![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
scalziwhatever_feed
I think this photo captures many things, about me, about my cat, and about the relationship between the two of us. I don’t know how much more can be said. This photo may, in fact, be perfect.
— JS
ao3_news_feed
Welcome to International Fanworks Day (IFD) Feedback Fest 2026! Feedback Fest is when we celebrate fanworks that creators have made on AO3 or elsewhere by recommending them to others and leaving comments for the creators as well.
Our theme for IFD 2026 is Alternate Universes (AUs), where we celebrate all the fun and exciting AUs that fans have created!
Want to participate in this year's Feedback Fest? Here’s how to do it!
Leave a comment under this post recommending your favorite fanworks that involve an AU. Tell everyone why you love these works and why they should check them out. You can also link to a recommendation post you've made elsewhere, or create a new recommendation post on your social media accounts using the #FeedbackFest2026 tag. Keep the diversity of fanworks in mind when making recommendations—you can share fics, podfics, fanart, zines, archives, collections, newsletters, and anything that sparks joy in you about fandom. There's many wonderful fanworks out there and we want to hear about all of them!
While going through the recommendations, it’s nice to leave feedback—comments, kudos, likes—for the creators as well! Feel free to boost the recommendations from other people that you enjoyed. This year’s Feedback Fest is all about the universes and worlds people have enjoyed placing their favorite characters in, so try and think of your favorite AU fanworks to recommend!
Start your reccing, and we’ll see you on the other side—and once again we wish you a happy #IFD2026!
The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, OTW Legal Advocacy, and Transformative Works and Cultures. We are a fan-run, donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.
scalziwhatever_feed
Nothing beats away a dreary February day like curling up with a cozy fantasy novel. Even better when that novel is a sapphic love story with iguana, cat, and mushroom people! Grab a seat by the fire and a cup of hot chocolate (or tea) and listen to author Kristina W. Kelly’s Big Idea as she shows you the magical world of Tea Tale.
KRISTINA W. KELLY:
What happens when you second guess who you are? When you begin to rethink what really defines you? What happens when your faith betrays you, lies, and hides truths?
Everything begins to crumble. Like a sea cliff battered by eons of waves.
And if you’re Divine, your magic goes haywire and you start to wonder if you can hear animals talk. You change. You become. Maybe not something new, but someone different.
The idea for Tea Tale started simple: I wanted to feature my favorite beverage—tea—, pay homage to my favorite video games (as I did with the first book in the series, Tavern Tale), and set it all in winter. Of course, I needed to carry through the subplots and address some of the unanswered questions from that first book. What emerged was a quest to sprinkle religious betrayal over a sapphic pairing within the framework of Role Playing Games (RPGs).
Divine is a healer. Or was a healer. Her path used to be clear: serve the Goddess of Souls by caring for the living. She’d influence emotions, heal wounds, shield others from harm. The teachings of her temple always seemed contradictory to the way she lived, though.
Her temple, like all the temples in Trelvania, said that non-humans—races like the Iguions (iguana-like bipeds), the Kellas (feline humanoids), and Thospori (think mushroom warriors)—couldn’t receive the blessings from the deities. Simply because they were non-human. Oh, the temples said something about how non-humans don’t have magical power, of course, so that’s why they couldn’t be on the receiving end of magic. But Divine had healed a Kellas child. She had healed an Iguion adult. She had done what was supposed to be impossible. Forbidden.
When I was growing up, I was taught that I was born evil. A child tainted and only by a blood sacrifice could I be saved from these sins I hadn’t even committed. These same people told me that because I was a woman, despite my music education degree, I couldn’t lead the church orchestra. I could help in the nursery with the babies, though. All the other jobs were for men. I was led to believe that god thought I wasn’t equal or as capable because of my gender. Those same people decreed “love your neighbor”, but showed that only counted for some of the population. Even though the greatest command was love, people couldn’t love whomever they wanted.
Whether sudden or gradual, I eventually found myself changed. I had sought experts who studied the historical context and the translations that made sense in that period, not a modern view. I discovered that sentences I had etched into my brain weren’t even in the texts we had been reading and that books were left or added depending on the particular flavor of faith. I learned about the practices of different cultures and religions and the history of the one I’d known. I found people who were exploring their spiritually like I was and discussed their journeys. And I began to explore who I was without all of the baggage, shame, and fear I’d been taught.
When the community you trusted had it wrong, how do you replace that feeling of community? These questions I’ve been asking you, reader, is what I attempted to capture in Tea Tale. Yes, Tea Tale is cozy fantasy, but with a sip of religious oppression.
The faire in Tea Tale is inspired by holiday events in MMORPGs and one of my favorite RPGs ever, Chrono Cross. There’s special games, unique items, decorations, and event food like the Millennial Fair in Chrono Cross. Divine’s tasting tea by the fire and listening to musicians. When she helps prepare the Sultry Sapphire tavern for the Midwinter Nights Faire, the notes of RPG influences really come through. I love a good quest chain in video games, where my character runs around the city helping ten people just to get five mushrooms back to the first quest-giver. Divine’s tasks become more tasks—side quests—as she also tries to find a gift for her romantic interest.
But while Divine does all of that, she’s also struggling to understand her magic when it seems to be acting contrary to what her temple taught her.
Just like I sought experts, Divine seeks experts to understand how magic really works in her world and how she connects to it. She talks to the non-humans who are, quite frankly, oppressed by the temples of Trelvania and uncovers that the truths her temples spout might not be the whole story. She grapples with what it means to have lived so many years within an organization that didn’t respect her enough to tell her the truth. And if she’s not that person, she wants to discover who she is.
