#c: morita

[gatutor]

Edmund Lowe-Miki Morita-Ann Sothern "El gran final" (Grand exit) 1935, de Erle C. Kenton.

[murder-popsicle]

@bokketo (Jim Morita)

"So," Bucky said, passing Jim the mug of coffee she'd brought for him, now that she'd finally succeeded in tracking him down. "A big, star-spangled birdie told me that you signed up for the SSR's new team." A team led, of course, by the star-spangled birdie in question - Steve Rogers, alias Captain America. Bucky had passed Steve the names of the people she'd come to rely on that factory, the men she held in such esteem that she would trust them not only with her own life, but also with the life of her best friend. Steve had talked to them all in the bar last night, laying out his plans and asking them if they wanted in.

Bucky hadn't joined them. She'd vouched for Steve to her friends, but she'd known that they'd have to judge him for themselves before they could make the call. She'd been alone in the next room, still within earshot, smoking a cigarette and nursing a whiskey as she tried to get soused, tried to forget about that Goddamn doctor for just one night. As it turned out, she hadn't been able to have even that small bit of peace, but at least her brothers in arms had all agreed to join Steve's new team.

Sliding into the seat next to Jim, she asked, "You nervous? I don't mind admittin' that I am, a little, but Stevie couldn't keep me outta this with a big stick."

That was the truth; Bucky would never let her best friend go into a fight without her to watch his back. He might be big and strong and healthy now, some kind of super-soldier, but a bullet to the head would still kill him. No way in Hell would Bucky let that happen, not when she had the skills to prevent it.

[magma1000]

HERE WE GO!! THIRD ROUND!!!

No. 11 from class 1-C, Kazuya Shiro, 16, male, Quirk: Flame Cannon 

From the gaps in his palms, Shiro can create balls of fire that can vary in speed and power (requires a lot of spicy food)

No. 11 from class 1-D, Minato Kanno, 15, non-binary, Quirk: Vampire Bat

She can do anything a bat can do, but better! (And if she’s tasted someone’s blood, she’ll be able to hear them no matter where they are, as well as getting a boost of energy) 

No. 12 from class 1-C, Kiiko Masaki, 15, female, Quirk: Armour

Masaki can generate tough plates on her skin that act as armour, they typically form after taking a lot of damage in any area.

No. 12 from class 1-D, Naoki Itsuki, 16, male, Quirk: liquid nitrogen 

Using his quirk, Itsuki can secrete an extremely cold liquid from his hands and feet.

No. 13 from class 1-C, Kokoro Hirata, 16, female, Quirk: Mirror 

After making eye contact with someone, she can have that person mirror her abilities for as long as she can hold the connection (requires extreme concentration)

No. 13 from class 1-D, Rio Kawasaki, 16, female, Quirk: Light Warp

Using her quirk, Kawasaki can warp through any electrical light source. (As long as it’s on)

No. 14 from class 1-C, Moriko Uchida, 17, female, Quirk: Bumblebee

She can do anything a bee can!

No. 14 from class 1-D, Soshi Morita, 15, agender, Quirk: Seamster

Anything they sew together is fixed or comes to life (their little makeshift dolls will come to life, but a dresser would simply be fixed) and will listen to their every word

No. 15 from class 1-C, Saya Kawasaki, 16, bigender, Quirk: Sandstorm 

They can create powerful tornadoes and mini storms out of dust particles, but it’s very easy for her to loose control and cause serious damage 

No. 15 from class 1-D, Tadashi Nakada, 17, female, Quirk: Gun Hands

Nakada can shoot bullets from her fingertips. (The bullets are a special thing her body creates on its own)

[withlove-kcrb]

🍻 to the Howlies!

the howling commandos honestly deserved more respect in the mcu. they were a diverse group of batshit crazy men who could drink a bar dry that followed captain america and sergeant barnes around europe fighting hydra. then, during VE day when the entire world was celebrating, they drank in a dimly lit bar mourning/toasting steve n bucky. they are integral to the captain america story, and were loyal to a fault. they had all passed by the time steve and bucky reunited, but where’s a scene toasting the howlies?  

[nobrashfestivity]

Morita Shiryū, Mau (dancing, soaring; true motion is poetic), c. 1969. Aluminum flake pigment and lacquer on paper, framed, 77.5 x 54 cm / 81.5 x 58.4 cm (overall). With a label signed by Inada Sousai, Soryusha.

[miyagi-hokarate]

"I remember doing the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of the school day. It was in a barracks . . . (I remember) my English class; and looking out the window and seeing the American flag waving, juxtaposed against a guard tower in the background, I had this sense of 'What's this all about?' Why am I saying 'liberty and justice for all'? I was too young to rationalize this, but I do remember that the hurt of bigotry began early on and was to last for many, many years. Whenever I think about it, it still hurts."

— Pat Morita in "Noriyuki Pat Morita: In the Footsteps of a Sensei" by Charles C. Goodin, an article for Issue #6, Spring 1996 of Furyu: the Bushido Manuel

After being released from the hospital as a child battling spinal tuberculosis at eleven years old, Morita was transferred to a Japanese internment camp where the rest of his family were in.

[sunskate]

Nebelhorn videos:

Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson: RD FD

Christina Carreira & Anthony Ponomarenko: RD k&c FD k&c

Emilea Zingas & Vadym Kolesnik RD FD

Natalie Taschlerova & Filip Taschler RD FD

Utana Yoshida & Masaya Morita: RD k&c FD k&c

Olivia Smart & Tim Dieck: RD k&c FD

Leia Dozzi & Pietro Papetti: RD k&c FD k&c

Samantha Ritter & Daniel Brykalov: RD k&c FD k&c

Athena Faith Roberts & Eric Alis: RD k&c FD k&c

rd talk: x x X fd: x

[compneuropapers]

Interesting Papers for Week 1, 2024

Spike-based coupling between single neurons and populations across rat sensory cortices, perirhinal cortex, and hippocampus. Dorman, R., Bos, J. J., Vinck, M. A., Marchesi, P., Fiorilli, J., Lorteije, J. A. M., … Pennartz, C. M. A. (2023). Cerebral Cortex, 33(13), 8247–8264.

