#Watercolor Baby Sea Pony

[imreadydollparts]

Watercolor Baby Sea Pony Wavedancer was also "dusty" and no longer changes color. Their hair is an odd texture and a little difficult to manage without damaging it.

[ponyguru]

You guys really enjoyed yesterdays post!! 🤣 Unfortunately today isn’t as funny, LOL! Just kinda baity! First up is the unfortunate Fancy Pants Starburst, with lots of marker on her NDS side and frizzy hair! Then we have Wavedancer the watercolor baby sea pony with ink stains, who’s hair was a matted mess!! But after combing a tiny pile of fuzz out of it, she’s soft and fluffy again! 🐠

[normaleeinsane]

Here's some of the G1 Watercolor Baby Sea Ponies, Foamy, Seawinke and Seashore. ^v^

[mlpmemories]

I decided to get some shots of Seawinkle on black.  She’s pretty cute!  Too bad the color change doesn't last in these ponies.

[heckyeahponyscans]

Hi, I wanted to know if you had any info on a few topics regarding early MLP media. I'm doing a research project on it and I hope you don't mind. Do you have any information regarding the artist behind the watercolour art featured in a lot of early MLP merch, and do you have any info behind the artists/writers behind the Gen 2 comics? Thank you in advanced.

When I was at a Transformers convention I was talking to Jim Sorenson, who had published a beautiful coffee table book of 80s Transformers packaging art, and he said Hasbro had specifically instructed him not to publish the names of any of the TF artists. From Hasbro's POV, the artist was "Hasbro" . . . as though the art had risen fully formed from the sea, like Venus. I guess this does make sense in a way, distancing Hasbro's products from any potential drama, like if it turned out an artist previously had a prolific career drawing nudes or something. Anyway, this is why all the Hasbro backcards are unsigned / unattributed. That said, we do know of one artist from the G1 MLP era. Ruth Bush did some of the backcards and was a toy designer as well.

Judging from what she had on display at Pony Fair, some of her backcards were lots of Pony Wear, 1st set of Big Brother ponies, Watercolor Baby Sea ponies, and 2nd set of So-Soft ponies.

For the G1 UK comic books, the illustrations were done by a Spanish company called  Selecciones Ilustradas which would fax them over to the UK.

For the G2 art I'm not sure offhand but I'll reblog if I find anything out!

[peachyteabuck]

old school (make me drool)

summary: bunny is sweet, well-behaved. something about princess, though, makes her want to act out for the first time in her life. 

pairing: natasha romanoff x ofc

words: 2,663

trigger warnings: heavy md/lg, spanking, forced age regression, manipulation, there’s a vague allusion to starker, breaking of rules, 

notes/other: ANYONE WHO USES THIS AS AN EXCUSE TO BRING RAPE FANTASIES INTO MY INBOX WILL BE BLOCKED IMMEDIATELY. this was inspired by @orphiclittleone & i highly reccomend you check out their blog!

ask box / masterlist / commission info / ko-fi

It started when Princess had to go with Steve to a meeting with Natasha. For whatever reason Steve decided she couldn’t be alone, and Natasha said it would be fine. Princess wasn’t too mad, unhappy she could only bring one of her prizes stuffed animals, but nearly-willingly went with her Daddy to Aunty Nat’s. Still, it wasn’t until she met Bunny that the pointed frown left her face.

Steve put her down onto the thick comforter next to Bunny, whose lips were wrapped tightly around a paci, hands clutched around a large stuffed animal of her namesake, eyes trained on the TV in front of her. Her long, thick hair was tied from her face with a pink scrunchie with a bow on it, her knit sweater a matching shade of pink. Her socks were stark white, ankle devoid of the tracker Princess had to wear.

Bunny said nothing at her guest, head only turning when Natasha caressed her face.

“Uncle Steve and I are going to do some work in my office, okay Bunny?” She placed a kiss to the girl’s head where her hair parted, careful not to remove any from her perfect ponytail. “I’ll be down soon to give you your bottle. Until then, play nice with Princess, alright?”

Bunny, still not dislodging the paci, nods and leans into her Mommy.

“Good girl,” Natasha praises, leaving one final kiss to her girl’s forehead before leading Steve into her office, a room adjacent to the playroom the girls resided in. In a moment of good faith, she had her coworker close the door behind them.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Steve chuckled as he sat in the fine leather chair near the fireplace. “I put that track on Princess for a reason, you know.”

Natasha sighed, grabbing the file from her desk. “If we weren’t discussing how someone was disemboweled by a small terrorist organization outside Orlando, I’d keep it open.”

Steve, already worried about what Bucky had exposed Princess to in order to watch her squirm, acquiesced.

Back in the playroom, Bunny made a disgruntled noise as Princess poked her chubby cheek.

“Do you ever speak?” Princess asked, nose wrinkled at her supposed playmate’s poor playful reciprocation. “Daddy said you were quiet, really quiet. He said you almost never talk. I’m not quiet.”

Bunny, much to Princess’ dismay, remains mute. Not a squeak, not a huff, not an eyeroll. Even Bucky’s Doll was better than this, and she was often too exhausted to give Princess enough attention for the girl’s liking.

Princess, though, is anything but a quitter. She pulls back for a few minutes, allowing her counterpart to relax. Just as Bunny seemed the happiest, Princess yanked the paci out of her mouth and pinned her to the floor.

Bunny tried to yell, but Princess placed her hand over the girl’s mouth before she could do anything. As Princess leans close to her ear, she whispers low, giggling as Bunny clutches her stuffed animal’s ears in her tiny hand. “Daddy says we can be playmates, do you want that, Bunny?”

Suddenly, in the span of less than a second, Princess hears her Daddy’s footsteps, hears the knob turning, and jumps off Bunny to the other side of the blanket. Bunny laid, there, stunned, as Nat and Steve picked up their respective littles.

As Steve bid his goodbye, and Nat turned around to close the door, Bunny perched her chin on her Mommy’s shoulder and locked eyes with Princess, who wears a smile fit for the evil penguins from the movie Bunny was watching before Princess showed up.

Somehow, Bunny knew their game wasn’t over.

The next time they met, Bunny is playing on a blanket in Natasha’s expansive backyard, dressed in a plain-pink one-piece bathing suit with her hair in two braids down her back and the bracelet Doll made her on her left wrist. Peter’s in the pool, sunbathing on a unicorn floatie. Doll’s curled into Bucky’s side, shoulders covered with one of her Daddy’s worn t-shirts – one large enough to cover her sensitive, bruised thighs. Natasha, Stark, Strange, and Rogers are all inside, making drinks for themselves as the sun swelters high in the sky.

Princess is the only other conscious person who remains outside, an easily forgettable body as Bunny colors under the sweet shade of the big tree in the back of the expansive yard, quiet enough that the occasional squirrel or bird will hop across her blanket and sniff at her forgotten snack.

She’s unable to ignore her counterpart, though, when Princess plops herself down onto the thick, cotton blanket specifically designated for outdoor use.

Bunny, despite her annoyance, says nothing.

