#make a comic about that little pup plush...

[ilovejoll]

two mimir :D

OFIUSDHFUHUDSGFUHGHEYRHGYGFYGSFGTEFGREGFGSEFRGEHGFDGSFYGESGYGREYFGFEYRFGWEY OOHHJNJH VROOORBRBTRGI..,,,,,,.......ahem.....oh...my gof,,,fd..... this usso cute,,,,,,,,.. im going yo CRY...myeyes out right now...tje...the fucvkuing little puppy plush,...ouhguh......theyre so sleepy and eppy they need a good nighgstrest..... a mimir.... sleep...lovlies.... THIS IS SO CUTE AZA THANKYOUTHANK YOU BOWS BOWS BVOWS BOWS I need to draw somethhing for you in return...soon...watch...

[sector-i-closed]

She's a Goddess?

Hades!Yunho x Persephone!reader x Hades!Seonghwa since I decided to do another of this au with 2 out of 8 makes one king

Warning: Smut, also use of c*ck sl*t among other things

You were becoming increasingly anxious of the fact that in a few days you would be leaving the place that you called home in the underworld that you had grown to love.

The world outside reminded you of too many things that you wished to forget but to your disappointment it was arranged for you to visit the outside world and cohabitate with your mother for six months out of the year.

That knowledge in and of itself made you feel extra stressed and today you were extremely antsy while Yunho played fetch with Cerberus, or Cerbie as the rulers affectionately called him.

The tired three headed hound eventually coming to you to check on you and get it's pats on all of it's heads before going back to his outpost at the gates to take a nap and be on guard to prevent souls from escaping the underworld, leaving the lavish living room behind with you and Yunho.

You fidgeted nervously as you sat on the plush velvet couch beside Yunho, "Are you feeling unwell, love?" The tall male asked with furrowed brows as he watched your pouty expression and inability to keep still.

"I'm fine. Not looking forward to being away from here though..." You sighed softly and nearly became breathless from the mere touch when Yunho's large hand moved to take your dainty hand into his own.

"We all aren't looking forward to you leaving either. It's never something that we can get used to and we always eagerly await your return, Y/N." Yunho stated calmly, contrary to what you felt inside of yourself.

Your jaw clenched from anxiety without intending to, groaning to yourself as you held his hand, "I appreciate it greatly but I don't want to think about it right now..." You admitted softly, glancing down at the male's lap yearningly, being unable to state what you wanted at the moment.

"What would you like to think about?" Yunho quirks an eyebrow at you, studying you closely as you felt your face heat up dramatically.

"I- I just..." You trailed off in a whiny tone, as the weight of his hand rested on your thigh.

"Use your words, kitten. I might get the wrong idea if you don't tell me what you're wanting to think about." His voice comes out dark and steady while keeping his gaze fixed on you directly.

You huffed out loud, uncertain how to say what you wanted without being so straightforward about it.

Finally you gave up and spoke what was at the forefront of your mind, "I feel a little stressed and I want to suck your dick..."

Yunho offers an amused smirk as he squeezes your thigh, "True to our cock slut's nature~" He chuckles low and darkly.

Your eyes lower in embarrassment and immediately afterwards he grabs your chin, forcing you to look him directly in his smothering dark orbs, his aura intimidating and chilling and you were already trembling like a leaf.

"Did you think that you could just tell me that without following through with it little one? Down on your knees in front of daddy and unfasten my pants. You know what to do." Yunho growls out an order, to which you immediately drop to your knees and scrabble at his pants clumsily as he watched.

A wave of embarrassment and arousal washing over you while the male teased you for your eagerness. Eventually you freed his semi hard length from his confining clothes.

Without hesitation you leaned forward while holding eye contact with him, swirling your tongue across his velvety tip and collecting the heady essence on your tongue.

"Are you only going to play around when you know I'm anticipating~?" Yunho quirks an eyebrow while you drooled uncontrollably on his length.

A soft whimper leaving you while you eased yourself down to accommodate his hard length.

"That's my good cock slut. I knew you would get the feel for it shortly." Yunho chuckled evilly, watching you take as much of him into your mouth and down your throat as possible, drool dribbling out of your mouth embarrassingly and pooling on his skin.

"What a messy little baby~ She's a goddess?" Seonghwa purrs smoothly from behind Yunho as he stops to watch you suck the latter's dick.

"Mmph!" You cried out as one of Yunho's hands quickly finds your hair and pulls at your scalp roughly, coaxing moisture to seep from your eyes and down your cheeks.

"That's what I thought but her true nature is a cock slut." Yunho declares as he guides your head movements to bob at the precise rhythm to get him off.

"See~? Like this. I'll allow you to take it from here, little one." Yunho released your hair to watch you pleasure him, "You're doing much better now, pup." You allow yourself to moan in pleasure as you hollowed your cheeks around his member.

"She's always been a great learner when it's something that she wants." Seonghwa comments as he discreetly strokes himself in his pants while watching you give Yunho head.

Your throat burned from the stretch of the intrusion disregarding your gag reflex, the thickness of his shaft making it difficult for you to accommodate him but you managed until he came down your throat with a masculine groan that brought goosebumps to the surface of your skin.

"You did so well, pup." Yunho smiled at you while observing your flushed face as you pulled off of him and swallowed down the hot, saline essence that lingered in your mouth.

"My turn now. Come here, doll~ No mess on my clean trousers or I will punish you." Seonghwa murmurs in a seductive tone, eyes narrowed while watching you meekly approach him and lower yourself to your knees in front of him.

You surprised yourself with how steady your fingers were when you undid his pants, freeing up his hard length and going down on him almost immediately, "Hold on... It's meant to be enjoyed. I know our cock slut is eager but it's almost pathetic how eager you are for it."

You whine around his shaft, eyes widening almost comically when Seonghwa begins to fuck into your mouth roughly, "Just for daddy, right?" You whimper affirmatively and tear up, moaning out in pleasure with each stroke of his hips fucking into your face and the low grunts and praises that leave him until he finally releases into your mouth with a raspy groan.

You take in all of his seed into your mouth, milking his slit dry of every sweet drop of his cum until he pulls you off of his cock.

"You were very useful for both of us~ What would our cock slut want for a reward? We might grant your wish." Seonghwa asks with interest while fastening his pants back up as you thought for a moment.

"I w-want Hongjoongie~" You reply hoarsely, looking up at Seonghwa hopefully with glazed over eyes.

"That's so cute." He answers with a voice that still dripped with sensuality, "We'll see what we can do~"

[taiblogcomics]

Doomed to Repeat It

Hey there, tribute episodes. Not much to say, but here's another review~

Here's another cover:

I'll give them this: the covers have been really dynamic and interesting lately. Moving the logo around and having it be more integrated into the image is a cool effect. Cloud 9 is still not on the cover, but you get a better look at Doomed here. And he's expressing an emotion to Jason that all the readers can relate to! Yes, to him! And beat his ass~!

After a brief opening with Bizarro and Artemis, wherein they find the bottle city with Ma Gunn shrunk in it, we join Jason and his students where we left off. As I said before (last issue), Doomed is the only one of these characters to have been previously established. In short, an intern at STAR Labs breathed in Doomsday spores, and now he can turn into a skinny-ass Doomsday. Like most new characters DC tries, his series was cancelled less than a year in. This is why he's strangling Cloud 9, he's jealous of her debuting in someone else's comic and therefore doesn't have the Sword of Cancellation dangling over her head~

Doomed suddenly drops Cloud 9 and leaps at the group angrily. This is countered with a two-page spread of Devour leaping back at him in turn. I mean, it's impressive to see all the detailing on Devour's mechanical bits, but it seems a bit unnecessary for the fight. Doomed tries to rip and tear Devour's guts, but he is not huge, nor does he have huge guts. Instead, Devour turns his hand into a cage, trapping Doomed. Everyone, including Jason, is suitably impressed at how quickly Devour managed to end that. Naturally, Doomed flexes and bursts out of the cage in the very next panel~

We get a brief scene of Devour's backstory here. Turns out, he's North Korean, of all things. I won't make any political commentary, but it seems a bit too easy, doesn't it? Anyway, some hospital workers are suddenly rushed into an examination room. The boy's not having a medical emergency, though, he's merely eating the cardiograph machine. Naturally the police are called, but before they can shoot the boy whose hands are now turning into Luke Skywalker's mechanical one, Lex Luthor turns up and electrocutes everyone. He introduces himself, and tells the boy that people like him have a higher calling than their nationality. Their calling should be to themselves. And if that's not the definition of a villain, I dunno what is~

The other students are all fighting Doomed in their own way: Cloud 9 uses lightning, Devour punches him, and Mummy Mother just pulls out a gun. Jason hangs back and lets them sort it out. He's a very learn-by-doing teacher. DNA gets in there with their tentacles, and suddenly calls the battle to a halt. See, DNA's able to read Doomed's mind with their tentacles, and it turns out Doomed hasn't killed any of the guards here. Jason takes this moment to get up off his lazy ass and agree with DNA. He applauds DNA for getting to the heart of the matter, and explains the whole thing, backstory and all.

I already gave you Doomed's backstory earlier, so we can skip this. With the fighting stopped, Doomed also calms down and becomes clear-headed enough to mumble something about "other monsters". DNA is very patient with him, encouraging him to sound out the words. And at the cue, the wall melts and in come a group of much more grotesque figures, including a guy who looks like Generic Detective Protagonist Man, except that he has a huge hideous right arm. He introduces himself as "Monster Arm". Wow, you weren't even trying with that one, were you? Hey, let me tell you about my new superhero, Flight-And-Super-Strength Man~

As the class begins to get ready to fight with Monster Arm and his pals, the comic actually ends by returning to Bizarro and Artemis. Bizarro is lamenting his lost intelligence, thinking he was more helpful then. Artemis points out that smarts aren't everything--look at Jason, for example. Even Bizarro chuckles at that one, so he can't be that dumb. Bizarro reaches for the bottle city, and accidentally drops it, shattering it. As he desperately tries to poke through the ruined house and glass shards to check on Ma Gunn, suddenly little plush Pup-Pup walks in and says she'll probably be fine. Okay, comic, you have my attention~

Again, this comic--this arc, really--is not that bad. For one thing, it’s still putting focus on these other characters and not so much Jason, and that can only be a good thing. I also like the brief interludes with Artemis and Bizarro, letting us know it hasn’t forgotten them and they will still be important, which I appreciate. Really, the one criticism of this issue is that Monster Arm is a very stupid name~

I guess next week we’ll beat that fact into Señor Brazo del Monstruo~

[paradisobound]

I Want It, I Got It: Chapter 9

Summary: Phil Lester was a worker for the BBC in London. Working in the advertising department, he was content being alongside his friend and fellow coworker PJ during every shift. However, the BBC is temporarily being used as a film set for a new movie staring Hollywood ‘It’ star, Daniel Howell. Being stuck as an extra on the set, Phil finds it’s hard to ignore the famous star. And maybe, just maybe, Dan finds it hard to ignore Phil as well.

