#convo: joanna

[owenmacnally]

where: outside the outpost who: @joannajonesx & owen macnally

He wasn't that drunk. Not yet, at least, compared to how belligerent he usually got himself on his nights off. A light buzz maybe, one that barely touched his speech yet loosened him up -- and, besides, he was a MacNally, so the three glasses of whiskey he'd downed in the past hour was essentially equivalent to a beer or two for anyone else. At least, that's what they all told themselves.

He'd stepped outside for a cigarette, back leaning against the cool brick wall, when he saw a car pull up -- and a mighty nice one at that. A low whistle escaped him, a plume of smoke cascading from his lips and into the night air as he did so, eyes looming over the exterior inch by inch before finally landing on the woman it belonged too. "Well, fuck," Owen chuckled, making a vague gesture between the blonde and the Mustang. "Please don't tell me that you borrowed your boyfriend's car or somethin'. Don't think my heart could take the disappointment."

[xfinch]

finch & joanna

closed: @girlsagaiinstgod setting: grounds around the chapel

Finch nor the rest of her family had ever been religious. Her father had found religion, organized or otherwise, stifling. So had her mom. Her mom had been interested in the stars to worship any other sort of heaven. Neither Finch or Bishop had ever expressed any interest in the area of religion, so the topic really hadn’t been brought up a whole lot throughout the years. The chapel in Novac wasn’t exactly the sort of chapel Finch had grown up hearing about. It contained more than just pews and religious texts, which Finch appreciated.

The area was extra quiet, which Finch loved a lot. It was a great space for her to take Everest out on a walk. He had a harness that someone had made years ago and then a leather leash. She never let him out without it, and certainly never let him out on his own completely. The fear of losing him was too overwhelming. There was no thought rattling around inside her head that he might run off, but she still found herself scared that someone or more likely something might snatch him.

She found herself focused on a particularly pretty tree when she felt a tug at the leash. When she looked over she saw not just Everest but another figure, a redhead that Finch knew to be Joanna. Everest was sniffing at her hair, preparing to eat it Finch was sure. Finch picked him up quickly, taking a step back. “Sorry,” she apologized. “He has a thing with hair. He likes to chew on it. I think he thinks it's just a toy for him that almost every single person he sees has.”

[mermaidsirennikita]

need your expertise, there's dark romance discourse on twitter (again) and someone commented how a lot of popular dark romance props up existing patriarchal structures and i'm v curious what you think?

I'll say this: I kind of feel like you can absolutely say that of virtually every subgenre of m/f romance (and queer romance can do this too, but it's just a different game re: the patriarchy... and I sometimes feel like romance convos are so heteronormative and so dominated by cishet female readers that we forget this).

Like, I often think that, as someone whose favorite subgenre is probably still historicals (but I began my romance reawakening reading ONLY historicals, and expanded from there), we historical defenders are sometimes SO exuberant in our preaching that we sort of go "actually, historicals are often more feminist than those other subgenres because the patriarchy is the legally reigning structure that the heroine must fight against". But like. There are a lot of historicals, some written more recently some not, that absolutely reinforce a pretty patriarchal system. I mean, in a very strict straightforward sense so many interclass "heroine from outside upper class hero's set marries into the family" reinforce the power of white patriarchy (the happy ending is the heroine succeeded in joining the hero's set). The nuance of the story is where you get interesting.

Take The Duke Gets Even. On paper, Nellie, who is a) American b) from new money c) subversive in her sex life and her politics marries the Duke of Lockwood. She is becoming a duchess; she is joining this incredibly patriarchal, imperialist system, and the book kind of doesn't exist without her doing that.

However, the nuance gives us something a little different--Lockwood has to accept Nellie's politics (he had zero issue with accepting her sex life lol so I won't go there), he has to accept her flaws (which are, for people who read a lot of romance, very classical hero flaws--she's damaged, she can't love, she doesn't want to talk about her feelings) and he has to accept her MONEY. Because he is BROKE. By centering his lack of money and making Nellie the one who financially "saves" him, Joanna plays with his title and class quite a bit and reexamines it. She can't divorce him from the fact that he's a duke, and to me, the story kind of loses a lot of tension if he isn't one anyway. But does the book reinforce Lockwood's dukedom (and therefore the duke's place in the patriarchy) as the thing that should rule and should be obtained above all else? I'd say no, especially when every power he has as a duke, in the end, only exists because of his new money, lower class (and Irish on her mother's side), subversive wife's money. And he's SUUUUPER good with it. Because he also learns throughout the book that being a duke kinda ain't shit and is all a pretend thing that he was raised to be and shouldn't matter (and doesn't matter, in a big way, when it comes to his physical health).

In comparison, I would take a book like An Offer from A Gentleman and say that it does very little to deconstruct this idea that the patriarchal upper class isn't the goal. Which many romances do, yes, but this one came to my mind especially BECAUSE Sophie is put through so much as a lower class woman, at points at the hands of her hero, and the ultimate deliverance and happy ending really does come in being with this upper class man. It's a very straightforward Cinderella story. And I love a Cinderella story; but that book doesn't play with it quite enough to subvert the issues inherent to a Cinderella narrative. The "sacrifice" the hero makes involves him living out in the country, still very much connected to a family that loves him and probably financially supports him to an extent, doing the thing he loves for a job.

ALL THAT TO SAY. Dark romance functions similarly, to me. I'm not as widely read in dark romance as I am with historicals, but I think the genre is very much what every writer makes of it.

One reason why I compared it to historicals specifically, though, is that I think both of those subgenres appeal to people in either the "endangered heroine/powerful man and the narrative upholds the patriarchy" journey, or the "endangered heroine/powerful man but she takes control of the narrative and he has to learn" journey. While, yeah, there are a lot of dark romance writers who basically write torture porn that I have no interest in reading myself... There are also writers who choose to have the heroine grapple with the hero, to take control and to make him submit, for want of a better word (if not physically, then emotionally). In a dark romance, I think the question isn't really "can I redeem him", but "can I make him MINE".

In some dark romances, he never becomes hers, to me. He maintains all the power. In others, he does, and in becoming hers, I think he sort of becomes what I would call like... her metaphorical pet wolf. He's not domesticated; he's not any less dangerous; but he will come to heel for HER and perhaps her alone. That is what I want to see. I think that when the heroine harnesses his power, there's some potential nuance re: harnessing the patriarchal power, etc.

(And yeah, we could say "but what about power she has alone" I am also super down for that but I am talking about dark romance novels here and we do kind of have to get into some metaphors and implications.)

