#I’ve really been putting them through the wringer

[we-be-me]

i’m sure this is fine

[facewithoutheart]

Five plus One, fic recs

A post is going around about fics you consider classics in the Snowbaz fandom. I’d like to take it a step further by asking …

What are five fics you consider your inspiration/influences for writing, plus one of your fics which you think best represents what you want to bring to the fandom?

5. Hang the Moon by @captain-aralias

@captain-aralias is, to me, the snowbaz fandom fic writer of our time. Her commitment to detail, to nailing Rainbow’s voice, while infusing every fic with a heart and purpose that will leave you changed. Every fic of hers is chef’s-kiss-perfection but I’m highlighting Hang the Moon specifically as a fic I often think about (Baz, wet tennis clothes, helping Simon fight the merwolves), and a fic that was my introduction to what fanfics could be/do. I think I finished this fic and just stared at the wall for an hour because I was just like, oh. Oh.

4. The Pitch by basic-bathsheba

Local Hero is one of my favorite fanfics but I wanted to highlight this fic because it’s just such a powerful and understated story. It’s love in the details. This Simon is the model for all of my Simon’s, just a complete simp for Baz haha but also a man who is comfortable and confident being the man who loves Baz even if he doesn’t get to claim it publicly.

3. Stay Up With Me by @sharkmartini

Not sure what to say about this that hasn’t been said a million times. It’ll break your heart; it’ll put you back together. The concept is brilliant and the exploration of two Simon’s will definitely put your emotions through a wringer. Time travel/what-if fics will always grab my attention but this one in particular makes the same case Rainbow posed in Carry On: what if the villain isn’t the villain? And takes it a step further, because Simon realizes he could be the villain, too. Absolutely beautiful.

2. Can’t Find My Way Home by @carryonsimoncarryonbaz

This is one of those fics that just has so much heart and sweetness. I love a good second chance AU, and this one has such Hallmark vibes in the best way. I just love the slow burn of it, and the amazing ending. A perfect holiday fic to snuggle up with. Reading this feels like being cozy up by the fire with someone you love. Actually writing this makes me wanna reread this so much; now that I live with actual Fall I wanna feel cozy like this again.

1. Basil Pitch’s Diary by @bookish-bogwitch

I know it’s a bit weird to rec a WIP as an influence, especially one that’s being written as we speak, but working with/beta-ing Em’s works have made me a sharper, smarter writer. I know this fic is a classic in the works and it’s something I think about on a weekly basis. The Baz Em gives us, to me, feels like canon Baz taken to the next level. What if Baz was the villain … but only to himself? Em’s writing really is just economical in the best way; every line hits, every paragraph teaches me something. And then the heart. It’s genuinely so hard to do what she does and I’m so lucky to get to see her work in realtime.

+1 This Will All Go Down In Flames

I think, at the end of my fandom career, I want this to be the snowbaz fic people associate with me (Spadey being a close second hahaha). But I do feel like it’s got a lot of fandom in-jokes, humor, and sweetness, plus the fun high-stakes of them being in the spotlight. I got to celebrate the Austin I love and miss, as well as poke fun at my own hipster upbringing. I put a lot of Me™ in this fic and it always feels so lovely when people like it. Besides, I got to work with the amazing @tea-brigade and their art just takes this fic to the next level. A dream collab.

(Throwing in the caveat that I started reading long before I got an ao3 account so it’s very likely I’ve missed some amazing fics from before 2021; I’m so sorry!)

Tagging everyone listed above and six more peeps to start: @cutestkilla, @you-remind-me-of-the-babe, @larkral, @ileadacharmedlife, @thewholelemon & @aristocratic-otter

[lovelyo]

Season 3 part 2 will be Ass. Let me Tell You Why.

Cause in the end, Penelope, Lady Whistledown, the one who has left devastation in people’s lives will get all what she wants. The man that she wants, the attention that she wants, the family she always wanted to be(so envious of them she talked shit about them ), will get her best friend back, might have the heir for that dumbass Featherington plot line, might get the Queen’s pardon and above all else, will most likely not give up LW cause they made LW such an integral part of the show.(so in that case, she’ll be even more filthy rich)

And if we go by leaked spoilers, it is said that Colin will be mad at Penelope for like 1 episode until Kanthony talks some “sense” into him. So that just tells me Kanthony will be OOC because there’s no damn way Anthony would let that beast comment about his wife slide.

There are no stakes when it comes to this season cause we all know how it’s finna go down. If Penelope gets any type of consequences, then her very undeserved HEA is doomed so everything is going to have to go her way for the already idiotic plot to make some form of sense. It’s like the love triangle in part 1, what the hell was the point of Lord Debling when everyone and their ancestors knew Colin and Penelope were end game? So we can see Colin’s cringe angst? If we already know the answer to the love triangle, there’s no point. The “find you a husband” plot line was stupid as shit anyway, but it’s whatever now.

Ugh, then we have to sit through more awkward love scenes between asshat 1 and 2

Eloise threatening Penelope with her LW identity is going to amount to nothing cause we know Penelope isn’t gonna receive any comeuppance. Matter of fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they made Eloise apologize to Penelope for…🤷🏾‍♂️🤷(let’s apologize to the toxic friend for not dealing with their toxicity)

For Penelope to have a happy ending, she has to get away scot free and that’s what boils my blood. I hate in media and literature when a character goes around, creates chaos and receives nothing for it or just a slap on a wrist. I’ve noticed an increase in it lately too. Also, I’m tired of writers not severing their bias from their writing. I’ve been encountering many series lately where the writer(s) have favoritism towards a specific character and gives them the easy route, bends the world for them and pull punches just because they like them so much. It’s really aggravating cause you see everyone else getting put through the wringer and then you see the favored character walking through Candyland. It hurts the story, the character, and frankly makes you hate the character.

Everyone around Penelope is gonna act brain dead in order for Penelope to get what she wants and I’m not here for it. Even the general audience ain’t for it. The only people cheering this madness are the asylum patients called Polin fans with delusions that Penelope deserves the world.

I’m not even looking forward to Francesca and John’s story cause of the Poolin fecal matter I’ll have to swim through to get there. At this point, I’m might just watch spoilers of part 2 cause it’s not worth it.

P.S. Watch Cressida get the short end of the stick cause she’s the “bully” of the show and Penelope is the “victim”. Watch them break Creloise because of the “I don’t want you hanging around Eloise” subplot which will ultimately fuel Eloise and Penelope becoming friends again. Also, Penelope and Cressida competed for Lord Debling just for Penelope to go “sike” and marry Colin so she wasted Debling’s time and made Cressida feel like shit because she wasn’t chosen. P.S.S- Polins are huge ass hypocrites cause they ragged on Eloise being privileged and having “everything” but are silent about Penelope being privileged. By the end of this season, Penelope will basically have everything, even more so than Eloise, but sure, Penelope is definitely not privileged 😑. Penelope is privileged inside the world and outside by production, why are we denying this?

[crochetedblorbos]

"I am not now, nor have I ever been, adorable."

Character Name: Jonathan Sims, a/k/a The Archivist, a/k/a The Ceaseless Watcher’s Special Little Boy, a/k/a Snoop God’s Favorite Kid

Fandom: The Magnus Archives [Podcast]

Voiced/Written By: Jonathan Sims

Yarn Used: Shoes: CraftSmart Value - Dark Almond Trousers: CraftSmart Value - Taupe Cardigan: CraftSmart Value - Olive Shirt: CraftSmart Value - White Skin: CraftSmart Value - Coffee Hair: CraftSmart Value - Dark Chocolate, CraftSmart value - Grey Glasses: Ashland Decorative Wire - Black, 12 gauge

Basic pattern here.

Look. How can you NOT love this pathetic wet cat of a man. (And like most cats, he is also a bastard at times.) He really went through the wringer over the course of the podcast, both physically and emotionally. Thank God he had Martin there for him.

Jon differs from the base pattern as follows:

Shoes: I actually remembered to do the soles in a different color this time! Other than the color, they were done the same way as Joseph’s.

Trousers: I accidentally shortened them. I did not mean to shorten them, but frankly, I miscounted on the first leg and only realized it halfway up the second, so I stopped them at R27 instead of R29, so he’s just a tad bit shorter than normal. (Which is fine, and fits my headcanon for Jon.) I also…well, I’ve finally thrown my lot in on the Great Archival Ass Debate on the side of the Assless, so in R32 (what would normally be R34, but again, everything is two rows lower than normal), I put the decrease in the very back, rather than on either side of R41 as usual. Other than that, they’re the same as Joseph’s.

Cardigan and Shirt: I more or less used the same technique I used for Hux, except that I started a round lower (I think) to make the V deeper. I switched fully to the white for R50 (R52 in the base pattern), then did three stitches on either side of the center stitch of R51 in back loops only to give myself something to hook onto. I then went back later and stitched a collar by making a simple triangle in the front loops of those stitches. I also skipped what would have been R54 in the base pattern and, when I switched to the skin color, I went straight for the decrease to 12 sc around. I was hoping this would make his head less floppy.

Head: I used the loop method again. It’s just easier at this point, especially since Jon canonically has enough grey in his hair that he looks older than thirty. I gave him long hair and left it loose, but at least I got it the right length this time (sorry again, Hux). I was going to give him ears, but honestly, I made his glasses small enough that I didn’t need to. I didn't necessarily plan on giving him buck teeth, but I was in the middle of a D&D session while I was working on his face and white yarn was the only thing I had to hand, so rather than run back to my room for black or dark brown I just went with it.

