35 Comments
User's avatar
Hallie Jules's avatar

I feel like Chuq and me would be great friends. Lol.

Ed the Editor's avatar

lol you two would be an unstoppable snarking force.

Tamsin E.'s avatar

I laughed out loud at "my mom died" 😂 you're funny. You've got what it takes my friend.

Ed the Editor's avatar

Thank you! Maybe this cozy thing ain't so bad.

Tamsin E.'s avatar

Join the party! ☺️

Hylia Corvidae's avatar

Ohmygoodness this was so wholesome 🥹 I love them together, they’re so fun and silly

Ed the Editor's avatar

Thank you! They’re a lot of fun, apparently. Who knew?

Walt Shuler's avatar

That was surprisingly fun! Looking forward to part 2 :)

Ed the Editor's avatar

🙌 I’m surprised how much fun I had writing it. But something needs to squelch at some point, right?

Walt Shuler's avatar

I feel like that's kind of a requirement.

RM Greta's avatar

This was so funny and cute, dammit! From the pet names to the banter to wrong pipes! I love their friendship so much!

Absolutely great job writing with Chuq's voice and her poem was great and "mylar" too 😂 I can't wait for part 2.

Ed the Editor's avatar

Thanks! This was a lot of fun. The poem scene actually helped me find Chuq's voice. I didn't need to leave the dark behind to write cozy. Cozy is just a facade we put over the darkness to cope.

RM Greta's avatar

Poetry does that too. It's able to hold onto both at once.

You're right about the cozy.

Ed the Editor's avatar

Oh, and this was the "cosmic-adjacent" poem. We'll post the actual prompt when Jan posts his poem.

RM Greta's avatar

I really like it. I can't wait for Jan’s!

Happy Nielsen's avatar

LOVE cozy ed. Also loved all the footnotes. So good

Ed the Editor's avatar

Thanks so much! I managed to not burn down the whole town somehow. Christmas tress are quite flammable you know?

Stephen Duffy's avatar

I enjoyed this! Had my doubts because it's not The Flucks. Chuq's cool, and her and Slacy make a good team 👌🏻

Ed the Editor's avatar

Thanks! It’s weird mixing timelines and settings like this. But everything was normal before most apocalypses.

Rowan Beck Anderson's avatar

as a newbie to this, I love the idea of this being a secret file, a love letter of sorts to the world, and a gift to everyone - found work is gold.

Ed the Editor's avatar

Newbie here myself. Thanks! I feel like hiding my own work sometimes. Through Chuq, I can—just to leak it all anyway 😂.

The Circus Dragon's avatar

ED THE COZY EDITOR THIS IS SOOOOOO COSY!!!!!!! :D

I really like this. Reading about how Chuq and Slacy met, and from Chuq's POV. The banter was satisfying and made me snigger plenty.

... the fact that Chuq's dead hits harder now T-T

Ed the Editor's avatar

Thank you! I guess it’s alright to be cozy sometimes. Their banter is a lot of fun to write. And yeah, it hits harder than I expected 🥺

The Circus Dragon's avatar

T-T RIP Chuq and Maddie

Ed the Editor's avatar

At least they had a long life together, 35 extra years. 🥰

The Circus Dragon's avatar

Yes. Yes that is true <3

Still sad hurhur.. you take my tears as a compliment xD

KJ Harlow's avatar

Meta-Cozy is still cozy, I dig it.

Also, the coziest line out of all of this is: "Did you just misgender my dog"

Ed the Editor's avatar

Haha. Cozy is as cozy does.

Woke cozy 😂

KJ Harlow's avatar

You could be taking Hallmark romance stories to new and exciting places. Just need a solid logline.

Ed the Editor's avatar

Woke, lesbian escapes to a small, cozy town, meets a lovable doofus and the woman of her dreams. She survives meet-cutes, house demolition, and awkward date-not-date Christmas dinner.

Might need some work.

KJ Harlow's avatar

Solid!

RM Greta's avatar

Also TCC being in this universe is so cool.

Ed the Editor's avatar

Community and crossovers are one of the best thing about Substack. It felt right the moment I put Chuq on the street.

RM Greta's avatar

IT'S SO FUN!