Navigation: Rules/General Info | AO3 Collection | Nominations Guidelines | Medium Nominations | Tagset | Mod Contact: ficinaboxmod@gmail.com OR Screened Mod Contact Post

Nominations Clarification 2

Here is a little FAQ about Nominations Clarification posts for those of you who haven't run into them before:

What/why is a Nominations Clarification post?

Nomination clarifications are queries about tags we find confusing and updates about tags or the tagset in general. The goal of nominations is to create a tagset of unambiguous, easy to understand tags that will be useful to participants and solidly within the scope of the exchange. The goal of a clarifications post is to keep all of our participants up-to-date regarding our nominations work and solicit feedback where necessary to create the most useful tagset we can.

Do I need to read the whole post?

No. You can just skim each clarification post to see if a fandom you're interested in requesting or offering has been mentioned. We recommend doing this even if you don't care very much how the tagset is organized in case we make some kind of huge blunder with your favorite fandom or OTP.

How do I reply to a Nominations Clarification post? Do I need a Dreamwidth account?

You don't need a Dreamwidth account because we have anonymous commenting turned on. If you comment anonymously, remember to check back for our reply! You can also email us at ficinaboxmod@gmail.com if you'd prefer.

There's a query about a fandom I'm familiar with, but I'm not the nominator. Can I tell you what I think?

Yes! If you are not the nominator but have relevant fandom knowledge about something, please speak up. Nominators don't always reply to our queries, so answers from other people in the fandom are often very helpful.

Why haven't you processed my nomination(s) yet?

Nominations can't be processed in a strictly first-in, first-out manner because of various backend reasons, so most likely we just haven't yet had a chance because of the large volume of submitted nominations. Double check our nominations clarification posts for your tag. If sign ups open and one or more of your tags is mysteriously still missing, please reach out.

My AO3 tagset nomination(s) were rejected but aren't discussed below, why did you reject them?

Most likely you failed to disambiguate your nominations, or made some other error — we reject incorrect tags rather than fixing them. You're welcome to post a link to your nominations slate if you'd like us to tell you why the tag(s) were rejected. You can attempt to re-nominated tags either on AO3 or via the form if you'd like.

However, there is a delay between us rejecting and us posting nominations clarifications! Literally as I post this post, other people on the tagmod team are approving/rejecting new tags. So your rejected tag might show up in a future clarification post

I have a nominations question not answered here or on the Nomination Guidelines. Can I ask on this post?

Yes! You can ask nominations questions on whichever nominations clarification post has been most recently posted, or you can ask on the Nomination Guidelines, or you can use the mod contact post, or you can email us. We're happy to help no matter how you get in contact!

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Recursive fandom in need of additional interested participants

Per our rules for nominating new recursive fandoms, we need either either proof of an established fandom for the nominated work or 3 participants who are interested in the fandom. We have a nominated recursive fandom that is currently seeking 2 more interested parties!

• Fandom name: Cast Down Chronicles - anonfeather
• Very brief summary: Original work, omegaverse, cat boys.
• Fandom promo: Here on the Fandom Promo post (link)
• Where to comment if you'd request, offer, or pinch hit for this fandom: Here on the Nominations Guidelines! Please sign your comment if you are commenting anonymously.

Queries

Google Forms nominations

• Daredevil (TV): All tags — Per nominations guidelines, all Daredevil (TV) tags need to be nominated under "The Defenders (Marvel TV)" so we've accepted your tags under that fandom.
• Final Fantasy XII: WB: The Legacy of Kind Raithwall (Final Fantasy XII) — Nominator, we can't figure out what this WB: tag means! Can you explain it for us?
• Kino no Tabi | Kino's Journey - Iruka Shiomiya (Manga): WB: Persuaders (Kino's Journey Manga) — Nominator, we can't figure out what this WB: tag means! Can you explain it for us?
• KPop Demon Hunters (2025): WB: K-Pop Industry And Companies (KPDH) — Worldbuilding tags require that worldbuilding tags be about something fictional where imagination/creativity is required rather than research (see this section (link)). How close is this industry in KPDH to the real-life industry? If they're very close, what fictional aspect of the industry are you looking for worldbuilding about?
• Tommy (1975): Cousin Kevin/Tommy Walker (Tommy 1975) — This ship was nominated twice in a row along with "Nora Walker & Tommy Walker". Was one of these "Cousin Kevin/Tommy Walker" nominations supposed to be a different tag?

