#lord pendleton

[pendleton-manor]

[sas-afras]

baby shaun doodles

[lordcustythependletwat]

After re-reading my favorite Pendleton fics for the umpteenth time, I love that, despite the many different ways of characterizing the twins, everyone can agree that Custis's "best mind for business" translates to him being good with numbers and being busy at a desk all the time.

[crowseers]

“No one would ever wanna hang out with that loser, Treavor Pendleton, anyways!”

[letterboxd-loggd]

Trapped by Television (Caught by Television) (1936) Del Lord

November 3rd 2024

[thesamoanqueen]

Anatomy of an affair

Warnings: age-gap (but we keep it legal), cheating.

A/N: I was talking to @alyyaanna and the anatomy professor's idea took control, I couldn't resist, so this one for her. It will have a sequel, this is just part 1.

They say the secret of a good relationship is friendship, I had scientifically proven that this wasn't the case being a test subject all my life. Tobert and I had grown up in the same neighborhood in Pendleton South Carolina, two nearby houses, our families loved each other, we went to school together, hung out with the same group of friends, we even broke our arms together – it was his fault –. For everyone we were two soul mates linked, it was inevitable in some way. We had done everything together our whole lives, the most mundane things and the first shameful experiences. Our relationship on paper was destined for success, absolute, overwhelming, our faces under the heading "goal couple", at least until I decided to study medicine in Boston and he stayed in our hometown. Our paths had separated for just three months before he had a bad accident at his uncle's construction company, he had begged me, it had been a tough decision, but I had agreed to come back to support him. But now that I had finally taken control of my life, in my second actual year of studies, Tobert was boycotting everything again.

For the entire previous year I had thought he was trying to distract himself from the void I had left in his life, filling it with trips and nights with co-workers and friends, but looking back I had been kidding myself. Our parents called every day to find out when we were getting married and if I would be home soon, but from him? Oh, well, a few calls, always short, couple of messages, often stupid ones, and a facetime on weekend for some creepy phone sex. He didn't come to visit me, he didn't organize anything when I returned home, for my last birthday he sent me a package with a sweater I suspected he hadn't chosen. And now, after months of tolerating it, I saw him in an IG story with a chick’s ass in his face.

- "Good Lord man!"

- "Sav have you seen? Sav?"

What I could see was that he was even enjoying it! He had the same stupid face of an old man who can't read the newspaper, the one has been in my face since we were fifteen, ending our moments like commercials on TV in his father's garage.

- "What’s with that face? Sav is it everything okay?"

- "Savannah…"

I had felt guilty for wanting to start again and leaving him behind, I was working hard to finish and return home, I had always pushed away the instinct that told me I deserved more and instead he was living his best life without worrying about hiding it. His behaviour was not somekind of abandonment syndrome, it was just one of his bullshit and evidences were everywhere. I was a freking clown, our relationship was a joke I had wanted to believe alone because after so many years it seemed impossible to think of anyone else to me, when he was simply used to having me there at his disposal and now he thought was free. I had wasted my life and almost burned my future…

Realization hit me in the cafeteria, my colleagues staring at me like at some psycopath and rightly so, because when the next story popped up on the screen, I snapped.

- "That asshole!" – my scream echoed throughout the entire hall, overcoming the chatter that always filled it.

The sudden silence that followed and the hand one of my friends smashed against my arm brought me back suddenly, but by then it was late. I had just made the scene I would probably always be remembered for. Standing with my latte dripping onto the couch and music now playing in the background like a bad theme for my drama, I saw dozens of eyes staring at me.

- "... Sav what’s you problem?! We got company... get your ass over here!" – my roommate whispered in a panic, nodding towards the two men who had been about to leave.

In slow motion I saw them both looking at me and to humiliation was added absolute terror when without thinking I raised my hand to wave an embarrassed greeting, restarting Tobert's story. Oh, they would definitely remember me for that scene.

There wasn't a person on the entire campus who didn't know about my performance and the worst thing certainly wasn't the rumors but rather pity looks, plus the extra tasks I had agreed to do to clean up my reputation and keep myself busy. I hadn't received any formal warning, not even a comment, but I didn't want to risk ruining my career after having already dropped out in the past. The idea of losing the opportunity of a lifetime to someone who had already gotten more than he deserved from me drove me crazy.

Tobert hadn't commented, probably his two brain cells hadn't yet met to discuss what to do or they didn't think it was serious, but I had clear ideas and I had chosen to run the circus, patiently planning the day I would have kicked him with my degree.

So armed with good will and courage I marched across campus with my head held high, ready to face my demons and regain total control. It was almost time for the anatomy course to start and I planned to pass with top marks, but to do so I also had to make sure that the new professor didn't just remember me for screaming that day in front of him and his predecessor. My friends talked about him constantly, but I didn't have time for gossip, I had to seem like the right person to invest in for the future of medicine. When I arrived in front of his studio, however, my intention seemed less simple than expected. The entire aisle had been assaulted by a crowd of students, mostly girls. If I had suffered from amnesia, I would have thought I was at a concert or among a nymphomaniacs cult. We weren't in California, those outfits were definitely out of season as well as indecent, what’s was wrong with all of them?

- "Do you think he will receive today?"

- "Ah, I hope so! I want to see him so bad!"

Forced to wait like everyone else, I caught up with the gossip I had refused to hear from my friends, discovering the new professor was not only charming, but also young and free, which explained the cult. I also sadly discovered firsthand he hated receiving students and from what I saw he didn't even respect the time when he should have been forced to do so. Sitting in my chair, I waited twice as long before seeing the other students go away resignedly with their tiny blouses and too short skirts, deciding to spending my time finishing the chemistry project I had to hand in the following week. With my head down and fixed not to give up, I continued typing on my keyboard until two voices distracted me.

- "You can't take care of it alone, it's not necessary and you shouldn't at all" – I knew Mr. Heyman, he was an authority everywhere thanks to his investments and was often in the area because of his daughter, as well as a good friend of the rector.

The other man with him, I had only seen him on the day of my drama and I must not have seen him well due to the shock, because if I had I would not have given dirty looks to all the girls who had waited for him with me. Was he really a professor? Since when were professors like that?! You couldn't be like that, it was disorienting, didn’t help to the teaching process.

- "I should find someone but I don't have time to waste, Paul" – he complained and his voice sent a shiver through my body as I watched them reach the door in front of me.

- "I could ask, I have some friends, I'm sure there will be many smart guys who would be honored to do it, extra credits or not."

- "I will do it."

I said without thinking, lost in thoughts I shouldn't have been having, and they both turned to look at me, just as confused and surprised by the interruption as I was.

I had planned to introduce myself, ask a few questions, apologize for the bad first impression and now I had just made another one, listening to conversations that didn't concern me, without even saying hello, volunteering for who knows what next. Perfect.

Once the confusion was over, Mr. Heyman looked at me with interest, almost analyzing me, and I quickly tried to put myself together, putting everything away to get up.

- "And you are?" – He asked, his hands hidden in the pockets of his elegant suit.

- "Savannah Naïs Simon. Among the best in my class" – I introduced myself without hesitation and once again mentally scolded myself.

Now I even praised myself?! I usually handled the pressure well, for that kind of career it was indispensable, after all, but all of a sudden I was making one misstep after another and I couldn't afford it, not now. Tobert wasn't there to screw things, I had no excuses, it was my time, it was up to me. Head held high, nerves strong, that's what I needed.

- "Among the best doesn't mean the best" – Mr. Heyman cut me off, shaking his head – "and we have to check it too. I'll make a call."

Struck dumb, I quickly tried to think of something, anything, to make my case. The other professors would have confirmed, but what would I look like standing there waiting for their help?

- "It's no use" – however, Professor Reigns, who had watched until that moment, stopped us both.

His voice really played tricks on my body, but when my eyes met his it was even worse. His expression conveyed nothing, I couldn't imagine what he was thinking, but he exuded authority and there was something magnetic about him, the kind of man capable of changing the atmosphere with just his presence.

- "Are you sure?" – he heard Mr. Heyman ask him, finally stopping looking at me.

- "I’ll take her" – he established, checking me for a brief moment and I held my breath without even realizing it.

He will… take me? for doing what? And was it positive or…

- "We start tomorrow morning" – he said, addressing me directly.

- "I will be on time" – I promised, even if he had already turned his back to me to open the door, Mr. Heyman following him without paying any more attention to me.

- "No phone Miss Simon" – he advised from afar, just before I was left completely alone in the aisle and I distinctly felt the weight of the entire campus falling on me.

I had risked making another scene, I had volunteered for something I didn't even know what it was, I would have had to move lessons to keep my word and I would have thrown away even the amount of time I had left to sleep. And once again that wasn't the worst, but the fact he remembered and had already targeted me before I could even apologize.

What awaited me was a role as an assistant for the entire duration of the course, but I only found out the following day, after spending the whole night awake. I wouldn't have much time to do anything else, it was clear from the first moment, but I had no intention of backing out after having volunteered. It wasn't just a way to make up for my bad impression, it was an opportunity for which anyone else would have gladly given an organ, I myself would have done so - who needed two kidneys? One was enough - and that would certainly help my career, I was lucky. Professor Reigns was a successful doctor, he had changed the landscape of pathological anatomy with his works and his presence was an honor for the university. Admissions to his course were closed after just one day and the program specified that a selection would still be made by him personally. Assisting him and observing how he worked could have given me a great advantage in the selection phase and that was what I was aiming for. Memorizing had always been my thing, but anatomy was much more than listing body parts.

However, reality once again did not correspond to my expectations and in the following three days, I felt more like a secretary than an assistant, with alla those emails and calls. He always arrived early and most of the time I found him sitting at his desk, looking at personal documents and boxes full of medical records. He worked with his head down for hours, often without speaking or taking a break, which wasn't good for my ambition, but at least it helped me not to get distracted because the rare times I saw him looking at me were a test of mental resistance.

His presence demanded attention, his imposing body promised what it shouldn't with the most banal gestures like a pen between his fingers. Calling him a good-looking man would have been an insult, the world was full of handsome and insignificant men, but he had something vaguely frightening, something I had never tasted before and it awakened an almost primordial impulse in me.

The sound of someone knocking on the door brought me out of my thoughts and I quickly straightened up, hoping nothing in me would give me away. I couldn't think about certain things, I wasn't there to daydream about affairs, not when my future was in play and my lifelong boyfriend had cheated on me. A student I had seen a couple of times appeared in the doorway, wearing a lab coat, a deep neckline underneath. Her blue eyes scanned the room where I was in search of what interested her and which was instead sitting in the near room.

- "I know it's not reception hour, but is the professor over there? I would like to talk to him in private about some things" – she said without even trying too hard to simulate and I batted my eyelashes at her, fascinated and annoyed at her courage before stopping her.

- "Unfortunately he is busy. If it’s important you can ask via email or otherwise wait for the course to start. Lessons start tomorrow morning, the time and place are already confirmed" – I anticipated, getting a reproachful look.

- "I need to see him now."

