#Jeremy is delighted of course | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

miintsprigz · 1 year ago

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Hiii again!! I wanted to ask for Sniper, Engie, and Scout reacting to the reader doing something nice for them after they had a tough day. Thank you!!

Anon, I had been wanting the opportunity to do something like this, so bless you, and I hope that you enjoy this! I sorta zoomed through Sniper’s, I hope it’s still good aaaa

Characters: Scout, Engineer, Sniper (TF2)

Warnings: none that I can think of—I made myself very soft while working on this

GN!Reader doing something nice for the Mercs after a tough day

Scout:

You’d noticed for some time that work really seemed to be running Jeremy down more than usual. He came back to base moody, unusually quiet. It was so unlike him.

Thinking back to just a few months ago…what a difference. You remembered how enthusiastically he’d come running in, holding something behind his back…quickly revealed to be a bouquet of bright red roses just for you.

“I didn’t know what your favorite was, so I thought I’d just got wit da classic!”

You had asked a question after that though, one you were especially glad you’d asked now.

“What’s your favorite flower, babe?”

“Me? …huh. Never really thought about that.”

You watched the wheels turn a bit, and a nostalgic kind of look came over him. Jeremy was quite the sentimental guy, if you hung out with him long enough.

“I think one time I got Ma these big yellow ones…lilies? They were real pretty. Smelled nice too. Probably those.”

So one day, a while before you knew he’d be getting back, you went on the hunt. Yellow lilies were tricky to find, but eventually, you secured a whole bunch and had them nicely wrapped up for your favorite fella.

You enjoyed their fragrance as you waited for Jeremy to get back…they truly were beautiful. You could see why he liked them.

Finally, the door swung open, and you quickly hid the bouquet behind your back, just as he had.

He looked exhausted…of course, his face lit up as soon as he saw you. “Ah, finally home. How ya doin’, doll? Sight for sore eyes, as always.”

“I’m good. I got a little surprise for you.”

His brows arched, curious, and you could see that infectious smile that seemed so rare these days beginning to appear again. “Oh yeah?”

“Well okay, might not be too surprising, but…” You sheepishly grinned as you held out his gift. “…I found some.”

Scout’s mouth dropped open just a bit before he couldn’t help but burst out laughing, delighted. “Aw, baby…they’re beautiful!”

You motioned for him to take them, and he did, admiring them with a softness to his gaze. Only seconds later, as he looked up at you, that trademark, somewhat mischievous grin came to his face.

You chuckled. Your boy was back. “Whatcha thinkin’ there?”

“C’mere, you~” He pulled you in and kissed you before you could even prepare.

His free hand lightly brushed through your hair as he pulled back, seeming to be at a genuine loss for words. “You are so sweet, ya know that? I love you.”

Giggling, you pecked his lips once more. “I love you too.”

___

Engineer:

Poor Dell had really been pushed to his limit lately. It felt like you hardly saw him anymore. He was always working on something. The demand kept on coming.

Lately, you had to get up early to get any decent quality time with him before he went to work. When he got home, he always just wanted to go right to sleep, and you certainly couldn’t blame him.

He felt bad, and told you as much, but you knew it wasn’t his fault. “Get your rest, honey. I know you’re tired.”

Even in the morning, he was always up before you were, and had breakfast ready to go. You talked as you ate.

So, after Engie had come back in especially rough shape the night before, with his first day off in months the following day, you decided to surprise him.

You were not, by any means, an early riser. But you had a feeling that Dell wouldn’t sleep in long, even on his day off. You’d even gone to sleep a bit early the night before.

Ever the keen-eyed one, Engie had questioned that. “Goin’ out already, lil’ nightingale?”

“Yeah, I’m sleepy. Besides, we got all day tomorrow, right?”

“Yessiree.”

You couldn’t help but smile to yourself as you got everything together. It was a whole lot of work, mixing up batter, making sure everything was cooked just right, and of course making the presentation easy on the eyes. But it would all be worth it.

Finally, you were all set. You scurried to his room, knocking to see if he was up.

“Almost ready, darlin’! I’m a little late, sorry ‘bout that…”

“Don’t worry about it, Engie, take your time…” Last thing your cowboy needed was to be rushed around on his day off.

Opening the door, he beamed at you. “Well, look at you! All bright-eyed and bushy-tailed already, huh? I got a feelin’ we’re gonna have a grand day, you ‘n’ me.”

“Oh, just you wait…I’ve got something for ya, baby. C’mon…”

“Whoa, okay—I had a feelin’ you were up to somethin’ last night, ya lil’ schemer…”

You just laughed, excitedly pulling Dell along by the hand.

“Okay, right in here.”

The still sleepy eyes that were normally hidden behind his goggles blinked quick in genuine astonishment as he took it in.

“Well…good word, that’s like the cover of a magazine there, darlin’! You do this all by yer lonesome?”

“Mhm! I got up early in the hopes that I’d beat you to it—can’t have you working hard on your day off! Just hope it tastes good…”

“It will, baby, I’m sure of it…” He trailed off a bit, and as you glanced over, you couldn’t get a grasp on what exactly was going through his head. Seemed happy at least. Maybe you were used to seeing only half of his face. But then he rubbed at his eyes just a bit…

“Oh, baby…you okay?”

“Yeah…just fine, darlin’, sorry, circuits are still a lil’ fried…” He sniffled, and without much thought you wrapped your arm around him, stroking his shoulder.

“Been real tough goin’ lately, real tough…wasn’t feelin’ like myself no more. And ya did all this just for me…for us…”

He leaned his head to the side so it rested softly against yours, taking a deep breath. “Thank you, (Y/N). You are a wonder. I adore you, you know that?”

You chuckled, pulling him close. “Thank you, Dell. I adore you too.”

You felt him jolt a little, but he made sure to kiss you quick before he moved at all. “Please tell me you’re havin’ some a’ this—”

“Yeah! Wanted to make breakfast for you, but eat it with you too.”

“Well, we better not let it get cold now, after ya worked so hard! C’mon, baby…”

You laughed as you were now the one being pulled along, with Engie still praising your hard work and delicious cooking every step of the way.

_____

Sniper:

Lately, Mick hadn’t been telling you what was going on at work…which was weird. Normally, he really liked his job, and told you all about it. Lately though, he’d answered “how was work?” with the vaguest responses.

Sniper wasn’t the type of guy to word vomit about what was bothering him, but that cued you in pretty well.

You wanted to do something to help him, something to lift his spirits again. It took some time, but eventually, you hatched a plan.

One day, instead of waiting back at his camper, you made your way over to where the mercs normally exited the fort.

You waved to the rest as they ran past, more than a few asking what you were doing here. They could figure it was something to do with your boyfriend.

Mick was the last to leave…which was a bit weird. Must have really been working hard.

“Hey, Snipes!” Immediately, his head turned at the sound of your voice, taking a surprised step backwards before he quickly ran and skidded to a stop in front of you.

“(Y/N)? …whatcha doin’ all the way out here, darlin’? Everything alright?”

He looked…confused, but delighted.

“Yeah! I had an idea the other day…and I wanted to meet up with you a little bit earlier so I had more time for it. Let’s go back to the camper so you can change, then I’ll show ya what I mean.”

His eyes narrowed, trying not to smile at this. “Hm…alright. Keep ya secrets for now…”

It was only a moment before his fingers intertwined with yours as you started the short walk back. He tended to be a bit flighty when it came to physical contact, but you understood that.

Once Sniper was done getting ready, you grabbed the basket you’d kept hidden away. “All set?”

“Yep…ya want me blindfolded for this or somethin’?”

“Nah, I don’t want you to trip. Just follow me.”

You followed the path you’d drawn out the other day, although you’d come out here before you’d left the camper to lay out the blanket and get everything all comfortable.

Just as you’d planned, you got to the spot just in time to see the sun go down, and the stars had just started to appear.

A spot near a river, where the only sounds were from the wind and water, with the occasional birdsong and cricket chirp.

You’d had some help on this—Pyro, of all people, providing you with the necessary equipment and tinder for a little campfire. They’d been surprisingly helpful, even though you couldn’t understand them at all.

“I thought it might be nice to enjoy the nice weather and some dinner…oh, and uh, s’mores, if you want. I brought stuff for that.”

The normally more reserved and serious Sniper stood there for a moment, looking everything over. Slowly, this very peaceful smile came to his face.

You were used to him being quiet, but you just had to know what he made of all this.

“I know it’s sorta cheesy, but I hope—whoa!!”

Mick suddenly pulled you in close, holding you tight. You quickly returned the gesture, feeling the side of his face sort of brush against the top of your head.

“…I don’t got much words for this. Besides thank you. Ya have any idea how much I wanted to do somethin like this with ya, roo?”

You laughed a bit, closing your eyes. “Well, I wouldn’t have exactly guessed this, but…I had a feeling you’d been having a tough couple days.”

“You were right.” It took a good while before he pulled back, and even then, his hand still clasped yours. “I was.”

The firelight illuminated his eyes, and although the mellow tone of voice stayed the same, you could see it in his face just how moved he was.

“But that doesn’t even matter to me now. Cuz right now…it’s just you, me, and the stars, baby…c’mon.”

Going slightly rosy—you hoped he couldn’t see in the shadows that the dim light casted—you followed him, and the two of you sat down to enjoy your s’mores and each other’s company.

By the end of the night, both of you laid back on the blanket, full, warm, and happy, curled up together as you watched the stars glimmer above.

You felt a slight tap against your shoulder. “Mm? What’s up, Mick?”

He glanced to the side, once again gaining that shyness that tended to creep up on him. “…ya know how much I love ya?”

You couldn’t help but chuckle, moving over a bit to kiss him briefly, eyes fluttering closed.

You pulled back, teasing, “Does that answer your question?”

He looked back at you, starry-eyed and red-faced, starting to laugh along with you.

“Hehe, yeah…yeah it does.”

“But seriously, I love you too—”

#tf2 x reader #tf2 x you #team fortress 2 x reader #team fortress 2 #tf2 #engineer x reader #tf2 engineer #engineer tf2 #engie x reader #scout tf2 #tf2 scout #tf2 scout x reader #scout x reader #sniper tf2 #tf2 sniper #sniper x reader #mint writes

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ashestoashes7 · 7 months ago

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I love the idea of Kevin also being a part of the ‘Jeremy Knox is sunshine personified’ club because Jean can just casually mention all of the things they are doing together and know Kevin is happy for him (while also taking delight in how much Kevin wishes he was there). At a banquet Kevin is tearing into them about potential improvements and then he sees Jeremy and it’s like he’s being possessed by Renee when he gives a genuine non media smile and then proceeds to compliment him.

Also Kevin, part of the Foxes who are well known for their backstories, would also be very intrigued by the mystery that is Jeremy Knox’s backstory. Use your connections, Kevin, and tell me why Jeremy is dodging the cops like he’s taking a crash course in being Neil Josten. I need to know.

#jeremy knox #kevin day #jean moreau #the foxes #the sunshine court #tsc #all for the game #aftg #jeremy knox tell me your secrets #we read neil’s pov and find out some things but we read jeremy’s and he somehow actually manages to keep his secrets #ash has thoughts

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scammydoesstuff · 5 months ago

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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Thoughts I NEED to Talk About

So I've now seen Beeltejuice Beetlejuice three times - and it prolly won't be the last cuz I love it. I love it so much. It brings me such immense joy. The haters can fuck themselves. This movie delighted me, regardless of the problems I have with it (and I do have problems with it; they just do not ruin the movie for me on any level).

But now that I've refreshed myself (again), there's something stupidly specific that I need to talk about and I cannot wait any longer than I already have. Including a ridiculous conspiracy theory about a connection to the musical that I desperately want to believe in even though I know that wasn't the intent.

So let's begin! Spoilers ahead, of course, so tread carefully if you've not seen the film.

