#like witch town was a big deal to donnie but in the end that is his brothers' problem now

[qoldenskies]

Wowwee killing Kitsune is kinda funny because you think that things will be irreconcilably different after!! And the trick is that nothing changes except yourself! It’s hard to see the differences between her ichor and Donnie’s blood because to you both are something sacred!!! And killing her hasn’t changed anything because your hands are already coated in your brother’s blood when you add Kitsune’s on top of it :3 but it feels good and you want to be selfish one more time before you give your life up trying to fix what you broke

its so fascinating that leo says "we're almost done" like this is the final fix. like this is the final loose end to tie up that will make things right again. donnie doesnt even know kitsune exists yet and leo treats her death like a part of his recovery process, when its not. its him masking selfish intentions with selfless ones.

in the end, although killing kitsune will ensure safety for donnie going forward if/when he goes into the hidden city again, they're unable to admit its not REALLY about him. i mean it is in the way that all of this trauma theyve been left with is, but i think killing kitsune is something they yearn for in order to right themselves. to take out all the anger and agony they've just endured; its vengeance for their lost childhood.

and its not going to work, and itll only feel good in the moment. nothing they do will make a vengeful god scream and beg and cry, nothing will make her regret it, nothing will make her feel the kind of helplessness they do, and that donnie did. they cant take that power back from her, she will always hold it over them, even in her banishment. it will never feel like justice.

all they've done is bloodied their hands and made a powerful enemy of witch town. kitsune is not the ghost that haunts donnie; that's their burden to bear. donnie's a little busy being haunted by the ghost of himself lmao

[afreakingdork]

Deep Dive: Rise of the TMNT Donatello's Bad Boy Persona, His Cute, But Mean Type, and Why He is None of These Things

I made this presentation to delve into my take on Rise Donnie!

It was a power point, but I'm going to break it down here. I do want to preserve the first slide though because...

Did you know Black dahlia's aren't actually black? They're very dark red and in flower language they represent dishonesty!

Apropos, let's get into it...

Donnie is a Bad Liar

We see this throughout the show

“No? No… Of course I did… n't.”

"Uh, nothing. Just having a typical normal mystic free day."

"We are just typical, normal humans who got lost in the middle of our normal, everyday human lives. Nailed it."

"Oh man. Uh. This hurts me. Uh. I'm very sad?"

He has all the characteristics of a terrible liar. He sweats, his pitch warbles, his eyes dart, ect, everything you would expect.

Sarcasm! The Perfect Cover?

When Donnie does go for the use of sarcasm, he almost always points it out.

"I feel better already," he said without a hint of sarcasm."

"Oh, sure. Let me just load my tap-into-every-security-camera-in-New-York app. I'm sorry if that sounded like sarcasm, it wasn't. I am in."

Point Out the Obvious Much

However, when he doesn't point out the sarcasm, he also can't help but make mention of the oxymoron. We see this a lot, especially in Donnie vs. Witch Town.

"Oh yes very cool says Donnie as he quietly lets something go."

"Ooh, fireworks. Science never would have thought of something it was originally inventor of."

So basically, if Donnie tries to lie; he gives himself away. If Donnie tries to fudge the truth; he's compelled to make note of it.

I bring this all up to specifically tackle this sentence:

“So unfair. Although it is a boost for my emotionally unavailable bad boy image. “Y’ello.””

Why do I do so? Let me remind you of my first slide...

But how can that be? We just established that he's a bad liar. In the 'bad boy' line, he's not falling for any of his tells. He's body language gives no indication of lying. He doesn't make any note of sarcasm. No one after this line makes a face or corrects Donnie and he doesn't point out any discrepancies.

How could this be a lie?

Because Donnie himself doesn't know it's a lie.

Let Me Take You Back

Things I Did Unironically as a Teenager

Added Japanese honorifics to the end of my friends nicknames (-san, -chan, -kun)

Had my friends help me wrap myself up in caution tape for my birthday, but told people they made me

Wore a dog collar with a dog tag that had my name in Romanji on it

Had screen names like RubyBlueSango62 and blahweeblah626

But That’s Just Personal Experience!

Things Donnie has Unironically as a Teenager

"Ah, yes, so in this case a game of bask-eh-ball."

"Prepare to eateth thy words."

"Oh, hey guys. What’s the haps? Huh? Oh, oh this? I didn’t realize I had it on. This is my sweet new purple satin jacket- Got it from being a bit of a tech wiz. Purple Dragons. Members only. No big deal. Mm-hm. Well, you better grab some toast, fellas, 'cause you are all jelly!"

“It's Bootyyyshakker9000. Capital B and three Ys in booty.”

I believe it's a universal experience for teenagers to push boundaries. For so long, most parents decide everything for you. With hormones and growth, you want to experiment, but since autonomy is new, you try to break from the mold and do it uniquely. Anything that is outside your norm, especially things that swing wildly from what you once new seems especially exciting. From embellishing speech, to wearing specific clothing items, and even your first screen name, you don't know boundaries! It may be 'cringe' in the future, but when you first do it, it seems like the coolest thing ever! It's something that wholly represents you. This online space you. This you that is ungoverned! I'm an only child so I can't imagine, but I bet you especially want to do this when you have siblings. Where the shame in that?

I mean... Kat Haynes agrees with me on this...

Low Empathy

Now to get a little more serious. Alexithymia is a term that describes those who have difficulty feeling emotions. While not always associated with autism, it is more common in individuals with it. About 1 in 5 people who have autism also have alexithymia.

As already stated, it is clear the Donnie suffers from alexithymia. Most Donatello-centric conflicts in Rise have nothing to do with Donnie being emotionless and instead often deal with him lashing out due to his confusion or insecurities. We see this a lot especially in Witch Town where he is grappling with himself the entire episode. He's insecure about how he doesn't understand mysticism and he doesn't know how to process it or his place on the team. He's not emotionless, he's insecure when he doesn't understand something.

"Yes, feelings. Hot, cold, sleepy, hungry…"

"I don't normally feel things, but that one got through!"

Emotions on his Metaphorical Sleeve

Nothing about alexithymia says that you don't feel emotions. Instead, it's characterized by not understanding them. Donnie feels his emotions big and large just like Mikey does and especially if something is important to him, you'll see those reactions dialed up to eleven.

All Talk

While many think of the classic "semi-lethal" line and the "Speak for yourself" when Mikey says they aren't savages in regard to Donnie, he's not really the bad boy he plays himself up to be. When the theatrics are set aside, most of Donnie’s snap judgements are the altruistic kind or he thoughtfully plans out ways to not only take care of his family, but actively ensure their safety (to varying degrees of success, but that's not what we're saying here):

created devices which both counteracted his brother's flaws because they were getting them hurt

Used himself as a shield for Mikey on multiple occasions 

Risks his own safety and bodily harm especially in Turtle-dega Nights: The Ballad of Rat Man and Breaking Purple

Builds Escape pods for everyone 

Enters a sensory nightmare for the sake of the world

Often asks, especially Raph, if he's okay and looks out for the oldest brother

Yet the Presentation Continues?

Why yes, because there is another line of Donnie's that I want to tackle that I believe falls exactly in line with the 'bad boy image' one...

"Oh, you’re so cute, but so mean. Why do I always go for your type?"

You know what I'm about to posit again...

Insecure

As touched on previously, Donnie is insecure. He's insecure about his emotions. He's insecure about his place on the team. He's insecure about anything he doesn't understand and his insecurities are exceedingly personal in nature because he ties them intrinsically to his personality.

"The real thing is much more personal and thoughtful, and I really hope you like it, ‘cause if you don’t I will just be crushed!"

"This’ll teach you to compliment my work and give me my first positive reinforcement from a parent aged adult, ever!"

Speaking of parent aged adults... i wonder where this could stem from...

Role Model

Who do all the turtles model themselves after, but their own father? Whether they knew it or not, Lou Jitsu was someone they all strived to be like. They commited to learning all the lines from his movies. They fought like him outside of the training course Splinter sets them on. Heck, Donnie takes his hero worship so far that his character defining brows are exactly Lou Jitsu's! Babies start learning how to establish social and emotional relationships around 18 months. We have Splinter, a despondent, but loving care giver who unfortunately did not give Donnie the validation he craved. This manifests in his insecurities where he bends over backwards to get the attention he craves. He wants to be seen, again compounded by having three rowdy mutant-powered brothers, and so he ends up tying his worth into his ability.

Now, while for a majority of the series, the turtles don't know about Splinter's past or that he dated Big Mama, but it wasn't as if Splinter hid that part of himself away so obviously. In fact, because he himself is still mourning his lost humanity, he ends up feeding his son's a hardy diet of his life's existence. The boys are secondarily raised by Lou Jitsu movies in place where Splinter is not always present. Obviously, Lou Jitsu seemingly disappears, but Splinter's feelings on the matter don't. He openly still cares about Big Mama in the present and this I don't think it's a stretch to say that he would let these feelings leak in a similar way to how he presents Lou Jitsu in the boys lives. Big Mama is a attractive, albeit manipulative woman. This is awfully close to a little line someone says, especially when we consider that he models himself after this man.

Also, if we're taking models into account. Something we know for a fact shapes teenagers. Something we know for a fact that Donnie does. Something that is equally canonized in the show, then we have to talk about.

Donnie’s True Canonical Idol

That's right. You know her. You love her. You believe that Donnie is a thigh man because of this Lass' existence. Donnie says flat out that Atomic Lass is his childhood idol. He goes to great lengths to dance with her, smashing Leo out of the way. He then even goes so far as to ask if her and Atomic Lad have split up because his intention to date her is so clear. Now she was obviously a mutant in a costume, but that didn't matter because he loves Atomic Lass that much and Atomic Lass?

She's a heroine.

Only cute and mean in the context of the episode, this is not the Lass he fell in love with. The Lass he loves is a comic book hero that travels the universe doing good.

Also....

Ron Corcillo Agrees With Me

A staff writer on Rise, I apologize I can't show the origin tweet because it was deleted, but it was a dual question that asked both about the Turtles meeting Spider-man and about Donnie's preference. Now you could say he's forgotten a line that may not be as important to him, but doesn't that in and of itself say something? It says that it could have been a one-off joke or that it wasn't something that was necessarily intrinsic to the character.