I mean, I also, as someone who doesn't like the "he owns her and she doesn't own him" narrative, have to ask myself why other people who are victimized by the patriarchy in real life... Like it? I know I like to see the heroine win; but what's the appeal in the other thing? And I do feel like there's probably some heightened degree of "safely experiencing the dark" there. When I'm on a roller coaster, I'm basically getting as close to falling off a cliff as I'll hopefully ever experience, but I don't actually fall off the cliff. I imagine there may be something like that to the torture porn dark romance readers.

And some readers are simply really conservative and like to see those conservative, patriarchal values upheld. Some writers write to that. But I think you can argue that for literally any romance subgenre! Contemporary is hard for me, right? Because so many contemporary romance novels set in MY world and very much out of any kind of fantasy mafia or fantasy Regency or fantasy fantasy realm, have these incredibly misogynistic inner monologues. These NLOG plots, these stories wherein you accidentally get knocked up and even though you never thought about having a baby and the dad is out of the picture, abortion is never mentioned or is outright condemned, and there's no real concern about what having a baby you never thought about having MEANS, emotionally or practically. And then your best friend's brother is there and all is fine.

I PERSONALLY find those books a bit more disturbing, because there is no fantasy lens. There's no "yeah, this is bad, but so is getting locked in a dungeon by my fiancee, and neither of those things are happening so". I don't see the therapy or processing in it. Maybe it's there and I just can't get it, but that's where I am.

I do think that a good bit of popular dark romance does uphold the patriarchy, but I'm gonna be honest.... I'm not really concerned about that from a genre perspective. I would say: look to the readers and why they want that.

Are a lot of dark romance readers probably conservative white women? Yeah, that's definitely a possible part of this. But I suppose I'm not really SUPER concerned with them pushing these books, because--if you know where you stand on the issues, you can either enjoy those books as something entirely separate from your personal beliefs, or you (as I often do) don't like it and don't continue to read it. I don't know that the books are really... damaging people who wouldn't have been damaged by some other types of content, if they're that susceptible.

[perfect-ly-island-y]

One thought as I finally watched the interview/podcast with Chester.

Really liked how comfortable Andy is with his college friend. I always love when two real friends talk and share little glimpses of past years and memories. Of course we are mainly used to Andy talking on Late night w/ Seth (bffe of course and groomsmen) or even Tonight w/Jimmy (who introduced L.I. to Lorne), but each convo has a different (not in a bad way) vibe. As we all have with each one of our long term friends. (They really laughed about the intro- both Chester's and Seth's - snl is deeply in Seth's heart and soul).

And it was really cute when Chester reminded Andy stories from the past, and of course of his wedding with beautiful -Jay-Z fan- Joanna.

There were uploaded parts of the interview previously, but some of them -those where Chester asks Andy to decide one choice of some dilemmas- were not part of the main (an hour long!- thank YOU) interview. Can we wait for at least one dilemma more? Or am I just biased and excited because Andy is resurfacing and just keep on asking more? Oh well... He talked a little about Lee, too - anybody having an idea about is happening with the movie? I know it had a screening in Tiff, but are they still searching for a company to buy it?

I will probably post some little thoughts and stuff nobody asked me here and then, like sth little I would write in my daily scrapbook/journal, just for fun and my recent 'love' for this guy. Used to watch Snl videos occasionally on Youtube, but when I watched b99 in quarantine and again in May -where all begun- I finally realised who Andy was.

Wrote too much, oops🤎

[ilynpilled]

One of the key aspects of Jaime’s fixation on that delusional all over the place ‘targ fantasy’ with Cersei is no longer having to “hide” the relationship. Which is something that is important for Jaime as a character because he is generally getting very sick of “lies” & “facades.” And then we see that he ends up on Bran with it. A big reason this irrationality of his is huge imo is that i think he fears ever being in that kind of position again, and is trying to make it so he has it all. He does “loathe” that part, “‘the things i do for love’, he said with loathing”, the repeated immorality for sustaining love (and then in feast it is touched on more once he confesses to Ilyn after the Lancel convo that he was willing to do child murder when Cersei asked, his own soul is dark, and being with Cersei as a whole is incompatible with the desire to change that really, and that all this actions he justified himself for doing for love was all for nothing because she apparently never loved him like that if she deceived him like this in his mind, and he was just one of many other men she “used”). But here he is still at a stage where he desperately wants to make everything compromise: he still has Cersei, that light in the darkness “the only light in the world”, they are potentially out of the game in his mind “let father sit the throne, all i want is you”, he can send Brienne to save Sansa and keeps his vow, he never has to hide the affair and commit an act like that again etc etc. He wants this so bad that he does block out rationality, not just the obvious, but also everything else. So many of these desires are just inherently incompatible with each other (so many vows…), but he looks away from the information that so clearly shows otherwise. Cersei for instance wants to get him to kill Tyrion for her right now, a thought that “turns his stomach”, and what he refuses to do, so ofc the whole thing is delusional on his part. Feast arc is key in bringing it all on the surface (thank u tyrion confession catalyst)

The white dress scene is about this to me as well, other than mirroring the inn when he was 15: in Jaime’s mind he gave up everything for Cersei, and she will not do the same for him. It is the continuation of “leave me”. He notes the white and he compares it to the curtains and sheets in the room, he connects her to the white tower/kg which is tied to certain things in his mind. It symbolically places her into that new identity that he wants to have rn. It suddenly fits her neatly into his goal, this idea that he can still be “better”, this blank white slate and unsoiled cloak that he desperately wants to be and with her still in his life (which is the idea that he marries her and they leave everything behind and they would never have to hide it again, especially through things he is ashamed of like the murder of children, nor would it be a sin bc they are like targs) Cersei is not wearing green, crimson, gold etc. They can be the knight and the maiden. He can even rationalize certain rituals of violence by protecting the “purity and innocence” that she would embody (hence “i should have killed robert, not her”), they are one whole after all. All this is why he takes off the white cloak and hangs it to go and discuss, which implies that he may be ready to abandon it because he found an alternative path. It is up in the air, if they can compromise here, in his mind he could reach that delusional ‘have it all’. The “white” blank slate and Cersei both. BUT it once again crumbles, because of deep rooted differing desires and the falsehood and performance of the whole thing (on the part of both), like in the joanna dream, you cannot cover up an “ugly reality” with gold, and at the need to “hide it”, which we know he connects to Bran. It ends with him rejecting her and donning the cloak again instead, with Cersei doing the same with her hairnet, and telling him that she had lied to him a thousand times. It is also interesting to me that when Jaime rejects Cersei twice, his reasoning are: first it was the whole “not here, not infront of my dead kingsguard senpai >:(”, which ofc is extremely ironic in a lot of ways considering the relationship itself is actively disregarding his vows, and that Jaime never appeared to particularly care about location before (sept lmao). Then, the rejection in Feast is also interesting bc he pins it on “not here. not in front of the gods and father”, which is eyebrow raising considering Jaime is not very opposed to blasphemous actions (he isn’t opposed to it after this moment either), and is a generally atheistic character. I think he has a lot of other complex reasonings for rejecting the drug that is Cersei that he is not ready to face yet (not even the cheating, considering the first rejection happens before that reveal, and with the second he is not yet at a point where he is that darkly obsessed with it, nor did he confront it as something truly credible yet).

