whimsyful: william churchill's leisure - a painting a blonde woman reading by a half-open window with muted green shades (women reading by window muted green)
whimsyful ([personal profile] whimsyful) wrote2025-08-17 08:15 pm

Recent Reading: August 2025

The Manor of Dreams, by Christina Li

Described as a cross between The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Mexican Gothic, The Manor of Dreams takes place across two timelines: in the 1970s, up-and-coming actress Vivian Yin thinks she’s finally caught a break after marrying a hotshot actor and moving to his sprawling ancestral South Californian manor, but then the horrific visions and nightmares start. In the present day, trailblazing actress Vivian Yin has just passed away after living her last years as a recluse, and her family is shocked to discover that she had changed her will at the last minute, leaving the house to the Dengs, descendants of her former housekeepers, instead of her own daughters. Both families move into the manor to fight for what each believe is their rightful inheritance, and insists on staying even as unsettling things start to happen—odd visions, strange things coming out of the pipes and walls, and a garden that seems to have a mind of its own…


mild spoilers below the cut...
As it happens I read this between two others books that were dual timeline stories about finding out what happened to a reclusive female former celebrity (the other two were the aforementioned Evelyn Hugo and Emily Henry’s Great Big Beautiful Lie), so I definitely noticed some similarities and repetitions. One aspect they had in common, and this is something I often find in dual-timeline stories, is that I found the past storyline far more compelling than the present day one. In the past portions of The Manor of Dreams you’re following Vivian as she tries to pursue an acting career and find the source of the strangeness going on with the manor and deal with challenges to her family; the present is mainly about the younger generation wandering through the manor trying to figure out what happened in Vivian’s final years and days while being involved in their own interpersonal dramas, and it just felt much less dynamic overall.

The prime example of this: both the past and present timelines end up having a surprise lesbian romantic subplot, but I found the one in the past well fleshed out and believable whereas the one in the present was very instalove-y, to the point that I wondered if Li included it purely because she wanted a pair of sapphic lovers ending happily to counterbalance the tragic ending of the pair in the past. Which is completely her perogative if so, but Madeline and Nora just didn’t have much chemistry between them, especially compared to the lovely slow build between Sophie and Ada.

Overall, I did enjoy how nearly the entire main cast are Asian women with distinct personalities and who are allowed to be flawed and unlikeable. I also appreciated that this isn’t one of those genre novels where all ills and evils can be laid at the feet of the privileged straight white guy and everyone else is angelic—there is an evil privileged straight white guy, don’t get me wrong, but ultimately he wasn’t the one who created the horrible situation that lasts all the way into the present day. Let your women of color make massive fuck-ups that perpetuate across decades! It makes for much more interesting characterization.



The Appeal by Janice Hallett


A contemporary fair play mystery with an entirely epistolary format. The setup: the Haywards are the most prominent and socially powerful family in the sleepy town of Lower Lockwood. Not only do Martin Hayward and his wife Helen own the local country club, but he’s the director of the local theatre group The Fairway Players and she’s the star actress. So when their young grand-daughter Poppy is diagnosed with a rare type of brain cancer that requires a pricey new experimental treatment, the Fairway Players and the community quickly rally around a fundraising campaign. But Samantha Greenwood, a nurse and newcomer to Lower Lockwood and the Players, thinks something is fishy. As she raises doubts the tension builds up in this close-knit and insular community, culminating in a murder and arrest. But QC Tanner believes the wrong person was arrested and that the real murderer is still walking free—and that the clues to what really happened are in the giant pile of subpoena’d emails, texts and other documents he just handed over to his two junior lawyers Femi and Charlotte.


read more...
There was a great comment [personal profile] cleodoxa made on a book review here which perfectly summed up what I’m looking for in a mystery:
the appeal of the mystery genre is less about the restoration of order than the dance of the seven veils. The constant discovery of secrets and alterations of the picture is what I like, and also simply the way the structure of the mystery genre makes a collection of character portraits and an atmosphere into a novel

The Appeal is an excellent example of this. Hallett is not the first nor the second to marry the mystery novel with the epistolary format (both Wilkie Collins and Sayers wrote well known prior examples), but it’s still thrilling to see someone pull off both the slow shifting of what one believes is the truth and successfully differentiate a large cast of characters in such a format. I was especially impressed by clearly the characters came across in their own words, through situations like having one character texts several others contradictory messages, and how the same event is interpreted completely differently according to each individual’s biases, personalities and allegiances. It also successfully uses all the unreliable narrators to hide the truth in plain sight; any wrongdoers know that in the worst case their electonic messages could be subpoena’d, so you know that some of what you’re reading has to be intentionally misleading or downright false, and the fun part is figuring out what.

As for the solution and clueing, I did guess the rough shape of the truth and perpetrators, but not the exact details. I do think some parts of the solution are a little out there given the hints available, but overall this was a very fun mystery, with excellent execution of what could have been just a gimmick.


