2024 Stocking: dirigibleplumbing

[stevetony_elf]

Please leave stocking stuffers for dirigibleplumbing here as a comment. Comments will be screened until reveals date!




Username: dirigibleplumbing (Discord: dirigibleplumbing)

AO3 Username: dirigibleplumbing

Comics Steve/Tony: 616, 1872

Other Fandoms/Ships/Characters:

- Kirk/Spock (TOS and SNW, but AOS is cool too)
- Dean/Cas

Likes:

- getting together

- scifi tropes like body swapping, time travel, multiverse shenanigans, amnesia, presumed dead, identity porn, telepathy, robots and AIs

- favorite shippy tropes include fake relationships, not actually unrequited love, sex pollen or fuck or die (dubcon and noncon welcome), enemies to lovers (or friends to enemies to lovers), betrayal and forgiveness

- plot

- canon-based stories

- happy endings

Art prompts:
(these go for any of the fandoms I mentioned, and any Steve/Tony universe except MCU!)
- bondage/captivity
- costume swap or stealing each other’s clothes
- Steve and Tony are shrunk down to 1/12th scale
- non-fandom art of ANIMALS! (my favorites include: manatees; dogs; wolves; whales; caterpillars; octopuses, spiders, otters, bears, hedgehogs, elephants, pigs, bison, crows, bats, moose, and sloths.)

Dislikes: Pregnancy, mpreg, a/b/o, kidfic, infants, animal harm, Nazi imagery, scat, permanent character death, not generally into AUs where the era is different and people with magic or superpowers don't have them anymore, fluff without plot

Non-fandom related requests/anything else?:

- I'd prefer not to get Christmas greetings.

- I haven’t been reading much Steve/Tony in the last year, and would love recs that fit my likes! Especially for fics longer than 20k.

- I love dogs, especially sled dogs, and appreciate any and all pictures of them

- Recs for fantasy (or scifi) books starring Jewish characters, preferably with Jewishness playing a role in the plot. My faves are Spinning Silver and When the Angels Left the Old Country. I also love Michael Chabon’s writing, and some of his stuff goes into sff sometimes.

- I’m extremely picky about video games but always want recs!
Video game likes: exploring; collecting; crafting; witchy vibes; fairy tale vibes; unique puzzles
Video game dislikes: pixel graphics; combat; graphic animal harm (using animals as ingredients/food is usually fine); most anime style art; visual novels
Game styles that are physically challenging/impossible for me: timing/rhythm games; most music games (if only a handful of puzzles are music based, I can just make my partner do them); platformers or anything else that involves repeatedly resetting to a previous point
Games I love that are typical for me: Potion Craft; Abzu; Aka; Black Book; Chants of Sennaar; Hexcells; In Other Waters; Portal; Reka; Roki; Samorost 3; Tiny Glade; Townscaper; Sable; Stacklands; Strange Horticulture; Stray; Wytchwood
Games I love that are exceptions: Baldur’s Gate 3 (combat, I like turn-based the best and played on the easiest mode and savescummed like crazy); Inscryption (some pixel graphics); Psychonauts (combat, I had my partner do most of the boss battles for me, but I’m obsessed with the graphics and mindscapes)
More info: I didn’t care for Midnight Suns, even though I’ve enjoyed other deck battlers (Black Book, Inscrpytion). I wanted to like Edith Finch but found it meh overall (though I loved the graphics). I tried Gris for the graphics but still find platformers frustrating. I thought I’d adore Untitled Goose Game, but kept having to look up the puzzle solutions, which sucked the fun out of it.

Comments

stockings!

[lomku]

Here's a lil bat for you, with no background if you ever want to use it as a sticker/emoji or whatever.
Also, maybe check out the indie game "spring falls" :)

Re: stockings!

[dirigibleplumbing]

Ahhh I love my lil bat friend! What a cutie!!! I love the expression on the face and the shape of the ears. The pose is kinda sassy somehow too, it's delightful. Thank you!

That game looks awesome and right up my alley, thanks!! I added it to my wishlist.

[mobiusonajetski]

Hey lovely. Your request for SFF featuring Jewish characters had me thinking – both about books I have read, and – to be honest – about how I haven't read nearly enough Jewish-centred novels.

In this list I'm avoiding the fantasy races coded as Jewish or the historical-feel of books like The Lions of Al-Rassan (and my beloved Kushiel's Legacy) - because that's not what you're after!

