#gimme a dime

[rocknrollflames]

GNR Photos as GNR Songs

Cornshucker / Cornchucker

The very first picture is the most representative of this song. I almost just went with that one.

[green-day-dad]

i have two (2) months to make an entire animation to a song for a competition to win Cold Hard Cash and my toon boom harmony premium AND storyboard pro expired last week,,,,, god help me

[its-alittleobsessed]

Orpheus and Eurydice but it's Dean and Castiel coming out of the empty. Jesus Christ. JESUS. is there a fic like that?

Like imagine Dean, smack dab in the middle of nothing. Pitch black for miles and miles and the empty speaks to him, says, "I'll give him back on one condition."

And Dean nodding, desperate to it, "Anything."

And the empty smiles, though it doesn't have a face or body or soul, Dean can hear it smile, can feel it in the molecules around him, when it says, "Do not look back."

There's a small light at the end of nothing, so miniscule it looks like a grain of rice. The empty points it out, commands, "Go."

And Dean doesn't move. The grain of rice is so small and it is so quiet around him. "Go?"

"Yes, go."

The empty is nothing. It is nothing in nothing. A black hole sucking up another black hole—that is what the empty is. Dean’s inside it, inside the hole inside another hole, looking for a guy who shines brighter than the sun on a cloudless day. 

It’s so fucking quiet. Dean shakes his head, “I don’t—”

“You don’t trust that I’ve placed him behind you?” The empty snarls, groans, and festers, “You don’t trust that he’ll follow you?”

The first step he takes is heavy. It weighs and echoes across the great expanse of hollowness. It is not followed by another immediate step. He is the only thing breathing, the only noise rising, and he asks, because he has to know, “Cas?”

There is no reply. 

“He’s behind you.” The empty assures. There’s a tilt to its voice like it might be lying. Or maybe it’s amused. Dean can’t tell, his heart’s beating too loudly in his ears to tell the difference. 

The second, third, and fourth steps are just as earth quaking as the first. He walks—drags his feet below him, closer to the blinding light leading them home, still so far away, still the size of a mere flame. 

“It was really fucked up. What you did.” Dean says, because he can’t look, and he can’t hear, but he can still talk. “What kind of an asshole does that? What kind of a—” He swallows, keeps a steady rhythm foot after foot, “You said. What you said. Why’d you say it?”

He’d practiced this in his room a few times. What he’d say if he ever saw Cas again. At least then, the walls would hum back. They'd stare back and hold him up if he couldn’t keep his knees from buckling. But here, in this vacuum, what is there to rely on? 

“Thought I was dyin’. ” Dean confesses, the light has turned into the size of a dime, and he keeps staring it down, determined, “Watchin’ you get taken, I mean. Felt like—felt like you took my heart with you down here, y’know?” 

There aren’t any footsteps behind him. There’s no flutter of wings or exhale or exasperated sigh. He’s—he feels alone. 

“Couldn’t go on without you, man. S’why I’m here.” Why is it so fucking quiet? Dean wasn’t this quiet when Cas said his piece. He’d been frozen, maybe, but not quiet. Never quiet. “I—I need you to be there. I can’t—don’t know how I’m supposed to go on if you aren't there.”

The empty’s stopped replying, too. The rice turned into dime and now it’s the size of a baseball and it’s still so fucking. Hollow. And the empty likes to play games doesn’t it? Likes to trick poor schmucks like Dean who are desperate hopeful bastards. 

With Cas in the room, there’d be electricity around them. A spark of something. But now, Jesus, now, there isn’t—the air’s so fucking stiff and horrible. 

Dean reaches an arm back, still walking, “Gimme your hand.” 

No one touches him.

“Empty didn’t say nothin’ about skin on skin, man. C’mon.” His steps stutter and his hand shakes, “C’mon.”

The light is the size of a window. He’s getting closer—no, no, no they’re getting closer. Both of them. ‘Cause Cas is there. He’s right there. He’s—

“I just wanna know you’re okay.” He looks at the ground, tries to cheat, tries to find another set of feet with his peripheral vision. “M’not leavin’ without you, you dick. So you better—you better gimme a fuckn’ sign or I’ll stay here. Forever if I gotta.”

His voice doesn’t even bounce off the fucking walls. There are no walls. Or feet or breaths or hands touching his own. There is no answer to any of his questions. And he stretches his arm as far as it can go behind him, as far as his broken muscles can, he begs, “Please, Cas.”

The light has grown to the size of a door and it’s too quiet. Too vacant and blank. So unlike Cas at the end of everything. And Dean can’t leave—he can’t just—he came here for someone and if he’s not—if this is a trick then, then—

“Please.” 

One more step. That’s all he needs. He’s one step away, just one, but Cas isn’t answering. He isn’t answering or touching Dean’s hand and the empty lies.

It’s too quiet, the empty lies, and Dean can’t leave without him. He can’t, he can’t, he can’t and the door is right there, it’s right there but Dean can’t leave, he can’t leave ‘cause Cas isn’t behind him, he was never behind him, and he turns, oh God, Dean turns around and—

Cas smiles, that soft deep smile of his that edges on a little sad, he tilts his head, so loving and forgiving, “I love you too.”

And then he’s gone. Ripped away one more time.

[cheswirls]

set of drabbles i did for @februairy's cute badminton au :)

-

"what do you mean you have us in different rooms?!"

"exactly what i said." shanks raises his hands to rest on his hips as he puts his metaphorical foot down. "this is an important competition, and i need you both to be all-in, one hundred percent. that means no needless distractions."

he raises his index finger when sabo opens his mouth to argue. "none of that. i've given you my reason and your only choice. unless you'd rather find somewhere else to stay on your own dime?"

sabo's mouth snaps shut. this time, when shanks offers him the room key, sabo wordlessly swipes it from his hand. he picks his training bag back up off the floor and storms away further inside the gym, muttering over his shoulder about getting in more reps while everyone else goes out to eat.

it's to blow off steam, so shanks doesn't say anything against it. hopefully the extra exertion will clear sabo's head.

-

when sanji opens the door to his hotel room, he finds his doubles partner on the other side instead of his assigned roommate. he can't help the surprise that pulls across his face. "what about sabo?"

"he kicked me out!" usopp exclaims, going from looking bashful to suddenly being very indignant – literally kicking the air. "then he made me switch him room keys!" his hand falls away from his suitcase handle so it teeters on its own to stay upright on the plush hallway carpet. "do you see what the problem is with that? it wasn't even his room to dictate what happens in!"

his other hand slides away from the strap to his overnight bag, essentially leaving both arms free to cross over his chest. "but if anyone asks, ace told me to say it was actually him that did all this. like anyone would believe that, hm? ace wasn't the one who stormed off earlier when we all got room assignments."

no, but he did stay behind to deal with his petty princess, sanji drily thinks as he finally holds the door open wider. usopp slouches where he stands and moves inside with all his luggage.

"well, look on the bright side, hm? neither of us has to deal with having a roommate that wants to be with someone else."

usopp nods wordlessly, still feeling prickly and dejected both at once. "really i'm just glad there's no cover story i have to keep up with. at least we won't have to deal with the fallout."

neither of them mention that it probably won't be an issue at all, because when shanks is personally traveling and organizing his athletes, his oversight is notably lax most of the time. it's not like he'll come upstairs to personally check everyone is where they're supposed to be for the night. aside from the grief given at the beginning, it's over now, for all intents and purposes.

besides, he'd meant what he said. he'd much rather room with usopp than have to deal with the world's most pouty prima-donna for the next four days.

-

sabo puts his arms in the sleeves of his pullover and then stretches them above his head in a last attempt to pop his spine. he's not given a chance to lower them and shrug the rest of the pullover on because ace comes up behind him and sags into his still-arched back.

sabo carefully resists a forming shudder when he feels ace's arms worm around his middle, fingers immediately roving along his sides. "ace, we really should go down to eat breakfast," he tries.

"gimme one more minute," ace mumbles into the back of sabo's jersey. "i need more sabo time to myself before we have to go out in public."

sabo snorts, because it's not like they'll be coming right back up or anything. he's not stuffing his feet into anything but slide-ons before 10AM if he can help himself. and he doesn't want to deal with bringing any of their practice stuff downstairs if they're not immediately going to leave.

his attempt at thinking of a snappy reply fails when ace's lips start working up the back of his neck. sabo does shudder this time, back finally relaxing from the unnatural position, and his arms come down from overhead to land lightly on ace's own. "ace, c'mon. let's go get food."

ace releases him to finish getting dressed himself, leaving sabo alone to resume putting his light jacket on. his commentary still filters over to sabo, though, both unnecessary and unwarranted.

"we could just go out to eat. there's that bakery down the road along the way to the training facility, and the woman who owns it likes watching us compete."

"we're trying to save money," sabo reminds him lightly, then smirks as he recalls exactly what they're saving money for. "hotel breakfast is free. if you want something specific later, we can nag shanks into taking everyone to eat again."

he opens the door for ace and doesn't attempt to decipher ace's mumbling after being met with a dull look. it was probably about how they could've gone to eat last night (or at least ace could have, if he hadn't offered to stay late with sabo) and sabo's better off leaving the exact wording of such a mystery.

but he does tune back in once they're in the elevator, ace speaking a bit louder and from a bit closer when he wonders aloud if they'd get something for free from the bakery if they let it slip that they're engaged now.

sabo puts an elbow in his side before the elevator doors can slide shut.