Word Count: 2.8k (this chapter)

Warnings: Occasional swearing

Rating: Mature (for right now)

Updates will be every Wednesday at 4pm and Sunday at 1pm EST

**MASTERLIST | READ ON AO3**

Better late than never, right? lol see you all on March 6th!

Phil found himself pacing the floors of his flat at 2:30am, waiting for Dan to arrive. Dan had texted him about a half an hour ago to let him know that his flight was descending into London and he had word that his ride was waiting for him already. 

He was nervous and he was scared for Dan. He already knew who anxious Dan was as he voiced his worries to him just the night before on Skype. But Phil knew that this time would make it easier for Dan to escape the paparazzi and the fangirls. He wouldn’t even probably see anyone in the airport besides a few stragglers. 

His phone began to ring and he jumped, his nerves shooting through his body as he rushed to pick it up from his couch cushion. Dan had just texted him that he was here. 

Dan was here. He was actually here. 

And Phil has to now let him into the building! 

He rushed over to the doorway and slipped on a pair of his slippers and then rushed out his flat with his keys in hand. He walked down the small hallway to the main door and looked out to see Dan stood there outside of the doorway, his hood up and a pair of sunglasses on as his hand remained poised on his suitcase. 

Phil opened the door and flashed him a smile. “Hey! You made it?” 

Dan’s face lights up and he reaches up, removing his glasses. “I did! Didn’t even see a fan or a camera either. Now let me in before someone does see us.” 

Phil quickly moved out of the way and Dan rushed inside the doorway, lugging his black suitcase with him. He was only going to be here for two days, but it looked like he packed for a month. 

They made it to Phil’s doorway, and he quickly unlocked it and let Dan inside first. Dan only took a few steps inside and suddenly, the sounds of yipping and some feet startled them both as Spike ripped through the flat to see the new intruder. 

Dan’s face instantly melted and he bent down, running his hands through Spike’s fur. “Oh my! Who are you?” 

“That’s my puppy Spike.” Phil says, shutting the door so his neighbors don’t complain about Spike’s excited yips. 

“Oh! Such a good boy!” Dan exclaimed, ruffling Spike’s fur and playing around with him a little bit. “He’s such an energetic little boy. I wish I had his energy.” 

“Oh same!” 

Phil doesn’t know why he’s feeling so awkward. He shouldn’t be. He’s spoken with Dan every day for the last week over Skype. This should be fine. They’re friends now. 

“Where is your bathroom?” 

Phil suddenly snaps out of his thoughts and looks at Dan who is now stood up straighter and waiting for an answer. 

“Oh! It’s right now that way,” Phil says as he points down the short hallway to his bedroom. “It’ll be the middle door. If you go into the door on the left, it’ll take you out to my patio and if you take the door to the right, you’ll go to my bedroom.” 

Dan lifts an eyebrow and Phil doesn’t know what that means but he feels like the smirk on Dan’s lips go along with it. Dan doesn’t say anything more, he just walks off down the hallway and Phil is left stood there, watching him move. 

There is something so graceful about the way he moves his body. His hips move so fluidly and his shoulders stand tall, and straight. It’s eye-catching, that’s for sure. Waiting for Dan to come back out, Phil begins to get the couch ready for him. 

They hadn’t discussed where Dan would be sleeping, but Phil assumed it was going to be the couch anyway. He doesn’t have a guest bedroom. 

Dan comes out a few moments later, his sweatshirt taken off and carried in his arms as he walks back into the living room. “So I began to get the couch ready for you.” Phil says. “It doesn’t fold out into a bed but it’s kind of wide so…” 

“Oh, that’s fine.” Dan says. “I’m quite tired so I’m sure even a couch will feel amazing.” 

“I have some blankets here.” Phil says, pointing to the set of blankets that are poised where he just placed them on the end of the couch. “I don’t have extra pillows off hand but the couch pillows normally work good when I fall asleep on here.” 

Dan chuckles and shrugs. “I’m sure they’ll be fine.” 

“Well, if they’re not, just knock on my bedroom door.” 

Dan nods and picks up one of the blankets, beginning to shake it out as Spike takes it to be a toy and yips at the fabric. Phil chuckles and bends down, picking up the pup in his arms. “If you want to start getting ready for bed, I’ll take Spike out to the bathroom one more time and then you can do whatever you need to.” 

Phil didn’t know if Dan had a routine at night but he kind assumed he might need a shower or something. But instead of moving around or doing anything, Dan just fell onto the couch and pulled the blanket over him and looked up at Phil. “Listen, mate. I’m probably going to be asleep before you even get back inside.” 

“Want me to shut the light off?” Phil asks, already walking that direction with Spike wiggling in his arms. 

He was over to the switch, getting ready to press it down when he realized he never got an answer from Dan. He turned and looked and Dan was already curled into the blanket, his head peaking out from under the fabric of the blanket. He chuckled, and shut off the light, letting the room flood with darkness as he took the short way out to the courtyard and let out Spike one last time. 

When he came back in and took Spike with him to his room, he swore he could hear the light sounds of airy breaths coming from the living and really, he didn’t realize how lonely he was in his flat until that moment. 

***

Morning came and Phil could hear footsteps outside of his bedroom. It took a moment of thinking to figure out who was walking around his flat, but eventually he shot up in bed and remembered that Dan was staying here for a few days. 

Looking around his room, he didn’t see Spike laying next to him and he laid back, chuckling at how Spike was probably hounding Dan for his morning fed and Dan wouldn’t even know what to do. 

He slowly adjusted to waking up, allowing for his eyes to adjust before he reached over onto his nightstand and grabbed his glasses, placing them on his face. He sat up, throwing back his covers, and swung his feet around to land on the plush carpet underneath. He slowly walked out of his bedroom and down the short hallway into the living room. 

Dan was laying on the couch, his laptop poised on his chest as he browsed through it and Spike was laying on the other end by his feet. “How did you sleep?” 

Dan turned his neck and looked at Phil. “Pretty good but jet leg got me and I was awake by 8.” 

Phil looked around his living room for his clock under the TV and he saw it was a little after 11am. He didn’t realize he had slept that long. “I’m sorry for sleeping in this late if you’ve been awake this long.” 

Dan chuckled and shrugged. “It wasn’t a big deal. Spike kept me company anyway and I managed to get onto your wifi because why do you have your wifi named team rocket power HQ and your password as buffysummers? That’s so predictable.” 

Phil shrugged. “I thought it was good.” 

“You’re too predictable, mate.” Dan said with a laugh. “Literally what were you thinking with the password hint of ‘main character in Buffy’. Everyone is going to know that, you doofus.” 

Phil blushed again but Dan found it comical. “Spike approves.” 

“Do you have any plans today?” Dan asked, changing the subject as he closed the top of his laptop and placed it onto the floor with a gentle hand. “I kind of want to explore London.” 

Phil felt his stomach clench. “But what about what happened last time?” 

Dan shrugged. “I can’t let the fans stop me every time I want to do something that I want to do. I want to explore London and I shouldn’t let them hold me back, right?” 

“Well, no.” Phil answers truthfully. “But…” 

“Let’s go out.” Dan says suddenly. “Not even like to the eye or to Westminster Abbey but just like, to a park, maybe? Is there a park around here?” 

Phil nods, because yes, there is a park around here. In fact, it’s right down the street from his flat. He takes Spike there all of the time and it’s normally not that busy. 

“Yeah, there is one right down the street.” 

Dan flashes that smile at him again and he grabs his phone, which was for some reason on the floor, and shoves it into his pocket. As he stands up, he grabs his suitcase and opens it, beginning to pull out a pair of jeans and a nice, black sweater. Phil finds himself watching Dan, even though he should really be getting ready. He hadn’t even brushed his teeth yet. 

He snaps out of his haze when Dan smirks at him and then picks up his clothing and carries it in his arms down the hallway to the bathroom, leaving Phil stood there in his living room. Spike looks up at him from the couch with a confused look and Phil just smiles at the pup. 

While Dan is getting dressed, Phil wanders back to his room and gets dressed himself. He pulls on just a plaid shirt and his classic black jeans and then grabs his white Vans from the shoe rack. 

He hears the bathroom door open outside and he steps out his bedroom just in time to see Dan walk out, fully dressed, with his hair styled near perfect again. Phil finds himself blushing, not even knowing why, and he quickly ducks his head and walks to the bathroom, avoiding eye contact. 

He shouldn’t feel this awkward about it. He looks at himself in the mirror and lets out a staggered breath. This is ridiculous. He was crushing on Dan and that was it. There was no reason for this…this teenage girl behavior. It was embarrassing―well, it was embarrassing to him anyway. 

He pushes those thoughts out of his head and leaves the bathroom as soon as he’s done putting in his contacts and brushing his teeth. He takes one final look in the mirror and walks out. 

“Ready to go?” Dan asks and Phil nods as he grabs Spike’s lead from the closet and bends down, putting it on the excited pup. 

They leave Phil’s flat, Spike leading the way with his excited prancing. Phil notices that Dan has put on a hoodie and has put his hood up and put the sunglasses back on. He feels quite bad that he’s hiding himself like he is but he also doesn’t mind if that means Dan feels safer and more at ease. 

The walk to the park is short and Phil feels relieved when they arrive there and hardly no one is walking around. A few stray people are but they aren’t paying attention to anything around them. Mostly just to the wind that rustled the trees and the overcast skies that were probably going to bring rain soon. 

