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radylis · 2 months ago

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SPM Theory: Merloo and the Fourth Pure Heart

«The Ancients traveled to many worlds to entrust people with Pure Hearts. It was to keep them safe from destruction or misuse by those with evil hearts. The Pure Hearts were drawn by their own power toward those strong with love. The Ancients used this trait to find suitable guardians in each world. And a few romances also began as a result of these little journeys… Many of the Ancients who found guardians fell in love with those they met. And so they lived their days happily in the world they'd visited out of duty. This is how the legend of the hero was passed down to future generations…»

This is one of Garson's stories from Super Paper Mario. In it, it's explained that the Ancients decided to entrust the Pure Hearts to well-meaning people in different worlds for safekeeping until the hero arrived.

However, although there's a great emphasis in the guardians here, there is one Pure Heart whose guardian we know nothing about...

Let's start with a little recap. During SPM's events, Mario and company find the Pure Hearts in the following places:

❤️ The First Pure Heart is given to Mario by Merlon in Flipside.

🧡 The Second Pure Heart is given to Mario by Merlumina in Yold Ruins, with Fracktail also serving as a guardian to it.

💛 The Third Pure Heart is obtained from Merlee and it was hidden within her Mansion.

💚 The Fourth Pure Heart is found within Fort Francis, with Tippi's happiness releasing it from its hiding place.

🩵 The Fifth Pure Heart is handed over by Squirps, prince of the lost kingdom of Squirpia.

💙 The Sixth Pure Heart is obtained from the Floro Sapiens, who explain that King Croacus IV was its current owner.

💜 The Seventh Pure Heart is kept at Sammer’s Kingdom, with the current King Sammer being its guardian and, thus, the one who has to give it to the heroes (or rather, the one who should have given it to the heroes).

🤍 The Eighth Pure Heart, lastly, was entrusted to Jaydes and Grambi, rulers of The Underwhere and The Overthere respectively, who transformed it into their daughter, Luvbi. In the end, Luvbi herself decided to go with the heroes, reverting back to her original form and accepting her fate as the final Heart.

Notice something strange? There was exactly one Pure Heart that wasn’t given to the heroes by anyone. That's right; it's the fourth one, the green Pure Heart...

All the other Pure Hearts were being guarded by at least one person (although in Croacus' case, he wasn't exactly "guarding" it). Yet the green Pure Heart was just found inside a fortress/castle.

Here's what Merlon says about it when you return to Flipside after completing Chapter 3:

«I think that castle was once a dwelling of the Ancients I told you of earlier. It seems that my ancestors have roamed far and wide in their dimensional travels. “In the castle beyond the great sea, we hid a Pure Heart and sealed it safely…” Yes, I remember reading such a passage in the Light Prognosticus. The seal could only have been broken by a powerful pulse of love and trust…»

Isn't it strange that the Ancients just seemingly hid a Pure Heart within a random castle they found and assigned no sort of protection to it except for a seal?

In Garson's story, it's stated that the Pure Hearts were entrusted to "suitable guardians", and so it'd be more believable to think that there used to be a guardian for the green Pure Heart as well.

And I believe this Pure Heart's guardian (or, at least, its original guardian) was none other than Merloo.

Now, if you're part of SPM's fandom you'll probably already know that Merloo has been the subject of much theorizing; he's a quite mysterious figure described as "a great magician who could control dimensions" and, allegedlly, the writer of the Light Prognosticus too (although Merlumina is also stated to be its writer).

Nothing more is known about Merloo himself... And there aren't any Ancient-related characters who look like him in-game, unlike with the other three sages we hear about in SPM...

But why Merloo as the green Pure Heart's guardian? Well, that's because I think the other three sages were also entrusted with a Pure Heart each...

My evidence? The fact that another of Garson's stories sheds light on Merlumina's sister, who was tasked with finding one of these suitable guardians. She fell in love with said guardian, the King Sammer of that time, ultimately marrying him and having 100 kids together; this means that the King Sammer we meet in SPM (who is the purple Pure Heart's current guardian) is a descendant of them.

All of this aligns with the Garson story I cited at the beginning of this post. But, considering Garson spoke in plural ("Many of the Ancients who found guardians fell in love with those they met"), this means Merlumina's sister wasn't the only case of an "ancient x guardian" couple happening...

Let's take a look at the other Ancients we know of:

Merlight is stated to be a "distant ancestor" of Merlon, who at the time of SPM is in possession of the red Pure Heart.

Merlumina is an ancestor of Old Man Watchitt, and her spirit can be found in the same dimension/world as him, guarding the orange Pure Heart.

Merlimbis is a "direct ancestor" of both Merluvlee and Merlee; the current yellow Pure Heart's owner is Merlee.

Isn't it fair for us to assume that they were also tasked with finding guardians, fell in love with them, and decided to stay in the worlds they'd visited out of duty, as Garson's story says? Well, in Merlight's case, he designed Flipside/Flopside, so he had no other option than to remain there to ensure the city's correct functioning, I suppose... But I'm getting off-track.

Returning to the matter at hand: once again we can see that Merloo's name hasn't been brought up... He's the only sage whose descendants are completely unknown to the player.

If we follow my reasoning, we have Merlight, Merlumina and Merlimbis guarding the red, orange and yellow Pure Hearts alongside their spouses, respectively. Or rather, their descendants (except for Merlumina's case; I have an idea on why this could be, but that's for another day...).

The thing is that the red, orange and yellow Pure Hearts are the first three Pure Hearts encountered in-game. So, it wouldn't be irrational to assume that Merloo was also entrusted with the next Pure Heart after those. Which, no surprise, is the green Pure Heart.

So, to recap, Merloo went to The Bitlands, found a suitable guardian, and fell in love with them (just like the rest of the sages), staying in The Bitlands for the rest of his life and eventually passing on the responsibility of protectiing the green Pure Heart to his children, who in turn passed it on to their own children, and so on...

But what happened to their castle, then? Why is it now Fort Francis?

Honestly, I have no idea for why this the way it is.

Perhaps they were forced to flee due to unknown circumstances, with no other option than to leave the Pure Heart behind? Perhaps they all died due to some illness or attack, only managing to put an emergency seal on the Pure Heart before passing away?

I'm afraid, the answer shall remain a mystery forevermore...

However, I would like to say that there are some indications that hint at the possibility of a descendant of Merloo's being encountered in-game by the heroes...

Dimentio is quite the enigmatic character, isn't he?

He's a magician with great dimensional powers, just like Merloo, even being able to create his own pocket dimension!

Not only that, but he seemed to know quite a lot about the Pure Hearts and the Dark Prognosticus' final prophecy even before meeting Count Bleck...

On top of that, the only time Dimentio is fought against in SPM outside of Castle Bleck is, precisely, in The Bitlands...

Moreover, Dimentio seems to be aware of where the entrance to Merlumina's chamber (where the orange Pure Heart is hidden) is exactly located, and he has no trouble messing with Fracktail's mind!

Furthermore, how did Dimentio go to Flipside? How was he aware of its existence? And how was he able to send the heroes to The Underwhere and The Overthere? Also, all these places hid a Pure Heart as well...

Lastly, Dimentio knew that Jaydes' power could restore a damaged Pure Heart...

It's as if he had been taught all of these facts by someone, don't you think?

This is all suspicious...

...Quite suspicious, indeed...

#super mario #paper mario #super paper mario #spm #spm merloo #spm merlumina #spm merlight #spm merlimbis #spm merlon #spm merlee #merlee spm #dimentio #tribe of ancients #my theory #hope this doesn't have any spelling or grammar mistakes #i feel like i've spent hours looking at this #so it's about time I just let it leave my drafts folder haha

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doctorstrangereview · 12 days ago

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0173: Doctor Strange (vol. 2) #17

Cover Date: August 1976 On-Sale Date: May 11, 1976

It's a lucky coincidence that I'm writing this on July 4th. This story begins what Doc calls his Occult History of America. It was released to coincide with the United States' bicentennial. We get a new villain who will get drawn into what must be one of Doc's absolutely worst story arcs in a few issues. On the brighter side, the pesky houseguests FINALLY leave! Also, James Mandarin gets his comeuppance and certain historical figure confirms that he didn't write Shakespeare's plays.

Our story opens on an action scene as Doc flies after James Mandarin who stole some books and is fleeing the Sanctum Sanctorum. Naughty James! Doc saved you from the devil and this is how you replay him?

He runs into Clea. He tries to appeal to Satan, but the line's busy. Doc makes him drop the books and then they are magicked back to the Sanctum.

Doc magics Mandarin to somewhere along Broadway and wipes his memory of the past few days. Here's that ugly consent thing rising it's ugly head again! C'mon Doc, you're better than this! Doc notices that "New Atlantis" is one of the works Mandarin stole. (New Atlantis is an unfinished posthumous novel written by Francis Bacon depicting what Wikipedia describes as the creation of a utopian land where "generosity and enlightenment, dignity and splendour, piety and public spirit" are the commonly held qualities of the inhabitants of the mythical Bensalem.) This is a little bit of foreshadowing of the upcoming adventure.

Clea asks Doc "what is a bicentennial?" Doc begins to explain and wonders if Clea's training is "beginning to bear fruit" while Clea responds with the activities of herself and her former self. Doc worries that this will set her off again, but Clea promises she's come to terms with it. This leads into a happy moment. Rama Kaliph and Lord Pfyffe are leaving!!!!!! Benjamin Franklin stated that guests stink after three days so this is joyous indeed! (This is my own bit of foreshadowing.)

While Doc seems disappointed outwardly, I know inside he's relieved to get these freeloaders off his back. Notice Lord Pfyffe is sweating and Doc comments on it. This is a little bit of foreshadowing as well. While the next panel caption states Lord Pfyffe's saga will continue in a few short months, It won't really come to fruition for four more years and the book's creative team will have undergone multiple reshufflings. We'll never really know if what happened was the original plan or if the writer just did his own thing. Stay tuned. Even better, read ahead!

Next, he talks about the bicentennial and New Atlantis, saying he's always wanted to verify something. And, he gets to teach Clea time travel! (With the ability to traverse time and a house that's bigger on the inside than the outside, I've always suspected that Doc is a parallel universe, mystical Doctor Who.) Before Clea even has a chance to respond, the pair are off.

Damn, Doc! You really need a talking to about consent! The pair are washed ashore in 1618. Clea questions this as the bicentennial should have landed them in 1776, but Doc explains there are some lead ups I want to show you first. They also get fancy new outfits.

Nice of Doc to keep their color schemes consistent. Entering the tavern, Doc gives Francis Bacon a flowery plea to talk with them. Sir Francis is a bit surprised to hear they aren't pleading for a new sidewalk outside their house or traffic light around the corner. But at least we know for certain he had nothing to do with Hamlet or Macbeth.

Doc mentions something about "the college of the six days work" and Sir Francis is like "uh, you better come by my place tonight. Nine o'clock work for you? By the way, my literary society is gonna be there too. Hope you don't mind?" We are also pointed to the fact that someone else is listening in on this exchange.

Exiting the inn/pub or whatever I previously called it, Doc explains to Clea about "the college of the six days work" saying it referred to western mysticism's concept of creation and is the study of primal wonders. Then he goes on to tie philosophy and mysticism together when they are interrupted by stalkers.