Claire McCardell: The Designer Who Set Women Free, by Elizabeth Evitts Dickinson

A biography of an incredibly influential but now mostly forgotten fashion designer. Claire McCardell (1905-1958) may no longer be as well known as her contemporaries Chanel and Dior, but she is responsible for either inventing or popularizing a whole host of clothing items so ubiquitous we no longer even wonder how they came to be: the hoodie, ballet flats, the wrap dress, the concept of mix-and-match separates as well as the capsule wardrobe etc. She also was the first to start using denim as a fabric in women’s clothing, and basically created modern women’s sportswear and swimsuits. She also prioritized comfort, practicality and versatility in her designs, fighting to add pockets to as many of her clothes as possible despite objections from her male superiors.


read more...
Dickinson briefly covers McCardell’s childhood in Frederick, Maryland where she formed her passion for clothing and design as well as her fight to go study clothing illustration at Parsons School of Design in New York. After a formative year abroad in Paris, then the undisputed fashion capital of the world (American designers basically just copied/stole French designs), she started working in New York’s cutthroat garment industry. The majority of the book is about her rise from a clothes model at a department store, to assisstant for a wholesale manufacturer, to head designer at a major sportswear company (but still constantly butting heads with her male boss over matters like adding pockets), to being the first designer to be given full control over her designs at an American manufacturer, to creating her own brand and becoming the face of the “American Look” -- described as casual, stylish, mass-produced and affordable ready-to-wear and sportswear.

One major theme that struck me about her story was how much fashion was shaped by geopolitics and social mores. McCardell only really got a chance to promote her own design vision on her own terms because afte Paris fell to the Nazis during WWII, the New York fashion industry could no longer continue their practice of copying French designs and so were forced to innovate. And later when America joined the war effort, both wartime rationing and the push for women to join the factory workforce were incredibly well suited to McCardell’s minimalist, practical style that prioritized comfort and flexibility. But once the war ended and attitudes about women working swung back towards conservatism, McCardell had to actively fight against a return to more restrictive, impractical styles such as the “New Look” pushed by rising hotshot Christian Dior. This New Look promoted a more “demure and docile feminity”, reintroduced restrictive shapewear (including corsets cinched so tight in the waist several of his models fainted during the fittings) and clothes you “couldn’t walk, eat, or sit down in”, and went hand-in-hand with the backlash to women’s autonomy.

I also appreciated how Dickinson displayed a more complex view of what it took for women to succeed in business in those times. McCardell owed several of her early opportunities to job recommendations and other help from female colleagues and mentors in her network, which she paid forward amply later down the line in the form of mentorship, informal support and advice to aspiring young female designers. But McCardell also essentially stole the credit for her close friend and fellow designer Mildred Orrick’s idea of separate close-fitting underlayers—precursor to the modern day leggings, which destroyed their friendship for many years. She was also clear to point out that despite the undeniable sexism McCardell suffered, she was also privileged both as a result of her own choices (ex. marrying a wealthy older widower who already had his own children and enough money for servants so she never needed to give up her career for children or housework) and from being a white woman. Opportunities like the affordable and safe women’s-only housing McCardell lived in during her student days in New York only rented to white women. Despite these additional barriers, there were several successful Black designers at the time like Ann Lowe (who made Jackie Kennedy’s bridal gown) and Zelda Wynn Valdes (who created dresses for celebrities like Ella Fitzgerald and Mae West).

Overall, this was a fascinating look at the life of an ambitious and complicated woman who built her own fashion empire and indelibly changed the way we dressed, as well as how politics and social mores are inextricable from fashion.
Movie News and Discussion ([syndicated profile] moviessubreddit_feed) wrote2025-08-18 03:01 am

It's totally mind-boggling to me that Hollywood hardly makes action movies about firefighters. The l

Posted by /u/geekteam6

It's totally mind-boggling to me that Hollywood hardly makes action movies about firefighters. The last big one was basically *Backdraft* in 1991! Why?

Fires! Explosions! Rescues! Universally loved, working class heroes! Backdraft grossed $150M theatrical on a budget of $40M! How are there not dozens of big firefighters movies since then?

submitted by /u/geekteam6
[link] [comments]
torachan: a cartoon bear eating a large sausage (magical talking bear prostitute)
Travis ([personal profile] torachan) wrote2025-08-17 08:29 pm
Entry tags:

Daily Happiness

1. We had a nice time at Disneyland this morning (overcast and low temps most of the time and very light crowds) and successfully got the Kuzco sipper! We try not to collect the popcorn buckets and sippers because they don't actually get used and are just decorative, but take up a lot of space, but Kuzco's poison is always a must buy.

2. I don't have to go to Irvine at all this week, which is nice. I do have meetings in Gardena every day, but that's like less than half the drive.

3. Jasper looks so solemn!

jazzyjj ([personal profile] jazzyjj) wrote in [community profile] awesomeers2025-08-17 10:11 pm
Entry tags:

Just one thing: 18 August 2025

It's challenge time!

Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.

Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!

Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!

Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.

Go!
ranalore: (the untamed wangxian shelter)
I did it all for the eyelashes ([personal profile] ranalore) wrote in [community profile] fancake2025-08-17 07:46 pm

The Untamed: An Elegant Solution by Giraffeter

Fandom: The Untamed
Pairings/Characters: Lan Wangji/Nie Mingjue/Wei Wuxian, Jiang Cheng, Jiang Yanli, Wen Qing, Wen Ning, Wen Yuan, Lan Xichen, Nie Huaisang, Jin Zixuan
Rating: Explicit
Length: 205K words
Creator Links: [archiveofourown.org profile] giraffeter
Theme: Marriage of Convenience, Everybody Lives/Nobody Dies, Fork in the Road AU, Fix-It

Summary: When Jiang Yanli joins Jiang Cheng in visiting Wei Wuxian at the Burial Grounds, the two brothers are on the verge of cutting ties forever — until Jiang Yanli has a better idea. Wei Wuxian doesn't need to leave the sect. He needs to get married, and she has the perfect Sect Leader in mind.

When Lan Wangji is invited to come along on Wei Wuxian's visit to the Unclean Realm to spend time with his new betrothed, Nie Mingjue, he agrees — even though his heart is breaking. How else is he ever going to see Wei Wuxian again?

