#i want him to move into a doghouse in my backyard

[doubleleoenergy]

Daddy Issues

Nobody does it like you do. I know how much it matters to you. I know that you got daddy issues

Pairing: Grayson Dolan x Reader

Warnings: 18+ ONLY, fingering (female receiving), oral (male receiving), Daddy Kink, passionate sex

Word Count: 2361

Author’s Notes: My GRAYstans unite! I have unlocked a new passion for Daddy!Grayson. Also, my headers either feature the reader image as Malia Tate from Teen Wolf or Jane Villanueva from Jane the Virgin.

“Are you SURE you want to make Sledge’s doghouse from scratch?” You asked, following your boyfriend, THE Grayson Dolan, into the backyard. Grayson and you had just adopted a puppy that he was FINALLY not allergic to, and he had become quite obsessed with wanting the absolute best for your new pup

“Babe, do you REALLY want our son to have some basic and boring dog house for the backyard, or wouldn’t it be more fitting for him to have a MANSION like the king he is?” Grayson suggests, wagging his thick eyebrows at you.

You gently shove his side, rolling your eyes at his response. “Fine, Sledge and I will just MONITOR your progress by the pool.” You call back to the pup, watching him gallop towards you both, wagging his tail. Grayson moves towards the garage to bring all of the wood and materials needed for the project onto the grassy area next to the pool, arranging the pieces by length.

Sledge lays down in the grass next to your lounge chair as you sit down, tightening your lavender string bikini bottoms on your hips. Today was GORGEOUS, the sun shining and the heat not sweltering, allowing for the perfect day to tan while you watched Grayson work.

You decided to start by tanning your back, lying with your face propped on a towel in the foldout chair. Your hands hold your phone out, scrolling through Instagram as you soaked in the summer rays.

Grayson started his plans by sawing the boards to the perfect length, pulling a pair of safety goggles over the top of his tousled long locks. You eye him carefully from where you lay, watching as he handled the saw with ease, cutting the board to its perfect size before continuing on to the next piece. Your eyes linger on the curve of his back muscles squeezing through the black tank top that clung to his figure.

Sledge barked, pulling you from your daze, demanding attention beside you. You place the phone by your side, smiling down as you sit up slightly to provide your furbaby with the attention he craved. “Are you watching Daddy work? Well, so is MOMMY.” You coo, running your fingers through his soft fur.

A half hour goes by, Grayson diligently putting together the pieces of wood, sweat dripping from his hair down through his beard. You decide it’s a good time for a hydration break, Sledge following you back inside the kitchen where you grab two bottles of water along with a dish to pour some out for your pooch.

“Gray, how about you take a quick break?” You chirped, approaching him as he leaned over and inspected his work. You hand him one of the water bottles, opening the other and pouring half into the dog dish you set beside your feet, Sledge lapping happily at the bowl.

“How’s it looking so far, boss?” Grayson teased, standing back to let you inspect his work. You tilt your head from side to side, putting your fingers out as a ‘frame’, closing one eye and then the other. Grayson let out a laugh as he watched you pretend to inspect like a ‘real’ boss, a huge grin spreading on his face.

“I’d say it looks sturdy so far, keep up the good work, EMPLOYEE.” You place a kiss to his cheek, sauntering back over to your lounge chair, sitting down to let the rays tan the front of your body.

After a few minutes of lapping at the water bowl Sledge moves back over to you, rolling happily in the grass. Grayson feels sweat drenching his black tank top, a mixture of the heat of the sun and the work he was putting into his project. He grabs the hemline and tugs it off, tossing the sweaty material in the grass next to him.

You can’t help but stop and OGLE at him when he removes it, a sinful image playing out in your mind. Your eyes roam over his sculpted chest, remembering how it felt when you ran your hands up and down his abdomen. Your eyes move up to look at his hair, long locks sticking to his forehead as he continues his work on the dog house. Lastly, your eyes fixated on his hands, watching the veins protruding as he hammered nails into the wood, forming the outside walls of what would be Sledge’s humble abode. Grayson looked DELICIOUS, and you couldn’t help the way your stomach flip-flopped at the sight, his cerulean swim trunks clinging to his hips.

“Hey G-Gray, I’m gonna go inside, watch Sledge for me, please?” He nodded, eyes fixated on the task at hand. You took one last glance in his direction, taking a mental picture before pulling open the screen door and heading directly towards your shared bedroom. 

You needed relief after watching him work, he wasn’t even TRYING to seduce you and yet you still felt dampness between your thighs. You opened the bedroom door and shut it behind you. Your body stumbled forward, flopping back against the bed, shimmying out of your bikini bottoms, tossing them to the floor.

Your eyes fluttered closed, REWINDING the image of Grayson working outside in your head, the back of your lids acting as a screen for the projected image. Your delicate fingers slid down your chest to your core, circling around your bundle of nerves and letting out a soft moan. You pictured the way he tossed his shirt off, how the sweat GLISTENED on his skin, that perfect beard you refused to let him shave.

Fingers move lower, parting your folds and moving in and out of your core, arching your back against the bed. You continued pumping your fingers in and out, feeling that familiar buildup in your chest when you heard the bedroom door open, Grayson taking in the sight of you.

“What are you doing, babygirl?” He asked, arms crossing against his bare chest. Your eyes snap open, sitting up straight and pulling the blanket over you. As if he HADN’T seen what you were doing just moments ago.

“N-Nothing, I think I am just exhausted from the sun. I figured I needed to lay down and rest a bit.” You stuttered, a hand moving from below the blanket to scratch nervously through your locks.

Grayson’s eyes grew dark as he approached you on the bed, standing just at the edge of it and holding your gaze. “Babygirl, don’t LIE to me, you know I don’t like it when you lie.” He tilts his head, raising an eyebrow at you, eyes still locked on yours. “Were you TOUCHING yourself?” He asked.

Your cheeks start to feel hot, a rosy blush spreading across them. “Y-Yes, I was. You just looked so good outside and I didn’t want to bother you while you were working so I came in here and-” Grayson holds out his hand, silencing you before you can finish your sentence.

“You’re forgetting the rules, babygirl, REMIND me what they are.” He questioned, his voice lowering an octave. Your bottom lip quivers, your heart pounding loudly in your chest. “N-No touching myself, only DADDY gets to touch me.” You whispered, your gaze darting to the bed to avoid his stare.

“Look at ME.” He demanded, his tone making your eyes snap up immediately. “Yes, only daddy gets to touch you, and what happens when we disobey, babygirl?” You swallow the lump in your throat, eyes going wide. 

“Y-You, you get PUNISHED.”

“Exactly.” He responds, two fingers beckoning you towards the edge of the bed. “Turn around, ass up.” You follow his instructions, crawling to the edge of the bed and turning around. Grayson’s fingers grab your neck, pushing your head down against the mattress. “You’re going to count to ten for me, if you stop counting we’ll start all OVER.”

The first smack across your ass made your pussy tighten, wincing slightly at the burn of his thick hand against your skin. “O-One.” You sputtered. 

“Good girl, keep counting.” He commands, sending another smack to your flesh.

“T-Two...three...four...five.” Tears are welling up in your eyes, a mix of both pleasure and pain through each strike to your tanned skin. You don’t want to falter though, you know it’ll be MUCH worse if you add more slaps to the count.

“S-six...seven...eight...nine...ten.” Tears are now flowing down your face, staining your cheeks in the light coat of mascara you had applied that morning. Grayson moves the pressure off your neck, letting out a deep breath.

“What a good GIRL, see, I knew you could be good for me.” He flexes his hand in a fist and then stretches it out over and over, relaxing the muscles as the sting starts to dissipate. “I think it’s time that I get a THANK YOU.” You know EXACTLY what he’s asking, turning around to face him, eyes level with the thick bulge in his shorts.

“Yes daddy.” Your fingers tug down the shorts, his thick cock springing free against his chest. You lick your lips before reaching up, taking his cock into your hand and SLOWLY stroking it. Your mouth parts, lips curling around the tip, sucking and licking before moving them lower and lower down the base.

His fingers move to grip your hair, a groan of delight leaving his lips. “That’s it baby, open your mouth, let me fuck that perfect mouth of yours.” You do as you’re told, relaxing your jaw and letting him slide further. Not only was he thick, but LONG, tears welling up as he pushed all the way in, your nose touching the skin right below his belly button. He uses your hair as his reins, bucking his hips in and out, a mixture of your spit DRIPPING from the sides of your lips down your chin and neck. Grayson keeps his eyes on you, watching you sputter around him, his teeth grinding together. 

“Fuck, so beautiful.” He pulls out abruptly, a string of saliva linking your mouth to his cock, and you feel utterly EMPTY. Grayson tilts your head up with his hand, ushering you to get up. “That’s enough, don’t want to cum in your mouth today, want to cum inside you.”

His hands push you back against the bed, untying the bikini top you still wore, revealing your bare breasts to him. His hand moves to grip his cock, rubbing the red and swollen tip against your folds, a dark smile on his face. “You are already SO wet, babygirl. Do you want me to fuck you?” You nod up at him but you know that’s not what he wants, he wants you to use your WORDS.

“Yes, Gray...I mean, daddy. Please fuck me, want to feel you cum inside me.” The words are satisfaction, the code that unlocks his motions as he pushes inside of you, working in slowly as your walls INSTINCTIVELY tighten around him, pulling him deeper. After a moment he bottoms out, holding himself there, looking down at you.

“So fucking tight, babygirl. Your cunt was MADE for me.” He moves his hips, pulling out almost completely before slamming himself back in, eliciting a whine from your throat. He continues at the same pace, pulling almost completely out and pushing back in fast, your voice becoming louder which each thrust.

“Gotta keep it down, you know Ethan is still sleeping. Wouldn’t want to wake him up. Or maybe you do, huh?” He asked, two of his fingers snaking between your breasts down to your clit, circling it. “Want Ethan to know that you’re a SLUT for my cock? How your daddy is the only one that can please you?”

You moan loudly, your voice hoarse from the way he fucked your throat earlier. “Yes daddy, I want EVERYONE to know I’m yours.” His hips slap into you over and over, fingers circling your clit with more pressure now. He can tell you’re close to coming, your walls clenching and unclenching him, your thighs shaking as his own hold you apart.

“Uh-uh, gotta ASK if you can cum babygirl, you know better.” Grayson’s free hand moves to your neck, wrapping around it JUST enough that your breathing gets harder, but not enough that you might pass out.

“Fuck, PLEASE daddy, want to cum on your cock, want to show you how good I can be.” You choked out, picturing the way his hands had moved around the wood and saw earlier that were now around your throat.

Grayson is pleased by your words, eyes focusing on your face and his fingers rubbing against you faster. “Yes, babygirl, CUM on my cock.” He can barely finish his sentence before your orgasm hits you, crying out loudly, tears flowing from your eyes with pleasure. He continues his movements, feeling your walls tightening around him and knowing he can’t hold on anymore. “Gonna cum, baby, gonna coat your walls with me, want you LEAKING my cum.” A groan of satisfaction leaves his lips, his cock pressed deep inside you as he spurts thick ropes of cum into you. Your eyes roll back into your head, closing them as you continue coming down from your high, his hand moving off of your neck so you can fully breathe. His hips stutter briefly, letting you milk his cock before he pulls out, noticing your dazed state.

“Hey...come back to me baby.” He whispered, moving to lay down next to you, placing gentle kisses all over your face. Your eyes FINALLY flutter open, a lazy smile on your lips. “Sorry about that, you really did just look so good I couldn’t help myself.” Grayson let out a deep chuckle, tugging you into his side, his fingers roaming up and down your back.

“Don’t apologize baby, next time just tell me and I’ll stop to USE you how you need to be used.” He glances at the door, hearing a whine from Sledge, pulling him back to reality. “Our SON wants you.”

You shake your head, looking up at him. “Nope, YOU can deal with him now, you fucked all of the energy out of me.”

Tagging my GRAYstans: @midnightf​ | @certainaesthetic���

[simpsonssitcom]

So lots of things have been said about the ever-changing Simpsons house. Because I am a personal fan, my favorite discussion would likely be TheRealJims’ “Simpsons Mysteries” video about the house. However, I’m not here to talk about how the layout changes over the 30 seasons, or even episode to episode. I’m here to talk about the exterior design of the house in the earliest stages of the show. Because origins will always been considered in this project, I wanted to look at the Tracey Ullman shorts up to Simpsons Roasting, and see how the exterior has changed. With one exception (I will note later), we’ll only be covering what is seen on-screen, and no production art or concepts.

