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It took a while, but I'm ready to share my own favorite stories from

hlh_shortcuts '25, the annual Highlander fanfiction exchange that releases on the winter solstice (because that is Duncan's birthday). Of course your tastes may differ, so please check out the whole collection and find your joy!

"Metaphorically Speaking" (~4K words, G, gen; Riche, Angie) by

argentum_ls
Please let me shout-out again the story written for my own match request this year. This story delivers a familiar, favorite concept -- Angie encountering Richie after he let her believe he was dead -- in a fresh new way at an energizing distance. Angie is in a very vulnerable place while still immensely strong; the shock doesn't go down easy.

"Orogenesis" (~12K words, G, m/m; Duncan, Methos) by

Teratornis
With a gentle pace and layered metaphors, this story gives Duncan a wholly new interest -- geology -- in a peaceful time, and digs into who Duncan can be when he is not fighting for his life and the lives of those he loves. The show never did much to explore his interests. This piece is about reunion, renewal, growth, and hope.

"Closing Up Shop" (~1K words, G, gen; Joe, Rachel) by

Merfilly
The idea of Rachel E. and a younger Joe meeting is a delight. This story follows close on the first movie, so we get a competent, careful Rachel acting on behalf of Connor and a cautious, careful Joe acting on behalf of the pre-Horton Watchers. I particularly enjoy the parallelism, perhaps foreshadowing, of a scene many years later in the series.

"Kastagir's Hotel Américain" (~3K words, G, f/f; Amanda, Kastigir, Rachel, Rebecca) by

Pennywashburne
This setting is vibrant and an assortment of vivid characters with assorted motivations float downstream into it. Amanda is pulling off a lighter caper while others pull off a more serious operation that is not fully revealed until the end, and we get to see Rachel E. when she's an active young woman, dealing with Connor's immortal friends on her own.

"The Road Forward" (~1K, G, gen; Richie, Connor) by

Havocthecat
It's New Year's Eve 1999, and Richie and Connor are celebrating and remembering. Bringing these characters together in this specific part of their experiences is resonant, with melancholic hope and hopeful regret running both directions, over and around references to all Richie's canonical loved ones. His thoughts of Tessa and Angie particularly strike home with me.

(I, of course, wrote "Hakobore" (~6K, G, gen; Duncan, Methos, Midori), in which Duncan takes his damaged katana to Japan for repair.)

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otw_news_feed

Posted by Aditi Paul

https://www.transformativeworks.org/ivd-2025-volunteer-qa-communications-spotlight/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=277309

Last November we asked the community to submit questions to our OTW volunteers in celebration of International Volunteer Day. In this series of posts we will spotlight some of our committees’ responses.

The Communications committee (Comms) disseminates information to the general public, media, and fans. We draft and beta news posts and social media posts, and are often the first point of contact for anyone interested in the OTW.

We asked Comms for replies to your questions, and received a lot of feedback! Below you can find a selection of their answers:

Communications Committee Specific Questions

Question: We’re so thankful for how fast you guys always respond when the ao3 website goes down. I was wondering what’s the circus like behind the scenes when it happens? xD Do you usually first notice when we start panicking, or does someone keep an eye on it 24/7, do emails start flying from social team to it, is it usually scary or is it very organised and calm since you’re so experienced, who makes the decision to pull the plug for a few hours if it’s really bad and looks hopeless, stuff like this. Thank you!
Committee answer:
Accessibility, Design, & Technology (AD&T) and Systems (our two main technical committees) have already given their own replies to this, but from Comms’ end, we often are the ones that handle posting and disseminating information for downtimes! We work hand in hand with AD&T and Systems to ensure that we’re distributing the most accurate and concise information to the public, and coordinate with our fellow volunteers to make sure that it’s sent out in time. We do our best to handle the public logistics so that our coders can focus on their own work!

General Questions

How many hours a week do you spend on your OTW volunteer work?