When Nie Mingjue welcomes Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji into his home, he realizes two things very quickly: 1.) They clearly want each other so badly they can barely stand it, and 2.) Nie Mingjue is Into That.

(In which arranged marriage to Nie Mingjue solves just about everyone's problems)

Reccer's Notes: In the normal course of things, I'd say LWJ/WWX is my OTP. This story, however, has made me feral for LWJ/NMJ/WWX. More than that, though, this is a brilliant, carefully constructed fix-it. Giraffeter takes the time to set up every way this reality is changed from canon by the single decision to solve the friction between Wei Wuxian and the rest of the cultivation world by marrying him to a Sect Leader rather than cutting him off in the Burial Mounds. It's a long, immersive story that's well worth the time investment. The sex scenes are also some of the best I've read in my nearly thirty years in online fandom.

Fanwork Links: An Elegant Solution
fic_in_a_box_mod: (Default)
fic_in_a_box_mod ([personal profile] fic_in_a_box_mod) wrote in [community profile] ficinabox2025-08-17 10:03 pm
Entry tags:

Late Relationship/Solo/WB Nominations

During signups we're willing to take late nominations! Please only nominate tags that you intend to immediately request or offer.


Late Relationship/Solo/WB Nominations

Limitations

  • We will add at most 10 fandoms per person.
  • We will add at most 10 relationship/Solo:/WB: tags per person per fandom.*
  • Tags must meet all of the below requirements.
  • We will not be workshopping or fixing any nominations at this point..

(*We will add in WB: Any tags to any new fandom free of charge, though.)

Requirements:

  • Late nominations must be in batch load format: Fandom,Tag,Tag,Tag(...)
  • Each fandom should be on a separate line.
  • Fandoms which are already in the tagset must be exactly as they appear in the tagset. If you're nominating a fandom that isn't in the tagset please let us know which fandoms are new.
  • Relationships and characters must be in the format listed in the guidelines. If you think a character may be confusing (such as characters that canonically have more than one version and need to be distinguished, or characters who have names that make them sound like inanimate objects or abstract concepts) then please include an explanation.
  • Worldbuilding tags must be in the format listed in the guidelines and adhere to all of the guidelines for WB tags. In addition, please include an explanation separate from the list for each worldbuilding tag for what it is (This doesn't need to be complicated, just enough that we'll know it fits the rules!). We will not be accepting worldbuilding tags that need workshopped, though you're welcome to workshop it yourself (or on the Newbie Discord Server if you need help!) and try again. You may find the nominations queries a useful reference.

Late Relationship/WB Nominations will close on August 30th at 10:00PM Eastern (Countdown)! Make sure you request them before then! No new tags will be added after that point because your usual late nominations mod will be traveling for the rest of sign ups.

fic_in_a_box_mod: (Default)
fic_in_a_box_mod ([personal profile] fic_in_a_box_mod) wrote in [community profile] ficinabox2025-08-17 09:45 pm

Sign ups open!

Sign ups!

Signups are open! Go to the collection here (link) to sign up!
Signups will be open until August 31st at 9:59pm EDT (Countdown)

You must be 18+ to sign up.

Other links:

What Are Sign Ups?

Sign ups are how we figure out who wants what and who's creating for who! The process is this:

  • Participants fill out a sign up form on AO3. The sign up form is split into requests and offers, both of which use tags from the tagset.
  • Participants who want to make non-fic mediums email their offer details to the mods (more on that below).
  • AO3's matching program works out who can create for who based on the tags selected for requests and offers.
  • If any participants have no one to create for, they get emailed by the mods to add offers or drop out.
  • Assignments are sent. Optionally, participants who are interested in creating smaller works for multiple recipients can ask for swaps–but swaps will have their own post and aren't covered here!

You are allowed to sign up with one well-behaved sock (i.e. a maximum of two accounts per person).

You can email us Do Not Match requests, instructions for which are in the rules and info post (link).

Request Instructions

Requests are for saying what you would like to receive. They are visible to everyone. You must use only tags from the tagset. Each request is a set of tags that go together: a fandom, relationship tag(s), and (if you want them) medium/length opt-ins.

You must have a minimum of 1 request. You may have up to 10 requests. If you are requesting less than 3 fandoms with distinct lore, you are not guaranteed a pinch hit in the event that your assigned creator defaults in full or in part.

If you are unmatchable as a recipient (i.e. no one is offering anything you are requesting), your requests will be posted to the Dreamwidth community for claiming as a pinch hit.

Your creator will be matched to you based on one fandom and one relationship/character.

You should therefore request as if you will only get ONE of your requested relationships/characters.

Fandom field

  • Each request has 1 fandom.
  • You may repeat fandoms.
  • The order you put your requests in doesn't matter.

You cannot DNW significant parts of the fandom you are requesting. You can't DNW "pirates" if requesting Pirates of the Carribean, and you can't DNW The Return of the King if you're requesting The Lord of the Rings (Jackson Movies).

(Also, this kind of unenforceable DNW is hard for us to catch during sign up checks since it requires that we know the fandom, so DNWs along these lines might be unenforceable even if we don't email you about them.)

Relationships

  • You may select 1-20 tags per request in the relationships field.
  • The order you put your tags in doesn't matter.

When you request a group, you're only guaranteed one member of that group. Groups take the place of characters in relationship-field tags, allowing you to request a category of characters instead of explicitly listing every character, for example, "The Losers Club" or "Batfamily" or "Original Male Characters".

