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hopefulceladon · 28 days

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rest for the weary | kamisato ayato x reader

summary: kamisato ayato, though a man of many talents, hardly knew the meaning of the word ‘relax’. you, on the other hand, really wished he did. pairing: kamisato ayato x reader word count: 2.1k notes: happy ayato day!!! it's not much but at least it's something.

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

As twilight blanketed itself over the horizons that surrounded the confines of the Kamisato Estate, so, too, had the celebration held within the guarded walls of the property ceased.

It had hardly been a stuffy, bejeweled social gathering beheld in a decked-out estate like many of the commissioner’s birthdays of the past, no. It was a simplistic and warm gathering with his closest friends and family members, and felt much like an embrace. Much like a temporary safe haven away from life’s ceaseless trials. Much like how such an occasion ought to be commemorated.

There was, perhaps a part of you was afraid that the current party would be too dull for Ayato's tastes—your beloved was the clan head, after all, and he only deserved a party as sophisticated as his wide expanse of titles, didn't he?—but the small, genuine smile he wore the moment he saw you, Ayaka, and Thoma huddled around a small feast table had soon eased your concerns.

And, perhaps, at his reaction, something within you urged you to ponder if this was the kind of celebration he preferred after all.

But now that the humble festivities of the evening had concluded, and Ayato had excused himself away from the scene, it became ever apparent that his intention was to immediately throw himself back into the rhythm of what he deemed as normalcy, as if the very concept of relaxation was foreign to the well-versed commissioner.

And as you leaned against the doorframe of his study, you frowned at the familiar sight of your beloved sorting through his moderately cluttered desk, fervent in his search of the next stack of documents to work on, with his back slightly hunched and his shoulders tensed from the weariness that found an unwelcome home within his bones.

It took him a moment to recognize your presence, but his countenance had brightened once he finally met your gaze, as if your mere existence was much like a healing balm for his tired soul. Still, his brows quirked upright at the sight of you, as if his aforementioned healing balm had no reason to be standing before him at the hour that it was.

“Hm? My love, why are you not in bed yet?”

Even if the expression upon his face was courteous, you could still recognize the exhaustion that plagued him deep beneath his pretty violet eyes.

“I could ask you the same question, couldn't I?” you replied as you approached him and his desk, frowning further at the scattered leaflets that were splayed across its wooden surface. “Why are you working?”

“I’m simply catching up on the work I skipped earlier this afternoon. Another all-nighter is in the books, I suppose...”

His admission caught you off guard, and you stared at him, baffled.

“You were meant to relax today, weren't you? Something regarding, oh, goodness, I don’t know, your birthday?”

“Oh, please, you really need not remind me,” he began with a sigh. “Much as one would expect, the flow of my tasks and duties won’t simply put itself on hold just because its master happened to make it yet another cycle around the sun...”

“I understand, but you haven’t had a break in quite some time...”

Guilt had added a new splash of psychological color to accompany the fatigue that was already distinctly painted across his features, but his hands still remained ever busy with his paperwork.

“If the imminent needs of the clan cannot cease for one day, then neither shall I, I fear.”

His counterpoint was logical, you supposed, but his utter refusal to even consider himself at all caused your heart to ache. Though you knew far better than to engage in attempting to explain anything to someone so stubborn, much less someone whose job, more or less, was to debate and persuade others to agree with his stances, you persisted.

“You still can always just simply... attempt to rest?”

A brief flash of surprise flickered in his eyes at the abruptness of your response, but he simply hummed in response, waiting patiently for your explanation.

“One of your concerns is keeping your loved ones safe, isn’t it? But were we not all there, happily celebrating alongside you? Was it not lively with nearby retainers, all hoping to do something to serve you? Is that not proof that we're all safe and secure within the walls of the estate you oversee?”

“I... suppose, yes, but I fail to see how that's relevant to the argument against me dealing with late night paperwork?”

“It means that you succeeded in at least one of the goals that I know you must surely think of when you sit at this desk. And if you succeeded in that, then... shouldn't that be enough for you to put up the paperwork for at least tonight?”

“Mm. I do appreciate the insight, dear, but it's hardly ever that simple, and I’m sure you, of everyone, would know that to be so.”

Quickly, you realized your claim was losing its validity, but you, fortunately, were as persistent as he was.

“I know, but it should be enough to prove that the members of the clan aren't at risk of any sudden disaster...” your voice trailed off as you took a moment to reach for his free hand, gently grasping it in your own. “The world shall not end, nor shall the Kamisato Clan crash and burn to the ground, if you happen to take a night's respite, I think.”

At the sudden contact between your hand and Ayato’s, though his black leather glove blocked most of the sensation, he breathed in sharply. As a quick-thinking means to distract himself from whatever seemed to stir his troubled soul, he focused on readjusting his grip on the calligraphy pen that he held firmly between his other hand’s index finger and thumb.

“Hmph, tell that to the other commissioners, then, my love...”

“The other commissioners are not here to perceive nor judge your actions, my love ,” you replied, then paused to make a humorous production out of warily glancing around for ‘eavesdroppers’ before you whispered. “...nor do I quite care what they think, regardless. They're hardly the ones who must bear the weight of knowing the exhaustion you strive to conceal.”

Your honesty made Ayato chuckle, but your confession still caused his eyebrows to furrow.

“I cannot tell if it's from the charm of your words or from the weariness you claim I possess, but I suppose you're quite right,” he mused aloud before his eyes reclaimed their familiar, charming glimmer. “Though, I suppose if we wake up tomorrow to, say, a burnt down kitchen, I'll at least have someone to blame for lulling me into a false sense of security, hm?”