With a little underhanded magic, Doc wipes the cobblestones with them. One of the stalkers hands glows with magic light and Doc realizes they're minor magicians and know who Doc and Clea are. Clea wants to go after them, but Doc says it's impractical as they are in unfamiliar territory.

Doc and Clea arrive at Sir Francis's house. The crowd doesn't return Doc's greeting and Clea realizes they are probing the pairs minds. I don't think consent was as big a deal in the 17th century. Now able to trust Doc and Clea, Sir Francis explains the purpose of his society.

After some more banter back and forth, revealing that the society is an extension of the work of Nostradamus, Sir Francis offers Doc the opportunity to read his current, not yet published work: "New Atlantis."

In their room, Doc marvels to Clea that the manuscript is the complete New Atlantis and extols the virtues of Bacon's utopian society. I won't go into too much depth here. There's A LOT of dialog and it's something you should read yourself. I want to avoid pasting the entire issue here.

Clea asks Doc what's so special about this fable as the United States of their time looks nothing like New Atlantis. She is interrupted by a wind that blows out the candles. (At least their time has electricity. Ben Franklin is a little ways off!) Doc realizes he didn't bother to deal with the stalkers from earlier. Curse him for a novice indeed!

Two of the stalkers appear with whom appears to be their driving force, a sorcerer named Stygyro. Sadly, Stygyro's design isn't very imaginative looking like a typical wizard with long white hair and a pointy cap with stars. Perhaps terrible TERF J. K. Rowling read this when dreaming up Dumbledore. Stygyro and company start to wreck up the place.

Doc's thought that Stygyro is the sorcerer supreme of this era is interesting. I would have thought it would have been the Ancient One, but we really don't have a list of who held the title and when. I supposed Yao hadn't ascended to the title yet or maybe he was on a break. Doc and Clea fight back, but Stygyro manages to get half the manuscript. He bugs outta there when he hears Sir Francis' voice.

Sir Francis reveals that these events were his plan all along. He only intended to publish half the work and now he will go on to bigger and better things choosing who gets to invade the future United States.

This is a tough one to summarize. It's very heavy in dialog. There is some action, but a great deal of the story is men hanging around and talking to each other. I'm not really familiar with Sir Francis Bacon and I haven't yet read New Atlantis, but he's presented here as a real progressive. What is contained in the "lost" second half of New Atlantis is mostly likely projection by Steve Englehart.

The story shows us just how much Doc loves the United State of America. In fact, we get beaten over the head with it. He loves it despite all its flaws and for its potential.

Steve Englehart does what he likes best for Doc. He philosophizes and he probably does it better than any other comic write of the era. This issue really deserves to be read in full multiple times. I haven't really read it for multiple decades and my older self can more greatly appreciate what's happening here. I may even be inspired to read more on Sir Francis.

There are a couple of nitpicks. When Stygyro manages to grab half the manuscript, he's getting half a scroll. Unless Sir Francis wrote in multiple columns, this doesn't seem to work.

On a more serious note, the society's most revered heroes are Columbus, a mass murderer and rapist, and the man who invented bread. Perhaps Columbus' history wasn't really known at this point. Maybe Francisco de Bobadilla's report hadn't reached Sir Francis. The man who invented bread must be metaphorical as that person is lost to history.

Good job Steve Englehart! This is one of your shining stars!

#doctor strange #doctor strange reviews #stephen strange #clea #stygyro #james mandarin #lord pfyffe #rama kaliph #francis bacon #steve englehart #gene colan

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fishnoodles · 1 month ago

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Borak Good Vibes: 10 Minutes With Albert Hammond Jr

Mirror of an interview of Albert Hammond Jr by Aida Rashid for The Level MY, originally published July 24, 2018.

Last Thursday we got the chance to meet Albert Hammond Jr. up close for an exclusive interview at Stripes KL Hotel. Since the release of Francis Trouble — his 4th solo full-length album, he has been touring around Europe, America and also Asia. This is his first time in Kuala Lumpur for U Mobile’s pre-festival party for Good Vibes Festival at The Bee, Publika and we were excited to know what he felt about being here. Thanks to U Mobile, we finally got a chance to witness one of the greatest rhythm guitarists of the modern rock n roll age bless our home soil with his best tunes.

Ze: We’re from The Level, and we write mostly Malaysian music. But just so you know, a big part of the Malaysian indie scene was built upon your sound before.

A: Oh?

Ze: Yeah, it’s everywhere. If you listen to Malaysian indie it even has that tone that you always use. So this is your first time in Malaysia, how do you feel?

A: Yeah it’s wonderful, I’ve only — well I wouldn’t say only because it was really impressive but how I got to experience Malaysia was through the crowd last night so it was amazing. I have yet to see the town, the city, but yeah – I was super excited getting here and I’m still super excited and sad to be leaving.

Ze: How was the show last night?

A: I’m still digesting it because it was so filled with emotions, and it was intense. I loved every minute of it, I’d do it again.

Ze: Last time on your Instagram Live, you said something about wanting to come to Malaysia because everyone was asking you to. Did you expect that you would have such a big crowd in this part of the world?

A: No, I’ve never been here, I feel like I’m far away, I had no idea what it would be like to be honest. But you know, you’re always trying to reach new places and I’m actually excited that it was this record that brought me here because I feel like it’s the best version of me and of my show. So it makes me excited that I got to be here for that.

Ze: How did you feel when the crowd went balls when Muted Beatings was playing?

A: Yeah I mean, I don’t know why this is such a planted memory but everyone singing along to Set to Attack and other songs of the new record — it was unreal. You can’t really explain emotions like that with words because it cheapens them. It’s just something you feel in your gut and that lives with you forever. So yeah, it was priceless. I don’t know how else to say it.

Aida: So in regards to Francis Trouble, can you just tell us a little bit about how the writing process went and who were your biggest influences when it comes to the sound of the album as a whole?

A: Ahh, the sound of it — I don’t know, I’ve become like an encyclopaedia of sound by now so I think after coming home from Momentary Masters I knew I wanted to make a visceral record, I just understood who I wanted to be on stage and when I say who, I don’t mean like a character – I just finally felt comfortable with myself and in the creating process I became more and more comfortable with myself because of the songs and what they were becoming.

And then the writing process, I’ve started number 5 with Volume 2 if you will, and it’s similar you know, you have ideas and Gus Oberg who produced, engineered and mixed – it will come and start working on the demos. And the demos were there just to see where the song goes, and how it takes shape and how it exists. You know songs tend to travel down on certain roads – you can pull them away and change them and you kind of like fill that out because they’re delicate and you’re easygoing with it and not giving it a lot of pressure and then you build up from that — always taking the parts that stand out the most and building on them and throwing away the rest. That’s the basic process and then the lyrical process was just me banging my head against the wall for a bit, it’s crazy the emotional roller coaster you go on riding when you write lyrics. I don’t know why that is, but you know, you go from like you don’t know even how you do this because you suck to like I figured it out this is like, I’m a craftsmith you know, like I know what I’m doing.

So yeah. It’s its own world that has everything a world has you know? Yeah, this one John Denver song – it’s so great it says ‘some days are diamonds, some days are stones’ but in this song it’s basically saying that even on a happy day you can have stones and not diamonds, and even on a low day you can have a great time even for a second. So they both exist on both spectrums, and that’s kind of what writing process is like besides the work. There’s a lot of, you just have to go and do it. I was thinking about this on the plane and it’s not all in a movie – like creating and these ideas just come. Sometimes it’s just like it’s edging away. Slowly edging away. No one likes to show the boring part of it.

Ze: In the CD I noticed the comic panel, can you explain a bit about what this is? (A small comic panel sketched in the album)

A: Yeah of course. I have to go further back to explain it. So I started auditioning for movies and TV, and I got a small role on a show and a movie. And when I came back to music I felt like it impacted me in a positive way — it allowed me to be free-er. I came back cracked, but in a good way because cracks let the light in. So I came back like that and so I started using as a tool to expand my writing vocabulary and when I found out about the twin that I had lost, well I didn’t lose it, my mum lost it. I mean technically we were together but I didn’t know it. At 5 months it was a stillborn so I was still there, she didn’t know it and it’s just like, when I found out about that story I was like— what a supernatural, superhero way, comic book way of alter ego to be born.

Some come from, you know like Bowie’s came from space and mine came from this. And it just seemed like, what a way to describe a way to work. So then it grew into its own thing, so that happened and it started growing and growing and then I took all the shadow work that I’ve done, and kind of like brought this child to the stage in the sense that the older you get at loss of innocence, you know you don’t wanna bring that to the stage. You wanna bring that to other parts of life because there’s a lot of knowledge in that. But to stage it just seems fun to bring, that was the time that like, your inner child could have fun. As soon as I did that, as surreal as that might sound, I just opened the door to like a whole different version of me. I would say even more me than I ever was, so that part was exciting. That’s just the story of that in comic, because I felt like in comic it allows more of the fantastical to exist.

Ze: Okay final question. Would you say that with this story, and this current album that most people love, would you say that this is the best form of Albert Hammond Jr?

A: Yes. By far. I think what’s cool is I always saw it like, I was always bummed out a little bit but now I see it as cool, but as a fan you could see me grow in public and you can see my changes and see me figuring myself out in public and my imperfections and I feel like while it’s happening it was not much fun but over time, I think in my career later, because I have more to put out, it will be really cool because it will give someone a spectrum of ‘Oh I can do it too.’ I wasn’t thinking of this but I just put out a Fender signature guitar and I left it clean with the idea that, let someone take it and become better than me, let someone take it and have their own journey. So it doesn’t have the scratches I had because you’re gonna create your own scratches. So like, yeah. I don’t know what we were talking about but that led me there, yeah.

#we stay strokin #the strokes #albert hammond jr #the strokey archives #mirror dimension #kish soup

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wouldntyou-liketoknow · 2 years ago

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K.O. [Kaiser Oasis]

(I’ve already made an information post like this, but said post is pretty long; in fact, it’ll just get longer and more expansive as I develop new characters and stories for [The Future Mob Project]. And I’m worried that the sheer length will make readers lose interest when they click on a link to look for a specific character. So, I’ll be making separate information pages for each character while still maintaining the all-inclusive post. Got it? Good.)

Who He’s Based Off Of: Ethan Nestor (CrankGamePlays)

His Method of Work: Whether he’s in the arena, defending himself and his peers, or extracting information from enemies, K.O. packs a major wallop. Not only that, but his stamina is roughly on-par with that of a mongoose fueled by a few too many Pixie Sticks. . . He was discovered by The Pentas Family shortly after The Boss decided to branch out into the underground fighting business.

Red Attire: Jeans and boxing shorts (Amaranth)

Notes:

Despite being a mobster, he’s a surprisingly courteous fighter. Yeah, he pummels his opponents, but that’s literally what career-fighting is all about. Now, on the other hand: if you’ve personally wronged him or someone he cares about, or if he catches wind that you’re going to try and cheat your way through a match with him…well, I wouldn’t count on him having too much self-restraint.

Ironically, K.O. also serves as a medic for The Pentas Family. It took some time and practice, of course, but he’s gotten pretty damn good at patching up stab/bullet wounds and resetting broken bones. (It’s not uncommon to get bumps and bruises in the underground business, and going to a normal hospital is typically a big no-no, since the staff there would likely ask too many questions about certain injuries.)

