#Nick is now an inspector

[thezombieprostitute]

Last Christmas

A/N: Written for Vee's Holly Jolly Challenge. (@sstan-hoe).

Warnings: Attempts at coercion.

Prompts: Nick Fowler - the song Last Christmas. The lyrics included will be written in bold purple font.

Summary: You should've known better. Of course he's still in love with her.

“What the hell is this,” Nick forcefully places the paperwork on your desk. 

You look it over quickly and respond, “it’s my request for a transfer.”

“But why,” he seethes. His jaw is tight and his body is tense. He clearly feels betrayed but that just makes your own hurt feel more justified. 

“Nick,” you sigh, “you really don’t remember what happened at the Christmas party last week?”

Nick crossed his arms, “I remember you and me doing a lot of kissing in my office. Would’ve taken you home if you didn’t run out on me. I thought we were solid. We’ve only been dating a couple weeks, but we’ve been friends for a lot longer.”

“You really don’t remember,” you shake your head as you fight the urge to cry. “When we were in your office, you called me by her name.” Nick freezes at that and you continue, “I also thought we were solid. Enough so that I gave you my heart. But when you can’t let go of her, I guess I was a shoulder to cry on and nothing more. Even if you don’t want it, I need this transfer for me. To save me from tears if nothing else.”

Nick grabs the paperwork and promises to get your transfer approved as he walks out, leaving your office colder than it was before.

It’s been a few months and you’ve really settled into your work. You can definitely understand why the role of manager for the Research and Development Department has such a high turnover rate. Everyone working here requires a different management style, a different level of understanding and guidance. Most managers stick to one style for everyone, but that’s clearly not what’s needed here and you’ve really gotten the hang of what your researchers need from you. 

One thing that everyone could agree on was that they needed more space so you were able to work out a construction contract. The first day you met the foreman, Hal Carter, you were taken aback. You’d bought into the stereotypes of construction guys being on the sexist side (catcalling and whatnot) but he was polite, never talked down to you and always took your concerns seriously. He was quite the flirt, though. Pretty much every woman at the office had been winked at and complemented to no end. But no HR complaints came from it so at your weekly updates you just asked him to be careful with your employees and left it there. 

You were doing really well in your job, your new life, when the surprise inspection came. Led by Nick. One look and you knew you weren’t over him but you would keep your distance. Once bitten and twice shy you’d make sure to keep professional. Taking Nick and his team on the rounds, you were grateful for your employees helping you out. A crowded room, friends with tired eyes but they did their best to make sure you (and their funding) would continue. 

After the inspection you practically ran to your office to catch your breath. You didn’t notice Nick following you.

“Are you hiding from me,” he asks quietly. His wintry-blue eyes boring into your soul.

“I’m hiding from you and your soul of ice,” you confess. “I ask you to give me distance, to get my heart right again, and then you just waltz right in without warning. I thought you were someone to rely on.”

“During the rounds, I kept my distance, but you still catch my eye.”

“I know what a fool I’ve been, but if you kissed me now, I know you’d fool me again.”

Nick walked towards you, moving in for the kiss that you weren’t sure you really wanted, but he was interrupted by Hal coming into the office with donuts and coffee.

“Oh, sorry,” Hal faltered. He looked at you, “I’d heard you had an inspection of some kind, figured you could use a pick-me-up. Goodness knows your cookies help me and the crew when the building inspectors come around.”

You smile warmly at him, grateful that he broke Nick’s spell over you. “Thank you, Hal! It’s just what I needed. Care to join me? Nick was just on his way out.”

Nick gave you an icy glare before walking out. As soon as you saw him walk out of the building, you allowed yourself to collapse into your office chair. Hal set down the food on your desk and admitted he had been listening to your conversation.

“I was going to wait until you were done with whatever meeting you were in, but I heard a few things that made me worry about you. Given your reaction, I’m guessing I was right about you needing some help?”

You nod appreciatively, sipping at the coffee. “Thank you, Hal. I almost made a serious mistake. Again.”

“I’m happy to help,” he assures. “You’re a good person and I like helping out good people.”

You snort, “given what I’ve seen and heard you just like helping out women.”

He gives you a shy half-smile, “that’s partially true. I like helping people smile, brightening their day. You never know when someone just needs a compliment to help them keep going. Yeah, I’m a huge flirt. Yeah, it’s nice for my own ego. But, for me, it’s just a way of being nice. Oh, and don’t worry about my ego getting too big. My crew helps me with that.” That last note makes you chuckle and you’re genuinely feeling more relaxed than you thought you would.

“Well,” you grinned, “you definitely helped me smile today. Thank you for that.”

Around August the construction project was finally wrapping up. You knew several people who were going to miss Hal and his crew. Especially when they went shirtless for a minute or two in the summer heat. Even you would occasionally indulge, smiling shyly the times Hal caught you looking. Your face would heat up in embarrassment but he never judged you or made fun of you for it. You were really going to miss him and your weekly meetings. 

It was at your last meeting with him when you noticed Hal acting fidgety, almost nervous. You ask him if he’s okay and gives you a shy smile you’ve never seen before.

“Um,” he starts, “I…well, with the construction done…I was, um, would…wouldyougooutwithme?”

You blink a few times, not fully sure of what’s going on. “Hal,” you hesitated, “are you asking me out on a date?”

Hal nods, ��I didn’t wanna ask while we were kinda working together. You said you’d never date a coworker again and I didn’t want to risk being that. But getting to know you, I…I’d really like to take you out some time.” He still wasn’t able to meet your eyes.

“Why are you acting so shy?”

“Because flirting is one thing. Asking out someone that I genuinely want to be with? That’s…that’s scary stuff.” He looks into your eyes and you’re taken aback. You see the face of a lover with a fire in his heart. You see someone special.

“I’d love to go out with you.”

It’s the company Christmas party and, despite the crowd, Nick has never felt more alone. He knows you’re going to be here and he keeps watching for you. You’re not hiding from him, but he doesn’t seem to see you. You’ve been doing well and coming into your own. You’ve received nothing but love and support from Hal. You’re finally getting the warmth and care you’ve needed and growing. 

Nick seems to give up and walks to his office. You follow quietly. As the door clicks shut, his eyes shoot up and you give him a gentle smile.

“Do you recognize me? Well, it’s been a year, it doesn’t surprise me.” 

“You look so beautiful,” he whispers. “More beautiful than I ever gave you credit for. Now I know what a fool I’ve been. I got you something. I wrapped it up and sent it with a note saying, “I love you”. Did you receive it?”

“Yes, Nick,” you smile sadly. “I got the necklace.”

“I want you to know, I meant it, when I wrote that.” His frosty blue eyes scan you, looking for the necklace, unsure of why you don’t look happy about the gift. 

“You never actually listened to me,” you shake your head. “If you did, you’d know I never liked gold and diamonds. That was her.” You place the gift box on his desk and stand firm, “I need you to stop sending me gifts and notes like this. Now I’ve found a real love, you’ll never fool me again.”

“But-” Nick tries to respond, you see genuine sadness and loneliness but you stop him before he can try to get you to cave.

“Last Christmas I gave you my heart,” you shake your head, putting a hand between the two of you so he can’t get closer. “You tore me apart. But I’ve healed and grown past. Maybe you should try that as well.”

With that, you turned around and left his office. A year ago you fled the room in tears. Now you’re walking out with your head held high. Last year you were left cold and shaken. Now you’re surrounded by warmth and comfort.

[best-fictional-detective]

BEST FICTIONAL DETECTIVE POLLS ARE UP, ROUND 1 HAS BEGUN

here's the current bracket for round 1! (click image for better quality)

Links to the polls:

SIDE A

Dick Gumshoe (Ace Attorney) vs Conan Edogawa (aka Jimmy Kudo) (Detective Conan)

Edogawa Ranpo (Bungou Stray Dogs) vs L Lawliet (Death Note)

Tintin (The Adventures of Tintin) vs Hershel Layton (Professor Layton)

Shuichi Saihara (Danganronpa) vs Looker (Pokemon)

Dirk Gently (Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency) vs Nancy Drew (Nancy Drew Mystery Stories)

Steve (Blues Clues) vs Inspector Gadget (Inspector Gadget)

Herlock Sholmes (Ace Attorney) vs Sherlock Holmes (Sherlock Holmes)

Hercule Poirot (Agatha Christie's Novels) vs Benoit Blanc (Knives Out)

SIDE B

Harry Du Bois and Kim Kitsuragi (Disco Elysium) vs Sam and Max (Sam & Max)

Detective Pikachu (Pokemon) vs Lieutenant Columbo (Columbo)

Oliver Beebo (Detective Beebo) vs Abe the Detective (Who Killed Markiplier?)

Juno Steel (The Penumbra Podcast) vs Hidari Shotarou (Kamen Rider W)

Bruce Wayne aka Batman (DC Comics) vs Tim Drake aka Robin (DC Comics)

Team Chaotix (Sonic the Hedgehog) vs The Scooby-Doo Gang (Scooby-Doo)

Nick Valentine (Fallout 4) vs Phryne Fisher (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries)

Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars) vs Shawn Spencer (Psych)

Pick your favorite Blorbo! Round 1 ends in a week!

I'm a bit busy right now with exams, so I will be posting poll propaganda from the submissions throughout the week!

PLEASE send in propaganda, I want to see it!

Be patient with me, I am just little guy trying to get into college,,,

[anim-ttrpgs]

A.N.I.M. Adventure Art: Benadetta (not to be confused with Burnadette)

Art by @theblackwarden

Meet Benadetta. Benadetta is a 30-something-year-old OSHA inspector who used to chain smoke but now vapes(this is mechanically important, it’s why she has very poor Athletics and other Physical skills and also is tied to her “Comfort Item” Trait.).

This art has been posted here with permission as part of A.N.I.M.’s Adventure Art initiative in our TTRPG book club.

Benadetta is a PC from Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy by A.N.I.M.

If you’d like to join the A.N.I.M. TTRPG Book Club, you can find the discord invite on our website.

If your art fits he parameters outlined on this post, and you’d like it featured here, tag us or post it in the book club’s Adventure Art channel on discord.

If you’d like to support us and get a prerelease copy of Eureka: Investigative Urban Fantasy, check out our Patreon! Our Kickstarter is planned for launch in April 2024!

Mild spoilers under the cut, details kept vague so as not to spoil the adventure module this we are using for this adventure, it's a Call of Cthuhlu adventure module (Eureka is compatible with those without much tweaking!) not one of our own.

Benadetta was the one who OSHA inspected the warehouse that then blew up like a week later, inciting the mystery. She feels like she could’ve been responsible for the explosion by not being thorough enough and that’s why she went out of her way to try and find out the cause—along with this weird woman, Yvette, whom she thinks is a V:TM LARPer(she went on like one date with a guy like that in college who also never broke character) from the Internet she met on r/warehouseexplosions.