Recommendations:

I recommend Mary Robinette Kowal's Lady Astronaut series. The name put me off for the longest time, but they're really good alternate history books. Elma is the main character, but the third book does follow one of ther friends. The fourth one comes out in March!

I really liked He, She and It by Marge Piercy. Your fan fic likes suggest you'll love the AI/robot stuff in this book.

The Seep by Chana Porter. I loved this book so much. Trina is Jewish and Native American, a trans butch lesbian. The Seep is supposed everyone's life easier but it seems that's only if you're easily labeled.

A book I own but haven't read yet: The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid has a main character discovering her Jewish identity.

I haven't been able to get into The Golem and the Jinni by Helen Wecker but I think that's MY problem. Everyone seems to love it.

Books I'm adding to my to-read list:

Jews vs Aliens edited by Lavie Tid­har and Rebec­ca Lev­ene

People of The Book Anthology

Both books by Rena Rossner

Isaac Fellman's books – particularily The Breath of The Sun but Dead Collections looks promising.

Mangoverse books by Shira Glassman. I feel like these have been on my radar for a while.

Merkabah Rider Series by Edward M. Erdelac

Unholy Land by Lavie Tidhar (apparently goes way beyond the initial alt-history premise)

Angelglass by David Barnett

Hopefully I've found something that interests you!

[dirigibleplumbing]

Ahhh thank you so much for the book recs!! I actually wasn't a big fan of the Golem and the Jinni, either. Like, I thought it was fine, but it wasn't for me. So that makes me trust your recs all the more! I can't wait to dive into all of these. Thank you again, I really appreciate the list!

[mobiusonajetski]

No problem! It was a delight to think about and research. Please let me know if there's any in particular you really enjoy. I love talking about books.

[massivespacewren]

A small art for the prompt "costume swap or stealing each other’s clothes"
I hope you like it!

[dirigibleplumbing]

Eeeeeee I adore it!! I'm with Tony, it fits perfectly. I love the expressions on their faces. And the way you draw hands!! You made their hands look so elegant and effortless, I'm in awe. Thank you thank you!

[massivespacewren]

thank youuuu <3
I LOVE Tony's little bathrobe :D
hands can be so expressive! And hard to draw! so I am very glad they worked, here <3

[sineala]

Hiiii! Your list of likes included both "identity porn" and "sex pollen" so I have written for you some identity porn sex pollen! Enjoy!

[dirigibleplumbing]

Eeeeeeeee thank you, I love it!!!

Hi Naomi! <3

[tinystark616]

Happy stockings day!!

I'll never forget that manip you made for me in my first stockings! haha <3 I'm always happy when you DM me to brainstorm (even when you have to explain to me the entire plot of spn). I love talking to you!!

You said you like 1872 so I made you a moodboard <3




I also have two fic recs for you, even though they're definitely not 20k, but I think you'd like them anyway.

The first is an Avengers Twilight fic: with you (in never ending twilight) by starkparade,
and the second is the consonant i forget by starvels, which you may have read already, but since I checked the kudos and didn't see you there I thought I'd rec. Fun amnesia fic with open ending, hehe.

I hope you like these!

And!!! Because you told me you'd like comments too, on reveals day I will be leaving comments on a couple of your fics as a stockings surprise! <333

Re: Hi Naomi! <3

[dirigibleplumbing]

Yayyyyy I love talking to you too! I'm glad you enjoyed my SPN rundown, heh.

I adore my moodboard! Gorgeous color scheme and placement. (I particularly like how you placed the first image of Tony so it's like he's looking at Steve's crotch!) The negative space is as well-composed as the positive space, it looks so good.

And recs eeeeee! I can't wait to dive into these. Thank you so much for all these wonderful stocking fills!