Value-based neural representations predict social decision preferences. Guassi Moreira, J. F., Méndez Leal, A. S., Waizman, Y. H., Tashjian, S. M., Galván, A., & Silvers, J. A. (2023). Cerebral Cortex, 33(13), 8605–8619.

Hippocampo-cortical circuits for selective memory encoding, routing, and replay. Harvey, R. E., Robinson, H. L., Liu, C., Oliva, A., & Fernandez-Ruiz, A. (2023). Neuron, 111(13), 2076-2090.e9.

Dynamic modulation of subthalamic nucleus activity facilitates adaptive behavior. Herz, D. M., Bange, M., Gonzalez-Escamilla, G., Auer, M., Muthuraman, M., Glaser, M., … Brown, P. (2023). PLOS Biology, 21(6), e3002140.

Hippocampal theta activity during encoding promotes subsequent associative memory in humans. Joensen, B. H., Bush, D., Vivekananda, U., Horner, A. J., Bisby, J. A., Diehl, B., … Burgess, N. (2023). Cerebral Cortex, 33(13), 8792–8802.

Neural reinstatement of context memory in adults with autism spectrum disorder. Justus, S. A., Mirjalili, S., Powell, P. S., & Duarte, A. (2023). Cerebral Cortex, 33(13), 8546–8556.

Not all errors are created equal: decoding the error-processing mechanisms using alpha oscillations. Li, Q., Yin, S., Wang, J., Zhang, M., Li, Z., Chen, X., & Chen, A. (2023). Cerebral Cortex, 33(13), 8110–8121.

Behavioral decomposition reveals rich encoding structure employed across neocortex in rats. Mimica, B., Tombaz, T., Battistin, C., Fuglstad, J. G., Dunn, B. A., & Whitlock, J. R. (2023). Nature Communications, 14, 3947.

A mechanism for differential control of axonal and dendritic spiking underlying learning in a cerebellum-like circuit. Muller, S. Z., Abbott, L. F., & Sawtell, N. B. (2023). Current Biology, 33(13), 2657-2667.e4.

Object-centered population coding in CA1 of the hippocampus. Nagelhus, A., Andersson, S. O., Cogno, S. G., Moser, E. I., & Moser, M.-B. (2023). Neuron, 111(13), 2091-2104.e14.

Prior expectation enhances sensorimotor behavior by modulating population tuning and subspace activity in sensory cortex. Park, J., Kim, S., Kim, H. R., & Lee, J. (2023). Science Advances, 9(27).

Cortico-ocular coupling in the service of episodic memory formation. Popov, T., & Staudigl, T. (2023). Progress in Neurobiology, 227, 102476.

Expectation violations produce error signals in mouse V1. Price, B. H., Jensen, C. M., Khoudary, A. A., & Gavornik, J. P. (2023). Cerebral Cortex, 33(13), 8803–8820.

Opponent learning with different representations in the cortico-basal ganglia pathways can develop obsession-compulsion cycle. Sato, R., Shimomura, K., & Morita, K. (2023). PLOS Computational Biology, 19(6), e1011206.

Kinematic priming of action predictions. Scaliti, E., Pullar, K., Borghini, G., Cavallo, A., Panzeri, S., & Becchio, C. (2023). Current Biology, 33(13), 2717-2727.e6.

An evolutionary conserved division-of-labor between archicortical and neocortical ripples organizes information transfer during sleep. van Schalkwijk, F. J., Weber, J., Hahn, M. A., Lendner, J. D., Inostroza, M., Lin, J. J., & Helfrich, R. F. (2023). Progress in Neurobiology, 227, 102485.

Natural statistics support a rational account of confidence biases. Webb, T. W., Miyoshi, K., So, T. Y., Rajananda, S., & Lau, H. (2023). Nature Communications, 14, 3992.

Distinct encoding and post-encoding representational formats contribute to episodic sequence memory formation. Wu, X., & Fuentemilla, L. (2023). Cerebral Cortex, 33(13), 8534–8545.

Humans predict the forest, not the trees: statistical learning of spatiotemporal structure in visual scenes. Yan, C., Ehinger, B. V, Pérez-Bellido, A., Peelen, M. V, & de Lange, F. P. (2023). Cerebral Cortex, 33(13), 8300–8311.

Fear memory recall involves hippocampal somatostatin interneurons. Zichó, K., Sos, K. E., Papp, P., Barth, A. M., Misák, E., Orosz, Á., … Nyiri, G. (2023). PLOS Biology, 21(6), e3002154.

[oddnub-eye]

Fanservant: Bellerophon (Rider)

Picture Made in This: https://picrew.me/ja/image_maker/19158 Picrew

Bellerophon

Class: Rider

True Name: Bellerophon

Gender: Male

Source: Greek Mythology

Region: Corinth

Alignment: Neutral Good

Height: 6’1

Weight: 177lbs

Voice Claim: Masakazu Morita

Parameters

Strength: C

Endurance: C

Agility: B

Mana: C

Noble Phantasm: A++

Luck: E

Class Skills

Riding EX

An interesting version of the Riding Skill. Whereas typically when Riding Skill rises in rank, it translates into the ability to ride more things, Bellerophon’s Riding skill represents the ability to ride a singular creature to absolute perfection. Pegasus is typically a kind creature, who typically needs to Noble Phantasm [Bellerophon: Brindle of Chivalry] to rouse its fighting spirit. The man who bears the Noble Phantasm’s name can rouse Pegasus’ fighting spirit entirely on his own, and instead uses the brindle to increase the sync between rider and mount from 95% to 100%.

Magic Resistance C

Bellerophon’s magic resistance makes him immune to magecraft with a chant of less than two verses. Any magecraft that is weaker than Greater Magecraft or Greater Rituals will not work on him.

Personal Skills

Divinity D

Bellerophon is the son of Poseidon, but the arrogance he shows in regards to the Gods forced the rank of Bellerophon’s Divinity into a paltry D Rank. If brought up to Bellerophon, he’ll laugh it off and make a wisecrack about if this is supposed to be punishment for his arrogance, “It’s a damn shitty one.”

Tactics B+ (Anti-Monster)

There were two critical factors in the defeat of the Greater Chimera; Pegasus and Bellerophon’s clever strategy to turn the beast's own fire breath against it. Bellerophon’s ability to create strategies suited to beat his opponents handily increases against beast-like or monstrous opponents.

