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downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles · 4 years ago

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We Met Within This Screen (chapt. 2)

[Donnie x fem reader]

Sfw, part 1 here

Intellectually, Donnie was the best matchup for their leader as today was sparring day. He'd gone against his oldest brother many times, sometimes even coming out the victor himself, but today was just not his day.

He held his staff with that iron grip of his and waited for Leo to come at him. Donnie was more on the defensive than any of his brothers; he had to be. Out of all he was weakest physically but superior in calculations, but he was missing range in this matchup. Leo had a hard time disarming him as his katana could sometimes get lodged in the solid wood staff, giving Donnie leverage to perform the finisher in the short time it took him to dislodge his sword. He thought this time would be how that would happen.

"You're slow today, Donnie," Leo said as he lunged at his brother with a swing of his katana, forcing Donnie to step back. He was too focused on blocking Leo's rapid succession of attacks to respond.

Leo reeled back to swing his blade again but Donnie parried and struck his arm with his staff, shoving it aside. For a split second, Leo actually thought he was fixing to go down by this move if Donnie could hit him again quick enough. But his brother hesitated in thought, and without any reluctance himself, he used his other katana to put him in a compromising position. The match was over and Donnie was forced to stand down.

"Why did you hesitate?" Leo questioned him, lowering his blade. Raph watched from the sidelines with Mikey as they prepared to go up next. Since Leo was the winner, it was Raph's turn next to spar in his younger brother's place.

Donnie huffed and dropped his stance, putting his staff away. "It's just an off day," he replied. Splinter wasn't there to dictate today's training session and tournament, so Donnie was already on his way out to go to his lab by the time Raph stepped up to spar. But Leo sheathed his sword and put a hand on Donnie's shoulder, stopping him in his tracks.

"You've been pretty eager to run back to your lab lately," Leo said matter-of-factly. He was wondering what was going on, why Donnie seemed weirdly distant the last couple of weeks. He had gone through a very withdrawn phase in earlier times upon entering his teenage years, but now, he was legitimately making everyone guess. He didn't snap at his brothers, and he wasn't any more impatient than usual. But something was different. He'd been spending a lot more time holed up in his lab, which everyone began to notice. Leo wanted to know what was wrong.

Donnie shifted and shrugged, "Like I said, I've been busy with some projects. Also, it's not like I have much to do out here beside training and patrol."

Leo opened his mouth to speak, but Mikey jumped on between them. "You missed game night last week! You never miss it," he butted in. Both Donnie and Leo gave him a look as if to say really? and he added in, "Well, uh...not usually."

Gently moving Mikey aside, Leo wanted to continue, but he saw Donnie staring at him expecting a follow-up when he didn't really have one. Whatever this was, Leo knew that coming at Donnie with questions was not the way to go about it. So he stepped back and gave his brother some space.

"We all have off days," Leo said finally after an awkward moment of silence. "Just work on your speed, Don."

"Got it."

With that, Donnie turned to leave, and Raph entered the ring to go against Leo in the last match of the night.

Once Donnie was gone, Leo got ready to spar with Raph. As they got into position, he contemplated bringing this recent development up with the other two, but decided against it in the end. He didn't want to incriminate Donnie, especially with Raph's assertive approach to handling things. Donnie could be somewhat flighty at times when it came to resolving matters of emotion, at times a little too introspective, but Leo couldn't fault him—he had his own struggles with that very thing, too.

Done, finally, Donnie thought as he skirted into his lab and started up the game. He was late to the party quite literally; training lasted longer than he'd thought, and he was disappointed to see that his newest friend was online, but not responding to his invite. Did everyone get together and play without him? After a few minutes, he almost decided on giving up. The instance made him contemplate whether he even wanted to continue this. Perhaps he'd been too eager.

He sighed. And then the menu pinged, and he was there reading the message in an instant.

Hey, sorry I partied up without you, I just didn't know if you were gonna be on or not :/

Without even thinking, he licked his lips typed back, repeatedly deleting and retyping his message to make sure it was casual but not too casual, apologetic but not desperate—

It's okay, don't worry about it

Likewise sorry it took me so long to get here.

That would do. He'd be lying to say he wasn't feeling that flutter in his stomach; the excitement of something new got to him in a way that only a discovery in his research did, or how he felt when he mastered a new technique in his training.

Let's get started then :)

They started the game, and this time he kept the mic on, as she did. They talked back and forth as they fought creatures and enemies and looted things, eventually coming to learn that she herself was in New York City. He was surprised; suddenly, the world felt a lot smaller, and he couldn't concentrate on just playing after that. The time they spent became more of an opportunity to converse than to play a mundane game for hours on end.

At some point, she switched the topic to his whereabouts. Donnie's breath hitched.

"I'm...not anywhere near. So it doesn't really matter," he told her, cringing. If the guys found out—if Splinter found out—he would be in such trouble.

"Oh," she paused for a moment, trying to find something to say. "That's alright, I don't want you to feel like you have to tell me, you know?"

He'd muted his mic to release a deep breath. He got lost in thought thinking about how in that moment, he wanted to be human. If he weren't a giant mutant turtle, he could actually form a connection with someone. It was a very "Mikey" thing to think, he reckoned, but at times he wanted friends just like his brother did.

"Yeah, sorry, I just…"

"It's really no problem, dude."

He felt as though he could hear the smile in her voice. What did she look like, he wondered. He wanted to see her, but he couldn't ask for that when he could never do the same. If he could get her name, he'd be in the clear to do some preliminary lookups on this person, but so far, she'd been dodgy about sharing info about herself as well. He couldn't blame her. They were two strangers online, one with a huge secret and the other completely in the dark about who he truly was. For all she knew, he could have been a creep, looking to stalk her online and perhaps do even worse. The thought made him feel almost nauseous, how she could be considering that about him as a possibility as they spoke. But she seemed comfortable enough. Unlike him, who was still slightly skeptical of the entire thing, because after spending his whole life in practical isolation, he was at a loss as to what to say or do after a certain point. The conversation died off and both of them thought simultaneously about how weird the sudden silence between them felt.

She hummed, as if searching for something to bring up. When she spoke, he was taken aback—"Hey, I'm gonna be honest, I really like talking to you but this game is getting boring. Do you wanna chat somewhere else?"

"Uh…" he trailed off, mind shooting blanks. Oh, was it just a horrible idea. He couldn't keep the jig up forever; the truth was bound to get revealed somewhere down the line. He was fixing to reject the proposition, tell her that he didn't want to take it that far. She could be anyone. The likelihood of it being a clever ruse on account of the Foot Clan was slim, but the paranoia still worked ambiently in the background noise of his mind. But his other doubt stopped him—when would he ever have a chance at this again? He wanted to have the strength to say no and leave it at that. The loneliness that crept up on him from time to time had something else to say.