Investigation ensued.

They found out that Benadetta was not responsible, it was actually a bomb, and this is part of an organized crime thing that much later they have discovered is a radical cult.

Also this weird woman from the Internet has been buying Benadetta things at the drop of a hat, like meals and a whole form-fitting biker suit that costs like $600(was part of a disguise) and Benadetta has been...not discouraging her at all.

Benadetta has been losing Composure rapidly throughout the adventure and is now constantly hovering between 0 and 2. Yvette is...really bad for the Composure of people around her.

The problem is that regular people restore 2 Composure at the end of every day, plus composure from the comfort of fellow investigators. However, Yvette just plain cannot do this. She has a -4 in that skill.

She found out a little more recently that 1. Yvette is a real vampire. and 2. Yvette murdered three armed organized crime enforcers with hardly a second thought when left to her own devices. This brought her Composure down again.

In the morning of the most recent session they went to an architect’s house to get some blueprints, only for Yvette to be lured away from the living room and blasted apart with a shotgun by one of the guy’s assistants with a shotgun upstairs(that’s a whole story), while the other assistant attacked Benadetta with a knife and cut her arm open.

Yvette showed back up in the nick of time, now holding that shotgun, and punched the teeth out of the knife-wielding assistant.

It turned out that the architect had no idea about any of this, the assistants were members of the cult whose job it was to spy on him, and murder anyone who showed up asking about those blueprints.

After visiting an Urgent Care for the knife wound and Yvette treated Benadetta to an expensive meal after Benadetta basically snapped at her and insisted she owed her for dragging her around into involvement with a deadly cult, so they went to a nice restaurant.

They later went to Chili’s after Yvette left Benadetta alone for a few hours to lay on her bed and cry at 0 Composure.) Oh and also Benadetta owns 4 pet rats that she cried with. She has not allowed Yvette to see them.

They had to go to Chili’s because through some cyberstalking they found out a member of the cult frequents it and Yvette thinks this specific guy has information and might even be receiving a bomb to deliver to a certain location soon. (Yvette wants that bomb so she can drop it in the mailbox of the cult HQ, which is something I think Benadetta doesn’t fully realize.)

Benadetta, however, only came along meaning to be moral support while making Yvette do all the work. Benadetta is just getting drunk on watered down bottomless appletinis. But, even drunk, she is quickly realizing what a mistake it was to send Yvette to talk to this guy alone.

Because Yvette’s Interpersonal skills are -3 or worse almost across the board.

Benadetta ended up having to pull Yvette away when Yvette wasn’t checking her text messages (texts like “HE IS TRYING TO FUCK YOU”) and try to talk a mortified Yvette into proposing a ‘ménage à trois’, so that they could get this guy to bring them home and get him even more drunk so they could just search his house. Yvette *could not* do it so Benadetta has to call him over and say it herself while seductively unbuttoning her dress shirt—despite looking almost literally as disheveled as one can look in Eureka(0 Composure) and being drunk and even failing the Seduce roll resulting in her belching loudly and then dying inside, they were just two-drunk-beautiful-women-proposing-a-threesome-to-meathead-dude-out-of-nowhere enough to pull it off and get him to take them home.

I think Benadetta could’ve done anything short of shit her pants and this guy would’ve still taken them home.

[olympic-paris]

THIS DAY IN GAY HISTORY

based on: The White Crane Institute's 'Gay Wisdom', Gay Birthdays, Gay For Today, Famous GLBT, glbt-Gay Encylopedia, Today in Gay History, Wikipedia, and more …

September 7

48 BC – Albius Tibullus is born near Rome (d.19 BC). Known primarily as a love elegist, his poems tell of his lust for the handsome Marathus but alas, he never gets him.

1933 – Robert Chetwyn (d.2015), was a British director and actor, known for Westbeach (1993), God's Chosen Car Park (1986) and That Uncertain Feeling (1985), and who championed Joe Orton’s outrageous farces and saw promise in a young Ian McKellen.

He was born Robert Suckling on September 7 1930 in London, the son of a chauffeur and a cook, and trained as an actor at Central School of Speech and Drama – changing his name in the process. On graduation, in 1951, he spent more than a decade acting for rep companies.

In 1967 he directed There’s a Girl in My Soup, a farce by Terence Frisby. The show ran for six years in the West End, a record at the time.

Success breeds success in the theatre. Chetwyn was now the comedy director of choice in London and the following year he directed Flora Robson as Miss Prism in The Importance of Being Earnest, and the world premiere of Tom Stoppard’s The Real Inspector Hound. In 1969, Chetwyn brought his precise style to bear on the unruly work of Joe Orton, staging What the Butler Saw for the first time.

The 1970s were bracketed for Chetwyn by two productions with Ian McKellen. In 1971, he directed the actor in Hamlet at the Nottingham Playhouse. The critics were underwhelmed, and on the first night Chetwyn overheard in the lavatory his production being dismissed as "damned teenage twaddle".

It may have seemed like twaddle for middle-aged critics up from London, but for the younger generation of theatre-goers McKellen was an electrifying presence – their Olivier – and Chetwyn’s production spoke directly to them.

At the decade’s end the director and actor paired up again for Martin Sherman's ground-breaking drama, Bent, a play about the Nazi persecution of homosexuals. Chetwyn later recalled that "reading Bent was a powerful experience – shamefully, as a gay man, I knew nothing of the Nazi persecution of homosexuals." He sent the script to McKellen, who agreed to play the lead. Bent had a sold-out run at the Royal Court and then transferred to the West End.

In 1983 he returned to the stage to direct Eastward Ho!, a musical updating of a play by Ben Jonson and the product of a collaboration between the ex-pat American writer Howard Schuman and the composer Nick Bicat. Once again, Chetwyn demonstrated his eye for recognising talent: a young Mark Rylance delighted the audience with an acrobatic singing number.

He carried on working into his seventies and as retirement approached continued to focus on young talent, directing productions at Rada. Chetwyn first met Howard Schuman in 1967 and the pair almost immediately set up home together in Ecclestone Square, London, entering a civil partnership in 2006. Robert Chetwyn died in 2015. Howard Schuman survives him.

1956 – Michael Feinstein is an American singer and pianist, and an interpreter of and anthropologist and archivist for the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. The Library of Congress elected him to the National Sound Recording Advisory Board, an organisation dedicated to safeguarding America's musical heritage.

Feinstein was born to Jewish-American parents in Columbus, Ohio. At the age of five, he studied piano for a couple of months until his teacher became angered that he wasn't reading the sheet music she gave him, since he was more comfortable playing by ear. As his mother saw no problem with her son's method, she took him out of lessons and allowed him to enjoy music his own way.

After graduating from high school, he worked in local piano bars for two years, moving to Los Angeles when he was 20. Through the widow of legendary concert pianist-actor Oscar Levant, he was introduced to Ira Gershwin, who hired him to catalogue his extensive collection of phonograph records. The assignment led to a six-year musical excavation of Gershwin's home in Beverly Hills, preserving the legacy of not just Ira but his composer brother George Gershwin, who had died four decades earlier, as well. Feinstein's extended tenure enabled him to get to know next-door neighbor Rosemary Clooney, with whom he formed an intensely close friendship lasting until Clooney's death. He later would serve as musical consultant for My One and Only, a Broadway musical pastiche of Gershwin tunes.

Liza Minnelli helped sponsor his 1986 New York City debut, and his Broadway show, Isn't It Romantic, was a critical and commercial success. Three years later, he recorded his first CD, The MGM Album, a collection of tunes from some of the studio's most popular movie musicals. He followed this in quick succession with Live at the Algonquin and compilations of songs by Burton Lane, Jule Styne, and Jerry Herman.

The four-time Grammy Award-nominee has spent his entire adult life chronicling, cataloguing, preserving, protecting, and recording the work of various composers, including musical greats like the Gershwins and such lesser-known names as Hugh Martin, Jimmy Webb, Jay Livingston, Ray Evans, and Johnny Mercer.

Feinstein is the owner of the Manhattan nightclub, Feinstein's at the Regency, a showcase for cabaret performers. He himself performs there for a sold-out Christmas holiday stint each year.

Feinstein recently completed a six-part Warner Home Video series for television that depicts the history of the American popular song up to 1960.

In October 2008, Feinstein married his longtime partner Terrence Flannery. The ceremony was performed by famed family court and television judge Judith Sheindlin, also known as Judge Judy. Feinstein and Flannery have homes in New York and Los Angeles.

1957 – Jermaine Stewart (d.1997) was an American dancer and singer best known for the worldwide hit We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off.

Born in Columbus, Ohio, William Jermaine Stewart always loved to dance. At school, he would often give dance lessons to other children for a $1 a lesson. In 1972, the Stewart family moved to Chicago. It was here that Jermaine took his first steps towards a career in show business. He joined a local dance group, and went out on the road with The Chi-Lites and The Staple Singers. This was followed by stints on both American Bandstand and later Soul Train. By the early 1980s, he joined the classic Hewitt/Watley/Daniels line up of Shalamar on tour as a backing vocalist and dancer.

The next step was to launch his own singing career. He took his first tentative steps by providing backing vocals to several established acts such as The Temptations and notably, Culture Club. Jermaine can be clearly heard as a vocal support to Boy George on the track Miss Me Blind.

It was his work with Culture Club which lead to a solo recording contract with Clive Davis' Arista Records (10 Records in the UK), thanks to the help of Culture Club's Mikey Craig. His first single The Word Is Out in 1984, preceded an album of the same name the following year.

John "Jellybean" Benitez produced two highly danceable tracks on Jermaine's second album Frantic Romantic, but it was Narada Michael Walden, a hit recording artist in his own right, who penned and produced the song that would forever be associated with Jermaine Stewart, We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off. The song, supported by a strong video, became an international success. The album quickly went on to become a million seller, and a second single, Jody was released, the inspiration of the song being Jody Watley of Shalamar. Jermaine's third album, Say It Again, was probably his most successful internationally.

In 1992, Jermaine teamed up with Chicago producer Jesse Saunders for his last recorded work, entitled Set Me Free, a return to his earlier style. The title track was released as a single in the US, but found little success. The album remains unreleased. The rest of the 1990s saw Jermaine battling long term illness. He did, however, begin recording a new album in 1996, which remains unfinished and unreleased.

Jermaine Stewart died on 17 March from liver cancer caused by HIV/AIDS. Ironically, his biggest hit We Don't Have To Take Our Clothes Off, with its safe sex message, was one of the first mainstream pop responses to the AIDS crisis.

