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demethinkstoomuch · 1 year

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How Would The Locked Tomb Cast Do At Survivor?

Yes, it is time for my highly-researched opinions about how my current hyperfixation’s cast would do at my favorite reality game show!

I went through big chunks of the cast and sorted them into groups by playstyle/likely outcome/role in the season. A few characters are not easily sorted into a group, so they’re on their own. This mostly assumes the cast is isolated, though I may assume “someone like so and so” as options for tribemates; if I have a Blood vs Water thought, how they’d do with their loved one, I’ll bring it up. I will be ranking the groups on their likeliest boot orders, with a bit of wiggle-room, because after a certain point, that stops being super meaningful. I should have just done a Brant-Steele, I wouldn’t have to organize that.

Away we go under the cut!

...Survivor? That’s still on?

Let me give anyone unfamiliar with a 22-year old show a quick rundown: Game starts with everyone divided into usually 2-3 tribes of 6-10 people each. At this phase, immunity from tribal council earned in challenges is tribal, and the losing tribe goes to tribal council and they vote someone out. The tribes might swap players or change considerations, Survivor hates consistent formatting; somewhere in the 13-10-ish range, the tribes merge and immunity from the vote at tribal council becomes individual. People voted out join the Jury, who watch tribal council; at the end, the final 3 face the jury for Q&A or speeches, and the jury votes for the winner. You can get 1-use immunity from a vote by finding a hidden immunity idol. I am treating Final 4 as a point where no one meaningfully controls who goes home, because the current mechanic kind of works that way. I hate it, and am ignoring its existence.

Now, please note that Survivor is a very, very swing-y game. The things that win you the game one season might not in another, so there’s only some cases where I’m very sure how they would do, and some cases where I think there’s a range -- if you’re in theory capable of making it to the final 7 or so, and capable of doing it without screwing yourself out of victory, there might be a universe where you can win... or you could just miss your shot, who knows.

The Total Disasters (Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Silas, Judith, Mercymorn, Honesty, Crux, probably Pash, maybe Ortus but maybe not)

Look, some people are not destined to win Survivor. That’s most people, honestly. But some people are very, very clearly destined to be voted out immediately. These are people who cannot disguise any part of themselves to get along, who cannot chill, who need to have things their way or the highway, who eschew social bonds in favor of their own machinations and standards. Survivor is a game of connection, and it’s a game of connecting to people who are nothing like you. You can see why everyone on this listing might be total, unmitigated disasters.

Judith is the most likely person in the universe to force the entire tribe to just sit there in the shelter, we have no need for duplicity or sneaking off for private strategy talks, we will just eliminate the weakest link, It is very straightforward! No one likes that. It never goes well.

Harrow and Honesty are both very likely to get in trouble for immediately scouting for idols -- and not being subtle enough about it. Harrow is at least reasonably likely to find one, though. Honesty probably just applied when he heard about the time a cellophane-wrapped block of cocaine washed up on the beach during filming. It could happen again, on a different beach. Maybe production won’t take this one away. It could happen! Silas is most likely to interpret the immunity idol as a form of idolatry and be pissed about it. Both of these stories actually happened, though one never made it to the show. (Also, no one would want to see Silas after he’s gotten dirty. It’d just be sad.)

For some reason, undefinable for me, Mercymorn feels like she’d last a round or two, she just has big “third boot” vibes. I think she can maybe be functional enough in her hate to stick around. Ortus can stay out of this group if he does not quote too much poetry, and is not too big a downer. Pash can if she does not get into too many fights.

Precious Cinnamon Role Too Good for this Game, Too Pure (Nona)

Nona lives in her own category. She probably would be a form of disaster, but a very different one. Nona’s social skills honestly would preserve her from Harrow’s fate of immediate vote-out. That said, her inability to lie and her general softness would combine to make her a major problem as an ally: you could not tell her anything. She would be very uncomfortable about votes. I think she probably would not get very deep in before her unease at voting people out would make her too unreliable an ally to keep. I’m picturing Marquesas’ Gabriel Cade as I say this, and that was pre-merge. Cinnamon roll too good for this game, too pure.

On the other hand... I feel like there is an incredibly unlikely chance, if the stars align, that Nona could win. It would be a disaster season -- and probably very funny. This would require everyone else to be missing at least one of the following Survivor skills: Surviving to the End, Being Likeable, Removing Threats. Nona would have to be the only person whose two remaining skills are Being Likeable and Surviving to the End. If that happens, maybe everyone else would all self-destruct on each other while Nona has a fun adventure with all the blase innocence of a Cartoon Baby in a Cartoon Construction Site, and people like her more than the other members of the Final 3. This has happened before, so let’s call this Fabio upside.

Sit-Out Bench Gracers (Cytherea the First, Dulcinea Septimus)

These two have more or less identical early games, and only slight divergences in the late game. In the early game, they’re massively endangered due to, you know, being dying. Their hopes are twofold: #1, That the rest of their tribe can pull their weight, and they can be queen of the Sit-Out Bench; #2, that their social games are enough to protect them on likeability and they can shift the targets over. If that happens -- if they make it through the early game -- then they have a good shot at a deep run. They’re both likeable and cut-throat, a good combo... But then, do you want to go up against the inspirationally dying girl? Do you? You don’t, right? You cut that. I think Cytherea has a better survival rating than Dulcie, because being underestimated is Cytherea’s biggest skill, I think.

But let’s say they make it to the end-game: then, Cytherea’s ability to be under-estimated becomes a detriment. You have to be able to sell your game. You have to be able to sell your game and be respected for it, and the person who gets in close with personal reliance and deep intimacy, and then slits your throat callously? The jury tends not to like that. That tends to piss them off. In that regard, Dulcie, who’s just more edgy and less likely to play it personal, has a better rate of winning. But these differences would play out only in the rather unlikely endgame. I’d rather see Dulcie, though; she’d give an amazing confessional. I get big Courtney Yates energy from her, a tiny skinny girl, 0 physical presence, but hell of a sass on her. (She’d probably be less mean than Courtney, but I’m just saying.)

Smart Mom and Mom-Adjacent People (Abigail Pent, Juno Zeta, Commander We Suffer, The Angel)

So, there’s some good long-term potential, very little win chance, and very, very good Early Boot chances here. This is where Mercymorn would fit if Mercymorn were capable of Chilling. Let’s get to explaining that mess of a set-up. There are two driving factors: We’re dealing primarily in this group with “older” (Survivor “old” runs from early 30s to anything else; the show skews young, on average) women or women-adjacent people who are very smart and not capable of disguising it. On average, they’re not very physically tough, which becomes a problem in the early game -- they just might not be enough in challenges early on. On the second level, being undisguisably smart and no-bullshit can become...A little bit threatening. A lot of smart older ladies smell the rats early -- and the rats freak out and take them out. Which is more or less what happened to Abigail Pent in canon, so that seems a likely fate for her in Survivor.

But lately, that type has done a lot better, which is fun and exciting, so let’s talk about the final danger: If they last to the end, people might not like it when “Mom” betrays them. They very well might undervalue her strategic chops if she stays in deep. Even if they did not come here to be “Mom,” they don’t want it, stop that. But how you are perceived in Survivor is more relevant to how the game plays out than who you are or what you do. Survivor is not a fair game, and the double wombo-combo of agism and sexism is ruthless. But man, when this type does really well, they are a delight: they can be chaotic, ruthless, canny, and just really gratifying to watch. We Suffer probably does the best on the grounds of not being a necromancer, and therefore, being physically the toughest -- she has the most Chaos Kass or Chrissy upside (both of whom were delightful, think that this trend is BULLHONKEY, and nevertheless failed to escape it.)

Slow Down, You Crazy Child (Isaac Tetteres)

Isaac is a funny one. He’s pretty OK, but I think the odds of him melting down in a paranoid and self-destructive spiral are very high. This could begin at any time, but ultimately means that when Isaac spots a big threat, or starts to feel like someone is coming for him, he will come at them so hard that it destroys anything he’s built. Which is a shame: he could build stuff. Observation is a valuable Survivor skill, and I think he’s not actively repellant, so he’d probably make some decent alliances early on. But if you act like everyone is out to get you, you’ll make people out to get to. And if you show your chops too early, you might just take out your target...And then get taken out yourself. This quality is one that makes him one of the types of players Nona needs a whole season of to win: he’d be one of that season’s better players, too. It’s just that the best that sort of disaster comedy season has is juuuust sharp enough to cut themselves.