"Yeah," he answered after a terribly long pause of mumbling, fighting with himself all the way as she told him where to add her. He could have kicked himself had it not been for the fact that he knew how to encrypt data, and that as long as he didn't leak a word about his inner circle or life, it would be okay. It didn't feel okay, though.

"Nice! I'll text you, see you later, Bo. I had a lot of fun tonight," she chirped.

Before he could respond, she was gone from the party, and the mic went silent. It happened so fast. He was barely caught up with the fact that he was now receiving messages and prompts to talk, but he couldn't bring himself to answer right away. He had to refocus his logic; how could this be used by the enemy as a way to get to them? Could they have somehow anticipated he'd download this game and find this random on there? The more the thought about it, the more glaringly obvious it was that it was not the case. It was just too improbable.

"The probability of the Foot being able to simulate such a specific scenario in order to get intel on us is so slim, it is practically non-existent," he told himself as he finally pulled up the messages. He read through them. "Approximately a zero-point-zero-zero-zero..."

My name is (Y/N), by the way :)

Well, that was easier than expected. He figured that somehow, the name suited you—a fitting name for such a personality. But it also gave him a glimmer of hope. It made him want to ask why you appeared to trust him, as he could be anyone on the Earth over the screen, not his benevolent self. Which she had no way of proving, technically. But he soon came to realize the screen painted him in a whole new light that it casted on him. It hit then that he could be anyone. He didn't have to be himself; not necessarily. She'd never have to know, as he could wear a human mask and she'd be none the wiser. Problem was, the lying made him feel guilty, and slowly would develop to be the thorn in his side.

Donnie thoughtfully stared at the screen. Now that he was here, some of his anxiety began to fade. He found himself actually able to talk, someone to listen to his tangents and even build upon them. They spent hours texting back and forth about anything and everything until it was almost time for him to put the phone down to leave for patrol. He felt giddy, like a kid, all over again.

________________________________________

Had you ever been able to talk to someone this easily?

You asked yourself that question as you exchanged with the faceless and nameless stranger over your screen, chatting from afternoon to night. Time flew by in an instant, with him, and you loved every minute. He was someone intellectual, but funny and so easy to talk to that it was as though the conversation carried itself. After some time he came out about his age after you revealed yours. Oftentimes, he'd just present to you a random question when the subject tapered off and run with it, like now:

What do you think of reptiles?

Puzzled, you took a second to reply. Odd question.

Why do you ask? Do you have one?

I was just curious

What do you think of them?

The chat indicator flip-flopped between "typing" and "idle" a few times before a message finally popped up, and you smiled. You'd learned over this short time that he was a dork in a cute way.

Well...I think they're pretty cool.

They've got natural armor and you would be surprised to know just how fast a turtle can be

You laughed a little to yourself. It was such a random thing to bring up, yet you were endeared. Deciding you'd go along with it, you asked him what else he knew about turtles.

Well...

__________________________________________________

Donnie was wondering what he was talking about just as much as she probably was. Stupid, he thought, facepalming. His first time really speaking with a human as an equal and he starts talking about turtles. Of course he knew a lot about them, he was one himself—but for some reason he found himself wanting to dispel myths and misunderstandings about turtles as if they reflected on him, when as far as she knew, he was just a human guy like herself.

He groaned lightly and typed, thinking up a fact that wasn't too conspicuous.

Red eared sliders are semi-aquatic.

As he typed the next part, he caught himself writing "we" instead of "they", to his dismay. He quickly fixed the error and continued, feeling weirdly exposed as it was almost as though in sharing this information, he was putting himself under a microscope for her to inspect.

They can hold their breath for up to thirty minutes, usually

Holding his breath was something he'd tested numerous times before. He and his brothers had actually made a game out of it on a few occasions, with Leo leading at thirty-three minutes, Donnie in second at thirty-one. Raph broke at twenty-nine minutes and Mikey followed behind in last at just twenty-seven. The ability could be trained, nonetheless.

That's interesting, I wonder what it's like to be able to go underwater so long?

It's kind of cool, you should try sometime

For THIRTY MINUTES?

Shit. He promptly replied:

No—not like I can hold my breath that long, I just mean you should try to see sometime I guess

I tested it just for the fun of it.

Looking up how long humans could hold their breath on average (between thirty seconds and two minutes), he bumped the number up a little bit and added:

Personally, I'm at two minutes and forty-five seconds

He was embarrassed, partially covering his face as he waited for a response. Such a foolish slip-up; he couldn't afford to say anything cryptic. But he still was fairly sure that he had recovered that alright. He couldn't help but think about how awkward or weird he seemed to her. Who talked about this?

I don't think I could hold my breath for more than a minute, kudos to you haha

Anyway, sorry to switch gears all of a sudden but if you don't mind me asking, what's up with your family? You have any siblings?

He told her no. He would not bring his brothers into this, lest it be the slim chance of a ploy, after all. He said his family situation was unconventional and left it at that.

With that, he said to her goodnight and put his phone away, getting up to go get geared for patrol. It was only then he noticed the figure leaning against the doorway.

Chapter 3

#tmnt #donatello #tmnt donnie x reader #donatello x reader #teenage mutant ninja turtles #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016 #tmnt bayverse #tmnt fanfiction #sfw #fanfiction #romance #writing

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inexchangeforyoursoul · 6 years ago

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Not gonna lie... with as much feedback I get (i.e. 1-2 faves/kudos a week, if I’m lucky), writing this feels like a fucking chore nine times outta ten. And I hate tedious grinding. Which is a fucking shame, because there must be like 15 readers out there who get to the chapters as I’m posting, and literally all I’d need is like 2 random commenters and my motivation would be reset till almost the end. Maybe September will bring back some of those verbose peeps who disappeared into the blue... maybe. ffn ao3

30. Knights of the coffee table

As she gets further away from the door, then the submarine, Kat starts shaking. A moment of hesitation; instead of going straight for the bedroom, she walks up to the toilet, which is vacant, to her great relief. The entire ship is eerily empty as people are scattered between the dining room and the shore from what she can hear through the beeping sound in her ear.

She slips onto the floor with back to the wall, and stares into nothingness for at least a few minutes. Returning to reality, she realizes that she's gotten sweaty. Again. And there's also a knot in her stomach. Still a little light in the head, she ambles outside to the sink and leans onto it. Stares another hole into the drain.

She's never felt so misplaced in a body, any body before, dawning sicknesses notwithstanding. Nor can she remember the last time her anxiety got this overwhelming when making a wrong move. It feels as if her ghost was dragging some kind of dead weight around. She… she legitimately just tried to kiss someone. On the lips. That's just not something she would do. Even in her wildest dreams, she's only receiving those.