Ao3 tagset nominations

• Dungeons and Daddies (Podcast): Elizabeth Mothman/Jane Rogan (DnDads - Sons and Sonsability) — Nominator, we're not sure why this tag was disambiguated separately from other Dungeon and Daddies nominations. Are these characters from a special episode or something? Would "Elizabeth Mothman/Jane Rogan (DnDads)" be in some way ambiguous?
• Hunter x Hunter (Anime): WB: Zoldyck Family History (Hunter X Hunter) — We realize that "History of [Group]" is a fairly common WB: tag format, but we're concerned this might be a little close to "WB: Backstory of the Zoldyck Family" which is a type of WB tag we don't allow. Could you elaborate on what kind of worldbuilding you're looking for? (Also, in hopes that you don't feel singled out, I want you to know I have made a note for myself to review all of our "WB: History of..." nominations before the next round starts to see if this is a problem in other similarly phrased tags.)
• JUDGE EYES | Judgment (Video Games) : WB: History of the Matsugane Family (Judgment) — We realize that "History of [Group]" is a fairly common WB: tag format, but we're concerned this might be a little close to "WB: Backstory of the Matsugane Family" which is a type of WB tag we don't allow. Could you elaborate on what kind of worldbuilding you're looking for? (Also, in hopes that you don't feel singled out, I want you to know I have made a note for myself to review all of our "WB: History of..." nominations before the next round starts to see if this is a problem in other similarly phrased tags.)
• Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler: Sebastian Michaelis & Ciel Phantomhive & Real Ciel Phantomhive (Kuroshitsuji) — We were going to query this, but then figured out the answer all on our own! It should be in the tagest now.
• Night Watch (Discworld - Terry Pratchett): Lord Downey/Havelock Vetinari (Night Watch (Discworld - Terry Pratchett)) — Nominator, the fandom "Discworld - Terry Pratchett" is usually used for Discworld in exchanges (and is in fact already in the tagset) because there are a lot of character overlaps between books. We do allow overlapping fandoms if nominators feel strongly about it, but we wanted to ask if you'd be alright with us accepting this tag under the broader Discworld fandom.
• Paprika (2006): WB: Aftermath of the Dream Parade (Paprika 2006) — This tag was accepted in error, and we might be removing it. Nominator, could you elaborate a little about what kind of worldbuilding you're looking for concerning the aftermath of this Parade?
• Persona 5: All tags with "Kurusu Akira" — It's been brought to our attention that this is a name used for the main character of this game in a manga adaptation and in the game there is no default name. Since the video game is the canon that is nominated, we will be changing all of these tags to use "Persona 5 Protagonist" instead.
• SIGNALIS (Video Game): WB: History of the Eusan Nation (Signalis) — We pulled this tag to query, but have decided to accept it. It should be in the tagset now!
• SIGNALIS (Video Game): WB: Replikas and Their Gestalt Memory (Signalis) — Nominator, we can't figure out what this WB: tag means! Can you explain it for us?
• Stargate - Live Action: Ba'al's Host & Vala Mal Doran (SG LA) — Ba'al's Host could refer to multiple characters, especially with all the cloning shenanigans. Did you mean any of Ba'al's hosts or perhaps specifically the Ba'al clone host that survived extraction?
• Wylding Hall - Elizabeth Hand: WB: Similar otherworldly occurrences elsewhere in the world (Wylding Hall) — Details on this book are a little sparse on google, so we need a little help with this nomiantion. Are there canonical mentions of "similar otherworldly occurrences"?
• Wylding Hall - Elizabeth Hand: WB: Wrens & the wren hunt (Wylding Hall) — Details on this book are a little sparse on google, so we need a little help with this nomination. Can you explain it for us?
• 薬屋のひとりごと - 日向夏 | Kusuriya no Hitorigoto | The Apothecary Diaries - Hyuuga Natsu: WB: Verdigris House (KNH) — We pulled this to query, but decided to accept, so it should be in the tagset!
• 逆転裁判 | Gyakuten Saiban | Ace Attorney: WB: In-Universe Lawyer Fandom (Ace Attorney) — We're a little confused by this nomination. All WB nominations are mean to be phrased as in-universe, so we think that this WB tag should be accepted as "WB: Lawyer Fandom (Ace Attorney)"—is that correct? We also would like to check if there is canonically a fandom for lawyers in AA.

Rejected Tags

Google Forms nominations

• Diablo (Video Games): WB: Nephalem Born After Destruction Of Worldstone (Diablo VG) — We think this is a little too close to a Solo: nomination (Solo: Nephalem Born After Destruction Of Worldstone) and would like to ask the nominator what kind of worldbuilding about this group they would specifically be interested in. We're happy to help you phrase one or several tags to cover your worldbuilding interests or, alternately, to accept this tag as a Solo: tag.
• K-pop: Solo: Any K-pop Idol (K-pop) — Unfortunately, both this fandom and this relationship-field tag are too broad. The fandom is too broad because it's a huge umbrella fandom which per the nominations guidelines are "all fandom tags that cover multiple subfandoms, multiple medium types, multiple series, etc." The character is too broad because many K-Pop idols are under 18 years old, which makes them ineligible to be nominated to Fic In A Box per the "Other Notes" section of our fandom nomination rules. Additionally, requesting such a broad tag in such a broad fandom comes too close to a "Creator's Choice of Fandom" nomination—we don't allow CCoF to be nominated in FIAB.
• K-pop: Solo: Any K-pop Music Video Character (K-pop) — Unfortunately, both this fandom and this relationship-field tag are too broad. The fandom is too broad because it's a huge umbrella fandom which per the nominations guidelines are "all fandom tags that cover multiple subfandoms, multiple medium types, multiple series, etc." The character is too broad because it's asking for creators to choose a fandom/character from any K-Pop MV, which is too close to a "Creator's Choice of Fandom" nomination, something we don't allow to be nominated in FIAB. Also, many K-Pop idols are under 18 years old, which makes them ineligible to be nominated to FIAB—K-Pop music videos often have a large amount of overlap with the idol's RPF fandom, and we're uncomfortable with potentially allowing this nomination to work around our 18+ rule.
• Original Work: Solo: Any Original Character (OW) — Unfortunately, this relationship-field tag is too broad. Characters in the Original Work fandom need to be a specific type of original character per this part of the nominations guidelines (link).
• Original Work: Solo: Original Characters (OW) — Unfortunately, this tag is too broad. Characters in the Original Work fandom need to be a specific type of original character per this part of the nominations guidelines (link).
• Original Work: WB: Fannish History (OW) — Worldbuilding tags require that worldbuilding tags be about something fictional where imagination/creativity is required rather than research (see this section (link)). We're also not sure what kind of fic one could write about this WB tag. Could the nominator please clarify what kind of worldbuilding they're looking for?
• Original Work: WB: Fannish Tropes (OW) — This tag is a copy of an exactly phrased tag, which we cannot accept. Did the nominator mean to nominate a different tag instead of the same tag twice?
• Original Work: WB: Fannish Tropes (OW) — Worldbuilding tags require that worldbuilding tags be about something fictional where imagination/creativity is required rather than research (see this section (link)). We're also not sure what kind of fic one could write about this WB tag. Could the nominator please clarify what kind of worldbuilding they're looking for?
• Original Work: WB: Fantasy Landscapes (OW) — Nominator, are you looking for worldbuilding about landscape paintings/artwork in fantasy settings, or are you looking for worldbuilding about natural locations in fantasy settings? If the first, we'd like to rephrase as "WB: Landscape Artwork in Fantasy Settings" and if the second we'd suggest one of these tags: "WB: Fantasy Environments" "WB: Fantasy Ecosystems" "WB: Fantasy Biomes" (or a different phrasing, if you'd prefer!)
• Original Work: WB: Scientific Observations of Sea Life (OW) — Worldbuilding tags require that worldbuilding tags be about something fictional where imagination/creativity is required rather than research (see this section (link)). With this is in mind: what fictional aspect of sea life observation were you looking to see worldbuilding about?
• Slow Horses: Shirley Dander/Roddy Ho — We ask that nominators use canonicals when nominating via form. Nominator, is this "Slow Horses (TV)" or the novel Slow Horses by Mich Herron?
• The Brothers Karamazov: Ivan Fydorovich Karamazov/Pavel Smerdykov — We ask that nominators use canonicals when nominating via form. Nominator, is this "Brat'ya Karamazovy | Brothers Karamazov - Fyodor Dostoyevsky"? Or is it maybe "カラマーゾフの兄弟 | The Brothers Karamazov - Takarazuka Revue " or "브라더스 까라마조프 - 이진욱/김경주 | The Brothers Karamazov - Lee Jin Wook/Kim Kyung Ju "?
• The Orville (TV): WB: Transgender Krill (The Orville) — We think this is a little too close to a Solo: nomination (Solo: Any Transgender Krill, Solo: Original Transgender Krill) and would like to ask the nominator what kind of worldbuilding about this group they would specifically be interested in. We're happy to help you phrase one or several tags to cover your worldbuilding interests or, alternately, to accept this tag as a Solo: tag.
• The Schoolgirl's Diary: WB: School Life — We ask that nominators use canonicals when nominating via form, but we can't find a canonical for this. We have found a previously nominated tag with no fanworks, though, probably nominated for some other exchange. Nominator, is this "한 녀학생의 일기 | Han Nyeohaksaengeui Ilgi | The Schoolgirl's Diary (2007)"? If that is the right fandom, then we have a follow up question: This film seems to us to be set in a world very close to the real world. Worldbuilding tags require that worldbuilding tags be about something fictional where imagination/creativity is required rather than research (see this section (link)). With this is in mind: what fictional aspect of North Korean school life were you looking to see worldbuilding about?

