Have you already decided what fandom(s) to write for? If so, how about doing a little promoting? :D

We've all chosen tiny obscure canons, needless to say. But by posting here you might be able to entice someone else to give it a try — or perhaps you'll even run into a fellow fan, who can't wait to read your coming fic.

Your promo can be long or short, and contain whatever you feel like. Want to post a couple of intriguing screencaps from a movie? Quote a few paragraphs from a book? Rec the best episode of an anime or a TV series? Talk about why you love your favorite character and/or pairing from your fandom? It's all good; anything goes!

If you'd like to answer the fkficfest '26 pre-game poll and have not yet, you have one more day.

Presently, we have 13 responses, 7 intending to write this year. I'm leaning toward the "Each community member may submit 1 prompt, and those prompts become the pool" option, which has 6 supporters; it's a new angle in our search for the perfect community prompt-game method, which I feel we haven't yet found; also, I hope it's a low-effort method. (I still have fondness for the single-prompt FKFic-L challenge approach, but it's not suited to today.) Unsurprisingly, the farthest-out date option offered appears to have the most support; I'll dig into that more when the poll closes.

If you have suggestions, questions, or strong opinions, please let me know, there or here. Thanks!

Finished since the last reading post
Actually finished A Grave Concern.

Currently reading
Still reading Young Alexander. Started A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson at the weekend and am about halfway through. I keep expecting it to surprise me at some point and so far it hasn't done that.

Started reading On Thin Ice by Denver Shaw, a romance novel.

Reading next
I've got a library book waiting.

I did spend my Presidents Day holiday finishing The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (~475 hours, says my Switch 2 app). There was no story left to be mined anywhere -- though of course there are still Koroks, Kilton Medals, treasure chests -- so I made a story production of the endgame for my Link. ( Read more... )

It's without doubt a game I feel I wish could go on and on, though it's also right and proper for a story to have an end and thereby a shape and a point, and I wouldn't want that any other way. I think BOTW really is as good as everyone says.

Yet I chose to make my next game Skyward Sword, the first in the story timeline, instead of BOTW's sequel, Tears of the Kingdom. The story should get to breathe in my imagination, I feel. I have a couple of fanfics I would like to try to write.

Fandom: Wuthering Heights  (Inspired by Emily Brontë's 1847 Novel + The 1939 and 1992 Films)
Title: A Woman's Courage 
Characters: Isabella Linton, Heathcliff, Joseph, Catherine Earnshaw + Original Character
Relationships: Isabella / Heathcliff - Catherine / Heathcliff 
Era: Late 18th Century
Rating: Mature
Trigger Warnings: Abusive situation, unhappy marriage, references to past violence, references to past physical and psychological abuse, brief veiled reference to past animal abuse + threats of violence and some strong language.
Complete: 1/1
Word Count: 1,785
Summary: Isabella Linton has finally had enough.

Link: archiveofourown.org/works/79610331

I watch Masterpiece on PBS Passport streaming these days, not over the airwaves, but I still watch on Sunday nights, wrapping up the weekend as I have since at least Downton Abbey. Last night, I watched the finale of season 6 of All Creatures Great and Small (set at the first Christmas after WWII), which was a solid and satisfying, if busy, episode, and also the premiere of season 15 of Call the Midwife (set in 1971), which was also busy, but neither solid nor satisfying.

(On broadcast, Call the Midwife won't premiere until March 22 in North America. Come, support PBS and watch a month early!)

I love historical fiction, but I do need it to get the history mostly right. We all make mistakes sometimes! It's so easy to fall for an urban legend historical fallacy! But. This show has an entire staff, any of whom could have used even just Wikipedia at any point to spot-check this particular item and learn that it's not only false, but a deliberate slander/sarcasm against what the episode was trying ineptly to celebrate and ended up trivializing. Not every historical fiction show can be The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles for citations, but I remember when Doctor Quinn: Medicine Woman would sometimes end on a screen with a simple text paragraph about the real history of whatever the episode was depicting. Movies depicting real historical people do that regularly. And some novels. Maybe all historical fiction should try that, just to prompt someone to double-check.