Princess says nothing in turn, watching the girl in front of her meticulously color in the lines of a complicated flower.

“Daddy never lets me color anything like that,” she finally says, staring at the set of sixty-four crayons Princess had wanted for two Christmases and three birthdays but still never received. “Daddy says they’re too complicated for me.”

Bunny stops coloring for a moment, whole body stilling. Princess thinks she’ll say something, thinks she’ll show a break in her shell that’ll give her some in. But no, the sound of crayon gliding against thick paper fills whatever silence Bunny intended to proliferate with words.

It’s then that Princess takes out one of the most-loved crayons – a soft blue that’s had the wrapped long since pulled off.

“Do you like this crayon?” she asks Bunny.

Bunny stops coloring – bright orange crayon inert as she tries to swallow the dryness in her mouth. Fear paints her face as she gazes upon her favorite coloring tool. Out of all her markers, her colored pencils, her watercolor paints. None of those hold a candle to that one crayon. It’s the only crayon she doesn’t like Natasha using, the only one she saves for the special coloring book pages – the ones she gifts her Mommy for Christmas and for her birthday and when Natasha picks her up from spending time at Uncle Bucky’s place because she’s been on a business trip.

Which is why Bunny nearly cries when Princess snaps it in half, then crushes the pieces into something resembling dust. She does whimper, though, does drop the crayon she’s holding and curl her legs up to her chest and stares at Princess with these wide eyes that beg for her to stop whatever it is she thinks she’s doing.

“What’d’ya gonna do about it?” Princess questions. When Bunny doesn’t answer, Princess quirks her eyebrow then moves to grab another one.

Bunny gasps, tears beginning to well up in the corner of her eyes. “Please don’t,” she whispers.

Princess pretends not to hear her, and selects another well-used crayon. “Really, you’re just gonna be a baby and let me do this?”

Bunny looks around the lawn, begging Natasha to come outside or Peter to feel how frightened she is or even Bucky, a man who rarely pays attention to her but seems to like her more than Princess, to look over and wonder why there’s such tension between his best friends’ best little girls. Unfortunately (for you, at least), none of them pay you any mind. Somehow this is worse than when Natasha has to leave you alone for work or whatever it is she does when she’s away. At least then you don’t have to do deal with Princess.

“Please, Princess,” Bunny says a little louder. “Please don’t break my crayons.”

Princess smiles wide and sinister, like that Cheshire Cat from that movie you don’t like very much. “Alright then,” is all she says before standing up and skipping off to lay on the Aurora towel that was in the shade of a different tree. Even though she’s alone, Bunny remains upright, curling around her precious box of crayons.

The third time they meet is Bunny’s birthday party about a month later. The main festivities are over, all the adults drinking from Natasha’s expensive liquor cabinet. Doll’s curled up on Bucky’s lap, playing with a My Little Pony toy (Applejack, of course) and occasionally being fed bits of cake from Bucky’s fork; Peter’s enthralled with the latest installment of their classic movie marathon that’s playing just too loud for Bunny’s liking.

On any other day, Bunny would be elated to watch her favorite movies with her favorite friend. She’s allowed to eat ice cream cake (vanilla, from her favorite pastry shop down the street) and wear her favorite pink dress.

Her hair is in two low buns with a pretty pink bow. Natasha spent the whole morning with Bunny in her lap, telling her how cute she is and how much she loves her. Everything was great, perfect.

That was, until Steve and Princess showed up. Natasha was preoccupied with catching up in her friend to notice Bunny clutching her favorite stuffie or Princess’ sly smile.

Like the first time they met, she and Princess are placed on the blanket that sits in the middle of the playroom. This time it’s fleece, thick, one Bunny made with Doll one of the rare times they’ve had playdates together. It’s full of mint green and soft pink flowers around a bunch of sea animals. Bucky said he found the blanket kit at a craft store and thought the two of them could make it when he and Natasha were working in his office.

There were a few moments of silence as Steve pet Princess’ hair and explained how much Princess had been looking forward to today. Princess just smiles big and wide and teasing, waiting for the adults to leave before she finally speaks.

“Ya know, Daddy and I love teasing each other…” Princess says as if she’s the most innocent conversation maker to ever fail to meet her counterpart’s eyes. “You and your Mommy should try it sometime.”

Bunny gulps, fidgeting with her hands. “Mommy doesn’t…Mommy doesn’t let me do that without her permission.”

Princess scoffs. “Oh, you ask your Mommy for everything. Daddy hasn’t made me do that in forever.” She lowers her voice to a whisper. “Daddy likes it when I act out.”

“Mommy doesn’t,” Bunny doesn’t know what to say, doesn’t know how to stave off what she now understands is inevitable. “Mommy doesn’t like it when I act out. She likes it when I’m good. I get candy, cuddles, stuffies when I’m good.”

Princess almost rolls her eyes, frustrated. “Maybe you should just try it sometime, just to see what happens.”

Bunny doesn’t say anything back, too scared of what would happen. Natasha always told her curiosity killed the cat, but could curiosity kill her as well?

Hours pass without incident, without Princess nagging Bunny or Bunny snapping at Princess or, really, anything happening. Princess merely leaves her to brew for hours, eating cake with her fingers and eyeing Bunny to see how she’s doing. Bunny’s lost in her own thoughts, the only indication of time passing being Steve coming in take Princess home.

As Steve picks her up once more, a smirk spreads across her frosting-stained face. Her eyes are knowing, full of mischief. In the background, the forest fire scene from Bambi plays on the large TV. Bunny wishes she could be one of the forest creatures running for their life, able to get away from the natural disaster that had descended upon her home.

Despite her fear of Princess, her words stick in Bunny’s brain like gum in her hair. It’s all Bunny can think about for days, maybe even weeks after her birthday party.  It gets worse when she’s alone, when all she has are her thoughts and her hands and…and…

Bunny decides to do something, do the unimaginable the day Natasha says she’s going to have lunch with Stark and Strange. That she’ll be back in a few hours.

Just enough time, Bunny thinks as she hears the front door shut and the deadbolt lock. Just enough time for her to do the unthinkable.

◦ ◦ ◦

“Bunny!” Natasha calls into the house. There’s the usual pause, one where she’s used to allowing Bunny to find her voice. But for whatever reason, she doesn’t hear the usual yes, mommy? followed by the pit-pat of her feet across the house. “Bunny?” she calls again, but the only thing she can hear is resounding silence.

Natasha’s heartrate picks up tenfold, not even throwing her shoes off as she runs to the room she kept Bunny in when she had a long work day. As she types in the code to open the door, Natasha is met with a sight she’d never thought she’d see:

Bunny, with one hand down her pullup, and the other clutched over her mouth. Her pale yellow pajama shirt is hiked up to her ribs, threatening to fall over where her hand meets her center.

For a moment Natasha does not know what to do, body frozen and chest heaving and heart racing. Bunny hadn’t so much as blinked without permission, let alone touched herself sans asking Natasha beforehand.

Squeaky, breathy moans slip past her fingers, eyes rolling to the back of her head as her body shakes with the desperation that comes just before an orgasm.