Ao3 tagset nominations

• Alan Wake (Video Games) : WB: the Torchbearers (Alan Wake) — We think this is a little too close to a Solo: nomination ("Solo: The Torchbearers (Alan Wake)")and would like to ask the nominator what kind of worldbuilding they would specifically be interested in. We're happy to help you phrase one or several tags to cover your worldbuilding interests or, alternately, to accept this tag as a Solo: tag.
• Overwatch (Video Game): WB: Blackwatch (Overwatch) — We think this is a little too close to a Solo: nomination ("Solo: Any Member of Blackwatch (Overwatch)") and would like to ask the nominator what kind of trans-related worldbuilding they would specifically be interested in. We're happy to help you phrase one or several tags to cover your worldbuilding interests or, alternately, to accept this tag as a Solo: tag.
• Overwatch (Video Game): WB: Talon (Overwatch) — We think this is a little too close to a Solo: nomination ("Solo: Any Member of Talon (Overwatch)") and would like to ask the nominator what kind of trans-related worldbuilding they would specifically be interested in. We're happy to help you phrase one or several tags to cover your worldbuilding interests or, alternately, to accept this tag as a Solo: tag.
• Overwatch (Video Game): WB: The Ministry of Genetics (Overwatch) — We think this is a little too close to a Solo: nomination ("Solo: WB: Any Member Of The Ministry of Genetics (Overwatch)") and would like to ask the nominator what kind of trans-related worldbuilding they would specifically be interested in. We're happy to help you phrase one or several tags to cover your worldbuilding interests or, alternately, to accept this tag as a Solo: tag.
• Overwatch (Video Game): WB: The Shambali (Overwatch) — We think this is a little too close to a Solo: nomination ("Solo: The Shambali (Overwatch)") and would like to ask the nominator what kind of trans-related worldbuilding they would specifically be interested in. We're happy to help you phrase one or several tags to cover your worldbuilding interests or, alternately, to accept this tag as a Solo: tag.
• Stardew Valley (Video Game): Farmer/The Land (Stardew Valley) — Per our nomination guidelines: "What counts as a character? We will not accept inanimate objects, inanimate locations, vague concepts, or platonic ideals as characters. Animals, canonically thinking/feeling objects, and canonically thinking/feeling locations are fine!" To our knowledge, The Land in SDV is not thinking/feeling, and so cannot be nominated as a character.

The collection reveal will be delayed by two weeks so pinch hitters have enough time to create for our remaining assignments. If all goes well, we'll reveal on Friday 29 August at 11:59pm EDT. We have three remaining pinch hits looking for a lovely detective or criminal mastermind!

Quick links: Rules and guidelines · 2025 Collection · Mod contact: gumshoeagency@gmail.com

This batch of pinch hits are due on Friday 22 August at 11:59pm Eastern time. [ In your timezone + Countdown ]

Pinch hits must comply with the exchange's rules. Pinch hits must meet the minimum assignment requirements of a completed work of a minimum of 3,000 words for fanfiction, a minimum of 10 panels for a comic, or a recording of a completed fic of 3,000 words minimum with "casefic" as one of its tags. Works must include a fandom, character/ship and be of a medium that the recipient has requested. You must have an AO3 account to participate.

We guarantee gifts for requests that feature a minimum of three unique fandoms. I would like to fill all our pinch hits if possible!

Please take note of the mediums as some requests have a combination selected.

To claim, please either reply to this post or email gumshoeagency@gmail.com with your AO3 name and the pinch hit number you want to claim.

Comments are screened, so if you reply anonymously, please include an email in case I need to reach out to you. You will not be able to receive a reply from me if you comment anonymously on this post.

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( PH 8 (fic) - Severance (TV), The West Wing )


CLAIMED! ( PH 9 (fic) - 巷説百物語 | Kousetsu Hyaku Monogatari | Requiem from the Darkness (Anime), Nightmare - Cornell Woolrich (Novella), Father Brown (2013), Penny Dreadful (TV), XCOM (2012 Reboot Series) )

[ includes canon consumption tips] ( PH 13 (comic, fic) - 終ノ空 remake | Tsui no Sora Remake, A Girl Corrupted by the Internet is the Summoned Hero?!, Tsukihime (Visual Novel & Anime) )


Thank you!

fan_writers is a new community for meta about writing. Pretty neat!

