#Things To Do in Knott End on Sea

[littlemantravels]

Saturday Night at the Workies - oops "Sports & Social Club"

#SaturdayNight "Out, Out" - it all happens down at the former #KnottEnd Working Men's Club - now known as Knott End Sports and Social Club. Nothing has changed - only the name: it's still a normal Saturday Night at the Workies agenda.

Check out the description in the YouTube shorts video below: This is "Junction 27" a Trio, performing at Knott End Sports and Social Club (formerly Knott End Working Men's Club). The club is in Over Wyre, across the River Wyre opposite #Fleetwood, #Lancashire - on the #FyldeCoast.

The format of the evening is exactly the same as your usual Working Men's Club - starting off with a few rounds of Bingo, followed by the visiting Live Entertainment hired for the evening for the first 45 minute spot (21:00 - 21:45). Bingo > Tote Double Draw > Raffle Ticket Draw > Flyer (more Bingo) > Open the Box. At 23:00hrs the entertainment returns for their second spot of the evening - another 45 minutes and generally a couple of extra songs for the encore.

The second half is usually when people get on the dancefloor, although artistes often encourage people to dance in the first spot, if they want to do so.

This video was recorded during the second, and final part of the evening of Saturday 12 August, 2023.

[karaloza]

Legend of Zelda Theme Park - Undeveloped Ideas

More theme park stuff! This time around, I’m listing some things that I would like to include, but haven’t been able to develop well enough to make “official,” so to speak. I would welcome any ideas my readers might have in that direction.

Desert Area

There is one major recurring environment type that’s missing from the park as it stands, and that’s the desert. The reason for this is twofold. First, the existing themed areas make a nice compact shape, fairly symmetrical and logically arranged with respect to each other. I can’t figure out a place to put the desert that wouldn’t look like an awkward tumor grafted onto the side.

Second, I couldn’t come up with many ideas for attractions in the desert—in the games, such areas mostly seem to be traversal challenges, with hazards along the way that make traveling difficult, but not much to see or do until you get to the dungeon or other destination at the end. And in the real world, deserts mostly are not considered very nice places to visit, unlike forests and waterways and mountains. I bounced around a couple ideas but wasn’t able to make much of them:

A sand-seal racing ride. Pretty much taken directly from the minigame in Breath of the Wild, with ride vehicles shaped like a seal pulling a sled, carrying riders at high speed around a track whilst being threatened by monsters. Fine on its own, but I felt it wasn’t distinct enough, tone-wise, from the other thrill rides I had already developed in more detail.

Kara Kara Bazaar. A colorful mini-district of shops and eateries, to get in some Gerudo cultural flavor while maintaining the worldbuilding detail that where men and boys are forbidden from visiting Gerudo Town itself.

Gerudo martial arts show. Taking place in the Bazaar, this would be a procession of Gerudo performers (tall female athletes with serious abs—what a casting call that would be!) through the area ending at a small stage where they would put on a demonstration of Gerudo combat techniques.

You’ll notice that I haven’t been able to get away from the BotW/TotK desert for my inspirations, which is part of my problem. Hopefully I’ll overcome the block and a fully fleshed out desert area can be added to the park!

Great Sea Water Park

As you’ve read through my theme park writeups, you may have noticed few or no specific references to games like Link’s Awakening, Wind Waker, and Phantom Hourglass. This is because the base setting of these games—the ocean and/or islands—is different enough from “standard” Zelda that I couldn’t figure out a graceful way to merge them with the overall themed pastiche. So I decided the best way to include them was in a “sister” waterslide park such as many theme parks have right next door (Six Flags Hurricane Harbor, Knott’s Soak City, LEGOLand California Water Park, etc.).

The only problem here is that...I don’t have much experience visiting water parks. When I was a kid, swimming/water fun outings took the form of a) the beach or b) my grandparents’ swimming pool. I remember one trip to a park called Wild Rivers, but not many details—slides, wave pools of varying intensity, a “river” encircling the whole thing where you could spend two hours drifting on the current in an inner tube… It’s not enough for me to make generalizations about water parks as a phenomenon or design my own.

Nonetheless, I think a water park would be the ideal expression of those sea-focused games—slides themed around places like Dragon Roost Island and Mount Tamaranch, pirate ship playgrounds, maybe a flume ride or two, the Windfall Island Ferris wheel… Besides the aforementioned games, features could draw inspiration from seaside areas in other games such as Lurelin Village and the Great Bay (leaving Zora’s Domain in the big park to focus on freshwater.) There’s potential here, I just don’t have the chops to work it out in detail.

Tarrey Town Suites

Another thing you often find in association with theme parks is themed hotels, extending the experience for multi-day guests. This is especially appropriate for Zelda, because have you ever noticed how many of the games begin with Link literally waking up in the morning? And of course inns and taverns have become a common feature in the games, starting with the Stock Pot Inn in Majora’s Mask. I opted to make that one a restaurant in the theme park because of the name, but there was still plenty of material to inspire a hotel, and I soon realized that Breath of the Wild introduced not only unique inns for each of its fantasy races and communities, but a concept for gathering them all in one location.

Tarrey Town Suites would not be a single hotel, but a complex of buildings, each one themed to a different people—Hylians, Sheikah, Gerudo, Gorons, Rito, and Zora—and offering a different aesthetic and vibe for leisure. Common hotel amenities such as a gym, spa, swimming pool, etc. would be divided among the “inns” appropriately (but available to all guests of the Suites, not just the ones staying in the same inn).

Of all the ideas in this post, this is the one I’ve given the most serious thought; I’m just not quite ready to declare it solid.

Something Something Ancient Technology

The Legend of Zelda is traditionally a medieval(-ish) fantasy series, but some of its more recent installments have leaned hard on the trope of “ancient people were way more technologically advanced than us, actually.” The ancient Sheikah and Zonai tech of Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom, respectively, leap easily to mind, but there’s also the Ancient Robot civilization in Skyward Sword. It’s enough of a phenomenon that I feel like it should go somewhere in the park—or the resort, as it’s becoming with all these ideas—but how best to manifest this particular theme?

One possibility is...Tarrey Town Suites. In Tears, Tarrey Town is adjacent to the Hudson Construction Site, where the locals retrieve Zonai devices that fall nearby and experiment with them to create powered vehicles. So maybe the hotel activities could include some small rides or other attractions centered around funky fantasy tech.

That’s all for now. Thanks for reading!

[popculturebuffet]

Sam and Max Beyond Time and Space Retrospective: Moai Better Blues (Patreon Review for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy freelance police and welcome back to my look at the sam and max telltale games! We're onto season 2 episode 2. After a little christmas in august we're having a science fiction double feature for halloween as this review ended up behind due to a new member of the family.

This is Maddie. She's 5, she's precious, she's very loud , and she's very attached to me.

But even new fluffy good girls with spangly collars can't stop the march of sam and max.

Following up from our heroes adventures in the north pole, this ep finds our heroes dealing with an adventure that's weird even by sam and max standards. And I want to let that sink in because we spent last season stopping a child star hynosis crime ring, starring in a one episode sitcom with a british chicken don knotts, inflitrating a mafia chuck e cheese, running for president against a horny lincoln memorial, murdering the internet and finally facing down with a sentient plankton colony via psychic powers and magic tricks on the moon. And that's not even getting into that guy who would never put his hands down. What was his deal?

So what lies in the greatest mountain of sam and max madness? Stoned Moai, triangular portals, sea monkeys, ghost godlfish, baby jimmy hoffa and horny statue love triangles. So join me under the cut for the madness.

We open with our heroes returning from the North Pole a month after the previous game, with it now snowing, providing a nice atmosphere to things. Before they can get back to the usual banter some fresh nonsense comes in: A triangle chasing their beloved friend Sybil.

It has a neat design too, red, pulsating with lines... it's an excellent triangle all things considered. B+

At any rate we need to stop it, so we go to the wisest sage for weird shit there is: Bosco. It's a nice way to keep him still useful while not having him be one of your item guys. Bosco is getting ready to bunker down from T.H.E.M.

But tells our hero their new foe is a bermuda triangle, an eldtirch shape that sucks people up to another place, and can only be stopped with most of the shapes. Most.. never come into play and are just for a good joke, like blue polyheadrons making them really want to roll them dice and maybe start a live play with a dungeon master with long hair and the voice of god.

The important one is red hexagons stop them.. and the game was REALLY unhelpful with this one. I did have my hints flavor blasted up to the maximum max could do without bursting a kidney.. but he just kept saying the shape and outright told me to go back to the office.. where it entirely wasn't. WE do have a new trophy though, boxing betty. So.. that's nice?

The solution lies in Stinky's diner, where i'd gone earlier since the Cops can't do buisness over the sound of screaming. Amateurs. Stinky can though even with the racket outisde and gives us a granite sandwitch that i'm pretty sure just.. sat in my inventory all chapter. Seriously you don't relaly use it for anything even when you think it'd be obvious like replacing a stone max's ear, and it's more just to set up getting a basalt sandwich from her later. It's on the kid's menu only though.

She is useful in that she has a stop sign for you and with some spray paint from your headquaters, you can make it deep red. Before we go though another beloved supporting character makes a cameo: Flint Paper. I just love how despite being grizzly and willing to beat up random strangers for money, as are we, Flint just.. cheerfully greets our heroes with a hey fellas every time. He's just so happy to see our heroes and they have a deep genuine admiration for him. Like with Sybil in the first episodes, it's nice to see someone our heroes actually like and unlike Sybil, it's nice to see there's at least one person they haven't traumtized. Yet. He's watching Bosco for Bosco's Mom who'se understandably worried about her son because you know, his whole deal.

For now though we go to stop the triangle in the name of love... only for hilariously this all to be mostly pointless as once Sybil stops, Abe shows up , gets sucked in and she goes after him. It's off to Easter Island!

Turns out Sybil and Lincoln are fine and are just enjoying the nice weather. Once again.. this is a dead end puzzle wise as the two are just there to move their subplot along. Unlike the sandwich though, it's at least entertaning.. and mildly creepy as Abe perves on one of the moai present.

Why the bermuda triangle lead to easter island.. is not something we'll be getting into here. What matters is the moai see sam and max as their savior. Well the middle one, a kindly lady moai abe's creeping ion, is. The left one has half his face buried and is contstantly upset, projecting storm clouds when pissed off that are naturally useful, and the right one is

And is largely useless, mostly just sniping at you.

Each has a power of the elements: Rain for the buried one, wind for the nice one and earth for the pedantic douchebag. The fire one was sadly was scattered to the winds long ago, but he did leave behind a son at least to carry on his legacy

At any rate before we can use the powers of nature itself for fun and profit, we have some problems: As it turns out the nearbye volcano is about to erupt and murder them all due to some understandable but tragic errors

Problem is someone's guarding his lair... and if you haven't played the game yourself, I warn you: You are not remotely ready. I sure wasn't. So whose in our heroes way? Why it's Jimmy HOffa in the body of a baby!

Yeah... look I love Sam and Max for being so gloriously weird. Weird as hell is one of my faviorite kinds of humor as long as their's direction behind the chaos. But It's still easily the biggest what the fuck moment the franchise has thrown me so far and that's with this happening last chapter

Granted I got spoiled there is some sort of payoff to the Mariachis via a thumbnail, and there is some actual logic behind this.. but even for this franchise "Jimmy Hoffa whose in the body of an infant because he drank too much from the fountain of youth pointing a gun at yoU" is a bit much. And more to the point they NEVER explain why he's working for the episodes big bad.

I.. can't help but love it though BECAUSE it's such a uniquely stupid swing: they had this idea, found a way to have it logically make sense and then put it in the game in full, all while giving us a ton of great jokes as Sam cannot ressit teasing him on the fact he's a baby.

We'll deal with this teamster later, for now we meet the other rugrats on this island: Amelia Earheart, DB Cooper, and The LIndburgh Baby... .

Their mostly here to set up a surfboarding mini game which frustrated me. It's not the game itself, it's a fun enough little distraction if fairly hard to get the analogue controls down on my switch version. It felt like the kind of browser game i'd play as a kid.

My annoyance.. is that the game dosne't tell you that you get nothing for it until you've triggered the right story event. So I went through the whole thing for nothing. Thankfully I also enabled mini game skipping.... I still will TRY not to use it often as these are part of the game and thus need to be evaluated as much as the point and click parts, but in this case i'd already done the actual task so when it asked me to again. As for why again, the trick to getting rid of our little friend involves serving him a drink, using a tiki glass you can pick up at the bar those dumb babies are at. But he'll only take union waitstaff, so you have to play the game to get cerfitied by him. IT makes about as much sense as it sounds. Ah back to normal for this franchise.

To actually do anything though we need some fountain of youth water unfortunately there's something in it

So to take care of them we have to complete a few other tasks

First is the COPS. As i'm guessing is standard for every chapter,we have another driving VR Game from them, this time a fun rythum based one with the beats going as you drive on them. THey thought it'd change the world.. those poor dumb bastards. It's clearly a jab at guitar hero, but it's a decent challenge while still being a lot of fun.

With that we get a car horn and that's the key to our next puzzle: We need to help Glenn Miller, a wwII era band leader whose also now a baby, stage his comback by giving him that new sound he's been looking for. Since the horn plays i've been workin on the railroad, it's just the ticket. He just needs a whistle sound, which you easily get by dumping some gasoline disguised as a drink into a nearbye fire, setting off a tea kettle. He gives you a conch with the single recorded on it. Apparently The Bermuda Triangles also visited skypeia.

Using the dial, we can finally solve our pirahana puzzle.. in theory. In practice it's utterly frustrating if you can't figure out the trick, not helped by Max CONSITENTLY telling me to use the thunder storm moai.

Breaking it down: using the glen miller dial conch, you play it for the nice moai, which gets her whistling. Now when you tick off her half buried friend next to you, which naturally max does with ease and maybe too much glee.. in fact i'm starting a " Going to Hell For This" counter, for each time we ruin someone's life, torture them or what have you to progress, or just for funzies, as we did it a LOT last season and so far have done it a lot. Now I"ll make acceptions for say outright villians or people who deserve it. And even then it'/s about proportions. For example, pelting the soda poppers with urine and bleach? Acceptable, their the soda poppers. Need I say more. But even if Jimmy Two Teeth sucks a LOTTT, nearly driving him to unalive himself is a bit much, not helped by Max's reaction essentially being

He certainly thought it hard enough. So we'll count that one, still keeping leonard hostage after almost a year, sending santa to hell (even if he was possesed), and not bothering to actually help save christmas. So going into this episode we have

Things We're Going To To Hell For: 4 And we can add from this episode taunting that poor moai.

Things We're Going to Hell Fort: 5

So I assumed both from the hint ONLY mentoing the moai , who creates a little storm cloud when uspet and the wind we were supposed to blow it at jimmy hoffa. Instead... it does nothing. It just dissipates if blown too far and never gets near him. Instead we use the portals, which are frustrating as the game makes it clear the two near the entrance are connected.. but dosen't make it clear EVERY portal is connected this way.