Anyways, here’s the first on-screen look the viewers ever see of the exterior of the Simpson home. It’s a small glimpse of just the roof and a simply-colored wall, shown in “Babysitting Maggie” when she chased a butterfly out the window and off the roof. Hardly any identifying features.

The very next episode, The Pacifier, once again only shows us a small amount in just the corner of the house. These tiny glimpses keep coming in Football, and Skateboarding. Skateboarding also marks the first time we see more than just a window on the corner. There’s a front door, a path leading up to it, and a doghouse too!

We don’t get another exterior shot until the short “Simpsons Christmas,” but we do get our first full house shot! It looks pretty odd (is it a coloring error or just blue because of the cold?) but still keeps consistent the doghouse and path up to the door. The lack of a driveway implies something shown in a later short (it’s in the backyard)

The next appearances seem to solidify previous designs and add some detail. Two shorts after the Christmas one, we get basically a reenforcement of the “Skateboarding” house facade in “Bart the Hero.” Then, in “Bart of the Jungle,” another full house shot, this time closer to the established color scheme. Interesting prototype of the backyard patio here. While there’s no backyard driveway, (see next episode) it’d most likely fit in where the far right window is, according to the next entry. I should also note that, much like in most of these, the backyard is a seemingly endless wilderness.

The last exterior feature short is practically a repeat of “Babysitting Maggie,” and it’s a multi-parter I see called “Maggie in Peril.” In Part 2, Bart specifies in the narration that the area where him and Lisa are chilling is the backyard, implying the Simpsons have a backyard driveway in this episode. We get treated to lots of different angles of the house in this one, but I only included the least repetitive shots.

Now, before I show you the first time the house is seen in the show, I’d like to touch on my one, noted-above exception about off-screen art. And that is the “official” floor plan of the house. As is to be expected, this mostly just applies to the interior, but I figure it’s worth noting. Frankly, I don’t know when this was made. While I’m certain it was sometime after those shorts, and I know even long after this house plan existed that certain rooms were moved around for the sake of a joke, the extant endless hallways and mystery rooms that remain through season one make me wonder if they were using this plan or not yet. Either way, I’m putting it here for clarity.

Now, while I’d like to cap off this post with the house’s first appearance in the main show, it’s difficult for me to say what that is. So, I’m gonna show you the house’s first appearance in “Simpsons Roasting on An Open Fire,” then its first use in “Some Enchanted Evening.” After all, that was the first episode produced and intended pilot.

Simpsons Roasting first shows the house at night, to show off the shoddy lights Homer put up, so I’m gonna put both that shot and it’s first daytime appearance in the episode so y’all can get a clear view.

But “Some Enchanted Evening” was made first, and deserved the honors of being here. Compare the establishing shot of the house in the unaired rough pilot (top) with the final aired version (bottom). I zoomed in on the aired version a tad, as the pilot is zoomed in so much that it cuts half the garage off the screen. By contrast, the un-cropped, aired version of the same establishing shot gives an extremely wide angle, showing off even small portions of the neighbors houses! At least in the final version, we get their proper bay-view windows, and the treehouse!

[hargrove-mayfields]

Harringrove April Day 10- Peaches

“Here kitty, kitty. Come get your goddamn treats.”

Billy’s on his knees in the backyard, his face pressed into the ground as he reaches blindly under the shed for the orange and white cat who moved right into their yard. She had babies in their empty doghouse last spring, but even now that the litter was all grown up and wreaking havoc on the neighborhood elsewhere, mama kitty refused to leave.

It wasn’t like her being there ever particularly bothered Billy, she was outside, he was inside or not home at all, so he didn’t see why it mattered that she wanted to sleep on their porch every now and again.

At least not until Neil said he’d put antifreeze in the cat food Max left on the porch if he caught her digging up Susan’s flower beds again, and Neil Hargrove had never made a promise he didn’t intend to keep, so then it was absolutely necessary that Billy get to this cat first.

Everything else, he’d already tried, hiding the food inside, which Max, oblivious to Neil’s threat, had put right back the next morning, putting oranges and mothballs and everything else that was supposed to repel stray cats in the garden, but everytime, the cat came back. She wouldn’t stay away.

So this was his last resort, getting scratched to shit every time he got close to her, over extending his shoulder from reaching so far under where he’d cornered her, and getting covered in dirt, all just to catch some poor little flea bag.

It’s hot outside, he’s bleeding, and he just wants to catch this stupid thing so whatever Neil does to her won’t be on his conscious, but he’s done. He rolls over onto his back, out of breath and holding his hand up to assess the stinging red scratches all over it.

And what do you know, the moment he’s given up, the little shit crawls out and just sits right on his chest like she wasn’t tearing him to shreds a second ago.

He chuckles, something between frustration and genuine amusement, tipping his head back on the grass and sighing. “So you gonna let me help you now, kitty cat?”

He brings his hand up to her and she bumps her head against it, and already he’s starting to figure her out. Like him, it seems miss kitty here trusts on her terms and hers alone, and it’s claws out if you try to push her boundaries.

Actually catching her wasn’t really something Billy thought he’d be able to do, so he didn’t have a plan now that that had happened. He pets down her back, feeling every last one of her vertebrae as he does so, and says absently, “What are we gonna do with you now, pretty kitty.”

And that gives him an idea, as to where he could take her far far away from his dad, and that's Steve’s house all the way over in Loch Nora. A pretty kitty for his pretty boy.

He picks her up off his chest so he can sit up without her running away, her claws digging into his shoulder protected only by a tank top thin enough that she digs right into his skin. But even though she’s holding on for dear life, she’s not fighting him, so that’s a good sign.

He stands up with one hand, the other still supporting the cat, and he gets to work on getting her out of here before Neil can get home from work and throw a wrench in his plan.

Max had bought and borrowed from Dustin all kinds of food and toys and beds for the spoiled porch cat, which was part of the reason why Neil was so bothered by her so much in the first place, so he carries her inside and calls for Max to help him get all that stuff together so he can take her to Steve.

They get it all in a box that Max carries to the car for him. Before he gets in, the cat now standing on his shoulders, she asks, “Where are you taking her?”

“A friend.” He answers simply, and Max scrunches her nose, asking, “Why?”

“Neil’s allergic, asked me to do something about her leavin’ her dander everywhere.” He lies and, judging from the look on her face, Max knows it’s not true, but doesn’t really want the full story anyways.

The entire time in the car, the cat climbs on the back seats screaming her little head off, and Billy’s not sure if she’s afraid or if getting her out of the elements just unlocked some part of her personality he had yet to see. Either way, he feels ridiculous telling her every two seconds, “Okay, I get it.” and “Stop complaining, I’m taking you somewhere nice.”

When he gets to Steve’s, he leaves his car running with the cat still inside, just in case Steve were to hate the idea of having a pet and he had to take her somewhere else. He hopes not, doesn’t know where else he’d take her in that case except maybe Tommy’s, but they let their cats outside anyways, defeating the purpose.

He knocks on the door, partially forgetting how much of a mess he is after chasing her until Steve opens the door, his wide eyes as he reaches and grabs one of his hands, all scabbed over with itchy scratches. “What happened, Bill?”

“It’s nothin’ bad this time, I was catchin’ a cat.”

Steve narrows his eyes, not believing his cover because of the countless other bruises and cuts he’d shown up at his door with, and as many lies as he’d tried to cover them up with, “A cat?”

“Yep. Momma kitty was living in our backyard, and Neil wasn’t too happy ‘bout it.”

“Well? Did you catch her?”

“Mhm, she’s out in my car right now.”

His tone switches, having apparently grilled Billy enough to believe him, “And you brought her to me?”

“Is that okay?”

“Yes! I’ve never had a cat! Go get her!”

The second he opens the car door the cat jumps out and he catches her, swinging her up to hold her on his shoulders again, and this time, she doesn’t even claw at him.

Steve gasps all dramatically when he sees her and holds his arms out for Billy to her over to him. He pretends it doesn’t bother him when she cuddles right up under Steve’s chin, purring like he’d never heard her as if she wasn’t being a little hellion to him this morning.“What’s this little ladies’ name?”

Billy shrugs, “Didn’t give her one yet. Figured if I was dumping her on you you might as well get to pick it.”

“What’s your name sweet girl?” Steve coos at her, scratching he between her ears, “How about… Peaches!”

“Peaches? Stevie, that’s a little boring, don’t you think?”

“Nope!” He holds her up to his face and rubs their noses together, “Is your name Peaches, pretty kitty?”

The little shit meows, and Steve looks at him all smug like it means anything. Billy chuckles, and gives in, Steve always knows how to bend his will, “Alright, alright, Peaches it is.”

He reaches out to pet Peaches and she swats at him, making Steve bite the inside of his cheek to hold back a laugh, and Billy’s wondering if he made a mistake bringing her here.

A pretty kitty for his pretty boy, but she turned out to be a spoiled little princess to the King.

[hopelikethemoon]

Girl’s Night (Javier x Reader) {MTMF}

Title: Girl’s Night  Rating: PG-13 Length: 3800 Warnings: Discussions about cancer, abusive parents, toxic family (illusions to racism and homophobia) Notes: You can find everything about Maybe Today, Maybe Forever here. Set in September 1998. gif by coredrive! If you’ve forgotten what Reader’s backstory is, you can find out more at the link above!  Summary: Reader has a girls night with Connie and Monica.

@grapemama @seawhisperer @huliabitch @pedropascalito @rogrsnbarnes @thewallpapergoesorido @twomoonstwosuns @gooddaykate @livasaurasrex @ham4arrow @plexflexico @readsalot73 @hdlynn @lokiaddicted @randomness501 @fioccodineveautunnale  @roxypeanut @snivellusim @lukesrighthand @historynerd04 @mrsparknuts @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @exrebelshocktrooper @awesomefandomsunited @ah-callie @swhiskeys @lady-tano @beskar-droids @space-floozy @cable-kenobi @cool-ultra-nerd @himbopoes @findhimfives @pedrosdoll @frietiemeloen @arrowswithwifi @random066 @uncomicalhumour @heather-lynn @domino-oh-damn @cyarikaaa @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @im-still-a-pieceofgarbage @ksgeekgirl  @yabby-girl @xqueenofthecraziesx @punkass-potato @coredrive @pascalesque @theduchessofkirkcaldy @queenquazar @sabinemorans @buckstaposition @holkaskrosnou @yespolkadotkitty @fleetwoodmactshirt

You knew something had to be up. The girl’s night had been your idea, but Connie had seized on it without hesitation. Steve and Javier would watch the girls at your house — and play PlayStation — while you and Monica would come get wine drunk at the Murphy’s. 

Connie seemed to be in great spirits for most of the evening. Conversation mostly focused on how the girl’s were doing in school, where you saw your career going, and Connie complaining about working double shifts at the hospital.

And that was when the conversation veered in a different direction. 

Connie topped off her wine glass, only to chug it down like a champ. 

“Uh-oh.” You took a sip of your own wine, before sitting your glass aside. “Connie, what’s wrong?”

Just a week ago, Javier had assured you that things would be fine with them. Whatever their problem was, it wasn’t as serious as Connie feared that it was.

Monica looked warily between the two of you, “Should I be nervous?”

“Probably.” You shot back, before keeping your focus on Connie as she leaned forward, propping her elbows on the table. 

“Steve had a cancer scare.”

“Oh my God.” Monica covered her mouth.

You just stared, “Just a scare?”

She nodded, “It happened months ago. In May!” Connie pressed the heels of her palms against her eyes. “I’m so fucking mad at him I could spit. But I’m relieved. I just can’t believe he wouldn’t tell me.”

“Wait… rewind. When did you find out?”

“Monday.”

“Shit.” You frowned. “I’m gonna kick his ass into 2020.”

Connie laughed bitterly. “He didn’t want to scare me. That was his excuse at first.”

“At first?” Monica frowned. “Why is it such a man thing to hide shit from their partners? I don’t get it.”

“It’s all about their ego,” You explained. “What kind? I mean, Javier and Steve smoked like freight—“

“Testicular.” Connie answered bluntly and Monica choked. “I guess, in May he found a growth on his left testicle and—“

“Please spare me the details.” Monica groaned, sinking back in her chair. “I don’t want to hear about Steve’s testicles.”

You snorted quietly, trying to keep from laughing at Monica’s utterly scandalized expression. “But he didn’t tell you? I mean… that would explain the whole…” You gave Connie a look as you gestured vaguely. 