Divine tackles replacing her religious community with those around her who support her without expecting something in return. Like me, she befriends those who are questioning the same ideas she is, or find friends who have never followed the temples. Ordinary people who come together to make a difference. A community and a found family.
Tea Tale focuses on people coming together during their Midwinter Nights Faire to enjoy each other, get creative through poetry and music, and spread joy through gift giving, food, and hot drinks. From Divine’s love interest, Saph, donating food to those in need, to Divine advocating for change in the way non-humans are treated, the characters find small ways to collectively be impactful. “If no one is being a voice,” Divine thinks, “then I should. Someone must do something.”
At its heart, Tea Tale is full of magic, tea, and cozy moments. One of the things I love about modern RPGs is that the games give your character the option to pick any love interest they want. The world of Tea Tale is just like that—it’s a queer normative. But just like life, there are lies and injustices to chip away at to free who we want to be.
I’m still learning every day who I am. It’s ok to change. To become different as I grow. If we can surround ourselves with love, empathy, and patience we can find our true power. We can crack the deceit wide open and find warmth and friendship. Together, we lay those broken pieces, starting a foundation where others can feel safe to be who they want to be while sipping hot tea that smells of lavender and vanilla. When faced with lies and disparity…become someone different.
Tea Tale: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|Space Wizards
scalziwhatever_feed
Yes, that’s right, the USA Today and Indie Bestseller that was also one of Amazon’s 100 Best Books of 2025, is now out in convenient trade paperback form, with a new bonus chapter: An alternate Day One which I wrote but (previously) did not use. It’s good! And a bit different. And has a cat! Because cats are cool.
Anyway, get it four yourself and buy six more for your friends and family. Saja thanks you in advance for your contribution to his Kibble Fund. It’s available wherever you choose to buy your books, and is of course also still available in ebook and audio.
— JS
scalziwhatever_feedHey, I neglected email for a bit in order to finish my book(s), including Big Idea queries, but now that they’re both in, I’m going to going to catch up with everything in the next couple of days. If you have a Big Idea query into me and haven’t heard back from me by this Friday, go ahead and resend it. Thanks.
— JS
scalziwhatever_feed
Would you believe that I also completed another book since yesterday? This one is Couch Cinema: Comfort Watches from The Godfather to K-Pop Demon Hunters, a non-fiction collection of essays. No, I didn’t use “AI” or anything, I would never do that, you deserve better as readers. It’s a collection of my December Comfort Watches essays from December of 2023 and 2025, collected up in a nice single volume. I put them all together, did a light edit, added an intro, and sent it off to my agent.
As it happens, this is the first book I’ve done in years that isn’t already spoken for contractually, so we’ll see if we get any nibbles for it. If not, hey, Scalzi Enterprises was designed for just this sort of project in mind, and I wouldn’t have a problem using it as a test case to see if boutique publishing is something we have the bandwidth for. I would have to come up with a name for the imprint. We’ll find out!
Anyway. Two books in, and it’s only February. I can take the rest of the year off, right? Right?!?
— JS
scalziwhatever_feed
And what is Monsters of Ohio? Why, it’s my 20th(!) novel.
What’s it about? Well, if the title is to be trusted, it’s about monsters! In Ohio!
How would I describe it? Two words: “Cozy Cronenberg.”
When can you have it? November this year.
I like it. I hope you’ll like it too.
More to come about this. Stay tuned.
— JS
ao3_news_feed
February 15 is almost here, and it’s time to get ready for the 12th annual International Fanworks Day (IFD)! This year’s theme is Alternate Universes (AUs), and in honor of #IFD2026, the OTW has quite a few activities planned to celebrate with all of you. Check out the list below to find out how you can get involved!
We also invited you to send us your community events for this IFD, so in addition to what we're doing, here are some fan-led events:
The Fandom Melodies, Intertwined Edition
(in English, some small parts in other languages allowed)
This event is already running, and ends on February 28. You can submit entries in any form, though written material is preferred.
You can learn more on their event information page.
Hey, Sweetheart
(in any language)
This all-fandom fic & art fest will run from February 13 to February 15, and you can submit works in any language.
You can learn more on their event information page.
FebUcomment
This event will run from February 1 to February 28. It's meant to motivate people to comment more on fic (new and older!), especially since February is the month with the lowest amount of commenting! There are multiple challenges and there are also fun things one can do to spice up their comment a little!
You can learn more on their event information page.
Lov bobříků s Fanpolis
(in Czech and Slovak)
This event will run from February 16 to February 22, and is all about editing Fanpolis' fandom encyclopedia.
You can learn more on their event information page.
Glory of the Fanworks
(in any language)
This event will run from February 15 to February 28. You can participate however you like, and there will be a set of questions provided for people to reminisce about and share their fandom experience!
You can learn more on their event information page.
Thank you so much for being a part of our fan community throughout the year. See you at #IFD2026!
The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, OTW Legal Advocacy, and Transformative Works and Cultures. We are a fan-run, donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.
scalziwhatever_feed
Though I’ve followed Nadia’s Healthy Kitchen on Instagram for years, I’m not entirely certain I’ve ever actually made anything from her before. I am not vegan, gluten-free, or overly worried about sugar being in my baked goods, so I’m not entirely sure why I wanted to make these “healthy,” vegan, gluten-free, no-bake peanut butter and chocolate brownie batter bark bars, but I did! And now I’m here to tell you how difficult they were to make, and if they’re any good.
To start things off, let’s look at the video she posted that I saw:
You know, that didn’t look too hard! Here’s the recipe so you can follow along while we take a look at the ingredients list.
Despite having King Arthur’s measure-for-measure gluten-free flour in my pantry, this recipe did not call for 1-to-1 gluten-free flour, and instead calls for oat flour and ground almonds.