-

"you're late" are the first words koala says to sabo that morning when he sets his food tray down in front of the modest table she's claimed. she's said it for the sole purpose of riling him up and it works. she looks on in amusement when he pulls his chair out more harshly than intended.

"there's no set meal schedule, dearest, but thanks for grinding my gears. i can always count on you for that."

koala puts a hand over her heart. "what are friends for?"

sabo sits down heavily and leans into the backrest of the chair with a long-drawn sigh. "yeah, well, if you want someone to blame, then it's totally ace's fault for not getting up."

koala raises a brow at the wording. come to think of it, she had watched the two of them walk into the dining hall together. "you stayed with him? how'd you manage that? didn't you send me a whole long angry text last night about shanks being a literal demon from hell?"

"i switched rooms," sabo bites, throwing his head back to say this as snootily as possible. (ugh. it's too early for her to deal with this attitude from him.) "it's fine. shanks obviously doesn't understand the needs of teammates who are together romantically, so i just corrected his mistake on my own."

"and does he know about this correction?"

sabo purses his lips and ducks into his small bowl of porridge. "no," he mumbles.

"your 'needs' huh?" koala prods, smirking when sabo glances back up at her. she raises a brow instead of verbally asking the question.

sabo rolls his eyes and stabs his spoon back into the pile of mush. "we didn't do anything like that."

"like what?" ace pipes up, finally within hearing distance. when sabo only shrugs his shoulders, he wordlessly looks past his head to koala, but she only seals her lips. "well, glad you two are having fun with your secrets," he mildly snarks.

he pulls out a chair next to sabo and slides into it. "i still think we should've hit the bakery instead, by the way. the sesame cookies are already out, and when i asked, a server told me they were done making them for the day!"

"could've woken up earlier," sabo mutters. then, louder, "and we're still trying to save money."

"hah!" ace leans back precariously in his seat, ignoring his plate of cannoli to be petulant. "so when you want something, it's suddenly a necessary expense, but when i do the same it's a waste of money to even consider?"

"yes, that's right!" sabo proclaims haughtily, stabbing his spoon back into his breakfast. across from them, koala can't help but laugh at their comedy performance.

"aren't you used to him being this way by now?" she asks ace when ace glares at her. she also reaches into her bag at the same time to pull out a collection of thumb-sized cookies she has wrapped in a napkin. "you're lucky i'm so thoughtful," she says to him before he can get out a retort, offering him the small handful of the same sweets he'd been complaining about not getting to eat. "and that i thought of you earlier when i saw these and realized how quickly they were going."

"you're right, i completely forgive you and love you," ace rushes to say as he accepts the gift. at his side, sabo purses his lips and huffs at the wording, but ace ignores him completely in favor of tossing a small cookie into his mouth. "you're literally the best."

koala inclines her chin, leering over at sabo when he happens to look up at her. "i'm the best," she gloats.

she should have expected sabo to snap at some point, yet the heel suddenly digging into her shin makes her realize she'd thought of this a tad too late.

-

"oh, that? i can tell you about that," robin says to sanji and usopp during lunch. she'd heard an abridged version from koala earlier of the conversation she'd had with sabo that morning. "shanks found out those two got engaged recently and thought rooming them together would be a needless distraction."

that's the short of it, but it sure does paint matching looks of surprise on both of the athletes sitting across from her. they've both paused with food halfway to their mouths. she chuckles at the sight, hiding her open lips behind one hand.

"oh," both of them say simultaneously. then, from just sanji, "ok, yeah, i'd be pissed too. what a dick move. that's a valid reason."

"how long have they been engaged?" usopp asks around a bite of his sandwich. "was that supposed to stay a secret?"

"i don't think so, it just hasn't been too long," robin assures him. "i actually don't know the specifics. you'll have to direct your inquiries to either of them."

"yeah, no thanks," usopp mutters. "if shanks nearly had his head bitten off, i'd hate to see what happens to me."

"well, he did incite them," sanji reminds him. "i'm sure ace wouldn't mind telling us."

he specifically says ace because they both know he's the more easy-going of the pair, and also when sabo is confronted with something he doesn't want to share, he immediately becomes the world's most frigid ice queen.

"sabo might be happy to spill details, if you catch him at the right time," robin mentions. "it's his engagement too. i wouldn't be surprised to learn he's more excited than ace."

alright, yeah, that's a good counter-point to consider. both sanji and usopp think that over.

"after dinner?" usopp suggests.

"no, neither of them drink during a competition." sanji shakes his head. "maybe after the plane ride back home? if he's too tired, he might reveal something without thinking on it."

"if he's too tired, he just won't give us the time of day," usopp counters.

"what about after they win this week?" robin suggests.

which. is a good idea, in theory. but they would have to win, which is not a one-hundred percent guarantee.

but it is something to think over.

-

koala bites on her lip and sags into sabo's side again to bemoan her fate. below them, the current women's singles match-up is their own teammate reiju versus an athlete from sweden. "how can someone look so hot while sweating so much?" she says, completely aghast.

she makes the mistake of glancing up at him after saying this, bearing witness to the large smirk taking up his face. he opens his big mouth and already she knows she wants no part in this. "well–"

"yeah, i don't need unnecessary commentary from the man with a boyfriend," she gripes, leaning off of him. thankfully, sabo shuts his mouth and only shrugs, still looking smug but at least remaining silent about it. "speaking of which, where did ace go? wasn't he just here?"

sabo looks to his other side to confirm ace has indeed disappear. he looks miffed at this but keeps his answer perfectly indifferent. "how should i know? i'm not his keeper."

"you're right, he's just yours," koala says before she can help himself. sabo gasps, completely and justly indignant, and the look on his face is the perfect reward for ruffling his feathers again.

-

koby notices ace and sabo from the distance, but it takes him getting closer and a moment of observation to realize they're monitoring their competition and not merely engaged in conversation.

because from further back, it does look like something different. he stops short to watch ace wrapping an arm around sabo's back, tugging him closer with a hold around his middle. from the angle koby is to them, he can see ace gesturing down to the court with his other hand. they're both talking quietly with their heads huddled close together.

casual intimacy between doubles partners is nothing new, but koby can't help but add another mental notch to the running total he has in his head telling him this is another moment between this specific pair that qualifies more as pda.

he's kept this count going since the olympics ended, when he'd first begun to notice the change in the pair's affection for each other. it's not relative or important, really, but sometimes he can't turn off his observant eye. not for the first time, he thinks about asking after it in an unofficial capacity. maybe if it's off-the-record, they'd tell him if something had changed.

before he can think more on this, someone is calling out to him. specifically, someone says "hey four-eyes!" and from experience and the cadence, koby knows it's luffy before he turns around to acknowledge the athlete.

"hi," he greets luffy a bit lamely, still caught up in his thoughts. "you have another match?"

"no, i'm done for the day," luffy reveals. "i'm just sticking around to watch ace and sabo." he pointedly looks over koby's shoulder to see the duo not far away, realizing koby had been facing that direction. "do i need to get them for you?"

"oh, no, that's fine," koby insists, raising both hands to wave luffy's suggestion off. he peers over his shoulder as well, noting that the pair are even closer together than they were before, and quickly turns back to face luffy. "they, uh, look preoccupied as-is. i'd hate to ruin their concentration."

luffy looks at the pair again and takes koby's words into account. "oh, they're always like that now."

now implies that something has changed recently, though koby's not hell-bent on knowing anymore. the distance between the four of them isn't large, and he'd hate to be overheard, even if he is still curious.

luffy steamrolls along, though, not realizing the gravity of the situation. "probably because they're getting married soon? they've been a lot more touchy-feely since getting engaged."

sirens blare in koby's head, and he has to resist the temptation to look back behind him again. "oh, ok," he says, suddenly overwhelmed. that does make sense. it is a good explanation. it's also probably something he should not be privy to, especially if it's a recent development.

luffy must realize this too, because he perks up and grabs koby by both his shoulders. "i'm saying this to you as my friend, koby, not as a journalist."

"yeah, i got it," koby wheezes. "you can trust me. i won't say a word."

-

"maybe we should come back to korea," ace says at the end of their stay. they're both outside on the veranda, some light alcohol still in either of their glasses though neither are keen on finishing it off. it had been a celebratory move that both are regretting, especially with the summer heat bearing down on them. even in the dark of night, the blush on sabo's fair-skinned cheeks is still evident.

"after the season is over," ace says aloud, though they both know the implication. after we get married, he means. "we can book a room at the shilla and sight-see for a few days. or just chill in there. not like there's a lack of things to do."

sabo had been about to reply, but at the mention of the luxury resort hotel, he chokes. gasping for breath, he swallows the rest of his champagne in an attempt to quickly recover. "isn't that just a tad too expensive??"

"eh, we can splurge a bit." ace shrugs, then grins over at sabo. "it'll be another thing to save up for. if you want to."

"well i don't not want to," sabo admits, which is progress. as long as he's considering the possibility, that's good enough for ace.

"they even have their own bakery inside," ace adds, which only makes sabo groan.

"will you let that go already?"