The community posted a poll about how people approach writing and their processes. I thought this was the most interesting poll question:




I never really thought about this before. So I enjoyed contemplating my own process and reading the comments to learn about how people's creative brains work.

Where do you fall on this, friends?

Navigation: Rules/General Info | AO3 Collection | Nominations Guidelines | Medium Nominations | Tagset | Mod Contact: ficinaboxmod@gmail.com OR Screened Mod Contact Post

Nominations Clarification 1

Here is a little FAQ about Nominations Clarification posts for those of you who haven't run into them before:

What/why is a Nominations Clarification post?

Nomination clarifications are queries about tags we find confusing and updates about tags or the tagset in general. The goal of nominations is to create a tagset of unambiguous, easy to understand tags that will be useful to participants and solidly within the scope of the exchange. The goal of a clarifications post is to keep all of our participants up-to-date regarding our nominations work and solicit feedback where necessary to create the most useful tagset we can.

Do I need to read the whole post?

No. You can just skim each clarification post to see if a fandom you're interested in requesting or offering has been mentioned. We recommend doing this even if you don't care very much how the tagset is organized in case we make some kind of huge blunder with your favorite fandom or OTP.

How do I reply to a Nominations Clarification post? Do I need a Dreamwidth account?

You don't need a Dreamwidth account because we have anonymous commenting turned on. If you comment anonymously, remember to check back for our reply! You can also email us at ficinaboxmod@gmail.com if you'd prefer.

There's a query about a fandom I'm familiar with, but I'm not the nominator. Can I tell you what I think?

Yes! If you are not the nominator but have relevant fandom knowledge about something, please speak up. Nominators don't always reply to our queries, so answers from other people in the fandom are often very helpful.

Why haven't you processed my nomination(s) yet?

Nominations can't be processed in a strictly first-in, first-out manner because of various backend reasons, so most likely we just haven't yet had a chance because of the large volume of submitted nominations. Double check our nominations clarification posts for your tag. If sign ups open and one or more of your tags is mysteriously still missing, please reach out.

My AO3 tagset nomination(s) were rejected but aren't discussed below, why did you reject them?

Most likely you failed to disambiguate your nominations, or made some other error — we reject incorrect tags rather than fixing them. You're welcome to post a link to your nominations slate if you'd like us to tell you why the tag(s) were rejected. You can attempt to re-nominated tags either on AO3 or via the form if you'd like.

However, there is a delay between us rejecting and us posting nominations clarifications! Literally as I post this post, other people on the tagmod team are approving/rejecting new tags. So your rejected tag might show up in a future clarification post

I have a nominations question not answered here or on the Nomination Guidelines. Can I ask on this post?

Yes! You can ask nominations questions on whichever nominations clarification post has been most recently posted, or you can ask on the Nomination Guidelines, or you can use the mod contact post, or you can email us. We're happy to help no matter how you get in contact!

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Medium Update

Before we move on to queries and rejections, we have a little medium update!

We've reviewed the "Typeset of a Recipient's Fanfiction" Unique Rules medium and made a few adjustments!

• The title of the ruleset has changed to just Typeset to allow for non-fanfiction typeset nominations (any new nominations must still contain "Recipient's"). The only nominated typeset tag has not been altered.
• We've changed the equivalents from a flat 500/1000 base credit to a rolling 300 credit per 1k words of original fic credit that's capped at 2k equivalent.
• We've clarified that all images counting for credit must be illustrated.
• We've clarified that typesets must contain at minimum a simple front page
• We've simplified the illustrated equivalents to: Remove frontispiece (this can just count as a full page image), group the smaller elements together

We've updated the wording of the template crediting in the Writing ruleset to make it clear that the template must be coded or embedded into AO3.

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Queries

Google Forms nominations

• Black Dynasty - Marilena Barbagallo: ALIX Brun/Scorpio Leclerc (Black Dynasty) — Should "ALIX Brun" be "Alix Brun"?
• Can't Think Straight: Yoon Jaehyuk/Han Garam — We ask that nominators use canonicals when nominating via form. Nominator, we're not sure what fandom this is. Is it "I Can't Think Straight (2008)"? Approving as "선 넘는 사이 | Can't Think Straight"
• Dragon Age (Video Games): Anders/Fenris/Hawke (Dragon Age VG), Anders/Justice/Hawke (Dragon Age VG) — Hawke is the player character and has a selectable gender. Does the nominator have a preference? If you do, it needs to be baked into the tag because you can't use your DNWs to specify a gender when requesting.
• LOVEMe Hard - Jerry Heil (Music Video): All tags — This song seems to be titled LOVE ME HARD, not LOVEMe Hard. Can the nominator clarify?
• Pearl Boy: All tags — We ask that nominators use canonicals when nominating via form. Nominator, we're not sure what fandom this is. Is it "조개소년 | Pearl Boy (Webcomic)"?
• Sasaki And Miyano: Miyano Yoshikazu/Sasaki Shuumei — Nominator, do you want the manga or anime? The canonical tags (which we would like spreadsheet nominators to copy/paste into the form when nominating) are 佐々木と宮野 | Sasaki to Miyano (Manga) ‎or 佐々木と宮野 | Sasaki to Miyano (Anime)
• Tasogare Auto Fokasu/Twilight Out Of Focus: All tags — We ask that nominators use canonicals when nominating via form. Nominator, we found two canonicals that we think might be the fandom you meant: "黄昏アウトフォーカス | Tasogare Out Focus (Anime)" or "黄昏アウトフォーカス | Tasogare Out Focus (Manga) -- is this the fandom the nominator intended? Would you like the anime or the manga?
• The Summer Hikaru Died: All tags — We ask that nominators use canonicals when nominating via form. Nominator, we're not sure what fandom this is. Is it "光が死んだ夏 | Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu | The Summer Hikaru Died (Manga)" or "光が死んだ夏 | Hikaru ga Shinda Natsu | The Summer Hikaru Died (Anime)" or something else?

