#:O the hat!! the baton!!!

[softskiesahead-moved]

ohh my god??? :O

[limeade-l3sbian]

Spoilers for several female characters’ arcs, including Arlong Park and Dressrosa

One Piece is the best-selling manga of all time, full stop. Its mangaka, Oda Eiichiro, is one of the highest-earning authors of all time, taking second place as a comics author only to Garfield creator Jim Davis. While other titans of the industry like Naruto and Bleach have finally ended their original sagas, One Piece remains ongoing. After nearly twenty-five years of serialization, Oda’s epic has had a huge impact on its fans and the manga industry as a whole. 

But while One Piece looms large in the present and past, conversations about how Oda treats women have often taken place on a surface level. Oda started out his career by including women in prominent and active roles in his stories. As time went on, his vindictive nature towards fans meant he started taking out the criticisms he received on his female characters and fans alike,  undoing the good work he had done in the series’ early days.

Oda’s relationship to gender isn’t static, and his early work in One Piece is quite different from what he’s producing now. In the beginning, Oda’s women are positive, if flawed, examples of female characters. While no character design in One Piece can truly be called “realistic,” its women were complex people with believable proportions. As the series went on, however, he began punishing female fans demanding better representation by diminishing women’s roles. 

Examples of his attitude near the beginning of One Piece’s run are present in the SBS, the long-running Q&A section featured in most One Piece volumes featuring Oda’s often unfiltered sentiments. 

D: Were there really woman pirates? O: Yes, there were. But it was considered bad luck to bring a woman on board a ship in those days, and so many of them disguised themselves as men. There were two woman pirates, Mary Read and Anne Bonny, who were said to have fought more bravely than any man. By the way, my character Alvida was based on a female pirate named Awilda (or Alvida) who formed a pirate crew comprised entirely of women. (Chapter 50, Page 124)

Oda is citing his sources and giving reasons why women belong in the One Piece world. It’s unnecessary—he is, after all, creating a fantasy universe where a boy made of rubber fights bad guys, so why should he need to justify female characters existing—but shows that Oda’s done his research and believes female pirates belong in his universe. 

This is most clearly seen in Nami, the first (and for years, the only) female member of Luffy’s crew, the Straw Hats. Her role is that of the navigator, which occupies a tremendously important position; however, her combat abilities lag far behind the others’ from the very beginning. 

Nami is also a money-grubbing thief, a role that paints the only major female character before Robin’s introduction as a duplicitous femme fatale in blue and white stripes instead of slinky dresses. Robin also fits this stereotype–she’s just better at it. 

While Nami’s not the only member of the Straw Hats whose primary abilities aren’t physical combat, compare her company. Usopp may run at the first hint of a fight, but his skills lie in long-range combat as a sniper. While Chopper may primarily be a physician (and reindeer), he can still turn into a bulked-up version of himself in a pinch. Nami has her baton, but she uses it rarely and usually in last-ditch scenarios that end in defeat.

When Nami’s engagements in combat don’t end in defeat, it’s usually because she’s fighting against other women. Women versus women is a trope in long running shounen of this era – watch Naruto and count how many times a woman beats a man head-on. While these battles may be compelling narrative, in One Piece they’re not treated as serious battles compared to the “real” fights, which are Luffy or Zoro or Sanji fighting against the big bad of the arc. It feels like many female villains are only created to give Nami something to do during climactic battles. 

The thing is, though, Oda is a good enough writer that he complicates any simple reading of Nami as a sexist caricature. Nami’s backstory, as played out at Arlong Park, is one of the most emotionally affecting parts of the East Blue Saga. Nami spends the first several arcs backstabbing and double-crossing Luffy & Co. for her own goals. She’s had to go it alone for years, and can’t trust anyone on her path of freeing herself from a tyrant. Asking Luffy for help is a moment of genuine character growth for a woman who has been forced to see everyone but herself as a mark.

Nami’s deceased mother figure, Belle-Mère, is also a huge part of this arc, and significant time is spent on her backstory. Belle-Mère is a former military officer, a fighting woman who adopted two orphaned children fresh out of the Marines. Despite her self-sacrificing death, she is presented as both morally and physically intimidating, her kind personality offset by nerves of steel.. As Oda explained in another SBS segment, even Bell-mère’s distinctive hairstyle is indicative of the way Oda writes her.

O: That hairstyle is called “Women have Guts”. You should yell it out in a beauty parlor. (Chapter 87, Page 128)

O: That hairstyle is called “Women have Guts”. You should yell it out in a beauty parlor. (Chapter 87, Page 128)

Sure, the hair is ugly, but it’s a clear indicator that he sees women as capable of possessing the same drive and fighting spirit as men. 

There are also other female figures important to the Straw Hats’ backstories, such as Zoro’s formative childhood rival, Kuina. Zoro was never able to beat Kuina growing up, but Oda’s writing presents Zoro’s inability to win against Kuina as a result of his age: because he had not yet hit puberty, he couldn’t beat his rival in a fight. Kuina expressed sorrow and frustration that Zoro would eventually surpass her after he hit puberty, something she viewed as unavoidable due to her gender. Her death is Zoro’s primary motivation behind becoming the world’s greatest swordsman, but the potential for her character is never realized. 

This arc sets so much up, not just for Zoro but for the series’ approach to women. The way moving forward seems obvious—presenting an adult woman who challenges Zoro as he is now, thus resolving his childhood trauma—but the series fails to do that… despite introducing Sergeant Tashigi, a swordswoman foil to Zoro who looks exactly like Kuina.

Although Tashigi initially seems like the obvious rival for Zoro, he instead remains overwhelmingly her superior while her position in the Marines is undermined by gendered condescension, with her troops sacrificing their lives to protect her rather than trusting in her skill. She’s not an asset; she’s a liability. 

Despite laying the groundwork to defy Kuina’s internalized gender stereotypes through Tashigi, Oda uses her incompetence to justify them. Kuina has a fighting spirit and is thus sad she’s a woman. Instead of showing the reader that this is wrong through the narrative, Oda’s writing agrees with her. 

It’s not that Oda thinks women don’t have the heart for it. This is said in his own words in the SBS:

D: HI!! Eiichi! You said in Volume 27 that the Jaya arc was “A man’s romance”?! As a woman of 18 years, how would you define my “burning passion for adventure” and “infinite dreams”?! And all my blood goes to my head when I read your manga!!! Take responsibility for it!!! Please take responsibility and include the girls, too. From Her New Nye Co. O: A woman’s romance? No, it’s a bit complicated. The word “man” is sometimes used like an adjective. Really good women have men in themselves. You call them “chic”. So I’ll scream it once again: Men and women can use “A MAN’S ROMANCE”!! Women are included!! (Chapter 263, Page 164)

What limited Oda in these early days was not the idea that women don’t want to fight, but the belief women are fundamentally physically weaker than men. 

There are women throughout the story, but Kuina’s belief that puberty will strip her of all her advantages is repeatedly proven right as the plot develops. Sergeant Tashigi isn’t a satisfying successor to Kuina’s early death because she doesn’t follow through on the set-up for Kuina’s storyline or being a rival to Zoro. Instead, she proves that a fighting spirit can’t overcome the physical weakness of being a woman.  

In Oda’s world, women lack the same prowess in combat as male characters despite the presence of magic Devil Fruit powers. Physically imposing women like Alvida and Big Mom are mocked to the point of inhumanity for their appearances and weight, while attractive women are rarely powerful. In the rare case a woman manages to be both powerful and attractive, like Robin, they mysteriously miss all the action.

Early One Piece isn’t perfect, but there was solid ground to build on. Oda could have grown into his female characters. He already understood the hard part, after all: that women strive for the same human desires of fighting and protecting as men. 

Even with issues this endemic, Oda ultimately humanizes the women who populate the East Blue. He clearly understands that women have motivations: that they love and hurt and hate and desire for vengeance all on their own. Oda knows—or at least expressed, back in the late 1990s and early 2000s—a clear understanding that women are people, with all the messy results this entails. 

But instead of listening to the negative feedback he started receiving, Oda doubled down.

I don’t think Oda hates women. It’s simpler than that: Oda doesn’t like it when people read his characters in ways he didn’t intend. He’s said it himself in interviews. On some level, I can’t blame him. It’s frustrating when readers misconstrue something you’ve written. In an interview at Color Walk 6 in 2014, Oda said:

“I get annoyed to hear people speaking ill of characters in ONE PIECE. For example, when they say ‘this villain is weak’, I can’t help thinking that then I’ll make him much stronger!” 

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The reemergence of Sir Crocodile, one of the series’ early antagonists, is among my favorite moments of the series, and it likely happened as Oda’s response to fans calling him weak. Here, Oda’s decision to prove complaining fans wrong by changing the text improved the series. 

Oda’s reactions to complaints about his portrayal of women in SBS, however, are another story. 

D: Nice to meet you. This is sudden, but… please teach us a tip or two on how to draw that hawt hourglass body all ONE PIECE female characters seem to have! Make sure you don’t forget to include their airbags ♡ P.N. If there’s no bread, let them eat roses~ O: Yes. Hello. It’s drawing time at the SBS segment. I would suggest that you think of a woman’s proportions as “three circles, one X”. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be leaving. (I only draw this kind of body, so I get a lot of complaint postcards from my female audience. Let’s all stay strong and keep on living life.) (Chapter 786, Page 24)

This is where his pettiness goes from fun and relatable to troubling. In Oda’s own words, a “lot” of women complain that he doesn’t do right by his female characters. He could reflect on the validity of these many complaints and use that feedback to improve his narrative. Instead, he doubles down on the character traits people took issue with. 

Complaining that a villain is “weak” is an opinion that engages with the media in-world and doesn’t affect anyone. Female fans writing in to express that they are uncomfortable with the portrayal of their gender in his work are talking about something that impacts them personally. Poor representations of women in the media have the potential to affect the way other people in the real world see these women, from cultural perceptions to concrete working conditions. 

Despite explicitly acknowledging that many women who read One Piece don’t like his representation, Oda dismisses them and advises his audience to “all stay strong and keep on living life.” Female fans who complain are moved from the “fan” category to “other.” Oda paints himself as the brave one even as he makes his female fans the target for ridicule by aligning his audience with him against “them.”

Meanwhile, Oda’s character designs grew more sexualized, not less. Here are side-by-side comparisons of Nami, one at the beginning of the series, one directly before the two-year time skip, and one of her afterward. 

Some… things… certainly changed. Long before I ever interacted with One Piece seriously—before I knew anything but the most basic details of the premise—I remember people joking about the huge change in the way female characters looked after the timeskip. This is egregiously sexist character design, enough that people with no vested interest in representing female characters well still took note when it happened. Oda took the timeskip as an opportunity to respond to female complaints and male desires: look, everyone, he said, look at my female characters now. 

This change for the worse wasn’t just visual, but affected the narrative as well. This is clearly seen in Rebecca, a major female character in the Dressrosa saga. It’s not just that she’s a 16-year-old in a chainmail bikini, but that her agency is repeatedly denied as the story unfolds. 

Rebecca is a gladiator taught by her paternal figure to only fight when absolutely necessary. However, when that time arrives in the story, he denies her the opportunity. Despite Rebecca’s skill, this older man’s desire to protect her supersedes her desire to protect her loved ones. It’s taken as a given that she wouldn’t want to fight unless there was absolutely no other way. In other coming-of-age stories, her lack of desire to fight might prove the necessity of doing so when it comes down to the wire. Instead, a man (her mentor no less, a character type who’s generally meant to be pushed aside so their student can complete their growth) steps in at that crucial moment.

What happened to the world Belle-Mere lived in? What happened to a woman’s sense of adventure, her ability to possess a manly spirit? Princess Vivi from Alabasta, the driving force from a much earlier saga, may not have had astounding combat moments, but her battle between her desire to serve her people and her thirst for adventure is a more compelling story than Rebecca’s narrative. Vivi may have chosen civic duty, but she remains an honorary Straw Hat.

Rebecca is a painful step back from Vivi at a time when Oda should be stepping forward. In the past, he had some misguided ideas and exhibited plenty of gender essentialism, but he valued women’s stories and participation. Nami and Robin’s arcs are as fleshed out as any other Straw Hat’s, and their moments of growth are personal and popular highlights of the overall series, used as examples of the quality One Piece can possess. 

D: *click* You BIG BOOB LOVER!!! (Ahem, pardon me.) *slam*… *click* *smack* (blown kiss) *slam*  P.N. marimo O: Whoa. The girls are rebelling. What are you gonna do about that, guys?! OK, leave it to me! I’ll lay down the law for us all. What the hell are you talking about? I’m a goddamn shonen manga-ka! A MAN’S DREAM!! NEVER ENDS!!! (That was good) (Chapter 381, Page 86)

A female fan complains, and he says that he draws shounen manga: therefore, his representation of women is in line with the genre. “A man’s dream” includes adventure, fights, freedom, and all the core tenets of One Piece that appealed to earlier women writing into the SBS; however, it also includes sexualizing women. As a shonen mangaka, Oda writes for boys and aims to represent what boys (and often men) want. What girls want—representation that shows them as varied and human as male characters—evidently just isn’t as important. 

Instead of considering the reasons his female fans don’t like his choices, he considers their opinions irrelevant because they are not his target audience. Any argument of sexism or misogyny can be written away as the annoying or bitter complaints of women whom the story isn’t “for”. The women who get it get to stay, on the condition that they don’t complain. 

