Reading

Harriette's advice here isn't bad, per se, it's just aggressively useless

DEAR HARRIETTE: Over the years, my mom and I have struggled to forge the ideal smooth-sailing mother-daughter bond that other people have. We used to bump heads a lot. Now that we no longer bump heads, we just have a hard time connecting and enjoying each other. I want things to get better, but she often compares my relationship with her to the one I have with my dad. My dad and I are pretty playful together, and he's easy to talk to. I think my mom constantly mocking the dynamic I have with my dad is her version of banter or "breaking the ice," but I wish she would stop comparing so that she and I could find our own groove. How do I get her on the same page as me? -- Mommy Issues

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[#270 | Pride] Voting Post

Here are the entries for this challenge:

( List of entries )

Please Note: Because we only have 4 entries this week, there is only a First Place and Runner Up to vote for!

In order to vote, please reply to this post using the form provided. All comments are screened, and entries are listed in the order they were submitted. For your vote to qualify, you must fill out your entire voting card (both spots) in order to be counted. Winner votes are worth 2 points, Runner Up votes are worth 1 point. Meeting the bonus goal on an entry gets an extra point for that submission.

When voting, please copy/paste the ENTRY NUMBER and the FIC TITLE from the list above into the spot you're voting for (this prevents accidentally mis-numbering a vote and casting it for the wrong entry). It should look like this:

First Place: 61. Fic Title Here
Runner Up: 88. Another Fic Title

Please note that you cannot vote for your own entry, and that votes cannot be made anonymously. You do not have to be a member of the community in order to vote, nor have submitted an entry for this week; everyone is welcome to participate in the voting. IP addresses are logged to prevent duplicate voting.

Voting closes Wednesday, August 13 at 9:00PM EST.

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Star Wars: Dreamwars, a DW community

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The PokéPod Project: Gen Two - Signups Open

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Nominations for 2025 are closed! 🥳

Nominations are closed! I will be working through the remaining nominations that have yet to be reviewed. I do not have any plans on posting another query post, although I will if I have any questions.

A huge thank you to the tagmods for helping me tackle our massive nominations dashboard! We have over 3,000 nominations and I would not have been able to climb that mountain as quickly as I did without you. You have been a tremendous help. ♥

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In the meantime, please have a look at the tagset, specifically what you're interested in requesting and offering, and let me know if you see any errors such as duplicates or strange typos by Tuesday 12 August at 11:59pm EDT. [ In your timezone. ] The tagset will be finalised by this time and will not be changing for any edit requests.

When flagging errors, please provide the fandom and the nomination as it sits in the tagset so I can easily find them! Thank you to everyone who has already flagged duplicates and errors!

Sign-ups will open on Wednesday 13 August, time unspecified. Please be aware that Tuesday 12 August at 11:59pm EDT. [ In your timezone. ] is the deadline for 2024's participants to have commented on their gifts from that round. Here is a handy link for the 2024 collection. (If your nominations are fine, perhaps have a look around at our previous collections and comment on some of the gifts! We have fantastic works in our collections!)

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Thoughts on fandom

Fantastic Four (2025) vs Marvel Cinematic Universe
I have several nominations for Fantastic Four: First Steps characters, but we have them split across MCU and FF:FS in the nominations dashboard. Did the nominators—or those who are interested in requesting/offering—oppose me placing them under "Fantastic Four (2025)"? I know that this movie is technically in the MCU, but as it takes place on another Earth, I'm considering accepting it as a different "continuity" to the other MCU relationships.

All the nominations that have been submitted for this sub-fandom are approved, even though, at the publishing of this post, I have not officially approved them yet. I just need to know where to put them.

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Rejected nominations
If you oppose a rejection because it's eligible or I've made a mistake (it happens—I have been hit with AO3's "Retry Later" and "You're clicking too quickly" messages repeatedly over the last 48 hours that has reset my progress when approving nominations 😫), please let me know before 11:59pm on Tuesday 12 August so these nominations can be reinstated into the tagset.

These nominations were rejected during the last round of nomination review:

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Neville Longbottom/Luna Lovegood (HP) - Over 250 works.

due South
Benton Fraser/Margaret Thatcher - Over 250 works.

Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Eleven | Jane Hopper/Maxine "Max" Mayfield (Stranger Things) - Over 250 works.
Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair (Strainger Things) - Over 250 works.