Ao3 tagset nominations

• Caraval Series - Stephanie Garber: Solo: Julian (Caraval), Caspar & Julian Santos (Caraval) — It looks like other relationship nominations have "Julian Santos" listed as a character. Is this solo nomination for "Julian" referring to Julian Santos or a different Julian?
• Philza Hardcore S4 Lore: All tags — This fandom tag was made synonymous with the fandom DSMP at some point in the past week-ish, so future nominations need to be made under the fandom "Philza Hardcore Season 4 Lore (DFE)"
• Pocket Monsters SPECIAL | Pokemon Adventures: Crystal/Gold (Pokemon Adventures), Gold/Yellow (Pokemon Adventures) — Just letting you know that we rejected these and then added them back into the tagset as "Crystal/Gold (Pokemon SPECIAL)" and "Gold/Yellow (Pokemon SPECIAL)" to match the other tags in this fandom.
• 괴담에 떨어져도 출근을 해야 하는구나 - 백덕수 | Even If I Fall Into a Ghost Story I Still Have to Go to Work - Baek Deoksoo: All tags — Sorry nominator, these tags were accidentally rejected! We think they were probably fine? We can't see tags after we've rejected them. Please let us know what these tags were and we will add them into the tagset for you.

Rejected Tags

Google Forms nominations

• Crossover Fandom: Cassandra Cain & Creator's Choice of Adult Character — Sorry, nominator, but "Creator's Choice of [Character Type]" in Crossover Fandom counts as Creator's Choice of Fandom, which we don't allow in FIAB. Please pick a second fandom.
• Crossover Fandom: Dick Grayson & Creator's Choice of Adult Character — Sorry, nominator, but "Creator's Choice of [Character Type]" in Crossover Fandom counts as Creator's Choice of Fandom, which we don't allow in FIAB. Please pick a second fandom.
• Crossover Fandom: Jason Todd (DCU) & Creator's Choice of Adult Character — Sorry, nominator, but "Creator's Choice of [Character Type]" in Crossover Fandom counts as Creator's Choice of Fandom, which we don't allow in FIAB. Please pick a second fandom.
• Crossover Fandom: Reigen Arataka (MP100) & Creator's Choice of Child Character — Sorry, nominator, but "Creator's Choice of [Character Type]" in Crossover Fandom counts as Creator's Choice of Fandom, which we don't allow in FIAB. Please pick a second fandom.

Ao3 tagset nominations

• Arcane: League of Legends (Cartoon 2021): Jayce (League of Legends)/Mel Medarda/Viktor (League of Legends) (Arcane LoL) — We accepted this tag but we've since replaced it with "Jayce/Mel Medarda/Viktor (Arcane LoL)"
• Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling: WB: Morally Ambiguous Death Eaters or Order Members (HP - JKR) — This is a group, which makes it ineligible for a WB: tag, but it's also not a tag that we would accept as a Solo: tag, either because it's too much like a prompt. Nominator, what kind of worldbuilding are you looking for concerning morally ambiguous characters? What part of the canon setting or society are you hoping to see fleshed out in a gift?
• LOVECRAFT H. P. - Works: All tags including already accepted tags — Nominator, we accepted this fandom but on second thought we think this probably counts as an umbrella fandom, which we do not accept. Do all of Lovecraft's works take place in the same setting with the same worldbuilding/lore? Would "Cthulhu Mythos - H. P. Lovecraft" fit what you want better? Additionally, since we're querying anyway, we'd love an explanation of each of your WB: tags. If we don't hear from you, we will move your tag to The Outsider to the fandom "The Outsider - H. P. Lovecraft" and remove/reject all other tags.
• Murdoch Mysteries: solo: Violet Hart, Violet Hart & Llewellyn Watts, Jennifer "JJ" Jareau & Spencer Reid — We accidentally accepted these, but they're not disambiguated properly (and might not even be characters for the right fandom?) so we have removed them from the tagset.
• Thor (Movies): Amora & Loki (Marvel) and other tags disambiguated with "(Marvel)" — These were disambiguated incorrectly but we thought you might be confused about why, so here's an explanation: you selected the canonical (official) tags instead of writing a tag with a more specific disambiguation. Per the Nominations Guidelines, we need disambiguations that are clear about which specific fandom a tag is nominated under, so tags under this fandom should be disambiguated with "(Thor Movies)" or similar. We fixed your worldbuilding nominations to "(Thor Movies)" because we appreciate the attempt at disambiguating, but correcting all of your disambigs would have taken too much time so we rejected the ship tags. You can re-nominate via the form.
• X-Men (Comicverse): All tags — Our guidelines on specific fandoms says this: "Marvel comics may be nominated by title or under the name of the appropriate Marvel universe (Marvel 616, Marvel Ultimates, etc)" and we're pretty sure this isn't the title of a specific comic run, but instead is just a fandom for all Marvel 616 X-Men comics. If this is the case, you can re-nominate under the fandom Marvel 616 via tagset or form. If we're mistaken, please explain in a comment below and provide your nominations page link so we can add your tags for you manually instead of making you renominate.
• 백작가의 망나니가 되었다 - 유려한 | Lout of Count's Family | Trash of the Count's Family - Yulyeohan: Cale Henituse | Kim Rok Soo & Everyone (LCF) — We don't want "& Everyone" tags in the tagset because we feel it's unclear when combined with our rules about groups in tags. Would you prefer "Cale Henituse | Kim Rok Soo & Any Canon Characters (LCF)" or "Cale Henituse | Kim Rok Soo & Any Characters (LCF)"? (The first one will prevent you from getting Original Characters, the second will allow Original Characters.)
• 龍の国 ルーンファクトリー | Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma (Video Game): Cuilang/Kaguya (Rune Factory) and other tags disambiguated with "(Rune Factory)" — These were disambiguated incorrectly but we thought you might be confused about why, so here's an explanation: you selected the canonical (official) tags instead of writing a tag with a more specific disambiguation. Per the Nominations Guidelines, we need disambiguations that are clear about which specific fandom a tag is nominated under, so tags under this fandom should be disambiguated with "(Rune Factory: GoA)" or similar. You can re-nominate via the form.

I hope everyone's having a great time browsing the exchange! While you do, I have two emergency pinch hits. These would be due as soon as possible, but it's fine if you need a little time. If you're interested, please let me know what ETA would work for you.

To claim one, please comment with your AO3 name and the number of the EPH. All comments are screened, and pinch hitters are much appreciated!

These are both claimed--thank you!

