#I just had to look at his actual face before I cartoon him again woof woof

[sunnydayaoe]

mimb practice doodles, thinking about him.... was super hard though he's like so scary every reference I pulled up had me shaking in my seat

[scruffyplayssonic]

Are the ArchieSonic comics actually an 80's/90's syndicated cartoon? Episode 49: Hero becomes blind. Magoo jokes aplenty. Ableism ages episode horribly 

Welcome back to my look at the ArchieSonic comic series, and how it shared a lot of the same story tropes as a typical ‘80s or ‘90s syndicated cartoon! Well friends, it’s happened again - today’s episode is another one that didn’t really happen in ArchieSonic:

Episode 49: Hero becomes blind. Magoo jokes aplenty. Ableism ages episode horribly 

Well, there were instances when Sonic or others were very briefly “blinded” by environmental forces, like in the worst of all the Super Specials, Naugus Games.

Woof. Even by Ken Penders’ standards, that’s the laziest writing I think I’ve ever seen in this series. It was so bad that it (probably) resulted in the cancellation of the super specials, and Ian Flynn felt it necessary to go back and rewrite that battle for a Free Comic Book Day issue eleven years later.

There actually was a blind character that debuted in the reboot era of the comic, although it was never completely stated on page that this was the case. In Sonic #278 a new freedom fighter team called the Desert Raiders were introduced, based out of Shamar. While his fighting and tracking skills didn’t seem to be hindered at all, this page suggested that Trevor did have some issue with his vision.

Aleah Baker, who was part of the team who worked on the character designs for this group, confirmed that Trevor was indeed blind. In fact, apparently some of his earlier designs had the top half of his face obscured by his hair or eyebrows to cover up where his eyes were supposed to be. This was later replaced with pointy anime sunglasses, resulting in the version of the character that appeared in the comics. Very interesting, I can imagine that kind of a design in my head and I think it would work pretty well. I just want to give a big shoutout to Aleah and thank her for providing this information before I move on. You’re a champ, Aleah!

There were a lot of characters in the series who had prosthetic eyes, so let’s take a look at some of them.

The first one that came to my mind was Knuckles’ ancestor Tobor, who as a result of injuries he sustained when a freaking building fell on him found his vision had started to deteriorate, so he had his eyes replaced with cybernetic prosthetics. But following the surgery he seemed to have perfectly good eyesight again, and we never saw him struggling with his disability.

The first Dark Legion leader we were introduced to, Kragok, had a prosthetic eye for unspecified reasons.

Future Knuckles of the Mobius 25/30 Years Later timeline had a similar prosthetic eye, which he replaced his original eye with after he went mad with chaos power and Sonic tried to “help” him.

Whoopsy.

The Bride of Conquering Storm first debuted in the comic with two normal eyes, but after her clan joined the Eggman Empire they were forced to undergo the legionisation process as a display of loyalty. Interestingly, Conquering Storm chose to have her eyes replaced with cybernetic ones rather than have any of her limbs replaced. Perhaps her eyesight wasn’t 20/20, and she decided to take this opportunity to improve it? 

But the one case that should be highlighted for this episode is that of Moritori Rex, who I guess also had cybernetic eyes?

When he first arrived on the floating island and fought against Tobor, he had these weird metal things on the sides of his eyes. I’m not really sure what they are, to be honest.

Later after he infiltrated the Brotherhood by impersonating Tobor he had a Cyclops visor which allowed him to shoot lasers and also see in the dark. However Spectre was able to turn this against him by turning out the lights and then lighting up a flare to blind Moritori.

It’s unclear if this permanently wrecked the usability of the visor or if Moritori just wanted to prevent himself from being attacked that way again, but the next time Moritori appeared - no longer in custody and back with the Dark Legion without explanation, I might add - he had discarded the visor and reverted back to his original design. So unlike most of the other people I’ve talked about today, Moritori Rex actually did get temporarily blinded. But he was a villain, not a hero.

So while we did get at least one instance of a character being blinded, I can’t think of any Magoo-style slapstick or jokes happening or any 90’s-era ableism that we’d cringe at today. On the contrary, all the characters with prosthetic eyes were treated to be just as capable as any other character, as was Trevor Burrow. So to finish up this episode I thought I’d look at a few characters who suffered with some other disabilities, not just those affecting their eyesight. 

Of all the Freedom Fighters, Bunnie’s backstory was the one that probably changed the most after the reboot. In the original continuity Bunnie was first introduced when she was captured by Swatbots and tossed into a roboticiser.

Sonic had tried to intervene but was a little too slow, resulting in Bunnie’s arm and lower half of her body being transformed to metal. The reboot changed things up by having her get the robotic limbs at a very young age.

During Dr. Eggman’s initial attack on Mobotropolis Bunnie was severely injured, and the only way Uncle Chuck could save her life was by using his experimental roboticiser on her. This was quite the ordeal for young Bunnie, who had to undergo a lot of physical therapy to regain use of her limbs as well as having to deal with her own self-perception that she’d been turned into a monster. She was eventually able to come to terms with herself and become the kickass Freedom Fighter she is today. Having Bunnie’s robotic limbs be shown as a disability and her struggling with her self-image is something that was also briefly explored in the pre-reboot era, when her body started to reject her cybernetic parts and she was faced with the choice of probably dying or undergoing a hardware upgrade that would mean she would never be able to be deroboticised.

I have mixed feelings on this one - Antoine is an absolute champion for telling Bunnie he doesn’t care about how she looks on the outside, but I’m not sure about Bunnie feeling the need to seek validation regarding her appearance from a man, especially in a Super Special called “Girls Rule!” That said, the Bunnie story is probably the least offensive out of all of those in that book.

The character with the most prominent disability was probably Cassia the Pronghorn, who was introduced in the reboot era of the comic (specifically, Sonic #263) as co-leader (or Egg Boss) of her faction of the Egg Army with her sister Clove. Their backstory was that Cassia had contracted a potentially fatal disease, and out of desperation Clove had sought help from Dr. Eggman. Eggman agreed to help, but only on the condition that Cassia and Clove work for him from now on. They agreed and Cassia was treated, having her entire face replaced with cybernetic upgrades.

Clove was very protective of her sister and for the most part tried to keep her away from any potential danger - although she arguably did that with all of those under her command as well.

So in Sonic #277 when someone came lurking around the temple they had captured under Eggman’s orders, Clove went to check out the problem herself. Coming face to face with none other than Princess Sally, she tried to talk her down from starting unnecessary conflict. Meanwhile Cassia, against Clove’s wishes, went to check out a report of another potential intruder, and came face to face with Bunnie. This is where some of that ableism came into play, as both of them assumed the worst of each other and that they’d decided to get cybernetic upgrades mostly for butt-kicking purposes.

But after talking things out they discovered that they were more alike than they had thought, despite being on opposite sides. 

Unfortunately after Bunnie escaped with the Chaos Emerald, Cassia’s disease got the upper hand over her and she had to get medical attention. This was when Clove discovered a terrible truth…

Clove decided to keep the truth from Cassia, unable to admit to her that they could never be free of the Eggman Empire. Unfortunately the comic was cancelled before that particular subplot could go anywhere, but on a guest episode of the Bumblekast Aleah Baker revealed that the truth would have eventually come out and that Cassia would have left in search of a cure, eventually finding it with either the Freedom Fighters or GUN. Clove would have believed that Cassia had died and lost all hope before eventually finding out her sister was still alive and well.

A lesser example was Antoine, who was injured during Perfect Chaos’ rampage on Station Square in Sonic #84. As a result the King removed from him from active service when the Freedom Fighters returned to Knothole in Sonic #88. This turned out to be a blessing in disguise for Antoine, who took the time off to go on a personal mission to recover his roboticised father from the Kingdom of Mercia, with Bunnie and Amy escorting him. They ended up meeting with Knuckles again during this mission and things got a bit… 

…that.

Aaaaaand I suppose there’s one other disabled character I should mention, that being Sally’s father in the pre-reboot era of the comic, King Max. Ugh, this guy.