They find their way over to a bench by the fountain and Phil sits down first as he holds Spike on his leash from running and sniffing every person and child walking around. Dan sits down next to him and takes his sunglasses off which is a big step, Phil assumes. 

“Tell me a bit about yourself.” 

Phil looks over at Dan and sees Dan staring at him with intent. Almost as if he’s searching in Phil for the answer to his own question. 

“What do you want to know?” Phil asks, feeling the tugging on his hand from Spike. He quickly shoots Spike a glance and the pup whines before obeying and sitting down next to Phil’s feet. 

“What’s your middle name?” 

“Michael.” Phil says. “What about you?” 

“James.” Dan says. “Surprised you didn’t already know that.” 

“And why’s that?” 

“I just assumed you probably looked me up on Wikipedia.” 

Phil let out a choked noise and Dan’s head fell back in a laugh. Phil blushed, his face flushing for a millionth time that day. “Well did you?” 

Dan’s suddenly serious again as he tips his head back to look at Phil, a rosy patch now taking form on his cheek. Phil found himself staring at it before he remembered that he was being asked a question. 

“Yeah…” 

Dan let out a giggle. “It’s okay, mate. I’m not offended.” 

Phil finds himself not knowing what to say. He’s at a constant loss of words when he’s sitting beside Dan but suddenly, the awkwardness of not knowing what to say and how to say it without making a fool of himself is taking over his social needs. 

“What did you do before you moved here?” Dan asks. “You did say you moved here right? Where are you from?” 

“I’m from Rawtenstall. It’s a little town near Manchester.” Phil answers first. “But I went to university in York. I got a masters from there as well.” 

“That’s actually amazing.” Dan says with a genuine smile. “I never got the chance to apply for college or anything. My parent’s thought maybe I could go to UCLA or something like that but it didn’t work. I was too focused on my acting career―or really what little it was―to care about a formal college.” 

“There’s nothing wrong with that, though.” Phil begins. “College isn’t always the answer. My initial degree was in linguistics and I honestly don’t even know what to do with it.” 

“I considered studying law.” 

Phil finds his eyes widening as he looks over to Dan and the nonchalant pose he’s sporting as he picks at a burr on his fingernail. “Law?” 

Dan nods. “Uh huh.” Dan says, looking up from his polished fingers to Phil. “It was an actual consideration of mine. Never would have ever done it though.” 

“I wanted to be a YouTuber.” 

Once the words are out of Phil’s mouth, he kind of wants to suck them back in. He holds his breath waiting for Dan to say something. Did Dan even watch YouTube? Did he know the significance of it? 

“A YouTuber?” Dan asks, turning on the bench. “You mean like Shane Dawson?” 

“Well, maybe not his level of videos with his docu-series and conspiracy theory videos, but I used to make videos back in the day. Just short ones. Ones like, reading my fortune with tarot cards or buying weird things online.” 

“Why did you stop?” Dan asks. 

“Because I got the job at the BBC and life kind of got in the way.” 

“Why don’t you start making videos again?” Dan asks. “You say you want to, but why don’t you?” 

“Time, mostly.” Phil answers honestly. “The BBC takes up a bit of my free time but I also spend time with my brother a lot and my friend PJ.” 

“You should make videos again.” Dan says, continuing the subject. “I’d love to help you out.” 

“I’m not even sure if I’d remember how to be entertaining.” 

“You’re entertaining me right now?” Dan says, a glimmer in his eyes and a smirk on his lips. 

Phil scoffs but follows it with a light laugh. “Not sure about that.” 

“Come on!” Dan whines. Phil finds Dan’s whiney voice to actually be…kind of cute? Is that even possible? “We should go back to your flat and make a video! It’ll be fun!” 

“I’m not sure.” 

“You said you wanted to be a YouTuber and you gave it up, obviously there is a reason for you still wanting to be one. I always wanted to be a famous actor and the amount of auditions I went to where people told me I’d never be one and then let me sob in their hallway should have deterred me. But I did it, didn’t I? You shouldn’t have let some job at the BBC deter you away from being a YouTuber.” 

Phil was floored at Dan’s words but they cut right to his heart and he found his eyes even welling up a bit as he thought to the forgotten dream he had given up when he moved to London and began work for the BBC. “I’m not even sure that I have a good camera or anything anymore.” 

“Then we’ll go buy one!” Dan says, suddenly standing up from the bench and grabbing Phil’s arm to pull him up as well. 

Phil found himself laughing, and smiling so widely. What was Dan Howell doing to him? 

[foxboymyles]

Pardon My Imprudence [Chp 4]

Note: Last Chapter for today :)

Zoro and Luffy started to walk out the door. The weather was pretty cold, with a slight breeze outside. The sun was just about to set. Luffy held Zoro’s hand with a smile on his face.

“Say, I saw a cool plush! It was a lion, but he had this mane that looked like the sun or somethin’” Luffy said.

“Oh? Nice. When was this?” Zoro asked.

Luffy stopped, all of a sudden. Zoro asked what was wrong, and he pointed at a weak dog on the sidewalk. It looked like it was a Jack Russell terrier, but he was really dirty and scrawny, as you could see his bones from the skin. Luffy walked towards it. He pet it gently as it slowly wagged its tail.

“He must be homeless. ‘Looks like he’s starving, too!” Luffy said, worried.

“Ice cream’s not that expensive. We should spend some on getting him some food.” Zoro added.

Luffy brightly grinned and jumped on Zoro. He repeatedly said thank you while kissing his cheek multiple times. Zoro blushed and with gentle hands, took Luffy off of him. Luffy picked up the scared dog and went to a dog store. They bought 8 dollars of dog food and a dog leash. Luffy gave the dog a handful of kebble, and like he expected, the dog ate it all in a whole gulp. Luffy put the dog on a leash, as the dog wagged his tail up and panted excitedly. He smiled and realized that he saved a life. Once Zoro and Luffy got their ice cream, they went home and Zoro took a rest on the couch. It was 9:00 PM now. Luffy filled a bowl up with pebble food as the dog rushed to it and chomped it. It was the right time to pour water into a bowl as well. Luffy gazed at the dog and grinned. Ace came downstairs with Sabo, and his eyes open wider than space.

“YOU BOUGHT A DOG WITH 20 DOLLARS?!?” He exclaimed.

Luffy shook his head.”I bought his stuff with 10 dollars. The doggie was free.”

Zoro blushed and chuckled when Luffy said ‘doggie’. Ace blushed and gave a big sigh.

“You’re gonna have to ask Shanks about this.”

“Oh, I already know,” Shanks said, appearing from out of the kitchen.

“I think it’s great. We’ve never had a family dog. All we need to do is find out if he’s had any of his shots.”

Luffy grinned and agreed with Shanks, petting the pup as it licked his face.

“I could pay for some of it if you’d want me to.” Said Zoro

Shanks was hesitant. “No no no, it’s quite alright. I can pay for it myself.”

“No, I insist. It’s the least I could do.” Zoro said.

“You don’t need to prove yourself. You already did. Ace can agree.” Shanks said, smiling.

Zoro stared for a while, then started petting the dog with Luffy.

“What should his name be?” Asked Sabo.

“ChouChou!” Luffy responded.

Shanks laughed and got his phone from the counter.

“Well, you kids can go to bed now,” Shanks said.

Zoro was about to get his stuff when Shanks interrupted him.

“You don’t have to leave, you know. Stay for the night.” Shanks said, dialing the number for Mihawk. “I’ll just call your father and tell him you’re sleeping over here.”

Zoro nodded and grabbed his stuff. He went upstairs to Luffy’s room and laid them down by the bed. Looking around, he observed the blue covered sheets and the starry night light that shined upon the dimly lighted room. There were shelves of boxing trophies and bottled miniature ships. There were a few clothes on the floor, his hamper barely hanging onto the pants he tossed in it. Looking in his drawers he found piles and piles of pirate and Tony Tony Chopper comics. Then there was the sock drawer. Zoro blushed and slowly opened what he assumed would be his underwear drawer. It was then that he slammed the drawer closed.

“Zoro! Whatcha doin’?” Luffy asked, innocently.

“Ah, nothing important. I was just looking at your room.” Said Zoro.

“Oh! It looks cool, doesn’t it?” Luffy said. “I have something I saved for you, too!”

Luffy got a fluffy teddy bear from under his bed and handed it to Zoro. They both sat on his bed.

“I got this when Shanks adopted me. I think you should have it, though.” Luffy said, blushing.

Zoro grabbed it gently and looked up at him.

“Are you sure you want to give me this?” Zoro asked.

Luffy nodded and told him to close his eyes. He leaned into Zoro and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. Gradually, the slow soft kisses got faster. Zoro held his waist as Luffy rested his weight on him.

Ace opened the door, and Luffy pulled up the covers to the bed.

“Hey, I just needed that fly swatter you ha-” Ace said, only to look at Luffy struggling to not keep it obvious.

But it was definitely obvious. Ace quickly got the fly swatter, with a short thanks and a hot freckled face, and the door was shut. Zoro gave Luffy a long kiss back. Luffy rested his head on Zoro’s chest. He felt the warm vibrations as Zoro’s chest rose and fell.

“That was almost better than food,” Luffy said, cutely.

Zoro kissed him on the cheek. “Am I better than food?” Zoro asked.

Luffy looked up at him. “Yeah.” The teen gave Zoro a peck on the nose. Zoro chuckled and ran his hand through Luffy’s hair.

“ ‘Love you, Zoro.”

“I love you too,” Zoro replied.

It was getting late, and Luffy’s eyes felt droopy. Zoro was already fast asleep. The sky was lit in a dark blue, with the most beautiful stars. The silhouette of a tree stood out in the middle. The candle in the room dimly lit the space and shaded Zoro’s face in warm colors. Luffy’s eyes twinkled at the scene, from the stars that lit in the sky brightly. All at once, he seemed content. His eyes closed.

…

The next morning was bright. Too bright, Zoro thought. He grumbled angrily at the alarm clock and slapped the off button. Zoro shook Luffy, but he had no success of waking him up. Then, getting his surprisingly still cold-water bottle and poured in all over him. Luffy gasped awake and wriggled around. As soon as he realized what was going on, he hit Zoro in the arm.