There’s some sort of connecting thread between himself, Augustine, Naberius, and Ianthe, but their over-all outcomes become so different that it becomes hard to lump them together. But if I did, that type would be: Too Schemey. How good they are at the socializing, how likeable they can be, how concealing of their cunning, determines their fate.

The Meatshields (Gideon Nav, G1deon, Marta, Pro, Colum, Aiglamine if she’s not too old for it, Jeannemarie if she doesn’t get into too many fights, Ortus if he can get his act together.)

This is, of course, an enormous group. The basic thing prognosis is this: If you are physically strong, you will be valued in the early game, and viewed as possibly threatening as a challenge threat in the middle of the game around the top of the merge. Even though, basically, if what you’re primarily delivering on is raw strength, the challenges really stop being geared that way. Survivor individual challenges are a lot more endurance, balance, and puzzle-based. People will still target those they perceive as threatening...And most of the people in this group do not have the ability to avoid that, so they’d probably all go in the early to mid merge. This bundle are not strategically very dynamic, though some of them -- Gideon, I mean Gideon -- are at least socially engaging. But the rest of them, except Jeanne, really wish this was about surviving, and not about people. It’s not, though!

Gideon has the upside of being very likeable, but you have to be way more clued-in, and willing to use those clues, to fare really well. But she gives a FANTASTIC confessional, which makes her a delight to have. She’d get asked back, but Survivor still resents you skipping Leg Day. Her namesake, not so much -- but if Gideon Nav improbably makes it to the end, she could win. Her namesake, though... if he’s lucky, someone picks him up as a loyal #2, and he gets voted out to weaken them or dragged to the end as a dead fish, setting his leader up for an easy win. 0% chance of winning. The rest would be loyal enough to be good allies, except Jeanne-Marie, who might be loyal, but could be a bit too much of a firecracker (though that makes her a good person to take to the end) ...But they’re all too honorable to wriggle out of trouble, and not strategic enough to take out bigger threats, so win odds are low.

The Godfathers (Commander Wake, Hot Sauce)

I think that they both operate on Having a Gang. If they have a Gang that they can be absolute ruler of -- and, given people, they will seek to become absolute ruler of -- and can dominate its comings and goings, it will become a thing of iron, and if it has the numerical superiority, they will march the Gang to the End and crush the other alliance/tribe/whatever. What if Boston Rob really, really hated necromancers? What if Boston Rob were a 14-year old girl?

Forced into a situation where her numbers are inferior or her tribemates resent the idea of being controlled, Wake has far and away the better odds compared to Hot Sauce, but she’s still more likely to go scorched earth and hopes to ride the chaos. Which...rarely works, honestly. I think Hot Sauce would have a harder time, being younger and all. They both have an incredible charisma and force of will which will hopefully get them their Gang, but Wake’s edges are harsher, while Hot Sauce is more withdrawn. Both are under considerable threat, playstyle-wise, of the whole premise of The Gang just not working with the cast around them. Like, most people don’t really like the idea that they are not allowed to have independent strategies in a strategy game. Their approach is more or less a high-risk, high-reward one. It fails at inflection points: the start of the game, the swaps, the merges, where they’re capable of being outnumbered or outgunned or overthrown. Wake probably has a better sense of who to take to the End Game than Hot Sauce, but that’s down to not being 14.

The Dads (Magnus Quinn, John Gaius)

These two technically have very different fates, but I thought their superficial approach would be alike enough. Both are reasonably physically competent mature men who are approachable, sociable, and not obvious about taking charge. They’re charming, reliable, and competent without being overwhelmingly so, which gives them good odds. But Magnus isn’t cutthroat, isn’t deceptive. This makes me think he’d go through the tribal stage, and he’d do well -- but when the time comes for his alliance to cannibalize itself, he won’t be long left, so he’s in The Zone, but loosely, 12-5 or so. Magnus is a great guy to have in your alliance, though, and a really great guy to have in your cast. He’d get an invite back and he’d do exactly the same, but we were expecting him to be delightful, not successful. He probably makes the DVD cover, so good for him!

John is deceptive, and he’s never as sentimental as he looks. His best-case scenario is that he activates his manipulation skills, plays innocent, finds someone worse to stand beside, and he is the coolest man on the ice. His worst-case scenario is that he makes a plan, over-reaches, and bungles it, perhaps melting down in a “who voted for me???!!” paranoid spiral, and does not understand why people do not want him to win. I’m not sure which I find more likely, but either could happen, and at just about any time. Winning is possible for John Gaius, unfortunately.

The Grand Vizier Probably Eats Brunch (Augustine the First)

I think Augustine maybe could win. I think it’s not a sure bet, but sometimes, you just have to be just charming enough, just good enough at pretending you care, just clever enough, without being any of those things too much. I think Augustine is good enough at playing second fiddle who turns around and tries to murder you that it will serve him well. That’s a winning role in Survivor. I could also see him on the losing side of the post-merge dynamics -- in which case, he’d go somewhere in the 10-7 zone, but outside of that scenario, I think you can pencil Augustine in for any point between Final 8 and Victory, Inclusive.

Too Dangerous To Live (Coronabeth Tridentarius, Palamedes Sextus, Camilla Hect)

All of these are people who I think could do very well at Survivor, except for the part where there is really no disguising how well they could do at Survivor. They will probably be valued members of their tribes and alliances, in the hub of things, making moves and doing great! Until everyone looks towards the end-game, and what do they see? This is the longest write-up, because each of them is a different picture of a great Survivor player in their field.

They see that Palamedes is crazy smart and has about 35 million scenarios for the endgame planned out. He can probably solve any puzzle put in front of him in, like, 3 seconds. He’s quite likeable most of the time, a good dude, and undeniably respectable as a strategic force in the game. He’d murder a final tribal speech. He runs the slight risk of being the sort of high-strung nerd who goes home early, but I think he can avoid it. He’s less likely to avoid being a high-strung nerd who gets voted out late. He’s a season’s fallen angel, the person who played brilliantly but fell short. Unless a miracle happened, but I think he’s in the Christian Hubicki slot; everyone’s gonna love this nerd, which is part of his problem. Some of the fandom will absolutely love him. They will be right, and not joyless reddit husks.

They see that Camilla is, for all she’s a little quiet and anti-social, a formidable challenge beast. She can do everything a Survivor individual challenge is likely to expect of you: she could throw beanbags at things, she could walk on balance-beams, she could endure in weird postures, she can solve a puzzle at the end. And she’s got a very strong strategic sense and understanding of the game rules, fully capable of recognizing who the threats are and who’s working against her and so on. She can find idols like she’s pulling them out of a pocket. I think she’d be the worst of this bunch at selling her game at the end, and the worst at convincing people to not target her now, but there’s a chance it works for itself.

They’d see Coronabeth. Who is Coronabeth, and is almost, very nearly, the perfect Survivor player: endlessly charming, endlessly charming, percieved as fantastic by all who survey her. Every move gets credited to her, even the ones she had nothing to do with. But she probably has a lot to do with a lot of them, because she is also rather cunning in the way a social-strategy game like Survivor is concerned with. And she is physically capable enough to win some immunities. Coronabeth could win Survivor by just standing there.

And the entire rest of the cast would go, “Huh, that’s a problem for me, because I would like to win Survivor. That is what Survivor is about, winning Survivor. And they could definitely stop literally all of us from winning Survivor.” And then the threat singularity would begin, and everyone’s mission would be to Get Out The Biggest Threat. Now, any of these people could go a few rounds on immunities or idols or stupid tribemates -- Corona gets the most out of stupid tribemates and the least out of idols because she’s less good at those -- but it’d be risky. They’d be sprinting through fire, scrambling from tribal council to tribal council like they’re walking on a tight-rope. Which makes a great show for the jury, which makes them more likely to win, which makes them more threatening, lather, rinse, repeat. The luck is, more likely than not, going to run out at some point. It will most likely run out somewhere between the final 7 and the Final 4, with 5 as a very likely point: last call before it’s too late to stop them, oh god, somebody, please stop them!

Funnily enough, I think a Blood Vs Water with Palamedes and Camilla dampens both of their chances, because they can’t protect them both. A Blood vs Water with a Redemption Island twist, where someone who can do well at challenges can come back, though... Then he and Camilla would absolutely wreck shop if she gets voted out early, hiding his threat level a bit, and then she wins her way back at the final hour, and then they are an Unstoppable Survivor Machine. Let’s call this the Paul Scenario.

