#he focused on me calling my sister the favorite child and the park i chose instead of like

[voulezloux]

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[promethes]

dumping the horrendous unconventional short story I wrote for my midterm under the cut to get it off my mind bc I do not like it.

ENTRY 1

I think I will make my life’s motif a bird. It shouldn’t be too hard. They’re everywhere and pop out at the most opportune moments. I’ll find a way to tie them in.

ENTRY 2

Stood in line for way too long at the cafe. Can you believe the girl in front of me didn’t even look up to plan her order until she was physically at the front of the line? I knew what I wanted to order before I even stepped foot into the place. They need to change that. I’m on the lookout for some kind of online suggestion box to submit to since they decided to forgo an in-house one for some God forsaken reason. There’s not a lick of common sense in anyone these days. Saw a robin on my way out and flicked it a sesame seed from my bagel.

ENTRY 3

Would you listen to this garbage? They’re planning on tearing down my favorite bowling alley. “Didn’t pass inspection” my ass. It’s an important cultural landmark of our city and I’m marching down to the mayor to set him straight. I can’t stage important life moments around the cardinal themed bowling alley if there is no bowling alley to have a cardinal theme!

ENTRY 4

Mom’s in the hospital. Driving over now, she said it has something to do with her cholesterol. It either spiked or dropped real low, but I can’t be sure. Either way, she’s in the hospital. I don’t know why she chose the one that’s so far away though. The vending machines in the other one have way better stock.

ENTRY 5

Forgot to say. I didn’t run over any birds on the way there.

ENTRY 6

I don’t think I’m spiraling yet but I’m close to it. Mom’s fine, she’s just staying overnight in case anything acts up again. I, on the other hand, am NOT. Car won’t start and I’ve been sitting here in the parking lot for almost four hours now. Embarrassed beyond belief. A weird old man with a huge shiny truck offered to help and he’s been good on his word lending me his car to jump-start mine, but his bumper stickers make me nervous. His truck has custom lettering too. I’m a big guy, so not too worried, but a little concerned. 

Anyway, it didn’t work and I’m calling a tow truck now. I tried to thank the guy and offered to buy him coffee, but he just said “No way, Jose” which was weird. He smacked the top of my car before he left and said I need to “dress this little lady up.” Maybe I’ll get a sparrow bumper sticker online. Everything’s online these days.

ENTRY 7

Starting to rethink the bird motif thing. Not much goes on in my life anyway, and there’s only so much material I can get out of waking up early to chirping. Maybe I should aim lower. I could choose a color instead. Red would be a cop-out, it’s too obvious. Blood! I need something that’s at least a little challenging. We’ll see. I’ll sleep on it.

ENTRY 8

GREAT NEWS! Sister got a BIRD. A real-life living breathing chirping flying bird. It’s a sign and I’m not going to ignore it. My life’s motif is a bird and it’s not going to be one of those unbearably hidden motifs from English class required readings either.

(Although I did like some of them. That spoon in Middlesex…… I want my bird to be his spoon. To take up space in an almost eerie way. I’ll find a way to make it work.)

ENTRY 9

Laying the groundwork. These things don’t come easy, so I’m sowing the seeds (birds do that, right?) Told everyone at work that my great great great grandfather’s name was Starling. Drilled up a lot of curious questions and I even got to know some of the people I always just miss talking to. They were all VERY interested. Tomorrow I’ll bring in a picture of an actual starling. I don’t think Andrew quite knows that it’s a kind of bird.

ENTRY 10

Don’t remember the name my sister chose and I couldn’t remember if I tried even if I squeezed my eyes shut before blinking really fast like I usually do because this bird (Polly I’m going to call it Polly because an annoying bird deserves an annoying name) is so incessantly annoyingly unbearably loud. I can’t believe this thing is my sign.

My sign is chirping me into the basement and into a frenzy. At least I have my old sleeping bag handy until I can figure out how to shut it up. Why must my motif be so unbearably annoying?