“Stupid! I could have wakened up myself, ya know!” Luffy shouted.

“Yeah, sure,” Zoro said, getting his pants and baggy shirt on.

Luffy whipped something out of his closet and put it on. He had on blue shorts and a red tank top, put on his sandals, and waited for Zoro to put on his shoes. He laid on his stomach on the bed, both hands squishing his cheeks and his legs kicking slowly. For a moment he was looking at Zoro’s face. His tan skin and sharp eyes, up to his mint green hair. Zoro turned to look at Luffy once he realized Luffy was staring at him.

“Great, now you got me staring. Did you know you have huge eyes?” Zoro said.

“Is that somethin’ to make me mad?” Luffy replied, annoyed.

“No. I just look at you and I can see galaxies in them. Your eyes are- kinda pretty.” Zoro admitted.

“I’m not pretty! I’m a man!” Luffy shouted defensively while blushing.

Zoro walked passed him and opened the door. “I’m just saying your eyes look pretty. But sure, I guess you are pretty.”

“You’re just trying to taunt me, I know it! Let’s fight! Right now!” Luffy angrily shouted, following him down the stairs.

“Wow Luffy, even when you’re mad you’re beautiful,” Zoro said, jokingly.

“Beautiful?!? Bu- stop calling me that! It sounds girly!” Luffy yelled, even redder.

Sabo was up making pancakes. What was surprising is that Ace, Luffy’s usually sleepy and lazy brother, was up with an average look on his face. Sabo quickly got his suitcase and took off his apron. He wore a dress shirt and pants, with shiny black shoes. He was gathering his things out the door whilst Luffy was getting down the stairs.

“I have to go visit Koala now. She’s expecting me to get the storyboard in by today.” Sabo mumbled to Ace.

“Isn’t this your guys’-what- 4th anniversary?” Ace asked, helping Sabo.

Sabo turned to the tiny gift on the counter and grabbed it. He said a short thanks and hugged Luffy from the stairs. After that, the door shut faster than 3 seconds later. Luffy sat down on the couch.

“Sabo has a girlfriend?” Zoro asked.

“Yep. They’ve been together since they were 13.” Ace answered.

“Why don’t you guys go to our school?”

“We go to a private school. Guess it’s just because Shanks wants us to stay serious with want we want to accomplish.” Ace said.

Zoro frowned thinking of Mihawk’s plans for his education. Even if Zoro got good grades, he doesn’t know that he’ll take him to a private school or not.

“You ok, Zoro?” Luffy asked, his hand touching Zoro’s.

Zoro nodded, grabbing and kissing Luffy’s hand. Ace turned after hearing footsteps. Shanks was making his way down the stairs, with his watch in his hand.

“Ace, you gotta come with me,” Shanks said, hurryingly.

Ace raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“It’s Makino. She’s not feeling great.” Shanks responded.

“Makino? Why can’t I go?” Luffy asked.

“You have to take care of ChouChou,” Shanks said, as Ace raced after Shanks through the door.

There was a slam. Luffy huffed and laid his head in Zoro’s lap.

“Who’s Makino?” Zoro asked.

“She’s kinda like our mother. She’s really close to Shanks and she’s taught us a bunch of stuff.”

Luffy laughed. “The funny thing is that Shanks and she haven't started dating yet.”

“Well, maybe they're not sure if they're ready for it. It's better to be friends with someone a while before going into that.” Zoro said.

“That's true…” Luffy said. He extended his arm out to pet ChouChou. ChouChou barked, then licked all around Luffy’s hand.

“Hey, that tickles a little bit!” He said, laughing. Zoro smiled at his joyful face and laid his head on the armchair. Until there was a knock. Then murmuring. Luffy got the door and stood up, while the dog barked loudly.

“Hiii, Luffy!” Nami said, cheerfully with Usopp and Chopper behind her.

“Oh hi, Nami. What’s up?”

“Just wanted to check in with you goof-offs. Also..” Nami sat down and looked at the two, while Usopp and Chopper turned on the tv to watch a cartoon. “I wanted to know if you guys would like to come with us to prom? It’ll be really fun.”

“Prom? I’ve heard of that but I never been to it.” Luffy said, curiously. Zoro looked at Nami and nodded.

“We’ll be there.”

“Sweet!” Nami said, happily. “It’s in a month so no rush, but it wouldn’t be as fun without you dorks.” She smiled and turned to Usopp and Chopper. “Hey what are you both up to?”

Luffy looked at Zoro. “Is your dad going to be upset you’re still here?”

“Who knows but that doesn’t really bother me,” Zoro answered. ChouChou jumped into his lap. 

“Do you and Ace get along now?” Luffy asked.

Zoro nodded. “Yeah. He’s a little secretive though. I don’t exactly know how he actually is.”

Luffy smiled. “He’s really cool once you get to know him. He always sticks up for me and Sabo. Just gets moods sometimes.”

Nami added. “He’s pretty cute!”

Zoro rolled his eyes. “Of course you say that.”

“Hey! It’s just my opinion.” Nami replied.

“What about Sanji?” Usopp asked Nami.

“Uh, I don’t know.” She said, quietly. That part of the discussion was stopped subtly by Nami. It looked like she was unsure about that part of her relationships, to Zoro. Luffy doesn’t really pay attention to that stuff, so if he asked him, he wouldn’t really have any interesting input about it. 

“Chopper, that’s cheating!” Usopp said, furiously mashing his controller.

“Nuh uh, I just know how to play the game.” Chopper replied. “X Triangle X does a huge combo. You just didn’t know!”

Usopp gasped. “Ehhhh!?! Well, thanks for sharing your method!”

They hung out together for an hour or so, until Sabo came back home. He hung up his jacket and looked around.

“Hi guys. Looks like a full party here.” Sabo remarked.

“Hey Sabo!” Luffy said, walking up to him and hugging him tightly. “How was it with Koala?”

“It was great! We went to a restaurant. I think you’ll like to go there someday.” Sabo continued. “It’s a sandwich place and they add all different kinds of meat.”

Luffy’s eyes lit up. “That sounds like heaven.” He said as Sabo laughed. He turned and hugged Zoro gently. 

“Hey, Zoro. How’s your day been?”

“Pretty good. Seems like you had fun.”

“Hi Sabo!” Usopp and Chopper said in unison. He greeted them back with the same enthusiasm. Then hugged Nami and smiled.

“Hi, Nami. How have things been?”

“They’ve been ok, I guess.” Nami quietly said. Sabo frowned. Lately, she’s looked like she’s not in the mood.

“Wanna chat outside for a minute? You seem sad.” Sabo replied. Nami nodded and walked outside to their backyard. She sat in one of their benches and crossed her legs. Sabo sat next to her, trying not to bother her as best as he could. Ever since Luffy had been Nami’s friend, Sabo has always been the person she talked to for help. Nami’s past wasn’t so great. Her mother died from gang members and her eldest sister is now taking care of her. She is especially very to herself, so at least one person she could vent to always made her mental health a lot easier to deal with. Since Sabo is her elder and his personality was warm and welcoming, it was very easy to open up to him.

“I think I like Sanji, but he’s not making it easy for me to do that.” Nami murmured.

“Why is that?” Sabo asked.

“He’s always talking about how he loves women so much. That’s ok but he’s just- I don’t know, obsessive. I’m not sure how I will deal with that if I get together with him.”

Sabo put a reassuring hand on Nami’s shoulder and looked her in the eye. “Tell him it bothers you. If you’re not ready to confess those types of feelings, then don’t do it yet. But if you observe his character afterward I’m sure it will lead you to your answer.” Sabo looked up. “But even if he’s not the right one for you, you are such a pretty and amazing girl. You are so strong, too. Never let anyone tell you otherwise.”

Nami hugged him and smiled. “Thank you.” She felt a lot brighter now. It made Sabo feel like he did a good job. “I’m gonna go back now. Are you making anything?”

“Luffy wants Nachos for dinner, so I’ll start prepping that.”

“Oh, alright. Also, tell Ace I left him a present on his desk. I forgot to get him a birthday present last year, so I felt bad.” Nami said, leaving the sliding door open for Sabo to come in.

...

[rangercommand]

NEWS - Power Rangers Beast Morphers Beast-X Ultrazord Nominated for TOTY Action Figure of the Year

In advance of Toy Fair 2020, The Toy Association has announced the finalists for the 2020 Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards. In the Action Figure of the Year award, the Power Rangers Beast Morphers Beast-X Ultrazord Figure by Hasbro has been nominated. This is the only Power Rangers related toy to be nominated this year.

There is strong competition in this category with Marvel Legends, Toy Story, Bakugan and more. Will the Beast-X Ultrazord come out on top to win? The winners will be announced at the TOTY Awards gala on Friday, February 21, 2020, which kicks off Toy Fair New York. Read below for the full press release and find more information at www.toyawards.org.

2020 Toy of the Year (TOTY) Award Finalists Unveiled

These 114 Creative Toys & Games Will Top Kids’ Wish Lists this Holiday Season!

New York, NY | November 11, 2019 – The Toy Association today unveiled 114 toy and game finalists for the prestigious 2020 Toy of the Year (TOTY) Awards. Known as the “Oscars” of the toy industry, the TOTY Awards program recognizes the top playthings on the market – from STEM/STEAM and innovative toys to dolls, action figures, creative toys, and more. The program is also a vital fundraiser for The Toy Foundation, which annually delivers toys to millions of children in need.

Finalists were announced this morning by a group of well-known online influencers who serve as TOTY ambassadors. Between now and January 5, 2020 play-lovers of all ages can visit www.ToyAwards.org to vote for their favorite playthings in each of the 16 categories, browse toys, download shopping lists for the holidays, and enter for a chance to win one of 16 toy prize packages.

“From an extraordinary field of nominees carefully reviewed by expert judges, this year’s TOTY finalists truly represent our members’ ability to bring fun, laughter, discovery, and learning to kids across America and around the world,” said Steve Pasierb, president & CEO of The Toy Association. “We are proud to unveil these playthings in advance of the holiday season and celebrate the toy community’s enduring ability to inspire generations of play. Everyone is encouraged to cast their votes at ToyAwards.org and help decide the winners!”