While he only wraps his hands for his fighting matches, he’s still not above occasionally using brass knuckles—which he has affectionately named Francis and J.P.—for interrogation or message-sending assignments.

Though he’ll sometimes travel for certain assignments, K.O. usually represents The Pentas Family at a place called The WormRoll: roller skating rink by day, hidden-in-plain-sight fighting arena by night. The building is connected to the abandoned subway tunnels, and K.O. has made his personal platform-office-den into a training room.

Before and after his matches, he wears a black robe with a picture of a peacock mantis shrimp embroidered on the back. (When K.O. first joined The Pentas Family, Murdock commissioned a sewing artist to make said robe as a welcoming gift for him. Yes, Francis and J.P. were included in that gift.)

He’s multilingual; he can speak English, French, Portuguese, and Italian on a conversational level. This obviously means a lot of foreign swearing when he’s frustrated/angry. He has no trace of an accent from any of those languages, and none of his peers know why or how he picked them up in the first place. K.O., being the gremlin he is, doesn’t plan to explain anytime soon. (Plus, he can’t not be a little smug about being the only Italian-speaking member of a mob. Just like how he can’t not use that to tease Murdock.)

Y’know creepy-crawly lollipops? Yes, the ones that have a cricket or some other insect frozen inside. Those are K.O.’s favorite candy. Unless he’s in the ring, he’s almost always got one in his pocket. (On a slightly more humorous note: sometimes he’ll make a small show of pretending that the lollipop sticks are cigarettes.)

Current Stories: (Goretober 2023) Day 3: Broken Bones, (Goretober 2023) Day 7: Needles, Bloody Tricks and Even Bloodier Treats, (Goretober 2024) Day 2: Operation

@sammys-magical-au

#my writing #K.O.#K.O./kaiser oasis #ethan nestor #crankgameplays #crankegos #fanmade egos #my characters #my fan egos #the pentas family #[the future mob project]

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pamphletstoinspire · 2 years ago

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Meditations of St. Padre Pio – Part 2 B

Padre Pio was at the height of his priestly apostolate with multitudes of pilgrims visiting him, for his Mass, to confess to him, and to ask him for prayers and counsel. He was a master of souls; he directed everyone with penetrating words full of deep meaning. His series of "Meditations" was the first complete text of Padre Pio's thoughts. These texts consists of Padre Pio's meditations upon the fundamental dogmas of the Catholic faith. The Immaculate Conception and the Incarnation of Jesus. He then relives Jesus' agony in the garden of olives. Next he reflects on the human condition, and on our need to turn to God in the passing of our days. These are not conventional texts; they are reflections derived from the contemplation of the absolute Truth. “Mary Immaculate” is a more theological text. The others are more human and simple.

Padre Pio, in the first years of his residence in San Giovanni Rotondo (1918 – 1920), when he was freer from the care of souls, wrote a few meditations for his novices and his spiritual daughters of the Franciscan Third Order. They were the text of his lectures or instructions that he gave weekly as their Spiritual Director. After that, between the years 1925 – 1928, Padre Pio compiled other meditations. Fr. Agostino of San Marco in Lamis affirms it in his "Diary:" The Provincial, Fr. Bernardo of Alpicella, once suggested to Padre Pio to “compile a few meditations for the principal feasts of the year for our seminarians.” When Padre Pio was shown the possibility of publishing these meditations, he said: "I have written these things for myself." But, when it was explained to him that "they would do a lot of good to our souls" he smilingly said: "if it is as you say, bonum est diffu sivum sui (good, by its nature, is destined to be spread).

First Meditation - Christmas Season - Part 2

J. M. J. – D. F. C. Note: The initials J. M. J. – D. F. C. Stands for Jesus, Mary, Joseph – Dominic, Francis, Catherine

O Divine Spirit, move my heart to adore and to love: enlighten my intellect that it may contemplate the sublimity of the great mystery of love, of a God who has become a little Child; inflame my will that I may use it to warm the One who for my sake lies shivering on the straw. O Mary, my Mother, lead me to the cave of Bethlehem and let me plunge into contemplation of the great and sublime event that is about to take place in the silence of this greatest and most beautiful night the world has ever known.

O my soul, look upon your heavenly Mother who with Joseph her husband obeys the decree of Augustus and simultaneously God's command, in order that the prophecies may be fulfilled. In the depths of winter she travels from Nazareth to Bethlehem, regardless of her dignity as the Mother of God. Without hesitation she obeys a creature of this earth who unknown to himself contributes by a decree to the accomplishment of the divine plan. By the enrollment of the holy pair their descent from the Royal stock of David is recognized, along with the One who is to be the Savior of the world, the King of all hearts. His coming is imminent, the hour is about to strike. The earth will receive its Savior but the world will not recognize him.

Bethlehem refuses its God a place in which to open his eyes to the light. It refuses shelter to the Mother and her Spouse. Oh, how embarrassed I feel as I consider that on innumerable occasions I have closed the door of my heart to divine inspirations. How many times have I refused admittance to the One who knocked on the door of my heart to reign there as King of love, while I gave way to the most despicable passions. O my soul, what confusion. O Jesus, always abundantly merciful, forgive me. Come and be born again in my soul and remain there forever. If the door resist you, force it open and reign in me for all time. You know the will that wants to possess you absolutely, to love you and be subject to your divine laws. Bring into my cold heart the most ardent love. Set alight in it that fire which you came to spread on earth, so that consumed by it, I may be immolated on the altar of your love, as a Holocaust of love, so that you may reign in my heart and in the hearts of all men and that from all men everywhere may rise up a hymn of praise and blessing and Thanksgiving to you for the love you have shown us in this mystery of Divine tenderness.

O my soul, see the holy pair driven away by all because there is no room, nor any pity for them, no consideration for the state of that gentle Virgin of Nazareth who is about to bring forth the Son of God, the Virgin full of grace who attracts God to her bosom. See how the hearts of creatures remain unmoved as they drive them away. The humble Virgin recognizes the divine plan in all this. She understands and prays for that people which ignobly rejects its God, its Savior. The holy pair leave the town and their eyes fall on a lowly and cold refuge, the only place worthy to receive the One who by the lowliness of his birth wants to show us an example and reveal to us his infinite love for us. He comes down from the heights of heaven to the lowliest place on earth, to a poor stable in the midst of animals. The divine Mother enters into that place adoring the divine plan and with Joseph, her Spouse, she retires to a corner, immersed in deep prayer, in highest contemplation. Her love for the One she bears in her womb inflames her desire to see him, to clasp him in her arms and hold him to her heart. The hour draws near. And you, O celestial inhabitants of heaven, come and receive on earth the One who makes you blessed in paradise. Come and offer him the adoration you pay to him in heaven. Come and gladden the earth what your heavenly songs. Come and illumine with your light the darkness of this holy night. Come and manifest to our souls the love of a God Incarnate. Come, O heavenly court, to render homage to your King, hidden under the semblance of a lowly human being. And you, O earth, rejoice that although your inhabitants reject him, he comes just the same. Impelled by love he hastens his gigantic steps and eats up the path by the ardor of his divine Heart. Love forgets all, forgives all, gives all without reserve, and behold he hastens his coming with the sole desire to suffer and to enrich us with his gifts, with the desire to offer worthy adoration and abundant satisfaction to his heavenly Father, to bring Redemption to mankind and to merit men's sanctification.

He comes forth from his Mother's womb like a ray of light which comes through crystal without marring its splendor and the Angels are there to place him in his Mother's arms. O Mary, tell us what poured from your heart at that moment. Who could penetrate into that furnace of fire? She presses him to her heart, and adores in him her God, her Creator, her All. Love overcomes respect. She sees in him God clothed in flesh because of his love. She beholds him powerless and in need of her support and she adores him as the Omnipotent. She sees him tiny and adores him in his infinite greatness which has abased itself. She sees him poor and adores him as infinitely rich. She contemplates him in his lowliness and recognizes him as sublime and divine. She sees him clothed in mortal flesh and adores him as immortal for all eternity. She sees him born and acknowledges him as the uncreated One of the eternal years, generated from all eternity in the splendor of holiness in the bosom of the Father. On our behalf she adores and loves the One who for love has become a day-old Infant, capable of suffering and dying. The heavenly Child cries and suffers, and perfectly aware of everything, offers to the eternal justice his tears and his adoration. The Godhead receives from earth through the action of the Creator-Creature all the love and glory which made owe to him.

The Word united to humanity adores the Father in spirit and truth. Divine Wisdom with a full appreciation of his meditation, small in exterior form, gives back for us to the Father at that moment all that the creature owes to its Creator.

O God, what a debt of gratitude we owe you. With what great love should our hearts burn for you. With this fire of love we ought to warm those tiny trembling limbs of yours. Your tenderness conquers my heart and I am overcome by your love, O heavenly Child. Let contact with your fire consume me, burn me, reduce me to ashes here at your feet. May I be dissolved by love and extol your goodness and charity.

#padre pio

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nomadicpuppeteer · 1 year ago

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Some of my Creative Roots

On June 9, 1924, a kind, multi-talented, selfless, handsome, mild-mannered, compassionate, loving man by the name of George Francis Montgomery Matthew, was born in the Parish of Saint John on the charming Island of Antigua in the British West Indies. George Matthew was a self-taught radio operator, skilled dental technician, inventive jeweler, loyal husband, loving father, reliable brother, genuine friend, and my maternal grandfather. He passed away in Antigua when I was a child, leaving me with vague but heartfelt memories of his presence.

Over the course of time, I've become increasingly curious about my ancestry. Ancestry.com has provided me with valuable insight into my ethnic roots, but I am equally as curious about my creative roots. My mom's side of the family consists of visual artists, musicians, craftsmen, and performers. I would love to trace my family's creative roots as far back as possible but, for now, I am content with knowing about my grandfather's many talents.

My grandfather was one of very few people who knew morse code on the island of Antigua. Self-taught, he worked at the airport as a radio operator. He was also a master typist. I guess this explains where I get my 77 word per minute typing ability. He initially learned how to be a skilled dental technician via a distance learning course in England. After his studies, he got further training from some of the top dentists on the island.

He owned his own dental technician lab called Matthew's Dental Lab in Saint John's. He was a master at crafting dentures, selflessly passing his skill on to one of his sons, a nephew, and a friend. To this day, people travel from all ends of the island for dental services at Matthew's Dental Lab.

One of my favorite pieces of jewelry as a child was a bracelet my grandfather made for me. He created beautiful jewelry for family and friends to cherish as we do his memory. George Francis Montgomery Matthew was indeed a multi-talented man, and most importantly, he left a legacy of compassion and creative inspiration for generations to come.

#artist #jeweler #family #ancestry

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wantsusdead · 1 year ago

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It took two days until the redhead received a reply to his Brighton letter; by now he was feeling as though his body was starting to thaw as a result of being able to fully relax in what must have been months if not years. It was as if his whole figure had been frozen on the arctic ice itself and it was only now that he was back in England that his body began to defrost.

His muscles ached all over and after the first night of sleeping like a dead man, he found he was suffering from insomnia; unable to sleep more than an hour or two before waking again. James (Ross) had insisted on Francis seeing his physician, one of the best in London no doubt. He had given the captain a thorough physical examination, pointing out the damage that Francis was already fully aware of; the effects of lead poisoning, starvation, frost bite, missing teeth, among other minor cuts, bruises, and neglect. Some of these would heal in time, others would have a lasting affect for the rest of his life.