1979 – Owen Pallett is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist, who performs solo as Owen Pallett or, before 2010, under the name Final Fantasy. As Final Fantasy, he won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album He Poos Clouds.

On his Final Fantasy releases, Pallett has collaborated with Leon Taheny, who is credited as drummer and engineer. Following the release of Heartland, Pallett has toured with guitarist/percussionist Thomas Gill and more recently with his former collaborators in Les Mouches, Rob Gordon and Matt Smith.

Pallett has been noted for his live performances, wherein he plays the violin into a loop pedal, a technique also used by musicians such as Andrew Bird, Jeremy Larson, Kishi Bashi, Emily Wells and Zoë Keating.

He believes his work is implicitly influenced by his sexuality, saying, "As far as whether the music I make is gay or queer, yeah, it comes from the fact that I'm gay, but that doesn't mean I'm making music about it."

Patrick Borjal, Pallett's boyfriend, began working as his manager in 2006, and formed the management company Boyfriend Management.

1988 – Max Emerson is an American actor, model, author, director and YouTuber. He is known for his modelling and social media profile, particularly on Instagram, and he wrote and directed the movie Hooked. He has appeared on TV in small roles, including the season 5 finale of Glee.

Emerson was born in Vero Beach, Florida and studied for a BFA in performance and directing at the University of Miami, from where he graduated in 2009. Emerson began modeling while he was a student.

He wrote, produced, co-directed and acted in two short films, DipSpit and Earwig, which were shown for the first time at the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival on April 26, 2011. Earwig is a drama about a closeted gay college student, while DipSpit is a comedy about two straight male models who get kicked out and move in with a gay college student.

In October 2015, Emerson announced his intention to produce an independent film called "Hooked" for which he had written the story, telling the story of a homeless gay prostitute called Jack and addressing the problems faced by homeless LGBT youth. He aimed to raise $150,000 for the project via Indiegogo and give half of any profits made to charities benefiting LGBT people. The launch video for the Indiegogo campaign featured Todrick Hall and musician Tom Goss. As part of it he released a single with Goss called "Not Enough". The campaign was supported by Out magazine.

In October 2016, he posted the trailer for the new film. Hooked had its world premiere at NewFest: The New York LGBT Film Festival on June 26, 2017, and its European premiere at the 7th Homochron film festival in Cologne on October 20 the same year.

Emerson wrote an autobiography, Hot Sissy – Life Before Flashbulbs, describing his teenage years growing up in a "redneck" area of Florida. Hot Sissy was released as an e-book and in a limited print run of 500 hardcover copies in December 2014. The limited editions were each signed and came with an original Polaroid picture.

In 2015, Emerson described his move toward sobriety in an Instagram post.

In June 2016, he publicly introduced his boyfriend, Andrés Camilo, an officer in the US Army, in a YouTube video. Emerson has an active social media presence and posts regularly on YouTube where his username is "TheMaxVicious". As of December 2018, he has 1 million followers on Instagram (@maxisms) and 19,500 on Twitter (@TheMaxisms). On YouTube and on social media, Emerson is known for his humor and for showing off his body.

In May 2017, French comic TV presenter Cyril Hanouna used one of Emerson's torso pictures to set up a catfishing profile on a gay dating site, and tricked the men who responded to the profile into revealing sexual fantasies to him while he was live on his show Touche pas à mon poste!. The segment triggered nearly 20,000 complaints to regulators and condemnation from LGBT groups.

1988 – Paul Iacono is an American actor. He is best known for portraying RJ Berger in the MTV scripted series The Hard Times of RJ Berger.

Iacono was born in Secaucus, New Jersey to Italian American parents. Iacono went to Professional Performing Arts School in New York with friend and Fame co-star Paul McGill. At eight years old, Iacono was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. He soon began receiving chemotherapy treatments and has been in remission since he was eleven years old.

Paul first gained wide notice for his numerous appearances on TV's The Rosie O'Donnell Show after Rosie O'Donnell discovered his unique talents for impersonating Frank Sinatra and Ethel Merman, at age 8.

Starting out as child actor in the NYC theater scene, Paul has appeared in over 100 theatrical productions. He has shared the stage with such greats as Mickey Rooney in The Wizard of Oz and Stephanie Mills in the original "Paper Mill Playhouse" production of Stephen Schwartz's Children of Eden. Iacono can be heard on the original cast recording. Other theatrical credits include Mame with Christine Ebersole, Noël Coward's Sail Away with Elaine Stritch and Marian Seldes, and John Guare's Landscape of the Body, with Lili Taylor and Sherie Rene Scott.

Paul's film career includes the MGM's remake of "Fame", "No God, No Master" with David Strathairn, and Darren Stein's teen comedy, "G.B.F."

Iacono is openly gay and a major LGBTQ activist, having publicly come out in Michael Musto's Village Voice Column in April 2012. He was named one of OUT Magazine's 100 most influential gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender people for 2013.

2001 The world’s first 24-hour LGBT TV network called PrideVision TV is launched in Canada. It is now called OutTV. Owned by Headline Media Group, it was Canada’s first 24-hour cable television channel targeted at LGBT audiences. It was also the second LGBT-focused channel to be established in the world, after the Gay Cable Network in the U.S., which shut down in 2001.

[andydrysdalerogers]

Undercover - One - Jake

Pairings: Jake Jensen and OFC Samantha Matthews

The Losers have made it back to their families and are out. Well, almost. A threat against the British crown needs to be handled and the CIA has tapped the Losers for one final mission. And they are sending in Jensen.

Jake Jensen hasn't been a civilian in years but now he's undercover to find out why his target is where he is and who he's after.

Enter Sam, someone who Jake doesn't expect and well, he didn't know he was looking for.

Can Jake handle his mission and falling in love? Especially when the truth leads to a bigger mission than expected?

*~* A Jake Jensen Story *~*

Author's note: this story continues after the events of the Losers. I may weave other characters into it but they are all minor.

The playlist is available on Spotify.

cover photo by me! Dividers by @firefly-graphics

Warnings: angst, death, smut, and a bunch of stuff a can’t say because it gives away the plot!

"Alight Losers, focus up.”  

Colonel Franklin Clay looked at his exhausted team.  It had been a long, few months, getting back from Bolivia, getting to Max and Roque’s betrayal of the team. They had just received their pardons, visiting the families that thought them dead and were now back together for their final debrief.  

Or so they thought.  

“We got tapped for an undercover ops,” Clay explained.  “It’s going to be a long one but the request is coming from an outside source.”  

“So not your typical ops.” Sgt. Linwood ‘Pooch’ Porteous commented while kicking his feet onto the desk in front.  

“Not this time.  One will be in deep cover at a company where the target works.  The mission is to recon and discovery of the target’s mission.”  

“Who’s asking?” Pooch flipped a pen in the air. Sgt. Carlos ‘Cougar’ Alvarez caught it and put it down shaking his head.  

“Dunno.  Our handler should be coming in…” 

“Right now.”  A tall, dark hair individual came in, suit, no tie, followed by another man.  “Nick Fowler, CIA director of Foreign Affairs.” 

“Clay.  That’s Pooch, Cougar, Aisha and… Jensen!” 

A blonde stood up from the snack table, licorice in his mouth.  He wiped his hands on his jeans and walked over.  “Hi!” 

“Great.  This is Inspector Harry Hart, British Intelligence.”  

“How do you do?” He shook everyone’s hand before clearing his throat.  “We would normally send in our own man but since our target is based in the US, we need an American to blend in.  We need someone who can also blend in seamlessly and get close to the target.”  

“That would be me,” Clay said.  

“Excellent.  And this is our target.”  He flashed a picture.  “John Fitzgerald. He is a former MI6, turned mercenary. He has been keeping low until just a few days ago when we intercepted intelligence that he is a threat to the crown. The King has been informed of the situation but is obviously not involved for his safety and the safety of his family.”  

“Shit,” Clay mumbled. He picked up the photo of the target.  “I know him.  We worked together 20 years ago.  I can’t go in.”  

“Who can?” Fowler asked.  

Clay furrowed his brow. “What company?” 

“It is,” Hart shuffled his papers, “ADR Diagnostics.  A tech company.”  

The Losers all swiveled their heads and looked at Jensen, who looked back with wide eyes. “What?” 

“Jensen can go in,” Clay said.  

Hart stepped forward.  “Name, rank and qualifications?” 

Jensen stood up straighter. “Captain Jake Jensen, masters in computer science and Data Analytics.” Jake started to sweat a little as Fowler and Hart inspected him.  

“Well, he does have the look of an IT guy,” Fowler commented. “What do you think, Inspector?” 

“Captain, you understand that you will essential be a civilian working undercover to find out what is going on with Fitzgerald?  There is not a timetable.  The faster you discover his motives, the faster you are out.”  

“Colonel,” Jake turned to Clay, “I thought we were out?”  

“They haven’t given us our papers yet Jake.  This would be our last mission.” Clay turned to the team. “It’s up to you.”  

“I’m in,” Pooch said.  Cougar tilted his trademark hat. Aisha shrugged.  Clay turned back to Jensen.  “The company is based near your family’s hometown.  You can stay near them and visit like normal since you do have to keep up appearances.”  

Home. Something that Jake had longed for.  His reunion with his parents has been joyful.  Especially since his cousin Savannah and niece Grace had been visiting.  Her husband and two other children had stayed home with the flu, which was a bummer but still.  

“Alright,” Jensen clapped his hands together.  “I’m in.”  

“Excellent. We will get you planted as a manager of an IT group.  You start a week from Monday to allow you time to get settled.  The apartment we have procured for you is in the town center and you should be able to walk to the office,” Hart explained.  

Civilian life.  

Not something he was expecting. But here he was, Captain Jake Jensen, IT guy. He stood in front of ADR Diagnostics and looked up. The weekend had been interesting.  His parents had been thrilled that he was going to be closer to home.   He settled into his loft apartment and set up his reconnaissance equipment to maintain contact with the team.  He was to check in every Friday, under the guise of drinks with old friends.  He had studied his target.  

Fitzgerald was a handsome man, loyal to the crown, until an accident killed his partner, and he went sideways.  He left the service, went underground.  The threat that brought him back into radar was interesting.  Fitzgerald was looking for leverage against the old King of England.  His Majesty, King Harold had just stepped down to his son, Anthony, his only child, in a swirl of worry as Anthony had not had any children of his own.  

Jake found it curious on the line of succession the next person would be Anthony’s cousin, Lewis, to inherit.  From what Jake found online, the people of England despised Lewis for his snotty attitude to the common people and his utter disdain for his uncle and cousin, so much as speaking out against them. What could Fitzgerald be looking for to hold over the old King? He must be connected to Prince Lewis in some way, Jake noted to himself.  