Arms: When you’re crocheting a character who canonically has a very nasty burn scar on one hand, you have three choices. You can ignore it, you can attempt to replicate it in variegated yarn, or you can crochet a hand and set it on fire. And, well...

...I have a lighter and very poor impulse control. [Side note: I mentioned this to an IRL friend who also listens to TMA, and they said brightly, “Just like the Archivist!] (For the record, burning acrylic yarn doesn’t actually smell as terrible as you might think.) I also decided to cut out the final increase in his hands to make them long and thin. This also means I didn’t decrease for his wrists, which was fine, because I gave him shirt cuffs folded over the end of his cardigan as follows: R9: Join shirt yarn, ch 2, dc in outside loop of each st around, sl st in first dc (10 dc). R10: Ch 1, sc in outside loop of each st around, sl st in first sc (10 sc). R11: Join cardigan yarn, ch 2, hdc in back loop of each stitch in R9 around, sl st in first hdc (10 hdc). Continue rest of arm as normal.

Glasses: These definitely did not turn out like I expected, but eh, they work. I bent the wire into square spectacles and stuck them on. As mentioned, I did them tight enough (accidentally) that I didn’t even need the ears.

Bonus: I deliberately did Jon’s hands so he can hold hands with Martin, or tried to anyway. I realized only after he was complete that I matched the magnet in Jon’s right hand to the one in Martin’s right hand, and there’s not really room to turn them around. I might try pulling Martin’s arms off later and switching them around, but for now…well, at least they can hold hands the other way around.

[itsabouttimex2]

YOOO (❍ᴥ❍ʋ) 🩷 I just wanted to say I like the way you convey and write characters. I also love your takes and perspectives on LMK. I find myself agreeing with you more often than not lol. I feel like some people in the fandom tend to portray Macaque or Mk as whiny hoes or uwu bottoms tbh (¬_¬). Which is whatever bc it’s their life ig but they be pissing and shitting them selves when someone doesn’t agree or align to what they think of these fictional characters, especially with the damm ships but I think that’s a problem in most fandoms tho (-_-｡). Anyway I just want to say I love and appreciate your works and your perspectives/opinions on specific characters, I personally love your blunt way of responding to things bc for me that’s the best way I can understand what someone is trying to say, most times I can’t really tell if someone has an undertone or meaning something else instead of what they’re actually saying y’know, (⊙﹏⊙✿).

You earned yourself a Freakbob🩷🖤🩷🖤🩷🖤🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺🐺

Okay, first of all- thank you so much! I’ve come to enjoy my writing far more than I did at the start of my blog, which makes me pretty happy- and other people enjoying it also is an absolute delight!

Also- LMAOO “Whiny hoes” is like… probably the best explanation for those two act in fanon.

I think it goes even a step further with MK and Macaque with how much I’ve seen people outright project onto them, which feels like a trend I’ve seen in general through fandoms-

Where people sort of “latch on” to a character with some shortcomings or “unrelatable” aspects, like being an asshole or maybe prone to shutting the world away instead of reaching out for help, which to some people makes characters not realistically flawed, but instead “wrongly” flawed, which they then try to “fix”.

MK/Macaque (any conventionally attractive/tall dark and handsome character gets put through this wringer, with Avatar’s Zuko being one I also distinctly recall undergoing it) usually gets whatever personality and identity the author had stapled onto him, and then given a stack of sadsack traits while anything “bad” or “mean” is scraped out because “that’s not relatable”.

Often the only “flaws” that are left are entirely PG and trend towards being utterly out of the character’s control, while simultaneously being “sympathetic” in nature, such as having anxiety, being insecure, being closed off from trauma, etc…

And for villainous/formerly-villainous characters like Macaque, fans start to sound more an abuser’s enablers than actual fans in a distinctly “The Narcissist’s Prayer” sort of way.

“He didn’t do anything bad!”

(Proof is shown of how they did do wrong.)

Okay, he did, but it wasn’t that big of a deal!”

(Proof to the contrary is shown.)

“Okay, it was kinda bad, but he didn’t mean it!”

(​‘He was just trying to teach MK a lesson’ yeah by torturing him and violating the consent and autonomy of three people. ‘Oh, but he just didn’t want MK to turn out like Wukong!’ By beating the kid around and mocking him? When it’s made clear that Macaque doesn’t understand either of them enough to deliver life lessons? ‘…he didn’t mean any of it!!!’)

Where the goalpost is shifted further and further and further back because people are so desperate to cling to that non-existent “perfectly relatable character” that they desperately try to undermine any actual flaws or shortcomings the character they pretend to love as is actually has.

And eventually you realize that at least some of these fans never really loved the character for anything other than their attractive shell, which has been long hollowed out and grifted with “unproblematic” flaws.

And I think this all in general is fueled by the continuous push for “non-problematic” content in general, in which a thing that is “bad” (intentionally or otherwise) somehow becomes “morally wrong” to enjoy.

[mjrtaurus]

Have you considered the comedy potential? Of Dragon and Robin teaming up to pull on of the biggest pranks in history?

And by that I mean they pretend to be father daughter

Cause like the theory is awesome but it’s so much funnier if the whole thing is just them lying

Dragon (known homosexual) - ah yes this is my daughter who I got from a woman I was in a sexual relationship with

Robin (known shitdisturber) - yes it is I his daughter who was produced through sexual intercourse with my female mother.

The whole thing gets way too out of hand during the two year arc and results in one very angry ex warlord kicking down Dragons door.

You’re right, this is so much funnier.

And people believe it because not only do they look similar enough to pull it off, but Robin’s weirdgirl energy and Dragon’s commit to any and all bits energy just. Click. Right into place. No gaps. Seamless.

I’m on Zou Arc right now and Robin is fucking with everyone like “my god, they’re cannibals”. Meanwhile, if he were there, Dragon- 100% running with her shit-stirring because it’s the funniest thing ever- would have gone “can they really be called cannibals since they’re Mink? Or does the term apply to all sapient humanoid species?” Cut to Usopp screaming because if the leader of the Revs (who’s there for whatever reason) is saying that, then it MUST be true!

Except everyone knows he’s bullshitting because everyone knows- including him- that Robin is bullshitting.

And it just kind of happens one day at the end of a discussion, back in her two year stay on Baltigo. Dragon’s been talking with her a lot, getting to know her, making sure she knows that she’s as welcome and accepted among the RA as she is with the Strawhats. The standard practice of “feed the stray cat so they know you’re a nice human and can be trusted”. You know the one.

Just.

A sip from the drink in her hand, like she’s already concocting more schemes.

“I hope you’ll forgive me, but some have been asking me- indirectly at least- if I’m your daughter. And I’ve been telling a few fibs here and there because of it.”

A twitch at the corner of his mouth, like he’s fighting a grin.

“Interesting… What sort of fibs, for the sake of keeping the story straight?”

Full shit-stirrer to shit-stirrer communication. Except it goes a little too well when Robin has reunited with the Strawhats for a while, and Dragon gets a very livid call from his dear and beloved nicotine addicted reptile. Accusing him of… sleeping with a woman? How rude! How unoriginal!

And that’s how Dragon learns that Robin’s been using her talents for fucking with people in a “good and friendly” manner to routinely put Crocodile through the wringer. Untraceable calls in the middle of the night that have the man feeling like he needs to be locked in a padded cell. Seastone muzzle and straitjacket optional.

The sudden shock of that revelation makes Dragon break, and then he’s cackling and wheezing like a madman until even the snail is concerned for his health.

“Wani, are you really that surprised that she would gaslight you for fun?”

“… Fair point…”

Oh, if Robin wasn’t going to get adopted into his dysfunctional garbage fire of a family before, she definitely is now.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hey! I've written a first full outline and a few scenes (YAY) and I'm kinda worried that the readers will catch on that I actually have a favourite character. I'm attached to all of them, but this guy is Special - he has traits I really like, an arc I'm excited to write, he's bit of a self-insert, bit of a wish fulfillment, the whole thing. How can I hide my fondness from the reader? If I let it shine through too much, it'll kill any charm this character is supposed to have :(

Hiding Character Fondness from Reader

Here are some things to be aware of:

1 - Keep the Plot on Track - One of the biggest tells that the author has a thing for a character is when the plot seems to shift in favor of the character. Not only does this character slowly elbow their way to center stage, but the plot seems to completely shift course in order to highlight their conflict/adventures. So, make sure you stick to the plot you had in mind and keep the character's role as you originally envisioned it.

2 - Avoid "Author's Pet" Armor - Another giveaway that the author favors a character is when the character has immunity to every bad thing that happens in the story, even when it makes no sense. They're the one character who emerges from battle completely unscathed (or with superficial injuries), they always draw the long straw and luck is always on their side; and if something bad has to happen to a character, it's never this one.

3 - Avoid "Author's Punching Bag" - Conversely, sometimes author favoritism plays out by treating the character like a punching bag. I guess this results from a hurt/comfort perspective, where the author enjoys putting the character through the wringer because it creates an opportunity for them to be comforted by another character. But when it's the same character who's hurt over and over again, with the rest of the cast seeming to be armored against trouble, it has the same effect as being the one character that's never hurt.

4 - Avoid Special Snowflake Syndrome - Consider all the characters in your story. If your favorite character is always the one with the skills, knowledge, experience, connections, to solve the story's problem and/or save the day, that's a problem. Not only does it make them overpowered, but it means the spotlight will always be on them because they're the one everyone else has to rely on all the time.