Basically, there are a few things in this movie that I think were inspired by or were at least a nod to the musical. I don't think there are any real references to the cartoon past the overall vibes, which did remind me of the cartoon a lot - particularly the on-screen chemistry between Lydia and Betelgeuse. Like, I know he's trying to marry her in this and that's not at all a thing in the cartoon, but their banter with each other gave me the same vibes as watching the cartoon here and there, which was fun to see. Like, the part where he's 'inspecting' the Handbook for the Recently Deceased after Lydia summons him (I did say there'd be spoilers) in particular gave me detective BJ vibes from the episode 'A-Ha!' where he masquerades as 'Sherlock Homely'. It's all in the tone and it was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it kinda moment, but that's a specific example that comes to mind at least.

The musical, however, I do feel they're drawing inspiration from to a degree. From nearly opening the movie on the death of one of Lydia's parents (this time the dad instead of the mom for...obvious reasons. Fuck that guy, btw), to the meta aspects where the B-man has been doing, like, Instagram/TikTok reels for the marketing, there are just things in and around this movie that feel like a small and subtle acknowledgement of the musical. And I know that other companies are likely trying to capitalize on TikTok/Instagram as marketing ploys, but it feels very on-brand for Beetlejuice specifically given how the musical blew up in no small part because of the TikToks they were putting out while they were still performing on Broadway.

But back to the movie. There's also that story Astrid tells Jeremy about her dad dressing her as Edvard Munch's 'The Scream' for Halloween when she was in second grade. It reminded me, at least, of the musical when Lydia was enthusiastically talking to the Maitland's about her mother's own eccentric haunted house in the middle of summer. Even the way Jenna Ortega delivers her lines in the film felt reminiscent of the delivery in the musical.

After Deliah has died and she calls on Betelgeuse for help, he mentions how she wants to hang out with him now that she's dead. I know it's a pretty big stretch to compare that to the musical's 'We didn't hang out much' line as BJ is saying his goodbyes, but the specific wording just gave me pause and I wanted to mention it.

Okay! And now for the stupid conspiracy theory I mentioned cuz I can't think of any other specific moments that made me think of the musical outside of this one I'm about to get into. If you noticed any, however, let me know! This is fun to think about and gives me more to look for when I go to see it again.

Anyway, if you've seen the movie (and I hope you have if you're still reading this), you're surely aware of the wedding scene near the end and all the lip-syncing to MacArthur Park which was just...*chef's kiss*. At one point during that sequence, while Betelgeuse is dancing with Lydia, the lyrics mention all the loves of [his] life. We see Delores and Lydia, of course, but then we see...this:

(Apologies for the quality. I wanted to get a shot where the dog was in frame and these were the best photos I could get in the theater and I'm too excited to wait for this to come out on streaming/home release in order to talk about it. I'm also not about to be filming in the theater. I just wanted to see if I could get pictures of the dog in this scene specifically.)

So, like, I know it's just a stupid bestiality joke to not be taken seriously and which is only meant to add more to the 'what-the-fuckery' of this scene, but, as a fan of the musical, I cannot help but see this as a super deep cut reference to the goodest boi in the whole world. Alex Brightman's beloved pup; Kevin.

Hell, the dog in the movie even bears a very close resemblance to Kevin. It's not one-to-one, of course - the coloring around the ears in particular is a big enough difference on its own - but they could've gone with any breed of dog. They could've even gone with photos of the dog that accidentally killed the Maitlands, thereby introducing Betelgeuse to Lydia in the first place. It would've been a little bit more fanservice for the fans who might catch that reference too. But they chose one that looks very similar to Alex Brightman's pride and joy?

And no, by the way, I'm not implying Alex has that kind of relationship with his dog. That's ridiculous and I do not want anyone to get that twisted. However, love doesn't have to mean 'sexual' or 'romantic' and I would argue to hell and back that Kevin is one of the major loves in his life that doesn't fall into either of those categories. That's his precious baby boy and we all see that clear as crystal. I mean, look at them:

[Photos of Kevin & Alex courtesy of kevin_kontent on Instagram. Follow them for more delightful Kevin posts]

But yeah, that's where the conspiracist in me comes out because, again, while I know that wasn't the intent, I want so badly to believe it was. Because that'd be such a funny little reference and it makes me smile to think that they might be referencing my favorite Beetlejuice through Alex and Kevin. I recognize that's not at all the case and they probably weren't thinking about the musical in the slightest during the production of the film. Hell, that's such a contrived way to look at it in general, but it's fun to think about and to imagine that they were paying these little homages to another production that helped breathe even more life into this franchise about death.

Anyway, so yeah. Just a real stupid bit of bullshit that I wanted to get out there. I'm prolly not even the first person to notice/point this out, but I just wanted to talk about it and get it outta my brain.

Now I'mma go crawl back into my hole and try and finish a drawing I've been working on for the last week (that may or may not be Beetlejuice-related). I got an iPad earlier this year and I'm still getting the hang of drawing with it. Gonna for sure go back to my older drawing tablet when I open up commissions again because it genuinely takes me so much longer to draw with Procreate, but for now, just trying to practice drawing something with an art program I'm still learning to use.

#scammy talks #shut up scammy chan #Beetlejuice #Betelgeuse #Beetlejuice Beetlejuice #Beetlejuice movie #Beetlejuice Musical #Michael Keaton #Alex Brightman #Kevin Brightman #I noticed p much all of these the first time I watched the movie as well #but I wanted to wait till I could gather my thoughts before talking about any of it #cuz my brain be scrambled and bad at thinking #but we were literally in the theater for our first showing and I nearly cried out 'omg it's Kevin!!' when this scene happened

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grahamfolgersdeliciousnotebooks · 10 months ago

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One More First Kiss

There were a lot of instances, really, that could be considered their "first kiss."

For @jonmartinweek day 1 - First Kiss / Season 1

This is actually going to be a 7-chapter fic, with one chapter posted per day for every day of Jonmartin week! (except that jm week is actually 9 days this year, but oh well) Chapter one is a fluffy season 1 scene featuring a holiday party, a little too much to drink, and two contenders for the title of Jon & Martin's first kiss. Check it out on AO3 here, or read below:

The Institute’s yearly holiday party was miserable.

The Institute’s yearly holiday party was always miserable, of course, but this year’s was worse than most, because this year – in addition to the lights being too bright and his dress-code-mandated tacky Christmas sweater being too itchy and the music being too loud and too festive and too repetitive (Jon swore to God, if he heard “Silver Bells” one more time, he wouldn’t be accountable for his actions) – the only coworkers he could stand were nowhere to be found.

It was their fault he’d even shown up in the first place. Tim had been pestering him for ages about his alleged inability to have fun, and Jon wanted to prove to him that he was at least occasionally capable of going to parties. His plan had been to arrive a little more than fashionably late, have one glass of mulled wine and a nibble of whatever looked good from the cheese plate while listening to Tim tell stories from his latest holiday and Sasha report what her dubiously-ethical snooping on their coworkers’ computers had revealed, and then slip out before he ever had to make small talk with strangers.

He’d already failed on that front. Unable to find Tim or Sasha, he’d somehow found himself dragged into conversation with Heather from HR and a man from payroll whose name he hadn’t caught. They were sharing the latest gossip about someone named Hannah and someone else named Jeremy, and while Jon was fairly certain he didn’t know either of those people, the possibility that he’d met both of them multiple times kept him from asking who they were. To prevent that or any other form of rudeness, he’d stuck mostly to nodding along while the other two spoke, and as such was less than fully engaged in the conversation.

When there was finally a lull in the small talk, Jon excused himself and went to search for the others.

A quick scan of the room produced no sign of Tim or Sasha. They were not by the drinks table, not on the dance floor, not in any of the little groups of chit-chatters that Jon could see. Half to get away from the migraine-inducing light and noise and half to avoid being sucked into any more small talk, Jon stepped into the hallway. He took a few steps towards the break room, thinking a glass of water and maybe a brief lie-down on the couch might help his headache, when he heard, from behind the closed breakroom door, the unmistakable sound of Tim Stoker whooping in delight.

Jon opened the door, and nine sets of eyes turned to him at once. Tim, Sasha, and Martin were sat on the break room floor with three of their old friends from Research whose names Jon knew – namely Amanda, Eric, and Salim – and three people from the library whose names he did not. They were all arranged in a circle, a bottle of wine at the center.

Tim’s face lit up. “Hey, you made it!” he said with a grin, waving Jon into the room.

“Spin the bottle?” Jon muttered acidly as he closed the door behind him. “Really?”

“It’s a party!”

“A work party!” Jon countered. The sheer unprofessionalism on display was staggering.

“Oh, don’t be like that,” Tim said, patting the little scrap of empty space between himself and Martin. “Come on, we’ve got room for another player.”

Hm. Jon had come here to prove a point, but now he found the goalposts being moved without his input. Suddenly it wasn’t enough to simply attend the party – he was sure that showing up and not letting his hair down would be worse than not showing up at all, as far as Tim was concerned. And Jon had never been very good at backing down from a challenge – not even a challenge that his opponent hadn’t been aware they’d issued – so, against his better judgment, he took a seat in the circle. Tim shifted to give him more room, while Martin sat right where he was and stared at Jon like he’d just grown a second head.

“It’s your spin, Lee,” one member of the Library contingent said to another, and with that Jon was mercifully no longer the center of attention.

Thankfully, with a circle that large, the odds of it landing on Jon more than a few times weren’t particularly high, and for once, luck seemed to be on Jon’s side. He shared a quick, chaste peck with Amanda from research, and a significantly less-chaste kiss with Tim that was, little as Jon was likely to admit it, not un- enjoyable, and aside from that, he was mostly free to sit back and watch.

There seemed to be some sort of drama brewing within the Library crowd. Two of them – Lee and Yewonde – kept landing on each other, and it quickly became apparent that there was some sort of history there. The first kiss was an awkward, close-lipped affair that was over in the blink of an eye, and they both quite clearly avoided eye contact after it was over. The second and third were a little less brief but no less awkward, but by the fourth (fourth! Jon did not envy them their luck that evening) they’d each had enough to drink to abandon propriety and engage in an activity that could only be described as sucking face.

Jon knew Martin used to work in the library with them, so he leaned over and asked, “Are they…?” He whispered the question as quietly as he could, though he doubted they would notice if he didn’t. They seemed pretty thoroughly otherwise engaged.

“They both insist they aren’t,” Martin answered at the same volume. “But everyone’s pretty sure they hooked up last year’s holiday party. Yewonde’s boyfriend definitely thinks they did, but they’re kinda on-again-off-again, and I’m pretty sure they’re broken up right now.”

Jon was grateful for the context, but before he could express his thanks, Lee had peeled themself off of their colleague and was spinning the bottle again.

It landed on Martin. It was safe to say that Lee approached this kiss with less enthusiasm than they had the last one, but less enthusiasm was not the same as no enthusiasm. Lee drunkenly misjudged the angle and left a clumsy, wet kiss to the bridge of Martin’s nose, and Martin received it with a good-natured grin.

Jon was glad he still seemed to have a good relationship with his old coworkers. He sometimes struck Jon as a little isolated down in the Archives, the odd one out in a group who had otherwise all known each other for years. It was nice seeing him relax like this, among friends.

“Alright, my spin,” he announced, though everyone in the room had long caught on to the game’s rules.

The bottle swung in a wide, complete arc, then another, then one more before finally coming to a stop with the cap pointed squarely at Jon. Jon’s heart sank.

It wasn’t that Jon hated Martin. No one could be blamed for thinking that he did, given how he acted, but he didn’t. It was just that, well, it took Jon time to get comfortable with new people. He’d been quite looking forward to running a department that contained only himself, Tim, and Sasha – two people he had known long enough that they’d long made it out of the ‘acquaintances’ category and were well into the range of ‘friends’ – and when he’d learned that a stranger had been thrust into their midst without Jon’s input, Jon had handled it… poorly. He’d softened a bit on Martin in recent months, coming to view him less as an unwelcome intruder, but that didn’t mean he wanted to kiss him.

Martin was the worst-case-scenario in this game – not enough of a friend for the interaction to be comfortable, not enough of a stranger for the interaction to be meaningless. Jon would have to kiss Martin, and then he would have to come into work with him on Monday, and then again the next day, and the next, and that thought froze Jon in place.

