#onsite shooting

[zooeytang]

First time we tried to introduce the waterproof PE liner presented by real person

#youtube #waterproofliner #waterproof sheet #waterproof sheets #waterproof lining #rainwater harvesting #rainwater harvesting system #live presentation #fun to watch #bummer #onsite shooting #impermeable #geomembrane #water prevention #anti leak #seepage control #rainwater system #sewerage services #pe liner #lake liner #composite liner #membrane #waterproofing membranes market #rainwater storage #waterproofing membrane #hdpe geomembrane #pond lining #pondliner #welding #plastic membrane

[weirdmarioenemies]

Name: Binoculars

Debut: Super Mario 3D Land

Wow! What a large and crisp render of Binoculars. This is more than a lot of enemies get. And it's all for Binoculars!

It is nice to see binoculars as an installed apparatus for public use. It reminds me of those binoculars that are sometimes at parks or zoos where you can put in a quarter and get a limited amount of time to look at ducks more closely. Let's look!

Wow! There's a North American Ruddy Duck! in this pond! That's my favorite duck! The blue of the male's bill is probably my favorite color, and they are so cute, especially with their funny proportions. Their head looks too small for their body, but their feet look too BIG for the rest of them! Their feet are large and further back on their body because they are divers who swim down to find food, unlike the dabbling ducks, which keep their butts above the water while foraging. Oops! I forgot that this is a Mario Post and that we aren't actually watching ducks at a pond!

Anyway I just found out those kinds of binoculars are called Tower Viewers. More like Quacker Viewers. Ok on to Mario for real now! Mario, sadly, does not view ducks with these binoculars. They are free, however, which is nice! I'm glad there are ways for everyone to enjoy the Mushroom Kingdom's landscapes at a distance and at no costs. In fact, Mario is sometimes rewarded for using them, as a Toad will throw him a Star Medal upon being seen! A Toad who really wants to bee looked at and goes HAH BAH.

Mario can also see a UFO through the binoculars sometimes! This is often brought up as a Creepy Easter Egg despite the fact that aliens have been present in this franchise since 1989!

With all that about the 3D Land binoculars out of the way, I am really here to say that the binoculars in Odyssey are BETTER. They look like ROB, and overall are a Funny Robot, so they are obviously better by default! They even move around on their own as if they are looking around, and they are really so good at looking, since they are binoculars. I think the binoculars themselves are bird enthusiasts and watch them in delight constantly!

These binoculars even have LORE as seen in the art book, and shared by Suppermariobroth! They are made by the same company as the 3D Land binoculars, and are an older model not capable of stereoscopic 3D! They were installed by the sightseeing company for onsite investigation, and someone has to come and collect the logs from the devices every so often. I seriously love this all sooo much! It is so cute and wonderful that they put this much thought into humble little Binoculars! BinocuLORE!

I would now like to talk about just how these binoculars work! Upon being Captured, they shoot up using spray propulsion (not jet propulsion!!!) and let Mario scope out the area from the sky! Mario got extremely lucky that he happened across these specific binoculars when he happened to have the ability to Capture them, because anyone else using this would be in extreme danger. Please hang on tight!

Binoculars most recently appear in Super Nintendo World, where they are now real! They use the 3D Land design, which makes sense knowing it is canonically the modern design. You can even look at certain things to get little rewards just like in the game! Super Mario in real life! Wa Who!

#binoculars #super mario 3d land #super mario odyssey #super nintendo world #mario #mod chikako

[w4yf1nder]

i’ve been playing ace attorney and i love gumshoe but heizou will always be the og detective in my heart 😔

“detective heizou.” he doesn’t miss the way your lip curls in displeasure.

“well, if it isn’t my favorite prosecutor.” he responds lightheartedly, clicking his pen closed and sliding it behind his ear. “here for some onsite investigation?”

“unavoidable when working with someone like you.” you respond almost immediately.

“ah, you wound me.” he says with a playful frown, not seeming too wounded at all.

“enough about that. what’s the situation?” you huff, trying to take a peek at his notes.

“just summarizing all of the details for your perusal, of course.” he responds smoothly, allowing you to look. “i’m still waiting for forensics to get back to me, but looks like this is going to be an easy win for you.”

“i will have to ask you to refrain from conjecture, detective heizou.” you give him a stern look.

“of course, i seem to forget how much you lawyers despise conjecture.” heizou can’t help the sly grin on his lips when he notices you glare at him again.

“i will head on over to the scene then, good day.” you respond coolly, not wanting to spend one more second in his presence.

“ah, prosecutor.” he calls out, “fair word of caution, the scene is…particularly gruesome today.”

you frown at that, “thank you, but it’s nothing i can’t handle.”

well, doesn’t he know it.

he still remembers the sight of you, a few years ago at this point, trembling at the mere sight of blood. you were so terrified by all of the blood and the tape marking the position of the dead body that he was sure you weren’t cut out for onsite work.

but look at you now.

he smiles, the expression far more genuine this time. “alright, i’ll be out here if you need me.”

“bold of you to assume i will.” you shoot back and he laughs.

perhaps you were right to ask him to refrain from conjecture.

“you’ve come a long way, prosecutor.” he mumbles to himself, but he wouldn’t be caught dead saying that to your face.

#it’s a little rough. i wrote this at 5 am after almost a year of not writing #but this is my comeback arc 😍 #heizou shikanoin x reader #heizou fluff #heizou x you #heizou headcanons #genshin heizou #genshin scenarios #genshin impact x reader #genshin x reader

[abybweisse]

Ch210, Spoiler: windmill and overlaid text

There's a comment on this post about Theo's reasoning for thinking this sewer leads to the river. He says something about a windmill, and some blades are shown here.

Blown up, it's much easier to see, because I didn't realize what I was looking at earlier. I figure it must be the same windmill shown on the cover of ch193, unless there's more than one on the property.

Honestly, it's probably the same one, even if there are others there.

I was discussing the spoilers on Discord, and a helpful member there -- I'll call them anon here -- did some research on drainage windmills in the UK while also trying to get a decent translation of what Theo says. Screenshot:

It's not powered by the water (of course), but it's using wind power to pump water (drainage).