[whiteshipnightjar]

Hellooo! There is a new appearance of the lonely Island in a podcast. For now there are only three videos, teaser like, from each member, but i guess there will be a whole convo on Monday (the previous whole video of another guest came out on monday). It's called the Markers pod, by Chester Tam

Yes, I saw the Kiv one the other day haha. I'm so happy they're all doing it. Can't wait to see it. Thanks for the heads up. Look at this babe and his new uniform, a.k.a. Joanna merch haha

[fandom-hoarder]

I watched the new ep yesterday, but didn't have time to post my liveblog. Here's my lightly edited dm comments lol:

Luna and Cassie are so cute, please don't break my heart lol

Lmao everybody expecting Cordi to stay home and he just walks in 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃 Dude, your ct scan is fine but YOU def are not

I missed the start of the boyle is dead convo, tried to skip back 10 seconds -- THERE'S A BUTTON FOR THIS -- and now it's just loading endlessly 🙃

Commercials 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃

Lol ok, cordell's "lalala I'm here and I'm fine why are you looking at me weird😃😃😃" KILLED me

Like the class clown coming into class the next day when they KNOW they were suspended yesterday

HIT ME WITH COMMERCIALS AGAIN WTF

Witt omg wtf

Omfg

Omfg so he wasn't lying that they were after him lololol

Calling witt nimwit made me giggle lmfao

That "like father like daughter" line coming back as cordi looks at this board

Cordi your brain needs a break. You need some perspective

Trey WHY ARE YOU GOING EASY ABOUT THIS? YOU BELIEVE HIM ABOUT A JOG???

He's not gonna jog lol

He's gonna back out with liam lol

HAHHH CALLED IT

Going through the motions of joviality to try to get people off his obsessive trail

THE LETTERS

Augie overhearing!!

Hahhh Stella, you're not gonna tell him why you don't want to be in your dorm rn? 🙃🙃🙃

SHE IS HER FATHER'S CHILD

Ha Augie just said "starting to sound like dad"

Wow, lying about witt altogether, ok

GIRL

Augie, yes, god i hope this works

Lmfaooo cassie being mildly squicked about "boyfriend"

I love the perez siblings

Stella you are so not slick

So liam didn't take the letters either...

I almost had a heart attack thinking he meant he got rid of them jfc

Lmao this meet the brother thing is giving me secondhand embarrassment

Augie nice lol. You, however, ARE slick

WALKER!!

It's a birdwatcher!!!

Godddddd don't be mad at me🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

I'm not mad (just disappointed)

Omfg BREAK MY HEART it was an EMILY PHOTO

"Get help" for real 🥺😭

WILL THIS WAKE HIM UP OR DOES HE NEED TO HIT BOTTOM👀

Stella. WHAT are you doinggggg

IS THIS THE STRIP CLUB FROM HIS OPENING SCENE

STELLA knowing his stripper name lmfao

The way she's so uncareful about parking there and touching things and then as soon as i said that those guys come in

DO THEY WANT THEM TO FIND THE NECKLACE OR NOT, MY GOD

Stella... GODD that wasn't even what he needs to tell you. You really are just like your father, interrupting people with assumptuons and derailing IMPORTANT INFO

Stella you are so fucking stupid rn lmao

WHY IS THE NECKLACE SO IMPORTANT THOUGH. WHY IS NO ONE WONDERING

What is JOANNA'S connection to it. Please. Somebody.

Omg LUNA TRANSFERRED

Omg parallel scene with cordi and stella

Girl, they renovated the side step. Why would anything be in the cushions

"You told me to take the day and i did" YOU DID NOT LOLOL

Dude, you can't BE good at being a ranger if your head is so far in it you can't see

ARE YOU FUCKING. SERIOUS RIGHT NOW LOLOLOL HE PUT IT IN THE PIG'S HEAD

Aaah shit that letter was fast

I'll have to pause that again later

I wonder if that early scene about how heavy denise was, was actually groundwork for a future hoyt stash, or if that was a happy accident

I'm like, how much worse is this gonna get for Stella and Cordi…

The fact she's not keeping augie in the loop and no one fucking knows where she is or what she's doing

Also what fucking time of night is it, the side step is empty?

It's so... dean knocking sam out before going after metatron

[melrosing]

Anon from yesterday 👋. Sorry irl stuff got in the way. I'm not super well versed in your content but so far I do think you talk about her in a way that isn't "Cersei is an evil bitch just because" and i deff said as much in my first ask. I also fully understand the internalized misogyny in a mother not liking her daughters as much as her sons and that's where you were going with for Joanna. What I noticed when i saw your AU was that BOTH Joanna (her thoughts/feelings) and the AU itself (themes etc) are more outwardly negative and less symphatetic towards her than the others.

And IT'S SO HARD FOR ME TO EXPLAIN THIS VIA ASK BOX but i am basically going to reemphasize what I said before and also say that i think there is a bias for imagining AUs that put cersei in a more negative (and less…idk kinder? gentler? considerate?) light than her brothers whether it's one dimensional or complex and I noticed that in your AU as well, as if she was always doomed to have a dark cloud over her head while her brothers got even a tiny bit of shine and light. I can provide examples if you wish to continue the convo. Anyways I don't mean to overstay my welcome so i'll just leave this as a case of us having very similar ideals but different ways of interpreting them. And btw that other anon was dead ass wrong about what they said about me. Like I promise I don't see her as a sweet angel victim and ignore how ugly and fucked up she is (esp the book version). I am genuinely SO sorry this ask got as long as it did.

no worries, I'm happy to discuss! but honestly, I'm kind of at a loss with what choices I made in this particular AU led you to ask whether I even liked Cersei as a character.

the whole thing (at least where concerns Jaime and Cersei) is based on the conjecture of what might happen to the relationships between the twins and their mother if she had gone ahead and shipped Cersei to Dorne - which, had Joanna survived, I think is highly likely to have happened, i.e. it was on the verge of becoming a canon event. and I think it only makes sense to conclude that Joanna and Cersei's relationship would take a semi-catastrophic hit if it did. like, that is a very heavy thing to do to a seven-year-old, and Cersei has always had a keen sense of injustice and sure can harbour a grudge, so I think she'd take it especially hard.

then of course the misogynistic motherhood is just something that I thought made Joanna's relationship with both Jaime and Cersei more interesting, because it means she can't truly see either of them clearly. in my mind it just makes sense for a Lannister, certainly for the wife of Tywin, and what we know of Joanna makes me feel she had some level of reverence of patriarchal structures. so, threw that in.