Now, you might notice a typo in the recipe in the measurements section. Nadia mentions ground almonds four times in the post leading up to the written recipe, and once in the instructions portion of the recipe, but makes the mistake of typing “ground oats” right below “oat flour” in the measurements. One of the comments on her recipe actually points this out, as well.
Moving on, I did not have oat flour or ground almonds, but I did have the cocoa powder, maple syrup, peanut butter, coconut oil, dark chocolate, and, of course, salt. So there I found myself in Kroger’s baking aisle buying Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten-Free Oat Flour which is different than their Whole-Grain Oat Flour which is not gluten-free, and their Super-Fine Almond Flour (not their Natural Almond Flour, but that one is also gluten-free). I know the recipe says ground almonds, but I figured since the almond flour is basically just really finely ground almonds it’d be like the same thing, right?
Thankfully, this recipe is measured by weight, so this ended up being a very easy, one bowl recipe in which I just dumped all the ingredients in and measured by weight the entire time (except the 2 tbsp of coconut oil and 2 tbsp of peanut butter that are separate for the ganache). You literally just weigh it out and mix it all together, easy peasy!
After mixing the “dough” together (I don’t know if it’s technically considered a dough. What are the qualifications of a dough?), you just roll it out into a thin rectangle and pour the melted chocolate and peanut butter over top, then freeze it just long enough to solidify it enough to cut into bars.
I was genuinely surprised how quick and easy this recipe was, and it’s honestly not very many ingredients. Obviously the oat flour is something that not everyone just has on hand, but if you are gluten-free then maybe that’s more of a common household ingredient for you and this would actually be super convenient for you to whip up.
Okay, so it wasn’t hard and didn’t take very long, but it did it actually taste good? Well, honestly, I quite liked it! I wouldn’t be so bold as to claim that it tastes exactly like a fresh-baked, full-sugar, non-vegan brownie, but it definitely is rich and chocolatey, with some nice flavor from the peanut butter and a melt-in-your-mouth texture. One thing I really like about them is that it can feel like gluten-free treats are always super dry and crumbly, but these are pretty fudgy and not like crumbly sand.
Honestly they look just like they do in the video, and I’m happy I gave them a whirl. I wouldn’t say they’re life-changing, but if you have a gluten-free person in your life you want to whip up a treat for, these might be a really good option.
Final note, the chocolate ganache gets pretty melty at room temp, so I recommend keeping these bad boys in a container in the fridge.
Do you like using measure-for-measure gluten-free flour for your GF recipes, or do you prefer recipes that have flour alternatives like this one? Do you like the addition of the peanut butter, or do you wish this recipe were also nut-free (then I guess the almonds would be out, too)? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!
-AMS
scalziwhatever_feed
It’s February, again, and look! The groundhog brought a bunch of books with him! What here would you like to keep with you during the coldest part of the year? Share in the comments!
— JS
ao3_news_feed
What do the country of Portugal, the city of Seoul, and the Archive of Our Own (AO3) have in common? They are all home to more than 10 million people! That's right: AO3 has surpassed 10 million registered users this month! We at the Organisation for Transformative Works (OTW) are delighted to share this incredible milestone with you.
Even as the community is growing year by year, the active exchange of creations and ideas between fans remains as a cornerstone of fan culture. Whether it's gifting each other fanfic, recording a podfic of your favorite story, or putting together a reclist of fics—no fandom thrives without the myriad ways fans share their passion with one another. In today's world, where ideas are just one more commodity, and content is curated for maximum revenue, it's more important than ever to appreciate and celebrate these aspects of fan spaces.
One way to let other fans know you appreciate the love and hard work they pour into their creations is commenting on their work. In celebration of this milestone, we have prepared a Bingo all about comments! Below you can find the bingo cards in both a square and vertical format.
You can fill out as many bingo squares as you want—the more comments, the merrier! Let us know on this post or on social media which Bingos you scored.
Happy commenting, and a huge thank you to everyone who helped us reach this milestone!
The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, OTW Legal Advocacy, and Transformative Works and Cultures. We are a fan-run, donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.
scalziwhatever_feedOne of my favorite sakes of all time is Ozeki’s Hana Awaka Sparkling Flower Sake. At a low 7% ABV and a beautifully light slightly sweet bubbly flavor, it is truly a treat to sip on alongside some sushi. Plus, it comes in a super cute 250ml pink labeled bottle. A perfect serving for one person!
So, this past week, while perusing my local Japanese goods store in the next town over, I looked at their small sake collection and saw Ozeki’s Hana Awaka Sparkling Yuzu sake in the classic 250ml bottle, except this time it was in a yellow label to match the yuzu flavor.
I was honestly really excited to try this flavor since I adore their flower flavor so much, and the yuzu flavor was an even lower alcohol content than the flower so I imagined the flavor being even nicer.
I didn’t really care for this sake! It just tasted too much like lemon Pledge. I was hoping for a light, refreshing, bubbly citrus flavor that wasn’t overwhelming or too artificial, but sadly it was just kind of disappointing and definitely artificial tasting.
It tasted more like a 20% ABV lemon liquor than a 5% sparkling sake. It just was kind of hard to drink, unlike the flower flavor which is very easy, nice sipping. They also have a mixed berry flavor and a peach flavor that I would love to try, but haven’t seen anywhere before. Interestingly enough, the place that I first tried the flower flavor was at Sky Asian at their 9-year anniversary lunch.
Sadly, the yuzu flavor was just not up to par, and I will probably not re-buy it. If I see either of the other two flavors, I will be sure to check them out and let y’all know my thoughts!