Previously, I'd argued perhaps it's pumping water out of the river and through plumbing (very innovative and high-end for something like an orphanage) or to irrigate crops raised onsite -- to help feed staff and students, as well as provide some students with crop-raising skills. I could imagine Corgis learning this, perhaps even Mastiffs and Collies, but Pomeranians wouldn't receive such training.

But anon found good info about the use of windmills in eastern England:

The Broads and The Fens of East Anglia include Norfolk. I'm still having trouble understanding why this particular windmill would be at the river, unless it's pumping water from the surrounding land (and from buildings) and dumping it into the river. Ok, that makes sense, though I'm still not entirely sure how it's draining water from the land itself.

I don't know much about the physical geography of the area, so I did some very quick research of my own.

The river running through this orphanage is likely either one of these or -- even more likely -- one of their tributaries. Since they need a pump to drain the land more than what the river does on its own, they must be on very low-lying land in the county. Maybe parts of the land create pockets that retain water that must be continuously pumped out.

Which makes me wonder how long it might take to flood all the underground tunnels and chambers... if they destroyed the windmill. 🤔 Because the drain they find still appears to be underground, below the barn....

Anyway, they still need to survive the approaching (and armed and shooting) staff. I just saw the rest of the chapter, so I'm cutting this post a bit shorter than it would have been.

I will just quickly say that the text in black on the last page of the spoilers I posted earlier is, in fact, not part of the chapter but a text overlay from a reader on the hosting site it came from. There, a reader comments about the chapter being so short. As someone on Discord said, it could be that this ends up as the last chapter in its volume. It does seem fitting for an "at midnight" sort of chapter.

Ok, I'll post the full, untranslated, chapter soon.

#black butler #kuroshitsuji #ch210 #black butler spoilers #kuro spoilers #kuroshitsuji spoilers #spoilers #theo #theodore #windmill #norfolk #fol orphanage #orphanage #mar 17 2024 #ch193

[shyshitter]

“you’re young and idealistic. believe me, once you’re my age, you’ll have grown out of it.”

actually? fuck you. if i ever lose the belief that human beings are not inherently selfish or competitive and are in fact capable of creating a society where all people are treated with dignity and equity, just shoot me onsite. sorry you refuse to believe our current system is inherently biased towards the people actively controlling it and therefor will never allow any change that would usurp that. as if that’s my fault

#thanksgiving was. #fine #hashtag house the homeless #hashtag free Palestine #had both of those fun conversations today #realized some rather frustrating opinions of my relatives #ava rambles

[ashleywool]

What would you need from the fans of How To Dance In Ohio for a ProShot to be streamed somewhere like Broadway HD or similar? Would it need to be a Kickstarter or a social media campaign? Is there anyone we can write to? Part of my reason for asking is selfish, since I would love to see the show, but this show is also historic and groundbreaking in a lot of different ways and I also think your amazing performances need to be preserved as a part of Broadway history.

I know this is probably a really sad time for you and the rest of the Ohio cast/creative team and even if a ProShot never happens and nothing ever comes of it, just know that you, all of you, touched more lives and hearts than you could possibly know just by being who you are.

Thanks so much for asking. This is something we have been discussing with the producers, because obviously we'd all love it to happen too.

Warning: incoming info-dump, albeit a grossly oversimplified one:

It would cost about $3M to produce a pro-shot. Here's an incomplete list of where that money would go:

-The regular costs of the venue itself--which, when you include rent, utilities, and staff salaries (security, bartenders, ushers, custodians, all the people who are just in charge of maintaining the Belasco), comes out to about $1K a minute.

-The labor of obtaining necessary permits for filming onsite.

-The labor of the film crew, including load-in, setup, and breakdown of equipment, and coordinating with stage management to make sure their shooting doesn't get in the way of backstage choreography, and making any adjustments accordingly

-The collaboration between the film crew and the in-house sound crew to make sure the audio is captured and balanced properly

-The labor of post-production: editing, color correction, sound adjustment, etc.

-There are also different contracts (and higher pay) for the actors, stage managers, stage crew, sound crew, lighting crew, and wardrobe crew, in addition to our current contracts wherein we're just doing the show as usual. This can get particularly complicated with the actors and stage managers, since our Broadway contracts are through Actors' Equity Association (the union for stage actors and stage managers) but the contract for having our work filmed and distributed in theaters or on streaming platforms is under SAG-AFTRA (the union for film actors).

This is not a complete list, but to give you some context: that's about what it would cost just to make the thing. The costs and logistics of actually distributing it is a different story altogether, and a lot of that would depend on strategizing around future productions and making sure the availability of the pro-shot wouldn't compromise, say, a national tour. I'm not a producer and don't have the numbers and the research, but what I'd love to see happen is, the pro-shot gets a limited theatrical release to coincide with a national tour, and then gets released to streaming platforms when the tour is wrapped. (Of course, as an elder millennial who's genetically incapable of not being financially stressed, I don't care where or how it's released as long as I get those residual checks lol.)

As to your question of crowdfunding: as far as I understand it (and I'm not an entertainment lawyer so I likely have very incomplete information, so don't take my word at total face value): in order to crowdfund for a pro-shot, the producers would likely need to establish a new business entity and it would have to be a nonprofit entity so it could legally solicit donations from the public. Broadway shows are commercially produced, and each iteration of the commercially-produced production has its own business entity. When the show was in workshops and in Syracuse, the business entity was "Amigos in Ohio, LLC." The Broadway entity is "Amigos on Broadway, LLC." The only difference it makes on my end is the name that shows up on my bank statement when I get my direct deposit every week, but the difference it makes from a producer perspective is much more significant and it has a big effect on how productions are legally and ethically allowed to be funded, and again I'm not an entertainment lawyer so explaining what those differences are is beyond me.

I will say, however, Ken Davenport has been a real innovator when it comes to how shows can be produced--in 2010, he launched what eventually became the first crowdfunded Broadway musical with the Godspell revival. I know very little about how all of that actually works, but I do think something like that would be a boon to the industry in the year of our dark Majestic Theater 2024. And it would also give the fans a way to connect with the material and the business on a deeper and more personal level.

Meanwhile, if you want to learn more about how Broadway works from the producers' side, you should check out Sammy Lopez's Producing 101 course on The Business of Broadway. (I'm going to be in an upcoming class myself and it's all virtual, so maybe I'll see you there!)

