Reading

Entry tags:

rl suckage

Goddamn scammers. This is a PSA - watch out for this bullshit

I was almost scammed yesterday. Got a phone call ostensibly from my bank and he (UK accent, slightly unusual but not impossible) launched right away into reassurance that he wasn't going to ask for my PIN or account details. Said he was from my bank's fraud dept and my credit card had been used for a transaction for over $1800.00 in Singapore, so as they knew I lived in Auckland, he was checking I wasn't on vacation there. I said no I wasn't.

He assured me they would block the payment, but said that unfortunately as someone had my card details, the bank would have to cancel my card and mail me a replacement. I moaned a bit about the hassle. Then he said he needed me to check my texts as there should be one related to the scam transaction. There was. Then he said could I read out the 6 digit authorisation number so he could cancel it. But the authorisation number had only 4 digits, so I got suspicious, told him I'd call my bank, and disconnected. Would I have fallen for it if he'd got the number of digits right? I hope not, but am unsure.

Sure enough it was a scam, and my bank's fraud dept hadn't contacted me. There was a small sum the scammer had tried to charge to my card, and my bank said if I'd given him the authorisation number he'd in fact have charged a huge amount to my card. The bad news is that the bank still have to cancel my card, and the REALLY ANNOYING news is that they're based in both Aussie and NZ and their new procedure is to mail my new card from fucking Australia, not locally. I know from past experience that mail from Aussie can take bloody weeks, so that's a huge bummer. (They say max. 2 weeks but I don't believe it). I have several payments automatically set up on my card and they're going to start bouncing.

Anyway, I'll just be over here gnashing my teeth, but be aware of this scam - they're very slick and believable. Don't ever give anyone purporting to be from your bank a texted (etc.) transaction authorisation number, no matter how small the amount is. In fact, don't do anything at all if "your bank" calls you. Hang up and call your bank to check.

Entry tags:

SGA Story: A Suspicious Lump (McShep, PG)

from the Narf 'Verse for SGA Saturday week #505-509: "wait" and/or "survive"

Title: A Suspicious Lump
Pairing: John/Rodney
Genre: series, established relationship
Words: 1,658
Rating: PG
Summary: Rodney is worried; John is Schrödinger's worried.

Entry tags:

McShep story for Wait/Survive: A Suspicious Lump

from the Narf 'Verse for week #505-509: "wait" and/or "survive"

Title: A Suspicious Lump
Pairing: John/Rodney
Genre: series, established relationship
Words: 1,658
Rating: PG
Summary: Rodney is worried; John is Schrödinger's worried.

FFA DW Post #2333 - ...Patrick?!

La estrella de mar “culona” que fue hallada en el cañón Mar del Plata?

No, this is the Krusty Krab.

All the fail_fandomanon Rules and Information (and Ban Requests): https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/1076.html. The short version: no embeds, don't out people's real names, don't be that much of an asshole, body fluids are off topic, Mods reserve the right to freeze, screen, and delete the fuck out of stuff. FFA discussion covers a wide variety of topics and has a very flexible view of 'fandom' that includes politics, current events, and cooking techniques. FFA is a Choose NOT to Warn experience. Meme away.

Other posts on meme:

Personal Issues, Off Topic Conversation, Religion, & Everything Else post (PP #31)
Fic and WIP Post
Book Clubs, Watchalongs, & Readalongs
Prompt & fill fests: for FFA Post #1000, FFA's 10th anniversary, FFA Post #1500, & FFA Post #2000

Search

Unofficial FFA archive & search: Dememe.info Username/password pairs are nonnie/pony, nonny/seal, or ayrt/velociraptor
If you have a DW account, you can use DW's content search. Don't forget to tick the box to search in comments. You can also use FFA Rocks.

Related communities and additional resources

New unofficial FFA wiki (archive: ffawiki_backup)
New unofficial FFA Writers Tips & Recs wiki
Unofficial Fyeah FFA tumblr
Unofficial FFA recs list
Unofficial FFA Discord Chat
DW Blocker link & tips and now New! 2024 Updated DW Blocker Guide
How to link to another account on DW or other sites. If you don't want to create a clickable link, type a backslash (\) before the @.

Meme rules do not require spoiler cuts. But here are two ways to make them:

HTML-5 (recommended)
<details> <summary>spoiler title</summary> Some spoilery content. </details>	Demo: spoiler title Some spoilery content.

Alternative for inline spoiler-cuts - details here
<div tabindex="-1"><b>spoiler title</b><div>Some spoilery content.</div></div>	Demo: spoiler title Some spoilery content.