To Recap:

Donnie doesn’t always know himself

Donnie is a cringey teen

Donnie is insecure

Donnie has difficulty understanding emotions and himself

Donnie isn’t actually an 'emotionally unavailable bad boy'

Donnie doesn’t actually like the ‘mean’ type

Sources:

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes:

Mystic Mayhem

Donnie's Gifts

Pizza Pit

Hot Soup: The Game

Shadow of Evil

Donnie vs. Witch Town

The Mutant Menace

Breaking Purple

Turtle-dega Nights: The Ballad of Rat Man

End Game

Repo Mantis

Mascot Melee

Donnie's Gifts

Bug Busters

War and Pizza

Goyles, Goyles, Goyles

Lair Games

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie

lactoseintolerentswag's post on Rise Characterizations Pt. 3!!!

skulltrot's Donnie (Rise of the TMNT) | Autism Representation in Media video

Ron Corcillo's tweet from Cartoon Brew's Feb 10, 2024 AMA

Alexithymia | Autistica

earthytzipi's post not understanding why people characterize Donnie has hiding his emotions

hyperfixatinator's post about ROTTMNT Theory: Donatello's Hidden Role

[trashlama]

Maybe hcs on yandere rise Donnie in a romantic way who falls for big mama assistant who praises his work ~ 

Donnie knows it’s wrong , but as Mikey always says the heart wants what it wants 

Which leaves to Leo and Raph to kindly tell him he’s being rash , ridiculous, not thinking clearly she’s working for the enemy, she gonna end up using you . 

Donnie doesn’t care tho , doesn’t he deserve to be happy , rewarded for saving New York , the world countless of times ! 

Reader better prepared herself there’s a storm coming , one she not prepared for ~ 😈

Donatello x Big Mama Assistant Reader? I gotcha ya'

At this point in the game Donatello is pretty used to people trying to take advantage of him. Purple Dragons, Big Mama, Master Splinter— basically anyone who throws the dude a compliment because they want to take advantage of him for his tech.

He's weak for that ✨praise✨

Despite being a genius intellectually, emotionally Donatello is easily manipulated into doing things. Like with the Purple Dragons and Master Splinter Donnie is eager to impress those he wants respect/praise from. Believing that if he gives/shows them how great he— his tech is they'll stay. They'll need him. Even if it's not exactly for him. As we find out in Donnie vs. Witch Town.

Praise is Donnie's form of reassurance that he is valued. Needed. To him aside from his tech he believes he doesn't bring anything to the team.

Soooo Donnie crushing hard for one of Big Mama's assistants because they compliment him? Sure I can see that.

Especially if you're literally just feeding his ego so you can retrieve some Intel for Big Mama to use against the Mad Dog's/or to her own personal advantage. Though I guess what you gotta be careful about is what happens when you ghost a turtle who is obsessed with you? Well you might just need to find out.

Sorry if it's a little OOC-ish, I rewrote this like ten times, initially with just head cannons, and then a one shot draft(several). Buuutt I kinda hated all of them sooo I posted the one I liked the most.

Probably should've re-read this more but I got work in the morning...

This takes places some months after the movie. Also check out the author's notes at the end for more!

I hope you guys enjoy it!

++++++++++++++

Fuck maybe Raph and Leo were right....

This might've been a bad idea...

Donatello was a prideful turtle. He didn't like admitting when he was wrong but, in this case scenario standing here under the beating lamps of Big Mama's Battle Nexus arena ten rounds into a seemingly endless fight. Donatello was starting to have second thoughts about his choice of just strolling up to the New Grand Nexus Hotel and negotiating with Big Mama. Somehow he should've anticipated this outcome. The jorogumo is notorious for adding twists to her deals. Especially when it came to her Battle Nexus. Nothing is as it seems with that british demon lady.

However somehow despite every rational bone screaming in his body to call off this arrangement, the possessive creature caged between his ribs refused. It wanted You. Donatello wanted You. The Yuki-Onna who strolled into the mutant's life all those months ago and infected his brain with your spoonfuls of honey coated poison.

The yokai who sang songs of praise and adoration that hypnotized the purple coded Hamato. Transfixed Donnie gave it all. Anything you asked for. It was yours, just don't abandon him.

Immediately Raph and Leo were on his case about the matter. Preaching about how he was just going to get used and dumped to the curb.

Mikey wouldn't say anything.

Donatello knew Mikey wanted to defend his brother's blossoming interest in love but, in those warm grey eyes it reflected back the youngest Hamato's inability to support this. It wasn't healthy. Donatello didn't need Doctor Feelings to tell him such. But he didn't care. Not until out of the blue you start ghosting the softshell. Long story short— he's devastated. 

All together your calls, messages, surprise visits stopped. For weeks there wasn't a sign from you and the lack of (Y/n) time was causing Donnie to go through remission. Like a junkie without a fix the softshell was losing his mind. Everywhere he searched at all hours. Day, night, anytime that his brothers weren't there to stop him from pursuing you. During your extended absence both his father and siblings would go on about how this was a good thing for him. Meanwhile Donatello felt like his world was falling to pieces. Patience chipped away every day he couldn't find you. Before the techno turtle knew it, half a month had passed and he found himself standing in the New Grand Nexus Hotel lobby requesting a meeting with Big Mama.

That's why he was here. To get you back. This is your fault that he's this way. Donatello was just a man of science before you came along and muddled up his rational brain. Now the purple clad Hamato was gonna make sure that you pay for it.

Standing tall once more the sound of the crowd and the stadium's intercom speaking finally broke through the ringing that was leftover from the previous match. Allowing the mutant genius to finally tune into Big Mama's message that was being broadcasted.

"—Ahhh my good patrons~ For our last-aroo match of the tourna-warna-ment we have a special guest star instead of the champion we had originally set.... Give her a warm welcome back everyone! (Y/n), The Snow-woman!~ " the eight-legged Battle Nexus owner announced cheerfully. The projection was cut not a moment later and presented on the opposite side of the arena before the Mad Dog was you.

The (h/c) woman looked just the way she did the day the yokai had sang goodbye for the last time. Pressed white kimono and cold (e/c) eyes. Not sparing a single look to the commotion from the crowd behind her. That deadly gaze was locked on him. Beautiful.

Had not been for the agreement that Donatello had struck up with the British spider demon Donatello would've just stolen you away right then and there.

Like the fog they pumped in for your dramatic grand entrance you glided down the champion runway. Not at all inhibited by the fickle geta you used to complain about. Time slowing down for Donatello the closer you crept towards the ring.

Once locked inside with him Donatello could feel a switch flip inside of him. At first he was so happy that you were actually here and not some false advertisement promoted by Big Mama to lure the softshell turtle into her Battle Nexus. Though as soon as the endorphins left his system the mutant's veins were flooded with a different kind of emotion. Possessive anger. How dare the snow demon just leave him like that. The Mad Dog had given her whatever she desired only for the woman to have the audacity to turn around and leave him after she ruined him like this. It's her fault the ninja turtle felt like this. The demon assistant needed to be held accountable.

Without warning catching the techie turtle off guard you bolted forward. Only allowing Donatello just a second to react in time to protect himself from the icicle blade that formed in your (Dominant hand) hand somewhere between your dramatic entrance and attack. Regardless of its origins, the elemental weapon held up against the thick metal of Donatello's tech-bo that he defended himself with. Not wasting any time the softshell shoved the Yuki-Onna off with his staff before returning the attack with some strikes of his own. From there the two of you traded blows.

Some length of time passed before you began to show obvious signs of fatigue. The combination of the heat radiating off the stadium's overhead lamps and the overexertion of your abilities weakened you enough that eventually all you had left to keep the purple clad Hamato away was the wave of ice that blew forth from your pouting blue tinted lips.

What a nuisance

Had you known all those months ago that you'd be back here in this damn Battle Nexus fighting for your freedom, you wouldn't have ever agreed to that seemingly straightforward task. Befriend the purple clad turtle, get some Intel on Baron Draxum(maybe more) and get out. Simple. Until it wasn't. Donatello was becoming too close, too demanding, too far gone in his own delusion of what he called love. So you dipped.

How ironic you left because you didn't want to deal with the turtle's possessive emotions only to end up fighting against said techie genius for your freedom. Damn Big Mama and her stupid whims. If you managed to win this match. You were for sure never going back to the eight legged entrepreneur. Didn't want to risk being placed in a similar situation like this again.

Rolling around all over the place like a RPG character in a boss fight Donatello manages to eventually draw closer to the defrosting Yuki-Onna. Timing it perfectly to slap a muzzle onto your mouth the sudden action catching you off guard causing you to stumble back. Clawing at the metallic restraint that retracted and locked around your jaw.

Seeing his opportunity Donatello knocks you down onto your ass before activating the electrical prongs in his tech-bo. In a swift move the mutant turtle held you down with his foot as he stabbed the ends of the built in taser into your stomach electrocuting you until your vision went dark.

The moment that it was declared the (h/c) haired woman was down for the count. From the surrounding stands a roar of excitement erupted within the colosseum all at once. The cheers of spectators barely drowned out only by Big Mama's announcement of the purple coded mutant's victory. Giddiness evident in the jorogumo's tone despite being out a helper.

However that was not what Donatello was concerned about.

Not wasting another second in hitting the button on his tech-bo allowing the contraption to retract into its small tubbing and to be put away. Leaving his three digit grasps open to scoop up his prize. Overwhelmed with finally having you in his grasp once again the purple coded Hamato completely forgets about his own battered state. Inky pools focused solely on the unconscious yokai that haunted his waking thoughts and dreams.

From behind him Donatello could hear the arrival of a group of footsteps. Standing up with your figure resting in his arms Donatello turns to face Big Mama as she struts towards your guy's battered figures. Two yokai bellhops following dutifully behind the spider demon boss.

" Fufufuh looks like some-bitty-body is a happy winner~ " the business woman teased as she approached. Stopping just in front of the two of you as she analyzed the scene with amusement.

" What a show! I'm soooo pleased that you were able to win dearie~ However there is still one little last itsy bitsy part of our deal you're forgetting~ " the spider demon chided playfully. Although her tone was its usual playfulness behind the lenses of her teal cat-eye frames the jorogumo held an impatient look.

