August 2025 Newsletter, Volume 203
Sep. 5th, 2025 08:45 pm![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png){kind=small}
ao3_news_feed
I. 2025 BOARD ELECTION
Elections successfully closed the 2025 OTW Board Director election. Congratulations to the OTW's new Directors: Elizabeth Wiltshire and Harlan Lieberman-Berg! Elizabeth and Harlan will be replacing the seats of outgoing Board members Jennifer Haynes and Zixin Zhang.
Many committees collaborated on Board Election work, with Communications helping distribute announcements, Development & Membership coordinating with OTW members, and Translation making Elections material available in multiple languages.
Elections would like to thank all the candidates who ran, the volunteers from across the OTW who assisted Elections in their work, and everyone who engaged with the election by asking questions or turning out to vote.
Statistics from this year’s election were made available on September 1: out of 15,138 eligible voters, 2,197 cast a ballot, representing 14.5% of potential voters.
II. ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN
In August, AO3 celebrated both one million Mandarin Chinese works and nine million users. Thank you to everyone who's helped us reach these milestones!
Also in August, Accessibility, Design & Technology (AD&T) deployed a couple releases that included bug fixes and security improvements, and Systems continued their routine tasks, such as improving performance and auditing Archive traffic for malicious bots. User Response Translation began completing ticket translation requests, and Open Doors announced the import of Faerie, a Tolkien fanfiction archive.
In July, Policy & Abuse received 3,570 tickets, while Support received 3,999 tickets. Tag Wrangling wrangled just over 636,000 tags, or over 1,400 per wrangling volunteer!
Elsewhere, Tag Wrangling coordinated with AD&T and announced changes to fandom tag policies for fangames and fanmade web series in a series of three posts on the @ao3org Tumblr. The first post outlined the general policy, while the second post focused on Undertale and the third post focused on Fangans from Dangan Ronpa. Lastly, Tag Wrangling also coordinated with Communications to announce 20 new "No Fandom" canonical tags on AO3 News.
III. ELSEWHERE AT THE OTW
Legal is continuing to answer user queries and monitor legal developments. Although there are many concerning legal developments around freedom of speech and expression online, they are not directly affecting AO3. Legal also dealt with some unauthorized app who’ve used OTW and AO3 trademarks in confusing ways.
Transformative Works and Cultures has two active calls for papers, both due by January 1, 2026. The first is a special issue on Latin American Fandoms, and the next is a special issue on Music Fandom.
Communications' Con Outreach division wrapped up Worldcon 2025 in Seattle, Washington, USA - thank you to everyone who tabled and who said hi to us! You can check out con goers' recommendations in the con's AO3 collection.
Fanlore's themed month for July, Fandom in Color, was a big success! Their next editing challenge, Stub September will run from September 14-28, and graphics will have an animals with swords theme. Check their Bluesky, Twitter/X and Tumblr for announcements.
IV. GOVERNANCE
In August, Board, Board Assistants Team (BAT), Organizational Culture Roadmap, and Volunteers & Recruiting began a cross-committee review of the OTW's Code of Conduct. This review aims to ensure the Code of Conduct still serves both the OTW as an organization as well as its many volunteers.
Elsewhere, Board collaborated with other committees on Crisis Communication Guidelines, began their biennial review of the Board Confidentiality Policy, had their quarterly check-in with Legal, and approved the 2024 Annual Report. Minutes from July's public Board meeting are now available on the OTW website. Board also started preparations for the upcoming Board turnover after receiving the 2025 OTW Board election results.
BAT continued work on several projects, including collaborations with the Organizational Culture Roadmap and a report on nonprofit training. Lastly, Strategic Planning continued work on their two-year progress report on the implementation of the current strategic plan.
V. OUR VOLUNTEERS
In addition to the aforementioned Code of Conduct Review, Volunteers & Recruiting also began a project focused on workgroups, aiming to increase the OTW’s ability to support projects that might not fit within the purview of a single committee.
This month, Volunteers & Recruiting conducted recruitment for two committees: BAT and Development & Membership.
From July 23 to August 20, Volunteers & Recruiting received 203 new requests, and completed 252, leaving them with 51 open requests. As of August 20, 2025, the OTW has 982 volunteers. \o/ Recent personnel movements are listed below.