#how to dance in ohio #broadway #musical theatre #musicals #htdio #theatre #broadway producing #showbiz

[pix4japan]

Tofu Delights: A Taste of Tradition, Innovation, and Community

Location: Gumyoji, Minami Ward, Yokohama, Japan Timestamp: 17:18・2024/04/09

Fujikata Tofu Shop Fujifilm X100V with 5% diffusion filter ISO 640 for 1/250 sec. at ƒ/2.0 Classic Negative film simulation

Nestled in the eastern end of the Gumyoji Shotengai, this charming mom-and-pop tofu shop boasts a delightful tradition: crafting fresh tofu onsite each morning. Upon approaching the shop, I was greeted by an array of tofu varieties, each promising a unique blend of flavors and textures, all at pocket-friendly prices.

During a brief chat with the owner's wife, I discovered the rich history behind the shop, which first opened its doors over 60 years ago in Showa Year 37 (1962). As she graciously offered me a sample of their signature silken tofu, I couldn't help but marvel at its delicate balance of lightness and flavor.

One visit wasn't enough to satisfy my curiosity—or my appetite. Intrigued by whispers of tofu donuts, I found myself drawn back to the shop, eager to indulge. With each bite, I savored the dense, moist texture and subtle sweetness, feeling a surge of energy that propelled me through the rest of my day's photo shoot.

To access the full 2-minute write-up, Google Maps directions, source references for further reading, and a glossary, visit my latest blog post (https://www.pix4japan.com/blog/20240409-tofu).

#ストリートスナップ #横浜 #弘明寺商店街 #藤方豆腐店 #pix4japan #FujifilmX100V #streetphotography #Japan #Yokohama #GumyojiShotengai #tofushop

[rougedraconteur]

Pop Crave is reporting on Twitter: R/yan Mu/rphy reportedly threatens WGA (Writer’s Guild of America) East Coast strike captain with lawsuit. A possibly libelous and accusatory tweet that cannot be validated with hard evidence seems to be at the heart of the case. RM, a member of the West ther groupCoast WGA, currently has three shows actively shooting on the East Coast—American Horror Story, American Sports Story, and the anthology American Horror Stories. His team is officially saying he is not onsite, though all sites are being actively picketed by East Coast WGA members, who report RM is present on site and is actively crossing picket lines, according to PC and HR articles. Rules allow showrunners and producers and directors, through WGA agreements with their guilds and unions, to continue working from previous scripts, and RM is officially all of these; however, ANY changes in those scripts DONE BY WRITERS apparently would constitute a rewrite, and violate the rules of the strike. The strike captain apparently had reports of violations, from writers forced to be on set or face retribution, a clear violation of the agreements with other unions, and part of his job is to follow up with reports from WGA members and investigate. Or, it WAS his job. This strike captain has apparently voluntarily withdrawn (or been forced) from his position, due to RM’s threat to sue him AND the WGA, and is facing his legal battle alone, though the thread shows that others are rallying behind him and raising funds for his defense. The articles contain more details.

Past WGA strikes did result in cases made for violations, with expulsion from membership, and/or stiff fines, for those found guilty, while others, such as J/ay L/eno, were absolved through hearings.

A link from the Pop Crave story leads to a more complete story at Hollywood Reporter. RM currently has ended his massive contract with Netflix, according to word leaked on June 20, and he is actively courting Disney to get a new deal with The Mouse House. Glee is already on Dis/ney+, while AHS anthology is on Hulu, though some other possible deals in the making by I/ger and the board could leave Hulu’s future in doubt. Fx currently hosts his other shows, and falls under the Mouse House as well, and current Fx Chairman B/ob Land/graf still reigns supreme there. Lan/dgraf pal and RM’s self-professed “bestie” and godmother of his children, something RM himself has remarked on multiple times in interviews, D/ana W/alden, has risen up the ranks, and is Co-chair of Disney Entertainment, which covers almost everything else but Fx and maybe the theme parks, and only has current CEO B/ob Ig/er and the current Disney board to answer to in her present position. (She is also on the board of Live Nation, which I find very interesting in regards to her current job, but I digress.)

Twitler is insane right now, I don’t want to corrupt anyone else’s feeds with a direct link.

#wga strike 2023 #pop crave on twitter #hollywood reporter

[lasenbyphoenix]

Unshakable Faith (2023)

Episode 31 Breakdown

In the factory courtyard Nurse Bai is chatting with He Xiwan when Assistant Rui runs through, chased by police. He grabs He Xiwan and holds her hostage and when he slashes Nurse Bai's arm with his knife, Officer Hongmei shoots him. Ji Danyang and He Xiwan check on Nurse Bai while her wound is being treated and in the police office, Officer Hongmei is annoyed that they couldn't capture Assistant Rui alive.

The police team want to see what reaction Assistant Rui's death causes in their other suspects so Officer Hongmei stakes out the library, watching the fake Li Qiuchen. Officer Hongmei follow him through town, but is interrupted by Nurse Bai who has been watching her. The fake Li Qiuchen evades her and meets with seamstress Miao who advises him of Assistant Rui's death.

Dr Bai's patient tells him he's found the cellar they've been looking for. At home, Dr Bai starts preparing the medicine Snow Wolf wants to use, and puts the key Xu Wenzheng gave him into an envelope.

The police team discuss who Assistant Rui had regular contact with, including Nurse Bai treating his nosebleeds. When Nurse Bai is giving Expert Chief Chu a massage, Police Captain Chen calls him asking him to leave his office for a few minutes. Officer Hongmei and Officer Ding watch Nurse Bai from a neighbouring window, but she only cleans while she waits for Expert Chief Chu to return. The police team are split among themselves regarding their suspicions of Nurse Bai, but Officer Hongmei can't deny her frequent involvement in their investigations.

Officer Hongmei receives the unexpected invitation from the fake Li Qiuchen to climb Dongshan with him, accepting for the chance to investigate him further. As they climb they both question the other and both evade giving any full answers. Afterwards, the fake Li Qiuchen is awarded at a public ceremony as Officer Hongmei watches on, declaring it his father's wish to donate the copper mine to the city.

The expert team gives Factory Chief Han and the Police Chief a tour of the survival chamber test lab inside the air raid shelter, and expert Lei Peizhang is bitten by a poisonous spider while they're visiting. After curing the spider bite, Nurse Leader Ge advises Expert Chief Chu that they should have the lab disinfected and have medical staff onsite to do it, which he approves and Nurse Leader Ge, Nurse Bai and Nurse Shanshan visit the lab to disinfect it.