"Oh how could I forget?" Donatello replied sarcastically as he released your legs holding you up against his plastron as his free hand reached back into his battle shell to grab his and your ticket out of this mad house.

" There. Everything I could find left over from Baron Draxum's lab that was salvageable " the softshell turtle said flatly as he threw the flashdrive towards the fox bellhop to the right of the Battle Nexus owner. The fox not wasting a second to handed the flashdrive over to it's boss.

"Splendid! Well~ you better get going young purple one. Yuki-Onna's don't respond well to heat and today is supposed to be terribly hot! Better hurry~" Big Mama warned whimsically as she began to walk away back towards the direction of her luxury skybox.

With that out of the way Donatello doesn't waste a second longer standing around in the middle of the Battle Nexus arena. Quickly the mad dog recollects your figure into his arms bridal style fleeing the Battle Nexus arena and hotel as quickly as possible.

Once out of the mob boss's reach back on the surface Donatello couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. He made it, he found you. The creature caged in his chest was pleased. Content that he has you at his side once again and this time the purple clad softshell was gonna ensure things would be different. He wasn't gonna let you leave him in shambles again. He was gonna make sure you needed him as much as he needs you.

After all it was like what Mikey said:

"The heart wants what it wants"

And his wanted you even if your's didn't want him.

++++++++++++++++++++++

¶¶ Author's Notes ¶¶

Guys so as I was writing this I was thinking about how the Kraang could've affected Donatello and Raphael in the long run.

Like obviously PTSD but what I mean is like cray cray wise.

Like both Raph and Donnir had fused with the Kraang Hive mind in some form or another.( Raph mind controlled/possessed, Donnie mind melded )

I'm just saying there's gotta be some sort of side effects from that experience. Like having a harder time differentiate between reality and hallucinations. Or possibly maybe their brains chemistry has been fucked up making them more aggressive/possessive? Idk

I'm thinking about writing/or elaborating further on this in a future post. Yandere scenarios of course.

I just got a lot to write but, you guys know me. I'm all over the place~

Anyways thank you guys for bearing with me and my rabbling. I hope you guys have a great day!

Thank you for reading!

Sorry this is long↓ I don't own these memes. I've never claimed to do so. I just come across them on Pinterest when I'm on break at work and think they're funny so I like to share them. If I mistakenly put one on here that I shouldn't have please let me know! I like to respect people's wishes. And if you could add the creator names too that would be great so the same mistake isn't made twice. Sorry for the inconvenience that my sharing may cause. I hope you have a good day.

[skelebab]

*bats my eyes at you cutely*

My rise sep au :D

A break down of each of the bois

Champion (Leo)

- he was found by big mama and raised to be a battle nexus champion

- very showy and confident (at least outwardly) and has the combat skills to back it up

-lou jitsu's number one fan

- used to duel wield, but no longer can due to an injury he got in one of his earlier fights

I knew immediately what I wanted to do with him cuz I wanted to play with him wanting to be his brother's champion in the show (like in the maze ep)

Mystic Warrior of The Sun (Sunny (Mikey))

- ended up in witch town

- started using his mystic powers at a young age and quickly became a master

- took out those monster dudes as a child, and so the citizens treat him like a hero (more like a deity tbh)

- decided they should keep the friendship celebration around though, because he liked it, but instead of there being a spell they just make a really big pot of soup

- uses Dr. Delicate Touch and Dr. Feelings to help deal with people's day to day problems

- can sense the other turtles' existences, but has faith that they'll find their way to him one day

- really wishes that people would stop insisting on calling him by his full title

-draws on his pants

I just really wanted Mikey to be in witch town and also wanted him to overtake it (like in the mystic library's kid section)

Purple (Donnie)

- lives with splinter

- April is his best (and only) friend

- has more robot kids (made metal head as a little kid to keep him company, SHELLDON as a preteen to help around the lair, and Iris as a teen to help with his plants)

- has a lot of plants

- makes clothes (most of April's closet is Genius Built (tm) apparel)

-wears a hoodie over his battle shell at all times (battle shell is more for equipment and not protection)

I liked the idea of Donnie being almost the same, but all his machines work and he has separation anxiety. That's p much it

Soldier (Raph)

- the one turtle Draxum didn't lose

- bigger and stronger because he's been training to be the perfect soldier all his life (and Draxum has def done some experiments on him)

- calls Draxum "boss" because of hugin and munin

- still secretly loves soft things

- was raised to hate humans

I saw Raph being a big bulky intimidating guy who can and might crack a skull but who still loves stuffies and is a softy at heart and said "bet"

More arts :)

They're silly together

Soldier really tries to get Champ to like him, but it's hard when the slider is the way he is

Tumblr isn't letting me add anymore pics, so I'll put the last few in a separate post! :)

[thedawningofthehour]

1- I just remembered. Did leo ask Big mama about mind control/memory alteration methods before he left? Now that they know Draxum did something to donnie to make him forget, they should be doing as much research as possible on the subject. I know they are busy dealing with how they will bring him home first, but they should also be thinking about what they will do once they have him there. Besides, Splinter knows that Big mama is someone who knows 100% about that stuff.

Oh, oh oh! Mikey could go to Witch town with April to investigate! That way Mikey could learn about her mystical potential and April could get her mystical bat.

2- I've thought a lot about your theory about how the council of heads are actually Utrom and it makes a lot of sense! The way they project images looks a lot like what you would see on a spaceship! OH MY GOD! WHAT IF THE HEADS ARE ACTUALLY GIANT FUCKING MECHA!!? There are many ways this could play out and how they ended up in charge. My idea is that they could have been explorers who had been sent to find new conquerable planets, arrived on earth, and for reasons X, Y and Z ended up getting attached, but because they didn't report back in a long time their superiors got suspicious and became aware of earth, and so the heads decided to form a defense, created the Yōkai (by accident) and the four warriors along with the key. And because they were no longer part of the Krang they adopted the name of their ancestors: the Utrom.

I think the prophecy Draxum mentions is about the Krang, and the heads know it. That is why they are not so concerned about humans, and it is also the reason why they will be furious with Draxum when he starts his war. Heads: WE BREAK OUR ASSES FACING THE KRANG TO SAVE THE LIVES OF THIS PLANET AND THEN YOU COME! (They are a bit assholes, but all governments are to some extent). Also I don't think they are the only ones who knows, does anyone else find it strange that the E.P.F. came so fast to metro tower when no one knew what was going on there? Don't mind me, I just think it would be cool if Bishop and the heads are colluding somehow (even if Bishop isn't an Utrom).

2- I'm developing an AU, where Draxum and Splinter co-parenting, and Raph is going to have two cute crime against nature puppies. I just finish their desings yesterday. I just wish i could write as fast as i desing.

He did not, but to be fair if he thought she knew about memory magic he would have expected her to use it on Splinter to win him back. The fact that she hasn't is proof in Leo's mind that she doesn't know as much as she pretends she does. Splinter didn't ask because he's stupid.

Irl, I didn't have them ask because it wasn't what that scene was for and it would clutter up the dialogue to have them constantly asking people about memory magic and consistently get no result. Mystic nonsense with the brain isn't a super well explored area here-it's a very risky field and with a lot of varying results, because brains. Most people would not know of the procedure that Draxum used.

That's a pretty likely interpretation! Furthermore, was it straight-up confirmed that a Krang gave Saki the dark armor? Because the whole 'Shredder is the actual thing the prophecy was talking about' gets a new layer of irony with that.

I mean, it's ironic in the first place considering that the Yokai were essentially 'born' from Krang blood. (or corpse juice or whatever the fuck empyrean is supposed to be)

Were the EPF there during the movie? I know they showed up right at the end but the invasion was implied to take place over an entire day. If the EPF had an outpost or their headquarters nearly-which New York, they almost certainly did-showing up a few hours afterwards isn't much of a surprise. Especially considering it was not at all a secret-we see that people were posting shit on social media en masse and a reporter fucking dies live on air. Honestly, they were fucking slow.

[non-bee-knees]

SOOOOOO

I finished Rise! (And the movie)

Holy heavens what a show omg I can't believe I didn't find it sooner, I feel bad for past me who doesn't have it yet because WOW

I have never gotten attached to a character as fast as I have with Donnie; by the end of the first episode I had decided that if anything happened to him, I'd throw hands. 

All four of them (and April) are so fantastically written it's amazing I can't even muster the words to explain it.

Coming away from it, I have but One Question:

ARE RAPH AND DONNIE OKAY?!?"!?! Seriously, like????? We see both of them, at two seperate points in the show EACH (with some more Raph in the Movie) struggle with self worth. 

In Raph, his worth and doubts are because he feels he can't protect his family well enough, and it's crushing him, to the point where it manifests as Panic and Anger (which as someone who stuggles with keeping cool when angry, it's scary, how easily it could be to snap and hurt someone). I think that Raph's issues with worth are part of the reason Leo is now the leader; to try take some of the weight off Raph's shoulders (TOO BAD IT DIDN'T FUCKING WORK - que the entire movie)

In Donnie, his worth and doubt boil down to thinking he's replaceable. Personally, I think this comes mostly down to his Autism, and more so his brother's (and Dad) not entirely getting it. Sure we see that they understand to a point; they know he's weird with touch, and they never seem annoyed at his stimming, and it's only really Leo who get's annoyed at his Info-Dumping (aside from that one really funny clip from the fish episode - you know the one). Other than that though, I don't think they quiet get it, which is fair enough (I might make another post going more into this because it means a lot to me). ANYWAYS they're constantly joking in ways that always leans on Donnie being the odd one out, and whether they know it or not, it's hurting him. And it's built to worrying about whether he's useful or not. And yes, we get that fantastic April scene in 'Donnie V.s Witch Town' but one pep talk isn't gonna fix everything ( as someone who also struggles with worrying if I'm worth it, same. I'm constantly doubting myself, even despite the self-confidence I've built up recently)

This is long and I've semi forgot where I was going with it

BUT if we get a season 3 (praying, dear god, that we do) I want a Raph and Donnie episode. I don't think we got one that was just the two of them, we saw a lot more Donnie and Mikey adventures than the others (love their duo, so I'm not complaining). I want an episode, after the fact of everything that's happened, Movie and all, where we see Raph struggling more than ever to let go a bit more, especially after being used like that in the Movie - man's is probably terrified of himself. And I want to see Donnie struggling with grasping everything that happened (coming back to me here, woo, when big thing's happen, it's usually in the moment, or not til a long time later that they kinda settle into place; when my grandad died, I wasn't upset at the time, even though I understood why everyone else was. It wasn't until a year or so later that I sort of grieved). I sort of want to see Donnie do the same. It's sorta reenforced time and time again that Donnie is writen as low empathy, so let's see it. Let's see him unsure what to do when everything clicks into place and he doesn't know what to do, because 'Donnie doesn't feel things, why is he feeling things?!' 

