#seriously just keep your faves circulating

[itsevanffs]

what is love? baby don't desert me... desert me... reblog

[polarisjisung]

tw: nth room talk— sa, cp, generally dark + heavy themes

I'm not going to go into detail about what the nth room is, but if you don't know and would like to this post is a good place to start. This is more a reminder about how much misinformation is really going around with this topic.

First things first, this is absolutely terrifying. These people are sons, brothers, fathers and husbands, the very people who you'd think would protect the women in their lives are the ones ruining them. It's sickening and it's hurtful. My heart goes out to the victims. Truly I wish nothing but the worst on these men.

With the whole 'list of celebrities' that's allegedly coming out tomorrow— I get that this is a difficult situation, especially to find out that someone you have admired for so long is nothing like the person you imagined them to be, but this is not about us.

If you're a fan you have the right to be sad, but it's the same whether this is about taeil, other idols, actors, celebrities, etc— there are victims at the centre of it all. The victims deserve justice and support. Not continuing to support the perpetrators will always be part of that.

So while you might think your fave would never, remember that you don't know these people.

When and if a confirmed list does come out, which it hasn't yet, please support the right people.

If, and I truly hope this isn't the case, but if you see the name of someone you support on that list, and you think "he would never" then the harsh truth is that you seriously need to revaluate your parasocial relationships. Because we do not know these people.

There's lists of suspected idols circulating tiktok/twitter already, which is disgusting. To accuse someone of something with no basis, of something so heinous and sickening is real fucking low just because you don't like them. Just because someone is morally flawed in one area/certain areas does not immediately mean that they're sick enough to commit these crimes. And by no means am I defending these idols because yes they've done some real fucked up things, but that does not equate to them being involved in sexual crimes.

You can have a hunch, intuition, or whatever it is you'd like to call it, but falsely accusing people of sa will never be okay. Keep these thoughts to yourself. Don't spread them by making videos, posts, or comments.

Thoughts and prayers to the victims and their families.

[margaetyrell]

honestly i’m so tired of all this gaylor stuff that is going on. look, this is the first time i speak about it and i won’t do it again but i just need to get this off. idk what even started it now, but people seriously need to understand once and for all that it is just as weird to hate an almost non-existent group in the fandom and argue against it to earn coins to be the best fan, while underestimating and prejudging other people you don’t even know, and when you are gonna say hurtful things that you will later on regret, bc there is a 98% chance they will be understood as homophobic even if that wasn’t your intention. that is what it is. 'no but i’m bi and i find gaylors disgusting' that statement is even more damaging tbh, bc once again you are prejudging when you should know better how this hate form has always been harming to the collective you belong to

that’s the main reason ppl are afraid to even joke about it in their own blogs, or analise lyrics under a extremely brilliant, queer lens that is kept to themselves precisely bc the fear of being judged and attacked. i’m a gaylor and i have no shame admitting so, but i don’t talk about it nor write my own connections in terms of her lyrics bc of this, as i felt personally hurt by such judment in the past and talked about it with one only person privately. in fact, if you go to my gaylor tag you aren’t gonna find k*ylor, crazy easter eggs and conspiracy theories, instead it is full of quotes that she herself has said, queer campaigns she has been part of, thoughts ppl have found behind her lyrics and lots of gifs of her wearing lgbt+flag colours - all public. that is all, and i’m even reluctant to rb anything related to her past relationships, just as candids or posts about her current one. which btw does not mean that bc i’m a gaylor i don’t consider it true or that i automatically don’t believe anything she says and think joe is a beard, as most of you simply assume

THIS when that’s all some of you seem to talk about, like every time she releases a rerecording, the memes that circulate are 'well j.jonas will always be mr perfectly fine and all these songs are about him' fact that even his wife got to see and at which they both laugh now, probably to downplay how fucking tired of it they must be. and what about the hate harassment jake has been receiving since red tv came out, which he hasn’t spoken a word about, despite facing even death threats. or the fact that ppl keep saying 'lmao harry you are next, cannot wait for speak now tv so john gets what he deserves.' like ??? but that way of talking about your fave is alright just bc she is straight? is that supposed to make her feel better? isn’t all that just as toxic or even more so?? bc gaylors in general don’t make that much noise or harm to begin with. so to excuse all of this under 'all those relationships have been confirmed by both parties and that is why i have the right to talk about them' sorry but it’s the biggest bullshit i’ve ever heard 1) bc no, most of such relationships have in fact never been confirmed by both parties and by no means have these songs been confirmed by Taylor herself, ever. 2) the fact that a relationship has been public does not give you the right to inspect it and talk about it, once again, as if you were taylor’s bff and not even that !!! as in general friends and real fans don’t talk about her life so frivolously, no matter how much you excuse yourself under this shit that keeps crossing all boundaries

so basically, talk about her private life all you want like i personally dgaf, but i find it quite hypocritical to hate on a minority that happens to be lgbt, casually!! for saying 'hmm wait a sec, wonderland sounds gay and has too many similarities with dianna' 'hmm i wonder what happened there, whether they were friends or not, that was such a weird relationship' which even j.lawrence joked about saying ‘i’d just like to know what’s between kk and ts' - not the best example, but you get where i’m going. frankly, i highly doubt taylor would give a shit if i write a post on a social site she doesn’t even use anymore, that it’s gonna be reblogged by 4 ppl and possibly get 20 hate asks in return, like @13sleepless deals with on a daily basis, which is terrifying and admirable of them. bc who really care about this are those who claim not to be homophobic or have nothing against queer interpretation while continuing to make arguments against it and not only song interpretations, but the very words and actions that taylor herself has done on purpose, under advertising her albums, tours, or whatever and i’m not even talking about easter eggs. i mean, is it not by logic the same to say 'well i’m not declaring anything new if i say that dear john is about j.mayer' as to say 'well i’m not declaring anything new either by saying, hey, taylor made a song/mv full of gay themes, full of ppl from the collective, where she even wears clothing and a bi coloured wig that has been publicly recognized, started a campaign in support and an entire album promo where in the previous mv she said gay pride makes me ME!!!’ like...... isn’t it? sorry weren’t those her literal words?? okay....... then please explain to me how it is for you bc if you really think that doesn’t sound problematic or i’m making it up, it may be time to evalue your own morals and stop questioning those you judge under the same closeted box, without respecting them individually and without wanting to learn a shit about the matter

[cornholio4]

Scarlet Lady Au: Two Halves of Marinette’s Heart

Author’s Note: Based on Zoe-Oneesama's Tumblr comic Scarlet Lady which is my fave Ladybug fan content or tied along with LadyBugOut. Only there and the amnesiac Adrien in the episode Oblivion do I ship Adrienette. Also happy birthday to Zoe.

@zoe-oneesama

Marinette Dupain-Cheng was smiling as he was riding on the back of one of her boyfriends Luka Couffaine's bike as he had insisted on giving her a ride to school. He and Adrien Agreste had recently revealed their feelings to her and she was torn between them: the cute and nice Adrien and the cool but also dorky like her Luka. It was tough to think it through even after they had both assured her that they don't want to hurt their friendship with her no matter what she choose. It was Alya who stepped in after healing her dilemma had said that she can just date them both since she had two hands for the each of them. Luka and Adrien were fine with this as long as Marinette was happy and it was then their relationship happened over the weekend.

They had let their family know and they accepted it well: Anarka was quite over the top in her excitement, Marinette's parents and embarrassed her by saying that she had got them 2 sons in law; Juleka had likewise already claimed Marinette as her sister in law and Adrien's father... Marinette and Luka looked at him in sympathy when he just shook his head saying that he was too busy to get a chance to tell him. Marinette comforted him with a hug not really liking how her favourite designer was so cold to his own son. Pollen was more than happy about his Miraculous' owner's new relationship and said his queen deserved all the love that she gets.

Marinette kissed Luka on the cheek after she got off and Adrien was there to greet them as they posed together for a picture smiling which Juleka took with Adrien's photo. Luka and Adrien showed off their custom necklaces around their necks made by Marinette of two halves of a heart with "Marinette's heart" inscribed on them.

"Are you sure that you are ready for everyone to know about you three?" Juleka asked giving Adrien back his phone and they nodded without hesitation.

"I don't really care as much for father's opinion but he seems to like Marinette as an up and coming designer so I think he will give approval." Adrien said with a huffed voice which had them silent.

"I wouldn't want to hide being with Marinette at all; I would sing it with my soul." Luka said Adrien posted the picture on social media with the caption:

Me with Luka Couffaine and our amazing new girlfriend Marinette Dupain-Cheng!

They got in and as students saw the notice they began crowding Marinette and Adrien as they came in holding hands as they went to their classroom. There were students wanting to get a look at 2 3rds of the new couple as they heard the comments:

"Marinette scored herself with 2 cute guys!"

"Are you going to be modelling Marinette's designs now Adrien?"

"So are you going to be Marinette Dupain-Cheng-Agreste-Couffaine in the future?"

They ignored them and walked into class with Juleka not far behind them to see their excited classmates wanting to know the details.

"So Adrien, will you and Luka be fighting eachother to get the most out of Marinette's time?" Alix asked as Marinette glared at her while Rose was squealing about how romantic it was. Marinette was taken aback when she noticed Lila and Sabrina glaring at their direction while looking quite jealous.

She was shocked by this thinking that she was getting along with Lila and Sabrina was forming a good friendship with her while helping her start over from her toxic so called 'friendship' that she had with Chloe. Marinette's eyes widened when she noticed that Adrien went to get to his seat and their looks were going to his direction, so it was Adrien they were angry at?

"Can I please ask if Adrien has done something to anger you?" Marinette asked as they both shook their heads and there were laughter.

"Marinette, they are just jealous that Adrien and Luka got to you first!" Alya told her grinning as they ended up nodding slightly a bit embarrassed.

"You helped me be more truthful about myself and I still remember how in love that I felt when I heard you badmouth that terrible Scarlet Lady!" Lila said as Marinette was open mouthed wondering just could she possibly remember that since she was Volpina at the time. Marinette did remember that while she was telling the love struck Volpina that she hated Hawk Moth more than Scarlet Lady, that she a bit scared that Volpina was going to kidnap her as a bride for her comment alone.

"You've always been so nice to me Marinette and never held what I did for Chloe against me, even when I tried to steal your diary for her and lied my way into your room. You've been more of a friend to me than Chloe ever was and you are so amazing." Sabrina told her as Marinette didn't know what to say.

"I bet Luka and Adrien wouldn't mind if you wanted to date Marinette as well, if Marc is alright with Nathaniel wanting to go after Marinette as well." Rose suggested as Marinette, Sabrina, Lila and Nathaniel were now red in the face.

"Dupain-Cheng!" screamed an unwelcome voice as the entire class groaned in unison as they should have dreaded this reaction as Chloe came in looking angrier than they had ever saw her which was quite an accomplishment for her. "How dare you steal my Adrikins away from me! I could care less if you wanted to waste your time with that loser with the guitar as losers belong together, that do you think that I was going to sit back and let you keep them both for yourself when Adrien is mine!" Chloe thundered as the class glared at her.

"Watch what you say about Marinette or my brother!" Juleka said speaking up using courage that almost never comes to her.

"Adrien is not a prize to be won or yours to claim Chloe; it's his choice who he wants to be with!" Marinette told her as Chloe smirked getting out her phone.

"Managed to get a picture of your little notebook when you had it open and wasn't looking Dupain-Cheng." Chloe said showing off a drawing of a love heart around Chat Noir as Marinette was open mouthed at that picture being shown to the class and red in her face but while angry at Chloe, Adrien couldn't help but smile a bit at the picture. "So do you want to claim the mangy cat as well Dupain-Cheng with how pathetic you are?" Chloe snarked looking victorious but Adrien spoke up.

"Nothing wrong with having a celebrity crush Chloe, I have one on Marigold myself." Adrien said taking out his notebook and showing that it had a photo of the Bee heroine Marigold with a heart drawing around it as Marinette was redder in the face while Chloe was open mouthed.

"Nothing wrong with that dude, she is pretty much the best hero that Paris has now!" Nino said with everyone smiling and nodding in agreement besides Chloe and Marinette. Marigold has with her fighting tenacity, warm comforting words to Akuma victims after they were being freed and happy to help civilians in need made her a more popular hero. She had given interviews and how valued Chat Noir was as a partner and helped Paris realise how hard he had to fight against the Akumas.

"Excuse me but Scarlet Lady is by far Paris' best hero!" Chloe retorted by Alya got out her phone and showed the poll that the news station had made asking Paris citizens who they liked the best.

Marigold was in the lead followed by Chat Noir, Maotif the one time temporary Chat Noir was in 3rd place and in a very distant 4th place with barely 1% vote was Scarlet Lady. "Paris disagrees Chloe." Alya told her and Chloe was furious. People were being interviewed and the stories of people's interactions with Scarlet Lady were now circulating.

"Adrien, you can't seriously be okay with this! I'm your friend and we would be much better than stupid Dupain-Cheng!" Chloe told Adrien but he shook his head.

"'Were' your friend Chloe, 'were' as in we used to be and haven't really been friends for a long time but I am just making it official!" Adrien thundered and Chloe was open mouthed and this surprised the class. "Sorry Chloe, I have tried to give you some time to better yourself but you keep pulling these stunts while being a cruel bully to our classmates and treating me like a possession of yours. Calling my girlfriend and my new bro losers was me losing all patience and I can't pretend anymore. I am sorry Chloe but I can't be friends with you anymore, you are different from the friend that I used to have." Adrien said and Chloe furiously charged at Marinette.

Adrien caught her hand and glared at her hard before letting go, Chloe began ranting and shouting on the spot while kicking the desk and Ms Bustier had to tell her off and send her to the principal's office.

"Sorry about that Adrien..." Marinette said since as much bad blood as there was between her and Chloe, the bully did used to be a friend to Adrien.

"You have nothing to be sorry about, just keep being the girl that I love." Adrien told her and she smiled back.

Later in the week, after school they were at a park bench as Marinette was at Luka's lap and Adrien was in Marinette's as the three relaxed together. However they heard screaming and saw an Akuma attacking people in the streets.

Marinette jumped out of Luka's lap and helped Adrien up who was in a similar panic as her's. "Sorry guys, I hate to break up a perfect moment but... I have to get a cake to Nadja and I don't want to be earlier than I was last time since it didn't go so well..." Marinette said thinking on the spot.

"Don't worry... I just remembered an event that my dad would want me to be at..." Adrien said as they both ran off in separate directions.

Luka smiled as she dusted himself off and went home chuckling at them, after a few days of this did they really think that he would not pierce it together? No matter, this means that he could talk to Adrien about Marigold and bond over them crushing on her.

[bbugyu]

how jeonghan knew

a journey with yoon jeonghan, lee seokmin, and you.

there was always something about his infectious laugh and his genuine nature that felt like fate to jeonghan, and maybe you were the muse that kept their red thread in tact.

prelude | part one | part two | part three | epilogue

wc.10662 (LMFAO) | fluff, smut, courtship, angsty in the beginning, polyamory, sugar daddy!jeonghan musician!seokmin escort!reader, hi cheol, hi gyu (again), hi boo, hi wonu, gay pining, jk he's pan probably, discovering sexuality, daddy kink, special guest seokmin!!!!!, threesome, lots of mlm, oral, cumpla, handjobs, choking, butt plugs, male penetration, there's a full on reader-less memberxmember sex scene idk, unprotected sex, please use condoms, jeonghan gets overwhelmed, the TEASING, jeonghan being a home improvement freak, don’t mind han jisung he’s just vibing, required listening is positions (2020) by ariana grande because it’s a perfect album

and here we have poly seokhan: the gayening!!! this is going to be the end of my scheduled updates for neverending artistry, but i’ll be posting an epilogue when i finish it - probably after i post a couple of other fics. this chapter.... is my fave......... i think u will see why lol. i went ahead and got a lil carried away with the house stuff but LISTENNNN i watch a lot of architecture videos ok LFJDSJ

thank you all so much for your continued support and incredible feedback on this series! it seriously means so much to me and i love seeing asks and messages from everyone telling me how excited they are to read more. i hope this satisfies you!!!

~

jeonghan is pretty sure he always loved seokmin. it wasn't something he would ever be able to change about himself, he figured, as he watched his friend date woman after woman in college with varying seriousness. he decidedly ignored any amount of feelings he harbored for the younger, especially after he dropped architecture as his major and he saw less of him. 

jeonghan tried to get over the destined musician (he would always be singing or fiddling with his guitar when he was meant to be helping jeonghan with a diorama) with several women, and after decisively focusing on his career for a couple years, he found success in another man. his short lived gym buddy, but lasted quite a bit longer as his boyfriend. they had connected first when jeonghan had offhandedly commented that he liked the logo on his shirt, to which the long lashed, broad shouldered man had said he had gotten it at the brand's store down the street, making jeonghan chew his cheek before he admitted that he had helped design that location. they connected the second time later that night, clumsily but intensely, and jeonghan liked his plush pouty lips and how his messy black hair felt between his fingers.

while that didn't last forever, he found varied success in other men, and he figured this was why dating women had always been so difficult for him. definitely not that he had been given small choice amongst the rotten apples that attended his college.

he was single again, and at an industry party when he reconnected with an old friend from college who happily reminisced about the fun their small group of friends had back then. he asked if jeonghan remembered seokmin, the guy that dropped the program.

"lee seokmin?" he asked, his brows knitting as he tried to react normally to the name, and mingyu hit his shoulder, laughing.

"yeah! guess what? that son of a bitch is teaching my niece piano!"

jeonghan smiled at the idea of seokmin as a piano teacher, nodding along as mingyu talked about how he had volunteered to take her to her lesson one week, only to be put face to face with a long lost friend. jeonghan laughed as mingyu imitated the face the other had made, laughing harder when he recognized it and remembered seeing it on seokmin's face in the past, then telling mingyu about how he had once pranked him by making the poor guy think that he was going to fail a project because seokmin had accidentally destroyed a diorama. it had already been graded, and he was going to take it apart to save on materials anyways, but the younger nearly cried when he thought he had wasted hours of jeonghan's time and cost him the grade by accidentally kicking it off his desk.

he asked how seokmin was doing these days, and mingyu told him he seemed well, and that he takes his niece to her lessons as often as he can spare, just to chat for a while. "i could give you his number," he said, feeling his pockets for his phone. "i'm sure he'd love to hear from you."

mingyu had been right. seokmin did love hearing from him. and he loved the way seokmin made him laugh with his ever joking tone and physical comedy antics. the way his eyebrows creased as he tried to keep a stern face but was unable to hide the smile across his lips. the way he always fought with him for the check despite jeonghan being older and notably better off.

he didn't love, however, how seokmin nodded his head after the waitress and asked him if he thought he had a shot.

maybe he was desperate, or maybe he wanted an excuse to not date seriously, or maybe he just wasn't ready to let go, but jeonghan continued to invite seokmin out, despite the fact that their relationship would never develop past friends who met in college. he enjoyed his company anyways, even if it felt bittersweet.

he poured himself into his work for several months, taking more contracts than usual and keeping himself occupied, only really seeing others for meetings and constructions, or when he was depressed on a friday night and caved, asking seokmin to join him for drinks somewhere. he continued this cycle for too long, his personal assistant noticing his mood changes before most.

"are you taking your vitamins?"