[starkparade]

Hi Naomi,
Happy Stockings! I love your art so much, it's always so detailed, and the colors are to die for! I'm regularly thinking about your hairy Tony sketch and your incredibly handsome Tony with his Captain America dildo 😍

Thank you for also blessing us with regular photos of Bagel, she's a beautiful doggie and seems so carefree. I bet you and your partner are wonderful owners! Best of luck with moving, I hope your garden can attract in all the bats your heart desires 🦇

I brought a couple of more recent 616 fic recs for you that, as far as I checked, you haven't read yet:

• Friends with Benefits Angst with a Happy Ending (M, 10k)
i would stay forever if you say (don't go) by xWinterDreamsx
• Super atmospheric post-Hickmanvengers road trip (T, 4.1k)
who can say (where the road goes) by lomku
• Sad Civil War frottage, not a fix-it (E, 3.4k)
what a way to lose (all of you) by tinystark616
• Civil War fix-it based on What If? Civil War (T, 2.3k)
Keep Me by tinystark616
• Tony posts an anonymous personal ad in a newspaper looking for an anonymous penpal, but it's Steve who responds to it (T, 4.2k)
Seeking Companionship by AvengersNewB

[dirigibleplumbing]

Aw, thank you, I'm glad you like my art! I'm happy you enjoy all my Bagel pics too, I can never take enough of them. The process of moving is going to suck (because I hate that part) but I'm really excited about my new place and the backyard! I hope we get plenty of bats, too.

Eeeeeee so many great fics, thank you so much! I'm excited to read all of these.

Thank you thank you for these wonderful stocking fills!!

[msermesth]

Happy stocking time. I'm so glad we share a fandom. I wrote a little thing for you here.

[dirigibleplumbing]

Thank you, it's delicious!!!

[nostalgicatsea]

Happy belated new year and Valentine's Day, Naomi! I hope 2025 has been treating you kindly so far. Your art is incredible. I STILL haven't watched Hannibal, but I was floored by this art you did. It's a feast for the eyes; I like how busy it is because even though you know it's Hannibal, at first glance, you think it's a regular kitchen and then you see all the...bodies. And Will. I especially love your choice in using such a tight angle because it makes me feel like I'm squeezed in between walls, but the height lends this air of elegance to the whole piece (along with the gorgeous drawers, pots and pans, rug, etc.). The colors add this classic feel to the whole piece too.

Wow haha I was going to just mention offhand an example of your art that I love and I just talked on and on. I also love your collages and edits. They're so creative! I haven't played around with collages myself beyond stuff I made when I was younger so there wasn't that much artistry involved lol, but I find it so interesting how you put all the images together and the story or mood/vibe you tell through that. Your collages and edits for people (including me! Thank you again for the deliciously angsty collage!<3) last year were some of my favorite stocking gifts to see. I just looked at them now and laughed at the reddit ones again. :)

And now here are some sled dogs for you!


Not a pic, but an ADORABLE video of a sled puppy who wants to run with the pack.

Enjoy this sled dog portrait series! SO MANY DOGS!

[dirigibleplumbing]

Ahhhhhhh thank you for all the lovely compliments and all the amazing doggies!! I'm blushing so hard right now. I went a bit sparser with the collage layout this year, I hope you still like them. They're so much fun to make! I get really into carefully erasing backgrounds from panels and so on.

These are such!! Good!!! DOGS!!!!! I wish I could give all of these pups pats and scritches. And that PUPPY!!!!!!!!!!!! Ahhh those doggies love pulling sleds so much. (I've never done it but the sled dogs I've had have all adored pulling my along by their leashes 😅) The portraits are gorgeous!

Thank you for these wonderful stocking fills!

happy valenstocking!

[kiyaar]

naomi!! it is such a joy to know you and gossip with you about the sad men crying. your art is more and more beautiful every day and I gaze at pretty much every piece you put out for many a minute. you are so thoughtful in the way you construct your fanworks. thank you for trusting me with your work, it is SO SCRUMPTIOUS ALWAYS. I hope your wildest dreams come true in 2025 and you find all the ease available. <3<3<3

my semi-deep cut jewish sff rec is Jhereg by Steven Brust! not a story about Jewishness but grounded in Jewishness via author's tradition. tight worldbuilding and sort of unlike a lot of other sff from this time.

other rec, related to sled dogs: winterdance by gary paulsen. guy who wrote hatchet also wrote a memoir about doing the iditarod. kinda batshit. heard him do an interview on NPR and he talked about the sort of madness that happens in that many hours in the dark and I immediately had to read it.

here are some pictures of sled dogs!!

Re: happy valenstocking!

[dirigibleplumbing]

Thank you ki!!! I love gossiping with you about the sad men crying, too. It's always so great to hear you like my work because I am such a big fan of yours!!

Thank you for the recs, I'm excited to read them both! I'm excited about Jhereg and having a new series to delve into. I read the summary for Winterdance too and I'm enthralled. Moose attacks? Hallucinations? I'm so in.

