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8 Self-Help Books about Lesbian Relationships
This month in Ask Your Friendly Neighborhood Lesbrarian we’re answering an email question that’s a little different: non-fiction! Specifically, non-fiction / self-help books about relationships between queer women:
Hi there, Casey!
My name is Maureen, and as a fan of Autostraddle, I’ve been reading your lists of books featuring queer characters for some time. I was hoping you might have something to suggest pertaining to non-fiction relationship/self-help books for queer partnerships! Ironically, my partner and I both work at Barnes & Noble, but I haven’t been able to find much of anything on queer marriages/relationships/etc through our ordering system, nor online. I’d just love to read something without his & her pronouns, you know? Anywho, thanks for any suggestions you might be able to give! And by the way, thank you so incredibly much for creating your lists; they’ve helped me give so many suggestions to so many families and individuals!
I think you’re likely not alone in your quest for queer relationship self-help books, Maureen! And it is very reasonable to want to some relationship self-help without having to go through mentally changing the pronouns and lamenting that issues specific to relationships between women aren’t addressed. I definitely had a tough time as well finding these, but here are the fruits of my labor: eight non-fiction books about lesbian/queer women relationships, partnerships, marriage, and dating!
Ask a Queer Chick: A Guide to Sex, Love, and Life for Girls who Dig Girl by Lindsay King-Miller
You might be familiar with Lindsay King-Miller’s advice column of the same name as the book that ran in The Hairpin for years. Even if you’ve already gobbled up all that advice, though, you’ve gotta read this book: it’s based on the column but has entirely new content! The self-help in Ask a Queer Chick isn’t all about relationships — King-Miller also discuses other key queer life stuff like getting your first alternative lifestyle haircut and coming out — but she does spend a significant amount of time on relationships and dating, from the very beginnings of finding girls to go on dates with to getting married. Her tone throughout is refreshingly down-to-earth and funny. Bisexual and trans women readers will also appreciate sections that addresses issues specific to them!
Conscious Lesbian Dating and Love by Ruth Schwartz and Michelle Murrain
This guidebook, subtitled “A Roadmap to Finding the Right Partner and Creating the Relationship of Your Dreams,” is unique. The main focus for Schwartz and Murrain is mindfulness and conscious decision making in all stages of your relationship, from looking for a partner to creating the kind of relationship that works for both of you as you grow together. They emphasis that building a great relationship is work: work that you can do through being thoughtful and deliberate about the choices you make and the actions you take. Drawing insights from multiple fields — neuroscience, spirituality, and psychology —Schwartz and Murrain also add their own personal experiences. Check out their website, which has additional resources like videos.
Lesbian Couples: A Guide to Healthy Relationships by D. Merilee Clunis and G. Dorsey Green
As far as non-fiction books about lesbian relationships go, Lesbian Couples is a classic: it was first published in 1988, and then reissued in 2004. Although many things have changed, you will probably be surprised at how much is still relevant. Clunis and Green are two lesbian therapists with decades of experience, which they put to use in the book covering an impressively broad array of topics. It makes an effort to highlight intersecting identities that are likely to affect your relationship like race, class, age, and ability. It also addresses how recovery from alcohol and/or drug abuse and sexual assault can play a role, as well as other topics such as butch-femme dynamics, trans identity, bisexuality, (non)monogamy, BDSM, elder care, and raising children. The wide range, however, means that no one issue is explored in extensive detail.
Sexual Intimacy for Women: A Guide for Same-Sex Couples by Glenda Corwin
For advice on sexual intimacy in long-term lesbian relationships, this book by sex therapist Glenda Corwin is exactly what you want. But to avoid any confusion: this isn’t a book of sexy times tips and tricks to impress your girlfriend or wife. Instead, it’s distinctly focused on the emotional, physical, and psychological aspects of lesbian relationships with the goal of increasing sexual intimacy. Corwin addresses issues like orgasm, body image, identity, aging, and parenthood and their connections to (sexual) intimacy. Of course, the dreaded LBD — lesbian bed death — is discussed in detail. A few caveats: there is some language in Sexual Intimacy for Women that invalidates asexuality and the section on sexual abuse/assault would be more helpful if it were expanded.
Lipstick and Dipstick’s Essential Guide to Lesbian Relationships by Gina Daggett and Kathy Belge
You might know this butch-femme couple from their long-running relationship advice column for Curve Magazine. Anyone wanting relationship self-help with a heavy dose of humor, Lipstick and Dipstick certainly deliver plenty of that, as well as insights from their own long-term relationship. They cover the full lifespan of relationships, including finding a date, U-hauling, dealing with exes (and other emotional baggage), breaking up, and more. For sure, Lipstick and Dipstick don’t provide the expertise of counselors/therapists or writers with backgrounds in psychology. But for a book that seems to have been written with the intent of being as entertaining as it is informative, it certainly succeeds. The authors’ personal experiences on different sides of the gender spectrum are especially a nice touch.
Lesbian Marriage: A Love and Sex Forever Kit by Kim Chernin and Ruth Stendhal
Finally, a relationship book specifically for all the lesbians who’ve tied the knot! This tool kit by two experienced counselors who are also a couple is a quick, short reference guide. There are handy lists of do’s and don’t’s as well as some activities and exercises to share with your partner. They focus on 12 major challenges that all lesbian couples face, like “You always, I never—Grudges and Bed Death” and “The Ravenous Beast—Sex after Menopause?” Their advice is frank and funny. And parts of the book are designed like a comic strip, which gives it a wonderful Dykes to Watch Out For feel. If the idea of picking up a 400-page tome on lesbian relationships is off-putting, try this playful guide that really cuts to the chase.
Working It Out: A Lesbian Relationship Primer by Frances S. Fuchs
Working It Out is the most interactive book on this list. Written by an experienced lesbian counselor, it’s a workbook full of exercises to do on your own, with a partner, or even in a group of couples. Fuchs covers topics including communication skills, challenges of coming and being out, arguments, and more. The book moves chronologically through a relationship, with the first chapters dedicated to early relationship stages and personal skills that are necessary in those initial phases to make relationships strong. Later chapters focus on cycles of long-term relationships, providing a map so you can see where you and your partner may be in these patterns. Fuchs’s advice is above all else practical, focusing on concrete steps to take to work on specific issues.
True Secrets of Lesbian Desire: Keeping Sex Alive in Long-Term Relationships by Renate Stendhal
Another easy-to-read, short book on relationships by Renate Stendhal, except this focuses on sex. If you’re really concerned about lesbian bed death — either that it’s currently happening to you and your partner or you’re worried it’s going to in the future — Stendhal provides the most comprehensive look at it. In particular, Stendhal challenges those myths that women are “too close” to maintain sexual desire in long-term relationships. Her overall argument, in fact, is that making yourself vulnerable and being open and honest with your partner is the best way to keep that sexual spark aflame. She accomplishes this using many examples from real-life couples she’s counseled as well examples from her personal life and plenty of insights from queer women writers like Jewelle Gomez, who writes the book’s foreword.
Can’t get enough of lesbian relationship / self-help books? Check out this list on Goodreads of Lesbian Self-Help Books. If nothing else, you’ll probably have a good laugh at some of the hilariously bad 90s book covers. Have any recommendations for books about queer partnerships? Add them in the comments! And keep your lesbrarian questions coming to stepaniukcasey [at] gmail.com!
Related:Ask Your Friendly Neighbourhood Lesbrarianbook listlesbian datingrelationships
Known in some internet circles as Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian, Casey Stepaniuk is a writer and librarian who holds an MA in English literature. She writes regularly for Book Riot and Inside Vancouver about LGBTQ2IA+ and/or bookish topics as well as a monthly column about queer books at Autostraddle called Ask Your Friendly Neighborhood Lesbrarian. Topics and activities dear to her heart include cats, bisexuality, libraries, queer (Canadian) literature, running, and drinking tea. She runs the website Casey the Canadian Lesbrarian, where you can find reviews of queer Canadian books, archives of Ask Your Friendly Neighbourhood Lesbrarian, and some other queer, bookish stuff. Find her on Twitter, Goodreads, Facebook, and Tumblr.
Casey has written 69 articles for us.
La Boda Jota #2: Wedding Planning Woes
Something Wild
YAAAAAAY!!! This answers a question I had left on the backburner!
Also gonna say in case anyone is wondering whether gottman institute books (a popular mainstream series of relationship self help books) are worth the trouble, that I have found a couple of them genuinely so helpful. They are actually based on research by a team with a lot of (presumably straight) women involved although bc patriarchy they are associated with a man’s name. More recent books do better on keeping pronouns neutral. If you can sift thru the heteronormativity and monogamy assumptions and lack of discussion of race/class [a lot to ask!], there are gems of questions, exercises, simple but effective rules of thumb, and concepts (e.g. solvable vs unsolvable conflicts, what is each person’s story and dream behind an unsolvable conflict?) in there. Integrating these with race and class and feminism and queer stuff from other sources has been awesome.
Gottman has helped me too
I absolutely recommend Ask A Queer Chick. This book helped me SO much when I first came out a couple years ago.
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SAM On Things I Read That I Love #315: The Cult Thing Was Real, But In a Positive Way "It’s my favorite column! Which one of these is about the cult though?"
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Best and worst vitamins for your body
Preventing deep vein thrombosis
This everyday supplement could be the key to COVID-19 immunity
by Claire Isaac
Walking through a chemist's shop or even scrolling through your social media feed, you could be forgiven for thinking your diet is distinctly lacking. There are a staggering amount of supplements and vitamins aimed at us - from generic brands to the oh-so-expensive variety spruiked online by celebs.
And we're taking them all.
Australians are some of the world's largest consumers of dietary supplements, with vitamin and mineral sales totalling more than $2bn every year. And according to 2019 data from Roy Morgan, the number of Australians who purchase vitamins, minerals and/or supplements in an average six-month period is now more than 8.3 million.
Nutritionist Madeline Calfas says supplements can help with the stresses of modern life. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts
While some studies show that most of us are actually getting enough nutrients from our diet already (and many people who take supplements don't need them at all), nutritionist, naturopath, herbalist and founder of The Wellness Group Madeline Calfas suggests that modern life means supplements can be of real value.
"While we should be aiming for a diet high in fresh quality foods, and supplementing any extras that we may be needing either due to dietary shortfalls or increased requirements from the body (such as athletes and pregnancy), it is important to note that things have changed over the years from the way it once was," she says.
Oils like omega 3, evening primrose oil and fish oils need to be manufactured using cold-pressing techniques.
"Once upon a time we used to eat seasonally. We used to rotate our crops, rest the fields, and soil was rich in nutrients, which was then infused into the foods that were grown in it. Life was generally less stressful, and we had the ability to switch off and rest.
"Fast forward to today and the crops that we are growing are being grown on a mass scale, with very little nutrient content in the soil. Combine that with the influx of processed foods and 24/7 stress, and our bodies are just not able to do what they used to. The nutrients are not as abundant in our foods, and our bodies are less able to absorb and utilise whatever nutrients are there. As a result, supplementing has become more of a necessity."
When it comes to knowing which supplements to take, however, she advises speaking to an expert.
"Speaking with a health practitioner can help you ensure that you are spending money on those supplements that are actually needed and not wasting money on those that you saw a blogger posting about," she says.
Once we know which supplements we do need, does the cost and where we buy them matter?
"A supplement should never be purchased purely based on price point," says Madeline. "Just because it costs more doesn't always mean that it is better, and just because it's cheap doesn't mean it's no good. It really will depend on what it is that you are buying.
"What matters more than the price is the manufacturer. Generally speaking, practitioner-only brands are going to be more effective, and more reliable, as there is much greater regulation when it comes to their manufacturing processes, quality control etc."
Nutritional requirements change as you age and as your lifestyle changes.
"This helps to stop the oils from turning rancid, which can actually end up causing more harm than good," she says. "The cheaper, bulk buy brands are usually not cold-pressed, which is when it is wiser to buy a more expensive practitioner-only brand."
"It also means that you have a health professional monitoring what you are taking, and it greatly reduces the possibility of things like drug/nutrient interactions."
"Just because you are taking a supplement now doesn't necessarily mean you will need to be on it for the rest of your life," Madeline adds.
"Your nutritional requirements change as you age, and as your lifestyle and diet changes, so supplements are never a 'set and forget' approach."
WHAT TO SPEND ON
SAVE: On general vitamin and mineral supplements such as Vitamin C, Vitamin D or zinc supplements.
SPEND: Stock up on the pricier practitioner-only brands when it comes to Omega 3, Evening Primrose Oil and Fish Oils.
NB: Madeline says whenever you're buying supplements, the first thing you should be aware of is what it is you need, and then buy accordingly.
"For example," she says, "magnesium comes in several different forms, each of which is generally indicated for a different condition. There is not much point in trying to save money and buying the cheaper form if it's not the form that your body needs."
Originally published as Best and worst vitamins for your body
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How 'off limits' Bexhill quarry could become stunning asset
Feedback is sought on plans to turn the Bexhill Quarry site into parklands.
Cathy Adams
Cathy Adams I have worked at The Northern Star for 16 years, as a photographer and now, a digital producer. I love that our work gives us the opportunity to help and inform people in a changing world.
9th Nov 2020 12:00 AM
IMAGINE being able to ride a bike from your home to a sparkling cobalt blue waterhole, popular with Instagrammers.
Sounds divine doesn't it? And what if you could walk there?
>>> EXCLUSIVE: Major new leads in Simone Strobel murder case
Well, if an enthusiastic group of locals had their way, that would soon become a reality on the Northern Rivers, providing a parkland area and stop-off point alongside the rail trail.
A concept plan has been drawn up to remediate the Bexhill Quarry, with the aim of turning a problem into a community asset.
Landscape architect Nicholas Alderson said he joined together with like-minded residents to form the Bexhill Quarry Parklands group, all keen to address a growing concern over the misuse of the waterhole.
Bexhill Quarry in 2010 showing the break in the fence, used to gain entry to the water. Photo The Northern Star Archives
The site, formerly a brickworks, and in the years since it closed, fencing and signage had not deterred swimmers and travellers from entering the site, keen for a dip and a selfie at the beautiful site.
"It's a celebrity on the internet," Mr Alderson said of the waterhole. "It's all over social media.
"Backpackers often wander into the (Bexhill) shop asking where the water hole is."
But, he said, "it's going to end up in tears before bedtime," if the situation continued.
He said instead of trying to prevent people using the site, its popularity should be embraced, improved, and turned into an attraction.
Mr Alderson said the quarry was unique in its own right, but a proposed rail trail running through the site made it "rolled gold" for recreational purposes.
Among the members of the Bexhill Quarry Parklands group were a former civil servant, a lawyer, and a landscape architect, who have drafted a thorough concept plan.
Local politicians were also said to be excited by the plans, and their support Mr Alderson said, would be crucial to helping gain the required permission from the Lands Department.
Southern Cross University laboratory director Graham Lancaster checks the Bexhill Quarry water pH to see whether the acidity levels were dangerous to humans.
He said addressing any safety issues at the site, which included water quality and an unstable cliff face, would be part of more detailed investigation of the proposal.
"We see this as a catalyst for Bexhill, and of great benefit to the local community."
bexhill quarry
northern rivers community foundation
northern rivers development
waterhole
bexhill quarry northern rivers community foundation northern rivers development parklands waterhole
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Beautyphiz
Seven Facts
Top headlines :
Home seven-facts Tech Entrepreneur & CEO Of Future Ads Jared Pobre, Seven Facts Surrounding His Family & Profession
Tech Entrepreneur & CEO Of Future Ads Jared Pobre, Seven Facts Surrounding His Family & Profession
Shrijan Published On Thu Jan 02 2020 Modified On Fri Apr 10 2020
Stacy Keibler won fans' hearts as a pro-wrestling character in the wrestling promotions WWE and WCW, but it was American entrepreneur Jared Pobre that won her heart in the end.
The two have been married since 2014 and have two children together with a third on the way.
On December 2019, Stacy and Jared announced that they were expecting their third child.
What better time than now to get to know the father better? Here are seven facts about Jared Pobre:
7. Married to Stacy Keibler
While Pobre became known in the elites of the tech industry, he would not become a household name if it weren't for his marriage to former WWE Diva, Stacy Keibler.
Jared Pobre with wife Stacy Keibler
The two had been longtime friends before their relationship turned romantic in the fall of 2013. They tied the knot on March 8, 2014, in an intimate beach wedding in Mexico; in-attendants were close friends and relatives of the two.
6. CEO Of Future Ads
Jared is a tech entrepreneur. He is the founder and the CEO of Future Ads. The company was started in 2001. Future Ads is a marketing and advertisement venture that specializes in online marketing, app distribution, and game monetization.
Future Ads is regarded as the pioneer of the groundbreaking scheme for advertisement over a dynamic gaming platform, a trend that would become ubiquitously in publication. The company would become highly profitable from 2005, and Jared became a multi-millionaire.
Future Ads merged with another advertisement enterprise in 2014 to become known as Propel Media. Pobre serves on the Board of Directors in the new tech firm.
5. Net Worth $200 Million
As of 2020, Jared Pobre is estimated to be worth $200 million.
The USC graduate in Business started the company Future Ads in 2001, which became one of the fastest-growing enterprises in the advertising and marketing world. Profits would skyrocket from 2005 to 2014, bolstering Pobre's income into the high nine figures.
4. Jared Pobre Real Es*ate Venture
Jared and Pobre put their Beverly Hills mansion up for sale in October 2018. Producer Gary Gilbert snatched it for $26.5 million. The villa, which they had owned since 2014, cost the couple $20.5 million.
Before then, Jared owned a bachelor pad in Newport Beach, California. He sold the pad in 2014 for $8.8 million. Jared also sold a Beverly Hills home in 2017 for $18.25 million.
3. He is Father to Stacy Keibler's Children
Stacy had been pregnant with Pobre's child before they were officially married, and on August 20, 2014, five months after their wedding, Stacy gave birth to a daughter Ava Grace Pobre.
Jared Pobre with his wife Stacy and two children
Source: EWrestling
June 18, 2018, marked the birth of their son Bodhi Brooks. Bodhi was a home-birth, and Keibler took to Instagram to announce to the world the arrival of their son.
2. Jared and Stacy are Expecting their Third Child
In December of 2019, the couple announced that they were expecting their third child. Details about the se* of the baby have been kept under wraps.
In an interview with People, Stacy said:
“Seeing the dynamic between our two kids is what made us want to have more kids. We live in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and it’s so nice to just have a little tribe there.”
Jared also chimed in, saying:
“It’s exciting. I think once we had our second one, we totally got it and understood how to manage.”
1. Before Jared, Stacy Dated George Clooney
Before Stacy settled down with Jared, she was in a publicized relationship with Hollywood royalty George Clooney.
Stacy with George Clooney
Source: Ahlan Live
The two started dating in July 2011. Almost exactly two years after they started dating, they quietly called it quits in July 2013. The reason behind their split was reportedly a conflict of interest: Stacy wanted marriage and children, and Clooney was hesitant to commit.
Things turned out well for both parties, and Stacy got the picture-perfect romance and family with Jared Pobre.
Jared Pobre
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Post Published 11/2/20
Bird, Revolut Offer Up To 40% Off Scooter Rides In Europe
Access to affordable e-scooters plays a key role in keeping essential workers mobile during the pandemic and promoting sustainable, socially distant alternatives to cars.
That’s why Bird has teamed up with Revolut, Europe’s innovative financial super app, to offer scooter riders throughout the continent the opportunity to take up to 40% off every ride. There are no codes to enter or limits on the number of qualifying trips. Simply add your Revolut card as your primary payment option in the Bird app and start saving.
“We’re proud to partner with Revolut, bringing together two of Europe’s most mission-driven startups in a way that will have a direct, beneficial impact on communities,” said Patrick Studener, VP and Head of Bird EMEA. “Helping more people get out of cars and onto environmentally friendly modes of transport is crucial for our planet, especially as the global pandemic continues to highlight the importance of socially-distant mobility.”
The discount applies to Revolut members at every tier, from 20% off for all card holders to 30% off for Premium card holders and 40% for Metal card holders. Once added as the primary payment option in your Bird app, cashback discounts will automatically be paid to your Revolut account for every ride you take. The program runs until March 27, 2021, giving riders 5 months to switch to micromobility and save.
Our partnership with Revolut is the latest in a series of recent initiatives designed to make it easier and more affordable for riders to get onto electric scooters. Earlier this year, Bird launched our industry-first Warm Up Mode and Quick Start Mode features to help make scooter riding both more comfortable and more efficient. We also recently announced the rollout of our Bird Ride Pass and expanded Community Pricing Program, offering new ways to help reduce transportation costs.
To stay up to date with new micromobility partnerships and initiatives happening every week, subscribe to the Bird Cities Blog.
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Home > Barcelona >
OFFICIAL: Luis Suárez leaves FC Barcelona for Atlético Madrid
by Yousef Salama — Editor, BCN - Thursday, September 24, 2020 - 00:02 CEST Friday, January 15, 2021 - 17:41 CET 0
Luis Suárez’ presentation for Barcelona when he signed from Liverpool / FC BARCELONA
The Uruguayan striker has officially left the Catalan club for Atlético Madrid after 6 successful years. The Uruguayan leaves on a free transfer initially, but Barcelona will receive up to 6 million euros in variables from the Madrid club.
The Luis Suárez departure saga has finally come to an end, with Barça and the Uruguayan agreeing on the player’s transfer to Atlético Madrid. El Pistolero has played 283 games for Barça, scoring 198 goals and assisting 109. Along the way, Suárez won 4 La Liga trophies, 1 UEFA Champions League, 4 Copa del Rey trophies, 1 UEFA Super Cup, 2 Spanish Super Cups and 1 FIFA Club World Cup, and leaves as a club legend & the 3rd all-time top goal scorer, behind César and Lionel Messi.
With the transfer confirmed, Barcelona will now turn their attention to signing a replacement for the striker position. Barcelona are attentive to the situation of Memphis Depay, and are still interested in the Dutch forward’s services. In the coming days, Blaugranagram will continue reporting the progress of the negotiations with Olympique Lyonnais for Memphis.
Tagged atletico madrid luis suarez
Yousef Salama — Editor, BCN
La agenda de Luis Suárez para los próximos días
Suárez: “I can leave proud and satisfied after these six years”
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Wladimir Klitschko escapes at sea from flaming boat
Former heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has to be rescued on the high seas
FORMER world heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko was rescued by the Spanish coastguard after the chartered boat he was on caught fire on Monday morning.
Klitschko, who ended his professional boxing career after losing to Anthony Joshua in April 2017 but has been rumoured to be considering a comeback, revealed the incident happened while travelling from Ibiza to Mallorca.
He wrote on Twitter: “Our boat-trip Sunday night ended up in our boat #igniting and family & friends being evacuated by coast guard and fire rescue-team.”
Esther Lin/Showtime
Klitschko later expanded on Instagram: “If you are wondering what happened to my family & friends and me while being on a chartered boat from Ibiza to Mallorca early Monday morning, let me state: we are all fine!
“We were in rough water and suddenly recognised fire – about seven sea-miles from the coastline.
“It took a while until the situation got under control, but we could count on helping hands from Majorcan coast guard and fire rescue. Thanks to all of them!
“All of you: Be careful what you wish for – as this time fate took my wish for ‘some adrenalin during the weekend’ a bit too literally.”
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文豪ストレイドッグス | Bungou Stray Dogs
僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Dazai Osamu (Bungou Stray Dogs)
Sakaguchi Ango (Bungou Stray Dogs)
Oda Sakunosuke (Bungou Stray Dogs)
Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko
Mori Ougai (Bungou Stray Dogs)
Sensei | All For One
Kurogiri (My Hero Academia)
Nakahara Chuuya (Bungou Stray Dogs)
Port Mafia (Bungou Stray Dogs) - Character
Ozaki Kouyou (Bungou Stray Dogs)
homicidal pseudo-friendship
both dazai and shigaraki are petty
it's all fun and games (except they legit hate each other)
manga spoilers for both series in later chapters
Alternate Universe - Fusion
Dazai-typical suicide themes
Dazai's depression
I guess this is as much of a childhood that they're gonna get
please do not repost this fic on other sites
Part 1 of the Little Talks series Next Work →
No Save Points
anachronist
Dazai Osamu was fourteen when Mori Ougai became the boss of the Port Mafia.
It was unfortunate that they couldn't easily boot out the lone superpowered villain laying low in the area, but they could at least reach a compromise to not interfere with each other's business.
Only, Shigaraki Tomura occasionally forgot the memo.
It's a sidefic of a longer piece and it spawned chapters. jfc.
Unbetaed + standard disclaimers apply
10.30: Chapter updated with edits.
“He’s such a sore loser,” Dazai snickered, flicking the rim of the Old Fashioned glass in front of him. The ball of ice floating in his whiskey clinked in suit, its gleaming surface gently reflecting the amber lamps hanging over the bar. “Worse than Chuuya sometimes, and that’s an accomplishment! I don’t know how his babysitter keeps up with him.”
To his right, Oda Sakunosuke took a sip from his own drink. For as long as he’d known Dazai, the brunet had a knack for finding distinct people (though Oda excluded himself from that count), and this Shigaraki kid was no exception. “You went to the arcade at Kamino again?”
“Mm-hmm! Broke all his high scores in the Initial D games this time, and got a looooot of tickets from it, too!” Dazai gleefully spun around on his stool, the empty sleeves of his coat swaying with him. In this bar, where the three friends left the protocols of organization hierarchy and rank outside the door, the teen could afford to show a little more of his boyish side. “Ne, Odasaku, what prize do you think I should get?”
Oda shrugged. “The battery-powered mini fans.”
The teen complained about the humidity on occasion. Must be extra difficult to handle thanks to the layers of gauze wrapped all over his body.
“But aren’t those a bit noisy?” Dazai wrinkled his nose, arms crossed in thought, “A blender?”
“That’s even louder,” Oda said, and avoided thinking about just how Dazai would go about washing the rotating blades. It wasn’t that the teen was careless - his capacity to survive was far from a fluke - though Oda had seen the brunet lost in thought before, his lone visible eye drawn to the bartender slicing lime wedges for the occasional cocktail.
The bandages wrapped around his torso and arms peeking out from his collar barely hindered his range of movement, and the cuffs of his sleeves, and the cotton patch over his right eye had only served to train the brunet’s spatial awareness instead of handicapping him. Oda could think of several reasons why Dazai maintained the appearance of injury long after his recovery from mission-related wounds, and, to Oda, all of them had the same underlying commonality: the youngest Executive’s terrifying ability to adapt during conflict.
As Dazai rattled off several other items (What was that, Odasaku ? A fuel lantern I can use for carbon monoxide poisoning?), Ango, seated on Dazai’s left, pinched the bridge of his nose to ward off an oncoming headache.
“And you wonder why the Boss doesn’t let you drive,” he muttered. Having Dazai in the driver’s seat was not something he wanted to experience again, ever. The memory still gave him stomach cramps. "Back to Shigaraki. What did he try to do this time?”
Dazai’s lips curved in a sly smile as he spun again on the stool to face Ango. “Well,” he said, “It was a nicely wrapped box sent through the mail, about this big -” he held his hands in parallel in front of his chest, leaving around two feet of air in between “- with a springy ribbon and all. But you know what it turned out to be?”
He gestured for Ango to lend him an ear, eyes sparkling in mischief, daring the other man to lean closer.
Ango looked at him in askance, brow raised and chin propped on the back of his hand, already sensing the set-up for a joke. A stare-off between the two held, until Dazai started snickering. The spectacled man shook his head and huffed, pointedly taking a sip of his Bloody Mary in dismissal. To his surprise, Dazai chose that exact moment to lean forward, the teen’s mouth too close to his ear for his liking, and -
“A bomb,” he cried with dramatic flourish, pulling away to grin widely as he was treated to the sight of a startled Ango covering his mouth in a valiant attempt to breathe, a quarter of his drink spilled down his shirt.
“What?” Ango choked out, though it was difficult to tell if it was in reaction to the news or Dazai’s delivery, and irritably accepted a clean handkerchief from a resigned Oda with a nod of thanks.
“I know,” Dazai said sagely, crossing his arms and nodding as he ignored Ango patting down his mouth and the collar of his shirt. “He didn’t even bother sending it to a better address, either - could’ve been my apartment, you know? Besides, who knew he could get ahold of one those in the first place, but mmm, maybe his babysitter ordered it for him? Ah, but don’t worry, headquarters is still standing… oh.” Dazai tipped his head sideways innocently, finally looking at the shaking Ango.
“Ango?”
“Third shirt this month,” Ango glared at Dazai, pushing up his glasses and waving Oda’s handkerchief threateningly. The tips of his hair near his cheeks were clumped together, still wet with alcohol.
Dazai laughed in delight and clapped. “Of course our Information Officer keeps count!” Then as a concession, “You should frown less, you know, or your forehead’ll wrinkle faster.”
Oda exhaled softly, anticipating a long lecture from their bespectacled friend, and sent an apologetic look to the amused barkeep before sliding over a pile of tissues between the two, movement smooth on the counter's polished wooden surface.
“Now, now, it’s still a bit early, nothing a little water can’t clean up. Let’s enjoy the rest of the evening, yes?”
Sort of minor spoilers for Bungou Stray Dogs ch50.
three years ago
Dazai Osamu was fourteen when Mori Ougai became the boss of the Port Mafia with little ceremony. There was a lot of work to be done in the wake of Mori’s predecessor’s untimely death, internal audits and bookkeeping and inspections and dispute settlement. It wasn’t every day, after all, that a previously non-affiliated back alley doctor was named successor to one the largest surviving criminal organizations in Yokohama, and the severity of the secrets he held over his previous patients was nothing to scoff at.
While Mori was no stranger to being on the wrong end of a would-be assassin’s gun, the delicacy of handling internal affairs was tedious, and so he happily handed off the subjugation of the more disposable and irrational nay-sayers to his protege and the newly-formed Black Lizard guerrilla squad. It was good exercise for the teen, not to mention a fair opportunity for some of the older elite to acquaint themselves with Dazai.
Mori was confident that his student would succeed in gaining the confidence of his new subordinates and enemies alike, even under such strenuous circumstances.
A month into their new life, it became necessary to survey the various organizations and affiliates that had settled in Yokohama in the years of the previous boss’ madness. No doubt some of their old allies had concerns when the previous Boss had made very questionable destructive decisions towards the end of his life, and wouldn’t it be unfortunate if some of them had plans to take advantage of the Port Mafia in their time of mourning and reorganization? That simply wouldn’t do.
And so Mori made his rounds in Yokohama to re-establish connections, accompanied by selected body guards. Dazai, his protege and living anti-Quirk threat, went with him.
It was on the way to Kamino Ward that Mori told Dazai of a special case.
“An actual super villain,” Dazai repeated in disbelief. It was quite telling that a single being had somehow obtained that dubious distinction in Yokohama’s particularly bloodthirsty criminal underground, where the various organizations flocking to the area tended to either recruit or silence the noisier newcomers and solo operatives. This was especially true for aspiring villains who fumbled about with their Quirks and left damning evidence, rank amateurs that they were. Quirk-related crimes meant the arrival of heroes, followed by a ravenous horde of media and hero fans. No self-respecting competent criminal, organized or otherwise, wanted that kind of attention close to their base of operations.
To that end, there was an unspoken truce to avoid having too many Quirk users go on a rampage in the city again. The infamous Yokohama Incident from seven years ago was more than enough for everyone.
“A great and terrible monster,” Mori confirmed, smiling in amusement at his young protege’s put-out expression, “powerful enough to take on entire organizations by himself in an outright fight. There are even rumors that he’s been here longer than the previous Boss was alive. It’s unfortunate that he’s chosen Yokohama as a base of operations when he has no reason to move away for the foreseeable future. As silent as he has been in the past few decades, there is the possibility that a pro Hero will meddle will come across our affairs, or that his mere presence will draw a Hero to himself.” Mori raised a hand in lieu of a shrug. “Quite the conundrum.”
“He sounds more like a myth rather than an actual person,” Dazai hummed absently, looking out the car window to watch the foot traffic as he mulled over the new information, tapping his heel at the bottom of the car seat to a rhythm only he knew of. “Though you say someone like him tends to draw in heroes, well - they are useless for sniffing out this deep of a problem, aren’t they?”
“They’ll certainly have a hard time digging,” Mori chuckled, “when the industry itself discourages subtlety and lends to competition even within their ranks, even to the detriment of their so-called underground heroes. Not that we can blame them in this case - can you imagine why such a myth would haunt even organizations that have escaped and continue to survive in a world heavily scrutinized by such positively enabled law enforcement? The previous Boss’ generation was simultaneously awed and threatened by him. His reputation is not without merit when you consider the offensive power the Port Mafia of the time had at their disposal before the old Boss lost it during the Yokohama Incident.”
Dazai peered at him from his uncovered eye. There was something tense with how he cupped his cheek, the stiffness of his shoulders that even the black coat draped over them could not conceal. “They tried to kick him out and they lost,” the teen concluded, likely recalling the sheer amount of destruction and chaos from that time, all that rubble and the stench of burnt and rotting flesh.
Mori had no doubt that the memories were vivid. He, after all, had been the one who found a bruised and injured Dazai curled up in the wreckage with a bloodied knife next to him, shell-shocked and hollow, surrounded by the corpses of his parents and gutted criminals.
“It was a foolish and ultimately costly move, despite their success in recapturing part of their old territory. The sheer amount of loss alone is one of the reasons why our organization’s old business partners are so uncertain this time.” Mori laced his bony fingers together, resting his palms on his thigh. “Learn from this, Dazai-kun: as things stand, the Port Mafia gains nothing from a direct confrontation with that man. It would be more prudent instead to prepare to minimize our losses should the inevitable occur. ”Then, he chuckled. “Of course, if we find a way to undermine his strength without being noticed, so much the better.”
It was then that the car stopped next to a narrow alley. The driver got out and opened door for Mori, respectfully bowing to the man. “We’re here, boss.”
“Excellent.” Mori uncrossed his long legs as he stepped out of the car, his black knee-length coat and suit blending in with the shadows, the long red scarf draped over his shoulders cutting through the monochome like blood on a scalpel, and gestured for Dazai to follow. “Shall we?”
No idea if All for One has another alias in the criminal world.
Also jfc, I'm hoping the outcome of this one is realistic enough.
7.02.2017: Chapter edited + added a new section below that wouldn't fit in chapter 4
That the Villain chose not to appear in person was not surprising - one of that person’s greatest assets, after all, was his mysterious nature. No one knew exactly how vast his resources and connections were, gathered in the span of several generations, and even fewer were privy to his true appearance. Dazai had not been wrong in describing the Villain as a mythical being: in this day and age, no one could imagine the time before this man had ruled from the shadows, the unseen conqueror of the criminal underworld even as he divided its members as he saw fit.
He was a formidable foe. That much was indisputable.
Despite the circumstances, however, this was one opponent Mori would not back down from. He had his own promises to keep beyond his current agenda, and though it rankled him that Fukuzawa had already upheld his part of the plan years ahead, Mori was nothing but patient.
What was unexpected for that day’s encounter, however, was the unkempt pale, white-haired teenager perched on the farthest bar stool, next to a widescreen flat monitor that proudly displayed the text [VOICE ONLY] in English.
The youth was furiously tapping away on an awkwardly-held portable console, cracked lips bared in a concentrated snarl and seemingly ignorant of Mori’s arrival. It wasn’t his unhealthy appearance that caught Mori’s attention - heavens knew how many people underestimated Mori himself when he was still running his underground clinic. Rather, his presence raised a question: what was he to either the Villain or Kurogiri the mediator, that he was not excused from an otherwise confidential meeting?
“Oya,” Mori said, looking at the teen consideringly before shifting his gaze to the mass of shadow dressed as a bartender. “Did we arrive at an inconvenient hour, Kurogiri-san?”
“You’re just in time, Mr. Mori,” Kurogiri replied, pressing a hand to his chest and bowing briefly at their guests before gesturing for them to have a seat at the counter. “The boss is expecting you.”
“Indeed,” came a deep voice from the bar’s speakers, as Mori slid onto one of the seats in the middle of the row, one elbow propped on the polished table surface. Dazai stood at a respectful half step behind him to the left, arms clasped behind his back and standing at attention. “Welcome, new boss of the Port Mafia. I trust you did not have problems finding the place?”
“Not at all,” Mori replied amiably. “Kurogiri-san’s description of the place was easy to follow.”
The Villain made a thoughtful sound. “It’s a convenient location in the city,” he said, and Mori could hear the underlying message: I can be at the heart of your territory, when and where you least expect. “In fact, it is rather similar to where your predecessor and his associates approached me. Was he able to tell you that story?”
“I’m afraid not,” Mori said with a touch of regret. “The Boss could not speak of the incident. He was ill and bedridden towards the end of his life.”
Calling his predecessor’s condition an illness was an understatement. The man had already been exhibiting signs of dementia in his old age prior to the Incident, which had only served to hasten his decline mentally and physically, and often the Boss had gone on long-winded rambles on killing everyone that opposed the organization.
How the mighty had fallen.
And yet, as Mori had found out after the first weeks of observing his patient after the Incident, there was, perhaps, a purpose other than humiliating the Port Mafia and stopping more meaningless assassination attempts in his returning of the old man’s living shell. Even factoring in the former Boss’s injuries, his deterioration was still too rapid to be normal, though it only started to make sense after he heard rumors of similar cases from patients who stumbled into his clinic in the aftermath of the attack
It had not been a pressing issue at the time, though he did keep an ear out for any possible related information. Today, however, the opportunity to confirm his suspicions was presented to him on a nicely loaded platter.
“Then you’ve seen the consequences of their actions.” The Villain sounded darkly amused. “Tell me, Mori Ougai: did you approach me expecting for the Port Mafia to be absolved of your predecessor’s sins?”
Mori chuckled softly and shook his head. No, he had more practical goals in mind. “Not at all - we merely wished to formally announce the changes in our organization to those in the area.I am not under the illusion that the old Boss’ mistakes had no consequences, regardless of the wishes of the remaining Executives from the previous generation, though I recognize they are also not fully aware of the situation. In that conflict, you yourself suffered a few setbacks worth decades of work, did you not?”
“My allies entrusted a great many things to me,” the Villain said gravely, “especially after the appearance of the Symbol of Peace. Things are not as they once were.”
“Losing evidence of the history between friends is unfortunate. I understand those heirlooms included their rather unique sets of skills, among other things.” Mori’s tone was mild. His smile wasn’t.
“‘Skills?’”
“Skills,” Mori purred, knowing that despite the pleasantries, the Villain had already caught onto what he was referring to. It had been a pain at the time, but his rounds at the Incident's disaster sites proved to be both informative and potentially profitable. Then, daring to twist the scalpel in the already open wound, “From a medical perspective, your research is quite… groundbreaking.”
“Shigaraki,” The Villain commanded sharply, and the white-haired teen sprang forward, console clattering to the ground. Dazai was in front of his boss in a flash, gun in hand, firing off a bullet at Shigaraki, who ducked and grabbed the barrel of the gun first. The metal disintegrated in Dazai’s hand as Shigaraki reached for his outstretched wrist next.
“Bad move.” Shigaraki grinned madly as all five bony fingers closed around the limb. “You first.”
Dazai’s visible eye widened marginally as he sucked in a breath, knee bent, bracing his weight to dodge any follow-through blows from his opponent and -
Mori raised an eyebrow at the frozen tableau in front of him. Even the dark swirling mist that had formed behind Shigaraki faded as Kurogiri gripped the bar counter edge in shock.
Dazai blinked and tipped his head, full attention focused on Shigaraki as if to question if that was all the youth had up his sleeve, and swiftly lunged forward, catching Shigaraki off-balance, ignoring the sharp crack of the back of the other’s head slamming on the wooden floor, and dug his knee a little harder than necessary on Shigaraki’s solar plexus.
“You were saying?” Dazai asked coolly.
Shigaraki shrieked, forcing Dazai to roll off as he violently pulled away, scrambling until his back hit the brick wall, sending the nearby stools toppling. He trembled, clawing at his own already scabbed neck, and slapped away Kurogiri’s shadowy hand when the bartender tried to stop him from scratching. “S-sensei! Sensei, what should I do, it doesn’t work --”
“Nullifying Quirk,” the Villain’s voice sounded from the speakers, cutting the youth’s whimpers.
“The boys have their merits,” Mori shrugged, careful to not confirm the exact nature of his connection with Dazai, who dusted himself off before returning to his position behind Mori, leaving strewn across the floorboards the fragmented pieces of the gun barrel and Shigaraki’s portable console. No need to voluntarily give away more information on the brunet when the Villain’s apparent student was already affected by the boy’s Quirk on such a visceral level, and Mori had not failed to pick up that hint of interest when the other man identified the general nature of Dazai’s Quirk.
(On another level, Mori wondered to what end Shigaraki is being used for, at so late an age. That the young man was in some sort of position of trust despite his apparent instability and disregard for physical well-being meant that there was something else of value here in the eyes of his teacher.)
There was a faint crackle from the speakers - a sigh, perhaps? “So they do,” the Villain said. “Well then. What do plan to do with what you’ve found?”
“Why,” Mori said, “the person who created the samples should be able to use them, don’t you think? Granted, of course, that this is done well away from the Port Mafia - I’m afraid bioengineering clashes horribly with our current business, and we are obligated to protect the interests of those relying on our organization. I’m sure that a being such as yourself understands the weight of that trust.”
“The organization,” the Villain repeated. “But what of your personal services, Doctor Mori? Perhaps I convince you to keep that clinic of yours open on occasion for select patients.”
“Thank you, but I’m afraid I must decline,” Mori chuckled. “There is still much to be done. If you are in need of discreet and skilled medical practitioners, however, there are several people I can refer to you.”
“Perhaps that can be arranged. Granted, however, they should understand that, ah, misplacing scalpels and syringes will be met in kind.”
“Oh, I’m sure they wouldn’t dream of it,” Mori laughed pleasantly. “The underworld wouldn’t know what to do with themselves without you and yours around.”
There was a faint curl of displeasure on Dazai’s mouth as the teen presented the remnants of his pistol to Mori, much later in the car on the way back to the base.
It took Mori a second to recognize that Dazai was actually pouting, and Mori couldn’t help but snicker, especially when Dazai’s expression morphed to openly indignant.
Yes, definitely a pout, accompanied by a whine.
“You have to admit,” Mori says in between chuckles as he looks over the corroded metal, “it is impressive. The breaks look cleaner compared to ordinary rust. We can stop by the armory tonight to get a replacement, if you'd like.”
Dazai gave the ruined gun a long, considering look, and huffed dismissively. “No.”
“Oh?” Mori raises an eyebrow, propping his chin on the heel of his hand, fingers curved against his cheek. “Your Quirk does not have any explicit destructive capabilities, and while you can hold your own in a brawl, there are better martial artists within and outside the organization. What are you planning to do for your next mission?”
Dazai shrugged, flippantly letting the handle bounce on the car seat between them. “Assuming direct combat is necessary, I’ll just get whatever they have on hand. It’s not like they’ll equip something they can’t use themselves, whether it's an ordinary gun or something from an underground support company. Besides,” and the corners of his lips twitched slightly as he held up a small, black memory card retrieved from his coat pocket, “if they misplace something of personal value that easily, they don’t deserve to have it in the first place.”
Mori gave Dazai a wry look, tapping his chin thoughtfully. It seemed that young Shigaraki wouldn’t be able to return to his interrupted game after all. At least, until he retrieved his game data. “Well,” he said at length, “as long as outcome continues to be favorable, I don’t see why not.”
Before reading this, head back to chapter 3 - it's been re-edited and there's an additional section at the bottom that wouldn't fit in this bit.
The next time Dazai saw Shigaraki was at an abandoned warehouse. Specifically, an abandoned warehouse the Port Mafia used on occasion to retrieve contraband from Southeast Asia before distribution to their more secure storage locations.
Dazai was cozied up on a small crate some distance from the entrance, killing time with a game until his men finished taking stock of the current shipment, one leg resting horizontally on the crate’s surface, the other in a cast, sticking out straight, heel resting on the floor. Netting injuries was a risk everyone had out on the field, but a stress fracture was something he hadn’t quite expected, and it meant he was stuck with supervising annoyingly mundane work assigned to the Black Lizard rookies.
Injuries were more of an inconvenience these days instead of something to be fussed over, and his arms, neck, and torso were already decorated with those from previous errands and early missions (how it called, that cold darkness he could drown in, back when he’d push himself just to see how close he could touch Death before completing his objective, and Mori had made a side comment or two on considering acceptable risks and assessing the value of long-term plans while patching him up in the early days back at the clinic). No, it was the lack of mobility that made him itch under the bandages, because it meant he couldn’t skip out on whatever Mori was planning next.
There was an unreadable expression in Mori’s cool, dark gaze earlier that morning when it became clear that Dazai was almost recovered enough to return to regular field duty, and wasn’t it a bad start to the day when he just knew his boss was going to do something Dazai was sure he wouldn’t like?
(He’d be proven right later in the afternoon when Mori summoned him. He was accompanied by Kouyou-aneesan and a mouthy fiery-haired teen Dazai had only seen in passing when Mori brought Dazai to headquarters during the previous Boss’ scheduled check-ups. There were interesting rumors about the redhead, who Mori introduced as Nakahara Chuuya, Kouyou-kun’s ward. You’ll be working closely with him on occasion for the foreseeable future.
But that was later.)
Now, a dense black cloud materialized a few feet in front of Dazai’s crate, and he huffed in annoyance as paused his game and stuffed the handheld in his inner jacket pocket. His subordinates, he noted, at least had good reaction times as they immediately halted their previous tasks and hurried to form a half-circle around Dazai, ready to protect their commander.
It was official: today just got worse. Not that he hadn’t been expecting something like this since Kamino, but the four month wait leading to it was disappointingly long for someone supposedly under the tutelage of that man. On the one hand, it could simply just mean that their lessons were focused on different matters, but on the other, it also brought into question what Shigaraki’s personal priorities were, what resources he could and could not take advantage of, and if the Port Mafia’s newer security measures were working as planned.
The answer to that last point was apparently not, and Dazai would deal with that shortly.
“You could’ve gone through the doors like a normal person,” Dazai groaned, mussing his unruly hair when the mists uncovered the spectral form of Shigaraki before condensing to the more gaseous form of Kurogiri. “Let me guess - it was the guy with the jellyfish Quirk over at the dock who squealed?”
“Does it matter? You need to hire better people,” Shigaraki taunted, ignoring the mass of sub-automatic machine guns pointed at him courtesy of Dazai’s men, and Dazai signaled for them to stand down. No need to draw Shigaraki’s attention to them with a stray bullet. “Maybe even a replacement, because it seems you can actually suck at fighting, you half-blind thief!”
“A thief? Me?” Dazai feigned a swoon, tipping his head back and daintily resting the back of his wrist on his forehead, one hand clutched over his chest. “Surely you jest - what would I need from an obviously mean, malnourished man and his very naked shadow?”
And for someone who was effectively a vague mass of mist with a pair of glowing yellow eyes and no other facial features, Kurogiri was rather expressive, if those menacing curls of darkness were anything to go by.
“Shigaraki Tomura,” Kurogiri began, and it was a noble attempt at reining in his charge. “As you’ve been informed, Mr. Dazai is a rather busy man, and you yourself have other things to do. Your attentions would be more suited elsewhere.”
“But Kurogiri.” And there was the obvious whine from Tomura. “We can’t just leave before completing a fetch quest. Besides, between the two of us it’ll be so easy to take out the trash mobs, and no one needs to know we were here. Just like you wanted, right?”
The mist flickered. “That’s not the discretion you promised. Sensei will not be pleased.”
“I’d follow Mr. Kurogiri’s advice if I were you,” Dazai chirped helpfully as he slid off the crate and propped an elbow on the wooden surface, shifting his weight on his unbound foot. He could faintly hear one of his subordinates shifting closer, likely with a gun prepared for Dazai’s use should be require it. “Your poor Sensei must be worried if you’re loitering about hazardous workplaces without an excuse slip to skip classes. Besides,” he shrugged, “you never said what your fetch quest was about, and I can probably spare a few hours after work to see what the fuss is. As long as you place nice, of course.”
“Don’t act dumb,” Shigaraki snarled, the same time as Kurogiri’s mist wrapped around him, and the white-haired teen squawked as he sank back into the portal. “Kurogiri, you unfair bastard--”
“This is far from inconspicuous, Tomura. We’ll take your offer, Mr. Dazai,” Kurogiri said as Shigaraki melted away from view. “You already know where.”
“Ah, about that,” Dazai tapped his chin. “Wouldn’t the karaoke place near the bar be more suitable?”
“That would be acceptable,” Kurogiri bowed, and ported himself out.
Dazai’s stare lingered at Kurogiri’s previous spot for a few moments before he reached for his crutch and hobbled to the warehouse entrance. The subordinate standing behind him followed.
“Dazai-san, your orders?”
“Double-time on the transfer.” Dazai said, taking out his phone from an inner coat pocket to call a second group in preparation for clean-up at the docks. "Make sure nothing's left when we leave; we're only making one trip out."
Briefly, he wondered if the karaoke place served chuka kurage. He’d have to ask their server to make it extra spicy for Shigaraki.
Have plot from speculation.
Sorry for the POV switch after the first few lines, Chuuya just took over.
8/25/2017 - minor edits (corrected a character name, one or two bits of phrasing)
The doctor gave him a clean bill of health, along with instructions on how to manage the rest of his recovery. Dazai went to the karaoke bar wearing the leg cast anyway, and baited his new partner to tag along (just call me Chuuya, and are you always this fucking demanding?).
It didn’t hurt that the establishment was one of those under Port Mafia’s protection, and that Chuuya was on friendly terms with the staff. They probably looked just like a couple of junior high kids from some fancy private school hanging out in a questionable part of town, though Dazai’s covered eye, bandages, and crutch garnered a few curious looks as they were guided to one of the private booths on the second floor.
They were allowed in, and Dazai left instructions to track the movements of their two expected guests before they were given a regular server to assist them.
“Just so you know,” Dazai said after he finished ordering food (and as it turns out, they did serve chuka kurage, wasn’t Shigaraki a lucky bastard today?), “this is a one-time deal.”
“Ha?” Chuuya looked up from the songbook he was perusing, tapping the back cover with a gloved finger. He looked marginally less irritated compared to when Dazai started ruining all his plans for the evening. “You meeting this guy, or going to the karaoke?”
“Whatever,” Chuuya rolled his eyes and returned to browsing the book. ”The hell did that guy do to you, anyway?”
“Destroyed my gun and threw a tantrum.” Dazai sighed. “He’s quite the nuisance.”
Chuuya scowled. “We might’ve just met,” he said, “but don’t take me for an idiot. I’ve heard the rumors about you, and your messed up body’s just further proof that you’re tearing through missions at the speed of light while being piss poor at taking care of yourself. Someone who recklessly shot up the ranks like that wouldn’t normally give a stuck-up brat any time of the day.”
Dazai didn’t answer.
There was a polite knock on the door. A waitress arrived, setting their drinks on the table (iced coffee for Dazai, grape juice for Chuuya), and excused herself with a bow, shutting the door behind her.
Dazai still didn’t answer.
Chuuya let out a disgusted noise and stood up, slamming a fist on the wall behind him as he did so, coat flaring around him. “You don’t get to jerk other people’s collars around and not expect them to ask questions, asshole - especially if I’m going to be stuck with you. Try pulling this shit on the field and I’ll fucking break your face. If that’s all, I’m out.”
He turned on his heel sharply, taking care to not bump the table on the way to the door. It wouldn’t do for the servers of the establishment to have more shit to clean up just because Dazai pissed him off, and they were probably going to have their hands full if Dazai’s appointment was as fun as he sounded.
There was a sound of metal shooting in the air, and Chuuya twisted to catch the long spoon flung that sailed through the air, aimed at the back of his head.
“Chuuya.” Dazai watched him, mouth curved in a not-smile, perfectly poised on the couch with his legs crossed, palm flat on the cushion, his other arm extended from throwing cutlery. “I’ll make a deal with you then. Stay a while until this is over, and I’ll tell you why.”
Chuuya narrowed his eyes. The glimmer of interest in Dazai’s eyes was far from reassuring.
Dazai gestured at Chuuya’s earlier seat with his outstretched arm in a silent dare.
Chuuya huffed in irritation and stepped back to face Dazai, hands on his hips. “If you double-cross me later,” he gritted, “I’ll make you regret it.”
A breath escaped Dazai’s lips, and there was a faint hint of mockery in the folding of his arm as he placed his hand on his chest. “I don’t lie during negotiations, Chuuya. It’s bad for business.”
No way around it - either Chuuya trusted his word, or didn’t.
“Tch.” Chuuya stalked across the room and threw himself back in his seat.
Not another word was said until Shigaraki arrived.
If the space wasn't cramped with furniture, it would’ve turned into a full brawl. As it was, Chuuya’s fist was somehow a bare centimeter from his own back, courtesy of a small shadow portal on Shigaraki’s cheek, and Dazai was stopping Shigaraki’s spread hand from touching Chuuya’s stomach.
They had a lot of apologizing to do when they talked to the manager later, and it wasn’t just for the toppled, broken glasses on the floor. Kouyou-anee was going to be so disappointed.
“You shouldn’t let him touch you, Chuuya,” said Dazai. “Did I tell you how he destroyed my gun?’
“Would’ve been useful earlier,” Chuuya hissed, withdrawing his fist, glaring daggers at a smug Shigaraki.
“He can disintegrate objects if all five fingers touch it.” Dazai squeezed Shigaraki’s wrist, catching the dry skin with his blunt nails, making the other wince. “But enough of this - we should play nice. Isn’t that right, Mr. Player Character?”
“I’m going to kill you,” Shigaraki vowed as he struggled to get free from Dazai, heels digging on the floor.
Kurogiri, who had only intervened to stop a direct hit to Shigaraki’s face that would’ve resulted in more violence, spoke up. “How did you figure out his Quirk?”
Dazai shrugged and suddenly released Shigaraki’s wrist, causing the other to fall soundly on his ass with a curse. “It’s why he was holding that console awkwardly at the bar, yes? Painful to watch, but beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to the ability lottery.”
In that moment, watching Shigaraki rant as he repeatedly tried to hit Dazai, only to be foiled by more of Kurogiri’s portals that extended down from the ceiling like a reverse game of whack-a-mole, Chuuya frowned darkly. His new partner seemed to have the shittiest hobby of unsettling people, but was this newcomer even aware a small scuffle like this could be seen as picking a fight with the Port Mafia?
Did Shigaraki even know he and Dazai were in Port Mafia?
Fuck Dazai for even stringing this guy along, too. Chuuya would find out the details later, but first he had to stop the pissing contest from getting out of hand if Dazai wasn’t willing to do so.
“Oi, bastards.” Chuuya stuck his thumb to the direction of the doorway. “Leave if you’re going to just make a mess and stop giving the poor staff more misery. All this yammering about quests and NPCs - just shut up and play a game already if you’re that eager. Jeez.”
There was a pause as three heads turned towards him.
Shigaraki was wide-eyed. Kurogiri had a shadowed hand over his face.
And Dazai. Dazai with his strange, twisted smile that sent a shiver of dread down his spine.
What had he gotten himself into?
“Why,” Dazai said eagerly, “does that also mean I can slack off in an assignment while you do all the work? That sounds like an excellent plan, Chuuya!”
“....I’ll fucking kill you.”
This time, it was Shigaraki who scowled, though he stalked to the farthest couch with a warning glance from Kurogiri. “Get in line, shithead.”
A round of bickering started. At some point, Dazai force fed Shigaraki the chuka kurage, to which the latter protested at having to chew horribly spicy jellyfish, and tried to chuck the rest of the dish at Dazai's face.
No other glasses, at least, were broken this time.
It was late in the evening when they made their way back to Port Mafia territory. Chuuya made it a point to position himself at the very edge of the back seat, away from Dazai.
“So,” he said, gloved palm cupping his cheek. “Spill.”
Dazai gave him a sidelong glance, an eyebrow raised, as if questioning his lack of finesse. “Just wanted to confirm something. He’s an anomaly.” A heavy, brief silence, as if Dazai tested the word on his tongue. “You stepped in because noticed it too, didn’t you?”
“He’s an ignorant waste of talent, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Chuuya huffed in irritation. “Don’t know why that shadow guy puts up with him unless he’s high up the ladder, and even then they aren’t making full use of him. Acts like some bratty heir from a third-rate yakuza clan who hasn’t been disciplined properly, and isn’t that a rare sight these days when screwing up and getting caught can be a death sentence for a criminal organizations with all the heroes and police on our asses. Even the rowdier VIP guests at the hanamachi know they can’t go all out without consequences.”
“Mm-hmm.” A small smile played on Dazai’s lips. “Though isn’t that last part more of anee-san managing her business well?”
“That too, but mostly no one wants trouble.” Chuuya sighed, drumming his fingers on the car seat. “Don’t tell me you’re making pals with or, heaven forbid, recruiting him.”
“You’re joking.” Dazai made a face. “I’m not that generous, and he’d be dead in less than a week if people aren’t careful. Besides, his… guardians are protective of their precious child.”
Chuuya snorted. That was definitely an insult, considering that Shigaraki looked a few years older than the both of them. “No shit.”
“On the other hand, that doesn’t mean he should be allowed to freely move against us. Did you know he had Kurogiri transport him to one of our warehouses earlier in the middle of a transport operation?”
“Well, shit.” Chuuya had his knife pointed at Dazai’s throat the next moment, pinning the taller teen to the car seat with his weight, his other hand grasping Dazai’s jacket. The other didn’t even have the courtesy to flinch, and just looked at him straight on. “You let him live? And the boss knows?”
“Don’t get your ugly hat in a twist, I informed him before you and anee-san arrived.” Dazai ignored Chuuya’s squawking defense of his hat and lowered his voice, forcing the redhead to fully focus on his next words if he didn’t want to miss any details. “Shigaraki has absolute disregard for politics. Considering who he’s called his teacher, it doesn’t make sense, unless there are other factors we aren’t aware of.”
Chuuya’s grip on the knife tightened. Apart from the clean-up at the dock, anee-san hadn’t mentioned the mobilization of other assault squads earlier. Shigaraki mentioned no organization names and wore no emblems (he looked too casual even, next to the tailored clothes Chuuya, Dazai, and Kurogiri wore), but if Dazai, who that mastermind Mori brought with him, found it suspicious, describing Shigaraki as an anomaly might be an understatement.
“Dazai. Who is it?”
The expression on Dazai’s face when he turned was unusually grave. From that close, Chuuya could see the faint movements of Dazai’s eyebrow, the crinkle of his visible eye, the down turn of his mouth -
“The Yokohama Incident,” Dazai breathed, and slammed his palm flat on Chuuya’s face to push him away, before carrying on with his regular tone. “Or, rather, the person they came after that started it.”
“Fuck,” Chuuya groaned, clutching his face, and gave Dazai an injured look between his fingers. Nee-san hadn’t been an executive yet when that happened, but even she couldn’t ignore the tensions that had run high in the organization during their preparation for the attack, and the fallout had been devastating. “If that’s how it is, clean up your own damn mess next time, bandage dispenser.”
Dazai blinked.
“Why, Chuuya.” Dazai leaned in close this time, deliberately invading the other’s personal space. “You’re really okay with being left out?”
Chuuya absolutely wanted no part of whatever Dazai was planning, if tonight’s affair was an ominous indication of how the future would pan out, and punched Dazai rather emphatically. “Yes, dammit, really sure!”
Dazai wheezed, clutching his stomach, and tried to catch his breath.
“Too bad,” he laughed softly, and refrained from saying that Chuuya didn’t have a choice.
It was rare enough that Dazai encountered someone of the same age in the mafia who was of a rank similar enough that they could wave off the usual hierarchical formalities, but to be openly called out on his scheming and given a unique, derogatory nickname?
Pure novelty.
Note: BSD seems to keep Bar Lupin’s location ambiguous (it’s in Ginza, not Yokohama), so just. Pretend it’s in Yokohama.
Mentions of underage drinking and violence, if that matters to anyone.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
The delicate sound of glasses clinking in a toast was audible in the small yet cozy space of Bar Lupin.
“And that,” Dazai said cheerfully after sipping his drink, “concludes today’s work. I don’t think I’ve waded in so much sewage in my entire life!”
“At least the conflict’s over,” Oda agreed. “Though it’ll take a while for business to go back to the usual.”
That was an understatement. The conflict, referred to in the future as the Dragon’s Head Rush, brought a few careless organizations to their knees - if not by a competing organization, then by law enforcement with the aid of a few heroes. It was a sorry state of affairs for the criminal world, but the fifty billion yen that one heirless criminal left behind was nothing to scoff at. At the end of the day, money was power, and people killed and died for it.
Ango, their reluctant third drinking buddy that they had to drag out from one of Port Mafia’s accounting firms, sniffed haughtily. “Finally. I could have gone on the rest of my life without the both of you stinking up the records room. The stench might have already sunk into some of the files already, with the number of times the both of you turned up like that.”
“Now, now, Mr. Bookkeeper,” Dazai laughed and waggled a finger at Ango. “You should be thankful. If Odasaku and I hadn’t come along to rescue you from that stuffy place of yours, you would have eventually gotten a heart condition from all the stress. That’s an incredibly slow way to die! If you want something faster -”
“Keep your hobbies to yourself, Dazai.” Ango pushed his glasses up his nose bridge. “No one aspires to be a suicide maniac like you.”
Dazai gave a helpless little shrug, undeterred by Ango’s usual stiffness. “Your loss. Ah, but speaking of hobbies - anything interesting new life excerpts, Ango?”
Ango levelled Dazai with a flat stare, clearly remembering Dazai’s remarks on Ango’s personal obituary project. Oda was probably thinking about the same thing, if him hiding a fond smile behind his own glass was any indication. “Your kind of interesting, or in general?”
Dazai shrugged. “Interesting.”
“Helpful description,” Ango said dryly, finishing off his glass and asking the bartender for a refill. “Let’s see - you know how only select people in the organization are permitted to use their Quirks in combat of this scale?”
“Well, yes,” Dazai said, resting his chin on the heel of his palm. “They’re strictly trained to be efficient to avoid drawing unwanted attention, with and without the aid of support items. Everyone else is issued a gun for anonymity. Not that it mattered in the end for this case - a surprising number of people crawled out of the woodwork to compete for the prize. But what does this have to do with your story?”
A troubled expression crossed Ango’s features. “I’ve just finished tallying this afternoon. Of the forty-seven authorized Quirk users whose belongings you retrieved, eleven support items were not returned. Normally, one could assume that they were lost or destroyed in the fighting, but nine of them had transformation types. The remaining two were from scouts that used emitter types for gathering intel.” He glanced at Dazai, his hand curling around his whiskey glass. “It could be a minor issue in the end, but reviewing the MIA list might also yield more information.”
Oda glanced at Ango. “Aren’t there support companies that specialize in equipment theft and copying?”
“They aren’t below scavenging,” Dazai agreed evenly, “but we would have met them at some point during retrieval, and they wouldn’t risk their necks to go through a warzone like this.” He sighed, giving Ango a measured look, and pouted. “It might be worth looking into, but you’re also just giving me more work. Is this how you get people to sympathize?”
Ango snorted. “Oh, please. If paperwork is that detestable to you, perhaps you should reconsider your candidacy as an Executive and make a return trip to the sewers. Something toxic down there might be enough to kill you.”
To Ango’s annoyance, Dazai looked intrigued instead of disgusted. “Really?”
“...no.”
“Don’t act so high and mighty,” Shigaraki said once. “For someone who despises being called a villain, you’ve committed enough atrocities to be one and land you in a maximum security prison.”
“It’s an unimaginative label,” Dazai replied calmly, and smoothly sidestepped to avoid Shigaraki’s punch to his face, extending a leg to trip Shigaraki with his own momentum. He slammed his foot on Shigaraki’s back, restraining him on the ground and making him cough out the air from his lungs. “Besides, you’re missing the point.”
Shigaraki wheezed and tried to get on his knees, his bandaged wrists peeking out from the long sleeves of his tattered shirt. “Don’t think so. You just like complicating things.”
“Not at all.” Dazai cocked his head as he kicked him down again. “Our views are just irreconcilable. By the way - are those injuries new?”
Shigaraki stiffened. “None of your fucking business,” he growled, striking his palms on the floor as he pushed himself up violently, forcing the other teen to move back, and pivoted on a bent knee to make a dash for Dazai.
Dazai’s fifteenth year of existence went like this:
He was sent to where the Port Mafia needed him to investigate, infiltrate, manipulate, Having grown up with Mori when the man delicately balanced being a neutral underground doctor and an information broker had given him the unique and dubious benefit of being able to observe to all sorts of people, from petty criminals to the yakuza to refugees to the innocent yet impoverished. The mask of polite sympathy was simple enough to slip on when questioning the civilian widower of one of their assassins whose remains were found floating in the bay, and easy enough to dismiss when he apathetically interrogated and eliminated the hot-headed aspiring vigilante who just wanted to make a name for himself by offing the “last traces of organized crime.”
Oh, if he only knew.
With the Black Lizard squad, he removed the remnants of old grudges that refused more amiable negotiations, and newer disputes from deals gone wrong, threats to the boss, territorial conflict, and assassination attempts. When he turns in for the evening, he imagined he could hear the faint ring of gunfire, the tinkling of bullet casings, bodies hitting the floor.
Corpse upon corpse upon corpse, their blood seeping into the soil and turning black. The bed he sleeps in has changed, but everything is the same as it was eight years ago.
Four in the morning, on occasion, was a perfectly acceptable time to break out the sake. Every time before his first sip, he raised his cup in silent gratitude to Kouyou-neesan, who taught him how to hold his drink (though she hadn’t intended for him to drink alone), and exposed how much of a lightweight Chuuya was.
Dazai wandered to Kamino on occasion, on dark nights when no one would miss him slipping out. The present company didn’t care for organizational loyalty, and thus didn’t call him out on voicing thoughts that, to anyone connected with the Port Mafia, would have been considered questionable.
It wasn’t that he begrudged the Mafia for existing, and he was neither discontent nor grateful that he was part of it - things just were.
However, knowing just how low humans could go didn’t bring him any closer to grasping why people still struggled to live.
On occasion, Dazai was given assignments with Chuuya - payback in the form of two people, designed to punish and set an example for traitors and enemies that deserved special attention. The duo tolerated each other on the basis that, above all, getting the job done was important, but that didn’t stop them from arguing. If anything, the banter caused their enemies to underestimate them. The night they decimated an enemy base just between the two of them and earned the moniker “Double Black” was no different.
Mori, for one, found the obvious bafflement of law enforcement rather entertaining as he, Kouyou, and their two proteges watched the morning news over a light brunch.
“That’s one way of collecting payment,” Kouyou remarked, the both of them enjoying the pot of Gyokuro tea and leaving Dazai and Chuuya to bicker. On television, one crime analyst estimated that, since there was no evidence of gigantification or flashy element-based Quirks in play, the resulting death toll and property damages might have been the work of around fifty people, with their objective and means of infiltration still unknown.
“Turnabout is fair play,” Mori replied pleasantly, closing his eyes and savoring the flavor of the tea lingering in his mouth.
As immature as it was, Shigaraki’s darkness was also rawer and more honest with itself, unfettered by the copious rituals and euphemisms of organized crime. His own rage fuelled his craving for wanton destruction and, in the same breath, afforded him the space to remain ignorant of certain agendas.
Dazai trained his squad to never leave obvious traces of their presence, and Quirk-based attacks were made to look like everyday hazards. The Port Mafia’s cleaners also became incredibly efficient as a result, in both removing and planting evidence. Stealth and efficiency were woven into protocol, mission plans adjusted to account for the strong and weak spots in police and hero patrols.
If law enforcement was taking that long to catch up, perhaps they deserved to die ignorant in their complacency.
Small-time criminals and independent operatives were asked to remain polite and not cause trouble Port Mafia territory, lest their antics serve as hero fodder in other parts of Yokohama, or worse.
As the society fostered by the Symbol of Peace’s ideals grew brighter, so did the shadows it cast on the underworld. Mori’s Port Mafia never really cared about the whole hero and villain conflict, and took advantage of the resulting discontent to take in the disadvantaged and aggrieved with useful Quirks.
It was as childish and charming as a person’s first rebellious thought, the exact step at the middle of the boundary with the doors of the abyss flung open. Pure, unrefined, and stubborn, yet ever in danger of subtle captivity.
Towards the end of the spring when the Dragon’s Head Rush broke out, Dazai met Oda Sakunosuke, the sole member of the Mafia who refused to kill, and Sakaguchi Ango, accounting helper and unofficial biographer of the deceased. They drank on occasion at the Bar Lupin and talked freely: a rare, amiable companionship that ignored age and rank. These memories Dazai preserved in petrified whiskey-coloured amber deep in his mind, already nostalgic even as they happened.
It was a warmth that was not meant to last.
That fragile allure made Shigaraki’s conclusions on change all the more disappointing.
“They’re all fakes that should go die in a fire,” Shigaraki said darkly, hands stuffed in his front pocket as he slouched on the bench. He looked more like a malevolent corpse with his uncombed silver hair and bone dry skin peeking out from the shadows of his hoodie. Even though they had the relative privacy of the sparsely crowded game bar they were at, neither of them wanted to be recognized on accident.
These days, Shigaraki actually took pains to give Kurogiri the slip. Dazai found it amusing since Shigaraki had no assurance that a tracker hadn’t been planted on him, but staying at a game cafe wasn’t too out of character for the older teen.
Such a treasured child. Dazai was willing to bet he had a curfew, too.
“It’s a farce,” Dazai agreed distantly, using minute wrist movements to control his character in the bullet hell machine they were taking turns at to note each other’s high scores, the tip of his tongue sticking out from the corner of his lip as he concentrated. “But just destroying things is just a waste of resources.”
They agreed the world wasn’t the virtuous place that people on the surface made it out to be. They disagreed what to do about it.
“So says the one always on the attack team,” Shigaraki murmured, careful to avoid potential eavesdroppers. “Never defense, never escort.”
Shigaraki wanted destruction, pure and simple. Dazai didn’t care either way.
“You don’t do co-op,” Dazai snorted, ignoring Shigaraki’s reference to his role in the Black Lizard, as he did a little twist to avoid the pixels raining down on his character. “You’d flood the chat with salt and get your account suspended in half an hour, if you don’t destroy the keyboard or controller first. Now, shut up a bit.”
There were occasions when Dazai had to drag Shigaraki to a back alley to continue the discussion, because Shigaraki had yet to learn the fine art of threatening without acting on physical violence, and neither of them wanted to get banned from the game cafe or any of the other establishments they visited.
It was one of those days.
“Oi, Mackerel.” Chuuya chucked a small box at the brunet’s head on the way to a briefing for another joint mission. “Tell that psycho to quit already, and fucking stop encouraging him. What ever happened to one-time deals?”
Dazai caught offered item and curiously peeked inside. There was a bag of mixed bitter almonds and apricot kernels. Not the poison of choice for an assured assassination, but mildly entertaining for attempted suicide.
Shigaraki’s clumsy attempts to find a way around his inability to use his Quirk, weapons, and close combat to kill Dazai were both interesting and rather exhausting to watch. Then again, it was the initiative that counted.
“You’re the one who told us to settle it with a game,” he hummed, and pocketed the box for later inspection. “He tracked you down?”
“Unfortunately.” Chuuya laced his fingers behind his head. “Lurked outside one of the hidden casinos while waiting for me. What a creep.”
When Dazai turned sixteen, he became the youngest Executive in Port Mafia history. Mori gifted him a long, black coat in congratulations.
He easily grew accustomed to its weight.
“Troublemaker Dazai Osamu forced to act as the one sane man.” Ango smirked, faintly amused. It was only the two of them that evening, as Oda had yet to show up. “Small mercies do happen every once in a while.”
“Sure, laugh all you want,” Dazai’s voice was muffled by his sleeve, his face buried in the crook of his elbow as he slumped on the bar counter. “Why can’t I just make his hands useless and get it over with.”
“You know why,” Ango huffed, and asked the bartender for another round.
“Unfortunately,” Dazai groaned, lifting his head and stretching his arms, nodding in thanks for the fresh drink. “At this rate, it’ll be a never ending argument.”
“Who knows,” Ango said thoughtfully in a measured tone, the amber lights of the bar glinting off his eyeglasses, “when things might change in the future. Isn’t yesterday’s foe today’s friend?” [1]
“Who knows, indeed,” Dazai said, giving the man a long, hooded glance.
Ango returned his gaze evenly, and raised an eyebrow.
The stillness stretched on.
Ice clinked in Ango’s glass,
The moment was broken.
Ango shrugged and took a drink. “Even you have to admit he’s beyond being a mere acquaintance of yours. You’re being indecisive about the outcome.”
That was probably the closest Ango went to commenting on Dazai’s personal matters.
Dazai stared at the bottom of his glass. He sighed. “We’ll see. But that kind of thinking, Ango, is why you’re now one of our esteemed Intelligence Officers, and why I’m stuck as an Executive.”
Ango sniffed. “If you say so.”
For a while, the sat in companionable silence. Then, Dazai remembered something.
“Say, Ango - you recall mentioning that a couple of support items never returned?”
“Yes. You found something?”
“Mm-hmm. Turns out we’re not the only ones missing corpses.”
[1] The original line (Our true nature is a shared optimism that yesterday’s foe is today’s friend.) is borrowed from this translation of irl!Ango’s Discourse on Decadence:
https://takibi.wordpress.com/2010/10/14/ango-sakaguchi-darakuron-on-decadence-part-2/
A lot about BSD!Ango isn’t quite elaborated on, so I figured I’d use the essay as inspiration for how to portray him.
My apologies to SF players in this intro. I don’t play fighting games, but I appreciate the mind game aspect of it. Lemme know if something’s off with the description.
They were back at the game cafe, playing Street Fighter on two fight sticks plugged into a PlayStation. They’ve won two matches each and were on round one of the fifth. Shigaraki was annoyed with Dazai’s Ibuki zoning and set-ups, while Dazai was sure that Shigaraki chose Karin partly because of that ojou-sama laugh on top of having a good footsie game.
”Oi, Dazai.”
“Heard you guys have a new kid who keeps trashing the place wherever he goes.” Shigaraki chuckled mockingly. “You approve of this ‘waste of resources’?”
Of course Shigaraki would remember that conversation, and of course he’d bring it up now in an attempt to make him lose focus. Dazai twisted the joystick and tapped several buttons in succession, blocking Karin’s footsie game and had Ibuki dash to the space behind Karin, confirming a hit with a punch and kicking Karin upward.
“Must you mention this now?”
“Fuck, yes.” Shigaraki’s smirk was malicious as he gleefully punched in a down kick and two punches, all blocked by Dazai, and added a throw to get space between them. The both of them pressed a few jabs, baiting each other to move, before Shigaraki had Karin flip in the air for a kick as a gap closer. “You can’t control him, can you?”
