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jxstiice · 5 years

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Stephanie Beatriz, 32, cis female, she/her. 🗽 looks like that’s AVA BURNS reporting for duty. they’re originally from QUEENS, NYC, so i wonder if working as a DETECTIVE for SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT ever gets old. anyway, i heard that they’re UNDAUNTED but also kind of HOT-HEADED, which is why i guess they always remind me of TIGHT LEATHER JACKETS, WAR STORIES OVER WHISKEY AND CIGARETTES, and A HARD EXPRESSION BROKEN ONLY BY THE PRESENCE OF A DOG

HELLO! I am sara and i got REALLY carried away because i had like 8 hours of boring meetings today. please feel free to ask me for a TLDR! Come plot! I love my girl and i love some ANGST!!

tws: death, assault, war, ptsd

YOUNG & LOVED

Matías and Mariana Burns were high school sweethearts from Queens. they didn’t move far once they married fresh out of high school, to a nice house in Richmond Hill. from there, Mariana worked to become a nurse, and Matías went straight into the academy. they were an eager young couple, but it wasn’t long until their first child came around-- a surprise, but one they took in stride.

Ava was rambunctious, and always wanted to be like her father. she took various martial arts classes growing up, played soccer for a time, her energy never seemed to fade.

Her mother worked as an ER nurse, and her father became a truly prized member of the NYPD, so selflessness and hard work are hard-wired in her system.

Ava is the oldest of three, her sister and her sibling mean everything to her, and she took it upon herself to make sure they were okay through everything. with two busy parents, she never questioned helping out as she got older.

WHEN EVERYTHING CHANGED

When she was 15, Ava's life flipped on end. What started as a normal day at school turned into the worst day of her life when she was pulled out of US History and told her mother had been the victim of a hit and run in Manhattan. she was killed instantly, and Ava felt her world fracture before her.

things were hard after that. once she got back to school, she was acting out. she took the shift in the household hard, and though she stepped up even further for her siblings, instability was setting in. an anger formed in ava she wasn’t familiar with. sure, she was always tough, but after that she closed off.

one day, the same day Ava and Matías had a particularly bad fight, ava hit a breaking point and proclaimed she was leaving. Matías never expected everything to go so badly, even sent a friend on patrol to go follow her. he knew she ended up at a party with friends, called the patrol off, and figured she’d be back in the morning. they had a similar temper, and she’d even sent him a text later to tell him she’d be home.

he was called to the 16th precinct at 3:30am to find his 17 year old daughter in an interview room, borrowing a hoodie and sweatpants with tears dry and fresh staining her face.

the party got wild, and Ava and her friends weren't trying to get too wild. ava wanted to just get out of the house for a few hours. none of them expected to be followed outside the frat house and cornered, but they were. two high school girls cornered by 5 frat boys wasn't going to end well in any of the girls' minds. Ava's years of self defense took over, but it wasn’t enough.

the two men that Ava actually ended up hurting in the struggle went on to press charges for their broken noses, but the truth came out in the DNA. The men took a plea and it never followed them past their community service and fine. Ava didn't recover so easily.

Matías struggled to make sure Ava got the help she needed. she was resistant to therapy and often skipped it. she got more aggressive and outspoken in school. her grades dropped. she graduated, but barely.

FINDING A PURPOSE

By the time Ava graduated from high school, depression was deep and responsibilities of being the oldest sibling of three was setting in. College seemed like a far off dream between her family. Ava running into a recruiter outside her neighborhood boxing gym was pure chance, but it changed everything.

When Ava told her father she wanted to join the Marines, he struggled. On one hand, he saw a fire in Ava that he hadn't seen for a couple years now, and he wanted more than anything for that fire to stay. on the other more obvious hand, the idea of his first daughter going to war was terrifying. It was Aarav's sergeant that finally convinced him. A veteran himself, he saw a lot of similar emotions in young Ava. she shipped off for bootcamp during the first week of September, just a few months fresh out of high school.

In the Marines, Ava excelled. the structure helped her thrive, and her drive was exemplary. from the start, she made it clear she was never someone to be messed with. It brought back confidence she'd lost since her mother’s death and her assault, and she clung to it as she once again became sure of herself.

In 2006, Ava Burns was deployed to Afghanistan to the front lines. she served overseas for 6 years with outstanding performance. her fellow troops called her a tank as she never backed down from running into situations if she knew she could help. Ava was a good soldier. her family was proud, and would welcome her home warmly each time she came.

NOT JUST A SOLDIER

In 2012, Ava and three others from her unit were captured by enemy forces after a roadside bomb caught them off guard.

They were held hostage for two months. during this time, it was everything they could do to stay alive and there for one another. They were physically beat and hounded for answers about the operations of the US armed forces. The three soldiers gave up nothing. All three were rescued.

When rescued, Ava's leg was broken and she was flown home for the recovery. It didn't take long for symptoms of PTSD to set in. This time, though still a little weary, she accepted therapy easier. after all, if being a prisoner of war for two months didn't constitute a little therapy, what did?

things got more frustrating though, and Ava could not hide the symptoms. her higher ups noticed, and Ava was offered an honorable discharge and a purple heart. She was told she would not return to active duty, and taking the leave now would save potential catastrophe on the battlefield. begrudgingly, mostly after her siblings and father talked her into it, Ava accepted. they say once a Marine, always a Marine. Ava doesn’t always feel that too much.

HOME ANEW

Ava's next steps happened quietly. she didn't even share with her family once she decided, simply shared it one day about a month after she was cleared to walk again with no crutches. with her coffee in hand, she announced simply: "First day at the academy today. Exciting, huh pops?"

Matías, was beyond thrilled.

Just like the army, Ava excelled once more, and she stuck out from the crowd in more ways than just her name.

By that point, Matías was a lieutenant at a precinct in Queens and known throughout the NYPD for support for community initiatives, but Ava was firm: never give her special treatment because of her father. she didn't need it, and if she found it was the case, she'd refuse it.

Working as a beat cop seemed like the perfect balance for Ava. She was known in Richmond Hill certainly, and there were many neighbors that welcomed her as a cop warmly. With the slowly growing strife regarding police, people wanted cops they could trust. Ava was one, and prided herself in it. It also offered her the action she'd come to excel at in the Marines.