If you ask why Oda should have to think about representing women, my response is that it’s hypocritical to say that Oda shouldn’t have to moralize, because, at the end of the day, One Piece already has morals. One Piece doesn’t succeed simply because Luffy is funny, Zoro is cool, and Nami is sexy: it has a through-line of humanity that tells its audience time and time again that blood is less important than the family you choose. Oda is perfectly willing to tell anti-authoritarian stories about corrupt police forces and write blatant racism allegories. To excuse sexism in a show that’s willing to address the evils of slavery head-on requires intellectual dishonesty.

Finally, the idea that women are “not his audience” is false when 52% of the readership of One Piece is estimated to be female.  If over half of your audience is women, maybe it’s in your best interest not to completely disregard everything they say. At some point in a two-decade-long career, a good writer—which Oda demonstrably is—should be able to look around and see that the themes he thought would only appeal to boys have a wide appeal to everyone. Perhaps, then, it isn’t that “really good women” have a man’s heart. Perhaps men and women all have the same heart. Perhaps we all share the same drive for adventure, freedom, and life on the open seas.

One Piece is a wonderful, mischievous, and masterful show with a lot to say about the human need for friendship and adventure. It’s only gotten more influential with time, and it reaches a larger audience than ever. While far from perfect, twenty years ago Oda demonstrated an awareness that female shounen fans possessed the same desire for heroism and friendship as the boys who read his work, and he was happy to let them tag along on the journey—but only until they pointed out his flaws. When women asked for more, Oda made sure female fans knew One Piece was never for girls in the first place. 

[lizisshortforlizard]

Living Dangerously - Chapter 28

Jurassic Park’s animal handlers: none of them ever mentioned by name in Michael Crichton’s original novel. Who were they? What were their lives like on Isla Nublar? Did any of them survive the disaster? A year in the life of those responsible for the care of the dinosaurs. Many people would kill to have their jobs. But would they die for it?

Jurassic Park novel/Jurassic Park film (1993)

Viewpoint: 3rd person female oc

Warnings: few mentions of the ol alcoholism

Tagging: @heresthefanfiction @ocappreciation @wordspin-shares @howlingmadlady @arrthurpendragon @themaradwrites @starryeyes2000 @kmc1989 (please lmk if you would like informed of my sporadic updates)

Read on Ao3

Chapter 27 | Chapter 29

Since You Been Gone - Rainbow

Several weeks later

Although the island would be virtually uninhabited over Christmas, InGen had shipped in an impressive Douglas Fir that was already shrivelling up and disintegrating in the tropical heat. It was dropping enough needles to make Marìa implore the Almighty for help every time she swept the floor, which was now a daily task. Someone had used the cherry picker to fling tinsel over the model skeletons in the atrium of the visitor centre. The Alamosaurus had a shiny blue party hat perched jauntily on top of its skull.

About as festive as you could wish for in a near-Equatorial country.  Muldoon wanted to meet with Lizzy beneath the skeletons before he began the long journey back to Kenya.

“I’ve done the best I can with staffing, but there will be two days at Christmas and again at New Year when you’re by yourself. I’ll be back on the third.” 

Lizzy nodded solemnly.

“You do not go out in the park by yourself on those four days you’re alone, do you understand me?”

”O-kay?”

”I don’t care what you see on those video monitors in the control room. I don’t care what alarms go off. It’s not your problem to fix. You make a note of it and tell someone later, but whatever happens you stay indoors.”

”Richardson said-“ She started.

“I don’t care. You do what I say.” He fixed her with an icy blue stare. “Screw Richardson and his half-baked ideas.”

”No, thanks.” She wrinkled her nose.

Muldoon didn’t smile. “Armstrong, are we clear?”

Lizzy sighed. “Yes, we are perfectly clear.”

He remained unconvinced. “The weather looks alright too, no storms forecast-“

”Seriously! I’ll be fine!” She reassured. “Go home, see the kid. Don’t worry about me.”

Satisfied his point had been made, Muldoon became apologetic. ”Sorry about all this.” 

Among the offers of come back to Oz, come back to Baton Rouge, come back to Lisbon, there would have been the offer of Kenya too, and not just out of politeness.

“You know I hate flying, it makes me feel very green. I’m the logical choice, anyway. No ties. No commitments.” She wiggled her fingers, conscious for the first time in a while that the weight of her engagement ring was no longer there. 

If it had to be anyone, it may as well be me.

Everyone else had parents, kids, significant others, siblings. Jeff was back in Newcastle for the festive period, with his own blood relatives. 

Lizzy had nobody.

“You can give me a bell me if you need to. Don’t care if its the middle of the night.” The park warden handed her a piece of paper with a Kenyan dialling code on it. “Doesn’t have to be work-related, either.”

Lizzy cleared her throat, unsure what he meant. “Got it. Thanks.”

”One last thing.” He reminded her. “Do not go near that raptor.”

“Aw, but I was planning to take her on a day trip to climb Sibo!”

”Not funny. If you remember one thing from this conversation, let that be it. No raptor.”

Kathy’s silhouette appeared in the double-doorway, dragging her chunky duffel bag, the contents threatening to burst forth from the zips all over the marble tiles. It looked like it weighed more than she did. 

“Travelling light, are we?” Muldoon looked her up and down. 

She waved him away, pushing her glasses back up her nose. “Hey, Minnesota is cold. You really think I’m walking over a snowy runway in my flip-flops?”

The park warden was still fixated on her luggage. He pointed to it with his boot. ”You’re going to make me carry that to the airport, aren’t you?” 

”No, no way!” Kathy made a show of exclaiming, before quietly muttering out of the side of her mouth to Lizzy. “I absolutely am.”

“Keep commenting on how heavy it is, how small you are, until he feels bad.” The ethologist suggested, but she knew her deceptively strong friend was able to lift and carry two straw bales at once.

“Oh, I plan to.” Kathy abandoned the bag on the floor and pulled her in for a hug. “Next year, I don’t care how far apart we are, you are coming for Christmas with my family. There‘s always gonna be a place set for you at our house.”

Lizzy managed to blurt out her thanks awkwardly. 

Promised I wouldn’t cry. Jeez.

“And this year-“ Kathy continued. “-if you feel ill at all then you just up and leave the island, okay? It’s not worth it. Call the mainland at Puntarenas…or my mom. I’ve set her as speed-dial two at Ray’s desk.”

“Nice surprise for him next time he tries to call Palo Alto and gets Momma Baker instead.” Lizzy grinned at her friend’s ranking system of who to contact in an emergency. “Just think of me when you’re raising a toast, okay?”

”I will not be cheersing anything this year-” Kathy denied. “-unless it’s with a juice box.”

Lizzy scoffed. “Like he’d know.”

”He’d know.” She insisted, sweeping her braids over one shoulder. “Muldoon said I could if I wanted, but we made a pact. The pact holds firm even if we’re not in the same place anymore.”

The Team Leader was in her mid-twenties, and fond of a beer with the guys, especially on Friday evenings after work. But she had decided to lead by example. 

“How’s it going? You helping him…stop?” Lizzy dared to ask. She’d been avoiding finding out for the past few weeks, in case the answer wasn’t what she wanted to hear. 

“Really good. You’ll be pleased to know he remains firmly on the wagon.”  Despite Kathy’s insistence he didn’t have to go all or nothing straight away, Muldoon had quit the booze cold turkey. The following weeks the island’s coffee usage had increased dramatically. He’d been shorter than usual with almost everyone. Kathy had taken the worst of it more than once, like a trooper. But so far, so sober. 

“That is really good.” Lizzy’s eyes darted past Kathy to see the man in question picking up and hoisting her friend’s ridiculously overpacked luggage over his shoulder without changing expression, as if it were nothing. 

“Yup. Really good.” She caught herself biting her lip. 

Tom swaggered in, minus any bags of his own. “Hey, I thought we already had the Christmas party? What’s with the gathering?”

“And I thought you were leaving on today’s ferry too? Where’s your stuff?” Lizzy wondered aloud. 

“Nah. Tomorrow.” Then louder, for Muldoon’s benefit. “Gotta reduce the amount of time this one has to single-handedly destroy the island. Right, boss?” “Christ. Don’t remind me.”

Tom’s gaze rested on Kathy, who looked very uncomfortable at the sudden attention. 

”I’m actually gonna miss you, four-eyes. Who’d have seen that one coming?” 

”Uh-huh…”

“Well-“ He ironically saluted before turning to leave. “Until next year, loser.”

“Now or never.” Lizzy elbowed her friend in the ribs. “I’m not doing it for you.”

Kathy gave her the dirtiest look possible before jogging after Tom. 

“Baker, we have to get going-“ Muldoon sounded exasperated, still holding her bag.

“Give her a minute.” Lizzy told him. “It’s important.”

”Kennedy of all people, is missing-her-flight levels of important? That’s new…”

”Wait, Tom!” Kathy called as she ran. 

The Texan turned and stared at her hurrying closer, confused.

”I, um-…I made you this.” She pulled a parcel out of her shoulder bag, it too was straining at the seams. “But I dunno how cold it gets in Texas, it’s probably useless…You know what, never mind, you don’t have to take it. It’s stupid.”

She hugged the gift close to her chest, wishing she could rewind the last thirty seconds. Why had Lizzy encouraged her to do this?! It was so dumb. He clearly still hated her. 

“You give that here, missy. I’ll be the judge of whether it’s stupid or not.” Tom held out his hands. ”Can I open it now?”

”Uhm…okay. Why wait, I guess?” She chuckled nervously then hiccuped. 

Tom tore the paper, making a performance out of doing it as slowly as possible while Kathy carefully awaited his reaction.

Muldoon huffed and looked at his watch. 

”Woah…is that-”

She’d knitted him a slightly lumpy scarf in the colours of the Texas state flag. Everyone had received a woollen item from Kathy as a gift, in the colours of their place of origin. 

”Dude, you made this? For me?” Tom couldn’t hold back a massive grin, and immediately threw the paper aside and tied the scarf in a loose knot around his neck. “Shit, that’s sick, man! It’s soft as all Hell! Sorry, Heck. Soft as Heck.”

Kathy let out a sigh of relief. She’d been half-expecting to be ripped to shreds for her handmade gift. 

“But I don’t have anything for you, Kit…”

”It’s okay.” She knew he’d been saving up to really spoil his little sister this year. Lizzy had told her as much. “I wasn’t expecting anything in return. But I made them for everyone else, and you actually work really hard, and-“

Next thing she knew, her face was pressed close to his denim jacket as he scooped her up in a bear hug.  

She couldn’t recall having physical contact with Tom before, doing her best to stay away from him unless she had no choice. As far as she knew, he didn’t do hugs. Not with anyone.

Kathy tensed, stiff as a corpse until she heard him rumble against the side of her head ”Thank you, darlin’.”

He sounded so genuine, and she buried her face in the fabric of his jacket, squeezing her eyes tight shut to hide how they were welling up. 

She relaxed into the hug. ”Happy Christmas, Tom.”

***

The two weeks that followed turned out to be uneventful, if very lonely, for Lizzy. On the big day itself she’d opened a few small gifts her friends had left for her, including a brand new knitted bobble hat. In the colours of Namibia, not Scotland. She had called Jeff in Newcastle at InGen’s expense, had a lengthy catch-up and a good laugh, then nuked some leftover macaroni cheese, the Christmas dinner of champions, before focusing on writing up her behavioural research she was in serious danger of falling behind with. Lizzy wondered if she’d ever get clearance from InGen to publish a paper on the behaviour of juvenile Velociraptor mongoliensis. Unlikely, but she had to write the damn thing first. 

She missed her elephants. 

Don’t go out into the park. She wasn’t an idiot, and Lizzy had to admit it was asking for trouble. If anything happened, nobody would find her for a very long time, that much was certain. God forbid she came to a sticky end because she fell and broke her ankle, or something equally stupid. 

But watching the dinosaurs on a video screen just wasn’t the same as being out there among them. Hearing the sauropods trumpet in the far distance was nothing like feeling the ground shake when they walked by. Seeing the dilophosaurs flare their crests near the river, smelling the Rex on the breeze and knowing in your gut she was nearby even if you couldn’t see her. You could just feel her. Lizzy missed the smallest things she’d started to take for granted in her job. 

She may not have her elephants, but she didn’t have her dinosaurs either. Neither did she have her new favourite, the little raptor who was her biggest challenge yet.  Lizzy wondered if there was a fellow lonely soul on Isla Sorna who had been given a similar task to her. If they had family they missed, or if they too had friends but were alone in the world.

Some local InGen employees came and went between Christmas and New Year, but she was soon left to her own devices for the second two-day stint of solitude.

It was far worse than the first time around. Lizzy thought constantly about using the Kenyan dialling code, or hitting speed dial two. But she always talked herself out of it. 

They don't need me bothering them. They see me every single day, they see their families hardly ever. God, give them some space. Stop being so bloody needy.

She kept trying to persuade herself of the passing of time, trying to think of things to do while she was effectively trapped indoors, all while debating if cabin fever was a legitimate medical condition and how long it normally took to develop. She wondered whether she could find Gerry Harding’s San Diego number and really piss Sarah off by calling him at home to ask. 

New Year's Eve, however, more than compensated for how tedious Lizzy's Christmas break had been. 

She was leaving the showers that night, minding her own business, and rounded the corner wrapped in her towel, humming, totally unprepared for who was waiting for her when she finally glanced up at close range through half-misted glasses.

