#latest piggy bank

[lesbianstarlightglimmer]

Still waiting on my package 😔

[a-forbidden-detective]

Another day, another discovery.

The blurry couple on the left will become Unno-san and Donzawa from the Observatory on Solitary Island arc.

The two men on the right will become Torage and his victim.

The femicide victim and her husband are already un-blurred while Kawasemi-san and Yamane still await their turn.

The young woman sitting on the bench’s arm support will become Onodera the photographer and John Grizzly behind her.

Culled from Episode 2, the Case of the Piggy Bank Murder

Much has been said ( @ecargmura ) on the opening song’s blurring of the people around Ron and Toto that has become clearer once these supporting characters have appeared from the episodes.

@plant-akki posted several gifs of these comparisons from episode 3 to the latest.

But have you noticed the man who’s running with the billowing black coat? Once he is seen running in the other direction, but most of the time Ron and Toto are chasing after him.

During Episode 8, the man on the left becomes Jumonji, the director of the observatory. But take a look at the man wearing a black coat running behind him.

He’s now in front of Toto. It looks like the duo is running after him.

He’s appeared now behind them of what looks like a rendition of the “Murder on the Orient Express.”

In the end, he’s pointed the crime scene to them from what looks like a scene from a Japanese detective TV series or mystery film.

The trench-coat wearing Ron is a direct reference to “Columbo.”

Take note that it is only Ron who wears different kinds of clothing, depends on the media he’s dreaming in, while Toto still wears his grey suit.

Anyway, it is none other this guy.

This guy here, Sherlock Holmes, and the man next to him, his John Watson, are fond of running after their suspects in this BBC series. This image is iconic.

It must be an homage, or a running gag (no pun intended), that Ron and Toto should do the same as Ron gets to live his dream of becoming a full-fledged detective like his ancestor with the help of Toto. Hence, Toto holding his friend’s hand who must be telling him, “Hey, slow down, I got you, you are all right. I’ll be here beside you. You aren’t alone now.”

[rubywolf0201]

My thoughts on the latest episode of BUCCHIGIRI?! Episode 9 aka the one episode that had me mentally broken

WARNING: *May contain spoilers esp in regards to Senya and Ichiya and the starting of the corruption arc of Matakara*

- Continuing the ending scene of Episode 8, it seems like everything was Akutaro’s and Ichiya’s plan was to go smoothly but SIKE! It was ICHIYA’S plan all along! Akutaro was just a pawn!

- Akutaro doesn’t seem too pleased about it and wants to merge back with Ichiya with the latter telling him straight up how he was nothing but a tool straight up made him mad.

- In class, Mahoro as always is looking at photos of her brother and holy moly! THE JIN’S HAVE A DOG?! I DIDN’T KNOW THEY WERE FRICKIN RICH!

- Anyways, Arajin being the simp that he is tries to give her the soapstone but she ignores him.

- However, Arajin just so happens to overhear Komao and Zabu being worried for Matakara and how he’s been gone for three days! WHAT?!

- This has got me super worried AF.

- Arajin doesn’t seem too concerned about it but something tells me that deep down he feels…worried for some reason.

- Back in the Tomoshibi family restaurant, Arajin is helping out as always and Senya can’t help but notice Arajin’s worry so much to the point that he slapped him on the back pretty hard to cheer him up which he doesn’t seem to accept.

- Back with Zabu and Komao, they asked the receptionist about Matakara’s whereabouts again only this time he’s back. Excited about the news, both Zabu and Komao bought him something to eat but they heard a crashing sound.

- They open up to see Matakara opening up his piggy bank and taking up whatever remaining money that he has all the while ignoring Zabu and Komao. Man. That hurts.

- Meanwhile, Arajin is heading to the bathhouse due to the showers in his home being broken down, but then he bumped into Matakara but unlike the usual, Mata’s whole cheerful demeanour is gone, most likely from what happened last episode and just left without saying a word.

- The customer and cat cafè waiter returned again. This time, when the customer asked for Pu’er again, the waiter begged him to take Jasmine again because of how she’s been waiting for the customer which causes the customer to change and asked for Jasmine. What this means is probably gonna be foreshadowing of the next episode or the current predicament that’s happening.

- At the bathhouse, Arajin was trying to enjoy a peaceful bath time when he ran into Komao and Zabu with the former being all cheerful, calling him Ara-pyon and offering to wash his back despite seeing him act like an uncaring asshole last episode (what a sweetheart).

- Arajin and Zabu asked each other about Matakara’s wellbeing before Komao jumped into the bathtub cannonball style.

- There’s something oddly cathartic seeing the NG Boys and Girls discussing about Akutaro’s downfall (I mean he did abuse them after all) and Akutaro can’t help but watch all of this happen and ran off embarrassed by his downfall.

- Tho that being said, Akutaro does have a plan in which he discovered a slip of paper that says Honki on the front but what it says is pretty unknown.

- Any scene with Matakara and Ichiya is just so heartwrenching because unlike Arajin and Senya’s relationship, Ichiya is trying to break Mata down mentally.

- Oh and it turns out that the dark shadow thing isn’t Ichiya’s but something hiding within Matakara all along.

- Also, we got some backstory regarding how Matakara joined Minato Kai, in which he just beat up a bunch of random thugs because of honoring his brother and Arajin, he and Ken went up against each other to pass the trial to become a member of Minato Kai.

- Also, just saying but the first year design of Zabu and Komao are just so adorable. Oh and I guess my headcanon of the first meeting between these three got debunked but it technically became true when it’s revealed that all three joined Minato Kai at the same time.

- To Mahoro, Marito and Outa (the latter two who are absent since last ep): Mahoro is playing some sort of imaginary tea party with a dolly of Marito lol but the moment real Marito and Outa came in she quickly hid under the covers.

- From there, both Marito and Outa began to discuss about Mitsukuni’s hospitalization and also revealed that not even Kenichiro can beat him. When Marito asked why is Outa is concerned about Mitsukuni and even brought up the topic about it, Outa then revealed that Matakara is going through a hard time right now and that he is the kid brother of Mitsukuni.

- Both Marito and Mahoro who overheard about it expressed shock at the relation. And my reaction to all this is: “Wait none of you siblings knew about it?” (Moreso from Mahoro because Matakara told her about it back in Episode 4)

- Marito heard something and began to search in his room for the noise which Outa began to question what is he doing before they continue their discussion.

- Mahoro oddly began to display worry and concern for Matakara, despite those two never interacting by a whole lot. But it is a nice gesture nonetheless.

- The next day, Arajin and Mahoro have a talk on the rooftop, to which the latter asked about the condition of Matakara’s wellbeing. Arajin was hesitant to ask and even begin to worry about how she is showing interest in Mata (which is not true at all) to which Mahoro is disgusted by and just left him.

- Also, it’s interesting to note how Mahoro said that it happened to her once (regarding the things Matakara is going through) but what this mean is quite peculiar.

- While walking back, Senya tried to cheer Arajin up with a massive slap to the back but Arajin dodged it this time. At least until they are approached by a disheveled Akutaro who slipped a paper right into Arajin’s jacket pocket before going off.

- Ichiya breaking down Matakara and manipulating him to fight Arajin. My poor sunshine puppy. 😭

- Arajin and Senya are walking to the bathhouse again but this time we are given expository on Senya and Ichiya.

- Both Senya and Ichiya are street kids (possibly back when they were mortals) who live in an unknown part of the desert long time ago. Senya (who wasn’t given a name back then) admired Ichiya’s fighting style and begged to fight him. Ichiya was disinterested in Senya at first but he doesn’t seem to say no either.

- Over the years, both Senya and Ichiya’s friendly rivalry grew and grew so much so that when they were hanging out, Ichiya was the one who named Senya as he is today.

- But all of a sudden, their relationship turned sour at some point with black shadows covering Ichiya. What happened is unknown but it’s seem odd for some reason.

- When Arajin asked why Senya relied the backstory to him, the genie said that both Arajin and Matakara’s goal of being Honki People is a lot similar to his and Ichiya’s goal.