5 - Avoid Complete Lovability - This is a big one... there are few people who walk the planet who are genuinely without flaws and are universally loved by everyone who knows them. Real people, most of the time, have flaws. Someone can be the nicest, most generous person in the world, but they could have bad breath or be chronically late, or really stubborn about trying new things. Flaws don't make a person bad, they just make them real. But we all have our pet peeves, too, so if you know someone who is chronically late, they might get on your nerves and not be your favorite person in the world. We want that for our characters, too. They should have believable flaws and not give everyone they know heart eyes every time they walk in the room.

Happy writing!

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

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[mynameismckenziemae]

She's a Fire-Chapter XVI

Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw x OFC/

Reader (no use of y/n)

Just inhale

(previous chapter here, next chapter here)

Warnings: so much lol, role-play (principal/naughty school girl), dom/sub, dom!bradley, spanking, p in v, oral (both receiving), ass play, crying during sex, humiliation, etc.

You panic slightly as you try to get ahold of Bradley, but Sunny texts you.

Sunny: Bobby sent me a text saying phones were getting cut early. Just wanted to let you know if you were worried.

You sigh in relief, still feeling frustrated though that your call was cut short. You can’t imagine how Bradley must be feeling, hopefully, he got off too.

Rowan: Thank you! Yeah, I was a little worried. How’d Bob like the pictures? Bradley said he looked like he was put through the wringer. 😂

Sunny: Lol, yeah. I’ll just say he REALLY liked them. His favorite was where I’m on my knees (big surprise)…he said I better greet him that way when he gets home. 😏 How about Bradley?

Rowan: Same. He was so distracted he forgot to text me for the first 40 minutes. 🤦🏻‍♀️

Sunny: Ha! That sucks though, you guys barely had any time to talk then.

Rowan: You’re telling me. We were right in the middle of it when he cut out.

Sunny: Ohhh, that sucks. Bob said they’ve had zero alone time too.

Rowan: Yeah 😩

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Bradley still hasn’t gotten off …not having a moment alone between hops, briefings, training, meals, and shut-eye. Thankfully he’s been so exhausted that he’s asleep as soon as his head hits the pillow, even though the sleep hasn’t been great either.

2 days later, he finally catches a break-They’ll be back on the mainland tomorrow by noon. A few days earlier than anticipated.

“Hey Bobby, don’t let Sun tell Rowan we’ll be back, I wanna surprise her after work,” Bradley says as he packs his bag.

“I won’t. I think she’s working a 12 tomorrow so she probably won’t be home until after Row anyway,” he replies, doing the same.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

He pulls into the driveway around 2 and walks into a spotless house. He throws in a load of laundry and unpacks the rest of his things, before flopping on the bed and pulling out his phone to finally look at your pictures in private. He sighs as your scent hits him from the pillows. God, he missed you.

Groaning, he pulls his cock out and opens the bedside drawer to squirt a dollop of lube on his hand before starting to jerk himself off. He’s wound tight, and it’s not long before he finishes, stripes of cum coating his stomach. He snaps a picture to send you later, wipes his stomach with his boxer briefs, and jumps in the shower.

Rifling through his dresser for a pair of boxers, he spots the plaid skirt hanging up you wore for Christmas. He smiles as he thinks of the perfect way to surprise you.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

You sigh heavily as you pull onto your street, not looking forward to another night of waiting to hear from Bradley but your heart rate picks up when you see the Bronco in the driveway.

“Bradl-“ you start to call as you burst through the door, but stop when you notice what’s on the steps.

There’s a pile of clothes folded neatly next to a pair of black heels with a note on top.

Your lip quirks as you open it.

“Ms. Connor,

Your behavior over the last few weeks has been unacceptable, as you’re well aware. Change into the clothes I’ve set out and report to my office for further discussion and retribution.

You have 10 minutes to be dressed and in my office (time starts as soon as I hear the door). Do not be late.”

That delicious mixture of excited dread runs through you at his words. You debate whether or not you want to push it and be late, but decide against it; you’ve missed him too much.

You strip at the bottom of the stairs and pull on the skirt, then the button-down shirt, and finally the knee high socks and carry your shoes up the stairs, slipping them on at the top.

You walk slowly into the office, biting your lip as you take him in. He looks so good, leaning back in his chair. Wearing nice slacks and a button down too, holding a wooden ruler in his hand, tapping it against his leg.

“I’m impressed, you made it with 10 seconds to spare, Ms. Connor. It’s too little, too late though, I’m afraid.” He says as he rises from the chair, erection thick and obvious in his well-fitted pants. He circles you like a hawk. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Goosebumps rise as you smell his cologne. “I’m sorry, sir.”

“Not yet, but you will be.” He says, walking over to the desk, and leaning against as it faces you. “Do you know why you’re here?”

“My behavior’s been unacceptable, sir.”

“Be more specific.”

“I forgot to take the garbage to the curb on Tuesday?” You guess, unable to resist teasing him.

“Try again.”

“I went 7 miles over the speed limit on Broadway Street this morning on the way to work…”

“Sending dirty pictures, teasing me with images of you with another woman…does any of that ring a bell?”

“That was Sunny’s idea, I was just-“You start to lie but he interrupts.

“And now you’re trying to let someone else take the blame?”

“No sir, I was just trying to-“

“I don’t want to hear excuses. Now get on your knees and do something better with that mouth.” He says as he unbuttons his pants and pulls himself out, nodding by his feet for you to take your place there.

Holy shit. You’re almost dizzy at the pulse of arousal that pulses through you, coating your bare thighs.

“Yes sir” you answer, stepping forward to kneel before him.

His hand reaches out to cup your face, a moment of tenderness before he catches himself and pushes his fingers through your hair to guide your head.

“Christ, your mouth. Always getting you into trouble,” he hisses as you hollow your cheeks around him, “keep that up and maybe it’ll get you out of it.”

You moan and nod around him, looking up at him under your lashes. You reach for his sack and gently roll his balls in your hand. Tears spring to your eyes as you force yourself not to gag when you take him in deeper, tugging his balls at the same time.

He shudders and his head drops with a deep groan before he pulls you off by your hair. “Nice try, you almost made me cum, Ms. Connor.” He pants, chest heaving. You whine at his words as he tucks himself back into his pants.

He holds his hand out to help you to your feet, then pulls you to the desk. He grinds his erection into your ass as he stands behind you, his hand coming up between your shoulder blades to push your front against the cool wood.

He reaches under your skirt to squeeze your cheeks and sucks in a breath as he realizes. “No panties again, Ms. Connor?”

“There were none in the pile of clothes that were left out for me, sir.” You cheekily reply.

He chuckles, hands still squeezing and rubbing the soft skin of your bottom. “Were you wearing any before you changed?”

“Yes sir,” you admit.

“So you took them off, knowing I would see when I spanked you.”

“Yes sir.”

“Why?” He asks, dropping his hands and stepping back.

You hesitate and that earns you a harsh smack through your skirt.

“I-“ you start but he swats your other side.

“I don’t want excuses. Since you like showing off so much you can stand in the corner after I’m through with you.”

You whimper, but reply “Yes sir.”

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

Bradley gives you a few more swats through your skirt before flipping it over your hips. He whistles lowly and you hear him take a few pictures on his phone.

A gasp leaves you as he swipes his fingers between your legs. You fail to bite back your moan as he tsks. “Just like I thought. You’re enjoying this.”

He wipes the wetness on your upturned skirt and slaps your right cheek with his hand before you can argue. “I don’t want to hear anything from you other than crying right now.”

Oh God. Your aching pussy clenches around nothing and you bite your lip as you nod.

The left cheek is spanked next, and then he alternates sides as he warms your skin with quick, solid smacks, not enough to hurt but enough to get your attention. He’d set the ruler in front of your face to taunt you with what’s yet to come and you fidget, shifting your weight between your legs unintentionally trying to get some friction between your legs as he reddens your ass.

“Already squirming and I haven’t even finished warming you up. Hold still or I’ll put you over my knee and start over”. He warns, only pausing for a moment before continuing with his hand. You whimper, unsure if you want that or not.

He gives you a few more on each side; each a little harder than the last and you release the breath you didn’t realize you were holding when he stops.

A deep moan slips past your lips when he pushes two thick fingers inside you, pumping them in and out slowly before he brings them up to circle your clit. You’re close but you try and hold it off, knowing he’s not going to let you orgasm. Sure enough, as soon as you start feeling that pull, he pulls his hand away and gently slaps your clit.

You press your forehead to the desk and whine in frustration and he chuckles.

“If you take your punishment like a good girl, maybe I’ll let you have my cock.”

You nod, unsure if you’re allowed to talk yet.

He picks up the ruler and you shiver in anticipation as he runs it over your heated skin. Before you notice it’s gone, he snaps it over both cheeks with a sharp crack. It stings…and you like it.

He alternates sides like he always does, each side getting the same amount, and making sure every spankable area gets attention.

Tears start to fill your eyes around the twentieth or so swat and you begin to fidget again, your legs shake as the stinging pain from your ass and the echoing throb between your legs is getting to be too much.

Bradley takes notice. “Have you had enough, Ms. Connor?”

“Yes sir,” you sniff.

“A few more should do it then,” he replies and lets the final 10 spanks land across the sit spots on your lower cheeks; a few tears leak as you hold your breath when the stinging becomes almost unbearable; exhaling finally when he drops the ruler.

He pulls you back to standing and you groan as your thighs inadvertently rub together.

“Go,” he points to the corner.

“No, please sir, I’ve learned my lesson, I promise!“

Sighing, he unzips your skirt and pulls it off you, then he grabs your elbow to drag you over to the corner. He folds your arms across your back, and you mewl as you feel his erection against you.

“Stay here,” he growls, spanking you twice more before he walks to grab something out of the top drawer of the desk.