The solution is to open one by the fountain of youth, then open another next to the underground moai, have the good moai blow the cloud and boom, a LOT of dead pirhanas and a free fountain of youth. Also

Things We're Going To Hell For: 6

And with that we can use the glass to scoop some up, give it to hoffa... and blink him out of existance. THings We're Going To Hell For: Still 6 (He Deserved It Yo) It's REALLY sad when killing someone by making them age themselves out of existance isn't the worst thing we've done today. Or even this month.

This event also moves along Sybil's subplot for the season and who boy. Strap yourselves in because I haven't seen a character nosedive this fast in many moons. So the whole episode, Abe and Sybil have been picnicking, only doing that on Abe's suggestion.. and only so he can oggle the middle good moai. Yeah after several episodes of at worst being out of touch and mildly annoying.. abe's somehow lept straight to the bottom and is perving on someone right in front of his girlfriend and THEN asks her to have plastic surgery to look more like the moai.

Sybil runs off in tears.. and SOMEHOW, SOMEHOW, this gets worse... as Abe THEN tries to hit on the moai. To her credit she shoots him down fast and we get a great response out of him, a casual "that's fair". So he's still funny he's just WAY more of an asshat. I mean granted we just committed two murders in a row, so i'd SAY we can't judge.. but those murders were to save a LOT of lives from death and were of a bunch of fish and a murderous infant man.

Anyways with this we enter our final puzzle set, continuing from the formula laid out last time. Sadly.. they also fall into a fairly trite, terrible stereotype. It's forgivable enough for the time.. but it's still pretty tone deaf. I can't blame them for fixing it as unlike the various lines corrected for save the world, this is a large part of the plot and thus really coudn't be futzed with.. but it's still not great.

Okay so for our final stretch our heroes run into your standard tone deaf "the natives are stupid and belivie anything is their god" plot only this time it's sea monkeys.

Yeah.. they.. really coudl've thought this one out a bit more. We have to convince them max is their god/chosen one/whatever instead, in order to replace an old advesary: Mr. Spatula, sam and max's goldfish whose mad he's died and thus is willing to take an island with him. Now you may recall, even if I didn't name him last time, he died. And he did. THIS IS HIS GHOST.

So to prove ourselves we have to do three tasks. The first is easy and I stumbled into accidently: We have to make the water into BANANG!, an energy drink powder bosco happens to have a lot of.

To get it away from him, we have to torment him.. again. This time we simply radio in, claim to be THEM

And Bosco goes deeper underground, there's too much panic in this town. So we got the powder.. but we also traumtized a friend for life so

Things We're Going To Hell For: 7

Next is adding an ear to a rock formation that looks like max. Once again the sandwitch is useless.. except as a clue. We finally need that basalt sandwitch for kidz, so it's time to use the fountain of youth water on ourselves.. and ONCE AGAIN the game gets frustrating as you transform back very fast from drinking it. The trick is to use a gong I honestly forgot about in Stinky's diner max reminded me of. I can't tell if I just suck at adventure games or this is poor level design.

Anyways we get the Basalt and get a really funnys equence with douchecanoe moai as it turns out dude just needed to blaze it and basalt gets moai REALLY good and fucked up. With that he casually laughs and dislodges a stalctite we use to finish the max.

We then finish this section. The stone feet of the buried moai are needed to anoit us. Also yes they have hands and arms stuck in there. We simply use the shell again, this time on a portal next to the best moai , she whistles, he taps his toes and we win. Kinda.

Problem is the island's still errupting with Mr Spatula planning to take us with it. The only way to stop it? Some clever puzzlery. We get a high preist medallion from the Sea Monkeys, dip it in some red slime, then shoot the triangle, using the portals to send the red triangle through it , eating the lava.. and presumibly murdering someone but we won't worry about that. Our ride home is gone though but Abe offers a lift while the moai celebrate.. before being sad they can't move. Then their abducted by what seems to be aliens!

Moai Better Blues... is a very mixed bag. The writing as usual is hilarious, and while it's a very

Sort of chapter, it's a FUNNY sort of what the fuck is this, from the various babies, to the black comedy shenanigans as usual, to our heroes riding out on Lincoln's head. It continues episode 1's mean streak, but the weirder setting and more over the top weird black comedy bits like unexistinsing hoffa help it feel far less opressive than last time. The deaths and what we do to bosco are way more over the top. Even abe and sybil's breakup, acompained by the mysterious maraichi's, is more funny than genuinely sad. I DO feel bad for Sybil, but abe is such a dick and he gets karmically punished for it as the moai lady SHARPLY rejects him, multiple times if you want, and he looses Sybil.

Gameplay wise.. it's a lot more obtuse. A lot more relying either on memory (Which isn't good for me but is at least fair) or hoping you figure it out and with most of the max clues being way less helpful. It's a pretty meh chapter all things considered and hopefully as we get spooky next time, we also get back to our quality. Speaking of which

Next Time: VAMPIRES! Just in time for the season. And since it's the 2000's their angsty emo eurotrash vampires! Oh BoY! Thanks for reading!

[kaitycole]

chapter one: does she know?

Summary: Two little friends have always desired one thing: to end up as siblings. So when the chance presented itself after a finalized divorce, who were they to decline such an opportunity to finally bring their parents together?

Pairings: Bokuto Kōtarō x f!Reader

Word Count: 2572

Warnings: Angst. Fluff. Mentions of divorce, cheating, cussing

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters portrayed in this series. Part of the @babythotshq​ Dearest Daddy Collab

Tags: open (send me an ask to be added!)

February 2025

“DADDY!”

Frowns fill the faces of those who look at the small girl yelling as she works her way through the sea of people to the court. Where are her parents? Riddle the faces of those around, but she pays no mind, she’s on a mission and there’s nothing that’s going to get in her way.

She screams out again, but this time stops halfway when she sees who she’s been looking for. A large smile spreads across her lips as she starts sprinting across the wooden court.

“Daddy!” She cries out once more and this time he hears her.

His round, golden eyes find her matching ones and he immediately stops whatever conversation he’s having, dropping into a squat with his arm extended outwards, just in time to catch her as she throws herself into his arms.

She wraps her arms tightly around his neck, barely allowing him room to pull her backwards just long enough for him to place a kiss on her forehead. She quickly realizes the mistake she’s made before pushing against him, telling him that he needs to shower. With a loud, hearty laugh, he puts her feet back onto the court before ruffling her hair.

“I am so sorry, Bo.” You start to apologize, “She took off and there are so many people.”

He waves you off before looking down at his daughter, who already knows what he’s going to say. “Seiko, you know better. What do you need to tell Y/N?”

“I’m sorry Y/N.” Seiko puts on her best apologetic face, poking out her bottom lip to added effect.

You laugh, shaking your head looking at the golden eyed little girl whose hair matches her mother’s brunette hair instead of Bokuto’s wild mix of colors. “Thank you, Seiko.”

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt

You slip the phone out of your back pocket before rolling your eyes at the name on your screen before pressing the side button twice; sending the caller straight to voicemail. Bokuto cocks his head to the side, having watched the whole ordeal, but before he can question your actions your son grabs his attention.

“Uncle Bo you looked so awesome!” Your son Haruki exclaims as he eagerly jumps up to give the volleyball player a high-five.

“I did, didn’t I?” Bokuto throws his head up victoriously while you and Seiko just roll your eyes.

*                      * “Careful, careful. Hold on to each other!” You call out to Haruki and Seiko as they run down the sidewalk and into a small café near the stadium. It had become somewhat of a tradition to eat there after a game or at least the games you and Haruki could attend. Seiko and Haruki are still talking a mile a minute as Bo opens the door for everyone.

Sometimes you couldn’t help but wonder if they were best friends because they were born just a few months apart and raised almost like siblings or if it had anything to do with you and Bo being best friends. You had met by complete accident; you had gone to your locker to get a textbook when you saw a boy with crazy colored spiky hair trying to open it.

When you questioned what he was doing trying to open your locker, he looked completely puzzled before stating it was his. You debated it for a few moments before he handed you the paper with his locker number and combination. You pointed out his locker was in fact the one next to yours, causing him to laugh. After that every day you were greeted with a very enthusiastic ‘hey hey hey’ and were attached at the hip. That had been 16 years ago.

The four of you pile into the same booth as always with you sitting across from Seiko and Haruki across from Bokuto. Your son absolutely adores the wing spiker and has been begging you to let him start playing volleyball too, but your husband doesn’t think he should.

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt

You quickly click the button on the right side of your phone, this time just silencing it instead of sending it to voicemail.

“Are you getting excited to see your mom, Seiko?” You ask after the waitress takes everyone’s usual orders.

She beams, “Yes! She said we can go No Very Farms!”

You look between her and Bo confusingly before he corrects her ‘No Very Farm’ to ‘Knott’s Berry Farm’ and explaining that it’s an amusement park in California. It still surprised you to this day that Bokuto ended up having a kid with an American journalist. Mostly because there was so much mystery as to why they didn’t end up together.

You’ve seen them interact on several occasions and they always seemed to get along really well. You understand that some people just don’t work together, but Bo and Jess were great. They even had an adorable how we met story, but alas they didn’t end up together.

“And Mommy said we can take lots of pictures to mail to Daddy since he’s gonna miss me.” She giggles.

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt

“Aren’t you gonna miss me?” Bo looks at his daughter who is still giggling as she shakes her head no. He places his hand on his chest and gasps before turning away from her, pretending to cry.

“I’ll miss you daddy, please don’t cry!” Seiko tries to throw her arms around his broad shoulders but her arms just aren’t long enough to wrap around his muscular form. She whispers repeatedly that she was just joking before he turns around, wrapping her into a hug.

This will be only the second time since finding out he would be a dad that he’d be apart from Seiko for more than a few days. Being a professional athlete meant that he spent a lot of time traveling, but those trips never lasted longer than five days. The first time was when she was two and he was gone for two weeks, this time she’d be gone for two months and he’d miss her fifth birthday. Jess has already promised to live stream her party and Bo had already mailed Seiko’s gift to Jess so she’ll be able to open it on her actual birthday, but it still feels like the end of the world.

Bzzzt Bzzzt Bzzzt

“You can answer that if you want.” Bo offers, “If you need to step outside, Haruki won’t mind sitting here with us.”

Haruki smiles up at you, “Yeah Mom. Your phone has been going off since we left home.”

You shoot your son a look, the ‘you shouldn’t have said that’ look which causes him to sink down in his seat. Truth be told you don’t want to answer the phone, you have nothing really to say to the person on the other end, but you didn’t want to ruin your outing with Bo and Seiko either.

“It’s fine. I can just get it later.”

Bo drops the subject as Seiko and Haruki begin talking about Seiko’s trip some more which includes promises of souvenirs, handwritten letters, and daily video chats.

You look at your phone: 6 missed calls, 3 voicemails, and 18 missed text messages. All from Nakajima Youta, your husband. As you sit there, staring at the excessive amount of notifications, your mind begins to wonder.

*                      * It was an early autumn day, the kind where it wasn’t too chilly but the overbearing heat of the summer was long gone. You sat in a room, surrounded by your mother, friends and future mother-in-law as they all chatted away about how beautiful everything looks. You fiddled with your engagement ring as your mother pinned your hair up, pressing her cheek to yours as she smiled at you through the mirror.

There was a knock at the door and your mother was shocked to see it was Youta who had his hand over his eyes.

“Youta? What are you doing?”

“It’s bad luck to see the bride, but I just need her for four seconds.”

A smile twitched on your lips as you walked over to him, “What’s going on?”

He removed his hand from his eyes, but they are tightly squeezed shut as he awkwardly moved his arms around before finding your face. He stepped closer before he pressed a chaste kiss on your lips, his thumb gently stroked your cheek.

“What was that for?” “This will sound lame, but I’m kinda nervous and I figured you were too. Thought it couldn’t hurt.”

You saw him smile before turning around so you could shut the door before he opened his eyes. Your mother and his began to talk about how sweet that exchange was. Followed by them wondering how you were remaining so calm when they had been complete messes before their wedding. Then it hit you that you were extremely calm, not once had you thought of bolting or canceling the wedding which to you was strange. You get nervous about a lot of things, you second-guessed a ton of things, and here you were with nerves of steel.

Two weeks later

“Mommy!” Seiko bounces up and down, glancing up at Bo with a huge smile on her face. Jess flew in so that she could attend a volleyball game with Seiko before heading to California. The original plan was for Bo to fly out with Seiko, but a last-minute change to the MSBY game schedule disrupted the plan.

“Hey baby girl!” She scoops the little girl up in her arms, spinning her around. She peppers her face with kisses as Seiko squeals, wrapping her arms around Jess’ neck. “Hey Bo.”

“Jess!” Bo wraps Jess and Seiko in a hug before placing a quick kiss on her temple. He grabs her bags as Seiko refuses to be put down; claiming she was too tired to walk. The family of three walk through the airport and make their way to the parking lot.

The ride back to Bo’s apartment is filled with Seiko asking her mom all about California, the same thing she’s asked her every night since she learned she was going. It doesn’t matter to Seiko that her mom has already told her the same thing, it’s different because this time her mom is sitting next to her instead of telling her through a screen.

*                      * “Can we watch a movie?” Seiko asks as Bo and Jess finish cleaning up the kitchen from dinner.

“Of course.”

“YAY!” Seiko screams before running up to hug Bo and Jess then takes off to find the movie she wants to watch.

“She gets that from you.” Jess says.

“Her adorableness? I know.” Bo sticks his tongue out and Jess throws the towel in her hands at him. The kitchen fills with laughter as Seiko comes running back down the hallway, DVD case in hand.

“I want to watch this one!” Seiko holds up Coco; it was her favorite movie lately which Bo was thankful for, he was tired of watching The Lion King 2.

It wasn’t even 45 minutes into the movie and Seiko was asleep on Bo’s lap, his shirt tightly gripped in her little fist while Jess’s head is rested on his shoulder.

“Jess?” Bo whispers, not wanting to wake their daughter.

“Mm.” She hums, half asleep.

“She’s asleep. Want to tuck her in with me?”

She nods against his shoulder before sitting up, stretching the best she could; her body heavy with sleep. Bo cradles their daughter in his arms as they walk into the four-year old’s room; it’s decorated in fairy lights, purples and grays with owls everywhere. She has books on the floor, she said she had been doing research for her and Haruki’s next adventure and crayons littered her desks with drawings she had done to take to California.

Jess pulls the blanket over Seiko, pressing a kiss to her forehead before the little girl turns over to get comfortable. Bo turns off the light after making sure her nightlight is plugged in.

“You’re really good at that.” Jess says as she curls back up on the couch, Bo getting himself a glass of water.

“Turning off lights?” He laughs when she rolls her eyes.

“At being a dad.” She smiles, “I never really did thank you for how great you were with all of this.”

He just shrugs, “I couldn’t imagine having a kid with anyone else.”

A wide grin spreads across her face, “Really? No one? Not even someone with a son? A son who is best friends with Seiko. No one else? Huh.”

Blush faintly covers his cheeks as he clears his throat, “She’s married Jess. Plus, we already talked about that, remember? When we met?”

*                      * October 2018

“That’s all we have time for today. A special thank you again to Bokuto Kōtarō and congratulations on the win.”

