*** 15***

“No, you’re not done yet. Now get back up on the stool and ride that rubber cock like the sissy slut you are,” snapped Marzipan, her powerful equine arms crossed over her chest as she towered over the runty wolf boy in front of her. “And don’t make that face at me. I told you your training wasn’t going to be over until you filled that condom, didn’t I? Well, I still don’t see any cummies leaking out of your shriveled little dicklette, so you have three seconds to perch your chubby ass on top of that big red dildo and start fucking yourself until you learn to love it.”
	Marcus lowered his ears and whimpered as he turned to look at the punishment stool once again. It was nothing too intimidating, just a regular wooden stool. However, the thick training dong suction-cupped to middle of the hard, wooden seat had already driven him to tears multiple times. He’d been forced to take it up his ass more times than he could count, bouncing his hips up and down as he rode the firm rubber phallus sticking up from the seat while Marzipan taunted and teased him.
	He really didn’t want to mount the degrading stool again. His tailhole was sore from all the abuse it had suffered so far today, and he still hadn’t even come close to the paws-free orgasm he needed to end his suffering. He hated having his butt stuffed, but now it was his only hope if he ever wanted to cum again, and his cruel mistress wasn’t going to let him rest until he got the job done. A fitting punishment considering his crime.
	Miss Fifi showed up earlier than usual that morning to get Melody out of bed, and caught him grinding the front of his diaper against the mattress of his oversized crib. With his paws locked away in thick leather mitts and his wrist cuffs chained to his chest harness, he had no other way to stimulate himself, but it backfired spectacularly. Miss Fifi made a huge scene first thing in the morning, scolding him over and over for trying to make stickies in his diaper. All of this happened right in front of Melody too, ensuring maximum humiliation as he laid defeated in his crib. As usual, he had a thick leather muzzle locked over her face, so he couldn’t say anything to defend himself, only squirm in his wet and messy diaper and wait for the big fat basset hound to stop hollering at him.
	She went on and on, calling him a naughty little pervert and commenting on the dreadful state of his bulging diaper. She also made sure to sprinkle in various threats about double fiber in his mush, extra soapy enemas, and how she was going to flush the key to his chastity device down the toilet. Though, the worst came at the end when she let him know that Marzipan would have the whole day to play with him however she wanted. Just the two of them, alone in the nursery all day with no one to save him.
	Marcus knew that mare was pure evil, and Marz certainly proved him right today. She seemed determined to make his life a living hell from the moment she dragged him out of his crib, starting with a humiliating diaper change to start things off. She was needlessly rough and verbally abusive, smacking around his puny genitals as she wiped away the awful mess he’d been laying in all night. Unpleasantness aside, he at least got a fresh diaper when it was all over, but it wasn’t long before his nice, clean diaper was down around his ankles again.
	Even still, the punishment didn’t start right away. Marz liked to employ a little humiliation to get her pup in the proper mood, so she made him shuffle his chubby butt over to the toy chest, diaper still wrapped around his ankles, and pick out the rubber cock that would eventually pound his ass into submission. As if that weren’t embarrassing enough already, she had plenty to say about his shaven diaper area as he made his way over to the chest.
Miss Fifi kept him totally smooth down there to make diaper changes easier, but it was also a badge of shame. The lack of fur on his privates meant his measly boyhood was on full display in all its pathetic glory, locked up tight in its pretty pink chastity device. His bald rump was also a shameful sight, showing off his perpetual diaper rash as well as the leftover welts from his last paddling. Even worse, it was a rather inviting target for Marzipan’s trusty riding crop and she took full advantage whenever she could, leaving his buns stinging for days for even the smallest infraction. For example, wasting mistress’ time by selecting too small of a dildo from the toy chest.
 The first time, he picked the smallest dildo he could find and earned himself a single swat on his bottom. The second attempt wasn’t much better, earning him multiple lashings as he dug into the deep chest for a bigger specimen. The third attempt was his best attempt at selecting something he thought was fair for his size, but Marz wasn’t pleased and she’d officially run out of patience.
She grabbed him by the back of his collar and yanked him up to his feet. With his collar held firmly in one hand and her crop in the other, she beat his bottom like a drum while scolding him for wasting her time. With a muzzle locked over his mouth and his thickly-mitted paws chained to his chest harness, there wasn’t much poor Marcus could do but bawl like a baby as he got his bottom reddened by the gigantic mare. Though, that was only the beginning.