Bravery B+

A skill representing Bellerophon’s unshakeable faith in he and Pegasus’ ability. They faced down multiple challenges without hesitating, and only failed once. It makes Bellerophon immune to mental interference, and increases his melee damage.

Charisma D-

Bellerophon was never a leader of people, fighting solely alongside Pegasus in most instances. However, Bellerophon always had an undeniable charm to him, his self-confidence and charming nature convincing people to admire him, to give him second chances, to place their faith in him. So while its rank may be low, it is nonetheless effective in its own way.

Noble Phantasms

[Bellerophon Kometes: May We Fly Ever Higher]Rank: A+ -> A++

Classification: Anti-Self - Anti-Army

A Noble Phantasm that can be used in two ways. The basic use of Bellerophon Kometes is the “basic” use of the Noble Phantasm, mimicking the effects of [Bellerophon: Brindle of Chivalry] -  a powerful attack wherein the user and Pegasus dives towards the opponent and deals massive damage. 

The true form of Bellerophon Kometes, however, is an enhanced version of that dive. It transforms the concept of “Bellerophon’s Hubris” into an attack, weaponizing the very thing that ended the hero’s life. Rider and Mount turn into a shooting star of pure fire, crashing into the opponent with force far surpassing the original form of the dive, as it becomes an attack that damages not only the “form” of the target, but the “spirit” as well. However, this enhanced power comes at a cost, as Bellerophon will die once the Noble Phantasm is used, leaving behind only Pegasus, who is likely to choose to fade away with his master.

Personality

An arrogant hotshot who thinks he can handle any problem thrown his way and that he’ll always win. Bellerophon believes that the best solution to every problem is to face it head on and with gusto. Strategy is fine, but one should never allow themselves to be constrained by that.

Rather than being a “reliable” big brother type, Bellerophon could be described as an “admirable” big brother type, whose extreme confidence and daring causes those he takes under his wing to believe in him as strongly as he believes in himself, and to believe in themselves just as much.

Bellerophon has something of a dislike for the Gods, citing their distance in regards to the mortals they rule over. 

Motive and Attitude towards Master

Bellerophon views his master as a follower or a little brother, depending on the Master. He views them as someone that should be able to rely on him, and that he should be able to live up to their expectations, and inspire them to reach ever greater heights. If his master is of an underhanded nature, Bellerophon won’t be able to respect them, and his loyalty and determination to meet their expectation and inspire them will falter.

Bellerophon seeks to claim the Holy Grail because he sees the chance to battle other heroes and face new challenges to drive himself to ever greater heights. He’s admittedly not sure what he would do with the Grail once he obtained it, but he fights with overwhelming determination to reach it.

Speech Examples

“Rider Class Servant, Bellerophon. And this is my best friend, Pegasus. With us at your side, there’s no height you can’t reach!”

“There’s no limit to the heights we can reach! And if we crash and burn, we’ll pick ourselves up and do it again!”

“Make sure that you believe in yourself just as much as you believe in me, got it Master?”

“Higher! Higher! Higher and Higher we go! Let’s soar as high as we can so that even if we crash, we’ll be the most spectacular of them all! BELLEROPHON KOMETES!”

Historical Depiction

A son of Poseidon in Greek Mythology, Bellerophon began his legend when he accidentally killed his own brother, and was sent to King Proteus in order to receive purification. While there, the king’s wife attempted to seduce Bellerophon, and when he rejected her, she told the king he had tried to seduce her instead. So, King Proteus sent Bellerophon to King Iobates of Lycia with secret orders to kill him. However, by the time King Iobates discovered the orders, he had already accepted Bellerophon as his guest. Given hospitality was one of the personal realms of Zeus himself, Iobates wished to avoid personally killing Bellerophon, instead resolving to get the young man killed through a quest. So, he sent the young man to kill the vicious Great Chimera.

Bellerophon rashly accepted this quest, in spite of lacking a method to fight the best. On his way to the location, Bellerophon slept next to a spring created by Pegasus, and Athena appeared to him in a dream, giving him the bit and brindle needed to control Pegasus.

So, Bellerophon approached Pegasus and tamed the great Phantasmal Beast, and in doing so, gained a lifelong companion.

Together, Bellerophon and Pegasus defeated the Great Chimera, the Amazons, and whatever other task King Iobates set before them. Eventually, King Iobates gave up in his attempts to slay Bellerophon, reasoning that someone with Bellerophon’s success had to have the gods on their side. He made Bellerophon his heir and married him to his daughter.

However, eventually Bellerophon grew disillusioned with the gods seeing the disparity between the blessings given to some, the curses given to others, and the world in between. Seeking answers for these questions, Bellerophon attempted to fly to Olympus to confront the Olympians personally. This act of hubris led to him being struck off Pegasus, falling to his death.

Relationships

Medusa (All of Them)

Bellerophon avoids Medusa. He claims it to only be natural.

“Come on. Medusa’s like, Pegasus’ mom, yeah? In all past and future, a universal constant has been that introducing your best friend your mom doesn’t approve of to her is the world’s most awkward experience. I’m not gonna put Pegasus through that!”

You wonder if Bellerophon is exaggerating, but then you notice that most of the Medusa tend to gaze at Bellerophon on a variation of suspicion to disgust, and wonder if the heroic spirit may actually be more observant than you.

Jason

The leader of the Argonauts and a hero of the previous generation. Jason finds Bellerophon monstrously annoying, and way too loud. Bellerophon, for his part, seems to refuse to improve Jason’s opinion of him, going out of his way to be even louder around the captain.

William Shakespeare

They have a relationship that is not unlike two sitcom characters, trading barbs and getting on each other’s nerves with their mere presence, but constantly hanging out anyway.

Thus is the nature of a man who loves tragedy and a man who stubbornly denies it as his genre.

