#hazard prediction

[constructionsafetynetwork]

You Have Three Magic Genie Wishes, What Are You Asking For in the World of Construction Safety?

You have three magic genie wishes, what are you asking for? You have three magic genie wishes, what are you asking for?”is a whimsical thought, especially when applied to the sphere of construction safety. Dreaming big in this domain means envisioning a world where every construction site is a haven of safety and every worker returns home unscathed. Let’s navigate these wishes, centered on…

[l-in-the-light]

Trafalgar Law and closeness part 5: What is he actually so afraid of and his reasons

This will be a slightly different post from the others, much more speculation, but I will include all hints and foreshadowing I gathered (which means this is a long post yet again). I might be wrong ofc, but I'm like 80-90% sure I read the signs right. Just in case my theory will turn out correct, I reccommend that you think twice before reading any further, especially if you would prefer for Oda's manga to reveal it properly and not get spoilered about the twist thanks to some tumblr post, which is totally understandable. Those who are fearless like a true D and still want to read this theory, a fair warning: this will be sad af. More so than previous posts.

Let's start with a short summary of our previous observations: Law always acts cold, he will draw clear borders and keep people at a distance, because he can't deal with losing people again. That's his major fear. His secondary fear is his fear of touch, the result of his trauma. With both of these we saw him making really decent progress on, thanks to Luffy especially.

I traced Law's progress all the way from Sabaody up to Wano. We saw him completely refusing any bonds in Sabaody, but then he takes the first step towards Luffy. Instead of trying to get closer he proposes for them to be in alliance, hiding behind the impersonal relation (Luffy's not getting any of that btw. And in case you think Luffy did it on accident it's not entirely true: he knows the actual difference between friendship and alliance, he did a normal alliance with Bege in Whole Cake Island no problem, proving to us he's not that stupid). Then we see Law slowly opening up, holding back less of his natural reactions (like getting openly angry), all while fighting his trauma related to touch and helplessness. Let's dive into his psyche.

Law is a doctor, that identity is very important for him not just because of his parents.

When he's a doctor and operates on people, he knows he has to touch them to save their lives. That's probably also the reason why he calls all his attacks and devil fruit abilities per "operations". This way he can create an artificial boundary in his mind, when he's in his "doctor mode" the touch is impersonal and professional so he is able to actually operate on people. And seems this depersonalization/desensitization technique works! The only time we see him comfortable being in contact with people is when he cuts them down into pieces like for an operation. And of course he had to be alright with touch when he operated on Luffy and Jimbei as well.

Here we have to note one more thing about his devil fruit's use. In Sabaody and Punk Hazard he cuts people into pieces and rearranges them, creating "monstrous creatures". This seems to reflect what he thinks of those people, people who usually treat him like a monster because of his devil fruit abilities (that must be a pretty traumatic experience, because doctors also called him monster before just because he was sick). So he pays them back for it, rearranges their bodies, because for him they were the monsters. This way he takes back his own liberty, he shows them that if he's the monster then they are as well. That being said, he does take advantage of his "Surgeon of Death" title, because inciting fear in enemies is helpful when you're a pirate. But after meeting Strawhats who so easily disregard the bad rep Law has and spending enough time with them together, Law stops creating monsters with misaligned human limbs. Last time we saw them was in Punk Hazard. He doesn't need that anymore, because he feels accepted for who he is, regardless of what some random marines talk about him.

His devil fruit is interesting because it creates a space in which he can easily switch items and people's positions without having to touch them. And he can activate most attacks by simply moving his finger a little or making a simple gesture, so that even in case his trauma kicks in and he freezes, then as long as he can move at least one finger, he can shamble himself away to safety. Seems like devil fruit powers rely heavily on the mind of the user, their traumas and wishes deeply influence how the power actually works. I wonder how would it work if Law didn't have his fear of touching.

Summing it up, in Wano Law didn't get touch-triggered even once, so seems things were working out well for him in this regard. He's managing it better, but I doubt that trauma is going anywhere and he will still need time to get more comfortable around people (he might never be truly done with it). But that's okay, that didn't stop him from creating a new friendship. So what's still holding him back? Is it just a regular progress-regress cycle of healing for him?

Is he just not ready yet? After all some decisions take time for him. We see it when he receives his devil fruit. We see it in Dressrosa when it takes him many chapters to admit his own desire to take down Doflamingo by himself. It takes him time to accept things he isn't mentally ready for. We saw that indeed everytime he needs to take an extra moment or two to brace himself to touch someone as well. So is that just it? He needs more time? I don't think so, actually.

Remember this beautiful moment? In my native language this translation of Ace's line is more poetic: I will accept the opened arms reaching towards me as well as the death by the blade.

What was it about accepting opened arms reaching for you? This is Trafalgar Law's first hug on screen. You can't make this shit up. This Ace-Law parallel is there in the story on purpose. And it breaks me every single time.

So I guess Law got over that obstacle as well. He's ready to move on and start new things. And then he creates a beautiful friendship with Kinemon only to retreat to step one at the end of Wano, not even wanting to admit they became friends, even though everyone knows they did (the same with Strawhats). We saw this beautiful progress, his regress for a moment in Dressrosa, him opening up and closing back again. But he improved a lot since Sabaody, he's not the same person anymore. Law in Zou won't retreat anymore before even making a first step.

I think what's holding him back now is his biggest fear. And he has a pretty good freaking reason for it.

Hint number 1: Ope-ope no mi might not be enough.

Hint number 2: lead bullets greatly affected his body.

Hint number 3: "You met Corazon and he managed to prolong your life just a little longer".

Hint number 4: "I don't have much longer to live!", why is Doflamingo reminded of that line in particular now if it's just a thing from the past?

Hint number 5: death is constantly on Law's mind.

