Reading

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book report

Slippery Creatures, by K.J. Charles

Will Darling's inherited his uncle's used bookshop and also a secret that everyone in London is trying to beat out of him. After Lord Arthur "Kim" Secretan—handsome, charming, rich—rescues him from one of these numerous thugs, Will accepts his help in searching the bookshop for whatever it was his uncle was hiding. Sex, intrigue, and hats (it's the 1920s) ensue.

I don't know, gang, I just didn't vibe with these two, and the many sex scenes kind of demand that you do. I would have preferred a higher story to horny ratio; as it is, it's pretty much 1:1. But, personal tastes aside, it's not a bad book, and other readers have found it delightful, so don't let me scare you off.

Contains: explicit m/m sex, including some terms so deeply unsexy I can only assume they're historically accurate; violence; references to WWI, trench warfare, infectious disease, and biological weapons.

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last! scene!

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Rec: We Better Make a Start (Stranger Things, Steve/Eddie)

It is summer! It is finally, finally summer! I am wearing a cotton dress and the window is open and there's sunshine outside. I slept without a heater on and when I got up in the morning to let the dogs out, I didn't need to grab a jumper against the chill. It is warm and bright and man, November was so grey and chilly I'd almost given up on the sheer happiness that comes from warm weather and fresh air.

Also, we've got through November month end, so it's just three weeks until Christmas break, time for work to slow down and life to be good. (By "slow down", I mean there are still tasks to do but we can take our time, iron out the little issues and turn off the laptop at 5.30pm without guilt or looming deadlines. December really is my favourite time of year.)

...having said that, we're out of dog food so I'll have to go to the shops tonight. Fingers crossed 6pm on a Tuesday will be quiet, because weekend shopping has already hit that Christmas crowds thing where it's all a bit much.

In the spirit of sharing things that bring you joy, I've been enjoying Steve/Eddie Stranger Things stories lately, and I have to rec this one. It was recced by

runpunkrun and it's an absolute joy. Himbo!Steve and teenage make-out sessions and Steve and Robin as BFFs:

We Better Make a Start (11087 words) by thefourthvine
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson
Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Himbo Steve Harrington, First Time, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington Are Best Friends, Podfic Available
Summary:

As soon as Eddie gets to the counter, Steve turns to him and says, “Back me up here. Kissing is no big deal, right?”

Steve Harrington is talking about kissing. Eddie’s brain shorts out. “Uh,” he says.

And then I discovered this podfic of it, which is an utter delight. I listened to it driving home last night and honestly wished my commute was longer so I could keep listening:

[podfic] We Better Make a Start (45 words) by reena_jenkins
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Steve Harrington/Eddie Munson
Characters: Steve Harrington, Eddie Munson, Robin Buckley
Additional Tags: Podfic, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Post-Season/Series 04, Himbo Steve Harrington, First Time, Robin Buckley & Steve Harrington Are Best Friends
Summary:

As soon as Eddie gets to the counter, Steve turns to him and says, “Back me up here. Kissing is no big deal, right?”

Steve Harrington is talking about kissing. Eddie’s brain shorts out. “Uh,” he says.

🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

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Quincy M.E. Fan Fiction: "Quincy Quixote"

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freedom! and parentheses, lol

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blah blah recovery blah

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let them eat fancake

Fancake's Theme for December: Amnesty

Photograph of the aurora borealis taken in Norway, text: Amnesty, at Fancake. The northern lights are a bright green scribble that stretches over the horizon, along a snowy mountain ridge, and up into the starry night sky.

At the end of another long year,

fancake's theme for December is, as always, amnesty. This month you can make recs for any previous theme—from any year—as long as it hasn't already been recced for that theme.

I posted a rec for

thefourthvine's sexy and fun We Better Make a Start, an everybody lives/nobody dies Stranger Things fic with Steve & Robin friendship and Steve/Eddie makeouts.

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

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(no subject)

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2K

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book report

The Ghosts of Ashbury High, by Jaclyn Moriarty

An Australian epistolary YA novel of extreme tweeness where the format may almost forgive some of the hysteria, as much of the book takes the form of final exams written for a gothic literature course, but I found it childish, not only ridiculous in the way of teenagers, which felt true enough, but even the adults were being juvenile, and the way the privileged teen drama was played for comedy and took precedence over the actual problems of at risk youth irritated me. It does include some surprisingly stylish teen poetry, though.

Contains: references to child harm and sexual abuse; homelessness; underage drinking; suicide attempt; dementia.

(no subject)

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gywo: 2025

GYWO for November 2025

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the rest of the weekend

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fanfiction-other

MAS*H Fan Fiction: "Saturdays in Crabapple Cove Maine"

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drop by and say something nice

It's time for the
✨ holiday love meme 2025 ✨

my thread is here

or just comment on this post if that's more your style

Look! I remembered to post before December started this year!

Hello, 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.

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