompt for February is: Aliens Made Them Do It | click here for details |
| 02/01/2026 | 03/01/2026 | akurokubigbang (Tumblr) | Fanworks | AkuRoku: Signup period for the AkuRoku big bang | click here for details |
| 02/20/2026 | 03/01/2026 | fan_flashworks (DW) | Fanworks | Multifamdom: Challenge 507: Amnesty | click here for details |
NOTE: Here are a few challenge communities that (can) have challenges that (usually) aren't part of the list:
- Harry Potter fandom challenges can be found at PotterFests
- The Vocab Drabbles Community does weekly challenges
- The AU Challenge Community offers multiple AU challenges with no deadlines
- The Froday Flash Fiction Challenge has weekly & other challenges
- The Fic Promptly Community has daily prompts
- The MCU100 Community offers weekly drabble challenges for the MCU fandom
- The XMEN100 Community offers weekly drabble challenges for the X-Men fandom
- The 10TrueLoves Community offers multifandom character prompts
(no subject)
2026-02-18 10:32conulySo, you got my opinion on Heated Rivalry, but I gotta say, I will never not read fanfics structured like ongoing internet sagas.
Also, gotta love the one dude, BostonSportsBro69, who posts in both /r/relationship_advice and /r/hockey going around in /r/hockey saying "Uh, no, it's just normal sportsbro rival stuff, you're all reading way too much into this"when because he absolutely knows better. (I don't think he's supposed to be one of Ilya's teammates, just a fan.)
***************
( Links )
Also, gotta love the one dude, BostonSportsBro69, who posts in both /r/relationship_advice and /r/hockey going around in /r/hockey saying "Uh, no, it's just normal sportsbro rival stuff, you're all reading way too much into this"
( Links )
![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
Education privilege
2026-02-22 12:04livI want to talk about the education privilege meme that's been doing the rounds. On the one hand I love old-school memes that encourage lots of cool people on my d-roll to talk about their experiences growing up. But at the same time, I'm kind of frowning at this particular iteration.
( thinky thoughts )
Anyway, hopefully this is an adequate substitute for the meme and you don't need me to tell you in detail how absurdly precocious I was in reading and maths.
( thinky thoughts )
Anyway, hopefully this is an adequate substitute for the meme and you don't need me to tell you in detail how absurdly precocious I was in reading and maths.
Three is Not a Crowd PDPHs Due February 24
2026-02-22 10:17maevedarcy posting in pinchhitsEvent: Three is Not a Crowd
Event link:threeisnotacrowd
Pinch hit link: PHs post at our comm
Due date: February 24 2026 23:59 (GMT-3)
We have the following PHs looking for a loving home.
PH 9 - Superman (Movie 2025), The Librarians (TV 2014), Leverage (US TV 2008), Star Trek: The Original Series, The Mandalorian (TV), Star Trek: Voyager, Constantine (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Crossover Fandom
PH 10 - Marvel Cinematic Universe, KPop Demon Hunters (2025), Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga), Heated Rivalry (TV), 9-1-1 (TV), Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021), DCU (Comics), Marvel (Comics), Teen Wolf
PH 11 - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon), Bugsnax (Video Game)
PH 12 - The Mummy (Movies 1999-2008), Original Work
Event link:
threeisnotacrowd Pinch hit link: PHs post at our comm
Due date: February 24 2026 23:59 (GMT-3)
We have the following PHs looking for a loving home.
PH 9 - Superman (Movie 2025), The Librarians (TV 2014), Leverage (US TV 2008), Star Trek: The Original Series, The Mandalorian (TV), Star Trek: Voyager, Constantine (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Crossover Fandom
PH 10 - Marvel Cinematic Universe, KPop Demon Hunters (2025), Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Anime & Manga), Heated Rivalry (TV), 9-1-1 (TV), Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021), DCU (Comics), Marvel (Comics), Teen Wolf
PH 11 - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon), Bugsnax (Video Game)
PH 12 - The Mummy (Movies 1999-2008), Original Work
Three is Not a Crowd: Final Pinch Hit post
2026-02-22 09:49maevedarcy posting in threeisnotacrowdThe deadline has officially passed and these are our final PHs. Though lack to fill them will not hold reveals back, it would be nice for them to get a gift as well.
The deadline for these PHs is Feb 24 2026 @ 23:59 (GMT-3)
Did you get mod-defaulted but you think you can still complete your assignment before Feb 24 @ 23:59 (GMT-3)? Email the mod at maevedarcy at proton.me and you can get your assignment back!
Check our delicious PHs here:
( CLAIMED! - PH 9 - Superman (Movie 2025), The Librarians (TV 2014), Leverage (US TV 2008), Star Trek: The Original Series, The Mandalorian (TV), Star Trek: Voyager, Constantine (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Crossover Fandom )
( PH 11 - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon), Bugsnax (Video Game) )
( CLAIMED! - PH 12 - The Mummy (Movies 1999-2008), Original Work )
To claim any of these PHs, please comment the number of PH you're claiming and your AO3 username on this post. Comments are screened.
If you have any questions about your assignment, don't forget you can contact the mod at maevedarcy at proton.me
If you didn't have time to sign up but would like to treat someone, check Three is Not a Crowd on the AutoAO3 App.
AO3 collection
The deadline for these PHs is Feb 24 2026 @ 23:59 (GMT-3)
Did you get mod-defaulted but you think you can still complete your assignment before Feb 24 @ 23:59 (GMT-3)? Email the mod at maevedarcy at proton.me and you can get your assignment back!
Check our delicious PHs here:
( CLAIMED! - PH 9 - Superman (Movie 2025), The Librarians (TV 2014), Leverage (US TV 2008), Star Trek: The Original Series, The Mandalorian (TV), Star Trek: Voyager, Constantine (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Crossover Fandom )
( PH 11 - Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon), Bugsnax (Video Game) )
( CLAIMED! - PH 12 - The Mummy (Movies 1999-2008), Original Work )
To claim any of these PHs, please comment the number of PH you're claiming and your AO3 username on this post. Comments are screened.
If you have any questions about your assignment, don't forget you can contact the mod at maevedarcy at proton.me
If you didn't have time to sign up but would like to treat someone, check Three is Not a Crowd on the AutoAO3 App.
AO3 collection
KPDH strikes again
2026-02-22 08:01lauradi7dwIn other animated character skating in real life news, as is always the case during February school vacation week in MA, Disney on Ice is at the Garden. It's always fun to see kids downtown in their Ella or whatever costumes clutching merch. Also, from the ads, Buzz Lightyear does a backflip on ice during his bit, something that has been much discussed during the Olympics.
Zach Sullivan again on Heated Rivalry
2026-02-22 10:07rmc28Zach Sullivan was interviewed on the "Duke's Download" podcast about being openly queer in ice hockey, and his decidedly mixed feelings about Heated Rivalry. I liked listening to what Zach had to say, and was impressed by the thoughtfulness that obviously goes into his answers (I think the podcast host could stand to say less and interrupt less).