Jon’s thoughts must have been written all over his face, because Martin’s face fell. The easygoing smile vanished in an instant, and he cringed.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Martin muttered softly, but Lee interjected.

“Yes he does!” They were slurring their words, just a bit. “It’s spin the bottle! The whole game falls apart if you just ignore–”

“Alright, alright!” Martin cut them off, shoulders creeping up to his rapidly reddening ears.

“Come on, Jon!” Tim chimed in, slapping Jon roughly on the back. “He doesn’t bite!”

And Jon knew he didn’t, but now everyone was looking at him, and making a fuss, and he couldn’t move under the scrutiny of so many eyes.

Martin leaned over and planted a quick kiss to his cheek. He had to stoop quite a bit to bring himself level with Jon’s cheek, and his hot breath stirred the loose strands of hair beside Jon’s jaw.

Martin’s lips were warm and dry and a bit rough. Jon wasn’t sure why that mattered more than the feel of Tim’s or Amanda’s lips had, but it did.

It must have been the surprise. That’s all.

“That counts, right?” Martin asked, and the group all conceded that it did.

Jon very much wanted to sit in quiet contemplation of the memory of Martin’s lips against his cheek for a while, but unfortunately it was his spin next.

It landed on Tim, and Tim raised a single eyebrow enticingly. Jon thought about invoking his newly-established right to kiss on the cheek instead of lips, but he thought doing that again so soon might cause Lee to accuse him of destroying the integrity of the game again, so he sighed and kissed him.

Tim was a good kisser – Jon had known that for a while – but somehow it was Martin that he couldn’t get out of his head.

The game went on. Tim landed on Eric, Eric landed on Lee, Lee landed on the woman from the library whose name Jon had forgotten, she landed on Salim, Salim landed on Martin, Martin landed on Sasha.

Jon could still smell Martin. That was hardly surprising – they were sitting right next to each other – but when Martin had leaned over, the smell had completely overwhelmed Jon’s senses, and now he lost himself trying to place the scent. It was vaguely citrusy. Not lemon, though. Bergamot, perhaps?

Sasha spun, and the bottle came to rest in front of Jon. She planted a sloppy kiss to the corner of his mouth (the library group weren’t the only ones who’d been getting a bit clumsy the more they drank) with a loud, “Mwah!”

Jon’s spin next. He couldn’t exactly say he was surprised at where it landed.

Martin visibly sagged. “I-It’s sort of between me and Sasha…”

“No, it isn’t!”

“Shut up, Lee!”

It really wasn’t.

Jon took a breath, steeled his nerves. Grabbed Martin by the shoulders, pulled him close, and pressed their lips together.

For a moment Martin went rigid against him, lips stiff and inflexible as wood, but still as warm and chapped as he’d remembered. Then he melted, turning soft and pliable beneath Jon’s touch, sighing softly against his still-closed mouth.

It was definitely bergamot that Jon was smelling.

When Jon pulled away, Martin’s eyes were closed and his cheeks were pink, freckles disappearing against the rising color. His lips were still slightly parted, as though waiting for Jon to lean back in for another kiss. Jon took in the sight for just a moment before he cleared his throat.

“I think I might head home,” he told the group. “I have to get up early tomorrow.” That was a blatant lie, but Jon needed an excuse that wasn’t I’ve seen what happens when you land on the same person too many times, and I’d rather not end up snogging with Martin as aggressively as the two of you did.

“I was actually thinking of calling it a night, too,” Martin said. “My hips are killing me; I’m too old to sit on the floor this long.” He stood up, and as though to prove his point, his knees cracked audibly.

“You can’t leave, it’s your turn!” Tim protested.

Martin leaned down and gave the bottle a final spin. It landed on Sasha, and he stooped to give her a hurried kiss on the cheek.

“Bye, Sash.”

“Bye, Martin! See you Monday!”

Tim looked up and tilted his cheek to Martin in clear invitation. “One more for the road, Marto?”

“Fine,” Martin laughed, and complied.

Jon couldn’t quite meet Martin’s eye as they made their way out of the building together. He supposed he could have found some excuse to peel off, maybe say goodbye to Elias or Heather from HR – hell, even make one more stop at the drinks table – anything to avoid the coworker he’d just kissed. Instead, they wound their way through the party shoulder-to-shoulder, and the silence was more comfortable than it had any right to be.

Neither of them spoke until they’d stepped through the front doors. They lingered on the steps of the institute. The December air was dark and brisk and sobering, and Jon took a deep, full breath of it.

“I’m glad you came tonight,” Martin said. “I, uh. I didn’t think you would.”

“Yes, well, Tim’s reports of my reclusiveness are overblown, I can assure you. I do actually leave my office on occasion.”

Martin laughed. “Yeah, well, I’m glad.” He blinked, then huffed another, softer laugh. “I-I guess I said that already, b-but–”

“I’m glad, too,” Jon said.

Martin smiled. His lips were growing pinker by the second, in the chill night air. For a second, it seemed that he was leaning toward Jon, and Jon found himself leaning in as well.

“Well,” Martin said, and the moment, if there had been one, was broken. “G’night, Jon.”

“Good night, Martin.”

#jonmartinweek 2024 #tma fanfic #tma fic #jonmartin fic #do not archive #jmart fic #jonmartin fanfic #jonmartinweek #jonmartin week 2024

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lover-also-fighter-also · 2 months ago

Text

THE PRINCE SWAP

CHAPTER 2 PART 1: THE SOCIAL SEASON

Banner credits: @cadybear420

Links to previous chapters:

Chapter 1: part 1

Chapter 1: part 2

Chapter 1: part 3

Tags: @cadybear420 @somerandomjewelleryonthefloor @choicesmc @choicesficwriterscreations @dutifullynuttywitch

Summary: a rewrite of The Princess Swap, but featuring our OG: HSS MC's, Jeremy Rin (my MC) and Alan Parke (Cady's MC).

Before they knew it, Jeremy and Emma were being rushed through the palace halls. 'This way your highness.' said the nobleman. 'Best not to keep the king waiting.' Jeremy looked at Emma as they walked, but the princess was trying not to make eye contact with him. Feeling awkward he started 'Princess-'

'I am sorry.' blurted out Emma. 'Huh?' said Jeremy, looking confused 'The way I spoke of you was completely out of line, your highness. Had I known you were the prince-'

'No it's okay really - ' said Jeremy. But before he could finish, they were escorted into a room, where a tall, imposing man stands before a throne. He had sharp, dark eyes, and hair that would have been as dark as Alan's, except it seemed to have reeded with age. Beside him, stood a frowning nobleman, certainly shorter in height than the man in front of the throne, and looked like he had gotten off the wrong side of the bed.

'Alan, my boy.' said the tall man, breaking into a smile that made his eyes twinkle. 'I trust you have kept our guest entertained?' By now, Jeremy could guess that this man was King Edmond, and immediately remembered that he was supposed to be his son.

'Yes, your majesty - I mean, father.' said Jeremy, giving a nervous smile, that he hoped that the king would not notice. 'I only hope that the princess found my company…delightful.' The King turns to Emma.

'Princess Emma. How wonderful to finally meet you.'

'Wonderful indeed.' said the surly nobleman. 'How kind of you to drop in on us without a warning, then disappear for an hour.'

'Your Majesty, Lord Cecil, Please accept my apologies for the unexpected arrival.' said Emma, curtseying before the king. Jeremy eyed the nobleman with distaste. 'So this was the Lord Cecil I was told to give a wide berth to. No wonder' he thought.

'I am really grateful for your invitation to host me for this social season.' said Emma to the king. 'But I had arrived earlier at the bequest of my father, to propose his additional way of improving relations between our feuding kingdoms.' She gives a nervous smile to Jeremy for a moment and says 'It would be an honor if I were to court prince Alan, with the possibility of a proposal by the end of the season.'

Jeremy was taken aback for a moment, before turning to the king. 'Your Maj- I mean father, did you know about this?'

'No but I think its a marvelous idea!' said the king, positively beaming. 'Monterre had always been at odds with Ismar for centuries, but I always hoped our kingdoms could resolve our…feuds.' he said. 'It would be entirely up to the Princess if she wishes to propose or not, and you, my son, whether to accept.' 'More like the real Alan to accept' thought Jeremy to himself.

'But this season could be a great opportunity to show that our heirs can get along, and so can our kingdoms.' said the king. He turns to Jeremy and continues 'I would like you and Princess Emma to arrange her welcome ball, to be held in two days time.'

'Oh, but…Of course father.' said Jeremy, losing what he had to say after seeing the hopeful look in the kings eyes.

'If I may object, Your Majesty.' said Lord Cecil. 'It would take more than a political courtship and a ball to undo centuries of rivalry! Ismar has always been too proud to cooperate with its betters.' He gives Emma a hateful look, and she looked like she was going to sink to the ground. Jeremy noticed the look in her eyes, and clenches his fists. He may not be the real Alan, but he wouldn't let Lord Cecil treat a guest like that, nor let him write off a chance at peace.

'Lord Cecil, maybe some of us are mature to overcome our differences. And this ball can symbolize choosing generosity over old wounds. Something that I think his lordship can understand the value of.' he says, putting on his most diplomatic expression.

Cecil opens his mouth, and scoffs 'So the rebellious prince finally formed a valid opinion. What a momentous day.' 'That's quite enough, Lord Cecil.' said the king. 'I am proud that my son has decided to take this chance on diplomacy.' he said, giving Jeremy a proud look. Jeremy smiles back, feeling relived inside.

Just then the nobleman who escorted them to the courtroom, enters and bows to the king. 'Forgive the intrusion, Your Majesty. But, I have been informed that our chambers are ready, and me and the princess would like to take a look.'

'Of course Lord Eren. We are glad to have you and Princess Emma for this season.' They both give a bow to the king, before leaving the courtroom.

Back at the Delta Theta Delta Sorority…

Alan was pacing around in Jeremy's room, when suddenly Jeremy's phone rings in his hand. 'Hello?' said Alan, picking it up.

'Alan.' whispered Jeremy urgently. 'Things just got a little complicated here…'

After a hasty explanation, Alan lets out a low whistle 'Wow, I can't believe little Emma is here with a proposal. I knew she was coming for the season but the reason…' he trails off

'Your dad thinks that its a great idea. He says it might help the relation between the two kingdoms. What do we do now?'

Alan thinks for a moment before saying, 'We stick to the plan. Emma's arrival might be unexpected, but I am sure you can handle it for two days.'

'You know what, you're right. Besides, I wouldn't miss an opportunity to spend time with a cute princess.' said Jeremy, slightly laughing.

'Oh she is cute now?' said Alan cheekily. 'Then I would definitely know what you mean by spending time…'

'You're not offended, are you?' asked Jeremy. 'Nope.' said Alan. 'Emma's a sweet girl, and I like her. I would definitely be offended if you didn't take an interest in her…'

'Let's cross the bridge when we get to it.' said Jeremy, giving a small laugh. 'Well, have fun being me.' and hung up the phone.

#choices #playchoices #pixelberry #choices stories you play #choices stories we play #choices high school story #choices the princess swap #the prince swap #oc: jeremy rin #alan parke (og hss mc)#hss x tps #crossover fanfiction #huffles fanfictions

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edwardian-masquerade · 10 months ago

Note

“Dear Jeremy, I would just like to say what a wonderful actor you are. Your Sherlock Holmes puts every other attempt at the part in the shade. Basil Rathbone is not fit to clean your boots; and Douglas Wilmer and Robert Stephens should beg you to give them lessons. You’re much prettier than all of them, for a start. There is only one word for your performance - magic. Please send me a signed photograph. Your’s Joe Bloggs. P.S. I‘ve heard that you‘re really nice person, too.” “Did you really write that?” questioned him, his face now turning beet red from keeping himself from laughing. “Yes, I did.” Telling him pointedly, with just a faint hint of amusement. “Did you send it?” he asked as genuine curiosity crept into his voice. “Yes. I put a first-class stamp on it. I wanted to get it as soon as possible. It came the next morning.” I told him. “And did you read it?” he asked, continuing his gentle interrogation. “Of course I read it. I read it a dozen times. I felt wonderful afterwards.” I said wriggling in my chair from the shear nonsensical delight of my small caper. “Well, did you send yourself a signed photograph?»” “David, I may be mad - but I‘m not barking mad! In any case, the bugger didn‘t send a stamped addressed envelope!”