- Matakara appears in front of Arajin, clearly looking distraught and not long before he starts attacking Arajin.

- Arajin had no idea what has happened and Senya told him to merge with him to which Arajin managed to thankfully stop Matakara’s kicks but Matakara overpowered Arajin and just as he was about to land a finishing blow, Arajin’s gut began to growl which hit him to run to the nearest bathroom

- Also in all seriousness, can’t they dropped the toilet humor?

- Ichiya appeared and is convinced that the reason Matakara held back was because of his kind heart.

- Back in the Tomoshibi residence, Ara patched himself up from what has happened and Senya looked down and muttered about how Ichiya now has a hold on Matakara now. Angered by all this, Arajin began to ask how did he know about it before Senya disappeared.

- Just as Arajin is lying down, he saw the slip of paper that Akutaro slipped in meet him in the dead of the night.

- Akutaro then revealed that the reason why Senya is being secretive is because apparently Senya is planning to take over Arajin!

- Back with Ichiya and Matakara, Ichiya talked about Mitsukuni and feed lies on why the latter is weak before Matakara began to go apeshit and destroyed the dark shadow. Oh and Matakara has a mark behind his back not unlike the one Arajin has behind his ass.

- And with that, the final scene now has Ichiya in full possession with Matakara all the while saying that he is lacking anger and hatred in his heart. Matakara’s eyes lacked shine and now resembles Ichiya’s.

[frustrationinexcelsis]

I've started playing Terraria just a couple weeks ago, and it's extremely addictive.

Keeping the villagers happy and getting the pylon network running has been a fun challenge. The pets and slimes have been a big help in getting starter villages padded out.

Also, collecting the different slimes is pretty fun.

Inventory management has so far been the biggest hurdle, because there's a ton of shit to make or collect and I am a huge packrat. The flying piggy bank helps, as has digging out a storage basement the size of a house.

Words cannot describe the depths of my loathing for the underground desert and all of its misbegotten denizens. I have learned to hate antlions like I never have before.

So far I've got the Eye of Cthulhu, Slime King, the Brain of Cthulhu, and Skeletor under my belt, in that order. The Brain was easier than I expected; the grass blade made pretty short work of the orbiting eyeball thingies. I'll probably need to fight it again to get my gear fully upgraded.

The bee, though.

My God.

The fucking bee.

The Dungeon is... a lot. At one point like four of the fucking magic skeleton guys spawned in at once and I swear that I almost shit myself.

At least I got the magic missile wand from the latest foray down there. That one's fun.

[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!"

[foreverlogical]

NEW YORK (AP) — The National Rifle Association and its former longtime leader were found liable Friday in a lawsuit centered on the organization’s lavish spending.

The New York jury found that Wayne LaPierre, who was the NRA’s CEO for three decades, misspent millions of dollars of the group’s money on pricey perks, and it ordered him to repay the group $4,351,231. Jurors also found that the NRA omitted or misrepresented information in its tax filings and violated New York law by failing to adopt a whistleblower policy.

LaPierre, 74, sat stone-faced in the front row of the courtroom as the verdict was read aloud. The jury actually found him liable for $5.4 million, but it determined he’d already paid back a little over a million.

The verdict is a win for New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who campaigned on investigating the NRA’s not-for-profit status. It is the latest blow to the powerful group, which in recent years has been beset by financial troubles and dwindling membership. LaPierre, its longtime face, announced his resignation on the eve of the trial.

NRA general counsel John Frazer and retired finance chief Wilson Phillips were also defendants in the case. Phillips was ordered to pay $2 million in damages to the NRA. Frazer, meanwhile, was found to have violated his duties, but was not ordered to pay any money.

The penalties paid by LaPierre and Phillips will go back to the NRA, which was portrayed in the case both as a defendant that lacked internal controls to prevent misspending and as a victim of that same misconduct.

James also wants the three men to be banned from serving in leadership positions at any charitable organizations that conduct business in New York. A judge will decide that question during the next phase of the state Supreme Court trial.

Another former NRA executive turned whistleblower, Joshua Powell, settled with the state last month, agreeing to testify at the trial, pay the NRA $100,000 and forgo further involvement with nonprofits.

James sued the NRA and its executives in 2020 under her authority to investigate not-for-profits registered in the state.

She originally sought to have the entire organization dissolved, but Manhattan Judge Joel M. Cohen ruled in 2022 that the allegations did not warrant a “corporate death penalty.”

The trial, which began last month, cast a spotlight on the leadership, organizational culture and finances of the powerful lobbying group, which was founded more than 150 years ago in New York City to promote rifle skills and grew into a political juggernaut that influenced federal law and presidential elections.

Before he stepped down, LaPierre, had led the NRA’s day-to-day operations since 1991, acting as its face and becoming one of the country’s most influential figures in shaping gun policy.

During the trial, state lawyers argued that he dodged financial disclosure requirements while treating the NRA as his personal piggy bank, liberally dipping into its coffers for African safaris and other questionable expenditures.

His lawyer cast the trial as a political witch hunt by James.

LaPierre billed the NRA more than $11 million for private jet flights and spent more than $500,000 on eight trips to the Bahamas over a three-year span, state lawyers said.

He also authorized $135 million in NRA contracts for a vendor whose owners showered him with free trips to the Bahamas, Greece, Dubai and India, as well as access to a 108-foot (33-meter) yacht.

LaPierre claimed he hadn’t realized the travel tickets, hotel stays, meals, yacht access and other luxury perks counted as gifts, and that the private jet flights were necessary for his safety.

But he conceded that he had wrongly expensed private flights for his family and accepted vacations from vendors doing business with the NRA without disclosing them.

Among those who testified at the trial was Oliver North, a one-time NRA president and former National Security Council military aide best known for his central role in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s. North, who resigned from the NRA in 2019, said he was pushed out after raising allegations of financial irregularities.

After reporting a $36 million deficit in 2018 fueled largely by misspending, the NRA cut back on longstanding programs that had been core to its mission, including training and education, recreational shooting and law enforcement initiatives. In 2021, it filed for bankruptcy and sought to incorporate in Texas instead of New York, but a judge rejected the move, saying it was an attempt to duck James’ lawsuit.

Despite its recent woes, the NRA remains a political force. Republican presidential hopefuls flocked to its annual convention last year and former President Donald Trump spoke at an NRA event earlier this month — his eighth speech to the association, it said.

[scarletttries]

You Are In Love (Eddie Munson x Reader series)

Part Eight: You Let Go, Of Your Fears and Your Ghosts

Pairing: Eddie Munson (Stranger Things) x F! Reader

Tags: Bit of bullying mentioned, one mention of food, otherwise all fluff :)

Word Count: 2.7k

Author's Note: This is the eighth part of an Eddie Munson series inspired by Taylor Swift's "You Are In Love". Links for other parts on my Eddie Munson Masterlist :) As always please feel free to send me thoughts and headcanons for Eddie Munson 💕

And for once, you let go, Of your fears and your ghosts. One step, not much, But it said enough

"Natural Twenty!" Erica shouted excitedly, the rest of the table jumping to their feet in uproar. Eddie stared pensively over the laminated board separating him from the rest of his players, waiting for apprehensive silence to descend over the group again.

"Lady Applejack. How do you want to do this?" He smiled proudly, Erica's face lighting up as she described her character dealing the final blow to the big bad boss of Eddie's latest imaginative campaign.

"And with that, Lady Applejack has once again saved the party for immeasurable peril. Until next week brave heroes." Eddie said gradiously, rising to his feet and performing a dramatic bow as Mike remarked, returning Erica's victorious dice to her outstretched hand

"I feel like ever since you joined this group you always seem to get the final hit in."

"That's girl power Wheeler, get used to it." She replied confidently, turning to face a now laughing Eddie, the only person allowed to use his town-given label affectionately "Speaking of, Freak, when you are getting your girlfriend to join in? It'd be nice to have a little more representation of my fine gender."

He heard Gareth scoff beside him, still in disbelief at yours and Eddie's relationship despite all evidence to the contrary, convinced Eddie had just been playing an elaborate game with him since that first night at the Hideout.