Final Note

Perhaps think of him as Gingka Hagane if he were the protagonist of Gurren Lagann rather than Beyblade Metal Fight

[roboticonography]

It'd be a cute sitcom running gag in the "Steve the offscreen husband" AU if everyone who's in on the Steve secret almost say his real name in the company of someone who isn't, so the entire Agent Carter squad start getting creative with random S, R and C words. Jarvis invents a "Captain Ro...Captain Robinson" that Howard has over for dinner every month, Angie says she calls Peggy's husband "St. Grant" because he's so selfless with childcare, Falsworth claims he wanted a "nightcap" at two in the afternoon and blames it on the UK-America time zone difference, Morita insists Peggy employs a babysitter named "Stephanie" that no one's ever met, and so on

Love it! Steadfast commitment to a bit is one of my favourite things. Your brain is a beautiful little garden, Anon.

[a-bit-of-japanology]

The Actors Otani Hiroemon III as Shinagawa Okaminosuke (right), and Ichikawa Danjuro V as Arashishi Otokonosuke (left), in the Play Fuki Kaete Tsuki mo Yoshiwara (Rethatched Roof: The Moon also Shines Over the Yoshiwara Pleasure District), Performed at the Morita Theater in the Eleventh Month, 1771 - Katsukawa Shunso (c. 1771/72)

Color woodblock print; from the illustrated book Yakusha Kuni no Hana (Prominent Actors of Japan) 

source

[sjsmith56]

The 107th - Part 4, From There to Here - Bucky Barnes One Shots

Summary - The 107th get their final leave before shipping off to Europe. Told from the POV of Corporal Dum Dum Dugan it recounts his time off, then reunion with Sergeant Barnes before the rest of the unit arrives. It picks up again on their arrival in Italy, leading to the unit’s capture by HYDRA, and rescue by Captain America.

Characters - Bucky Barnes, Dum Dum Dugan, Gabe Jones, Falsworth, Dernier, Morita, Colonel Lohmer, Dr. Arnim Zola, Steve Rogers.

Length - 4.5K

Warnings - Fears of marital infidelity, capture by enemy, reference of “Limey” about a British officer, violence against POWs, retaliation against sadistic officer, death of character.

Author notes - As in the previous one-shot Dum Dum Dugan and Gabe Jones are part of the 107th Infantry Unit.  Although this series of one shots are primarily about Bucky Barnes, I have a fondness for Dum Dum Dugan and decided to include a little personal scene involving him, his wife and his boys.  The scenes in the factory of Barnes, Dugan, and Jones after being captured are based on a digital comic book titled Captain America: First Vengeance by Fred Van Lente.

<<Part 3

〰️〰️〰️

Sarge came into the barracks hut at Camp McCoy on the morning of June 4, 1943, brandishing a set of papers, one for each of us.  Gabe and I looked at each other and figured this was it, our marching orders had come in.  Over a year's worth of training had made us a well oiled unit of fighting soldiers and now we were declared ready to join the fight in Europe.

"A Company," yelled Sarge.  "Gather around."  He waited while everyone in the hut got close.  "The Lieutenant is at Division and has charged me with giving you the good news.  We have our orders.  Tomorrow morning, at 08:00 you are officially on leave.  You may go home, see your wives, or your girlfriends, or your wives and your girlfriends, your folks and anyone else special to you.  If you're planning on having kids make them now boys, because it will be a while until you're back.  Maybe get married first before you do.  Make sure you have filled out your beneficiaries on your life insurance form.  You can give them to me right up to our embarkation date.  On Saturday, June 19 most of you are expected to report by no later than 15:00 at Fort Hamilton, Brooklyn.  There you will receive your kit and await the call for transport to a port in the United Kingdom.  Everything you need to know is in your travel orders which I have right here for you."

He began calling out names and handed out the letters one by one.  I received mine and looked at the top line.  Travel orders for Dugan, Timothy C. A., Corporal, Serial number etc.  I looked at the date where I had to report back and noticed it was different from what the others were told.

"Hey, Sarge, why do I have to report back on the 15th?" I asked.

Those big baby blues fixed their gaze on me.  "Because some of us have to be back early, like me.  I have to be back on the 12th, all corporals on the 15th.  I didn't write the orders ... I just obey them."

"My wife isn't going to be so happy with only ten days," I replied.

"Times are tough, Dugan," he retorted as he kept handing out papers.  "I have about a dozen girls that I'm supposed to see in seven days.  Might have to double them up.  Stewart!"

The Sarge had a reputation as a ladies' man, which I had actually seen proof of in Sparta.  He went through the girls of that town like a man on a mission although he made good friends with a couple of them, like Miss Warren.  She was a real sweetheart, didn't seem to mind that he dated other broads.  He always treated her right and with respect.  She wasn't like some of the cookies he went out with.  Come to think of it he had weekend liberty that week before our orders came in, and when Gabe and I went to the store to say hi to Miss Warren they said she had the weekend off.  We wondered if he took her away, but we always thought she was too smart to fall for Sarge's lines.  Still ....

"Dugan," said Gabe.  "What are your plans for leave?"

"I'm sure my wife has a list a mile long of things for me to take care of," I replied.  "You?"

The handsome black man smiled.  "I'm hitting the jazz clubs," he said, "Been too long since I heard some good music.  Then I'm going to fill up on as much of my Mother's and Aunty's food as I can.  Would have been nice if the Yankees were in town."

I laughed.  "Why you cheer for those losers I'll never know.  You're as bad as Sarge and his Dodgers.  Red Sox, now there's a team."

Other guys got in on the conversation over who the best baseball teams were.  I saw Sarge smile as we jawed at each other.  As long as it didn't come to a standoff or blows he didn't care if we poked harmless fun at each other.  If things did get out of hand Sergeant James Barnes was pretty good at breaking it up.  I guess he would be, having been a YMCA welterweight champion three years running.  That's where I first saw him, fighting a buddy of mine on the undercard as an amateur in 1941, before Pearl Harbor.  Sarge was good, maybe could have turned pro if not for the war.  When I first met him at Camp McCoy I told him about seeing him fight.  We had good talks about Joe Louis, Buddy Baer, and Billy Conn among other boxers of the time.

Early the next day, after morning chow, the three of us, me, Gabe and Sarge, headed out for the bus to the train station in Milwaukee with our duffel bags and travel orders.  There was a lineup of guys kissing their girls goodbye.  I guess Sarge must have done most of his goodbyes already as only Miss Warren was there for him, and they gave each other a rather tame hug, then he did kiss her, kind of sweet like.  She waved at Gabe and me, then left as she had to be at the store for opening.  We got into Milwaukee an hour later and boarded the train right away, finding our spot together, as we knew there would be an issue about Gabe riding with us.  Sure enough the conductor came and said there was a car for Gabe's type further along.  Sarge just looked straight at the man.