New Communications Volunteers: GrayIsNotEmo, KW Ukuku, Magda19, and 1 other TikTok Moderator
New Fanlore Volunteers: Becca Bun, Jules Moon, Tiff, Zoe Bird, and 2 other Social Media & Outreach Volunteers
New Policy & Abuse Volunteers: Ain, embobem, Gail, Rissi, and 2 other Policy & Abuse Volunteers
New Support Volunteers: ChangYan, Clarice Strand, Jennifer Elliott, llianne, John Pork, Louie, Maycix, melon8, Mily, nayogn, Stevie, TinaOe, viewofsilence, Wtchmn23, Ziting, and 8 other Support Volunteers
New Tag Wrangling Volunteers: amphob, Bec, Berix, Bettelort, bingus, Bismuth, bluejello, Clarissa, Daisya, dila, Draconic, Drakoshig, firstestly, genitus6, grexigone, Hazelwyrm, heliolatry, Jas, KD, Lace, Lau, Leo M, Leuconoen, Maris, Mary, Nerva, nekojoo, null_ice, Nyxia, Pandasaurio, pickledragon, radiance, Ravenna, rikka, RJ, Sabrina_Tangerina, sarkastic, Sayornis, SCEnt Hope, shrikes, Soyash, Talixa, Tea Huimyni, Thunder, twistingsands, Zee, and 1 other Tag Wrangling Volunteer
New Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteers: Ana Niccals, Bekyro, PerpetuallyPurple, and 2 other Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteers
Departing Committee Chairs/Leads: 1 Communications Chair
Departing BAT Volunteers: 2 Board Assistant Team Volunteers
Departing Communications Volunteers: 1 Event Coordinator, 1 Media Outreach Volunteer, 1 Report Writer, and 2 TikTok Moderators
Departing Fanlore Volunteers: 1 Social Media & Outreach Volunteer
Departing Tag Wrangling Volunteers: Esin and 9 other Tag Wrangling Volunteers
Departing Translation Volunteers: Janka (Translator)
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, Transformative Works and Cultures, and OTW Legal Advocacy. We are a fan-run, entirely donor-supported organization staffed by volunteers. Find out more about us on our website.
About riding a pegasus
Sep. 5th, 2025 01:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brithistorianI'm currently reading Dragons of the Autumn Twilight[^1] by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman and it's given me a question about riding pegasi. I had always pictured pegasus riders as sitting behind the wings, probably leaning forward and holding on the bases of the wings. But in chapter 12, when the characters have to ride pegasi, Weis and Hickman explicitly describe them as "sitting in front of the powerful wings." This seems to make sense, because it would put the riders in front of the flapping of the wings (and the powerful gusts of wind that the wings would create), but at the same time it seems problematic from a point of view of equine anatomy, because it doesn't seem like there would be room for a rider to be in front of the wings. And as I write this post, I find myself wondering if there's really something here, or if I've just been struck by an oddly chosen word that the authors wrote and then never looked back at.[^2]
When you think about humanoids riding on pegasi, where do you imagine them relative to the wings?
[^1] I missed reading the Dragonlance books back when they were new, but I was recently able to grab a huge mob of them as ebooks from Humble Bundle and I'm enjoying them. It's brutally obvious (at least in the first book, which this is) that they're the result of someone recording their D&D campaign as a novel, but they're still fun to read. [^2] It doesn't help matters that the pegasi use magical/psychic powers to put the characters to sleep as soon as they take off, in order to keep them from freaking out during the course of the ride.[^3] [^3] Which then opens up the question of how unconscious humanoids stay on the pegasi's backs. Do the pegasi have magic for that as well?
sockeye
Sep. 5th, 2025 07:37 amprettygoodword
Thanks, WikiMedia!
For "northern" read, as far as North America is concerned, "north of the Columbia River." Much sought after by commercial fisheries. The one above is in spawning colors -- the rest of their lives, they are the color the head is. The name, which in English dates to 1867, is from a Salishan language of British Columbia, probably Halkomelem, spoken on southern Vancouver Island and the lower Frasier River, sθəqəy̓ (pronounced something like suk-kegh), which was altered by folk etymology. [Sidebar: Halkomelem is also the source of sasquatch.]