[elliewilliams4eva]

sometimes i realize how much arthur and joel and our other baddies would lowkey STINK

like okay arthur gets baths like few and far between plus he's in the same musty clothes every day and i've NEVER seen him wash em. and the game considers clean to be like a dip in a stream 😀

i'm sure he'd smell nice after a bath but imagine how murky this man would be after like hunting or "open worlding"

now JOEL...

you cannot look me in the eye and say that he didn't proper STINK, maybe not completely later on but before he found civilization?!?! OOO i just know his stench was competing with the bloaters fr

side note how fucking GROSS would apocalypses smell dawg all those things are undead and rotting and defecating and narsty and we're still making thirst edits of these people (i would too)

is it bad i'd still hit tho like whenever however gimme a time and place type shit 😬😬

i'd bathe em arthur dosent even need to pay me a dime i gotchu bby

[queen-of-writing-bad-things]

Henry Danger Reader Insert | Captain Man x Reader: SEASON 1

Episode 2: The Danger Begins Pt.2

~The following day, Henry's house~

"Okay, George has six times as many dimes as quarters in his piggy bank." Charlotte started to read out the math question to Henry. However, she was quickly interrupted by an exuberant Jasper bursting through the door.

"Oh yeah, oh yeah! I got two responses!" He yelled at them in excitement.

"To what?" Henry asked him.

"My birthday party invitation." He explained. "Two guys said they might come." He was ecstatic that at least two other than Henry and Charlotte could attend his party.

"Who?" 

"Sidney Burnbaum and Oliver Pook." Jasper read from his PearPad, but on hearing who had RSVP'd, Charlotte and Henry pulled a face of disgust.

"Ugh."

"Those guys eat bugs."

"So? They're people." Jasper started indignantly, but he soon caught his eye on the latest PearPhone on the table.

"When'd you get a new phone?" He asked Henry, picking the device up and looking over all its incredible features.

"Oh, uh, mine broke, so-- what are you doing?" Henry didn't want Jasper to realise that (y/n) had bought him a new phone with all of the Man Cave's contacts saved in it.

"You've got to get this new app," Jasper explained, typing away on the App Store.

"Wait, what app?" Henry tried to ask.

"Hey, you never told us what you do at your new job." Charlotte piped up, filled with curiosity from Henry's lack of telling them about Junk-N-Stuff.

"Oh, right, right." Henry trailed off as he didn't know how to explain his actions without breaking the oath.

"What do you do?" Charlotte enunciated each word after not being satisfied with Henry's silence.

"I--" Henry started making an excuse, but luckily, Jasper had already installed the app, giving him something else to direct the conversation to.

"Oh great, the app. Tell me about the app." He rambled at Jasper, wanting him to distract Charlotte from her questioning.

"It plays a billion sound effects, like a school bell, a cat choking on a hairball, ice cream truck.." Jasper listed and played all the weird sound effects, confusing and entertaining Charlotte and Henry.

"You have the brain of a hamster." Charlotte sassed at him, not impressed by the weird app.

"I wish," Jasper revealed.

"Gimme my phone," Henry said, not wanting to hear more cats choking on hairballs.

"Hey, did you guys hear what Captain Man did yesterday?" Jasper excitedly asked the other two teens.

"Oh yeah, the Jandy Bridge." Charlotte nodded with him. The turn in the conversation freaked Henry out because he couldn't risk revealing that he was Kid Danger.

"And so if you divide 9x by the square root--" He tried to focus on the homework, but Captain Man was too cool not to talk about for his friends.

"They say he pulled seven people out of the river and saved their lives," Jasper told them.

"Yeah, and he has a new sidekick. There's a story about it on my news feed." Charlotte looked at her phone with Jasper, meaning she didn't see how flustered Henry was.

"Hey, let's talk about your birthday party." Henry diverted, but it didn't work.

"Shhhh!!" 

"Here. "For the first time ever, Captain Man was not working alone." Charlotte read out from the news story. In desperation, Henry picked up the vase from the coffee table and threw it at the wall, hoping it would stop her from reading.

"Woahhh, how'd that break?" He said in a fake shocked voice, causing Charlotte to look at him weirdly, but she continued.

"According to witnesses on the scene, Captain Man was heard calling his new sidekick 'Kid Danger'." At mentioning his heroic name, Henry grabbed the phone from Charlotte's hands and launched it across the room, causing it to break something.

"You just slapped my phone right outta my hand." Charlotte and Jasper looked at him in disbelief.

"Yeah, sorry. Sorry, I'm just -- I'm worried. You and I gotta study, and I'm worried about Jasper's party, and there's-- I don't know, there's just--" Before Henry could rent any further, the wristband on his arm started beeping three times.

'A triple flashing light means emergency like major sitch going down, so get here fast.' He remembered (y/n) telling him in the Man Cave, and he knew something big was happening.

"Uh, why don't you guys go to the zoo?" Henry tried to distract his friends so he could get to Junk-N-Stuff as soon as possible.

"Why?" The dark-haired girl looked at him strangely.

"You know I got banned from the zoo," Jasper recalled while the beeping wouldn't stop.

"What is that?" Charlotte asked him.

"What, my thumb?" Henry attempted.

"The bracelet that's beeping and flashing on your wrist." She said.

"Uh... it's, uh, a timer," Henry said off the top of his head. 

"What are you timing?" Charlotte pressed.

"Muffins." He replied.

"You're making muffins?" Charlotte was not buying what he was saying.

"Birthday muffins." He pointed at Jasper with a smile, trying to convince them.

"Yes!" At least Jasper was happy.

"Dang. There goes the surprise. I'll just turn this off. Push the button." Henry struggled with the bracelet, not knowing how to stop it from making noise. Ultimately, he shoved his hand down his pants, which wasn't very effective.

"It's still on," Jasper noted.

"No, it's not."

"We can see it flashing through your pants." Charlotte wasn't impressed.

"And we can still hear it beeping," Jasper added at the end of her point.

"I know..." Henry grabbed a cushion to cover up the flashing.

"I-- uh... I need a pickle." He abruptly ran to the porch after throwing the cushion down.

"Wait! I thought we were going to study!" Charlotte called after him, but he was already gone.

"Bring me back a pickle!" Jasper shouted too.

~The Man Cave~

(y/n) watched on as Ray and a Hawaiian girl named Leilani sang Polynesian songs on the couch. Seeing them cuddled together on the couch made the green beast of jealousy rise within her, but she knew she could never say anything. All she could do was wait for Henry, as Ray had triple-beeped him.

The two continued strumming on the ukuleles as the (y/c/h) girl sat at the supercomputer in annoyance and boredom. However, the elevator dinged, and a frantic-looking Henry stepped out.

"Ray! Ray, what's wrong?" He said, instantly looking confused at how relaxed Ray was in the emergency situation. 

"So fun for everyone to sing E Hoomau Maua Kealoha." The two sang in Hawaiian together, making Henry look to (y/n) for answers, but she only shrugged and looked away.

"Uh, Ray?" Henry pressed, but Ray only pointed his finger at the boy to acknowledge him. 

"Hawaii make you say, hele mei hooiwahiwa." They finished singing, smiling at each other, causing an acrid taste to settle on (y/n)'s tongue.

"Dude!" Henry was getting upset, but Ray still grinned.

"Henry, what goes on?" He asked flippantly.

"You triple-beeped me, (y/n) said that means there's an emergency." 

"Oh right, sorry. I was just getting a ukulele lesson from Leilani." He kept smiling, using his remote to raise the Hawaiian background behind the couch.

"Take a break." They giggled again, with Leilani tickling his nose and standing up. (y/n) fake giggled with them, but no one heard, as the singer took her ukulele to the back of the Man Cave.

"Mmm, yeah." (y/n) felt her heart sink as his eyes followed her up the steps, but once again, they were friends, nothing more.

"So, what's up?" Henry asked, grinning Ray's attention again.

"We have a situation. And by we, I mean our city, all of Swellview." Ray switched to being severe, putting down his instrument, removing the flowers from around his neck, and putting them on Henry.

"Check this out." His remote put up a hologram in the air, showing a video of The Toddler.

"The Toddler?" Henry gasped.

"He's the one who destroyed the Jandy bridge yesterday." (y/n) explained across the room. 

"Why?" Henry inquired.

"To set up phase three of his plan." Ray looked at him.

"What's phase three?"

"It's the phase that comes right after phase two, but before phase four, if there is a phase four. But if there's no phase four, then phase three will be the final phase." Ray ranted, confusing his sidekick.

"So what happens in phase three?" Henry said, puzzled, as the two walked to where (y/n) was at the computer.

"While you and I were pulling people out of the river, the Toddler's men stole five thousand packages of diapers," Ray explained to him. 

"Can you guess why?" He quizzed the teen.

"Uh--" 

"To bombard the diapers with radioactive Zenite particles," Ray stated like it was apparent. 

"I would not have guessed that." Henry looked a bit dizzy.

"You wanna see what happens when a baby pees into a diaper that's been bombarded with radioactive Zenite particles?" Ray asked, squatting down to the floor as he spoke the question. 

"No."

"Watch this." He pointed at (y/n), who was already pulling up the video. 

"Why does he ask me?" He asked the young woman.

"He does it a lot." She shook her head.

"What's taking so long?" The Toddler asked as the video started to play.