“Mhm. I’m just so pissed off.” Connie admitted. “He lied about a trip he took back in May. I can’t even believe it. He just lied! He went to Tampa to see a doctor outside of my hospital network so I wouldn’t… I don’t know. I don’t get his logic.”

“He’s a man. Don’t expect logic.” Monica pointed out. 

“She’s not wrong.” You shrugged. “But, holy shit. Why wouldn’t he just tell you?”

“My mother.”

Oh. Shit. 

Connie’s voice grew quieter, her eyes shining with tears. “After all of my struggles with pregnancy, after all the tests, the infertility treatments, after everything — she still blames Steve.” She lowered her gaze, quickly wiping a tear away. “And with her being with us most of the summer, Steve just… I guess, In his defense, he was afraid this would give her ammo.” 

“Connie, sweetie…” You rose from your seat and moved around the table to sit beside her. You wrapped your arms around her and pulled her to you, rubbing her back. 

“He lied. To my face. For months.” Connie mumbled, her voice muffled as she covered her face. “That’s why he couldn’t get it up. All summer, all my attempts to initiate and he was so stressed about lying that he couldn’t even perform.”

“I’m going to grab…” Monica looked around nervously. “Chips? Salsa? Something other than this conversation?”

Connie laughed, “I’m so sorry!”

“Don’t apologize.” Monica made a face. “I’m just gonna go sit and watch TV until this conversation is over.”

“I’ll call you when it’s over.” You assured her as Connie pulled back, sniffling and wiping tears away. “Did Steve tell you all of this on his own or…?”

“It was horrible.” Connie told you gravely. “I took your advice, I bought this really cute black teddy. I made us dinner, the girls were out of the house.”

“Fuck.” You grimaced, “Connie, I’m so…”

“Don’t.” She shook her head. “It made him finally admit to everything. Full-on nervous breakdown. I guess he hated how things had been because of this secret. It was bad. It was good. He cried, which… I haven’t seen him do in years.”

“Are you… I mean, are you guys okay or…” You almost didn’t want to know. Steve and Connie were such an ever present force in your lives. They had always had their rocky moments, but at the end of the day they always managed to find solid ground.

“I asked him to sleep in the guest room.” Connie admitted to you, pulling herself out of your embrace as she reached for the wine bottle and poured herself another glass.

“Do you mind telling me what happened?” You questioned lightly, reaching across the table to grab your discarded glass of wine, taking a short sip of the drink. 

Connie inhaled shakily, “Well… I had Monday night off so I arranged for the neighbours to watch the girls for us. Admittedly, Steve was a little anxious during dinner. In hindsight, I realize that he might’ve been… I think he was planning on telling me already.” She frowned, rubbing her thumb over the crease between her brows as she stared down at her wine glass. 

“I had no idea. If I had known the truth was something like this, I would not have encouraged you to try to romance him.” You wondered if Javier had known what was going on. He had to. He’d been so certain that things would be fine, so long as Steve talked to her. 

“It’s… probably for the best.” Connie shrugged her shoulders. “I mean, don’t get me wrong… I’m relieved that he doesn’t have cancer, but the way he went about it. I’ve never been so pissed at him.” 

“Not to play devil’s advocate, but…” You pursed your lips. “I know how much Steve hates your mother. I mean, I know it’s a mutual emotion, but… Can you really blame him for wanting to keep it quiet? Not for months, that’s… shitty. But you weren’t going to kick your mother out.” 

You knew both sides of the story of Connie’s mother — Ethel Gibson. You had met her a handful of times since moving to Miami and the picture Steve and Connie had painted hadn’t been far off the reality. She was a fiery woman, daughter of Irish immigrants, and forged by the coal mines of Appalachia. She was one of twelve children, mother to nine, and devoutly religious. She deeply resented Steve because he whisked Connie off the mountain without marrying her first. In fact, they hadn’t married until they moved to Miami after they’d both completed college. 

And in all those years, Ethel would’ve been fine with their sinful lifestyle, if Connie had only given her a grandchild. Just one. 

Last year, when Ethel came to visit, Connie had called you tears because her mother had cruelly told her that God had cursed them for living in sin for so many years. That they would never have real children because they had done everything wrong. 

Despite how toxic her mother was, Connie hadn’t quite figured out how to sever that connection. Ethel was useful during the summer, when everyone was working. But she was a hateful old hag. 

Connie swept another tear off her cheek as she turned to look at her, “I just can’t believe the lengths he went to hide this. A fake business trip, going outside of our insurance, and then months of making me feel like something was wrong.”

“Want me to kick his ass? Cause I will.” You smiled a little at her. “I mean, he did try to take care of your needs — right?”

She nodded her head slowly, “I do get it.” Connie chewed on her bottom lip as she ran her finger around the rim of her wine glass. “I just hate how he went about this. I could’ve been there for him. I mean how would you feel if Javier pulled this shit?”

“There would be a surreptitious rose bush in the backyard.” You answered without hesitation. “Maybe a new concrete patio.”

“Exactly!” Connie shook her head then. “I don’t want to stay mad at him. I really do get why he did it. If my mother caught wind that he had something wrong with his testicles, it would just further fuel her hatred for him. It would be his fault that I’m… barren.”

You reached over and squeezed her hand. “You’re an amazing mother to two little girls who think the world of you, Connie. Olivia and Emily love you both, no differently than my girls love us.” 

“I know. I know.” She squeezes your hand back. “I can’t believe I let her convince me that Steve was cheating! And the reality was that he just couldn’t get it up because he had been lying to me.”

“I think you should let him out of the doghouse. Maybe not tonight since you are teetering on the edge of being white girl wasted when he gets home.” You sat the bottle of wine of her reach. “But I think he punished himself all summer.”

“I agree.” Connie gave you a look. “He said Javier was pretty pissed off at him for how he handled things.”

“Javier knew?” You glowered. “I guess the boys are allowed to keep some secrets.” That was going to be a discussion you had with Javier when you got home. 

Connie wiped at her eyes again, sinking back into her chair with a heavy sigh. “I spent all summer thinking something was wrong with me. All summer! I just couldn’t figure out why everything felt fine, but he… It’s so stupid. I’m so pissed off that he put me through this, but equally pissed that I get it.” 

“I know this isn’t an easy conversation to have,” You started cautiously, chewing on your thumbnail as you stared at Connie. “But I think it might be time to cut your mother off.” 

Connie started to cry again and your heart clenched as you watched her break down beside you. 

“Alright, come on. Get up. We’re gonna go into the family room with Monica and have this conversation.” You urged, giving her arm a squeeze as you encouraged her to get up out of her chair. “No more wine.” 

“You’re no fun.” 

“I get it from Javi.” You shot back, guiding Connie into the family room. 

“Are we done talking about Steve’s balls?” Monica questioned, brows drawn together as she met your eyes. “Shit, Connie. Are you okay?”

“Some tough love is about to happen.” You told her flatly as Connie sat down in the middle of the sofa, you and Monica on either side. 

Monica scooted closer and gave Connie’s shoulder a squeeze, “Do I need to get the wine?” 

“No,” Connie shook her head. “No, she was right. I need to stop. Getting drunk isn’t going… It’s just hard.”

You tucked your legs beneath you, turning on the sofa to face Connie. “I know.” You rubbed your lips together as you mulled over what the right words to say were. Turning your back on a parent was difficult — no matter how terrible they were. But sometimes, it had to be done. Especially when it’s a detriment to your own wellbeing. Or, in this case, your relationship. It was time to cut the ties. “How long have you and Steve been together?”

Connie brought her legs to her chest, wrapping her arms around them as she rested her chin on her knees. “Twenty-two years.” 

“In those twenty-two years, has Ethel ever said anything kind towards her son-in-law?”

She shook her head, “Unless you consider the handful of times she’s complimented him on his hair cut.”

“Well, that’s weird.” Monica laughed. “Is that the only nice thing she has to say?”

Connie rolled her eyes, “Most likely. She’s never liked him.” 

“We could always start a girl gang of women who hate their parents.” Monica suggested, which made Connie laugh. “I’m serious. Nadia makes these really cool pins.” She leaned over the side of the sofa, grabbing her jean jacket and showing off the pins on her lapel. 

“I might just take you up on that.” Connie quipped, before she leaned against you with a dramatic sigh. “I can’t believe Steve felt like he needed to hide a cancer prognosis, out of fear of my mother. If he had just told me… I would’ve stood by him. I wouldn’t have let her use it.” 

“It doesn’t matter.” Monica pointed out, “Even if you stand up to them, they’re not going to change. They’ll always find a way to cut you down.” She shook her head slowly, “My parents always suspected I was queer. It’s why they hit me. But when I was in high school, I convinced a friend of mine — he was so nice — to date me. Just to try to control the situation.” She wrapped her arms around her waist, lips drawn thin as she spoke. “But that wasn’t good enough for them. He wasn’t good for me. He wasn’t who they wanted me with. It was all about control.” 

“You know my history,” You told Connie with a heavy sigh. “If I hadn’t cut her off, I wouldn’t be where I am today.” 

Connie nodded her head, “You’re both right.” She wiped at her cheeks, exhaling shakily. “She never wanted me to leave the hollow. She wanted me to live the same life she did. In a tiny house, married to some coal miner or a long-distance truck driver. Miserable and bitter like her.” 

“She wanted to control you.” Monica stated. 

“She acted like she was going to die when I told her I was leaving with Steve,” Connie recalled. “He got into college — just on the other side of the mountain. Less than a day’s drive in good weather. We’d only been dating for a couple months, but he knew I hated it there. I felt like shit for weeks because my mother acted like she was just going to lay down and die because I’d betrayed her. But I wanted more. I wanted to go to school for nursing. I wanted to live in a real town and not the side of a mountain. She’s never forgiven me for that.” 

“I’ll punch her in the face if you want me to.” You remarked with a short laugh. “I’ve been wanting to since she made you cry last year. She’s a bitch and frankly, we both know what her real issue is with the girls.”

Monica gave you a look, “It was painfully obvious.” 

“And look, you don’t have to make it a big deal.” You reminded Connie. “You keep contact limited. You can send Christmas cards and birthday cards — but you don’t make time to call her. You don’t welcome her into your home and you don’t visit her. If you want another twenty-two years with Steve, that’s just how it’s going to have to be.”

“I know.”  She sank back against the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. “I hate this. I really do. She has always been a thorn in the side of our marriage the entire time. I feel so bad for Steve. He’s never said a mean thing to her or about her.” 

“Steve’s a saint, but he’s not off the hook for lying to you.” You reminded her. “But go easy on him. He didn’t do it maliciously.” 

“I think… I’m going to call him.” Connie scooted to the edge of the sofa. “Are you both good to go home?”

“I just have to call a cab.” 

Monica checked her watch, “Nadia can be here in like fifteen to pick me up.” 

“Thank you both.” Connie slung her arms around both of you, pulling you towards her. “I really needed this. I really needed this.” 

“I’m just glad you and Steve are going to be okay.”

She nodded, “And we will be. We will.” 

You felt terrible for them. But relationships had ups and downs. It was just important that you came out on the ups, rather than the downs. 

———

 “So you knew about Steve’s balls.” You stated as you rolled onto your side towards Javier. The bedroom was dark, but you could almost imagine his expression just from the huff he let out. “Well?”

“Interesting choice of pillow talk.” Javier remarked as he rolled onto his back, reaching out beneath the covers to grab your leg. He gave it a squeeze, sighing heavily. “Yeah, he told me at the bar last week.”

“So you just found out.” 

“Yeah.” He rubbed his thumb over your skin. “I hear he’s sleeping in the guest room. I told him he fucked up. Lying to her for how many months?”

You reached down and rested your hand over his, “I think she’ll let him back in her bed tonight. We talked it through.” 

“And the prognosis?”

“He fucked up by lying, but she recognized that he was just trying to keep the peace.” 

“He’s scared shitless, baby.” Javier told you. “I’ve never seen him so on edge before. She blew up Monday night.” 

“Well, she didn’t know what she was in for. She cooked dinner, bought a fancy teddy, and…”

“He regrets the ‘I need to talk’ shit he pulled.” 

“He should!” You shook your head, squeezing his hand. “He is such a sweetheart, but he’s as smart as a box of rocks sometimes.” 

Javier chuckled, “What can you expect? He shoots skeet. For fun.” 

You snorted, “He’s deeply flawed.” 

“You think they’re gonna figure things out?”