The pups in those pics look soooo happy!!! I wish I could caress their velvety ears.

Thank you for all these wonderful and thoughtful stocking fills!

[magicasen]

Hi Naomi!! Thank you so much for being such a cool, kind, and talented server member - I hope you stick around for a while to come and you enjoy the server in 2025 as well!

Here is an 1872 fill with some of your prompts of captivity and amnesia - I hope you enjoy it!

---

Tony woke, and promptly wished he hadn't. Every reminder that he was awake, conscious, and alive was accompanied with a reminder of his body's ability to feel pain. Each beat of his heart felt like someone pounding a drum behind his eyelids. A throbbing sensation on his head refused to subside even with carefully drawn breaths. His limbs were sore and stiff and apparently bound tightly in place. He tried to shift to a more comfortable position and nearly bit his tongue off as his ankle screamed in protest. Badly twisted, probably.

What the hell had he gotten himself into, now? The worst was that he had not the faintest feather of an idea. Beyond what he'd done to cross the wrong crowd, Tony couldn't recall where he came from, who he was, or if he was the sort of person that people would be looking for.

He opened his eyes as best he could, until he realized that his left eye was almost swollen shut. In the silver lining of this whole debacle, he found himself in relative, soothing darkness. He shuffling himself as best he could to an upright position against the wall, even with his legs bound together at the ankles and his arms tied together at the wrists. He tested his restraints, which obviously didn't give.

He was in a shed, as far as he could tell. It wasn't the most well-built either, with moonlight slanting through slabs of old wood. Well, as long as Tony didn't have to find a way out of an entire building. Of course, he might end up like a sitting duck once he got out, but he'd take his chances out there than in here. Naturally, the door didn't budge when he slammed his shoulder against it a few times, as his body screamed through the jolts of pain. Probably barred from the outside. Tony curled on the floor, panting.

There was nothing else of note in here with him. Whoever had left him here hadn't bothered gagging him, which didn't bode well for how close they were to civilization. But it did give him access to his mouth and teeth, and they hadn't taken his shoes.

After several agonizing moments of wiggling and slamming his boot against the floor, Tony managed to loosen it enough to remove it. Now, he had to figure out a way to remove the blade. He fell back on the floor, chest heaving as his vision swam in and out. He couldn't afford to take breaks in the moment of relative peace just because things were quiet now—

The sound of hooves broke throgh the silence. One horse, from the sounds of it. Whoever it was, wasn't interested in being quiet.

It could be someone here to rescue him. It could be someone coming here to finish the job.

Several minutes later, when the door opened, Tony pounced. It wasn't much, with feet and hands tied, and a blade clenched between his teeth, but the element of surprise earned him a grunt of pain - or was that surprise? But the intruder's reflxes were good, and they raised their arm in time so that the blade caught their forearm instead of their face. Instead of falling forward and tumbling them both over, Tony toppled over. He twisted, to avoid falling on his bad foot, only to realize he'd landed his torso on the blade. Thankfully, it was laid flat on his side. Fuck.

Tony was flipped onto his back and his vision was promptly filled with handsome, worried blond.

"Stark!"

"Who?"

"Oh thank god," the man said. He sat back on his haunches. He watched Tony like he was soaking in the sight.

"If you're here for me, you want to give a hand?"

"What?" The man studied him. "You're still tied up? And you still managed that?" The man shook his head, as he took a look at the slash on his forearm. "I should have known better."

He picked Tony's blade from the floor, before pulling out a proper switchknife from his belt and promptly cutting through Tony's restraints. Tony rubbed at his wrists and ankles, taking in the little relief from the pain that was quickly making itself known, as the adrenaline of jumping this man was starting to subside.

He was a sight for sore eyes, literally. Even if Tony had been having a great day, he wouldn't have refused the opportunity to admire. The man had to be some sort of leader. It would be a waste of his good looks otherwise.

"So, who do I owe the pleasure to getting rescued by a handsome stranger?"

The man squinted at him. "You're more addled than your usual," the blond stranger told him. "But you're not drunk."

A drink sounded amazing, to be honest. "I would be happy to hit up the nearest saloon, as long as it doesn't end up with me thrown into a shed with no recollection of how I got there," Tony told him. "Who are you?"