ENTRY 11

Update on the car: starter wires snapped. Haven’t seen any birds around lately (except for a crow but I hate crows and I won’t be counting them) so I was hopeful and asked the mechanic if there’s any chance a bird could’ve pecked at the wires until they got so worn down that they snapped in the hospital parking lot.

He looked at me like I was crazy. I know that was what the look meant because he said, “Are you f****ing crazy man? The wires are deep in your car under the hood.” (I’m censoring the language. I don’t want language taking away from my story. If this is to be read in a future child’s English class to teach a lesson about motifs, I can’t be including foul language.)

I’m not f***ing crazy but I am extremely ticked off. Does he not realize how little birds come out in the cold weather? I need whatever I can get.

I’ll just tell people a bird got stuck under the hood of my car. I’ll change this entry later. Mechanic man doesn’t deserve a spot in a child’s English class; he didn’t even have the decency to watch his language for them.

ENTRY 12

People at work are finally starting to catch on! Got called “bird guy” by Kathleen (Catherine? Kristy? Whatever.) when she saw my shirt. I knew it’d be a good move when I saw it on sale at Walmart. I’m thinking of making the cover of my book Hawaiian print, but I’ll tell my future publisher I’m not married to the idea. Can’t be too picky on my first book! I’ll leave that for the second.

ENTRY 13

I will enjoy my day today I will enjoy my day today I will enjoy my day. Sister needs to get control of Polly. I’ve moved down my whole mattress now. I will enjoy my day I will enjoy my day I will enjoy 

ENTRY 14

Can’t believe I overlooked eagles and hawks. Of course sparrows and starlings weren’t doing the trick! Classic oversight, focusing too much on the mundane. I won’t be making that mistake. I blame it all on that incessant chirping. Mom says it’s not too bad but I’m fairly certain that cholesterol has gotten to her ears. She must be going deaf. She’s lucky she’s ill or else I’d be very extremely sore at her for making that face at me. I know it’s a bad face because it’s the same face that f***ing mechanic made and I don’t think he’s ever made a good face in his life so if my mom made that same face then I really don’t like that. She gets a pass for the cholesterol. 

ENTRY 15

I feel amazing. Bought an eagle bumper sticker at a roadside gas station and after a few strategic snips, it’ll be ready to go on the car. I’m dressing this little lady up! The red, white, and blue has got to go first though. Decided a while ago not to let colors mess with my motif, and I’m not going to slip up on that again! Snip snip.

I’m considering this a debt paid. Dressed the little lady up. Two birds, one stone! I’m making that my new catchphrase.

ENTRY 16

Should I make this a love story? I’m thinking about making it a romance. Doves are right there, really just waiting for me to weave them in. On the other hand, I don’t think that’d work to create much of a conducive learning environment for the kids. I think I’ll stick to a Mark Twain type story instead. 

Reread the beginning and don’t think it’s working. I’ll be cutting all that out. I spoke too much about mom’s cholesterol. Too many side characters and not enough focus. Where was I going with this again? 

ENTRY 17

Writer’s block. It’s ok, I still had that major breakthrough with the hawk/eagle thought. Put in my two weeks to dedicate all my time. I’ve found a bird-watching site that I hope will bring me more peace than f***ing Polly.

ENTRY 18

These birds are really working to stay in my New York Times best-selling children’s novel. Knew this would be a challenge, but they really do never stop conversing. If only they could read, I’d write them a best-selling manual on the best ways to speak inwards rather than outwards. Chirp chirp chirp needs to turn into ______ ________ ________.

ENTRY 19

Sister’s going to be f***ing pissed but it was the only thing to do.

ENTRY 20

Honestly, it was just a bird! If it was really part of our family, you’d think that I’d know its name by now.

ENTRY 21

I said that Polly’s in a better place now, but set her off with the “Polly”. Maybe this was a mistake. She said I “begged” her to get the bird but she shouldn’t say that when she’s the one reacting like this.

ENTRY 22

Books should come with suggestion boxes. No more birds. Story’s six feet under just like Gladys. See, I can finally remember it now that I can hear myself think. 