“I hope so.” You shifted closer to him, draping your arm over his chest as you rested your cheek on his shoulder. “She’s gonna cut off her mom.” 

“Fuck Ethel.” 

“Seriously.” You curled your leg around his, resting it in between his thighs. Trying to get closer to him. “I feel bad for both of them, honestly. I understand why Steve did what he did, but… He shouldn’t have left Connie in the dark for so long.”

“I don’t think he planned to,” Javier admitted, running his hand over your forearm. “For what it’s worth, Steve told me he had planned to tell her once he found out whether he had cancer or not. One of the girls got sick — remember the stomach flu that went around? Connie was stressed, he’d just come back from his trip, and he put it off. Then Ethel came and…”

“Now it’s September.” You added, lifting your hand up to cup his cheek. “If you ever think you’re sick… please tell me.” 

Javier tilted his head and brushed his lips against yours. “I’d want you right there beside me, baby. I don’t know how Steve managed to get himself up to Tampa and let them remove his whole fucking testicle.” 

“They removed the whole thing?” You gaped at that. “Connie acted like it was just a biopsy. Holy shit, no wonder he hasn’t wanted to have sex!” 

“Yeah, it’s a whole… thing.” Javier snorted. “I’ve heard more about Murphy’s balls than I ever wanted to.”

“Monica was scandalized by our discussion on Steve’s balls.” 

“That poor child.” Javier chuckled. “Did she have fun?”

“She bragged about how excited she was for your Social Policy Analysis class.” 

“I think she’s the only one excited about it,” He sounded quite pleased with that. “Everyone else was grumbling about having to turn in a two-hundred page policy.” 

“That class is only going to be fun because of me.” You pointed out. “Which one of us secured City Hall for your class?” You couldn’t wait to hear Monica get up at a council meeting and argue for her policy reform. 

Javier snorted, “When are you gonna start teaching yourself, baby?”

You traced your finger over his nose in the darkness, “Next semester.” 

“Wait, really?”

“I haven’t turned anything in yet, but… I think I’m going to do it. Honestly, I miss working with you.” You admitted. “I’ll still help Steve, as promised… But, I’ve had so much fun helping you with the Policy class.” 

Javier curled his arm around you and pulled you into his chest as he rolled onto his side. “Best fucking news I’ve had all week.” 

You laughed quietly, nuzzling into his throat. “I thought you’d be happy about it.” 

“My office is plenty big enough for you to set up your own desk in there.” 

“I can’t sit on your lap?” You laughed as you pressed kisses along his neck. “Damn.” 

He gave your ass a playfully squeeze, “Only when the door’s shut.” 

You were seconds away from sliding your hand down between your bodies when you heard the creak of your bedroom door and the quietest little voice whispering. 

“Mommy? Daddy?”

Javier sighed quietly as he released his hold on you, rolling over and turning the bedside light on. “Hey, princesa. What’s up?”

“I had a nightmare.” Josie said quietly, rubbing at her eyes.

“Well, what are you doing over here?” You questioned, “Come here, baby girl. Get in bed with us.” 

Josie didn’t need to be told twice, she pushed the bedroom door shut behind her and bounded her way onto the bed with you. Javier picked her up, despite his bad shoulder, tossing her up in the air a little before settling her down on the bed between the two of you. 

“What was the bad dream, sweetheart?” He questioned. 

“I was all alone!” Josie said, quite dramatically, clinging to your hand. “It was dark and scary… And there were these creepy sounds and… a witch cackling!” 

“Did you leave your Halloween sounds cassette on?”

“Maybe.” Josie said innocently. 

“Babydoll, you can’t listen to those at night.” 

“Uncle Steve wanted to hear them before he left! He thought they were funny.”

You rolled your eyes, “Then we’ll just have to bill Uncle Steve for the nightmare tax.” 

“The nightmare tax?” Josie questioned, wide-eyed as she looked up at her father. 

Javier nodded his head, “The nightmare tax. Now Uncle Steve will have the nightmares and you won’t.” 

“I bet he’s having nightmares tonight.” You interjected with a wry laugh. 

“Oh.” Josie hummed thoughtfully. “So I won’t have anymore bad dreams?”

“Well, surely not with your big strong daddy here to scare away the bad dream monsters.” You remarked, reaching around behind Josie’s head so you could play your fingers through Javier’s hair. “We’ve got you kiddo, don’t worry.” 

“I love you mommy.” Josie said, rolling over and clinging to you.

You wrapped your arm around her and kissed the top of her head. “I’ve got you, babydoll.” 

“Lights out?”

“Lights out!” Josie cheered.

Javier shut off the light, rolling onto his side and draping his arm across Josie and you. He curled his hand around your hip, his thumb rubbing a small circle there. “Good night.” He whispered in the darkness. 

“Nighty-night daddy.” 

[razorblade180]

Dispute

[morning]

*mostly everybody just chillin*

Blake:Have you seen Yang? I checked her room and she’s not there.

Ruby:Nope, I’m pretty sure she’s out for a run or some-

*boom*

Weiss:.....What was that?

Ren:Souned like it came from outside.

Oscar*from outside* Guys come on, this isn’t like you!!!!

Nora:Oscar? *everyone running outside*

Ruby:Oscar what’s going.....on?

*Yang in the middle of the yard swinging at Jaune. He’s keeping his shield up and swinging back.*

Jaune:What’s wrong, beating me should be a piece of cake if I’m under your level.

Yang:Stop acting smug you little- ha! *going for a high kick*

*Jaune lifts it higher with his shield and sweeps her planted foot with his sword. She falls hard*

Jaune:Get up! *gaining distance* I’m not done beating you yet!

Yang:*growls before lunging at him*

*blake gets between them with her swords out to block*

Blake:Woah! This seems like more than just a little sparring match. What’s gotten into you to?

Yang:He needs to watch his mouth. *trying to get pass Blake*

Jaune:I can say the same for you.

Blake:*struggling to keep them apart*Oscar!?

Oscar:They were both trying to help me get better at fighting. They started of disagreeing with how I should use my cane. Then it spiraled into who was right based off experience.

Yang:All I said was you’re still lacking experience and I should know better.

Jaune:You said I’m not on anyone’s level and viable to just screw up.

Ruby:*furious* YANG!!

Yang:Don’t be like that; I’m right while he’s going for low blows.

Jaune:What, you upset because I said you’re not as good as you think you are? That maybe you should reconsider your own progress since you got taken down in one hit!?

*both closing distance*

Ruby:Jaune!!

Blake:Guys....my arms are getting.....tsk *moves out the way with a clone to escape their attacks* crap....

*both continue to fight*

Weiss:Alright both of you need to-

Nora:I wouldn’t bother; I think these two are gonna need to duke it out.

Ren:Let’s just moderate to be safe.

Weiss:You’re okay with Jaune losing to Yang like this?

Nora:Umm Yang is gonna get creamed. There’s no way she’s losing.

Blake:My arms tell me it’s anyone’s guess.

Ren:Jaune

Oscar:Yang; what do you think Ru-

Ruby:*just watching closely* I already know how this ends.

*Yang grabbing Jaune’s blade, snatching it has she sends him back with a kick*

Yang:Game over! *lunges with a right hook*

Weiss:Told you s-

Jaune:*grabs her punch and flips her over his body; slamming her on her back*

Yang:*wind leaving her body*

Ren:I taught him that.

Jaune:*retrieving sword* Can we finish this already? *changes sword*

Yang:*erupting in a pillar of fire* You brought this on yourself.

Jaune:*aura covers his entire body* likewise...

Ruby:*grabs her scythe* I swear these two.

Yang: Let’s get started! *Fires a volley of shot gun flares*

Jaune:(Here goes nothing) *knocking each flare back at her before vanishing at high speed*

Yang:Shit.....*bobs and weaves her own attack* alright, where did you- *blocks a sword coming right over head*

*shockwave pushes everyone back*

Jaune:*teeth gritted* I’m right here.

Yang:*arms going numb* I can see that... *pushes him off and dropkicks him*

Blake:Did....did he boost himself?

Ren and Nora: *shrugs* first I’ve seen it!

*a spectacle of yellow and white aura clashing in the yard glows brighter. Sparks flying off swords and metal arms alike*

Yang:*eyes getting redder* I’ll admit *left uppercut* you’ve gotten better.

Jaune:But I’m still not up to your level is that right? *mixing in slashes with thrusts*

Yang:Obviously *backflips then lunges forward with a straight punch; flames coming off it*

Jaune:*swings a glowing crocea mors*

“You’re through!!!!!”

*a tornado of rose petals sweeps them up and throws them apart*

Jaune:*crashes into a tree, breaking his aura* uuuugggghhh Ruby?

Yang:*cracks the ground with her fall, breaking her aura.* agh! What the hell?

Ruby:ENOUGH!!!! BOTH OF YOU!!!!

*silence*

Ruby:*rubbing the bridge of her nose* Seriously, what is wrong with you two!!!? You both were both dangerously close to actually wounding each other; and for what!? You both know better.

Yang:Well maybe if-

Ruby:I don’t want to hear excuses Yang. You know what? Take a walk; leaders orders.

Yang:You can’t be seri-

Ruby:NOW.....*staring her down*

Yang:......tsk, whatever...*walks off to the back of the inn*

Ruby:Can you guys give us some space? I want to talk to Jaune alone.

*Everybody slowly walks inside concerned*

Jaune:*laying on his back*I take it this is the part you yell at me?

Ruby:I just.....why would you let Yang get under your skin like that!? Egging her on into a fight? That doesn’t sound like you; and then you brought up her arm?

Jaune:*biting his lip*.... I was fed up alright?

Ruby:Of her teasing? We know that’s how she is.

Jaune:I know but....*hits the ground* I don’t know of it was the way she said or her. Those words hit harder than usual; I know I’ve made improvements but she made me feel...

Ruby:Like you’re stuck in place? That’s why you challenged her;

Jaune:I lost my cool; I’m sorry.*staring at the sky* You’re probably still pissed at me though.

Ruby:I’m a little less *sits down* regardless, as a leader you can’t lose your cool like that; I know you know that.

Jaune:.....

Ruby:*kisses his forehead* And as someone who’s very important to me, I would really appreciate you getting along with my sister. I don’t like seeing either of you like that in a sparring match.

Jaune:*sigh* I’m sorry Ruby.....

Ruby:I’m not the one who needs that apology the most. Don’t get me wrong you’re still in the doghouse but right now there’s another hothead I need to chat with. *leaving*

Jaune:Good luck.

Ruby:Don’t need it; before I forget. Just between us, you might have won that fight. You’re definitely not stuck in place. Just keep doing your best; I’ll support you like I always do. *walks away*

Jaune:......*smiles*

[backyard]

Yang:*sitting with her legs crossed*

Ruby:You know technically I said take a walk right?

Yang:You done yelling at vomit boy and now it’s my turn?

Ruby:Hopefully there won’t be any more yelling; I hate fighting with you. We’re sisters Yang.

Yang:Why does it feel like you’re about to take Jaune’s side on this?

Ruby:There is no sides Yang; you both are wrong.

Yang:But? I know there is one coming.

Ruby:*Sigh* But you were wrong first and you know that. Saying what you said to him was unwarranted. Everyone knows he’s trying.

Yang:He’s not just trying he’s....he’s striving. He’s been striving leaps and bounds. While I stumble....

Ruby:What.....?

Yang:Ever since I got back everyday has been a struggle to feel even a fraction of how I used to. Strong, courageous, ready to stand up to anything; I was thehard hitter everyone banked on. Now it always feels like I have to lean on others. Nora, You, Blake-

Ruby:Jaune?

Yang:.....It’s just, he’s catching up so fast. He’s.... helping in ways I used to. *closes her eyes* I said what I said because I was jealous. Then he called me out on the whole reason I felt like that in the first place.

Ruby:You fought him to still prove you’re better? That’s so-

“Stupid”

Jaune:*walking to them* Yang of course you’re better than me. You were back then and you are now. It’s a fact.

Yang:That body slam you did says otherwise.

Jaune:That’s one move.

Yang:It was your moves Jaune! I.....*clenching her fist* I could barely keep up the whole time. It was infuriating to me. Maybe you’re right; I’m just not as good as I always thought....

Jaune:You’re right, you’re better.

Ruby:?

Yang:What?

Jaune:I’ve only gotten this far because so many exceptional people have helped me along the way; including you. Any accomplishments I get is because of you all and the only reason it looks like I’m learning fast is because I’m starting from nothing.

