Dear Platonic Ideal Creator,
Dec. 7th, 2025 03:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
settiaiFirst of all, relax! I'm far from being picky, and I can pretty much guarantee that I'll love whatever you decide to create for me. These are nothing but guidelines, for you to take to heart or ignore to your heart's content. Also, hey! You're writing me fic or drawing me art! That's automatically a good reason for me to love you, no matter what. So, please, keep that in mind. Trust me, you can pretty much do no wrong. ♥
( More details under the cut. )
( More details under the cut. )
Misc links
Dec. 5th, 2025 06:13 pmelisiZack Polanski: ‘People will have to find some other way to hurt me’
In the first of a new weekly series in which we ask a public figure to take us on a walk of significance, the leader of the Greens strolls through London’s Stoke Newington. He talks to us about resilience, leaving Nato and why former Labour politicians are welcome to join his party
A Founder Got Fed Up With Potential Hires Using AI to ‘Fake It.’ What She Did Next Was Brilliant
When a founder noticed more and more job candidates using AI to game the system, she offered to give them ‘hiring tests’—with pay.
"We Must Not Leave Ukraine and Volodymyr Alone with These Guys"
DER SPIEGEL has obtained notes from a conference call involving EU leaders - including Germany's Friedrich Merz and France's Emmanuel Macron - showing just how little trust Europe has in Washington.
These Android features make your phone a nightmare to steal — I enable them all
Ireland among countries boycotting Eurovision after Israel allowed to compete
Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, after it was decided Israel could compete.
🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
~
Have I shared these petitions? I can't remember...
Good Law Project:
Women in support of the trans+ community
Tell the BBC to stop attacking trans people
~
And for any writers out there - One Look Thesaurus:
https://www.onelook.com/thesaurus/
"Enter a word, phrase, description, or pattern above to find synonyms, related words, and more."
SO USEFUL!
In the first of a new weekly series in which we ask a public figure to take us on a walk of significance, the leader of the Greens strolls through London’s Stoke Newington. He talks to us about resilience, leaving Nato and why former Labour politicians are welcome to join his party
A Founder Got Fed Up With Potential Hires Using AI to ‘Fake It.’ What She Did Next Was Brilliant
When a founder noticed more and more job candidates using AI to game the system, she offered to give them ‘hiring tests’—with pay.
"We Must Not Leave Ukraine and Volodymyr Alone with These Guys"
DER SPIEGEL has obtained notes from a conference call involving EU leaders - including Germany's Friedrich Merz and France's Emmanuel Macron - showing just how little trust Europe has in Washington.
These Android features make your phone a nightmare to steal — I enable them all
Ireland among countries boycotting Eurovision after Israel allowed to compete
Ireland, Spain, the Netherlands and Slovenia will boycott the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, after it was decided Israel could compete.
🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸
~
Have I shared these petitions? I can't remember...
Good Law Project:
Women in support of the trans+ community
Tell the BBC to stop attacking trans people
~
And for any writers out there - One Look Thesaurus:
https://www.onelook.com/thesaurus/
"Enter a word, phrase, description, or pattern above to find synonyms, related words, and more."
SO USEFUL!
Initial Pinch Hits
Dec. 5th, 2025 09:22 ammaevedarcy posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
holly_polyWe had eight initial pinch hits this year, and all of them were sent out to the pinch hit google group yesterday. Some of them were quickly claimed over there, but we have a few left in need of claiming. See below for general details. More specific information can be found by clicking the links.
( CLAIMED! #3: Fate/Zero, Titanic (1997), Game of Thrones (TV), Arthurian Mythology, Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Hades (Supergiant Games Video Games), 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) )
( #4: Dead by Daylight (Video Game), Borderlands (Video Games), Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions )
( #5: The Elementalists (Visual Novel), Heart of Battle - Fay Ikin, Havenfall is for Lovers (Visual Novel) )
( #6: Forsaken (Roblox), Dandy's World (Roblox), ONE - Cheesy Hfj (Web Series), Battle For Dream Island (Web Series), Video Blogging RPF, Cookie Run (Video Game) )
( #7: Disco Elysium (Video Game), Final Fantasy VIII, The Locked Tomb Series | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir )
If you're interested in claiming any of these pinch hits, send an e-mail to holly.poly.exchange@gmail.com with your AO3 name or reply to this post. (Comments are screened.)