"Well, he hasn't peed yet." The henchman and the evil criminal stared at the baby.

"Well, give him some more apple juice." The Toddler growled and walked off.

"Wait, wait, I think he's peeing." The man quickly brought back The Toddler.

The three watched as the baby began to cry, and The Toddler excitedly anticipated the transformation. The baby's skin turned green, and when it opened its eye, they were glowing a demonic red. It roared, making the insane man-child laugh in success.

"Oh my gosh." Henry looked disturbed.

"Kill you, kill everyone." The baby was now speaking in a deep voice, making Henry step back in horror.

"Monster babies?" He spluttered incredulously. (y/n) paused the video before they could be creeped out anymore.

"That's right, Henry...unless we stop The Toddler." Ray looked down at the boy.

"Are you with me?"

"Well, yeah," Henry affirmed.

"Good, you'll need to meet Ray here at 7:00 sharp." (y/n) looked around Ray's prominent figure at Henry.

"Wait, wait, wait. Tonight? No, I--I can't do tonight." He said, looking between the two.

"What? What do you mean?" Ray couldn't believe what he just said.

"My-- My best friend Jasper, he's having his birthday party tonight, and--" Henry explained, but his excuse made Ray laugh.

"Party? Henry, there's a freakish man-toddler out there about to turn all the babies in Swellview into that." He said, turning Henry around to see the green monster baby.

"And you're worried about a party?" Ray asked him, not happy.

"But-- But, Jasper's been my best friend since we were five." Henry pleaded, but it didn't make Ray realise this was important to him.

"Okay. Okay. It's cool. Uh, you go to Jasper's party. I'll handle The Toddler by myself. Don't worry about it." (y/n) frowned because he was ignorant of Henry's feelings.

"Are you sure?" Henry asked tentatively.

"Yeah, I've battled The Toddler alone before. Almost killed me, but whatever." Ray walked up the steps to the sprocket in a tantrum.

"Now I feel all bad," Henry said dejectedly.

"Raymond, please stop guilt-tripping the poor kid." (y/n) stood up and called up at her friend in a stern voice. 

"Don't feel bad. I'll save the world. You go have a fun time at Jasper's birthday party." Ray continued to go up the steps, talking to Henry in a passive-aggressive voice. 

"Dance. Drink some fruity punch." Henry and (y/n) looked at him with frowns.

"Leilani! Turn on the hot tub!" Ray yelled to the girl in the other room, walking away. (y/n) sighed in annoyance as she heard Leilani cheer but took a deep breath and looked at Henry.

"Don't feel bad. He's just a child." She smiled at him, but he didn't look entirely convinced.

"Go to your party and have fun. Ray doesn't understand the meaning of 'social life." Her comment made Henry chuckle, and he looked up at her confusedly.

"Why does he go in hot tubs with Hawaiian girls if he's with you?" Henry questioned her. The comment made the young woman freeze but she kept her composure and feigned ignorance.

"Uh-- what do you mean?" Henry looked at her funnily but carried on.

"Aren't you dating?" (y/n) laughed sadly but didn't let Henry see how much Ray's actions and flirting hurt her.

"Ray? No, no, no. No. I could never. We're just friends." The words tumbled out of her mouth automatically; many people had asked her the question over the seven years of her employment. 

"Right, sure," Henry said sceptically. (y/n) shook her head and him and waved him off.

"Just go to your party. I'll deal with Ray." Henry smiled at her and ran off to the elevator, leaving the Man Cave.

~

"You got water all over the floor, and I'll be the one who has to clean it up." (y/n) grumbled at Ray, who was busy suiting up for his fight with The Toddler.

"Yeah, yeah." He ignored her, focusing on choosing the appropriate weapon.

"I can't believe Henry chose a party over me." He mumbled, picking up a laser blaster and fixing it to his utility belt. (y/n) sighed and faced him.

"He's at the age where his friends are the most important thing to him. And he can't ditch his best friend's birthday party." She explained, knowing that Ray missed out on many of these things due to his early superhero training. 

"Yeah, but I'm Captain Man." Ray lifted his arms as the woman adjusted his belt and ensured everything was secure.

"Which means you are more than capable of taking care of The Toddler." (y/n) smiled up at him, patting both hands on his chest. 

"True, I am awesome. And unbelievably handsome." He bragged, grinning back at her as he opened the door to the Man Van. 

"Just go, Captain Ego." She laughed, silently agreeing that he was too handsome for his own good. 

"Be safe." She waved at him through the window, hoping he'd return in one piece. Ray waved back, and in a few seconds, she stared at the back of the van as it drove away.

~Henry's house~ 

Henry walked down the stairs, all dressed up for his party. He could hear Jasper whining in his ear about how late he was.

"Jasper, Jasper, I'm on my way." He tried to tell his friend but was too busy talking about muffins.

"No, I'm not bringing the muffins." He grabbed his jacket, but a frown grew when Jasper spoke again.

"Did you hear what happened to Captain Man?" Henry's stomach dropped at the mention of his new boss, but he tried to play it cool as if it was merely a passing question. 

"What about Captain Man?" He interrogated in a panicked voice.

"He got captured," Jasper said over the phone, making Henry's worst fear a reality.

Henry ran over to the TV, switching on the news and ignoring Jasper's jabbering on the phone. The report came on, showing that Jasper's gossip was true.

"While reports are unclear, we do have confirmation that Captain Man has been captured and is being held at a secret location." The report said on the screen.

"Captured? Dang it, Ray!" Henry said in an annoyed tone. He switched off the TV once the report ended, and the next bizarre story appeared. Jasper was calling his name on the line, but Henry was too worried about his boss to care. 

"Uh, I can't talk. I'm naked." He gave a quick excuse before slamming the end call button and running out the door. 

~

Henry was halfway to Junk-N-Stuff when a call came through on his phone. Thinking it was Jasper again, his thumb hovered over the decline button, but to his surprise, the caller I.D. read '(y/n)'.

"(y/n)? How'd you get my number?" He greeted her in a confused voice.

"I gave you this phone, duhhh." She said in an 'it's so obvious' tone, but Henry ignored it, the need to find Captain Man still making his heart race.

"(y/n)! I saw on the news about Ray! What do we do-- tell me, what do I do?" He ranted at her in alarm.

"Okay, firstly, calm down. Secondly, I've managed to get a fix on The Toddler's location, but you'll need to get in there unseen to help Captain Man." She relayed the instructions over the phone, her demeanour having a calming effect on him.

"Okay, got it. Just send me the location." He replied.

"Already sent it. Remember, no one can see you as Henry. Do you still have your gum tube?" She needed to mentor him a little, as Ray hadn't given him any training yet. 

"Yeah, of course. It's right here in my pocket."

"Then you're all set. I'm a phone call away if you need backup. Good luck." She said curtly, praying that the kid and Ray would be alright.

"Thanks, I'll bring him home."

~The Toddler's Hideout.~

Henry peered through the bars and baby bottles in a room that looked like a creepy nursery. He looked on in horror as he saw Captain Man suspended from the ceiling, trapped in a giant baby bouncer. He groaned and grunted in a futile attempt to escape, but all he could do was bounce up and down.

"Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah, Nyah." The Toddler taunted him in a baby voice, shaking a rattle.

"Come on, Toddler, let me out of this thing before I puke." The superhero pleaded, but it infuriated the criminal.

"NO! This is my playroom, my toys, my rules!" He growled back at him. Henry crept around amongst several large stuffed animals and gritted his teeth at the sight of The Toddler.

"You sick, underdeveloped maniac." Ray snarled back, despising how cruel Toddler was. His answer made The Toddler throw the rattle in his hand, hitting Captain Man on the head.

"Ow! Geez, man!" He yelped out.

"Oh, I thought the famous Captain Man couldn't be injured." The Toddler whined at him, and Henry decided it was time to pop a gumball. 

"He can't, but he does feel pain." A giant, bald henchman with a beard and animal onesie pointed out, and his interruption caused the man-child to throw a tantrum.

"You're not allowed to talk unless you raise your hand and I call on you!!" Toddler screamed back with a stamp of his foot.

"You stupid head!" He shouted into the man's ear. Blowing the gum into a bubble, Henry transformed into his costume, ready to take on The Toddler and his henchmen as Kid Danger. 

The Toddler was busy using his new spit machine on the henchman, so Henry used it to sneak around the corner, waiting for the opportune moment.

"Come on, Toddler. Your insane plan won't work," Ray spoke up. Before he could make his move, the phone in his pocket rang, making Henry's anxiety spike up.

"What?" He whispered.

"You're late." Of course, it was Jasper.

"Well, sorry, but I'm kind of in the middle of something." He replied in a hushed tone, hearing Ray groaning from the bouncer.

"Something more important than my birthday party?" Jasper really picked his moments.

"Uh--" Henry looked across the room and saw The Toddler describing how soon all the babies in Swellview would be monsters.

"Yeah, this is pretty important." He confirmed to the boy on the other side.

"But you promised me that-- Henry, will you get your butt to this party?" Jasper was interrupted by Charlotte, who sounded pretty miffed.

"'Cause so far, it's just me, Jasper, and two dorks who keep slapping each other's boinks!" She said, which Henry didn't really understand, but then again, he didn't really care.

"I gotta go!" He said quickly, hanging up and formulating a plan in his head. 