Ruby:He’s right; you shouldn’t be comparing yourself to anyone here. We’re all at different stages in our development. Some take longer than others to overcome.

Jaune:I’m sorry I brought up your arm; it was wrong.

Yang:....It’s my fault *looks down* I’m the one who started acting like bully; I’m sorry.

Ruby:You guys can do better than that. Come on, hug it out you two.

.......

Ruby:*grabs both of them and hugs them* I’m not letting go until I feel the love.

*both of them eventually start hugging back*

Ruby:Promise me we won’t have to revisit this experience.

Yang and Jaune:We promises....

Ruby:Good! Now let’s go inside. If you want I can referee a clean match between you two tomorrow.

Jaune:I’m in no rush to get punched in the face.

Yang:Or stabbed in the shoulder. I didn’t know you knew Pyrrha’s stance. You use it too well. *rubs shoulder*

Ruby:Suit yourself; it’s no fun knowing how it will end anyways.

.......

Jaune:You’re saying you would know who would win if we fought tomorrow?

Yang:Care to enlighten us?

Ruby:*smiling* Wouldn’t you like to know?

[scarecrowandmrking]

Hard Lessons

I considered myself a rational, ambitious person. I got good grades in school. I studied hard and made sure nothing, including romance, got in the way of pursuing my dreams. But when I looked around at the lives my friends were leading, I felt that something was missing. I looked around and realized that in all the hustle and bustle, I had forgotten how to live. So when the chance to go to a highly privileged school, that would both further my education and my experience in life came along, I decided it was too good to pass up on. I may not have been the most world traveled or the most exciting or even the most beautiful who applied, but I knew that none of the other girls could match my fierce dedication to rise to the top of the food chain. My first day at The Academy was pretty damn unsexy. Every girl who comes to the Mark Pellegrino’s school has to undergo a battery of tests. Everything from ink blots to physicals to STD tests. The last one in particular I wasn’t worried about being a virgin and all. My mother thought I was going to a community college upstate, little did she know that I was going to a place where I would learn to satisfy the needs of a sexy, sophisticated gentleman, but not as just a sex object, but as young lady who knew about what was going on in the world and knew how to behave in any given situation. After the grueling inspection by both doctors and psychiatrists was over, I was taken out in the lush, large backyard and chained to a post, a pink collar with the words NEW BITCH emblazoned on the front with fancy lettering. A small wooden dog house was my only form of shelter, the simple floor barely large enough for me to lay in without my legs sticking out. Two bowls, one pick and the other silver, contained a cup of yogurt and some water. There was no bathroom, just a spot on the grass behind my doghouse where I was forced to do my business and a girl on a slave collar, with angry red slashes on her back, would come a few times a day to clean up after me. I’m not sure what she did to deserve such a terrible job like cleaning up human waste, but I was sure that I never wanted to find out. A movement caught my attention up ahead and I looked up to see a tall, blonde haired, dashing figure dressed all in black walking towards me through the lush grass of the mansion’s backyard. I knew it was Mark Pellegrino before I even recognized the facial scruff and clear blue eyes. I had watched most of his shows and movies, especially Supernatural where he played the fallen archangel Lucifer. I was so excited when I had come across the secret internet page that I had had to beg another girl to get the password to, it was the only place to get an invitation to learn at Mark’s school. I’d had to fill out page after page of questions, tests, fill in the blanks. There had even been a background check. As Mark walked closer to my doghouse, decked out in a sexy as fuck black suit that looked like it cost a million bucks, I finally noticed the naked chick crawling along behind him on all fours. She was the exact opposite of me in every way. Curvy where I was stick thin, huge, swinging breasts where my wear so small they barely filled out an A cup, her hair fell in long blonde waves down her back while mine was a mousy shade of brown. I couldn’t help feeling jealous as I eyed the way she moved along the soft grass, her collar much more luxurious than mine, the lettering covered in sparkling jewels spelling out the words DADDY'S BITCH for all to see. “Are we being a good girl today,” Mark asks as he comes up to pet my head. I licked his fingers, turning my head this way and that so he could stroke every inch of my face. After so long of being all alone, I enjoyed the touch of another person so much, especially him. My eyes wandered away from him for an instant and I noticed the large purple strap on the other girl was wearing, it was as wide as a soda can and twice as long. I froze, a shiver going through me. “Yes, Master. I will do anything you wish.” Mark nodded, his smile makes my pussy so warm and wet as I stared up at him. I felt something warm and soft stroke my pussy lips and my head swiveled back to see the blonde licking my cunt. I moved to pull away- Mark tutted, grabbing me by the head and holding me still. “Now. Now,” he said. “If you are to stay here, you must learn to obey. Your pussy is not yours anymore. It belongs to me. To do with as I choose.” I couldn’t hold back my whimpering as I was eaten out for the first time, but not in a way that I had ever imagined. The blonde’s tongue licked me from my asshole all the way down to my clit, the sensations hitting me all at once and making me feel both giddy and afraid. I had never really felt an attraction for women, yet here I was, on all fours like a bitch in heat as another woman darted her tongue in and out of my virgin hole. I wiggled, trying to keep her tongue out of me. That was something I was saving for the love of my life, not some stranger I had never met before. Mark swatted me on the head with something heavy. I winced, looking up to find that he had accosted me with a very long, very thick cucumber. What the fuck was he holding that for? “I noticed it said in your paperwork that you are a virgin,” Mark said by way of explanation, handing the cucumber to the blonde woman who had been devouring my snatch. “Normally, I would be the one to do the honors. But, you see, you had some very harsh things to say about Rand. That kind of shit just doesn’t fly here.” I cocked my head in a gesture I am sure made me look pretty damn stupid, but I couldn’t help myself. I remembered that there had been several political questions on the multiple questionnaires I had filled out when applying to the Academy. There had been some about the writer and philosopher Ayn Rand, and I had answered honestly, that I had found her to be a small minded woman with a truly offensive viewpoint towards the poor and Native Americans. My mouth opened to argue with him, but all thoughts of dissent were pushed from my mind as I felt the cucumber being shoved into my tiny hole. I let out a scream, but Mark silenced me with a hard yank of the hair on my head. “None of that. We take our punishments silently unless told otherwise. You will learn your place.” I stared up at Mark, wide eyed and in shock as the blonde pressed the cucumber harder against my pussy opening. I had spent many an afternoon lying on my bed as a girl, thinking about this sexy celebrity or that, imagining having my cherry popped in all manner of romantic ways, but the reality that I was about to lose it to a woman holding a vegetable had not really sunk in yet. I fidgeted, not used to the feeling of anything that big pressing against my hymen. I never even fingered myself or used tampons because it hurt too much and the only vaginal exam I had ever had had been a quick one by the doctor who ran things for the Academy. This hurt a lot worse than that quick exam had. So much worse. I bit my lip. A second later I felt a hard pinch that brought tears to me eyes. Then the cucumber was slowly sinking into my virgin cunt. FUCK. FUCK. FUCK. I fought so hard not to let out a blood curdling scream as my pussy was filled up till it felt like it was going to burst. I could barely breathe, the feeling of having my walls stretched to their breaking point like nothing I could have ever imagined. It was a burning, stinging feeling that I felt from my toes all the way up to the hairs on my head. I tried to crawl away again, but Mark held me still, his hands wrapped tightly in my hair. “There we go, bitch,” the blonde coed, going all the way up in me till she finally pressed the cucumber’s huge head against my cervix. She laughed when I jumped. “Let’s go for a walk,” Mark said with a wide grin on his face. He leaned down to unhook my collar to the post. I looked at him, dumbfounded, the huge vegetable still crammed as far as it could go in my pussy. The blonde wandered over to Mark and he picked up her leash, patting her on the head as a reward for eating out and popping my cherry for him. He looked over his shoulder. His made it clear disobeying him would make losing my virginity to a cucumber look like heaven in comparison. “Come,” he commanded. My pussy was stuffed so full that even wiggling back and forth on hands and knees could not dislodge it, but I kept my legs closed tightly anyway, afraid that even letting the cucumber fall to the ground might result in a swift and cruel punishment. There were several long kennels stretching from the back of the Academy all the way down to the trials that wound their way off into the woods that surrounded the large property. This is where the new girls slept at night, along with those who had proven themselves to be difficult pupils. They slept on a small cot on the ground, much the same way dogs in shelters did, a small toy thrown into to entertain them only allowed out to potty on a schedule maintained by one of the kennel girls whose job it was to see to their daily needs. I felt a flush of humiliation as the girls pressed their noses against the kennel walls, laughing and hooting at the site of me waddling around with a huge cucumber sticking out of my cunt. I knew without question that I would never be accepted by the rest of the girls here. There would always be snickering behind my back, my identity never being more than the girl who fucked vegetables. A tear ran down my cheek and fell into the grass beneath me. Even losing my innocence was nothing compared to losing my sense of self worth. Mark led us all around the yard before taking us back to my doghouse. My pussy felt raw and was throbbing as he bent down and removed it, patting me lovingly on the head. The blonde leaned against his legs, the most aggressive act of jealousy she knew she could get away with. He smiled over at her, rubbing her back and shoulders. “Who are my good girls?” The blonde reached down and rubbed her huge dildo, and I was once again reminded that Mark wasn’t the only one here packing. I felt a rush of fear go over me. Surely, he wouldn’t let her? With me? “You have been an exceptional girl today. Oh well, might as well let you finish what you started.” The blonde looked over at me, a smug look on her face. Far off, I could make out the kennel chicks watching, enjoying every minute of the show. I hung my head. A second later I felt the weight of the blonde as she climbed on top of my back with all the crude intent of a dog about to fuck a bitch in heat. I was about to close my eyes and try to block what was about to happen, but she grabbed me by the hair, giving a cruel yank that snapped my head back at the same time that she guided the giant purple dildo head to my raw opening. I was forced to look at her cruel smile as she pushed her cock up into my pussy, her destruction of my sexual being complete. “Worthless slut,” she screamed, slamming her cock into me with fierce, deep thrusts that made me squeal and cry out in pain, which only seemed to spurn her to greater depths of rage, smacking my ass with her fist and reaching under to pinch my nipples. Hard. Mark stood over me, his eyes impassive as the blonde gave me a hard fucking, his face showing neither concern or glee at my cries of torment as the blonde decided that she could make me shriek louder by pinching my clit so hard I thought she might tear it off. Then Mark was down on his knees in front of me, his pants unzipped and his hard cock being rammed deep into my screaming mouth, silencing me as he moved in and out. His hands tangled in my hair as he made use of the hole that his slave wasn’t fucking. On top of me, she had discovered the pleasures of hurting me by shoving the toy deep into my ass as well as my pussy. I mumbled, my voice silenced by Mark’s erection. I’m not sure how long the blonde fucked me and Mark face fucked my mouth and made me gag on him, but after a while the two of them switched places and it was Mark going in and out of my ass and pussy while the blonde had her way with my mouth. She was even crueler than he had been, cutting off my air as she rammed the dildo all the way down my throat, so hard and for so long that I had to fight back the urge to vomit. Mark’s deep groans mingled with my gagging sounds and the taunts of the blonde slave, my mind swimmy headed from both the lack of air and heavy fucking. My pussy felt so warm and wet beneath Mark’s thrusts, tightening and stroking his cock despite my protests. I felt the orgasm building inside of me and tried to fight it off. I wasn’t about to let them both take that first intimate ecstasy with a beloved partner away from me. AHHHHHHHHHHHHH- The cry was cut short as the blonde thrusted her strap on phallus all the way down my throat again, my first orgasm taking place while my nose was shoved hard against a the base of a fake purple cock. My body shook violently as I both fought for air and to control the white hot spasms shooting out from my convulsing cunt. “Good girl,” Mark whispered in my ear. His hands reached under me to gently pinch my nipples, making the orgasm even more intense and drawing it out along with his deep, slow thrusts. “Looks like you are ready for your reward.” A moment later, I felt him come inside of me, several long, hot spurts filling my fertile womb. I was barely conscious from the blonde suffocating me with her cock, but I still felt a swell of pleasure from having my cunt filled with his seed. Mark pulled out of me and the blonde moved where he had been, leaning down to lick the thick white cum oozing from my freshly fucked cunt. When she was done, Mark made sure to leave the cucumber in my dog bowl, the faint ring of blood from my broken hymen still visible around its girth. The improvised sex toy was to be the only thing I would have to eat for the next two days.