Still, it was the mental toll that the redhead knew would always be the biggest scar he would wear. Thankfully, the doctor was able to prescribe something to help him sleep; the redhead was cautious to use the first drug offered as he had heard many horror stories of men becoming addicted to such substances. After his own experience with alcohol, he was sceptical taking something that could lead to further reliance. Instead, he asked for something milder; this the doctor prescribed without further argument and Francis returned to the house to the letter waiting for him.

He all but ran to his room, trying not to draw the attention of the passing servants as he went. Shutting the door, he opened the envelope eagerly and read it as he sat at his desk. Blue eyes looked up from the page as he considered in the first paragraph. He couldn’t help a small smile forming on his lips. I cannot be at peace without you. Francis felt the same. He was glad his friend’s feelings mirrored his own. Reading on he was delighted to find that there was a room waiting for him in William Coningham’s household and he didn’t take a moment before he was writing his reply.

Dear James,

It is with great pleasure that I accept the offer of a room, though I do not wish to impose on your brother’s kindness for too long. I have explained to my hosts my intentions to travel to Brighton on Thursday morning and should arrive by nightfall. Ross has proposed that he accompany me but I insisted that the journey would do me good. I have not travelled by train in I don’t know how long, having travelling to Buckinghamshire via carriage, which I do not recommend.

I have seen a physician who told me what I already know about my ailments; though they are not as severe as your own. I have been given a tonic to help me sleep. I do hope you have been seen to, though I realise you are already painfully aware of your maladies. I hope they can give you more relief than me and the good doctor were able to.

I shall count the hours, Francis. He thought of the line in James’s letter.

As I write, it will be five days and eight hours until we are reunited. By the time you receive this letter it will be four days etc. I await your reply to confirm Thursday as the date and look forward to making my way to Brighton soon.

Your Francis.

Yours,

Francis.

with his family in town for the day, james is able to sleep in—past breakfast, nearly through to lunch—and wander the house without dressing. he might even have fooled himself into thinking this a presentable state, in years past: a handsome silk robe and house shoes in a matching pattern, his hair unfixed, his face not yet tight with alertness. now he passes mirrors without a swell of pride, but the thought that he looks terribly old.

choosing not to call upon the house’s help to fetch anything for him, james starts tea and enjoys his solitude, picking bites from the unfinished meal at william’s place at the table. eventually, he drags himself to the front of the house to collect the post, then angles himself prematurely toward the den to deposit the lot of it on his brother’s desk.

‘francis,’ he sees then, and the kettle screams.

in a flurry of inelegant movement, james makes it back to the kitchen for his tea, turns for the den a second time, and sits heavily at william’s desk, breathless and mildly burnt. he plucks the letters from his robe pocket and separates his one from his brother’s few, slicing through the seal without a second wasted.

he reads the signature no fewer than six times, wondering if he’s seen it before in correspondence with friends. mockingly, perhaps, from dundy. ‘always yours.’ had william mentioned this in his unsent letters, referencing something lovely elizabeth had said? is it an innocent phrase—common but forgotten—which james alone wishes to take as a promise?

dear francis,

come now. don’t delay. i cannot bear another minute apart from y—

james crumples and tosses this attempt in the direction of the dying fire, both as a reminder to himself to stoke it and to burn the sorry evidence. he dips his pen and starts again.

dear francis,

my greatest relief was in seeing you returned, whole and healthy, so you must forgive me for the contradiction. surely this will not afflict me for the rest of my days, but i find i cannot be at peace without you unless i am certain that you are as well.

once more, forgive me—i know it uncouth to leave any topic of your letter unanswered, however, i should like to discuss james clark ross and lady jane franklin face-to-face, if you can bear to wait.

across the hall from mine, there is a vacant bedroom. with the window open, one can hear and smell the sea, which i cannot by my lonesome stomach. perhaps you will fare better.

i shall count the hours, francis.

yours, james

#gildedlife #i will skip to him arriving next

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my-deer-history · 3 years ago

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Can you tell me about Louis de Vegobre and his possible relationship with Laurens and Kinloch?

Sure! Others will certainly know more, but here’s a little of what I’ve pulled together about these three.

Louis Manoel de Vegobre was a Swiss lawyer and intellectual who befriended Laurens during his time as a student in Geneva. He tutored Laurens in mathematics, and in return Laurens taught de Vegobre English. Kinloch arrived Geneva in May 1774, and although they only spent a few months together there (Laurens left in July 1774), they quickly formed a close-knit circle, studying and socialising together, and mingling with other English students and eminent Genevan scholars and scientists.

There is little written correspondence from that time, as there was no need to write letters to those who lived so close. But it is evident from Laurens’ letters after his departure that he loved his time in Geneva, in large part because of the relationships he had built there - he writes to Kinloch on 23 August 1774 that “I dont know when I shall get into such a valuable Set of Acquaintance as I have left”.

Whether all of this remained purely platonic, in the style of romantic friendship, or extended into homoerotic or even homosexual realms, is impossible to prove definitively - but there is a good deal of evidence that the three of them were more than “just friends”.

For one, they mingled with figures who were known to have homosexual inclinations. Among these was Swiss historian Johannes von Müller (himself at the centre of a web of queer figures, including Swiss writer Karl Viktor von Bonstetten), who was known for his homoerotic love letters and, per Rictor Norton, “always travelled with young male companions, and even set up house together in the Alps with the American Francis Kinlock [sic]”. They stayed together in Chambésy in 1775, which presumably is what Laurens is referring to, with evident longing, in his letter to Kinloch on 10 March 1775:

Mr. Boon has communicated your plan of spending the summer with Vegobre in some convenient retreat in Switzerland, a plan which I should of all things like myself, and which I dare to say you will find great benefit from.

What three young men of a certain persuasion might get up to in the privacy and safety of an alpine retreat I will leave to your imagination.

Side note on Müller and Kinloch - in 1802/3, Müller was involved in a homosexual scandal, after a former pupil faked love letters to him from a made-up admirer, to which Müller responded with equal (and damning) fervour. The ensuing scandal cost Müller his fortune. He writes a letter to Kinloch on 12 May 1803, explaining his dire situation, to which Kinloch responds:

L'idée de ce qui aurait pu arriver à cette extreme nocturne me fait frémir - Vous souvient il, cher ami, du commencement do notre liaison à Geneve? My transcription: The idea of what could have happened at this nocturnal extreme makes me shudder - Does it remind you, dear friend, of the beginning of our affair in Geneva?

Clearly, the mention of the scandal was a reminder to Kinloch of whatever they may have gotten up to twenty years prior.

In Laurens’ absence from Geneva, Kinloch and de Vegobre remained close, and all three of them wrote to and about each other using expressions of deep love and affection, expressing a desire for contact and closeness - which, to me, often veers into the romantic.

Here are some examples, in chronological order:

My beloved, my dearest friend is Kinloch […] Let me say again: Kinloch is my beloved, my dearest friend. […] You have began to make me feeling how hard it is to see the departure of a man to whom one’s heart is addicted

Louis de Vegobre to John Laurens, 24 December 1774

I would be wrong to hide from you that I was upset at you [but now I want to] occupy myself only with the pleasure I had upon seeing that your heart is without fault, and that you have maintained the same sentiments towards me that you expressed to me when you left Geneva. […] Permit me to remark to you that [a time of adversity] is where we know our friends, and that it is here (I dare say) that you will see that the attachments of my heart are not a light bond formed by pleasure which does not last beyond it. […] You congratulate me on my friendship with Kinloch, oh how right you are to congratulate me! What an excellent man! What a friend I have in him! […] I repeat that I am entirely at your service & that I responded very sincerely and very deeply to the feelings that you have expressed for me.

Louis de Vegobre to John Laurens, 18 October 1775

You and I may differ my Dear Kinloch in our political Sentiments but I shall always love you from the Knowledge I have of your Heart.

John Laurens to Francis Kinloch, 12 April 1776

we hold too fast by one anothers hearts, my dear Laurens, to be afraid of exposing our several opinions to each other […] Be certain that I never shall forget you

Francis Kinloch to John Laurens, 28 April 1776

that Letter & the pretty gift that you attached are very agreeable marks of your friendship […] I learnt that I was loved & esteemed by you as much as I could have desired […] I am much persuaded, my Dear, that if we could live together our mutual happiness would be augmented; especially when I think of the calamities that surround you, I would desire to be close to you, to witness your fortitude and to offer you the relief of my friendship […] I saw this morning our friend Kinloch: what shall I tell you of him which you don’t already know? […] I regard it is as one of the joys of my life to have become his friend.

Louis de Vegobre to John Laurens, 7 June 1776

And after Laurens’ blistering letter to Kinloch about their differing political views, Kinloch seemingly responds with hurt and offence, which Laurens tries to smooth over with a reaffirmation of his feelings:

I have no Copies of what I write, and therefore can’t be exactly sure of all the Expressions which I used in my Letter, this I am persuaded of that there was nothing in it that could be construed to throw any Imputation upon the Qualities of your Heart on account of the side you took in our political Dispute […] It was from the great Opinion I had of your Heart that I first wish’d to form a Friendship with you, it is from the great Opinion that I still have of it, that I am exceedingly desirous of cultivating and improving that Friendship […] I still think your political principles wrong, the Sentiments which you have adopted with respect to your own Country strike me with horrour, and I hope you’ll change them_ but I am persuaded you think they are right and your Heart with me is unimpeached_

John Laurens to Francis Kinloch, 30 September 1776

(Extracts above from de Vegobre’s letters of 18 October 1775 and 7 June 1776 are taken from my translations of the original French.)

#historical john laurens #john laurens #francis kinloch #louis de vegobre #johannes von muller #queer history #18th century history

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turtlethon · 2 years ago

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“Shredder’s New Sword”

Season 7, Episode 8 First US Airdate: October 9, 1993

Shredder captures the mystical sword Excalibur and threatens to destroy the fabric of time.

“Shredder’s New Sword” is the eighth episode of the “Vacation in Europe” side-season of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Series regulars Francis Moss and Ted Pedersen are the credited writers for this adventure.

Today the Turtles are in London, England, and make an overnight visit along with Splinter to the British Museum. Leonardo views a painting of King Arthur wielding the sword Excalibur, alongside Queen Guinevere and the Knights of the Round Table. Raphael and Michaelangelo join Leo in being mesmerised by the artwork, until Donatello steps in to point out that this legend is a work of fiction.

In the Technodrome, Krang fiddles with a detector machine that can track any element on Earth. A rare one, Diridium, has turned up in England, the supplies of which would be enough to allow him to power up his fortress. Zooming in on an old castle, he views a pair of tombs, one of which contains King Arthur and Excalibur. Determining that the sword itself must be the source of the Diridium, Shredder sets off with Bebop and Rocksteady to claim the sword.

Back in London, we join the Turtles in the sewers, as Michaelangelo has sourced some punk rocker costumes for the team that surely would have looked dated in 1980, and downright bizarre by the time the events of this episode were taking place in the early nineties. Splinter declines to try on his disguise, opting to stay behind as the London sewers are “full of history”. (From here it just looks like they’re full of trash.)