I think we need to connect all those dots together. Yes, I know, this theory isn't new. But it makes more and more sense. Ope-ope no mi didn't heal Law from amber lead completely. He only managed to prolong his own life thanks to it. That's why his execution should be done with lead bullets, it's not because it's symbolic, it's because that's literally what will kill Law in the end. Doffy was going to make the process just a tad bit faster is all. Law isn't afraid of death, but he is afraid to die without achieving anything or "dying for nothing", like he says in his flashback. He managed to survive till age 26, but his time is running out again.

Law's supposed "awakening" means he can use rooms remotely, without the need to be inside them. Interesting thing about those attacks is that they all use anaesthesia. But shouldn't you want your enemies to feel the pain when you attack? Let's look more closely to what Law says here. "This influences your body in other ways". Interesting. Perhaps because that's the ability he uses on himself when treating his amber lead syndrome? That would explain the need for anaesthesia, otherwise the sickness would limit his mobility.

In other words: Law can remove/hide the symptoms, but he can't cure the source of the amber lead poisoning apparently. It shouldn't be so strange, he was clearly born with it, it was passed down from his parents, which means it's in his DNA. Using ope-ope no mi inside his own body is pretty clever and let me quote Doffy on that: "it's all about how you use your abilities". Doflamingo did the same with his strings to restore his organs, I think he got inspired by Law. And yes, all the hints come mostly from Doflamingo, so he knows Law is dying.

Let's look at events of Dressrosa again to see if my idea fits. In Dressrosa we learn for the first time that Law's ope-ope no mi requires a lot of stamina. Perhaps because he needs to constantly apply it to monitor his own body and that's why he can't spare as much for fighting enemies as he would want to. Then he gets shot with lead bullets and nearly loses his life as the result. Weird that few bullets could do it to him while he could take much more beating in general. Unless it's because his body is still weak to the lead and it makes the poisoning spread faster, which would make perfect sense. Then Law is put in seastone cuffs and carried by Luffy through half of Dressrosa all the way to the palace. There is no moment in which Law, no matter how tired he is by being manhandled, claims he could just run on his own. He doesn't even sit on the horse or the bull, is just lying down. There is no proper explanation as to why he was lying there lifeless like that, nothing was preventing him from just sitting down instead. Later he claims it was because he was saving up his energy.

But now let's look at this situation logically. He was lying down and compliant to insane degree, because he felt *sick*. Which should remind us of how he was sick before Corazon got him ope-ope no mi. At times he couldn't even move anymore. Putting Law in seastone cuffs means his ope ope no mi is not monitoring his body anymore so it saps out all of his strength. Remember this, this is how bad Law's health is already in Dressrosa.

Even with Doflamingo directly threatening them he can't lift himself up properly. This is emergency, this is not the time to be lying around, and yet he can't do anything and this might a sign of how bad his condition actually is. He's shivering here because he feels helpless and defenseless. His trauma isn't exactly helping either.

At the end of Dressrosa he is weezing, suffocating, but still uses room and shambles to bring Luffy to safety. We can see him there in the background afterwards, looks to me like his heart almost giving up on him. Few moments later he's lying down, most likely passed out. This all is very hard to notice. That room he used to bring Luffy to the ground was also huge, perhaps as huge as the one he used in the palace before to fool Doffy. And he says it cut down on his lifespan. Well, good to know he cut down his lifespan not once, but twice already, and just in Dressrosa alone. Oda didn't nerf Law in Dressrosa, that's not the reason of why he seems weaker than before.

If Law is dying and overdid himself in Dressrosa on top of that, then no wonder he would say this. He might have left his crew in Zou knowing very well that it might be the last time he sees them. Now it makes much more sense. But Dressrosa did tip the scales into making him believe he might literally not make it out and no strategy could help him to survive against the illness.

Now let's jump to Wano. Remember this puzzling moment? He didn't fight anyone, only did some warps, and yet he is already worrying about his stamina? Yes, I take it as a sign that his condition worsened siginificantly. It was ofc also used for the plot to move forward in direction Oda wanted it to as well, but he wouldn't do it *just* for that reason.

Now let's jump to fight against Big Mom. Law doesn't look alright here.

And he can't even get up after the fight for a while, he's panting all the time. Kid, who was also exhausted after the fight, is already back on his legs and moving around. Law meanwhile still can't. Not even when water is rushing their way and he needs to move.

That's some enourmous room he created there. It looks like 10 times size (if not more) of Onigashima. It looks bigger than the whole Flower Capital! So, how much lifespan did he cut down this time?

Now we're finally getting to Winner Island. Blackbeard used his yomi yomi no mi attack that renders the devil user who's hit with it unable to use his powers. We saw that happen with Ace, remember? (yes, this is yet another parallel to Ace. Both of them lost to Blackbeard). And this is how Law looks now without his devil fruit to support him. You have two shots from Winner, one from Dressrosa after he gets shot with lead bullets (lower left) for comparison, anime, and, finally, comparison to sick Law from the flashback. The only difference here are the missing white patches on his skin. Symptomps look exactly the same: heavy breathing, unable to move, shivering, and his forehead is shaded in same way which implies high fever. This is where we are right now: Law's now in as bad of a state (or very close to it) as the end of the flashback. I guess white patches take some time to appear, it's not instant after his devil fruit is unable to be used to repress it anymore.

We didn't yet reach this state, but it's approaching very, very fast.

Very subtle anime hints. The whole sequence with the poneglyph in Onigashima gave us a flashback to Corazon and shows him dying while covered by white snow. Whole flashback has slightly white hinge to it and Law enters the scene from the completely white background.

Just reverse the colors from that oddly coloured bit from fight against Big Mom. Oooff.

Absolutely despicable foreshadowing from One Piece Red. Hearts appear in the credits together with the ONLY line in the song that talks about death. I saw anime doing obscure hints like that countless times before, be it in openings or endings. Apparently some anime producers are aware of what's coming. The first time I noticed this scene with Law hiding his eyes and the lyrics I grew very anxious. I spent most of my life watching animes, I know what game they're playing here. Back then, I just didn't yet know what it foreshadows exactly.