That’s what snaps Natasha out of her trance, what makes her fly across the room and grab Bunny’s face with her perfectly manicured hand.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Natasha hisses through her teeth.

Bunny bites her lips, eyes wide with fear. “P-princ-“

Natasha almost growls. “What, Steve’s little?”

Bunny nods slowly, meekly, lip quivering in fear as Natasha hand remains firmly grasped over her jaw. “P-princess s-said that it woul-d be f-un to-“ Natasha, a woman who has not had a hair out of place since the Reagon administration, nearly knocks over Bunny’s designated stuffed animal bookshelf. Wordlessly, she places Bunny over her knee and exposes the soft skin of her ass.

Bunny hadn’t been spanked in years. Ever since Natasha had gotten her, broken her, she’d been the perfect little – so obedient and eager to please, smart and quiet, happy to play by herself while Natasha worked with the others. She was everything Natasha could’ve asked for and somehow more…

But this? This was inexcusable. She was a big believer in second chances, but those must always come after an appropriate punishment.

“You think just because Steve’s Princess can whine and act however she wants, that means you can, too?” she hisses, hitting each cheek twice. “You think that girl’s behavior excuses your own?”

Bunny yelps, trying to find the strength to speak without sobbing. “N…no…” she mumbles, digging her face into her and trying to curl against the woman whose lap she has found herself in.

“What was that?” Natasha snaps, hitting the backs of her thighs this time. The slaps of skin on skin echos throughout the room and stabs at Bunny’s ears.

“No, Mommy, I am not allowed to misbehave! I am not allowed to break the rules”

“Good,” Natasha says through grit teeth. She takes a moment to grope her heated ass cheeks, and you savor the sweet moments away from the sharp pain. “If you didn’t know your place, I would’ve had to call Steve up to see how he keeps Princess in line. Maybe Bucky, too. He once kept Doll in a basement for two weeks because she wouldn’t eat her vegetables. Do you want that?”

Violent shivers shoot through you. Uncle Bucky and Steve are nice enough to you, especially when Natasha’s around. But with her permission to discipline you in their preferred way? You shrink away at the thought. “N-no Mommy. No, Mommy I’ll promise I’ll be good.”

“Good girl,” Natasha coos, another few smacks landing on her bottom. “Now, for the rest of your punishment…” Bunny gulps, trying to relax her muscles so it doesn’t hurt as bad.

“Now, should I put you on meal replacement shakes or keep you in chastity?”

[mlphistory]

Sunshine Ponies

Each Sunshine Pony has a strip of white or pink hair in both her mane and her tail, which changes color to magenta in sunlight (not in warm water like the Watercolor Baby Sea Ponies). Like earlier sets of Twice as Fancy ponies, the Sunshine ponies have symbols printed all over their bodies, but unlike the earlier sets, they have no symbols on their faces.

[ponybackcards]

Seawinkle creates graceful water shows on warm summer evenings. She dives in and out of the water, changing colors with each dive. One night, she gathered all the Watercolor Baby Sea Ponies together and invited all of Ponyland to a show of colors. Seawinkle and her friends dipped in and out of the water to create a rainbow of glimmering hues. As a finale, the ponies formed a multi-colored rose with Seawinkle twirling in the center. The ponies cheered throwing flower petals on the happy ponies.

[mexicanmlp]

Watercolor Baby Sea Pony -Acuarela- Salty (blue).

Male/gender-fluid?

[unkindnessofone]

5SOS. Running

Must read One Nest beforehand for this to make sense. Please enjoy. Sending it out to the darling @hemmo1996-5sosvevo. Thanks for the love! 

Masterlist Here

To say the morning had gone well would be a flat out lie. It was close to 8:30 in the morning and Cagney felt like garbage that had been left out in the rain overnight. She had no idea how Luke functioned hungover or fucked up because her bones ached as she held March to her chest, feeding him, with only three hours of sleep running her body. Cagney was starting to feel like she did need the help of a nanny part time. Once full, March detached himself from his mum out of habit and she bounced him against her bare chest to burp him. Miles was on the ground, sitting up and watching his toddler sister with fascination, trying to touch her arm with both hands as she played with her stuffed mermaid doll on her lap.  “Where’s daddy?” Penelope whined again, this time not bothering to look away from her toy to ask her mum.  “He had to work early.” Cagney stuck to her life from the morning when Penny asked after coming downstairs due to screaming twin babies. Truthfully, Cagney didn’t know where her husband was. He had fled the night before after comforting one of the crying babies and she had no idea what was going to happen now. She worried he was somewhere on the other side of California, messed up in his sports car. Maybe, he was giving her a taste of her own medicine and fucking some beautiful actress broken. Cagney’s brain was spinning. She put March down with his other two siblings and wrestled her sports bra over her head and then the large 5SOS t shirt she had slept in over top.