If you request a relationship-field tag that involves an ambiguous group or character description, we will accept your creator's interpretation. If you request "Solo: The Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe)" your creator can pick any character who fits the broadest possible definition of canonical Avengers. If you request an original character, Original Work, Reader, or other tag that could specify gender but doesn't, your creator can pick any gender.

You can't DNW parts of tags you've requested. You can't request "Creator's Choice of Jedi & Han Solo (SWOT)" and then try to DNW some Jedi. You can't request "Creator's Choice of Lannister(s)/Any Characters" and then DNW incest or poly ships.

(Also, this kind of unenforceable DNW is hard for us to catch during sign up checks since it requires that we know the fandom, so DNWs along these lines might be unenforceable even if we don't email you about them.)

Length/Medium Opt-Ins (the "Additional tags" and "Optional tags" fields)

Fanfiction is the default medium requested in Fic in A Box.

  • You cannot opt-out of receiving fanfiction, which for FIAB is defined as narrative fiction.
  • You may receive one 10k fic, ten 1k fics, or something in between.
  • You can skip selecting any opt-ins if you are only interested in receiving fic.
  • Length Opt-Ins let you opt-in to receiving works of less than 1,000 words (or equivalent).
  • Medium Opt-Ins let you opt-in to receiving mediums other than fic.
  • You can request 0-20 Length/Medium Opt-ins in the "Additional tags" field.
  • You can request as many Length/Medium Opt-Ins as you want in the "Optional tags" field. You must copy them directly from the tagset or use this sheet (link) to create your list.
  • The order you put your tags in doesn't matter.
  • The app that we use for viewing requests has both of these fields linked for easy searching!

Opt-ins contained in your Optional Details field (or your Letter) also count, so if you usually have "epistolary" in your likes list but don't want it for FIAB, you should remove it.

Anything you opt into has the potential to be your entire gift. While it is unlikely you will receive 100 drabbles if you choose "Length Opt-In: Drabbles", it is technically possible!

Medium Opt-Ins have wordcount equivalents which you can view here (link).

Letter

Dear Creator letters may be linked to in your signup in order to give your gifter further details on your likes and dislikes. These are optional as long as you have something in your AO3 signup saying what you like.

  • If you're using Tumblr we would like to remind you not to change your URL before the end of the exchange.
  • If you're using Google Docs we would like to let you know that your letter will be much more accessible to your fellow participants if you use the Publish to the Web function.
  • If you have multiple linked letters, the mods will only use the link given in the Letter field of the signup for the purpose of checking for opt-ins within your optional details.

Optional Details

  • List likes, prompts, and Do Not Wants for your potential creators in this long text box.
  • These are called optional details because your creator(s) are not required to follow your likes and prompts (although they do need to avoid your DNWs) when creating your gift(s).

You must include something in your optional details to indicate what you like or have an unlocked letter before signups close. This can be short (for example: "I really like h/c and fluff!") or long, but it needs to be present. If you're linking to a letter which already has publicly visible information to this effect, that is also acceptable.

Do Not Wants (DNWs)

  • Do Not Wants (DNWs) are a list of things you absolutely don't want to receive in your gift(s). They go in the Optional Details box, but are not optional for creator(s) to follow.
  • You need to use the label "DNW" or "Do Not Want" at the beginning of your list.
  • Do not label them or anything else "Dislikes" or anything simlilar as that's too confusing for potential creators.
  • Only DNWs in your AO3 requests will be enforced.

If you have no DNWs, please put "No DNWs" on its own line somewhere in your requests. We expect to get a number of people new to multifandom events, so we want to make absolutely sure people without DNWs mean to be doing that without needing to email them.

New to DNWs? They're important, but a little tricky Click here to re-read our DNW explainer from the rules post.

DNWs should be phrased and understood to be value-neutral. For example, one might DNW dogs because...

  • they find dogs upsetting
  • they find dogs boring
  • they just spent the past week reading every fic about dogs in the fandom and are a bit tired of dogs now
  • they really like works with dogs sometimes and really hate them other times and it's easiest to just DNW them instead of asking their creator(s) to thread a needle
  • for personal reasons, thinking about dogs is very painful right now

It's impossible to tell which explanation above is true for any given participant with "DNW: Dogs" on their request, so the only sure thing you can know is that that participant just doesn't want dogs in their gifts. This ambiguity is a feature, not a bug.

Never explain why you DNW something, but definitely explain how to apply the DNW and if there are any exceptions.

  • Unhelpful "why" explanation: "DNW: dogs (they're gross)" — this isn't relevant to avoiding putting dogs in a gift, and also might make people who like dogs feel bad
  • Helpful "how" explanation: "DNW: dogs (canonical werewolves are fine, but please no normal wolves)" — this answers a question that a creator might have about how best to apply the DNW!

In the event that a DNW is included in your gift, only reasonable DNWs noted in your AO3 requests will be enforced. DNWs cannot be used to box your creator into producing a very specific work, and should be clear and specific in scope. You cannot DNW part of something you've requested. If you believe an enforceable DNW has been broken in your gift, please email us immediately.

FAQ: DNWs (Click here for yet more info)

What makes a DNW "unreasonable"?

The goal of DNWs is to state, as unambiguously as possible, what specific things one doesn't want in a gift. It's not the job of DNWs to prevent a recipient from getting a bad gift (although we hope everyone will get only good gifts) or to ensure that a recipient gets exactly what they want. Requests aren't commissions, and we value the creative freedom of our participants.

