#she dosn't have to be loud to be just as effective

[the-faultofdaedalus]

langstymclangstface replied to your post “The one thing I will not budge on at all whatsoever even if a marvel...”

I always liked to imagine Maria as more of a engineer. Like here’s Howard surrounded by the most beautiful women in the world But a woman in shapeless overalls, her hair messily tied up in a scarf with grease stains on her face threading him with a spanner for touching something he shouldn’t have is who he falls for

and that’s great! 

I, personally, though, see her much more as a coder for a couple reasons? One was that she could’ve been in Bletchley park, as a coder, which works in-canon bc peggy carter was also at Bletchley park before she was recruited into the SSR, and is also a way she could’ve met howard, Two is that in the time period she would’ve been alive in, after the war, software engineering was not considered valuable work. It was, specifically, considered women’s work until the men realized that “oh, this is actually important and hard work” and took over. And, really does that not fit maria so well? He see her face once. Only once, in the entire MCU. She’s barely ever mentioned. Honestly, unless there’s a plot reason for it, it seems like everyone just collectively forgets she exists. 

AND another thing I like about maria being a coder, being so naturally talented at that sort of thing, is that she would’ve taught tony that. And you know what, through everything, has always been the best thing tony’s ever made? Not the suit, not the tower, not the compound. Not any weapon ever. 

It’s his AI’s. Who are made of code. Sure, dummy, and u, and butterfingers are physical, as well, but that dosn’t make them who they are. 

And Maria would’ve taught him that. That would’ve been something he got from her, not howard, and i think that’s so, so important. That even if some people, lots of people, will never stop comparing him to howard, who was, by all accounts, a shitty, shitty dad, he got that from his mom.

(there’s also a whole thing on pattern recognition and how it relates to code and music and how That would be a thing but im not gonna bc this is already long) 

Yes, i love you headcannoning her as a mechanic, but I won’t. 

Because from the maria we’ve seen? from the lack of what we’ve heard of her? She’s not one to stand-out. She’s not one to make an in-your-face statement like that. She’s soft-spoken, and quiet, and able to manipulate you into giving her whatever she wants without giving anything in return. She’s every inch as smart as her husband, but so much less willing to show it. 

Sure, Tony can be flashy when he wants, he can get his hands dirty and he knows mechanics like the back of his hand, he’s not afraid to take the spotlight, sure, that’s Howard. 

But when he taps out music on any hard surface, when he charms people by making them feel like they’re the ones in the spotlight, when he knows how to read people like a book and find patterns in the smallest of gestures, when he listens and when he creates people out of nothing but numbers, That’s all Maria. The part of him that fights, silently, the part of him that rebuilds, his heart, that’s Maria. 

#langstymclangstface #rowanwhispers #ANYWAY THIS IS LONG AND RAMBLING #AND I HONESTLY DON'T MEAN ANY OFFENCE #but... that's not how i see maria #maria was raised in an upper-middle class italian family #she walked the same circles as the elite of the italian government #and she knew how to do it well #but the first chance she could she went to britan to fight the only way she really could: with numbers #with numbers and code and /patterns/ #(and NONE OF THIS is outside possibility #lots of italian girls and women from that class were recruited to bletchley park #and maria IS ITALIAN) #like... she can be a fighter and not be... obious about it #it would've taken a tremendous amount of courage to do that #she dosn't have to be loud to be just as effective #listen god this will forever be my headcanon and NO ONE CAN CHANGE THAT

[mwolf0epsilon]

Crazy idea that I figured right now. Thomas dosn't hear like someone that would get married, even with a person of his kind (g r u m p t y) so, Allison is a witch (cannon btw).. love potion? Sorry is pretty funny for me.

Summary: One of Allison's more peculiar interests turns out better than she expected, if only because of a slight mistake.

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[[MORE]]

If questioned on the subject, Allison wouldn't exactly call herself a witch. She had an interest in witchcraft, sure, but she herself was not an expert nor a professional on the arts of ancient beldams and shamans.

She was, however, the owner of a vast and ever growing collection of tomes that were the aglommoration of such olden knowledge.

Of these powerful tomes came the biggest of her fixations: Potion brewing, more specifically the refinement of elixirs.

It was amazing what a few select ingredients could produce if you were to extract or prepare them in a certain way. From all natural remedies to combat the effects of illness, to powerful poisons and even blends that could condition the mind to do certain things.

It was an art that could be used to do as much good as it could do evil, and Allison knew a few select witches of the past had indeed done evil when others scorned them so. To the detriment of those that had been pure in their intentions, as were many of the victims of the Salem Witch Trials.

But Allison wasn't looking to do much with her knowledge besides sate her curiosity and test a few interesting blends. Most went into helping those around her anonymously...

A few drops in a cup of coffee and suddenly Jack's bad cough was gone. A whiff of her perfume, and Sammy was a lot calmer than he'd been a minute or so ago. Even a few delicious homemade cupcakes got everyone into a creative rut that kept Joey off their backs.

She was benevolent in her actions... But... There was one particular blend she wanted to try for more selfish reasons. A love potion of a sort, composed of natural aphrodisiacs and calming herbs.