“Now, why would the kitchen burn down? You'd be absolutely nowhere near it.” you quickly retorted, unable to suppress the small giggle that snuck past the stoic front you had built and forged with concern.

Ayato let out a soft hum of amusement at your witty remark, tapping the stack of papers against his desk to even them out before laying them to rest. Moments later, he arose from his chair and drew you in closer with a gentle tug at your arms, the playful grin from moments prior still plastered on his face.

“Oh, has the silver melted off your tongue now that you believe you finally persuaded me?”

“Huh? It's hardly like that!” you protested.

You swore the cheeky bastard had smiled at the flash of panic in your eyes, before leaning down to briefly press his lips to your forehead.

“I know, dear, don't fret.”

Much like a switch had been suddenly flipped, the lighthearted atmosphere that lingered in the room allowed itself to be reformed into a far more serene state, aided by the ambience provided by both the steady raindrops that pattered against the shoji windows, and the flames that frolicked off of the wick of the burning candle that rested atop Ayato’s desk.

In response to his affectionate gesture, you took a step closer to wrap your arms around Ayato in return, reaching your one hand up to thread your fingers through his silky, pale blue hair, and leaving the other to rest against his cheek, all of which elicited a soft hum of contentment from Ayato’s lips.

“So, does this all really mean you’ll rest?”

“Oh dear... if that’s truly what you’ve concluded from this, I fear you’re sorely mistaken.” Ayato said as he leaned his cheek further into the palm of your hand, smiling at you tiredly.

You sighed at his response, feeling slightly disarmed by the charming sight he put on display.

“I’m sorry for being so persistent, it’s just that after all that you do for the clan, for... everyone, I just wish you'd consider yourself more often.”

“Ah, if I considered what I truly wanted more often, I fear we'd both be out of commission for at least a small while...”

As your face scrunched together in thought, your mind still too exhausted from the weight of your concern to decipher any potential meaning beneath his words, Ayato chuckled at the profound confusion his words had implanted within you, and he shook his head.

“Mm, nevermind that. Now, come here, dear.”

Without further notice, Ayato wrapped his lithe arms around you and enveloped you ever closer. The sudden force he used in pulling your body so abruptly flush to his own nearly caused you to stumble backwards, but quickly, he steadied you before you could make acquaintances with the floor by placing his palms against your hips.

At the sight of the surprise in your eyes, his hands immediately retreated out of fear he had breached any sort of boundary—oh , you had nearly asked him to put them back—and he simply let a hand idly rest upon the small of your back, holding you close to him as if you were made of a fragile glass that was all too eager to shatter.

“I really do hope you enjoyed today.” you murmured suddenly against the fabric of his lavender kimono, reaching your hand out so that it might rejoin with his, interlocking your fingers between the webbings of his own the very moment they reunited.

“As far as I'm aware, every day is enjoyable whenever I get to spend it with you.”

With your fondness growing ever intensified by the unspoken intimacy of the moment, your chest ached pleasantly at the tenderness that shone in his eyes as he lifted your intwined hands up to his lips, brushing them against the bumps of your knuckles ever so briefly.

Wordlessly, with an idea in mind to reciprocate, you reached behind yourself and gently pried his gloved hand away from your lower back.

While Ayato was deeply engrossed by your actions, at least enough to analyze your expressions with a curious gaze, he hadn't realized you had managed to cautiously slide his glove off his hand until the moment he felt your touch brush upon skin that he knew should've been covered by leather.

His breathing audibly faltered the moment your warm fingertips grazed against his surprisingly cold palm, unable to catch himself in time.

“My darling, I..." Ayato fought to speak coherently through a breathy whisper. Quickly, he cleared his throat and forced himself away from the tempting arms of the pleasant stupor your touch had thrown him into. “If this is the means you choose to convince me to relax, then... I suppose that we ought to retire to bed now, after all.”

“You mean your work can wait?”

“Perhaps it can, perhaps it cannot, but I must confess that at this very moment, any matters regarding paperwork are truly the furthest things from my mind...” Ayato admitted quietly, burying his forehead comfortably against the crossing that joined your neck and shoulder together.

“Then... what is on your mind?” you asked, still holding him close, still holding his freezing cold hand within your grasp. It really was hardly any wonder why he wore gloves all the time, it seemed.

“Merely the thought of being able to rest within the comfort of my beloved’s embrace for as long as the night shall allow us, if I’ll be so kindly permitted...”

As he lifted his head up from your shoulder, his gaze meeting yours, his weary eyes yearning for you to please at the very least answer his inquiry, you cracked a small smile at the rare sight of the vulnerability he usually kept under highly secured wraps.

“I think it would be my honor to kindly oblige.”

After all, only the heavens knew how strongly you longed for that, too.

#genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin imagines #kamisato ayato #kamisato ayato x reader #ayato x reader #kamisato ayato x reader fluff #ayato x reader fluff

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hellsite-hungergames · 1 year

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THE FIRST WAVE OF TRIBUTES

All tributes (With the exception of hellsite-hall-of-fame, God, Jesus, Tarlton, and Wallace) were chosen randomly, as were the pairs (Again, with the exception of 1, 18, and 32)

Information about the polls will be out a little bit before the polls themselves

Polls will open February 14th in the afternoon/evening (EST)

Second Wave will be announced sometime around 6pm EST

Tribute List under cut

@hellsite-hungergames vs. @hellsite-hall-of-fame

Vace (I Was a Teenage Exocolonist) vs. Herobrine (Minecraft)

Regulus Black (Harry Potter) vs. Edward Cullen (Twilight)

Merlin (Merlin) vs. Florida Man (American Mythology)

Gary the Gadget Guy (Club Penguin) vs. Sunny (Omori)

Benoit Blanc (Knives Out) vs. Ridley (Metroid)

