#aic plus+

[fruitcakey]

This is way too hard aauurrghh!! Nirvana and aic (esp aic) were the first bands introducing me to grunge/rock and shifted my music taste since. My dad listens to soundharden a lot so I have a lot of memories sitting in the car listening to their songs when they play

[lunas-nargle]

↳two

chapter two of “meddle about” series brian o’conner x reader

ii. ready, set, race

Y/n and Mia got out of the middle Toretto cousin's baby blue Subaru STI. Letty a few seconds later pulled up behind her, getting out of her car with swaying hips. 

The area around them was abandoned and completely full of racers and nice cars. The Toretto girls strutted off behind Letty towards the oldest Torretto cousin, who was talking to two hot blondes.

Letty walked closer to them, looking pretty pissed. "I smell." she sniffed the air. "Skanks." Y/n smiled amused, as she leaned against the hood of Letty's car with Mia. "Why don't you girls just pack it up, before I leave tread marks on your face?"

"Okay." One of the blondes said, looking annoyed. Both of the girls left as Dom said, "Letty, I was just talking--"

"Yeah, whatever." Letty spat, looking pissed off.

Dom didn't go after her, only started talking business, "Okay, Hector--"

Y/n looked around, her eyes falling upon one person in particular. She smirked as she saw Monty getting out of his white and blue Nissan S15. 

"Ahhh, look who it is, Mia." Y/n teased nodding towards the tall, blue eyed brunette. Mia's face turned hot upon seeing him. He glanced at her with a smile. Mia looked down at her feet bashfully before looking everywhere but at him.

Y/n felt a small nudge to her side, interrupting her people watching. 

"What?" she asked, looking over at Mia. She didn't respond, only nodded off to the side. Y/n followed her line of sight. Her eyes landed on Brian the Blond Beauty standing beside a lime green car, people watching as he leaned against his lime green Mitsubishi. 

Brian's eyes stopped onto her. She was now out of her work clothes, and confidently wearing a skimpy outfit that showed off her body in all the right places. Y/n smirked as he came closer to the group Dom was talking to. She looked back towards her cousin.

"One race, 2g buy in. Winner takes all." Dom said. "Hector, you're going to hold the cash."

"Why Hector?" Another racer asked, handing his money over to Hector.

"Cause he's too slow to make away with the money." Y/n smirked amused by her comment as she leaned her elbow on Mia's shoulder. People wooed and laughed, while he glared at her. Y/n winked at him as she remembered the race he challenged her to like it was yesterday. She won, smoking him till he was burnt out.

Hector rolled his eyes at her. Dom clapped Hector and Edwin on the shoulders and said, "Good luck, guys."

"Hey, wait. Hold up." the familiar voice of Brian said, coming in between Hector and Edwin. He held up a pick slip, clearing his throat. "I don't have any money, but I do have a pink slip to my car."

"Hey, you just can't climb in the ring with Ali 'cause you think you box." Jesse said.

Brian points towards Vince with a smirk, "He knows I can box." Y/n glanced towards Vince with an amused smile while Monty laughed outwardly with no shame, earning a swift nudge to the side. "So, check it out. It's like this. I lose, winner takes my car, clean and clear. But if I win, I take the cash and I take the respect."

The people remaining around them laughed. Dom smirked with a laugh, "Respect." he repeated.

Mia let out a chuckle as Y/n smiled at him in awe. She was surprised he actually had the balls to say that. "To some people that's more important." Brian continued.

"That your car?" Dom nodded towards his lime green 1995 Mitsubishi Eclipse.

Y/n and the rest of the crew, plus a few other people, walked over to Brian's car. They popped the hood and saw a beautiful sight. People around them voiced their awe as Jesse listed off the things it had

"I see a cool air intake. It's got a NOS fogger system and a T4 turbo, Dominic." he said. "I see an AIC controller. It has direct port nitrous injection."

"Yeah. And a stand alone fuel management system." Dom said, standing behind Jesse. "Not a bad way to spend ten thousand dollars."

Edwin stepped towards the car, inspecting the car's insides. "You see that shit?" he said. "He's got enough NOS in there to blow himself up. Period."

"So what do you say?" Brian asked. "Am I worthy?"

"We don't know yet." Dom said, grinning. He pointed towards Brian "But you're in. Let's go."

Soon, the racers pulled their cars up to the starting line. Brian looked to his left to see Y/n standing by Letty and her cousin. She caught him looking, making her smirk and wave her fingers at him. He smiled and looked forward once again. He took a deep breath, trying to ready himself as much as he can. "You're gonna win." he said to himself. "I'm gonna win."

With Leon's call, Hector raised his arms. He paused for a moment as the engines roared.

Y/n attention was caught again by the sound of loud car engines. She smiled, ready for the race. Fire blew out from the tailpipes, making the crowd roar.

Hector's arms lowered as he said, "Go!" With that the cars sped off, their tires screeching making the crowd roar even louder.

Y/n was kind of disappointed that Brian didn't win the race, though it was covered up as she celebrated with her team.

"Here's what you want, right here." Hector said, his hands full of the money. "There you go." he slapped the money into Dom's hand with a grin.

"My sisters hold the money." Dom said, making Y/n smile with love. It wasn't unusual to call Y/n his sister. He has ever since they were little. "Count it." he continued, before picking Letty up by the waist. " And you're my trophy."

Dom put Letty back down on the ground just as Brian crossed the finish line. The blonde got out of his car, grinning as he made his way towards Dom.

"Was it fun?" Jesse asked sarcastically, as he started popping the hood of Dom's new car. People around them heckled and laughed as the car smoked. They cheered as Jesse opened the hood and more smoke blew out.

"What are you smiling about?" Dom asked in confusion upon seeing Brian's big bright grin. 

"Dude, I almost had you." Brian said, smiling widely, making the people around him cheer.

"You almost had me?" Dom replied, a smirk painted all over his face. "You never had me. You never had your car!"

"Ohhh!" the crowd roared. Brian's smile fell.

"Granny shifting, not double-clutchin' like you should." Dom continued, starting to circle the car. The crowd gave another loud roar. "You're lucky that hundred-shot of NOS didn't blow the welds on the intake. Almost had me? Now me and the mad scientist gotta rip apart the block and replace the piston rings you fried.

"You tell him, Dominic!" somebody shouted before another yelled, "Get outta here."

Brian looked towards Y/n, who gave him a small smile, as Dom continued to shred him. He put the hood down before he said, "Ask any racer, any real racer. It don't matter if you win by an inch or a mile. Winning's winning." The crowd roared with agreement. Dom soaked up the praise with his arms outstretched.

Suddenly, Leon started shouting that cops were on their way. Y/n's eyes widened before she pushed Mia towards her car. They climbed in quickly before they sped off. 

"What about Dom?" Mia asked, looking back.

"He'll be fine." she said. "He knows what he's doing more than we do." she then added in a mumble quietly, hoping Mia couldn't hear her. "Hopefully."

[modelartist-demri]

I know this blog is for Demri's career, but I'd like to know something about her personal life. What was her relatioship with the other AIC members? And their girlfriends? Do you know? Thank you very much, you have a lovely blog here, very underrated, I hope more people find it and share it, as sadly today Demri is more remembered bc her Layne/AIC connexion or drugs than for her own careers.

I actually don't know, there's very few photos of Demri with AIC members or their girlfriends.

This is the only photo of her with the band (plus girlfriends that no one seems to recognize, from the 1991 MTV Awards). They look all in friendly terms:

She was touring with the band when they were opening for Van Halen. She stopped doing that when it became "an issue" (so I've read, I suppose it means drugs).