Oh, I could imagine it and I would have complimented the clever attempt to show up when no one was waiting if she hadn't been trying to call me dumb.

- "Can I help you now?" – I proposed without getting too upset and she seemed on the verge of losing her patience.

- "Can I have an appointment?"

- "Sure, I'll put you on the list."

I didn't see her expression, she was probably furious, but she didn't give me time, huffing her disappointment out of the studio, leaving me with the agenda in my hand. I closed it with a heavy breath, putting it back in my bag, where I had been advised to keep it so that it was always with me and never unattended. When I raised my head I almost had a heart attack, discovering Professor Reigns intent on staring at me from his desk, hands crossed, his expression curious.

- "I'm busy?" – he inquired and his low, rough voice made my neck tingle.

I hadn't told a lie, he was busy. He worked on those medical records all day, there was always some document on which he kept his eyes glued. Why was he staring at me like that? Maybe I shouldn't have spoken before asking yes, but my intentions weren't bad, I was trying to be helpful.

- "With the material for the research project and the visit to the rector this afternoon, plus I don't think she really had any questions" – I explained, clenching my fists praying that I could use them against myself because it would have been much better.

I spoke without being involved, I made decisions independently, now I also commented and implied. The unkind thoughts I'd had about Tobert were backfiring on me, bad karma.

- "Is that so?" – Professor Reigns asked curiously, leaning back in his chair and knowing for a fact it was better keep my mouth closed, I nodded, returning to look at my laptop in silence hoping to not have to explain anything else.

I couldn't talk about those things with a professor, someone who could have mentored me, it didn't matter if there wasn't that much of an age gap between us and we ended up on the topic. It was an off limits talk and I tried to focus on the topics outline he would analyze the following day during the first lesson, it had to be detailed and precise, but I couldn't even read what I had summarized until five minutes before.

- "Savannah right?" – I heard my name being called and even more shocked, I watched him finally get up from his desk to join me – "you want to be a cardiologist"

- "How... who"- I spluttered in surprise and putting hands in his pockets, he smiled at me amused.

A smile that would have knocked anyone out, perfect and soft, so incredibly unexpected on an authority figure like him. For three days he had paid almost no attention to me, only addressing me as necessary as Miss. Simon and I had never hoped for more than that, because of our first meeting and his role. Plus not many people knew my goal, after giving up and coming back was something I had learned to keep to myself.

- "Paul is a friend of mine and the rector's. He has his people. He was doubtful at first, but he thought better of it after a few calls and was right as always. You're doing a good job" – he replied, clarifying the doubts I wasn't even able to express and I felt my stomach tighten with emotion.

I knew I shouldn't expect recognition, not in such a competitive environment and when I was a nobody, but it was nice to know my effort was being noticed. Noticed moreover by people of that level. It was a rush of positive energy I really needed to give value to my sacrifices and know investing in myself was the right thing. Tobert and this sort of incestuous relationship we'd had had tried to screw everything, but I was still in the running.

- "I do my best, it's an honor" – I said enthusiastically, matching the smile he had given me, but he raised a hand to stop me, swinging his head.

- "Let's leave this out, I need support and an objective opinion at every lesson. I'm not a real professor, I'm a doctor, but it's an opportunity and everyone has something to pass on. Do you think you can do it, without distractions?" – He asked, throwing another dig at me, but this time I quickly got over it, nodding immediately.

At that point I would have done anything he asked me, I couldn't refuse him anything. It had been three days as a secretary, ignored and perpetually under pressure, but I had passed the test, I had earned his trust. He really wanted me to become his assistant now, he asked for my opinion even though we weren't equals in that field. Screw karma, I had already won in life at that point!

- "I can give my word Sir" – I promised and once again that smile appeared on his perfect face.

- "Good girl" – he approved, before leaving me again.

Those two words rang in my ears right inside my head, as dangerous as a spell and I had the impression of feeling my blood warm, while my body suddenly came alive and melted at the idea of having deserved that pet name. Subconsciously, I scratched my notebook, legs clenched under the desk as I watched the profile of his massive back. We had had an important moment and there I was holding my breath for something that Tobert had never in a lifetime been able to give me, after two words said without any intention.

I saw Mr. Reigns sit back down, rolling his shoulders with ease as he resumed whatever had occupied him before our chat. His eyes searched me one last time and a part of me that shouldn't have throbbed around nothing, making me lower my head to the lesson plan.

I was imagining it, it was in my head and it had to disappear as soon as possible.

Tag squad: @sunnyfleur23 @racerchix21 @alyyaanna @expert-texpert @romanreignsdefencesquad @romanstheory @claymorexpunisher @keybladeofsteel @msbigredmachine @nayys-world @gobbersworld @utika151209 @cumxxslutt @civildawn @romanmydaddy @triscillal @papireigns-05 @helensanders92 @darqchilddaydreamz @meggylynnloves @unfriendly--blvck--hottie @nicolewoo @joannasteez @reignsx @kianaleani @daguenoire @extra-11 @333creolelady @snowpanda18 @brattyfics @mzv11 @romanreignseater @dreamsinfocus @vebner37 @depressedneedingrevenge @cyberdejos2 @mahi-wayy @jxtina-86 @harmshake @southerngirl41 @smile1318 @headoftheetable @sortudademais

[thatrandomartistjavi]

Actors that were in Alice in Wonderland media and where you might know them better from. Part 2: 1970s-1990s

Part 1 | Part 2(you're here!!) | Part 3

1972-

Michael Crawford as the White Rabbit: The Phantom/Erik from The Phantom of the Opera Cornelius Hackel from Hello Dolly!(movie) Robert Helpmann as the Mad Hatter: Child Catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Michael Hordern as the Mock Turtle: Jacob Marley from A Christmas Carol(1971) Davy Kaye as the Mouse: Admiral from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Roy Kinnear as the Cheshire Cat: Henry Salt from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Pipkin from Watership Down

Through the Looking Glass(1973)-

Sarah Sutton as Alice: Nyssa from Doctor Who Geoffrey Bayldon as the White Knight: Dr. Duval from Pink Panther(1976)

Festival of Family Classics(1973)-

Carl Banas as the King of Hearts: Head Elf from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Scorpion from Spider-Man(1967) Sweetums from Tales from Muppetland- The Frog Prince Grandpa Kitty from Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater Bernard Gouran as the Dormouse: Bumble/Spotted Elephant from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Paul Soles as the Cheshire Cat: Hermey from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Spider-Man/Peter Parker from Spider-Man(1967) Stanley Lieber from The Incredible Hulk(2008) Peg Dixon as the Queen of Hearts: May Parker/Mary Jane Watson from Spider-Man(1967)

Alice at the Palace(1982)

Meryl Streep as Alice: Donna Sheridan from Mamma Mia!(movie) Mrs. Fox from Fantastic Mr. Fox The Witch from Into the Woods(movie) Cousin Topsy from Mary Poppins Returns Dee Dee Allen from The Prom(movie) Betty Aberlin as Alice's sister: Herself in Mister Roger's Neighborhood Debbie Allen as the Queen of Hearts: Dr. Catherine Avery Fox from Grey's Anatomy Michael Jeter as the Pig Baby/Dormouse/Bill: Mr. Noodle from Sesame Street Steamer/Smokey from The Polar Express

Great Performances(1983)-

Kate Burton as Alice:

Ellis Grey from Grey’s Anatomy

Austin Pendleton as the White Rabbit:

Max from The Muppet Movie

Gurgle from Finding Nemo

Nathan Lane as the Mouse:

Timon from The Lion King

Hammegg from AstroBoy(2009)

Max Dialystock from The Producers

Gomez Addams from The Addams Family(musical)

Geoffrey Holder as the Cheshire Cat:

Narrator from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Ray the Sun from Bear in the Big Blue House

(He was also the original director and costume designer for The Wiz(musical)

Eve Arden as the Queen of Hearts:

Principal McGee from Grease

James Coco as the King of Hearts:

Mr. Skeffington from The Muppets Take Manhattan

Donald O’Connor as the Mock Turtle:

Cosmo Brown from Singin’ in the Rain

André De Shields as Tweedle Dum:

Hermes from Hadestown

The Wiz from The Wiz(musical)

Maureen Stapleton as the White Queen:

Mama Mae Peterson from Bye Bye Birdie

CBS(1985)-

Natalie Gregor as Alice: Jenny Foxworth from Oliver & Company Sherman Hemsley as the Mouse: B.P. Richfield from Dinosaurs Shelley Winters as the Dodo: Lena Gogan from Pete's Dragon Sammy Davis Jr. as the Caterpillar: Josh Howard from Ocean's 11 Robert Axelrod as the Frog Footman: Lord Zedd from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers-The Movie Telly Savales as the Cheshire Cat: El Sleezo Tough from The Muppet Movie Roddy McDowall as the March Hare: Mr. Soil from A Bug's Life Jervis Tetch from Batman the Animated Series Ringo Starr as the Mock Turtle: The Beatles Carol Channing as the White Queen: Dolly Gallagher Levi from Hello Dolly! Harvey Korman as the White King: The Great Gazoo from The Flintstones Sally Struthers as Tiger Lily: Rebecca Cunningham from TaleSpin Pat Morita as the Horse: Mr. Miyagi from The Karate Kid The Emperor of China from Mulan Jonathan Winters as Humpty Dumpty: Grandpa Smurf from The Smurfs John Stamos as the Messenger: Jesse Katsopolis from Full House Iron Man/Tony Stark from Spidey and His Amazing Friends(put this here cause i thought it was funny)

Anglia TV(1985)-

Joan Sanderson as the Queen of Hearts: Dorcas from The Great Muppet Caper Bernard Cribbins as the Mock Turtle: Wilfred Mott from Doctor Who

BBC(1986)-

Elisabeth Sladen as the Dormouse: Sarah Jane Smith from Doctor Who Michael Wisher as the Cheshire Cat: Davros and the Daleks in episodes that the character was involved in from Doctor Who Roy Skelton as the Mock Turtle: Daleks for The Evil of the Daleks(and 5 other episodes) from Doctor Who

Carebears in Wonderland(1987)-

Tracey Moore as Alice: Cheer Bear from The Carebears Family Share Bear from Too Many Carebears stuff to list Emma Frost from X-Men(1992) Sailor Moon from Sailor Moon(1995)(Ep. 1-11,15, and 21) Princess Toadstool from The Adventures of Super Mario Bros 3 Don McManus as the Caterpillar: David Madsen from Life is Strange Elizabeth Hanna as the Queen of Wonderland: Grandma/Mama Kitty from Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater

Through the Looking Glass(1987)-

Janet Waldo as Alice: Judy Jetson from The Jetsons Josie from Josie and the Pussycats Townsend Coleman as Tom Fool: The Tick from The Tick Michaelangelo/Splinter/Krang/Shredder from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(1987) Phyllis Diller as the White Queen: Queen from A Bug's Life Hal Smith as the Bandersnatch: Owl from Winnie the Pooh(until 1991)(was also the first replacement for Pooh bear himself) Josiah from Halloween is Grinch Night Gyro Gearloose/Flintheart Glomgold from Ducktales Phillipe from Beauty and the Beast Jonathan Winters as the Tweedles: Papa Smurf from The Smurfs Alan Young as the White Knight: Scrooge McDuck from Ducktales Farmer Smurf from The Smurfs Mr. T as the Jabberwock: Mr. T B.A. Baracus from The A-Team Clive Revill as the Snark/Goat: King Nod from The Thief and the Cobbler(1993,1995) Kickback from The Transformers-The Movie Will Ryan as the Paper Man: Petrie from The Land Before Time Willie the Giant from Mickey's Christmas Carol(and until his death in 2021) Harold the Seahorse from The Little Mermaid Digit/Moe from An American Tail

Burbank(1988)-

Keith Scott as the White Rabbit/March Hare/Dodo: Gordon/Diesel 10 from Thomas and the Magic Railroad Dudley Do-Right/Inspector Fenwick from Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls Popeye/Bluto from Popeye & Bluto's Bilge Rat Barges

Funky Fables(1988)-

Norma MacMillan as the Narrator: Casper from The New Casper Cartoon Show Gumby on The Gumby Show Doug Parker as the Rabbit/Frog/Mouse: Shredder from Ninja Turtles- The Next Mutation Richard Newman as the Caterpillar: General Cryptor/Emperor of Ninjago from Ninjago Professor Slopsink from Johnny Test Cranky Doodle Donkey from My Little Pony- Friendship is Magic Mr. Turtle from Franklin Rhinox from Beast Wars Alvin Sanders as the Cheshire Cat: King Sombra(season 9) from My Little Pony- Friendship is Magic Manten from Inuyasha Philip Hayes as the Hatter/Hare/Rat: Scratch from The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog Mike Donovan as the King of Hearts: Yang from Ninjago Spike from Tom and Jerry Tales(2006) Lynda Boyd as Alice's sister: Nora Carpenter from Final Destination 2 Cheryl from She's the Man

Adventures in Wonderland(1992)-

Patrick Richwood as the White Rabbit: Neighbor Mr. Robutsen from The Princess Diaries Harry Waters Jr. as Tweedle Dee: Marvin Berry from Back to the Future John Lovelady as the Dormouse: Crazy Harry from The Muppets(Season 1) Terri Garr as the Duchess: Mary McGinnis from Batman Beyond Ken Page as the Walrus: Oogie Boogie from The Nightmare Before Christmas Old Deuteronomy from Cats the Musical Gilbert Gottfried as Mike McNasty: Iago from Aladdin Kraang from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(2012) Mister Mxyzptlk from Lego Batman 3 Marlee Matlin as April Hare: Melody Bledsoe from Switched at Birth

1995-

Mike Donovan as the Narrator: Yang from Ninjago Spike from Tom and Jerry Tales(2006) Doug Parker as the March Hare: Shredder from Ninja Turtles- The Next Mutation Ian James Corlett as the White Rabbit: Mr. Mint from Candy Land- The Great Lollipop Adventure Cheetor from Beast Wars Hugh Test from Johnny Test The Conductor from Dinosaur Train Skales from Ninjago Blinky from Pac-Man and the Ghostly Adventures

Through the Looking Glass(1998)-

Penelope Wilton as the White Queen: Isobel Crawley from Downtown Abbey Ian Holm as the White Knight: Ash from Alien Bilbo Baggins from Lord of the Rings Chef Skinner from Ratatouille Steve Coogan as the Gnat: Octavius from Night at the Musuem Silas Ramsbottom from Despicable Me 2

1999-

Tina Majorino as Alice: Deb from Napoleon Dinamite Dr. Heather Brooks from Grey's Anatomy Miranda Richardson as the Queen of Hearts: Ms. Tweedy from Chicken Run Madame Giry from The Phantom of the Opera(2004) Rita Skeeter from Harry Potter movie franchise Martin Short as the Hatter: Huy from The Prince of Egypt B.E.N. from Treasure Planet Jack Frost from Santa Clause 3- The Escape Clause Stefano from Madagascar 3- Europe's Most Wanted Jester from Legends of Oz- Dorothy's Return Grandpa Frump from The Addams Family(2019) Preminger from Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper The Cat in the Hat from The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! Whoopi Goldberg as the Cheshire Cat: Shenzi from The Lion King Gaia from Captain Planet and the Planeteers Queen Constantina from Rodgers and Hammertsein's Cinderella Ursula from Descendants 2 Gene Wilder as the Mock Turtle: Willy Wonka from Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Dr. Frederick Frankenstein from Young Frankenstein Robbie Coltrane as Tweedle Dum: Rubues Hagrid from Harry Potter movie franchise Christopher Lloyd as the White Knight: Doc Brown from Back to the Future Profesor Plum from Clue Judge Doom from Who Framed Roger Rabbit Merlock from Ducktales the Movie- Treasure of the Lost Lamp Uncle Fester from The Addams Family(1981) Rasputin from Anastasia Ben Kingsley as Major Caterpillar: Mandarin from Iron Man 3 Bagheera from The Jungle Book(2016) Peter Ustinov as the Walrus: Prince John from Robin Hood Pete Postlethwaite as the Carpenter: Narrator from James and the Giant Peach Friar Lawrence from Romeo+Juliet Liz Smith as Miss Lory: Grandma Georgina from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Joanna Lumley as Tiger Lily: Aunt Spiker from James and the Giant Peach Lady Maudeline Everglot from Corpse Bride Murray Melvin as the Executioner: Ernest Reyer from The Phantom of the Opera(2004)

[mybeautifulchristianjourney]

75-year-old Leonard Bullock and his wife Dorothy have lived across the street from a railroad yard in Pendleton, Oregon since 1982. And over the years, they haven't always had the money to maintain their house.

A railway worker named Josh Cyganik has waved to Leonard on his porch almost every day for the last four years, but never actually talked to him until last month, after he heard two teenagers making FUN of the place.

They were joking that it looked so bad, someone should just burn it down. And Josh knew Leonard heard them too, when he saw the look on his face.

So a few days later, he asked Leonard if he and some friends could repaint the place for him, and got a hardware store to donate supplies. Then he posted about it on Facebook, and more than a HUNDRED PEOPLE showed up that Saturday to help.

They painted the house . . . fixed up the porch . . . made it wheelchair accessible . . . and bought everything they need to replace the ROOF, which is still in the works.

Josh says one of his friends drove by around 10:00 P.M. that night, and Leonard and Dorothy were both still out on the porch smiling.

Mark 12:30-31

30 And you shall love the Lord your God out of and with your whole heart and out of and with all your soul (your life) and out of and with all your mind (with your faculty of thought and your moral understanding) and out of and with all your strength. This is the first and principal commandment.

31 The second is like it and is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

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[stuurman]

lord Pendleton! basically just a study from in-game screenshot because I tried to remember how to use gouache ashdfkj >< my favorite rat man

[pendleton-manor]

Quick screenshot redraw between the margins

[yanara126-writing]

They Had to Die (2/3)

Corvo Attano enters Dunwall tower fully intending to kill the Lord Regent. It doesn't work out how he intends.

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When the boat hit the shore right in front of the Hounds Pit Pub the jolt sent lightning through his limbs and Corvo couldn't bite back the grunt that forced itself from his throat. Samuel glanced back at him with concern, but didn't speak up. Corvo was glad for it. He didn't think he could choke out an intelligible response, much less a reassuring one. His wounds were still aching, his leg cramping, and his lungs were burning faintly. He tried not to think of anything else, the aching was easier. Samuel tied the Amaranth to the peer and Corvo dragged himself up from the bottom of the boat.

For a moment he simply stood and breathed as the world did its best to tilt off its axis. Once he no longer felt like something was about to give, be it him or the ground, he gingerly stepped off the boat, slowly and deliberately, no flinching or wavering. No one here needed to know just how much of a disaster the mission had been. Havelock, Martin, and Pendleton were reliable allies, but they were in a precarious situation. A coup, even a counter coup, was dangerous business, and one that didn't allow for decency and empathy. He didn't blame them for it. Politics left no room for good men at the best of times, a lesson he'd learnt quickly and violently upon his arrival in Dunwall. (Not quickly enough.) Cecilia and Lydia for that exact reason did not deserve to be dragged so far into it, to be ruined along with him. Neither did Wallace, for all his grating behaviour. And Emily... Emily should have never had to see what she already had seen. He couldn't- he hadn't been able to protect her from that. He'd failed. But at least he wouldn't add onto it. Emily would never know just how much the last months had cost him if he had any say in it, or at least not until she was much older. For her he would brave whatever terrors the world could throw at him, would suffer through any pain and horror without flinching, to give her at least this little bit of stability in a world gone mad. And right now that meant ignoring the persisting aching throughout his body and the gaping, crippling grief sinking through his limbs like lead. He could break apart later. Much later. Preferably when Emily would be 45, with children of her own and a long, stable tenure as Empress behind her and he himself dead in the ground.

Distantly he wondered if he would be allowed to be buried near the pavillion. If he deserved even that.

Slowly and as securely as he could manage he made his way towards the pub. He left the mask behind where he'd thrown it. He wouldn't need it anymore anyway. From Piero's workshop he could hear a strange whirring, interrupted by the occasional curse, tyvian for some reason. Though it did remind him that he still had to have a word with the Admiral about freeing Sokolov, today and before going to bed. He hadn't argued too hard about keeping him in the cage for the time being, though he had asked Cecilia to make sure he received enough food and water and a warm blanket. The mission had time sensitive, and Sokolov had been disgruntled but nothing worse. That he had made sure of. A lance of pain shot through his leg and Corvo grimaced. Yes, he would have a word with the Admiral about not keeping the inventor locked up unnecessarily, if only to not alienate his considerable support, but he would keep out of it himself if at all possible. The Royal Physician had a habit of poking where he shouldn't, if Sokolov saw him now Corvo would not get to sleep for hours more.

The Heart pulsed once against his chest and Corvo's breath hitched. He steeled his shoulders and ignored it, did his best to push back against the concern almost radiating from it.

(She couldn't make him anymore. If he thought about it more he would end up on the floor again.)

One step after the other he reached the door to the pub and stumbled over the threshold as his foot caught on the sill. A firm hand on his bicep stopped him from planting his face into the floor for the fourth time that day.

Samuel patiently waited for him to right himself, his hand hovering for a moment even after letting go. Corvo took another breath, not quite as deep as he would have liked when his chest ached from the pressure, and walked on, not looking back. He couldn't take another look of concern right now. This moment he couldn't be Corvo Attano, grieving- he couldn't be. He had to be the Royal Protector, the Masked Felon as the wanted posters called him now, if necessary. Competent, efficient, and an untouchable wall between Emily and all who would do her harm.

When he finally fully stepped into the Pub's serving room he didn't turn around, didn't flinch when the room's oppressive warmth nearly choked him again, nor when Havelock caught sight of him and started over with all the subtlety of a navy man on a mission.