and also tbh, it's just more interesting to me than the notion that all the dead ladies of asoiaf would've been these girlboss mums teaching their girls to be lovely ladies or feisty villainesses, like it's just.... so boring to me lmao. like one thing with Catelyn (who I do adore) is that I kind of wish GRRM would go harder on her relationship with Arya. sounds like there's some tension there, old man. well, bust it open!!

so there's my reasoning: I picture Joanna as a deeply flawed mother who, in a moment of both protectiveness and prejudice against her daughter effectively exiles a seven-year-old who won't forgive her for it, and everything else spins from there.

and I guess I just feel like we're splitting hairs a bit here because I don't think I've produced anything that much happier in the AU for Jaime or Tyrion?? like I said of Jaime that he essentially has a distant relationship w his mother for the rest of her life, gets hitched to Lysa in an entirely loveless marriage, and lives probably a quite unfulfilling adulthood. Tyrion in the meantime.... I mean basically all I've given Tyrion is a different kind of abusive relationship with a parent lmao, and a life of isolation and toxic companionship. again, I think it'd be boring to have Joanna purely adore Tyrion or utterly despise him, so why not both.

and idk. I don't think either of the above is me gifting the Lannister boys something I'm refusing Cersei? like sure you could take it that way, but I suppose I'm just surprised that this disparity has struck you so much so that you think I must dislike Cersei to have even written it. you're welcome to provide examples if you like, bc honestly I figured it must be something substantially more than this AU that led you to send me the message - which is why I asked if you had some familiarity with the rest of my Cers posts, I assumed you must've read more than just this AU to make you ask that??

[kjscottwrites]

As one of the beta readers, I'm really interested to know what the major changes are going to be for the final draft of Cavernous, if you feel like talking about them!

OOH yeah I'm kinda dying to talk about it actually so ty! I'll try to give an overview without being too spoilery. (Here's a quick link to the progress checklist for anyone else who wants to follow along with these revisions)

I'm relieved to say that there are no major structural/developmental changes, and that basically everything on the docket is small adjustments to internal character voice and dialog to make sure everyone's motivations are as clear as possible, their arcs are distinctive, and the conversations, u know, crackle. Joanna got the most notes and is undergoing the most changes (Which didn't not surprising! She's been a challenging character for me to nail.) This is mostly going to be about turning the dial up on her sense of adventure/enthusiasm and adding more of her backstory (esp. around her parents & upbringing) to contextualize her decision making - in the grand scheme she should still feel like the Joanna that's already in the text, just with more of her to chew on.

In fact, a lot of the changes are about just adding more context and backstory, so while I really am trying not to balloon the word count too much, I've accepted that this thing is going to probably end up sitting between 120k and 125k words. (It's at like 118k currently) Thankfully I already had my meltdown about not being able to scrunch it under 100k, and I've since made my peace with it 🙏 bless

This is getting long, here's a cut!

The two chapters that are getting overhauled, 20 and 28, are both largely about getting Mikah into the story more - he's so important but remains in the background for so much of the story. In both of these I'm doing some cutting - there will be a little less javelin throwing and certain long carriage convos will become shorter carriage convos, and in exchange there will be a little more elder prince drama, so hopefully that's good news!

There's also going to be a lot of shuffling and adjustment going on with the minor and side characters in order to poise readers for book two which is fun! Gareina, the pretty courtesan who helps Joanna, has been renamed to Corina by an overwhelming committee vote of "how the hell do you pronounce that?" and she'll have some different under-the-surface motivations than her current iteration in order to align with her role in book 2, which is small but important. Characters like Sian (Pritta's politically angling cousin), Olma (Stacker's dance partner), and Martem (Mikah's scribe) are all getting slightly expanded roles, also because of their importance in book 2. In exchange, characters who are there but aren't really important (Like Leti, Vanda, Horus, Evie, etc.) will no longer be named or focused on in order to streamline things and make it easier to recall who's who.

I'm also going to be planting little teeny hints of a new character! He'll be very minor in book 1 and very much not minor in book two :) Lots of beta readers noted the ending as being abrupt so I'll be adding a very short epilogue that will serve as a check-in and segue-way as well. Plotting out book 2 ahead of finishing book 1 turned out to be a great strategy, and I'm just desperately trying not to get ahead of myself and start diving into the next installment before I get this first one locked!

[wildlycuriouswanderercj]

7/14

today was a hot day

drove the car to work

then came back during lunch

rode the euc to work

came back in the cold windy night

people will try to bring u down

they only can

if u let them

and u just gotta come back with quick things to say

when peopl try to put u down

people only put people dow to make themselvse better

theres a thing of beautiful of individuality

today only talked to janel for like a min

but a min was all it took to make a good convo

today we kinda fought joanna because she bullied vivian

i needa get to know vivian more

shes like the one friend ive had the longest time

and she seems like she really cares

had a short deep talk with enija 

hes going to work for his family

i told him u can choose ur own fate u know

he just nodded and said yeah kinda

but i think he understood my message

u dont have to go u know

u can always choose for urself

dont throw away ur freedom

well i hope he stays lol 

saw him drop some shoes today thought that was kinda funny 

i hope to get to know people more

and recognize people more

more for each individuality 

everybody with their story

everyod is a main chcaracter

and the customers are like passby like bots

like npcs just there for our simulation

but also as ours lessons 

as we are to them

its fun being here

i like to work tomorrow if  could

its realy fun here umm

everyday is like a new chapter

i look forward to the future

[mermaidsirennikita]

Kleypas, Tessa Dare and now Hoyt - where are all my favorite HR writers going!!?? And I know there are a bunch of new ones coming up every month and I've not found anyone equivalent yet!!

I know Tessa Dare is having health/concentration issues that have deeply affected her writing process. She's definitely working on The Bride Bet, but it's taking longer.

The rumor with Elizabeth Hoyt is that she's going through a depressive episode, as she's been open about having them in the past, but I haven't seen any real evidence that she is. I hope she's okay.

Lisa, I honestly think needs a fuckin' break lol. She was on a pretty consistent book a year schedule for a long time. The fact that she dipped right after the Ravenels ended makes me think that it's deliberate, and I hope it is and not a health thing. I'll be honest, as much as I love Lisa, I found that some of the Ravenels books felt a bit forced--even the ones I personally liked. Maybe she's recharging? Or maybe she's retiring. Either way, I'm gonna be honest--I love Lisa and I think she's a QUEEN, but it does irritate me a bit when the historical romance convo is dominated by her. Yes, I get why--she's a gateway drug to many. I went through a period where I read nothing but Lisa Kleypas, but I feel like there needs to be a space for other authors to make their mark?