Almost Perfect, Except For the Glaring Part Where She’s Ianthe (Ianthe Tridentarius)

Ianthe is almost a great Survivor player, if only she weren’t...Ianthe about it. She seems to be aware enough that you have to charm people to at least make an attempt. And she’s clever and cutthroat. But...Would it be enough to overcome... Ianthe? And, if so, then what? Could someone willingly vote for Ianthe to win a million dollars? Could someone Ianthe has backstabbed turn around and applaud her? I think Ianthe would gloat too much, honestly, and that would end up making people turn away from respecting her game. She is her own worst enemy. I think she makes it pretty far, though -- and either gets taken out for being too schemey, or she stays and is a 0 vote finalist... But maybe, just maybe, she’d have a shot.

Here is what her shot looks like: She needs a Coronabeth. She needs someone who is attention-drawing that she can pair up with and hide her threat level behind. Unlike actually playing with Coronabeth, though, she’d need to get that person to about the 5-6 remaining point and then take her out... after lining up a collection of saps who absolutely could not get more than a few anti-Ianthe votes, and those guys take her to the final 3. Like, say, Babs. Everyone hates voting for Ianthe, but they just can’t vote for those other guys, because in some way, they are worse. That’s what an Ianthe win looks like. Missing any of those elements means that Ianthe probably falls just short of a win.

Mr 0 Votes (Naberius Tern)

Oh, hey. It’s the guy Ianthe needs to take to the end. He is his own special sort of disaster: he’s the perfect goat, his own worst enemy. No one’s going to vote for Naberius to win. In general, he strikes me as the exact sort of player that could lead to a Nona win if there were enough of him in a season: he’s smart enough to know how to strategize, but not so smart and not so charming that he wouldn’t overplay, and not nearly subtle enough. He thinks he’s a strategic mastermind, he probably has a confessional or three about how he’s the one controlling this game. He isn’t. He could really go at any point in the game, honestly. If he goes early, it’s because he’s a slimy, whiny twerp who overplayed his hand and overestimated himself; if he goes at top of the merge, it’s because he’s a big physical threat. After that, though... He probably doesn’t go home in the 8-4 zone, not if anyone can help it. He’s the perfect losing finalist, you want to take him to the end no matter who you are. Unless he’s not your sacrificial goat, or unless there’s no better targets vulnerable. Then he goes. No one’s sad about it.

THE WINNER, GENTLEFOLK! (Pyrrha Dve)

Bow down before your new Survivor God. Pyrrha is really, really, really good at Survivor. She is probably the single best Survivor player of the cast, prove me wrong. A huge part of that is that she’s capable of lying low, in addition to being charming, a great liar, cut-throat, cunning, and physically capable. I think she is capable of taking a season of Survivor and ruling it in a way which is so low-key and so complete that she makes a really boring Survivor season, because she’d crush all the life out of it. They might want to take her out every week, but they can’t -- but next week! But no, not this week, either. And so on. Pyrrha’s said all these things, but really, she’s in with them, right? They need her. They can’t get rid of her now. And the chance slips away... Things could break badly for her, but she would need some bad luck to not charm her way, subtle and powerful, to the win.

#The Locked Tomb #TLT #Survivor #Stacking Obsessions #I'm not listing the entire cast in tags #I'm not a monster #Nona the Ninth Spoilers #I am in delight imagining the clown-car pile-up scenario required for a Nona win. It'd be hilarious.#I am not going to call Ianthe Russell Hantz but I thought about it #But I didn't want to be so insulting to Ianthe.#Meta #TLT Meta #The Mortifying Ordeal of Posting Your Dumb Crossover Concepts #Courtney Yates rather did look like a malign fairy #Camilla Hect on Redemption Island would be a delightful terrifying experience #Just looming in the background.#People getting on the DVD cover almost regardless of placement: Gideon/Magnus/Pyrrha/Anyone Too Dangerous To Live #People getting on the DVD cover if they do REMOTELY well: Ianthe/Dulcinea/John/Augustine/Any Smart Mom-Types/Nona/Any Godfather Type #Babs might get on the cover only as a losing finalist but only MIGHT. G1deon would not get one even as a losing finalist.#Harrow would at least like the food!#The None or the Plain White Rice Boiled in Water

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mongeese · 4 months

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I watch one episode with the Ninth Doctor and I am immediately reminded why I love him so damn much he's the best Doctor of nuWho and I so wish we'd had more time with him. This isn't anything that hasn't been said before (I literally just reblogged a post that said it) but he is just so good. Of all the Doctors I've seen, he has truly the most kindness and joy of any of them. First episode he meets the big bad and when Rose tells him to kill it he is shocked. "I've got to give it a chance," he says. He's an open wound of a man but he is so full of love for everyone and everything. And I am full of love for him

#ninth doctor #doctor who #its the exact opposite of 11 who is bubbly and energetic and nice but ultimately the most callous of the doctors imo #which is why i don't like 11 much at all. 11 haters rise up #im glad that nine's run is the one dvd set i have it's the best #like donna is my fav companion so her season is maybe my favorite but nine is my favorite doctor

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lesbiansanemi · 1 year

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Stopped by the book store today for some little treats since I have run a bunch of big boy errands today and I’m finally gonna see what all this locked tomb stuff is about

#god knows when I’ll start it #but I did finally get Gideon the ninth which I’ve been wanting to do for a hot minute now #also got some csm volumes and some bleach stuff #and jjk 0 on dvd :3 #physical media collection FINALLY going places again #kaz rambles

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brokehorrorfan · 2 years

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The Ninth Configuration has been released on Blu-ray via Scream Factory. Limited to 1,500, it’s available for $26.98 exclusively from Shout Factory. The 1980 psychological horror-drama is also known as Twinkle, Twinkle, Killer Kane.

The Exorcist writer William Peter Blatty makes his directorial debut from his own script, based on his 1978 novel. Stacy Keach, Scott Wilson, Jason Miller, Ed Flanders, Neville Brand, George DiCenzo, Moses Gunn, Robert Loggia, Joe Spinell, Alejandro Rey, and Tom Atkins star.

The Ninth Configuration has been newly scanned in 2K from the original camera negative. Special features are listed below.

Special features:

Audio commentary by writer-director William Peter Blatty

Interview with writer-director William Peter Blatty

Interview with actor Stacy Keach

Interview with actor Stephen Powers

Interview with production designer William Malley and art director J. Dennis Washington

Interview with composer Barry De Vorzon

The Party Behind the Curtain – Interviews with writer-director William Peter Blatty and actors Tom Atkins, Jason Miller, and Richard Lynch

Featurette with film critic Mark Kermode

Deleted scenes and outtakes

In the final days of the Vietnam War, a remote castle in the Pacific Northwest serves as a mental hospital for troubled soldiers scarred by their experiences. Isolated and all-but-forgotten, the inmates are running the asylum ... until Colonel Kane (Stacy Keach) arrives to take over their treatment. Taking a special interest in one of his new patients – former astronaut Billy Cutshaw (Scott Wilson) who inexplicably aborted his mission to the Moon during its final countdown – Kane seeks answers to the mysteries of the breakdown. But as his time in the castle goes on, the riddles in Kane's own mind reveal themselves in shocking and violent ways.

#the ninth configuration #william peter blatty #horror #80s horror #1980s horror #scream factory #shout factory #dvd #gift #stacy keach #scott wilson #jason miller #tom atkins #joe spinell #ed flanders

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mossflower · 2 years

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lads guess who managed to organise their bookshelves properly for the first time in months

#THERE ARE NO MORE BOOKS ON MY DRAWERS THEY ARE ALL ON SHELVES #apart from the alex rider books but i think i can get them on there too? if i do some more rearranging? oh my god #i even have a space for nona the ninth when that arrives in a couple months!! i’m so organised wow #and it doesn’t stop there! i have moved my phone charger away from my bed. i have found a spot for my telescope #i have put away the myriad bottles of Christmas Soap that never gets used #i have organised my dvds and stationery and FINALLY FOUND A PLACE TO PUT THE H*RRY P*TTER BOOKS THAT ISNT MY SHELVES #i want to get rid of them but i know i won’t remember so they’re now in the bottom of my wardrobe #i think buying the ikea shark plush (her name is katherine btw) has like. given me a shot of executive function???#this is amazing i never want it to end #morganposting

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todorokies · 9 months

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2:48pm - satoru gojo

contents: fluff, established relationship, fem!reader, teen!gojo or adult!gojo u can imagine whichever, found family trope, megumi & tsumiki are some vv young lads here (they’re like 8 & 9 years old), this is a kinda unserious ngl

a/n: the found family trope will always hold a special place in my heart

“what the hell are you doing?!”

the sight in front of you was absolutely distasteful, nothing could’ve prepared you for the horrors that displayed in the comfort of your own home. not even a trip to the ninth circle of hell could mentally equip you with strength to deal with this troublesome…mess.

satoru’s elongated body currently rests in a downward dog postion as his hands are occupied with his left being on a red circle and the right on a blue circle.

you would think the children that you left in his care would be participating in the child’s game of twister, but that was far from the truth as satoru’s hostages —megumi and tsumiki— sat criss-crossed off the game mat as they shared the same puzzled look with you.