Fast forward four years, and Ava is hungry. It's never been a secret that Ava's fire made her advance, and after months of weighing, she decided: Ava Burns wanted to be an SVU detective. After her experience, it seemed right deep in her core.

Now, Ava has been an SVU detective for six months. She's constantly searching for ways to excel, but it's harder work as a detective. Now, she's working on balancing her impulsive nature with a more thoughtful process.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

Partner -- TAKEN by BEATRIZ GARCIA

Veterans: I imagine Ava has (occasionally) gone to support groups, as well as just made some friends that served in the past and get it. I’m open to various dynamics, only requirement is your character was a solider at one point or another. Bonus points if they served together!! OR if they were one of the people ava was held hostage with! gimme dat good good angst

Old Partner: Ava was a beat cop for four years, so she’d have had at least one partner! Open to dynamics, lengths, stories, anything!

Serious Ex: This was a relationship that Ava was very serious with, and they maybe even toyed with the idea of marriage. Unfortunately, this would have happened while Ava was recovering from her discharge 6/7 years ago and she was in no place for a healthy relationship.

Flings: Ava is a bisexual queen and copes with things physically. she likes sex a lot and doesn’t put that much seriousness into one night stands. Open for various dynamics, come at me!

Mentor: I’m very very open to the dynamic, I have so many possible ideas. Someone ava’s known since she was little? someone that promised her dad theyd look out for her? her old/current partner? SO MANY POSSIBILITIES!! please just give ava guidance she needs it. so bad.

Childhood friends: Ava’s mom worked at a hospital and her dad was NYPD so I’d absolutely love some people from Ava’s childhood stemming from those!! also any other Queens kids would be cool!

Any! All! Come to me!!

#intro #dd.intro #im so sorry its so long

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winstonhcomedy · 5 years

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“Dope A-F” 1/9-1/10 “Tonight Shows and Bro Re Nata”

Sweet baby lord had two hot ones last night at two dope shows. Had a super fun night of standup at two of my favorite mics!

After work I headed over to Short Pump Town Center to get to The Funny Bone for the open mic hosted by Liz Carr. I was there super early so I decided to do a little shopping first. I picked up a new jacket at H&M. It’s a big puffy red, white, and blue jacket that has a real 90s ski movie vibe to it. I throw it on and then head to the candy shop right across from me. Where I proceed to spend 8 dollars on taffy because I am a toddler.

I do some writing in my car and head up to the club. When I get there comedian Brett Leake (5 Tonight Show appearances) is coming in the door. Brett is a comedian living with muscular dystrophy so he is not out at shows as often as he’d probably like. So it is always a treat to see and talk to him.

After Brett and I get signed up we have an absolutely wonderful conversation about comedy. I get to ask him questions about his Tonight Show appearances. He walked me through the entire process the first time he was selected, and everything that went into that set.

We then discussed the differences between comedy then and now. How when he started there was no real comedy about identity. Everybody just wanted jokes in the club and they wanted you to steer away from certain topics. He said that he wouldn’t talk about his MD too much on his first Tonight Show because they didn't want him to talk about it too much. Which is in stark contrast to comedy today. I really wish I had recorded this conversation because it was an invaluable discussion about standup.

Times like this are why I’m glad to be a comic. He talked to me like a peer and a friend and that was really special. If you ever have a chance to talk to Brett or see him live go do it. He now does a mix of comedy and motivational speaking and he is always fun to watch. Here is one of his appearances on morning radio.

youtube

We do the comics meeting and I notice there is a lot of newer comics here. I think other than Liz, Brett, Richard Woody and I no one on the list have been doing comedy longer than a year. I am also interested how shows like this are going to go. We then get the show rolling. Brett opens the show up and has a fine set. He is working out some material about numbers and some questions he has about a couple different religions.

We then get into a string of newer comics. I can’t really remember anything too much about many of them. There are a few who have taken Patrick Buhse’s class (and it’s always exciting to see these people out at mics actually continuing to do standup).

The show is going pretty well. Mu Cuzzo goes up right before me and he’s dressed up like he’s about to give a sermon. He has a hot set, and then it is my turn. I feel super good about my set. I worked on my new joke about witches and then riffed an idea about Trump not being the worst president. It got a laugh as well. I had a pretty good set and I’d give it a B-.

Rick went up later that night and ended up doing ok. He was doing new stuff, and people had left. He couldn’t really connect, but it happens. He stayed in the pocket and finished the set.

I then headed over to McCormacks to do some time. I get there and find out I am third and the show is about to start. There are a few comics that I hadn’t seen in a long time, and also a lot of newer comics as well. Looked like a good crowd and they seemed to be into comedy from the start. So as long as you could deliver you would be set.

I went third and I still heard a few hot takes about R.Kelly which is always fun. Nothing like newer comics taking a hot topic and beating it into the ground. I know that I could probably get some good material by focusing on what is in the news, but it just all feels so hacky right away since everyone is giving their take it is a deterrent. I need to get over this because some of my best jokes are about hot topics in the news, or news stories. It is a thing I am actively working on this year to get over that.

I go up after and have a super hot set. Everything works. I do my two brand new bits, and add a bunch of tags to a third. I got a bell ring from the bartender which was dope, and didn’t have a down moment in my set. It felt really good and one of the better sets I’ve had at McCormacks in a while. Just feels like proof that the hard work is paying off. I’d give this set an A-. After my set I grabbed my stuff and headed home. All in all not a bad night for comedy!!!

The next night was my night to host a showcase at Pro Re Nata Brewery in Crozet. JR Stoffel is the usual host of this show, but he is in Las Vegas for CES for his job. So he handed the reins over to me. I got to book a fun lineup (Rick Williams, Paige Campbell, and Richard Woody), had a guest spot (Alex Castagne) and Chris Alan headlining.

We had a pretty good crowd actually. I think at our peak we were at about 45+. Which is a solid number for a freezing cold day in Crozet. This show is continuing to grow and bring in business. JR has done a great job building the room.

I went up first and had a pretty good set. I did new jokes and some light crowd work. I basically just wrangled the crowd for 10 minutes and get them in the mood. A fine hosting set, but I didn’t kill. I”d give this set a C+.