Winners in each category, as well as the coveted overall Toy of the Year winner and the People’s Choice winner (based solely on consumer votes), will be announced at the TOTY Awards gala on Friday, February 21, 2020 at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York City. The celebration will kick off Toy Fair New York and include the induction of three trailblazers into the esteemed Toy Industry Hall of Fame.

2020 TOTY FINALISTS

More information about the TOTY voting and selection process can be found in the “About the Awards” section of www.ToyAwards.org.

ACTION FIGURE OF THE YEAR Toys that represent a person or fictional character intended for active, imaginative and narrative-based play

Bakugan Dragonoid Maximus Transforming Figure by Spin Master

Disney Pixar Toy Story Basic Figures by Mattel, Inc.

Heroes of Goo Jit Zu by Moose Toys

Jurassic World Destroy ‘N Devour™ Indominus Rex by Mattel, Inc.

Marvel Legends Series by Hasbro, Inc.

My Hero Academia Katsuki Bakugo Action Figure by McFarlane Toys

Power Rangers Beast Morphers Beast-X Ultrazord Figure by Hasbro, Inc.

COLLECTIBLE OF THE YEAR Toys that compose a set and can be collected in multiples; can include novelty playthings, miniature versions of existing lines, licensed collectibles, etc.

Blume by Skyrocket Toys

Hairdorables Dolls Series 3 by Just Play

L.O.L. Surprise! Winter Disco Series by MGA Entertainment

Lucky Fortune by WowWee

My Singing Monsters Collectible Musical Figures by PlayMonster

Pulp Heroes Snap Bots by Far Out Toys

Shopkins Real Littles Lil’ Shopper Pack by Moose Toys

CONSTRUCTION TOY OF THE YEAR Toys that include building as the primary play pattern.

Erector by Meccano, Inventor Set, Intro to Robotics by Spin Master

Fisher-Price® Wonder Makers™ design system Build Around Town™ Starter Kit by Mattel, Inc.

LeapBuilders® ABC Smart House™ by LeapFrog

LEGO® CITY Deep Space Rocket and Launch Control by LEGO Systems, Inc.

LEGO® MARVEL Iron Man Hall of Armor by LEGO Systems, Inc.

My Robotic Pet – Tumbling Hedgehog by Thames & Kosmos

VEX Catapult 2.0 by HEXBUG

CREATIVE TOY OF THE YEAR Toys that allow kids to build and/or make items that are unique to them.

Blinger by Wicked Cool Toys

Cool Maker GO GLAM Nail Stamper by Spin Master

Crayola Glitter Dots by Crayola

littleBits Electronic Music Inventor Kit by Sphero

smART Pixelator™ by Flycatcher Inc.

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge Droid Depot Custom Astromech Units by Disney Parks

Y’Art® Craft Kit by Kahootz

DOLL OF THE YEAR Toys that include baby, toddler, and fashion dolls.

Ballerina Dreamer Dancing Ballerina by Hunter Products USA LLC

Candylocks Basic Doll by Spin Master

Creatable World by Mattel, Inc.

Cry Babies – Kristal Gets Sick & Feels Better by IMC Toys

Disney Frozen 2: “Into the Unknown” Elsa Doll by JAKKS Pacific

Disney Princess Ralph Breaks the Internet – Comfy Princess Assortment by Hasbro, Inc.

L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. Fashion Dolls by MGA Entertainment

GAME OF THE YEAR For families and children’s (ages 0-14) games including board, card, electronic or other physical game formats and puzzles, exclusive of video or app games.

Funkoverse Strategy Game by Funko Games

Heist by Megableu USA

MS. MONOPOLY Board Game by Hasbro, Inc.

Orangutwang by PlayMonster

Pictionary Air by Mattel, Inc.

Ravensburger’s Disney Villainous: Evil Comes Prepared by Ravensburger

Throw Throw Burrito by Exploding Kittens

UNO Braille by Mattel, Inc.

INFANT/TODDLER TOY OF THE YEAR Toys that are developed for ages 0-3 (0-18 months infant/18 months-3 years toddler).

Fisher-Price® Linkimals™ by Mattel, Inc.

InnyBin by Fat Brain Toy Co.

KidKraft World of Eric Carle Shape Activity Cube by KidKraft

LeapBuilders® 123 Fix-It Truck™ by LeapFrog

Mix & Match-a-Saurus™ by VTech®

Musical Lili Llama by The Manhattan Toy Company

Tinker Truck by Radio Flyer

INNOVATIVE TOY OF THE YEAR Toys that utilize innovative design, technology, or manufacturing processes to enhance play value.

comicam® the Instant Comic Camera by Hangzhou Rulei Technology Co., Ltd

Harry Potter Invisibility Cloak by Wow! Stuff

Hot Wheels™ id Smart Track™ Kit by Mattel, Inc.

Hot Wheels™ TechMods by Mattel, Inc.

RockIt Twist™ by LeapFrog

Shashibo (The Shape Shifting Box) by Fun In Motion Toys

tori��� Explorer Pack by BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment America

LICENSE OF THE YEAR Character or property that has had success spreading its brand through the development and merchandising of products developed from the intellectual property.

Baby Shark by Pinkfong

Barbie 60th Anniversary Program by Mattel, Inc.

JoJo Siwa by Nickelodeon

Marvel Avengers Endgame by Disney / Marvel Licensing

PAW Patrol Mighty Pups Super PAWs by Spin Master / Nickelodeon

Pokémon by The Pokémon Company International

Ryan’s World by pocket.watch

Toy Story 4 by The Walt Disney Company

OUTDOOR TOY OF THE YEAR Toys that are designed for outdoor play, including ride-ons.

Crazy Cart® Shift™ by Razor USA

Create A Castle by Create A Castle

EzyRoller Drifter X by EzyRoller LLC

Globber GoUp COMFORT by Incredible Novelties

My Buddy Wheels by Yvolution USA, Inc.

Toilet Paper Blasters™ Sheet Storm™ by JAKKS Pacific

ZURU X-Shot Fast-Fill by ZURU

PLAYSET OF THE YEAR Toys that are designed to work together to enact some action or event, including characters and role play.

Beyblade Burst Turbo Slingshock Cross Collision Battle Set by Hasbro, Inc.

Disney Frozen Ultimate Arendelle Castle Playset by Hasbro, Inc.

Hape Fire Station by Hape International Inc

Hot Wheels® Colossal Crash™ Track Set by Mattel, Inc.

L.O.L. Surprise! Winter Disco Chalet by MGA Entertainment

PLAYMOBIL Mars Space Station by PLAYMOBIL

Timber Tots by Fat Brain Toy Co.

PLUSH TOY OF THE YEAR Toys that are made of fabric and stuffed with cotton or similar filling, including toys with interactive or electronic features.

Cutetitos by Basic Fun!

Dolce Safari Adventure by Magformers/DOLCE

Little Live Scruff-A-Luvs Real Rescue Electronic Pet by Moose Toys

Pinkfong Baby Shark Song Puppets with Tempo Control by WowWee

Pomsies Lumies by Skyrocket Toys

Shimmer Stars by KD Group

ZURU Rainbocorns Ultimate Sequin Surprise Series 2 by ZURU

PRESCHOOL TOY OF THE YEAR Toys that are developed for ages 3-5.

Demo Duke by Spin Master

Coding Critters by Learning Resources®

Kid Trax Rideamals Unicorn by Pacific Cycle

Kindi Kids by Moose Toys

Myla the Magical Unicorn™ by VTech®

Peppa Pig’s Magical Parade Floats by Jazwares

Wild Ones™ by Razor USA

SPECIALTY TOY OF THE YEAR Toys that are distributed through independent retailers, i.e. neighborhood toy stores, and not sold at mass brick and mortar stores. Toys that are sold only online do not qualify.

AirFort by AirFort

Hape Emergency Services Headquarters by Hape International Inc

LEGO® Ideas Central Perk by LEGO Systems, Inc.

LEGO® Stranger Things The Upside Down by LEGO Systems, Inc.

littleBits Space Rover Inventor Kit by Sphero

OombeeBall by Fat Brain Toy Co.

ThinkFun’s Thinking Putty Puzzle by ThinkFun, Inc.

STEM/STEAM TOY OF THE YEAR Toys that encourage kids to develop skills (foundational or curricular) in the core disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Amazing Rescue 50Pc Set by Magformers

Artie 3000™ by Educational Insights®

Beaker Creatures Alien Experiment Lab by Learning Resources®

Crayola Color Chemistry Arctic Lab by Crayola

Gumball Machine Maker by Thames & Kosmos

LEGO® BOOST Star Wars™ Droid Commander by LEGO Systems, Inc.

Mech-5 Mechanical Coding Robot by Elenco

VEHICLE OF THE YEAR Toy cars, trucks, trains and other vehicles in all scales, including R/C vehicles but exclusive of ride-ons.

Grrrumball by Alpha Group US

Hot Wheels Mario Kart Die-Cast Vehicle Assortment by Mattel, Inc.

L.O.L. Surprise! 2-in-1 Glamper by MGA Entertainment

Monster Jam Mega Grave Digger Remote Control Vehicle by Spin Master

PJ Masks PJ Seeker by Just Play

STAR WARS D-O Interactive Droid by Hasbro, Inc.

X-Power Dozer™ by JAKKS Pacific

The finalists were selected from 633 nominees submitted by 236 companies. Eighteen judges, including toy and play experts, retailers, academics, and journalists, reviewed and ranked the products in categories relevant to their areas of expertise. The judges then participated in a discussion to determine the finalists in each category. They considered each product’s creativity, design, play value, and marketing.

The TOTY Awards gala is open only to toy industry professionals. Tickets for the event will be available for purchase on December 2; all TOTY proceeds are donated to The Toy Foundation, which partners with generous toy companies throughout the year to bring brand-new toys to children who are sick, at-risk, in foster care, impoverished, or otherwise in need.