This year, we will do a pinch hitter treats sign-up post, so that anyone creating a pinch hit fanwork who is not signed up for the main exchange is able to potentially get a treat made for them - you can check this post for more info.
Before you start your assignment, please make sure to familiarise yourself with the exchanges rules, including fanwork minimums.
( CLAIMED! #3: Fate/Zero, Titanic (1997), Game of Thrones (TV), Arthurian Mythology, Wiedźmin | The Witcher (Video Game), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Hades (Supergiant Games Video Games), 陈情令 | The Untamed (TV) )
( #4: Dead by Daylight (Video Game), Borderlands (Video Games), Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions )
( #5: The Elementalists (Visual Novel), Heart of Battle - Fay Ikin, Havenfall is for Lovers (Visual Novel) )
( #6: Forsaken (Roblox), Dandy's World (Roblox), ONE - Cheesy Hfj (Web Series), Battle For Dream Island (Web Series), Video Blogging RPF, Cookie Run (Video Game) )
( #7: Disco Elysium (Video Game), Final Fantasy VIII, The Locked Tomb Series | Gideon the Ninth Series - Tamsyn Muir )
If you're interested in claiming any of these pinch hits, send an e-mail to holly.poly.exchange@gmail.com with your AO3 name or reply to this post. (Comments are screened.)
Collection: https://ao3.org/collections/holly_poly_2025
Tag Set: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/25541
Tumblr: https://holly-poly.tumblr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/holly_poly_ex
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/holly-poly.bsky.social
Google Groups - Holly Poly Updates: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-updates
Google Groups - Holly Poly Pinchhits: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-pinchhits
Critical Role: Campaign 4, Episode 8
Dec. 5th, 2025 02:45 amsettiaiAs with previous posts about the current campaign of Critical Role, this will be a combination of quotes, random thoughts, and some speculation. And it's obviously full of spoilers (albeit vague ones in places).
( Spoilers under the cut. )
( Spoilers under the cut. )
The Mighty Nein 1x05
Dec. 3rd, 2025 01:28 pmsettiaiContinuing on my previously posted thoughts about episode 1x04, I just finished watching episode 1x05.
( Spoilers under the cut. )
( Spoilers under the cut. )
Pinch Hitter Treats
Dec. 2nd, 2025 08:24 pmmaevedarcy posting in holly_polyPinch hitters are an important part of the exchange, making sure everyone has a fanwork so that we can hopefully go live with the collection on time. Many of those who create a pinch hit for us are not signed up to the main exchange and so pinch hit treats are a way for people to give a little back to those kind souls.
Comments on this post are for pinch hitters to sign up for treats and so that anyone inclined to treat them can see what they'd like to receive as a treat. As with other treats, there are no minimum fanwork lengths but remember that any DNWs (Do Not Wants) must be honoured and general rules for the exchange, such as no AI, still apply.
Who is eligible to sign up to receive pinch hit treats?
- You must create 1 or more pinch hits for the main exchange
- You are not signed up for the main exchange under any username
- You have turned on the AO3 setting to be able to receive gift fanworks
- You must not be banned*
*Those with a temporary one-year ban may still be eligible for pinch hit treats but only if they create at least 2 pinch hits for the main exchange
Please note if you sign up for pinch hit treats but later default on your pinch hit and no longer meet the required minimum amount of pinch hits to qualify for a pinch hit treat we will delete your sign up on this post. We will be carefully monitoring how things go for any signs people might be abusing this part of the exchange.
How to sign up for pinch hit treats:
Post your requests in a comment (or a series of comments replying to yourself in a thread if you prefer to separate them out) including the below information.
- AO3 username
- Fandom
- Relationship(s)
- Medium(s)
- Details (if applicable)
- Do Not Wants (if applicable)
- Link to creator letter (optional)
Similar to a regular main exchange sign-up there should be no more than 10 different fandoms requested by each pinch hitter, each fandom with a maximum of 20 ships. All fandoms, ships and mediums for requests should be ones present in this year's tagset which you can search at this link and they must have the same wording in requests as they have in the tagset to make it easiest for us checking treats fulfil the request.
Any DNWs (Do Not Wants) must be in the signup comments - any DNWs mentioned in the optional linked creator letter will not be checked for or enforced.