After my tale was done, we both looked at each other and burst into the most boisterous laughing session we had shared yet, which I might add was something indeed. And poor Deborah had to redo both of our make up for the tears of joy streaming down our faces.

This is wonderful! Thank you for sharing.

"Remembering the Humor of Jeremy Brett"

https://www.ihearofsherlock.com/2019/09/remembering-humor-of-jeremy-brett.html

#jeremy brett

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fanficshiddles · 1 year ago

Text

The Redbridge Hunts, Chapter 9

For the duration of the week, Loki felt concerned about the twins after seeing them with Chris. It niggled at him almost constantly. The only time he didn’t really think about them was when he was with Claire. He had her take over some of the lessons quite a bit that week, partly so he could just enjoy watching her.

Having her scarf at home really helped him to adjust being around her scent, he didn’t rely on the vaseline quite as much as he had at the start. Though he was slightly ashamed to say that he even slept with the scarf next to him on his pillow, it seemed to calm him. He found he had the best sleeps he’d ever had with her scent nearby.

The whole issue with Claire using his gloves to masturbate with, of course, still remained high in his thoughts. So much so he decided to test something out one morning…

He arrived to the school wearing the gloves, making sure to keep them on as he went to his classroom. He deliberately arrived a little late, knowing that she would be there already setting up. When he walked in, he greeted her with a charming smile as always and she greeted him back.

However, he noticed her eyes were drawn instantly to his hands. He could’ve sworn that he spotted her cheeks turn a bit pinker before she turned away from him and began busying herself with writing up today’s work on the chalkboard.

With a big smirk on his face, he went to his desk to get sorted. He removed his gloves and tucked them into his jacket pocket, draping it over the back of his chair.

‘How’s Bat?’ Claire asked, eventually turning around to face him, her cheeks back to normal.

‘Asking after the cat before me? How charming.’ Loki chuckled.

‘Of course. She is the boss after all, isn’t she?’ Claire grinned.

Loki grinned back at her. ‘She is indeed. She’s good, apart from having an utter mad moment this morning at three am. Yelling and skidding around the floor, before ending it by jumping onto the bed and attacking my feet.’

Claire laughed. ‘Brilliant. I love hearing about Bat’s adventures.’

‘How would you like to see the star herself again this weekend?’ Loki offered.

Claire raised her eyebrow and her heartbeat quickened a little. ‘Oh? What’s the occasion?’

��It’s my dad’s birthday on Saturday, I’m hosting a mini party. The rest of the teachers are invited, some of dad’s friends and colleagues from the hospital will be there, too.’

‘Are you sure I wouldn’t be intruding?’

‘Of course not. My dad’s been wanting to meet you, actually.’ Loki smiled.

‘Really? You’ve told him about me?’ She raised an eyebrow at him.

‘Of course. You’re my perfect assistant, plus he was delighted to hear that you knew about him and his work. Any chance to talk about that, he will lap it up.’

‘Well, if you’re sure, I’d love to come.’ Claire said excitedly.

‘Excellent.’ Loki grinned.

Saturday rolled round and Loki had everything prepared at his place for his dad’s party. He had the double doors open from the kitchen out into the back garden patio, where he had a fire pit blazing to keep everyone warm. As there was going to be too many people to have everyone inside the kitchen comfortably. He had plenty of alcoholic drinks laid out ready on the counter inside, along with a huge spread of food on the dining table.

Claire, Jessica, Michael and David all arrived together first after sharing a taxi. Hannibal and Matt were not long after. Severus didn’t want to go, as expected and Jeremy couldn’t make it. Then some colleagues and friends of Lucius arrived.

‘I should have known I’d find you with Bat.’ Loki grinned at Claire when he found her crouched down in the corner of the kitchen, petting Bat.

‘Of course. If I go missing, just look for Bat.’ She grinned back at him. ‘When is your dad arriving?’

‘Any minute now.’ Loki said excitedly.

‘Does he know about the party?’ Claire asked as she continued stroking Bat.

‘Nope, he thinks he’s just coming round for dinner.’ Loki grinned.

‘I hope he likes surprises, then?’ Claire laughed.

‘He does, nice surprises anyway.’ Loki chuckled.

Michael stood at the window, keeping an eye out, he spotted Lucius coming down the road so called at everyone to hide while Loki went to the door to let him in. Of course, as soon as Lucius stepped inside, he could smell everyone there, but it was still a lovely surprise.

When Lucius walked through to the kitchen everyone threw their hands up and shouted surprise!

‘I should have known you were up to something, Loki.’ Lucius laughed and patted him on the shoulder.

‘Did you really think I’d let your fiftieth birthday pass by without a party?’ Loki smirked.

‘True.’ Lucius laughed. ‘Thank you all for being here.’ He said as he looked around everyone.

Everyone began to mingle, Loki dragged Lucius over to meet Claire straight away, since she was the only person there that he didn’t know yet.

‘Dad, this is Claire, my assistant that I’ve told you about.’ Loki introduced, he wasn’t sure why he felt really happy about them finally meeting.

‘Ah, lovely to meet you. Loki has told me all about you.’ Lucius took her hand in his and briefly kissed the back of her hand before letting go.

‘So good to meet you. Happy Birthday!’ Claire smiled widely.

‘Thank you. Tell me, how are you finding working with my son? I hope he’s not too demanding.’ Lucius chuckled.

‘Oh he’s ruthless, makes me do all the work, I never get to rest. Beats me black and blue daily too, just the worst boss ever.’ Claire teased.

Loki mocked a gasp and put his hand over his heart. ‘I let you have that one hour off the other day!’

The three of them laughed, then Lucius had to go mingle with others but he made sure to talk to Claire plenty too, she had so many questions about him starting up the hospital and the school and Lucius loved talking about his work, even if he couldn’t tell her the full truth about it all.

Everyone had a good time, eating and drinking while mingling. Lucius, Loki, Claire and a few of the others were outside by the firepit.

'Then he realised that the only way to get' Lucius suddenly paused mid-sentence.

He turned around and spotted a shadowed figure in the dark. Claire felt shivers run down her spine as she followed Lucius’ gaze. Then the figure stepped forward out of the darkness, it was Chris. He had the typical smirk on his face as he walked over to them.

‘My invite to my own dad’s birthday party must have gotten lost in the post, hmm?’ He glanced to Loki, then looked back at Lucius. ‘Happy Birthday, dad.’ He handed him over a giftbag.

‘Thank you, Chris. It’s good to see you, son.’ Lucius gave Chris a squeeze on the shoulder, then he looked at Loki, who was close to combusting on the spot.

Lucius stepped closer to Loki. ‘Let’s try and get along just for one night, hmm? Please?’

Loki tore his eyes away from Chris and looked at his dad, his gaze softened and his shoulders sagged very slightly as he nodded in agreement.

Claire felt a little awkward but luckily Jessica came over and dragged her away.

‘If you try anything funny tonight, you’re out of here. Just because dad thinks there’s still good in you, doesn’t mean I think so too.’ Loki snarled quietly at Chris when Lucius went off to talk to one of his colleagues.

Chris put his hands up in defence. ‘No funny business from me.’

Loki really wasn’t happy having Chris in his home, especially uninvited, but he would deal with it for one night for his dads’ sake. He knew that Lucius still loved him, that he felt partly to blame for the way Chris ended up.

So, Loki gritted his teeth and bared it, inviting him inside to get a drink and food.

Claire had been petting Bat again inside, but when Chris and Loki walked into the kitchen, Bat went running over to Chris and started purring around his legs. Chris chuckled and crouched down to give her a scratch.

‘Can’t believe you’ve still got this little runt.’ He sounded surprised.

‘Of course, I do.’ Loki said in response.

‘I remember the day I found her as if it was yesterday. She must be what, fifteen now?’ Chris stood up and Bat wandered off to look for her next victim to coax affection from.

‘Fifteen and a half.’ Loki said dryly as he sipped his drink, eyes locked on Chris to make sure he wasn’t going to do anything.

‘You found her?’ Claire asked Chris.

Chris grinned. ‘I did. Tiny abandoned kitten at the riverside, in a box. She was around six weeks old, completely helpless. I’ve never been a huge cat fan, but I knew Loki was. I got her seen by a vet, got some supplies and a little ribbon for her neck, then gifted her to him for his birthday the following week.’

Claire wasn’t sure why she found herself so surprised at hearing that. With their relationship currently, it was really hard to imagine.

Loki was reluctantly dragged away as a few of Lucius’ older friends wanted to find out all about how Loki was getting on with teaching.

‘Did you name her or did Loki?’ Claire asked Chris as she went to get some food from the table, Chris followed her over.

‘Loki did. I would have picked a more sophisticated name, obviously.’

‘Bat’s a cute name, she suits it.’ Claire shrugged and did her best to keep a little distance from him as she kept moving along the table, piling stuff onto her plate, but he ended up crowding her at the end of the table.

‘Not as cute as you are.’ He teased, leaning in close so she could feel his breath against her neck.

Her cheeks turned a little red as a bad shiver ran down her spine. She didn’t know how to respond to that, but she managed to back away a little and held her plate up on front of her, so she had something between them.

‘I need to speak to Matt about something. Catch you later.’ She said quickly and began walking away from him.

‘Not if I catch you first.’ Chris growled low, but Claire heard what he said.

She made a beeline for Matt and Hannibal who were sitting just outside near the fire pit.

‘What’s Chris doing here?’ Hannibal asked her.

‘Not really sure, I know he wasn’t invited and Loki isn’t happy at all, but he’s putting on a happy face for his dad’s sake.’ Claire said quietly.

‘Yeah, Loki looks like he wants to deck him.’ Matt said while looking at Loki, who stood just inside the kitchen speaking with a few people, but his focus wasn’t entirely on them as he just glared over at Chris, who spoke to Jessica and Michael.

‘They weren’t always like this.’ Lucius sighed sadly as he had overheard the three talking when he went to join them.

‘No?’ Claire asked.

‘No. Loki adored Chris when he was a baby, right up into his teens. He looked up to him. And while Chris didn’t like to admit it, he always had a soft spot for his younger brother.’

Claire smiled, but then it fell. She couldn’t imagine the two being that close, considering how they acted now. ‘What happened that tore them apart so much?’ She asked.

‘That’s not my story to tell, I’m afraid. Though even I don’t agree with some things Chris does, he’s still my son.’

Claire looked back over at Loki, then at Chris. What on earth drove them apart so much?

‘I’m surprised they can be civil enough at work.’ Hannibal commented.

‘They both like their job too much to let it effect that.’ Lucius said.

To everyone’s surprise, Chris managed to behave himself for the duration of the party. Claire made sure to stay away from him unless with someone else. She found herself sticking close by Loki for the night, especially when she began feeling tipsy from the wine.

When people began to leave later into the night, Loki noticed Chris hovering, often looking at Claire. Which of course worried Loki.

‘Is there a chance any of you can get Chris to leave with you? I’m getting worried with the way he’s hovering around and trying to get Claire on her own.’ Loki said quietly to Jessica, Matt and David.

‘I'm just leaving, leave it to me.’ Jessica patted Loki on the shoulder.

Jessica headed over to Chris. ‘Hey Mr, be a gentleman and walk a lonely woman home, will you?’

Chris rolled his eyes but to Loki’s relief, he obliged to walk her home. He said bye to Lucius before heading out, he tried to speak to Claire, but Loki managed to get her away from him in time. As soon as Chris left, Loki visibly relaxed.

‘He really gets under your skin, doesn’t he?’ Claire asked Loki softly.

‘He does, but I had to let him stay, for dad’s sake.’ Loki sighed.