I already talked about his early struggles in the comic in the episode about macguffin chases, so we can skim over that. After being overthrown, exiled to a soundless dimension that induces madness, forced under duress to swear fealty to an an evil wizard, suffering memory loss, being rescued after 10 years only to start turning to crystal, then being possessed by the aforementioned evil wizard and forced against his will to start a civil war that the guy would finally catch a break after the Sword of Acorns cured him. Unfortunately it was not to be. After their Adventure (pardon the pun) in Station Square and facing not only Perfect Chaos but two different robotic Sonic dopplegangers, Sonic and the Freedom Fighters finally returned to Knothole in Sonic #88 only to bump right into Sally’s father, leading a crusade against Robotropolis to rescue the kidnapped Prince Elias. Sally secretly charged Sonic with keeping her father safe during the raid, but unfortunately Sonic got distracted by Uncle Chuck and Muttski, who were once again Eggman’s thralls at this time in the series.

The King’s sword seemed to restore their minds, but one of Eggman’s Shadowbots whisked them away before Sonic could do anything.

With Sonic distracted trying to get them back, he was unable to prevent the King from taking a major hit to the back of the head. This injury resulted in Max losing the use of his legs for several years in the comic, which would lead some people to underestimate him. 

Whoops. 

He did eventually start undergoing physical therapy, and by the time Sonic returned from his year in space, he was fully able again. That didn’t last very long either though, thanks to Patch, Antoine’s evil counterpart from Anti-Mobius.

After he tried to overthrow evil Sonic with a device designed to transport him to Mobius Prime, Evil Sonic decided to return the favour and exiled Patch there instead, doing a switcheroo with the original Antoine so that everyone would believe Patch was the real Antoine. Patch took this in his stride though, and worked his way up through the King’s army to be Max’s personal bodyguard.

Now that he had unrestricted access to the King, Patch went about poisoning him, but slowly so that he could avoid suspicion. The King’s health slowly declined until he eventually fell into a coma, at which point Sally was chosen as the new reigning monarch. As per Patch’s plan, Sally was forced into an arranged marriage with “Antoine,” which would have made Patch the new King. However before they could be crowned, Sally’s brother Elias was convinced by Sonic to exercise his right as first-born to take the crown himself.

Patch was outraged and attempted to assassinate Elias but was stopped by Sonic, who finally put the pieces together about what had happened and sent Patch packing back to the Anti-verse, bringing the true Antoine back home to a greatly relieved Bunnie. Elias used his first act as King to annul Sally’s marriage, and as for King Max, he was eventually roused from his coma thanks to one of the Chaos Emeralds.

Unfortunately he never did make a full recovery, and his mental state gradually started to deteriorate until he was reduced to an angry, muttering old man in a wheelchair.

Some would say he got what he deserved, but we should also consider everything that he had been through prior to losing his marbles. He certainly earned that title he was given in the Mobius Encyclopedia: "King Maximillian the Cursed."

…meh. Good riddance. 😛

Are there any other cases of blindness or other disabilities in ArchieSonic that I missed? Be sure to let me know in the comments! I’m going on holiday for a few weeks this weekend, so it’ll be awhile before my next post - possibly not until September. But when I return, my next post will be episode 50: a Major event that dramatically shakes up the status quo but then turns out to be a dream. See you then!

[kyberphilosopher]

Reverse Flash

A backwards version of your favorite speedster comes searching for Barry, only to find you instead. 

Word Count: 2403 Warnings: Crude Humor. Not proof read yet because I’m too tired. 

As per my latest fics, the gender of the reader is not specified. 

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Barry was always nice to you.

Well, Barry was nice to everyone. I mean, his parents named him Barry. He was set up for a life of cheekiness before he was even born. But Barry was nice to you even after ‘the incident’. Barry was nice to you when everyone else stopped. On top of that, Barry was being nicer to you than usual lately.

Probably because he and Iris were having a rough spot.

That was the only annoying thing. Barry liked you, and he was interested in you, but you were still second place. He was just using you. He wouldn’t marry you, or feel a deep longing for you. He’d just take you on ice skating rink dates in the winter and give you the best Valentine’s day of your life every year. Which is everyone’s dream, you guess, but it wouldn’t have been genuine, no matter what Barry managed to convince himself.

Barry’s little support team seemed to be on the same page as you (which was a first), which both added to and subdued your aggravation. All of them were in agreement of the simple fact: you were no good for Barry. Mr. Flash was the only one who didn’t seem to get the memo.

In the very beginning, things weren’t like how they were now. Team Flash or whatever the name was considered you good colleague, and they trusted you because Allen trusted you. You had been friends with Barry longer than anyone else there. And of course you were smart, and you handled annoying journalists and incriminating footage like it was nothing. But then you’d suggested using lethal force to subdue one of the Flash’s biggest problems. That’s when the air changed. That’s when people decided you should not now, not ever go on a date with him. It would throw off the whole rhythm of the team, probably Barry’s morals and possible the timeline. Lucky you.

Though flat out rejecting Barry might make it worse. You had been irritable lately. Maybe a little more sarcastic than normal. What if you snap, and then the team snaps too? And sweet little Barry is too kind to tell you off? God, you knew you were the worst, but the thought alone seemed like more than just ‘the worst’. It was like a tornado of stinky shit just barreling toward you, somehow simultaneously faster than the speed of light and slower than a turtle filled with rocks for organs.

And it was all definitely Barry Allen’s fault.

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

So, that’s why you’re here now. Stuck with watching Headquarters while all the speedsters go out and... speed. Who knows. You’re out of the loop with the whole... speed demon thing. You’re pretty sure they have a group chat without you. Fuckin’ nerds.

Your legs are stretched out to the desk in front of you. They cross over each other at the ankles, to the left of the big computer monitor that’s supposed to display the heartbeats of the team but is instead displaying something from cartoon network. A near empty bag of Chinese food sits at your side, it’s contents littered across the table.

As you chew, you look around the room. Several suits in display cases curve against the wall in a half circle, illuminated by blue light. Some are burgundy, some are silver, and some are golden. And you could smash every single one of them right now.

But you won’t, and you don’t. Not to say it isn’t tempting- it is. You still don’t touch the suits. 

God, what’s been wrong with you recently? Barry was your friend, and yet you’d been so annoyed with him. His flirting had only made it worse. Wally wasn’t any better. He got even more annoying once thinking about how childish, yet powerful he was. All the Kid Flash’s were just temporary brats that never stayed, whether you  liked them or not. And Iris wasn’t a fan of you. That was fine, because you weren’t exactly a friend of Iris’s either. So the most important part of your life that literally depended on superhuman existence and stopping crime was teetering because of pure social discomfort. Typical.

You’re watching the screen that serves as the closest light in the room as you shovel the next bite of rice between your lips. Neon colors make the shadows across your face feel alive and electric. It makes the glow in your eyes more prominent, encouraged by the childish nature of the media. You’ve just finished a snarky personal comment and given yourself another bite of rice when he appears to you.

He looks like Barry. The only difference is that he’s the complete opposite.

Instead of scarlet, his speed suit is yellow with red and dark grey accents. They remind you of blood lightning at the seams. Even under his half mask, he seems so familiar but so much more defined than your friend. As he exits the slice of colorful air and thunder, the heels of his shoes skidding across the floor, the red glow in his eyes settles into a calmer thrum.

And you’re still frozen in place, eyes wide as you still yourself mid chew.

The yellow speedster settles his orbs on you. They’re intelligent, and in the reflection of the little light in the room you can see they’re not red, but blue. And you? You’re just a deer in the headlights. 

“Aw, you’re not Barry,” he groans in disappointment, standing straighter as his arms cross over his chest. 

You finally continue your chewing, keeping your wide eyes on the intruder. Then you swallow it down. In your chest, your heart thump, thump, thumps with something. Fear? Not quite. Anxiety? Almost. It’s something else. Something more... intuitive. And the way this man looks at you makes you think that he can hear it, even from where he stands. That he knows.

“Uh... no?”

The man responds not a millisecond after you’ve gotten the words out. “Where is he? Where’s Barry Allen?”

Woof. His voice is throaty and laced with sarcasm, even though he’s clearly deathly serious. But the vibrations send a funny spasm straight to that little place between your legs, making the nerves in your spine dance with alertness. Arousal. Barry was never able to do that, let alone with just the sound of his voice.  

“Doing something?” you decide. “I don’t know.”

The golden man cocks his head to the side, almost smirks, and takes a step forward. “Hey, I know you.” His arms uncross. One raises and bends to point at you. “You’re Barry’s tech support. I remember reading about you in his museum.”

Your brows furrow. Hurriedly, you clear the take-out box from your lap and begin wiping your mouth with the back of your hand. You drop your legs from their position on the desk to their normal position on the floor, knees bent. “Uh... I beg your pardon?”