"Come on, Toddler, let me down from this thing. It's squeezing me in bad ways," Ray pleaded and groaned.

"NO! And now, Captain Man, I have thousands of babies to monsterise and to make sure that you don't try to stop me, I will now destroy you!" The Toddler gloated at him.

"You idiot. I can't be destroyed!" The bouncing hero growled back, not understanding what the criminal had planned.

"I KNOW THAT! But you can be dropped!" The Toddler stamped his foot and pressed his remote control. The bouncer started to move Ray over the ball pit, making his stomach feel even more queasy. 

"...into my bottomless ball pit." The prospect of being dropped made Ray nervous.

"Tod-- Tod--Todd--"

"Toddler!?" The man-baby screamed. Knowing that The Toddler's limited patience was near the end of its rope, Henry took out his phone and opened the app Jasper had downloaded this morning. Finally, he could thank Jasper for something. Scrolling down the page a little, he found the ice cream van sound effect and pressed it. The Toddler and all his men looked up gleefully at the thought of getting ice cream.

"Wait! Listen!" The Toddler gasped.

"It's the ice cream man! Yay! Whoo-hoo! I'll destroy you in a minute." The insane criminal's voice switched from a high to a low pitch.

"Come on, fellas, ice cream man! I hope they have mint chocolate chip!" All the villains in the room ran out of the building, allowing Henry to reveal himself to his boss and devise a way to save him. He ran into the room and over to Ray.

"Captain Man!" He greeted him.

"Henry!" Ray couldn't help but say,

"It's Kid Danger," Henry corrected him with a smile, which Ray copied.

"How'd you find me?" The superhero said, still bouncing.

"(y/n), of course. She gave me your location." The sidekick explained.

"Clever girl," Ray mumbled to himself.

"Now, quick! How do I get you down from there?" Henry asked, looking up and down at the baby bouncer contraption. 

"I don't know. This is the first time I've been trapped in a baby bouncer over a bottomless ball pit." Ray said, glancing around the room.

"Try that lever!" 

"Right." Henry ran across the room and was a second away from releasing Captain Man when The Toddler and all his goons came stomping back into the room, grumpy from the lack of ice cream.

"Who tricked me?! And who's that boy near my lever?" Toddler frowned when he noticed Henry.

"That's my sidekick, Kid Danger." Captain Man announced, making Henry puff out his chest in pride. 

"I didn't know you had a sidekick. Why don't I have a sidekick? I want a sidekick!!" Another tantrum. His loyal henchman said something, but The Toddler didn't care and just slapped him in the gut. 

"Uh, Kid Danger," Ray said over the bad guys.

"Yeah?" 

"Why don't you pull that lever?" Ray said desperately.

"Oh, right!" Henry went to pull it, but The Toddler had other ideas.

"No! Squish the boy!" He shouted as Ray was dragged away from the ball pit. The henchmen ran towards Henry, who now had to think quickly on his feet to avoid severe injury or capture.

"Kid Danger, look out!" Captain Man called out to him. Henry ran around the criminals, climbing up the boxes of diapers. He jumped over a man reaching out for him, causing the guy to tumble over the boxes. Running over to where Toddler had left his spit squirter, he used it to defend himself against the largest goon. 

Ray swung out at another henchman in a red onesie, using momentum to kick him in the face. Henry continued to utilise the weapon in his hand, attacking numerous villains running his way. He climbed up the diaper tower again and started throwing the various toys on the wall at the men.

"Use the truck!" Encouraged Ray, Henry did as he said, taking down a guy with a large yellow truck toy. Ray was still busy jumping on the henchmen as The Toddler angrily shouted in the background. 

"Captain Man cut the bands!" Henry shouted at the older man, not wanting to fight alone. Dodging another attack, Henry came face to face with The Toddler.

"Look at you." He taunted, and they began to wrestle over the spit machine. 

"Get him, kid!" Ray shouted as the pair began to fight across the room. The Toddler tried to pull it away from his hands, but Henry got it free and pointed it at The Toddler. Pulling the trigger, the spit disoriented the villain, making him stumble backwards. Another henchman tried to grab him, so Kid Danger caught a letter 'D' off of the nursery walls and whacked him across the face with it. The superhero team were making light work of defeating the bad guys as they carried on beating them up.

"You guys are seriously the worst henchmen ever." The Toddler complained in anger. Managing to get all the men on the ground, Ray bounced in front of Henry, who was glad to have him back at his side. 

"You boys think you're so spiffy." The Toddler whined at them and kicked some diaper boxes.

"Well, have a look at my bang bottle." The Toddler exclaimed, showing them a glowing, green baby bottle.

"Bang bottle?" Captain Man and Kid Danger looked at each other with doubt. 

"That's right, and it's filled with explodey juice." He said with a sinister smirk. He twisted the lid, changing the bottle from green to red, meaning it was primed and ready to explode.

"Kid Danger, get outta here!" Ray couldn't bear the thought of his sidekick getting hurt or, worse, killed.

"I'm not leaving without you. I promised (y/n) I'd save you!" Henry protested. 

"But that nipple is flashing!" Captain Man said in a panic.

"No one leaves." The Toddler said, as all the baby gate doors locked shut. 

"Now, we're all gonna go boom together." 

"What do we do?" Henry looked to Ray for their next move. Ray took a moment to think, an idea springing in his mind.

"Push me that way!" Ray exclaimed, prompting Henry to shove him towards The Toddler with all his strength. The Toddler screamed out in fear as Captain Man collided with him, sending him flying backwards, straight into the bottomless ball pit. Ray swung back to Henry, and they watched as the criminal slowly sank into the balls.

"Uh! Help me! Get me out! These balls smell like feet and pee!" The Toddler wailed, but it was no use. The hero and sidekick duo just watched him sink with smiles on their faces.

"Oh, this is it for me! I've been hoisted by my own petard." Were the final words of The Toddler. The two jokingly waved at him, happy the fight was over, but they soon remembered that the 'bang bottle' was set to explode.

"The bang bottle!" Ray pointed out.

"Oh, man!" Henry jumped down from the stack of diaper boxes and picked it up.

"What do we do with this?" Henry looked at Ray in desperation. Ray saw the ball pit, and a bright idea pinged in his brain. 

"We give the baby his bottle." He said huskily in his best hero voice.

"Good call." Kid Danger complimented, liking the idea.

"Hey." Ray paused to say hello to the kid who just rescued him properly.

"What's up?" The boy said, forgetting about what was in his hand.

"Hurry." 

"Oh, right!" Henry aimed the bottle behind his head and threw it towards the ball pit, praying it would land in the right spot. Thankfully, his aim was perfect, and the bottle landed, sinking for a few seconds as the beeping increased.

"Kid Danger!" Ray beckoned for Henry to run over to him. Climbing up the boxes, Henry had seconds to spare as Ray shielded him with his indestructible body as the bottle exploded. Above the noise, the faint scream of The Toddler echoed in the room. 

They unwrapped themselves from each other once the balls stopped falling from the air, and Henry chucked Toddler's hat over his shoulder, which had landed on Ray. 

"Nice work, Kid Danger. You got skills." Ray congratulated him, proud that Henry came through for him.

"Thanks, Captain Man." Henry looked up at his boss with pride. Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his pocket, and he saw that he had a text from Jasper.

"Jasper!"

"Oh yeah, you better get to that birthday party," Ray told him.

"Right." Henry paused momentarily before returning to Ray, who was trying to get the bouncer off.

"Uh, Ray, will you do me a huge favour?" He asked in a hopeful voice.

~Jasper's Basement Party~

The party couldn't be more tragic. Jasper and Charlotte had been bored, and Sidney and Oliver were now trying to talk down cups and strings to each other. Henry looks at them in confusion.

"They've been doing that for two hours." Charlotte sighed tiredly. 

"My party's a flop. I'm just going to go upstairs and sit in my closet with my cat." Jasper stood up in defeat. 

"Pardon me..." A manly voice shouted from up the stairs. Ray swiftly walked down them, surprising the birthday boy and his friends. Henry looked at him in thanks for saving the party.

"My Man Van broke down out there in the street, so I walked into the house and came down to this basement," Ray explained his exact actions to the amazed children.

"Holy chunks! You're--you're Captain Man!" Jasper squealed, not believing the famous hero was in his house at his party.

"Thank you." Ray looked across the room and walked towards Henry and Charlotte.

"You're my hero," Jasper told him.

"Of course." Ray's ego jumped out.

"Mine too. Um, I'm Charlotte. Hi, Mr Cap--Mapton Can." The poor girl was so excited she couldn't get her words out. She quickly stumbled out a rushed apology.

"And, um, I'm Henry." The other boy pretended to introduce himself. 

"Nice to meet you, Henry." Captain Man said calmly, shaking the boy's hand. Jasper excitedly tapped his hands on the hero's shoulders, trying to get him to turn around.

"Hey, Captain Man?" Jasper said.

"Yes, a question." Ray was used to excitable fans shouting all kinds of things at him.

"Can I hit you in the head with a baseball bat?" Jasper asked. 'Oh boy, (y/n) will love hearing about this kid later.' Ray thought to himself.

"Jasper!"

"Dude." Henry and Charlotte scolded the curly-haired boy.