( CLAIMED - EPH 1 - Top Gun (Movies), Top Gun (Movies), Top Gun (Movies), Twister (Movies 1996 2024), Gundam Wing, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Anime & Manga), Wolf's Rain (Anime), Voltron: Lion Force (1984), Crossover Fandom )

( CLAIMED - EPH 2 - Newsflesh Series - Mira Grant, Ready or Not (2019), True Detective (TV 2014) )

I've been in a writing slump since the end of fkficfest. I had expected saturdaymorningex (where I ended up unmatchable) and everywoman (which isn't happening this year) to help me re-engage.

Now, I'm thinking of trying seasonsofdrabbles, which is coming right up, and overlaps some already-planned time off from work: Sign-ups close August 11, assignments out August 13, due August 23. The minimum required is just one drabble, the maximum required is three, and while I don't specialize in drabbles, I feel I should be able to deliver something enjoyable. Fingers crossed.

Nominations remain open through sign-ups, so I've just now added Dungeons and Dragons (Cartoon, 1983), Battlestar Galactica (1978), and The Journey to the West (classic Chinese novel) to the line-up, and added some characters for Highlander: The Series and The Legend of Zelda, which were already nominated.

Do you have any experience with this exchange?

Navigation: Rules/General Info | AO3 Collection | Mod Contact: ficinaboxmod@gmail.com OR Screened Mod Contact Post

This post is about nominations for tags that will be used in the fandom and relationship slots of your requests/tags. For opt-in medium nominations go to this post (link).

Before nominating, read the "Nominations Guidelines" section of this post, even if you also read it last year. After you nominate, keep an eye on the comm in case we need clarification from you before accepting a nomination.

How To Nominate

There are two methods of relationship nominations!

1) Google form

If you're new to nominating or nervous about getting your nomination formatting wrong, we encourage you to use the form. The form is the more forgiving way to nominate, because it's much easier for us to correct, process, and query large volumes of tags via form than it is on AO3.

To nominate via form:

• Read the "Nominations Guidelines" section of this post–there are nominations rules there which we haven't squeezed into the instructions on the form.
• Open the google form link and follow the instructions provided to submit your nominations for one fandom.
• Fill the form out as many times as you want for additional fandoms.
• Keep an eye on the comm for Nomination Clarification posts about your nominations. Most nominations via form wind up in the tagset without comment from us, but sometimes we need more information from the nominator! We usually can't accept a queried tag without an answer from the nominator, so replying to us is important.

The google doc is anonymous, just like AO3 nominations. Unlike AO3 nominations, you can't see any kind of record of what you've nominated after you submit the form. We suggest you keep notes about what you've submitted if you think you're likely to forget.

Nomination Google Form: https://forms.gle/m9cxg6P2cKemY8RV7

2) AO3 tagset nomination

If you're confident that you understand how to format your tags, you can nominate using the AO3 tagset. There are several benefits to nominating via AO3: you can nominate multiple fandoms at a time; you can see what tags you've nominated; and you can see whether they've been accepted or rejected. However, we will reject AO3 nominations that don't follow the "Nominations Guidelines" section of this post.

To nominate via AO3:

• Read the "Nominations Guidelines" section of this post.
• Open the tagset link below and click the "Nominate" button in the top righthand corner.
• Fill out the fandom and relationships field and click "Submit". You can nominate 10 fandoms with 10 relationships each. Remember that crossover tags must go under Crossover Fandom! We can't remove the note saying crossovers can go under either fandom, but we will reject crossovers nominated in the wrong place without comment.
• You can edit your nominations while your tags are unprocessed. As soon as a tag is approved or rejected, you can no longer edit it. You can add new nominations at any time during the Nominations period.
• Accepted tags will show up under their associated fandom in the tagset. You may see them hanging out in the Unassociated Characters & Relationships section for a while, but don't worry, we'll clean that up!
• We will reject both incorrect tags and tags in need of clarification. Tags in need of clarification will be listed in the next Nominations Clarification post on this comm. If a tag is rejected and doesn't get queried, it was an incorrect nomination in some manner covered in the Nominations Guidelines below. You can send us a link to your nominations page if you can't figure out what you did wrong; we're happy to explain!
• Keep an eye on the comm for Nomination Clarification posts about your nominations. Once we resolve a query, we'll add the tag into the tagset manually.

Tagset: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/24036

Nomination Guidelines

Please read all guidelines below before nominating and continue to check back on the comm to read all the Nomination Clarification posts that will be posted. If there's a problem with one or more of your nominations, we will need your input to resolve it.

Reminder: Incorrectly formatted AO3 tagset nominations will be rejected. You are welcome to re-nominate via the google form.

( Fandoms )

( Relationships Field )

Nominations evidence/explanations

In addition to this post functioning as documentation to explain our nominations rules, it's also a place where you can preemptively ask questions about our guidelines, explain edge cases you would like to nominate, or give clarification on confusing or hard-to-google subjects.

( When to post evidence about your nomination(s) )

Navigation: Rules/General Info | AO3 Collection | Fandom/Relationship Field Nomination Guidelines | Mod Contact: ficinaboxmod@gmail.com OR Screened Mod Contact Post

Nominating Mediums

Nomination is how you add things to the tagset! Mediums aren't matchable via AO3, but participants can opt into mediums other than fanfiction. If you're someone who wishes to match on one of those mediums as a creator you'll be able to email us (ficinaboxmod@gmail.com) or contact us here on DW via the screened mod contact post

This post is where you should nominate any mediums you want added to the tagset!

If you're nominating a new length opt-in, another form of something already in the tagset, or something that fits easily into the Rulesets, anyone can nominate.

If nominating a medium where the equivalent needs to be discussed you should only nominate if you are someone who intends to create the medium within the exchange.

You may also nominate a medium with Unique Rules instead of a ruleset. In the interest of avoiding rules creep, new Unique Rules mediums should only be mediums that absolutely cannot fit into a ruleset and which have multiple people interested in creating them, or which can either be added to an existing set of Unique Rules or added as a variation to that section

View Rulesets here!

When nominating a medium, please include the following categories:

Medium: Ruleset(s): What is it: Other Info:

Here are some recent fannish things I've happened to see and would like to share!