[ramblingsrantsreviews]

Merry, Happy, Whatever Review (Netflix, 2019)

When I first saw the trailer for Netflix’s new sitcom Merry, Happy, Whatever I was so excited. It combined all my favorite things Christmas, sitcoms, and Ashley Tisdale together. What could be better?

The show, which was created by Tucker Cawley, follows the Quinn family as they get ready to spend the next 10 days celebrating a perfect holiday season in true Quinn family fashion. Of course, perfection and the holidays don’t exist and the Quinn’s quickly learn that family traditions can be hard to keep up when families are constantly evolving.

Don Quinn (played by Dennis Quaid) is the widowed, no-nonsense patriarch of the family. The most shocking thing about him is that he forms a crush on an emergency room nurse who happens to be black. It’s 2019 and interracial relationships shouldn’t be shocking but if you’ve watched the show you’d agree that it was a pretty surprising relationship to explore given Don’s conservative beliefs.

Don has four kids — 3 daughters and a son. Patsy (Siobham Murphy) is the eldest daughter who feels it is her responsibility to be the “mom” of the family since their own mother has passed away. That’s literally her whole purpose of being in the show and it gets old, fast. Kayla (Ashley Tisdale) is the middle daughter who learns her husband wants a divorce the moment they enter her childhood home. Sean (Hayes MacArthur) is Don’s only son who just so happens to be hiding a secret from his father — well, a secret or two. And then there is Emmy (Bridgit Mendler), Don’s youngest daughter and quite possibly his favorite child. Emmy has come back from LA to celebrate the holidays with her family and she’s brought along her struggling musician boyfriend Matt (Brent Morin) who Don is not too thrilled about.

In addition to the family, there are the two in-laws or “outlaws” as they call themselves, Todd (Adam Rose) who is married to Patsy and Joy (Elizabeth Ho) who is married to Sean. There are also a few grandkids in the mix rounding out the Quinn family.

With so many people together during a stressful time, chaos is bound to ensue and it sure does. Just like the Quinn’s rocky holiday celebration, Merry, Happy, Whatever faces a rollercoaster of good and bad episodes.

Without further ado, here’s Dani’s Desk review of Merry, Happy, Whatever.

Spoilers ahead.

Favorite Episode: Episode 4 – “Happy Mall-idays”

“Happy Mall-idays” is the episode that finally intrigued me enough to sit down and binge-watch the rest of the show. I was ready to give up after the first two episodes, the third was a little bit better but the fourth episode is where I finally started to connect with the characters.

The fourth episode follows the Quinns as they brace the holiday crowds at the mall to complete a multitude of tasks. Don is looking for the perfect gift for Nancy and enlists Sean to help him out. Emmy and Matt are faced with their first argument of the holiday season as they disagree on how to spend money. Meanwhile, Joy ends up crashing her car while trying to find parking space which means Patsy and Todd must wait in the Santa line until Joy can get the car situation under control. Oh, and then there’s Kayla who spends the entire time trying to hit on the cute barista she’s been secretly crushing on.

Pretty standard for a sitcom and yet, this is where the characters start to shine. I felt myself cringing along with Kayla as she tried to win over the barista who just thought she was interested in a job and not her. Matt and Emmy’s debate over how they spend money was relatable — especially when the conversation centered around how much was appropriate to spend on a Christmas gift. And I was really loving Joy’s heart-to-heart with the elderly woman whose car she hit until the woman said that. You’ll know what I mean when you watch it.

From episode 4 on it finally feels like we are apart of the Quinn family and not just some uninvited visitor.

Least Favorite Episode: Episode 1 – “Welcome Matt”

It’s a well-known fact in the television world that pilots usually aren’t that great. Merry, Happy, Whatever’s pilot episode is no exception to that fact. The episode is terrible and that’s putting it lightly. It’s a miracle I kept watching the show after that episode but I try to give every show at least 3 chances before calling it quits.

The plot of the episode goes like this: Don picks up his beloved daughter and her struggling musician boyfriend at the airport in his police cruiser. Matt hopes to make a good impression with the Quinn’s but his presence is quickly outshined when Kayla’s husband announces that he wants a divorce in front of the entire family. The writing staff was smart to include the standard “how could you do this in front of my entire family/everything we do is in front of your family” joke. From there chaos ensues as more secrets are revealed to certain characters setting up the promise of chaos to come.