"Ah, Corvo! Congratulations are in order! You've done an outstanding job as always, and finally it will all pay off. There will be plenty of work tomorrow, but tonight we celebrate, what do you say? Go on then, everyone is already waiting and I'm sure you'll want a word with the Empress before the governess takes her to bed." Havelock, gruff and commanding as always, didn't give him the opportunity to answer and instead stepped past him, immediately moving his focus to Samuel. Corvo took it as a blessing, though his chest twinged a bit with guilt. Havelock was a lot to deal with at the best of times, and judging by the gleam in his eyes he wasn't at all perturbed by Corvo's unorthodox departure from their plans. But then Havelock usually didn't bother with the servants in the first place, so perhaps he'd finally recognized at least Samuel's worth in their mission. Perhaps Sokolov could wait for at least another night. He'd be... He'd be fine. For the night.

And Havelock certainly wasn't wrong about one thing, Corvo did need to talk with Emily. Just to- just to see. Make sure. Know for certain that she was safe, while Burrow's desperate ramblings about Jessamine's death still hallowed through his bones.

So he left both Havelock and Samuel behind, stepping further into the room. Vaguely he noted that Havelock's 'everyone' seemed to once again exclude Cecilia, Lydia, and Wallace, but there wasn't enough left of him right now to even be disappointed .Tomorrow he would have a word with them, make sure they were well compensated. Even aside from any ethical concerns, it wouldn't do to breed resentment in their ranks. Emily didn't need another knife to the back.

Pendleton and Martin were conversing at the bar. Martin barely glanced at Corvo before furrowing his brows with something that might have been displeasure. Or maybe disapproval. Discontent. Something like it. Either way he simply nodded towards Corvo, curt but polite, and quickly drew Pendleton's attention again before the noble could do more than quickly greet Corvo himself.

Gratitude softened something in Corvo's chest, soothed the deep aches spreading through his body just enough to make slipping past the bar not quite as exhausting anymore. Out of all the leading Loyalists he found Martin to be the most approachable. Perhaps it was their chaotic meeting, the man's own humble origins, if Corvo had interpreted J- the Heart's cryptic messages correctly, or perhaps it was simply a trait of character, but where conversations with Pendleton and Havelock often felt more like listening to a speech in parliament, Martin seemed more interested in actual conversations.

It did not escape Corvo that the man he trusted the most was deliberately failing his job when it came to him.

For a man of the Abbey Martin had proven remarkably willing to overlook the black magic and mark Corvo had unthinkingly flaunted at Holger Square, still unused to the new skills and dazed by his sudden freedom. Martin had barely raised an eyebrow, and even later at the Hounds Pit Pub had only remarked on it once, implying a promise of silence. Corvo knew that at a later date he would have to address it, figure out just how far Martin was willing to deviate from the morals of the Abbey, if not his own, for the sake of his ambitions, but for now Campbell's black book and the promised seat of the High Overseer would keep him busy enough.

At the other side of the room, in the same booth as always, Emily sat with a page of paper and her scavenged crayons, intensely scribbling away at her new drawing, while Callista watched over her. Waiting for him. Relief flooded his veins and made his steps just a touch lighter, even as he reminded himself that she was safe here, that Burrows had not killed her, had not harmed her enough to break her.

When Emily spotted him she hopped up in her seat excitedly, crayons forgotten, and made as if to jump towards him, before Callista gently tugged her down again. It made his heart ache to see his brave, smart little firebrand pout at being tempered, though he knew Callista as nothing but kind if too strict for Emily's tastes. It was an old ache, one he'd first confessed to Jessamine in a quiet moment of intimacy before Emily had even been born, that feeling of loss at knowing that- their child would never quite know the freedoms of his own brief childhood. Jessamine had said nothing for a long while, simply stroked his hair in silence, his head on her swollen belly. Those little freedoms they had been able to afford her were gone as well now, stolen by the knife that had killed her mother and about to be smothered by the throne that had done no less.

Corvo managed to get exactly as far as the booth before his knees gave out and he slumped onto the bench, only to suddenly find himself with an armful of Emily, who didn't seem to take issue with the fact that he was still thoroughly damp.

"Corvo! I'm so glad you're back!" Her arms wrapped around him as tightly as she could with her ten year old might, her face shoved into his chest. Mindful of his own state he carefully laid his own arms around her shoulders, torn between wanting to hold her close just as tightly and trying not to dirty her delicate white suit even more. She'd need it tomorrow.

After a few moments she lifted her head, though her grip didn't loosen, and looked up at him with wide, wet eyes that showed far too much inner conflict for her age. "Are we- are we going home now?"

That question broke him more than anything else, the look in her eyes that betrayed it as anything but the innocent desire of a child. For there was no home for them to return to, not truly. Not when- not with Jessamine gone, with half the city dead and the other untrustworthy. Not with the Tower forever ruined by what had happened and would no doubt still happen.

He pulled Emily close, giving up any hope of keeping her clean. She buried her face in his throat, his nose in her hair. The moment took an eternity and yet not nearly long enough.

It was ended by Callista quietly clearing her throat. When Corvo glanced up she was still intently busying herself with her needlework, but in the meantime it seemed Havelock had finished whatever his business with Samuel had been and had joined Martin and Pendleton at the bar, each with a drink in their hand. Corvo kept his back to them, shielding her from view, as he slowly let go of Emily and gently pried himself out of her grip. Somehow it hurt even more that she resisted for only a moment before relenting, when six months ago she would have clung to him until- until Jessamine would have pulled her off.

Corvo hoped his smile didn't look as heartbroken as it felt, desperately forced onto his face at the sight of his far too knowing little empress brushing off her clothes and straightening her back. Acting on a sudden impulse, the burning need for just a little bit of normalcy, he lifted his hand and ruffled her hair. Dragging out his time he pulled her close by the neck and pressed a kiss onto her head, trying to ignore the way it smelled of river water and brine, instead of Jessamine's favourite hair oil.

"Tomorrow we'll go home," he rasped quietly into her hair. It hurt to even mumble, his throat still sore and abused, but Emily's slight nod and seeking pressure against his lips was well worth it.

Eventually, as it always happened, he pulled away, once again the Royal Protector to the Empress. No matter that she was now tiny and afraid, that he'd failed already, that he desperately wanted nothing more than to grab her and leave. If not out of Dunwall, then at least out of the room, somewhere quiet where she could draw her pictures for a few hours, label them with terms of affection that didn't need to be hidden for fear of destabilizing her already precarious position.

Corvo pushed himself out of the booth, keeping a hand on the table because it was less embarrassing than falling on his face. Callista packed away her needlework in a pouch on her belt, got up herself and gently took Emily's hand, who looked up to him with doleful eyes but obediently followed her governess out of the room. Corvo watched her leave, his feet rooted firmly to the ground, and took just a bit of pleasure from ber refusal to follow Callista's example of curtseying to the three men at the bar before leaving. Once they were gone, off to put Emily to bed now that she'd seen him return (and he'd seen her alive, he wasn't a fool, he knew they could see his desperation as much as he tried to stay reasonable), Corvo finally turned to the council of Loyalists, putting all energy he had left into trying not to slouch. He simply had to do his duty of looking pretty for a few moments, as Jessamine had phrased, make his political contribution to the celebration, and then he could go to sleep for at least three hours. Maybe check in on Emily again before he keeled over entirely.

Havelock handed him a glass of whiskey that had sat on the counter, but it was Pendleton who spoke first, a strange nervous gleam in his eyes. Unsurprising really, the man was not brave by nature, though he clearly fought to overcome that hindrance for their mission. Admirable, for all the man's other faults.

"Damn me, he's done it! Word is spreading all over the city. The tyranny is over. By this time tomorrow Emily will be on the throne. After that we'll clear your name and put everything we've got into rebuilding the city." Corvo felt like the brittle comb he'd tried to drag through his tangled and ruined hair after he'd first dragged himself into consciousness here at the pub. This proclamation was the knot that finally broke off the fragile teeth. It wasn't an altogether unpleasant sensation. It was a giving of tension, the tearing of the strings keeping him upright and running. It was assurance that it really was done, even if not quite as as anyone had been planning, as much as it was the pain of knowing deep in his bones that now he'd have to learn to live without Jessamine. Actually live, not drag himself from day to day just to survive.

The sudden knowledge made his head hurt enough he nearly missed Havelock's interjection. "I wish there were more of a city to rule. Most of Dunwall is rats and corpses." Pragmatic and dark as ever, Corvo found it difficult to appreciate it in the moment. All he could do was suppress the shiver that threatened to knock the whiskey glass out of his hand and focus beyond all the dead, pale, faces with bleeding eyes that haunted his nightmares during the rare moments Jessamine's mangled body didn't fill his entire mind.

Havelock held his glass in loose, relaxed fingers, his demeanour conveying about as much gravity as if dinner had been served cold.

Pendleton didn't take it to heart. "The Admiral's right I'm afraid, Corvo, you did your job while the rest of us sat on our asses. Our work starts tomorrow." Corvo's work would never be over, not as long as Emily was still alive and he wasn't yet blank bones under the earth, but that was a distinction that would be pointless to try and explain to them, so Corvo didn't bother.

If anyone noticed Corvo spacing out more and more they didn't acknowledge it.

"Tonight, rest easy. Tomorrow we crown an Empress." Where Pendleton sounded mildly nervous, Havelock only portrayed grim determination, even when trying to be gentle. Like a soft breath brushing against the shell of his ear he could almost hear Jess mirthfully chuckling about how it was no wonder that he never found a wife.

A drop of whiskey dripped onto his hand,  warm and sticky, and it took him another few seconds to realize that his hand was shaking hard enough to spill it.

Havelock seemed to finally take pity on him and raised his glass in toast, eyebrows slightly more furrowed than before. "To Corvo! The man who served to change the course of history!" Corvo gazed down into his glass, whiskey lapping against the sides, rippling unevenly, and wondered just how much he'd really changed about this course of history. Not enough. Never enough. He'd never cared about such grand notions, he'd only ever served two people in his adult life. He'd failed both of them, and one died for it.

Martin's voice ripped him out of his head before his numbing fingers could lose grip on his glass entirely.

"To Emily Kaldwin, and the new dawn rising for the Empire." The man raised his glass and looked him straight in the eyes, something unreadable on his face. Corvo couldn't bring up the energy to care to try. Let the three have their grandiose ambitions for the night. All the damage they could do for now was to themselves if they wanted to get drunk on their prospects. Tomorrow would be enough to start wrangling them into something productive.

And until then... Until then, drinking to Emily was something he could agree to.

He raised his glass with them, as everyone else in the room echoed the toast. As everyone else started sipping the whiskey he simply threw it all back.

It was bad manners, and he almost thought- he almost thought he could feel the Heart pulse once, twice against his ribs. Jessamine would have scolded him for it.

His throat constricted and burnt. He blamed it on the whiskey.

Thankfully with this it seemed the others considered his contribution to be made. Pendleton and Havelock turned to each other, apparently continuing whatever conversation they'd been having before he returned. Something about reopening trade routes. Martin was the only one to give Corvo a short nod before directing his attention to the bar. What for when the man's glass was still nearly full, was anyone's guess but Corvo's, who was only glad to be off the hook.