"yes, seungkwan, i'm taking my vitamins," jeonghan bit back, fully aware that he wasn't asking about vitamins at all, but about his state. confirming he was still making an effort to take care of himself rather than spiraling, sat in his living room on a tuesday after being told by a doctor to rest, for god's sake as a solution to him nearly collapsing several hours earlier. seungkwan shifted on his feet, tongue running over his teeth as he stared at the architect, hands folded in front of him.

"you need to stop seeing him. it only hurts you."

jeonghan sighed, staring at the black screen of his television. "i know."

his assistant studied him. "you should come out with the team sometime," he said. "we get drinks on wednesdays, usually. come tomorrow, it could take your mind off things."

jeonghan looked up at seungkwan, who was clearly sucking on his cheek. he knew he was right. more importantly, seungkwan knew he knew, but jeonghan had a hard time wanting to take his mind off this one specific thing, considering the way this one specific thing laughed like a hyena, poured himself over a piano like an ocean wave, and sang along like an angel. his head fell back on the couch, and he had to take a long, conscious breath to lower the ringing in his ears at the silence. "i'll be there next time."

seungkwan exhaled in defeat, eyes flickering around as he excused himself and said goodnight, knowing his boss was lying.

jeonghan found you on accident - put in an uncomfortable corner by an ultimatum from his publicist and the circulating rumor that he sleeps with men because he can't keep a woman around that seemed to pile on top of everything else on his plate - and the second you opened your mouth, he knew you were special.

he remembered the profile he had seen from your broker, and knew you were attending university. he asked you your major, and when you told him you wanted to produce music for a living, something deep in him stirred. you had been sitting in his car for all of twenty minutes, and you nearly had him under your spell already.

he couldn't understand his fascination with you, but he continued to book you for dates, sometimes deciding what event he would be attending by asking what day you were available that week. he figured if he needed to prove to the world that he wasn't gay (which he was, he was pretty sure), you were the only one he was interested in doing it with.

maybe he had a thing for musicians.

he had taken out quite a few escorts before you, but none of them were nearly as fun. you always did an incredible job engaging in whatever event he brought you to, but also hit his chest as you tried to stifle a laugh at something he muttered into your ear, guiding you away. his friends liked you, too, the few he had. the ones that had met you. yongsun had even tugged him aside briefly, asking if he really liked you. you seemed nice, she had said. and good, in general, but also for him. she wanted to make sure he wasn't just leading you along to quiet some stupid rumor. he glanced at you, smiling wide as you excitedly discussed music with one of his other friends (the fifth and last person he liked at this event, the two of you included), and wasn't quite sure why he told her he actually liked you, but didn't feel the need to correct himself.

then you told him you were quitting, and he realized what he would be losing. then you kissed him, and he realized what he had been feeling. then you looked at him with wide eyes, just as shocked as he was by the explosion of fireworks you had both just experienced, and he realized what he had been missing out on all this time.

he figured he must have always loved you as his eyes scanned the hotel bar, confused at how you had managed to get away so quickly. he was running into the hall to see if you had escaped to the lobby when someone caught his arm.

"hey, you seen yongsun?"

jeonghan blinked at his blonde friend, recognizing her play. "have you seen y/n?"

"try the bathroom," she said, throwing a thumb over her shoulder in the direction she had come from.

he looked down the hall at the restroom signs, nodding. "i saw her at the chocolate fountain a minute ago."

byulyi patted his shoulder as she walked past him. "good luck, yoon."

it felt good telling you the truth, while sitting in your well organized and tastefully decorated studio apartment that you had insisted he would hate, even if he was too scared to admit all of it. why he had needed you before, but wanted you now. his heart nearly beat out of his chest when you agreed to his conditions, though he recognized that he had given you just about every advantage in the deal. it would have been near impossible for you to say no, especially after the way you had kissed him before someone had finally tried to enter the bathroom you were hiding in.

for a while, he only kissed you as a farewell, mostly because he enjoyed the old school romanticism of kissing a beautiful woman in the moonlight, her back against the passenger door of his black vehicle parked on the street outside her studio apartment. then, when he had invited you to his home after the two of you had ditched a boring dinner several hours early, you had curled up in his side to watch a movie. at some point, he caught you staring at him, and you put a hand on his cheek and kissed him sweetly. slowly. kissed him in a way that only made him crave more. you smiled, settling back into his side for the rest of the movie, and even though you had done it unconsciously, the back of your hand rested against his thigh in a way he had a hard time ignoring, and he decided he must have just had real shit taste in women before he had met you. 

the following sunday, when you mentioned how pitch black the sky seemed at that late hour, having gotten caught up binging some drama, he not-so-vaguely hinted that he'd be okay with you spending the night in his bed. you eyed him, and he shrugged playfully.

"or i have guest rooms. up to you."

"i have class tomorrow," you tested.

"i can take you," he responded. "if you want."

you paused, watching him as he recorked the wine bottle the two of you had opened earlier in the evening but only managed to have one glass of each before abandoning it to cuddle on the couch. he was always so thoughtful, even in his teasing. he cared about your comfort. he wanted to maintain your boundaries. but it had been a really long time since you had gotten laid, and everything in you yearned to say yes. jeonghan's voice in your head reminded you, no expectations. this could be whatever you wanted out of it.

so you went to bed with him.

jeonghan would swear up and down that you were the most beautiful woman in the world, and his beliefs were only confirmed when he pulled your shirt off of you, dragging your pants down your legs, and got a real look at you for the first time. you felt unexplainably embarrassed under his gaze, asking if he was okay.

"yeah," he said breathlessly, a hand running up your side, your back arching slightly to his touch. he curled over you before he whispered "god, yeah, i'm more than okay," against your lips.

not even ten minutes had passed before you told him you loved him between your panting, and he was so ecstatic when he could tell you, wholly and truthfully, that he loved you, too. and after your pulses had died down and you were falling asleep in his arms, he said that if you were staying under his roof, you were not allowed in any guest rooms. that if you needed space, he would find a different bed to sleep in, because this one looked best with you in it, and he refused to have it any other way.

jeonghan never got bored with you. over time, you began going to his place after events and dinners more than he dropped you off at your apartment, becoming an often enough occurrence that he had asked you one night to fill an online shopping cart with clothes for you to keep in his closet, so you could stop this silly packing bags nonsense. he had already bought you a full set of toiletries for his bathroom, started keeping your favorite snacks in the pantry, and even gone as far as to buy you the house slippers you had offhandedly said were cute when the two of you wandered aimlessly around a mall together. you were becoming a part of his home in more ways than one, and he was happy to have you.

he offered you an unused office on the second floor when you started studying for finals on the peninsula of his kitchen counter one monday afternoon, and you asked what was wrong with you doing it where you were.

"because you're not going to clean it up," he pointed out.

"maybe if we had a rewards system," you argued. "if i clean up, i get a prize."

he laughed, rounding the small jut of countertop, thinking about how he would probably need a proper kitchen island if you were going to be sticking around. "just because i give you an allowance, doesn't mean you're a child. you're not supposed to focus on the baby part of sugar baby."

you pouted as you turned on the stool to face him, a hand gently tugging his tie to pull him into you. "what if i focus on the daddy part of sugar daddy?"

a hunger dropped in jeonghan, gazing down at you as you sat at his kitchen counter, surrounded by textbooks and notes. your eyes sparkled under the lights, and his fingers went behind your neck before he kissed you, muttering against your lips to try calling him that again, angel.

the kitchen remodel had gone about as smoothly as it could have, given the fact that it was nearly impossible to transport such a large slab of granite for his dream island without it snapping in half from its own weight, but they managed, and when the light fixture finally turned on for the first time after the new cabinet doors had been installed, he felt justified in remodeling a kitchen that had hardly needed updating. he felt even more justified when he came downstairs to find you, having woken up in an empty bed, only to have you yell at him as you flipped pancakes on the griddle of his new gas range, saying you were going to bring him breakfast in bed and if he didn't cooperate, he wouldn't see you for a week. he laughed at your threatening spatula, putting his hands up in surrender, unable to stop smiling as he made his way back up the stairs.

you had enrolled in online courses for your last year of school, mostly so you didn't have to be anywhere specific for several hours every day, and instead could keep your schedule massively open to cater to jeonghan's needs. this also meant you usually attended your afternoon lectures at his home, waiting for him to get off work and distract you.

then the two of you started attended wednesday drinks with the team. seungkwan had thanked you, though you hadn't realized that you were deserving of a thanks.

"he'll tell you when he wants to, i guess," he said, twirling the beer in his hand. "but he wasn't in a great place before he met you."

you could hear the subject of your exchange laughing further down the bar, and you wondered what kind of place he meant, but tapped your glass against seungkwan's instead of asking the question. "to better places."

he chuckled, bringing the beer to his lips. "cheers to that."

jeonghan enjoyed having you on his lap on the couch, listening to whatever r&b record you had chosen as you worked your lips against his. he nudged several kisses down your neck, and you mentioned offhandedly that there was a perfect place in his living room for a bar, pointing at the wall behind him. he pulled away from you, turning his body with an arm over the back of the sofa, and his head cocked as he stared at the wall that only held a painting. he silently agreed with you, wondering why you seemed to inspire all his recent projects as you nipped at his neck, drawing his attention back to you with a smile on his face.

the bar was finished in time to hire a bartender for a halloween party. he hadn't told the guests that it was an anniversary party, but you had been made aware of the secret arrangement during a conversation the two of you had over a private meal in your favorite restaurant the week before. 

"a threesome," you asked, hoping for clarification. 

"with a guy, preferably," jeonghan said. "but i could be convinced to approve of a girl if that's what you would like."

"you're being serious?" you seemed to find yourself asking him that a lot. every time he suggested something that he knew you wanted, you wondered if he was pulling your leg. "and you want me to choose?"

"yeah, at the party," he said, watching you shake your head incredulously with a smile on his face. the two of you had discussed the possibility in the past, and he thought it made a fun gift. an unexpected one, from someone who had enough money to comfortably gift you just about anything. "i have to approve, obviously, but you get to pick the candidates."

you thought a moment. "what if we can't agree on anyone?"

"then i take you to bed alone and we have fun anyways." 

he laughed when you squinted at him.

"if the opportunity comes up down the line, we can try again later," he said. "but i thought this would give you something fun to do while i'm hosting guests."

and it had, as you sneakily scoped out the guests, flitting around the party of both familiar and unfamiliar faces in your angelic cheerleading costume. visiting and laughing heartily with the team, as well as your uni friends that jeonghan insisted you invite, offering them more drinks, then saying something about having to play hostess so you could continue your search. byulyi and yongsun were there, and you complimented their matching rapunzel and flynn get up, jeonghan catching you for just a second to ask if you needed anything.

you settled in on one target perhaps too quickly, without even really having made an effort to see all the options. you had been struck by the same sharp cheekbones, puppy dog eyes, and crooked smile that jeonghan had once fallen for. when he saw you tucked into lee seokmin's side, recognizing your flirting even from a distance and noticing how receptive the musician was to it, his heart fluttered, and he couldn't tell if it was a good or bad thing.

a good thing, he decided, when seokmin had asked him permission before he came in you. because, seemingly, sexuality was much more of a spectrum than jeonghan had once thought, and perhaps his college crush just needed the encouragement of an incredible woman to try something a little beyond his experience, much like he had.

and when you wouldn't stop mentioning the musician the two of you had enjoyed the company of while schmoozing guests at the opening of him and his friend's collaborative art exhibit, he got a slick idea. on the way home, he told you that you weren't allowed to make a noise until he hung up the phone, but you were already writhing in the passenger seat just as the phone rang.

and when he answered, you clamped a hand over your mouth, a bare foot landing on the dashboard as you tried to grind against jeonghan's hand, his voice steady as he talked to the younger.

and when he mentioned you, your walls pulsed around his fingers, a smile finding its way into his lips as he spoke. he tried not to take too much pleasure in the way you looked at him with begging eyes and your fist between your teeth, or in the way seokmin's tone dropped as he confirmed that he would get a cab, but he truly couldn't help himself when he made eye contact with seokmin as you sucked him off, his hips canting into yours recklessly, forcing seokmin to break the contact as he reacted to your moan on his cock. 

he noticed the way seokmin's hips began to move on their own, begging for enough control to chase his nearing high in your mouth but having it brought right to his doorstep instead. jeonghan felt your perfect heat cling to him in reaction, and before he could think to stop himself, he pulled you into his chest by your throat, not daring to let you claim it all as he lapped cum from your mouth. you whimpered against him, your orgasm lasting impossibly long as he fucked into you, getting milked by your needy walls.

when he caught seokmin staring directly at him, he grinned and wiped the back of his hand across his chin and lower lip, languidly licking any escaped cum off it, and asked if he wanted to try his, too.

seokmin agreed, nodding shakily before jeonghan massaged at your sides, pumping himself into you a few more times. he told you to give seokmin's mouth a ride. you groaned, his cum dripping down your thighs.

jeonghan watched the younger's cock twitch as you moaned over him, one hand on the wall and the other on his scalp, his fingers digging into your thighs. he stared at how it never lost hardness. he didn't even realize that his hands were on seokmin's hip and thigh before he even asked if he could touch him, but a large hand left your thigh to shakily bring jeonghan's to his thick cock, answering the question despite you occupying his mouth, his fingers lingering over jeonghan's as he pumped his length.

he couldn't deny that how badly he wanted to fuck seokmin, but he could settle for making him cum in his hands until he was ready for something more, especially with the surprising amount he had to give after already having cum once. he let himself indulge in a single lick across seokmin's sensitive slit - though it was hard to stop there - triggering a garbled moan before he left to shower.

a week or so later, jeonghan asked you if you were interested in dating seokmin. you put your phone down and rolled over in bed, propped up on your elbows as you asked him what he meant.

"i love you," jeonghan assured, pulling you to lay closer to him. "and i can tell you like him."

you studied his face. "but i'm with you."

"that doesn't have to stop," he said, smiling at you as he tucked a hand behind his head. you eyed his arm briefly, then refocused on him. "but you know how things get in the winter, and i would be okay with you trying things out with him while i'm busy."

"you're being serious?"

jeonghan laughed at the familiar question. "yes, y/n, i'm being serious. i know you want me, but i also know you want more than me."

you had never told anyone about your desire for multiple partners, not even admitted it out loud to yourself, so his candid assessment caught you off guard. "how did you-"

"just little things you've said," he teased, leaving you to question how much you had revealed about yourself without realizing. "besides, no one can deny the chemistry."

you paused. "boundaries?"

"just tell me," he said, putting his arms around you and tugging you into him. "i just want to know when you're seeing him. and, eventually, i would like to be invited every once in a while."

"invited to dates?" you asked, throwing a leg over his lap to straddle it as you laid over him. "or invited to bed?"

he smiled up at you, hands running over your rear. "either. both. whatever you two want."

you agreed, but only after you made him promise he would tell you if anything changed for him. that he had to tell you about every doubt and worry he had. "i'll always choose you," you stated plainly, lips brushing against his as he gently rolled his growing length up against your clothed heat. "no matter what, i'll choose you."

"i know, sweetheart," he said, a hand on your cheek as he kissed you. "i promise."

after he came back from a business trip in december, you admitted to him that you and seokmin had exchanged i love yous, and he just put an arm over your shoulder and turned down the volume on the tv, telling you that he was pretty sure he loved seokmin, too.

"it was him, wasn't it?" you asked, studying his profile. "he was the guy you couldn't get over?"

jeonghan rubbed his face with one hand, sighing. "yeah, it was him."

"why didn't you say anything?"

he thought a moment. "i didn't want you to feel obligated, i guess."

your fingers straightened the seams of his long sleeved shirt across his shoulder. "obligated to win him over for you?"

"obligated to love him, too."

"jokes on you," you giggled. "he's very easy to fall in love with."

jeonghan supposed that was true, thinking of how quickly he had fallen for him, even back before he had admitted he liked men. how he had fallen into the same spot even years later, just over a shared meal and a few bottles of soju.

but you were easy to fall in love with too, he thought, remembering how he hadn't even understood his feelings towards you until you had kissed him, but he had felt them strong enough to want you to stay by his side anyways. maybe jeonghan just fell easily, but maybe he was lucky enough to have found his people at such a young age.

you settled back into the crook of his arm and asked him what he thought about seokmin coming over to join you two for christmas. while much of the world celebrated with family, it was more of a hallmark holiday in korea, often times spent with a long time sweetheart or a budding romance. or both, in your case, jeonghan supposed, when you were distracted trying to find the third christmas music lp you had specifically gotten for the occasion (out of eight, of course, because you didn't want to run out of christmas music). he was leaning against the tasteful home bar that had been hardly touched since halloween when seokmin shyly admitted that he knew jeonghan was interested in him.

he said nothing for a moment. "she told you?"

"kind of, back when you were in japan, but-" seokmin paused. "i think she was just suspicious, but i should have known. you were always too kind to me."

"not too kind," jeonghan said, hiding behind his wine as he sipped at it, trying not to show his embarrassment.

"i think i'm interested, too."

he looked at seokmin, who was staring down at his hands. "are you sure?"

"i'm-" he paused, catching jeonghan's eyes for only a second before scratching the back of his neck. "i think so. i've never even thought about doing anything with - uh - men. until you."

"that's okay," jeonghan said, looking to where you were flipping through records. "i didn't like women until y/n."

seokmin faltered. "wait, really?"

he nodded, a small smile on his face. "i thought i was gay. turns out i'm not."

"but you-" the musician stretched his jaw. "weren't you kind of a player in college?"

he almost said something about how having sex to meet an end and keep an appearance was different than enjoying it, but stopped himself when you announced that you had found the lost record, switching the lps with a flourish and setting the player again. and while he was curious about the level of seokmin's interest in him, he was happy to leave the conversation where it stood when you excitedly rejoined them at the bar.

"do you think i could be a bartender?" you asked, leaning over the counter and grabbing an unused shaker.

"probably," seokmin said.

"for sure no," jeonghan laughed.

you pouted at the latter, holding the shaker between your hands as you directed your attention to the former. "thank you, seokmin. i appreciate you encouraging my dreams."

"any time," he joked.

jeonghan rolled his eyes. "what about that music degree i'm paying for?" he asked, taking another sip.

"just because you've known what you wanted to do forever, doesn't mean everyone does. maybe i'll change my mind." you tried to spin the shaker in your hand, but the force you used was too little and it stopped on your palm too quickly, clumsily clattering to the counter. you stilled it, exhaling sharply when jeonghan giggled beside you, looking to seokmin. "he might be right."

"it's almost like i know you," jeonghan teased, nudging you. "she was convinced she could become my personal bartender for all of two weeks."

"i tried," you whined. seokmin laughed. "the tricks are harder than they look."

"and you hated shaking drinks."

you put the shaker back, defeated. "the ice made it cold."

"isn't that the point?" seokmin asked.

jeonghan smiled at you. "you're lucky i like wine."

"i'm gonna talk to you now," you announced, turning your body to seokmin. "because you're nicer to me than he is."

"aw," the architect chuckled, and seokmin watched you react to a squeeze at your butt. "did he make you soft? can't take my teasing anymore?"

you ignored him, trying to ask the man in front of you about his lessons, but you yelped when his hand firmly landed on your ass, grabbing seokmin's arm in reaction. he looked at you, seemingly just as shocked, and you tried to continue the conversation, but jeonghan's hand didn't leave, and your entire body was reacting to the way it was slowly hiking up your skirt and running between your thighs.

your eyes fell shut, and you muttered for him to cut it out as your grip on seokmin's arm tightened, but jeonghan just made eye contact with the other male, asking him instead if he should.

without thinking, seokmin shook his head and put his hands on your jaw, pulling you in to kiss him. your moan against his lips was involuntary, and jeonghan grinned as his fingers ran over your core, making you whine.