The issue with “Welcome, Matt” is that it relies on sitcom gimmicks as a crutch. The plot isn’t fresh and neither are the characters who rely on sitcom troupes way too much. It’s a shame considering the premise of the show has so much potential and could really elevate Netflix’s original sitcom repertoire.

Favorite Character: Kayla Quinn

Kayla Quinn saved Merry, Happy, Whatever for me.

In the beginning, I was disappointed in Kayla’s character. Ashely Tisdale is such an amazing actress and it felt like she was playing a character I had already seen her portray (you can’t deny the Sharpey vibes). Thankfully, the third episode gives Kayla some depth when she confides in Matt about her feelings towards women.

Netflix isn’t a stranger to exploring LGBT character’s but Kayla’s revelation is really one of the first times I’ve seen a grown adult question their sexuality on television. We talk a lot about how important it is for younger generations to see themselves represented in media but it’s also important for older generations to see themselves represented as well. Kayla does that from them.

Here is a character who has been in a marriage that isn’t bringing either partner happiness but it’s what they’re “supposed” to do. When Kayla finds out her husband wants a divorce she’s sad at first but then she feels free. Free because she doesn’t have to hide behind a lie anymore — except, for the fact that her father is ultra-conservative and she’s not sure if he’ll accept her. Which, spoiler alert, he eventually does thank goodness.

So yeah, Kayla redeemed the show for me and she also has the plot that I was most invested in, making her my favorite character.

Least Favorite Character: Patsy Quinn

I physically groaned in annoyance every time Patsy was on the screen. Now that’s not to say Siobham Murphy’s performance was horrible because it was not (remember actors are not their characters), her character just had the worst plot and traits of the ensemble.

Patsy is a character reminiscent of the traditional “sitcom wife,” which, okay would have been fine except she wasn’t Don’s wife! It seems silly for the writers to decide to not have the wife/mom be alive and yet have this character do exactly what is expected of a wife/mom.

Listen, I get what the show was getting at. There is this perception that if a mother passes away the daughter should step into that role and help the family out. I’m not totally opposed to the show exploring that dynamic, however, it didn’t feel like a daughter stepping into her mother’s shoes. It felt like she was the damn mother and it was weird!

Patsy’s character is stereotypical and annoying when she could have been so much more. Underneath all that “sitcom wife” nonsense is a character who desperately wants to be a mother to her own children but is struggling to get pregnant. I would have loved to see the idea that Patsy mothered her siblings and father because she can’t mother her own children explored more. Instead, her role is there to provide laughs and be the kitchy sister.

If this show gets a second season I hope Patsy gets the justice she deserves.

Complaints:

One thing that struck me as interesting was the fact that the show never ventured into the world of politics despite its ability to do so. Yes, this is a holiday event sitcom that released on Thanksgiving in the hopes of bringing families together for co-viewing but then again, it’s family and holiday-themed and politics usually always find a way to be discussed. Instead, the show focuses its debates on sexist viewpoints (“are you the lady CEO of your job yet”) and religious differences (Catholic traditions vs Jewish traditions). It works for the contents of the show but it would have been interesting to see politics come into play somewhere. Let’s face it Don is a total Republican and Matt is not.

Speaking of Matt, though I did like his character, I couldn’t help but feel like he was a knock off version of Nick Miller from New Girl. I mean come on, Matt and Nick have a lot in common. They’re both dating women with successful careers, they both have no idea what they’re doing with their lives, and they’re both a little nerdy and awkward. Not to mention the actors kinda look similar. I would have liked to see Matt stand out more since he is the show’s main antagonist.

Another complaint of mine was how the show centered around this premise that Quinn’s follow tradition and that Don never breaks those traditions only to have him break these traditions three episodes in! And he doesn’t even feel guilty about it at first! It all just felt very out of place for me.