‘Well, I’d say that definitely makes you the better man, putting issues aside for the happiness of your dad.’ Claire smiled at him and put her hand on his arm, squeezing.

Loki swallowed hard at her contact, god he wanted more of her. He was so relieved that he managed to control himself better around her now, though he still found it challenging.

‘Thanks, Claire. I must say, having you here too has made this all the better.’ Loki admitted.

Claire felt her cheeks heat up at his comment.

‘Well son, thank you so much for this party. It's been really wonderful.’ Lucius interrupted.

‘You’re welcome, I’m glad you enjoyed it and that everyone managed to keep it a secret.’ Loki grinned as he gave his dad a big hug.

‘Lovely to meet you, Claire. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.’ Lucius said warmly to her.

‘You too.’ She smiled at him.

Loki walked with his dad to the front door. ‘She’s lovely, Loki. I can see why she’s your soulmate. I wouldn’t worry too much about Chris, I’m sure he’s only toying with you.’

‘I’m not so sure about that.’ Loki grumbled.

Lucius squeezed Loki’s shoulder before heading out. When Loki went back to the kitchen, he realised it was just Claire left. She had started tidying up.

‘You don’t need to do that.’ Loki said as he rushed to take the plates from her.

‘It’s ok, I want to help. Can’t leave you with all of this mess since everyone else has buggered off.’ She laughed.

Loki’s heart melted completely.

‘Well, on one condition.’ Loki said firmly.

‘What’s that?’

‘You let me walk you home afterwards, since it’s so late.’

‘Ok, deal.’ Claire nodded.

#tom hiddleston #loki #loki x ofc #david tennant #loki fic #lucius #chris motionless #jessica chastain #hannibal #matt murdock #the redbridge hunts

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himluv · 4 months ago

Text

DA Review Series: Vows & Vengeance

<<< Previous Review: The Missing

Here we are. The final review. The last little crumb of DA content I had to consume in my year-long journey to read, watch, play, and listen to all things Dragon Age before Veilguard's release.

For awhile there I didn't think I'd be able to to get it all done, but here we are with two weeks to spare. I don't know how I'm going to survive these next two weeks with no Dragon Age media, but I'm thinking of it as a sort of cleanse. A break to prepare mind, body, and spirit for what comes next...

Veilguard.

Title: Vows & Vengeance Writer(s): Will Melton and Jeremy Novik Publication Year: 2024 In-World Year: 9:45+ Dragon Verdict: I had a lot of fun with this series, despite its at times cringe-worthy writing and the occasional lore discrepancy. Is it a wellspring of lore and info? Not so much. But as an introduction to Veilguard's companions and key characters I think it's quite successful. But, successful doesn't equal necessary so you do you, boo.

Vows & Vengeance follows thief Nadia Carcosa as she tries to save her lover Elio from the Fade. He's stuck there thanks to a certain Dread Wolf and the artifact he surreptitiously hired her to steal — the Eye of Kethisca.

After Solas's ritual goes wrong (this dude is a broken record!) Nadia meets Drayden Kiel, a scholar and historian with a particular interest in the Fade. Their hunt for the Dread Wolf and Elio takes them through much of Northern Thedas, and each episode introduces one of the seven companions in Veilguard.

I found all of the companions incredibly endearing and wonderful. Harding is so sweet and kind, but also a bamf. Davrin is strong and noble, but also extremely charming. Taash is an absolute badass and I can't wait to see more of her dynamic in the group. And of course, Neve is a stunner and not just for her fashion sense.

Bellara's episode was an absolute delight — as a longtime fan of the Dalish, hearing one of the People stand up and speak out against their colonizers was very powerful.

Obviously I LOVED the Lucanis episode, even if Antivan nobility having British accents was buckwild. What we heard from Lucanis told us so much about his character and I can't WAIT to get to know him better, if you know what I mean ;) .

Emmrich and Manfred were such a joy to meet. Their dynamic is so sweet and the kindness just radiates from Emmrich. I can't wait to play rock paper scissors with my little bone buddy.

It was almost unfair, honestly, because the companions were so loveable and Nadia... Wasn't. I really struggled with her, for a lot of the same reasons I struggled with Katara in ATLA. But Nadia doesn't have the excuse of being a child.

Nadia came across as very impatient, oftentimes mean, and incredibly short-sighted. She oscillates between being a know-it-all and being utterly uninterested in understanding what's happening around her. I wasn't really rooting for her, sadly. She was just the vehicle this podcast used to introduce us to these other characters.

I must add here that I absolutely loved Drayden and would be more than happy to meet them in Veilguard or other Dragon Age media in the future. But I am glad Nadia's "retired".

I also feel really bad for Elio. I don't feel like Nadia really processed the fact that he died and that it was her fault (and also Solas's). Or at least, we didn't get to hear her process that. And so her eulogy/vow at the end rang a bit hollow for me. Her emotion and her grasp at closure didn't feel earned.

But! I do want to say that shoving all these characters into eight 45-minute episodes had to have been an INCREDIBLE challenge. And, when compared to other Dragon Age tie-in media, this one is definitely not bad. I know I'm glad I listened, and that my Thursday morning drive has been the highlight of my week for the last eight weeks.

But now it's over. Just like this review series is over. The only thing left to do is sit back and countdown the days until we finally return to Thedas!

TWO WEEKS LEFT, Y'ALL!!!!!!!

#himluv reviews dragon age #da: vows & vengeance #dragon age #nadia carcosa #drayden kiel

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callmearcturus · 5 months ago

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Mission Impossible: a Crazed Ramble by tentacledwizard

Re my mission impossible ask: gonna share my thoughts bc I just finished watching the series (sans 2 and 3) and boy do I have Thoughts. I think I’ll cover the ones I’m most interested in (Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation, and Fallout) though I might ramble at u about 1 and 7 later lmao. So okay here we go

Ghost Protocol. I REALLY liked this one. This is 2nd on my ranking of MI movies.

This movie has the best team vibes. Might be my favorite iteration of The Team, even if Luther isn’t really there. I just got really emotionally attached to these guys and their interactions lmao..

I liked Brandt. Jeremy Renner didn’t have to do some heavy-duty acting for this role, and he didn’t. His role was to be small and cute and tormented, and it worked. So well that I mumbled “where is my wife” when I watched Fallout, and my brother looked at me strangely.

Jane Carter holy moly. Dude you were NOT kidding about Jane Carter. I love her so much. I love how she’s not even slightly the love interest, how her and Ethan’s interactions have this respect and camaraderie, and even when they kiss it’s not romantic. It’s great. Loved how she got the dudely “gotta avenge my dead wife” backstory with her boyfriend getting killed, and how that propels her most ruthless actions. I guess I’m pretty much agreeing with everything you’ve said about Jane lmao. SHE’S GREAT. Also loved it when she fought Léa Seydoux, it was pretty cathartic. Let female characters be driven and reckless and (eyes Rose Lalonde pfp) yeah

Benji Dunn the man that you are. Okay I’d say that Benji is at his best in the next movie, but this is a damn good introduction. He’s newly promoted, a little bit out of his depth, and I’m a sucker for funny nerdy sidekicks okay. Gonna talk about him some more when I get to Rogue Nation probably.

Ethan Hunt has the best haircut in this film. Idk man that’s my Ethan Hunt commentary. Oh wait it was also funny when he wore the mustache

I GOT ALL FLUSTERED WHEN LÉA SEYDOUX WAS ON SCREEN. I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS IS. HOW PECULIAR

Didn’t watch 2 and 3, so the brief glimpse of Julia was very intriguing and bittersweet. Then of course in Fallout she Julias all over the place!

OKAY NOW I CAN TALK ABOUT THE BURJ KHALIFA

I’ve actually seen the Burj Khalifa irl and it is SO TALL (I know, very surprising) so I cannot wrap my head around the fact that this scene was shot on location (??) I need to look into that more.

I am a dork and I do not know much about how stunts and action scenes are calibrated, hence the sheer delight I derived from the way the camera moves in the Burj Khalifa scenes. Also my hands got really sweaty during the first half. (The “blue is glue, red is dead” part reminded me of “hasta lasagna don’t get any on ya” IDK MAN)

I spent the wall-climbing section gazing at the TV rapturously and occasionally mumbling “uh oh,” “Ethan Hunt: Human Gecko” or “the climberrrr” alternately. I literally was not hearing myself because I was watching so intently. My breath was BATED lmao.

And like I’d seen the gif sets, I knew he was gonna jump but I didn’t know when. So when Ethan does jump, it’s so sudden that you can’t help but go :O !! And it works. Anddd that’s my favorite stunt in the film (i am an easily impressed nerd with no technical knowledge but i AM dying on this hill. The Burj jump would impress ANYONE and for good reason)

I am replaying this scene in my head over and over. It’s just. It’s so good. My reaction to it reminded me of when I watched [S] Descend and it just Worked and I was amazed. To say nothing of Cascade lmao. Actually yeah this kind of is Cascade in a sense

I'm sure none of this commentary is really original, but I really love it when Tom Cruise does a big jump heh. I am a simple man

So yeah this film is easily my 2nd favorite. It’s character-driven, there’s comedy elements, the way the team interacts and collides and argues with each other is wonderful. And I believe in Jane Carter supremacy.

Oh yeah, Bogdan was funny too. So many good + funny moments here :D

Wait how could I forget the best character (the Russian man who has an enemies-to-friends arc with Ethan)? Love that guy.

OKAY this is too long so Im gonna separate this into 2 parts.

they sent three asks and then I responded, we're gonna use a cut here, LONG POST!!!!!

@tentacledwizard PART 2.

Rogue Nation. This one’s my favorite! I like how it begins not with Ethan but with the Team, because their interactions are good. And of course Ethan’s trying to jump on a plane. Just another Saturday.

I am not very good at talking about plot so let’s talk about Benji Dunn

ok wait first I gotta say that I like how they played with the usual IMF message. The “we ARE the syndicate” got me. Really good moment, and I bet if I rewatched it I’d catch all the little details that made me suspicious of whoever was talking.

Anyway Benji Dunn.. the man that you are…

Like I said, Benji is at his best in this movie. There’s so many little moments that cement his greatness. He’s gaming on company time! He lies about not being Ethan’s friend on a daily basis :( also the sincere dorky smile he does on his way to the opera is so wonderful.

I really like how sincere Benji is. He’s genuinely looking forward to the opera, and he’s eager to wear a mask someday, and he cares about Ethan so much. Yeah he’s a funny little British man but he’s also v sweet and you can see why Ethan goes crazy and kidnaps the prime minister to get him back.

speaking of, I really think that Benji and Ethan’s relationship is… if not the core of the movie, it’s definitely a major part of that core. Does that make sense? Like, I tried to take a picture of the screen every time Ethan and Benji glanced at each other knowingly, and I ended up with a lot of pictures. Even with the 6-month separation (Ethan with a beard is something I never thought I’d see), they know each other. Ethan knows Benji wants to see the opera, and Benji will yell at Ethan when Ethan needs to be yelled at. Ethan compliments Benji’s tuxedo (as he should).

Also ffffuck whenever these guys worry about each other… like when Benji tells Ethan he’s probably going to take it too far one of these days.. Man. The scene where Ethan washes out of the giant torus with Ilsa and Benji goes to talk to him is so good.

oh and yeah Ethan did kidnap the prime minister. For benji. HE DID THAT!!!

Also the scene where Benji is forced to speak for Solomon was honestly incredible, it was like Ethan and Benji were having their own separate conversation with eye contact. When Ethan briefly put his hand on Benji’s shoulder, maybe to reassure him without having to talk, and Benji glances up at him… that’s good stuff right there. When Benji was finally able to talk it was cathartic. God I love these two

Plus the opera fight scene is so fun oh my god.

ok let’s talk about my queen Ilsa Faust

Ilsa Faust is great, and I really like how this series does female characters. Because she has her own shit going on, there’s a bit of romance between her and Ethan but they’re both agents with missions, and she’s never sexualized. I love that. Her signature move is filmed the way a male character would be filmed if he were fighting. That’s awesome.

