(itstoodark)

https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/32286

I. UPCOMING BOARD ELECTION

The 2025 OTW Board Election will be held on August 15-18, a week from today.

Elections, Communications, and Translation worked together to announce candidate and voting information. Voting instructions have been emailed to all eligible OTW members, and translated versions of voting instructions are available on the Elections website. Candidate answers to Q&A questions can also be found on the Elections website, and a live Candidate chat was held on August 2 via Discord.

II. ARCHIVE OF OUR OWN

Legal has been closely monitoring legal developments and proposals about internet age verification in the US, UK, and around the world and taking steps to ensure that the AO3 user experience will not change. They also responded to a number of user queries and dealt with a commercial company that has been using the AO3 trademark in a confusing way.

In early July, Accessibility, Design, & Technology resolved some issues and downtime related to creating bookmarks on AO3. They also deployed several releases of bug fixes and improvements, including a performance improvement for the page that administrators use to search for user accounts. Lastly, in conjunction with Systems having installed and set up new servers, they finalized some Elasticsearch upgrades. You can refer to the recent release notes for more details.

In June, Support received 3,348 tickets, while Policy & Abuse received 3,738 tickets. Their TOS Spotlight news post series has now concluded; if you missed it, we encourage you to look it over and contact Policy & Abuse if you have any further TOS questions.

Tag Wrangling continues to test processes for wrangling canonical tags in "No Fandom"—tags that aren't specific to any particular fandom—and announced some new canonical tags on July 14. More tags will continue to be canonized and announced on a regular basis.

In June, Tag Wrangling handled over 526,000 tags, or over 1,200 tags per volunteer! \o/

III. OPEN DOORS IMPORTS CONTINUE

Open Doors finished importing all fanfiction from the Harry Potter archive FictionAlley and is now processing fanart hosted on the site. You can find all imported works in the FictionAlley collection. Unclaimed works are currently restricted to logged-in AO3 users, but per Open Doors' agreement with the archivist, they will be unlocked 30 days after the import is fully completed.

All FictionAlley creators should have received one or more emails with links to claim, orphan, delete their works, or prevent the import of any additional works of theirs in the future. If you were a creator and did not receive this email, please contact Open Doors for assistance. You can also contact Open Doors if you would like to prevent future imports of your Harry Potter works specifically.

The import process for HarryPotterFanFiction.com and MuggleNet Fan Fiction are also underway. If your email address has changed since you were a member of either archive, or you would like Open Doors not to import your works, please contact Open Doors. Please refer to the import announcements for a full list of how Open Doors can assist you.

Elsewhere, Open Doors has continued their importing work on My Mongoose, an archive for The Sentinel.

IV. ELSEWHERE AT THE OTW

Communications' Con Outreach team wrapped up Capital City Comic Con in Lansing, Michigan, USA—thank you to everyone who tabled and who said hi to us! You can check out con attendees' fanwork recommendations in the convention's AO3 collection.

Fanlore's themed month for July, Fandom in Color, was a big success! They're now planning their next editing challenge, Stub September, which will be themed around animals with swords this year. Check out Fanlore's social media (Bluesky, Twitter/X, and Tumblr) for announcements about the challenge, which will run from September 8-21.

Transformative Works and Cultures is finalizing their upcoming general issue, volume 46, which will be published on September 15. Their upcoming Latin American Fandoms and Music Fandoms specific issues are still accepting submissions until January 1, 2026. Lastly, they collaborated with Communications on an OTW website page about the TWC committee, outlining the team behind the publication and spotlighting TWC's Fans of Color research prize.

V. GOVERNANCE

Board held the quarterly Board meeting on July 20 on Discord. There were 44 attendees, and minutes will be available soon on the OTW website.

Alongside preparing for the Board meeting, Board and the Board Assistants Team collaborated across the OTW and made progress on several goals, including the OTW Crisis Management Plan, OTW Procurement Policy, Cybersecurity Report, Paid Staff Transition, and researching nonprofit training resources.

Finance is wrapping up 2024 reconciliations and working with auditors for the 2024 audit.

VI. OUR VOLUNTEERS

Volunteers & Recruiting conducted recruitment for three committees this month: Communications, Fanlore, and Policy & Abuse. Volunteers & Recruiting also closed out all projects carried over from previous years and plan to start new projects this year in accordance with their 2025 roadmap goals.

From June 23 to July 22, Volunteers & Recruiting received 175 new requests, and completed 124, leaving them with 102 open requests. As of July 22, 2025, the OTW has 926 volunteers. \o/ Recent personnel movements are listed below.