Seamstress Miao and fake Li Qiuchen review the information from Nurse Bai about the air raid shelter's location, and the seamstress advises that there was an unfinished second air raid shelter on a neighbouring face of the mountain that she could try to find.

Officer Hongmei receives the key and an anonymous letter, guiding the police team to search the nearby destroyed Shiqiao Village.

............................................

Another spy bites the dust!

I do feel bad for the likes of Assistant Rui, he was kicked out by his sister's husband as a kid and was begging on the streets when he was recruited to the Nanshen class, similarly Nurse Bai had been kidnapped and it was the KMT that found her before Dr Bai could. They were indebted to those who saved them, unfortunately their saviours chose to train them to be weapons.

Too many coincidences are now working against Nurse Bai, right when things are ramping up for her. Some of the police team are like "Nurse Bai can't be a suspect, she got injured!", completely forgetting that Security Captain Li jumped between Hongmei and a grenade and was still a spy. Dont fall for the pretty face!! Also don't let our math man know you're suspecting Nurse Bai or you'll never hear the end of it.

Do I want her to survive this? I want Dr Bai to survive this, but I suspect he won't. The narrative theme is following a fairly traditional idea that the "bad guys" don't get to get away with it, this show will end with all the spies we've seen being caught (maybe with the exception of Commander Kou but he's stuck in Taiwan so he'll lose all of his agents or be demoted instead).  Like Lai Guangrun said to Dr Bai, you can't escape your past, so unless it unveils that he has been undercover for the CCP since before the liberation, no matter how many good deeds he does now (like giving the key and location of Snow Wolf's cellar to Hongmei, where I'm suspecting her father is buried), he was aligned with the KMT who are this story's bad guys, so he can't get out of this unscathed. The best we can hope for him is to be arrested, but seeing as Nurse Bai is also on the losing side and thus also needs to pay for her actions, I'd expect some sort of self sacrifice to protect her that causes his death.

As for Nurse Bai, she's our second female lead so because of that position I'd expect her to live, and have a moment of partial redemption at the end - like she's learned that the KMT lied to her about the CCP killing her parents (which has been her motivating reason to be involved) and she turns on them at the last minute.

#unshakable faith #unshakable faith episode reviews #liu xueyi #peng xiaoran #ding yongdai

[xplrvibes]

im back. you know what.. i just saw the videos from the gaol for the first time (i thought my soul would cringe out my butthole) and it wasn’t that bad. yes, it’s stupid for the owner to leak it, and the fans gathering like that is hella cringe. but people made it out a lot worse. snc handled that very well. colby immediately takes charge and says they’re not doing individuals but can do a group photo.

they had the opportunity to completely ignore the fans but I reckon once they got set up inside they knew it was likely in the best interest of the shoot to go see the fans outside then they’ll leave. then they booked it inside after a quick goodbye lol

nicely handled, very pr. their manager would be proud.

i will say sam recording them for xplrclub (idk if he actually posted it on xplrclub, i dont have the app) tells me they actually didnt care the fans were there. bc if they did, why celebrate it? this just validates the behaviour. But oh well lol

- aussie anon

See, the problem is that the people involved in leaking this info in the first place are out there trying to justify their doxxing actions because "snc looked happy, so who cares."

And hey, maybe they knew about this beforehand, and that's fine. And I don't really begrudge the fans that were given the opportunity from the owners to go in and meet them, cause they were given a chance and took it.

My problem lies with the people who are straight up stalking them. Following them everywhere and going onto that goddamn discord server and gc and telling everyone where they will be - up to and including their hotels and rental car info - following them to their hotel, talking to the hotel staff, joking openly about knocking on hotel room doors to find them...and that behavior is now being celebrated because these idiots are out there going "well they were happy to see us, so stop hating," and just trying to gaslight everyone who is rightly uncomfortable about how far this shit is escalating.

There is no universe in which snc is fine with everything that is transpiring. They may have been fine with the owner bringing people into the Gaol, idk. If they were, then I'm happy for everyone involved. But there's no way on earth they are ok with being stalked and doxxed at the level that is going on. But because this group of people got them on camera smiling and controlling the situation, everyone who has been behaving abhorantly and participating in this shit is now taking this as a sign that it's game on.

They did handle the situation like pros, considering how it does appear that they were completely taken aback by the whole thing (from comments I've seen from the staff onsite). I give them kudos for that. The only problem is, now everyone thinks it's totally fine to encourage and continue this behavior, and it's going to escalate and end very, very badly.

But yea, idk why they left their producer in the States...unless he's there and just in hiding, idk. I'd be hiding, if I were him. 🤣

Idk, this whole situation is just ugly and not ok, especially if this owner really did set them up. But even if he didn't - these fans that are publicly doxxing them and the ones encouraging it need to be stopped. 🤷‍♀️

But it's in one ear and out the other with them, so whatever. Hopefully they get through the next week without any traumatic incidents or pending lawsuits lol.

#asks #aussie anon

[nickgerlich]

Shoot And Leave

In the rush to return to some semblance of normalcy in the post-COVID era, we have resumed traveling. And I mean traveling with reckless abandon. Forget about high gas prices and air fares, we’re just doing it anyway.

The big trend this summer was a European vacation—not the movie, but your own vacation. Personally, I drove 14,000 miles on three long trips, and went to Costa Rica. Pent-up demand was certainly driving all of us.

But a new problem has emerged in this digital era: overtourism. Essentially, the problem is this: People are flocking to tourist hotspots, taking and posting selfies, leaving without spending any money (or very little), and then, thanks to social media, inspiring others to visit also. It’s a cycle that some cities are now trying to combat by imposing tourism taxes.

And it is not much unlike the congestion tax we see in places like London, whereby drivers pay £15 per day to drive into the congestion zone. Some cities are charging $5-$10 per day for the privilege of day tripping. I doubt they will deter people though, especially once you factor in the cost of getting there in the first place. What’s another $10?