About The Toy Association www.toyassociation.org / www.thegeniusofplay.org / www.playsafe.org

Founded in 1916, The Toy Association™, Inc. is the not-for-profit trade association representing all businesses involved in creating and delivering toys and youth entertainment products for kids of all ages. The Toy Association leads the health and growth of the U.S. toy industry, which has an annual U.S. economic impact of $110.9 billion, and its 1000+ members drive the annual $28 billion U.S. domestic toy market. The Toy Association serves as the industry’s voice on the developmental benefits of play, and promotes play’s positive impact on childhood development to consumers and media.

The organization has a long history of leadership in toy safety, having helped develop the first comprehensive toy safety standard more than 40 years ago, and remains committed to working with medical experts, government, consumers, and industry on ongoing programs to ensure safe and fun play.

As a global leader, The Toy Association produces the world-renowned North American International Toy Fair and Fall Toy Preview; advocates on behalf of members around the world; sustains the Canadian Toy Association; acts as secretariat for the International Council of Toy Industries and International Toy Industry CEO Roundtable; and chairs the committee that reviews and revises America’s widely emulated ASTM F963 toy safety standard.

NEWS – Power Rangers Beast Morphers Beast-X Ultrazord Nominated for TOTY Action Figure of the Year was originally published on Ranger Command Power Hour

[funkzpiel]

Just a Little Bite

For @mamin-the-troll​ because she’s FILLING MY LIFE WITH SUCH ADORABLE AND LOVELY DRAWINGS AND I CAN’T FUCKING RESIST, OKAY, I AM WEAK?! I NEVER USED TO WRITE FLUFF BEFORE THIS FANDOM, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?!

Based off this and this post from Mamin, which inspired this fic.

As it turns out, Newt really takes to Percival - so much so that when it’s time to go home, he won’t leave with the Goldsteins as they had planned. Or any other auror. In fact, they can’t seem to pry him out from behind Graves’ legs, and when he cries as they try, Graves can’t help but stop them.

“No, no, it’s fine. I’ll take him, leave him be.”

The aurors are stunned as they watch Graves gently pick up the small boy and walk off to the disapparation point, but no one says a word to stop him.

“Does Mr. Graves know how to take care a child?” Queenie asks innocently, a small smile on her lips. Tina shrugs.

“Guess we’ll find out.”

As it turns out, no, Mr. Graves does not know how to take care of a child. He feeds him easily enough. Shrinks down a shirt and soft pajama bottoms he never wears so they might fit Newt - cutting a hole in the back for his tail. In fact, it all goes well until it’s time for Graves to attend to his own needs.

Like showering. Or just using the bathroom in general.

Newt gets anxious when he closes the door and Graves can hear his bitty nails on the other side of the door, clicking sadly as he paws and whines and whimpers at him to be let in.

“I’m almost done, Mr. Sca—Newt. Just a moment.”

He finishes his business, but he still needs to shower and child though he may be, Graves will not allow the man he has a crush on (though he’ll never admit it) to watch him shower as a fox eared child. But he can’t just leave him alone, either. Jesus, how did his mother do it with six of them?

He pauses from that train of thought - frozen - when suddenly he realizes that outside the door, Newt has become quiet. He bursts through, eyes wide and heart beating - unsure of what he’ll find.

But the room is not in shambles and Newt has neither destroyed anything or been abducted. Instead, he finds the little boy in the corner. His laundry hamper has been knocked over and within the confines of his dirty clothes is a familiar shock of red hair and a fluffy, squirming tail. He feels his heart slowly begin to calm, and when he finally finds himself towering over the little pile - his beautiful black suits now covered in fur - he smiles.

Newt is small and sleeping, his little paws kneading gently at Graves’ tie as he nuzzles a little deeper, tail tucked around him like a blanket. He can’t fathom why the child had decided to do it, but if his dirty clothes calmed him, he was more than willing to forgive the mess if that meant he could safely shower without worrying about Newt.

It’s the quickest shower he’s ever taken, and that’s coming from a man who went to war. He keeps the door creaked open just enough so that he can peek at Newt through the shower curtains from time to time. The boy never moves, snoring the soft and enchanting litany of a child’s sleepy nasal breathing. So when he’s finally done and dried and in his own sleep bottoms, he can’t help but sag in relief when Newt is right were he left him.

It’s a simple matter to lift the child, cocooned as he is in Graves’ clothing. What he doesn’t expect is the sharp and sudden press of milk teeth in the meat of his hand near his thumb, piercing the skin. But as a man used to pain, as a man who had survived Gellert Grindelwald, he merely hisses but hold the child tight as Newt blinks, realizing where he is, and quickly lets go.

“I’m sorry,” Newt babbles, gently licking at the slightly swollen and sluggishly bleeding wound. “I’m sorry.”

“Ssh, ssh, ssh,” Graves says, holding the child close although his hand smarts wickedly. “It’s okay. I startled you, it’s not your fault. It’s okay.”

It’s a simple matter to close the little punctures, but surprisingly the bruise it leaves behind won’t fade - two pearly little marks left behind atop hot, pink, plush skin. Graves shakes it from his mind and gently tucks Newt into his own bed. Gets him a glass of water, makes sure the blankets are nice and snug, and lets Newt keep his rich blue scarf - his little nose pressed into it, obviously soothed by his scent. Which Graves tries not to think about.

“I’m going to sleep on the couch, okay?”

Newt blinked and shook his head, curls tossing.

“No?”

“Stay,” Newt pouts.

“Newt, I—“

“Stay?” And now his lower lip is quivering and damn it. Graves closes his eyes and sighs.

“Give me a moment to fetch my paperwork. I can work from the bed.”

He tries to ignore the boy’s victorious little smile and the way he happily kicks his feet beneath the covers as Graves goes to find his papers. Only… when did it get so hot in his flat? He wipes at his head, quickly fetches his work and returns to the bed. He sits atop the blankets, his socked feet crossed as he leans against the headboard and puts on his glasses - something Newt is fascinated by as he quickly snags them from Graves’ nose and puts them on, eyes comically large in the lenses.

“I need those,” Graves chuckles, for once not ashamed for having owned them. “Can I have them back?”

He holds out a hand, but Newt doesn’t place them in it. Instead, he lifts himself to his bitty knees and gently manages to set them back onto Graves’ face - if a little clumsily, thanks to the paws, but close enough.

Newt falls asleep soon after, snuggled into Graves’ side, face buried in the scarf. And Graves is grateful he didn’t slip beneath the covers too because his skin feels on fire and Newt feels like a furnace against him and he’s sweating?

He ends up unable to focus on his papers for long. His head is pounding and he aches, and he figures it must be a delayed reaction to the stress of the raid and what happened to Newt, and distantly he reminds himself to thank his mother for surviving the Graves boys before setting his papers aside, curling around Newt and falling asleep.

The next morning his hand is throbbing, but he ignores it. He showers while Newt still sleeps, manages to get breakfast into both of them, and apparates them to MACUSA. He’s pale, he knows, and no doubt everyone will contribute it to the fact that he struggled to care for Newt. But he’s beginning to wonder if he maybe caught something when yet another employee is stopping him, asking him if he’s feeling well.

“Quite well,” he murmurs, Newt’s little paw in hand, before trudging off to his department. He’s just made it inside when already he’s taking off his scarf and tie, suffocating, and Tina blinks at him owlishly - caught in the middle of her greeting - before rushing to him.

“Mr. Graves, are you—?”

She gasps as two little pops silence the room, her eyes drawn to something atop his head and Graves blinks.

“Ms. Goldstein—?”

Another pop, and a rip, and Tina’s blushing now. Graves too, for that matter, because he’s unfortunately quite sure that his pants just split in the back and — all thought is lost beneath another haze of pain, his mind caught as though by blinders by the heat and the ache and the shrinking - wait, he’s shrinking?

And Tina can only watch helplessly as her boss’ clothing grows too big around his shrinking form; eyes trailing down, down, down until there’s a little boy standing in a puddle of her boss’ beautifully cut cloths, blinking up at her with stupidly big, wet eyes. He’s smaller than Newt, his wolf ears huge on his head where they peak out of his soft black hair, and his little black tail is tucked tight to his legs. His sore, bitten hand tucked to his chest, sleeves long and shirt engulfing him.

Which is precisely when Queenie stumbles in, having heard Graves’ and Tina’s fear, and gasps, “Oh dear.”

And the Goldstein sisters can do nothing more than stare as Newt gently tries to calm a teary-eyed wolf pup Graves down.

“Now what do we do?” Tina asked, voice high and frantic, but hushed so the boys wouldn’t hear.

“I don’t know,” Queenie said, “You’re the auror, honey, not me.”

[taiblogcomics]

The Kids Are All Wrong

Hey there, junior chemistry set. Normally, I'd switch to another series after finishing a story arc, but that's just it. I don't have another series on the backlog! Oh sure, I have things we can do for if and when we finish the whole backlog. But I figure: why jump into an old series, when we still haven't caught up with this one? So yeah: long paragraph short, it's time for a new arc in Red Hood. Which is good, because the last one sucked~

Here's the cover:

Meet the new Outlaws! Same as the old Outlaws? Man, this cover is busy. It's okay if you don't know who any of these characters are, we'll get introduced to them in the story. Bet you didn't even notice the masky guy on the middle right. It's fine! There's just so much going on, with Jason being slammed into the wall by Discount Ragman here, while Petey Eaty goes to town on the logo. It's certainly not a boring cover, though I'm unsure whether all this makes it an appealing cover~

So we open on a full-page splash of the masky guy you overlooked. You can see them better now: they wear a whitish cloak and have four arms. And right there, they explain the new arc's premise: Red Hood is here to be a teacher to these up-and-coming kind villains. They're his Future Villain Band, if you will. So here's our group. The bandage zombie hitting Jason on the cover? Not important. The baby they're holding? That's Babe in Arms, a supergenius. The masky fellow is DNA, a non-binary shapeshifter. Eaty there is a fellow named Devour. Not pictured on the cover is a blue-haired girl named Cloud 9. She's weird and flirty. And that's our team! Hope you love them~!