Have you tried Ozeki sake before? According to their website, they have plenty of other types of sake besides their sparkling ones. I’d love to try some of their Junmai Daiginjo. How do you feel about sparkling sake? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!
-AMS
scalziwhatever_feed
A good beside manner makes all the difference in your medical care. So how polite could a robot doctor or AI nurse be? Justin C. Key makes the argument that human connection in medicine is an absolute requirement, and empathy should be all the rage amongst hospital staff. He took this attitude into the creation of his newest novel, The Hospital at the End of the World. Grab you insurance card and come see how connection and community are some of the best medicines.
JUSTIN C. KEY:
It’s hard to keep your humanity in medical training.
It’s a potent thought considering the AI war brewing. We have a process of training doctors that desensitizes, burns-out, and enforces systemic biases. If we’re training people to be robots, why not let the actual robots do it better?
In crafting this book, I set out to make a case for the opposite.
I’m a science fiction author who happened to go to medical school for the same reason I’m drawn to writing: the belief in the inherent value of human connection. I learned early in my medical journey that our healthcare system makes it very difficult to uphold this value. Physicians are overworked, bogged down in red tape, swimming upstream against a for-profit insurance system, and have too many patients and not enough time.
Then there’s the training itself. I didn’t like medical school. I didn’t like the hierarchy. I didn’t like the glorification of battle scars. I didn’t like the environment that pushed my classmate to suicide just months before graduation. Though my alma mater did great work in teaching the art of medicine and the importance of being with your patient, the core culture remained.
It wasn’t until I’d gotten my degree, had some years of autonomous patient care under my belt, and had the chance to process my experiences through my writing that I realized how magical it is to become a healer. No, not in an elitist or ‘holier than thou’ way. But the privilege to build a partnership meant to enhance a human life and, in a lot of cases, save it.
My first novel follows young medical student Pok Morning. There’s the premise you’ll get on the jacket cover and in the pitches and in the interviews—AI vs medicine, who will prevail?!—but as the larger, existential battle rages on, Pok still has to navigate the brutal process of becoming a doctor. How could I strike the balance between my perceived experience and later reflections? I was also asking a deeper, more introspective question: how did I come out of training valuing human connection so much when the process could have very well stripped me of that?
The importance for humanity in medicine isn’t a given. With delivery and mobile apps, we are more and more disconnected from the people with whom we exchange services. And one can’t deny that there are some tasks a cold, calculated machine might be suited for. Even then, usually the best result comes from a pairing with human intuition. I wouldn’t knowingly get on a plane that didn’t have both an experienced pilot and a functional autopilot computer system. Would you?
And then there’s the risks of having a human in the driver’s seat. Computers can’t drink and drive. They can’t be distracted by texting. They can’t forget to check a burn victim’s throat for soot just because a cooler case rolled by in the ER (yes, I literally just rewatched THAT Grey’s Anatomy episode).
And thus winning the war of AI vs medicine is less about showing the flaws of AI (and trust, there are many and if I were an AI I’d make up a fake statistic to prove that point) but rather in making the case for humanity’s value. The most rewarding part of medicine—certainly for me and I suspect a lot of my colleagues who still hold hope—is helping someone by tapping into our own human parts. Empathy. Perspective. Community. This power is separate from outcomes. The task is easiest (and possibly even in AI’s reach) when the treatment worked and the patient improved. But what about when things go wrong? What about delivering bad news? What about being with someone during the hardest part of their life? There’s value in being seen and heard by another human. if a generated likeness said and did everything right, I’d bet that, for the patient, the experience would be as rewarding as watching a robot win the Olympics (in any category).
And yet . . . our healthcare system leaves little space for quality time between physician and patient. Those seeking help are left feeling unheard, underprioritized, and scrambling for alternative solutions. I fear that AI is going to come in and fill in these gaps (ChatGPT therapist, anyone?). Which is a shame because technology is supposed to relieve a physician’s burden and create more time for deeper connection, not eliminate it altogether. That dichotomy fuels the background of this book. Pok learns the ‘hard way’ of doing medicine while discovering its value.
There’s a moment early on in Pok’s medical school career where he doesn’t do as well as he hoped and feels he’s the only one. That everyone else is doing fine while he struggles. It’s a horrible place to be. I know because I’ve been there. But as the author of Pok’s world, I was able to imagine what it would look like to be lifted up from that, to have such disappointment strengthen community, resolve, and humility. The same way no one gets through illness alone, no one becomes a physician in isolation. The experiences that shape do so through the social lens.
Connection begets connection and that’s why it’s essential that medical education doesn’t exist in a bubble. There’s various levels of socialization, from peer to peer (Pok and his classmates), mentee to mentor (Pok and his professors) and, at some point, mentor to mentee (the student becomes the teacher). Like much of life, these interactions can go well or they can be stressful. They can build up or tear down. The types of community one experiences while becoming a physician can very much inform what they will recreate with their own patients.
The type of medicine I created in The Hospital at the End of the World reflects what I strive to achieve as a physician. How did I put it on the page? By combining the essentials from my own experiences with what I hope will change for future generations of student doctors. Pok, and hopefully my readers, are better for it.
The Hospital at the End of the World: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|The Rep Club
ao3_news_feed
2025 was a busy year for AO3! The site continued to see rising traffic, with Communications publishing an update on AO3 statistics from 2020-2025. In December, Support received 3,589 tickets, totaling to over 40,000 tickets received in 2025, an all-time high. Meanwhile, Policy & Abuse (PAC) received 6,357 tickets in December, totaling approximately 47,500 tickets in 2025. Check out PAC's pie chart for more details.