If you would like to be banned to avoid anonfailing, please leave a logged-in comment at the rules post. It will be automatically screened.

Next post: will open when this posts hits 5000
Previous post: https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/696718.html#comments
Regular view - First page: https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/696858.html#comments
Regular view - Last page: https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/696858.html?page=999#comments
Top Level view - First page: https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/696858.html?view=top-only#comments
Top Level view - Last page: https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/696858.html?view=top-only&page=999#comments
Flat view - First Comment: https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/696858.html?view=flat#comments
Flat view - Most Recent: https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/696858.html?view=flat&page=999#comments
Dememe flatview emulator is at https://dememe.info/flat_view (same login as the regular Dememe info above).

These topics are banned:

'Which topics belong on main meme'
the game Hogwarts Legacy
discussion about current events in Israel and Palestine
US Politics

Only one clearly named top-level thread for each of the following topics:

Disruptive and Provocative Opinions (DAPO)
sexual abuse and rape culture
UK Politics
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and related current events

Discussion of UK politics related sexual abuse and rape culture should go into one properly labeled subthread.

Discussion of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK needs to go to the thread about that country. If it's personal, it still belongs on the PP. Any attempt at wank will be frozen.

Entry tags:

Multifandom: Fandom With Benefits (monthly events)

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Iddy Talk Time #3

How doth thy iddy garden grow? \o/

This week, tell us: ☆ Would a detachable sex tentacle fit anywhere in your story?
★ Which character hates you the most right now?

Join us over at the chat post!

Entry tags:

book report

The Incandescent, by Emily Tesh

Dr. Sapphire "Saffy" Walden is the head of the magical department in an exclusive—and very old—English boarding school. She's a powerful magician, a dedicated teacher, and a middle-aged white bisexual woman. She lives on campus, eats all her meals in the cafeteria, and doesn't have much of a life outside the school, which has a bit of a demon problem.

The pace of this book is banananas. There's a big fight a third of the way in that, in any other book, would be the final conflict, but here it's just part of the background. The central question doesn't even solidify until halfway through the book, and the main problem doesn't come into focus until much, much later. Every conflict but the last comes on suddenly and is dealt with immediately and in between is the normal grinding minutiae of being a teacher and school administrator. This isn't a complaint. Emily Tesh knows what she's doing, and that is building a rich and layered world for her story to live in, a world so deep and detailed that the clues she sprinkles in don't stand out as anything but more of the same.

Every time I read a children's fantasy book where the kids confront the enormous problem all by themselves and I was crying, weeping, begging, Please find a trusted adult, this book heard me and answered. But, as we learn, even that can have its pitfalls.

Contains: children in peril, past child death; demonic possession; life-changing injury; and while there is f/f romance, it's not in any way the focus of the book.

Entry tags:

[ MULTIFANDOM ] - RARE PAIR EXCHANGE NOMINATIONS ARE OPEN!

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

FFA DW Post #2332 - It's only ineffabilité if it comes from the Ineffable region of France.

Otherwise it's just sparkling soul.(tm)

All the fail_fandomanon Rules and Information (and Ban Requests): https://fail-fandomanon.dreamwidth.org/1076.html. The short version: no embeds, don't out people's real names, don't be that much of an asshole, body fluids are off topic, Mods reserve the right to freeze, screen, and delete the fuck out of stuff. FFA discussion covers a wide variety of topics and has a very flexible view of 'fandom' that includes politics, current events, and cooking techniques. FFA is a Choose NOT to Warn experience. Meme away.

Other posts on meme:

Personal Issues, Off Topic Conversation, Religion, & Everything Else post (PP #31)
Fic and WIP Post
Book Clubs, Watchalongs, & Readalongs
Prompt & fill fests: for FFA Post #1000, FFA's 10th anniversary, FFA Post #1500, & FFA Post #2000

Search

Unofficial FFA archive & search: Dememe.info Username/password pairs are nonnie/pony, nonny/seal, or ayrt/velociraptor
If you have a DW account, you can use DW's content search. Don't forget to tick the box to search in comments. You can also use FFA Rocks.

Related communities and additional resources

New unofficial FFA wiki (archive: ffawiki_backup)
New unofficial FFA Writers Tips & Recs wiki
Unofficial Fyeah FFA tumblr
Unofficial FFA recs list
Unofficial FFA Discord Chat
DW Blocker link & tips and now New! 2024 Updated DW Blocker Guide
How to link to another account on DW or other sites. If you don't want to create a clickable link, type a backslash (\) before the @.

