hello there.

some things I really like: figure skating. cups of tea. musicians who are Getting On A Bit. linguistics. silly little bedtime stories. ice hockey. (this list is not exhaustive.)

[evidently-endless]

being offered ai at every turn

[timbitshockey]

there’s something kind of you-can’t-go-home-again about being a hockey fan in terms of, like, your “first” roster is always going to be “your” roster, no matter how long ago it was or how many people have been swapped around, how many trades, how many retirements, how many free agencies you live through. it’ll never be exactly like that again. it probably wasn’t even exactly like that for a full season. i know there’s a lot of jokes about “how do athletes deal with trades. what about their friends?” but it’s also, like, what about us? what about our friends? to me, the penguins are always going to be, like, brian boyle and jason zucker and brian dumoulin and evan rodrigues and john marino, but for other people, the penguins go back even further than that. hags and horny and nealer and flower. you don’t have to go too far down on reddit to find people who think about mario and jagr. i was a fairweather bandwagon fan for the avs when they won the cup and that exact lineup holds its shape in my mind perfectly, but talk to someone who follows the team for real and they have a tyson jost-shaped hole in their picture of the cup team that’s still not healed over. i just love that. the inherent melancholia of being a sports fan is not knowing you’re in the good ol’ days when you’re in them and then trade deadline comes. and the trade deadline comes every year.

[slayerbuffy]

I've gone. Not one for goodbyes, I thought it best to slip out quietly. Love to you all, Giles.

Rest in peace, Anthony Stewart Head (1954 – 2026)

[twominutesforembellishment]

Geno and Chinny

[talahui]

ward against doomerism:

we were expected to be a lottery team this year

every game after the 82 is a bonus

we still have at least 4 more periods of hockey

we will live to see our enemies destroyed

we got here without lighting our future on fire

[talahui]

6. NOT A SWEEP 7. hot ass sid goal in the flyers' barn 8. sid soccer pass to tanger for the game winner 9. we still have at least 3 more periods of hockey AT HOME

[talahui]

10. kris letang reverse own goal two years in the making 11. sid & geno bench celly twenty years and counting 12. STILL NOT A SWEEP 13. no quit when they scored and immediately gave one away 14. no quit when they didn't score and lost the lead 15. at least 3 more periods of hockey

[talahui]

16. at least one more period of hockey

[talahui]

last one for the road:

17. it took them almost ten full periods to close out the series when people were talking about it being an easy sweep at home 18. sid immediately going to silovs to give him love

[twominutesforembellishment]

Could you do one of team giving Arthur his head pats for a job well done

You've done so well.

29.04.2026

[creatureprofessor]

i love when museums have near exact replicas of their displayed objects for you to buy. haha 15th century ceramic cup you are in my possession

[bitextualdisaster]

Went to a museum exhibit once that had this little guy

10/10, give me tiny replicas of animal statues that I am encouraged to pat as part every exhibit ever please

[twominutesforembellishment]

Arty waiting for taps.

27.04.2026 [Round 1 Game 5]

[beauvilliers]

Stanley Cup Playoffs 2026: Round 1, Game 5 Philadelphia Flyers @ Pittsburgh Penguins | April 26, 2026

[beauvilliers]

Stanley Cup Playoffs 2026: Round 1, Game 5 Philadelphia Flyers @ Pittsburgh Penguins | April 26, 2026

[reallyreallyreallytrying]

"bosch" doesn't sound like the name of a guy who'd make paintings like that. but when you add "hieronymus" to the mix it starts to make sense

[heartbeatline]

game four | pens @ flyers (25.4.2026)

[fishwitches]

Tali my beloved

[alivehouse]

offering the venus of willendorf some of my taro milk tea

[purr-in-ink]

[shousetsubangbang]

Signups are now open for the February 23 issue; the text deadline for the issue is Tuesday, February 10 and the art deadline is Saturday, February 21.

Please reply to this post if you plan to submit a story or artwork for this issue, indicating whether you are interested in contributing to the issue as an author and/or artist, and whether or not you are looking for a collaborative partner. As always, you don’t have to sign up to participate, and you’re not creating an unbreakable contract by signing up, but it’s always a good idea!

This issue’s theme is Balls to the Wall: Be a proud part of Team SSBB and go for the gold in our Olympically timed sports-themed February issue!

Quick Answers: Interested in participating but don’t know where to start? Bring your quick questions here!

Submission Guidelines for Fiction: All the specifics for text submissions. READ BEFORE SUBMITTING.

Submission Guidelines for Art: Whether you’re illustrating or submitting a standalone piece, here’s what you need to know.

Find the Shousetsu Bang*Bang community on Discord! Join us on our very own server for discussions, inspiration, shop talk, silliness, and other behind-the-scenes fun.

For related nonsense, announcements, and various goings-on, find us at our main website, Bluesky, Mastodon, Plurk, and Tumblr. (Other accounts in less-used places include Reddit, DeviantArt, Archive of Our Own, and Goodreads!) We have pages at Smashwords and Itch.io where you can download ebook versions of past issues for free. Check our Linktree for all these links and more!

To make sure you don’t miss a single deadline, click here for our Google calendar with the dates pre-loaded.

[ladysisyphus]

Hey, people! Sports yaoi people! People who know sports yaoi people! Help us spread the word about this one!

[therearenoowls]

Lovely fs people: is anyone up for a challenge? You have just over a month to whip up an original queer erotic oneshot, at least 1500 and a max of 25,000 words long, or a finished piece of art. Doesn't have to be fs-themed or even revolve around a winter sport or the Olympics, but I know a lot of us got into skating via the Olys so it might be a nice way to celebrate 😜

Rivals to lovers? Technically-rivals to definitely-lovers? Same-sex ice dance or pairs team juggling the professional and personal? 'I came out of retirement to skate with you'? 'We keep meeting up at ice shows and everyone knows that what goes on tour stays on tour... unless?' Choreographer/skater? 'I'm on your coaching team and this definitely qualifies as a conflict of interest, but—'? 'You're my skating hero... and oh wow you seem interested'? Olympic Village shenanigans? The classic 'let's fuck while one of us wears my medal'? Figure skater meets ice hockey player, a tale as old as time (or at least sport)?

I'm sure I'm only scratching the surface of fs-themed ideas here, so please go wild if you're interested!

🥈🥇🥉

[purr-in-ink]