There's some photos of Demri with Sean Kinney (aka the funny drummer), from 1990 and 1991:

And one with Mike Starr, from 1991 as well... shared by fan Mike Anderchek @anderchekmike:

She was also close to his sister Melinda (in 1988 by Randy Houser):

No photos with Jerry, aka "The Riff Lord" (who was the closest to Layne, like matching tattoos, lived together before AIC signed in, etc), but with one of his girlfriends at a time (he dated multiple women, saying he doesn't believe in monogamy), Krisha Augerot. They actually worked together, so maybe Krisha met Jerry through Demri?

Krisha (and Jerry, but not in this photo) would join Demri and Layne with Fabiola and other friends for drumming circles at Magnuson Park. This is from 1989 (all the info here...):

Demri also joined AIC in 1992 when took regufee at theJoshua Tree park flying over the LA riots after the murder of Rodney King by the police. I've just seen pics of Demri and Layne,no other band members or their couples.

I don't know anything about Mike Inez, he replaced Mike Starr in 1993, but I don't think she was close to him...

It would be interesting to know more about her friendship with the band and the other girlfriends. I'm pretty sure when they were touring together the women had so fun visiting all these cool places and cheering backstage or, in Demri's case, front row!

[neopronouns]

chesspaic kingpaic | queenpaic rookpaic | knightpaic bishopaic | pawnpaic

chesspaic: a gender that is or is related to chess pieces in any way, whether that be all or some/one of the pieces. can be a gender in itself or an umbrella term.

kingpaic: a gender that is or is related to the king piece in chess in some way

queenpaic: a gender that is or is related to the queen piece in chess in some way

rookpaic: a gender that is or is related to the rook piece in chess in some way

knightpaic: a gender that is or is related to the knight piece in chess in some way

bishopaic: a gender that is or is related to the bishop piece in chess in some way

pawnpaic: a gender that is or is related to the pawn piece in chess in some way

[pt: chesspaic: a gender that is or is related to chess pieces in any way, whether that be all or some/one of the pieces. can be a gender in itself or an umbrella term.

kingpaic: a gender that is or is related to the king piece in chess in some way

queenpaic: a gender that is or is related to the queen piece in chess in some way

rookpaic: a gender that is or is related to the rook piece in chess in some way

knightpaic: a gender that is or is related to the knight piece in chess in some way

bishopaic: a gender that is or is related to the bishop piece in chess in some way

pawnpaic: a gender that is or is related to the pawn piece in chess in some way. end pt]

chessaic terms based on the pieces! @genderprotag

in the individual piece flags, the outer four stripes are from the chessaic flag and the large inner stripe represents the piece itself: gold, representing royalty, for the king; dark pinkish-red, representing femininity and power, for the queen; dark grey, representing castles, for the rook; brown, representing horses, for the knight; soft blue, representing priesthood, for the bishop; and green, representing being a foot soldier, for the pawn.

the umbrella flag has all the middle stripe colors plus black and white.

the first term is 'chess', 'p' from 'piece', + 'aic', and the rest are the piece's name + 'paic'!

flag id: the top flag has 8 stripes. in order, they are dark brown, dark pinkish-red, gold, off-white, faded sky blue, dark faded yellow-green, dark silver, and black. end id.

the other six flags each have 6 stripes, with the third being twice as large as the rest. the top two stripes of each flag are the same and, in order, are black and off-white. the bottom two stripes of each flag are also the same and, in order, are cream and very dark grey. the top left flag's third stripe is gold; the top right flag's third stripe is dark pinkish-red; the middle left flag's third stripe is dark silver; the middle right flag's third stripe is dark brown; the bottom left flag's third stripe is faded sky blue; and the bottom right flag's third stripe is dark faded yellow-green. end id.

banner id: a 1600x200 teal banner with the words ‘please read my dni before interacting. those on my / dni may still use my terms, so do not recoin them.’ in large white text in the center. the text takes up two lines, split at the slash. end id.

dni link

[gnrbitch]

Grunge Days pt.11 - Let it Roll

Warnings: none

————

1991

“Wait so you’re now just telling us this?” Y/n said, her arms crossed as AIC and Guns were sitting in a conference room.

“Well we knew you guys wouldn’t say no- and hell we just forgot” Axl said, letting out a chuckle.

“Jesus” Layne said, putting his hands on his head.

Guns manager had urgently called the young band to meet them, just to tell them that Soundgarden wouldn’t open for them if Alice didn’t come along, which was exciting to say the least

But to kill the mood, Axl told them that they would leave for the tour later today. As in the next four hours.

Y/ns head almost exploded, she barley had any clean clothes left, her G&L was currently getting some work done which meant she had to take her Ernie Ball, and it’s a great guitar really- it was one of the guitars Eddie had given her. But the issue was the strings break so easily.

“Fine- Can we go now?” Y/n sighed out

“Yup you’re free now” Axl said, giving her a cocky smile.

“Fucken hell” Layne said as they got back into the car “This tours already off to a bad start”

“Maybe it won’t be so bad” Sean said from the backseat “I mean we’re basically touring with out friends, and Y/ns touring with her boyfriend”

This time Y/n spoke up “I mean yea- but they just snatched us up from the Clash of Titans tour”

“Shit” Jerry said “That would’ve been the best tour ever”

They all sat in silence, making a mental note on what they needed to pack. Y/n noted to pack both of her Ernie Balls.

“Why didn’t Susan tell us about this?” Sean suddenly spoke, “I mean she’s managing the both of us, so she definitely knew”

“She’s too focused on Soundgarden to think about us” Layne mumbled “Okay that was mean, maybe it just slipped her mind”

The girl sighed as she put her head to the window.

*

“Got everything?” Layne said as Y/n stepped into their shared (with Soundgarden) tour bus.

“Yea just put the last of my shit away” Y/n said setting her guitar case down, “Do you guys know our first stop?”

Kim looked over at her “San Jose”

“Right” Y/n said, sitting next to him and opening up a beer bottle, “Can’t believe you guys dragged us on this tour”

“Hey if we have to travel with guns so do you” Chris spoke up “Plus you know them, your literally related to one of them”

“Yea but- Clash of the Titans” Y/n sadly said

“Ohhh Clash of the Titans waa waa” Chris mocked her “This is gonna be fun Y/n”

“I don’t even have my G&L, that already means this is gonna be horrible”

“Susan’s gonna pick it up tomorrow you’ll be fine” Chris said.

*

He wasn’t right. Y/n broke her string in the middle of the set, and while the guitar tech was fixing it she broke the other one, right in the middle of the ‘Man in the Box’ solo.

And Guns had placed Alice as their ‘closers’, which made Y/n roll her eyes cause that wasn’t even a fucken thing.

Y/n was fucken fuming when she got off stage, she was humiliated. Never in her life had she played such a shit show.

“Y/n babe” Slash said, putting his arm around her as he caught up to her, the girl was walking out of the venue cause goddamn was she so upset.

“What Slash” Y/n sighed out

“Are you okay? What’s wrong” Slash questioned, the girls anger was written all over her face.

“What’s wrong-” Y/n scoffed “I played like fucken shit that’s what’s wrong”

Slash furrowed his eyebrows, he was right next to the stage as Alice performed, and Y/n sounded perfectly fine “Hey no- you sounded great”

“No i fucken didn’t- both of my guitars strings broke and-” Y/n rambled, steam practically coming out of her ears.

“Okay relax” Slash said in a calming voice “Your guitar strings broke- that’s okay it happens to everyone”

“If you guys would’ve told us before i would have my G&L and my strings wouldn’t have broken!” Y/n said, poking her finger into Slash’s chest. “Are you- are you fucken smiling?”