In the first half of January, User Response Translation translated or betaed 32 ticket requests from Support and PAC.
Open Doors finished importing three archives in December: Absolution - The Inugrrrl Memorial Archive about the manga InuYasha, InDeath.net Fan Fiction about the In Death book series by J.D. Robb, and The Pinky and the Brain Page about the cartoon Pinky and the Brain. In total, Open Doors completed the imports of nine archives in 2025! They also announced the import of the Randall Morgan Memorial Archive, a Queer as Folk (US) fanfiction archive by the creator Randall Morgan.
In December, Tag Wrangling wrangled approximately 598,000 tags, or around 1,300 tags per volunteer. In total, they wrangled approximately 4,944,000 tags in 2025. They also continued work on handling "No Fandom" additional tags, publishing December and January news posts detailing recent changes. In total, Tag Wrangling published nine "No Fandom"-related news posts in 2025 covering around 399 new canonical "No Fandom" additional tags.
Accessibility, Design & Technology coordinated improvements to bookmark searches in the latter half of January, including the ability to filter bookmarks by word count. They also continue their work on performance improvements, bug fixes, and working with PAC and AO3's spam detection service to address spam comments. In conjunction with Communications, they posted a December 2025 update on how to recognize and report AO3 spambots.
In January, Tag Wrangling updated their Fandom Tag Metatag guidelines, including clarifying when a fandom metatag should be made and when to merge closely related fandoms into one fandom tag. Check out the news post detailing the new policy.
As part of International Volunteers Day (IVD) 2025, Communications collected and batched answers to the IVD Q&A by committee, resulting in five committee-specific news posts highlighting Communications, Support, Tag Wrangling, Translation, and Volunteers & Recruiting. Answers across committees, along with additional responses not featured in the news posts, have been compiled in a separate AO3 work.
Fanlore ran an editing chat to close out 2025, and it was a lot of fun! They also began preparing for their annual IFD Fanlore Challenge and Femslash February event! Keep an eye on their Bluesky, Twitter/X, and Tumblr for announcements.
Legal answered many internal and external questions this month.
TWC is readying the publication of the two 2026 special issues: "Disability and Fandom" and "Gaming Fandom". They also continue work on the two 2027 special issues: "Music Fandom" and "Latin American Fandoms", and there continues to be a rolling deadline for submitting to TWC’s next general issue.
In January, Communications' Fanhackers wrote about the Transformative Approaches to Fan Identity, and they began a multi-post survey of acafannish research and publishing resources.
In December, Board announced the resignations of two directors: Kathryn Solderholm and Erica Frank. We would like to thank Erica and Kathryn for their service as members of the Board, and wish them all the best in their future endeavours with the OTW.
In January, Board finalized and approved the OTW Procurement & Purchasing Policy. They and the Board Assistants Team (BAT) organised the first quarter of 2026 public Board meeting on January 18 which had 54 attendees. Minutes of this meeting will be available soon on the OTW website. Elsewhere, Board and BAT continued work on document review and archiving board statements, Code of Conduct tasks in conjunction with Organizational Culture Roadmap, and ongoing projects for mental health resources for volunteers, scheduling tools, public meeting best practices and volunteer retention in BAT. BAT also updated their OTW website committee page.
Organizational Culture Roadmap finalized a confidentiality policy in preparation for upcoming external recruitment.
In December, Volunteers & Recruiting thanked all OTW volunteers on International Volunteer Day with their organization-wide email and graphics campaign. In January, they ran recruitment for Open Doors.
From November 22 to January 23, Volunteers & Recruiting received 355 new requests, and completed 378, leaving them with 52 open requests (including induction and removal tasks listed below). As of January 23, 2025, the OTW has 1,013 volunteers. \o/ Recent personnel movements are listed below.
New Subcommittee Leads/Workgroup Heads: Eevee (Internal Complaint and Conflict Resolution Lead) and megidola (Organizational Culture Roadmap Workgroup Head)
New AO3 Documentation Volunteers: Lulu S (Chair Trainee)
New Fanlore Volunteers: Elfie, Konsta Morales, Watts, and 1 other Graphic Designer
New Open Doors Volunteers: Addiebees, AviLine, feelyx, LeighR, Marie K, meservey66, MetaKass, miffmiff, Mort, pinkconstellations, SleepyJane, Spit, StormySea, Truendz, Vail, and 11 other Import Assistants
New Policy & Abuse Volunteers: megidola (Supervisor) and 1 Chair Track Volunteer
New Tag Wrangling Volunteers: Chelsea Cheyanne, inspiredstork, Sanity, will, and Yrindor (Supervisors)
New Translation Volunteers: Rhine and 1 other Chair Trainee; Arushi, athursdayschild, Eirinar, Linarii, Mira8, Niki K, Phoebe B, Pi, Rita P, and 12 other Translators
New TWC Volunteers: Fiona M, Yumi, and 3 other Layout Editors; and 2 Outreach and Communications Editors
New User Response Translation Volunteers: Eki, f0f8ff, HARRitte, Jules R, Laus, PanPan, rosings, zoy zauce, and 3 other Translators
Departing Directors: Erica Frank and Kathryn Soderholm
Departing Committee Chairs: 1 Communications Chair and 1 Elections Chair
Departing BAT Volunteers: 1 Volunteer
Departing Communications Volunteers: KW Ukuku (TikTok Moderator), Lori P (Graphics Volunteer), 1 Fanhacker Volunteer, and 1 Social Media Moderator
Departing Communications News Post Moderation Volunteers: 1 News Post Moderator
Departing Development & Membership Volunteers: 1 Graphic Designer, 2 Membership Data Specialists, and 2 Volunteers
Departing Fanlore Volunteers: 1 Discord Moderator, 1 Outreach Analyst, and 1 Policy & Admin
Departing Open Doors Volunteers: Pelagia and 1 other Administrative Volunteer, Wynne (Import Assistant), and 1 FCPP Intern
Departing Policy & Abuse Volunteers: 1 Volunteer
Departing Strategic Planning Volunteers: 1 Volunteer
Departing Support Volunteers: Nary and 22 other Volunteers
Departing Tag Wrangling Volunteers: Nary and 1 other Supervisor; Asas Carmesins, Bruno, Eevee, lianneder, Lily_Haydee_Lohdisse, McBangle, Sayornis, Tea Huimyni, and 10 other Wranglers
Departing Translation Volunteers: Teelee (Task Assistant); Illiterations and 4 Translators
Departing TWC Volunteers: Melanie Kohnen (Review Editor); Courtney Lazore and 1 other Proofreader; and 1 Symposium Editor
Departing User Response Translation Volunteers: 1 Translator
Departing Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteers: 1 Senior Volunteer and 2 Volunteers
For more information about our committees and their regular activities, you can refer to the committee pages on our website.