“Alright, let’s get you some breakfast.” Cagney sighed as she earned her daughter’s attention. She carefully picked Miles up as March was crawling away at light speed as soon as the door of his nursery opened.  As the small band of Hemmings were making their short journey to the kitchen, the sound of the front door opening caught both females attention. Luke was on the other side, his tired body still wearing what he had stalked out of the house in the night before. He looked beyond Cagney once his feet were inside and the front door was shut.  “Daddy!” Penelope was running to him at light speed, her morning hunger forgotten for a moment. She ran into his legs and hugged them, his head dropping to give her all of his attention. He could feel Cagney looking to him, waiting for acknowledgment, but he had no intention of giving her any mind. He was still hurt by her actions, the way she seeked affection in someone else, and his disappointment had manifested itself into thick sludge-like anger. With three little ones around, he couldn’t react and that kept them both safe from his emotions for now.  “Hey Pen…” Gently, he breathed back as his hands both pat her behind the shoulders. “Do you want to go to the studio with me today?"  "Yes!” Thrilled, Penny threw her head up from his knees and showed off her beaming smile to him. For a second, it made Luke feel a touch better. He pat her back again and wiggled free since her hands had let go of the little grip they had on him. “Alright, I got to go get dressed first.” He informed her, stepping past to get a move on. Luke wasn’t interested in being in the house that hadn’t felt like a home for a while any longer than he needed to be. “You do too.” He mentioned to his daughter while scooping March off the ground and greeting his warm nose with a kiss. “I’m just about to make her breakfast.” Cagney told Luke sheepishly, her voice shy like the first time they met outside of her work.  Luke glanced her over for a second from her bed head to dark circles to bare feet, certain they both looked just as shitty as the other, and then spoke again to Penelope who had made her way over to his leg again.  “How does McDonalds breakfast soon?” It was a treat that Luke didn’t think she had had before. He knew she had happily picked on Chicken McNuggets once when Cagney was pregnant with the boys and was craving a Big Mac.  “Yeah!” Penelope nodded with speed, not sure what she was so excited about.  Luke kissed March again and put him back down in order to go get dressed, corralling Penny along with him.  Luke helped himself to a quick face wash in the bathroom en suite to his bedroom with Cagney. He used a shot of her dry shampoo and then hit his neck with a mist of Dylan Blue by Versace. It was better than the scent of insomnia, rum, dry rage, and an entire carton of cigarettes. He brushed his teeth, put on deodorant and came out naked to see Penny had dressed herself and was waiting with her mermaid doll on her parents bed.  “I’m almost ready, Penny Lou.” He winked at her and peeled a red hair elastic off his right wrist and gave it to her to put her hair up the way she liked it. He had been the habit of wearing one on his arm everywhere he went since Penelope became old enough to have an opinion about her hair and her preference was to have it up and out of her face. As Penelope was mirroring motions she always felt her mom do in order to tie up a ponytail behind her, Luke went to the walk in closet to dress himself. He settled on worn out jeans that were ripped at both knees and a blue V neck to still had the tag on. He took a light black bomber jacket just in case wind picked up and then took an extra minute to pack a few changes of clothes into a small Louis Vuitton carry on. It was Cagney’s bag, but he wasn’t bothered. Once packed, he called  for Penelope’s attention as he waited by his open room door.  She slid off the bed at the sound of him calling her name and ran over with her stuffed doll being held by her sea foam green hair, Penny’s ponytail bouncing behind her. He noticed that it wasn’t that messy and she was improving on her ability  to do it by herself. She had on her stretchy blue legging shorts and a little cream colored t shirt with a watercolor rainbow in one corner. It had been gifted to her by Simone who took it upon herself to always keep all the kids closets full of cute pieces from international markets or designer duds.  “Let’s get a sweater just in case.” He mumbled to his oldest and followed her to her bedroom. On her inside door knob, her grey zip up was hanging so Like hooked it through the handles of his carry on. He also took a second to go through her top drawer to take a swimsuit and a pair of clean underwear. “Want to bring a couple other toys?” It wasn’t as if the studio was the most child friendly place.  Penny nodded and found her very small holographic seashell backpack. First, she shoved her doll inside, then took her thick box of crayons off the floor and a Bubbles Guppies activity book from her small book shelf by her closet. Luke looked around her room for one more thing, but figured she could watch a movie on someone’s iPad or laptop at the studio if need be.  Heading downstairs, he watched Penelope as she carefully held onto the rail and took the steps as fast as she could with her backpack clunking against her. She went right to the front entrance door mat and sat on her butt, reaching for her discarded slip on shoes to pull them onto her feet. Luke was one step away from being on the main floor when Cagney came around and stood right in front of him, she had Miles in her arms while March was content in the play pen with a toy tambourine.  “We need to talk.” Her voice was begging even if she was trying to be quiet in order to not let Penelope know that there was friction in her family.  Luke just stared over Cagney’s blond frizzy hair and shrugged. He was being childish and he knew it, but he hadn’t filtered enough of his pure anger yet to behave in any better way. He focused his stare on Penelope’s pony tail, glaring at it like it owed him a blood debt. “You just stormed out last night,” Cagney almost hissed, moving a little to the left to line her face up with Luke’s. She wanted his attention. She wanted him to acknowledge she existed. “Don’t you think we should talk?” Things were more chaotic and challenging than they had ever been before the couple and Cagney was dying to  move out of the disaster she had caused. It took two, of course, but she been the one to light fire to their world. “My mom is flying in to watch the kids,” Admitting that earned Luke’s attention. His blue eyes widened over her and screamed silently how disturbed they were. He did not like his in laws. “I called her last night and I think it would be good. We could go somewhere alone to talk.” Luke fought his tongue behind his tightly shut lips. He didn’t want to talk to her or be alone with her right now, but he knew that would not be helpful to say. “You invited your mother?” Christie Bloom knew the fastest way under Luke’s skin and she loved to remind him of that.  “Well, she insist-” “Wow, Cagney, what are you going to do next? Make out with a Power Ranger in our pantry?” He had drunkeningly gone through Dacre Montgomery’s IMDB page last night once he was in a hotel room. He tortured himself with the Australian actors perfect abs and swore at different images he could find of the guy.  Cagney showed off her disappointment in Luke’s comment, shoulders falling as he avoided eye contact with her again. She couldn’t say another word, Penny was standing at the door behind her and calling for Luke.  He squinted at the baby boy against Cagney’s hip and checked whether it was Miles and not March before giving him a kiss on his chubby cheek. “I’m coming, Pen.” He moved right past Cagney as if she was just home decor and pushed open the house door, letting him and his littlest lady out, and then shut it loudly as if to let everyone know he was gone. 

Cagney swallowed hard as she stood still, looking at the spot her husband had vacated, but focusing on nothing in particular. It took March’s screams from the other room to capture her attention and bring her back to reality. Luke might not have been happy her mom was coming into town, but she was looking forward to it. 