Overtourism is also happening locally. The Cadillac Ranch opened in 1974 as an art installation that the Ant Farm creative team developed and then sold in concept to Stanley Marsh 3. A few years ago, I interviewed the two surviving members for a feature that appeared in ROUTE Magazine. They never intended for the cars to be spray painted; that just happened organically. Located along I-40 a couple of miles west of Amarillo, it is reported to have more than two million visitors each year. It was even moved in 1997 from its original location a few feet west of the new Sam’s Club, to allow room for the city to grow.

So popular is the place that TxDOT had to install concrete jersey barriers to separate the Frontage Road from the freeway (to keep people from just driving through the grassy median to get there). I always scratched my head over why Marsh (who died in 2014) never monetized the place. That all changed two years ago when his family trust (to whom he had bequeathed the ranch in 2013) put a merch trailer onsite. The trailer sells t-shirts, caps, and the usual trinkets, as well as spray paint.

Duh. That was an easy one, because, as rumor has it, until then, the Home Depot at Soncy and I-40 was reputed to have the highest spray paint sales of any store in the chain.

Alas, people have taken to painting anything and everything, including the dirt, the road, the fence, and even the jersey barriers. On weekends, there is a traffic snarl along that stretch, with dozens and dozens of cars parked helter skelter. Tourists do their thing, take selfies, and post them.Then the cycle continues.

Good on the Marsh family trust to finally figure out how to separate people from a little bit of their money, but not all places are as lucky. When selfies in unique places become a prize unto themselves, a trophy for having been so cool as to seek out those places, there is always the risk that visitors will shoot and leave.

Wouldn’t it be nice if even just 10% of those Cadillac Ranch visitors stopped long enough for fuel or a meal? Better yet, how about lodging? I bet most people just keep going, though.

I am particularly guilty of this. Heck, my Facebook profile pic is of me standing by—wait for it—that familiar row of painted Cadillacs. And I have done this in many other places. It was no different from when we went to Carhenge in western Nebraska a few years ago. Snap snap snap…and off we went.

My passion is photographing roadside America, specializing in vintage neon signage, but also including the 1960s-era fiberglass Muffler Men and other oddities. Often I will shoot a selfie after I have finished doing my usual photo documentation. I seldom stay long enough anywhere to spend money, though. Some of the most common questions I am asked are “Did you eat there?” and “Did you spend the night there?”

If I did that, I would never be able to photograph as many things as I do.

As for cities and states that are tourism magnets, it is often a love-hate relationship. You hope people linger long enough to spend lots of money, but at the same time, you begin to loathe the traffic problems tourism can create. Just try to drive through Orlando Florida any time of the year. Or, to pick on a city closer to home, Albuquerque during Balloon Fiesta.

Then there is the case of China, the second biggest economy in the world. When I took my Chinese-born daughters there in 2019, we shot and posted tons of photos. While the notorious “Chinese Firewall” keeps residents from accessing western media, all it took was a VPN pointed at Hong Kong for us to dodge that bullet. And I suspect that the Chinese are good with this, because we basically became their pro bono advertising agency.

Ah, but China just lives with congestion. Bring it, baby, and bring lots of US dollars.

If anything, we can thank smartphones, social media, and always-on internet for putting a lot of this into hyper-drive. I don’t see things getting any better, short of another pandemic (please, no). Just don’t hog the space. Take your selfie and get out of the way. We’ve all got influencing to do.

Dr “Among The Worst Offenders” Gerlich

Audio Blog

#marketing #overtourism #tourism #travel #selfies

[aconstantstateofbladerunner]

Hey I was just rereading some of your one shots and was wondering if you can tell us anything more on the idea of 'hostile architecture'? The idea I just find so intriguing, though I know different, wonderful stores are coming first. I just wondered if there was anything more you were up to sharing?

Hostile Architecture probably isn’t coming as a fic but the concept is going to be reworked into an original though much smaller scale novella.

The original idea for the fic was that strange occurrences keep happening at this mall and hero school competition, namely people disappearing without anyone besides Izuku noticing. This part culminates in an entire team disappearing mid match. At first, Izuku thinks it’s some kind of villain activity, and he does uncover evidence of some happening on the grounds, but when he tries to report it, security starts shooting at him. He runs and hides deeper and deeper in the mall that never seems to end. Kinda hazy on the in between, but the big twist was going to be that the mall itself was alive and eating people. The original architect of the main died during construction onsite and his flesh fused with the foundations; bone supports, muscle insulation, nerve ending wires. It was going to be left ambiguous whether it was some kind of fucked up quirk or genuinely supernatural. Ending was something along the lines of the mall being abandoned, but not destroyed, implying that eventually the tragedies there would fade into rumor and people would eventually try and turn it into a normal mall again, repeating the cycle.

#answers

[fatalezr]

San Merido - Part Three

(inspiration and story credit to @alien500)

Linda looked again at the front page of the paper that her boss Henry had thrown down on the table. The main story was about the continued rampage of a group of supposedly-female mobsters. According to witnesses, their latest hit had been outside a cafe, shooting down a police captain and a lieutenant in the Berlucci family.

"What a load of shit" Henry said, shaking his head, "broads with guns? Who is this paper trying to kid?"

Linda said nothing and continued with her work, repairing a typewriter that had broken. She would never say it out loud but secretly she wanted to believe that Henry was wrong. She had been following the story herself with great interest. It had provided hours of daydreaming fun for her as she worked away quietly in the repair shop for the Western Savings Bank. She hoped it was true. It was fun to believe there was a group of powerful women out there, shooting people mercilessly, taking what they wanted with impunity.

She had moved to San Merido from Colorado three months ago and found herself this job at the bank. It was often boring and tedious but it would do for now until she found her footing and found inspiration in life, although she had found she had talent with machines and using her hands to repair them. She was still young, only 23 years of age and reasonably pretty but she knew she wanted more in life than to just be a devoted wife and homemaker. The challenge was deciding what to do.

Being an actress was something she had considered. Linda loved going to the movies, especially watching some of the new gangster films that had been created by Hollywood in recent times. She had been out last night and seen a film where several mobsters were mown down with Thompson submachine guns by their rivals and she had found the scene riveting. When she had arrived back at her lodging and got into bed, she replayed the scene in her mind but this time imagining the protagonists were these women in pinstripe suits that she had read about. The thought had been a pleasurable one and she had touched herself until she reached a point of climax.