It truly depends on the week! Typically I would say ~4 hours, for just keeping on top of things and my weekly tasks. It can be upwards of 10 if there’s things outside of the norm or that require a bit of research. (Caitlynne)
For me, it depends on the time of year most of all! As an Event Coordinator, half of the year I’d say it’s ~2-6 hours a week. The bulk of our anniversaries and holidays converge into fall and winter, during that time it’s more ~6-8 hours. (Elin)

How do you manage your volunteer time, and do you do the same thing every day like with a day job?

I hop on my computer pretty frequently throughout the week, so I tailor my OTW time to when I’m on my PC. If there’s a day I’m busy and away from my PC, I know I’ll have to “catch up” the next day when I have time, so to speak. (Tiana)
I try to check our chat tool/the Comms email when I can throughout the day and give a dedicated half hour or so on my laptop in the evenings. It doesn’t always work out, but that’s the goal! (callmeri)

What’s your favorite part about volunteering at the OTW?

I like that tending the little OTW!Tumblr corner of the landscape helps the whole fandom ecosystem. (Remi)
The best part of volunteering at the OTW is the people, for sure! The social aspect is easily what motivates me the most to stay. I have made lots of friends and the Communications committee has been a really supportive environment! (stork)

What’s the aspect of volunteer work with the OTW that you most wish more people knew about?

We are fans just like you! There are so many different cultures and fandoms coming together every day to make the organisation run. (Tal)
We are really big on emojis! The custom emoji feature on our chat tool is definitely getting a lot of mileage with us XD. Also, you can put OTW work on your resume if you want to. (stork)

What does a typical day as an OTW volunteer looks like for you?

Check the Tumblr notes and ask box in the morning, before scrolling through my personal dash and then the tags the organisation follows looking for Things To Queue. Mosey through the #ao3 tag on occasion to reply or leave little notes to folks. Every day is similar, but none are The Same. (Remi)
I often start by checking and responding to messages from other volunteers, and then make a list of current tasks to work on. Sometimes that means brainstorming activities for a special milestone, other times it’s writing posts, or preparing for an event. (Elin)

What is your favorite animal? Alternatively, do you have a favorite breed of cat/dog?

I love bats and think they’re super cute, but identify with possums on an emotional level. (Caitlynne)
My favorite animal is a saiga antelope. Fave dog breed: Irish wolfhound. (Communications volunteer)

Do you enjoy reading fanfic? If so, what’s your favorite work on AO3?

For a dyslexic person I seem to read A LOT of fanfic… I actually tend to read more on AO3 than actual books?? Anyway, my favourite of all time would have to be unholyverse. I don’t think anything can beat that… (Gray)
I love reading fic so much it’s kind of concerning how many tabs I have open all the time. My favourite fic is locked but another fave is between the sheets by DasWarSchonKaputt. og. goat. mother. (choux)

Do you write any fanfic yourself? What do you enjoy about it?

I do write. I enjoy the creativity and the ability to explore characters. (Communications volunteer)
I do! It’s my favorite hobby and one I neglected a bit last year. I hope to get back into the swing of it in 2026. (Tiana)

What fandoms are you (currently) in?

I’m very active in the Dan and Phil fandom :3 (Gray)
Mostly MDZS and IWTV for the past few years, but Heated Rivalry took over my brain so it looks like I’m getting on that ride. (callmeri)

Do you feel glad or proud to see fanfiction in your mother tongue?

I’m also a tag wrangler, so I get to participate in tag translation (every tag wrangled needs to have a documented english translation). There aren’t as many German works, but we have loads of German volunteers – this means there’s often several of us running to translate whenever there’s a German tag. it’s really cool to see very specific cultural references in works! (Tal)
I read a TON of socmed AUs in Filipino along with the Filipino fics in general! I’m super happy to see fanwork in Filipino and when a creator is Filipino as well! especially when I see actual locations or cultural tidbits getting referenced. (choux)

Thanks so much to every volunteer who took the time to answer!

(For more answers, check out this work on AO3, where we collect additional replies to each question!)