"I…" The man studied him, not with suspicion, but with wariness. "I'm the sheriff. Of Timely."

"I assume you're not the one who threw me in here, then?"

"Most certainly not. Much as you've tried my nerves, you've never done anything illegal."

"So, I'm a law-abiding citizen that you were charged to rescue?"

"I…well, charged isn't the right word. But you're a resident of Timely who went missing. You…really don't remember? We'll have to take you to Doctor Banner. You might have hit your head."

"You say you're the sheriff, but you're out in the middle of nowhere staging a rescue mission on a suspected kidnapipng, on your own? You don't have anyone else to help you out with a search party?"

The sheriff frowned at him with a raised eyebrow. "You find it odd?"

Tony scowled. The man wasn't wrong, surely only a brain injury could have caused the ignorance of how he ended up in the current situation, but Tony's mental capacities were in perfect working order. If only his memory would catch up. He told the sheriff as much.

The sheriff sighed. "You're not wrong. I…don't know who's behind your kidnapping in the first place. Obviously, you don't recall, either. Not everyone is your ally around these parts."

"Is our town really that turned over to the wolves?" Tony said. "No one to trust?"

"Of course there's good people to call on. You were just…I found it unusual."

"My wife must have not let up. You're honor-bound to search for a missing citizen anyway, but her nagging must have really riled you up."

"You're not married. You live by yourself, actually."

So, Tony was some sort of eccentric loner, and the sheriff still found it in himself to go off alone in search of him.

Tony found that part very hard to believe.

"What, am I related to the mayor?"

"She wouldn't take kindly to that. No, you're the town blacksmith."

Hm. Any town needed a blacksmith, sure, but any town needed a saloon owner, a general store owner, a doctor.

"Well, the big question is, what was I before the town blacksmith?"

The sheriff looked at him sharply. "You don't like to talk about it," he said.

"And that isn't suspicious to you? Maybe I went missing for a good reason. Hell, a drunk blacksmith? anyone else would think I had just gotten bored and ridden out of town."

"Only people who don't know you," Steve said. "I might not know everything that went on before you came to Timely, but that doesn't matter to me. What matters to me is who you are now, and the Tony Stark I know is a good man."

Tony was right. This man was a leader. However lawless Timely was that he couldn't find anyone he could trust, at least he would have Tony on his side. The thought was the first thing to ease the dull pain in his head.

"Fine. Fine, you found me, and you persuaded me to come with you. Where to, sheriff?"

The sheriff blinked, looking torn. "My name is Steven Rogers. You call me…Steve."

---

Steve really had just brought his horse and the clothes on his back.

Every bound of the horse was unbearable on Tony's body. Tony buried his face into the warmth of the sheriff's back to try to numb the pain. At some point, his body had to decide it was easier to lapse into unconsciousness, right?

A hand was laid over his. "Stay awake, Stark," Steve said.

"Don't gotta listen to you," Tony grumbled.

For some reason, that made the other man chuckle. "Of course, you never gotta. Figure what, you can serenade me all you want. I won't even complain. Is that good enough?"

"Am I really the one who hit my head, or are you always like this?"

"Oh Danny Boy," Steve began, raspy and uncertain. "The pipes, the pipes are calling."

"You're an awful singer."

"You're one to talk, Stark."

Tony grumbled, feeling the vibrations through Steve's back as he continued singing. After a moment, Tony cleared his throat.

"I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow," he half-muttered, half-hummed. Steve's hand remained over his as he squeezed. Tony squeezed back.

[dirigibleplumbing]

Thank you for the lovely compliments and the incredible fic! What a juicy combo. I love Tony's cleverness, the instant chemistry he has with Steve, and the way Steve deals so matter-of-factly with Tony's state. And the singing, eee! I love it when they sing.

Thank you thank you!!!

[starvels]

hi naomi, happy new of year to you! it's an endless warm delight to share fandom space with you and talk about forests and see you and your art grow and flourish with so much zest and innovation. i love your fandom takes and am always so :chinhands: about everything you bring to the table.

for your stocking i have prepared a wee motivational poster of your beloved manatees. may it bring you love and support during these times and remind you to eat your greens and keep floating along soundly !

[dirigibleplumbing]

Happy new year! I love sharing fandom space with you, too!

Oh my goodness, I'm going to print this out and hang it above my computer!! I WILL do it for her 😍 Thank you so much!