“oh hey baby! we missed you- megs gimme a hand here and spin the wheel for me.” your mouth comically drops so fast you’d think you were in an episode of a cartoon.

with a deep scowl present on his face, the young megumi reluctantly shifts closer to the spinner giving it a weak twirl that eventually lands on ‘right foot, green.’ miraculously, satoru is able to cross his foot over on a green circle in a way that shouldn’t be considered humanly possible.

your boyfriend is gonna break a bone or two if you don’t stop this tomfoolery.

you crouch down to be face to face with him. “you do realize you’re supposed to be looking after the kids while i was gone…not traumatizing them, right?” he raises his head to look at you, “traumatizing them? nonsense! a good game of twister always builds character.”

“a good game of them watching you play alone will build character for them how exactly?”

“well obviously i couldn’t let them play. i wouldn’t want to risk toppling them over and letting them lose in a game that requires skill.”

with that, tsumiki and megumi gets up from their spots on the floor and make their way to the entryway to pick up the snacks you dropped in disarray upon arrival. “but you lost to both me and megumi before…i don’t know why he’s lying.”

ego bruised, he dramatically collapses on the twister mat, “you weren’t suppose to tell her that!” a genuine belly laugh escapes from your mouth, heading towards the couch to high-five the kids who just finished putting away the groceries and had two family sized potato chip bags in their laps.

“good job guys! next time record it on his phone for me.” they both nodded with enthusiasm.

satoru dramatically whines while planting his face in the palm of his hands while striding over to your dvd rack to choose a movie for the night. “cut me some slack, did you really expect me ruin the game for the kids?”

you quizzically contemplate your answer with a finger on your chin and satoru could practically see the sfx question mark above your head. “oh come onnnn!”

you then walk over to the now sulking white haired boy to delicately place both of your hands on his smooth face earning a groan from megumi combined with fake gagging sounds from tsumiki.

“if it makes you feel any better i think they secretly enjoy your antics. tsumiki told me about the tea party you guys had; with tiaras and everything yeah?” he slowly nodded unsure of what you’re trying to get at.

“and you bought megumi that nintendo ds he was subtly hinting for…my point is that they appreciate you so much even if they act like they don’t; i appreciate you.”

satoru’s whole demeanour does a turnaround. smiling gleefully at you as his dimples showcase in all of it’s glory. “i mean, yeah, they don’t wanna admit it to your face in case it’ll hurt your feelings…” his hand inches towards to your neck lightly ghosting above your velvety skin whilst slowly leaning in as his eyes flicker to your lips. “…but i think i’m their favourite parent.”

before his soft lips could capture yours two potato chips come flying in your direction as a sour expression sits upon tsumiki and megumi’s face. “ewww guys! remember we still need to pick something to watch.”

megumi huffs, “and can we not watch ice age for the millionth time i don’t care how much gojo likes that movie.”

reblogs & feedback is appreciated!! <3

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starberry-cupcake · 21 days

Text

Me reading this book is like trying to pin things to a cork board with red thread but the things I'm trying to pin down are fog and they vanish before I can grasp them.

Here's a visual representation of me finishing a chapter:

previously, in harrowbeenie the ninth:

this happened

currently, after chapter 5 (you're gonna have to be patient with this one):

we're moving back and forth between the second and third person

knowing now the content of the letters that yandere twin had talked about in the prologue, it makes some sense

but we aren't there yet

I need to point out something I don't think I specified enough last time

ice cube barbie changed eyes

people be changin' eyes here

she used to have eyes like harrow and now she has, and I quote: "ever since you had writhed in Lyctoral agony, her eyes had turned a yellow that made you dizzy to behold: a bronzed, hot, animal yellow, as amber as the inside of an egg"

this is from gideon's last ch.: "Gideon's eyes, as they always did, startled her: their deep, chromatic amber, the startling hot gold of freshly-brewed tea"

just gonna leave that there

but now, moving forward...or backwards to ch. 3 flashback of sorts

we got a recap of most of the events we knew, but in a gideon-less ver.

I'm gonna also point out that harrowbean mentions her mother holding her wrist the same way she said ice cube barbie did when they were in the coffin hangar

another addition to the clown emperor's story is that the Resurrection is described in harrow's memories as "ten thousand years ago had given them all release from death that none of them had deserved"

I don't know about any of this

we've got a disturbance in the force when harrow describes her parents finding out about the tomb thing

it says "her parents had...found out...about what she had done"

interesting edit of the story there

there's a gideon-sized hole in this story

there's also an interesting new count of nooses??

she says they tied five, two for mortus (???) but in gideon's book she said they tied their own nooses and then helped her tie hers, what's up with mortus having two??? is this nothing and I'm just obsessing about every detail???

I'm gonna start seeing palmolive's force ghost roaming around my house

at the end of ch. 3 it says "there had been another girl who grew up alongside Harrow—but she had died before Harrow was born"

this is a VERY INTERESTING wording

if someone dies before you are born, they can't grow up with you

UNLESS

I'm not gonna dwell on that yet

let's put a pin on that

ch. 4 has the re-apparition of yandere twin

*live studio audience cheers, maybe*

she gives her a letter addressed to her from her

the letter has a lot of instructions of things she doesn't remember at all and also are supposed to be opened at specific times/events

one of them says "in the event of the emperor's death"

another says it's in case she sees regina george twin, which makes a whole argument happen and knives are used to settle it

yandere twin will not hear someone imply her sister might be no longer with us

she probably isn't dead, this I know for certain, people wouldn't be confusing my names for them if that was all we got from her

the most important letter, though, is the one in case she sees camilla, who harrow claims not having interacted with ever

this is a very important thing to note, but most importantly, CAMILLA MENTION

very important to be noting who harrow remembers interacting with and who she doesn't

very important as well that she remembers yandere twin losing an arm in battle but does not remember gideon or camilla

I haven't mentioned it yet but, in the letter, past!harrow tells present!harrow that she needs to check yandere twin's tongue and lower mandibule

to which I think to myself "I bet she's gonna kiss her"

and that she did

which makes me want an edition of this book but with gideon commentary

like a dvd commentary but it's gideon commenting on all this stuff

and cracking jokes

because I bet she'd be cracking jokes about this

remember when she joked that yandere twin would marry mayonnaise uncle?

and then both harrow and mayonnaise uncle were like "ew the third's magic is weird"

imagine if she saw this display

another CRUCIAL thing is that harrow is doing like an oath to yandere twin as requested by past!harrow

and she says "by the ripped and remade soul of ortus nigenad"

and yandere twin goes "who? oh, yes—the cavalier"

I mean, mood at not remembering the names, but also SUSPICIOUS BEHAVIOR

she also tells present!harrow "I gave you something you cared about very deeply at the time"

side note, there is yet another moment in which chad is read for filth

get obliterated even in undeath, chad

last detail from this chapter is that harrowbean almost gets assassinated

maybe I should have started with that

at this point there's so much going on, death seems like a normal one

so yeah, she's gonna get killed with a pillow to the face and then she defends herself and discovers at the end of the chapter that she didn't hallucinate the whole thing and it was hidden from her on purpose that somebody tried to end her

so what's the point in being in this clown death star and surviving big brother canaan house if you can't even sleep peacefully???

moving on to chapter 5

remember the timeline I was making?

yeah, about that

chapter 5, in the third person continuity, establishes that what I saw previously was not necessarily a memory but an au memory

if we can call it something at this point

so my calculations were made as if the timeline was one

but this is not one timeline, it's a sort of parallel gideon-less one

of course my heart is making me believe the gideon-less one is the one that isn't real

and that past!harrow might know what's going on with that

maybe gideon's existence needs to be protected

maybe the emperor doesn't have to know about her

(I'm still holding on to the gideon hope, leave me alone)

but, in any case, present!harrow doesn't know

let's remember the prologue begun with harrow doing something she shouldn't and yandere twin saying something like "was there something in those letters I don't know about?"

