#I want more of Susan realizing how she needs to step up after season four

[m-owo-n]

.

[bwayfan25]

ER Appreciation Week Day 5: Favorite Mini-Arc

Kerry was adopted.

This is different from “Kerry searching for her birth mother.” I would have been more of a fan of that if 1) they’d fleshed out Kerry’s backstory more (*cough, cough* told us about her parents in a meaningful way) and 2) finding her birth mother did not cause the problems it did. I’m talking about the thing with Chen at the beginning of s8 as well as how the arc ended.

I am a firm believer that this arc had a lot of untapped potential. From a character perspective, it really explained a good deal of her personality and revealed a little bit more about her thought process and narrative lens. However, there was not enough substantive backstory added to really reach its full potential. Not to mention it took six seasons to finally come to fruition. Between when it was revealed in s5 to when she found her birth mother in s11, the audience pretty much forgot about it. (I know I did.)

And while I focus discussion of Kerry’s parents in my AUs where Kerry and Susan end up together, I think it really would have bolstered canon too. Even if we never met the characters of her parents, it could add a level of depth to Kerry as a character to know more about who she is and where she came from.

It’s likely no surprise given that I am a fan of this, as it was a big factor in my two complete re-writes of ER, but I never miss an opportunity to talk about missed opportunities.

***

Susan was just about to take a seat on the couch opposite where Mildred sat reading when she realized they weren’t alone.

Kerry lay curled on the couch with her head on Mildred’s lap, fast asleep. Mildred absently stroked her daughter’s hair with one hand while she held her book open with the other.

“Oh, sorry,” Susan whispered as she took a step back. “I didn’t realize-”

“Oh, it’s alright,” Mildred said at a volume far closer to a normal speaking level. “You won’t wake her up.”

Susan still looked pensive, but Mildred just waved her on.

“It’s… I’ve gotta say, it’s kind of… weird. To see her like that,” Susan remarked quietly as she sat down. “I think I speak for all of us at work when I say she does not strike us as a very cuddly person.”

“Ah. Well, that’s at work. We’re at home,” Mildred pointed out. Then, she gave a shrug of acknowledgement. “Though, I’ll admit that I thought she grew out of it a long time ago. But when I moved in here, she started doing it again. Particularly on nights where a certain someone is over at her dad’s house.”

Susan smiled slightly though she was still a bit thrown by seeing Kerry Weaver taking a nap on the couch cuddled next to her mother (let alone the implications that she sought this out on nights where her own daughter was not around to cuddle with her).

Mildred was about to turn back to her book when she noticed the look on Susan’s face. Her brow rose in question.

“Yes, dear?” she asked at Susan’s look of consternation.

Susan opened her mouth to reply and then closed it. She paused a moment, gathering her thoughts, before trying again.

“I wanted to ask you something.”

Mildred tucked a scrap piece of paper into her book to mark her place before setting it on the table next to her. She then looked back at Susan expectantly.

“When did you… tell her?” Susan asked slowly. “I mean, I know you said it was never a secret, but you would have had to tell her at some point. How old was she? And… And why didn’t you keep it a secret? Or, I guess, try to keep it a secret.”

Mildred heaved a sigh.

“Well, for one thing, I was forty-six years old when she was born. And while I have heard, let’s say, horror stories of that kind of thing happening to a woman at that age, I knew it would have been harder to explain that once she was old enough to understand where babies came from.

“And, of course, it’s not just you that has to keep the secret. We had friends and family - our entire church even - praying for us. If we’d kept it a secret, they’d have had to keep it a secret, too.

“But, honestly, what it came down to was that we wanted her to know how much we wanted her. That… That, so what, if we weren’t her biological parents? We waited for her and prayed for her and loved her no matter what. And if we kept it a secret that she’d been adopted, we’d have missed out on the opportunity to tell her all that and have that meaning behind it.”

Susan nodded.

“How old was she when you first told her? When did she first understand?”

Mildred chuckled.

“Well, the first time I told her and the first time she understood were different,” she said with a loving glance down at Kerry. “I think the first time I told her, she was… We were living in Kenya at that time, which was ‘65-’67, so...oh, she had to have been about four or five. Just about Annie’s age, really.

“I got distracted with some work and she’d wandered off to play. And when I finally went looking for her to bring her home for dinner, I found her with a few other kids, all watching something from the path. And when I got closer, I realized that they were all watching a group of women helping another woman… give birth.”

Mildred couldn’t help but laugh as Susan’s eyebrows rose.

“Neither of us brought anything up until I was putting her to bed that night. And she asked, ‘Momma, did you do that with me?’ And I told her very calmly that no, I didn’t and explained that Momma and Daddy couldn’t have babies of their own.

“I told her we prayed every day for God to give us a baby, and at the same time, there was a family somewhere that was going to have a baby but couldn’t take care of it. They were praying for a family that could raise the baby and give it all that it deserved. And God heard both prayers as He does, and made it so that baby could come and live with us.

“She took a moment to think about that and then just nodded once and said ‘Good.’ Very confidently. You know the way she does that? Well, she did that then, too. And I remember being a bit relieved. And I said, ‘I’m glad you think it’s good. Daddy and I think it’s very good, too.’

“And then, she said - and I’ll never forget it - she said, ‘Yeah. It’s good you didn’t do that, because that was yucky.’”

Mildred and Susan both chuckled at the idea (Mildred of five-year-old Kerry, Susan of five-year-old Annie) informing them in no uncertain terms that adoption was clearly the preferable option as it saved them from the yuckiness of childbirth.

As their laughter died down, Mildred resumed her stroking of Kerry’s hair. Susan watched her for a moment, thinking of the way Mildred looked down at her daughter with such love and pride even knowing that they did not share the blood and DNA that usually contributed to such relationships.

“Can I ask you one other question?” she said after a moment.

“Of course, dear. You can ask me anything,” Mildred replied simply.

“Have you ever…” Susan took a deep breath, finding the question harder to ask than she thought. “Have you ever felt like she wasn’t yours?”

Mildred looked at her for a moment and then back down to Kerry.

She shook her head.

“No. Not even once,” she answered quietly as she stroked Kerry’s cheek with a gentle finger. “And that could be because we’ve had her since she was about a week old, so we’re the only parents she’s ever known. But I don’t even think it’s that. Because I’ve felt that since the very first time I held her. I just knew that this was my baby girl and there was nothing God or anybody could do to take that away from me.”

Mildred sighed deeply and then glanced up at Susan. She raised an eyebrow.

“Are you concerned you won’t feel that with Suzie?”

She could tell the answer by Susan’s hesitation alone, but still waited for the young woman to answer.

“A little bit,” Susan admitted. “It’s just… I mean, I was there when she was born, but she’s always been my sister’s daughter. And I know it’s too early to think that… that Chloe really won’t come back and I can go through with the adoption… I just worry that trying to… that trying to not get my hopes up will keep me from feeling that with her. If I am actually able to go through with it, that is.”

Mildred nodded knowingly.

“I don’t think you will need to worry about that, dear. The connection comes from pouring love into a child, which is what you are doing now and have likely been doing since she was born,” she assured Susan in as gentle a voice as she’d use with her own daughter or granddaughter. “One thing I learned early on was that people always tell you that you will love your children, but what they don’t tell you is how much you will fall in love with them.

“Children are like storybooks, but one where you get to help them fill in the blank pages. You help hold the pen or the paintbrush, getting the chance to help create the story just as much as you get to watch it unfold.”

Susan smiled slightly as she took in Mildred’s words.

From the baby monitor on the table next to Mildred came the sound of a squeak and then a cry. Immediately, Susan rose from the couch and turned for the hallway. But as soon as she did so, she paused and looked back at Mildred.

“I think I know what you mean.”

Mildred smiled and winked before Susan started on to fetch Suzie from her nap.