New Communications News Post Moderation Volunteers: Deniz (News Post Moderation Volunteer)
New Open Doors Volunteers: Kriti S (FCPP Intern)
New Support Volunteers: moonlithic, SlantedKnitting, and 23 other Support Volunteers
New Translation Volunteers: 1 Translation Volunteer Manager and 1 Translation Task Assistant

Departing Communications Volunteers: 2 Fanhackers Volunteers
Departing Communications News Post Moderation Volunteers: 2 News Post Moderation Volunteers
Departing Policy & Abuse Volunteers: 1 Policy & Abuse Volunteer
Departing Support Volunteers: Jennifer D2 (Liaison to User Response Translation), Geraldine and 2 other Support Volunteers
Departing Tag Wrangling Volunteers: demilyver, Goodwin, Ratty, and 11 other Tag Wrangling Volunteers
Departing Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteers: Ducky (Volunteers & Recruiting Volunteer) and 1 Tool Implementation Lead

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.

https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/32286

https://xkcd.com/3126/

https://xkcd.com/3126/

plutonianshores

I’m totally fine with any levels of gore in gifts, and am also fine with character death (including of requested characters). Any ships for my requested solo characters, additional background ships, and combining my requested ships into poly ships are very welcome, as is adding pretty much any ship as a consensual established relationship to noncon porn. And feel free to include any of your favorite kinks! Barring my DNWs, I am into literally everything, my biggest turnon is reading fic or seeing art with the creator’s fave kinks included. I also have no preference for top/bottom or dom/sub choices in any ships if you’re writing/drawing porn (and don’t have a preference for maledom vs femdom in het ships). I often have one or a few specific ideas for these crossovers, but I am down for literally anything if my more specific prompts don't catch your fancy!
( Read more... )

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5631

ker-chunk

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5631

• I started reading You Had Me at Happy Hour by Timothy Janovsky. I'm like halfway through and not really enjoying it, so it's likely to be a DNF. There's just so much therapy speak and the characters are not interesting enough to make up for it.
• I started reading The Silver Branch by Rosemary Sutcliff (The Dolphin Ring Cycle #2). Feeling kind of meh about it but I also haven't gotten very far. Just not feeling any books at the moment :/
• I started reading The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron. I've seen so much about it online and have been meaning to read it for ages. Trying to decide if I want to jump in with the tasks or wait until after my trip to Texas next week.
• Ficwise, I'm going hard for VegasPete. Nothing much spectacular so far, but some good fics! Currently I'm reading I Want to Be the Place You Call Home (A VegasPete Omegaverse) by SurelyMeretricious , which is fun, but they've softened their relationship and Vegas in particular a lot, and I'm missing the fuckedupness lol

• The roommate and I finished KinnPorsche! So wild! So good! Even more obsessed with Vegas now, as well as his actor, Bible. Definitely my favorite of the Thai BLs we've watched so far :D
• The roommate wanted some lighter watching, so we watched Fish Upon the Sky, which has the same leads as Never Let Me Go. A very silly, kind of stupid show, but fun.
• Since we were enjoying those lead actors so much, the roommate and I decided to just finish things off and watch their third show together, We Are. We're about halfway through and it's been very cute!
• AEW as usual. I'm a bit bored with it at the moment tbh. Except for everything happening with Kyle Fletcher, love him.

• I've listened to a couple fanmixes linked in fics I'm reading, nothing particularly interesting.

• I wrote a couple of poems. Which doesn't sound like much, and isn't really, but that little bit has already put me over halfway to my wordcount from all of last month. July was rough...

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5630

funny like a clown???

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5630

https://xkcd.com/3125/

https://xkcd.com/3125/

https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/32281

Are you a detail-oriented and highly organized individual interested in assisting the OTW Board of Directors with administrative and project management tasks? Do you have skills with graphic design, fundraising, or customer service? The Organization for Transformative Works is recruiting!

We're excited to announce the opening of applications for:

• Board Assistants Team Volunteer - closing 13 August 2025 at 23:59 UTC or after 60 applications
• Development & Membership Volunteer - closing 13 August 2025 at 23:59 UTC or after 30 applications
• Development & Membership Graphic Designer - closing 13 August 2025 at 23:59 UTC or after 30 applications

We have included more information on each role below. Open roles and applications will always be available at the volunteering page. If you don't see a role that fits with your skills and interests now, keep an eye on the listings. We plan to put up new applications every few weeks, and we will also publicize new roles as they become available.