I'm just gonna have to throw my timeline in the trash and start over with multiple timelines for now

ALSO, I didn't say anything about it yet, but it's mentioned that harrow is "in love" with ice cube barbie

take that as you will

which is another joke gideon has made in the past and would be stellar in a commentary of this

and, talking about things gideon would be awesome at commenting

in the new ortus-inclusive (?) narrative, ortus is talking about the epic of Matthias Nonius, who we know because harrow has compared gideon to him in the past

and also there's is a comment made about how ortus looks down on people who read "prurient magazines or pamphlets"

I really need gideon confessionals commentary over here

she also says that "the ninth house character, she was forced to admit, had always been low on wild and confident fucks"

yeah, well, how about that

and we end with THE FLIMSY

lots of important flimsies in this

she finds a note that reads "THE EGGS YOU GAVE ME ALL DIED AND YOU LIED TO ME"

ortus says he can't read it

but, in any case,

that made me stop in my tracks because I was reminded I forgot about the writing on the walls of canaan house?????

I filed it under canaan house weirdness but then, it was never talked about?????? again????

also the paper gideon found with her name

which I assumed was addressing the other gideon that not!dulcinea mentioned knowing

but who tf knows at this point

who knows what time and space are anymore

time to leave it for today...this is getting wild, you guys

#luly reacts to tlt #tlt spoilers #harrow the ninth #harrow the ninth spoilers #the locked tomb #long post #gif cw #me looking for that scene of Kim just to make that gif #I need to start making these shorter istg

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catsgetoutduringmidnight · 3 months

Text

Aziraphale & Eddington.

Neil has confirmed us that David Tennant *actually* exists within the Good Omens universe. Thus, we may assume that the whole of his filmography, except for Good Omens, also exists. We may assume as well that Aziraphale has more or less followed Doctor Who over the decades, and that somehow, with time, the actor of his favourite doctor earned an eerie similarity to Job. But this isn't about him, right now. This is about his son in law.

I would like to think Aziraphale did enjoy the utterly handsome Eighth doctor, ending up glued to the screen and getting deeply excited about this incarnation. He probably got upset because of his only appearance on TV, but would still be delighted to see the series coming back to the BBC in 2005. The Ninth doctor may have appeared a bit tough to him at first, but there was something deeply endearing about him. Maybe it was the way he rocked that leather jacket, or his sense of humour, or his bravery, or his charming accent... He never really knew, but it was sad to say goodbye so soon again. "Who will be the new doctor?" He thought to himself. "Will they be blond? Taller? Will they wear a vest? A bowtie perhaps?". When the young man appeared on screen before Rose for the first time, Aziraphale was left completely mesmerised. The young man was... Different. He had slightly long hair and, honestly, he really liked how the leather jacket suited him too. Once the credits rolled, he found out his name: David. "Oh, that's a lovely name," he thought to himself. "That's the name of a king!".

He followed his seasons very carefully, blushing with his cheekiness, chuckling with his jokes, and loving how adventurous and fair the man was. Thanks to Crowley, he even dared to go to "the videoclub" and rent some of his earlier works. Oh, how handsome the man looked in The Last September, what a dear he was in Takin' Over the Asylum, how lovely he was in Duck Patrol, and what a cocky detective he was in Blackpool... Although, he admitted not being too focused on observing his labour as a detective there. The young man was rather handsome. Aziraphale flushed, could this be love? How silly of him! Falling in love with an actor! He was an angel! Which, inherently, also meant he was born to love. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't something bad. It could be silly, of course, but forgivable.

One afternoon, Aziraphale went to the videoclub on his own, and found a movie he hadn't checked out yet. Einstein and Eddington, a scientific movie it was. The young man looked wonderful in those glasses and stunning sandrift linen suit. Humans may say one mustn't judge a book by its cover, but this dvd already seemed perfect for him! Thus, the angel rented it and decided to treat himself with the film. He laid on his white cream sofa, got under his soft tartan blanket, and pressed the play button. A smile came across his face when he saw the man in those light refined clothes. What a delight to the sight that was.

The angel felt it deeply when he learnt that Eddington was in love with a man he couldn't have, but his heart did not only wrench there, no. It was when he saw the man stand before the orrery when things got clearer. He had to pause the video. Aziraphale got up and sat close before the screen, brushing his fingers against the image. "Crowley..." He mumbled. The only thing in his mind was the image of the spectacular ginger angel he met, in their neat white dress, creating a whole universe in front of his eyes. The way their thin fingers moved, the eagerness in their voice, the dark greenish of their gaze, way more breathtaking than the vastness of hues of the newborn nebulae. And when the blond saw, further on, the physicist crying desperately for his vanished love in the wide green garden, his heart shattered into shards.

He would not admit it, but he did not watch the movie just once that night. Not twice either. Eddington was just like his dear boy, not specifically the angel, nor specifically the demon. It was him. With their curiosity, and their passion, and their deep care, and hunger for answers and justice. He felt warm tears threatening to fall from his eyes and his mind started wandering. Because, what if. Just, what if Crowley had ever felt like Eddington? What if he was worried that one day he would never see his angel again? What if there were feelings trapped in his chest he feared never being able to express? Would he be like the astronomer and, once again, question God for her ineffable decisions? It took Aziraphale a good while to get away from the screen, from that eerily familiar image fueling his heart. It took him days for his sorrow over the fictional Eddington's life to lighten, after being the root of many, many wondering.

The next time the angel met his partner, he was certainly still caught up in his thoughts. The demon noticed, so he decided to ask him about his series and that actor that had truly drawn his attention. He didn't really know what he saw in him, but it didn't take much to notice the pure bliss in his blue eyes when he told him about his character's adventures. The way his words flowed in excitement and his hands often moved around to help with it. The angel was finally enjoying himself in something else than books and occasional music, and seeing him so cheerful did really brighten the demon too.

"How are things going with your binge watching? Have you gotten your hands on another series, or...?"

Aziraphale slowly lifted up his head and stared nervously into Crowley's eyes. He did not know what to say, how could he put into words his worry? Even worse, how to explain where all this came from? The ginger would probably laugh. Worrying that deeply about a character? A movie character? The angel got dewy-eyed. Please no, not in front of him, not like this, he prayed. The demon frowned, he sensed there was something his beloved couldn't easily tell.

"Aziraphale? Is everything alright?" The ginger asked softly. The principality breathed deeply and finally, managed to speak, as he fiddled with his vest.

"I- I just watched a movie, a sad one I must say. It made me think." The demon hummed, and answered.

"I get it. It's understandable, and if that David guy is really that good as you say, I bet his acting can move tons of people." Aziraphale's gaze brightened, he couldn't believe what he had just heard. "I mean, I can see him being very talented. From what you've told me, the man does really have a range for acting. That's always important, to be able to adapt-."

"You really listened." Crowley was about to keep on rambling when he saw the angel in awe.

"Well, I have ears, what else am I supposed to do with them if its not listening?"

Tears fell off the angel's eyes. Crowley did not hesitate to get closer, inviting him into his arms. In a matter of seconds, the blond was in his embrace. He hugged his Angel tightly, and let him cry as much as he needed, caressing his back. He could not help but mutter in a caring tone.

"You and your stories, Angel."

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sekai-no-reita · 6 months

Text

#reita #reita the gazette #the gazette #gazette #the video quality sucked so this is the best I could do #but he was so cute so how could I not!#;;;#*sobs*#BABY #look at him clap #whiiiiii #<3 #snr:gif #gif:reita #dvd: ninth #bts

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morganhopesmith1996 · 7 months

Text

This was only $49.99 at Walmart!

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firstelevens · 4 months

Note

song 25 + sambucky if you're still taking spotify wrapped prompts ☺️

25. Accidentally In Love by Counting Crows

When Sam’s phone goes off, he’s half asleep on his couch, buried under a small mountain of blankets and too congested to even really hear it that well. He only notices because it’s face-up on the coffee table and the screen catches his eye when it lights up.

He extends a hand out from his blanket nest and picks up the phone, wincing at the bright light of the display.

It takes a second of squinting at the screen, but he finally manages to see that the notification is a text from Foggy: ‘any tips on how to handle your honors lit class? no subs available this morning so Hill has me covering’

‘Try not to show any weakness. They smell fear,’ Sam texts back. Then he adds, ‘There’s a Princess Bride DVD in the cupboard, you can get a key from Bucky.’