Law accepted his fate and just like the lyrics suggest: "even if I disappear, my song will still ring out". Meaning even after he's gone, people dear to him will carry on and that soothes him. He smiles here, he likes this freaking song exactly because of this line. Those are his real thoughts, that's how he feels inside when he isn't pretending not to care.

This is also why he says things like this. He truly thinks it doesn't matter what happens to him, not just because he's suicidal or he wants to sound cool. No, he says it because he's going to die anyway, so indeed, it does not matter to him.

It's reversed from what we thought this was all about. It's not that he wants to kill Doflamingo so much he doesn't care for his life or chooses to die. It's gonna happen anyway. In fact, if he could, he would prefer not to die:

He wants to live.

There are many asian series dealing with terminal illnesses and protagonists coming to terms with it or embracing some difficult to make choices, like in Searching for Full Moon or Your Lie in April. But please let me tell you a short summary of Shiroi Kage/White Shadow, it's a Japanese live action series from 2001 (god, they don't make such good jdramas anymore, spoilers ahead) about a surgeon who is dying, but decides to keep doing his job till the day he actually dies. He shows a lot of compassion to his patients, because he can easily relate to their situations, especially those about to die soon. His compassionate heart saves a lot of people and helps them accept their own approaching death, even though the doctor is still struggling against it himself. He acts rough and cold towards anyone else than patients, people try to form meaningful connections with him, but he refuses any attempts. Finally he accepts someone in his life that he thinks will carry on happily even without him, because they embrace everything the life offers, no matter if it's love, death or rejection. That person becomes their most important person and shows them that it's okay to fear death. In the end the surgeon chooses how to die himself, without waiting for the illness to take him. White Shadow as a title is symbolic because white in Japanese culture is the color assocciated with death. Does that remind us of a certain disease that shows as white patches on the skin?

The actual reason why Law keeps everyone at distance is probably the same that the main protagonist in Shiroi Kage had. It's for the sake of others, not his own. He doesn't want them to get attached, to feel devastated when he dies, and if they never grow close then they might feel a bit sad but easily move on. This is how he wants to die: so people won't miss him and won't despair the same way he despaired when his parents, sister and Cora-san died. That's his kind heart right there. Kinda the same way Your Lie in April uses the concept. Luffy is still grieving Ace, he doesn't need another heartbreak of someone important like a friend dying, so Law would rather lie that this was never friendship just so Luffy can carry on.

Law doesn't have much time left. And he wants to take down as many bad guys as possible, he might have even set some plans in motion that will succeed even after he dies, Drake and/or other people will carry them out to the end even after Law will be gone.

Remember the cold goodbye in Wano? He stayed at the port after battle, he avoided Luffy and Strawhats (besides Franky) and even tried to make them leave on different day than him. He acted extra cold thinking it will prevent attachments, especially if he thinks he's seeing them for the very last time, with his health in such a bad shape.

This scene should remind you of Punk Hazard, it's a callback to it. Law already then decided that this will be how he will say his goodbye.

Q.E.D., the reason behind his uneccessary coldness is solved, every loose ties got explained, there are no inconscistencies left. That's why I think I read all the signs right, even though it's just a theory based on hints and speculation. But it all fits.

Law thinks Luffy isn't attached to him much yet and that he will move on happily without lingering too much on his death. Oh boy, he's so wrong about that. That's because he didn't see Luffy's reaction in Dressrosa after he passed out.

Luffy cares for him deeply. We saw how unusually happy he was when they reunited on Punk Hazard by chance. How much he bragged about Law being a good guy. How insightful and considerate he tried to be towards him! Sure, he pushed Law's boundaries a bit, because he thought otherwise Law would never be ready to start new friendships (and was he wrong? probably not). Luffy said goodbye to him in Wano with a smile, probably thinking Law just really wants to go for his own adventure, or maybe he needs some time to get ready to admit stuff. And Luffy accepts it and waits for him.

Once Law will realize his mistake he will regret ever starting that alliance in the first place. Because he fucked up, he will leave someone behind very devastated if he dies.

If this post made any of you sad, then I'm sorry. Please remember it's mostly just a theory. Tomorrow I will make a post that will instead make you shed happy tears instead, hopefully.

We all know Luffy or Chopper will somehow cause the miracle and Law will get cured, right? Even if Law's flower is the Queen of The Night that dies before dawn (that's another foreshadowing at work here btw). We need to believe and prepare a whole truck of tissues. Fate always found a way to spare him, we need to believe in it again.

[raayllum]

anyway because I'm seeing people (perhaps understandably!) misinterpret what I mean when it comes to the broyals angst plot line

While Ezran feeling like Callum hasn't been there enough for him as high mage / that Callum is abandoning him is not where they currently are in the text (though I do think there's some subtext), Ezran having these feelings at one point is a natural symptom / almost a temporary inevitability for the disagreement about Runaan in the first place for a few different reasons.

The first is that an argument for the boys about Runaan is the catalyst for Ezran to feel (or realize he feels) that way, not that it's where they currently are in the present at all. Because right now we know, thanks to Deep Below, that Ezran does harbour a lot of anger and resentment at Runaan (in ways he doesn't seemingly towards Zubeia, I might add, which is valid in its own right).

And how is Ezran going to feel when he finds out that Callum wants to free Runaan / has no 'real issues' with him, and Ezran does?

He's probably going to feel like Callum isn't on his side, that they're opposed. He's going to feel like Callum doesn't care that the situation is unfair, that Callum is prioritizing Runaan over their dead father. That Callum is prioritizing Runaan over backing up Ezran, over being there for his brother. Ezran is going to be searching for an answer as to how and why Callum could feel so differently, and maybe think it's because Callum lost 'less' than Ezran did, because Ez was always close to Harrow and more importantly, Ezran is tethered to the Harrow's crown and throne and kingdom more than Callum ever, fundamentally, will be.

Should Ezran not feel abandoned? Should he not feel like Callum isn't doing enough for him then? Can he not feel like his brother is supposed to agree with him and be on 'his side'?