After me was Alex. He did pretty well. He had some lulls and he wasn’t happy with his set, but from the outside looking in he held his own and had some jokes get some pretty big laughs.

Then Rick went up. He had a good set too. Most of his material worked and he actually got an applause break for a joke he has about kickball. He didn’t close crazy strong, but people definitely dug his set.

Richard Woody followed him with one of the strongest sets of the night. From beginning to end everything he did was working. He got some huge laughs and held crowd control for the duration. He did some material which included him reading his online dating interactions, and it did super well to close.

Paige Campbell had an uneven set. He’d hit really hard and then not get much. Which honestly seemed to be the theme for the entire night. Everybody would lose the crowd a little bit and then just get them back. They were enjoying the whole show but it was almost impossible to build momentum to really make them crack. No one did poorly, everyone did well and got laughs, but you felt like you could lose them at any second.

Lastly Chris went up and did 45 minutes. He was in his own head about it and didn’t seem to be enjoying his self. He was working out a lot of new material during this 45 minutes, and I was super impressed that he stuck with it even when it wouldn’t go anywhere. Then he would follow the lulls with a killer joke that would destroy. The audience could tell he wasn’t feeling it 100% but they stuck with him. I thought he had a good set, and a lot of his new material is super funny and is only going to get better. It was a solid ending to a super fun show. Chris is crazy critical of his self, and that’s what makes him a great comic.

After the show people came up and were super supportive and said they’d be back for the future ones. I think JR’s room is slowly turning into one of the better comedy rooms in the area and I can’t wait to see what he does with it next.

WHAT A HOT TWO DAY STRETCH FOR COMEDY! I will be at Cozzys tonight and tomorrow at 8! And Sunday at 8 I’ll be closing out the show at Hof Garden at 7. So come one and all. I love you laydees xoxoxo sugar!

#pro re nata #crozet #charlottesville #richmond #standup #jokes #funny bone #comedy club #trump #hilarious #improv #comedy

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midnightluck · 7 years

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I read a fic a long time ago where the characters somehow got cursed or something to have all the things that people said about them appear on their skin (like if someone called them 'cute' theyd have'cute' stamped on their hand or somewhere else. i was thinking about this somehow happening to ace and the wbp (or mas or the asl), like they eat a crazy grand line fruit, and for the most part its pretty innocuous and funny, except that ace has stuff like 'should have been drowned at birth' 1/2

on his face (basically a lot of bad things people said from when he was a kid doing that ‘what if gold roger had a son’ thing. Maybe he would try to cover up, since there would some pretty incriminating stuff on there? basically id just really like some hurt/comfort with ace and sabo/marco/wbp in this scenario. he is a sad boy (sorry this all long and confusing, you dont have to do it at all if you dont want) 2/2

Oh, I’ve read those too! There was a Kakashi one I loved, I think, and a real good Tony Stark one! It’s a fun concept.

Also I got, uh, a bit carried away. So, y’know, sorry in advance. (edit: now with prequel)

–

“I’m not sick,” Ace says stubbornly. “I’m a fire logia. I can’t get sick.” And then he sneezes, sharp and sudden.

“Bad timing, with that sickness you don’t have,” Thatch says. “We’ve still got two more days out here.”

“I know; don’t worry,” Ace says, scooting back from the fire. “I’ll just run hot for a while and be fine.”

“Does that work?” Haruta asks, leaning away from him and the heat he’s suddenly throwing.

“Dunno,” Ace answers. “I haven’t been sick since I ate my fruit. Honestly thought I was immune.”

He doesn’t look happy, and Thatch can see why. Being sick is always miserable, and worse if you’re not used to it. He knows he packed an extra blanket, though, because Marco denies his nesting tendencies and yet always ends up stealing everyone’s bedding. He digs it out and hands it over. Ace glances at him and he shrugs. “If you want it,” he offers, and sets it on the ground.

Ace reaches for it, then pauses to stare at his hand for a second. Thatch doesn’t get a chance to follow suit because suddenly the blanket is flipped open and wrapped around bare shoulders.

Thatch and Marco share a worried glance. Ace never uses blankets, and he doesn’t accept help that easily either. And Ace isn’t even using it like a blanket; he’s got it wrapped around his back and over his head like a makeshift cape.

“You sure you’re feeling all right?” Thatch ventures.

“I can’t be sick,” Ace says, but he’s just a lump of blanket now. “I can’t.”

“Because you’re fire?” Marco asks.

“I’m from East Blue,” Ace says like it’s an explanation, but it really isn’t. It’s interesting, but as far as Thatch knows, there’s nothing about East Blue that makes its residents any hardier. The five of them exchange glances, but they must agree with him, because Haruta drawls out, “Yeah…?”

SThe lump of blanket twitches and hesitates but finally says, “I had the crawl.”

“The what now?” Vista asks. Thatch stops to think, but there’s actually not many on the crew from East Blue; it’s by far the most peaceful sea.

But Marco makes an oh kind of noise. “There’s a disease in East Blue,” he says, because of course he knows. “Childhood thing, like chicken pox or flower fever. It’s really bad but almost never fatal, yoi. It compromises the immune system for the rest of your life, though,” and there’s some worried looks until he adds, “not harmfully! But when you get sick, it comes back, yoi.”

“Oh!” Namur interrupts, “It’s the ink sickness!” Marco arches an eyebrow at him, and he nods. “I’ve seen it before in certain parts of Paradise. That’s out East Blue way; probably spread from the Grand Line somehow.”

That sounds likely, actually. It’s the kind of thing that makes only Grand Line levels of sense, after all, but Namur’s not done. “We were taught it was a curse that went wrong, back in my tribe. Some rich man in a castle said something rude, and he was cursed to wear other people’s words on his skin or something.”

Marco nods and takes the story back. “The Scrawl means that if Ace is sick, he’ll be covered in ink till he’s better, yoi. It’s all stuff people will have said about him to his face, isn’t it?”

Ace says nothing, but Namur nods. “Stuff said about you in your hearing that you believe,” he clarifies. “My niece had it as a kid. Always real proud when she gets sick because she says wearing complements is the best accessory.”