Foggy’s reply is predictably annoying: ‘does loverboy still think that you and me are dating? do I need to worry about him sabotaging my teaching in a fit of jealousy?’

Sam glares at the screen of his phone but it doesn’t do much, given that Foggy can’t see him. ‘Just for that you I’m not telling you where I put the Luhrmann Romeo + Juliet. You’ll just have to teach the ninth graders about iambic meter yourself next period.’

Foggy doesn’t get back to him for a while, which isn’t all that surprising. The beginning of the school day is hectic enough for a guidance counselor without having to unexpectedly cover another teacher’s class.

He stumbles to the kitchen to make himself tea, a blanket around his shoulders and his phone in his hand, but Foggy doesn’t reply for another twenty minutes. Sam’s head hurts too much for him to remember how neat the supply cupboard was, but he’s hoping it’s not so bad that Foggy’s just elbows deep in useless stuff.

After giving it another few minutes while he takes his next dose of cold medicine, he sends a text to check whether Foggy found what he was looking for.

The reply is immediate: ‘didn’t end up needing the dvd! I asked Bucky for the key and when he heard you were sick he said he’d handle it.’

‘Doesn’t he teach first period journalism?’

‘You’re sick so I won’t make fun of you for memorizing his schedule,’ Foggy writes, magnanimous as ever. Then: ‘there’s like five journalism students so he said he’d just combine them. said he could take your kids for the rest of the day too.’

Sam feels his jaw drop. Covering just one class is more than enough, but the entire day? When Bucky has almost a full slate of classes to teach, too? His face is suddenly all warm, and he’s at least fifty percent sure it’s not the fever.

His head is getting heavy again, and the screen is starting to hurt his eyes, but he manages to get a text out thanking Bucky for covering for him and assuring him that he can just put on movies for every single class.

He doesn’t have to wait long at all for the reply. ‘You’re welcome, Wilson. Now get some rest and stop worrying about your classes; they’ll be fine.’

Yawning widely, Sam types out a quick reply and takes Bucky’s advice, pulling the covers over his head and quickly falling back asleep.

Not having to field questions for subs or keep an eye on his email for questions from concerned students means that Sam isn’t repeatedly getting up when he’s supposed to be resting, and when he emerges from his blanket cocoon that afternoon, he can stand without getting dizzy for the first time in two days.

He celebrates by dragging himself into the shower, where the steam and the decongestant make it so that he regains his sense of smell, however briefly, and he feels more like a person than he has since Friday.

There’s probably an argument to be made for going back to bed, but Sam has never been great at being still, so he throws in a load of laundry and cleans up a bit while he’s on his feet. He’s about to make dinner, too, but then Sarah gives him a talking-to and makes him promise to order food instead, and Sam understands that she will instinctively know if he crosses her.

Sam already has the app open, scrolling through his options when his doorbell rings. For a second, he thinks that Sarah figured she couldn’t trust him to follow through and just ordered the food herself. Normally, he wouldn’t put it past her, but she’s getting the boat ready for a charter tomorrow, so he can’t imagine that she had the time or the cell service.

A peek through the curtains answers the question, though: there’s a familiar sedan parked in Sam’s driveway, a peeling Rutgers decal on the rear windshield.

“If you’re bringing me work to grade, I’m going to sneeze on you,” he declares, as he opens his front door to find Bucky waiting outside.

“I’m not a monster,” says Bucky, looking mildly offended at the thought. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” says Sam. “I can probably be back in tomorrow.”

Bucky narrows his eyes. “Or you could take a second sick day and actually get better instead of running yourself down again.”

“We’re supposed to be working on that stupid archival project tomorrow,” says Sam. “If I get another sanctimonious email from John about prioritizing my tasks, I’m gonna have an operatic meltdown in the middle of his classroom.”

“Entertaining as that would be, there’s probably another way,” Bucky says. “I’ll handle Walker for now. You just worry about getting better.”

Sam could probably push back if he really wanted to, but he can’t bring himself to be mad about Bucky looking out for him. “Okay,” he says, and Bucky’s eyebrows go up in surprise.

“Really? It’s that easy?”

“I blame the cold medicine,” says Sam. “I’ll be a pain in the ass again on Wednesday, I promise.”

Bucky smiles. “I look forward to it.”

“Well,” says Sam, after they’ve both been silent for a moment. “Thanks for coming to check on me; I really–”

“Wait!” says Bucky, and Sam stops in his tracks, eyebrows raised in question. “I didn’t just come to ask how you were doing. I, um– I wanted to bring you this, too.”

He holds out what Sam now realizes is a bag from the Thai place near the school.

“I would’ve made you soup myself, but I had to stay late with the yearbook kids, and my Ma would kill me if I half-assed her chicken soup recipe, but I know you like this place, so…”

Sam looks from Bucky to the bag of food and back, his eyes wide. “Thank you,” he says, and he can feel how soft his voice has gone around the edges. He probably should make some kind of joke to restore the natural order of things, but he can’t bring himself to do it. “You didn’t have to, Bucky, seriously.”

“I know,” he says, with a little shrug. “I wanted to.”

“Oh,” is all that Sam can manage to get out. “Okay.”

“It’s cold,” says Bucky, once Sam takes the bag of food out of his hands. “I should let you get back inside.”

He starts down the steps and Sam only belatedly remembers to call out, “I’ll see you on Wednesday!”

“See you then,” says Bucky, turning to face Sam and taking the last few steps to his car backwards. “Oh, and thanks for calling me cute!”

Sam feels his eyebrows lift in surprise. He wracks his brain to go over the last five minutes of conversation, but he comes up empty. “Wait, what?”

But all that Bucky does is hold up his cell phone before opening the door to his car. “Night, Sam!”

Suddenly, Sam remembers sending a text earlier today, clouded by the haze of exhaustion and cold medicine. His eyes go wide.

He didn’t, did he?

It’s only Sam’s dignity that keeps him from sprinting for his phone, staying in the doorway until Bucky’s car pulls away.

The second his headlights disappear, Sam throws the door shut and hurries to where his phone is charging on the kitchen counter. It takes two tries for him to unlock it with his face, and then he’s swiping over to his texts, opening up his conversation with Bucky and reading back the last few messages.

His eyes go wide as he reads his own words back.

‘It’s so cute that you use semicolons in your texts,’ he’d said to Bucky. ‘You know I’m not grading these for punctuation right?’

‘Maybe I just want to impress you,’ Bucky had replied.

And then, because that wasn’t enough, apparently Sam had replied, ‘Maybe you already do.’

He’s pretty sure that he’s never recovering from this, but just to make sure he learns his lesson, he texts a screenshot to Foggy with the message, ‘COLD MEDICINE SAM CANNOT BE TRUSTED!!!’

Foggy just sends him back a bunch of cry laughing emojis in response.

#lest you think this is punctual...this prompt is from LAST YEAR #sambucky #the teachers AU is BACK y'all #zainab does ask meme things #hope this anon is still around. sorry it took literally a year.#my fic #spotify wrapped prompts #sambucky and co teachers au

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callsignspark · 9 months

Note

•intertwining fingers when making love

Marry Me

hi anon! thank you for sending this one!!

send me a physical intimacy prompt for any of my Dagger, Sword & Shield couples!

the ninth of January

pairing: Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw x Mariella “M&M” Vertucci (fem!OC)

warnings: 18+ minors DNI, smut (explicit language, unprotected p in v sex, he teases her and it's a little mean but not unwelcome, like the tiniest hint of dumbification, mentions of getting pregnant), this is set once they're already together so offscreen conversations have happened regarding kids/protection, so many goddamn pet names, baby's first time writing real smut so we are being kind, also you don't need to read Mar[r]y Me to read and understand this, but (shameless plug) I think you should anyway

word count: 1.4k

“Bradley!” She can feel his smile get bigger; he loves it when she moans his name.

“What, Mary? What’s wrong, honey?” He teases as he pulls away from the sensitive spot near her collarbone, flexing his hips up to meet hers as she bounces on his lap for the sole purpose of hearing her breath hitch.

She’s honestly not quite sure how they got here.

The evening had been moving along like every other night since they moved in together three months prior. They enjoyed the dinner she made - tonight was chicken parmesan with roasted green beans - and Bradley did the dishes, talking and laughing the entire time. Migrating to the pink couch, she claimed the chaise while he flipped through their combined DVD collection.

Actually, she does know how they got here.