Call the Midwife was so exceedingly excellent in its earliest days, when it was still directly based on the memoirs of the real Jennifer Worth. The farther it gets from that -- now in season 15! -- the more often it trips. ( Spoilers for what this episode messed up )

The throw pillow I needlepointed in the late summer/early fall is now finished!

My Completed Masterpiece:


I also made ornaments which will be gifts for my friends. Pics under the cut.

( more masterpieces! )

If you need a little help in fine-tuning your gift, this is the post to find the Watson to your Holmes (or the Holmes to your Watson—who wouldn't want to be Lucy Liu?)!

Those interested in providing support can pin their details to our metaphorical noticeboard. Support can include brainstorming, offering critique, canon-checking, fact-checking, tips on structure, language issues, looking for specialised knowledge of various kinds, sense checking that something makes sense, visual effects for comics, audio effects for podfic, and some casefic solving.

Participants and non-participants are welcome to volunteer to beta for the 2026 round.

Quick links: Tagset · AO3 app · Sign-up summary of requested fandoms

I've provided an optional template to fill out below, which you're welcome to add and subtract details from:

AO3 name:
Best contact method(s): Please only include details that you are happy to have public.

Fandoms:

Specific topics of expertise:

Mediums: We allow comics, fic, and podfic in this exchange, so please specify which medium(s) you're comfortable working with.

What can you beta?: This is a good opportunity to include content (smut, graphic violence, etc.), length (the minimum is 3k for fic, 10 panels for comics, and various lengths of time for podfic).

What will you not beta?:

Preferred file formats: Would you prefer to beta in Google docs or PDFs? How would you like audio files to be sent, if you have any preference?

Availability: This is a good place to mention if you're okay with being contacted five days out from the assignment deadline, your turnaround times, i.e. will it take you a week to review? Is it dependent on the size?

<strong>AO3 name:</strong> <strong>Best contact method(s):</strong> <strong>Fandoms:</strong> <strong>Specific topics of expertise:</strong> <strong>Mediums:</strong> <strong>What can you beta?:</strong> <strong>What will you not beta?:</strong> <strong>Preferred file formats:</strong> <strong>Availability:</strong>

If you're interested in contacting someone offering to beta, please do so at their contact methods to preserve anonymity. Please email gumshoeagency@gmail.com if you need to get in touch with me to ask any questions.

I stole the base of this from fffx and yuletide ♥.

Creators have now been revealed!

Thank you to everyone for participating this year, and a special thanks to our pinch hitters, who made it possible for the collection to open on time! I hope everyone had a happy Valentine's Day.

Title/Link: The Perfect Soufflé
Fandom: Hey Arnold!
Character(s): Helga Pataki, Phoebe Heyerdahl
ladiesbingo prompt: wabi/sabi
genprompt_bingo prompt: cooking
Rating: G
Summary: After a big pre-holiday move, Phoebe helps Helga unpack.

Nominate here. Nomination guidelines follow:

Nominations

You may nominate up to ten fandoms, with ten relationships per fandom. Please use canonical tags for fandoms where possible. A list of fandoms with known exceptions (e.g., large meta-series such as Tamora Pierce's Tortall and C.J. Cherryh's Alliance-Union) is posted below.

Relationships

You may nominate either platonic (&) or romantic (/) relationships. You may also nominate single characters; use the format "Solo: Character". Crossovers are permitted under the "Crossover" fandom.

For crossovers, both canons must be individually eligible for this exchange. You must include the original fandom in parentheses after each character's name. The fandom name may be shortened or abbreviated, provided it is still clear which fandom you are referencing.

Sample acceptable nominations:

• Dracula/Jonathan Harker
• Solo: Temeraire
• ART (Murderbot) & Deep Thought (Hitchhikers' Guide)

You may also use "any [group]" in nominations, provided that this is something that is clearly understood within the context of the canon. For example:

• Temeraire - "Solo: Any Male Dragon" or "Any Dragon & Their Captain"
• Provost's Dog - "Beka Cooper/Any Provost's Guard Member"

Please note that "any" nominations will only cover named canon characters.

You may also nominate original characters, provided that the description for the original character is clearly understood within the context of the canon. For example:

• Temeraire - "Original Dragon & Their Female Captain"
• Provost's Dog - "Solo: Original Nonbinary Provost's Guard Member"

Nominations that are simply "Original Female Character" or similar will be rejected as being too broad. However, these characters will be accepted as part of a relationship with a specific canon character(s).