“I’m sorry babe- i just can’t help it” Slash smiled at her “But i know how you feel alright? The only difference is i’ve actually played a shitty show”

“This was a shitty show! Never in my life have i played that badly” Y/n rolled her eyes at him.

“You’ll be fine Y/n” Slash said bringing her into a hug “The rest of the tour will go great, i promise”

“Oh wow you promise huh?” Y/n mocked him

“Yea, I do” He smiled as he rolled his eyes “I’ll do anything i can to make sure you have great time”

“Oh that was sweet” Y/n jokingly said as she smiled at him, “You’re the best” She said, pecking his lips.

“You know no one’s on my bus right now” Slash looked at her “And they’re not gonna be for a while”

“Is that so?” Y/n said, seductively looking down at his lips, “How about you start keeping that promise now?”

“How could I say no”

————

Tagged: @hoodiesandicedcoffee @deeznutsworld @eddiiiieeee

[khuantru]

04/01/2024: highly recommend watching this 3 part animated feature from the 90s. If you can get your hands on the uncut version that would be a lot better. There's more explicit anime violence and action sequences. It's a shame there was only 3 episodes, this can easily be continued with todays current tech and animation. Plus, this type of sci fi cyber punk anime are kind of rare in the anime department where its mostly fantasy fan favourite themes. Let's hope there is a revival for cyberpunk anime themes, anime show or feature length animated movies.  Software: Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator CS3 Tools: wacom pen

manga: AD POLICE (1990)

wiki ref: AD Police Files is a 1990 three-part original video animation produced by Youmex and animated by Artmic and AIC. Set in 2027, it is a prequel to the Bubblegum Crisis OVA series, focusing mainly on AD Police officer Leon McNichol, the future rival and love interest of Knight Saber Priscilla Asagiri. Due to the legal conflict between Artmic and Youmex, the production of the series was stopped with only three complete episodes made.

[electrasev5nwrites]

Ninja Daily: AIC 4

"What is your obsession with Zabuza about?"

Aiko flipped the bingo book shut and aimed a scowl at her companion.

Utakata was perched on the table, lounged back indolently on his elbows. He was doing that strange thing where he posed so that his robes fell open at the collar.

She looked away. "I don't have an obsession."

He made a polite, 'Ah,' sound of comprehension.

'I have a good reason to keep an eye on him. That's not an obsession.'

Bingo books really weren't enough current information, though. She was starting to get nervous about timing. She didn't want to be absent for Team seven's mission to Wave. What if she missed them?

She wasn't certain what she wanted to do, but she did want to see them. Just to be sure everyone was alright and things were going to be fine.

'Maybe I should pick Sakura up like a suitcase and take her with me. If she doesn't show up for the exams, Orochimaru can't kill her.'

Aiko winced and put the book away, zipping her bag with a harsh motion.

Utakata followed her with his eyes, apparently content to wait her out.

'That would probably make me an actual criminal. Konoha would not be pleased. Plus she would probably want to go home and that just sounds like a bummer.'

"I have been contemplating procuring our next task." Utakata swung one foot off the table. "There are some large financial institutions in the area. It would not be too difficult to locate a wealthy person who could think of a use for skills like ours."

"Yeah?" Aiko leaned over the table, resting her forearms. "Anything that could take us to Wave Country?"

Utakata raised an eyebrow, but settled back to think. "Perhaps. I see… As a country without a shinobi village, it would be comparatively safe to operate within those borders. However, there is little opportunity to be found in Wave."

He paused. "And even less in the way of comfort and stylish accommodation."

She batted that thought away. "Yes, they're destitute." She wrinkled her nose. "There's gotta be someone off-shore who has an interest in the country. Someone who could stand to profit from, say, increased contact with Wave."

Her companion frowned. "Increased contact? That depends on what resources Wave has." He kicked the table with his heel. "It's an island nation, so they're probably a fishing culture. There is little profit to be had from those exports."

That was true. Aiko screwed up her face to think. "Since it's cut off from the mainland, it's likely old-fashioned. I bet someone could make a lot of money off of them, if it were easy for them to spend money on modern conveniences."

It was a neat solution, actually. If she was hired for that purpose, making sure that the bridge went up would be her job as well. It wouldn't seem at all strange that she was hanging around Wave, and she could lend a hand to team 7 if needed.

Utakata blew out air slowly. "Who could say no to a washer-dryer combo?"

Aiko grinned and slapped the table of their suite. "Exactly. So, the client we're looking for is someone who already deals in technological exports for civilian production cities."

Saying that was easier than finding someone who met their criteria. Aiko and Utakata split up. The first thing that Aiko did was change into a kimono so that she looked more respectable. After that, she made appointments at various offices. Two of her potential clients were willing to see her that first day. Neither of them was interested in a potential business opportunity, so she met Utakata at the hotel.

He seemed more disgruntled than usual. "I begin to suspect that Wave has been deemed off-limits to civilian merchants for some reason. You had little luck as well?"

'Makes sense. Gato couldn't maintain strict control over the economy without exerting pressure over possible competition. He has them scared off.'

Aiko sighed, and let that be her reply. She rubbed at her temples. "I have another three appointments tomorrow."

Utakata eyed her sideways. "I have two," he admitted stiffly.

'Ha. I win.'

The next morning, she tried a little harder on her appearance. Utakata watched, bemused, as she neglected her usual braid in favor of twisting her hair up.

She frowned, anticipating the question. "I think I look a little older and more serious with my hair up."

That impression was not shared by her first appointment, who apparently mistook her for a prospective secretary. She left in disgust. The second appointment of the day was with a petite lady who had a head crowned with steel grey hair and a hard look. She invited Aiko to leave a resume, but had no interest in an expansion of her business dealings.

Aiko walked into her last appointment with the Rinnegan blazing and more or less informed a hapless middle-aged man that he would be delighted to hire her and an associate to ensure that the land of Wave was made accessible as an audience for product. She picked up a brochure on the way out to see what it was she was eager to sell to Wave. Ah. She had a passion for small kitchen appliances, apparently.

'I can get behind that. Rice cookers are great. They save a lot of time and the food is always perfect.'

"This rate is surprisingly generous." Utakata tilted his head at the contract she had returned with.

Aiko preened, pretending to examine her fingernails. "I can be persuasive."

He gave her a doubtful look, eyes tracking all the way over her body, but he withheld comment.

'What, like I can't be good at something?'

She glowered. "Pack up. We're leaving." Aiko untied her obi with more viciousness than was strictly necessary and tossed it aside. She was tempted to wear the hunter-nin outfit. Even though it was short in the shins, it was the only actual shinobi gear she owned.

But it wasn't even the standard Special Ops gear. It was the weird optional kimono + turtleneck combination that Mei's older bodyguard liked so damn much.

It was just really dorky looking.

Aiko cringed away from it for the moment, but she unsealed the outfit and actually folded it into her backpack. It'd be a little easier to access that way. She dropped the kimono and shimmied her way into a skirt, long socks, and loose top.

"You could leave the room!" Utakata snapped. She glanced over in surprise to see that his face was bright pink. He was glaring at the wall.

"No chance, assbutt. I was here first." She flipped her hair out, feeling a smirk work its way out. Ha. Still got it. When she sauntered out the door, he grudgingly followed on her heels. Utakata fell slightly behind a few minutes later, however, so Aiko gave him a questioning look.

The teenage was lending one last wistful look to the bright lights of the metropolis they were leaving behind.