——————

Playing it safe, Luke ordered Penelope a small stack of hot cakes and an apple juice from the drive thru. He was starving after a night of binge drinking by himself so he ordered a large black coffee and a big breakfast with a blueberry muffin on the side. Even if he didn’t devour it all, someone else would finish it up. He had the music on, but only turned it up to encourage Penelope who was clumsily singing along to Roxanne since the throwback station was still playing it. She had heard it enough times and the words were relatively easy for her to remember and say. By the second verse, Luke sang along with her - forgetting about his exhaustion and frustration with his own life.  Once in the studio doors, later than he was supposed to be, he meant to set Penelope up on one of the back couches with her bag, but she ran straight for Ashton and hugged him while he lifted her onto his lap.   “Aren’t you a pleasant surprise?” Ashton hugged her tightly in return, hamming up a groan as if he was squeezing her as hard as he could.  “I have my shell!” She told him with an explosion of excitement through her ears. Her small hand reached behind her and smacked her backpack. Ashton was particularly fond of Penny’s little backpack and she knew that.  “Is it full of pearls?” He engaged her imagination, but Luke interrupted before she could answer with more than a nod.  “Penny, I got your pancakes.” He had opened up the yellow container on a spare couch cushion and was cutting them into bites she could handle with the dull plastic cutlery. Penelope didn’t waste any time wiggling off of Ashton’s lap and heading over to her Dad. She took off her bag and left it on the floor before going herself onto the couch to eat her breakfast. She was very hungry after all. Luke unfolded a napkin and stuffed it into the collar of her shirt. “Can you hang out here while I get some work done?” He asked her, but she was already rushing her first forkful of syrupy pancake into her mouth. Luke took her focus on eating as a ‘yes’ and kissed her forehead. It was nice to have her there even if he was busy.  He took the rest of his take out bag and joined the producer by the desk, leaning in to find out what he missed. Michael was already in the sound booth and it looked like they were waiting on Calum and the producer’s assistant.  Just as he expected he might, he set up the Bubble Guppies show on his phone and plugged in ear buds so Penelope could watch with her doll on the couch. Her activity book and crayons had held her interest for a grand total of fifteen minutes. Once she was occupied, Luke went back to trying to enforce his opinion on vocals. Ashton took himself out of the argument and joined the dirty blondie on the couch. When she offered him an ear bud, he leaned in and let her pop it in so they could watch the same episode together. The little mer-geniuses kind of freaked him out, but it was better than watching Michael and Luke frustrate one another from separate rooms.  Luke was in need of a break by the time Penny was growing squirmy. She had watched two whole episodes and scribbled three different pictures in her book while lying on her tummy. She had been at the studio for two hours. Luke plunked her down on his lap and let his arm around her be comforting while he continued to work. When they hit hour three, he decided it was time to break for lunch. Instead of ordering in an obscene amount of food, he took Penny and Michael with him to Lemonade for a light salad lunch. The change of scenery was all Penny needed.  “Are you staying at the hotel again?” Michael asked after washing his bite down with a sip of unsweetened iced tea. He and Grace went back and forth between renting houses and staying at the Chateau Marmont when they were in LA. It all came down to whatever mood his wife was in.  “Yeah.” Luke nodded through his own gulp of water. “I think Pen and I are having a sleep over.” He hadn’t run it by Cagney, but he also didn’t intend to.  It didn’t strike Mike as odd when Luke showed up at the hotel at two in the morning, drunk and lusting for another round. Everyone knew Cagney didn’t like the kids being around rowdiness especially when delivered by Luke. What raised Michael’s brows was that sober and conscious, Luke was choosing to stay at the hotel.  “Oh? Well, Emme will be thrilled.” He leaned in and made one of his funnier faces at Penelope. She didn’t notice too much, just munching on edamame beans and looking at all the other people eating on the patio. “Everything okay?” He brought his focus back to Luke, trying to act like his question was very normal.  “Yeah.” Luke lied with a single word and a cheerful shrug of his right shoulder. “Just want a little one on one time.” He was embarrassed that his wife had made out with someone else. It reflected on him poorly. Luke was ashamed of the current state of his marriage and himself. He had absolutely no desire to express to anyone how messed up everything was. He planned to lie, lie, lie.  Michael didn’t buy it for a second, but he also knew better than to push and pry especially with Luke. Instead, Michael pulled Penny’s attention away from staring off at strangers as Like took out his phone to text friends.  Luke called it quits at the studio after two more hours post lunch. Since Calum had finally arrived in town, struggling to leave his baby and girlfriend at home these days, they had a lot of bass work to complete and as much as Luke wanted to have a say in everything, he knew that it wasn’t necessary for him to be there for direction. He packed up Penelope’s little backpack and tossed it over his shoulder effortlessly, scooping his napping daughter up and holding her against the other shoulder to carry her to the car. Penelope woke up almost as soon as he started driving, the radio low but still enough to capture her attention.  “Home now?” She checked through a yawn that was no bigger than she was. Penny moved to the side of her car seat, looking for a glimpse of her dad, but only ever catching pieces of his hair or his hands on the steering wheel.  “Do you want to go swimming with Emmy?” Luke asked back at her, checking to see her expression through the mirror, instead of telling her they weren’t going home today.  “Yes, please!” She wanted to see her best friend so badly that she showed off her manners. “Daddy, this is the best day ever.” She informed him happily while poking at the window and trying to find blue cars on the road.  “Good.” Luke nodded back at her. It made him feel like less a failure to her that he was making her happy and filling a bad day with joy. Once at a red light, Luke reached back and felt her reach forward to try and hold his hand. He squeezed her fingers with his and laughed with amusement when she tried to squeeze his in return. The feelings they had for one another were mutual.  The pool was mostly empty when Luke arrived with his two tiny bathing beauties. Penelope with her string bean body under an ombre blue one piece and Emmeline in a chic crisscross one piece, red with black sketched flowers all over it. Michael’s daughter had refused to come downstairs without glitter in her hair and a plastic pair of giant sunglasses on. He set them both at a lounge chair, telling them every fifteen seconds to wait before going in the water. Luke felt beyond grateful when Grace arrived at the pool with Iden holding her hand and waddling slow. No one could control a group of rambunctious kids like Grace Clifford could. She was Emmeline’s human leash, always keeping her in line and from running around wildly.   Grace rolled her eyes right back at the suntanners who didn’t mask their disappointment that their were children in the pool area and helped Luke slather their antsy girls up with sunscreen. She made sure to remind Emmeline twice that she had to listen to Luke, stay in the shallow end, and behave.  It was most surprising to Luke than anyone else, but splashing around with Penelope and Emmeline transported him out of his heavy state of frustration and into actual happiness. He was grinning with each corner of his mouth meeting an ear as he tossed the girls into the water, their arms linking around his neck and trying to pull him in. He remembered Ashton once describing his kids laughter as his favorite song and Luke, at the time, thought it was just the drummer being purposefully deep, but now he agreed. Hearing Penny giggle as she pretended to be a 'sparkly mermaid’ with Emmeline acted like medication to his hard heart.  Grace called for a Chateau Marmont staff member to bring out a tray of raw vegetables and hummus dip for the kids to pick at. Forcing their pruning toes to take a break from kicking at Luke when they dog paddled around.  Emme and Penny took to their own lounge chair with their snacks, leaving Luke and Grace nearby with Iden. Luke was on his phone, downloading samples that were being sent to him of what was happening in the studio. Still, he could feel Grace’s eyes on him like burning coals. Her stare left a mark.  “What are you hiding from, Lucas?” She let go of Iden’s stomach as he was wrestling with her. He wanted to go see his sister. Her smile tightened as Luke slid his blue eyes from his screen and looked at her with an unamused smirk. “Sleeping here drunk last night, leaving the studio today, coming here for a midday swim with Penny…” “You’re describing a pretty good time, Grace Adna.” If she was going to call him Lucas, he would use her middle name that he knew she loathed.  For a second, he had made her quiet, but only a second. Grace fixed her hair behind her ears, showing off her new Tiffany’s studs that had been an impulse buy after a small argument with Michael last week, and prepared herself for what to say next.   “I’m describing someone who isn’t masking their marital woes very well.” She came back and met his frosty gaze with a raised brow that almost hissed ’checkmate’. “I’m married to Michael, you think I wouldn’t recognize a man frustrated with his wife.” To her, all sad men did the same dance. She had learned the choreography long before she took up with the love her life, a man she drove insane in a variety of ways. “What’s going on? Besides having three small children and no sleep…”

Luke wrestled with himself. He didn’t want to answer as he was too proud to let anyone know that his marriage was currently frayed and delicate, perhaps inching towards a undignified destiny. On the other hand, Luke knew Grace could see through him. He also knew she could keep a secret and she was someone who wasn’t foreign to a rough patch. She and Michael wore scars of their relationship like badges of honor. They never hid when things were difficult. Even when it was ugly, they were always honest. It often made him uncomfortable, but Luke had to admit it was sort of beautiful in it’s own way.

