The plumber got his Bobcat excavator stuck in a 12 foot hole in my brother's front yard while digging for the sewer line. This is the dramatic rescue with the use of a tow truck and team work. No one was hurt and as soon as the excavator was free, the plumber got back to digging...
I recently saw a preview for the movie Send Help featuring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O'brien, but haven't watched it yet because it's not streaming for free yet. So, I watched Love and Monsters instead and was amazed that Dylan O'brien hasn't aged a day in that movie. Then I realized it was filmed in 2020! I enjoyed the movie so much that I'm going to binge-read Sterek fics; starting with I Was A Teenage Werewolf by HaleHathNoFury, which is 456,244 words and 50 chapters. It was started in May 2018 and completed in July 2020; I think I missed reading it at the time because I usually don't follow works in progress.
This made me fall into a rabbit-hole and I now have 41 fics to read - some are brand new to me and others are oldies, but goodies that I simply must read again. Not to mention, a number of the fic writers have moved onto other fandoms, such as Stranger Things or Heated Rivalry, so I have included those as well. Here are the fics:
Nothing Has Changed Except the Run of the Rivers - adeepeningdig
Last Good Thing About This Part of Town - skoosiepants
Assistant to the Consulting Detectives - idyll
Shift Hours - idratherwrite
Accidentally Like a Werewolf - skoosiepants
Wolves in the Timber - adeepeningdig
A New Horizon - twlight_shades
Doubts that Complicate - twlight_shades
Trying to Break Through - coffeeinallcaps
Phase 3 - damnitgreenberg (I definitely remember this one!)
Save Some Light for Me - skoosiepants
This Might As Well Happen - skoosiepants
Metaphorical Trees - adeepeningdig
So Take My Picture, Picture, Picture - troubleiwant
This Boy's on Fire - redcigar
It's Doomsday On the Other Side of Town - skoosiepants
Punitive Acts - subnivean
Come Real Quick (And Get Inside My Mind) - coffeeinallcaps
A Shot in the Dark, I'll Carry You Home - skoosiepants
Hunk of Burning Love - redcigar
I'm A Mountain That Has been Moved - demonicweirdo
Lovely blossoms from the crabapple tree in my parent's front yard! It was planted when the house was built, which means it's almost 50 years old. Still looks great and hopefully will be standing for years to come.
I'm so embarrassed to admit that I didn't realize Timothy Olyphant also starred in The Crazies, which is one of my favorite movies & I re-watch it at least once a year. Am I that oblivious?! I suppose it proves that he is such a good actor that he completely immerses himself into a character & thus, I never recognized him as Sheriff David Dutten in The Crazies.
The only reason I finally found that out is because I love him as Kirsh on Alien: Earth and I searched to see what else he's starred in.
Here is Part Two of M/M romance books for anyone new to the genre. Each link will bring you to the review on Joyfully Jay and from there, you can click on the buy link to Amazon. (If the link is no longer working from the review site, then I've included it next to the book). In my opinion, these are all keepers and I highly recommend them!
See below for TJ Klune to L.A. Witt:
Wolfsong by TJ Klune (Amazon Link)
Home Improvement by Tara Lain (Amazon Link)
Beneath the Stain by Amy Lane (Amazon Link)
Somebody Killed His Editor by Josh Lanyon
Fatal Shadows by Josh Lanyon
Misfits by Garrett Leigh (Amazon Link)
Whisper by Garrett Leigh
St. Nacho's by Z.A. Maxfield
Pressure Head by JL Merrow
Vivaldi in the Dark by Matthew Metzger
Dog Days by TA Moore (Amazon Link)
Rule Breaker by Lily Morton
Like Coffee and Doughnuts by Elle Parker
Among the Living by Jordan Castillo Price
Murder at White Oak by Marko Realmonte
Catalysts by Kris Ripper
The Subs Club by J.A. Rock (Amazon Link)
Manties in a Twist by J.A. Rock
Boystown: Three Nick Nowak Mysteries by Marshall Thornton
It can be difficult to determine how good a book is based solely on Amazon or Goodread reviews; and when I made the switch from romance to M/M romance books back in 2016, I had no idea where to start! (Naively, I assumed they were all written by men, which is so not true).
Luckily, I found the Joyfully Jay blog, which kickstarted my journey of reading as many M/M romance books as possible. I tried to narrow down a list that I would recommend for those new to the genre and came up with 40, which I split into two parts. There's a bit of everything here from contemporary, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, shifters, and a bit of BDSM.
Please note: each link will bring you to a review of the book on Joyfully Jay and from there, you can click the buy link to access Amazon. (Also, a few of the Amazon links aren't working on the review page, so I included them below next to the book).
Here is Part One from Kiera Andrews to Sean Kennedy:
Kick at the Darkness by Kiera Andrews
Training Season by Leta Blake
The Magpie Lord by KJ Charles
Aftercare by Tanya Chris
Axel's Pup by Kim Dare
Exposed by Bey Deckard
Falling by Suki Fleet (Amazon Link)
Black Dog Blues by Rhys Ford
Once Upon A Haunted Moor by Harper Fox
Claimings, Tails, and Other Alien Artifacts by Lyn Gala
The boys! Sir Robert and Luke are very photogenic. However, you will find that Sir Robert has a "resting bitch face" and he always appears to be overcome with joy and an enthusiasm for life. (Please note: that is a lie; he normally just looks grumpy). Luke is my younger cat; he has a zest for life and loves banging on mirrors with his paw, cabinet doors and knocking books off shelves. Both are very sweet boys.