Her comatose confusion soon turns into frustration; this… is so not her. Where's the real Katja and what did she do to her?! How could she have ever mustered so much… such confidence, to just, like… try and do something like that? Maybe, it's just the pill… but quite frankly, all she noticed being off was getting sleepy as fuck. And thinking out loud, which she avoids when in company. Is… is it her 'mask,' then? Or the powers? Can being taller, stronger, or just in a man's body itself, really make such a difference? Is she really like this…?

Kat peeks into the mirror; that's... not Law. Just his shell, and whoever she's supposed to be.

What could he be thinking of her now… oooh...

Having spent god knows how much time standing there with face buried in her hands, she decides to wash quick, then go down to the girl's room and be awkwardly miserable there. Frankly, she should be targeting the kitchen, but her nerves killed any appetite she might have had.

She considers lying down upon arrival, but has the feeling that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep anyhow, so… she crashes on an armchair. Staring into nothingness until she gets sleepy… a long-forgotten classic.

Twilight soon turns into darkness, and eventually Nami and Carrot arrive and blind her with the sudden lights.

"Ow," she mumbles while rubbing her eyes slowly.

"Oh… you are early," Nami notes in surprise; "did you piss him off by being nice again?" That still doesn't clear up why she was sitting around in the dark, but…

Ha ha, being… 'nice,' yyyyeah… "I," she heaves a lethargic sigh with hands still plastered over her face, "did worse." Thinking about it… she didn't buy the bear because of… or, did she? No… nope, she did those things yesterday to cheer him up, this is new. Oh… oh, nooo.

It's because he was nice to her later, isn't it? FUCK. How pathetic can she get?! That's pretty much all it has ever taken… she just started being totally suspicious of people's kindness down the line. Except for… this time. Fucking breach in the defenses.

Hearing this, even Carrot slows down, taking a questioning look at Nami. What can be worse with Trafalgar Law than being too nice or excruciatingly dumb?

"Well… did you do something stupid?" The navigator asks before closing the door, zeroing her leftover options.

Kat slides the hands off her vision. "…" Well… technically speaking, "that too." Something really stupid at that. If she didn't do that… this whole situation wouldn't be an issue.

"Then we pass, since you are not the obnoxious type, and that's the last known thing he hates apart from some psychopaths, the government, and bread," the mink shrugs, settling on the coffee table.

"I feel like there's a story to tell here," Nami notes, also sitting into the other chair. "You look quite taken."

"… uhhh… I suppose so," she creaks. Whether she's going to tell anything is another matter. Spilling the beans could make her the laughing stock of the alliance for as long as she's here…

Nope, not happening.

Nami squints at her; something is definitely up. "Well?"

She goes back into hiding and grumbles. Carrot places her hand on her chin, pondering. Her and Nami take a passing glance at each other; Kat is one to answer direct questions that don't involve opinions, so this is certainly out of the ordinary. The mink takes over the interrogation:

"That bad, huh…? On a scale from 1 to 10, how uncomfortable is it to talk about?"

"…" She doesn't want to talk or even think about this, like, ever again… but Kat also feels the peer pressure building up. And she can share this much, if nothing else. "… nine." At the very least. She has no idea what a solid 10 would be, but the minimum and maximum scores might as well not exist as far as she's concerned. There's always better or worse possibilities than what one can imagine. But this one does cut it pretty high, no matter how she looks at it. Fuuuck… how is she going to show her face tomorrow…?

"… so, let me get this straight," muses the navigator; "Additionally to doing something stupid… you did something else that bothers you, personally. And you are, by all accounts… embarrassed?" If not ashamed… it's the best she can figure from what she can see.

She moans again; that's a fucking understatement. She can feel getting red in the face again…

The girls sink into their thoughts; what's something… that would embarrass Kat?

For starters, it's not an easy thing to do. Odd hobbies, odd habits, the worst of what the world of puns can offer, anecdotes that are usually more disturbing than funny, regardless how entertaining she herself finds them… she's not bothered to share these, and also gives zero fucks about her language, which includes everything from obscure words to cussing, and her working class also shines through at times. She takes well to being corrected on things, so that's not it, either.

This has nothing to do with how she presents herself as. The key to this the other involved party, that is to say, Trafalgar Law.

"You either made him so uncomfortable that you ran away…" starts Nami, cocking her head to the right; Kat would probably overreact in a situation like that…

"… or murdered Torao with a cold-blooded joke comment, and he himself kicked you out." continues Carrot, tilting hers to the left. She can say things without thinking that could be hurtful, then regrets doing so right away.

"… or both," they nod together once they've run through the other's idea quick.

Apart from being a cold-blooded ego murderer… they are not far from the overall basic solution.

"Honestly… the quote-unquote worst thing I could think of… is something like trying to get too cuddly with him," the redhead adds after a chuckle. Oh, he'd hate that. "You pass out hugs left and right, but he gets grumpy whenever people dare to even touch him. You wouldn't want lame hugs and never ending complaints." He could barely handle the one he got the other day…

"Ha ha, right! Although… well, it's an extremely unlikely option and you'd be more pissed than hiding in a corner, but I cannot even begin to imagine if he was the one stomping into your comfort zone. It's more likely that you accidentally squeezed the life out of the dude… or were flirting with him, he would probably die from that, too," Carrot nods as they giggle to each other, then catch the flaming red ears behind Kat's hands as they glance back towards her.

… Ah.

"YOU ACTUALLY HIT ON HIM?!" they scream in unison, Nami being more on the horrified side of things while Carrot is more excited than anything else. The awed sparkles in her eyes are entirely unnecessary.

"SO WHAT IF I DID?!" Kat screams back at them in embarrassment and panic, and with a burning-up face. Technically, she just straight-out skipped the flirting part and went for the finish line. She can't quite believe it herself… the more she thinks about it, the less so. Because she never would have thought to be capable of even getting that close to... to kiss someone. Gave up on having any kind of relationship eons ago, too. Ugh. She's having kind of a personality crisis right now, okay?! More importantly, however… "And why are you yelling it for all to hear?!" Seriously…! This is already bad enough as it is.

"Okay, okay, okay, calm down," Nami instructs her after snapping out of her surprise; "Zoro's probably out cold in the crow's nest, and there's noone left on the Sunny right now! Your secret is as safe as it gets!"

That… actually sounds very reassuring after the heart attack; Kat slumps down in relief. She's also on the verge of tears, to be honest.

"Either way, Kat…! What was it that you said?! Was it on accident?" asks the mink without any other care in the world.

"It's… less about having said something. It's what I did by a hair that was out of line." If she's lucky, he didn't get a word of that… what if he can read lips, though? Nooo…

"… like, slapping his ass, or so?"

An awkward smile appears on Nami's face while she starts thinking that maybe she should get a hold of Carrot's horses, here.

"NO!" Kat screams in bewilderment. It's… not without precedent, but the couple of occasions when she did something even remotely similar were all a dumb joke among female peers. Boy thighs and butts are out of question! … even if said boy is in her body.

"Joking, just joking!" Carrot protests with raised hands; "Because we said 'hitting on,' get it?"