"That's a nice thought Sinclair, but I don't think Dungeons and Dragons is really her thing." Eddie dismissed, feeling a bit embarrassed by the suggestion for a reason he couldn't quite put his finger on.

"Let me guess," Erica continued, one hand on her hip like Eddie was about to be dealt more damage than his precious game's monsters, "You've never even asked (y/n)?" Eddie faltered, defensive and unsure why he was suddenly the one being interrogated. "You know what Munson, i'll make you a bet."

"Erica, you've got to stop making bets on people's lives." Lucas sighed from across the room, only to get immediately shushed.

"I'll bet you ten american dollars that if you ask (y/n) if she wants to join the party, she'll say yes." Silence fell amongst the group, wondering if the quest cast Eddie's way would be a gauntlet he chose to accept.

"You're on Sinclair, let me know if you need something to break your piggy bank with ." He mocked, spitting out his answer before he could think about it enough to back out. But as Erica mimed shaking his hand across the table and the group started to pack up their things, a certain chill seemed to settle under his skin at the thought of broaching the topic with you.

---

"Eddie? Eddie. Eddie!" You repeated, starting to wave your hand an inch from his nose until finally he snapped out of his trance.

"Sorry, we're on question two right? I was just thinking about it." He quickly tried to recover, watching an unconvinced expression form across your face as you set the pen in your hand down amongst the books and papers scattered across your bedroom floor.

"We were on question two forty minutes ago. And you've been somewhere else all day." You leant forward across the floor, crawling closer to Eddie so you could kneel right in front of him, knees lightly meeting on his. "What are you actually thinking about Eddie?" You asked softly, trying to mask the concern in your voice as you placed your hands in his lap.

The truth was, from the moment Erica had mentioned you at D&D, Eddie had felt a mess. It should be a seemingly innocuous step in your relationship, your answer either way not bearing any weight on how you felt about Eddie. But Eddie knew it meant a lot more than that to him. There was a reason he hadn't wanted to bring up that important piece of his life with you; and the reason was fear.

Even though it was just a game, as soon as Eddie started running a dungeons and dragons club in second year of high school, people had turned it into so much more than that. It felt like every year his reputation grew yet again, the cruel names, the snide comments, the satanic rumours about him spreading until he felt like he couldn't even look Wayne in the eye for fear of what he'd heard about him, and even worse, what he believed. It felt like D&D was so intrinsically tied up in Eddie's bad reputation, in the things about him that made it impossible for him to fit in with everyone in Hawkins, that broaching the subject with you could only end in more ridicule, more scorn.

All day Eddie'd been haunted by the ghost of his life before you were in it. The constant taunting at school, the fear of what the rumour mill would churn out next, feeling like maybe he'd just never be enough for someone to want in the way he wanted them. And now, as you perched barely an inch away from him, empathy emanating from your eyes as you watched the gears turning his head, his sullen expression setting your own mind racing, Eddie felt like he was about to open a gate in Hawkins you'd finally choose to exit through, leaving him behind and alone again.

"It's nothing, I was just wondering," he readied himself, taking a deep breath to try and steady the imminent cracking in his voice, knowing if he let fear win out in this moment it's one he'd always regret. And he knew, deep under all that worry, that if there was anyone he could stop feeling scared around, it was you,

"Would you ever want to play D&D with me and Hellfire club?" He let the question hang in the air, watching a confused frown form across your brow and bracing himself for the haunting rejection that was about to come.

You could feel your face portray how lost you were by his request, unsure how something that made him so happy would make him so uncomfortable to talk about. Was he worried you'd ruin it for him and the group, because you didn't know all the rules? Did he feel like he just had to invite you as his girlfriend? As the second of silence passed you watched the depth behind his intensely dark eyes drift from discomfort to genuine sadness, finally understanding what this exchange meant to him. He wasn't worried you'd say yes, he was terrified you'd say no, and call him a freak like the others. He was scared to let you into a part of his life that so many mocked, worried even asking would change how you felt about him.

And so you let the widest smile you could muster break out across your cheeks, letting out a happy chuckle as you asked excitedly,

"Can I really? Are you sure that would be okay!" You practically bounced as you drew yourself up on your knees, watching Eddie's apprehensive expression, still waiting for you to deliver a punchline at his expense.

"Yeah, of course, if you want to." He stumbled through the confirmation, watching with suspicion as you shifted position again, a relieved smile starting to cross his worried face as you settled onto his lap, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling your chest tightly against his.

"Thank you Eddie! I'd love to." You held your position until you felt Eddie's arm finally react and begin to envelop you, vice-like in their encompassing hold, but leaving you just enough room to pull back to bring your face back in his view. He scanned it eagerly, looking for any signs of deceit or sarcasm, judgement or disgust, but just found the warm joy he'd still not grown accustomed to having so close.

"Really?" He found himself breathing out without thought, unconvinced of your answer to his request, but even more astounded by your existence in his life, the seemingly missing piece from his years of anguish.

"Really!" You replied, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, lips finding his in your excitement and feeling the undeniable response of a smile. "Can you give up on homework and start teaching me the game?" You asked happily, wondering quite what you had just signed yourself up for, but looking forward to seeing Eddie in his element nonetheless. Eddie stared back at you for a moment, heart bursting at the prospect of getting to talk you through something that meant so much to him, like another little piece of his being was revealed and you were accepting it with the same unending affection you had the rest of him. He let one hand loosen its hold on your waist, the other coiling round tightly to fill the void, while he brought his palm to the side of your face, bringing it back towards him again.

"Not yet." He said happily, excitable kiss landing on your lips as he pulled you tightly against him, intending to keep you firmly in his lap for the rest of the afternoon if he could help it. He could let go of his fear and his ghosts, as long as he didn't have to let go of you.

---

That week Eddie found himself setting up for Hellfire even earlier than usual, nervous for your first experience of the game, but excited that it meant he'd have you perched beside him all night. You agreed to just watch the session that afternoon, still trying to get your head around the basic mechanics of the game and wanting to see how it all worked in practice before jumping in yourself. The party were set to arrive at 5:30, and by 5pm Eddie had laid out all his props, carefully hiding key figurines behind his dungeon master's screen and watching you carefully rotate each one in your hands as you examined it closely from your chair beside his throne. It had taken a bit of convincing that you did in fact need your own chair for the evening, Eddie campaigning whole-heartedly for you to just spend the session observing from his lap, cocky smile creeping across his lips as he threw glances to the clock above the door periodically,

"If you insist on sitting over there for the game, you could at least do me the honour of joining me on my throne before everyone else gets here." He uncrossed his legs and patted the top of his thighs, feeling more in his element settled in his master's chair than he thought he would around you. Eddie wore confidence well, his eyes glowing darker as you obliged his request, lifting slowly from your seat to straddle his lap, fingers weaving through his hair as his hands found your hips,

"You can have me for ten minutes, then back to my chair, I don't want to scar any of your freshman," You flirted, Eddie nodded slightly in agreement before his lips landed on yours, wasting no time and knowing it wasn't a freshman he was hoping to scar. His chest pressed into yours as his thumbs rubbed warm circles in the soft skin of your thighs, taking your content hum as an opportunity to pass his tongue through your lips. Caught up in the intoxicating taste of Eddie you always missed the smile flashing against your lips as you heard the room's double doors creak open behind you.

"Eddie, why'd you...AH!" A confused voice called behind you, before falling into awkward silence as you climbed off Eddie lap, noticing his reluctance to loosen his grip on you.

"Gareth, you're early." Eddie feigned surprise, knowing full well he had given him the wrong time, basking in the baffled look on his face at your position by Eddie's side. "I don't think you two have properly met you, Gareth this is my girlfriend (y/n)." The word girlfriend was loaded with emphasis, the set up quickly becoming clear to you, even if the motive remained a mystery,

"Nice to meet you Gareth." You offered with a small wave, trying to remember anything beyond climbing on Eddie's lap. "I hope you don't mind, Eddie said I could sit in on Hellfire today so I can see how this all works for when I wanna play."