Animal (Muppets) vs. Miku Binder Thomas Jefferson (Hamilton)

Clint (Stardew Valley) vs. Data (Star Trek)

Skunk Ape (Florida) vs. Daniel the Manager (Anon's manager)

Waluigi (Mario) vs. Timmy Turner (The Fairly OddParents)

Meta Knight (Kirby) vs. Castiel (Supernatural)

Death (Puss in Boots: The Last Wish) vs. Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia)

Katsuya Suou (Persona 2: Eternal Punishment) vs. King Arthur (Monty Python's The Holy Grail)

Squidward's Hopes and Dreams (Spongebob Squarepants) vs. Spiders Georg (Tumblr)

Anya Forger (Spy x Family) vs. Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games)

Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal) vs. Campbell Bain (Takin' Over the Asylum)

Jasper (Steven Universe) vs. Star Butterfly (Star vs. The Forces of Evil)

Tarlton (A completely real fandom) vs. Wallace (Wallace the Living Wall)

Mikhailo "Mickey" Aleksandr Milkovich (Shameless) vs. Dimitri Blaiddyd (Fire Emblem: Three Houses)

Duck (Don't Hug Me I'm Scared) vs. Everyone from Cats the Musical (Cats the Musical)

Jay Walker (Ninjago) vs. Miles Vorkosigan (Vorkosigan Saga)

Illyria (Angel: The Series) vs. Evan "Buck" Buckley (9-1-1)

Haymitch Abernathy (The Hunger Games) vs. Richard Gansey III (The Raven Cycle)

Ronald McDonald (McDonald's) vs. Amelia Bedelia (Amelia Bedelia)

Matt (Wii Sports) vs. Oswald Cobblepot (Gotham)

Edward Nygma (Gotham) vs. Tumblr Anon Icon (Tumblr)

Gillion Tidestrider (Just Roll With It) vs. Jedediah (Night at the Museum)

Reigen Arataka (Mob Psycho 100) vs. Willow Rosenberg (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Alex Fierro (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard) vs. Puss in Boots (Puss in Boots/Shrek)

Jessie Prescott (Jessie) vs. George Costanza (Seinfeld)

Leon Scott Kennedy (The Resident Evil Franchise) vs. Han Solo (Star Wars)

God (Universe fandom/Deadbeat dads fandom) vs. Jesus (Christianity fandom)

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huariqueje · 1 year

Photo

Venice at twilight - Thomas Edwin Mostyn

British, 1864 - 1930

Oil on canvas , 101.6 x 128.3 cm. 40 x 50 1/2 in.

#Thomas Edwin Mostyn #british artist #city twilight scene #Venice

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cryoculus · 1 year

Text

— guard dog 01 ⟢

pairing: thoma x assassin!reader

summary: you’re a skilled mercenary who takes odd jobs all around inazuma to make ends meet. so when the shogunate hires you to assassinate the lady of the kamisato clan, you don’t think much of it. that’s until you grossly miscalculate how good of a guard dog her chief retainer actually is.

word count: 5.5k words

notable characters: thoma, kamisato ayaka

tags: found family, enemies to lovers, slow burn, angst, eventual smut

warnings: drugging attempts, assassination attempts

notes: i'll be posting chapters one to thirteen everyday at double intervals! this is one of the fics i'm immensely proud of writing, so i hope you like it hehe :')

header art cr: n0yunn on twt

masterlist

You’ve always wondered what the Kamisatos of old had been thinking when they decided to build a mansion by the cliffs of Mount Yougou.

First, you’d either have to make the trek up the mountain or navigate your way through Chinju Forest. The locals of Narukami Island already regarded that place warily—with all the talk about bake-danuki kidnapping lost children in the cover of night, never to be seen again.

And then there was the sudden drop all the way to the rocky shores of the coastline below. One wrong move, and you might just find yourself dead on the beach if you carelessly traipse around the edges of the property.

But you knew, more than most, that the natural terrain wasn’t what made the Kamisato Estate so difficult to breach.

The guards of the Yashiro Commission were stationed uniformly across the area—looking intimidating enough to send any amateur thief packing. One could tell from a glance that these guys had years of training under their belts.

After all, they were guarding one of the three noble households in Inazuma. But it’s not like anyone who knew about Kamisato clan and its retainers was stupid enough to cross them like that.

Unless, of course, they were you.

A flock of birds flew overhead from your vantage point, momentarily distracting you from the task at hand. It was nearing sundown again, and the princess should be tending to the sand gardens right about—

“Now,” you whispered, biting down on a lavender melon as you watched the scene unfold.

Normally, scouting your targets from a perch so high up was impossible. But your employers were generous enough to supply you with a pair of binoculars for the job. You were never one to tinker with any Fontainian contraption imported into the country, but if it works, it works.

Now here you were, hidden away in one of the slated slopes of the mountain as Kamisato Ayaka stepped out into the foyer to admire the scenic view.

She strode gracefully into the garden, rake in hand before gazing out into the open sea. The waning sunlight glittered across the surface in warm tones, and you would have been mesmerized too, if the circumstances had been any different.

Still, this was a sight Ayaka saw everyday, and the princess spared no time soaking up the scenery longer than she had to.

This was your seventh day of lying in wait—familiarizing yourself with each person who went in and out of the estate at all hours of the day. Where they went, what they did, who they spoke to.

Well, not really. Even a dedicated mercenary like you had to take some breaks in-between. But one week was enough for you to memorize the daily habits of the Yashiro Commission.

A greenhorn would never have noticed the way they loosened security in the first hour of twilight. Only five guards out of the original ten stationed outside would remain, and the others would be invited to eat dinner inside the pavilion.