He holds up a case with a dark cover. “How about this? It’s Skyfall… And you need to go to the optometrist if you can’t recognize your man.” He teases when she squints to read the title.

“I can see perfectly fine! It’s dark in here because someone hates watching movies with any sort of light on.” She protests as he pops the disc into the machine and hits enough buttons to make the DVD menu appear.

“First of all, that would be a better excuse if I had already turned the lamp off. Second, it’s like being in the theatre, but I don’t have to wear pants.” He dramatically shoves his sweatpants down, leaving him in just an old t-shirt and his blue boxer briefs that hide nothing. “Hey, you know what today is?”

Her brain ignores the question, distracted as her eyes drag over him, stopping to admire the thickness of his thighs. She knows she’ll never tire of his body, no matter what it looks like, but he’s looked extra good lately, and she can’t help but stare.

“You know what today is, baby doll?” Mary nods, her heart thumping as she presses her thighs together at the pet name. One he only uses in private. “Answer my question then.”

“It’s Monday.”

“More specifically?” He pulls the UVA t-shirt over his head, muscles everywhere flexing at the movement.”

“It’s uh-” She gulps, he’s not playing fair. “It’s January 9th.”

Bradley hums, running his hand over his abdomen, playing with the band of his briefs. “That’s right, which means it’s been two years since the last time we watched this movie, and we almost fucked right where you’re sitting.”

“I- how? Wha-” Mary stammers, confused and amazed at how he remembers that. She knew it was early January, but she had forgotten the exact date.

“Happy anniversary, baby.” He sits on the couch, the movie forgotten as he tugs her across the cushion into his lap.

She enthusiastically returns his kiss, letting her hands roam his broad shoulders until she suddenly pulls back. “What anniversary? We didn’t even do anything that night.”

It takes him a minute to respond, busy pulling her sweatshirt over her head. “Anniversary of the first time I jerked off to the memory of you wriggling around in my lap.” She can’t continue with her questioning, preoccupied by her boyfriend sucking and pinching her nipples.

Which got them here.

Mary, riding him on the same pink couch where she almost did exactly two years earlier, shifted one cushion to the right so Bradley can plant his feet on the floor.

“Bradley!” She can feel his smile get bigger; he loves it when she moans his name.

“Fuck! Do that again!” Her thighs are burning, and she’s so close it’ll hardly take anything to send her over the edge.

“Do what?” He stops all movement, smile turning a little mean when she lets out a desperate whine and pulls at his hair. “No, that’s not gonna work this time, baby. Tell me what you want.”

“Wanna cum, Bradley.” She’s almost begging, and she will if that’s what it takes.

He smirks. “So keep moving, honey, I ain’t stopping ya.”

“I can’t; my legs are too tired. Feel like jello.” She leans forward, tucking her face into his neck and rocking her hips a bit, hoping to entice him into taking over. “Need help.”

Her tone is sad enough that he pulls her out of his neck to check-in. “Hey, you alright?”

“Yeah, just can’t keep riding you right now.”

He gently kisses her. “Okay, I got you, baby doll. Let's switch ourselves around here.”

His plan for tonight is to enjoy themselves the way they didn’t get to before, not tease her to the point of tears.

He helps her move off his lap, the squelch of them parting making her face burn as she stands between his legs. “Fuck, you’re so wet, honey.”

Bradley scoots to the edge of the couch, tapping her thigh and pressing a kiss to her stomach when she complies with his silent request to spread her legs. He can’t help but grin and laugh when, a second later, her nails are digging into his shoulders. An instinctual reaction to her knees buckling as he plays with her clit.

“That feel good, sweetheart?”

“Would feel better if you were inside of me.” The effect of her snark is negated by the breathlessness of her voice.

He stands up, nudging her back to make room, and groans when she wraps a hand around him. “I thought you wanted me inside you. Can’t do that if you don’t lay down.”

She reluctantly lets go and lays on the chaise, shimmying back to make enough room for him to join her. “Can’t help it, you’re just so hard- oh! Bradley!” She moans as he rubs the head of his dick against her clit.

“I gotcha, I gotcha… fuck. You always feel so good for me, baby.” He moans as he slides back inside her. “You still close?”

She nods, breath escaping her as he starts moving. He grabs her left hand, intertwining their fingers and supporting himself on his elbows so he can drop down closer. He focuses on hitting deeper spots, moving slower than usual so he can continue kissing the love of his life.

“Bradley… I need to-” She cuts herself off at a particularly deep thrust, moaning into his mouth.

“Whatever you need, honey. Do it.” He doesn’t blink an eye as he feels her free hand drop from his hair and slip between them. “That’s it, you’re almost there, huh? Can feel it; you’re so tight. Play with yourself for me like a good girl.”

And that’s all it takes.

Her body tenses as she cums, mouth dropping open in a silent moan and her left thigh twitches against his side. Bradley slows down but doesn’t stop, working her through her orgasm until she squeezes his hand tight.

“How was that?” He drops down completely, letting his weight ground her as he noses against her pulse point while she comes down.

“Fuck, Bradley. Give me a second, and I’ll help you finish. How close are you?”

“Take your time, baby. Not going anywhere.”

“C‘mon. How close are you, handsome?” She pulls him to her face, murmuring the question against his lips.

“Close.” She wraps her left leg around his hip again, holding him as close as possible, and starts purposefully clenching around him. “What are you doing?”

“Want you to start moving.” She pulls her hand from his and sinks it into his hair, knowing how much he likes it when she pulls it. “Want you to cum in me.”

After those words, it only takes a few minutes for him to finish, hips stuttering and grinding against her when he feels his cum start to leak out around his dick.

“Fuck, Mary!” He huffs out. “I thought we weren’t trying to get you pregnant.”

“We’re not trying. But we’re also not, not trying.”

“You’re gonna kill me, baby doll.” Mary giggles when he all but collapses on her chest, rubbing his back while he catches his breath.

“Stop giggling, or I’m going to get hard again; between you squeezing my dick and your tits bouncing, it won’t take a lot. And then I’ll have to fuck you again.”

“Oh, no. What a shame that would be.” He looks up from her sternum, her smile making his heart skip a beat.

“It’s a good thing I find your sarcasm sexy.”

She grabs his hand again, linking their fingers and pulling him in. “I am a very lucky lady to have you love me like you do.”

“I do love you, Mary.”

“I know. I love you, too, Bradley.”

only tagging a few friends since this isn't an actual update. have a great weekend!

fic tag | credit for dividers here

#top gun maverick fic #top gun maverick au #top gun maverick imagine #top gun fic #top gun au #top gun imagine #bradley rooster bradshaw fic #bradley bradshaw fic #bradley rooster bradshaw x oc #bradley bradshaw x oc #bradley bradshaw imagine #rooster imagine #DSS universe #MM fic #ask game #asks answered #anon <3 #elle writes #mar[r]y me fic

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television-overload · 6 months

Text

How Does a Moment Last Forever (NCIS fanfic)

Rating: G

Word Count: 2014 (like the year Tali was born, get it?)

Summary: Snippets of life after "Family First." (or) How a shared love of movies helped Tony and Tali through their grief.

Read on AO3

If someone had told Tony DiNozzo a year ago that he would have the songs from almost every Disney movie memorized, along with a good chunk of the dialogue too, he would have probably referred them to Dr. Mallard to have their head examined.

As it turned out, though, being thrust into fatherhood without any warning, and with a child who spoke very little English, was a difficult adjustment. For everyone involved.

That’s where the Disney movies came in.

In the early days, when soothing his distraught daughter was as difficult as any highly sensitive operation he’d engaged in during his time as a federal agent, they were his lifeline. In fact, one of the first things he bought for their new apartment in Paris was a stack of DVDs a mile high, and a DVD player for their TV.

They played on repeat all day—and most of the night too. The colorful cartoons and cheerful singing were one of the only things that could quiet her tears and keep her mind occupied, if only for a little while. Tony didn’t mind them either. He had to acknowledge when a movie was good, even if it was made for kids. Plus, it gave him a moment to himself if he needed it. He held it together as much as was able, but there were times when he just couldn’t anymore. He was on his own, and he had to deal with it—for his own sanity, and for his daughter’s sake.

Many a night was spent on the couch together, Tali sitting with her legs outstretched before her while Tony laid his head in her lap. She liked to pat him on the head, her hands fidgeting with his short hair while her eyes remained transfixed on the screen. He’d watch her then, the reflection of the television in those wide eyes that reminded him so much of her mother.

