#Ariadne Cortez | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mortemoppetere · 4 months

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TIMING: current LOCATION: just outside muertarte PARTIES: @ohwynne & a mysterious man... SUMMARY: on their way home from work, wynne is stopped by a man who has a few questions for them. CONTENT: none!

There was a child. Of course there was a child; Emilio Cortez had a habit of flocking to them, didn’t he? A soft spot, a weakness. It would be used against him, if he wasn’t careful. He must have known that.

Right now, in this moment, there were no intentions beyond that of fact-finding. Tracking the hunter to this strange town had been a long journey of near-misses and trails gone cold. It was a small miracle that word had spread of his presence here, a testament to the reputation of the Cortez family that it had spread to the States enough for people to whisper when one was nearby.

The man tracking him had no intention of looking a gift horse in the mouth when it came to pinpointing the hunter’s location, but he would proceed with caution. He would gather as much information as possible before confronting the man he’d tracked across borders and through the cold.

And that started with the kid.

He waited until they were leaving the gallery. Not just outside it — he’d rather not risk being exposed by the gallery’s owner on the chance that they might recognize his face from some shared experience out in Mexico — but a little ways down the street. When they were a respectable distance from the gallery’s door, the man jogged over, waving them down.

“Excuse me!” His voice was heavily accented, the language one he hadn’t often bothered with before. His gaze was sharp, even as he tried to soften it. “Hello. I am hoping to ask a few questions to you. Is this okay?” What would he do if they said no? He hadn’t come this far just to be turned away or thwarted by a child. He knew that much.

—

The world was dark now when their workdays end, the days growing shorter and shorter as the equinox grew closer. Wynne wondered if they were preparing for it back at home, if they would continue their rituals and celebrations even if their deity had come to pass. They would celebrate it in their own tiny way, most likely, but their focus had shifted towards Christmas and its twinkling lights. It was mostly the latter they liked, and Ariadne’s excitement.

And so the world wasn’t entirely dark as they stepped out in it. There were twinkling lights to be found in the street and windows, and though they didn’t quite feel at ease walking around alone when it was dark yet, they found themself smiling a little. Hands dug in their coat pockets, their fingers wrapped around the hilt of the knife Emilio had given them.

They had never felt safe in the world outside the commune. Maybe they had never really felt safe at all. Always looking over their shoulder. Expecting someone from back home, expecting a fanged monster, expecting a faceless enemy that was yet to come.

So they nearly jumped out of their skin when someone approached them. Unfamiliar, older, strong-looking. Wynne’s fingers enclosed around the knife they had yet to use, heart climbing up to their throat. “Um.” They looked around, skittish eyes scanning their surroundings. It was a battle of instincts — the instinct to help against their fear of the unknown. The former won out. “Okay. Do you need … directions? How can I help you?”

—

He was an imposing man. He knew this. It was an intentional thing, most of the time, a choice he made. He liked to intimidate, found some joy in it. It hadn’t been his intention in this particular instance, but that didn’t stop a quiet thrill from going through him as the kid jumped in their skin, didn’t stop the fact that it felt a little good to be feared. But fear wouldn’t get him what he wanted with the same ease as charm would here; the man knew that. So he offered them a smile that might have looked apologetic to anyone who didn’t know better, held his hands up with his palms out to show they were empty as if that mattered, as if he wasn’t just as capable of doing damage without a weapon in his hand. The kid didn’t know that. Fooling them would be simple enough.

“Ay, something like this,” the man replied, letting his brow furrow and his expression turn thoughtful. Humanizing himself, as it was. “I think… Information is a better word for it.” The way he hesitated on the syllables wasn’t feigned, even if the expression wasn’t entirely genuine. English wasn’t something he understood well. He was much more comfortable in Spanish. “I think you and I have someone in common. A man who lives here. Emilio Cortez. I am looking for information about him. Do you think you can help me with this?”