The cameraman signaled that they aren’t live anymore before the brunette let out a sigh.

“Are you okay?” Bokuto asked.

“Oh.” She started to fiddle with the microphone cord, “This was my first interview, I’m new to Japan.”

“Well you did great!” He exclaimed, holding up a hand for a high-five. The woman looked at him like he’s crazy but complied.

“Thanks. Ah, so did you.”

Bo smiled, “Jess, right?” She nodded. “I can show you around if you want.”

She shook her head, “Oh no, I couldn’t impose like that.” Bo waved her off, “I really don’t mind. I think it’ll be fun.”

“Only if you’re sure. I have a guidebook I don’t mind using.”

Bo scrunched his face up, “Those don’t show you half of the best places.” He asked for her phone and put his number in. “Just let me know when you’re free and we’ll work it out.”

She smiled, going to speak before you ran up to Bo whose expression had changed; it was no longer just a polite look but one of adoration. His eyes appeared softer and the way his face lit would melt anyone’s heart.

“You did so great out there!” You throw your arms around him.

“Thank you.” His cheeks turned red which didn’t go unnoticed by Jess, “Y/N, this is Andrews Jess, she conducted the postgame interview.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Nakajima Y/N.”

“It’s nice to meet you too.” Jess said, feeling a tad bit awkward and blurted out the first thing she could think of, “You two make a lovely couple.”

“Oh no. No no no.” You shook your head, “We’re best friends. I’ve known Bo here forever.”

There was a slight shift in Bo’s demeanor but a shift nevertheless when a wave of sadness washes over his expression. He almost seems to have stiffened at the word ‘friend’ and somehow his hair seemed to have deflated. Jess tried not to think too much into it, she doesn’t know him or them at all.

“Y/N! Y/N!” Hinata waved from across the court.

“Hinata!” You waved back before heading over to meet Hinata.

“Did you see my spikes!?” He jumped up and down, “They were all swoosh bam!”

Jess looked back to Bo, “This is probably way out of line, but does she know?”

Bokuto frowned as his attention went back to Jess, “Does she know what?”

“That you have feelings for her?”

“I don’t…” He stopped when he saw the same look in her eyes that he’s seen in his, “No. She just got married.”

Previous/ Masterlist /Next

[comfyswitcherblanketfort]

Geralt and the Minotaur p3

Y’all this could get hella complicated if I go hard with all the character sub ideas and all that but I’m here for the relationship so its gonna be bare bones on combining the canon bc I’m just not that skilled as a writer 😂 

Pairing : Geraskier

Warnings: talk of human sacrifice, talk of cannibalism, ye ole impending death, mention parents death, imprisonment, public humiliation (kinda), we got major soft boys falling for each other vibes too

part 2 here!

__________

Geralt woke with his head still resting on Jaskier’s thigh, though he was now lying on his side, resting his head against Geralt’s hip just above the dagger tucked in his belt. He had draped his arm over Jaskier’s waist as they slept, holding him closer, and Jaskier’s arm was resting on Geralt’s chest. It was still dark and, from the sounds of it, everyone else was still asleep save a few soldiers at the helm. The waves had settled to a gentle lapping at the hull and Geralt found himself completely relaxed and at peace for the first time in weeks. His hand rose and fell in a gentle rhythm with Jaskier’s breathing and every now and then the blue eyed boy would sigh, bringing a soft sleepy smile to Geralt’s face. He didn’t dare move, lest he break the spell, but someone else woke from a nightmare with a scream that shattered his illusion. 

Jaskier hummed and nuzzled into Geralt’s hip before he was fully awake, making the prince blush furiously and gasp. Sure he’d fallen asleep with friends and romantic interests back home, but that sensation was… different. 

“Is it morning?” Jaskier mumbled, not moving to sit, but at least the nuzzling had stopped. 

“Probably,” Geralt answered, resisting the urge to run his hand over Jaskier’s shoulder, “still early.”

“You haven’t been lying awake all this time have you?”

Geralt forced a breath out his nose in amusement, “Only a few minutes or so.”

Jaskier sat up, laying his arm over Geralt’s, keeping it wrapped around his waist as he moved to be able to inspect the young hero’s face, “You still look… weary.”

Geralt frowned, shifting so he was leaning on his elbow over the boy’s legs, still very much resting on him, “I wonder why?”

Jaskier smirked, “Is it true you’re a child of Poseidon? Why not sink the ship and we can all ride horses made of sea foam back to the mainland?”

Geralt cast his eyes down to the deck, “They’d just come back for more. It doesn’t matter who’s son I am or what favor I do or don't have.” 

"Pull the weed at the root." Jaskier nodded. 

Geralt hummed in agreement, sitting all the way up to lean against the mast next to the brunette, "What about your family? Anything exciting waiting for you at home?"

Jaskier hooked his arm around Geralt's and rested his head on his shoulder, "Doesn't matter." 

"Does to me." Geralt mumbled, a little taken aback by the physical affection. When Jaskier rolled his eyes he laid his hand over his knee, "Humor me." 

They sat and waited for the sun to rise over the water as they discussed Jaskier’s life. His parents death, the farm he worked for his uncle, the mundane little things like how often he gets sent to the market and who cuts his hair. They learned each other's birthdays as a joke, but the hopeful side of Geralt still repeated it to him a few minutes later just to be safe. Jaskier asked him about life at the palace, if it was as grand as everyone believed. Geralt felt squeamish admitting he didn’t know, seeing as he'd only really lived in the lap of luxury. Sure his trek to Athens was dirty and many nights he slept in barns, but most of his 20 years were spent in bright white togas and tunics with colorfully stitched hems. Jaskier didn’t seem bothered, he just asked more specific questions about the beds and the fountains. He pontificated for a while on the poor musical choices made in a performance at the amphitheater last summer and did his best to explain to Geralt how to delicately pluck a harp using a lock of his white hair as a prop. Joking was easy, being earnest wasn’t quite effortless, but it was easier than with other people, and Geralt lamented that they’d only met yesterday. 

“Do you think you’d’ve given me the time of day?” Jaskier asked.

Geralt grinned, giving the brunet's leg another squeeze, “You wouldn’t have given me a choice.”

Jaskier rested his chin on Geralt's shoulder, his hair fluttering into his eyes and glowing gold as the sun began to peek over the waves, "Probably not, no." His voice was soft in Geralt's ear, the warmth of his breath made the hairs on the back of his neck stand at attention. 

Geralt turned to look at him, their noses brushing. He was about to ask Jaskier something reckless and naive, no doubt born of desperation, but the moment was broken by shouting. 

"LAND" Echoed from various soldiers and strangled sobs broke out in response. Reality was once again stubbornly planted in the forefront of Geralt's mind and he forced himself to pull away. His heart beat furiously in his chest as he stood to get a better look. 

Someone gripped his elbow and spun him around, staring up at him with wide eyes full of terror, "You can do it, can't you? You can get us home?" The harsh whisper seemed to carry over the whole group, commanding their silence and attention as they formed a circle around him. 

Vessimir's parting words echoed in his head, he was a leader now, he had to act like it. His year of lessons and training and taking notes were over and he knew right then that even if they made it back, he'd never have a day of peace again. 

With a glance back toward Jaskier he nodded, "I will bring us home or die trying." 

The person's grip on his elbow tightened and he stared back at them with what he hoped was reassuring confidence for a moment before they released him, "Do you have a plan?" 

All his preparation could never have braced him for the absolute devastation on the group's faces when he hesitated. In the fraction of a second he took to open his mouth they knew. Only Jaskier seemed to accept the facts and take them in stride. 

"All I know for sure is that we need to make it out and back to the docks by dawn." Geralt's admission was met with curt nods from some and fresh tears from others, "I'm sorry." 

Jaskier pipped up, stepping into the center of the small crowd with Geralt, "You volunteered to try to save us. We need no apology." He sent a glare to someone about to speak in protest, cutting them off, "It's more than we've had in the last 18 years and I, for one, am grateful." 

Geralt gave him an appreciative nod but their theatrics were drawing attention from the soldiers. He shooed everyone away, not sure he could handle another altercation this close to the soldiers homeland where they'd have something to prove to onlookers.  

As they drew nearer to the shore they heard shouts of laughter and music, saw banners waving in the wind and people dancing around the port. They were throwing a festival. A festival of revenge and dominance over their enemies, where people who would have been sacrifices delighted in the activities. It made Geralt's stomach churn. 

Jaskier stood next to him as close to the bow as they were allowed, "Twisted, isn't it? And they wonder how we so readily believe they eat their brethren." 

Geralt took his hand, searching for anything to ground him as the fear crept up his neck and threatened to strangle him, "Monsters never think they're monsters." 

"You like being cryptic don't you?" Jaskier sighed, keeping his eyes forward as the festivities grew clearer and clearer. 

Geralt only shrugged in response. 

Soon enough they were all corralled by the soldiers with shouts and shoves. They tied Geralt's hands first, yanking on the rope so it burned into his wrists. The man was watching his face, waiting to see him wince or twitch. He gave them nothing. The end of the rope was then tied to Jaskier and so on until they were all lined up, hands bound in front of them and linked like sausages. 

When they docked there was a heavy drum roll, fitting for the captives in line behind Geralt trembling. The plank was lowered by soldiers in what had to be ceremonial dress and when they stepped back the drummers hit one last beat, leaving the whole crowd silent. 

At the front, surrounded by soldiers and standing on a throne made to be carried, was King Minos. His eyes were cold and calculating, and it was clear he was declining in health, but he still invoked fear with his gaze. There was no doubt to any rumors anymore. Geralt was sure this man was capable of absolutely anything. 

The Queen sat in a similar throne, next to them was their daughter, walking but flanked by guards. She didn’t take her eyes off Geralt as they prodded him down the plank. Her eyes were soft, betraying the rest of her face set in a hard mask of disapproval, and she made no effort to hide her ogling. Geralt stared right back, never one to back down from a challenge, until they were ushered past the royals into the crowd. The citizens were far more animated. Some threw food scraps at them, some jeered and gestured rudely, others spat, though they all blamed the 14 young men and women before them for the death of a prince before they were even born. 

They marched through winding streets and up set after set of switchback stairs to reach the palace dungeons. The guards were having their fun with Geralt in the lead, shoving him around when they needed to change direction and tripping him when they passed a large crowd. 

When they finally reached their cells they were shoved in, two to a cell, and the rope was cut. They had to hold their arms through the bars for the soldiers to cut the knotts. They took the rope with them when they left, leaving only bread and water on the bed and one torch lit hanging outside each cell. It was dreary and cold, and Geralt could hear the others crying.

Jaskier broke the loaf of bread in half and tossed it to Geralt, taking a long pull directly from the pitcher of water, “Eat. No arguments.”

__________

part 4 here

tag list: @hailhailsatan @so--many-fandoms

hmu if you want tagged 💕 I will cry tears of joy in my coffee

[descendantofthesparrow]

Daughter of the honorable thief - harry hook x reader - part  10

thanks to @musicarose​ who commissioned me to continue this series! without them i probably would have taken much longer to write the next part! 

=

Thankfully the week of quarantine had stayed as a week of quarantine, none of the students showing any signs of sickness or poisoning illness.

So as the next week reared its head, students began to return to their classrooms, food once more being served in the dining hall.

The investigation against the atter had proved fruitless, the source of the toxin had not been found, disappearing soon after the vks had evacuated.

Though you still hung on it, someone had tried to hurt your friends and thousands of people alongside them in the attempt. And the attacker had not been caught, and there were no leads to them.

Though it could be- no, not possible, they hadn't come on the trip with the rest of you.

You felt someone sit on the bench next to you, so you sat up and looked to them, seeing harry staring off in the distance.

“Harry?” he hummed, “are you okay?”

“I jus’….” He muttered, eyes lowering to the ground “I jus’ feel like it was my fault yeh know? If I wasn't there maybe Knotts wouldn’t have been attacked” you punched his arm, he yelped and looked at you surprised.

“don’t you ever say that again, I can guarantee, that if any vk were there, it would have happened, and even if IF” you stressed the if “it was because you were there, its not your fault that someone did that, they have some sort of personal vendetta against a vk, that’s their problem, not yours, now if you talk like that again I will punch you with friendship!”

Harry burst out laughing a the tail end of your sentence, clutching his stomach and tears springing to his eyes. “yeh sure are something (y/n)” he chuckled, giving you a soft smile.

“Thanks, hook” you laughed, standing from the bench and offering your hand “come on, dinners soon” he took your hand and stood, not bothering to release your hand.

=

A boy in the shadows growled, his hand gripping the stone wall tightly. “hes corrupting her, that disgusting pirate” he hissed, smirking as the shadow next him whispered.

‘soon he will be a thing of the past, and she will realize that you have been there for her all along’

“hehe” he chuckled, his green eyes flashing purple “all mine…(y/n) you will realize that you were meant to be mine”

He back into the shadows, his goal clear in his mind.

=

“so” uma interrupted the conversation, placing her try between Harriet and erza, sitting down and waving her fork in the air “any ideas who attacked the park with that mist?”

The group shrugged, picking at their food.  Your phone went off, you took it out and glanced at it, a bright smile blooming on your face.

“hey erza, mom and dad are setting up a kingdom festival with a ball, next month!” erza looked up from her food and beamed.

“the annual festival! Oh my gosh! Ohh!...oh god I gotta bring a date” erza muttered in horror as she realized her mother would pester her about a date.

You laugh sighed and shook your head “same here, except aunt broomhilda would bug me about it”

“what's this about a festival?” Gil interrupted, finally looking up from his eggs.

“once a year the king of England throws a festival for every village and town, and he visits one every year, mom just texted me that hes visiting us this year, as my moms his niece.”

“cool!” gil smiled “can we go with you!”

You paused, eyes widening “Oh hell yeah! That would be awesome! You all could come with us! And to the ball as well!”

“That sounds fun” Harriet smiled “it would be nice to go…after last week it would be a good sprit lifer”

“agreed” erza cheered “so its settled, we all go to the festival!”

“yeah!”

The group clanked your cups together.

Erza side-eyed uma, an idea blooming in her mind.

‘im gonna ask her to be my date to the ball’

She smiled to herself, spying the teal sea horse in umas bag.

=

“uh oh” you muttered, stopping in place, harry, uma, and gil stopping with you.

“whats up (y/n)?” uma asked, placing her hand on your shoulder, you pointed over by the lockers.

There was a girl, long brown hair in an end ponytail, her green eyes scanning the students, and picking at her peach nails.

“whos tha’?” harry asked, stepping away from the girl's eyesight, he didn’t like her energy.

“Lila” you snarled, walking over to your locker and ripping it open “she broke erza down and tried to ruin her, she's an abusive manipulative bitch”

“what did she do?” uma asked, rage starting to grow in her chest.

“im not the one to tell, but she hurt erza in a way I couldn’t forgive, almost killed her….if she tries anything, come get me and I'll punch her for you” uma chucked and nodded.

“and warn Harriet and the others, just so she cant get a footing, most everyone here already knows about her, I want all bases covered so she can't get anyone on her side”

Uma harry and gil nodded, saluting you “yes mam” harry teased, you rolled your eyes and pushed his shoulder.