"Aa," Aiko murmured, nodding agreement. "Much nicer. We'll bring our own food and then treat ourselves after we leave Wave."

Utakata wavered, and then nodded decisively. "It will have to do."

Reaching Wave through water-walking was somewhat of a conspicuous giveaway that they were shinobi, so Aiko and Utakata waited to make the crossing until the sun had gone down. The day they arrived was unfortunately timed- the moon was a waning sliver. They had little light to use as they picked their way across the surface.

That, combined with the fact that neither of them was truly familiar with the area, led to a bit of unplanned excitement when Aiko fell to her ankle in a sudden shock of tide, grabbed Utakata's sleeve for balance, and then pulled him down too.

The whirlpool tucked them down, down, down. Aiko struggled, attempting to manipulate the water around her and failing because the natural chakra moving in the current was already gripping all the material and she kicked but she couldn't get out of the funnel and she couldn't see the light what way was up-

Bijuu's chakra tik-tik-tik'd into the water and thrust outward, forcing everything away. In the waterless space, Aiko blinked.

'So this is what it's like inside one of those bubbles.'

Something unpleasant happened in her ears when Utakata's bubble shot straight up, breaking the surface of the ocean. They splashed out of the water and into cold air.

Aiko caught herself before she fell in again, balancing on the turbulent surface. She shivered. She glanced over at her companion.

The Mist nuke-nin pursed his lips to spit out saltwater, wringing his hair with his free hands. "Uzumaki-san," he said.

Aiko cringed, feeling the weight of her sodden backpack like a stone on her spine. "Hai?"

Utakata looked at her, expression perfectly blank. "There may be dangerous whirlpools in the vicinity."

She put her hands over her face and giggled.

Aiko wasn't laughing an hour later when she slogged onto shore. The sea air was fast-moving and cold. On the bright side, it dried her clothes out after only twenty minutes on shore. But those clothes wrinkled and smelled of salt and she kept finding sand in her hair and once there was a biting insect on her eyelid.

She stopped, clenched her fist, and made a sound like a tea kettle boiling over. Utakata took a step back.

"There are no hotels on this island, are there?"

He sounded just as miserable as she felt.

"No," Aiko noted bitterly. "There aren't."

'If I was alone, I would be using Hiraishin. I wouldn't have to do any of this walking everywhere bullshit. I could do missions out here and still sleep on an adjustable featherbed.'

She pushed the thought away. That was immature. She'd been trained to be better than that. She would work with Utakata to set up a base of operations, sleep in shifts, and hunt local wildlife in order to supplement their supplies. She knew what to do and how to do it.

Every fiber of her being rose up and rebelled.

"No," Aiko said, shaking her head decisively. "No." She ignored Utakata's 'No, what?' and held out a hand expectantly. When he didn't leap to hold it, she glared him down. "I decided no," Aiko explained, feeling determined. "I was hiding this from you, but that was before we came to mosquito island. I am going to touch that tree-" here she pointed "-and then we will check into the nicest hotel I've been in for the night. We can come back to continue working in the morning."

Utakata was still looking at the tree. His mouth opened, but he didn't say anything.

She stomped over and touched the tree. She left a seal on it.

Utakata was still looking at the tree. He appeared mildly concerned.

She stomped back to him and took his hand.

"I do not understand your plan, Uzumaki-san," Utakata said slowly. He did not try to take his hand away. "You have indeed touched the tree. However, I-"

His voice cut off in surprise. He let his mouth hang open. Aiko dropped his hand and pushed past him, intent on the reception desk.

It was an oasis. It was one shining spot of happiness and civilization in the dark night of nature and discomfort. The young man sitting at it seemed alarmed at her approach. He shrank back, holding up a sheet of paper like a talisman against evil.

At another time, she might have wondered what that distressed mien said about her appearance.

"Luxury suite," Aiko hissed. The clerk soundlessly reached beneath his desk, opened a drawer, and dropped a numbered key into her open hand. The sensation of a 'kai' from Utakata rippled across the room, pulling at her attention. He made a small, offended sound when the scenery did not change, but Aiko didn't turn to look. "Thank you." Her teeth clipped when she bit out the words. She caught a glimpse of Utakata standing still by the door.

She swiveled over to him. "Are you coming?" Aiko jingled the keys. "Because I get the bathroom first, but I presume that you don't want to sleep outside-"

Utakata was already at her side, trotting up the stairs to their room. When the door shut behind them, he drifted over to pick up the hotel advertisements left on the desk. Aiko didn't take the time to see what he was examining.

She was working on pulling out her contents of her bad and working to empty all the storage seals she'd had clothes stored in. The fabric ended up tossed in a pile to the left, while the ruined, bleeding stationary ended up crumpled into the trash can.

'I can't believe it all got wet. Where am I going to get more paper? This is bullshit.'

A high, confused kind of giggle worked its way out of Utakata's mouth. She glanced over to see that his face was buried in his hands.

He'd be fine. She went to take a shower.

When she came out, Utakata was staring out the window. Aiko stopped, still sponging off her hair. Some long-dormant instinct for caution was waking up to blink at him.

"The blinds are closed," Aiko said cautiously. "What are you looking at?"

Aiko blinked. Utakata had crossed the room. His hands were around her upper arms. He leaned down.

"What the hell was that." He shook her once. "Who the hell are you." Utakata's fingers tightened. "And as a tertiary question, why do you masquerade as a moron?"

'I may have underestimated the effect this would have on him.'

She leaned back and carefully refrained from peeling his fingers off. Utakata seemed like he might need a physical grip to the real world. Aiko bent her arms to touch his forearms gently and made sure her breathing was slow.

"It's a special fuinjutsu technique," Aiko explained in an even tone. "It allows me to place a marker at locations that I touch. I use them to re-orient myself in space and time."

Utakata blinked down at her. His eyelashes were prettily curved. "In space and time?" His voice was small. His grip loosened.

Aiko laced her fingers through his and tried to be sensitive to his distress. Even though he was being, like, a total drama queen about the whole thing.

"Yes."

That probably wasn't good enough. She tried again.

"I should have told you beforehand."

Utakata groaned and threw his head back, tearing his hands away. He –honest to god- put the back of his palm to his forehead. "The other question, please?"

Aiko had to think back on that a moment. "My-" she faltered. "I never told you my name?" Oh. Wow. "Aiko." She paused. "Uzumaki Aiko." How awkward. Her mind was racing, trying to remember because she had to have, sure she'd- "Did I ask your name?"

Her gut sunk when he shook his head.

Oh, hell.

"You just knew it." Utakata broke away and sank down onto the bed, facing away from her. "I assumed that you had heard of me."

'No, I just knew you in an alternate timeline. All that I know about you is that you end up banging the Mizukage and we never got along.'

Aiko nodded and lied prettily. "I read the bingo book."

He grunted in response.

She looked down at her hands and fidgeted.

"You didn't so much as blink when I called you Uzumaki-san," Utakata said dully. "From that I could only conclude that you expected me to recognize you, or are otherwise used to being recognized on sight."

'Holy shit. I didn't think about that.'

Aiko cringed.

"From this, I can only conclude that this information proves you are somehow from a village where your family traits would be easily discerned. You say you are not a missing nin."

'I need dumber friends.'

"Therefore, it must somehow be true that you are or were once a legitimate shinobi, but your exit from your home village did not involve rebellion or excommunication. In any case, you were not trained outside of a village system."

'I treated him like he would already know these things.'

"One of two impossible things must be true." They made eye contact. Aiko felt apprehensive, Utakata just looked weary. "You are indisputably a shinobi of Uzushiogakure, yet you appear approximately twenty. Either you are older than you appear, or you have somehow skipped the intervening years between the fall of Uzushiogakure."