One she hoped to try on the object of her affections, a man that had such an impeccable work ethic that she doubted he even knew she even existed (which was odd as most men often buzzed around her like bees to a flower, because of her attractive features). It frustrated her to no end that Thomas Connor was a difficult person to understand, or to get close to.

Her previous experiences with past boyfriends had always been quite linear, so the mysterious engineer being so hard to read was baffling. No man nor any woman should be a puzzle so hard to figure out, and her lack of progress on this matter only made her feel more attracted towards him.

So here she was, trying to find Mr. Connor's coffee mug, ready to slip him an all natural drug that would definitely turn his gaze towards her... You know, like some degenerate wench...

"Oh you've sunk low Al... You've sunk very low." She murmured to herself as she looked through the shared cupboard. There was a myriad of different mugs that were unique so as to distinguish them from someone else's property. A lot of people in the studio were against sharing their cups after all, thus this fun little measure that definitely wasn't making it hard for her right now.

She knew the mug with brightly colored polkadots was Norman's, as it was a silly play on his last name (one Mel had started as a means to poke fun at him). She also knew the white one with intricate depictions of songbirds and forget-me-nots was Sammy's (a gift to him from his sister apparently), and that the bright green one with stocky writing on it was Shawn's (Mr. Flynn was, after all, fond of yelling 'Top o' the Morning to ya' to everyone at the earliest hours of the morning).

But, for the life of her, she couldn't find a mug that she thought might fit Thomas's personality at all... They were all varying degrees of either pretty or silly and none really screamed his name. Not until she squinted and found one that was bland enough to be a no-nonsense GENT employee's pick.

A simple black mug with absolutely nothing extraordinary about it, sitting besides a white mug with paw prints on it (likely Wally's as he had a fondness for dogs).

Taking that bland old mug, she proceeded with her plan.

-

By 9 AM sharp, Allison was a bundle of nerves. She'd prepared Thomas's coffee separately before making everyone else their own mugs to avoid suspicion. Then she'd set out a plate of cupcakes (some vanilla, some chocolate) to make it seem like an innocent little gesture rather than the shameful and depraved act that it actually was, and greeted everyone on her way out of the break room.

Morale was great that morning, but so was her increasing guilt... She shouldn't be meddling with what others felt, especially not trying to bewitch her crush into liking her for a brief moment. Yet here she was, hoping to bump into a drugged up Thomas Connor and get him to praise her in some form.

Her need for validation was... Rotten. She hated it, she hated that she'd gone to these lengths just to feel like someone genuinely cared for her rather than her good looks.

So when she did find her crush at last, she didn't feel so good about the plan anymore.

"Allison could I maybe speak to you for a second?" The gruff voice of Thomas Connor wasn't particularly loud, at least not louder than many of the other employees in the music department, so she jumped slightly when he approached her quietly during her break from recording.

"I... Yes certainly." Her stomach felt like it was doing flips as she followed the taller man, considering her options here. She could lightly reject any advances he tried to make in his state of unknowing inebriation, admit she may have slipped something in his coffee, or even straight up lie and say there was weed in the cupcakes... But, instead of doing anything, she resigned herself to the fact the next words out of his mouth weren't going to be genuine.

"I wanted to thank you." Thomas began as they'd gotten out into a quieter hall with little to no movement. "For always trying to brighten things up a little here at the studio. Drew's been a right pain in the ass, and it really sets off a chain... But here you are, getting up bright and early to bake cupcakes and brew everyone a cup of coffee, being the most genuine and selfless person at this damn madhouse..."

The guilt was excruciating, and Allison felt herself blush slightly as her eyes began to sting. He likely thought it was humility on her part.

"Hey, no need for that. Just stating the facts Miss Pendle..." He smiled, really smiled, and it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. Thomas Connor had this shy little smile that started at the corner of his mouth and just barely exposed his front teeth a bit. "I was wondering... If maybe I could pay you back. With uh... With lunch?"

"I..."

"I understand if you're busy, it's just... I'd just like to be able to repay your kindness in kind. Lunch for an impromptu breakfast seems fair... And it's well within our schedules I hope..." He added. She couldn't bring herself to decline even if she knew she should.

"It... It sounds good to me. Uh... Wednesday?" She shyly suggested.

"Wednesday." He nodded in agreement. "Best we both go back to work now, before Lawrence has a fit..."

"Yeah... Thank you Thomas." She smiled sadly, watching him as he nodded her way. Her smile vanished once she noticed him bring a mug up to his lips. A white mug with paw prints on it.

Once he took a sip from his coffee he went on his way, leaving Allison in a confused state. On one hand, her crush had genuinely just asked her out and that was amazing! On the other... Who's coffee mug was it that she had drugged then?

-

Henry groaned as he hung up his phone for the 20th time that day. Whoever the hell was calling his landline only to breathe heavily into the speaker as he questioned them, was really starting to aggravate him.

Damn kids and their stupid pranking antics... He had half a mind to call the cops!

#eps writes: #bendy and the ink machine #batim #allison pendle #thomas connor