"According to the United States Army Corporal Jones is white," he said.  "He stays with us.  You have a problem with that you take it up with the United States Army."

Gabe, who was sitting by the window, let Sarge handle it and he just stretched his legs out so they covered the aisle seat next to me, then pulled his cap down over his eyes.  When another conductor came to try his luck at getting Gabe to move Sarge just pushed his cap up and gave him that intense blue eyed gaze he gave anyone who was messing with him.

"Private Jones is in this unit, and I believe this car as well as several others have been reserved for our unit, 200 soldiers, in fact.  If he moves, we all move with him.  You able to squeeze us all into a single car?"

That shut the conductor up.  Of course, we went through the same thing again when we transferred in Chicago but Sarge wasn't having any of it and we were soon on the train for the long overnight trip to New York.  When we pulled in at 08:00 into Grand Central Station I wasn't expecting my wife and kids to be there but I was surprised to see my neighbour, Mr. Santucci.  He waved at me and was quite excited.

"Timothy, I'm glad you're here," he said.  "Come, I'll take you home.  There's something I need to tell you."

Well, this couldn't be good.  We got out to the street and he flagged a taxi, a taxi, can you believe it?  He gave the address of our building and then sat back. 

"Your wife, Kathleen, she kept a little secret from you since you were last here," he said.  "She didn't mean to.  She meant to tell you in person when you were supposed to be on leave the last time.  I told her she should write about it but she said it was something that should be said in person."

I rolled my eyes.  My leave got cancelled the last time about six months ago after Sarge, Gabe, and I squared off against a few soldiers from the south who took exception to Gabe's presence in our midst.  We all got our leaves cancelled as punishment but the guys from the south got recycled, had to restart their boot camp from day one.  I wondered what could have been so important that Kathleen had to tell me in person and then it hit me.  I looked at Mr. Santucci.  He nodded.

"You have a son," he said.  "Looks just like you, born two months ago.  He'll be a big boy, just like your other two."

I said three Hail Mary's right there in the cab with Mr. Santucci sitting right next to me saying them as well then I looked at him.

"You're not lying to me are you, Mario?" I asked.  "He's my boy?"

"No doubt about it," he replied.  "Your wife is sick with worry that you wouldn't believe her, so I said I would come for you and explain it all.  You know how some women get when they're full of child.  It's like their brain gets all fogged up and they can't think straight."

That did sound like Kathleen.  When she was pregnant with our first she took the subway to Yonkers and didn't know why.  Took her all day to get back.  With our second she went to the grocers and came back with a case of bananas, said it was too good a deal to pass up.  We shared them with everyone on our floor so they didn't go bad but Kathleen did do strange things when she was pregnant.  Until I saw her and the baby I didn't know what I was going to say or do.

Finally, we pulled up in front of the apartment building and I swallowed as I stood there looking up at the front of it.  Three kids in that small apartment.  Mr. Santucci patted me on the back and opened the front door for me.  As I went up the stairs, I was aware of several of the tenants opening their doors after I passed.  Did the whole damned building know?  Finally, I arrived at our door and knocked, as I left my key behind when I went to boot camp.  There was the sound of a baby crying and I almost burst into tears hearing it.  Then the door opened, and I saw my Kathleen standing there, her face fearful but just as beautiful as it had been eleven months before when I last saw her.  Two little shadows rushed out from behind her and grabbed my legs, my older boys, Tim Jr. and Danny.  After kissing them and letting them have their way with me I looked at the babe that Kathleen was holding, and she put him in my arms. 

He was definitely my boy, from the Dugan red hair, to the chubby cheeks and clenched fists that reached for me.  Even if he wasn't my boy I would have loved him because he was so perfect and I loved his mother so much.  When I kissed him she began to cry and I had to put one arm around her.  Mr. Santucci, who had been standing in the doorway smiled and left, closing the door behind him. 

The next ten days passed much too quickly as I played with the boys, helped look after little Liam, as Kathleen had named him after my grandfather, then had tender times with my wife that may or may not have put her in the family way again.  Before I left I made her promise that if she was carrying another baby to write me about it.  Before I left, just after lunch on June 15th I kissed her softly, as tears fell from her green eyes, and I touched her dark hair before enclosing her in my arms.  I kissed all three of my boys and then I carried my duffel bag with me to the train station and got on the train to Brooklyn, where there was a regular bus that ran between the station and the base at Fort Hamilton.  I didn't know then it would be several years until I saw her, our three boys and our daughter Bridget.

After I reported in I was directed to the barracks assigned to our unit.  Sarge was already there going over paperwork.  He took a stack of papers and shoved them across the desk to me.

"Put these in order by date," he said.  "The clerks here have their own system.  I had all the requisitions in, signed by the Lieutenant and everything and they brought them right back to me, date first, then requisition number."

"Hello to you too, Sarge," I said.  "How was your leave?"

"Not long enough," he said.  "Had to date two at a time.  You?"

"I have another child," I said bluntly.  "Kathleen was pregnant from my last leave, wanted to tell me in person but my leave six months ago got cancelled, and she didn't want to put it in a letter."

Sarge howled.  "So, what is it?"

"A boy, Liam, looks just like me.  She might already have another one starting but she promised if she is she would write me."

"How old is the oldest?" he asked.

"Four." 

He howled again.  "You're a cruel man leaving your wife with that many young babies."

"She's a good mother," I said defensively.  "The neighbours are good.  They'll watch out for her.  My mam had me at 17, then three more before she was 21 and she was a good mother."

Sarge just shook his head and grinned.  What did he know?  He was a bachelor and doll dizzy.  Our other corporal, Tommy Malone arrived and Sarge pushed a bunch of requisitions towards him to put into order.  Took us another hour but we finally got them organized like the clerks wanted and Sarge submitted them.  The day our company arrived they would line up at the quartermasters office and receive all their bedding and towels.  The day after they would get their kit, rifle, sleep roll, cooking kit, medical kit, everything we would need when we were finally mustered and ready to be shipped out to our destination.

"Do we have our ship assigned yet?" I asked.