Additionally, you may nominate Worldbuilding as a relationship nomination for your preferred canon. You can leave it as “WB: Any” for a broad focus, or give a specific in-universe aspect that you would like to see expanded on.

Examples [Canon]:

• WB: Spider Courtship [Children of Time]
• WB: Dragons in China [Temeraire]
• WB: The Black Tower [Wheel of Time]

Canons approved to be subdivided

This list will be updated as nominations are approved.

• Alliance-Union - C.J. Cherryh
• Discworld - Terry Pratchett
• Kushiel's Legacy - Jacqueline Carey
• Nine Worlds Series - Victoria Goddard
• Tortall - Tamora Pierce
• Valdemar Series - Mercedes Lackey

Other Series Exceptions

This list will be updated as nominations are approved.

Hi, and welcome to the eleventh round of Be The First!

This is a low-pressure challenge to write a fic, of any length, for a fandom that previously had none. That's it! If you want to take part, just reply to this post :)

Quick rundown: You have two months to write. The deadline is at 23:59 GMT on the 20th of April, and the archive will go live at 00:01 GMT on the 22nd of April. You can submit up to four stories, as long as they are for different canons.

If you'd like more information beyond those basic points, then you can find the FAQ right here. The AO3 collection for this year is here, and I'll be putting up a fandom promo post in roughly a week.

A big thank you to everyone who is reading this, whether you're a returning participant or someone checking out the challenge for the first time. As always, I'm really looking forward to seeing what you all write this year! ♥

This Saturday, the day after tomorrow, is the 40^th anniversary of the release of the original The Legend of Zelda game. If a US company owned it, something big would be in store for the celebration. The rest of this year would be full of releases and nostalgia and hype, culminating in the live-action movie (2027) or in a not-yet-teased new 3D game, or both. But Nintendo is very much not a US company. And, unlike Pokémon (hitting its 30^th anniversary at the end of this month), ownership of TLOZ is not shared. Nintendo does exactly what it wants with TLOZ, only rarely* pressured by even sales results, much less anything else.

Speculation has been rampant for months. Actual leaks seem to have begun squishing out this week, maybe. I'm lightly ducking them, but at the high level of subject lines and headlines, they sound much like the speculation, though narrowed down to one consensus prediction. No Nintendo Direct, much less Zelda Direct, is scheduled (only the Pokémon event at the end of the month). Two days ago, some modest quality-of-life updates released for BOTW and TOTK (which is remarkable, right? BOTW released in 2017!). Saturday is not a prime day for marketing announcements.

We would all love a teaser for an upcoming new game, not only a remake, however much we'd all like a remake (OOT and TP are the big candidates, of course). I think it's too early for an actual release announcement with a date; it's been only three years since TOTK (and two since EOW (Grezzo) and one since HW:AOI (Koei Tecmo)). I think most of us would also like a trailer for the upcoming movie, though an entire year out is a bit early in the hype cycle for that, too. It seems to me that it's not impossible that Nintendo will actually let the TLOZ anniversary pass unremarked, or all but unremarked, and then do something on its own time, perhaps with barely a nod to the anniversary, later in the year, after the Pokémon anniversary hoopla is over.

* At release, the market choked on Wind Waker's "childish" art style. Sales were infamously disappointing. Twilight Princess then followed with more the look and feel of an animated Peter Jackson LOTR movie, to great sales worldwide. However, time has redeemed Wind Waker; today, both fans and experts regard its art as "timeless," transcending the tech of its era.

Finished since the last reading post
Promises by Marie Sexton, a romance novel in a small town with a friends-to-lovers scenario, which was OK. But it seemed to leave the kind of self-fulfilment plot mid-way, so I'm wondering if I should read further books in the series. The protagonists will be different but appear to be somehow connected to these two, so I'm undecided for now.

Red Line by LA Witt, another romance novel that was OK. Not sure I cared that much about the romance plot and the setup seemed a bit contrived, but it was entertaining enough.

Currently reading
Nearly finished with A Grave Concern by Susanna Gregory—the bodies have piled up, other crimes have been committed and eventually resolved, and the previous fifty pages have proposed at least three different for the murderer candidate, and the most recent one finally appears to be the one the one that sticks.