“Shitting Heaven!” Lizzy shrieked, flattening herself against the wall in shock.

Muldoon was just there in the corridor, looking surprised, in the process of unlocking his door.

”You nearly gave me a bloody heart attack!” She accosted him when she recovered her wits, red-faced and angry now the fear had retreated. “Christ alive! Thanks for the warning!”

“Sorry, Armstrong.”

”Don’t give me Armstrong! Why the Hell didn’t you say anything?” She moaned, rubbing her forehead, heart still thumping with the force of a war cannon against her sternum. “You must have heard me coming!”

“Again, sorry.”

Lizzy’s eyes widened. She’d been enjoying singing loudly in the shower. Horribly out of tune, and she knew it. A one-woman rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. 

There was no way in Hell he wouldn’t have heard. She’d been performing the entirety of the song as a solo for the last five minutes.

The absurdity of the situation hit her, and she covered her mouth to stifle a nervous laugh. Now was not the time. She was still very much ticked off at him for ambushing her, and she wanted him to know.

“Why are you here?” Lizzy demanded, doing her best to regain control. The park warden was back a full four days before schedule. Not that she was counting down, or anything.

“Baker phoned me.” As if that was a perfectly reasonable explanation. 

“So?”

”She had a feeling. She was worried about you.”

”You came back because of a feeling? Someone else’s feeling?” It didn’t make sense to Lizzy at all. He didn't normally go in for superstitions, or anything of the sort. 

Muldoon recalled the previous night, and the fateful phonecall that led to cutting his trip home short. His daughter had answered and come to get him, tapping with her small hands covered by new wool mittens that she point-blank refused to take off, even when she was eating dinner, or sleeping.

“Baba, phone. Cat lady from…Min-ah-so-tah.” She’d pronounced carefully. 

Muldoon was then wide awake. Why in God’s name was Baker calling him at this ungodly hour? Who had died?

By the time he’d made it to the phone, she had been sobbing down the line, borderline hysterical. When he’d finally gotten some sense out of her, if you could call it sense, she told him she’d had the most terrifying nightmare. That the dinosaurs had all escaped and were roaming free, Lizzy was in danger, she was sure of it.

At first, he was sceptical. Just a dream, nothing to it.

Then she had uttered the magic word raptor, and Muldoon knew that made two of them that wouldn’t be going back to sleep anytime soon. 

What had he been thinking? What had InGen been playing at? Leaving Armstrong alone to man the island, all for the sake of someone keeping an eye on the place.

Were they really that paranoid that a rival would try and steal from them? With all the security systems they had in place? It was virtually impossible. 

Although he wouldn’t put it past the ethologist to send intruders packing, to be honest. Sub-par depth perception aside, she was still pretty handy with a shotgun. 

”Please.” Baker’s voice had steadied, suddenly clear and direct. “I need to know Lizzy’s okay. I can’t bear to call her, in case…But if you won’t do it either, I’m leaving for that island tonight-“

”I’ll phone her now. You do realise she’s probably fine?” Muldoon became aware he was trying to convince himself of that fact as much as he was Baker.

”And what will you do if she doesn’t pick up, hm? What will you do if she’s fine now, but you arrive back in a few days and something has happened?” Her voice rose in pitch. “Why did we leave her? On a dinosaur island?”

And then Muldoon did something very out of character. He hung up, waited a few minutes, and called Baker back to tell her Armstrong was fine, not to worry, have a Happy New Year. 

Then he quietly made his way to the airport in Nairobi. Only when he was on the first of several flights had it started to sink in, exactly what he was doing. What it all came down to.

He needed to see her. It’s for safety. This automation business is nonsense. Shouldn’t have left her. 

He reflected that his Team Leader and partner in sobriety wasn’t exactly making life easy for him. 

How it had taken every ounce of willpower he had not to answer Scotch, please when the heavily made-up air hostess had come around with the drinks trolley. 

And then came the worst, and most time-consuming part, finding someone on the Costa Rican mainland who fit the Venn diagram intersection of having a boat and being willing to sail to Isla Nublar at short notice.  Turned out not many of the locals fit both criteria. Not for cheap, anyway.

“Baker made a very strong case.”

”Right…” Lizzy was still baffled, and a little put out that the reason for him standing in front of her in her towel wasn't for anything other than safety. 

It was only because Kathy’d had another of her stupid dreams, that she was always convinced meant something more. Lizzy had lost track of the number of times she had reassured her that they were not. She wasn’t a prophet. She was just a worrier with an active imagination. 

After the ferry, Muldoon hadn’t stopped to drop off his backpack. He couldn’t find Armstrong at first, anywhere in the staff quarters. She wasn’t answering his calls to her radio, and for a second he had feared Baker was right. 

Maybe something had happened. 

Then he’d heard the God-awful “singing” coming from the women’s showers and it was the most beautiful sound Muldoon had ever heard because it meant Armstrong was alive and well.

Now, it wasn’t gratifying at all, it was just awkward, she was angry at him. And explaining he was back on Nublar ahead of schedule because of a dream, and not even his own, just sounded more and more absurd.

“Well…I’m okay. You can stop worrying.” Lizzy looked down at herself. “If I were dressed I would probably be okay-er.”

She became conscious Muldoon was looking past her, instead of at her, avoiding eye contact. As if he was nervous to look anywhere else.

She was still dripping all over the floor, hair in wet ringlets slicked to her forehead. 

By then, Lizzy just wanted to get back to her room and dry off. She smiled sweetly. ”Gonna make me walk past you like this, huh?”

“Er, no-“ He went back to opening his door, as he had been before she had rounded the corridor and nearly expired from fright. “I’ll leave you to it.”

“Oh, thanks so much!” She replied sarcastically as he made himself scarce.

***

A couple of hours later, Muldoon reluctantly pushed open the door of the staff kitchen to a sight he never thought he’d witness: Armstrong standing over a stove, cooking.

“Hi!” She turned and waved at him.  Instead of her company-issued shorts and polo shirt that she usually lived in, she’d opted for jeans and a loose sweater. Her hair was still wet. She looked very different. Not in a bad way, either. 

“Sorry about earlier. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay. Ran into far more people wearing far less.” She brushed it off.

“Excuse me?”

”Joking!” She claimed hastily. “I was joking!”

So awkward.

Lizzy’s heart dropped.

Oh no, was this when she found out they only got on so well because they were both mad at the world? Because they liked complaining about the same things? Take that away and what did they have to talk about?

"Got your note."

"I can see, else you wouldn’t be here, would you?” She said bluntly. This was going nowhere. Lizzy couldn't take it. "Look, it’s fine. It’s honestly fine. I don’t care and you shouldn’t either. Thank you for coming back to check on me.”

She turned her attention away from the stove and cocked an eyebrow. “Though a phone call would have sufficed.”

”I realise that.”

“It’s a good thing.” She pointed the spoon at him. “You’re staying. I've been so bored without anyone around. Don't make me spend another evening talking to myself."

“Hm.” He agreed. “Can you even get a word in edgeways?"

"Nice to have an intelligent conversation around here, actually." Lizzy hid a smile. And we’re back.

“What’s that you’re making?”

“Stew?” She continued stirring. 

”Why does that sound like a question?”

“I think.”

”You…think?” He seemed to finally be  relaxing. “It either is or it isn't."

“I was making bolognese, but…something went wrong.” Lizzy explained, sounding deflated. She looked him dead in the eyes and admitted: “I actually haven’t cooked dinner in a very long time.”

"In that case, I’m pleased I went to so much trouble to get back here.”

”Give it a minute. It’s getting there.” Lizzy clamped the lid on the pot. Out of sight, out of might. If it burns, just call it Cajun. Gonna be great. So good. 

“Getting where, exactly?  Why are you going to all this bother anyway?”

“I thought-… you’ve had a really long journey?” 

“And you’re trying to finish me off in my weakened state, is that what you’re saying?” Muldoon deadpanned. “You want my job that badly?”

She threw her wooden spoon down on the worktop in a huff and folded her arms. “Please. I wouldn’t stoop to poisoning. Pitfall trap, maybe. Alright?”

The park warden peered over her shoulder at the wisps of black smoke starting to rise from the stove. “Armstrong, I think your-…whatever it is, is burning.”

“Completely intentional.” She wrinkled her nose. “I can manage.”

“Try it.” He dared her.

“It’s too hot-“

”Try it now.”

She caved, but couldn’t stop her face from screwing up like she’d just taken a hefty bite from a lemon. Lizzy knew there was no way it would be her best cooking effort, but it was bad. 

“Oh, Christ!”  She passed him the spoon, admitting defeat. “I give up. All yours.”

“Take a seat. I can salvage it.”

Quietly, from the battered cassette player in the corner Jimmy Page’s guitar riffs chugged along, Robert Plant wailing something about a flaming heart, every now and then the high notes swelling over the noise of the pots bubbling on the stove as they swapped places. Led Zeppelin IV. Lizzy had found a tape in Gennaro’s office while she was poking around. Didn’t know old Donald got the Led out, she’d thought. But imagining the lawyer with long hair and flared jeans, in the front row at Madison Square Garden was a thought that now frequently made her smile when she was bored.

“Ugh. Salvage.” She groaned, resting her head on a propped up arm. “That’s such an unfortunate word. I’m so sorry.” 

“S’alright. Like a challenge.” 

”I’m better at breakfast.” She defended herself. “I can do a decent fry-up.”

“And how does a man get you to sort out breakfast for them?”

She shrugged. “Be the one to wake me up in the morning.”

Muldoon almost dropped a knife but caught it before it could make a noise on the worktop. 

“I mean-“ Lizzy realised what she’d said without thinking. “Uhhh…”

He’d caught her succumbing to nostalgia, remembering grey dawns in New York, when Simon had offered to go out in the rain for bagels, and instead of leaving the apartment, she’d whacked some eggs on the stove. 

Looking back, there had been happy times. But perhaps it had only seemed happy because it was everything she’d never had before. 

Although she’d kill for a hot chocolate and a doughnut that always smelled better than it tasted from the cart they went looking for every winter in Times Square. That was one of their traditions.

Simon had been one of the people she'd considered calling over Christmas. He’d be spending a few days at his parent’s house upstate, no doubt. Same as always. But she’d ultimately decided no good could come from contacting him, even though she still knew the number off by heart. No scrap of paper or speed dial required.   It had ended for a reason. She had to remember that. Even though he’d never been brave enough to insult her attempts at cooking. 

Unlike some.

Her gaze fell on Muldoon again. 

”I’ll be conveniently absent then. State of it.” He grumbled. “Won’t be risking it even if we’re still alive tomorrow.”

”You’re so rude.”

“Could have tortured prisoners at Alcatraz with whatever that was.”

Lizzy cackled.

“Hey-…I‘m really glad you came back, you know?” She told him honestly. “My sense of humour isn’t wasted.”

Oh, who was she kidding? She’d missed him. Really missed him. 

“You didn’t phone.” It sounded accusatory when he said it. “Two weeks is a very long time to not hear from someone like you.”

I thought about it.

”I wanted to.” She answered quietly. 

I thought about you. 

Muldoon had an idea. 

Now he was back she could go out into the park again. They could both go out into the park, in fact. And with nobody else around, who would question them going out at night? 

Was it a daft thing to suggest? Probably. 

Armstrong had been distant the past few weeks before winter break. Giving herself space. Giving him space. 

But he had been trying. Succeeding so far thanks to Baker’s efforts. That girl really was something else, putting up with him in his worst moods.  And Armstrong was the one who’d asked him to spend time with her that evening. They could have quite easily existed without running into each other again for days. The place was big enough. But they were in this tiny kitchen together, her struggling to find enough space to set out plates and cutlery without bumping into him. 

The other staff would be arriving back in the next few days. 

Who knew when he’d have her all to himself again?

Didn’t mean he wasn’t nervous as Hell. It might not have been enough time for her to feel safe around him out in the jungle. She might still say no.

But it was worth a try. 

“Armstrong, would you-“

She dropped a bowl on the worktop with a clank at the critical moment. “Sorry, what?”

“Would you like to come for a drive with me later?”

“Why?” The frown lines appeared between her eyebrows. “Is something wrong, out in the park?”

“No-“

”I wrote everything up while you were gone. All the errors.”

”I know-“

”And I haven’t been near the baby raptor!” She added, a little too insistently.  “Armstrong-“. A touch sharply, to get her to stop talking so damn fast. Ask me properly. ”Lizzy. Would you like to see in the New Year with me? Somewhere more scenic?”

”Ohh…” Realisation dawned on her face, then a revolving door of emotions. Excitement, then uncertainty, then indecision. “If it’s a no, then-“

”I didn’t say no.” Lizzy interrupted. 

She wasn't sure if she was ready. Finding that bottle at the back of the staff lodge had knocked her sideways, upended her world. 

But she wanted to go with him, she wanted to so badly.

Really good. That was what Kathy had said. 

That was enough for her to smile and nod.

”Yes, please. I’d love that.”

***

Thanks for reading!

Is this going to count as a date? I think it’s going to count as a date! (Finally…) At the museum I used to work in the sauropod skeleton did indeed wear a party hat at Christmas. Also in Glasgow they put a traffic cone on the head of the Duke of Wellington’s statue on the regular…so it may or may not have been Lizzy.

[technicianuprisingau]

Drawing the Rest of the Copy Ability Stars... Round 2!!