Quantum Leap (TV 1989)
Sam Beckett/Al Calavicci - Over 250 works.

Thank you!

Multifandom - Word Crimes: A Problematic Exchange!

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admin,
c: twinkle

Challenge 488: Twinkle

Our new challenge is:

TWINKLE

As always, you can interpret the prompt literally or figuratively, in whatever way works for you.

Each work created for this challenge should be posted as a new entry to the comm. Posting starts now and continues up until the challenge ends at 4pm Pacific Time on Wednesday, 20th August. No sign-up required.

Mods will tag your work with fandom and challenge. When you've posted entries to three consecutive challenges, you will earn a name tag, and we'll go back and tag all your previous entries with your name.

All kinds of fanworks in all fandoms are welcome. Please have a look at our guidelines before you play. If you have any questions or concerns, don't hesitate to contact a mod. And if you have any suggestions for future challenges, you can leave them in the comments of this post.

Also, keep an eye out for the next

ffw_social post, which will go up in the next couple of days. If you haven't joined the

ffw_social comm, it's never too late to come and check it out. (Posts are locked, which means you have to join to see them.)

Entry tags:

admin,
c: crowd

Admin: Challenge closed

The Crowd challenge is now closed. Here are the entries:

S.W.A.T.: Fan Fiction: Could Do Anything by

darkjediqueen
Women's Soccer RPF: Fanfiction: These Moments Matter by

infinitum_noctem
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fanfic: Noticed by

badly_knitted
Thunderbolts*: Fanfic: tethered by

fadedwings
due South: Fanfiction: Getting to Ray by

lucy_roman
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Fanfic: Push and Pull by

veronyxk84
Miss Marple: Fanfic: Miss Marple Goes To The Sales by

smallhobbit
City of Streamers: fanfic: whirling by

teaotter
Sealomimi: Art: crowd of sheep by

himejoshiheart
The Clone Returns Home: Fanfic: like a vision (can you still hear something?) by

bluedreaming
Torchwood: Fanfic: Crowd control by

m_findlow
Ms. Marvel / MCU: icon: all the people by

highlander_ii
Epic: The Musical: Fanfic: Crowded by

drabblewriter
Guardian: fanfic: two are halves of one by

china_shop

\o/ \o/ \o/

Thank you to everyone who participated! You're now free to post your entries to your journal or wherever else you'd like. If you're archiving on AO3, you can add your work to our fan_flashworks collection there.

Next round coming right up.

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Crowd: Guardian: fanfic: two are halves of one

Title: two are halves of one
Fandom: Guardian (TV)
Rating: T-rated
Length: 850 words
Notes: Title from ee cummings. Much thanks to

trobadora for very last-minute insta-beta. <3
Tags: Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Episode Related, Episode 22 after the blindness arc, First Kiss (for one of them)
Summary: A deep twist of desire makes Zhao Yunlan laugh. "After this—” He circles his chopsticks over the meal and has to clear his throat to keep his voice light. “Shen Wei, I think you should give me a thorough health check.”

( two are halves of one )

Wow, these people....

1. DEAR ABBY: My son is 20 and a senior in college. He's a baseball player and is about to ask the girl he's been dating for a year and a half to marry him. My wife and I don't get along with her at all. She has a myriad of health problems and takes eight prescriptions a day. Because of her conditions, she rarely has the energy to do anything but lie around when she comes to our house. She used to have a job packing groceries at a market, and she would frequently log 10 to 12 miles a day walking. She quit that job for a job at an ice cream shop where she does little walking.

We had a get-together at my other son's house, and she said she couldn't come because she was too tired. My wife sent my son a message saying, "Really? From scooping ice cream?" The girlfriend needed to use my son's phone and saw the message. Her feelings were hurt, and now she will have nothing to do with us. (They still expect us to pay for their wedding, and for gas and maintenance on his car to visit her parents almost daily.) We want to support our son, but we are over it with her. There is so much more I could tell you. Please help. -- DAD WHO'S OVER IT

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2. Dear Eric: My wife of 50 years told me that she no longer wants to live with me. I am currently living in our summer home with no friends or social contacts/networks. She has no interest in reconciling.