You know how this works by now: wherever the Turtles travel in Europe, April is never far behind. Today she wanders with Irma through the streets of London, complete with a red phone box and a single dowdy old car that both look about as current as Mikey’s punk outfits. April immediately spots the Turtles, doing an inexplicable finger-wagging animation before noting rockers with green skin tend to stand out. It probably helps that they’re the only other people wandering around in a city which then had a population of 6.75 million.

Irma explains that Burne sent her with April to cover the upcoming benefit event for the Prince’s Trust, which will be held at the Royal Albert Hall. The Crown Jewels will be on display there, and April invites the Turtles to join them in attending, on the condition that they get some better costumes.

Shredder is accompanied by Rocksteady and Bebop as he makes his way into the castle identified by Krang, claiming Excalibur for himself. Declaring himself “King Shredder the First”, he uses the sword’s magical powers to shatter a boulder before making his henchmen knights under the titles of “Sir Bebop” and “Sir Rocksteady”.

The Turtles arrive at the charity event in their trench-coat disguises, but some unexpected attendees gatecrash the event: King Shredder and his knights, driving a car up the steps and through the doors of the Royal Albert Hall. Shreds claims a crown on display for himself as Rocksteady and Bebop restrain a group of London “bobbies” by dropping a chandelier on them.

The Turtles step in, but are easily defeated by the power of Excalibur. Clearing out the remaining crown jewels, the three villains escape in their car. Our heroes give chase, with Leonardo hurling his katanas to puncture the car’s tyres. Shredder and his men are forced to escape on foot, fleeing to a park where Excalibur brings a pair of stone lions to life. The cats corner the green teens as the first act reaches its conclusion.

Act two opens with the Turtles in peril until a bearded wizard brandishing a magic wand intervenes, using his powers to shatter both lions. Before the team can process what just happened, the wizard vanishes again. With no clue as to what’s going on, the Turtles decide to return to the museum to engage in further research. While there, they spot a painting of the same individual they encountered, said to be Merlin, who stuns the team by coming to life in front of them. After having the situation explained to him, the doddering magician agrees to help the Turtles return Excalibur to its rightful place.

Merlin is perplexed as he wanders through the streets of London with the Turtles – now minus their disguises. The familiar sight of a group of TVs in a store window, all of them displaying the same pre-recorded news report by April, are staggering to the wizard, and his confusion is even greater when the real April appears in front of him. The group then watch a further news broadcast, in which an English announcer covers both the theft of the Crown Jewels and the appearances of historical figures around the city - “it’s as if the past were intruding itself upon the present!” - before moving on to cover the cricket results. Donatello speculates that the use of Excalibur is causing a time shift that will worsen if it continues, until the entire world ends up being pulled into a temporal black hole.

Irma arrives on a horse-drawn carriage, explaining that it was a sports car when the rental company supplied it, but transformed midway through the journey. Prior to this change, she learned on the car radio that Shredder is in the process of robbing the Bank of England. Advising the ladies to return to their hotel, the Turtles and Merlin head off to intervene.

Shredder and The Boys are seen emerging from the “Bank of London” rather than the Bank of England on cool motorbikes that look more like something from Skeleton Warriors than what we typically see in TMNT. Determining that the final thing he needs to be a king is a queen, Shreds happens to ride past the horse carriage containing the only two women in town and grabs April, electing her to rule alongside him. The Turtles and Merlin witness this, and conclude Shredder is likely to head to the Tower of London next, given that the King of England used to reside there.

At the tower, Shredder has April and Irma tied up and crows to Rocksteady and Bebop about his newfound power, dismissing Krang as now being insignificant compared to him. He demonstrates this by generating a pair of giant knights, who he sends after the Turtles when they arrive to confront him. Merlin attempts to counter-attack but his powers can only generate a small pet cat due to his rustiness; as a result both he and the Turtles soon find themselves tied up, boulders affixed to them as Bebop and Rocksteady shove them into what I assume is supposed to be the Thames River.

As the third act opens, Leonardo spots a sunken ship at the bottom of the river, and floats near it to snap his ropes before freeing the others. After the group swim to safety, Merlin suggests that they may be able to find a way to strike back in Camelot, where his book of spells is kept, but they’ll need to act quickly: if Shredder retains Excalibur for an entire day and night, nothing will be able to stop him.

The Turtles and Merlin travel to Camelot, watching as the castle begins to rebuild itself. Shredder is one step ahead, now wearing the crown stolen earlier and clutching the spellbook in addition to Excalibur. The masked villain appears to be unstoppable until King Arthur appears, accompanied by Guinevere. Declaring that Shredder is an illegitimate king, he requests the assistance of a “champion”, leading Michaelangelo to nominate himself along with the other Turtles: “I’m a champion surfer, Leonardo here’s a champion ninja, Donatello’s a champion brain, and Raphael’s a champion... wise guy!”

A contest soon unfolds, with Arthur selecting Donatello and Michaelangelo to battle on his behalf. Shredder is keen to put forward his giant black knights, but Arthur insists that Rocksteady and Bebop compete instead. In the first contest, Bebop clashes with Donatello atop a log over one the castle’s moat, with an alligator swimming around beneath them. In a confusing bit of animation, Donnie appears to strike the log beneath them, knocking both into the water; after he ejects the gator into the air using the log, it lands on top of an escaping Bebop, chasing him away. Arthur goes on to declare Donnie the winner of the first duel.

For the second round, Rocksteady – instructed by Shredder in advance to cheat – engages in a jousting/surfing contest against Mikey. The mutant rhino is quick to pull a laser blaster on his opponent, but his opponent uses his spear to flip his opponent’s platform into the air. “Sir Michaelangelo” is deemed the winner of round two by Arthur.

All of this turns out to have been a huge waste of time as, despite having decisively lost both rounds, Shredder’s response to being asked to hand over the sword is effectively “nuh-uh”. He goes on to engage in a brief swordfight with Leonardo, in which the Turtle’s blade is almost immediately destroyed by Excalibur. Raphael intervenes, knocking the weapon out of Shredder’s hand and allowing Arthur to reclaim it. Reunited with Rocksteady and Bebop, Shreds begs Krang to open a portal and allow them to retreat, promising to do anything – from cleaning the alien brain’s quarters, to giving both of their mutant henchmen a bath. Having sufficiently twisted the knife, Krang provides the trio with the ability to return to the Technodrome.

King Arthur knights the Turtles, declaring that they will always serve as members of his Round Table. He disappears into the mist, along with Guinevere, Merlin and the reconstructed Camelot. With the normal flow of time restored, it appears as if all of this was a dream, though a bandage on Raphael’s arm confirms that these events really did happen. A tuckered-out Michaelangelo has managed to doze off after all of today’s excitement.

“Shredder’s New Sword” is an inconsistent offering, with multiple themes and concepts jammed into its twenty-two-minutes, none of them being pulled off entirely successfully. The show has always struggled to make its depictions of New York (later just “The City”) feel authentic, as we’ve seen in so many episodes where the Turtle Van will be driving around barren, deserted versions of locales like Times Square, and much the same is true here in the depiction of London. Some of the backgrounds and locales feel surprisingly authentic in terms of detail, yet the sense remains that time and budget requirements are robbing us of the chance to really see the Turtles interacting with the sights and people of the modern London of the 1990s; at some points it feels more like they’re wandering around some lifeless husk of a little English town in the seventies during the dead of night. We saw much the same when the Turtles visited Paris and Dublin, the emphasis on the historical significance of these locales overshadowing the fact that these are nevertheless modern cities: it comes off as almost condescending, honestly.

The potential for the Turtles to spend more time exploring London is scuppered further by the arrival of Merlin, and the third act in particular takes place almost entirely outside Camelot instead. We can take some solace in the fact that the team will return for the concluding episode of this arc, “Elementary, My Dear Turtle”, so there’s still time to make up for this; before then we still have a few episodes left to cover, as next time the Turtles will arrive in Greece to encounter “The Lost Queen of Atlantis”.

#Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #TMNT #TMNT 1987 #Ninja Turtles #Turtlethon #Shredder's New Sword #1992 #1993 #Vacation in Europe

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hotvintagepoll · 6 months ago

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Donald O'Connor (Singin' in the Rain, Francis, Call Me Madam)— LOOK AT HIM. Those giant blue peepers. Those tappy tappy little feet that don't quit. The ears that stick out like little wings, ready to lift him up to goofy heaven. The way his face contorts into the strangest yet most endearing expressions. His ability to sing and dance alongside the hunk that is Gene Kelly and yet pull all attention away with his big-eyed buffoonery. The way his energy is unmatched in songs like "Make 'em laugh" - bouncing off the walls and tumbling through the air straight into my cold cold heart. Who else but a true scrungly lil guy would sit upon the witness stand and defend a talking mule with all the love and affection in the world - staring out into the court room with his bright wide eyes and eternally mouse-like expression, openly admitting that the mule is his best friend?!??! I see him and I want to pull him from the screen into my hand and just squiiiiiiiiiiiiish with all my might. I want to pinch his cheeks and have him bat those eyes at me. He just makes me go "eeehehehehehe" every time I see him and his silly little self. He is pure chaotic, ridiculous, scrungly perfection!

Mantan Moreland (Mr. Washington Goes to Town, Cabin in the Sky)—i love mantan moreland SO. MUCH. and he is the pERFECT scrungly little guy!!!!! like a lot of black actors at the time he was always getting sidelined into small parts, but unusually he also managed to become a star in his own right and was almost one of the three stooges! he was a groundbreaking comedic actor known for his distinctive stare (very good for the horror movies he did), and he always is way more fun to watch on screen than anyone else. he had a famous double-act where he perfected this technique of non-conversations (where both people keep finishing each other's sentences before any actual information is conveyed). a lot of his movies are free on youtube and i really enjoy seeing him do his silly little guy thing in all of them!!! anyways yeah please include mantan he deserves some recognition as peak scrungle

This is round 3 of the contest. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. If you’re confused on what a scrungle is, or any of the rules of the contest, click here.

[additional submitted propaganda + scrungly videos under the cut]

Donald O'Connor:

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My silliest little guy. My funnyman. My horsie. I have watched many a bad movie for this man. The scrungliest fact I know about him is that he was supposed to star as Danny Kaye's role in the iconic White Christmas (1954), as he had known Bing Crosby since he was a child, but couldn't because he caught a mule disease while working on those Francis the Talking Mule films Universal endlessly made him do. I wouldn't exactly recommend those movies, but Don's character getting psychologically tormented by a sardonic mule does make for quite a good movie night, if you know what you're getting into. Are You With It? is another one I don't exactly recommend, but it does open with Donald as a math genius actuary who is about to kill himself over a displaced decimal point before getting taken in by a traveling carny instead. His more well-known and beloved roles have plenty of scrungliness too, in my opinion. This man slapsticked so hard he wound up bedridden for his physical exertion! Rather than submitting Make 'Em Laugh, which the electorate has likely already seen (I hope), I'm submitting an underrated dance number of his, where he explains maths through tap dance. That movie is Not good, but god do I love him in that role.

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I think it's arguably very scrungly to seemingly be a real life cartoon character made out of rubber, as proven by how slapsticky the list of scrunglies is so far. In which case, Donald O'Connor? He scrungles supremely. He even played Buster Keaton in a movie (that apparently can't be recommended, but still).