Me: Okay I think I should draw Round 2 first before I go and reboot the Technician Modes Me, realizing that I was so invested in Round 1, that I draw nearly all of them but 3 (minus the Contact Abilities): Me: ...YOU'RE TELLING ME HAD I DIDN'T STOP I WOULD'VE FINISHED THIS IN ONE ROUND?!

*SIGH* Let's get this over with. Here's Part 1 if you're confused.

Burning - This ability is kinda useless but uh, again, I guess Fire is offense and Burning is speed, so they can co-exist! Had to steal all the icons from Nightmare in Dreamland, Canvas Curse, and 64 just to make this. I hope it's sufficient and it's not just FIRE 2!!!

Ranger - I mean, I certainly didn't expect this ability to appear. But okay, sure! Kirby with a gun supremacy. It looks fun to play in Forgotten Land. I just decided to look at its illustration and have it the icon of the gun shooting a star... I might redo this in the future, it looks... Eh...

Drill - Ah yes, the ability that ruined Technician Uprising's canon standing. Before this ability was revealed, I deadset that Kirby's Technician ability would be Pure, which means he has capabilities unique to him only, in this case copying (and of course Robobot Armor shares that too with him due to partnership clause). Sure, the drill itself (which IS his weapon) was already in 64 but as a power combo which, as you may know, I made that state in 64 as a puberty state, which means that's not legit! So hell yeah, Kirby gets to use a drill. Bring on the Gurren Lagann references, people, he can thrive in it. BUT THEN FORGOTTEN LAND CAME. THEN THE DRILL ABILITY CAME. And so everything is ruined, the drill symbolism is no longer unique to poor Kirby. Thanks, HAL! Now I have to grasp at straws! I tried making the best of it though, all bias aside. It gave me a lesson to be more careful with making Technician Modes in the future though, as if the weapon matches the newest ability, I would be effectively screwed. WAHOO! Anyways stealing the ability hat for this one isn't it obvious.

Technician - My beloved. This design has not changed too much, even in its old days. Nothing much to say here.

Hypernova - Okay hear me out it technically has an icon but... The main reason I wanted to change it is because the Miracle Fruit is so mesmerizing. So I decided, screw canon, canon can eat my ass. In fact, I could've made it colorful too, but I restricted myself to three colors because Contact Abilities aren't supposed to exist! So it makes sense for it to break the rules! Yet I still want some boundaries.

Kabuki - Oh god I do not want to remember what the anime did to this ability. I have ranted about this ability before. So now, it's my responsibility to make it real. But the thing is, before I finalized what it would look like, I needed something to represent their magic, and no I do not want it to be Baton 2.0, so uh. Will-o-wisps! The supernatural Japanese thingies! I love will-o-wisps. So uh... yay.

Well, that means everything is settled... though I will have to do some minor edits to the spreadsheet, because GUESS WHAT?! I checked every file and realized that since I stacked each star one above the other, a small part of the other stars got into the imported picture. Now I have to redo everything AGAIN!!!!!

That being said. Please do enjoy.

[krispyweiss]

Old Crow Medicine Show with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway at Rose Music Center at the Heights, Huber Heights, Ohio, July 9, 2024

The combined power of Old Crow Medicine Show and Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway covering “Helpless” and “The Weight” was the perfect ending to three hours of virtually perfect performance from both the headlining and opening acts.

Though Tuttle is the driver, her Golden Highway is in every sense a band. And she shifted effortlessly from group leader to temporary Old Crow Medicine Show woman across multiple occurrences of cross-pollination July 9 in Southwest Ohio.

During the encore, Tuttle fronted the Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young track and co-led the latter Band number. It capped a night of collaboration that began when OCMS’ Ketch Secor joined Tuttle & Golden Highway during their rapturously received opening set and continued as Tuttle and her bandmates rotated on and off stage to expand the headliners, touring as a sextet rather than the seven-piece that began the year, to as many as 11 players. Like the lineup, augmented by a baton-twirling roadie who also played squeezebox on a few numbers, the setlist and presentation differed from the Old Crows’ January show an hour up the road in Columbus.

It was a Tuesday in a two-thirds full Rose Music Center in Huber Heights, Ohio. But Secor repeatedly said it felt like Saturday. And from the standing ovations Tuttle & Golden Highway earned during their hourlong opening set to OCMS’ two-hour, dancing-in-the-aisles show, it did seem like the weekend was in full swing.

Equal parts tent revival, vaudeville show, hoedown, comedy act and rock ‘n’ roll extravaganza, an Old Crow Medicine Show show is for the audience a bit like being an in-play pinball as band members switch instruments - three musicians manned the kit - styles and genres as easily as regular folks swap hats.

So it went that OCMS played CSNY’s “Ohio” and dedicated it to an audience member new to the concertgoing experience; mocked Morgan Wallen’s country bonafides while gathered, unplugged, around a single, old-time mic; engaged in three-fiddle reels with help from Golden Highway’s Brownyn Keith-Hynes; and preached the healing power of music, weed and community when the musicians briefly stopped rushing around the large stage festooned with a backdrop emblazoned with an OCMS-branded big-top.

Secor cracked wise with Southwest Ohio - O-H-Ten, he calls the state - banter about breeze coming off the interstate between rambunctious originals like “Tell it to Me,” “Alabama High Test” and “Dixie Avenue;” and covers like “Great Balls of Fire,” “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” (with Tuttle) and an Dayton-centric version of “Hang on Sloopy.”

And, yes, OCMS played “Wagon Wheel.”

While the Medicine men were chatty, Golden Highway left the talking to the music as the five members - fiddler Keith-Hynes, banjoist Kyle Tuttle, the namesake guitarist, bassist Shelby Means and mandolin man Dominick Leslie - lined the front of the stage and struck rock-star poses between leg kicks and head bangs to match Tuttle and Means’ sequined miniskirts.

Tuttle covered Juice Newton’s “Queen of Hearts” and the Rolling Stones’ “She’s a Rainbow,” celebrated individualism on “Crooked Tree” and sung about weed on “Down Home Dispensary,” “San Joaquin” and “Dooley’s Farm.” The latter featured a lengthy mid-song jam that one might expect at a Billy Strings gig and led to the first of two standing ovations for the openers. The second lasted so long that stage music began playing over the PA to prevent an encore and avoid cutting into the Medicine men’s slot.

As it went, OCMS was one of a few bands that could’ve followed Tuttle & Golden Highway and held its own.

See more photos on Sound Bites’ Facebook page.

Grade card: Old Crow Medicine Show with Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway at Rose Music Center - 7/9/24 - A

7/10/24

[mitchbeck]

HARTFORD WOLF PACK AND SPRINGFIELD THUNDERBIRDS PREVIEW

By: Gerry Cantlon, Howlings HARTFORD, CT - The Hartford Wolf Pack went thru the paces Tuesday in preparation for Game 1 with the Springfield Thunderbirds at the Mass Mutual Center on Wednesday and Game 2 on Friday at the XL Center. Dylan Garand is being handed the baton to handle the goaltending, and the Pack forwards must work on solving the Thunderbirds goalie Joel Hofer. The Thunderbirds (38-26-3-5) were 9-2-0-1 in the season series and had points in nine of the twelve games. The Pack defense also needs to find a way to neutralize forwards Will Bitten, the top scorer in the season series. Bitten has eight goals and 15 points after playing in all 12 games. Martin Frk led the team in the season's scoring with 30 goals and 64 points. He, too, did well against the Pack in the regular season. The Pack must also contend with containing defenseman Mike Perunovich. On the Wolf Pack side, they will need to get offense and score on Hofer, who was 7-1-1 with three shutouts against the Wolf Pack. He holds a .955 save percentage, and Hofer had three of the four shutouts the team endured this season. The Wolf Pack were scoreless over 120 minutes in the last two meetings. Will Cullye led the Wolf Pack in the head-to-head matchup. He had nine points in twelve games (six goals and three assists) in the season series and fifth best among all AHL rookies. The Wolf Pack (35-26-4-7), with 81 points, enter the playoffs in fifth place in the Atlantic Division. Cullye and Lauri Pajuniemi had hat tricks against the T-Birds, the first the franchise has had in a year and a half. The Wolf Pack's road mark this year at 17-13-4-2 was the best since 2015-16, when they last made the playoffs with 21 road wins. The Pack lost leading scorer Jonny Brodzinski (21 goals and 48 points) to recall by the Rangers to be among their Black Aces for the playoffs. NOTES: The Wolf Pack did some roster housecleaning and made depth transactions with Jacksonville. In separate transactions, goalie Parker Gaghen, who came in as an emergency backup twice, will be available along with Talyn Boyko for backup duty behind Garand. The defense added Cooper Zech for depth. He was acquired at the trade deadline from the Chicago Wolves as part of the multi-layered Patrick Kane deal. Easton Brodzinski was returned to the Icemen. The Rangers won Game 1 of their series against the New Jersey Devils, 5-1. One-time CT Whale Chris Kreider scored twice. THE ISLANDERS WILL STAY IN BRIDGEPORT The Bridgeport City Council agreed to $28 million in arena upgrades at the Total Mortgage Arena in exchange for a new ten-year lease to replace the expired 20-year lease from last year at the original $20M figure. The late Roy Boe initially negotiated the lease in 2000 when he brought the Beast of New Haven from Carolina thirty days after they were suspended and briefly mothballed. His bid of 20 years at $20M beat out the Beast by a wide margin (11 years at $1.1 M). After making the initial payment, however, Boe never made another payment. The lease was then negotiated with Center Plate Management, the food and beverage company of the arena that initially ran the building for the first ten years starting in 2000. However, Center Plate elected not to renew its management deal when it expired or made a bid on a new contract. The new deal concludes four years of contentious negotiations between the city, who owns the building, and the Islanders. The city cited legal costs over $6000K, matching the figure the city claimed the Islanders owed in back rent. In addition, the Islanders said that promised building renovations were never performed as per the original lease and never occurred under Boe or the aegis of Charles Wang either. Boe and Charles Wang both had ownership of the AHL team at different times. Unfortunately, both men are now deceased. The Islanders (nee Sound Tigers) also cited the new amphitheater across from the parking lot from the arena on the stadium site of the Bridgeport Bluefish, a former Atlantic League baseball team, and they felt it violated the non-compete clause in the original lease. Boe turned over ownership after failing to pay the Islanders their required affiliation fee. They nearly had the franchise suspended by the now-retired AHL President, CEO, and AHL HOF member, Dave Andrews. The late Bill Torrey, a former NY Islanders part-owner, General Counsel, and NHL heavyweight in his day, persuaded Boe to relinquish his operating control of the franchise. In addition to defaulting on paying their affiliation fee, Boe and his son Todd didn't pay many local vendors and employees during their brief ownership. The XL Center is run by OVG (Oak View Group), which also runs the Total Mortgage Arena. They are waiting for bids on the long overdue renovations at the XL Center to come back in. OVG hopes the bids come in close to the $107.2M estimates they received last month from SCI Architects and Dimeo Construction. In addition, they are handling the stalled, unfinished construction of the sports betting area at the XL Center. Does OVG operate the arena in Bridgeport under a management fee or on profit/loss? It is unknown. Spectra, at the time, inspected the books; a source revealed at the time, 'they ran from the building' and never put in a bid. Unfortunately, the contents of the contract are not a matter of public record, so there's no way to know what is in the details. When Wang came in after 2010 to run the building, he created a company to do it after the management deal with Center Plate expired. The company Wang created was run by the owner of The Rinks at Shelton, Howard Saffan. He was summarily dismissed several years later after his billing to the Islanders for their practice ice time in Shelton was less than honorable. He owns and operates the amphitheater with long-time concert promoter Jim Koplik. The number of NCAA college pro signees is 226 from Divisions I and II. Hockey East leads the six collegiate conferences with 36 signees for the second straight year. The rest are NCHC-36, CCHA-31, Big Ten-28, ECACHL-23, AHA -20, NCAA Division I Independent,t-13, and Division III-28. Ten head to Europe; departing early are 37. The transfers for both grad and in-school are even at 35. Canadian college is just one so far. University of Dubuque (Iowa) is going NCAA D3 in both men's and women's hockey in the NCHA conference as they will get a shipment of players from Finlandia University (Hancock, MI) from the school that is closing entirely at the end of the school year. The team will share the Dubuque Ice Arena in the city with the USHL Dubuque Fighting Saints. One coach has stepped down, and another one has signed an extension. After 30 years, Colgate Red Raiders (ECACHL) coach Don Vaughn has stepped down. A national search for a new bench boss has already begun. After a strong year, Alaska-Fairbanks Nanooks (NCAA Independent) Erik Largen was given a new five-year deal, as the school just missed out on an NCAA regional berth. However, they collected 20 wins for the first time in nearly two decades. Cheshire native and former Hartford Jr. Wolf Pack, Robert "Bert" Malloy, and his fellow Australian teammates dropped the first two games at the IIHF Division II Group A tournament. They suffered an 8-1 loss to host Spain in game two. Malloy had two shots and was a plus-one in the loss. HARTFORD WOLF PACK HOME Read the full article

[obscureoperations]

i come back to be annoying asf again-

abe's s/o turns out to be a cop-

"well shit-"

imnotfunnylolanyway-

hi, hope you're day/night/whatever's going lovely

Lmaooo this is great! Cut to me with an officer's hat, baton badge/cuffs literally sitting in my closet. No I won't elaborate on how I acquired them.

Homeboy's gonna like..get it.

You have a good one too fam!