'Close, but no dice.'

"Initially, the idea that you were disguising your age was much more plausible. By my math, you could be as young as 35 and still plausibly consider Uzushiogakure your home. As Uzumaki are noted for their longevity and youthfulness, your appearance could be natural. Additionally, I have heard of at least one Uzumaki descendant who utilizes a powerful jutsu to remain young."

"Tsunade?" Aiko asked, feeling the urge to contribute somehow.

Utakata merely nodded. "Just so. However, your reliance on information gathering methodologies that are clearly out of date was notable. That is compounded by your queer statement about accidentally attacking the Mizukage and the fuinjutsu that you used to transport us here. I can only conclude that you were telling the truth." He gave a sideways little frown. "You were conducting a fuinjutsu experiment that involved space-time manipulation. You made a mistake, and found yourself removed from your own time period and in a hostile situation."

The theory about where she'd come from was off, but holy hell.

Aiko sank down onto the bed and tangled her hands in her hair. "Wow," she said softly. "Wow." She looked up at him. "I'm sorry I ever thought you were just a pretty face."

Utakata shrugged and ran a hand over his hair. "I can't decide if you're the best shinobi I ever met or the most fantastically inept woman alive."

Well… Aiko struggled to work up indignation. He wasn't wrong.

"Why choose?" Aiko nudged him with her shoulder.

'He knows a lot. Too much, really.'

The teenager made a huffing sound and nudged her back.

'I should kill him.'

"I won't tell." Utakata sounded more like he was granting her a favor than pleading for his life. He didn't even know that he should be concerned. He was smirking at her, enamored with his own cleverness.

Aiko felt her lips quirk up.

'I don't want to kill him. He's funny.'

She slung an arm around his shoulders, ignoring the prissy sniff he let out. "It's not like anyone would believe that, ne?" She squeezed, giving the closest thing to a hug she could manage casually.

"You'd better come up with another backstory," Utakata commented stiffly. He raised an eyebrow and leaned away. "Or at least a cover identity. Unless of course you have plans? I assumed that there is no one you can contact."

Her cringe was real. "No…" Aiko thought of the suspicious bastards that she had associated with. Who on earth wouldn't be suspicious if she contacted them? The truth would seem like a contrived cover story. "I- I tried to contact Hoseki and Mitsuo, but…" she trailed off, too morose to finish the statement. It was definitely not framed to give the impression that her team was dead.

'Dead is more believable than 'not born yet' anyway'.

Utakata came to the obvious conclusion and didn't push. "I see." He very awkwardly put a sympathetic hand on her leg to sort of pat. He immediately withdrew the limb, clearly thinking better of the motion.

"Yeah, no." Aiko scooted away and flopped backwards onto the bed. Utakata let her go with unhidden relief.

Neither of them was terribly suited to mouthing platitudes.

"So." Aiko toed Utakata's side, smirking when he squirmed and glared. "A cover identity. Do I strike you are more of a Hikari or a Hironori? Maybe Keiko?"

"Aina," Utakata said flatly.

What.

She stared. "Love vegetable," Aiko repeated. "You want to call me the Vegetable of Love. That's- well first of all, that's too close to my real name. And that's awful. No. Just no." She pushed her foot against him again, hard enough that her foot flattened and molded against his flank. It was almost a kick, really, not a playful nudge.

"Nothing for it. You are indisputably a vegetable." Utakata grabbed her foot to stop her from digging her toes into his backside.

"That's ridiculo-"

"Cabbage."

Aiko puffed her cheeks up in indignation. "No, st-"

"Daikon."

"You'rebeingstupid!" Aiko rushed out before Utakata could cut in. Their eyes met in a stare-off.

He looked away first, rolling his eyes upward. "I can't believe you suggested naming yourself 'Respectful Child.' It's positively absurd. And 'Hironori' is a male name." Utakata released her foot.

She bent her leg to pull it away from his grasp. "Yeah, but I like the sound of it." At the unimpressed expression he leveled, Aiko pouted. "Fine. Hikari it is." She gave him a challenging look, but he kept his mouth shut about that one.

"About Wave… We will try again in the morning?" Utakata asked.

Aiko felt her shoulders slump. "We'd better."

"How do you want to approach?" Aiko made a kissy face at her expression in the mirror, idly massaging lotion into her cheeks. She looked wan, but not nearly as tired as she felt.

Utakata leaned against the bathroom door, immaculate and bored. "Wave has no shinobi. We could go undisguised."

She uncapped mascara and shrugged one shoulder, almost ready to take an early start to the day. Her plush bathrobe slipped down dangerously far past her collarbone with the motion. "We could. I doubt anyone would share information with us. They'd probably be terrified."

He gave her a sideways expression, but one side of his mouth was tugging upwards. "But of course, we could instead use the ready-made explanation for two young people traveling together and be perceived as harmless."

"Well, if you insist." Aiko held her eyes still and parted her lips just a little, concentrating on slicking the dark paint on her lashes. As soon as she was done, she gave her partner a mischievous look. "Since you're so set on it and all."

Utakata looked at his nails.

Aiko capped her mascara and curled her hand into a fist around the plastic tube. "But if you tell them I'm pregnant this time, I will shove my foot so far up your ass that your dentist-"

"I get the point, Uzumaki," Utakata cut her off. The flustered pink tint to his cheeks belied the lie in his superior tone. "In any case, we will begin with reconnaissance. I trust that you can conceal yourself from civilians to gather information about the island in order to assess what trade impediments exist."

'Oo, I ace this test. The answer is Gato. He's fending off any competition. Don't know how, though.'

She considered pushing aside the change of subject and rubbing her point in, just to make Utakata squirm.

'He's kind of naïve. It's cute how he covers his embarrassment by trying to provoke me. Not very subtle, is it?'

She let it be. Aiko packed up her vanity bag and stalked over to frown at the enormous pile of civilian clothes left in the hotel room. Utakata watched her through heavily lidded eyes, and re-posed so that the excellent line of his neck and jaw was highlighted.

"I kind of want to leave this here." Aiko heaved a sigh, not happy about the thought of going through and putting away the wardrobe she'd accumulated over months of aggressive consumerism.

Utakata didn't offer comment. He just watched.

She wilted. "Can you, like, get me some hotel stationary?" Aiko waved her hand in the vague direction of the lobby. "I think the front desk will remember my description, after how we checked in." And arrest me.

Utakata made a sound of dim recollection. "I find myself surprised that they did not contact any authorities," he admitted. But he pushed himself to a vertical position and glided to the door. "I will locate enough paper."

While he was gone, Aiko sorted her treasures. Kimono, dresses, skirts, pants, a truly stunning array of (generally pilfered) jewelry and tops-

'I might have a problem.'

She stared. She picked up a kanzashi and slid it into her hair, as if she could make a dent in the trove by putting on some jewelry.

"It didn't seem like so much when I just bought two or three things at a time," Aiko defended. The empty room did not respond.

'How am I going to get all this crap to Wave?'

Somehow, she sealed away all of her treasures. As soon as that was finished, Aiko took Utakata to the point they had stopped at last night and stopped to get her bearings. Finding the town that the bridge was being built out of wouldn't be difficult. But…

'I'm not sure how I'll know when I am. Or how I will tell Utakata not to take care of the problem right away, assuming Gato is active but Zabuza isn't hired yet.'

The logistics were… bad, frankly.

She stole a glance at her partner. Utakata was running his fingers down the bole of the tree she'd tapped yesterday. A faint line was pressed into his forehead.