“Alright, let's get to class”

=

Uma found Erza in the bathroom later that day, on the curled up on the floor, holding her head in her hands.

“erza!” she dropped her bag and slid down next to her “what's wrong are you okay?” “Lila” erza sobbed, gritting her teeth, “she-she” uma wrapped her arms around her, pulling erza into her side.

“What did she do to you!” uma pushed.

“no-no, she didn’t do anything…today” erza shook her head “just seeing her….kinda set me off and I-I couldn’t stay around”

Uma slowly nodded and helped erza stand “alright, let's get you to your room, ill text (y/n) alright?”

Erza nodded, leaning into uma as she helped her out of the bathroom.

=

You sat on your bed, erza laying in between your legs, your fingers brushing thought her hair, and putting mini braids into them.

“What is this amazing show called again?” harry asked from the floor, eyes locked on the tv.

“avatar the last Airbender” you responded.

“I love it”

“I thought you would” you chuckled, patting Erzas head and leaning back on your hands.

“so when the festival by the way,” uma asked from her spot on top of harry.

“next month,  starting the fifth and it goes on till we run out of supplies, a ball on the first Saturday of the festival”

Uma nodded and turned back to the tv “how we getting there?”

“probably car, or plane, don’t know, moms gonna set up transportation” you shrugged, popping some m&ms in your mouth.

“Alright,” uma muttered, rolling off harry and standing to go to the bathroom.

“I can't wait” Gil exclaimed, “I've never been to a festival before!”

“you'll love it” erza laughed “its got food, games, tournaments, shows, shops, sword fights!!” Harry perked up, looking over to erza with a grin.

“yeh had me at sword fights.”

You burst out laughing, erza giggling with you.

“of course it did” you snorted, flopping back on your bed and closing your eyes.

--end of part 10--

permtaglist

@queer-cosette​

@sephiralorange​

@lunanight2012​

@random-thoughts-003​

@daughter-of-the-stars11​

@amorathegamingkitsune​

[rhiannonjenkinstsang]

Sun Kissed Kids by Rhiannon Jenkins Tsang

(Alamy Stock Photo)

So much has been lost. We exist in little bubbles floating on a wider sea of collective shock, grief and loss. At such a time it is difficult to write about the small things, an indulgence perhaps?

At first it was an itch, then an ache, a sense that something was not right with the seasons this year, although the gardens and the crops in the fields were doing just fine. It took me a while to work out what it was that was missing. It was the cricket.

I grew up in a house that backed onto the village cricket pitch. The spring would bring out the rollers and the mowers. Next the men would appear, dressed in white, shadows through the trees. The crack of leather on willow accompanied by their shouts were the music of our garden summer. At the end of the season we’d triumphantly return a collection of lost balls to the club house. And we children would play too. We did not realise how lucky we were. On long evenings, we would knock in our stumps on the outfield and squabble about which hero we were going to be; Alan Knott, Greg Chappell, Clive Lloyd. Me, me, me! The village field wasn’t completely flat and curved downwards to the sides giving the impression that we were standing on the top of the world. As the Dads finished work we’d be joined by them too. What a sight we sun-kissed kids must have been with our wild shots, LBWs, dropped catches, over throws, and mis-fields, tearing all over the field! We only had one bat and we’d throw it before we ran. Remember doing that?

“Slog it! Six! Catch! Howzat! Run! OUT!”

This year with Covid 19, it’s not so much the big international matches down at my famous local ground Trent Bridge that I miss, but rather the annual rituals of a rural cricket summer: the children, dressed in whites that are too big for them, going to the club on a Friday night for cricket practice; the bigger boys, full of confidence and swagger, hauling their bags for away matches and cricket tours; the buzz of radios in neighbour’s gardens as they listen to Test Match Special; and most of all just sitting on the grass on the edge of the field watching a few overs.

What is it about cricket that I love and miss so much? A few years ago a groundsman at Trent Bridge invited me to walk out into the middle of the world famous ground. As I stood there in the middle of the empty ground, I was a little girl again out on our village cricket pitch on a long summer evening, full of the sense of freedom and excitement, a feeling that anything was possible given a bat a ball.

[spadyblog]

Remembering Emancipation

“This Day” - May 20, 1865

The Historic Knott House Museum - Tallahassee, Florida

Clifton P. Lewis, May 20, 2019

​

“…And upon this Act, sincerely believed to be an act of justice – warranted by the Constitution upon military necessity – I invoke the considered judgment of mankind and the gracious favor of almighty God.”

As he closed the Proclamation, Abraham Lincoln asked for our “considerate judgment.”

And yet, 150 years later - the late Dr. John Hope Franklin wrote that “the Emancipation Proclamation is seldom remembered and widely misunderstood.”

Today, we are here to remember – and to seek a better understanding.

The Proclamation’s evolution is deeply ingrained within the cauldron of the American Civil War. Any understanding the essence of Lincoln’s Proclamation requires an understanding of its relationship to that awful war.

My aim here today is to unpack events relating to that bloody war - and paint a broad-brush story highlighting Lincoln’s shift toward emancipation, his decision to issue the Proclamation, and - most importantly – the significance of this day.

During the time when Lincoln was elected in November 1860 - and nearly six months later when he was sworn into office in March of 1861- seven slave states had already left the Union and formed a new Confederation.

Why did they leave? Well, in the Confederate’s Articles of Secession, they wrote… “Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery… the greatest material interest in the world.” The reason was clear.

President Lincoln explained that his Inaugural Address was devoted “entirely to saving the Union – without war.” And to save it, he was even willing to straddle the fence and tolerate slavery where it already existed

Lincoln closed that 1st Address with a plea for reconsideration, he said: … we are not enemies but friends… and he called upon the mystic chords of memory and… upon their better angels.

But, the Confederates would not reconsider

And so… those mystic chords snapped - a fateful shot was fired - and secession became war.

Soon, a total of 11 of the 15 slave states left the Union. The imperative to keep the other 4 Boarder states within the Union greatly influenced the strategy of the war and Lincoln’s path to issuing the Proclamation.

The fierce, no-holds-barred, incendiary fighting - caused Lincoln to realize that even if the fighting stopped, there could be no lasting peace – not as long as the Nation remained a part-slave / part-free polarized hybrid.

And so, Lincoln’s tolerance of slavery began to tilt toward emancipation. Recalling his earlier statement that “a house divided against itself cannot stand” - he insisted that “the house will become all one thing - or all the other.

Lincoln’s decision to pursue the bloody war based on freedom - seemed to reflect the words of Julia Ward Howe, which says: “…as He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.”

And later, in his Gettysburg Address - Lincoln confirmed his shift toward emancipation when he said that he was “highly resolved that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom.”

Lincoln came to realize that the only way to end the bloody war - and save the Union – was by ending slavery. Lincoln’s transformation was not based solely on moral principles; no, the horror of the war pushed Lincoln to his new position.

As an example of his transformation, Lincoln signed legislation in April 1862 – which freed over 3,000 slaves in the District of Columbia. Interestingly, the slaveholders in Washington received compensation of approximately one million dollars for those freed slaves.

That was 7 months before Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, and Washington, D.C. was the only jurisdiction where monetary compensation was actually paid for emancipation.

“Gradual and Compensated Emancipation” was the means by which Lincoln wanted Congress to end slavery. But, Congress would not pass the legislation

Consequently, Lincoln turned to his executive power; he informed his cabinet in July 1862 that he planned to issue an order emancipating the slaves.

Lincoln said that his decision was firm - because “he had a talk with his Maker – and God decided the question in favor of the slaves.”

One cabinet member warned that freeing the slaves and allowing them to join the Union Army – at a time when the momentum of the war was not in favor of the Union - might be seen by foreigners as an act of desperation – as if “the Union was reaching out to Ethiopia, instead of Ethiopia reaching out to the Union.

Accepting the wisdom of that advice, Lincoln agreed to delay the order until the momentum of the war was more favorable to the Union.

The momentum shift that he had been waiting for occurred on September 17, 1862, that was when the North and the South engaged in a vicious battle near Sharpsburg, Maryland - at a creek called Antietam.

The Battle of Antietam resulted in over 23,000 casualties, and was the bloodiest one-day battle of the entire war; it produced the momentum shift Lincoln had been waiting for

Five days after Antietam - on September 22, 1862 – as promised, Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation

Stripped of all legalism… plain and simple, Lincoln’s proclamation amounted to an ultimatum to the Confederates… stop fighting and rejoin the Union within 100 days - or he would free the slaves in all areas that remained in rebellion.

Lincoln wrote that his Proclamation was “issued upon military necessity.” And, because it applied to states that were in rebellion, he was compelled to exclude the 4 border states of Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware - because those 4 slave states remained in the Union.

Just a few weeks before the January 1st deadline – Lincoln sent a lengthy message to Congress – wherein he asked - one more time - to pass legislation. The President again explained his “Gradual and Compensated Emancipation” proposal.

The tone of that December 1862 message was far different from his previous message of appeasement – this new message left no doubt about his determination

Lincoln said in part, “…The dogmas of the quiet past, are inadequate for the stormy present. The occasion is piled HIGH with difficulties, and we must RISE with the occasion. As our case is new - so we must THINK anew, we must ACT anew; WE must DIS-ENTHRALL ourselves, and then we can save our country.

Lincoln continued – “We know how to save the Union, and the world knows that we do know how to save it; …by giving freedom to the SLAVES, we preserve freedom to the FREE. Honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve, we shall NOBLY save - or MEANLY lose the last best hope of earth…”

In spite of that plea, Congress still refused to pass legislation ending slavery.

The night before the January 1st deadline – Frederick Douglas and others – gathered in Boston on New Year’s Eve “to watch - for the dawn of a new day.”

Today, many churches commemorate that 1862 New Year’s Eve event – in a church service known as Watch Night.

This suggests that Watch Night may be the oldest continuing celebration of emancipation.

The next day following that Watch meeting, January 1, 1863, word arrived that Lincoln had signed the Proclamation; there was great joy and jubilation!

Lincoln said that his Proclamation was “the principal Act of my Administration, and the main event of the 19th Century.”

Frederick Douglass called the proclamation “a momentous decree” - a Maryland slave holder said that “news of Mr. Lincoln’s proclamation, struck the nation like a thunderbolt from a cloudless sky”, an elderly preacher sang “sound the loud trumpets over Egypt’s Red Sea, Jehovah has triumphed His people are free”, another person warned “may God forget my people - if they forget this day.”

Such was the jubilant reaction to the Proclamation.

Of course, we know that the proclamation did not free all slaves on January 1st – but in spite of its nuances – it was indeed Lincoln’s Proclamation - that unlocked slavery’s door - and in doing so, it tilted the moral arc toward emancipation.

Over the next two and one half years - wherever Union troops were present to provide protection – it is estimated that as many as 3 ½ million - of the 4 million slaves – walked out into an uncertain freedom.

And, nearly two hundred thousand eagerly joined the Union Army and Navy.

In places such as Florida and Texas - where there were no Union troops to provide protection – slavery remained intact for another two years.

The astounding casualty rate estimated to have been some 700,000, finally caused General Lee to surrender to General Grant - that was on April 9, 1865, and, the war was essentially over.

It is ironic that a war that was started to preserve slavery – ended up destroying it.

Five days following General Lee’s surrender - tragedy struck; Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. “Father Abraham” – as Frederick Douglass called him - died on Friday, April 14th; on the Christian calendar – that was Good Friday.

In response to Lincoln’s murder the grief-stricken, and re-energized Union troops – including the United States Colored Troops – set out to ensure that the slaves were freed, and they did so under the authority of Lincoln’s 2-year old Emancipation Proclamation.

Now, we come to this day…

One month following Lincoln’s murder, Union General Edward McCook and his troops – including the USCT - arrived at Tallahassee, Florida to accept the surrender - and on May 20th General McCook read the Proclamation – as was so beautifully reenacted here today at the Knott House Museum.

But, General McCook did more than just read the Proclamation he - in fact - began to enforce emancipation in Florida.

One month after Florida’s May 20th event, another Union General – by the name of Gordon Granger – began to likewise enforce the Proclamation in Galveston, Texas. Today, that June 19th Texas emancipation event is celebrated as Juneteenth.

May 20th is to Florida what June 19th is to Texas; those were the dates when emancipation began to be enforced in the last two Confederate states of Florida and Texas.

Eight months following Lincoln’s tragic murder, and seven months after Florida’s May 20th emancipation event – any question about the Proclamation’s legitimacy became null and void – because in December 1865 - the 13th Amendment to the Constitution ending slavery was finally ratified.

Ladies and gentlemen, freedom from slavery was not a simple event; no, emancipation was greatly influenced by the Civil War - causing the slaves to be set free on different dates in different places, and under varying circumstances.

And until slavery was abolished, it was not possible for this nation to live out its creed of liberty. Along with the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, the Emancipation Proclamation is that proverbial third leg that makes up freedom’s foundation.

As I close, let us recall that the great Frederick Douglass suggested… that emancipation day should be remembered as if it was a thousand years.”

And, in order to underscore the significance of this day; Mr. Douglass said…

“Slavery, the sum of all villainies, like a vulture, was gnawing at the heart of the Republic;

until this day there stretched away behind us an awful chasm of darkness and despair - of more than two centuries;

until this day the American slave, bound in chains, tossed his fettered arms on high - and groaned for freedom’s gift - in vain;

until this day the colored people of the United States lived in the shadow of death… and had no visible future;

until this day it was doubtful whether liberty and union would triumph, or slavery and barbarism;

until this day victory had largely followed the arms of the Confederate army;

Until this day the mighty conflict between the North and the South appeared to the eye of the civilized world - as destitute of qualities;

This is the significance of this day – Florida Emancipation Day - May 20, 1865

Rev. 5-19-2019

Reprinted with permission from Clifton Lewis

[pollyestergivens]

Part 2: Nancy Drew & The Case of the Missing Realism

Balancing Immersion with Puzzles

A wall of text series on how Nancy Drew games largely lost their charm.

A question every game developer must answer is, “How aware should the player be that they are playing a game?”

Games that focus on scoring points, gaining achievements, new & innovative game mechanics, etc. don’t always try to immerse the player in the way story-based games often do--indeed, some narrative based games these days are called “walking simulators” because of the almost complete lack of game mechanics.

What has always been special about the Nancy Drew series is the balance the games often achieve between game play mechanics and storytelling. Interviewing suspects, exploring locations, solving puzzles and collecting clues give the player an active role in unraveling the mystery.

In the early games, largely due to budget and hardware limitations, characters and locations were not exactly photo-realistic, but once they moved onto full-3D characters in the second title, I never felt it was significantly distracting or lessened my ability to get into the game (with the one glaring exception being their almost obsessive desire to slap the HER logo or Nancy’s name on every day objects in the game world, particularly in the earliest titles). 

However, the irony is that as HER improved their ability to produce realistic graphics with each title (and moved on to slapping Krolmeister on everything), the content of the games seemed to be increasingly unrealistic, causing the very thing they should have avoided at all costs: breaking immersion.