Still reading Young Alexander but no progress on anything else.

Reading next
No idea

I posted the fkficfest "2026 Pre-Game Survey" yesterday. It's open through February 27. Twelve folks have responded already (including two names new to me) so the ten-day opportunity may be longer than needed! Current writer tally: Six yes, six maybe.

Please do comment there or here if you feel strongly or confusedly about any of the survey questions or game circumstances. As always, I reserve the right to do what I believe will work best for the fest community based on all evidence, not the pre-game poll alone. (And I might need to work around my own obligations.)

As "simple step one" in giving myself an easier time as mod this year, I'm not looking up canon quotations for the admin post subject lines. It's not that it was ever that big a chore -- I have a PDF of the forkni-compiled quotations Dorothy used to build her concordance tool so long ago -- but it had indeed become a chore.

FK Fic Fest 2026

May 5 will be the 34^th anniversary of "Dark Knight," Forever Knight's series premiere. May 18 will be the 30^th anniversary of "Last Knight," its finale. And 2026 will be our 17^th fkficfest!

Most things will be the same as last year: challenge-style, minimum 500 words, minimum 51% FK for crossovers, ~2 months to write, etc. Dates, cadence, and nominations style have questions below.

This poll is for community members. (Join us!) The poll will close at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time) on Friday, February 27, 2026 (or, really, the next morning). Thanks!

We have one post-reveals pinch hit! No need to formally claim it in advance, but I'll screen comments, so if you're able to create a gift for this request, please comment here after you've posted it so I'll know for sure that it's in.

( PH 98 - Sleep No More - Punchdrunk, Sleep No More - Punchdrunk )

Last night, wawamouse, trillingstar, and I were discussing what we thought of the term "lover" because of this scene from Heated Rivalry when Ilya met Shane's parents after Shane's dad accidentally discovered they were Together (and poor Shane is a nervous wreck):



I think of it as a dated term. Mostly because I have never heard anyone in my entire life refer to their romantic partner as their lover. (Though I have heard it used as a descriptor by third parties. IDK how to explain it. Like, Oh, she ran away with her lover.)

Anyhoo, this morning, I woke up and was like, LOL, that would have been funny on Grantchester when Leonard (also a bundle of nerves) was set to meet Daniel's parents. Therefore:



The actual scene from Grantchester is also pretty funny:



And then, of course, I was like, that would be funny adapted to Heated Rivalry. So here we are:



MAYBE I'M UNHINGED BUT I CRACK MYSELF UP!!!

I thought that you might want to know about these developments, too:

A few weeks ago, I saw an article discussing how mass-market paperbacks are on their way out, that the last large publishers/printers of them in English will soon cease production of that cheaper "pocket size" book format that has dominated my lifetime. That market has apparently fallen to a combination of e-book readers and non-readers. Also, grocery stores and drugstores and other such grab-and-go places for which mass-market paperbacks were made don't give books as much shelf space as they used to, as you may have seen first-hand. The future of new books is trade paperbacks and hardbacks, apparently, though I imagine used books will circulate as long as the pages cling to their glued bindings. Anything and everything that puts books out of reach for anyone, yet especially the young and the poor, is tragic. (Subscriber gift link to take you, and anyone you share it with, through the paywall for free: "So Long to Cheap Books You Could Fit in Your Pocket" by Elizabeth A. Harris, New York Times, February 6, 20026.)

Yesterday (Valentine's Day, no less), I saw an article reporting that Harlequin/Mills & Boon, the romance publisher powerhouse, will discontinue its historical romance line entirely in English, after having previously pared all historical eras down to just Regency and Victorian. (Medieval, Old West, US Revolution, and many more were all actively published at various times.) I'm not a big romance reader and I don't buy new Harlequin, but... it's always been there. I've read it from time to time from the library, and bought used from library sell-offs or bins outside bookshops, and while too many of the ones I've read were at best ephemeral candy, and a few were absolute wrecks, an equal few were genuinely good or clever or inspiring and have stayed in my imagination. I am a big reader of historical fiction... I can't feel good about history being a fading interest. (This site allows 3 monthly freebie views: "Harlequin to Discontinue Historical Romance Line" by Sam Spratford, Publishers Weekly, February 13, 2026.)