“She thinks….” He knew some of this was his fault. She felt distant from him because they had no time together with three small children and the time they could have together, even just an hour in bed watching TV, he spent getting wasted. Still, that wasn’t why Luke was avoiding his California house. “I guess I am…” Did he have a drug problem? No. Did he like to party? Yes. Was he feeling overwhelmed with new twins and a new album in the works? Absolutely. Luke was having a hard time navigating himself through the mess of his sleepy and pissed off mind at the moment. Sighing again, he glanced behind himself to check on Penelope. She was eating carrots without hummus, patting Iden’s hair, and talking about nothing at all in gibberish with Emme. She was happy and she had no idea how broken her Dad felt. “Cagney made out with some other guy.” He felt like a child saying it, but it hurt. She might as well have slept with Dacre. It stung all the same knowing someone else’s tongue was in her mouth, his mouth. Dacre’s hands had surely grabbed and explored the body that Luke had spent so long getting to know and learning with. The body that housed his three children, the body that he was in love with, the body that made up his wife. “I’m just fucking pissed. She told me last night.” He groaned out and leaned forward near Grace. His hands held his face before running through his greasy hair that was in desperate need of a wash that didn’t include chlorine. It was curlier now to since leaving the pool. He pushed his elbows into his knees that were poking out  from under his navy swim trunks and grunted.

Grace moved from her lounge chair onto his and ran her own hand through his locks, comforting him like he was a brother of some sorts. She kissed the top of his head and then pulled him into her chest with her fingers picking at his hair with care.

“You know when Michael hurts me, I blast 'Go Your Own Way’ by Fleetwood Mac and scream in the closet. Do you think that would help?” Grace smiled to herself as she heard and felt Luke chuckle against the thin jersey material of her top. “It works!” She laughed back.

“I’m just fucking livid with her.” Finally, he admitted. Luke leaned onto his back and laid his head flat on Grace’s lap, using her face as a shield from the blistering sunshine that was beating down on them. “I’ve done fucked up shit and I know I drive her crazy with going out, partying, and drinking and whatever, but I would never do that. I would never fucking - “ Mindlessly, he began to play with his thick gold wedding band, sliding it up to his second knuckle and then pushing it back down. “I wouldn’t. You know that.” It wasn’t as if Luke hadn’t had ten thousand different opportunities to screw around on his wife either. He just always turned them down or walked away.

“You’re good people.” Grace agreed, her fingers playing with his locks in an effort to soothe his aching soul platonically. Sure, she had seen all four members of the band be idiot rock stars, but as they had all grown up together, Grace knew for certain that Luke meant well at his core. His conscience was kind. She knew she was a good judge of character too.  “You don’t deserve to be betrayed like that.” Licking her lips, she promised him. Grace never said things she never meant. Honestly, she was surprised. She couldn’t believe that Cagney had it in her. She never would have pegged it to be her as the one to step out of the relationship. “Can I ask who it was? Not that it matters.” It could have been Luke’s clone from a different dimension, it still wouldn’t be okay. “Was it that actor guy? The one with the name I can’t pronounce?”

“You knew they were hanging out?” He raised off her lap quickly and searched Grace’s perpetually made up face for an answer.

“So did you.” She gave him a look just as crazy as the one he was shooting directly at her. “How could you have missed it? He was always around.”

“I thought it was harmless when she went to lunch with him.”

“I would cut Michael’s testicles off with dull shears if he took our kids to lunch with him and another woman.” Grace realized afterwards that she wasn’t helping, but the truth had a way of just slipping out of her. “His ex girlfriend sent us a baby booties when Emmeline was born and I sent her back the lyrics to that Big Sean song, 'IDFWU’, in gold cursive. I also donated the booties because I’m not a total monster.” She smiled, feeling better once Luke laughed and rolled his eyes at her. “Anyway, you didn’t know they were hanging out?”

“I didn’t know she was taking the kids everywhere with him or, like, going out a bunch. I knew they were friends.” Luke hadn’t given it enough thought. He felt foolish for the trust he practiced. Whenever he found himself feeling suspicious, he reminded himself that Cagney hadn’t jumped down his throat for being photographed with different women, mingling with actresses at industry parties, or even being upset when he made out with two beautiful models in a recent music video. He couldn’t be mad at her for making friends that were male. He didn’t want to be that guy. Now that Grace mentioned it, he didn’t like that she was bringing him around their family, his three kids. “I’m a fucking moron.”

“So, you’re just going to hide out here with Penny?”

“For now.” Luke sighed and shook his hair around his head before wiping at his tired face. “I have no desire to go home. I don’t want to look at her. I’m angry.”

“You need to cool off, for sure.” Grace agreed. “You got to take care of you. I think that means having martinis with me while the kids play.” She laughed, laying a hand on his knee and waiting for him to smile. “And if you need me to watch the kids sometimes or whatever, holler.”

“Thanks.” He gave her half a smile that was all sincere. “Don’t tell Mike or anybody about this, okay? I don’t want people to know.”

“You know I’m a vault.” She rolled her eyes and turned around to look at her kids completely, not surprised, but not happy to see that Emmeline was encouraging her little brother to put his hands in the hummus dish. “Whatever you decide, you got me on your side.” She rose to her feet and headed to fetch  her mischievous children. “I know a great divorce lawyer, gang member, couples counselor, whatever you need.” She winked and took a towel from her daughter’s lap to wipe off Iden’s hands, right away scolding them both. They didn’t care. They were laughing right at her.

“Daddy?” Surprising Luke as he had just laid down on the lounge chair, hands folded behind his head and eyes shut. His feet were dangling off the edge as he was too tall and right by them was Penelope, hair still wet in her ponytail and shivering in her bathing suit since her towel was somewhere on the cement ground. “Are we going home soon?” Usually in California, she spent all her time with her mom and only saw her dad for meals or in between his schedule, sometimes he was gone for long stretches of time.

“No. I think we’re going to have a PJ party, you and me.” He smiled at her, but it faded as soon as he saw her look solemnly down at her bare feet, the sparkly polish that her mom had painted on it a few days before chipping at the edge. Luke sat up and leaned closer, waiting for Penny to stop pouting at the ground and look at him again. “You don’t want to do that?”

“I miss mummy.” She was little. It was to be expected.

“Yeah.” Luke could only deflate in response, reaching forward and waiting for her to put her petite hand in his. He squeezed it right away, but this time, Penny didn’t squeeze back. “I thought after you have a bath, we could play a game or play with Emme and Iden, and then we could watch a movie and eat dinner in bed, but if you want to go Penelope, I can take you home.” He wasn’t ready to go home himself and he certainly didn’t like the idea of spending another night away from his kids, alone and drunk in a hotel room, but he couldn’t keep Penny with him forever. Even though fractured at the moment, they were a family.  

It took Penelope a long pause to figure out how to respond. She was an honest child and Luke felt proud of that. She didn’t just do things because other people wanted to, but she was still sweet most of the time.

“We can have a PJ party.” Nodding, she agreed and squeezed his hand back. “That could be fun. Can I play in Emme’s room too?” The two giggly girls never seemed to grow tired of one another. They had been thick as thieves since Penelope could keep up with Emmeline on her own two feet.

“Of course.” If the girls wanted to play, that meant Luke could keep venting to Grace and have one of her famously strong gin martinis.