—

He was tall and large and Wynne felt like they often did — like some sort of prey animal, trying to gauge whether the person across from them was a predator to fear. But the man was smiling and holding up his hands and spoke in a way that reminded them of Metzli and Emilio. They had never been very good at distrust, even if it should be an instinct that they should have honed by now. And so they relaxed a little, grip still on that knife but their facial expression melting into something softer and less afraid.

But they remained wary, especially when he ventured into his intended topic of conversation. Information on Emilio. They frowned at him – or up at him, rather – and wondered who this was to him. Wondered about all those things Emilio didn’t talk about. How he had people who were mad at him, even if they didn’t exactly know why. “Oh.” They pressed their lips together. “Um, who are you … like to him? What kind of things do you … want to know?” Wynne was inquisitive, that was a trait they’d never been able to stomp out of them back at the commune. But they were also very good at keeping things close to their chest, so they returned the other’s questions with more of their own, not yet intending to offer anything.

—

Most hunters were the paranoid sort, and the man would have been shocked if Emilio Cortez hadn’t grown more so in the time since that chaotic event in Mexico. Given the way the kid was looking at him now, he suspected that some of this paranoia had been passed along to them like the only heirloom the hunter had to offer. He asked his question, and of course they had their own in return. He’d seen it coming, but the frustration boiled in his chest all the same. After all the time it had taken to track the hunter here, he’d hoped that this might be the easy part. Easier than what came before, easier than what would come after. It seemed he’d miscalculated a bit.

Still, he didn’t let that smile falter, even if it tightened around the edges just a little. “An old friend,” he lied smoothly. “I knew him in Mexico. Came here not long ago. Saw his name in some paper. Something about… ah… a detective? This is what he does now, ¿sí?” Another surprise, though perhaps it shouldn’t have been. The hunter needed to pay his rent, and killing vampires didn’t come with a check to cash. “I want to speak to him, but… I would like to know more about his… state of mind first. I think, maybe, you know how he gets.” A wry smile, a small shrug. All he needed was for them to let their guard down enough to share something useful with him, something that might better prepare him for the confrontation he knew was coming. It would end with him dead if he went about it the wrong way, and he hadn’t come all the way here just to fail.

—

Their need to impress and appease adults was something they had yet to unlearn. It was a hard to shake trait, something that was a fundamental part of what it meant to be a Protherian. You respected and followed your seniors, no matter what. Back at home there had been no strangers, so Wynne wasn’t sure if the rule had applied to adults they didn’t yet know — but the instinct remained. They blinked up at him, not sure what to make of him. Was he a vampire? They tried to remember how they could recognize vampires, but were coming up blank. He looked human, but so did Metzli, so did Ariadne.

They nodded slowly. “Um, yes. He’s a detective.” If that was in the paper then it was something they could just tell the stranger, right? Wynne fiddled with the knife handle in their pocket, trying to figure out why this stranger had come from Mexico. They knew all of Emilio’s family had died there, but maybe this person had been a friend. Or was he one of the vampires that had been there? “What did you … know him from?” They felt like a cat, raising its hairs in defense as they wondered what the other was trying to imply, saying that they knew how he gets. It felt like an insult to Emilio, and they didn’t like him. “No, I don’t know, he’s … fine.” Was he? What did really, truly fine look like on Emilio? “How did you know I know him?”

—

They were asking questions now. The man should have anticipated this, but… Part of him hadn’t thought the hunter capable of inspiring such loyalty. It wasn’t in their nature, was it? Hunters were solitary creatures by design, and this one had been on the run for so long now. In one place just long enough to finish a job before moving on to the next. It was why it had taken the man so long to track him down — he never sat still. And while that had made every other aspect of this mission so much harder, it should have made this part simple. But the kid was asking questions now, and there was no way to answer them without saying too much.

The man’s expression darkened just a little, frustration burning behind his eyes as he shrugged. He wasn’t particularly good at this. He’d never been much use as a scalpel, with small and precise marks. He was more of an explosive force. But that would do him no good here. Loyalty wasn’t a thing that could be eliminated with shrapnel and, somehow or another, Emilio Cortez had inspired just that from this kid. It was an unexpected hurdle. Hopefully, it was one that wouldn’t be found with the next person he questioned. Mentally, he marked this one off his list. Useless, he thought. Nothing to be gained if they question everything.