After twenty or-so minutes, they would switch with the guards that stayed behind—rinse and repeat.

During this momentary give in their defenses, though, Ayaka would trace circles into the sand garden in quiet meditation.

Vulnerable. Exposed.

If you decided to take her out with a bow and arrow, gravity would favor you in more ways than one. But you were a shit archer at best, and there was…something else that threw a wrench in your plans. A wildcard in your weeklong observation period that you just couldn’t pin down no matter how many alternatives you tried to come up with.

The lavender melon turned bitter in your mouth once you caught sight of him.

Thoma was someone that’s very hard to miss. You’ve seen him a couple of times around Ritou—all golden hair and swindling smiles—but you never once dared to make his acquaintance. Fixers were crafty people by nature, and you’d rather not get outfoxed by someone like him by any means.

In fact, your constant avoidance was finally bearing fruit now that you’ve been entrusted with the assassination of Kamisato Ayaka.

But while everyone else in the Yashiro Commission stuck with their day-to-day routines faithfully, Thoma seemed like he always just acted on a whim. That man had no concept of routine at all.

Unlike Ayaka who committed herself to her own schedule without fail, Thoma was someone who did something different everyday.

In hindsight, it was expected. He was an undercover fixer—of course his daily to-do list wasn’t patterned the same way as everyone else’s.

The other day, Thoma left the estate at the crack of dawn only to come back a few hours after midnight.

Yesterday, he leveled the hedges as he watched Ayaka practice her swordsmanship in the courtyard.

And now, after bidding a few words in farewell to his charge, he was walking out of the estate with a carefree hint to his strides. If you drew any closer, you might even hear him whistling.

Case in point: this wasn’t the first time you were hired to kill a noble. It was, however, the first time you’ve had to deal with a variable that’s as unpredictable as Thoma.

You watched him take the path that led to Chinju Forest through your binoculars—tossing the stem of your lavender melon to the side. He was probably headed to Inazuma City from the looks of it.

Patiently, you waited until Thoma’s form disappeared into the mist before heaving a long sigh in relief.

Now that he was out of the way, you could afford some room to think.

Admittedly, you weren’t sure why the shogunate even contacted someone like you to carry this out. You were nothing but a lone swordswoman who took on odd jobs to make ends meet. Killing other people for money wasn’t exactly above your moral compass, but could your feats be impressive enough for the Tenryou Commission to seek you out personally?

“Kill the girl and make it seem as if the Sangonomiya rebels were behind it,” said Kujou Masahito, the night he and his men found you. “We’ve been in a stalemate long enough.”

It was a tall order, now that you thought about it. What person in their right mind would accept a mission to: one, infiltrate the Kamisato estate; two, murder the lady of the house; and three, frame the resistance for the act? Sure, the Tenryou Commission practically offered you millions of mora in exchange, but was all that really worth risking your neck for?

However, asking questions wasn’t something you did with your clients. Whoever they were, whatever their motives, so long as they came to you, offering the right price, you would see the job done.

Your discretion has always made you quite the favorite in the Inazuman underworld, and you’d prefer if things stayed that way.

Rising from your aching haunches, you shoved the binoculars into a knapsack. You then cast the estate below a sidelong glance. The sun had long set, and a slew of yellow lanterns lit up the courtyard.

You could see Ayaka being escorted back inside the house by one of her attendants, possibly to join her brother for dinner as well. You paid it no mind.

You’ll allow her some last moments of serenity before putting an end to her life.

About two hours before midnight, you descended from your perch—ducking behind trees while skilfully evading the guards’ line of sight. You quietened your footsteps as you approached the building in which the estate’s denizens resided.

There was no need for you to draw this close, as you’ve already gleaned most of what you needed to know from a distance, but…

It was about time for the princess’ nightly routine. An elegant dance performed beneath the moonlight—with her signature fan scattering white snowflakes in the height of summer.

You’ve heard about the Shirasagi Himegimi’s mesmerizing performances in passing. How she was always the star of every cultural festival in Amakame Island.

You were only human, so you were naturally inclined to be curious. And it’s not as if seeing her dance in the moonlit foyer will derail your plans.

But you’d been a few minutes too late, it seemed. Because now, Ayaka was seated by the edge of the pavilion, gazing silently at the clear sky above. In her hands was a teacup patterned with herons in flight—one of her favorite pieces.

To a normal onlooker (A.K.A., anyone who didn’t spend seven days deliberately stalking her), Ayaka didn’t seem the type to drink tea all by herself. She had an entire Commission’s worth of company, and she could always ask one of her retainers to sit down and nurse a few drinks with her.

But you’ve come to realize that the princess was someone who didn’t like disturbing others—regardless of how minimal the disturbance might be.

Kamisato Ayato took charge of the political dabblings of the Yashiro Commission. Kamisato Ayaka was the face of the clan; the heart of the people; adored by each and every person who knew her by name.

But…why did she look so lonely?

“Milady, you shouldn’t be staying up so late.”

The sound of Thoma’s voice made you seize up like a cat tossed into a basin of water—making you reflexively duck behind the rigid walls on the side of the house. There were no lanterns on this side of the estate, so the darkness should be able to conceal you well enough.

“I was waiting for you to return,” Ayaka admitted aloud, the sound of her sandals scraping against the stone-littered path ringing in your ears. “I…I would have had a hard time falling asleep either way—knowing not everyone is safely back in the mansion at this hour.”

You arched an eyebrow but continued listening in.

“Oh?” There’s a hint of amusement in Thoma’s tone. “Even if I specifically informed you earlier that I might not be back until tomorrow noon, you still waited? Milady, you honor me, but I can’t continue imposing such—”

“You’re not imposing,” Ayaka sighed, and it’s the first time you've heard her sound so…exasperated. But then again, Ayaka was only ever this animated in the company of her chief retainer. “As one of the leaders of the Yashiro Commission, it’s my responsibility to ensure the well-being of my retainers.”