“That’s assuming I’m his boss,” Dazai said, programming another dash to try to get behind Shigaraki, who already anticipated this by flipping backwards. “Besides, I never said that applying force was useless, only that you were getting nowhere with it.”
“Yeah?” There was an undertone of warning in Shigaraki’s casual tone, and he activated Karin’s critical art. “There’s not much of a difference if everyone ends up dead anyway.”
Dazai’s chuckle was not at all pleasant. “If that’s the case, why did you spend time to memorize the hitbox and frame data?”
Mori agreed that the matter should be looked into. Thus, Chuuya was assigned to investigate further, and Dazai to Europe for negotiations.
For all of Dazai’s misgivings on the man, Mori could be relied on to characteristically advance in the most optimal manner. As Mori’s protege and current right hand, it fell to Dazai to see Mori’s plans through. However, as someone who was curious to find out who would take advantage of the Dragon’s Head Rush, this turn of events was dissatisfying.
Still, he could appreciate Mori’s rationale in having Chuuya poke around instead of him. Having an Executive do an official inquiry would give the impression that the matter was of urgent and grave importance to the Port Mafia, something that Mori would want to avoid. On the other hand, the MIA list was diverse enough to include some of their elite fighters, and the Port Mafia had not survived this long by sloppily leaving loose ends.
Chuuya, as the other half of Port Mafia’s Soukouku, would be respected enough to not be brushed aside while conducting discrete inquiries should he also approach the other organizations and villains on their missing people.
One benefit of growing up with Kouyou was that, where Dazai’s reputation as the Demon Prodigy served as Mori’s weapon to threaten with, Chuuya was on friendlier terms with the patrons of the hanamachi, which was treated as a neutral ground for criminals, villains, and even corrupt politicians.
If there was only one person or group behind the disappearances, they either were careless with their selection of victims, or they were confident that they would either not get caught or that they could handle the retaliation. What was more alarming was that even after a year, there remained a portion of the MIA list unaccounted for, and this was considering that the Port Mafia guarded the back doors of the city.
(There was one other possible route of transportation Dazai knew of. Deep in his gut, he knew better than being optimistic about the chance he was wrong.)
Given the circumstances, Mori was leaving no stone unturned, and it was Chuuya’s turn to tap into his own network of connections without raising alarms. Such was the reach of a sincere, relatively well-adjusted man in any form of society.
Perhaps that was the way the future lay. Perhaps.
He’d spare a thought for it later.
Mori’s intentions for specifically sending Dazai to Europe were also worth questioning. If the main purpose was to truly establish communications, another Executive or even an Intelligence Officer like Ango, who already had connections in the continent, could have been dispatched. Yet during afternoon tea thinly disguised as a briefing, Mori spoke with him alone, remarking that it would be good to see how their friends were doing at Europe, and mentioned that he was free to use Port Mafia’s resources as he saw fit while abroad. Several oblique references to urban legends and rats hiding in the deepest of sewers were also mentioned.
As it turned out, Europe’s underground communities were well hidden. Some of their groups were almost a myth, unless one knew where to look.
And so it was in Russia that he encountered a Devil who seemed to dutifully carry on and dispensed death as reward and punishment to the deserving,
The Devil’s name, pried from a captured enemy mole previously planted in Moscow’s law enforcement, was Fyodor.
Their clashes were covert, each action a revelation and a lie of intention, Fyodor covetously guarding his advantage of being in his home territory and not allowing Dazai to gain ground in Russia, Dazai forcing Fyodor to weaken his hold on select groups and individuals while covering more ground. Each blow was delivered with bribes, information leaks, paper trails, diversive attacks.
By the end of it, Dazai got the contracts he wanted, but Fyodor took out two of their key informants. Tit-for-tat.
It was a merciless winter for the both of them.
Throughout the entire affair, they only met once face to face.
The Kotomin House along Nevsky Prospekt had a wonderful cafe, the warm red walls, green tablecloths, and golden yellow curtain accents making for a cozy atmosphere. [1] Violin music serenaded guests as they dined on proudly Russian dishes. Dazai, for once, let the bitter taste of coffee linger in his mouth as he listened to the conversations around him, opinions traded back and forth in blunt speech on a wide variety of fields.
It was an enlightening lunch in more ways than one, and Dazai committed the faces of certain patrons to memory.
On the way out, he passed by a man around his age, pale against the light snowfall, a white ushanka-hat covering his dark hair and framing his sickly features. Their eyes met for a moment, and the stranger gave him a slow smile upon seeing him, which was alarmingly unusual for a local. [2]
“We’ll meet again,” the Devil said in English as he passed by Dazai, and headed inside.
Dazai narrowed his eyes as he turned, observing the cafe’s facade speculatively.
Engaging skirmishes aside, that was not the kind of trouble he liked inviting to Yokohama.
He sees darkness poorly masked behind a sickly pallor, and a ravenous penchant for destruction that ate away at the city’s foundations, each vicious bite as calculated as the next. Nothing would sate that hunger, and oceans with beaches of powdered bone would sooner be filled with blood than the vengeful spectre of justice would hang up his scythe.
Ah, but who was he referring to - Fyodor of the present, the potential Shigaraki of the future, or Shigaraki’s shadowy mentor of the past?
Dazai laughed softly to himself in the empty hotel room, wishing he was drinking back at the Bar Lupin with Odasaku and Ango, where they could pretend that the world stood still.
It was inevitable he’d face those three in the future: at the core, their final goals were in opposition to the Port Mafia’s, and it was but a matter of time before the countdown started to tick. Mori, whether by deliberate design or sheer proximity, would involve him. They would wage war, and the world would still continue spinning on its axis.
(Growth lead to many trajectories, and the Shigaraki of the present was a wild card. To take away what was not cared for - that was half a step. Where it lead to was partially dependent on the results of Chuuya’s investigation.)
Dazai was neither discontent nor grateful that he remained part of the mafia. Violence was their currency as Mori had explained it, and for Dazai death and pain were natural consequences.
Everything still looked bleak to him.
He’d get Odasaku and Ango vodka and sweets before boarding his plane tomorrow.
"Dazai-san. Here are the profiles you requested."
The speaker was a middle-aged man with swept back silver hair and a well-groomed moustache and goatee. He wore a monocle, unusual these days,and his black coat and white dress shirt were well-pressed, the very image of a dignified gentleman.
That this person lived through the previous boss' insanity and still maintained such a polite calmness about him spoke volumes of the strength of his character. The Black Lizard should be thankful that they still had a thoughtful commander in one Hirotsu Ryuuryou.
Dazai gave a grateful nod and took the offered tablet.
"Thank you, Hirotsu-san. Did anything happen while I was away?"
Hirotsu stood at attention, hands clasped behind his back. “The young man you mentioned visited several times, as you predicted. Per your instructions, I asked him to seek out Nakahara Chuuya.”
“Is that so.” Dazai swiped through the presentation, skimming through the write-ups and zooming in on one or two photos. They showed the faces of the newer heroes assigned to Yokohama. Enthusiasts were not the only ones who gathered at the spectacle that was a hero fight to get information.. “What do you think of him?”
Hirotsu cleared his throat. That he took a moment to gather his thoughts betrayed his caution. “He is passionate, with the gaze of one who carries resentment,” he said. Then, “May speak plainly?” He waited for Dazai’s nod of approval before continuing. “He seems to be, ah, quite appreciative of being shown politeness from mafiosi, going so far as to comment on it even when he looked quite agitated with another issue.”
Dazai made a thoughtful sound. “Agitated?”
“Aggrieved as of late,” Hirotsu clarified. “He has no means of expressing it other than violence.”
“I see.” Dazai stood up and stretched his arms. “Where is Chuuya now?”
Hirotsu gave him the location of the casino, and added “I believe he also has an exercise of sorts later at warehouse sixteen, though I am not privy to the details.”
“Got it.” Dazai tucked the tablet in his arm. “I’ll take this with me for now.”
“As you wish. And, Dazai-san?”
Hirotsu placed a hand on his chest and bowed. “Forgive me for being presumptuous, but if I may offer a suggestion?”
How rare. Dazai looked at him keenly. “Go on.”
“It is no secret within the Black Lizard that you have diverted that young man’s attention several times from our operations. As someone who is privy to his destructive nature and as your subordinate, I am grateful. However, I also understand that this situation is delicate.” Hirotsu paused, as if waiting for Dazai to comment, and resumed when the other merely continued to observe him. “Which brings me to this recommendation.”
Dazai listened as HIrotsu outlined his points. When the older man was done, it was as if the silence of the room had held his breath for him.
“Please take that as you will,” he finished.
Dazai hummed. “You are aware of the implications of what you just said?”
Dazai studied him, the curious tilt of his head akin to a fox contemplating a benign creature.
Hirotsu, in contrast, was still. The faint stiffness of his posture was the only indication of his discomfort, and the formidable resolve hidden within. It was a fascinating proposal, dangerous to the one who made it. However, Hirotsu was someone who lived through the turbulent times of the Mafia, one who served as a parent to his men and granted them stability in this madness.
A soft chuckle escaped Dazai’s lips, and soon he was laughing heartily “What a bold statement,” Dazai said almost fondly. “What would we ever do without. Hirotsu-san?”
The older man had not dared to look up. “Yes, Dazai-san?”
Dazai flashed him a small smile and clapped him lightly on the shoulder as he strode off. “Thank you for your wisdom and discretion, as always.”
From what Dazai could gather from Shigaraki’s uncoordinated shrieking ramble in the middle of lashing out, Shigaraki’s teacher was in critical condition, dire enough for the white-haired teen to be distraught and develop deep, seething hatred for All Might.
The clock started ticking.
Shigaraki’s knuckles bled from where he’d punched the floor when disintegrating and trashing the empty abandoned crates around them wasn’t enough. He had curled in on himself, the bandages around his wrist peeking from the hems of his sleeves, a dead, dismembered hand cradled against his chest as a child would hold a treasured toy in times of fright.
Chuuya returned Dazai’s hooded gaze from above Shigaraki’s mess of silver hair from where he had an arm around the grieving man’s shoulders, the both of them seated on the floor. It was full of unspoken questions and an accusation.
What are you planning next, Dazai?
“Tell me of your friend,” Mori said, and there was laughter in his eyes. “The one who claims to thrive with death in their grasp.” [3]
Shigaraki.
Leave it to Mori to make wordplay out of that name.
Dazai breathed and looked at the older man steadily. There was bound to be movement at Kamino soon, and Mori made it a habit to familiarize himself with everything that went on like the back of his hand.
“He’s only started to wake up.”
(But there were things Mori could do without, too.)
[1] The Wolf et Beranget Confectionery until the 1840s and, presently, the Literaturnoe Kafe. Based the interior’s description on photos of the Literaturnoe Kafe. Was tempted to use Kafe Pushkin (the bookshelves are so damn gorgeous!), but the Literaturnoe Kafe is more apt in this context.
[2] Apparently smiling at strangers for no reason is seen as a sign of artificiality/insincerity in Russia. Please correct me if I misunderstood
[3] Shigaraki = Kanji used are for death (shi), handle/grip (gara), and tree (ki). I used the symbolism for the tree/wood element in this case
Planning on having more of Chuuya and Shigaraki in the next chapter. Hopefully it does go in that direction.
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
"They were gross," a twelve-year-old Chuuya groused as he combed through Kouyou's long, scarlet hair with practiced ease. "If they had even half a brain, they'd know this isn't the red light district! And you're definitely strong enough to beat them up so they won't do it again, anee-san."
Kouyou looked at his reflection fondly, the ever-present hat on his head at odds with the dark striped jinbei he wore as a rare concession to Kouyou's more traditional aesthetic. Seated as she was, dressed in a light cotton yukata, her face clean of the make-up that hid her youth and with Chuuya standing beside her, they could be mistaken for siblings if the boy's fiery locks were a shade closer to her own scarlet.
Perhaps it hadn't helped that in the years before, she also tucked Chuuya to bed when she wasn't out on an assignment, and they would read together before they needed to sleep. That changed when Chuuya insisted he was already grown up, and their nightly ritual shifted to grooming each other's hair instead as they traded stories.
"They were undeniably crude," Kouyou replied, keeping her hands on her lap as Chuuya placed the brush on the dresser and started a braid over her shoulder. "However, we must still abide by decorum in showing them out the door. It's part of our famed hospitality, after all."
Chuuya wrinkled his nose as he finished the braid with an unadorned hair tie. He had always been an honest child, and Kouyou couldn't fault him for that. "Wouldn't it be easier to just tell them they're jerks to their faces? I mean, I don't think they even understood that you were already threatening them."
Kouyou laughed softly, remembering how one of the boors from earlier kept on stammering and stuttering, and slid out of the stool. She guided Chuuya to sit in front of the mirror and placed his hat on the dresser.
"Oh, my child," she murmured, undoing the redhead's pony tail and picking up the brush to smooth the tangles of the day. "It is but but a small trifle compared to many other things. This life of ours would lead us to paths we would have avoided otherwise." Kouyou exhaled softly, placing her pale, slender hand on Chuuya's shoulder. The soft smile that graced her lips only served to illuminate the sadness in her gaze. "I do not wish to give you false hope, young one, should you choose a course similar to mine. This is simply the kind of world we live in."
Chuuya bowed his head a little and looked to the side, frustration creeping into his features. It was not the first time they've broached the topic of necessity, nor would it be the last.
"I understand, anee-san," he said, reaching up to clasp her hand, and didn’t say that he wished things were different.
Kouyou gently squeezed Chuuya's shoulder. At sixteen, all she could do was to kill as directed, and guide for the ones placed under her care. The path of joy and freedom had been carved from her early, and she could only nurse her hatred and resentment in silence.
"I know."
All things considered, Mori's Port Mafia was miles better than his predecessor's.
Sure, Chuuya still got shitty jobs like clearing out entitled punks who thought they could use one of their underground casinos as a drug den, and he had to make sure their visible offices were routinely squeaky clean when brown nose police officers got too enthusiastic in their inspection of the Forest Security Agency and the dozen other front businesses they had running, but it was more palatable than the paranoia-fueled audits the old boss ordered, where one wrong move would send anyone literally biting the pavement and executed in short order. Kouyou looked more content these days too, the role of an Executive suiting her more than high-risk eliminations.
Not that she let her blade dull with the transition. It was through her fearsome reputation and sensible nature that the hanamachi remained unscathed during the power shift. True, there were still those who refused to play nice in her territory and plenty more that still bore grudges against the Port Mafia, but that's what the back alleys were for.
Chuuya huffed at that last thought as he ducked into one of the teahouses, nodding at the servers and patrons he recognized as he made his way to one of the private booths where his contact was waiting for him. Giran himself avoided making trouble - on the contrary, the broker conducted himself well and was a decent conversationalist. Some of his associates, however, tended to be problem magnets, and Chuuya hoped they didn’t show their faces today.
Thankfully, that was the case.
“Hey,” Chuuya greeted the older man when he got to the room, sliding the door shut behind him and sitting at the zabuton across the low tea table. “Been a while. Glad you could make it.”
Giran smirked around his ever-present cigarette. “So am I, Nakahara. Your side’s awfully busy these days. Not that it’s any of my business.”
Chuuya snorted. On top of meddling with the distribution channels for black market items, Giran made a living out of keeping up with gossip and insider information. Even if it wasn’t his business, he’d still be all ears.
But that was part of why the man was so effective with his job.
“Of course,” Chuuya said instead, taking a brown envelope out from his inside jacket pocket, not missing the look of interest that garnered from the other man.
“Straight to it, eh?”
“Can’t really stay long,” Chuuya said in apology, and slid the packet across the table. “This is for today and the finder’s fee for the month. You know what type we’re looking for.”
“Yeah,” Giran replied as he examined the contents of the envelope and pocketed it, before handing Chuuya a binder from his suitcase. “Your list of names and their profiles. They’ll show up on Monday at the location you specified.”
“Perfect.” Chuuya leafed through the folder. Once he was satisfied, he placed it beside him. “Now, what do your pals have for me?”
Giran flicked his cigarette at the ashtray next to him and leaned forward. “Goes without saying that you didn’t hear this from me. Your friends from the Shinichi group turned up in a DNA match from an American police database. Listed as John, John, and Jane Doe, found comatose in an abandoned farmhouse with camping gear, no relatives found. Better get to ‘em before they decide to notify the likes of Interpol or another group.”
Chuuya resisted the urge to groan. Giran probably wasn’t aware they weren’t exactly on friendly terms with the solitary Shinichi group, and he didn’t want to know how Dazai fished out a list of names from them. Trespassing, most likely.
Mori would be interested to figure out how three people with distincty identifiable features thanks to having mutation-type Quirks had slipped through their net and ended up in America.
“Just great,” he muttered. “Any leads from the support companies you mentioned?”
“None at all,” Giran shrugged. “If it makes you feel better, there aren’t new trends at all from that front either, unless you count the usual attempts at hacking the legal side for schematics.”
At this point, Chuuya was willing to eat his hat to just get it over already. The missing equipment were wired together from cannibalized old models, and the amount of customization would have been indicative of the needs of the user. If their remaining MIA guys needed to either repair or upgrade their gear, they would have gone to one of Giran’s contacts if they didn’t want shoddily welded work blowing up in their faces.
That nothing’s turned up after all this time either meant they’ve betrayed the mafia through either abandonment or joining a group with a lot of hush money, or that they were dead.
(But a group of at least thirty people, including the ones from other organizations, don’t just disappear overnight, and Chuuya was obliged to track down their own men, at least. Not all of them could have been traitors either, not when at least two of them had vulnerable families they had to feed.)
“Alright,” Chuuya huffed. “Thanks, and let me know if you hear anything else.”
“Pleasure doing business with you as always, Nakahara.” Giran gave him a lazy salute, cigarette dangling from between his fingers. “Please give my regards to Ozaki-san.”
His luck at not encountering problems ended the moment he spotted a ghoul of a man lurking near the parking lot. Chuuya cursed under his breath and marched towards the waiting shed, where an impatient Shigaraki was clearly idling.
“Look, bastard,” Chuuya scowled, poking Shigaraki’s thin chest with a gloved finger. “Just because the Mackrel’s away doesn’t give you the right to stalk me. Every single goddamn time, I swear! Does he always put you up to this?”
“He’s not my boss,” Shigaraki sneered and curled his hand around Chuuya’s wrist, sleeve sliding back to reveal a bare wrist, keeping his middle finger lifted, and smirked when Chuuya narrowed his eyes and dug his finger in Shigaraki’s chest in warning. He waited another beat, until he could see a vein pop in the other’s temple out of genuine ire, and declared the intention for his visit: “I’m bored.”
Chuuya took a deep breath and counted to ten. He recognized the timing of that delivery, the mocking childishness of that tone.
Really. Of all things for Shigaraki to pick up on, it had to be that guy’s habit of picking on people.
As Dazai’s work partner, it was hard for Chuuya to miss how Shigaraki pestered Dazai and the latter’s bizarre tolerance for it. It was equally unavoidable for him to avoid Shigaraki, who took to learning the art of tracking people like a fish in water once he found the motivation to learn - and the opportunity to bash Dazai’s face in was, apparently, a good enough incentive, never mind that, as far as Chuuya was concerned, both Dazai and Shigaraki were still sloppy in hand to hand combat. However, knowing that Shigaraki made for a quick study and continuously seeing signs of the other’s attention to detail were two different things.
Shigaraki was now past being an ignorant waste of talent, as Chuuya had described him two years ago. He still had misgivings on how Dazai probably thought this would benefit him.
In all honesty, he could do without this shitty route those two had signed themselves up for. Chuuya didn’t need to be an expert in strategic conflict to know that something bad would happen, one way or the other.
He wondered why Mori had yet to intervene.
Well, whatever. Those two tended to plan things out to an almost supernatural degree. Chuuya hated Dazai’s slimy way of going about things, but the bastard was undeniably effective when he wanted to be, and Mori had been the one to raise Dazai.
(A world that neither Mori nor Dazai would find winnable - the thought chilled Chuuya to the bone, more than he liked to admit. No one wanted the Port Mafia to revert to the old ways. Not if they could help it.)
When it came down to it, Chuuya was also not in the position to question their Boss’ wisdom in letting Dazai do as he pleased. Necessary damage control was the least he could do.
(He remembered how many of their allies’ lives Q’s Quirk had claimed as collateral damage, and it burned.)
“Bored. Right. Not my fucking problem.” The redhead extracted his wrist from Shigaraki’s grasp and turned on his heel sharply, giving him a lazy wave. “Go bother someone else, like your bartender guy. I’m busy, you freeloader!”
“Too bad, shorty.” It took Shigaraki a only a few long strides to catch up to Chuuya, intending to use his head as an armrest. At almost seventeen years of age, the redhead was nearly doomed to never grow taller, something that both Dazai and Shigaraki never failed to rub in his face on separate occasions. “It is now. Kurogiri’s busy.”
“It’s not.” Chuuya ducked and batted Shigaraki’s arm away, careful to avoid grazing the other’s fingers. “Piss off already, dustball.”
“Or what?” Shigaraki gave him a smile too wide and cracked and scarred to look traditionally sweet, the crinkling at the corners of his eyes emphasizing how sunken and dry the skin of his face was. “I know you guys don’t like me messing around with your silly little negotiation bullshit, but I can always drop by to see if your friends need a hand.”
Chuuya wanted to yell at him. He settled for viciously stomping the ground between an unfazed Shigaraki’s feet, and resisted using his Quirk to disintegrate the pavement.
Deep breaths.
Fuck Dazai for stringing this guy along. Fuck Shigaraki for being an ungrateful hellish mess of a bastard. Fuck Dazai and Shigaraki for being socially incompetent jackasses, and fuck himself for becoming all sympathetic with the other idiot who got caught up with Dazai’s half-assed attempts at familiarizing himself with people while keeping them at arm’s length.
“I’ll kick you out on the highway if you destroy anything in my car,” Chuuya threatened, and stalked off to where he was parked, neatly sidestepping Shigaraki’s lazy kick of triumph to his back. “And hands off my coat and hat this time, or I’ll kill you.”
“You never do,” Shigaraki cackled as he followed Chuuya to the vehicle and clambered in the passenger’s seat once the doors were unlocked.
Chuuya glared daggers at him, sitting on the dossier from Giran to keep it out of reach from Shigaraki and buckling up. He sent a quick text to Kouyou, apologizing for the new circumstances and suggesting a new venue in consideration of their extra guest before starting the car.
“Don’t give me a real reason to, and I won’t.”
“Promises, promises.” Shigaraki snickered and settled for propping his heel up on the car seat, ignoring Chuuya’s offended squawk and the punch to his knee. “Be thankful it’s not your dashboard. Where to next?”
“You’ll see,” Chuuya muttered darkly, hitting Shigaraki’s calf for good measure and maneuvered the vehicle out of the parking slot. “Don’t you dare regret tagging along.”
“Tomura-kun.” Kouyou was as pleasant as ever, though the turn of her wrist, ring and pinky fingers securing the hem of a billowing sleeve to her palm, as she gestured to the empty chair beside her held a rebuke. “You do make a habit of dropping by at the most inconvenient times. Still, it is good to see that you are well.”
Shigaraki dipped his head stiffly and awkwardly shuffled to the proffered seat. “Ozaki-aneesan. Thank you for having me.”
He shot Chuuya a betrayed look. The redhead smirked wickedly in return as he took his place across Kouyou.
Two years of pestering Chuuya when Dazai wasn’t around lead to Shigaraki meeting Kouyou on occasion for afternoon tea. Needless to say, Shigaraki learned quickly to mind his manners before Kouyou subjected him to learning the full traditional Japanese tea ceremony while commenting on the importance of etiquette and making good first impressions, complete with Kouyou’s Golden Demon acting as the Jikyaku. Neither Sensei nor Kurogiri were mentioned, but Shigaraki felt her lecture was also meant as a slight against their perceived faults in raising him. [1]
Dazai already mocked him for being an ignorant bumpkin in the ways of organized crime and Chuuya scowled at him to take a hint already, but Kouyou had a way with words that made him feel painfully young.
Perhaps this shouldn’t be taken against anyone considering the circumstances, Kouyou commented mildly at the time as she turned the bowl with precise movements and gently placed the perfectly whisked matcha on the tatami mat before addressing Shigaraki, whose legs were numb from having to sit in seiza. You barely have the chance to interact with anyone, do you, Shigaraki-kun? And don’t slouch. Bad posture will be detrimental to your health when you grow older. Now, as the Shokyaku... [1]
Then there was that one time when Kouyou made him walk with her to a botanical garden. Shigaraki didn’t need to know every inane detail on plant symbolism, Ikebana, and their role in expressing subtlety, but Kouyou’s sidelong (mercilessly and cruelly amused) glances made him keep his mouth shut before they could attract unwanted attention from other visitors.
The discomfort he felt then was similar now, when Shigaraki couldn’t make a scene to protest. The three of them made for an odd picture at the French cafe they were at, with Kouyou in her elegant kimono, Chuuya in formal Western attire, and Shigaraki in his casual black attire and red sneakers.
“I suppose it can’t be helped,” Kouyou said, giving the waiter that approached their table a regal nod and waiting for their coffee and pastries to be served before continuing. “Chuuya mentioned your guardian is busy.”
“Yeah, but he’s not my guardian.” Shigaraki narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “Even if I knew what they were up to, I wouldn’t tell you.”
Kouyou picked up the elegant rose-patterned cup served to her to hide a small, approving smile, folding back the sleeve of her kimono with her free hand. “As you wish,” she said, and took a delicate sip. “Chuuya, my thanks for your suggestion.”
Chuuya gave her a wry grin as he cut into his pastry. “Least I could do, anee-san.”
The tenuous semblance of order in their lives came crashing down one day, when a sluggish Shigaraki thoroughly disintegrated the entrance of the warehouse Chuuya was using to talk to a new batch of recruits. The teen’s trembling palm was still resting where the door had been when Chuuya got over his shock, the other hand loosely tucked in the front pocket of his black jacket, wild eyes and hair peeking from the shadows of his hood, shallow breaths audible in the succeeding silence.
Chuuya hadn’t seen Shigaraki this dangerously off-balance for quite some time. The sudden change made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.
Taking control of the situation became all the more important.
“What the fuck,” Chuuya snapped, sprinting forward with the help of his Quirk and sending Shigaraki crashing to the far end of the warehouse with a sudden turn and vicious kick, clearing the exit. “Everyone, dismissed. We’ll reconvene same time tomorrow. Now, out!”
“Sir!” The newbies bowed and made their way to the door, one young woman trailing behind.
“Should I call for back-up, sir?” she asked timidly.
“Nah,” Chuuya grounded out, keeping a wary eye at the slumped form of Shigaraki beneath the fresh crack on the wall, the pale teen’s broken, breathless giggles echoing eerily in the open space. “I can take care of it. Leave.”
“Sir!” The girl bowed again and sprinted out.
Once Chuuya could no longer hear her steps, he tossed his coat over the folding chair left out for him earlier and stalked towards Shigaraki, cracking his gloved knuckles as he went.
“Goddamn idiot,” he hissed, hauling up Shigaraki by the collar and slamming his head back to the wall. “You know you can’t do shit like this, so why?”
Shigaraki lifted his head, eyes wide and swollen and unfocused. He blinked slowly, as if registering for the first time who was in front of him, and a hysterical sob bubbled up his scarred mouth.
“Nakahara,” he croaked, and if it wasn’t for the clear absence of the scent of alcohol Chuuya would’ve thought he was drunk, “Nakahara… Chuuya.” He reached up, as if to grab Chuuya’s collar, and the shorter man grabbed his wrist, squeezing painfully.
“Shigaraki,” Chuuya said testily, eyes narrowed as he took in more of the other’s appearance: dried tear tracks, disheveled clothes, dirtied shoes. The tell-tale tremble of exhaustion in his limbs. Bandages, far from fresh, soaked in sweat. Shigaraki’s other hand lay limply at his side, and the edge of something made with smooth, worn metal peeked out from his front pocket. Did Shigaraki walk all the way here? “Get ahold of yourself.”
Shigaraki froze. Apparently, that was the horribly correct thing to say.
“Oh,” he breathed, expression clearing for a moment. He curled in on himself, one arm protectively wrapped around his belly, shoulders shaking. His next exhale was halfway between a laugh and a sob. “Oh. Not a dream.”
Chuuya bit a curse under his breath, recalling from a few weeks before that Kurogiri was supposedly busy - that had to be it. This couldn’t be anything caused by Dazai as the Mackrel was still alive when his plane landed the other day, and Dazai hated having to handle this kind of emotional response. Shigaraki was also likely unaware of Dazai’s return if he’d wandered off to Chuuya. Not that he wanted to know what went on in that messed-up mind of his.
He sighed and marginally loosened his grip on the other’s shirt. Chuuya really didn’t want to deal with this shit right now.
“You’re wide awake, dustball.” He crouched in front of Shigaraki and flicked the other’s wrinkled forehead to catch his attention. “Let’s start from the top, yeah?”
"...I'm not supposed to know," Shigaraki croaked.
“Kurogiri.”
“Sensei?”
“Call Shigaraki to me once he returns from his walk at the port.” The rattle of labored breaths could be heard over the voice call. “We have much to discuss.”
[1] Shokyaku = primary/main guest, jikyaku = second guest
8.15.2017 - chapter edited to add bits I missed.
“Odasaku.” Dazai placed a hand on the taller man’s shoulder, his gaze earnest. “I understand that this is important information, but I have one request: let us not speak of this again. It’s too prolonged a cause of suffering, I can’t stand it.”
Oda looked from the hand on his shoulder to Dazai, and made a thoughtful sound. “You find injuries acceptable to discuss,” he inferred, “but not medical conditions related to neurotransmitter imbalance?”
“Yes.” Dazai made a face. “Do you know just how many studies there are available before you get sick of it? And they're so insidious! It’s a reminder of how horridly delicate human biology is. Wounds clearly come from outside sources, but the possibility of suffering through those kinds of illnesses is just inconvenient!”
Oda huffed, smiling fondly in spite of the grim topic. For someone who bore injuries from committing murder, espionage, and coercion, Dazai’s professed attitude towards experiencing certain kinds of pain was still occasionally childish.
“Do your best to be vigilant then,” Oda said warmly, and resisted the urge to ruffle Dazai’s hair when the younger man’s brow creased. It went unsaid that unless they were arrested, mafiosi were more prone to dying in a ditch somewhere rather than being confined to a bed for terminal illness. A life of violence lead to nowhere but a puddle of blood.
Oda also didn't ask what Dazai delved into this research for, despite knowing that the brunet had referenced poking around old medical books before, claiming it was out of boredom. Perhaps there was something he needed to recall?
“Hey, Odasaku.”
Dazai’s focus was on his precariously tipped glass, his slender fingers its only support, empty but for the ball off ice he was seemingly content to roll around for now instead of ordering another drink. Pensive moments like this weren’t new, though Oda had noticed that Dazai lapsed into them more often since his return from Europe, shoulders tensed in a way they hadn’t been before.
The teen sighed.
“What season do you prefer, spring or autumn?”
“Autumn,” Oda replied stoically. Not the question he was expecting, though if Dazai didn’t want to talk about what was on his mind, it wasn’t Oda’s place to pry.
“Ah.” Dazai smiled wistfully at the ball of ice. “I thought you’d say that.”
There were many things Shigaraki wasn’t supposed to know.
It was the little details he took notice of, pieces of a hidden object game that he found himself in the more he questioned why two brats from a supposedly defunct way of life with all its pathetic obligations were more genre savvy than him, the ward of a villain so strong that the world bowed to him.
Unlike them, he was special. Sensei himself had chosen him, one of the few he found worth saving these past few years, and Sensei’s doctor friend heartily agreed whenever he visited for Shigaraki’s usual medical check-ups.
Underweight and dehydrated, but nothing more fluids and a good diet won’t fix, the Doctor always proclaimed, applying salve and bandaging his arms to protect his drier than normal skin that day. Young Shigaraki stubbornly looked around the room instead, the walls lined with metal cabinets, various anatomical diagrams and shelves bearing various-sized bottles and corked tubes. Two freezers stood tall next to a door leading to a smaller room that, for reasons Shigaraki didn’t understand, blew air at people who entered before they proceeded to a really cold room that Shigaraki wasn’t allowed in.
The Doctor’s private clinic was a far cry from his tidy regular consultation room at the hospital, which Shigaraki had only been brought to once by Kurogiri when the child burned with an unusually high fever..
Do you still get nightmares?
At Shigaraki’s reluctant mumble of sometimes, the Doctor scribbled something on a pad, and tore off the paper for him to give to Kurogiri.
Take care of yourself, Shigaraki-kun, the Doctor encouraged him, his smile puffing up his already round cheeks. You’re very important to your Sensei, after all.
Shigaraki believed him.
After the accident, he could only rely on Sensei, Kurogiri, and the Doctor. Strangers were frightening nuisances, people he couldn’t trust, those who would take him away from Sensei because of his Quirk.
They won’t see you for who you are, but they would fear you for your gifts, Sensei said weeks after his rescue, when Shigaraki had finally gathered the courage to step out the confines of his new room to look for Sensei instead of him waiting for the man or Kurogiri to check up on him. Shigaraki had yet to start speaking again, unable to get the words he couldn’t find past his throat, but this, too, was progress. Sensei was busy typing away at his laptop, but welcomed his approach anyway, angling his chair and placing a comforting hand on his head. Despite your helplessness, they will blame you for what happened. Just as they did all those years ago, when they hunted down their innocent neighbors who manifested Quirks because they weren’t normal enough.
Shigaraki pressed his face on the man’s dark blue blazer, mindful to ball his fists at his sides to avoid accidents, and tiredly squeezed his swollen eyes shut.
Do you think it’s fair?
The child emphatically shook his head, his face remaining hidden, his nails digging marks into his palms as he shook. Nothing was right about the situation. He didn’t ask to have this Quirk, he didn’t want his father to --
I don’t think so, either. They don’t want to get along with people like you and me.
Startled, Shigaraki looked up at Sensei, and was greeted with a solemn expression. For all intents and purposes, Sensei was a kind, hardworking man, more caring than what heroes said villains were like. He didn’t want to believe it - weren’t smart, industrious, successful people considered important?
(Did heroes still have the right to judge others if they’d imprison Shigaraki for causing a disaster because he couldn’t control his abilities?)
His throat felt raw as he tried to breathe.
A broad, calloused hand carefully pushed away the hair from his face, and Shigaraki’s thoughts stilled.
But you know what, child? Sensei opened the drawer on the other side of his desk and took out something wrapped in black silk, holding it in front of Shigaraki. You won’t have to be afraid of them, for I am here.
Sensei unravelled the cloth. There, with pale, dead skin stretched out on bony knuckles, standing out against the fluid darkness, was his father’s clean, preserved hand.
Your Father is also here.
For Sensei’s sake, Shigaraki tried his best to follow the doctor’s dietary instructions, Kurogiri helpfully supplying him a lot of fresh food. The fruit juice stung his chapped and scarred lips and he hated the bitter taste of vegetables, but Sensei had chided him before when he got sick from staying up in the roof in the chilly breeze for too long, and Shigaraki hadn’t wanted to worry him again. He tried getting as much rest as he could before the same nightmare chased the darkness of sleep away, and he napped at the bar on lazy afternoons to make up for the difference.
Only the faintest of impressions were left with him when he awoke, a haze of bright lights and white walls and solid, cold steel supporting his weight. Bright red blood stained his too-small hands, rapidly drying into a coat of rust-brown that caked his fingers and crumbled to nothing. He hadn’t wanted to bother Sensei and told Kurogiri instead, interrupting the bartender as he took stock of the remaining liquor after closing shop for the day.,Kurogiri merely nudged a cup of yoghurt from the kitchen in his direction.
Nightmares are not worth remembering, Shigaraki Tomura, he said. They do not serve any practical purpose.
Shigaraki had begrudgingly took the snack and loaded his most recent Neverending Fantasy Tactics file, safely balancing Father’s hand by his knees, and resolved to play until exhaustion or until Kurogiri nudged him to return to the apartment upstairs to rest. It wasn’t as if he had school to worry about, though Kurogiri also served as his politely naggy home tutor.
Truth be told, he was content with his life then, even if Sensei was away most of the time on business, and occasionally required Kurogiri’s assistance. Shigaraki was taken care of, safe and away from losers who covered their eyes with their fragile peace.If they only knew how powerful Sensei was, far beyond the reach of heroes, they’d run around like headless chickens, the government that caged them in unable to respond properly.
It would be the funniest thing ever, and when Sensei decided the time was ripe (always when in his mind, not if) Shigaraki would follow him, laughing himself sick. He would not be taken away and locked up, because Sensei was the law. Heroes would never have the chance to ruin the fun - once Sensei got rid of the obstacle that was the so-called Symbol of Peace, everyone would follow.
What use was a hero who couldn’t save anyone? Absolutely none.
Chaos everywhere, and every person for themselves. Structure, tradition, and hierarchy - they would become a thing of the past, along with peace and order. Above it all would be Sensei, just as he was supposed to be. Just as he always was.
So why were there people who acted like dead traditions and social norms were still important while committing villainous acts? Who did they think they were trying to fool, dressed up to the nines while merrily slaughtering the opposition and claiming it was for the sake of their so-called order?
There was nothing wrong with calling a spade, a spade. No matter how much they pretended otherwise, the mafia were also villains who also used power to subjugate and destroy.
And yet --
Dazai’s cool, disinterested regard at their first meeting rankled him more than he liked to admit, moreso when the bastard later on had the gall to call his Quirk useless. Weak, said the boy permanently swathed in bandages, who claimed that the difference between heroes and villains was childish, yet despised being called a villain himself despite perfectly fitting the bill, acting indifferent to the mafia that he was part of. Caring about the application of force? Maximizing resources? Needing allies? What was this, the real life equivalent of Nobunaga’s Ambition? Shigaraki barely had the patience for it - why bother pretending to get along with other parties at all?
You’re missing the point.
What point?
Shigaraki hated Dazai for trying to confuse him, but the need to prove the other teen wrong, to crush him and to win crawled under his skin not unlike an ant’s nest. It was the stupidest thing to lose more sleep on, but being on the backfoot did not sit well with him, either.
Kurogiri started giving him questioning looks when he had to buy a jar of antiseptic cream and cotton earlier than usual. That was when Shigaraki, with his throat burning, marred with cracked scabs and torn skin and scratch marks, decided that enough was enough.
And so he watched and observed, scraping together his almost non-existent patience to understand what all the fuss was about.
Yokohama seemingly transformed into a vast maze, its plentiful landmarks, alleys, and side streets opening up to him now where before he hadn’t bothered remembering they existed.
Around three times a week there would be street performers setting up some distance from the subway’s station entrance under the watchful eye of the officers assigned to the area, their performances drawing loyal and new fans alike. Elementary school children went to parks after school, and some junior high kids like playing hookey and hid under the bridge during class hours near the river. Certain blocks were full of completely modern buildings, while others were undergoing lengthier renovations in the interest of preserving traditional architecture. Shopping districts had a mix of establishments that sold custom and mass-produced clothes and furnishings, ubiquitous hero merchandise, and food from various cuisines.
Normal people living normal lives, happy in this age of peace and abundance, furthering complacency and ignorance.
The tableau was awfully fake for Shigaraki, who by that point was painfully aware of the different elements that played away and bid their time away from their imaginary status quo.
Sometimes it was easy to find places where assorted villains and mafiosi frequented during their down time, dressed in their tell-tale suits passing themselves off as salarymen and office workers getting together for a late dinner at an udon stand, a few stools away from regular civilians who hunted for relatively less crowded dining spots. There were bars and nightclubs with unclear membership requirements, maritime shipping agencies with too vigilant security guards, unmarked container vans with curious stop-overs. Innocent-looking shop owners gossiped with their customers, mixing euphemisms in regular speech for select individuals (fucking stereotypical, that).
It became a habit for him to hide his distinct silvery hair to avoid the annoyed all too knowing gaze of the people he followed, and he treated it like an improvised open world stealth game with a ban on weapon use.
Shigaraki got no closer to figuring out the puzzle presented to him.
”Perhaps you won’t find answers,” Dazai contemplated one day, rudely calling attention to the shadow his security escort had valiantly ignored for the better part of an hour when it became clear that Shigaraki’s presence was at fault for their meandering path around various side streets. “I haven’t either, Mr. Stalker.”
Shigaraki scowled at him and stomped off in the opposite direction.
Bullshit. (And not that he cared, but he also doubted Dazai had the same question to begin with.)
Shigaraki found answers alright, but they were to questions he had never wanted to define, and he despised it when the situation just wouldn’t cooperate to help him get that he wanted.
Dazai had a competitive streak that was at odds with his purposefully failed suicide attempts. Chuuya was actually the stronger fighter between the two, and his interactions with Kouyou were markedly different from Shigaraki’s talks with Sensei. The bar Kurogiri managed had a slowly increasing amount of guests, and not all of them were there for a drink. Kurogiri himself was good at diverting his attention when the shadowed man had to talk to Sensei, and when Shigaraki’s curiosity got the better of him he tried to figure out how to listen into those conversations, which turned out to include Shigaraki’s health. Sensei talked an awful lot about All Might’s strengths and weaknesses. The Doctor’s immunization shots and nutritional guidelines merely prevented his dehydration from getting worse, but Shigaraki couldn’t feel himself improving.
(It wasn’t as if Shigaraki cared for his appearance, but windburn was annoying to deal with, and his reliance on long-sleeved shirts was horrid during humid summers.)
They were all small details, but they added up over time, grains of sand trickling into a thin glass jar that would burst over time. More importantly, they distracted him too much from his original reason in playing this game in the first place.
(If anything, he thought as he studied the lines on Father’s hand, it made him want to kill Dazai more.)
Kurogiri made himself scarce again in the past month, the prepared meals left for Shigaraki’s on the bar counter and the halls reeking strongly of bleach and disinfectant the only signs of him popping back in to check on his ward. The meals were constant in his disappearances, but returning to bathrooms cleanly scrubbed every day of the week outside of schedule wasn’t, and Shigaraki more often than not found himself either stepping out or playing an RPG in his room to avoid the offensive smell.
To say he was surprised to find the man himself in the kitchen, uncharacteristically slumped on the table with the single column of buttons of his freshly-pressed vest partially undone, cuffs hanging loose, was an understatement. Next to the dozing man was an almost empty glass of water.
“Kurogiri.” Shigaraki poked the man’s arm. Annoyed at the lack of a response, he jabbed again with more force. “Oi, Kurogiri!”
Kurogiri jolted awake, the force almost unbalancing the chair, and two shadowy hands grabbed the table ledge to steady himself.
“Shigaraki Tomura,” Kurogiri said, glowing eyes uncharacteristically wide until he took stock of his surroundings, glancing at his watch and then looking at the wall clock that declared the time (1:32 AM) in bright red. “You’re awake.”
“Was in the middle of a playthrough, wanted a drink.” Shigaraki shrugged and padded to the refrigerator, taking out a carton of apple juice. “If you’re back, does that mean Sensei’s no longer busy?”
The man’s glowing yellow eyes flickered. “He’s resting. Please try to sleep, Tomura-kun.”
Shigaraki’s eyes narrowed, and he unscrewed the cap, taking a long swig. Kurogiri must be really tired, if he failed to keep that brief moment of hesitation at bay.
There was also only one reason why Kurogiri had checked the time twice after returning to the bar from wherever Sensei was.
“Alright. Tomorrow, then.”
Instead of returning to his room, he locked himself in the bar’s washroom instead, keeping the lights off, and waited, pinching his arm on occasion to stay awake.
After what felt like forever, he could hear the distinct sound of Kurogiri’s shoes faintly through the door, followed by the hum of the television turning on.
It was not Sensei’s voice that came through the speakers, however, but the Doctor’s.
Equally unexpected was Kurogiri’s question.
“How is he?”
“We’ll have to wait for him to recover for the next few procedures,” the Doctor said, the clatter of a keyboard a steady noise in the background, “but he’ll pull through - in fact, he should be awake tomorrow. All Might did a number of him, and we can never thank you enough for finding him when you did.”
Shigaraki felt his back slide down the tiled wall, a distant reminder of where he was, that he could get caught if he was too loud. He bit into his sleeve, the hot air of his mouth seeping through the cloth, his breaths painfully loud in his ears.
“If it’s for Sensei’s sake,” Kurogiri said, exhaustion evident in his voice, “it’s of no consequence. Thank you for your hard work, Doctor, and please continue taking care of him.”
“Naturally. Please don’t tell the boy yet, by the way - we don’t want to unnecessarily worry him. Now, you better get some sleep yourself; you look dead on your feet.”
There was a faint chuckle from Kurogiri. “So your assistant told me earlier when she asked me to return home. Good afternoon to you, Doctor.”
The television was shut off, and Kurogiri’s steps grew fainter, until Shigaraki could hear the opening and closing of a door.
It was then he finally allowed himself to breathe, the sound bouncing off the tiles, Yet he did not move until his joints protested and the feeling of pins and needles crept into his calves, forcing him to stumble back to his room, dropping himself on the bed and blindly searching for Father’s hand above his pillow.
The Doctor’s words repeated themselves in his mind until he fell into an uneasy sleep.
The light of the midday sun made it impossible for him to put off waking up, Shigaraki groggily sat up, reaching for Father’s hand for reassurance out of habit, and padded out of the room for a shower, grabbing his towel along the way.
Cool, clammy sweat on dry skin was not the best sensation, and he wanted to scrub it off.
(The Doctor’s words were clear. Shigaraki ducked his head as he washed his scratched hands in the sink, his palms rubbing against each other as if he tried to futilely heat them under the steady trickle of water from the faucet, and he avoided looking up for fear of seeing his reflection.)
He mechanically went through the motions of showering, towelling off, brushing his teeth, and trudging to his room to get dressed, tossing his soiled clothes in the laundry hamper.
Ordinary water, ordinary toothpaste, ordinary post-shower fog coating the mirror’s surface. He would go downstairs and eat whatever he’d find in the fridge, unless Kurogiri had prepared something, and the shadowy man would strongly remind him that it was inadvisable for him to neglect the regularity of his body clock, or something of the other. Sensei would call them in the afternoon, and life would be back to normal.
Everything was fine.
Then Shigaraki made the mistake of peering into the basket’s other contents, and spotted Kurogiri’s rumpled vest.
An image of Kurogiri slumped over the kitchen table flashed in his mind. The man had been wearing a vest with undone single column of buttons instead of his double-breasted one.
He’s resting.
Dare he look?
He should be awake tomorrow.
With a trembling hand, he picked it up, the heavy gray cloth smooth beneath the pads of his fingers, and he was careful not to destroy the item. Though similar in appearance, the thickness of its layers meant that this was not part of Kurogiri’s normal bartending outfit, but the customized one with puncture resistant fabric. It smelled faintly of hydrogen peroxide.
All Might did a number on him.
When he checked the threading under the buttons, the threads were stained with a familiar rust color coating.
If it’s for Sensei’s sake, it is of no consequence.
(All Might was the only one in the world who could threaten Sensei.)
His grip loosened, and the vest fell back into the hamper.
Everything was not fine.
He tucked Father’s hand in his front hoodie pocket, the first in a long year and a half that he risked taking it out of the apartment in his long walks, and raised his hood before stepping out the apartment door.
(Father was still with him.)
The world around him faded away, shades of people and buildings passing by him as he drifted, his legs heavily numb. The rustle of feet steadily hitting the pavement and cars speeding by blended into a muffled symphony, syllables and sounds ceasing to have meaning as Shigaraki could only but focus on the Doctor’s and Kurogiri’s conversation.
Before he knew it, he was in front of the older man Dazai had left his squad to, a single sentence and a heavy nod their only exchange before Shigaraki stumbled off again, this time to Warehouse Sixteen.
“Done ranting now?”
“Fuck you,” Shigaraki replied hoarsely through clenched teeth, giving Dazai a baleful glare from beneath messy silvery hair, unwilling to raise his head further and expose his tear-streaked face. It was mortifying enough that Nakahara had taken to sitting beside him when the last of his adrenaline left his system and forced him to his knees, but he also had let slip that Sensei, the man who saved him, had almost died.
Nakahara had slung an arm around his shoulders, and the quieting gesture was alien to Shigaraki, as was the intensity of Dazai’s steady, ruthless stream of questions with no hint of his usual roundabout sarcasm.
Neither of them, thankfully, had yet to ask about Father’s hand.
However, even that was only a small mercy. The brunet messed with him again, fully taking advantage of his state to provoke answers out of him after he clammed up, his thoughts were jumbled somewhere between his raging headache and the back of his skull. Shigaraki’s knuckles still burned in the aftermath of his lashing out, moving with the rage and fear that poured out as Dazai dug deeper, the dryness of his skin lending them to tear and break and bleed easily, and he ached down to his bones.
The pain was inescapable, and Dazai’s inquiry had done its job in hammering the reality of the Doctor’s words home.
Sensei almost died. Sensei almost died, and it was because of All Might.
The sunset bled into the warehouse from its destroyed doors, bathing Dazai’s back in amber and scarlet light, The shadow he cast as he walked towards them was long, enveloping them at first, slowly shrinking until he was kneeling before them.
"Shigaraki Tomura," Dazai’s gaze was unreadable, his tone sombre. "You should already understand that your teacher is not infallible. The closer you are to him, the closer you come to a time when you cannot turn back. There’s nothing normal about this, if that’s what you’re hoping for."
"Har har, " Shigaraki sneered. "I know your side’s still in the dark on what he's been through. How can you think you understand what he’s about?"
Sensei would recover. All Might had failed to kill him, and Port Mafia’s previous generation hadn’t even come this close - that much, he knew.
"Hmm?" Dazai tipped his head, a merciless glint in the dim light entering his eyes his focus strayed from Shigaraki’s face, down to his hands. "Shouldn't you be asking yourself that question?"
What the fuck was Dazai trying to imply?
“Stop messing around!” Shigaraki tried to lunge at him, but was stopped by Chuuya, and he struggled to get free out of the shorter man’s headlock. "Let go, Nakahara! You know he deserves at least a punch."
“Idiot,” Chuuya said, sharply rapping his knuckles on Shigaraki’s temple, away from the mild cuts on his scalp. “Stop getting baited so easily.”
Yeah, right. As if Chuuya himself was successful with that one.
Dazai huffed and made to stand up, dusting his coat. "Your funeral."
“I see.” Mori gestured at the seat to his right. The long, sturdy dining table was conspicuously absent of the sweets and pastries Elise favored, though a tray bearing an ornate tea set was placed near Mori’s elbow where the man was at the far end. “You’ve had a long day, it seems. Tea, Dazai-kun?”
It wasn’t an invitation he hadn’t been expecting since he and Chuuya had parted upon their return to the base.
The polished wooden floor was uncluttered with Elise’s drawing pad and crayons, giving Dazai the undistracted opportunity to study Mori’s amusement as it give way to calm acceptance. This was a long overdue conversation that started with Dazai, not long after their meeting with the Villain, looked over the collection of loose leaf notes and electronic files Mori had hunted down back from their days at the clinic, when Dazai had yet to made up his mind on whether or not he would stay with Mori, or if he'd resign himself to seek sanctuary with his father’s uncomfortably ambivalent side of the family, or if he wanted to bother his mother’s sister with an additional mouth to feed.
(His aunt was kind, if not a bit overbearing in her attempts to make up for her own perceived faults. His cousin found her blameless and his own mother practically had to beg his aunt to accept her assistance, but even her situation as a single mother at the time had not deterred her bullheaded independent streak.
Dazai caught that trail of thought, and huffed.
It’s been a long, long while since he thought of his aunt and cousin.
What a time to remember such sentiments.)
The older man hummed as he poured the steaming tea into both porcelain cups. The fragrant scent of Earl Gray wafted throughout the room, and Mori leaned back in his high-backed chair, lazily draping his wrists on the armrests.
Dazai peered back straight at him from his one visible eye
Seconds turned into minutes as the liquid cooled enough for consumption.
It wasn’t as if they had a lack of observations about the Shigaraki development. Rather, settling on which topic to start with became problematic on occasion, when too much familiarity with the other gave way to predicting what the other would say.
Mori didn’t need to remind Dazai that digging through old files would only serve to reinforce the kind of possibility that awaited them when the Villain recovered, the drastic shift that would grant Shigaraki the attention he craved from his teacher.
Dazai wouldn’t have to remark that Shigaraki, at this point, would remain willingly blind to his own fate, trapped in the contradiction of his own thoughts until it was too late.
Still, starting a conversation would boil down to choosing words.
“Witnessing growing pains can be terrible for the uninitiated,” Mori said simply, and picked up his cup of tea.
Dazai shrugged and reached for the milk and sugar. “An expert, are you?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Mori smiled and sipped his drink. “You allowed yourself to be raised by me, after all.”
Motivation and method, Mori said, his doctor’s coat folded and draped over a chair as he tucked a well-worn primer under the corner the pillow of a young Dazai, who picked up the booklet and tiredly furrowed his eyebrows at the title as Mori continued talking. Interpreting events is a task for the living, yet we may borrow from long dead thinkers to examine how they arrived at their conclusions and discern whether or not they are apt for the situation.
This is a shogi manual, Dazai pointed out blearily, the slight inflection of his tone indicative of his disbelief at Mori’s play on air-headedness, and dropped the primer back on the bed. The boy was pale and obviously exhausted, the clumps of his sweaty, tousled hair splayed on his still damp pillow.
Well, yes. The doctor was perhaps a bit too perky for Dazai’s tastes in two in the morning, hints of irritation bleeding into the boy’s expression. Hadn’t you said you’re still unable to sleep properly because you’re still making sense of the Incident?
The question was followed by silence, but the tug of blankets covering Dazai’s hand was telling. Mori huffed. Oh, this stubborn, precocious child.
If non-admittance was the game Dazai wanted to play, that, too, was fine with Mori.
Seeing as you’d also prefer figuring out what happened yourself instead of merely going with other people’s conclusions, this might prove to be a useful starter exercise. What better use of a game that demonstrates, among other things, how action betrays intent?
Dazai glared up at him, his cheek puffing into an unintentional pout, no doubt already foreseeing the kinds of antics Mori would pull. Do I really have to?
Learning anything is entirely your prerogative, as is pointlessly combing through what you already know by heart with only one style. Ahh, but you need to try to sleep, Mori teased, or else you won’t grow any taller. Deciding what to do about it can wait until the sun’s up. Now, would you want me to leave the door open for the hallway light? Should Elise-chan watch over you again?
I’m not seven anymore, Dazai grumbled into his pillow, and resolutely twisted around to face away from Mori, pulling the blankets with him.
You’re not, Mori agreed indulgently at the boy’s curled up form, and flicked off the light switch before stepping out the room, taking his coat with him.
The door remained unclosed a few inches wide.
Hoping I portrayed Shigaraki well in this one x.x
Nakahara booted and shoved Dazai out of the passenger’s seat window the moment they arrived at the basement parking of the Mori Corporation’s central tower. Shigaraki, huddled in the back with a long black coat serving as a blanket, feet tucked under him and barely responsive for the entire ride, watched the scene with dark hooded eyes, absently stroking the underside of Father’s wrist with his thumb.
“This is a new low even for you, Chuuya,” Dazai wheezed, arms straining, his hands and feet the only things saving him before he tumbled out and landed ass first on the cement. As it was, his folded form had barely fit through the window when Nakahara pushed him out, and had he been wider or any less flexible the muscles of his hips would have been in a world of pain. “You usually wait until the door’s open.”
“Can it, you limp noodle,” Chuuya grumbled, working on prying off Dazai’s fingers a knuckle at a time. “If you want, I can roll up the window and turn you into fettuccine.”
“Uwaa, what a generous offer!” Despite his precarious position, Dazai snickered. “Helping to free me from suffering, wanting to patch up street urchins - are you trying to become Yakushi?” [1]
The lighthearted mood was unreal to Shigaraki, when their exchange in the warehouse kept on playing over and over in his head like a broken record, punctured with the shrapnel of taunts and laughter happening before him. He was too weary to stop the flood of his thoughts, and for the first time in a long while he resisted giving into his drowsiness, afraid of what he’d find in his dreams.
All that was left of him was hollow. Around him, time continued.
“Sayeth the idiot who tried invoking Omoikane,” Nakahara mocked pointedly, flicking a gloved finger to the brunet’s exposed ankle. [1]
Dazai cocked his head, the side of his face visible to Shigaraki hidden by bandages and a fringe of hair. Almost imperceptible, the rhythm was broken.
“Oh, fine! Fine, I see you’re eager to crash your car somewhere,” Dazai said, and neither of the vehicle’s occupants didn’t need to see his face to know he was pouting. The brunet let go with his hands first, allowing himself to dangle from the window before flattening his palms on the pavement, ending up with a ridiculous wobbly handstand as he eased his legs out the window. His feet bobbed slightly as he took a few steps away from the car before he let his feet touch the ground, and let himself collapse with a sigh.
“Have a wretched time,” Dazai called, lazily waving a hand from where he lay as Chuuya sped off. The redhead rolled down his own window to give a one fingered salute.
“Sorry ‘bout that,” Nakahara huffed as they merged back into the sparse nighttime traffic. He adjusted the rearview mirror to peer at Shigaraki as he drove, only to find sunken eyes staring emptily back at him. (It was a look he’d seen before on countless other faces, but the first on Shigaraki.) “Had to get him out or he’d do another round of twenty questions. I don’t know about you, but I’m starving.”
Shigaraki shrugged nonchalantly and closed his eyes, letting out a long breath as he uncoiled his limbs and stretched his long legs out on the backseat. Chuuya had yet to yell at him for the shoeprints he’d leave on the covers, and even with his fried brain he knew it was something he should take advantage of.
“S’quiet now,” he mumbled, letting Nakahara’s long coat slip from his shoulders and pool on his lap, covering his palms cradling Father’s hand. Despite his distraction, it hadn’t escaped his notice that the two twisted their phrases earlier on occasion, perhaps even deliberately using references that Shigaraki wouldn’t get. It only served to highlight his own ignorance, a gap that should not exist.
Neither mythology nor pre-Quirk history had been covered in Kurogiri’s tutoring, and he barely looked up game lore inspiration factoids during or after playthroughs.
How big it was, the world beyond the streets he haunted.
(At some point, Nakahara flicked on the music player, and the smooth notes of jazz filled the silence. Shigaraki couldn’t find the words to give his routine complaint on the redhead’s music choices, and settled for huffing instead.)
They parked the car near Ishikawacho station, close to the trendy Motomachi shopping district. Chuuya stepped out and stuck a hand under his car seat, making a small noise of triumph.
“The fuck,” Shigaraki muttered when he saw the unopened bandage rolls, a first aid kit, and water bottle Chuuya pulled out before sliding into the back seat himself, folding a leg in front of him to keep anything from falling off.
“That piece of shit likes sneaking them in to annoy me,” Chuuya explained, mildly irritated at the small pile of bandages that somehow got past him. “Be glad I didn’t have the car cleaned out yet.”
“I’m not using that guy’s leftovers,” Shigaraki scowled, wrinkling his nose.
“Too bad, they’re the ones available. Just be glad they’re unopened.” Chuuya frowned. “C’mon, pull your sleeves up and give me your hands. The sooner you’re cleaned up, the sooner we can eat without you screaming bloody murder if anyone stares at you funny.”
Shigaraki stared at him, and Chuuya returned the gaze with a stubborn one of his own. Not that he could blame the other for being suspicious, but he wasn’t in the mood to go through the full mistrust stare-off routine Shigaraki did whenever he wasn’t in control of the situation.
“Feel free to explain to your babysitter how you ended up like this.” Chuuya pointed out briskly, a hand on his hip. “It’s not like you can clean this up properly, butter fingers, and I don’t want him poking around. One creep’s enough, thanks.”
Shigaraki grimaced and fidgeted in his seat, clearly uncomfortable, teeth worrying his lower lip as he weighed the pros and cons of the situation. Chuuya waited patiently until the white haired man bit down on his chapped lips and yanked his sleeve up to his elbow, offering his left hand first.
With practiced ease, Chuuya unravelled the bandages covering Shigaraki’s forearm, leaving them to pool on the floor. The skin underneath was dry and irritated, unmarred save for the lines of his veins and an old, faint incision that ran from his wrist to the crook of his elbow.
“You shouldn’t keep your arms wrapped up this much, you know,” Chuuya said, pouring some water from the bottle on a clean handkerchief before wiping down Shigaraki’s forearm and hand, pressing down on the other’s little finger with his thumb as he worked. “Bad for your skin.”
Shigaraki snorted. “Doctor makes me use this cream every now and then for the dryness,” he muttered. “Have to make do since I can’t go out with short sleeves, either.” He jerked when the felt the sting of the ointment Chuuya cottoned onto his chafed knuckles, and scowled when the redhead pressed down on his little finger in warning.
“Fat lot of good that does,” Chuuya said, wrapping up Shigaraki’s left hand before repeating the process to his right. The arm was in a similar condition to its partner, down to the visible web of blood vessels under his thin skin and the faded, surgically precise incision. Chuuya tipped his head downward, long strands of hair covering his face. “The good Doctor mention why your skin’s fucked up?”
Shigaraki shrugged his left shoulder. “Nah. Wasn’t this bad before, but he stopped it from getting worse. I figure it’s my Quirk.”
Chuuya harrumphed and dumped a pack of tissues and the water bottle on Shigaraki’s lap. “Right. Clean your face.”
The withering look Shigaraki sent Chuuya could have corroded steel, a reaction to being bossed around than anything else. True, the other teen was more impulsive than the average guy and lethal without a nullifying ability to keep his Quirk in check, but In Chuuya’s line of work, the threat of death was nothing special.
“If you want to stop being babied,” Chuuya said, unimpressed, “quit looking like you can’t even dig yourself out of the trash heap you lost yourself in. It’s not like the world’s ended.”
“Well, shit,” Shigaraki grounded out, squeezing the pack of tissues with his trembling left hand and letting it break apart into fine dust. “News flash - no one invited you to the pity after party. Why the fuck are you even doing this, anyway?”
Why oh why indeed.
Dazai’s insidious comment from earlier wormed its way into his ear, and Chuuya felt his blood boil.
Are you trying to become Yakushi?
Hopeless fuckers. Even a Buddha would have problems in teaching basic human decency - small acts with no strings attached - to these two socially inept idiots.
He ran a gloved hand down his face. Why he bothered - a question for the ages.
“Okay, first: you’re the one who crashed in,” Chuuya reminded him tartly and flicked his forehead, causing Shigaraki to yelp indignantly. “Get the facts straight. Second: you’re more trouble than you’re worth, but I’d hate to send you back looking like crap, especially when you said you weren’t supposed to know what happened. Something like this isn’t a problem to deal with as long as you aren’t working against us, and it’s not like you heard anything important earlier. Last: you’ll owe me.”
“You’re too soft, Nakahara,” Shigaraki snapped, eyes narrowed, his back firmly pressed on the car door, as if it would create distance between them. He had yet to pull his hand away, however, and Chuuya’s returning grin held a glimmer of teeth, the red hair framing his face gleaming like fire even in the street light.
“You haven’t seen anything yet,” Chuuya said and finished applying the ointment. “In case you hadn’t noticed, you’re still getting kiddie treatment. Nothing personal, but if we had to, you’d be dead right now.”
Shigaraki’s fingers twitched, and he sullenly stared at Chuuya, his face half-hidden in shadow. “So I’ve heard. Not that you guys get off scot free.”
“If.” Chuuya smiled grimly, his hold on Shigaraki’s knuckles firm as he wrapped fresh bandages around his hand. The strips were stark white, concealing the delicate skin underneath. He was reminded of the heel of an elegant palm draped with fine silk, slender fingers curled around a katana’s hilt with ease, the controlled flick of a wrist that could herald compassion or violence. Yet again, he couldn’t help but wonder what form this potential would take.
Certainly Dazai had seen it too: the bastard had a knack for spotting raw talent that could blaze bright with the inferno of a strong will - the retempering of the Black Lizard was proof of that - but in Shigaraki’s case he seemed more interested in seeing the struggle of growth. Always goading but not to the point of no return, ever precise in directing the flow of words, a keen eye never missing the subtlest changes of expression and body language.
Anyone worth their salt in conflict must know how to identify an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses to exploit them, and both Chuuya and Dazai were taught well by two masters of the art.
Oh, how he hadn’t lied that Shigaraki got the kiddie treatment. Still nestled in the folds of Chuuya’s coat next to the water bottle was a rectangle of polished metal that protected a preserved hand.
A person didn’t need to stop breathing in order to die.
“Don’t mess things up,” Chuuya told Shigaraki as he fastened the bandage with a metal clip, “and we won’t have any problems.”
Without his blazer and with his sleeves rolled up, Nakahara looked closer to his actual age, perhaps even younger because of his height. Shigaraki, tall and lanky beside him, silently trudged along, hands in his front pocket, his face clear of the grime from the day.
The flophouse town of Kotobukicho, within walking distance from Ishikawacho station, looked marginally less miserable over the years since several low-rise apartments were refurbished for cheap tourist rental. There were still people living and sleeping out on the sidewalks, covered in week-old newspapers and ratty blankets, surrounded by empty beer cans. One corner housed a crowded yakitori joint. Patrolling heroes made sure the area was undisturbed. Come sunrise, their agency would assist the soup kitchen next door in distributing subsidized meals.
Shigaraki kept his focus on the pavement, presumably not to trip. This was one of the areas he normally avoided, rife with the unemployed and the defeated.
(Even in a world with Quirks, miserable problems like this persisted.
He didn’t want to see - didn’t want to acknowledge it existed.
This wasn’t his problem. Not now, not ever.)
“Why here,” Shigaraki muttered.
“Seemed liked that kind of night.” Nakahara turned away. “I used to see places like this more often before I met anee-san. The Mackerel too, if I’m guessing right.”
Shigaraki looked at him, surprised with the information freely given, but Nakahara briskly walked ahead.
They ended up at an udon stand without incident, sitting between a tanned elderly man in a dark blue polyester jacket and a Western backpacker. The foreigner, upon learning that Nakahara could talk in English, briefly struck up a conversation. Shigaraki, only able to understand the language but not speak it, silently listened in as Nakahara pretended to be a cram school student aiming to get an International Studies degree, utterly sociable and down to earth.
Normally, he would have found amusement at how easily fooled civilians were as they lived on the knife’s edge, when the breakout of a fight would result in them getting caught in the crossfire.
Now, he was just tired.
“And your friend?”
Shigaraki started, focused as he was in deciphering the man’s accent (English? Australian?), flinched at the sudden attention and scowled into his bowl. Under the table, Nakahara lightly dug his heel into his sneaker-clad foot.
“Don’t mind him,” Nakahara said, waving a hand dismissively, a subtle cue to redirect the foreigner back to himself. “He’s had a bad day. Family matters.”
Shigaraki pointedly looked away as he continued to eat his udon, ignoring how the broth messily coated his chapped mouth. Family matters his ass - would Nakahara give some sob story that his father was hospitalized?
...ah. Fuck.
He rearranged the contents of his bowl with the tips of his chopsticks, the thick noodles mixing in with the soggy vegetables.
It was a sour reminder that he didn’t even know how to act normally around Kurogiri. The uncomfortable weight of secrecy weighed heavily in his gut, and he couldn’t even pretend it was the broth. Despite being able to ditch Kurogiri and dodge his questions in the past, Shigaraki had not been faced with the prospect of having to outright lie to the man. If Sensei -
If Sensei called for him, he was so screwed.
Shigaraki morosely picked up a string of udon with his chopsticks, staring at the pathetic thing as it hung limply between the two shaved pieces of wood.
He finished the rest of his bowl in silence.
(Why was he so bad at this?)
Nakahara mildly kicked his shin, breaking the chain of thought. It was then he noticed his hand was shaking, and he’d almost disintegrated his chopsticks and the bowl.
He was so stupidly off his game today, wasn’t he.
Well, whatever. He could always just avoid the situation by sleeping in late as usual and loading up a musou game. Maybe that would take the edge off, if not buy him more time to think of something.
Next to Nakahara, the foreigner had apologized, and switched the topic to something about finding budget-friendly places in Tokyo. The elderly man beside Shigaraki, who had been quietly drinking from a can of beer the entire time after having emptied his bowl, suddenly piped up with a few recommendations in slow, measured syllables, and he had been included in the conversation after that.
As it turned out, he had stopped a few units short of earning a postgraduate degree in his home country and migrated to Japan for work, only to get blinded by his sudden wealth and gradually burying himself in gambling debt.
That was twenty years ago. More time than Shigaraki had been alive.
“Study well, young ‘uns, and work hard.” The elderly man finished his drink and left money at the counter, ending with a round of polite bows and stumbling away from the bench. “Don’t end up like me.”
Great, just what he needed - more useless sob stories. Shigaraki propped his elbow on the counter and restlessly scratched the skin just behind his ear, harsh enough to scrape and bleed, the motion concealed by his mop of hair. He knew he avoided this place for a reason.
How in fuck did guys like that live with themselves?
They were on their third cup of tea, and Dazai kept a pleasant expression firmly in place. Having one eye covered helped. Sweetening his drink too much, however, hadn’t been the best idea. With the prolonged conversation, it was only a matter of waiting before his awakeness from the sugar high plateaued.
Allowing himself to get caught in an unfavorable situation like this - it’s been a while. Mori undoubtedly knew that, too. His question affirmed it.
“Why did you agree to this meeting, Dazai-kun?”
The corners of Dazai’s mouth tipped upward in lieu of a smile. “Weren’t you the one who called me here?”
“There is such a thing as postponing,” Mori said, as if he was commenting on the weather. “Denying yourself the chance to examine the ups and downs of the situation doesn’t suit you, as much as you’d like to believe otherwise.”
Ah. There it was, the reason why Mori had dragged out their talk long after they had concluded their original business, citing the excuse that they needed to finish the pot lest it go to waste. Far be it for his astute mentor to let a perceived blind spot go unchecked.
Defeat or victory is apparent to everyone well in advance of any confrontation: a lesson that was drilled into his head. [2]
In relation: the worst calamities arise from hesitation. [3]
Despite appearances, this wasn’t just about their current discussion.
Based on how the statement was phrased, Mori seemed to be under the impression that Dazai was in denial over something.
Being raised by the paragon of logic was never without risk. Dazai knew this even before he shed his old name, and Mori’s actions never failed to remind him of that fact. Too much familiarity - that also meant the things they also meant to keep to themselves, knowingly or not, were always in danger of being brought to light.
(What was the sort of choice that counted, if everything was a foregone conclusion?)
Mori, seeing in the silence that his question had been delivered, hummed, and the sound dug its claws deep. “Think about it,” he said, and stood up with a groan, stretching his back with a satisfying pop, and saw himself out. “Good night, Dazai-kun.”
[1] Yakushi is "commonly referred to as the "Medicine Buddha", [...] a doctor who cures dukkha (suffering) using the medicine of his teachings." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhaisajyaguru#Role_in_Japanese_Buddhism
Omoikane: "A heavenly deity [...] who is always called upon to "ponder" (omopu) and give good counsel in the deliberations of the heavenly deities." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omoikane_(Shinto)
[2] Defeat or victory is apparent to everyone well in advance of any confrontation. - a quote from Sun Tzu’s The Art of War
[3] The worst calamities that befall an army arise from hesitation - also from Sun Tzu
“You were out late,” Kurogiri observed the following day, placing a plate of sandwich triangles on the clean bar counter. He was once again wearing his typical double-breasted vest, his shirt neatly tucked into ironed trousers, tie properly knotted, sleeve cuffs tidily buttoned up.
Nothing was out of place. It would have been easy to pretend that he had not seen the man slumped over the kitchen table two nights ago, had it not been for his question.
He’d take it, this farce. Anything to distract him from thinking about the Doctor’s words.
Shigaraki made a non-committal noise and scratched his abdomen as he dragged his feet across the floor to reach his usual stool. Even the sandwich was cut and plated impeccably, now that he saw it up close. The bread was lightly toasted and sliced cleanly down the middle without visible finger indents, slotted in place over and underneath layers of fresh tomato slices, hard cheese, folded ham, and crisp lettuce. Toothpicks with crowns of plastic held the composition in place.
If he was admiring a sandwich so soon after waking up, it was safe to say that he shouldn’t have fallen asleep to YouTube clips of cooking contests on autoplay after going through three chapters in the musou game’s story mode.
Hopefully, it was just his hunger talking.
“Shit happened,” he muttered, picking up a triangle and taking a large bite. Mustard coated his lips, and a trail of tomato juice dribbled down his chin. With a squeeze of two fingers and his thumb, the lettuce was bruised, the ham’s fibers torn and frayed, bits of cheese falling off the sides. More tomato-diluted mustard dripped from the lettuce, soaking the edge of the bottom bread slice and spattering onto the plate. Now the sandwich’s perfection was in mutilated ruin, and he chewed slowly, savoring the small victory for what it was worth.
There was a clink of porcelain on the counter. He ignored it, focused entirely on his - late lunch? Afternoon snack? Meal for whatever the time was. All he knew was that on his way down, the sun was high up on a disgustingly clear blue sky.
When he got halfway through his lazy conquest of the plate, he heard Kurogiri clear his throat.
“Tomura-kun,” Kurogiri said. “You usually eat with enthusiasm. Are you not feeling well?”
The pale teen paused mid-bite and scrutinized his sticky fingers. He didn’t want to think about talking just yet, while he wasn’t properly awake. Grumbling, he gave Kurogiri what he hoped was a sullen look. “Coffee.”
Kurogiri gestured to the plain white mug sitting next to his left elbow. The warm brew was light brown, mixed with creamer and two spoons of sugar.
Shigaraki rested the pad of his finger on the side. A smear of yellow-orange-pale red remained on the porcelain when he withdrew his hand. Finding the temperature satisfactory, he took a mouthful, and carried on with his meal at leisure.
After a few moments, a cabinet was opened. Kurogiri brought out a couple of glasses and a dish towel, busying himself with wiping them down.
Keeping his head tipped downward, the fringe of his hair shadowing his eyes, Shigaraki snuck a curious glance at the man from the corner of a sunken eye.
Kurogiri’s misty features barely gave anything away, his shoulders squared as he worked. His hands, however, polished the glasses with too many twists of the towel, and he was slower than usual in going through the already clean set.
“Tomura-kun.” The shadows around Kurogiri’s form flickered. Shigaraki stared at him from the corner of a sunken eye. On the edge of the plate, his little finger twitched. “It seems I have been remiss in my duties to you as of late, when going through adolescence is typically a trying time. Perhaps this is why you are upset?”
Shigaraki took another bite and kicked his own shin under the table, his mind racing to come up with a suitable excuse. If Kurogiri thought he was just going through a typical adolescent problem, maybe this would be easier than he thought. Except, what did most teenagers go through?