Spotlight: I feel that both Superman (2025) and Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) are good movies and strongly recommend them to general audiences looking for a pleasant time at the cinema this summer. I have literary and fannish critiques of the execution of each (of course I do), yet I feel bad about critiquing at all. I so want them both to succeed! And I so wanted them both to be not just good, or very good, but indeed knock-my-socks-off great, and I don't love how the release proximity invites ranking... but that would have been present, anyway, as each has just about the same "job" not just as an IP entry but in its writers' and director's choices. ( Very light spoilers )

Ficathons, fests & communities

• Create & engage
  • fan_writers is a community for discussion, reflection, and tools for writers, with emphasis on writing fanfic but not excluding writing original fic (or non-fic).
  • dreams_mayhem is a competitive creative challenge with weekly games for points.
  • seasons_of_fandom is the landcomm formerly known as lands_of_magic, relaunched to reflect that they are panfandom, not fantasy-exclusive.
  • ficinabox is a somewhat complex exchange, with a 10K+ words minimum that may or may not be spread, via swaps, across multiple works and/or multiple fandoms and recipients. Nominations through August 12; sign-ups through August 31; due October 19.
  • fffc is a low-pressure challenge community for creating something small-ish each week (like a drabble or haiku or equivalent in another medium). Prompts post on Fridays.
  • fic_promptly is a comment-fic community.
  • trope_of_the_month's August theme is "omegaverse."
  • pinchhits is a forum for pinch-hits in exchanges. For example, caseficexchange is seeking pinch hitters.
  • whenisitdue tracks many more events than I note here!
• Enjoy & share
  • fancake (themed fanfic recs); August theme: "marriage of convenience"
  • gensplosion (gen fanfic recs)
  • het_reccers (m/f fanfic recs)
  • fanart_recs (fanart recs)
  • recthething (fanwork recs)

Sidelight: Did you know that Marvel Comics released a "prequel" comic (single issue) to the Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) movie? The first print run sold out; I'm waiting for a copy from the second. It's not just any old prelude to the events of the movie, but covers the same ground as some of the cut footage. Specifically, it sets up ( mild spoiler )

I'm delighted to announce that the archive is now open. Go forth to read, view, and comment!

As always, if there are any problems, please send an email so we can follow up privately. I hope there are many works for you to enjoy in this year's collection.

I've extended the anonymous period a little bit because of delays, so creators will now be revealed on August 16th. The collection will remain open for treats (of any length) and makeup assignments.

I took my sewing machine out this morning and started working on the trousers I cut last week. It's been a slow process so far. I messed up attaching the zip when I was trying to follow the "helpful tip" for zips—I clearly didn't understand what it was trying to get me to do. So I tried again another way, and got it attached, but it's probably not quite as invisible as intended. I'm aiming to continue tomorrow.

In the afternoon, took a break from sewing and walked to town to pick up a couple of things I needed. And to go to see a promenade performance by Secret Shakespeare of the Scottish play at the abbey ruins. It was good, although as the director explained before the start, due to illness, they had a couple of people doing the roles for the first time. And the ruins worked well as the background to the performance. We did the play at school, which probably helped. I'm not sure I would have followed it as well otherwise. But all in all, it was a great way to spend a couple of hours.

So how about that Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment footage from yesterday's Nintendo Direct? I have no intention of playing a Warriors game (they're battle, not exploration+puzzle, games), but my goodness do I look forward to all the cutscenes and lore! Spoilers ahead...

I'm happy to see the Gerudo sage's face reveal and learn not only that the player will likely be recruiting each sage through the course of the game, but specifically that the Gerudo sage in particular looks likely to have been loyal to Ganondorf before she turns on him; excellently rich story and characterization potential there.

I'm happy to see Sonia broadly active, and the touching artwork expressions when she and Raru look at each other. I'm sure we all recognize the continued thematic emphasis on hands, hand-holding, shaking hands, and cooperation, collaboration, mutual support from Tears of the Kingdom, which was meant to contrast the isolation of Breath of the Wild. I found the new footage of the ancient original palace interesting; it's bigger than I had imagined, though still not as imposing as I imagine Gerudo civilization was at the time.

Which brings us to the final shots and their soundtrack. I expect that Fi's theme playing over that construct implies that Fi will populate and/or guide the building of that construct, likely giving Mineru the idea for her own later construct. I see that many people are expecting that the construct will house the Spirit of the Hero, which doesn't appeal to me, personally; the hero is a mortal being, and the hero's spirit belongs in life or the afterlife, not in a construct, while Fi was created by her goddess specifically to inhabit and animate an unliving item, the Sword of Evil's Bane. Of course these are not the only two possibilities! We shall see. What do you think?

We are just over two days from the collection opening!

I've checked in on the last few pinch hits, and at this time I don't expect any further delays.

While we wait, now is a great time to give your work a final polish.

If you're thinking of creating a last-minute treat, why not consider the treats for pinch hitters post?

See you all at the finish line...

The tents and rides are all dismantled, the ground is littered with peanut shells, and the natural quiet of the fairgrounds is overtaking the cacophony that had been ever present just a few days ago. It's a calm quiet as well all go about packing up and getting ready to set off on our next adventure.

It's hard to believe this is the very last day of July 2025. The month may be over, but hopefully you found enough summer vibes to carry you through August and well into September (you know it's technically summer until September 21st)!

I know I personally had an absolute blast this month. I got to read so many lovely posts, reflections, poems, and more shared by all of the wonderful participants. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who participated and to the entire mod team for the amazing, amazing job they did. If I can be a bit self-indulgent, I'd encourage you to comment below with your impressions of this challenge. We'll take all thoughts! Let us know what you liked, what could have been better, and whether you'd like to see this challenge happen in July 2026. Maybe you want to suggest a theme for next year? The Carnival will surely have moved on by then. :)

You might also choose to write your own wrap-up post for the Sunshine Revival. It's not an official challenge, but consider it a bit of a bonus prompt:

Which challenges did you participate in? Did you find any new journals to follow? Did you learn anything, either about yourself or someone else? How did you feel this month? Maybe leave a note for your future self reminding them of the little, everyday memories that sometimes get blurred out with the passage of time.

If you do write a personal wrap-up, feel free to link to it in a comment as well!