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Mantan Moreland:

here's his double act in action!! [editor's note: Benson Fong cameo too!]

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He just had a scrungly look about him and he played big with his roles so any of it became especially scrungly. Plus he was very funny in the way only scrungly people can be.

the FUNNEST GUY TO WATCH ON SCREEN. he was an immensely gifted physical comedian, able to convey loads with his eyes, and while some of his parts are so sad and cringeworthy, I feel like he always brought a humanity and humor that lifted them beyond cheap stereotype.

#mantan moreland #donald o'connor #hotvintagepoll #scrungly 3 #Youtube

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eyesoverinfinity · 3 years ago

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Episode 5: Something isn't ripe

The intro plays, it is a Introduction to all 8 of the hosts of this show: Zoey, Louis, Francis, Bill, Ellis, Nick, Rochelle and Coach.

Then the logo appears:

The logo dissipates to revel the camera zooming in on the hosts, as pre-recorded clapping plays.

Louis steps forward

Louis: Welcome to 8 in the kitchen! The show were we make food and may regret it later!

Louis: Today Coach has the chief's hat, so he is the head chief! Coach, what are we making today?

Coach: Well, remember how I went on a holiday to the amazon?

The camera rolls a clip of an amazon store.

Coach: No not that amazon, The rainforest that they are destroying for capitalism!

The camera rolls a clip of the rainforest.

Coach: Yes that one. Anyway, I was on holidays in the amazon and a bunch of stuff happened that I can't cover because it'd take too long.

The camera show pictures of Coach traveling the amazon, Falling down a cavern, fighting cannibals, being saved by Amazonian warriors and having lunch with them.

Coach: What's relevant here, is that I found a new kind of fruit!

The camera shows a picture of Coach picking a fruit from a tree in front of the cannibals cave. A cannibal is a blur as they pounce on him.

Coach: it got me in a lot of trouble, but boy it was worth it!

Nick: Are we going to gloss over the fact you fought cannibals?

Zoey: And that you met a lost civilisation?

Coach: They weren't 'lost', but for the sake of time, yes. But it will be on my Tumblr. @chesseburgerapocalypse.

(Warning from the writer, as far as I know this is a not real Tumblr. If it is I am happy to take this name down and replace it.)

Coach: Today, we are going to make EVERY FRUIT BASED DESSERT EVER! With this new fruit.

Coach drops a basket of the fruit. It is blue at the base, transitioning to purple at the middle, turning red at the bottom. Each are the size of an apple.

Ellis: Wow, how'd you grow so much so quickly?

Coach: It just did that.

Ellis: Isn't that a bit worrying?

Coach: Don't worry, the Amazonians are basically a real life Wakanda. If something turns up then we'll be told. Lets go to the game plan.

A sheet of blueprint paper rolls over the camera to show the transit to the ‘game plan’ screen.

Coach: OK, we have the fruit, which is the main ingredient for all the recipes, but we only have this basket for today. So here are the recipes we'll be doing:

A picture of a pie is drawn

Coach: We, unfortunately, don't have time to do every fruit dessert ever like I said.

Booing is heard.

Coach: But we will be doing one recipe each.

A picture of a cheesecake, tart, crumble, cobbler, ice lolly, clafoutis and trifle are drawn. The pictures almost goes off screen.

Coach: So that will hopefully be enough.

Louis: how many of each will we be making?

Coach: We'll make one of each recipe, this isn't Nick's giant pizza, we're not trying to make more then we can eat. Each of us will draw a piece of paper out of this top hat that has defiantly been here this whole time.

The camera pans to the animated top hat that defiantly wasn't there the whole time. Each of the chibi's took a piece of paper from the hat. Coach: now we've chosen the recipes, lets go back to the kitchen.

The camera cuts back to the kitchen. The hosts are looking confused as to the paper in their hands, as if the chibi's caused them to appear. They notice the camera is back on them and go back to hosting.

Coach: Alright, Now that we have the recipes... some how... We'll each do them separately and you'll be shown the best bits!

A time-lapse appears, each of the hosts are on their own table and are making a different recipe. The camera stops to show Rochelle explaining what she's making.

Rochelle: I got the crumble, which means I'm currently mixing the sugar and oats while the fruit is stewing. Which is taking... a lot longer than expected. Wait, What did Coach call the fruit?

Rochelle yells to coach.

Rochelle: Hey Coach! What did you call the fruit?

Coach: Don't know yet, I haven't thought of a name!

Rochelle: Coach that holiday was three weeks ago!

Coach: Coach is good at many things girl, but naming isn't one of them.

Francis: Can I name it?

Coach: Boy, you're worse at it then me!

Francis: Maybe. But it won't take me three weeks to do it!

The time-lapse continues, each of the hosts are on their own table and are making a different recipe. The camera stops to show Louis explaining what he's making.

Louis: I'm making the cheesecake!

He is yelling over the sound of a food processor.

Louis: I'm mixing the fruit with the cream cheese and other ingredients, but the fruit seems to be fixing itself in the processor?

Rochelle: Yeah! I've been stewing this fruit for 30 minutes now and the 2 fruits I cut up seems to have fused into one big fruit!

Louis: I know that it's our job, but I think making these desserts is a bad idea!

Rochelle: I'll tell Coach, Hey Coach!-

As the blender stops the camera pans to Coach, who got the trifle recipe, staring at disbelief at a small sapling coming out of his dessert.

Coach: I put this in the oven for 45 minutes, what in the lords name is this thing?

Ellis: Um, guys?

The camera pans to Ellis, who has a few saplings growing from each of his tarts. It looks more like a small forest then a tray of tarts

Ellis: I don't think we should keep doing this. I haven't been able to stop it from growing!

Zoey: Yours are growing?

The camera pans to Zoey, who got the ice lollies recipe and isn't having a problem.

Ellis: Ok that's just unfair.

Zoey: Maybe you just added something to yours? I haven't heard Nick complain.

The camera pans to Nick. He is on the floor, beating the saplings in his dessert with a rolling pin. They are much bigger then the others.

Nick: They won't stop growing. WHY WON'T YOU STOP GROWING!?

Nick looks to be on the verge of tears.

Zoey: Yeah ok, these things need to go.

The camera has a new transition. The show's logo appears, the green fire blazing and the lid red hot, the lid is removed to reveal a kitchen knife and a pistol crossed together. Big words, lit with the green fire, slam onto the plate holding the items. They say:

FOOD FIGHT

Each host takes their kitchen appliance and real weapon of choice and prepares to attack.

Ellis takes a G26 pistol and begins to shoot his tarts. While Nick throws his overgrown treats into an fridge and throws a timed pipe bomb in with it. Coach is seen with a chainsaw but ensuing mess covers the camera looking at him. Rochelle shoves the semi-stewed fruit into a plastic bag and starts beating it with a baseball bat.

Louis takes a pump shot gun and unloads it into his half made cheese cake. Bill covers his dessert, the pie, in alcohol and lights it with his cigarette. Francis takes a submachine gun, but is stopped by Ellis to give him another one to duel wield before he shoots his plant infested clafoutis. Zoey picks up her ice lolly and drops it in the bin.

Ellis: "IS THIS WORKING?"

Ellis yells out over the gunfire. The saplings are seen being torn to pieces, but still trying to grow. Each induvial piece that gets broken off grows back as fast as they shoot it, the pace of the growing seem to have accelerated with the attacks.

Francis: "I THINK WE'RE MAKING IT WORSE!"

Nick: "WELL WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO THEN?!"

A bang is hear from inside the fridge Nick is holding shut, he waits a few seconds and opens it to reveal that the plant has been turned to sludge thanks to the cold. Zoey looks at this scene and her dessert and comes to a realisation.

Zoey: "THE COLD, IT'S WEAK TO THE COLD! THAT WHY I WAS FINE WITH THE ICE LOLLIES!"

Bill: "EVERY ONE, GRAB THE PLANTS AND PUT THEN IN THE DEEP FREEZE ROOM!"

The hosts pick the the varying desserts and remaining fruit and throw them in the freezer room. They then barricade the door with one of their desks. As they stop to catch their breath, Coach's phone rings.

Coach: "Hello, Coach speaking. Hey Janaína... Yeah we found that- What? No one has eaten- Calm down! No one has eaten it yet."

The hosts turn to Coach, listening in on the conversation.

Coach: "What happened? You were testing the fruit..... someone ate it, and... excuse me, what?"

There a pause, the hosts look nervous.

Coach: "Does that that the cannibals were...? Oh God."

The hosts look frightened now.

Coach: "Nah, we didn't know shit! We found out that they grow crazy fast and are weak to the cold."

Zoey: "It may of been the heat. The fruit grew quick, but not that quick till we started to cook and attack it."

Coach: "That was Zoey she's... You put your samples in a furnace? You may want too... Hello?"

Coach shakes his phone a bit.

Coach: "It's cut out."

There is an other pause.

Louis: "Well, that's all we have for this episode! We are going to find a way to depose of this... dark fruit."

Coach: "That's a much better name then I thought of! Lets call it that!"

Louis: "We'll see you next time!"

Everyone: "Bye!"

The hosts go back to talking.

Ellis: "Should we go help them?"

Coach: "We'd need cold guns, a helicopter and a willingness to likely break multiple laws."

Louis: "You had me at heliccopter!"

Rochelle: "You had me at cold guns."

Nick: "You had me at breaking the law!"

Off screen voice: "Guys, guys we're still rolling."

Coach: "what do you mean we're-"

The theme song plays and the credits roll. There is no post credit scene.

#l4d louis #l4d2 ellis #l4d2 rochelle #left 4 dead 2 #left 4 dead #l4d bill #coach l4d2 #l4d2 #l4d francis #l4d2 au #l4d au #l4d2 nick #l4d zoey #8 in the kitchen au #cooking show au

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queenshelby · 4 years ago

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The Policeman’s Daughter – Part Three

Pairing: Thomas Shelby x Reader

Warning: Mention of Assault and Sexual Abuse, Mention of Suicide, Murder, Fluff, Slow Burn Smut, Drugs

Words: 5,245

Please comment, like, engage if you like it xo 😘

Shelby Company Limited, Birmingham, 17 September 1924

At around 10 o’clock that day, Tommy had a meeting with Moss, Michael and Arthur at his office in order to ensure that the plan he had hatched in the previous two days came to fruition.

‘So, we are all good for the rallies this evening?’ Tommy asked as Moss, Michael and Arthur sat down with him in the conference room.

‘All this for a fucking woman, eh?’ Arthur asked, causing Tommy to chuckle. Of course, he had more than one motive for organising extensive rallies across Birmingham. Sure, he wanted to see you but he also needed to get a shipment of cocaine out of the city unnoticed.

‘The rallies are going ahead as planned. All but three policemen will be dispatched and busy breaking up the fights’ Moss explained before handing Tommy a list of names of policemen who had recently joined the force.

‘All but three, eh?’ Tommy asked surprised, causing Moss to nod. ‘Are you sure that this list complete?’ Tommy then went on to ask, noticing that none of the men on the list carried the same surname as you.

Moss nodded again before breaking some more news to Tommy.

‘Three of the men have been called into London, investigating a few killings. You may have heard in the news this morning that a High Court Judge had been killed last night’ Moss explained.