Sarge smiled.  "The Queen Mary," he said.  "They're sending us in style to Scotland, leaving on the 24th.  We'll be training before we go." 

He wouldn't be so happy when we boarded.  They packed over 15,000 troops on that ship plus over 900 crew.  They had beds stacked three high in every part of that floating transport.  Even the officers had to share although they were only two or three to a cabin.  Although it was June the seas were stormy and by the time we arrived in Gourock, Scotland, half the complement were almost dead from sea sickness.  When we disembarked in Scotland, we boarded a troop train that took us from the port, through Glasgow and down to an army base near Manchester.  We had a couple of days there then another sea journey from Liverpool to Algeria where we transferred to another ship that took us to Sicily.  The Mediterranean was calmer but by then most of us were just plain worn out and only barely recuperated when we arrived in mid-July.

We did our best and made good headway when we landed in Sicily in July and took the island just a few weeks later, leading to the ouster of Mussolini.  When the British landed in southern Italy shortly after the Americans landed to the north, hoping to encircle the Germans and fascist Italians that were still loyal to them. 

We chased them to a place called Azzano in northeastern Italy in October 1943.  The fighting was brutal, and we lost the Lieutenant, leaving Sarge in charge.  Surrounded by enemy mortars he ordered Gabe to call in B Company for support.  Before Gabe could do that, we came under attack and the damnedest thing happened.  Suddenly we saw these blue flashes coming out of the dark, hitting the Germans and just ... disintegrating them into thin air.  Within seconds all the Germans were taken out.  We watched as this tank we had never seen the likes of come over a hill, shooting these pulses of blue lights at the German line in the far distance.  In awe, we just stood watching it unfold in front of us then suddenly the tank aimed its cannon at us and began firing.  Taking cover as best we could in the craters left by the mortar blasts we huddled there, hoping to hell that this wasn't to be our last day on Earth.  Then the flashes stopped, and we were surrounded by troops built like machines, dressed in black armour holding these strange rifles on us.

"Aufgeben," yelled the one closest to us and we looked at Gabe.

"They want us to surrender," he said.

Sarge raised his hands.  "Tell them we surrender.  What choice do we have?  We can't fight against those guns."

As we assembled Sarge told me to estimate a head count.  As best I could tell there were well over a hundred of us.  Whether the rest were dead or had escaped from the rear I couldn't tell.  We were marched to an area a couple of miles away and loaded into trucks.  Then we were transported for some time before the trucks were stopped and we were ordered out.  Sarge didn't look well and we closed ranks around him, knowing that a weaker POW could be subjected to cruel punishment by the guards.  They herded us into this building then forced us into an area full of different cells.  They stuck me, Sarge and Gabe in a cell with a Limey officer and a Frenchman.  I made a joke, not a good one, I admit, and the Limey took offence at it.  Well, my people are Irish and I wasn't too fond of the British just because of that and we pushed each other.  I have to admit that he wasn't scared of me, even though I must have outweighed him by 50 pounds, but I still got a few licks in before Sarge ordered me and Gabe to stand down.  The Frenchman said something and Gabe laughed, then answered in French.  It surprised the man and he stood up, offering Gabe his hand.

"I'm Dernier, Jacques Dernier, French resistance," he said, in his heavily accented voice.

Gabe looked to Sarge who nodded his approval and he introduced us.  Then the British officer stood up.

"Major James Montgomery Falsworth," he said.  "3rd Independent Parachute Brigade of the British Army.  My apologies to you Corporal, for being overly sensitive to your joke.  These soldiers are not the usual Nazi vermin we're used to dealing with.  They're worse and they have treated us like cattle.  It has stressed us immensely."

I nodded my acceptance of his apology.  "I'm sorry, sir," I replied.  "We have to work together against these guys, not fight amongst ourselves."

"Where are we?" asked Sarge.

"Somewhere near Kreischberg, Austria,"   replied Falsworth.  "This is a HYDRA facility.  As near as we can tell they were Nazis and now they're worse, looking at Nazis as if they're substandard.  The commanding officer is a sadist named Colonel Lohmer.  Try to avoid his notice.  He has killed several men just for displeasing him."

That was easier said than done when we were forced to begin working the following day.  No work, no food was what we were told.  Sarge, who hadn't been feeling well for some time could barely get up but he did and was assigned a job of moving carts of munitions from one spot to another.  He collapsed while pushing the heavy cart and fell against the munitions, causing some of them to fall.  Lohmer was right there and laid into the Sarge, beating him continually while the man didn't even have the strength to defend himself.  I could feel my hands curl in frustration at witnessing the savagery of the Colonel.  Finally, he stood up, gave a final kick to the Sarge's side and walked away, ordering Lieutenant Kleiber to see to the mess.  Kleiber motioned to me and Gabe to pick Sarge up and take him to the cell.  Gabe examined him as best he could and determined Sarge had broken ribs.  He also had a rattling cough.

"Sounds like pneumonia to me," said Falsworth, standing nearby.  "Kleiber isn't so bad.  He would let your Sergeant recuperate before sending him out to work but Lohmer would just as soon see him die on the work floor.  We need to take Lohmer out and I think I know how."

While we returned to our workstations we looked for a certain substance, it was sticky and if left long enough on a metal surface would weaken it.  The Major, Gabe and I found some, brought it to Dernier and when no one was looking he applied it to the chain attached to a crane carrying bins of scrap to be melted into munitions.  All night that stuff sat on the chains and the guards were none the wiser.  In the morning, Lohmer ordered Sarge to work.  Gabe and I helped him up.  I never knew a man who could tolerate as much pain as Sergeant James Barnes could.  Even though every step was agony for him he refused to show weakness in front of Lohmer.  He loaded scrap metal into a large bin.  When it was full Lieber ordered the crane to lift the bin up.  We all stood back, knowing the chains were weakened.  As the bin rose up high Lohmer walked under its path just as a part of the chain broke, dropping the bin right on top of him.  All of us POWs cheered when the son of a bitch was crushed, then the guards herded us back into our cells.  Again, Gabe and I supported Sarge while he stumbled back.

"You don't have to worry Jimmy boy," I whispered to him.  "Lohmer won't hurt you again."

"Bucky, my name is always Bucky," he mumbled.  "No one calls me Jim, or James."