Can Ezran not agree with Soren and feel that it's unfair (textually) that "he has to struggle through this alone?"

Nor is Callum the bad guy in this situation (jc), either - nor is Ezran, because as often times in TDP, there is no 'Bad Guy'. There's just people, and their responses to the cycle, and when and how they choose to break or they don't.

Saying the situation is unfounded or that it makes someone into the bad guy just feels like people don't understand how easily and accidentally sibling bonds can get messy, how protection can feel like a lack of trust, how an age gap sibling relationship can lead to inadvertent infantilization, how you can both be doing your best and still accidentally hurt each other or be driving each other fucking crazy because you're fundamentally different people. Or, y'know, all the foreshadowing

J: I may be queen, but even I don't have the power to stop those two once they've set their mind on something.

The brothers disagreed about whether to find the prison or the Nova Blade. We know in 6x01 they disagree temporarily on what to do with the prison now that they have it. If Viren is alive and goes back to Katolis (as I've written in fanon s6) they'll probably disagree on what to do with him. And they are going to disagree about Runaan, too.

And I like the mess, so sue me.

[lady-quen]

I need to write more on the Mael and Isgarren plot, but will likely play JW for any extra lore beforehand. Still rotating them in my head, a lot, because petty immortals funny. Want to draw some shitposts for sure.

Anyway, Maol told Mael about the hidden Snargle book.

Context: Mael is pissy Garren essentially tortured a version of him in a fractal into becoming a demon (for the good of Tyria, but also something something, don't accidentally create a self-fulfilling prophecy) He then tried to kill Garren in an elaborate murder/suicide scheme, failed, got put in jail, got some theraphy, and now we have two exceedingly powerful magical immortals locked in a petty shitstorm because both of them know the other won't/can't kill them at the time as to not further endanger the future of Tyria.

Trust me, this was the TLDR. XD Also some context abt how I feel about Garren as a character in the tags 👍

[clarabowmp3]

I love that I’ve curated my dash so perfectly like yes I am scrolling and feeling so validated post by post THIS is the peak tumblr experience

[sheepdog-and-fakegoldenretriever]

Last time I'll see him tomorrow as I move jobs next week

Also saw my rue girl for the last time Monday broke my heart I'll actually miss these dogs so much. I hope they find their perfect home soon

[softepilogues]

ok but for real what does a good ending look like for zoro? like sure he becomes the world's greatest swordsman but then what? he stays on the sunny forever? surely not, the whole point of one piece was that eras change and things move forward, there has to be a new generation and a new pirate king after luffy. he pulls a mihawk 2.0 and either wanders the seas or parks himself on an island and fights off weaker challengers? mihawk was so bored doing that that he decided to train the guy who would take the title from him. the very thing that got zoro started on this whole journey was his rivalry with the much stronger kuina. what do you do when your whole life is built around a being stronger than others and then you fulfil your dream and there's no one stronger to challenge?

[lee-sol]

verse starter calls that will come when i get on my laptop :

adult / coffee shop owner

one piece

[inbabylontheywept]

The Motherfucking Lizard King

No one at work trusts my boss. 

He's smart. He works hard. He's not trustworthy. He hasn't actually fucked anyone at work over, but he's ruined his last two marriages with affairs, and got dumped by his third fiance when he wouldn't sign a prenup. The fact that we all know this is just a hazard of working in a small town. 

Anyway: The thought process of the people in the lab is that if he screwed over his first wife, and his second wife, and was probably planning on screwing over his third wife, it would be insane for him not to screw us over. After all, what kind of idiot treats their employees better than their spouse? 

I dunno. His kind, I guess? He's had a few chances to fuck us over, and he hasn't taken them. Opposite really. When our parent company was doing furloughs, he stayed in the office almost a hundred hours, talking and talking and talking his way up the corporate ladder. And in the end, no one at our site got furloughed. 

He's pulled strings like that before. And it baffles me, right? Because it really does make zero sense. He'll move the heavens and the earth for us, but his wife and kids are afterthoughts. It feels like any moment, he's going to look into the mirror and realize how stupid that is. It feels like I'm betting on him making the same stupid mistake again, and again, and again - like it would be less cynical to believe he was, eventually, going to stab me in the back. But he hasn't yet, and as far as I can tell he's been making that mistake for close to fifteen years, and it's already cost him everything it can. If he was going to learn, he would have by now. 

So my position on him is that if he wanted to date someone I cared about, I'd warn them off. I don't trust him there. But I tentatively trust him to be my boss. Maybe one day he'll stick the knife in and twist, and everyone will say Ah, Babs, we warned you, but for now, I accept that he's doing a very predictable, very irrational thing, and I've made my peace with it. 

---

My job has glue traps. 

No one likes the glue traps, but we don't have a lot of options. Poison's banned by state law, spring traps are banned by company safety, and several non-lethal options tried in the past failed to work. The mouse problem can get pretty bad if it's ignored, and there's some real health hazards in that. Our site has never had a positive hantavirus test, thank God, but the big base about a half hour away has. That guy's gonna be on oxygen the rest of his life. 

If a mouse gets caught, we just euthanize it. But more than mice get stuck. Lizards can wander into those traps too, and the people working there have different feelings about the lizards. They don't pose nearly the same kind of risk mice do. They're chill little guys, and they keep the moths away, and they're just 

You know. They're friendly. There's something to be said about walking into a room, and hitting the light switch, and seeing two little guys on the wall start to do pushups as soon as they see you. 

People used to just euthanize the lizards too, but I had pet leopard geckos as a kid and I couldn't take that so I wound up googling how to free animals from glue traps. Now, when a lizard gets stuck in a trap - which happens once or twice a week - I get some vegetable oil from the breakroom, and a little plastic fork, and I'll spend fifteen to twenty minutes just kind of gently prying the little guys out. 