— — — — — —- — — —

Michael was back from the studio. He had made a promise to Grace in couple’s counselling that when they were in the same city, he would have dinner with his family unless otherwise discussed or they had a date. She was always satisfied as long as he had more meals with them than without. His return signalled the end of Penelope and Emmeline’s impromptu play date. Emmeline didn’t seem to mind though because it meant spaghetti and meatballs for her and her father’s doting until bed time.

Luke bathed Penelope, rinsing the shampoo from her blond locks, and making a soap mohawk  on top of her head. They talked about the twins, mermaids, and what they wanted for dinner. Privately, Luke was just relieved that his daughter didn’t interrogate him with questions about Cagney or anything. Perhaps, she didn’t realize that anything was wrong. She wasn’t as intuitive as Grace was yet.

For pyjamas, he dressed Penny in the blue v neck he had been wearing all day and set her up in bed with a memory game he had borrowed from Emmeline. He was pretty impressed with how much better she was getting at the very simple child’s game. Luke supposed the fact that it was Little Mermaid theme helped hold Penelope’s interest. She adored Ariel and thought Sebastian was funnier than her Dad and Uncle Mike. Once two rounds were finished, dinner was at the door. Steak, potatoes, and broccoli for Luke while Penelope only wanted grilled cheese. Luke insisted she have a fruit cup with it and she didn’t object, picking at the pieces of pineapple first. His whiskey glass was empty from the first round of Memory, so Luke took the opportunity to mix himself another jack and coke before crawling in bed to watch the opening credits of Lilo & Stitch. As of the last month, she had come to love it so Luke had it downloaded on his laptop and easy to take with him and hook into any television anywhere.

Full and sleepy from a day she considered to be 'the best’, Penelope fell asleep with the crust of her second half of sandwich in her hand. She was tucked under her Dad’s arm with her head rolling off his chest and onto his stomach. Luke adored her under the blue light. Since she was out like the hotel room lights, Luke was letting the film finish while he messed around on his phone, texting friends and going through notes from the studio. He didn’t want to move yet and possibly wake up Penny. He knew eventually he would want another drink or to shower the stench of his pain out of his hair, but for now, he was comfortable just laying in bed with his little lady.

He was comfortable until Cagney called, of course. He declined it instantly just as he had two other times during dinner. It wasn’t until she texted him that he felt inclined to dial her back. Her message made a pretty good point:

’You have had Penny all day. You have told me nothing. Call me. She is my daughter too.’

He couldn’t believe they were at this point. Cagney was the kind of girl that everyone described as 'wholesome’, 'loyal’, and 'saccharine’. After a string of opportunist girlfriends and entitled nobodies, Luke welcomed her innocent kindness. She just wanted him to relax and get some rest. He had never had that in a partner before. He always just tried to meet her level of decency somehow, make her proud to be his like he was proud to be hers. Now he was avoiding her like the kid with a cough in the waiting room and she was sending him missed off, bordering threatening texts. They weren’t the people they vowed to be to one another.

His thumb hovered over her name in red to signal that her last call was missed and eventually caved in. Luke cautiously moved off the bed and watched as Penny slid onto a pillow and stayed asleep. He poured a glass of just whiskey and carried it outside onto the balcony so he could talk to her freely. The howling of a party on a balcony a few floors beneath him sang into the wind, but Luke ignored it, took a gulp of his drink, and called his wife.

“Hi…” Tough, but frightened,  Cagney answered. Luke wasn’t able to say a word even though he knew he should. It was strange, but even saying 'hello’ to her felt dishonest right now. “Is Penny good? Where are you guys?”

“She’s fine.” He decided not to be offended that she asked him about Penelope’s well-being. He was her father. What did Cagney think was happening? “We’re just staying somewhere else tonight. I’ll drop her off after breakfast tomorrow.” He had to go to the studio anyway as he had ducked out early today.

“Why don’t you guys come home? The twins are sleeping, my mom is here if they wake up…”

“She’s sleeping. I don’t want to wake her.” Luke grumbled, trying to keep his voice from emoting at all. It wasn’t easy for someone who wore his feelings on his sleeve and wrote hundreds upon hundreds of songs about them. “Plus, your mom being there is the least enticing.” Luke couldn’t help himself that time. He had to make a jab about Cagney’s parents. He didn’t even feel bad because he knew they would do the same and that his mother-in-law had probably said countless unflattering things about him since her flight landed.

Through the phone, Cagney’s eye roll accompanied by annoyed sigh through her nostrils could be heard, but Luke ignored them as he leaned over the ledge and kept nursing his drink while looking out at the busy Los Angeles traffic. Up high, he was safe from the construction zone that was the kingdom he had carelessly looked after.

“When are we going to talk, Luke? I think it’s important we do. I know I messed up, but - “

“You didn’t, like, add too much salt to something, Keg.” He growled, somehow keeping himself from completely ripping into her. “You didn’t mess up.” They had a toddler and baby twins. Luke knew what a mess up was thoroughly. This was a cultivated decision.

“I have felt so alone, that’s why -" 

Luke had no interest in letting her explain herself, "I am alone! I’ve been on the other side of the world for weeks at a time, all the possibility of fucking someone else right in my face. You know I could walk into any room and find someone to fuck any day of the week,” It was a cocky truth to boast, but Luke figures right now it was warranted. “But I don’t. Never.” It wasn’t as if he hadn’t thought about it before. The idea was surely entertaining when he lonely or starved for affection. “Because I think it would be so fucked up to do something I explicitly promised not to do to you!” He almost roared, knocking his drink down on the mini table behind him, it’s splash dripping down his phone free hand.  When Luke let himself think about the situation clearly, he wasn’t sure if the reception was drawn from the indiscretion of making out with Dacre. It was beyond that. It was the make believe relationship she was indulging in with him. It was how she seeked comfort in him. Luke hadn’t yet resolved with himself the anger that came from realizing he may never know the extent of their friendship. How much flirting did they do? Did they hold hands? Did she share her thoughts and hopes with him? Did he text her at all hours and tell her she was beautiful? The emotional infidelity scarred Luke more than the physical affair did.  Cagney was crying on the line. He could hear her gasps for air as she sniffled. Luke realized then that frustration had brought reads to his own eyes, but he sniffled once against his bare arm and then tried to be silent.  “How do I fix this, Luke?” Her voice was desperate and they both mutually loathed the sound. For Cagney, it was pathetic and she was ashamed of herself. For Luke, it was an out of tune reminder that she had badly hurt him. “Tell me what to do. I want to fix us.” Luke’s sticky fingers played with his hair, fidgeting to keep them busy, as he turned around mindlessly. He pressed his back into the railing, right where the elastic waist of his underwear was exposed. Through the curtains of his hotel room window, Penny was sleeping. Her body took up so little of the king sized bed while she was practically devoured whole in his tee. She had no idea her foundation had deep cracks running through it, cracks caused by careless steps from her parents hooves. Luke felt ashamed himself suddenly and took a loud breath in, feeling it at the bottom of his stomach. “I’ll drop Penelope off tomorrow around 9.” With a blank tone, he told Cagney while looking at the hair that needed trimming on his toes.  “Luke, that’s not an answer. Are we going to be okay?"  "That’s the only answer I have for you right now.” His throat tightened as he hung up, cutting her next words out. He didn’t know what she could do to help him forgive her, he had no idea if they would be okay, he was lost at the moment.  Luke stayed on the balcony for a few more minutes, staring at the traffic but looking at nothing. His mind was everywhere and blank at the same time. He forgot all about his drink and left it on the table, deciding to go inside and adjust Penelope in the bed so her head was resting better on the pillow that had been his backrest before. Luke stared at his daughter in the dark while sitting on the edge of the bed and let the feelings of failure rush through his bloodstream, taking hold of his body. He was about to kiss her head, but he felt like he might start sobbing, so he went into the shower and let himself fall weak in there. Warm water washing over him, trying to clean him off all his bad decisions and pain. He sat on his knees on the floor of the shower, wishing he had a drink and wishing he could sleep the world away.  For the first night that week, Luke went to bed consciously. He didn’t pass out, he wasn’t beyond speaking. He purposefully dried himself off after the shower, pulled his boxer briefs back on, and crawled into bed. Despite its large size, Penelope had rolled right into the middle and splayed her limbs out to optimize as much space as her body could. Luke formed a large S around her and fell asleep with the scent of her skin under his nose. 