Walking in, he was greeted by his new supervisor. “Jake?” 

“Yeah, Jake Jensen.” He offered his hand.  

“Michael Anderson.  Follow me.”  

Jake internally snorted remembering his break into the last company.  He followed the man to the bank of elevators and went up.  

“So, Jake, you’ll be heading a team of techs checking for security for our clients. Your team is four plus you and you will be reporting to me.  We do a daily report due at the end of the day before you leave. You have to send that to Sam, my assistant.”  

Jake nodded along. “Cool. No problem.”  

Michael looked over Jake. “I know it’s your first day but lose the tie. We’re pretty casual here. Polo and jeans will do.  Fridays can be a t shirt.”  

“Sure.” Jake pulled off his tie and stuffed it into his backpack. Getting off on the 14th floor, Michael directed him to an air where five desks were situated.  “Guys, focus up.” Four heads popped up.  “This is your new team leader Jake Jensen. This is Fred, Dave, Rob and Pete, your team. Make him feel welcome and shit. I’ll check in with you guys later.”  

“Uh, Mr. Anderson?” 

“Mike, please.” 

“Right Mike. Uh computer?” 

“Right.” He pulled a laptop out of his own bag. “Email is set up and will have all your system logins. Sam should have emailed you your report instructions and everything you need. Have any questions, ask your team or send a message to Sam. Otherwise, own your team, Jake.”  

“Thanks.” Mike walked away and Jake turned back to the guys. “Hi.” He awkwardly waved his hand.  

“Sup, boss man, I’m Fred. De facto mouth of the team.  That Dave, Rob and Peter,” pointing to each guy. “Uh I’ll let you set up.”  

“Thanks. Just set up and you guys can tell me where you are.” Jake moved to his new desk and took out a frame. Pictured was his niece Grace with his cousin Savannah. They had lost touch for a few years when his asshole aunt and uncle cut Savvy off. Now she was married and happy and Jake got back in touch with her. A perk of no longer being dead.  

As he set his desk up, he looked up to see a beautiful brunette walk across the floor. Her long dark hair with blonde tip bounced with her curls in a sleek ponytail.  She wore an emerald-green blouse with dark jeans and heels. Jensen couldn’t help but stare. And then she looked up. Cupid lips, soft pink cheeks, cat eyeglasses framing big eyes with lashes. Her smile made Jake swoon. When she looked in his direction he ducked and moved to open his email. “Stupid,” he muttered to himself. No way a girl that gorgeous is single. He concentrated on the task at hand, reading the first email in his new inbox.  

From: Sam Matthews  To: Jake Jensen  Hi!  Below are your logins for the system. I’ve attached a sample excel sheet to use for your daily reports. Any questions, you can email or instant message me.   Welcome to the team Jake!   Sincerely,  Sam Matthews  Assistant to Michael Anderson  

Jake reviewed all the info given and then sat with his team.  But his mind never left the beautiful brunette. I wonder where she works, he thought to himself.  

Closer than you think, Jake.  

The day went smoother than he thought, ADR’s systems sophisticated but simple. He was able to catch up to where his team was at and log in the progress.  He caught glimpses of his dream girl as she walked around the office. Lunch time with the team was easy, the guys were really nice about inviting Jake and keeping him in the conversation.  But it was around three that Jake got his break.  He was headed into the break room for a much needed pick me up in the way of coffee. Making sure that he didn’t get lost, his eyes wandered around the floor before his reflexes caused him to dodge someone.  

“Excuse me, sorry,” he heard and looked to see a flounce of curls walk away.  It was dream girl. He was about to say something when someone else caught his attention.  

“Pardon me, I just… you’re new.” A British accent hit Jake’s ears and he looked to find himself face to face with John Fitzgerald.  

“Yeah, hi. I’m Jake, IT.”  

“John, accounting.  Sorry, did you see a brunette pass by?” 

Jake stared a second too long at Fitzgerald and shook himself back to the present.  “Uh, yeah, she went into the elevator.”  

“Sly minx, she is.  You must know how that is,” Fitzgerald flashed Jake a rouge smile.  Jake swallowed and nodded unsure what to say.  “Well, I’ll see you around Jake.”  

“Likewise.”  

This guy? Jake shook his head as he poured himself a cup.  Dammit. Now I have to be all douchebag around this guy, he thought to himself as he took a sip.  Another voice startled him that he spilled his coffee a bit.  

“Is he gone?” 

Jake turned to see his dream girl in front of him. Her glasses were pushed up into her hair, showing off her big eyes that he now knew were brown with flecks of green and gold in them. She was chewing on her bottom lip, making it fuller.  Jake was memorized.  “Uh, yeah.  I told him that you went up the elevator.”  

“Thank you.  God, he just won’t take no for an answer.”  

Jake was captivated by her voice. It had a slight accent to it but barely noticeable.  “Sorry for my species.” He wrinkled his nose at the comment and went to leave, knowing he had just made a fool of himself.  

But then he heard it: her giggle.  “Thank you for apologizing.  I’m Sam, by the way. Sam Matthews.”  

Holy. Shit.  

His new boss’s assistant is his dream girl.  

And suddenly, being undercover was not so bad.  

NEXT

Taglist:

@patzammit

@texmexdarling

@slutforchrisjamalevans

@firephotogrl74

@tinkerbelle67

@before-we-get-started

@bunnyforhim

@alexakeyloveloki

@sunnyhummingbee

@whiskeytangofoxtrot555

@peaceinourtime82

@saucy-sassy-sparkly

@kmc1989

@kandis-mom

@lokislady82

[hauntnowpod]

Episode Twenty-Five - The Drawing

While Frankie debates whether she wants to keep searching for her family, trouble brews for our ghost hunters who are still doing their best to deal with Portland’s poltergeist problem. This episode references Block 14 in Portland’s Lone Fir Cemetery which has an important, long-ignored history: we encourage you to learn more about it here

Transcript here!

The Way We Haunt Now is supported in part by an award from the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. This episode of The Way We Haunt Now was written by Courtney Floyd and Georgia Mckenzie, with sound design by Brad Colbroock and voice acting by:

Ariane Marchese as TV Voices

Ali Hylton, Jeff Goldman, Kirsty Woolven, and Natalie Hunter as the Apartment

Becca Marcus as Lota

Brad Colbroock as Cas

Carl G Brooks as Theodore

Courtney Floyd as Eulalie

Danny Spiller as Aaron

Deniss C. as Cecilia

Eleanor Grey as Frankie

Ella Gans as Nurse

Emma Skinner as TV Voices

James Molloy as TV Voices

Jenna Rose as Minerva

Jess "Bear" Winston as Alicia

Kirsty Woolven as Fidelia

Lindsay Zana as Danny

Marlon Dance-Hooi as Chief Inspector Turnbubble

Marnie Warner as Parker

Mary-Anne Stanek as Sister Prudence

Mihai Matei as Poltergeist 4

Paul H. Rollins as Nick

Sneha Kumar

Tal Minear as Myrtle

Tim Lowe as Jon Harker

There’s no need to bust out your Ouija board to keep in touch. Whether you’re new to the spirit world or simply a ghost in need of some entertainment, you can visit www.hauntnowpod.com for information about our cast and crew, content warnings, and transcripts.

You can also find us screaming into the void of social media at, you guessed it, @HauntNowPod. Remember to HAUNT RESPONSIBLY.

[glimpsesofeuterpe]

felt obligated to list muses and their (known so far) alternates out now, oh no

The Cornelius(es)

Protagonist Cornelius, Classic Cornelius, Happy Cornelius, Space Pirate Cornelius (Neil), Composer Cornelius, Inspector Cornelius, Vampire Cornelius, Angel Cornelius (Corabael), Demon Cornelius (Corey), Inspector Cornelius, Archivist Cornelius, Winter Prince Cornelius, Librarian Cornelius, Lonely Cornelia, Alpha Cornelia (Emily), Beta Cornelius, Gamma Cornelius, Vampire Cornelia (Nelle), Russian Cornelius (Корнелий/Kornelij), British Victorian Cornelius (Dr Gratton), Gem Cornelius (Tiger Eye), Wizard Cornelius, Enthusiast Cornelius, Robot Cornelius, Skeleton Cornelius

The Deimos(es)

Antagonist Deimos, Narrator Deimos, Shadowy Deimos (Phos), Human Deimos (Damien), Demon Deimos (Demien), Mermaid Deimos, Captain Deimos (Captain Deimey Moss), Gem Deimos (Green Jadeite or Emerald), Cat Deimos (Demyaw), Princess Deimos, Farmer Deimos (Dahlia), Redhead Deimos, Wizard Deimos, Alternian Deimos, Mettaton Deimos extra: Arianna and Artemius, Deim's younger siblings extra extra: XJ10 aka Jade (Neil's assistant) extra extra extra: Deinelius (confusion au)

The Frankys

Grumpy: Strayed Franky, Dad Franky, Wizard Franky, Werewolf Franky, Gem Franky (Enstatite), Angel Franky (Frankiel), Female Franky (Franziska) Dorky: The Dork Maddison, Warlock Maddison (Adam), Captain Maddison, Cyborg Maddison, Pilot Maddison, Mechanic Maddison, Magic Maddison, Rick Maddison (Frederick) extra: Marcus Mayfair (employee 517) aka a beta-something-past version of Maddison extra extra: Ludolf Meier (Franky's Uncle) extra extra extra: Adam Smithson, which is clerly related to Franky(s), nuff said

Amelies:

Classic Amelie, Cyberpunk Amelie, Angel Amelie (Amaliel), Parable Amelie (Amber), Male Amelie (Albus), Possessed Amelie (Ambrose), Sinner/Demon Amelie

Sophies:

Fairy Sophie, Employee Sophie (006)

+ Cornelius' ex co-workers: Maria Mironova and Jack Waller

Narrators:

Bionic Narrator (Magnus), Bossy/Demon Narrator (Bernael), Narrator.exe, Beta Narrator (Norbert), Caelumirian Narrator (Augustin), Snapey Narrator, Gem Narrator (Brown Diamond?), Narrator Royce, MONIKA

Curators:

The Observer, Beta Curator (Norene), Angel Curator (Barrattiel), Human Curator (Beatrice), Curator.exe, Curator GLaDOS

Stanleys:

Stanley Freeman, Stanley von Sales, Thomas Stanley Porter, Severine Stanley, Stella Fiedler, Pastel Stanley, Stanley.exe, Gem Stanley (Gray Pearl) Not Stanleys:

Protagonist Chell, Ashley Davies (The Player)

Mariellas:

Classic Mariella, Dream Mariella (aka Doll aka Princess aka Melissa Noxire), Pastel Mariella, Not Mariella (Simona Petrikov), Mariella.exe, Gem Mariella (Peanut Pearl)

Employee 432 aka Settings Person aka Timekeeper aka Ceaseless Watcher:

Eric Nowak

Adventure Line (humanized-ish):

Ghost Adventure Line (Flavian), Gem Adventure Line (Yellow Spinel)

The Employee Lounge (humanized):

Lacey Fidelis, Lesley Fidelis

Ricks:

Narrator Rick, Dandere Rick, Detective Rick, Ava Rickinsocks, Bossy Rick, Hacker Rick

Mortys:

Protagonist Morty, Yandere Morticia, Nerdy Morticia, Captain Morty, Cursed Morty, Shadow Morty, Wizard Morty

OTHERS: Homestuck linked: Kostya Trollen, Nick Surname Presentable Liberty linked: Paul Viaton, Lenore (Eleanor) Farrell, Benjamin Smiley, Charlotte Addams, Barret Videll, Salvadore Marchetti, Morayne Johnson DST linked: Triumphant Wilson and a Willow (iguess?)