I have a team of technicians that help me operate one of the larger machines. They're real blue collar guys, ex-airforce, and they make me look like a little kid. Being an engineer means they'll look to me as a leader sometimes, which is a wild experience. And I started helping the lizards for my own conscience, but one of the crazier consequences of it has been that it seriously boosted my leadership cred. Because those guys see me, and they go: Hey. If he's willing to fight for a lizard, he's gotta be willing to fight for me. 

I cannot overstate how nice that is. Most engineers that want to make a change to a maintenance practice, or try an upgrade, they have to work their asses off to get the techs to buy in. But I can just ask. They already trust me to do good. They know I'm new, and they know I'm not the smartest engineer in the building, but they also know I'm the one who gets lizards out of the glue traps. 

And just because of that, they're willing to follow me. 

---

My boss has a meeting every month or two. It's typically basic house cleaning stuff - reminders about routines we've gotten lazy on, and updates on future projects. Maybe some warnings about problems coming from higher up in the company.

People are, in my opinion, a bit too cynical about the meetings. It stems from people not trusting our boss, which again, I understand, because it would make so much more sense if he wasn't trustworthy. It's a testament to the man's incredibly unhealthy priorities that he is. But as we made it to the end of the meeting, one of bullet points was: 

Do NOT mess with animals in the building. 

So I looked at my techs, and they looked at me, and when he got to the point, he was so scathing I actually just wanted to crawl under a rock and die. He said basically that he'd heard some reports about someone in the building handling animals that found their way in and got stuck, and that he just wanted to emphasize how insanely inappropriate that was, not to mention dangerous, and that if he needed to speak to anyone about it again, there would be severe consequences. 

I was willing to just take the shame and move on. I was. But one of my techs is old. Old enough he could've retired two years ago. And his actual literal goal is to one day get angry, yell at someone, and storm out. That's how he wants to retire. So instead of biting his tongue like everyone else, he stood up and said: I hate the glue traps. You hate the glue traps. We all hate glue traps. But we've all sat here for years, ignoring the little things that get stuck in them, watching them die, and then Bab's comes in, and he is the first person in decades to give enough of a shit to start pulling the lizards out. And I don't want him to stop. 

Get humane traps or shut up but we are not going back to the old way of just letting things starve. 

And my boss actually froze up. He got all wide eyed and stared at Marc, and then the other techs jumped in, and there was a very small but intense rebellion in the meeting and my boss kept trying to interrupt while getting absolutely bowled over by this gang of angry middle aged air force vets, and eventually he just went 

I will speak with Babylon about this afterwards! After! And then he will speak with everyone else, but I have more points to cover. 

So they went silent, and my boss rushed through the last five minutes, and we all adjounred. The techs really didn't like that I was going in alone - they thought our boss was going to try and shout me into compliance. Marc in particular was like, Look, if he tries bullying you, stand your ground, and if he threatens anything, just come get us, and we'll give him hell. 

So armed with that, I went to my boss's office. I sat in the chair across from him, and he kept his composure for maybe five seconds before just flopping back into his chair. 

I had no idea you were saving lizards, he said, but I'm glad you are. I always hated seeing them die in the glue.  

I wasn't expecting that. I was about to ask him what the comment from the meeting was about then, but he answered that before I even got the chance.

A snake got into the building last week, and - someone picked it up and chased a coworker around. Turns out that coworker was severely afraid of snakes, and now it's a shitshow. We're a small site, and now I can't ask those two to work together anymore, to say nothing about how the snake fared after all that. Being upset about that is a reasonable thing, right? 

And he gave me a look like he actually wanted an answer, so I said Yeah, totally, chasing a coworker around with a snake is a dick move. Especially if that coworker is already afraid of snakes. 

And he said Exactly! and then we sat there a few moments longer. He looked so incredibly tired that I did, actually, feel kind of bad for him. And then he somehow managed to sink even further into his chair, and said

Look, I know I'm not a good guy. But I'm not evil. I'm not some sort of crazy asshole that's going to demand that everyone watch lizards starve to death. When you go back downstairs, could you try to pass that on? That I'm not evil? 

I said Sure because it wasn't a hard request, and he looked relieved. I actually made it halfway out before I realized I had a question. 

Who grabbed the snake? I asked. 

Not supposed to talk about it, he said. But whoever comes to mind first is probably right. 

ThatGuy? I asked. And he looked me in the face, nodded his head yes, and said No. 

---

The techs seemed a little disappointed that they didn't get to storm the boss's office, but were otherwise in good spirits. They were actually a little bit embarrassed to hear about the snake story - apparently, it wasn't much of a secret. It'd just slipped their minds because it happened three weeks ago. 

We did maintenance after that, the same basic repairs we did every week. The meeting had been stressful and it was a relief to work with my hands. When the parts were reinstalled, everything cleaned and smooth and ready to go, Marc found me again. 

You know what the lesson of today is? he asked. And there were quite a few answers to that that I could have taken - from don't assume the worst of people to be careful with how you spend your trust - we all need it more than we think. 

But instead I said what? because I wanted to hear what his answer was going to be. 

That I got your back, he said. Then he clapped one very, very large hand on my shoulder, gave it a good squeeze, and walked back to dosimetry lab.

---

The next day, Marc gave me a package and told me to open it in my office. I was suspicious, but I followed the request.

Cardboard gave way to a small baggie, obviously full of fabric, which opened to reveal a t-shirt that read

"I Am the Motherfucking Lizard King."

I looked at it, I loved it, and then I got an idea. I went to my boss's office and knocked on the door. When he opened it, I asked him if he would be willing to allow something very unprofessional to happen for morale building purposes.

How unprofessional? he asked. I held the shirt up in answer. He gave the shirt a short look over and snorted.

You can wear it on weeks without customers, he said. Which just so happened to include that week.

I'll pass on that it came with your blessing, I replied, and he looked oddly relieved.

Thanks, he said. And then I went downstairs.

---

The techs were very, very happy to see the shirt. And while my boss's reputation remains in tatters, and probably will be until he moves (or dies), the next time there was a meeting, there was quite a bit less complaining about how mere presence. Which is, I guess, a start.