Kat stares at her. "… I'm not even getting quality jokes anymore," she sighs eventually, grumbling, with hands on top of her head.

"You're obviously tired, so I don't blame you," the rabbit girl continues with a shrug. "Hell, you are definitely blowing things out of proportion because of it. Whatever you did cannot be all that serious… sleep on it, alright? It won't seem that bad in the morning." Unless, of course, Kat did break the bejeezus out of him.

The initial answer is an elongated, whiny moan. "No, it is bad! Very bad!" she bursts out then, reaching back to the uncharacteristically aggressive voice from a minute ago before covering behind her arms that she pulls forward. Then, she raises one hand up with a gap roughly the size of a longer nail between her thumb and pointing finger; "I was literally… this close. This close! " She takes a big breath before continuing; "To… mack on him." Her sentence ends in half a whimper. Taking another sniffle-suspicious deep breath, she collects her composure and peeks out towards the table from behind her bars. "Then he winced, I backed the fuck out... and we were locked into the most awkward space sharing nonversation of the century." She fucked up sooo bad…

"You… you actually did that?" asks Nami, the reality of the situation setting in. She can see how this is not a situation her friend can handle. Kat… doesn't get physical with people she doesn't know. She did notice her flinching last week when shoving her towards the infirmary, even though she wasn't hurt there; she figured she's overstepped her boundaries back then. Afterwards, she's made a point to let Kat initiate, and it seems to have worked out perfectly fine; now she'll readily give and receive pokes and hugs whenever. That girl really is kind of like a cat in this regard.

Similarly, unless someone straight-out asks for it, she rarely shares her opinion on anything out of her jurisdiction… the navigator had to poke around a little last Saturday just so Kat would tell which dress she thinks would suit her better. Then the spare time artist went into a five minute monologue about pros and cons, and the details of color theory and whatnot… making the decision even harder, to be honest. 'Just choose whichever you are more comfortable in, you will be the one wearing it, not me,' was her final conclusion.

All in all…. she keeps to herself, to an extreme. And today, she intruded into another's personal space, and judging by her recap, and the kind of person Law is… it must have come off as incredibly rude.

"... yeah," She squeaks almost questioningly as she emerges from her shame barrier, then takes a rugged breath and stares at the ceiling. Never in her wildest dreams… What the fuck has gotten into her back then? She refuses to believe that she'd be capable of such an act... "The funniest thing is, though," she continues as her vision slides down the wooden walls, "that the idea came outta nowhere. I just had this... garchu moment while the painkiller and drugs were still kinda tickin' and gave 'im this big ole bear hug. Which was fine, aye? But I took too long to leave 'im alone proper, wondrin'bout how small and cold he is right now, and darn me if I did not like this person 'ere as much as wee liddel me did her mum back in them days, and..."

Nami puts a hand out in front of her face, contemplating to wave if she girl doesn't react. "Kat... Kat, calm down, your lingo is getting thick and hard to follow..." The words started rolling really fast somewhere down the line, too.

She does come to a full stop, though; her mouth twitches. "Then, he looked up. At me. That close." She lifts her fingers up again a bit, with downcast eyes; they have been displaying the short distance ever since she gave that estimate. "And that's when I... just thought, 'holy shit.' I mean, I could just... blame being high, but..." She feels like blushing again and puts that hand to her temples.

Carrot, who's been listening all spellbound, looks over to Nami. "… falling in love sounds hardcore."

Kat buries her face in her hands again and moans. "I haven't had a crush on anyone since I was 13. That's a literal decade! This is so embarrassing..." And will be super awkward for however long they'll be stuck like this. Maybe… maybe it will go away in two weeks. Please, be a two to four weeks phase like with anything or anyone this has happened with.

Nami sighs and walks over to her to give her back a stroke. "There, there…"

Having all of this bullshit out of her system (and getting a long overdue, nice petting,) Kat feels really tired all of a sudden. She can finally focus on other stuff now, too; reviewing the convo with the girls, she speaks up again: "By the way… you said the ship's empty? How come?" This place is always teeming with life…

"Yeah, it's Friday, and as Luffy has declared… it's party time," the redhead sighs, straightening herself and stretching. "He dragged everyone past our already half-drunk sleeping beauty out, but I didn't sleep all that well last night, so I'm all partied out already." Having said that, the navigator yawns.

"Oh… yeah, I forgot." She herself told the captain and Usopp about it, too… she needs some goddamn sleep.

"Shit, right…! I promised to get back for another round of booze and the karaoke," Carrot says and jumps up near immediately; "see ya!"

With that, the door is already slamming shut.

"... was Carrot playing your bodyguard, or…?" Kat asks with a raised brow.

"This area gives me the creeps at night," sighs Nami before ambling towards the light switch. "Like, no offense, but this is quite a ghost port." She swears she can see things move in the shadows at night.

Kat starts yawning away again, too. "You are not wrong about that. Ain't nothing in this corner but dying businesses and hooligans." She crawls onto the floor to find her cocoon. "At least the rent's cheap in the vicinity," she moans with the covers already over her.

"That's one way to look at it," the navigator nods, getting rid of her pants. "G'nite," she moans then a little later into the pillow after crashing into the bed.

"Good night to you, too," Kat sighs. She feels more like a zombie instead of a ghost now. Kind of like after crying. Yeah… maybe she really just needs to sleep on it. Maybe.

#KMKY #Kate writes

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everettwilkinson · 8 years ago

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MT GOP candidate charged after he ‘body slams’ reporter — TRUMP in Brussels — MERKEL’s presidential day — Kellyanne and Heather Podesta lunch — B’DAY: Anna Palmer

Listen to the Playbook Audio Briefing http://bit.ly/2rTk9Lj … Subscribe on iTunes http://apple.co/2eX6Eay … Visit the online home of Playbook http://politi.co/2f51Jnf

Good Thursday morning. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP is in Brussels meeting with European leaders, including European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker. He’s scheduled to meet with new French President Emmanuel Macron in the next few hours. He’ll also visit NATO before leaving for Sicily for a G7 meeting.

Story Continued Below

WITH TRUMP IN BRUSSELS, and attending meetings with the prez: Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, Defense Secretary James Mattis, National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster, Dina Powell, and Gary Cohn, per pooler Phil Rucker.

TRUMP just had a private meeting with EU leaders, per WaPo’s Phil Rucker. Great exchange: “The first encounter came as the three presidents stood posing for photos. Tusk told Trump: ‘Do you know, Mr. President, we have two presidents in the EU?’ Trump replied: ‘I know that.’ Juncker chimed in: One too much.'” … Trump on the pope: “We went to the Pope. Very impressive. The Pope was terrific.”