“Yeah... Y/N L/N. Now I see it.” The man leans back on his heels and looks around the room. The red glow in his orbs burn away completely so it’s just him. “Ah, so this must be before you defected, huh? Interesting.”

“Pardon?!” you call again. Now you’re sitting forward, disbelief across your face. 

Golden speedster smiles. It looks evilly distorted, even though it’s just a normal smile. It curves his face sarcastically. His hands fly upwards as if in surrender. “Don’t shoot the messenger, Y/N. You know actually, you’re kind of a villain in my time. This is nice for me.”

“Great, I’ll tell Barry when I see him,” you bite.

“Thank you, sweetheart. Now how about you tell me where Barry is before I erase you from existence.”

“I don’t know,” you repeat as the quick bolt of fear fizzles from your system. Your eyes trail down to his chest for just a quick second, but it’s quick enough to observe yet another difference between your familiar scarlet speedster and him. The circle surrounding the lightning bolt on his chest is facing the opposite direction, red, and that circle is filled with black. It’s as if he were the complete opposite of Barry. A reverse Barry. 

“Yeah you do. Come on.”

You blink once, still in your roll-y chair. 

You’re not sure what to do here. On one hand, this guy radiates pure evil. You should really alert Barry or one of the other members of Team Flash. But for one reason or another you’ve made no attempt to. You’ve got no clue who this dude is other than the fact that he seems more inclined to rip the fabric of time apart than anyone else. There’s no doubt in your mind he really will erase you from existence if you make one wrong move. But what’s the wrong move?

On the other hand, Team Flash has been a bunch of dickhead’s to you. Barry has been ironically slow to the whole thing. Would it be so bad if you did make a wrong move? Not for you, but for your friends? They’d all die, wouldn’t they? This yellow one would end them, and then what? Would it really be so horrible for you? You can’t imagine mourning much.

“I don’t,” you say again, slowly. “They’re in the city. I don’t know where.”

The man seems to think for a moment, cocking his head back so the light behind the glass cases catches his sharpened features. “Hmm.”

Without even blinking, now he’s in front of you. So close, you can smell him. It’s not terribly strong, it’s just masculine. But it’s also flowery, with a dash of sweat from running. And then there’s something more. Something... metallic? 

Both his hands clutch the arms of the chair beside you, trapping you as you lean back reflexively. “Did you know that I killed Barry’s childhood best friend before he was born?” the man says lowly. 

On instinct, you prepare yourself to say, ‘Barry doesn’t have a childhood best friend’. Then you realize why. 

He continues. “Would you tell me where Barry was if you did know?”

You don’t even think about it. You’re true to your nature. “I don’t know, would I?”

Blip! You wait to burst into a cloud of nothingness. To never have been born or even get to be a ghost. But fifteen seconds later you’re still alive. And from the way Barry talks about being a Flash, fifteen seconds is a long time for someone of that caliber. 

The man is back by the cases of suits now. You can see his muscles through his suit. They’re more defined than Barry’s, thank God. 

“I think you would. But it’s gonna be hard to do that when you’ve got my fingers vibrating into your skull.”

“What?”

“It’s going to be hard to speak when my fingers are inside you.”

You cup a hand against your ear. “Huh?”

“I said-” The man stops. His eyes narrow, arms crossing over his chest once more. “Oh, I see.” A short, dry- but genuine- laugh falls from his throat. “Very funny. Very, very funny.”

Suddenly, your eyebrows crease together in confusion. You place both palms on the arms of the chair for leverage as you push yourself into a stand, as if stirred by some great, important purpose. “Wait. Did you say you were going to stick your fingers inside me?”

“I knew you and I were the same,” he drawls. He sounds entertained. As if in his eyes, missing Barry and meeting you instead was the best outcome he could’ve hoped for. 

“Can’t you just...” Your shoulders slump as you glance around. “Just kill Barry and get on with it?”

“Aw, no. This is far more interesting.”

“Fingers in my skull...?” you whisper, half to yourself. Then you look up to him with a snap. “You are so weird,” you tell Reverse Barry, emphasizing it with a low point. “So weird.”

“Want me to tell your future?” 

Again with the voice and the nerves in that special place. 

“I gotta say, it’s kind of disturbing,” the man smirks. “You’ll love it.”

“Weird.”

Across the base, just two hallways away, something clicks. It’s a familiar click. It’s the click of the door opening. 

Quickly, you glance backwards, then lean down to pause the show on the computer. You hadn’t even realized it was still going. Once that’s done, the man is still standing in front of you. That sinister and yet innocent grin is still dancing across his face, though his steely eyes are totally locked on you. 

“What, weirdo? You know where he is now. Aren’t you gonna go get him?”

“You want me to so badly, don’t you?” Reverse Barry whispers. You just give him a look. 

“I’ll be back for you.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

And then the speedster is gone. Right on time, too, cause Barry jogs into the room not a second later. 

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?” you turn around. 

“Did I just... see someone here?” Barry points towards your end of the room in his scarlet suit. Huh. Reverse Barry was taller too. 

“What are you on about?” you throw casually. “Nobody’s been here but me since you left.”

“Are you sure?” the Flash keeps pushing. You hate it. Pushing. 

“Yes, Barry,” you roll your eyes. “I’m sure. Oh, by the way, Barry. Did you have a childhood best friend?”

Barry frowns. “No, why?”

You smile to yourself as you turn back away from him. The other speedster’s footsteps are coming closer and closer. You can hear them echo off the walls. 

“No reason,” you answer with a smirk just as one of them enters the room, probably to give you crap again.

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Fun fact, Reverse Flash is actually my favorite villain in DC comics. Bro is vicious in the comics. I just hate all the live action versions of him we get. Lego DC Villains Reverse Flash and Injustice 2 are the best versions. Injustice 2 is my personal preference. I’d like to do more with this but, who knows. Depends how this is received. #lol

[taeswurld]

Ace II [Dawgo]

pairing: bakugo x fem!reader

genre: humor, romance

TW: violence, cursing, angst, fluff

Summary: Shifting into My Hero was a total mistake, all those tiktoks you watched on a daily about shifting somehow convinced your brain to take part. Now the question is how to wake up, and most importantly, DON’T GET ATTACHED TO STUPID DRAWINGS!

A/N:

Hi! Welcome to chapter two! I try to keep everything in my story as neutral as possible discussing appearance, economic status, and family dynamics! If something seems uncomfortable to you, or you think I am getting too specific, please let me know!

{ACE MASTERLIST}

Okay, okay, okay. 

Just calm down, all you need to do is find the way to get out of here without another person seeing you. 

Also, find out just WHERE you are. 

Although, after seeing the short girl with the cute little blue bob, you might just have a slight clue. 

The thing is, how are you in a fucking anime? Like that should literally be so impossible but make so much sense at the same time. The way everything is so familiar, the halls, the room, the fact that the building you’re in is HUGE. It just makes sense but at the same time it doesn’t. 

If worst comes to worst, you can always just explain to someone you aren’t from here, but then they would think you’re crazy and probably throw you in a psych ward. 

Ding. 

Shit. Shit. Shit. 

Okay, okay, just act normal. Pretend you’ve been here forever, jus-

“Yo, you good?” 

You bring your face up to see a boy with blonde, or well piss-yellow fits the description more, hair and a little black lighting bolt. 

“Huh? Oh sorry what?” Stop sounding like an idiot! At this point they’re bound to know you aren’t from here!

“I asked if you’re good, you seem a little jumpy. Although, it would make sense after last night. Recovery girl said you were gonna wake up with a pretty bad headache. Speaking of which,” he called out as he started walking away. “There should be some painkillers in the kitchen. Just ask one of the girls, they’re the ones who always take it for some goddamn reason.” 

Oh, okay so apparently you weren't wrong. 

You somehow managed to get into a stupid cartoon. But the question is how...

“Woof!”

You quickly snapped out of your trance to take a peek at Hiro. He was stretching out and whining. 

‘Hey, don’t forget about the food. I’m starving here.’

You decided to follow the way the boy went just to avoid getting lost or something. God knows you don’t need anymore confusion right now. 

Which comes to the question...what happened last night? 

From what you remember, you spent until 3 a.m. watching stupid tik tok videos about shifting and transferring energy and shit. You remember seeing this one girl say you need to believe in yourself and calm you aura down or whatever that means. You couldn’t remember the actually stuff you were supposed to do when you succeeded, but then again you never planning on actually going into a different dimension. 

