Handcrafted Gifts

I just bought a hand crochet potholder and I have all the CheckPlease feels. 🥧

To embrace whimsy whenever the desire strikes.

I’m going to embroider flowers on the tears in my jeans and wear sparkly eyeshadow even though I’m not planning to leave the house and put on the fairy dress and corset and crown because it’s Tuesday and I want to.

I’m going to get the dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets and use cookie-cutters to make my fried eggs look like daisies and hang prism-makers and dried orange garlands in the windows and ask to pet every dog I encounter.

I’m going to start giant puzzles on the kitchen table and slowly work on them without hurrying myself and I’ll wallpaper the kick plates on the stairs and drink water from colorful thrifted goblets and clean the kitchen by candlelight at night so I can wear my Ren Faire clothes and pretend I’m tidying up my tavern after last call.

I’m going to walk to the bar on the corner and pretend I don’t know my partner when he arrives so we can shamelessly flirt with each other before going home together. We’re going to build blanket forts in the library and have sleepovers in front of the fireplace and movie nights with the starry night projector running overhead.

I'm going to make and wear all the fun cardigans I can - with tails, because I like them!

I'm going to figure out how to make cute ears and get better at my fox makeup, because increasingly it is the ONLY makeup I want to wear (screw if general society says its appropriate for wearing to the grocery store, they already think I'm weird for wearing the cardigans).

I'm going to figure out how to crochet or sew all the clothes I love, and embroider them too. I want to learn how to mend pieces that break so I can try to lessen the sheer load of practically single use clothing out there, and yes, add a touch of whimsy to a wardrobe that can be otherwise depressingly homogeneous with the rest of the people around me.

I want to experiment with my hair - get bangs for the first time. All my life, I was told by my sperm donor that bangs are awful and women shouldn't have them, and im done listening to that horrid man. The things he said to me shall no longer live rent-free in my head (rent is too high anyways, so they should have to pay!).

I want to colour my hair green. I miss my green hair.

And I want to pet my cat and give her all the brushing I possibly can. She deserves it and more.

I want to visit Salem more often. Other than Japan, it's the place I've felt most at home.

I also want to be able to keep in mind that these are ultimately suggestions. What gets done gets done, what does not does not, and there's no morality attached to it.

I'M SO CALM AND NORMAL ABOUT THIS

👋 Hi Wellies,

First—

Ukazu says, a rising tide lifts all boats, including the S.S. Check, Please! She’s hopeful that the success of Heated Rivalry, as well as another queer romance graphic novel-turned-TV show Heartstopper, will make the dream of seeing her work onscreen into a reality: The book has been optioned for adaptation. — Vanity Fair

Check, Please! has been optioned for a film/television adaptation. A while ago, actually—and that’s lovely. Nevertheless, the vast majority of options do not become television because it takes a million things going right to get projects off the ground.

That being said.

Ahem.

Speaking of getting projects off the ground...

From when Bitty first stepped out into the rink at Faber, to when he kissed the ice at graduation, we've all been part of this fun, weird, magical world of Samwell hockey. But when I left the world of Samwell hockey, I left knowing Jack and Bitty's story was done. Bitty's journey as the first openly gay NCAA Division I hockey captain was done. We baked the last pie; we shut off the lights at the kegster; the story was complete.

…But as I looked around I realized, I had one more story to tell.

Which is why I'm thrilled to announce that a brand new volume of Check, Please! will be serialized in 2026. Dozens of new comics, exciting update drops, your favorite characters with brand new storylines, and characters you've yet to meet.

Hello, Internet Land—SMH is coming home.

This fifth year of Check, Please! will be filled with shenanigans, drama, hockey, pies, Haus parties, and a new message of acceptance that is near and dear to me. And it's been brewing over the last year and half! But with the latest boom in queer hockey stories, I figured, hey! ¯\(ツ)/¯ Here's another one to look forward to. :)

Marginalized athletes still face harmful bigotry, and for this reason, queer sports stories are more important than ever. I love Samwell hockey and how each of you has embraced this roster of athletes.

There's so much more to come.

Ngozi 🏒🥧❤️

=

MORE NEWS? SURE:

Also, merry Christmas to all who celebrate it!

We celebrated by having a nice dinner, making chai, and watching HR!

Also, merry Christmas to all who celebrate it!

We celebrated by having a nice dinner, making chai, and watching HR!

So I'm waiting for the last bit of yarn I need for my partner's Christmas gift and I'm wanting to make something in the meantime. I come across this bee (if I'm honest, it wasn't this EXACT bee, it was an anthropomorphic version on reddit and I cannot for the life of me find it again. Make sure to take pictures of your references folks).

I got the body done!

I'm so happy with how warm and cozy it looks and feels. Adding the black around the edges really tied things together.

What color do you all prefer for my bee wings? Light blue or white?

So I'm waiting for the last bit of yarn I need for my partner's Christmas gift and I'm wanting to make something in the meantime. I come across this bee (if I'm honest, it wasn't this EXACT bee, it was an anthropomorphic version on reddit and I cannot for the life of me find it again. Make sure to take pictures of your references folks).

I got the body done!

I'm so happy with how warm and cozy it looks and feels. Adding the black around the edges really tied things together.

Hi there! 👋 If you don't know me, I'm Ngozi, the creator of CHECK, PLEASE! a gay hockey romance.

✨ Reblog this ✨Tell people about my comic! -> @omgcheckplease ✨ I also post on IG, tiktok, and bsky!

So I'm waiting for the last bit of yarn I need for my partner's Christmas gift and I'm wanting to make something in the meantime. I come across this bee (if I'm honest, it wasn't this EXACT bee, it was an anthropomorphic version on reddit and I cannot for the life of me find it again. Make sure to take pictures of your references folks).