The tears continued as Marz reached down into the chest and picked out the biggest canine dildo he’d ever seen. She waved it in front of his face for a moment to show off its size, letting him know just how fucked he was before sticking it right down in the middle of his punishment stool and nudging the dumbstruck little brat toward his sissy throne. Of course, he didn’t want to go willingly, but a few more stinging welts on his rump quickly changed his mind.
	She called it his “new daddy” and he had to stand on his toes just to get the tip nestled between his buttcheeks. By the time his foot paws were flat on the floor, he already had an inch of rubber dog dick inside him and it was far too late to turn back. Even after that, it took a good long while of bouncing up on down on the huge canine cock to get his tailhole loose enough to take the smooth shaft up inside him. By the time he’d finally worked his way down to the knot, he was weak in the knees and utterly exhausted. Unfortunately, Marzipan rewarded his hard work with more abuse, ordering him down off the stool so she could scold him for the streaks of filth coating the length of “daddy’s cock.”
Once she’d had her fill of berating him, she removed his muzzle and ordered him to kneel down and suck his new daddy clean, gleefully employing her trusty riding crop to motivate him when he balked. Between the bitter, shameful taste of the rubber cock, and the repeated strikes of the leather crop against his bald, hairless backside, it didn’t take long to get him blubbering like a baby again. Even still, Marzipan was relentless, forcing him to take the foul-tasting sex toy deeper and deeper. When he inevitably gagged on it, she lashed his already sore bottom with the crop and screamed at him to try again. He had no idea how many times he choked on that ruby red cock, but Marz still wasn’t tired of seeing him suffer.
	Once “daddy” was coated with a layer of slippery drool, she helped him up to his feet and slipped a condom over the end of the cock tube on his chastity device, ensuring she’d catch anything that happened to leak out of his tiny, neglected penis. He was puzzled at first, but she soon explained the intent of her sick little game, ordering him to sit back down on his punishment stool and ride “daddy” until he could squirt a couple drops of spunk into the condom. Of course, it didn’t work, and after another ten minutes of desperately fucking himself silly, she forced him to get back down and clean “daddy’s cock” once more.
	This repeated several times over the course of their long training session, and Marcus worried he’d permanently have the taste of his own dirty tailhole burnt into his taste buds. Nonetheless, Marz was still standing over him, glaring down as she waited for him to remount the stool yet again and perform his duties as a sissy slave. He was tired and sore, but had no way of resisting while he remained permanently restrained. Even still, he was desperate enough to risk pleading for mercy in the hopes she might let him off with a brutal spanking instead, but she quickly put him back into place.
After a few extra-hard lashes with the crop, she threatening to tape an old messy diaper over his face if he didn’t prance over and take the thick cock up his worthless sissy ass like a true slut. His bottom stinging, Marcus glared at the punishment stool, wondering if he should dare try and plead his case one more time. However, he quickly abandoned that thought when she threatened fetch her strapon and do it for him.
	With no more fight left in him, he raised his tail and took the familiar squatting position over the stool. Lowering himself down slowly, he soon felt the tip push its way into his pre-loosened tailhole. Knowing he had no other choice, he bit his lip and went down further, taking several more inches of slippery, smooth shaft inside of him. Having been stretched out so many times today, he barely felt any discomfort as he took the whole thing, stopping only when he felt the wide knot push against his soft asscheeks. Once properly situated, he began working his body up and down, fucking himself on the stationary dildo.
	“Keep moving that cute pink butt of yours, bitch,” said Marzipan, slapping the crop against her palm as she watched the oversized baby whimper and degrade himself. “You better squirt this time or you’ll be sorry. We can do this all day if we have to.”
	Marcus wanted to beg for mercy, but knew it wouldn’t get him anywhere with the ruthless mare. Based on previous experience, speaking out of line was a surefire way to get a ring gag strapped in his mouth, so he just kept his trap shut and tried to focus on the task at hand. He closed his eyes, trying to concentrate on the feeling of having his prostate massaged. It was actually somewhat enjoyable now that he was totally loosened up, but it wasn’t nearly enough to make him cum. He still wasn’t even hard inside his cock cage, a fact which only led to more encouragement from Marz.