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.

https://www.transformativeworks.org/ivd-2025-volunteer-qa-communications-spotlight/

https://www.transformativeworks.org/?p=277309

innitmarvellous

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mental health

regshoe

Re-read The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (1955), which I first read some years ago and remembered as an enjoyably twisted tale of murder and impersonation that's also pretty gay. Actually I failed to remember quite how gay it is: Tom Ripley's repressed homosexuality and terror of other people perceiving it are both pretty much textual and important parts of his character and motivation. Anyway, the whole murder-and-impersonation thing is very well-written and great fun in a nicely stressful way. The copy I read has a review-blurb on the front cover that describes Ripley as 'amoral, hedonistic and charming', and while that's true, I think it gives a mistaken impression, because he is also needy, deeply insecure and kind of pathetic and it's the combination that's really fascinating. I also enjoyed how the later part of the book plays out like a murder mystery from the reverse side, with the narrative following the murderer and his attempts to escape detection while the detectives and involved side characters try to figure things out in the background. Perhaps the degree to which they fail is a little bit overly lucky for Ripley, but I think it's a good ending. Highsmith wrote several more books about him; without having read them, and accounting for my general suspicion of sequels and series, I think this was a mistake. Ripley neither needs nor deserves any sequel, meaning 'deserves' both ways round.

Puck of Pook's Hill by Rudyard Kipling (1906). This is, what it had been vaguely in my awareness for years as, something to do with A Midsummer Night's Dream, but I became more interested in reading it when I learnt that it's also a series of stories about the history of England. Two children living near Pevensey in Sussex meet Puck by inadvertently acting bits from A Midsummer Night's Dream in a local fairy ring; Puck introduces them to various people from or connected to the area throughout its history, who tell the stories of their lives. It is a good bit of historical-folkloric dramatisation, but on the whole I was unconvinced: Kipling's thought is just too conventional, in the politically-conservative way and also in the 'Good Kings and dates and battles' view of history way (he wraps the book up by making the whole thing about the memorable Magna Charta by way of some strange antisemitism). Sutcliff, Mitchison and Clarke have all done it better.

The stories are interspersed with poems, and whatever else can be said about Kipling it's certainly true that he can write a good poem. My favourite thing about the book, actually, was the sidelong relationship between the poems and the stories: the poems are all connected to the subjects of the stories but are mostly not directly about them and not actually referred to in them or in the framing story, and so they act as a sort of outside-view commentary on or expansion of the stories' world. And some people have set them to music, so have a couple of recs:

Watch on YouTube

(This is my favourite of the poems; yes, when you think about it, eighteenth-century smugglers are just like fairies. Via Wikipedia I saw this pub wall in Dorset on which is displayed a verse of the poem, with—presumably to make things nice and clear for contextless pub-goers—the word 'Gentlemen' changed to 'Smugglers', and thought, well, you've missed the point, haven't you.)

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books,
music

nyctanthes

Some more fills from the January long weekend. I’ve been collecting prompts, and hopefully will have time to play around with them in February. I’m in the mood to write very short fic; now I just have to find the time!

( Terminator: TSCC, John and Sarah and Cameron )

( Sinners, Lisa Chow )

( Sharp Objects, Camille Preaker &/ Amma Crellin )

Hm, maybe my next round will be fluffy? Or perhaps not. :P

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dw challenges: 3sf

shipperslist

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shipperslist

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spikedluv

9-1-1: Good ep. ( spoilers )

The Pitt: Good ep. ( spoilers )

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princessofgeeks

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princessofgeeks

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friendof_dorothy posting in

small_fandoms

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princessofgeeks

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hokuton_punch

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melagan posting in

fandomcalendar

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inchoatewords

Movies: None

Television/Streaming: Watching my way through I'm in Love with the Villainess, which was originally a manga, I think. Anyway, the premise is that Rei, an office worker who is obsessed with this fantasy romance game, gets transported into said game as her character. The game mechanics are heteronormative (a choice of three princes to get with) but Rei is obsessed with Miss Claire, a noblewoman, and in her game reincarnation, takes every opportunity to tell her she loves her. There's also magic and other hijinks here. Rei is a little problematic because of how hard she goes, but it feels like there are other things at play here so I'm seeing where this ends up.