'I'll make it work. Somehow.'

"You're not going to find it unless you're a sensor." Aiko bent to leap up into a branch, out of casual eyesight. Utakata followed a moment later.

"Is the settlement large enough that we should split to cover more ground?" Utakata glanced over, eyes shadowed by bangs.

She strained to remember. "Not sure," Aiko admitted. "Not as far as I remember. But things like that can change. We'll have to play it by ear."

They stopped talking altogether at the first signs of civilization, falling into grim professionalism. There was a point where forest and animal trails bled into a road, and the brush was scarred and fought away with fire and blades. They passed one abandoned house, but there was movement not too far away. It wasn't exactly bustling, but there were enough people around that they had to use caution.

She led the jinchuuriki to the edge of town, exchanged a significant glance, and then dashed through the open to spring back up, onto a roof this time. It creaked. Aiko froze, muscles tense, trying to let the shoddily-built construction settle. She held her breath. It didn't creak again.

'I can't even see him from here.'

Instead of gesturing, Aiko licked her lips and gave the subtlest of chakra pulses.

'We need to develop a system. We can't communicate if he only knows Mist's tap code and I only know Konoha's. If either of us was a team player, we'd already have thought of that.'

Aiko tabled the idea for later.

She did catch Utakata's dash across the open. A grandmother jerked her head when he passed her, but the head-shake she gave indicated that she dismissed whatever she'd noticed. Aiko was still watching the civilian continue on her walk when Utakata shifted on the next roof over. He tilted his head to get her attention, eyebrow raised.

Aiko mimed a shrug and brought her hands together in order to take them apart, miming splitting up. She tapped her chest with her right and then indicated one side of town- the side she knew had the bridge. Besides, the other side of town smelt worse, befouled by something hot and chemical oozing on the wind.

Utakata scowled. But he nodded and took off in the stinky direction.

She was left to blink in mild confusion.

'What did I say?'

Weird. Aiko shook off the oddity in favor of exploration. She hid in the shadows of buildings and moved only when unobserved, relying on old-fashioned stealth instead of genjutsu. Anything more sophisticated seemed unnecessary. She didn't think there were shinobi around yet, but ninjutsu could attract them.

'It's…' Aiko hesitated, crouched on an overhang. 'Worse than I remember, somehow. Did I really leave these people like this?'

She strained her memory. But no, she didn't think so. The civilian inhabitants were thinner, their clothes stained and worn, and she didn't see a building that was anything other than shabby. The market was pitiful- but still every item sold, and there were lines full of people who didn't receive any groceries.

'Pathetic.'

Her stomach lurched, as if reminded that she'd treated herself to a pre-made bento that morning. She put a hand over it.

The bridge wasn't started, as far as she could tell. But there were indications that something was going on: significant foot traffic towards the outskirts of town with the bridge-site and less general hopelessness than she remembered.

'The whole town is in on it, I bet. They'd have to be. There are a lot more one-handed beggars than there were a few months ago, though. I doubt it's going well.'

A worker would probably know what was going on. She didn't remember any one-handed men working with Tazuna's crew, so they weren't her suspects.

Aiko waited patiently for a more likely candidate to walk by and then followed the man. He went nowhere interesting, so she tracked back out and tried to guess what preparations for construction would look like. Once she knew what she was looking for, she could confirm her suspicions that the locals should already be stock-piling and starting preparations.

'They… need some kind of material, right?'

Aiko strained to remember what the bridge had been made of, but she frankly hadn't paid much attention at the time. Construction seemed kind of boring. It… it could be done with wood. She knew that for sure. Yamato did that all the time. But wood didn't seem like the best choice for a bridge that was supposed to last for the ages.

'So, what, large rocks? Metal? That doesn't seem right.'

She slumped.

'This is embarrassing. This seems like a thing that most people would readily know. At least I can ask Utakata. He won't realize I'm inattentive, because he already thinks I'm some kind of stone age throwback.'

The thought was not that reassuring, but it was what she had. So she went back to the place where they had started and waited.

"Cement," Utakata answered, as soon as she posed the question. "A sort of glue mixed with rock that can be mixed on site and molded in large shapes. They would need large quantities of wood or metal for support, however." He pulled a leaf out of his hair and frowned disapprovingly at it before he let it drift to the ground. "Why do you ask?"

'How can they do that kind of work if they're starving?'

She shrugged off the question. "It's what I would do, if I was that near to the mainland," Aiko evaded. "Someone has to have considered the possibility of connecting instead of risking the currents. It would make our jobs easier if someone was already contemplating a construction project, ne?"

Slowly, deliberately, Utakata turned to face her dead-on. He raised one eyebrow. He didn't look like he was buying it.

'Oh, come on. I'm right, aren't I? That's not how I know, but I'm still right.'

"I do not believe the currents are the impediment to communication and trade," Utakata said, after a long silence. "All but one of the harbors have been burnt. The ship docked is a commercial shipping vessel, patrolled and guarded by civilian hirelings. I am more interested in the party responsible for these oddities than the possibility of a land crossing."

Aiko waited for him to say anything else, or to mention the name 'Gato'.

When he didn't say anything else, she forced a flippant smile onto her face. "Aa. Either way, this place is pretty sad, isn't it?"

Her teammate sort of shrugged and shifted away. "Destitute." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, mouth twisting in revulsion. "You aren't contemplating doing anything charitable, are you?'

"No, no," Aiko denied hastily. "But the macro view of the situation hasn't yielded much information so far. We could befriend someone and get their perspective."

Utakata hmmd, unimpressed. "The community is smaller than I expected. They will recognize you as an outsider, and then wonder how you arrived." He relaxed, leaning against a tree. "In any case, I would prefer to focus our attentions on apparent aggressor, rather than speculate about possible resistance from the locals."

She frowned. He crossed his arms.

They stood at an impasse for a few minutes, watching the sun move directly overhead.

"We should part ways to approach the problem."

Aiko nodded agreement. "You try your plan, I'll try mine."

"Don't break our cover," Utakata said shortly. She shot a scowl at his back, but he was gone a moment later.

"What a brat," Aiko grumbled. She straightened her posture, checked her hair, and closed her eyes for just a moment to try to remember where Tazuna lived.

The builder had a family home outside of the town, not far from what would be the construction site. He probably had a half hour walk to work every day. And… it had been near a heavily wooded area, hadn't it?

With that in mind, it didn't actually take Aiko that long to track down the building. She settled in a treetop to watch the perimeter. Tsunami-san worked out in a garden behind the home for about two hours. She left, and returned forty minutes later holding Inari-chan by the hand. The boy's other arm was occupied by a thin workbook. After that, Tsunami-san painstakingly pumped water up from a well to do washing. Inari-chan was out of sight, likely moping inside. Aiko watched the little family until the sky began to darken, but she didn't see Tazuna-san at all. He didn't come trudging along the path home.

Aiko ventured close enough to see that Tsunami-san didn't even set a third place at dinner.

Her stomach hurt.

Surprised, Aiko put a hand to her gut and looked down.

'I must be hungry if that's looking good even after I saw the market where she got her food.'

She hesitated for a moment, but sprang away to find Utakata. He was already waiting for her, nearly invisible among the shadows of evening. When she held out her arm, he took it.

"Anywhere you'd like to go for dinner?" Aiko asked. She pushed down the uncomfortable feeling of domesticity that statement implied.

Utakata's arm was tense against hers. "No. Though I would advocate selecting another hotel for the night."

She took him to a port city that stretched nearly up to Lightning Country. Utakata looked vaguely ill and wobbly, but he set off towards the bright lights unprompted.