Mini-Games

Mini-games showed up early in the series, but they were exceedingly rare in the first ten or so titles. Instead, the games were full of largely realistic, detective-style tasks such as dusting for fingerprints, code-breaking, finding and using passwords and locker combinations, etc., alongside important suspect dialogues and general snooping, which made for a pretty balanced-feeling game. Jump ahead to the last ten or so titles, and you’ll find a completely different scenario. 

Take the last (and hopefully not final) game, Sea of Darkness. SEA is very nearly nothing but a barrage of mini-games. Whether you’re helping out at the pub “filling orders” or earning money by matching vocabulary words (though very fun for nerds like me), you’re painfully aware that you are playing a game. Many of the various contraptions on the ship (the wheel puzzle) and in the lighthouse (the 2048 clone) also scream “VIDEO GAME.”

Rather than methodically solving a mystery, Nancy is essentially going from mini-game to mini-game, with finding a clue or talking to someone as window dressing. It gives the player the feeling that the point of the game is not so much to feel like a detective or to care about the story, but rather to get a minor dopamine rush from finishing all the puzzles--much like the point of most hidden object games, which rarely take the time to produce a decent story since that’s not what the player is typically there for.

However, I would venture to say that Nancy Drew game players are there for the story and certainly there for the feeling of being a detective. By constantly being made to play mini-games like Aggregation, 2048, nonograms, sudokus, renograms, etc. ad nauseam, I find myself feeling less like a detective and more like I’ve just played a series of unrelated iOS games.

That isn’t to say that these mini-games aren’t fun--I found Aggregation and the wires puzzle from Trail of the Twister to be quite addicting. Nor do I think there were no great story lines in the later games (Shadow at the Water’s Edge and Ghost of Thornton Hall both shined bright in this area). 

Rather, they simply break immersion, which gives the game a distinctly different feel from others that focus more on things like snooping through someone’s computer or sending Morse code messages to smugglers.

Sure, you’re usually doing the mini-game while being sleuthy--getting into Gray’s computer in The Deadly Device or getting into the safe in Shadow at the Water’s Edge--but it takes away the realism factor to, in my opinion, an unacceptable degree.

When mini-games are used sparingly, as they once were in the earlier titles, they can bring a fun-factor that only a video game could bring, adding a little variety to the typical adventure game puzzles like “find the key for the lock.”

Implausible Contraptions 

However, mini-games are not the only culprit in The Case of the Missing Realism. Many of the games suffer from implausible contraptions made by dead people--sometimes for no apparent reason.

Again, look to Sea of Darkness for some egregious examples. Part of a skeleton holding a box within a secret area of an old ship that has been thoroughly restored yet somehow was not found??? The ship’s wheel has a fucking slider-type puzzle on it???

Was the captain an amazing engineer? No. 

Did he hire an amazing engineer? No.

Similar issues abound with Tomb of the Lost Queen. Personally, I found this game and its numerous puzzles (some mini-games, some not) to be fun, but it didn’t feel like a “true” Nancy Drew mystery. The ancient Egyptians obviously were great engineers, but moving columns??? Really??? I found there was an almost mystical feel to the game, which runs quite contrary to the game worlds of previous games.

However, the absolute worst offender is Labyrinth of Lies. While the game designers no doubt had the time of their lives creating all those beautiful set locations, the stage system and all the sundry puzzles it contained made about as much sense as the entirety of The Shattered Medallion: absolutely none.

That coupled with suspects literally spelling out how to solve their own puzzles or find where they hid something made LIE a thoroughly unimmersive game. 

We’re asked as players to suspend our disbelief in these sort of situations for the sake of an entertaining game, but again I ask: is simply being entertained really, at core, what Nancy Drew gamers want? 

I say no.

I think what drew us in and what we kept hoping to find again as each additional title was released was the feeling of really being a detective. But the more we’re reminded that this is just a game and realism is sacrificed in favor of shoving in as many puzzles as possible, the less we get that feeling.

Perhaps making all the contraptions realistic can pose a creative struggle for the game designers, but past games have proven that an abundance of interesting and challenging puzzles can be included without sacrificing a feeling of awe or simply being interesting.

A few good examples:

Benjamin Hawkins’ hideout in Danger on Deception Island 

The monolith in Secret of the Scarlet Hand

Almost all the secret areas in Treasure in the Royal Tower

The elevator shaft puzzle is a particularly clever example

The reveal of each of these places felt exciting and made me feel like secret rooms and hidden chambers can be real--like each of these places could actually exist in the real world. Part of what made them feel real was also that the mechanism which revealed them to us was not outlandish. Stone and jade artifacts were used to open the monolith, not a sudoku puzzle followed by the monolith rocketing off into space or some such feat of implausible engineering (though I won’t defend the bizarre, poetic speech given by the cast when Nancy escapes). 

None of this is to say that every bit of the old games was 100% realistic--a little bit of suspension of disbelief is okay. But there is a balance that should be maintained, and sadly it became more and more unbalanced with later releases.

Character Personalities

There is no doubt that the Nancy Drew series contains some amazing and memorable characters. From the older games, we got Professor Hotchkiss, Brady & Simone, the wrong amnesiac, Red Knott, and Ethel, to name a few. And the newer games gave us Big Island Mike, Henry Bolet, Colin Baxter, Yumi & Rentaro, Deirdre, Jamila, and Harper Thornton, among others. 

Aside from some “hip” dialogue that missed the mark in Warnings at Waverly Academy and questionable accents in several games, characters generally felt genuine and unique--only occasionally would they say something odd or out of character. But a trend started to appear towards the end: so many of the characters began to sound the same--they were almost all suddenly witty.

Aside from the ever evolving personalities of George, Bess and the Hardy Boys, Yumi and Rentaro were the first exceptionally witty characters I noticed, and at the time it felt quite novel and like a genuine portrayal of funny, young people. But then came Lukas, Marcus, and Karl in The Captive Curse. Then Ryan in The Deadly Device. Then Bridget in the The Silent Spy. Then the entire cast of The Shattered Medallion. Then Niobe in Labyrinth of Lies. Not to mention all the random, out-of-character injections of wit coming from countless others in almost all the last ten games.

I remember loling at some of the quotes from Rentaro and Miwako, and I think their wit and humor lightened up an otherwise dark and grim story line--similar to Harper’s role in Ghost of Thornton Hall. But increasingly in the newest ten titles, it seemed like the humor often fell flat or simply didn’t fit with the character. It started to feel like you weren’t talking to suspects in a mystery, but rather characters all written by the same author.

Sadly, not everyone is a master of wit in the real world, and the overuse of these type of characters can feel jarring. Again: immersion broken.

The Big, Glaring Exception

HER always ends the game with a final culprit-stopping puzzle. They usually involve quick thinking, recalling previous game knowledge and/or high-stakes puzzle solving--and they usually range from implausible to impossible. Sometimes dreadfully combining implausible contraptions with a mini-game, these doozies have been rearing their ugly heads since that alarm sequence at the end of Stay Tuned for Danger. 

The famous “fight” in Danger by Design and the Poe-inspired showdown in Warnings at Waverly Academy raised more than a few eyebrows--even on the HER official message boards, where criticism of any game is often tantamount to sin. But they’re far from alone in their bewilderment. From magical platforms in Tomb of the Lost Queen and The Creature of Kapu Cave to a well-trained whale in Danger on Deception Island and the mini-game-to-end-all-mini-games in Labyrinth of Lies, the ending has never quite been the peak of any Nancy Drew game.

Why It Matters

Some evolution of the Nancy Drew game series was perhaps inevitable, given the sheer volume of titles released. In an effort to keep interest up and stay relevant, HER took risks by adding mechanics and trying out new writers and designers over the years. The trouble is, the feel of the games evolved too. 

Rather than finding ways to maintain that sense of mystery and realism (and perhaps improve their endgames), they began to drift towards a much more “gamey” feel. Collectible phone charms began to be placed in game scenes (why are there cellphone charms in an ancient Egyptian tomb??? The real mystery of that game). Powering on a lighthouse went from logically deducing the correct light bulb to a round of 2048. 

Was it wrong of HER to move in this direction? Of course not. It’s all down to matter of opinion whether these changes made the game more or less fun, and I freely admit that I thoroughly enjoyed many of the newest titles. 

But did they feel like “true” Nancy Drew games? Not really.

With Pointless Tasks, mini-games, and unrealistic characters and scenarios around every corner, immersion was constantly being shattered, and I increasingly walked away dissatisfied with the newest installments.

But another culprit shares the blame as well--the topic of Part 3: Nancy Drew & The Vanishing Set Designer.

Read Part 1: Nancy Drew & The Curse of the Pointless Task

[shannonallaround]

Wow, I totally forgot to ask you: What other AU's do you have?

Well, since you asked… *cracks knuckles*

(Ok first before I start I am SO SORRY this response took me like, a month. Thanks so much for waiting!)

This person is asking specifically about au’s I have for Mickey and Minnie. My Sonic au’s are a different post entirely! :D

I have three main mice au’s that I regularly visit. My sister Marian, or @marian-ette , is my brainstorming partner in crime. 

The oldest of the mice au’s is my Nutcracker Verse. This au started out in 2012 as basically a recasting of the “Barbie in The Nutcracker” movie  (I honestly love that movie and still watch it every holiday season for nostalgia). Then over several years it became ‘losely inspired’ by that movie and took on a life of its own. I still revisit it just for fun every December. Several REALLY old drawings based on this AU are in my DeviantArt gallery. Here’s the link to one of them plus a few others I haven’t shared before (these are really really old fyi. There are lots more but these are some of the best)

https://shannonallaround.deviantart.com/art/Sweep-you-off-your-feet-425877421

The second au is what I call the Candyland Verse. As you can probably guess, this au is inspired by the Candyland board game.

In the 1950s, Mickey works as a storekeeper and apprentice to Ludwig Van Drake, an incredibly gifted/famous candy-maker (and Mickey’s basically-adopted-uncle). One day, Ludwig is missing from his candy lab, which has been trashed. Mickey goes in to investigate… and through some crazy magic ends up in Candyland. He meets many friends in this new world, but as he searches for Ludwig, things may be less sweet and far more sticky than they seem… trouble is brewing in the Molasses Bog. 

I haven’t shared ANY pictures from this au anywhere yet so here are the first glimpses of the Candyland Verse! It’s a much newer verse so even though it’s extremely developed in my head I don’t have very much art for it yet.

The third au is called the Sandman Verse.

Goofy is the Sandman and Mickey is one of his many many assistants. Each person has a sandman which is assigned to them during their lifetime whom crafts dreams for them. Mickey has been assigned to Minnie since she was born. One particular night, Minnie’s dream malfunctions, becoming a nightmare (something that, strangely, has been happening to more and more people’s dreams recently…) When the usual protocol fails, Mickey is forced to follow emergency procedure and enter the dream himself in order to shut it down. He defeats the nightmare and is about to leave Minnie’s mind when suddenly, Minnie talks to him. This is normally not possible as dreams operate in a person’s subconscious, and it is then that Mickey realizes Minnie is a lucid dreamer.

I haven’t shared any drawings for this au before either, so here is the first peek! It is also very new and so is sadly lacking in the art department too.

Mickey and Minnie are the two main protagonists of all these au’s. All of the sensational six are there two plus other friends from their world (i.e. Panchito & Jose) as well as Oswald and Ortensia. 

In addition to these three main au’s, my sister and I regularly indulge in an incredibly fun activity we call “casting”. Basically, we take our favorite old movies (mostly live action) and re-cast them with the characters of Mickey’s world. Sometimes we add extra roles or alter characters slightly to make everyone fit nicely. The only au that has characters that aren’t in Mickey’s world is The Apple Dumpling Gang— we use the three main rabbit children from Disney’s animated Robin Hood for the orphans in that one. We figured it worked with the same logic as Mickey’s Christmas Carol.

Casting is SO. FUN. Here’s a list of some of the movies we’ve cast so far!

Summer Stock

Singing in the Rain

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938, starring Errol Flynn)

The Mark of Zorro (1940, starring Tyrone Power)

The Ghost and Mr. Chicken (1966, starring Don Knotts)

That Darn Cat (1965, starring Hayley Mills)

The Apple Dumpling Gang

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (Dreamworks)

Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper

National Treasure 

Next on the list: The Seahawk (w/ Errol Flynn) and Disney’s animated Atlantis 

The asker of this question also prompted the creation of a new au called the Boxing Verse not too long ago. I’m gonna share a lot more detail about what happens in this one:

Minnie Mouse is training beside her best friend Daisy as a boxer under veteran boxer Donald Duck. Mickey is a janitor at the venue who doesn’t box but is OBSESSED with the sport. He, of course, is totally fascinated by Minnie who has the opposite of a typical boxer’s personality and body type and yet is also a complete boss in the ring. Donald used to be a boxer, but one fateful day against his biggest rival Gladstone Gander, he lost his temper while attempting to defend Daisy’s honor and beat Gladstone to a pulp. Gladstone then used this to slander Donald’s reputation. Donald felt so dang bad about the whole thing (especially the fact that he thinks he embarrassed Daisy) that he retreated from the competitor’s ring and now only teaches. Pete was Gladstone’s sponsor and has it out for Donald. He plans to make full use of the opportunity Minnie presents having been trained by him…

Anyway, there’s the very-long rundown of my mice au’s!

[voxpop-magazine-blog]

14/11/2017 - Emin Hanson, Nikita Gill and George Fletcher Knott

Featured Poet: Erin Hanson

First up we have Erin Hanson, a delightful Scottish poet who does not seem to put a title at the top of her poems, probably with the deliberate intention to confuse me. Anyways, she is our featured poet this week.

 Are they really “just words” strung out across paper,

Or are they answers to questions we’ve not learnt to ask,

If they’re really “just words” then how come when we read them,

We feel like somebody has seen through our mask,

I don’t think “just words” can hold such a power,

That makes us believe that there really is hope,

There has to be something in words that will help you,

Hold on when you’re reaching the end of your rope,

The people that write them are dealing with magic,

They change the whole world with a paper and pen,

And that I may be one is a dream I’d keep having,

If given the chance to live my life again,

They can’t be “just words” when you stop feeling lonely,

As if the author is someone you’ve always known,

Like a hand has reached out to brush tears from your check,

When you’re reading the words in your room all alone.

-          Erin Hanson

 Now then, since this is the first chapter of our Poetry Corner, I thought that one would have been appropriate, a poem for appreciating poetry and poets. The next poem by her is one for anyone who tends to see things in a negative light.

What if grass is greener on the other side,

Because it’s always raining there,

Where the ones who never fail to give,

Hardly have enough to spare,

Where the people with the broadest smiles,

Have pillows filled with tears,

And the bravest ones you’ve ever known,

Are crippled by their fears,

It’s filled with lonely people,

But they’re never seen alone,

Where those that lack real shelter,

Make you feel the most at home,

Maybe their grass looks greener,

Because they’ve painted on its hue,

Just remember from the other side,

Your grass looks greener too.

-          Erin Hanson

That poem is one of my favourites of hers, and one that brought me into her world of words in the first place, there will probably be a few more of hers in the coming editions, but I urge you to seek out and read some of her poems for yourself. 