“Isn’t it the other way around, though?” Thoma laughed, and you got the impression that you were intruding on something you weren’t supposed to. (A little too late to have those sentiments now, but you still had some integrity, at least.) “Well, I know there’s no changing your mind when it is already set, milady. How about we pair your evening tea with some sakura mochi I brought from the Teahouse?”

A pause. “You’re going to tell me what you were doing in Inazuma City, yes?”

“It would be a disservice not to.”

Knowing you’d already lingered for too long, you fled the scene—silently backing away until you heard a loud crunch echoing into the evening air. You jolted, cursing under your breath when you realized you’d stepped on a damn twig—!

“Thoma? What’s wrong?”

Then, footsteps—accompanied by the sound of the chief retainer’s accessories jingling on his person. You ducked behind an unsuspecting aralia tree, but right in front of you was a sheer drop into the ocean. Archons damn it. You hadn’t realized how close you were to the edge of the cliff.

Instinctively, you pressed your back further against the tree bark, wondering what the hell Thoma was even doing here when he supposedly had business to attend to in the city.

“It’s nothing, milady,” he sighed, and you felt your shoulders sag with relief as you heard his voice draw further away. “Just thought I’d heard something.”

“You must be tired if you’re starting to hear things.”

Not waiting for Thoma to come up with a response, you made your timely escape.

Somewhere down the deeper corners of Chinju Forest was an abandoned shrine. It was on the smaller side—the ornamental roof layered with thick moss, and the talismans having faded with age. You hadn’t the slightest clue which deity it was dedicated to, but it was for that reason that you declared it your designated territory of sorts.

There, you took out a shovel from your knapsack before digging a hole into the ground. It was safer to leave what little belongings you had where no people could even begin to look. And you’d rather not be carrying all your possessions when you’re about to infiltrate a mansion.

Once you’re satisfied with the depth, you began to rummage through the bag. You only took what was strictly needed—a pouch of powdered crystal marrow and a lone dark feather.

Mora and weapons wouldn’t be necessary if you did the job properly, which you will. But before you could turn around to shovel the unearthed soil back in place, you twisted the feather in your fingers.

This was the item that secured your agreement to the Tenryou Commission’s outlandish request. Kujou Sara was known to be a fierce warrior on the battlefield, so if Masahito managed to procure one of her feathers and give it to you, it was the real deal.

The shogunate really was out to tip the scales and launch the country into a civil war.

However, the feather was also a contingency plan of sorts.

“If you foresee yourself being unable to complete the mission, burn it and we’ll send someone to come to your aid,” Masahito informed, and while you were grateful for the possible fallback, you wondered if burning it rendered your reward money null and void. You didn’t ask, nor did he elaborate.

It was normal to have your reservations about this. After all, you could very much go down in the history books as the match that ignited the bloodiest war in Inazuma. But you never really cared much for appearances. Not now, not ever.

Once you accept a job, you’ll see it through until the end.

“H-Help, please… Help.”

The guards were quick to act once you emerged from the forest the following day—bloody and beaten and quivering in your boots. One of them managed to catch you before you could fully collapse to the ground, and he immediately barked orders to prepare a room and call a healer.

Faking your identity to mislead victims was a trick you picked up from an old acquaintance. The acting that went into the entire charade was as troublesome as it sounded, but you weren’t exactly given many cards to play here.

Hell, even the method you’d decided to assassinate Ayaka with was far from your usual. But you didn’t build a reputation for yourself by cutting corners and half-assing your jobs, that’s for sure.

Of all the members of the Tri-Commission, the Yashiro Commission was the most impartial. They had the hearts of the people of Inazuma, and the Kamisato clan collectively cared for them in return.

Whether you’re a rebel or a shogunate officer, if you turned up half-dead on their doorstep, it was ingrained in their principles to take you in. That kindness, however, was a double-edged sword.

They’d just invited a murderer into the heart of their stronghold.

However, their retainers weren’t complete idiots. Before rushing you into a room to get your injuries tended to, a due interrogation was conducted. (Who are you? Where did you come from? What happened?)

All their questions, you answered with a somewhat convincing act—you’re woozy from the “blood loss”, unable to respond coherently, drifting in and out of consciousness. But they could glean from your tattered maroon disguise uniform that you were part of the resistance.

“She probably tried to infiltrate the Kujou Encampment,” suggested one of the female attendants. “Both sides are growing more and more desperate each day… Should we inform Lady Ayaka and Lord Ayato?”

The proposal was met with a grunt from a man you recognized as Madarame Hyakubei. “Lord Ayato requested for us not to disturb him today, and Lady Ayaka is resting for the afternoon. Granted, Master Thoma didn’t say when he’ll return either so I suggest we keep this under wraps for now.”

Keep this under wraps. Yeah, that definitely worked in your favor.

With a silent, unanimous agreement, the rest of the guards left you in the hands of their resident healer—a meek woman who introduced herself as Hina.

You knew better than to respond to any of her inquiries, so you continued masquerading your own deliriousness as she patched up your self-inflicted wounds. Hina didn’t linger longer than she had to, and once you stopped fake-moaning in pain, she eventually got up and resumed whatever task your arrival had rudely interrupted.

There were still some curious attendants sneaking glances into the room they’d put you in, though—whispering amongst themselves in hushed tones. Thankfully, those gossiping girls went about their own business sometime later, and you’re left completely alone.

You couldn’t really do much in your current state. The people around the mansion were led to believe that you’ve been gravely injured. It would definitely raise suspicions if anyone saw you tiptoeing around the house, so you bide your time.