I want to see the two oldest lean on each other as Leo and Mikey become more and more themselves, Leo with growing leadership skills, Mikey with his magic, and Donnie and Raph are able to sit back for a minute (but to them it feels like they're being put aside) and they learn to deal with it together. It wouldn't have to be a long episode, but I think it would be nice none the less.

Jesus this was long. SOzzles 😅

[technofantasia]

Ok so I have Thoughts about Donnie's being a soft-shell turtle. I have talked about them before but THIS IS SOMETHING ELSE!!

Speaking purely from an analytical perspective, I really don't think Donnie being insecure about his shell/his family being concerned about his shell makes much sense from what we know of canon, and turtle biology.

So, I've made this point before, but softshell turtle shells are solid bone covered by tough skin, so they're MUCH more protective than a human back would be. For comparison, maybe it would help to imagine what it feels like to bang your knee into something. Maybe it hurts, maybe it'll bruise, but it doesn't hurt THAT much; even less so if the skin were thicker like Donnie's shell must be.

While I could imagine Splinter might have worried about it (just because he's a dad and dads worry about their kids' development), it wouldn't actually make Donnie any more susceptible to injury than his brothers. I mean... unless they were playing games like "throw sharp things at each others' backs". Which... I will not rule out for the humor potential, but... you know.

In any case he'd still actually be far LESS susceptible to injury than a human child would be, and which presumably Splinter would see as the baseline level of injury for a child to have.

It might be more useful, though, to look at how the characters in the show act about the soft shell thing!

For starters, it is brought up in-show a grand total of 0 times. Heck, the only reason we even know Donnie is a soft-shell turtle at all is because of the promotional material! So... obviously it isn't a common topic of conversation or concern. There are only precious few points in the series where any of the turtles show concern for Donnie's physical safety over anyone else's, and it's never really a stated thing (Raph protecting Donnie from Shredder in the background of Battle Nexus: New York comes to mind, but that could very well be more because Donnie was the first to be targeted); by contrast, there are plenty of times when Donnie is shown fighting and doing other stunts without his battle-shell, and neither he nor anyone else seems all that bothered by it (The Purple Jacket when he and April go out to stop the purple dragons after they stole his tech, the S1 finale when Donnie blows up all his tech and goes to get the armor from the train). Additionally, we have seen Donnie as a child multiple times, and in each one of those flashbacks, he's shown wearing nothing over his shell except sometimes a shirt or jacket. Evidently, before he made his battle-shell, shell protection wasn't a priority.

So, with all that being said, we can safely conclude that if Donnie being a soft-shell has had any effect on anyone's concern for his safety, it was never a big concern.

That doesn't mean, though, that I can't extrapolate some insecurity out of it!!!

Even though his shell being as it is obviously isn't that big a deal for fighting or utility purposes (he fought just fine on the train), Donnie still did decide to design and build the battle-shell he wears. You have to wonder, if his shell wasn't even a mild concern, why would he think to do that?

It could just be a utility thing, like a backpack he wears with stuff in it that's useful to have around. Honestly, with how much function he packs into those things (hover capabilities, spider limbs, speakers, ice machine) that is almost certainly most of the appeal; fits with the rest of his utility ensemble. But, if that's the case, why is he the only one who uses them? He made the turtle tank for everyone, and some of his other devices he also made for others to use (or at least allows them to on occasion).

It could just be that its part of his outfit and he doesn't want his brothers touching it, but considering the fact that we have seen it get damaged in battle in the show (Shredder rips into it in the S1 finale), it doesn't seem too far of a reach to assume from evidence that part of the reason it was made was to act as shell armor.

And isn't that interesting?

None of his family seems to act any differently around him, soft shell or no, and in most cases he's not in a particularly higher amount of danger than any of his brothers because of it, yet he still decides of his own accord to build himself shell armor and wear it all the time.

(And also there's the him using soft as an insult thing; he does it twice in the show, once in Repo Mantis and once in Witch Town. While it could just be a coincidence, given the context, it would be REALLY interesting if it weren't!)

My personal headcanon based on this is that Donnie sees his shell as being... not a bad thing necessarily, but yet another thing inherent to him out of dozens of similar things that sets him apart from the rest of his family.

We know Donnie has quite a bit in the way of insecurity; he thinks that his family and friends only keep him around because of what he can do for them (Witch Town), he has a weird complex about simultaniously feeling superior for being smarter than his family and feeling inferior for being different from them (Mind Meld, also Witch Town again, other various points in various episodes), and in general one of his bigger unspoken goals is just to fit in with the people he cares about/looks up to and to be some amount of normal (The Purple Jacket, Air Turtle, Mind Meld again). Donnie, in short, wants to be accepted, because he feels like he isn't already.

He already talks different, and gets excited over weird things, and is... you know, a mutant turtle who can't live the same way that people do. Wouldn't it just be his luck that not only is he doomed to never be able to fit in and be accepted by society at large, but he can't even fit in with his own weird family? His family is made up of LITERAL MUTANTS, and still somehow, he ended up the odd one out!

I have to imagine that, with all of his behavioral weirdness, the fact that his shell, his physical body is different from his brothers' in such a basic way would feel just like the icing on the standing-out cake.

So, with that in mind, him making his battle-shell as shell armor so that he's more physically similar to his brothers (even if that doesn't really matter) while still managing to be his own exceptional self by tricking it out with untold amounts of cool stuff... that makes sense!

...Or at least, that's my take, anyway :3

[tmntallthewaydown]

Tales of the Hidden City Writing Appreciation Post Pt.1!

The last batch of episodes, Tales of the Hidden City, were excellent. As an animator, it’s easy to get bowled over by the visuals of the show and just rant about those, but I wanted to spotlight another awesome part of Rise of TMNT -- the writing!

The writing is always fun in the show, but there were parts of these episodes that I really wanted to call out for how clever and great they are.

Each of the Tales of the Hidden City eps puts the characters in a situation where their strengths are negated or challenged. (Also, big cheer for a bunch of episodes finally exploring the Hidden City. It’s such a fun location, I want to see it all.)

Donnie Vs Witch Town  an episode where Donnie’s tech can’t solve the problem Raph’s Ride Along  an episode where Raph’s heroics are seen as anything but Hidden City’s Most Wanted  an episode where Mikey’s peacekeeping can’t keep the peace Bad Hair Day  an episode where the face man’s face ain’t enough

I figured I’d do a separate post for each episode so it doesn’t get over-long. 

I’ll be focusing on character development mainly since that’s what stood out to me most!

Donnie Vs Witch Town

Directed by Abe Audish, Written by Ian Busch, Storyboarded by Alicia Chan

*Spoilers for the episode!* I won’t do full recaps, and assume you’ve all seen the ep if you’re reading this..

We start with Donnie referencing the Shadow Fiend in the Battle Nexus. 

“Rumour has it, this Shadow Fiend is quite the fierce champion”

I’m assuming this line’s here because the writers want to keep dropping us tantalizing crumbs to set up the Shadow Fiend as being an important figure in this season. The writers want to keep them present and in our minds as well as let us know that whoever the fiend is, (I bet we all have guesses), they’ve gotta be making quite the name for themselves if even the Turtles have heard of them.

April says she’s headed to Witch Town, whereupon Donnie is horrified. I think horrified is the right word.

“Drop it, D.” “Why not ask me? Mr Science!”

The “Drop it, D” is an elegant way to imply this conversation is a continuation of one they were having pre-episode. April is already very done with the discussion.

Donnie’s line is great because it’s one of two times in this episode that he calls himself ‘Mr Science’ or ‘The Science Guy’. Here, the line comes off as triumphant and proud, but later there is a feeling of desperation to it. It’s a really nice parallel to set up at the beginning, so we can hammer home the duality of what that label means to Donnie.

To preface, this episode deals with Don’s self worth being tangled up in his ability to do Science good. Because of this, he does a lot of projecting in this episode. For the most part, you can assume any time he mentions ‘Science’, he is actually talking about himself. Basically, substitute that word for his own name, and it makes the subtext more obvious.

Here, have these just because they’re fun.

Don ‘helping out’ with various Science Fair projects. April has a good reason not to ask him for help again.

A nuclear powered cooking multi-tool?

The Erupting Volcano. The floor is literally lava.

The Classic Potato Battery experiment.

“Hmm. That must have been the work of another Teenage Mutant Ninja Dummie.”

I’m calling out Donnie’s response here just because I enjoy the consistency the writers give to the way he handles failures. Innnnn that he will feign complete ignorance of the incident and claim it must have been someone else entirely.

--

“You turned a cuddly animatronic bear into a psychotic robot bent on destroying us? No? Got April Fired? Mmm? Nothing? Mmm?” “That does not sound like me, no.”

- from Al Be Back

--

In general it’s an established part of his character that he has problems accepting failure.

Donnie deflects blame in many other episodes - to April in ‘The Purple Jacket’ and to his brothers in ‘Todd Scouts’ off the top of my head. This trait is pertinent to this episode in particular because the apology we get at the end of the episode from him is by far the most full and cohesive admission of blame he has given in the two series so far. I’d say it’s a step forward on the level of Leo’s apology from the ‘Air Turtle’ episode (another great episode showing Leo’s growth towards becoming a team player!). 

Either way, it’s nice that we see him redirect the blame early in the episode so the moment can provide more of a contrast to him coming full circle and accepting the blame later.

One last thing about the line - I put my hands up to admit that this may be me overthinking it, but Don essentially calls himself a dummie here. Whether this was intentional by the writers to hint at his insecurities or just a fun line, I couldn’t say - but since it relates back to events later in the episode I thought it might be worth mentioning.