In the next morning, they parted ways in Wave Country again. This time, Aiko went directly to Tazuna-san's home and waited. About five minutes after sunrise, Tsunami-san walked Inari-chan out to town. A few minutes after they were out of sight, Aiko leapt out of her hiding spot and let herself into the house. She did a fast run-through, flipping it over for signs of Team seven or work plans for the bridge.

Tazuna-san had been cautious. There was nothing visibly connecting his family to any rebellious attempt to undermine Gato's chokehold on the island.

At least, not until Aiko pulled apart Tsunami-san's cake pans. She cracked a smile, unfolding creased designs.

'He'd trusted them to his daughter to hide.'

Tsunami-san had done a good job of it too, so Aiko put the blueprints back where she'd found them. It was just in time- it had been nearly half an hour since the family had left. Aiko hid upstairs until she heard the door open downstairs and then left by a window on the opposite side of the house.

She didn't strictly need to talk to Tsunami-san now. Aiko had a solid theory: Tazuna-san had left for Konoha to get bodyguards. He had probably been carried out under darkness by a local boatman. In his absence, his compatriots were attempting to maintain the pretense of normalcy. They were likely gathering the materials in secret as well, or concealing them near the site.

'But that's a lot to tell Utakata I just magically know,' Aiko told herself. 'Besides, Tsunami-san wouldn't be a bad in to have. She must know everything.'

So Aiko slipped around. She ran a hand over her hair and clothes to be certain that she still looked respectable. Then she slipped on her Rinnegan and knocked on the front door. She was waiting when Tsunami-san steeled herself enough to unlock and open it with trembling fingers.

"Hello," she said pleasantly. She was smiling. "I'm your childhood friend Hikari-chan. Invite me in and tell me all about what's been going on."

Tsunami-san's whole body relaxed, thrumming with endorphins and a powerful suggestion. "Hikari-chan! Please, come in. I'm doing some cleaning to prepare for guests."

Hikari-chan smiled, just like she had as a dutiful little girl with braided pigtails and a pocket full of meadow flowers. "I'd love to help, Tsunami-chan." She closed the door behind her.

"The situation has escalated," Aiko reported as soon as she had confirmed they were alone. Tsunami-chan hadn't recognized that yet, but Aiko could read between the lines. Gato knew that his biggest detractor had disappeared and that the town was covering for him. "I was right- there is attempt to subvert the forced moratorium on trade." She scowled. "The export company-"

"Gato-san," Utakata interrupted.

Aiko nodded. "Right, Gato was maintaining a stranglehold with mercenaries. But someone's upset that by seeking shinobi help. He's hired his own man in response."

That made a lot of sense in retrospect as an explanation for Zabuza's presence, and why Gato would have hired him if he was so unwilling to pay the price for a nukenin.

"Another shinobi- And we are certain this does not refer to us?" Utakata asked. His dark eyes were wide and with a start she remembered that he was really just a kid, not long out of his home village. His breathing was picking up in fast gasps. "It could. Someone is mistaken." He shook his head. "Our employer has sold us out. We should leave, before hunters-"

"Utakata!" Aiko held up her hands. "That's not possible." When he tried to interrupt, she made a warning 'ch-ch-ch' kind of sound. "Our employer can't have sold us out, because he's under the kind of genjutsu that he is just not getting out of. No one knows about us." Aiko reached out and gripped his shoulder to anchor him to the real world. "We're okay. And even if someone comes, we can kill them all. We're pretty great." The teen shuddered in her grip, but didn't pull away.

She could deal with revealing her tactics better than the fear of imminent capture. Fear makes shinobi stupid. He wouldn't hurt her with the information. Probably.

He seemed to collect himself. "Right." Utakata inhaled deeply, tilting his chin up. "You are not entirely incorrect. We shall remain as long as the situation does not become too dangerous. At that point, you will use your fuinjutsu to extract us."

"That seems fair," Aiko agreed, who had no intention of leaving to flee anything short of hunter-nin or Akatsuki. "The village will hire a Chuunin team, probably."

They would want to, anyway.

She continued. "We can let them do the work if we hang back and observe. Why endanger ourselves if another team will be working towards the same goal? Lazy and safe."

Utakata actually laughed. The sound was short and high and she'd never heard it before.

She froze warily.

"You are a terrible person," Utakata said. But it sounded more like an endearment than anything.

[fighterpilotdragon02]

The Midwestern US: Illinois

What is my experience level: Mostly familiar with the northern area of the state. Have been to the capital and some southern/central cities, but mostly know about Chicago.

Speaking of, my big recommendation for Illinois is Chicago (for sightseeing/touristy stuff) and Starved Rock (for nature/hiking).

On the urban/historical/tourist side:

Chicago

-Millenium Park and the Bean (Cloudgate). Definitely a good place to go if you're in Chicago for a bit. Sometimes they play open-air concerts in Millenium Park, although I've never been in the city while that was happening. The Bean is pretty cool, and it's a great place for a photo or two because of the wacky reflections. In the winter, there's an ice skating rink here, but the one time I went, it was super busy.

-Museum Campus. Big recommends for if you have a day or two to spend: Art Institute of Chicago (AIC), Museum of Science and Industry (MSI), and the Field Museum. If you have kids, MSI is the place to be, because it's got a lot of interactive exhibits (especially the weather and agriculture sections) and a submarine/U-boat you can go in. The Field has a lot of cool history exhibits, and last time I was there, they still had a bunch of dinosaur skeletons (I haven't been there for ages, though so that may have changed). AIC has a bunch of Da Vinci and Monet -- you know that pointillism Monet painting of all the people by the river? It's at AIC, and it's massive. Word to the planners: basically anywhere in museum campus closes at 5, so get there early. Also, the little fee for the coat locker at Field (and AIC, I think) is Worth It, because it's unbelievably stuffy in there.

-Chicago Shakespeare Theatre. If you're under 35, you can get $20 tickets for you and a plus-one. That's all, just wanted to get that info out there.

-Lake Michigan/Lakeside Ave. I don't know that I would recommend swimming in there, but it's cool to say you've been. Again, that's it. If you couldn't tell, most of my time in Chicago has been on the museum campus.

-O'Hare International Airport. I've been told that the other Chicago airport is in an iffy side of town, so if you're flying in, I would recommend here (although Southwestern doesn't go here, I don't think, so that may be a factor).

On the nature/hiking side:

We have a bunch of state parks and preserves, but our big one is Starved Rock. The signage is really good for all the trails, and there are full-park maps at basically every trail junction. The visitor center is kept pretty clean, and the outhouses are... not the worst I've been in.

Pro tips for Starved Rock (and the neighboring park Matthieson, which I thought was part of Starved Rock for like 13 years at least):

-If it's been raining/if it's muddy in off-trail areas, plan to hike on the bluffs or St. Lewis. The former are less likely to be muddy because they're higher up/rainwater flows off them instead of into them. The latter is just so sandy that it doesn't saturate very quickly. Also, if you ARE going to go on a river trail, don't go on the Illinois trail unless you plan to get muddy. Last time I went, it was basically all mud, no matter how far from the water I was.

-If you're hiking in the winter, go for the canyons. Most of them will have waterfalls, and if it's cold enough, those will be ice falls.

-Whether it's been raining or not, if you're hiking in Matthieson, plan to get wet. It's basically a trail alongside/in a large creek, and that thing floods unbelievably quickly.

My favorite trails: Wildcat Canyon, St. Lewis, Tonti/LeSalle Canyons (which I like to hike as one long trail).