"Alright, Bucky, we got you," I said, as Gabe and I laid him down on the floor of the cell.

We were there for hours while the guards and Lieutenant Kleiber investigated the "accident" as they finally determined it to be.  When we got our food, Gabe and I took turns feeding the Sarge.  The next day Kleiber agreed that Sarge was too sick to work and he was allowed to stay in the cell.  Even though he rested he seemed to get sicker and sicker over time.  Several days after Lohmer died a scientist showed up, a little guy with glasses.  Apparently he was now in charge.  At least he didn't order any beatings, but there was something about him that gave me chills, especially when he noticed Sarge.  His second day there he showed up at our cell with Kleiber.

"This man, on the floor, why hasn't he been working?" he asked.

"We think pneumonia, plus several broken ribs courtesy of your predecessor," said Major Falsworth.

The scientist turned to Kleiber.  "Why was he not sent to me sooner?" he asked.  "I am a medical doctor as well.  I have treatments for pneumonia.  Bring him to me."

"Yes, Dr. Zola," saluted Kleiber.  "Immediately.  Guards!"

He signalled to several guards and one motioned us back with his gun while the other two took the Sarge between them.  He tried to struggle but there was no strength left in him at all.  I was angry and upset.  Grasping at the bars I yelled at them.

"Don't you kill him, you dirty bastards!"

The doctor, almost out of the room turned back and walked towards me several steps.  What he said chilled me; not just the words but the way he said it.

"I have no intention of killing your Sergeant.  Whether he survives the treatment is up to him.  If it works it will be a new day in science and your Sergeant will never be sick ever again."

With a smile I can only describe as twisted the doctor left with the two guards carrying the Sarge behind him.  For the next few days we heard nothing, except there was another man in charge, an arrogant SOB called Schmidt who upped the production limits for everyone.  Even Kleiber wouldn't say anything about Sarge, and both Falsworth and Dernier shook their heads, saying it was likely that Sarge was dead.  Neither Gabe nor I were going to let his death go unpunished and we talked together about taking on the guards and getting one of those fancy rifles in our hands.  We knew it would likely end up with our deaths and although I was worried about leaving Kathleen a widow with four babies to look after alone (she had written that our last time together had produced another pregnancy) I wanted to die fighting, not as someone's slave.

One night we were sleeping in our cells when the guard on patrol above us suddenly fell over, knocked out.  Some guy, wearing a leather jacket, a toy helmet, and carrying a toy shield took the keys to our cell out of the guard's pocket.

"Who are you?" asked Gabe.

He looked around, shrugged, and said, with a Brooklyn accent, "Captain America."

Then the guy jumped down, proceeded to unlock our cells, and asked about Sergeant James Barnes.  Falsworth told him he was likely in the isolation unit.  The "Captain" told us where the tree line was, to wait there for him, to raise some hell along the way, and he took off towards the unit where Sarge likely was.  We all looked at each other and did what we were told.  We hit them hard, took their weapons, found grenades, found their fancy tanks with the blue flash cannons and gave them hell. 

When we reached the rendezvous point Captain America wasn't there but shortly after the whole factory went up and we wondered if he made it out.  We shouldn't have worried because he showed up with Sarge and we found out that this guy was his best friend from Brooklyn who disobeyed orders to drop behind enemy lines and rescue us.  Cocky little guy, little to me, anyways.  Sergeant Barnes couldn't keep his eyes off of him, as if this guy had undergone some big transformation.  Whatever it was, he had moxie, and there were several of us that kind of liked his style of fighting.  Oh, and Sarge?  I don't know what that Nazi doctor did to him but he was better and his ribs were apparently healed.  It was a miracle, as was our rescue.  For those of us who stuck with Captain America, it was the beginning of some incredible missions.

Part 5>>

Series masterlist

[murder-popsicle]

it's nobody's fault, and everybody's. // morita

@bokketo || the things they carried || accepting

"I dunno," Bucky said, picking her words carefully. "I think a good bit of the blame goes to Roosevelt. I mean, I voted for the guy, so I guess I bear some of the blame, too, but he's the one who signed the executive order. Nobody forced him to do that."

Learning a little about Jim's time in Manzanar, hearing about what his family was suffering -- it was harrowing. Jim was out here fighting for America, and meanwhile his own government was treating his family like criminals just because of where they'd come from. It was wrong. Bucky knew that she could never understand what Jim had gone through, but she felt deep empathy for him. She'd never been interned, but she knew that some people didn't see Catholics as real Americans; she remembered Al Smith's presidential campaign, remembered what the newspapers had said about him because he was Catholic. What was happening to Japanese-Americans was that on a much larger, much crueler scale.

[bugtransport]

OKAY ACTUALLY my brain will not let me rest so before i hit da hay for tonight... gay hanamoto theory (i'm gonna talk about like, all of honey and clover here and hanamoto's backstory so if that's something you care about don't read this. i really don't think anyone does but don't say i didn't warn you)

soo for those who don't know h&c is a manga series (and anime and drama but i haven't seen the drama) about a bunch of college students figuring out what they want to do with their lives and falling in bittersweet love with each other. it's a wonderful series i love the way that it depicts love (see below THE MOON SCENE...) and it's one of those series where you really relate to different characters if you read it at different points in your life. it's so fun. one of the main characters, hagu, is also like. pretty damn implied to be autistic. that's neither here nor there that's just a fact that i thought i should mention. anyway, look at this damn fuckin. moon scene:

love a good moon scene! anyway. hanamoto is essentially like, hagu's parental figure and the teacher for the rest of the students and takes up a reluctant paternal/older brother kind of role for the rest of the class. the way that honey and clover is structured is that there are a couple main love triangles that happen within the series: there's hagu-morita-takemoto, which is the main one, yamada-mayama-rika, and later yamada-mayama-nomiya. none of these triangles are really important to think about in gay hanamoto theory so we can kind of cast them out of our minds, but before we do i should mention that they're not really your typical love triangles - and here's the spoilers for the end, but the hagu-morita-takemoto triangle ends up with none of the characters together, the yamada-mayama-rika->nomiya one morphs over the series into not really a quadrangle, but moreso is just yamada getting over one guy and shifting her focus to actually solving her problems. i would say they are love triangles but they're hardly ever played as how i would typically think of love triangles - they're moreso just shapes propping the characters up so that they can learn more about themselves and grow as people first and foremost.