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 320: Deku vs. Class 1-A

Previously on BnHA: Flashback!Kacchan was all “fuck Deku and fuck his stupid goodbye letters, I need to speak to somebody in charge.” Endeavor was all “hello, I am Somebody In Charge.” Kacchan was all “listen up asshole, you need to let us go out and collect our wayward nerd because you stupidly left him alone with All Might and that’s a fast track to disaster right there.” Endeavor was all, “[self-incriminating silence].” Rat Principal was all, “okay sure, have fun kids.” Back in the present, class 1-A was all “hi Deku” and Deku was all “I’M FINE!!!!!” and Kacchan was all “THAT’S WHAT I THOUGHT YOU’D SAY YOU DUMB FUCKING NERD” and so the kids all got ready to fight, because OF COURSE they’re gonna fight. Sorry guys, but yeah it’s happening.

Today on BnHA: Kacchan is all “what’s up Deku you look like a possessed Rorschach test, so anyway how are the new quirks coming along.” Deku is all “they’re coming along like THIS” and uses Smokescreen to try and get away. Kacchan is all “PHASE ONE COMMENCE”, and Kouda, Sero, Jirou, and Ojiro leap into the fray to shower Deku with heaps of love and violence, because this is a shounen manga and kicking someone’s ass while simultaneously proclaiming your undying admiration for them is just how it’s done in these parts. The KoudaSeroOJirou squad then passes the baton to Satou, Momo, Tokoyami, Kaminari, and Shouji, who are all “fuck this mask” and do a bunch of stuff to tear Deku’s mask off because they’re the real heroes. Shouto is all “LOOK AT THE LITTLE CRYBABY, THAT’S RIGHT, GO AHEAD AND FUCKING CRY and by the way let us share your burden please,” and once again I swear this is all very deeply moving and touching within the actual context. The chapter ends with Tsuyu being all “look at me. I’m the cliffhanger now,” and damn.

lol what

I don’t think anyone was expecting that. I mean, not that I’ve got anything against Tsuyu or anything. anyways it’s a very nice cover and I love the colors and I hope this means Tsuyu’s gonna do something badass

also, “Deku vs Class A” -- pretty much the expected title, but it’s still got me hyped nonetheless fuck yeah let’s go

IIDA ANGST

Iida Tenya really said “fuck the uniform code, we’re leaving the helmet at home today.” sorry kids, prim and proper C-3PO Comic Relief Iida has left the building. can I interest you in some Serious Iida

meanwhile Kacchan is all “sup Deku, I heard you got a few more quirks, and might I just add that you look like the Snyder Cut of Detective Pikachu”

“you look like a tarred and feathered squid” okay easy there Kacchan. I mean it’s all true of course, but still

“thank you all for coming” OH EXCUSE ME SON, WERE YOU PLANNING ON GOING SOMEWHERE. LET’S JUST SEE HOW THAT PLAYS OUT

yep and there’s Smokescreen, right on cue

okay Horikoshi, I leave it in your hands. hopefully you can come up with some more interesting combos than my dumbass predictions lol

LOL THIS ISN’T A COMBO AT ALL

“explosions solve everything” -- Horikoshi Kouhei, 2021. something something shockwave, something something handwave ta-da no more smoke. lol okay then

oh, ouch

he would know, wouldn’t he. nice application of one of your many hard-earned life lessons, Kacchan

by the way you guys, just as an experiment, I’m going to try to anticipate some of the discourse this week in the hopes of preemptively addressing it and thus saving myself some time later on lol. so here’s our first test run!

ANTICIPATED DISCOURSE: “oh my god what a fucking hypocrite can you believe this fucking guy”

PREEMPTIVE REBUTTAL: it’s precisely because Kacchan has been in this exact situation himself that he’s able to recognize his past self in Deku now and call him out on it. just because it took him sixteen years to get it through his head that he can’t accomplish every single thing completely by himself doesn’t mean Deku has to go down that same path. so yeah, maybe it is a bit hypocritical, but if you insist that the only people qualified to call out stupid shit are people who have never done a single stupid thing in their own lives, then what you’re basically saying is that absolutely no one on earth is qualified lol. so yeah, I’d have to disagree

and one last unrelated note, I’m willing to bet the whole “you didn’t even say a word before you ran off” thing is possibly the first thing Kacchan’s said in this whole encounter that actually does stem from genuine hurt rather than his tough-love-harsh-truths strategy. I’M TAKING NOTES HERE HORIKOSHI. at this rate it’ll take twice as many chapters as DvK2 for them to hash out all the stuff between them, geez

anyway so I gotta say, so far Deku vs. Class A is looking an awful lot like a DvK3 wearing a hat, trenchcoat, and sunglasses lol

OH SHIT I TAKE IT BACK??

FUCK YEAH, YOU GO KOUDA. and I guess he ditched his mask as well! excellent

so far the strategy here seems to be “Kacchan says all the mean tough love shit while the rest of 1-A balances it out with warmth and kindness”, which actually works pretty well imo. Deku is one of those people that doesn’t usually need a Kacchan Translator anyway, but just in case, this is very efficient

mm but of course Deku is slingshotting himself away with Blackwhip. all right then, who’s up next!

FUCK YEAH

okay but seriously you guys, what is going on with Sero’s face in these last couple of chapters though, it’s really starting to unnerve me. is he trying to emulate Kacchan’s whole asymmetrical facial expressions thing?

in fact let me just quickly hit pause here because,

ANTICIPATED DISCOURSE: “SERO IS TOGA??!”

PREEMPTIVE REBUTTAL: no

oh snap looks like Jirou’s getting in on the action too!

poor Jirou probably spent days racking her brain trying to think of something she could bond with Deku over. is Horikoshi doing these in reverse order of the kids who have had the most interaction with him? that would explain why poor Kouda didn’t get a flashback lol

omg. well that answers that

so by my count, Satou and Hagakure are the only ones remaining in this first tier of kids who Still Appreciate Midoriya even though they’ve barely ever spoken two words to him in their lives lol. so they’ll probably be next, and then we’ll get to the next tier of kids who are pretty good friends with him but not quite besties. and then we’ll move on to the IidaRokiRaka trio, and then lastly, to the boy who is in a tier all his own

BUT FIRST, A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR

and by “sponsor” I mean the Dekuangst. just in case that wasn’t clear. indeed, many thanks to the Dekuangst for making this all possible

(ETA: okay so this whole “take me away” line seemed pretty weird to me, and sure enough it’s yet another one of those cases where only the verb is specified, and the object is left to the reader’s interpretation. so even though the translation says “take me away”, I’m pretty sure that what Deku’s actually saying is “take you away” -- as in, his loved ones will be taken away by AFO.

and that is literally the way he phrases it, though -- the verb used is “奪う” (ubau), meaning “to snatch away; to dispossess; to steal.” which, god, that hurts my whole goddamn heart though, because for him to say it like that?? not “AFO will kill you”, but “AFO will take you away from me.” he can’t have nice things anymore because of AFO. he can’t be around the people he loves because AFO will hurt them. he can’t have happiness because AFO will take it away from him. anyway so where the fuck is AFO right now, motherfucker I just want to talk.)

by the way can Ojiro just extend his tail to whatever fucking length he wants or what because it’s like twelve feet long in this panel lol

WOOO FUCK YEAH TOKOYAMI

YOU LOVE TO SEE IT!! BUT WHERE’S YOUR FLASHBACK? YOU’VE HAD A BUNCH OF INTERACTIONS WITH HIM, THAT’S NOT FAIR

okay so now Satou’s stepping in which is back to my anticipated order, so maybe Toko will finish his little moment afterward

dskfjfkk

“REMEMBER THAT TIME DEKU BORROWED SATOU’S FOOD COLORING” Horikoshi says, sweating. “AND REMEMBER THAT TIME HE, UM, SMILED IN HAGAKURE’S GENERAL DIRECTION”

actually I am curious about what Hagakure’s part will be because, you know, the whole traitor thing lol

(ETA: funny how we just skipped right over it huh. can we get a traitor reveal countdown started here? definitely getting close to that time.)

whoa lol wtf

MOMO??? THIS HAS MOMO WRITTEN ALL OVER IT DAMMIT

-- SWEET MOTHER OF FUCK

“SORRY MIDORIYA-SAN, I LEFT MY FUCKING CHILL AT HOME IN THE LOCKER NEXT TO IIDA’S HELMET” holy shit lmao

and here I thought she’d get a flashback to her time on the Baku Rescue Squad or something. but nope, no flashbacks from Momo, only terrifying sci-fi torture devices

poor Dark Shadow is such a trooper omg

“why am I the only one who has to make prolonged contact with his smelly disgusting self” taking one for the team there DS

FUCK YEAH KAMINARI NO JUTSU

THE PRICKLY BASTARD WHISPERER STRIKES AGAIN!! don’t suppose you brought any clean clothes you could sneakily force him into huh Kami

okay here we go, so now Shouji and Tokoyami are joining forces

um excuse me this is fucking awesome

wonder how he’ll break free? don’t think he’ll reveal Fa Jin until the end of the chapter, so maybe Air Force or something? idk

TOKO GETS AN EXTENDED MOMENT BECAUSE HE IS A TIER TWO PATREON REWARD LEVEL FRIEND YAY

WHY IS MOMO MAKING THIS FACE LOL YOUR THING WAS WAY WORSE

and Shouji just casually hitting him with what is easily the best comment from anyone yet. too bad Deku’s just gonna ignore it. you deserve better Shouji

KAMINARI OMFG

it only just occurred to me that Kami is currently trapped inside Dark Shadow right along with him lmao omg. realest one in the entirety of BnHA, right here. we will never forget your sacrifice

aaaaaaand Deku’s yeeting himself

do you really hate the thought of taking a bath that much my dude

oh shit the mask!!

-- oh shit the feels

o(TヘTo)

fuck. and I mean, we knew he was crying, that was a done deal. but still, to see him in this much pain is just...

and the acknowledgement that he knows they’re worried about him, but that it doesn’t change his mind one bit. this, right here, is why they have to be a bit harsh with him, you guys. because they’re up against the full, unbridled stubbornness of Midoriya fucking Izuku, and if they don’t match that stubbornness with an equal stubbornness of their own, they basically don’t stand a chance

(ETA: quick note that there is apparently another mistranslation here -- rather than saying that his friends are oblivious to the danger, what Deku is actually saying is that none of his friends have activated his Danger Sense once throughout this entire fight. which I had been wondering about, and it turns out Horikoshi actually confirmed it. so basically none of the kids bears any ill intent toward him, and there’s literal proof right there.

incidentally, as @class1akids​ pointed out, this also casts an interesting light on this chapter in terms of who hasn’t fought Deku yet. not to play the Hagakure Traitor Music for the billionth time you guys, but I’M JUST SAYING lol.)

anyway, but the good news is that they all seem to understand that. and the even better news is that we have reached the tier 3 friends!!

“OR ELSE” lol, great to see Shouto wielding his friendship just as aggressively as Deku once did towards him. I do love a good role reversal

p.s., ANTICIPATED DISCOURSE: “why is Shouto being so cruel to Deku can’t he see how hard this is on him”

PREEMPTIVE REBUTTAL: this is a callback to the classic “even heroes cry when they have to” Shouto line from chapter 137. Shouto is clearly following Kacchan’s lead here and going for the more ruthless approach, knowing that the gentle approach isn’t getting through to him (if anything it’s only making him more stubborn as we saw on the previous page). basically it’s his way of pointing out that even heroes are still only human, and so is Deku last time he checked

ah okay, and there Tsuyu is at last

okay real talk, I get why Tsuyu is included in the tier 3 friends, because she was one of the first people to team up with Deku going all the way back to USJ. but that said, this probably would have had more impact if their most recent interaction hadn’t been like 150 chapters ago

but anyway though it’s still a good speech. maybe not quite a cliffhanger-level speech, but a good speech nonetheless. in a way though, I’m glad to see that Horikoshi seemingly didn’t give a fuck whether he ended this on an actual cliffhanger or not for once

and that “headed toward the climax” part has me excited too, ngl. because if we really are getting to the so-called climax this soon, that makes me even more certain that there is indeed a DvK3 in the forecast. so I presume that next week (or I guess two weeks from now) will be the tier 3s along with the remaining tier 2s like Kirishima and Aoyama

and then after that, well... [orange and green banners being hoisted] [sound of screeching airhorns and vuvuzelas in the distance] [sound of All Might approaching in his car which I didn’t notice until I looked back at this page a second time whoops] THE PROPHECY WILL NOT BE DENIED

[secretsbehindthenine]

Ok, here’s some stuff about my idol!AU:

Idk if anybody caught it, but Morgan is among the trainees that perform with Randy during their debut stage in the prologue! She's 黒木 モーガン, or Morgan Kuroki.

After hearing about Randy doing the Star Demon audition and getting a callback from the company, she and the Dancing Fish decided to audition. They felt like they were ready for bigger and better things. It was time to take their dancing game to the next level, so they did their application to Star Demon with the mindset that the results of their audition could make or break their future careers in dance.

Though, only Morgan, the girl with the green hat (Dionysia or Nysia), the girl with the purple jacket (Cadence), and the girl with the pink hoodie (Kailan) made the cut. The other two (purple hair = Lorelei and blonde w/ blue headband = Wren) weren't invited to the callbacks.

