Ello, ‘ello! I thought I’d do a monthly mini-review type thing for the fanfic that I read each month, since I’m trying to get back into the habit of book reviews. I know a lot of people don’t think of fanfic as actual books, but FUCK THAT. A year and a half ago, I had the same biases, and I now regret that I didn’t find this avenue of storytelling years ago. So skip if you want – this will just be my little monthly fic-roundup. And yeah, I know February is almost over, so it’s late for January reviews, but I don’t care all that much. 🤷

I finished two fanfics in January. (“Finished” is a very relative term. Some months will have tons of books listed because my in-progress fics will all finish together and I’ll have been reading them for a year as they release chapters slowly. Some will only have complete fics that I read that particular month.) I’m not including any fics that are under 10k, because these posts would be outrageously long if I did. Note that at this point, all the fanfics I read are related to Good Omens, mostly starring Aziraphale and Crowley as the primary romantic pairing.

First up, we have my first finished story of 2025, Ever-Fixed by HKBlack. This little novella addresses trans issues and the ideas of heavily consent-based intimacy, as well as clear communication in the most minute ways. It was actually quite beautiful. My personal experience with GO fanfic is that trans fics often devolve into a description of straight sex/romance trussed up under the guise of queer issues. This was NOT that. This really seemed to address the realities of trans issues in a body where some surgeries have been performed, others not, and physical/social transition are in a different space. It was beautifully and sensitively written and a great way to start the year.

The other fic I read in January was Dark Literature by UnproblematicMe. This was a fun haunted-building story that played on office politics, ancient curses, broken promises, and the desperation of people in love. It was quite spooky in places. I did struggle a bit with keeping all the different ghosts separate, but I think that was more my headspace (and the gaps between when I could/couldn’t read).

Aaaaand that’s all for January!

[Photo: my partner’s hands, taken by me in February 2025]