The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, OTW Legal Advocacy, and Transformative Works and Cultures. We are a fan-run, donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.
scalziwhatever_feed
Me (peering at the painting on my dentist’s waiting room wall): This painting is new since the last time I was here.
Dentist: Probably.
Me: And done by the star of the Terminator films!
Dentist: What?
Me (points to the signature in the corner of the painting): Linda Hamilton.
Dentist: Dude, shut up.
For the record: Probably indeed not that Linda Hamilton. Probably also not the two Linda Hamiltons I found online who are primarily artists. One of them does “flower art” while the other does more abstract paintings. Her signature doesn’t match this one here. But in my deepest of hearts I will believe that my dentist has a painting of ducks and ponds done by the celebrated actress. Because life is more fun that way.
— JS
scalziwhatever_feedTo be clear, I did not expect to find myself in the Epstein Files, inasmuch as I have neither ever met nor have ever communicated with Jeffrey Epstein, nor do I hang out with the sort of people who find themselves on the private planes or islands of known sexual traffickers of children — a fact I’m deeply relieved about, if you want the truth of it.
Nevertheless when I learned that the database of the files is searchable, I put “Scalzi” in it to see what would pop up. I expected — and thus was not surprised by — several references to that name, because a banker with that last name handled some of Trump’s accounts at Deutsche Bank several years ago (no relation, as far as I know). But one of the references is indeed to me: Writer Rachel Sklar referenced me in an article she wrote in 2013, which is in the files for some reason, I assume because someone forwarded it to someone else in an email.
And, look: If one must have the appalling fortune to be in the Epstein Files, a one-sentence reference to an essay one wrote, located within another essay, neither about a topic that has anything to do with the exploitation of children, is almost certainly the best-case scenario. But it doesn’t mean I didn’t look at the reference when it popped up and say “oh, fuck” to myself. What a wild, unsettling and unhappy context in which to find one’s self.
So why mention it at all? One, because when people inevitably come across that reference to me in the files and email me about it, I can point them to this as a way to say “Yup, seen it, what a weird fucking thing that is” without having to type it out every single time. Two, I have enough detractors out there that one or more of them will loudly proclaim to their little pals that I am in the Epstein Files, and then slide past the actual context of being referred to tangentially, rather than being an actual participant in atrocities. Pointing this out before they do gives me “first mover” advantage, and the ability to point out what my appearance is actually about. This won’t stop some of them from misrepresenting my appearance, but that’s because they’re sad little weenies. Here’s the actual file I’m in. You can see it for yourself.
Nevertheless, a declaration:
I trust that will make my position on Epstein and his party pals clear enough.
What a strange and unpleasant time we are living through, nor are we out of it. And once again I have cause to marvel at the weirdness of my own life, that I should show up, even as an aside, as part of one of most horrible political scandals in US history. I would have just as soon sat this one out. But since I can’t, at least I can tell you how I got there.
— JS
scalziwhatever_feed
Last week, I was having a serious craving for some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies. Between the weather and the world, I really felt like a cookie would help improve my morale.
So, I decided to try out Half Baked Harvest’s recipe for what she calls “Really Good Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies.” Let’s get right into the process of making them and how they turned out!
Looking at the ingredients list, it’s pretty clear that these are definitely pretty standard cookies made with just everyday household items. Sugar (white and brown), flour, eggs, butter, some vanilla, chocolate, it’s all the usual suspects. Thankfully I didn’t have to go out and buy anything, I could just get right into baking.
The first thing to do was to brown the butter. I was surprised by this step because usually if browning butter is required in a recipe, the food blogger will include such information in the title of the recipe. Like, if I make Binging With Babish’s brown butter chocolate chunk cookies with flaky sea salt, I make a point to mention allll of that.
Anyways, I browned the butter and let it cool off for just a bit while I mixed together the sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Normally I use a stand mixer, but the recipe says that all you need is a bowl and a whisk, and really don’t need an electric mixer. I decided to follow in the spirit of the recipe and keep things simple. Simple ingredients, simple equipment.
After adding the butter (which was still melted but not hot so I didn’t cook the eggs), it was finally time to add the dry ingredients. The recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, and pretty much the second I put in the two cups, I could tell that it was too much flour.
I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I packed the measuring cups too full of flour, resulting in extra unaccounted for flour in the mix. I’ll have you know I am a pro, and I spoon all the flour into the measuring cup, resulting in a nice, loose cup of flour rather than a tightly packed one. So it wasn’t my fault (this time, anyway).