Altogether, Illinois isn't the worst Midwestern state to travel in, but I'm not sure I would choose to go here over somewhere else.

[escapingpurgatory]

These are on my watchlist as well!! Plus im adding an AIC song so this post doesn't seem so empty.

[modelartist-demri]

I think both Cara Delevigne or Eva Green would e great portrayals of Demri if a movie including her would be ever made

Oh yes!!!! I think model and actress Cara Delevingne would be a great Demri if a movie about her or about AIC/grunge/1990s Seattle was ever made! Or about 1990s artists, fashion, style, poets...

As Demri, she pulls out funny faces:

With dark hair she could be a very believable Demri, I think

Plus, if Demri was her age today, I think she might be as successful as Cara (with Instagram, the internet and so). I could picture her easily playing the role of pixie faerie Vignette Stonemoss on Carnival Row

Or presenting/hosting her own TV series "Planet Sex" as Cara does!

Plus Cara is a model and an actress, Demri was a model and an aspiring actress, both are lgtbi so I think Cara would find very interesting to play a role like Demri's (with honor and respect). She's slim like Dem but a bit taller.

As for Eva Green, this Alison Dyer photo of Demri reminds me of beautiful Eva, but just this one:

Eva is also an actress and model, a bit shorter than Cara but still taller than Demri.

Demri would have enjoyed playing the role of tortured medium Vanessa Yves in Penny Dreadful if she was alive...

[meghalayacareer]

AIC Recruitment 2023: Management Trainee (10 Posts)

AIC Recruitment 2023: Agriculture Insurance Company of India Limited (AIC) has released an employment notification for the recruitment of Management Trainees in the Actuarial discipline. The last date for submission of the application is 06.03.2023. Post Name:- Management Trainee (Actuarial) - No of posts:- 10 - Age limit:- 21 to 30 years i.e. a candidate must have been born not earlier than 2nd February 1993 and not later than 01st February 2002 (both dates inclusive). The Upper age relaxation is up to 3 years for OBC, 5 years for SC/ST, and 10 years for PWD candidates. - Salary:- The selected candidates would be paid a consolidated pay of Rs. 60,000/- p.m. during the training period of one year. On absorption, as Administrative Officer (Scale I Officer), the emoluments will be fixed in the scale of pay of Rs. 50,925-2500(14)-85,925-2710(4)-96,765 plus such other increment/ allowance like DA, HRA, CCA, etc. as may be admissible under the rules, in force, from time to time and subject to revision of the pay scales, if any. The total emoluments will be approximate Rs 84,000/- per month in an ‘A’ Class city plus other benefits. - Essential Qualification:- (a) Graduation from a recognized University/ Institution/ Board recognized by Govt. of India/ approved by Govt. Regulatory Bodies with minimum 60% (55% for SC/ST) marks and (b) Passed or have been exempted from at least 9 CT Papers (as per old curriculum) or 7 Core Principle papers (as per 2019 curriculum) conducted by the Institute of Actuaries of India (IAI) or Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, UK. How to apply for AIC Recruitment 2023: Management Trainee Jobs Candidates shall click on the link given below for filling out and submission of the application and uploading the documents. The link will be active from 17.02.2023 (10:00 hrs) to 06.03.2023 (20:00 hrs). Application Fee - For SC/ST/PwBD Rs. 100/- - All other categories Rs. 500/ Those who wish to apply are advised to go through the below official notification in detail before submitting applications. Online Application Link Click Here Download Official Notification Click Here Job Updates on Facebook Click Here Read the full article

[nehistripesseattle]

For the ultimate Alice In Chains fan….the AiC Comic Book. • This book came out 12 years ago (2011) & written by @csaba.mester. If you’re so obliged to purchase you can pick this up on lulu.com’s website. You can grab the digital version or a paperback in black & white. When I bought mine when they first came out there used to be a color version also. Therefore, I ended up with a digital copy, plus both b/w & color. The illustrations are perfect and suit the members well. The one to the right is based off Gene Ambo’s 1991 photo during Clash of the Titans. Layne’s wraps are even showing😘😉 2nd pic: The 1st page and the last 2 pages from the comic book. • —————————————————— #nehistripesseattle #LSMS #LSMSAiC #aliceinchains #laynestaley #chainer4life #mikestarrforever #1990s #seankinney #jerrycantrell #williamduvall #mikeinez #the1loveaic #grungeera #csabamester #lulubooks (at Nehi Stripes Seattle) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnVEDjLyLXD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[stillinaincrad]

I really can't stress how much I know I feel like a broken record lately. I'm basically one of those hipster dbags wearing flannel in July, drinking PBR even though it tastes like sweaty socks, and talking in prose about 'it was better back when' about anything and everything.

But sometimes... sometimes it really was, especially with anime.

Just finished watching Date a Live from the beginning all the way up to the new episodes, even season 2 which I insisted I wouldn't. I will always say it - DAL is nothing significant, is nothing even particularly good, is just a title I've always really liked because it's fun and has some really original characters. The central story is actually pretty involved and well thought out, even though more than once it's strayed a little too far from and fanservice is overused to fill the void.

But the thing I think I like most is how no one studio has made more than one season of the show and there are four seasons now. AIC brought the world to life, and whereas I think they are the most guilty of focused ecchi - somehow with Origami especially - they really did Tohka justice. She's just nothing but great from hello. As is the entire cast, so many memorable and unique characters. IMS did season two and yeah... let's not go there, it was bad. But the characters were still the characters, just very flatly written and voiced, and the overall crafting was bleh at best. JC Staff did season 3 and it was a full-on revitalization - the animation was a massive rebound from 2, the characters were lovable again, and they really included everything they could from the source material to move the characters and story in an elevated way. Very well done. All three studios managed to keep the animation at least mostly similar, the character scores and music have been carried over - that military march when monitoring dates onboard Fraxinus is the epitome of the show's playfulness, I can't imagine episodes without it - and each has at least made an attempt to keep the characters true to themselves.

Until... uuuuggggggh, yes, here's where I say it - until now. Geek Toys is responsible for season 4, and I'm very not digging it. Every character not only looks the same, they look the same as every other minimal effort teenage here-and-forgotten anime that is churned out of Johnny Verbeck's western anime viewership snausage machine these days. It bores me how grievously plain it is. DAL has always had it's own style, now it looks like some 'Is This An... Anime?' release. They kept the music, so I'll give them that, but to the rest, why? Why change EVERYTHING now? Why simplify these decade-established characters and make them static af? Why make them indistinguishable from honestly every background character in every show ever? Why change an entire franchise SO MUCH? I know GT did the Date a Bullet spinoffs, which I admittedly never watched, but spinoffs are their own thing. For a studio that does not have many credits to their catalog, am sure they took this project on because of the fandom they'd inhereit (and because they were lowest bid lol), but so far am so underwhelmed that it's hard to even watch these goofballs I've spent the last 9yrs with.

I'll continue to give it a chance because I'm still a fan of this franchise, but the incredible prosaic makeover of everything is not my bag so far. I don't know why studios continue to do this kind of thing to a well-established brand, but it is out here in the world as-is now. I don't think it's fair to us as consumers, to the effort the other studios made to keep at least some semblance of continuity, or - and this one most of all - to the characters themselves, but it is what it is and our choice is to watch it or don't. And I'm sure I will in spite of it all.

But I mean, come on - we're two episodes deep in a new season and Fujibakama has yet to call anyone or thing lame. Did Geek Toys even watch the first three??

[seankinney]

I'm the camera, life's Sean...

Credits to @spam.kinney

[ambrosiaicecreem]

the montolvo family