An unreasonable DNW might contradict a requested relationship or medium, try to force the creator into a very narrow set of options, be phrased too vaguely or broadly or confusingly, and/or seek to prevent the creator from creating works about a large part of canon.

  • Example: Requesting a pirate canon like Pirates of the Caribbean or One Piece and then listing the DNW "pirates"
  • Example: Requesting the medium opt-in "Medium: In-Universe Epistolary/Journals" and then listing the DNW "first person POV"
  • Example: DNWing "OOC writing" (How is a creator supposed to ascertain what counts as OOC to the recipient? How could the mods make a decision about if something is OOC when they probably don't know the fandom?)
  • Example: DNWing "dead dove content" ("dead dove" has many possible meanings, so no one can be sure what this DNW means; you need to list the actual content that you don't want.)
  • Example: DNWing "CBT/wax play/gun kink/etc." (We can't enforce an "etc"!)

What happens if I have an unreasonable/nonspecific/otherwise unenforceable DNW?

If we notice it, we will ask you to remove it (or to remove the tag it contradicts, if it's something like the epistolary example above) or rephrase it. If we only realize you have an unenforceable DNW because you've received a gift you feel hits that DNW and would like a replacement gift, we will unfortunately have to refuse.

Why are you making such a fuss about DNW phrasing?

Broadly speaking, we think DNWs are an important and wonderful part of multifandom exchange culture and learning to create and identify good DNWs is imperative for good exchange etiquette. This exchange attracts a large number of new exchange participants, so by explaining in detail we can set our newbies up for success in the wider exchange circuit! If we could do so by just saying "list stuff you don't want in your Do Not Wants" then we would do that, but years of experience has shown that a lot of the information offered above on DNWs is absolutely not intuitive and needs to be explicitly stated for newbies.

Also, and more immediately, we will be on the hook for assuring some of you get gifts via pinch hits, including sending out emergency pinch hits if someone gets an unacceptable gift! Bad DNWs make it harder to find a pinch hitter and more likely one of those DNWs will be hit by accident. We'd prefer not to have to tell anyone that their DNW is too confusing for us to give them a replacement gift.

Help! I don't know how to phrase a DNW! / What if I think a DNW I want might be unreasonable?

Don't worry, there are people who want to help! Many people on the FIAB Newbies Discord server will be happy to help you figure out how to phrase your DNWs in the #sign-up-discussion channel.

Offer Instructions (On AO3, For Participants Offering Fic)

Offers are for saying what you would like to make. They aren't visible to anyone but the mods. You must use only tags from the tagset. Each offer is a set of tags that go together: a fandom and relationship tag(s). You can't offer specific mediums on AO3; look at the next section of post for information about offering specific mediums.

You must have a minimum of 1 offer. You may have up to 10 offers. For matchability, we recommend you make at least 3 offers.

If you are unmatchable (no requests match your offers) when sign ups close, we will email you. All participants need someone to match to in order to participate, so if you're unmatchable and don't reply to our email, we'll have to delete your sign up.

Your will be matched to your recipient based on one fandom and one relationship/character.

You should therefore offer as if you will only get ONE of your requested relationships/characters.

When you get your assignment, it will list all of your recipient's requests, but you're only required to create for one of them. If you would like to create for a request you didn't match on, or if you'd like to create for multiple requests, that's fine!

Offer Instructions (Non-Fic Mediums)

Everyone who signs up is by default offering 10k of fic unless they email us at ficinaboxmod@gmail.com–click here if you're wondering why.

Fic is the exchange's default medium because that's what it's most easy to find pinch hitters for. We don't want to be in a situation where the only way to open the collection is to get someone a gift in a rare medium because that could cause months of delays.

Ideally, we would just make everyone request a medium tag for fanfiction…but there's no way to make participants do that when they sign up. We would have to edit potentially thousands of individual requests to fix people who'd forgotten to request fic, and that's just not something we have the time for. It's actually easier for us to just handmatch people who are doing other mediums.

We do really, really want you to make non-fic things! Think of it like a concierge mod service, hand delivering an appropriate assignment to you. The VIP treatment, because we're so excited about mediums.

To make your non-fic offers, please include the following in your email:

1. The username you are signing up with.

(If you're also signing up with a sock, you can put information for both accounts in one email.)

2. A list of usernames of participants who are requesting something you can make.

For each username, include:

  • What relationship-field tag you can create for
  • What medium tag(s) you can create for.

We need the info about relationship field tags and medium tags not because you will be obligated to create that exact thing, but because we will double check during matching that the recipient we’re matching you to is still requesting what you need. We will check that your match hasn’t, for example, removed the ship and medium you said you can create from their request.

Please do not skip giving us usernames! Matching you by hand to a specific username is super easy and quick, and anyway since we're making you email us we want to give you an assignment you'll definitely be happy with. You will not be obligated to create the exact tags you've told us you can create for your recip.

Other Notes

You can update your offers by emailing us again if things change during the sign up period.

You will probably find the automagic app helpful for finding recipients, as it lets you search requests by medium.

FAQ: How to Use the Auto-App

How do I use the automagic app to look at requests?

Follow the link to the app above. The "Grouped Requests" tab defaults to showing requests grouped by fandom. You can use the "Filter" field on that tag to search the fandoms so you don't need to scroll through all of them to find the one you're looking for. You can group by other fields, or you can use the "Search All Requests" to do advanced searching, like searching for a request that has a certain combination of fandom and medium.

How do I use the automagic app to find recipients if I plan to make things that aren't fic?