The bank was certainly taking the threat seriously. There were four policemen onsite at all times, always carrying their own Thompson submachine guns. On days when work was particularly frustrating, Linda had let the thought of grabbing one briefly enter her mind.

"Hey Linda, fix a coffee will you?" Henry's voice boomed through the workshop, cutting through her brief daydreams.

"Sure thing sir" she said, standing up. She was still the newest member of the six of them but didn't like that he always made her be the one to fetch the coffee for everyone. She smoothed down her woolen skirt as she stood and went to the small kitchen area in that part of the bank. It was down a long corridor from the office where she worked, past other administrative departments where men and women worked away on processing transactions. She put some water on the stove and took a deep breath.

BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM, BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. The sounds of submachine gun fire made her alert. It sounded close. Was it outside the window or inside the bank? BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. The next volley was closer and her heart raced as she realised that the shots were inside the bank and coming closer. She heard distant screams of colleagues. There were shouts from the offices near her.

Linda froze, not wanting to move. Was she about to come face to face with the gang the newspapers had been talking about? BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. There were more volleys and some shouts of pain. There was almost continuous gunfire now. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM, BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM, BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM, BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. Some shots were more distant and she guessed some assailants were in the main part of the bank whereas the others seemed to be getting closer.

There was a banging sound as the door at the end of the corridor burst open and Linda spied a woman in a pinstripe suit with a fedora hat on her head. She was wearing no shirt, a hint of her brassiere very clearly on display and in her leather-gloved hands she held a Thompson submachine gun. Her lips were scarlet red. Linda thought she was breathtakingly beautiful but hid inside the kitchenette.

She watched as the woman kicked open the first door to her right and fired. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. The gun sparked as the bullets let fly and Linda heard the shouts of two men who worked in the office. Another pinstriped woman entered the hallway, Tommy gun at her waist, this one wearing a black shirt and white silk tie and kicked open the next door.

"This is a fucking robbery" she shouted at the people inside and Linda knew it was her colleagues in the finance team, "all you fuckers, hands up!". There was the sound of boots running at the other end of the corridor and Linda saw how the two gangsters both turned towards the sound, seeing the two Tommy gun wielding policemen as they did so.

They were quick on the triggers as the two men wheezed and appeared. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. They opened fire and both men were cut down just outside the door to the kitchen, jerking like puppets as the bullets ripped up their chests.

"Fuck" Linda said quietly but it was not in fear. She realised it was in excitement and anticipation. Her nipples started to harden beneath the white brassiere she wore. She put her hand over her mouth to stifle any noise as she heard the women approach the fallen men and BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM, unload into both of their heads.

The blonde woman had stepped over the bodies and now went to the office where Linda worked normally. "Don't fucking try anything!" the blonde called. "Get your hands up and move!". It sounded like they were rounding up the employees on the floor as the other woman ushered the finance team into a legal office.

"All of you, face the wall, hands on your head" she commanded.

The door at the end of the corridor opened again and Linda could hear another woman, who sounded like she had been running. "Suzy! Annie!" she called, "we need you a second".

"Alright fuckers, on your knees" the blonde woman's voice said. "I find any one of you even thinks of moving, I'll execute the entire fucking lot" and with that, she left the hallway with her other colleague.

Linda peered from around the kitchen corner. The corridor was clear now, save for the two dead policemen. Their Tommy guns had fallen to their side and Linda felt an urge to pick one up. She stepped into the corridor, over their bodies and did so, gripping the handle and the foregrip tightly. It felt amazing in her hands and her heart continued to race. She felt different holding the gun. She was respected, powerful, deadly...

She looked into the room and saw Henry whispering to the other hostages. There were about just over a dozen in total, all kneeling, some whimpering. "Hey everyone, relax" Henry was whispering, his face to the wall. "Just do as they say, it'll all be OK".

Linda put the gun at her waist and swivelled her hips back and forth, pretending as if she was hosing the line of hostages down like she was in a gangster film. She particularly wanted to concentrate on the asshole boss Henry. Her nipples hardened further and far from being afraid of the thoughts, she began to embrace them.

Her nose caught the scent of a floral perfume just a second before a voice behind her whispered "Do it". Linda jumped a little as she realised the blonde woman had returned and was now stood behind her. "It's OK" the blonde whispered, "I saw you. You want to do him, pull the trigger".

Linda's finger started to straighten and move towards the trigger of the gun. She felt it's cold metal touch with the end of her index finger and then felt the woman behind her start to move her leather-gloved hand slowly up her stomach and to her breast. It was so erotic. Linda breathed deeply as her senses heightened.

She pulled the trigger. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. The gun exploded and she was almost knocked backwards by the recoil but she controlled it, marvelling how the spent casings flew to the side and the front lit up as she shot Henry in the back. His white shirt became peppered with red holes and Linda felt a rush of ecstasy. The woman massaged her breast more and she leant forward into the gun. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. She kept the finger pressed and watched as Henry was lit up.

"Oh fuck" she said breathlessly as she let go of the trigger. She was breathing quickly.

"Do his head" the blonde whispered, "a nice quick burst".

Linda obeyed. She had to. The blonde was intoxicating, as was the gun. She moved it up to her shoulder instinctively to get a better aim and fired. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. Henry's head splattered open and the rest of the hostages screamed.

'Oh my god' Linda thought, 'I just killed someone'. The thought seemed crazy until a new one replaced it. 'I just killed someone and it was fucking awesome!'. She looked at the smoking barrel of the gun and then behind her to where the blonde woman smiled at her.

"That gun belongs to you now" the blonde woman said. She fished into her pinstripe jacket and pulled out a large round drum. Linda could see it was full of bullets ready to be fired. "Reload it" the blonde said, "and stick with me".

The door down the corridor burst open and the woman in the black shirt and white tie appeared. She looked at the blonde woman and then at Linda curiously. "Who the fuck is this?" she asked.

"She's one of us" the blonde said, indicating with her hand towards where Henry's corpse continued to bleed all over the floor. "What's your name honey?" she asked.

"L...Linda" she replied.

"I'm Suzy," the blonde said, "this is Annie. Alright you fuckers!" Suzy roared at the hostages, "now we're all going to the vault, nice and quick. Keep your hands up or you'll end up splattered on these walls too. Now come on, move, move!".