My biggest complaint comes from the pilot episode when Sean and Joy’s eldest son announces to his parents that he is an atheist. Now it’s not the announcement that bugged me, it’s the fact that they made it seem like the son was going to have his “coming out” talk with his parents and instead chose to divert from that to which the parents’ response was a sigh of relief. It seems odd and out of place for the show to laugh at or feel relief that this wasn’t a coming-out moment since the show eventually explores a true coming-out moment. I don’t know, I just hate when scary and heartfelt situations are played for laughs.

My one final complaint about Merry, Happy, Whatever is that it played it safe for a Netflix sitcom. Yes, multi-cams are more lighthearted than other forms of television but even Netflix’s One Day At A Time found a way to tackle heavy topics in a comedic way. Merry, Happy, Whatever felt very safe and very conservative. In fact, it could have aired on CBS and fit right in with their line up of multi-cam sitcoms.

Praise:

As I’ve said above, I love sitcoms and I love Christmas so the fact that Merry, Happy, Whatever is a combination of both is amazing. Do I wish it was better? Yes. Ultimately though, I did love the premise. I thought it was fun and had a lot of potential to be great and different. Netflix was wise in creating an event-based sitcom because it’s something that traditional broadcast sitcoms simply cannot do.

I did enjoy that we got to see Todd rival Don in a Jewish vs. Catholic tradition debate. Could it have gone deeper? Of course! But I think the way it was done was perfect for the tone of this show. I find that we often overlook other culture’s holiday’s because they aren’t popular with the masses and that’s not okay. I’m glad Todd got his point across to the Quinn’s. Hopefully, if we see the Quinn’s again during the winter holidays we get to see them explore Todd’s Hanukkah traditions.

By far my favorite thing about Merry, Happy, Whatever, was the bond between the “Outlaws.” It’s funny since I didn’t name any of them my favorite character but truthfully their scenes together were my favorite ones to watch. The idea of in-laws feeling unwelcomed and out-of-place isn’t something that’s talked about much and I liked that Merry, Happy, Whatever chose to go there. What I really loved though was that the outlaws bonded over their crazy extended family instead of choosing not to interact with one another. Watching Joy and Todd take Matt under their wing was heartfelt and hilarious. It’s definitely the highlight of the show for me and will be the reason this show stands out in my mind years from now.

Overall, Merry, Happy, Whatever ended up being cute and entertaining. It was a bumpy ride but it was certainly worth it if you love the holidays and quirky multi-cam sitcoms. Is it for everyone? Definitely not. But is a nice escape from your own holiday family drama.

It’ll be interesting to see if Netflix decides to pick the show up for another season and if it does, what the season will revolve around. The creator hopes the show can serve as a “potential anthology series with future seasons exploring other holidays,” hence the name Merry, Happy, Whatever. Only time will tell.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Merry, Happy, Whatever is streaming now on Netflix.

[zonamievents]

Family Fun

Word Count: 2,354 words

Rating: G (fun for the whole family!)

Summary: Kuzan had gifted five tickets to the Roronoa family so that they could visit his winter wonderland theme park. AU

Note: I posted a map of the island that this AU takes place on, seen here. Check it out if it’ll help!

Nami had a bit of difficulty manoeuvring the stroller over a few uneven bricks, but her years of experience as a mother of two daughters had strengthened her for moments such as these. She knew how to avoid jostling the carriage too much so as not to disturb Marshall while he slept, especially since she knew that disturbing his mid-afternoon slumber would put a sour note on their Christmas Eve adventure. The weather was thankfully favourable, everyone was bundled to her parental preference – including the stubborn man-child she had married – and they had apparently arrived at Kuzan’s theme park, Camel’s Tundra.

“But isn’t that confusing?” Asked the ever curious Keri, her mitten-covered hands combing through her daddy’s hair as she sat on his shoulders. “A camel isn’t a winter aminal.”

Zoro ignored her quirky way of pronouncing the word and replied thoughtfully, “Maybe this camel is.”

“The water in its back-bump will freeze!” Giggled their eldest daughter. Her breath was frosty as it came out in puffs as she laughed, a precious sight that Nami adored.