And because I can't count and actually collected 6 words for the 5-day week, a bonus word that turns out to be an edge case:
muckamuck or muckety-muck, often high muckamuck - n., an important and often arrogant person.
Originally, and this is a dated PNW regionalism, both "food" and "to eat food," and high muckamuck was "to eat at the high/front table," which then transferred to those who eat there. This is from Chinook Jargon, a pidgin trade language / creole of the Pacific Northwest (originating in the Lower Columbia River valley) that borrowed heavily from indigenous languages of the region, including the Chinook language itself spoken along the Lower Columbia River. However, comma, no native source for muckamuck has been identified, and it appears to have been a coinage in Chinook Jargon (not the only word coined in it, thus it being considered almost a creole and not just a pidgin).
And that wraps up a week of assorted words from Native American / First Nations languages. I've one more theme-group along these lines, so I'll get that one out of the way next week.
---L.
The Memory of the Ogisi (The Forever Desert, volume 3) by Moses Ose Utomi
Sep. 5th, 2025 08:59 amjames_davis_nicoll
A scholar's insight yields unexpected harvest.
The Memory of the Ogisi (The Forever Desert, volume 3) by Moses Ose Utomi
Chinese Beef on a Stick (Beef Skewers)
Sep. 5th, 2025 10:37 amthewoksoflife_feed
This is our version of Chinese Beef on a Stick—super savory, a little bit sweet, and crisped on the edges. But it’s not dry or overly sweet like it sometimes could be at Chinese buffets of years past. These beef skewers are delicious whether you’re making them as an appetizer or the main event! A […]Just One Thing (05 September 2025)
Sep. 5th, 2025 08:23 amnanila posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
awesomeersComment 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!
histrionic
Sep. 5th, 2025 01:00 ammerriamwebster_feedMerriam-Webster's Word of the Day for September 5, 2025 is:
histrionic • \hiss-tree-AH-nik\ • adjective
Histrionic is a word used disapprovingly to describe someone or something that is too emotional or dramatic.
// The head chef had a penchant for dish throwing, door slamming, and other histrionic displays of temper whenever a dish was sent back to the kitchen.
Examples:
“‘Where did I put ’em?/ Where’d I misplace ’em?/ Where did I leave ’em?/ Where did you take ’em?’ With a barrage of questions ... Jordan Hawkins kicks off his latest single in the throes of borderline histrionic emotional turmoil—as converted by a vocal performance that primarily trades in growls, rasp and impassioned falsetto ...” — Kyle Denis, Billboard, 10 Feb. 2025
Did you know?
If you’re already familiar with the history of histrionic, take a bow. But if you’re still waiting (in the wings or elsewhere) to learn, we’ve got you covered. The adjective histrionic traces back to the Latin noun histrio, meaning “actor.” Something described as histrionic tends to recall the high drama of stage and screen, and especially the theatrical form known as melodrama, where characters have very strong or exaggerated emotions. But something that is histrionic isn’t always overdone; histrionic is also used (though less frequently) simply to describe something related to acting or the theater, as in “histrionic talent/skills.” Note that the noun histrionics refers to either theatrical performances, or, more commonly, to a deliberate display of emotion for effect, as in “parents used to the child’s histrionics.”
