Published: November 2025, Pattern Recognition

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“I’m double-knotting the rope around my waist when Kendra struts out of our bedroom in my oldest Nirvana shirt. The tattered gray hem barely covers her thighs, thin fishnets crisscrossing down her calves, new matte black Doc Martens, her hair the color of cotton candy.

‘Lock up your guns,’ I say, grinning. ‘Courtney Love on the loose.’”

 

There scariest thing that happens at this Halloween party involves a dead cheerleader, a monk, and Courtney Love.

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Spoilers!

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This story follows a toxic couple as they try to forgive each other for the past. I wanted to show a relationship full of pure intentions that just won’t work. This couple has a volatile history full of cheating and abuse, but neither knows how to let go.

 

But they put on brave faces and get dressed up for a Halloween party – I swear, I look for any excuse to get Nirvana into a story. She’s dressed as Courtney Love and he’s dressed as a monk, which is pretty heavy on symbolism. Although he’s hurt her in the past, he’s determined to change his ways, relies on anger management techniques he’s learned.  

 

This story explores how he got to that point, and where his partner lands on the forgiveness scale. She doesn’t pick Courtney Love for no reason. She has a hard time deciding if she even wants to forgive him, because isn’t it like that? Sometimes you can love someone and know the resentment will only grow and you have a decision to make. Our girl finally choses at the end of the story … dramatically, of course.

 

Big thanks to Pattern Recognition for picking this up!