Books: Finished It's Not a Cult by Joey Batey. This is our February pick for my online book club. Batey is Jasker in The Witcher series (which I have not seen and did not know this until later) and this is his first book. The premise is a little no-name band that has a whole mythos behind their songs (minor gods called the Solkats) suddenly blows up online, and develops a rabid following: picking apart their lyrics for hidden meanings, and then following the "orders" they claim to get getting from the songs. Of course, some of them start turning to violent behavior and the band has to figure out what to do.

Overall, it was an interesting premise. I really liked the Solkat angle (with names like Scran, Solkat of Bar Tabs, Reckonings, and Squander; or Hockle, the Antecedent, Solkat of Spit and Nervous Moments), but it wasn't explored as in depth as I thought it could have been. This book has a lot to say about fandom and obsession. I felt it could have been tightened a bit more (it seems a little overlong) and some different details could have been highlighted. I'm sure we'll have a lot to say at book club.

Listening to: I got back to the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums project this week, finally, and got through two albums.

#492 Nick of Time, Bonnie Raitt (1989). This album was on the original 2012 list at #231. Blurb from Rolling Stone:

After being dumped by her previous label, blues rocker Bonnie Raitt exacted revenge with this multiplatinum Grammy-award winner, led by an on-fire version of John Hiatt’s “Thing Called Love” and the brilliant title track, a study in midlife crisis told from a woman’s perspective. Producer Don Was helped her sharpen the songs without sacrificing any of her slide-guitar fire. And as Raitt herself pointed out, her 10th try was “my first sober album.”

I only remembered "Have a Heart" from this album, which got some radio airplay. However, I did really like this album overall. Good bluesy guitar, and some great lines like "I ain't no porcupine/Take off your kid gloves" from the chorus of "Thing Called Love." You can also hear the tail-end-of-the-80s influence on some of the songs here, as well, which is not a detriment. Tracks I really liked: "Nick of Time, "Thing Called Love," "Have a Heart," "Love Letter"

#491 Harry's House, Harry Styles (2022). Obviously, given the release year, this was not on the original 2012 list. Rolling Stone sez:

Harry Styles achieved pop greatness with One Direction, but he got even deeper on his own. In Harry’s House, his third solo album, he stakes his claim as one of his generation’s most savagely imaginative musical minds. It’s a vibrant, playful, vividly emotional song cycle about searching for different kinds of home. He zips from Tokyo-style city pop (“Music for a Sushi Restaraunt”) to disco flash (“Satellite”) to delicate guitar ballads (“Matilda”). “As It Was” has Harry at his most intimate and personal, yet blew up into a universal hit—it spent 15 weeks at Number One.

This one is fun. I do like his music post One Direction, and a few of my favorites are on this album, "As It Was" and "Late Night Talking" among them. Good album for driving around town or just dancing barefoot in your own house.

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spikedluv

I hit Agway and the Bakery while I was downtown. Then I had to hit the pharmacy because the dentist did send in a prescription for antibiotics for Pip’s tooth. I also stopped by the Town offices to pay property taxes and hit the bank drive-thru.

I did a load of laundry, hand-washed dishes, ran a load in the dishwasher, went for several walks with Pip/the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, and scooped kitty litter. We had chicken and gravy on rice for supper.

I read a lot of fanfic and watched 9-1-1 and House Hunters International.

Temps started out at -4.9(F) (and dropped a tiny bit to -5.1 before I left the house) and reached 11.3. There was some sun, but also wind, so it felt so much colder.

Mom Update:

Mom sounded tired when I talked to her. I forgot to mention that she did talk to the Hospice nurse about her energy levels. The nurse talked to the doctor and they prescribed Prednisone for her. (A week to see how it works.) I thought it was odd, but google says it affects the adrenal gland? I’m not sure if that’s what is supposed to affect her energy? She first took it Thursday morning. I don’t know how long it takes to work, but it clearly wasn’t working as of today.

She had some good meals. Sister S was there and mom was expecting Sister A. My brother had called. The aunt and uncle who were supposed to visit never showed and didn’t call to tell her they weren’t coming, so she kind of kept expecting them to show up.

