#hosietober2023

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Hosietober 2023, Day 17: Baking

Today’s prompt is baking—ah, something that’s right up my alley! As long-time readers know, I have entire series of fluffy, comfort one-shots revolving around baking and other sweet treats and the progression of the seasons, Tales from the Salvatore Kitchen:

You Complete Me

Going Bananas Without You

Hello, Pumpkin

The Secret Ingredient is Love

Two Scoops of Hosie Delight

Not as Sweet as You

You’re the Apple of My Eye

(And punny titles 😂) I don’t currently have any more episodes planned, but I have left the series incomplete, because—just like baking—I never know when the inspiration will strike!

I hope you find something you will enjoy. Bookmark and revisit whenever you need a fluffy treat. (And remember, it’s perfectly OK to leave comments and kudos on old fics or on re-reads of old favorites; authors always love to know when you’ve enjoyed something we’ve written.)

Sadly, this is probably the last prompt for Hosietober 2023 for me; I don’t have anything (finished! 😭) matching any of the remaining prompts, and I’m still stuck in that “no time to write” rut 😢 So a special thank-you to all of the good folks behind Hosietober and to everyone who’s participated by sharing their work, reading/viewing/listening to the works of the authors and artists and singers/musicians and editors and so forth, and everyone talking about and sharing the news (I’m certain we got a new fic from great Hosie author ToriWritesStories because of Hosietober chatter on that other “social media” site)! Thanks for making Hosietober my favorite season of the year ❤️

Happy Hosietober, y’all! 🎃🧙‍♀️

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Hosietober 2023, Day 7: Angst

Hello, Hosietober 2023! Let’s do this…welcome to Saturday, October 7, where today’s prompt is Angst!

AO3 tells me that I have written 15 works featuring the angst tag; that’s…almost half my oeuvre! (Although to be fair, several of them are in the “light angst” or “angst with a happy ending” genre.)

A few recommendations/explanations to guide you through this section of my back catalog:

If you want something to really sink your teeth into, the flat-out best, most-angsty one of those is…the entire Josie Saltzman’s Final Holidays trilogy (46K words across 3 fics, spanning Christmas to the Ides of March).

If you like your angst bloody and sex-filled (or as sex-filled as I can muster 😂), let me recommend This Painting in Blood and Death.

You Couldn’t Even Bother to Check on Me? is fairly dark, set after 4x04, ends with Dark Hosie, and is surprisingly-popular (enough so that I’ve barely started a sequel).

I See You Got My Message is both fun and angsty, and features a great arc for Lizzie, as well.

I think, in general and with the exception of the aforementioned Josie Saltzman’s Final Holidays trilogy, the one-shots are the most angsty (aside from those tagged “light angst” or “angst and fluff” or the like), and, bonus, quick to read.

Hope you find something you like. Happy Hosietober, y’all! 🎃

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Hosietober 2023, Day 11: Jewelry

For Hosie, a prompt of jewelry can only mean one thing, right? The Talisman of Sound.

[Image ID: An oblong silver talisman featuring various nautical elements in relief, held between two fingers.]

(It can, of course, mean many things: Hope’s three necklaces, her many rings, Josie’s earrings, and so forth! But I think for all Hosies, the Talisman has a very special place in our hearts.)

AO3 once again helpfully tells me that I have written 5 stories that feature the Talisman of Sound in a way I thought was important enough to tag (they’re all a subset of the angst fics for Day 7, so if you’ve read all of those, you’ve read all of these):

This Painting in Blood and Death (a dark, bloody—it’s right there in the title!—and sexy/borderline-smutty fic written in the aftermath of the Hosie twirl/s4e06)

All three parts of Josie Saltzman’s Final Holidays: Please Come Home for Christmas, If Not for Christmas, by New Year’s Night, and And I Will Always Love You (Josie’s struggles with her final holidays in a world without Hope and where the Merge still looms large)

It’s Been a Year (Hope’s—and my—reflections on the year that has passed since Josie Saltzman disappeared)

(The Talisman also features prominently in Josie walks into a bar and Stepmother Alyssa Chang—both of which actually feature Hope and Josie in a bar—but, alas, you can’t read those yet because I haven’t finished writing them yet 😢 Some day!)

Happy Hosietober! 🎃

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Hosietober 2023, Day 9: Festival

For today’s prompt, festival, I present the non-prompt, fall-themed one-shot I wrote last year for Hosietober, my homage to the fall festival tradition that is the county fair:

Stopped at the Top of a Ferris Wheel

It’s opening day of the county fair, and Josie Saltzman is determined to go and have a good time.

Or, as I described it last year:

Inspired by the grand fall tradition of the county fair, there’s some light angst ending in delightful fluff and a great moment while “stopped at the top of a Ferris wheel” 🎡

Happy Hosietober, y’all! 🎃👻🧙‍♀️