[tellcardtowrite]

Prompt(s?): a scene/scenes from the period when Altair and Malik were forgiving each other and settling back into each other post-Sef-bullshit, from their POVs. Like, the argument in the doghouse and/or the first night after Malik comes home (after other people go to bed/leave) and/or the first time they're left alone for any length of time afterward, etc

Sass Verse | PG | BARELY addresses the prompt.  

Altair could remember the agony of his Grandmother’s death; like a home video desperately out of date, he could recall the graininess of the scene again-and-again until it took on a meaningless quality.  Until it felt like he was watching a scene that had been scripted, and acted out, and all the emotion was an overlay of orchestra music like a kick in the gut.  But it had been agony, when he was only eleven, and still naive, still freshly wounded.  

Time had thickened Altair’s skin, injury had made him distrustful.  

He was an old man, slowly aging his way through the latest family drama, watching a network of people going through the motions of asking forgiveness, thinking-about-thinking about how it must have been his own fault that things had gotten as bad as they had.  Or maybe it wasn’t, maybe Desmond would have come around, would have realized that Altair would never-ever-not-ever have hurt his son except his doubt became a wildfire.

Desmond’s doubt was passed over international phone calls, discussed across dinner tables, whispered about behind and to the side and right in front of his back.  Desmond’s doubt shouldn’t have become a wall, but the family was made of a architects and they laid the foundation with their rumors, Lucy stacked the bricks with her aggressive defense of her husband.  Altair stood on one side, watching Desmond disappear, and he--

He hadn’t done a thing to stop it.  If he’d been young, if he’d been new to the seasons of drama, he would have fought harder.  He would have taken it more personally.  He would have been more offended.  He wouldn’t have stood in his backyard, nursing a hot cup of coffee, watching the only brother he ever had slowly convince himself that Altair must have been a monster.

Desmond’s doubt didn’t pass the threshold of Altair’s house.  That was the thing that nobody understood.  The whole of the family, from his cousins, to his brother in law, to his children--not a single one of them--could possibly understand the churning of Malik’s mind.  How it chewed through every bit of information presented to it, how it sorted and classified and arrived at conclusions.  No, Desmond’s doubt didn’t stand a chance against the sheer force of Malik’s resolve.  

God bless his husband’s innate arrogance, but Malik wouldn’t believe one foul word breathed about his family if he hadn’t whispered it first.  It wasn’t Desmond’s doubt that infected Malik.  No, Malik didn’t look at Altair and see a monster, a child-abuser in hiding, he saw failure between them.  He saw Altair’s indifference to the downward spiral of their son.  

Malik saw the inevitable death of their family when he looked at Altair; and it came at the wrong time.  It came when Malik was weakest, when he was distressed and unable to process, when he could not pretend his Mother was fine-just-fine a single moment longer.  

Altair had gone to Lamah, before Malik, and he’d sat on the sofa next to her, wearing his perfectly tailored work suit and his shiny-shiny-shoes, and he’d held her hand.  “I didn’t hurt my son,” he whispered when he had only meant to let her know that he would do anything she needed.  He would provide whatever could be provided from medical expenses to hand holding.  He wanted to tell her that he had been a lost-and-stupid child when they met, and that he loved her the way he might have loved his Mother, and he was better for the friendship and guidance she had offered him.  

But her palm was thin and dry across the back of his hand, patting him softly.  “I know,” she whispered to him.  Her smile was wan, her color was fading, she regarded him with kindness, “you couldn’t bear it if you had.  Sef is the same idiot his father was--is, I guess.”

“I’m sorry he won’t come,” Altair said.

“He will,” Lamah answered.  “And Sef will too.  And you will bear it, and wait, and welcome them both back.  Because they cannot be pushed, or nudged, or even guided.  They just have to move at their own pace.”

Altair wanted to tell her that he couldn’t bear this time.  He couldn’t stand it.  That it was like a wound in the center of his chest and it was spreading-and-spreading, that he’d already lost a son and a brother and now his husband was inching toward the door, being eaten alive by his own doubt and his own sadness.  Altair was watching Malik drown, doing his best, and it didn’t matter because the murky dark water was going to take his family and nobody could predict when he’d get them back.

Altair didn’t want to forgive them now, now that the drama had been split open, the truth had finally been set free.  He didn’t want Desmond’s shuffling footsteps, his shamefaced apologies.  He didn’t want Lucy’s tears, the way she looked at him like she knew, really knew, the damage she’d done.  

It was worse with Kadar, looking like a child in middle-age makeup, standing three feet away from touching distance.  “I’m sorry,” was all he said in the end.  But it hurt worse than the others, worse than Altair thought it would.  Because Kadar had the faith of a child and the stubbornness of his brother, and he’d been working on being fair since the start, but there he stood anyway, as good as admitting he’d believed Altair could hurt his own son all along.

 Altair was exhausted in the aftermath, when Malik finally, finally, came back to their bed.  When his husband let his bag fall off his shoulder, when he shrugged out of his thin jacket and let it fall.  “Please don’t,” Altair whispered as his throat started thickening up, his hand lifted just in time to push against Malik’s chest but it didn’t stop him.  There he was, as stupid at sixty as he’d been at sixteen, trying as hard as he could not to cry.  

But Malik was home and Malik was safe and Malik’s hand on the back of his neck was the breaking of his resolve.  His husband’s voice, “I’m so sorry, Altair.”  He didn’t mean for his doubt, he didn’t mean for leaving, he didn’t mean for the fallout of stupid choices.  Malik’s arm slid around his shoulders, pulled him up from where he sat on the edge of the bed, pulled him so they were sharing space so close they were almost one single person.

No Malik meant, I’m sorry about what your Grandmother did, I’m sorry that you ever had to know.  I’m sorry you’ve been alone.  I’m sorry I was selfish.  I’m sorry you were hurt.  I’m sorry you were alone.

Altair wasn’t fond of forgiveness, but he could forgive Malik for anything that brought him back.  For this, for the agony and the comfort, and the knowledge that no matter how dark the past had been, Altair had made it through.  That it hadn’t stolen what was left of his humanity.  

[sloth-hallo-hier-bin-ich]

Marion Cotillard!  (und des Teaserbild einfach vergessen) 

The great thing Audiard (director and screenplay) and  Bidegain (screenplay) did, they tell the story from 2 perspectives. Both characters transform form different directions, to come together. Like a mirrored parallel storyline, is the relationship with Ali and his 5 year old son: childhood, experience with adults - responsibility of adults, power imbalance. This gives the audience a imagination how a hard childhood shape a persons life, maybe Alis life, too. So his son Sam is his past, his present and at the same time, his future.  

THE INTRO (expressionistic)  Blue color with shimmering, moving points - sky? water? both? It overlaps into moving water, cross-fades, double images with a room, a drifting human body. Waves, the face of a boy (Sam). Blurry extreme close ups of face parts (intime distance), eyes. Sound: Distorted voices, breathing. Always overlapping pictures - then little  fingers, hands holding something soft - animal fur. The boy watches waves. The boy sleeps, breathes. Blue red color changes. Adult arms wipe over a semi-transparent solid surface, the sleeping face of the boy - with his finger in his face - his face with overlapping water waves with light reflections. (inner world, dream world of the boy?) - then, it moves into the realistic world. POV, front-sighted perspective: his legs in sandals, walking along concrete floor, the sound of the traffic fades in. Next picture (extreme full shot): many cars on the road, while the boy is following his father. 

Contrast within the overlaps - between moving and still images: inner world/emotions in the surrounding world (room /space). 

THEORY for the Intro:  The Expressionists perceived Impressionism as frozen. They understood the Impressionist style as having only and too little to do with the subjective expression of the artist. For the Expressionists, Impressionist style was a moment depicted too fleetingly and on the surface. The Expressionists wanted to move the viewer of their art emotionally and address her/him inwardly. The painters tried to translate their passionate elemental experiences directly into the picture. Disappointment, sadness, joy, tiredness, pain and fear are examples of feelings and sensations of the painter, they should be reflected in their paintings - the expressionistic intro feels for me like childhood memories, we know them all, this memory of fractured pictures, toughing things the first time, seeing, hearing things, special situation the first time, this special feeling. 

VISUAL IMAGES: contrasts  After the expressionistic intro - very realistic, natural style - documentary style. But in between, Audiard (Cinematography Stéphane Fontaine - amazing work) uses the “frozen image” like a painting: Stephanie (in Hospital - turned away from people, lying in bed), Ali ( in darkness in his room with the cell phone ringing) the montage of the movie is so well, it delivers the emotional journey, because you are in the emotional state of the figure in every frozen image.  Or the three special shadow images: Ali and Sam on the bridge. Ali and Stephanie on the road, Sam (alone) at the playground.  SPECIAL POV-perspectives, embedded in naturalistic shots: _Sam: sits in the dark doghouse. POV: he looks through the ripped cloth hanging in front of the entree into the backyard, where the adults are talking (the image reminds me to Stephanie’s flat, after the accident - she looked herself up, with the curtains closed)

_Sam: sits on the Climbing scaffold in front of the school, he is awaiting his father POV Sam: watches his arriving father 

_Stephanie: sits in her wheelchair, leaving her “cave flat” after a long time (she needs sunglasses) and then - POV she looks in the sunny sky 

_Ali at the beach - POV: looks at the blue sunshades 

_Ali: he has a street fight and he lys on the ground, the opponent on him, Ali has a bloody face, blood in his mouth - POV he looks to the car, the door opens and Stephanie’s robo legs stepp out of the car towards him (similar picture: the first time he meet Stephanie - he saw only her legs, while she was lying on the floor in the club)  

THE fIRST SENTENCE in the movie is from his son, Sam:  “I am hungry”. 

And Audiard does not use the female character in such a dull way that she suffers but understands the broken man in his darkness (just being used to “to enlighten”) , instead the female character challenges him to evolve. And the male character challenges her to regain her self-confidence after her accident. They meet from different worlds (classes) in their wounds, overcome - both - the inner troubles and find together. His son is playing a giant role, because on him, responsibility (in relationships) becomes very vulnerable visible - childhood as a shadow in the present behavior.

The intro of the MALE character Ali: And he travels on the street by hitchhiker and by train with his son to his sister. His son, the shoes he is wearing.. they have nothing to eat, the father collects food leftovers on the train for lunch, he steals a camera to buy his son a Mc Donalds meal. But Ali can’t put the little playing stuff from the surprise egg together, his son, Sam must do it. (There are such bright funny moments and dialogue lines in the film - so brilliant written and acted) But it’s not a privileged life. 

The intro of the FEMALE character Stephanie: The first thing we see from her: her legs. She lays on a ground in a club. There is some trouble with men. Ali is the doorman and he pulls the beating men apart (he hurts his hand at a glass window), but she must be involved, because she lays there and her noise is bleeding. He helps her up and drives her home. She is not living alone, but helps him with ice for Alis injured hand. Stephanies friend is not amused. Ali looks at the photos on the wall. She is a whale trainer who entertains people in the whale parks with lots of acrobatics. That impresses Ali. After that, we see her in action with the whales. The arena, the music, so many people, the applause, her team she instructs and then - the accident is happening. She falls into the water, bleeding - unmoving // I have to mention the cross cut to the male storyline here - the contrast from her - unmoving in the water, to him: running on the street, while an ambulances pass him.  She with (in her eyes and in the society) lost beauty, because of visible wounds and disability. She isolates herself, only one friend from work is around her. She makes herself invisible with her “broken” body, after her accident, her old world is gone. Everything will be different from now.  

SOCIAL ARENA(S)  Audiard plays the cards well showing the social area in Cannes from a hard workers life. Kind of “You have to be able to afford feelings” His male character will learn to allow feelings, to communicate them instead of becoming physically abusive or running away.  _ the fighting sports club/fighting events (Ali, events with Stephanie in the car) later out of the car _ the supermarket: his sister, Ali as security, the camera guy/ fight organizer  _ the whale arena, the hospital (Stephanie)  _ the club: Stephanie as guest, Ali as doorman (later both as guests)  _ the beach, the water  _ Stephanies flat, Alis sister flat, the doghouse (son) 

TRANSFORMATION They transform from different directions: She learns to love and feel her body again, to feel life again - with his help: going out of the flat again, she goes swimming again, listen to music again. She becomes ready to love (herself) and with, that - other people, like him or his son (she connects again). She is able to go back in the arena, where she once was the boss,. She makes fun with the wale, he was the reason of her disability. The male character learns to use his body in different situation in a different way: to win a battle for money and not only being a brutal fighter during everyday problems.