But what happened here last night? What was the accident the boy mentioned? 

Also weirdly enough, you can’t remember his name, even though you’re pretty sure you’ve watched the show at least a hundred times already and even resulted to reading the manga and some fan fiction. 

You’re obsessed with these characters and storyline, so why can’t you really remember anything? You have a rough idea of the timeline, but nothing too clearly. You are aware that you had a life in an actual dimension, like you can remember your home, and your family, and your neighborhood. You remember almost every scar on your body the the story behind it, and you remember that really embarrassing thing in middle school. So why can't you remember anything that pertains to the stupid T. V. show your stuck in?

God none of this is making your headache any better. You need that Tylenol, and ASAP. 

You make your way into what seems to be a common room, a bunch of people are mingling around, getting breakfast, turning on the morning news and some of them are even reading newspapers. Not a single phone in sight. 

Jesus is everyone here secretly 50 or something? 

You have Hiro walk in front of you, and do a quick little whistle note to keep his guard up. 

Apparently, that whistle happened to catch everyone else’s attention as well. 

“Hey! You took a pretty hard hit last night! You feeling any better?” 

A girl with a brown, short fringe comes up to you. She has a cute little round face, and has two little blush marks etched on her cheeks. She gives you a quick little smile of reassurance and comfort, while also seeming a little concerned. 

Before she's able to get into 6 feet of you though, Hiro starts growling and showing his teeth in an act of dominance. He quickly puts his stance up, and lets her know to back off. 

“Woah, woah L/N! You need to calm your dog down before he hurts someone!”

Some guy in glasses comes up to you. He's kinda stiff, with an undercut and you needing to look up at him, since he’s actually extremely tall. Jesus, he had to be at least 6′3. 

“He’ll back off when people stop pestering me and give me space. You yelling isn’t exactly making it better.” you quickly announce. There’s way too much confusion going on, everyone is caging you and if they don’t quit it, Hiro is gonna go crazy dangerous in a couple of seconds. 

“I need everyone to back the fuck up. My dog isn’t dangerous but he’s really territorial. This can get really ugly, really fast if y’all don't back. the. FUCK. UP!”

“Hey! Okay! Okay! We’re giving you space, but you need to get your pet under control! If he attacks a student, I’ll have no choice but to report you to Mr. Aizawa and have him removed from the premises!” the tall dude with the glasses quickly announces. Jesus does this motherfucker have an off button? “Yeah, yeah. I heard you. Jesus what crawled up your ass and died?” You mutter rolling your eyes. It’s not even 8 in the morning yet, and you have a headache, you’re hungry, your dog is hungry, and you’re fucking confused. 

“Look does anyone have any Tylenol? I’m in a shitty mood and my head hurts like a bitch.” You quickly grab onto something feeling like your gonna pass out any second. 

“Hey you shitty extra! Watch your fucking hands!”

Oh my fucking God. 

[green-eyeddragonfanfiction]

Golden: Part 1

Pairing: Skinwalker!Steve x Reader Summary: After a long day of work, you unwind in your bed and ramble at your dog (a golden retriever named Captain) who, like all non-sentient creatures, listens dutifully and without judgement. But everything isn’t as it seems. Warnings: Blood Word Count: ~1,558 A/N: This is the third Monster!Character one shot for Spooktober 2018! If you’d like to be tagged in other Spooktober stories like this one, check out this post! Send me Spooktober requests for Monster!Character fics you want to see! This request is from Ao3!

Masterlist // The Monster Series Collection // Part 2

By the time you walk in your front door and lock it behind you, you’re practically dead on your feet. The sound of nails clacking excitedly on the floor catches your attention, though, and a half second later a comet of golden fluff barrels around the corner. You can practically hear the cartoon screeching halt sound effect playing in your head as your dog- Captain- comes to an abrupt halt in front of you, pink tongue lolling out of his mouth in a big doggy grin.

You can’t help but smile at him as you slip off your heels, juggling them and your bag so you can scratch gently at his ears. “I’m home, bud. How was your day?” you ask him in your go-to doggy voice.

He can’t understand you, but he woofs quietly and pants happily as he trails you through the halls, close but not close enough to trip you up.

“That’s good,” you said agreeably, eye sparkling with amusement. You drop your bag off on the couch but don’t stop walking, marching tiredly towards your bedroom. You don’t pause except to throw your jacket towards the closet before you collapse into bed, blissful sigh leaving your lips.

The mattress bounces gently and you turn your head to look at Captain, who lays down next to you, just far enough away that his breath doesn’t reach you.

“You wanna hear about my day?” you ask him, knowing full well you’re going to regale him with tales, heedless of the fact that he won’t understand a word of it. He seems to enjoy the sound of your voice and you enjoy talking to a creature that can’t judge you.

But Captain gives you a big doggy smile and whuffs gently, so you take that as a yes.

“Well, Pierce was in a particularly bad mood. He had me running about the office all day after the coffee shop mixed up his order.” Captain whines softly so you absently reach over and scratch gently at his ears. “But then I went to the canteen on the bottom floor and that guy was there again,” you tell the golden retriever, eyes serious. As if sensing this is important, he stills, staring at you with brown eyes. “You remember, right? The one with the blond hair and the prettiest blue eyes ever?” Captain tilts his head to one side and blinks at you, and you frown. “Well, I guess you wouldn’t, would you? Anyway, he was working the register again and I finally managed to get a peek at his name tag. His name is Steve!” you say excitedly, not quite able to stop your voice from growing in volume.

Captain whines at the noise and you quickly scratch at his head and sooth him with long pets down his back. “Don’t be jealous, it looks ugly on you,” you tease, sticking your tongue out at him.

This is apparently the wrong thing to do, though, because a second later Captain scoots forward and licks the entire side of your face.

“Captain, no! Erughk!” you exclaim, trying in vain to shove the mass of fluff and muscle off of you.

He does sit back down, though, mouth open, panting and undeniably happy.

You snort at him. “Glad you see it my way. Bet you’d like that, wouldn’t you? If I brought home one more person to give you pets?” you ask, grinning when he woofs softly. “It’s settled, then,” you tell him. “I’ll ask him out tomorrow!”

Captain’s tail thumps against the mattress insistently, obviously excited because of your tone. Dogs could understand that much, at least.

You smile and crawl underneath the blankets, resolve settling deep in your chest. “Tomorrow, then. Better sleep so I can wake up early and plan my outfit extra carefully.”

Captain, of course, remains quiet as he settles in above the blankets, right next to you. Even through the blankets he’s like a heater and you think that maybe, with him around, you can put off turning the heat on until a little later into October.

“Goodnight, bud,” you mutter, falling asleep quickly. The only response you get is a sleepy snuffle, but you’ve already fallen into unconsciousness.

You don’t hear the howl echoing outside, waking Captain instantly, nor do you hear the low whine in his throat at the sound.

You awake with a screech, a vice-like pain in your arm snapping you into alertness immediately.

Captain was sitting on the bed, staring down at you, jowels tinged slightly pink with blood.

Your blood.

You scramble away from the golden, eyes wide with fear. Never in the time you’d owned him had he done anything violent towards any other living creature (not even your neighbor Ms. McGillucutty’s vicious minpin).

Blood seeps out of the bite and you clamp a hand around it, eager to staunch some of the bleeding.

You half expect Captain to attack again, but he simply stares at you, tail between his legs and head down, whining softly.

“What the fuck!” you cry out, not too loudly, afraid that you’ll startle him into biting again. “Shit,” you hiss, flinching as your arm throbs painfully. The door to the bathroom is open and you long to go in and clean the cut out, but Captain is between you and it and you’re afraid he’ll lunge if you make a move for it.

But then the sound of something cracking- it was a deep, wet sound, that had your stomach turning- makes you freeze.

It’s coming from Captain.

Maybe he was hurt and tried to wake you up, but couldn’t? Is there someone in your house? Was he trying to warn you?

A yelp of pain followed by even more cracking and Captain is shifting- but that doesn’t make any sense- and his hair and snout are receding and his eyes are changing colors and he’s growing broader and his claws are turning into nails and his feet are shortening and within a minute Steve- Steve from the sandwich shop- is sitting naked on your bed, eyes watering.