We'll see if he squanders it.

[telomirage]

Pickman vs Lyke vs the books they got at different libraries! (and Hazard just…experiencing this as their first meeting and waiting for them to decide about the false war card game lessons lmao) choose your character! and book. and opening hand of cards

[airwavesdotblog]

Bracing for Impact in the Central and Eastern United States: AI’s Role in Mitigating Severe Weather Disasters

The central and eastern regions of the United States are bracing for a significant severe weather event that’s set to unfold at the start of April. The forecast predicts a high risk of damaging hail, strong winds, and tornadoes from Monday into Monday night, affecting areas from the southern Plains through to the mid-Mississippi and lower Ohio valleys. The severe conditions are expected to…

[constructionsafetynetwork]

High Winds and Construction Site Safety

In the dynamic world of construction, safety is a top priority. One critical aspect that often gets overlooked is the impact of high winds on construction sites. High winds can pose significant risks to both workers and structures, making it essential to understand and implement effective safety measures. In this article, we’ll explore the challenges of high winds and construction site safety and…

[cannabiscomrade]

anticapitalist special interest dump incoming

capitalism corrupts everything it touches, even weather forecasting

US private media companies like AccuWeather and The Weather Channel take publicly available forecasting information provided by the National Weather Service, a publicly funded government service, and repackages it into their own forecast and disseminates the info.

In 2005, AccuWeather lobbied to attempt to ban The National Weather Service from sharing predictions with anyone besides commercial entities. In 2012 they successfully blocked the NWS from producing a free app for the public.

This allows there to be an inaccessible filter on free, timely, and accurate weather information and forces it to be distributed through for profit apps. Even free apps are bogged with ads and delayed alerts.

The G Word with Adam Conover covers this extensively and I highly recommend watching that episode or reading the transcript here [x] but I will sum it up, starting with an episode quote:

"Imagine a future where extreme weather warnings live behind a pay wall." In 2015, AccuWeather received warnings from the NWS that a tornado was heading towards Moore, OK, a city that has been decimated by F5/EF5 tornadoes twice. They only notified users that were paying for the app.

So what can you do about it?

Get your local forecast directly from The National Weather Service's official site weather.gov !

Follow your local meteorologists on social media, especially if you're in an active weather area.

If you're in tornado prone areas, follow storm chasers on social media and check the Convective Outlook during your tornado season.

Get a NOAA weather radio or tune to your local NWR station! They are the most reliable source of weather information in the event of a power outage and the coverage area is extensive. They cover all hazards including severe weather, wildfires, dust storms/haboobs, heat/cold warnings, and any other warnings the NWS would put out. Here is information specifically for Deaf/HOH accessibility.

[evilminji]

I mean? Pretty likely? You'd be minding your business.. in the field, trying to study something, then *spots a creature you don't recognize* huh.

And? Are you supposed to recognize ON SIGHT? The various regional magical animals? You were taught those done actually exsist. What you DO know is wildly conflicting!

Quick question! How safe is a Unicorn? And to WHOM? Are you SURE?

Which of these foxes has human intelligence? Will take great and leathal offense to you trying to put a tracking band on them? If a kappa is in North Dakota, will you still recognize it, removed from it's Japanese natural environment as context? You would a bear. A polar bear or panda. You KNOW poachers and accidental migration is a thing.

Would you still survive that weird water animal?

How many scientists have disappeared in the field? How many times have OTHER innocent animal been blamed for their very preventable deaths? Mauled by "bears"? Attacked by "wolves"?

Has that gotten even MORE people killed because "fuck you! That's not how those animals ACT! They aren't even IN that area! Too close to too many humans! If YOU won't look into this, I WILL!"?

Osha was built in blood. ALL safety bodies are. Negligence is the CRUELEST way to kill.

How many local superstition are correct! What is or is not going to keep people safe! They don't need to put out a Demon Summoning 101 pamphlet! Just? Yes, hellhounds exsist. They look like this. That is NOT a "puppy". DONT PET IT.

What steps SHOULD I take, if I meet a North American Supernatural Creature(tm)? Should I be calling my local Tribe to try and ID it? They've been here longer and likely have someone who knows if I'm in danger or should just politely nod and back away.

Or has THAT source of apparently VITAL LIFE SAVING KNOWLEDGE, that you KNEW was important, been dwindled down into such a state, that they can't help anyone?

It's like they've tried to hide Dark Matter and Black Holes from scientists for centuries. Because Dangerous etc etc.

Yeah! We're aware! That's inherent to what they ARE! They still effect the natural systems!

And Magic!? IS ABSOLUTELY SCIENTIFIC. Science is the testing and STUDY of the natural world! EVERYTHING IS SCIENCE. Food preferences are Science! Art is Science! Baby's laughter and puppies cuteness is FUCKIN SCIENCE!

No WONDER so many of their numbers were adding up! Things were breaking down! YOU WERE HIDING A FUNDAMENTAL FORCE FROM THEM! It was like hiding the details of "gravity"! *irrate scientific boards*

You know what would be HILARIOUS?

The Flash Family, know sceptics. Men and women of SCIENCE(~✨️!). Just?? Casually rolling up one day to work like "oh BTW, ghosts are a thing. Very cool."

Like? EXCUSE ME?! Shouts furious and outraged magic users. ALL of whom had tried to explain that fact and failed... just... just SO MANY TIMES.

And the Flash are like "What?! Of COURSE Ghosts are real! There is SCIENCE to back this up!"

And? JLA Dark might? Spit blood? They are incoherent with rage. You FUCKERS.

Where are the papers? WHERE ARE THE GOD DAMNED PAPERS!? What was it? What convinced you, that their FIVE HOUR LECTURE failed to do!?!?

And it's some NOBODY named Daniel Fenton. A rebuttal of his parents earlier works.

Mother fuckers. Are these idiots POKING AROUND THE REALMS!? They... they need to sit down. Oh sweet Jesus. They feel faint.