"No, no, it's okay. But remember, kids, never do this to anyone but Captain Man," Ray started as Jasper grabbed a baseball bat.

"Because regular people could be badly injured--ah!" Ray's warning was interrupted by Jasper hitting him with the bat, the sharp pain lasting for a few seconds. The kids were amused by how incredible his superpower was and how he was still standing, despite the blow.

"Wow!" Jasper squealed.

"I wasn't done talking," Ray said in a slightly high-pitched tone.

"Did that hurt?" Charlotte inquired.

"Yeah, but I"m okay!" He replied, regaining his composure. He smiled at the kids to show that Captain Man was indestructible and cool, making them all clap.

"Well, I should call my helper to come and pick up my Man Van." Ray had made his appearance; now, he wanted to leave. 

"Or, it's my best friend Jasper's birthday party," Henry told him.

"Oh, oh yeah, yeah, it is." Jasper hugged Ray's arm at the mention of his birthday, making Ray tense up a bit.

"You can stay and party with us if you wanna." The dark-haired girl offered.

"Will there be soup?" Ray turned to the boy next to him.

"I'll open up a can!" Jasper said in excitement.

"Then, I'd love to stay and party with you guys." Ray smiled at all of them, causing the two weird boys with the cup and string to scream at each other.

"Uh, Captain Man..." Henry started.

"Yes, boy?"

"Would it be cool if Jasper texted a few friends from school and told them you're here at his party?" Henry asked, not wanting the party to be so dead.

"Yeah, can I?" Jasper pleaded too.

"Sure, I love being used," Ray said in a fake happy voice, starting to wish he was back at the Man Cave with (y/n).

"Yay!"

"Wow, thanks! This is the coolest thing that ever happened to me!" Jasper shook Captain Man's hand excitedly with sweaty palms. 

"Are your hands always this sweaty?" Ray asked with a strained smile.

"Yes, sir!" Jasper answered truthfully.

"He takes medicine for it," Henry added, smirking at Ray.

"Well, it's not working!" The superhero chuckled at the boy and wiped his hand down his shirt.

~

After making a few phone calls, Jasper had plenty of kids at his party who all came to the party with Captain Man. The music played; everyone was dancing, eating and having a good time. Ray kept signing every notebook that was pushed into his face.

Jasper was preoccupied with two kids, who were still in awe that the dorky boy had managed to get Captain Man to his party.

"Hey, we're buds, right, Captain Man?" He shouted across the room so he could impress the other kids.

"We sure are, Billy." He said with a thumbs up, even though he got his name wrong.

"Uh, that's just how we kid around. We call each other Billy. Back at ya, Billy!" Jasper played off, which confused the superhero, who had no idea what he was talking about.

Henry came down the stairs with a tray of birthday muffins.

"Okay, okay, kill the lights." With the room dimmed, everyone began singing Happy Birthday to Jasper as Henry slowly walked towards them with the lit muffins. Everyone was clapping and wishing Jasper a happy birthday when Ray pulled out his laser remote and saw it flashing the emergency light. Taking the opportunity to leave while the kids were distracted, Ray sneaked up the stairs and out of the house.

"Hey, where'd Captain Man go?" Jasper was the first to notice his absence. 

"He's gone," Charlotte added too.

"Aw, why'd he leave?" Jasper whined, sad that his idol was gone already.

"He probably had to go do superhero stuff." Charlotte rationalised, knowing Captain Man was always busy helping people across Swellview.

"And you did break a bat over his head." Henry bantered with his best friend.

"Hey, if it makes you feel any better, me and Charlotte got you something," Henry revealed, excited for his friend's reaction to his gift.

"What?" The birthday boy asked.

"Look," Charlotte said, pulling the barrel/bucket from Junk-N-Stuff. Henry smiled, remembering how (y/n) let him have it for free, knowing Jasper loved it so much.

"You got me the bucket?" Jasper gasped in glee, hugging it to his chest.

"It's a barrel!" Charlotte insisted as she yelled for someone to get the party going again.

"So you happy with your party?" Henry spoke to Jasper as the party kicked off again.

"Heck yeah. But for a while there, I thought you weren't gonna come." Jasper revealed his true feelings.

"Come on, man. I'm always gonna be here for you." The blond boy reassured him, and the friends hugged each other. The sweet moment was soon over when Henry's wristband started to flash and beep. Ceasing the hug, he let go of Jasper.

"I gotta go." He said quickly, running up the stairs. He smiled as the party continued without him, glad Jasper wouldn't notice him gone. He popped a gumball and transformed into Kid Danger. 

~

He ran into the street, seeing Captain Man parked in the Man Van.

"What's going on?" He asked as he clambered into the passenger seat and plugged in his seatbelt. 

"Robbery at Swellview Bank." (y/n) said over the radio. Ray quickly put his foot to the floor, and the vehicle sped off.

"Three dudes... They don't look very experienced, but the cops still want your help." She continued telling them about what they were about to face. 

"Ugh, they always want our help." Ray groaned, making his best friend laugh. Henry noticed the chemistry between them again. 

"You're the city's resident superhero. Deal with it." Her voice crackled over the radio, but they could still hear her sarcasm.

"Yeah, yeah, tell the police we're on our way," Ray replied.

"Okay, ETA is 10 minutes." She confirmed, and the radio went silent. Henry didn't know if he should ask, but he couldn't help himself, so he looked at his boss and spoke up.

"What's with you and (y/n)?" He said to break the silence and satisfy his curiosity about what Ray's answer would be. He wondered if it would be different to (y/n)'s.

"What? There's nothing up with us." Ray glanced at him, trying to keep his focus on the road.

"Don't you like her?" He pressed him, watching a blush tinge the man's ears.

"No! Come on, man! She's my friend, and she works for me!" Ray's heart rate picked up.

"Yeah, but you like her." The teen reiterated in a sing-song voice. 

"Stop!" Captain Man wasn't used to being teased, especially about his pretty helper.

"Don't worry, man! I won't tell her!" Henry patted his bicep as they pulled up to the bank.

"Good!" Ray unbuckled his seat belt and grabbed his laser gun, preparing to stand off with the criminals in the bank.

"AHA! So you do like her!" Henry smiled at his eureka moment, happy that Ray had tripped over his words.

"Henry!"

[drinkyourvillainjuice]

About that one ask regarding how the Hounds view the Altruists- how do they view the Altruists' mission statement (or what they think their mission statement is)? How does this change if Dime is a murderhobo/scarily competent/average/utterly incompetent? What are their opinions on all the Altruists, both behaviorally (exclude Dime from this one) and in terms of their abilities?

(please ramble)

OH BOY THIS ONE'S A DOOZY.

So the first one is a little bit of a gimme because the Altruists haven't really stated anything regarding their actual goals and their actions haven't given enough signals to pull together something coherent. I'd say the Hounds are split 50/50 on the name being a troll move and it being the signal of some kind of more deeply held ideology. (I think Vantage would be particularly concerned about the latter if Dime is a murderhobo, since it'd get into the territory of 'oh boy does this group believe they're morally right for brutalising people?')

I think I'm gonna split the opinions into separate posts cause we're talking six, six part questions with two segments each *sweat drop*

[tobiasdrake]

We have taken control of the Sky Base. Now. Uh. Now what do we do with it?

I promised I'd let you guys try and figure out a way to turn the climate regulators back on but I gotta be honest, I am itching to start breaking things.

I will try to be patient but I don't know how much time I can promise.

Would it help if I rammed my staff through the console? I've been told that sometimes that turns machines off for some reason.

It looks like there's a slidey lever on the side here. Maybe it's, like, the Cloud Cover Lever and all we need to do is slide it do--

Serai: *swats hand*

But how are we supposed to know what it does if we don't pull it?

It's sounding more and more like wanton vandalism is going to be our best option.

We could, and I'm just spitballing here, but we could take the speedball back to the ship and grab Yolande. She's an endless barrel of explosives. I'm sure she can make enough bombs to turn this entire facility into the brightest fireworks display your world has ever seen.

Okay, but you came out of the Catalyst so if I don't like what I hear, Zale and I are taking you out into the hall to play kickball. It will buy the smart people more time to figure out a way to crack security.

It was mentioned that the Catalyst overtook the existing AI that was controlling the climate regulator. I guess this is them.

...

Well, you blew it. Come with me, Kickball.

Yeah. We know. We just found that out the hard way. Are you actually useful for anything? Because my patience is running thin.

TEAKS DID YOU JUST MAGIC BOOK THEIR ENTIRE DATABASE I WILL KISS YOU ON THE MOUTH HAHAHAHAHAHA

Okay, I guess Kickball was useful for something! What have we got? Anything we can use to disable and/or explode the station? Gimme gimme gimme.

That's hurtful, Cedric. Accurate, but hurtful.

Setting my own ego aside for a moment, there are exactly three people I consider to be super mega ultra smart and they're all in this room right now. Where are we supposed to find--

Those are children, Zale. Don't be stupid.

Centuries-old immortal children.

Centuries-old immortal child engineers.

...

...

...

Oh, shit. GUYS. I JUST THOUGHT OF SOMETHING. What about Cael at the Clockwork Castle!? He and his team are brilliant. You remember that shit they made for the Eclipse!? They could crack this in no time!