Please make sure your requests are the final version you want to post as no comment editing is allowed - signups must remain unchanged so potential gifters and mods have the same information and we can check if the gift fulfills the request and avoids DNWs. Edited signups will be deleted. If you need to edit your comment for typos, please reply to the original comment with the corrections.
If people have any questions about this part of the exchange please email us at holly.poly.exchange@gmail.com or reply on this other post here - comments on this post should be kept to requests only.
Collection: https://ao3.org/collections/holly_poly_2025
Tag Set: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/25541
Tumblr: https://holly-poly.tumblr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/holly_poly_ex
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/holly-poly.bsky.social
Google Groups - Holly Poly Updates: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-updates
Google Groups - Holly Poly Pinchhits: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-pinchhits
Comments on this post are for pinch hitters to sign up for treats and so that anyone inclined to treat them can see what they'd like to receive as a treat. As with other treats, there are no minimum fanwork lengths but remember that any DNWs (Do Not Wants) must be honoured and general rules for the exchange, such as no AI, still apply.
Who is eligible to sign up to receive pinch hit treats?
- You must create 1 or more pinch hits for the main exchange
- You are not signed up for the main exchange under any username
- You have turned on the AO3 setting to be able to receive gift fanworks
- You must not be banned*
*Those with a temporary one-year ban may still be eligible for pinch hit treats but only if they create at least 2 pinch hits for the main exchange
Please note if you sign up for pinch hit treats but later default on your pinch hit and no longer meet the required minimum amount of pinch hits to qualify for a pinch hit treat we will delete your sign up on this post. We will be carefully monitoring how things go for any signs people might be abusing this part of the exchange.
How to sign up for pinch hit treats:
Post your requests in a comment (or a series of comments replying to yourself in a thread if you prefer to separate them out) including the below information.
- AO3 username
- Fandom
- Relationship(s)
- Medium(s)
- Details (if applicable)
- Do Not Wants (if applicable)
- Link to creator letter (optional)
Similar to a regular main exchange sign-up there should be no more than 10 different fandoms requested by each pinch hitter, each fandom with a maximum of 20 ships. All fandoms, ships and mediums for requests should be ones present in this year's tagset which you can search at this link and they must have the same wording in requests as they have in the tagset to make it easiest for us checking treats fulfil the request.
Any DNWs (Do Not Wants) must be in the signup comments - any DNWs mentioned in the optional linked creator letter will not be checked for or enforced.
Please make sure your requests are the final version you want to post as no comment editing is allowed - signups must remain unchanged so potential gifters and mods have the same information and we can check if the gift fulfills the request and avoids DNWs. Edited signups will be deleted. If you need to edit your comment for typos, please reply to the original comment with the corrections.
If people have any questions about this part of the exchange please email us at holly.poly.exchange@gmail.com or reply on this other post here - comments on this post should be kept to requests only.
Collection: https://ao3.org/collections/holly_poly_2025
Tag Set: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/25541
Tumblr: https://holly-poly.tumblr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/holly_poly_ex
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/holly-poly.bsky.social
Google Groups - Holly Poly Updates: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-updates
Google Groups - Holly Poly Pinchhits: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-pinchhits
Wishlist Meme
Dec. 1st, 2025 10:44 pmsettiaiI've done fairly well at remembering to make this post on December 1st the last few years, so let's keep it up. ❄️
( Rules under the cut. )
( Wishlist under the cut. )
I've posted my P.O. Box and general information here for anyone who needs it. As long as I give you access, you should be able to see it. If you don't have access, feel free to leave a comment, send me a private message, or email me at settiai [at] gmail [dot] com in order to get it.
Also, since I get asked this every year: yes, I'm aware ofholiday_wishes, and I may end up posting over there as well. My brain has a weird hang-up about posting a wishlist somewhere more public like a community vs. my own journal, though, so we'll see.
( Rules under the cut. )
( Wishlist under the cut. )
I've posted my P.O. Box and general information here for anyone who needs it. As long as I give you access, you should be able to see it. If you don't have access, feel free to leave a comment, send me a private message, or email me at settiai [at] gmail [dot] com in order to get it.
Also, since I get asked this every year: yes, I'm aware of
holiday_wishes, and I may end up posting over there as well. My brain has a weird hang-up about posting a wishlist somewhere more public like a community vs. my own journal, though, so we'll see.Assignments Out
Dec. 1st, 2025 09:09 pmpurpleyin posting in holly_polyAssignments are out! You should have received your assignment already, if not do let us know. Countdown timer links for both the default deadline and the fanworks due deadline have also been added to our schedule post and the collection profile now, so that you can keep track of when they are in your time zone.