Corvo cleared his throat and grimaced, the persistent ache only getting worse from the friction.

His fingers finally went numb enough he couldn't feel the glass anymore, and so he set it down on the bar counter, leaving a wet stain where his sleeve touched the wood. A few seconds of steeling himself and a deep, shaky breath later, he started making his way to the stairwell. No one paid him any mind, as it always had been.

Every creak of the old wooden boards beneath his boots made his head throb as if it was a pistol shot.

He'd just... He'd just check in on Emily again. Make sure she was alright and could sleep. And then he would go pass out on the bunk in the attic.

It took him an embarrassingly long time to force his foot to lift and step onto the stairs, and when he finally succeeded his ankle sent fire up his leg. Corvo hissed, and immediately regretted it when that too felt like it was ripping tears into his throat.

He barely managed three steps before the world suddenly tilted out from under him and he crashed into the wall, sending lightning arching through his limbs.

Once he reached the second floor, quietly panting and only not rubbing his new bruises because he couldn't dredge up the energy to lift his hands, he had to concede that he wouldn't be able to safely cross the bridge to Emily's little tower. Emily wouldn't... Wouldn't benefit from him tumbling off the bridge in a spell of exhausted dizziness and breaking his neck. She would be fine if he... If he went to sleep first.

He rounded the corner to the next staircase and had to stop to cling to the railing when his vision went white and he nearly started retching from the nausea. He tasted copper for his efforts. After a few moments he was able to tell up from down again and hauled himself further, one hand clutching the railing, despite his shoulder screaming at the angle. Better the needles in his neck, no matter how painful, than stumbling over his own two feet and falling when he couldn't be sure he'd be able to get up again afterwards.

His fingers spasmed against the wood.

By the third floor his breath only came in short, pained gasps, the hallway seemed to stretch to impossible length, and Corvo knew something was wrong. Even injured, tired, and wrung out as he was. He hadn't been this bad after Coldridge, or at any point in it. Getting shot in the chest during an attack on four year old Emily had been less crippling.

Someone was stabbing an arch pylon into his brain and melting it from the inside out.

He knew his limits, thought he knew his limits, and yet he was sweating like he'd run the entire way from the tower, while cold shivers wreaked his body. An infection was possible, likely even, but even that shouldn't have been able to take him apart so quickly. He should have... He should have had time...

By the fourth floor Corvo couldn't see the ground in front of himself anymore, stumbling along blindly by instinct alone. His hands  had gone entirely numb, felt alien to his body, like two blocks of icy granite strapped to the  burning bloodfly nest his flesh had become. Pain drowned him so thoroughly there was no thought of reasons anymore, only the all-consuming, burning agony that refused to release him, and the vague knowledge that he needed- he needed to get somewhere... Somewhere close... It was important, it was i-

A floorboard in front of the attic room was uneven.

Corvo's ankle rolled and his beaten, broken body gave out entirely. He fell with a thump he couldn't hear through the shock of agony slamming through him at the impact, taking all consciousness with it and blackness swallowed him in an almost blissful nothingness.

There was no waking for Corvo, only the awareness of agony twisting his insides, that may have been with him for an eternity, hours, minutes or seconds. Pressure started building in his chest, beyond the fire burning through his veins, building and building until something small blipped through the wall of torment encasing his mind. The need to *breathe*.

Almost against his will oxygen rushed into his lungs and doused them in flaming whale oil anew.

*He whimpered.*

A hand closed over his mouth. Another pressed against the side of his throat.

Despite the pain paralysing his limbs and smothering his thoughts there was just a bit of Corvo's mind left to panic at the touch. He wanted to *fight*, rip himself away from the hands threatening to take away his breath again, he needed to *get up*, *run*, **fight**, he had to-

He managed a weak twitch of the finger, a success immediately punished by excruciating agony pulsing through his core.

Any pathetic, crumpled sound he might have made was swallowed by the hand pressed onto his mouth.

After a moment, or an eternity, the hands hesitantly loosened. It did nothing to abate the agony, but even the effort to whimper seemed insurmountable. The faint light shining through his eyelids rammed a sword through his eyesockets.

The voice that suddenly cut through the suffocating blanket of torment, sharp and authoritative, replaced the burning fire in his chest with no less searing ice.

"Samuel, you move like you've been drinking. Did the poison work its magic? Is he dead?" The voice was- familiar. The agony allowed no concrete thoughts, no name to surface in his mind, but vague recognition made it through. Not that it made anything about this more comprehensible.

Another voice, nasally, nervous, and again familiar.

"It better have worked, it cost me a month's profit." No, that wasn't- It-

A wave of pain and nausea rolled over him, violently dragged him under and ripped into his organs, tearing at his flesh and bones and sinew until he wanted to scream.

As if sensing his terror and suffering the hand was back on his mouth, pressing him down with no hope to even twitch.

The next voice was much closer, gruff but soft and somehow much, much more painful.

"Yessir, I believe Corvo has breathed his last, just as you wanted." It sounded... almost directed at Corvo. Pointed. As if the voice wanted him to know. Was it... Was it true? Was he dead already? Because the voices... had wanted him to be? Was this agony his punishment for- for-

Something pulsed in his chest. Against his chest? Not pain, but... Grief?

No. No he couldn't- he couldn't be dead yet. There was- Emily. He couldn't die just yet, no matter what the voices wanted. And she- she wouldn't want him to. Deep in his bones, beneath pain and agony was the knowledge that *she* wouldn't want him to, even when he couldn't focus enough to remember her name.

If he wasn't dead then the voice was lying. Lying for him. Protecting him? That... Made sense and yet didn't.

Another surge of lightning through his veins and ripped the thought from his mind and straight into the void.

"You've done a fine job then." Somewhere, very, very deep in his mind, a well trained instinct had Corvo recognize the sentence as a threat and wanted to draw his blade. The vast majority of him battled to expand his lungs enough to draw in even a sliver of air.

"Remember, we need the body. If we come forward with the corpse of the man who murdered the Empress, we'll be greeted as heroes." The Emp- Jessamine. Jessamine, Emily, they wanted to- He had to-

The hand on his face pressed down, not nearly hard enough to break through the agony consuming everything else, but more than enough to pin him down.

"Yes, it'll grant us legitimacy. We'll be the men who rescued Emily and brought down the Lord Regent and his Assassin. You'll see to the body, won't you, Samuel?" The body... The body was him. Wasn't it.

How fitting that panic would be the thing to finally break through the blinding wall of pain, when it had been the only thing keeping him going the last six months. The- The Outsider had to be enjoying the irony.

Between his brain insisting that he should be running, fighting, battling his way out, his body shutting down more and more, and the hand pressed onto his mouth, the pressure in his chest was starting to mount again...

"Yessir." The voice came to him like through a tunnel, echoy and fuzzy, as his vision faded out, even as his heart was hammering in his chest, as if it was trying to stave off death just a moment longer.

When his brain next saw fit to grant Corvo a moment of consciousness his lungs were burning slightly less. Hands were tugging on him, pulling him... Up? After a moment, or two or three or perhaps a thousand, fighting the nausea and disorientation, he managed enough lucidity to notice that someone had heaved him into a sitting position, his back against the wall. It... Made breathing slightly easier.

Emboldened by his newfound at least partial clarity he attempted to pry his eyes open. His success was moderate, but with effort equivalent to climbing up the entire tower in the middle of winter he managed to gain some hazy vision from hooded eyes. Blurred colours and vague outlines only, but it was better than completely blind helplessness. Even if the sudden visual stimulation made his stomach roil and churn all the more.

The hands stopped pulling on him. Instead one pressed his shoulder against the wall while the other almost gently lifted his chin. The closeness made his skin crawl, and he felt the cold dampness of Coldridge seeping into his bones, but the mere act of forcing his eyes open had sapped his strength, leaving him helpless once again to any steel reinforced boots about to kick in his ribs.

"You back with me, Corvo?" A voice- Samuel's voice, right in front of him, while the vaguely brown blur in front of him moved slightly.

Corvo tried to answer, to agree, to ask what was happening, but instead only a tortured whine crawled up his throat.

The pressure on his shoulder softened a bit, not that it mattered. His veins were filled with fire, his bones with lead, and his skin was melting off his bubbling flesh.

"I'm sorry something terrible, Corvo. But I only gave you half the poison. They were watching me, and it was all I could think to do. I think you're strong enough to survive that." Half... Half the poison. Samuel poisoned him. The whiskey. Because the Loyalists forced him to. Because he had to die for their ambitions. And now Corvo was being boiled alive in his own blood.

His eyes grew hot and vision even more hazy, from something that had nothing to do with the poison. Air became scarce again as his throat closed up and shaky breath grew rapid.

His vision darkened as the pain rose to drown him again, even as he fought to stay conscious, to drag himself away from the brink that led to the sea of flaming whale oil raging through his body and mulching his insides. He couldn't- he couldn't give in, couldn't succumb, he had to- Emily...

Lightening shot through him once more, thoroughly dissolving the thought and didn't even do him the favour of cauterizing his nerves. Instead they were set alight in agony so all-consuming he would have been screaming had he had control over his body. Instead he went entirely slack, boneless, eyelids drooping over unfocused fever-bright eyes.

The hands briefly hesitated, before once again grabbing at him. The pressure through his body rose, dragged at him with the weight of a whale while the world swayed like a boat being tossed around the waves. After a few moments Corvo dimly recognized that Samuel had slung him partially over his shoulder and was carrying him... Somewhere.

As if the man had heard Corvo's disjointed rambling impressions Samuel started muttering again, quiet and strained and absent, as if he wasn't expecting Corvo to hear him anyway.

"I'll put you on a raft and then I've got to ship out myself before they find out I've gone against their wishes. Snakes. They'll want to do the same to me as soon as I've outlived my uses. Hopefully you'll wake up soon and find your way out of this cursed city." The thought of leaving, that Samuel thought he might leave, seemed so entirely nonsensical the mere notion  was quickly washed away by the next flare of nausea and pain.

Time passed at once like a lightning strike and as if it was being dragged through honey while he dangled off Samuel's shoulder. It wasn't entirely dissimilar to drifting through the void, except in the void he'd never felt pain. He didn't know if it simply was or if the Outsider made it so, but after Coldridge the Void provided the only escape from his never healing bruises and scrapes. ...And worse.

His eyes fell shut entirely somewhere along the way, though he had no way of telling if it was for seconds, minutes, hours or centuries. The only timeframe that mattered was the time in-between waves of agony pulsing through his being, ripping away what little sense he still had until only the pain remained.

Until a scream ripped through the mind-numbing pattern. A familiar scream.

Suddenly every reason why he couldn't simply hang here roared back into his mind with all the vengeance he'd failed to enact himself.

It was Emily's scream, the same as- as six months ago, desperate and scared.