They can't leave the castle without instantly decaying into vapor, so I guess Kickball's coming with us. But don't. Do. Things. Your one and only remaining function is terrible and you're not allowed to ever use it, under penalty of finding out how fragile that orange glass bit truly is. That's the rule.

I suppose it's time to return to our own world. To the Clockwork Castle, to take care of some very important business.

YES, now Repine can discover the joys of intense gambling addiction. My hobby is spreading like a virus.

...oh, I guess we should also go chat up the kids while we're here, huh?

He'd understand. Thank you.

Listen, we have something very important to talk to you about so please try to focus and don't get distracted by the impossibly cool cyborg.

...or the soul-infused golem made from the mythical Living Glass.

...or the animate puppet infused with godly magic....

...

You know what? Zale and I will find something to busy ourselves with for about a day while y'all nerd out and then we can come back to this.

O.O TEAKS WHAT

...

OKAY. I. Thought. You'd be more protective of your magic journal than that.

...

Good on you for pragmatism!

I mean, most of the people I would consider "friends" are either part of our crew or part of the Vespertine crew. But I would like to take some time to recap what's happened for Garl.

And maybe spend some time pounding on TIA's door. Fucker thinks he can just portal away from me? I know where you live, asshole, and I can crank the obnoxiousness up to 11 on a dime. He is going to share his feelings and talk things through or so help me.

I foresee great things happening with those secrets in these hands. I eagerly anticipate what they'll create.

[the-haunted-office]

Send 🍰 for my muse to say something they like about yours! :

Doom, about whoever she'd like.

(Sorry if I'm spamming, just tell me and I'll stop)

Send 🍰 for my muse to say something they like about yours!

Naturally, whenever Doom says something about one of the Atlantis guys, she must say something about the other as well. They are a package deal. Always have been. Always will be. No matter their marital status.

"Say something I like about Milo and Rourke, all right, well, there are plenty of things, given they're like, two of my closest, best friends and all. What's not to like about them? I guess I'll start with Milo?"

"MIlo is... or I guess I should say was a really nice guy. He's gone a little off the rails lately, started channeling me for some reason, and by that I mean, he's started setting fire to shit and just like, doing a lot of really crazy things. I don't know what his problem is, but someone needs to have a talk with him or shoot him in the neck with a tranquilizer dart or something."

"But anyway, outside of all that, Milo is one of the most genuinely nice... guys I've ever met. There aren't many out there like him, and I'm lucky to know him. I'm lucky to be his friend. I'm just... I want him back. I want him back to the way he was before. Can we have that, please? No more of this crazy shit? Where's my friend who'd go off on his goofy, geeky tangents about... you know... whatever he was going off on goofy, geeky tangents about! Language arts and things! What happened to all that? You mean to tell me that breaking up with his husband did all that to him? Seriously? Gimme a break."

"Now Rourke, he's like a gentle giant. And no, he's not stupid, despite what anyone says, despite what he thinks, and despite all those times I called him stupid, okay? He's not. I was projecting. I'm the one who's stupid. Not him. And if he's stupid, then fuck, what the hell are any of us doing here? Who's Milo? Who's Einstein? Who's Neil DeGrasse Tyson? Who's God? Because Rourke is like, he's building things! He's out there, outside the Office, building things! He took me to a black hole and told me all this nerdy stuff about it! Does he have any idea how- you know, attractive that is? How amazing that is? To not only know all those things, but to be able to just spit it all out on a dime like that? I wish I could do that."

"But eh, anyway, you know, those are just a few things I like about them. But I'd say, what I like most of all is that, they're my friends. They put up with my shit. And ah... yeah. They're cool."

[rhymingslangsblog]

Pennies et pounds

Dimes et dollars

Villains and whores

Money oh shock horror

Gimme a man that would die for his family

I'll wager his with more than

Ten paid soldiers

For love is the burning fire

The devolution of morals

Such polarity but redemption an Kindness

Desolation of honour

The hearts desire

An agenda they push

It doesn't align

Like sins or emotions

Values devotion

With hearts and minds and melodies

Push a new

Take what love we learned in raves

Make peace a truth

Dinned with the devil

Had breakfast with God

Luncheons with Jesus

All 3 spoke of love ❤️

[breezingby]

Ray Wylie Hubbard ~ Count my Blessings (Live on KNCE)

Mama gimme a nickel and a deck of cards Said go on and play in the back yard Walking down the alley come my uncle lonnie Said lemme teach ya about 3 card monty Take the ace of hearts and two black queens Flip'em over so they can't be seen Spin' em around four or five times Bet a nickel find the ace and win a dime Ten minutes later I had thirty five dollars Singing ain't misbehavin' by the great Fats Waller

I believe I'm gonna count my blessings I believe I am gonna count my blessings

~ ♫♪♫ ~

Now I saw a black crow on a fence post Singing away like Sam Hopkins' ghost He sang when you see I ain't breathin' no more Nail my feathers to a old barn door Or drag my carcass out behind the shed Just make sure you're pretty sure I'm dead Ask a Ouija board if you can't quite tell Or if I start to stink like the floors in hell Go to Navasota after I'm done dying It don't do you no good sitting around crying

I believe I'm gonna count my blessings I believe I am gonna count my blessings

~ ♫♪♫ ~

So I got me a pencil and a moleskin book When I heard Bertha Franklin shot and killed Sam Cooke I Wrote down December 11, 1964 Ain't gonna be twisting the night away no more It took 15 minutes for the jury to decide Cause of death's justified homicide Liza Boyer wasn't called by the prosecution Later on she's arrested for prostitution La hacienda motel had a busted down door Sam's wallet and his money was never accounted for

And I believe I'm gonna count my blessings I believe I'm gonna count my blessings And everyday I believe I'm gonna count my blessings I believe I'm gonna count my blessings I believe....

~ ♫♪♫ ~

[streamdotpng]

Okay! I've decided I am going to write a fic about Lorraine x Enid :D

This is how it goes; After Enid graduated Nevermore and returned back to San Francisco with her family, she noticed how overjoyef her family was because of her shifting and not because of her overall growth as a person.

People treated her like she was perfect and not a disappointment like she always was to them. As if she was never a "broken wolf" from the beginning.

Resulting in Enid leaving home without a trace and hitting the road. Enid wandered from state to state for over three years now, meeting new people and surviving both on her own and through embracing her inner wolf.

Until one day after months of traveling and non-stop hassle, she met the Daye family, looking for a farm hand which Enid desperately and happily accpeted as she was running low on her last dime.

To where she spends the rest of her days getting to have a roof over her head, new clothes on her back, and full belly of hot meals three times a day. And a pretty girl she gets to know while she enjoys her stay.

But whose to say this wolf in human clothing can keep up the facade? Will they find out she's secretly a monster or will she be able to stay undercover as a farmhand for a little while longer?

OH NO, NOT THE TICKING TIME CLOCK OF A FULL MOON

Gimme a sec, I'll react to the movie in a bit. I just gotta eat

But shit man, imagine she knows that they're a rather God fearing normie family

There's no way they'll accept an outcast bc in alot of religious texts they're usually seen as demons so Enid's double fucked

[thatoneandlonelyemo2005]

gimme ur javey headcanons or i’ll make your kneecaps into soup <333

-🦡

do it you wont-

jk anyways

uuhhhh, so werid thing but not bc there the same people (kinda) I mostly ship Javid bc 1992sies is my life rn, and ONES JUST AN ARTIST AND THE OTHER IS A COWBOY

so if everything seems weird or anything, stab me

1992sies-

David finds Jack extra cute with his cowboy hat on

Their first kiss happened on David's fire escape while Jack was walking him home

Sarah saw it happen while she was looking for David to see if he was close to home

Sarah is so happy for them and gossip to Blink and Spot about this they lowkey girlboss and have tea parties

David is a blushing mess when coming in and Sarah smiles at him

Les asked if David was alright and all David could do was blush harder

When they have birthdays Jack always gets David a book or a new shirt (BECAUSE THIS BITCH WILL SAVE EVERY PENNY)

David would get him more dime novels and even a well-illustrated poster of cowboys (Sarah and Les chipped in even if David didn't want them too)

On a snowy day in New York everyone is playing but David is there looking at each Newsie UNTIL JACK CHUCKS A SNOWBALL AT DAVID and they have a snowball fight

Tumbler looks to Skittery and says " Skits, mom and dad are fighting again"

It's now like a playful civil war, UNTIL SPOT COLON COMES IN AND HELPS RACE WHO IS ON DAVIDS SIDE, JACK TEAM DIES

Jack learns about Hanukkah and ask questions

David's mom and Sarah all make the Newsies quilts each with something resembling the newsie its given too

All the newsies try to find something for them, they all pitch in to get Sarah and Ester a new dress, Myer a new razor, and Les a stuffed dog

Jack and David stay up all night talking while the windows open, either in the lodge or at David's house

On thanksgiving the whole Jacobs family makes a meal for all them AND the Newsies

David sometimes has to stay at home while his parents take Les to see their grandparents so he invites Jack over while Sarah goes spend time with Katherine

If his parents are out more than 1 day Sarah and him each get a day for the house all to themselves with their partners