"did you tell him?" you gasped out, asking seokmin with hooded eyes. he shook his head, saying that he hadn't told him everything.

"told me what?" jeonghan asked, interest piqued as he put down his glass, pulling his hand out from your skirt and placing them on your hips instead, squeezing gently as he stood behind you, and your head fell back into his shoulder without much intention as you licked your lips. "seokmin?"

he pulled his gaze, trained on your mouth, to look at jeonghan, and he felt his breath stop in his throat as he fully processed the sight in front of him. you gasped again, as jeonghan's hand came up to knead at your breast, and you tried to pull seokmin closer, but he didn't stop moving even when he was pressed against you.

jeonghan thought he might faint. he wasn't sure what he had been expecting, but when seokmin's hand found the back of his neck and pulled him over your shoulder, his mind went blank. when his lips found his, his vision went white. when he felt his tongue against the inside of his teeth, he couldn't help but moan, one hand gripping your waist and the other aimlessly tugging on seokmin's shirt, seemingly just to hold something that belonged to him.

"fuck, okay," jeonghan breathed, staring after the musicians lips even when they left. you giggled, recognizing the feeling. "okay," he repeated. "got it. understood."

you spun around, hands on jeonghan's chest. "we prepared something for you," you said, and seokmin's cheeks and ears were bright red when he sheepishly nodded with you.

jeonghan looked between the two of you, swallowing suddenly. "what?"

you tugged on his hand, then grabbed seokmin's, too, when he didn't move right away, leading them both to walk around the couch. you pulled jeonghan onto the cushions with you, kissing him briefly before he realized someone was between his knees. when he saw him, that was when jeonghan's dick woke up, suddenly realizing what was happening.

"be nice," you muttered against the shell of his ear, your hand running down his torso. "it's his first time."

seokmin's hands were strong but gentle, and despite never having touched a dick that wasn't attached to him, he knew what felt good. he needed a bit of guidance from you to begin, less from lack of knowing the process and more because he was nervous, but quickly found a comfortable rhythm. jeonghan sighed when he finally got pulled out of his pants, and you were sucking a mark into his neck, his arm wrapped around you and his hand kneading at your rear. his eyes could hardly stay open when seokmin ran his flattened tongue up the underside of his cock.

"isn't he pretty?" you asked, whispering, a smile on your lips. 

he groaned, threading his fingers behind seokmin's ear, desperately trying to hold back his release because he hasn't even put you in his mouth, yet, jeonghan, for god's sake, keep it together. the younger's eyes flickered up to his, and he nearly came just from the feeling of his soft lips around his member, sinking slowly.

"fuck, you're too good at this," jeonghan said, the half chuckle on his lips falling quickly when seokmin's tongue ran over a vein, the warmth of his mouth feeling like heaven. his teeth bit down on his lower lip, watching your hand run through seokmin's hair. he hummed at the contact, his grip tightening slightly, sending a jolt through jeonghan's system. "fuck, i'm gonna cum already."

"there were lessons," you giggled, your hands wrapping casually around his neck. his breathing hitched, eyes falling shut, focusing on the mouth sheathing his cock as he recognized your fidgeting fingers over his pulse. "merry christmas, daddy."

he inhaled sharply right before you squeezed at his throat, and he thought that he should maybe let you lead more often if it was going to feel this good. seokmin seemed surprised by the feeling of jeonghan cumming in his mouth, but he did his best to pump every drop from him, swallowing thickly. you only smiled when jeonghan sat up, leaving you behind as he pulled seokmin's face to his, his hands running up jeonghan's thighs as he kissed him.

jeonghan decided the sunroom extension was all wrong, and that he'd have to redo it.

"you just built that," wonwoo said, having been the contractor that oversaw the construction. "besides, it's snowy season, we can't do outdoor construction. you'll have to wait til spring."

"not outdoor," jeonghan said, rolling out the drafting papers he had drawn up over the course of his new year break, the final pieces being completed in the wee hours of that morning. he had sent wonwoo a text as soon as he thought he would be awake, asking for a meeting despite it only being two days after the new year. "the shell can stay the same, we just need to build indoors. besides, i need this done in february."

wonwoo blinked at him. "when in february?"

"it has to be fully furnished by the 18th."

the contractor laughed at the deadline, only a month and a half out, as he looked over jeonghan's drafts. it would be a tight schedule, considering the structural changes he wanted, but he recognized his long time work partner's determination and knew there was little he could do to argue. "okay. let's get to work."

he turned down a contract for a café to make time for the new home project, but not before recommending they contact a kim mingyu, giving him the vaguest thank you for introducing seokmin back into his life. he didn't have time to draw several attempted variations of every café he had ever designed, he was too busy mapping out the logistics of adding a lofted space to the two story sunroom. too busy planning to tear out the outer wall of your office and picking the right sliding glass doors that would lead to the loft. you had to ask him several days in a row before he finally told you what he had planned.

"a music room?"

he tried to gauge your reaction. "is it crazy?"

you broke out into a smile, studying his design, gripping the mug that held your latté that morning. "absolutely, but i love it."

he asked you to help him pick instruments, saying his wishlist included a white grand piano and three to five guitars that could be displayed together. he also told you to pick out your dream computer setup for production - you were graduating that year, afterall, and it was about time you started using something other than your laptop and a midi controller to make music - and you almost started crying from how fucking excited that made you.

hiding the plans from seokmin was the hardest part, especially when he started spending weekends at the house. he saw the construction area often, and one friday afternoon, he had even asked if he could help, leaving you to usher him away and assure him that jeonghan didn't like help when it came to these things. he believed the white lie, allowing you to distract him with the option of watching shit television in bed, even convincing him that tonight was the night to surprise his new boyfriend. seokmin laid in bed with his arms wrapped around you, trying not to move too much, fully aware that even the slightest movements in his body caused his dick to come to life, until the last of the workers left and jeonghan appeared, asking if there were dinner requests before he went to take a shower.

seokmin had been training with you for over a week. you had bought him some toys, even helped him try them out in the comfort of his loft, and he got increasingly excited - generally, but also in those moments - to show jeonghan what he had learned. the surprise he had been keeping had already made him beg you to cockwarm him as he waited, but you refused on account of knowing him, and by extension, knowing that he would not being able to stop himself. he had a bit more confidence, though it may have only been fueled by horniness, when he pulled the vaguely sweaty architect toward him on the bed. he tried to say something about how he should really wash up, but seokmin just kissed him, hands gripping around his skull in desperation, his dick already hard against jeonghan's pelvis.

jeonghan's hands wandered, as they usually did, and when he reached down to palm at seokmin's ass, he reacted in a way that earned him a questioning glance.

"we - ah-" his eyes shut, jeonghan's hands getting closer to his surprise. "she's been helping me-"

and that was when he felt it. the small, hard handle of a plug, situated between seokmin's perky asscheeks, easy to feel through the loose fabric of his shorts, and jeonghan felt his arousal tenting his pants just from the concept.

jeonghan hadn't even noticed your movement off the bed until a bottle of lube hit his leg, looking down at it briefly before looking to you.

"i'm gonna go clean up," you said, running a hand through your hair as you retreated to the bathroom, leaving jeonghan with an already flustered seokmin. 

before long, he had him on his back, naked, and finally got to see how sweet his little ass looked when jeonghan pushed his knees towards his chest. when he saw the black knob fitting tightly into his hole, he groaned, his own bare cock flinching in need. he put a hand on seokmin's dick, gripping it lightly, then put a thumb against the plug.

"nngh- fuck," seokmin stammered, fingers gripping at the bedsheets as his neck stretched out against the pillows, bucking into the hand wrapped around him. "j-jeonghan…"

"this is cute," he said, slowly moving his thumb in a circular motion, the plug's movement making seokmin let out choked moans. "but i really need to play with you now."

seokmin nodded, hurriedly, brows knit together. "please."

he hooked his fingers under the knob of the plug, slowly pulling it out and relishing in the reaction. the younger's back arched in a way that jeonghan wished he could see from every angle, knowing that the way his shoulders and back looked must have been incredible, but satisfied by just watching the way his mouth hung open and his eyes clamped shut, his fingers gripping at jeonghan's hand where it stayed on his dick.

he began to pump the dick in his palm, setting aside the plug and grabbing the lube, popping it open with just his left hand and quickly squirting a healthy amount onto the tip of seokmin's penis, making quick work of spreading it completely over the engorged member, the slickness making him moan even louder and reach out for jeonghan's shoulders.

he let seokmin tug him over him, kissing him briefly before looking down at where the younger's thighs spread over his, wanting nothing more than to just fuck him already.

jeonghan's hand left seokmin's cock, leaving him whining against his lips, but it was short lived as his lubed fingers slid down to his puckered hole.

"seokmin," he muttered, studying his face. "you're sure, right?"

"fuck, i've been wanting this for since christmas, jeonghan," he sputtered out, eyes barely able to focus when there were fingers teasing his entrance. "yes, please, i'm sure."

jeonghan slid a digit into the tight hole, watching seokmin's face as his brows creased and his head fell back, a moan tumbling from his lips. another finger, jeonghan decided, and the reaction was similar, making him smirk.

"god, you're ready, aren't you?"

"please," he begged. "i want you."

jeonghan sat back, and the musician got on his elbows to watch as he readied his cock with lube, putting more on his finger and spreading it around seokmin's hole. he whined when jeonghan placed the head of his dick at his entrance, tugging him over him again.

"i'll go slow, okay?" jeonghan assured him. "tell me if i need to stop."

seokmin just nodded, eyes trained on his, and they locked lips as jeonghan pushed his hips forward slowly, the man under him immediately moaning and huffing against his mouth.

jeonghan really liked sex with seokmin. he also really liked sex with you. but he was pretty sure he liked it the most when you were both present.

seokmin didn't walk right for a day and a half, and while he was slightly embarrassed, you told him it was a badge of honor he should wear proudly. afterall, he had done the same to you on halloween. 

"how's your butt?" you asked when he came down the stairs, the sunday morning after they had done the deed without you, making him choke out a laugh as you got his tea out of a cabinet in jeonghan's kitchen.

"better than yesterday," he said, gingerly seating himself at a stool. "but not as good as friday."

you eyed him. "before or during?"

seokmin thought a second. "both."

"good morning," jeonghan said, quickly planting kisses on the man and then you, cheek and lips respectively based on the convenience as he walked past you, making his way to the espresso machine. "i think i'm gonna work on the sunroom today."

"today?" you asked. "wonwoo's gonna say no."

"wonwoo isn't getting invited. i still have to find furniture," he said, rinsing out the espresso shot glass and wiping down the portafilter. "we're getting close to deadline, i need boo to order the upholstery job on tuesday and i have a meeting tomorrow."

"when's deadline?" seokmin asked, wondering why he had one for a home project.

jeonghan blinked at the wall, not even turning towards the younger. "don't worry your pretty head about it."

you pouted, closing the short distance and wrapping your arms around him, your chin on his shoulder. "it's sunday. can't we cuddled puddle?"

"you mean like we do every night?" jeonghan asked, but grinding espresso beans so you couldn't answer the rhetorical question, packing down the grounds. "if you want to cuddle puddle, don't get out of bed so early."

you huffed as you dropped your arms, leaving him to prep a glass for his americano. "whatever. seokmin and i will have fun without you."

"what kind of fun?"

you stick your tongue out at him, using a teasing voice when you said "wouldn't you like to know."

innocent fun, was the truth, but you thought it was a victimless bluff. you spent the morning sitting on the couch with seokmin while a record played, discussing everything from your favorite movies to your weirdest dreams. you had to get up every six songs or so to flip or change the record, but seokmin liked that every time you rejoined him on the couch, you got closer to his side until you were eventually snuggling into his side, arms wrapped around his torso.

the innocence stopped when jeonghan emerged from his study, joining the two of you for a break. he planted himself on the other side of seokmin, under his arm, letting his hand not-so-subtly run over his thigh. you noticed the contact, peeking around to jeonghan.

"what kind of break are you looking for, hannie?"

he adjusted. "an inspiring one."

you giggled, recognizing the euphemism he used whenever he was stuck on something for work as you leaned back again. "that means he's horny."

seokmin sputtered out a laugh, jeonghan chuckling at your direct observation. "it's hard to not think about you two sitting out here, having fun without me."

"you may not believe it," seokmin said. "but i don't think sex was even on the table for us two today."

jeonghan's eyes met his, and he swallowed harshly. "can it be on the table for all three of us?"

the comfort of returning to bed was hard to deny, especially when they had you laid out against seokmin's chest as he was pressed against the headboard, his mouth attached to your neck and his fingers twisting a nipple, all while jeonghan was digging his digits further into you with his tongue flicking against your clit. 

seokmin grunted, rutting his hips against your back. "fuck, he looks good there."

you gasped, nodding, biting at your lip as he kneaded your breast, your fingers digging into jeonghan's hair. "you both do."

jeonghan never struggled to pull you apart, his deft fingers and teasing lips making you squirm and moan until you were shaking, mouth hanging open as your vision blurred and he told you you tasted like candy.

"minnie," jeonghan prompted, making the younger sit up with you whining against him to clean your taste off his fingers. his dick throbbed in need, watching the singer's agile tongue against him, wishing it wasn't just on his fingers.

seokmin had to practically beg jeonghan to fuck him again, but his only hesitation was that he may not have recovered yet. seokmin  was on his back and gripped at jeonghan's thighs, urging him forward as your hand twisted around his thick, throbbing cock.

jeonghan swallowed, pausing despite being covered in lube and in position. "you're sure?"

"yes," seokmin said, gasping at your hand on him. "jeonghan, i appreciate you asking, but i'm always sure when it comes to you."

you weren't sure you had ever seen jeonghan blush like that in bed, and you smiled against seokmin's neck as he groaned, his cock firming in your grasp as the older pushed into him. you admired seokmin's silent scream, his head lolling to one side at the feeling.

"angel," jeonghan sighed, settling into the way seokmin squeezed around him. "what do you wanna do?"

you teased a thumb over seokmin's slit. "i wanna ride."

"f-fuuck-" seokmin panted, his hips resting against jeonghan's spread thighs as his knees hung to either side. "i'm not- nngh- gonna last."

"you don't have to," you said matter of factly, adjusting to straddle his torso. jeonghan winced, watching your form as he pumped into seokmin. "we're done when daddy says so."

you put your hand, palm up, over your shoulder, and jeonghan chuckled at the recognized motion for him to spit on your fingers - usually, so that you could slick his dick to sit back on it. you worked jeonghan's spit over seokmin's engorged cock, then slowly lowered yourself onto him.

seokmin stared up at you, eyes fluttering and mouth open, suddenly not only feeling impossibly full, but also absolutely stuffed into you. he moaned out loud when jeonghan bumped into his spot, overwhelmed by the simultaneous pleasure. you fell forward onto his chest, holding yourself up with shaky arms as your face hovered over his, both of you trying to hold off your own demises.

then, jeonghan pushed himself deep into seokmin, who whined, his dick pushing up against your cervix. you nearly collapsed, whimpering as your forehead fell to his, gasping into a desperate kiss. jeonghan groaned, his hand running over your hip as he looked at the intersection of you all, staring at the way you barely contained all of seokmin before he leaned forward and kissed your spine.

"you two will kill me," he said, one hand holding you firmly at your waist while the other gripped seokmin's thigh as he picked up his pace. you both moaned, fingernails digging into the plushest part of your thigh when seokmin questioned how much longer he could hold out at jeonghan's unrelenting pace.

a long, high pitched whine fell from his lips. "fuck, i need to cum," he rushed out, bleary eyes barely opening as he looked at you.

"hang on, baby," jeonghan said. "ladies first."

you babbled against seokmin's lips, somehow never being able to get used to the way he filled you, though jeonghan pushing him into you didn't help. you could do nothing but repeat curses in increasing pitch, pushing your face into seokmin's neck as your walls clamped down around him. his mouth gaped, desperately trying to not succumb to your plush insides before he got the okay.

jeonghan smiled at how seokmin tried to focus on him, despite his hands gripping you as you shook against him. "go ahead, baby."

so seokmin went. and god, he went, coating you internally, immediately squeezing out around his stuffed cock and onto his lap, making jeonghan pant as he kept his hips moving, chasing his own end. he leaned forward, chest pressing against your back as he fucked into seokmin, not stopping until his eyes were clamped shut and he was painting his walls white.

there was a long period of time where none of you moved, then another after you had all managed to untangle from each other. jeonghan sat back, leaning against a hand and scratching his brow as he breathed heavily.

"bathtub cuddle puddle?"

you laughed, chest heaving as you looked over to him, but it was seokmin who spoke. "that sounds nice."

he started to get suspicious when his birthday got closer.

jeonghan told you to suggest a dinner outing for that night to divert attention, but he had caught you moving one of the guitars for the music room only a few days before his birthday, and he looked at you with squinted eyes when he asked if it was for him and you hurriedly said no, hiding the guitar behind your back despite him clearly being able to see it. 

"i panicked," you told jeonghan, eyes wide. "he saw it in me. he could tell it wasn't just the guitar."

"it'll be fine, y/n," he said, pushing around potted plants until they satisfied him. "he has to think it's weird that we haven't let him see this room yet, anyways."

you chewed your cheek, looking around the almost completed sunroom. the tall windows showed the light snowflakes falling from the sky, not quite thick enough to leave a layer but enough to make the enclosed yard look slightly pastel. despite the open space that looked out into the cold seoul winter, it stayed cozy, heat radiating from the floorboards and the faux fur rugs laid across them. the space near the entrance had a raised floor with a grand piano, along with several guitars hanging upon the wall, while the area partially covered by the balcony had two heavily cushioned, dark heather gray couches and a bright armchair, adorned with pillows and cable knit blankets.

jeonghan had a slight obsessive nature when it came to his home projects. he was meticulous with contracts, too, but he truly wanted this house to be perfect - not just for him, but for the people he loved. so you watched him rearrange pillows about four more times before you ran up the stairs to the loft to see if he had changed anything there since you had looked the day before.

it almost felt as though it was outdoors, with plants hanging off the edge of the railing and the rustic desk he had originally picked for your office placed to one side. you imagined doing schoolwork here, fantasizing slightly about watching seokmin play piano from your vantage point as you wrote essays. you slid open the glass doors to peek into your new office.

he had painted the walls white, taking a hint from the styling in your own apartment when he picked out a neutral toned couch and light wood shelving, your early graduation present of a computer set up spread across an L shaped desk. he had even paid to have your upright piano moved here, and cut into the next room over to give you more space for an electric drumset. you couldn't help but smile, imagining your friends coming over to record stuff with you. you had always felt strange about inviting them to your rich boyfriend's house, despite him insisting they were welcome, but he had really gone through the trouble of making a room so perfect for all of them that you had no choice.

and it was brighter, you thought. you had told him you worked better in bright spaces.

despite jeonghan's promises, the music room renovation felt like it was as much a gift for you as it was for seokmin. though, maybe he couldn't help it, when the reasons he loved you both overlapped so much.

you went to seokmin's apartment the next day with a bagged gift for him, arriving again right as his client was leaving, and you smiled at the same young man you had seen the first time you had come to visit seokmin. you knew his name now, not because you had spoken to him much, but because you had been told about him by his teacher, and you congratulated him on getting a gig the upcoming weekend.