You flinch as you hear the cap of the lube pop open and again when his cold wet fingers trail over your puckered hole. He can’t resist, and places kisses on your neck as he eases a finger in, pumping in and out slowly. You sigh as you get used to the feeling; he’s only ever toyed with your ass while he’s fucking or stimulating you in other ways. He pulls away as you start to enjoy it but the lube clicks again and soon you feel something cold and metal pressing into you. Your breath hitches and you tense instinctively.

“It’s smaller than the one you use on me,” he chuckles. You relax, and he pushes it all the way in. He’s right, it’s not much bigger than his finger. You feel full…and frustrated because it’s not what you want.

“Don’t move, I’ll be back in a minute,” he says.

You hear him walk into the bathroom and wash his hands, returning a few minutes later.

He takes pictures on his phone again and you flush, imagining what you look like; shirt still on, arms folded behind your back, and your bright red ass with a plug peeking between your cheeks. The delicious shame and humiliation have your thighs drenched as you shift your weight trying to get relief of any kind.

“Think I should send these to Bob and Sunny? Show them what I do to naughty girls?”

You flush even further and shake your head. “No sir, please don’t. It was Sunny’s idea but I agreed to it.”

“Whose idea was it to leave a handprint on that perfect ass and take a picture of it to tease me with?” He asks, setting his phone down.

“…Sunny’s.” You reply with a snort, breaking character.

He breaks and laughs too as he leans against the the desk. The ‘scene’ is over. “Come here, Row.”

You turn and your hands immediately drop to your ass to finally rub the sting out, skin still hot to the touch. It hurts sofuckinggood. He’s stripped down to his boxer briefs, and his cock strains with a wet spot where precum is leaking through.

You unbutton your shirt as you saunter over to him, letting it fall from your arms and unclasp your bra before letting it drop too.

His arms wrap around your waist as your hands weave through his hair to kiss him deeply, moaning as his tongue dances with yours. He lifts you and turns, clearing items from his desk with his arm before he lays you back on it.

“I missed you so much, Row,” He pulls back to look you in the eyes, voice thick. “I love you.”

“I love you, and I missed you too. So much. I was miserable without you” you reply with a sad smile.

He looks like he wants to say something more but he kisses you instead. Too soon you have to pull away to breathe and he kneels, placing your legs over his shoulders. He wastes no time and groans when he licks you in a long stripe, finally tasting you.

Your head drops to your shoulder as you watch him. His eyes are closed and he’s grunting softly into your pussy as his shoulder flexes rhythmically; he’s jerking off.

You gasp as his other hand’s fingers push into you, the plug making it more intense when he curls them, rubbing over your g-spot while he laves at your clit.

Your vision goes white as your back arches off the desk when he pushes you over the edge. Your pussy flutters around his fingers and he keeps going as you writhe above him.

“Fuck, Bradley!” You cry hoarsely as he draws a second climax from you before you recover from the first. Your thighs lock around his ears and your hands tug his hair when he doesn’t. let. up.

Gently sucking your pulsing clit into his mouth, he continues his assault on your g-spot, and a moment later he finally gets what he wants; a gush of wetness coats his chin as your pussy contracts around his fingers.

He groans into you, the hand around his cock gripping the base to stop his imminent orgasm.

You weakly pull his head away, unable to open your eyes as the aftershocks pulse through you.

He rises to carry you bridal-style to the bedroom, laying you down before climbing over you.

Your eyes drift close again as he pushes in; a tighter fit from the plug and nearly 2 weeks since he was inside you.

You flinch, opening your eyes when a wet drop falls on you. Your heart stops when you see Bradley’s crying.

“Baby, what’s wrong?” You ask, hands cupping his face.

“Nothing, sweetheart. I just love you fucking so much. I never want to leave you again,” he says, voice trembling as he leans down to kiss you before tucking his head into your neck.

“I love you too,” you whisper, tears springing to your eyes as your fingers run over his back.

He whispers sweet praises into your neck, coaxing another orgasm from you before letting himself succumb to his own.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

You lay tangled together for a while in comfortable silence before asking him to join you in the shower.

“‘Course,” he smiles.

He cleans up the office and gets your clothes from the bottom of the stairs while you remove the plug and wash it.

Bradley gets in first and laughs when you tense the first time the hot water touches the sore skin of your tush. You let him wash you first and then you do the same to him.

After, he rubs on the aloe before you slip on one of his tees. You turn on a movie and have him lay on his stomach so you can work all the knots out of his neck and back from sleeping in those awful bunks.

You smile as he’s asleep 10 minutes later, throwing a blanket over you both and tucking into his side.

_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_

A/N: I hope this one was worth the wait. I apologize, the last few days were awful and the next few will be too.

Tagging:

@its-the-pilot

@dizzybee03

@sweetwhispersofchaos

@shanimallina87

@blindedbythelightt

@getmyprettynameoutofyourmouth

@lexixstewart

@phoenix-rising-starbird-one

@mrsrobertfloyd

@charmedkim

@k-k0129

@bellaireland1981

@ingoaliesitrust

@hookslove1592

@amiets2

@nero4te

@eli2447

[vivianbernadetteaurora]

Girlfriend of grunge in the 90s

When I think of the 90s I’ve said before in the previous place it really gives me Pisces vibes, but obviously there’s some heavy Capricorn placements like Neptune and Uranus in the early 90s and late 80s 80s which gave it that dark edge.

These are all the girlfriends of grunge who I think are important, to mention in this story. first of all, we have Courtney Love, she is obviously the most known one out of all of these in this one, she was known for being an outspoken, kind of feminist, kind of misogynist, all rolled into one.

Boy, has she been through the wringer, being called, the Nancy Spudgen, a hole, of Nirvana, which is very low?, especially considering that Nancy was dead and it went through a lot of herself with sexist and press., it was probably because Courtney moulded herself around. I do have a lot more compassion for Nancy for what she’s been through because Courtney seems a lot more., vindictive with what she does and how she betray herself, Whatever I’ve seen about Nancy she seems less control of her behaviour but that’s okay sometimes if personality disorders in Courtney’s case

Sometimes sometimes compulsive liars get addicted to their own lies and end up saying things that aren’t true, Kat bjelland  said 70% of what Courtney said is the truth, work out which bits are not?

But Courtney has been a pioneer in this area of, making music for girls and teenagers, and fully grown women like myself in my 30s, she makes you feel powerful, she makes you feel like you could do anything when you listen to one of her songs, and dressing up with her makes you feel even more powerful, there would be no grunge is aesthetic or kinder whore without these two women. have a lot of people who can’t stand Courtney love some of them are a lot of them are women as well they think she’s too egotistical honestly I think they’re just a bit bit jealous no I don’t think they will jealous. I think people are just intimidated.

Then you have our alternative Winona , who has been popular with the boy band members, alternative and rock boy bands not pop ,members, I think she even went out with that guy from County, Monica and Rachel from friends, I know Courtney and Jennifer, ha ha I just realised that could’ve been Jennifer Finch and Courtney love.

Yeah, she’s been around, she’s gone even when she shoplifted and had to go, she was still soft-spoken, who was obviously taking advantage of Johnny Depp from such a young age that it affected her for the rest of her adult life, she said her first everything . Which put a huge power in balance in the relationship. He moved onto Kate Moss., Winona Ryder you’re still that girl forever, she is like the actress alternative grunge girl, the music version, but in very different as, kind of like light feminine and dark feminine.

And you have demri , Lane Staleys model girlfriend, who he was with for many years since the 80s on and off,, they had a very up-and-down relationship, caused by drug and alcohol dependency, but you could tell that they really love each other they weren’t like where they were like a publicity machine, not that you can even call them but they were back in the day not that you know, kept his private life private, even people who went to school with him didn’t know that it was him graduated with because he was quiet and he kept a different last name, but absolutely stunning as you can see from my pictures very similar to Kristen pfaff , I’m sorry Hole fans ,you do not give enough credit for, anyway, Demri , and layne up breaking up, which people say he wasn’t the same after, she died in 1996, bacteria from the needle, to her heart and affected her a really bad way and got into an infection . he evidently died, a few years after cut to the same day he wasn’t found until his body was not in a good way. Let’s put it that., I hope they’re together in heaven happy and in love

Kristen Pfaff ,of Hole her death was extremely suspicious, and I know Nirvana fans believe this, not Courtney fans but I am on the fence with this. I find Courtney really appealing and really gracious and appealing. That’s the only way I can put it just very charismatic and that’s what her dad was like to, Kristen, given a hot shot, she’d got clean after Kurt Cobain died, pages in her diary were missing from that week. which is also extremely strange her family did not like Courtney and they find the whole thing suspiciousl brother was with her a lot of the time during those days. she was with a bang called Janet Joe and she got back with them. She was only meant to be touring bassist , she stayed a bit longer, was with Eric Allanson only because he was the only guy there at the time and I, advantage if you see pictures of her before she moves to Seattle, Courtney needs to give her bags with syringes and bags of heroin , she was professionally trained in, you can master the piano said that you can master anything it’s genius level music. sad that she died and the fans don’t give her credit “live through this “ is one of the best albums ever, this is my mix of the main grunge girls of the 90s and their impact and how talented they were in all different ways.