Wren was really distraught over not making it, and ended up taking it out her frustrations on Morgan, Nysia, Cadence, and Kailan. Especially Morgan, who Wren believes had an unfair advantage over them b/c Morgan's Japanese and had more dancing experience than the other Dancing Fish. This conflict led to Wren leaving the Dancing Fish, ending her friendship with the girls, and devoting more time to baton twirling than dancing.

This also made the others not want to go through with the callbacks, but Lorelei urged them to go. She's sad and pissed out over not making the cut, but there will be other opportunities for her to get her big break. The others already got theirs and they shouldn't waste it.

In the end, Morgan and the girls went to the callbacks and officially became Star Demon Trainees.

I headcanon that Morgan got her passion for dance comes from her dad, who was a b-boy/breakdancer in his youth that eventually became a dance teacher when he got older. Morgan was practically raised in her parents' dance studio, so it's no surprise that the Kuroki's were very supportive of her auditioning for Star Demon and pursuing a career as a J-pop idol.

Morgan's also the oldest among the trainee group that performed with Randy in the prologue. She's a junior, so she would be around 16-17 y/o. The other trainees are more Randy's age, around 13-15 y/o.

Nysia, Cadence, and Kailan weren't in that group b/c their trainee debut stage was in next week's episode of ProtostarTV.

As established in chapter 1, Randy is struggling to cope with how badly his friendship with Howard ended. He hasn't told anybody at Star Demon about it, since he doesn't want to bring up old wounds. But, he forgot Morgan and her girls are also trainees with him. And almost everybody in Norrisville High noticed the shift between Randy and Howard.

Timeline-wise, Randy joined Star Demon in November, while Morgan and her girls joined in January. Randy and Morgan's initial training period took a year, leading to their debut stage happening in April.

During that time, Morgan kept an eye on Randy. After what happened with Wren, Morgan guessed that maybe something similar happened between Randy and Howard. And, based on her and the Dancing Fish's feelings on Wren's departure, she assumed that Randy wasn't taking the whole "break-up" with Howard well. They were never really close to begin with, but Morgan liked Randy well enough after seeing what he did for his audition. He seemed like a good guy with a real passion/dedication for music, and anybody who takes dance as seriously as she does is worth her support and respect.

So she watched out for Randy, taking note of his earlier episodes of zoning out during lessons and his subtle reluctance to socialize with anybody besides Anthony and Katori. She saw that, despite how hard he worked and how well he did at his debut stage, there was still something holding him back. Something stopping him from being that dorky freshman that dominated the halls with his infectious energy after passing the initial audition.

I'm planning on a chapter where Morgan confronts Randy about how off-kilter he’s being and learning what happened between him and Howard. And, Morgan being Morgan, she'll straight-up tell him that bottling up his emotions and letting what Howard said cloud his mind will bite him in the ass if he keeps at it. The only way he’ll succeed in his training is if he gets his shit in order and focus on the stuff that actually matters. One bitter ex-friend and his harsh words have no power over him. This was Randy's life, his dreams, his choices. If Howard didn't want a part in it, then fuck him. Randy didn't owe him anything.

It'll take him a while, but Randy takes Morgan's words to heart and tell Anthony and Katori about Howard. Anthony and Katori then, in turn, help Randy get over Howard and socialize more with the other trainees. It's a process, but at least he has people in the corner to help him out.

[100yearoldcomics]

March 5, 1922 Barney Google by Billy De Beck

Today's gag: Barney abducts 18 children to defraud an old man

TOP PANEL [ID: Barney Google has been wandering through the frozen wilderness with a millstone tied around his neck. He makes a small fire next to a sign which he does not see. The sign reads, "Danger: Thin Ice." /end]

MAIN COMIC [ID: A father pushing three babies in a pram shows off some coins to Barney Google in the woods. All three babies are crying. /end] Father: Yessir, an old man just came along and handed me three ten dollar gold pieces. Barney: What for?

Father: Oh, I guess he's got lots of money and children seem to be one of his weaknesses. Barney: Right here in the park, too, oh my!!! [lightbulb]

[ID: Barney goes up to a group of children playing outside a local schoolhouse. /end] Barney: Come with me, children. Nice man is going to give away lots of good candy. Mm ymm.

[ID: The teacher stands on the doorstep of the schoolhouse, ringing a bell to call an end to recess. No one gathers. /end] Teacher: Mercy!! Where are the children?? Recess is over!!

[ID: The teacher walks up to a streetsweeper, who directs her to Barney. /end] Street Sweeper: I seen a queer lookin' feller steerin' a bunch of kids towards the park, lady. Teacher: Gracious!! He must have been a kid-naper. Call a policeman, quick.

[ID: Barney goes up to the old man in the park with his hat out and a crowd of children behind him. /end] Old Man: Well, well, well, so you have eighteen children? How splendid!! I am going to give you $180.00!! $10.00 apiece for them.

[ID: The schoolteacher, with a cop, questions the old man. /end] Teacher: Have you seen a bad man prowling about with 18 children? Old Man: Yes'm. And a mighty proud papa he was, too. I gave him 18 gold pieces about 5 minutes ago. Why do you call him bad?

[ID: The cop runs off with his baton at the ready, leaving the old man confused in his wake. /end] Cop: Come on, we'll nab him!!

[ID: The cop finds the children with Barney outside of a candy & toy shop, loaded down with treats. /end] Cop: ?

[ID: The cop grabs Barney by the ankles and shakes him until the gold pieces fall out. /end] Cop: You... XX~**!!??!!(((O!!!☆! Old Man: Let him go home, officer. He only spent $1.60 of my money. The rest is all here!!

[ID: Barney goes home to his wife and hangs his hat and coat up on the wall. His wife empties a can of beans into a bowl on the dining table for him. /end] Mrs. Google: Sit down and eat your beans!! What's the matter with you? Don't look so sullen! Barney: I wish we had eighteen children, sweet woman.

[ID: Barney's wife dumps the bowl of beans on his head with a SQUISH and walks away. /end]

[hyperfixatinglove]

🎫 Here’s a gush pass, feel free to gush about whichever f/o you want, however much you want!

AIDEN GUSH AIDEN GUSH AIDEN-

My hacker man!! The third Just Some Guy on my list! (on purpose I swear, Aiden WANTS to be seen as Boring)! The family man who has the most FUCKED UP way of showing it! I! Love! It! Kill for me Aiden! Hack for me! Anything! My morally grey bordering on Destructive, Hypocritical hacker man! Protagonist who walks the thin line of being his own Antagonist? Amazing!

Yeah his game esp missions aren't that good (Too many car chases!! Hate them!!) but damn I loved everyone!! Him most of all!

He's so mysterious because he doesn't want any trace of him to exist in surveillance, in the fucked up "Big Brother is always watching" state he's in! You can create anything from it!

My Aiden though, he's pacifistic (as much as you can be), cunning hacker who's practically a ghost, trying his best to be better but fucking up, falling back into old Fixer habits from time to time, who loves beating bad people with his baton, who purposefully has mask on at all times to hide who he really is so he can manipulate anyone he wants. Deeply traumatized man, who's obsessed with revenge, blinded to anything else around him, who cares for people like T-Bone, Clara & Bedbug anyway, no matter how hard he tries to detach himself from them. He knows Irish, wishes to visit it sometime, but fearing he can't, who swears to bring down ctOS with is own hands, so loyal beneath the mask of his, desperate for connection but pretending apathy, the guy who has comfort long coat, hat and gloves like that is very autistic of him.. who's favorite colors are brown and blue.. who's vigilante of Chicago and called Fox, the guy who needs to be in control and have control (that possibly stems from his trauma), the man who rents his safe houses to elderly, who loves fishing and studied psychology like religion to AVOID conflict..

He just allows me to go little wild with morally grey, fucked up stuff I feel my other f/os don't. Explore morality and all that. F/os don't need to be squarely in villain or hero boxes after all!

[rayasunshine19]

I don’t understand how people don’t realize they’re the bad guys.

Just... MAGA hats and Trump fanatics and Proud Boys are storming the US Capitol Building. Right now. After a few weeks of planning. Did anyone stop them? no. Did the police have ample time to know what was happening? yes. and they’re still calling them protestors! are you kidding me? let’s run through a list of what’s happened SO FAR

these TERRORISTS are

-On Federal property w/o a permit 

-Storming & destroying a federal building

-Senators & employees bunkering in their offices for safety 

-Waving Confederate flags & doing Nazi Salutes 

-Having armed stand offs w/ cops 

-A woman has been shot in the neck. It appears that she was pregnant and likely died on the scene. I hope this is later found to be untrue.

-an IED was found at the RNC and safely detonated, and reportedly there’s another explosive outside the Capitol

-threats of pipe bombs to Democratic senator offices

they broke windows to get into the building. they’re pounding on doors shouting “Where are they??” for the Democratic officials. all officials and employees are hiding for their safety. they broke into the chamber after shooting INTO IT!!! there was one on the dais shouting “Trump won that election!” another said “I don’t want Pelosi’s hair, I want her head!”

also. THE POLICE ARE TAKING SELFIES WITH THE TERRORISTS.

how. how do they not see the utter hypocrisy? BLM protesters get tear gasses and shot with rubber bullets and impact round and have their heads bashed into the ground and get run over with armored vehicles and have medics get pepper sprayed under their gas masks while performing first aid on injured people and the list can go on. for what? throwing water bottles at heavily armored policemen? damaging some plywood around a court building? protesting for the unjust treatment of black americans and police brutality? and then here come these heavily armed sacks of hatred and bile literally breaking into one of the most secure buildings in the country while congress was inside, and the police try to talk to them. they use “deescalation tactics” and don’t even use their batons until well after they’ve broken into the chamber.

i’m so tired.

how do we even begin to combat hatred and bigotry and ignorance on this scale?

[mystical-flute]

Uncharted Waters (YGOxOne Piece Crossover)

Also on AO3 || Buy me a ko-fi?

The worlds "Earth" and "Eturn" used to be united, until a mysterious force ripped them apart eight-hundred years ago. Now, the Veil between worlds is starting to crack, just as the Shadow Games return to Earth. Reika Muto, an undercover operative in Eturn and owner of the Millennium Bracelet, is caught between two worlds.

“Did you really think that a rookie like you could really stop Baroque Works?” Mr. 3 asked with a sneer, staring down at Reika with contempt in his eyes. “You pirates should have just left well enough alone, don’t you understand that? Then your poor body wouldn’t be in the state it's in!”

As if to emphasize, he wiggled the dagger that had been stuck in her, causing her to cry out in pain again.

“But don’t worry, you’re going to be at peace soon enough,” he continued, the wax slowly climbing up her foot.

Reika shifted her outstretched arm, desperately grasping for one of the batons just outside her grip. “I’m not dying here,” she choked out.

“Aren’t you? You’re out of moves! Out of options, and out of time.”

Her pinky grasped the baton, sliding it into her palm as his back turned away, keeping an eye out for any of her allies.

“Hey Mr. 3, do you know what’s scarier than a little shock?” she questioned.

“Hm? What do you - ”

“Jupiter’s Storm!” she called out, a bolt of lightning shooting from the baton and straight onto the Baroque Works Officer.

He slumped to the ground, unmoving.

“It came from this way!”

“It sounded like Sakura!”

Sakura. Stupid undercover names. But it was to protect her from the Marines, so she dealt with it.

She slowly sat up, knocking some of the wax off her foot just as two familiar shadows appeared in the alley.

“Chopper! Usopp!”

Chopper rushed forward with his medical kit. “What did he do to you?!”

“He picked up a dagger from one of his minions and tried to distract me before turning me to wax,” she grunted, looking at Usopp, who was almost totally covered in bandages. “I’m in better shape than you though, Usopp.”

“Nothing can keep the great Captain Usopp down!” Usopp replied, puffing out his chest before going into a coughing fit.

“Uh-huh. Where are the others? Are they okay? What about our captain?”

Chopper tied the last of the bandages to her shoulder. “This is all I can do for now. Luffy went to go hunt down Crocodile, but the others are waiting at the end of the alley!”

“Reika?”

“I’m okay, Azila. I promise.”

She rose to her feet. “Let’s go.”

All they needed to do was stop a civil war and disarm a bomb.

Get Princess Vivi to the top of the clock tower… watch in horror as Pell, the captain of the Alabasta guards, flew the bomb up to the sky. Watch it explode, knocking everyone off their feet. Watch as the fighting resumed despite the horror that just took place.

Be… unable to stop them. Marine and pirate alike stood in utter disbelief as VIvi’s cries for peace went unheard until rain, precious, life-giving rain, that had been denied Alabasta for three long years thanks to Crocodile’s manipulations, finally began to fall.

“I don’t remember much of what happened after that,” she admitted, days later. “We passed out in an alley after telling Vivi to go be with her father and her people. When I woke up, we’d been out for almost a full day.”

“So to recap, you’re telling me a rookie pirate with a thirty million berry bounty defeated one of the Seven Warlords?” Commander Kenji Hashimoto questioned, squinting at her from his screen.

Reika rolled her eyes. “Do you really think I would lie about a report like this?”

“I know you’d never lie to me, Reika,” Kenji said with a heavy sigh. “Have you spoken with your family?”

Reika Muto nodded slowly. “I talked to them about a week ago. I warned them that I’d be unavailable for a while. Said I was going off the grid for a desert excavation for an internship.”

It wasn’t a complete lie, technically. Alabasta was a desert, she did see ancient sites, and she never would have been able to contact her family with how chaotic the fight against Crocodile was.

Alabasta just wasn’t anywhere in the United States… or on Earth.