However, she was once again impatient Zoro, a facet of their relationship that seemed to stick with them despite the five years they had been together. “Tell her that Camel is the name of the penguin, already!”

“It’d be dumb if it was a camel.” Came the gentle voice of Cameila from her mother’s side. Nami peeked down at the green-haired girl, her little curls making her look so adorable in her swing coat. Her expression was calm and cool like her father’s and her tongue could cut like any of his precious blades, yet her style was totally her mother’s.

Keri glared down at her sister in a way that was similar to Nami’s in ferocity. “But he called it Camel! What else am I supposed to think it is?” The grey sheen to her eyes could not betray her passion, regardless of the lack of color there was.

Zoro’s desire for his kids to get along was only half as obvious. “How about we all get a toy Camel on our way out, all right?”

“The penguin or a real camel?” Keri teased and returned to her snickering ways.

Nami rolled her eyes at her family’s antics and was about to delegate a plan on how they should handle the theme parks’ attractions, but little Cameila had a question first. “Mommy? Where’s my juice cup?”

“Huh? You were carrying it the whole way here.” She remembered with panic in her tone, the possibly neglectful mother.

Cameila’s lips slowly but surely began to puff out in protest. “I don’t have it now.”

“Yeah, but baby, you had it just—”

“I got it.” Coming to her rescue yet again, Roronoa Zoro turned around and revealed that he had made sure to grab his daughter’s sippy cup in order to guarantee that there’d be no melt downs on their outing. Their middle child had their biggest shared quality – a love to drink.

Only, she had a constant craving for juice.

With eager hands and a quick couple of words of, “Thanks, daddy.” Cameila was a happy little girl once again.

“Oh hey, you guys made it!” Came a chill voice from off to their right.

Everyone excluding the sleeping boy in the carriage turned their attention to the man who had called out to them – it was none other than Kuzan himself. “I was worried you’d miss out, since it’s already the middle of the afternoon.”

Nami offered him a smile right away. “You try dressing three little ones and big boy in a timely manner.”

Zoro glared at his wife, certainly, but Kuzan’s boisterous chuckle managed to hold their focus. “I’ll take your word for it. At least you made it in time for the last show; Camel and I have one last performance before we close up shop for the holidays.”

“Camel is your penguin, right? Why’s that his name?” Keri meant to ask something simple, but her accusatory finger made her intentions seem much more sinister.

Scratching the back of his head, their host showed her a very yankee-like expression. “Huh? That’s just the name he came with when I met him. What’s your name, girlie?”

“I’m Keri! I was the one who packed the backpacks so we could get here faster.” Proudly did she grin as she recounted her helpfulness. Her father smiled in the exact same fashion.

Visibly amused, Kuzan nodded. “Well good for you. Tell you what Keri, I’m leaving you in charge of getting your whole family onto that big Ferris Wheel over there by seven o’clock. That’s when we’re going to do our fireworks show and it’s going to look the best from the top of that ride. Okay?”

She didn’t mean to assault her father’s head, but Keri was just so excited that she began thrashing on Zoro’s shoulders. Her hand smacked down on his head as she cheered, “Okay! Leave it to me!”

“Great. I’ll see you all at the show – it’s just beyond the gift shop, our arena.” With that, he waved at the lot of them and sauntered off in the direction he had just motioned to.

“Mommy!” Exclaimed Keri at once, looking as if she was out of breath due to her own level of excitement. The way she turned her fur cap-donning head looked as if it should have hurt just as badly as it would have hurt Zoro to have her slap his bare forehead again.

Nami adored her eldest’s enthusiasm, and those she never addressed it directly, she knew that she had a weakness to her charming vibrancy. “Of course we can go see them. We’ll put your curiosity about Camel to rest.”

Whispering to herself, Cameila tacked on, “And maybe see the seals.” She had caught the sight of the plush versions of the animal in the gift shop window, possibly deciding on her souvenir then and there.

“Maybe we will,” Nami acknowledged as she turned Marshall’s stroller towards the arena. “We just got to watch the clock for seven, right? We all want to see those fireworks.”