Community Poet: Nikita Gill

Next up is ‘Tough Love’ 

You are not

some holiday destination

for people to have a good time in,

and then forget.

 You are not a grave

for people to bury

their pain inside,

never to be

remembered again

 You are not a piece

of toilet paper.

So why are you

letting outher people

use and dispose of you?

 You are made of magic,

don’t you dare

allow yourself

to be treated

like you are anything less.

 -          Nikita Gill

This poem was written by Nikita Gill, who, despite my limited experience of her work seems like an incredible poet, and person. 

Resident Poet: George Fletcher Knott

The next poem is one of my own and the only one out of this selection that is owned by me, if you seek to use/reference you would, of course, need to credit me, but you also need to send an email to me (georgiethebard@gmail.com), with the request and I will give you written permission to prevent any misunderstandings and the like. I hope to publish my work in a book in the not too distant future which is why I have to ask you to do this, I’m sorry but I need to prove that any poems of mine out there do in fact belong to me. The poem is entitled ‘The Pain Never Leaves’, I hope you like it.

The pain never truly leaves

I’ve learnt that over the years

I hate the fact that I’m still crippled

By my age old fears.

 Yet I can put on a smile

Go through life with a grin

Wipe away my tears

And one more raise my chin.

 After all the shit that’s happened

I’m not sure how I do it

God knows I’ve not healed

I sure as hell didn’t ‘get through it’.

 So I guess it must be the people

The ones that surround me

That must make my life worth while

And keep my head above the sea.

 We deal with our past together

In order to split the pain

This way we lighten each other’s burdens

Or at least that’s the aim.

 So that’s my conclusion

Of why I keep going on

I hope it helps you too

And that I’m not the only one.

-          George Fletcher Knott

Thank you all for reading, I hope you found at least one poem you enjoyed. Signing off ‘til next time, George.

[briefpainfulandfullofgarbage]

#cluecrewquestionnaire

I was tagged by @hotchkiss-and-tell ten years ago and I’m just doing this now ahhh (my keyboard is broken typing take years :/ )

rules: copy and paste, answer the questions, tag 10 mutuals to do the same!

1. What is your favorite Nancy Drew game and why?

As a kid I really liked DDI, SHA, and CUR but I haven’t played them in years

2. Have you played all 32 games in the series? If not, which ones haven’t you played? If yes, which one did you play first?

I’ve played all the games except WAC and TOT. I really wanna play WAC but I don’t have a PC :/ (I heard there’s a way to make the PC games work on a mac but idk I’m bad at computers) I could play TOT but it doesn’t look that exciting tbh lol I will play it someday tho

3. What is your favorite line from any character in the series?

The one that’s referenced in my url cuz it’s just like.... so true. But also the part in TMB when Nancy asks Jamila what she thinks of Dylan and Jamila says “did I have to have an opinion on him?” and Nancy says “I guess not” and Jamila says “oh good that’s a relief.” And also like anything Joe has ever said

4. If you could change the ending to any game, which one would it be (no spoilers, though)?

Mmmm... idk about a specific game but I liked how in SAW and GTH you had more than one option for what Nancy could do and I wish more games had multiple endings

5. Which game is your least favorite, and why?

tbh RAN but I feel like that’s too obvious an answer?? but it’s true??? Other than that I guess I don’t like CLK much? I just don’t like driving or mini golf

6. Which character is your favorite? Why?

Of the mains Joe cuz he’s hilarious and Bess cuz I really liked her in MED. She was just really hashtag relatable?? Of the others Zoe Wolfe (SPY) and Dagny Silva (SEA) cuz I’m bi af and my type is girls who could kick my ass apparently. I like Henry (CRY) cuz he’s super depressing and funny. Also Gray (DED) cuz his whole existential crisis thing is too real. As an adult I have a newfound appreciation for Emily (CLK) cuz I too never leave my room unless the house is currently on fire. Also Jamila (TMB), Grigor (LIE) Colton (GTH), and Alexei (ASH)

7. Which character is your least favorite? Why?

Richard Topham (CLK) is the worst. So is Red Knott (DOG). And Tino Balducci (TRN), Colin (VEN), Toni (ASH), Lisa (TRT)

8. How do you feel about the whole Nancy/Ned vs. Nancy/Frank situation? Do you ship her with someone else? Who, and why?

Unpopular opinion but I don’t actually have an opinion?? I’m not really upset either way. I’m also here for aroace Nancy who’s in a committed relationship with adventure. (I did tell Ned I loved him in SEA tho cuz I just like... can’t make characters sad??)

9. Do you have any fun headcanons about any of the games or characters?

Mmmm not really tbh I’m boring. But Nancy is aspec, George is gay, and Joe is bi. That’s all I got rn idk about the others. @harpersthornton inspired me with their sims posts so I made sim versions of some of my favs. I’m not quite as good as they are at making them look accurate but sometimes my sims will do things and I’ll be like you know what I bet Frank does that

10. If you could visit any of the locations of the games, which ones would they be and why?

I’ve been to a few but Japan has been on my bucket list forever cuz I’m half Japanese. I really wanna go to Iceland to see the northern lights. Also New Orleans cuz it looks cool and I wanna go before global warming does its thing. 

11. Did you read any of the original Nancy Drew books? If yes, do you like them? If no, would you consider reading one?

I read some of them when I was a kid but I haven’t since so I don’t really remember if they were good or not. I liked them at the time tho

12. What is one thing any good detective can’t live without?

Koko kringles? Lack of tact and boundaries? Kleptomania? A Mary Poppins bag to carry all the stuff you took cuz it’ll ‘come in handy later’?

13. Which game had the best soundtrack?

Ohhh... tbh I don’t pay as much attention to the soundtracks as I should... I thought the SAW soundtrack was really cool tho

14. What is one thing you wish HER would’ve included in any of the games (a conversation, interaction, location, feature, etc.)?

Hmm... more diversity I guess? More lgbt+ and poc characters? Also in GTH I wanted an option to not ask super invasive questions about Colton’s mental health but I guess it’s not really a Nancy Drew game if Nancy doesn’t ask tactless questions

15. Do you have any ideas for a future game? What is it?

MID

16. How long does it take you to finish a game from start to finish?

I try to take at least a few days to finish each game. If I know I’m almost at the end I’ll try to do anything but finish the game lol

17. Did any of the games scare you? If yes, which ones? If no, why?

OMG anything with alarms gives me hella anxiety. Anything that’s timed and idk how much time I actually have. I always made my mom do those parts when I was a kid. Tbh they still make me anxious but I’m an adult so now I just suffertm

18. Why did you join the Nancy Drew fandom here on tumblr?

I got back into the games when I was in college and had no friends and hella free time. I lurked for a while before I finally pulled the trigger piglet

19. What is your favorite Nancy Drew joke (from in-game or even floating around the internet)?

How salty everyone is about her’s terrible marketing decisions

20. Who is someone in the clue crew you’ve always wanted to get to know?

Hmmmm.... everyone tbh?? but i’m gonna tag @hotchkiss-and-tell cuz they tagged me

21. What are three unpopular opinions you hold about the games?

1. I don’t like TRN as much as everyone seems to?? I haven’t played it since I was like 10 but I remember not liking it much. Idk maybe I’d like it now?

2. I thought LIE was pretty fun? Like I know the puzzles make no sense but some of them are just like kind of relaxing? Like the pomegranate puzzle and the art puzzle on Xenia’s tablet

3. I read one (1) Joe/Sonny fic and now that pairing owns my ass but I’ve never seen anyone else ship it

22. Do you have any fun theories about any of the games?

Uhhhh my un-creative ass doesn’t have anything original but this theory about GTH by @nancy-who is my fav

23. Who was your favorite animal character featured in the games?

Tumi (SEA) is the cutest

24. Do other people in your life know about your love for Nancy Drew?

A couple, not really. I did get one of my friends to play one tho! she played CRY and she thought Henry was super hot but the game glitched and didn’t let her finish it :/

25. How long have you been playing these games?

I got FIN for christmas when I was 8 so it’s been... wow 14 years

I did this like super late so idk who has/hasn’t done this... if you see this and you wanna do it consider yourself tagged and @ me in your questionnaire :)

[descendantofthesparrow]

Daughter of the Honorable Thief - Harry Hook x reader - p8- park p2

(note, I have never been to Knotts soak city, so im bullshitting this)

Harry Hook x Daughter of Robin Hood!Reader

 key

 h/c- hair color

 e/c- eye color

 h/l- hair length

 s/c- skin color

 y/n- your name

 clothing reference:

harry

y/n

 erza

uma

---(y/n) POV---

Hell yeah! Water park day!! And a good thing too, it was 95 degrees out today. Ezra and I exited our rooms wearing shorts and sheer tops over our suits, chatting as we made our way to the lobby, bags light with only sunscreen, goggles, and wallets. The souvenir cups hanging off them. Harriet padded up behind you, having a tight swim top on and her messy black hair in a tight braid off her shoulder, her aviators covering her eyes.

Uma was just behind her, having roomed with her, wearing a teal swimsuit and gold sandals.

“Mornin” she mumbled, falling into step with you and erza, you ‘sup’ed’ back and continued on, letting uma and erza talk, you glanced at uma, noticing her clutching onto the teal seahorse erza won her yesterday. Erza winked at you, subtly pointing to the animal.

You rolled your eyes, entering the elevator and waiting for the others to board before pressing the button for the lobby and descending.

You found Harry and Gil immediately, who were talking near the entrance and seemed to be waiting for the four of you.

“yo!” you called, waving to them, harry perked up, smiling and nodding “ey, wha’ took yeh all so long?”

Uma rolled her eyes, striding up to harry and leaning into his side “sorry, you know how my hair is Harry”

“aye, just teasing”

You smiled, you loved how close the two were. Soak city was a bit of a walk from the hotel, so you all started to walk over. Harry complaining about the heat the entire time.

As soon as you entered, Gil's eyes sparkled at the multi-side by side slides, called the Bonzai falls, where it was obviously a racing game between six people, you all had keys for lockers that day, so you stashed away what you wouldn’t need at the moment and made your way to the ride's line.

Minutes later you all were laid down on a matt, it was Harriet, Erza, Uma, you, Harry, and Gil. The guy manning the ride called go and you all pushed off, racing down the bottom, you cackled as the water from Uma and Harry splashed in your face, and as yours splashed them.

Uma ended up winning the race, giggling as she placed the matt in the collecting spot and looked around for another ride, seeing on that could host up to six people, grabbing erza and Harry's arms and dragged them to it.

Uma seemed to really like the water park already.

you all yelped and screeched as the large tube-like thing tossed your around, water soaking everyone.

You shook your head around, getting the excess water out of your hair.

You saw a racing waterslide and pointed to it, exclaiming a race with erza. She gave a sharp grin and said: “you're on!”

You dashed over, a lifeguard yelling for you too slow down, as you pass a large pool, harry got an idea, he leaned down, one arm going under your legs and the other under your torso, you yelped, flailing slightly.

“harry what the-AH!’ and he tossed you into the pool, sputtering you resurfaced and glared at the laughing teen, then erza and Harriet grinned and pushed him in, making you cackle.

“Why thank you~”

Erza grinned as she grabbed your hands, helping you out of the pool. “I got you hood”

“not funny yeh two” harry grumbled as he lifted himself from the pool, shaking his head to rid his hair of the water.

“Are you kidding meh” Harriet grinned “that was hilarious!”

Uma snickered as she looked at Harry, water dripping off him heavily “you look like a drowned rat”

Harry made a pouty face at her, crossing his arms, obviously offended “Acca-Scuse meh~? I am the picture of beauty and grace how dare you!”

You cackled patting his arm “don’t worry Harry, you’re a very handsome drowned rat.”

Harry huffed, nodding, but still pouting “at least someone sees my perfection”

“Anyway!” erza interrupted, “hood you promised a race, let's go!”

You snickered, following your friend to the racing tubes. Climbing the tall stairs you looked behind you to see harry dramatically flailing onto gil, demanding to be carried.

“I can see a light”

“you're fine harry”

“mom? Is tha’ you?” “oh my god gil just pick him up to make him shut up”

“yeee”

Harry laid limp in gil’s arms, grinning as he let his head hang upsidedown. You gave a breathy laugh as you shook your head and continued up the stairs, soon reaching the top.

Harriet was staring at her brother with a bored look as gil set him down, the worker was giggling her head off, “my girlfriend does the same thing with her brother”

Harriet smirked, “dramatic siblings am I right?”

The worker nodded still giggling, letting you and erza pass and sit down in front of the water tubes

You waiting for the light to turn green, seeing erza smirking in your peripherals. One two three, GREEN! pushing forward, you speed down the dark tunnel, screaming laughter echoed as the water rushed around you.

You gasped as the darkness stopped and you landed in a pool, hearing another splash as you started to breach.

“HAHA! I WIN!” “NO WAY HOOD! YOU CHEATED SOMEHOW!”

“NUH UH, YOU KNOW I DON’T CHEAT!”

“(y/n) won!” uma called from the tower, grinning down at both of you.

“HA!” you screamed, poking erzas nose.

She snarled playfully, dunking your head under.

=

Uma hummed happily as she munched on a churro, bought by erza, who staring at the dark-skinned girl with a dreamy look, till you elbowed her.

“kinda lookin creepy scarlet”

“silence hood, im appreciating art.”

“Alright, appreciate art while you buy me food”

“fuckin-fine”

Standing, erza walked off, grumbling under her breath about how you were ruining her chances with the sea goddess.

Rolling your eyes you turned to uma, who raised her brow at you.

“real talk, if erza asked, would you go on a date with her?”

Uma sputtered on her churro, hitting her chest as she cleared her airways.

“um-wha-where did this come from?!”

You shrugged “just a feeling but really, would you?”

“um well” uma stuttered, her cheeks darkening “i-I think, yes? Shes-shes really pretty, and she's nice and, and spunky, and…fuck shes my type, shit, holy fuck”

You grinned, bumping her shoulder “sooo, is that a yes~” uma groaned, wrapping her arm around you and burying her face in your shoulder “fuck, yes I would go on a date with her”

“yay! Okay, so next Friday at that really good pizza place sound good?”

Uma jumped up, staring at you “hold up wh-“

You stood, grinning as erza came trotting back up, a grumpy look on her face. “perfect, maybe now erza can stop whimpering about you like a kicked puppy!”

“wait wha-!?”

“bye~”

“(y/n) wait staap!!”

=

“guess who got you a date~” erza blinked at you as you skipped up, taking the chicken fingers and fries she had gotten you.

“what?” “you and uma, Romanos pizzeria next Friday, at 5”

“WHAT?!” erza screamed, grabbing onto your shoulders and shaking you “AND SHE-YOU-WHAT?” “Okay, 1. Let go of me, 2. I asked uma if she would go on a date with you if you asked and she said yes so next Friday at 5!”

Erzas jaw dropped as you turned and walked away from her, happily munching on your food.

“thank me later~”

Erza stared as you plopped next to harry, sharing your food with him.

Glancing to uma, she blushed as she made eyes with the teal haired teen. They both hurried to look away, god, erza was so doomed.