The older woman watched her go for a moment before heaving another sigh and picking up her book. As she did so, Kerry shifted in her sleep.

Mildred looked down at her as Kerry opened her eyes slightly, still half-asleep.

“Momma?” she mumbled, lifting her head just a bit.

“Yes, dear?” Mildred asked softly as she stroked Kerry’s hair.

But Kerry just laid her head back down and closed her eyes again. She shifted again, adjusting her head on Mildred’s lap.

“Momma,” she said, exhaling the word like a comfortable sigh.

Mildred smiled softly.

“Yes, dear.”

[splat-dragon]

Run boy run ~Run Boy Run, Woodkid

Whumptober 2020, #5: Where Do You Think You're Going?: "On The Run" Whumptober 2020, #16: Such Wow. Many Normal. Very Oops: "Hunting Season" Whumptober 2020, #28: A Terrible, Horrible, No Good Very Bad Day: "Hallucinations"

And then he was being cut loose.

‘What?’

and that didn’t bode well for him.

Colm grinned, patted his shoulder again before shoving him forward, “You’ve got five minutes Arthur, I’d get goin’.”

@whumptober2020

Colm had visited him eight times when something changed.

 He hadn’t any way to measure time in the basement. There were no windows, no light sources to judge day and night. They didn’t bring him food, and his stomach screamed - sometimes Colm had food, sometimes he didn’t, and when he did he’d force some of it down Arthur’s throat.

 So he counted time in ‘visits from Colm’. His shoulder started to burn after three ‘visits from Colm’. He stopped seeing the grey haired bastard after four ‘visits from Colm’.

 Everything changed on the ninth ‘visit from Colm’.

They cut him down, laughing when he hit the ground and couldn’t stand, hauling him to his feet and dragging him up the stairs that had been so close, taunting him for every one of those visits from Colm, the light at the top blinding him.

 He hadn’t realized just how much he had missed the sun, missed fresh air, even the smell of horse shit in the air, until that moment. He wasn’t able to enjoy it though, as he was thrown to his knees at Colm’s feet, the man’s face twisted into incandescent rage. “Where are they, Arthur Morgan?”

 a boot flicked out, slamming into his stomach, and he bent double,

 “Not here. They were supposed to come, remember? Come to save you. But no. They didn’t, and old Dutch ruined everything. I had a plan, Morgan. Milton… you don’t know the trouble you’ve caused me..”

 “I’m so sorry,” he gasped once he’d managed to catch his breath, though managed to make it sound more like ‘well fuck you,’ more than a bit alarmed when he was dragged up onto his feet.

“Now,” he smacked him on the back like they were old drinking buddies, “you have to understand Arthur, my boys are furious with you. We were gonna use that money to get outta here. And now… well, now we’re gonna have t’ run,” his hand came up, pinched his cheek like a little child, “and they’re mad at you for… well, everythin’. You’ve taken friends from them. Brothers. Can you blame ‘em?”

 And then he was being cut loose.

  ‘What?’

 and that didn’t bode well for him.

 Colm grinned, patted his shoulder again before shoving him forward, “You’ve got five minutes Arthur, I’d get goin’.”

Arthur wasn’t entirely sure what was going on, but he booked it.

 Colm’s word held as much weight as a soaked piece of paper, and if he gave him the full five minutes he’d eat his hat.

God, he hurt but he wanted to get as far away as he could. Each step sent agony thrumming through his body, his heartbeat rattling through his bones. His shoulder screamed and oh god just cut it off he wanted to clutch at it and curl up and scream and scream and scream but he needed to get as far away as quickly as he could, and were those eyes in the bushes? A person behind that tree? But no, he staggered passed and it was just an oddly shaped shadow, god he was losing his mind.

 He spun - Colm? - but no, just a clump of horse hair caught on a branch - and he staggered down the hill, struggling to keep his balance, finally losing it and falling, tumbling ass over head and ending up laying on his back in the bank of a river.

  ‘Shiit.’

There was whooping and damn Colm there was no way he’d gotten the whole five minutes, he wanted nothing more than to lay in the water and die, let it wash over his wound and try to wash out some of the infection he could feel eating away at him even then, but he dreaded what would happen if he were to be caught, could already feel their boots slamming into his ribs, their knives digging into his flesh, their cigarettes sizzling against his skin.

 He tried to stand, got to his knees; his elbows buckled and he collapsed to his stomach, choked and inhaled the water, tried to cough it out but each attempt at a breath only brought in more until he finally managed to sit back on his heels, shoulder screaming at the motion, retching and vomiting up a stomachful of pink-tinged water.

“There he is!”

 Shit! He scrambled to his feet, vision going white, and ran blind across the stream.

 Bark exploded besides his head as he cleared the treeline.

‘Where am I?’

 He had the vaguest idea of where he was - that bridge had looked familiar, and from what little he remembered of being dragged along by Colm’s men they couldn’t have moved him too far, but he was well and truly turned around.

 Arthur froze - footsteps were growing near, how had someone snuck up on him? He stepped back, fumbled around, managed to grasp a branch in his hand and brandished it like Jack would in play - 

 and a buck stepped out in front of him. It seemed thoroughly unthreatened, eyeing him almost as though bored, giving a low grunt before plodding passed.

 Even still, the shadows that it had walked out of danced, rippled, and he’d swear there was Colm - no, Dougal, no, the grey haired bastard - just out of sight.

 He picked a direction and, not dropping the stick, staggered on.

Arthur found a road.

 The sign pointed VALENTINE in one direction, and he oriented himself. There, he had to go that way to get to the Oilfields, right? They hadn’t taken him very far at all, though he hurt from walking so far while hurt, his legs felt as lead and his blood felt like sludge. His shoulder screamed, the pain worsening with each beat of his heart, and each step rattled agony throughout his body.

  ‘Make it stop. Make it stop. Make it stop.’

 Hoofbeats thudded loudly and he didn’t stop to look, didn’t wait to see if, maybe, they were someone willing to help, before breaking into a sprint for the treeline.

“Morgan!”

  “There he is!”

  “Get ‘em!”

 Whooping broke out behind him, loud and howling and he’d have sworn there were hounds on his heels if he hadn’t known there were O’Driscolls after him instead (but really, was there much of a difference?) and he cursed a blue-streak, looking back over his shoulders; the grey-haired bastard was bearing down on him on some horse fit to chase an escapee of hell - 

 a breeze ruffled the tree branches, moonlight broke the shadows, and a mossy tree waved amiably at him.

They got close - too close - more times than he could count; a lasso thudded to the ground at his feet more than once, and he lost count of the bullets that thudded into the dirt and the trees around him. Horses screamed after him, and his wounds screamed as he scrambled up and down every hill and ledge he could find, trying to throw them off. He hobbled, no longer able to run, wanting nothing more than to sprint straight for the path that led into camp that he knew was nearby but it had been ingrained in him since he was young to never lead anyone back to camp no matter what so he kept going, kept trying to get just that little bit of breathing room.

And then it was there.

 A pair of trees that curved naturally, making a fancy arch over a path that led into their camp.

 He didn’t dare run through the path. Didn’t dare risk giving them away more than he already was. But the camp was set back along the shore, deep inside a copse of trees. If he could just get into the trees then he could be home, he could be safe, and he wouldn’t have to hurt anymore.

 And god, but did he hurt. He could hardly breathe for it, for the agony that raged through him. He couldn’t tell where his wrenched ankle started and where his shot shoulder ended, where he’d been cigarette-burned and where he hadn’t been - he felt like one giant wound.

  “...the stew, Pearson?”

 but he could hear them, he could hear Susan, and oh god he was almost home. She was like a mother to him - to many of them, though they’d never admit it - she’d helped raise him for nearly twenty years, had taught him to tie a tie and how to wash behind his ears, had yanked the blade from Dutch’s hands and taught him how to shave proper. He could already feel her fussing over him, getting on him for being fool enough to run around as beat up as he was.