* * * * *  ** *

Standing between his knees, pulling u comfortable faces, Penelope finished her breakfast toast and strawberry jam while her Dad brushed the tangles out of her hair sitting on the messy bed.  “We’re home today?” The hotel felt like a tropical vacation to the little girl.  “I’m dropping you off and then I’m going to work.” He explained while working on one particularly stern knot at the end of her long hair.  “I wish you were home.” She whined, unknowingly punching him with guilt.  “We can have a lunch or beach date soon.” Luke had yet to sort out how he was going to go about seeing his brood. He didn’t know if Penelope would figure out that he wasn’t home much anymore or if she would be used to his occasional absences from his job. He still didn’t know when he would be ready to sit down and talk to his wife. Luke was still just upset.  His offer of a private hang out was enough for Penelope. She backed up against him as he stopped pulling on her hair with his brush and gave all her attention to the sticky jam on her fingers.  He hid his eyes behind sunglasses and drove his girl home with one of his favorite Live Metallica albums playing. Penelope didn’t seem to mind the noise. She was counting palm trees up to ten and then starting again while holding her mermaid doll under one armpit.  Luke didn’t even turn off his car when he pulled up in front of the house. He let it run and hustled to unstrap Penelope from her car seat. After sliding the straps of her backpack over her shoulders, he gave her a gentle tap on the back to insinuate it was time to go, walking behind her to the door. They weren’t even at the cement steps by the time Cagney snuck out the door. Penelope picked up her pace and ran for her mum, hugging her at the hips as soon as they met.  “I missed you.” Hugging the little girl back, Cagney cooed.  “I missed you too.” Penny mumbled into her mother’s legs, bare due to small jean shorts. She chose a tight pair in hopes to look attractive to her husband.  “Wanna go say hi to grandma?” Cagney asked once Penny had let go of her.  “Grandma’s here!” The little girl bounced, both women not noticing Luke’s eye roll.  “See you later, Pen.” Grabbing his daughter’s attention again, Luke nodded at her. She took the steps carefully and ran to hug him again. She squeezed him with all her strength once he bent down at the waist to hug and kiss her back. “Be good, okay?” He prompted her, taking her eager nod as a promise before she took off into the house. It was just him and Cagney, forcing a wedge in his throat. Luke backed up a couple steps and tried to fight the burn in his stomach.  “Do you want to come in?” Suspecting he didn’t, Cagney tried anyway.  “No.” Especially not if his mother in law was still there. “I have Saturday to myself until the evening, I’ll take the boys out.” He told her.  “What’s in the evening?” She may have hurt him, but it was still natural for her to ask about his schedule. It had been the one her life ran on for so long. She could see how badly she wounded him. He was carrying himself low around her, head down and hiding his face as if to not let her see the pain she covered it in. Cagney felt weak at the knees. She was the bad guy. This tension was on her.  “Just a thing. Nothing.” Luke lied. He didn’t want to tell her. She would hate that he was going out and he also didn’t want her to show up. Right now, Luke craved space.  For a moment, he glanced at her with half a wave tossed out of courtesy in her direction.  “Wait, Luke!” She pushed herself off the door, but he didn’t turn around to see her. Luke simply slowed down his steps. “When are you coming home?"  Once he stopped, Luke inhaled and thought about it before turning to her with a blank expression and shoulder shrug as an offer.  "When I can be around you.” She complained about being alone, but Luke had no desire to stand by her side now. Leaving her with glossy eyes, Luke shrugged again and left.  He turned up the volume of his music to the highest decimal and drove as fast as he could to the studio. He had some things that were screaming in the cage of his body to get out. If there was a cure for his current rage, he knew he would only find it in the studio.

[verba-vintage]

My Little Pony Watercolor Baby Sea pony Vintage - Pink with White Hair ~ Pink Room ~ 161206 by ThePinkRoom http://ift.tt/2lRfPLt

[imreadydollparts]

I couldn't tell if a few of these ponies were moldy or if it was plasticizer that had leeched out and picked up some dust, but they cleaned up well enough.

Watercolor Baby Sea Pony Seawinkle doesn't change color anymore.

[normaleeinsane]

Here’s my Watercolor Baby Sea Ponies. ^v^

Seashore and Seawinkle

[mlphistory]

The Watercolor Baby Sea Ponies, released in Year 6 (1987 and 1988), were the first ponies with hair that changed color, and the only ponies ever to have color-changing bodies. They were also the final set of Baby Sea Ponies released.  The Watercolor Baby Sea Ponies all have straight, cottony manes which change color when placed in warm water. Their bodies also change color in warm water. Three of the ponies in this set were named after the first three adult Sea Ponies: Sealight, Seawinkle, and Wavedancer. Each Watercolor Baby Sea Pony came with a different one of the six types of floats, along with a fish comb and a ribbon.

[ponybackcards]

Wavedancer likes to drift on the water on warm evenings, gazing up at the twinkling stars in the sky. "I wish I could shine like a star," she said to Misty, as they wiggled in their floats. A little star heard Wavedancer's wish and sprinkled stardust in the Watercolor Baby Sea Pony's hair. Suddenly, Wavedancer's curls glittered and sparkled like a star! The little star laughed as Wavedancer swung her hair, twinkling with every turn of her head. "Now I'm a shining star of the sea!" laughed Wavedancer.

[ponybackcards]

"Let's try to catch a big, big wave that'll carry us right up to the sky!" Foamy said to her friends. King Neptune heard her wish and sent a giant wave her way. The Watercolor Baby Sea Ponies jumped on top of it and sat very still as the wave carried them higher and higher, all the way up to the fluffiest cloud in the sky. They played there for hours, riding the cloud like a magic carpet around the sky, then slid down the rainbow, landing onto the ocean with a great big SPLASH!