— “Trump faces rougher reception in NATO, EU meetings,” by Reuters’ Jeff Mason and Steve Holland in Brussels: “After a warm welcome in the Middle East and a ‘fantastic’ visit with the pope, U.S. President Donald Trump walks on shakier ground on Thursday when European Union and NATO leaders will press him on defense, trade, and environmental concerns. The Republican president, midway through his first foreign trip since taking office, has basked in the glow of favorable receptions in Riyadh and Jerusalem, where leaders lauded his harsh words for Iran.

“Praise may be in shorter supply in Brussels. Trump questioned the relevance of the NATO military alliance as a presidential candidate, and is considering pulling the United States out of the Paris agreement on climate change — a huge concern in Europe. The EU was also a party to the Iran nuclear agreement, which Trump has criticized sharply. ‘We expect him to recommit to NATO’s founding rule that an attack against one ally is an attack against all,’ said a senior European diplomat at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. ‘Words matter and there is a huge expectation on that.’” http://reut.rs/2qiSh1Z

**SUBSCRIBE to Playbook: http://politi.co/2lQswbh

GREAT LINE FROM POLITICO EUROPE PLAYBOOKER RYAN HEATH — “German Chancellor Angela Merkel is the meat in a presidential PR sandwich today.” FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA had breakfast with Merkel in Berlin before the two participated in the Obama Foundation’s first international event — a talk at the Brandenburg Gate on the importance of civic engagement. Merkel will then leave for the NATO summit in Brussels with Trump.

OOPS!! — @StateDept: “.@POTUS arrives for #NATOmeeting in #Brussels today. #POTUSAbroad” http://bit.ly/2rCJ7kU … @PoliticoRyan: “As @StollmeyerEU pointed out – this is #POTUS arriving at the #EU, not #NATO … that meeting doesn’t start for hours.”

THE STORY OF THE DAY — HADAS GOLD AND GABE DEBENEDETTI (who is in Helena, Montana) — “Montana House GOP candidate cited after reporter says he ‘body-slammed me’”: “Montana Republican congressional candidate Greg Gianforte was issued a citation late Wednesday after he allegedly ‘body-slammed’ a reporter at a campaign event on the eve of a hotly contested special election. Ben Jacobs, a reporter for The Guardian tweeted that Gianforte ‘body-slammed me and broke my glasses’ at a campaign event in Bozeman, Montana — minutes before what was to be the last campaign rally of the campaign.

“Jacobs said he had asked Gianforte about a new budget analysis of House Republicans’ effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Late Wednesday, Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin issued a statement saying the Republican congressional candidate had been cited for ‘misdemeanor assault’ and that Gianforte would have to appear in court by June 7 to resolve the matter. ‘The nature of the injuries did not meet the statutory elements of felony assault,’ the sheriff said in his statement.

“The incident rocked a closely watched contest, just hours before voters cast their ballots in Thursday’s special House election in Montana to replace Ryan Zinke, who is now the Trump administration’s secretary of the interior. Gianforte, a technology executive, is running against Democrat Rob Quist, a folk singer and first-time candidate. The race in the traditional Republican stronghold is turning out to be closer than many thought it would be.” http://politi.co/2qmuDkk … Audio of the incident http://bit.ly/2qmEnuR

— FOX NEWS FIRST-PERSON ACCOUNT by Alicia Acuna: “Gianforte grabbed Jacobs by the neck with both hands and slammed him into the ground behind him. Faith, Keith and I watched in disbelief as Gianforte then began punching the reporter. As Gianforte moved on top of Jacobs, he began yelling something to the effect of, ‘I’m sick and tired of this!’” http://fxn.ws/2qeLw5o

— DEMOCRATS are looking to take advantage of the last-minute break in the closer-than-expected race. The DCCC is up with Facebook ads targeting “with a goal of both persuasion and mobilization” in order to reach “Democrats who might have been less likely to turn out and vote on Election Day.” MoveOn.org also released a digital ad to run through Election Day. DCCC ad http://bit.ly/2qYSpVo … MoveOn ad http://bit.ly/2qmx728

CAN THIS FLIP THE RACE? The Billings Gazette: “Though 37 percent of registered voters have already returned absentee ballots, there will ‘still be plenty of people voting on Election Day,’ [political science professor Jeremy] Johnson said. Turnout in special elections is typically low, and with this vote on the Thursday before Memorial Day many have predicted low numbers at the polls.” http://bit.ly/2rCHlQN

GIANFORTE’S CAMPAIGN SPOKESPERSON, Shane Scanlon, said: “Tonight, as Greg was giving a separate interview in a private office, The Guardian’s Ben Jacobs entered the office without permission, aggressively shoved a recorder in Greg’s face, and began asking badgering questions. Jacobs was asked to leave. After asking Jacobs to lower the recorder, Jacobs declined. Greg then attempted to grab the phone that was pushed in his face. Jacobs grabbed Greg’s wrist, and spun away from Greg, pushing them both to the ground. It’s unfortunate that this aggressive behavior from a liberal journalist created this scene at our campaign volunteer BBQ.”

— HMM… First of all, the tape doesn’t back up this story. Second: The dude body slammed a reporter! Don’t make excuses. Apologize!

THIS GUY MIGHT BE IN THE WRONG BUSINESS. When you are a member of Congress, you constantly have reporters shoving microphones in your face. Journalists wait outside bathrooms to corner you on the news of the day.

THE QUESTION FOR PAUL RYAN AND OTHER REPUBLICAN LEADERS: What will Republicans say about Gianforte — a potential House Republican — allegedly physically assaulting a reporter for asking a question about the health-care bill? Should he be allowed to caucus with Republicans? If he were a sitting member, there would probably be calls for his resignation.

ABOUT THAT HEALTH CARE BILL … — “CBO: House Obamacare repeal bill would leave 23 million more uninsured,” by Adam Cancryn and Sarah Ferris: “Roughly 23 million more people would be uninsured over a decade if the House-passed Republican Obamacare repeal bill becomes law, according to a long-awaited CBO analysis that could complicate GOP hopes of getting a companion measure through the Senate.

“That’s nearly identical to the coverage losses that CBO forecast for an earlier version of the bill — despite the addition of new provisions and billions of dollars in funding aimed at keeping more people insured.