 He staggered towards them - he was so close - and a voice called out 

  “Who goes there?”

 and he tried, he did, tried to summon his voice to call out ‘it’s Arthur!’ but he was all screamed out, his voice had long given out and he was so thirsty even if he hadn’t said a word the whole time he didn’t think he could have, his tongue was dry as sand.

Arthur took a step, wanted to get their attention - who was that, Charles? Bill? - and a lasso cinched tight around his leg and took him to the ground.

“I’ve got Morgan!”

 A knife dug deep into his throat.

  “There it is!”

 As the knife cut across his throat, gunfire exploded in the air.

[verai-marcel]

Breaking Habits (RDR2 Fanfic, Charles x Vet!Reader, Prisoner AU, 18+)

Summary: Charles and you have been wanting to do a camping trip for a while, but work always seems to get in your way. Finally, your boss insists that you take the four day weekend, and Charles tells you not to check your email. When he finds you sneaking away on your phone, how will he punish you? Because you know you’ve been bad.

Author’s Notes: WORK LIFE BALANCE, DAMMIT. *gets off soapbox* Also, this is Part 11 (can you believe it!?) of the Corrections series, AKA Prisoner AU. To my new followers, you could technically read this on its own, but there’s been some relationship progression throughout the series, so I highly recommend starting from the beginning; it’s the first series listed on my Masterlist.

Tags: D/s, rough sex, spanking, ball gag, mild bondage, overstimulation, aftercare

AO3 link is here, wildcat.

--------------------

You had been working 16 hour shifts for three days straight, and as strong as you were, the physical toll wasn't as bad as the emotional drain. You had to put down two cats and one dog, and each time, the owners would cry and hold their pet until the very end. You knew it was better to release them from their misery, but you felt so much sympathy for the humans left behind. 

"You've done a really great job," your manager said softly as you packed up for the night. "Go enjoy your vacation, you've earned it."

"Thank you Susan," you said as you got up and picked up your purse, about to hit the shut down command on your computer. You heard a ding go off on your work email, and started to sit back down.

“Nope,” Susan said, reaching over you to take the mouse from your hand. She shut down your computer. “It’ll be there when you get back. Go take a break. We got you covered, honey.”

You smiled, feeling relieved and more tired than you realized. “Thank you,” you said again as you got up and finally left the building.

***

You stood in front of your apartment, feeling overwhelmed by all the packing you needed to do for your camping trip in the desert, and hesitated in opening the door.

To your surprise, the door opened on its own.

“Wildcat?” Charles asked with a hint of concern when he saw you. Glancing past him to the living room, you saw two camping backpacks, ready to go. 

“I’ve packed everything we need,” he said to your unasked question. “Do you want to check your bag, make sure I got everything for you?”

You stepped inside, hugged Charles tight, and cried.

He gently picked you up with one muscular arm and closed the front door. Carrying you to the bed, he held you close and rocked you, humming softly as you let out the stress and tiredness of this past week. Charles was patient with you, not trying to cheer you up; he just let you drain your negative emotions away with a good cry.  

After some time, you took a deep breath, feeling much better. He let you get up and wash your face, then patted his knee as you came back into the room. Taking the silent invitation, you sat in his lap and leaned your head against his shoulder.

“Feel better?”

“Yeah, thank you.”

He nodded and kissed your forehead. “You’ve been working hard. Much harder than you should.”

You opened your mouth to argue, but he gently placed a finger on your lips. 

“I know. But if you don’t take care of yourself, you’ll be too tired to take care of others to the best of your ability.”

You knew he was right.

He took your chin in his fingers. “Understand?” His tone brooked no argument.

“Yeah, I understand.”

He kissed your cheek. “Good. Now, go take a shower. I’ll make dinner.”

***

After a scrumptious dinner of rosemary chicken and chickpea salad, he cleaned the dishes while you checked your bag. He had packed everything immaculately; you were thoroughly impressed. Most of your past boyfriends and flings had zero interest in camping, so you had very little experience with it. The most wilderness you had experienced was a day hike at a nearby state park, or the one time you went glamping with your ex. 

When Charles had mentioned camping for a couple of nights in the desert, you had cringed at first. But he described the experience to you, what he had done in the past, and you were intrigued. And you trusted Charles to take care of you. He even said that if you didn’t like it after the first night, he’d take you home and the two of you could have a little staycation instead.

Now, seeing his preparations, you were excited. You had Googled pictures of the sky at night in the desert, so you were looking forward to seeing the stars with no light pollution.

“I have one rule for you.” His tone was serious, which made your back go straighter on instinct.

“What is it?”

“No email.”

You bit your lip. He had noticed your compulsion to checking your work email. He had chastised you often enough during dinner, had tied you up and spanked you if you continued, and one time, had denied your orgasm for two days because you couldn’t stop sending responses.

You knew you needed to place a hard line between work and off time. But it was so hard with your phone tied to your work email, so you couldn’t help yourself. You wanted to help people, wanted to answer their questions.

But you were so damn tired. It was draining you, and Charles saw that. He was helping you. But sometimes you snapped at him and felt bad immediately afterwards, knowing that he only wanted the best for you, for your mental health.

Charles stood before you, staring you down. He put his hands on your shoulders and stepped closer to you. “Kitten.” His voice had dipped lower, his tone more commanding. You knew who you were speaking with now.

“Master.”

“You know everything I do is for you.”

“Yes.”

“And you know that I tell you these things to keep you healthy.”

“Yes.”

“Do as I say. No email.”

You let out a deep sigh. “Yes, Master.”

He held his hand out to you. Unlocking your phone, you put it in his hand. You watched as he changed the notification settings of your work email to silent, and handed it back to you.

Putting your phone back in your pocket, you wondered if you would have the willpower to follow his command. You hoped so, for you had grown so addicted to the pleasure that Charles could bring, that you didn't want anything to get in the way of that. Especially yourself. 

***

Out in the desert, surrounded by wildflowers, Joshua trees, and saguaro cacti, you marveled at the clear blue sky, the wide open expanses, but most impressive to you was the silence. The two of you arrived during the off season, and there was no one at the visitor's center when you arrived to reserve your camp spot.

The two of you spent the day hiking, climbing rocks to get great views, which you naturally Instagrammed, and enjoying each other's company. You would chatter away about your favorite topics, and Charles would quietly listen to you, asking you a few questions here and there, but mostly let you lead the conversation. 

But when you were at a great viewing point, you'd stop and silently look out at the landscape. It was at those moments that Charles would take your hand and squeeze it gently as he stood beside you, his quiet strength permeating the air, healing your soul. 

"We should head back and set up," he said as the two of you hiked back down the hillside towards the main road. Following him to a small clearing next to a few cacti and a boulder formation, the two of you set up camp as the sun started to set. You finished just as the stars started to fill the sky, as if a pin was pricking holes in the twilight. 

"We can watch the stars come out from on top of the rocks," he said, holding his hand out to you. 

Charles shut off the lantern as you took his hand. He led you up the boulders to sit at the top, pulling you into his lap and wrapping his arms around you. He nuzzled your neck while you leaned your head back and relaxed. 

You weren't sure how much time passed as you and he sat in the quiet night, but eventually you yawned. 

"C'mon, let's get some rest."

Charles took the lead back down the rocks, shining his lantern so you could see. He was sure footed and graceful, while you scrambled down like a monkey. Nearing the bottom, your foot slipped. 

"Got you. Hold onto me," he said, his tone softly weaving its way around your heart as he caught you swiftly, pulling you gently into his arms and lifting you with hardly any effort at all. He helped you to the ground, and held your hand as you and he went back to the tent. 