The dough immediately became very dry and crumbly, and wouldn’t hold any type of ball shape. It would crumble apart so easily that the dough wasn’t even retaining any of the chocolate chips, they would just fall out.
I knew there was only one thing to do (besides cry and throw the bowl of cookie dough off a cliff). I was going to have to press all the dough into a 9×13 and make cookie bars.
I wasn’t sure how to adjust the cooking time for that, but I figured the initial temperature of 350 would be okay, so I put them in and basically eyeballed them until they were done, which took less than twenty minutes, I think. Here’s what they looked like:
Honestly, they didn’t look too bad! They were pretty okay right out of the oven, but as they cooled they quickly got harder and harder, until eventually all I had was a pan full of chocolate chip bricks. I can only assume it’s from how dry the dough was due to all the flour, but these were definitely more like biscotti. Certainly no “chewy chocolate chip cookie” in sight.
I was definitely a little disappointed, but at least they tasted pretty good and could be slightly softened in the microwave, then washed down with a nice, cold glass of milk.
Do you like cookie bars? Is chocolate chip your favorite type of cookie? Let me know in the comments, and have a great day!
-AMS
neilgaiman_feedIt’s been a while since I've posted anything anywhere, but I didn't want to let any more time go by without thanking everyone for all your kind messages of support over the last year and a half.
I've learned firsthand how effective a smear campaign can be, so to be clear:
The allegations against me are completely and simply untrue. There are emails, text messages and video evidence that flatly contradict them.
These allegations, especially the really salacious ones, have been spread and amplified by people who seemed a lot more interested in outrage and getting clicks on headlines rather than whether things had actually happened or not. (They didn't.)
One thing that's kept me going through all this madness is the conviction that the truth would, eventually, come out. I expected that when the allegations were first made there would be journalism, and that the journalism would take the (mountains of) evidence into account, and was astonished to see how much of the reporting was simply an echo chamber, and how the actual evidence was dismissed or ignored.
I was a journalist once, and I have enormous respect for journalists, so I've been hugely heartened by the meticulous fact and evidence-based investigative writing of one particular journalist, whom some of you recently brought to my attention, who writes under the name of TechnoPathology.
I've had no contact with TechnoPathology. But I'd like to thank them personally for actually looking at the evidence and reporting what they found, which is not what anyone else had done.
If you are curious about what they've uncovered so far, this clickable link takes you to really good investigative reporting: https://technopathology.substack.com/p/neil-gaiman-is-innocent-introduction
It's been a strange, turbulent and occasionally nightmarish year and a half, but I took my own advice (when things get tough, make good art) and once I was done with making television I went back to doing something else I love even more: writing.
I thought it was going to be a fairly short project when I began it, but it's looking like it's going to be the biggest thing I've done since American Gods. It's already much longer than The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and it's barely finished wiping its boots and hanging up its coat.
And I spend half of every month being a full-time Dad, and that remains the best bit of my life.
It's a rough time for the world. I look at what's happening on the home front and internationally, and I worry; and I am still convinced there are more good people out there than the other kind.
Thank you again to so many of you for your belief in my innocence and your support for my work.
It has meant the world to me.
scalziwhatever_feed
Author Veronica G. Henry has come up with a library that truly has all the answers, thanks to its ever-evolving AI. Take a tour through The People’s Library in Henry’s Big Idea, and don’t forget to pay your late fees.
VERONICA G. HENRY:
The first time I realized that the past, present, and future can be contained in one essence was when I discovered the library. For in the absence of a more suitable reality, stories can provide a transformative diversion. In quiet moments, when I reflect on seasons of births and deaths and that middle part we call life, I also think of libraries.
I don’t know the when, but I know the where. It was in my hometown of Brooklyn, N.Y. that I first wandered into a library. The details are fuzzy, so I’ll flex a little creative muscle. I was an infant, already curious, definitely precocious. Determined even then to pursue the quest for more. Baby me was swathed tight against the winter cold, nestled protectively in my father’s determined arms. He marched through those painted oak double doors and introduced me to a new world and an obsession that persists to this day.
That’s how I like to remember it, anyway.
Though my career initially steered me towards a decidedly more left-brained path, the love of the written word and fate prevailed. I also became an author, one who alternates drafting my novels between home, the occasional coffee shop and yes, libraries. So it was inevitable that someday, I’d pen a story in the magical setting that planted that literary seed so long ago.
Inspiration struck as it occasionally does for me, in the form of an article. The feature extolled a library in Denmark where you could borrow a person instead of a book. Each had a title: unemployed, refugee, bipolar, etc., and in this mutually beneficial exchange, “readers” learned through conversations that challenge you to confront your own prejudice. Was it true? I didn’t much care. Because there, my friends, was my Big Idea.
The People’s Library was in large part, inspired by that article. If that was the kindling, the technical part of my brain supplied the spark. Though familiar to me, artificial intelligence (AI) was still a relatively new concept for the masses when I began writing. That changed faster than anticipated. Much of what we see today is specialized, task-focused systems that mimic human intelligence. However, its evolution, artificial general intelligence (AGI), is the promise of autonomous learning, thinking, and adapting. Think of AI as a really smart single-focus tool and AGI as analogous to the exponentially more complex functionality of a human mind.
This technology became the backbone of my future library. Only there would be no need to borrow a real person, but instead, an AGI replica of some of history’s most fascinating figures. The virtual personage, or virtus as I call them, were born. There was and still is a part of me that is as intrigued as I am terrified by this idea. I didn’t want to write it. That meant without a shadow of a doubt that I had to write it.