“The nonpartisan scorekeeping office also forecast the GOP plan would cut the deficit by $119 billion over a decade, primarily because of its cuts to Medicaid and private insurance subsidies. That exceeds $2 billion of minimum projected savings the bill needed to hit, which should clear an important hurdle and help the bill’s prospects of getting to the Senate. Senate GOP aides are still checking the analysis to ensure the bill can travel safely across the Capitol.” http://politi.co/2rT6aFh

****** A message from the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs (CAPD): One in two Americans rely on their employers for health care benefits including affordable access to prescription drugs. That’s why employers are partnering with PBMs to provide access to effective medications at the most affordable price and improve health outcomes. Learn more at www.affordableprescriptiondrugs.org. ******

SHOT — SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL is continuing to keep his plans for health care reform close to the vest. When asked at a Reuters newsmaker event Wednesday about Senate GOP’s health care package, McConnell said: “I don’t know how we get to 50 [votes] at the moment. But that’s the goal. And exactly what the composition of that [bill] is I’m not going to speculate about because it serves no purpose.” http://reut.rs/2qeGm9v

CHASER — “Peril for Republicans if they push forward with Obamacare repeal,” by Paul Demko and Jen Haberkorn: “Obamacare repeal is in trouble in the Senate, and a nonpartisan analysis of the House’s repeal legislation issued Wednesday only reinforced that reality. Within minutes of the release of the report showing 23 million fewer Americans would be insured over a decade, two Senate Republicans blasted the estimate and the House bill, underscoring just how much the legislation will have to change to get through the upper chamber. Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.), one of the few Senate Republicans expected to face a tough re-election contest next year, said the House bill ‘does not do enough to address Nevada’s Medicaid population or protect Nevadans with pre-existing conditions.’ Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) also criticized the House bill for failing to adequately protect Americans with pre-existing medical conditions.” http://politi.co/2rXCLJf

JOANNE KENEN on “10 key points from the CBO report on Obamacare repeal”: http://politi.co/2qZkP3P

NYT SCOOP, A1 — “Top Russian Officials Discussed How to Influence Trump Aides Last Summer,” by Matt Rosenberg, Adam Goldman and Matt Apuzzo: “American spies collected information last summer revealing that senior Russian intelligence and political officials were discussing how to exert influence over Donald J. Trump through his advisers, according to three current and former American officials familiar with the intelligence. The conversations focused on Paul Manafort, the Trump campaign chairman at the time, and Michael T. Flynn, a retired general who was advising Mr. Trump … Some Russians boasted about how well they knew Mr. Flynn. Others discussed leveraging their ties to Viktor F. Yanukovych, the deposed president of Ukraine living in exile in Russia, who at one time had worked closely with Mr. Manafort.” http://nyti.ms/2qRQp2Y

— KEN VOGEL: “Manafort advised Trump team on Russia scandal”: “Months after the FBI began examining Paul Manafort as part of a probe into ties between President Donald Trump’s team and Russia, Manafort called Trump’s chief of staff Reince Priebus to push back against the mounting controversy, according to four people familiar with the call. It was about a week before Trump’s inauguration, and Manafort wanted to brief Trump’s team on the alleged inaccuracies in a recently released dossier of memos written by a former British spy for Trump’s opponents that alleged compromising ties between Russia, Trump and Trump’s associates, including Manafort.

“‘On the day that the dossier came out in the press, Paul called Reince, as a responsible ally of the president would do, and said this story about me is garbage, and a bunch of the other stuff in there seems implausible,’ said a person close to Manafort. … While the people say the conversations were mostly of a political or, in some cases, personal nature, the conversation with Priebus, described by four people familiar with it, was related to the scandal now subsuming Manafort and the Trump presidency. It suggests that Manafort recognized months ago the potentially serious problems posed by the investigation, even as Trump himself continues to publicly dismiss it as a politically motivated witch hunt, while predicting it won’t find anything compromising.” http://politi.co/2qj9UPp

THE LATEST FROM MANCHESTER — “Police make more arrests in Manchester bomb but leaks feared,” by AP’s Jill Lawless and Gregory Katz in Manchester: “Police arrested two more people and were on Thursday searching a new site in Manchester suspected of links to the bombing that killed 22 people at a pop concert, as British authorities complained bitterly about investigation leaks by U.S. officials. Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to raise the issue of the leaks with President Donald Trump in Brussels later. British officials are particularly angry that photos detailing evidence about the bomb used in the attack were published in the New York Times.

“Greater Manchester Police released a statement condemning the leaks on behalf of the National Counter-Terrorism Policing units that suggested a severe rupture in trust between Britain and the United States, who have traditionally shared intelligence at the highest levels. … Police and security services are also upset that the name of bomber Salman Abedi was leaked by U.S. officials and published while police in Britain were withholding the name for what they said were reasons of operational security.” http://apne.ws/2qYWQzy

MNUCHIN CONTINUES NO BAT DRUM BEAT — “Mnuchin Tells Democrats No Go on Border Tax in Private Meeting,” by Bloomberg’s Anna Edgerton: “Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin pronounced House Speaker Paul Ryan’s proposal for a border-adjusted tax dead during closed-door conversations with Democrats on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee, according to two members of the panel. … Judy Chu, a California Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, said she asked Mnuchin directly during a private meeting Tuesday if he supports the border-adjusted tax. ‘He actually said straight out that he doesn’t support it and the president doesn’t support it,’ Chu said, adding that Mnuchin cited concern from businesses about price increases for consumers. ‘Unless he was lying to us yesterday, I really felt it was dead on arrival,’ Chu said.” https://bloom.bg/2qeH3zK

COMING ATTRACTIONS — “Republicans may need Democrats’ help to raise debt limit,” by Colin Wilhelm and John Bresnahan: “Republicans may need to rely on Democrats –once again — to raise the nation’s legal borrowing limit. House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) said the group of hard-line conservatives will want concessions before supporting a debt-ceiling boost, setting up a potential showdown with the Trump administration.

“‘There’s a lot of discussion among Freedom Caucus members to push for a debt ceiling [increase] as long as it addresses some of the other structural reforms that conservatives have long called for,’ Meadows told POLITICO. ‘If that is coupled with a debt-ceiling increase that has a definite dollar amount — not a time-specific amount — then they would find a lot of support among conservatives.’ Freedom Caucus sources say the group is also discussing a provision that would allow the federal government to make debt payment a priority in the event of a government shutdown later this year.” More for pros http://politico.pro/2qS8bTH

— WHAT WE HEAR ABOUT THE DEBT LIMIT: Here’s the deal: back in 2011, John Boehner set a standard that the debt limit needed to be matched with dollar-for-dollar spending cuts. Republicans now insist on some sort of concession every time the debt ceiling is increased. Sometimes they get them, sometimes they don’t, and Democrats just help the GOP lift the limit without any wins. But they control all of D.C. now, so expect a hardline fight. The Freedom Caucus — the three dozen or so conservative Republicans in the House — want the debt limit raised before the August recess. That’s 31 legislative days away. That’s a tight deadline, since borrowing authority doesn’t truly run out until September. But most in the Capitol are predicting a big fight. House Energy and Commerce Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon told us yesterday in the Capitol that it’s a “tough vote” and said a clean increase — one without reforms — will not be met with “broad approval.”

THE JUICE …

— SPOTTED: Speaker Paul Ryan with Republican Conference Chairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington State chatting yesterday in a room off the House floor.

— POWER LUNCH OF THE DAY: Kellyanne Conway and Heather Podesta at Centrolina Wednesday. Earlier in the day, at around 9 a.m., Kellyanne was at Drybar Georgetown. She had her Secret Service security detail with her.