Then other times, she’d ask to sit in his lap, or tucked into his side with a blanket and Kelev for added comfort. He treasured these moments, as painful as the beginning months were. Sometimes it struck him how odd it was that, in all honesty, they were just two strangers whose shared blood meant they were bonded for eternity. Bonded, also, in the loss they both had suffered.

There were nights, too, when it was clear that nobody was going to get a good night’s rest if he tried to force her to sleep in her own bed. Even laying in bed with him, she’d keep him awake with her sniffles, like she knew she needed to be quiet and didn’t want to wake him. Those nights, he found it easiest to camp out in the living room until Tali fell asleep on his chest, lulled to sleep by the animated characters singing at the lowest volume possible and the sound of her father’s steady heartbeat against her ear.

The day Tali said the word “dinglehopper” during lunch time, unprompted, Tony began to realize the learning potential of this routine they had adopted.

It was clear Tali loved the movies. He and his daughter were alike in that way. Tony often wondered if Ziva had been forced to reluctantly build a collection of DVDs herself, before everything happened. He wondered a lot of things.

But now it was more than just a comfort thing. Tali was learning English, far faster than she would with only Tony to teach her.

It started with her copying a few words, clearly not knowing the meaning but wanting to sing along, to the best of her ability. Tony would smile from the kitchen as he prepared dinner, listening to her croon in broken, staccato sounds that were almost real words. It wasn’t long before she was speaking basic sentences, and he cried the first time she called him “Daddy” instead of “Abba.”

By the ninth month of their being together, Tony was practically a new man. An expert on the plot of just about any kid’s movie under the sun, singer of silly kids’ songs, cuddler-extraordinaire… Would his friends back home even recognize him?

He hadn’t been lying, years ago, when he promised Tali’s mother that he would change with her, for her, if she asked him to. Maybe she hadn’t believed him. Maybe she thought it impossible. But now there was proof positive that he could, and would, and would do it again for the sake of his little princess.

For further evidence: just a couple months ago, Tony had found himself standing in a Parisian movie theater, dressed in a cheaply made costume of the Beast from Beauty and the Beast (sans fur, of course). Tali excitedly bounced up and down beside him, dressed in her own yellow ballgown as they waited in line for popcorn.

She had him wrapped around her finger, that was for sure. When he’d heard a live action version of the original was going to be released in theaters, he swallowed back his distaste for remakes and bought two tickets for opening day. He felt he owed an apology to their neighbors for the high-pitched squeal of delight that she emitted when he showed her the dress and his outfit and told her where they were going.

It had been a great day. One of the best, in fact. It brought back memories of going to the theater with his own mother, and he hoped Tali would remember this just as fondly someday.

When they got home, the soundtrack quickly found its way into their rotation. Tali was thrilled whenever Tony would bow and ask her to dance as the titular song played. She’d stand on his toes as they spun around in the living room, twirling and swaying to the music like the characters in the movie. That DiNozzo grin looked extra beautiful gazing up at him from her little face, eyes twinkling at him like he hung the moon.

But, beyond that, they were especially fond of one song in particular. It even sparked a new tradition, one which he thought had helped them both to cope and find peace in their difficult situation.

Funny how simple things had such profound effects sometimes.

“Daddy! Daddy! Sing the song!” Tali screeched, bounding up to him in her Moana jammies.

Tony blinked against the sudden burst of sound in their echoey kitchen, exaggeratedly sticking his finger in his ear. “Woah, Tali-girl, give your old Pops a second to finish putting the dishes away.”

He could have predicted her next words. “No, Abba, NOW!” she responded, grabbing his hand and tugging with all of her might.

Tony raised his eyebrows. “Don’t you ‘Abba’ me, you know I can never say no when you do that,” he said, tossing the towel he had been using for drying back on the counter.

“Now! Now!” Tali insisted.

Tony sighed, allowing himself to be pulled toward Tali’s small bedroom.

“Are you saying you’re ready for bed, then?” Tony asked. She knew very well that what she was asking for was part of their bedtime routine, so she had better be prepared to go straight to sleep if the answer was yes.

Tali seemed to think for a moment, then nodded emphatically.

“Alright then,” Tony conceded, throwing back the frilly pink and green covers of her small twin bed and plopping down. “You got Ima’s picture?”

Tali disappeared for a few seconds to grab the photograph off the living room bookshelf, returning at full-speed and leaping into Tony’s lap with it clutched between her fingers. He was lucky he wasn’t stabbed in the gut by the sharp corner of the frame this time. Grunting, he lifted her up and sat her beside him, where she promptly burrowed herself under the covers.

“Do you want to hold it, or should I?” Tony asked, and she thrust it in his direction, smiling from ear to ear.

“You, Daddy,” she said. It was times like this where her love for him shone so clearly in her eyes, that it nearly took his breath away. He would never forget to be grateful for getting to know this kind of love, even under the circumstances.

Tony accepted the frame, clearing his throat as he glanced down at his daughter, who was waiting expectantly for him to begin.

“You ready?”

She squeezed Kelev tight to her chest and nodded, nestling further into his side. “Uh-huh!”

Tony held the photo out in front of them, resting it above his knee so both he and Tali could see it. A moment captured in time, long before she was even a glint in their eyes.

“How does a moment last forever?” Tony crooned softly, “How can a story never die?”

Tali giggled quietly and grabbed on to Tony’s arm, her legs kicking happily under the covers.

“It is love we must hold on to,” Tony continued, wrapping his free arm around Tali, “Never easy, but we try.”

She nodded up at him, the words by now very familiar to her in both song, and in their more serious conversations about her Ima.

“Sometimes our happiness is captured. Somehow, a time and place stand still. Love lives on inside our hearts…”

Tali got to her knees, pressing her hand where her Daddy’s heart was, and he nodded in approval. Then her sweet little voice broke in, as it always did, to finish the song with him.

“And always will.”

Having finished the short lullaby, Tony set the photo down and brought a hand up to lightly pinch Tali’s chubby little cheek, earning an adoring grin from his number one fan.

“Ready for goodnight kisses?” Tony asked softly. Tali nodded eagerly and reached for the picture frame.

Tony watched as she brought it to her lips, placing a sloppy wet kiss on the glass above Ziva’s picture. She then held it out to him, and waited patiently for him to do the same.

“Night night, Ima!” she said, once they’d both kissed Ziva’s picture goodnight.

“In Hebrew, Tali,” Tony reminded her.

“Layla tov, Ima.”

“Now French.”

Tali laughed. “Daddy!”

Tony smiled down at her. “Okay, okay, now let’s get you to bed.” He stood, readjusting the covers around his baby girl before placing the photo of him and Ziva on her nightstand beside her.

“A kiss from me,” he said, bending to drop a kiss on Tali’s left cheek, “And a kiss from Ima.” He placed a second kiss on her right cheek, tousling her untamed curls playfully as he pulled back to shut the lamp off.

He could still make out her features from the light of the full moon coming through her curtains, and her mouth was curled in a soft, closed-lipped smile. He could hear her quiet but fairly rapid breathing, which combined with that particular smile was a sure sign that she was feeling some pretty big emotions, but was processing them well.

Her heart was simply filled to the brim with good feelings, having now completed the nightly ritual which she so loved, and her body just didn’t know what to do about it. He was proud of her. It was true what they said: kids were pretty resilient. And maybe he was biased, but he thought she had a remarkable emotional intelligence for someone her age, too.

It felt good to honor Ziva in this way, devoid of the typical sadness and longing. When this tradition had started, it took on its own unique form, different from the shape of grief he was used to. It had helped them both heal, even if the wounds could never be erased entirely.

He placed a hand on top of her head for a moment longer, gazing fondly down at her, and receiving an identical look in return. The covers were pulled up to her chin, and Kelev was in his usual place in the crook of her arm.

“Goodnight, sweet princess,” Tony whispered into the night.

Tali closed her eyes, burrowing into the pillow.

“Love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, Tali.”

-.-.-

Tagging: @happygirl-0408 @tivafanfic @benedettabeby @earanemith @putthekettleon @nicolem194 @hopeless-nostalgiac @slippery-soapbox @indestinatus @loudlooks

I hope I'm not missing anyone to tag! I should have been keeping notes of who asked to be added, but I am now, so let me know if you want on (or off!) my NCIS fic tag list!

#ncis #my fanfiction #tiva fanfiction #tiva #tony dinozzo #tali dinozzo #family first #i really tried to write fluff and this is what popped out #Spotify

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