"oh," jisung said, glancing between the two of you. "he talks about me?"

you laughed and gave him a fighting, seokmin looking upwards to hide his embarrassment as he ushered his student toward the door. "have a nice week, jisung! i'll try to be there this weekend," he said, throwing you a look as you giggled. 

"it's not for guitar, you don't have to come," the younger assured. "but if you want to, bring your girlfriend!"

"yeah!" you said, putting your fists on your hips. "i'm getting you dinner for your birthday tonight, the least you can do is take me to an underground rap show!"

"okay, both of you, no more talking," seokmin said, trying and failing to prevent jisung from stopping in his tracks at the news that it was his birthday.

"woah, teach, happy birthday!" he laughed. "you weren't gonna say anything?" he kept talking even as his teacher pushed him out of his apartment.

you couldn't stop grinning when the door closed, seokmin turning to you. he pointed at you, trying to hide his smile as he could only get out a vaguely annoyed "you."

"happy birthday, baby," you said, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss. he softened against you, smiling as you pulled away, his hands on your waist as he thanked you quietly.

"he asks about you a lot," seokmin said, joining you when you laughed at the fact. "i think he has a crush on you."

you rolled your eyes. "stop bragging about me, then."

"i don't brag," he said, smiling into another kiss. "i just tell the truth. i can't help that you're a dream come true."

you only pulled away from him to grab the two thick paper bags that you had set on his couch. "c'mon, we gotta head out. open your presents."

seokmin's mouth dropped open when he saw the logo on the bag. "wait, you didn't."

"i had to," you said, giggling as he grabbed one and tugged it open, moving to the couch to pull the garment out. "you said you wanted it."

"where did you find one?" he asked, staring at the corduroy parka from the brand you saw him wear constantly. "they've been sold out for weeks!"

"i got it before then, duh." you poked his cheek when he pouted at you, his eyebrows knit. "there's more, stop getting distracted."

seokmin hugged you extra tight as a thank you for his romantic crown haul, and he decisively pulled on the golden yellow shirt with the pizza on the back, making you grin at how perfectly jeonghan had predicted his thought process before you dragged him out of his apartment to go get dinner.

"we're just picking it up," you said, jangling a keychain. he gave you a quirked eyebrow, and you giggled, pulling him over to jeonghan's car. "do you wanna see it self drive?"

you pushed the side door closed with your butt and called out to jeonghan, saying the birthday boy was here. seokmin took the pizza boxes from your arms and put them on the kitchen counter as jeonghan walked around the stairs.

"well one of us has to change," jeonghan said facetiously, and seokmin looked down at the yellow shirt peeking through his half zipped parka, looking back up at jeonghan, who was wearing the same shirt.

"wait wait wait," you giggled, turning around to undo the zipper of your own jacket, pulling it open as you spun around to reveal that you, too, were wearing the shirt.

seokmin looked between you two with wide eyes, his eyebrows creasing. "you got us matching shirts?"

"pizza shirt gang!" you giggled, stripping off your jacket. "do you like them?"

he smiled into a disbelieving laugh. "how did you know i would put it on?"

"because we know you, minnie," jeonghan said, reaching for his hand after he took off his new coat. "before we eat, i finished the sunroom today, wanna see it?"

"hang on," seokmin stopped, making his hand fall from jeonghan's. "that's not the gift, right?" he looked at you. "the sunroom isn't the gift?"

you pursed your lips, looking at the ceiling, and seokmin started to argue, making jeonghan laughed. "who cares if it's for you, i just want you to come look at it."

jeonghan is pretty sure he always loved seokmin. it wasn't something he would ever be able to change about himself, he figured, as he watched his lover cover his face with his hands, sinking to crouch on the floor as his eyes looked around the large room that was lit by fairy light. the first thing he had seen was the piano, which made him gasp, then he saw the guitars, and looked at your smiling face, suddenly connecting dots, unable to stay standing from the shock as he understood why he hadn't been allowed to help.

and then he started crying.

the two of you ushered him to a couch, sitting him down as he sniffed back the tears. you sat beside him, wrapping your arms around his shoulder and cooing, jeonghan crouching on the floor in front of him.

"i'm sorry," jeonghan said, smiling slightly as he gave him an apologetic look. "i didn't mean to overwhelm you."

seokmin choked on a laugh, wiping at his cheeks. "how did you think i'd react?"

"i don't think he thought about it," you whispered, knowing full well jeonghan could hear you.

"i got a little carried away," he admitted, hand rubbing comforting circles on seokmin's leg. "you're special to me, so i wanted to make something special for you."

"this," seokmin said, looking around, gesturing at his surroundings. "this?"

the older huffed out a laugh, almost embarrassed. "yeah, this."

seokmin laughed too, eyes wet as he looked into the other's. "i can't believe you would make something this incredible for me."

"you're incredible," jeonghan said. "i want you to feel welcome in my home."

"i couldn't believe the record wall, either," you offered when seokmin seemed speechless, pressing your cheek against the his shoulder, hand rubbing his back. "jeonghan's love language is a little unique."

seokmin sniffed one more time, studying jeonghan's face, his brow creasing ever so slightly. "holy shit, i'm in love with you."

your heart stopped as you pulled away slightly to look at him, then jeonghan, who was frozen.

"i didn't realize that's what this was," seokmin said, hand gripping the one on his thigh. "i knew i liked you, but this is-"

jeonghan rose quickly, seating himself at seokmin's other side and kissed him. "i love you," he said, thumbs wiping over his slightly damp cheekbones. "it's taken me years to admit it, but i love you."

seokmin kissed him again in response, his face feeling hot from the continued attention. he broke away, only to look around the room again, jeonghan studying his face with a smile as he did.

"i think," seokmin said, clearing his throat when the words came out weak. he looked to you, then to jeonghan. "i think this is the best birthday i've ever had."

jeonghan laughed. "we haven't even had the pizza yet."

[natrashafierce]

The author of that terrible Your Fave is Problematic Tumblr has grown up and written a great piece for The New York Times expressing regret about picking people apart and talking about how (surprise, surprise) it was really just that she was young and poorly adjusted and had gone through some stuff.

I hope more people can be honest with themselves that most of us are susceptible to weird, spurious extremist stuff online if we’re in a bad enough mood, and you can always just, like, stop and change course and be someone who tries to spread forgiveness and humility instead of accruing points for tiresome, punitive, identity-obsessed nitpicking. I completely forgive the author of the blog and applaud her for this extra step that will surely expose her to the same sort of poorly adjusted person she used to be.

I also hope more people come to understand that they shouldn’t signal boost people articulating extremist things, because all it does it create a contagion of poor mental health and social behaviors that are counterproductive to achieving anything positive. It’s normal for people to get angry, and everyone has every right to rant in their own online space, and you don’t have to invalidate anyone’s moment of anger. But you can comfort them without reblogging or retweeting them. You don’t have to enable their descent into binary thinking by rewarding them with a ton of attention and influence.

It may be “tone policing” to try to tell any one individual how to express themselves, but it is not “tone policing” to suggest that society should not take our cues and policy ideas from people who are hysterical. Almost no one is good at formulating solutions to social problems, and angry people least of all. Every marginalized group has at least SOME people who are capable of remaining fair, nuanced, and rational despite what they’ve gone through, and those are the people to signal boost if you take societal problems seriously. They tend to have a much more complete perspective on an issue than someone who has barely read or experienced anything outside themselves except for the dozens of aggro internet posts that end up in their bubble.

Chronically angry people see everything through the lens of their anger and their ego, do not seek perspectives or explanations that would defuse them, and their ideas for solutions will tend to be unfair and dehumanzing. Now the internet pays people for that, and people psychologically stagnate because their newfound career depends on it and their reputation seems locked in by the long memory of the internet. Grounded people have learned to control their egos, seek genuine understanding of those who disagree with them, and are capable of finding uplifting solutions, but those people are getting drowned out and harassed offline nowadays.

It used to be that people would have their big moments of anger and, lacking any audience except for a few people they knew, had to learn to introspect, calm themselves down, and approach problems effectively. They would often get gently challenged by the people around them and pulled back into a healthy mindset. They would confront interpersonal problems privately instead of trying to tear people down publicly, and extremism only arose in bad social circles or with especially recalcitrant people. But now that everyone gets their basest impulses rewarded by strangers as poorly adjusted as they are, there is little incentive for introspection or growth. This got worse for a lot of us during the Trump years, I think, because the shock of his incivility made it seem like civility had been a losing tactic. I know I felt like that for a few years until I realized how easily I could be manipulated into believing the worst about someone if it played to my biases. Unfettered mass venting just contributed to a bad cycle.

One of the worst things is how the crazed brigades accrue well-intentioned allies who enforce their insane, unpopular ideas and, together, tank public support for what were once important political objectives. SO MANY people were into the Your Fave is Problematic blog and would troll tags for the celebrities mentioned just to harass and intimidate people who were fans, and they were all indoctrinated into a disordered, shallow worldview were they derived their worth from tearing people down instead of cultivating their own talents. Your Fave is Problematic was by no means the first or only vector for leftist identitarian brain worms, but it was an influential one. There’s a whole lot of obnoxious Tumblr stuff that leaks out into the larger world now.

Back then I thought people would grow out of it, but either a ton of them didn’t, or else those who did just got replaced by new people. I thought right-wingers were catastrophizing and exaggerating when they fixated on it because a lot of the time they were, and too many of them couldn’t criticize it without being dehumanizing themselves. But sure enough, it got worse. I realize now that regardless of ideology, extremism always gets worse if there are incentives for it to grow, and the internet supplies those incentives in spades. This stuff didn’t stay on Tumblr; it didn’t stay on some stray college campuses. They said it wouldn’t, and they were right.

And now it has infected more mainstream, influential spheres of life with infantilizing and dehumanizing ideas that train people to perceive everyone as an aggressor or a pinata they can beat up for clout. It’s increasingly ruined more innocent lives, all while people who are ideologically captured keep insisting it’s no big deal because that’s the line in their social circle. The goalposts move every week to provide more targets, and even left-leaning media has quit thoroughly investigating a lot of things in its rush to cash in on whatever social media controvery has been ginned up by unwell people. The corrections, when they come out, are almost never widely circulated.

It’s been surreal and disheartening to watch. People I used to consider reasonable and compassionate just gradually morphed into aggrieved, insecure pod people who can’t handle the slightest challenges of evidence against their worldview. They can’t accept that their insecurities and peeves are frivolous distractions that actually do materially harm efforts to fix serious problems, whether by beclowning entire political parties or candidates, or diverting resources to organizations that aren’t changing anything significant or are making things worse. They all even say the same tired phrases. It’s such a shitshow, but public opinion polling on this stuff has remained mostly sane. A lot of people are snapping out of it like the author of YFIP, so I can only hope that more people feel comfortable to finally push back against it.

[huffpostarts]

The Very Best Holiday Presents For Dogs To Eat!

We've spent the last couple months testing as well as curating the most effective holiday gifts for dogs (and their individuals)-- and today's suggestions are all presents for your dog to EAT! If I needed to guess, I think today's possibly our dogs' favored day of the gift overview!

When it concerns screening edibles, I don't rely on the dogs. They do not have one of the most critical tastes. My initial step is to evaluate components to see if it's something I really feel comfortable giving them. Currently, I'm not a person that's "all health, constantly." I such as to balance a little bit of junk food from time to time. These victors, though, all rank actually very for being nutritious-- as well as I added our preferred supplements to balance out too many Christmas cookies. I had a tough time tightening it down, so right here are our favorite seven ideal holiday presents for dogs that they can EAT!

DGP

Let's kick this off with our supplement fave. I've covered this before, and if you have a dog with joint troubles or you simply desire preventative care, this is the one for you. DGP is all about sustaining flexibility as well as versatility, as well as if your dog is already on a glucosamine-type supplement, it can be included in provide extra support. Lucas has bad hips, as well as he's beginning to get a bit older-- though he appears unaware of that-- as well as likes to play at dog daycare eventually a week. It was taking its toll on his joints, but with the DGP, he currently appears to be rather solid. I'm SUPER satisfied with this supplement, as well as my big boy is going to stay on it without a doubt!

Indigo Triple Chews

Dental health and wellness is important, yet we aren't fantastic about brushing these guys' teeth. We look for oral products that maintain their teeth clean and their mouths healthy and balanced. The Indigo Triple Chews are by FAR our faves. They're digestible as well as grain-free. They integrate benefits by consisting of antioxidants as well as probiotics with the dental treatment. But why we enjoy them: They really are durable. We've tried every sort of dental chew, and also they complete them SO fast. Also quick for just how expensive they are. These seriously last longer than any other we tried. I desired a statistics, so I offered one to Lucas prior to I took a seat to write today. It took him from 3:24 up until 3:51. In my house, that's a Christmas miracle.

Fruitables Holiday Edition: Vanilla Snowflake Flavor

So, these deals with have without a doubt the very best story to them. They are made with genuine snows! Seriously! You can watch a video of them gathering the snow. These are tiny, crunchy treats that are made with 300 snowflakes in every bag. How funny and also adorable is that?! The active ingredients are quite allergy-friendly, as well. The deals with don't contain any wheat, corn, soy, man-made shades, or preservatives. While the young boys uncommitted too much regarding those aspects, they did gobble them up! I definitely like the story and also think these would make a very sweet stocking stuffer for any kind of fortunate pup!

Zuke's.

Complete disclosure: If you have a dog who is as food sensitive as Cooper is, Zuke's have actually not been the best deals with for him. Somehow, they actually intensify his sensitive stomach. For more details about dog sensitive food then visit https://petsish.com/best-dog-food-for-sensitive-stomach/ . The large young boys, on the other hand, couldn't. get. enough. We like Zuke's for training because they have a strong smell and are easily gotten into bits. These jerky ones, though, have a lamb that we're attempting with Coop, therefore much, so excellent! The other flavors are wonderful for the other dogs. There are a couple different beef options and turkey, as well. These jerky treats-- made from completely secure meat sourced in the United States and New Zealand, instead of China-- consist of genuine meat, carrots, blueberries, apples, as well as antioxidant-rich natural herbs. We damage them right into little items to make use of when we're collaborating with the dogs outside because the solid odor keeps them engaged. These are treats we NEVER wish to run out of!

Train-Me Treats.

We do a lot of training around here, and also we use treats for nearly every little thing from normal walks the block to instructing brand-new methods to dealing with whatever Cooper's brand-new fear-of-the-moment is. To keep them interested, we have to mix up the benefits. These training treats from Crazy Dog were brand-new to me, and they've been working so well. They're soft-- a lot far better than crunchy when training-- and all listing meat as the initial ingredient. They can be found in bacon, hen, and beef flavors as well as either 4-ounce or 6-ounce bags.

Animal Naturals of Vermont supplements.

Many years earlier, we drove from DC to Indiana. After that, later, from Indiana to Louisiana. After that, once again later on, from Louisiana to Indiana. Sigh. All those miles with the dogs is rather stressful, so we had actually been acquiring Pet Naturals of Vermont calming treats. They have a HUGE range of supplements beyond the preferred soothing treats, however, and we've been using the Daily Best for Emmett (although, I believe perhaps he needs the elderly formula) as well as the Skin + Coat. They're well-formulated as well as definitely have a great flavor-- the young boys gobble them up. Perk for any person with an allergy-prone dog: The Skin + Coat version is flavored with duck, making it more widely endured!

PetSafe 2-Meal Automatic Pet Feeder.

If you reside in a multi-pet house, this may not be the Christmas present for you (unless you have a feline that has separate access from your dog or something). My herd demands being fed at a particular time. Every. Single. Day. Breakfast is at 7. Dinner is at 5. I know not everybody has pets so diligent concerning their feeding times, yet these guys firmly insist. For a while, Coop was additionally eating lunch. And, actually, Newt gets a challenge toy mid-day. Anyhow, this item would certainly be a dream if you needed to do a mid-day feeding or if you had a late meeting or supper strategies and intended to feed your family pet on schedule. For a dog like Emmett-- that takes, roughly, 15 pills a day some of which need to be timed with dishes-- this would be a lifesaver if you needed to leave early/come house late. All you do is load the feeder, established a timer, and also TA DA! Your pet is fed the right amount at the right time, even if you have to go out or are running late! $34.95 for the 2-Meal (1.5 cups per side) version (HINT: The 5 cup version is coming later on in the week!).

Barker Kitsen deal with selection-- No much longer available.

You people, I'm in love. Can you be in love with a family pet merchant? I sure am! This online store is devoted to "under-the-radar items," which implies you're going to discover something NEW in their shop. I seriously enjoyed poking around, as well as I check out family pet items all-the-live-long day! From their objective: "The business's goal is to assist quality-minded pet owners make premium item choices to keep their family pets healthy and satisfied, while providing arising as well as unknown brands nationwide direct exposure as a circulation source for their products." As I claimed, I'm in love! They sent us a lot of deals with to try: Raw Bistro free-range bison liver and flaxseed deals with, natural pleasant potato treats from 2 Dogs Treats, Bixbi's Skin and Coat chicken bust jerky, as well as Scrappy Moo deals with. Not one of those deals with was a flop. We enjoyed them ALL. (Cooper can even consume the bison! Yippee!) And the product packaging is incredibly cute. Incorporated with the fantastic goal, I'm head over heels!

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Vol. 6 “Uncovered”

This is a re-posting from Nov. 4th, 2018 in an effort to get all my recaps fully on tumblr. Thanks!

So much for Thursday/Friday postings. This episode ripped my heart out through my teeth, so you know I've gotta get thoughts down on paper. What’s today’s theme? The folly and inexperience of youth, but as much as I want to dive straight into my impassioned defense of Ozpin, we need to make sure that we unpack the new intro first. And, you know, the rest of the episode...

The highlights have already been circulating for the last week, most notably the animation of Ozpin’s (presumed) past reincarnations… and the fact that the one right before the guy we think of as Oz looks like a dad. He looks like Tai’s brother. One of these Ozpins is not like the others and honestly I kind of love it. Seriously though, in the realm of actual analysis there are a number of details I want to make sure we put a pin in before moving forward. Let’s make use of our good friend the list:

The beginning is super fluffy with the gang hanging out while waiting for the train, Ruby chasing after Weiss, and Blake watching them fondly. Out of the whole group Yang is the only one who appears upset, staring morosely out the window where we get a flash of Adam. I think this is significant given that she seems to be the most volatile of the group right now. As we’ll see, though most of them have beef with Ozpin, Yang is the one instigating the fights.

We have a moment where the camera moves through Maria’s eyes and then immediately does the same with Ruby’s. Are Maria’s eyes also important? Perhaps her semblance is connected to her blindness somehow.

We see (I think??) Roman’s hat blow by right before the hooded person (Cinder) is broken up by red slashes across the screen. Omg could he actually come back? I mean yeah, he literally got swallowed whole by a grimm, but he also might have cut himself out a la Hannibal Chau style. Please bring back my flamboyant fave and have him get revenge on Cinder. That would be so very excellent.

There’s a young woman (Salem) staring up at a statue of Oz. Last week it seemed weird that this statue looked so very much like his Vol. 1-3 reincarnation, but considering we’re in Jinn’s story world she might be borrowing imagery that the gang is familiar with. Either that or the reincarnations tend to look like each other in time? Idk. To be decided.