Acting as the captain of their own little crew, Keri hailed, “Then let’s go, let’s go!”

“So,” Nami huffed as she sat a giddy Marshall up on her lap, cradling him as best as she could when the Ferris Wheel’s car began to sway. “what was everyone’s favourite part?”

After a long day at Camel’s Tundra, poor Keri was exhausted. She had brought everyone to the ride like Kuzan had asked her to, and yet she was beginning to behave like her father as she searched for a place to lie down. Fighting off her need to sleep, she was still first to answer, “I loved Camel’s show.”

“Huh!? But you made your daddy and Cameila go on ten other rides with you, and your favourite part was the very first thing we did?” Her daughter’s vivaciousness still managed to surprise her, even after five years.

The dozing child decided to take up the entire bench on the opposite side of the car so that she could rest before the fireworks. “But that was the best part.” She whined at her argumentative mother.

Sighing in defeat, Nami decided to let her nap for the minute or two they had before the show started and focus on the rest of her family. “What about you guys?”

It was obvious that Zoro was giving Cameila the chance to answer first, but when she seemed much too focused on unbuckling her coat while sitting between her parents, he decided to take the opportunity to answer next. After a quick yawn of course. “That hammer game was fun.” It wasn’t a surprise that Zoro enjoyed the test of strength they found in the park, not one bit, though it did bring up the very same question that was just posed to Keri.

Ten rides – from roller coasters that replicated a snowy mountain hike to bumper penguins to the toboggan slides – couldn’t compare to a stationary display of amusement?

“Yeah,” Cameila chose that moment to pipe up and join the conversation, “I liked that part too. The toy sea king daddy won me is my favorite.”

“Oh yeah? You don’t want your toy seal anymore?” Her own father joked with her about the very thing she had been hoping to get her hands on since they arrived. He smiled down at her to indicate that he was only teasing, the love for his daughter hidden in the edges of his lips.

She paused to think for a moment, then confirmed, “A sea king is better at guarding me at night.”

“Yeah, it is.” Although he was lost on her logic, her peaceable father agreed easily enough.

However, his smile faded rather quickly when his son started to act up. Marshall, the quiet baby up until they go on the Ferris Wheel as a family, had begun to grow fussy now that he was free from his stroller. Sitting on his mother’s lap – one of his favourite places to be, as everyone knew – he began to imitate his sister and undress himself.

And he decided to rip off the toque on his head in order to reveal the blond hair beneath it.

Nami did her best not to groan, growl, or scream at him when he scowled. She knew that Zoro loved all of his children with all of his heart, but the blond mess of curls on Marshall’s head ticked him off ever so slightly ever since the rest of the crew (and a few of their so-called friends) liked to tease him and say that the boy was probably Sanji’s lovechild with Nami! Never mind the fact that Sanji himself was desperately in love with one of her best friends, and that Zoro had married her shortly after she had Keri – people loved to get under his skin because he made it too easy sometimes.

No matter how many times she told him that orange hair could start off blond for babies and change over time, she never could appease his discomfort for long.

It probably didn’t help that he had her big brown eyes and his rival’s hair colour.

Usually, she took to ignoring him until they were out of ear shot of their children. “Marshall? Did you have a favourite part too? Even though you slept most of the chilly day away? Huh?” It was impossible for her to speak to her youngest and not cuddle him, bounce him in her lap, or adorn his chubby face with kisses. She opted to bounce him in her lap this time, given that he was already wiggling about.

A responsive child, Marshall always looked at Nami when she spoke to him. It wasn’t something he gifted to everyone, his attention, but he was a true momma’s boy from the moment she went to labour and was the least painful birth of her three kids. Thankfully, he didn’t notice his father’s strange distance from him and lived his life as a happy child.

Which might have been why he smiled wide when he answered Nami’s questions by swinging down his arms in the same motion Zoro would have done if he swung his sword, or an amusement park hammer.

“Yeah? You like when daddy won you that…weird…osfish toy?” She lifted her brow when she looked to her husband, waiting to see how he’d respond to that.