There are authors like Joanna Shupe, who is truly excellent but gets overlooked because she's not writing Regency/Victorians. Authors like Sarah MacLean, who continuously pushes boundaries; greats like Beverly Jenkins, and so on. But they can't carry on that mantle all by themselves, and the reality is that though good historical authors are being traditionally published, not as many are these days. I check Netgalley like... every day. There aren't a lot of trad debut historical romance authors getting put up there as of late. I think Amita Murray is the only one I've seen from Avon in a whiiiile.

[swynlake-rp]

Bust out the ramen noodles

OTMS

MUN: V! Between Hatter’s big romantic moments and Drakken’s big… feline moments, V’s had us on the edge of our seats this month! And, in the words of one member, “also just vibes.” We agree! CHARACTER: CASS! Props to Cass for opening the Lucky Cat Café and bringing Swynlake real-life boba… in addition to our favorite virtual Boba, of course. We can’t wait to see what fun new plots the café will bring! THREAD: DISPATCH FOR THE MAYOR - PEPA AND HADES! When a thread comes up in the chat every time there’s a reply, that’s when you know it’s bringing the drama! We loved to see Pepa and Hades at their most gossipy.  TASK: Z’S HIRO AND TADASHI AESTHETIC! Members praised this beautiful and artistic tribute to siblings. We’re not crying, you’re crying. (We are crying). Honorable mention: Everyone’s timelines!!! We hope to see more of them :) 

BOARD UPDATES 

PETITIONS PASSED:

ADVANCED FIRST AID CLASSES: Advanced first classes held at Town Hall

HELLO GORGEOUS: A petition to open a salon

TASKS

CLASS OF ‘24: Make a page from your character’s yearbook!This can be their full class line-up, a superlative page (did they win class clown?), or any other yearbook-inspired page!  CAN I ASK YOU A QUESTION?: Answer the Proust Questionnaire… in character! You can either do it in a thread format, where one character asks another the questions (or they both answer!), or fill it out in character! 

EVENTS

MAY 1 - 8: PACIFICA AND OLLIE’S WEDDING: Join Oliver and Pacifica after their I do's for a huge party at Ashbridge House. (Canonically May 3rd)

MAY 12 - 22: THE CLAWTHORNE TOURNAMENT: It’s coming up! Keep eyes posted for more details. 

MAY 22 - 29: PLAY FUNDRAISER: It’s Much Ado About Nothing-themed! At Town Hall. Canonically on May 25

BIRTHDAYS

Characters:

Daisy O'Doogle – May 1

Minnie Muyskens – May 1

Martin Ambrosius – May 1

Beatrice "Trixie" Duval – May 4

Belle Acheron – May 6

Toulouse Bonfamille – May 10

Ting-Ting Qin – May 13

Iandore Lightfoot – May 18

Phillip Knightley – May 21

Cruz Ramirez — May 23

Joanna Vane — May 30

Queen Clarion — May 30

PLOT ROUND-UP! 

GLITTER GALAXY PODCAST - APRIL SHOWERS PIZZA PLANET

Characters and Muns Involved: Georgette Smee, Willow, Bullseye, Boo, and Gem

Plot: Georgette had her first town magic experience. To distract herself from the chaos and internal fear she turned her experience into a viral vlog/podcast. Reaching over 2 million view per video onboard PP Voyager I. Talking with Smee about being a Rocketman and potential girls trips to his Ocean Planet. Willow brought the science element, Boo was a boss babe, Bullseye was the hottie behind the ship security, and Gem was a grumpy engineer. The views helped Georgette get back into social media and planted the idea of a real life podcast in her head.

SLIDE OUT OF MY DMS

Characters and Muns Involved: Georgette and Aquata

Plot: Georgette tweeted to James about his hair which sparked Aquatas jealousy and led to an embarrassing DM exchange. Georgette screenshot the convo. Georgette and Aquata then ran into each other at the gym where Aquata attempted to make peace. Georgette protested and said she was embarrassed and didn’t trust Aquata. Georgette now tempted to notify Hercules of his employees behavior and making her uncomfortable. Georgette will also use this to hold over Aquatas head.

AMY SEVILLE KICKS CANCER’S ASS

Characters and Muns Involved: Milo and Amy

Plot: Amy has been diagnosed with breast cancer, stage 2B, but she's got a treatment plan and support from her family. Well, Pip doesn't know... yet 

HOW TO SAVE A LIFE

Characters and Muns Involved: Isabela, Copper, Annie, Vixey , Félix, Holley, Jonathan and Nico

Plot: cw -- car crash. Isabela witnessed a car accident, driving home late one night from a modeling gig. Copper and the paramedics showed up. Afterwards, Copper took Isabela home. Vixey and Félix were working that night and were part of the intake team for the victims. The accident was written about in the Squire. Isabela and Copper both felt compelled to check on the victims. Jonathan lost his leg in the accident and Nico, his friend, is in a coma due to his injuries.  Annie interviewed Isabela for her part in calling 999 and stopping at the accident site. Isabela was flattered to be interviewed, but she may've forgotten to mention some integral people. Will Nico wake up? Time will tell…

WHAT’S WRONG WITH HUNTER?

Characters and Muns Involved: Hunter, Pip, Phineas, Willow, Eilonwy, Darius

Plot: On March 28, Hunter falls into a deep sleep and does not wake up for three days! His friends discover him. Darius has suspicions that this might connect to an old friend. Eilonwy and Willow urge Hunter to seek magical medical help.

TANYA MOVES ON

Characters and Muns Involved: Tanya, Jessie, Gem, Snow, Penny, Angel, King, Mim, Zero

Plot: Tanya finally decides to move on from her afterlife as a ghost and enlists her friends to contribute to a zine commemorating her relationships with them

[pastlifewitch]

@tresgramosdesoma

Aquel fin de semana fue un caos para William. Podría ser perfectamente los peores días de todo aquel año y eso que tan solo estaban a mitad del susodicho. Desde el viernes hasta el domingo todo le salió mal: se quedó tirado en la carretera y, camino de volver a casa, se quedó sin teléfono móvil. 

William estaba siendo todo un gruñón aquellos días, sobre todo porque no podía comunicarse con Joanna, que era lo que más le importaba en ese momento.

Como si la cosa no fuera ya lo suficientemente inestable, una de sus hermanas le había dejado un mensaje en el contestador del teléfono fijo de su madre, donde se estaba quedando aquellos días para volver a tener una cierta estabilidad en su vida. Su hermana Emily se había caído por las escaleras y se había roto la tibia, por lo que todas las hermanas y su madre estaban de camino al hospital, por lo menos cuando el mensaje se envió.

         —¡Mierda!—dijo, intentando calmar un poco su ira por aquello. Intentó, en vano, revivir su teléfono móvil y no lo consiguió. Pensó que, en ese momento, no era importante, que se compraría uno nuevo de camino al hospital. Y así mismo hizo. Pero las desgracias no iban a cesar. 