The blanket twitches again, and Thatch steps in. “We’re gonna respect Ace’s privacy,” he announces. “If he’s really sick and he gets all decorated up with complements, we’re not gonna try to read them, okay?”

He glances around, but everyone’s staring at him. “What?” he asks.

Marco shakes his head. “Didn’t expect that from you, is all,” he says, and Thatch puffs himself up.

“I’m very mindful of people’s privacy!” he says, and everyone laughs at him. Well, that’s not nice at all, but at least it broke the mood. “I am!”

“Sure you are,” Ace says, finally talking again. He’s got the blanket pulled back enough to show his face and it’s just as it always was. “You respect privacy, and I’m never hungry.”

Thatch clutches his chest and falls over with his other wrist over his eyes. “Betrayed!” he gasps, because if keeping eyes on him is what’s getting Ace to calm down, he will gladly flop around overdramatically for the rest of the night.

And it works, because as they chat and pick at Thatch, Ace’s makeshift hood comes down. He falls asleep well before the rest of them, and whether it’s a narcolepsy attack or just exhaustion, no one says anything when Marco leans over to tug the blanket into place, covering all his skin.

–

Thatch blinks himself awake in the morning light. Right, they’re outside, coming back from that thing–right. He yawns and sits up; he’s never been slow to rise. Years as head chef on a pirate ship mean he’s generally up first.

Sure enough, everyone else is asleep. It’s false dawn, so it’s to be expected. He gets up anyway, stretching and looking around.

The fire’s gone out; someone must’ve banked it last night. He goes over to check on Ace, but the kid is curled into as small a ball as possible. The blanket’s ridden up over his feet, though, and Thatch can see jagged black streaks even from here. He steps forward, intending to tug the blanket down, but he can’t get close; the air around Ace is painfully hot.

Well, Marco can do it when he wakes up, Thatch decides. He’s got some time to kill, anyway; may as well take a walk. He might find a good place to watch the sunrise from; that’d be nice.

Well, he doesn’t see the sunrise, but he does find a tree with a bunch of those lovely purple fruits they had back in town. He picks enough to hand around for breakfast and a few more to take back to Pops.

By the time he gets back, everyone’s awake and up. “Good morning!” he says, and starts throwing fruits at people.

Haruta catches the first one in the face, but everyone else manages to grab theirs out of the air. Namur tosses his right back, and Thatch catches it easily and passes it on to Marco to give to Ace.

He drops the rest on his blanket and rolls them up carefully to take back. When he makes room in his sack, though, his fingers come across a marker that’s always at the bottom of his pack, and he takes it out before packing the fruit in.

He walks it through his fingers as he wanders over to Marco, who’s standing above Ace. “How is he?”

Marco makes a face and together they stare down at the blanket-covered kid. “You gotta get up eventually,” Thatch tells him.

The unhappy grumbling and shifting says that Ace does not agree, and the heat he’s putting out is enough to stop Thatch from trying to, uh, help. “Look, we’ll all turn away or something, okay? You can keep the blanket.”

Ace doesn’t move, and Thatch gives up. “You do it, Marco,” he says. “You’re the fireproof one.”

“I’m not fireproof.” Marco says even as he walks right into the heat haze like it’s nothing.

“Sure,” Haruta says, walking by, and Thatch catches their wrist. “Hey, what’re you–”

Thatch holds a finger over his lips and then wiggles the marker. Haruta’s eyes light up and they nod. “Yeah, can you–”

“Shhh!”

“We ready, yoi?” Marco walks purposefully between them, trailing what’s probably Ace. Hard to tell under the blanket cloak, but there’s one hand poking out to clutch it closed with a bold BRAT across the back of it.

Thatch darts his eyes away, feeling kind of bad. He hadn’t meant to read it, really, but it’s hard not to. He lets Ace and Marco go first, shouldering his pack and falling in step with Haruta.

There’s more black peeking out of the top of Ace’s boots where the blanket doesn’t quite cover, and Thatch keeps his gaze anywhere else. It’s an awkward kind of quiet, much different from yesterday’s bawdy jokes and loud off-key marching songs. Now the only sounds are the nature around them and occasional violent sneezes.

Haruta tugs at his sleeve, and they pass the marker back and forth for awhile. Thatch waves it behind them and Vista reaches out to take it, too. He promptly tries to use it on Namur, and there’s a quick scuffle.

It’s loud enough for Marco to turn around, though. He walks backwards for a few steps, looking them all over. “Everything okay, yoi?”

“Just fine,” Haruta lies breezily.

Marco stares at them for a few steps, so Thatch makes a spinny-finger gesture at him. He huffs but complies, and leans in a bit to mutter something to the Ace-like thing shambling along beside him. It’s probably about how dumb they are, but that’s okay.

“How does he do it?” Vista asks. “I can feel the heat from all the way back here.”

Ace sneezes again and said heat flares, and everyone but Marco flinches and falls back a few steps. “Marco likes fire,” Thatch says, hoping he’s right. “He doesn’t mind. Probably feels right at home.”

“Any hotter and he’s gonna combust,” Haruta mutters, and like their words were a trigger, Ace sneezes once again, the heat flares, and the blanket on his back catches fire.

They all jump and Vista says something exceptionally nasty. Marco moves in, hands hovering uselessly, and Ace whips the blanket off to beat out the flame.

Thatch wasn’t expecting it, really, which is why he doesn’t look away in time–that’s totally why. It’s not his fault, he knows, and yet when his eyes catch on the giant letters across the back of Ace’s shoulders, above his tattoo, he still feels like he’s betraying something.

He feels that for the whole time it takes to unconsciously read and process the word “monster,” and then he just goes still. Ace is turned away, stomping out the flames, and they all know at a glance what exactly it was that Ace hadn’t wanted them to see.

His tattoo stands out as much as ever, but it’s framed now. Monster at the top, all the way across both shoulders, and underneath in a beautiful scrollwork there’s should’ve been drowned at birth.

Thank god you don’t exist crawls down his ribs, and there’s one word sentiments scattered around, all stark and pretty in concept and horrifying in meaning. Thatch, for all his good intentions, can’t bring himself to look away and his ears are full of the echo of Namur’s voice saying, stuff said about you in your hearing that you believe.