To find medium matches, go to FIAB's Automagic App and then do one of these things:

  • Browse by fandom and look at all the stuff in each fandom, if you're open to creating a lot of different mediums
  • Change the "Group By" drop down to "Freeform" to browse by length/medium opt-in.
  • Go to the "Search All Requests" tab and use the filters there to search in more detail. For example, you could put "Star Wars" in the fandom field and "Art" in the freeform field and you will be shown all requests that have "Star Wars" in the fandom and at least one medium tag with "Art"
  • If you want to give your recip a specific medium, check to see if they've opted into the tag you're thinking of making.

Do I need to search use the Optional Tags field to search for mediums?

No, for FIAB's version of the app all Optional Tags are counted as freeforms and included in searches of the "Freeform" field, so you can just search that one field!

Is there a way to bookmark things on the automagic app?

Yes, there is! While sign-ups are open, you can browse requests and use the heart icon next to fandoms to create a bookmark for a whole fandom. Once sign-ups close, you can use the heart button to bookmark specific prompts/requests.

grundyscribbling: anariel's crest (anariel)
grundyscribbling ([personal profile] grundyscribbling) wrote2025-08-17 09:54 pm

Day 17 - Preparing To Make An Entrance

Title: Preparing To Make An Entrance
Author: Grundy
Rating: FR13
Crossover: LotR/Silmarillion
Summary: Anariel doesn't mind another round of Tirion. It's the getting there that's bothersome.
Word Count:  1065
Note: Rushing a bit to try to get Anariel back to Tirion. (She'll be other places too, but there's something I'd like to get to this month that I don't want to come out of left field...)  Also a few days behind cross-posting.

ExpandPreparing To Make An Entrance )
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-08-17 08:37 pm
Entry tags:

Affordable Housing

Small Changes With Big Impacts in Dallas

On April 23, the Dallas City Council did something worth paying attention to.
They voted unanimously to approve a change to the city’s building code that allows up to eight dwelling units in three-story buildings under a modified version of the International Residential Code (IRC).



Multiplexes and small apartment buildings belong to the "missing middle" of affordable housing.  They mix well with freestanding homes, particularly if you put them on the larger corner lots of a block.  Imagine a block of mostly 2-3 bedroom houses with the corners holding a couple of small apartment buildings or multiplexes and a couple of bigger 4+ bedroom houses that could be for large families, sharehouses, boarding houses, etc.  And some of those single-family homes could also have a garage apartment or a home business on the porch or garage.  Such blocks exist in many of the towns near me, and they are awesome.
shadowkat: (Looking Outwards - Tessa)
shadowkat ([personal profile] shadowkat) wrote2025-08-17 11:30 am
Entry tags:

Superman 2025: Gods & Monsters (Review)

Much like The Fantastic Four film - I was on the fence about seeing this film. It had mixed reviews, and I didn't exactly love the last few Superman films I'd seen. Also, James Gunn's last cinematic effort, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol III gave me a headache. (Although I'm thinking that may have been more of a Star Lord and Rocket issue than a Gunn issue.)

As you may or may not know, Superman 2025 is the eleventh Superman film in a long and winding series of films, dating back to 1948, with the most recent being Zack Snyder's highly controversial Man of Steel (2013). (That's not including all the television serials and animated films and serials.) Superman was originally created by two Jewish immigrants way back in 1938 - when fascism was on the rise in Europe, and Hitler was in the midst of persecuting the Jews. They created Superman as a sort of inspiring hero during those dark times, he was an immigrant to the US, an alien, who was kind and helped others no matter what. A beacon of hope.

I've seen various people in comics and in film try to do a more nihilistic take on the character of Superman or a nihilistic commentary on the character - and it never quite works for me. I understand the desire to do it - and why a lot of folks don't like the original version, but Superman at his core is a hopeful character and a kind one. What lies at the center of the Superman story, at its very core, is hope. Get away from that - you lose the story. If you veer too far away from that - you are kind of losing who the character is and why, which is what happened with the previous take on the character, and why Gunn for the most part wisely goes back to the source material and the Salkind's version. It's worth noting that Gunn cleverly references both Salkind's take on Superman and Snyder's. Snyder's science fiction take, and version of Lex is kind of melded with Salkind's.

Superman 2025 directed by James Gunn, written by James Gunn, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster - is the first film in James Gunn's Gods and Monsters arc for DC's rebooted film verse. Clocking in at just over two hours, it clicks by at a good pace, and I didn't notice the time fly by, but, there are one or two fight scenes I'd have trimmed, but I feel that way about most action films.

It's important to note that unlike all the previous films, with the exception of sequels, this does not start with Superman's origin story. It starts in the middle of story - Superman has lost a major battle, his first, the film tells us why and what later on. A lot of action happens before the film even begins. We're in the middle of it and it works, because we've all seen the origin tale multiple times, over twenty to be exact, so it's not really needed. They refer to it, we're told what it is, so in case you were hiding under the proverbial rock for the last 80 years, you know.

Unlike the Fantastic Four Film - this film is harder to discuss without substantive spoilers. I tried, I gave up.
Expandspoilers )

All that aside? I loved the movie. It kept to the core values of the source material, and the original intent of the writers. The filmmakers told their story with just the right amount of humor, and humility. And it put a smile on my face. Lifted my spirits. And gave me hope.

After watching it, I had an overwhelming urge to break into a jig and cheer, instead I just posted online that I loved it to little bitty pieces. I enjoyed it so much, that I've watched it twice now. And will most likely down load the soundtrack to listen to - tomorrow at work.