Jaune slams Ozpin up against a freaking wall. Given how this Volume is going so far, I’m pretty confident that it’s Ozpin and not Oscar. Wonder if Jaune is finally going to confront him about his part in Pyrrha’s death…

Plenty of potential WhiteRose (as mentioned in the first recap). Seriously, I try to keep shipping out of these (a few Ozqrow jokes aside…) but I’ve also gotta call any potential setup as I see it, and given the happily chasing after her, using her glyphs at the end, the final shot of Weiss helping Ruby to her feet, Ruby collecting dust cartridges later in the episode, her calling Weiss's name in Jinn's world, Weiss doing the same for her… all of this could just be them re-developing their relationship after the separation. Could also be something more.

Also in terms of that final shot: having the whole group—Ozpin included—standing together and facing down some threat is very reassuring after this week’s episode. Ngl lol.

Finally, we have those grimm arms reaching out to drag Qrow into darkness, notably while he’s drinking. “Wow,” I say to myself. “Those arms sure do look a lot like Cinder’s!”

Oh look. We open on Cinder.

Classic rule of television: if you don’t see a body they’re not dead yet. (Unless, apparently, you’re Ozpin.)

(…but maybe not Roman.)

She’s clearly terrified, waking up in water with her eyes darting every which way, groaning when she finally pulls herself to shore. It’s always good to throw your villains into moments like this where their basic—human—instincts take hold. It makes them a little more sympathetic (if not more justifiable) and therefore more compelling. At this point I really have no desire to see an attempt at a Cinder redemption arc, but even I’m wincing at that panicked look on her face.

She’s having trouble summoning up her power, presumably because she just got her ass beat by another Maiden. It comes back pretty fast though, which really helps put into context how powerful these women are. Even freezing them from the inside out is only going to knock them out of commission for a little while.

Cinder takes a look way up to where the tree stands and pounds her grimm hand against the rocks in frustration. Apparently these things are ridiculously strong because it opens up a crack in the mountain, letting a sliver of light shine through to her face. (A trope normally reserved for the heroes.) Cinder then uses her One Punch Man powers to break out, considering that her flames are still sputtering.

Outside she meets a sweet, no-name woman who makes the mistake of stopping to help. Cinder steals her clothes, her money, and presumably kills her. RIP nice lady just trying to do her grocery shopping.

We realize that Cinder woke up weeks ago as we move into another flashback at the house. There the team has their first conversation about the relic.

Ruby: “We need to take the relic to Atlas?”

Qrow: “That’s what Oz said.”

For all his banter and bluster, Qrow is a very passive character. He has so little faith in himself that he needs to put it in others—so he fosters pretty much all of that onto Oz. Ruby is the one who subtly questions why they’re taking the relic all the way to Atlas. Qrow is the one who just reiterates that these are Oz’s orders, so that’s what they’re gonna do. Right now he’s not questioning his general and I’ll be interested to see if and how that changes after the events of this episode. One of the reasons for Qrow’s dark descent in the intro?

We have a funny exchange where Ren points out that the borders of Atlas are closed, but no worries. They have a missing Schnee heiress to get them through! What’s less funny is when Qrow mentions that they actually wanted to seal the relic back up in the vault but can’t because they don’t have access to the Spring Maiden. Cut to a guilty looking Yang. Not that they’d have much chance convincing Raven to help them (what is she up to with Tai??), but again: Oz isn’t the only one keeping secrets.

Ozpin comes out leaning heavily on his cane and wincing with each step. Hmm. Another indication that, despite his power, he’s surprisingly fragile? I’m still wondering how Cinder won that fight and it looks like he isn’t recovering as quickly as the rest of the group, despite the fact that everyone took a beating in Haven. Something to chew on.

Still talking about the relic, Jaune mentions that they don’t know what the thing actually does and we get to see Ozpin’s conflicted expression before he whirls around with a smile. He’s clearly weighing what he should and shouldn’t tell them, secrets later revealed in the episode. He says that the relic has a “wonderful and incredibly dangerous ability”—important wording! We’ll come back to that. It can answer any three questions every 100 years, provided they’re not about future events. Ozpin claims that the questions were asked before the relic was sealed away so, sorry, no knowledge to gain right now.

Jumping a little farther into the episode, we also continue the plot-line with Cinder sneaking around in the dead woman’s clothes, realizing that she’s very much a wanted criminal now. She heads into this super sketchy spider gang and asks for information on Team RWBY and the others—not going back to Salem then—throwing down the woman’s lien as payment. The leader assures her that she’ll have their locations within a week… despite the fact that she already knows where they are. The “big guy,” Hazel, was asking first.

Back with the group. Ruby finds the relic lying nearby while Yang tries desperately to get her bike out of the snow. Despite having agreed to this plan of separating and stranding themselves, Yang is expressing her frustration by treating it like a cruel trick of fate, complaining about that as well as the fact that they’ve “gained a defenseless old woman.” After Maria introduces herself and comments a little about being hard of hearing, blind, and how her glasses need a tuneup, we slam hard into the heart of the episode. Good. I’ve got things to say about how these kids are acting like… well, kids. Yang has basically just had a temper tantrum in the snow and Qrow rightly points out that they need to try to keep calm so as not to attract more grimm. Yang—as we expect—uses this opportunity to segue back to the relic. She wants to know why Ozpin lied to them. Oscar thinks they deserve to know too and forces (maybe?) the switch.

“I didn’t lie,” Ozpin says. He just didn’t provide them with all the information. This immediately sets Yang off because that’s just a technicality. An excuse. Right? Well, yes and no. Do people sometimes manipulate others by doling out pieces of information and then claiming, “I didn’t really lie”? Yes, absolutely. But there’s also something to be said for adults withholding information in an effort to protect their charges. Like… if a kid asked you how someone died there’s a BIG difference between saying, “They were murdered” vs. “Oh, well the murderer tortured them for days and then sent pictures of it to their family and then gutted them very slowly….” Yeah. Sometimes you don’t need that kind of shit weighing you down and in this case Ozpin has an additional, practical reason for not telling them that the relic attracts grimm: their worry would just bring more. Which is exactly what I said last time. Telling them wouldn’t change the situation—there’s a very good chance it would actually make things worse—so he tried to give them what little peace he could.

Weiss: “You know, I’m getting real tired of people choosing what’s best for me”

An understandable statement? Sure, but Weiss is still a kid. Yes, 14, 15, 16, and even 17yos are still kids, whether we want to give them the label of “teenager” or not. It’s sometimes hard to remember given their responsibilities, but Team RWBY is still a collection of developing brains challenging thousands of years of experience. Kids never like it, but sometimes adults do know what’s best for them. All of this is complicated by the abuse in their lives—notice that Yang (Raven), Weiss (parents), and Blake (Adam) are far less trusting of Ozpin than Ruby is—but that doesn’t change the fact that a teenager is not equipped to make these world-altering decisions in the same way an adult is. Combine this with the fact that they have implicitly acknowledged Ozpin as their leader and them thinking they can challenge his well thought-out choices in this manner is a big problem.

Ironically, Ozpin and James have a lot more in common than they think they do when it comes to leading: they both understand the importance of compartmentalization, it’s just that James is more obvious about treating subordinates as subordinates. Ozpin cozies up to people and then they’re surprised when they don’t have his ear. As I said before, you can trust your army without giving them every single secret. That’s dangerous, and the girls aren’t entitled to dangerous information just because they want it.

Ozpin says he’s not entirely sure why grimm are attracted to the relic (another lie?) and we learn that he was the one who spun the story of Lionheart’s heroic death. Again, Yang sees things in a very black and white manner—that’s another lie and lies are bad—and Ozpin angrily argues that Lionheart doesn’t deserve to have all the good he did erased by his final mistakes. That's a pretty loaded conundrum and I’m definitely not equipped to untangle it. Rather, I’m more interested in how the girls are completely unable to consider that viewpoint. Because (common theme here) they lack the experience that Ozpin does. To them Lionheart was just a Bad Guy and should be treated accordingly because they’re teenagers who have never faced a betrayal like that. They might have a very different reaction if, years down the road, one of Team RWBY succumbed to Salem and betrayed them in the end. Would Blake want Yang’s name forever tarnished if she gave in and joined Raven? Would Ruby be okay with the whole world thinking nothing but awful things about Weiss if she went dark? No, it’s more complex when you love someone… but they’re too young to understand that yet.

Age matters here. Experience matters.

Just as important, Ozpin is an emotional, flawed human being who is being cut very deeply right now. That is, the girls have 100% condemned Lionheart despite the good he did in the past… and Ozpin has no doubt done things just as bad, if not worse. Though unintentional, their rejection of Lionheart’s worth is a rejection of Ozpin’s as well. If they can’t consider forgiving Lionheart for his mistakes, how could they possibly forgive him? “Does one lapse in judgement truly negate all of his good?” he asks, a question he no doubt poses to himself all the time. As Ozpin defends his friend he’s also trying desperately to defend himself and what he’s hearing from Yang is, “No. You’re irredeemable.”

Whether we consider Ozpin’s past to actually be irredeemable or not, that’s a pretty hard blow. Remember last recap I pointed out how shocked he looked at Ruby’s support? It’s because this is what he’s used to hearing. Everyone (like Qrow) looks to him to be their leader and then reacts with fury when he makes decisions they don’t like; people insist they care for him and then condemn those who have made far fewer mistakes. And he’s been dealing with this for thousands of years. Honestly, I’m surprised the guy can even get out of bed anymore.

“Do you really think Leo was the first?” he growls when Yang insists that he can trust them. Of course Leo wasn’t the first to betray him and, as Ozpin points out, he said those exact same words. You can trust me. Ultimately, why are these kids any different? Because they’re the heroes? No, that’s the perspective of the audience. From behind our fourth wall we know that Team RWBY is trustworthy, but Ozpin has no such reassurances. If a friend he had for years could suddenly betray him like that, what the hell is stopping a bunch of former students who are already frustrated with him?

Also… just pointing out… Yang insists he can trust her and then two seconds later she, along with Blake and Weiss, have their weapons pulled on both Ozpin and Qrow. So he can trust them… but only if he does what they want and tells them what they want to hear. And people question why Ozpin has trust issues.

I do want Ozpin to trust more—both for himself and for others—but my god does he have good reasons for holding back.

Sadly, we don’t get to see Yang try to grapple with the revelation that she’s parroting Lionheart’s words (because, as I’ll discuss a bit below, RWBY ultimately dodges any real sticky moral questions and segues back into simple story logic). Instead the conversation is derailed as Ozpin realizes that the relic is missing.

Ruby has it, but she’s not willing to hand it over. So much for my theory of her sticking by him this Volume. At least right now, she’s acting as much like a kid as any of the others. In what I think is a reckless move, Oscar realizes that Ozpin is hiding something from them and briefly takes control, telling Ruby to say the name Jinn.

She does and all the snow stops.

A sort of genie appears and says that she was created by the God of Light to “aid humanity in its pursuit of knowledge.” Jinn then reveals that Ozpin did lie outright. There are still two questions left.

And with this revelation we come to the crux of the matter. His own very personal history aside, compartmentalization aside, why doesn’t Ozpin just give the gang all the information they want? Why all the lies? Because they’re children and right now they’re acting like it. Yang isn’t interested in making sure everyone gets to a safe place after Qrow mentions that they’re probably attracting grimm, she wants answers right now and she won’t move until she gets them. They’re not considering the hypocrisy of demanding Ozpin’s secrets when they’ve all had (and for some still have) secrets of their own. The girls aren’t responding logically to Qrow’s innocuous “Hey” later—why does he deserve their wrath?—they’re reacting with pure emotion, pulling their weapons on him for daring to just try and voice an opinion. That is an incredibly extreme reaction and in my opinion shows how little they’re thinking through their actions right now. They are, to put it bluntly, acting like a bunch of bratty teenagers. They want something and the adults in charge won’t let them have it, despite having numerous good reasons for withholding it (both practical and personal). So they throw a fit. The only difference is that instead of stomping their feet these girls have crazy powerful weaponry and a relic at their disposal.

All of this culminates in the release of Jinn. Let’s think back to that moment in the house: Ozpin tells them that the relic has a “wonderful and incredibly dangerous ability”—emphasis mine. Do the kids stop to wonder why the ability to answer questions is called incredibly dangerous? No! They’re just fascinated by the shiny new toy. Ren thinks it’s cool, Blake is amazed, Yang notes that picking the right questions would be a big responsibility but doesn’t back down from the challenge, and Nora immediately leads them in a charge to determine what they’re going to ask. Not one of them says, “Hey. What’s the catch here?” They’re all ready to jump into asking three questions without thinking through any of the potential repercussions of messing with an ancient object they know absolutely nothing about.

This no doubt tells Ozpin, as it told me, that they’re still kids and as such are in many ways still thinking like kids too. They don’t have the experience and the maturity yet to consider the consequences of their actions. What? Do we think someone as controlling as Ozpin just let two questions remain without a very good reason? That it’s a coincidence that immediately after he—or someone else—used the first question the relic was sealed away? No, there’s some downside here… but the gang never considered that possibility. So rather than explain all that and risk them insisting that they use the questions anyway—as kids are wont to do—Ozpin says the questions are used up for now. That way there’s no risk to them.

I’m thinking that when Ozpin charges Ruby he’s trying to reach her to protect her somehow. It's not just about him keeping his secrets. Jinn’s smoke is reaching for her too and he’s trying to get there first. He’s flawed, yes, but he’s not going to attack her. When has Ozpin ever been violent towards them? When has Ruby ever hesitated to defend herself? This isn't an experienced Huntsmen going on the offensive, nor a talented Huntress scared for her life---it's a desperate man and a young girl panicking at this mess of a situation. Because let's be real, if Ozpin had wanted to take the relic by force he easily could have. But he wouldn't do that. He’s not the one who drew his weapon here. No, if there’s a catch attached to these questions he wouldn’t want Ruby to pay it. He literally begs her on his knees not to use the relic… and when that fails he gets desperate and uses incredible speed to try and reach her before the magic does.

Remember, he wanted to immediately seal the relic back up in the vault and would have it they’d had access to the Spring Maiden. It might not just be because they’re worried about the relic falling into Salem’s hands. It sounds like there’s danger attached to using it too…. and people would absolutely be tempted to use it.

As we see here.

Ruby says, “What is Ozpin hiding from us?” WHICH IS ABOUT THE WORST QUESTION YOU COULD POSSIBLY ASK.

That’s not a targeted question to help you understand what Oscar was hinting at before. That’s an entirely open ended question that, depending on how Jinn works, will show you every secret Ozpin has ever had. What kind of fucked up invasion of privacy? Granted, we don’t have time in RWBY for something like that to actually happen—looks like Jinn is going to show us Ozpin’s greatest mistake/regret, something he thinks they’ll abandon him because of—but that doesn’t change how horrible that question was. I don’t care if the girls are right that Ozpin needs to work on trusting people more. You know how you don’t help people do that? By forcibly pulling all their secrets out into the open without their consent. Ruby’s question wasn’t just horribly invasive, it wasn’t thought out at all because no matter how frustrated she might be I don’t think she’d ever want to do that to a person. She, like the rest of her team, isn't thinking clearly.

Finally, you know what the real kicker is? All of this—everything I’ve mentioned throughout this scene—is done in front of Maria. What’s the latest definition of oblivious immaturity? Demanding that your leader reveal his secrets in front of a complete stranger.

Honestly I wanted to rip out my hair through this whole part of the episode. It’s easy to identify with Ruby and the gang because they’re our protagonists. The show wants us to empathize with them, but in this case it doesn’t change the fact that they’re acting their age and making really uninformed decisions. Despite the huge range of ages in this fandom, sometimes I feel like I’m watching RWBY very firmly from an adult’s perspective while the vast majority of the fandom is watching from the perspective of our heroes. They see the mean adult keeping secrets—and in a black and white universe secrets are bad!—while I’m seated firmly in Camp Context. It’s like that post about watching The Little Mermaid at different stages of your life:

As a child: She loves him! How romantic…

As an adult: You love him? You’re sixteen and you met him yesterday!

The thing is, I know RWBY isn’t going to take that adult perspective. That’s not how most stories go. Ozpin’s secrets will be revealed, he’ll probably be forgiven, and he’ll learn the lesson that it’s Bad to keep things from your friends. The intricacies of the situation and his very justifiable reasons will be brushed aside because he’s not our primary hero. Ruby is and her view of the world is that nearly blind faith in humanity. She doesn’t understand that after thousands of years Ozpin’s fractured faith doesn’t mean he can’t encourage others to be better than he is, she just pouts and says he should trust them specifically because he preaches trust as a general principal. At its core RWBY follows the simplistically moral logic of a fairy tale and though that’s great in many ways, I’m still at times frustrated by how the show introduces adult viewpoints without ever having the narrative justify them. Ozpin tells the group that he has more experience than them and has carefully considered his choices, but we’re encouraged to frown at him like the rest of the cast. Except Ozpin is right! He’s right!! He’s right and he should say it!

But most people don’t seem to agree with me. Oh well. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We end the episode with Jinn’s magic reaching the group before Ozpin can reach Ruby. They’re all seeing the same vision of a castle and a beautiful woman, Jinn’s voice telling them a fairy tale:

“Once upon a time there stood a lonely tower that sheltered a lonely girl named Salem…”

So Salem’s backstory coincides with whatever Ozpin is so terrified of them figuring out about him. Full disclosure: if he starts crying next episode I will also be an emotional wreck. Here’s hoping that whatever the girls see, they’ll start mending their trust in one another once it’s over. I’m not sure I can take a whole Volume of everyone eviscerating Ozpin for trying to protect them, himself, and the rest of Remnant.

What’s he doing? His best. It’s far from perfect, but give the poor immortal a break.

Here’s hoping for one in episode three!

Other Details of Note

Of course it’s raining when Cinder leaves the vault. We need appropriate atmosphere for her dramatic collapse and rejuvenating murder lol

Except can we please have women remove their heels when everything goes sideways? I’m sorry, but if I were that exhausted and injured getting the spikes off my feet would be the very first thing I did.

Love that they essentially gave Maria’s glasses eyelids. Makes it very easy for her to express herself.

Okay so we pretty much know for a fact now that Ozpin and Oscar are starting to share thoughts both ways. I can’t imagine that Ozpin went, “Yeah so I’m still hiding something and you can figure it out by saying ‘Jinn’ to the shiny relic over there, but don't tell anyone else, okay?” Oscar is starting pick up on things as they (presumably) merge.

The relics are entities! And now we know why the the statue in Haven was of a woman bound in chains—she’s Jinn. Look at Ozpin’s dramatic ass designing lairs that reveal secrets no one realizes are there.

“It’s a pleasure to see you again, old man”—evidence that Ozpin either used that first question himself, was there when it was used, or has used the relic at another time in the past.

[andipxndy-writes]

I Don’t Care - Sam & Kat

[[I wrote a new thing! So basically Ed Sheeran’s new album is amazing and I have a fave song on the album, which 100% reminded me of how Sam feels about Kat. Obviously, Sam isn’t mine (they belong to @a-simple-rper), but I love them a lot and these cuties deserve a fic together because Rick and Laura get too much attention.

So yeah, basically I’ve been listening to this song a lot, and even though Sam can’t sing to save their life, I will always love how this song represents how they feel for Kat.