There are seven initial pinch hits that we'll be sending out within the next day. They will be posted first to the Google Group for pinch hits and any not claimed over there will then be posted here/to our other socials. We'll also be putting up the Pinch Hitters Treats post soon as well, so keep a look out for that if you claim a pinch hit or if you might be interested in treating any of our pinch hitters.
If there's any issue with your assignment, or if you have any queries for us to pass onto your recipient, please send us an e-mail at holly.poly.exchange@gmail.com ASAP so that we can try to get it resolved.
Collection: https://ao3.org/collections/holly_poly_2025
Tag Set: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/25541
Tumblr: https://holly-poly.tumblr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/holly_poly_ex
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/holly-poly.bsky.social
Google Groups - Holly Poly Updates: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-updates
Google Groups - Holly Poly Pinchhits: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-pinchhits
There are seven initial pinch hits that we'll be sending out within the next day. They will be posted first to the Google Group for pinch hits and any not claimed over there will then be posted here/to our other socials. We'll also be putting up the Pinch Hitters Treats post soon as well, so keep a look out for that if you claim a pinch hit or if you might be interested in treating any of our pinch hitters.
If there's any issue with your assignment, or if you have any queries for us to pass onto your recipient, please send us an e-mail at holly.poly.exchange@gmail.com ASAP so that we can try to get it resolved.
Collection: https://ao3.org/collections/holly_poly_2025
Tag Set: https://archiveofourown.org/tag_sets/25541
Tumblr: https://holly-poly.tumblr.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/holly_poly_ex
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/holly-poly.bsky.social
Google Groups - Holly Poly Updates: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-updates
Google Groups - Holly Poly Pinchhits: https://groups.google.com/g/holly-poly-pinchhits
Fic: Not Quite Birds of a Feather (Dragon Age)
Nov. 30th, 2025 01:40 pmsettiaiNot Quite Birds of a Feather (1418 words) by Settiai
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age - All Media Types
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Female Aeducan/Leliana/Morrigan (Dragon Age), Female Aeducan/Leliana (Dragon Age), Female Aeducan/Morrigan (Dragon Age), Leliana/Morrigan (Dragon Age)
Characters: Female Aeducan (Dragon Age), Leliana (Dragon Age), Morrigan (Dragon Age)
Additional Tags: Casual Sex, Complicated Relationships, Dragon Age Poly Exchange, One Shot, Polyamory
Summary: The three of them had almost nothing in common. It shouldn't have worked. Yet somehow it did.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age - All Media Types
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Female Aeducan/Leliana/Morrigan (Dragon Age), Female Aeducan/Leliana (Dragon Age), Female Aeducan/Morrigan (Dragon Age), Leliana/Morrigan (Dragon Age)
Characters: Female Aeducan (Dragon Age), Leliana (Dragon Age), Morrigan (Dragon Age)
Additional Tags: Casual Sex, Complicated Relationships, Dragon Age Poly Exchange, One Shot, Polyamory
Summary: The three of them had almost nothing in common. It shouldn't have worked. Yet somehow it did.
Fic: No Strings (Dragon Age)
Nov. 30th, 2025 01:40 pmsettiaiNo Strings (1466 words) by Settiai
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jowan/Cullen Rutherford/Male Surana
Characters: Cullen Rutherford, Jowan (Dragon Age), Male Surana (Dragon Age)
Additional Tags: Casual Sex, Denial of Feelings, Dragon Age Poly Exchange, Kinloch Hold (Dragon Age), One Shot, Secret Relationship, Teenagers, Trans Male Character
Summary: It didn't mean anything. If they kept telling themselves that much, then maybe it would be true.
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jowan/Cullen Rutherford/Male Surana
Characters: Cullen Rutherford, Jowan (Dragon Age), Male Surana (Dragon Age)
Additional Tags: Casual Sex, Denial of Feelings, Dragon Age Poly Exchange, Kinloch Hold (Dragon Age), One Shot, Secret Relationship, Teenagers, Trans Male Character
Summary: It didn't mean anything. If they kept telling themselves that much, then maybe it would be true.
Look! I remembered to post before December started this year!