It also taught me a valuable lesson - be careful with reviews or read them with discretion. Many of the reviews I read turned me off of the film - leading me to believe, erroneously so, that it was too busy, head-ache inducing, with a low-brow and crude sense of humor. This couldn't be further from the truth. I don't know what film they saw? But it wasn't the same film I saw - and I've watched it twice now.

Reviewers, myself included, are human and tend to critique the film through their own lens. We often tell a story with an agenda in mind, either hidden or overt, and that includes reviews. I've learned, the hard way, not to determine what to watch, read or listen to based solely on someone else's view of it. More often than not, I have to see it for myself. We never see the same films as others do, because we see them filtered through our own mind and baggage. And more often than not, we only see what we want to see.
Movie News and Discussion ([syndicated profile] moviessubreddit_feed) wrote2025-08-18 12:18 am

A Case for Keeping Physical Media.

Posted by /u/FosterMomOfDragons

Streaming services are getting to be such a pain that they create a new argument for keeping physical media available. Every so often, a popular movie or show "leaves" a particular service, and fans panic. Other services sneak ad breaks into inappropriate moments in movies to frustrate viewers into paying extra to "go ad-free". If you own a physical copy, you only pay for it once; you will always have access, regardless of which streaming service it moves to, and you can watch ad-free without incurring additional costs. If it's a movie or show that you really love and want to enjoy on your own terms, having the DVD or Blu-ray is the way to go.

submitted by /u/FosterMomOfDragons
[link] [comments]
Movie News and Discussion ([syndicated profile] moviessubreddit_feed) wrote2025-08-18 12:15 am

What's a well-made movie wholesome movie that is aimed at adults?

Posted by /u/AmigoDelDiabla

Typically wholesome, feelgood movies have more child oriented content. Or, some of them are just so incredibly bad that despite its intentions, it's hardly watchable.

An example that comes to mind is The Intern with DeNiro and Anne Hathaway. Not a kids movie, just something I left feeling good about. Ditto on the movie Nonnas.

Doesn't need to be groundbreaking cinema or movies of epic proportions. Just quality, adult-oriented feel good movies.

What's yours?

submitted by /u/AmigoDelDiabla
[link] [comments]
ysabetwordsmith: (moment of silence)
ysabetwordsmith ([personal profile] ysabetwordsmith) wrote2025-08-17 08:12 pm

Moment of Silence: Terence Stamp

Famous actor Terence Stamp has passed away. He was best known for his role in two Superman movies ("Kneel before Zod!") but performed in many other roles as well.


Carry on the Work:

Acting -- how to articles from wikiHow

The Creative Writer's Ultimate Guide to Science Fantasy

How to Study Voice Acting: A Step-by-Step Guide


garryowen: made by signe (Default)
garryowen ([personal profile] garryowen) wrote in [community profile] fancake2025-08-17 08:12 pm

Star Trek AOS: the warp and weft of your being by tardigradeschool

Fandom: Star Trek Reboot/AOS
Pairings/Characters: Kirk/Spock
Rating: Teen
Length: 7,701
Creator Links: [archiveofourown.org profile] tardigradeschool
Theme: Marriage of convenience

Summary: When getting legally married to Spock is the only way to keep him on the ship, Jim is more than willing to do so. (In fact, upon reflection, it turns out that there are very few things he wouldn't do for Spock.)

Reccer's Notes: Okay, normally, I would not rec a story with 9,000 kudos. First, because that story does not need any help. Second, I usually hate stories with 9,000 kudos. But guess what. I love this story THAT MUCH, and, as our mod, Punk, helpfully pointed out, MAYBE SOME OF YOU HAVE NOT READ THIS. It was posted in 2016, long after much of the Reboot fever had passed (at least for me); I feel glad to have discovered it. Therefore, let me tell you about it.

In this story, Spock is offered a captaincy, which he can't refuse without suffering career consequences. Jim is devastated by the thought of losing his first officer. Fortunately, Spock has a proposal involving a loophole: Starfleet won't separate married crew members.

The Jim in this story is wonderfully Jim, getting his mind stuck on the regulation about public nudity because the reg number is similar to the marriage reg number. He's also delightfully clueless. In fact, this story has all the good Reboot Trek tropes and appearances by the supporting cast. I don't want to give away all the hilarious details that come up, but, despite the hilarity, there are lovely moments of emotional truth that really make this story happen for me.

I like marriage of convenience stories where the characters are already very close friends at the time of the marriage. That is the case here, with the depth of the friendship revealed to the reader in small ways throughout. And, as you might guess, this story also fits the theme "everyone thinks we're dating."

Fanwork Links: the warp and weft of your being
muccamukk: Drawing of 13 floating in space outside the TARDIS. Her speech bubble is a heart. (DW: 13 Hearts Space)
Muccamukk ([personal profile] muccamukk) wrote2025-08-17 05:29 pm

WorldCon/Hugo Awards wrap up

After the 1030 panel on Thursday, all the streams worked fine! There was one room that was cursed, and the volume was often very low, but all of the others were great as long as the panellists used the mic, and some were on Zoom so people from other countries could attend. It looks like many of them will be re-playable, also, so I can check out panels I missed.

My sister-in-law came to stay with us so we could watch panels together. It's been really fun, and I'm glad we did it.

Some highlight panels were:
Worldbuilding Through Geography and Environments
with Martha Wells, Marshall Ryan Maresca, Nicola Griffith & Paolo Bacigalupi

Diasporic Caribbean Science Fiction
with E.G. Condé, Alex V Cruz, Fabrice Guerrier, Malka Older, Suzan Palumbo, Tonya Liburd, Tonya R. Moore & Premee Mohamed

Reading by Guest of Honor Martha Wells
with previews of both Queen Demon and the Murderbot coming out next year, plus a great Q&A.