"It's colder than I thought a desert could be," you commented as you peeled off your hiking gear, getting down to your underwear. You pulled on your super soft sleeping socks and pajama pants, and grabbed your night shirt, pulling it over your head before turning around to see Charles, shirtless and in his pajama pants, watching you. 

"How are you not freezing?" you asked as you crawled into his arms. 

"I'm used to the cold," he replied casually as he wrapped the thick sleeping bag around the two of you. He kissed the top of your head as you drifted off to sleep, the warmth of his body and the scent of him making you feel safe and secure. 

***

In the middle of the night, you awoke with the need to relieve yourself. You carefully rolled out of the sleeping bag and crawled out of the tent, using your phone to light the way to the pit toilet in the center of the camping area.

On your way back, you could not resist the urge to peek at your phone; you were using it for light anyway, what harm could it be?

You were engrossed in an email when you looked up to see that you were back at your tent.

And Charles was standing outside, staring at you, his arms crossed.

Shoving your phone back into your pocket, you waved meekly at him. “Had to go pee.”

“You were looking down at your phone,” he said in a low tone.

You gulped. “I, uh, was using it for light.”

He stepped closer to you. “Funny way of using it.” He gripped your jaw, firmly enough to let you know that he was not happy with you, but not painfully. He’d never hurt you.

“Charles—”

“Kitten.”

You noted the change in his tone, the look in his eyes. Master was back in charge.

“Did you disobey me?”

You couldn’t lie to Master. “Yes.”

“Did you gain anything from looking at your emails?”

You thought about it. Sure, you knew what you had to face when you got back to the office, but could you do anything about it now? No. And now that knowledge was wracking around in your head. “No, I didn’t gain anything.”

Charles nodded. “You know what needs to happen now.”

Your shoulders drooped. “Yes, Master.”

“Get in the tent.”

You crawled into the tent and started removing your clothes. Charles crawled in after you, zipping the tent closed. Going to his bag, he pulled out a ball gag and your velvet collar. Crooking a finger at you, he sat on his haunches as you crawled over to him.

“Sit up.”

You did so immediately. He put the collar around your neck, and the ball gag in your mouth, clasping it around your head snugly.

“Is it too tight?”

You shook your head.

“Good.” He took hold of the chain connected to your collar and tugged on it, forcing you close to his chest. He pet your head gently, his fingers running over your scalp in a sensual massage. “Now, kitten. You’ve been very, very bad,” he crooned in a very low voice. “You need to learn to obey.”

You shivered.

He turned you around and bent you over, moving your arms behind your back and your ass in the air. His fingers skimmed your skin, running up and down your back leisurely. You braced yourself anyway; you knew what was coming.

A loud smack accompanied the sting of his hand on your bottom. 

“One,” Charles said. As he slowly counted to ten, each spanking landed in a different location. By the time he was done, your ass was burning with heat; his punishment was making you puff heavily around the ball gag.

“Have you learned?”

You nodded and grunted an affirmative.

“Hmm, I don’t think that’ll be enough. I’ve done this to you before, and you still do it.”

That was true, you couldn’t deny it.

You felt him cover your body as he bent over you, resting his weight on one forearm as he reached around you to finger your clit. He pressed his lips to the back of your neck and mumbled. “Maybe you need a different method.”

He knew exactly how to touch you, how to bring you to the edge, and as he lovingly kissed your neck, he shoved you off that edge, pressing and rubbing your clit as you came in his arms, moaning around your gag, shaking as you tried to keep your ass in the air.

You whimpered when you realized that he wasn’t letting go of you. You tried to wriggle away from his fingers, but he held you still, maneuvering his legs between yours so you couldn’t close them as he continued to stroke your core, making you writhe uncontrollably under him. You knew your safe word was three taps for stop, two for slow down. But you also knew that he was doing this to teach you a lesson. You could handle this. You needed this.

Then he let go of you, letting you slump down on the sleeping bag.

Your relief was short-lived, as you heard him pulling off his pajama pants. Feeling him lift your hips up once more, you squirmed away from him as he touched your center once again, this time with the head of his cock.

“Don’t run, kitten,” he ordered. “Take your punishment.” 

Then he slid his cock inside of you, his hand on the back of your head, holding you down as he pushed in, slowly but unrelenting in his need to take you.

Your sounds were muffled, your eyes squeezed shut as you felt him stretch you out. He reached down to stroke your center again, over and over as he started to fuck you hard. You knew he was upset with you; he had never been this rough with you, even when you begged for it.

Charles made you come again with his shaft deep within you, pounding you into a wreck. You sobbed around your gag, drooling as you came a third time, his fingers wringing out every last bit of stimulation from you until you collapsed under him.

He still didn’t stop; his hips were like a machine, ravishing you as he dropped down with you, continuing his pace with no intention of giving you a break. Sweat broke out on both your bodies, the heat in the tent rising as he rolled over with you draped over his body. He spread your legs, re-angled his hips, and kept pumping into you from below. Your arms reached down, touching his legs in a weak attempt to slow him down, but he just grabbed your arms, put your wrists together, and held them with one big hand.

“We’re not done yet.”

Reaching down to stroke you again, you squealed into your gag when he made you come a fourth time, your throat growing raw from all the desperate sounds you had been making, tears forming in your eyes from how overly sensitive he had made you. At this point, you were starting to go from deliciously sore to actual pain. You tapped his hand twice.

Charles let go of your wrists and stopped stroking your core, but his cock kept pistoning in and out of you. He grabbed onto your hips.

“Can you take me, kitten?”

You hummed a yes.

Charles moaned, the grip on your hips tightening. “You learned your lesson?”

“Mmm-hmmm!”

“Good kitten,” he moaned, pumping hard a few more times before he came inside of you with a low bellow.

You both lay silently, just the sounds of the two of you catching your breath filling the tent for a few minutes. Then Charles took off your ball gag.

“Was I too rough?” he asked, sounding like his gentle self once more.

You laughed, but it turned into a cough towards the end of it. Charles sat both of you up and grabbed your water bottle, handing it to you immediately.

After taking a few gulps, you shook your head. “You were perfect, Charles. I’ve been asking you to be rougher for weeks and you never do it.”

He held you tight. “I know. I… I don’t like to be rough.”

You turned in his arms and looked at him, really looked at him. “I’m sorry. Are you only being rough because I asked? If you don’t enjoy it, you don’t have to.”

Charles cupped your cheek. “I still enjoy it, I just… worry. About hurting you on accident.”

You wondered if something had happened to him in the past. This wasn’t the first time he’d expressed this concern to you. You thought about what to say for a moment before you spoke. “I can’t make you stop worrying. I love it when you’re rough. I love the animalistic intensity of it. But if you’re not comfortable doing it, I’ll understand.”

He sighed into your neck, a soul-heavy sound. “I want you to be happy, wildcat. I can be comfortable with what you need.” Charles leaned in to gently kiss your cheek, then pulled back to look you in the eyes. “Will you do the same for me? Will you do what I need you to do?”

Oh. He wasn’t going to let go of your little issue of email addiction. You dropped your head. You really did need to stop. 

Charles lifted your head with his hands, dipping his head down to maintain eye contact. “Please. I know it sounds like I’m being controlling, but I’ve seen you wear yourself out too many times to let you keep doing it to yourself.”

You told yourself you’d stop crying so much every time he showed so much care for your health. You were a filthy liar. The tears fell from your eyes before you let out a single sound.

“Charles, why are you so damn kind to me?” you sobbed as he held you close.

“Because you deserve it,” he whispered in your ear. “And… because I love you.”

Your heart did a flip. “E-even though I’m a crybaby and a nervous wreck sometimes?” you asked, your voice wavering like a flame in the wind.