You’re so shocked that you don’t even flinch as he practically throws himself at you and sobs into your hair, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I had to. I didn’t want to, but we need your help and they didn’t trust that you’d help if I just asked. I’m so sorry, (Y/N).”

“What are you?” you breathe, horror creeping into your voice. “Is this a dream?”

He doesn’t release you. If anything, he pulls you closer. “This isn’t a dream. I’m what humans call a skinwalker,” he admits quietly, voice ever so slightly muffled by your hair.

“You’re Captain,” you whisper, brain not processing the events of the last five minutes at all.

“Yes,” he answers immediately.

“And you’re Steve, from the canteen at work.”

“Yes,” he answers again, voice breaking.

“You bit me,” you mumble into the meat of his shoulder, mind painfully aware of the throbbing in your forearm. The pain is radiating outwards slowly and, deep in the back of your mind, a tiny voice shouts “infection” at you. “Why?”

“They asked me to turn you.” He finally moves back enough so that you can breathe freely. You stare numbly as he takes your hand gently in his and lifts it slowly, brow furrowing as he gives your arm an assessing stare.

Your gaze follows his and you’re shocked to see it’s already scabbed over, dried blood making it look worse that it actually is. “What the hell,” you breathe. “I’m fucking dreaming,” you whisper, light-headed. This was too weird. This couldn’t be real.

But Steve-Captain shakes his head, blond hair nearly falling into his eyes. “Not a dream. I’m sorry,” he says, blue eyes immeasurably sad.

“Turn me. Into a dog?” you whisper, tearing your eyes from your mostly-healed wound (which was still throbbing in a worryingly painful way) to stare at him.

Steve-Captain shakes his head slowly. If he hadn’t just bitten you, you might say he looks pitying, or even gentle. “A skinwalker. We won’t know for sure what you’ll turn into, but we’re guessing a cat or a dog. Maybe a parrot.”

“Why me?”

Steve-Captain frowns. “I’ll tell you tomorrow, but you should sleep for now. The transition is going to take a lot out of you.”

You should have said no. Should have shoved Steve-Captain from your bed and run away. Gotten in your car and driven as far and as fast as you could.

But the whispers of “safe. pack. sleep.” and hundreds of equally-comforting thoughts drift in the back of your mind, and your eyelids grow heavy without you realizing it.

You sink down into the sheets, not caring when Steve-Captain slides in next to you, one arm going around your waist while the other brings your wounded arm to his mouth, pink tongue darting out to clean the blood from your bite mark.

You fall asleep to the sight of tender blue eyes keeping watch over you, big arms shielding you from the world.

When you awake your bed seems larger and you blink and yawn, staring down at Steve-Captain, who’s his usual doggy self.

Maybe it was a dream after all.

You open your mouth to say good morning to him, but all that comes out is a long, plaintive meow.

Part 2

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[dougmeet]

Dog Police 

Nobody knows who you are...until now

Dog Police nobody knows who you are ... until now! PLUS 1-800 WATCH Memphis' Strangest Video https://t.co/JC8H3PADrx https://t.co/eSKKNDYRG3 — mrjyn (@mrjyn) 12 septembre 2019

Dog Police 1-800

I finally became friends with the leader of the Dog Police.

Met him, interviewed him.

The video I uploaded has long since been taken down, but it became my most popular Video

I ever posted at the time...

Thanks, Sam Shoup for your cooperation and kind words....

WHAT THEY'RE SAYING ABOUT DOG POLICE

In 1985, at Memphis studio 485 Hollywood Memphis

The Dog Police

recorded an hilarious song, then video, showcasing their

canine-teeth approach to Memphis music.

Also known as The Tony Thomas Trio, the group featured, Tony Thomas Tom Leanardo

Sam Shoup

Dog Police Comments and info

I thought this clip was lost for eternity. I'm forever grateful and thank you for this gem.

Sam Shoup puppy is from Memphis, Tennessee. the old Shoe Productions. I was there!

Never heard of William Macy.

lly is an entire album of satirical songs called simply "Dog Police". I've been trying to explain this video to people for about 1,000 years. Thank you for confirming the fact that my brain did not make this song and video up.

The keyboard player looks like William H. Macy. My god. It's like Hurra Torpedo, Devo and Blue Öyster Cult got together for a side project. THIS is my YouTube account. We all know that furriers are flapping it to the dog-girl in this video. HOLY CRAP!! I have not seen this video since 198-freakin'-4! I actually came to think that I had just imagined the whole thing. Thank you for providing me with proof that I was not nearly as deranged as I thought I was! i just shat myself in fear I remember "1 800" also.

I thought I was the only one in the world who remembered this video? it took 2nd place behind RAIL in the MTV Video Contest back in like 1982?

THAT DOG CHICK WAS HOT AM I RITE GUYS?

no, you are, in fact, quite wrong, my friend. she was a cat.

Digney Fignus won.

His video is posted on YouTube. Just search for his name and you'll find,

The Girl With the Curious Hand

It makes me remind La Máquina del Rock in Lima city, Perú. Thanks! i do member this.. but i still don't get it i do like the drug fragrance though they said they were the ART BARF FAR ARR This was the video that SHOULD have won the "MTV's Basement Tapes" contest back in about 1982. It is so crazy and imaginative! Instead, some heavy metal group made up of 10 year olds won. GAG... how "cute." It was such a rip-off. This video is a classic! But it came in second place. That has made me mad for all these years. Hopefully these artists have had success elsewhere. The band was honestly called: "The Dog Police!" The band they lost to was called Trak. I remember them because they were featured in LIFE magazine's edition on teenagers in 1984. Google them and the name Derita, because Trak was like a Leif Garrett butt-gawk Partridge Family. I can't find a thing on them. Digney Fignus and Guadalcanal Diary also had entries that year. Dog Police was ROBBED, I tells ya. I totally agree! DP were robbed! The basement tapes were voted in by callers - the band that won had their entire community on the phone that night hitting the redial button. hen this video first came out and MTV was cool, a bunch of us single bachelors had this as our theme song. Woof Woof Woof...were they think-in? glad i was born when DA 80s was nearly over. reminds me of fat weird cartoon cop dog "scruff gruff" 'take a bite out of crime' now we just need someone to post the video for "1-800." Oh man, I never forgot this video, I can't believe I got to see it again. I can die happy now. Totally fucked up, but happy. Truly amazing. MTV used to be so ahead of its time. Basement tapes are YouTube Music 24 years before YouTube ever happened. Dog Police forever! Nobody knows who we are! HOLY SHIT, 20 bloody be damned years i've been looking for this video No shit. I saw this way back in the day and used to tell everyone about it and could never find it. This kicks my uncles ass. actually cut (edited) this song and produced the video and hes in it when the dog police are walking in the bar hes the one dancing all crazy on the far left wow cool! I've totally giggled at him a million times. he actually did a lot of stuff back then he was a camera man for the Mikey mouse club and he did all the audio for hustle and flow and he is currently working on black snake moan fortunately the departments he work in don't make him fa-mouse Are you talking about Andy? Yes I know Andy & Linda very well. Tell him "Wags" said hello. No the work that we stagehands do carries no fame or solaces but quite often, at the end of the day, we end up making more than the performers and, ask your uncle, WE ARE GOD. If I don't like you one little turn of a dial can make your audience not like you tee gee. All you Dog Police fans will be pleased to know Andrew Sullivan linked to this. OH MY GOD! I can't believe it! I've been looking for this for years. GOD BLESS YOU! I was starting to think I made this up in my head. Dear god. I suspected that I'd imagined this for years because I saw it as a tyke and when I tried to explain it to people they would do little but blankly stare at me. I've had the chorus of this song running through my head since 1983. me too. ;) that makes 3 of us. That makes 4 of us. These guys are now playing with The Jumpiness Chi Chi's That is the weirdest thing I've ever seen in my life. Just straight up weirdness. For reals Is this supposed to make women feel badly about themselves? Like the theme of this is 'have a poor self-image' I think. Like you're so ugly you should be arrested. I've been looking all over for an mp3 of this song. Can anyone help me out? i have an MP3 of this song give me your Email and i will send it to you it'd LOVE AN mp3 OF THIS TOO....BEEN LOOKING FOR THIS VIDEO FOR OVER 20 YEARS NOW I actually finally roistered YouTube just so I could echo all the sentiments posted...I thought it was a figment of my imagination also. I'm also glad to see some people remember 1-800 also. The singer looked like a babushka with a corncob planted. Fay and lame. Was there another video from the 80's that has people wearing dog faces? I swear I vaguely remember another video (other than dog police) that involved people dressed like dogs singing. If someone knows what I'm talking about, please tell what the song was called. this video actually WON 1st prize in an MTV contest for unsigned bands. they were supposed to get a record contract out of the deal,which they probably did, but were then just told to forget it. At the time, everybody was shocked to see that they had won compared to more serious entries. But it was a people's vote that put it there, so go figure. Try not to take it too seriously. it's more at home on Dr. Memento or something. i saw that once back in the 80's and never thought it'd see that again. thanks for posting! i remember that... so trash so cool!! I never realized how much this sounded like Devo! I remember it. Dog Police, where are you comin' from? Dog Police, Nobody knows who you are! This also played on Night Flight, where I first recorded it. MTV (Mars candy company TV....those that were there will remember the Quincy Jones war against MTV's biggest advertiser, MARS, because they weren't playing enough Michael Jackson and it was ALL downhill from there)sucked only marginally less than it does now (except for Al TV). thanks for the video! The hubby pretty much thought I was retarded for singing about the Dog Police (he had never heard of them)...now he just pretty much thinks I'm retarded. yo solo se qe si no entiendes lo qe dizen esto es una mierda pintxada en un palo seko.  Saluted. I remember watching this on USA's Night Flight - way back in the day. Thanks for posting! It came close to winning MTV's "Basement Tapes" contest, but it didn't win.