hanamoto isn't really involved in any of these relationship shapes. however in his backstory there is, if you view him as having a thing for harada... another love triangle. rika (previously mentioned in one of the current triangles) and a man named harada and hanamoto all went to school together back in the day. to recap a long story: hanamoto meets harada in class one day.

hanamoto and harada become close and move in together.

harada meets rika and strikes up a relationship with her while still living with hanamoto and the three of them have something... that i'm just gonna let this page describe for itself.

harada and rika get married and start an architectural firm together and hanamoto begins teaching because he used to teach the two of them and found so much joy in it that he decided that's what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.

and then harada and rika get into a car crash a couple years later before the story begins and harada dies. and hanamoto goes a little…

you cannot look me in the eyes and tell me that this was written to be anything other than romantic. it's a love triangle in the love triangle series. he doesn't show interest in a single woman throughout the series but thinks constantly and eternally about how everything that he is and the work that he does and the people he knows and the air that he breathes has been impacted by harada. the actual stable poly relationship that's gone to shit. thinking about killing your boyfriend's wife even though you like her because she reminds you too much of him and you just can't take that because you want him back so, so badly. even the end of the series - which, i'll be the first to admit, if you've read it you might be wondering why the hell i like this guy so much, but if you read him as gay and the whole thing at the end as him accepting his paternal role like, it's fine. i do not think shuji hanamoto is in the least bit attracted to women THANK YOU for coming to my TED TALK.

[multi-fandom-geek-blog]

Japanese Dream Ice Gala Varese, August 15th 2024

I'm so glad my boyfriend convinced me of going there (don't get me wrong, I'm the FS fan, he is not :D I just wasn't sure about traveling). It was a beautiful evening. It was VERY cold at that rink, while it was VERY VERY warm outside...going out in winter shoes when it's 30 °C is an unusual experience :D

But like I said, it was so worth it. This was my very first skating event with "big names", if you know what I mean. And there were so many of them! Mai, Mone, Hana, Kaori, Shun, Sota, Yuma, Kao and RikuRyu, as well as Utana Yoshida/Masaya Morita, who were not announced beforehand. And some of the Italians were there too: Matteo Rizzo, Ginevra Negrello, Ghilardi/Ambrosini and Guignard/Fabbri. I was so happy to see Mai that I almost cried, and the same happened when Kaori skated. The Italians skated to Italian songs, but the Japanese showed their new programs, most of them their SPs. Mone did her free skate, and Kao might have done an exhibition program (it was Imagine Dragons, which is neither his SP nor his FS). Ryuichi slipped and fell once, and Kaori popped EVERY. SINGLE. JUMP. The one time I get to see her and she doesn't do her 2A :-( But I still love her.

Now I'm even more hyped for Nebelhorn Trophy in a month...can't wait for entries being announced probably next week! MiNiki and Olga will be there, so that's a good start :D

[zigzagderogeliogarza]

Por: ROGELIO GARZA

El 7 de mayo de 1824, sordo y enfermo, Ludwig van Beethoven presentó la Novena Sinfonía en Re menor Opus 125 ante unas dos mil personas en el Teatro de la Corte de Viena. Dirigió a la orquesta y el coro de la Sociedad Musical Vienesa, junto con el director Michael Umlauf, quien había indicado a los músicos que ignoraran a Beethoven porque no marcaba correctamente los tiempos. Pese a todo, fue un éxito instantáneo y el público lo ovacionó de pie durante largos minutos. Pero el maestro, de espaldas al respetable, no escuchaba. Hasta que la contralto Karoline Ungar tuvo la gentileza de voltearlo hacia la multitud.

La 9ª, el mayor logro de la música clásica occidental, es una sinfonía coral innovadora que compite en universalidad con la 5ª por su célebre canto. Mantiene la estructura de cuatro movimientos de la sinfonía, que solía durar 30 o 35 minutos, pero Beethoven la llevó a 74 minutos en una pieza épica de largo aliento. La orquesta es monumental y por primera vez en la música sinfónica incluyó un coro y solistas. La otra aportación son las letras que incorporó al género: el poema Oda a la Alegría de Schiller, el escritor y filósofo alemán. Se puede escuchar como un concierto o cada movimiento por separado se considera una obra en sí. El cuarto, conocido como Himno a la alegría, es la clave de su éxito universal por el mensaje de fraternidad y alegría en esa poderosísima melodía sinfónica/coral. Ha sido tocada con fines deportivos, humanitarios, pacifistas e ideológicos en todo el mundo.

LA VISIÓN DE BEETHOVEN SOBRE la unión de la humanidad era difícil de meter en discos. Lo escuchábamos religiosamente los domingos en casa, mi papá tenía tres ediciones: una era doble, con un movimiento por cada lado y un librillo explicativo. La edición que más escuchaba era en cd con Herbert von Karajan y la Orquesta Filarmónica de Berlín. La leyenda tecnológica dice que los desarrolladores del compacto, Phillips y Sony, siguieron una indicación del Presidente de Sony, Akio Morita: que el formato fuera diseñado para la 9ª completa. 

El impacto de Beethoven y la sinfonía en el rock es similar en la música electrónica, basta asomarse a la cantidad de diyeis que han hecho remixes de la 9ª. El más prominente es Gabriel Prokofiev (nieto de Sergei), productor, compositor y diyei, quien compuso una reinterpretación en 2011 con instrumentos clásicos y electrónicos: Beethoven 9 Symphonic Remix, incluida en el disco Beethoven Reimagined, con la Orquesta Nacional de la bbc de Wales, dirigida por Yaniv Segal. Además contiene la Sonata para Orquesta en C Menor Op. 30 y la versión sinfónica de Fidelio. Prokofiev ejecuta los loops, los grooves y unos coros alucinantes.

Beethoven la interpretó sólo doce veces en vida y, para celebrar los 200 años, la Casa Beethoven de Bonn reconstruyó el teatro de 1824 para un concierto de la Orquesta de la Academia de Viena, con instrumentos de la época y el coro de la cadena wdr, dirigidos por Haselböck. Dos siglos es nada, la 9ª es una sinfonía para la eternidad.