And frankly, Barry doesn't get why ya'll are being so DRAMATIC. Why could you just explain things like THIS? Not all that... hand wavey, smoke and mirrors nonsense. This makes WAY more sense.

See? His friend, Sam, did a study on how judicious use of magic can help the environment! If you just TOLD him the "ghosts" you were talking about were just inter-dimensional extentions of life, he would have understood you! Now the NEVERBORN! Those are cool.

You should really read the paper, guys.

Might learn something.

@hdgnj

[after-witch]

Yandere Overhaul x Reader on their period headcanon + drabble

Synopsis: The title sums it up!!!

Notes: yandere, kidnapped reader, reader gets their period, misogyny, humiliation, period-based shaming and punishment 

“Oh, you dear thing–you dear, sullied thing.”

Predictably, he is not the nicest about the nature of your period. Although there is an inherent oozing, cooing condescension in regards to anything medical which causes you pain or discomfort, your period is a little… trickier.

It is, objectively in his mind, so very dirty, after all. 

Of course, there is the mess involved. His germophobia makes him feel ill in regards to most bodily functions, and that does include menstruation.  It is something of a conflict for him, because he does feel he should take ownership of your medical needs, but he has zero desire to be involved in anything related to bodily function. 

But don’t think that means he gives up control during that time of the month. Barring a medical reason, he chooses your method of menstrual hygiene: pads, and pads only. Why? Because tampons can cause toxic-shock syndrome, and because he’s a freak who doesn’t want to imagine you putting anything inside but perhaps, down the line, with careful planning and utmost cleaning, his dick.

You will be solely responsible for the disposal of your pads, however, and he takes it seriously. He’ll instruct you–distaste obvious on his face–to wrap them first in the provided plastic liner, then in several rounds of unused toilet paper, and then into special biohazard bags. Yes. Biohazard bags. Punishment will be swift if you disobey him on this–he’d find any straying from this necessary “hazard” treatment abhorrent. 

He’ll instruct you to clean yourself exceptionally well during your period, too. He has a tendency to instruct you while you bathe–gaze to the side, if you’ve been good–and he would want you to take special care to wash your privates during that time of the month. It’s humiliating. Patronizing. But if you don’t do it, he’ll force himself to take the reins and do it for you–something you definitely don’t want. 

On the other side of things, he gets a twisted satisfaction from treating your other symptoms. Feeling weak or lightheaded? Cramps? Backaches? Wanting to simply curl up and sleep it off? Those trigger something thickly patronizing in him–and he’d want to take care of you.

It’s a very strange sort of pampering, in which he is both hands-on and, due to his distaste for menstruation, hands-off. 

He’d forbid you from engaging in anything too strenuous. You should be in bed, dear. Resting. You’d get a pillow to shove between your legs. He would provide you with a heating pad, and supervise you the whole time, lest you misuse it and burn your skin. 

If you behave, you can have medication to ease your pains. If you don’t, well, biology has seen fit to suitably punish you, hasn’t it?

He will absolutely line your bed with incontinence pads in case of any “spillage” in the night. Anything that gets stained goes into a biohazard bag. 

Overall, it’s not a great time. You’ll start dreading your period because while he doesn’t exactly mistreat you during that time of the month (withholding medication when you aren’t “good” notwithstanding)-- he treats you like you’re some sort of mildly dirty thing that needs to be carefully handled. 

Your skin burns fire-hot and you keep your legs pressed together, hands covering the fold of your nightgown over what you know is a blood-damp patch. There hadn’t been any signs of your period coming this month–but considering the amount of stress you were under on a daily basis, it was no wonder that your body was a bit out of sorts.

“There’s no use lying to me,” he says, voice low behind the mask. There’s displeasure in it, yes, but something else, too. Something that makes your stomach curl up, slimy and humiliated. 

Disgust. 

“I didn’t–I’m not–” You cross your legs again, and feel the cool damp patch in your underwear move. An unpleasant sensation made worse by the man standing in front of you, acting like you’d done something awful by merely getting your period in the middle of the night. 

If only you’d woken up before he came into the room. You might have been able to rush into the bathroom and hide the underwear, maybe, or–your mind whirs for ways you might have gotten out of this situation, but everything ends up being a dead end. 

You’re not supposed to open the dresser by yourself, so he’d know if you got a fresh pair of underwear and a new nightgown. And where could you hide the soiled clothes, exactly? Nowhere. Maybe you could have set them in cold water in the sink to soak, but no doubt he’d make you scrub the sink with disinfectant if you’d tried that option.

You’re left with nothing to do but move your hands and stand up and stare at your bare feet as an awful, sludgy mixture of humiliation and anger courses through you. It makes your stomach clench and roil–or maybe that’s just a lovely effect of the time of the month. 

“I didn’t mean to,” is what you finally manage to say, eyes burning a hole in the soft carpet at your feet. Apologizing for what used to be an eye-roll and irritated sigh moment in the mornings where your pad had shifted or when you’d started while you slept. Apologizing for daring to have a biological function that–like most biological functions–made him comfortable.

He hums, softly.

“Of course you are, dearest.” You still can’t look up at him. It’s enough to hear the low ripple of discomfort in his voice; enough to know that he finds you dirty. 

And maybe that’s part of the shame. That someone who has no trouble going on about your purity, about the need to keep you away from the dirtiness of the outside world, sees that dirt in you once a month between your legs.

“No need to delay it any further, hmm? We’ll get you disinfected and properly dispose of those clothes.” You wonder if he’s looking at the stain on your gown, now; is he imagining the way the stain must look underneath, still damp on the plain white cotton underwear he gives you each day? 

You keep your eyes trained to the floor. It’s better not to know. 