Moving on, Donnie accompanies April to Witch Town despite it being the last place he wants to be. It’s our first hint that his obsessive need to convince April that all Mystic stuff is garbage might run a bit deeper than just vocal teasing. 

April calls him out on being closed minded and we get

“Oh I’m sorry, I was just stewing over how everyone needs to be more like me.”

Of course we know that’s not how he really feels, as we’ve all seen that episode.

The writing here is nice and subtle. It lets us know that Donnie isn’t being honest. He’s giving April sass, but the sentiment he’s expressing is false.

The episode continues with Donnie comparing every feat of magic to it’s scientific equivalent until April essentially tells him to can it if he doesn’t want a bat to the plastron. The witches show off, prompting exclamations from April at how amazing their magic is.

Then we get one of my favourite lines from Donnie as he snaps.

“Your Mystic Magic is not amazing, it’s simple and soft. There, I said it.”

That soft is a word that Donnie would use as an insult, associating it with something he dislikes and looks down on, is very affecting. You know what else is soft?

The writing here is so revealing and wonderful. They could have used any insult, but the writers chose to have him express his frustration in a way that sheds light on the way Donnie sees himself. It gets right to the root of the problem he has in this episode, which is that without his science and tech, Donnie doesn’t feel like he is particularly ‘Amazing’ either.

That April calling magic amazing is what prompt’s Don’s snap, rather than any of the words of the townsfolk, is one of the clues we’re given to the truth behind D’s drive in this episode. The writers will bring that back later on!

So April and Don are kicked outta Witch Town when Don’s improv musical performance to convince April to let him help her instead ends up blowing up in his face.

Popping this here because watching Donnie get deservedly smacked by April at this point was very cathartic for me. Dingus.

Donnie offers to help the witches in return for them helping April. It seems sweet at first, but it becomes plain fairly fast that this is really another opportunity for D to try and prove that science is king.

“Ah would you look at that. Banished, and I still saved the day.” “Wait, is that why you did this?” “Nooo! It’s because I was sorry - about being closed minded - about how wrong I were.”

Again, it’s up to the writers to show us that Donnie is lying about his motivations here. That little bit of incorrect grammar (saying ‘were’ instead of ‘was’), calls out to us that something is up. Donnie is smart, and it’s out of character for him to word things sloppily. It lets us know that all is not well, and that things are yet to be resolved, internally at least.

I couldn’t help calling out this wonderful posing, even though I’m trying to focus on the writing. It really sells us on the dissatisfaction brewing between them. Gorgeous acting from the animators.

The peace offering potion the witches were making seems to work, and Donnie wastes no time in trying to rub their faces in the fact that science provided one of the ingredients - until it becomes clear that Donnie’s contribution has soured the brew. He tries to avoid blame and responsibility, as we’ve seen him do in previous episodes (and earlier in this one). Nothing I’m calling out here besides the novelty of seeing a mob of witches trying to lynch a scientist - a bit of a historical reversal!

The big bad is storming Witch Town and Donnie gets ready to smack down - specifically “because when I defeat it with my tech, they will have to admit science is better!”

It’s worth saying that on the word ‘they’, he points directly at April. Because as we’re about to discover, it’s not actually proving to these random villagers that Science is best that’s important to him (though maybe that would be nice), but about proving to April specifically that Science is best. Thank you animators/storyboarders for making that subtext more explicit!

At this point we as the audience have had it up to here with Donnie’s bullheadedness. The reveal that D’s gripe is personal and April/brother specific, rather than just a frustration with Witch Town in general, goes some way to explaining why he is so obsessive over it.

Donnie’s Tech Bo breaks in the conflict, and we get the awesome reveal of April’s Mystic Bat. She is of course, badass with it and kicks butt. April saving Donnie’s hide with Mystic Magic prompts the confrontation between them that is the emotional heart of the episode.

“Why are you so obsessed with proving me wrong on this!?” “Because! I’m the Science Guy! (sigh) If Mystic Powers can do everything I can do but better, then why would you guys even need me?”

Here is the payoff to the opening ‘Mr Science’ line from earlier in the episode. The wording is similar, however this time the line is tinged with defeat. The duality revealed is that Science makes Don feel powerful, but without it, he feels powerless.

The visuals that go hand in hand with the dialog are very telling here, too.

The image of Donnie holding his broken Tech Bo isn’t just to show us that his technology isn’t enough to win, that it can be broken. It’s also showing us how he sees himself, drawing a direct comparison between Donnie and his broken Tech. He’s not always perfect, but he’s ultimately useful, right? Until he’s not. I’ve no doubt that this was a deliberate move from the Storyboarders, and I think they sold the moment brilliantly.

His words make it clear that Donnie believes that “if Mystic Powers can do everything I can do but better”, ie, help April with her project without blowing her classroom up, why would she not keep going to Mystics instead of him in the future? 

With her not ‘needing’ him for scientific assistance any more, he sees no reason for her to continue hanging out with him. This ties back to the clues the writers dropped earlier in the episode, that suggest he doesn’t regard himself highly without his science. 

The obsession this episode with disproving how ‘Amazing’ Mystic Magic is in front of April makes a lot more sense through the lens that he is fighting to keep April’s friendship.

“You Guys” expands this sentiment to include the rest of his family. If his tech ends up letting down the team and is unneeded then by extension, he would also be unneeded.

As viewers, we know this is untrue. Even beyond the fact that these characters rely on one another emotionally, we saw Don fight alongside his brothers in ‘Insane in the Mama Train’ - all of them tech-less and Mystic-less - and they kicked butt, even if they did end up being eventually captured. However, it’s clear from the writing here that this isn’t how Donatello himself feels.

“You’re not important to me because of your tech, you’re important to me because of you! I don’t think Mystic Powers is better than Science. If anything, they’re stronger together, just like us! Right?” “Right!”

April’s comeback is wonderful. Super eloquently written and gets right to the heart of his insecurities. First undermining the thought that if Don didn’t have tech, she wouldn’t need him, then framing Mystic Powers as something that will bring them closer together. Beautiful writing! 

I also want to just celebrate how the writers handle April’s characterisation as being someone who is super excited and curious about any kind of Mystic Magic or supernatural shenanigans. I really like this consistency in her character where she is way into anything otherworldly or unexplained. I hope we get to see more of it in the future!

We get to see April and Donnie kick butt together which super fun! I’m very happy we got another episode with these two, the way they bounce off one another is really enjoyable to watch.

“I was wrong to not be more open-minded. It’s just that Mystic Powers are the one thing I have not been able to solve. As a man of Science, it is maddening to finally come upon something that you do not understand. Especially when your dum-dum brothers totally do, and they wave their dum-dum weapons in their dum-dum hands all the dum-dum time! But that is just a long way of saying I am sorry’.

The apology is very articulate, letting us know that D is truthful here. It’s a nice little payoff when compared to his earlier lie with April, where the writers had him fudge his words to imply his dishonesty. 

April actually believes him this time too, judging by the lovely acting here. 

 We’re treated to this perspective on Donnie’s feelings, which reveals a couple of interesting things to us. ‘The one thing I have not been able to solve’ indicates that he has previously attempted - and failed - to understand Mystic stuff, which is new information. It goes against our impressions from the rest of the series so far (that he is simply disinterested). We also learn that his brothers’ understanding of their powers has created a knowledge imbalance that is a frustration to him. I very much hope that the show keeps taking steps in this direction with Donnie, just because I would love to see an arc that results in him getting more involved with the Mystic side of things.

To wrap up the episode, I really appreciated the way the writers handled the internal conflict in Donnie Vs Witch Town. There was a lot of subtlety and subtext in the writing, which I am absolutely here for. Donnie’s end reveal really recontextualizes the earlier shenanigans in a meaningful way, and marks a step forward for him. April has her Bat now, and Don is a little more open to Mystic Powers as a possibility! I’m excited to see where we go next! 

Thanks for sticking with me, if you got to the end, and I hope you found it as interesting as I did! ‘Raph’s Ride along’ is the next ep I’ll dig into.

[davids-cartoon-corkboard]

Y'all remember how I was like "Big Mama gave Shadow Fiend most of the Dark Armor so they get a massive powerup but aren't in danger of being possessed"? She would certainly make use of the remaining pieces somehow! I think she's kidnapping people who would be a good fit for just one or two pieces. Since the turtles will obviously wind up fighting in the Fantabulous Battle Nexus Wizbang, I'm trying to think of what kind of matchups the show will focus on.

1. Meat Sweats vs. Mikey. They’re pseudonemeses already and both have a flair for the dramatic. The appeal of their fight is the Performance. Mikey’s main advantage against a larger opponent is that his kusari-fundo gives him a longer reach. While he definitely won’t have access to his normal weapon in the Nexus ring, he can probably choose a mundane chain weapon from Big Mama’s arsenal. But to even the score, Big Mama gives Meat Sweats the Dark Armor's gauntlets. Shapeshifted to look like his regular gauntlets, Mikey is none the wiser...

...until Meat Sweats blasts him with a familiar ranged lightning attack! Though Mikey will no doubt find a way to win anyway; a Protagonist isn’t going to lose against a B-List villain.

2. Big Mama gives her next fighter the Shredder's faceplate, which takes the shape of a hockey mask. Surprise, it's Casey (Foot Recruit)! Even though she's no longer part of the Foot Clan, I think she would be overjoyed to receive such an iconic piece of the armor. Her opponent is Raph. Or, more specifically, Savage Raph. Casey hasn’t had the chance to go properly apeshit yet, and she needs to throw down with someone who can match that. The appeal of their fight is the Bloodshed. But we need a way for Casey to circle back around in a future episode, so the match can’t be decided simply because one is a better fighter than the other. Back in "End Game", Casey wasn't there to hear that the Dark Armor had a flaw. She doesn't know the faceplate still has a tiny piece missing. So she puts it on expecting some bomb-ass powerup, only to get nothing! This overconfidence is, of course, her downfall. Perhaps Casey loses because of something silly, like Savage Raph just picking her up and yeeting her out of bounds. Her self-esteem is already a wobbly Jenga tower, so I imagine hundreds of yokai laughing at her is enough to send that crashing down. Casey slinks out of the Nexus (with the faceplate!) and finds somewhere to brood. But, since it’s easier to be angrier at others than at oneself, she’ll blame Raph for her humiliation and eventually track him down for a "real fight”.