"Eddie said you could sit in? You want to play Dungeons and Dragons?" Scepticism still clear in his voice as Eddie draped his arm over you, less than subtlely planting a kiss to your template as you returned to your separate seats.

"Yeah one day! Why don't you tell me about your character?" You asked as Gareth began pulling sheets of paper out of a notebook, still unsure if this was an elaborate set up from Eddie, rather than admitting to a lie. As he began to tell you the details, you were sure out of the corner of your eye you could see Eddie stick out his tongue at Gareth from beside you, beaming with confidence in your company. Even if you didn't end up enjoying the game tonight, you could tell you were going to really enjoy the confident, funny, and somehow sexier than usual dungeon master Eddie.

Eddie watched the scene playout with glee, ecstatic that his friend was going to have to stop being surprised at every mention of your name now. However as sweet as the vindicating feeling was, he could only consider it his second favourite Hellfire interaction of the week.

---

Two Days Earlier:

It was no wonder Erica walked through the halls of her middle school like she owned the place, crowd of friends swarming her side, drawn to her confidence and unwavering loyalty to herself and those she deemed worthy of her friendship. That Tuesday was no different, pausing while one of her assorted besties exchanged books from their locker, Erica monologuing fluently about 'it being absolute bullshit if she doesn't get made captain of the debate team this year.'

"Erica, sorry to interrupt but I think that guy is looking at you?" One of her friends stopped her, pointing to the figure coming down the corridor and beginning a wave of giggles from the squad around her.

"What the freak?" Erica sighed out in disbelief as she recognised the figure of Eddie Munson towering over the kids in her middle school, walking confidently through the halls, clutching a cupcake in one hand as he scanned the shapes below him. As broadly as his reputation seemed to have spread around Hawkins, it didn't seem like any of the middle school girls knew Eddie as a freak, any older boy approaching Erica enough to send a few excitedly scurrying off to begin stirring up the rumour mill.

"Sinclair!" Eddie called out as he finally laid eyes on his target, ignoring the look of borderline outrage she gave him as he stomped over, oblivious to the stares of the kids around him.

"What are you doing here Munson? Even you can't be repeating this many years." Erica delivered the line suspiciously, the kind of comment that would have stung from anyone else, but from Erica only drew a wry laugh from Eddie.

"Not quite Lady Applejack, I come with an offering." He fumbled in his pocket for a second before pulling out a ten dollar note, extending it to the frowning middle schooler before her patience with him expired completely. "You won the bet, so this is for you. And this is for you as well." He continued, revealing the cupcake resting on his outstretched palm, "Just as a thank you." His performative tone dipped into sincerity as the sentence came to an end, Erica letting herself exchange a real smile with Eddie, happy for her friend and her just desserts.

"You're welcome. And you should never doubt me again." She said, nodding seriously as she took a bit of the well-earned treat. She tilted her head as she chewed, eyes widening at Eddie, "Was there something else?" Eddie laughed, genuinely a bit intimidated by the girl that barely reached hip height on him, and bowed as he stepped away.

"That's it, enjoy the spoils of your victory!" And with that he bounded back down the corridor, conscious to get through the exit before any of his old teachers saw him and realised he still had homework due.

"Who was that!" A chorus of girls whispered as they formed around Erica again, her surprise visitor sure to be the talk of all her afternoon classes.

"Just a senior who needed my advice with something." Erica remarked nonchalantly, taking another bite of her cupcake before setting back off to class. Owning middle school was easy.

You Are In Love taglist:

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[abuddyforeveryseason]

This is the Buddy for March 14th. You see he's holding his instrument of torture, ready to subject his latest victim patient to a cavity treatment. Nothing surprising there, after all, a dentist is just a sadist with newer magazines.

Some people are afraid of dentists. Dentophobia, they call it. And, it might be understandable since a lot of times going to the dentist is a painful and uncomfortable ordeal. And it doesn't help that they all look like nazis. Or the sinking feeling that if were actually competent, they'd have gone into medicine.

Or maybe these people are just ashamed of admitting they can't afford to go. Because to me, the scariest part about going to the dentist is the bill. I hate to go, sure, but the pain and discomfort is the least of my issues, since they at least seem to be a logical consequence of the work being done.

Of course, you have to take a sick day to go to the dentist, and those are worth their weight in gold. You get there and there's a rude receptionist glued to her phone, having you fill in an enormous, useless questionaire. Why does the dentist need to know my address?

The tyranny of the waiting room is somewhat diminished by having an e-reader and internet access. I learned really early on to carry an emergency book everywhere just in case I have to be subjected to a sudden waiting room.

Then at the consultation itself, you're at a battle of wits. The dentist will try to gouge as much money out of you as he can, which doesn't really engender trust - I'm not accusing the dentist of making up cavities so I'll shell out even more cash (or, so the insurance will, making me more of a piggy bank that shoots out money whenever he hurts it, in the eyes of the dentist) - but it does feel worrisome to know that, the worst my dental health is, the more money he'll make.

And it doesn't help that the dentist'll try to guilt trip me about whatever's wrong. For the sin of allowing the cavities to develop (by eating all that sugar) I should be fined with a larger bill. It's not like the torture isn't punishment enough, no. After all, if dentistry was free, nobody would even bother brushing, right? It's just some hours in house of pain, sitting in that alien chair looking up at the flying saucer lights while doctor Mengele sharpens his hooks and needles.

And you accuse me of not flossing enough? Fuck you, how about I get some floss to wrap around your neck and choke you with it, you piece of shit?

Huh, maybe I am a dentophobe.

[denimbex1986]

'“You talk about no one, ever. You just keep charging on”

Well, that was mad.

Who knew when we all settled down to watch the latest Doctor Who that we were getting The Two Doctors Reboot, nice and early? We basically got a 40 minute episode then a 20 minute episode here, bringing the 60th birthday trilogy to a close, and setting up, well, seemingly everything.

The Giggle, then, is a fairly traditional episode of Doctor Who on the surface. A foe from the past, a fancy corridor to run down, the world under threat. That sort of thing.

What’s more, it’s an episode that wasted no time at all bringing The Celestial Toymaker back from the 1960s, now not in the guise of Michael Gough, but looking incredibly like Neil Patrick Harris instead. Harris with a German accent no less, behind the counter of a 1926 Soho store when we first meet him. He’s dancing to the Spice Girls by the time we watch him drop a ball, and that gives an indication as to just how fast and furious The Giggle would turn out to be.

After the opening credits, we’re in London, and all is not well. Lots of smoke, looting, cars rampaging on pavements. On the surface, a little bit of a horror movie, with a creepy ventriloquist’s dummy mixing in a bit of the 1940s movie Dead Of Night with a dose of Saw.

There was a threatened subplot setup about John Logie Baird, the invention of television, and the seeding of something that’s been subtly threatening the human race since the invention of said telly. But once Russell T Davies had made his point, it was pretty quickly shelved. It’s an idea that at any other time could have happily been explored in a full episode. Here, it was needed to the point that it wasn’t. And when it wasn’t, it was gone.

The point that Davies was making? Well, you could call it subtext, but it was so close to the surface of what was going on we may as well call it text. The unbeatable enemy here wasn’t The Toymaker, it was humans. Worse: the brand of humans who think they’re always right. Facebook comments boards in walking, talking form.

Even UNIT doesn’t know what to do about them.

As Davies points out, they shout, they cancel. They’re even offered Zeedex, a vaccine against trouble of sorts, and they criticise it.

It would be fair to say that The Giggle is not Russell T Davies at his most subtle, but clearly deliberately so. He’s got something to say, and boy, does his script say it.

Yet as soon as he’s done with that, the television and the doll are shuttled off, as there’s much else to get through.

It would, after all, be fair to say that The Giggle had a hell of a lot going on, and much was splashed on the screen.

If last week’s Wild Blue Yonder was the slightly more contained of the three episodes we’ve just had (and my favourite), perhaps saving a few of Disney’s dollars by sticking mainly to a single location with a small cast, here Davies is emptying the piggy bank in ten minutes flat.