Edited to completion! Enjoy!]]

---

I Don’t Care

Sam hated dressing up.

No, not dressing up as in Halloween costumes. They meant dressing up as in a suit and a tie. Dressing in a “monkey suit”, as Jake called it, was extremely uncomfortable, from the tight pants to the stiff collar and the tie that felt like it was cutting off their circulation. They would never voluntarily wear something like this. Not if they had a choice.

Except for, you know, the annual Martins family dinner party.

It wasn’t a thing they usually went to. In fact, Kat and Laura rarely went to it themselves, preferring to stay away from their uptight and toxic aunts and probably keep that toxicity away from their own kids. Which Sam completely understood – they would never forgive that cousin Lara for regularly calling them a piece of shit in front of other family members (not literally, because she always had a posh way of saying it), and they were honestly so glad that she was now very intimidated by the twins and their total ability to beat her up with no remorse.

Standing to the side of the room, their eyes scanned over the various people milling about the room at the party. It wasn’t hard to spot Rick and Laura in the crowd (he was a whole foot taller than everyone else in the room), the pair of them speaking to a couple of Laura’s male cousins. They remembered Kat mentioning something about them being involved in catering, or something to do with food, and obviously Rick and Laura were an amazing power couple who ran their own bar with food business together, so of course they’d want to have a conversation with them. Probably about business stuff.

Jake and Allie were also in a conversation with some of Kat’s relatives, and it was easy to see that they'd fit right in. With them both being British (poster accent and all), and Allie even knowing how to interact with people of upper social classes (clearly something that Sam lacked), it was easier for them to just integrate and get accepted. Heck, they looked like they fit right in with Jake looking almost like a natural in his suit and Allie looking elegant in her dress.

And Kat, well, she was looking as beautiful as ever, laughing with what looked to be some aunts and uncles. Sam had felt so awkward in that conversation, not really knowing what they were on about, that they’d excused themselves to go to the toilet and just hadn’t returned. And they doubted that anyone noticed they were missing anyway.

They just really didn’t want to be there. They’d rather be at home with the twins, taking care of and playing with them whilst Kat dealt with her family. They didn't really like them, and the sentiment was returned, honestly. If Sam was the punk that knocked up Katherine and possibly hindered her career in research, then they were the stuck up asshats that couldn’t realise when there was genuine love in their relationship.

Standing at the side of the room, sipping on a glass of champagne (how freaking arrogant) as they watched everyone, they seriously considered telling Kat that they were going to head off. As much as they loved her... they felt so out of place in this room that it hurt.

They didn’t notice that she’d left her conversation until they realised their drink had been taken from their hand, and Kat was stood there, knocking it back before placing the empty glass on a nearby table. They stared at her, confused.

“What are you—?”

“You look dead bored,” she responded bluntly, turning to them with a smile on her face. “Plus, this party is a little more on the dull side. My mom’s sisters are all pretty stuck up in a way, but they’re not all too bad, and neither are my uncles. Plus, my cousins aren’t all like Lara.”

“Really?” They were doubtful of that, and Kat could clearly see it on their face. She sighed in response, deciding to just take their hands and squeeze them a little.

“Mom wanted to speak with you,” Kat said softly, changing the topic of conversation. “Apparently she’s been wanting to speak with you all night, but you keep disappearing...”

They gave a guilty smile at that. “Really? Thought I’d stick out like a sore thumb...”

“Oh come on, Sammy, don’t be like that...”

He pursed his lips and looked away. “Where’s she sat?” they asked, avoiding the look on Kat's face. They did not need her “don’t pity yourself” looks right then. Maybe a talk with mom would do them some good.

“At that table, over there.” Kat pointed over to a table where Sam could clearly see her mom sat. With her husband. Having a conversation.

They suddenly didn’t feel like going over. Not with Kat’s dad there too.

“Should I wait a little longer...?”

“Nah, she’s fine. Just go.” At the look they gave her, she sighed. “Dad won’t bite your head off. Go and sit next to mom and speak with her.”

Sam still looked very reluctant to do so, but walked over there anyway, appearing very nervous as they sat down next to Jane. “Hey, mom...”

Jane paused her conversation and turned from where she was talking with her husband to smile brightly at Sam. “Oh, Sam! Wonderful! When did you get there?”

Before they could answer, Phil stood, not sending Sam a single glance as he straightened his suit and brushed it down. “I’m off to get another drink and mingle,” he said stiffly, before walking off.

Jane pursed her lips as she watched her husband, sighing through her nose.

“He really doesn’t like me, huh?” Sam asked, the smile on their face a little on the sad side. It didn’t matter that they and Kat were now thinking of getting married and being completely committed to each other, or that they were the father to his grandchildren, or even that they were trying hard to juggle being a dad with longer bar shifts so that they could put more into the college fund. Phil Banks just didn’t like Sam a single bit.

Jane glanced at Sam, ready to defend her husband and say that he really did like Sam, but seeing the look on their face made her hold her tongue. And her lack of an answer just made them look down at the table, deflated, before they began to push themselves away from the table.

“I think I might just tell Kat I’m picking up the kids and heading home...”

“Before we’ve had our conversation?”

Sam paused in their movements to look over at Jane, seeing something like a teasing look in her eyes. A teasing look that meant she’d caught them out and they were going to do as she told them to. That same teasing look they’d received from Kat many a time, and they'd spotted Rick being on the receiving end himself a few times from Laura right before he quit slacking and took his turn in caring for the kids.

So, sighing, they sat back down, turning to face Jane, leaning on the table. Looking mildly miffed, they waited for her to speak.

“So, how’s work been recently?”

They pursed their lips at that. Small talk? “It's been good. I’ve been behind the bar a bit more, what with the triplets getting older. Rick has more daddy duties.”

Jane gave a chuckle at that. “Oh, that I don’t doubt. Laura wouldn’t let him slack a single bit. Always making sure people do their share of the work.” Her smile widened as she moved on to her next topic, looking a bit more excited. “And my first grandbabies? How are little Annabelle and Tyler?”

“Growing fast.” Sam finally cracked a smile, thinking of their babies – well, they were more like pre-schoolers now, but they would always be their babies. “Anna is reading anything and everything now – we actually found her trying to read a draft of one of Kat’s papers in her study the other day. And Tyler is growing so tall so quickly.” They let out a chuckle. “He can’t still for a second.”

Jane laughed at that. “That definitely reminds me of George.” Ah yes, the family fireman. The first to study a non-academic subject. Though it paved the way for the younger cousins, definitely.

Sam glanced over at the older brother of the twins, who appeared to be having a very animated conversation with some cousins and making them laugh. Yeah... that was very Tyler. They could see that.

Before they could say anything else, though, Jane spoke again, her smile softening.

“It’s okay to not fit in here, Sam.”

They turned to her suddenly, a frown on their face. “...What?”

“It’s okay to not fit in. Everyone talks about everyone, and you don’t really get much privacy with three nosy sisters and their well-off husbands.”

“Is that meant to be comforting?” they asked sarcastically, not looking amused at all. “That just means everyone knows about me.” And how terrible I am for Kat.

“And they’re comparing Kat to me.” She leaned closer to Sam, lowering her voice. “Right down to the choice in partner.”

Sam paused, blinking. Well, they hadn’t expected that one. “...Huh?”

Jane gave an almost conspiratory smirk at that. “Oh yes. Phil was exactly like you when we got married – not really focused on education, but passionate about his own things that my family didn’t get. Elizabeth was the worst at the time, always gossiping and bad mouthing about him, but then he went into business and he just shot up in his career, and they couldn’t say or do anything. Not when I had a husband who built his own success, and three absolutely beautiful children.” She placed a hand on their arm. “Stop caring and take your own path. Kat is so happy with you. My sisters don’t care about that, but my goodness is she happy. And I’ve got five incredible grandchildren, as well as two more children – more than any of my sisters have.” She then lowered her voice to a whisper. “You’re my favourite, though. Don’t tell Rick I said that.”

Sam grinned at that, finally feeling a bit more relaxed. Like Kat, Jane always had a way of making them feel at home around her, even if it felt more like her simply being a mom to them too. Even with her heightened intellect, she had a way of being down to earth and bubbly.

Just like their Kat.

Just as they were opening their mouth to thank Jane – God, was she a great mom or what? – they felt another hand on their arm, this one pulling them out of their seat. They looked up at see Kat grinning down at them, her eyes bright and excited.

“Come dance!”

“Dance?” Their eyes widened. “Here?”

“It’ll be fun!”

“But—” Glancing over at a smiling Jane, her words came to mind again.

It’s okay to not fit in. Stop caring and take your own path.

Groaning – more to play up the whole reluctance act than anything – they let her pull them up and away from Jane. Shooting the woman a glance as they were pulled away, they smiled widely as she waved at them.

Stopping in the middle of the room, surrounded by numerous cousins, aunts and uncles who were just watching them with interest, Kat turned to them and placed her hands on their shoulders, leaving them to place their hands on her hips as they swayed slowly to the music.

“So, what did mom want to talk to you about?” Kat asked curiously as they moved. Sam’s eyes drifted upwards in faux thought.

“Mmm... not telling.”

“What? Oh, come on...”

They grinned down at her. “Nope. Not tellin'.”

“Sammy...”

They chuckled, leaning down to kiss her softly. “Hey, how about we spice up this party a little?” they murmured to her, a cheeky glint in their eyes. Which made Kat narrow her own.

“How...?” she asked hesitantly.

“Well, the music for one could put even Tyler to sleep. So let’s fix that. Then we could break out the good stuff at the back of the bar.”

“Oh my God, Sam, this isn’t a bar party.”

“You’re right. A bar party would be better.”

“You know, people are gonna stare...”

Sam just grinned widely at her, before spinning her and dipping her with a flourish, making her laugh. They leaned down close to her, brushing their lips against hers.

“I don’t care.”

[you-guys--are-losers]

Lost Enough

Summary: Junior year has just begun, and MJ is more excited to get back to school than she would care to admit. She may act like she hates school, and she does regularly protest the corruption of the American education system, but going to school gets her out of the house and gives her something to focus on... And occasionally, someone, though she would not admit it if someone held a gun to her head. Slowly but surely, MJ finds herself drifting closer to Ned Leeds and Peter Parker outside of decathlon, even though they’re total losers and she definitely isn’t at all flattered when they start inviting her to things. MJ is hoping that maybe this friendship will finally strangle the lingering obsession thing she’s had for Peter for a while, but it only seems to intensify as the pair forms a fairly unlikely and dysfunctional friendship. However, MJ’s whole world is turned upside down when she manages to catch Spider-Man off guard-- and maybe blackmails him a little. With the promise of an exclusive interview after Spider-Man manages to expose the cause of a series of child abductions, MJ finds herself more involved in the superhero-ing than either of them expected. But they can’t continue this treacherous game forever without someone getting hurt, especially with MJ’s suspicions about Spider-Man’s identity becoming stronger and stronger.

Word Count: 2,281

Warnings: Swearing, MJ being a Problematic Fave™

So, blackmailing the Spider-Man is a lot easier than it should be.

MJ stares up at the figure above her as he quickly peers from side to side, trying to see if there is any way out of his situation. She can hear him muttering under his breath. MJ focuses on listening, grateful for the particular knack for eavesdropping she possesses as an aspiring journalist. If it were not for her keener than average ears, she would not be able to make out, "Karen, initiate... Voice distortion... Software."

"Something you'd like to share with the class?"

The Spider-Man stiffens at the sound of her voice, and his head turns sharply to look at her.

"Okay, okay, so here's what we're gonna do," the hero begins. His voice is deep, much deeper than it was a moment ago. Granted, MJ could not have recognized much from a single expletive, but the change is drastic enough to be noticeable.

"What's with the Morgan Freeman thing you've got going on now?" MJ questions, arching an unimpressed eyebrow.

"Well. it's- wait, I don't sound like Morgan Freeman."

"I hate to break it to you, but you definitely sound like Morgan Freeman."

"The software wasn't designed to sound like Morgan Freeman!"

"Hmm, well, maybe I've got it wrong. You'll have to keep talking, maybe recite, I dunno, your age, address, secret identity-"

"Nice try."

"-the lines of every role played by Morgan Freeman-"

"Please, say Morgan Freeman one more time."

"Anything for you, Spider-Boy," MJ retorts. Anyone who does not know MJ would think she is just being standoffish. However, though she does not smile, there is a hint of a smirk on her lips and a glimmer of excitement in her dark irises.

Her reply seems to catch the Spider-Man off-guard. He blinks several times with those large, animated white eyes, and MJ's amusement only grows. She does not mind the moment to examine the hero further, taking in the suit and the way that the eyes seem to be mirroring whatever facial expressions are underneath. Yeah, the powers are one thing, but the suit is another... It means that Spider-Man somehow has access to extremely advanced tech, or he knows someone who does.

"You still with me?" she presses him.

"Huh? Oh, yeah," stammers the hero. She has to admit that the deepness of the voice combined with the hero's sentence structure is a bit strange. MJ decides he must be young, simply based on the way he talks. Another odd thing she notices is that he is always moving-- tapping the wall that he clings to with a finger, at the moment, until he stops in favor of slowly hopping down to stand in front of her. "Alright, so... You can have your interview, okay? I promise. But now is definitely not the time."

"See, that sounds great, except for the fact that once you leave I have no way of contacting you and you have every means of avoiding me," MJ replies, and there is no joking around now. All banter aside, MJ is a hound dog, and she is closing in on exactly what she wants. She needs a story, and if she is going to get that, she needs him.

The Spider-Man is making a strange expression, MJ can even tell through the mask. She is sure that if she took it off, she would see a grimace.

"Right..." he says slowly. "But that isn't going to be an issue, because... Um..." His mind is clearly whirring as he glances around the empty alleyway, almost as if he is turning to the dumpster beside them for ideas. "Oh, right!"

Before MJ has a chance to protest, her phone is being yanked from her grip by a thin stream of web. A startled, indignant exclamation leaves her lips, but the Spider-Man does not leave with her phone. Instead, he is typing in it-- punching in a number.

"There," he says, satisfied as he passed the phone back to MJ. She immediately snatches it back and checks to make sure he has not deleted the recording. If he has, she will have to ask one of the Midtown tech geeks to get the files back for her, and it will be quite a hassle to do that and still keep her independent reputation. "The number I put in your phone links to a burner I have. I'll text it within the next few days with a meeting place, alright? I promise. But seriously. This place isn't safe right now, and it's already almost nighttime."

MJ glances up at the sky, and her eyes widen in surprise. The masked hero is right. It isn't sunset, exactly, but it is the time of day where the sun's light comes down golden from a tilted angle, and shadows are beginning to lengthen. "Shit," she mumbles, brushing aside a lock of hair that is falling in her eyes. "I am gonna be so late for work."

"Work?" the hero says in surprise, and MJ quickly shoots him a glare.

"Yeah, I work. We don't all have time to be running around Queens in glorified red morph suits, some of us-"

"Glorified red morph suits?"

"-actually have to pay rent."

"Well, yeah, but... I mean, you're a kid."

"And yet I'm still taller than you," MJ hummed sweetly, shooting him a faux smile of serenity. "If I don't get a text on the burner in the next three days, I will post the footage online and have it edited into saying some stuff that you don't want the world hearing. I know people."

MJ is surprisingly good at editing video, to say the least. She has a reputation for it around Midtown after a particular video was posted of Principal Morita confessing his undying love for Flash Thompson. The original footage had come from a school news broadcast, but MJ had gotten creative. She will never actually doctor this footage, of course. Editing the footage and publishing it would be circulating false information, and MJ is of the strong opinion that a well-informed electorate is the key to a democracy. However, she is banking on the fact that Spider-Man does not know this.

And she is late, so she is a bit more sadistic than usual. "See ya later, Spider-Child."

"Spider-Man... W-wait, stop!" he exclaims.

MJ had been moving to leave, but she turns around to face him now. "What?"

"Look, this is big. Bigger than it looks, I think. And if you're going to get this story, I'll need your help, okay? I think it's a story that is going to need to be told. But this time, I'm going in alone. No other Avengers. And there are people that I could go to, but I need someone discreet, for help with analytics, all that. And I need to know that you'll back out, for your own safety, if I tell you to."

"And you're going to trust someone whose name you don't even know like that?" MJ hums, surprised. "Trusting a stranger could get you majorly screwed over someday."

"But you're not-" he stammers. MJ felt her own eyes widen, and he seems to realize his mistake.

"Not what?" she says slowly.

"You're not... Like... That," he finishes lamely.

"And you should be thankful for that." And then, before the Spider-Man can say anything else, MJ has turned to begin walking away. "Michelle. It's Michelle, Jones."

She leaves the Spider-Man struggling for a comeback in the alleyway.

The next day at school, MJ pays much less attention than she usually does, and that is saying something.

MJ is better at learning independently, so she usually spends class-time reading the material through herself and then waiting for the class to catch up while she sketches or reads her book. Today, however, MJ is clearly spacing out in Chemistry, not even bothering to look over her classwork. Instead, she is taking messy notes in what appears to be a legal pad. No one notices, and she trusts that no one will. They don't, until lunch.

MJ sits in her usual spot without anything but a bag of almonds in front of her. It is being largely ignored in favor of the notepad, but after a few moments, MJ feels a faint tickle in the back of her mind that tells her something is off, just a little bit, as though the scales of normalcy are slightly askew. It only takes her a few seconds to realize exactly what it is. Every day, MJ sits here while Parker and Leeds jabber about something nerdy and she tunes it out. Today, there isn't anything to tune out, so MJ looks up and finds that her eyes meet immediately with those of Leeds and Parker, both of whom are staring at her like she is currently growing another head.

"Can I help you?" MJ draws out, giving both a glance that is somewhere between annoyed and expectant as she arches an eyebrow.

"Well, um, it's just-" Leeds stammers, his eyes wide and fearful. He glances over at Parker, who looks equally flustered. MJ's heart skips a beat as she catches a glimpse of the boy with the messy brown curls and the wide, startled eyes.

Is that an arrhythmia? She's going to have to get that checked out.

"N-Normally, right, we sit here," Parker starts, gesturing to their table.

"Riveting," MJ deadpans, but before she can turn back to her book, he is talking again.

"No, no, so we're talking, right, and then you always, you know..." He is fumbling for words, and MJ can practically see the gears turning in that brain of his, the one that she can't understand because it somehow is only capable of seeing good.

"Interrupt," Ned finishes. His eyes shoot open wide when MJ shoots him a glare, and then he is stammering again. "N-no, wait, it isn't exactly interrupting, I mean... You normally just sarcasm at us from over there."

"I sarcasm at you," MJ repeats, her other eyebrow shooting up to join its partner the search for her hairline.

"From... over... there..." Ned mumbles. He looks genuinely afraid for his life.

"Not that we mind," Parker interjects, and when MJ looks at him she is extremely grateful for the fact that she doesn't blush. If any other girl were looked at that way, with the dark, round puppy eyes, they would probably just be a puddle on the floor. How the hell was Liz immune to this kid?

She wasn't MJ reminded herself as a pang shot through her chest.

"Yeah, of course not," Ned fumbles. "I mean, your rants about feminism, and the Sokovia accords, and... everything..." Peter shoots him a look that says danger, and Ned quickly pushes forward. "I mean, they're the reason I'm passing history."