“I spoke to your aunt the other day. They don’t seem suspicious about your whereabouts,” Kenji explained.

“Good,” Reika said, glancing at her watch. “I should head back to the palace. The others are going to start wondering what took me so long. Agent Sakura signing out.”

The name still felt weird in her ears, but she was a scout, and the best scouts had disguises, after all.

“Thank you for letting me use your equipment,” she said to the old woman in the next room. “My commander was pleased to hear from me.”

“Of course. It must be hard to get a chance to contact them while you’re at sea,” Megumi replied with a smile. “Now, I’ve added a few little trinkets to your bag as a thank you for helping me arrange my furniture.”

Reika grinned as she grabbed her things, tucking her cell phone out of sight after sending a quick text to her boyfriend. “Of course. Thank you. It was good to speak with you.”

The walk back to the palace was swift, nod and say hello to the citizens who were diligently working to rebuild their city, duck when it came to Marines, and keep gaze steady when passing the ones that had stationed themselves on the palace steps, blocked by the royal guard, who let her through without issue.

“There you are, Reika! What did that old lady want, anyway?” Usopp asked with a small frown when she entered the room they’d bunked down at.

“Oh - nothing major. She just said I reminded her of her granddaughter and asked for help arranging some furniture,” she said, waving her hand dismissively as she set her bags on her bed to look over what the woman had given her.

“So… did she give you any cash as a thanks?” Nami questioned. If it were possible, Reika was sure Nami’s eyes would be money signs all the time.

Reika rolled her eyes and tossed over a small sack of coins, hearing Nami’s delighted ‘hah!’.

“Luffy’s still out of it, huh?” she asked, glancing over at the bed where their captain lay fast asleep.

“His fever broke, which is good, but otherwise no, nothing,” Chopper replied with a sigh.

Reika smiled. “Hey, don’t be so glum. You’re going to be the world’s best doctor, remember? I’m sure he’ll wake up -”

Her head throbbed.

The Shadow Games are coming…

“Reika?”

She snapped her head back up, looking at the worried crew in front of her. “Sorry, I’m fine. My head just hurt for a second. I’m just going to go splash some water on my face.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely!”

Luffy chose that moment to wake up, creating the perfect distraction as she ducked out of the room and took her phone out of her pocket, seeing an incoming call and feeling her stomach sink.

“Okay okay okay!” she grumbled to it, moving into an empty bathroom before putting it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Oh thank goodness I got through! Reika, grandpa’s hurt!” came her cousin’s frantic voice from the other end. “I was dueling with Pegasus and when it ended all of a sudden grandpa was passed out! We can’t get him to wake up!”

Reika blinked several times, trying to process the information. “Okay - what? Slow down this time.”

She heard Yugi taking deep breaths before he spoke again. “You know how I won against Kaiba a few weeks ago?”

“Yes, of course I do. I had a very… interesting conversation with him that night,” she said, frowning.

“Pegasus somehow found out that I won against him and wanted to find out more about me. But the DVD he sent was a trap - he was on it using his Millennium Item on it. He - he said he took grandpa’s soul and now grandpa won’t wake up!”

She pinched her brows together. “Well, that explains the headache.”

“What do you mean?”

A sigh escaped her. “I got the worst headache a few minutes ago. Heard a voice say something about the Shadow Games? Listen, I can’t really talk right now. I’ll be home as soon as I can. I promise. Call me if anything changes with grandpa.”

“O - okay…”

Reika ended the call and swallowed back the lump in her throat. Why now? Of all the times for this to happen, it had to be while they were celebrating their victory. After she’d clawed her way into the Grand Line to find her parents.

“Dammit all…” she grumbled, switching to her agency communicator. “This is Agent Muto requesting extraction from the Kingdom of Alabasta.”

“Reika? What seems to be the issue?”

“My grandfather’s in a coma. I’m at the palace. Be advised there are Marine ships in the area. The group I’m with plans to cross the desert tonight, so I’ll make sure my tracker is on.”

“Aiko will find you. We’ll get you home safe.”

With her family believing she was studying in California, they needed to match up the amount of time it would take for a cross-continental flight. Thirteen hours ought to do it.

Reika slid to the ground, her head in her hands. She’d finally made it to the sea her parents had gone missing in. She finally had started being able to investigate and now… now she had to leave it all behind.

But her grandfather had raised her, and she knew deep down Domino was where she needed to be.

“Reika! Where’d you go?”

She rose to her feet, swallowed the lump in her throat, quickly splashed some cold water on her face to get rid of the redness that had started forming, and opened the door to find Vivi.

“Sorry Vivi, splashing water on my face did the trick. I feel much better now,” Reika lied with a wide smile. “Did I miss anything?”

“Well, Terracotta said dinner will be ready soon. I’d say she brought an appetizer, but Luffy ate it all, so…”

“I can wait until dinner,” she said with a laugh. She wasn’t very hungry anyway, knowing what was going to happen tonight.

At midnight, the Straw Hat crew packed up their belongings and descended from the palace.

Reika switched on her tracker as soon as they hit the desert. It was only moments before Aiko appeared in a bright flash of light, the pirates tensing immediately.

“Who the hell are you?” Zoro asked, hand already on his sword.

“Zoro, wait! Aiko’s a friend of mine!” she said, eyes wide. “But how did you find me all the way out here?”

“Sheer dumb luck I suppose. You know my powers are still a little scattered,” Aiko said, slipping into the lie with ease. “I’m not here with great news though. Your grandfather’s fallen ill, Reika. The doctors can’t seem to wake him up.”

She let the tears she’d hidden before flow. “What?!”

“What’s wrong? Was it some sort of disease?” Chopper asked with wide eyes.

“Grandpa’s had heart issues for years now.” Reika sniffled. “I knew he shouldn’t have stayed by himself.”

“We’ll help him. Chopper’s the best doctor here!” Nami insisted. “Er, right, Luffy?”

Monkey D. Luffy sat with a contemplative look on his face.

“Where is this island?” he finally asked.

“Oxram Island,” Reika explained. “It’s only a couple days journey from here, but it’s back the way we came, and with the Marine ships around, it’d be too dangerous for you guys to come with me.”

Luffy gave her an uncharacteristically serious look. “I see then. If you feel you need to leave the crew, that’s okay. I understand.”

“You’re sure?” Reika asked, looking at the crew with wide eyes.

“It’s your family and your grandfather’s in trouble. Of course I’m okay with it,” Luffy agreed with a wide grin. “Besides, you can come find us again!”

“Luffy, she has to go back the way we came,” Zoro grumbled. “I don’t know if - ”

“Aiko has the power of the portal-portal fruit. It can help guide me back to you, especially if you guys keep making waves!” Reika said. “Come on, Aiko. You can ride with me back to the ship. I’ll hurry up and pack the rest of my stuff.”

The journey across the desert was long, and they arrived at the Going Merry around three in the morning. She ignored most of the chaos on the deck with the escaped Baroque Works member who called himself a friend, and ducked into the women’s room, haphazardly tossing her things back into her suitcase.

“You sure you’re okay?” Aiko asked.

“I have to be, Aiko. You know what Uncle Takeo and Aunt Kumi will say if I don’t go home,” she replied, slipping a tracking device behind her nightstand so she could find the crew whenever her grandfather recovered. “Let's just get this over with.”

“I guess this is goodbye for now!” she called to the deck, unsure if any of the crew could hear her. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. I promise.”

Aiko summoned a portal (using her technology, not a devil fruit power), and with a deep breath, Reika vanished through the Veil, back to Domino, Japan.

Earth.

“Welcome back, Agent Muto,” Kenji greeted. “I’m just going to need you to go through a health check and we’ll get you home to your family.”

Reika nodded, first making a stop in the changing room, where she rid herself of the Alabastan fashion she’d been wearing, removing the batons and their braces from her arms, revealing the golden bracelet she’d kept hidden during her time in Eturn. She slipped into a pair of shorts and a t-shirt, then reached up to take the clip out of her hair, letting it hang free around her shoulders as the dark brown she’d had faded back into her normal color.

In the med bay, as the doctor took her vitals, she stared at herself in the mirror. It had been days since she’d truly been able to look at herself this way - her natural state. Multicolored hair like her father, warm brown eyes like her mother. The older she got, the more of them she could see herself in them.

It was why she’d been sent to Eturn. Why she’d been on a pirate crew, sailing around that mysterious world and getting into danger. She had a clawing, desperate need to find out why her parents had disappeared in that same world ten years ago.

She winced when Hiro’s fingers found the scar on her shoulder. “Easy there, would you?”

“When did you get this?”

“Four days ago. I jumped in the way of an enemy that had been going after my friend. The assailant ended up driving their dagger into my shoulder before I managed to get them off me,” she explained as Hiro’s fingers traced down it gently.

Hiro frowned. “It’s healing well, but I’m concerned about nerve damage in your shoulder. I’d like you to come back in a couple days so I can run some tests.”

Reika nodded in agreement, hopping off the exam table. “Sure.”

“One more thing before you leave, Agent Muto,” Kenji said, frowning as she passed him on her way toward the elevator. “The Veil is beginning to wane.”

She stared. “Wane? Megumi didn’t mention anything to me about that.”

“It hasn’t spread to all corners of the dimensions yet. Megumi’s superiors may not have informed her,” Kenji explained. “It seems to have started here in Japan, though.”

“Okay, so I’ll keep an eye out. Is it glowing blue like our portals?”

“It is, and worse, it seems to keep pulling people between worlds.”

Her eyes widened. “This could be a disaster. Is there any way to stop it?”

“At this time, it seems the only way to stop it is to close the portals. Each agent has been given a personal transporter for this emergency.”

Reika stared at the device as it was pushed into her hand. “Pretty odd to have one of these here in Domino,” she admitted. “You and Yume are always so strict about not using them unless we’re in danger in Eturn.”

“Things may get dicey here, so be on your guard. We’ve been trying to increase security, but it seems with each ripple we close, another opens. It’s like someone is trying to combine the dimensions,” Kenji sighed. “But I shouldn’t be bothering you with this now. Go home and get some rest. I’ll call you when we’re ready to put you on active duty.”

“Thanks, Mr. Hashimoto,” she murmured, making her way to the private parking lot and finally pulling out into the familiar Domino streets.

Three-thirty in the morning even in the heart of Domino City meant not many people were out and about, but still, it almost felt wrong seeing cars instead of ships. As she drove past the hospital, she squinted at the bright, fluorescent lighting of the parking lot.

Reika’s hands shook against the steering wheel.

Grandpa…

She let out a heavy exhale as she pulled up to the game shop, cutting the engine. In all honesty, she hadn’t even thought about what she might say or do if she ever came back to Domino.

This wasn’t supposed to happen.

The scent of yakitori still hung in the air as she pushed her way into the apartment, closing the door as quietly as she could behind her and glancing around.

It hadn’t changed much in her absence. Not that she expected it to - Domino as a whole, despite being a city, seemed to be stuck in the mundane. They didn’t know about the global espionage agency that used a restaurant as a front. They didn’t know that there was an entire world beyond strange portals.

It was perfectly ordinary.

A yawn escaped her as she opened her bedroom door, dumping her bags by it and pulling out her phone as she flopped onto the bed. There was at least a fifty-fifty chance that her boyfriend would be awake, knowing his tendency to work through the night.

Seto, I’m home. Text me if you have time to meet.

She meant to stay up and check if he got back with her, but the exhaustion of the day finally caught up with her, and she drifted off, not even bothering to get under the covers.

[legolaslovely]

The Boring Brother

A/N: HAPPY FILI FRIDAY Y’ALL HAVE SOME WINTERY FLOOF! I’m so excited, I didn’t think I’d be able to have a new Fili story for you guys this week but here it is! Yay! So nice to just take a little me time to write some sweet, plotless, Fili fluff. Hope you guys enjoy.

Pairing: Fili x Reader

Word Count: 1,633

Warnings: absolutely none! 

Summary: Fili and Kili teach (Y/N) how to ice skate.

“What do you mean you’ve never been ice skating?” Kili asked, more appalled than you’d ever seen him. He was as frozen as the ice he planned to skate on- mouth in a wide, angry ‘o,’ nose wrinkled and brows low and confused. You would have thought it cute if he wasn’t being so annoying about this whole thing. “You mean, never, never? Not even when you were a kid?”

“No. I choose life. Always have,” you said.

Fili snorted from your side. “You won’t die ice skating, (Y/N).”

“I would find a way.”

Fili set Kili’s skates down in front of him before he grabbed his own. “We’ve sparred together since we were dwarflings, and you’ve always been the more graceful one. Skating won’t cause you any trouble. Come join us, we’ll teach you.”

You shook your head. “Go on without me. I don’t do well when I’m not on solid ground.”

“I’ve seen you stand on the back of a galloping horse and shoot an arrow straight into an orc’s eye. Don’t talk to me about solid ground,” Kili said, standing on his laced skates and balancing effortlessly on the thin blades as if they were an extension of his feet.

“That’s different,” you said.

“You’re right. This is much easier,” Fili said, holding up an extra pair of skates with a raised brow. “Just come with us.”

“Please?” Kili sang, nudging your elbow.

“For us, (Y/N). Just for a little while and if you hate it, I promise we’ll go straight to the pub and I’ll buy your favorite meat pies for dinner. Hm?”

His stupid blue eyes were doing the twinkly thing. “All right. But if I fall and die-”

“You won’t!” Kili shouted, jumping forward to the ice and pressing off to glide away in a circle.