As the core idea solidified, I turned my attention to characters. Was there any doubt that my protagonist would be a librarian? Not for a second. She’d be forced to work in this futuristic library that is in direct opposition to everything she believes in. Echo London, anti-tech synesthete became my curator of The People’s Library. To say that she accepted the role with little grace, is an understatement. I drew inspiration from every librarian I’ve ever met and even Regina Anderson Andrews, the first African American woman to lead a NYPL.
As for the rest of the characters, I had to stop myself from thinking about all the fascinating historical figures I’d welcome the opportunity to chat it up with and focus on those who would best serve the narrative. One of the central questions that Echo wrestles with is human consciousness. What defines it, where it originates, how it exists before it finds its way into a human body. I needed a cast of deep thinkers with specialized skillsets to help her along that journey. So as not to introduce any spoilers, I think it’s best to let you discover the rest of the team organically. They were a ton of fun to research and write.
I’ll close with this food for thought. If you were to visit a future library where you could borrow a living, thinking, seemingly exact replica of a historical figure, would you? And if you did, whose consciousness do you wish you could converse with today?
The People’s Library: Amazon|Barnes & Noble|Bookshop|Powells|Sistah Sci-fi Signed Copy
ao3_news_feed
AO3 Tag Wranglers continue to test processes for wrangling canonical additional tags (tags that appear in the auto-complete) which don't belong to any particular fandom (also known as "No Fandom" tags). This post overviews some of these upcoming changes.
In this round of updates, we began adjusting existing canonical "No Fandom" tags to add or remove new subtag and metatag relationships. We also continued to streamline creating new canonical tags, prioritizing more straightforward updates which would have less discussion compared to renaming current canonical tags or creating new canonical tags which touch on more complex topics. This method also reviews new tags on a regular basis, so check back on AO3 News for periodic "No Fandom" tag announcements.
None of these updates change the tags users have added to works. If a user-created tag is considered to have the same meaning as a new canonical, it will be made a synonym of one of these newly created canonical tags, and works with that user-created tag will appear when the canonical tag is selected.
In short, these changes only affect which tags appear in AO3's auto-complete and filters. You can and should continue to tag your works however you prefer.
The following concepts have been made new canonical tags:
Additionally, this month we began making adjustments to existing canonical tags to add or remove new subtag and metatag relationships, which help users find related content and filter in/out content as they browse works on AO3.
While some of these tags may be tags and concepts you're intimately familiar with, others may be concepts you've never heard of before. Fortunately, our fellow OTW volunteers at Fanlore may be able to help! As you may have seen in the comments sections of previous posts, Fanlore is a fantastic resource for learning more about these common fandom concepts, and about the history and lore of fandom in general. For the curious, here's a quick look at a few articles about concepts related to this month's new canonical tags:
While we won't be announcing every change we make to No Fandom canonical tags, you can expect similar updates in the future about tags we believe will most affect users. If you're interested in the changes we'll be making, you can continue to check AO3 News or follow us on Bluesky @wranglers.archiveofourown.org or Tumblr @ao3org for future announcements.
You can also read previous updates on "No Fandom" tags as well as other wrangling updates, linked below:
For more information about AO3's tag system, check out our Tags FAQ.
In addition to providing technical help, AO3 Support also handles requests related to how tags are sorted and connected. If you have questions about specific tags, which were first used over a month ago and are unrelated to any of the new canonical tags listed above, please contact Support instead of leaving a comment on this post.
Please keep in mind that discussions about what tags to canonize and what format they should take are ongoing. As a result, not all related concepts will be canonized at the same time. This does not mean that related or similar concepts will not be canonized in the future or that we have chosen to canonize one specific concept in lieu of another, simply that we likely either haven’t gotten to that related concept yet or that it needs further discussion and will take a bit longer for us to canonize it as a result. We appreciate your patience and understanding.
Lastly, we're still working on implementing changes and connecting relevant user-created tags to these new canonicals, so it’ll be some time before these updates are complete. If you have questions about specific tags which should be connected to these new canonicals, please refrain from contacting Support about them until at least three months from now to give us adequate time to do so.
The Organization for Transformative Works is the non-profit parent organization of multiple projects including Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Open Doors, OTW Legal Advocacy, and Transformative Works and Cultures. We are a fan-run, donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.
scalziwhatever_feed - In Many Ways the Greatest Self-Portrait I’ve Ever Takenao3_news_feed - Welcome to Feedback Fest 2026scalziwhatever_feed - The Big Idea: Kristina W. Kellyscalziwhatever_feed - When the Moon Hits Your Eye Out in Trade Paperback Todayscalziwhatever_feed - Housekeeping Note, re: Emails and Big Ideas, 2/9/26scalziwhatever_feed - Oh, Andscalziwhatever_feed - Monsters of Ohio: Done!ao3_news_feed - What We're Doing for #IFD2026scalziwhatever_feed - Trying Out A New Recipe: Nadia’s Healthy Kitchen “Healthy Brownie Batter Bark”scalziwhatever_feed - New Books and Arcs, 2/6/26ao3_news_feed - AO3 Celebrates 10 Million Registered Usersscalziwhatever_feed - Sake Of The Week: Ozeki Hana Awaka Sparkling Yuzuscalziwhatever_feed - The Big Idea: Justin C. Keyao3_news_feed - January 2026 Newsletter, Volume 207scalziwhatever_feed - Come With Me If You Want a Paintingscalziwhatever_feed - Today In “Okay, What the Actual F**k”scalziwhatever_feed - Trying Out A New Recipe: Half Baked Harvest’s “Really Good Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies”neilgaiman_feed - Thank youscalziwhatever_feed - The Big Idea: Veronica G. Henryao3_news_feed - Updates to "No Fandom" Additional Tags, January 2026![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
timeasmymeasure