‘I’ve heard’ Tommy said before taking a short pause while reading over the list again. ‘Can you tell me who the three men are’ Tommy then went on to say while pointing at the list. In his mind, it was unusual for local coppers to be called to a different district and the killing of the judge was going to be a high-profile case, unsuitable for most small-town policemen to investigate.

Moss was quick to highlight the three names for Tommy before taking his payment and leaving the office just as requested by Tommy.

‘I need you to find out about these three men. Where they have transferred from and why they are here. Get me their addresses and see if they have any skeletons in their closet, eh’ Tommy said, handing the list to Michael.

‘Why?’ Michael asked, unsure about Tommy’s motives.

‘If these men investigate a murder of a judge in London, they aren’t just coppers’ Tommy explained before confirming with Arthur that he has dealt with the security guards at your property.

‘Blackmailed them and paid them Tommy. Just as you ordered’ Arthur confirmed and it was at this point that Tommy called the end of the meeting, allowing Michael and Arthur to get on with their business.

Just as Arthur and Michael left the office, Tommy’s secretary Lizzie walked inside, asking Tommy to sign off on some of the paperwork she had prepared for Shelby Company Limited.

Without acknowledging her, Tommy read the paperwork and signed it. As usual, his thoughts were elsewhere and it wasn’t until Lizzie asked him about his plans for the evening that he acknowledged her.

‘Would you like me to stay back this evening Tommy?’ Lizzie asked while she seductively ran her hand over one of his upper thighs all the way towards his crotch.

‘I’ve got plans this evening Lizzie’ Tommy quickly responded, removing her hand from his thigh while signing the last piece of paper she had given him.

‘It’s been a while since we’ve fucked’ Lizzie then said, looking at Tommy with her dark eyes.

‘It has’ was all he responded with before clearing his throat and getting on with business matters.

Your Residence, Birmingham, 17 September 1924

Meanwhile, earlier that day, your father had told you that he had business to attend to in London. As usual, he didn’t tell you what this business was about but you expected that it had to do with the killing of the high court judge and the three men who, several years ago, caused you so much pain and suffering.

Your father seemed pleased about their killing when he called in at 10 o’clock that morning, asking you whether you had read the paper. Nonetheless, there would be an investigation and, knowing your father, you knew that he was desperate to know as to who did the killing and, more importantly, why.

When you asked him when he would return, he advised you that he wouldn’t be back until Sunday afternoon and you couldn’t help but chuckle before wishing him safe travels.

At around 7 o’clock that evening, you had a quick bath before picking out your clothes for the evening. You were excited to see Tommy again. But you were also slightly nervous, knowing that you might be spending the night with him.

You had only ever been with one man who was nothing but cruel to you in the end. Intimacy didn’t come naturally to you ever since the night you were hurt and abused.

But you knew that you had to get over all this eventually and, for some reason, you desired Tommy like you never desired any man before. There was something about him that not only made you feel at ease but also attractive and worthy.

He had an aura about him which no one had ever matched and, deep down inside, you knew that you both shared struggles no one else could comprehend.

When you told him about the night your life changed for the worse and your thoughts about ending your own suffering many times in the past, he told you that he understood how you felt.

He told you about France, he told you about the death of his wife and how, on many occasions, he didn’t think it was worth it to carry on like this.

But, he had a son he loved and cared for and assured you that, one day, you would have someone who makes life worth living for.

Of course, you wanted him to be right and, until then, you were determined to try and enjoy life and indulge on what was at offer.

‘Fear nothing Love. Everything after is extra’ was what Tommy had said to you when you told him that you had nearly died that night. And he was right, everything after was extra.

With these thoughts running through your mind, you slipped on some nice lingerie, a nice dress and applied a generous amount of make-up.

At exactly 8 o’clock, you heard a car pull up in front of the property and you looked around for the guards who, miraculously, had disappeared.

You quickly put on your coat, grabbed your handbag and walked outside into the cold autumn air. Without second thoughts, you walked to Tommy’s car and, as soon as you opened the door and sat down in the passenger seat, he pulled you close for a kiss. You didn’t even get a chance to greet him before his lips were firmly connected to yours.

His lips were warm and soft, just as you remembered and you immediately parted your lips, allowing his tongue to enter and explore. His hands were caressing your face as he kissed you for what felt like an eternity.

‘You look beautiful’ he eventually said, quickly gazing over you after your lips drifted apart before putting the car into gear and driving off.

‘How did you know that my father would be going to London?’ you then asked without worrying about where Tommy was taking you.

Without answering your question immediately, Tommy swallowed harshly, realising that your father must be one of the men he asked Michael to research which, yet again, would pose another hurdle for him and you.

‘I didn’t know that he was going to London but I did know about some rallies in Birmingham tonight, keeping all the coppers busy. I was certain that he would have to work’ Tommy explained before asking you for your father’s name.

‘It’s James and he will be in London all weekend’ you smirked, causing Tommy chuckle.

‘All weekend, eh?’ Tommy said while realising that none of the three men on Moss’s list who were travelling to London were named James.

‘Are you alright Tommy?’ you then went on to ask as you became to notice how quiet Tommy had gotten after you told him about your father.

‘Yes Love, there is just some business on my mind’ Tommy explained before changing the topic.

‘Since your father is gone for a while longer than I had expected, how would you like to spend the weekend with me at my house?’ Tommy then went on to ask before realising that this might make you uncomfortable after what you had told him the last time you saw each other and, before you could answer, he qualified his proposal. ‘Separate bedrooms of course and you are free to leave whenever you choose’ he added quickly, taking your hand and running over it gently while trying to concentrate on the road.

‘I would love that Tommy’ you answered equally quick while your hand searched for his thigh.

Tommy’s Residence, Birmingham, 17 September 1924

After a thirty-minute drive filled with interesting conversations, you finally arrived at Tommy’s house and, when he pulled up in the driveway, you were speechless.

‘How many people do live here exactly?’ you asked while looking at the large mansion.

‘Just me, my son Charles and some maids’ Tommy said as he parked the car and before walking around it, opening the door for you like a gentleman.

‘Right’ you said, clearly lost for words.

‘Common. It’s warmer inside’ Tommy said with a warm smile as he reached for your hand.

As soon as you walked into the door, you were greeted by one of the maids who took your coat and provided Tommy with a list of messages received via phone during the day.

Tommy quickly skimmed over the list and decided that he had to make a quick phone call before he would join you in the reading room.

You were impressed by the decoration in the house, looking around and into each and every direction while Tommy’s maid Francis walked you to the reading room.

‘Miss, would you like a glass of wine, or champaign perhaps?’ Francis then asked and you quickly shook your head, thanking her for her offer.

From the reading room, you could hear Tommy talking to someone in quite a firm tone and you began to wonder how he came into possession of such wealth and position of power as a gypsy.

While you waited for Tommy to return, you walked around the reading room, looking at the books and artwork and, just as you did, a young boy walked inside wearing pyjamas.

‘Hey, you must be Charles’ you said with a friendly voice and the boy nodded shyly.

‘Are you one of the new maids?’ Charlie asked and you quickly shook your head just as Francis walked in behind him.

‘No running away, remember’ Francis said and, just as she did, Tommy finished his phone call and quickly gave Charlie a hug before telling him that it was time to go to bed.

You said goodbye to Charlie and couldn’t help but marvel about the fact that he looked just like Tommy.

‘You are very lucky. He is a beautiful young boy’ you said just after Francis carried Charlie to bed.

‘I am sure you will be just as lucky one day, eh’ Tommy said before pouring you glass of whiskey which you chose to decline.

‘I cannot have children’ you explained, holding your stomach momentarily and, immediately, Tommy sat down next to you and took you into his arms.

‘I am sorry’ he said quietly as you leaned against his shoulder.

‘It’s alright. I made peace with it a long time ago’ you said, still glancing around to take in the artwork and décor.

‘Now, tell me, what is it that you do’ you said, looking into his deep blue eyes.

‘Lots of things’ Tommy responded before pressing his lips onto yours.

‘Lots of things? Right’ you giggled before asking Tommy how he managed to get the security guards your father had employed to turn a blind eye on you leaving that evening and not returning to your home until Sunday.

‘I paid them a substantial amount of money’ Tommy said bluntly.

‘You paid them?’ you asked with surprise and Tommy nodded. ‘Yes, I paid them. Like most things these days, their loyalty was for sale’ Tommy said with a cheeky smile.

‘You know, it seems to me that everyone does what you tell them to do’ you then said, biting your lip as you did.

‘Perhaps’ Tommy then said with a chuckle before causing you to lean against him.

As you did, you could his heart pound and smell the scent of his aftershave. It was divine and you couldn’t help but wrap your arms around him tightly.

As you held each other close, Tommy gently kissed the top of your head causing you to feel relaxed a little more.

‘Did you want to get some rest? I had Francis prepare one of the guest rooms for you’ Tommy said as he noticed how quiet you had gotten. But the truth was, you simply enjoyed his closeness, his smell and listening to the sound of his beating heart.

‘No Tommy. I also don’t want to stay in the guestroom’ you said shyly but with a slight smirk on your face as you looked up into his deep blue eyes.

‘Where do you want to stay then, eh?’ Tommy smirked, his voice low and gentle, as his hand was slowly feeling down your side, causing your heart to skip a beat when his fingertips brushed against the side of your breast.

‘I thought I could stay in your bedroom…with you’ you said shyly as your eyes met again and he smiled warmly at you, as if he was assuring you that he wouldn’t do anything you didn’t want him to do.

‘I think that could be arranged’ Tommy said before kissing you gently as his fingers continued to traverse your body, slowly walking onto your thigh.

You watched his hand intently after you lips parted from his, feeling frozen like a doe in the headlights but still safe and secure somehow.

You knew that he would stop if you asked him to, so there was no harm in enjoying the pleasant sensations.

You scooted a little closer to him, looking into his eyes with your head on his shoulder and smiling up at him. He had such amazing eyes. And hands. One of which slowly smoothed down your thigh ever so gently.

Your breath caught in your throat as those fingers delicately brushed up your inner thigh and you lifted your head to say something, but you didn’t know what. Your body begged him continue but your mind fought it.

He whispered softly, his lips brushing against your ear and his warm breath causing little goose bumps on your neck. ‘If you would like me to stop, let me know’ he said and your lips quivered as you tried to make a decision.

Logic was fighting a losing battle against libido. You had never been touched this way, not even by yourself and the man you had been with in the past was far from being gentle.

Your internal monologue was shattered when he finally reached beneath your skirt slowly and gently. You leaned into him and buried your face in his neck to stifle a whimper as two more fingers joined the first, casually stroking your through your panties. He smelled wonderful too.

Your body moved seemly with a mind of its own as your hips rising gently with each soft caress of those wonderful fingers. His other hand joined in, his fingertips caressing your cheek and playing across your neck. You couldn’t focus on anything more complicated than that thanks to the stimulation down below and the warmth of his fingers moving along the V of your blouse.

You quivered with desire from his manipulation, one hand now running over your breast and the other dipping his fingers just feeling along the edge of your panties. You looked up at him as he leaned towards you, his lips slowly moving towards yours but teasingly sliding along your cheek instead to whisper in your ear again.

‘Would you like to continue this in my bedroom?’ Tommy asked and you mumbled something in the affirmative.