Nov. 30th, 2025 02:42 am![[staff profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user_staff.png){kind=small}
denise posting in ![[site community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/comm_staff.png){kind=small}
dw_newsHello, friends! It's about to be December again, and you know what that means: the fact I am posting this actually before December 1 means karzilla reminded me about the existence of linear time again. Wait, no -- well, yes, but also -- okay, look, let me back up and start again: it's almost December, and that means it's time for our annual December holiday points bonus.
The standard explanation: For the entire month of December, all orders made in the Shop of points and paid time, either for you or as a gift for a friend, will have 10% of your completed cart total sent to you in points when you finish the transaction. For instance, if you buy an order of 12 months of paid time for $35 (350 points), you'll get 35 points when the order is complete, to use on a future purchase.
( The fine print and much more behind this cut! )
Thank you, in short, for being the best possible users any social media site could possibly ever hope for. I'm probably in danger of crossing the Sappiness Line if I haven't already, but you all make everything worth it.
On behalf of Mark, Jen, Robby, and our team of awesome volunteers, and to each and every one of you, whether you've been with us on this wild ride since the beginning or just signed up last week, I'm wishing you all a very happy set of end-of-year holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, and hoping for all of you that your 2026 is full of kindness, determination, empathy, and a hell of a lot more luck than we've all had lately. Let's go.
karzilla reminded me about the existence of linear time again. Wait, no -- well, yes, but also -- okay, look, let me back up and start again: it's almost December, and that means it's time for our annual December holiday points bonus.The standard explanation: For the entire month of December, all orders made in the Shop of points and paid time, either for you or as a gift for a friend, will have 10% of your completed cart total sent to you in points when you finish the transaction. For instance, if you buy an order of 12 months of paid time for $35 (350 points), you'll get 35 points when the order is complete, to use on a future purchase.
( The fine print and much more behind this cut! )
Thank you, in short, for being the best possible users any social media site could possibly ever hope for. I'm probably in danger of crossing the Sappiness Line if I haven't already, but you all make everything worth it.
On behalf of Mark, Jen, Robby, and our team of awesome volunteers, and to each and every one of you, whether you've been with us on this wild ride since the beginning or just signed up last week, I'm wishing you all a very happy set of end-of-year holidays, whichever ones you celebrate, and hoping for all of you that your 2026 is full of kindness, determination, empathy, and a hell of a lot more luck than we've all had lately. Let's go.
Leslie Fish
Nov. 30th, 2025 01:02 amsettiaiIt looks like Leslie Fish has passed away.
I've gotta admit, I'm very torn on this one. In recent years, she's made it clear that she's transphobic, bigoted, and a generally horrible person all around. A fair bit of her music has meant a lot to me over the years, though, before it became widely known just what she's like.
So... yeah. I'm mourning for just how important she used to be to both me and fandom at large, but at the same time it's hard to be all that sad about the death of someone who's made it clear that she didn't consider me to be a person.
I've gotta admit, I'm very torn on this one. In recent years, she's made it clear that she's transphobic, bigoted, and a generally horrible person all around. A fair bit of her music has meant a lot to me over the years, though, before it became widely known just what she's like.
So... yeah. I'm mourning for just how important she used to be to both me and fandom at large, but at the same time it's hard to be all that sad about the death of someone who's made it clear that she didn't consider me to be a person.
For Sale: Nintendo Switch games
Nov. 28th, 2025 09:54 pmsettiaiI've made this post a few times without any luck, but I wanted to try again just in case I have better luck this time. Would anyone be interested in any of the following Nintendo Switch games?
Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! (example on Amazon)
Spyro Reignited Trilogy (example on Amazon)
TemTem (example on Amazon)
If you're not interested but know someone who might be, please point them my way. I'm about $65 shy of where I need to be to pay for my storage unit this month, because the universe hates me, and it would help a lot if I could manage to sell even one of them.
For payment, I have CashApp ($Settiai), PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle (nancy.lynn.foster@gmail.com).
Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! (example on Amazon)
Spyro Reignited Trilogy (example on Amazon)
TemTem (example on Amazon)
If you're not interested but know someone who might be, please point them my way. I'm about $65 shy of where I need to be to pay for my storage unit this month, because the universe hates me, and it would help a lot if I could manage to sell even one of them.
For payment, I have CashApp ($Settiai), PayPal, Venmo, or Zelle (nancy.lynn.foster@gmail.com).