3. Donnie’s matchup is a little trickier. The appeal of his fight is the Strategy, so his opponent will be another intelligent character. The Purple Dragons aren’t physical fighters, and Big Mama might not have access to the level of human technology they would need to build a mech or robot. The same goes for Baxter, as well as any upgrades Albearto could give himself. We need an intelligent mystic character.

Four witches were given the extremely important task of gathering ingredients for the Peace Day potion, and Gentry was one of them. Her mini-cauldron was what gave April’s bat its upgrade. She might have a grudge against Donnie for causing the destruction of her town. It would make sense for us to see her again in the Nexus. Perhaps this is punishment for her failure during Peace Day? “Redeem yourself or don’t come back”? Donnie would have studied magic more closely since their last meeting, while Gentry would have had no such opportunity to study science. This should give Donnie enough of an advantage to win easily, but Gentry has a piece of the Dark Armor as well. It has an as-yet unknown power, making it difficult for Donnie to account for it in his plans. Perhaps the Armor’s boots (or those wing-thingies on the back) can grant greater mobility? But in the end, Donnie is a supersoldier with combat training and Gentry isn’t. She never stood a chance.

4. Performance, Bloodshed, Strategy... a true Battle Nexus Champion can balance all three. But Leo isn’t going to fight Shadow Fiend just yet.

Dragon Ball is possibly the franchise most well-known for its tournament arcs, so I get the feeling that Rise will pay homage to it. And since Big Mama is a terrible horrible garbage woman, why not do so by pitting the student against the master? Leo and Splinter will have to fight one another, though I don’t think Big Mama would give either of them a piece of the Armor. No doubt they’ll work together to give the audience a show, Splinter “losing” before Leo can exhaust himself. After all, he has to save his strength for...

5. The Finale!

If Shadow Fiend fought one-on-one, the match would be over too quickly, and Big Mama can’t have that! All four turtles will fight against them. I’m not sure how Raph would factor into this team-up, perhaps his brothers find a way for Host to switch back in, or Savage could start to realize that maybe these “sewer monsters” really don’t mean him any harm.

Hopefully we’ll get some hints as to what Shadow Fiend’s deal is. Is it the Shredder’s spirit under that hood? Is it Big Mama’s mysterious masked assistant? Is it Warren Stone, anchorman extraordinaire and the turtles’ most dastardly foe to date?! Place your bets now, folks!

[oselatra]

Perp walk

Comrade Orange equates his problems, his dilemmas and his bulging portfolio of serial wrongdoings with our country's best interests.

Comrade Orange equates his problems, his dilemmas and his bulging portfolio of serial wrongdoings with our country's best interests. As the judicial system slowly and deliberately tightens the noose around his zesty, bulbous neck, he cries, "This is a disgraceful situation" and an "attack on our country in a true sense." Let's not overlook Putin's Pumpkin's invocation of "witch hunt," his go-to description of any effort to expose his seedy resume chronicling a lifetime of bad acts.

Through rheumy eyes, all he sees is l'etat is under attack, substituting it for himself. What about the rest of us? What do we see?

A wall of orange obscures our vision. On closer examination, we discover a 6-foot, 3-inch, 300-pound behemoth clad in an orange jump suit doing what we've all been waiting for: The infamous perp walk.

L'etat c'est bien!

Harry Herget

Little Rock

Zealots

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette printed two front-page education stories on April 9. One story told about a unique state program that helps pre-kindergarten children with behavior problems. A significant picture went with the article showing the program's diversity. The first-in-the-nation program served three times as many children than expected. Such a successful plan should qualify it for added support.

Considering economics, the difference between the cost of a well adjusted, productive citizen and a criminal for society can run into the millions. When there are thousands of nonproductive citizens, the cost to society defies calculation. Scrolling through the mug shots tires you before getting to the last page, there are so many. The people in those shots were students at one time and, with help, could have avoided a life of crime.

During my 42-year teaching career, I knew many children that behaved like the ones the new Arkansas program helps. Back then, no special help existed and, sadly, the newspaper recorded the crimes of those who did not make it. Felony convictions put many of these good people in prison, costing Arkansas millions each year. Intervention could have saved most of them.

A part-time job during the summer had me working in an Arkansas prison. I needed help moving some heavy equipment and was told to go out into the yard and pick four men. When I walked into the yard, I heard a chorus of voices calling my name. I picked four former students from the many who had passed through my classroom. I politely turned down their invitation to eat lunch with them.

Early intervention is best but special help must be available for every age. New students at every level enroll during the school year. Circumstances can bring about problems at any age. Problems thought solved might need more help later. Some knotty problems need many years of intervention. This is one of those things that spending money upfront saves many times the amount spent later. The problem is having the money to spend upfront.

The other story was about Alice Walton's charter school loans. She sees pumping a lot of money into charter schools as a bold solution to the problem of paying for charters schools. Obviously, the more charter schools started, the more money they need. It appears the Walton Family Foundation stands ready to give a lot of support to what they call "school choice."

A review of the literature does not justify the Walton Foundation's charter school support. However, facts do not impact those who think they are right. It appears the Walton Foundation thinks that charter schools should replace public schools. Charters call themselves public schools and get public funds but are self-governing. The money given charter schools lessens the money for non-charter schools. Less money for non-charter schools concerns only the people who must use those schools.

When there is an obvious need for more support of public schools and giving that help would save money and improve society, why is support lacking? Furthermore, why are extreme measures to change public education so heavily supported by a distinct segment of society?

Cutting to the chase, one can say there is an overlap of charter school and Trump supporters. To simplify, those supporters will be called zealots. Zealots confer on themselves cheap grace that allows them to use whatever means they need to get what they want. For certain, zealots are free to own and use guns, to go to schools where they choose, to keep bad people from entering the United States, to protect "unborn children" from the moment of conception, and to provide their politicians with unlimited funding.

The wealth of many zealots insulates them from the ravages of poverty and all the things associated with insufficiency. That Alice Walton shares magnificent art with the world shows how much she cares for people. Would Alice Walton consider helping Arkansas fund the new Behavior Help Response System at every grade level? One can hope for rejection of "cheap grace" and the Walton Intervention Plan Everywhere (WIPE) helps wipe away expulsions.

Richard Emmel

Little Rock

From the web

In response to Antwan Phillips' April 12 guest column on his experience as a teenager of being stopped by police after a friend waved a BB gun in a car in which he was a passenger:

As NRA-encouraged fear and paranoia increases the number of guns in the hands of "bad guys," cops more often assume everyone is armed.

Bow ties are back in style

In reading the opening sentences, I was worried where this was going. I was thinking to myself, "I'd call the cops, too!" and then "This isn't going to end well!" Thank goodness a lesson was learned and there was professionalism and common sense used on the part of law enforcement. It's a shame in this day and age we have to worry that those characteristics are not widespread.

bwc76

Very well written story, Antwan. Valid points. I think a key sentence is "In a manner of moments, they evaluated and de-escalated the situation." Today, I see law enforcement (used to be called your neighborhood cop) being trained like they are combat soldiers ready to invade a foreign country. I think the recruitment process for law enforcement should involve more psychological tests to weed out applicants who may not have the right temperament to responsibly carry a gun. They need to practice more on how to shoot with better accuracy. There needs to be more training on how to evaluate a situation before you pull the trigger. Officers take their cue from their supervisors who take their cue from mayors and governors. If the attitude being passed down is shoot first, ask questions later, then that does not bode well for anyone, including law-abiding citizens. A jury is hesitant to convict a police officer for a questionable shooting. I see people's attitudes changing and people do not trust policemen as much as they used to and I think we will see the attitudes of a jury change. In Arkansas, we have certain state legislators aggressively pushing guns into every part of everyone's daily lives, and I think they are setting up an escalation of unnecessary shooting deaths. Why they would want to do this is beyond me.

ShineOnLibby

Tragedies happen because stupid people do stupid things. This weak attempt to make it about race ignores the fact that anytime folks want to discuss the shootings of supposedly innocent, unarmed black men, they use the names of two men who were not innocent, nor unarmed.

Trayvon Martin was shot in self-defense while he was on top of George Zimmerman. Trayvon was trying to murder Zimmerman.

Michael Brown was shot attacking a police officer, reaching into the patrol car in an attempt to use his larger physique as a weapon to disarm a police officer.

The boys in that car were very fortunate, indeed, that the person in the other car was not armed, or they would have rightfully been shot by the people in the other car.

While there is plenty of room for improvements in training, as evidenced by the many incidents of unarmed, complying people of all races being shot down by cops, but to make it a race issue is to forget the issue that the lies told by those pushing this narrative still cling.

Why is it that these same activists do not bring up the name of Johnny Crawford, who was gunned down by police in a Walmart because some guy on the phone called in a false report of a man with a rifle threatening people?  His name should be on that list, Trayvon and Brown should not.

Before we attempt to address any perceived issue, we at least need to start from an honest point of view, with the bare facts available.

Steven E

"The boys in that car were very fortunate, indeed, that the person in the other car was not armed, or they would have rightfully been shot by the people in the other car."

In one sentence you have the mentality of the American gun nut. In a nutshell you might say.

Olphart

From the web in response to the April 17 Arkansas Blog post "Hucthinson: 'GIF money is history':

Just wait till all the mayors and city council members in the little towns start screaming about getting kicked off the teat paying for their community projects.

Asa is likely to flip-flop like Donnie Little Fingers does on anything except Russia.

Why don't they just raise their own taxes to pay for these things? (Rhetorical, OK?)

wannabee conservative

Hutchinson knew it was wrong in 2015, but was more concerned about having the money to dole out in the form of political favors. Now all of the sudden - again - it's the wrong thing to do. Someone needs to ask him why he continued the practice when he clearly understood that the practice was tainted.

Vanessa

What will Jan Morgan cause Asa to say tomorrow?

DeathbyInches

Big Deal. Legislators will just find other ways to turn our tax dollars to their own benefit. They are probably working on doing so as I write this.

Kate

Baloney. GIF not dead. Asa just controls it.