Tommy smiled at your shyness and took your hand and helped you to your feet. You held onto him for support, your legs still shaky from the experience. He gallantly gave you his arm and you held onto it as you left the reading room and made your way upstairs to Tommy’s bedroom.

When you arrived in his bedroom, Tommy guided you all the way to the front of his large bed which is where he stood before you, reaching out to gently caress your cheek.

You smiled softly and looked at him through half-closed eyes, leaning your face against his hand slightly.

‘I am nervous Tommy’ you shuddered.

‘We don’t have to do anything Y/N’ Tommy said reassuringly.

‘I want to. I just don’t know if I am ready to go all the way…you know’ you said nervously, biting your lip again as you did.

‘We won’t. Just let me make you feel good, eh’ Tommy said gently as he winked at you and you literally had no idea what he meant by that, but nodded anyway.

Tommy then trailed his fingertips down your arm before he kissed you again gently. But this time, his lips moved from yours to your shoulder and neck in no time. You felt yourself start to tremble again. You couldn’t think. You couldn’t move. You could barely breathe. All your being was focused on Tommy and you wanted him so badly.

He looked into your eyes with his piercing gaze, placing his hands on your shoulders, whispering softly with his lips almost touching yours.

‘Turn around’ he said and you complied with his request. His hands moved your hair out of the way gently before his lips started to kiss the back of your neck all while his hands started to unzip your dress.

Your dress fell to the floor almost instantly and you stepped out of it slowly before turning around to face Tommy.

You covered your stomach with your hands, covering up your scar as you stood in front of Tommy nervously. Tommy smiled at the sight before him, drawing another blush from you as he traced his finger down the strap and along the edge of the material of your bra, gliding lightly over the gentle swell of your breast.

You stiffened again at feeling a warm gentle touch where you hadn’t let anyone touch you for a long time, but forced yourself to relax and enjoy it.

Tommy then moved your hands away from your stomach gently. ‘Don’t hide it. You are beautiful and I want to see all of you’ Tommy whispered as he traced his finger up your cleavage slowly, drawing a line up along your neck and across your jaw to your chin, tipping your face up to meet his gaze.

He then leaned down and made your head spin by flicking the tip of his tongue along your cleavage. You shuddered and moaned softly, holding onto his shoulders as your knees wobbled under you. You tangled your fingers in his hair as his lips and tongue teased your skin, eventually wrapping around one strap and slowly pulling it down your shoulder, then doing the same to the other. Unsure of how to react but filled with desire, you kissed and nibbled at his neck as he had done with you. He tasted good too. His fingers flicked briefly behind your back and you felt your bra clasp fall open. You let the bra fall and felt your cheeks flush slightly as your breasts were revealed, almost covering them with your hands before remembering what Tommy had told you.

‘Lie down Love’ he then instructed while he took off his vest and shirt, leaving him wearing nothing but his black suit pants.

After he got partially undressed, he joined you on the large bed and, yet again, guided your hands away from covering yourself up and kissed you passionately. You wrapped your arms around his neck and your nervous giggle turned into an elated sigh as he pulled away and, almost suddenly began to trail kisses down your chest and breasts. Your sigh then turned into a moan when his tongue slowly flicked your nipple before mimicked the circular motions of his fingers with his tongue. Your fingers tangled in his hair, your head fell back, your eyes fluttered as he made you feel alive.

You whimpered softly as his lips wrapped around your nipple, tenderly sucking on it and lashing at it with his tongue, fondling your other breast with one hand as the other smoothed down your belly. Following his lead, you felt down his body to find his belt buckle, keeping one arm wrapped around him for fear that you might faint. But, his hand covered yours quickly and placed it back on his shoulder, causing you to eye him curiously.

‘Tonight is about you Love’ Tommy said with a grin and you gasped as he caressed his way down to your hips, softly kissing down your belly. Was he going to kiss you there too you wondered as you watched his progression intently.

You arched your body against his lips as they softly pressed against your belly button and Tommy shifted his hands to brush against your inner thighs, smiling up at you as your body reacted to his touch. He then slipped his fingers under the edge of your panties and pulled them down slowly, letting his touch linger on your long legs. She blushed profusely as you lay there beneath him completely naked, the night air teasing all your sensitive spots.

His hands slowly moved up your legs, gently caressing your thighs before parting them gently.

He traversed your body with agonizing slowness and you tensed as he kissed the inside of your thighs.

He wasn’t really going to kiss you there, was he? You blushed even more and whimpered softly with desire as Tommy traced little circles with his tongue slowly towards your centre until, finally, his face hovered between your legs, pausing to enjoy your arousal.

‘Is it alright if I kiss you there?’ Tommy asked, looking up at you as you twitched at the feather light touch of his lips followed by the hot air of his breath.

‘Are you serious?’ you forced out with a moan.

‘Yeah’ Tommy said with a low voice and you shyly nodded, thinking it was a strange request until, suddenly, his lips touched your wet mound.

‘Oh Jesus’ you moaned at the sensation as he placed gently small kisses over your mound but your moan soon turned into scream of pleasure when, suddenly, Tommy darted his tongue and licked through your slit.

His teasing had already brought you to the brink and you felt like you would explode. What was this feeling, you wondered? It was new and unfamiliar to you.

You inhaled sharply at the pleasure coursing through you as Tommy’s warm tongue traced slowly up your slit and then slowly back down. Your fingers tangled in his hair and you pressed his face between your legs, your whole body seemingly on fire as he licked up and down, moving a little deeper inside you with each pass. He used his soft lips to tenderly nibble on your folds, triggering another incoherent outburst of encouragement. Then he ever so gently pressed his lips to your clit.

Your entire body writhed with pleasure from his touch, fireworks going off in your mind. Slowly Tommy smoothed his tongue over your clit, back and forth, up and down. You moaned loudly, all thoughts gone from your mind save for his tongue. He then caressed your thigh briefly and brought his hand to your slit, where he began to gently glide his finger in and out of you. By this point you let go of his hair and dug your nails into the sheets, shuddering as his finger moved within you. Then he added a second finger and your moans became even louder as he stroked a special spot on each pass, lighting up all of your senses.

‘Oh my god Tommy’ you moaned loudly as, finally, you began to experience your first orgasm, convulsing as the pleasure washed through your like a wildfire.

You were a shaking mess after as little as ten minutes of Tommy pleasuring you with his tongue and finger, crying and whimpering for him. Screaming his name for all the maids in the house to hear.

After you finally came down from your high, Tommy gently withdrew his tongue and fingers from you and rose, kissing his way back up your body gently.

You wrapped your arms tight around him, nuzzling his neck as your body quivered from your experience.

‘You taste fucking amazing Love’ he then grinned, clearly satisfied by what he had just achieved.

‘Really?’ you chuckled, still surprised by his actions. You didn’t realise that anyone does things like that, kissing and licking intimate places like this.

‘Yeah, really’ Tommy smirked before he kissed you again, gently but yet passionately and, as he did, you could taste your juices on his tongue and on his lips.

‘See’ Tommy smirked after your lips had parted and you couldn’t help but giggle.

‘Now can I taste you?’ you asked as you slipped your hand over his crotch, feeling how hard he was, straining against his pants.

‘There is no need Love. I can wait’ Tommy said reassuringly, not wanting to push you farther than you were really prepared to go. It was also obvious to him that you had never done this before.

‘Please’ you then said shyly, raising up over him slightly and he nodded, giving you permission to proceed with whatever you are comfortable with.

You began to place little sucking kisses on his neck, then on his shoulders. Then you began to kiss down his chest, occasionally adding a little lick here and there just as he had done with you. Tommy smiled down at you as your fingers and tongue slowly walked down his body.

Your hands were trembling with anticipation as you unbuckled and unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. Then you pulled his pants down along with his briefs and freed his cock. His erection stood proud before you, begging to be touched.

Tommy let out a quiet moan as you reached out and gingerly brushed your fingertip along the head, feeling it respond to your touch. You then began to gently stroke up and down his shaft, watching his expressions to try to find what he liked best. You slipped your finger between your lips briefly to wet it, then drew circles around the head before bringing your mouth down towards his hard member.

Experimentally you extended your tongue and brushed it against the tip, smiling as Tommy let out a sexy growl of approval. You began to circle the head with your tongue, smiling up at him each time you made him twitch or moan. Then you closed your lips around the head of his shaft, hungrily lapping and sucking.

‘That’s it Love, fuck’ Tommy moaned while brushing his hands gently through your hair. He seemed to like this best of all, judging by his growls.

You soon began to taste small amounts of precum which had escaped from his shaft and you were savouring the taste and texture and the pleasure you were giving him.

‘Come up here Love. I am close’ Tommy barely managed to force out after you bobbed your head up and down his shaft for the past ten minutes, your lips closing and sucking around him firmly while your tongue explored every inch of his hardness.

‘Cum in my mouth Tommy’ you demanded while disconnecting your lips briefly, causing Tommy to growl even louder.

‘Fuck’ Tommy growled within seconds, causing you to smile all while you could feel his shaft pulsate inside your mouth.

Then, another few seconds later, he bucked his hips slightly and involuntarily, while, with one loud groan, he began to fill your mouth with his sweet and warm cum.

Another curse word soon escaped him as he let rope after rope of his warm seed flow into you and you were quite surprised by how much there was of it.

After you collected at all in your mouth and Tommy slowly began to come down from his high, you looked up at him with your eyes full of questions.

Unsure about what to do, you swallowed, causing Tommy to groan again briefly as he watched. Quite obviously, it turned him and you were quite satisfied being able to pleasure him the same way he pleasured you.

‘Come here, eh’ Tommy then ordered with a gentle voice and crawled back up on his body and leaned your head against his chest, listening to his still somewhat racing heart.

‘So, people do that kind of stuff’ you huffed out with shy but cute giggle.

‘Yeah’ Tommy chuckled, adoring your shyness in sweetness.

Tommy’s Residence, Birmingham, 18 September 1924

After having explored your sexual desires with Tommy and some more gentle intimacy and pillow talk, you eventually managed to fall asleep at around 11 o’clock with your body pressed firmly against Tommy’s.

Together, you only needed about half the bed as your bodies were intermingled with each other and you loved feeling his closeness.

But, unfortunately for you, it was around 4 o’clock in the morning that yet another one of your nightmares ripped through you, causing you to kick and scream in your sleep.

Your nightmares always felt real, causing you to wake in a state of panic and anxiety.

Just as your dream was worsening and you let out a loud cry, you could hear Tommy’s voice, calm and deep.

‘Y/N, shhh, it’s alright’ you heard Tommy say gently, his hands running through your hair as he held you close just as you woke from your nightmare.

‘It’s just a dream. You are safe, eh’ he said as he held onto you, realising that you were close to having a panic attack.

‘Tommy’ you said with a small cry as your breathing was easing almost immediately.

‘I am here. It was just a dream’ he said again calmly and reassuring before kissing your forehead.

‘I am sorry Tommy. I must have woken you’ you said, looking at him through the dim light of the small lamp which Tommy had left on upon your request.

‘No Love, I have trouble sleeping and I get those too, the nightmares’ Tommy then said as you rested back against him but this time with your eyes wide open.

‘Do you want to go for a walk?’ you then went to ask after a few minutes of silence.

‘Yeah, common. I know just the place, eh’ Tommy suggested with a warm smile and off you went into the cold spring night.

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