Wannabe big guys aka friends from the other side aka yet another aliens (divinedamnedgambles):

Endymion, Nelumbo, Nebula (aka Red and Blue), Mother Nature, Goodness (Agnes), Darkness (The Temptress), Inquisitiveness (aka Yellow aka Employee333), Lorelei, Oneiros, Helianthus (aka Deim's Grandpa), The Troubadour, Aurora

Men In White:

Elyon and Karael, Vega, Gadreel, Raziel, Seraphim

[mywingsareonwheels]

What I wanted characters to say to each other this year so far...

(Spoilers behind the cut for: "Endeavour" series 9; "Shadow and Bone" series 2; "Good Omens" series 2; "Heartstopper" series 2)

Fred Thursday, to E Morse: I love you, you're my best friend and like a son or brother to me. I don't want to leave you behind, or neglect you. But I'm burned out, and exhausted, and scared, and you seem to be doing a lot better and meanwhile my son is disintegrating and my daughter is getting married and I am *so tired* and so terrified, so you can't be as much my priority right now as I'd like. It's hard for me to confide in anyone or let you help me. But I will try, and I do love you, so so much.

E Morse to Fred Thursday: I love you, you're my best friend and like a father or brother to me. I find it so hard to believe that you care about me, and I'm scared that everyone is leaving me behind yet again, and I'm hurt that you are, and I don't know how to help you. Please confide in me and let me try. I do love you, so so much.

Kaz Brekker, to Inej Ghafa: I love you, but I'm in a bad way and I don't know how I can be with you in a way that works for us both. But I do love you, so so much. Please come back one day.

Inej Ghafa, to Kaz Brekker: [actually she pretty much said it all, bless her] [but another affirmation of love would have gone well I think]

Aziraphale, to Crowley: we aren't going to agree on this, but I'm not leaving you behind because I don't love you. I think I'm doing the right thing. I'm scared and broken and everything is hard right now. But I love you, I ache for you, I know that you are good and kind and worthy and you don't need to be an angel for me to love you, *I will be back*.

Crowley, to Aziraphale: we aren't going to agree on this, but I'm not staying behind because I don't love you. I'm desperately worried about you and I wish I could change your mind. I'm scared and broken and everything is hard right now. I'm worried that you can't love me as I am. But I love you, I ache for you, I will try to trust you, *I will wait*.

Pretty much everyone in Heartstopper: ACTUALLY USED THEIR WORDS even if it took them a while, excellent, well played good gentlebeings. If Stephane Nelson can get his act together by s3 that'd be great (hey, Thibault has form for redeeming himself as a dad ;-) ), but Nick will cope if he doesn't. 9/10 at least for all the characters who aren't shits.

Disclaimer: this is not in any way a criticism of the writers of any of them except I think Endeavour, for I have... complicated feelings about that final episode, and whether doing That was actually really, totally necessary to set up Inspector Morse (I don't think it was, for at least two reasons, so it feels to me like gratuitous pain and the fucking up of a precious character arc tbh). But wrt Shadow and Bone and Good Omens? Fair play, that's brilliant storytelling, some things need to take their time, and romantic cliffhangers are awesome actually (provided they then get resolved at some point!). And Shadow and Bone has multiple awesome relationships, in some of which communication does actually happen. <3

But that doesn't stop me yearning for those characters to say those things, even though I think it's artistically better that the ones in S&B and GO didn't just yet. <3 Heartstopper is a different kind of show, where that would be less appropriate. But in S&B and GO it is actually brilliant. Just... ow. ;-)

Watching Heartstopper after the other three was rather a particular blessing tbh. :)

[icarusfrommars]

THE WORLD'S GREATEST DETECTIVE: ROUND 2

Alright folks, it's time for round two! This round brings in the final members of the competition not in the first round. Let's take a look at who figured out all the clues to make it to round 2, and who got stumped.

Sherlock Holmes VS L: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's most famous character was no match for the King of Cat and Mouse it seems. L managed to beat Sherlock handily, and now goes on to face Batman in round 2.

Mystery Inc. VS Angus McDonald: It seems 5 heads are better than 1. Mystery Inc. easily outmatched the boy wonder in round 1. The Scooby Gang will be moving on to face Columbo in round 2.

Agent Hank Schrader VS Agents Scully and Mulder: Even though Hank has taken down some of the most dangerous men in New Mexico, he wasn't able to compete with a duo that has gone up against threats of humanity itself. Scully and Mulder will be moving on to round 2, going up against Goro Akechi.

Benois Blanc VS Professor Layton: It seems that Layton's keen eye was able to prove itself better than Blanc's. Along with that, it seems his win gave him the confidence he needed to come out of retirement and announce a new adventure! But he's still got a competition to get to, and next round he's up against Connor.

Sam and Max VS Hercule Poirot: Just like Sir Doyle's detective, Dame Christie's own famous inspector was bested by the mad duo of Sam and Max. The two of them will go on to the next round and face off against Shuichi Saihara.

Basil of Baker Street VS Detective Pikachu: Even though the electric mouse might have been the cutest in the contest, the eclectic mouse pulled ahead in the competition. Basil will continue on to round 2 and face Jessica Fletcher.

Nancy Drew VS Nick Valentine: Nancy pulled ahead against the synth and snagged her spot in round 2. Her opponent next round will be Jessica Jones.

Dick Tracy VS The Hardy Boys: Even with all his gadgets and gizmos, Dick Tracy still lost against just a couple of brothers. The Hardy Boys will find themselves up against Auguste Dupin in round 2.

The round 2 polls will be rolling out shortly. Remember, vote for the better detective, not who is your favorite!

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (February 5-11, 2023)

Ted Thomas, the father of English dubbing in Hong Kong, passed away on November 26 last year at 93. A Briton who hopped from Naval intelligence to radio and television in the former colony, he founded Axis International in the 1960s and brought alone some of his coworkers for the ride. (The name was informal; as government employees, they weren't supposed to have side gigs.) The Axis troupe included Ron Oliphant (who also refined the scripts), Michael Kaye, Barry Haigh, Warren Rooke, Chris Hilton, Nick Kendall, John Wallace, Ian Wilson, Linda Masson, Mandy Cooke, and Angel Chapman.

Listing all their works would be nigh-impossible—so many have fallen through the cracks of history—but you can hear Thomas in The Secret of the Telegian (Police Inspector Kobayashi), Matango (Naoyuki Sakuta), Atragon (Captain Hachiro Jinguji and the High Priest of Mu), Dogora (Dr. Munakata), Gamera vs. Barugon (Kawajiri), Return of Daimajin (Genba Onikojima), Gamera vs. Gyaos (Tatsuemon Kanemaru), Godzilla vs. Gigan (Kubota and Godzilla himself), Godzilla vs. Megalon (Emperor Antonio), and Gamera Super Monster (the policeman and the narrator). If you're a fan of Shaw Brothers films, you've probably heard him in even more than that. He even went in front of the camera for Shaw's The Mighty Peking Man (above), playing a government official. With a resume like that, I can't help but associate his authoritative voice with toku dubs more than just about anyone else; I'd say Rik Thomas (no relation) and Andrea Kwan are the only ones in his weight class. Rest in peace.

Godzilla: Monster and Protectors - All Hail the King! concluded this week, with King Caesar giving Godzilla a helping hand against King Ghidorah, then briefly coming to blows with him as the tension between the kids psychically linked to them comes to a head. The pacing on these comics continues to be wonky, but artist Dan Schoening continues to show true Showa ambition with the fights. It ends on another sequel hook, which it had better get. (Maybe they'll tack on a third subtitle.) IDW's plans for Godzilla are mysterious right now; nothing is on the schedule except the next two Rivals issues. With the film series firing on all cylinders, I couldn't tell you what the holdup is.

Cleopatra Entertainment will be releasing Shin Ultraman to Blu-ray and DVD on June 13, while fellow MVD Entertainment label Epic Pictures will do the same with The Lake. The Shin Blu-ray will include the English dub, but no special features of note—disappointing but not surprising given how the U.S. home video releases for the live-action Attack on Titan films and Shin Godzilla went. The Lake is a Thai/Chinese giant monster flick with some seriously impressive practical effects. I've heard it's terrible aside from that, but whatever.

[forensicated]

03x10 - Skipper

TW: Rape and racism discussions in terms of the 80's when it was written and filmed.

Brian is singing A Policeman's Lot in the toilets as he's excited about new police pushbikes. He'll be in the briefing to discuss them.

June's father is in hospital as he's seriously ill. She's placed in CAD to be near the phone just incase with Alec onside with homemade cake for the full 8 hours. Bob is joining them on the street to take June's place to keep them up to strength.

Uniform has their little revenge against Brian brewing with CID co-operation. Operation Mushroom is so-called because he's kept in the dark about it and fed on shit 😂 "Nothing can go wrong, it's planning and teamwork, what we in the MET are known for!"

The Relief try to hide their laughter as Brian gets overly excited about the bikes. He wants 2 volunteers to take them for a test drive around a rather violent estate. He claims it's not as bad as they think and as Nick is an authorised cyclist he's 'volunteered' alongside Taffy. Both are made up about it (!)

Yorkie is on the front desk and humoring a regular about writing to a Duchess. It's clear he has a history and knowledge of how best to deal with him and is very polite to the man but Brian sticks his oar in and moans at Yorkie and calls him insensitive for doing something that makes the man happy.