Screen name taken

Lest everyone forget Jon Woods is the sole reason we now have some of the worst ethics rules, extended term limits, doubled salaries and much more garbage after the so-called ethics amendment was passed. Now he is going to prison. Speaks highly of our elected officials doesn't it?

concernedinheber

Perp walk

[nightmareonfilmstreet]

Easter Evil: 10 Movies With Bunnies Gone Bad

The Easter weekend obviously has its religious meaning but to the more secular among us, it’s really more about marking the beginning of Spring, sunnier weather, warmer temperatures and longer days. Sure, you could get outside more, but seriously, why not just do what you always do and stay inside to watch a movie?

But there are no scary Easter movies, you say. We beg to differ. Easter-approriate movies are out there beyond The Greatest Story Ever Told and Easter Parade, you need only look as far as the 10 scary rabbits and evil bunnies below.

Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)

Let’s start off with something tame, Nick Park’s classic stop-motion animation duo who take a walk on the wild side with this outing that’s part Wolfman, part The Fly, and full of the characteristic British charm of the renowned Aardman Animation studio. When Wallace’s own mad science turns him into a vegetable hungry were-rabbit, Gromit must protect his human companion from the hunter Lord Quartermaine, who’s trying to bag the were-rabbit to impress Lady Tottington. It’s not exactly a scary movie, but like any good horror, The Curse of the Were-Rabbit offers sympathy for the monster, and is a reminder that short cuts to achieve difficult goals – like losing weight by eating more veggies – can have some unintended consequences.

  The Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

There’s nothing in the hat. – Uncle Walt’s magic trick is not exactly what you expect in Joe Dante’s portion of the 1983 anthology film based on the classic Twilight Zone series created by Rod Serling. Borrowing from the series’ well-known Nightmare as a Child episode, Dante’s outing sees the affable Helen drawn into a family home where everything’s off kilter. Little does Helen know that this is not young Anthony’s real family, but surrogates he forcefully recruited after killing his own family with his near infinite, God-like powers. As the coup de grace after dinner, Uncle Walt pulls a rabbit from the hat. But not just any old fluffy bunny, he pulls out a zany, Looney Tunes-esque stop-motion concoction from hell. It scares poor Helen enough to make Anthony start thinking that maybe he’s gone too far…

  Fatal Attraction (1987)

Such flagrant bunny abuse will not be ignored. Fatal Attraction is about a successful New York lawyer named Dan who decides to celebrate having the house to himself for the weekend by having an affair. Unfortunately for him, the object of his limited desire was Alex, who can’t accept that Dan was in it for a good time, and not a long time. As part of an escalating series of violent outbursts, Alex targets Dan’s family, and in one of the film’s most memorable scenes, Dan’s wife Beth comes home to find a boiling pot on the stove. As Beth cautious approaches the pot we see her daughter Ellen run up to the coupe that houses her beloved rabbit. As Ellen cries to Dan that her bunny is missing, Beth takes the lid off the pot and finds *ahem* rabbit stew. Hollywood lore suggests a real dead rabbit was used in the scene, but it’s worth noting that aside from Alex in the film’s finale, the bunny is the only casualty in Fatal Attraction.

  Watership Down (1978)

While not scary in a conventional sense, try not and be disturbed by this animated adaption of the classic Richard Adams novel. The story follows a group of rabbits that try to find a new home for themselves when the seer, Fiver, has a vision of their warren in the English countryside suffering an apocalypse. The rabbits’ quest to find a new sanctuary forces them to go through cats, dogs, hawks, hunters, farmers, death traps, and even other more vicious rabbits, which all adds up to something that looks like Disney version of the Donner Party. Heck, there’s even a rabbit Grim Reaper that appears to our heroes at a couple of key points in the film, including the end when leader Hazel, (voiced by John Hurt by the way), is ushered into the rabbit afterlife. Try not thinking about that when you take the kids to see Peter Rabbit!

  Donnie Darko (2001)

This would not be a complete list of scary rabbits without the most famous imaginary “leporidae” sidekick since Harvey. Or is Frank imaginary? Filled with signs and portents, weird science and teenage angst, a likely imaginary man named Frank in an ill-formed black rabbit costume isn’t the weirdest thing in Donnie Darko. The vision of Frank not only gives Donnie a warning about the end of the world (sort of), but he bolsters in Donnie a new found attitude about exploring the mysteries of time, and casting off the latent hypocrisies of 1980s suburbia. Was Frank ever real? It’s an interesting question, for he might have been a manifestation of Donnie’s new found ability to see through time, or an alter that allowed Donnie to overcome his own shyness. On the other hand, maybe Donnie had a thing for messed up looking rabbit people.

  Sexy Beast (2000)

Some people like hunting rabbits, but in Sexy Beast the rabbit hunts you. Well, sort of. In what might be described as Elmer Fudd’s worst nightmare, ex-convict Gary Dove, played by Ray Winstone, has a vision of a demonic rabbit man riding up to him on horseback, dismounting, and pointing a machine gun at him while he eats a nice meal. It’s like The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly with a long-eared Grinch carrying an uzi, and while Ben Kingsley gets all due credit for his truly intimidating (and profanity-laden) performance as a London gangster, try and shake the image of that creepy looking rabbit with a killer instinct.

  The Witch (2015)

When if comes to evil animals in Robert Eggers’ “conventional” (according to him) horror movie, The Witch, a lot of people focus on the goat Black Phillip, but what about the black hare? Young Caleb spots the bunny while out on an early morning hunt with his big sister Thomasin and he chases it even after the horse throws Thomasin off. When Caleb gets lost alone in the woods, he stumbles on a hovel and a young woman that lures him to come inside, which seems like the 17th century equivalent of eating Tide pods, an obvious danger, and you should probably know better, but you just can’t help yourself. But whose fault is it really that Caleb became prey to a witch? The black rabbit, of course!

  Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

While Monty Python is not exactly synonymous with horror, it’s hard to find a rabbit scene more gory then the one in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The titular quest leads Arthur and his knights to a cave guarded by the Rabbit of Caerbannog. Despite the somewhat vague but emphatic warnings by Tim the Enchanter, the Round Table knights are thoroughly unimpressed with their latest challenge, at least until Sir Bors is attacked and decapitated. The Rabbit of Caerbannog proves himself more than a match for the knights, and only the “Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch” is able to deal with the rabbit permanently. There’s a lesson here about not underestimating your opponent. There’s also a lesson that bunnies are bloodsuckers and killers, but that seems to get overlooked.

  Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! (2006)

There is a small, but surprising subgenre of slasher movies about people in bunny suits, but one of the better ones is Easter Bunny, Kill! Kill! It is of a Rob Zombie mold, about hideous low lives who get their proper comeuppance and the one delivering it here is a killer in a bunny mask. It’s highly violent, highly disturbing, and will likely shade every future experience you have with contractors and power tools, but it does have a delightful twist in the end, not to mention a delightfully twisted ending. Not all killers in rabbit costumes are made in the same vein, but if you’re looking for a low-budget horror delight to counteract all those typically bright and cheerful Easter feelings, this is your remedy.

  Night of the Lepus (1972)

A forgotten classic in the science creates big animals horror subgenre, but one that’s fascinating if for nothing else then being about giant mutant rabbits overrunning a small ranching town. In fact, Night of the Lepus makes a nice bookend with Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit because they’re both about using science to find a humane way to reduce the rabbit population, but they’re also about that process going horribly wrong. If you can’t buy the ludicrous concept, that’s fine because the pre-CG effects do nothing to help the suspension of disbelief. The effect of the over running horde of giant rabbits is achieved through a combination of close-ups, miniatures, green screen, and yes, humans in rabbit costumes. Unbelievable? Certainly! A terribly good time on an Easter weekend? Absolutely!

The post Easter Evil: 10 Movies With Bunnies Gone Bad appeared first on Nightmare on Film Street - Horror Movie Podcast, News and Reviews.

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[scribomaniac]

Man of Ash and Thorns: Chapter 10

The sun had set by the time Reyna walked into Bellevue Hospital. Hospitals at night were so much creepier than they were during the day. There was a quiet in the halls that made the Sorceress look over her shoulder multiple times as she walked towards her destination. A florescent light flickered off and on, casting dark, ominous shadows on the off-white walls.

Slipping into room 333, Reyna stopped at the foot of the patient's bed. "I was wondering when you'd show up," Bub said as he stepped out of the shadows behind her. The room had no windows to the outside, and the only light shining on the two of them came from the machines monitoring the patient's health. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, traffic was just . . ." sighing, Reyna started again. "Look, I'm sorry to call you so late—and with Hannah being so pregnant, but I—I need your help. Yours and Sam's."

Bub's brows furrowed and he took a step closer, "What's happened?"

Shaking her head, Reyna turned back to the patient, "No—I mean, first just let me summon Sam." The patient in front of her was William Freeman, the body Samyaza had possessed all those months ago. Grabbing the catatonic man's wrist, the Sorceress looked over her shoulder, "Watch the door." Summoning a small exacto knife from her apartment, she made the small incisions on both her forearm and the patient's. His blood was used to create Samyaza's summoning circle, and her was used to draw a binding circle over the summoning one. Placing her hand over the two bloody marks, Reyna whispered the incantation and mixed the seals.

A light flashed, bright and blinding, and then the body gasped and began to thrash about. Reyna stepped back, waiting for the episode to end. His eyes opened and blinked. Once, twice, then after the third time Reyna found herself looking into the black eyes of a Devil. "What," Samyaza breathed out slowly, "the fuck?"

"How do you feel?" Bub asked his brother over his shoulder so he could keep watch by the door.

"Like shit." Sam responded before trying to sit up.

"The muscles have started losing their strength I guess," Reyna mused. She made a mental note to study human muscles more. She knew that the last time they'd used Freeman's body, he'd only been catatonic for a few weeks, so it wasn't too big a deal. This time, though, it'd been a few months. Maybe she should start summoning Sam more often to stop the decay and make it easier for him to move about. Shaking her head quickly, she pushed those thoughts aside for later. She had more pressing concerns at the moment.

Bub, deciding the coast was officially clear, stepped up to his brother to help him up and out of bed. "So you ready to tell us what's going on?" He asked, his blue eyes glinting dangerously in the dark. He looked ready for a fight and Reyna knew she just had to point in it's general direction and he'd jump into it head first.