Well, I've slowly been making my way through three science fiction series on my Amazon Fire tablet:
The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
The Adventures of Pip and Flinx by Alan Dean Foster
Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold
In regards to fanfiction, I've mainly been reading Harry Potter, Stranger Things, Interview With The Vampire, and a few Supernatural. To be honest though, I've never watched Supernatural and had to look up photographs of the characters. Is it just me or does the show seem too similar to Teen Wolf, but without the chemistry between Derek and Stiles? Or perhaps I just didn't give it a chance? I may have to go back to it...
Here are the last few fics that I added to my bookmarks page on AO3:
And This, Your Living Kiss by opal_bullets: oh my word, this Destiel fic was excellent! Perhaps that's why I couldn't get into any of the others because I kept comparing them to this one?
A Haunting Just for Company by valkyrisms: Daniel Molloy and Armand from Interview With the Vampire (2022 tv show). Sassy and snarky Daniel Molloy is a joy to behold. I must have more of this dynamic.
The Hunter's Moon is Shining (I'm Running with the Wolves Tonight) by gorgeousgreymatter: Steve Harrington as a werewolf makes my heart overflow with joy and I must have more of this in my life. Seriously, bring me more Werewolf Steve Harrington!
Have you read just about every Sterek story in creation and want to make the jump to m/m romance, but don't know where to start? Here are seven books with main characters that immediately remind me of Derek Hale and Stiles Stilinski. Please click on the below links for a full description from Joyfully Jay's review website. They are all available for purchase through Amazon. In fact, you can read five of them via Kindle Unlimited if you have a subscription. They should also be available through your library via Hoopla or Libby!
Adulting 101 by Lisa Henry - this is a coming-of-age story and it's hysterical!
Kick At The Darkness by Keira Andrews - first book in a series about a young man, a werewolf and a zombie apocalypse.
Training Season by Leta Blake - opposites attract between champion figure skater and a rancher.
Dark Space by Lisa Henry - this is a coming-of-age story in space and it's amazing!
Chaos Station by Jenn Burke and Kelly Jensen - it's the first book in a science fiction romance series.
For Real by Alexis Hall - this has a bit of an age-gap and it's so good! Please note: the buy link has changed on the review site, so click here to access it.
Special Delivery by Heidi Cullinan - a coming-of-age story between a conflicted young man and a hot trucker. I've never seen a hot trucker in real life, but just imagine him looking like Derek Hale!
Oh pooh, I’m sad this story is an orphan account because I’d like to read the author’s other work. Ah well. This is a short story about Derek turning into a wolf and staying that way for a long period of time...and Stiles being an asshole. Derek has four paws 98% of the story, so there isn’t any romance, but I can easily imagine the story expanded into several chapters. Anyway, I liked it!
Derek leaves Beacon Hills and becomes so darn happy, content and well-adjusted that it makes my teeth ache. In the best possible way, of course! He ends up in Lake Tahoe to help an old friend move and is basically adopted into their family. It befuddles him at first because it's been years since he's been mothered, but he goes along with it and over time, Derek flourishes like a sunflower. The man is able to breathe and enjoy the calm of nature without having the threat of another attack upon his back. Only problem is that he has a little niggle in the back of his mind to reconnect with Stiles, but he never does. After a few more months, Stiles reaches out to him and the story ends on a positive note with the expectation that they'll be getting together. Lovely story! Like a breath of fresh air!
Offer Your Throat (to the Wolf with the Red Roses)
Please note: there's a NSFW drawing at the end of chapter 4.
This definitely isn't a fluffy or happy story, but that's okay because I occasionally like to read a darker take on Derek. What's different about this portrayal is that he's not a serial killer, psychopath or a sociopath, but his emotional growth was severely stunted after the fire; and once Laura was killed, he doesn't have anyone to control his sick and unhealthy impulses.
After returning to Beacon Hills to look for his sister (and deal with Uncle Peter), he becomes fixated on the Sheriff's son and soon begins manipulating the younger boy, who doesn't know half of what Derek's been doing behind his back. (Believe me, it's a minefield). Unfortunately, Stiles makes the perfect target because he's insecure, has a low self-esteem and easily manipulated--plus, his father is rarely around to take notice.
As I was reading, my gut reaction was that Derek is every parent's worst nightmare because his behavior is that of a sexual predator grooming a teenage boy. There's the heavy implication that Derek is emotionally unstable and that this isn't the first time he's targeted this age group:
"He'd pinned his hopes on Stiles not being like the others.
Wearily, Derek lifted one clawed hand. He couldn't let Stiles scream, couldn't let him tell his father. Even if nobody believed the word 'werewolf' they'd believe an older man taking advantage of a teenager. He'd be arrested, or he'd be run out of town by suspicion and gossip. Laura wasn't around to smooth things over for him now."
The creepiest part for me was when Derek breaks into Stiles' bedroom, hide unders the bed and (among other shenanigans) waits for him to fall asleep. That gave me images of American Horror Story or anything from Criminal Minds, for that matter. If I had to compare it to a published short story, I'd have to pick Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? by Joyce Carol Oates. I read that years ago in college and it still gives me a suffocating feeling of fear because it features a sexual predator who targets a young girl. That one ends badly for Connie, hopefully the outcome will be better for Stiles.
However, that's the beauty of fanfiction--an author can twist a character into any shape or form, which is the reason I decided to give this one a try. Creepy perverted Derek who desperately needs therapy, guidance...and a restraining order!
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