Ya en el hospital, tranquilo al ver que la caída no había sido tan grave como pensaba y junto con sus hermanas, pudo respirar tranquilo hasta que sonó su teléfono nuevo. Frunció el ceño al ver que no era un teléfono conocido y simplemente se disculpó para tomar la llamada.

         —William Harrison, ¿Con quién hablo? Oh, Lady Greystoke, ¿Está todo bien?—Sabía que no, porque era la primera vez que escuchaba la voz de aquella señora y parecía bastante preocupada, preguntando si sabía dónde estaba Joanna. Entonces se dio cuenta de que no le avisó de su ausencia y que, tal vez, ella se había preocupado más de la cuenta.—No se preocupe, yo la ayudaré a encontrarla. Todo estará bien, lo siento muchísimo.

Entonces, nada más colgar, un mensaje de su empresa de vigilancia domiciliaria avisó de que alguien había entrado a su apartamento mientras él no estaba ahí. Supo quien era y, entre aliviado y algo preocupado, volvió a entrar a la habitación de su familia para avisar de los acontecimientos. Sus hermanas, que sabían perfectamente todo el drama que había pasado con su hermano pequeño y Joanna gracias a los cotilleos de su madre, no vieron problema en que él fuera corriendo y, en cuanto tuvo la positiva, salió corriendo de allí.

Pidió un taxi y, mientras iba hacia allí, intentó acordarse del número de teléfono de Joanna. 

        —Joder, eres un inútil.—se dijo para sí mismo, para luego ver la reacción del conductor, frunciendo el ceño pensando que era hacia él aquellas palabras y William, tragando saliva, negó con la cabeza.—Usted no, por favor, siga conduciendo.

Al llegar a su apartamento, fue corriendo hacia su puerta, viendo que la ventana que tenía al lado estaba abierta de par en par. Entonces comprendió cómo había entrado ella al apartamento. Nervioso, tardó un segundo más en abrir la cerradura aunque para William fue como una eternidad. 

         —¡¡Joanna!! ¿Joanna? ¿Estás aquí?—preguntó nada más entrar, mirando a todos lados intentando buscarla.

[erythristicbones]

Okay, so there's a small bit of background needed before reading this oc story; essentially JoAnna, the POV, had negligent parents and raised her younger siblings herself. But the parents refused to let her see them after a few years and Jo joined the pirate crew to escape her painful past. This is when she decides to go looking for her siblings again.

[dcrlingw]

Havia combinado de passar a tarde com @ladyjungle​ na biblioteca. Clementine tinha muito  o que fazer para a faculdade nas próximas semanas, agora que o fim de seu curso estava extremamente próximo, e imaginou que ter uma companhia de estudos lhe faria bem naquele dia. Fazia alguns minutos que lia alguns artigos sobre como as lembranças afetivas acerca de um livro ou filme poderiam afetar a forma como cada pessoa interpretava a obra, porém não estava nada concentrada e não conseguia sair da mesma página há algum tempo. "Qual é a primeira lembrança que você tem com livros? Não foi o primeiro livro que li, é claro, mas a primeira memória que eu tenho é de quando ganhei o livro Anne de Green Gables de aniversário de seis ou sete anos. Lembro de ter ficado muito, muito animada."

[sabraeal]

Merry & Bright, Chapter 9

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8

Written for @k-itsmaywriting, who won third place in my 500 follower raffle...two years ago. Listen guys, I have had some REALLY GOOD REASONS for not finishing those yet. Just don’t check.

The thing about being a foster is: everything sucks.

Not that good things don’t happen-- if there’s one thing the system taught him, it’s that life is an endless roller coaster of ups and downs, and you really learn to love the straightaways-- but the scale changes. Other kids would get cars for their birthday, or they’d get to study abroad a semester, but Obi--

Obi had the bedroom catty-corner to bathroom.

For a kid who hadn’t been in a house with less than five kids and more than one full bath for close to a decade, the location had been choice. Prime real estate. The number of mornings he’d lain in wait, never moving from the warm cocoon of his covers until Toddy’s lumbering shuffle scuffled down at the end of the hall, just to dash across and snipe the first shower-- that would be all of them.

But tonight-- god, tonight--

Obi braces his hand against the wall, watching water whirl down the drain. It’s the safest place to look; once glance up and he’ll be contending with the mirror. Not that the mirror is the problem, oh no. It’s what’s in it that’ll make him crack his head on the tile.

His room is catty-corner to the bathroom, which means the second he looks up he sees her.

It’s fine. It’s fine. Doc’s passed out on every bed he’s slept in since he’s known her. There were entire weeks he wasn’t sure she even knew she had her own room in the frat; if they tallied up the nights she spent in her bed versus the ones she spent in his, he suspects his doubts would not be unfounded.

This shouldn’t be any different. It’s just one more place he’s slept, and one more that she’s shared. It’s just Doc, wearing only one of her too-large conference T-shirts, sprawled out on his bed.

And he saw parts of her. Parts he doesn’t usually see. A bare back, a hint of more thigh, the briefest, barest glimpse of a curve of a breast--

He scrubs a hand down his face, stubble rasping against his palm. It shouldn’t be different but it is-- he might be used to her wearing shorts and a tee and baring a mile of leg at home, but seeing it against the unrelenting black of his high school comforter is something else entirely. Like something right out of his weirdest wet dream.

And this isn’t a natural occurrence; an unplanned side effect of her being the size of the Energizer Buddy with a battery life half as long. This is planned. They are choosing to be in bed together. Because he’s too much of a fuck up to have a real girlfriend to bring home, and Doc’s too nice to ruin it for him.

Obi pulls himself upright, dropping his toothbrush back into its holder. He made this bed, and now it’s time to lay in it. Literally.

Doc doesn’t look up when he pads back into the room. Doesn’t jump when he shuts the door behind him. Doesn’t say anything as he wends around the bed, trying to adjust his angle of approach. Just stares up at the ceiling, jaw clenched, brow furrowed.

He flicks off the light, and it’s not until the mattress dips beneath him that he hears her sigh. Not a nice, oh Obi let’s cuddle sigh, but a I’m pissed you haven’t put my clues together, Blue.

“Something wrong?” he ventures, not even bothering to cover himself. If she’s going to kick him out of bed, he’s not going to waste time getting cozy first.

Doc huffs, rolling to face him. “I thought we talked about this.”

He launches himself upright, swinging his legs off the bed. “You’re right. I’ll go find Gayle. I’m sure she can scrounge up another--”

“No!” Her fingers band around his bicep, gentling guiding him back down. She squiggles closer when he’s settled, knees poking into his thigh. “I didn’t mean any of, um, this. I meant with Ryuu.”

