#684 words

[mooseintheocean]

Dean swore a long time ago he will always protect Sam's ass, both figuratively and literally speaking. So when they are in a bar, Sam getting their drinks and Dean admiring said ass, he surprises himself with an angry hiss, a sound he never knew he could make,  when there is a hand dangerously close to Sam's precious, tight, sexy butt. The owner of this offending hand is a guy, maybe Dean`s age, tall, and definitely interested in Sam. And Sam, little shit that he is, doesn't shy from his touch, he just look at this guy with a cute dimpled smile and answers his question. Their beer appeared before Sam at the counter, but instead of grabbing them and bringing them to Dean, he laughs a little at what the tall guy said. Dean was already on the move when that tall dick's hand slipped lower, low on Sam's ass, and Sam at least had the decency to tense a little and move away from the hand who might be broken in a few seconds it will take Dean to get to Sam`s side. Dean planted himself firmly on Sam`s side and said 'you keep your hands off my property or you won't be able to touch anything ever again when I'm done with you' He gave him promising look, took their beer with one hand and fisted the other in Sam's collar, dragging him away to their table. He sat Sam in his chair, pushing his own closer, so his hand could rest comfortable on the small of Sam's back, glaring around them, searching if there is anyone he needs to threaten. He took a swing of his beer without talking and it is then when he sees it. A satisfied smirk on Sam's face, who smugly sips at his own beer.

'Oh you gotta be kidding me! You did this on purpose? I knew you could be a little fucker but that was below the belt', said Dean looking at Sam incredulously. 

'Serves you right after all that flirting with the waitress during dinner', Sam replied, shrugging. 

'I was trying to get us some information on the victim and you know it.'

'Could've show her your badge and make her talk', younger Winchester muttered.

'Oh, Sammy are you jealous?', a wide shit eating grin appeared on Dean's face.

'Said the guy who just threatened another guy to cut his hands off.'

'Sam, that ass is mine and no one will be touching it on my watch.' 

'Well, maybe I was trying to get some information on a victim too.' 

'Like hell you where. What did he say to you, huh Sammy? What made you laugh so pretty?' Dean said, voice low and dangerous right in Sam's ear.

'That he would like to take me to a bathroom and fuck the shit out of me.'

Dean knows it's not true, he can hear it in Sam's voice, but curious where his brother is going with it.

'And what did you replied?'

'The truth, that I didn't have any in a while and I'm horny as hell. Oh, and I would loooooooove his dick balls deep in me.' 

Dean fists his hand in Sam's hair, feeling the spark of possessiveness go through his body,  'I know you are lying to me little brother, why are doing this?'

'Because I need a rough fuck, and you are the roughest when you are mad and jealous, so please can we just go back to motel and you could just fuck me through mattress or I swear to god I'll go back to Mark over there.'

'Like hell you will!', Dean said and grabbed Sam by his collar and dragged him outside and through the parking lot and into his baby. 'You want rough, fucker, I can give you rough, just don't complain tomorrow you are sore. You have 5 minutes till we get to the motel to prepare yourself mentally that you won't be able to walk for a week.'

Sam just grins smugly to himself. Dean can be so easy sometimes. 

[stapledpapers]

Harlem Is Nowhere: A Photo of Harlem

The image of an unvisited place is established from textual histories, stories and media representations that create a picture that is very different from a locations reality. It isn’t until one goes to and physically enters and interacts within a place that they are able to truly see a place as it really is, but even this image cannot on its own completely define a location. Sharifa Rhodes-Pitts’ book “Harlem is Nowhere” reveals that in order to gain a better picture of a place it is necessary to take on the extra steps of research, extended observation, and recording of experiences in order to understand the historical backbone, or foundation of a place that hold up the structure that is its present day counterpart, or in Rhodes’ case Harlem. She presents this depiction though a variety of narrative excerpts from others who have written about or in Harlem, researched text, photos, poems, and recorded stories and interactions between herself and Harlem locals, creating a sort of portfolio of her Harlem experience, and producing a Harlem that is very real in its existence despite its near loss to urban progression. In this way Rhodes is taking a picture, as if to photograph Harlem that, like the photographs she uses, can be a reference of a reality of Harlem. Similar to how a photographer must stand some distance from a target to take a decent shot, I feel that there is a sense of methodic detachment in how Rhodes constructs her observation present from the fact that Rhodes is not completely of Harlem (being from Texas), as much as she is an observant presence within Harlem.

In the chapter “Harlem Dream books” Rhodes’ is back on the subject of her own narrative, and points out her inability to take pictures of people in an attempt to avoid immediate categorization into sociology and political propaganda, getting mostly words on signs. She says “In those days—visiting Harlem to use the library—I made photo expeditions halfway across 125th Street before giving up…” placing the fact of her “visiting” between dashes. In doing this she amplifies her displacement from not being of Harlem, and shows how she’s being specifically selective in taking her picture of Harlem at its base level, her focus being on the physical place without people, who could take away the picture’s focus as they become symbols despite the photos intent. This section of the chapter suggests that she is not trying to depict how life is lived in Harlem with this book, but an image of the state of Harlem in which people had to live. The quote appears in the last paragraph before a narrative shift, as she goes on to talk about other writers’ works, all the while maintaining through transition, the subject of how close one must be in a social context to still obtain the space needed for an unbiased image.

In the following section Rhodes cites an interview by Ralph Ellison in which a railroad porter repeats the phrase “I’m in New York, but New York ain’t in me.” This phrase serves to parallel Rhodes’ near alien presence in Harlem, as she never quite remains permanently in the neighborhood and is more of a commuter browsing for possible residence, or visiting the library. She is in Harlem but Harlem isn’t in her because she’s not from Harlem as a citizen of Harlem, as are some of the neighbors she records interactions with, but is from Harlem as a roamer and observer of Harlem from a more foreign stand point. This allows observation of external experiences versus the experiences in Harlem to even determine a differentiation to begin with, where a local will have a default bias from having no other social norms to compare experiences to. Rhodes acknowledges this distance, repeatedly mentioning she’s from Texas, and notes her obvious differentiation from the locals. Using this space to properly frame the image of Harlem, a suggestion is presented that it is necessary to be able to step back from an image you are describing in order to describe it accurately.