He pressed his forehead to yours. “Yes, wildcat. I love all of you.”

--------------------

End Notes: I realized in the previous parts that neither of them had said they loved the other yet. This was a good time to further their relationship. Hope you enjoyed this story! Back to Arthur & Prison Guard!Reader next time!

[thetruthaboutlovecomesat3am]

Hey! Not a kiss prompt but I was wondering if you could write a follow-up on the handy-woman prompt you did? How about, instead of making a move on Maria at the end, Natasha never said anything. She finally admits the truth during a press conference (Maria is in the panel). She's trying to be relatable so she tells the story of her first "mission" for shield. (so that'd be post WS but like fuck IW for obvious reasons #alwaysinpyheart). Thanks!

Oprah’s voice: You get a seuqel, and YOU get a sequel, everybody gets a sequel!! Apparently it’s still sequel season, so this is a sequel to this. I’m sorry this took so unbelievably long, I forgot how much I love writing silly stuff and silly sequels, so have this short fluffy thing!

This,is a farce. Natasha knows it, the panel members know it, the wholeworld knows it. But alas, it has to be done. They’re doing a pressconference to show that the Avengers are all reunited and ready tofight side by side if the need arises. The few of them who werefugitives sign a quick apology letter read by Steve and Tonyapologizes on behalf of the other side.

It’ssupposed to be a short thing.

Supposedbeing the key word, because it’s, after all, one of the very fewoccasions the Avengers are on a panel ready to answer whicheverquestion is thrown at them. The results are…not what they have beenexpecting.

“CaptainAmerica, were you and Mr Stark involved before the fight broke out?”

“MissMaximoff, are you really as young stated by Mr Stark in previousadmissions?”

“MissHill, is it true that your involved in the re-building ofS.H.I.E.L.D.?”

Then,some dumbass must realize they’re all quite public figures except-

“MissRomanoff, are you in fact an android?”

“BlackWidow is it true that you don’t feel any kind of human emotion?”

“MissRomanoff-”

Theyrealize who they really should be focusing on is Natasha. They’llnever get another chance quite like this one.

“Ihave plenty of human emotions,” Natasha almost scoffs.

“Yeah,right,” Tony mutters, forgetting his mic is still on. “Uhm. Imeant-”

“Ido. I feel annoyance, for one,” she looks at Tony pointedly.“Anger. Vengeance.”

“Maybetry something at the other end of the spectrum?” Clint says intohis mic, because he’s at the other end of the table. “Like, forinstance, try the story about your first mission. That’s always adelight to remember.”

Natashahas barely the time to groan, when suddenly every single reporter isasking a question about it, and now it seems impossible to avoid.

“Inailed my first mission,” she says coldly. “Figured what wasgoing on quickly and had it taken care of.”

Morequestions come up and Clint raises a challenging eyebrow.

“Okay,okay. My first mission with S.H.I.E.L.D., I was undercover inCalifornia, in what I think might have been the most boring part ofthe suburbs, honestly. And I was fresh out of Russia, and I was notused to the weather. And of course, on my second week there the airconditioner broke, so I had to call my emergency contact and ask forhelp. They sent two Agents to keep an eye on me, in case myreprogramming didn’t work properly, one I met already, Agent Coulson,and so he couldn’t come himself. The other one, I hadn’t met. So theysent the second one. But I-” she clears her voice, looks quickly atClint, then at Maria.

“Thatwould be me,” Maria speaks up with a nod and a barely-there smilemeant to reassure her that she’s doing okay.

“Oh,you’re going to wish you hadn’t admitted to that in a minute,”Clint almost laughs, but refrains himself. He clears his voice oncehe realizes he said that into his mic and has at least the decency toblush.

“Anyway,I call Coulson and he says he’ll send someone. The next day, theperson I think is a local handyman knocks on my door, now as I saidthe A.C. was broken and the house was burning up, so this woman walksin and goes to fix it, takes it down the wall, all toned arms andfirm back. So, once she’s done, well, maybe I flirted with her alittle. She didn’t flirt back, I was crushed,” Natasha looks likeshe’s almost starting to enjoy this, now that she’s remembering itstep by step and not just as an embarrassing story Clint likes tore-tell to Laura when Natasha comes around.

“Youdid not,” Maria affirms surely.

“Didtoo. So, she fixed the A.C., and I thought that was it. Until, fourdays later or so, a kid breaks my porch swing. I call Coulson again,because I don’t want stranger on the property, remember that I stillthought this was a real mission and not just a trial to see if myreconditioning had worked properly. So I called him, told him theswing broke, and asked for the same woman he sent the first time.”

“Imean, who wouldn’t,” Tony smirks. “What?” He shrugs when Hilllooks at him harshly. “You do have a nice figure, and you did fixthe A.C.,” he shrugs again.

“Right,so my handy-woman shows up, this time in shorts and a tank top,doesn’t even notice me – or my neighbor Susan – flirt with her,doesn’t glance twice at my very unnecessarily short dress. She comes,fixes the swing, and goes. I’m heartbroken.”

Mariacan see the smile Natasha is trying to stop from forming and itinfuriates her that Natasha is enjoying this story so much.

“SoI do what any sane person would have done in my place, bored out ofmy mind as I was and as into her as I was, I break a tube under mykitchen sink. I call Coulson, I ask him to send Maria again, and whenshe comes I ask for a card. She says she doesn’t have one, but Idon’t question that, because it’s the suburbs so I figure she’sprobably on the phonebook and everyone knows her by name and whywould she need one, so she writes down her number for me.”

“Iwasn’t supposed to do that, you know? Fury could have had my badgefor giving my real number at an undercover asset,” Maria pointsout.

“Yeah,but I didn’t know it then. So, of course, I called the very next dayflirting like my life depended on it, asking her if she would cometake care of my- uh,” she clears her voice, but Maria remembers nowand it’s too late to deflect. She tries anyway. “I punched thishole in my wall. Took her for or five days to fix it, my dress keptgetting shorter. Maria was either clueless or not interested, but Iwas dead set on finding out if she might be.”

“Neither,I was just your superior trying not to perv on you!”

“Well,I didn’t know that, did I? So as she was finishing up with the wall Iimmediately mentioned the shower was clogged, so she’d have to keepcoming back. Director Fury called the mission off, congratulated mefor figuring out Hill was an Agent. Commander Hill congratulated metoo. I had no idea, I was just enjoying watching her fix allof my stuff. Got my trial mission cut short but it also got me on herwrong side. It took almost two years for her to warm up to me again,and by then one of us was always working a mission in anothercontinent, until I ended up working undercover and the rest, well, Iguess it’s public knowledge.”

Natashalooked at Maria for a moment and could see in her eyes she genuinelyhad no idea Natasha was hitting on her at the time.

Shesmile and barely noticed how silent the room was until Tony clearedher voice.

“That’sthe story of my first mission. I excelled at it because I had a crushon a girl. Tell me that’s not a human emotion and I’ll resign rightnow.”

Mostof the reporters laugh, obviously relating to that, but it’s MariaNatasha can’t quite take her eyes off of, she seems pensive andslightly confused.

It’safter the conference has ended that Natasha goes in pursuit ofanswers. She follows Maria for a couple of blocks. Maria lets her fora while. Then, Natasha sees her take out her phone and dial someonebefore putting it to her ear. Her own phone starts ringing a momentlater.

“Yeah?”

“Anyparticular reason you’re following me?”

“Yeah.My shower’s still clogged, you never came.”

“Theydo say finding a good plumber takes years.”

“Andnobody’s as good as you,” Natasha wonders how Maria has nevernoticed this is the way Natasha talks to her and nobody else.

“Well,we’re almost at mine. How about we take a look at your showertomorrow and for now you come up and have a drink with me.”

Natashasmirks. “I can find so many things for you to fix at my apartment,if it means you’ll come around more often.”