Again, it’s not special effects per se (although they were not skimped on – witness the folding up shop): it’s scale. A busy London street looks really busy. Chaos looks like chaos The helicopter flying over London actually looks like a helicopter flying over London.

And that’s before we get to the new UNIT headquarters. The first clues were the branded armour on the UNIT troops. Then, off we pop to a tower that looks like it’s been bought off Tony Stark, and not at a discount.

I think most of us are expecting, thanks to the Whoniverse logo that now precedes episodes of Doctor Who, that we’re going to be getting spin-offs in due course. The scale of the UNIT set and the sheen of its new tower means my money’s on that being one spin-off right there. Especially as it offers a welcome pension scheme for erstwhile Doctor Who companions. There’s a job offer for Donna Noble for a start.

It turns out there’s a second spin-off that’s also set up: David Tennant’s 14th Doctor is still in play, and we’ve now got two TARDISes. Will that be explored as a possible option? Who knows, but I’d not bet against seeing Tennant again in the show.

Let’s go though to what was set up as the meat of the episode: the face-off between Neil Patrick Harris’ much-hyped The Toymaker, and Tennant’s Doctor. All with Donna Noble involved too. A rematch, now in our universe, nearly 60 years in the making.

It’s The Toymaker up against a doubtful Doctor too, one questioning his effectiveness. “Take away the toys, what am I?”, he questions, giving the Time Lord the kind of gravitas and weight that Tennant has always excelled at. At one stage almost a failing Doctor too, one with his confidence stripped away.

Is this the continued weight of the Flux on his shoulders here? It – along with Trial Of A Time Lord – certainly gets another reference here. At one stage, a puppet show even. Heck, the puppet version of the Doctor’s history: we’re up to spin-off number three. Would watch.

Interesting fella then, The Toymaker. He reminded me of when Russell T Davies re-introduced The Master all the way back in 2007. John Simm’s take on that particular foe was played big, a rampaging, loud, scene-demanding antagonist, not shy of a pop song. Certainly a marked difference from how we’d seen The Master before.

Neil Patrick Harris – at his most creepy in a suit in the background, staring at the camera – is more than up to what’s asked of him here, and it’s a not dissimilar approach. The words ‘quiet’ and ‘subtle’ were not part of the pitch.

It’s a whole lot of fun though, if not always a settled and particularly interesting take on the character. When he appears from the sky as a puppeteer, I confess, I wasn’t unnerved. When he was silent, staring in the background, I was.

A doll reciting poetry while walking slowly past a clock in the wall? Yep, that was creepier. A dance with Jemma Redgrave – welcome back! – to the Spice Girls? Again, less so. The smaller the ask, the more unnerving The Toymaker became.

But then, after all the build-up, not actually much time. It was lovely to see Bonnie Langford’s Melanie Bush again – quieter than usual – but again, not much time with her. Perhaps we’ll meet her again. Hope so.

The first 40 minutes then, the episode that we though we were getting, was perfectly decent, entertaining, breezy, and occasionally very funny (Donna knowing exactly when to run). Credit to director Chanya Button for keeping up with it all.

The last 20 minutes? Well, where do you start.

Doctor Who has always changed, always evolved, and rightly so. Right before our eyes tonight, it was rewriting its rule book again, and there was much to take it.

It was, in two words, a lot.

We’ve had a premature David Tennant regeneration before, but when he started getting the glow some 15 minutes from the end of The Giggle, I confess I was expecting a more traditional handover, albeit with Davies giving us an unexpected 15 minutes to get to know, well, the 15th Doctor.

What we got was something new: bi-regeneration.

That, plus a TARDIS with a jukebox. A Doctor parading around in his pants. Fourteen and 15 hugging it out. And an actual happy ending for a Doctor. Bet the BBC gets letters about some of that, too. Probably from the same lot that wrote in last time.

Things just kept on coming. This was full-on blockbuster television, and a very clear sign of where things are heading.

Just one of those things we got in the last act would have been new: in Davies’ latest generation of Who, we got the whole lot in a quarter of an episode. You ain’t going to get much slowdown in a Saturday night slot either.

I should note that a few things have been seeded here alongside the pair of Doctors and their respective vehicles.

The Master’s clearly back in play, and not just because of the namecheck of the Archangel network. The picking up of the tooth at the end (yep) had a ring of the last reel of 1980’s Flash Gordon about it. We know The Master’s in there: but who picked the tooth up? Someone at UNIT presumably. For now, they’re not telling.

There’s more too.

Who are the “legions” that the Toymaker talks of? Again, there’s clearly more threat coming, because he was incredibly easily defeated here after being told how deadly he was. It made the regular batterings of the Daleks look difficult. But also, we’re told of The One Who Waits. Who’s that? Whoever or whatever it is, it’s clearly Ncuti Gatwa’s problem. And it sure looks, from the glimpse that we’ve had, that Gatwa is going to have a lot of fun trying to solve it.

He may even need to invest in a pair of trousers.

Even writing this all down though, what I got from all of this, as much as Russell T Davies was repainting and rewiring the show, was a deep love of it from him. The time taken to pay tribute to Sarah-Jane. The mention of Adric. That aforementioned puppet show. Even protecting moles from Wilf. All of this is the woven fabric of the show, and it’s very, very clear that Davies is building on it, not disposing of it. I love that.

Here, he’s used a trilogy to give fans new and old something. The old farts like me are far more Wild Blue Yonder, I’d imagine, but I had fun with The Giggle, even if I wanted more of The Giggle in it. The last 20 minutes took me very much by surprise, and for a show that’s entering its seventh decade (!), how impressive is that?

It’s been a fun trilogy of episodes, this. And what we got here was the culmination of an ambitious, top-to-bottom reintroduction of the show that’s already got a fresh run of episodes waiting for us, beginning with the festive special.

This, then, is Doctor Who. And this is now the future of the show.

It ain’t going to be everyone. But all signs are, it’s going to be quite a ride. Roll on Christmas…'

[xoxardnekoxo]

Movie Review: TMNT Mutant Mayhem

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

Ah, Ninja Turtles. My childhood superheroes... oh who am I kidding, my eternal superheroes. :D This fabsome foursome debuted in 1987, the same year I was born, so I literally grew up watching the franchise. The series has gotten several reboots over the last three decades, and it's still going strong. The hype now is around the latest installment, Mutant Mayhem, created by Seth Rogen.

So, confession - when I first heard details about this movie and saw promo images, I was NOT on board. The art style is amateur at best, and yet another one of my beloved childhood redheaded characters has been black washed. First Ariel, now April? If we could stop doing that, that would be great... I'm totally okay with her being heavyset and more realistic in terms of body. We could all use THAT type of PC upgrade for beloved classic characters. But at least keep them the same race we've always known them to be.

But enough about that. It wasn't just the art style that made me stick my nose up in disgust at yet another remake of my ultimate childhood series. I'm literally a mega fan - my TMNT collection dates back 30+ years and is still growing, and it features some sort of item from every series thus far (with the exception of Rise... because even I can't get on board with that one). I'm talking figures, plushes, clothes, jewelry, hats, backpacks, bookmarks, magnets, buttons, piggy banks, etc. You name it, I've got it in TMNT form. So I'm very passionate about the show and can be quite critical of changes to it.

Which is why when I was starting to get past the art style, I was appalled to learn that not only would Shredder not be the main antagonist this time around, he wouldn't even be referenced at all.

Uh... yeah, we all know - we've known since 1984, when the comics came out - that Shredder is THE villain of the turtles. That's the one thing that's been consistent with every franchise (except The Next Mutation, but he at least made an appearance in that, albeit for a brief time). Instead, the bad guy is a hideous creature called Superfly. Kind of a double play on words considering he's literally a giant mutant fly with fancy/classy/fast cars and an entire mutant army and crime baddies at his disposal.

And Splinter? OMG, what did they DO to him? His face looks like someone splattered vegetables on the sidewalk. I see a squashed tomato/potato where his nose should be, and his "beard" is like the top of broccoli or a garlic clove. (shudder) And let's not get into the fact that, when the turtles were kids, he had a freaking Afro and a mustache. The turtles are meant to be 15 in this time, which would make the year roughly 2008 when they were kids, so the 70s look was way dated at that time.