–SEN. BEN SASSE’s new book “The Vanishing American Adult,” landed at No. 3 on the New York Times bestseller list.

–FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Several top civil rights groups are sending a letter today to President Trump and DHS Secretary John Kelly urging them not to appoint Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke to be assistant secretary in the office of partnership and engagement at the Department of Homeland Security. In the letters, the groups say he has a “history of incendiary and hateful statements” that “make him unfit to serve in this role.” The letter is signed by the heads of the Anti-Defamation League, Human Rights Campaign, the National Urban League, the National Council of La Raza, and Muslim Advocates. http://politi.co/2rkwuez

— CHELSEA HANDLER recently sat down with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to chat about 2020, whether Senate Majority Leader McConnell speaks to her and her views on what the GOP is doing in power. The interview streams on Netflix on Friday. Video http://bit.ly/2qRVZCC

— JARED AND IVANKA’S date night in Rome. 8 pix on one page http://dailym.ai/2qeNMcF

WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE … “Spicer left out of Vatican visit,” by Annie Karni in Rome: “President Donald Trump’s entourage at the Vatican on Wednesday included his wife, his daughter, and an array of staffers — but not White House press secretary Sean Spicer, a devout Catholic who told reporters earlier this year that he gave up alcohol for Lent. Both sides, according to a White House official, agreed to limit the number of staffers who attended.” http://politi.co/2qeNqTE

PHOTO DU JOUR: President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump listen to a guide as they look at the frescoed ceilings during their visit to the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican on May 24. | L’Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP

CNN’S MANU RAJU and EVAN PEREZ — “AG Sessions did not disclose Russia meetings in security clearance form, DOJ says”: “Attorney General Jeff Sessions did not disclose meetings he had last year with Russian officials when he applied for his security clearance, the Justice Department told CNN Wednesday. Sessions, who met with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak at least two times last year, didn’t note those interactions on the form, which requires him to list ‘any contact’ he or his family had with a “foreign government’ or its ‘representatives’ over the past seven years … Justice Department spokeswoman Sarah Isgur Flores … says he and his staff were … told by an FBI employee who assisted in filling out the form, known as the SF-86, that he didn’t need to list dozens of meetings with foreign ambassadors that happened in his capacity as a senator.” http://cnn.it/2rT4RpR

IVANKA WATCH — “Ivanka Trump asks trafficked women what U.S. can do to help,” by AP’s Frances D’Emilio in Rome: “Ivanka Trump met Wednesday with a group of African women in Rome who were trafficked into prostitution rings, a private encounter said to have moved her to tears. Trump visited the Rome headquarters of the Sant’Egidio Community, a Catholic humanitarian organization that serves the poor, the elderly and migrants, after a morning visit to the Vatican. Sant’Egidio official Daniela Pompei said the closed-door encounter lasted 40 minutes and Trump asked the 10 African women for suggestions on what the U.S. government, led by her father, President Donald Trump, can do to help others like them.” http://abcn.ws/2rk3R0U

CLICKER – “Trump’s visit with Pope Francis: The top photos out of Rome” — 25 pix http://politi.co/2qiYbAa

MAGGIE HABERMAN PROFILE — “Wanna Know What Donald Trump Is Really Thinking? Read Maggie Haberman,” by Rachael Combe in July’s Elle: “Journalists have become part of the story in the Trump administration, enablers and heroes of a nonstop political and constitutional soap opera, and last year Haberman was the most widely read journalist at the Times, according to its analytics. Many of the juiciest Trump pieces have been broken by her … While the president and the reporter couldn’t seem more different … the points at which their histories and personalities converge are revealing about both the media and the president himself. Trump wants what she can give him access to — a kind of status he’s always craved in a newspaper … Haberman, for her part, has become a front-page fixture and a Fourth Estate folk hero.” http://bit.ly/2qYVl4F

WEST COAST WATCH — “The Russia investigation thrust Devin Nunes into the spotlight. Now that he’s the one under scrutiny, what has he been up to?,” by LA Times’ Sarah D. Wire: http://lat.ms/2rCqWvI

****** A message from the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs (CAPD): As list prices for brand drugs continue to rise, employers are partnering with PBMs to keep drug costs under control. In fact, every dollar an employer invests in a PBM service returns six dollars in savings. Learn more at www.affordableprescriptiondrugs.org. ******

FUTURE OF NEWS — “Facebook signs BuzzFeed, Vox, others for original video shows – sources,” by Reuters’ Jessica Toonkel: “Facebook has signed deals with millennial-focused news and entertainment creators Vox Media, BuzzFeed, ATTN, Group Nine Media and others to make shows for its upcoming video service, which will feature long and short-form content with ad breaks, according to several sources familiar with the situation. Facebook is planning two tiers of video entertainment: scripted shows with episodes lasting 20 to 30 minutes, which it will own; and shorter scripted and unscripted shows with episodes lasting about 5 to 10 minutes, which Facebook will not own.” http://reut.rs/2qZwj7B

MEDIAWATCH — @grynbaum: “Ken Kurson is leaving Observer for TENEO, he tells me. He’ll be a senior managing director.”

— NEW POLITICO PRO HIRES – Marty Kady and Carrie Budoff Brown email the staff: “Sheila Kaplan will join us next week as a senior health care reporter. Sheila was most recently a Washington-based senior writer for STAT, covering the intersection of health, influence and politics. … John Hendel is joining the Tech team to help cover the FCC and Hill telecom policy. John comes to us from Communications Daily, where he’s been a Capitol Hill telecom policy reporter since 2013.”

SPOTTED at a party last night in honor of Patrick Steel, the new CEO of POLITICO, at Dr. Elena and Robert Allbritton’s residence in Georgetown: Don Baer, Brian Bechtel, Jim Bankoff, Ron Bonjean, David Castagnetti, Stephanie Cutter, Tony Fratto, Jason and Shari Gold, Josh and Blair Holmes, Joel Johnson, Dede Lea, Ray LaHood, Kevin Madden, Bruce Mehlman, Graham Miller, Greg Lowman, Susan Molinari, Geoff Morrell, Jack and Susanna Quinn, Heather Podesta, Jill Zuckman.