Somehow, somewhere, in the abused mess of flesh and bones that still pretended to be his body he found another spark of energy, and with more violence than he'd managed to make himself commit against anyone else since his escape he forced it to the surface, pulled on his muscles to yank himself to his own feet. To Emily. To stop whatever had her screaming like this, to protect her from- from the situation he'd put her in. Again.

Retribution came immediately.

Agony surged through every fiber of his being and his muscles, stiff and unsuble just seconds before, started spasming without his control, every involuntary twitch cause of yet another lightning strike along his spine.

His vision whited out and consciousness fled from the unbearable onslaught before he could feel the shock of his body hitting the ground when Samuel failed to gently lower him down. Nor could he feel the boatman's frantic hands trying to save a condemned man from the death other men had decided for him, while his daughter, just around the corner, was once again dragged away from the body of her parent. Not the river's indifferent splashing, nor the leviathan's voice, unaging like the whale song, muttering to itself.

Emily's scream of terror echoed in his mind long after his daughter stopped screaming, replaced by silent tears as she sat in a corner, a boat, a locked room, and tried and failed to emulate the parents lost to her.

[toondisneyartz]

20 Years of Comfort Characters

Today is my 20th birthday, and I decided to draw every comfort character I've had since I was very young. You can notice there is a diverse amount of characters in this photo XD, some of them were really special to me growing up, but they all have made an impact on me. I also did NOT include every comfort character I've had in my entire life, as I was unable to include some characters I really wanted to include.   

Mickey Mouse is owned by Walt Disney Studios (2005?-2008) Martha Speaks is owned by Susan Meddaugh and PBS Kids (2011-2012) Ponyo is owned by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli (2011-2012) Peanut Big Top is owned by Amandine Consorti and MGA Entertainment (2011-2014) Dracularura is owned by Garrett Sander and Mattel (2012-2015) Liberty Moshling is owned by Michael Acton Smith and Mind Candy Entertainment (2013-2015) Unikitty is owned by Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Warner Brothers Entertainment (2014-2015) Riley Andersen is owned by Pete Docter and Pixar Animation Studios (2015-2016) Bonnie is owned by Scott Cawthon (2015-2016) Violet Parr is owned by Brad Bird and Pixar Animation Studios (2017-2019) Loki is owned by Stan Lee and Marvel (2019-2021) Gumball is owned by Ben Bocquelet and Cartoon Network Europe (2019-2020) Marceline is owned by Pendleton Ward and Cartoon Network Studios (2019-2020) Tom Lucitor is owned by Daron Nefcy and Disney TVA (2021) Commander Peepers is owned by Craig McCracken and Disney TVA (2021-present) Cala Maria and Hilda Berg are owned by Chad and Jared Moldenhauer and Studio MDHR (2022-2023) Mordecai is owned by JG Quintel and Cartoon Network Studios (2022-present) Spinel is owned by Rebecca Sugar and Cartoon Network Studios (2023-) Alphys is owned by Toby Fox (2023-)

[type40thiefoflight]

Four things I'd love from a DH1 remake are DH2-style non-lethal takedowns, a third upgrade to Blink that gives you Daud's version, NG+ that makes Knife of Dunwall and Brigmore Witches sepia-toned or black-and-white and gives them a film noir soundtrack, and different non-lethal options for Lady Boyle's Last Party. For DH2 I want another non-lethal option for The Clockwork Mansion.

Lady Boyle's Last Party:

1. Don't have Lady White and Lord Brisby feed you all the information, just subtle hints if anything. I really don't like that he just flat out tells you which sister to go after; it ruins the experience for me.

2. Corvo finds a letter opener in Lady Boyle's bedroom and slips it to her before taking her to Lord Brisby (think Daud swapping Barrister Timsh's documents). Funding a coup is bad but not "getting kidnapped and becoming a sex slave" bad. She can feed Lord Brisby to the hagfish on the way out.

3. Along with Lord Brisby telling Corvo that he's a friend of Treavor Pendleton's and part of the Loyalists, he confesses to being a supply smuggler and after the party is going past the blockade out of the city. All the food for the Hound Pits Pub and Lady Boyle's party had to come from somewhere and I doubt it was local markets.

Lord Brisby still asks Corvo to let Lady Boyle leave with him. He asks Corvo to hide her in an empty crate stashed near the boat in the cellar that he's taking back to his supply ship docked elsewhere. Once Corvo knocks Lady Boyle out and puts her in the crate it triggers a cutscene of Lord Brisby standing next to it on the boat. He thanks us for letting him save her and that he better get out of there before anyone notices they're gone. Yes I know this is just the Bundry Rothwild option again but if it can be reused for Paolo and Overseer Byrne in DH2 it's fine here.

The Clockwork Mansion:

1. The brainwashing chair reminded me of the electric chair in the Golden Cat so why not have Jindosh make an even more elaborate one? I think his punishment should be him getting knocked out in the chair then brought back to the Dreadful Wale and locked up. Maybe you could even zap the riddle's answer out of him or ask him later once he's on the boat. After Delilah is defeated he can be locked up in Coldridge, which we find out through either NPC dialogue or game notes has been reformed by Corvo so nobody has to suffer the way he did.

2. In a low chaos ending maybe you could hire him to make a solution to the whale oil crisis. If Anton "war crimes" Sokolov can be forgiven for infecting his test subjects, lying to them about it, leaving them to turn into weepers or die in his greenhouse, and supplying walls of light to Hiram Burrows, Kirin Jindosh can be let off the hook for supplying Duke Abele and Delilh with clockwork soldiers.

[aquietlifesblog]

The Cost of You (Dio x F!Reader)

"I… I've always wondered if…" For the first time, you seemed unsure of yourself. This is an area in which you had no experience. Thus, he allowed his kiss to be the answer. It was all the comfort you would ever need. OR

You let Dio have you for the very first time.

This is the first short story set in the 'Hungry Eyes' Universe. This can be read as a standalone but canonically happens during the first 'fate to black' scene featured in Chapter 1 of 'Hungry Eyes.' Read the Full Story on AO3

Note: This story takes place during Phantom Blood so period typical attitudes and understanding of sex apply.

Main Story | Masterlist |

"A woman's virtue is all she has, no man of good standing would wed a girl who's been sullied. There is nothing worse than a fallen woman, do you understand?" 

"Yes." 

You understood the threat men posed to your good standing, how their whims could steer the course of your life.

You understood when you were 12, and the city boys followed you around the marketplace shouting vulgar words. You understood when you were 16, and the young footman insisted you accompany him to some faraway fair alone. And you understood at age 20, when Lord Pendleton returned from his long trip abroad and marveled at how much you'd grown. 

You understood. 

And yet…and yet…

The press of Dio's lips against your own was heaven.

'He wants me,' your heart sang, 'just as much as I want him.'

Maybe even more.

You'd hardly gotten through the door before he kissed you again, and your coats and scarves were haphazardly discarded soon after. You felt as though you’d swoon, that you'd faint like some delicate lady as Dio led you to the bed.

He wanted you. 

The walls of the inn were thin, so the muffled sounds of merry patrons and tired workers drifted up through the polished hardwood floor. It should have annoyed you, but the moment Dio pressed you back against the plush white mattress, the world around you fell away. 

Everything but your sense of self-awareness.

Your heart and body ached for Dio, but you carried no illusions; he wanted you, and he might have even liked you, but he would never marry you; you may have carried Lord Pendleton's blood, but you were just a bastard, the illegitimate daughter of a maid.  

A softer man, perhaps, would say it didn't matter and would promise to marry you anyway.

But Dio Brando was not a soft man. He was pragmatic and cunning. He didn't see the value in sentiment so any promise of marriage would only be a clever lie. He was a liar, a murderer, and a schemer. But despite his ways, he was more honest than anyone else, more honest than even he would believe.

He was a double-edged blade, sharp and unwieldy. But unlike other men, who hid their sharp edges beneath kind words and flowery gifts, Dio never hid himself from you. So when he pressed in close and wrapped his arms around you, you understood exactly what it meant: 

He wanted you.

And you wanted him too. 

"Dio," you hated the way you cried when he released you, needy and desperate like some pinchcock in a brothel. 

"Hush now, dear, have patience." His eyes were so beautiful, like golden pools of honey as he undressed you with his rough hands. They slid from the thick of your hips to the swell of your breasts and back again, peeling away every layer with the grace of a swan.

‘Take this off,’ he told you, and ‘raise your hips,’ ‘your arms,’ ‘good girl.’  He stripped you of your skirts, your blouse, your chemise, and your stays��leaving everything behind as a pile on the floor.

You might have been embarrassed and ashamed of your naked body—women should never bare themselves to a man after all—but you liked the way Dio gazed upon you, like a beast seeking prey. You reached out your arm to hold him but he stopped you, pinning your wrist to the mattress instead. 

"Allow me to admire you," he said, as though he wished to savor the moment, to savor you.

And for a moment it was quiet, with nothing but the low murmur of the downstairs patrons and the sound of whistling wind settling in around you. You allowed him to savor the moment; you savored it as well.  And then you blinked, and something bloomed behind his golden gaze. 

Was it passion? you wondered. Obsession? Greed? You wouldn't let yourself imagine love. 

"Tell me what you want," he demanded, and your heart fluttered at the sound of his voice, soft and low. The rough pads of his fingers brushed across your cheek as he spoke to you, and a wicked smirk graced that perfect face. "Don't act shy now. Isn't this what you wanted?" He leaned forward then, his breath warm and soft in your ear. "Come now, you've never held your tongue before." 

"This is different," you trembled beneath his touch and he laughed at you, a soft chuckle ripe with glee. Dio had experience, you realized, he'd done this before. You briefly wondered if he engaged himself with women of good standing or if he hired women of the night. 

"And so it is…tell me, dear, do you think of me at night?" He pressed down upon your wrists as he loomed above you, his larger form positioned at your side. 

You didn't reply, so he took your silence as an answer. 

"As I thought," he gloated as a deceptive smile softened his features. "Of course you do." His large hand settled against your leftmost breast. You gasped, unsure what to do as he squeezed and pinched your nipple. His movements were slow, torturously slow as he continued. 

"Tell me what it is you dream about," he whispered, "tell me what sinful fantasies run rampant in your mind so that I may do more. Tell me what you think of as your hand slips beneath your bedsheets. I shan’t do more than this till you do." 

You didn't have the words to describe what you wanted and he knew that. But the pleasure of his languid touch was a flame that threatened to consume you. He stopped for just a moment and you whined about it till he started on your other breast. 

"What do you think about?" Your voice was weak and it wavered as you spoke. 

"Me?” He slid his hand away from your breasts and you whimpered again in protest. But he brought his fingers to your cheek, turned your eat toward him, and leaned closer. His thumb traced the gentle curve of your lips and they parted for him.

You wanted him to kiss you.

“I dream of you using that mouth of yours for better things." He told you, slipping a finger partway into your wanting mouth, demonstrating exactly what it was he wanted to do. 

Your heart pounded in your chest, your eyes went wide with the shock before narrowing down into a glare that made him laugh once again. 