“Ace,” Marco says, quiet and hurt, and Ace’s shoulders go rigid under that horrible ink. He turns slowly to face them, smouldering blanket in one fist. There’s defiance in his eyes and mistake across his freckles.

Someone next to Thatch makes a wheezing sound, but he doesn’t look to see who because when Ace turns his head and tilts his chin up in anger, they can all read should do the world a favor and die circling his throat.

He’s a tapestry of horror and cruelty, and it’s all on display. Thatch’s eyes wander and the only remotely positive things he finds are the two brothers, curved dense and close over his heart, and captain curled over one wrist.

And then Ace falters. “What…?” he says, staring at Haruta, and Thatch glances over to where he’d written family across their forehead. He winces now, but it had seemed like such a good idea at the time.

In the face of this, though, their marker attempts look stupid and insulting. “Sorry,” Thatch says, and holds out the marker. “I had it and it seemed like–I’m sorry, I didn’t know….”

Ace blinks at them. “Why would you…?” he asks, confusion plain, and that hurts almost more than the words do. Things you believe, Thatch thinks again, and he’s suddenly angry.

“Because we’re your family, Ace!” he says. “And you were sick and scared of–and we wanted to make it even! And I never had the Scrawl but I do have a marker, and if you don’t believe us enough to get our words on your skin, then cut back the damn heat and I’ll put ‘em there myself!”

Ace’s chin comes down a bit; he’s defensive but actually listening. “It doesn’t…that’s not how it works.”

“Bullshit,” Marco snaps, and Thatch tosses him the marker. He uncaps it and steps in, ignoring Ace’s flinch. “If what’s true is on your skin, yoi, then what’s on your skin is true.” And he writes family, big and bold, under his left collarbone and right over you’re a curse.

“Loved,” Thatch lists, and Ace flinches again but stays still while Marco grabs his arm to write that over print small enough that Thatch can’t read it from here.

“Cute,” Haruta adds, and Ace goes a deeper red than a fever would account for. Marco nods and puts it right under the double brother.

“Hey now,” he says, trying to pull away, but Marco’s not having it. “Hey!” he says again, but he’s not struggling, and when Marco pulls at his shoulder to spin him around, he goes.

His shoulders are tense and high when Marco puts marker to skin, but as Whitebeard goes over monster, he relaxes a bit. “This really isn’t–”

Marco draws a long line through the awful sentence below his tattoo, and then does a few more just to black it out completely. He sets to work crossing out things and writing better ones, and Ace stands there, still holding the blanket, and lets him.

And then Vista shakes himself and says, “Give him a tramp stamp.”

“What?!”

“Oh, yes, do!” Haruta adds. “Make it say ‘pretty’!”

“No!” Ace says, stepping forward and turning. “No, that’s not–we’re done…!” He’s still surrounded by a heat haze that makes it impossible to approach, but Marco steps forward anyway.

“Come back here, yoi,” he says, and Ace tries to flee.

He makes it a few steps before Marco tackles him and sits on his legs. He puts the marker to work again as Ace claws at the ground and yells about how pretty he isn’t, and he only stops to sneeze three times.

“When you’re not too hot to approach, you can return the favor,” Namur points out, and when Ace immediately goes quiet he adds, “but it was Thatch’s idea!”

“Was not!” Thatch squawks, turning on him. “Haruta drew first!”

“You gave me the marker!”

“You used it!”

And it’s the dumbest argument Thatch has had in a long time, because yeah, he’s obviously at fault. He’s got idiot on one forearm and brother on his wrist and all right at cooking, I guess, on the back of his neck in permanent marker, but up ahead, Ace is laughing, and that’s more than worth it.

More scrawl fic: (ASL as kids) (Adult!Sabo)

#portgas d. ace #thatch #the whitebeard pirates #i need a better asks tag #mark for mark au #answer in the form of a story

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yumenosakiacademy · 5 years

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metr0con 2019 thursday diary

Cosplayed: tsuka-sa suou, summer uniform, w my burger king crown n my leo sign. Breakfast: ramen. Snack: none, but i did bring a package of poptarts.

This is for future me, so i’d prefer if ya didnt read but i mean. w/e.

Okay so.. I had a crappy morning and I only slept for 2 hours BUT! Con tiiiime! I got there and arrived at the hetalia panel a few minutes late but that's okay, it wasn't by many. I remembered I asked sealand during truth or dare n he said dare n I asked him to reenact his favorite fortunate dance n he was like "oh I've been waiting for this" or smth and later, I asked him how his gamer youtube channel was doing n america was like “oh dude i was ur 5th subscriber!!” n sealand was like “subscribe to me plss” n america was like “dont forget to like n subscribe. n receive notifications.” n someone dared canada to b as loud as america n she yelled when they said “be as loud as you were when u lost to russia in hockey”. at another part, someone asked america if she would rather never eat fast food again or save sealand from falling into a volcano n she hugged sealand n said “my lil bro!”. someone dared america to speak in proper english and she was all “oh pip pip cheerio” and mocking england haha

at the end of the panel, a girl came up to me n she said she liked my costume n i was like “!! r u into ES??” and they said “almost” or like. kinda or smth but they took my picture n i felt so happy gjhns

OKAY then i tried to go to the adventure t!me sing-along n q+a panel but they only did truth or dare for a few minutes n im not big into AT anyway so i wasnt rly having fun then they decided to start the singalong when they got the wifi working via someone turning on their hotspot but i had a bad throat so i just left the panel and then had abt 4 hrs to walk around! aw jeez, right?

while on my walk i saw a riku n got their pic n i was like “male idols unite hell yea” n we talked for a bit n they were talkin abt a boy idol series they had heard abt called dank!ra n i mentioned i had also heard abt that! i also came across someone who said they liked my costume or knew who i was (someone in a red beret) n we were talking abt ES n i was like “best boys go” n they said shu and i think keito n i was like “chiaki n mika.. theyre baby” n they were like “ryuse!ta! n rabitz r the most baby in ES” n i was like “oh dude those r my fav units.....” at some point, i saw kuro again!! i saw them but was too shy then later they spotted me as i walked past them n went “tsukasa!!” n i turned around n i was like “erin!!!” n i hugged them n the beret person was there too bc they were their friend apparently and kuro said they were just gonna b kuro for thursday (they were cosplaying summer uniform!kuro like they did in a previous yr) n they just wore it cuz they were hot n went “summer uniform solidarity” (bc i was summer uniform!tsukasa) n we fist bumped and i was digging around my shirt pocket to show them my souma keychain n they were like “oh dude u reaching into ur pocket reminded me i need to get smth from my pocket. i hav Fangs” n they put on costume fangs! eventually they started looking at jojo figures at the stall we were next to n we eventually parted.