All applications generate a confirmation page and an auto-reply to your e-mail address. We encourage you to read the confirmation page and to whitelist our email address in your e-mail client. If you do not receive the auto-reply within 24 hours, please check your spam filters and then contact us.

If you have questions regarding volunteering for the OTW, check out our Volunteering FAQ.

Board Assistants Team Volunteer

Are you detail-oriented, highly organized, and passionate about supporting meaningful work behind the scenes? The Board Assistants Team (BAT) is looking for volunteers to assist the OTW Board of Directors with essential administrative and project management tasks.

As a BAT Volunteer, you’ll play a key role in ensuring smooth operations by:

• Moderating and coordinating Board meetings on Discord
• Editing and drafting Board communications, documentation, and public statements
• Supporting internal projects and cross-committee collaboration
• Offering valuable feedback to improve workflows and communications

We're looking for volunteers who are proactive, driven, and committed to the OTW's long-term success.

You must be 18+ in order to apply for this role. In addition to the initial application, you will be emailed a part two to help us understand how well you understand and can complete the committee's tasks.

Applications are due 13 August 2025 or after 60 applications

Apply for Board Assistants Team Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.

Development & Membership Volunteer

The Development & Membership committee (DevMem) coordinates the OTW's fundraising and membership-building activities. Our primary responsibility is coordinating our biannual fund drives, although we are also responsible for communicating with donors, exploring new fundraising opportunities, and managing the voter roll for OTW elections. If you have skills or interests in fundraising, membership database management, creating promotional OTW graphics, eCommerce, or customer service, consider applying to join our committee!

Applications are due 13 August 2025 or after 30 applications

Apply for Development & Membership Volunteer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.

Development & Membership Graphic Designer

The Development & Membership committee (DevMem) coordinates the OTW's fundraising and membership-building activities. Our primary responsibility is coordinating our biannual fund drives, although we are also responsible for communicating with donors, exploring new fundraising opportunities, and managing the voter roll for OTW elections. If you have skills or interests in creating promotional OTW graphics for our fundraisers, membership gifts, and donor communications, consider applying to join our committee!

Applications are due 13 August 2025 or after 30 applications

Apply for Development & Membership Graphic Designer at the volunteering page! If you have further questions, please contact us.

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.

https://archiveofourown.org/admin_posts/32281

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5629

get a shovel and start diggin'

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5629

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5628

so many knobs and input jacks. the cartoonist's nightmare

http://questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=5628

https://xkcd.com/3124/

https://xkcd.com/3124/

littlefics
seasonsofdrabbles

IMPORTANT RULE CHANGE: We have a new rule this round that participants cannot opt out of single drabbles. In other words, you are still welcome to request/offer other drabble types, but you cannot exclude single drabbles from your offers or requests. We will let you know via the email associated with your AO3 account if we notice you've left out single drabbles in your signup. Matching and signups will otherwise work the same as before.

Have questions? Expand the "Key Info on the Rule Change" section below for more info. If your question is still not answered, please get in touch via email or the Mod Contact Post.

GENERAL SIGNUPS REMINDERS:

Please disregard the Optional Tags field! It will not be used in this exchange.

• If it is simply not appearing in the dropdown, try copy-pasting it from the tagset itself. This is a known AO3 bug.
• If that does not work, please comment here or email us with the exact fandom and character(s) you were trying to request/offer. A mod will then batch load it for you on the backend, and you will be able to request it. This is a caching issue with AO3.

• You must request 3-10 fandoms with 1-20 characters and 1-7 drabble types each. Fandoms in your requests must be unique, but may be related (e.g., three Star Wars requests would be fine, as long as it was three separate Star Wars fandoms).

• If you wish, you may request Any for drabble type. This means you are open to receiving any of the 7 drabble types in the tagset. Additionally, please note that as of this round, you cannot opt out of single drabbles. In other words, you are still welcome to request other drabble types, but you cannot exclude single drabbles from your requests.

• If you wish, you may request Any character. This means any character in the canon (NOT just the tagset). Please do not request Any unless you really are open to receiving any character from that canon.

• If you encounter any issues while signing up that are not noted above, please let us know ASAP, as AO3 bugs can sometimes hit exchanges.

• If you need to let us know something about your signup (such as not wanting to be assigned to a specific other participant), please contact us via email (seasonsofdrabbles AT gmail) or the mod contact post.

doranwen
recthething

• Alphas


• FBI (CBS show)


• FBI: Most Wanted


• Fried Green Tomatoes (book & movie)


• Push


• Speed


• The Matrix