“Maybe I am asking the wrong person, then,” he said. “Maybe you know him not as well as I thought.”

—

He wasn’t answering their questions. That wasn’t fair, was it? Wynne was asking his questions, albeit vaguely, but he just skipped completely over theirs. It reminded them of Padrig, their parents, Siors, all the adults back at home. Part of them was angry about it, felt something stir within them — a kind of anger that they’d suppressed for most of their life, because it had been wrong to feel. Another part of them, decidedly less conflicted, felt the instinct to fall in line. To simply answer what was asked of them and not ask much more in return, to simply be a listener.

And his insinuation, that they didn’t know Emilio at all, it did strike a chord. They pushed their lips together at the notion, wanting to defend themself but not sure how. They knew some things about Emilio, but there had to be plenty they didn’t know. They knew he wasn’t a liar, but he was also – much like them – someone who evaded some of the harder topics and thus left things unspoken. What was out there? They blinked at the man, wide eyes continuing to look up at his larger posture. “I think I know him well enough. I just … wondered why you — have you been watching me?” Wynne felt their discomfort grow. “Or him? Just to know how he might be doing?” It was a strange way to care about someone.

—

They didn’t seem to like the implication that they didn’t know the hunter as well as they’d thought. That was interesting. The man turned this new piece of information over in his mind, wondering if he might find a use for it. Did it mean the hunter wasn’t as close to the kid as he’d initially assumed? Or did it mean he was more closed off than he appeared, in spite of the roots he seemed to be putting down in this strange, small town. It was a lot to think about, even if it didn’t provide any of the direct answers he’d been hoping for. Even if there were still far too many questions being turned towards him.

“Don’t you think he would have noticed if I have been watching him?” That was the whole problem, wasn’t it? Hunters were paranoid things; it was hard to observe them without them knowing they were being observed, impossible for them to know they were being observed without reacting violently. The hunter already suspected something — the man was fairly certain of that. If he knew who was looking for information on him… It was a delicate thing. If the man wasn’t careful, it would be over before it began. “Sorry to have bothered you. I think I should be leaving now.” They wouldn’t give him what he wanted; if he wasn’t careful, they’d learn something substantial to share with the hunter, something that would give the man away. That wasn’t an acceptable outcome. “It was good to speak with you, Wynne.” A tight smile. They’d never given him their name, but he wanted them to know that he knew it, anyway. Catch them off guard, make them nervous. Nervous people remembered less.

—

They didn’t understand what he was implying. They didn’t understand anything about this situation, but they knew it was starting to unnerve them more and more. Because did this mean the man had been watching them? Wynne wanted nothing more for the man to go if that was the case, even if they wanted him to stay as well so they could get answers to some of the questions running around in their head. “I don’t know, I —”

But he was ready to leave and that innate respect for adults and those who carried themselves with authority was hard to beat. Their eyes flicked down, then up, “It’s okay — I don’t …” Wynne was blinking at him. It hadn’t been very good to speak with him and it was even less good that he knew their name. So he must have been watching them. Their stomach hurt suddenly, something fluttering aggressively. They wanted to know who he was, why he was asking after Emilio, what he wanted of him and perhaps of them too. But their stomach hurt and they were not very brave. “Okay.” They didn’t really know what to say any more. “Okay, bye?” It was kind of said like a question. They waited for him to leave, gaining a little clarity after blinking once or twice, “I never caught your name.”

—

If they wouldn’t answer his questions without hesitation, they were useless to him. The man could accept that. He had others on his list, better people to ask. Making the rounds would almost certainly alert the hunter to his presence here, but… so long as he kept his head low, he could still ensure that he got to the hunter before the hunter got to him. That was what mattered here — getting the upper hand and keeping it. It was the only way he could really hope to get what he was after.

The kid’s voice followed after him, their request for his name seeming to fall on deaf ears as the man simply continued walking. He hadn’t gotten what he came for… but he knew more than he’d known before. There was, at least, some victory in that.