at some point, the person running the itabag booth (theyre an ES fan, i kno. their site has ens-tars itabags in the examples gallery n they cosplayed ES last yr) saw me n went “ousama!” bc of my sign n i went over n they were like “guess what ia ctually got to meet arashis va last week” n i was like “RLY??” n they were showing me their arashi itabag n they were like “yea i got to shake his hand n everything aaa. n during his talk/panel (?) i kept showing off my arashi stuff as if to say “I LOVE ARASHI” n i was like “arashi is best knights member.. ara-nee............”

at some point my crown fell off while i was on the escalator? i tried to go back for it but it was gone in the Minute it took me to ride te up escalator? i assumed someone took it to wear but kenyan said someone mightve thrown it away..

i went to metro night live n it wasnt all that funny?? idk what to talk abt from it. they did a “luigi being a gamer” video series n one of them was him playing hotl!ne miami (not knowing it was violent) n he was like “ive never been to florida but i guess this is a game to simulate it!” n it said “proloogue: the metro” n he was like “oh like the convention!” n when the mask selection came up he was like “oh look we can even cosplay!” n he went thru the door n saw one of the mafia members n went “look! a congoer! hello- oh” n accidentaly shoved one of the guys down n he was like “can i help you up-” but then the character (jacket) smashed the guys head in w the button press n luigi went “....o-oh. uh-” and some of the other games were fortnite n he played a violent game n he was like “THERE IS NO GOD HERE NOW” or w/e. they also had an “Edgelords anonymous” skit in which reaper was a new member of the group but it ended w ruby r0se describing brutal ways to kill people (while listing em cheerily) n the others being disturbed n alucard ending the session.

at 7 i had nothing so i walked around. then when 8 hit, i was gonna go to Whose Line Is It Anime but apparently its time had been changed to 7 pm?? the 8 in “8:00-9:00 pm” was scribbled out in sharpie on the schedule board in front of the room n it said 7 pm but now that i think abt it.. i think they meant 7-9 pm. ....shit. oh god damn it. anyway i got sad n left then since it was kinda empty/slow bc it was nighttime, i sat down on a wall thing to open up my sougo plush keychain n some guy next to me started talking to me abt my nails and we got ot talking n apparently he had wanted to go to the dealers room but didnt kno they closed @ 8 n he was here w friend n only had a single day pass bc he had work the other days (his name was spencer) so he was just lounging and i suggested he tell his friends what he wanted n they get it for him if they hav weekend passes n asked if he knew abt the game room n he said no so i invited him to go play smash w me so we went but couldnt figure out how things worked bc there were many consoles n screens w games, but mosst had no controllers but it turns out u borrow the contollers w ur con pass! kenyan was there running the controller borrower table. he said “psst” bc he saw me n i ws like “kenyan!!!” n hugged him n he was like “hows ur weekend going dear” n i said not that great but only bc it was thursday! also my throat hurt” n he was like “did u drink?” n i was like “well.. i have water but..” n he was like “drink juice. it’ll help. that’s what ur dad wwould say” (he woukdnt) anyway we got our controllrs and started playg smash n i went, in order: joker, robin, chrom, bayonetta, greninja n he was teaching me how to play w the gamecube controller (im used to a wiimote) n he beat me every time but i had fun!

after that i was GONNA go to the v-ld panel but i looked inside while walking by n there werent many ppl so i said “okay lets go to the BB panel then. take a look” so i went in there n there were a TON of ppl anyway it was kind of boring bc im not big on murder mysteries n stuff but apparently someone solved it by saying ciel slipped n fell, no one murdered him. then they did the raffle n i didnt win but thats okay! most ppl left after the raffle ended n q+a started n i couldnt hear many ppls’ questions anyway so i was bored n thought of goint to the vl-d panel but ended up not but w/e! oh! also everyone received candy at the beginning of the panel n i ahd a mystery lollipop n it turned out to b birthday cake flavor! id never had that before. it was Good.

after that i was just wandering around n i called dad to startdriving there but the ciel i asked for a picture of, them n their friends were gawking at my nails ns tuff n one of the teens’ dads was like “how do ya pick ur nose w it??” but after that, as i was wandering around, the gundam id sen earlier that day saw me n waved n i said oh hi n went over n they (it was them n an izuru) were like “wanna hang out w us for a while?” so i was like “oh. shoot. id luv too but im waiting for my dad to pick me up” n theyw ere like “it’s okay we can just hang out til then, then, if ya’d like” so i hung out w them n the gundam was talking abt how earlier, a mukuro complimented them on their outfit n they returned the compliment n went to leave n the mukuro was like “uumm arent u gonna hang out w me? we’re from the same series n all” n they were like “not w that f***in attitude” n i was like “did ya rly say that?” n they were like “yea. ppl dont expect me ta hav attitude” n we also talked abt piercings n how i said they seemed cool n goth (the gundam had a nose ring n the izuru had a piercing near their mouth) but how it must hurt n they said it just feels like a pinch. at some point i roled over my bag so my sougo wouldnt get dirty n the izuru saw my rei button n mentioned smth abt only findin one rei button at the idol table n i was like “UR INTO ES???” n they were like “i just kno undead n a few other characters. like [points @ my leo sign] i kno him” n i went “he’s dumbass supreme” n the gundam was talking abt getting the rythm game n i was like “jut read the stories on the wiki the game is boring imo” n the izuru backed me up by saying it wasnt a rhythm game n a lil while later, i showed them the 2 cool rei cgs n i was like “big sexe” n they agreed but the izuru had said theyd seen the croassroads one i showed em (the first of the 2) n the gundam said they wnted to cosplay bloody banquet rei (the other cg i showed em) n the izuru said they wanted to cosplay them All gjhnsm i showed them ryu-seitai too n showed them undead n gundam showed an interest in adonis! we also talked abt k!n stuff n all that! im not gonna go into detail on that (esp bc it’s so late rn as im typing!) but gundam was like “i dont trust junko k!n. like, evreyone else, yea, but junko? no. or like, any other character that’s just so irredeemably shitty”. oh they also talked abt this one messy, ugly, tangly junko wig they found for $300 which shouldnt have been that much n it was just a mess of tangles. anyway t’s getting late oh gosh. anyway they said they’d b on the lookout for me tomorrow so we can say hi again!