[heyiwrotesomethings]

Hey hey! Do you think you could do a part 2 of She Said Yes!? They/them pronouns, and you can pick which ever outfit you want for them! Maybe the whole Hashira are there for the wedding, the Kamaboko squad, and the butterflies girls? The whole sha bang goes well! Maybe some sweet slow dancing and a funny shoe game! Just some sweet, tooth rotting wholesomeness with Shinobu! (And Inosuke eating the cake while Tanjirou or Zenitsu is just pulling him away-) Thank you so much for all that you do! And good luck! ❤🥰💪

She Said Yes Prt II

Shinobu Kochou x They/Them Reader

A/N: Prt1 I’ve probably been to three weddings in my life and none of them have been recent so tried to be a little more vague especially since there are all kinds of wedding traditions that I don’t know about. I did look up what the shoe game was and that does sound kinda fun : ) Hope you like it! Word Count: 2,193

The mansion was abuzz, more so than on an average day. The garden was littered with chairs, a clear path parting the middle leading to an artfully decorated lattice covered in flowers.

It was the day of the wedding and everyone had a part to play.

Kyoujirou and Tengen had set up all the tables and chairs around the garden for after the ceremony. Mitsuri, Obanai, Sanemi, Tengen’s wives, and the butterfly girls worked on getting the mountain of food ready. Muichiro added little pre-made decorations to the tables and Gyomei was reviewing the ceremony procedures with Kagaya and his family. Tanjirou and Zenitsu’s jobs mostly consisted of running errands and communication between groups while simultaneously making sure Inosuke didn’t destroy anything in his curiosity and excitement over the event.

Shinobu saw a lot of the goings on from her window, the girls had already helped her get dressed and ready to go earlier that morning. A kaleidoscope of butterflies was swirling within her. She was excited, but so, so nervous. Somewhere on the opposite side of the mansion, (Y/n) was getting ready too. Her heart thumped and her hands grew unusually sweaty. It was important that the bride to be was as comfortable as possible and not be alone long enough to let her thoughts spiral, that’s why it was Giyuu’s job to keep her company.

“I’m getting married, Tomioka-san. You must be so jealous. Don’t worry, I’m sure someday someone will settle for you.”

Giyuu sighed through his nose. Shinobu had been verbally putting him through the wringer for the better part of an hour. He could see how Shinobu fiddled incessantly with the loose fabric of her clothes, the way she spoke a little more hurriedly, almost like she was forgetting to breathe.

“Tomioka-san,” she poked, “Are you even listening? If I could trust you to make a good cake, I would trade you away for Kanroji-san in a heartbeat.” She poked again, and again.

If using him like a stress ball would help her keep at least marginally more calm, then Giyuu could endure. Besides, being alone with Shinobu was leagues better than being in a bustling kitchen with Sanemi screaming about undercooked meat or Obanai standing a little too closely with a sharp knife.

After another half hour of jabs both verbal and physical, Kanao poked her head through the door.

“Everything is ready.” She informed softly, noting how her adoptive sister seemed to be even paler than usual.

“…Are you gonna go?” Giyuu asked after noticing that Shinobu seemed to be frozen to her spot.

“Of course I am.” Shinobu shot back a little snippily.

She just really couldn’t believe this was happening. It felt like her feet hand been welded to the floor. She flinched slightly when Kanao’s hand wrapped around her clammy fingers.

“Himejima-sama is waiting to give you away. He hasn’t stopped crying all morning. Everyone is very excited. (Y/n) more so than anybody I would guess. But, they did tell me to let you know you could take as much time as you wanted. And if it seems too overwhelming today, then—“

“No,” Shinobu quickly shook her head, “I want to do this now, I really do.” She quietly scoffed at herself, “Just another minute, please.”

Shinobu had never thought marriage was in the cards for her. Even when (Y/n) had proposed, it still hadn’t felt real. The morning after (Y/n) had proposed, Shinobu had gone to her sister’s altar to share the news. If either of them was going to get married, Shinobu would have bet everything on it being Kanae. Her older sister was enjoying herself no doubt. She had used to tease Shinobu about finding her special someone one day and like always, she had been right.

If Kanae was here, she’d be dragging Shinobu to the garden if she had to, not so gently waiting for her to make a move as Kanao did.

Kanao’s hand slipped away from Shinobu’s to have her arms encircle her waist. Shinobu was quick to return the hug, a soft thank you leaving her lips. After a few moments they pulled away, and Shinobu was ready.

They met Gyomei outside, the large man’s weeping only seemed to grow once Shinobu hooked her small arm around his bicep. Kanao and Giyuu went to take their seats, Kanao giving (Y/n) a quick thumbs up as she took her seat beside one of the chairs that was meant to be empty.

Gyomei patted Shinobu’s hand and the music started to pick up and people began to stir in their seats, turning to watch them approach.

Shinobu felt like she had bees buzzing in her ears, but her smile did not waiver. She refused to let all those foolish feelings of anxiety and sentimentality swirling inside her show.

She looked to either side of her, seeing all her friends and comrades looking back at her was almost too much. Then she looked ahead, locking eyes with her betrothed and everything else seemed to fade into the background and her mind finally felt clear. Her heart was still pulsing out of rhythm, but it was a joyous beat.

Seeing (Y/n) look at her, their eyes carrying all of the feelings she held herself and so much love, she could not wait to take their hands. Instead of being apart merely that morning, it felt like they had been apart for weeks.

And suddenly she was there, holding onto them firmly with no intention of letting go anytime soon.

(Y/n) gave her hands a gentle squeeze and an even gentler smile.

“Are you alright?” They murmured just loud enough for only her to hear. Warmth flooded Shinobu’s chest.

“I’m fine. Perfect.” Shinobu assured.

Kagaya approached the couple with the help of his wife. Gyomei would have been more than happy to officiate in his place, but it was so rare to have weddings within the corps that Kagaya wouldn’t have missed it for the world.

“Are we ready, my children?” He asked as softly as the sun was shining.

(Y/n) and Shinobu shared a look of adoration, then held each other’s hands more firmly.

“Yes.” They answered together.

“Then let us begin.” Kagaya smiled.

As soon as Kagaya pronounced them married, the crowd erupted with joyous noise and the music swelled, signaling the newly wedded couple to celebrate with a dance.

Shinobu didn’t even care that everyone was watching them, she pressed her cheek into (Y/n)’s chest and let her eyes fall shut.

“Did you sleep okay last night?” (Y/n) teased as they swayed.

“I slept as well as anyone might have expected me to.” Shinobu replied.

“Do you want to go sit down?“

“No, in fact. I think it’s about time to let the party begin. Don’t you?”

“Definitely.” (Y/n) nodded to the musicians and a more upbeat tune began to play and everyone cheered, flooding the makeshift dance floor.

With that, Shinobu’s energy renewed, and the newlyweds switched to a more lively dance. After a couple songs, they split to dance with various friends begging to cut in. Many congratulations and cheerful laughter was shared, it would surely be a day to remember.

After much dancing, the newlyweds were pushed back together and cajoled into playing a game Mitsuri had heard about once. They were seated in chairs, sitting back to back as the bubbly girl explained the concept.

“It’s a fun way to see how well you know each other! We’ll take turns asking questions about your relationship and if you think the answer is (Y/n), you’ll hold up (Y/n)’s shoe, if the answer is Shinobu, you’ll hold up Shinobu’s shoe, got it?”

“I suddenly feel kind of nervous,” (Y/n) chuckled.

“I would be nervous if I were you as well.” Shinobu turned in her chair with a smirk. (Y/n) stuck their tongue out at her.

“I’ll go first! Who fell in love first?” Mitsuri gushed, being the romantic that she was.

There wasn’t much hesitation before both of (Y/n)’s shoes rose into the air.

“I mean, can you blame me?” (Y/n) grinned. “It was almost love at first sight.”

“What do you mean almost?” Shinobu put a hand to her chest in mock indignation. “I am a delight.”

“Yes, but you can also be terrifying at times.”

“I’ll go next!” Kyoujirou exclaimed before Shinobu could rebuttal. “Who tells the worst jokes?”

This time, (Y/n) put up Shinobu’s shoe and Shinobu stuck with (Y/n)’s.

“Ooo, a conflict in answers already?” Mitsuri was very invested.

“(Y/n), your jokes are objectively worse than mine.” Shinobu declared.

“No way! People love my jokes. Yours on the other hand, are usually at the expense of others.” (Y/n) reasoned. “That’s what makes them worse than mine.”

“Ah, but you still laugh at a lot of the observations and inferences I share with you.”

“Yeah, and you laugh at mine even if no one else does so I think that makes us even.”

“What I’m getting here is that both of your senses of humor are shit.” Sanemi rolled his eyes. “How about this, who is more stubborn?”

Both of Shinobu’s shoes went up in the air.

“I’m surprised you would even admit to being stubborn.” (Y/n) commented.

“I’m not so much saying I’m stubborn, as I am saying that you, my dear, are kind of a pushover.”

“Hey!”

They went through a variety of questions and all was going pretty well until Tengen stepped up and opened his big mouth.

“These questions are weak. Let’s get to the good stuff. Who is the more dominant person in bed?”

Shinobu’s shoe went flying in at mach speed and nailed Tengen in the face.

“So was that the answer or…?” He rubbed at his sore nose, Shinobu’s shoe in hand until Makio took it from him and beat him over the back of his head for good measure.

“Shut up, you’re so embarrassing!“ She growled.

“We really can’t take you anywhere, can we?” Hinatsuru sighed.

“I mean… I was kind of curious too…”

“You want some of this too, Suma? Huh?!” Makio threatened, waving Shinobu’s shoe threateningly.

Suma shook her head rapidly and took cover behind Hina.

“Maybe this is a good place to stop.” Mitsuri laughed sheepishly. “I’m sure everyone is hungry, we should eat!”

“Cake!” Inosuke bellowed.

“Cake later!” Mitsuri yelled back for not the first time that day. “Tanjirou-kun, stop him!”