#ohwynne #wynne: interrogation #wickedswriting

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prvtocol · 26 days

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@rebelichor : Brianne Landry, Director of Science Operations and evidently a double-edged weapon that cut both ways. She helped, and she hurt. She was with, but she she was against. The Resistance based in the Western Frontier were wary about an alliance, given the immense presence of Security Operations and how much of a crisis any leaked intel would create. There had additionally been mixed feelings about engaging with a woman so high up in one of the Resources Development Administration's most secretive operations — their business was very much behind closed doors. Trust was lacking. On both sides, naturally. The meeting point was inside an abandoned research facility. The River Delta Station, Brianne would arrive by covert water transportation and as the only Sarentu bonded to an Ikran, Ariadne arrived on the outskirts of the marshes on the back of Katir. It was a brilliant location for the Director to choose. The Waterway Valley was more accessible, no sheer cliffs or difficult local weather patterns to navigate. Though there was also no Na'vi interference. Two outposts acted as a wall, a hydro injector neighbouring steam injector towers that guaranteed their privacy. Even though she had more of a diplomatic heart, Ahri would have been a fool if she wasn't even a little uneasy as she dismounted and gave a hearty pat to Katir's curious head. "Easy girl. Stay here, okay?" The throaty complaint of an ikran pierced the blanket of silence. Her arrival was hardly a secret now, though she felt prickles wash over her skin, as though she had already been watched. Unlike most abandoned facilities, this one had already been powered up again, and there was a faint scent that trailed in the air. It was with a crouch that the young Na'vi followed her nose into the small building, her tail sweeping and making contact with some of the equipment with a heavy thud. Her nerves were showing but she wouldn't admit to it.

The glitches of a dilapidated old computer console hold the director’s interest just as much as the overgrown potted plants at its side, but her snooping around the abandoned research facility comes to an end with the sudden awareness of another’s presence in the vicinity — the guttural chirp of a large animal hits her ears. Pin straight posture returns, elbows bending and hands folding softly at her front in nervous anticipation of the expected company to enter.

Behind the perspex shield of her mask, bright eyes scan the blue features and bright accouterments donning the young Na’vi woman who enters, and slightly clumsily at that. The thud raises the eyebrows on her otherwise neutral facade, but they drop just as fast and a hint of a smile grows; not in amusement but in welcome. Always a woman packaged in polite formality.

That Brianne is mildly disappointed at the chosen interlocutor will not move her features, unlike the concern held with being confronted by someone twice her size. Her hands wring at her front in discomfort. Messages sent by an encrypted comm-unit were not enough for the Resistance here to agree to work with her. Still, perhaps she should have sent a proxy also rather than go it herself. Too late now.

“I was expecting the courtesy of making Dr. Cortez’s acquaintence since I understand she is in charge of the Resistance in these parts. And you, you are not her.” Unlike her posture's rigidity, her posh and accented voice is soft and melodic in its pacing with a put-on unaffectedness that pairs with her high position in the RDA. “But,” she continues less dull and with head canting and a closed-mouth smile stretching in hope to invite trust into the arrangement. “You must be someone just as significant.”

The desire to appear trustworthy might seem contrary to someone willing to betray her people. If Mercer was more sound of mind and SecOps less in control of HQ, maybe she wouldn’t be here — but witnessing her subdivision scramble to keep afloat their research objectives amid funding cuts and her scientists incessantly put at risk and losing their lives in the field results in drastic measures. She seeks not an alliance per se, but a mutually beneficial scratch of each other’s backs.

“May I assume you understand my language?”