random fun fact: SO many ppl complimented my nails today gjhnsm

#i coulda added a lil more but this was already so long!! ah!! i need to sleep im dumb tired n i need to wake up early tomorrowww #diary #con diary

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adambstingus · 6 years

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Every Halloween, I Have A Story I Like To Tell

I liked Ben, I really did. I mean, he was a nice guy. We had some fun times together in college, messing around the dorm, going to parties, all the dumb shit that college guys do. He was cool and all, but he was a little pretentious. Well, I guess the word he used was artistic. He thought he was real smart, spent a lot of time trying to prove it to everyone. He had his own blog developed to film critiques not the big ones, though. Just little indie productions because nothing else was worth his time. When he got like that, he could be pretty insufferable.

Perhaps the most annoying thing that he did was performance art.

Now, I dont wanna be the guy who says that all performance art is dumb. But yeah, no, all performance art is dumb. Oh, look, youre on display painting a picture of Jesus from your own urine, how original and edgy! Maybe Im a little jaded, but it always seemed so contrived to me. Unfortunately, Ben really loved it. He thought there was something beautiful in art that was physically living and he devoted an embarrassing amount of time to it.

Anyway, I hung out with Ben a few times after college, but we mostly just met up to do some heavy drinking and maybe hit a strip club or two. He considered THAT performance art as well, which was just fine with me, it gave me an excuse to waste some ones. Since we didnt hang out very often, I had a bad feeling when he contacted me about a month before last Halloween.

He called me up at about seven in the morning on a Saturday, which is too early to even consider waking up, in my opinion. I answered in a daze and he started running his mouth like crazy, as though afraid that, if he didnt get it all out at once, he never would.

Mike, hey, Mikey, listen, buddy, I need your help, okay? Okay, okay, Ive got this idea for a performance and, well, its going to be , you know? So good! Its going down on Halloween. Can you come help? Look, Ill even pay you, man. Fifty dollars. So how bout it?

Now, Ive never cared much about Halloween one way or the other, and Im a pretty easy guy. Fifty dollars to probably just sit there and run a fog machine or some bullshit? For the right price, I could even pretend that I wanted to be there. Besides, what else are friends for?

A few days later, he gave me the details. To be honest, I was a little shocked when he sent the email. I know that performance art is intended to be edgy and can sometimes get a little dangerous, but this seemed downright negligent.

Mike:

Thanks for agreeing to do this for me! Ive talked to a few other people, but they werent really comfortable with it, for reasons youll probably be able to figure out. Of course, I understand if you want to back out, but I think you are probably the most reliable person I know. Its really not that big of a deal, Im sure youll agree.

As Im sure youve noticed, vampires have become very prominent in the media as of late. I say vampires because they are beginning to deviate so wildly from the traditional myths that they resemble forest fairies more than anything else. Altruistic? Sparkly? Whiny? Give me a break. We need more Dracula! We need more Carmilla! We need more death, destruction, and blood!

My performance will center on the theme of rebirthing the vampire. For the vampire to be reborn, he must first be buried. To turn peoples attentions back to the myths of old, I will be doing just that: I will be burying the vampire.

I have a group of viewers signed up already to participate in the performance, so you dont need to worry about that. Im going to plant a series of vampire-themed clues around town for them to follow. The clues should be pretty simple, and it will probably take no more than an hour to an hour-and-a-half for them to find me.

Here comes the somewhat controversial part. Essentially, for this performance to have any semblance of meaning, I need to be buried alive. Dont worry, its perfectly safe: I have a buddy from back home who is building me a coffin with a hole in the top. Ill be fixing it with a pipe that will stick an inch or two above the ground. That way, I wont run out of air. Ill also have a few necessities in the coffin in case something happens: food, water, and a flashlight.

Once they arrive at my grave which will be completely vampirized they will be provided with an array of shovels and will bring me back to life, a reincarnation of the true mythological history of vampires.

Here is where you come in. I need you to bury me. In addition, I need you to be my safety net: if they cant find me, if something goes wrong, if I become sick, I need you to be the one to get me out or call the police, if necessary. Ill also need you to decorate my grave, make it really creepy dont worry, Ill send you some blueprints.

I know this is a little stressful and it may take some time for you to decide, but, rest assured, this is a completely safe project. Theres no danger of suffocation and the coffin is sturdy, so its very unlikely that it will collapse. I really just need you there for support and the actual hard work of burying me.

What do you say? Id even be willing to up your pay to a hundred dollars, if thats what you need.

Let me know!

RIP,

Ben

I stared at my screen for a few minutes, completely dumbfounded.

Once I cut through all the bullshit about art and vampires and rebirth, what it came down to was death.

This guy actually wanted me to almost kill him.

I mean, sure, it probably WAS safe. But my mind went over the plan slowly. What if I couldnt get him out in time? One shovel and a pit of dirt wouldnt be a fast job. Furthermore, what if something happened to me?

Before making a decision, I sent him another email asking if he was really sure he was up for this. Of course he knew, he said. And then he said something that would always stick with me.

Art must be a little dangerous, my friend, for it to be real.

A month later, I found myself standing at the foot of a grave. It was six feet deep and perfectly rectangular. Sitting at the bottom was a tapered coffin covered with black lacquer, a white skull painted on the top. In the eye of the skull was a hole just big enough for the PVC pipe. Stenciled underneath was a line from Dracula: Denn die Todten reiten schnell.

I stood there like an idiot, waiting for Ben to show up.

In the end, Id decided to go along with his stupid gig. Ben was a stubborn bastard, and if I didnt help him, someone else would. At least, thats the justification I gave myself. But the real reason was that, deep inside my heart, his words were still echoing.