"And you know more trivia about Fantasy movies than either of us combined, so it's not like we mind. But you aren't doing it today," of Parker finished.

"It's not like I care what happens in Hollywood," she mutters, looking back down at her notepad. "Celebrities are images of perfection used to entice taxpayers to give their hard-earned money over to the entertainment industry."

"Right..." Peter says slowly.

MJ stares at the both of them for a minute, and then she decides to do something incredibly stupid.

"Tom Felton's pockets had to be sewn shut to keep him from sneaking food on-set during The Prisoner of Azkaban."

"No way, really?" Ned chortles as he moves down to MJ's side of the table, bringing his homemade lunch with him. Peter scoots down to, leaning over on his elbow as he pops a slightly-charred cookie in his mouth. "Malfoy's my new favorite."

"So I've heard that Rowling personally gave Evanna Lynch her role as Luna Lovegood, is that true?" Parker asks earnestly. Part of her knows that he is only trying to keep her talking.

The other part of her doesn't care.

The question about the actress immediately plunges them into an in-depth discussion about how the cast of Harry Potter are essentially the same people as their characters, punctuated with MJ's sarcastic quips and slightly unsure pauses when MJ plunges to an end of the current conversation, only for Peter to pick up a new one. and then lunch somehow ends way sooner than it normally does. By the time it is over, MJ has somehow accepted an invitation over to Peter's house to marathon the movies the following night, which is a Friday.

MJ walks out of the lunchroom feeling a strange warmth in her chest. For anyone else, it might be described as a spring in their step or a glimmer in their eye. For MJ, it does not manifest in any outward manner. MJ would much prefer to keep her feelings pent up inside where they will never see the light of day. But something about this makes her feel buoyant, special. It feels almost sacred because MJ clicks so well with the pair of friends that have just been the two of them forever.

When MJ plops down at her seat in Pre-Calculus, she pulls out the notepad to return to the untidy scrawl of notes from her conversation from the previous night. It then that her phone buzzes in her pocket, and MJ pauses. She only leaves notifications on for news alerts and text messages, and most of the time her mother is too hungover to text. So that doesn't leave anyone else, except...

MJ pulls out her phone and presses the button.

SPIDER-MAN: (1) UNREAD TEXT

meet me at steinway st and 28th tmrw. 10 pm. come alone.

[thenightling]

Honestly, after reading everything you've written, I just want to know how being this angry and combative with people isn't exhausting for you. Your replies are so riddled with ad hominem that it's difficult to take your arguments seriously. Any valid points you might have had are just being swallowed in this abyss of sour grossness you just keep piling on top of yourself.

You’re so sweet. Thank you for your kind and objective words.  It’s always good to know that people can be thoughtful and kind on this site. (That was sarcasm).

 You see, messages such as yours are where anger usually stems from.   It doesn’t breed compassion, or gentle tones or “Non-Grossness.”  it perpetuates a cycle.  It’s like hitting someone while shouting that you’re against violence. It’s hard to be patient or kind if you don’t receive it.  It’s hard to be gentle or tactful when half the posts you see are pro-torture and murder if it happens to be “the right people” being tortured or murdered and if you try to simply say “This is wrong” you get told you’re a bigot.  i.e. daring to say doxxing someone is wrong no matter what they supposedly did with only an easily doctred text chat photo as evidence.  Or reading chants of “Good for her!” and “Karma is a bitch” about a Trans woman who abandoned her kids long before she became trans but that’s now her excuse for mistreating them. “They don’t accept I’m Trans!”   Or how about “Free him!” when a fake story circulates about a Punisher style vigilante killing people he believes are sexual predators without real evidence.   Oh, or how about getting anonymous hate calling you Transphobic for not liking a Mary-Sue serial killer with no personality from The Dreaming comics?   Or being accused of confusing Neil Gaiman with Morpheus and “Needing psychiatric help” because in my newbie-Sandman-fan status I’m still amused by the physical similarities between Neil Gaiman and his character?

Or getting anonymous messages asking if I ignore Morpheus’ “problematic behavior” because he’s my ”fave” and later being accused of “attacking” the “only nonbinary character” and “blaming Desire” for bad things that happen to my “fave”?  I don’t hate Desire.  I just know Desire’s an asshole.  And I only blame Desire for the things Desire GLOATED about doing. The character commits rape for God’s sake!   Desire is sort of likable in Sandman: Overture but the final scene of the character has Desire plotting tricking Morpheus into spilling family blood so he’ll be killed by The Kindly Ones.   Again, I only blame Desire for the things Desire gloats about doing.  

Somehow I don’t think that person was an actual Sandman fan…

I was called racist because I prefer Valkyrie’s personality from the comics and was not comfortable with her being a slave trader in Thor: Ragnarok.   And told I only don’t like her because she’s a “Gay woman of color”. Nevermind that I’m a fan of Mazikeen in Lucifer.      

Tumblr, as a whole, seems to believe there has to be a righteous rage for every fandom.

You don’t breed kindness with pitchforks and torches and then wonder why the monster turns on you.  

My first week on Tumblr was as a fan of Once Upon a Time, some three years ago.   I got very upset at the questionable writing of season four, particularly with the obviously unnecessary for the characters (but necessary for the writers) banishment scene. I was angry at how Belle (my favorite Disney princess) was being written.  I got blocked by half the Rumbelle fandom before I knew the term “Rumbelle” or that I was one of them.   All because of some hyperbole words I said in regard to poor writing for the character in season four.  I was accused of being Transphobic on here for refusing to reblog a comic that said all cis people are born Transphobic- literally born transphobic.   I tried to point out all the cis children of trans parents, or accepting Cis siblings and parents. Children aren’t born instinctually hating anyone.  No one is.   No one is born afraid of people just because they are different but simply saying that on this site is grounds to be viewed as a bigot.

I’ve been blocked for saying portraying bigotry is necessary to the Shape of Water’s plot and not agreeing that since it’s fantasy it should remove “problematic” behavior of the 1960s.  I’ve been called Ableist (When I’m legally blind) for defending Rumplestiltskin in once Upon a Time. “Because to say he has a disability is offensive since he did it to himself!”

I’ve been called “Misogynist” (and yes, I’m female) just for not liking the 2016 Ghostbusters (though I had no qualms about Kylie leading the team in Extreme Ghostbusters!).  And again (with the Dreaming comics) thinking a character going back under a Glamour (an illusion spell to hide your true self) is a horrible message- yeah, simply thinking hiding your true self is wrong and not empowering- that got called misogynist too, because I’m not “respecting” the character’s “agency” since she chose it.        Hell, I’ve been called Misogynist for defending The Frankenstein Monster (who was being called an MRA here) for wanting a mate and pointing out that a female creature (assuming she’s straight) would have probably asked for a male mate!

I’ve had to shut Anonymous questions off twice.  

I have battle scars from this website.   It’s very hard to maintain civility or trust, or even want to hold a conversation when Tumblr behaves this way as a whole.

I know we should be the change we want to see but it’s hard and I’m not patient.     

[hairromance]

Seasonal product switches ⬇️⠀ ⠀ Some products you can use all year round but as the weather changes, your routines need an edit too.⠀ ⠀ I started body brushing a couple of months ago and it’s seriously my fave new habit. I don’t buy into the “detox” benefits but the circulation boost makes cold winter mornings so much easier to deal with. It’s also a great exfoliant of course. ⠀ ⠀ Other things to help with the winter chills:⠀ ⠀ • A really rich hair mask like @sheamoisture.australia Jamaican Black Castor Oil masque to soothe dry hair⠀ ⠀ • Extra gentle skincare - I’ve been loving the @sukinskincare hydrating mask and rosehip oil as my skin has been so dry this winter⠀ ⠀ • The second I think I’m getting a cold I reach for @bioceuticals Armaforce - the best! Though remember to check with your doctor before starting any supplements. There’s also an Armaforce throat spray which I love. ⠀ ⠀ • Wash your hands! Something we should all be doing but even more so now. I keep hand sanitiser in my bag.⠀ ⠀ • And just because it’s winter, don’t switch out sunscreen! I use @sunsenseaus on the daily, even when I’m just by the window at home. ⠀ ⠀ All of these prods are from @pricelineau and I head there for all my winter health fixes.⠀ ⠀ (Products part purchased via gift card) #pricelinesisters #shelfie #winterbeauty https://instagr.am/p/CCAjPNzhBrg/

[joseyfeli1-blog]

Camren is endgame Pt.2

The Healing Yep super original to use CC1 to title this right? Anyway I write this to show one of the infinite universes where camren is true and the fact that there are still many parallels and I am trying to show them off but really those aren't important. Now I hope the VMAs are close to this, as in I hope camren will be free soon. Cause my heart is in Fucking pain cause of them. But I digress and do side quests :P Anywho I hope anyone and everyone could enjoy at least some if this ~~ -Camz? Tell me this isn't true, there are so many questions, why do you want me to suffer?- Luaren's voice cracks as she tears up and crunches a letter. Camila that had been packing to go to Miami to meet up with Joseph before the performance. -Laur, it isn't, oh gosh I can't do that, listen it isn't about our relationship, okay?- Craddling Lauren while they are both on their knees in the hotel room of their last time being together for the night. In the public knowing degree, cause whenever they have open days they are racing to reach each other in open arms.-Listen this is was a long time coming. You know I'm not happy, not as much as when we were kids. When we could be very free and very much in love. Even when we couldn't. Hell I never was mad about you not wanting to hold my hand. Show me your unrelenting love. Just saw you love me outside the walls we made to keep us together away from the real world. But I can't do that anymore, from everything that's been going on, I need to leave. Too much has been toxic to the both of us.- Tears marking her fave as Lauren keeps crying into her neck. -I know its horrible to say this to your other heart, but we need space. We need to be far apart so when everything is far away, camren, our music careers, our support from our fans, our contracts, everything that refills the cup of poison we are supposed to drink for our breakfast. I can't be apart that anymore. I need to be the kid again, I need to grow up. Away from all this shit.- Lauren has yet to stop any crying, if anything she is crying more and more.-But just know, that through everything and the worst if the worst that will be created out of this, it is all for you, For you Lauren.- Camila bites her lip as she can see Lauren moving her head up to see she has cried a lot, but they are okay. Complicated as all hell, but okay. -So through all the news and management shit, it's all for me?- Lauren looks up with such adorable puppy eyes that would melt anyone's heart but with the added puffy eyes and wet marks searching for her chin. -Wow all if that and you heard it was for you? And they think you top?- Both of them holding, embracing each other shared a small yet genuine laugh. -Yep, that is what is gonna get me through it, and you know I'm greedy. That's why Lucy left me in the fucking dust. She thought that I was not giving back enough in the relationship.- Lauren brought up her ex to get a reaction out of Camila. -You mention that bitch again, especially where she was calling you out on 'your shit' I swear to ally!- Lauren loved poking the bear. She hugged Camz harder and with a big dumb smile. -Aww you care about me!- -I will never stop.- ~~ -Wait what! This has been in the works since fucking 2014!?- Camila asked with suspicion.-Well no, maybe, no probably not, but as you can see they have been all working together, before so maybe they were hoping that someone that would bring a huge new crowd, a crowd that wouldn't question the companies, people that would be confused, anyone with enough money to be stupid and fun. They wanted Fifth Harmony. They needed you guys, if not there wouldn't be given as much money as they are. You see all these rappers had a fellowship but not of any comparing size. Once they get in touch with someone, in this example its fifth harmony, that have more people, they know that people with a lot of time on their plate will support the collaborates because they believe all the five girls do.- It was late night, They had been talking about why everything was going on and why everything was happening the way it was. There must be an Answer! It was a tinfoil hat kinda night. -They knew this would happen, that there would be a split, they wanted it to happen. More money to circulate. Fresh, new, young money. Cash money Baby!- Joe couldn't resist. Even at a moment of complete seriousness he would still find a joke to make. Camila simply rolled her eyes with a smile. -What assholes...- Camila mumbled.-Right! Well know that we know we maybe a step ahead of them, or just one step closer to them than they thought. Eaither way, its progress Camz!- they finally found something yo bring up to the stage and something they were both sure that no one else could have noticed.-No wonder Laur and Ty were 'vibing' off each other.-Camz said with distaste in her mouth. Quoting a magazine that interveiwed fifth harmony after their VMA performance. Declarungbthat 'Tyren' is officailly dead before it was real.-Yeah and that makes sense he won, you kidding me, thousands of young minds thinking she's happy with him, cause of some posed and made up photos! Hell she hated him from his soul to the skin. He made her skin crawl every moment of every day.- Showers would not be enough for a stain like him. The moment he called her a bitch and claimed her, was when Lauren needed to be with Camila the most. It was a hard day. Much of her fans stopped being okay with the idea that they are together, even though she is probably required to do so. All she needed was her Camz, so for that whole day they never tried to look at it, they ignored the whole world for a day. It was pleasant and taught them that they do need each other very much. -Yeah she needed me more than she ever could that year. She's string and independent but when it comes to me, I need her just as much as she needs me. We deserve each other.- -Well that's sweet and all and it brings me tears, but really you had grab her?- -Gotta show whom owns her.- Camila said with a wink and a laugh. Joe then proceeded with a smile and looking for a way to use this information to their bidding. -Well,- Joe started,-They will deffenately believe in camren now, so they womy believe us, they'll think its to uphold your straight image. Even though I'm sure you have made no real effort to keep that up.- He said with a suggestive eyebrow raise.-But we can make it louder. We can be together more, be together in interveiws, everything! All the stops, and once the album drops,- -They will still know its about Lauren.- Camila interrupted.-Because it is, its always been for her.- Joe gives the girl a solemn star from across the hotel room. He can see that it is already becoming morning.-Hey lets sleep on it alright? We might not be tired but we need our brains to be paying much more attention on this issue. Use our dreams to help us. Abuse the dreamscape!- Joe said as he jumped to the bed.-Ahh. Well come on. You get cuddles,- -No, I don't deserve cuddles,- Camila said sadly and lowly. -Everyone fucking deserves cuddles.- Joe stated sternly.-Come on! What you the only one to be wanting the human touch? Get over here, I'm cold!- -Alright fine.- she laid almost cradling the man laying with her.-Isn't it weird that I'm the big spoon here?- -As weird as it is true that you are top. So not weird at all. Hell I love strong independent women. Why do you think I'm trying to help? My own personal gain?- Camz thought for a second. -Well no you were never like that.- -Exactly I just care top much about all of you. Want you to be happy. With what ends up being, or whom you end up with. You all deserve the best.- And with that they lay there not talking only drifting slowly to sleep. ---- -Huh!- Camila was awoken with a brilliant idea.-Joe! Joe wake up! I have it! I know what to do!- Camila was too ecstatic for sleepy people she needed to tell this plan to someone whom is all there awake and all. -I'm up I'm up!-Joe takes a deep breath as he is nearly blinded be the bright light coming into the room. Closing the blinds before bed would have been a great idea. Joe gets up to close the blinds with a grunt. But fortunately, for Camz, he is awake. -What, is the, grand plan now?- He said wiping at his tired eyes. Walking towards the bathroom to stick to a  schedule to help him wake up. Camila digresses as he wakes himself up. -Okay so this will end being all about camren in the end right?- -But of course,- -Right soo, instead of starring away! We hit it with all we got and give the shippers all they can take.- Joseph was so taken back. He never thought to bring more into the fight. Just use the ammo that they were given. The perfect plan to ante up and use every nine-yards of ammunition they can bring back up. -So what though? We bring back dead news of camren? Or we reuse? Or we use your album and the interviews and performances you'll be apart of soon?- Camila states into the perplexed man with all seriousness and so much giddy. -Everything.- It was so simple. So clean. Such an idea would not be on the minds of fat cats as they believe coming out will only be a bad idea. But It isn't. Its more better than living with so many people watch as you are still closeted. Of course there would be repercussions, hell thousands, for Camz, for Joe, and for Lauren for sure, not many people are her fans any more. Well not the people she would like to consider supporting her.

[batsort93-blog]

Kate Hudson’s workout routine is all the inspo you need this year

© Trae Patton/NBC - Getty Images Kate Hudson, actress, mom of three, co-founder of the activewear brand Fabletics, and current Weight Watchers ambassador, is total #fitnessgoals. Kate Hudson’s trainer breaks down her go-to Pilates moves. Learn more about the rest of Kate Hudson's workout and fitness routine, too. Kate Hudson, actress, mom of three, co-founder of the activewear brand Fabletics, and current Weight Watchers ambassador, is total #fitnessgoals. (Like, seriously, have you seen her abs pics?) Luckily for her fans, Kate is super-open about her fitness routine and healthy habits.

And she’s never been afraid to share her successes and struggles. Just recently, the 39-year-old posted a long message on her IG about balancing being a mom to her new daughter, Rani Rose, working, and keeping up all her fab fitspo.

“The routine with our baby is getting more familiar and I’m ready to start taking a little time in the day focusing on myself. For me that means my health. Why? Because I wanna be around a long time for these three kiddos of mine,” she captioned her sports bra selfie. Amen to that!

Kate also opened up recently about her goal to lose 25 pounds with Weight Watchers in the new year.

So what exactly does Kate do on the reg to get (and stay) so fit?

1. She has a love affair with Pilates.

She hasn't mentioned it as much post-pregnancy (her daughter was just born October 2), but Kate's IG mentions lots and lots of Pilates. She’s shared exercises on the reformer multiple times, declaring the core-centric workout as her number-one. (Scroll down for a list of Kate's fave Pilates moves, courtesy of her trainer.)

“Pilates makes my day better and that’s just the straight truth! Every time I finish a class I feel two inches taller, lighter, and more grounded,” she captioned one video.

2. Kate turns to her trainer.

Kate gives Instagram shout outs to her trainer, Nicole Stuart, all. the. time. She’s revealed lots of tips from the fitness pro, including a five-minute workout and a bunch of Pilates exercises.

3. She's a dancing queen.

Girl's got moves and she’s not afraid to show ‘em. You’ll find Kate casually dancing around her apartment or at parties. "I think cardio is really important, not necessarily running a long distance, but doing something that will get your heart rate up which is why we love dance," her trainer Stuart says.

Kate has also teamed up with dance trainer and founder of the NW Method, Nicole Winhoffer, according to her posts. Just check out those body rolls and booty shakes and you realize her top-notch rhythm and stamina.

“She's one of my favorites because her spirit is so free and she's so fun," Winhoffer told Popsugar about Kate.

4. Kate's a fan of cycling.

In addition to striking a Pilates pose, Kate has also been caught spinning-particularly on her at-home Peloton bike.“I spin sometimes but, for me, Peloton is the best no-excuse workout-especially if I only have 20 minutes to spare," she told Women's Health UK. "And I love riding my bike-to me, that’s not a workout.

On Thanksgiving, she posted about cycling on her Instagram story, and said she's super grateful for the cardio workout, per People.

5. Sometimes she cranks out circuit workouts.

Besides busting a move and biking as a source of cardio, “sometimes I do circuit training," Kate told Women's Health UK.

"There’s a place in LA called Circuit Works, which my brother goes to a lot and that’s hard core, like Barry’s Bootcamp. There’ll be fast sprints, heavy weights, and multiple push ups or pull ups. I like doing that stuff too. When you know you feel good when you sweat, you always want to go back to it.”

6. She takes her workouts outside.

It's no mystery that Kate is a big fan of the great outdoors (just check out her totally swoon-worthy photos on Instagram for proof).