You’ve waited an entire week to put your plans into motion, what’s a few hours more?

When night fell, you expected one of the attendants to bring you dinner—if the Yashiro Commission’s extensive hospitality was anything to go by.

The anticipation might have also been fueled by the fact that it’s been days since you’ve eaten a proper meal. Whenever the guards outside ate altogether in the pavilion, the food prepared for them looked so appetizing. You couldn’t really blame yourself for pondering what they’ll serve you.

But the person who emerged into the room a few minutes later was the last one you’d expected to come.

“L-Lady Kamisato,” you stammered, sitting upright to bow your head. “It’s an honor. Please don’t trouble yourself with this…”

Ayaka flashed you a gentle smile, kneeling on the tatami to set the tray of food on your bedside. “It’s only proper that I see our guest with a warm welcome. You must be feeling better now that you can speak to me. My retainers said you were practically unintelligible earlier.”

Fuck. You broke character.

Swallowing thickly, you managed a dry laugh. “Your healer was amazing, miss. I didn’t think I would make it through the day, actually…”

She nodded in understanding, a grim look suddenly crossing her pristine features. “I see. You’re one of the Sangonomiya rebels, aren’t you? May I ask what you’re doing all the way here on Narukami Island?”

You purposely let your shoulders sag in a false show of emotion. “I…was sent for an espionage mission, but I got hunted down by the shogun’s lap dogs. Thanks to you, though, I’m still in one piece.”

“I had no part in your recovery. It’s all the work of my retainers,” Ayaka clarified with that same, unwavering smile. She gestured for you to take the food she’d brought. “Go on. I’m sure you’re hungry, so you better eat something.”

You were gladly about to indulge in her offer before—

“Milaaaady,” drawled an obnoxiously loud voice coming from the halls. And when a head of golden hair poked itself into the room, you felt your appetite vanishing in a puff of smoke. “Why’d you leave me in the kitchen? I can’t look after you if you’re going around without me, you know?”

There he was—the wild card that constantly threw your plans into disarray.

“Thoma, don’t be too loud. She’s still resting,” Ayaka chided as he knelt beside her on your bedside. “This is Thoma, the chief retainer of the Kamisato clan. He normally isn’t this noisy, so I hope you forgive him.”

No introduction needed, thank you very much, you wanted to say, but kept your mouth rightfully shut. Instead, you met Thoma’s green-eyed gaze as you tilted your head in a curt bow. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“It’s nice to meet you as well,” he chuckled before folding his arms together. “I believe I haven’t caught your name yet…”

A name. Right. You had to give them a name—not your real name, of course. You weren’t that overconfident.

“Kira,” you spoke softly. “My name is Kira.”

“I see. So, Miss Kira…you’re from the resistance, huh? What’s the status over there in Watatsumi Island?”

Again, you assumed your role as a fugitive rebel with sigh. “Not too good. They’ve pushed us back so far that we had to resort to underhanded tactics.”

Thoma raised an eyebrow. “Such as?”

Immediately remembering the suggestion of one of the attendants earlier, you decided to use that as a reference. “Infiltrating the Kujou Encampment to gain some intel. Though, I hardly got that done at all since…” Then, a wordless gesture towards the bandages wrapped around your body.

Ayaka flashed you a pitiful expression while Thoma hummed to himself. Did you really sound that convincing? Nonetheless, the chief retainer spoke again. “A wise man once told me that the best way out of a predicament is through. Why don’t you guys just march straight into Inazuma City and take it up to the Raiden Shogun herself?”

“Why don’t we step out and allow our guest to have some peace tonight?” Ayaka intervened, rising to her feet while tugging on Thoma’s sleeve in the process as she turned to you. “He asks too many questions sometimes. Again, please forgive him.”

You shook your head. “I’m already taking up much of your time as is. The one seeking penance should be me, milady.”

The princess shook her head once more as they made their way out of the room. “We hope for nothing but utmost health for you, Miss Kira. Please don’t hesitate to call for us if you need anything. We can discuss your situation further in the morning.”

When the door slid shut behind them, you could still vaguely make out some fragments of conversation. Ayaka was saying something along the lines of, “You should really be more polite to our guests,” and Thoma only responded with a peal of laughter.

Then, your eyes flickered towards your dinner—braised salted fish with pickled seaweed on the side.

“All these formalities for a complete stranger?” you muttered, pulling apart the chopsticks they’d provided as you shook your head. “Bunch of fools...”

Once you’ve had your fill, you tossed the blankets aside and stretched your limbs. Acting bedridden could easily make you feel the part, and you had to keep your blood pumping for what you were about to do.

For some reason, Hina and the guards didn’t bother inspecting you or your clothes, which proved to be quite the advantage.

Walking over to where they’d set down your boots, you turned the left boot upside down—shaking it rigidly until a satin pouch and a dark feather fell to the floor.

The pouch that contained the poison you were to use weighed almost nothing in your palm, and it was for that reason you chose it.

Powdered crystal marrow was so easy to conceal that slipping it into the princess’ evening tea was mere child’s play. You then shoved Kujou Sara’s feather in one of your pockets, praying you didn’t have to use it at all.

When the door to the room slid open again, you were completely prepared. This time, it wasn’t Kamisato Ayaka nor Thoma who went in to collect the tray.

It was one of the attendants that had been gossiping outside while the healer was tending to your injuries.

She paused by the entrance when she noticed you weren’t in your futon, and it was at that moment that you pounced—muffling her nose with a cloth laced with poison. Not enough to kill her, but certainly enough to knock her out.

Knowing that you’re quickly running out of time, you disrobed the attendant and replaced your disguise with her clothes swiftly.