You brought me back a lemon and you squeezed me tight
Sep. 4th, 2025 08:49 pmsovayselkie, who had just significantly improved the evening of a week that has taken a deeply unwanted turn for the medical by causing a bagful of groceries and seltzer to appear on the front steps. Hestia professed interest in the little squares of maple-and-coconut salmon, but had to content herself with treats designed for delectation of cat and curling up on the couch next to me. I am fascinated by the pumpkin spice cookies that come ready to bake from refrigerated. The bananas are already having a short shelf life.ETA: Later texted to
spatch: "Who the hell is going to steal and sell Pedialyte? If you could get high off it, I'd have spent 2023 as a kite."A follow-up post regarding Angel, Lucy, Nall, and Screwtape
Sep. 4th, 2025 05:44 pmlb_leeFirst of all,
synecdoches were right in that, according to their 2001/7/2 LJ profile, there were only four deceased: Screwtape (or Screwy for short, from C. S. Lewis's the Screwtape Letters), Angel Morningstar, Cutey the Sprite (from Secret of Mana), and Nall (from Lunar and Lunar 2). Their bonder was one of the cofounders of the LJ soulbonding comm, Laura/Serena190 (soulbonding, 2002/11/9).( This post contains discussion of death, fear of insanity and Satan, and ends in the death of all bonds involved. )
Star Wars Fic and Meta - From All The Spaces Between Times - Chapter 53
Sep. 4th, 2025 07:02 pmelrhiarhodanChapter: Chapter 53 - It Still May Be Possible To Change It All
Author:
elrhiarhodan / Fandom: Star Wars, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars — Obi Wan Kenobi (TV), Star Wars — Jedi Apprentice Books
Characters Obi-Wan Kenobi, Qui-Gon Jinn, Shmi Skywalker, Anakin Skywalker, Watto, Quinlan Vos, Padmé Amidala, Sabé, Darth Maul, Yoda, Mace Windu, Adi Gallia, Quinlan Vos, Professor Huyang, The Force, Plo Koon, Vokara Che, Siri Tachi, Aayla Secura, Bant Eerin, Bruck Chun, Xanatos du Crion, Sheev Palpatine | Darth Sidious, Hego Damask II | Darth Plagueis, Komari Vosa, Bail Prestor Organa, Bail Antilles Prestor, Rael Averross, Nim Piana, Ahsoka Tano, Sifo-Dyas, Reva Sevander, Original Characters, Other Characters To Be Added
Pairings: Obi-Wan Kenobi & Shmi Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Qui-Gon Jinn, Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan/Qui-Gon Jinn (yes, we’re arrived)
Word Count: ~ 7000 this chapter
Spoilers: None
Warnings/Enticements/Triggers: None
Summary: Obi-Wan Kenobi has never known it, but he has always been the Force’s Champion, destined to suffer infinite sadness in defense of the Light. On his last turn on the wheel, responsibility for The Chosen One, the false child of prophecy, had been thrust upon him with no warning, and Darkness held the upper hand.
But this time, the Force has marshaled its power and will protect its Champion until the time is right, no matter how long Obi-Wan has to wait and how much he has to suffer.
Or,
Obi-Wan is reborn as a twelve-year old.
He wakes up on a slavers’ ship, with all of his prior life’s memories intact, and he’s bound for Tatooine with a Force-inhibitor collar around his neck, a bomb implanted in his spine, and no way of knowing what state of the Galaxy is in.
Just another day in the life of the Force’s Champion.
Chapter Summary: Nightmares continue to torment Obi-Wan, echoing events of his other lifetime. Are they warnings from the Force or an attack by the Sith?
Obi-Wan has learned from his mistakes in the other timeline and talks to his master about these evil dreams, and Qui-Gon offers some very sound advice. Obi-Wan should talk to a Jedi who has solid experience with visions and dreams, Master Sifo-Dyas.
From All The Spaces Between Times — Chapter 53 - It Still May Be Possible To Change It All (On AO3)
( Meta — Chapter 53 - It Still May Be Possible To Change It All )
- character: aayla secura,
- character: adi gallia,
- character: agrippa aldrete,
- character: ahsoka tano,
- character: anakin skywalker,
- character: antilles prestor,
- character: bail prestor,
- character: bant eerin,
- character: bruck chun,
- character: cin drallig,
- character: darth maul,
- character: dooku,
- character: hego damask ii | darth plague,
- character: komari vosa,
- character: mace windu,
- character: nim pianna,
- character: obi-wan kenobi,
- character: original characters,
- character: original sentient animal char,
- character: padme amidala,
- character: plo koon,
- character: professor huyang,
- character: quarsh panaka,
- character: qui-gon jinn,
- character: quinlan vos,
- character: rael averross,
- character: reva sevander,
- character: rori the saja cat,
- character: sabe,
- character: saja edea,
- character: sheev palpatine | darth sidio,
- character: shmi skywalker,
- character: sifo-dyas,
- character: siri tachi,
- character: the force,
- character: vokara che,
- character: watto,
- character: xanatos du crion,
- character: yaddle,
- character: yoda,
- genre: alternative universe,
- genre: angst,
- genre: hurt/comfort,
- genre: jedi culture,
- genre: padawan culture,
- genre: reunion,
- genre: slavefic,
- genre: temple culture,
- genre: time travel,
- meme: dvd commentary,
- movie: star wars,
- movie: star wars — tpm,
- type: fan fiction,
- type: longfic,
- type: meta,
- year: 2025
Laundry room
Sep. 4th, 2025 03:32 pmtelophaseIt's the laundry room. One would think, "Laundry, duh." But it's also circulation space, because it connects the house to the garage which is the door we use 99% of the time, and it's also storage space. And I would like it to be hang-dry space as well, because the other options for hanging clothes to dry are untenable for various reasons:
1) the first and foremost is my ADHD. The more steps I have to do, the less likely it is to get done. Get out the drying rack, take it somewhere in the house or back porch, set it up, hang clothes, check if they're dry, collect them, bring them in, break down the drying rack, and put it back where it's stored? OH HELL NO.