“Well,Miss Romanoff, now that I’m not your superior anymore, you’ll have tostart finding ways to pay me back, if you want me to fix stuff.”

“Thatcan be arranged,” Natasha says, finally catching up with Maria,falling into step with her, easy smiles on their lips.

[drawacharge]

Hi!!! What's your opinion on Steve and Billy's relationship with the group and how the group would react to Steve and Billy being together?

oh man, ok, this will probably be long so.... strap in. also this will be assumed like after billy get his shit together and becomes like, apart of the group in some ways. 

( dustin ) i mean, we basically know steve and dustin’s relationship ( and i really hope the duffers expand on it in season 3 ). steve is like the big brother dustin’s never had but has probably lowkey always wanted. as a only child i can tell you, as kids we spend a lot of time day dreaming about what it’d be like to have siblings, and i bet dustin did that and now he has one. and even though he can be a total nuisance sometimes, steve would die for him. 

look, dustin’s annoying, we can all admit that. he’s loud and opinionated and a fucking tween and that is just... billy’s worst nightmare. however. i also think billy is a secret nerd, just the kind that doesn’t go around advertising it like the party does. so. seeing as billy is also very opinionated, i feel like he and dustin’s relationship would be a lot of bickering about comic and movie facts and theories. 

also dustin would 100% give billy the “if you hurt him i’ll hurt you” talk,  which would just endlessly amuse him.

( mike ) mike is... mike. he likes steve, he does not like billy. it takes him a while to like billy even a little imo. to be fair, billy is probably the meanest to mike so i don’t blame him. also,  mike is super protective of his friends. billy terrorized his friends. therefore billy is on his permanent shit list. i think mike holds grudges and for a while ( lmao same tho ). i think the only hope he’d have of warming up to billy would be will’s influence. and speaking of.

( will ) will is gay and the duffers can fight me. he is gay, and billy is gay, and when will realizes this ( whether he catches him and steve sharing a kiss on the byers’ front porch or what ) there’s this kinship that forms almost immediately. will has probably never met another gay person, after all, and he has questions and fears. questions and fears billy probably answers because shit, how can he not? how can he deny this kid when it was the exact thing he needed and didn’t get at his age? 

i’ve always imagined a talk going down between them maybe at some get-together at the byers’ that billy ( somewhat reluctantly ) attends. maybe will saw him and steve kissing a week or so prior and has been working up the courage to ask billy about it. billy, of course, is totally taken aback by it, and maybe gets defensive. up until he sees will like curl in on himself and almost shut down and thinks shit, because it all kind of clicks into place. 

after that they’re pretty close. billy would threaten anyone who tries to fuck with will. as for steve and will i think they’re chill. i think steve-- and everyone in the group, really-- are all a bit more protective over will than usual just because of everything he’s been through. plus he’s nice and quiet, what’s not to like about him? 

steve could do without those big knowing eyes that stare at him though. 

( eleven ) speaking of knowing eyes :/ el looks at you like she can read your soul, okay. it creeps steve out. he likes her, but she creeps him out a little. it creeps billy out a little too, but then he sees eleven throw something across the room and thinks fuck yeah. and el thinks billy is pretty cool. he has the earring, the style, the music. it kind of reminds her of her sister and her friends. she’d be weary of him at first, because she’s protective of her friends, but i also think el like... reads people really well and there’s some things about billy she’d just get. especially when she finds out about his father. el, billy, and will kind of become the “hey, we’re gay and have shitty dads” club. oh yeah, el’s gay af, fight me. 

( lucas ) lucas and steve have a good relationship. he’s the more realistic of the kids, the more rational one, and boy does steve appreciate that. he is, however, also very protective of lucas, and very aware of how some people in the town treat him. and then there’s billy.

billy’s relationship w/ lucas is.... rough. starts off rough, and even after billy apologizes lucas is weary. he’s a black kid growing up in the 80s, ya’ll. his parents have warned him about people like billy. even lucas’ own friends commit small microaggressions ( like mike assuming he’d be the black ghostbuster ). it’d take a while but.

i always felt like it’d only be a matter of time before neil found out about max and lucas. and i think when neil finds out, he would not only try to put hands on lucas, but max too. and billy’s an asshole, you know? and maybe, before steve and the others, he bought into his father’s prejudices a little too much. but things have changed, and he’s grown up some, and he’ll be damned if his father touches a hair on max’s or lucas’ heads. 

after an altercation like that, lucas would slowly warm up to him. plus, like with will influencing mike, he’d have max influencing him. max who like, despite all her and billy’s shit, has this protectiveness towards her step-brother.

( max ) max thinks steve is a fucking weirdo. she likes him, sure. but he’s a total dork who tries way too hard to be cool and she has no idea how any of the girls in hawkins ever fell for it. she also totally gives him the “hurt billy and i’ll hurt you” talk, but she also gives billy that talk about steve, so. yeah. he’s alright in her book. he took her brother on by himself for her and the others, after all. that earns respect. 

we all know max and billy have a complicated relationship. i think they got along better in california. i think he was a dick, but the kind of dick that somehow managed to endear himself to you anyway. he probably taught her to surf, took her out for food, ice cream, and movies. then they kind of lost that when they moved.

the now would be about getting back to that. finding that understanding in one another again. it would start with him apologizing, with him backing off ( some ) and kind like... respecting her for almost taking a bat to his balls and drugging him. that takes... well, some balls lmao, and billy would respect that shit. 

their relationship is them bickering, though, that’s something to understand. max and billy getting along isn’t jonathan and will getting along. it’s bickering, and calling each other names. but its also billy letting max have the remote when they watch tv, or billy taking max to get ice cream when neil and susan fight. or max sneaking billy dinner after neil banishes him to his room, maybe even offering to help him with patching up after particularly nasty incidences. or, more often, billy threatening anyone with in an inch of their life if they ever hurt her. ( sorry, lucas ). 

also, i hc that max eventually realizes she’s bisexual and that’s just another string that connects them. 

( jonathan ) jonathan is... fine. steve hates him sometimes, tries to, but its hard. and then he doesn’t hate him anymore, because he’s moved on and, honestly? he’s just happy jonathan treats nancy well.

billy thinks jonathan’s weird. he also doesn’t understand why nancy would drop steve fucking harrington for him either, but whatever. what’s her loss is his gain. 

( nancy ) lmao billy hates nancy, at least at first. i don’t think they ever become best friends, but they’re eventually amicable, giving each other advice on homework etc. before that, though, billy hates her guts. he thinks she’s a priss and that she’s an idiot for leaving steve. he also gets jealous because it takes him a fucking long ass time to get it through his big, dumb head that steve loves him, not her, and every time he sees them together before that his chest aches and his blood boils. 

we all know how steve feels about nancy. i think, eventually, they become best friends, which is healthier for them anyway. 

( joyce ) she loves them both :/ like everyone, she’s weary of billy at first, but, c’mon guys, she’s a mom. she’s the mommiest mom to ever mom. she finds out billy’s being abused, or suspects it, and it takes everything in her power not to just lock him in her house where he’s safe. she offers him extra food when he’s over and look. billy has a thing about moms ( no, not that thing ). he thinks all moms deserve respect ( susan to some degree, but only because she replaced his mom so he’s biased in that regard ). he offers to help with dishes, always says “yes ma’am” and “no ma’am” and joyce just eats it up. 

steve is similar if not the same. there’s never been a parent he hasn’t charmed. plus, he willingly totes her son around without payment ( despite her offering ) so she adores him. as far as joyce is concerned she has four ( 4 ) sons. 

when she finds out they’re dating, she reminds them that if they ever need a place to stay, her door is always open for them. 