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popliar posting in

paradisediner

I am not involved in running this auction, just spreading the word:

"FTH is an online auction of fanworks that generates donations to progressive nonprofits that are working to protect marginalized people. Over the course of the last 9 years we have raised over $430,000 for a range of amazing organizations."

Sign-ups are open for this year

FTH Kpop Bsky account with some stats on kpop sign-ups so far!

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fandom,
fic fest

dancing_serpent posting in

c_ent

The weekly chat posts are intended for just that, chatting among each other. What are you currently watching? Reading? What actor/idol are you currently following? What are you looking forward to? Are you busy writing, creating art? Or did you have no time at all for anything, and are bemoaning that fact?

Whatever it is, talk to us about it here. Tell us what you liked or didn't like, and if you want to talk about spoilery things, please hide them under either of these codes:
or

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weekly chat

mific posting in

fancake

Fandom: due South
Characters/Pairings: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Ray Kowalski & Ray Vecchio, Diefenbaker, Buck Frobisher, Maggie McKenzie
Rating: Mature
Length: 26,124 for the main fic, 28,647 for the series
Content Notes: Creator chose not to warn. This has at least a hopeful ending, but the fic is about zombies and Ray kills and eats at least one victim, plus there are some slightly gross descriptions in places. Way less gore etc. than most zombie stories, though.
Creator Links: mizface on AO3
Themes: Crack treated seriously, Friends to lovers, Friendship, Complete AU, Zombies, (Not really) character death, Epistolary fic

Summary: Ray Kowalski thought he had an okay existence: he had a place to call home, didn't have to worry about a job, and nobody bothered him. If it wasn't for the fact that he was a zombie, things would have been pretty good.

Then he met very much alive Benton Fraser, and his whole world was turned upside down.

Reccer's Notes: And the trifecta of cracky fantasy creatures: zombies. This story's based on the movie Warm Bodies, which also takes the cracky zombie premise kind of seriously, in a romantic way. Zombies are usually shown as mindless ravening hordes, but in this story both Rays have been zombified but haven't completely lost themselves. Here, zombies are called "the infected", and both Rays begin to mysteriously improve across the story, regaining more speech and cognitive ability. Apart from the relationship with Fraser that develops - and we also access Fraser's POV from his journal entries - there's a nice friendship between the Rays. There's one major story, followed by a number of short fics adding to the 'verse. A rather lovely and poignant take on zombies, that more seriously explores a possible at least partial recovery from that state, and developing relationships.

Fanwork Links: Ch-ch-changes, and the series

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tropicsbear

🦵🏽 Thursday was leg day at the gym and lord I'm still feeling it. My inner thighs scream in protest any time I try to move my legs.

🎨 Finished doing some more tweaks to my layout! Made sure the rainbow gradient's applied to all links (except tags and the entry interaction stuff), applied a hover effect where the link text goes white and there's a black background (because the zone in Sk8!), tweaked some fonts on my icon and tag pages, changed the main body font, and some other fiddly stuff I can't recall.

🀄 Played some mahjong with Mom and the sisters after lunch per Mom's request. Won 2/5 games \o/

🏃🏽‍♀️ Sister G is attempting to get me to go jogging with her and Dad tomorrow morning. I know I need to incorporate more cardio into my life but also am I capable of dragging myself out of bed to be ready to leave by 5:30 AM? Who knows.

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amie lynne;

January 2026

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we're only ashes.

Network

HLH_Shortcuts '25 recommendations

IVD 2025 Volunteer Q&A—Communications Spotlight

Communications Committee Specific Questions

General Questions

(no subject)

Recent reading

3SF Fills, Part II

WIPdate January 2026

honesty is the best policy (a 100 cql/mdzs ships fic)

TV Talk: 9-1-1 & The Pitt

writing question

driveby rec

Drabblethon: The Last Time I Saw Him (Neighbours TV)

more iPhone whining

Casefic Exchange 2026 Letter

Romancing McShep Happy-ending Fest 2026

Media Post

The Day in Spikedluv (Friday, Jan 30)

FTH 2026 sign-ups open

Weekly Chat

due South: Ch-ch-changes by mizface

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January 2026

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