	“C’mon, you big pansy. What’s it gonna take to fill that condom?” she asked. “Maybe I should pick out an even bigger cock for you to try out?”
	“No, ma’am,” said Marcus, shaking his head. He knew speaking up was a risk, but he couldn’t bear the thought of trading the already huge dildo in his ass for the next size up.
	“Oh, so you’re happy with this one then? I should have known you’d love a fat dog cock in your ass,” said Marz, continuing to bully her helpless plaything. “I’ll be sure to cram it right back up your tailpipe before bed too, so you can have sweet dreams of daddy plowing you up the butt. Just keep thinking about that thick knot rubbing up inside you all night and you’ll blow your pathetic little load in no time.”
	Marcus did his best to ignore her distractions, but found it impossible not to imagine himself being fucked by a large, burly man now that she’d put the picture in his head. Feeling his chances of ejaculating slipping further away by the second, he opened his eyes to escape the unwanted fantasy of being some guy’s fuckhole. Lucky for him, he was just in time to see Marzipan slipping out of her tight jeans.
	“Don’t mind me,” she said, grinning mischievously. “I’m just going to relieve a little stress while you’re preoccupied with your new favorite toy. Something about torturing wimpy little virgins like you always gets me so wet, but don’t worry, I won’t make you watch. I know how afraid you are of vaginas.”
	Despite his burning hatred for the twisted mare, he didn’t turn his eyes away, keeping them squarely focused on her tiny thong underwear. Contrary to her teasing, Marcus still very much enjoyed ogling naked ladies, and the sight of her panties riding up between her pronounced pussy lips was enough to make his tiny, untouched winky grow until it filled the entirety of his stubby little cock cage. Of course, this only added to his discomfort as he worked his rump up and down on the long shaft of the training dildo, but he was used to it by now. In fact, the feeling of having his dick squeezed in its tight, stubby cock tube while also having his insides massaged was the closest thing to sexual pleasure he’d gotten since being locked up. He knew that if he was going to get his rocks off, this was his chance. Marzipan seemed to notice too, and took great pleasure in teasing him further, taking advantage of his desperation.
	“Aw, that tadpole between your legs looks like it’s about to burst out of its little cage,” she said, putting her leg up to give a better view of her crotch as she continued. “Do you want to see more, my little sissy ass slut?”
	“Yes, ma’am,” said Marcus, his voice trembling nervously, unsure of how she’d react.
	“Like this?” she asked, surprising him further by pulling her panties to the side to show off her dripping sex. She even dug her fingers deep between the folds of her pussy and fingered herself shamelessly to really make him blush. “Will this help you make cummies for me?”
	“Yes, ma’am,” replied Marcus, sounding like a broken record as he kept his eyes locked on her crotch, desperately hoping to achieve his first paws-free orgasm as he fucked himself deeper, faster, and harder. He could feel a tingle somewhere behind his balls, almost like he was building towards something, but it was so hard to keep up his rhythm as his legs grew more and more tired. Regardless, he kept riding daddy’s dick with all his strength, knowing it was only a matter of time before his aching, unmilked testicles would finally blow their load. Meanwhile, Marzipan’s fingers were still exploring, stroking her clit as she watched the horny little wolf defile himself for her pleasure.
	“Poor thing, those pathetic little balls look so swollen and sore and you still can’t cum,” said Marz, cracking a smile like she’d just thought of something hilarious. “Would you like me to unlock you for a little playtime?”
	“Yes, please,” said Marcus, sincerely hoping this wasn’t another bluff. He’d been bouncing himself up and down on the mighty rubber phallus for so long, but the release he was looking for never seemed to come. It felt like he could squirt any second, but the condom pulled over the end of his chastity cage stayed dry. No matter how much he tried to stimulate his prostate, he couldn’t finish the job, and it was driving him insane. He’d do anything to cum now, even beg for her strapon as long as she promise to take his dinky prick out and milk him dry afterward. He listened closely, ready to agree to any demands without hesitation as he continued to impale his ass atop his throne of shame, hoping to please his spiteful mistress.
	“But what is a miserable runt like you going to do for me?” she asked, still pleasuring herself as she poked him in the belly with the end of her riding crop. “I don’t have any use for that ridiculous little nub between your legs, so how about some extremely sloppy cunnilungus training? Better yet, why don’t I sit down on your face and smother you with my pussy while I jerk off your tiny dicklette? Think you can shoot your weak little load before you drown in my juices, little virgin?”