He couldn’t say he was worried about failing grades as he wasn’t in school, and his only aspiration in life was to become a villain. Appearances and popularity weren’t high on his list of priorities - he’d be feared and respected, once Sensei revealed himself at the top. There were no hobbies he had other than gaming, and he wasn’t one who participated in fan events or community bullshit. Drama in connection with other people made him want to puke. Basic necessities were always given to him, and he didn’t have to bust his ass for anything.
The concerns of normal people living normal lives in a tableau that would soon come down crashing on them.
The commonplace meant nothing to Shigaraki Tomura. Everything he had ever needed and wanted was taken care of. All that was left for him to do was -
(In case you hadn’t noticed, you’re still getting kiddie treatment.)
Nope, Fucking hell, no. Not here, not now.
His thoughts were still jumbled, blacks and grays and whites and reds all tangled and knotted, He imagined himself tossing the pieces in the washer and watched the folds of his brain come undone.
(He shouldn’t have gone with Nakahara yesterday.)
Without noticing it, his hand was back under his ear, fingers desperately clawing at the scabbed skin, and his chest heaved as he breathed heavily, gasping for air.
With deliberation, Kurogiri placed down the glass he was holding and spoke in slow, measured tones. “Be as it may, for you to resume your old pastime of walking around in the city - especially within questionable neighborhoods - well past midnight is not a productive activity.”
Shigaraki’s eyes widened, and the remains of his soggy sandwich dropped from his loose grip onto the plate. The toothpicks clattered from the impact and rolled off the edge. Questionable neighborhoods past midnight. It was as if the ground had fallen from underneath him, and his back broke out in cold sweat.
This was not what he expected. He forced himself to breathe.
“Kurogiri -”
“Were you harmed, Sensei will be disappointed.”
“Now, should you need me to lend an ear I will happily assist -”
The barstool clattered to the ground when Shigaraki shot up abruptly, reaching to grip the man’s tailored vest. The cloth dissolved into ash, and he was left with holding but air.
“Stop messing with me.” Shigaraki’s breath rattled from his outburst as he braced himself on the counter with the heels of his palms. His unruly, silver hair covered his face, the ends brushing irritatingly on his cheeks and jaw.“You were busy doing things for Sensei, and I was bored. You don’t get to order me around. How the fuck did you know where I was?”
That was not the question he wanted to ask, and he knew from experience never got the explanation he wanted. That wasn’t about to change now.
“You are important to Sensei.” The black mist held himself still and impassive, and his next words were meant to soothe. “He was looking forward to speaking with you when you returned, and he has much to tell you. If you are afraid that you’ve displeased him, I believe he may find your trip excusable. After all, it was only for one night.”
“I... see.” Shigaraki exhaled and curled his hands into fists. Sensei valued him, and he was taken care of.
Deflecting his attention no longer cut it, not when Shigaraki had begun recognizing it for what it was. Kurogiri’s non-answer pissed him off.
“You may want to get yourself cleaned up after eating,” Kurogiri said. “Later this evening, we shall call him.”
Seeing the opportunity to leave, Shigaraki downed the rest of his coffee and abandoned the remains of his sandwich, briskly walking out. The bar top was marred with fingerprints of tomato and mustard.
One night, Kurogiri had said, the phrase echoing in his head, only competing with his footsteps as he stomped up the stairs. When he got to his room, he slammed the door shut and locked it before throwing himself on the his bed.
It wasn’t as if they had agreed on a curfew - he would’ve thrown a fit . If he had gone out, he usually was back around seven or eight, ten at the latest, a couple of hours before Kurogiri’s report, unless he was tempted by one arcade game too many - it wasn’t his fault that the facilities were open 24 hours and got less crowded the longer he stayed.
Still - one night. Too specific, one instance out of many.
Maybe he was overthinking things.
Your old pastime. Kurogiri’s deft hands were slow in cleaning those glasses. Questionable neighborhoods.
Shigaraki hissed and slammed his fist on the mattress, using a pillow to muffle a scream. Father’s hand, which he’d left before going down, remained still at the head of the bed.
The possibility of being tracked was something he hadn’t considered before.
(He felt like an idiot.)
He wasn’t dense or slow or stupid. He wasn’t.
There were no places to hide surveillance equipment in his room - he learned how to check for those, after Dazai snuck a coin-sized wireless mic in his pocket one day and proceeded to do the most embarrassing impersonation of Kurogiri, citing each nagging line word for word, the next time they bumped into each other at the game cafe.
The walls were relatively bare save for two game posters that Shigaraki glued to the surface. They remained flat and slightly crooked, no air bubbles or bumps to show anything underneath, the edges well-preserved with no nail marks. The lone shelf he had was lined to the brim with game disc cases, and he had the PC camera and microphone unplugged. Anything planted into his clothes would just be ruined by constant washing.
On top of it all, he was tracked yesterday. That took the cake.
Someone was messing with him.
(Did he want to know?)
Shigaraki tore through the shelves.
“Shigaraki Tomura seems to be indisposed at the present. Please pass my apologies to Sensei for the delay, and inform him that we can proceed in your morning.”
“Oh? He did not look ill when he ate. Should I head over and check?”
“No need, Doctor. It seems to be a personal issue.”
“Was that why he made such a mess? How unusual. Very well. Please look into it,”
“It’s been taken care of.” A pause. “He explained his poor judgment as an act of boredom.”
The Doctor gave a hearty laugh. “Well, that is not so surprising - he’s around that age. Not to worry, Kurogiri. He’ll have something else to do soon enough.”
“Hey, Ango,” Dazai called when their third arrived. “Which do you prefer - spring or autumn?”
Ango raised an eyebrow as he took his usual seat and briefly glanced at Oda, who shrugged.
“Dazai seems to be surveying people as of late,” Oda explained.
“I see.” Then, to Dazai, “and you omitted summer so he couldn’t pick the one with the most festival food stalls?”
Dazai just snickered and clapped Oda’s shoulder conspiratorially when the other didn’t deny the accusation. “That’s how it is. Your answer to the five thousand yen question?”
“Worth a few drinks, hmm?” Ango ordered his usual from the bartender and tapped his finger thoughtfully on the counter. “Let’s see. Both have their merits, but if Odasaku’s chosen Autumn, I’ll go with Spring. Your turn.”
“Ahh, how to choose.” Dazai hummed. “It’s as you said. Imagine if we could combine hanabi with momijigari - we could drink outside for weeks on end! ”
“In that case,” Oda observed, “it would also be possible to have shaved ice with fresh snow during the summer.”
“Snow on the beach,” Dazai proposed, a mischievous glint in his eye.
The both of them turned expectantly to Ango, who shook his head. “The both of you are ridiculous.”
Dazai did his best kicked puppy expression. Oda had not moved.
Ango tried his best to maintain his frown, and caved when Oda’s eyes briefly flickered to Dazai’s glass, empty but for melting ice, in silent communication.
“Oh, fine, just this once.” Ango huffed. “A snowy Christmas on Tanabata.” [1]
“How mean,” Dazai said, bursting out in laughter and clutching his stomach.
(It went unsaid that given the meteorological impossibility, Dazai would likely have chosen neither, if he could not selfishly have both.)
They didn’t see Shigaraki in the weeks that followed that long day. Neither were there any changes in Kamino ward, though that observation was unreliable due to the existence of a certain bartender with a teleportation Quirk.
The downtime, if it could be called that, suited Dazai just fine. One stubborn child a day was enough, and Akutagawa Ryuunosuke possessed obstinacy to the point of foolishness in spades.
“You know,” he said conversationally as Akutagawa struggled to pick himself up from the floor with shaking limbs, his breaths echoing hollowly in the training area, “if I knew you were this much of an idiot, I would’ve left you to the dogs that day. Has being riddled with holes become a more attractive prospect than breathing? I’m sure we can arrange something.”
Violence: the currency of crime, a disruption of the status quo, the feast that resentment engorged itself upon. It was the trade Dazai and Akutagawa had made: the souls of Akutagawa’s pursuers, for his and his sister’s lives.
Nothing was without cost.
“N-no need, Dazai-san.” The dark-haired teen wheezed and wiped the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, swaying as his knees supported his weight. Even with the other’s head partly bowed, Dazai could see the darkness in his eyes, a ravenous abyss as fierce as his Quirk’s capacity to devour. Akutagawa’s coat hovered about him despite the stillness of the air, its threads extended and poised to strike at a moment’s notice.
The sheer thirst for approval that could only be consummated with destruction - that was nothing new. It was a well-worn road bearing the echoing footsteps of the deceased, the heritage of those with the misfortune of falling between the cracks of humanity’s surface, ever growing closer to basic instincts.
The old boss’ regime certainly thrived on it, exemplary in the efficient application of brutality even before their decline. This, too, was the motivation of Akutagawa’s pursuers, the wish to pretend to their superiors that the shipment had gone on without a hitch, only for them to end up executed for one mistake too many.
(Each and every one, models of absurdity at its finest. May the soil that drank their blood remain parched, for the night was endless!)
Then there were those like Akutagawa. Born and raised in violence, until it was the only language that could piece through the meaninglessness of existence, spite ensnaring the very core of their being out of contempt for those that abandoned them to such a fate.
Perhaps, if Dazai was a saintly man, or if Akutagawa was any less adrift, the method of getting across the necessity of this exercise would be different, if they had ever met at all. But that was not the case, and they’d have to make do with what was.
“Then spare me the work and recover faster.” Dazai took his time to reload the cylinder of his gun. Six bullets. Six chances to dodge and remain ungrazed amidst a flurry of kicks and punches. Far better to taste fighting against the fear of death in a controlled environment, rather than freezing in its face during a crucial moment. If there was a kinder way, Dazai certainly didn’t know of it. “You believe yourself to be tough, but you are unnecessarily reckless. Out on the field, being defeated because of that will mean your death.”
Akutagawa’s eyes narrowed. The dark tendrils of his coat twisted menacingly with his agitation in silent defiance of his own frailty. Such tenacity of the spirit was a virtue, yet by allowing its demonic strength to possess him instead of the other way around, it was needlessly squandered on pointless pursuits.
The intent of a naked blade was so easily seen from afar, indiscriminate in the path it carved, leaving it vulnerable to being disarmed.
“Understood,” Akutagawa replied. The inner fire that so consumed him from the darkness said otherwise, threatening to reduce his potential for growth to ash and cinder before it could take root.
Inexcusable.
Dazai quirked an eyebrow and cocked his gun at Akutagawa. The safety was off. “Do you now,” he challenged, and fired the first shot.
(Wretched survival was not the same as living.)
A chilly evening found Dazai at the Bar Lupin, his elbows propped on the counter and fingers laced as he contemplated over his second drink of the evening.
Soon enough, Shigaraki would be coaxed to joining the ranks of professional violence. When they last parted, the other’s thoughts were in such a precarious state, seeking refuge in eradicating external contradiction to cope with his inability to reconcile his desires with reality, ignorant of his actual place within his supposed savior’s finely woven net.
That was fine, for now.
Questions were finicky creatures, demanding attention one way or the other once one became cognizant of them, and they didn’t take well to being ignored. All it would take was one nudge, one push to crack the thin layer that separated one set of information from the other, and Shigaraki would come hunting in desperation for closure.
All things considered, Shigaraki’s pace at going about things, despite the disadvantage of having a questionable state of health and a scrambled mind, was decent enough. It was an interesting example of how his obsessive nature worked in his favor, instead of against.
For Dazai, all that was left was to wait and see. For all the time he’d spent pondering on this situation, going over what he already knew would not yield any new conclusions.
He was brought out of his thoughts by a meow.
There was a calico cat perched on Oda’s usual stool that had not been there when he arrived. It had a large dark brown patch covering its left eye, and its fur was healthy. There was no collar around its neck, though its claws seemed trimmed.
It would not have been out of place, had they been at a park instead of a bar.
Dazai tipped his head.
The cat’s left ear twitched. It meowed again, and scratched behind its ear with a hind paw.
He reached out to scratch its chin just as Oda entered the bar, and the cat slinked off, the tip of its tail touching Oda’s ankle for the briefest of moments before padding up the stairs. The both of them watched it leave.
What a curious creature.
“You’re here early.”
He lifted his chin to see that Oda’s attention was now on the almost empty glass by his elbow. Dazai smiled.
“Do you own a cat?”
Surprise flitted across Oda’s features before he slipped off his overcoat and made himself comfortable. “Not at the present. If I were to have a pet, though, I might prefer a dog. Why?”
“That one seemed to like you.” The brunet chuckled and mimed the arm movement of a Maneki-neko. “Shall we take this as a favorable omen?” [2]
“That means our luck has left the room.” Oda requested for whiskey from the bartender. “However, we can still pray for good fortune.”
“Ah, you’re right. Then, may we never suffer from afflictions.” Dazai waited for Oda’s drink to be served and clinked their glasses together. He let the last drops of whiskey linger on his tongue, and a sardonic smile curved his lips. “They are downright terrible.”
[1] Hanabi: Cherry blossom viewing
Momijigari: A tradition to “visit scenic areas where leaves have turned red in the autumn.” (from the wiki). Also called “kouyou”.
For Tanabata and Christmas: It’s said that the magpies that form the bridge between Orihime and Hikoboshi cannot come if it rains on Tanabata, and in Japan Christmas is a day for lovers. Just substitute snow for rain and, well.
[2] Maneki-neko: that mechanical beckoning cat you see in stores used as a talisman of sorts, for prosperity and good fortune.
I think I've dropped enough clues on Shigaraki's condition? Hoping I did that right. Either way, if things go as planned next chapter, Dazai will string the pieces together.
Please let me know what you think :)
Oops. Sorry, chapter got long, had to move the Dazai convo to the next half.
For now, enjoy~
Shigaraki lay on the mattress, arms limply stretched on either side of him and one leg dangling off the edge by the knee. It was the only clear space in the mess that was his room, piles of CD cases and emptied boxes full of old books unearthed from under the bed strewn haphazardly on the floor. The swivel chair in front of his PC served to support the pile of clothes he’d raided from his closet, an assortment of casual shirts, jeans, hoodies and scarves that were mostly black, with the occasional shade of dark gray. The sunset filtered into his room from between the window blinds, leaving a dark orange glow on the opposite wall.
He closed his eyes. Without his usual music playing on the speakers, he could pick up the faint sounds of city traffic from the distance. It was easy to imagine the ebb and tide of pedestrians boarding the subway and crossing streets, of cars and trucks speeding off to their destinations, of children making home and of office workers grabbing snacks from the convenience store for the rest of their colleagues clocking overtime.
Unfortunate, how letting his thoughts wander wouldn’t bring him any closer to why he wrecked his room.
His pulse was no longer in any hurry to escape him, but the tightness in his chest remained, coiled and restrictive.
In the recesses of his mind, in that very moment he‘d gone through the last stretch of space, the unbearable etched itself in the back of his skull, tucked away from daylight, buried underneath the mass of images and colours and sound.
He couldn’t bear endangering it. The one thing that remained intact in the room.
Nothing went the way he wanted it to.
He reached above his head, keeping his pinky tucked into his palm, took Father’s hand, and carefully fitted the preserved digits on the frame of his face, the tip of his nose gently bumping on that cared for, weathered skin. Just like old times.
Shigaraki succumbed to his thoughts and let them crumble away, meaningless disjointed syllables in a swirling storm.
That was how he drifted off to the uneasy line between dreaming and waking. Human remains spilled from his hands, white walls splattered with blood, blinded by hazes of bright light, solid metal on his back, his arms heavy, breath restricted, the tinkling of glass rolling closer to his ear.
Father had looked for him that day before it all started. The sound of his shoes echoed on the wooden floor.
It was a reticent Shigaraki that met with Sensei. His hair was bedraggled, the tail of his shirt stuck out from the hem of the sweater he jammed on when Kurogiri roused him for dinner, and he had walked down barefoot in spite of the chill.
He felt like shit, and he was aware it showed.
Perhaps it was because he was drained that he got through the entire conversation without flinching, even when his supposed misdemeanor was brought up.
Kurogiri had remained silent, the mist that made up his body flickering in spite of his outward composure.
You’re a terrible liar. Sensei’s breathing was labored. It was difficult to tell what he actually thought. Idle curiosity would not have made exposing yourself to misery any more tolerable. Was there anything you hoped to find in such a place?
Shigaraki shrugged and bowed as he stared at the weathered palm cradled in his hands in recollection of fear. His younger self, unable to find solace in sleep, heart pounding in his chest as he muffled his sobs. Afraid he’d be thrown out for all his noise, his precariousness, his constant shifts between attempts at assertiveness and natural timidity. Relapsing to such behavior that Sensei had rectified - where did that leave him? Did I - are you angry, Sensei?
Anger meant so many things. Uncomfortable, but easier to live with than the specificity of asking if he’d failed to meet Sensei’s expectations.
You haven’t answered the question, Tomura-kun, Sensei replied. How do I know if I should be or not?
Shigaraki exhaled through his nose. The sojourn to the warehouse, the faint scrapes of his knuckles covered by the hem of his oversized sweater, dinner at a barely passable udon stand. The conversation between Nakahara and the two men. What could he possibly say about that?
(Family matters was Nakahara’s take on the affair. Boredom was his own just that morning, spat out in anger, a generalization of all his previous trips.
Oh. He didn’t have to lie after all…. Did he?)
I wanted to see it, Sensei, he said, the phrase spilling out of his lips, and it tasted like ash on his tongue. Why it is that the world is warped.[1]
The beeping of medical equipment continued filtering in from the speakers, Behind the bar counter, Kurogiri shifted, the faint scuffle of his shoe audible on the wooden floor.
Shigaraki dared not breathe.
Then, there was the huff of laughter from Sensei’s end.
What a nostalgic turn we’ve taken. How time flies. It seems it was only yesterday I had promised that you need not fear the people who will have hunted for you, and it was for your sake we’ve kept you away from conflict. In my absence, however, you’ve grown restless, and we should have identified the signs sooner. Sensei made a thoughtful sound. Then, I am not angry, and Kurogiri shall continue watching over you in my stead.
Shigaraki kept his head still and glanced at Kurogiri from the corner of his eye. The man was impassive, though the mist about him no longer fluctuated restlessly.
He sucked in a breath, nodded, and finally looked up Thank you, Sensei. He paused and bit his lip. Was this why you called?
Originally? No. Now he could hear the mild teasing lilt in the man’s voice. Care to guess?
Another familiar phrase, a game they played on Sensei’s rare personal visits to either the bar or at the Doctor’s office when Shigaraki was due for a check-up. Shigaraki clutched Father’s palm and allowed himself to believe that maybe, maybe the worst was over, and there would be no need to revisit it.
He tested the waters.
Did… did you find a new Quirk you liked?
Shigaraki exhaled and tried again. New research?
That would be the Doctor.
New business?
In a way.
A profitable one?
Beneficial, but not with monetary value.
Shigaraki furrowed his brow, unable to think of anything else that would be relevant to a new non-profit venture that wasn’t Quirk-related. Sensei loved playing around with Quirks - the man had a lot to say about their development and biology over the years, and Shigaraki had the vague impression it was one of the reasons why Sensei and the Doctor got along so well.
He curled his lip, irritated that he couldn’t come up with an answer. Those aren’t enough clues, he protested.
Are they not? Sensei made a thoughtful sound. How about this, Tomura-kun: do you still wish to become a villain?
Shigaraki choked on air and scrambled closer to the speaker next to the monitor, Father’s hand safely tucked in his jacket front pocket. With that one question, it was as if his mind cleared, and the weight on his shoulders melted away. I can become one already?
(With this, maybe everything would go back to normal. Back to where it began, with fewer complications, untroubled by uncertainties and contradictions.)
Sensei laughed softly. Not so fast. It’s easy for anyone to become a villain, but to be one of the best and recognized as such - that takes time, and a whole lot of willpower.
Shigaraki strained his ears, hanging on to every word.
Show me your resolve, Tomura-kun. Tell me why you wish to become a villain, and I’ll give you the grandest of debuts. Here, Sensei paused, and there was a dark undertone in his chuckle. Perhaps even nothing less than the death of All Might.
There was a brief flash of white-hot pain on his lower lip, and the tang of copper covered the tip of his tongue. It was then he realized that his thin, chapped lips were stretched and cracked in a wide smile full of teeth.
“Good work,” Dazai said as a blonde girl wearing a middle school uniform slipped in the car, and handed her an individually wrapped green tea daifuku. “Now, what did you think of this assignment?”
Akutagawa Gin took the offered sweet and returned to him the earpiece hidden under her hair before slipping off the wig she wore. Her long, black hair spilled over her thin shoulders. “It was… uncomfortable. Sir.”
Dazai hummed. The siblings shared that distinctive forthrightness expressed through action. As with her older brother, Gin would not stand to be what she did not identify as herself. “Alright, then. Let’s cross espionage from our list. In the end, it is better to play to one’s strengths.” His gaze lingered in the alley she emerged from, a shadowy strip between two buildings bathed in the afternoon sun. “Your brother will not thank you for following him to the trade, you know. He didn’t ask us to train you, only that we protect you in our territory.”
Gin nodded. Her slender hands were neatly folded in her lap, and her bony knees, covered with black leggings, showed from the hem of the borrowed uniform skirt. “I am aware.”
“And what will you tell him when he finds out?”
The girl’s soft, high-pitched voice belied the steel of her intent. “That I will do as I always have.”
Predictable, yet it was not blind devotion nor simple familial piety that motivated her. She was much too clear-headed for that. “Even with the corpses he leaves in his wake?”
“Even to hell.”
Dazai’s lip curled. A bold declaration, from one who was not lost. Neither of them needed to say that the pits of society afforded no one the innocent fancies of childhood once they became cognizant of the sickness and death so close to where they slept. Still, this early exposure served not to rattle the girl’s thoughtful awareness, but to strengthen it. Her reserved nature, that constancy and resoluteness unfettered by rage or despair - those were her assets.
In this way, Gin was wiser than her brother. Instead of resigning herself to being collateral insurance should Akutagawa risk failure, she chose to unburden her brother by having the Mafia treat her as an operative independent of her brother, gaining combat capabilities along the way, and eliminating any potential communication or information clearance gap between them by entering the same space he now walked.
It didn’t matter that she was Quirkless, not with how the organization currently operated, and she would subtly carve her place. Neither sibling would be able to leave the Mafia - Akutagawa’s steadfast nature and growing desire to prove himself through bloodlust made sure of that. Yet, Gin would make sure they both weathered the storm intact.
It was a clever plan that sliced through several obstacles in a single stroke, making the best out of what many would consider a losing situation. Mori would approve of the conscious exercise of thought.
Dazai smiled. “That’s that, I suppose. Now, as promised, our kind driver will take you to see your brother.” He opened the door on his side and stepped out. “It’s his day off today. He should be resting, though it’s more likely he’s sparring against Tachihara. Do try to get along with him. Or not, if you don’t want to.”
Gin nodded, despite not knowing who Tachihara was. She’d meet him soon enough.
Dazai grinned and gave her a cheerful wave before shutting the door.”
That was a month ago, and Sensei had given him time to think about his response. It was only in hindsight, the more he dwelled on the question Sensei had given him, that he realized it was a test. He hadn’t come any further in his reasoning than wanting to fuck shit up.
The teen grimaced as his character respawned at a bonfire and exited to the menu screen. Attempting a Souls SL1 run while he was bogged down wasn’t doing him any favors. He set down the controller on the floor and picked at his ankle, tracing the dry skin stretched thin across the bone’s apex with the edge of his thumb nail.
Why wasn’t wanting to become a villain enough? Did Sensei want him to describe in graphic detail how much he wanted to rip apart and turn the world inside out? Being recognized as a villain meant that a person was known a scourge against society by committing crimes and destroying things, and Shigaraki was obsessed with the desire to tear everything down - wasn’t that enough of an expression of willpower?
Wasn’t that kind of simplicity the purest expression of intent?
(Would Sensei have posed this challenge if Shigaraki hadn’t been caught out? How much did Sensei know? His younger self would have revelled in the thought that Sensei cared enough to personally watch him from afar, but a year’s worth of eavesdropping made him wonder why Sensei would do that and have Kurogiri make all those calls. Wasn’t that redundant for a busy man?)
Why was everything about becoming a villain suddenly complex?
(Why did Sensei make this complicated?)
Shigaraki’s fingers viciously twitched as he shoved the unwanted thoughts away.
His eyes strayed to the mild burn on his ankle, and he cursed, picking himself up from the floor to grab a band-aid from the box Kurogiri hid away behind the medicine cabinet. Chafed skin on that spot was a bitch to walk around with.
The second month had him going so far as to seek out privacy in an internet cafe that the cyber homeless frequented while he looked up how the government identified a person as a villain. [2] It was either he deliberately commit a single, devastating act that threatened public safety, moreso if it resulted in high casualties and property damage, or became a repeat law offender.
(There was another section on how cases involving accidental Quirk use were treated. Shigaraki skipped that part entirely, thinking he already knew what he’d find.)
All that only accounted for the shmucks that they either caught or had evidence against. Right at that moment, Shigaraki could just disintegrate people off the street to make the announcement himself only to get arrested -
(The aimless application of violence. How the words from that shitstain left a sour taste in his mouth. Shigaraki wanted that phrase to burn.)
Among them, there was no doubt Sensei was the greatest villain of them all. Yet in the eyes of the public he only existed as a rumor that persisted in an online forum’s urban myths section.
(They don’t want to get along with people like you and me, said the man who had lived at a time long before Heroics was an actual profession, when he gathered the disenfranchised and gave them the feared power of newly emerged Quirks to fight against people who discriminated against them. Shigaraki could admit to himself now that Sensei’s origin as a villain came across as something akin to a present day vigilante’s, and by government rule even a vigilante was seen as a repeat offender of law - a villain.
It wasn’t that he cared about public morality or the people Sensei had worked with at the time. What mattered more in Shigaraki’s eyes was the incongruity. Sensei had to go underground to destroy those who turned against him out of fear, and Shigaraki wanted to tear down those who made it necessary for Sensei to hide him away in the first place.
Fear. Everybody played pretend nicely, bowing their heads and ignoring what they were afraid of. That was fine; Shigaraki would be happy to turn everything inside out for them.
No hero, even that bastard All Might, would not be able to save a society that drowned in primal terror if they all deteriorated at the same time.
How useless.)
Sensei wanted him to be recognized as one of the best villains, and offered to give him a large debut to declare his presence. The possible involvement of All Might meant that, one way or another, it was going to be public, and not limited to the awareness of the criminal underworld.
To kill All Might - Sensei surely had a plan. That was Sensei’s, and Shigaraki had no problems with using it.
However, it would only come after Shigaraki figured out what kind of resolve Sensei meant.
His thoughts led him once again to replaying old discussions with Dazai on the purpose of violence, and the man’s rejection of being called a villain. Just dwelling on it left him with an itch he wanted to scratch. Intent didn’t matter - the world dealt with and ran on actions and consequences.
(It never had occurred to him at the time to ask what Dazai’s understanding of being a villain was.
Did it matter now, when Shigaraki would show society how far it could crumble?)
The end of the third month found Shigaraki outdoors. The Osanbashi Pier was more crowded than usual, tourists and locals alike flitting about the various stalls selling Hawaiian goods inside and out of the terminal building, carrying on despite the summer humidity. Speakers were set up around the venue to carry the music of whoever was performing, and the air was abuzz with guitar strums, conversation, and laughter. [3]
Shigaraki, seated on one of the steps that led down to the outdoor stage, stuck out like a sore thumb in the sea of color and gaiety, with his all-black ensemble and his hood up to hide his scarred and wrinkled features. Yet, no one seemed to pay attention. In a crowd, he was just one more face obscured in anonymity.
A public declaration of villainy by destroying all these smiling faces - that was what he wanted.
He still couldn’t express why if it was a soliloquy that Sensei wanted, and maybe he was the one overthinking it, in the aftermath of chasing after questions and answers. There was only his fundamental need to wreck everything he found disagreeable, and for him it was enough of a resolve.
There was no longer a real need for him to wander. All his walking around was more out of habit than anything.
(See, Dazai? There is no point.)
Shigaraki sipped his drink from a straw, letting the cool liquid wash down his parched throat, and closed his eyes to block out the sunlight. On the platform below, a solo performer, far enough that Shigaraki couldn’t see his face, was seated on a high stool, talking a little about his experiences in Hawaii before starting his next song.
A bead of sweat rolled down his damp back. He stifled a groan and tugged at his shirt to unstick it from his skin, and the weight of the hand in his front pocket bumped his abdomen.
Evening would’ve been a better time to go, were it not for Sensei’s call. The man was no doubt anticipating his answer.
Below on the platform, the singer’s voice was pleasant, and his strums rang clearly. The notes mingled in perfect harmony.
Too bad it wouldn’t last.
“I want to destroy this fake, rotten society, Sensei.” Shigaraki’s voice was clear, his eyes dark and determined. “Stupid, meaningless things - I’ll tear them all down and show them what they’re really afraid of.”
Short, sweet, and straight to the point.
Sensei accepted it.
(What sort of test was it meant to be, if Sensei had only asked a few cursory questions to clarify his understanding? Used as he was to things not going the way he wanted it to, he waited for the other shoe to drop.)
“Time to take your place in the world, Tomura-kun.” There was a calm, malicious satisfaction in his tone. “I’ll see if I can find another suitable Quirk that will aid you. In the meantime, the Doctor will introduce you to Nomu.”
It was later.
"There are ways to test Quirk compatibility, Tomura-kun," the Doctor said. "You need not worry yourself about that. Sensei already knows your aptitude for it."
(The good Doctor mention why your skin’s fucked up? Nakahara had asked.
Nah. Wasn’t this bad before, but he stopped it from getting worse. That was Shigaraki's reply. I figure it’s my Quirk.)
The other shoe dropped.
A worn flat pot planted with stripped twigs was delivered to the security guards stationed outside of Mori Corporation’s ground floor lobby. It was addressed to one Dazai Osamu, who they called while their specialists scanned the arrangement for anything suspicious.
“Just send me the photos, Hirotsu-san,” Dazai instructed over the phone as he browsed through a forum thread loaded with speculation on underground heroes, “and leave it in the lobby. I’ll have someone pick it up later.”
When he got the sound notification after the call ended, he opened his email and downloaded the image files. What he saw made him grin in amusement.
The thin branches were made to look like a clump of dead trees, their leaves plucked, the bark roughly sliced off and sanded in some places. At the center of the grove, surrounded by the soil that covered the floral foam the wood was sticking out of, was a gashapon bust of Karin in her iconic pose, the back of her hand tucked under her chin, her other arm wrapped around her waist.
“Well, what do you know, anee-san,” Dazai murmured to himself as he studied the invitation. “Your reluctant listener seems to have picked up something, after all.”
Going through the month’s intel on hero movements could stand to wait. He picked up his phone and made three calls and two text messages. One of them read as such:
On second thought, give the pot to Chuuya. Please and thank you ☆ ～('▽^人)
[1] BNHA ch88 - compared the FAS and MS translations and took liberties
[2] Cyber homeless - also known as net cafe refugees. There are 24-hour net cafes in Japan that have people living out of it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Net_cafe_refugee
[3] Aloha Yokohama - apparently an annual event, held around the end of July
9.17: Minor edits.
“Keenly interested in this, are you?”
“Of course.” Ango’s face was angled towards Dazai, the bar’s backlight illuminating half his face and glinting off his glasses. “Perhaps it’s from my time at the firm, but I find irregularities like that irksome.”
“You would.”
Paper scraped across wood, and there was a light bump on Ango’s right elbow. He made a sound from the back of his throat, and looked down to see an envelope the size of a greeting card. Ango broke the tape sealing the flap and took out its contents.
They were photographs, the top one showing the interior of an old warehouse through a glass pane. Workers were shown bearing several large tanks, long pipes, and various pieces of equipment. A fifth of the righthand side of the image was unnaturally dark. The other photos were captured from the same angle. He blinked and glanced at Dazai, who was still nonchalantly swirling his drink, gaze affixed at some point beyond the liquor display.
“Dazai?”
“Think of it as payback for the amount of poking around you’ve had me do.” A soft, distant chuckle escaped his lips, and there was a crinkle in the corner of Dazai’s visible eye. “I imagine you won’t be able to sleep tonight, and you’ll be fairly cranky in the days ahead. Tell me: when you brought it up the first time, did you know that we’d end up with something that sounded like an urban legend?”
“Specifically? No. If it must be a ghost story, I’d rather have it confined to paper.” Ango paused. “Why give these to me, though?”
“It’s nothing the boss isn’t aware of.” Dazai waved a bandaged hand languidly. “Besides, who else can I show this to, but you? You’re the one who made us aware of the problem, and sooner or later you’d encounter it.”
“I see.” Ango tucked the envelope in his inner coat pocket. As the mafia’s intelligence agent, he reported directly to the Boss. For these to be handed to him sideways, outside of formalities and without specific instructions - well. It was food for thought. “I’ll make sure to review them carefully, then.”
“By all means,” Dazai murmured, and sipped his drink. “They are a rather slippery group.”
In that fleeting moment, with his visible eye sliding shut, he looked at peace.
Shigaraki entered the game cafe that evening, keeping his hood up as he made his way to the consoles. It was more crowded than usual with most schools having no classes for the summer holiday, and he grimaced when he passed by a particularly rowdy group that kept egging on two of their friends engaged in a 1v1.
The arcade was probably noisier.
To his surprise, he found a thoroughly vexed Nakahara straddling one of the chairs instead of Dazai, arms gripping the backrest in front of him, lips drawn in a scowl. The moment the redhead spotted him, the short man jabbed his thumb in the direction of the empty seat to his right.
Shigaraki sat down. Before he could ask what the other man was doing here, Nakahara yanked him by the collar of his shirt to hiss in his ear, bracing his elbow on Shigaraki’s shoulder to mask it as a friendly gesture to anyone passing by. “Explain why you showed up when the Mackarel asked me to wait for a wrinkly Sephiroth wannabe going through an early quarter-life crisis.”
Shigaraki scowled and struggled over which part of that stupid sentence he should shred first. “I don’t look like -”
“Your mug’s uglier,” Nakahara cut in tartly, and pushed him back, tossing a controller in his lap, and started ticking off the points from his fingers. “What else was there - you’re shit at calm and collected, any hits you’d take would cripple you, like hell can your body have enough power for a sword swing to cut through a building, you can’t even hold the hilt properly, and any theme song made for you would be sang by yowling cats to the tune of an off-key vuvuzela.” The redhead stared at his fingers and nodded to himself. “Yeah, that’s it.”
“Forgot to mention I don’t have his height, but that’d mean calling attention to how short you are,” Shigaraki muttered, his mind caught somewhere between the vuvuzela comment and recalling Sephiroth’s backstory. Dazai, that fuck, was taunting him with information even when he wasn’t physically present, and Shigaraki wanted to sock that smug face of his. “That shitty list barely scratches the plot. Did you just grab that description off some cutscene video summary?”
“Fuck you,” Nakahara shot back. “‘Sides, why would I slog through a hundred hours controlling a pixelated blob when I can kick ass on a daily basis?” He glanced at the screen in front of them, which proudly displayed the Street Fighter main menu screen. “No, don’t answer - if you two morons think playing that’ll help you in an actual brawl, I’ve got news for you.”
“I know the difference,” Shigaraki sneered and jabbed the keys to select challenge mode for a warmup. “Is that asshole even heading here?”
“After a while,” Nakahara grumbled, and didn’t offer further explanation.
Somewhere around the third trial, Shigaraki asked, “Why do you put up with it?”
“Could ask you the same question, dustball,” Nakahara shot back, rolling his eyes. “You willingly hang out with him, but I’m stuck with that selfish bastard.”
“You don’t let anyone else mess with you.” Shigaraki’s sunken eyes were focused on the screen, his fingers dancing on the controller with well-practiced motion. “Why’s he different?”
Why should he be trusted?
“Why in fuck.” Nakahara sighed and traced the backrest of the chair. “He’s a slacker and I hate his guts, but he’s effective when he wants to be. Whatever his messed up mind cooks up works, and anyone trying to pull a fast one only realizes it’s the other way around after the fact. I’d have to be stupid to ignore that.”
“Isn’t that giving away a secret?” Shigaraki felt the corners of his mouth tighten. He swapped characters. “You’re telling me this because…?”
“Don't be dense.” Nakahara ran a gloved hand down his face. “It’s nothing new - they even have a saying for it and all. Hasn’t it been obvious from your following around?”
He gave the shorter man a dark, flat stare. Ever the outsider he was, peeking in what seemed like an exclusive club where everyone apparently knew everyone else, Shigaraki had only gleaned general euphemisms for actions and groups from eavesdropping. He hadn’t gone so far as to actually converse with anyone, and meatier information that required calling out specific names and monikers were usually reserved for more secluded areas - not, say, a restaurant’s dining area. Or a game cafe, for that matter. Either Nakahara thought otherwise, or he was confident no one listening in would be able to understand who they were alluding to.
Then again, neither of them had outright referred to Dazai throughout the conversation. Shigaraki didn’t want to dwell on if it was just him used to the other’s style of talking, or if somewhere along the way he started picking up their manner of indirectness.
“Figures.” Light blue eyes bore into him in assessment, and Nakahara leaned closer, voice dropping in volume. “Look, back to your question - we both know he’s a dick. Now, it’s not any of my business if you guys crash and burn or whatever, though it’s about goddamn time you're wondering why he picks on you. Hell, you’re not sure if everything he’s said and done up to this point was made to leave you high and dry. Despite that, you still want him to spill on whatever the fuck he has, because you know there’s a line on the kind of bullshit he spews. He’ll hit you where it hurts, maybe make fun of you while he’s at it, and it sucks, but it’s the punchline you’re after since that’s the bit he doesn’t fudge. That’s the actual gist, yeah?”
It was, down to the last stinking letter.
(Was he this transparent?)
Without breaking eye contact, Shigaraki thumbed the menu button and set down the controller on his lap. “How much do you know?”
“Next to nothing.” Nakahara made a disgusted sound. “That guy plays his cards close to his chest. Nah, I can only guess, and if you look that serious it must be pretty bad. Probably for the best if I don’t poke my nose in.” There was a slight, almost imperceptible breath. “Unless you want to share. Not that you have to.”
“Goddamn softie,” Shigaraki muttered, head bowed. HIs hand snaked up to dig his nails at the side of his neck, the outward lift of his elbow covering the gesture. Something clicked in his head between his last line and Nakahara’s, and he stilled his fingers before he could break the skin of his nape. Shigaraki looked back up warily, unruly silver hair shadowing his gaunt features. “That why he made you go?”
“Who knows?” There was a wry, almost bitter smile on Nakahara’s face. It was a touch off from the redhead’s usual lively irritation, and Shigaraki got the inkling it was part of an unspoken disagreement - or a bad joke. “We get along with people differently, he and I.”
“Kinda obvious,” Shigaraki said after a while, and paused. “Don’t tell me you play good cop, bad cop on the job, too.”
There was a subtle shift in Nakahara’s expression. It reminded Shigaraki a little of Ozaki-aneesan at the garden, the subject of a colorful woodblock print from bygone times made flesh, her slender fingers ghosting over soft petals, as if they were always out of reach. She only looked like that with the white anemones and spider lilies. [1]
“You don’t have to worry about that yet,” Nakahara replied, tugging down the brim of his hat. “Unless someone majorly fucked up.”
Shigaraki considered his circumstances. No, as far as he knew, Sensei’s activities were independent of the Port Mafia. “Nothing to do with you.”
“There you have it,” Nakahara said in dismissal, propping his chin on his arms, tension bleeding out of his form.
Anemones, then. Fucking soft-boiled idiot.
(Worse was the awareness that Shigaraki couldn’t muster the energy to get pissed off at the sentiment.
He kicked that thought far, far away.)
Seeing that the other was done for now, Shigaraki unpaused his game and finished the set before going back to the character select menu. This time, he chose Karin, and her appearance filled half the screen.
Nakahara choked.
Back at Kamino Ward, a get-together between two people was occurring. It had all the smoothness of a bouquet of thistle flowers in a Victorian arrangement: prickly and tightly bunched, with too many rules of engagement.
“I see,” the older man said in reply to the waitress’s description of the drink he pointed out on the menu. “Then I’ll have -”
“You must try their coffee,” the younger suggested serenely as he skimmed through the songbook, tapping his index finger on the page when he saw the entry he was looking for. “They have an excellent blend. Quite the kick for staying awake.”
Kurogiri gave Dazai a long look, having already heard the brunet’s order of cold decaf with milk and a lot of sugar. Still, he nodded in acquiescence, and ordered drip brewed coffee.
The waitress bowed and headed out the room, sliding the door shut behind her.
Dazai picked up the remote and plugged in the number for a song. He proceeded to queue the same sequence eleven times. In short order, Otsuka Ai’s Pon Pon energetically blared through the room’s speakers. From the corner of his eye, he saw that Kurogiri barely reacted, likely too used to years of exposure to Shigaraki’s erratic behavior.
That was fine.
He set down the songbook on the empty length of the couch beside him, and tossed the remote after it.
“So, Mr. Kurogiri,” he said, cheerfully clapping his hands together. “You’re looking well. Has it been three years already?”
“It has been,” Kurogiri replied, attire and posture as impeccable as ever, hands neatly folded on his lap. About him, his form flickered. “In that span of time, you have not become someone with the reputation of calling old acquaintances out of the blue for friendly chats, Mr. Dazai.”
Aware and attentive of the trade, unused to speaking in the roundabout exchange at the beginning of the game, masking the unease of unsanctioned agency with polished formalities. Apart from Kurogiri’s usual subservient, unintrusive role in such power plays, Dazai supposed it also came with the Villain’s probable tendency of personally charming people to his side, only leaving harmless minutia to his followers. How unlike Mori with his calculated delegations, cultivating his people in spite of his ever lingering questions on trust, and reaping the outcome of their improved strength.
It spoke volumes on the differences of how they treated power.
(Was there such a thing as a universal purely good choice for the flawed thinking creature that was the human? That was not to say that there were no upright and altruistic folk, though they were more of an exception than a norm, and Dazai had yet to encounter such a person. Back to the matter at hand - does the divisive nature of moral judgment serve any role in this day and age other than for people to console themselves that they’ve chosen the lesser evil and to reaffirm their position through some form of righteousness? Oh, but he assumed no authority in such matters. He could only be but his own twisted self, watchful and ever adrift until his own weight bore him beneath the tides.)
“I don’t really care about my reputation,” Dazai said with a lazy shrug, “so you’ll have to update me on the latest gossip some other time.”
“I see.” Kurogiri cleared his throat. “Still, why trouble a young lady to run errands for you? Though you had concealed your invite, this part of Kamino is not a safe area for her to be in.”
“She’s home safe if you’re so worried about that.”
There was a soft knock on the door. The waitress arrived with their orders, taking care to properly set Dazai’s cold glass on a delicate paper doily, and Kurogiri’s cup next to a small ceramic cream jug and a selection of various packaged sweeteners. Once they were satisfied with the serving, she bowed politely and stepped out of the room.
“As for me,” Dazai continued, as if they hadn’t been interrupted, “I’m really only here for a chat,” He slid over next to the other man, drink in hand. “You see, I’ve had something on my mind for a while now, and I believe that you’d be able to help me figure it out.”
“...go on.”
Dazai took a long, slow sip from his coffee, watching as the shadows about Kurogiri’s head flickered. He sighed morosely. “I’ve been thinking about taking a weekend off, and my original plan of rappelling down the mouth of Mt. Fuji was vetoed. What should I do?”
He’d rather sleep in on weekends. However, the topic of tourist spots popped up at one point in a conversation between him, Oda, and Ango, and he’d mused whether or not he’d make it through Aokigahara before continuing his pilgrimage to the pinnacle of Mt. Fuji. [2] Oda told him in not so many words that, if he truly intended to go up the mountain, the Yoshida and Fujinomiya trails were more apt, as they were actual passages. [3]
Poor Kurogiri, he looked like his brain froze. “Might I suggest visiting a travel agency -”
“Oh! No, no, that won’t do at all.” Dazai smiled and chidingly poked Kurogiri’s arm. A few drops that had condensed on the base of his glass splattered on the other’s vest with the movement. “I’d end up in the usual spots, and I’m quite bored of those.”
“I don’t quite believe I’m the best person to address your question.”
“You don’t?” Dazai blinked owlishly. “You mean you haven’t travelled around the world with that Quirk of yours?”
Kurogiri swallowed. “It would be inappropriate given travel restrictions -”
Laughter bubbled from Dazai’s lips. “I see. Travel restrictions. Of your Quirk, or the legal variety? Because I could’ve sworn that someone who identifies as a villain wouldn’t really bother with pesky things like passports, permits and all that rot if it isn’t necessary. Getting forged documents past the immigration bureau isn’t exactly a cakewalk these days.”
“There are… ways around that.”
“So there are,” Dazai crooned, watching those expressive, glowing eyes. “I bet you know all about it. Now, you don’t look like a nature sort of guy, but does hiking sound like a good idea?”
Kurogiri’s exhaled slowly. “Surely you don’t mean to visit protected wildlife areas?”
Dazai grinned. “Aren’t you curious? Parts of the Amazon, for example, remain off limits to everyone save for researchers and indigenous groups despite its successful recuperation when global climate finally stabilized, thanks in part to good conservation efforts, the decline in the worldwide population and vastly improved technological efficiency. After all that time, I’m sure nature has come up with better, more interesting ways to be lethal, and I look forward to seeing what will kill me first.”
“Er.”
“No?” Dazai pouted. “Fair enough. Being covered in mud after a failed suicide attempt is too messy. How about something with a different set of animals like an American state park? I believe some of them allow camping.”
There it was - the beginnings of realization and panic. A slight widening of glowing eyes, the faint rattling of breath. Kurogiri was silent, and Otsuka Ai continued singing in the background. Good to know they were now on the same page.
“That fun?” Dazai took another long sip of his drink and set the glass down, freeing his right hand. “In that case, I could opt to make it a road trip for the full experience. Even if there is a shortage of fancy hotels along the way, I’m sure there are quaint, well-maintained farm houses that have been refashioned for tourist stays. Barring that, abandoned ones would do.” He hooked his left arm loosely around Kurogiri’s shoulders. It would have been a friendly gesture, had it not been for the gun tucked away in the holster beneath his coat. “Should I chance it?”
How unfortunate for Kurogiri that Dazai’s Quirk countered his.
(How entirely predictable yet unfortunate that this tête-à-tête was necessary at all. Still, it was better to clear the air, so to speak, now rather than later in the future.
Knowing how steadfast the other players of the game were to their own motivations - that was invaluable in assessing their movements on the field. By himself, Kurogiri was entirely predictable, Yet, there were other factors to consider.)
“Where are you going with this?” To his credit, Kurogiri maintained his posture.
“Where, indeed.” Dazai tipped his head. “What kind of network do you think we have in Yokohama, Mr. Kurogiri? People from your side don’t appreciate the old systems of the mafia or the yakuza since Quirks have conveniently given individuals and smaller groups improved means of achieving their ends without having to rely on such institutions, but even they would extend an alliance given a perceived common cause.”
The ends of Dazai’s lips curved up in a knife-like smile as he continued. “Three bodies left in that campsite, and a possible cause that gave normally irreconcilable groups reason to form an alliance that would trigger the Yokohama Incident - your leader is, among other things a rather enthusiastic Quirk collector, and he has the habit of taking advantage of little squabbles here and there to grow his hoard. I’m sure he has other hunting grounds, and that makes his choice to search the Dragon’s Head Rush for carrion all the more unfortunate. It’s rather inconsiderate to those under our protection, and the Port Mafia takes its obligations rather seriously.”
To put it another way: in this day and age where having flashy or useful abilities can give someone a shot at prestige, the meaning of having a Quirk had transformed from being a mere bodily function into a bid for the arms race. The means of conflict had evolved, and international agreements such as the Geneva Convention had to be updated in recognition of the possible disasters inherent with Quirks. The face of war had changed, first falling off from global priority when matters of national security turning inward in response to the immediate threat of the rise of villainy. The final nail in the coffin came with the emergence of professional heroes and the values they claimed to uphold.
All of that was merely on the surface. Any criminal worth their salt went underground, where they encountered more parties with a variety of personal interests, and a different sort of rule that guarded the status quo.
Perhaps over the course of time, the Villain had become too attached to his role as a one-man nuclear deterrent against whomever he defined as his opposition, regardless of his original intent in seizing control. It was no longer a question of defending himself from anti-Quirk groups if rumors of his origins could be believed, but of creating and perpetuating the conditions that allowed him to maintain power.
(At the end of the day, Heroics are but a stop gap measure.)
In what was effectively an absolute monarchy, the Villain was unique. He required nothing more than himself to legitimize and defend his rule, no one knew how deeply his influence ran, and the sole commonality in everyone’s idea of his identity was his Quirk. It was all too easy to imagine him pulling strings on both sides of the coin, for very few knew his face, much less his original name.
(Violence and power: both currencies, the means to an end. If an individual held the world in the palm of his hand, what was it that he sought?)
Quite literally, it was the stuff of legends. Shigaraki had inadvertently done them a favor in letting it slip that his Sensei was not wholly immortal, and that All Might possessed enough raw strength to go toe to toe with him.
A direct confrontation between the Villain and the mafia was still out of the question, but they now had more options to deal with the situation.
Kurogiri’s eyes narrowed. “Why wait until now to confront me?”
“It’s simply the most opportune moment. Besides, what makes you think this is about you?” Dazai’s visible eye was dark. “You aren’t the one calling the shots. The fact that your boss has some form of presence here regardless of your involvement is enough to risk a repeat of the Yokohama Incident, and we’d rather not waste all our hard work.”
“Are you asking for another meeting with him?” The mist surrounding the older man’s head flickered in noticeable agitation. “As with the first time, a phone call to the bar would have sufficed to arrange it. Not that he’ll receive your message well.”
“I can imagine. But we’re not going to talk with him - you are.”
“....I beg your pardon?”
“Your ears are functioning just fine.” Dazai tapped his chin. “Not that a loyal man like you would make it easy for us, which brings me to this next item - how valuable do you think you are to him?”
Kurogiri shifted. The brunet’s arm around his shoulder kept him still. “I’ve been informed my services are commendable.”
“I see. Would that approval extend to excusing you from, among other things, allowing your charge roam the streets unsupervised?”
No response. Kurogiri’s misty hands rippled.
Dazai airily gestured with his right hand. “Do tell. Frankly, I hard to believe that someone who nannies him while enduring his ill-tempered ingratitude would fail to miss his occasional disappearance from home. Surely the lack of whining would have clued you in?” He hummed thoughtfully. “Unless your care for him is out of spite -”
How interesting. “No, what?”
“With all due respect, Mr. Dazai, keep him out of this.” There was a hint of menace underneath that polite tone. “He is not involved.”
(And that’s the thing, wasn’t it - a serious confrontation was inevitable, now sooner rather than later. Their little talk in a few hours would determine the quality of their future interactions.
Knowing one’s opponent was a condition for victory. Dazai knew Shigaraki, though it was to an extent he didn’t want to really acknowledge.
The things one meant to keep to one’s self, knowingly or not, were always in danger of being brought to light.)
“He is blameless for your actions,” Dazai agreed calmly. “That includes his ignorance of our politics, and his lack in fully grasping the scope and burden of his Sensei’s role. But you are quite right that he’s not involved in this discussion - your negligence is. So, back to my question: will you be absolved? This is simply too much effort in keeping him a liability. A pet would’ve been cheaper and easier to train.”
If Kurogiri had a shorter temper, that would’ve been the moment for physical retaliation. But he didn’t, in spite of the slight tremble of his body that revealed his agitation, and the light dig of his fingers on the cloth of his pressed trousers. Ah, if only the other hotheads Dazai encountered could take a leaf from this man.
“My removal, should it come to that, will not change your predicament. Your threats will not ensure my delivery of your message, either.”
“Correct. But you will do as I say regardless because you won’t risk your charge’s wellbeing, moreso as your paternal nature contradicts your previous passive complicity with what’s been done to him.” Dazai’s expression was unreadable. “You had your own reasons for turning a blind eye and encouraging his awareness. Based on what I understand from a subordinate of mine, parenthood is troublesome that way.”
Kurogiri closed his eyes and let out a breath. “How did you arrive to that conclusion, and how much do you know?”
“I’ve seen and heard enough,” Dazai shrugged. “So, are you in or not? Don’t worry, it’s not that complicated.”
Kurogiri bowed his head. “What do you want me to say?”
Dazai leaned close to whisper in Kurogiri’s ear. The older man’s eyes were wide when he finished, and he clapped that vest-covered shoulder. "Do we have an accord? Or would you prefer I take this choice permanently from you?"
A moment's silence. The older man nodded, looking much like a candle that had been snuffed. "Your terms are... acceptable."
"Excellent." Dazai stood. “And that’s it for today. Don’t worry about the bill. Just relax, and enjoy the coffee.”
“All done?” Oda looked up from his book to greet Dazai as the other man slipped into the room. It was another booth in the karaoke bar.
“Here, yeah.” The brunet stuck a hand into his blazer and took out the gun, handing it to Oda grip first. “Not a shot fired, as promised.”
Oda wordlessly took the weapon, giving it a cursory inspection out of habit before sliding it back to his own holster. He hadn’t expected to find anything unusual, and he didn’t.
He’s heard talk of Dazai waltzing out of T&I with a detainee’s confession without ever having added to the marks of the original interrogator. Oda wondered what soul merited such treatment today, if that was what happened, and if his friend always looked this unwell after such sessions once no one else was around.
As soon as the gun was out of his hand, Dazai slid off the coat from his shoulders and sprawled on the empty couch adjacent to the man. “‘M tired, Odasaku,” he said in a muffled, piteous whine. “And I have another meeting after this.”
“Can't you move it,” Oda asked.
“Nah. Too inconvenient.” Dazai’s voice had dropped to a mumble. “You don’t have to stay, you know. It’s your day off and all.”
Oda shrugged and held up his reading material. The silent apology was unnecessary. More to the point, Dazai very rarely imposed on him, even to call an establishment for room reservations and borrowing his gun, as what occurred that afternoon. Was it a precaution to keep this matter out of the rumor mill? “It’s fine.”
“Alright.” Dazai turned over, toed off his shoes, and slung an arm over his forehead to block out the light. “Wake me up in an hour.”
“You’ll feel groggy later,” Oda reminded him, though he was already looking for the paragraph he stopped at.
Nothing more was said after that.
Elise was hanging misshapen origami on an assortment of branches in flat earthenware when Kouyou came across her on the way to the sitting room. There was a plastic figure lying face up by her stocking-covered knees.
“Amusing thing, isn’t it?” Mori was leaning on the wall next to Elise, watching the girl fondly. "Chuuya was about to throw it out when Elise spotted him."
Kouyou critically examined the haphazard, clumsy arrangement. “Understandable. It’s certainly non-traditional, if not a poor beginner’s parody of the aesthetic. You can’t even tell what poor trees these were hacked from.”
“Shall we find out?” Mori had a mischievous twinkle in his eye as he reached in and plucked away the thickest branch, pausing their conversation to placate Elise by pointing out she had a lot more to play with. The fibers sticking out of the soil-stained uneven end would have made a plant enthusiast cry.
Elise was still pouting and pelting crumpled paper at Rintarou, you meanie! when Mori took out his scalpel to slice away the exposed fibers and check its core. It was still white, surrounded by a ring of green.
Smiling, he handed over the branch to an unamused Kouyou, who likely already knew what he was up to. “Grafting is a practice in bonsai, is it not?”
“Yes,” Kouyou sighed, holding out her hand to accept it, “though not knowing what this will grow into may ruin the composition. I’ll have one of my practitioners work on this, but that tree is ending up in your office even if it turns out unsightly.”
“That’s fine,” Mori said, chuckling. “I look forward to seeing how it flourishes.”
[1] Kouyou’s kimono in the anime has spider lilies. In the manga, they look like an ambiguous 5-petal flower, and I’m going with white anemones instead of sakura for both its Japanese meaning (sincerity according to general hanakotoba lists I’ve seen, but the main wiki entry on the flower mentions the Japanese anemone can also mean ill tidings) and the Western one (forsaken; dying hope; anticipation)
[2] Aokigahara, aka the Suicide Forest, is northwest of Mt. Fuji
[3] Fujinomiya at the south of the mountain was a traditional starting point. The Yoshida trail is from the north and closer to Tokyo, becoming popular “when Japan’s political center moved from Kyoto to Edo [and] the flow of mountain climbers started to shift accordingly.” Both trails have shrines as starting points (though the original path from Fujinomiya’s “does not exist anymore”) https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6367.html
Rip. Sorry, work deadlines happened x.x
They were in the middle of bickering over how irritating fighting a real life version of F.A.N.G. would be an hour and a half later when Chuuya’s phone rang. The mafioso took out his phone and glared at the device when he saw the display name and the time, both irritating reminders of how he wasn’t back home and unwinding from the day.
Not that Shigaraki’s earlier subdued mood made it difficult for him to deal with, save for the fact that Chuuya couldn’t shake off the feeling of its similarity to watching a bomb ticking down to whatever he and Dazai were going to talk about.
He remembered them still, the dark veins and the faint incision that stood out against the other’s sickly pale skin, even in the faint glow of the car’s dome light. For Shigaraki to mention being given a salve and having to speculate on the reason for his own condition despite supposedly having a doctor was beyond fucked up, when even the medical practitioners in underground clinics prattled on, sometimes in morbid amusement, the many ways in how their patient could have died. To their face, no less.
The whole situation reeked of something nasty.
(There was only so much that a person can get away with under the notion of “personal matters,” and neither of them were truly distant enough from their respective leaders for their actions to slip under the radar.
This was why getting involved with people outside the business was such a headache. The non-aggression stance the Mafia had with Shigaraki’s Sensei’s group meant that they should not interfere with each other’s plans, but Shigaraki’s ambiguous status and appearances made it murky. It was too precarious a situation when a flimsy excuse was all that Villain needed to start a fight.
Nakahara Chuuya was a mafia man, through and through. Should conflict break out, he would affirm his loyalty to the organization and follow his Boss’ orders to the end, even if he found some of them quite detestable. Necessity and circumstance. Suck it up, kick their enemies’ asses, and move on.
It was the price he paid, for the lot in life he chose.)
“Pipe down a moment,” he told Shigaraki, who rolled his eyes, before answering the call. “About damn time, shithead. Where are you?”
“Around,” Dazai chirped from the other end of the line, faintly above the sound of other pedestrians. “Contemplating death by traffic accident. A pity it isn’t raining. You parked at the usual?”
“Not much of an accident, is it,” Chuuya groused, standing up and beckoning Shigaraki to wrap up and follow him before gathering his coat and heading for the exit, walking past the now sparsely crowded aisles of seats. “There aren’t wheels wide enough to make sure there’s nothing left to scrape off the pavement. And yeah, I did. You’re seriously dead if there’s so much as a single scratch on my car.”
“I’m not the one you should be saying that to,” Dazai chided. “Oh, and Chuuya? Remember what we talked about, and don’t make such a grumpy face. The world isn’t ready for your impression of an angry imp.”
“Ha fucking ha.” The redhead slung his coat over his shoulder when he reached the cashier. He hadn’t forgotten, not when Dazai had put on such a terribly sombre face before pulling him aside when Chuuya had made an offhand remark on Shigaraki’s skin on their way up to Mori’s office the following day, the latter scheduled to report Giran’s intel. “You owe me big time for this.”
“Oh?” There was a dry lilt in that reply. “Didn’t you already agree earlier to reserve your verdict on whether or not it’s an equal trade until after?”
“‘After’ was supposed to be an hour ago,” Chuuya grumbled. “If this blows up in your face, I’m pissing on your grave.”
“No chance of that then.” Dazai’s reply was quiet, and Chuuya had to strain his ears to hear it above the garble of background noise. “Maybe when poor lonely little goldfish evolve to survive in saltwater.”
Chuuya cringed at the memory, embarrassment flooding his system (why oh why had anee-san shared that story?). He yelled into the phone, the outburst startling even the passers-by outside. “I was eight you ass -”
Dazai chuckled and ended the call, leaving Chuuya to stare at his phone, the device tightly clutched in a gloved hand.
The redhead seethed, caught halfway between loudly continuing his rant and slamming his phone on the ground. Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he spun around to see a highly amused Shigaraki, who tipped his head at a rather flustered cashier before nudging him out the door and onto the sidewalk.
“Lemme guess,” Shigaraki said once they were a few paces away, Chuuya glowering beside him. “Was that about the time you got gum stuck in your hair and had to give yourself a haircut?”
This time, Chuuya couldn’t stop the high-pitched noise from slipping past his mouth, and he stomped his foot on the ground. “NOT YOU TOO!”
"C’mere for a sec."
That was all the warning Chuuya had before Dazai grabbed his shoulders and marched him back down the corridor and away from the elevator. They ended up in the otherwise empty men’s toilet, and Dazai locked the main door.
“What in fuck, Mackarel,” Chuuya hissed, keeping his voice down in spite of the lack of an audience. If there was one thing that colored their interactions within Port Mafia’s main buildings, it was the organization’s strict adherence to hierarchy. While he had a bit of leeway as Dazai’s occasional work partner, the other was still an Executive, regardless of Dazai never bothering to shove his rank in Chuuya’s face. “The Boss won’t be happy if we’re late -”
“And you dragged me all the way here too early, diligent bee that you are. Now shush.” Dazai waggled his finger, his other hand on his hip. In contrast to his blank expression earlier, his smile was crooked closer to a frown, making the lightness of his voice distinctly fake. It made Chuuya want to chuck something at his face to wipe it off. “I’ll say this only once: if you hear the rest of that story, you’ll end up finishing the rest of your wine, and I know you only have five bottles of your precious 1998 La Mondotte left.” [1]
“...ha?” The redhead narrowed his eyes, features shadowed with the brim of his hat. That was way too specific, and since when did Dazai deign to keep track of that particular vintage out of everything else in his collection? Did he suspect why his stock of it lasted that long? “Did you break into my apartment?”
“What, and blind myself with your garish decor? No, thanks.” Dazai lazily waved a hand. “You bragged about ordering a case, and there are seven peeled labels in your desk drawer. Really, someone who doesn’t know any better would think it’s a budding investment for the wine fraud business.”
Chuuya reflexively elbowed him in the gut. Dazai’s palm slid to the crook of his arm to redirect the impact, sliding a foot back on the dark marble floor for balance and twisting his torso with the movement. The bandaged fuck was fully aware how much he detested spotting fake wine bottles at auctions. “I don’t want to hear about my drinking habits from you, Dazai,” he scowled. “You’re shittier than I am.”
“Jealous I’m not a lightweight?” The brunet dodged another swipe to his side, the second time he avoided meeting Chuuya’s attack head-on. “So feisty today, Chuuya! Don’t worry, I know better than to start a drinking contest, seeing as you’ll pass out fast. Not that I’ll need to wait long to make fun of your hangover.”
It was really too bad they were at the base, and Chuuya couldn’t use his Quirk to slam Dazai against the wall and maximize the impact. He opted to jab his hand forward, faster than Dazai could block, and harshly yanked down his collar. “Keeping me out of this now after you’ve made me put up with all this shit?”
“And here I thought you liked being forewarned with all the times you’ve complained.” Dazai looked at him steadily, dark eyes shadowed with the fringe of his hair. “Be my guest, if you wish for a repeat of what happened to you after they finished counting all the bodies that one time Boss unleashed Q.”
The words hit him like a sledgehammer, and his grip slacked for a second before he remembered himself. Q’s rampage wasn’t something he took lightly. He opened his mouth to give Dazai a piece of his mind -
“I wouldn’t bring it up if it wasn’t serious,” Dazai murmured, clearly having anticipated what he was supposed to say. “You’ve been in the mafia long enough to know that people like his Sensei don’t raise kids in glorified cages for no reason, much less to that extent. Still care to guess why?”
The shorter man let out a breath and closed his eyes, tipping his head forward, his fisted hand trembling. The brim of his hat bumped against the other’s chest, hiding his features. Of course it would go back to the ugly anomaly that was Shigaraki’s undefined involvement with villainy. In hindsight, it stood to reason that Dazai, who heavily relied on understanding the motives of potential threats, would scrutinize that man’s supposed student in the absence of an overt presence.
(What was striking, however, was how invested he was in this case, when he had other means of gathering information at his disposal, and when Shigaraki’s own behavior was predictable. Served him right for drawing an aspiring villain’s unwanted attention, when he could’ve left it well and enough alone.)
Still, there were a couple of things unclear to him, and the awareness that Mori was waiting for them prickled at his nerves.
“Why mention this now when you could’ve waited? And why bother stringing me along to clean up this mess when you always think you have all the answers, Dazai?”
“Tsk. So slow, Chuuya.” The brunet gripped his wrist and made to peel off his fingers one by one with his free hand. Chuuya tightened his hold, and the other gave a mirthless laugh. “You’ll have to pay attention to your own report later. For the latter - what is the one thing tying him to his Sensei?”
“His devotion,” Chuuya scoffed, ignoring the dig to the results of his assignment for now, “for a fat lot of good it’s done to him. Why do you care about it?”
“I don’t, not really.” The sardonic smirk on Dazai’s face was enough to make Chuuya anticipate he wouldn’t like what was next. “You do.”
Ah. Chuuya stilled as he absorbed the implications of that accusation, and Dazai pried off his index finger. That’s why. This man was always, always an inconsiderate, demanding bastard.
Dazai had capitalized on Shigaraki’s obsessive nature for him to learn from and potentially trust people outside of his Sensei’s sphere of influence. It had paid off somehow, if his coming to them on the verge of a breakdown was any indication.
Knowing his sympathies were taken advantage of as part of a scheme didn’t make him feel any less used. It was a sensation both familiar and unwelcome, harkening back to their earlier paired assignments before they got their act together and became known as Double Black.
Chuuya exhaled shakily, still reeling from the realization. “You said you weren’t recruiting him.”
“I’m still not,” Dazai snorted. “He’s not made for the mafia.”
“So why does he matter in all this?”
“His Sensei will have him become a villain, one way or the other.” Dazai uncurled his middle finger. “There are things I still have to confirm, but one thing is certain: if he almost died, he won’t make physically make appearances any time soon.” His ring finger was next. “But that won’t prevent him from doing what he wants, even indirectly. His anonymity protects him from exposure.” Finally, his pinky. “With no possible threat to his estate, he’s free to think of payback - but that’s irrelevant to us. What matters more is that if he decides to consolidate power and minimize threats to himself, it would be rather convenient to use an ignorant, indoctrinated pawn who won’t have ambitions of overthrowing him.”
Chuuya hissed, his thumb still tucked on the inside fold of Dazai’s blazer. His stomach churned. “That’s nothing new, and the Boss might not play along with it.”
“Precisely. Shigaraki, however, is not his Sensei.” Dazai removed his thumb and guided his arm to hang limply back at his side. “Until that man actually starts something, this is still a sideshow. Just keep on doing whatever sentimental bullcrap you pride yourself in doing if you want, and it’ll still be fine.”
Dazai slipped away and smoothened out the wrinkles on his tie and blazer before unlocking the door, leaving Chuuya to stew in his thoughts and a desire to strangle the bandage-covered man.
(Something still didn’t add up.)
“You lied, by the way.”
They were leaning on opposite walls of the elevator, carrying on as if they hadn’t taken a detour.
“Didn’t you say knowing each other well comes with a partnership?” A bitter, sardonic smile crossed Chuuya’s face as he remembered the subtle ways the brunet had egged on Shigaraki to watch him struggle, and how the idiot took it as a challenge to get one over him. The taunting way he cautioned Shigaraki of his Sensei back at the warehouse, when he could’ve said something more damning, For all that talk in pushing Shigaraki away from his Sensei’s plans, spurning on his development hadn’t needed to be part of it.
And here I thought you liked being forewarned with all the times you’ve complained, said Mr. Suicide Maniac earlier, as if he wasn’t aware he’d already shot himself in the foot. Even if Chuuya didn’t know half of what Dazai hinted about the situation, that didn’t mean he was blind to everything that happened in front of him. Sorting through the Mackerel's irritating bullshit to get to what he wasn’t saying outright was migraine-inducing, but it did pay off.
Sentimental bullcrap, his ass. If there was one thing he could hold above Dazai, it was the difference in how they related to other people.
Chuuya took off his hat when a chime announced they were on the top floor, the chain on its side swaying with the movement. “Why did you really choose that hotheaded Akutagawa kid as a protege, Dazai?”
The doors opened, revealing the long corridor to Mori’s office, where two bodyguards were stationed.
From that point on, it was back to business.
Chuuya vindictively relished Dazai’s fleeting sour expression before he could put on a more neutral face.
(And when Dazai shot him a knowing look after his report later, after Mori listed offhand that bartender’s transportation Quirk as a possibility - well.
If this didn’t end on a decent note, it looked like he was going drinking.)
The city’s seedy underbelly had different kinds of people.
There were those who reveled in its darkness, those who were born in it, those who walked alongside it.
Those who died living it.
For Dazai at the beginning, it had its macabre allure, an encounter with a murder of crows picking apart a corpse clean until only the ivory honesty of blood-spattered bone was left to weather the cycle of the seasons. From a body’s remains, it was easy to discern the cause of their demise, the final sum of a series of decisions that a human made throughout the course of their existence.
(It was said that a person’s life flashed before their eyes just before the end, and they would know with absolute clarity the intent and consequences of their actions. Dazai had yet to experience it for all his close calls and suicide attempts. Such a life review was closer to the realm of superstition, yet he always wondered.
Serendipity was not in his favor.)
A body did not hold their memories, their thoughts, their dreams, fears, and desires. A single bullet was not the same as its indifferent gunner, and a knife in itself didn’t speak of the depraved frenzy of its wielder.
Dying was inevitable for those who were born - that was an easy conclusion to make. Humans continued to exist for as long as they could breathe, eat, and sleep. The why of it was more elusive, a collective personal history in the past that was ever at risk of being proven or betrayed in the present, weaving in and out of the humdrum of daily routine.
Would it have been easier if he died with his parents? Perhaps, though his hands had acted on their own to ensure his survival as he clung to his own breath. Had the Incident not happened, would he have ended up with the mafia? Maybe, if he had grown disillusioned enough.
(Something told him he would be.)
The longer he stayed in the Mafia, one thing became clear: in seeking the meaning of life in the darkest pits of despair, of violence and suffering, he had become full of it. It clogged his vision, choked his throat, pervaded his nose and covered his ears. What he sought was elusive, and yet he drifted on with the hope that he’d stumble upon something that would give meaning to this senselessness.
A life ungrounded by meaning, and he could not delude himself into attaining a purpose that did not truly matter.
Dazai was neither discontent nor grateful that he was part of the mafia. But he tired of its transactions, just as he was resigned to the role of perpetuating it until permanent sleep took him. And so he watched others struggle, and contemplated on what they could possibly find along the way of that very long, dark road.
What a damnable nightmare it was.
It was not living.
The sheer weightlessness made him more susceptible to forgetting himself in melancholy, and the constant routine of fighting with only the thought of finishing it distanced him from the original reason why Mori seized control of the Mafia. Why Kouyou, who hated the ruthless cruelty of the previous generation, remained. Why Chuuya had toughened up and somehow retained his sanity, stubbornly refusing to let go of his caring nature where others would see it as an exploitable weakness.
(Violence was not meant to be an end in and of itself, but a means to a goal that should not be forgotten, lest those who wielded it grew addicted to its inherent insanity.)
In time, his own lack of stability would take its toll on him. Perhaps it had already started.
(He still had Oda and Ango, many a carefree night spent setting aside grim reality. How long would it last?)
If his tolerance of Shigaraki’s warped nature hadn’t tipped Mori off, his training of Akutagawa would. Or his extreme proficiency in carrying out his duties, which granted him more time to laze about. Or a dozen other things. He imagined it as a pile bodies in a mass grave, full of death and decay, with a few barely breathing their last.
Knowing the essence behind it was different from carrying it out.
Here was one truth of the matter: Dazai was no longer a mere member of the Mafia, but one of its executives - Mori’s own protege. Thus, the risks he carried with him were amplified. It wasn’t even a question of succession as Dazai didn’t care for the post. He already held a considerable amount of influence that he never wanted to begin with, and he had the authority to decide on matters that didn’t require a top-level decision from Mori.
And the illustration of this risk - this was partly why Mori had not stopped Dazai’s exposure to that volatile influence known as Shigaraki Tomura, stepping in only to remind Dazai of the cost of that association if it did not change.
The first nihilistic thought - it was no mistake that he had thought of Shigaraki that way in those early years, before Mori had brought Chuuya in partly to curb Dazai’s brand of calculated recklessness that ended up in a dance that toyed with the line of life and death. Under different circumstances, a discussion with no conclusion would have been harmless, yet Dazai was slowly approaching the point where he could not find even respite in the solitude of his mind.
What, indeed, had Dazai come to expect from a meeting between one man who was obsessed with life and death, and the other with violence and eradication?
There was a point to living and dying, creating and destroying. At the same time, there wasn’t.
What was to be done, other than to watch humans grapple with it?
Dazai was leaning on the hood of Chuuya’s car when they arrived. As soon as he saw them, he sprouted off nonsense about getting distracted by all the cats along the way, ending with “and Chuuya’s tagging along because he believes nothing should be done, and I quote, ‘half-assed.’”
Chuuya rolled his eyes and unlocked the doors, starting the vehicle briefly to roll down the passenger’s side window halfway for air before turning it off. “Stuff a sock in it, Dazai. You can be as foul-mouthed as the rest of us if you put your mind to it.”
“Oh?” Dazai laughed. “But apart from calling you names, changing my speech pattern is too much work! How am I supposed to remember to swear every other sentence, much less punctuate every feeling with a curse?”
“It’s easy, Mr. I’m-Such-A-Soulless-Demon.” Chuuya’s grin was shark-like, even as the brim of his hat covered his eyes. “You just gotta expand your horizons and feel more. As a yuurei in the afterlife, you’ll be able to dispense actual curses. Lucky you.”
Shigaraki made a disgusted noise. It was doubtful Dazai would want to stick around after successfully dying, and if he had the misfortune of doing so he’d have more cause to give everyone misery before he lapsed into boredom and depression. “You just made it worse, Nakahara. If that happens, walls won’t save you.”
“They won’t,” Dazai hummed. “That means I can invade Chuuya’s wine storeroom and break all the bottles. No rest for the wicked and all.”
“Wine?” Shigaraki asked, glancing at Chuuya.
“Rather pretentiously expensive wine,” Dazai said serenely, and got in the back seat.
“Ah.” Shigaraki smirked and followed him in. “If he’s willing to drink away his money, I’m sure missing them has pretty much the same effect.”
Chuuya elbowed Shigaraki’s side. “Don’t you dare, you dried piece of bird crap!” he warned, before shutting the door and walking around the car. The vehicle dipped slightly when he sat on the hood, leaning back and sliding his hat down his face to presumably take a nap.