The sleeves billowed just right around your arms, and the obi wasn’t too difficult to tie. And since you felt slightly bad for having to drag her into this, you covered the attendant’s bare body with the thin blanket of your futon.

With the tray that Ayaka had dropped off in hand, you closed the door to your room—eyes darting around for anyone who could have gotten wind of what just happened.

Fortunately, there weren’t many people milling inside the mansion. Just a couple of attendants dusting furniture and scrubbing the tatami.

None of them spared you so much as a backwards glance. But, knowing you couldn’t exactly disguise your face, you made yourself scarce—heading to a hall that you had a hunch led to the kitchen.

Based on the brief glimpses you’d seen prior to your relocation to the room, your guess should be right, and the attendant you’d just taken out was about to bring Ayaka her evening tea. You didn’t perform a weeklong stake-out for your calculations to be incorrect.

With each step you took across the hall, your heart pounded dreadfully. This was it. You were almost there. If you managed to pull this off, your mantle as Inazuma’s most cunning assassin would be set in stone. Your services would be sought after, and you’d be raking in millions from each job.

(And then Inazuma would be plunged into chaos. The fall of the Kamisato clan’s eldest daughter undoubtedly offsetting the peace that the people of Narukami tried so hard to maintain. The Electro Archon would no longer have any reason to hold back. But would the Raiden Shogun lash out on the very people whom she promised a never-ending eternity?

Would someone like you even be spared from her wrath?)

Your predictions have been correct. You were headed the right way. The kitchen was at the far end of this hall, and none of the other attendants were present.

Instead, the one that greeted you was the chief retainer in all his smug glory—instantly ripping you away from your musings of the future, and back to the dreadful present.

Thoma stood in front of the counter, a fresh tea set patterned with Ayaka’s favorite herons painted elegantly on each ceramic piece. Behind him, a kettle sat on top of the stove—the low flame illuminating the room just a tad brighter.

He didn’t seem surprised to see you, nor did he have any outward reaction to the fact that you’re wearing an attendant’s uniform. Instead, he leaned across the wooden surface, sighing.

“Well that’s just disappointing,” he lamented. “I really rooted for you, you know. Hope you’d give it up and leave once you’ve gotten a taste of milady’s kindness.”

You kept your lips sealed, straightening yourself as you sauntered over to the sink. Your movements were quiet as you set down the bowl and chopsticks they’d given, and Thoma watched your every move.

You had absolutely no clue how he’d managed to sniff you out as quickly as he did, but if he wasn’t pinning you to the floor and tying you up yet, then you still had some leeway for escape.

“I’ve already expected your arrival, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Thoma supplied. “You’re good at not leaving any tracks, but you aren’t exactly keen on concealing your presence. It’s almost like you wanted me to know what you were up to.”

Despite his friendly tone, you kept your silence—gaze roving around the kitchen for any clean-cut exits, only to realize there were none.

You half-contemplated using the rest of your powdered crystal marrow to incapacitate him and make your escape. Though you’re yet to witness it firsthand, Thoma would definitely be worth something in a fight if he was the Kamisatos’ chief retainer.

The injuries you’d sustained from throwing it down with a bunch of mitachurls to look convincingly mangled weren’t all fake. If you were backed into a corner now, you’ll definitely lose.

But you reminded yourself that every dose you got your hands on was few and far in between. You didn’t want to risk your future kills for a momentary lapse in judgement.

So, like any cornered animal, you did what was logical at that moment.

You ran for your life.

Or, at least tried to.

Before you could even step out of the kitchen, Thoma was already on you—seizing both of your wrists and twisting them behind your back. Your jaw throbbed as he slammed your face against the wall, and no matter how hard you struggled, you couldn’t break free from his grip.

“Get your hands off me, guard dog,” you hissed, desperately trying to kick him in the groin as a last resort.

Thoma let out another stupidly carefree laugh as he evaded your attempts at his family jewels. “Guard dog? That’s a new one. And you say it like it’s an insult.”

“Fuck you!”

“Now, now. That’s not a very kind thing to say.” He pouted. “And milady was so insistent for me to be polite. Not so deserving now, are you?”

Irritated, you considered spitting in his face, but remembered you had more tact than that. “So? Just kill me then. You already predicted I’d try to kill her, didn’t you?”

The moment you’d articulated the words, it struck you that Thoma was acting awfully calm about your blatant revelation. If it had been one of the other retainers, they’d probably be fuming at the knowledge.

Maybe they would’ve called the police by now. Worse, they’d have you executed on the spot.

But this man didn’t look like a fiercely loyal retainer who prioritized the well-being of his charge above all else. As you struggled to get a look at him from the impossible position he’d pinned you with, Thoma flashed you a conspiratorial grin that gave you the creeps.

“Killing you would be too easy, don’t you think?” the chief retainer sighed. “And besides, milady seems to have taken a liking to you. She’s never met a member of the resistance before. She even wondered over dinner if you two could be friends.”

You clicked your tongue. “I thought you already knew that I wasn’t—”

“Yes, yes. I knew you were a fraud the moment you answered my questions earlier,” Thoma interjected with a chuckle. “No bona fide member of the resistance would give away sensitive information like that so freely. They’d rather kill themselves first before revealing the strategies of Her Excellency, Sangonomiya.”

Oh. So that’s how he figured out.

“Okay, so my acting could be a bit better,” you began snarkily. “But what does it matter now? You caught me. The Almighty chief retainer of the Kamisato household has caught another mouse in the trap. Now could you please just get to the part where you lead me down to the gallows to commit seppuku?”

You were stalling. No one with a survival instinct as desperate as yours would easily resign themselves to a soundless execution.