=

harry stared as his sister and gil pushed him toward a drop slide, was he shaking? he was shaking. as he glanced at his hands, which were trembling in fear.

“no nope nah no no nada gonna happen”

Harriet groaned, walking in front of him and grabbing his hands “come on! it'll be fun!”

“dropping straight down as im plummeting like 50ft down? nah im good”

harry tried to escape, but gill lifted him over his shoulder.

“come on! its the last one and you promised dude!”

“well dude” Harry called back, “I take it back, im not going!”

Harry locked eyes with you, and you gave a sympathetic smile, shrugging.

“(y/n), my love, beauty, my savior, help me”

you laughed “im sorry harry, but I don't think I can help you here”

Harry groaned, holding his arms out to you “please! Save me!”

you laughed once more, reaching out and intertwining your hand with his, grinning comfortingly “you'll be fine harry, they so safety checks almost every day, and positive that no one has died”

harry sniffed, still not convinced, but as you held onto his hand, he felt better.

“do you want me to hold your hand?”

Harry paused, before giving a shy nod.

You held in a laugh, as gil set harry down and you held tightly onto his hand.

You watched as uma and Harriet entered the tubes, grinning nervously as they waited, then SHOOM they disappeared, harry jumping as they did, gripping your hand tightly.

“uh lass, do I-“

“you promised dude” gil called as he entered alongside erza

“les do dis!” erza cackled, crossing her arms and legs.

“three two one, launch!”

You heard erza and gil scream from the adrenaline as they exited the tubes, yelling positives for harry.

“harry im the biggest scaredy-cat when it comes to this stuff, you can do it!”

“come on dude you can do it!”

As the worker guided you into the launch tubes, harry backtracked, his face pale as he turned to you

“I don’t wanna do it!”

“it's okay, you're fine” you cooed, letting him grip your hand once more, not caring for how tight it was becoming. Harry shook his head

“i-I don’t, I don’t!”

Harry begun to hyperventilate, you pulled him close, letting his arms wrap tightly around you.

“you can, you got this harry its not gonna be that bad, if its any consolation, im terrified”

Harry sniffed, releasing you, breaths even, shaking his arms and head to sike himself up “uh. Yeah, yeah I got this, I got this”

You smiled, patting his arm, waiting for him to completely be closed in before stepping into yours.

A heartbeat startled you as you entered the pod, “Jeez that scared me” leaning on the slide part, you crossed your arms and legs, preparing to drop.

“prepare to launch in three, two one!”

Down!

You screamed as you went, holy fuck this was amazingly terrifying!

As you emerged you heard gil laugh, congratulating harry.

“you did it! You conquered your fear!”

You grinned, standing and making your way over, seeing uma and gil with their arms wrapping around harry as he laughed his nerves off.

“yeah, and im never doing that again!”

You cackled as you rejoined the group, leaning into erza as you did.

“That was fun, but I agree with Harry, one and done!”

Harry gave a soft smile as you arrived.

“Thank yeh for helping meh (y/n), really”

“I got chu, I won't let my friend just sit in their fear.”

Harriet bumped your shoulder.

“well, im pooped, can we go chill at the hotel now?”

You saw uma and erza sag in relief “yes!” erza cried, slumping into you “im so exhausted!”

“Alright alright” you snickered “let's get our stuff and go”

Uma dived for her sea horse, holding it tightly to her chest as you unlocked the locker with your stuff in it. Erza blushing as she did so.

You gave a pointed look to erza, and she groaned and nodded “yeah yeah”

You hummed, giving a cheeky smile.

Looking behind you as you exited, you saw Harriet and harry pull out their phones and the pokemon go music play from them.

“shit there's a Pikachu”

“yeah yeah, Meowth right there”

You snorted, dorks.

=

Entering your room, you flopped on your bed, letting erza take the first shower. You felt sleep drift over you as you laid there, and you let your body fall to its call.

The shower could wait in the morning.

--end of part 8 (god sorry that took so long!)--

Comment or message me for part 9

[theloniousbach]

Hot Tuna, Sheldon Concert Hall, 4 September 2019

I choose to count this as concert to mark my 50th Anniversary of going to hear rock music live.  Sometime before November 3, 1969, I saw Johnny Winter at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kansas.  11/23/69 was a disappointing, actually, Led Zeppelin show for my second.  I will do a separate chronicle of that past shortly.  For now, it’s seeing Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen again for their own 50th year in this iteration.  I saw them twice with Jefferson Airplane in those early years, but there were at least three times 1972-1974 where I caught them at Cowtown Ballroom in Kansas City.  11 pm shows, they’d go on around midnight and play until almost three, piercingly loud and wonderful.  This year, an hour into the show, somebody said “Two more hours!”  Jorma went to the microphone and made snoring sounds.

50 years on, I too worried about how late it was running--and also noted how many enlarged prostates there were among us.  I held my seat through the actual playing, but guys were getting up.  When I did go, there was the “outrage” of longish lines.  A heavily male crowd of a certain age and we faced the day to day indignities that women face.  I’ll take it--just let me make this kind of joke about it.

Age is a factor too as Jorma’s voice has been reduced too often to a speak/sing of limited range, the interest coming from idiosyncratic timing all around the beat.  But, like Dylan, one isn’t sure about the song or the lyrics, particularly in this electric format.  Have I lost high range hearing after 50 years?  I will amend this with a set list, probably once Jorma himself posts it in the “Cracks in the Finish” blog.

The guitar is still there with still a good mix of finger picking, particularly with a Gibson (probably) Chet Atkins SST.  No pedals nor even pick up toggles.  The good old rock guitar moments were from a Gibson Firebird.  I prefer acoustic--repertoire and technique--but there was good overlap.  

“Been So Long” to open, “That’ll Never Happen No More” next, maybe “Sea Child” from “Burgers” in there,  a Chuck Berry tune I didn’t recognize,“Watch the North Wind Rise,’ “Good Shepherd” of course and oh so welcome, and then what was very likely “Funky #7, and “Come Back Baby” as an encore (more on that shortly).  I just don’t know the electric side of things as much--and, if I did, as with Bob Dylan, I might not have been able to recognize it anyway.

I could say, as I probably have with Bob Weir and Dead and Company, thanks for all the music and memories, Jorma.  And the choice may be out of my hands anyway as he will be 79 in December 2019.  

But I will miss no opportunity of being in the same room to listen to Jack Casady.  He had some big big riffs and was inventive as always with lines and chords dancing around Jorma’s leads and structures, embellishing and inflecting.  Last time, I flipped the “If you don’t know Jorma, you don’t know Jack” meme to say that Casady is at the heart of this music, central to understanding and my enjoyment.

He remains as mysterious as he did in the ‘60s and ‘70s.  Then he had long stringy hair, serapes, and large round thick glasses.  This time he was all in black, jeans but also a suit jacket.  He has contacts and his hair is actually kind of spiky.  He actually kind of looks like Don Knotts (casting Jorma as Andy Griffith???).  He and Jorma do crack one another up and amuse each other after well over 60 years of friendship and collaboration.  But Jack is also often in his own world, marching along to the music wandering where it takes him.  He is still inventive, enthralling, and unique.  I’ll see them again, given the opportunity, particularly acoustic.

They have Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley along for part of this tour and they opened resoundingly.  Hensley has some of the piss and vinegar of them back when I first found them.  He’s a fiery flat picker, fast as can be so flawless technique.  Ickes is a big brother on dobro and is just as accomplished but more seasoning.  They do a blues based set but out of bluegrass and Americana.  They pandered to us (no complaints) with “Brown Eyed Women” early and an end of set run of “One Way Out,” “For No One” (yes, of course, they can play slower, quieter, and movingly,” and a wild “Friend of the Devil” (with an extended “Fire on the Mountain” tease, a “Shakedown Street” quote, and plenty of their own out thereness).  They have the same instrumentation as Larkin Poe, but probably not the range and certainly not the vocals.  But it will be fun to see them both develop.

They came out for the “Come Back Baby” encore and the veterans gave them lots of space.  Ickes got two shots at it.  A good way to designate 50 years of seeing this music.  

And I’ll be a Come Back Baby Boomer.

Here’s the official set list from Jorma’s “Cracks in the Finish” blog:

Hot Tuna 35, 2019 The Electric Trio Jorma Kaukonen, Jack Casady & Justin Guip Sheldon Concert Hall St. Louis, Missouri Wednesday, September 4, 2019

1. Been So Long 2. That’ll Never Happen No More 3. Day To Day Out The Window Blues 4. Talkin’ Bout You 5. Ode To Billy Dean 6. Letter to The North Star 7. Sea Child 8. In The Kingdom 9. Bowlegged Woman 10. Trial By Fire 11. Hit Single # 1 12. Watch The North Wind Rise 13. Good Shepherd 14. Funky # 7 15. Encore: Come Back Baby with Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley

[writebethany]

You're out of Vega Prompts? What about Vega's first time to an amusement park?

Dude, like such good timing because I literally just spent the entire day at Universal Studios. What a good. 

Previous Parts

National City has a fair amount of amusement parks around it, but Alex and Astra don’t really think about going until Vega comes home at twelve and begs and begs to go somewhere, she’s hoping Disney, really, but literally anywhere will do because all her friends have all these cool stories about going to the amusement parks and she just has to pretend that she’s done cool things too. Which she totally has, because duh, superhero parents, but like, she can’t tell her friends about that, now can she? Well, she could, but her moms would kill her. Honestly, a trip to an amusement park isn’t that much to ask is it?

Alex relents rather easily, because honestly, she loves amusement parks, she just really never has time to go. She thinks Astra will have fun, too, if she warns Astra of what’s going to happen beforehand so she doesn’t freak out, thinking something isn’t right. But the second she looks at the prices for Disney now she flat out has a heart attack. She’s still a government employee and the salaries definitely suck, so Disney, right out for now. She looks into Six Flags and Knotts Berry Farm and Universal Studios. Universal wins out because the season passes are fairly cheap for California residents and she figures she’ll win points with Vega by telling her that they can go back more than once. Also, she may, just may really, really want to go to Harry Potter World, but Vega doesn’t need to know that. She’s totally gonna buy Ravenclaw merch, though, and nothing will stop her.

The day they plan the trip for has Vega up early enough that she’s actually done with her bowl of cereal and dressed before Alex even thinks about stumbling to the kitchen. Astra’s out on her morning exercise run, or well, fly and hadn’t set the coffee timer to rouse Alex gently out of her sleep with the smell of caffeine. It’s a weekend for god’s sake why did anyone get up before noon? But then Vega is sliding a bowl of cereal in front of her and starting the coffee maker, already babbling about what they’re going to do in what order because she’s totally got the map memorized already. Alex just smiles and thinks that they’re going to have a hard time keeping up with the literal ball of energy in front of her. It’ll be worth it though, because Vega’s already so excited and happy she can’t imagine what the little girl is going to be like at the park. And making Vega happy is her highest priority, really. Though coffee, right now, is close second.

Astra arrives back home, kisses both of them and goes to shower quickly while Vega starts to get antsy. She makes a Kryptonian sized bowl of cereal for Astra as soon as she hears the shower door open and Astra is out to eat it before it even gets soggy. Living with speed demons sometimes has its perks, but this morning, not being able to finish her first cup of coffee before Vega drags them out the door isn’t one of them. Amusement parks have Starbucks, though, so she’ll be ok.

When they get to the park, Vega dashes ahead just like Alex thought she would, but at least it’s definitely at human speed. She calls after her to stay in sight, but other than that, she doesn’t stop Vega’s fun. If anyone tries anything with Vega, they would be in for a sore surprise anyway. It took at least some of the worrying out of parenting. Some. Not really much, but some. She’ll take what she can get.

Astra, for her part, is looking around and smiling softly. 

“What?” Alex asks.

“It reminds me of fairs we used to have on Krypton, nothing so organized or permanent as this, but, the similarities are there. I used to love going as a child.”

“Yeah, well,” she nudges Astra with a hip, “our child seems to be taking after the both of us with how excited she is. You guys are going to eat me out of house and home in park food, aren’t you.”

Astra nods, not even the least bit sheepish. “I’ve seen signs for fried oreos already and I want some of those.” 

“Of course you do. You’ll probably want one of those giant turkey legs too. And so many churros. I regret introducing you to those.”

Astra lights up. “They have those here?”

Oh god, she shouldn’t have opened her mouth.

Vega runs back up to them before Alex can dig herself into even more of a hole and pulls on their hands. “Come on, pleeeease,” she whines. “I want to go on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey.”

Astra and Alex just look at each other and share a “what can you do” expression, and follow Vega into the heart of the park. They stand in line for an hour and a half before they actually get onto the ride, but then Alex is being thrown into a delightful reminder of her younger years, reading the books and watching the movies, and every one of those ninety minutes was worth it. From the look on Astra’s face as they step off the conveyor belt, the pleased and slightly amazed look, it was worth it for her too. She really doesn’t have to wonder if Vega had a good time, not really. She’s already telling them.

When they get off and go into the gift shop, Vega is going on about how awesome it was, and looking over everything in the shop like she wants it. Alex sees a Ravenclaw sweatshirt that she definitely wants, and oh, there’s a matching Slytherin one for Astra and that’s perfect. 

“Two things,” Alex says to Vega, who shoots off at the news that she can get something with a happy yell. Alex herself goes and gets the sweatshirts without hesitation and hands the Slytherin one to Astra. Astra looks down at the sweatshirt and rolls her eyes.

“I don’t see why I’m Slytherin. I’m a Ravenclaw like you.”

Alex shakes her head. “Nah, you’re smart, so smart, but Slytherin is…they’re the street smart ones. They’ll go to bat for the causes they want to bolster like rabid animals. But they also have self-preservation to know when backing out is a better idea. Tacticians may be Ravenclaws, but a good general, they’re a Slytherin. They have to be able to weigh tough decisions and make the right one despite loss of life. Ravenclaws, they’re book smart, they’re a little more capricious in their attentions because everything is interesting and why should only one thing hold their interests, and sometimes when they’re too deep into something they won’t let the idea go even if it’s foolish. When faced with a hard decision they’ll keep looking for the option where no one loses, even if it doesn’t exist.”

Astra considers that and then takes the sweater without protest. “Very well.”

Vega shows up a few minutes later, holding a Hufflepuff scarf and Gryffindor t-shirt. She’d always tested on the border of each house whenever she ventured onto the online tests, same as Alex tested on the borderline of Ravenclaw and Slytherin. Unlike Alex, though, Vega hadn’t picked a house, keeping close to both of them. Alex had to admit, the mixture suited her, so it worked well.

“All set, munchkin?” she asks.

Vega nods, handing the stuff over and Alex goes to pay for everything, not thinking about the total, because Jesus park merch is expensive, but in this case, well worth it.

By the end of the day, Vega’s dragged them to literally every single attraction. The locker they rented to store their stuff is full to the bursting, and Alex is dead on her feet. Astra and Vega, of course, are energizer bunnies and are eagerly talking about getting a late dinner at one of the restaurants right outside the park. How they can even think about food after all they’ve eaten, Alex knows the answer, but yet it still boggles her mind. So many churros. So. Many. Next time she’s making Astra fly home and grab their food from home instead of paying park prices, but for a day, she’s happy to bear the burden. This is one normal thing she can give Vega in a sea of things that are different for her. She realizes how hard that is on her daughter sometimes, even if she doesn’t say it. But now she’ll go to school with stories about her day and enough merch to sink a ship. Some days she doesn’t feel like she’s doing the best she can as a mother, but today, today isn’t one of those days. So she hikes the bags she’s carrying higher, and leads her two ever hungry Kryptonians to Taco Bell.