	“Yes, ma’am. I’ll do anything,” said Marcus, fully willing to go along with the mare’s plan as long as it meant he could finally get down off his stool and drain his overly-full balls. His meager boyhood had been caged inside his diapers so long that it was starting to shrivel up. If he didn’t get it unlocked soon, he feared he really would end up with a clit. His testiscles were the opposite, painfully swollen and ready to burst. The long anal training had actually left him even more desperate to touch his own cock, and though her offer seemed too good to be true, he wished with all his might that maybe he’d get a chance to cum for the first time in weeks. However, things quickly turned sour.
	“Oh wow, did you actually think I was serious? That’s so sad,” said Marz, her demeanor changing in an instant. “Like I’d want your dirty mouth anywhere near me. That mouth of yours is for scrubbing cocks and that’s it, shit-breath. Same goes for your tailhole, and you might as well learn to enjoy it because your winky is staying caged up forever. I don’t even have the key, you big gullible baby, Fifi does. I can’t believe you didn’t know that.”
	Marcus immediately stopped responding, embarrassed that he’d been so stupid. He knew in the back of his mind that this was the most likely outcome, but he’d still allowed himself to be suckered into having false hope. The worst part was the smug look on the mare’s face, like she really thought she was clever or something. All at once, whatever pleasurable sensations had been building up behind his balls vanished and he could barely find the will to keep grinding his pelvis up and down, quickly losing all hope of filling his condom. However, he soon found all the motivation he needed as the riding crop whizzed up between his wide open legs and slapped his exposed nutsack as it dangled from underneath his tiny pink cock tube.
	“C’mon, move those hips you lazy little shit. I didn’t tell you to stop,” snapped Marzipan, continuously delivering light taps to the pup’s sensitive coin purse to make sure he didn’t dare slow down again. “Key or no key, you’re still my bitch for now, and I’m not letting you rest until you shoot your cummies for me. What’s taking so long, anyway? Does daddy’s cock need another layer of sissy slobber to keep it nice and slick?”
	Marcus groaned and shook his head as his balls were batted back and forth. He tried to stomach the pain with some level of dignity, but even the lightest tap of the riding crop made him jump and it wasn’t long before he was whimpering and whining like a little girl. Regardless, he didn’t stop riding the dildo. In fact, he was working even harder to show that he didn’t need anymore lubrication, knowing what was in store for him if he had to add another coating of spit.
Unfortunately, the pain in his overworked legs made it hard to focus on whatever pleasure he might have gotten from his training, but he eventually worked his way back to where he was a moment ago. His scrawny member stiffened up to fill the small cock cage again as he felt a pleasant tingling from deep within his pelvis. He wasn’t sure if he was building towards ejaculation or if he just had to piss, but unfortunately he didn’t get to find out as Marz called for an immediately stop to all anal masturbation.
	“Okay, you’ve kept me waiting long enough,” she said. “Get down off that stool this instant. I want you on your knees, now!”
	Marcus wanted to cry as he heard her shouting orders at him. If he just had more time, he may have been able to finish, but he knew the crop would be coming for his aching testicles any second if he didn’t obey. Brokenhearted, he climbed off the thick dong and got to his knees to face the foul-smelling fucktoy that had been inside him only a moment ago.
	“That’s a good boy. Now show me how you’re gonna clean daddy’s cock after a long night of rough anal pounding,” said Marz, refocusing her efforts on playing with her wet sex as she watched the broken male subjugate himself before her.
	Unsurprisingly, he was hesitant to get started, still locking eyes with the filth-streaked dildo standing upright in front of his face. It was much dirtier than before, especially the tip which was absolutely coated. Even with all the practice he’d gotten today, he was overcome with revulsion and tried to think of someway out of his punishment, but there was absolutely nothing he could do with his paws restrained and locked away inside thick mitts. Besides, any wrong move and Marz would beat his chubby behind into hamburger meat. There was no way he’d make it past her while she was watching his every move, and even if he did, he didn’t know the numerical key to open the door anyway. There was nowhere to run, but even still, he couldn’t bring himself to do it until he felt the sting of the crop against his bald rump.