“And that’s that,” Dazai said, crossing his legs and leaning on the opposite door to face Shigaraki. “Now, what did you send that invite all the way for?”
“Yeah. That.” Shigaraki leaned back on the opposite end and loosely crossed his arms, hooking one knee on the seat. “A car, really?”
“We aren’t leaving anytime soon, and no one can listen in if you don’t raise your voice.” Dazai laced his fingers and looked at the white-haired man expectantly. “Well?”
Whatever angry outburst Shigaraki would have had earlier should have dissipated with the long wait. As it was, the other made an irritated noise, and settled with a wary glare. “You hinted at knowing something about Sensei that I don’t. What is it?”
“Intel doesn’t come for free,” Dazai said, a small smirk curving his lips. “You insinuated you were privy to his past. Was three months not enough to dig up more dirt?”
“Obviously not if I’ve gone to you,” Shigaraki said sullenly. “Don’t pretend you don’t want me to find out, bargain or no. Even if I said from the get-go I’d offer you information in exchange, you’d give me some line about not being sure if what I’d say is actually new or something you’d already guessed. The only actual value of this conversation to you is to confirm your suspicions and to mock me while you’re at it. So cut the tripe and talk.”
“That’s not how you make a deal when you’re at a disadvantage.” Despite his words, Dazai’s dark eyes were alit with interest. “Alright, let’s settle what we both know first. If there’s anything beyond a confirmation of what you or I know, we’ll have to strike a bargain. Are you ready?”
The corner of Shigaraki’s lip curled. “Fuck. Fine.”
Dazai chuckled. “Basics first - what is your name?”
Shigaraki snorted. That one was easy. “Shigaraki Tomura.”
“Who named you?”
“My parents.”
“Absolutely certain?”
Shigaraki’s fingers twitched. “Shit. Yes.”
Dazai quirked an eyebrow. “Then why are there no records of a Shigaraki Tomura?”
“Identities can be erased,” Shigaraki said flatly. “You and Nakahara don’t have documents either. Kurogiri checked.”
“There’s a difference between not being entered into and being deleted from the system,” Dazai countered. “Chuuya and I naturally won’t have any records. Not everyone in the slums gets into the family registry. You, on the other hand, should have traces of an identity as your Sensei took you in from an actual household. Even if a fixer was employed to clean up your records, you can’t stop a well-meaning relative, family friend, or neighbor from checking in. For that reason, it would’ve been less suspicious to have you remain as a missing person.”
Shigaraki’s eyes narrowed. “How long have you been thinking about this?”
“Occasionally, when I had nothing better else better to do in between planning suicide attempts,” Dazai said flippantly. “So are you really sure your parents called you Tomura and nothing else? What were their names for that matter, and where did you all live?”
“...I see.” Shigaraki shook, his shoulders tense. Even with his sunken gaze shadowed by his long hair, there was no mistaking the ugly snarl on his scarred, chapped lips. “You’re saying I’ve been messed up to that extent.”
“No, that was your own admission. I only have guesses to go by.” Dazai rested his palms on his knee and observed the other man's form. “You look like a sorry mutt right now. What made you want to ask me outright when you hate listening to me?”
“I still hate you for screwing with my head.” Shigaraki stuffed his hands in his jacket pocket and turned sideways to look out the window. His teeth worried his lower lip, splitting the dry skin. A drop of blood welled out, and he licked it away. “You made thinking about the things I wanted to do too fucking complicated. But not once did you try to make me forget anything, and it was still up to me whether or not to believe whatever you spewed. They messed with my memories, and the Doctor didn’t do anything Sensei wasn’t aware of.” He begrudgingly looked at Dazai’s shadowy reflection on the glass. “That answer your question?”
“Indulging your curiosity was entirely your choice. And not quite.” Dazai tipped his head. “You haven’t said how you figured out your memory was altered, or why you’re protesting this much when you were quite happy in that bubble you were in.”
“That’s the thing,” Shigaraki ground out. “You made me find holes in it, bit by bit. So when the Doctor said -” He cut himself off and released a breath to steady himself. “No, you sly fuck. Your turn to talk, and don’t you dare laugh.”
“Should I not when it’s one hell of a joke?” Dazai smiled darkly. “An orphaned boy kept like a prized fish on display and distracted with toys, now given his dreams on a silver platter when his master nearly died and switched to Plan B. As you’re now able to suspect, saving you wasn’t something he did out of the kindness of his heart, and keeping you ignorant isn’t the most stellar of childrearing practices. That doesn’t even cover the shadier aspects of the medical malpractice that you were involved in. And oh, here’s the best part - you don’t even know his end game yet. Such an exciting mystery. Aren’t you glad I lured your attention so you could appreciate this moment, To-mu-ra-kun~?”
“I wish you hadn’t,” Shigaraki seethed bitterly, turning back to the other man to meet his gaze. Inside his jacket pocket, his fingers dug into his palms. “Got it in one, but you’re no saint yourself if you’re able to imagine that something like this isn’t impossible. Why did you?”
“You were an anomaly, Shigaraki.” Dazai shrugged, a feint at helplessness. “If you want to quit being a villain, I’m sure you’d fit right in a horror-themed carnival. You wouldn’t even need prosthetic makeup! Ah, but now that I’ve given my piece, do share what the Doctor said.”
“That’ll cost you.” A dangerous glint entered Shigaraki’s eyes, scarlet irises ontrasting sharply with his sclera. “Betraying an ally is a huge no-no for you guys, isn’t it?”
Dazai blinked, and he stared at Shigaraki for a few good seconds. Slowly, a chuckle escaped his lips, and soon his shoulders were shaking in laughter. “Oh my, Shigaraki’s baby steps in using the tools of the trade are growing. Does this mean you plan on sticking with them after this?”
“No thanks to you,” Shigaraki scowled, moving to kick Dazai’s shin wit his outstretched leg, only for Dazai to slam his heel on the sneaker-clad foot. There was little space for them to move in the car as it was, and his hips had slid forward on the seat when he moved. “What I’ll do about it is none of your business.”
“We’ll see,” Dazai said, pulling back his leg to sit more comfortably. “Fine, let’s set aside your Doctor’s words for later. Anything else?”
Uhhh. Lemme know if that was easy to follow. Planning on continuing their convo in the next chapter.
[1] Forgive the anachronism for the BNHA timeline, but I didn’t want to overthink the vintage year
The current average price for a 1998 La Mondotte is around 1938 USD (http://www.wineinvestment.com/wine/bordeaux/saint-emilion/chateau-la-mondotte/la-mondotte/1998/). It’s a Bordeaux blend of 20% Cabernet Franc and 80% Merlot. To compare - Petrus, the bottle Chuuya said he opened when Dazai left, is a Merlot, and the one he opened to celebrate the end of their conflict with the Guild is a Pinot Noir.
The latter is more expensive than the former because Pinot Noir grapes are more difficult to grow. Merlot and Pinot Noir are marketed differently - both on the dry side, with Merlot as “medium to full bodied”, and Pinot Noir as “medium to light” (https://www.wine.net/12-wines-for-beginners/ + https://thetastinggroup.wordpress.com/2012/12/17/how-to-select-red-wine/) with the usual disclaimer that the actual wine will be affected by the grape’s cultivation conditions, etc. BUT ANYWAY - going for the headcannon that Chuuya drinks more on the Merlot side of things when shit hits the fan.
(lemme just drink both varieties and be happy, but I’d prefer getting drunk on good sake when it’s available.
I am so drinking once this chapter is over.)
Bit of a science handwave in this chapter.
They talked through the night. It was a settlement of accounts, dredging up old arguments, retracing past conversations.
It didn’t surprise Shigaraki in the least that Dazai mocked his life choices and old mistakes now that he could appreciate it. The experience was similar to being a highschool girl getting blackmailed for her middle school diary entries.
Not that he had personal experience with diary keeping or being a high school girl. Everything he knew on those subjects came from RPGs, overheard conversations on the street, and Kurogiri’s romcoms.
“Ever think you weren’t cut out to be a villain if you can’t pull off something as simple as data theft?”
“You know I can’t hack for shit,” Shigaraki grumbled, “and not everyone’s a scammer like you.” It wasn’t as if he had funds to hire a hacker either, and Sensei probably kept tabs on the stupidly skilled ones.
Funds. Another issue he’d have to look into later.
Shigaraki left out just how much he relied on in having Kurogiri transport him around, to the point that sometimes he only vaguely knew the general area of the Doctor’s non-hospital clinic. (It was likely a security measure. His ignorance ate at him anyway.) He had an inkling that Dazai suspected anyway, given their grand entrance at the Port Mafia’s warehouse three months after Dazai’s boss’ talk with Sensei. Dazai had a stupidly sharp memory, and an equally shrewd mind to piece together salient details.
On top of that was the inconvenience of him needing to figure out how to get to the Doctor’s facility the hard way, when it was located in an entirely different timezone. [1]
“Excuses,” Dazai said with a dismissive wave of a hand. “You’re a growing boy; I’m sure you can come up with something. Unless the pressure’s getting to you?”
The three months he wasted on Sensei’s question drove him up the wall, but he hasn’t completely lost it. Not when he was on a mission to find out what kind of piece he was on the playing field. Not when he’s been messed with.
His frustration tolerance levels were admittedly shit with the exception of two things: playing games on hard mode (bugs aside), and getting payback. Now that he could no longer ignore the hot mess he was in, he figured he’d treat this like a multiplayer sandbox, complete with the potential for randomness from other douchebags.
Multiplayer hell was far from his favorite, but he’d roll with it for now.
(It was less stupid than the stealth genre comparison he made three years ago. The memory made him cringe, and he was thankful he wasn’t the type to blog. Disintegrating the platform’s server wasn’t enough to permanently erase online posts, and he knew how incredibly efficient the online community was with doxxing and harassment.)
“Nah,” Shigaraki said. “At least I’m motivated.” Unlike you.
“You were driven with all the puff-cheeked rage of a toddler,” Dazai replied, nodding sagely. Unlike me, the motion seemed to say. “In a showdown with a hero, will you do that annoying monologue thing and berate them for being failing to save each and every person who ended up in a bad spot?”
Shigaraki’s fingers twitched, the words making him recall the state he was in when Sensei found him. The gleam in the brunet’s eyes told him something in his expression gave him away, and he firmly set his lips to a scowl.
“Too typical, and what’s with the lame sob story?”
“It’s no less true for someone who used to kicked a fuss,” Dazai smirked. “To think your old tantrums rivalled that of an entitled customer demanding entrees not on the menu. Don’t deny that your hatred of society and heroes originally stems from having a villain save you. Kids are exposed to the ideal that heroes are the epitome of goodness and safety, and what their personal experiences influence whether or not they believe that standard is met. Is the selective amnesia acting up again?”
The white-haired man felt his jaw tighten, and he forced a breath between clenched teeth. He had to choose between defending his pride and going off on an unwanted tangent, or focus on squeezing out more information.
(To destroy a fake and rotten society - that was his aim as a villain, wasn’t it? A society that preserved its peace and worshipped the heroes who protected them, ignoring their inconvenient faults.)
He went with the latter.
“It’s more than that now. If we’re going with comparison, at least I never had to nick someone’s game data to get their attention. That’s about as mature as pulling pigtails, Mr. Gangster.”
“Idiots who fall for something so transparent have no right to complain,” Dazai pointed out. “Worked better than a starved horse chasing after a carrot. Didn’t your minder try to dissuade you?”
No, it was far from obvious at the time.
For the record, Kurogiri had tried. Unfortunately for him, Shigaraki wasn’t in the mood to truly play nice after weeks of obsessing over the theft even after he got a replacement for the memory card. It was a matter of pride.
“He’s not my boss,” Shigaraki replied sullenly. “And just so you know, if Kurogiri’s Quirk wasn’t so useful I would’ve killed him already. Not as if everything else he’s doing can’t be done by your average masochistic martyr.”
“Your words, not mine,” Dazai said, picking out the dirt from under his fingernails. “Speaking of Mr. Kurogiri - is he always such a stick in the mud?”
“Mostly.” The upward curve of Shigaraki’s mouth didn’t reach his eyes. The shadowy man was another unknown for him - he was loyal to Sensei for sure, and yet the subtle anxiety he displayed the night Sensei called the teen out for being a shitty liar, dissipating only when Sensei said there was no need to separate Kurogiri from him, didn’t add up. Why would it matter to Kurogiri, when previously he’d always been neutral in his interactions with Shigaraki? “The most I’d seen him freak out was over the loss of his apron.”
“Hmm? What did the poor apron do to you?”
“It was neon green with yellow stripes. Couldn’t stand it at one in the morning.”
Dazai chuckled. “Phosphorescent cloth?”
“He DIY-ed the damn thing,” Shigaraki said in disgust. “Thought it was funny and charming. Should’ve just left the kitchen light on.”
“I’m sure he would’ve made quite the profit if he made it available for retail,” Dazai said wryly. “The latest fashion trend for preschool teachers, nightshift traffic controllers, and E trippers.”
“More like 2chan meme fodder,” Shigaraki muttered. “That dork.”
“Says the game geek,” Dazai sang, and dusted away the piece of lint that was flicked at him. “So he’s a dork. That’s it?”
It was an open-ended nudge towards a tangent. Was it even relevant? A distraction? A joke on sheltered upbringing at his expense? The last one was beyond stale.
“He sometimes goes shopping when he visits the Meiji era to teach etiquette classes,” Shigaraki said sardonically.[2] A deflection. “Wore gloves, a face mask, a wig, and sunglasses to blend in. You know how it goes.”
“A top hat wouldn’t do much when he’s the picture of a dodgy aristocrat, would it?” Dazai rested his chin on the back of his wrist, clearly amused. “Any souvenirs of note?”
“He could’ve brought back a t-shirt, but those weren’t in style,” Shigaraki said, and moved on to another topic.
The problem that became apparent was figuring out what he could barter with, if he wanted to move past their original agreement for a transaction.
All the more reason for him to test the waters.
“The name Sensei gave his Quirk, for what you think his grand Plan B is. How does that sound?”
“How unbalanced. Isn’t it an empty label?”
For all intents and purposes, just knowing the name was a tip-off, and already Dazai was trying to understate its value. Was it that big of a secret? Likely, when most of the underground were aware of how Sensei generally used his Quirk, just not what it was called.
On a personal level, however, it wasn’t as big as the bombshell the Doctor had unknowingly dropped. That’s what made it easy to ignore the slight twinge of guilt.
(It wasn’t easy, throwing away years of unquestioning trust and admiration for his Sensei despite the confusion and betrayal he felt. How could he even decide what to do about it when he was sure there were connections he was missing? In what way should he begin reconciling the kindness the man showed him as a wide-eyed child with the discovery that it all possibly started with a lie?)
“Nah.” Shigaraki smiled wide. “At the very least, you’ll have something else to call him. It’s about the same level as Nakahara pretending he has a strength-enhancement Quirk. Before you ask, I don’t know what it truly is, except that for all his muscle he’s not as bulky as he should be for the needed shock absorption.”
A bluff. The worst that could happen was he’d be laughed off. Nakahara had never used his Quirk in front of him. However, he remembered the kick that sent him flying across the warehouse. Whatever the redhead’s actual ability was, something along the lines of a strength Quirk would be the easiest coverup. The mafia were secretive of their own assets, after all.
“Pipsqueaks like him would still get crushed by a falling building, with or without the extra power,” Dazai said with the languidness of a house cat grooming the back of an untrimmed paw. “Imaginative scrape at the bottom of the barrel, but extracurricular efforts won’t score you bonus points.”
A faint whiff of cigarette smoke drifted in from the open window, and Shigaraki didn’t have to turn his head to know that Nakahara was already awake, if he had been asleep at all.
Odd moment to announce his awareness, if it was intentional at all. Did Shigaraki get a near hit on the pretense or something else? Not that he really cared. Nakahara’s ability could be as mundane as blowing bubbles, with how little he used it in daily life.
“No, but it does net me a stat boost.” Shigaraki drummed his fingers on his knee. “That’s half of how you’ve buried entire groups before, isn’t it. Should I throw in what exactly Sensei wants me to do next for you to see if you were right on the money?”
He had zero patience for long drawn-out mind games; the setup was too long for him to fully enjoy gambling for the payoff. However, that didn’t mean he couldn’t see their value, and in front of him was a person who could bullshit his way through where and when and how he got his intel from that wouldn’t compromise either of them.
Heroes, villains, criminals, civilians. Shigaraki could now acknowledge that thinking beyond those terms was what made Dazai such a skilled manipulator. It was twisting conventional knowledge, the deliberate trick of utilizing the interplay of boxed expectations and fluid reality.
“You could,” Dazai acknowledged, “but that’s still a lowbie item. Don’t you want the gear to go with your imaginary level up?”
Raise the stakes, really?
“Bring a poker table next time,” Shigaraki said derisively. “Better than having to worry about inventory management.”
“Oh? But that’s part of bartering,” Dazai said brightly, clasping his hands to parody a shop keeper. “You already said I’d mock you. Why shouldn’t I oblige?”
Shigaraki hissed and ran a nail down the side of his neck.
Expectations, indeed. Of course Dazai would make this more difficult, and he couldn’t tell if this was on a whim or not.
As it turned out, it was costly for a reason.
The picture of his life that emerged made his skin crawl.
Shigaraki Tomura, real name forgotten, presumably in his late teens. Special to his Sensei for nothing else other than his malleability and another undetermined purpose that called to his ego, a child no one was technically obligated to save. His grand debut against All Might possibly motivated in part as revenge for almost killing Sensei.
(They could only speculate on why Sensei chose not to personally confront the hero himself.) [3]
One more subject in a series of experiments that was supposed to have been suppressed in the early days when Quirks first emerged, when both pro- and anti-Quirk groups demanded answers from the still developing branch of Genetics that culminated in the destruction and shut down of laboratories by extremist groups.
Publicly, the study only had resumed after the courts had finally outlawed Quirk discrimination, but Sensei clearly had the resources to pursue his research regardless of legalities or medical ethics. The old records Dazai’s boss had found were part of this body of work, abandoned by the Doctor’s team in their haste to evacuate the hidden facility they were working in at the time of the Incident.
Government-sanctioned genetic manipulation was a benign, recovering field, extending to only agriculture and experimental physical rehabilitation, with a strict ban on anything lending to eugenics lest the nightmare craze of Quirk marriages returned. Sensei’s twist, on the other hand, let him play god.
There was no need for him to bring up the initial stages of the Noumu project. However, it became all the more evident that were it not for Sensei’s personal interest in keeping him relatively healthy, he could have ended up as a lab rat fit for only dissection or Quirk harvesting.
He hadn’t quite decided how he should feel about that and the possibility that the Doctor likely still had samples of his DNA and other body tissue, waiting to be used for whatever reason they saw fit.
“The Quirk Factor is still an anatomical function, no matter how outlandish some of its manifestations are,” Dazai was saying with a languid wave of a hand. “Unlike your Sensei, whose Quirk is supposedly designed to amass everyone else’s abilities, your physique can’t just adapt that easily. Now, everything we are capable of - stuff like digestion, respiration, cognition, mood - is governed by the nervous system. It isn’t a stretch to assume that the tests run on you jeopardized the normal operation of your nerves and the associated neurotransmitters, synapses and receptors - I recall there was a note that some individuals receiving or giving Quirks straight up ended in comas. It’s a low bar for unintended success, but I suppose congratulations are in order for not ending up as a senile vegetable. As it is, you seem to have chronic dehydration and slightly erratic behavior. It’s difficult to determine at the moment if your memory loss is a side effect of the experiments or intentionally inflicted on you, and there’s no certainty you won’t end up with some form of disorder like schizophrenia or an early onset of Parkinson’s disease.”
In other words, he was massively fucked if more proof surfaced that he was far gone. Even in this day and age, brain damage was one of the worst maladies to have. On another note, having his memories scrambled was not enough to stop them from bleeding into his nightmares, nor was it enough to stop the effects of testing Quirk compatibility showing up on his body.
He should’ve guessed. The sound of tinkling glass and the feel of a metal surface on his back were out of place in his childhood home, with its polished wooden floors and creamy wallpaper. The flare of bright light in his dreams was too harsh and close to be sunlight, and where his entire body would’ve been numb, his arms were heavy.
“Of course they hadn’t fully fixed it,” Shigaraki muttered, irritatedly scratching at his neck, propping his foot on the car seat to lean his knee on the backrest and ignoring the dusty prints that stood out on the black leather. He never had questioned what all those shots the Doctor gave him were actually for beyond the general claim of immunization, and he doubted the man would just hand over his file if asked. Having Kurogiri pilfer them was also out of the question.
How could he have been so stupid?
“Either they were only able to mitigate the worst effects, or leaving the mildest of symptoms was a convenient excuse to continue your appointments.” Dazai fixed him with an unreadable look. His pale face and the bandages that concealed his right eye and neck stood out, the rest of his suit and coat blending in the darkness. “I’m no medical expert, but I’m sure that having a degenerative condition isn’t a nice way to go, old man.”
Shigaraki turned both lines over in his head and let it them sink in. The first one was easier to connect to his own situation - Sensei mentioned looking for suitable Quirks for him, and the Doctor had been busy since the near-death scare to schedule a “check-up”. Regardless of if they originally had other trials to run, maintaining Shigaraki’s current state of health possibly gave Sensei more leeway on what kind of Quirk to give him permanently. As for the second...
He was far from old, joints far from creaking and brittle, and he was still able to move fast. Dazai’s line of logic was clear, and yet he couldn’t envision himself being diagnosed with the conditions mentioned earlier. He exhaled, and slid a hand out of his front pocket, examining the thin skin of his palm and the network of veins that stood out on his wrist. Where had the brunet drawn those conclusions from?
The memory of their first meeting flashed in his mind, of a younger, less expressive version of Dazai accompanied by an older man equally dressed in black. Port Mafia’s boss, Mori Ougai.
If there was anything Dazai specialized in, it was the opposite of health improvement. While both murder and medicine required knowledge of the human body, the latter didn’t require in-depth mastery. Mori, on the other hand - Sensei had called him Doctor Mori, hadn’t he? Even if Mori’s field wasn’t in Quirk biology, he probably suspected something was off.
Fuck this. Dazai worded it so gloomily as he was prone to thinking of worst case scenarios, but Shigaraki’s body was still functioning. Until he got actual confirmation from the results of an actual medical exam conducted by someone who wasn’t the Doctor, his supposed chances of early demise weren’t worth stressing over.
(A decline in health could also mean he was expendable after Sensei was done with him, but that entirely depended on what Sensei’s aim was.)
He wasn’t going to kick the bucket just yet. Wasn’t planning to.
(This was still speculative. In the context of this conversation, would Dazai hold Shigaraki’s inability to affirm those suspicions over his head?
Likely. The other was too skilled in spotting and maximizing his advantages.
What would the actual consequences be for the both of them?)
And underneath it all was a message - a sentiment the other dared not speak of. Dazai was not fully the smug tease he usually was, opting instead to pepper his words with shots here and there to pretend this was just another normal discussion for him. Neither was this the same Dazai from that night in the warehouse, who efficiently goaded him for answers.
The kiddie treatment, Nakahara had called it. The mafia had a reputation for violence and blackmail. Apart from the usual taunts, no physical or psychological nooses had graced his neck. Yet.
Something was off. What was Dazai really after, if this was more than a mere exchange of information? Why bother mentioning the potential long term consequences of the experiments, when all Shigaraki originally needed to know was how much Sensei’s plans screwed him over? Hell, why did he even blatantly point out his various fuck-ups in negotiating?
In the course of constantly being pulled to redefine what he did and did not know, Shigaraki was forced to watch more closely and break through his own previous assumptions. It not only meant re-orienting himself to who he was, but also re-examining what he thought he knew about everything else.
Defining what wasn’t was normally easier - all he had to do was to take apart the bullshit and dump it in the discard pile. The problem, however, was when he ran into ambiguous elements designed to play on his expectations and to provoke him into responding.
Having to catch himself in the moment, especially if he was too caught up or pissed off, was difficult. It meant getting over tunnel vision and restraining his own obsessive tendencies, a reminder to himself that he was the one supposed to control his impulses, even with the possibility that his brain’s wiring hasn’t caught up with the rest of the program.
He absolutely hated it, when at that point his own instinct was the one thing certainly and honestly his.
And when he took that moment to think over what Dazai had said, from the words down to the inflection used, his gut feel that there was something else at play hadn’t changed.
Hindsight is twenty-twenty, and Shigaraki had definitely on the receiving end of that tone before. He had been distracted then, his focus caught between Dazai’s teasing and the occasional cryptic statement, the game they had elected to play that afternoon, or his own competitive urge to wreck Dazai. The brunet casually hid it with an ever-present smile and a slight tilt of the head, weaving in commentary on the nature of crime, violence, and how both related to people in one breath, and dropping a joke in the next.
Dazai Osamu, a few years younger than him in appearance, already one of the top members of the Mafia despite having no ambition for it and being indifferent to the organization itself. Surrounded by many, yet ever alone. One of the most hypocritical people he had the displeasure of ever knowing, and the likeliest person to have a love-hate relationship with the art of killing time known as boredom.
An odd man out, never lending himself to other people’s understanding.
Avoidant of it.
We get along with people differently, he and I.
The more you know.
Maybe there was more to Nakahara’s earlier taunt to Dazai than he’d thought. It wouldn’t have been a proper barbed dig otherwise.
“Funny how you’re giving me health advice, brat, with all the times you tried killing yourself,” he said, surveying the other’s expression. “Didn’t you think I was a nuisance?”
“Absolutely not worth the amount of property damage you dream of causing,” Dazai replied, the ghost of a smile on his lips. “But you’d prefer going down fighting.”
There it was, a rippled reflection in water.
Regardless of Dazai’s original intention in grabbing his attention, getting too intrigued was the part he probably hadn’t expected to happen. Now, here they were.
Not that his own newfound discernment didn’t make him any more sympathetic. However, whatever this was and what it’d turn into still bore the weight of recognition - the mere beginning of understanding. He was quite fed up with denying what was in front of him, when he had other things to be pissed off about.
Shigaraki Tomura didn’t have all the answers in the world, but for this instance he could afford quitting being such a sore loser about it.
“How considerate.” Shigaraki slowly reached out and pinched Dazai’s necktie with his index finger and thumb, pulling it out from his vest. He kept his gaze on the other man as he deliberately curled his fist around the length of silk, dissolving it to dust, and ignored the other’s wide-eyed stare.
Live, and let live.
“Do you accept IOUs, or did you have something in mind,” he asked, an idea forming in his mind, pulling his hand back as if nothing of significance had passed.
A beat.
“Depends on what you’re asking,” Dazai said quietly, visible eye half-lidded as he rested the back of his head on the window pane.
Shigaraki told him. Compared to his original intention of squeezing the other man for more information, this was a better option in light of his current state of affairs.
“Ah. You’re in luck.” Dazai laced his fingers as he lay out the terms. His composure returned as he spoke, along with that unreadable gaze. It wasn’t a spur of the moment calculation, but something he had on the backburner.
Shigaraki put two and two together and frowned, mulling on the proposal. It was far from compromising - in fact, it was suspiciously too advantageous, and incredibly ballsy. Sensei wouldn’t say no to retaining the bar and moving old junk from old compromised hideouts to a less populated area where there were fewer heroes. In fact, the heroes who tended to go to the outskirts of major cities were the ones who didn’t want to keep up with an endless list of incidents, and it was rare for them to encounter large-scale operations. While that also meant they had more time on their hands to poke around, it wasn’t anything a business front couldn’t fix.
(He was willing to bet Sensei had a lot of experience with those. What would surprise him in the future, however, was the extent of it.)
There was no doubt in his mind that this maneuver was linked to how the Port Mafia was possessive over their territory, and he couldn’t bring himself to care all that much. Fuck’s sake, it was just a piece of land full of people and city waste. As for having strategic advantage, there were other ports closer to Tokyo.
No, his only real protest was that he couldn’t decline on principle when he was the first one to give in and ask for a favor. “That why you mentioned Kurogiri earlier?”
“It’ll work, if that’s what you’re worried about,” Dazai hummed. “I made sure of it.”
The actual reason Dazai was late, it would seem. Shigaraki wasn’t inclined to ask for details just yet when he had a bone to pick with the bartender.
“Fine,” he huffed, and sealed the deal with a lazy kick to Dazai’s calf, which the brunet returned. “You’ll know when it happens.”
“Good.” Dazai breathed softly and closed his eye. “You know normal people use handshakes, don’t you?”
“Screw that,” Shigaraki replied with a roll of his eyes. “You went along with it, weirdo.”
Dazai lounged on the backseat for the drive to Kamino, his shoes adding to the dusty prints Shigaraki had left earlier. That left Shigaraki to ride shotgun, his left ear fully at the mercy of Nakahara’s screeching complaints on the mess.
It wasn’t as if Nakahara couldn’t afford to have his car cleaned.
“Get a shittier car next time. It’s not as if you need an overhyped piece of trash to get around Tokyo.”
“It’s called having taste, dickhead. Not that you’d understand if I told you what it was when you’ve gone deaf from the screamo music you’re still hung up on.”
“Piss off. At least I don’t have any hang ups on learning how to dance something from the last century or so. What’s next after electro swing, the waltz or the tango?”
“Good shit gets revived,” Nakahara said loftily, swiping his gloved thumb on the steering wheel, and pointedly kept his eyes on the road. “They have character.”
(There was no need for Chuuya to mention that, of the three of them, Dazai was probably more inclined to take up the waltz or the tango if he ever bothered moving his lazy ass to actually learn. The idiot had yet to shed off his last bit of fondness for toying with the romanticized nature of romance, if finding people to shamelessly flirt with before asking them to commit double suicide with him was anyone’s sane idea of a twisted manic pixie love story.)
“My footprints add character, too,” Shigaraki sneered. “It’s like stepping on a nice pair of shoes straight out of the box. I’ll make sure to bring paint next time so it’ll be permanent.”
“Fucking barbaric. No wonder yours are so ratty. And get your own damn car if you want to color it. Add one of those love and peace signs and call it a hippie van for all I care. Oh, wait, I forgot -” and here, Nakahara snapped his fingers, “- you’d make it rust when you work yourself into road rage in the middle of a traffic jam.”
“Or he could do that right now,” Dazai piped up from the back seat. “I’ll nap on the road and hope a ten wheeler passes by.”
Nakahara groaned. “Will you just quit it already?”
They dropped off Shigaraki a few corners away from the bar, reluctant to get close in case Chuuya’s car was identifiable.
“Apart from what you promised,” Dazai said to Shigaraki, who was standing on the sidewalk, hood drawn up, as he walked around the car to the passenger’s seat, “what are you planning to do now?”
“It hasn’t changed. Not really.” The white haired man smirked as he passed by the brunet, tucking both hands in his jacket pocket. “I’m playing by my own rules.”
Dazai watched him thoughtfully as he strode off.
(That, really, was how the best villains started out: unfettered by anyone else’s agendas save for the ones they found acceptable, carving their own niche in a world that played part in their creation. The flexibility of choice. How unlike typical mafiosi, whose ambitions were tied to the organization.
True, it was an oversimplification of all the factors involved. As a starting point, however, it served its purpose.
A moment beyond predictability. He looked forward to seeing if it was possible.)
“Got what you wanted?” Chuuya had rolled down his own window, a lit cigarette dangling from his lips, one hand on the stick shift.
“More or less.” Dazai slipped into the car and shut the door. “Looks like I reappropriated Ango’s advice after all.” He paused. “You don’t usually smoke in your car, Chuuya.”
Chuuya raised an eyebrow, looking mildly irritated at the lack of explanation on Ango’s involvement, and reached around Dazai to latch on his seatbelt. Leave it to the redhead to bother with traffic regulations; Dazai never cared for seatbelts or driving safety.
“I’ll need to have this cleaned anyway after the muck you both brought in,” Chuuya said, displeased.
“Hmm.” Dazai tapped his chin. “A two bottle night, is it?”
“Ass.” The redhead smiled grimly as he drove. “Don’t you have a different bar to get to?”
“Not tonight. I told you I’d make fun of your hangover, didn’t I?” He blocked the punch Chuuya aimed at his arm.
“Stop invading other people’s houses, bastard!”
“But Chuuya, I’m the perfect guest! I’ll even stop you from setting yourself on fire if you attempt to cook while plastered.”
“Fuck off!”
“Before you go - Hirotsu-san?”
“Boss?”
“Tell Dazai-kun his request is approved.”
A thick, sealed envelope exchanged hands. Hirotsu securely tucked it in his coat and bowed before leaving Mori alone to his thoughts.
An innocuous exchange of favors between friends would not be amiss. If Dazai wished to repay Ango for the tip-off, so be it. No, what was far more amusing was how Dazai originally outlined his points, maneuvering around the elephant in the room.
Dazai sought to preserve the farce of his ignorance as to who Ango’s true employer was, and his own awareness that Mori knew. That, too, was acceptable for now. It was not time for this egg to crack, and the young executive had done well in capitalizing on a miscalculation borne from an unfinished thought and aimless curiosity. Besides, this was a fantastic opportunity to get one over the villain who had inadvertently made his earlier work more difficult.
It wouldn’t do to let the old Boss’ sudden downturn in health go unavenged, out of respect for the work he’s put into the organization before his downfall. All for One’s theft of his Quirk had hastened his predecessor’s deterioration, and both Port Mafia and the city itself bore the brunt of the consequences before Mori got in a position where he could intervene.
For that reason, Mori was not merely content to remove the threat from his territory: he wanted the Special Abilities Division to deal with it. Wasn’t keeping an eye out for this villain partly why they remained a hidden existence long after they were officially disbanded decades ago?
The greatest victory is that which requires no battle. [4] That was not to say there was no possibility of conflict breaking out, but this movement went a long way in minimizing potential damages.
He looked forward to the day that thorn was wholly removed from his side.
The following year, the organization Mimic arrived on Yokohama’s shores.
[1] In case you were wondering, this is why Kurogiri checked 2 watches way back in chapter 9 + the differences in greetings. The manga seems to drop hints in this direction (someone on reddit pointed out AfO’s HQ looks like a certain building in the US, which I’ll also be making use of), and there was a stronger hint in BNHA S2 when we go from a shot of Deku’s class wallclock (their morning/the start of homeroom) and cut to the tower in the afternoon.
[2] If you don’t watch other series set in this era - the Meiji period was when Japan started to learn and integrate Victorian/Western elements (among other things) into their culture after a long period of isolationism.
[3] It’s unclear in the manga if Shigaraki knows about One for All.
[4] Another Sun Tzu line.
Really hoping I didn't forget to add anything I was supposed to x.x (I am lowkey tempted to ship at some point, not sure if it'll be in this series or a separate one.)
Go forth, Shigaraki, and plus ultra this shit.
And here's the final chapter of No Save Points.
In case you missed it - chapter 1's been edited.
The idea of leaving the Port Mafia was wholly novel to Dazai. He used to imagine he’d die in connection to it one way or the other, and in the race to avoid being outmaneuvered he had no shortage of scenarios to dream of: getting hit by improbably angled bullet ricochets, tripping on syringes, stepping on landmines, falling off open skyrise windows, inhaling biochemical hazards, choking on cyanide pills, being tortured in interrogation, strapping on faulty parachutes, riding sabotaged transportation, getting sentenced to the death penalty.
Quick, sometimes violent, and hopefully not drawn out or beyond his pain tolerance. Gone to sleep beneath the waves after passing out from the lack of oxygen, sinking deep, deep, until the darkness and the current swept him away.
After Mimic, Ango’s departure, and Oda’s - Oda’s passing, he had a little time to think.
(He could not yet grieve in the way he wanted to, not if he wanted to create the opportunity to take Oda’s advice. And so he clung to those final words each day he forced himself out of bed. Every layer of gauze wrapped around his body was a reminder of physical reality, even as the numbness seeping into his bones rendered his form void.)
Once, in passing, Dazai imagined saying goodbye. The issue of being marked as a traitor aside, farewells were messy affairs, and the bitter taste of loss had yet to leave his tongue.
So he didn’t. Instead, he planted a bomb under Chuuya’s car, destroyed several high score records at the arcade, slipped a new scarf on Hirotsu’s coat rack, and left an urn filled with burnt suit ashes in his empty desk drawer.
Only one set remained, hanging on the wall of his apartment now devoid of the sparse personal effects he’d gained over the years. He’d dispose of it in less than twenty-four hours after this next mission, the only one in his record that would be unfinished. Easier than doing laundry.
But for now, a drink.
He sat in the Bar Lupin between two vacant stools, drinking at leisure and chatting with the bartender, counting down the minutes until the end of business hours. The liquor display still cast its amber light on the bar’s polished wooden surface, and the master had served him the same drink.
The whiskey was dry in his mouth, and its color lost its brilliance.
“It’s been a long night,” he sighed, lifting his glass. “One more, please.”
The barkeep regarded him with a patient thoughtfulness peculiar to those who listen with an open ear. Dazai was careful to not swivel his stool in any degree to the right.
“So it is,” the other man replied, setting down the retrieved glass on the counter, and held up a shaker. “Would it please you to have a change of pace?”
“...ah.” Dazai chuckled softly, his gaze shifting from the man’s hands to the kind crinkle of his eyes. Did he look that adrift between two empty spaces? “If it pleases the master. I’ve no doubt that whatever your mix will be excellent. Though I have one request: would you mind making it on the sweet side?”
An early Wednesday, barely a day after his talk with Chief Taneda, found him aboard the Shinkansen on the way to Aomori, where he planned to stay a week before heading for Tokyo.
(There was really little point in visiting his parents’ hometown, nor did he plan on speaking with anyone who might’ve known them.
But did a whim need to have a calculated purpose?)
It was novel, seeing in daylight the transformation from metropolis to lush green scenery with both eyes, when he’d long adjusted to only having his full sight in evenings back at his old apartment where the deception of injury was unnecessary.
Dazai still ended up closing his right eye when the strain and fatigue caught up to him, and a soft, wry laugh escaped his lips.
So much for trying to get around blind spots.
(He wondered if the sunlight could swallow him whole.)
He woke up an hour ago and couldn’t go back to sleep.
Shigaraki rarely had clear dreams, even when his nightmares lessened a year ago. This one, while equally vague, was different - it was too pleasant, all sunlight and care and warmth.
Tenko, a voice said, and there was a gentle laugh. Not too high, or you’ll fall.
You’ll catch me, won’t you?
(Father’s cold hand was next to the pillow when he woke up: the last stone unturned.
He didn’t want to let go. It wasn’t time.)
The pleasantness was alien. He didn’t know if he should be bothered by its alienness, and wondered if he should be disturbed that it possibly bothered him.
Shigaraki shut his thoughts away. He’d deal with them once he was properly awake, if he cared to remember.
(Tenko. Was it something or someone important?)
Tap.
With the curtains drawn, the only source of light came from the dual monitors on Shigaraki’s table. One screen was littered with browser windows showing FPS weapon skins, price trackers, and market historical data graphs. The other displayed a trading forum and several skin keys.
Five keyboards in varying states of wreckage were stuffed under his desk. On the table was a notepad with the login information of several smurf accounts. His poster on the wall was joined by two printouts showing steep price drips of two items, the ink and images covered with notes in angry red marker.
On the bed was Shigaraki himself, idly scrolling through a tablet unconnected to the network, mindful of the USB sticking out of its side. The rectangular screen displayed the results of his second medical exam, notably less extensive than the first one he had a year ago after Dr. Nagayo isolated the essentials that needed monitoring.
A notification appeared onscreen. He dismissed it, ate the banana resting on his side table next to his water glass, disintegrated the peel, reached under the bed for a small plastic utility case, and uncovered the blue pill organizer hidden at the bottom.
Months of caffeine-fuelled trial and error in learning the game community-based market, only for him to sink the majority of his earned funds in tests and meds. The inconveniences of not wanting to gain Sensei’s attention and not being covered by national health insurance were no joke. Not that he could complain, when this was the likely outcome of him asking for a neutral, discrete doctor who could keep their mouth shut.
He swallowed his morning pills with a mouthful of water, replaced the container with the contents of the utility case, and slid it back under the bed.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
The sound was coming from window and not a weird off note from the music playing on the PC.
Shigaraki glanced at the upper right corner of tablet display. Ah. Right. Sideline number two, for his other fund.
(Finder’s fees were expensive, and Shigaraki was well on his way in discovering just how particular he could be in picking people.
He’d let Kurogiri have his silence for whatever plausible deniability schtick he needed to do, but that didn’t mean Shigaraki was content with that sort of arrangement. No - if he needed someone to go around when he wasn’t in the mood to talk or play nice, it might as well be a person who wasn’t under Sensei’s thumb.)
One step at a time, with the time and non-attention afforded to him.
He stood up and pushed the curtain aside. Tachihara Michizo, newly promoted Black Lizard commander, was on the opposite building’s railing, looking expectant and irate, a hand on his hip, tossing a few pebbles in the air with the other.
Shigaraki lifted his open palm in greeting, raised his other hand to signal he’d be out in around ten, and shut the window.
“Seven in the morning,” Shigaraki said blearily, biting back an insult as he pulled his hood up, his voice muffled slightly by a thick, plain facemask. It more of an empty complaint than anything, seeing how Tachihara himself was equally unenthusiastic. “Told ya to tell your folks to set it to later in the afternoon.”
“Chuuya-san’s orders,” was the curt reply. “Said to tell you about the time limit.”
Well, whatever. Might as well get it over with.
Shigaraki merely grunted as Tachihara escorted him to the car a few blocks down, and let himself be blindfolded once he was seated. It was funny how, before his meds kicked in to even out his mood, he would’ve lashed out to this kind of treatment. The temporary loss of sight and the locational disorientation of being driven around was still uncomfortable, but not to the point of triggering a flight or fight response now that he could get behind the necessity of the procedure.
(It wasn’t as if he cared to poke around Port Mafia territory uninvited these days. Not for a year now.)
An hour and a pile of pulverized crates later, Tachihara handed him a sealed envelope. Shigaraki checked if the cash was inside before pocketing it. Short, profitable, and mildly therapeutic - the best kind of property destruction that his Quirk afforded him. No drama attached, no over-complicated thinking needed beyond the guidelines of being an outsourced contractor.
A neat, tidy transaction. He’d miss this simplicity once the Doctor pronounced the Noumu prototype completed, or if All Might did something that made it easier for him to track. Whichever came first.
(He also had no doubt that guy’s old boss was aware of this exchange. It’s been years since his first and last encounter with Mori Ougai at the bar, but his clearer memory afforded him a better recollection of the man.
If Mori was a shrewd as he remembered, Shigaraki was sure he already had several contingency plans for whatever Sensei was about to do next. Maintaining amicable relations with Shigaraki, more for his role as Sensei’s student rather than anything he presently brought to the table, was likely one of them.)
Tachihara replaced his blindfold and guided him back to the car, his hand curled around Shigaraki’s elbow.
“We’re heading back to the usual,” Tachihara said.
This time, Shigaraki couldn’t help but snort. “That fancy French cafe again?”
“Yeah.” A shift in the grip on his elbow - the teen had shrugged, and couldn’t really provide personal comment about the Executive’s tastes without fearing if his actions reflecting poorly on himself.
Shigaraki rolled his eyes from behind the blindfold. Really, it wasn’t as if Nakahara trolled people into fearing him, unlike that bastard. Or maybe the kid hasn’t settled in yet.
As for him, at least he was also getting free breakfast for having to sneak out at an annoying hour.
“Nakahara. It’s five in the afternoon.”
Not that Shigaraki hadn’t expected this, when it was around the time that dodgy bastard left. He hadn’t even needed to ask a year ago when, after radio silence, the same name was displayed on the arcade console scoreboards above his. Soon after he was visited by a very pissed off Nakahara, who demanded to know if he had anything to do with his car exploding.
Oh please, Shigaraki had said as soon as he could get a word in edgewise, do you honestly think I can break into your building’s basement parking solo without anyone figuring it out? A crumbled wall would’ve been a dead giveaway.
Well. If Nakahara hadn’t figured it out, Shigaraki wasn’t about to give him a clue.
On top of defecting, Dazai didn’t want anyone trailing after him. Shigaraki still wondered what had been strong enough to jolt the brunet to drop everything. If Nakahara knew, well - he wasn’t talking, and Shigaraki didn’t ask. Despite being occasionally commissioned by them, Shigaraki wasn’t part of their group, and Nakahara was even more careful in maintaining that divide between work and not work.
Shigaraki understood, even if it was bothersome to think about. Betrayal was a bitch all around, and as far as he could tell Nakahara was picking up the slack.
“Yeah, and it’s my day off.” Nakahara took a breath. He’d traded in his formal attire, save for the hat, with a loose button-down shirt and dark brown slacks. There was a subtle shift in his expression, present for only a fleeting moment. It reminded Shigaraki of Ozaki-aneesan at the garden with the spider lilies, the same dark crimson flower that decorated the hem of her kimono. “Can’t believe you only started drinking last year. Fuck’s sake, you live on top of a bar.”
“So sorry for not picking up your bad habits,” Shigaraki rolled his eyes. “‘Sides, you know I can’t always get smashed - on meds, remember?”
“Ah. Yeah.” Nakahara peered at him over the rim of his glass. “Speaking of - you never said the last time what name you settled on.”
“‘Shigaraki’ still works,” Shigaraki said, and took a swig of his beer, sleeves rolled up to his elbows to expose his still pale yet firm skin. It was weird to think of himself as Furusato Tenko [1] after years of not remembering. No, that name was as dead as the ink it was printed on, in that impersonal document on the family registry. “Old names don’t fit well, y’know?”
“...I guess.” Nakahara continued watching him from the corner of his eye as he took another sip of brandy.
Shigaraki idly peeked at the mouth of the beer bottle. The redhead’s words brought to mind another fragment of memory, one had taken a while for him to untangle from endless walking along alleyways.
Shimura Tenko. The name Sensei called him when he found that scared, hopeless little boy with dried blood on his hands.
Father’s records on the family registry noted the adoption, but there weren’t any records on the circumstances of his orphanhood. Why Sensei was confident in using the name Shimura, Shigaraki could only guess.
(The implications only served to twist the knife of uncertainty in an already festering wound. Did Sensei know Father? Were they on friendly terms? If they were, what would Father think about how Shigaraki grew up?)
A sharp whistle in his right ear brought him out of his thoughts, and the loud noise coupled Nakahara’s sudden proximity almost made him lose balance.
“Fuck. Ow.” Shigaraki scowled as he rubbed his ear. “Did you need to do that?”
“Nah, but it’s better than watching you space out.” Nakahara mockingly clicked his tongue. “Rude of you.”
“Sure, I guess it’s educate the heathen day.” Shigaraki vaguely waved his bottle at the redhead’s direction, still clutching his ear with the other hand. “Don’t tell me even this has some convoluted etiquette thing so obscure no one remembers it.”
Nakahara’s smirk was wicked, and Shigaraki found himself jerking away in alarm, unwilling to listen to yet another talk on proper behavior. “Well, since you asked --”
There were rumors that the traitorous Demon Prodigy was spotted in Yokohama.
Himiko honestly didn’t get what the fuss was about when the Mafia’s usual MO was to hunt down and kill traitors - not that she expected the assignment to be easy given the guy’s reputation, nor have any actual orders been given out.
Sure, she got why Chuu-san was all pissed off when the guy, his former partner and all, just up and went and left him hanging. But for even broody Aku-sama to be twitchier than usual?
“Ne, Gin-chan,” she said, nudging her fellow assassin, the navy blue of her seifuku sleeve blending with the other girl’s black coat. “Is it really that big of a deal?”
Gin shot her an impassive look, obviously unimpressed with the blonde’s assessment of the situation.
Himiko pouted. “Not fair. You know I wasn’t around when -” Here, she made a vague gesture, never mind that only the two of them were in the room with both everyone else out on missions. Early on in her recruitment (which essentially boiled down to get in or get lost before you get caught and give us a headache, and oh how she would’ve knifed Tachihara if Hirotsu-san hadn’t stepped in), she learned that even the slightest hint of asking about that person was enough to rile up Aku-sama.
It wasn’t that she didn’t like seeing her boss’s wonderful and versatile Quirk in action - the rivers of blood he drew from his enemies were absolutely breathtaking - but having that ire directed at her wasn’t high on her priorities.
Not when she knew how Gin-chan, for all her quietude, disliked seeing Aku-sama torn up about this.
(She asked Gin-chan before if there was anything she could do to help fix it - recon? Blackmail? Murder? The way Gin-chan’s eyes narrowed and and the slight shift of her posture clearly said to leave well and enough alone.
Himiko backed off like the good teammate she was, and thought it might be more of a personal thing rather than something strictly organization-related. Still, she wondered, because seeing two of her favorite people miserable made her miserable, and she didn’t like feeling crummy.)
Gin exhaled softly, the sound muffled by her facemask and stood up. She gave Himiko a cool look over her shoulder before walking, her pace sedate instead of its usual brisk sharpness.
Oh. Gin-chan wanted to take this outside.
Himiko slipped off her chair, patted down the creases of her uniform skirt, and skipped after her partner, the wisps of blonde hair that escaped their messy buns bouncing with her movement.
(This whole secrecy thing was more annoying than it was worth, but she could still tolerate it. Sure, she missed the old days when she’d drop in on a tasty-looking target and take their blood, but the assignments given to her?
They were more thrilling to hunt down.)
There was a building at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue, home to several media agencies, nonprofit organizations, multinational corporations, and law firms. It was a nexus of activity, with most groups having global reach to influence millions.
On the top floors resided one man. At the present he was seated in front of several screens displaying the interior of a bar, several angles of a laboratory, and a nature documentary. His body was hooked to various medical machines, monitoring his vitals and pumping nutrition into his system.
Recovery was a tedious process. He had little to do but to sit, watch, and plan.
Presently, his attention was focused on the documentary. It was on the fascinatingly resilient micro-animal known as a tardigrade, capable of surviving extreme weather conditions and radiation with the development of its gene pathways and the production of unique proteins.
“Genome sequencing of one of its most stress-tolerant species revealed that one point two percent of its genes were the result of a horizontal gene transfer -” [2]
The man rested his chin on the back of his hand. Interesting, how the many forms of the natural world continued to evolve and propagate themselves in the bid to win natural selection. Even co-dependent viruses, such as the Mimivirus and Sputnik, had their own curious way of spreading.[3]
Movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. The man switched off the documentary as a lanky teen stepped into the screen showing the bar, slouching on a stool and resting his forearms on the counter.
Resilience against and adaptability to change. The boy’s biological gifts aside, he possessed potential for the latter in spades, even as his aversion of unwanted complications worked against him.
To destroy this fake, rotten society. Oh, he doubted that Tomura-kun, still sheltered as he was despite the growth he's shown, truly grasped the full depth and breadth of that oath. For most, change was permissible only as long as it fit their perception of improvement. However, to see beyond the tidy boxes of heroes and villains, to dissect and grasp the connections and balances of power that held together civilization and its desire for stability, was to see the axle the world turned on.
Even as mankind praised its own virtues, it cannot escape the darkness of its heart.
Would Tomura-kun end up regretting his wish?
(Would this be yet another echo of the ghost of a conversation from long ago between two brothers?)
It didn’t matter in the long run.
Even if his student faltered when he amassed his forces and the world unravelled, All for One would remain.
As it always has.
[1] Furusato (古里) = hometown, homeland, historic village
Shimura (志村) = purpose, will, determination, aspiration + village
Couldn’t fathom why Nana would go through the trouble of having her son adopted and fail to change his surname for additional safety, so I looked for a random japanese surname with a meaning related to either character in Shimura, and found Furusato first.
[2] More on space bears: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade
[3] Pretty sure “co-dependent” is imprecise, but w/e
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Thu Jan 14, 2021
Home News Burnham town councillors voice concern over unitary authority plans
Burnham town councillors voice concern over unitary authority plans
Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge town councillors have voiced concerns about Somerset County Council’s controversial plans to create a new unitary authority, axing district councils.
The ‘One Somerset’ proposals could lead to big cost savings but would also lead to radical changes in how local services are delivered, as reported here by Burnham-On-Sea.com.
Town councillors have raised a number of concerns during their latest meeting, which was held online, after hearing from Leader of Somerset County Council, Cllr David Fothergill.
Cllr Sue Harvey said: “I am a little concerned about how we actually hold the County Council’s feet to the fire when it comes to funding. I like the idea of more control coming down to the grassroots very much. I like the idea of us having more say in local affairs. I do feel that a lot of residents feel that much of the decision making that’s taken on their behalf is made in Bridgwater and beyond.”
“But I am concerned that if services are hived off to town councils, funding must follow or we may find that we’re taking on all these extra duties. Without the funding we could look like the ‘baddies’ because we have to put up the local precept in order to cover them.”
Cllr Dawn Carey added: “My concern with this is actually the extra potential workload that we’re going to end up doing, particularly for the wonderful ladies in the Town Council office that keep us going day to day.”
Cllr Peter Clayton said: “I think the finer detail will come out soon, but I don’t think we should go down one side or the other, particularly as we haven’t heard yet from the district councils and Councillor McGinty [leader of Sedgemoor District Council] – only then can we have more of an informed opinion.”
Cllr Andy Brewer added: “I don’t understand what the outcome is likely to look like if we went for a unitary council. I was told by a Cabinet member at Somerset County Council that town and parish councils could cease to exist.”
Cllr Phil Harvey said: “Keeping people’s feet to the fire is important. If this is it to go ahead I think it is important that we would need some really good assurances about funding and functions. We need things like ‘service level agreements’ and to consider the long-term position.”
“It’s all right for Somerset County Council to say we could have the income from car parks – that would be very nice and quite significant – but in 25 years’ time will it be so significant?”
“How can we learn from other Parish Councils, who’s going to ask the questions, so that we can actually understand what’s going on elsewhere.”
Town Council Clerk Sam Winter said: “We have carried out research and looked at what’s happening around the country. We know from the information that there have been problems with perceived ‘dumping’ on Parish Councils. I think we can avoid that, but my concern is that we might get very excited and think we can take on some functions without giving thought to whether we can actually perform the functions using our staff and finances.”
“You need to look at what functions potentially you could feel comfortable doing, and start flagging those up, so when people start the conversations we have an agenda. I don’t think we can stay silent until everybody else joins in or we’re just going to miss the boat.”
Cllr Mike Facey proposed a sub-committee be formed to consider the proposals in more detail. Cllr Clayton agreed that forming a new group would be a “very good idea.”
Cllr Phil Harvey also gave his support to forming the group, adding: “I think we need to move really quite carefully. I have a feeling that all of this is going to be ‘beside the point’, because I think the Government is going to impose a unity solution across the whole country in their devolution white paper.”
“That doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t deal with the unitary position, but I think we need to look at what others have done and what the particular experiences are in Wiltshire, North Somerset and Dorset where there have been unitaries for some time.”
Council Clerk Sam Winter added: “We can sit down and go through the experiences – there’s an awfully rich seam of problems that we want to avoid.”
The sub-committee members will comprise of town councillors Phil Harvey, Peter Clayton, Mike Murphy, Chris Allen and Helen Groves.
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Next articleBurnham-On-Sea tourist information centre to re-open with Covid safety measures
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Police issue 7 fixed penalty notices to drivers from Bristol parked in Cheddar Gorge
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FEMALE ENTREPRENEURS GET SPRINGBOARD TO GROWTH
By James Perkins
DESPITE the fast-growing number of women studying STEM subjects at school and university, women continue to be underrepresented as tech entrepreneurs, and that is something the Springboard Accelerator Bootcamp is aiming to change.
Springboard is an entrepreneur accelerator for women that was founded in the United States 16 years ago and was established in Australia in 2013. It has 36 Australian alumni, who together have raised $120 million in capital, including two IPOs for Flamingo and Adalta.
Springboard Enterprises Australia chair Topaz Conway says the program takes a non-competitive approach to mentoring entrepreneurs.
"For the Springboard program, once selected you become part of the camp and alumni and there is zero competitive process. The women have responded better to this, they are self-competitive and want to do well, but they also want to help each other and our process facilitates this," says Conway.
The 2017 class of 10 Springboard entrepreneurs begins the 10-day camp in February.
Among them is Brisbane-based Sujata Karandikar, co-founder of Unscrabble, a supplier intelligence platform that connects corporations with suppliers.
As Karandikar explains, corporations require a large amount of information with suppliers to meet corporate social responsibility requirements, and often suppliers are forced to complete similar forms over and over for various customers.
"Because there is no efficient way to store this information, they are asked to do it again and again. We have created a system where the information is stored online and it is easy to access," says Karandikar.
She, along with co-founder Steve Mardon, have extensive experience in procurement through working for a number of global mining companies.
"We saw the same problems again and again. Whether it was in banking or government, it was the same problem," says Karandikar.
Unscrabble previously won a startup competition sponsored by Westpac, and then was accepted into the Blue Chilli incubator program, which helped take the idea to the prototype stage.
This positions Unscrabble firmly in the Springboard demographic a company with a prototype ready for investment and growth.
"We have been engaging a few corporates and government entities and actually secured our first enterprise customer a couple of months ago and we have been working closely to them in the New Year to onboard their suppliers onto the platform," says Karandikar.
As Conway says: "The companies need to have a good product in the market that is ready to scale and the business should be ready for growth capital, and it should be looking to the US market".
The women pitch three times during the program: at the start of the bootcamp, at the end and then again at the Dolphin Tank event at the end of the eight-week program.
Mentors work with the entrepreneurs throughout the process and beyond, providing the women with an extensive network of contacts not only in Australia, but through its sister program in the United States.
"We stick with the companies and work with them to keep going we have a network of 650 alumni and thousands of investors; it is the beginning of a much bigger process."
The 10 businesses in the 2017 Springboard class are: Bookmarc, Helen Awali, NSW; Coviu Global Pty Ltd, Silvia Pfeiffer, NSW; Data Creative, Renece Brewster, VIC; Elanation, Katherine Pace, NSW; Instatruck Siobhan Lancaster, WA; Life Cell Marine Safety, Jenny Aiken, NSW; Modibodi, Kristy Chong, NSW; TCPinpoint Rachel Kidwell, SA; Unscrabble, Sujata Karandikar, QLD; and UrbanYou, Noga Edelstein, NSW.
"Business as usual" for Aussie cherry exports to China despite trade tension whispers
Earlier this week, China's Global Times reported importers we...
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Power Moves | LVMH Appoints New Vice President of D&I, Jimmy Choo Names New CEO
3 September 2020 • By Aminah Khan
This week, Corey Smith was named vice president of diversity and inclusion at LVMH Inc., while Jimmy Choo veteran Hannah Colman was appointed chief executive of the luxury fashion house.
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‘Lose your rights’: Pauline’s ‘racist’ spray
by Samantha Maiden
Pauline Hanson has declared people on welfare have "lost their rights" in a furious speech where she also attacked the fact an Aboriginal senator she said had "a white father."
Speaking in support of the cashless debit card that critics have dubbed as "racist", the One Nation leader shocked the chamber on Wednesday by declaring anyone relying on welfare had forfeited their right to decide how they spend the money.
The card links 80 per cent of welfare payments to a cashless card to stop the purchase of drugs, alcohol and pornography.
"That's what this card is about. It's not about a person's rights,'' Senator Hanson said.
"When you go onto this card, you basically lose your rights as well. If you go on a welfare system, you've lost your rights."
The Morrison Government's hope to enshrine the cashless welfare card as a permanent feature appeared in strife last night after Senator Rex Patrick announced he would oppose the legislation.
But it was quickly revived via Centre Alliance's Stirling Griff who indicated he would back amendments to extend it for two years.
Senator Hanson said there had been many positive effects that flowed from the cashless welfare card, that restricts welfare recipients from spending cash on drugs, alcohol and pornography.
"There have been increased purchases of baby items, food, clothing, shoes, toys and other goods for children,'' she said.
"That's why they are quite happy to be on the card. They can say: 'I can't give you money. I haven't got it.' Humbugging is in these communities. They know that family members are taking money from them."
from 22 seconds in this clip: "It's not about talking about a person's rights. When you go on this card, you basically lose your rights as well. When you go on the welfare system, you've lost your rights." pic.twitter.com/JdH55vw12X
— James Elton (@JamesEltonPym) December 9, 2020
However, the One Nation leader then turned her sights on the Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe who has described the card as "racist."
"I can't let go what Senator Thorpe said earlier in this chamber. She commented that it's her land,'' Senator Hanson said.
"Senator Thorpe talks about her land. What about the white part? Where's her white father in all of this, who I should say is a member of the One Nation party?."
How the hell is Pauline Hanson still a presence on the Australian political landscape, I honestly place a lot of blame on Dancing With The Stars
— Jess McGuire (@jessmcguire) December 9, 2020
She is saying the quiet stuff out loud here but this is what’s happening. They want to take away people’s rights in this country. People on welfare have rights. There are more people who need help this year more than ever. Taking rights away is horrible. https://t.co/u9R8qVwNS5
— David Campbell OAM (@DavidCampbell73) December 9, 2020
The remarks then prompted a demand from the Deputy President of the Senate Sue Lines that Senator Hanson withdraw the remarks.
"Senator Hanson, are you arguing with the Deputy President of the Senate? I've directed you to withdraw those remarks,'' she said.
"It is my responsibility under the standing orders of the Senate to ensure that debate is within the standing orders. I further remind you of a statement the President made on several occasions in this place about how this is a workplace and how we need to respect one another and to not refer to other senators in a personal way. So I would ask you to withdraw the remarks that you made about Senator Thorpe's family.
"It's not a debating point. I'm directing you to do that, so please do that.
Originally published as 'Lose your rights': Pauline's 'racist' spray
cashless debit card
pauline hanson
cashless debit card editors picks one nation parliament pauline hanson racism welfare
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A10 reopens nine hours after serious collision between van and car
Emergency services are at the scene
Adam Care
Tom Pilgrim
The A10 has now been reopened after it was closed in both directions due to an accident involving two vehicles.
One vehicle had overturned, the other vehicle left the road and was in a ditch along side the roadway.
We'll be bringing you the very latest updates, pictures and video on this breaking news story.
For the latest news visit www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/.
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A10 now reopen
The A10 has now been reopened more than nine hours after a woman was critically injured in a crash between a car and a van.
traffic has now returned to normal after the incident, whihc took place at around 7am.
The patient, who is in her 60s, was airlifted to Addenbrooke’s.
14:33 Tom Pilgrim
A10 still closed
Queuing traffic after burst water main on A10
There’s currently queuing traffic on A10 Ely Road in both directions between Waterbeach Road (Waterbeach) and Landbeach Road (Milton).
Temporary traffic lights are in operation while engineers repair a burst water main.
Woman in 60s taken to hospital
Here’s our summary of everything we know about the A10 crash this morning.
Further update from police
A spokesman for Cambridgeshire police said:
“This was a collision between a van and a car reported at 7am. A woman who was travelling in the car suffered serious injuries and has been airlifted to Addenbrooke’s Hospital. Two people in the van were minor injuries.”
Location of road closure
(Image: AA)
One casualty taken to hospital by air ambulance
A spokesman for Cambridgeshire Fire and Rescue Service said:
“Firefighters arrived to two vehicles had collided head on. Using specialist cutting equipment they released one female casualty who was taken to hospital by air ambulance. The crews returned to their stations by 9am.”
Drivers urged to avoid A10
UPDATE: A10 closed in both directions
We’ve had an update on the location on the Littleport crash. Latest reports now say the A10 is closed in both directions. We’re collating more information.
Lynn Road in Littleport still closed
Incident on A11 northbound
One lane is closed and there’s queuing traffic due to a medical incident on A11 Northbound between A1304 (Six Mile Bottom) and A14.
Lane one (of two) is closed.
Collision on A14
A14 Westbound partially blocked due to an accident near J36 A1303 (Nine Mile Hill). Traffic is coping well.
Police are en route to the scene. This is affecting traffic between Newmarket and Cambridge.
Police update on Littleport crash
“We were called at about 7am to an incident involving two vehicles - a car and a van.
“We’re still on the scene dealing with it along with fire and ambulance at this time..
“At the moment the level of injuries is not expected to be serious.”
Motorists are advised to avoid Lynn Road.
Location of road closure in Littleport
Accident in Littleport
Lynn Road in Littleport is closed in both directions closed, with slow traffic due to accident involving two vehicles involved between Station Road and the A10.
One vehicle is reported to have overturned, the other vehicle has left the road and is in a ditch along side the roadway.
It’s Friday! The weekend is right around the corner. Let’s have a look at what the traffic is like this morning...
Addenbrookes HospitalCambridge doctor demoralised after finding Covid-19 conspiracy theory leaflet on doormatDr Folkard said he felt "depressed and dreaded going into work" this week after seeing the leaflet which claims Covid-19 is a "global scam"
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Publications and Manuals
Operational instructions and guidelines
International Mobility Program: International Free Trade Agreements
International Mobility Program: Canada-European Union (EU) Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
Canada will continue to issue work permits to United Kingdom nationals under CETA until December 31, 2020. These permits will be valid until the expiry date fixed on the permit. As work permit duration under CETA is capped at 12 months in any 24-month period, existing, new or renewed work permits cannot extend beyond December 31, 2021. For more information, refer to the Trade Commissioner’s webpage.
As of January 1, 2021, applications from nationals of the United Kingdom (UK) are no longer to be processed under CETA. They will be processed under the new Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement (Canada-UK TCA) after it is ratified, which is expected to occur in early 2021.
All applications from UK nationals under CETA will be processed under CETA, up to and including applications received on December 31, 2020.
Applications received from UK nationals on or after January 1, 2021, but before the coming into force date of the Canada-UK TCA will have to be accompanied by a Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) or meet the eligibility requirements of an LMIA-exempt work permit category.
September 21, 2017, is the effective date for CETA. Chapter ten of CETA facilitates entry for certain covered business persons who are citizens of Canada and EU member states by removing the requirement for Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs). Chapter ten of the agreement covers the three following categories of visitors for business purposes:
Key personnel: including intra-corporate (company) transferees, investors, and business visitors for investment purposes;
Contractual service suppliers and independent professionals; and
Short-term business visitors.
Instructions for CETA short-term business visitors and foreign workers
As detailed below, new LMIA exemption codes have been created to better capture data about visitors from EU member states coming to Canada for work and business purposes. Applicants may be processed at the port of entry, or, should they meet the conditions set out within section 199 of the IRPR, they may apply from within Canada or at Canadian missions abroad.
Business visitors and business visitors for investment purposes (work permit exempt under R186(a)/R187)
Investors (work permit required/LMIA exemption code T46)
Contractual service suppliers and independent professionals (work permit required/LMIA exemption codes T47 and T43)
Intra-corporate (company) transferees (work permit required/LMIA exemption code T44) and spouses (open work permit/LMIA exemption code T45)
Engineering technologists and scientific technologists (work permit required/LMIA exemption code T48)
Extending work permits issued under CETA
Most CETA work permits may be extended at the discretion of the officer who is assessing the application, provided the necessary documentary evidence has been submitted by the applicant to support the request.
Intra-corporate (company) transferees may be extended only for a period of up to 18 months, and graduate trainees are prohibited from receiving any extensions. Permits for contractual service suppliers, independent professionals and engineering and scientific technologists may be extended only up to 12 months from the start of the initial work permit and must fall within the overall 24-month window permitted for these categories. Investor work permits are eligible for extensions, per the discretion of the reviewing officer.
In order to apply for an extension, applicants must:
Apply before their current status expires;
Comply with all the conditions that were imposed on entry; and
Be in possession of a passport or travel document that is valid for the entire period authorized for the applicant’s stay.
In order to extend a CETA work permit, the employer must submit a new offer of employment. Officers should review the suggested documentation below when reviewing the work duration requested by the employer.
Examples of acceptable documentation to support an extension
A service contract extension justification from the offering enterprise
Updated business plans
An offer for a new contract
Feasibility studies and marketing plans
Additional questions to help officers determine eligibility
Consider the intentions of the applicant:
What is the applicant doing in Canada?
How long has the applicant been here?
How long is the request for?
Consider the reason given by the applicant for applying for the extension:
Are the plans well thought out or merely frivolous?
Has the applicant previously received an extension?
Consider the applicant’s situation in their home country:
What family, employment or other responsibilities and obligations has the person left behind?
How have these responsibilities been discharged?
Is a prolonged stay in Canada reasonable and feasible?
Consider the initial intent of the application:
What was the original purpose of the business visit to Canada?
Has it been fulfilled?
If it has not been fulfilled, was sufficient time originally granted to fulfil the purpose?
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Vacationers find alligator lounging on pool float at Florida Airbnb
Laura Jazmin Tolliver, GateHouse Florida
Seeing an alligator in Florida isn’t too out of the norm, but catching the scaly reptile lounging on an alligator pool float at an Airbnb -- that’s quite the sight.
Georgia resident Dave Jacobs and his family spotted a gator hanging out on an alligator-shaped pool float at an Airbnb in South Miami, the Miami New-Times reported.
The family first spotted the gator in the lake outside of their vacation rental on Saturday, Jacobs said.
The gator seemed to be teasing their dog, Rascal, who spent the day barking and running around the screened-in pool deck.
“We thought that was pretty cute,” Jacobs said. “Then, the next day, it just showed up in the pool.”
After contacting the Airbnb’s owner, wildlife management was called, and a wrangler removed the reptile from the pool.
Alligators courtship begins in early April and mating season occurs in May or June, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation.
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Donate a Car to Aspen Public Radio
Thank you for your interest in donating a car to Aspen Public Radio!
KAJX (91.5 FM) also known as Aspen Public Radio and was founded in 1981. KAJX is the main NPR station for Aspen, Colorado and Carbondale, Colorado. The station is owned by Roaring Fork Public Radio Inc.and is governed by a board of directors. KAJX provides the community with entertaining and educational radio. Looking to support a cause that is near and dear to your heart!? Consider donating your used vehicle. We accept cars, trucks, RVs (and some boats!) in most conditions. The pick-up is free and your donation is tax-deductible!
Ready to start the process? Call our car donation program partners at 1-877-215-0227 or click the button above to donate online.
Your car donation supports NPR stations like Aspen Public Radio, serving Aspen, Vail, Glenwood Springs, Denver.
Aspen Public Radio
110 E Hallam Street
Join your neighbors and donate a car to Aspen Public Radio
FAQs about Donating a Car to Aspen Public Radio
Q: Can I donate if my area is impacted by the Covid virus?
We are open and able to pick up donations, and we can do it contact-free. There may be some delay in pick up due to regulations in your area. If so, we will keep you up-to-date on any changes or adjustments and pick up your car as quickly as possible.
Throughout the donation process, our focus is on the health and well-being of our donors, tow drivers, stations, and community. Our donation technology, communications points, and mobile tools mean we can offer a touch-less donation process. You can even monitor the status of their donation online.
Discuss your preferred pickup process with the towing or pick-up agency when they call to schedule. Our drivers are encouraged to discuss transfer steps with donor and complete the pickup in a contact-free manner.
To maintain social distancing at pick up, donors can leave a signed title inside the glove compartment of the vehicle.
Keys can be placed above the visor or under the seat.
As a courtesy, you can wipe down the driver compartment of vehicle for the safety of our drivers.
Rather than handing off a receipt, we can email you one at time of pickup.
If you need more information, give us a call at 1-877-215-0227. We're here to help!
Q: What about privacy? Will you share my information?
We are very careful with any information you provide. Donor information is not given to any organization except the IRS as required by law, and to the station to which you're donating. Your station will only get your name and contact information, which they've asked for because they're eager to thank you.
If (and only if) you specifically opt in during the process, one of our producers may contact you to ask you about why you donated your car, or to ask for a picture of you with the car we can share with other public radio fans. That is totally optional, though. By default, your information will be entirely private.
Q: Who runs this car donation program?
This program is a legacy of the public radio show Car Talk. For more than three decades, Tom and Ray Magliozzi (aka Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers) answered listeners' questions about cars, and provided laughs, comfort, and trustworthy advice to millions. While Tom passed away in 2014, Ray and the rest of the staff decided to continue this program as a way to give back to the stations that were our friends and partners for decades–and whose programs we listen to every day.
Along with our car donation partners, we're proud to work with your local public radio station and help you turn your car into more of the programs you love. And we thank you for the help you are providing to our hard-working stations!
Have other questions?
Our Public Radio Partners
Arizona Public Radio, Aspen Public Radio, Iowa Public Radio, KBIA, KCLU, KHFM, KLCC, KNKX, KOSU, KZYX, Maine Public Radio, Michigan Public Radio, Minnesota Public Radio, New Hampshire Public Radio, New York Public Radio, Rhode Island Public Radio, St. Louis Public Radio, Vermont Public Radio, WAMC, WAMU, WBEZ, WBOI, WBUR, WDET, WESM, WFAE, WGBH, WGTE, WHYY, WKAR, WLRH, WMRA, WOSU, WPSU, WSHU, WUOT, WVTF, WWNO, WYSO
Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program
Home Donate Stations Tips & News Contact Fine Print #carsintoprograms
© 2018-2020 Car Talk Vehicle Donation Program
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Geoscape - N. Saskatchewan
Geoscape - Northern Saskatchewan
If rocks could talk...
Athabasca Sedimentary Basin
Jobs in Mining
How We Use Our Land
Waterways of the Canadian Shield
How long is time?
Credits & Citation
Poster Downloads
Geological Survey of Canada, Miscellaneous Report 91, 2006
or Saskatchewan Industry and Resources, Miscellaneous Report 2005-8
Douma, S., Corrigan, D., Delaney, G., Yeo, G., Maxeiner, R., Dale, J., Campbell, J., Viner, D., Rogers, M., Card, C., Harper, C., Slimmon, B., MacDougall, D., and Ashton, K.
2006: Geoscape Northern Saskatchewan; Geological Survey of Canada, Miscellaneous Report 91; Saskatchewan Industry and Resources, Miscellaneous Report 2005-8.
S. Douma, D. Corrigan, G. Delaney, G. Yeo, R. Maxeiner, J. Dale, J. Campbell, D. Viner, M. Rogers, C. Card, C. Harper, B. Slimmon, D. MacDougall, and K. Ashton
R. Franklin, D. Viner, S. Douma, and D. Corrigan
Saskatchewan Industry and Resources: G. Delaney, G. Yeo, R. Maxeiner, J. Campbell, M. Rogers, C. Card, C. Harper, B. Slimmon, D. MacDougall, K. Ashton, and S. Harvey.
Geological Survey of Canada, Natural Resources Canada: S. Douma, D. Corrigan, C. Jefferson, and L. Dredge.
University of Regina: J. Dale. University of Saskatchewan: K. Ansdell, J. Taylor, and O. Murawsky.
Strategic Planning and Corporate Assessment, Saskatchewan Environment: S. Gammell.
Royal Saskatchewan Museum: M. Hanna. Areva: A. Richards.