He stares at her, blank.

“You know what it’s like when you don’t feel the same as everyone else.” Her hand unlatches, palm running soothingly over his arm. “We don’t know what he likes yet.”

He thinks about the poor kid, about the number for cute skater girls-- and skater boys-- who have bounced right off the impenetrable shell of his hyperfocus. “He probably doesn’t even know what he likes yet.”

“Exactly.” Her knees knock against him, excited. “And we need to leave space for whatever he finds. We need to do better for him than what was done for us.”

He hums, stilling her hand with his. “We are, Doc.”

“Then you shouldn’t tease him about girls when--”

“Doc.” He has to bite his cheek not to laugh. “I know this isn’t really what you’re used to when it comes to the high school experience but--” he can’t help himself, he grins-- “he was not talking about a girl very loudly.”

Her chin drops, right against his arm. “Oh. Oh. Are you--?”

“Please,” he drawls, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “I’m a connoisseur of not talking about girls and boys. And that...that was not talking about a girl.”

“Huh.” Her head rolls back along his arm, hair tickling his elbow. “Who do you think it is?”

“Oh, now who’s not giving him space?” He squeezes her close, playful. “What happened to waiting until he was ready to talk to us?”

“I’m not asking him.” Her nose nuzzles into his side. “I’m asking you.”

Obi presses a had to his chest, affronted. “You’re asking me to betray a confidence? I’m shocked, utterly shocked.”

“No, I didn’t mean--”

He squeezes her again, letting her words fizzle out before he says, “I’d tell you if I knew, Doc, but I don’t. We’ll just have to pump Kirito for all the juicy goss when we get back.”

“No, no, we don’t need to do that,” she says. “I’ll just text Shidan--”

“Oh, come on,” Obi laughs. “Aren’t you the one who always thinks information is better given than taken or whatever?”

Doc whines, squirming against him in a way that makes him think less about Ryuu’s situation and more about his own. “I just want to know if she’s nice or if she’ll hurt his feelings, or--”

He holds up his hand, stoppering up the flood of anxiety. “Leave it. A boy his age needs some secrets.”

Her eyes shine up at him in the dark, and feels rather than sees her lips cant against his shoulder. “Oh? And what sort of secrets do you have at fifteen?”

Obi stiffens. Not just a quick flinch; oh no, he’s got to full on embarrass himself with a full-body tetanus, teeth gritting down with a clack.

I was fourteen and it was more than kissing.

Doc’s head jolts up, eyes wide. “Oh! Obi, I’m so-- I didn’t even think--”

“It’s fine,” he lies. “I don’t think Ryuu will have any of those.”

He’s made sure he hasn’t. There wasn’t any Orphan Club to look out for him when he was a kid, but Obi will be damned if Ryuu goes through any of the stuff he had to. Sure, he’s not a foster, and yeah, his parents are technically alive, even if they communicate with him solely through his bank balance but still-- that’s not parenting. If he can’t count the number of times they’ve called Shidan to make sure he isn’t some child-murdering pedophile, it’s because it’s impossible to count lower than zero.

Silence stretches over them, thick and itchy as wool blanket. This is the worst part of having a tragic childhood. Sure, all the shit that happened to him as a kid was, well, shitty, but it’s in the past, something he can stuff in his mental closet-- even if that psych in Wistal frowned when he mentioned it-- and forget about until it surfaces uncontrollably at the worst fucking time. But this, this--

It’s worse. Having people who love him and respect him suddenly pull away like he’s made of glass, like he’ll break if they so much as breathe on him-- it sucks. Whoever wrote fear is the mind killer never had a sucky enough childhood to cause an awkward silence, and it showed.

Obi nearly jumps out of his skin when an arm slaps across him, followed by at least half of Doc’s body weight. A leg hooks around his, tugging her flush against his side.

“I know.” The words are muffled by his chest. “He has us.”

The quiet takes on a different texture now. It’s not the sound of not knowing what to say, but of nothing more needing saying; the subtle satisfaction of knowing and being know in return. It’s comfortable, warm, like the way her body relaxes into his, the safest space he’s ever known.

Obi’s nearly asleep when she tenses, when she asks, “What happened to Shannon?”

It was a mistake to leave her alone with Kelly Ann. His mind is a steel trap, but the timeline of his sexual history was what Yuzuri would deem a hot mess. Most of it wasn’t performed fully sober either. But Kelly Ann...

Kelly Ann never forgets a single fuck up. Probably takes them out and shines them every once and a while with a smile on her face.

His brain races through his list of high school flings but comes up short. “Shannon?”

“Her picture is up on the mantle,” she murmurs softly, almost shy. “Laila said she was an-- an angel.”

His heart plummets into his stomach. File this under ‘things he should have explained before they left.’ “Oh, Shannon.”

It’s an effort to lie still, to just breathe. “She’s Bob and Gayle’s daughter.”

“I got that.” Doc nuzzles her head into his shoulder, kneading at his pecs like they’re particularly stubborn pillows. “She died.”

His breath sighs out of him. “Yeah, a long time ago. Before either of us were born.”

That’s not enough information, not to survive Christmas, but he can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t his story to tell. He’s a few years and a heap of paperwork short on being enough of one of them to talk about it. Still, short of just telling Doc to ask around, he’s the only one who can.

“She had...I don’t know, some lung disease.” He’d shrug his shoulders if she wasn’t using them as a pillow. He settles for squeezing her instead, enjoying the steady tap of her heart against his ribs. “No one really talks about it, but I guess it was long and slow. She was a teenager when she died.”

Doc lays silent for a long moment. “There wasn’t anything...?”

“It was the eighties,” he explains, “and from what I’ve picked up, the life expectancy today isn’t much brighter. Like...twenties or something.”

“Gosh, that’s...awful.” Her nails scrape over his chest, tucking into her palm. “But she was their-- there weren’t any, um....?

“She was born with it.” He can’t imagine that, knowing from the start there was nothing to do but wait, that you’d have only a handful of years before they’d be gone. “They said it’d be a miracle if she lived to see twenty. Gayle gave up her job to take care of her, you know, doing the medical stuff she needed to stay alive. They just...wanted as much time with her as they could get, and any other kid born into that, well...”

“It wouldn’t be fair,” she says, pained. “How could you explain to another child that you weren’t playing favorites, but that their sister was going to--” she shakes her head, and something wet settles on his skin-- “I get it.”

He wishes there was an easy way to make things better, a way to wrap this whole awkward shit sundae up with a bow or whatever, but...there isn’t. There’s no heartwarming but she’s the reason they saved me, because he up and bolted before they could. He’s got a big fucker of a scar across his chest to prove that all their goodness never changed him, at least not enough to matter.