You may have been inexperienced, but you understood the implication of his words. You've heard men laugh and joke about having women on their knees, of 'their pretty mouths wrapped around their throbbing cocks,' and the very thought made your lips curl in disgust.

He pulled his hand away so you couldn't bite him. So you slapped his hand and sat up, covering your breasts in a feeble attempt to preserve your sense of dignity. 

"I don't want to be with you that way." 

"Oh?" He tilted his head in amusement as you tried, and failed, to muster a proper glare. "Many women enjoy such things; it excites their…sensibilities." He placed a hand upon your thigh and moved lower, but you batted his hand away. 

"It's disgusting." You turned your head toward the door, hoping to express discontent. How silly you must have looked, sitting naked beside him, playing the part of a modest dame. 

"And yet here you are. Were you not writhing naked beneath me not a moment ago?" He tutted, speaking as though he knew your mind. "Some might say the same of you, my dear: an unwed woman quaking at the thighs, so ready and willing, eager to be relieved of her maidenhood." 

"I-" you loathed admitting he was right. You wanted it, you wanted him so badly something warm and wet began to pool between your thighs.

But you turned to glare at him anyway.

You once found a book in Lord Pendleton’s study that contained detailed accounts of sexual intimacy. You were scandalized, shocked, yet the pictures of the couples never left your memory: The man was on top, nestled between the woman's thighs. Her back was arched, her lips parted and her breasts unbound. 

You were told that sex was an ordeal, something for men to enjoy and women to endure. But the woman in the illustration seemed happy; you wanted to share that bliss with Dio, even as he spoke such devilish things. 

"No words? No self-righteous condemnation or defense of your own pure desires? I'm waiting for an answer." He set his hand on the small of your back, and you shivered as he blazed a trail to the curve of your ass and back again. "Or could it be that you're far too enamored to think? Is that it? Have you become dumbfounded by my touch? By the thought of me as I claim your virginity for myself?" 

Dio loved to hear himself speak, and though his lewd insinuations made your heart race, you could only take so much of it. And worse, you were placed into an awkward position, with Dio’s hulking figure set beside you, touching your body as he pleased, saying whatever the hell he wanted...and you hadn't a clue what to do. 

"What more is there to be said?" You spoke out in frustration, "you know how I feel about you, the reason why we're here." Though you never managed to say it. You wouldn't let yourself love him, only want him. 

"I do, in fact. And it brings me joy to know how you ache for me.” He held your face between his hands and leaned forward just so. “Had you told me sooner, you may have been my first as well.”

And with a kiss, he ensnared you again. Dio pressed you back against the bed, wedged a hand between your legs, and settled himself between them. 

“You b-” He leaned over you then, caging your body between his massive arms. 

“Call me what you will, but here we are, blissful agony so close at hand. If only you'd reveal to me your innermost desires I could fulfill your every fantasy. Or are you ashamed? Women should be pure and yet you yearn to be taken, yearn to feel my cock within you..." 

"Must you be so lewd!"

"Lewd? Are your desires so pure then? Look at you, on your back for me, dripping with desire. Yet you refuse to tell me what it is you yearn for.” He scoffed. “At least I'm honest with my intentions.” 

"I want you to kiss me!" You finally crack, embarrassed by your admission and the delirium of desire.

He said nothing for what felt like a long while, as though he was shocked by the mundanity of your words. Dio chuckled softly. 

"Then perhaps your desires are more pure than mine."

Nonetheless, Dio indulged you. He kissed your lips, your neck, your shoulders, and your earlobe. Dio dragged his tongue along your throat, pulling pleasure from your pliable form in ways you never expected.

"Dio," you moaned his name, blindly pulling at the back of his shirt, desperate for something to hold on to as you beckoned him closer. 

"Yes, love?” He teased, one large hand playing at the base of your breast. He held himself up with the other.  

"Dio please," you murmured, again unsure what it was you were asking for. You tried to press your legs together to find relief from the throbbing need that gathered there, but he was still placed between them.

"Well, aren't you eager?" He teased, circling a thumb around your nipple once again. You gasped, startled by the sharp pleasure that spread throughout your body like lightning in the sky. "And yet so delicate.”

“Must you say such things?” You groaned. Never had he thought of you as delicate before. That isn't why he liked you. 

"You speak as though you don't like it, yet your excitement is palpable," he licked his lips. "I can see it in your eyes, how anxious you are for me to fuck you." 

"You’re incorrigible," you hiss.

"Shall I stop?" He threatened as his hungry lips moved lower, down to your collar, across your breasts. 

"No, don't stop." Your entire being ached for him, leaving you in almost pained anticipation as he pressed a trail of kisses down your stomach. But Dio let out a hum of disapproval, so you decided to play to his ego. "I want you to have me."

"And how shall I have you?" He whispered.

'However you please,' you wanted to say, but you couldn't let him get too haughty. So 'quiet,'  was your eager reply. 

"You want me quiet then? Hm. Well, I suppose we share the same dream...allow me to show you the appeal." Your entire body trembled as he looked upon you from his lower position, and inhuman hunger sparked behind sulty golden eyes.

He moved lower still, angling his chest to the bed and hooking your legs around his shoulders.

You didn't understand, but your heart swelled in nervous anticipation.

He could see everything now, see how wet you were between the thighs, see how badly your body quivered.  Would he be disgusted? Appalled? Think you no better than some back alley whore?

"My, my," He started, his voice deep, "aren't you pretty?" 

"I-" You gasped then, unable to finish your sentence as he dragged his tongue across your most tender place and swirled that devil tongue around you. He hummed, seemingly delighted by your taste, and something in your body coiled.

You took hold of the blanket, unsure of what to do. You never considered this, never dreamed of this, never imagined this was something that could happen.

Was Dio a sexual deviant? Is that what was happening?  (He was certainly depraved so you wouldn't be surprised if that were the case.) But if he was, what did that make you? You liked this, you liked the position Dio took below you, you liked the way his hot mouth and greedy tongue felt as he found a constant rhythm.

Frantic gasps and warbling moans spilled from your lips as he found his stride. It was like waves of pleasure, threatening to drag you out into an open sea of rapture. You had no idea how to meet this feeling—so you edged upward without thinking, as though to retreat. 

"Do you not find this pleasurable?" He stopped. You looked down your body to meet an inquiring gaze and smooth pale skin flushed with heat. 

"Do you? " He looked at you as though it was obvious, as though you asked him if the sky was blue.

"Would you like me to continue or not? I thought you wanted me quiet." 

"I…I do. But-"

“Then stop your insistent squirming.” Squirming? You hadn’t realized you’d been squirming. You wanted to protest but Dio was quick to begin again. This time, he leveraged his size to root your body in place. 

"Oh my," you gasped, your voice straining as he regained his stride. "My god," you cursed again, as that thing inside you, that coiling pressure, built and curled like a wave. You took hold of him then, sinking your fingers in his hair to pull him closer. Dio moaned, and the sweet sound of his pleasure blended with your own. Deviant or not, you liked what he was doing, and you didn't want him to stop. You begged him not to stop, not until that wave of pleasure crested and broke upon the shore.

Your breaths came faster and faster, and as he buried his tongue deep inside your needy cunt you found what it was you'd been chasing: the end. 

You met your first orgasm with a breathy cry as your body shook with a pleasure you've never known. It was a storm, a flood, a flower blooming in the night. It was everything. 

'Blissful agony' indeed.

You melted, your body nothing but a bundle of nerves swept by lust's tender embrace. 

"My God," you took a single, quivering breath. 

"Not quite, but you're free to think of me as such." Dio settled back on his haunches, his expression smug as he licked your essence from his lips.

You needed a moment to breathe, a moment to regain your sense of self before you responded, yet every part of you felt tender and warm.

"You're speaking again?"  Was the only thing you thought to say to him, but in truth, you enjoyed the sound of his voice: low, sharp, and deep. But you liked the sound of his moans even more.

"So I am." He leaned forward and kissed you deeply, sharing the taste of your arousal. You squealed at that, but Dio pressed closer, pinning you down into the mattress as he ground his clothed erection against your belly. You weren't sure about the taste, but you pulled him closer anyway. The kiss you shared was long and sloppy.  

"I find your desperation endearing." He smirked. 

"I'm not-"  You moaned again as he left a tender trail of kisses down your neck.

"You are." He countered, and Dio drew your skin between his lips, licking and sucking till he left a mark for you to find come morning. Again you were reduced to nothing but giddy nerves. "Look at you, always so dishonest. Perhaps you'll tell me this: are you ready for me?" He asked so sweetly it gave you butterflies.  "Well?" He asked, rolling his hips against you once more. He was more than ready. 

"I'm ready,"  You said, with more confidence than you felt. You wanted this, you did, but your heart thundered in your chest so hard, you felt the need to turn away as he sat back and peeled away his waistcoat and blouse, exposing the expanse of his chest to you. 

Dio’s body was sculpted by the gods, lean yet toned with well-formed muscle. His trousers left him next, then his underclothes. By the time you managed to meet his gaze, Dio was looking at you, his thick cock stiff against his stomach.

"On most occasions," he stroked himself slowly, large fingers wrapped around his veiny shaft, "I would have asked you to return the favor, but you've managed to excite me all on your own. " 

"Do you seek to flatter all your women?" You asked, blood rushing to your cheeks once again. 

"And then some, my dear, but only those who deserve such praise." He stopped his stroking and stood above you, guiding you into a more favorable position, with your hips settled near the edge of the mattress. 

He kneeled between your thighs and leaned forward till your eyes met, his throbbing member pressed against your belly. 

Dio gazed upon you like a man possessed by greed, as though he wanted to own you, make you his. So you reached out to him, settling your hands against his shoulders, bracing yourself for what was to come as he kissed you. 

"Relax," he told you, reaching between your bodies to line himself up against your entry. He rubbed the head against you, then the shaft, and you shivered. 

It felt so good, being used to wet his cock, so good you might have finished from that alone had he not decided to push inside you.

"Dio-" you winced. It hurt, like a burning pressure deep inside. You whined and grunted as his slick length pushed you beyond a limit you never knew existed—and it wasn't even the whole of it.

"No, please," you cried out. Surely it was meant to be better than this. 

"Hush now, you can take me." Dio's voice was strained as he eased himself inside of you, his breath hot and heavy as you took him inch by inch. He was holding back for you. "You want this to feel good?" 

"Y-yes." 

"Then relax." 

You tried but with little success. But soon he was kissing you again, his lips leaving pleasurable sensations on your ear that made your entire body shudder. 

"There, there, you've done well." He whispered once he could push no further. "And it seems I've drawn first blood. That's a good thing, I assure you." He mentioned, looking down at the place your bodies came together. "Shall I continue?"

'A woman's virtue is all she has, no man of good standing would wed a girl who's been sullied. There is nothing worse than a fallen woman, do you understand?'  

You took a breath. 

"Yes."

Dio gave you just a moment longer to adjust to the feeling of being full. And though the intensity of the pressure lessened, you still held him close as he began to move. 

"You feel divine… just as a virgin should. " Dio praised, rearing back and forth at an easy pace. His girthy member dragged across the walls of your aching cunt, sending shocks of pain and pleasure through you. 