Cameco Corporation: V. Sopuck.
Northern Mines Monitoring Secretariat, Saskatchewan Northern Affairs: B. Hutchinson.
Saskatchewan Northern Affairs: D. MacAuley. Saskatchewan Archives: T. Novak.
Saskatchewan Agriculture and Food: J. Ivanochkvo.
Saskatchewan Forest Service, Saskatchewan Environment: R. Wright.
Shore Gold Inc.: G. Read. Lac La Ronge Indian Band: J. Roberts and B. Charles.
Prince Albert Grand Council: E. Paguin.
Saskatchewan Culture, Youth and Recreation (Heritage Resources Unit): K. Weinbender.
Others: S. Bird.
We thank the many scientists, teachers, and others who reviewed this poster at various phases of its development.
Geoscape Southern Saskatchewan
Geological Highway Map of Saskatchewan. Illustrated with 60 photographs and figures of roadside geological features. Available through the Saskatchewan Geological Society at Box 234, Regina, SK S4P 2Z6, or Tourism Saskatchewan.
Geological History of Saskatchewan Millennium Edition by John Storer. A richly illustrated review of Saskatchewan’s landscapes through geological time. 90 pages. Available through Royal Saskatchewan Museum (see web site address below).
Atlas of Saskatchewan edited by Dr. Ka-Iu Fang, 2000
Royal Saskatchewan Museum, 2445 Albert Street, Regina, SK S4P 3V7
T. rex Discovery Centre, Eastend, SK S0N 0T0 (306) 295-4009
Saskatchewan Industry and Resources (SIR), 2101 Scarth St., Regina, SK S4P 3V7
Saskatchewan Watershed Authority, 111 Fairford Street East, Moose Jaw, SK S6H 7X9
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration 403-1800 Hamilton Street, Regina, SK S4P 4L2
Department of Geology, University of Regina, Regina, SK S4S 0A2
Department of Geography, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5A5
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK S7N 5E2
Saskatchewan Mining Association
Geoscapes:
Saskatchewan - North
Saskatchewan - South
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Casegoods & Storage
Gently Used, Vintage, and Antique Dressers
Newly Made Dressers
French Country Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Mid-Century Modern Dressers and Chests of Drawers
French Provincial Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Campaign Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Art Deco Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Rustic Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Japanese Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Empire Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Victorian Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Asian Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Danish Modern Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Boho Chic Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Chinese Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Early American Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Chippendale Dressers and Chests of Drawers
English Traditional Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Hepplewhite Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Queen Anne Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Shabby Chic Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Italian Dressers and Chests of Drawers
Art Nouveau Dressers and Chests of Drawers
French Dressers and Chests of Drawers
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Day Eight: The Last Day of the Trip in Nuremberg, Germany
It may look Medieval but 90{4e4771bbe073b579fdd8e596ee487f65145483febbc8ba0a80525f62b26cad86} of Nuremberg was bombed out of existence in World War II.
This copy was built to replace it.
As much as you know this day is coming, there’s a certain melancholy that sets in when you realize this wonderful voyage is coming to an end. You might want to linger longer but the reality is your cruise is almost over, your new friends are about to go their separate ways. And you are going home. But first, there’s your last stop, Nuremberg.
There’s an optional free shuttle bus that takes passengers into town in the morning, then back to the ship for lunch. That afternoon the official tours take place while the ship moves further upriver to Erlangen where the Tor will dock for our last night aboard.
The Nazi’s Kongresshalle,
built to look like the Forum in Rome.
In many ways, Nuremberg is a fitting place to stop. Nuremberg’s history is full of unpleasantness that people would most like to forget. It is here that you can opt for a World War II excursion that will take you back to Nuremberg’s history of being a Nazi stronghold and later the site of the Nuremberg trials. These trials
The Courthouse where the Nuremberg trials
were held.
convicted whoever among Hitler’s inner circle had not already committed suicide or fled to Argentina. But if you do not take the full tour, you will still see a couple of these monuments to Germany’s darkest days on your way into town.
Nuremberg means “Rocky Mount”
Better by far is the historic center of Nuremberg. This is the heart of the medieval city. Surrounded by walls, the fortress in its very center is where you will see where the city got its name. “Nurn” means rock and “berg” means mountain so Nuremberg can be translated into Rocky Mount, whose twin in North Carolina is home base to our dear friend, Roger.
Nuremberg was practically blasted out of existence during the Second World War. 90 percent of its buildings were bombed with no regard to their historic significance or wartime usage. The animosity the Allies felt towards the Nazis was on full display. Modern Nuremberg is a triumph of rebuilding. It is often hard to tell what is original and what is a re-creation. But our guide provided us with several photographs showing the wartime destruction firsthand. It was sobering to say the least.
Arnie, Sharon, Moi, Rev. Al and Mare
on board the Tor
In our free hour and half, my friends, the Rev. Al and his wife Mare and their two great friends Sharon and Arnie and I decided to sample the Bratwurst that has made Nuremberg ‘the Sizzling Sausage Capital of Germany’. We went to Bratwurst Röslein, described as “the largest Bratwurst restaurant in the world!” Though not as old as the Alte Wurstkuchl in Regensburg, it’s been in existence since 1431 or 579 years. It’s right behind city hall and we were delighted to seek some shade in the plaza in front of the restaurant.
Bratwurst Röslein’s Brats are served on a pewter platter.
Nuremberg is indeed famous for their particular kind of bratwurst. These bratwursts were considerably smaller than the Regensberg brats had been. They are only about 3 to 3 ½ inches in length. The major difference is not in the size, however, but in the flavor. They’re pork-based but seasoned with fresh marjoram which makes them very distinctively different from the milder, meatier Wurstkuchl brats. They’re served in sets of six, eight, ten or twelve along with either sauerkraut or potato salad and a dollop of mustard. We five shared two plates of them, along with glasses of cold beer and rosé, a nice respite on yet another warm June day. The weather on this trip has been spectacular start to finish!
The Open Kitchen at Bratwurst Röslein,
serving Braturst for 579 years.
Once again, we boarded our coaches for a half hour trip to Erlangan, seeing a more modern Germany along the way. Once back on board it was time for a farewell cocktail and dinner. And wouldn’t you know it, the night owls held their final dance party where, although I haven’t a photo to prove it, I saw some of them dancing on the tables. And no one even stopped them.
I will be doing one final post entitled: “The Ten Best Things about Viking River Cruises” so please come back Thursday when I will have it up and running. All best to all my fellow “Tor” passengers. I will never forget you.
Filed Under: Bratwurst Roslein Nuremberg., Cruise Travel, Cruise Travels, Day Eight Viking River Romantic Danube, Nuremberg Viking River Cruises, Reviews of Viking River Cruises, Viking River Cruises Post 10
Day Five: Wachau Valley and Melk Abbey aboard Viking River Cruise’s "Tor"
Top 10 Best Things about a Viking River Cruise
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Pope Francis teams up with Olympic athletes for coronavirus charity auction
June 8, 2020 CNA Daily News News Briefs 1 Print
Vatican City, Jun 8, 2020 / 07:30 am (CNA).- Pope Francis has teamed up with Olympic athletes for a charity auction this month to support hospitals in the regions of Italy hardest hit by the coronavirus.
Three-time world champion cyclist Peter Sagan donated a custom racing bike with the Vatican crest and colors for the pope’s fundraiser, and 2018 Olympic gold medalist Sofia Goggia autographed ski racing boots.
Other athletes, such as Italian runner and record holder Filippo Tortu, are offering the opportunity for a day of training, followed by dinner. The Olympic rowing duo Giuseppe and Carmine Abbagnale are auctioning off a dinner for two together with them near Sorrento.
All sports memorabilia and experiences are being auctioned off online in the “We Run Together” collection at the Charity Stars website starting June 8. Earlier auctions on the Charity Stars site have raised more than $2.2 million to aid the fight against COVID-19.
Online bidding for current items will run through June 18 with other Vatican Athletics celebrity sports auctions scheduled to take place throughout the summer. All participants in the auction will be automatically entered to win a Vatican jersey signed by Pope Francis.
“We Run Together” is a charity initiative organized by Vatican Athletics in collaboration with several Italian organizations to support hospitals in Brescia and Bergamo, cities in the Lombardy region where there have been 90,195 cases of COVID-19, and doctors are continuing to treat 19,420 positive cases as of June 8.
Pope Francis met with the organizers of “We Run Together” at the Vatican May 20. The organization had originally planned a day of sports pairing Olympic and professional athletes with people with disabilities, and other vulnerable people, but the May 21 event was cancelled due to the pandemic.
“Tomorrow you can’t run with your legs, but you can run with your heart,” Pope Francis said in response to changing the sporting event into a charity sports auction.
“All proceeds will be donated to the health personnel of the Pope John XXIII hospital in Bergamo and to the Poliambulanza Foundation in Brescia, both symbols of the fight against the pandemic that has hit the whole planet. It is an initiative to help and thank doctors, nurses and hospital staff. They are heroes! They are all living their profession as a vocation, heroically, putting their own lives at risk to save others,” the pope said.
Pope Francis met several of the athletes participating in the We Run Together auction. Besides Peter Sagan and Sofia Goggia, other athletes taking part in the charity auction include Olympic gold medalist swimmer Federica Pellegrini, former Roma soccer team captain Francesco Totti, Paralympic cyclist and former Formula 1 racer Alex Zanardi, fencers Valerio Aspromonte and Carolina Erba, and the Luna Rossa Prada Pirelli sailing team.
“I encourage you, dear friends and dear athletes, to live your passion more and more as an experience of unity and solidarity,” the pope said.
“It is specifically the true values of sports that are particularly important in facing this period of the pandemic and above all, the difficult aftermath. And in this spirit I invite you to run, together, on the track of life.”
Catholic churches in England to reopen after 80-day closure
Bishop urges Catholics to reject ‘detestable’ changes to Guernsey abortion law
Sinner or saint – God loves you, Pope Francis says on Christmas Eve
December 24, 2019 CNA Daily News 2
Vatican City, Dec 24, 2019 / 02:21 pm (CNA).- A person’s weakness and sin does not change Christ’s love for them, and Catholics should strive to treat others the same way, serving anyone and not only those they consider worthy, Pope Francis… […]
Holy See issues statement on conviction, appeal of Cardinal Pell
Vatican City, Feb 26, 2019 / 07:30 am (CNA).- The Vatican press office has issued a statement on the recently announced conviction of Cardinal George Pell on charges of the sexual abuse of minors.
The decision of the County Court of Victoria w… […]
Pope Francis urges Catholics to help children by supporting adoption
Vatican City, May 24, 2019 / 10:39 am (CNA).- Adoption is often a difficult and bureaucratic process, but there are many children who need homes and the Church should step up to help them, Pope Francis said Friday.
Speaking May 24 to employees and pat… […]
Dr.Cajetan Coelho
“We Run Together” is a meaningful initiative.
The Church, Excommunication, and Reconciliation
Carl E. Olson September 6, 2014 0
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Infamous Alpine driver with Nazi flag causes outrage in La Mesa
Staying dry, gusty and above seasonal this weekend
SDSU Aztecs /College
San Diego Loyal / USL
San Diego Padres /MLB
High school athletes rally across San Diego and CA to "Let Them Play"
‘Let Them Play’ rallies held across California for youth and high school sports
Help Button
San Diego, CA »
Up With 8
San Diego Living
CBS News 8 - San Diego, CA News Station - KFMB Channel 8 | cbs8.com
Mary-Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy Reach Divorce Settlement
Author: Jackie Willis
Published: 1:14 PM PST January 13, 2021
Updated: 1:14 PM PST January 13, 2021
Mary-Kate Olsen is getting a fresh start in 2021. ET has learned that the 34-year-old actress and 51-year-old French banker Olivier Sarkozy have settled their divorce.
While details of the former couple's settlement are sealed, a source tells ET that "the agreement was reached amicably" and that "everyone is looking forward to moving on."
A source tells ET that Olsen is "relieved this divorce is behind her." According to the source, the designer had moved on emotionally following her split, but now that her divorce has been finalized, "she can finally move on mentally too." "It's a new year and she's ready for a fresh start without this weighing her down," the source says.
The source adds that Olsen and Sarkozy's proceedings ultimately went smoothly and there's "no bad blood between them now."
First time a judge has granted me permission to “shoot” a proceeding in the pandemic and it’s a screenshot of Mary-Kate Olsen and Olivier Sarkozy’s divorce proceeding. The future is here and it’s bizarro, babe. pic.twitter.com/tuguy4bTcZ
— Molly Crane-Newman (@molcranenewman) January 13, 2021
As for what's next for Olsen, the source says she's "in such a great place."
"She's been working non-stop her whole life -- literally since the day she was born -- but the pandemic has forced her to slow down and really focus on what she wants and that's been really good for her," the source shares, adding that she's enjoying spending time with her sisters and friends and is "very open to meeting someone new."
Olsen filed for divorce in May after five years of marriage. By October, the Full House star was said to be "single and having fun," a source told ET at the time.
"She's not seriously with anyone, but she's dating," the source noted. "She's doing great and seems happier than she's been in a long time."
Mary-Kate Olsen Is 'Not Fixating On' Her Divorce, Source Says
Mary-Kate Olsen Is Dating After Split From Husband Olivier Sarkozy
How Mary-Kate Olsen Spent Her 34th Birthday
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Securing the Border
About the CBSA
Serving Our Clients
CBSA Service Standards
Archived - Fiscal Year 2015 – 2016
This page has been archived on the Web
Information identified as archived is provided for reference, research or recordkeeping purposes. It is not subject to the Government of Canada Web Standards and has not been altered or updated since it was archived. Please contact us to request a format other than those available.
This page has been archived on the Web.
Advance Rulings and National Customs Rulings
Service Description: Section 43.1 of the Customs Act allows members of the trading community to request a binding ruling from the CBSA on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Origin, Tariff Classification, or Marking of goods imported from a North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) country in advance of the importation of goods. The CBSA also issues National Customs Rulings (NCRs) for valuation purposes, for non-FTA origin goods and marking of goods imported from non-NAFTA countries. These services provide the importing trade community with a measure of predictability and certainty as to how goods are to be accounted for with the CBSA.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to issue advance rulings for tariff classification and origin (free trade agreements) and National Customs Rulings no more than 120 calendar days from the date of receipt of complete information upon which a ruling may be based.
Performance Target: 90%
Performance Result: The CBSA issued 1,871 advance rulings and met the service standard 70% of the time.
B2 Commercial Adjustments
Service Description: Requests for commercial refunds are received, reviewed and processed in Customs Commercial System by select Trade Service Offices in the Region. If approved, a cheque is issued to the client.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to process B2 commercial adjustments within 90 calendar days of receipt of a claim and all requisite supporting documentation.
Performance Result: The CBSA processed 192,175 B2 commercial adjustment requests and met the service standard 86 % of the time.
Border Information Service (BIS)
Service Description: The BIS is a single window contact centre that offers automated, bilingual, 24-hour, 1-800 telephone service, both for the travellers and commercial streams, by providing information on current programs and services offered by the CBSA. It also offers the option to speak with a BIS officer by pressing "0" during regular business hours – 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., Monday to Friday local time (excluding holidays).
Service Standard 1: Interactive voice responses are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Performance Result: The CBSA interactive voice responded 612,826 times and was available 100% of the time.
Service Standard 2: BIS will strive to answer calls within 60 seconds from the moment the client presses "0" to speak to an officer.
Performance Result: The CBSA officers answered 269,698 calls and met the service standard 89% of the time.
CANPASS Suite of Programs Application
Service Description: To participate in one of the CANPASS Programs (CANPASS Air/Private Aircraft/Private Boats/Corporate Aircraft), a client must submit a paper application, along with the requisite application fee, to the Canada Border Services Agency, which will process the application through one of its Canadian Processing Centres (Surrey, BC, Montreal, QC, and Niagara Falls, ON). The application processing involves a risk assessment of the clients to determine whether they meet the requirements to participate in the applied-for program.
Service Standard: Within 30 business days of receipt of a complete application, applicants are informed whether their application is approved.
Performance Result: The CBSA processed 3,253 applications and met the service standard 99.8 % of the time.
Carrier Code Application
Service Description: This service allows for application of a carrier code to establish identity and is required to conduct business with the CBSA.
For more information, please see the Carrier Codes section of our Web site or e-mail us at carrier-cargo@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.
Service Standard:The CBSA will strive to issue a carrier code to those who meet carrier code eligibility requirements within 3 business days.
Performance Result: The CBSA processed 4,022 applications and met the service standard 31% of the time.
Note: The performance results for 2013-14 and 2014-15 apply to the former 10 business day service standard, which was changed to 3 business day in April 2015. The reduction in the service standard combined with legislative and programmatic changes affected delivery within the published service standard.
Casual Refund
Service Description:The Casual Refund Centre receives a request for a refund with required supporting documentation and processes it using the casual refund systems so that the client is issued a refund for duties and taxes paid on casual goods.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to process casual refunds within 30 business days of receipt of claims and all requisite supporting documentation.
Performance Result: The CBSA processed 167,933 refunds and met the service standard 100% of the time.
Coasting Trade Licence (CTL) Application
Service Description: Issuance of CBSA letters of authorization or denial in relation to CTL applications to obtain a licence for temporary admission to the coasting trade of Canada.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to send a letter of authorization or denial to the applicant within 2 business days after receiving a decision from the Canadian Transportation Agency in respect of a CTL.
Performance Result: The CBSA sent 82 letters of authorization or denial and met the service standard 99% of the time.
Commercial Driver Registration Program (CDRP) Application
Service Description: To participate in the CDRP, a client must submit a paper application to the Canada Border Services Agency, which will process the application through its Canadian Processing Centre in Niagara Falls, ON. The application processing involves a risk assessment of the clients to determine whether they meet the requirements to participate in the program.
Performance Result: The CBSA informed 736 applicants and met the service standard 100% of the time.
Commercial Release
Service Description: Importers and customs brokers must obtain a release decision of commercial goods from the CBSA by presenting a properly completed accounting document or submitting an interim accounting Release on Minimum Documentation (RMD). This service facilitates the release of legitimate commercial goods through minimal intervention within established service standards.
Service Standard:Post-arrival Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) RMD's will provide a release decision within 45 minutes.
Performance Result: The CBSA processed 622,981 requests and met the service standard 74% of the time.
Cultural Property Export Permits
Service Description: The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has specific responsibilities to administer and enforce the Cultural Property Export and Import Act in collaboration with the Department of Canadian Heritage. For more information, please see the Memorandum D19-4-1 Export and Import of Cultural Property on our Web site or e-mail us at contact@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.
Service Standard 1: Issuance of Cultural Property Export Permits – simplified. Cultural property export permits that do not require the assistance or review of an expert examiner when all documents are in order will be issued within two business days of a request.
Performance Target: The CBSA will strive to meet the service standard 95% of the time.
Performance Result: The CBSA will begin to report performance results on this service standard in fiscal year 2016-2017.
Service Standard 2: Issuance of Cultural Property Export Permits (Expert Review). Cultural property export permits that require the assistance or review of an expert examiner will be issued within 20 business days of a request.
Customs Bonded Warehouse Licence
Service Description: The CBSA receives and processes Customs Bonded Warehouse applications that allows private sector operated facilities (regulated by the CBSA) to store imported goods with a complete deferral of customs, anti-dumping and countervailing duties and excise duties and taxes, including the goods and services tax and the harmonized sales tax. Importers only pay duties and taxes on the portion of goods entering the Canadian market.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to process Customs Bonded Warehouses Licence applications within 60 business days from the date of the receipt of the complete application.
Performance Result: The CBSA processed 11 applications and met the service standard 100% of the time.
Customs Brokers Licence
Service Description: Applications for customs broker licences are sent to the CBSA, which must ensure that the applicant meets the requirements as stated under the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations. If all regulatory requirements are satisfied, the CBSA will issue a customs broker licence.
Service Standard: Applications are processed within 3 months of a complete application.
Performance Result: The CBSA processed 17 applications and met the service standard 82% of the time.
Customs Brokers Professional Examination
Service Description: The CBSA administers the Customs Broker Professional Exam annually. The CBSA must ensure that the Customs Broker Professional Exams are marked, recorded and mailed to candidates within four weeks from the date of the exam.
Service Standard: Results are mailed within four weeks from date of exam.
Performance Result: The CBSA mailed 114 results and met the service standard 100% of the time.
Customs Special Services Fees
Service Description: If there is a need for clearance of commercial goods, and the service being provided is after hours or at a non-designated site, special services charges may apply. Section 167 of the Customs Act, primarily pertains to Special Services (i.e. goods). This section states:
(1) The Governor in Council may make regulations prescribing:
a) what services performed by officers at the request of a person in charge of imported goods or goods destined for exportation shall be considered to be special services;
b) the charges, if any, that are payable for special services by the person requesting them; and
c) the terms and conditions on which special services shall be performed, including the taking of such bonds or other security as may be prescribed.
(2) Anything that is required under this Act or the regulations to be done at a customs office, sufferance warehouse, bonded warehouse or duty free shop that is done at another place as a result of a special service shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act or the regulations, to have been done at a customs office, sufferance warehouse, bonded warehouse or duty free shop, as the case may be. The cost to clear commercial goods is assessed according to the regulated rates found within Special Services Memorandum D1-2-1.
For more information, please see the Memorandum D1-2-1, Special Services on our Web site or e-mail us at contact@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.
Service Standard 1: Requests for special services are acknowledged within 1 working day of receipt.
Performance Target: 100%
Performance Result: The CBSA acknowledged 1,349 requests for special services and met the service standard 95.48% of the time.
Service Standard 2: Upon completion of the service, a detailed invoice is provided, itemizing the special services completed and the associated fees for these services. This ensures transparency and consistency within the billing process.
Performance Result: The CBSA issued 1,349 detailed invoices and met the service standard 99.78% of the time.
Customs Sufferance Warehouse Licence
Service Description: An application to operate a customs sufferance warehouse is sent to the CBSA, which must ensure that the applicant meets the requirements as stated under the Customs Sufferance Warehouses Regulations. If all regulatory requirements are satisfied, the CBSA will issue a licence to operate a sufferance warehouse.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to process customs sufferance warehouses licence applications within 60 business days from the date of the receipt of the complete application.
Drawback Claims
Service Description: The CBSA receives and processes drawback claims, which is a refund of customs duties on imported goods that have been exported. Claimants can export goods in the same condition they were imported, or before export they can further manufacture or use them in a limited manner without affecting the refund amount.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to process drawback claims no later than 90 calendar days from the date of receipt of a correctly completed and supported application.
Performance Result: The CBSA processed 3,714 drawback claims and met the service standard 87% of the time.
Duties Relief Program
Service Description: The CBSA receives and processes Duties Relief Program applications that enable qualified companies to import goods without paying duties, as long as they eventually export the goods. Before export, companies can further manufacture or use the goods in a limited manner without having to pay duties.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to process applications no later than 90 calendar days from the date of receipt of a correctly completed and supported application.
Duty Free Shop Licence Application
Service Description: An application to operate a duty free shop is sent to the CBSA and the CBSA must ensure that the applicant meets the requirements as stated under the Duty Free Shop Regulations. If all regulatory requirements are satisfied, the CBSA will issue a licence to operate a duty free shop.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to process an application for a new duty free shop licence within 90 calendar days from the deadline for application submissions. Only complete applications that meet all of the program requirements, as set out in the Duty Free Shop Regulations, and that include all required supporting documentation will be considered.
Performance Result: The CBSA processed 9 applications and met the service standard 100% of the time.
Efficient Marine Container Examination
Service Description: Ensure an efficient marine container examination process is conducted in the marine mode in order to minimize delays to the importer.
Service Standard 1: The CBSA will strive to conduct a marine container examination within 24 hours. The 24-hour period excludes weekends and holidays, fumigant testing and ventilation, and the time required reloading a container.
Performance Result:The CBSA met the service standard 100% of the time.
Service Standard 2: When the presence of fumigants is identified within a marine container, the CBSA strives to ensure the container is not delayed for longer than 3 days in the ventilation process. This 3-day period does not include weekends, statutory holidays, or containers which pose an extreme danger to health.
Performance Result: The CBSA met the service standard 100% of the time.
Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) Application for Advance Commercial Information (ACI)
Service Description: This service provides businesses with the ability and authorization to electronically transmit their pre-arrival information either via the eManifest Portal through the Internet or by EDI to the CBSA's host system. Businesses and their service providers who choose to use one of the EDI options to transmit electronic commerce data to the CBSA must apply to the CBSA. eManifest requires all carriers, freight forwarders and importers to send ACI about their shipments electronically to the CBSA.
For more information, please see the eManifest section of our Web site or refer to Memorandum D12 – Pre Arrival Commercial. You may also contact us at:
Technical Commercial Client Unit
355 North River Road, 6th Floor
Ottawa, ON K1A 0L8
E-mail: mailto:tccu-ustcc@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca
Service Standard 1: Application Acknowledgement - Upon receipt of a complete and accurate application form BSF691 - EDI Application for ACI from the client by fax or email, the CBSA will aim to acknowledge receipt of the application within 2 business days.
Performance Result: The CBSA processed 5,173 applications and met the service standard 99.9% of the time.
Service Standard 2: Review of Application - The CBSA will aim to review the application form BSF691 and communicate to the client within 10 business days the necessary course of action to be followed in the ensuing testing process.
Performance Result: The CBSA conducted 5,173 reviews and met the service standard 97.8% of the time.
Service Standard 3: Initial Test - The initial test of each test package for using the EDI system ensures that all technical communication components between the client and the CBSA are interfaced correctly, allowing data to be processed by the CBSA and results returned. Upon transmission of the first test of each test package by the client to the CBSA, the CBSA will aim to send a notification to the client of a Pass or Fail result within 5 business days.
Performance Result: The CBSA processed 65 testing clients and met the service standard 86.2% of the time.
Service Standard 4: Final Test - Upon transmission by the client of the final test for using the EDI system to the CBSA, having a Pass result leading to the successful completion of the test package, the CBSA will aim to send a notification to the client within 5 business days advising the client that permission has been given to transmit pre-arrival information for eManifest using EDI.
Performance Result: The CBSA processed 63 testing clients and met the service standard 81% of the time.
Enforcement Appeals - Acknowledgement Letter
Service Description: Initial contact with the appellant in response to a request for a review of an enforcement action.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to acknowledge the receipt of the client's enforcement appeal submission within 10 calendar days.
Performance Result: The CBSA acknowledged 2,072 enforcement appeals and met the service standard 87% of the time.
Enforcement Appeals - Decision
Service Description: Providing the travellers and commercial community with a ministerial decision with respect to a review of an enforcement action issued.
Service Standard: Enforcement appeals decided in 180 calendar days.
Performance Result: The CBSA reviewed 2,240 enforcement appeals and met the service standard 85% of the time.
Event Recognition
Service Description: This service ensures clients who submit event recognition requests more than 15 days prior to the start date of an event, will receive a decision and written communication two business days before the event's start date.
Service Standard: The International Events Section will endeavour to render a decision and provide written communication two business days prior to the events start date.
Performance Result: The CBSA rendered 985 decisions and met the service standard 100% of the time.
Feedback Mechanism - Final Response
Service Description: Clients are able to submit complaints, comments or compliments. The CBSA provides a final written response to the client's complaint.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to respond to the client within 40 calendar days after a written complaint is received.
Performance Result: The CBSA responded to 2,296 clients and met the service standard 98% of the time.
Feedback Mechanism - Initial Contact
Service Description: Clients are able to submit complaints, comments or compliments. Initial contact with the client is made, by phone, in response to a complaint. The main purpose is to resolve the complaint at this stage.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to contact the client within 14 calendar days after a written complaint is received.
Performance Result: The CBSA contacted 2,296 clients and met the service standard 86% of the time.
Free and Secure Trade (FAST) Program Application
Service Description: To participate in the FAST Program, a client must submit, along with the requisite application fee, either an online application through the Global Online Enrollment System (GOES) that is operated by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or a paper application to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which will process the application through its Canadian Processing Centre in Niagara Falls, ON. The application processing involves a risk assessment of the clients by both the US CBP and the CBSA to determine whether they meet the requirements to participate in the program, followed by an interview at an enrolment center by a CBP/CBSA officer to finalize enrolment.
Service Standard: Within 30 business days of receipt of a complete application, applicants are informed of their eligibility in whether they have reached the interview stage.
Performance Result: The CBSA informed 13,268 applicants and met the service standard 100% of the time.
Highway Traveller Primary Processing (Border Wait Times)
Service Description: The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) processes the entry into Canada of all travellers via the primary inspection line at its highway-based ports of entry. All travellers entering Canada are required by law to report to the CBSA for this primary processing, provide all relevant information and documents as required, report all goods, and answer truthfully any questions asked by a Border Services Officer. Upon completion of primary processing, travellers will either be released to continue their travel or referred for Secondary Processing, should additional evaluation be required.
Service Standard: Border Wait Times Highway - Traveller: The estimated wait times for travellers reaching the primary inspection booth, the first point of contact with the CBSA when crossing the Canada/US land border.
10 minutes on weekdays (Monday to Thursday)
20 minutes weekends (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) and holidays
Performance Result: The CBSA met the service standard 97.2% of the time.
Service Description: This service ensures that the International Events Section (IES) responds to client queries regarding international event (mail, email, fax, phone and online) registration.
Service Standard: The IES will strive to respond to clients' queries (mail, email, fax or phone) and online registrations within two business days.
Performance Result: The CBSA IES responded to 398 queries and met the service standard 99.5% of the time.
NEXUS Program Application
Service Description: To participate in the NEXUS Program, a client must submit, along with the requisite application fee, either an online application through the Global Online Enrollment System (GOES) that is operated by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), or a paper application to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), which will process the application through one of its Canadian Processing Centres (either in Montreal, QC, or Niagara Falls, ON). The application processing involves a risk assessment of the clients by both the US CBP and the CBSA to determine whether they meet the requirements to participate in the program, followed by an interview at an enrolment center by a CBP/CBSA officer to finalize enrolment.
Performance Result: The CBSA informed 258,710 applicants and met the service standard 100% of the time.
Release Prior to Payment Privilege
Service Description: Importers and customs brokers post security with the CBSA to obtain release of goods with deferred accounting and payment privileges. The security and billing information is entered into the Customs Commercial System and new clients are issued an account security number. This service also includes changes to security where the client already has an account security number.
For more information, please see the Memorandum D17-1-8 Release Prior to Payment Privilege on our Web site or e-mail us at contact@cbsa-asfc.gc.ca.
Service Standard: This service standard applies to the receipt of security and the privilege associated with the release of imported shipments prior to the payment of duties and taxes. The CBSA will strive to send an acknowledgement to the importer confirming receipt of the security within 21 calendar days.
Performance Result: The CBSA sent 1,122 acknowledgements and met the service standard 100% of the time.
Trade Appeals - Acknowledgement Letter
Service Description: Initial contact with the appellant in response to a request for a review of a trade decision.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to acknowledge the receipt of the client's trade appeal submission within 10 calendar days.
Performance Result: The CBSA acknowledged 601 trade appeals and met the service standard 86% of the time.
Trade Appeals - Decision
Service Description: Providing the trade community with a presidential decision with respect to a review of a trade decision or action issued.
Service Standard: Trade appeals decided in 180 calendar days.
Performance Result: The CBSA rendered 600 decisions and met the service standard 76% of the time.
Verification Letter (Final) - Releasing Letter
Service Description: At the conclusion of a trade compliance verification and after taking any representations from the company into account, a final letter is sent with the results of the verification including any corrective actions which must be taken.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to release the final verification letter no more than 10 business days following the end of the 30-day compliance verification representation period, if no additional information is received from the importer that would require further verification.
Performance Result: The CBSA released 754 final verification letters and met the service standard 88% of the time.
Verification Notification and Request - Communicating with Company
Service Description: Following the sending of a letter notifying the company that a trade compliance verification has been initiated, the CBSA contacts the company to confirm receipt and that the letter was understood.
Service Standard: Within 10 and 15 business days after a compliance verification initiation letter has been sent, the CBSA will strive to communicate with a company representative, to ensure that the notification has been received and that the request is being addressed accordingly.
Performance Result: The CBSA communicated with 1,560 companies and met the service standard 95% of the time.
Verification Priorities - Distribution of Priorities to the Public
Service Description: Provide an up-to-date list of verification priority information to the public twice per year on the CBSA website.
Service Standard: The CBSA will strive to distribute verification priority information to the public twice per year, no later than January 7th and July 7th of each year.
Performance Result: The CBSA distributed verification priority information twice and met the service standard 100% of the time.
Directory of CBSA Offices and Services
Compliments, Comments and Complaints
Appeals/Reviews
CanBorder app
Email alert service
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EA Sports has a lot of explaining to do. Were still waiting. | Source: Shutterstock.com
EA Issues Feeble Response To FIFA 21 Loot Box Ad in Children’s Catalog
September 30, 2020 UTC: 7:34 PM. by Thomas Bardwell
EA is promoting FIFA 21 loot boxes in an in-store toy catalog aimed at children.
The publisher has now issued a statement confirming it is working to pull the ad.
EA says it is also conducting an ‘immediate review’ of media placements.
After getting caught red-handed promoting FIFA 21’s loot box mechanics in an in-store toy catalog earlier this week, Electronic Arts (EA) has issued a statement on the matter.
Unsurprisingly, the response oozes with the PR-vetted blather we’ve come to expect from the mega-publisher. It does little to explain how the ads found their way into a publication aimed directly at children.
EA promoted and encouraged the purchase of FIFA Points. | Source: Reddit
EA does concede the ad, which went as far as detailing four-steps to purchase FIFA Points (FIFA 21’s in-game currency), should not have featured in the catalog. The publisher advises that it’s now working with retailer Smyths Toys to pull the ad and halt the distribution of any remaining copies of the catalog.
The statement, provided to Eurogamer, reads:
We take very seriously the responsibilities we have when marketing EA games and experiences in channels seen by children. In spite of this, we’re aware that advertising for FIFA Points has appeared in environments it shouldn’t have. We have been working diligently with Smyths to ensure this advertisement is not distributed in any remaining copies of their 2020 catalogue.
EA is undertaking an immediate review of marketing placements after FIFA 21 ad controversy. | Source: EA Sports
EA Promises Immediate Review After Controversial FIFA 21 Ad
Keen on pushing the narrative of taking its responsibilities seriously, EA notes:
We have also undertaken an immediate review of all future media placements and are working to ensure each of our marketing efforts better reflects the responsibility we take for the experience of our younger players.
Pulling the ad is a step in the right direction. Nevertheless, it beggars belief that EA authorized it to feature in the catalog in the first place. If EA’s marketing team can’t grasp how inappropriate, and not to say, unethical, such advertising is already, there’s little a review will do.
There’s a sense EA might have happily left the ad in the catalog had eagle-eyed fans not unearthed it first.
Xbox Game Pass Has Turned Games With Gold Into a Wasteland
Relax, the Spider-Man Redesign Isn’t Tom Holland’s Fault
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Landlord Fends Off Leasehold Enfranchisement Risk - Supreme Court Ruling
Most leases contain covenants that forbid tenants from doing certain things without their landlords' consent, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld. The meaning and effect of such provisions came under Supreme Court analysis in an important test case.
The case concerned the lease of a six-storey building, which permitted its use for, amongst other things, residential purposes. However, a covenant required that no application for planning permission in respect of the building could be made by the tenant without the landlord's consent, not to be unreasonably withheld.
After a subtenant converted two floors of the building – previously used as office and storage space – into flats, the tenant wished to seek retrospective planning consent for that change of use. The landlord refused to consent to such an application on the basis that, if the majority of the building came into residential use, the tenant would have an opportunity to compulsorily acquire the freehold under the process of enfranchisement enshrined in the Leasehold Reform Act 1967.
The landlord argued that such a risk of enfranchisement would devalue its interest in the property. After the tenant launched proceedings, however, a judge ruled that the landlord's consent for the proposed planning application had been unreasonably withheld. That decision was subsequently confirmed by the Court of Appeal.
In upholding the landlord's challenge to that outcome by a majority, the Supreme Court found that it had acted reasonably in protecting the value of its property. The covenant provided it with a real measure of protection against enfranchisement and its refusal of consent was sufficiently connected with the landlord/tenant relationship to satisfy the reasonableness test. Although a third party with no connection to the property could have applied for the same planning permission, free from restraint, the Court noted that that no such application had in fact been made.
The contents of this article are intended for general information purposes only and shall not be deemed to be, or constitute legal advice. We cannot accept responsibility for any loss as a result of acts or omissions taken in respect of this article.
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Low-Paid Workers' Union Triumphs in COVID-19 Health and Safety Test Case
Many low-paid workers who have an essential role in keeping the nation moving are at particularly high risk from the COVID-19 pandemic. In a ground-breaking decision, the High Court came to their aid in ruling that the Government is obliged under European...
Clubbing Together with a Friend to Buy a Home? See a Lawyer First
It makes sense for friends to club together so that they can buy properties they would be unable to afford by themselves. However, a cautionary High Court ruling showed that such arrangements are only wise if lawyers are consulted so that all concerned...
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As chief engineer, Mr. Wilhelmsen manages the preparation of construction plans and design specifications including site plans, layouts, grading, storm water and utility plans for a wide range of private and public sector engineering clients. His experience in site permitting for local and state departments has included the preparation and presentation of projects to regulatory boards at public hearings, as well as interaction with clients and review agencies. Mr. Wilhelmsen is also an advocate of Lean Construction Practices in building design and construction.
A graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, with a B.S. in Civil Engineering, Mr. Wilhelmsen is a certified systems inspector, soil evaluator, Title V inspector, and surveyor-in-training in Massachusetts; and is OSHA 10-hour Construction trained and certified.
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Dr Angus Worthing Addresses Recent Physician Letter Sent to HHS
Samantha DiGrande
In an interview with The Center for Biosimilars®, Angus Worthing, MD, FACP, FACR, chair of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Government Affairs Committee, discussed the letter recently sent to HHS addressing physician concerns with proposed legislation.
Last week, 9 physician groups sent a joint letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar to voice concerns about the president’s 2019 budget and the Council of Economic Advisers’ drug plan.
When asked what the burden on the patient would be if practitioners have to stop prescribing biologic therapies altogether due to concerns outlined in the letter, Angus Worthing, MD, FACP, FACR, chair of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Government Affairs Committee, told the Center for Biosimilars® in an email that patients losing access to biologic therapy can be a crisis.
“Most people currently taking a biologic have spent years obtaining a diagnosis, then trying initial treatment with pills or other drugs, which may have been inadequate or caused side effects, and now if they’re doing well, stopping biologic treatment is likely to cause a flare of disease… so, once a person’s disease is well-controlled with biologic therapy, that treatment shouldn’t be stopped for nonmedical reasons,” Worthing wrote.
Proposed legislation, such as President Donald Trump’s budget, could impact patients starting to use biosimilars, he added. “Reducing access to biosimilars at this time could possibly threaten to reduce demand for biosimilars and prevent their reason for being, which is to reduce biologic drug prices. This would be an unfortunate unintended consequence of a plan geared toward reducing biologic drug prices,” said Worthing.
In the letter, the groups also urged HHS to repeal the sequester cuts to Medicare Part B reimbursements. When asked what he has personally seen happen in his own practice due to the sequester cuts, Worthing noted, “The large group practice in which I practice has leveraged efficiencies in order to continue to provide Part B drug services to Medicare beneficiaries despite the sequester’s nearly 30% reimbursement cut; however, doctors in small or underserved communities have had to stop providing these drugs because of the razor-thin margins that threaten viability. Their patients have been forced to different sites of service like hospitals, which can cost the system more money or can sometimes be inconvenient or unfamiliar to patients.”
Finally, Worthing commended the White House for prioritizing the reduction of high drug prices. “The ACR and other stakeholders stand ready to work with the administration to do just that; however, we want to make sure proposals don’t have the unintended consequence of reducing access to these critical treatments for our patients.”
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Comcast said to be buying Time Warner Cable for $44.2B
Media giant to pay $159 per share for the cable company, a 17.5 percent premium, according to CNBC's David Faber.
Steven Musil
Feb. 12, 2014 7:27 p.m. PT
Marguerite Reardon/CNET
Comcast will announce Thursday that it has agreed to purchase Time Warner Cable for $44.2 billion in stock, according to a report late Wednesday by CNBC's David Faber.
The media and communications company will reportedly pay $159 per share for the cable company's 277.9 million outstanding shares, a 17.5 percent premium over Time Warner Cable's closing price of $135.31 on Wednesday. Comcast is willing to divest itself of 3 million subscribers in an effort to head off any regulatory objections to the deal, sources told Faber.
Comcast to buy Time Warner Cable in all stock deal worth $159 per $TWC share- sources. Deal set for tomorrow morning. Ratio is 2.875 $CMCSA.
— DAVID FABER (@davidfaber) February 13, 2014
Time Warner Cable declined to comment on the report. CNET has also contacted Comcast for comment and will update this report when we learn more.
If approved, the deal would expand Comcast's cable empire from 21 percent to 33 percent of all US pay TV homes in the nation, serving 33 million customers across the country, and adding huge metro markets like New York and Los Angeles to Comcast's already large footprint. Comcast already serves major markets such as Chicago; Boston; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; Detroit; Houston; and Denver.
The reported deal comes less than a month after Time Warner Cable spurned an acquisition offer from Charter Communications valued at more than $61 billion including debt. Time Warner Cable CEO Rob Marcus rejected Charter's $132.50-a-share bid, calling it a "low-ball offer" in an interview with Bloomberg.
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The deal, which has been much-rumored to be in the works for months, is likely to be heavily scrutinized by regulators. While the Justice Department is usually responsible for antitrust reviews of large corporate mergers, this deal is likely to come under the scrutiny of the Federal Communications Commission, according to equities analyst Paul Gallant of Guggenheim Securities.
In a research note to investors last November, Gallant reasoned that since Comcast and Time Warner don't compete with one another directly in any single market, an antitrust argument to block the merger is less likely. However, Comcast is already the largest cable operator in the US, and its acquisition of the second-largest cable operator could affect the public interest and as such be something that would attract the interest of the FCC.
"Over the past 20 years, Republican and Democratic DOJs have basically stopped challenging vertical mergers because courts were increasingly unwilling to accept government claims that they violated the antitrust laws," Gallant wrote. "So the FCC will be even more central in a possible Comcast-TWC deal because its 'public interest' review is broader than pure antitrust analysis."
In addition to combining communication networks, a tie-up between Comcast and Time Warner would strengthen Comcast's control in the media world. Through its acquisition of NBC Universal in 2011, Comcast is already a large owner of media content. And as the largest paid TV provider in the US, it's also the largest buyer of such content -- a point likely to ruffle more feathers in Washington than the network consolidation.
Those points were what concerned consumer group Public Knowledge, which said late Wednesday that it opposed the deal.
"If Comcast takes over Time Warner Cable, it would yield unprecedented gatekeeper power in several important markets," John Bergmayer, senior staff attorney at Public Knowledge, said in a statement. "It is already the nation's largest ISP, the nation's largest video provider, and the nation's largest home phone provider. It also controls a movie studio, broadcast network, and many popular cable channels. An enlarged Comcast would be the bully in the schoolyard, able to dictate terms to content creators, Internet companies, other communications networks that must interconnect with it, and distributors who must access its content."
CNET's Marguerite Reardon contributed to this report.
Updated at 8:45 p.m. PT with Public Knowledge comment.
Discuss: Comcast said to be buying Time Warner Cable for $44.2B
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HandEra 330 review: HandEra 330
Colin Duwe
Oct. 10, 2002 10:27 p.m. PT
Compare These
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Apple iPad 2018 (9.7-inch)
The Good High-resolution screen; virtual Graffiti area; CompactFlash and SD memory card slots; jog dial; optional rechargeable battery.
The Bad High-res screen causes problems with some apps; slow serial cradle connection and no USB; cheap-looking design.
The Bottom Line The 330's features answer many criticisms of Palm devices, but its quirky screen and large size sap its appeal.
Visit for details.
Review Sections
HandEra 330
The engineers at HandEra worked overtime packing this new Palm OS PDA with clever features, including a great high-resolution screen and both CompactFlash and SD memory card slots. The HandEra 330 has much to recommend it. However, it's also rather large and heavy, which may dissuade a lot of people. And some of its most clever design features won't work with your favorite third-party applications either. The engineers at HandEra worked overtime packing this new Palm OS PDA with clever features, including a great high-resolution screen and both CompactFlash and SD memory card slots. The HandEra 330 has much to recommend it. However, it's also rather large and heavy, which may dissuade a lot of people. And some of its most clever design features won't work with your favorite third-party applications either.
Silver-plated plastic
The 330's silver-and-black color scheme may appeal to Oakland Raiders fans, but the plastic-silver bezel on the front looks and feels cheap. Otherwise, the 330's case is virtually identical to that of the now-discontinued Palm III series. The important differences are on the back and include a battery compartment that holds four AAA batteries or an optional rechargeable battery (there's a little jack on the side of the 330 for plugging in the charger), a large but deeply recessed reset button that you can trigger with the point of the stylus instead of a paper clip, and a control that is practically identical to the jog dial/button on the Sony's CLIE PEG-N710C.
Along the top of the device, there are slots for both Type II CompactFlash and Secure Digital (SD) cards. Though the SD slot is good primarily for memory, you can use the CompactFlash slot for memory storage cards, including the 1GB IBM Microdrive, as well as for modems, Ethernet adapters, digital cameras, and so on. Having both card slots is a definite advantage. On the bottom of the device, the 330 uses the same connector as the Palm III series, so all the existing peripherals, such as the Kodak PalmPix digital camera and the Rand McNally StreetFinder GPS will work with this new handheld. Though we are admittedly disappointed to find the same Palm III-series serial cradle in the box rather than a USB model.
High-res screen
HandEra incorporated two of the best features of the Pocket PC into the 330: a high-resolution (240x320 pixel), monochrome screen and a Graffiti writing area that you can collapse with a touch of the stylus to free up more screen real estate. The 3.75-inch (diagonal) screen is second only to that of the RIM 957 in terms of clarity and contrast. However, few applications can take advantage of the screen space freed up by the collapsible Graffiti area. If this model fails to become popular, it's questionable how many developers will actually modify their software to take advantage of this feature. The 330 also had a hard time adapting to the graphics of games such as Dreadling and Race Fever. The games appeared very dark and blurry and were virtually unplayable, whereas on the CLIE's screen, which measures 320x320 pixels, there was no such trouble.
But this screen is a great idea, if an imperfectly implemented one. A large selection of software comes preloaded on the 330 to show off how useful it can be and includes a document reader that lets you read text in landscape mode. And that's not all the software you'll find in this package; there's also the CardPro (for copying files to and from storage cards), Voice Pad (a voice recorder that works with the unit's built-in microphone), and Backup. However, HandEra didn't include its AutoCF program, which makes it easy to run applications that are stored on the CompactFlash card. Instead you must manually copy the files into the device's 8MB of system RAM.
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Discuss: HandEra 330 review: HandEra 330
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Law enforcement leaders fight concealed-carry gun bill
By David Shortell, CNN
Updated 7:24 PM EST, Wed November 29, 2017
Prosecutors against Gun Violence is criticizing the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act
The group is also pushing for a ban on so-called 'bump fire stocks'
As lawmakers in the House advanced out of committee a bill Wednesday that would ease interstate travel for gun owners with permitted concealed weapons, a group of law enforcement leaders gathered with congressmen from both parties to slam the legislation as something that would “jeopardize public safety across America.”
“Police officers think this is a terrible idea,” said Manhattan’s district attorney, Cy Vance. “Prosecutors think this is a terrible idea. You should listen to them.”
The Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, a measure with the strong backing of the National Rifle Association, would require each state to honor a concealed carry permit issued by another state regardless of local permitting restrictions. Republicans have plugged the bill for eliminating “the current maze of state and local concealed carry laws,” and have cited “good guys with a gun” examples to promote the value of more legal gun possession.
Lawmakers in the House Judiciary Committee advanced the bill after a markup Wednesday, as well as a separate measure that would update the federal background-check system.
Members from the law enforcement group, Prosecutors against Gun Violence, planned to hold meetings with lawmakers Wednesday to lobby against the concealed carry bill and to throw their weight behind a gun control bill introduced last month that would ban “bump fire stocks” or “bump stocks,” the device that enabled a gunman in Las Vegas recently to fire a semiautomatic weapon similar to the rate of the automatic firearm, killing dozens of people.
“You should all listen to your common sense that one gun law that is the weakest in the nation from a state that has no permit requirements whatsoever should not be the law that applies to America,” Vance said.
Republicans – including Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado, Dean Heller of Nevada and Roy Blunt of Missouri – were among the members of Congress set to meet with the law enforcement leaders, according to a group official.
“The fact that they’ve agreed to take meetings with us underscores the credibility that prosecutors and law enforcement can have on this issue,” said Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer.
One Republican lawmaker, Rep. Peter King of New York, stood side by side with the law enforcement group at the Wednesday event and criticized the concealed carry bill as contrary to “conservative principles.”
“We’re supposed to believe in local control – city, state governments deciding what’s best for their state – not having people from another state passing laws that could impact us,” King said.
The support Wednesday for the bump stock bill came 59 days after the mass shooting in Las Vegas that left 59 people dead.
Speaking publicly for the first time since a news conference that immediately followed the shooting, Steven Wolfson, the district attorney of Clark County, Nevada, which includes Las Vegas, urged action against the device.
“We stand together in opposition to a one-hundred-dollar device, which allowed this criminal to kill so many people and injure so many people. A bump stock – it should be banned, it should be disallowed, it should be wiped off the face of the earth,” Wolfson said.
The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to hold a hearing next week on the regulation of firearm accessories, like the bump stock.
This story has been updated and will continue to update with additional developments.
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Prevention and Treatment for the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19: Things You Can Do to Protect Yourself
The novel coronavirus Covid-19 has genetic inserts of other viruses, such as the Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), HIV, and perhaps herpes. Thus, it has the contagiousness of SARS (or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, another type of coronavirus) and the fatalness of these other viruses, causing it to attack the weakest part of human system. Thus, each person's symptoms are different. Some do not have any symptoms (like early stages of HIV infection), yet they are able to spread the virus to others.
While hopes are on for a commercial vaccine for the novel coronavirus Covid-19, antibodies from the vaccine are shown to exacerbate patients' conditions through antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) effect. In other words, the vaccine produces antibodies that do not neutralize the target virus, making immune reactions worse when they are in contact with the target virus, especially when the virus mutates or when there is a different strain of the virus. In addition, when vaccinations produce antibodies against spike proteins of the Covid-19 virus, the antibodies could also attack a protein that is essential for the formation of the placenta in mammals such as humans. With the above characteristics of the virus, some say it is a perfect biological weapon.
Below lists some of the ways you can treat or protect yourself. While some of them are conventional, others may look to be unorthodox. Please keep an open mind and spread the word to others.
1. Take Zinc Sulfate and Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), or Follow The Zelenko Protocol (ask your doctor)
The Zelenko Protocol was developed by Dr. Zev Zelenko, MD, a doctor in New York. The Zelenko Protocol is reported to have a 100% survival rate in low-risk patients and a 99.3% survival rate in high-risk patients. It uses the combination of zinc sulfate and hydroxychloroquine for most patients. Zinc sulfate is a wide spectrum antiviral agent. Hydroxychloroquine is a zinc ionophore that can open up pathways for the antiviral Zinc to cross the cell barriers to enter lung and other cells, so that the replication of the coronavirus within those cells can be stopped. Please see Covid-19 treatment protocol and Covid-19 prophylaxis protocol
Please ask your doctor as hydroxychloroquine is a prescription drug in the United States.
Some may wonder why such effective treatment method has not been widely reported by the main stream media. Dr. Zelenko writes in his article titled "Choose Truth and Choose Life" that the forces that oppose HCQ and “The Zelenko Protocol” include, among others, big-pharmaceutical executives seeking profit from their expensive medications and vaccines. Indeed, the cost for zinc sulfate and hydroxychloroquine is less than $20 for the entire treatment in the US, even cheaper in other countries. If you were the chairman or CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, for the interests of your shareholders and corporate profits, especially when such a once-in-a-lifetime profit-making opportunity arises, would you actively promote such safe and effective generic drugs? Do you believe that main stream media reports news without bias?
2. Changing Your Diet Into An Antiviral Diet
Anthony William, author of bestselling book “Medical Medium”, provides a free 33-page booklet titled "Virus Protection" on his website www.medicalmedium.com which can be downloaded by anyone who registers. It not only suggests people to increase their intake of zinc sulfate and other antiviral foods and supplements, but also lists foods that people should try to avoid in order to suppress their viral counts. In essence, he recommends people to drink at least 500ml of celery juice every morning empty stomach, so that the clustered salts in celery juice can bind the protective proteins in certain viruses (including coronavirus), thus making the immune cells of your body to identify and attack viruses much more easily. He also suggests people to avoid eggs (viruses feed on eggs), pork (pork burdens liver, one of the crucial organs for immune functions), and dairy products. In addition, he says that besides zinc, which is crucial for boosting one’s immune system against virus, Vitamin C, cat’s claw, lemon balm, and fruits like bananas are also important for your immune system to fight against viral infections.
3. Drink plenty of water, or better yet, sun-charged water that has absorbed ultraviolet lights.
Water will increase your immune system’s ability to fight against the viruses. Sun-charged water that was also charged with ultraviolet lights will be even better. This inspiration comes from the book “Into the Light” by William Campbell Douglass II, MD. In this book, Dr. Douglass describes an earlier method of treating bacterial and viral infections called UV blood irradiation therapy, in which blood was drawn from the patient and then irradiated under UV light, before injecting the blood back to the patient. It is shown that this therapy is effective against almost all bacterial and viral infections. Even though a small amount of blood is irradiated under UV light, the curative effect is systemic. This implies that the blood became a carrier of UV light’s vibrations, which inactivated bacteria and viruses. If blood can be a carrier, why not water? Water goes into a person’s bloodstream within a few hours and could be an easier and more convenient carrier to carry UV light’s vibrations into the bloodstream than the blood irradiation method. In fact, certain esoteric practices encourage their followers to drink sun-charged water for energy, or sun-charged water in blue glass bottles for cleansing effects.
In “Other Healers, Other Cures - A Guide to Alternative Medicine”, Helen Kruger writes about Father Kneipp, a Bavarian who is said to have cured many difficult cases by having patients bathe in fresh, cool “living water.” Ideally, this was water in fast-flowing streams that had been irradiated by the sun, thus absorbing curative solar energy.
To drink solar charged water with UV lights, however, you would need to use a bottle made of quartz to hold water under natural sunlight, or use a UV lamp to charge on drinking water, because UV lights cannot penetrate regular glass. If you choose to use a UV lamp to charge your drinking water, then it will only have the vibrations of the UV light, instead of the full range of vibrations of natural sunlight. Therefore, water in a quartz bottle charged under natural sunlight may be the best solution.
4. Blue light inactivation of viruses
Studies have shown that blue light with certain intensity and wavelength kills bacteria and inactivates viruses. In the book “Thiaoouba Prophecy”, Michel Desmarquet describes his personal encounters with extraterrestrials that come from an advanced civilization. Right after he entered their spaceship, they used intense yellow lights and blue lights, among other methods, to disinfect him, before taking him to their planet. A research paper on the effectiveness of blue light titled "Antimicrobial blue light inactivation of pathogenic microbes: state of the art" may give you some inspirations regarding whether blue light might be effective against viruses.
The ideal method of using blue light to deactivate virus is to use a laser projector such as a portable picobit laser projector to project a spectrum of blue lights. A laser projector is better than others because laser lights are coherent lights, or uni-directional lights, thus giving better effects.
5. Deactivating viruses through resonance, a form of vibrational medicine
When the resonance matches the frequencies of the viruses, the viruses get deactivated. Certain companies and individuals have found the right frequency that would resonate with the novel coronavirus. For more information, please see Using Sound Therapy and Vibrational Medicine to Fight Against the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19
6. Ultraviolet light disinfections
Ultraviolet light, also known as UV light, is one of the most effective methods against bacterial and viral infections. Studies have shown that far UV light, or UVC light, is effective against virus, as it can penetrate and change its DNA structure, thus inactivating the virus. Broad spectrum of UV light is also effective against viruses.
Also see We can help you with Covid-19, but we also need your help to spread the word about the possible free treatment using frequencies and vibrations. Please help us to spread the word. Thanks in advance.
Prevention and Treatment for the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19: Things You Can Do Yourself Before A Vaccine Is Ready
新型冠状病毒的预防与治疗
Prevención y tratamiento para el nuevo coronavirus COVID-19: cosas que puede hacer usted mismo antes de que una vacuna esté lista
Using Sound Therapy and Vibrational Medicine to Fight Against the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19
The Novel Coronavirus COVID-19: Learning from Anthony William, the Medical Medium
Homeopathic Medicine and Remedies: Mechanisms of Action and Mysteries Explained
Deyin Guo, Coronavirus Expert from China, May Be the Hope for Finding a Solution to the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Pandemic, as He is Also the Founding Member and Associate Director of the National Key Laboratory of Virology (A Wuhan Lab, a Chinese Government Sponsored Laboratory in Wuhan)
The Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 Not Only Contains HIV Inserts But Also Reactivates Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV), Leading Certain People to Believe that the Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 Contains Insertions of Other Viruses, and is a Combination of Different Viruses
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The allegations first surfaced "about a week to two weeks ago," prompting an investigation by the university's Division of Student Affairs, JSU Media Relations Specialist L.A. Warren said Wednesday.
The members are suspended pending the outcome of the investigation, Warren said.
Warren wouldn't say how many members had been suspended or the nature of the allegations.
Dance squad members went to court over hazing allegations in 2015
It's not the first time hazing allegations have been lodged against members of the J-Settes, a widely popular part of JSU marching band’s halftime show at JSU football games.
In 2015, nine members of the 16-member group were suspended following a hazing investigation by the university that determined the members held an off-campus practice in violation of university policy.
In that case, the nine students were suspended from the squad for the remainder of their academic careers and fined $300.
However, the members took the matter to Hinds County Chancery Court arguing the campus policy was vague and that a campus security investigation found no evidence of the students engaging in hazing.
That case was transferred to Hinds County Circuit Court where Judge Jeff Weill ruled in favor of the students being allowed to return to the dance squad. Weill also said the students should continue to receive scholarships associated with the dance squad and a $300 fine cleared from their student accounts.
Jackson hotel seeks place in history:Sun-N-Sand Motor Hotel could be saved by historic designation
Questions loom over St. Paddy's parade:Hal's St. Paddy's Day Parade will go on in 2020, but long-term concerns remain
Contact Justin Vicory at 769-572-1418 or jvicory@gannett.com. Follow @justinvicory on Twitter.
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The great migration of waste and recycling carts in Parma has begun
Rumpke is using Parma’s James Day Park as a staging area to deliver more than 60,000 carts to residents. (John Benson/cleveland.com)
By John Benson, special to cleveland.com
PARMA, Ohio -- The transition of Parma’s garbage and recycling services from Republic Services to Rumpke Waste and Recycling has started.
That means it’s in with Rumpke’s green and brown carts and out with Republic’s blue containers.
Over the next four weeks, more than 120,000 waste and recycling carts will be delivered and removed citywide. The operation is nothing short of massive, which means there are plenty of opportunities for resident confusion.
“Rumpke started delivering carts to our residents last week,” Mayor Tim DeGeeter said. “Residents are instructed not to use the Rumpke carts until Feb. 1, when that contract goes into effect.
“In the meantime, our current provider, Republic, informed us that they will begin removing their carts left on the tree lawns starting on Jan. 25, which is the last week residents should put any garbage in their current Republic carts.”
While Rumpke is currently delivering roughly 8,000 carts a day, Parma Service Director Brian Higgins described the pickup as a logistical headache for Ohio’s seventh-largest city.
“We have more than 30,000 homes, which you have to remember each gets two carts,” Higgins said. “Republic is going to have to go around with trucks and trailer and bust the carts down.
“Also, it’s wintertime, so picking them up will take longer. Who knows down the road how much wind we’re going to have, how much snow we’re going to have. There might be a little headache with the time of the year, but we couldn’t control when this contract ended.”
Parma’s new five-year contract with Rumpke includes a monthly residential garbage fee of $15.40. The only noticeable changes of service for residents involves weekly bulk pickup and yard waste now accepted in garbage cans.
“We’re looking forward to serving the residents of Parma,” Rumpke Region Vice President Paul Marker said in a press release. “We’ll continue to work collaboratively with the city to ensure the best service for the whole community.”
In terms of recycling items, Rumpke accepts plastic bottles, jugs, tubs, glass bottles, jars, aluminum and steel cans, cereal boxes, 12-pack containers, cardboard, office paper, newspaper, magazines, junk mail, envelopes, telephone books and paper grocery bags.
“Something we’ve been told by Rumpke is the lids (to the carts) might not fit properly on delivery, but it’s our understanding that’s part of the process and the lids will settle over time,” DeGeeter said.
“We ask residents to be patient. I think our residents will be impressed with the service that Rumpke will provide us.”
Read more news from the Parma Sun Post.
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Cleveland Metroparks Swear-In New Patrol and Explosives Canine Officer, Tyson
News & Press | January 2016
The newest addition to Cleveland Metroparks Ranger Department K-9 Unit was sworn-in this morning. Tyson, Cleveland Metroparks newest Patrol and Explosives Canine Officer, was sworn-in alongside his partner, Ranger Trevor C. Poole at the Board of Park Commissioners meeting.
Tyson, an eleven-week-old German Shepherd, is the newest canine addition to Cleveland Metroparks Ranger Department's K-9 Unit. Tyson will serve as a dual-purpose patrol and explosives detection dog, joining K-9 officers Chase, Rico and Logan, and their handlers Rangers Will Collins, Mike Barr, and Sgt. Tim Garris in patrolling the more than 23,000-acre Park District.
The addition of Tyson allows for proactive protection measures at Cleveland Metroparks busiest park activities. Explosives detection canines have become a common sight at large sporting events, concerts, popular area destinations and at other large-scale events. They are becoming part of a new direction in law enforcement. Five Ohio Universities recently received bomb-sniffing dogs as officials expand a state program that makes more of those canines available for safety needs on and off campuses.
The University of Toledo, Kent State University, Ohio University and Central State University, each received a dog trained to detect explosives. A dog for Cleveland State University received extra training to be part of general patrol operations, according to Ohio Homeland Security.
Canines trained in explosives detection offer an added layer of public security and serve as an important bridge to interact with the public in a positive manner. Additionally, explosives detection canines offer a safe resolution should a bomb threat occur, allowing for a quick return to normal business operations.
Other agencies that have canines trained in explosives detection near Cleveland Metroparks include the Regional Transit Authority (RTA), the Shaker Heights and Cleveland Police Departments, and the University of Akron.
Tyson's handler is Ranger Trevor C. Poole, who has been with the Ranger Department since 2014. Ranger Poole is a 2007 graduate of Youngstown State University, where he also completed his basic Police Academy Training, as an Ohio Certified Peace Officer.
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Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Set to Hit the Right Note With Fans
|In Insights
|By Jeff Fieldhack
Samsung did a very admirable ‘Galaxy Unpacked 2020’ virtual event to unveil two new Note 20 smartphones, the foldable Galaxy Z Fold 2, two Galaxy Tab S7 series tablets, the Galaxy Watch 3 and Galaxy Buds Live. But even during live, onsite events, it is really difficult to predict the future successes of new devices, having only used them a few minutes on the showroom floor or, in the best case, a few days for testing. Therefore, it is trickier making these assessments after watching the announcements during a virtual event. The problems can be compounded by non-availability of some key specs. But still Samsung again put together a successful ‘Unpacked’ event which garnered excitement for the new hardware on offer.
Samsung Galaxy Note 20 series
The main event of the day was the unveiling of updated Samsung Note series. Last year’s version, the Note 10 series, has sold over 12.5 million devices to date. The Galaxy Note’s launch has become more important for Samsung as it is needed to keep consumer mindshare and momentum through both the high-profile Apple launch season and other Android OEM launches. This year, two variants were announced —the Note 20 and the Note 20 Ultra. Samsung Electronics smartphone division CEO Roh Tae-moon described the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 as the base model targeted at users new to Note or who want a premium smartphone. The Note 20 Ultra is targeted at power users who want the leading, cutting edge specs.
Display and camera remain the centerpiece specs of flagships. No disappointments here. The Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra come in 6.7 and 6.9 inches, support 21:9 aspect ratios and 24fps recording. The Ultra received a significant upgrade to a 120Hz LTPO (low temperature polycrystalline oxide) OLED display, supporting WQHD/1440p. The Note 20 supports 60Hz and 1080p. Both use Corning’s latest Gorilla Glass 6 on the front and rear of the devices. But the feel in hand may be slightly different as the Note 20 has a ‘flat Infinity-O’ display and the Note 20 Ultra has an ‘edge Infinity-O’ display, which will have a more curved feel in hand.
The three rear cameras feature a telephoto, wide and ultra-wide-angle lenses, and it seems some of the software issues from the S20 family have been cleaned up. The layout is similar to the S20 with a 108MPix main camera, 12MPix telephoto and a 12Mpix ultrawide camera with a laser focus system ditching time-of-flight. For some, the camera bump will appear huge. But for most, who simply want a best-in-class camera, probably it won’t be an issue.
Qualcomm is a big supplier winner. In select regions, both Note 20 smartphones are powered by the newest and highest spec Snapdragon — the Snapdragon 865 Plus application processor. Qualcomm’s X55 5G modem RF system is also designed in. The multimode modem-to-antenna 5G solution brags peak speed of 7.5Gbps. We write that Qualcomm is the big supplier winner because the Snapdragon 865 Plus 5G mobile platform is designed into both the Note 20 smartphones, the Galaxy Z Fold2, and the Galaxy Tab S7 and S7+.
Another key selling point is the improved integration with Microsoft. ‘Your phone companion – Link to Window’ makes it easier to reply to text messages on the phone, access favorite smartphone apps on a PC, transfer calls between devices, access photos on phone from PC, drag files between PC and phone, and more. Maybe made most important during the COVID-19 pandemic is the seamless syncing of Windows applications, including Teams, which has seen an over 700% increase in usage. For gamers, Xbox games library of over 100 games will be available for cloud gaming via Xbox Game Pass Ultimate in September.
In the early days of the S Pen, it may have only been Samsung marketing folks using it. But it has come a long way since then. The S Pen continues to be a clear differentiator of the Note series. It is now housed along the left side of the device, showing clear redesign of the Note 20. The S Pen has more precision and latency has been reduced from about 60ms to 9ms. One interesting use case with the S Pen is the ability to ‘hover’ over a word and either get its meaning or a translation.
Other key specs:
Pricing! The Note 20 starts at $999 and Note 20 Ultra starts at $1,299. Depending on where upcoming Android 5G flagships and iPhone 5G pricing lands, this may be high on the street pricing. However, there are already buy-one-get-one offers at major operators and promotional buyback offers from Samsung. So, point-of-sale pricing may vary wildly.
UWB added. Share music, videos and photos with Samsung devices nearby.
Premium design with the color of the year — mystic bronze. The durable outer edge of the device is either ultra-etched metal on the Note 20 Ultra or metal with reinforced polycarbonate on the Note 20.
Battery size saw a significant leap for the Galaxy Note 20 to 4300mAh (Galaxy Note 10 at 3500mAh). The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra saw a small increase to 4500mAh (Galaxy Note 10+ at 4300mAh).
Sub6 and mmWave is supported in regions where carriers are implementing it. There will also be a less cost LTE version for markets where 5G is still down the road.
Outlook: Pricing at $999 and $1,299 is on expected lines. In the US, major carriers are already marketing a buy-one-get-one scheme for the Note series. Samsung is offering the Note 20 5G for $349 with a trade-in. Therefore, discounts will be available for those looking for them. The larger dilemma for Samsung is that the Note series has now blended into the almost identical specs of the Galaxy S20 series with the exception of the S Pen. The S20 series, which has been in the market since March, could cannibalize some Note-series volumes as its cost erodes.
The device has shifted to a ‘book-fold’ design. A good move to take advantage of display real estate, increase closed state usability, and strengthen the hinge. The full cover front display is 6.2 inches. It uses the UTG (ultra-thin glass) technology and supports 120Hz refresh rate. Samsung explains that the display has improved strength and flexibility due to the display layers being re-arranged between hard and soft layers. Much attention was paid to improving the hinge, bringing in a ‘sweeper’ technology from the vacuum industry for the gap of the hinge (this is true!).
As stated, the device is powered by the Snapdragon 865 Plus and also features Qualcomm FastConnect 6900 mobile connectivity system. This technology enhances Wi-Fi and Bluetooth performance in conjunction with 5G. Wi-Fi 6 performance is enhanced with the 4-stream dual and simultaneous (DBS) technology, which helps speed and latency performance.
For the ‘notch’ haters, there will be a delight in that the front-facing camera has an ‘infinity-O’ ‘hole’ design. Full camera and device specs coming September 1.
Power improvements have helped the Galaxy Watch 3 to better monitor overall fitness — a key focus for the device. Since sleep analysis, blood oxygen analysis and ECG/blood pressure analysis need the device on the body and not on a charger, the leaps in power management are vital. This is not a medical device, but it is certainly helpful for monitoring and improving overall fitness. The focus each year turns more towards health and wellness. However, the Galaxy Watch 3 looks much larger/thicker than high-end fitness watches from Garmin and Suunto.
New, compact design which fits in the curve of the ear, with no stem hanging out of the ear. Other improvements are six hours of usage and 21 hours of charging in the case. Better noise cancellation, sound quality and customizable controls were advertised.
Galaxy Tab S7/S7+
11 inches and 12.4 inches tablets were unveiled. The displays are vibrant with the smaller version using a TTPS LCD display and the larger a super AMOLED. The new tablets are thin, elegant and full metal, yet light. They can attach to a keyboard and have a stand for changing the angle for video/media consumption.
The two tablets are priced at $199 and $229, S Pen included. There are Wi-Fi-only variants and cellular versions supporting both Sub6 and mmWave, making these tablets the first to support 5G in the US market.
5G Qualcomm Qualcomm Snapdragon 865 Plus samsung Samsung Galaxy Buds Live Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 Samsung Galaxy Watch 3 Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 2
Jeff Fieldhack
Jeff has 25+ years experience in technology research, business development, competitive intelligence, and business management. Prior to joining Counterpoint Research, Jeff held various research & product development roles at Microsoft, Nokia, Roth Capital Partners, and Gartner. Jeff is a member of many telecom industry organizations including Colorado Wireless Association, repair.org, CommNexus, and is a regular speaker at major telecom industry events. He was a 4x NCAA all-American in tennis and is a 12-time finisher of the Hawaii Ironman World Championships.
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LYONS' ROAR IS NOT WHAT DEMOCRATS NEED TO HEAR
Michele JacklinTHE HARTFORD COURANT
House Speaker Moira Lyons' firing of key committee chairmen and other punitive actions taken recently have left Capitol observers puzzling over her scorched-earth policy.
With a gigantic budget shortfall and other pressing issues hovering like a dark cloud over the legislature, this, of all years, is the most unlikely of times to drive a wedge into the House Democratic caucus. But Lyons has managed to do just that, seemingly without justification.
After veteran Rep. Jessie Stratton lost her re-election bid on Nov. 5, Lyons should have chilled. Stratton had been seeking to wrest the speaker's job from Lyons, but Stratton's challenge came undone when she was unexpectedly defeated.
No other candidate stepped forward, and Lyons was elected to a third term. Unwilling to let sleeping dogs lie, Lyons fumed and fussed and punished Stratton supporters for their alleged disloyalty, stripping them of their committee appointments, denying them staff and even relegating some to small, windowless offices.
It's as if Lyons has been shadowboxing with the ghost of Stratton past and not dealing with reality. Instead of reaching out to Stratton's allies, who mostly inhabit the Democrats' progressive and moderate wings, Lyons has pushed them away. Her heavy-handed behavior has stunned even the most jaded Capitol insiders.
"After Jessie lost," one House Democrat said, "Moira had an opportunity to bring the caucus together. She could have been magnanimous. She went in the opposite direction and deepened fissures that could have been healed."
Another Democrat characterized her actions as "stupid, short-sighted, vindictive politics."
Although the afore-quoted are legislators who wouldn't have been in Lyons' corner, few colleagues would have used such strong language, even off the record, a few months ago. The bitterness that Lyons' punitive actions have engendered, some legislators say, could diminish her capacity to lead in a chamber where Democrats outnumber Republicans 94 to 57.
The committee chairmen whom Lyons jettisoned are among the most able and respected legislators. They include Jefferson Davis, who headed Planning and Development; Christopher Donovan, who chaired Labor and Public Employees; and Cameron Staples, who led Education.
Lyons tried to oust Michael Lawlor as House chairman of the Judiciary Committee but was stymied only because she couldn't find a willing replacement. Lyons also removed Andrew Fleischmann as vice chairman of Government Administration and Elections, a move that some view as particularly petty.
Rather than keeping them as part of her leadership team and forcing them to toe the line, Lyons has turned them into independent actors, free to attack her leadership style and second-guess her decisions.
Lyons' actions also served to enhance the power of James Amann, the new House majority leader who once was considered a conservative Democrat but now owes his leadership post to the progressives who overwhelmingly backed him. Amann has begun meeting with progressives and others unhappy with Lyons' exclusionary practices.
Already, the schism has manifested itself in efforts to craft an alternative to the governor's $500 million deficit-reduction proposal.
Last week, 37 House Democrats -- a group that includes the three deposed chairmen as well as a cross-section of progressives and moderates -- unveiled a plan that addresses both this year's and next year's projected deficits. It calls for state employee concessions, spending cuts and a graduated income tax on residents earning upward of $200,000 annually.
Instead of praising the proposal and encouraging members to brainstorm, Lyons' allies immediately attacked the plan. They said the 37-member working group was undermining Lyons' efforts and that the caucus needs to speak with one voice. Concentrating power in the hands of the speaker may be the way it's been done under Lyons and her predecessor, Thomas Ritter, but House members have long valued the marketplace of ideas.
The 2003 session is only three days old and Lyons and her lieutenants have shot themselves in the feet. They'd better hope the wounds aren't beyond healing.
Michele Jacklin is The Courant's political columnist. Her column appears every Wednesday and Sunday. To leave her a comment, please call 860-241-3163.
Correction published January 15, 2003.Michele Jacklin's Jan. 12 Other Opinion column, ``Lyons' Roar Is Not What Democrats Need To Hear,'' was incorrect in saying that the House speaker couldn't find a willing replacement to take over as House chairman of the Judiciary Committee from Michael P. Lawlor. Rep. Paul R. Doyle sought the chairmanship.