SPOTTED: Eric Trump and wife Lara last night at the Trump hotel having dinner. Steven Mnuchin and his fiancée Louise Linton stopped by to say hello … IRS Commissioner John Koskinen yesterday at Mackey’s Public House … Former Secretary of Homeland Security and current University of California President Janet Napolitano eschewed the TSA Pre line at Washington Dulles Airport and went through the regular folks west side security line. “She did all the stuff regular folks do. And had no aides around making it easy.” … Nationals Manager Dusty Baker yesterday meeting with Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pa.) and Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) for lunch on Capitol Hill. Doyle is managing the Democrats, and Barton is managing the Republicans in the upcoming Congressional Baseball Game at Nationals Park June 15. “The two managers were seeking advice and managerial tips from Dusty Baker in preparation for the game.” Pics http://politi.co/2qRWvjH … http://politi.co/2qSacPL

BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Rachel Overboe, graduate of Harvard Business School class of 2017! (h/t your biggest fans: Jmom, Lynn, Leah, John and Anna)

TRANSITIONS: David Leiter, a Capitol Hill veteran, Clinton Administration alum, and former president of ML Strategies, has launched a new government relations firm called Plurus Strategies. Also joining the firm are Georgette Spanjich as VP and Sarah Litke as senior director. http://bit.ly/2qj3Kyv … Zain Habboo is joining Fenton as its first chief digital officer. She is currently senior director for digital and marketing strategy at the United Nations Foundation and is a National Geographic alum.

WELCOME TO THE WORLD – Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, candidate for governor of Florida, and R. Jai Gillum, director of foundation affairs at the Florida Dental Association: “Last Monday, May 15, we welcomed Davis Allen Gillum to the world! He arrived healthy at 8 pounds, 3 ounces. His twin siblings, 3-year-olds Caroline and Jackson, love having a new baby brother. … Dad has taken some time off the campaign trail to be on Daddy Duty!” Pic http://politi.co/2rk7gNt

NSC DEPARTURE LOUNGE – Yesterday was Ben Levine’s last day on the NSC – he was special assistant for global economics and finance at the NSC under President Barack Obama and then the beginning of the new administration. He served on Obama’s reelection campaign, worked at Treasury including in Secretary Jack Lew’s executive office and was a policy analyst for the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Beginning in August, he’s continuing his graduate studies at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business as a full-time MBA student.

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: David Martosko, U.S. political editor for The Daily Mail. How he’s celebrating: “I’ll be on assignment for DailyMail.com on May 25 covering the president’s overseas trip, but my wife and daughters are taking me to a Nationals game when I return.” Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2qf9PAd

BIRTHDAYS: Sen. Amy Klobuchar is 57 … Politico’s Anna Palmer, the pride of Kindred, N.D. … Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is 61 — he’s celebrating with a quiet dinner with his family and grandchildren, including his new grandson Cam … Emily Bittner … former White House news secretary Ron Nessen is 83 … Kate Ackley Zeller, reporter at CQ Roll Call … James “Britton” Rethmeier, son of Caton and Blaine, is 10 … Mike Russell, bourbon authority, avid diver and SVP at CRC Public Relations … Argentina turns 107 on its Revolution Day and Jordan turns 71 on its Independence Day … Megan Van Etten, director of media and external comms at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce (hat tip: Blair Latoff Holmes) … Tim Zenk, VP of business development, new markets and technology at Phytelligence Inc. … Laurie Rubiner, chief of staff for Sen. Richard Blumenthal, celebrating with Chris (h/ts Jon Haber) … Alycyn Keeling … Rep. Steve Russell (R-Okla.) is 54 … former Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-Ky.) is 74 … John Flynn … Britt Kahn, Conan O’Brien political booker (h/t Tammy Haddad) …

…Greg Bluestein, politics reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution who has done a bang up job covering the race for Tom Price’s old congressional seat in Georgia (h/t David Pittman) … Savannah Haeger, an associate at Hamilton Place Strategies and the pride of Lake Zurich, Ill. (h/t Julie Sarne) … Dorrance Smith, CEO of The New Analytics Company … Human Rights Campaign’s Hayley Miller … Courtney Joline … Sean Rushton, founder and director of the Project on Exchange Rates and the Dollar and a Ted Cruz alum … Alice Germond … Lesley Sillaman … Capricia Marshall … Lauren Werner (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) … Beth Foster … Politico alum Jennifer Martinez, now at Brew Media Relations … Margaret Dobrydnio … NYT alum Carla Robbins, now adjunct senior fellow at CFR … Phil Karsting … James Dellinger … Steve Petersen … Bob Loughlin … Tali Looney … Carol Thompson … Jim Doak … Conor Powell, Fox News foreign correspondent, is 4-0 … Alice Mooney … Jason Lilly … Olympic gold medal gymnast Aly Raisman is 23 (h/t Jewish Insider) … Brian Flaherty, SVP of public policy at CBIA … Matthew Colbert … Matt Lakin is 37 … Alan Brody … Charlie Fromstein … actor Sir Ian McKellen is 78 … actor-comedian Mike Myers is 54 (h/ts AP)

****** A message from the Coalition for Affordable Prescription Drugs (CAPD): One in two Americans rely on their employers to provide health care benefits. So, employers partner with PBMs to provide access to effective medications at the most affordable price. PBMs drive savings in part by using clinical expertise to identify generic alternatives that achieve the same health outcomes for a lower price. With generics accounting for 89 percent of prescriptions filled in 2015, but only 27 percent of drug costs, that represents a savings of $227 billion across the U.S. health care system in just one year. Learn more at www.affordableprescriptiondrugs.org. ******

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from CapitalistHQ.com https://capitalisthq.com/mt-gop-candidate-charged-after-he-body-slams-reporter-trump-in-brussels-merkels-presidential-day-kellyanne-and-heather-podesta-lunch-bday-anna-palmer/

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everettwilkinson · 8 years ago

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MT GOP candidate charged after he ‘body slams’ reporter — TRUMP in Brussels — MERKEL’s presidential day — Kellyanne and Heather Podesta lunch — B’DAY: Anna Palmer

Listen to the Playbook Audio Briefing http://bit.ly/2rTk9Lj … Subscribe on iTunes http://apple.co/2eX6Eay … Visit the online home of Playbook http://politi.co/2f51Jnf

Story Continued Below

**SUBSCRIBE to Playbook: http://politi.co/2lQswbh

— HMM… First of all, the tape doesn’t back up this story. Second: The dude body slammed a reporter! Don’t make excuses. Apologize!

JOANNE KENEN on “10 key points from the CBO report on Obamacare repeal”: http://politi.co/2qZkP3P

THE JUICE …

— SPOTTED: Speaker Paul Ryan with Republican Conference Chairman Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington State chatting yesterday in a room off the House floor.

–SEN. BEN SASSE’s new book “The Vanishing American Adult,” landed at No. 3 on the New York Times bestseller list.

— JARED AND IVANKA’S date night in Rome. 8 pix on one page http://dailym.ai/2qeNMcF

CLICKER – “Trump’s visit with Pope Francis: The top photos out of Rome” — 25 pix http://politi.co/2qiYbAa

MEDIAWATCH — @grynbaum: “Ken Kurson is leaving Observer for TENEO, he tells me. He’ll be a senior managing director.”

BIG CONGRATULATIONS to Rachel Overboe, graduate of Harvard Business School class of 2017! (h/t your biggest fans: Jmom, Lynn, Leah, John and Anna)

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