“Don’t worry, Kanroji-san!” Tanjirou leapt from his seat to tackle Inosuke back to the ground, Zenitsu not to far behind.

“Soon buddy, be patient for just a little longer.” (Y/n) told Inosuke as they and Shinobu began to walk past the scuffle to their table.

“There are a lot of savory dishes you can enjoy first, okay?” Shinobu smiled.

Inosuke’s face scrunched up, but he relented. As soon as he was sat back down at his table, he quickly got over it when he saw all the food spread out before him.

When (Y/n) and Shinobu made it to their little table, they both sat down with a shared sigh, they both chuckled a bit because they understood that it was simply a sound of exhaustion. The day had been quite long already.

Every once in awhile, someone would drum against their table and everyone would join in, not letting up until the newlyweds kissed again.

“You know, once we cut the cake we could try to escape.” (Y/n) suggested.

“(Y/n), are you suggesting we flee from our own wedding party? How scandalous.” Shinobu whispered with a smirk.

“Hardly scandalous, we’re married now. So? Are you in?”

“If you didn’t suggest it, I was going to.” Shinobu said.

There was more mingling before the cake was cut. (Y/n) saw Shinobu talking to Inosuke, watching his grin become more wild as Shinobu spoke. There was a quick interlocking of pinkies and then Shinobu walked off, flawlessly inserting herself into a different conversation.

Maybe twenty minutes later, they managed to get everyone’s attention back on the cake. Shinobu and (Y/n) cut out a piece together and only just managed to put it on a plate before a wild cackle was heard, drawing most everyone’s attention to the roof.

“Cake time!” Inosuke crowed, “leaping down from the shingles.

“That’s where he disappeared to?!” Zenitsu screamed.

“Inosukeeee!” Tanjirou yelled, he leapt to tackle the boar boy down, and he was mostly successful, but the table holding the cake began to tip dangerously as a result.

A chorus of, ‘Save the cake!’ Could be heard throughout the garden and as people rushed in to center the table, or dog pile on Inosuke, (Y/n) and Shinobu scurried away with their pristine slice of cake in hand.

When they made it to the last place in the mansion that anyone would think to look for them, they were breathless from laughing. They sat huddled together and peacefully ate their cake. Occasionally they would hear a shout or the pounding of feet running through the halls and they’d hold their breath, falling apart into giggles when the noises faded away.

They would have to go back eventually, but for now it wouldn’t hurt to celebrate their union a little bit on their own.

[yukidragon]

Sunny Day Jack Transcript - INTERVIEW - 41683

I've decided it's long past overdue to write up the transcript of the interview Jack has while in character back in 1983 when the SunnyTime Crew Show was at its peak in popularity. You can listen to this audio for yourself after playing through the demo of Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack, along with [Redacted]'s interview with the psyche consultant.

Disclaimer - I have auditory processing disorder, which makes it difficult for me to translate sounds into words, so please forgive any errors I might make. If I got something wrong, please do let me know so that I can correct it. Thank you.

@channydraws @earthgirlaesthetic @sai-of-the-7-stars @cheriihoney @illary-kore @okamiliqueur

...

(A click of starting a tape playing. Audio starts a bit distorted then clears up.)

Dan: Alright. Now… I’m assuming that out of all of you listening today, some of you have to be parents, right? I’m sure quite a few of you have been tuned in to this new kids show - big hit, it’s everywhere. It’s inescapable, really. I’m of course talking about the SunnyTime Crew Show.

Dan: Now I have to admit, I don’t really know what all the fuss is, but… then again I am 36 and if I did, I’d… (awkward chuckle) I’d have bigger things to worry about. (chuckle)

Dan: But today we are making an exception. We have with us one Mr. Sunny Day Jack, who I am to believe is the… the leader? The front guy? For the mass acclaimed SunnyTime Crew. How you doing, Jack?

Jack: (cheerful) I’m great, Dan! Thanks for having me on the show. Glad to be here.

Dan: (enthusiastically) I can tell. For the folks at home, you can’t see this, but wow, this guy can smile! Look at that. Your dentist must be so proud!

Jack: (modest chuckle) Oh it’s nothing a simple and consistent brushing routine can’t do, but thank you! I do my best.

Dan: (more moderate tone) Of course you do, of course you do… Now. Why don’t you tell me a bit about yourself, hmm? Tell me about Jack.

Jack: Well…, I’m sure that, as you said. I’m part of the SunnyTime Crew. I wouldn’t say I’m a leader or anything. We all just kind of do our own things, and… You know. We help the kids at home learn and talk about their feelings. There are a lot of ways to do that, and we run through them all with the kids, and… (soft laugh) Well, I mean, there’s not too much to say about it. I think it’s a very important job and I… I like it. I get to come into so many homes and be there for so many young viewers, and… Sometimes they really need it… and sometimes they don’t, but… the company is nice to have around… Yeah.

Dan: Right, right… If I’ve read up on this show correctly… you’ve all been burning hot and fast haven’t you? You know, what with all the toys and the lunchboxes and the… um… What was it? An ice show?

Jack: Oh! Uh, we’ll be doing a small live tour, nothing too big. We’ll be doing some singing, some book readings… really interacting with our fans. It’ll be a lot of fun! But if you want to know more, you can find out more information by calling in at-

(Audio glitches out and becomes incomprehensible for a second.)

Dan: Right, right, so… If you don’t mind me putting this out there… You’re kind of a celebrity, aren’t you?

Jack: (slightly awkward) I… guess you could say that. But really, we’re all-

Dan: Then we’ll put you through the same wringer as the rest of them. You’re a fine young man - plenty strong, plenty (grunting sound), you know? And you’re in there, right? Mom’s home, you’re taking care of the kids while she… you know - irons or cooks or whatever. Tell me. Do you ever get fans who are moms?

Jack: (slightly awkward) Well… sometimes. You could say that. (cheerful) And they’re really nice, just like the kids!

Dan: (sly) I’d put money on you being the crush of at least half of the housewives across America who tune in. You could do that, you know.

Jack: (awkward) I-I… guess. I wouldn’t really know.

(Awkward silence for a few seconds.)

Dan: (chuckle) Anyways… I believe… you’re on the show today with a mission?

Jack: Actually yes, Dan. I just wanted to come on and let the parents know that this weekend, me and my friends will be at the-

(Audio distortion glitches out the recording.)

Jack: -East of the-

(More audio distortion.)

Jack: -And you know, I’d love to meet and make as many new friends as possible. So, if you’d like to come down and say, “Hi,” we have balloons and games and activities!

Jack: Well, uh… actually we’ll be doing pictures and book signings too. We’re a local show, and it means a lot to have these opportunities. I just think it’s really great to be able to thank you all in person. As parents, your kids, we love teaching them and helping them grow… but when that TV turns off, it’s really is you who comes in and does the important work.

Dan: Aww… Isn’t that sweet? Unfortunately… (feigned surprised/disappointed gasp) Oh! Would you look at that? It seems like we’re out of time. But before you go though, I have to thank our sponsors and… One last question before we go, Jack. I’m asking on behalf of all the mothers out there. Ladies, thank me later.

Dan: Are you sure you aren’t… holding out on us at all? Like, come on! A guy your size has to have come from modeling or something. I’m putting it out there - there’s gotta be a picture of this guy in somebody’s charity calendar. I’m serious! Check your Mr. Junes, folks! Nobody gets this fit for themselves-

Jack: (curt) Alright. Thank you for having me, Dan. It was really… nice to be here. Um… Parents, we’ll see you this weekend. Remember, that’s at the-

(Audio distortion.)

Jack: -Mall, East of the-

(Audio distortion.)

Jack: -I’m really looking forward to it, and you should be too.

Jack: (cheerful, in character) This is Sunny Day Jack signing off, and wishing you a Sunnytime-tastic day-

(Voice distorts on the final words and fades out to static. The tape stops with a click. The beep of a TV with no signal plays before the audio ends.)

...

Additional Notes: A charity calendar are calendars made to raise funds for a particular local charity. The most well known and best selling charity calendars featured naked models posing provocatively for each month's image. These were one of the ways people could get their hands on pornographic imagery before the advent of the internet.

[artblock-tm]

Can I get the director's commentary on literally anything you want from Shadow Rift. You can do the whole book if you want. I wanna hear your thoughts

Okay okay okay SO! Grr Shadow Rift. Me and my complicated relationship with Shadow Rift………

For those who don’t know DP Lore, Shadow Rift was a fic originally posted to a different website by a different author. The author wanted to abandon it, but I really enjoyed it, so I reached out to them and asked if I could continue it. Shockingly, they agreed, but I had to follow the original idea for their story.

Writing (part of) og Shadow Rift really dipped my toes into fic writing, and was what initially drew in some of my oldest readers (hi Marci). However, after some years of improvement as a writer with the publication of Masked, I just… didn’t like the story anymore. So I reached out to the original author again for permission to rewrite it and they basically just gave me full control of Shadow Rift.

I won’t talk about it too much since they’ve asked to remain anonymous, but they weren’t satisfied with it either but didn’t have the spoons to finish it. And that’s what brought us to Shadow Rift THE REWRITE!

Now that I think about it… I wish I hadn’t deleted my SR planning doc as soon as the epilogue was published… oops.

ANYWAY. SR is quite different from the original, both in quality of writing and character. While the plot moved generally in the same direction, some lore things were changed and the characters actually had concrete ARCS! WOAH! INCREDIBLE!

Like Hat Kid had an arc that improved her view on the world, however subtly. Although you may argue that it was the return of her soul that did this, the soul was only the macguffin. Her developing relationship with Snatcher is what made her develop as well!