[sarahjane0886]

Begin Again 2

2. "Woof, woof."  The sound of the dog barking startled Peta from her current state. After setting Lottie up, She had gotten into unpacking mode and had been able to empty about 10 boxes. Their living room was starting to look less like a warehouse and more like a home.  "Momma! See puppy!" Lottie said as she abandoned her cartoon and ran to the door.  "Baby, we can't go see the puppy." Peta said as she looked down at herself and realized just how gross she was. And on top of that she wasn't sure she could spend time with Maks without that feeling coming back again.  "Momma! Yessssss!" She said as her lip started to tremble immediately. Peta groaned and looked at the window. Not that she gave into Charlotte all the time however in the span of the past 3 months, she had lost her father, her grandparents went away, and now they moved away from everything that was familiar to her. Peta was trying to compensate in some areas especially while they both adjusted to the move. She had additionally played quite well all afternoon while Peta emptied box after box of their lives.  "Baby, can't we go see the puppy another day? We'll get pizza and you and momma can have a cuddle night?"  "No, puppy, woof." She said pouting as she leaned against the screen door not even looking back at Peta.  "What if we just go say hi?" Peta attempted to compromise even though she knew this was going to be pointless. Charlotte was smart but she was still just two. She couldn't expect her to grasp the "just say hi" thing.  "Walk, puppy, ducks." Lottie said with her hands on her hips. Peta groaned internally. She knew that stance, it was her own stance. It was her don't push me on this stance. "Come on." Peta said scooping her up. She partially prayed that Maks and Louis were already past where they could go with them however she could still hear Louis so she knew that wasn't going to be the case.  "Hi you two." Maks said as soon as they came out of the house.  "Aks! Ewis!" Lottie clapped in excitement. Her mood immediately changing. She squirmed to get out of Peta's arms. She put her down since Maks was at the end of the front yard. She instinctively knew that he wouldn't let her go any further. Not that Lottie would go further since her end game was right there.  "Hi Miss Charlotte." Maks said bending down to greet her. Louis helped as well by greeting Lottie with kisses and puppy licks.  "Ewwwww!" She shrieked in giggles as she scurried back to Peta. "Save me momma!"  "I gotcha sweetheart. I'll save you." Peta scooped her up and held her close as Lottie giggled and buried into her mother's neck peeking out at Maks in the meantime. After a few moments she squirmed to be back down on the ground which Peta granted.  "No licks." Charlotte said holding her hand out to Louis, who immediately tried to lick her. She huffed and pulled her hand back.  "He just thinks you taste good." Maks teased.  "Feed ducks?" Lottie asked immediately changing the subject.  "Are you and momma coming on our walk?" Maks asked looking at Peta.  "Well, I'm pretty sure I'm going to have a temper tantrum on my hands if I tell her no." Peta said softly not completely looking at Maks.  "You may need shoes first...." Maks teased trying to settle her some. He could tell she wasn't too keen on the walk idea. Peta looked at him perplexed but then realized that neither of them were wearing shoes. She groaned for what felt like the 100th time in the past five minutes. "Lottie baby, can you come with Momma to get shoes, then we'll walk?"  "Tay with Ewwis?" She asked sweetly.  "Baby, I can't leave you out here." Peta said.  "I can....if you're...." Maks stumbled through his words as watched his new neighbor. Peta looked between the two of them almost realizing that although she had only known this man for less than 8 hours, she needed to trust him if even just a little bit to assist her. She didn't know anyone else here and support would come in handy eventually.  "Lottie, you stay right here with Mr. Maks. And you listen."  "Tay momma. Lily too?" Lottie asked moving a little closer to Maks.  "I'll get Lily...and a....crap, dinner." Peta said groaning.  "Do you guys do P-I-Z-Z-A?"  "We do, I'm allergic to nuts though so I have to be careful with that."  "Well if it's alright, if you guys did come with me, I was planning on offering to show you around the town a bit. I usually stay away from the main strip but we can walk down to the river and then come back that way so you can see what's around. And there's a parlor on our way that does amazing pies and they are allergy sensitive." Maks rambled slightly.  "We can't take over your whole night."  "You're not, trust me. It's just me and Louis. And we actually didn't, or well I didn't, eat dinner yet either. So it's nothing to stop. They actually have a little patio where we can sit."  "What about Louis?"  "The town is quite pet friendly. He'll be fine to sit with us on the patio."  "Are you sure?" Peta asked skeptically.  "Positive. Go, shoes and Lily? I'll keep an eye on her."  Maks said nodding to Lottie who was giggling as she kept trying to sneak in pets to Louis while attempting to avoid his tongue.  "Thank you. I'll be quick." Peta said before shooting into the house. She grabbed shoes for both of them and managed to locate the backpack they had used on the plane. She threw in a jacket, Lottie's blanket, some snacks and a water bottle. She wiped her arms, legs, and face off before changing out of the dirty, dusty shirt she had been unpacking in. She grabbed the iPad on the way out and shoved that in the bag as well.  "Momma!" Lottie said excitedly as she saw her mother. Peta grinned at the two year old. She was so happy and full of excitement.  "Hi baby, did you listen to Mr. Maks?"  "Yes she did. She even helped me hold Louis's leash." Maks said with a wink. Peta sat down and put Lottie's shoes on before standing up and taking her hand.  "Ready." She said softly, her eyes catching Maks's.  "We don't have to go." He said seeing the hesitation in her. He didn't know her story or what was going on but he felt compelled to protect her and the little pipsqueak between them. Even if that meant giving up time with them.  "No, we do. She'll lose it if we don't. I don't spoil her but.....well........." Peta trailed off. She didn't want Maks to thing that she cowered to the two year olds every request. "I get it. You're in the midst of a move, I would do the same thing. And some things aren't worth fighting."  "Right." Peta said as they started off. The walk was initially quiet with the exception of Lottie's ramblings between the two about all the things she was seeing.  "So where did you guys move from? Wait, I just want to put it out there that anything I ask or say, you can tell me to stop. I just figure if we're neighbors we might as well be there for each other but I also understand if you don't want that. Or well not there for each other. That sounds presumptuous but friends. Acquaintances. Whatever. Do you get what I'm saying?" He was met with the sound of Peta's giggles which were like music to his ears.  "I get it. And I agree. Trust me though, you'll know if I don't want to answer something. I'm quite stubborn, fair warning." Peta said with a small grin.  "Me too. We'll be good friends then. At least we'll both understand the other's view. But so where did you move from?"  "California." Peta said quietly.  "Whoa. That's far, how did you end up here?"  "Well, I needed the distance. Somewhere new for the both of us. And the company that I work for, has a branch out here so they agreed to transfer me and it was a done deal. They actually helped me find the house and helped with relocation costs."  "What do you do?"  "I'm in accounts receivable for a shipping company that does shipping for different countries."  "Fancy. Although that doesn't seem like you. I feel like you'd be more of an active person."  "Well, I....nevermind." She trailed off and Maks got the hint that she was over her side of sharing. He wanted to respect that.  "Lottie, we're almost to the park. You ready to see if we can find ducks?" Maks asked.  "I thought there weren't...." Peta trailed off.  "There usually isn't but sometimes they are far out in the lake. I figure at best we can see them. She may not be able to feed them today though."  "Oh, that makes sense. Wait, we don't..."  "They have feeder stations with bird food. I figured if there were some there, we could just use that. Most people who live here take bread or crackers but they do have the feeder option there."  "Oh. Okay. You got this all figured out." Peta stated sheepishly.  "We walk every night. As long as I've been here and well as long as I've had him. So, not to be presumptuous but you both are always welcome. Saturdays and Sundays I do tend to go earlier in the day which is when the ducks are close." Maks explained watching her out of the corner of his eye. "Thank you. I don't know how it will work when I start working but I'm sure Lottie would love doing this sometimes."  "Anytime." Maks said smiling as they entered the park.  "Ducks?" Lottie asked looking up at Maks.  "We have to go by the water. They might be far away though okay?"  "No feed?"  "We'll see. We may just have to tell them hi."  "Pet baby ducks?" She asked and Peta knew what she was thinking of.  "Uhh....." Maks trailed off looking at Peta for assistance.  "There was a duck family near the pond where we lived. My husband would take her all the time to feed them. At one point there was 6 ducklings and they were so used to us that they would come right over to her and she could pet them. I think she's asking if there will be babies here. Right Lottie, you want to know if you'll see baby ducks?"  "Yes. See babies." She said stopping and holding her hands up for Peta who scooped her up and settled her on her hip.  "I don't know if there are babies here are not miss. We'll have to look. I know there's big ducks and then geese sometimes." Maks explained as they made it to the water.  "Ducks!" Lottie yelled quickly startling both Peta and Maks. They both looked and near the edge of the water, there were about 6 ducks standing there. There weren't any babies however, Maks was just shocked that there were actual ducks there.  "That is the ducks sugar." Peta said smiling at Lottie's excitement.  "Aks! Ducks!" Lottie said reaching for him, throwing both him and Peta off for a second. Maks easily accepted Lottie and Peta took over Louis's leash.  "Let's go get you some duck food. If that's okay with Momma?" Maks said looking at Peta to see if that was okay.  "Yeah, here, you said you need quarters?" Peta said reaching for the backpack.  "My treat. It's my fault you're here and I have a good feeling you're going to be here way more frequently. The feeder is right there, we'll be right back." Maks said pointing to the bubble gum machine looking contraption and scurrying off before Peta could protest.  "Louis, do you like ducks?" Peta muttered to the dog as he tried to get closer to the water. Maks and Lottie returned quickly, Maks with a cup full of bird food and Lottie with the biggest grin ever.  "Momma! Feed Ducks!" She said clapping. Maks chuckled and nodded for Peta to follow the two.  "You are going to feed the ducks baby. Be easy remember?" Peta reminded as she and Louis followed behind.  "Kayyyy. Aks help me!" She said looking at Maks and Peta could already see the bond that was already forming on Lottie's end. Ever since Ollie passed, she hadn't had much male presence in her life. However, prior to his passing, she had spent countless hours with her father. Then after Ollie passed both Peta's parents and Ollie's parents had stuck around to help for a month. Lottie had gotten lots of grandfather time too. Peta knew even at her young age, she was already needing to fill that missing father void especially because she didn't know why exactly she no longer had that.  "I'll help you little miss." He said with a grin checking back to Peta to make sure it was okay. He could sense that this could potentially be a problem area with Lottie gluing to him however he still felt this normalcy with the situation. Peta nodded her head letting him know it was okay. They spent the next 45 minutes  feeding the ducks and letting Lottie and Louis run around and burn off some steam. Maks showed Peta where the playground was for the future if she ever brought Lottie alone.  "Momma." Lottie whined as she appeared next to Peta's feet. She and Louis had been running around and playing while Maks and Peta watched on.  "What's wrong baby? Are you hungry?" Peta said knowingly. She leaned down and scooped her munchkin up. She saw that it was 7:16 which was quite past their normal dinner time. "Do we want to head to pizza?" Maks said calling Louis over to him.  "Yeah, she's probably starving. We snacked on some stuff however it's way past when we usually eat dinner. "It's actually really close and they are really quick." Maks said as he snapped Louis's leash on and they headed out. Peta managed to distract Lottie as they walked by showing her all the shops and people walking on the streets. There was also a lot of art and decor to look at. Little Maks listened with admiration at what a good mother she was. Once they arrived at the pizza place, he went up and ordered after discussing with Peta. She kept Lottie and Louis with her. Maks came back with a number and drinks.  "Here baby, here's your milk." Peta said handing Lottie the milk that Maks had brought back. Lottie took it gratefully and settled back into her mother as she waited for her dinner. They had argued again over who was paying for dinner. Maks won the argument saying that it was basically like his casserole dish to his new neighbor. Peta eventually relented but mainly because Lottie was getting hangry and she didn't want to be dealing with her temper tantrum in the midst of the restaurant.  "They said less than 10 minutes." He said pouring Louis some water in a dish he had pulled out of his pocket. Peta looked at him strangely. "It's a portable bowl. Basically folds up and smushes."  "Oh. I've never....but you were right, they are fast."  "Yeah, and delicious. It's been my favorite since I've been here."  "How long have you been here?"  "2 years."  "And what brought you here?" Peta said as the pizza arrived. She got Lottie's pizza cut up into bite sized pieces with some salt cheese before she helped her get situated and started on her own slice. "Well, my family owns dance studios and we opened one down here. We went through 3 managers before deciding we just needed a family member to stay there for awhile and manage things until we got their feet off the ground. My brother was at the start of his career and so I was the one nominated. It was only supposed to be here for 6 months until we got some good management in and got things flowing however it's been 2 years and I'm still here."  "Why?" Peta asked perplexed.  "I don't know, I just kind of fell in love with the area and culture. I go to visit my parents usually twice a year and then my brother as well."  "Interesting. What kind of studio do you have?"  "Our initial theme was ballroom for adults however recently we've started adding children's classes as well as minimal ballet and tap. Ballroom is the main focus though."  "Ohh, I honestly wouldn't have pegged you for a dancer. I'm assuming if you help manage a dance studio that you dance."  "I do, I've been in quite the number of competitions and yeah.... How about you? Have you ever danced?" Peta instantly froze and her face went white. Her brain started to fly on what needed to come out of her mouth. Lottie however distracted the whole situation by letting out a disgruntled whine.  "What's wrong baby?" Peta said looking at her daughter. She realized she had finished off her pizza so before she turned her around she wiped her face and hands quickly, earning her a second whine. Peta turned her into her so that she could talk to her. "Aks, want aks." She whimpered as she rubbed her eyes. She twisted against Peta trying to turn to look at Maks. Peta caught the eye rub and knew what the majority of the issue was. "Someone is sleepy I see. Baby, Mr. Maks is eating his pizza like you were, why don't you snuggle with Momma?" Peta tried to suggest.  "No, aks, Lottie want aks."  "I can take her Peta, I don't mind." Maks said softly.  "I...." Peta hesitated again. She couldn't throw her child at the random neighbor even though they had spent a lot of time together that day. Her child who was currently a hot mess as well. "Akssss." She fussed again.  "Come here Lottie." Maks said seeing Peta's struggle at just passing her child off to him. Once she was in Maks's arms, she buried into his chest and settled some.  "Lily." She mumbled into his chest as she got situated. "She's going to fall asleep on you." Peta said softly as she found the stuffed kitten in the bag as well as Lottie's blanket. She passed the objects over to Maks. He gave Lottie the kitten and then wrapped the blanket around her shoulders. His hand mindlessly rubbed her back. "Honestly, I don't mind. As long as you're okay with it. I grew up around a lot of children and I helped as much as I could. I actually miss this feeling to be honest. And when I teach at the studio I usually do the minis. She's good, I promise, like I said, as long as you're okay with it."  "I think she misses her dad." Peta said looking out into the street.  "Can I.......?" Maks asked unsure if he could step that far into the boundaries.  "He passed away about 3 months ago. 97 days to be exact." She whispered as her eyes filled with tears.  "I'm sorry." Maks said softly as he rested his hand on hers. She however jumped and moved her hand away as quickly as she could.  "I....I'm sorry." She muttered once she realized what she had done.  "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have touched you. It's obviously still really fresh." Maks said gently as Lottie  took that final deep breath and snuggled into Maks. She was officially out.  "It is. I just, yeah."  "Do you want to go?" Maks gestured towards the table since they had clearly stopped eating in the midst of everything.  "Yeah, I should get her into bed. I know this whole experience has been a lot on her. I need to work into getting back into her routine." "She seems to have a great mother though. I know from experience routine is important but the mother thing and solid base, that's pretty high on the list." Maks said gently as he stood up easily to not wake up Lottie.  "I'm trying. We've had some support up until recently but they all had to return to their lives and homes, understandably."  "I think you're doing a great job. And I know you're here and new and all of  this is overwhelming. But I hope you know that I'm just right next door if you need anything. I won't overstep or be demanding but you can just know I'm here."  "You don't even know me." Peta said softly as they started their walk. She had taken Louis's leash and the bag since he had her daughter.  "I don't, and you could be the exact opposite of any person that I would usually associate with but I can't explain it. I feel the need to....not so much as protect or help you but just to be there. And not in anyway more than friends. And I know that's probably more than you can handle right now but so I just want you to know I'm here. I'm sure there's going to be times when you don't know where things are or just need an ear. Just don't hesitate to reach out. And not because you aren't competent but just because I know it's overwhelming. And it's just you and Lottie here and sometimes you need more than 2 year old rambling."  "Maks....." She trailed off as they arrived at their houses.  "I'm sorry. That was a lot and it's your first day here. You haven't known me for more than 12 hours and yeah. I just, just know I'm here. And I'm not a creeper or a murder or any of the above."  "Don't those people always say they aren't those people?" Peta said with a partial smirk.  "Ummm, I guess so." He said with a grin.  "Exactly. But thank you. I do appreciate it. I can't promise that I'll follow through namely because I'm slightly stubborn and just kind of a hot mess lately but I'll try to remember it." She said with a gentle grin as she watched him.  "That's all I ask. And I have a good feeling, this one will remind you of where the doggy and aks lives." Maks said as Lottie shifted into him.  "You're good with her. Thank you for that. I can take her now. I have a feeling you are correct though, she's attached to you both quickly." Peta said as the two switched Lottie into Peta's arms. Maks followed her up the stairs to help her with the door.  "She's easy to handle. She's a sweetheart. I meant it when I said you're doing a great job with her. I haven't been around her that much but kids her age can't fake a personality much." Maks said.  "Thank you, that means a lot. Honestly. And thank you for earlier or well all of today. For both of us. It's nice to know we do have someone nice on our side."  "You definitely do. Like I said, anytime, I'm right there." "Thank you. Goodnight Maks."  "Goodnight Peta."  **That's a wrap on this update. Probably moved a little quicker than normal life but have you ever met someone and just knew that they were safe and you could trust them and they were put there for a reason in your life. That's kind of what I want to go for with this, in a Nicholas Sparks style. I hope you all enjoyed this! Don't forget to like it up and let me know what you thought in the comments.  Also, I know I keep promising I'm going to get my stuff together and write more and it keeps not happening but I promise it will. I'm getting there. Family life and obligations are slowing down and I'll have more time to do some writing. Thank you for holding this out for me.