Id ended up doing a little more work than I had intended. For one, I had to place his stupid clues around the city. It wasnt hard work, but it took some time to get them all in the proper places. Luckily for Ben, they were pretty obvious clues. There was no need to worry that his participants would be unable to find him.

Ben had set up the grave and the coffin a few days prior to Halloween. It was out in the woods just on the outskirts of town, no chance of it being disturbed. Id tried to talk him out of burying it the whole six feet down.

If something happens and I need to get you out fast, what will I do? Cant you put it closer to the surface?

Ben had just shaken his head in exasperation. You just dont get it, do you? It has to be done right. Remember what I told you.

So I shrugged and let him mess around with whatever dumbassery would get him off.

I was just beginning to wonder if I should have brought more beer this promised to be a long night when Ben showed up.

I had to restrain my laughter when I saw his getup. A cheap Dracula costume from Wal-mart had never looked so pathetic, especially when topped off with those cheap plastic fangs. Hed greased his hair back and painted on a widows peak.

I couldnt resist. Wow, seriously, dude?

He gave me a stern look. Its a comment on the commercialization of vampires and horror as we know it today. He fished around in his pocket and pulled out a walkie talkie. Here, take one. The range isnt very far, but my cell phone wont work that far underground. Youll have to stay nearby. Let me know if youre going out of range.

I shrugged and took it. Okay, but you brought your cell just in case, right?

Nah, what good will it do if it doesnt work?

This guys batshit insane, I thought. But he handed me the hundred dollars and, suddenly, it didnt seem to matter anymore.

I helped him into the coffin and shut the lid. He seemed pretty calm if it were me, I knew Id be having a panic attack. I fit the PVC pipe into the hole. It slid in perfectly snug. I climbed out of the coffin and grabbed my shovel, taking one last look at the shiny black peeking out from the dirt.

With a resigned shrug, I started to shovel in the dirt. Okay, well, he asked for this, I thought.

It took almost a full hour to get all the dirt piled in. The PVC pipe was just barely visible over the grave. I piled the earth around it to hide it as well as I could. Then, I set up the rest of the grave: a hideously gothic headstone made of Styrofoam, and cheap Wal-mart flowers. Once it was finally finished, I sat back against a tree and waited.

There was an awful lot of waiting to be done.

Three hours later, his participants still hadnt come.

Hed buzzed in on the walkie talkie a few times, asking if theyd shown up. I continually answered in the negative, wondering how long hed be willing to keep up this charade. He must be getting worried, I thought, staring at my watch. It was already 10 pm and not a soul to be seen.

Hey, Mike? Something must have happened, I dont think theyre coming. Can you get me out of here? Bens voice crackled and faded in and out of the static fuzz. I took another swig of my beer and heaved a sigh.

Of course they werent coming. They were frantically searching for the last clue. My hand crept into my pocket as I felt it folded there, the creases poking at the soft flesh of my palm.

Mike? Are you there? Did you go out of range?

I turned the walkie talkie off. I didnt need it anymore, anyway. Carefully, I picked up a handful of disturbed earth from the top of the makeshift grave. I poured it down the pipe and listened.

I heard the muffled exclamation, the series of expletives. I thought I could hear a thumping sound he must be hitting the top of the coffin. I smiled a little to myself as I poured some more dirt in through the pipe.

Bens struggles got louder and I felt a certain heat rising up in me. Oh, I knew it could be good, but I didnt know it could be good. This was incredible. This was perfect. This was .

Eventually, I grew bored of shoving the earth down into the coffin. I could hear Bens screaming and sobbing reverberating up the pipe. I yanked a handkerchief out of my back pocket and stuffed it inside. I made sure to plug it up good and tight.

It would only be a matter of time, now. Assuming he could regulate his breathing, he could possibly have a few hours. But I knew he was panicking. And that would simply serve to shorten his time.

The pounding grew weaker as I finished my beer. Once I was certain there was no saving him, I went to finish my work.

Ben was right everything really did go off without a hitch. I dont know what I was so worried about.

Id gone to find his lost sheep, the wayward participants who were scrambling in frustration for the last clue. I scolded them for making us wait so long, acted the part of the reluctant friend indulging his lunatic companion. I took them out to the grave. It was now past midnight.

They sat hushed as I gave the stupid speech that Ben had prepared for me. Everything seemed normal Id made sure to stow the rag before anyone could see it.

Friends, foes, and everyone in between. Tonight we gather to resurrect the ancient horror that has plagued mankind for centuries. Its tale, once a gruesome epic of blood and seduction, has become nothing more than commercialized fodder as society has aged. Now, the time has come for the phoenix to burn and rise again. So, too, shall the blood-soaked visage of the vampire! My voice resonated throughout the woods, and the morons in attendance clapped as they all reached for their shovels.

We dug him up in about half an hour. It was much faster work with his host of suckers. It was good that we reached the coffin quickly, because I could barely contain my excitement.

Two of the men opened the coffin and screamed. The women leaned in over the grave to peek as well, full of expectancy. There was something dreadful about the scene, to be sure.

Bens face had gone gray, sprayed over with a few specs of dirt. His hands were bloody, his fingernails pried off. Deep scratches decorated the top of the lid. The men who had opened his tomb dragged him out in a panic, unsure if this was part of the performance or not. A few moments of silent listening at his chest produced no heartbeat. The proclamation was definitive: he was dead.

They screamed. They called the police. They alternatively looked at his body and shielded themselves from its horror, enraptured yet struggling.

They ignored me.

But that was fine. It was fine because they were admiring my work, the work of the artist. Finally, I had been given this opportunity to prove my worth. Finally, I had found my sacrificial lamb. And it had been a rousing success. The heat raging in my body affirmed that much. I didnt even care if I was caught, so long as I could have this moment to hold for the rest of my life.

Ben was right. I should have known a man of principle never lies. And I owe him a debt of gratitude, for realizing the artist within me.

Art must be a little dangerous for it to be real.

from All Of Beer http://allofbeer.com/every-halloween-i-have-a-story-i-like-to-tell/ from All of Beer https://allofbeercom.tumblr.com/post/172357360662

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samanthasroberts · 6 years