Suzy ushered the hostages out of the room and Annie led them down the stairs to the main bank. Linda followed Suzy at the rear, keeping her gun ready. She had no idea what was to happen now but it was exciting and she found that she was loving the feeling of being in control that the gun gave her.

Annie led the group and Linda noticed they passed a couple of bodies, some of staff, one or two of policemen. There was the sporadic sound of gunfire every now and again and Linda could hear the sound of police sirens arriving outside the bank. A young woman in a pinstriped suit with a white shirt came up to Annie. "We've barricaded the entrance" she said, "and the vault's open".

"Good, good" Annie said, "stick to the plan". They descended through a door that Linda had never been through before and that took them into the bowels of the bank where she knew the main bulk of the cash and gold that Western Savings Bank held was.

They hurried and reached the vault door. It had been pulled open and there was a trembling bank manager in a suit by its entrance, guns trained on him by two women in pinstriped suits. Inside the vault were rows of cages and more gangster women were unlocking them using a set of keys.

"OK" Annie told the group, "we're going to be loading a couple of big vans. Get the bags here, "head up these stairs" she indicated towards some stairs around the side of the vault, "and pop it in the van. One wrong move, and we execute every motherfucker we can see". She aimed her Tommy gun menacingly at the group and they cowered before her.

Suzy leaned over and whispered into Linda's ear. "Of course, we'll shoot them anyways before we leave, nobody in this bank lives beyond today. This whole vault is filled with Berlucci and Carbone money. When we do the shooting, you can do that too". It was a delightful thought and Linda could already imagine herself doing so. For now, she put the gun by her side and set about helping to lift the bags of cash and some gold bars from the vault.

The hostages spread out and created a human chain to pass the items out of the vault with some of the female gangsters helping. Linda went near the top of the stairs and saw that the back door of the bank was open and two pinstriped women were loading the bags into two large vans that sat outside.

She helped load a bag herself but then caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. A cop with a Tommy gun in hand emerged around the corner of the bank, and aimed towards the two women who were loading in the bags of cash.

Linda's instincts took over and she turned her own gun towards him and pulled the trigger quickly. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. She fired wildly and into his body, bringing him down, before aiming at his head. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. She pummeled it with some bullets.

Around her, some of the hostages screamed but she turned towards them with her gun. "Keep working!" she yelled, "get back to it!". She noticed the two women loading the back of the van looking impressed. It almost sounded like someone else's voice. She seemed to be free, excited, alive again for the first time since she moved to San Merido.

The group was so well-organised that both vans were full within a few minutes. "Alright, everyone in the vault" Annie commanded and the line of hostages hurried into the vault area, lining up against the wall and looking scared.

Suzy lined up opposite them with Annie, another couple of women and beckoned Linda to stand next to her. She handed her a new magazine for her gun as she did so. "Hey sorry team" Suzy said, raising her Tommy gun to her waist, "but we gotta let you go".

Linda knew what the command would mean. All of the women in line opened fire, Linda included. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. She smiled at those who used to be her colleagues as she mowed them down, twisting her gun from side to side and aiming for everyone's bellies. Along the line, shirts and blouses were torn and ripped and the bodies jerked with the bullets of the gangsters. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. Linda finished her magazine and instantly trusted herself to reload. She did so and opened fire on the bodies that had fallen to the floor of the vault. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. They kept firing until it was certain everyone was dead.

"See, one of us!" Suzy said excitedly. She took her fedora off her head and placed it on Linda's and the group headed upstairs. The wail of sirens was now deafening from outside and Linda guessed there must be about 20 cars out there, surrounding the back of the bank.

"Are we trapped?" she asked Suzy.

"Not a chance" Suzy said, ducking behind a door, "look across the street and up". Linda did so. The Western Savings Bank complex was in the middle of downtown and around it was several large office blocks and hotels. She found the one opposite their position and Suzy pointed her gaze up a few floors until she saw the end of two military-style machine guns aiming down at the unsuspecting cops. "This is going to be fun" Suzy said excitedly.

"Freeze! Put down your weapons and come outside" policemen were bellowing, sheltering behind their cars with their Tommy guns and revolvers aimed at the back door. They looked well-disciplined and organised.

"Time for the signal" Annie said. She had lined up near some of the bank windows with the other women spaced out, ready to break them at the right time. "Ruth, do it!" Annie called out. Linda watched as the woman she had spoken to produced a military grenade, ran to the back door and threw the grenade out and into the middle of the row of police cars.

BOOM! Officers tried to run and dive away but several screamed as it exploded and many turned to see what had happened. Suzy and Annie broke the windows in front of them and started firing their Tommy guns at the disoriented cops BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. Simultaneously, the two machine guns in the hotel windows fired too. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. They were spitting powerful rounds that smashed through the cars and into the cops.

Linda could hear screaming and shouts of pain as the three dozen police officers were caught between the intense gunfire and were hit. She aimed at some herself from her position by the window and let her finger curl on the trigger. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM. The cacophony of noise was electric and her mouth opened wide in ecstasy as she fired bullet after bullet into the torsos and heads of the policemen. BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM.

The slaughter continued for a full half minute before the women all reloaded. The sirens outside had stopped. "OK, let's move!" Annie said, "but make sure you waste anything that looks half-alive".

Suzy grabbed Linda's hand and took her outside. Some of the women piled in the trucks whilst Suzy, Annie and the one they had called Ruth picked their ways through the lines of police cars, giving the occasional burst BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM, BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM, BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM-BAM as they found officers wheezing on the ground.

They reached the other side as two cars pulled up, driven by pinstriped suited women. Suzy pulled Linda into one whilst Annie and Ruth got into the other and within a flash they had disappeared from the scene before more police could show up.

"WOOOHOO!" Suzy was ecstatic. "That was incredible! They'll be calling that the boldest bank robbery in the history of the world. You did amazing" she said, turning to Linda, "I mean it, you're one of us now".

Linda sat back in the car and felt the adrenaline rush over her. Suzy was correct. Her old life was over and she knew at that moment she had just found her new purpose as a member of the new gang.

#sanmerido #thetakeover #hitwoman #killer woman #female assassin #femme fatale #mafia story

[imasallstars]

8th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL CAMPAIGN LINE UP

It has been 8 long years since the start of Starlight Stage back in 2015! Lots of ups and downs, but we just have to look forward to the future for now! And they have prepared a lot of things for the future! This post will be acting as a sort of compilation of all the news that has happened or will be happening!