His heart on his sleeve, Zoro was caught off guard by his son’s apparent admiration for his prize-winning skill. The cat’s kitten had his tongue and it was thoroughly amusing to her. “Well maybe daddy can hold you then while mommy takes out her phone?” She phrased it as a question, nevertheless, she handed off her son like he weighed no more than her purse.

“W-Whoa! Nami!” Zoro barked back – much to Cameila’s apparent amusement – while he clamored to reach for Marshall. He scooped up his son expertly despite the quick toss off, his little bum finding a comfy seat in his father’s lap easily. If only she could have grabbed her phone fast enough to capture that very first moment the two most important men in her life had such a tender moment. However, a family picture would be good enough.

“Keri, the first firework is about to go off.” Nami warned once she saw the time on her phone. She was too busy setting up her camera to notice if her daughter heard her, but the scamper of little feet on the bottom of the Ferris Wheel car told her that she was safe. As did the sudden feeling of a slightly bigger bum than her baby boy’s dropping onto her thighs.

“Here!” Sang the once very tired little girl.

“Oof, okay!” Nami recognized her sudden appearance just as, like she had predicted, the first burst of colours went off in the night sky. A loud sound preceded the flash, then their car stopped shortly after. They weren’t at the top of the wheel but they were at the perfect spot to see the bright lights and the amusement park beneath them. It was the perfect backdrop, she couldn’t help but think, for her family photo. “All right everyone, push in together! Let’s take a picture.”

“Can we send it to Auntie Robin and Uncle Robot?” Asked Cameila from the middle of their crowded seat bench.

“We’ll send it to everyone and show them how much fun we had today.” Nami promised.

A very immature, “Good.” came from the spiteful Zoro, whose dark mood only kept an ignorant Marshall smiling.

“Okay, I’ll count down!” Keri decreed. “Three…two—”

“What do we say when you finish counting!?” Nami blurted out.

Keri’s mouth hung open while she was paused, the bright white sparkler in the sky highlighting her panic over deciding on what they all should say! But then, when the next firework went off, with its red and green light illuminating them all, the vibrant little girl proclaimed, “It’s obvious, mommy! We say ‘Merry Christmas’! Three! Two! One!”

“MERRY CHRISTMAS!”

(A/N: Sooo the thing about running an event is that you can post whenever you’re able to, right? …That’s totally how it works, right? …Ha ha, anyway! This was my prize for @madebyprincy, who requested a family adventure in a winter wonderland~ I did tone down the story since I don’t appreciate stories where there is a bunch of scene cutting – like from going from ride to ride – but I hope it still felt fun and cheery to read! Now, to explain my ideas for their kids:

Keri – oldest, born August 3rd. She has her mother’s hair and father’s eyes, dad’s skin tone and mom’s aura. She is an adventurer like the both of them but she naps like the one and only Roronoa Zoro! Her name is the Japanese word for a grey-headed lapwing bird, which follows the tradition in One Piece for female characters like Robin and Nojiko to be named after birds

Cameila – the middle child who shares my birthday, October 7th! She inherited her dad’s hair color, but it highlights her amber eyes really nicely. Her complexion is like her mother’s, but Zoro’s distant and laid back aura is shared with his second daughter. She can be blunt, especially when it comes to getting her juice. Her name stems from an orange flower with green leaves that is actually an ingredient in the oil used to clean swords

Marshall – baby of the family, he was born a day after his mom! His hair will turn red eventually but for now, it’s blond, much to Zoro’s displeasure. He also has chocolate brown eyes like Nami, even though they are shaped like his father’s. His skin is closer to Zoro’s as well, but the aura is his mother’s without a doubt. Even though he adores his mom, when Zoro isn’t looking, he’ll mimic his mannerisms a lot. Marshall is named after the greatest knight who ever lived in Medieval times, emulating his father’s desire to be the world’s greatest swordsman!

I hope you enjoyed it enough that it was worth some of the wait! And I hope everyone enjoys these little munchkins that I made! I don’t normally design kids for characters, but I gave it a shot for our lovely prize winner who wanted to see ZoNa with three kids~ Anyway, Merry belated Christmas everyone!)