OK NOW FOR JAVEY BC IDK WHAT IM DOING

Jack ofc draws Davey all the time

He even drew the whole family once

Sometimes they skip an hour or two to walk in the park

Once Jack dared Davey to climb a tree and he did,,,but he fell after word

Jack wouldn't stop apologizing Davey just kissed him to shut him up

Jack would invite Davey to see Medda and drink tea with her

Davey would discuss different scenes that Jack could paint while at this

They first kissed up on Jacks penthouse

Crutchie walked/climbed in on them the first time and called to Race who owed him a quarter because he was right to bet that Davey would kiss first

Jack found out how to make flower crowns

Davey was taught by Sarah how to press them in a notebook

He looks at said notebook when he misses Jack (mostly at night when he can't sleep)

Davey tries to teach Jack how to dance

He fails a lot but at least he can dip Davey and kiss him

He also tries to teach Jack how to read better

Well he dose to most of the Newsies but like Albert and Elmer they need extra time to learn

Jack has many issues so dose Davey so they both help each other

And they have new ways to help each other all the time

[ya9amicide]

The End of the World In a Woman’s Hands [Newsies]

chapter three

♡ newsies masterlist ♡ previous chapter ♡ next chapter ♡

summary: Being a girl in the everyday world is difficult. Being the leader of the Manhattan Newsies and a girl? Even more so. Especially when nobody knows you're a girl and the truth is the closest kept secret you have ever had. For Jack Kelly, keeping the truth of her gender a secret is one she's found easy after doing so for many years. Unfortunately, having close encounters with the iron fist, Pulitzer, and a new Newsie who seems determined to get to know her, that secret might just become the opposite.

pairing: fem!jack kelly x david “davey” jacobs

warnings: none

They all huddled against the wall inside, catching their breath. “Slow down. We lost ‘em,” Jack says.

“I want some answers,” David demands. “Why was he chasing you? What's the Refuge?”

“The Refuge is this jail for kids. That guy, Snyder, he's the warden. The more kids he locks up, the more money the city pays him. Problem is, all the money goes straight into his own damn pocket. Do yourself a favor and stay clear of him and The Refuge.”

“You were in jail? Why?” Les asks.

Jack shrugs. “I was starvin'. I stole some food.”

David looks at her suspiciously. “Right, food…He called you 'Sullivan'.”

She steps up in his face as if daring him to challenge her. “Yeah, food. My name's Kelly, Jack Kelly, like I told you. Think I'm lyin'?”

“You have a way of 'improving the truth.' Why was he chasing you?”

“Because I escaped,” she tells him.

Les looks at her in awe. “​​Oh, boy. How?”

“This big shot gimme a ride out in his carriage.”

“Bet it was the mayor, right?” David asks sarcastically.

She smirks at him. “Nah. Teddy Roosevelt. Ever heard of him?”

Suddenly, a voice rings out from below the balcony. “Hey, you up there, shoo! No kids allowed in the theater.”

Jack leans over the railing, a bright, cheeky grin adorning her face. “Not even me, Miss Medda?” She teases.

Medda gasps in surprise, recognizing her. “Jack Kelly, man of mystery. Get yourself down here and give me a hug.” Jack runs down to the stage and brings Medda into a crushing hug, rocking side to side. “Where have you been keepin’ yourself, kid?”

Jack chuckles. “Never far from you, Miss Medda.” She pulls away from the hug and gestures the boys closer. “This is David and Les. And this is the greatest star of the vaudeville stage today, Miss Medda Larkin.”

“Pleasure,” David tells her kindly.

Jack turns back to the older woman imploringly. “Miss Medda, I got a little situation out on the street. Mind if I hide out here a while?”

“Where better to escape trouble than a theater? Is Snyder after you again?” Medda gives her a knowing look. She doesn’t wait for a response, instead, she pats Jack on the cheek and heads to the stage.

Les looks around backstage excited while David sticks by Jack. “It's late,” he says. “My folks'll be worried…What about yours?”

“They're out west lookin' for a place for us to live,” she takes something from her pocket. “Like this.” It's the cover of a dime novel with a blue-perfect sky over a perfect yellow desert, a large red sun shining down on a perfect adobe. “That's Sante Fe–out in New Mexico? Soon's Pop finds us the right ranch, they're sendin' for me.”

“Then you'll be a real cowboy,” Les pipes in tiredly.

Jack nods quietly. David looks at Jack, not believing a word of what she's saying; seeing how much she wants it to be true.

Later, they leave the bowery. Down the street, a trolley is in flames, surrounded by a mob of shouting men. David looks at it nervously. “Why don't we divvy up at my place? You can meet my folks.” The mob is chasing two men towards them, screaming. A conductor with a bloody head and terrified face runs past them but is caught, tackled, and beaten–David pulls Les away. “Jack, let's get outta here!”

The boys move away and Jack looks back at the beating. “Maybe tomorrow we get a decent headline.”

They enter the boys’ home, Jack carries a sleeping Les inside where they find their mother sitting at the table.

She spots them and thinks the worst. “My God! What happened?”

“He's just sleeping, Momma,” David tells her gently.

She quickly takes him from Jack and lays him down. Their dad walks in looking relieved, a bandage on his arm. “We’ve been waiting dinner for you, where've you been?” David says nothing as he crosses to the table and dumps the day's receipts on it, looking up at his father proudly. “You made all this selling papers?”

“Half of it's Jack's–he's our selling partner,” he says. “And our friend. This is my parents.”

Jack nods awkwardly, not knowing what to say.

Mayer, seeing her awkwardness, steps in. “Esther, maybe David's partner would like to stay for dinner. Add some more water to the soup.”

Les mumbles in his sleep across the room as everyone digs into their food. “What I saw today, I gotta say your boys are born Newsies, Mr. Jacobs. With my experience and their hard work–just a little more, thanks–,” Jack continues onto her third bowl of soup, “–I figure we can peddle a thousand a week and not break a sweat.”

Mayer looks on, shocked. “That many?”

Jack shrugs. “More when the headline's good.”

“What makes a headline good?” Esther asks.

“Catchy words…like, uh, 'corpse' or 'maniac,' or, let's see, 'love nest' or 'nude'–.”

David cuts her off with a laugh and Esther looks appalled. Jack stops, embarrassed. “'Scuse the language there, uh, maybe I'm talkin' too much…”

Mayer laughs heartily. “You talk fine, Jack. David, get that cake your mother's been hiding in the cabinet!”

“That's for your birthday tomorrow!” Esther complains.

“I've had enough birthdays! This is a celebration!”

David leaps up to fetch it. “It's only the beginning. The longer I work, the more I'll make–,” his dad cuts him off.

“You work only until I go back to the factory! Then you go back to school, like you promised.” All activity stops, and there’s an awkward silence. Mayer looks at his bandaged hand. “It will heal. They'll give me back my job. I'll make them…”

Jack sees how worried the family is. No one seems able to speak, then Les starts mumbling in his sleep a song sung at the bowery. The family is shocked except for Jack and David, who sputter into laughter. The celebration is restored and Jack digs into an enormous slab of cake, looking around at the smiling faces, for the moment feeling like she belongs.

Later that night, Jack and David stand on the fire escape, talking quietly.

“How'd your pop get hurt?” Jack asks.

“The factory. An accident.” David’s tone turns bitter. “He's no good to them anymore so they just fired him. He's got no union to protect him.” They both go silent.

Mayer peeks out the window. “David? Time to come in now.”

Jack looks in at the picture of a warm family. David, going in, sees his friend's expression. “Why don't you stay here tonight?”

Jack jerks back slightly as if she was caught doing something she wasn’t supposed to. “I got my own place, but thanks. Your family's real nice, Dave…Like mine.”

David nods and climbs in the window. He pauses and leans back out slightly. “You know, you’re a good guy, Jack. I see the way you care for those kids…It’s nice of you.”

Jack turns towards the streets of New York so that David won’t see the way her cheeks flushed at his comment. “Shaddap,” she mutters.

David chuckles softly at her. “See you tomorrow. Carryin' the banner.”

“Yeah…Carryin’ the banner.”

David goes inside, gently shutting the window.

[hijacking-hearts]

No trabajo mañana chamacos, what are some of your fave moments from Karmaland V? Dime, dime, dime my day is already packed with errands tomorrow but I wanna draw too.

Oh! I'll even draw some stuff from Minecraft Extremo I haven't had the time to draw anything for that yet but I'll draw some stuff tomorrow. Or it can be anything I don't really care.

Gimme prompts pls.

[inkykeiji]

Oh sorry! PM!Dazai means Port Mafia Dazai, back when he was an executive, since Port Mafia Dazai and Armed Detective Agency (ADA) Dazai are two VERY different people!

ahahahaha i got it i got it i feel so sillyyyyy waaaah but you’re right!!! as a very personal aside i genuinely believe his port mafia side is still hidden within him and he just has very good grasp on it—like he can become whoever he wants to be whenever he wants to be, at the drop of a dime—but that’s just a personal headcanon euhehehehe (*/ω＼*) anYWAY okay yes yes yes, gimme some time and i will write a fucking oneshot for you because that idea is downright incredible and my brain is already crawling with so many thoughts they’re tangling together AAAAH <333

as another personal aside, you’ve probably already noticed this tbh hehehe BUT when i write this dynamic thus far, i do write him as ada-ish dazai with reader versus pm!dazai with aku, but obviously reader has witnessed some of his cruelty and callousness towards her other partner so~ yeah!