Speaking of Snatcher… ugh he was so fun to write. I loved his and Hattie’s dynamic of continually butting heads. I love the parallels that originally appear as foils… AND it was great to make Snatcher an actual character too! I got to fill him with transgender allegory! Happy pride!

However, the character that drew the most evil giggles from me as I planned how to screw over was none other than Elliot. Oh, Elliot, how I love putting you through the wringer. I also had so much fun giving him a new character arc… in the opposite direction of Snatcher’s.

While Snatcher’s perception of himself merges together and he comes to accept himself and Elliot as the same person, just with changes, Elliot comes to make a distinction between himself and Snatcher. Snatcher is okay with himself, including Elliot, but Elliot isn’t.

Snatcher to me is a lot of hard edges with a softer demeanor. Even though he’s soulless, that doesn’t make someone incapable of kindness (like Hattie thought).

But Elliot is the inverse. He’s all soft edges with a sharp pointed center. And, understandably, the events he’d been through- bodysharing, getting cursed, literally mind-merging with Snatcher for a hot minute- wore his patience thin. It doesn’t help that his fate, like Hattie’s, was swiftly approaching, only his was unavoidable.

It shouldn’t be selfish to want to live, but isn’t it tragic that his actions only ended up speeding the process of his and Hattie’s death? Hehe.

Those are my thoughts on the main characters, but there are some minor ones I’d like to comment on too.

I’m sure that many readers noticed that Karmin wasn’t originally part of AHiT! Yes, I used Shadow Rift as an excuse to write her more. And if you noticed that the arc with her was surprisingly open-ended, that was intentional! You see, I did it for thematic purposes. I’m not gonna hold your hand on this one though.

More importantly, though, Vanessa.

Urgh. Vanessa.

I’ve never been able to write her adequately (UNTIL RECENTLY!! I LISTENED TO MISS MISERYGUTS BY RIP AND EVERYTHING CLICKED!! EVERYONE SAY THANK YOU TO GRACEBETH3604 FOR INTRODUCING ME TO IT!!!), but I’ve had kind of a renaissance on Prince and Vanessa characterization recently. SR!Vanessa was a way for me to experiment with a Vanessa that regretted her actions.

But don’t get me wrong- she doesn’t regret them because she’s becoming a better person- she regretted her actions because they had consequences for her, too. She lost her prince and she came to grieve that loss, but not what she did.

(Also Elliot getting cursed was essentially a nod to Gracebeth3604 also. A!au my beloved. Makes me go insane)

For those people who know the original story, they’d know that the whole thing stayed in Subcon. I thought that was rather stale, so I had the setting move to Alpine, and then to Time’s End. That was fun :)

and ummmm I think I’ve run out of things to say! Sorry I started watching a movie in the middle of writing this and for so caught up in analyzing it that I forgot everything I meant to say

[ari-kari]

I’ve had some difficult irl experiences this past month that have really shaken my sense of self-worth - which is already getting put through the wringer as it is, with all the therapy. I was gonna vent about it here, but listing my insecurities like that made me feel like I was reinforcing The Old Ways, and I’m trying to avoid that as much as possible. so instead I’m just gonna type up some reminders for myself that are 100% true, but that I sometimes elect to forget. long-ish mental health post ahead

(also I just now realized that this will be incomprehensible to anyone who doesn’t have a basic understanding of attachment theory, but oh well. its my party and I’ll wax therapeutic if I want to)

1. It is not my fault that I have an anxious attachment style. Full stop. These thought patterns have been present since I was very young, and reside at the core of who I am. While I strive for effective communication in all of my relationships, the feelings themselves should not be moralized. I cannot help the way my brain responds to intimacy with others; it is involuntary.

2. In the same breath, attachment styles are not permanent or prescriptive. With hard work, an insecurely-attached person (yes, even me) can move towards security with time. I am not a label, nor am I permanently broken. I am a fully-developed human being.

3. Here’s a big one - I do not harbor sole responsibility for the dysfunction in my relationships, especially when I am partnered with avoidant individuals. “Protest behavior” remains unacceptable to me, and I will choose a different path for myself whenever possible. But when I am feeling “needy” in my relationships, it is because my needs are not being met - plain and simple. And - critically important - when I have dated secure individuals in the past, my symptoms have dropped to zero. My attachment system was pacified, and I was free to focus on loving my partner and myself without the daily hits to my self-esteem.

4. I am a strong, fiercely-independent human being - and this is not an empty affirmation. I have endured horrendous trauma with level-headed fortitude. I am gifted at solving complex problems without the assistance of others, and have accomplished many important things in my life despite numerous hardships. The pain I feel when my intimacy needs go unmet is NOT a reflection of my character. And even if I wish I could change this part of me sometimes, it does not single-handedly define my worth.

5. I will love the right person one day. I will find someone with whom I have the freedom to heal, and who will return my affections gladly and without hesitation. And when I do, I’ll struggle to remember why I spent so much time whittling away at myself to fit into situations that weren’t meant for me. I will be able to respect the people I once loved for who they are - while simultaneously accepting that they are not right for me, just as I am not right for them.

And finally, because it needs to be said:

6. I love myself. I think I’m really cool. And in my heart of hearts, I know I’m gonna find what I’m looking for someday. It just won’t be with them 🤷

thanks for reading <3

[madametnt]

Ashley Brown Callout Post

Let me start this off by saying you are completely valid if you like Ashley. Most people do. And I used to like her to until I really thought about her actions. Not that I’m trying to change any opinions. It’s not unreasonable to like or even love Ashley. Which is why it makes me mad that people think it’s unreasonable to dislike or hate her.

I would also like to emphasize that I think seeing her as a kind of shitty person makes her more interesting in my eyes. And the characters having layers of darkness brought out of them over the course of the night is one of my favorite things about the game.

I swear I love this game but I’m about to hate on like every character.

First, I wanna talk about Ashley’s most divisive scene. Her killing Chris. Not “freezing” or whatever. Murder by inaction. Because a lot of people for some reason always act like Ashley’s disdain for Chris doesn’t play a factor in this decision. If they wanted to convey her freezing up, then this was a big fumble on the writers part because they absolutely did not.

Like, look at the scene. Shawty walks up to the door, reaches out an arm like she’s about to open it, then flashbacks to him shooting her implying that’s what she was remembering, as every other time a flashback happens it’s a characters thought. So she certainly didn’t blank. And then while staring him dead in the eyes, backs away from the door and watches him die.

To me, that is calculated. That is vengeance. TOO LATE?! Girl WHAT? And I have seen people legitimately claim that it was all because she was just scared. Don’t get me wrong, I think fear and desperation definitely played a part of it. She had that primal monkey brain going on taking control of her. But you gotta be a different breed of stone cold to stare him in the eyes as he gets decapitated in front of you. Even if you are hella dissociating, she’s perfectly fine in the alt timeline. And the breath she takes it makes it seems like she’s relieved and accepting of what just happened.

Side tangent: I’ve heard people say this was a deliberate change of character to punish people for choosing a choice Chris would never choose. That makes me have an aneurysm. If he would supposedly NEVER do it, then why does he?! Why does he have the option??? Until Dawn to me has always felt like a game where no choice is inherently out of character. Differing choices simply play up different aspects of their personality or show a different side to them. So if this is somehow true, then that is the dumbest shit I’ve ever heard. And this builds upon the hidden darkness thing I mentioned earlier.

Honestly, I think Chris shooting Ashley to save himself is his hidden darkness. Possibly nearly killing the girl TWICE in one night via saw trap and by shooting her in the face as she’s begging for her life, all to serve his own interests. I don’t blame Chris for this. Man has been put through the wringer. And honestly, I wouldn’t blame Ashley for letting that subtle disdain and fear take hold of her when she allows Chris to perish. It would be hypocritical of me not to. Here’s the thing though, that’s a POSSIBLE reality.

What really bothers me is should Chris aim the gun at himself first, Ashley goes all “wait no babe shoot me instead.” And DO NOT try to say she wasn’t really saying Chris shoot her, because I don’t know how anyone could see that dialogue and think otherwise. Even when people try to justify it, it still makes no sense to me. To me, this comes off as Ashley just saying things since she doesn’t expect Chris to follow through and wants to seem like a good person. Ashley in general comes off to me as someone who tries to gaslight themselves into thinking they’re a better person than they really are. Which, yeah, everyone has done at some point in their lives. But for Ashley this is a trait that kind of looms over her head to me.

And even if she pulled that self-sacrifice BS, her relationship with Chris STILL drops to zero afterwards. Saying something you don’t mean is one thing. Killing someone over them believing your BS is a whole different ballpark. Say what you want about Emily, but at least with Emily you know where you stand. Then, she acts all dismissive of his death and LIES about what happened to the police. At least factually. Maybe she’d like to believe that she really had just froze. But actions speak louder.

Speaking of Emily though, let’s talk about the scene in the basement. Now, straight out the gate I wanna say I don’t hold Ashley responsible should Emily get shot. That is all Mike, who is such a fucking ape in this scene. All of them are (safe for Sam). But this ain’t about that dumbass right now. And no, I don’t think Ashley was advocating for Emily’s death. But I also don’t think she wasn’t NOT advocating for Emily’s death. She certainly didn’t object in the moment. Neither did Chris because, again, ape, but Ashley was way more vocal than he was about making her leave over NO EVIDENCE. ZILCH. NADA. Don’t even pretend like she didn’t know Emily was gonna die out there because she most definitely would have. And it’s this high impulsivity that Ashley displays that I honestly find annoying af.