[noproofread]

Numb to the Feeling (NSFW)

guess who's baaaaaack ;)

took a lil bit to write this but i finally finished it yay

Trafalgar Law x straw hat afab!reader

spoilers for punk hazard and wano‼️

established relationship, unprotected sex, they have historyyy. sub!law (if you squint), smut with feelings, reader and law have one last night before they part ways, so naturally reader gets to ride him.

word count: 1,245

masterlist here

The sun was setting behind the horizon, painting the sky a beautiful blood orange reflecting over the restless sea. Mixed chatter and laughter surrounded you as you made your way through the festival. You were looking for him. It was the last night in Wano and you hadn’t had the chance to talk to him the entire time you had been in alliance. Luffy didn’t know your history with Law. He didn’t know you had been involved with him before you joined the Straw Hat Pirates. He probably wouldn’t care. It seemed like Law had been avoiding you since you saw him in Punk Hazard. You would be lying if you said you weren’t trying to avoid him as well. But you missed him. Seeing him brought back all the feelings you tried so hard to repress. Focusing on the mission at hand, you didn’t even have the time to exchange any words with him.

As you searched the crowd, you spotted him. Standing by an onigiri stand, how predictable. You inhaled a breath of courage before marching over to him. “The onigiri’s good I assume?” You startled him, speaking so suddenly without him even noticing your presence before your voice hit his ears. He turned around to face you. “Don’t sneak up on me.” His voice was stern yet kind. You replied with a small smile. Law dropped his guard, he always did when he was around you. “I’m glad you’re eating though. A little birdie told me you’ve been having a hard time eating recently… Me too.” You confided in him. Seeing him in Punk Hazard made you unstable. You couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep. All you did was think about him. Remembering him. Law extended his hand, offering you one of his onigiri. “You should eat then. They’re pretty good.” He said without looking at you. “I’ll tell Bepo to mind his business next time.” He joked, correctly guessing where you had gotten your information from.

You took the onigiri from him, your fingers lightly brushing his palm. He retracted his hand quickly, a slight blush creeping up on his cheeks. You looked down at your feet, pondering for merely a second before the words left your lips almost as if you couldn’t hold them back. “Law it’s our last night here before we both go our separate ways and-” You looked up at him, your face red hot at the realization of what you were about to ask him. You hesitated. “And-” Law’s eyes widened. He put out his hand quickly. “Room. Shambles.”

You were on the Polar Tang in the blink of an eye. It was empty, aside from the two of you. You looked at Law, your heart pounding so hard you felt it rattling your bones. “Please, finish what you were saying.” His voice was so low it felt more like a whisper. “I haven’t felt like this in so long” Your voice trembled a little. “I just didn’t want to part ways without telling you that since Punk Hazard I haven’t stopped thinking of you.” Your words trailed off. Law stood in silence in front of you. You felt like it was hard to breathe. Your confession just hanging in the air, nothing but the sounds of waves crashing against the ship and the distant noise of the festival. “If I’m honest…” Law spoke softly, taking steps towards you. He stopped just a few inches away from you. He was so close you felt the heat radiating from his body. “I felt dazed until I saw you with Straw Hat-ya in Punk Hazard.” His hand cupped your cheek as he caressed you softly with his thumb. The contact made you gasp. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking of you either.” His sentence speeding up in desperation as he leaned in to kiss you.

It felt like the air was sucked out of your lungs as you tasted his lips. His kiss was full of passion, desperation, lust. Your hands clinging to the clothes on his back as he pressed himself against you. You walked backwards, stumbling across the floor as you were getting drunk on his lips. You felt your back press against a cool metal surface. Law pulled away, catching his breath. He looked behind you and smirked. “How convenient.” He laughed, moving to open the door you leaned on. Law picked you up effortlessly, treading towards the bed in his room. Gently, he placed you on the soft mattress, nuzzling his face into your neck. His facial hair scratching your sensitive skin. You gasped in pleasure as he kissed and licked your neck. You ran your fingers through his hair, encouraging him to continue.

“Oh how I missed this. How I craved this.” He whispered. His breath felt hot against you. The passion grew, your own arousal pooling beneath you. His hands scoured your body, undressing you as he felt every inch of your soft skin leaving behind a trail of fire. “Take your fucking clothes off” you said breathlessly. He did as he was told. His erection springing free, a moan slipping through your lips at the mere anticipation. He looked down at you hungrily, pulling you in. He assaulted your lips, allowing you to trace every tattoo on his body with your fingers. You took the initiative to change positions. You pulled him down onto the bed, his back bouncing slightly on the springy mattress. You freed yourself of your dampened underwear, straddling him. Your heart was pounding in your ears.

Law’s hands placed firmly on your hips as he admired your body. His hips bucked forward slightly, craving some kind of relief. “Fuck. Please.” He begged. You bit your lip at his plea, slowly lowering yourself onto him. You teased him a little, only allowing his tip inside you. Law’s eyes rolled to the back of his head in pleasure. A moan escaping from his lips. He was unraveling beneath you. He looked at you, pleading with his eyes. Begging for you. You continued down, feeling him stretch you deliciously. You felt him inside you, his erection twitching with excitement. You moved against him at a slow pace, his hands roaming your body. Your body felt like it was on fire. Moans spilled out from the two of you as you worked towards a release. He was perfect, moving his own hips against yours as lewd noises filled the room. You felt yourself nearing the edge, grabbing a hold of the sheets beneath Law. “You feel so fucking good.” He groaned in your ear, grabbing your ass. You closed your eyes as you felt every sensation on your body. Allowing the pleasure to wash over you, you let go. Letting out a loud moan, you tightened around him. He thrust into you a couple more times before losing himself in ecstasy. He pulled himself out of you quickly, spilling his hot cum on both of you. Twitching beneath you as his climax came down. Panting, you collapsed beside him, facing the ceiling.

Laughing in disbelief of what had just occurred. “Straw Hat-ya is not going to be happy with us.” Law joked. He sat up, smiling. “I’ll clean us up. Then we can go enjoy the festival.” You smiled back at him. You felt relieved, happy. Even if months pass after you go your separate ways, you were sure that he was yours. You were his. Distance didn’t matter. Distance never mattered.