	“What’re you waiting for, a written invitation? Start sucking!” she hollered, continuing her verbal assault as she stroked her clit. “It’s your mess, so you’re gonna be the one to clean it up. That’s the life of a sissy fuck slave like you, and if you don’t like it, then that’s too damn bad. Maybe next time you’ll do a better job of emptying your ass into your diapers so it doesn’t end up all over daddy’s nice clean cock. Just don’t let this spoil your appetite for dinner or Miss Fifi will have my head, okay bitch?”
	Marcus shut his eyes tightly, squeezing tears from the corners of his eyelids as he leaned forward and took the whole shaft in a single gulp. As expected, the flavor hit him immediately, nearly making him retch as he thought about what he was really tasting. The bitterness spread across his mouth quickly, and stayed with him long after he’d scrapped the solids off his tongue. Nonetheless, he knew his job wasn’t finished until he got Marzipan’s approval, but she was much too busy pleasuring herself to notice his efforts.
	The wet, sloppy sounds of her stroking her pussy lips taunted him as he throat fucked himself, trying not to gag on the taste of his own tailhole in the process. All he wanted to do was jerk himself off and relieve his hellish case of blue balls, but here he was, on his knees, sucking a rubber dog dick clean like a true anal slut. Meanwhile, the cruel bitch that put him there was enjoying the very thing that he wanted more than anything else, and it pissed him off to no end to know that she’d orgasm long before he did, assuming he ever got release at all. Of course, he didn’t say any of this. The only sounds to escape his throat were grunts as the tip of the filth-coated dong jabbed the back of his throat, and even that was enough to get Marzipan’s attention.
	“If I can hear you, it means your throat isn’t fully stuffed,” said the annoyed mare. “You just earned yourself a whole day with the cock sucker training gag tomorrow. It won’t be fun, but we’re going to take care of that gag reflex once and for all. By the time we finally send you home, you’ll be able to deepthroat anything. Your mama will be so proud when she sees how obediently you serve her new boyfriend. Now, stop wasting time and swallow that cock until you can wrap your lips around its knot.”
	Marcus did his best to cry silently as he forced his head down further, gulping the entire length of the slippery rubber shaft down his throat. He did his best to keep it there, but only lasted a second before he choked again, quickly lifting his head to remove the dildo from his esophagus. As he realized his mistake, his silent tears turned to loud blubbering. Not only because he hated the feeling of gagging on cock more than anything, but also because he knew he was about to get in trouble again. Sure enough, the riding crop swished through the air and put another fiery raised welt across his posterior to get his attention before Marz laid into him.
	“Hey, I didn’t tell you to stop!” yelled the irate mare. “I don’t care how many times you gag on it, you don’t ever spit out daddy’s cock like that. Get back down and take the whole thing before I buckle on the strapon harness and ram it down your whimpering gullet for you.”
	Marcus hesitated, waiting for his throat muscles to stop twitching before he tried to swallow the big rubber pecker again. However, several more stinging blows from the crop got him moving quick. Ever the sniveling baby, he begged for mercy, but he did it with the thick rubber pecker in his mouth like a good sissy. He still coughed and choked occasionally, but always slammed daddy’s cock right back down his throat as soon as possible to avoid anymore glowing red stripes across his hairless rump. Even still, he usually got one or two just to keep him motivated.
He wasn’t sure how long it went on like this, but he didn’t dare take the dildo out of his mouth long enough to ask. He just knew it was getting easier to deepthroat the big dong and he didn’t have to stop as often, which meant less abuse for his tender backside. Though, the lack of spanking must have taken the fun out of it for Marz, so she brought everything to a halt, hoping to spice things up with a little surprise.
“Alright, that’s enough,” she said. “I think daddy would be satisfied with that. Now come waddle your pink little bottom over here so I can give you treat for being such a good little cocksucker.”
Marcus licked the bitter-tasting residue from his chops and stretched his aching jaw after what seemed like an eternity of giving head. He wasn’t sure what kind of treat Marz had for him, but he was actually somewhat optimistic this time. She sounded genuinely pleased that he’d shown such quick progress, but he’d been fooled so many times in the past that he kept his guard up, trying not to show any eagerness as he shuffled from his stool over to where she was waiting for him.