"What a good girl you are, clinging to me for comfort, so—ugh—so demure as I fuck you open—" He let out a curse. Dio rolled his hips against you and you gasped at the sharp pleasure that claimed you as your clenched around him.

Then he did it again and again, driving himself deeper every time. 

"I like that," you told him, urging him on with the sweetest cries: "Don't stop," "Do that again," and "Oh yes!" 

"I prefer you this way." He goads you. 

"And I—I preferred you as you were before." He laughed. Dio's skin was flushed red, his pupils large as he claimed you.

A symphony of grunts and moans echoed through your rented chamber. The walls were thin but that no longer seemed to matter as he speared himself into you. Your labored breaths rose and fell in pace with your lover's thrusting. The bed whined and shook beneath you, moving with the weight of your passion. And soon, pleasure came and went like the tides, ebbing the pain away. That same warm dreamy feeling returned to you, settling in the pit of your stomach and building much faster than before.

"You're so tight—so perfect. " 

He grabbed you by the hips and brought you forward, helping you meet his every thrust. 

He called your name. 

"You were made for me weren't you?" 

"Yes!" 

"That's what you want, isn't it? For... me to take you every night?" 

"Yes!"

"Then you're mine." 

"Yes!" 

You hardly registered the words he said, hardly realized how loud you moaned his name as he pulled that sweet, primordial pleasure from your body.

"Yes, yes, yes!" 

Little by little, his strokes became rougher, quicker, and more demanding. Your eyes were shut, but you could feel him staring.

In and out, in and out...he set into a frenzied, desperate pace. Soon, Dio doubled over, pressing his face into the side of your neck as his cock pulsed and throbbed within you. He was close to the end.

in and out, in and out...Dio's breath grew ragged and he pushed inside you with a final shaky thrust. His groan was deep and throaty, and you could feel his body shake as he filled you with his seed. 

A strange new pleasure bubbled up inside you, warming your body like a spring. You've never known this feeling, the feeling of being full. 

And so you laid together in silence, nothing but heavy breaths and a sweaty pile of tangled limbs.

"How utterly careless of me," he broke the silence, lips still flush against your skin. "You simply felt so good,  I could hardly control myself. You don't mind, do you? I'm sure nothing will come of it."

Nothing will come of it? Surely he wasn't referring to— 

"I can't fall pregnant," you spoke without breath. "Not the very first time." Isn't that how it worked?

He didn't move. Dio remained in that position for a few moments longer before lifting off you. And when he pulled out, the excess of his finish spilled from you as well.

"It's as I said, nothing will come of it— don't look at me that way, as though you'll cry...there's a medicine woman in London, I will have something prepared to ensure you aren’t cursed with my child." He rolled his eyes. 

Dio stood, snatched a folded sheet from the closet, and shook it out. 

"Though you should thank me for the opportunity, I'll be sure to use a contraceptive next time."

“Next time? You’re... you're rather presumptuous, aren't you?” You tried to frown, tried to return to form, but you found you were far too happy. 

“You still have much to learn; what better teacher to have than me?” He all but threw the sheet at your face and instructed you to change them, saying he refused to lay down in filth and that it was your mess anyway.

 You scoffed but made a mental note of the sick satisfaction that shone in his eyes when he saw the red stain of blood amongst the other fluids.  

"I pity the man you vow yourself to, having been denied such a gift." 

You rolled your eyes and turned denying him the chance to see the blush that darkened the apples of your cheeks. You stripped the sheets in silence.

"I suppose it doesn't matter. You're free to be mine for as long as you wish to be." You were shocked to see Dio move the pillows, making it so you could place the new sheets on the bed. 

You wanted to ask if that meant he was yours too, but you feared knowing the answer.

Dio took the sullied sheets without a word, tugging them from your grasp. You reached down for your chemise but he ushered you back to bed. 

"Leave it. Sit down." 

You didn't expect Dio to help you wipe your legs with the soiled sheet or be the type that wanted to hold you, but he did. After tossing the sheet into a corner, Dio stretched across the bed, one arm bent behind his head, the other resting at your side as you curled beneath the blanket.

Predictably, Dio began talking, speaking this time of ambition and all his future plans.

"Perhaps I'll let you be my secretary," he smirked, and it was your time to laugh then, letting out a deep and throaty chuckle. Because Dio didn’t see you as a girl who's been sullied, as a woman who committed a sin.  No. When you looked into Dio’s eyes you saw desire there, a hunger with no end.

"I suppose I'll consider it." You told him, content to lay your head against his chest. 

He would never marry you, you knew that, but he’d find a way to keep you at his side. 

No matter what it cost you...

[jakesuit0]

Wizard Battle Review

This one has a great setup. I love how nerdy Finn is over the wizards. It’s also cool seeing a bunch of wizards from different episodes return, it really adds to the worldbuilding of Ooo. We have Naked Wizard from “Memories of Boom Boom Mountain”, Bufo from “Wizard”, Forest Wizard from “Storytelling”, and other wizards wearing the robes from “Wizard”. There’s a bunch of new wizards that make their debut who will reappear throughout the series, most notably Laser Wizard, Abracadaniel, Flame Lord, Grand Master Wizard, and Huntress Wizard. Huntress Wizard has one of the coolest designs of any character in Adventure Time. In terms of silent background characters (for now), only Jungle Princess can compete with how sick she looks. So much so that she built up quite a reputation in the fandom long before “Flute Spell”. Doctor Princess tries to enter the competition, disguised as Science Whyzard. Totally in line with Doctor Princess’s pattern of faking her identities. She has a psychological disorder or something, I swear! Grand Master Wizard disqualifies her for using science, setting up the conflict in “Wizards Only, Fools”. Considering the prize, this could suggest her sexuality is something other than straight. HW cheers at the idea of kissing Bubblegum, which is hard proof that she’s bi. I also think it's hilarious that the audience consists of only a handful of people that are filled by the most random characters possible like LSP, who’s on her phone, and Phil (him being moved to tears by Abracadaniel’s speech later is really funny). 

Grand Master Wizard mentions eight schools of magic, which is a reference to Dungeons & Dragons. In D&D, they are abjuration, alteration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, illusion, invocation, and necromancy. Several of these are classes that Pep and Cadebra will take in “Wizard City”. The episode sets up the wizards’ strict isolation from outsiders. As Finn says, “only wizards allowed!” Ice King is a contestant. This builds on The Lich referring to him as an “ice wizard” in “Mortal Recoil”. It’s interesting which magic users can be considered a wizard in Ooo, seeing as Ice King’s magic comes from his crown. Finn and Jake are real dicks to him. Even before he says he’s going to cheat, they boo him and call him a loser. 

This brings us to….Princess Bubblegum. Her being a prize is just yuck, especially in the context of seasons two and three usually just using her character as a plot device. It’s totally out of character for her, even putting aside her hatred of wizards. Even Pendleton Ward has said he regrets putting her in this role. Jesse Moynihan and Ako Castuera, who boarded this episode, also felt weird about it. Too bad this still made it through. But yeah, this makes even less sense with her portrayal later in “Wizards Only, Fools.” Jesse Monyihan and Kent Osborne argued she’s there as a diplomat. I don’t think that’s enough to excuse her absolute disdain for magic society. Like, she doesn’t give a fuck about diplomacy with these guys in season five. Oh and I’m not even close to done complaining about PB in this one. Uhh, the straight women being mad about the prize, and Brain Wiz forfeiting because it's not an open mouth kiss was funny though.

Finn and Jake enter the battle dressed as wizards under Finn’s guise of saving PB from having to kiss Ice King. He really wants a chance at kissing Bubblegum again. He’s grown from his attitude towards smooching in “Go With Me”. Ice King testing how his breath smells by breathing on his hand is really funny. Ice King seems impressed, so maybe kissing him wouldn’t be so bad! Finn and Jake team up with Abracadaniel. He’s a really funny character, and I don’t think any of his future appearances are quite as funny. “Turn and push” is the funniest thing he ever says. Ice King battles the Flame Lord (our first “Frost & Fire”!) using nunchucks, referencing his ninja skills in “The Chamber of Frozen Blades”. I’m not sure why he doesn’t just use his ice weapons, which would be legal, but he’s crazy. 

Abracadaniel beats Ice King and Finn forfeits, presumably just to get Jake to stop teasing him about wanting to kiss PB. He can live with that, as long as nobody else kisses her. I love Abracadaniel’s excitement making him want to kiss Princess Bubblegum after all. Finn’s high pitched scream at this is also really funny. It knocks him out, making Finn the winner. Kind of messed up that he betrayed Abracadaniel! He really is the series punching bag, alongside NEPTR. Jake’s teasing of Finn continues to be funny, but it leads to a big outburst from Finn, who says he’s sick of keeping his feelings hidden. This is strange, as he was totally open about his feelings with Jake in “Too Young”. Jake continues to encourage Finn’s pursuit of Bubblegum, pushing him to go kiss an adult woman.

Finn and Jake are exposed. Princess Bubblegum thanks Finn for going through the trouble to save her from kissing Ice King. I can’t imagine PB would have actually kissed Ice King though, even with how out of character she’s written in this episode.  Anyway, she kisses Finn. Not her usual kiss on the cheek, but on the lips. This is a strong contender for my least favorite scene of the franchise. I don’t even think I need to get into the problem with an 18 year old (800+) kissing a 13 year old, but bad Adventure Time, bad! I hate that it hurts the kiss and meaning in “Too Young”. That was special and tragic partially because it was the one time Finn got to kiss her! In addition, it is completely contradictory of PB turning down Finn at the end of “Too Young”. That is supposed to be a big development for PB that will stay consistent in “Incendium”. I like that PB had a character flaw in the first two seasons with humoring Finn’s advancements, and how that eventually gets addressed in “Burning Low”. But, the development in “Too Young” was really important and I’m not sure why this one episode decided to ignore it. She slaps Finn for ruining the sanctity of wizard battle, something she shouldn’t care about respecting. She tells the wizards to get ready for next year. Despite the implication, I’m going to choose to believe she doesn’t participate in it again. The ending of Finn and Jake trying on the wizard glasses to look cool is cute and Ice King gets in a hilarious line to finish the episode on. 

This episode has a lot of good jokes, and I like parts of it. Unfortunately, Princess Bubblegum just ruins this one for me. She shouldn’t have even been in the episode. Finn and Jake joining the competition to stop Ice King from cheating is enough of a motivation. More focus on cool wizard battles and Ice King being Ice King would have made this a great episode. Instead we get easily Princess Bubblegum’s worst portrayal in the series. She is written badly on multiple levels. As a PB stan, I can’t forgive that. We’re also at the point where I want the series to move on from Finn trying to get with Bonnie. I don’t mind Finn still having feelings for her. He isn’t even over her as late as “Breezy”. But there’s no real reason to be invested in Finn’s pursuits after “Too Young”. I just want the conflict to be wrapped up so the series can move on from something that’s finally gotten tired. Luckily, we are almost there!

Grade: C-