Next Part

[oselatra]

Hope, help and a whole lot of water in flooded Northeast Arkansas

Dispatches from the deluge.

You can love a river. Love the birds that glide just above the water in the morning. Love the commerce and beauty and grandeur of it, the hidden bounty, the river simultaneously a kind of clock that counts the years and a brown thread that binds those who live along it to the past and future.

But loving a river is and always has been tempered with the knowledge — as old as mankind's tendency to found civilization on any bit of higher ground — that, sooner or later, the rain is going to come and not stop for hours or days. When it does, that tranquil, lazy flow that you love will be transformed into a beast with an unending appetite for sullying the best laid schemes of mice and men.

The rains came to Arkansas in early May. By the time the sun returned, according to preliminary estimates by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, 937,000 acres of farmland had been inundated across the state, at a time when almost 90 percent of the state's crops were already in the ground. Rice will reportedly be the hardest hit, with an estimated 156,000 acres — and $29.9 million in revenue — feared lost. According to the UA, total financial losses to farmers in the state due to impacts from the floods will top $64 million.

The town of Pocahontas in Northeast Arkansas's Randolph County was hard hit by the flooding, boxed in as it is by five rivers that are, in normal years, celebrated as tourist attractions for fishermen and canoers: the Black, the Current, the Elevenpoint, the Spring and the Fourche, along with dozens of creeks and streams and sloughs, unnamed and named, in the woods and fields around. The old-timers founded the town proper on high ground that sits above the Black, the city shelving down from the old courthouse to a sharp bend in the river that snakes past the bounds of Pocahontas and out of sight. Subsequent generations built on lower-lying land in east Pocahontas, on the other side of the river. Flooding wasn't really a problem until recently, people in town will tell you, but this is the third time the waters have risen and smote the low-lying areas of Pocahontas since 2008. Something is wrong with the weather, people say.

When the rains came, the Black River rose and drowned the Walmart store and whole neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city to a depth of 3 feet or more in some places. A mandatory evacuation order was issued for east Pocahontas on May 2. The river was scheduled to crest at over 31 feet, which would have been an even bigger disaster, but only managed 29 before the levees broke.

Media reports said it was the levee breach that flooded portions of the town, but it was actually the opposite, according to the mayor. With the levees protecting the city to only 27 feet in some places, there was already widespread flooding by the time the levee broke. The breach siphoned water out of flooded stores and neighborhoods at the rate of two inches an hour once the levee failed and set water pouring into the fields to the south. Talking to people in Pocahontas about the levee breach, you find a strange mix of relief and sadness, the city mouse knowing that he or she had been spared some unknowably worse measure of calamity at the expense of country cousins downstream. Everybody knows everybody in Pocahontas, which means that everybody seems to know somebody who lost everything.

Days after the Black began to recede, Stan Vinson was working at stripping sodden carpets out of the home of his sister, Cleva Dean, near the corner of Old Country Road and Knott Street, more than half a mile east of the river. His clothes were covered in mud from his waist down to the soles of his shoes. Across the way, a commercial building sat surrounded by a hastily constructed dirt berm. After a final, desperate attempt to sandbag the house and move the appliances and furniture to higher ground as the rain came down, Vinson and Dean had been forced to evacuate to Vinson's home in Corning. They hadn't been able to get back to the house until days later, and found a mess. A friend had scared up some help to get the carpet and carpet padding out. It lay in soggy heaps on the lawn.

"We knew that if [the Black River] went to 31 and a half, there wasn't any hope," Vinson said. "Then the levee broke. The water went down, but we still got the carpets wet. We could have done a better job at sandbagging, and we will if we have to do it again."

Inside, Cleva Dean stood in her dark and empty kitchen. The house smelled of dank river water, the air conditioner and gas heaters running full blast to try to dry things out. With the carpet stripped away, the bare plywood sheathing was spongy underfoot.

Dean has lived in the house since 1972, and said flooding had never been a problem until recently. She'd evacuated to her brother's house during a flood in 2011. Water didn't get into the house that time. This time, she was not so lucky. She seemed always on the knife-edge of tears, speaking like a woman who was expecting to wake up in her dry house at any moment. She doesn't have flood insurance, she said.

"I've lived here for years without it doing anything," she said. "I didn't think it was worth it, but I guess it was. Flood insurance is pretty high and then it doesn't pay off nearly anything. ... You just have to roll with the punches. You don't have any idea when FEMA is going to be around, do you?" Her brother has told her they should be able to get things righted and have her moved back in in about six weeks, but who knows?

A little further into east Pocahontas on Redbud Street, Cody Grice was standing in front of the peeling white frame house he shares with his father. Nearby, just on the other side of a crooked line of traffic cones, Redbud Street disappeared into murky brown water like a boat ramp. What looked to be a small brick church stood flooded just up the block.

As the Black River rose, Grice's house was saved by a neat, 3-foot wall of white sandbags surrounding the house; the product of a 13-hour, all-day thrash by Grice and his friends. They brought in at least 10 truckloads of sand donated by the Highway Department, he said, and then worked in the pouring rain with shovels to get the job done. Though the water got high enough to overtop the sandbag wall near the back porch, Grice said no water got into the house.

"If it wasn't for all my friends coming out and helping us, man, we would have been under water. It got up to almost the floorboards in the back," Grice said. "Friends are great. If it wasn't for them, we'd probably be sitting somewhere else right now. Might not be talking to y'all."

After the mandatory evacuation order came down, Grice and his father had fled with their dogs to his mother's home on the other side of the river, then spent several nail-biting days not knowing whether their efforts to keep the house dry had paid off. "My mom's house was the only place we had to go. We were lucky we had that. Our neighbors didn't have that. They were asking us for help and we couldn't do nothing for them. We were worried about our house," Grice said. Some of his friends lost everything in the flood, he said. He's given others money for food. It hurts, but he's happy that his home was spared, and for the friends who helped.

"Everybody came together when we needed it," he said. "It's hard to get people together when they're getting paid, let alone just to help. Maybe America will take a note from small- town Arkansas."

The Sea of Arkansas

South of town, the day after the Black River crested at Pocahontas, state troopers and National Guardsmen manned a roadblock, the Guardsmen in the cab of a brontosaurus-sized high-water truck with a tall air-intake snorkel that could, theoretically, allow the truck to drive underwater. Beyond them, the great Sea of Arkansas stretched to the horizon over what had been fields in the midst of planting season a week before. In the distance, the water was dotted with flooded grain silos, churches and houses. Near Shannon, U.S. Highway 67 was submerged for at least five miles toward Walnut Ridge, the water reportedly 7 feet deep in places. Just up from the roadblock, the water caught the light as it gurgled over the shoulder of the highway, as if over a spillway. Nearby was a soaked house and a car sunk to the axles in the saturated ground. Even where the water had receded, yards and houses and barns had been buried in corn stalks and shucks, washed up from the fields in brown drifts. Closer to Walnut Ridge, it was even worse, the land flatter and lower and more populated, multiplying miseries.

One of those helping lead the Arkansas National Guard's operations in town in the days after the flood was First Lt. Ryan Jones, with the 875th Engineer Battalion. By the time we talked to him, Jones had been on the ground in Pocahontas for almost a week. From a base at the Pocahontas Community Center, his soldiers had worked pretty much around the clock helping the Randolph County Sheriff's Office with evacuations and cleanup while spending their nights on the hard gym floor. A native of Jonesboro, Jones looked young enough that he probably couldn't buy a beer without getting carded. But there he was, marshaling forces with crisp efficiency.

"We're here to help our community," Jones said. "At the end of the day, the Arkansas National Guard is made up of people from this community. We have people in our National Guard unit right now who just live a couple miles down the road. It's neighbors helping neighbors the best they can." The mission in Pocahontas, Jones said, is exactly what the National Guard is all about. While there's not a lot you can say to people who have lost everything, Jones said, he tries to stress that it will get better.

"We try to reassure people that they will make it, and they will be OK," he said. "I know it's really hard. It is. They've lost a lot. But we're trying to the best of our ability to get them comfortable and give them some hope that it will be OK. Maybe not at this time. But it will be OK eventually."

Pocahontas Mayor Kary Story, reached by phone the week after the Black receded, said the city is trying to get back to normal operations. The flood heavily damaged an estimated 50 homes and had soaked countless others to the point of requiring extensive tear-out. There was no good estimate, he said, of the number of businesses that took water, but it was substantial.

Story said that at the time the levee system along the Black was constructed in 1938, east Pocahontas was a low-lying wetland that wasn't really inhabited. Over the years, however, the area has slowly filled in with homes and businesses, development receiving a boost after Walmart built a store there in the 1990s. In the intervening 79 years since the levee along the Black was built, Story said, the landscape has been changed drastically by precision land leveling, further levee construction and dredging of drainage ditches. This year's deluge could have been much worse for the city, Story said, if the levee hadn't breached. "When it did, we watched the water go down two inches per hour. It just sucked it out of here. I was wanting it to be breached, but I don't have any control or authority over that levee system so I can't do anything to it. But, yeah, it was definitely a relief."

Though the city secured and spent $250,000 in grant money to raise certain portions of the levee after the 2011 floods, Story said that he doesn't want to propose a "kneejerk reaction" solution now. A town hall meeting is in the works, with representatives from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers scheduled to be in attendance. "I want to wait until emotions cool down and we can start talking about solutions to this problem," Story said. "I don't want finger pointing and whose levee is high and whose levee costs what. Nobody won in this thing. The people that the levee protected, it didn't protect them well. The farmers to the north suffered losses because of it, farmers to the south suffered losses, and east Pocahontas suffered."

Story said that he's been proud of the reaction by the city and how the townspeople have come together for the good of their neighbors. Like Lt. Jones, he said that the best thing to tell people is, it will get better.

"It's hard for me to say much to them," he said. "I haven't been in their shoes of losing everything, so I don't know how they feel. I know that they've got to keep their heads up. ... We've just got to hold our heads high and fix our lives the best we can."

Happy camper

Up the hill from Black River Overlook Park, where the water still stood high enough to almost touch the nets of basketball goals two days after the worst of the flooding, the former Randolph County Nursing Home was a hive of activity. Closed in 2016, the nursing home had been reopened as a shelter as the storm bore down on the city and the river rose.

The day we visited, the parking lot was full, National Guard Humvees sharing space with tractor-trailers rigs, compact cars and good ol' boy lifted trucks. Legions of volunteers streamed in and out, hauling bleach and Bibles, shovels and rakes, pallets of bottled water and cardboard boxes of wrapped ice cream cones to hand out to evacuees and the all-volunteer staff. There were still over 50 people seeking refuge at the shelter the day Arkansas Times visited, some arriving with not much more than the clothes on their backs.

Outside, at the end of the long covered walkway leading to the door, Arthur Scroggins and Michelle Erickson were sitting in lawn chairs in the sun. Residents of Hardy, they'd been stuck in Poplar Bluff, Mo., for days after the flood, only coming south after the water receded enough to open the roads. They were going to wait another day at the shelter in Pocahontas to let the water go down a bit more, then make a try for their cabin on the Spring River. "We know the cabin hasn't been touched or anything, Scroggins said. "It's just getting there. Hopefully this rain is going to lay off for a while." It was good to be back in Arkansas, they both agreed.

Nearby was Kenny Garrett, a Pocahontas resident who stayed at the shelter for five days after the mandatory evacuation, until the streets to his house were passable. "I checked out this morning, and came right back with some supplies I'd bought out of my own pocket," he said. "Donated them. I know they're shorthanded here."

Garrett, who works as a landscaper, said he'd had a total of 12 hours sleep during the previous week. Anytime you see him, he said, you can be sure there's a coffee cup somewhere nearby. "I'm here until it's over," he said. "I've got a regular job I've got to go back to, but I'll come up here at night. My pockets ain't that deep, but I'll do what I can do."

As we were chatting, Paula Ricker walked up in her scrubs and asked if we knew when the government was coming to help. A home health nurse who lives in Pocahontas, she was there to check on a patient, a man in his 70s whose home had been totally flooded. "He's lost his house," she said. "He's going to have to replace floors and walls and everything, and he's on oxygen 24/7. His daughter is supposed to figure out what to do so he can go back home." As she spoke, two workers in heavy gloves wrestled a gleaming panel of sheet metal from the back of a nearby truck, the metal booming like vaudevillian thunder. "I feel so bad for him," she said. "I'm really close to him because he reminds me of my dad. I'm hoping he can get everything fixed."

Just inside the doors of the shelter at a desk, Marti Little, the volunteer coordinator for the operation, rarely put down her phone. She's a schoolteacher by day, but necessity had turned her into the Decider of this place, part general and part traffic cop, her attention ping-ponging from phone to volunteer and back to phone as she directed resources and guided worried people through the maze of flooded roads that stood between desperation and shelter. She was wearing a T-shirt that said "Happy Camper." She'd been there almost a week by then, working 16-hour-plus days. Asked how much sleep she'd managed to get during her time volunteering there, she could only smile and shake her head.

"We have volunteers working around-the-clock," she said. "Twenty-four hours a day, we have people working here, people working elsewhere, people helping. We're taking donations at any hour." Even after she starts back to school, she said, every waking hour she can spare will be spent at the shelter, until the need there is gone. As she spoke, someone in the lobby's phone rang, and the ringtone was Alanis Morissette singing: "It's like raaaaaiinnnn, on your wedding day ... ." If she noticed it, Little didn't smile.

"In this community, we do all we can," Little said. "A small town is different from Little Rock. Here, most of us know each other. People will open their homes. We've had people come in and say, "If you have anyone who needs a place to stay ... ." We have people staying in churches, in peoples' homes, trying not to take up a bed here."

Then somebody came in requesting phone chargers and Little told them there were none to be had. Then somebody came in with a handful of religious tracts and she pointed him to a table where they could be placed. Then a bin full of fresh laundry rumbled through and she pointed the way. Then somebody came in with a cardboard box full of stuffed toy mooses donated by the local Moose Lodge, and she directed him to people sitting nearby. Then her phone rang and she spoke into it, saying: soap, cleaning supplies, storage tubs, 50-gallon trash bags, nonperishables, socks for the National Guard, crackers are good. Then her phone rang again and she started giving, for the thousandth time, the long and involved directions to come overland from Imboden while dodging the frustrating labyrinth of flooded roads between points A and B, speaking soothingly, a beacon of hope to someone far away.

She turned back to my recorder, but then her phone rang again. Little listened, muttered a hasty apology, then literally ran out the door, phone pressed to her ear, to catch a truck bound on some mission of mercy before it could pull out of the parking lot. And down the hill, out of sight, the swollen Black River poured on toward the sea.

Hope, help and a whole lot of water in flooded Northeast Arkansas