(Occasionally I have a shufty on google maps at some of the places they walk past on the beat if particularly colourful or eye-catching to see what they're like now because of all the changes and gentrification in London since the 80's. Dinesh and Bob go for a wander past the East West Social Club on Cannon Street 8 mins in - Here it is in 1986 (scroll down a bit) it looks the same as in the ep (only a year later.). A nose down Cannon Street now on Google shows it completely different and it looks like most of the street has been knocked down!) Just after we get a bit (on the same road where you can see Cannon St REALLY has changed!) you can see a bloke stop and stare at Bob and Dinesh and the camera. 😂

Dinesh and Bob are sent to a break and enter nearby. When they arrive it turns out to not be a burglary but a rape. A woman is out for the count on the floor, her husband appears to be drunk and passed out and their son is angry and muttering. The son claims that they were all asleep and a black man with a knife forced the door open, "probably high on drugs like they all are". He took their money, grabbed the woman and forced himself on her. The son starts to cry (with no sign of tears) and says he passed out before he could get to the phone as all had been drinking heavily. He can't say when it happened, he just found her on the floor when he came round again.

Bob and Dinesh lift the woman and take her to her bed where she'd be more comfortable. The son orders them to 'get out there and pull some in, there's enough of 'em!' and that he'd know him if he saw him again. Bob calmly says they'll proceed with their inquiries and sends Dinesh out, saying he'll arrange for the police doctor and a WPC to call. The son refuses but Bob says it has to be done in cases of rape. He then points out that the intruder must have had a key as there's no sign of force on the door. "We probably never locked it." The son admits. Bob looks around and sees no sign of a break-in. He explains about how DNA works and proves beyond doubt who the rapist is and that family members will be the first tested. The man looks shamefaced and tells Bob to forget it, "I'm not sure... I... forget it." Bob glares at him and tells him he'll call back tomorrow when they're all sober. "Some stones are left unturned." he sighs to Dinesh.

As he walks off and leaves Dinesh behind, Inspector Kite is seen watching both of them from a car a little distance away.

Jim tries to get on the bus when a bloke drags him off from behind and tries to push in. Jim tells him to back off and they tussle with Jim trying to arrest him after the man punches him. Bob arrives as if from nowhere and helps arrest the man. In custody, the man insists he thought Jim was going to knife him if he'd let go and that Jim never identified himself as a police officer. Tom smiles and says it doesn't matter either way if he is a police officer or not; anyone can stop another creating a breach of the police or unrest.

SO3 are also involved in Operation Mushroom. "No wonder you've no time to do any work, Alec!" Roy laughs.

Reg brings a bundle of cases upstairs to Roy that have been thrown out by the CPS. "If you ask me this Crown Prosecution Service is one big cock up!" he tells Roy. "I didn't ask you, Reg!" Brownlow's PA is called Joan here (and only appears in the one episode). Reg complains to Brownlow that he doesn't agree with a civilian being placed on the front desk. He insists if people come into a police station then they want to see police, not a member of the public greeting them. "What's going to be next?" "A collator?" Charles drawls, looking pointedly at him.

"In the good old days you could get rid of a bastard like Emmerson []a case the CPS have thrown out] by planting a shotgun in his car!" Ted sighs. Roy tells him to stop pretending he doesn't care about the CPS when he knows that he does. All he wants is the CPS to accept 'good real evidence!'

Roy gives Jim a job of a hold-up that happened the night before at a filling station. "... And don't go by bus!" he tells him to Ted's amusement.

Brian speaks to Brownlow about an idea he has had and Charles makes a dig that he usually goes over his head with ideas. "Send it to heaven like you normally do." For a few moments he is worried that Brian wants him to ride one of the bicycles that have arrived that morning at a tree planting presentation. Thankfully he doesn't! Roy tries to get in to see Brownlow when Brian leaves, but he shouts "GO AWAY!" through the door.

Brian targets Bob for a 'little chat' about outstanding warrants. He claims they've been in Viv and Nick's pigeonholes since Thursday and today is Monday. He moans about Bob not making sure they'd ben chased up. Bob admits he doesn't check them regularly anymore because he knows that Brian will do it anyway so sees no point in duplicating the job. "Are you saying I interfere?" "Well it is your prerogative, sir but you're the first Inspector I've ever had who has felt the need to interfere." Bob has been a copper for 18 years at this point (since 1969 when, if he's the same age as Eric, he'd have been 29 so would be 47 here.) Brian claims the relief are unpunctual, scruffy and their locker room is filthy. Bob scoffs. "Warning? Oh yes we get plenty of them, I'll say that for you!" Brian warns him not to walk out when he loses his temper and Bob says he isn't he's standing up and there's no objective about that. Brian says that the new order of policing counts for him too and Bob tells him he's wearing regulation uniform, his boots are shiny and there's nothing out of order to be found in his locker. Brian just smiles a nasty smile and says he knows 'all your lads watering holes, Sergeant. I've made it my business to find out. And yours as well. And may I say scrounging about in tea stores is the wrong impression to give a young officer like Patel." Bob realises he's been spied on but Brian calls it supervision and claims Bob neglects it.

Ken delivers some 'urgent' post to Brian who finally lets Bob leave. Brian rings Roy and asks if he can fill in for him at the tree planting presentation as 'something important has popped up' He assures him with a smile that it's no problem.

Operation Mushroom is a go go.

Jim speaks to a young girl about the hold-up. She gave him what was in the till, approx £51, and tells Jim he didn't speak but he was 'well hung' as the only piece of clothing he was wearing was a mask!

Yorkie takes a delivery to Brian - inside are three bottles with numbers on them and an instruction for him to collect mud samples from along the river. It's a super secret task only he can do.

Jim reports to Roy that the petrol station armed robber did it naked and Roy says he already knows because he's just done another in broad daylight. Jim asks Reg if he knows of any armed robber who has a tendency to do it naked with a gun that's likely to be a replica. Reg claims he has one with a toy gun but wears a tracksuit. It's the right area and a tracksuit would be easy to remove.

Alec calls Bob and asks him what he's up to. "Counting to 10 and thinking of my pension." June calls in that a woman is worried about her elderly neighbours and asks him to go and visit them to see if everything is alright. She hasn't heard anything for 2 days and didn't say they were going away anywhere.

Brian fusses with the bikes and tells Taffy and Nick that they're going for sensitive policing and to use their discretion if they see anything out of order. He takes himself off to Tower Beach to take mud samples. At the same time, a man is taking pictures of him.

Bob shouts through the doorway of a flat to see if anyone answers before looking in the windows. He can't see anything so shouts again before breaking in after spotting a light on. Sadly Mrs Pollard has passed away and her husband is laid in bed holding her and hasn't moved since it happened. He won't allow Bob to touch her and says she's fine where she is. Bob calls for the mortuary van and the doctor to visit and starts to make the man a cup of tea. Now he's calmer he recognises Bob as Sgt Cryer who dealt when his wife lost his purse. Bob engages him in conversation and finds out they've been married for 60 years. He refuses to let her go without him.

Brian goes to collect his next sample, a short distance from Tower Bridge.

Jim receives another call where his naked suspect is still in place at a filling station. Mike speeds over and the two run in. The woman separated him from his gun and wrestled him into the store room.

Roy asks Charles to complain about the CPS but he insists that nothing would happen, even if all the Superintendents in the MET complained. He sends Nick and Taffy out on their bikes with those left in the station sneaking out behind them and singing Daisy Daisy as they cycle off.

Brian changes his office sign to Private after carrying his samples inside and makes a telephone call, asking for Superintendent Chivers. "I've got the samples, shall I arrange delivery or will you send someone?" he asks. When Chivers has no idea what he's talking about he explains that he was personally asked to gather samples of mud to test to see if a missing canister of highly toxic waste lost in the Thames is leaking and he'd had a message through CAD and a letter. Chivers tells him he's clearly been the victim of a practical joke!

Brownlow attends the tree planting with Roy and other important community figures on the rough estate and makes a speech. Nick and Taffy 'play' with local youngsters and lift them up for pictures, earning several blows to their hats. As soon as they leave, a local dog makes its presence known by peeing up the side of the new tree!

Brian sits with the samples on his desk as Yorkie knocks. He doesn't answer so Yorkie opens the door anyway and hands him an envelope telling him he's been sent it from SO3 (forensics) - it's the pictures of him gathering the mud.

With the man asleep, Bob helps the doctor declare the death of Mrs Pollard and the attendants start to remove the body of the man's wife. He wakes to find her being moved and breaks down with Bob comforting him as she's carried out.

June receives a telephone call from the hospital to let her know that her father has deteriorated. "... Are you trying to tell me he's dead?" she asks quietly, before agreeing to head over immediately.

Alec updates Bob about the prank they carried out on Brian. Bob thinks it's one thing the relief having a pop but it undermines the authority of a senior officer when the Sergeants get involved. "Yeah we thought you might be a bit po-faced about it and that's why we didn't tell you." Alec adds. "As it happens I agree with you, the man is a prat!" but he realises Brian is young and clever enough to adapt unlike them. He then asks how June is but Alec doesn't know anything outside of the telephone call from the hospital. "Bet she was glad of your care and attention." he sighs.

Bob knocks on Brian's door where he's singing A Policeman's Lot again. "Come to gloat have you?" he asks, showing him the mud. Bob admits he wasn't involved but he knows that the others will think he had it coming. He tells him that he doesn't find it funny himself. Brian thanks him for his honesty and apologises for overstepping the mark earlier but says he won't let being the butt of a practical joke stop him from doing his job.

[blmpff]

CURRENT ASK GAME

thanks @colourme-feral ^^

Current time: 11am

Current activity: scrolling socials at work lol

Currently thinking about: my replacement at work I'll be teaching starting tomorrow, we're finally quitting babes

Current favorite song: a bunch by Disturbed, I've been listening to all their albums on a loop for a few days now. Honorable mention to Khao's song from OFTS, it's the first ost since LOM that I liked enough to add on Spotify, guess I should redo that "5 songs from qls you listen to" tag now lol

Currently reading: do bl metas on here count?