2) drying outside also makes the clothes smell like the outside and I've never had problems with this before, but both
myrialux and I concur that the outdoors smell we get on clothes here is not appealing. Plus, we live in POLLEN CENTRAL and would like to not be allergic to our clothes.3) the best place to dry inside is the spare room/gym and if clothes are hanging there that I need to move before working out, I won't work out (ADHD again). The spare bath is taken up by the litterbox, and the main bath is back to issue #1, with the added problem of fitting the drying rack in the tub. Any other room gets HUMID and GROSS.
So! I have a PLAN for the laundry room, once we get the $$$ saved up. Steps:
1) hire our neighborhood appliance handyman company to stack the washer and dryer on one side of the TINY room and swap the dryer door to open on the same side as the washer.
2) measure the back wall, to allow for power and water outlets and the dryer vent in the next step, which is...
3) install simple shelving of the rails-screwed-into-studs with shelves on them type, adroitly avoiding the outlets and vents above, as well as pegboard on part of it, to allow for...
4) the wall-mounted drying racks that will require a bit of space to extend/fold out. And then finally...
5) a closet rod installed across the room for clothing that can be put on hangers and hung.
SIMPLY RENDERED PEECTURES BELOW THE CUT...
( you know you want to know more about my laundry room )
*snore*
Sep. 4th, 2025 02:56 pmtelophaseI did get baby's first AO3 scam comment! It enthused over my story, especially the way I brought the world and the characters to life, making it real and immersive, pulling the reader in. And, of course, sparked creative ideas of their own and they wanted me to talk to them on Telegram or whatnot, presumably to try to scam me out of money for fanart that'll never arrive. Blocked, deleted, reported.
This, uh, is the work that they loved so much. You can see the GLARING PROBLEM with the bot's comment about my...story. XD
hooch
Sep. 4th, 2025 08:00 amprettygoodwordDates to the late 1890s, shortening of hoochinoo, a distilled liquor made by Native Americans, originally specifically a rum-like liquor made in Hoochinoo / Hutsnuwu, a Tlingit village on Admiralty Island, Alaska, from Tlingit Xucnu·wú (also spelled Xutsnuuwú), literally Grizzly Bear Fort, from xú·c grizzly bear + nu·w, fortified place, and yes I want to hear all the stories about how it got that name. The Tlingit peoples, with hundreds of recognized tribes, inhabited the entire Alaska Panhandle and parts of British Columbia just inland of that, and speak a language related to Athabaskan languages.
[Sidebar: The other word spelled hooch, meaning a rough hut, started as Army slang in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, is an alteration of Japanese uchi, house.]
---L.
Getting Lost in the Archives: Five Long-Running SFF Webcomics
Sep. 4th, 2025 10:12 amjames_davis_nicoll
These stories have been going for at least 15 years or more...
Getting Lost in the Archives: Five Long-Running SFF Webcomics
Queen Demon (The Rising World, volume by Martha Wells
Sep. 4th, 2025 09:01 amjames_davis_nicoll
The malevolent Hierarchs are dead. The only way to learn about them is archaeology. The only thing worse than archaeologists not finding the relics of evil sorcerers is finding relics of evil sorcerers.
Queen Demon (The Rising World, volume by Martha Wells