And she brings that into her fitness routine, too. “There are times when I’m so busy with work that I don’t have time for a proper exercise session. But I’ll go for a hike instead," Kate told Women's Health UK.

In fact, her very first date with boyfriend Danny Fujikawa took place on the trail. “A year ago today Danny took me on a hike and what I thought was just a hike with a family friend turned very quickly into an unexpected first date,” Kate wrote in an Instagram caption. Awww!

7. Kate keeps fitness fun.

Rather than view fitness as a chore, Kate has said time and time again that she genuinely loves breaking a sweat. And she finds all kinds of fun ways to stay active.

Just take this hilarious routine Kate and Stuart created together using an extra creative exercise tool: wine bottles. Now that's a workout I can really get behind.

Kate also loves testing new workouts: "You name it-we always try new things," Stuart says of her longtime client.

Recently, Kate mentioned on Instagram stories that she's trying out the Mirror, an in-home device that streams workouts, per People. “Never done it. Don’t know anything about it. About to try it,” she said. Because there’s no better way to keep seeing results than switching up your routine.

Cheers (with wine bottle weights!) to the hard work, Kate.

The Roll Down On The Cadillac

"You can use this as an opening exercise," Stuart says. "This is really good for people with a stiff spine, but also if you're just stiff in general."

Try it at home: "Lie flat on your back and roll up the same way: slowly one vertebra at a time, stretching forward and working from your stomach, not using your arms to throw your body up, then rolling back down the same way, slowly with control."

The Advanced Frog

The Advanced Frog, Stuart shares, "entirely works your stomach, trunk, and glutes."

Try it at home: "I wouldn't try this at home unless you're super advanced," Stuart warns, "But if you are, you can replicate this by going into the same position and do exactly what Kate's doing [in the Instagram above] with your hands placed behind the small of your back to offer you support."

Hanging Pullups

"Right before this [video] Kate did pullups, which work your arms and back and then the reward is hanging," Stuart says. "She's hanging here at the end of the session."

How to at home: "You can do a backbend over a big ball at home after doing [traditional] pushups on the floor."

Decompress

This video depicts Kate effortlessly hanging off the front of a Gratz machine (a Pilates apparatus). "It's good for decompression in the spine and hips and circulation and blood flow."

How to at home: "You can recreate this same move on a big round ball."

Source: http://www.msn.com/en-us/health/fitness/kate-hudson’s-workout-routine-is-all-the-inspo-you-need-this-year/ar-BBROFlN?srcref=rss

[beauticate]

Monika Radulovic, Model

Happy 2019 to you, our lovely Beauticate readers! To kick off our WHO profiles this year, we’re so pleased to bring you former Miss Universe, Monika Radulovic. Armed with a degree in psychology, a complete obsession with health and wellness and, it must be said, the kind of killerwatt smile and enviable body you might expect from a girl used to wearing tiaras for a living, Monika has parlayed her pageant days into working with brands she loves (including HIVITA Health Care and IWC Watches). We caught up with her to find out her favourite makeup tips, skincare essentials, designer weaknesses – yep, she even admits Louboutins are as painful as they are gorgeous - and every little detail on how she gets that real life glow from the inside out.

“Growing up, I always had good skin (I think thanks to my mum’s genes), so I never really had to worry about acne or other skin conditions.

Because of that, I didn’t pay attention to skincare products - I actually remember a makeup artist lecturing me about the importance of using a moisturiser when I was 19 and not really using much of anything. In my early 20s I delved into the science behind beauty products and their potential for having long-term benefits on the skin. Since then, taking care of my skin has been extremely important to me, and I’ve found that sticking to great quality products and being religious with my regime has made all the difference to the condition of my skin.

I cleanse, tone and moisturise daily and make sure I take off my makeup before bed. This is such a simple thing but makes such a difference to your skin.

I prep my skin with the La Prairie White Caviar Illuminating Pearl Infusion, and I absolutely love the HIVITA Luminous White Skin Renewal Cream and use it to moisturise my skin day and night. It has this velvety texture and is super absorbent, and my skin has really reaped the benefits since I started using it. La Prairie’s Cellular 3-Minute Peel is another game-changing product in my routine; I use it as a weekly booster to help renew and refresh my skin – it’s like giving myself a facial at home, and I notice results right away. I also use my Nu Skin LumiSpa cleansing device every morning and night to give my skin a really deep clean.

My favourite bases for a night out are the Dior Backstage Face and Body Foundation and the La Prarie Caviar Concealer Foundation - they feel beautiful on my skin, blend in so well and stay flawless all night.

I love the Charlotte Tilbury Filmstar Bronze & Glow contour palette to sculpt my cheekbones, gently bronze my face and to highlight - it’s the perfect all-in-one palette. Finally, I believe you can’t beat a bold red lip when you want to feel dressed up and confident on a night out, and my faves include Nars Velvet Lip Pencil in Dragon Girl and Giorgio Armani Lip Maestro in 404.

I have a couple of simple makeup tips that I swear by.

Number one? Curl your eyelashes before using mascara. And number two - brush your brows with a tiny amount of hairspray to keep them in place all day.

I have a relatively simple hair care routine.

I wash my hair using OGX Shea Soft and Smooth Shampoo and Conditioner; I discovered OGX a few months ago and I love how soft it makes my hair feel. After I’ve washed my hair I distribute Moroccanoil treatment oil from the middle to the ends of my hair - I’ve been using it since high school and I’m such a fan of how smooth and shiny my hair is when I use it, plus it smells incredible! I blow dry my hair with the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer (it’s the absolute best dryer I’ve ever used; it dries faster while being more gentle), and my favourite styling product has to be Oribe Dry Texturizing Spray. It gives me the perfect sexy, tousled bed hair.

I really fell into working in the entertainment and fashion industry. I never could have imagined in my teenage years that I’d be here one day!

I went to uni straight after high school to study Psychology, and it wasn’t until I graduated from my Honours degree that I started to take my modelling career seriously. I ended up working as a full time model for a few years, before I decided to enter the Miss Universe Australia pageant. I won that competition in 2015, went on to represent our amazing country in the international Miss Universe pageant, and that was the start of this next chapter of my career.

I’d like to think of my style as classic and simple, with a touch of glam. It doesn’t matter what I’m doing, whether it be heading to the gym or off to a red carpet event, I always aim to look polished and put together.

My favourite pieces from Aussie brands include Alice McCall, Bec & Bridge, By Johnny and Rebecca Vallance. Another fave piece in my wardrobe is my bespoke “RAD” demin jacket. It was embroidered by Kai from All My Relations, and I instantly feel my cool-o-meter rise when I put it on.

I’m a big believer in buying investment accessories like bags and shoes, simply because you’ll wear them again and again for years. Chanel is my weakness - I think the brand is just utterly chic, and I’ve invested in a few of their gorgeous bags and shoes over the years. My black Chanel Boy bag is one of my most treasured pieces, as is my Christian Louboutin shoe collection (if only they were as comfortable as they are beautiful!). I’m always wearing my Gregory Jewellers diamond engagement ring and wedding band and complete every outfit with my IWC Portugieser Automatic Chronograph watch. 

I believe that a truly healthy body is one that feels good inside and out. To me, this means eating healthy foods and working out regularly, which will benefit your physical health as well as your mental and emotional wellbeing.

I’m a serious believer in eating the right foods and for me, that means focusing on eating a huge range of vegetables, lots of healthy fats, grass fed protein and some nuts and seeds. Avoiding sugar and processed foods is something that I think greatly benefits your body, so I avoid eating these whenever I can. I know that may seem overwhelming, but you can make it a gradual process by slowly cutting down on the unhealthy stuff, and replacing it with natural foods that still taste great but nourish your body (for example, I love to snack on berries and activated nuts). I also really recommend supplementing your diet with vitamins, especially vitamins B and C to boost immunity. I always make sure I take my HIVITA Immunity and Women’s Multi before starting my day. Drinking plenty of water to stay hydrated is also very important (boring but true!), and I like to drink warm water with sea salt and lemon in the mornings to rehydrate, boost my metabolism and improve digestion.

Four times a week I head over to my local F45 studio and work out.

The 45 minutes of high intensity first thing in the morning leaves me feeling sweaty, energised and ready to start my day. I also train once a week with my personal trainer, Tony Akindoyin, at Virgin Active, to help with my form and make sure I’m doing the right thing. I also believe rest is really important so if I’m tired I give myself a break and just go for a nice long walk.

I like to maintain a healthy food regime as best I can, which for me means natural, unprocessed whole foods and avoiding sugar and artificial sweeteners.

I love packing my meals with good fats, minimal carbs and plenty of fresh veggies, so for breakfast I typically have two scrambled eggs cooked with coconut oil, sautéed spinach, avo and sea salt. Lunch is usually a huge bowl of roasted veggies with salmon or grilled chicken plus another avo, drizzled with olive oil and tahini and topped with some pine nuts. Then dinner I might have some bone broth with veggies and chicken thighs. As for dessert, my healthy chocolate brownies made with zucchini are my signature (I promise you can’t taste the zucchini whatsoever!) and I love nothing more than having a piece with an almond milk cappuccino.

I’m a huge health and wellness junkie and will try absolutely anything if it might benefit me.

This includes using my infrared sauna for half an hour most days to assist with detoxification, and going weekly to Koa Recovery for cryotherapy, which helps with muscle recovery and to decrease inflammation. I also use my Joovv red light therapy system for 10 minutes every day – I stand in front of the device which hangs from my bathroom door and emits red light (it’s sort of like a whole-body Omnilux facial). It’s amazing and has so many health and beauty benefits, including boosting the skin’s collagen and repairing sun damage, fading scars and wrinkles, speeding up wound healing, enhancing circulation and reducing pain and inflammation - I’m addicted! 

My mum is definitely my biggest beauty influence. She inspires me with her confidence and total security in being her true self.

The fact that she doesn’t need makeup or any anti-aging treatments to feel confident is so incredible given the society we live in today. She doesn’t even dye her hair and celebrates the new greys coming through! What mum has taught me above all is that true beauty comes from within and is ultimately defined by the kind of person you are.

I see ageing as a state of mind, and don’t think chronological age is that important.

How many times have you seen someone who is sixty years old that’s just as vibrant, if not more so, than someone in their twenties? I think our true age is more determined by how we feel, and I plan to feel as vital, energetic and youthful as I can for the rest of my life!”

Story by Zoe Briggs. Select images from Monika Radulovic’s Instagram.

[tinytoesandfurrypaws]

Welcome to February, and being very late to joining the “Welcome 2018” train, Happy New Year?  From the Dog Trainer Mama perspective, January was pretty interesting…the entire month simply got away from me!  The kids went back to school, the holidays are over, and we are immersing ourselves back into all of our after school sports, academics, and play dates. So where does that leave my dogs while I get my crap together? At home. Up until the past few weeks, my dogs normally free roam the house when we leave, and it’s not an issue. I can’t say it’s never been an issue, because while Karma was amazing from day one, Vino had a normal puppy stage of nonsense thefts, and chewing.  He was always a food motivated little weirdo, but we worked through it, and he’s learned a healthy respect for what is mine…until recently.

This week alone, I’ve had multiple clients contact me about their dogs “suddenly becoming destructive for no reason”.  I kind of chuckle when I think about what our idea of “for no reason” is, and what the reality is behind it.  So I decided to put myself on blast for a moment, and let me be the example, and the learning moment for all of you, because it can seriously happen to ANYONE!

I want you to disconnect from your relationship with the struggling dog, in this case, we will use Vino.  Forget what their past was for just a moment, and let’s talk about what the current issue is.  Vino is stealing food off of tables, counters, and various locations if it’s unattended, and if you have turned your back.  He has been tearing apart his beds, blankets, boxes he finds, and various kids toys.  In 15 years of dog ownership, I have never had a dog dig through the trash…well Vino can now check that off of his bucket list.  He can also thank that adventure for his crate time when I leave the house now.  I am often surprised at how many of my clients have assumed that damage and “acting out” is just okay, but it’s not, it means something!

I Don’t think I really have a problem – So in reality, the first step is realizing there is an issue with your situation to begin with.  IF you leave home, knowing that you will return to potty accidents, or damage to your personal items, and property, then this is likely going to be pretty helpful to your household.  Because…Those things should NOT be happening.  Period.  You shouldn’t have to pick up the aftermath of your dog when you get home everyday, and this doesn’t sound like the set up for a super healthy companionship to thrive in.  It is, however, a pretty good sign that your dog is missing something, and is replacing those energy release needs with what he CAN get to.  Which is your wall…

Taking responsibility – Now that we know there is a problem, we move on to our second part…which, in this case, is taking responsibility for my part in all of this.  This is why I find the “for no reason” comment so amusing, there is ALWAYS a reason.  Around the first part of November, we caught the nasty flu bug, and it circulated our house (NO JOKE) for 2-3 straight months.  It felt like death (really, Ava was even hospitalized at one point!)…which means, a lot of my normal activities stopped for about that same amount of time.  In reality, it messed with our daily walks, I stopped running with them in the evenings, our training sessions were not as often, or as long, we haven’t attended a class, and all in all, their normal exercise (both mental and physical) was seriously lacking.  When you take into account what my dogs are used to doing on a daily basis, it’s even harder for them to do next to nothing.  Karma is great at bouncing back to and from down time, but Vino needs much more than she does.  We had a few instances each day, where we would leave to take Aiden to school, and come back to find that he had snagged ANYTHING he could find, and devoured it…it’s dangerous for him, and frustrating for me. Remember above, when I said it’s not normal to expect disaster, and clean up when you come home…good example!  So obviously we crated him when we left from that point on…good start, so…I’m done now, right?  Nope.

I’ll just get a crate – The crate can, and is, a reasonable way to react to destruction.  The dog clearly can’t be cool when he’s free, and alone for a lot of reasons. I don’t want to dismiss a perfectly safe option based on sympathy (you had no problem putting up play pens for your baby so he didn’t stick his finger in an electrical socket…just sayin’…). Safety really is my biggest point with crating, i don’t want to leave my dog alone if he can get into dangerous items, or find himself caught in precarious places.  However, another important point is how it is going to effect our connection (or “bond”) by leaving my dog in a position to constantly destroy my home, and my things. While crating is a good start, it’s NOT the only thing needed here.  Shutting your dog into a small space instead of dealing with the underlying issue is more of a “bandaid” for the moments I cannot watch what he’s up to.  It’s absolutely not going to fix the issue at hand.  So what is the issue at hand then?  It’s surprisingly pretty simple, this dog is NOT getting what he needs to burn the physical and mental energy he has (In my case, in a way he is accustomed to).  Which leads me to my part in combating the problems we are having at home.

Just like all of you, I have 24 hours in a day, and it’s up to me to make sure all of my family gets what they need in that time frame.  That’s kind of what I promised my dogs when I decided to make them part of our family, so they should be allotted some of my time to keep them balanced daily as well.  Another words, even if I feel justified with sickness keeping me down, I SHOULD make sure they are getting enrichment, and exercise each day, and prioritize it into my schedule.  If I don’t, then I really can’t be upset with my dog, for being bored.  You know, the saying, “A tired dog, makes a happy owner”, in this case, it’s pretty spot on.  Tire the brain, exhaust the body, then your dog won’t have to find other ways to do that for himself!

What a thief – Now that we have that pesky responsibility issue out-of-the-way, lets back track to his food issues.  Remember when I said to push the history of your pup aside?  Now it’s time to bring that back into play!  It does help give me insight to his previous training, and needs, but don’t rely on what has worked before being the only option. Vino has always been a serious food hound, and as a puppy we really had to work hard with him on impulse control. With that being said, impulse control exercises are a great way to start, for a lot of reasons!  They are a great tool for mental exercise, and can be so unbelievably versatile, and easy to fit into your schedule. You can start with;

-Control feeding times, and make them work for meals.

-Play games (hide and go seek, find it, cups, you name it!)

-Load puzzle toys with meals (there are TONS online now to purchase!)

-Make them work for whatever they want! (Food, toys, ride, walks, anything!)

-Work on “LEAVE-IT!”  Up the anti and progress with your dog to further stimulation, and build reliability!

-The “wait” command is my fave, and you can progress with your dog, continuing to make it more of a challenge as they catch on.

-Stay is great, add distance, distraction, and duration!

-Introduce them to new things!  Physical items, sports, games, anything!

-This one is VERY important for those of you that have a counter surfer, and super hard for those of you with kids!  Now that your dog has made the reward connection to your counters, and tables, make sure you ALWAYS keep your counters clear.  If they check often, and find nothing from now on, it is no longer a lucrative exercise, because there is no longer a reward.  If you leave snacks, even small ones, they make for a pretty tasty reward, and the repetition of a nasty habit!

Let’s take a walk –  This is my second get real moment, walk your dog.  Run your dog!  Hire a dog walker…it doesn’t matter, both stimulation’s are important to tire your dog’s needs. Take into context the personalities, AND BREED, when you take in a dog, or when you are judging the exercise needs for your pal. Vino is a higher energy mastiff breed (lol, yes that exists), which is WHY I got him in the first place. We have dabbled in running together (he fails here…this is past his lazy point), Agility (he loves this!), and nose work, on top of our normal obedience. I knew this is what I was in for the day I told myself, “yeah, I can totally take in a tiny Cane Corso…”.  So it’s absolutely necessary for me to meet his physical exercise needs on top of his mental energy needs.

Training is a MUST – Dogs are not born knowing what you want from them. Sure we are connected in a way, but that doesn’t mean they can read your mind.  So take your dog to obedience classes, just give it a try!  It doesn’t mean you can’t “do it on your own”, in fact most good group classes are literally just giving YOU the skills to teach your dog on your own in the most constructive way!  Search out a good “positive” trainer (a topic for another day) that can help you earn a good relationship with your dog.  By positive I mean someone who can work with your dog outside of slapping on aversive tools to hurry anything along. As your dog progresses, move on to some fun sports that will offer you both a good bond, some fun, AND exercise (both mental, and physical). If you like to compete, and your dog is on board, there are tons of ways to find a group near you.

Combine it all!-  Let’s recap, destruction of any kind is not okay.  Crating is alright, but not a resolution. Dogs need both mental, and physical stimulation…cough, cough, I can’t say this enough…this is the millionth time…Look at your dog, and say, “what can he need from me?” Instead of “this dog doesn’t get it!” because it’s usually us.  Take in to account the personality, and breed of your dog when you decide what exercise they need.  Get some thinker toys, use your training wisely with meal times, always make them work for a reward, and don’t be afraid to try out new classes!!!!  Nothing in life is free, you can look at food and treats as currency if it makes it easier for you.  When your dog is tearing up your house, your yard, and “acting out” if you will, realize they are missing something, and give them what they need.  Your dog is a part of your life for a reason, so make the time to help them have a healthy and happy life with you!

  http://<iframe src=”//rcm-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/cm?o=1&p=288&l=ur1&category=gift_certificates&banner=1ZMTYQQCPDNJYWMYWR82&f=ifr&linkID=89ecda631705fa5a8c696ab32d73d82a&t=tinytoesand06-20&tracking_id=tinytoesand06-20″ width=”320″ height=”50″ scrolling=”no” border=”0″ marginwidth=”0″ style=”border:none;” frameborder=”0″>

Destructive dogs…why can’t THEY just chill out?! Welcome to February, and being very late to joining the “Welcome 2018” train, Happy New Year?  From the…