Currently watching:

- actually watching: Kiseki: Dear To Me, Minato's Laundromat 2, Why R U Korea, My Personal Weatherman, Love Class 2, I Feel You Linger In The Air, Only Friends, Love In Translation, Earth and Bank's bit in My Universe

- fastforwarding through: Be Mine Superstar, Jun&Jun, Dangerous Romance, Hidden Agenda, Venus in the Sky (I feel like I'm missing something, mdl is glitching on me and I think it doesn't show everything)

- rewatching: lowkey Semantic Error and Under The Skin (yes still, no comment). Non-bl: Inspector Koo for the very side gay situationship cannonship - corrected by @colourme-feral <3

Current favorite character: Cha(r)n from LoA, Boston and Nick from OFTS - they are just so deliciously messy 🤌

Current WIP: some parallels and favorite shots posts

No pressure tags xoxo: @troubled-mind @neuroticbookworm @danthebookworm @solaarflaree @lelephantsnail @firstkanaphans @thedaughtersoflilith

[identity-library]

Disability (Films)

A:

All Together Now (2020)

Chad (Wheelchair User)

Ricky (Autistic)

A Quiet Place (2018)

Regan Abbott (Deaf)

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)

Kashekim Nedakh (Blind)

Avengers: Civil War (2016)

James "Rhodey" Rhodes (Paralyzed, Wheelchair User)

B:

Big Hero 6 (2014)

The Ringleader (Partially Blind)

Brave (2012)

King Fergus (Amputee)

C:

Cha Cha Real Smooth (2022)

Lola (Autistic)

Children of a Lesser God (1986)

Sarah Norman (Deaf)

Christmas Ever After (2020)

Izzi Simmons (Wheelchair User)

CODA (2021)

Frank Rossi (Deaf)

Jackie Rossi (Deaf)

Leo Rossi (Deaf)

Cyrano (2021)

Cyrano de Bergerac (Dwarfism)

D:

Dumbo (2019)

Holt Farrier (Amputee)

E:

Eastrail 177 (Trilogy)

Elijah Price/Dr. Glass (Osteogenesis Imperfecta, Cane/Wheelchair User)

Elio (2025)

Elio Solis (Partially Blind)

Eternals (2021)

Makkari (Deaf)

F:

Feel the Beat (2020)

Zuzu (Deaf)

Finding Dory (2016)

Destiny (Low Vision)

Dory (Short-Term Memory Loss)

Sheldon (Allergies)

Finding Nemo (2003)

Dory (Short-Term Memory Loss)

Nemo (Underdeveloped Fin)

Sheldon (Allergies)

Forgive Us Our Trespasses (2022)

Paul (Limb Difference)

Forrest Gump (1994)

Daniel Taylor (Amputee)

Forrest Gump (Unspecified Intellectual Disability)

Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)

David (Deaf)

G:

H:

Home on the Range (2004)

Lucky Jack (Amputee)

How to Train Your Dragon (Franchise)

Gobber the Belch (Amputee)

Hiccup Horrendous Haddock ||| (Amputee)

Toothless (Amputee)

I:

Inside I'm Dancing (2004)

Michael Connolly (Cerebral Palsy, Wheelchair User)

Rory O'Shea (Muscular Dystrophy, Wheelchair User)

Inspector Gadget (Franchise)

Sanford "Dr. Claw" Scolex (Amputee)

J:

James and the Giant Peach (1996)

Earthworm (Blind)

Glowworm (Partially Deaf)

K:

Keep the Change (2017)

David Cohen (Autistic)

Sarah Silverstein (Autistic)

L:

Lemonade Mouth (2011)

Alex (Unspecified Disability, Wheelchair User)

Love & Other Drugs (2010)

Maggie Murdock (Parkinson's Disease)

Luca (2021)

Massimo Marcovaldo (One Arm)

M:

Margarita with a Straw (2014)

Laila Kapoor (Cerebral Palsy, Wheelchair User)

Marvel (Franchise)

James "Bucky" Barnes (Amputee)

Nebula (Amputee)

Nick Fury (Partially Blind)

Odin Borson (Partially Blind)

Phil Coulson (Amputee)

Stephen Strange (Nerve Damage)

Thor (Amputee, Partially Blind)

Maya and the Three (2021)

Zatz (Partially Blind)

Muppet Treasure Island (1996)

Blind Pew (Blind)

Long John Silver (Amputee)

N:

Newsies (1992)

Crutchy (Limited Mobility, Crutch User)

Nimona (2023)

Ballister Boldheart (Amputee, Prosthetic User)

O:

P:

Peter Pan (1953)

Captain Hook (Amputee)

Pinocchio (1940)

Gideon (Mute)

Pinocchio (2022)

Fabiana (Unspecified Disability, Limp)

Pirates of the Caribbean (Franchise)

Mistress Ching (Blind)

Q:

R:

Rogue One (2016)

Chirrut Îmwe (Blind)

Run (2020)

Chloe Sherman (Asthma, Diabetes, Heart Condition, Paralyzed, Wheelchair User)

S:

Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021)

Razor Fist (Amputee)

Sharp Stick (2022)

Zach (Down Syndrome)

Shazam! (2019)

Frederick "Freddy" Freeman (Limited Mobility)

Ship of Fools (1965)

Carl Glocken (Dwarfism)

Sound of Metal (2019)

Joe (Deafened)

Ruben Stone (Hard of Hearing)

Spies in Disguise (2019)

Killian (Amputee)

Star Wars (Franchise)

Darth Maul (Multi-Limb Amputee)

Luke Skywalker (Amputee)

Strange World (2022)

Legend (Amputee)

T:

The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

Homer Parish (Multi-Limb Amputee)

The Fundamentals of Caring (2016)

Trevor (Muscular Dystrophy)

The Great Mouse Detective (1986)

Fidget the Bat (Amputee)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)

Quasimodo (Hunchback)

The Lone Ranger (2013)

Red Harrington (Amputee)

The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Dr. Finkelstein (Unspecified Disability, Wheelchair User)

The Peanut Butter Falcon (2019)

Zak (Down Syndrome)

The Princess and the Frog (2009)

Mama Odie (Blind)

The Three Musketeers (1993)

Captain Rochefort (Partially Blind)

The Village (2004)

Ivy Walker (Blind)

Noah Percy (Unspecified Developmental Disability)

Tinkerbell (Franchise)

Lord Milori (Amputee, Limited Mobility)

Rani (Amputee, Limited Mobility)

Treasure Island (1950)

Long John Silver (Amputee, Crutch User)

Treasure Planet (2002)

John Silver (Multi-Limb Amputee)

U:

V:

W:

Wish (2023)

Dahlia (Unspecified Disability, Crutch User)

Wonder (2017)

Auggie Pullman (Facial Difference)

X:

Y:

Z:

#:

101 Dalmatians (1996)

Mr. Skinner (Mute)

[foreverknightalways]

Natalie looks over her shoulder while Capt. Stonetree and Inspector Fiori talk. Stonetree and Fiori walk away. Nick and Schanke walk in. Natalie asks, So, what happens now? Schanke answer, We get her statement typed up, she signs it, and we all go home.

[kingsbridgelibraryteens]

Books On Film: Penguin Pool Murder (1932)

One of my favorite ways to spend my time is by watching old funny mystery movies that were very smart and also packed a lot of plot and a lot of laughs into a very short running time. This movie was the first of a series featuring a character named (I kid you not) Hildegarde Withers as a school teacher who uses her brains to help the police solve a crime. Hildegarde Withers was created by the author Stuart Palmer, and was featured in many novels and short stories, but THIS was her first appearance on the silver screen.

Because this movie is just one hour and ten minutes long (!!!) the plot unfolds very quickly. Most of the story takes place at the New York Aquarium, where (SPOILER ALERT) someone gets murdered! Oh, and before you ask, "Do you mean the New York Aquarium in Coney Island?" the answer is NO. Stay tuned for more details about the filming location coming soon ... but let's get back to the movie for now!

Here are some shots that show what the interior of the New York Aquarium looked like back in 1932:

And here's one of our first murder suspects, before the murder has been committed!

If your mysterious caller is having a financial crisis and needs $5,000 by Wednesday, that's never a good sign. And hey, it's 1932, so there are plenty of problems with people who lost money or are still losing money through the stock market.

Guess what? This lady's husband is a shady stockbroker. His clients don't like him, and his wife isn't too thrilled with him either. GUESS WHO THE MURDER VICTIM WILL BE!!!

Also, is this her "hanging around the house" outfit?

Also, WOW, WHAT A HOUSE!!!

Meanwhile, back at the aquarium ...

Here is one of the stars of our picture. She doesn't get any credit, but she does get a lot of screen time! Oh, and BTW, we only see one penguin, EVER.

And now, on to the biggest HUMAN star of this picture:

Hildegarde Withers has just tripped a pickpocket with her umbrella. She did this while escorting her class of students around the aquarium. And, I don't know if this was unusual for the 1930s or not, but based on my love of old movies, I was pleasantly surprised to see such a multicultural mix of students in her class!

Uh-oh. Her hat pin is missing. Is this significant? YES. This will be an important plot point.

Because this was set in a time when EVERYONE put a hat on before they went out the door, this story incorporated plenty of plot points connected to hats. What kind of hat the victim wore, what kind of hat the murderer wore, what kind of hat a suspect wears, a mysterious disappearing / reappearing hat band, PLUS this disappearing / reappearing hat pin are ALL elements of the plot!

One of Miss Withers' students is obsessed with watching the penguin. Except he keeps calling it a duck. It's significant that he goes over to watch the penguin and she goes over to bring him back to the group, because MOMENTS LATER:

SPLASH! A body falls into the penguin pool.

Who is this person? Is he alive or dead? Did he fall or was he pushed? And ... what kind of hat is floating in the pool with him?

Huh. A lawyer just showed up in the nick of time to catch the pretty lady when she fainted. It turns out that the (definitely dead) guy in the penguin pool is her husband.

Well, let's see. The dead guy's wife, the man she was meeting at the aquarium, the aquarium director (who lost money because of some shady investment practices), the pickpocket, plus THIS guy ... yeah, the suspect list is growing by the minute!

Now we're going to take a brief photo interlude to look at a video clip. This is important so that you can see the inspector interviewing the suspects, so you can hear Ms. Withers' amazingly snooty voice, and so you can see her snarky and hilarious rapport with the inspector. Does he like her? Does he respect her? Or ... could there be the beginning of something more? You'll also get to see the catwalk area behind the tanks, and the cop apprehending that "deaf mute" pickpocket who is PROBABLY not using actual sign language!

Oh, and when the inspector says, "Looks like another Snyder-Gray killing to me" he's referring to a famous crime that was front page news just a few years earlier.

Something I don't think I've discussed enough about this movie and others like it is the fact that it's a murder mystery COMEDY, which means that in between pieces of the murder investigation, there are weird and quirky conversations like this:

And now, back to the dramatic lighting, back to the hats, and BACK TO THE MURDER ...

Then Ms. Withers questioned a woman, and their conversation sent me to Google to untangle her old-timey lingo:

"Put the bee on"

Lydia Pinkham

As we near the end of the movie (wow, this is a LOT to pack into one hour and ten minutes!) we've got:

DRAMATIC HEADLINES!

DRAMATIC LIGHTING!

A DRAMATIC HAT BAND DEVELOPMENT (It turned out that the penguin ate it!)

A DRAMATIC PENGUIN!

And finally, AFTER the murder is solved, and no I won't tell you whodunit ...

