War of Moomin Against Totoro, Totoro Against Moomin

(No Jake von Slatt artifact was harmed during the events described in this blog post.)Ever since Ann and I returned from the Carolinas with Jake von Slatt's Bassington & Smith Brain, featured in the The Thackery T. Lambshead Cabinet of Curiosities it's been nothing but trouble. Our cats will have nothing to do with it. It emits strange sounds and odors in the middle of the night. Flashes of electricity have appeared under the bell jar, appearing to reveal rips in the very fabric of space and time.Even worse, the ongoing conflict between Moomins and Totoros previously detailed in this post has been brought into the house because of the presence of the Bassington & Smith Brain. It has quickly become the flashpoint for an ongoing, smoldering battle...as this series of still photographs demonstrates...The Moomins and what temporary allies they could find within the house chose the high ground within the psychotronic field of the Jake von Slatt Bassington & Smith Brain, the emanations temporarily hiding their presence from the adorable enemy.However, they were soon found out and Moomintroll made a great sacrifice in placing the belljar over the brain, to protect Moominpappa and friends, leaving himself exposed beyond the glass.The stage seemed set for a long siege...with a clear numerical advantage, at least in terms of cute, disembodied heads, for the Moomins.Moomintroll peered nervously around the bell jar, wondering which side the mecha-lizard might choose. Long, long ago, he and the mecha-lizard had gone on a drunken pub crawl through Helsinki and become fast friends, but he didn't know if the creature remembered.As it turned out...the mecha-lizard did remember...Suddenly, with its hired guns switching sides, the totoro seemed not only small, but utterly alone in its tiny, almost unbearable cuteness.Leaving the totoro with only one option: to exponentially increase both its cuteness and its fluffiness, leaving Moominpappa seeming wooden and two-dimensional, despite his colorful and crazy past. "ROOOOOARRRRRRR!" said totoro. "Where's Moominmamma?" Moominpappa groused, then remembered she'd told him a few weeks ago she would have no part in this foolishness.The stand-off continues as of this hour.