"I need your help. Lilith, the Queen of—"

"Vampires," Sam snorted as he took a few tentative steps. "We know who she is."

Barely holding back an eye roll, Reyna continued. "She's been kidnapped—or something. She's in trouble down in New Orleans."

"So?" Sam asked, now doing a few lunges to stretch out his legs.

"So, I made a deal with her," Reyna said slowly. "If something happened to her, I'd find her—insurance, she called it."

"And you agreed to that?" Bub asked incredulously. "Why?"

"She went down there to look for a mutual friend." Reyna shrugged, "I'm invested."

"All right, and what do you need us for?"

"The people who've taken her . . . I don't know them. I don't know what tricks they have up their sleeves or who they consider allies. I don't know if I'm powerful enough alone to take them on." Sam snorted again, but Reyna continued, "So I need the two of you to have my back down there."

"Whatever," Sam said, rolling his shoulders, "I can't imagine anything down there powerful enough to actually challenge your power, witch," he smirked, teasing, "much less all three of us, but it makes no difference to me. What to we get out of it?"

"It depends," Reyna said slowly. "On who we face. Oh, don't give me that look, Samyaza!" His lip had curled at her words, "I can't specify what type of souls you'll be feasting on . . . just that it will be souls."

"So you're telling me that you don't care what we're facing down there . . . Werewolves, Fae, Vampires . . . even other witchlings like yourself? If they're involved in the Fanged-Bitch's kidnapping then they're ours?"

Reyna nodded, "Lilith may have something special in mind for whoever orchestrated this, but yes. I don't care what sort of creatures have her—their souls are yours."

A viscous snarl of a smile cut across Sam's face, and even Bub looked thirsty with anticipation. The brother's looked at each other and nodded. Sam clapped his hands together, "Say no more—lead us to the buffet!"

It took just under six hours for Reyna and her Devils to make it to to the airport, catch their plane, and land in New Orleans. Reyna was a bundle of nervous energy the entire way, but she had to force herself to be patient. Even she couldn't make time go by faster, nor could she magic the distance away. Flying was by far the fastest option, and yet she couldn't help feel like it still wasn't fast enough. Bub and Sam used the time to catch up with each other, talking about everything from the Demons and Spirits in their realm to how Hannah was doing. Reyna was relieved to discover she and Bub had been spending the week at her family's home, so at least the mother to be wouldn't be alone for the next few days while Bub was away. The two brothers even tried to distract her, asking about her shop and Liam. When she told them Morax was tasked with looking after the young Were, Sam couldn't help the disgusting, full bellied laughter that escaped him. He laughed so hard he even cried a bit.

Reyna was thankful for them. Although she couldn't stop the incessant tapping of her foot on the floor of the plane, their conversation did help take the edge off and make the trip go by faster. Soon enough, just past one in the morning, their plane landed, and by two they were in a cab heading towards the heart of the city. If the cab driver wondered why his three new patrons had zero luggage, he didn't ask. They drove into the Mid-City neighborhood, near City Park, and got out. The city was still awake and active, which Reyna was grateful for. She didn't want to be caught lurking about and tip off her unknown enemies.

"This will be our base," she told Sam and Bub, pointing to the lively bar behind her. "We'll split up and search the city for any word of Li—" Reyna stopped herself, not knowing who could be listening. She restarted, "any word of the Fanged-Bitch. If you hear anything call the others, if not then we'll meet back here in two hours. Sam, check out the bayous and whatever else is east of them. The Weres might know something, and if not I'm sure there are some Fae or Goblins that'll be willing to make a trade for the information. Bub, check out Seabrook and Little Woods and try to sniff out any Humans or Vampires in the area. I'll stay on this side of the city and see what else I can find. Sound good?"

"It's a big town, Reyna," Bub said without looking at her. His gaze was everywhere else, trying to see what magic lurked beneath the city's busy exterior. "Wouldn't a tracking spell be more efficient?"

Shaking her head, she explained, "It's a gamble, but I'd bet whoever took . . . her has magic on their side to either block a trace or signal them that someone was looking. I don't want to give ourselves away."

"Let them know we're here," Sam said, an arrogant smirk on his face. "I'll enjoy tearing their limbs from their bodies."

"They might not attack, though," Reyna reasoned. "They might run instead, and that's a risk I am not willing to take."

The two Devils nodded in agreement and they dispersed with barely another word. Sam would be his purely demonic self in the bayous. The land was wild and infested with all different sorts of creatures that would give anyone other than a soul thirsty Devil a hard time. Some of the stronger creatures would sense him—sense what he was—and if they were smart they'd steer clear. It'd be good for Sam, to let out some of his pent up aggression and rage there—fun, even. Reyna just hoped he didn't burn everything around him down in his search. Though, if it somehow led to Sophie's safe return, Reyna found she didn't much care what Sam did with the place.

Bub would be more subtle. He'd summon legions of flies from his dimension and have them search his section of the city. They'd seep into every house, car, trash can . . . everything and anything. Nothing would stop their entrance. It'd be much simpler and safer than his brother's methods—so long as nothing tried to stop them. Bub's flies were persistent and would stop at nothing. She'd never seen them in action, but Sam had recounted to her the many times someone tried to hide or block the flies and what those little monsters did in retaliation. They lived off blood and flesh, and would burrow themselves into bodies and carcasses happily if they needed to get through to its other side.

As for her, Reyna knew where she had to go. She could feel the streets singing to her magic, beckoning her to a specific location. She'd heard about it from Donny, back when they were still on speaking terms. Certain bars were crafted to entice the magical community. The bricks used to make the establishment were enchanted to catch the attention of those with close ties to magic and lead them straight to it. A magical bar would be the best place to start her investigation. With every step forward, Reyna could feel her blood singing with excitement and peace—with a sense of belonging. Soon enough, Reyna turned a corner and she felt like she was flying when she stepped up to Sièlce Magnifique.

It was a club. A very popular one, Reyna thought, as she saw the line to get in reach down and around the block. Castors were waiting excitedly to get in. They were all young, like her, and all drawn here by the building's siren song. Reyna took a step closer to the building, figuring she'd wait in line and make it in eventually like the rest, when she caught sight of the bouncer. He wasn't anything special, or out of the ordinary. He looked like a stereotypical bouncer. His white head was shaved, he wore black leather, and he was huge. He was also a Vampire. And he wasn't alone. There were two more up on the roof of the building, one down the street, and one on the other side of the door. Five Vampires wasn't unusual, but five Vampires acting as security? That was suspicious.

Reyna took a step back and gasped as a wave of nausea overcame her. She grunted and took another step back. Another wave of nausea hit her, it was almost like her stomach was trying to turn itself inside out. She took another step, forward this time, and sighed when the feeling disappeared and was immediately replaced with that warm, comforting feeling from before. Frowning, Reyna thought back to Donny and his stories. In none of them did he say that ignoring the magical call would cause a negative side effect. That couldn't be normal.

Looking back at the Castors, Reyna perused their attire and found not a single one of them wore anything to repel a Vampire. Not a single one had markings on their skin to protect themselves. Not a single one had cast a spell over themselves or their friends. That didn't necessarily mean anything, but . . . she walked closer to the line and set her sights on a group of female Castors about her age that were in middle of the long line. "Hi, I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering I you knew where I could find Bourbon Street?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," one of the girls said, "We're just visiting—we don't know where anything is!"

"You're all tourists, too, then?" She asked, watching the many people around her nod. A few people in front and behind them nodded as well after she caught their eyes. She walked down the line a bit and asked again. The answer was the same. She tried again, going almost to the end of the line. Tourists, all of them. Catching the eye of one of the Vampire bouncers, Reyna stopped her questioning and instead got in line and pulled out her phone.

Reyna sent a text out to both Bub and Sam, calling them back to her and giving them her current address. By the time they found her, Reyna was almost at the front of the line. Sam arrived looking exhilarated, liberated, completely at ease with everything in the universe. Bub looked a little like that as well, his eyes were alight with danger and adrenaline, but he also had the sense to realize Reyna had stumbled upon something. So, with a frown pulling at his lips, he asked, "What do we have here?"

"A bad ass looking club!" Sam shouted, pumping his fists up into the air. If Reyna didn't know him better, she'd think he was intoxicated. But no, he was just drunk on his own power.

"Notice the security?" She asked under her breath.

"Yeah, they're Vamps," Bub's brow furrowed with confusion. "So?"

"And these people in line," Reyna continued, jerking her chin to the people waiting around them. "What are they?"

"Humans—Castors, I guess. Why does that—"

"Only Castors," Reyna clarified. "And only tourists." The door to the club opened up and the three of them were led inside. The lighting was dark, much too dark for a human's natural eye sight. Music blared from the speakers at a volume higher than anywhere around, making it almost impossible to communicate. Bodies grind and writhed against one another on the dance floor and huddles of people were clustered together in what looked intimate embraces.

Sneering at it all—the flare, the dramatics, the illusions—Reyna felt her magic crackle within her muscles and uncoil deep within her belly. Throwing her hands up, Reyna released a wave of pure magic throughout the building like a great tidal wave in the middle of a once calm ocean. Sparks flew from the massive speakers and the music stopped, only to be replaced by howling screams. Emergency lights flickered once, twice, thrice, before the room was illuminated by bright florescent lights, showing the true nature of the club. The writhing bodies from the dance floor were flailing about, trying to escape the Vampires latched around their necks. The intimate groupings along the side were uncovered to be Vampires finishing off the last of their dried up prey.

Sam let out a low whistle, "Not a club, then."

Bub's jaw dropped, "A slaughter house."

"Yup," Reyna said darkly, looking at all the Vampires in the room and watching as they realized meal had been interrupted. Several began to hiss at them, and Reyna heard something latch into place behind them—the door's lock, most likely. Peripherally, Reyna saw several Vampires stalking towards them and could feel the security Vampire coming up from behind. "Well boys, you wanted souls," she looked up at the two Devils and gestured towards the Vampires, "Think these will do?"

Samyaza smiled down at her, his teeth barring themselves menacingly. He looked like the perfect predator, only perhaps a bit too gleeful at the prospect of the hunt. Blinking, his eyes bled black and he broke eye contact to look at the feast before him. "Oh," he laughed, his smile widening, "This'll do."

Read more here!

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