A DRAMATIC ... PROPOSAL??????

Anyway, if I didn't make it clear, I love this weird funny ridiculous twisty mystery to pieces.

FYI, I *was* going to make this into a longer post (if you can imagine that) incorporating my staycation journey to Castle Clinton in Battery Park so I could see the location of The New York Aquarium back in 1932. But I figure that your eyes and your brain probably need a break right now.

So, if you'd like to see the pictures of Castle Clinton that I took last week (plus a few more screenshots of Penguin Pool Murder, because why the heck not?) then please CLICK HERE!

If you'd like to take a deeper dive (ha!) into Penguin Pool Murder, Hildegarde Withers, and Stuart Palmer, here are some links to explore:

New York Public Library

IMDB

Turner Classic Movies

Pre-Code.com

[fancoloredglasses]

Apokolips...NOW! (RIP Jack Kirby Dan Turpin)

[All images are owned by DC Comics and Warner Bros-Discovery. I hope I’m too small fry to sue…]

[QUICK NOTE: This review is going to go a bit more off the rails than normal, as it deals with history of the characters involved (and, in some cases, their creator) beyond the scope of the Dini-verse]

Following Crisis, Metropolis gained a few new regular faces in the pages of Superman’s titles, as well as a new faction (besides LexCorp): Metropolis PD’s Special Crimes Unit (SCU), whose job it is to deal with super-powered menaces (pretty much every city has one, even ones that don’t have a resident super hero, since you never know when a super villain might pack up and move to another city with easier pickings)

Heading up Metropolis’s SCU is Inspector Maggie Sawyer, who started out wanting to push Superman out of the City of Tomorrow (good luck with that! If Lex Luthor couldn’t manage it…), but soon became an ally. In the comics, she was revealed to be gay (which Luthor tried to use against her) and eventually transferred to Gotham (no clue if her sexuality had anything to do with that, but it was the late 80s and publicly being part of the LGBTQ community was even rougher than it is today)

Sawyer is also head of the SCU in the Animated Series, but her sexuality is never directly addressed (though there are hints that got past Standards and Practices)

Sawyer’s second-in-command is Inspector Dan Turpin (whom the papers dubbed “the Unstoppable Cop” due to his resiliency) His design was modeled in homage to…

(Thanks to SF Gateway)

Jack Kirby, who helped create most of Marvel’s most iconic characters (including Captain America, the X-Men, Thor, the Fantastic Four, and Nick Fury). When he left Marvel after a contract dispute, he went to DC Comics where he created the New Gods (more on them later) Kirby passed away two years before Superman: the Animated Series debuted. No doubt he would’ve been amused and/or honored.

[NOTE: There are a LOT of Easter Eggs related to Kirby in this episode. I’ll try to hit them all, but if I miss any, please let me know]

Anyway, enough back story, on to the subject of this review. If you would like to watch it, it’s available on Max or behind your favorite paywall.

We open with an armored car (carrying $20 million in confiscated money) with a police escort, with Sawyer in the lead vehicle, entering a secure facility.

Meanwhile, outside…something latches on to the facility with aloud THUMP.

That doesn’t look very friendly. The flying vehicle (we’ll just call it a hovertank) blows a hole in the wall. Sawyer gets on her car’s radio to call for backup, but the hovertank blows up her car and she barely gets out in time. However, the explosion throws her across the room!(I’m sure she’ll be fine, right?) Turpin goes to check on her, but she’s unconscious at the very least.

In the meantime, the hovertank grapples onto the armored truck and flies away.

However, they don’t get far as Big Blue shows up to stop them. However, they launch a sonic device that shatters nearby windows and plays havoc with everyone’s ears until Superman manages to destroy it with his heat vision. Naturally, the hovertank gets away while Superman is busy recovering.

Later, at Metropolis General Hospital, Sawyer is recovering from her injuries. Turpin vows to nail the bastards who did this (in much more kid-friendly terms)

…but Sawyer reminds him that he’s in charge of the SCU until she recovers, so all eyes will be on him.

(The woman by her side is Toby Raynes (voiced by SNL alum Laraine Newman) who was Maggie Sawyer’s lover in the comics. Their relationship isn’t mentioned in the series, so most viewers would just think they’re friends)

Meanwhile, at the mansion of mob boss Bruno Mannheim…

Well, now we know who owns the hovertank. While Mannheim gloats, his bracelet flashes, so he shoos his goons away so he can speak to his benefactor.

OK, anyone familiar with DC Comics will know who this is, but this is his first appearance in the Dini-verse (though not on TV, as he was the primary antagonist for the last two seasons of Superfriends), so let me explain…

Darkseid was created by Jack Kirby as the primary antagonist in his New Gods series. He is the ruler of a world known as Apokolips and one of the major Big Bads in the DC multiverse, able to go toe-to-toe with Superman and (usually) give at least as good as he gets. He will be explained further later.

Darkseid (voiced by Michael Ironside, who played Lt. Rasczak in Starship Troopers and Ham Tyler in the 80s V franchise) is not happy that Mannheim is using his technology for petty theft (to a god $20 million is chump change) Darkseid then disintegrates the pile of cash. Mannheim gets the message and toes the line.

[Quick note on Bruno Mannheim: In the comics, Mannheim heads up a terrorist organization known as Intergang that constantly gives Superman trouble. Three guesses who supplies Intergang with weapons]

The next day, Turpin holds a press conference, saying they can’t rely on Superman to deal with the vehicle.

Look, I’m not saying the Unstoppable Cop isn’t brave or capable, but one would think he shouldn’t be so cocky against something that could stop Superman.

Suddenly, the air crackles and a portal opens with a deafening boom (why do you think they’re called “Boom Tubes”?) and from it emerges…

The man on the weird apparatus crashes to the floor, sliding against the far wall (well, I guess that’s one way to make an entrance) He then staggers to his feet, yelling that about warning Superman before collapsing before he could say about what.

The next day…

(Thanks to The Night Beyond)

Told you I’d get back to Darkseid (as well as the rest of the New Gods)

Orion confirms the hovertank is from Apokolips offers his assistance against Darkseid’s forces.

[Quick side note: Why is it that alien invaders always start with the major population centers where all of the superheroes and military forces hang out? I mean, why not start in a less developed region like Africa or South America…or even better, one that’s difficult for terrestrial forces to reach like Australia or Antarctica? That way they could build a base of operations in which to obtain resources to properly attack the bigger threats to their conquest.

OK, soapbox moment over. Back to our story!]

(“Sinnott Air Force Base” is an Easter egg, referring to artist Joe Sinnott, who often worked with Kirby)

At Sinnott Air base, the hovertank has found a friend and the pair are destroying the fighter jets and the flight tower. A couple of jets on patrol fire on the hovertanks, which is about as effective as you’d expect. Then Superman and Orion fly onto the scene.

…but the Man of Tomorrow doesn’t fare any better. Fortunately, Orion is on hand to free Superman and down the hovertanks.

Back at Mannheim's estate, Darkseid checks in.

(Thanks again to The Night Beyond)

[Yes, the nuclear plant is another Easter egg. The island is named after Dick Ayers, another artist who worked with Kirby]

[Also, yes Orion was the infant Darkseid gave up. The child of Highfather was named Scott Free and eventually escaped Apokolips with his new wife Big Barda to become the World’s Greatest Escape Artist, Mister Miracle]

I think Superman will need not only Orion to deal with Darkseid, but the Flash to help evacuate Metropolis before it becomes an irradiated husk.

Professor Hamilton informs Superman that the explosion caused the atomic core to start burning its way straight to the Earth’s core.

In other words, it will transform Earth into another Apokolips!

Speaking of Apokolips, Darkseid knows Superman will attempt to stop the chain reaction, so sends one of his lieutenants to deal with him.

(Really? Steppenwolf? Was Pink Floyd taken?)

I’m not sure if he’s up for the task, but he is born to be wild.

Back on Earth, Superman attempts to contact Orion for help, but Orion’s device doesn’t work, having been fried by the EMP from the explosion.

So Earth is on their own unless they can find a Boom Tube lying around.

Funny I should mention that, because as Superman flies toward the reactor in an attempt to somehow stop it from burrowing…

Unfortunately, it’s not Orion, but Steppenwolf, riding in on a magic carpet his sky chariot. Steppenwolf sends his band-mates Parademons to attack the Man of Steel, but that ends about as you’d expect.

While Superman is distracted, Steppenwolf (sorry, I don’t have any other jokes handy; I only know two of their songs) fires an energy net that weakens Superman and sends him crashing to the ground.

The Parademons pile on to Superman, who is having trouble fighting back in his weakened state.

Fortunately, an attack helicopter fires on Steppenwolf, giving Superman a breather. Now who would be crazy enough to lead an attack on one of Darkseid’s elites?

…yeah, that tracks. Turpin then orders the SWAT team to attack the Parademons that are still giving Superman issues. With the MPD having things well in hand (for now...I mean, they are Darkseid’s forces), Superman is free to do what he was trying to do.

And he does indeed put it out by tunneling repeatedly through the ocean floor into the reaction’s path, extinguishing it (of course, that likely irradiated Metropolis Harbor, but who’s counting?)

This takes a lot out of Superman, so he takes a moment to catch his breath. Naturally…

…Darkseid takes that moment to make his presence known. He then hits Superman with his Omega Beams (think heat vision cranked up to 1,000), which takes the last of his reserves.

On the ground, Turpin is leading an increasingly failing defense against the Parademons.

(hey, you can’t say he’s not trying!)

However, Darkseid shows up on a war machine…

...with Superman displayed like a trophy.

Darkseid announces his intentions to conquer Earth and demands their surrender (and you’re making them in Metropolis? I mean, I know Lex Luthor lives there, but you’d think he’d make demands in Washington DC after leveling Metropolis)

Yeah, that’s on-brand for Turpin.

He then knocks out a Parademon, takes his energy lance and throws it at the war machine.

Nice shot, Dan!

Superman then manages to free himself and is ready for Round Two when more Boom Tubes open, and forces from New Genesis, led by Orion, emerge.

Orion tells Darkseid to shove off or risk war with New Genesis. Darkseid relents.

(Thanks to JayJoker958)

Rather fitting that someone who looks like an homage to Jack Kirby was killed by one of Kirby’s creations.

Quick note: There are a few Easter eggs that were in the original broadcast of Dan Turpin’s funeral that WB, for obvious reasons, made the animators re-animate and take out (they can be seen if you watch the episode on Max)

…Kirby’s co-collaborator at Marvel, Stan Lee

…along with Kirby’s creations Nick Fury, the Fantastic Four (well, three of them; Ben Grimm couldn’t make it), and Black Panther.

If you spot any others, please let me know!