FROM SEPTEMBER 3RD 00:00 JST

LOVE∞LOVE♡ Special Campaign

8th Anniversary! Free Daily 10-pull Campaign

Platinum Special Gacha Set -Limited ver.-

Platinum Special Gacha Set -Fes ver.-

LIVE Carnival Another Commu

FROM SEPTEMBER 3RD 15:00 JST

ROOM FEATURES: Room Item Cap Update

ROOM FEATURES: 8th Anniversary Room Items/Coord

ROOM FEATURE: Limited Room Item Rerun

UNKNOWN RELEASE DATE

NEW FEATURE: Onsite Photo Shoot

LIVE UPDATE: Skill Activation Timeline, LIVE Restart, Optimal Skill Activation

YEAR 4 MEMORIAL GACHA UPDATE

DRESS SHOP UPDATE: Ad Astra (6th Anniversary) Dress Recolors

??? -COMING SOON-

Happy anniversary everyone!

#deresute campaign #anniversary campaign

[theivorybilledwoodpecker]

I don't buy the "we thought it was a barricade" excuse because they had calls from the children begging the police to come in, and there was the sound of gunshots. The story about the police telling people to call for help, a little girl calling for help, and then Ramos shooting her? You can't tell me the police didn't hear gun fire, and even if they didn't personally, there were people onsite who did.

#Uvalde #robb elementary school #gun control #gun violence #defund the police

[dovelyanon]

Chapter Delayed! Have an Excerpt

Sorry guys! Teach Me How to Sing: Chapter 19 will be delayed for, at the most, another week so have an excerpt in the meantime. This is the start of the next chapter. SPOILERS!!! if you haven’t read this far:

Adrien turned the lucky charm over and over in his palm as he watched Paris fly by through the car window. He’d only just managed to snag it before Beatrice plucked the Plagg knit away to be searched with the rest of his things. His father sat rigid beside him, arms crossed, a permanent scowl on his features. Adrien stole a glance, searching for a modicum of the concern shown on the news or at the train station.

“Did you really miss me?” he forced despite his better sense, the tension becoming too much.

Gabriel focused cool eyes straight ahead at the road, the wrinkle on his brow deepening.

Adrien braced against the disappointment, his gaze dropping to his lap. Why did he ever expect anything else? Why didn’t it ever stop hurting?

“My birthday was yesterday,” he pressed on, needing to speak, the silence clouding the space and suffocating him. “It was nice.”

His father broke his cold shoulder, turning the scowl on him and an odd blend of fear and relief circled in Adrien’s gut.

“Is that when she gave you that ridiculous hat?” he grumbled. “Take it off.”

Adrien tugged the paw print beanie down to his lap, suddenly lightheaded.

“You’ll change as soon as we get home.” His father reached out to examine the polyester hoodie with disgust, fingers tightening around Adrien’s forearm until he winced in pain. “Beatrice will have to adjust your meal plans to account for all the crap they’ve no doubt been feeding you and you’ve missed two weeks’ worth of photo shoots that you’ll make up for onsite at the mansion. You won’t be going outside for a while.”

Numbness pricked at his fingers from the lack of blood flow and he tried to twist his arm into a looser position. His father held fast.

“The mayor has kindly agreed to fast track the petition to conservatorship after your little stunt,” he hissed. “I think you’ve more than proven yourself incapable of functioning independently.”

Adrien gave up, his arm going slack in Gabriel’s hand, one twist away from a fractured wrist. He settled on staring out of the window again at the places he’d never visit and the people he’d never meet until his eyes and throat burned.

“Why are you doing this?” he asked. “If you hate me so much, why don’t you let me go?”

The already bruising grip on his arm tensed. “Hate you?”  

Adrien shrank into himself at the feel of scathing eyes piercing into the side of his head.

“I delayed my Spring collection to spearhead a missing persons campaign and cut next quarter’s budget drastically to invest in an international search team.”

Adrien curled against the door, guilt eating away at him.

“Never mind all the conferences and deadlines I’ve missed, too focused on bringing you back safe-”

“Sorry.”

Gabriel sighed. “I just want to protect you, Adrien. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.” He leaned back against the seat, tired eyes shutting beneath his glasses. “I thought I’d lost you.”

Adrien bit his lip, eyes warm, thoughts jumbled. “I know you want to protect me. It just got so…” He shook his head, unable to articulate the mess. “… I didn’t know what else to do.”

The unforgiving grip loosened and his father’s hand slid down to thread their fingers together. “I know.” He squeezed, eyes still closed. “I shouldn’t have hurt you.”

Adrien’s head snapped up, unsure if he’d heard right. “What?”

“I’m sorry things got carried away last time.” Gabriel turned to him, a hint of remorse softening his features. He reached out to cradle Adrien’s jaw, thumbing over his cheek. “I’d never pointlessly try to harm you. You mean everything to me.”

Adrien tried to steel himself against the tenderness, tried to hold onto the doubt and the residual repulsion. But the warm flood engulfed him and he found himself leaning into his father’s touch, eyes blurring with tears until they spilled. He almost expected Gabriel to scold him for crying all over his sleeves and gold cufflinks, but he only drew him in closer, slotting him in the curve of his neck.

“I love you,” his father whispered in his ear. “Remember that.”

“I love you too,” he breathed, relief rushing through, dousing his anxieties.

“Promise me something.”

Adrien looked up, wanting nothing more than to do just that.

The softness in Gabriel’s eyes congealed. “You will never try to harm yourself again.”

“Yes, Father.” Adrien nodded.  The hardness ebbed away and Gabriel held him once more, cradling his head to his chest. A stir of uncomfortable sensations resurfaced and pricks of cold dread rained over the relief. Adrien ignored them all, fingers digging into his father’s suit jacket, clinging to the moment.

“I can’t lose you both,” his father sighed into his hair, voice wavering.

He clung harder. “You won’t.”

See you guys were worried for nothing. Because everything’s fine. Everything is going to be fine. Gabriel’s turned over a new leaf and everything’s fine. Wow dad of the year amirite

#ml fanfic #adrien agreste #gabriel agreste #gabriel agreste's a+ parenting #sentiadrien #miraculous lb #best father ever in life #fic excerpt #dark fic