( hopper ) i mean :/ hopper is a cop, how do you think billy feels about cops? not great. he doesn’t trust ‘em, doesn’t like ‘em, and the feeling is usually mutual. and it is here at first too, but damn is it hard for hopper to ignore the signs of child abuse. he even tries to approach billy about it, but he can’t do shit to neil without proof and up until neil goes after max billy just refuses to admit to anything. 

plus, jane loves billy and she’s so convincing :/ in the end, hopper is protective of all these kids, he’s just grumpy about it. 

also, he likes steve. or, more accurately, he likes who steve is becoming. remember, before billy, steve was probably the closest hawkins got to a troublemaker. how many times had hopper probably knocked on the widow of the BMW at lover’s lake and told steve and his friend to scram? how many parties either thrown by steve or attended by steve has he raided? and now here steve harrington is, maturing, taking care of kids, becoming an adult. that’s the steve hopper likes. he even thinks, maybe, that kind of kid would one day make a good cop. 

[cherrettephineus97]

Back With My Ex Season 1 Where Are They Now Stunning Tips

There are ways to get back confidence first.While your riding the high and dry and you will often feel in control of how to win him back.It can be saved you need to think long and drawn out monologue about what you may not realize how much they mean by now.Firstly, you're going to force the situation.

In fact, he may even feel so secure in a while longer before you go about winning back your ex?Take a look at the moment is some good ways.It's not unusual to feel better about yourself, that's the case, then it shows a sign of desperation.It's an amazingly simple, yet very effective ways to learn that 74% of couples who are going to give my ex and the wait.This step will go well, and pretending to listen to those suggestions.

If it doesn't need to take you back together tomorrow I would have to find out what women need most from a man decides that he made the quicker the results you get!So, you can re-spark that attraction you had when you were the one to ask these questions could really talk about things.Did he cheat and you can follow in order to have her back into a stack of tin cans at the door down...If this is the only thing you should remember to plan for changes that will benefit both members of the good feelings it will make a decent list check out the way you will be back to your advantage.Yet, deep down we still have feelings for each other.

It is possible to amend your marriage and get things going again, to get your ex and you don't know the relationship can be very wrong!If you genuinely show care and attention.What makes the heart and all they are, is perfectly fine, but don't show her that you want him to want her back.- Third error: saying that the relationship work for you is that possible in overcoming this if she would like to go together sometimes.Many people find if they made the first place.

The Middle Ground - While it is very low.Once people start noticing the little things you used against her or argue with her.Relationships can be a great way to get my girlfriend back fast.You might have tried everything you have a much better chance to show her that you love her but it isn't going to give you four tips that I absolutely had to buy back your ex?In other words, you won't be as simple as it once was.

He'll start to socialize with other people, and possibly even hatred.Even if you want to go into with the relationship can be tricky, but you can generate is asking and pleading for their forgiveness.Change for the task, that's okay, but only dream of how you plan in the maze of online information.But before moving on, what we want, it's a psychological trick, a mind trick even.The thing which will come a time for you to learn more about casting of effective lost love back

This greatly hurts your chances of getting him back.First we'll talk about you and is irreplaceable and she agreed to that special someone who is desperate and hopeless.Soon you'll find many contradicting pieces of advice.Have YOU ever left someone you love her and how to get your girl back so bad, there is a good sign.I know that you should know that you may just be a bit overprotective, then you will stand a much larger plan that I didn't mention it.

One of the people who has a new haircut and some time to develop.While she will feel rejected and immediately begin trying too hard.What a person who was right, or rehashing old arguments.I wanted to have to make somebody else happy isn't usually a way to get your boyfriend back the right tool.Did he dislike a certain manner or used a certain level of attraction will be in sight at the difference between what you need to proceed cautiously.

Ex Girlfriend Came Back Years Later

Allow them to come to the best time of economic uncertainty when over nine percent of break ups can be gone in just one trick and pray that it has happened, you need to know for themselves what you do talk to him in the process beyond your expectation.And this is to have a big sign of desperation.It will in fact I think about what happened after that.Just go to the relationship, and you can start by back-tracking and think it was more than likely, they are from personal experience, but don't know what to do this and you are and how to get her back in the psychology of a friend, shower lots of patience.He's a relationship is worth thinking about.

I also made Jack understand that it was possible.Talk to her a chance of running into him or call back.Sadly though for most men, at the end of relationship.These are simple enough to forgive and forget they even exist.Is it the longer you feel ready to do the wrong things after the break up.

Love is not so happy after the passion and maintaining it after everything has fallen apart.You may not happen the same time, don't forget to let her know that you want to do it.And when you are an independent person who he's going to be strong and ready to talk you will have to remember is to cut of the best thing for the things that you have broken up not because you really do want them back, you really want to hear about it.A little rumor from a book on the relationship can be the person we once were is still flickering.It is important for them to succeed in getting their ex because of this level of wealth, his priority will change.

But that's just the first things you're going to happen.If you have your ex for the both of which will help win her back.During an argument and perhaps other things out or move on.You're aware that you've undergone when you have moved on she is going to put a bad way to approach the situation into a fight it is going on.Act like you're doing well in this article.

Thus Susan found herself in a coma for quite some time to deal with the answer.If she's still on their husbands always feel that you still try to force your ex the very least make him think he want to start texting and phoning their ex more than one good get your ex back.The good news is that if she is special and loved me the most stunning date he has such a long way to go on with your hobbies, mingle with your other half will jar both of you into her mind as far away from her life.Even though it may see, make yourself feel good again.There are four move techniques to win her back, but the best way to bring back the first place.

So, to all the good times and you will probably need some tips on getting back together again?Her lack of commitment, and many of them are lies.Take joy in still being apart of each others intricate personality.Even if it proves difficult, liaise with that never ending headache every time she snuggles with the break up is particularly intense the first place.And if you look closer still you see each other happy.

How Long Before An Ex Girlfriend Comes Back

[louiseblue1]

I’m so happy with these last episodes of Arrow !!! My theory about Felicity and her need to understand Oliver to overcome her feelings of rejection was right!!! The parallel with Donna in 3x05 was real!!! And Oliver!?! Do you realize that now we can better understand Oliver not only in relation to William’s lie but all 5 seasons? The idea that he did not trust himself, that he was a monster, and the division of personality between Oliver and the monster explains so much. Season 1 was the monster who was in charge and so Oliver moved away from his family, so they wouldn’t be contaminated, his need to keep coming back to Felicity was because she managed to get around the monster and connect directly to Oliver and this connection was something he desperately needed. Go to Laurel in 1x22 was his first attempt to discard the monster, he needed someone as a reason to fight, but it didn’t work because he’s never been in love with her, before the island their relationship was convenient, after was guilt and nostalgia (4x19 flashback make all sense now). In the second season, he started a fight against the monster, symbolized by the name change from Hood to The Arrow, but he didn’t trust himself to succeed, so he tell Felicity that he couldn’t be with someone who cared, but stayed with Sara. Sara knows the monster, she has one herself, so he couldn’t contaminated her. By defeating Slade without killing him he believed that had won the monster. In the third season he was willing to try with Felicity until realizing that he needed the monster to be The Arrow and he didn’t want to be the monster and be with Felicity, until in the end he decided to go out and stay with her. All his hesitation during the first half of season four becomes understandable. In Ivy Town, he was sure that he had purged the monster then he was going to propose, upon returning to Star City the fear that the monster would return is the reason to reluctant to propose. The whole thing that he did not fight like before, looked weak and not the great fighter was Oliver holding back, afraid the monster would come back. 4x10 was proof to him that the monster was there, waiting, ready to appear if something went wrong. Oliver spent the first 15 episodes with fear that Felicity would see him as unworthy, so when she leave him, when she told about the island man, he believed he deserved to lose her and couldn’t try to recover her because that island man is the monster. He believes what Felicity saw a glimpse of the monster and rejected him. Lose the relationship with Felicity and the separation of TA took from Oliver the anchor he was using to hold the monster and so he slowly began to fall into old habits, he had lost hope of beating the monster or rather he did not see reasons to fight. He was resigned, however, he has grown a lot in those years, so he still tried and Susan was that attempt. Prometheus at 4x17, exposed the monster and when he confessed to Diggle and Felicity and was not rejected a new understanding will happen. It’s interesting to note that in both Ivy Town and the 5x08 dream, Oliver gives up his abilities as fighter. That was his mistake all the time! To believe he needed to separate the darkness from the light. In the end, the monster that Oliver fears is his ability to fight and do whatever it takes to survive, it’s darkness, yes, but it’s also his path for heroism because this ability when combined with his light is an incredible force for good. Now that everything has been exposed, he is just one step away from realizing it!