So we cut back to two weeks earlier, the morning after he met with Luthor at the end of last issue. He was given an address and an ATM card, but no PIN. Inserting the card into the ATM, though, teleports him to a secret underground lair. Or maybe it's in the Nether. I'm gonna say Nether. Standing her is "Dr. Shay Veritas, the smartest woman in the world". I had to do a double-take, because she seems to be wearing a bodysuit matching her skin tone. She's also a dead-ringer for Starfire, so that's a second double-take. The long and short of their conversation is, both of them don't want to see teenagers die. And if Jason doesn't teach them, they might fall into the care of someone like the Joker or Cheetah. Oh no, they might learn to scratch up the furniture!

So, back in the present, Jason gives the kids a challenge: if anyone can beat him in a fight, they get to teach the class. This actually sounds like a fight you wouldn't want to win if you ask me, but nonetheless, the kids try to blow the shit out of him anyway. Devour reveals his power: it's not just eating things. Any technology he eats can then be integrated into his body, and thus he turns his hand into a big gun. How very ‘90s. He shoots, but Cloud 9 won't get out of his way. Fortunately her powerset includes "is a cloud", so the shots from his gun just pass through her like mist. It's very convenient.

The fight continues, with DNA growing tentacles to get a little frisky with Jason. He compliments the ingenuity, but has no problem slicing them off. Cloud 9 reveals her other powers, such as weather manipulation, and begins making it hail. When Devour complains, Jason uses it as a lesson: use whatever you have to take out the enemy, even if what you have is another enemy. This leads to friction between Cloud 9 and Devour, who creates a lightning gun. This mixes poorly with Cloud 9's rainstorm, and blows all of them up. Jason just dodges the explosion, landing right next to Mummy Mother and the Babe in Arms. Rather than get in a scrape, Babe opted to just watch the fight and make notes. Jason admires this, but still fails the lot of them.

We cut to a brief interlude of Artemis and Bizarro, who seem to be fine after whatever happened in their previous appearance. They're not home yet, but they're alive and well. Perhaps a little too well, as Bizarro has taken up meditation in the intervening time. Suddenly Bizarro remember someone he left behind, and it's not Pup-Pup (his plush Superman doll, in case you've forgotten). Bizarro, however, says not Pup-Pup, an actual person. So at least we've confirmed he's stopped hallucinating, that's comforting~

The kids have retired to their communal sleeping quarters, and it's here where DNA identifies themselves as non-binary. Despite being a living DNA strand, which is a double-helix. It's sort of like a joke, I guess? They're also a judgy asshole, and decide they don't like sharing a room with Babe in Arms' mom zombie (mombie?). The pair of them start a fight, and Devour tells them they're all assholes, vomiting up a series of mechanical spheres with tentacles, which bind the pair who are fighting up and suspend them from the ceiling. He brags about how awesome he is, just to remind us that he's an asshole too.

There comes a knock at the door, letting the kids know it's time for a mission. Ah yes, it's a great idea to take these untested youngsters who can barely stand each other out into the field. The field, in this case, is an abandoned STAR Labs facility in Connecticut. And because they're the Red Hood's students, all the kids are wearing red hoodies as a uniform. Cloud 9 demonstrates her role as the goofy, spontaneous one and dashes off.

Jason's already exhausted, and the mission's only just started. He gets the other kids to stay behind him, and they enter a new room. Sitting in the middle of the room, simultaneously gnawing on some old discarded femur and holding Cloud 9 by the throat (isn't she supposed to be misty-bodied?), is the last character you may remember from the lower right corner of the comic. This craggy Xenomorph-looking fucker is known as Doomed. We'll get into his deal next issue, but for now he's just going to be our cliffhanger for the week~

While I did say that I was looking forward to this arc, I do have some problems with this issue. Namely in that it is extremely rushed. Not only are they introducing a new status quo, but also four all-new characters (Babe in Arms’ mombie doesn’t really count as a character, they’re more of a minion), with a fifth teased at the end for next issue. It’s just a lot to take in, and you only really start to get a gauge on their personalities beyond “teenage asshole” towards the end when they go on their mission.

Nonetheless, I’m still interested in this arc. Both the “teen supervillain team” and the “teaching teenage supers” concepts are of interest to me. Hopefully they can do better with it than that X-Men arc I read a few years back~

[taiblogcomics]

A Little Action on the Side-Plots

Hey there, atomic batteries to power, turbines to speed. I guess more Red Hood is in order, yeah? That's what I've decided, anyway, and you'll just all have to endure it~

Here's the cover:

"His second mistake was appearing in this issue." Tell me, when you look at this issue, how long does it take you to realise that thing Penguin has is a cigar? How long does it take you to notice he has anything? Besides, you'd think Red Hood's mask would have some sort of filter to keep that smoke from affecting him. I guess it's mostly the symbolic gesture that offends him~

We pick up immediately where we left off last time, with Artemis finding Bizarro's Kryptonite pool and Bizarro finding Artemis' axe. Artemis gives Bizarro ten seconds to put down the axe and explain, and he replies with the classic "I know this looks bad". Eventually, though, Bizarro falls to his knees and admits he's having more and more trouble thinking. He's scared of going back to what he used to be, and is taking whatever desperate steps he can. He begs Artemis to help him before he regresses any further, and she agrees.

Meanwhile, at the Iceberg Lounge, the Penguin's upper-class night club, Jason Todd is trying his own hand at Batman's Matches Malone thing. Think Tony Stark with just a moustache, Cyclops' sunglasses, and an exaggerated southern accent. As he keeps winning at the casino (I'm guessing poker), he's soon asked to step away for a bit. When he declines to the dealer, a buff woman in a Jessica Rabbit dress asks him to step aside more forcefully. He agrees and follows her to a private room, and if you think this is going somewhere sexy, the room is occupied by the Penguin. At least I hope your thoughts of it getting sexy stop there~

Bizarro and Artemis sit out on a balcony of their flying laboratory--in case you forgot that was their base now--and engage on a little philosophical debate on humanity. Neither of them really "get" humans, since they're apart from them. They don't come from that world. That's why they like Jason. They relate to humanity through him. Artemis tells Bizarro to stop evading the discussion, and he admits it: ever since Lex Luthor granted him intelligence, he's been regressing. Artemis says she can't truly imagine what he's going through, but she's sure becoming an addict isn't the solution. Bizarro leans in to kiss her, and she pulls back, saying that'd be an actual undoable mistake.

So Penguin has already figured out that Discount Matches Malone is actually Red Hood, because he's not an idiot. Penguin pours a glass of alcohol for the both, and Jason takes it non-chalantly. Penguin's impressed with the audacity of trying to launder money stolen through him back into his own casino. He then ticks another cliche phrase on our bingo card: "I can't let you leave here alive". Naturally, Jason already has ten plans to leave there alive, and jumps out the window as soon as the power goes out.

While Bizarro starts to destroy his tanks of liquid Kryptonite, Jason retires to a diner where he meets Alfred Pennyworth. Jason's feeling a bit frustrated with his efforts to bug the Penguin, and asks Alfred if he's really making a difference. Alfred responds with his trademark snark, replying that if Jason ever figures it out, he should let the rest of the superhero community know. Alfred then pays for dinner and hopes they'll get together for brunch the following Saturday. Jason says not to count on it, which is suspicious. He's then approached by Faye Gunn--the granddaughter of the Ma Gunn we've been reading about. With her being a 20-something with white hair, I actually mistook her for Rose Wilson at first. Anyway, she's noticed her grandmother hasn't been in contact for a week now, and she's instructed to deliver a package to Jason if such an occurance were to, um, occur.

The last two pages of the comic then divide up the rest of the cast. Bizarro is seen brushing his teeth, while Pup-Pup (the hallucination of his plush Superman doll, in case you forgot) congratulates him for being brave enough to reach out to his friends about his problems. Pup-Pup is then immediately disappointed when Bizarro opens the medicine cabinet and reveals he has a bunch of inhalers filled with the liquid Kryptonite, so dismantling his lab was pointless. Artemis, meanwhile, has left the building entirely. Axe in hand, she walks in and declares she'd like to make an appointment--with Lex Luthor.

Side-plots, side-plots. There’s really not a lot of action in this issue. In fact, I’m not even sure you could say there’s a lot of development. It feels more like all setup for future developments. Really, I think the only thing that actually happens is that now the gang knows Ma Gunn is missing. (Bizarro’s holding her shrunken and in a bottle, Brainiac style, in case you forgot.) And that’s really the problem: the whole decompressed storytelling thing makes “in case you forgot” something of a catchphrase of these sorts of comic stories~

Oh well. At least it’s not offensively bad or anything. It’s actually a pretty good issue, I’m just frustrated with the slower-paced storytelling. I might’ve even said this very thing last time, in case you forgot~

[taiblogcomics]

A Queen Barely Seen

Hey there, the twist at the end of M. Night Shyamalan's The Village. Well, I'm still waiting on that new shipment. We finished our last Suicide Squad story arc. Rather than start a new one, wanna do an issue of Red Hood real quick? Yeah, sounds good to me. Think we need the palate cleanser~

Here, a cover:

Man, we were on such a good streak with Suicide Squad covers that this one just feels kind of boring. Who dares resist the H.I.V.E. Queen? Well, not these two, certainly. They look pretty in pain and not resisty at all. And if not for her ridiculous headgear, would you know she's a supervillain and not just, like, a pop star? All in all, not a bad cover, but certainly a silly one~

So the comic opens on a full-page splash of HIVE Queen, hereafter "Queenie", monologuing about the differences between Metropolis and Gotham. Notably, she looks somewhat different than on the cover. In the comic, she's blonde, for one thing. Her hair's not Rapunzel length, either. Her suit is less shiny black, instead being more a cobalt blue with Tron lines on the legs. The headgear is less gigantic and doesn't look like it's coming out of her ears. And the honeycomb design on the glowing yellow ports of her armour is more apparent. And her suit doesn't have heels, so maybe this is actually a good female supervillain design, especially for one that has "Queen" in the name. Honestly, it feels like they glammed her up for the cover to make it sell better~

Anyways, her monologue. The main difference, she mentions, is that there's only one Superman, so he has to be extra vigilant. But with so many Bat-people, they actually are less effective, so she's much more able to slip in and set up shop. Jason, the guy she's been monologuing to, tells her she can't stay, Gotham has enough crimelords as it is. They trade a few more insults and/or threats, and then Jason uses that taser thing in his suit to short-circuit all Queenie's minions and tech. She's really shocked because she should've read his mind, and even Jason's kind of impressed with himself. Actually, that's not unusual for him~

Meanwhile, in their flying base above the city, Artemis and Bizarro are watching these events play out on a computer display. It's thanks to Bizarro that Jason's taser was that strong, and he's pleased he could help out. However, he's being lectured at by a hallucination of his plush Superman doll, Pup-Pup. Once more, I love the sentences that reviewing comic books allows me to write. Bizarro chooses to speak aloud to his hallucinations, which just confuses Artemis. He makes some excuse to get her out of the room, and collapses into a chair. Hallucinating is hard work~

Back again with Jason and Queenie, he points a gun at her head. But it's no ordinary silly-looking handgun. It's a magic ray-gun that will "weld together all the synapses in her brain". And she knows he's not bluffing because she's psychic. But then she discovers something else in his brain that horrifies her. Before she can say it aloud, Bizarro suddenly flies in through the ceiling and decks her. She's knocked unconscious with one blow, and Bizarro explains that her power readouts suddenly spiked and she was about to erase Jason's mind. So, this sounds like total bullshit cover-up to me, but Jason believes it. Bizarro mops up, and Jason excuses himself to go pay Ma Gunn a visit.

