it’s tough, but you’re tougher.

Rans’s former classmate’s smiling into his lips. Her name is Grace, he thinks; they spent enough time together for him to know she’s into him but not long enough to remember her name. He’d feel worse about it if he thought she’d care. A summer kiss is a summer kiss.

Hands in his hair, nails a slight and deliberate pressure, a subtle brush of tongue. Usually this is when he’d kiss his way along her jaw to her ear and whisper an invite back to his place. Tonight, though, Rans tugs her bottom lip with his teeth and steps away. 

“I gotta go,” he says.

Grace touches her mouth. Gives him the eyes. “Maybe we can do it again sometime?”

“Yeah, for sure,” he tells her, even though he knows they won’t. She’ll meet someone else and he’ll be another hookup and he still won’t hold Holster’s hand as they walk home.

So from then on whenever one of us called something problematic, he would make us talk it out until we could name the “bad” thing we were hinting at. In this particular class, 7/10 it was some type of oppression, and the remainder was like, “I’m uncomfortable because this is very new/confusing/pushing boundaries that made me feel safe.”

Once we stopped calling things “problematic” and stopping at that, class got way more interesting and... we all had to say, like, “that’s racist” or “that’s misogynistic” or “ew capitalism gross” out loud, which a lot of us had never done in a classroom before. Or we had to be like, “Uhhh... I’m not sure what’s so bad?” and confront our own beliefs and that was maybe even more useful.

BREAKING NEWS: SIGN-UPS FOR Zine, Please! Vol. 4: #IntoTheAU! ARE NOW OPEN!!!

Watch out, folks! Sign-ups to contribute to Zine, Please! Vol. 4: #IntoTheAU! are now open!

Let your imagination run wild! This volume is all about exploring the endless possibilities, the "what-ifs", the good ol' toss-and-turn into worlds unknown, featuring all our Check, Please! faves!

Got an itching to see what Ransom would be like as an astronaut? How about a PWHL!George AU? Explore who would make the best medieval royalty and who would be a world class tennis player. What if Check, Please! was all just a dream all along....? Zine, Please! wants to see it all!

Got a plot bunny brewing in your head that you've been dying to turn to words on a page? Are you an artist who feels the call of your brush? If so, you're perfect for this project! Sign up to contribute to OMGZP's fourth volume now!

If you’ve yet to hear about this fourth volume of our zine, details can be found here in the announcement post!

Important Info:

The #IntoTheAU theme is all about exploring the possibilities outside of canon. Any characters and any situations , shenanigans, and any moments you can think of that feature your favorite Check, Please! characters. No AU is too outlandish, but feel free to chat through ideas with an admin. Our discord and Email will be linked below.

As with our previous volumes, #IntoTheAu! will be available as a free digital PDF upon publication

Fics must be no longer than 3.5k words, and art of all mediums are welcome! (even non-digital works so long as they can be translated to the digital PDF zine, such as through scanning or a high-res photo)

All submissions must have a content rating no higher than the rating for the main Check, Please! comic (PG-13). More information is available on our Carrd.

We’re on Discord! It’s not mandatory to join, but it is a wonderful tool for connecting with other contributors and opens another form of contact with the admins!

Sign-ups close on June 30, 2026

To Become A Zine, Please! Contributor, Sign Up Here!

For more information, FAQ, detailed submission guidelines, and contact info, please visit our Carrd here! You can also reach us at our email, [email protected].

Reblog to share the word! We hope to see y’all make this zine just as wonderful as the first three!