THE CHARACTER WEB The screenplay is so good orchestrated, because of the two main characters and the sub characters, who gave the male/female character layers: his sister, his son, the friend of his sister. Her girl friend, her old colleges, her partner, her new friends. Mostly - the interaction between each other or in triangle scenes. 

THE STRUGGLES: Ups and downs The audience goes through their arguments and struggle: Male character - how he treats his son (to be a father, to face the responsibility as a father). His son, who is a 5 year old child. When he shakes and pushes his son, I almost lost the character, that’s the darkest of point the male character (in my eyes). His missing awareness: there are different “arenas” in life. The corrective of his brutality is his sister. In his character you see the outdated masculinities: all problems are solved with violence (bullshit!). He is only focussed on his agenda (he is on the phone, his son screams - he is hurt, because they took the little dogs away, his little friends). But no character is just good or bad, they are always both.

DEEP STRUCTURE - I am hungry.  _Sam “I am hungry” first sentence _Ali searching for food in the train _Ali and Sam eating in the train _Ali steals for a McDonalds meal which includes a crone for his son and a little plastic car.   _Arriving at the flat - Sam notes the outdoor furniture - they are eating outside here, the sun is shining often at this place  _ Annas friend, his job: he delivers out frozen food for leaving  _ Ali and Sam eat at the flat, Anna (his sister) takes out-dated-food (yoghurt) form the supermarket with her _ Sam at Annas house “I am still hungry”, Anna: “Do you like a cake?”   _Stephanie is feeding the whales with fish  _The whale is eating her legs _Stephanie and Ali on the balcony - with salat and Ali eats yoghurt again. 

PARALLEL STORYLINES, similar pictures 

_Ali has Sam on his shoulders (childhood) _Ali takes Stephanie on his shoulders, out of the Water (several times) _Ali holds his son in his armes, he wants a kiss, but Sam refuses / Ali kisses Sam _Ali holds Stephanie in his arms / she kisses him (after a while) 

COURSE AND EFFECT  The argument directly with his sister: he helps a man (for money) to install hidden cameras at the supermarket, where she works, to monitor employees. Things have consequences for her and he plays a part in that. She feels betrayed by her brother. Her argument: She took him in and take care of his son and he betrays her (which he did not do purposefully, but he is involved). The consequence - she let him no longer eat from her fridge. She lost her job, because she took the out-of-date food (yoghurt) with her - that’s forbidden in the supermarket - her brother helped a man to install cameras to secretly monitor the employees and her termination is the result. Anna (his sister) is angry, she slaps him, because she have no job anymore. She doesn't want to see him anymore, he gets angry and everybody knows - thats dangerous. Ali is a professional fighter, her friend protects her - her friend puts a gun against Ali and wants him to leave the flat - big break. The frozen image: Ali stands in his dark, small little storeroom (flat of his sister) his phone rings - OP is calling (Stephanie) Ali is frozen, he did not move, he did not pick up the phone - cut:  Ali runs away, leaving his son behind, his sister and Stephanie. 

And sometimes it is good to be strong: he must rescue his son in a difficult situation. After this crack, facing his greatest fear (darkest moment for him) because of his son, he understands it, he reveals the relationship with Stephanie and is able to connect to his feelings and communicate them. 

Ali (Matthis Schoenaerts) and Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) the two of them play so fascinatingly! Why? They play the struggle, the planned perfect imperfection so natural. 

We are so breakable. Everybody. But we are humans and we are able to reflect, we know, we will die. That’s a the difference between other mammals (animals) and humans. 

[littlestoriesandscenarios-blog]

Emilio Martinez Imagine

Emilio jumps off the roof and you’re really nervous he’s going to hurt himself (which he does) This is based off this video basically: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8JyPCLNrsk 

"Oh my god, I can't believe he's actually going to do this." You heard Jake say. You look up from your phone, sitting up to come into view of the backyard that held almost every member of team 10. Your curiosity kicked in and you joined your roommates in the backyard. The sun was bright causing you to squint until your eyes had adjusted. You assesed the backyard. Emilio was across the pool jumping like he was a boxer warming up for a match. While Jake and Tessa vlogged it. Your eyebrows furrowed and you turned to Kade asking,

"what's happening?"

Kade answered, "Emilios about to jump into the pool from the roof." His face was a mixture of excitment, disbelief and uncertainty. You felt butterflies bubble up in your stomach. You were nervous he'd hurt himself which would just break your heart. You hated seeing people get hurt, especially someone like your crush. People started shuffling into the house to get on the roof to watch from above. With just Kade and Jake in the yard, Emilio started to head towards you and the door. You waited farther from Jake and Kade till Emilio was close. He was smiling ear to ear obviously excited to do this. You stepped closer to him subtly guarding him from going into the house.

"Emilio I don't think this is a good idea," you said worriedly. He took note of your seriousness and smiled at how cute you were being. He knew you were a worry wart and wanted to assure you it'd be fine. He grabbed your shoulders lowering his head to match your eye level.

"Andi, it's going to be fine. I'll be careful, I promise. Trust me," he smiled, straightened  up and walked into the house and up the stairs. You watched as he dissapeared into Jakes room. You sighed turning to Kade and Jake noticing a weird look on their faces.

"What?" you said slowly, narrowing your eyes at the boys thinking they were about to prank you.

"Oh nothing. Just that you totally have a crush on Emilio," Kade said smirking at you. You frowned embarressedly.

"No I don't," you denied, your cheeks burning crimson.

"Okay, Blushy McBlusherton," Kade teased.

"Whatever, you're delusional," you said crossing your arms across your chest and looking up to see Emilio climbing up the ladder to the roof. Your cheeks stopped burning and the butterflies came back. You chewed on your bottom lip in anticipation. You heard the countdown and closed your eyes. It was too unbearable to watch. You heard the splash indicating he'd landed. You opened your eyes to see Emilio emerge from the water and teddy bears. You let out a breath of relief, thinking the was okay. Only to get that comfort ripped away from you realizing he wasn't okay. He was gasping for air, clutching his back and chest. Jake helped him out of the pool and onto the floor chanting 'breath'. "Jesus Christ, I f*cking knew this would happen," you mumbled under your breath rushing over to where he lay. He had his eyes closed, breathing heavy  with water drops coating his face and lips.

You kneeled down beside him, your hands on both sides of his body, caging him in saying, "Emilio? Emilio?" The second time more aggressive than the first. He groaned in response. You let your head hang, closing your eyes, taking a big breath and shaking your head. Relax. You flipping out will not help the situation. You thought. You bring your head back up to look at Emilio. "Are you okay?" you said quietly. He opened his eyes staring straight into yours. He knew you felt terrible and worried to the point of sickness, which mad him feel worse than he already did. His pretty blue eyes were apologetic. "Yeah," was all he could manage. But what he really wanted to say was how sorry and stupid he was. And how beautiful you looked above him. You pushed your body up straight resting your weight on your legs, your hands rest on your thighs and the heels of your feet pushed against your butt. You took a shaky breath, trying to calm yourself but you could still feel the adrenaline convulsing through your body. "I did it," Emilio said, fist bumping Jake. You shook your head smiling. "Almost killing yourself in the process," you said more bitter than you had intended. "Yikes, looks like someones in the doghouse," Kade remarked from behind you. You snapped your head around giving him an icy glare. He put his hands up in fake surrender. You turned back around to see Emilio sat up and attempting to stand, Jake assisting him. You quickly got up to help him too. Emilios lip turned up the slightest seeing you weren't exceptionally mad at him.

"You good?" Jake checked again. Emilio nodded giving a tight lipped smile. Jake and Kade went in the house as Ivan walked out. You took Ivans camera to film him hugging his twin brother. The moment being very vunreable and emotional. You were glad to be apart of it.

"I thought I was going to die," You  overheard Emilio say. This caused your heart to ache. You could feel the emotions lump in your throat. Thankfully, Ivan took the camera giving a quick 'thank you' before you started bawling behind the camera. You walked past Emilio towards the back left corner of the yard under the shade. Your back faced him so he couldn't see you as you cried.

"Can I talk to her alone for a second," You overheard. You quickly tried to wipe your tears and compose yourself, but as soon as he said your name, you couldn't hold it and started to sob covering your eyes with both hands. He grabbed your shoudler turning you to face him and wrapped his arms around you tightly. Your hands were still pressed against your face and your forearms were against his chest. You took a deep breath pulling away from him. He extended his arms to allow you the space to wipe your eyes but kept his hands on your shoulders. You were sniffling and hiccuping like an unsatisfied child at the toy store. He slid his hands up your neck using his thumbs to push your head up to look at him.

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I know you worry a lot. I'm stupid, I'm so stupid. Please don't cry Andi." He said with his cute accent. Now how could you not smile at that? How could he not smile at her? He pulled you into another hug, less apologetic and more comforting. You wrapped your arms around his neck this time, really soaking him up. And soaking you in the process. He pulled back slowly, the proximity of your faces near to nothing. Your eyes flicked to his red lips then back to his icy eyes. You'd felt slightly embarressed for being so obvious. That was until he'd stared at your lips too, before reconnecting with your eyes. He inched lower, closer to your face leaning his head to the right while you did the same. Then it happened, the world was black and all you could feel was his hands on your hips, and his lips, on your lips. They were cold from the pool, a chilling sensation that ironically warmed your body. The communication between your lips flowing perfectly as you moved in sync. You ran your hand up the back of his neck, to his wet hair. He pulled you into his body. You could feel his heart against you, pumping as hard as yours was. Every sensation heightened due to the lack of sight, which sparked all the more passion between the two of you.  In fact everything about the kiss created passion. It was as if your lips were producing it like a factory. You stepped up onto your tiptoes, slightly evening out the height difference. Emilio used that as an opportunity to have his hands "slip" past your waist. But you didn't care, it caused you to want to deepen the kiss, swiping your tongue against his lip. Before he could even react you pulled away skimmimg your teeth against his plump bottom lip. Your eyes met again, your breaths heavy and uneven. A smile rose to Emilios now swollen lips. You looked down blushing then back at the boy in front of you. You slid your hands down his shoulders and arms to hold his hands, stepping back to stretch your arms. However, you quickly dropped them, and your smile, when a voice startled you. You instantly recognized it as Kade saying, "do I smell another wedding?"

He smirked walking towards you. You blushed pretending not to know what he was talking about. "Oh come one Andi, from the way I saw you two kissing, it looked like i'd be an uncle sooner, rather than later." Your mouthed opened in shock as you hit him on the arm.

"Shut up Kade," you huffed scrunching your lips and nose. Emilio kissed your nose, not allowing the blush to dissapear from your cheeks.

"How cute," Kade gushed, in an awful voice to annoy you. You shot him a hard look as he laughed and walked back into the house.

"Why'd you do that? Now he's never going to stop teasing me," you said facing Emilio.

"Because your nose was cute like this," he smiled, imitating your angry face.

"It's not supposed to be cute. It's supposed to be scary," you pouted. Not literally.

"Okay, then it's scary." He said in that dang accent. How could one human be so cute? You nudged him, playfully rolling your eyes. His face turned serious as he said, "I'm really sorry."

You smiled at the boy in front of you. "It's okay, really. I think the adrenaline had got to me and I was just a little shaken up seeing you struggle for air. It's good that I let it out though. I feel a lot better." Emilio smiled wistfully. "And that kiss definetly helped," you grinned, the atmosphere changing to playful and flirty.

"Yeah?"  he asked. You nodded with a loving smile, "OK. You want another one?"

You pretended to think about it before agreeing. Your lips connected again. They were warm this time. The kiss was fun , both of you smiling through it. You giggled pulling away. Emilio pecked your lips like a period after a sentence. Then the kissed your cheek, and your nose, and your chin, and your jaw, then back to your lips. You grinned like a little girl, loving how sweet he was. The rest of the day consisted of you massaging his back and cuddling...and kissing.