He moved slow, thanks to the diaper tangled around his ankles as well as the soreness in his butt. He wanted to wipe the drool off his chin, but couldn’t reach with his mitted paws chained to his chest harness, so he just had to deal with it as he marched across the room under the watchful eye of his mistress as she looked down at him with a smug grin. It was embarrassing enough having to walk around with his caged up boy bits on display, especially while he had a floppy, unused condom dangling from the end of his cock tube, but she was determined to make him existence even more humiliating.
“Since you’ve gotten so good at sucking off dog dicks, I thought you should have these,” said Marzipan, fetching a few choice items from the storage bin under the changing table.
Marcus didn’t even get a chance to see what she’d picked out before she started dressing him up. She started by tying a frilly pink bib around his neck and then immediately used it to wipe the strings of drool from his chin, allowing him a chance to read the slogan embroidered into the front of the bib in the process. The letters were upside down and coated with drool, but he managed to make out the words “Cock Lover” in that brief moment before it fell back down out of his view, resting on top of chest harness.
Before he could say anything about his new bib, Marz was shoving an oversized pink pacifier into his mouth. Again, he barely even caught a glimpse of it as she stuffed it into his muzzle, but he quickly realized it wasn’t an ordinary pacifier. Instead of a little rubber nipple, it had a nice, long penis for him to suckle on. His first instinct was to spit it out, but he had to stop himself. Unlike most of his pacifiers, this one didn’t have a strap to hold it in his mouth, so it was all on him to keep it in place. At first, this seemed like a pleasant change from the usual security protocol, but Marz was quick to explain that this was just another part of his training.
“I better not hear a fuckin’ peep outta you when you’re sucking your new pacifier, and don’t ever let it slip out of your mouth,” she said, sticking her finger right in his face for emphasis. “Break either of those rules, or even just make a snotty face at me, and I’ll bend you over and stick that pretty new paci right up your tailpipe just to give it a bit more flavor. Understand?”
Marcus nodded, careful to keep the dick-shaped pacifier lodged tightly in his mouth. He hoped that would be the end of it, but she had one more present for him, a pretty pink bonnet with plenty of ruffles and lace. It didn’t get any introduction, she just smiled as she pulled it down over his ears and tied it under his chin.
“There, now you look like a real cock worshiping sissy slut,” said Marz, patting the nervous wolf on the head. “Do you like being dressed like this, my little bitch?”
	It took all of Marcus’ willpower not to whine or make a mean face. He hated all this sissy crap, but arguing would only make things worse. Wisely, he clamped his lips shut around his dick shaped pacifier and kept quiet, nodding like a good sissy in the hopes that she might eventually take pity on him. However, his display of submissiveness still wouldn’t get him out of the rest of his punishment.
	“I’m so glad you’ve learned to love pink, because it’s all you’re going to be wearing from now on. I want to make sure everyone who sees you knows you’re an owned sissy,” said Marz, turning the nervous wolf boy around to face the stool again. “Speaking of which, break time is over for you, shit-breath. Get your naughty little ass back up on that stool, start grinding, and don’t stop until your sissy fuckhole is as well-trained as that stank mouth of yours. I meant it when I said you’re not getting out of here until you fill that condom, so we’re going to repeat this fun little process as long as it takes to make you squirt. Miss Fifi gave me all the time in the world to play with you, which means I’m in no hurry. This can take as long as you want.”
	Marcus hung his head in shame and despair as he headed back to the sadistic punishment stool, his diaper crinkling at his feet as he walked. He looked at the fat canine cock sticking up from the seat through tear-filled eyes, but said nothing. He really didn’t want to take that massive thing up his ass again, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. Resisting would only earn him a bigger dildo, or something even worse, like a trip to the breeding rack to endure Marzipan’s bumpiest strapon for the rest of the night. Trapped in a seemingly never-ending cycle of sissy training with no way out, he squat down and prepared to accept his fate.
Miserable and exhausted, he couldn’t help but sob into his sissy pacifier as he mounted the familiar rubber dog cock, feeling it part his hairless buttcheeks once more. A moment later, his loose, aching tailhole was stretched around the thick shaft and he remembered how much he hated being fucked in the ass. Nonetheless, he began pumping his hips up and down until the slippery, saliva-coated dildo disappeared into his sissy fuckhole. As he felt the wide knot bulging inside him, he bit down on his new paci and whimpered, knowing that it was going to be a very, very long day.