[viralhottopics]

Under President Trump, well enter an age of global confrontation | Timothy Garton Ash

A narcissistic bully will face nationalist leaders just as dangerous. Prepare for a direct clash with China

Donald Trumps arrival in the White House reflects a wider phenomenon: a new era of nationalism. He joins Vladimir Putin of Russia, Narendra Modi of India, Xi Jinping of China, Recep Tayyip Erdoan of Turkey and a score of other nationalist leaders around the globe.

While it might be unfair to describe Theresa May as a nationalist, her announcement that shes going for ahard Brexit reflects the pressure of English nationalism on the British right, and will encourage the nationalism of others. Of course, eras of nationalism are nothing new. But precisely because we have experienced them before, we know that they often start with high hopes and end in tears.

For now, the nationalists are giving one another the Trumpian thumbs-up across the seas. Paul Nuttall, the Ukip leader, says he is massively excited by the advent of President Trump, who in turn tells Michael Gove in the Times that he thinks Brexit is going to end up being a great thing. In a photograph that should become notorious, the Brexiteer Gove gives Trump a sycophantic thumbs-up, with a curiously goofy expression on his face, making him look like a teenage Star Trek fan who has caught 10 seconds with Patrick Stewart. The vice-president of Frances Front National responded to Mays Brexit speech by declaring: French independence soon. And so it goes on.

This world of mutually reinforcing nationalisms is also one in which both the relative power and the internal coherence of the west are being eroded from both sides of the Atlantic. The deterrent effect of the United States Nato security guarantee to Europe is being undermined from Washington itself.

Meanwhile, we have had the amazing spectacle of the leaders of Russia, Turkey and Iran getting together to make a cynical deal over Syria. Erdoan-supporting Turkish commentators revelled in the fact that neither the US nor Europe was even at the table.

Looking at the photograph of the three leaders shaking hands, I was reminded of DavidLows famous cartoon of Hitler and Stalin greeting each other in September 1939, raising their caps and making courteous bows to each other over the body of a dead soldier, with Hitler saying, The scum of the Earth, I believe? and Stalin, The bloody assassin of the workers, Ipresume?

To be sure, whenever you so much as mention Hitler theres an instant risk of hyperbole. The warp and woof of interdependence and liberal international order is significantly thicker now than it was, going into the 1930s. Thats why the Leninist nationalist Xi Jinping spoke at Davos as a defender of an open, globalised international economy. He knows that his own countrys economic performance, and therefore the stability of his regime, depends on it.

The way in which the representatives of these countries talk about international relations is in many ways more reminiscent of the 19th-century world of sovereign great powers pursuing their own national interests. Im writing this column in India, and came across some recent remarks made by Indias foreign secretary, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, that illustrate this perfectly. Faced with the prospect of Trumps America cosying up to Putins Russia, he observed: With Russia, Indias relationship has actually grown very substantially in the last two years, as has the bonding between our leaders. An improvement in US-Russia ties is, therefore, not against Indian interests. That is the sober, realpolitik kind of nationalism.

But by their very nature, nationalisms are likely to clash sooner or later. Thus Mays insistence that Britain will leave Europes single market puts her on a collision course with Scottish nationalists, who have a referendum mandate for saying that Scotland wants to remain in the EU and certainly in the single market. Moreover, 21st-century nationalisms exist in a high-pressure ecosystem of 24/7 media coverage and public scrutiny that would have appalled Bismarck, Disraeli and the tsar of Russia. Even authoritarian rulers such as Putin and Xi are riding the tiger.

By far the most serious of these potential clashes is that between China and the US. In his confirmation hearing, Trumps new secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, compared Chinas programme of island-building in the South China Sea to Russias annexation of Crimea, and said the new administration would tell Beijing: Your access to those islands is not going to be allowed.

Meanwhile, in India the commander of the US Pacific command, Admiral Harry Harris, warns: India should be concerned about the increasing Chinese influence in the region. If you believe that there is only finite influence, then whatever influence China has means that influence India does not have. A zero-sum game, then.

Now this is partly just the familiar dance of great powers competing for influence with each other and with third parties. But the risk of an accidental naval or air confrontation somewhere in the South or East China seas is far from negligible. And then the question would become: do Trump and Xi have the wisdom, statecraft, sound advice and, not least, domestic political elbow room to step back from the brink?

This is where Trumps irascible, bullying, narcissistic character could be such a liability. On the other side, the personally much steadier Xi has staked so much of his legitimacy as core leader of Chinas party-state on his China dream (ie making China great again) that he would be under pressure not to back down. Whether the cause is psychological, political or both, so-called strong men often feel they cant afford to show weakness.

No, Im not predicting the third world war. But a 21st-century variant of the Cuban missile crisis? Entirely possible. So lets have no illusions. Up on the magic mountain in Davos, Trumps smooth-talking mouthpiece Anthony Scaramucci tries to persuade us that everything is going to be fine. He says the path to globalism for the world is through the American worker (unpick that if you can), and that Trumps disruptive change is going to be a positive thing in [our] lives.

Dont be fooled; dont be Scaramuccied. We are in for a dangerous, rough ride over the next few years, and wed better be ready for it.

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from Under President Trump, well enter an age of global confrontation | Timothy Garton Ash