I really loved Rebecca Ferguson’s performance here, the conflict between saving others and saving herself was neat. It’s also interesting how she has way less reservations about killing people, which plays off Ethan’s… everything. And she never makes it easy for Ethan, which I’d honestly do too if I was involved in the shit she has to deal with.

But of course there are moments that show she does care about him (asking him to run away, the scene where she saves him in the underwater whirly spinner). The hug was pretty sweet.

Also, Ilsa is when I started really paying attention to the outfits in MI, because all of her looks were great. The yellow dress is iconic, and I REALLY liked the pleated coat she wears when talking to Solomon Lane. Plus the suit she wears in Fallout is Good.

Solomon Lane is a good villain. Jim is the MI villain I think of when I think of MI villains, but Solomon is very distinctive. I mean that voice, man. The VOICE. Lmao. He kind of reminded me of a parasitic worm made human, which is a 100% good thing.

So who has the more distinctive and weird voice? Solomon or Claire? That is the question. (I think it’s Claire tbh. Four am, four in the morning, four o clock)

So this is my favorite MI film. It’s fun, it has a good villain. We see Ethan’s personality start to shine through, too- he’s emotionally driven, as evidenced by when he fucking DOES ALL THAT TO SAVE BENJI GOD I LOVE THESE TWO. So yeah, this is the Ethan and Benji movie to me. It’s also a stellar debut for Ilsa Faust… wait what do you mean she gets fridged in the 7th movie. What do you mean

OH Jeremy Renner is still here! And more Luther! Hell yeah.

really want to rewatch this one so I can take more notes on the stunts and stuff, too

Ok time to make a part 3 because this is ridiculously long

PART 3

Fallout. Oh man. This one messed me up.

So from the start, Fallout is a darker, queasier watch than the previous two. The more I watched, the more I realized that this movie Is Ethan Hunt’s Nightmare.

Like there’s the straightforward nightmare at the beginning, and then the film just Doesn’t Stop. It keeps messing with our minds again and again.

This is the Ethan Hunt movie. This is our deep dive into Ethan Hunt’s mind, and at some points it kind of feels like a test of how well we know him- because he wouldn’t kill all those people, so this must be another nightmare, right?

I am used to vivid nightmares, and this film perfectly captures the sheer horror of having one. And I was constantly doubting my own perception, bouncing between bad dream and reality along with Ethan. Man.

Like Mission Impossible has always kind of had that element, what with the masks and everything, but this film dials it up to eleven. I recognized the horror of Ethan’s situation here, and it was a feeling that stayed with me the entire time.

I mean at some points, it gets surreal. The line about Ethan literally being his own worst enemy (it’s true!), his wife showing up in little glimpses until she finally appears, Lane pinpointing Ethan’s fears, etc. When Ethan looks around at the church and says he’s terribly sorry, it’s such a small moment but it’s still kind of a gut punch. Ethan Hunt is trapped in his brain and so are we.

Even the title sequence shows everything burning around Ethan. The full theme song sounds like it’s going to end, but then it keeps going. This movie feels way more apocalyptic than any of the others.

Even Max is dead. I mean come on.

And we see how this screws up Ethan’s judgment, how his priorities are a little fucked in the grand scheme of things. He puts a few people over millions, for better or for worse.

Ethan Hunt running is an iconic part of the franchise, but what happens when all the messed-up stuff he went through catches up with him? What about the fallout?

So when the ending rolls around, it feels like Ethan is waking up, and that lends it a certain catharsis. But the uneasiness of most of the movie still stuck with me for a long time afterward.

Okay let’s talk about the new characters.

Alanna was neat, and I liked her outfits too. Though every time she flirted with Ethan, I had this vivid mental image of Ethan driving up and yelling “I fucked your mom, shit lips!” Probably something he’d say to Zola instead though.

Walker was such an asshole and that was kind of great actually. Not a single redeeming quality to be found. Have fun falling off that cliff, johnny boy.

Oh yeah and he got to say the only “fuck” in the entire series I believe. (It should have been Ethan. Well I can always hope.)

That conversation Ethan and Benji have about how Ethan won’t let anything happen to him, but then later Ethan does something that seems to put Benji in danger (making him be Solomon Lane)? Chef’s kiss. Also Benji FINALLY got to wear the mask, and he’s damn good at it.

More of Ilsa and Ethan’s relationship and man is it complicated haha. I like the scene where they’re walking through a symmetrical landscape, just paralleling each other, until finally they’re face to face. That’s good stuff right there. Also the scene where he’s in the hospital bed was sweet.

My wife [Brandt] is not here but luckily we get a lot of Luther. Luther is the constant in this series- he’s stuck with Ethan from the beginning, for better or for worse. (Better, because he’s a good character). So Luther really cares about Ethan, evidenced by his conversation with Ilsa. He probably knows Ethan better than anyone, except maybe Julia but then again she and Ethan have been apart for a while.

Julia was great. The scenes with her and Ethan were v bittersweet. They still care about each other (just look at Ethan’s constant guilt over not protecting her), but she’s living her own life now. The conversation they had near the end was the culmination of all this, the moment we were waiting for. Plus I enjoyed her friendship with Luther, like I enjoyed Ilsa and Benji’s friendship. The scene where they’re cutting the wires/talking about Ethan was cute.

as for the stunts, hmm… I didn't really get the level of physicality I got from, say, MI1 or Ghost Protocol. Idk man maybe I’m just biased against helicopters?

ALSO I really like Face/Off and Hit Man so the John Lark thing was p cool to me. Ofc John was the asshole CIA agent though.

Anyway good movie, might take some time before I can rewatch it but it’s a masterful delve into Ethan Hunt’s mind. Not my favorite but also really really good and I wrote the most about it.

Conclusion. Wow that’s a lot of thoughts. Probably too many to put in one ask. Uh I kind of also want to talk about MI1 and Dead Reckoning as an echo of MI1 but this was a lot so idk if you’d want me to do that lmao. Anyway I have to thank you for convincing me to watch Mission Impossible all those months ago, because it is one of my obsessions now. (If you read all this I am sorry lmao, hope it wasn’t boring tho)

And now I can finally read your Benthan fic! 8D hell yeah.

okay now it is my turn to reply

I frankly adore Brandt. I've joked to Brandt that I don't really ship Benthan, I just use it as a vehicle to write William Brandt and have him tell jokes. I adore his angry little bureaucratic ass. I am actually a fan of Renner when the material gives him actual shit he can do. Like, he was fucking WASTED in the MCU and the "Hawkeye" miniseries proves he could have been having fun this entire fucking time but they never GAVE him anything. And even if his role in MI is simple, McQuarrie is so damn good at writing characters that Brandt feels vibrant. In GP he goes from sad sweater boy to lowkey the weakest link of the team but everyone is there to help him. And in RN there's a THOUSAND lil moments I love with him. I always point to Benji's interrogation scene, there's a VERY VERY PRECISE bit of editing where Benji is going off on a tirade about how the CIA sucks, and the camera lingers on Brandt LITERALLY JUST LONG ENOUGH for Renner's mouth to make this tiny microexpression, like TWO FRAMES of Brandt indulging in admiring Benji's lie-craft.

Also the argument in the bigass car with Luther was Renner improvising according to McQ. Love it. Brandt's my angry little pencil-pushing angel. Any time he shows up in the PT AU, I'm 😍😍😍

GP lives and dies on the team dynamic tbh, which I find hilarious bc imo MI3 was pronounced dead on arrival bc the team dynamic is non-existent and like, why am I even here???? the chemistry is truly batshit.

IF YOU WOULD LIKE ALL THE TRULY MIND-BOGGLING FACTS BEHIND THE BURJ CLIMB AND HOW TERRIFYINGLY PRACTICAL IT WAS check out this post

Also Ethan's gorgeous LEAP at the end of the sequence is my second-fave Physicality Moment in that movie. The first is of course Ethan's silent vault over the railing after he leaves his prison cell. I'm a slut.

and I bet if I rewatched it I’d catch all the little details that made me suspicious of whoever was talking.

oh you want a fun one? in the record shop, there are two listening booths. ethan goes into the one on the left.

Solomon Lane is sitting in the one on the right.

re: Benji in Rogue Nation, I mean McQuarrie himself has said Simon Pegg as Benji Dunn is the beating heart and soul of the Mission franchise. so don't worry, we ALL stan.

ILSA FUCKING FAUST. /fans face. Yeah, the way MI handles women is like… I don't know how to go back to, like, James Bond films. I keep remembering Skyfall (which I remember as a good movie) and how one of the ~bond girls~ is casually executed and the whole point is how unfazed everyone is, how DISPOSABLE she is, how James Bond as a franchise wants backpats for pointing out "man it sure sucks how disposable women are in these spy flicks huh"

smash cut to Ghost Protocol, Rogue Nation, Fallout, and ESPECIALLY Dead Reckoning.

I keep saying this but MI manages to pull off the Metal Gear thing in that the Male Gaze of the camera is thoroughly bisexual. Long before we see Ilsa's amazing leg shot at the opera, we get a long lingering shot of Ethan's tiddies, and the way he's held captive is very female-coded, the position, the way he tries to wile his way out of it, the barefoot thing, all of it. There's such intense intentionality with how MI frames bodies.

Hell, I've been flicking between MI and the X-Men AU movies and comparing Ilsa to Mystique is super interesting because both of them fight with their legs-first. But the choreography of Mystique always has this "heh heh heh naked legg" feeling, while with Ilsa, her fighting style is so consistent, it feels like a natural result of her build and how she utilizes momentum. I remember there's a fast moment in Fallout where she very casually assists Ethan by taking out a guard as he extracts Alanna, and she does her leg flip thing. It feels Correct for her, rather than the MCU "make sure you fight pretty" bullshit.

Anyway I love Ilsa but Benji is actually the Love Interest in RN and we all know it.

"wait what do you mean she gets fridged in the 7th movie" SHE DOES NOT GET FRIDGED i am gonna die on this fucking hill, that Ilsa's death was good and actually meant something

Anyway I cosign all your thoughts on Fallout. I think it's the best movie and frankly I think it's a cinematic masterpiece. The claustrophobia of it, the nightmare of being Ethan Hunt, the repeated use of dreamlike imagery to convey that we're falling further into that nightmare with him, AND THE ENDING. I find the ending so bittersweet because yes, Ethan and the team pull it off, they push at the edges of possibility and reason until the universe yields and gives them the win

but then Julia says "I know you'll always be there" and its like watching a door slam in Ethan's face. He's always going to be in this dream/nightmare, a world that exists one layer removed from reality, and he can't get out. It's amazing. I want to kiss McQ on the mouth.

That Ilsa-Ethan scene was not in the original script and TC suggested it day-of and they just did it and its one of the most beautiful shots of the movie, with the green trees melding with the slight green tones of Ilsa's outfit and with Ethan's eyes. The fact they have an entire conversation between Ethan and Ilsa's eyebrows. I love them.