#rebelichor #⚘ ˚◞ answers ◞ 𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝑜𝒻𝒻𝒾𝒸𝑒 𝒶𝓊𝓉𝑜𝓂𝒶𝓉𝒾𝒸 𝓇𝑒𝓅𝓁𝓎.#⚘ ˚◞ verse˚ avatar ◞ 𝓁𝑒𝒶𝒹𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓈𝓊𝓈𝓉𝒶𝒾𝓃𝒶𝒷𝓁𝑒 𝒹𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓁𝑜𝓅𝓂𝑒𝓃𝓉 𝑜𝒻 𝒶𝓁𝓅𝒽𝒶 𝒸𝑒𝓃𝓉𝒶𝓊𝓇𝒾.#⚘ ˚◞ 2168-2170 ◞ .#(( my inbox was blessed! this is just so wonderful!! i appreciate it ~ tysm! ♡♡♡ ))

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rebelichor · 5 months

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There never was silence in their room. Always something whirring. Enok had discovered it were the cameras watching them years ago. Mounted high up to the metal wall. He disliked the red blinking dot on it.

Staring at it for a bit, sleep was hard to come tonight. So, soon the Navi boy climbed down from his bunk bed. His eyes wide open staring at one of the other children in the beds. Ariadne. She knew so much more than him. She was smart. She always had answers or figured it out. Slowly, he crept closer.

“Ari?”, he whispered, waiting for a reply, “Ari… I can’t sleep. Mrs. Cortez showed us these pictures today. Of the outside. I think I can feel those pictures. How leaves feel. How rivers taste. How earth smells… am I dreaming awake? Is that possible?”

Ariadne knew how to play to the cameras. Knew that was how the humans watched them... and knew the punishment for trying to be sneaky by covering it up with a blanket...

So, she pretended to sleep. There were more nights now where she had her eyes closed but her thoughts didn't quiet in her mind. They were too many and too loud. When Enok shifted from his metal bunk bed she could hear the sound of him descending, and the sound of his bare feet on the floor even though he shifted quiet and slow.

Her ear flicked when he whispered her name. "You should be asleep." she whispered in reply. Then he answered that he couldn't... and he kept talking... it was the kind of talk that should have been left alone.

Though even laying in her bunk, her tail curled. Like a curious question mark that lingered silently.

It was with a sigh that she shoved back on the smaller mattress and lifted her blanket up high. Her eye cracked open to watch him, waiting for him to come join, to at least get closer.

When he did, she tossed the blanket over his head too. She would get in trouble for throwing it over the camera, but no one had ever told her not to put blankets over their heads. Here, like this, they could whisper-talk for a little bit.

"Maybe you're remembering those feelings." she finally answered. "Nor sometimes talks about the outside too. Seeing those pictures... it woke up a memory in you? Something you had forgotten?"

#enokvirkow #answered #verse; avatar (sarentu)#REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

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shadowworldwanderers · 2 years

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Masterlist

Stories on AO3

Old Intros

Introductory Pages:

Morvant-Adjacent Babies:

Sunny ‘Rose’ Sonnshine

Lilah Reed Nyx Bloom Chuck Dourif Helena Reese Matheson-Adjacent Babies: Emilie Mayson Adelaide Dean Deanna Louis Ellie Sutton Marisol Swinton Delilah Symonds

Merrilees Marston Candice Castor Samantha Marston Calleigh Dean Amanda Matthews Judith Ellison Desmond/Desdemona Mercury Matilda Westwood Alexia Mill Hannah Hardstone Willow Walker Barbara Dean

Jessike ‘Sike’ Logan Elvie Ellory Cassidy Cole Elen Ellis Carlie/Carl Connor Essie Ellory Jenni Oriel Jessamyn ‘Jess’ Oriel Jessika ‘Sika’ Oriel Josie Oriel Jodie Oriel Jazz Oriel Jemima ‘Jem’ Oriel Jemma Oriel Jade Oriel Jasmine ‘Mina’ Oriel Jo Oriel Janine Oriel Juliet Oriel Coralee ‘Cora’ Matthews Millie Meadows Joey Jackson Josh Jackson Gia Wolfe Darla Wolfe Arlene Wolfe Brigitta Wolfe Donna Amato Gina Amato Jeanne Amato Aria Amato Willow Amato Carla Amato Fiona Amato Fiamma Amato Isla Amato Inga Amato Anton Allegro Vincenzo Lombardi Solina Ramirez Lolita Sanchez Marisol Espinoza Jodeyne Morrison Ellory Masterson