Navigating AI as an Author or Editor
with Jason Sanford, Cassie Alexander, Dr. Corey Frazier, Emily M. Bender & Neil Clarke

Feminist Futurism Versus Project 2025: An Empowering Speculative Salon
with Isis Asare, Ada Palmer, Andrea Hairston, Annalee Newitz & Charlie Jane Anders

SFF's Role in Revolution on the African Continent
with Naomi Eselojor, Gabrielle Emem Harry, Khaya Maseko, Ngozi Anuoluwa, Nkereuwem Albert & Soila Kenya

Making It Gay… or Trans, Neurodivergent, BIPOC, and More
with Atlin Merrick, Clara Ward, Hana Lee, Maeve MacLysaght & Sarah Rees Brennan

Sifting Through History
with Remy Nakamura (M), Leigh Bardugo, Natania Barron, Nisi Shawl & Paul Weimer.

I didn't take notes on anything, but could relay any impressions I have, if people want?

I did at most 1/4 of the Hugo reading/watching, and then July was such a wash that I didn't even vote, but I was pretty happy with the results. The only category I was invested in was best series, and I was delighted that Rebecca Roanhorse won for Between Earth and Sky.

Otherwise: the novella I thought was the best of the bunch won, and the novel I hated lost. I'm still cross Blackheart man wasn't shortlisted, and the nomination stats aren't out yet, so I haven't seen how far down the list it was. I'm going to be even more cross if it was just one off, and Adrian Tchaikovsky getting two slots kept it out. (I always think it's nice when an established author who already has awards declines a spot if they have two titles in the same category, since that gives a new person a chance a lot of the time, but I'm less enamoured of the idea if it turns out that it's only women declining award nominations.)

I'm also very happy for Moniquill Blackgoose, who won the Astounding (not a Hugo), and Darcie Little Badger for her Lodestar (not a Hugo).
starwatcher: Western windmill, clouds in background, trees around base. (Default)
StarWatcher ([personal profile] starwatcher) wrote2025-08-17 06:45 pm
Entry tags:

First, then second, then surprise!

 
Also -- where the hell does the time go?

Needed to do a bunch of chores this afternoon. Started early because it was thundering, and might rain.

1] Filled the cat-feeders -- one in back yard, one in garage, two in barn.

2] Changed the pump filters in pond. Discovered the pump was partially clogged with strands of feathers or grass. HOW??? That's what the filters are for, dadgummit! So took the pump apart to clean it.

[3] Did a "first-rinse" of filters, left them to soak for later cleaning.

4] The ducks (?) keep knocking the plastic planter-saucer off the second water tub. (For the little birds to perch and drink. Post for "one day.") WHY??? So I got my tools and some wire, made a couple of "hooks" to hang over opposite edges, anchored to the supporting bars below.

[5] Went down the drive to dump bags of milo seed for the birds.

[6] Took the empty bags to the garage. I stuff all the empty bags into another bag until it's full and I take it to the trash. This bag is almost full; I think these bags will be the last until I staple it shut. As I approach (I have gates over garage opening, not a door), I see an elongated dark thing on the top of the crumpled bags. I'm trying to remember what I've thrown away that meets that description, drawing a blank. Then I get closer -- about three feet away -- and it moves, raises its head! It's a snake!

I learned long ago to "startle in place" -- thanks to brothers that thought it was fun to try to spook their sisters. I took a half step back, quietly said, "Oh. My. God," and evaluated the snake. Very slender -- about 1-1/2 fingers' thickness -- and very dark, almost black, mottled pattern. Small head, with no "shovel-shape" as it attached to the neck; definitely not a rattlesnake, and this part of the country doesn't have any other venomous snakes. (Not that a rattlesnake would have changed my actions; I simply would have left faster!) It started to crawl away from me, got into a 5-gallon bucket laying sideways on the plastic bin that the bag was leaning against, turned around and headed out. Pretty long for it's slenderness -- maybe 3-1/2 feet or so.

No idea why it was on those bags; they only carried grain, nothing a snake could eat. But maybe -- probably -- mice have been checking out the empty bags, and the snake smelled that? Its head didn't look big enough to swallow a mouse, even with an unhinged jaw, but if it thinks it can, I'm all for decreasing the mouse population.

I probably don't need to say that I didn't stuff the empty grain bags into the almost-full bag; tossed them on the floor till later, and left the garage.

[7] Got into the house and discovered that 1 hour and 45 minutes had elapsed! What? How? I didn't do that much!!!

*looks over the list* Well... yes I did. Hadn't intended the need to clean the pump, or to devise a way that the ducks can't knock down the planter-saucer. But even so, the list would probably have taken 50 minutes, which just seems wrong. It's so easy to say, "Need to fill the cat-feeders, change the filters, dump bird seed." Seems like all that should take 30 minutes, at most. But there's a lot of walking between house and barn (a couple of times), or house and pond (a couple of times), and house and bird-feeding area. Still, dammit... I wonder if some psychic entity is stealing a minute here and a minute there, without me noticing, to make me take longer.

Well, that's life in rural America. Now I need to divide a batch of chili into lunch-sized portions and freeze them. Then I need to put out new fly-traps -- about 20 minutes? I'll need to time it.

I've made an executive decision -- laundry will wait until tomorrow.

I'd rather be reading fanfic. Sometimes adulting sucks.