Then we get more great news... not only are we now race-swapping characters; we're also gender-swapping them. Leatherhead and Wingnut, while minor characters throughout every iteration, are now girls instead of guys.

Leatherhead has always been an ally to the turtles, except in the original series, and considering the direction this movie took, I have to wonder if the writers thought it would be inappropriate to make them enemies because it would show teen guys beating up a girl. I mean, "beating up" may be a stretch, but you get what I mean. And Wingnut has always been super annoying to me, so I would have been okay had she not been in the movie at all. But I digress.

Okay, so, plot. Since Shredder isn't the main villain, the plot isn't the usual "stop Shredder from conquering Earth" thing. The movie starts with Baxter Stockman raising a giant mutant baby fly - in a crib and all - in a lab surrounded by test tubes of animals. Yeah, I didn't make that up. Animals of all different species and sizes are somehow shrunken down to conveniently fit inside a test tube.

Some heavy-duty suit guys break in and grab Stockman to take all his research at the behest of a mysterious woman named Cynthia Utrom. We know from prior series and lore that the Utroms are the alien race that created the ooze that caused the mutations of, well, all mutants. Utrom looks like a woman here, but she could be wearing a human suit like in the 2003 series. We don't know, and we don't find out.

Anyway, the baby fly escapes and takes out all the suits because, well, he's super strong and inhuman. And he has wings. He manages to grab all Stockman's test tubes and book it out of there, and then we fast forward to 15 years later where we meet our protagonists. Their current mission? To acquire necessities for the lair from a list given to them by Splinter. So they do this and they're like, "Hey, we've only been gone for a little bit. Let's go check out the outdoor movie playing in the park." So then we get to see them watching Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Yep, a live action movie in a CGI movie with art that's literally meant to resemble sketches like kids would draw.

So then they get back to the lair but Leo guiltily confesses that they all went to watch a movie in close proximity to humans. We're then introduced to the origin story of the turtles and Splinter, and while we're all familiar with it, it's slightly different this time. Splinter was a normal rat before, but he wasn't anyone's pet. He was a typical NYC rat, hated by humans (and raccoons... and dogs...) and one day he finds himself in the sewers and comes upon four baby turtles crawling around in green ooze. This ooze had come from a canister kicked into a sewer grate from Stockman's lab earlier. Splinter was shocked that the turtles took right to him, and they were the first and only things to not instantly hate him or want to kill him. So of course he touches the ooze and mutates, as do the turtles. He raises them as his sons, and honestly, I don't recall ever hearing him being called Splinter. All the turtles called him Dad. I don't think we ever knew his name... so if you didn't know of any other TMNT series before this, you'd have no idea what his name was.

Anyway, the turtles, as kids, wanted to go above ground one day, and Splinter thought he'd give it a try. Bad idea, because, of course, everyone freaked out and chased them away. So Splinter vowed to keep his sons safe and refused to let them leave the lair except to get supplies. We're also treated to a montage of cheesy old footage of actual martial arts movies/shows depicting how Splinter trained the turtles in ninjitsu as a means of self defense. He now loathes humans and wants nothing to do with them, and wants the same for his sons.

So after the confession of watching a movie, the turtles get grounded and are all talking in their room about what they'd do if they could be normal. Meanwhile, a crime spree has broken out with mega villain Superfly (yep, that's his name) stealing all kinds of high-tech scientific items... and if anyone sees his face, he kills them.

We're soon introduced to April, who, this time, is not an adult reporter. She's an aspiring reporter in high school, and she's collecting information on the Superfly case because, due to the crime spree, the school's prom has been cancelled and she thinks she can get it back if she solves the mystery of Superfly.

Well, the guys are throwing ninja starts at watermelons (because why not) on the rooftop one night, and one lands in April's helmet. As she's chewing out the shadows on the roof that she can't see, someone steals her scooter. And Leo decides this would be a great time to play hero and get the scooter back for the "beautiful human girl." Yeah, in the 2012 version, Donnie had a crush on April. This time around, apparently it's Leo.

The guys then partake in their first actual fight with bad guys - I'd love to say that I went YES in the theater when a car radio turns on and "Ninja Rap" from the original second movie is playing - and shortly thereafter, April sees them. But she doesn't freak out even when she realizes they're not wearing costumes. She's more interested in getting a story about them for the school newspaper. But of course, considering they aren't supposed to be seen or known about, that won't do. April then tells the guys that, had they not helped her beforehand by getting her scooter back, she probably would have had a much different and more negative reaction to seeing them. This gives the turtles an idea: Become heroes by finding Superfly and bringing him to justice, allow April to get it all on film to showcase them as heroes, and then she can write and submit her story.

April accepts the terms, and the turtles go to her high school with her and are all "ooohh, ahh, we want to go here." They find April's locker, which has been graffitied with things like "puke girl." We're then treated to the ever delightful scene of our female protagonist spewing what looks like green ooze all over a desk because of nerves while giving the morning announcements. Look, I know this is CGI and not real, but that was completely unnecessary. More on that later.

So to get to Superfly, the guys have to interrupt a transfer of goods, i.e. the final piece of some machine Superfly is building for his nefarious plot (which we don't know what it is yet). The guys are waiting in the truck and he shows up... with Bebop and Rocksteady. You remember them. The mutant warthog and rhino, respectively, from 1987 and 2012? Shredder's mutant allies? The ones Shredder created? Yeah, those two. Well, this time, since there is no Shredder, they were created in Stockman's lab. Remember all the animals in test tubes? Yeah, they're all grown now as well, raised by Superfly since he was the oldest. Stockman's plan was to create a family of mutants because he was never liked or understood by people. Superfly's plan is to pick up where his "father" left off... by turning all animals into mutants and killing all humans.

So of course, eventually the turtles manage to turn the tables and attempt to escape with the last piece of the machine Superfly needs to spread the mutagen. But of course, that falls apart and a bunch of Utrom's suits find and capture them. April races back to the lair to tell Splinter that his sons are in trouble... yeah, that's an awkward first meeting. Splinter shows up and takes out all the suits (Utrom has been taken away to safety), saves his sons, and they all start to head back home to come up with a plan to stop Superfly. It results in them basically appealing to all the other mutants, telling them that they don't have to listen to Superfly and that they have a choice. Surprise, surprise, they all turn against the big bad. Even Rocksteady and Bebop, and they're supposed to be villains... I realize their origin is different here, but come on.

Well, everyone takes out the giant mutagen machine... sort of. It lands in the river below, where there are dozens of species of sea life. Yep, you guessed it. Superfly merges with all the animals in the river. He gets a whale body, crab pinchers, some sort of tail, etc. And, for some reason, random horses on his legs. Wha... Oh, and he's now taller than the Empire State Building. Awesome.

Yeah, as if he wasn't ugly enough before LOL. Well, the suits in Utrom's lab had been working on an anti-mutagen, and April managed to swipe one of these canisters... somehow. It didn't really show how, she just did it. Times Square has a huge news report going on about mutants attacking, so April manages to get inside the Channel 6 (yep, the right station!) building to take over the report and explain that she knows the truth - that the only bad mutant is the giant fly/whale hybrid thing. And then she pukes again. Seriously, STOP THAT.

Splinter is trying to get to his sons, but Superfly manages to knock him back hard enough to break his leg. Humans approach, and he's terrified... but they're reaching for him to help him. So then we have humans and mutants working together to get the anti-mutagen to the turtles, who manage to throw it into Superfly's weak spot - the whale blow hole. Yep, that takes care of it. So then the turtles are revered as heroes, and the other mutants are all now living in the sewers with them... and the turtles wind up going to high school. They're got human clothes on, ditch their masks, etc. And all the kids welcome them and think they're super cool. April's locker has been re-graffitied with things like "cool girl" instead of "puke girl," and then the movie just... ends.