Mallory McMichaels

Raffaela Romero Malina Ramirez Lina Markov Candida Crowe Adelaide Marconi Emilie Porter Dervla O’Brady Ava Viva DiLorenzo Jessica Dallas Melissa Madison Katrina Archibald Abigail Novak May Southerlyn April Meadows Julie-Anne Callas Pippa Galston Thea Tallis Kate Isles Lily McQueen Jewel Estella Richardson Alexia-Mae Cathstone Eliza-Beth Leigh Izzy ‘Six’ Sexton-Richards Alice Anais Andrews Britta Roslin Julie Dark Alexandra Jane Castle Jodie Noelle Richards Tallie Marx Michaela Philippa Kingsman Love Aniston Jessie Cole Tali Rice Hollie Mann Madison Mitchell-Mann Roslyn Hall Cariad Hall Joe-Lee Parton Bobby Parton Jim Parton Sonny Parton Lupa Wolfe Anne Rose

Belle Rose Jade Orton Jennifer Orton Jessica Orton Mirabelle Orton Judith Amato Angel Croft Brittany Walker Julietta Day Shadow World Babies: Angelike Kirk Eliana Olivier Marisol ‘Sunshine’ Corazon Annabella Sciorra Gianna Fioretti Rhiannon Ellis Cara Sutton Kat Trellis Kimber Bell Marisol Lees Ria Leigh Delilah Daae Hanna Weiss Mindie Swallows Kismet Christian Juliette Loomis Vanessa Myers Arielle Sea Ellie Dewey Lace Belle Esme Innocent Katie Rollins Cherie ‘Cherry’ Garcia Jessie Wolfe Erin Willows Suzannah Davies Emilia Loss Melanie Jeffries Meredith Greylek Kelly Greylek (No relation to Meredith) Cassidy Rubirosa Candice Banks Kendra Copper Ariadne Todd Desdemona Hex Raven Rose Candace ‘Candy’ Caine Angelina Haven Mina Schiff Callie Dennis Esme Ross Susanna Johnson Consuela ‘Connie’ Sanders Raffaela ‘Raffi’ Angeles Ariel Warton Syren Sirena Hela Helios Anne Dread Rose Rayes Hope Evans Faith Hopkins Elizabeth ‘Eliza’ Eames-Olivet Alexandria ‘Alex’ Eames-Olivet April Dawson June May May Engel Augusta Haim Billy Wolfe Savannah Stanley Stanley Cyprus Kellie Cyrano Bella Wolfe Mina Marston Nadiya Corazon Annalise Sciorra Samantha Southhall Amelia Borstein Elena Greenwood Elizabeth Preston Suella Randall Marienne Rubirosa Lilith Morningstar Saralee Rayes Destiny Dracula Martha Curatola Solina Dracula

Valentine Dracula Queenie Annabeth Queen Lily Sharpe Isobel Rubirosa Rose Wolfe Lily Marigold Savannah Rider Marigold Rose Baby Baker Mami Morrison Sugar ‘Sweet’ Sunshine Melody Eros Allie Gayson-Enders Pippa Gayson-Enders Michaela Orville-Hampton Janet Orville-Hampton Mariposa Shadows Lolita Mayhew Tamberlyn Alexara Sukila Arielle Denver Suzanne Denver Thalin Chelsea Heart Jessica Brisbin Henna Jenkins Dora Jessop Kathleen Shore Samantha Carson Sarah Carson Karen Nielsen Belinda Andrews Amelie Ellis Sister Tatjana Nichols Madison ‘Sugar’ Fuller Daniel Rabebe Angelika Rabebe-Cortez

Lady Liandrin MacBeth Juliet MacIntosh John-Ross Croft Annchi ‘Angie’ Croft Morgana Addams Angeline ‘Angel’ Verna Lane Eulalie Tamerlane Poe

#opening masterlist #shadow world #original creations #morvant verse #rhiannon's angels #matheson-verse #diner crew #oriel wolves

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