Christopher G Donovan
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New Coventry City away kit goes on sale today
Coventry will be wearing white and blue away from Sixfields for the next two seasons
Aidan McCartney
Reda Johnson in the new away kit (Image: @amymaidment)
Coventry City have released their new change kit for the 2014/15 and 2015/16 seasons.
The striking blue and white Puma design replaces the popular yellow kit that has been used for the last two seasons.
White shorts and socks complete the look but the club have also unveiled clash shorts and socks in blue. It also that features a new-look, bigger crest on a white backdrop.
Sky Blues manager Steven Pressley was involved in choosing the kit and said: “The crest is a huge part of any football club. It’s a massive part of the history and heritage of the football club."
Coventry away kits
Pressley, assistant manager Neil MacFarlane and Sky Blues goalkeeping coach Steve Ogrizovic will be in the CCFC Superstore today from 4pm to 5.30pm to meet fans as they get their first glimpse of the new kit.
You can get yours in person at the CCFC Superstore (Mon-Sat: 9.30am-5.30pm, Sun: 10.30am-4.30pm), from www.ccfcshop.co.uk or the mail-order line on 024 7699 2332 (Mon-Fri: 9.30am-5.30pm).
Revealed: What you voted as your Coventry City away shirt of all-time
Look: Coventry City badges from 1883 to 2014
Look: Kids in dads' old Sky Blues strips
Click here to take you back to more Coventry City FC news.
To follow us on Twitter click here or you can like us on Facebook here.
Steve Ogrizovic
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Harvey races home in Draycote 10-miler
COVENTRY Godiva's Harvey Speed raced to his second victory of the season with a sparkling performance in the Rugby 10-mile road race around Draycote Water in which the host club Rugby & Northampton carried off both men and women's prizes.
Speed defied the cold, blustery conditions to power away from the 200-plus field in impressive style with his nearest rival, Beaumont's Pete Crichlow some 37 seconds behind.
The Coventry Godiva ace recorded 54mins 11secs over the two 5-mile laps for a new course record.
Godiva colleague and veteran, Bob Statham (69.54), suffered the unusual experience of being beaten by a local runner for the over 60s award as Northbrook AC's 26th placer, Paul Kelly clocked 65:41 to take the prize.
Rugby & Northampton were well served by Nigel Marley (55:22) in third spot while Nuneaton's Garry Payne clocked a fine 56-30 to finish fifth overall and win the Over 50s award. The next R&N finishers were Stuart Nelson in sixth place and Paul Birch in eighth with Godiva's John Saw coming 16th.
In the Womens Open race, Godiva's Myshola Kirkham, finished 18th overall but won the county silver medal in 64:27, although the main race was won by Leamington international, Sue Harrison, who was well clear of her field in 59:37 and also achieved a new course record time.
Other Godiva times: Trevor Clark 69.10, John Hunt 70.43, Mark Coyle 73.21, Sian Pritchard 81:03, Tom Marchi 83.37, Tracey Higgins 89.33, Dale Lyons 92.07.
This was the second time that the event has been staged at Draycote Water and the decision to move the race back from its traditional date and into November proved to be a great success with a record number of entrants and finishers.
Massey Ferguson's Dave Pettifer (78.03) led his club home by taking 115th with John Aylmer (84.51) in 164th while Sheila Dunn (93.33) came through the finish in 189th with Sally Slevin clocked 1:55:22.
Both mens and ladies team races were won by the Rugby and Northampton AC club.
* KENILWORTH Runners were well represented in the opening race of the Wedgnock Winter Cross Country 10k series and leading the locals home was Phil Gould in an excellent third place (42mins13secs) while close on his heels was Matt Simkiss (43.07) in fourth. On the womens front, Lucy Aphramor came runners up in the main event but won the ladies over 35s.
Other Kenilworth finishers were Richard Steel (47.47), Pete Matthews 61.20, Martin Broomfield 64.58, Ros Matthews 75.07.
* THIS Saturday is the first of the Godiva's internal races with the Hampton Cup being staged over the usual four-mile course on Lawford Heath. The race starts at 2.30pm and Steve Emery defends the trophy although former winner John Gercs is sure to mount a challenge.
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Bench to Bedside With SIDPC difficile COVID Vaccine Race The COVID-19 Live Vaccine Tracker
CoronavirusBlood-Borne DiseasesFood-Borne InfectionsGastrointestinal InfectionsHealthcare-Associated InfectionsPreventionRespiratory DiseasesSexually Transmitted DiseasesSkin & Soft Tissue DiseasesZoonotic & Vector-Borne Diseases
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© 2021 MJH Life Sciences and Contagion Live. All rights reserved.
Bench to Bedside With SIDP
C difficile
COVID Vaccine Race
The COVID-19 Live Vaccine Tracker
Blood-Borne Diseases
Food-Borne Infections
Skin & Soft Tissue Diseases
Zoonotic & Vector-Borne Diseases
Peers and Perspectives
© 2021 MJH Life Sciences™ and Contagion Live. All rights reserved.
Bundling PrEP With Family Planning May Be Key to HIV Prevention
Laurie Saloman, MS
A study conducted in Kenya demonstrated that appealing to women who present at family-planning clinics to obtain birth control can increase the percentage who will use PrEP.
While much attention is paid to the risks of HIV in men who have sex with men—the most heavily impacted demographic in the United States —in less developed nations such as those in Africa, there exists an outsize risk of HIV infection in young women.
Reaching this population is a priority for infectious disease specialists, who are working to increase the use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in this vulnerable group. One way to do that may be to bundle PrEP with birth control offerings in family planning clinics so as to increase uptake.
Investigators at the University of Washington in Seattle, working with colleagues at Kenyatta National Hospital in Nairobi, Kenya, designed an implementation program to assess how well PrEP could be integrated into family planning for at-risk young women and adolescents in the African nation. From November 2017 to June 2018, 8 public health clinics in the Kisumu region screened nearly 1300 women aged 15 to 45 years for HIV risk factors. Women who came to the clinics for birth control and were deemed to be at HIV-free but at risk of infection were given the opportunity to meet with nurses whose sole focus was to educate the participants about PrEP and provide them with same-day access to PrEP.
Risk of contracting HIV was defined by positive answers to questions on topics such as whether condoms had been used consistently—or at all—in the past 6 months, whether sexual partners were at high risk or of unknown HIV status, whether sex had been conducted in exchange for money or something else, whether there was a history of intimate partner violence, and whether there was a recent history of sexual activity under the influence of alcohol or other substances. Women who were at risk of HIV and were amenable to beginning PrEP were instructed to return monthly for clinical visits and to receive PrEP refills.
Twenty-two percent of the women in the program agreed to initiate PrEP, with a higher percentage of those 24 years and older. Almost all of the women (94%) whose partners had been diagnosed with HIV initiated PrEP, while 35% of women who did not know their partners’ status and 8% of women whose partners were HIV negative were willing to take PrEP. Women who had at least 1 risk factor but were unwilling to begin PrEP frequently claimed that their risk of HIV was low (43%) or cited their partners’ current HIV-negative status (47%). More than 1 in 5 participants wanted to consult with their partner before starting PrEP.
“Complex and multifactorial factors perpetuate HIV vulnerabilities for...many African women, including social, structural, and economic disparities,” Kenneth Mugwanya, PhD, a physician-epidemiologist at the University of Washington and lead author of the study, told Contagion®. “Furthermore, financial disparities and intimate partner violence often hinder a woman’s ability to negotiate condom use and protect herself from HIV.”
None of the women who adhered to the PrEP regimen and completed at least 1 follow-up visit were diagnosed with HIV during the study period. PrEP continuation at the 1-month mark was highest among women whose partners had HIV and among older women. At this point, women whose partners were HIV negative or of unknown HIV status and younger women more likely to discontinue PrEP. Condom-use history didn’t seem to have much of an impact on whether a woman continued PrEP.
The fact that more than 40% of all women in this study adhered to their PrEP regimens for at least 1 month points to the success of bundling PrEP education and dissemination with birth-control services. “Women want HIV prevention and family planning services in the same room, same provider, and same moment,” said Mugwanya. “Clinicians need to initiate conversations about sexual history during consultations as an entry point to identify women who may be at an elevated risk for HIV and could benefit from PrEP.” Although this study was conducted in Africa, Mugwanya said that its findings are applicable to heterosexual women in other nations who may be at risk of HIV.
Mugwanya’s team acknowledged that the study did not delve into the reasons why women choose to begin or opt out of PrEP or why they may continue or discontinue it, Additionally, it did not explore beliefs and experiences that shape these choices. However, their report mentioned that “an ongoing sister qualitative project that will include women and nurses who participated in this program will provide this contextual information.”
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The band includes James Everhart and Will Donnelly of the Delaware-based act Scantron and bassist Larry Scotton, who is also in the local band Dead Horse Drivers.
They are joined by original Low Cut members Adam Weiner, the band's frontman and piano player, and English singer/guitarist/drummer Dan Finnemore.
The rollicking, piano-centric rock 'n' roll band released its new album, "Hi Honey," in the spring. They have performed in Delaware before, including a pair of Wilmington shows at Oddity Bar last year and the Rockabilly Rumble at World Café Live at the Queen in 2013.
The five-piece will bring a boatload of boogie-woogie to The Rusty Rudder (113 Dickinson St., Dewey Beach) Tuesday night at 9. Maryland-based Bryan Russo and the Tragic Figures open.
Weiner recently made news when he publicly announced that he turned down the opportunity to be a contestant on the new season of the NBC reality competition show "The Voice."
"I would have had to cancel some Connie shows and clear my life for this fall in the hopes of that ONE shot to impress Adam Levine, the famous acne-survivor. Anyway, long story short...I said NO," he wrote.
-- Ryan Cormier, The News Journal. Facebook: @ryancormier. Twitter: @ryancormier. Instagram: @ryancormier.
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BackBack Home2016 clonakilla o'riada shiraz
2016 Clonakilla O'Riada Shiraz
Canberra, NSW
Another stellar O'Riada release - "some of the most intense dark berry fruit we have seen from the Canberra District". Great buying!
where the smart money is being spent when buying Clonakilla reds.
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front
Clonakilla's Shiraz Viognier is one of Australia's most iconic modern day wines. But it's the O'Riada, as Campbell Mattinson once observed, "where the smart money is being spent when buying Clonakilla reds."
O'Riada is made from 100% Canberra fruit from the Clonakilla estate and carefully selected surrounding vineyards. The 2016 vintage is a stunner, with the warmer conditions producing, according to winemaker Tim Kirk, "some of the most intense dark berry fruit we have seen from the Canberra District."
If you want Clonakilla in your cellar but aren't regularly quaffing $95 per bottle, the O'Riada is what you need to be buying.
About Clonakilla
Clonakilla is one of the true icons of the Australian wine scene. Since its inception, it has been one of (if not THE) leading lights of the Australian cool climate wine insurgence. They boast one of the most collectable wines in the country with their Shiraz Viognier and whether Shiraz, Riesling or otherwise, are considered the benchmark for all things Canberra. Quite simply, one of the true gems in the Australian Wine Industry crown.
Canberra is a sleeping giant of Australian wine. The ability of this region to produce world class wines in only a relatively short history is almost second to none in the whole country. With the ability to produce everything from perfumed and tightly wound Syrah, to razor sharp Riesling and a wide array of emerging varieties and techniques, Canberra will be one of the ‘must watch’ wine producing regions in Australia for many years to come.
Clonakilla's signature Shiraz Viognier blend, fermenting away
Sean O’Riada is one of the heroes of modern Ireland. A talented musician and composer, he is credited with taking traditional Irish music out of the kitchens and pubs of Ireland and putting it on the concert stages of the world. He died, prematurely, in 1971, the year Clonakilla was established by John Kirk. He was John’s cousin.
The 2016 vintage was generous and early. Late summer temperatures were consistently warmer than average and the vines produced some of the most intense dark berry fruit we have seen from the Canberra District.
The O’Riada is made from fruit picked from our estate vineyard and other excellent sites in Murrumbateman and Hall. It’s a quintessential Canberra Shiraz. Ripe red berries and plenty of spice.
Blend : Shiraz (100%)
ABV : 14%
Bottle Size : 750ml
Tim Kirk admiring the beauty in the glass
Clonakilla Cellar Door, Canberra, NSW
"The definition here is impressive,smooth and ebulliently ripe red berry and plum fruits with pastry-like nuances and gently spicy waves. Rich. Effortless appeal and flows smoothly along on ripe, detailed tannins. Great balance. Drink now to 2028+." - Nick Stock
"Full crimson-purple; there is a masterful and utterly harmonious blend of dark fruits, warm spices, ripe tannins and French oak. The very large X-factor is its freshness, which will underwrite its very long life. Bargain basement shelf." - James Halliday (Halliday Wine Companion)
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Botched “My Little Pony” convention rocks brony fandom
Some worry that LasPegasus Unicon's legacy could jeopardize the future of other fledgling cons in the fandom.
Aja Romano
LasPegasus Unicon has been called “the greatest convention disaster” in brony history. Now, just over two weeks after the botched event at the Riviera Hotel Convention Center in Las Vegas, some worry that Unicorn’s legacy could jeopardize the future of other fledgling cons in the fandom.
Unicon, which was hosted Feb. 22-24, is not the first brony convention to feature its share of controversy, but it is undoubtedly the first to involve such a bizarre series of elements, including but not limited to:
attendees being kicked out of their hotels, denied rooms, and/or stranded with enormous travel costs;
comped attendees getting double- and triple-charged by the hotel in an attempt to recoup expenses, while the convention management literally went into hiding;
actors’ agents reportedly filching money from the con cashbox and subsequently getting fired for their role in the fiasco;
charity fundraising from around the fandom stepping in on the last day of the convention to frantically fundraise the money to pay everyone;
as much as $40,000 reportedly remaining in the hands of the conference organizer, who deleted the con website on March 5;
voice actors being paid with bouncing checks,
advertisers buying space in brochures that went unprinted;
vendors being granted play money called “Vendor bits” to exchange for the real thing at a later moment that never materialized.
A month ago, conference organizer Sandi Haas, a Las Vegas resident with a track record of shady finances, was discussing her grand plans for the con. Originally intended to cull around 2,000 attendees, LasPegasus Unicon was supposed to ostentatious, over the top, and unforgettable
And in keeping with the theme, Haas took a gamble that inviting an over-the-top number of special guests, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic voice actors, writers, and musicians would pay off with maximum attendance.
She lost. Instead, a range of between 800-1200 fewer people than expected showed up, leaving the con with a huge budget shortfall before it even started.
According to Scorchiecritter on Tumblr, who was a vendor at the convention, things were a wreck from the beginning of the convention:
“We were told we were supposed to accept this fake money the con had printed… We were expected to take it, and then cash it at registration at the end of the con (That changed to 5pm when things started to crash, which then turned into ‘good luck getting your money back’)….
“We really started to notice things were going south when on Sunday there were prominent members of the Brony community running around with walkies and looking worried.… Nobody could find Nicole Oliver… because she was never picked up from the airport…. Tara Strong was [sic] had a hard time figuring out how she was going to get comped for the taxi she inevitably had to take on her own from her hotel… These are your incredibly important guests… and the con was so disorganized that you couldn’t even keep track of them, or make sure they were taken care of properly?? What is wrong here?”
Photo via Dropbox
Apparently, everything. Redditor ThisisBobby volunteered to help as the convention fell apart:
There was a mad scramble for money, everything was being directed to paying off the celebrity debt. I remember turning around to our cash box for registration and all the large bills have went missing, on the brink of panic I was informed that the celebrity managers have collected them from behind me. This happened again later in the day, that time I was informed by one of the managers.
By Sunday, the place was a graveyard, with panels shut down to focus on fundraising, vendors packing up, and the hotel kicking people out of rooms. Things were so dire that brony channel EverFree Network stepped in, launching the Twitter campaign #LasPegAssist to try to raise money for the voice actors who still needed to be paid.
But as a comprehensive roundup of events and information compiled by -chan explains, they could only do so much:
Media teams at the con (EFN, Celestia Radio, EQD etc.) raised $12,000 over the course of two days. As it stands, however, many of the guest stars (VAs, writers etc.) remain unpaid for their attendance, and many guests staying at the hotel were either denied rooms or presented with unexpected fees (some over $1000). It has emerged that Sandi Haas, the con organizer, gave the call for the hotel to charge the guests to help to reduce her debt….. There is a considerable sum of money unaccounted for, which we can only assume remains in Sandi’s possession.
Haas seems to have had no experience running a con of this size before and has not been heard from since leaving the convention Saturday, leaving convention guests with more experience running things to try and pick up the pieces. “In 15+ years of going to conventions, I’ve never seen any convention implode as badly as this one did,” stated ArrJaySketch on Equestria Daily. “How utterly irresponsible and reprehensible of the organizers to just up and leave town.”
EverFree Radio noted, as did many others, that this disastrous end to Unicon threatens the livelihood of other cons who need the presence of high-profile actors, musicians, and writers to count on an attendee draw. Famed voice actor Tara Strong drew attention to the problem when she lashed out at the Unicon managers for the bounced check they sent.
“Hey @Las_Pegasus_Uni,” she tweeted in response to a now-deleted statement by the conference staff, “please stop saying u paid the talent, your check bounced. I have not been paid a dime. You ruined it 4 all 1st yr cons.”
Still, many attendees made it clear that money and stress aside, they’d had a great time. “It was more than just ponies, ponies everywhere. It became a human experience,” ThisisBobby gushed in the aftermath. “Unicon not only restored my faith in bronies, but strengthened it.”
Not everyone saw that silver lining. “This has nothing to do with Bronies or faith in,” commented one redditor. “It’s about convention organizers that screwed up.”
“To the VIPs of this event, an apology,” wrote Derpy Hooves News. “Las Pegasus Unicon is not the kind of impression that we’d like to leave as a fandom. “For those who do decide to stay, I hope we can make your future visits as much fun for you as it normally is for us.”
Illustration via filipeps/deviantART
*First Published: Mar 11, 2013, 4:42 pm
Aja Romano is a geek culture reporter and fandom expert. Their reporting at the Daily Dot covered everything from Harry Potter and anime to Tumblr and Gamergate. Romano joined Vox as a staff reporter in 2016.
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The definitive ranking of all 25 Fensler G.I. Joe parodies
Believe it or not, it has been 10 full years since a member of G.I. Joe's team first asked for a body massage.
Mar 2, 2020, 11:59 am*
Mike Fenn
Believe it or not, it has been 10 full years since a member of G.I. Joe’s team first asked for a body massage.
Beginning in 2003, Fensler Films made a name for itself by remastering old episodes of G.I. Joe. These became some of the defining viral videos of the pre-YouTube era; I brought my external hard drive to friends’ houses to collect Limewire downloads of them all. Subtle edits and not-so-subtle dialogue dubs made the cookie-cutter 1980s cartoon series into an absurdist collection of shorts that found the heroes suddenly saying things like “I am a computer” and “These beats are fresh.” They aimed for the PSAs that appeared at the end of every episode, which were lame even by 1980s standards and could barely be taken seriously. Honestly, after watching Roadblock risk his life in battle against Cobra Commander, G.I. Joes really have no right to tell me not to mess with a live wire that fell from a pole.
Here are all 25 of the Fensler PSA parody videos, ranked from best to worst. There’s really no contest for what’s at the top of the list, but come with us as we explore the lesser-known titles, too.
Last one there’s a penis pump.
1) Help Computer
Mutt, who has assumed the role of a computer, enlists the help of a snarling dog to teach a child about the dangers of illegal downloading. Not only is the clip hilarious—and one of Fensler Films’ best-known edits—but it is also far more effective than the “You wouldn’t steal a car” PSAs that studios place onto DVDs.
2) Buzz Lightyear
There is really nothing funnier than kids engaging in filthy exchanges—including one that works in the phrase “I fuckin’ haxxored your mom’s ass last night”—and mistaking Deep Six for Buzz Lightyear.
3) Ice
Let’s face it: Your entry is going to earn a high ranking when it opens with the phrase “Last one there’s a penis pump!” Enjoy watching Snow Job, retrofitted with a thick Cockney accent, yell at kids to get away from his frozen lake.
4) Anime
“Japanese” earned its high rank purely for the amount of WTF that is going on. Quick Kick catches a kid who falls out of a tree and the group follow up the rescue with a short conversation in full Japanese.
5) Bus Rider
When a young girl with an impressive belch and her brother decide to grab more over-the-counter drugs, Doc pops in their window. He belts out some catchy reggae, which the brotherly effortlessly joins in on. Simple. Perfect.
6) Kids Fry
Poor Johnny and his brother wake up to a fire engulfing their house. Barbecue shows up and proves that he isn’t much in the way of comfort.
7) Slip
“Slip” is simple and to the point. Not a single member of the G.I. Joe team shows up to help a young child who falls off of a cliff. Buck up, kid, Wile E. Coyote fell off hundreds of cliffs without G.I. Joe swinging in to save him at the last minute.
8) You’re Not My Friend
At the local carnival, a lost and very confused child runs into Alpine, who cannot speak anything but “mimimimi.” This episode, the very first of Fensler Films’ G.I. Joe PSA parodies, is rife with the trademark absurdity that gripped Adult Swim programming in the early 2000s.
9) There’s No Retard in Team
Flint decides to visit a youth soccer game and brief the players on military developments in the Middle East. The kids’ reactions are priceless.
10) Porkchop Sandwiches
When he smells a fire, Blowtorch is initially excited over the scent—until he realizes two young boys are about to burn their house down. He chases the pair out of the house with a chorus of “Get the fuck outta here!”
11) Blanco Nino
More of the early 2000s absurdist humor of Adult Swim can be seen in “Nosebleed,” Fensler Films’ second-ever G.I. Joe parody. Footloose shows up to pummel a child who already caught a sacking and nosebleed during a soccer game.
12) Body Massage
There’s nothing better than spotting a live wire on the roadway—and then Roadblock showing up touting free body massages. Possibly the most quotable line in the whole series, and many people’s introduction to Fensler’s work.
13) Australian
Dripping with pure absurdity, “Australian” finds a “down under” version of Recondo visiting a group of children and locking one of them in an old refrigerator.
14) Fuckin’ Old School
At a high school dance—which Airtight just happens to be attending, for reasons unknown—he comments on the freshness of the beats. Instantly quotable.
15) Mr. LaFitte
Gung-Ho, thanks largely to his attire, is transformed into the very effeminate “Mr. LaFitte” in this episode. Standing at the edge of a skatepark, he compliments the various children playing there on their outfits and demeanor.
16) Dockside Bars
Young, bike-stealing Johnny is about to get the shock of his life when Shipwreck intercepts his theft. He isn’t there to badger him, though; rather, he is overjoyed to see the child who may very well be his long-lost son.
17) Swimming
Buzz Lightyear, better known as Deep Six, returns—gibberish and all! In this episode, he chases two kids who cannot speak in complete sentences out of the water just before lightning strikes.
18) Fire Alarm
While “Fire Alarm” is worth a chuckle, nothing truly memorable comes from the kids or Barbecue, who talks unintelligibly through his helmet.
19) Motorcycle
The entire “Motorcycle” episode feels like a setup for a joke that just doesn’t deliver. A young, aloof boy is being fed some rough words from an evil-looking driver before Wild Bill shows up and sings about his motorcycle. The kid doesn’t get what exactly is going on, and neither do we.
20) Pink Purse
Lady Jaye enters a construction site where two young kids are playing, looking for her pink purse so she can smoke a cigarette. The young girl suddenly goes into a trance of some kind, producing a pretty hilarious reaction shot from Lady Jaye.
21) Fire on Your Sleeve
In this episode, Spirit wraps a child whose sleeve is on fire in a blanket and rolls him around—for an uncomfortably long time.
22) Water-skiing
Scarlett’s chance to go water-skiing is stolen by a young boy, despite his initial failed attempt at the sport. She spends the rest of the episode gazing out to sea and singing. We wanted to do the same thing after watching this one, as it would have been far more entertaining.
23) Belch
This video clocks in at just over 2 minutes, but it feels like so much longer. Coach Cutter engages team members of a Little League team in some nice innocent sexual innuendo before challenging them to an extended belching contest—which goes on far too long.
24) Pimp
“Pimp” starts out promising—after all, it is about a 10-year-old pimp who finds a rabbit—but Spirit’s appearance pretty much deflates the short.
25) Car Accident
Ranking last is “Car Accident,” which features two kids barely escaping being flattened by Dusty’s Jeep. He exits the vehicle and screams a near-unintelligible “Game Over Yeahhhh!,” a clear indicator that there simply wasn’t enough to work with here.
Screengrab via moxiesideshow/YouTube
*First Published: Nov 28, 2013, 2:00 pm
Mike Fenn is a former contributor to the Daily Dot whose beats included Reddit, YouTube, and all things WTF. His work has also appeared in Forbes and News.com.au.
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Irish Film
My Left Foot
See other tags
Watch: Saoirse Ronan with JFK and Michael Collins in IFI funding appeal
The Irish actress has joined an appeal for funding to preserve the film institute’s historic archive.
By Hugh O'Connell Friday 4 Nov 2011, 11:06 AM
Nov 4th 2011, 11:06 AM 1,541 Views 7 Comments
https://dailyedge.ie/271267
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Image: Screengrab via YouTube.
OSCAR-NOMINATED SAOIRSE Ronan has been digitally transported into a century of historic Irish films as the Irish Film Institute (IFI) appeals for donations to preserve its film archive.
The Carlow actress has been digitally transported into some of the most iconic film footage in Irish history featuring the likes of Michael Collins and John F Kennedy as well as successful home made films such as Once and My Left Foot.
It’s all part of the launch of the IFI’s Film Archive Preservation Fund which is aiming to raise money to secure the development of a research centre at the National University of Ireland campus in Maynooth.
“Time is running out as our archive building in the historic IFI premises in Temple Bar has reached capacity. Critically, we cannot accept any more material, meaning that precious collections are in danger of being lost,” said Kasandra O’Connell, head of the archive.
The fund hopes to raise as much as €300,000 by the spring of next year with donations accepted through the website or in person at the IFI in Temple Bar.
But before you do that check out Saoirse Ronan through the ages:
Hugh O'Connell
@oconnellhugh
hugh@thejournal.ie
See more articles by Hugh O'Connell
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King of the Kitchen
By Bru Baker
Release Date Nov 6, 2015
Words 65628
Rising kitchen talents Beck Douglas and Duncan Walters have been on the foodie paparazzi radar for years, since their status as heirs to two of the biggest celebrity chef empires around makes them culinary royalty. Beck is known for his charm and traditional food as cohost of his uncle’s popular TV cooking show, while Duncan earned himself a reputation as a culinary bad boy, both for his refusal to work in his father’s restaurants and his avant-garde approach to cooking.
They’re also heirs to a food rivalry that could put the Hatfields and McCoys to shame, and when they’re photographed in the middle of a heated argument, the press goes wild with speculation. Damage control ensues, with a fake friendship engineered by PR cronies that leaves both of them secretly pining for more.
Beck chafes under his uncle’s micromanagement, and Duncan’s relationship with his homophobic father becomes even more tenuous when Beck and Duncan start getting closer. It’s hard to hide their chemistry on national television when Duncan joins Beck’s cooking show, but they won’t be able to take their relationship—or their careers—to the next level without breaking a few eggs.
Cover Artist: Brooke Albrecht
Dec 09, 2016 | Rainbow Award Winners 2016
Nov 26, 2016 | Food Flash Sale: $1 eBooks
Buy from Retailer
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ABI Research
Khin Sandi Lynn
Over 233 million 4K TVs to ship in 2024
Over 233 Million 4K TVs to Ship in 2024, with 8K on the Horizon
OYSTER BAY, New York — As worldwide TV household penetration is quite saturated, the flat panel TV market has been driven by consumer adoption of TVs with higher resolution, larger screen size, and connected and integrated applications and services. While flat panel TV makers have announced 8K TV sets, it is the 4K TV market that will continue to grow to cement its place as the mainstream TV format over the next few years. ABI Research, a global tech market advisory firm, forecasts that 4K flat panel TV shipments will grow at 13% CAGR to reach 233 million in 2024.
Flat panel TV makers including Samsung, Sony, LG, and TCL announced the introduction of 8K flat panel TV models, which are priced between USD$5,000 and USD$70,000 depending on the display size. “The cost of 8K TV sets is far from affordable for most consumers. This will limit the sales volume for the foreseeable future, however, we can expect the price points to decline to a more reasonable level over the next several years just as 4K sets have,” comments Khin Sandi Lynn, Industry Analyst at ABI Research.
However, the lack of content and distribution models are more significant barriers than cost for 8K TV adoption at the moment. Aside from 8K channels provided by Japanese broadcaster NHK, there are no other 8K broadcast channels currently available, although Korean Broadcasting Corporation (KBS) is working toward an 8K broadcast. While streaming service provider Rakuten recently announced its interest to provide 8K content in late 2019, service providers overall are not ready for 8K content, nor is there much incentive for content providers due to limited 8K TV set adoption at present.
8K content also needs larger data files, which creates challenges in content distribution and data management. Versatile Video Coding (VVC), which achieved 34% higher efficiency over HEVC, is currently in the process of standardization. VVC will play a vital role in driving the 8K TV market when the final standardization completes in 2020. 8K is likely to gain momentum only when challenges are addressed, and the ecosystem evolves.
“For now, 4K will be the dominant format of the flat panel TV market, and of the content ecosystem as a result. 4K TV household penetration will reach slightly more than half of the TV households in mature markets, and with penetration still relatively low in emerging markets, there is significant room for 4K market growth in the years to come,” concludes Lynn.
These findings are from ABI Research’s Media Devices: UltraHD, 4K, HDR, 8K, HEVC market data report. This report is part of the company’s Video & Cloud Services research service, which includes research, data, and analyst insights. Market Data spreadsheets are composed of deep data, market share analysis, and highly segmented, service-specific forecasts to provide detailed insight where opportunities lie.
Links: ABI Research
36 million vehicles to ship with Android infotainment systems in 2030
Pandemic boosts game console market; delays 8K TV adoption
COVID-19 pandemic accelerates cord-cutting in 2020
VR market to grow despite pandemic blow to location-based segment
COVID-19: Flat-panel TVs down; Streaming media adapters up
COVID-19 response to bolster cloud gaming revenues
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Home >> Administrators >> Walk-Throughs Are On the Move!
Walk-Throughs
Are On the Move
Classroom walk-throughs are a trend that is on the move! The non-threatening, non-evaluative walk-throughs give principals a quick snapshot of student learning. That snapshot is used to engage teachers in conversations about how to improve teaching. Included: Principals talk about the benefits of walk-throughs, and how to initiate walk-throughs with teachers who might fear frequent classroom visits by the principal.
School leaders are under a lot of stress -- but if exercise is a stress antidote, then principals might be among the healthiest managers around. That's because a lot of principals are doing an awful lot of walking. They're using a technique known as the walk-through to take the pulse of student learning in their schools.
The walk-through technique is based on the work of Carolyn Downey and others (authors of The Three-Minute Classroom Walk-Through: Changing School Supervisory Practice One Teacher at a Time). Walk-throughs are intended to be separate from any formal teacher evaluation process. The technique is used strictly as a means of engaging teachers in dialogue and reflection about teaching practices and school-wide goals.
"The walk-through is a significant step in influencing real change in schools by getting administrators close to the classroom and building their capacity to become instructional leaders."
--- Susan E. Sather, Ph.D., NWREL
The walk-through process can benefit teachers in many ways, according to Kathy Larson of the Cooperative Education Service Agency #2 in Milton, Wisconsin. Larson, who presents a session called Classroom Walk-Through Training, says teachers benefit by learning to use reflection to increase their knowledge, skills, and performance; strategically aligning classroom instruction to district curriculum; and increasing student learning across grade levels.
As one teacher put it, walk-throughs "allow us to see where we want to go, with the students' best interests in mind."
MORE BENEFITS OF WALK-THROUGHS
Five Principals Value
Walk-Through Approach
Deepi Kang-Weisz
Edenrose Public School
Mississauga, Ontario (Canada)
When I do classroom walk-throughs I am looking for best practices determined by a reflective question that focuses on a practice or strategy our staff has determined to be a priority. The process is an informal and non-evaluative one; its purpose is to foster reflective practice.
Marguerite McNeely
Hayden R. Lawrence Middle School
Deville, Louisiana
I get into every classroom at least six times a year. When I do a walk-through I use a checklist of observable best practices. I use my walk-through observations to give informal praise for good teaching. I also refer at faculty meetings to lessons I observed.
Saturn Elementary School
Grades PreK-6
Cocoa, Florida
How can I properly supervise teachers if I am not in classrooms on a regular basis? I know how tight a Title I principal's time can be, but walk-throughs are a priority for me and my assistant principal. Our goal is to get into every classroom three times a week.
Ron Tibbetts
Henry Barnard School
On walk-throughs, I observe if assignments are differentiated -- modified for children with special needs and enriched for those who finish early. I am looking to see if lessons seem organized and children are on task. I get into every classroom two or three times a week.
Todd Wiedemann
Berrien Springs (Michigan) High School
Berrien Springs, Michigan
I walk through each teacher's classroom an average of once every two weeks. Walk-throughs are part of our school's teamwork approach to improve teaching. My assistant principal and I do them, and soon our guidance counselors will be involved too.
Principals who have been trained to use the walk-through observation technique speak clearly about its benefits.
"The biggest benefit is that the process gets principals into classrooms much more often and with a specific reason in mind," said principal Todd Wiedemann. Since the walk-through has a specific focus "it puts teachers and principals on the same page in terms of expectations."
Another huge benefit is that it's an effective use of a principal's time, Wiedemann told Education World. "To make it into every classroom once every two weeks and only use 10 to 15 percent of my time is an awesome advantage."
Principal Ron Tibbetts agreed that getting principals into classrooms more often is one of the biggest benefits of the walk-through approach. "The more principals are able to spend time in classrooms, the more they understand what the teacher is doing and how the art of teaching is approached," he said. "Walk-throughs create a mutual ground for discussing students, curriculum, achievement, and behavior. They keep the administrator 'in-touch' with day-to-day classroom activities."
Walk-throughs enable principal Marguerite McNeely to really know her teachers' strengths and weakness. "By knowing that, we can plan for improved instruction," said McNeely. "Doing walk-throughs -- being visible and giving feedback -- helps everybody know that I am active within the school and pressing for improvements always. Walk-throughs reinforce that I have a vested interest in what goes on daily in our school."
Walk-throughs also improve rapport with the students and decrease discipline issues, said McNeely. "And when I do walk through, I also check lighting, space and maintenance issues, the availability and condition of textbooks and other materials, teacher routines such as gradebooks, attendance, and lesson plans...
"A lot can get done in a walk-through," added McNeely. "The staff welcomes me because they know I am there to aid them and support their efforts."
The dialogue that results from walk-through observations is the biggest benefit for principal Deepi Kang-Weisz. "The reflective focus questions become a springboard for professional dialogue that is all about improving instruction and learning," she told Education World.
"Walk-throughs are a great way to maintain contact, and they provide a basis for reflection and sharing effective practices for staff as individuals and a faculty as a whole," added Kang-Weisz. "At staff meetings, I share some of the great things I see during walk-throughs. I encourage staff to share their practices, and we all ask questions and learn together. We are a professional learning community at work."
THE KEY TO MAKING WALK-THROUGHS WORK
Making teachers comfortable with the walk-through process is the key to making it work. At the first mention of frequent, quick classroom walk-throughs, teachers might resist. They may fear that there is an ulterior motive or that the purpose behind walk-throughs is to "catch" them doing something wrong. Combating those fears and establishing trust -- and helping teachers see walk-throughs as the non-threatening tool it is -- is key, said Kang-Weisz.
"Talking about the process and determining collectively the focus questions around which walk-through observations are done is essential," she added. "The shortness of the time spent walking through classrooms is balanced by the number of times a principal gets into each room during the year. There is a cumulative effect from those visits that provides an overview."
For Todd Wiedemann, training is the key. "You have to train the teachers on the importance of the walk-throughs and the relevance of the data collected," he told Education World. "Teachers have to buy in to the fact that walk-throughs are a tool that will be used to help them improve and not to punish them.
"Once you get the teachers to buy in to that thought, then you have to make sure you are consistent with the follow-through. Use the data collected to drive staff meetings, and incorporate the data into the school improvement plan."
Each year, Marguerite McNeely spends part of her first faculty meeting prepping teachers for her regular classroom visits. "I provide teachers with all the informal and formal forms I will be using when observing them. I explain what each item on those forms is measuring and how it can help us in development of a successful school," she explained. "I am very up front with my expectations."
Ron Tibbetts also sets the tone for regular classroom visits from the start of the school year. "At the first teachers' meeting, I mention that one of the things I like to do is visit classrooms, even if it is only for five minutes or less," said Tibbetts. "That sets the stage for regular walk-throughs.
"The more I can get into a classroom, the less of a distraction my visits become to students and the more comfortable a teacher will become with having me in the room. In a way, the goal of walk-throughs is that I will be such a common presence that teachers will wonder what is going on when I cannot get into their classrooms."
AN EXTENSION OF MBWA
Many principals see classroom walk-throughs as an extension of the Management-By-Walking-Around (MBWA) strategy developed by Hewlett-Packard executives in the 1970s and popularized in the book In Search of Excellence by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman.
"Whether walking through a classroom, the cafeteria, or a hallway, the walk-through technique keeps an administrator visible and accessible," said Tibbetts. "Walking through classrooms offers possibilities for interactions that otherwise might not occur.
"This morning I fielded a question about an Internet connection and was able to bring a printer back online. A couple of classrooms later I had the pleasure of listening to a kindergarten child read me her story about her family and her new brother...
"I might not get into every class every day, but walking around the school at least once every day is a necessity. It is important for visibility, but it is also necessary to check safety, security, and other building concerns."
WALK-THROUGH FOCUS QUESTIONS
Principal Michael Miller aims to get himself or his assistant principal into every classroom a total of three times a week. "My school is 800 students so that is a tall task, but most weeks we meet our goal," Miller told Education World.
Unexpected Benefits
One day, a couple of parents stopped by unexpectedly to talk with principal Ron Tibbetts. They had some questions about the teaching style of their child's teacher. They also had a question about something Tibbetts had not observed.
Walk-throughs had given Tibbetts a good glimpse into the true abilities of his teacher. "In my opinion, her curriculum objectives and interactions with the students were developmentally appropriate and very much on target," said Tibbetts. "I was able to give very specific examples to relieve the parents' anxiety."
Walk-throughs also involve regular follow-up conversations with teachers, so when Tibbetts met with the teacher he was able to share what he said about the curriculum and his support of her approach. "We were also able to move the conversation to the other item raised by the parents -- the one I hadn't observed," said Tibbetts. "We were able to freely discuss it and make a few changes."
On the quick walk-throughs that Miller and his assistant principal do, there is always a purpose. "Each week, we have specific things that we are looking for," he said. They communicate the weekly look-for in advance. One week they might be looking to learn Is the objective of the lesson clear to the students? Another week the purpose might be to learn Is the lesson aligned with state standards for the grade level? or Is the teacher asking higher-order thinking skills? The following week they might be looking at instructional strategies. They will want to know What instructional strategy is the teacher using?, Do we see the same strategy every time we walk through the room?, and Is this an appropriate strategy to use with the lesson? At other times they might be looking to learn How are the students engaged? Is engagement authentic, ritual, or passive? or Is the students' work displayed? or Are classroom rules displayed?
In addition, this year Miller is observing how teachers are using the new LCD projectors that were installed in all classrooms.
Walk-throughs are all about teachers and principals working together to reflect on teaching practices. Reflection is the key component. After his walk-throughs, Miller often leaves teachers with an observation and a question that might encourage thoughtful dialogue and deeper thinking about lessons, curriculum, and teaching strategies. The prompts are always non-judgmental. For example, Miller might say
* When I was doing my walk-through today, the students were in their seats responding to questions. How do you plan your lesson to encourage the students to be active participants?
* While I was doing my walk-through today, the students were taking notes and reviewing a social studies lesson. How do you ensure that all students understand concepts of the lesson?
* As I was watching the students work the problems today, I was wondering how many arrived at correct answers. How did you conclude how many of the students worked the problems correctly?
Sometimes teachers have a ready answer to Miller's questions -- an answer that details something they do that was not observed. Other times, the question offers the teacher a chance to reflect on the why of something they are doing. Subsequent observations enable teachers to continue to analyze their classroom practices and take charge of their professional growth.
Sample Focus Questions
Focus questions set a purpose for a classroom walk-through. The questions can cover any area of student instruction or learning. They challenge teachers to target specific best practices and to reflect continuously about their progress toward individual or school-wide goals. The questions below present a few examples of questions that might be spurred by observations made over the course of several walk-throughs. The questions are presented in the first-person [teacher] voice.
How can I vary instruction methods to include a wider range of cooperative learning (partner work, small-group) tasks?
How can I be sure my curriculum is covering all state standards for the grade level?
How can I develop lessons that challenge students to do more high-level thinking?
When students are working on research reports, how can I help them do less copying of material and do more to make the material their own by summarizing, paraphrasing, and including personal examples and reflection?
How can I integrate technology into my lessons in real ways?
How can I do more to challenge the most gifted students in my class?
How can I use less direct instruction and incorporate more inquiry-based learning in my lessons?
What can I do to develop a classroom "tone" that is less teacher centered, more student centered?
How can I use fewer reward-punishment enticements and do more to make student learning an intrinsic thing?
Miller and the other principals in his county have been thoroughly trained in the walk-through procedure by Joe Whelan. Whelan's approach is based on the research of Robert Marzano, Robert Pickering, and Jane Pollock. He suggests keeping a map of the school and marking when you have been in each room. "This is a good visual that helps ensure you are hitting all classrooms and not just the ones close to the office," added Miller.
MORE EXAMPLES OF QUESTIONS
Any question that causes teachers to reflect and has the potential to result in improved student learning and achievement is a worthy one. Sometimes a focus question is tied to a school-wide goal; the question will be the basis for all teachers' walk-through observations. Other times, individual teachers might be asked to reflect on questions tied directly to their personal classroom practices or goals.
For example, increasing student time on task might be a school-wide or individual teacher's goal. When a principal enters the classroom, he or she might collect data on the number (or percent) of students who are focused on schoolwork. Over a period of several walk-through observations, the principal or another observer will have significant data that might spur a reflective question such as How can I increase the number of students who are actively engaged in learning? Subsequent observations and conversations continue to focus on that question, and teachers share their successful methods for increasing student engagement.
In another example, a 2001 article from the National Council for Staff Development ("Seeing Through New Eyes"), detailed how a team of observers set out to walk-through one Texas middle school. Their goal was to learn if the school was making progress on its goal of increasing the amount of writing students did across the curriculum. Before the walk-through, observers created a list of things they might expect to see:
Students actively involved in writing.
Evidence of past student writing, such as piles of written work and examples of student writing posted on classroom walls.
Students writing in their journals.
Students who could explain the writing process to observers.
Displays of exemplary student writing, so students can models of what good writing looks like.
Prompts for journal writing on chalkboards or whiteboards.
Many of those things might be easily observed, even in a several-minute walk-through. The observers' findings -- plus other signs of student writing they had not even considered -- provided the basis for a report and follow-up dialogue about what teachers were doing to achieve the school-wide goal. "Best practices" that were observed in classrooms were shared school-wide. Most important, additional discussion ensued about what else could be done to enhance writing opportunities and results.
The goals of all this observing and questioning are clear: As a year of walk-throughs progresses, principals should see more student engagement, students working at higher cognitive levels, and teachers questioning their own practices and making appropriate adjustments.
TECHNOLOGY TOOLS AID WALK-THROUGH FORMS
Principals record their walk-through observations in a wide variety of ways. Some have set forms. Others use informal forms or observation notes.
See links to sample walk-through observation forms at the end of the article.
George Manthey of the Association of California School Administrators is the developer of the Walk'bout, a computer/handheld program that many principals use during walk-throughs to record "best practices" and other observable behaviors. The program can be used to generate reports for teachers. An updated version of the Walk'bout, called Walk'bout II, examines more closely the cognitive depth of teachers' lessons through the lens of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy. Both Walk'bout products are tied to content standards.
"The Walk'bout can be used to analyze student learning activities," Manthey explained. "The program's standards database allows the observer to easily see where the observed student activity fits within the state standards and whether or not the standard being taught is tested at that grade level."
The Walk'bout tools require training, said Manthey, adding, "One reason principals really like them is because we can customize them based on the district's priorities."
Bill Craig, principal at Byron (Illinois) High School, uses another program, The Administrative Observer Software, on his handheld computer for recording observations and generating reports that provide teachers with feedback.
"Feedback is most powerful when the expectations are spelled out ahead of time and when feedback is expressed in terms of those expectations," Craig wrote in My Recipe for School Improvement: Walk-Through Observations on a Handheld Computer. "My teachers know the seven of eight most important things I hope to see, and I ask them to focus on those things each class period. The Administrative Observer lets me put those expectations into the software as preferences and record my thoughts easily while I am in the classroom."
WALK-THROUGHS NURTURE PERFORMANCE
Walk-through observations continue to grow in popularity. Paul Young thinks he knows why. "In most school districts, formal evaluations have been negotiated to the point that they result in minimal observations at best," said Young, principal (retired) of West Elementary School in Lancaster, Ohio, and past president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals. "It is best that you develop a close professional relationship with teachers so that you can comment on performance throughout the year in personal, informal, and informative ways. Develop trust, and then you can really mentor and help a teacher grow."
"Walk-throughs help gather data that is needed to nurture performance," added Young.
"Classroom walk-throughs work," said Todd Wiedemann. "As long as the training is in place and there is consistency in their use, walk-throughs are a great tool for everyone in education."
MORE ABOUT WALK-THROUGHS
Classroom Walk-Through (CWT)
This PowerPoint presentation by Todd Wiedemann, principal of Berrien Springs (Michigan) High School, serves as an introduction to the basic goals, concepts, and process of walk-throughs.
Attempting to Harness Real Change
In the El Segundo (California) Unified School District, the walk-through technique has been used on a school-wide basis. A leadership team will walk through an entire school looking for evidence of a clearly defined school-wide focus. After the observation, a debriefing is held; the leadership team reflects for the entire faculty on what they have observed.
WALK-THROUGH OBSERVATIONS: SAMPLE FORMS
Principals use a wide variety of forms to document walk-through observations. Refer to Three-Minute Classroom Walk-Through for information and sample forms. Following are a handful of sample forms that we found online.
Principal Walk-Throughs: Checklists, Forms, and More
Walk-Through Form
Principal's Walk-Through Checklist
Walk-Through Observation Feedback Form for Elementary Schools
Walk-Through Observation for Instructional Program Classroom Visits [Word doc.]
Classroom Walk-Through Graphic Organizer (scroll down to page 7)
Article by Gary Hopkins
Education World® Editor-in-Chief
Copyright © 2010 Education World
Originally published 04/12/2005
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Ekklesia Muskogee
make disciples. love cities. plant churches.
Forms of Unity
Who Leads – Leadership Structure
Who We Are and What We Do – Identity and Mission
What We Teach – The 1689 Baptist Confession
How We Learn – The Baptist Catechism
How We Stay Faithful – Church Discipline
What We Agree To – Membership Covenant
Love Muskogee
Shepherd School
Sermons by Scripture
Rewarded: Ephesians 6:5-9
← Fathered: Ephesians 6:1-4 → Victorious: Ephesians 6:10-24
Ekklesia Muskogee is a reformed baptist church that gathers for worship in Muskogee, Oklahoma. We are a cooperating member of The Southern Baptist Convention. We confess the 1689 second london baptist confession of faith. We affirm the five solas of the reformationas well as the doctrines of grace (otherwise known as the five points of calvinism), and each of our pastors would not be ashamed to be called a calvinist. We are a church led by elders, of which there is a plurality (also called pastors and overseers in the Scriptures). Our mission is to make disciples, love cities, and plant churches.
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Projects Services Careers Blog
© EllisDon Corporation 2020
Toronto CIBC Square
Hines, Ivanhoe Cambridge
2,900,000 sq. ft.
Delivery Model
Year Complete
CIBC Square, formerly known as Bay Park Centre will feature two buildings and a one-acre elevated park over the rail corridor that will connect the two buildings and serve as a green space open to tenants and the public. Located at 81 and 141 Bay Street, the tower will feature a 49-storey state-of-the-art building and will be an extension to the PATH pedestrian walkway system linking to the Air Canada Centre and Union Station. The new CIBC Square will be implemented with one converged network solution and includes over 100 Cisco POE+ switches, high-performance CISCO ASA Firewalls, Cyber Security System, Central Management System and WIFI infrastructure.
The building is targeting LEED® Platinum Certification.
One York
When Menkes and HOOPP first proposed the idea of this 34-storey office tower, they had to consider not only who would be able to deliver a project ...
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TD Lego - Tenant Fit Up
This project consisted of the fit-up of an occupied building of which the client owns ten floors. These ten floors underwent a refresh o...
At 301-feet-tall, 400 West Georgia is a unique 24-storey commercial tower with a structural steel frame, a concrete core, and a six level underground parking garage with 235 stalls.
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Home » Guest Blogs » Wide Spectrum GeSi Technology Overcomes Major Hurdles in 3D Sensing
Wide Spectrum GeSi Technology Overcomes Major Hurdles in 3D Sensing
November 11, 2019 Neil Na, Co-founder and Chief Science Officer, Artilux Inc.
3D sensing is becoming vital technology and has been adopted as an integral part of applications such as Apple’s Face ID, for unlocking phones and making payments. In the coming years, the technology will further penetrate into markets such as augmented reality and autonomous driving.
The main technological approaches to 3D sensing are based on emitting light pulses or structured patterns of light toward targets, subsequently measuring the light they reflect. The most popular approach is Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensing, in which the depth or distance is calculated from the phase shift (indirect ToF) or the time delay (direct ToF) during the time of flight of the light pulses. ToF sensing has multiple advantages over other 3D sensing approaches. For example, the system can be packaged in a very compact module used over short, medium and long ranges, and acquires depth or distance data with little computational effort.
While ToF is a proven solution to 3D sensing, it has some inherent disadvantages. In particular, 3D sensing technology based on ToF routinely operates at wavelengths less than 1.1µm, typically at 850nm or 940nm. These wavelengths have two major drawbacks. First, the outdoor performance is lackluster due to the interference from sunlight in the same wavelength range. Second, there is a potential risk of serious eye damage from laser malfunctioning or mishandling during usage, because the retina of a human eye absorbs laser energies at these wavelengths easily.
Attempts have been made such as using state-of-the-art Si sensors, to extend the light spectrum of ToF sensing to wavelengths beyond 1.1µm, in which the sunlight interference and eye hazard can be mitigated. However, even state-of-the-art Si sensors suffer from poor quantum efficiency (QE), which falls drastically from about 30% at 940nm to 0% at wavelengths longer than 1.1µm, making Si sensors an inefficient solution.
Breakthrough in 3D Sensing: GeSi
Artilux has recently implemented an approach to wide spectrum 3D sensing, based on the new GeSi (Germanium on Silicon) technology platform that it developed in cooperation with TSMC.
This new Artilux technology integrates GeSi as the light absorption material with CMOS integrated circuits on a silicon wafer. It eliminates the existing research and development bottlenecks by significantly increasing QE to 90 percent at 940nm, as well as further extending the accessible light spectrum to 1550nm, at which QE of 50 percent is achieved.
Combined with a high modulation frequency typically 300MHz and above, the new GeSi sensor technology delivers noticeably more accurate performance compared to the existing ToF sensors. It offers the freedom to operate at wavelengths that minimize or eliminate sunlight interference, and wavelengths that lessen or avoid the risk of eye damage. Based on the experimental data Artilux has collected so far, GeSi sensors provide excellent depth or distance accuracy in short range, and outstanding outdoor performance in short, medium and long ranges.
LiDAR for Autonomous Driving
LiDAR for autonomous vehicles is an important application of 3D sensing. Current LiDAR technology can be categorized into two groups: silicon-based CMOS sensor for wavelengths below 1.1 μm and III-V material-based sensor for wavelengths above 1.1 μm.
While a silicon-based CMOS sensor is low cost, it is vulnerable to sunlight interference and presents possible risks of eye hazard, particularly because LiDAR uses high power lasers to achieve the long range required. Moving to III-V material-based sensor overcomes these issues, due to its higher QE compared to silicon. However, the drawbacks with III-V are high fabrication costs and the difficulty of integrating multiple chips using different materials. Artilux's GeSi sensor technology is the only silicon-based solution that can operate at wavelengths above 1.1 μm, and thus combines the best features of both silicon-based CMOS sensor and III-V material-based sensor.
The new Artilux GeSi sensor technology is now ready for mass production, with the first generation of products to be announced in Q1 2020. The ability to sense wide spectrum light with GeSi sensors will improve eye safety, minimize sunlight interference, and deliver noticeably more accurate performance. It is the solution to unlocking the full potential of 3D sensing for consumer and niche applications in the near future.
Neil Na received his PhD from the Electrical Engineering Department of Stanford University. His research interests include mesoscopic quantum optics, integrated silicon photonics, and 3D image sensing/processing. www.artiluxtech.com
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It seems that a day goes by when someone doesn’t say, “This is like science fiction!” Typically, they are talking about cell phones, GPS, tablets, cars with keyless ignition…the list goes on.
5G ORAN Timing Challenges Satisfied by MEMS Precision Oscillators
The deployment of 5G networks in major cities around the world will mark one of the largest and fastest evolutions in networking infrastructure.
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Input/Output Considerations for Cockpit Displays
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The Importance of Combinatorial Test Design
Responsible QA engineers know the importance of test data in the development towards an efficient test automation framework.
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the-care-act-unpacked-frontline-support-carers-f
The Care Act Unpacked: frontline support for carers (F): e-learning training course
This e-learning course comprises an introduction and three easy-to-follow study units and aims to introduce you to, and help you to understand, the changes to practice that will happen when the new Care Act comes into force in April 2015.
The online materials include quizzes and activities to help reinforce learning as students work through the course.
Unit Titles
How to Use the Course
Identification and Building Support
Assessment and Meeting Needs
Delegating, Arranging and Paying for Support
Unit 2: helps learners to define what it is to be a carer and to identify the people who need support. It explains what the well-being and prevention duties are as well as emphasising the importance of co-operation between health and social care and the promotion of their integration.
Unit 3: examines the key elements of assessment (including financial) under the Care Act and explains how assessments must be delivered in practice. It also looks at the transition arrangements for young people and describes how the needs of carers will need to be specified, planned, delivered, and met under the Act.
Unit 4: enables learners to identify duties that can be delegated, explores the key elements of continuity of care, and describes the requirements for promoting a market in relation to care services. The course concludes by looking at Safeguarding Adult Boards and considers the possible consequences of the cap on funding.
Learning Objectives: on completion of this course learners will be able to:
define what it is to be a carer and specify people needing support
define the well-being duty and describe what it means for professional practice
define the prevention duty and describe what it means for professional practice
define the general duties to provide information and advice and describe what these mean for professional practice
describe the duties for co-operation between health and social care and the promotion of their integration
specify the key elements of assessment under the Care Act and describe how assessments will be delivered in practice
describe the transition arrangements for disabled children and young carers
specify when and how carers’ needs will be met under the Care Act and describe how this can be planned and delivered
and specify the key elements of financial assessment, including when to charge or not and how to make that decision
recognise and describe duties that can be delegated to other agencies
specify the requirements for promoting a market in care services to meet the needs of carers and describe how they will operate
specify the key elements of continuity of care, including how to decide which authority has responsibility for the carer
describe the requirements for Safeguarding Adult Boards and when reviews must be held
recognise the implications of the cap on care funding and the arrangements for Care Accounts
analyse some worked examples of assessment, duties to provide services and charging.
Download further information
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What is ketamine?
Ketamine (ketamine hydrochloride) is an anaesthetic and analgesic (pain killer). It was developed in the 1960s for medical use and is now used widely throughout the world for anaesthesia and pain relief in both humans and animals. It wasn’t long after its invention that it began to be used recreationally.
What does ketamine look like and how is it used?
Ketamine is a white/transparent when pure, and often sold as a powder of tiny crystals. It is often crushed into a fine powder so it can be snorted up the nose. Occasionally the powder can be other colours, such as off-white or brown.
Ketamine also sometimes comes in pills. These could contain other drugs, which increases the risk of a bad reaction. It has even been sold as or confused with ecstasy pills.
Some people get ketamine in liquid form (or dissolve it) and inject it for a faster, stronger effect. Injecting drugs is more dangerous for many reasons. For example, it is easier to take too much and can cause injuries and infections such as HIV (sharing needles).
How does ketamine work as a drug in the body and brain?
Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic. When used medically, it is given in high doses that blocks pain signals and makes people unconscious. The lower doses used recreationally produce very different effects, sometimes including hallucinations, which are not well understood. There are similarities between the strange states of mind caused temporarily by ketamine and the experiences of people suffering from schizophrenia.
Does ketamine have any medical uses?
Ketamine is an essential medical and veterinary drug used for anaesthesia and pain relief under a wide range of circumstances. Ketamine is much less likely than other anaesthetics to depress the heart and respiration, so it is the anaesthetic agent of choice in low income countries and in environmental/conflict disasters where there are few trained medical personnel, anaesthetic machines or consistent sources of electricity. In the western world ketamine is the most commonly used veterinary anaesthetic, particularly in horses and the more unusual species. In developed countries ketamine is less commonly used for routine anaesthesia in people as it may cause hallucinations during recovery; more conventional anaesthetics are preferred where trained anaesthetists and appropriate equipment are readily available to monitor the patient and support respiration.
Ketamine is a potent pain killer and is particularly useful for children undergoing agonizing procedures such as treatment of burns. It is now also an important treatment for chronic pain.
New therapeutic uses for ketamine have more recently been identified, including treatment of depression and refractory status epilepticus. A single low dose of ketamine can rapidly lift depression, although the effect does not last long-term. It is thought to work by causing new connections (synapses) to be made in the brain. This is a promising lead for the development of new treatments because conventional antidepressants take some time to work. Self-treating using ketamine puts the user at risk of the harmful effects of ketamine, and it has not yet been established through large-scale trials that the benefits outweigh the risks.
What are the effects of ketamine?
Ketamine produces very different effects depending on whether someone takes a little or a lot. It is a strong drug and it is easy to take more than intended. It is therefore better for inexperienced users to start with a small dose first before they consider trying to get the effects of a larger dose.
Low to moderate doses
Ketamine can give sensations of lightness (like walking on the moon), dizziness, and euphoria. It makes people’s thoughts flow randomly; ideas can seem special and important, or pleasantly or unpleasantly muddled. Things may begin to look and sound different or somehow unreal. There is always a higher risk of accidents whilst using ketamine. Taking any depressant drug, such as alcohol, can very easily and quickly make the effects much stronger and riskier.
Higher doses
The more ketamine that is taken, the harder it is to stand up and move about. Quite large quantities lead to exceptionally odd feelings such as separation between the mind and the physical body, which some find pleasurable and others find distressing. Unpleasant side-effects like nausea and vomiting can occur. Ketamine can produce delusional thoughts much like those associated with schizophrenia. Very large quantities lead to users losing touch with their identity and surroundings altogether, which is called k-holing. People k-holing may be unresponsive, although inside their mind they may be experiencing vivid hallucinations. Users can have notions and hallucinations which can feel very real, and can be anything from wonderful conversations with angels, to being convinced they are dying. The risks of accidents, overdoses and anxiety described below are increasingly significant at higher doses.
What are the risks of using ketamine? Can they be avoided or reduced?
People can die after taking ketamine. People who die or end up in hospital almost always have combined ketamine with other drugs, particularly alcohol. Taking ketamine with stimulants (such as cocaine and ecstasy) may overload your heart. Taking it with depressants (such as alcohol, GBL or heroin) may make you become unconscious quickly and unexpectedly, and can stop your breathing or allow you suffocate on your own vomit.
Ketamine works in several ways to make you particularly vulnerable to accidental injury and death; even smaller amounts will decrease your ability to make sensible decisions or recognize dangers (like roads). Larger amounts have anaesthetic effects; people have died by lying outside on a cold night without awareness of the cold, and by falling unconscious in the bath and drowning.
Tripping on ketamine can be an utterly overwhelming experience, especially if the user does not expect its powerful effects. Users can freak out whilst taking it and sometimes end up being rushed to hospital. Such anxiety attacks produce a dangerously racing heart and palpitations as well as extreme agitation. This can be a seriously traumatic experience, even if it doesn’t cause physical harm.
Are there health conditions that make ketamine more dangerous?
People with schizophrenia, or who have ever suffered a psychotic episode, should avoid ketamine. The drug has been demonstrated to bring back symptoms of psychosis, and these could persist beyond the period when the drug is in the body.
Drugs which radically affect consciousness are more likely to cause panic and fear in people who suffer anxiety, whether this has been diagnosed as a disorder or not.
Ketamine increases heart-rate and blood pressure. These effects are usually quite minor, but could be dangerous for people with related health problems or who combine it with other drugs.
Can ketamine be used with other drugs?
When people die after taking ketamine, they have usually combined it with another substance.
Taking with depressants (such as alcohol, GBL , benzodiazepines such as valium, or opiates such as heroin) may make you become unconscious quickly and unexpectedly, and can stop your breathing or allow you suffocate on your own vomit.
Taking ketamine with stimulants (such as cocaine and ecstasy) may overload your heart. The chance of agitation and anxiety is also increased. Stimulants may keep you moving when the effects of ketamine would otherwise have immobilised you, increasing the chance of accidental injury.
Is ketamine addictive?
Whilst many people use ketamine on occasion without feeling cravings, some people get addicted to ketamine use and may use it daily. People can struggle and fail to be able to stop using ketamine. Tolerance builds up, so users need much more ketamine to get the effects they like. Signs of tolerance should be considered an early warning sign of addiction and harmful use.
What are the harms of ketamine addiction and withdrawal?
People addicted to ketamine can suffer strong cravings, anxiety and misery, and even shaking and sweating when they try to go without. Such withdrawal symptoms are not dangerous and eventually pass.
Addictive regular use of ketamine can cause serious mental and physical harm.
What are the long-term effects of ketamine on health and wellbeing?
Mental impairment
Taking ketamine regularly seems to affect the mind, particularly memory. The effects are not serious enough to count as a mental disorder, but regular users may feel that they’re not nearly as sharp as they should be. This could be very bad for work, education and relationships. These harmful effects seem to fade when people give up the drug.
Urinary system damage
People who use ketamine more than a couple of times a week are at high risk of damaging their kidneys and especially their bladder. Once the damage is done, the organs do not always recover. The bladder condition, called ketamine-induced ulcerative cystitis, starts with the need to urinate very often, and leads to painful urination. Sufferers may be prone to wetting themselves and can have blood in their urine. A few young people have had to have their damaged bladder removed, which leaves men unable to get a natural erection and both genders unable to urinate naturally for life. This disease can even encourage more ketamine use, or prevent users quitting, as ketamine temporarily eases the pain.
Ketamine cramps
Regular users get severe abdominal pain often called k-cramps. Their cause is unknown but they seem distinct from the bladder damage.
Harm reduction advice when using ketamine
There are always risks to using ketamine. However, if you do take drugs, you can make simple choices to improve the chances of a good experience, rather than a regretted, harmful or even fatal one. Here are some things to consider.
How much are you taking and how often?
Taking bigger amounts, and taking it frequently, means higher risks. The most severe harms, including permanent bladder damage, affect people who take ketamine regularly.
First time users should be especially cautious with dose. Some users plan and measure out how much they intend to take, and only have that amount accessible. Otherwise, it can be tempting to keep taking more whilst you are less capable of making sensible decisions. It’s important to keep track of whether you or your friends are taking increasingly large amounts, or using ketamine increasingly often, as this can be a sign of an addiction developing.
Are you taking anything else? Mixing drugs is much riskier.
Drug effects are unpredictable, but mixing drugs makes the effects on your body and mind even harder to control. Deaths after ketamine use usually involve mixing it with other drugs. Ketamine plus a sedating drug like alcohol can stop you breathing.
How appropriate is your setting and state of mind?
If you are anxious, or feeling down, the drug may exaggerate these feelings and give you a terrible experience. Additionally if you are in a stressful, unfamiliar environment with strangers, the risk of having a bad time, or experiencing physical harm, is increased.
Ketamine treatment for depression
A review and analysis of the ethical considerations in off-label ketamine use for severe, treatment-resistant depression. The review concludes that further restrictions around ketamine are not neccesary and provides a set of recomendations for oversight bodies that would support safe, effective, and ethical use. Read it here Related Content Medical cannabis in the UK: From …
Ketamine as an essential medicine
A letter to The Lancet endorsing the WHO Expert Committee on Drug Dependence's conclusion that concerns over recreational ketamine abuse in no way outweigh ketamine's role as a life-saving anasthetic and essential medicine. Read it here Related Content The UK needs common sense about ketamineFebruary 10 2015 DrugScience ketamine reviewApril 3 2011
The UK needs common sense about ketamine
A version of this post was published in The Guardian Ketamine is a unique anaesthetic and analgesic that has unfortunately become a popular and harmful recreational drug. Last year, in an attempt to reduce recreational use, and on the recommendation of its Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), the UK government decided to …
DrugScience ketamine review
The first comprehensive review of the drug since its classification, DrugScience’s ketamine review highlighted harms such as neurological and bladder damage. Read it here
Support our work and help ensure that evidence-based research can influence policy and public opinion, not political or commercial agenda.
Drug Science is an independent, science-led drugs charity. We rely on donations to continue to promote evidence-based information about drugs without political or commercial interference.
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REMAREP ULTRA 10: The Industry's Fastest Belt Repair
Dry Bulk | Engineering & Equipment
Two-component repair compound of solvent-free polyurethane | 65 Shore A after 15 minutes curing | Resistance to UV rays, oil and diesel fuel
Poing near Munich, 9 June 2020. Repair in record time: With the new 2-component repair compound REMAREP ULTRA 10, the repair time for minor damage to conveyor belts or elastomer components is considerably reduced. This new product innovation repairs every conveyor belt in a quality comparable to the original material.
"In the case of unplanned outages, every minute counts, because every minute costs money," says Alexander Sedler, Product Manager Belt Repair at REMA TIP TOP, about the new repair material having an exceptionally fast curing time: At 24° Celsius the hardness after 15 minutes is an average of 65 Shore A, after 60 minutes the conveyor belt can be loaded again. The final stage of hardening is usually reached after 8 hours. The red material color of the solvent-free polyurethane being developed and entirely produced in Germany, allows previous repairs to be visually traced and the overall condition of the conveyor belt to be assessed.
At the same time, the belt has optimum material properties even after the repair: The repair paste offers comparable wear properties to the original material as well as resistance to UV rays, oil and diesel fuel. The main area of application is in conveyor belt repair, for example in the temporary repair of damage to ceiling panels and longitudinal cracks in the conveyor belt as well as the sealing of punctures in the belt. At the same time, the REMAREP ULTRA 10 can also be used to fill joints in rubber linings and for cosmetic repairs to PU, PVC and elastomer components.
The most important step in repairing a damaged conveyor belt is to assess the damage: the length and depth of the belt damage is not limited in most cases. However, if the fabric carcass needs to be repaired, the repair must not exceed 20 percent of the belt width to ensure stability. For an optimal repair, the belt damage must first be cleaned, prepared with a grinding machine and thinly coated with Cement SC4000. After the adhesive has hardened, the repair material is directly applied to the damaged area using a dispensing device and can be ground smooth with a grinder or angle polisher after about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the temperature. The repair can be carried out either by trained REMA-TIP-TOP service staff or by qualified staff at the customer's premises.
About REMA TIP TOP
REMA TIP TOP is a globally operating system provider of services and products in the field of conveying and treatment technology as well as tire repair. The company has a global service network and offers a wide range of rubber products, linings and coatings for both the industrial and automotive sectors. Over almost a hundred years, the company has built up unique expertise in materials development and industrial services and is active in the belting, material processing, surface protection and automotive sectors. At the end of the 2019 financial year, REMA TIP TOP generated sales of about 1.1 billion euros. Worldwide the company employs more than 8,000 employees and has more than 190 subsidiaries and associated companies – including well-known brands such as Dunlop Belting Products South Africa and Asplit.
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Home > Zoo News > Dublin Zoo Welcomes the Announcement of Government Funding
Posted In Animals | 16th December 2020
Dublin Zoo Welcomes the Announcement of Government Funding
Dublin Zoo welcomes the announcement from Tánaiste Leo Varadkar TD and Minister of State for the Office of Public Works, Patrick O’Donovan TD, of €3million in Government funding for Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park.
This financial support will allow Dublin Zoo to re-commence work on some essential capital projects, including the construction of world-class habitats for some of our most endangered species.
Commenting on the announcement, Dr Christoph Schwitzer, Director of Dublin Zoo said:
“I would like to thank Minister O’Donovan and the OPW for making this funding available, after what has been a challenging year for Dublin Zoo and Fota Wildlife Park due to Covid-19. This essential financial support will allow us to re-commence vital work on capital projects.
“Dublin Zoo is very grateful to the Irish Government, the Office of Public Works and the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. We would also like to thank our local TDs and other political representatives who have been unwavering in their support.
“Finally, a very special word of thanks to the Irish public for the phenomenal and generous support shown in what has been a uniquely challenging and difficult time for Dublin Zoo. The outpouring of support truly overwhelmed the team and we will be forever grateful to the people of Ireland for helping Dublin Zoo when we needed it most. We will always be appreciative for the generous response to our financial predicament.
“We are hopeful that restrictions will lift in 2021, allowing us to welcome stronger visitor numbers once again”.
Dublin Zoo closure: 31st December 2020
Following the recent announcement from Taoiseach Micheál Martin regarding COVID-19, we have taken the decision…
A challenging year for Dublin Zoo ends on a hopeful note
Like so many in Ireland, Dublin Zoo has experienced an extremely challenging year, but it…
Dublin Zoo welcomes the announcement from Tánaiste Leo Varadkar TD and Minister of State for…
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Virtual Media Now Available in Avocent DSView 3 Management Software
Market Leader Continues to Broaden the Role of KVM Switching in the Data Center
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. , May 3, 2005 — Avocent Corporation (NASDAQ: AVCT), the leading supplier of connectivity solutions for enterprise data centers, today introduced virtual media functionality as part of a new DS Series family of products. The new DS Series virtual media feature allows administrators to remotely transfer local data to and from remote servers to perform a variety of tasks across heterogeneous platforms regardless of the operating system.
Virtual media is simulated media that performs the same function of a mass storage device, such as a hard drive, CD drive, or USB device without physically being connected. This is important to businesses that are trying to control physical access to data centers for security reasons. By giving an administrator the capability to stay in his or her chair and perform tasks remotely, such as installing or patching applications or the OS, or rebooting the remote server across the network using a boot file accessed from a local PC, virtual media eliminates unnecessary trips into the data center. The Avocent implementation of virtual media into the DS Series maintains the out-of-band access and OS independence that is the cornerstone of our centralized server management solutions.
“Advancing our simplified solutions to allow administrators to proactively focus on efficient, secure management of IT assets is always on the forefront of efforts,” said John Cooper, CEO of Avocent Corporation. “This new feature in our easy to use software is just one more example of why Avocent is the market leader, because we are first to recognize and respond to customer needs.”
The Avocent solution uses DSR appliances and DSView 3 software to provide local and remote virtual media access with data transfer rates unequaled by other virtual media offerings. The four new enterprise appliances with virtual media functionality include the DSR1030, DSR2030, DSR4030 and DSR8030. An administrator can either use the DSR appliances through a USB 2.0 interface to upload crucial fixes or patches directly to the attached servers, or use the DSView 3 software mapping menu to make local removable media or mass storage devices appear on the remote target server. In addition to virtual media, the new version of software also allows management of Avocent CCM console management appliances for serial connectivity.
IT administrators can now learn just one software package to manage KVM over IP, serial over IP, IPMI, external power devices and now virtual media. The new version of DSView 3 software also includes client compatibility with Mozilla, Netscape and Firefox Web browsers in addition to Internet Explorer.
About Avocent Corporation
Avocent Corporation is the leading supplier of connectivity solutions for enterprise data centers, service providers and financial institutions worldwide. Branded products include switching, extension, intelligent platform management interface (IPMI), remote access and video display solutions. Additional information is available at: www.avocent.com
This press release contains statements that are forward-looking statements as defined within the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include statements regarding market opportunity, product development, engineering and design activities, and product availability and operability. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made, including the risks associated with general economic conditions, risks attributable to future product demand, sales, and expenses, risks associated with product design efforts and the introduction of new products and technologies, risks associated with reliance on a limited number of component suppliers and single source components, and risk associated with obtaining and protecting intellectual property rights. Other factors that could cause operating and financial results to differ are described in Avocent’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Avocent, the Avocent logo, DSR and DSView are registered trademarks of Avocent Corporation. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Home > Latest > Computers > Computers > Software > Software > Virtual Media Now Available in Avocent DSView 3 Management Software
Apple Previews macOS Mojave, Arriving Fall 2018
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Canon U.S.A. Announces Apple AirPrint Support for Six New Models in the MAXIFY and PIXMA Printer Lineup
| | Rate | Review | More SCG News
Delivering Seamless, Convenient Mobile Printing From iPhone, iPad and iPod touch
MELVILLE, N.Y. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — September 23, 2014 — Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, announced today that the MAXIFY MB5320 Wireless Inkjet Small Office All-In-One (AIO) printer, MAXIFY MB5020 Wireless Inkjet Small Office AIO printer, MAXIFY MB2320 Wireless Inkjet Home Office AIO printer, MAXIFY MB2020 Wireless Inkjet Home Office AIO printer, MAXIFY IB4020 Wireless Inkjet Small Office printer and PIXMA iP110 Wireless1 Mobile Printer, now support Apple AirPrint® wireless technology. Beneficial for consumers and home office professionals alike, AirPrint2 allows users to seamlessly print photos, email, web pages and documents wirelessly from iPad®, iPhone®, and iPod touch® devices, without downloading or installing any device drivers.
In addition to these three new printers, the other PIXMA printer models currently available that are compatible with AirPrint wireless technology include:
-PIXMA MG7520 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-In-One
-PIXMA MX922 Wireless Office All-In-One Printer
-PIXMA iX6820 Wireless Inkjet Business Printer
-PIXMA iP8720 Wireless Inkjet Photo Crafting Printer
-PIXMA PRO-100 Wireless Inkjet Professional photo printer
-PIXMA PRO-10 Wireless Inkjet Professional photo printer
For a full list of all the printers from the Canon PIXMA lineup that support AirPrint wireless technology, please visit www.usa.canon.com/AirPrint.