“What about Lori?” Doc asks, because tonight’s the night for picking at scabs, it seems. “Laila called her an angel too.”

“That was their first foster.” He only barely knows this story, told to him by Kelly Ann almost a decade ago in the hushest of tones, and only to inform him how bad he fucked up. “She was Shannon’s roommate I guess, toward the, um...end. Mom died of some cancer and she became a ward of the state, and Bob and Gayle...”

“Did what they did best,” she offers, so sincere it hurts.

“Yeah.” His throat aches. “That.”

Her fingers slip between his. He thinks she might say something, might ask for more history he hardly knows and doesn’t own, but instead she squeezes his hand, stilling against him, breath easing into a lull.

“Goodnight, Obi,” she murmurs, sleep thick in her voice.

“Yeah,” he sighs. “Goodnight.”

It’s not the first time Shirayuki’s awoken with a shiver, a warm breath tickling her neck and something far lower poking into her back. But it is the first time since-- since that night, and what had seemed so innocent, just a healthy reaction to sleep and proximity to a warm body, feels very different now.

His mouth lays slack against her skin, breath puffing hotly across the sensitive hairs of her nape. The heat there is only rivaled by the one trembling beneath the palm on her belly, a slow roil that sets her blood to a tantalizing simmer. They hadn’t fallen asleep like this-- she’s been so careful to arrange herself so she’d do little move than roll into the levee of his chest-- but somehow she’s the little spoon again, and, by the feel of it, someone’s ready to fork.

He grunts, hips shifting and hand tucking her close. What had been a mere hint through dress slacks in a hallway is now-- haah-- a full investigation against her back. And it’s, ah, definitely not a small one. Many, many lines of inquiry.

Shirayuki groans, burying her face in the pillow. It’s her. She’s the one ready to fork. And Obi’s just--

“I hope we’re all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning.” Gayle sweeps into the room, ruthlessly flicking on the light. “Got a whole lot to do and not a lot of time to do it in.”

Obi jolts, the whole length of his erection pressing hard against her ass, she-- she yelps. Just a little.

“Five more minutes,” he groans, hand flexing against her stomach, fingers brushing down to where her T-shirt has ridden up and--

And he stills, like he’s been caught snatching snickerdoodles off the tray.

“None of that business, mister.” Gayle bustles in, pulling on one of his shades until it snaps up, perfectly hung in the window. “If I let you alone now, all I’ll get is the same trouble when I come back.”

“R-really.” He’s definitely more awake, but his voice cracks. “Just-- a minute. I’ll, um, get right up.”

He wriggles behind her, like he can’t decide whether it’s safer to edge away or hide in her, and she realizes-- he’s hard. He’s hard, and his mom is right there, squinting down at him like she’s trying to pick the lock on his diary.

Shirayuki reaches back, palm resting on his hip, and he stills. “Don’t worry, Gayle,” she chirps brightly, “I know how to get him up.”

Gayle turns to her, eyes wide, and Obi’s forehead bonks into her shoulder. “Oh, honey,” she says, grin lighting up her face. “I just bet you do.”

Obi honks like a dying goose into her shoulder blade. “She didn’t mean--”

“Breakfast should be up in fifteen minutes.” Gayle approaches the hall with a buoyant step. “I won’t send up a search party if you’re late.”

With a wink, she shuts the door firmly. Obi flops onto his back with a groan.

“What?” She blinks. “Do you really need five more minutes?”

His head rolls toward her, eyes fixed on her with a sullen glare. “You know how to get me up, huh?”

“Wh--oh,” she yelps, clapping her hands over her mouth. “I didn’t-- you don’t think she--?”

“Oh, she definitely did.” He rolls over, face-first into his pillow.

Shirayuki blinks. “Aren’t you going to get up?”

“Uh-uh,” he murmurs, hugging his pillow tight. “If she thinks we’re having the world’s best good morning, I have at least twenty minutes to spare.”

“Come on now, keep up,” Gayle chides, hounding their heels into Harris Teeter the way corgis do to toddlers. “We’ve got a late start--” she eyes them both with an expression that couldn’t be mistaken for anything but smug-- “but I think we can still come out on top.”

“It’s six am,” Shirayuki murmurs, leaning into Obi. “Does she know it’s six am?”

“Oh, she definitely does,” he confirms with the tiredest dog-eyed look he can muster this early. “We’re running on Christmas Time.”

Her jaw hangs slack, turning into a yawn. “Christmas time?”

“We need to make cookies,” Gayle informs her, abandoning the carriage for a deep dive into the sprinkle section.

“Oh.” Shirayuki stares after her, lost. “I didn’t realize this was serious.”

“Cookies are very serious business,” Obi confirms, heaving a sigh as Gayle holds two frosting tins up to the light. “I don’t know who she thinks she’s fooling. She’s just going to make her own. Here--” he reaches in front of her, hooking his hand around the flashy red handle-- “let me grab the buggy--”

“The what?”

He blinks, eyes as clear as amber. “The cart?”

“That’s not what you said,” she insists. “You said-- what did you call it--?”

“Same difference.”

“It is not.”

“It’s a regional thing.” He shrugs, shoulders hovering up around his ears. He’s not an blusher, but she could swear she sees some pink lingering at the tips of his ears. “Don’t worry about it.”

“I wouldn’t,” she informs him primly. “Except we’ve been going to the store for years now, and I’ve never heard you say that word in your life--”

An unbelievable amount of sprinkles clatters into the cart. “Well,” Gayle says, mouth wide. “That should be enough for the cookies.”

Obi frowns, picking up a thirty ounce jar of nonpareils. “Enough for an army of them.”

Shirayuki grins, poking him until he squeaks. “So just about enough to fill one of your stomachs.”

“Hey.” He presses a hand to his chest, lifting his chin regally. “It would be at least one and a half.”

Gayle huffs out a laugh. “You two are going to make such cute kids. Look at you, just flirting right in the middle of Baking Needs.”

Shirayuki flushes red hot, hem to hairline. “No! We’re not--”

“C’mon then.” Gayle turns on her heel, heading to the back of the store. “We’ll have to get enough for dinner too. Gonna need it after all that cookie making.”

Shirayuki glances down into the cart. “There’s more people coming, right?” she murmurs, only just holding back a helpless whine. “We’re not just making...all of these ourselves.”

“Don’t worry, Doc.” He slings an arm around her shoulders, side pressing warmly into hers. “I’ll help you.”

“Mm,” she hums, dubious. “Eat them, maybe.”

“There won’t be none of that,” Gayle calls back, inspecting a package of ground beef. “Bob need your help downstairs.”

“Aw, no,” Obi groans, shoulders slumping. “Not--”

“You bet your buttons, mister.” She drops a pair of four-pounders right into the cart. “It’s time to put up the Christmas Village.”