#long post #mission impossible

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nebulatica · 22 hours ago

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tagged by @dealwithgod in “people i'd like to get to know better." this was absolutely delightful to wake up to, i missed tumblr so much in the few years i was gone, things like this being one of the many reasons! thank you for tagging me! <3 (also definitely trying the miso paste on toast, that sounds delicious!)

last song: Hold The Girl by Rina Sawayama. her vocals are absolutely insane and the whole message of the song being about taking care of your past self and learning from them is something i really connect with.

last book: Wicked by Gregory Maguire. Look. I know. It is VERY DIFFERENT from the musical and the movie. It's a wild ass ride. But I loved it. The additional depth to the characters? Loved it. Book Fiyero will always have my heart.

last movie: The Trial of the Chicago Seven. I won't lie, I watched it solely for Jeremy Strong, but I also loved it. Love any piece of media critical of the american government/military industrial complex, lmfao

last show: Lost. I haven't rewatched it fully since middle school, I keep getting stuck in the middle, I hope rewatch this is the one!

last thing i searched: how to spell Gregory Maguire's last name, lmfao <3

favorite color: It constantly flips between maroon and forest green

sweet/savory/spicy: Probably savory? I love me some spice but only in certain contexts (i am a complete and utter whore for hot fries, yet i hate hot cheetos. make it make sense.)

relationship status: taken! my girlfriend and i met my first day of middle school, she sat next to me on the bus. we didn't start dating until last year though. i never thought i'd have that childhood love thing, but the universe provided, i suppose.

looking forward to: not being sick anymoreeeeeeeee. but for real? my girlfriend and i are going to a convention in a few months and she's going to meet elijah woooood.

current obsession: god, where do i start. succession, specifically Roman Roy, i love that fucking asshole. webkinz. i love webkinz. if anybody still uses webkinz, hit me up, i want more friends on there. i've discovered goodreads giveaways recently, so that's been fun. oh, i discovered sour cream comes in squeezy packs, which is a GAME CHANGER, i hate how liquidy it gets, it freaks me out, so being able to just squeeze it out and it look normal? love that.

tagging: @pyrholidonhead @astsalynn @thewickedwillofthewest no pressure of course, i just think you guys are cool haha <3

#tag game #this was so funnnn

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a-fluffer-nutter · 3 months ago

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Spied On

A/N - Finally finished the fic for Day 14 of Tickletober lol. The prompt was "Lose," which isn't as incorporated in this fic as other prompts have for the others, but a loss does happen so...lol. So the main reason behind this fic is that my favorite fic I have ever read is from the one and only @wigglygiggler and while they aren't on Tumblr much anymore, I would still like to say that "You're a Sneaky One" is my favorite fic, so I made this, a kinda sequel to it. I've always wanted to do a TF2 fic, so why not use my inspiration from Wiggly and put my own personal spin on things. Here is a Sniper x reader fic and I hope you all enjoy!

Word Count: 3,815

Engine rumbling, you rode your motorcycle over the dip in the driveway, slowing down to a sluggish stop once in front of the RED base. Pocketing your keys, you ripped off your helmet and placed it on the leather seat of your ride before smoothing out your messy hair.

“Hello, darlin’,” your eyes flicked up at the sound of Engineer’s southern drawl, having heard you arriving well before you parked.

“Evening, Dell,” you smiled, smoothing out your jacket as you approached.

“What do we owe the pleasure?” Engineer asked expectantly. Normally, as Miss Pauling’s assistant, you arrived with a truckload of supplies, ranging from medical equipment for Medic to gun supplies and ammunition for most everyone else. Today, it was clear you had other business to attend to.

“Heard your teleporter is acting up,” Engineer stepped in line with you as you walked back in the direction he had come from, knowing exactly where the broken machinery was. Withdrawing a small USB from your pocket, you flashed the drive as you as your expression slipped into one of neutrality. “Got your fix right here.”

“Good, t’was buggin’ me that I couldn’t get it fixed,” he shrugged his shoulders as you smiled to yourself, always having appreciated that the man was the only merc that could recognize his own mistakes and shortcomings. If only the others were like him, your work would be so much easier.

“Firewall glitch, it seems. At least that’s what the higher ups said,” the USB clicked into place as you finally managed to insert it, making at least four attempts of spinning the drive around and failing to get it in the hole. Growling to yourself, the screen lit up vibrantly before you stepped over to stand in front of it.

“Figures,” Engineer mused, his voice trailing off as he walked off somewhere behind you. As you began to furiously type in your credentials, a shrill screech rattled your teeth. Turning around, Engineer was almost right on you, dragging a folding chair. “For you, dear.”

“Heh, thanks,” appreciating the gesture, you took a seat, your back instantly thanking you. Before driving here, you had assisted Miss Pauling with burying more bodies than you could count, the damned system dedicated to despawning corpses on the fritz…again. Having had no time between that job and this one, you had swiped a few baby wipes from the van and cleaned off any traces of blood and guts that you could find coated on your figure. You knew you smelled like a bloody daycare, but working with the mercs was like own one, so it worked.

“It’s you!” your temporary peace was sliced with a knife when Scout’s voice pierced the silence between you and Engineer. Of course, you didn’t dislike any of the mercs, the completely opposite in fact, but Scout was…loud and distracting. A delightful conversationalist when you sought one out, but when you were focused on something important, like fixing the teleporter so these mercs could stop bitching to Miss Pauling about not having access to good liquor, Scout was a bit of a nuisance. And by the sound of his voice, it seemed like he was intent on getting under your skin that evening.

“Hey, Jeremy,” you sighed, having no plans on humoring him today. The faster you could get this done, the fast you could eat and by helping them out, you knew the mercs would invite you to join them for dinner and that meant…

“I heard a rumor about you,” fingers stilling, you stared at your reflection on the screen, noting the clear annoyance in your eyes before continuing to type.

“Ah?” was all you could say, beginning to exit out of the program you were in. As you started to reboot the system, Engineer leaned over to see what you were doing, knowing you had to be nearly done. He was the only person that deeply appreciated your knowledge of technology and computers, and while you were never going to be an expert in munitions and defensive traps like he was, there was still an appreciation for the skills you had.

“You have a boyfriend,” flinch visible to both mercs, Scout began to point and laugh at you. Inhaling sharply, you wished for the reboot to go faster, your ears warming to a cool pink.

“Bold of you to say that as you’re the reason why Miss Pauling doesn’t come by anymore,” Engineer countered, taking the words straight from your brain.

“It’s not my fault the Administrator is a bitch that can’t appreciate a perfect love story,” you let out a huff of a laugh as the screen relit, the system live. “Though it would be a damn shame if I told her that you were smitten for a certain somebody.”

“Fuck off, Scout,” you uttered through your teeth as you began running a system diagnostic program, making sure your work was a success. While you were on a first named basis with both Scout and Engineer, you would switch to using their titles when upset, specifically with the younger man.

“What they said,” Engineer gestured to you with his thumb, the rest of his fingers folding into a fist. Engineer was a saint and for that you were thankful. As he desperately tried to draw away Scout’s attention from you, a green bar inched across the screen; the program nearly finished.

“But Engie, don’t you want to know who our friend here is into?” Scout’s voice lowered into his version of a sly purr, which sounded more like a dying kitten than a suave cat, though you knew the bastard thought he was hot shit.

“Does it really matter?” Engineer’s mouth was as straight as a heart monitor connected to a vampire, his patience wearing thin, which was hard to do, as he was certainly one of the most patient of the mercs. Glancing over at the screen as it let out the victorious noise of a scan finished with no errors found, you and Engineer let out a sigh of relief. All you had to do was get the teleporter to send you one burger, and you would be free.

“I think a certain man from down under would like to know,” Scout leaned closer to you, his mouth nearing your ear.

“And done,” you stood up suddenly, knocking Scout back as the teleporter flashed to life, the desired burger rotating an inch above the tray. Eyes wide, you looked straight at Engineer, trying your damnedest to avoid making eye contact with a now ornery Scout. “I’ll go get the others and tell them it’s time for dinner.”

“Sounds good,” Engineer drawled with a smile, watching you hastily head toward the closest door, wanting to get as far away from Scout and the entire situation as fast as you could.

---

“Here you are, mon amour,” Spy poured you another glass of wine, one out of his personal collection. The man found your taste in wine and “finer beverages” up to par with his own tastes. Thus, whenever you were able to stay for a meal or even a few minutes, Spy would emerge from his room with a bottle in hand.

“Thank you, Spy,” you smiled politely, glad to feel a bit pampered, despite the company you were keeping. Picking up the glass, you took a sip, appreciating the sour, yet crisp notes of the crimson colored wine. Spy had said the winery that this wine had come from was his hometown, though he had said this about most wines he had given you, so you knew the man was just messing with you. You never cared, as you enjoyed the man’s company, being one of the only mercs you could have a formal conversation with. He was also the only merc that would offer you wine after consuming an ungodly amount of fried food such as tater tots and French fries.

“Bien entendu,” Spy replied as he took your hand and planted a kiss on each of your knuckles, an innocent act that you could tell had another meaning, as you had noted a specific glint in his eyes as he placed your hand back on the table. Drawing you hand away, you gave him a short nod before standing.

“I should be going,” your voice was calm and polite, despite the chaos starting behind you.

You stood in the foreground of the beginning of a spat between Soldier and Demoman, the drunken Scotsman taking offense to Soldier’s suggestion of ways he could do better during their next match. While Soldier did not specifically blame Demo for that day’s loss, he did have many opinions on how things could have gone better, and based on what you had heard, most of these suggestions weren’t too extravagant. Having seen the entire match from your desk, you knew that everyone had performed poorly, though you would never say those words out loud. All the mercs liked you, of course, but if some of them heard you say this, they wouldn’t hesitate to skin you like a trophy elk.

Bottles shattering against walls acted as your theme song as you walked out of the room, narrowly avoiding Pyro’s boot that was thrown dangerously close to your face. Without flinching, you were a battle hardened warrior trudging through a warzone. Nothing could faze you.

“Don’t stay too long!”

Only one thing could faze you.

Sighing, you pushed Spy’s final comment to the side. You knew that Scout hadn’t been the one to tell him, the bastard doing his best to learn every little thing about his rival had certainly overheard one of your conversations with the man outside. Spy probably lingered outside the van as you stayed the night, watching you rush away early in the morning to get back to work, not wanting to be tardy as the Administrator would definitely use her power to find out what caused your delay. Thankfully, Spy would never get you in trouble with the Administrator, liking you too much to get you terminated, in both meanings of the term. Who else would he share a drink with in the evenings?

Turning back around to take in the mischief and hedonism taking place, you let yourself smile before slipping out the door.

---

Moon waning, the lot was dark as you made your way to your intended final destination for the night. Falling asleep was never really your intention, but it was always so hard to leave him, especially now that the two of you had come to terms with your mutual infatuation.

Familiar click resonating in the vast emptiness of the night, a small smile flickered onto your face. A warm light sliced through the darkness as a door to the camper van opened. You could never get the jump on him, even if you were intentionally being as silent as possible, though after being mutilated by and mutilating enemy spies for quite some time now, the man was always hyper aware of his surroundings.

“Hello, love,” your voice was soft, not wanting your words to be picked up by the wind, though you knew it reached its target. A gentle hum was heard from just inside the camper, the ray of light now partially impaired by a thin, shadowy silhouette. The figure hopped down onto the cool asphalt, small pebbles crunching beneath his boots as he turned on his heels to lean against the fan, eyes scanning your figure.

“How can you even see with those on,” sarcasm dripping from your words, a smile crept onto his face.

“Ya being insensitive. What if I told you they were prescription?” heart fluttering, you homed in on his words and thick accent, finally being able to hear it again after a week of busy work away from the base.

“Are they?”

“Oh, fuck no,” you let out a soft laugh as you had closed the distance. Now within arm’s reach, he drew you in with one arm around your waist. Placing a hand on his chest, you looked up at him and any chill from the night air vanished.

“Oh, uh,” cheeks growing warm, you had suddenly remembered your interactions with Scout and Spy from earlier. Nervously glancing over your shoulder, you stammered, “Ah, inside. Let’s…inside the van.”

“Right,” noticing your hesitation, Sniper scanned the lot, checking each window before ushering you around the back of the van, taking your hand to help you step up into the vehicle. “Best go in. Keep the mozzies off us.”

Shadowing you, Sniper did one last scan of the base before shutting the doors, then out of caution, locked them before turning back to you. He would never intentionally lock you in anywhere, not wanting to overstep a potential boundary, but with your sudden bout of anxious energy, he figured it was for the best.

“You alright?” you let out a long sigh before turning back around to face him. Sheepishly, you rubbed the back of your neck.

“Yeah,” you replied with less confidence than you had hoped for. “Fucking Scout, man.”

Brows arched; Sniper gestured for you to take a seat before he made his way to the fridge. Never needing to ask, Sniper withdrew two bottles of beer and placed them both next to you. Taking a seat on the other side of the bottles, Sniper leaned over to grab his kukri. Quicker than you thought was possible, the bottle caps flung across the van, rolling away for him to find another day.