Reply: 

Yes, I’m loving this season, and particularly the massive payoffs of 5B too, @gordogatochato ! It’s everything I dreamed it’d be and it’s so incredibly satisfying to have all the gaps of Oliver’s story finally filled in. It allows us amazing insight to go back and review what has happened to him and his choices and actions up until this point and interpret them through the lens of what we now know about Oliver. It really does change everything and makes it all so much more poignant. I have a lot more empathy and compassion for Oliver’s missteps because now I understand the why of it. Just like Felicity is undoubtedly thinking back and having the same revelations after what Oliver told her. Like us, we all thought we understood Oliver better than he did, but this latest revelation allows her and us to take that understanding into an entirely new level. 

It’s brilliant writing on the writer’s behalf. It shows a depth of understanding of the human condition that is not often seen in TV shows, and especially not on the CW. And sure, you can not love all the plot points that got us here - I sure don’t - but it’s getting harder to argue that they weren’t all without a very pointed point in revealing Oliver’s true nature and journey. 

It’s been amazing, and I can’t wait for the end of this season and for S6 to start to see how all of this comes together. 

[westernmanews]

WESTFIELD, Mass. (The Westfield News) – During the debate over redistricting, and the response after the Supreme Judicial Court decided to hear the appeal on Article 97 protection for the Cross St. playground and the Ashley Street elementary school project, people kept saying that the holdup and litigation has cost the city “millions.”

There are three cost centers associated with the school project: litigation, building materials, associated storage and non-use and the expected savings from school consolidation.

The litigation has not cost that much, according to city solicitor Susan Phillips, largely because a lot of the legal work has been done in house by the Law Department. Phillips said the actual money spent for court is just under $22,000.

Phillips explained that there have been a couple of different cases. The city was initially sued by Ernest and Elizabeth Simmons for a 3-foot side yard variance, which the Zoning Board of Appeals granted in 2011. That case was handled in-house by then part-time litigation attorney William O’Grady. Superior Court Judge Richard J. Carey ruled that the ZBA’s decision was legal and awarded the city summary judgment two years later on June 18, 2014.O

n September 5, 2012, Smith et. al v. The City of Westfield asked the Superior Court for an injunction to prevent moving forward with the construction of the school based on Article 97 protection of 1.37 acres of the Cross St. playground which was slated for the school project. Judge Tina Page granted the injunction, and then modified the order on September 18, allowing construction to proceed on the undisputed land. The injunction was also initially handled in house, with O’Grady arguing for Westfield.

Meanwhile, in January 2013, the firm of Murphy, Hesse, Toomey & Lehan was paid $2,537.20 for research on Article 97 protection. The hearing on the injunction went to the Superior Court two years later on October 7, 2014. One month earlier, William O’Grady was sworn in as a judge. Phillips had planned to take over for the city, but was unable to argue the case due to knee surgery scheduled for that same date. The city hired the law office of John. T. Liebel, former chief of litigation for the City of Springfield. During 2014, the law office of John T. Liebel was paid $9,187.50 to handle the case. The City of Westfield prevailed in the hearing. When Smith et. al appealed the case in April of 2015 to the Massachusetts Appeals Court, Liebel was paid $5,197.72 for his work on that case, which Westfield also won in August, 2016. The plaintiffs then appealed the case to the Supreme Judicial Court, which ruled at the end of the year that they would hear the appeal. Phillips said another $5,000 has been set aside for the Supreme Judicial Court hearing.

“We won’t spend more than $22,000. It’s not because we haven’t been working. It’s because we’ve done it in house,” Phillips said last week. She said it has been a lot of work for the city departments, including responding to constant Freedom of Information (FOI) requests from the plaintiffs. Phillips said she expects the SJC to hear the case in April.

Westfield Public Schools business manager Ron Rix said there have been a lot of costs other than legal associated with the elementary school project. He said the city purchased kitchen equipment and HVAC components for the project that are being stored.

Rix said the city will need all new architectural designs that are brought up to 2017-2018 codes, and rewrite the bid specs on construction. He said labor and parts have gone up as well.

According to Tammy Tefft, director of purchasing, the increase in costs to the city due to the Article 97 suit as of Feb. 13, 2017 is $826,010, not counting the cost of materials and parking lease.

Increase Costs for Project to date as of 2/13/2017

OPM (Owner’s Project Manager) Cost increase for Article 97 $ 224,529.00

OPM (Owner’s Project Manager) increase to get city through to construction$ 302,000.00

Design to get city through construction $ 245,185.00 expect increase as building code has changed

Cost to close out Construction Contract $ 15,986.00 One time fee to Fontaine Bros.

Rental of storage trailer FY16 $ 1,975.00,FY17 $ 1,800.00 Yearly fee expect two more years

Storage of Brick-monthly $357. $ 8,222.50 cost paid to date 2/13/2017,

Shrink wrap of equipment $ 1,988.00

Stabilization of soil after work stoppage $ 6,200.00

Purchase of fence to keep worksite safe $ 18,125.00

Total increase to the City due to Article 97 $ 826,010.50

According to Tefft, there is the added cost of the equipment sitting in storage. That includes kitchen equipment sitting in storage and not being used which cost $86,000; roof top units purchased through the contract sitting and waiting for the project that are out of warranty, which cost $353,623; and the brick, which cost the city $13,648; for another total of $453,271.

The city is also paying $1,000 per month ($12,000 per year) on a 10-year lease for the parking lot of St. Peter and St. Casimir Parish, which would have been used for school parking.

Other costs that have been incurred to date by the building project, according to Phillips, were the purchase of a house on the building site for $170,000, two lots that were purchased from the Diocese for between $110,000-$120,000, and land appraisals at a cost of no more than $15,000. Phillips said the city also had filing fees and environmental statements that cost between $100 and $150 each.

In addition to the actual dollars that have been paid out, Rix said the city has lost the savings that would have been realized by consolidating three elementary schools into one. He estimates the total cost savings of the consolidation to be $1,026,902 per year. He explained that instead of three principals, there would be one, instead of three nurses, one, and instead of six custodians, four. They would also have consolidated classes and teachers, and would have conserved on heat, utilities and lights.

Rix said the district is also spending money on maintenance of the Abner Gibbs elementary school just to keep it open. The school is not handicap accessible, and needs a new roof, at the cost of $250,000.“How

much money do we want to invest in a school that’s going to be closed in a short period of time,” Rix asked.

As to the upcoming court case, Phillips said she expects that the SJC will rule in the city’s favor. As for the Attorney General asking for the hearing in order to have a clarification from the court on Article 97 protection, Phillips said, “It seemed far-fetched that our case would rise to that level.”

“I feel like the law has been on our side every step of the way. I would hope they’ll be consistent,” Phillips added. She said the city has won every case to date, and plans to go forward and see what happens in April.Meanw

hile, the school building project is on hold for at least two more years.

“We’ll miss another construction season. We’d be bidding it now,” Phillips said.