We didn't fight or argue, and I am at a loss as to what triggered her declaration. This has taken me totally by surprise. I thought we had a good marriage, with occasional ups and downs. There are no abuse, addiction or infidelity issues. I worked my whole life and am now retired. As soon as we had children, she was able to stay at home and lived comfortably raising our children and taking care of the household. The children have sided with their mom and won't speak to me. I think she has poisoned them against me, but don't see the gain in her doing that.

I am miserable. I am 74 with neurological mobility issues. I fear that I will fall, and no one will be around. Senior housing for me is too expensive and will deplete our planned retirement resources. We were counting on eventually selling our summer home to supplement our finances later in life. This is no longer possible as I am living in that house. This is not how I wanted the last chapters of my life to end.

I have had five sessions of therapy with no results. My therapist says I'm not at risk to myself or others and I am perpetually slightly depressed but not debilitated. Without more concrete information, he cannot help me. I am not a bad person, yet here I am.

– Totally Betrayed

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3. DEAR ABBY: Our 23-year-old son, "Ed," was clean-cut, into working out and staying healthy, watched his diet -- he even joined a gym and was going every week. Ed has been dating a girl, "Emily," who is the complete opposite. She's probably a hundred pounds overweight. She's also dirty, (when she comes here, there have been days she doesn't take a shower).

Twice I have found Emily's lingerie on the floor. Last week, she left a pair of her panties on the bathroom floor. I showed Ed and told him that was the SECOND time I had found her underwear (the first time I didn't say anything). I said, "You have to talk to Emily and tell her not to leave her underwear laying around."

I see a change in Ed. My son hasn't cut his hair in 2 1/2 years and he no longer appears to be as into working out. This is not who we are as a family. My husband and I are fit for our ages (60s) and by all standards clean and orderly. Should I say anything to Ed? I feel like Emily is changing who he is. -- NOT THE SAME IN THE EAST

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4. DEAR ABBY: Our 40-year-old son has become a full-fledged narcissist and blames us (his sister, her husband, my husband and me) for a family schism that has gone on for two years. He tells lies about us and keeps us from our granddaughter. Any attempt to contact him has been met with venomous, foul-mouthed texts in return.

Our son went through a nasty divorce and horrible custody proceeding, but we did our best to support him financially and emotionally during that time. He is now supposedly happily remarried, but he continues to deny us access to his daughter. We are heartbroken. This is not the way we raised him. Any suggestions? -- BAFFLED IN NORTH CAROLINA

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5. DEAR HARRIETTE: My husband and I recently planned a weekend trip out of town, and we arranged for our children to stay with their aunt, my husband's sister, while we were away. We thought everything was going well until, halfway through our trip, we received a call from her saying that one of our kids had started acting out. She told us that she doesn't tolerate that kind of behavior in her home and insisted that we come pick him up immediately. I was shocked and honestly upset. I understand that our son can be a handful at times. He's going through a bit of a rebellious phase, but I feel like she overreacted. We trusted her to help us out, and instead of trying to manage the situation or even calling us for advice on how to calm him down, she made us cut our trip short and made us feel like we were being irresponsible parents for going away in the first place. Now there's tension between us, and I don't know how to approach this. Am I wrong for feeling like she could have handled things differently? -- Not Helpful

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Epic: The Musical: Fanfic: Crowded

Title: Crowded
Fandom: Epic: The Musical
Characters: Odysseus
Rating: G
Length: 100
Summary: The Underworld is crowded in a way that shocks Odysseus.

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Surprisingly good advice from Annie, I want to save it for posterity

Dear Annie: My sister "Kendra" and I are not very close and only communicate two to three times per year, mainly in emails. Kendra sold her home and moved out of state. Through our sibling, I heard that she listed her house high to begin with and had to come down on her price in the end but made a decent amount on it. I never commented on how much she made or didn't make on her old house; I felt that was absolutely none of my business. When she moved and posted pictures of her new house, I commented that I was happy for her.

Fast-forward to me selling my home a year or so later. After my home sold, the information on it went out to the various housing sites, incorrectly showing that it took a loss. We actually did make a nice profit on it. The information that went out was a typo and was corrected about four weeks later.

Kendra was quick to reach out in an email stating she saw online how much we sold for and was surprised at the extreme money loss we took. She then asked if it was a short sale or foreclosure and commented that we must have been very upset about it.