On the drive out to Ma Gunn's place on his invisible supersonic motorcycle (again, comic book sentences are great), Jason monologues to himself about the main plot of the comic and more recent events. However, upon arriving, he notices that hasn't picked up her newspaper in--judging from the number on the doorstep--ten days. This makes him nervous, because not only is Ma Gunn an old lady, she's also a professional con-artist. Jason draws his gun--an ordinary one this time, not his magic mind-melder--and jimmies the door open. He wanders through her empty house, and then finds a note on the kitchen counter addressed to him. It explains that Ma Gunn has left on business for a few days. And neglected to tell her paper delivery service, apparently. Even Jason finds this anticlimactic~

Jason returns home to their floating sky base, and Bizarro greets him. His hallucinations again tell him to tell his friends before they find out on their own, but this is interrupted because Artemis has a gentleman caller. The guy seems like a real creep, though, and by that I mean he's the Creeper. He and Artemis immediately begin laying into each other. Apparently they have some sort of history that's not elaborated on. Turns out, he's not actually here to see Artemis, though; Bizarro's invited him to be a member of the Outlaws. Creeper declines, since he thinks whatever they're doing is too crazy even for him. Creeper sees himself out, having had even less impact on the issue than HIVE Queen.

Bizarro apologises to the others for trying a recruitment drive without consulting them, and then declares he has a headache so he can excuse himself. He goes to his quarters and strips down. He's monologuing to himself again, this time about how Artemis thinks he's regressing. He tells himself he's not, because if he were, would he have thought of this brilliant plan to use the Suicide Squad as a cover to steal thousands of gallons of liquid Kryptonite? He soaks himself in a swimming pool of the stuff, despite the protests of Hallucinatory Pup-Pup. After all, Pup-Pup's just a doll. What does he know? And as Bizarro tells himself "Me got this" (hinting he is, in fact, regressing despite what he’s telling himself), we see exactly where Ma Gunn is staying: shrunk inside a bottle on Bizarro's desk. And not, like, she’s angry and banging on the glass. Inside the bottle is a lavish, furnished house, and she’s reading a book by the fireplace. Bizarro’s secret is that he’s the little boy from the ending of St. Elsewhere~!

I actually like this issue. The whole thing with Bizarro’s intelligence and then subsequent breakdown is a slow-burn storyline, and this is when you really see the cracks start to form. Artemis has admittedly little to do in this issue, since besides the Creeper thing that’s not explained (seriously, there’s not even a little bubble calling out the issue it might’ve been in, leading me to believe it was made up whole cloth for this scene and therefore makes no sense), her role in the story is just to doubt Bizarro, as a contrast to Jason’s faith in the big lug. It’s a pretty interesting story, and its relaxed pacing is nice compared to Suicide Squad’s rapid-fire story arcs. It’s cool and I like it, even in spite of HIVE Queen’s uselessness as a cover villain~

[taiblogcomics]

Down, Down, and Nearby

Hey there, Toledo, Ohio. Just because we finished a story arc last update doesn’t mean we can’t do more Red Hood and the Outlaws. Gotta make up for lost time, even though I have way more Suicide Squads on the back burner. That’s more the bimonthly vs monthly releases of the issues, though. Even if I kept up and did one a month of each, I’d still have more Suicide Squad on the back burner~

Here’s a cool cover:

See, this is the sort of cover I wish we got more of. Forget those covers of just a bunch of characters posing as a team. A single, effective image that thematically sums up the issue. You probably couldn’t do this every issue, or that’d get boring too, but I find this way more eye-catching than the one from last issue. I would wear this as a T-shirt. Plus you get the effective symbolism of it being a reference to the polybags from the Death of Superman story. This is a good goddamn cover~

We open in a gloomy park, where a person whose face is kept out of frame is reading a newspaper. This newspaper is excellent at providing exposition, as it informs us that the Outlaws are back in Gotham. We can’t just show that with an establishing shot or caption, it needs to be a newspaper headline that informs the characters as well. Anyway, our shadowy figure informs his guest that he broke him out of Arkham for a simple job, and afterwards he’s free to go. The companion agrees, revealing himself as Solomon Grundy in the process. The shadowy figure then departs, telling Grundy to enjoy himself while he’s out there. It’s not a bad establishing scene, I just think the newspaper is some shoddy exposition~

Instead, we rejoin our protagonists (hey, I hear they’re back in Gotham now) caring for Bizarro, who is not doing well. Despite the previous issue ending with a declaration of his death, it seems the big guy is not quite shuffled off from this mortal coil quite yet. Artemis thinks he should be in an actual hospital, but they can’t really do that. First, most hospitals aren’t equipped to do Bizarros, and secondly, they’re also international war criminals now, thanks to their actions in Qurac. Artemis also has the bedside manner of a scorpion, as when Jason tells Bizarro he’s going to be fine if he just hangs in there, she asks why he would lie at a time like this. Ma Gunn (remember her?) asks them to take it outside.

A day later, the pair of them are facing the grim reality. They were told Bizarro had a shelf life from the moment they met him, but it doesn’t make it any easier to see their friend slowly deteriorating in front of them. Artemis is especially upset, since she just saw her friend Akila explode in the last issue. However, they don’t have long to dwell on it, as suddenly Ma Gunn informs them of a news report that’s just come on. Solomon Grundy is rampaging downtown, not five blocks away. The pair run out, and Artemis actually even takes a moment to give Bizarro a gentle kiss before she leaves. Maybe her bedside manner’s not so awful after all.

Grundy’s out tearing up a street fair, so we open on a terrific full-page splash image of Solomon Grundy hefting a dunk tank with a clown in it over his head. Solomon Grundy in this one is one of those incarnations where he can only repeat the “Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday” poem, so Artemis kicks him in the face while shouting her own name too. This is funny, but Jason’s quips about “really, you’re the Solomon Grundy?” are less so. Jason opens fire with both guns, but Grundy just swats him aside before his banter can go on for too long.

Back in their hideout, Ma Gunn is reading a children’s book to Bizarro, who suddenly wakes up and proclaims he has to go help his friends. Yeah, he can hear them from five blocks away. He hears everything, all the time. So he has heard that he’s dying. Ma Gunn warns him that if he knows that, he must also know that if he gets up and leaves now, he won’t make it back. Bizarro simply says that yes, he knows that. But his friends are more important. And he flies off, busting down the wall and knocking over a plot point for later. We won’t worry about that for now.

We return to the battle at the carnival, where it clearly hasn’t been going well for Jason. All his dumb quips and gunfire can’t save him from a super-strong zombie. His helmet’s cracked, and Grundy’s about to piledrive a fire hydrant into his face. But he’s saved in a big two-page splash where Bizarro flies in and decks Grundy in the face. Jason keeps begging Bizarro to stay down, but Bizarro replies “down is opposite of helping”, and punches Grundy one more time, knocking him down. Bizarro then keeps wailing on him, shouting for him to stop hurting his friends. Artemis gets up and puts a hand on his shoulder, asking him to stop and go home. Bizarro replies that he is home, he’s here with his friends. He lays down slowly, and Artemis and Jason support him, thanking him for the save. He asks them for a favour as his eyes go dark, and holds out his little plush Superman doll that Jason gave him. He asks them to take care of “Pup Pup”, and he dies.

They actually give a full page this, no dialogue or anything. Just a blank page of Bizarro’s last moments, with Jason and Artemis kneeling at their friend’s side. The empty space it uses realy makes it feel heavy, it’s good symbolism. Jason stands up, frustratedly beginning to spout ideas to bring him back. A Lazarus pit, or something. Artemis covers Bizarro with his cape, and says what they can do is mourn the passing of a hero. Jason is still trying to come to grips with it, protesting that Bizarro wasn’t just a lump of Kryptonian DNA, he was a friend, struggling (and failing) to get that last word out.

Artemis stoops and picks up Pup Pup, and she and Jason just stand close and quiet for a while. But as they stand mourning, suddenly they notice a presence behind them. A presence with a flowing red cape, floating in the air, and bearing a glowing S-shield. Both of them are struck with electricity, and Lex Luthor, in his full Superman armour, floats down, intrigued by Bizarro’s body in particular.

If every issue of Red Hood was as good as this one, I probably wouldn’t be reviewing it right now. And honestly, the Artemis/Bizarro issues are better than the Starfire/Arsenal  ones ever were. This is a good comic, and I will actually encourage everyone to seek this issue out. Everything from the cover to Jason and Artemis reacting to the ailing Bizarro, to Bizarro’s actual death… Everything just works. Notably, there’s not a single “inner monologue” box in the whole issue. The characters are allowed to just express their feelings out loud, and it works. It’s a melancholy issue, and it comes off way more genuine than any death in Suicide Squad ever has.

And hey, it promises Lex Luthor next time, and in our experience so far, that’s also led to good issues, so I look forward to the next one~