Then we get a post-credits scene, showing how the turtles are getting along in high school. Each one seems to have found his niche, and they're even all at the prom together. However, Utrom is watching them, and she says that capturing them will be difficult. So she asks her assistant to bring her... The Shredder! Then we see an outline of Shredder before the scene cuts away. So yeah, totally open for a sequel, as is the norm with movies these days. In fact, a sequel (and TV series) has actually already been confirmed! I mean, honestly, how could Seth Rogen, a self-admitted TMNT addict, create a TMNT movie without at least planning for Shredder to be in it?

So, all in all, it wasn't a bad movie. I appreciate the throwbacks to the original series, and I'm glad to see my favorite heroes getting so much recognition again.

However, there are definitely some things in this movie that weren't necessary. The top of that list is April's barfing scene. She was nervous doing the morning announcements at school and wound up throwing up as a result. Then later, during her news broadcast telling everyone that the only bad mutant is Superfly, she does it again... honestly, I get that we may need a reason for her to rather be behind the camera instead of in front of it, and she needs an obstacle to jump over to tell the people who tease her to suck it, but did it have to be that??? We're showing puke in kids' movies now? Please, just, don't... I don't care that it's a cartoon and looked like the ooze that mutated our beloved heroes. That doesn't mean I want to see it spewing out of someone's mouth. What is it with Seth Rogen and vomit movies? Is it like some unwritten rule that someone has to upchuck in everything he's in? UGH.

Also, this movie is rated PG, but... were all the nipple references necessary? Splinter is legit concerned that, if his sons are found by humans, they'll be put in a lab and milked...and they're like, "But we don't even have nipples!" Then the turtles say the same thing to April when she talks about writing a story about them, and she asks how that could be done for the same reason. Then later, in Utrom's lab, they are getting milked... but, I mean, how... way too much emphasis on that.

And did Splinter seriously need a love interest? With an unintelligible giant bug? Just... why? That's wrong on so many levels.

It was said from the start that this movie would focus mostly on the "teenager" aspect, and it absolutely did that. The guys weren't all serious about ninja training and mastering new techniques; they were more interested in what it would be like to be a normal kid, go to school, go to the prom, etc. And since it's 2023, and because it's Seth Rogen, we have to have some swearing and such, even in a cartoon. Mostly it's by Superfly (aka Ice Cube), so not surprising. But even the original 1990 live action movie had cursing LOL.

You know, I'm almost positive that the turtles never officially introduced themselves to April upon meeting her. She introduced herself, but I don't think they ever identified themselves. The closest we came was in they were in the school and Michelangelo was signing himself up for a talent show. We all know who they are, but a human meeting them for the first time more than likely wouldn't. Hmmm... I think some details got overlooked. Just like how I swear Splinter's name wasn't mentioned once in the entire hour and 49 minutes of the movie's runtime.

Anyway, as a hard-core TMNT fan, I did enjoy the movie. Definitely some things that I would have changed, and others that should have stayed true to the original, but all in all it wasn't bad. I think I can give it 8/10 and be satisfied. :)

[gossipinfo]

“I Was A Furniture Before”- Peller Shed Tears As He Share His Humble Beginning Working As a Carpenter

The success story of Nigerian TikToker Habeeb Hamzat, often known as Peller, has generated a lot of attention on social media due to his modest beginnings. During his latest appearance as a guest on Wazobia FM, Peller was given a minute to sum up his journey to success. In response, the 21-year-old shared that before he began making mattresses, he was a carpenter who built wooden piggy banks…

[bitlifeapk]

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[daemon-ai]

Nexus Dawn

In the "Nexus Dawn" series, the setting is a modern Earth reimagined in an alternate universe where demihumans, beings with human-like appearances and distinct animal traits such as ears and tails, coexist with humans. Despite their similarities to humans, demihumans face rampant discrimination and are often exploited, relegated to servitude, and mistreated in various ways. Many are forced into slavery for labor, pleasure, or even as fighters, with a notorious underground auction house trading both domesticated and wild demihumans. This black market caters to diverse species, predominantly mammals, but also includes rare avians and reptiles, classified by their herbivorous or carnivorous nature. Some demihumans, driven by innate instincts and a monthly heat cycle, form lifelong mating bonds and navigate the complexities of their dual existence. While emancipated demihumans strive to integrate into society, feral ones are viewed as threats and confined to reservations.

Meanwhile, the underworld teems with criminal activity, where some demihumans join gangs to reclaim autonomy. This shadowy realm is dominated by the Big Five demihuman mafia families: Clawrend (lion), Spotino (leopard), Hornblunt (rhinoceros), Tuskano (elephant), and Stampfer (Cape buffalo), each vying for control and power in a world fraught with tension and upheaval.

Click on the bot names to be redirected.

Felix 🐱 a naked & shivering cat femboy named Felix seeks shelter after being abandoned by his master

Canix 🐶 fed up with the bratty attitude of Canix, your Labrador Retriever femboy pet, you resolve to teach him a lesson…

Jerry 🧀🐭 the bullied mouseboy, now your coworker

Haru 🎩🐰 your submissive masochistic rope bunny assistant always hops towards punishment a bit too eagerly!?!

Urs 🐻🍯 your male wife is a pookie bear, literally

Ty 🦁👑 the lion king is now all grown up & fierce, but still your little cub at heart

Rudolf 🐺🐾 the big bad wolfboy who cried wolf

Des 🦇 a batman with mechanical wings & a thirst for blood

Oinkar 🐷 your sugar daddy is a pig, and your piggy bank too

Analise 🦢 a kanedere swangirl stripper with a knack for leaving a trail of broken hearts & empty wallets in her wake

Korvin 🕊️ a psychopathic crowboy—will you be his latest victim or his partner in crime?

Staglin 🫎 the deerboy leader of Nexus Dawn was once your high school dear boy?!

[fahrni]

Saturday Morning Coffee

Good morning from Charlottesville, Virginia! ☕️

Welcome to this Special Sunday Edition of Saturday Morning Coffee. What makes it special you ask? Nothing! 😆

Kim, my lovely bride, let me sleep in yesterday. It was glorious! And since we had plans to be out of the house by around 10AM, well, that meant I couldn’t put things together yesterday. Now you know why you’re seeing this on Sunday.

Grab some coffee and enjoy the links!

Adele Peters • Fast Company

Last Saturday, as 39 million Californians went about their daily lives—taking showers, doing laundry, or charging their electric cars—the whole state ran on 100% clean electricity for more than nine hours.

I find this very encouraging and I believe it’s only going to get better.

Down the hill from where we live one of our power providers is installing a large field of solar panels. I don’t know how large it is or how much power it’ll generate, but I’m here for it.

Naomi Hartono • blogs.nasa.gov

For the first time since November, NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is returning usable data about the health and status of its onboard engineering systems.

Engineers this smart blow my mind.

“Oh, the thing I need to repair is millions of miles away? No problem.” 😳

Rick Perlstein • The American Prospect

And that’s when the man in the castle with the seven fireplaces said it.

“I’m glad there’s OxyContin and video games to keep those people quiet.”

Andreessen is another piece of Silicon Valley garbage. Even if he said he was joking there’s always a nugget of truth in there. I’d say he really believes what he said.

Jesse Wegman • New York Times 🎁

Trump’s Immunity Case Was Settled More Than 200 Years Ago

That seems about right. We’ve managed to have 240+ years of Presidencies without one committing crimes against the nation that I doubt our founding fathers expected it to happen like this.

Trump is a rapist and a mob boss looking to use the Presidency as his own personal piggy bank.

I hope the Supremes do the right thing and declare the President isn’t above the law.

Wojciech Kulik

In my previous post, I just scratched the surface of iOS development in Neovim. Since then I discovered many new things that allowed me to move my development almost completely to Neovim.

If you’re really good with keyboard commands this could be the editor for you. I’ll stick with Xcode and BBEdit. 😄

AJ Willingham

I just don’t get Taylor Swift. There, I said it. (DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT DISLIKE HER. I WISH HER ALL OF THE HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS IN THE WORLD. PLEASE, I HAVE A FAMILY.)

Better be careful! The Swifties won’t be happy!