I hope you liked it, I enjoyed writing it and... yeah :)

[sauntering-down]

dream

aside from some bits about a college and an elementary school i don’t recall, the majority of it took place in this big, old house where my family and i were staying for a while.  i think it belonged to my grandparents?  all the furniture was very dated, there was loads of wood panelling everywhere.  aside from my grandparents, some other family members were staying there (only one of whom i recognized), as well as a woman and her daughter.  the daughter had long blonde curls and an accent i can’t remember now and i had the biggest crush on her, but was too shy to really talk to her or anything.

the dream started when i found out we’d all need to stay inside for a while, not because of coronavirus, but because the world was being infested by strange, dangerous fey creatures and until they left, we were in danger of being attacked and converted into one of them.  the only way to reverse this process was an injection of some bright green liquid - we had what reminded me of a gas pump in the front hall of the house, filled with the stuff, and instead of a regular nozzle on the handle, there was this great big needle.  i’d never needed it, and while needles don’t scare me, i have no pain tolerance so i didn’t want to experience that thing.

we also had a bunch of cats i didn’t recognize, most of which spent a lot of time outdoors, so we always left most of the windows in the house open so they could come and go.  i was tasked with going around and closing the windows so nothing could get in that way.  i meandered through the house, calling the cats inside, shutting windows.  i recognized bits and pieces of the house from another dream i had a while ago.  when i was just about done, my father called me from the living room, where a pair of sliding doors were wide open.  he had some stuff in the backyard he wanted to bring inside, since a huge storm was rolling in and the sky was getting very dark, and he needed my help.  as we’re carrying stuff in, i saw a mosquito fly by... except its body was bright green and faceted like a jewel, so i knew this wasn’t an ordinary mosquito.  it didn’t bother me.  of course, it was followed by a dozen mosquitoes flying in close formation, and those were headed straight for me; they managed to get into my baggy t-shirt and i was freaking out, trying to get rid of them and not get bitten.  luckily, they left without incident.  unluckily, the first one had now taken notice of me and while i was breathing a sigh of relief, it zoomed over and bit me right on the nose.

i went over to my father and told him i thought a jewel mosquito had bitten me, and he said i knew what i needed to do, then.  as much as i wanted to avoid that ginormous needle, i also didn’t want to be a fey creature, so i turned around to go back inside and happened to look up.  there was an attic window that overlooked part of the second-floor roof, and on the roof we’d built a little screened-in hut, sort of like a doghouse, but for the cats.  i could see the window was still wide open and something in the hut was moving around.  so i said i’d get the shot in a few minutes, because i’d forgotten to close the attic up and clearly one of the cats had gone back out.

as i went inside, i was hit with this massive wave of fatigue.  i mean, it was so severe i wanted to lay right down on the ugly rug and go to sleep.  i knew it was whatever fey poison the mosquito had hit me with, but i still wanted to get the cat first, so i dragged myself up to the attic.  my mother was up there too, though she hadn’t noticed the cat.  i went over to the window and sure enough, this big calico cat was hanging out in the screened hut.  after some coaxing, it came inside, and i was about to shut the window when i realized there was another cat in the hut.

it was Missy.  i stared at her for a very long time, because i knew Missy had died last year and there was no possible way she could be here, yet here she was.  she looked strong and healthy again.  my mother came to the window and was overjoyed - she’d been super close to Missy and evidently didn’t see anything wrong with her mysterious resurrection.  admittedly, i wasn’t too cautious at first either.  Missy took a few steps closer to the window and, even though it was dark from the oncoming storm, i could see what looked like a long piece of blue glitter stuck in her fur.  i reached out and tried to brush it away, but it wouldn’t come off.  Mom kept calling her until she came closer, then began petting her and trying to get her the rest of the way inside.

when she was close enough to the window, though... there was enough light for me to see her properly and realize something was VERY wrong.  her fur wasn’t black, it was this dark, iridescent bluish-purple color.  there was more blue ‘glitter’ scattered throughout it, which i slowly realized was actually part of her fur.  her eyes were light blue instead of yellow and the slit pupils seemed too narrow, like she was looking at something extremely bright instead of just a normally-lit room.  i kind of pulled my mother back from the window and said, “Mom, that’s not her.”

she didn’t believe me, at first, but in the light it was impossible to ignore.  whatever this was, it wasn’t our cat.  i said we couldn’t let her in or she’d infect the other cats, maybe even us.  Mom got really upset, but i jumped forwards and slammed the window shut before not-Missy could actually come inside.  not-Missy sat there for a bit, watching us, then turned around, crossed the roof, and easily leapt to the ground like it wasn’t a two-story drop.

we gathered everyone in the hallway of the second floor and told them what’d happened, reminded them that these fey creatures would try anything to get inside so they could convert all of us, so nobody could open any windows or outside doors until this was over.  then i figured it was time to face the music, so i went down to the front hall and the gas pump thing.  the girl i liked was amusingly eager to give me the shot - she picked up the handle and said i’d have to take my shirt off, since the injection needed to go into my back.  i was trying to play it cool while mentally freaking out about her seeing me without a shirt, said i didn’t want everyone watching, so someone else grabbed a sheet and held it up like a curtain.  i removed my shirt and turned around and took a deep breath.  there was pressure against one spot on my back... and then the girl was like “all done!” and i went ?????? because i was expecting excruciating pain.  i said as much and she told me that some people found it extremely painful, while others didn’t feel a thing, and clearly i was in the latter category.  relieved, i put my shirt back on, and i think i woke up around that point.

[theweddingofthefoxes]

prompt: Fox!Hux, Hound!Kylo, what if not only Hux is a fox but Kylo is a spoiled dog in a good home. Hux eats his food, steals his toys and sleeps in his dog house? They are both shapeshifters they just don't know that about each other

(Credit where it’s due! @epiccuppycakes was instrumental in this drabble, and @heyitsemeraldorbs for all the fox stealing dog toy cuteness!)

How long had it been since Ren had taken his human form? Far longer than he’d expected. Interacting with humans was hard when they sense you’re a human who’s a little odd, but interacting with humans as a sad, needy dog was another story entirely. A family immediately took him in (he’d strategically waited on the porch of a well-to-do home while it was raining outside, shivering miserably) and before long, he decided there was no need at all to go back to any other sort of life at all. He was spoiled rotten here, given all the treats and toys he could imagine, and a huge yard to run around in. These people are insane, he’d thought, delighted, when they installed a doghouse in the backyard with its own heated blankets, nearly the size of shed. In return, he was well-behaved, and the people he lived with marveled at him, how he never seemed to chew on the furniture or track in mud. Sometimes he forgot what it was like to be human himself.

Then the fox showed up. 

The first time, a Saturday afternoon, the couple pointed it out. “Honey, look,” the husband told his wife. “Look! A fox is out there.”

“Oh my goodness,” the wide answered, peering over her husband’s shoulder, moving slow so the fox wouldn’t get spooked. “He’s playing with the dog toys.”

Every one of Ren’s hairs stood on end as he watched too–this little fox grabbing toys out of his doghouse and tossing them in the air, scattering them all over the yard, making a huge mess. Who did this creature think he was? Ren couldn’t help but let out a low growl, deep in his throat. 

“Don’t worry, the fox is just playing, boy,” the husband said. “Calm down.”

“If he steals one, we’ll get you a new one,” the wife added, and they laughed.

But it was the principle of the thing, Ren thought, fuming. Some intruder just waltzes into the yard and it’s perfectly fine just because he’s cute? Ren draped himself across the sofa, unhappy. When they let him out later that day, he gathered up all the scattered toys and meticulously returned them, one by one, to the little basket in his doghouse. Where they belonged.

Sunday, the couple always went to visit the wife’s mother in the next state over, so Ren was left to the yard with his good organic food and warm blanket and all those toys. Ren was napping in a patch of sunshine when a crunching noise made his ears prick up.

The fox was back, and eating out of his bowl.

Ren leapt to his feet, and wasted no time chasing off the intruder, but the fox was faster and easily wriggled under the fence, where he sat patiently, almost smiling, as Ren hollered and barked like a hellhound. When he’d finally accepted that there was nothing more he could do, he trotted back to the sunny spot for another nap, still listening intently for any further infringements on his food dish. None. He settled back to sleep.

But the fox was quiet and stealthy, and returned without him knowing, this time to make himself comfortable on Ren’s heated blanket. Ren let out a warning bark and the fox merely opened one eye, regarded him with nothing more than irritation, and then went back to sleep. Ren grabbed the fox by the scruff of its neck in his jaws and tossed him out of the doghouse. The fox shivered, fluffing out his tail, then busied himself with throwing one of Ren’s tennis balls across the yard, dancing and hopping.

It was maddening. No matter what Ren did, he couldn’t keep the fox away from his stuff, his toys, from the trash, from his food, from the blanket. The couple took videos and put them on YouTube and thought it was delightful. They even left out food specially for it! 

Ren had just about given up when something frightening happened.

Two men came into the yard while he was napping, talking to each other. “No, they’re always gone on Sundays,” one of them was saying. “We’ll get a lot for the dog.”

The other one was trying to get a muzzle on Ren, who was barking furiously, showing teeth, trying to bite, but in these rich neighborhoods, the other neighbors were so far apart and the yard so secluded that there was no guarantee anyone else knew what was going on. The only hope Ren had was to change back into his human form, but the men were armed, and he was worried that in their fear and shock they might still hurt him–and what if someone else saw–?

“Hey! What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The men jolted as another stranger, a red-haired man, ran out from the other side of the yard, wearing black pants and a white shirt. “That’s my dog you’re trying to take–I’ve already called the police–”

The men abandoned their attempt, fleeing. Both the red-haired man and Ren were breathing hard, frightened. The smell of him was so familiar, though, he smelled like–

Ren’s eyes went wide.

“I’m sorry,” the man who had been a fox said. “You must think I’m–very strange. A strange creature. But I couldn’t let them take you. They would have hurt you, I’m sure. I–I won’t bother you anymore.”

“Wait.”

It was the fox’s turn to jolt when Ren took his own human form. “I didn’t know you were one, too,” he told the fox. “I thought you were…” He laughed, embarassed. “A nuisance. But you saved me.”

The fox smiled. “I am a nuisance. But. You’re welcome.”

“You should at least take a reward, for saving me,” Ren said. “Any of the toys you want, or–”

The fox did not want a toy, however. He leaned in and stole a kiss instead before transforming back and bounding off a few steps, then rolling onto his back playfully. Ren touched his lips, still reeling from everything that had just happened to him, before changing back as well. He wondered when the fox would choose to return. 

[originalmemorieshere]

Goldie- Her Story

Goldie- Her Story (Dec 2006) We share our home with the most lovable, obedient, loyal, and best-behaved baby in the world. I almost hate to even call her a dog, because she doesn’t know she is a d-o-g. Her name is Goldie and she is a Golden Retriever/Lab mix. She’s 120 pounds give or take of pure baby. She even thinks she can sit in our laps- and does - well sorta halfway since she can’t really get her whole big self in anyone’s lap.  Baby G is also really spoiled rotten by Sammy, me, and the little guy. I never thought I could love an animal as much as I love her Funny thing is when I met Sammy- he had never owned a dog. He had always wanted a big dog and I had for the most part owned small micro-dogs. So, one day I was listening to the radio swap show one snowy February day in 2004 and a woman came on giving her away. She was too big for their family. We ran up to the town they lived in, braving the icy roads, snowdrifts, and below freezing temps to get her. It was love at first sight. We lived up in Kansas at the time in a rent house with a landlord who said we couldn’t have any pets. Well, I guess you know me well enough by now to know that wasn’t gonna stop me from having her. But, the problem was that our landlord came by our house a lot since he owned several on the street. How were we gonna hide this enormous animal? We’re talking a dog the size of a small horse With a lot of persuasion we talked my mom into allowing us to put a doghouse (visualize a tool shed) in her back yard to keep Goldie in during the day while we were at work. We packed the floor with straw, put a couple of blankets in the doghouse and faced the opening so that the wind shouldn’t be too bad.  I knew people in Kansas who didn’t live in as nice a home as her doghouse. Sammy even cleared all the snow within a thirty foot radius of the chain stake so she wouldn’t have to walk in snow. Our plan was that we would take her home with us at night. This was going to work great because we only lived three houses down from my mom at the time.  Sure.  That first morning Sammy walked her down the alley to my mom’s backyard, you would have thought he was taking his child to the first day of school. It was almost traumatic on him. He stayed down there for fifteen minutes or more making sure she was going to be okay.  I got a call a couple hours later from my mom saying Sammy had already come down twice to change Goldie’s water so it wouldn’t be too cold for her. Right after lunch I got another call from my mom. She was in her laundry room changing out the wash and she saw someone looking through the slats of her privacy fence. For a moment it startled her. Then, she realized it was Sammy spying on Goldie. He was checking up on her to make sure she was alright.  That evening we took her home and she never went back down that nasty ol’ alley and never had to endure another moment in that prison. We gave our notice to move, lost our deposit, paid out our lease and moved to where we could have her with us. We’ve never lived anywhere since that she would not be welcomed as part of the family.  Yup, she is that great.