You held back a groan. You could already see how you’d embarrass yourself in front of the brothers. You fall and a helpless yelp would find its way out of your mouth when you inevitably hurt yourself. They’d never let you forget about your failings. Your stomach started to flip and you wanted to run straight back to the safety of the mountain, but Fili gently pressed on your shoulders and moved you to sit on the log instead. He knelt in the snow before you, ignoring your protests while he replaced your boots with the skates.

“You planned this,” you said, realizing he’d brought an extra pair before you even knew where the brothers were taking you.

“Maybe,” he said with a wink. Once the left one was laced properly, he ran a finger over an initial etched into the heel of the skate. “These were our mother’s first pair. She’s always loved the ice. As soon as I could walk, she brought me down here and taught me how to skate.”

Your chest tightened, as did the laces of the next skate. “Thank her for letting me borrow them.”

“If you find you like skating, she wants you to have them.” He finished his work and folded his hands together over your knee.

“Me? Why?”

“Because she likes you,” he said. “Better than us sometimes.”

You laughed at that, getting a little lost in those blue eyes that shone like the sky which you could never say no to. When Kili called your name, Fili cleared his throat and stood, reaching both hands out to you.

“Come on. I have a feeling you’re going to be better at this than you think.”

You took his hands and stood, wobbling on the tiny blades. Were you really expected to balance on these things? You swallowed your sarcasm and took a step. Then another, and another until you were just about to the edge of the snow. You glanced up from your feet to see Fili beaming at you and your ankle twisted just enough to send you jerking to the side.

“I gotcha,” Fili said, hands leaving yours to grab your waist. “You all right?”

“Yeah.” This was already mortifying.

He left you to balance while he found his place on the ice. Then gloved hands reached for yours again. “Ready?”

You were trembling and it was especially noticeable in your fingers. He squeezed them, but your eyes didn’t leave his feet. You were making much too big a deal out of this. It’s just ice skating. Dwarflings can ice skate. If you could kill an orc three times your size with your bare hands, you could ice skate. But your feet had taken on roots in the snow.

“Why am I so afraid of this?”

Fili’s hand slid from yours and wiggled out of its glove before his warm fingers tucked your hair behind your ear. “It’s new. You were scared of swords too when you first saw one. I remember, I was there. Now look at you, you’re one of the best defenders of the kingdom. You just had to learn.”

You took a step onto the ice, holding onto him with a bruising grip. “So teach me.”

His toothy grin was contagious. You shook your head a bit and laughed, allowing your gaze to return to your feet. Compared to the rough snow you were used to, the thick ice felt unattainable beneath the skates. It was so beautiful and smooth and you saw Fili’s golden reflection shining beside your feet.

“Hey! Look who’s on the ice!” Kili called, swirling behind Fili and taking off again. “You’ll catch up in no time!”

You nodded and Fili pulled you forward into the clean ice toward the middle of the pond. Every muscle in your body felt as tense as a pulled bow string. You slid helplessly, holding onto Fili’s warmth like a lifeline.

“Don’t look at your feet, look at me,” he said. You dragged your eyes upwards, scared to move your head too much and throw off your balance. “There you are. Don’t let your ankles sink inwards, keep them strong.”

“I’m gonna fall.”

“I won’t let you.”

Kili flew past you and the wind of his sheer speed made small wisps of your hair tickle your forehead. He’d successfully startled you, making you jump and your skates begin to glide on their own- forward and back, forward and back, taking your body with them until you felt yourself falling.

“Wait, wait! Fili!”

Quicker than a blink, Fili grabbed you, pulling you close to him for support. You were glued to a sturdy chest by even stronger arms around your waist. You gathered yourself and huffed, only realizing his pink nose against yours as he drew away.

“I said I won’t let you fall.”

“I’m gonna kill your brother.”

“I’ll help you.”

You both laughed, but Fili didn’t loosen his grip. “Look,” he said, watching Kili skate circles over the frozen pond. “See how he’s pushing off with one foot and skating on the other?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s what you’re gonna do. Don’t give me that look, don’t you trust me by now?”

You grumbled a confirmation.

He made sure you were balanced on the ice once again before releasing you and taking a soft hold of your hands. A wicked grin curved his pink lips and you stuck your tongue out at his teasing.

“Very mature. Now, keep this foot aimed straight to me,” he said, squeezing your right hand, “and angle your other toes away. Just like that. Then when you’re ready, push off and skate to me.”

“Don’t-don’t’ leave me-alone.”

“I won’t.”

Your eyes landed on Dis’ initials on your left skate. She had always been someone you looked up to as you grew up with her sons. You wanted to be like her and make her proud. You wanted to like ice skating. You just had to learn first.

The blade of that left skate dug into the ice a bit as you pushed off and slid toward Fili.

“Good! Lean forward, lean forward! There you go.”

Then you successfully pushed off with your right, skating forward as Fili led you, moving backwards. Your feet ended parallel and you slid to a stop, letting out a tiny gasp of, “Oh! I did it!”

Then Fili slid away. “Where are you going?” you asked.

“Just right over here,” he said, landing by your side and fiddling with your gloved fingers that remained in his hand. “I told you you’d be good at this. Come on, skate with me.” He pushed off and dragged you a bit before you gained your bearings and did as he taught you. You still wobbled a bit, but he stayed close in case you needed him, hand forever in yours.

Then another set of gloved fingers tangled in yours. “Fi’s a good teacher, right?” Kili said from your other side.

“I guess.” You shot the snorting Fili a smile.

“Did he teach you this?” Kili asked, pulling you away with him and twirling you on the ice by your hands. The wind sent your hat flying and your hair curling against your face until you were a spinning, laughing mess.

“Kili! Ki! You’re going too fast!” you cried, cackling all the way.

He chuckled and delivered you back to Fili and the brother’s exchanged your hand like a baton. “Fine. Go back with the boring brother,” Kili said with a wink before disappearing in a blur of speed and spins.

Fili tugged your retrieved hat over your head. “Two more days of skating and you’ll be able to keep up with him,” Fili said with a fond smile on his face.

“Nah,” you said, skating a circle around him and kissing his cheek. “I’m perfectly happy with the boring brother.”

He chuckled and found your hand again, pulling you into his side before leading you around the ice.

 Taglist! Thanks for reading, friends! @emrfangirl @misslongcep​ @raindancer2004​ @ladybugg1235​ @xxbyimm​ @burningcoffeetimetravel​ @fizzyxcustard​ @fire-flv​ @nerdbirdsworld​ @dashesofink​ @teagarages​ @dark-angel-be-thirsty-af​ @zulfiya-the-warrior-princess​ 

[thewritewolf]

In Due Time Chapter 6: Hold My Baton

Chat Noir helps Marinette with her lack of inspiration.

@marichatmay

Enjoy!

First Chapter | Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Read on Ao3

Upside to getting up early on an autumn day? Well, there was almost no one in the park to bother Marinette right now. The chill and the early hours were both powerful motivators for most people to stay inside, tucked warmly in their bed. And that, of course, meant that there weren’t many distractions for Marinette, letting her enjoy a rare moment of serenity in Paris.

But then there was the downsides. She had never been a morning person, which was very ironic given that she was the daughter of bakers, a group of people renowned for their early rising. Pun intended. Not to mention she absolutely loathed the cold. Even bundled up in two jackets, a hat, and a scarf, every time there was a cold breeze it cut right through to the bone.

If all that meant that inspiration would start flowing and she’d be able to fill up her sketchbook with something that might actually find its way into reality, then she would consider it all worth the suffering. But the page before her remained stubbornly blank. Well, mostly blank - there was the ghostly remains of a few abortive attempts at previous drawings, none of which had any feeling behind them besides frustration.

Maybe it was because she had seen this park so many times over the years. Rain, snow, sunny days. Packed and barren. Maybe she had wrung all the inspiration she could out of the place? Something had to change, give her a new perspective on the same old thing. A twist on the ordinary.

“You look lost, little witch.”

It was a testament to how out of it she was that she barely even jumped at Chat Noir’s voice coming out of nowhere. She glanced up to see him lazing on a streetlamp, his tail swishing idly as he watched her.

“I’m just frustrated is all,” she said, resting her chin in her hand. “I’ve been feeling pretty uninspired recently and I was hoping breaking out of my usual routine would help.”

“Oh? Not much of an early bird usually?”

“Absolutely not,” Marinette said with a scoff. “I do my best work in the evenings.”

“Right after the heart pounding adventures of walking through the city at night, I assume?”

“I don’t make a habit of doing that, you know.”

“That’s good to hear.” Chat Noir spun around the top of the lamp post before leaping off, twirling head over heels to land perfectly on his feet. She smirked and gave him some light applause, which he accepted with a bow. “Anyway - if you do your best work at night, I’m sorry to tell you this but you’ve waited too long. It is now the morning.”

Marinette rolled her eyes. “I realize that. But I haven’t been that inspired then either. I thought mixing it up might help but…” She gestured at her blank sketchbook.

“Hm… that is pretty rough.” Chat Noir rubbed his chin in thought before snapping his fingers. “Hey! I know just the place if you really want to get inspired.”

“Really?” Marinette said dubiously, but there was a note of hope in her voice. “Honestly, I’m ready to try just about anything at this point.”

“Great!” He took out his baton and extended it into staff length. With his other hand he reached out to her. “C’mon!”

She took his hand and he pulled her close. Reflexively she threw her arms around his neck and his hand shifted to her waist, pulling her even closer. She swallowed heavily as the chill of the early morning was forgotten in the face of the warmth coming off of Chat Noir.

He shrugged apologetically and she could almost swear she could see a blush peeking out from under his mask. “Sorry, it’s just better if I’ve got an extra good grip on you. Ready?”

At her nod, he extended the staff and they went hurtling into the sky. Her grip tightened and she screwed her eyes shut while the wind whipped past her. She thought eventually it would calm down a little but it just felt like they were going up and up and up. What buildings in Paris were this tall?

“Little witch?” Chat said once they’d stopped moving for a few moments. “We’re here, if you want to open your eyes now.”

After waiting a second longer, Marinette peeked open one eye but was so stunned by what she saw that both eyes became wide open as she took in the view. The city she loved so much was sprawled out before her in its entirety. It didn’t take her long to realize where they were, which was quickly confirmed when she looked down to see the mass of the Eiffel Tower below her.

Naturally, she’d been up the Tower before, but she was even higher than they let people go, with Chat Noir latched to the very highest antenna, wind whipping around them.

“What do you think?”

“It’s beautiful, Chat! And you really get to come up here whenever you want?”

“Mhm,” he replied. “Sitting here all by yourself loses its appeal eventually, though.”

While he said it in an upbeat way, Marinette could feel the pangs of loneliness that emanated from him. She tore her eyes from the view to look at Chat. The wind struck just right and she caught a glimpse of his new earrings again. It reminded her of something.

“But… you aren’t usually alone, right? Red Beetle-”

“He didn’t much care for patrols or doing anything outside of akuma battles,” he said. His eyes narrowed into slits and his tail flicked back and forth irritatedly.

“O-oh.” Marinette wasn’t sure how else to respond. There was clearly a lot of history she was missing out on. She had known Red Beetle wasn’t the best hero, but… “I didn’t realize you two… disliked each other so much.”

“We didn’t get along on a lot of things. In a way, I’m glad I won’t be seeing him again.”

“So he’s really gone then, huh?”

He glanced at her out of the corners of his eyes. “Yup.”

“You don’t have a lot of luck with partners, huh? First Red Beetle, now Mister Bug…”

His face screwed up in confusion. “Huh?”

“Well, you and Mister Bug have to be mad at each other or something, right? Why else would he wait until you’ve left to get the akuma?”

“Why indeed.” There was a glimmer of amusement in his eyes as he turned back toward the vista of Paris.

Realizing he wasn’t fond of the subject of partners, she followed suit and looked out into Paris. Just like she’d hoped, she could feel the creative juices flowing once again.

“Thank you, Chat Noir.”

“Oh it’s no problem. If it helps you break out of your rut, this was definitely a good use of my time.”

“Well, yes, that too,” Marinette said with a nod. “But I meant more this.” She gestured towards all of Paris. “Keeping my city safe all these years, even if you and your partner didn’t get along. I know it hasn’t been easy and sometimes some citizens aren’t as grateful as they should be, but I’m happy you’re protecting us.”

------------

Later that day, long after he’d dropped Marinette off at her apartment’s balcony, Adrien laid down in bed and stared at the ceiling, remembering that moment.

Silhouetted against the early morning light stretching out across the city, her cheeks reddened by the cold and eyes bright with wonder, he could believe it.

It really was her city. And that made him want to protect it all the more.

[ask-funnel-cake-cookie]

may i ask what you guys are performing?

“Us here at the Crackerjack Circus will be performing a few songs from Mary Poppins, as a request from Peter and Penelope! Each Leader has chosen their own song from the show and gets to perform as either Mary or Marion Poppins in their choice, with the rest of us taking on whatever role they want us to. For example!”

Phineas spins his baton around his body before he lets it come to rest o his shoulder, looking delightfully dainty as he chuckles.

“As one who knows me might come expect, I will be Marion in Practically Perfect~!”

He spins his baton again before he lets it come rest in front of him, smiling widely as he adjusts a hat he isn’t wearing.

“But upon Richards request, so as not to seem ferocious, I will be the Bert to his Marion in Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious~!”