Canon U.S.A., Inc., is a leading provider of consumer, business-to-business, and industrial digital imaging solutions. With approximately $36 billion in global revenue, its parent company, Canon Inc. (NYSE: CAJ), ranks third overall in U.S. patents granted in 2013�nbsp; and is one of Fortune Magazine's World’s Most Admired Companies in 2014. In 2013, Canon U.S.A. has received the PCMag.com Readers' Choice Award for Service and Reliability in the digital camera and printer categories for the tenth consecutive year, and for camcorders for the past three years. Canon U.S.A. is committed to the highest level of customer satisfaction and loyalty, providing 100 percent U.S.-based consumer service and support for all of the products it distributes. Canon U.S.A. is dedicated to its Kyosei philosophy of social and environmental responsibility. In 2014, the Canon Americas Headquarters secured LEED® Gold certification, a recognition for the design, construction, operations and maintenance of high-performance green buildings. To keep apprised of the latest news from Canon U.S.A., sign up for the Company's RSS news feed by visiting www.usa.canon.com/rss and follow us on Twitter @CanonUSA.
�nbsp; Based on weekly patent counts issued by United States Patent and Trademark Office.
Apple, AirPort, iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and Time Capsule are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. AirPrint is a trademark of Apple Inc. iOS is a registered trademark of Cisco in the U.S. and other countries, and is used under license. All referenced product names, and other marks, are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.
Availability and specifications of all products are subject to change without notice.
1 Wireless printing requires a working network with wireless 802.11b/g or 802.11n capability. Wireless performance may vary based on terrain and distance between the printer and wireless network clients.
2 AirPrint functionality requires an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch device running iOS 4.2 (or later), and an AirPrint-enabled printer connected to the same network as your iOS device.
Emily Moran, 631-330-2403
Leigh Nofi, 631-330-3738
Canon U.S.A. Website:
http://www.usa.canon.com
For sales information/customer support:
1-800-OK-CANON
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Eastern Daily Press > Sport > Norwich City F.C.
Norwich City get �250,000 fee for Angus Gunn
Published: 10:15 AM December 5, 2011 Updated: 2:19 PM October 10, 2020
Norwich City will receive only a quarter of the fee they reportedly wanted from Manchester City for goalkeeping starlet Angus Gunn, a tribunal has decided.
Roberto Mancini's Premier League millionaires – who beat the Canaries 5-1 at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday – have been ordered to pay �250,000 for the services of the ex-Norwich 16-year-old England youth stopper and son of Norwich legend Bryan Gunn.
But that is some way short of the �1m Norwich were believed to be asking from Manchester City – a wrangle that required an independent panel to resolve.
Young Gunn joined the Etihad set-up in the summer and has already made his debut for the Blues' Under-18 side.
Norwich will at least get add-ons for their home-grown Academy product, dependent on Gunn becoming a first-team player at the Etihad and ultimately succeeding England number one Joe Hart.
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The Ecstasy
by John Donne
Last Updated on July 18, 2019, by eNotes Editorial. Word Count: 372
The Physical Bodies of the Lovers
The two lovers are physically sitting on the bank of a river. Their hands are clasped together, and their eyes lock in to the other's gaze. As their souls leave their bodies to meet between in the creation of one larger, single soul, their physical bodies are left behind, silent and unmoving:
Download The Ecstasy Study Guide
And whilst our souls negotiate there,
We like sepulchral statues lay;
All day, the same our postures were,
And we said nothing, all the day.
They are physically content. The physical bodies of the lovers are important in that they provide the medium in which love can be tangibly experienced. The narrator also notes that the physical body has a
need to knit
That subtle knot which makes us man.
The lovers use their physical bodies to both express the love borne out of their souls, leaving no "great prince in prison."
The Souls of the Lovers
In this poem, the souls of the lovers act independently of their bodies. They "negotiate" this proposition of love while the bodies are left below. In this union, there is a melding of the souls into one being which cannot be then undone:
he knew not which soul spake,
Because both meant, both spake the same . . .
The desires of the two souls are now the same; they speak the same language and have the same aspirations. The power of this new soul is enough to control loneliness through unification. Who, after all, can be lonely when it is no longer possible to ever be alone? The souls transcend the power of the bodies and hold them in union even when physically apart. Only after this union of souls do the lovers turn to a physical manifestation of love:
So must pure lovers' souls descend
T' affections, and to faculties,
Which sense may reach and apprehend . . .
Although love is borne of the union of souls, it can only be sensually felt through the body. The soul, then, is the ultimate source of love, which is then expressed by the body:
Love's mysteries in souls do grow,
But yet the body is his book.
The "negotiations" of "equal armies" of the lovers' souls drives the underlying ecstasy that they can experience physically.
John Donne's Holy Sonnets
Death, be not proud
John Donne's Songs and Sonnets
Batter my heart, three-personed God
The Good-Morrow
A Hymn to God the Father
The Sun Rising
To His Mistress Going to Bed
The Flea
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Flights from Fletcher (NC)
Flights from Fletcher (NC) to United Arab Emirates
Search flights from Fletcher (NC) to United Arab Emirates
Check best flight offers from Fletcher (NC) to United Arab Emirates
Average monthly temperatures in Abu Dhabi (°C)
Official language: Arabic
Currency: Dirham (AED)
Awarded and in the movie
The group of skyscrapers Etihad Towers, was awarded with architectonic award Emporis Skyscraper Award, granted to the most innovative skyscrapers and appeared in the movie Fast and Furious.
Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi
In Abu Dhabi takes place races as part of World Championship in Formula 1. The race on this impressive track starts during the day and ends after twilight, as the only one in the world.
In search of gazelle
Reportedly, the village, in spot of which there is situated Abu Dhabi today, was founded by Nomads, when they embarked on a trip in search of gazelle. The name itself, in the Arabic language, means exactly the homeland of those animals.
What’s worth seeing in Abu Dhabi?
Abu Dhabi – the capital of United Arab Emirates, second biggest city when it comes to population, in the country, it has more than million citizens. Owes its richness to discovered nearby source of crude oil. The ambition of the city is to even the level of luxury with Dubai, but luckily it is not so expensive there, and Abu Dhabi is definitely worth visiting.
The main part of the city is situated on an Island, though its territory reaches also smaller islands, as well as part of main land. It is relatively new, only 50 years ago there was a fisherman’s village in that spot, and today you won’t be able to stop admiring how huge and rich Abu Dhabi has become. It is there where the most luxurious hotel in the world is situated – Emirates Palace, whose construction costs more than 3 billion dollars. To highlight its uniqueness, it was classified as a 7-stars one in 5-stars scale.
The showcase of Abu Dhabi is the Great Mosque of Sheik Zayed bin Sultan al Nahyan. It lies just by the shores of Persian Gulf, is white and have 82 copulas – it definitely makes impression, and can be seen from afar. Don’t forget though that it is not only the building, but above all, the temple – at one moment prayers can be upraised by even 40 thousand people!
In Abu Dhabi you could be choosing among many elegant restaurants. Highly popular is, for instance, The Terrace on the Corniche in St. Regis Abu Dhabi Nation Towers. The great place, specializing in Indian cuisine, is Angar at Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi, Yas Island. If you are fan of Japanese cuisine, make sure to go to Cho Gao Marina Walk at King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, in hotel InterContinental. Fancy a quick snack during sightseeing? Step by Latitude at Yas Viceroy Abu Dhabi, where you can also find something tasty, if you are vegetarian.
✔️ Are there any special offers for flights from Fletcher (NC) to United Arab Emirates at eSky.com?
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At eSky.com we make sure that the offer for flights from Fletcher (NC) to United Arab Emirates include not only low-cost airlines, but also those specializing in high standard.
Useful information about airports in Fletcher (NC)
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Beyonce Joins Mom Tina Knowles to Celebrate Richard Lawson's 70th Birthday
By Latifah Muhammad 2:00 PM PST, March 8, 2017
Beyonce helped celebrate her stepfather Richard Lawson's 70th birthday on Wednesday, alongside her mother, Tina Knowles, and some of the actor's friends and family.
RELATED: Beyonce Shares Fun Photos From Her Oscars Weekend -- Check Out Her Growing Bump
Knowles took to Instagram with videos and a sweet group photo from the celebration featuring Bey, Kelly Rowland and actress Holly Robinson Peete.
In one clip, Beyonce -- who is pregnant with twins -- is seated across from Rowland, while Knowles snaps footage of the group wishing Lawson "Happy Birthday" as he sits at the head of the table.
A post shared by Tina Knowles (@mstinalawson)
Earlier in the day, Knowles gushed over her "sexy, sweet hubby" in a touching Instagram post.
"My Sexy , Sweet, Hubby has a birthday today!" she captioned a current and throwback split shot of Lawson. "Still as handsome and energetic as you were 35 years ago when I first met you ! (Only friends then his sister was my best friend so don't get no ideas ) handsome and fine as wine you make 70 look soo good baby Happy Birthday."
WATCH: Beyonce Shares Cute Snapchat Pic With Blue Ivy After Coachella Cancellation
The adorable couple wed on a yacht in Newport Beach, California, in 2015. Beyonce and her sister, Solange, served as bridesmaids, wearing all white along with Knowles.
The 63-year-old mother of two dished on "finding love at any age" and her decision to wear white in an interview conducted days after the wedding.
"It was important to me to have a wedding and walk in white, because sometimes we feel that at a certain age you should act a certain way," Knowles explained to People. "You can find love at any age. You just have to go for it."
MORE: Beyonce, Blue Ivy and Jay Z Sport Matching Outfits to 'Beauty and the Beast' Premiere -- See the Family Photos
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Beyonce and JAY-Z's Best Family Photos
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Menu: College of Arts & Sciences
About the College Departments Centers, Galleries, and MuseumsDean's Office Staff Mission, Goals, and Strategic Plan College Constitution College Committees
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Welcome to the College of Arts and Sciences at ETSU. The College is the center of general education for the University and so touches on nearly every undergraduate student who graduates from ETSU. Our diverse faculty engage in teaching and study of topics that underpin our cultural and scientific development as a society.We offer 22 different majors ranging from Art to Anthropology, Bluegrass to Biology, and Communication Studies to Criminal Justice. These include over 60 different concentrations, and we complement them with over 50 minors. I encourage you to explore these opportunities on the Majors and Minors webpage. In our College, every new student is guided individually by a professional advisor, and our Medical Professions Advisement program prepares students for a range of health areas and is ranked in the top 20 in the nation.
Students in our College have opportunities to engage in research, fieldwork, internships, and community activities, to travel internationally, and to work directly with our faculty who are experts in their fields. The new Martin Center for the Arts will open in fall 2020. Students from any area may be in our marching band, participate in our theatre and dance productions, or volunteer at the Gray Fossil Site. Whatever your major, you can expect to be challenged by talented and caring faculty members working in modern facilities with state-of-the-art classroom technology.
If you have questions, please feel free to contact me (e-mail: bidwell@etsu.edu) or the College office (artsandsciences@etsu.edu; telephone: 423-439-5671). If you would like to meet with an advisor, visit a department, or sit in on a class, please let us know.
Dr. Joe Bidwell
Interim Dean
206 Gilbreath Hall | PO Box 70730
Johnson City, TN 37614-1710 ( Get Directions)
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Trade Credit Insurance Overview
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Bad debt Britain
Latest ABI figures show that claims paid by trade credit insurers are running at over £4 million every week - their highest level since 2009.
Over 200 firms every week helped by trade credit insurance.
A record £340 billion of UK trade is being covered by trade credit insurers.
Insurance pay outs made by trade credit insurers in 2017 to help businesses get through challenging trading conditions were at their highest level since 2009 according to figures published today by the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
During 2017 high profile company failures included Monarch Airlines, Palmer and Harvey and Misco, which have continued into 2018 with the collapse of Carillion, Toys R Us and Maplin. With company insolvencies up 4%1. in 2017, UK firms continue to face challenging trading conditions at home and abroad.
The ABI’s annual trade credit insurance statistics highlight that:
Claims paid to businesses due to non-payment of debts in 2017 totalled £225 million, the equivalent of £4.3 million every week. This is up 7% on 2016, and the highest amount since 2009.
In 2017 there were 11,017 claims. This equates to 212 firms being helped every week.
The level of trade covered by trade credit insurance in the UK stands at a record £340 billion, up 7% on 2016.
A fifth of policies covered businesses exporting goods or services overseas, with just over three-quarters covering domestic trade. The trade credit market continues to grow, with nearly 13,000 policies in force.
Unsurprisingly, given a number of high profile insolvencies in the second half of 2017, the value of claims received in the last quarter of last year, at £130 million, was the highest quarterly figure since the first quarter, 2009.
Commenting on the figures, Mark Shepherd, ABI’s Assistant Director, Property, Commercial and Specialist Lines, said:
The failure of a number of high profile businesses, such as Monarch Airlines and Palmer and Harvey in 2017 and the recent collapse of Carillion, dramatically highlights the value of trade credit insurance. With over £4 million paid to businesses every week, trade credit insurance can make the difference between survival or demise following non-payment by a customer.
The expertise of trade credit insurers is helping firms navigate challenging trading conditions, enabling them to expand at home and overseas, so helping Britain thrive. With the number of policies rising and insured trade at a record high, more firms are recognising that this cover is an essential business tool to help them assess the credit risk of potential business partners. But too many firms remain unprotected, and with intermediaries selling the vast majority of these policies, we need to raise awareness of the importance of trade credit insurance.
Notes to editors in pdf attached
Bad debt Britain 151 KB
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Amazon to release 30 movies a year, some will skip theatrical release
The Netflix model is crossing over
By Matthew Razak February 20, 2020
Amazon is already a major film studio now but they obviously want more and in an interview with Variety Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke laid out exactly how they’re going to do that, which starts with a goal of releasing 30 movies annually. That’s a lot of movies, but industry folks probably care more about the fact that Amazon is also looking to limit their theatrical release windows, debut films on Amazon, and even skip theatrical release altogether.
“You’ll see less of the three-month window, and you’ll see different variations. Even through Sundance, I learned a lot about just how flexible we can be with those models, and they really vary. In some cases, it’ll be important for us to get the movie quickly to the service, while still following through with a theatrical release that feels much shorter, two weeks even, two to eight weeks. And then in other cases, we’ll allow, where it makes sense, a wider release strategy.”
The films skipping theatrical release are from two production partners. Amazon is working with Blumhouse to develop eight thrillers that will go straight to the service with no theatrical release. They’re also partnering with Nicole Kidman to make a “slate of sexy, date-night movies that no one’s making any more, like No Way Out or Cruel Intentions.” Honestly, these all sound like the kind of movies that would be direct to TV back in the day so I can see why Amazon would be dropping them directly to the service. I doubt we’ll see much push back from the theater industry on this since it’s not the type of movie they’d be releasing anyway. That kind of outrage is saved for the bigger films, which Amazon seems to still be partially playing ball on, unlike Netflix, who still only begrudgingly does theatrical releases for awards.
The world of streaming companies turning into major entertainment powerhouses is pretty new so it should come as no surprise that studios like Netflix and Amazon are kind of feeling out how they want to approach traditional cinematic releases. Netflix was taking the approach that their films didn’t need any sort of theatrical release, but this past year it relented with Roma ditching their day-and-date rule, and it has paid off in spades with a massive awards haul (including our own). Amazon, on the other hand, has been releasing their films in theaters since the get-go but obviously they though that needed to change in many ways.
Where does this leave theaters? Probably impotently yelling at these studios for a few more years before they’re forced to acquiesce to this new industry standard. Netflix and the other streaming studios are going to win this war if they haven’t already. They’re making more and more content at the level of the major studios, and with Disney dropping Disney+ soon the theaters are going to have the biggest entertainment giant in the world starting to wonder why they have to adhere to rules. Trust me, once Disney realizes that they can drop a Marvel film day-and-date without some terrible consequence this entire battle will be over.
There’s some other great tidbits in there as well if you’re looking, like the fact that they’re keeping the Lord of the Rings TV series writers under lock and key at the moment so nothing leaks out. Also, some mad shade at awards shows in general. Saaaaaaalt.
Amazon Chief Jennifer Salke Unveils Film Plan to Battle Netflix: 30 Movies a Year (Q&A) [Variety]
Matthew Razak
Matthew Razak is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Flixist. He has worked as a critic for more than a decade, reviewing and talking about movies, TV shows, and videogames. He will talk your ear off about James Bond movies, Doctor Who, Zelda, and Star Trek.
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Get a first look at the new Mortal Kombat movie
© Flixist 2020. All Rights Reserved.
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Sarah Davachi, Alex Zhang Hungtai and Will Oldham to star in...
News I By Henry Bruce-JonesI 21.05.19
Sarah Davachi, Alex Zhang Hungtai and Will Oldham to star in “magical realist mystery” film
Photo by: Ella Rinaldo
Topology Of Sirens is the debut feature film from Jonathan Davies.
Sarah Davachi, Alex Zhang Hungtai and Will Oldham are set to star in Topology Of Sirens, a “magical realist mystery” film that explores the worlds of experimental and early music.
The film, which is currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo, will be the debut feature of musician and filmmaker Jonathan Davies and is influenced by international art house cinema, ’90s PC mystery games like Myst and Monkey Island, as well as Davies’s own experiences performing experimental music.
The film follows a woman called Cas, portrayed by filmmaker Courtney Stephens, who moves into a new home only to discover a hurdy-gurdy containing a hidden collection of microcassette tapes.
Oldham stars as a conspiracy theorist landscaper “who emanates from another time”. He joins Davachi and Hungtai in the cast, who will not only star in the film, but also contribute musical performances that will be woven into the film’s narrative.
Jonathan Davies is aiming to raise $30,000 to help fund the development of Topology Of Sirens. Backers can donate between $5 and $5,000 for a variety of rewards.
If successful, Topology Of Sirens is expected to start filming this summer. As with all crowdfunding campaigns, backers should be aware that projects and rewards are subject to delays or cancellation.
Read next: Sarah Davachi on the beauty of instruments, from analog synthesizers to pipe organs
Tags: Will OldhamAlex Zhang HungtaiSarah Davachi
Sarah Davachi and Will Oldham to star in "magical realist mystery" film
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Editors' Pick| Jan 31, 2020, 09:30am EST |
Does Great Offense Or Great Defense Win You A Super Retirement?
Chris CarosaSenior Contributor
I help families/small businesses discover wealth-building strategies.
Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
It’s a classic debate. What wins championship games? A great offense or a great defense?
You can take the chicken way out and say “both,” but that defeats the purpose of the question. While it’s technically correct, it’s not the answer that leads to a super victory.
You might wonder about that last statement “How does answering the offense vs. defense question lead to a big win?”
As you consider your options and opinions when it comes to determining which side of the ball possesses the strategic superiority, you’re also configuring how you’re measuring future success. You’re identifying goals.
This represents a great metaphor for winning a “Super” retirement.
“If you haven’t set retirement as a goal (not a ‘want’), you’re likely to fail,” says Joel A. Larsen, Principal at Navion Financial Advisors in Davis, California. “It doesn’t become a goal until you’ve written it down, then taken the time to plan it out.”
In football you call it a “game plan.” It’s no different with retirement. “The most critical factor in planning for retirement is to have a game plan,” says Matt Ahrens, Chief Investment Officer at Integrity Advisory, LLC in Overland Park, Kansas. “You can’t make decisions without knowing where you are today. Having a game plan will also help you control your emotions when the market has a bad year or two.”
A gridiron game plan contains two components. The first, as mentioned, are the strategic goals you want to achieve over the course of the entire game. In addition, you’ll also script the first dozen or so plays to aid in a tactical analysis. Based on the specific situation presented by that day’s game, you’ll make adjustments during the game (usually at halftime) to give you a better chance of achieving your strategic goals.
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Again, a good retirement plan presents the same opportunity for a situational adjustment. Above all, you need to be open-minded. “Retirement creates many positives as well as negatives,” says Mike Hennessy, Founder & CEO at Harbor Crest Wealth Advisors in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. “Avoiding rigidity in your actions and emotions is critical to living well during this new phase of life.”
OK, so you get the importance and use of a grand plan. But what about offense vs. defense? How does that discussion enlighten your retirement strategy?
When talking about the game of football, offense means scoring points and defense means preventing the other team from scoring. Said another way, offense equates to building a lead while defense involves protecting a lead.
In the game of retirement, when you want to build your assets you go on offense. This situation is more common than you think. “Many people fail to realize that pensions nationwide both public and private are underfunded,” says Robb Hill, President of R Hill Enterprises, Inc. in Aurora, Illinois.
When a team needs to play catch-up, you can be sure they’d feel more confident with their offense out on the field rather than their defense. You have a much broader array of options when it comes to scoring with your offense.
The same is true with retirement.
Ahrens says, “If you feel you’re behind in saving for retirement then you have three options: save more, take more investment risk, or retire later.” You can grow your assets by saving more today. By taking more investment risk, you’re aiming to build assets through investment growth. By retiring later, you seek to grow your assets over time. This is all offense.
On the other hand, if you’ve built up a comfortable lead, your mind turns to defense. You’ll take less chances on offense and rely on your defense to secure that lead.
Taking less risk implies protecting yourself against surprises. In retirement, this translates to reducing your vulnerability to downside surprise.
“One of the greatest risks that you can face, potentially greater than an economic downturn or recession, is not preparing for an unexpected event,” says Katie Coleman, a financial planner at Ameriprise Financial Advisor in Hauppauge, New York. “A lack of life or extended care insurance, insufficient medical insurance coverage, unexpected medical costs, or lack of appropriate estate planning documents in place could create hardship on you or your loved ones during your retirement.”
What strategy places you in the best position to win the game?
Clearly, the answer depends on your situation. It’s smart to start with a solid game plan that contains a definitive script you can follow as you begin. But don’t forget the purpose of that script. It’s wasted if you don’t monitor how it’s performing given your ever-changing financial environment.
Remember this sage piece of pigskin advice: It’s not the game plan, but the halftime adjustments that spell the difference between victory and defeat.
I am a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. Among the seven books I’ve written include From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA, Hey! What’s My
I am a nationally recognized award-winning writer, researcher and speaker. Among the seven books I’ve written include From Cradle to Retire: The Child IRA, Hey! What’s My Number? – How to Increase the Odds You Will Retire in Comfort, and A Pizza The Action: Everything I Ever Learned About Business I Learned By Working in a Pizza Stand at the Erie County Fair. A Past President of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and with more than 1,000 articles published in various publications, I appear regularly in the national media. As a “parallel” entrepreneur, I’m actively running a handful of small family-owned businesses, so I have hands-on experience on the things I write about. A trained astrophysicist, I hold an MBA and have been designated a Certified Trust and Financial Advisor. I invite you to share your thoughts and story ideas with me through my web-site, email, or any of the usual social media platforms whose links appear below.
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Charter Antalya
Charter Bodrum
Cazari
021.210.17.17 Suna daca ai intrebari!
Rox Royal Hotel
37 galerie foto
The hotel is situated in the holiday region of Kemer, only 200 m from the resort centre and the diverse range of shopping and entertainment facilities on offer there. This hotel is situated directly beside its private fine shingle beach. A road lies between the hotel and beach, which can easily be crossed thanks to an underpass. Links to the public transport system are located 200 m from the hotel
Despre Rox Royal Hotel
The hotel is situated in the holiday region of Kemer, only 200 m from the resort centre and the diverse range of shopping and entertainment facilities on offer there. This hotel is situated directly beside its private fine shingle beach. A road lies between the hotel and beach, which can easily be crossed thanks to an underpass. Links to the public transport system are located 200 m from the hotel, just a couple of minutes on foot. The transfer to Antalya Airport takes about 1 hour.
The hotel was built in 2004. The accommodation offers guests a total of 311 rooms. In the air-conditioned establishment, travellers are welcomed at the reception area with 24-hour reception and a 24-hour check-in/check-out service. The upper floors of the hotel can be accessed by lift. Amenities include a cloakroom, a safe and a currency exchange service. Wireless internet access in public areas allows guests to stay connected. Among the culinary options available at the accommodation are a restaurant, a dining area, a café and a bar. Various shops are available, including a supermarket. The grounds of the establishment feature a playground and an attractive garden. Additional features at the hotel include a TV room and a playroom. Travellers arriving by car can leave their vehicles in the garage or in the car park. Available services and facilities include a babysitting service, a childcare service, medical assistance, room service, a laundry service and a hairdresser.
Each of the rooms is appointed with air conditioning, central heating and a bathroom. Most rooms feature a balcony with a view for guests' enjoyment. Many rooms feature a sea view, which further enhances the ambience. The carpeted rooms have a double bed and a sofa bed. Separate bedrooms are also available. Cots and extra beds are available. A safe and a minibar are also available. Guests will also find a mini fridge included as standard. Internet access, a telephone and a TV add to the comfort of the holiday. The bathrooms are fitted with a shower, a bathtub and a hot tub. A hairdryer can also be found in each of the bathrooms. Special family rooms are available for families with children.
Sports/Entertainment
A refreshing dip in the indoor or outdoor pool is an enjoyable way to cool down on hot days. A waterslide offers fun for all ages. A terrace, sun loungers and parasols are available. The hot tub is the perfect place to relax. There is also a poolside snack bar. Variety is provided by the wide range of sporting activities offered at the accommodation, for example tennis, bocce, beach volleyball, volleyball, basketball and archery. Guests at the establishment can choose from a range of water sports options, such as windsurfing, paddle boating, canoeing, sailing, catamaraning, water aerobics and aquafit, or for a fee, water skiing, jet skiing, motor boat rides, banana boat rides and diving. The hotel offers numerous indoor sporting opportunities, with activities such as a gym, table tennis, badminton, darts and aerobics, or for a fee, billiards. The accommodation offers various wellness options, including a sauna, a steam bath, a hammam and a solarium, or for a fee, a spa, a beauty salon, massage treatments, thalassotherapy and Ayurveda applications. Leisure facilities include an entertainment programme, a disco and a kids' club. Copyright GIATA 2004 - 2017. Multilingual, powered by www.giata.com for client no. 125125
Catering options available at the establishment include half board, full board and all-inclusive. Available meals include breakfast, lunch and dinner. Special dietary cuisine and vegetarian dishes can be prepared on request. The hotel also offers snacks. Drinks are included in the price for travellers. Options include alcohol-free drinks and alcoholic beverages.
The following credit cards are accepted at the accommodation: VISA and MasterCard.
Sport & Fun Activities
Beach volley ball free of charge
Table tennis free of charge
SPA & WELLNES
Sauna free of charge
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arrow-right News & Events
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arrow-right TONIK selects Finastra’s core banking solution to…
TONIK selects Finastra’s core banking solution to power Southeast Asia’s first pure-play licensed digital bank
TONIK to use Finastra’s Fusion Essence in the cloud to revolutionize banking in the Philippines
Singapore - January 21, 2020 - Finastra announced today that TONIK, the first licensed digital-only bank in Southeast Asia, has selected Fusion Essence in the cloud to power its end-to-end core banking capabilities. The move will support TONIK as it launches its retail deposit and customer loans services in the Philippines, giving it agility and the ability to scale quickly.
Greg Krasnov, Founder & CEO at TONIK, said, “The banking sector in the Philippines is ripe for digital disruption. The country has high internet usage, the majority of Filipinos are unbanked and research shows half of the people who do have bank accounts would be interested in switching to a neobank.
“We want to create a hyper-compelling consumer proposition that will revolutionize the way money works in the region. Finastra’s Fusion Essence Cloud - powered by Microsoft Azure - will give us the agility to get these services to market quickly and efficiently. We are also impressed by the modern, open and scalable capabilities of the solution, particularly the in-built analytics, which will help us to better understand our customers’ smart digital banking needs.”
The key proposition for digital banks is providing a customer experience that traditional banks struggle to offer. This requires modern, cloud-native technology that facilitates innovation whilst future-proofing investment. For TONIK, Fusion Essence Cloud will be deployed out of the Microsoft Azure Southeast Asia Region (Singapore Data Center), which will allow for both low latency and data residency. TONIK will benefit from a low cost of entry into the market, ease and speed of deployment, and the ability to increase business volumes and diversify its product set cost-effectively. It will also benefit from ongoing software updates and, in time, access to further innovation via FusionFabric.cloud, Finastra’s platform for open innovation and the development of applications.
European neobanks, including revverbank and Gravity, are already being powered by Fusion Essence Cloud, and this deployment in Southeast Asia will help bring the benefits of innovative digital banking to the Philippines.
Anand Subbaraman, General Manager, Retail Banking at Finastra, said, “TONIK is well positioned to replicate the disruption that has taken place in Europe, where digital banks have quickly attracted millions of customers and billions of dollars in investor funding. Using digital technologies and a lower-cost operating model, TONIK will be able to offer customers the products and services they need, delivered in a convenient way, as well as increasing opportunities for financial inclusion in Asia. Fusion Essence Cloud is ideally suited to help TONIK achieve these goals, as well as see a fast return on its investment. We are extremely proud to be TONIK’s partner in bringing digital banking to the Philippines for the first time.”
Local perspective
Wissam Khoury, Senior Vice President and General Manager for MEA and APAC at Finastra, commented, “Research shows that over 70% of people across Southeast Asia are underbanked or unbanked, but almost 90% of industry experts agree that digital financial services will improve financial access. At the same time, while more than 70% of SME merchants currently accept only cash, seven in 10 of those say they are likely to accept digital payments in the next five years. The opportunity for digital-only banking has therefore never been more ripe in the region and we’re thrilled TONIK has chosen Finastra’s Fusion Essence in the cloud to propel its mission to revolutionise money. As the region’s first licensed digital-only bank, we’re excited to be partnering with TONIK at such an important time and look forward to tapping the power of platforms and the cloud to help TONIK bring cutting-edge, customer-centric solutions to market together in the Philippines.”
Caroline Duff
Global Head of PR
E: caroline.duff@finastra.com
www.finastra.com
Benjamin Jun Tai
Senior PR Manager, APAC
E: benjamin.juntai@finastra.com
About TONIK
TONIK Financial Pte Ltd (www.tonikbank.com) is the first licensed digital-only bank in Southeast Asia, on a mission to revolutionize the way money works in the region. It provides retail financial products, including deposits, loans, current accounts, payments, and cards on a highly secure digital banking platform. TONIK is led by a senior team who have previously built and scaled multiple digital and retail banks and fintechs across Global Emerging Markets. Founded in 2018, TONIK is launching operationally in 2020 in the Philippines through its own bank license, with support and R&D functions based in Singapore and Chennai, India. TONIK was seeded and built by FORUM (www.forum-cap.com), the top fintech venture builder in Southeast Asia.
About Finastra
Finastra unlocks the potential of people and businesses in finance, creating a platform for open innovation. Formed in 2017 by the combination of Misys and D+H, we provide the broadest portfolio of financial services software in the world today—spanning retail banking, transaction banking, lending, and treasury and capital markets. Our solutions enable customers to deploy mission critical technology on premises or in the cloud. Our scale and geographical reach means that we can serve customers effectively, regardless of their size or geographic location—from global financial institutions, to community banks and credit unions. Through our open, secure and reliable solutions, customers are empowered to accelerate growth, optimize cost, mitigate risk and continually evolve to meet the changing needs of their customers. 90 of the world’s top 100 banks use Finastra technology.
Please visit www.finastra.com.
4 Kingdom Street
London W2 6BD
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/ Technology
Facebook scandal goes beyond Cambridge Analytica
Daniel Leal-Olivas, AFP
Text by: Sébastian SEIBT
With Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg poised to appear before Congress on Tuesday to be heard on the Cambridge Analytica scandal, examples of companies exploiting their access to social media users’ private data are rife.
Behind the scenes, Facebook has been busy blocking the pages of entities linked to the British based Cambridge Analytica (CA) and other firms that, like CA, have made exploiting personal data, collected in apparent violation of Facebook’s own rules, their stock-in-trade.
On Sunday, the social network suspended CubeYou’s account after the firm had harvested millions of users' personal data through ostensibly innocuous personality quizzes. Last Friday, Facebook blocked Aggregate IQ’s page after the Canadian outfit was accused of links to Cambridge Analytica and of having worked for the Leave camp in the UK’s 2016 Brexit referendum by means of data gleaned from the social media giant.
In fact, this pair represents only a tiny fraction of the digital ecosystem that has built up around the exploiting of information Facebook users share online, as described in detail by Austria’s Cracked Labs Institute for Critical Digital Culture, in a June 2017 study. Alongside the case of Harris Media, another Big Data specialist with political intentions, they illustrate excesses in the commerce of personal data.
Aggregate IQ (AIQ), for its part, influenced the result of the Brexit referendum in June 2016. Or at least, that is what the Canadian firm, which specialised in the political exploitation of Facebook data, asserted on its website until March 22 of this year. Once news media began looking into AIQ’s ties to Cambridge Analytica, the published claim disappeared overnight.
The Canadian firm is suspected of having pocketed more than €4 million from assorted pro-Brexit groups for using Facebook data to identify voters whose decision was susceptible to influence. That work resembles the work Cambridge Analytica is suspected of having done on behalf of Donald Trump’s US presidential campaign.
It would be hardly surprising if AIQ is indeed merely a façade for Cambridge Analytica in Canada, as alleged. Christopher Wylie, the former CA employee who brought the firm’s activities to light, says he personally participated in AIQ’s creation. The Canadian firm has denied any contractual link with Cambridge Analytica. But Wylie told The Guardian: “Among internal CA staff AIQ was referred to as ‘our Canadian office’. They were treated as a department within the company.”
CubeYou, too, is no longer welcome on Facebook. And yet the firm does what dozens more do in gathering personal data on the social network and selling them to advertisers.
But US television network CNBC caught CubeYou red-handed using the same subterfuge as Cambridge Analytica to bolster its database illegally. The company had been using quizzes on Facebook – tests that were presented as having been developed in association with Cambridge University researchers – to amass precious insight into the profiles of tens of millions of Facebook users. The harvested knowledge was officially meant to serve academic research. But in fact, CubeYou sold the data on to so-called commercial partners.
The technique, according to CNBC, allowed the firm to establish a profile of 45 million Facebook users, including information on age, employment, education, interests and the brands they followed on social media, as well as what messages they “liked” and the comments they posted on the site.
Harris Media, for its part, is still present on Facebook and continues to extol the merits of its "Big Data" approach to political campaigning, an approach very similar to Cambridge Analytica’s. But for some NGOs, the American firm is hardly different from its British competitor.
A Privacy International investigation in December 2017 accused Harris Media of influencing the Kenyan presidential election in favour of the incumbent, Uhuru Kenyatta, by creating online video content discrediting his challenger, opposition leader Raila Odinga. “We thought it would lead us to Cambridge Analytica, because of the similarities. But it actually led us to Harris Media,” Lucy Purdon, Policy Officer for Privacy International, told FRANCE 24.
Harris Media, like Cambridge Analytica, is sitting on a gold mine of data culled from social networks regarding millions of users. The information allows them to create content – videos, websites, Facebook pages – very precisely adapted to targeted profiles. Beyond Kenya’s Kenyatta, Harris Media, which is closely associated with US hardline conservatives, pressed its know-how into service for the National Front in France, Germany’s populist Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a long list of American conservatives, including Trump.
In 2014, Bloomberg called Vincent Harris, who founded the firm, “the man who invented the Republican internet”. Harris is keen on high-impact operations online. The Harris Media videos in Kenya suggested bloody racial violence could ensue should the opposition gain power. In Germany, the firm was responsible for campaign videos warning against the country’s supposedly exploding Islamisation. The videos also had French versions, intended to disparage Emmanuel Macron during his presidential run.
The main difference between Cambridge Analytica and Harris Media is that it is unknown how many internet users Harris Media kept records on and to what extent it compiled data on them. Why? For one, there hasn’t been a whistleblower like there was in the case of Cambridge Analytica. And, unlike the British firm, Harris Media is based in a jurisdiction that is less regulated on this issue. “US laws on data protection and privacy do not protect users as much as in Europe,” says Privacy International’s Purdon.
This article has been translated from the original in French.
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Tombola Board Game
The Italian Game of Chance
Tombola is the traditional Italian game of chance loved by generations and cherished by families during the holidays. The origin dates as far back as four centuries ago in Naples, when gambling was popular among the citizens but was frowned upon by the church. Thus, a new way to play the lottery at home in secret was invented! And this game (think Bingo with more chances to win, more rounds, and more hilarity!)
How to Play Tombola
The game is played over five rounds. Over the course of a round, the tombolone will draw a number an announce it. If a player has that number, they cover it on their board. Each round will have players attempting to fill a certain number of spaces on their card, then calling out a special (and in some cases ridiculous) word! You'll find the Italian word or phrase and an English translation on each space.
Play with up to 24 people at once; enough cards for the whole famiglia! Includes 24 double-sided cards, 360 chips, a tabellone (calling board), and tombolini tiles numbered 1-90 in a storage pouch.
A Family Classic!
Tombola, while traditionally played during holidays and festivals, is a classic party game that can be played during any occasion (or lack thereof). Have a big group of friends and family over? Pull out Tombola, but don't forget the prizes! There are five rounds to this game with five separate chances to win, some will even attach a prize to each round to add to the fun. This game makes a great alternative to Bingo and lottery-style game. It's great for Bingo halls, bars, game stores, schools, Christmas parties, corporate events, living facilities & home use!
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The Forum Blog
TIME CHANGE Insight with Gillian Tett: Scaremongerer no more
Talk Wednesday 1st July, 2009
When she picked up her prize for journalist of the year at the British Press Awards recently, the Financial Times’ Gillian Tett claimed the accolade was a vindication for “the geeks” and “anoraks”.
The assistant editor of the Financial Times has been documenting the rise of credit derivatives banking since she was appointed in 2005 to cover the the rather unglamorous capital markets patch. But it was only after the full consequences of the risks bankers had been taking became so catastrophically apparent that Gillian Tett was promoted from “geek” to luminary, regularly making appearances on TV and radio.
In conversation with BBC economics editor Stephanie Flanders, Gillian Tett will be discussing the roots of the catastrophe, based on her painstaking analysis of the financial markets that earned her the title of "anorak" and even saw her denounced as a scaremongerer at the economic forum Davos in 2007.
Gillian Tett joined the FT in 1993 and worked in the former Soviet Union and Europe, and in the economics team. In 1997 she was posted to Tokyo where she became the bureau chief, before returning in 2003 to become deputy head of the Lex column.
Stephanie Flanders is the BBC’s Economic Editor. She has also worked as a reporter for the New York Times and was a leader writer and economics columnist with the FT in London
Insight, Past Event, Talks
Wednesday 1st July, 2009
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Life as a nun today: FSPA can relate
By Sister Amy Taylor, FSPA on Thursday, August 10th 2017
Sharing your desire to be a sister with family and friends can be challenging, especially if they only envision their teacher — wearing a habit — standing at the head of the class before the late 1960s after Vatican II when many religious communities chose to wear everyday clothing more reflective of modern times? “Refinery 29” recently published the article “What Convent Life Is Really Like In 2017,” and Show me a sign invites you to share the conversation with those around you who don’t necessarily understand what it means to live religious life — in life style and ministry — today.
Sister Winifred teaching at Aquinas High School in her habit
Sister Laura teaching at Viterbo University today
"As is often the case with mainstream religions," begins the article in which Sisters of St. Joseph Karen Burke speaks to "faith, service and living as a nun," "misconceptions about sisters and their congregations abound."
First introductions often spark confusion as she says she hears, "'Oh, sisters don’t wear habits anymore?' or some other remark on her everyday outfit of jeans and a sweatshirt. While women in other orders may choose to wear a full habit, many congregations no long require it, the Sisters of St. Joseph included."
As Sister Sarah shares, we can relate.
"Sister Karen tells us that the Sisters of St. Joseph has always worked in the fields of education and health care, but in the past few years they've concerned themselves with, of all things, environmentalism ..."
As Sister Lucy ministers, we can relate.
"Sister Karen describes her decision to leave her career as an educator as a "leap of faith," adding that it surely won't be her last. "Through my own faith and through my own prayer and spirituality, my life will continue to change."
As Show me a sign recently explored career changes as a Catholic sister, we can relate.
Amidst changes in religious life and the growing needs in our world one constant is sisters' commitments to follow the Gospel and serve those in need. Whether their service takes them to classrooms, parishes, spirituality centers, organic farms or liminal spaces of our borders, sisters will find a way to meet today's needs.
What do articles like these do to spark your imagination about discerning life as a religious sister? We invite you to share it and www.fspa.org with your family and friends and show them a sign of what it looks like to live religious life today.
FSPA discernment religious life ministry faith misconceptions convent habit mission evolving
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Home / General News / News / Trend / MUST WATCH: UK Parliament Debates Sanctions against Nigerian Government, army over #EndSARS, Lekki Massacre
MUST WATCH: UK Parliament Debates Sanctions against Nigerian Government, army over #EndSARS, Lekki Massacre
Trump Francis November 23, 2020 General News, News, Trend
Members of the United Kingdom Parliament Monday pushed for possible sanctions against the Nigerian government officials over alleged human rights abuses during the #EndSARS protests.
The calls for sanctions were made on Monday evening when the Petitions Committee of the UK Parliament held a debate in Westminster Hall on the motion “That this House has considered e-petition 554150, relating to Nigeria and the sanctions regime”.
Petitions debates are general debates which allow members of parliament from all parties to discuss the important issues raised by one or more petitions, and put their concerns to government ministers.
A member of the Petitions Committee, Theresa Villiers MP, opened the debate, while the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office sent a minister to respond.
Over 200,000 persons had signed a petition asking the UK to sanction the federal government for allegedly clamping down on the rights of members of the #EndSARS movement,
The petitioners had accused the Nigerian government and the police of violating the rights of agitators protesting against police brutality, while also calling on the UK to implement sanctions that would “provide accountability for and be a deterrent to anyone involved in violations of human rights”.
In his opening statement, Villiers said the UK sanction regime gives the country a powerful new tool to hold to account perpetrators of serious human rights violations and abuses.
According to her, “This petition is being prompted by the disturbing event in Nigeria in recent weeks. The SARS unit has a deeply controversial reputation. Reports of violence and human rights abuses by SARS date back to several years but these latest protests follow a video in October which many believe shows a man being killed by SARS officers.”
Villliers noted that the shooting at the Lekki toll gate seems like the last straw for many and has raised concerns of human rights violations.
Contributing, a member of parliament from Edmonton, Kate Osamor, pointed out that the situation in Nigeria was ‘regrettably serious.’
Osamor said the UK must look beyond sanctioning the Nigerian government for alleged abuses and pay closer attention to its funding for certain programmes.
The lawmaker also kicked against the UK-funded training for former operatives of the disbanded special anti-robbery squad (SARS) which she said went on despite previous indictments of the squad.
She said there was need for the UK to reconsider funding for some Nigerian security agencies she described as corrupt.
Osamor stated: “Today, we need to consider how the government responds to both the movement itself and the violent actions of the Nigerian regime.
“Today, we need to consider how the government responds to both the movement itself and the violent actions of the Nigerian regime,
“We must also take this opportunity to look beyond sanctions into how development funding is spent in Nigeria
“Instead of funding corrupt security agencies and investing in projects which do not benefit ordinary Nigerians, we need a new focus on poverty relief and anti-corruption programmes.
“At the very moment in which Amnesty International had declared SARS units to have been involved in extra-judicial killings, corruption and torture, the government was using the budget to train and equip those units.”
Also, other members of the parliament were of the views that the sanctions to be applied by the UK government should not be made known yet so that it won’t reduce the impact of the sanction.
A post shared by 247 Nigeria News Update (@247nnu)
They stressed that government officials responsible for the abuse of human rights in the country should be denied the opportunity to enjoy amenities in the UK.
The video clip of the debate has 29,570 views with 2,900 comments within the first three hours.
Watch full proceeding HERE
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Next Windows 10 Feature Update in March 2017? What would you like to see?
by Martin Brinkmann on October 18, 2016 in Windows - Last Update: July 05, 2017 - 25 comments
Microsoft plans to release two feature updates for its Windows 10 operating system in 2017. That's all the company communicated so far.
A feature update will be similar in size and shape to the Anniversary Update for Windows 10 which Microsoft pushed out in August to Windows 10 devices.
Rumors suggest that Microsoft might aim for a March 2017 for the next feature update, codename Redstone 2. This would mean that Windows 10 Version 1703 would be that major version.
The proof? A new policy in the latest Insider build of Windows 10 requires Windows 10 Version 1703. Microsoft lists major Windows 10 versions only in the "supported on" section in the Group Policy editor, at least until now.
The version is made up of two digits for the year followed by two digits for the month. 1703 would therefore indicate a release in March 2017.
If March 2017 is indeed the release date for Windows 10's next feature update, it would mean another four months of development before the update hits the public.
Microsoft's initial plan was to release Redstone 2 after the Anniversary Update in 2016. The idea was to release a smaller feature update in 2016, but Microsoft rescheduled the release to early 2017.
Windows 10 1703 Redstone 2 Update
What we know about Redstone 2 so far comes from Windows 10 Insider Builds, and to a degree announcements that Microsoft made.
Here is a list of features that may be included with the March 2017 update for Windows 10:
Application Guard for Microsoft Edge.
Bluetooth GATT support.
Bulk update devices via USB.
Contextual Syncing. Sync app data between devices to start exactly where you left on another device.
Continuum improvements. Proximity feature, less prone to crashes, independent start menus, and more.
F.Lux like functionality.
New apps, e.g. Microsoft Paint.
OneDrive Placeholders are making a comeback. The official reason why support was pulled in first place was user confusion, but it turned out later that it was because of technical difficulties instead. Placeholders mean that all files are displayed that are stored on OneDrive, even files that are not available on the local machine.
Office Hub. This feature integrates Office 365 deeper into Windows 10. It provides quick access to documents and other information.
OneClip. The feature allows you to copy easily between Windows 10 devices and Office 365.
People Bar. Might display contact thumbs of people you have been in contact with recently in the Windows 10 taskbar.
Working Sets. Better project management by creating working sets for individual projects. These include files, contact and calendar information in one place.
And numerous smaller changes. The Registry Editor gets an address bar for instance, Microsoft is working on a new File Explorer app, and more.
What would you like to see
Microsoft is working on a number of features that it has not revealed yet to the public.
One question that I would like to ask you is what you would like to see in the new update for Windows 10.
If you ask me, I'd like to see improvements in the following three areas more than anything else:
User Control: User control of the operating system, updates and settings, seems to get less and less with every new version of Windows. I'd like to see more options for users to control the operating system.
Give users control to remove features they don't require, manage update behavior, disable the lockscreen, make it easier to select set default apps and get Windows 10 to honor those changes, or customize the start menu according to their needs.
Microsoft Edge: I talked about several of the annoyances of Microsoft Edge earlier this year, and fixing those would be a good start. I'd like Microsoft to open up the Store for extensions from all developers to see more extensions being released for Edge. Also, Edge needs a lot of polishing before it becomes a viable alternative.
Privacy: I want more transparency when it comes to privacy. What kind of data is Windows 10 collecting, and what is Microsoft doing with the information?
Now You: What would you like to see in Windows 10 Version 1703?
Microsoft plans to release two feature updates for its Windows 10 operating system in 2017, with the first being released in March 2017.
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Jeff said on October 18, 2016 at 7:24 am
LOL somehow none of these features seem interesting to me? I don’t want anything over what I already have in Windows 8.1 with Classic Shell. Most of these features seem to be for Windows 10 Mobile or again bringing over mobile features to desktop.
bob smathers said on December 25, 2016 at 3:07 am
auto form fill
Count Soxington said on October 18, 2016 at 7:27 am
Lockscreen wallpaper support for DUEL MONITORS.
They had this feature in windows 8, but apparently removed it in windows 10 for no reason what so ever.
The guy that worked on it in MS has no idea this is something people enjoyed because its not upvoted in there terrible feedback app, but has HIGH demand on their Feedback forum.
Please Upvote this within the Feedback App. The many people with Duel Mons will thanks you!! (Eg helps against screen burn etc)
Its the smaller features like these i would love to see returned, that were removed for unexplained reasons
Corky said on October 18, 2016 at 7:05 pm
If i had to guess they probably removed it for the same reason they first removed the startmenu, not enough people using it, it’s one of the issues i have with Microsoft tracking their customers, while a feature may not have a high percentage of users doesn’t mean it’s not important, unfortunately Microsoft has always put to more faith in statistics than actual feedback from their customers.
pissed_by_W10 said on October 18, 2016 at 8:34 am
I want F8 during boot to give me service mode. Having to start it from start menu is beyond ridiculous when the last patch made windows 10 stuck in a loop.
Dave said on October 18, 2016 at 11:12 am
I’d like less features. The OS should be a platform for whatever I want, not a tool that tries to include every possible function out of the box. So the feature I would like is the ability to remove more stuff via Add/Remove Windows Components: stuff like Cortanna, IE, Egde, Windows Store, .NET Framework…
Any time now we should see an antitrust lawsuit since Microsoft has used their dominance in one product area (Desktop OS) to take control of another (Software sales and licence management). It’s an obvious anti-trust violation, but the law moves slowly. Apple can do this because they aren’t the dominant player. Google did it before they were dominant in mobile, so again that’s OK. Anti-trust law is simple, and MS can’t do what they’re doing. I suspect the EC will be the body to take action first, in 2020.
Robert G. said on October 18, 2016 at 12:01 pm
M for Microsoft and for Marketing, i.e. blablabla…..
Anonymous said on October 18, 2016 at 12:38 pm
Windows for Sales! No thank YOU!
Velocity.Wave said on October 18, 2016 at 1:00 pm
Actually, I’d be pretty ecstatic with a couple of less features, namely that whole background telemetry thing.
DaveyK said on October 18, 2016 at 1:43 pm
I think you’ve hit the nail largely on the head with the privacy options (and an “off” mode that actually means off), plus the ability to control the updates/OS a bit better.
These are two of the biggest things preventing me from using Windows 10. Right now with Windows 7, I control my PC, whereas with Windows 10 currently, it controls your PC. That’s not acceptable to me.
I also agree with adding back F8. The extra half a second you shave off the boot time just isn’t worth the extra inconvenience and struggling you get if the system won’t boot for some reason.
With an F8 menu, control and transparency over the privacy issues, and a lot more control over updates, Windows 10 may become more palatable. Right now, it’s a complete no-go on my systems.
Ben said on October 18, 2016 at 1:46 pm
> What would you like to see?
All telemetry and phone home bullshit removed.
All system configuration stuff in one place.
jr said on October 18, 2016 at 3:22 pm
Applocker in Windows 10 Professional
Jonnyredhead said on October 18, 2016 at 4:50 pm
A couple of good dark / night time themes using all the bells and whistles. Inc softer font smoothing options. All default windows programs / apps, and windows and pop ups (everywhere) included.
CaptnAmerca said on October 18, 2016 at 5:11 pm
To stop changing my settings back with these updates. I’m pretty sick of removing the Live Tiles at this point.
Andrew said on October 18, 2016 at 6:15 pm
Supposedly that is going to be a part of the next release. I believe once you delete a metro app now it won’t come back when you “upgrade”
420 said on October 18, 2016 at 6:47 pm
What is funny is, all the things YOU want, are exactly the opposite of what M$ will give you. It will be less control, more non transparency and generally like someone else had mentioned you will be a user and M$ will be the only admin, if you ask me, it is already kind of that way anyways, when I have the pro version and I can not change certain things. Another person mentioned it and I will agree Linux land is a breath of fresh air after M$. In addition to the normal mint ubuntu distros, I would highly reccomend Manjaro based on Arch Linux.
Lurking About said on October 19, 2016 at 3:48 am
I would recommend Manjaro or Antergos to more experienced users. Arch family distros are rolling releases and they will on occasion require a bit more TLC than Linux Mint or the various ‘buntus. The TLC is not as severe as with Windows.
T J said on October 18, 2016 at 7:52 pm
I don’t use Win 10. I am glad that I chose not to accept the free upgrade.
Reading about all the problems with Win 10 ( Loss of user control, forced updates killing systems, non removable apps, bundled updates containing god knows what, telemetry, etc, ad infinitum…….), I am very happy that I stayed with Win 7 and kept wearing my tin foil hat.
I CAN control what does or does not run on my Laptop and CHOOSE which updates or apps to install. Being able to boot into safe mode with f8 if my Laptop borks and then run a System Restore is the icing on the cake.
Still, MS might have a change of heart and rewrite Win 10 for the user’s benefit. That’s about as likely as flying pigs :)
Good luck Win 10 users.
sugfsxukdf said on October 18, 2016 at 8:23 pm
Some evil hacker really has to destroy Windows User Experience.
Once and for All.
Kenny said on October 19, 2016 at 2:39 am
I would like updates that actually work without breaking things… That would be nice.
Tom said on October 19, 2016 at 7:39 am
I would love to these Win7’s features back:
Network > Network and Sharing Center:
The straightforward visual ‘map’ on “View your basic network information and set up connections
COMPUTER NAME (This computer) === NAME Home Network === Internet
with ‘See Full Map’ link
> Manage Wireless Networks
It’s a one-place comprehensible WiFi management tool.
With the current Win10 you have to click ‘Connections’ > ‘Wireless Network Properties’ > ‘Security’ to check passwords and restricted to the current — connected — one.
No way to check all the SSID and Passwords previously stored, and preference order.
Marc said on January 11, 2017 at 11:41 am
I want my calculator back.
I do not want a new version of MS Paint.
I do not want an update to uninstall any software that was working perfectly in windows 7/8.
When I set a shortcut to open a window full screen please do open that window full screen and not to a size at MS discretion.
Make new apps an option not mandatory using it.
I want the old start menu back EVERY TIME MS-SUCKERS (using classic shell, but needed updating that after Anniversary Update nightmare).
I am on my last legs with Windows, just a diminishing few apps prevent me from using Linux all the time.
And Windows (Anniversary edition) helps with that a lot. A friend moved to Apple because the software she relied on did not work after the Anniversary edition update. I know I could spend a day to get it working again, but how frustrating this f… is.
OK, March 2017 could be END OF LIFE of Windows. Could be terminal, finally. I have been with Microsoft since MS DOS 3.1 and Windows 3.11. On my travel laptop I already have Linux since Windows 8 came out and when that was unusable on my laptop for my purposes.
Windows 10 started out with repairing lots of things that were bad in Windows 8/8.1, but with the Anniversary update MS is screwing us over to force their way upon us again, without a real option of going back.
Just I found out the Thunderbird is not working properly on some aspects after the latest Windows update.
gerald brennan said on October 23, 2016 at 1:38 pm
Let me set the size and screen location of program and data windows.
They fuck with it constantly and leave things a mess.
Such an OBVIOUS need and never a fix.
Ismet Hundraproc said on November 9, 2016 at 2:09 am
-Better privacy options
-More control of updates
-Better scaling across the board
-All settings in one place
kenneth maynard said on January 31, 2017 at 8:15 am
I hope that a scale to full screen for older programs is returned. At present windows locks the screen resolution and it cannot be changed to full screen thur the graphics option as in 8 and 8.1
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Yemen - Israel
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Home | Jewish World
Jewish Transgender Woman Appointed Senior LGBT Liaison to White House
Raffi Freedman-Gurspan was 'a powerful leader for trans inclusion' in her Brookline synagogue, says Jewish LGBT advocacy group.
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Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, the first transgender White House official. August 18, 2015.Credit: Associated Press
Less than a year after becoming the first openly transgender person to serve in the White House, a Jewish woman has been promoted to serve as its senior liaison to the LGBT community.
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Raffi Freedman-Gurspan, a Honduras native who was raised in Brookline, Massachusetts, by Jewish parents, will serve as the White House’s “lead point of contact” for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender groups, BuzzFeed News reported Monday.
Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, Freedman-Gurspan’s former employer, praised the appointment.
“Raffi’s skills and personality make her the exact right person for this important job,” Keislin told BuzzFeed.
Freedman-Gurspan, who is in her late 20s, was “a powerful leader for trans inclusion” in her Brookline synagogue, Temple Beth Zion, according to the Jewish LGBT advocacy group Keshet. She also was active in the Jewish Student Union as an undergraduate at St. Olaf College in Minneapolis.
Although Freedman-Gurspan was the first transgender White House staffer, another Jewish woman, Amanda Simpson, was the first transgender individual to hold a position in the U.S. executive branch. U.S. President Barack Obama appointed Simpson in 2010 to senior technical adviser in the Bureau of Industry and Security at the Department of Commerce.
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Hackney Gazette > News > Education
Hackney youngsters learn challenges faced by deaf in Guinness world record signing attempt
Published: 3:17 PM February 11, 2013 Updated: 10:34 AM October 14, 2020
Pupils Britney Smith, left, Orla Hill, and Heaven Menkir participate in the SignHealth's sign2sign event at Millfields Community School. - Credit: Archant
Over 130,000 pupils at 1,000 schools across the country are believed to have taken part in a world record attempt to beat the most people signing and singing at the same time.
Millfields was one of six primary schools in Hackney which participated in the Sign2Sing challenge last week, organised by SignHealth - the national healthcare charity for deaf people.
Teacher Roz Wilson, who is head of music at Millfields said the children loved learning sign language, and were excited to take part in a Guinness world record breaking event.
“We love to sing at Millfields and we had a joyful afternoon assembly signing and singing their hearts out,” she said.
“The children know that for some people that signing is their only means of communicating and we discussed what it must be like to not have a voice.
“They learned to empathise with others and put themselves in different situations, and develop a sense of the challenges faced by other children and adults,” she added.
SignHealth is waiting for confirmation from Guinness whether the world record has been broken. Their previous world record set last year was 114,277.
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Final Fantasy 15 has gone gold and celebrates with a new trailer
By Ben Wilson 28 October 2016
Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy 15 has gone gold – i.e. been finished – ahead of its release at the end of next month.
To celebrate, the Japanese publisher has unleashed a new, four-and-a-half-minute CGI trailer called 'Omen'. It's made in conjunction with Digic Pictures, who worked on Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy 15.
“Noctis navigates a rapidly shifting world, endless waves of enemies, a gradual loss of abilities, and a madness that brings harm to his beloved fiancée," Square says of the clip. "Inspired by the world and story of Final Fantasy 15, the trailer depicts a nightmarish ‘omen’ for Noctis’ father King Regis—a catastrophic future that must be avoided.”
Fresh DLC details have also been released. We're getting a $24.99 season pass containing three original episodes based on events of the main game: Episode Gladiolus, Episode Ignis, and Episode Prompto. Each ep places you in the shoes of that single character for its duration. Following those releases (and two 'holiday packs'), a new online co-op mode is coming called Comrades, in which you can control those three characters, plus main man Noctis, as a group. That's available separately from the season pass, should you so wish.
Here's concept art for Prompto's episode! Gladio, Ignis & Prompto will be playable characters in their DLC episodes & look out for more info pic.twitter.com/hA0XWe0sq3October 27, 2016
Final Fantasy 15 is released on PS4 and Xbox One worldwide on November 29.
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I'm GamesRadar+'s sports editor, obsessed with NFL, WWE, MLB – and very occasionally things that don't have a three-letter acronym. Namely: Bill Bryson, Pitch Perfect, and the Streets Of Rage series. I have two kids who aren't quite old enough to play Madden yet. Soon, though…
Cobra Kai season 3 review: "Powers through and delivers its best season yet"
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Having Spine Surgery Equals "Spoliation of Evidence"; Accident Case Dismissed
Court: Supreme Court, Queens County, New York
Case: Mangione v. Jacobs
From: New York attorney Gary E. Rosenberg (personal injury and accident attorney and lawyer; serving Brooklyn and Queens; Queens injury lawyer)
Facts: This is a bad decision that is wrong, wrong, wrong.
On December 2, 2009, plaintiff was injured in car accident. She was a passenger in a livery taxi that struck another car. The owner and driver of the taxi ask the Court to toss out this case on summary judgment motion, claiming that the taxi driver wasn't responsible for the accident. Opposition to that motion claims that the driver was on a cell phone at the time. This judge finds that there's a question of fact, after writing a long discussion about the dangers of cell phoners.
None of this amounts to a hill of beans because this judge is throwing out the plaintiff's case anyway, using terrible reasoning to do something awful.
This plaintiff had other, prior accidents and, in this case, missed a few court-ordered Independent Medical Exams. Now if you've followed my blogs, you'll know that I believe that an Independent Medical Exam by defendants' doctor is anything but "independent." Nonetheless, when you're ordered to go, you must go. And an accident plaintiff always must go, because her condition is put into the case by her injury claim.
Now in defendants' defense, it appears that plaintiff may have not been forthcoming in providing copies of her medical records from her prior bus accident, where she had the same attorneys as in this case.
Plaintiff skipped these IMEs in anticipation of spinal surgery; which she had on February 27, 2012. Plaintiff's lawyer argues it doesn't matter, since she had four other IMEs. The judge points out that these were No-Fault physical examinations -- not the same thing -- although I don't personally know why they don't count for something.
And this judge does cite to cases from courts in other states where the courts found that undergoing elective (non-emergency) surgery is not the same as wrongful destruction of evidence.
Here's where the choo-choo leaves the tracks. Instead of arguing for a discovery-violation remedy or punishment, as would be the usual case, the defendant argues "spoliation of evidence." A discovery remedy might call for another court order or a small fine as a penalty or some such. Here, by reason of the defense spoliation claim, this judge outright dismisses the plaintiff's case. This is improper. Spoliation is invoked when evidence is made unavailable. For example, a ladder breaks but is then thrown away. Or a car's brakes fail and the brakes are disposed of.
Here, the plaintiff could still be examined. All this judge had to do was lean on plaintiff's attorneys to provide all of her medical records from all of her accidents and then order her to go to an IME, or else he would strike her complaint and/or levy a fine. Perhaps the spinal surgery was even videotaped. Our legal system favors resolving court litigation "on the merits" and not by way of an unjustified case dismissal.
Held: An accident victim who has non‑emergency surgery before submitting to court order Independent Medical Exams has spoliated evidence.
Plaintiff's back surgery on Feb. 27, 2012, "was knowingly scheduled by the plaintiff and her counsel to frustrate the court‑ordered IMEs." The operation constituted a spoliation of evidence. Case dismissed.
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INJURY LAWYER SERVING QUEENS COUNTY COMMUNITIES
Serving Queens neighborhoods of: Arverne, Astoria, Auburndale, Bayside, Beechhurst, Bellaire, Belle Harbor, Bellerose, Blissville, Breezy Point, Briarwood, Broad Channel, Cambria Heights, College Point, Corona, Douglaston, East Elmhurst, Edgemere, Elmhurst, Far Rockaway, Flushing, Forest Hills, Fresh Meadows, Fresh Pond, Glen Oaks, Glendale, Hillcrest, Hollis, Holliswood, Howard Beach, Hunters Point, Jackson Heights, Jamaica, Jamaica Estates, Jamaica Hills, Kew Gardens, Laurelton, Lefrak City, Linden Hill, Lindenwood, Little Neck, Long Island City, Malba, Maspeth, Middle Village, Murray Hill, Neponsit, Oakland Gardens, Ozone Park, Pomonok, Queens Village, Queensboro Hill, Rego Park, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood, Rockaway Park, Rockaway Point, Rosedale, Saint Albans, Seaside, South Jamaica, South Ozone Park, Springfield Gardens, Steinway, Sunnyside, Utopia, Wave Crest, Whitestone, Woodhaven and Woodside.
Police Car Is a "Motor Vehicle" for Purposes of an Underinsured Motorist Claim Jun 20, 2015
Emergency Doctrine Doesn't Help Driver Who, Trying To Avoid Low Speed 2-Car Accident, Jumped Center Median And Struck Pedestrian May 19, 2015
Issue of Fact as to Whether Following Vehicle Struck Motorcycle in Addition to Crossing-over Vehicle Dec 21, 2014
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HomeStyleWhat if Zelda was a Girl T-Shirt
What if Zelda was a Girl T-Shirt
March 6, 2014 Marty Shaw Style 16
When your non-gamer friends see you wearing the What if Zelda was a Girl T-Shirt, you’ll know their status as a non-gamer is secure if they happen to be puzzled by this question, because they probably already have Link and Zelda confused with each other.
I suppose in the early days, it was understandable for confusion to run rampant when it came to figuring out who was who in The Legend of Zelda video game. After all, we’d always see the title of the game accompanied by a picture of Link, so it was easy to think the little blonde elf in the green tunic and pointy cap was named Zelda. It’s not like either Link or Zelda screams boy name or girl name, so that wasn’t any help, either.
Fortunately, those who know the truth can now have tons of fun when going to conventions because you know this shirt will make some fanboys lapse into fits of hysteria, while others simply laugh along with you.
Become the ultimate real-life troll, providing endless irritation and agitation like an itch that can’t be scratched, with the What if Zelda was a Girl T-Shirt for $25.56 at RedBubble.com.
Redbubble.com
Doctor Who Spin Doctor TARDIS Pendant & Ring
Guardians of the Galaxy Star-Lord Mini-Bust
Justin Holland
Princess Zelda was is a girl. Link, was the boy who was turned into a girl for this shirt.
Someone is going to have to redesign the shirt.
Why? did you read the text?
And Grizzley Adams did have a beard!
this made me laugh so hard. you really thought the main Charter was named Zelda. Did you even play any of the game they tell you you have to save Zelda some something.
youguys
Can you read the article because your comment was useless it was supposed to be a troll.
Zelda is a girl! T_T
are you serious??
embarrassing!!
Link is the green guy… -.-
That’s the joke, you idiots!
None of them read the article provide obviously.
SrslyGuys
Srsly guys, did u even read the artical -___- it says this is to troll non gamers… next time read the artical idiots -______________-
you guys are idiots by not reading the article
Mrfallenangel
Shirt is already confirmed to work by these comments. Most have.
You all need to learn how to read.
EticketJedi
A+ comment thread. Bravo.
Shirt works as intended.
High Definition Time Lapse Camera
July 28, 2011 Hazel Chua Gadgets 0
Have you ever watched a show on Discovery Channel or on National Geographic and wondered how they managed to take photos and videos of a certain area for weeks or even months on end? If you’ve ever wanted to take some yourself, then you might […]
The Legend of Zelda Stained Glass Wall Decals
Do you remember the awesome 8 Foot-Long Zelda-Inspired Vinyl Poster Map? Well, The Legend of Zelda Stained Glass Wall Decals are another cool Legend of Zelda item that is sure to have Nintendo fans and Zelda fans excited. There are eight different wall decals based […]
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Link Figma Action Figure
October 18, 2012 Patra Beaulieu Toys 3
About a year after the release of the video game ‘Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword,’ there is now a new Link action figure that will have you scraping for extra rupees under your couch. The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Link Figma Action Figure. Link […]
8 Foot Vinyl Zelda Sticker/Poster Review
December 7, 2012 Marty Shaw Design 2
If you like classic video games and wall art, the 8 Foot-Long Zelda-Inspired Vinyl Poster Map is exactly what you need to scratch that fanboy itch. You might’ve seen our review for the older version of this poster; but I was lucky enough to have […]
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Link Bow Hoodie
December 31, 2011 James Kelly Style 0
Most Nintendo fans love Zelda and have been lucky enough to enjoy many cool games over the years. It all started with the NES and The Legend of Zelda and has progressed through the years to games available on the Wii and 3DS, like The […]
Premium Collectible Legend of Zelda Chess Set
January 20, 2018 James Kelly Toys 0
This highly rated Legend of Zelda Collector’s Chess Set features 32 custom sculpted game pieces representing the heroes and villains of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Times. Get ready to do battle against Ganon and Twinrova in a manner that would make Bobby Fischer […]
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Bundle for Nintendo Wii
Gamers who love playing the Legend of Zelda will definitely want to pre-order the limited edition Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Bundle for Nintendo Wii. Be among the first to own it when the item leaves stores shelves on November 20, 2011. Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword Bundle […]
Zelda Kokiri’s Forest Emerald Necklace
June 28, 2012 Patra Beaulieu Style 0
Whether you’re crazy about the Legend of Zelda or not, it’s hard to deny the beauty of the Zelda Kokiri’s Forest Emerald Necklace. The golden emblem against the dark green stone is mesmerizing. The leather necklace band is comfortable and soft on the skin, and it’s […]
iBUYPOWER Gamer Supreme 922SLCK Gaming PC
June 8, 2011 James Scott Gadgets 0
iBUYPOWER just announced the availability of their new super-power gaming PC, the iBUYPOWER Gamer Supreme 922SLCK. It looks incredible on the outside, but what really matters is what it has under the hood. Fortunately, it is packed with powerful components like an Intel Core i7 […]
Nintendo Zelda Replica Sword
January 4, 2012 James Kelly Design 0
While Nintendo was slow to come around to first person shooter games, they owned the market when it came to gameplay consisting of a mixture of action, adventure, and puzzle solving like in the Super Mario Bros. games and Zelda adventure games. The classic NES […]
Zelda Evolution T-Shirt
July 8, 2012 James Kelly Style 3
If you’re a fan of classic NES and have been playing Zelda all these years, then you’ll really appreciate the creative artwork from SkinnyJoe at RedBubble. The Zelda Evolution T-Shirt walks us through Link’s transformation from 8-bit glory in the classic NES The Legend of […]
Hand-Painted Zelda and Link Earphones
April 24, 2012 Patra Beaulieu Style 0
Headphones are an accessory that a lot of us cannot leave home without, so dare to wear a set that shows what type of person you are. If you’re a big fan of the Legend of Zelda, express yourself with these Hand-Painted Zelda and Link Earphones. On such a […]
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Absence of Broad-Based Congressional or U.S. EPA Actions Limiting PFAS Exposure Likely to Engender Continued State Regulation
Authors: J. Karp, E. Mahaffey, G. Ansell
Published: January 2020 in Environment & Energy Insights. Environment & Energy Insights. Sullivan & Worcester LLP.
Despite extensive negotiation, insufficient bipartisan support was garnered to obtain inclusion of robust PFAS provisions in Congressional year-end spending legislation. Initially, there was some expectation that U.S. EPA might be directed in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) to establish maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in drinking water, and/or to designate PFAS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, but those proposals were not included in the legislation. In the absence of a Congressional mandate or U.S. EPA regulatory action establishing enforceable clean-up standards, states concerned about the potential negative health effects of exposure to PFAS compounds have taken matters into their own hands. As discussed, to fill the federal government void, states have set MCLs for certain PFAS compounds in drinking water, required testing of water systems and publication of results, and established remediation requirements for certain PFAS compounds in groundwater and surface water.
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GoForCrypto.com
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Crypto ➜ Speed vs quality? Ethereum 2.0 optimism is high, but the road is long
Speed vs quality? Ethereum 2.0 optimism is high, but the road is long
January 11, 2021 crypto News 0
The foundation was laid for Ethereum 2.0 in 2020, and expectations are positive for the future of the smart contract platform in 2021.
Ethereum has consistently followed a roadmap for its continual evolution to a proof-of-stake consensus protocol, and 2020 saw the groundwork for Ethereum 2.0 soundly laid. The smart contract blockchain has firmly established itself as a platform backed by the second-most valuable cryptocurrency in the world, Ether (ETH), and has become a primary resource for developers to build blockchain-based applications and tools.
The emergence of the decentralized finance sector has been largely built on top of the Ethereum blockchain, adding credence to the platform’s decentralized functionality. The surge in the use of the blockchain has come at a steep price though, as network speed and transaction costs are directly affected as more users and platforms are added to the blockchain. This is a driving force behind the transition to Eth2, which is already underway.
There seems to have been plenty of positive sentiment toward the ongoing shift to Eth2 in 2020, and there’s a sense of great anticipation for the project at the dawn of a new year. So, what are the main hopes for the next step in Ethereum’s evolution in 2021?
Eth2, in a nutshell
Ethereum 2.0 is the next step in the blockchain’s move from a proof-of-work consensus protocol to a proof-of-stake algorithm. This is an integral part of Ethereum’s development to make the blockchain more scalable, secure and sustainable. The goal is for it to support thousands of transactions per second in order to make applications faster and cheaper to use.
Security is a chief concern, and a move to proof-of-stake needs to ensure that the protocol is more secure against all forms of attack. Last, but not least, the shift away from PoW is integral in limiting the environmental effect the Ethereum network has. The network, in its current state, requires a lot of computing power and electricity to remain sustainable.
The first phase is the Beacon Chain, which is responsible for introducing PoS to the protocol and was launched on Dec. 1, 2020. Eth2 users can now stake ETH and become a validator of the network. Being a full validator requires users to stake 32 ETH and will see those users process transactions and create new blocks on the chain. This is imagined as the future of securing the Ethereum network and will eventually replace the current energy-sapping PoW consensus mechanism.
With the Beacon Chain live, the next step is the launch of shard chains, which is earmarked to take place sometime this year. Without getting into the finer details, sharding allows a database to be split up to spread workload. Ethereum will use shard chains to reduce network congestion and increase transaction speed. It will also greatly reduce the hardware requirements of running a node. The plan is to create 64 shard chains.
The Beacon Chain will eventually assign certain shard chains to various validators, which will spread out the work needed to validate the Ethereum blockchain. The first iteration of these shard chains won’t handle transactions or smart contracts but will store and manage data on the network.
The long-term goal is to combine shards with rollups, which essentially bundle transactions off-chain to be subsequently submitted back to the mainnet. This should greatly improve the transaction processing capability of the Ethereum network.
A vote of confidence
Cointelegraph reached out to a couple of individuals working at the front line of Ethereum’s ongoing development. Ben Edgington, lead product owner of Teku — an Eth2 client created by ConsenSys and designed for enterprise and institutional stakers — has been directly involved in the research and development of Eth2.
A major talking point of the ongoing shift to Eth2 has been the amount of ETH staked in the Beacon Chain contract. Edgington told Cointelegraph that the community’s willingness to participate in staking has been very positive for developers:
“The amount ETH already staked is an immense vote of confidence, not only in the Beacon Chain, but also in the future of Ethereum. I am impressed by how much has come in so quickly, and greatly encouraged by the commitment of the Ethereum community to what we have built, and will be continuing to build.”
Edgington added that the launch of the Beacon Chain was arguably the most difficult part of the Eth2 project and was a huge milestone that has boosted confidence for the upcoming stages in Ethereum’s journey.
Viktor Bunin, protocol specialist at blockchain infrastructure provider Bison Trails, told Cointelegraph that the ongoing staking of ETH shows there’s a lot of support from the community in the future of the protocol, adding:
“I was surprised that the inflows have continued to be so large and think there’s a chance that the queue to enter Eth2 does not run dry for all of 2021, meaning there is always a wait for a validator to join the network because so many are trying to join simultaneously.”
Lubin and Buterin have high hopes as well
In early December 2020, ConsenSys founder Joseph Lubin suggested that the transition to the next phase of Eth2 could happen faster than expected, given that the Beacon Chain was live. “People in the know around the ecosystem are very optimistic about how fast things could unfold, as the really complicated work has been done in launching Phase 0,” Lubin said during the “Ethereum in the Enterprise — Asia Pacific 2020” conference.
Lubin added that the Ethereum Foundation is expecting shards to drastically improve data availability on the Ethereum blockchain when they are deployed. He went as far as saying that Eth2 could absorb Eth1 “in the not too distant future.”
Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin gave some insights into the ongoing development of the ecosystem in an online meetup hosted on YouTube by Ethereum Buenos Aires on Dec. 29, 2020. He highlighted key goals for the Ethereum ecosystem in the coming 12 months. A primary concern is the current cost of transactions on the blockchain, which Buterin said is still a sticking point: “We need to be working very hard on making sure that there’s more space for transactions so that we don’t have this dynamic where everyone is bidding for a very small amount of space so that only very few transactions can get in.”
Buterin also said that the aim for Ethereum is to be able to support hundreds of millions of users within the next few years, but right now, the blockchain can only support 15 to 45 transactions per second.
Buterin then went through a medium-term scalability roadmap and highlighted the potential for rollups to allow the network to process 1,000 to 4,000 transactions per second. When Eth2 sharding and rollups are deployed together, Buterin highlighted the potential for 25,000 to 100,000 transactions processed per second.
The Ethereum co-founder closed by saying that by the end of 2021, he hopes to see the current development roadmap of both the Eth1 (PoW) and Eth2 (PoS) chains completed and to have testnets running for the complete integration of the two chains along with sharding capability, adding: “Potentially, the light client support for the proof-of-stake chain even before the merge could be used to provide better light client support for the proof-of-work chain.”
Ethereum developers trust the process
According to those involved, a common theme that has emerged during the ongoing evolution of Ethereum has been a focus on quality. Although timelines have been established, developers have been more concerned with building and implementing upgrades that are not rushed.
Bunin told Cointelegraph that various Ethereum users, developers and companies that he’d been in contact with over the past few years have expressed unhappiness with the length of time it took to launch the Beacon Chain but that they were excited by the news of the launch:
“They did not take shortcuts with the Phase 0 design and were not afraid to go back to the drawing board after failed attempts or upon discovering new optimizations. They will and should continue to optimize for the best design rather than speed of execution.”
As Buterin mentioned in December 2020, the roadmap for 2021 includes development goals for both Eth1 and Eth2. The latter includes work on shard chains, which promise to improve the scalability of the protocol. Edgington said he was hoping to see shard chains launched by the end of the year but that it will be dependent on the sheer scale of work to be done in 2021:
“The design for sharding is well advanced and I expect we’ll make excellent progress towards implementing it this year. I’d personally hope to see shard chains launched in 2021, but we don’t yet have a target date. In addition, we have brought forward the merger of Eth1 and Eth2 in the roadmap, so we will be working on that in parallel with sharding.”
There is no denying that there is pressure to deliver these performance-improving upgrades in 2021. DeFi was a major subject in 2020 and has added some strain to the Ethereum blockchain. However, Edgington reiterated the view that the community of developers would not be reactive to these kinds of pressures in their approach in the new year: “There’s always been a sense of urgency, irrespective of DeFi! […] The tension between doing things right, and doing them quickly is always present, but I feel that we are in a reasonable place.”
Bunin also believes that the development of shard chains won’t necessarily be expedited and said that developers’ mindsets are optimized for quality because they “are building the financial infrastructure of the next century.” He added: “My expectation is that shard chains will be launched by the end of 2021, but I am also comfortable if they are delayed.”
Crypto Markets Suffer Heavy Losses, Bitcoin Price Sinks More Than 25% in 24 Hours
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$ 37,190.000.17%
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http://www.amazon.com/Corridor-Darkness-Novel-Nazi-Germany-ebook/dp/B00GLFIS0W
CORRIDOR OF DARKNESS has been awarded the AIA Gold Seal of Excellence and endorsed by Compulsion Reads.
"The novel is rife with historical intrigue and captures the flavor of mid-century Europe. Throughout, the author has a keen eye for detail, which will be a delight for Europhiles and World War II buffs alike...An intriguing early WWII spy yarn set in a well-researched, authentic Germany." --Kirkus Reviews
"When the writing is powerful and immediate and characters are as real and believable as these ones are, our compassion is aroused and our heart opens. This is the beauty of this book... Their fear becomes our fear, their horror, ours. The skillfully executed prose brings you right into the vibrant beating heart of Berlin in the thirties. I could smell it, see it and taste it." Tahlia Newland for AIA
"First-rate, expertly crafted thriller. O'Bryon's detailed descriptions allowed me to see the streets of old Berlin, taste decadence everywhere, feel imminent dangers around every corner, hear the march of the storm troopers, and virtually smell fear on the citizens as they ran...a fast paced, suspenseful tale with plenty of twists and turns to keep the reader on edge." –Awesome Indies Reviewers
"Corridor of Darkness is a compelling and well-researched read...a grand adventure, set in Germany's darkest hours. Strap in, grab a few tissues and enjoy!" - Compulsion Reads
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Tesla: A love brand strategy
GoodRebels
Brands get a lot more valued from earned media than paid media. This is the plan for Tesla, a brand that succeeds at telling “stories” that impact people.
Remember the last Tesla ad? I don’t. What did I do? I Googled it but alas did not find anything. In contrast, what I did find was this spot by the Freise Brothers, who decided to pay homage to Tesla for free in a special way. Tesla fans, let me warn you that this could make you excited:
We set off from the premise that one of content marketing‘s objectives is to let the audience know about the brand’s unique value proposition, make it so that others can find and inevitably make it theirs (buy it). The transmission and ascension of this value will pass over from the brand to consumers, and they will become brand ambassadors.
The brand must tell a story, and Tesla’s been writing its own for quite some time. Starting with its CEO, the comparisons between Elon Musk and Steve Jobs get made daily. They both talk about visionaries that launched companies with big ambitions. Steve Jobs was a master at narratives and had a unique flair for the dramatic. On occasion, Elon Musk can trip himself up while speaking yet exudes the confidence of someone who’s conscious of being years ahead of his or her competitors.
Presenting models, announcing new products, disruptive technology, etc., are the focal points for daily brand storytelling and that generates that hundreds of thousands of people share the brand’s latest updates on social media as they keep an eye on the latest updates.
And if this storytelling comes with a side of real stories from their clientele? Tesla’s website is betting on high-quality branded content that you can find in the “Customer Stories” on their website. In contrast from other brands than tried to tell their stories depending on customers, here the customers are the ones telling their stories.
We can see benefits stemming from Tesla’s strategic plan in the following graph. I made a little experiment cross-referencing data for tagged posts on Instagram with four other brands, using statistics about how many cars were sold by brand.
From this analysis, we can derive that from every Tesla car sold in 2015 more than 14.2 photos are posted and tagged on Instagram, while brands like Ford see 1.6 photos uploaded and Hyundai sees a lot less than one. This is the difference between a love brand and the others in its category.
On their social media accounts, Tesla has an active presence on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Google+. Their primary objective is brand awareness. There was no visible evidence of promoted content nor paid media campaigns, which denotes that it’s betting on organic content dissemination. Their editorial calendars and even their content formats vary a lot from one platform to another (following recommended practices). On Facebook, video and curated content are crucial while on Instagram still images that sell a different lifestyle dominate. How does this strategy translate?
Instagram highlights an interaction rate above any other platform despite not having the largest community.
Over the last few months, this is how we came to see it at Good Rebels. Brands should bet on Instagram (we’ll see when since Facebook modifies the edge rank). Since they activated proprietary analytics, we see how their organic reach hovers between 40-45% of the community while on Facebook it will be around 8-12% (fluctuating with the community volume).
Tesla’s communities, value for consideration
Many have written and commented on Rebel Thinking and in the hallways of the office about the real value of branded communities. Well, Tesla is a definite example of working with micro-communities of Tesla owners that have sprouted up worldwide and have an active web and social media presence with impeccable corporate identity (check out Tesla Owners Club Canada). In Spain, the Tesla Club on Facebook has more than 7,300 members. It’s, without hesitation, one of the company’s biggest assets right now. Loyal clients with “digital speakers” shouting their love for the brand. And what does this transform into when it comes to metrics? In user-generated content on a global level, since not that many brands have it and that it impacts potential customers with more believable messages than those any other brand could come up with. “Tesla fans are crazy advocates, “ and they’re right.
A breakdown of their latest launch
While this isn’t new, and many have already written about it since the Tesla launched the Model 3 in March of this. Many media outlets kept echoing out the news with startling statistics (+325,000 pre-orders) in only a few days for a car that won’t begin production for nearly a year. Here’s something to put this into perspective: the whole United States saw only 116,000 electric sold in 2015. What were the keys to success, in my opinion?
A 100% digital campaign: no dealership network. Automatic reservation.
Anticipation: They haven’t started production, and it’s launched on the market two years before a one-of-a-kind event.
Purchase policy: you can get your reservation deposit back at any time.
I invite you to take a look at the landing page they made for managing orders. Among the highlighted best practices are:
Specifying only one price.
Only two clear calls to action (reserve and stay up-to-date) that are at the beginning and the end of the landing page.
Photo gallery and presentation video. Without containing too much information.
The launch’s success also came from the following strategic keys:
Broader market: Tesla is launching its first affordable model in search of increasing its pool of potential owners. Up until now, they had kept their eye on luxury cars.
Corporate fleets: It’s estimated that of the orders made up until now, 1/3 of them will go towards company cars.
Technology: Tesla promises that this model will be able to travel around 346 kilometers with completely charged batteries.
To wrap up this post, it’s important to highlight that brand loyalty comes from emotional connections. Today’s most prominent brands have one common purpose: make and strengthen these emotional connections with their customers. A study from CEB found that, besides being loyalty to a company just because, people are loyal to what a company represents. Tesla has designed a product that makes people feel like they’re moving forward. They don’t only pay for a means of transportation; they pay for a piece of the future. It’s a company that has as its vision to promote the move to electric vehicles with the hope that one day the planet’s energy problems can be solved.
“True brands are created by customers.”
Open Innovation in the age of digitization
How to create a brand analytics model
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Bedrooms 20 Steal-Worthy Bedroom Decorating Ideas
Sarah 101 Sarah's Secret Recipe for Design
Sarah's House 12 Things You Didn't Know About Tommy Smythe
Sarah's House Rooms By Her: The Best Designs By the Ladies of HGTV
Income Property Celebrate The Holidays With Your Favourite Hosts
Kitchens Best of Sarah Richardson Kitchens
Sarah 101 Sarah 101: Season 02, Episode 11
Sarah Richardson is an award-winning designer and television personality, known around the world for dramatic transformations that turn ordinary spaces into magazine-worthy rooms with an incredible wow factor. Richardson is the host and co-producer of five HGTV lifestyle series seen in over 100 countries where she shares her practical, endearing and inspiring approach to décor and design with viewers. In addition to Room Service, Design Inc, Sarah's House and Sarah 101, Sarah Sees Potential, her most recent series, Sarah’s Rental Cottage will air soon on HGTV.
In addition to being a past contributor and columnist for The Globe and Mail and Chatelaine, Canada's most read women's magazine, and was most recently named Home Design Director at Good Housekeeping magazine. Sarah has a growing line of signature products including custom furniture, a fabric line for Kravet Inc., a stationery collection for Hallmark Canada, and has recently added bestselling author to her accomplishments following the 2014 release of “Sarah Style” – the long-awaited resource guide to renovations and interior design, published by Simon & Schuster. Her next book will be released in fall 2015. Sarah is considered a creative powerhouse in the design world and juggles the daily running of a high-demand design business, Sarah Richardson Design Inc. based in Toronto.
Tommy Smythe is known for his incredible sense of style, his passion for design and his signature look complete with an envious collection of bowties. With over 125 hours of design television under his (Hermes belt, Tommy is as comfortable in auction houses, antique markets, city lofts, million dollar homes and just about any store on Fifth Avenue. As one of Canada's most beloved design personalities, Tommy is not afraid to tell it-how-it-is and viewers appreciate his frank, delightfully acerbic approach to interior design.
Tommy has worked alongside Sarah Richardson as an integral member of her design team for over 10 years, through several award-winning HGTV series including design inc., Sarah's House, Sarah's Cottage and Sarah 101. He has proven himself to be Sarah's indispensable confidant, friend and design sidekick and is set to return this spring with Sarah 101.
Tommy's quick wit and larger-than-life personality are the perfect foil to Sarah, who knows what she wants and isn't afraid to ask for it. His reactive personality creates a magnetic chemistry when combined with Sarah's unwavering focus. Viewers love the "he said/she said" tension of these two headstrong creative individuals battling out their ideas on screen. Tommy is the traditional to Sarah's contemporary, the high to her low, the storm to her calm, his yin to her yang.
Tommy, born and raised in Toronto, has spent the past 15 years honing his appreciation of fine art and antiques, and managing numerous entire home renovations. With Sarah's influence, he has come to appreciate the more contemporary approach to design and has even begun to embrace the notion of hunting for a bargain now and then! When not working from dawn until dusk managing dozens of tradespeople and racking up his Blackberry bill, Tommy can be found spending his few spare moments of down time scouring antique markets in New York and Palm Beach or augmenting his impeccable designer wardrobe.
In addition to his off-camera decorating work in Canada, the US and the UK, Tommy is a monthly contributor to Canadian House and Home magazine and has been featured on numerous design blogs including Habitually Chic, Apartment Therapy and Coco & Kelley. He is a regular presenter at design shows across North America.
About Sarah 101
Sarah 101 is a dynamic back-to-basics crash course in design! Sarah Richardson, award-winning host of Sarah’s House, Sarah’s Cottage, Design Inc., and Room Service shares her expert tips and tricks to help solve your design dilemmas big and small.
Design imagery and inspiration are everywhere, but how do you translate this information into rooms that work and rooms you’ll love to live in? Sarah, along with co-host and design sidekick Tommy Smythe, breaks it all down into an easy to understand format set against the ever-changing backdrop of actual homes belonging to real people just like you!
Each episode is jam-packed with useful tips and insight gathered by Sarah and Tommy throughout their combined 29 years of experience in the field of Design and Décor. No kitchen remains un-renovated, no chair is left unturned and no pillow un-fluffed in Sarah’s never ending quest to explore the how and why of the design process with you, the viewer. Sarah 101 takes the viewers along for a fun-filled ride on the inside track to winning style.
Love it or List it Vancouver
Hot Market
Property Brothers: Buying and Selling
Want To Be On 'Worst to First'?
Are you looking to buy / renovate a fixer upper property and need some help? If so, apply today! Learn More
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Home > Hepatitis > Blog > CDC Analysis- Lessons from Multi-State Hepatitis A Outbreaks
Viral Hepatitishas sub items, Viral Hepatitis
Learn About Viral Hepatitis
Viral Hepatitis National Strategic Plan
Hepatitis C Medicaid Affinity Group
Mapping Hepatitis Elimination in Action
Awareness Months and Days
CDC Analysis- Lessons from Multi-State Hepatitis A Outbreaks
By: Corinna Dan, RN, MPH, Viral Hepatitis Policy Advisor, Office of HIV/AIDS and Infectious Disease Policy, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Lesson from hepatitis A outbreaks in 4 states: increasing vaccination among groups at risk might halt ongoing outbreaks and prevent future ones.
Earlier this month, San Diego health officials declared an end to the two-year long hepatitis A outbreak in the city that had killed 20 and sickened nearly 600 individuals, largely among people experiencing homelessness. At the same time, there was news of a growing hepatitis A outbreak in Tennessee also concentrated among people who are homelessness and people who inject drugs, with 440 cases statewide and 142 cases confirmed in Nashville since December 2017. An ongoing outbreak in Kentucky claimed two more lives in Franklin County this month, and there are at least nine additional states reporting hepatitis A outbreaks.
Responding to these ongoing outbreaks and taking steps to prevent new ones remain public health concerns at the local, state, and national levels. As health departments and their partners in jurisdictions across the nation take steps to prevent and/or respond to them, CDC recently published an analysis of hepatitis A virus outbreaks in four states. The main finding of the outbreak analysis is that a substantial proportion of the individuals diagnosed with hepatitis A in those jurisdictions reported drug use, homelessness, or both. The article discusses additional public health steps taken to during the outbreaks.
Published in the November 2 issue of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the analysis concludes that increasing hepatitis A vaccination coverage among all at-risk groups recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) to receive hepatitis A vaccine might halt ongoing outbreaks and prevent future large community outbreaks. CDC recommends that local health jurisdictions experiencing hepatitis A outbreaks among people who report drug use or homelessness ensure procedures are in place for identifying these risk factors and vaccinating people with these risk factors to prevent hepatitis A infection.
Read the article, “Hepatitis A Virus Outbreaks Associated with Drug Use and Homelessness — California, Kentucky, Michigan, and Utah, 2017.”
Learn more about hepatitis A on our Hepatitis A Basic Information page and in our related blog posts.
CDC: Increasing vaccination among groups at risk for hepatitis A infection might halt ongoing outbreaks and prevent future outbreaks. https://go.usa.gov/xEqJg
Tagged: Hepatitis A
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Toll Free Call Center: 1-877-696-6775
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London Olympics 1908 and 1948
Daniel Cossins enjoys an illustrated survey of the two past London Olympics
Reviewed by: Daniel Cossins
Author: Janie Hampton
Publisher: Shire Books
Price (RRP): £6.99
Now that preparations for London 2012 are entering the home straight, this book offers an entertaining dash through the last two Olympics hosted by our capital.
The contrasts between then and now are striking, and often amusing. But it’s the dramatic events that played out on the track and field that really capture the imagination.
In 1908 Dorando Pietri, an Italian marathon runner, stole the show – and the hearts of many – as he collapsed several times before being helped across the line to victory, only to be disqualified after American complaints.
Forty years later, in the aftermath of the Second World War, organisers of the ‘austerity Olympics’ asked athletes to bring their own food, towels and soap. And yet the games provided a wealth of sporting feats, not least that of Fanny Blankers-Koen, the ‘Flying Housewife’, who romped to four gold medals.
This is by no means a comprehensive history. It’s a brief and lively account that brings London’s previous Olympic moments to life with great images and revealing quotes from newspapers, spectators and the athletes themselves.
Daniel Cossins, freelance journalist
Michael Scott discusses the ancient Greek Olympics
Book reviews: International
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Energy Jobs: Duke Promotions, Centrica and Innogy Go Deeper Into US, Dynapower, Opus One and More
Executive and boardroom moves in cleantech, utilities, energy and venture capital.
Katherine Tweed June 01, 2018
Katherine Tweed
We always seem to start this column with energy storage, so today let’s begin with utilities.
Duke Energy has promoted Jim Henning to SVP of customer services. Amy Spiller, a 15-year veteran of Duke, will take his place as president of Duke Energy Ohio and Duke Energy Kentucky, according to Cincinnati Business Courier.
U.K.-based Centrica recently launched Centrica Business Solutions in North America and has named Dan Svejnar to the role of VP, head of commercial in North America. Centrica is the latest European utility to form a new offering in North America to take advantage of the energy decentralization trend. The division brings together the commercial arm of Direct Energy along with technology solutions from various acquisitions in the past few years.
In quasi-utility related news, Innogy Consulting has formally launched its U.S. subsidiary and has named Glenn George, a longtime consultant to the energy and utility market, as its founding partner. Parent company Innogy was spun out of German utility RWE in 2015 and includes RWE’s renewable energy, grid and energy retail business. However, E.ON is looking to buy RWE’s majority stake in Innogy as part of a mega-merger that GTM reported on in March.
Long-time energy consultant Cameron Brooks has joined Opus One Solutions as VP of strategic growth and policy. Opus One works with utilities and takes a platform approach to integrated distribution planning. Among other partners, Opus One is working with National Grid to field-test what could eventually be a distributed system platform to manage the entire spectrum of energy assets at the grid edge to optimize the distribution system.
Energy storage firm JLM Energy has appointed Erin Clark as CEO. He moves up from COO, replacing co-founder Farid Dibachi. Before joining JLM last year, Clark was at roofing and solar firm PetersenDean.
Chip Palombini has been promoted to director of storage at Dynapower. He was previously the sales manager for the energy storage group. Dynapower recently partnered with Viridity to launch energy storage systems that can monetize the RegD signal in PJM, which has been a bit of a revenue roller coaster due to market changes.
Vanadium flow battery maker CellCube has hired Alexander Schoenfeldt as managing director of its subsidiary Enerox. He was most recently VP of sales for Europe, Middle East and Africa for Younicos.
VC firm Blue Bear Capital has appointed former chairman and CEO of BP, John Browne, Lord Browne of Madingley, to its advisory board. Browne is also co-head of Riverstone Holdings, one of the world’s largest renewable energy investment funds and non-executive director of Goldman Sachs and Intel. “The next great wave of technology is digital,” Browne said in a statement. “Blue Bear has identified this early and become a leading investment partner connecting digital tech entrepreneurs with larger operators who must innovate to stay competitive and sustainable.”
Enertech Search Partners, a boutique talent acquisition and advisory firm focused exclusively on the intersection of the new energy economy and connected industries, is the sponsor of the GTM jobs column.
Among its many active searches, Enertech has been exclusively engaged to find a senior project manager in energy storage and delivery.
Located in the Bay Area (East Bay), this well-funded startup is fundamentally changing the way energy is delivered to electric vehicles, construction sites, film sets, and more. They build mobile, battery-based energy storage systems that provide clean and quiet power anywhere it's needed. Product development is increasing and demand is growing rapidly. Because of this, they are looking for a talented Senior Project Manager to manage the execution of the product roadmap. You will work closely with our engineering team to evaluate and allocate the resources needed to bring great products to life, including managing conflicting timelines of multiple projects and integrating new requirements as they iterate quickly based on market feedback. You will serve as an advisor to the management team when it comes to the implications of shifting priorities, always working to ensure projects are executed on schedule and on budget. You will work with a cross-functional team of stakeholders throughout the company.
Former FERC chairman Jon Wellinghoff has joined intelligent energy management company Zen Ecosystems as a strategic adviser. The smart thermostat maker sells its product both to residential customers and to C&I customers for enterprise-wide commercial packages, and eventually Zen sees its product being paired with energy storage offerings. Along with Wellinghoff, Zen has hired Dave Hyland as VP of utility sales. He was previously director of utility DSM (that’s utility parlance for demand-side management) engagement at Schneider Electric.
The American Wind Energy Association has a handful of new folks in senior positions. Bree Raum is AWEA’s new VP of federal affairs; Diane Miller will start as VP of public affairs in June, and Sari Fink joined in May as senior director for electricity and transmission policy.
Solar EPC Conti Solar has promoted Eric Millard to chief commercial officer and will be responsible for expanding business into new markets and locales.
Brown and Caldwell, an environmental EPC, has named Wendy Broley as VP and One Water leader to set strategy for that team, which focuses on water reuse. The team also includes Kati Bell as managing director, Melanie Holmer in the role of national water reuse leader, Melissa Meeker as Rocky Mountain area leader, and Allegra da Silva as regional water reuse leader.
Smart building SaaS provider Flywheel Building Intelligence (not be confused with flywheel storage technology) has named Mike Levine as CEO. Levine was most recently at bibliotheca, and president and CEO of AssetPoint before that.
Matt Maley has moved from EDF’s trading desk where he was a VP to be an originator at Acciona, a Spanish renewable IPP. He will work with C&I clients to help them meet their renewable targets leveraging Acciona’s portfolio of wind and solar projects.
The National Council on Electricity Policy has appointed Idaho Public Utilities Commission Chairman Paul Kjellander as its new president.
Rao Konidena has moved from a principal adviser at MISO to take up consulting as president of Rakon Energy. According to his LinkedIn profile, he will provide “wholesale energy market expertise to distribution system experts focusing on energy storage and distributed energy resources.”
Jacob Corvidae has been promoted to principal at Rocky Mountain Institute. He wins hands-down for this week's best LinkedIn profile pic.
Please send clean energy jobs moves to tips@greentechmedia.
enertech search partners
01.14.21 Energy
Massachusetts Gov. Vetoes Bill Calling for Net-Zero Emissions by Midcentury
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Infectious Diseases Chevron Right
Coronavirus Chevron Right
Pink Reveals Positive Coronavirus Test After She and Her Son Started Showing Symptoms 2 Weeks Ago
"This illness is serious and real," the singer told her fans.
By Ashley Boucher
Credit: pink/instagram
Pink is begging her fans to stay home and protect themselves after she tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the singer revealed on Instagram Friday.
The “Raise Your Glass” singer, 40, said that she and her 3-year-old son Jameson were showing symptoms of the contagious respiratory virus, but she was recently re-tested and no longer has COVID-19. She did not say if Jameson ever tested positive.
RELATED: Pink Responds to 'Disgusting' Trolls Criticizing Photo of Son Without Diaper
“Two weeks ago my three-year old son, Jameson, and I are were showing symptoms of COVID-19. Fortunately, our primary care physician had access to tests and I tested positive,” Pink wrote on Instagram Friday alongside a photo of herself and Jameson in a pumpkin patch.
“My family was already sheltering at home and we continued to do so for the last two weeks following the instruction of our doctor. Just a few days ago we were re-tested and are now thankfully negative,” she wrote.
The “So What” singer took note of her privilege in being able to receive a test.
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“It is an absolute travesty and failure of our government to not make testing more widely accessible,” she continued. “This illness is serious and real. People need to know that the illness affects the young and old, healthy and unhealthy, rich and poor, and we must make testing free and more widely accessible to protect our children, our families, our friends and our communities.”
Now that she is once again healthy, Pink is doing her part to help those on the front lines of the public health crisis.
“In an effort to support the healthcare professionals who are battling on the frontlines every day, I am donating $500,000 to the Temple University Hospital Emergency Fund in Philadelphia in honor of my mother, Judy Moore, who worked there for 18 years in the Cardiomyopathy and Heart Transplant Center,” she continued in her post.
RELATED: Nurse Quits Her Job in an ICU Filled With Coronavirus Patients Because She Wasn’t Given Proper PPE
| Credit: Amy Sussman/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank/Getty
RELATED: 14 Celebrities Giving Back for Coronavirus Relief
“Additionally, I am donating $500,000 to the City of Los Angeles Mayor’s Emergency COVID-19 Crisis Fund,” she added. “THANK YOU to all of our healthcare professionals and everyone in the world who are working so hard to protect our loved ones. You are our heroes!”
The musician concluded by urging her followers to follow stay-at-home orders and social distancing guidelines, writing, “these next two weeks are crucial: please stay home. Please. Stay. Home.❤️”
Nationwide, there are at least 272,502 confirmed cases of COVID-19 — 12,066 of those are in California, a state that has at least 268 deaths related to the virus.
The information in this story is accurate as of press time. However, as the situation surrounding COVID-19 continues to evolve, it's possible that some data have changed since publication. While Health is trying to keep our stories as up-to-date as possible, we also encourage readers to stay informed on news and recommendations for their own communities by using the CDC, WHO, and their local public health department as resources.
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Tag: Moon
Scientists Struggle To Find Out Why The Earth Has Been Spinning Faster Than Ever
We should all be very thankful for the simple act of spinning that our precious Earth goes through every single day and night. But the spinning itself happens at a higher rate than expected, baffling the minds of scientist. Phys.org brings…
January 8, 2021 ·by Anna Daniels· 0
Top Astronomical Events for Stargazers in 2021
2021 is finally here, and it will bring several outstanding cosmic events that will delight our eyes. For most people, 2020 wasn’t exactly the kind of year that they would take on a desolate island, and it’s time to consider…
NASA’s “Let’s Go to the Moon’ Trailer Reveals The Space Agency’s Majestic Plans for 2021
2021 will be a great year for astronomy, and it cannot be otherwise considering the unabated human need for discovering reality beyond our own planet. Understanding our place in the Universe is practically mandatory, and NASA has some majestic plans…
China Successfully Lands Probe on The Moon
Astronomers discovered more than 4,000 exoplanets until now, and they are located far beyond the boundaries of our Solar System. Science has made tremendous progress in understanding how our Sun and the Universe, in general, are working. Even so, the…
December 1, 2020 ·by Anna Daniels· 0
The Moon Was Crucial For Earth’s Ability To Keep Its Atmosphere
The Moon used to be Earth’s best friend, and in this article, we’ll detail the reasons. Just in case you didn’t know, four and a half billion years ago, Earth’s surface was a complete mess. Before the emergence of life,…
October 16, 2020 ·by Rada Mateescu· 0
The Moon Poses An Unexpected Problem For Astronauts
It’s already a known fact that space travel is not at all risk-free. On the other hand, experts are just starting to learn how harsh the universe can be. It’s been revealed by the Extreme Tech online publication that a…
September 30, 2020 ·by Rada Mateescu· 0
Self-replicating Chernobyl Fungi as a Shield Against Radiation
Several projects and designs for space settlements have been made over the last years, but there are plenty of objections to colonization. A major concern regarding interplanetary travel is radiation exposure. On Earth, people are protected against radiation. Its magnetic field…
July 27, 2020 ·by Daiana Boca· 0
Nuclear Power Plants Will be Built on the Moon and Mars
Nuclear Power Plants will be built on the Moon and Mars Scientists have been discussing a hypothetical colonization of Mars and the moon that could actually be possible someday, perhaps in the next 10 years. The U.S. Department of Energy…
Incredible Celestial Sight on July 19: Crescent Moon and Five Planets Visible at the Same Time
There is that time of the year when skywatchers can look forward to seeing an incredible celestial sight. That time has come! For a short period before dawn on July 19, Sunday, sharp-eyed skywatchers with a clear view of the…
China Plans to Put Man on the Moon
China is making progress in its plans to send humans on the Moon as their new spaceship re-enters Earth’s atmosphere and lands successfully on Friday. On Tuesday, a spaceship called Long March 5B was launched. This has now descended with…
May 11, 2020 ·by Jeffrey Olmsted· 0
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Home The Reading Room Private equity a favoured investment route to African growth
Private equity a favoured investment route to African growth
Great investment opportunities in Africa are more likely to be found in the less common private equity asset class.
That’s the view of Pieter de Wet, head of research at Novare Equity Partners: “Contrary to the opinion that investment opportunities line the roads in Africa, it can be difficult to get adequate exposure for investors to the real growth potential.”
He says the struggle to find sufficient listed vehicles to invest in is made more competitive by South African institutional investors looking to utilise the 5% allocation to Africa permitted by regulation.
De Wet says the private equity asset class offers a range of investment opportunities that are designed to capture growth in different underlying economic sectors. Private equity funds generally invest in equity securities and the debt of operating companies that are not listed on a publicly traded stock exchange.
Novare Equity Partners is a private equity fund manager focused on retail and commercial property development in sub-Saharan Africa. Its investors are mostly institutional, particularly pension funds that prefer to adopt the longer term investment horizons required with the private equity asset class.
De Wet says Novare’s real estate developments are intended to capitalise on growing demand from middle income consumers who have improving spending power but who are under-serviced.
“The rise in urbanisation means that African cities are growing at tremendous rates. However, we are also dealing with a continent with extremely bad infrastructure. While we tend to look at cities more than countries, our first fund was fully allocated to Nigeria. We also see a lot of potential in Mozambique.”
Novare equity Partners launched its first fund, the $81 million Novare Africa Property Fund I, in July 2010. The fund’s first investment was in the successful Novare Apo mall (previously Grand Towers Abuja Mall) in Nigeria, which opened in June 2012 with Shoprite as the anchor tenant – alongside prominent brands like KFC, Mr Price, MTN, LG, Adidas and Samsung.
The Novare Africa Property Fund II had its first close at end June 2014 and has since attracted additional commitments to reach the desired target of $400 million by the end of this year.
Both of Novare’s property funds adopt a high-return target with internal rates of return in excess of 25%. Domiciled in Mauritius, they are listed on the Mauritian Stock Exchange.
De Wet said investors should be cautious about the funds they invest in as not all managers are suitably equipped and experienced to deal with Africa’s difficult operating environment.
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Upcoming Houston Food Events: Torchy's Tacos Gets Fancy Schmancy and Nick Fine Teaches...
A Transplant Tries Van Loc
| Menus |
Mike Morris | December 15, 2009 | 3:15pm
Being new to Houston, we'd only passed Van Loc Restaurant's green neon sign at 3010 Milam in Midtown a few times. Each time the name evoked medieval images -- armor, unruly beards, pelts hanging from rafters. What would the food be in such a place? Stews, we'd guess, made with the animals to whom the pelts had once belonged.
Well, we discovered Van Loc was not a mead hall, but home to a lengthy list of Vietnamese and Chinese dishes (182 to be exact, not counting desserts, drinks and booze).
We started with No. 1, the shrimp and pork spring rolls rolled in rice paper. The ingredients seemed fresh enough, and any small-town Midwestern kid is always going to be transfixed by that sticky, translucent wonder of nature that is rice paper. But the real joy here was the peanut sauce. We used the rolls as a delivery vehicle for the hoisin-based sauce, and ended the meal pouring spoonfuls of it on rice (we would've eaten it straight if we hadn't risked a public rebuke). A companion labeled the stuff "Vietnamese Nutella," which fit. When asked its ingredients, our waitress grinned and said it's made in secret each morning before she and the other staff arrive. She added that she'd tried (unsuccessfully) to replicate it at home many times.
The entrees were across the board but generally positive. Ordering, we deferred to the waitress, who suggested No. 116, a steak dish. We were skeptical, honestly, given the underwhelming description ("filet mignon chunk steak with lettuce and tomato"). But when it arrived, the meat was more than satisfying. It was so good, we weren't bothered by the lack of sides (though a companion kept nabbing the roasted full garlic cloves and broth-soggy lettuce). Oily but not broth-soaked, tender but crispy at the edges (and not in a charcoal-heavy way), it was impressive.
No. 168, the crispy egg noodles with vegetables, was huge but average. The $5.95 pho was a great value and sported a flavorful broth -- onions, cilantro, perhaps cinnamon. But its owner regretted ordering the beef medium-rare (rather than rare). The meat added to the broth but fell flat solo. The broth-as-star trend continued with No. 142, the seafood clay pot. The auburn-tinted sauce (which arrived at the table bubbly and enticing, cauldron-style) held all the earthy, buttery, fishy flavors.
We all agreed it's worth another visit, mead or no mead.
Openings and Closings: Craft Burger Katy, Bagel Shop Bakery...
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On the 21st of March the Governor-General of New Zealand, Lt Gen Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae, hosted the Nationhood to Neighbourhood Garden Party in support of Race Relations Day.
It was an exciting day full of noise, colour, and excitement and featured performances and representatives from many ethnic communities around New Zealand.
We've gathered some of our favourite photos from the day in the gallery below. We hope you enjoy them!
Watch Race Relations Commissioner Susan Devoy's 'Race Relations Day' interview on 'The Nation' below.
Dame Susan Devoy interviewed on 'The Nation'.
Watch Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy's 'Race Relations Day' interview with Lisa Owens on 'The Nation'.
Governor-General Sir Jerry Mateparae
The Commission works for a free, fair, safe and just New Zealand, where diversity is valued and human dignity and rights are respected.
Connect with the Commission
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Hugg-A-Planet: The World's Original Soft Toy ®
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HAP Press
PARENTS' CHOICE ANNOUNCES "BEST 25 OF 25 YEARS" TO MARK A QUARTER CENTURY AS THE NATION’S PREMIER, INDEPENDENT REVIEWER OF CHILDREN’S MEDIA
Best Books and Toys Culled from Thousands of Award Winners
BALTIMORE, MARYLAND -- Parents' Choice Foundation announced today five lists, each 25 strong, of the best books, toys, audio products, and software created during its quarter century as the nation’s premier nonprofit guide to quality children’s media. The stellar products on these lists -- Best 25 of 25 Years -- were chosen by a select committee of parents, librarians, critics and educators from the organization’s extensive archives of past Parents’ Choice Award winners. These are, indeed, the very finest contributions to the education and entertainment of children since Parents’ Choice was founded in 1978.
Parents’ Choice Award winners must challenge, inspire, and entertain, igniting imagination, stimulating creativity, and imparting a body of knowledge, all the while being fun. The Best 25 of 25 Years do that and more. According to Parents’ Choice President Claire Green, "You won’t find the items on these lists at the back of the closet, or collecting dust in the basement. They captivate today just as they did when we first reviewed them. The appeal of these products has endured changing fads and passing fancies. They strike a wonderful balance between learning and play."
There are two Best 25 Books lists: an infants-through-9-years list and a 10-years-and-above list. My Very First Mother Goose, by Iona Opie and illustrated by Rosemary Wells, a treasure of classic nursery rhymes, as well as many unfamiliar to American ears; The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales, illustrated by Leo Dillon and Diane Dillon and retold by Virginia Hamilton, animal tales, tall tales, supernatural tales, and "slave tales of freedom"; William Steig’s Doctor DeSoto, the story of wit and pluck winning out over knavery; and Ian Falconer’s charming account of a charismatic little pig named Olivia, all appear on the Best 25 book list for the youngest readers/listeners. Francesca Block’s Weetzie Bat, the story of a high school girl with a bleached-white flattop and pink Harlequin sunglasses; Catherine Called Birdy by Karen Cushman, the diary entries of a willful and winning young girl in 1290 England; The Kestrel by Lloyd Alexander, about Mickle, Queen August of Westmark, and her love, Theo, and the brutalizing aspects of war; and The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay are among the standouts on the 10-and-over list.
The Best 25 Toys roster includes such favorites as Rubik’s Cube; Hugg-a-Planet, a colorful stuffed globe; and Storybook Village, chunky wood blocks with cutouts that can be configured into a village or an entire fantasy world; Boomwhackers, eight perfectly-tuned plastic percussion tubes; Can You Dig It Sand Tools, the ultimate toolkit for the sand sculptor in your life; and SET, a game of logic, perception, concentration and speed.
The foundation’s Best 25 Audio category includes Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince, a book-on-tape that teaches that the important things in life can only be seen with the heart; In My Hometown, a delightful collection of songs by folk artist Tom Chapin; and Latin Lullaby, a collection of hear-melting, spirit-soothing cradle songs.
The Best 25 Software list includes Nancy Drew: Stayed Tuned for Danger, an interactive literary-mystery series; Bumble Games, games that introduce basic numbering and graph-plotting skills as the player is guided by an imaginary creature; and Mindrover: The Europa Project, a problem-solving game in which the player builds a robot.
For a complete roster of every 25 Best of 25 Years product, visit the foundation’s Web site: www.parentschoice.org . Everything on these lists is currently available.
Parents' Choice Foundation is the nation’s oldest nonprofit service organization devoted to advancing parents' informed participation in their children's learning. Parents’ Choice offers consumers the information they need to help ensure that learning doesn’t stop when schools and daycare are over for the day. Employing a national network of educators, librarians, pediatricians, journalists, critics, musicians, celebrities, and children, Parents' Choice evaluates the entire scope of children's media, and every year recognizes the very best with its coveted Parents' Choice Awards.
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93.5 RED FM bats a sixer with SunRisers Hyderabad this VIVO IPL 2018
05 Apr, 2018 - 12:48 PM IST | By indiantelevision.com Team
MUMBAI: With the onset of IPL’s 11th season, 93.5 RED FM, one of the leading private radio network announced its association with SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) for the sixth consecutive year. Cricket being a religion in India and with the onset of the biggest cricketing extravaganza, RED FM as principle sponsors to SRH aims to bring fans closer to the orange army with exciting initiatives giving the best cricketing experiences to its fans. RED FM will not only be heard on-air but also be seen on field celebrating the spirit of the sport with the SRH team. The station plans to initiate a unique & engaging 360-degree experience around the association.
As a part of this association RED FM, will create contests, meet & greets, give away tickets to the SRH matches and do exciting content for both radio and digital with the SRH team. RED FM listeners can also catch interesting team footage and behind the scene action on the RED FM app as well as also on all the RED FM social handles.
Speaking about the standing association announcement, RED FM, COO, Nisha Narayanan said, “At RED FM, sports is an important strategic pillar and it is our constant endeavour to associate with leading sporting events and players. We are extremely excited to associate SunRisers Hyderabad for the sixth time in a row. We are infact the only media brand across the country to be on the jersey of any IPL team and infact we have the most premium jersey position. i.e. the Front Chest. Cricket is no doubt a religion in India and the team’s motto ‘Rise Up To Every Challenge’ goes with our brand’s persona. On behalf of RED’s entire family, we wish SunRisers Hyderabad a scintillating season ahead.”
Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s most prestigious Twenty20 tournament, is back again with its 11th edition. The IPL 2018 will begin on April 7, 2018, at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. A total of 60 matches will be played at nine venues across 51 days.
93.5 RED FMSunrisers HyderabadVIVO IPL 2018Nisha Narayanan
Uday Shankar unites with Lupa Systems’ James Murdoch for tech & media venture
NEW DELHI: Former BARC India CEO Partho Dasgupta has been admitted to JJ Hospital after his sugar level fell extremely low. He is in the ICU now. The development comes after the Mumbai police released over 500 pages of WhatsApp messages purportedly between Dasgupta and Republic TV editor-in-chief...
MUMBAI: Sony Sab has replaced Zee TV to grab the third spot on pay platform in week one (Saturday 2 January 2021 to Friday 8 January 2021) of Broadcast Audience Research Council of India (BARC) data. &TV, for the third consecutive week, has held on to tenth place on pay platform. Pay Platform
MUMBAI: The Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) of India has released its data for top advertisers and brands for the period between 2 January and 8 January 2021. The data reflects the top 10 advertisers and brands across genres on India’s television, 2+ Individuals, NCCS. All demonstrating...
Top 20 advertisers contributed to 51% ad volumes in 2020: BARC
NEW DELHI: Broadcast Audience Research Council has recently released data that states that the top 20 advertisers of the country contributed to 51 per cent of the ad volumes in 2020. Last year, the top 20 advertisers increased the volume of their ads by 10 per cent over 2019. The top 20 advertisers...
Review ongoing, BARC news ratings suspension not lifted
NEW DELHI: It has already been three months since the Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) announced a 12-week suspension of TRP numbers for TV news channels, in the wake of the alleged TRP scam unearthed by the Mumbai police. However, the council did not release weekly data this Thursday as...
TRP scam: Mumbai police objects to ED’s status report on Republic TV
NEW DELHI: The Mumbai police counsel in the Republic TV channel vs Mumbai police case, related to alleged rigging of TRP by the former, showed strong objection to the enforcement directorate (ED) appearing in the court. Appearing on behalf of the police department, senior advocate Kapil Sibal...
Television TV Channels News Broadcasting
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Home » Maintaining Environmental Compliance During the Coronavirus Pandemic
Maintaining Environmental Compliance During the Coronavirus Pandemic
By J. Tom Boer, Samuel L. Brown, Todd S. Mikolop & Alexandra Hamilton on March 27, 2020
Posted in Enforcement, Natural Resources, Policy, Waste
As the country responds and adapts to unprecedented change as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies are, understandably, attempting to sort out what these shifts mean for operations now and in the near future. One operational aspect that companies must address is management of environmental compliance programs and responsibilities. Although it can be challenging to maintain compliance with environmental requirements during periods of uncertain or disrupted operations, doing so remains necessary as environmental regulatory requirements remain in force, despite disruptions to government functions. The current operational and regulatory climate is fluid and changing daily (at least), making it incumbent upon companies to remain vigilant in monitoring for updates and understanding the status of rules and requirements at any given moment. The keys to successfully navigating compliance challenges during the pandemic are preparedness, situational awareness, and early and frequent communication with regulatory agencies as appropriate, with the assistance of counsel as needed.
The COVID-19 pandemic may result in disruptions to environmental compliance obligations due to shelter-in-place orders, employee sickness, supply chain failures and decreased environmental testing capacity at laboratories. Now is the time to take stock of environmental risks, evaluate environmental compliance requirements and anticipate potential issues stemming from changes to operations and your company’s workforce. Environmental requirements may be imposed by permits, consent decrees, regulatory orders or a combination thereof. In order to plan for short- and long-term impact to operations while still remaining in compliance, you need a clear understanding of what requirements need to be addressed and how to meet those.
With workers potentially unable to report to physical offices and industrial sites, companies need to identify what personnel are typically responsible for performing compliance tasks and assess alternatives to carry out environmental compliance duties under the current circumstances. Provided that they are not ill, some of these personnel may be considered essential employees, particularly in certain critical industries, able to continue reporting to work even under the strict stay-at-home orders in place in a growing number of states. Others, however, may be deemed nonessential or contract workers whose ability to continue performing such tasks is less clear. Still others may be consultants or other companies that you rely on for particular environmental services, but over which you have no ability to control their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Even if the workers that perform particular compliance duties under normal conditions are available to continue doing so now, enacting a contingency plan for who will perform those functions should they fall ill or otherwise become unavailable is prudent under the circumstances.
Environmental compliance requirements take a variety of forms, including substantive conditions like demonstrating compliance with standards as well as administrative obligations, such as recordkeeping and reporting. In the face of constraints on available employees, companies may need to contemplate how to prioritize responsibilities to ensure the most critical tasks are completed. Companies facing these decisions should consult with counsel to decide how to allocate employees and prioritize among sampling and monitoring, recordkeeping and reporting requirements.
Communication is the other linchpin to navigating environmental compliance successfully. Regulatory agencies, like companies, are adapting to the rapidly evolving climate. This means that Agency personnel are likewise dealing with their own challenges, both within agency offices and at home. Agencies across federal, state, and local levels are handling the response to the pandemic differently. For example, at the federal level:
The Office of Management and Budget instructed agencies on March 17, 2020, to adjust operations and services to minimize face-to-face interactions, while allowing for exceptions when continued operations and services are necessary to protect public health and safety. Each individual agency is to “execute this realignment of non-mission-critical activities, while also ensuring that their agencies continue to serve the American people and operate in the most efficient manner possible to deal aggressively and promptly with the current situation.”
On March 20, 2020, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Office of Pipeline Safety issued a Noticeto gas and hazardous liquid pipeline, underground natural gas storage and liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility operators, as well as PHMSA state partners, explaining that it will stay enforcement of certain PHMSA pipeline safety requirements in light of the President’s March 13, 2020, Declaration of National Emergency relating to COVID-19.
On March 26, 2020, the US Environmental Protection Agency issued a memo providing guidance to regulated industry regarding COVID-19 Implications for EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance Assurance Program.
State agencies have responded with a variety approaches. For example, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the state Railroad Commission, which oversees oil and gas, have announced they’re prepared to waive certain requirements for companies “on a case by case basis.” Pennsylvania’s Public Utility Commission issued an emergency order allowing permitting and other procedural deadlines to be changed. We have detailed the quickly developing environmental regulatory landscape in California, one of the first states subject to a far-reaching stay-at-home directive, in a separate post.
Even if agencies may favorably exercise their enforcement discretion in response to the pandemic, regulated industry still faces risk from private parties pursuing citizen suit claims under various federal and state laws.
To mitigate risk associated with environmental compliance and enforcement issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, the key to protecting your company’s interests often lies in proactive communication with your regulators. Compliance requirements, rather spelled out in regulations or permits, may specify mechanisms for notifying regulatory agencies of compliance difficulties. Depending on circumstance, this communication may be verbal or written, and may cover a range of compliance issues. For instance, is your company continuing to run environmental compliance programs at its facilities on schedule or are they delayed? What relief, if any, is available in the event that your company is unable to meet its compliance obligations due to circumstances caused by the pandemic? Is your company aligned with regulatory agencies on the path forward for compliance obligations under these extraordinary circumstances?
Companies should consult with counsel, before a compliance problem arises, to anticipate issues and identify an efficient and effective path forward to minimize enforcement risk and ensure continuity of operations. Counsel can also evaluate whether potential defenses, like force majeure clauses or claims of “impossibility” under state law or common law doctrines, may be available should the need exist. Companies should be aware, however, that force majeure or act of God defenses are unlikely to be available for circumstances that can be reasonably anticipated and for which there is time to plan a reasonable response. At this point, companies have notice of the COVID-19 pandemic and it is therefore prudent to put systems into place to address reasonably anticipatable disruptions to compliance programs. As with most issues, any approach will need to be tailored to your individual circumstances, meaning that companies should contact counsel now to start assessing your situation.
Despite disruptions and resulting impacts to operations during the COVID-19 pandemic, environmental regulatory requirements remain in place. Examples of environmental enforcement resulting with noncompliance arising during prior crises offer cautionary guidance to companies. For instance, following Hurricane Harvey in 2017, explosions and fires at a chemical plant in hard-hit Houston appeared to have occurred due to unexpected flooding of a magnitude not seen in the recent past. Nonetheless, a criminal indictment was pursued as a result of the incident.
Continued compliance with environmental regulatory obligations remains critical. Moreover, many environmental enforcement tasks can and will continue as the regulators work from home. To mitigate the risk of environmental enforcement arising from disruptions due to the pandemic, companies should keep a watchful eye on the ever-changing conditions and adapt accordingly. Maintaining an open-line of communication with regulators can ensure that companies are operating consistent with expectations under the circumstances and can reduce the risk of enforcement. As always, consulting with outside counsel can assist in communications with regulators and developing contingency plans to mitigate risk of non-compliance or reduce exposure to potential enforcement in the event of disruption.
Tags: Coronavirus/COVID-19, Environmental Compliance, Environmental Enforcement, Office of Management and Budget, OMB, PHMSA, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
EPA Sets Termination Date for Temporary Enforcement Policy
EPA Continues Temporary COVID-19 Policies Despite Senators’, States’, Citizens Groups’ Scrutiny
Misconceptions About EPA's Temporary Enforcement Discretion Policy for COVID-19
Deciphering EPA's Temporary Enforcement Discretion Policy for COVID-19
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The Spotlight Shines On Hyundai As The Exclusive Automotive Sponsor Of The 83rd Academy Awards
2011.02.23 00:00:00 No. 1196
This Marks Hyundai’s Third Consecutive Year as the Exclusive Automotive Sponsor
Hyundai Will Air a Total of Nine Ads During Oscar Coverage
Jason Bateman Joins Hyundai’s Cast of Voiceover Talent
FOUNTAIN VALLEY, Calif. February 23, 2011 – Hyundai once again joins Hollywood’s biggest night as the exclusive automotive sponsor of the 83rd Academy Awards , broadcast on Sunday, February 27 on ABC. Nine Hyundai ads will air throughout the coverage – two pre-show and seven during the awards ceremony itself. In accordance with Academy rules, and to ensure that Hyundai’s long-time “voice” gets to enjoy the spotlight for his second consecutive Oscar nomination, Hyundai cast a guest star for a portion of the evening. Jason Bateman provides the voiceover for four ads surrounding the “Best Actor” award presentation.
Hyundai’s lineup includes spots for Sonata , Sonata Turbo , Sonata Hybrid , Elantra , Genesis and Equus . The two red carpet ads include “Good Things Come in Threes” featuring Sonata’s three distinct powertrains, and “Comfy Home” featuring the luxurious Equus flagship sedan. In-show spots include “Family,” featuring Sonata; “Anachronistic City” featuring Sonata Hybrid; “Drawing Board,” “Childhood,” and “Deprogramming” all featuring Elantra; “Greatest Luxury,” featuring Genesis; and “iPad” highlighting Equus’ unique application of an iPad owner’s manual. Bateman lends his voice to “Drawing Board,” “Greatest Luxury,” “Anachronistic City,” and “iPad.” Hyundai’s campaign also includes several animated billboards throughout the show. “Drawing Board” and “Greatest Luxury” are both making their debuts during the show.
“Hollywood’s biggest night is a pillar of our ‘Big Voices in Big Places’ strategy, positioning Hyundai in the most-watched, high-profile advertising venues,” said John Krafcik, president and CEO, Hyundai Motor America. “With the compelling TV ratings combined with the glamour of the event and its attendees, it’s an ideal venue to show off the stars of our vehicle lineup.”
All of Hyundai’s Academy Awards commercials feature Hyundai’s 2011 “New Thinking. New Possibilities.” brand vision. Innocean Worldwide Americas, Hyundai’s agency of record, is responsible for all creative. To view Hyundai’s Super Bowl ads, please visit, www.hyundainews.com/Media_Kits/Video_Clips/ .
HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA
Hyundai Motor America, headquartered in Fountain Valley, Calif., is a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Co. of Korea. Hyundai vehicles are distributed throughout the United States by Hyundai Motor America and are sold and serviced through more than 800 dealerships nationwide. All Hyundai vehicles sold in the U.S. are covered by the Hyundai Assurance program, which includes the 5-year/60,000-mile fully transferable new vehicle warranty, Hyundai’s 10-year/100,000-mile powertrain warranty and 5-years of complimentary Roadside Assistance.
Journalists are invited to visit our news media web site: www.hyundainews.com and follow us on Twitter: @Hyundai.com
Hyundai Hope On Wheels Completes Successful Fifth Annual National September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month Campaign
Hyundai Unveils 20-Second Advertisement… On A Billboard!
Setting up a Library for Hyundai Family Members
HMC Engages in Various Social Activities to Celebrate the Family Month
Academy Awards Oscar Coverage Ads Advertisement Advertising Good things come in threes Comfy home Family Anachronistic city Drawing Board Childhood Deprogramming Greatest luxury iPad
[HMC] Technology Research Center’s First Socially Responsible Corporation Launches H&S Duriban, Inc.
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Il mio banditore Registrati Sign in
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Cataloghi d'asta Husseys Plant & Machinery Online Auction of Con...
In Online Auction of Contractors Plant, HGVs Farm...
Unfortunately, your registration has been declined by the auctioneer. You can contact the auctioneer on 01392 425481 for more information.
You are the current highest bidder! To be sure to win, come back on 29 ott 2020 12:10 GMT Date Format as the lot closes or increase your max bid.
Lotto prec.: 875
Prossimo lotto: 877
Data dell'asta:
05 ott 2020 10:00 BST
See Item Description
Banditore:
Husseys Plant & Machinery
Guarda tutte le aste
Item Location: Husseys, Exeter, Devon, EX4 2HH
Note: Buyers Premium is 10.00% capped at £300.00 per lot.
There is also a 2.00% internet surcharge.
All charges plus VAT. All hammer prices plus VAT unless stated otherwise.
Postage/Shipping NOT Available. All lots 'Sold As Seen'.
All payments to be settled in full by 4pm Friday 30th October.
Viewing strictly by appointment only. Collection from Friday 30th October strictly by appointment only.
Please see husseys.co.uk for details
Online Auction of Contractors Plant, HGVs Farm & Groundcare Machinery. Bidding Closes 11.00am Thurs 29th October
Fine da
29 ott 2020 11:00 GMT Date Format
Husseys DO NOT, REPEAT DO NOT organise shipping and/or packing facilities. Customers are more than welcome to organise a courier of their choice for collection of goods. Please ensure that couriers have all relevant information to hand upon collection (Invoice Number/Paddle Number etc) or they will be SENT AWAY EMPTY HANDED. If you wish items to be put on a pallet we will require plenty of notice and there will be a charge of £20 per pallet to be paid in advance.
Online Auction of Contractors Plant, HGVs Farm & Groundcare Machinery.
Thurs 29th October: Plant, Machinery & HGV bidding closes from 11.00am. Small Tools & Equipment followed by Large Plant, Machinery, HGV's & Groundcare Items.
Plant & Machinery Auction: Collection from Friday 30th October by strict appointment only - Please contact 01392 425 481 to arrange
VERY IMPORTANT!!!!
**** All Lots SOLD AS SEEN – No Warranties Whatsoever ****
No Complaints Regarding Faulty Or Incomplete Items Will Be Entertained.
All measurements supplied are provided as a guide only and are not to be relied upon.
Bidders are strongly advised to view the lots and satisfy themselves as to the lot's dimensions and condition.
Photographs & videos are provided for reference only. They are not to be taken as a substitute for viewing the items in person.
No complaints regarding inaccurate measurements will be entertained.
Any complaints regarding misdescriptions must be lodged formally with the auctioneer, in writing, no later than 4pm on the Tuesday following the auction.
No complaints regarding misdescriptions after this time will be entertained.
No V5's or Keys available for vehicles/plant unless stated otherwise.
All items subject to VAT unless stated otherwise.
Please DO NOT BID If You Do Not Accept These Conditions.
You Will Be Required To Accept Our Terms & Conditions Before Bidding.
*** Prior Viewing Is Very Strongly Advised. ***
Purchasers Decline This Opportunity At Their Own Risk.
This Auction Sale Is Governed By Our Sale Conditions.
All items subject to VAT unless stated otherwise
Items on view at the following location unless stated otherwise:
Husseys Auction Centre, Tedburn Road, Whitestone, Exeter, EX4 2HH
Other items may be on view at other locations. Lots 2001-3999 are based offsite. Please see lot description for details.
Viewing Times:
Plant: Viewing from Monday 26th October by strict appointment only - Please contact 01392 425481 to arrange
Bidding closes from 1100hrs Thursday 29th October
Thurs 24th: Plant Auction (Lots 1 - 1999 and 3801 onwards).
Buyers Premium: 12% (10% plus VAT)
There is a maximum cap on the buyers premium of £360.00 per lot (£300.00 plus VAT) per lot.
There is also an internet surcharge of 2.4% (2% plus vat) of the hammer price on top of the above.
VAT: Please be aware that some lots (usually lots not subject to VAT) are sold as being part of the 'Auctioneers Margin Scheme'.
In this circumstance it should be noted that the VAT included within the Premium and Online Fee is not recoverable as input tax.
Exports: Please see 'VAT Exports' in sale conditions.
Plant & Machinery: All payments to be settled in full by 4pm Friday 30th October
Please ring 01392 425481 to arrange/make payment or bank transfer straight into our account.
All Payments to be made to Husseys. No payment facilities available through ibidder/bidspotter.
BACS Details: HSBC, Sort 402030. Account 71578480
IBAN: GB76HBUK40203071578480
BIC: HBUKGB4104F
Payment can be made by Cash (to a maximum of £9,000) (subject to a 1.2% (1% plus VAT) surcharge on the total bill amount), Debit Card (no extra fee) or by bank transfer to the Auctioneers’ client account as above
Please Note: we do not accept credit cards for payment although they may be used for registration/identification purposes only.
Should payment not be received for any lot by the stated payment deadline, the auctioneer reserves the right to withdraw from the sale of that lot. ibidder will be informed of any purchasers who default on their purchases and banned from future auctions with Husseys.
Plant: Items may be collected from Friday 30th October strictly by appointment only. Ring 01392 425481 to arrange appointment. Husseys Auction Centre, EX4 2HH Unless stated otherwise.
Loading: No loading facilities available after 1630 hrs any day.
Collection strictly by arrangement with the auctioneers.
Large Items: Please ensure you have checked that we are able to load/forklift large items. If we can't, it is the buyer's responsibility to arrange loading (eg crane hire) at their own expense. Items sold offsite: Please check loading arrangements in advance.
(Collection from third party sites by arrangement with the vendors only.)
Please note: Husseys have one 3 ton forklift on site & there is only one forklift driver guaranteed to be here. There is NOT a loading ramp on site. Please ensure you send appropriate transport for your purchases (e.g don't send a curtain sider for a 5 ton generator) & if the forklift is required please ensure that what needs lifting is within lifting capacity. The forklift driver values his safety & will not use multiple forklifts on any one item & the firm's staff will not partake of anything they feel is dangerous or unreasonable. The forklift will be operated by Husseys staff ONLY (not you or your lorry driver) & will endeavour to load you safely & efficiently.
Delivery of any items is NOT included or offered.
Purchasers may arrange their own courier service if they wish and the auctioneers will cooperate as much as is reasonable with this.
Couriers must possess documentary evidence of the items being collected (ie receipted invoice).
Couriers who do not have a clue what they are collecting, where it is going, or who it is for will be sent away empty handed.
Palleting Items: If requested we can palletise items for collection.
Please note that there is a £20.00 charge per pallet for this service.
Please do not bid if you are unwilling or unable to abide by the above.
UNCOLLECTED ITEMS:
Please Note: Items, even if paid for, that remain uncollected 21 days after the auction closes will be considered abandoned. Husseys will dispose of such items in an appropriate manner. If charges in disposal are incurred Husseys will hold the buyer responsible for these charges and will take all necessary steps to recover them.
Bidding Approval:
If you are not automatically approved to bid once you have completed the registration process it may be due to one of the following:
Card Not Approved. Please ensure that you enter valid card details. If you do not you will not be able to bid
Phone Numbers: Please ensure you validate your phone number. If you do not you will not be able to bid.
Email address: Please ensure you validate your email. If you do not you will not be able to bid.
Banned elsewhere? If banned by another auctioneer you will not be able to bid.
LOTTING STRUCTURE:
Thurs 11.00am:
Lots 1 to 1199: Small Tools & Equipment - Ends From 24/09/20 11.00am, 5 sec. stagger
Lots 1201 to 1220: HGV's & Large Commercials - Ends From 24/09/20 12.00pm approx, 30 sec. stagger
Lots 1251 to 1999: Large Plant & Machinery - Ends From 24/09/20 12.15pm approx, 5 sec. stagger
Lots 2001 to 2999: Lots sold offsite - Ends From 24/09/20 1.00pm approx, 30 sec. stagger
RMP - Runs, Makes Power
MUD - Mast goes Up & Down
RDD - Runs, Drives, Digs
RDL - Runs, Drives, Lifts
WHEN IS THE AUCTION?
Thursday 29th October. Online bidding closes from: 11.00 am
WHERE IS THE AUCTION?
Plant: Husseys Auction Centre, Brookside Units, Whitestone, Exeter, EX4 2HH
WHEN IS VIEWING?
You can view the lots onsite by appointment only 01392 425481.
HOW DO I BID ONLINE?
Register with ibidder.com or Bidspotter.co.uk.
You will have to pay Husseys directly for items purchased online. ibidder/bidspotter will not charge your card as this is just used for identification purposes.
WHEN CAN I COLLECT?
Collection by appointment only. Please call 01392 425481 to arrange.
BUYERS GENERAL CONDITIONS OF SALE
1. All lots—which term shall include all forms of personal property whatsoever and property fitted or affixed to land—are tendered for sale subject to these Conditions, no variation of which shall be valid unless made in writing and signed by a person duly authorised by the Auctioneer. In these Conditions "the Auctioneer" shall be the company or firm or person, or his or their servant or agent, who has agreed to auction any lot. By making a bid for any lot, the person making the bid warrants that he has read, makes his bid upon and agrees to be bound by these Conditions, and further warrants that he has due authority and capacity to make the bid and binds both himself and any employer or principal to honour any contract resulting therefrom. Any bid shall be deemed to be an offer by the buyer (a term used herein as including the bidder and any principal or employer of the bidder) to purchase any lot tendered upon these Conditions alone.
2. The Auctioneer tenders any lot for sale as agent for and on behalf of the person from or through whom instructions for sale have been received (the Seller) and not on the Auctioneer's own behalf. The sale of any lot shall be concluded and binding at the moment when the lot is knocked down. The highest bid will be accepted save in exceptional circumstances, such circumstances to be determined by the Auctioneer whose decision shall be unchallengeable.
3. The Auctioneer shall have the sole and exclusive right at the site of the auction to determine all matters whatsoever concerning the conduct and/or effect of any auction sale or purported sale and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing he shall be entitled to resolve disputes between bidders, to reject any bid, to withdraw, divide or consolidate any lot or lots and he will be entitled to bid on the Seller's behalf. He will further be entitled to require proof of identity and/or of authority from any bidder.
4. The buyer must forthwith identify himself and any principal or employer, together with appropriate means of identification, to the Auctioneer, his servants or agents and if required to do so must pay 25 per cent of the sale price forthwith by way of deposit. The total sale price, less any such sum, must be paid to the Auctioneer at his office or elsewhere as he may direct. Payment in full shall be deemed not to have occurred until any negotiable instrument has been honoured in full (or cash has been paid) such payment to be made within the time specified in the sale notes or in default of specification by 5 o'clock p.m. on the day of the auction or on the next complete working day (excluding Saturdays). Time of payment shall be of the essence. The buyer shall not be entitled to remove any lot from its position at the time of sale until the purchase price of that and any other lot purchased at the auction has been paid in full and in default of payment as aforesaid the Auctioneer shall have a lien upon all lots purchased by the buyer during the same auction and shall be entitled to rescind the sale in respect of any lot or lots for which full payment is not made in due time, forfeit any deposit paid in respect of them and resell the same without any right of compensation in the buyer. The Auctioneer shall also be entitled to charge interest upon any unpaid balance at the rate of 1 per cent above Base Rate from time to time and to charge for storage arising after the time for removal at the rate of 25 per cent per annum of the sale price until he elects to rescind the sale, if at all, which election he may make at any time after such non-payment.
5. The title to any lot shall remain in the Seller until the full sale price and any storage and interest charges have been paid to the Auctioneer, but the risk of damage to or loss of the lot by whatsoever cause and in whatsoever circumstances shall be transferred to the buyer upon the sale.
6. The Auctioneer warrants that he will only sell lots which he believes to be owned by the Seller or to which the Seller will be able to pass a good title but should it transpire that the Seller's title to any lot is defective or that the Seller cannot pass a good title to the buyer, the Auctioneer shall be under no obligation to the buyer, other than to use his best reasonable endeavours (short of litigation), to procure the transfer of a good title to the buyer and to assist the buyer in exercising any remedies that he may have against the Seller.
7. The buyer shall remove any lot for which he has paid in full plus other charges, if any, by the time for removal, which shall be either the time for payment or the time stated in any sale notes of the Auctioneer, whichever shall be the later, but provided that no lot shall be removed without the Auctioneer's express written consent while the Auction is continuing. The buyer shall be responsible for the removal of the articles and such removal must be carried out safely and lawfully. Flame cutting, the use of explosives or of any other potentially hazardous or inflammatory process shall not be permissible at the site without express written consent. The buyer agrees to insure against and to indemnify the Auctioneer and the Seller against any and all claims arising in respect of injury or damage to person or property, whether real or personal, caused by or in connection with the acts or omissions of the buyer, whether caused by himself, his servants or agents or his principals or employer.
Buyers must insure against these risks.
8. All conditions and warranties as to the condition, quality, description or fitness for any purpose whatsoever of any lot sold by the Auctioneer are hereby expressly excluded. Neither the Auctioneer nor the Seller will be bound by or liable for any representation of any kind whatsoever, whensoever or howsoever made. Neither the Auctioneer nor the Seller shall be liable for any loss or damage whether caused by negligence or otherwise of either or both or of their servants or agents and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing neither the Auctioneer nor the Seller shall be liable for any loss of profit, business or production or similar or other loss whether direct or indirect or consequential, however caused. In the circumstances any potential buyer should rely solely and exclusively upon his own inspection of any lot and should not treat statements made in sale particulars or before or during the auction by the Seller or Auctioneer either as representations or to be relied upon.
N.B. A sale by auction is not a consumer sale. Consumer Rights Act 2015
No vehicle is warranted or held out to be roadworthy and no lot is warranted or held out to be merchantable or safe for use or complying with statutory requirements for use, display or movement. The Auctioneer, his servants and agents have no authority to make representations.
9. The buyer hereby undertakes to ensure that any lot he purchases will be used moved or displayed whether at the site of the auction or elsewhere only when he has ensured that such use and/or movement and/or display is lawful and safe.
10. Should a buyer, by himself, his servants or agents cause damage in any way to the site of the auction or damage to or loss of any lot thereat, the Auctioneer shall be entitled to exercise a lien in respect of any and all lots purchased by the buyer until such damage or loss has been paid for in full, whether or not the lots or any of them have been paid for in full, such loss and damage to be assessed by the Auctioneer whose decision shall be final and unchallengeable. The Auctioneer's assessed sum shall be paid by the buyer upon receipt of invoice therefor and payment shall be made forthwith, time being of the essence.
11. If before title to any lot has passed to the buyer thereof, the buyer, being an individual, dies, enters into a composition or arrangement for the benefit of his creditors or has a Receiving Order in Bankruptcy made against him or, being a body corporate, has a Receiver or a Receiver and Manager appointed or goes into liquidation or enters into a composition or arrangement for the benefit of its creditors, then the contract for sale of such lot shall be automatically and without notice rescinded unless the Auctioneer elects otherwise within 2 working days of written notice of such an event. Upon rescission, any deposit paid by the buyer shall be forfeit and the Auctioneer shall be entitled to exercise the rights set out in Clause 4.
12. If a buyer is permitted to take possession of any lot before the full sale price has been paid, the Seller and/or Auctioneer shall be entitled to enter upon any premises of the buyer or under his control in order to repossess such lot.
13. If, before title passes to the buyer under these Conditions, the buyer nevertheless purports to resell or otherwise dispose of the lot or any interest therein, the buyer shall hold the proceeds of such sale or other disposition upon trust for the Auctioneer and the Seller jointly until title passes to the buyer under these Conditions, if at all, and in the meantime the buyer shall not deal with, charge or dispose of such proceeds except with the written consent of the Seller or of the Auctioneer.
14. These Conditions shall be construed in accordance with and governed by English law save in respect of sales in Scotland and Northern Ireland which shall be construed in accordance with and governed by Scottish and Northern Irish law respectively.
15. HEALTH AND SAFETY AT WORK ETC. ACT 1974
It is expressly brought to the Bidder's attention that, at the time of sale, any item of plant, machinery or equipment contained in the lot(s) may not necessarily comply with the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 or any other Act or Acts or Regulations thereunder governing the use of the plant, machinery or equipment in a working environment. Successful Bidders for any such plant, machinery or equipment are hereby required to ensure that the use of any such plant and equipment at a place of work within the United Kingdom does not contravene such relevant Act or Regulation thereunder applicable thereto.
16. TOXIC CHEMICALS AND DANGEROUS SUBSTANCES
It is expressly brought to the attention of Bidders (successful or otherwise) that certain types of plant or main service installations could contain blue or white asbestos, dangerous chemicals etc. which if not handled correctly during their removal from the site could be in breach of the Health and Safety at Work Etc. Act 1974 Section 2-9 and Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1988 (COSH H) or any other current legislations covering the use of such substances in a working environment.
Descrizione Auction Details Spedizione T&Cs & Important Info
Tags: Cutting Disc
Lotto 875 CUTTING DISCS
Lotto 877 JONSERED CHAINSAW
Prossimo lotto
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About the Civil Service
Civil Servants are employed by the Crown but not by the Monarch herself, they support the Government in power and are accountable to but not employed by Parliament.
The Civil Service in the UK does not include all public sector employees such as police officers, armed forces, members of the NHS, local government officials and the staff of the British Royal Family. In fact only 1 in 12 UK public servants are classed as civil servants.
The UK Civil Service is made up of various departments and agencies which impartially work with the government to implement policies and laws which impact directly upon the lives of people living in the UK. Their job is to make sure that public services are maintained and kept in order no matter which political party is in power.
Departments within the Civil Service include HM Passport Office, Public Health England, DVLA, Companies House, Border Control, DEFRA to name but a few. Each department has a diverse range of job roles ranging from entry level administrative work through to government advisors.
Graduates can apply for the Civil Service Fast Stream scheme which will prepare them for a career at the highest level of the Civil Service in a short space of time
Follow the various links for other options on how to join the Civil Service.
Civil Service Job Search
Universal Jobmatch
Fast Stream
In 2016 there were 29,930 children's social workers working across the UK and 5,330 FTE vacancies.
7 Job roles in this sector
Border Force Officer
Civil Service Administrator
Dog Handler
Immigration Officer
Politician's Assistant
Public Affairs Consultant
Tax Inspector
1 Organisation in this sector
Like millions of others, you probably know us best for the weather that you hear on the news or read on your phone. But did you...
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Get Hired - Sector based work academy
Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Would you like to gain employment within the Civil Service or Health and Social Care sectors? West Suffolk College Skills for Employment are running two new courses to help you to do just that Civil Service: 11th Jan 2021Health & Social Care: 25th Jan '21 The...
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Danish Prime Minister discusses tough times in new year speech
Denmark, Featured, MBL, Politics, Society
By Luna Finnsson
9:03 am January 6, 2012
Denmark’s Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt asked the nation to be prepared for tougher times in her New Year speech at the weekend.
The comments come as opinion polls reflect plummeting approval ratings for the Danish premier and as global economic woes continue to affect the nation and Thorning-Schmidt’s political policies.
The Prime Minister said in her statement, “Our goal is to bring Denmark safely through the crisis and out on the other side with our wealth, decency and solicitude intact,” the Copenhagen Post reports. She went on: “It won’t be easy. But we can if we will. The New Year – 2012 – will not be the year, when we free ourselves from our problems. We must admit that now”.
But she went on to say that the current adversity could indeed be overcome, citing the history of her own family and previous difficult periods in the nation’s past: “From generation to generation – my grandmother’s, my mother’s, my own – Denmark has become a better country to live in,” she said.
Meanwhile, many critics have since responded by saying that the Prime Minister’s speech lacked specific concrete solutions.
Political analyst Jens Ringberg of the DR broadcaster said, “When Helle-Thorning Schmidt doesn’t use her new year’s speech debut to present concrete suggestions for political initiatives, it was clearly a conscious decision”. He added, “This [was] a speech where she paints a picture of the crisis-agenda, gives expectations in relation to Danes’ behaviour – that we shouldn’t expect good times – and then just points a moral finger. It’s a gamble.”
helle thorning-schmidt
Newer PostSeabird hunting ban proposed by Icelandic scientists
Older PostBulgarians and Romanians finally get equal rights in Iceland
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BEVO BEAT Softball
Ex-Longhorn Taylor Thom hits historic HR for Dallas Charge
Michael Adams American-Statesman Staff
@michaeladamsaas
https://twitter.com/DallasCharge/status/606620382359977985
Former Texas softball All-American Taylor Thom took no time putting her name in the Dallas Charge record books.
Thom hit the first home run in the National Pro Fastpitch franchise’s history in the second inning of a 5-1 win over the Pennsylvania Rebellion Thursday night. It was also the first win for the Charge. The Vista Ridge High School graduate was 3-for-4 with three RBIs.
“It’s kind of an amazing honor to be the first person to ever hit a home run on the Dallas Charge. That’s super exciting, I think,” Thom said. “You know, my first at bat I was kind of struggling, wasn’t seeing too good of pitches and then the second at bat I really just wanted to make sure I got a pitch in the zone and lucky enough, I did,”
The Dallas Charge is playing in their first season in the NPF. The Charge’s roster is made up heavily of former Longhorns, including assistant coach Chez Sievers, infielder Nadia Taylor and Thom. Current Texas assistant coach Jennifer McFalls is the head coach of the Charge.
There are six former Longhorns playing professionally in NPF. Cat Osterman, Megan Willis and Brejae Washington play for the USSSA Pride in Orlando, Fla. and Mandy Ogle plays for the Rebellion.
Thom and Taylor will meet the USSSA Pride this weekend in a four-game series at the The Ballfields at Craig Range in McKinney beginning Saturday. The June 8 and June 9 games between the Charge and USSSA Pride will be televised on CBS Sports Network beginning at 6 p.m.
Next story: Baseball America names Longhorn Ben Johnson the state’s No. 11 draft prospect
Stanford, SEC foes on Texas non-conference hoops schedule
Baseball America names Longhorn Ben Johnson the state’s No. 11 draft prospect
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