If you're just finding the Sunshine Revival, you can still participate in the challenges. Just drop a comment linking to your post. There's no deadline and no pressure. Also, don't forget to follow snowflake_challenge for the winter-themed big sister to this challenge. It's cozy and gingerbread-y and very fun.

Thank you again, everyone! I can't say it enough! It's amazing that you're here; you make this community really nice to be a part of. Have a lovely summer. <3

I'm saddened to hear that Joseph Ziegler passed away. My Forever Knight friends will remember him as Patrick Delehanty from the episode The Code. He was also a regular in Black Harbour, where he played Len Hubbard, the brother-in-law of Ger's character Nick. Those who have visited Stratford, may have seen him on stage where he spent 10 seasons with the Festival.

Finished since the last reading post
Between the Teeth, which I read mostly for series completion. I'd forgotten how I don't really get along with the protagonist, but I think the author has also softened his edges a little bit by this book.

Learned by Heart, which I liked as a different angle to the Anne Lister story.

Currently reading
Not much progress on Crypt. Started reading a German YAish romance novel series Jonas, Dennis, und die Liebe by Katharina B. Gross and not finding it very easy. Also started reading, for reading challenge purposes, Riders by Jilly Cooper

Reading next
I've got another library book waiting

I have a small theory of the story to be revealed Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment that I haven't seen, which means the fandom at large considers it unlikely and unsupported.

Still, fwiw, as I think on the conjunction between the official statement that the story will be canon and a HW game's need for more playable characters than we currently have pinned down from Tears of the Kingdom -- Zelda, Raru, Mineru, the four masked sages; Sonia until she's murdered; maybe Ganondorf and Twinrova -- the more I suspect that the Ancient Hero (this guy) will be there. Like many, I suspect that he's part Zonai. A question is whether he's also part Hylian or part Gerudo or both (red hair always makes fans suspect Gerudo lineage, e.g. Malon, Groose) or whether he's part of that lost frog-like people seen only in statuary.

But as he is from 10,000 years before BotW/TotK canon, he can't be native to Raru's and Sonia's Founding Era, which is much further back. He can't be their son. (Separate theory: We could be getting their adult children in this game, as new characters.) He could be a descendant of theirs. He could be the Eighth Heroine of Gerudo legend (speculated by fans to have been male). And... he could have gotten to their era by the power of the Zelda of his own era, who could even have accompanied him, adding two to the playable line-up.

Or he could actually be their adult son, who gets catapulted to 10,000 years ago from the Founding Era by our Zelda in the course of the game.

Officially pronouncing this story to be canon, TPTB limited the possibilities for timey-wimey shenanigans messing with the story we know, but left them wide open for the stories we don't know.

Navigation: Rules/General Info | AO3 Collection
Mod Contact: ficinaboxmod@gmail.com OR Screened Mod Contact Post

Fandom Promo

One of the really fun things about a multifandom exchange is seeing what everyone else is into and maybe picking up a new fandom or two or three! This post is a place to let everyone know why your fandom(s) are great, how to get into your fandom(s), and so on.

You can see last year's promo post here (link).

(PS, say hello to our mod helper account! Our minions are helping with the data entry, plus this keeps the promo alerts from clogging up the mod inbox.)

Promo Spreadsheet

For ease of browsing fandom promos, we will be putting all fandom promos in a sheet for easy browsing, including browsing by roughly the length of time needed to consume the fandom. You don't need to do anything to get your promo info on the sheet, just follow the posting instructions and it will be added for you.

✨Click here for the 2025 Fandom Promo Spreadsheet✨

What to put in your promo

Necessary for the spreadsheet:

• Fandom name: Also make this the title of your comment below. If you're promoing a certain ship or section of your fandom, include it after your fandom name.
• Tagset fandom: Please copy/paste from the tagset if your fandom is already there. This will help if you go out for pinch hit.
• Media type: What kind of thing is it?
• Length: How long does it take to consume the canon? We want this to be useful for people looking to pick up new fandoms! You can put an exact time if you know it, or you can sort into these categories:
• For fandoms under 2 hours long: Very short
• For fandoms 2-5 hours long: Short
• For fandoms 5-10 hours long: Short-ish
• For fandoms 10-20 hours long: Medium
• For fandoms longer than 20 hours: Long
• For fandoms longer than 40 hours: Very long

Suggested other info:

• Where can it be found? (Only legal links for this, please.)
• What is it/what is it about?
• What do you love about it? Also, what are you planning to request for it?
• If it's a big/complex/long/scattered fandom, where should people start? Also, are there sections of canon (rather than the whole canon) that can be consumed by themselves to fulfill your requests, or that showcase particular characters and relationships?
• Do you have any content warnings? These are at your discretion and don't need to be comprehensive. Some content "warnings" might also help attract people who deliberately look for that kind of thing!

How to post your promo

Comment on this post by clicking "reply" in the bottom right corner. You do not need a Dreamwidth account to post.

Put your fandom's name as the comment's title.

Copy the code in the text box below and fill it out. Necessary-for-the-spreadsheet fields are marked with a * so you won't forget. Other fields can be removed if you don't need them.

<b>*Fandom name:</b> <b>*Tagset fandom:</b> <b>*Media type:</b> <b>*Length:</b> Very short/Short/Short-ish/Medium/Long/Very long <b>Where can it be found? (Only legal links for this, please.)</b> <b>What is it/what is it about?</b> <b>What do you love about it?</b> <b>Where should people start?</b> <b>Do you have any content warnings?</b>

I had an appointment today to fit the permanent crown for the tooth that flared up in June, following an appointment about two weeks ago when the dentist worked on the mould and other preparations. Before doing anything with the crown today, I had a new X-ray of the jaw and this time it showed signs of infection at the root, which the June X-ray didn't. So I didn't get the permanent crown today, I just needed to make more appointments. The dentist did do some prep work for fitting the crown, and the crown itself will go back for some final adjustments. At my next appointment I'll have the root canal treatment, and at the next one I'll get the permanent crown.

Hello, everyone! This is just a quick heads-up about the coming flash round, which will begin in early September. So if you'd be up for another round this year, but aren't too keen on the flash aspect, then please take this as your cue to get started a little ahead of time. I hope to see you then!