Meme rules do not require spoiler cuts. But here are two ways to make them:

HTML-5 (recommended)
<details> <summary>spoiler title</summary> Some spoilery content. </details>	Demo: spoiler title Some spoilery content.

Alternative for inline spoiler-cuts - details here
<div tabindex="-1"><b>spoiler title</b><div>Some spoilery content.</div></div>	Demo: spoiler title Some spoilery content.

These topics are banned:

'Which topics belong on main meme'
the game Hogwarts Legacy
discussion about current events in Israel and Palestine
US Politics

Only one clearly named top-level thread for each of the following topics:

Disruptive and Provocative Opinions (DAPO)
sexual abuse and rape culture
UK Politics
Russia's invasion of Ukraine and related current events

Discussion of UK politics related sexual abuse and rape culture should go into one properly labeled subthread.

Discussion of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK needs to go to the thread about that country. If it's personal, it still belongs on the PP. Any attempt at wank will be frozen.

Five Ways Ronon Dex Kisses a Team Member (by minnow) (M)

Shows: SGA
Rec Category: Ronon Dex
Characters: Ronon Dex/Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex & Aiden Ford, Ronon Dex & Rodney McKay, Ronon Dex/John Sheppard/Teyla Emmagan/Rodney McKay
Categories: F/M, Multi, Gen
Words: 5500
Warnings: Secondary character death (offscreen) in the 2nd story. Aphrodisiac dosing offworld thus a dubcon OT4 in the 3rd story and postscript.
Author on DW:

minnow
Author's Website:

minnow
Link: Five Ways Ronon Dex Kisses a Team Member on DW
Why This Must Be Read: A series of stories in the 5-things structure, some with attraction, some entirely gen or friendship-based, and an AMTDI OT4 near-orgy. They're all wonderfully written, and as a bonus postscript,

minnow gives us an M-rated section she cut from the OT4 part, which is very nice indeed. There's some worldbuilding about Sateda and Ronon's earlier life, but not a lot as the sections aren't that long. An excellent read.

( snippet of fic )

Entry tags:

fandom: red white and royal blue

Happy Pride! by marz-rm (SFW)

Fandom: Red White and Royal Blue (RWRB)
Characters/Pairing/Other Subject: Alex/Henry
Content Notes/Warnings: none
Medium: digital art
Artist on DW/LJ: n/a
Artist Website/Gallery: marz-rm on tumblr
Why this piece is awesome: Doing Red, White and Royal Blue this month, which means a lot of pics of pretty boys! This one is presumably set post canon, at Pride. Love the glowing colours, and of course, the kissing!
Link: Happy Pride!

Entry tags:

August Challenge 2025: Return

The theme challenge for this month is Return (Please include the tag challenge: return when you post.) Theme challenges have to do with fic choice. Since this month's challenge is 'return' your story has to be related to that theme one way or another.

The shape challenge is 'diagonal 3' (tag challenge: diagonal 3). This should be at minimum 3 squares, ie:

OOXOO
OXOOO
XOOOO
OOOOO
OOOOO

Shape challenges require that you complete a specific shape of squares on your card. If you complete a shape challenge by the deadline, you’ll win a cheat. If your card already has the shape formation before the challenge starts, you can only count that challenge as completed if you fill at least one square on your card within the challenge time period.

You can pick the challenge you prefer or do both if you're feeling ambitious. Once you’ve posted the podfic required to fulfill the monthly challenge, please comment here to let us know you’ve completed the challenge.

If you complete a challenge, you earn a cheat. If none of the challenges appeal to you, you can also earn cheats by commenting on other people's podfics.

What are Cheats?
Cheats are rewards that allow participants to manipulate their cards so that they can be finished more easily. There are 2 kinds of cheats: shifting squares and swapping out squares. Shifting squares allows participants to swap locations of two squares on their card. Swapping out cheats allow you to discard one of your prompts entirely from your card and replace it with a prompt of your choosing from the Prompt List.

Entry tags:

let them eat fancake

Fancake's Theme for August: Marriage of Convenience

Photograph of a young Vietnamese couple in a sunny urban environment, with added text: Marriage of Convenience, at Fancake. A bride in a white dress and sunglasses leaves her groom behind at a bus stop. The bride is smiling and carrying a bouquet of lilies as she hikes up the long skirt of her dress and walks away. The groom is in the background, wearing a dark grey suit and sitting on a bench. He's blurry, but it looks like he might be smiling at her.

We're having a Flashback Round at

fancake this August and revisiting our Marriage of Convenience theme! That means in addition to the new recs being shared this month, there's already 63 recs waiting for you at the comm. We've also got a bonus banner this month if you want to help promote the theme.