“Scout knows about us,” you finally finished your thought, brain switching back on as Sniper handed you a bottle, the wisp of chilled vapor dancing in front of your face before you took the drink from his hands. “He would stop hinting at it while I was working with Dell today.”

“I’ll skin the bastard if he says anything,” Sniper tipped his bottle back, letting the chilled liquid slosh past his lips. “Kid’s got a big mouth. Maybe I’ll have a word with him before he spreads the goss around.”

“I can deal with Jeremy,” you sighed, mirroring Sniper’s actions as you took a swig. “It’s Spy I’m worried about.”

“Spook’s been watching us?” Sniper’s natural frown deepened. “Explains why you were all worked up.”

“He didn’t follow me when I left, but he certainly implied he had before,” you groaned, letting yourself relax enough to fall into Sniper, your head resting on his shoulder. “Demo was having a fit when I left. Started fighting Soldier by throwing bottles and shit. The loss today really fucked with a few of the guys.”

“You should’ve heard Soldier when we got back. Bastard wouldn’t stop following Heavy around. Something-something about wasting too many bullets or some shit,” Sniper’s head tilted down so it rested against yours. “If it wasn’t for Medic, Soldier’s arms would still be on backwards.”

Softly giggling, you slipped your hand on Sniper’s lap, finally feeling completely relaxed. The days since last spending time with him had dragged on, and you kept having to drag yourself out of your childish daydreams while on the job. You had been living for today, and now it was all paying off. His larger hand rested on yours the second you squeezed his thigh, running his calloused fingers over your knuckles with a gentleness that still shocked you, despite having grown close to him. Watching him through the monitors every day, ruthlessly killing any member of the opposing team he could spot, it was occasionally hard for you to separate the man you loved and knew and the persona he wore when working.

“No offense, but all of you looked like shit out there today,” a low chuckle resonated from deep in Sniper’s chest.

While your focus was always on the monitors that featured Sniper, you still had work to do. Analyzing each of the merc’s actions, you had a spreadsheet that detailed each major success and blunder for each person for each round. Rarely talking about your office life with the mercs, you did like to occasionally remind them of their faults when you are particularly irritated by one of them. It was always funny, until the man laughing was the one you were criticizing. Today, your notes were numerous, writing more than you had in over a month.

“Was an off day for everyone,” Sniper shrugged, your head rising gently with the movement. “Dunno why. I was probably off since I hadn’t seen your pretty face in a while.”

“Dork,” you teased, squeezing his thigh again, but a bit closer to his knee. Leg jumping unexpectedly, you drew away to sit up. “Did I hurt you? I don’t remember you getting injured before the match ended.”

“S’fine,” Sniper grumbled, avoiding your look of concern. Put off by this action, you crawled a bit closer, leaning around to get a good look at his face, as he turned away. Lips pursed, you were about to chastise him for lying about an injury, until you saw the redness of his cheeks.

“Oh,” your voice dropped, then your lips contorted into a sly smile. Hand back on his lap, you squeezed the same spot, “You’re ticklish here too? For one of the most ruthless mercenaries in the world, you’re pretty damn ticklish, now aren’t you?”

“Fuck off,” he grumbled, much to your amusement. Mischief beginning to overcome you, you reached out and traced a finger down his exposed neck. Choking back a laugh, Sniper instantly whipped around and grabbed your wrist, holding it away. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Since when was it illegal to make my boyfriend laugh?” you teased, reaching your other hand out to tweak his hip.

“Is that what I am?” grin slipping onto his face, your words played in his brain like a broken record player. Grabbing your other wrist with ease, Sniper pulled you across his lap, twisting you enough that you landed on your chest. Before you could push yourself up, Sniper began to knead his fingers along your ribcage. “Hm, I like the way that sounds. If I’m your boyfriend, then I guess it’s not illegal for me to do this, then.”

“Sh-hihi!” squirming beneath his touch, you were completely trapped between his hands and his torso. You may be strong, thanks to the number of bodies you have to drag around to dispose of, but Sniper had the advantage of being a ruthless killer with few morals, so pinning you was easy.

“Somethin’ the matter, darlin’?” Sniper asked with faux curiosity, fingers crawling up your torso to worm beneath your arms. Your laughter amplified as you frantically tried to smack away his hands, with little success.

“It tickles,” you yelped through your laughter, desperately wiggling around in attempts to roll over. This action would give him more access to your sensitive spots, but at least you would be able to see his actions and use your arms more effectively. “Sn-sn-sniper!”

“That’s kinda the point, doll,” his words increased the ticklish sensations, intensifying your desperation. Allowing you to follow through with your plans, Sniper relaxed his grip and slowed his attack down enough for you to finally flip over. Not only did he not want to overwhelm you, but not being able to see your smile was growing old.

“You evil man,” sweetly giggling, you swatted at the man’s hands that skittered gracefully over your belly. Sniper was smiling slyly down at you, clearly enjoying the playful torture he was putting you through.

“Am I now?”

“Yes,” you peeped out before lunging up, wrapping him in a tight hug. Before he could react, you began to scribble your fingers over his ribs, nails tracing each bone, noting how pronounced they felt beneath your touch. “Sometimes I forget how thin you are.”

“Am not,” his voice was quiet, his words short. Body twitching beneath your touch, Sniper’s breathing became harsher, uneven, untrained.

“Are too,” you let out a chuckle, your chin resting on his shoulder. Fingers trailing down his torso, you grasped a bit of his shirt and tugged, untucking it so you could creep your hands beneath the fabric.

“You sneaky bugger,” unable to hold it back any longer, and wanting you to have a bit of fun, not that he would admit to that, Sniper began to laugh. Wheezy and raspy, as if his voice box was full of cobwebs, his laugh was melodious to you. Sniper would compare it to a koala in heat, but you adored the sound of his laughter. It was unrestrained, free, and very him.

“You’re acting like you hate this,” you teased into his ear, feeling him shiver away from the lips brushing up against the lobe. Blunt nails drawing chaotic designs into his belly and sides, you let out a small laugh as he refused to reply, just uttering a small groan of annoyance between peals of laughter.

Ever since finding out his little secret, you took it upon yourself to make him smile whenever the timing felt right. Normally, these little playful scuffles happened after a bad loss, like today’s, though sometimes one of you just needed a pick me up after a hard day on the job. Normally, the two of you were very serious individuals, especially when working. Both amazing at what you did, it was easy for either of you to get caught up in whatever nonsense the job brought you. Thankfully, after falling for one another, being able to pull off the masks of stoicism and relax when the two of you were alone became commonplace. While neither of you specifically liked to be tickled, the fact it was an easy way to draw laughter from your significant other made you forget about your general dislike of the action.

“I think that’s enough for now,” purring into his ear, you pulled your hands away from beneath his shirt and hugged him again, resting your forehead against his. “Feeling better?”

“Never said I was feeling bad, ya cheeky bastard,” he replied with no malice, smile still plastered to his face. As he ran his hands over your hair, you let out a soft, peaceful sigh. “But, now I’m completely knackered.”

“Mind if I join you, tonight?” you asked while yawning, your words sounding a bit distorted.

“Why wouldn’t I?” in one quick motion, he lifted you to your feet, sweeping you off him by hooking under your arms and stood. Letting out a small squeal in delight, you wrapped your legs around him, holding him like a koala as he walked you over to the mattress he called a bed, laughing the entire time.

Falling asleep with him was never your initial intention when spending time with him, but you were never going to say no to your love. This was just a perk of your job, so why not savor the moment.

#tickle fic #rose writes #tickletober #tickletober 2024 #tf2 #tftickles #reader insert

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menciemeer · 1 year ago

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The thing about Hannibal's punishment of Mason is that Mason was delighted the entire time.

Hannibal could have done absolutely anything he wanted after murdering all of Mason's bodyguards and spiriting him back to Wolf Trap. One assumes that Hannibal doesn't carry his insane psychedelic mixture with him everywhere--the fact that he uses it on Mason implies that he had an opportunity to go to his office or his house. He could have disappeared Mason into his basement if he really wanted to. His plan is hardly discreet--even if he didn't want to kill Mason without Will, there's any number of fun surgical activities he could have got up to while Will was making his way back home.

He doesn't, though.

Mason has a great time being Hannibal Lecter's victim. "I am enchanted and....terrified," he says, but the terror doesn't truly seem to bother him. He says it playfully, and with laughter. His fear is only one aspect of his experience, and his enchantment is the thread that runs much closer to the surface.

The only complaint he offers the entire time, in fact, is "I'm hungry," and he seems more than content with Hannibal's proposed solution to that problem. (I suppose "a taste and consistency similar to that of chicken gizzard" might not be complementary--I wouldn't know; I don't carnivore.)

It's sweet, actually, and horrifyingly sad, the way he interacts with Will's dogs. "I just love your dogs," he says, and he genuinely seems to enjoy feeding them and petting them, but the story he tells about his own dogs is, well--

I adopted some dogs from the shelter once, two dogs that were friends. I had them in a cage together with no food and fresh water. One of them died hungry. The other had a warm meal.

The question, then: What was Hannibal getting out of this? He was more than willing to let Will kill Mason. He would have let Mason die happy--the happiest, maybe, that we ever see him. Hannibal's decision to paralyze him reads more like whimsy to me than like a continuation of his plan to bring Mason to Wolf Trap--I honestly think he expected Will to kill him. And he didn't suspect Will of being a double agent yet; leaving Mason alive is a much riskier choice than killing him and hiding the body. (And, in fact, it's a choice that ends up having consequences down the line.)

"I employ an ethical butcher," Hannibal says, in Coquilles. On the face of it, the statement is absurd, but through S2, between Gideon and Miriam and Mason and even James Gray, it starts to make sense. It seems much more important for Hannibal to be able to exert control over the subjective experiences of his victims than for those experiences to be painful, in particular. Even Gideon, fresh from his own amputation, seems to be mostly bothered by just the idea of eating himself.

I'm fiercely curious about all the murders we don't see, about Cassie Boyle and Jeremy Olmstead and Andrew Caldwell--and, and, and. It's hard to imagine that he managed to do everything he did humanely--but then again, in Naka-choko, he says, "Apart from humane considerations, it's more flavorful for animals to be stress-free prior to slaughter." --Implying that humane considerations is actually something he thinks about. If anyone could manage to cut someone's lungs out and keep them comfortable the entire time, I suppose it would be Hannibal.

The really interesting thing, for me, is the way all of this breaks down in Mizumoto and S3. Gutting Will wasn't about exerting a lofty control over Will's experiences--it was about making Will hurt in the way that Hannibal was hurt. Then, slitting Abigail's throat--and then, much later, bludgeoning Antony to death, slowly enough to allow him to allow him the faint hope of crawling towards the door.

Those are, to my memory, the times when we see Hannibal actively trying to cause pain (--and not in the middle of fighting for his life). The striking thing about them is of course that all of them are inexorably bound up in Will and his feelings about Will.

There's something perversely delightful to me in the idea that Will awakened a particular kind of cruelty in Hannibal, parallel to the kind of cruelty Hannibal awakened in Will. Every time Will imagines killing Hannibal, he imagines Hannibal calm and even pleased by what's happening to him. Will's brand of bloodlust goes outwards. He wants to rip Randall Tier's mechanical suit off his body and kill him with his hands--make him die afraid. He wants Clark Ingram to fight back before Will murders him.

Hannibal's sadism, on the other hand, seems to have a very specific target. "Did you think you could change me?" Hannibal asks, standing in the bloody wreck of his own kitchen, while Will gasps and hurts and struggles to hold his guts together. Well--didn't he?

#hannibal #hannibal meta #hannibal lecter #mason verger #tome-wan is one of those episodes that makes me want to gnaw on it #is it the drug trip #is this just something that the especially trippy episodes do to me #(i mean we all know what oeuf did to me)#should i be afraid (in my rewatch) of getting to that S3 episode where bedelia takes the entire medicine cabinet #....wait is that dolce #ohhhh god that's dolce isn't it #f u c k

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