I feel this was none of her business, even if it was the right information. Am I overreacting that I feel it was quite rude for her to comment on my personal business? How should I reply back to her? -- Perplexed

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(no subject)

DEAR HARRIETTE: Since I was young, I've found that I've always had strange anxiety-induced habits -- pulling at the edges of my hair, sucking my thumb, picking at scabs, etc. Over time, I'd find a solution, or I'd just sort of grow out of it. At present, I scratch the insides of my palms when I'm nervous, stressed or frustrated. I think I may do it at other times, but I haven't pinpointed all of the triggers. Lately, it's been out of control. I haven't been able to resolve this one, but I'm so ready to leave it behind. How do I find a lifetime solution for all these behavioral tics? -- Old Habits Die Hard

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Current Mood: accomplished

BINGO: Vertical, Diagonal (016)

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Entry tags:

Ms. Marvel / MCU : icon : all the people

Title: all the people
Fandom: Ms. Marvel / MCU
Rating: G
Content notes: None apply
Summary: icons of crowds or people in crowds from s01e05 of Ms. Marvel

( all the people )

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Nomination queries #3 + reminder nominations close in a day.

We have approximately one day left before nominations close. [ In your timezone + Countdown ] Please make sure you nominate what you want to request and/or offer, as I will not be adding any nominations once the nomination period closes.

Quick links: Nomination guidelines and tagset.

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Duplicates/errors
Thank you to everyone who has flagged duplicates in the tagset.

If you see any duplicates/errors in the tagset, please flag them before Tuesday 12 August at 11:59pm EDT. [ In your timezone. ] I won't be editing any tags once the sign-up period commences.

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Please amend fandom

Pocket Monsters: Scarlet & Violet | Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Versions
Haruto | Florian/Suguri | Kieran

Could the nominator please amend the fandom to "Pokemon Main Video Game Series", as that is the fandom we've placed other canon relationships under.

Jurassic Park - All Media Types
Billy Brennan/Alan Grant (JP)
Gray Mitchell/Zach Mitchell (JP)

We do not accept All Media Types. I will be amending Jurassic Park movie nominations (including Rebirth) to sit under "Jurassic Park (Movies)" as a fandom in the tagset.

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Please renominate under Crossover Fandom

Star Wars - All Media Types
Poe Dameron (SW ST)/Jacen Syndulla (SW Ahsoka)

Multi-Fandom
Roberta (L'ultimo Terrestre)/Majid Zamari

As per this comment, it seems this relationship belongs under Crossover Fandom. Can the nominator please amend the disambiguations as per our crossover guidelines, too.

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Rejected nominations
If your nomination is rejected and you have a case for why it shouldn't be (or if we have made a mistake), please discuss it with us before nominations close; otherwise it will remain rejected.

IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Any of The Losers/Pennywise (IT Movies)

We do not accept "Any" relationships.

Ted Lasso (TV)
Trent Crimm/Ted Lasso

Over 250 works.

Thank you!

Current Mood: chipper

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[#270] JUST A MASK I WEAR (JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS)

Theme Prompt: #270 - Pride
Title: Just a mask I wear
Fandom: Jem and the Holograms
Ratings / Warnings: PG
Bonus: No
Word Count: 134
Summary: It was easy for Jem to feel pride when she strode out across the stage.

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Torchwood: Fanfic: Crowd control

Title: Crowd control
Fandom: Torchwood
Characters: Ianto
Author: m_findlow
Rating: PG
Length: 942 words
Content notes: Spoilers for Big Finish audioplay “Outbreak”
Author notes: Written for Challenge 487 - Crowd
Summary: Ianto realises that the fate of the entire city now rests on his shoulders, and to make matters worse, everybody wants him dead.

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[#270] CROSSROADS (GAME OF THRONES / A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE)

Theme Prompt: #270 - Pride
Title: Crossroads
Fandom: Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire)
Rating/Warnings: PG
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 1,000 words
Summary: Davos is beginning to see the weight one decision may have on the fate of them all.

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Crowd: The Clone Returns Home: Fanfic: like a vision (can you still hear something?)

Fandom: The Clone Returns Home
Mods please use the f: movie (category) tag
Rating: T
Length: 100 words
Content notes: canonical major character death
Author notes: The title is from SOUVENIR by Rin Ishigaki, translated by Leith Morton, and IN THE CROWDED COUNTRY by K. Schippers, translated by Willem Groenewegen.
Summary: In which Takahara Kohei is still alive (for a few moments).

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