If you have any questions about this theme, or the comm, come talk to me!

Entry tags:

!modpost

2025 Sign-Ups

FAQ | Prompt List | AO3 Collection | Ask-a-Mod

This year, you can sign up for a card at any time from August 4, 2025 - February, 2026. There will be monthly challenges that are only open to those who have signed up for a card. Don’t miss them! Sign up now. You will receive your card within a week. Give us a poke if you haven't heard back from us in that time.

To sign up, leave a comment stating that you'd like a card and if you want NSFW prompts or not. You can also opt-out of up to five prompts when requesting a card. If you dislike any prompts on the card you're given, cheats should be your primary form of changing them!

Before signing up, please take a moment to review the FAQ post.

Entry tags:

!modpost

Welcome to Podfic Bingo! 2025 Rules & FAQ

Welcome to Podfic Bingo: 2025!

FAQ | Sign Ups | Prompt List | AO3 Collection | Ask-a-Mod

What is Podfic Bingo?

podfic_bingo was originally the brainchild of

klb. She wanted a challenge for podficcers like fic bingo challenges where, instead of being given subject prompts, we're given reading/podfic style prompts. These days, there are three main types of prompts: reading prompts (e.g. Read Loudly), production prompts (e.g. Record in a New Location), and fic choice prompts (e.g. Angst).

This can be a way for podficcers to try different things when podficcing to hone their art, to get out of a rut, to venture outside their comfort zone, or try something they've always wanted to but maybe didn't have the courage to.

Some things you try may not go exactly as planned, but it's all about learning and doing new things. Don't be afraid!

( Click here for the rules and FAQs of 2025 ).

Don't hesitate to ask a mod if you've got further questions.

Entry tags:

!modpost

Ask-a-Mod!

FAQ | Sign Ups | Prompt List

Have questions about the Prompts? You might be thinking, "Do you consider a selkie a human?" or "Does Gamora count as a 'character of color'?" We purposefully don't have a list of definitions to go with our prompts so that the prompts can remain to interpretation. People can be so creative in how they interpret things and we want to encourage that.

However, if you find yourself looking at a square and have no idea what it means/what to do with it, leave a comment and we can let you know the original intent behind that prompt.

You can also check out the resource post from previous years:
2024: DW | 2023: DW | 2022: DW | 2021 : DW | 2018: DW | 2016: DW | 2015: DW | 2014: LJ | DW.

Reminder: Once you get your card, you can start posting podfics right away.

Entry tags:

Seasons of Drabbles - Summer Round: Signups and Nominations Open!

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Entry tags:

monthly reccers

August reccers

Sorry for the delay, people.

Many thanks to

cassiope25,

goddess47,

mific,

nuh_s, and

smilebackwards for all their July recs! We had 16 recs this past month, including my own.

Our reccers for August are:

cassiope25: Rodney McKay

goddess47: Jack O'Neill

mific: Ronon Dex

nuh_s: Minor characters

Reccers, you all have access and can start posting at any time. Remember that you have committed yourself to reccing at least two fics over the course of the month, although of course we will be happy with more. Feel free to use the copy-and-paste template from the reccer's FAQ for your convenience.

If you wanted to volunteer for this month and didn't have a chance to sign up, drop a comment here and I'll happily add you to the list.

fan_writers comm - for meta about writing

( You're about to view content that a community administrator has advised should be viewed with discretion. )

Entry tags:

Thoughts and Fic

Rewatching Stargate Atlantis's Ghost in the Machine today and I just still can't, even after all these years. It's basically murder/suicide at the end and poor poor Rodney having to program the dialing computer to space them. The way he says it was all his fault from the beginning. I just can't...

Stargate Atlantis fic wise, I'm really happy with the series I posted this week. I got some incredibly sweet comments as well with people saying it's the finale we deserved instead of the one we got. I hadn't thought of it as a finale, but it really does mirror well the end scene, except this time with everyone happy and not John oddly alone and separate from everyone.

This is Our Chance Series
Teen rating, McShep, Team as Family, Ronon/Amelia, Ronon & Rodney friendship

Story 1: This Second Chance at Happiness: Ronon considers proposing to Amelia, but it feels a bit like betraying Melena's memory. Rodney goes to find Ronon and offers him comfort. There's drinking. Lots of friendship feels.

Story 2: This Journey We Share: Rodney wakes up after his drunken conversation with Ronon. The two had made a deal to tell the people they love how they feel, and now it's time to see that through. Only Rodney feels absolutely terrible and ends up in the infirmary. Turns out it's not just a hangover.