Remember the hubbub caused by Tool releasing their first album in 13 years keeping Ms. Swift’s new album out of the top spot? I do. It was kind of funny.

She’s a cultural phenomenon and apparently a very kind, caring, human being. What’s not to like?

John Viega

A few weeks ago, I got a bit miffed reading yet another article that was too dismissive about memory safety, basically being mostly dismissive about the need for change. The following weekend, I started seeing flippant responses from security luminaries, saying essentially that you’re irresponsible and dangerous unless you drop C and C++ faster than I dropped my 8 am classes my first year in college.

I’m an old curmudgeon and I still love C++ as a development language, especially if you’re doing something that needs to be cross platform. But, I certainly understand the trend and the desire to move to memory safe languages. Swift and Rust are both great choices. Swift has made development on Apple OS’es easier and safer. I love it! Rust is on my to learn list but given my latest project is React Native it makes more sense for me to learn JavaScript. Rust will have to wait.

Jonathan M. Gitlin • Ars Technica

Honda announced today that it will spend $11 billion to expand its electric vehicle manufacturing presence in North America. The Japanese automaker already has a number of factories in the US, Mexico, and Canada, and it’s this last one that will benefit from the expansion, with four EV-related plants planned for Ontario.

That’s a lot of money and it’s interesting it’s happening in Canada instead of the US.

Here’s to Honda building better, more affordable, EV’s than Tesla.

Gary Bernhard • Destroy All Software

This science fiction / comedy / completely serious talk traces the history of JavaScript, and programming in general, from 1995 until 2035. It’s not pro- or anti-JavaScript; the language’s flaws are discussed frankly, but its ultimate impact on the industry is tremendously positive. For Gary’s more serious (and less futuristic) thoughts on programming, try some Destroy All Software screencasts.

It’s easy to poke fun a JavaScript but equally as important to understand how important it’s become to our industry.

Dick Uliano • wtop.com

Archeologists have made a remarkable find at George Washington’s Mount Vernon in the ground beneath the cellar — two sealed bottles containing plump cherries.

Very cool! Now what? Who wants to open a jar and eat one? I kind of do, but there’s no way that’s gonna happen. 🤣

Did you know that while George Washington was away fighting the American Revolutionary War he was also writing home to instruct his brother how he wanted his home renovation to proceed. Then he’d go off and fight some redcoats.

Alex Franchuk • Mozilla

Porting a cross-platform GUI application to Rust

This is something my cross platform loving brain could get behind. The Mozilla team rewrote — not something I recommend — their crash reporting tool in 100% Rust. Nifty!

That included writing four abstractions for different UI toolkits; Mac, Windows, Linux, and one for testing. So three plus. 😄 Love it!

Digiday

The possibility of a TikTok ban is inching closer to becoming a reality at this point. On Tuesday, the Senate passed the bill that would bar the social media platform from operating in the U.S. unless ByteDance, its Chinese parent company, sells its stake.

So this was earlier in the week. The President signed it. Now ByteDance has nine months to get the deal done or pull out of the United States.

I still feel like this could’ve been handled differently but I have no idea what that would entail.

Jordan Rose

So let me re-iterate: the three-and-a-half features listed at the top are the only forms of run-time polymorphism in Swift. Now when someone asks “how can I allow arbitrary different argument types to result in different behavior”, you know the answer: make a protocol.

You heard the man! Make a protocol! That will cause the compiler to enforce the contract between your implementation and the definition. You’re obliged to implement it.

If you only need to know an object “is-a” thing that protocol doesn’t actually need to define any properties or methods. Yes, it can be that simple.

Manton Reece

Ghost has announced they are working on ActivityPub support

Manton has been on the open standards software train for years and years. That’s why Micro.blog implements ActivityPub, BlueSky’s AT Protocol, and Micropub.

Micro.blog is a great blogging tool for $5/month. I use it to post here.

Seth Godin

Don’t ignore AI because it’s dumb. Figure out how to create patterns and processes where you can use it as the useful tool it’s becoming.

Keep in mind that AI is just another tool, created by humans, full of flaws. Yes, it’s extremely useful, yes it can get things wrong. But, it’s still growing and changing. Hopefully it’ll will get better over time.

[zext0ns-uk]

Why Refurbished Mobile Phones Are a Smashing Deal in the UK

Looking for a top-notch phone in the UK without breaking the piggy bank? Look no further than refurbished mobiles! Here's why they're a fantastic option for savvy British buyers:

Big Savings: You can snag a high-end phone at a fraction of the original price. Savings of 30-70% are common, putting the latest tech within reach.

Top-Tier Quality: Reputable UK retailers rigorously test and refurbish phones, ensuring they function flawlessly. You'll get a phone that looks and performs like new, often with a warranty for peace of mind.

Eco-Friendly Choice: Give a pre-loved phone a new lease on life! Refurbished phones reduce e-waste and contribute to a more sustainable tech environment.

Perfect for Budget-Conscious Brits: Love the features of a flagship phone but can't justify the flagship price? Refurbished models let you experience top-of-the-line specs without the hefty price tag.

Wide Variety: There's a refurbished phone for everyone! From iPhones and Samsung Galaxies to budget-friendly options, you'll find a phone that suits your needs and style.

Buying a Refurbished Phone in the UK:

Trusted Retailers: Stick to reputable UK retailers with a proven track record and good customer reviews.

Warranty: Make sure the phone comes with a warranty for added protection.

Condition Grades: Understand the grading system (e.g., "pristine," "good") to ensure you get the level of cosmetic condition you desire.

Also do visit zextons UK to get best deals and best prices in the UK

So, the next time you're in the market for a new phone in the UK, consider the fantastic value and environmental benefits of buying refurbished. You might be surprised at the quality and savings you can find

[techtow]

Fintech Unveiled: A Colorful Journey for Young Minds.

Introduction: Welcome to the colorful world of fintech, where money transforms into a magical adventure! In this guide, we'll dive deeper into fintech wonders, revealing how it makes handling money as exciting as your favorite storybook. Get ready for a journey filled with vibrant details and valuable insights!

Fintech Marvels: Decoding the Magic of Money Fintech, short for financial technology, is like a magic wand that turns traditional money management into a dazzling experience. It employs cutting-edge technology to create innovative solutions, making finances accessible and fun for everyone.

Digital Piggy Banks in the Cloud: Where Savings Soar Imagine a piggy bank in the clouds – that's your digital wallet with fintech! It's not just a place for coins; it's a secure digital haven where your money can grow and be accessed from anywhere. This tech-savvy approach ensures your savings soar to new heights.

Money Quests with Fintech Apps: A Thrilling Adventure Fintech apps turn saving into an exciting quest with rewards waiting at every milestone. Picture it as a thrilling treasure hunt, where every contribution brings you closer to unlocking exciting bonuses. These apps make financial responsibility an engaging and colorful journey.

Zooming Transactions: Fintech's Lightning-Fast Magic Ever wanted to buy your favorite toys in a flash? Fintech's speedy transactions make it happen. With just a tap, your purchases are made at lightning speed. It's like having a superhero power for your shopping adventures!

Games that Teach: Fintech's Interactive Classroom Fintech introduces games that blend entertainment with education. These interactive platforms teach valuable money management skills while keeping the learning experience as enjoyable as playing your favorite video game. Get ready to dance through the world of finance!

Security Superheroes: Safeguarding Your Digital Kingdom Fintech takes security seriously. Think of it as having your own team of digital superheroes guarding your money. Robust encryption and authentication measures ensure that your digital treasures are protected against any potential threats.

Fintech Explorers Club: Joining the Digital Revolution Become a part of the Fintech Explorers Club, where money becomes a vibrant rainbow of possibilities. In this club, young minds explore the colorful future of finance, embracing the latest technological innovations that shape the financial landscape.

Conclusion: As you embark on this fintech journey, remember that it's not just about money; it's about unlocking a world of possibilities. Fintech's digital piggy banks, speedy transactions, and security superheroes are here to make your financial adventure colorful, safe, and unforgettable. Join the Fintech Explorers Club, and let's paint the future of money with the brightest hues!