And before you start with the “well if you were in her shoes-“ I’m gonna stop you right there. I am one year off Ashley’s age, and I am staking my life on no the fuck I wouldn’t. Because if I thought my friend, even if that friend was Emily, was possibly turning into a monster, I would still stall and find any excuse not to kill them. Especially because I would never forgive myself if we got someone killed someone who I still considered a friend. Even if indirectly. My people pleasing ass could never. Though I sincerely hope I never have to find out.

If my friend almost got me killed whether it be by forcing me to waltz to my death or by riling up the gorilla that is Mike by screaming bloody murder. Again, I don’t care if it’s realistic because ain’t no one else in that room except the aforementioned ooga booga man were in hysterics like those two doofuses were. Based on nothing except assumptions, might I add. The thought of pushing her out of the way to save myself would have at the very least crossed my mind. Say what you want but Ashley is the last person I would want on my team because she is NOT a team player. Shes only a team player when it’s convenient and that is not conducive.

Also her screaming gets on my nerves sometimes. This isn’t related to anything it’s just the truth. Granted all of her freakouts are VERY well acted. I actually love the way she is played. Though, that’s not saying much because every performance in UD is fire 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Ironically, it was while making this rant that I realized I don’t hate Ashley as much as I thought I did. Honestly, I wouldn’t even say I really dislike her. (Hard to tell with everything I just said, I know.) Is she still the least baddest bitch in the game? Without question. (Except for when she stabs the psycho that was pretty sick) But a lot of her flaws make her interesting, and she stands out amongst the cast for both better and worse. I think people tend to fail to recognize the bad parts of her and try justifying her actions in moments where they really aren’t justifiable.

You fic writers though… lemme tell you. You guys are cracked at writing her. Keep doing the lords work.

Meeting adjured. *law and order sound effect.*

[tamberlanecomic]

July Newsletter

Hey everyone! Here are some general updates for everything that’s been going on and what you can expect for this month and throughout the summer.

Health Update

As some of you may remember, right after the Kickstarter closed I was knocked out by a one-two punch of a fibro flare and Covid. While I’ve been put through the wringer, I’m FINALLY feeling like I’m crawling back out from under this extended period of sickness.

I’m still dealing with some pain and fatigue due to my fibro flare-up, but it’s more or less back to the “normal” levels of what I’m used to, so overall I’m doing pretty good. I took some extra time to recuperate from Covid in the hopes of avoiding any long Covid effects, and while I am still taking it easy, I take a lot of joy in drawing and being forced to not indulge in any of my creative pursuits have made me all the more eager to get back into the swing of things. So, I’m still being careful, but I’m also easing back into work. 

I got so many amazing comments from patrons, readers, and Kickstarter backers all encouraging me to take as long as I needed to get better, and I can’t thank you enough for the kind words and well wishes! It was measurably easier to take some time off to rest knowing I had so many people cheering me on and encouraging me to do so, so thank you so much for taking the time to say something and for sending me words of support. <3 You da best!

Comic Updates

We’re moving right along, with 12 pages currently in the pipeline at various production stages. In fact, I’ve just put three new finished pages into the buffer for $10+ patrons today! Our priority right now is to get a healthy buffer so that I can have ample time and space to catch up on other work without impending deadline pressures.

Patreon Rewards

Next, I plan to knock out a good chunk of Patreon commissions for my $50+ folks. I’ve already been doing that here and there, but I want to make sure that the oldest ones are finished first. 

Likewise, due to the chaos of a sudden move and a lot of life changes, Ari didn’t send the May postcards out until today, so I apologize for the delays there – we’re getting back on track! June’s postcards have already been sent.

Speaking of, I’ve included some of the patron reward art I just finished last week!

Kickstarter News

We still need to finish the internal book edits, draw up the Q&As, format the information in the book, and finish formatting annotations. These are all things I had intended to get done both during and after the campaign but I was simply unable to keep up with it due to health reasons. Curse you, chronic illness! 

I am also going to explore another option for getting the softcovers printed locally, which is something I will only go with if the quality is up to my standards. But we're less than $5k away from being able to reprint Chapters 1-3 so if we're able to get a cheaper local deal with a good printer, I'm willing to explore the option! 

By the way, we are now officially sold out of Chapters 1 and 2 books, but you can help us reprint them by preordering them and other stuff through our Backerkit shop!

Preorder Here

We’ll be streaming edits in the Foxglove discord server, so be sure to keep an eye out on there!

New Pride Merch

For Pride month I launched two new apparel designs as part of our Pride collection! Choose from Agender or Non-Binary Ainsley or Biromantic or Transgender Marie on comfy shirts available in a wide range of colors and sizes. 

This collection also features downloadable Tales from Treehollow comics dealing with LGBTQIA+ themes. Come check it out!

Shop Now

Artfight

I’ve never done Artfight before, but I’m gonna try this year! It’ll be fun to have little warmup drawings I can squeeze in here and there between larger projects. 

If you’ve never heard of Artfight, it’s an annual art trading game where you “attack” by drawing other people’s characters. It seems really fun! If you’re participating and want to add me, here’s my profile:

https://artfight.net/~Cvilbrandt

Thanks all for reading! May this month be ever better!

[jaxteller87]

big papa 13

The day after my stunt at the clubhouse, I mustered up the courage to extend an apology to Clay for my previous outburst. I practiced a little in front of the mirror like I was running for class president and about to give a speech. I had every right to be nervous because the guy I was about to talk to had a body count, and I’m not talking about the sexual kind. Clay was the type of person to tell you that everything was fine, then put a bullet in the back of your head as soon as you turn around— or if he didn’t want to get his hands dirty, then he’d have someone else do it. Did I think he was going to off me? No— but that didn’t make me feel any less nervous. 

Once I pulled into the parking lot, I took my time getting out of the car. I played all of his possible responses through my mind in hopes I’d be prepared for anything he could through at me. With a deep breath, I tentatively knocked on the door to his office.

“Come in,” Clay bellowed.

“Hey, Amber,” Bobby smiled.

“Well, well, well— looked who learned how to knock,” Clay leaned back in his chair with half a cigar hanging from his mouth.

I hesitated, noticing they were engrossed in some paperwork. “If you’re busy, I can come back later, I just—”

“No, it’s fine,” Bobby said.

“You’re here now. Why?” Clay puffed smoke in my direction. He knew I enjoyed a bit of the cannabis, but I wasn’t fond of cigar smoke— especially being blown in my face.

“I just wanted to swing by and apologize for my outburst yesterday. It wasn’t right, and I hope the club can forgive me. I’ve suffered a lot of hardships— lots of loss and surgeries. I’ve been put through the wringer, but that doesn’t make it right— what I did, I mean. I’m just trying to say that I acted out of line and—”

“You acted like a spoiled brat. You broke the rules, Amber, and frankly— I don’t care if you are fucking my vice president or not, you will respect those rules in the future,” Clay was almost growling. “Are we clear?”

I looked at Bobby, half expecting him to get my back and half expecting him to side with Clay— but he sat quietly for a moment. “He’s right, sweetheart. These traditions are older than you; Hell, they’re older than half the patches at our table.”

I felt tears start to build up in the corners of my eyes, “I’m sorry—”

“But,” Bobby interrupted me. “What you had to say yesterday, I mean— you weren’t wrong.”

“No. You weren’t wrong,” Clay repeated, calming his tone a little this time. “Which is why I’m going to overlook this little…incident.”

“Really?” I was shocked to hear those words out of his mouth.

“You’re forgiven,��� Clay added.

Alright, I take it back. I’m even MORE shocked to hear those words. “Thank…you…” I didn’t know what else to say.

“Clay?” Bobby said, nudging him with his elbow.

 “Yeah, alright. I’m sorry, too,” Clay sighed, but not like he was disgusted at apologizing to me but more like relieved. “You had a valid point yesterday, Amber. I’ll strive to steer the club in a safer direction. The rest of the guys have been reeling about the increased heat on us, and perhaps I’ve been out of line.”

“You don’t need to apologize, I understand. Again, I’m sorry for breaking tradition,” I nodded and wheeled toward the exit.

“Wait,” Bobby called out, “I’ll walk you out. I have something for you and Jax.”

“And what’s that?” I asked. He took hold of my chair and led me back out to the parking lot where my car was.

Bobby chuckled. “On behalf of the club, thank you for breaking the rules yesterday.”

“My pleasure,” I quipped, “Jax tells me I got a standing ovation after I left.”

“And for you two, I baked these yesterday,” Bobby said, handing over freshly baked brownies. “Not special or anything...”

I raised an eyebrow. “No secret ingredients?”

Bobby laughed. “Nope, but if you want, I can whip up a special batch just for you.”

I shook my head, chuckling. “Nah, it’s okay.”

“Are you sure? I actually have a cooler full of them in the truck. Piney asked me to whip some up, says I have the best recipe around.”

“Oh yeah?” I giggled, “Is that so?”

“Nah, my pot brownies taste like shit, but they’ll get you higher than hell; you won’t even notice the Dollar Tree chocolate.”

“Oh,” I winced, looking at the covered dish of brownies he had just handed me.

He nodded with a smile. Then he noticed my not-so-impressed face after his admission. “Not these ones. I made these ones really good. I used Belgium chocolate from the place in the mall.”

“Why not just use the good shit all the time?” I asked.

“If they’re for eats, I use the good stuff. If it’s for tripping your face off, I save on the coco to buy more of the loco, if you catch my drift.”

I laughed, “I read you loud and clear. I’ll just settle for the tasty ones…for now, at least.”

“Enjoy!”