In reality, you were wiggling an arm out of his grasp in an attempt to reach for the feather tucked in the folds of your stolen obi. Thoma held you conveniently close to the stove, and if you could just toss it into the low flame—

“Hm? But what if it isn’t my intention to have you killed at all?”

That made you pause.

As if to prove a point, Thoma unhanded you and put his palms up in faux-surrender. You scoffed as you rubbed your face.

“Look, I knew you’ve been scouting the area for days now, and you basically just admitted to your own intentions on milady’s life,” he elaborated. “I also knew that this place is too tightly guarded for you to execute your plans as smoothly as you liked. So you had to carry out your mission in the most roundabout way possible.”

“Yes, yes. Of course, of course,” you spat sarcastically. “If you’re so smart and all-knowing, just cut to the damn chase.”

Thoma let out another laugh, and you were so close to sacrificing your last stash of powdered crystal marrow just to see him drop dead.

“The point is, even if I know all these things…milady doesn’t.”

“...I don’t follow.”

Sighing, Thoma leaned against the counter with another disdainful sigh. “I’m offering you an alternative, Miss Kira. Heh. Even the name you picked was a dead giveaway. Seriously? A name that means kill?”

You clicked your tongue. “What alternative are we speaking of again?”

This time, the chief retainer flashed you a look that made you feel like he was mocking you.

“I’ll forget all the information you just revealed to me tonight. I’ll pretend as if our…altercation never happened.” He listed each condition on his fingers before pointing at your stolen garbs. “And I’ll even deal with the poor attendant whose clothes you nabbed. I’m sure I can bribe her into keeping her silence.”

Not liking how good the odds were for you if Thoma simply feigned ignorance like that, you asked, “What do you want in return?”

What came out of his mouth in the next moment, however, was probably the most ridiculous job you’d ever been saddled with in your life. It put Kujou Masanori’s orders to utter, absolute shame.

“Well, it’s very simple, actually.” Thoma grinned. “I want you to be…milady’s friend.”

next ->

#genshin impact #genshin #genshin fanfic #genshin smut #genshin fanfiction #thoma fanfic #thoma smut #genshin x reader #thoma x reader #genshin headcanons #genshin thoma #cryoculus #guard dog

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Magneto: A Biographical Timeline, 1963-1991

Magneto just might be one of the most iconic comic book antagonists of all time. He was created in 1963 by Stan Lee and started out as the X-Men’s deadliest foe. Not much is revealed about Magneto through the 60’s but when author Chris Claremont takes over writing the X-Men starting in 1975 he began to develop the character and give him a complex backstory. Magneto quickly started his journey to being a hero and by the 80’s he was no longer a foe of the X-Men, but an ally, and eventually the leader of the Xavier Institute. After corporate meddling forced Magneto back into an antagonistic role in the 90’s, Magneto was eventually killed off and Claremont was fired. This was the end of a cohesive story and trajectory for the character.

Magneto’s backstory has become murky in the years since. The wiki pages (both fan wikis and wikipedia) often take the angle of attempting to synthesize everything ever said about the character into one cohesive story. That, of course, isn’t very helpful when there’s been sixty years of contradictory information and continual reboots – both hard and soft – of the character, his relationships and his backstory. Even his name has come to be muddled with every few years someone deciding to give him a new one. Below, I’ve compiled a list of all the relevant biographical details as they appeared in print from 1963 – 1991. This is a comprehensive overview of the character during his most iconic storylines, many of which have gone on to be adapted to both television and film.

I have included links to relevant historical information at various points as well as to an excellent 2018 documentary, available on YouTube so be sure to check that out as well.

1963

September

X-Men #1 published

1964

March

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #4 “The Brotherhood of Evil Mutants” by Stan Lee

Wanda and Pietro are introduced with the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. They are introduced as brother and sister, no last names are given.

Wanda owes Magneto a life debt because he prevented villagers in the heart of Europe from burning Wanda as a witch. Wanda and Pietro aren’t happy about being in the Brotherhood.

Magneto is described as tall.

1965

May

Avengers (1963) #16 “The Old Order Changeth!” by Stan Lee

Wanda and Pietro join the Avengers.

Wanda mentions that Pietro is older than her.

Wanda is described as “black-haired” (though in many later appearances she is most often drawn with brown or red hair)

1968

November

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #50 “Hail, Queen of Mutants” by Arnold Drake

Mesmero claims the Polaris (Lorna Dane) is Magneto’s daughter and attempts to brainwash her to join Magneto.

1969

January

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #52 “Twilight of the Mutants” by Arnold Drake

Iceman (Bobby Drake) reveals to Polaris that Magneto is not her father and is “conning” her.

July

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #58 “Mission Murder” by Roy Thomas

The Magneto who appeared in issues #49-52 is revealed to have been a robot all along and Magneto is unconnected to the plot of the robot Magneto.

December 1970 – June 1975

No new books are written for X-Men and the title exists solely as reprints of earlier issues. In effect, the book is dead.

1974

October

Defenders (1972) #16 “Alpha, the Ultimate Mutant” by Len Wein

Magneto is turned into a baby by the mutant Alpha.

1975

August

Chris Claremont begins writing for the Uncanny X-Men starting with issue #94.

1977

April

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #104 “The Gentleman’s Name is Magneto” by Chris Claremont

Magneto is returned to adulthood by Eric the Red.

November

The Champions (1975) #16 “A World Lost!” by Bill Mantlo

Magneto works with Beast (Hank McCoy) to free the former X-Men team from Doctor Doom’s mind control. (I believe this marks the beginning of Magneto’s turn to being a hero)

1978

May

Marvel Team-Up (1972) #69 Featuring Spider-Man and Havok “Night of the Living God” by Chris Claremont

Polaris reiterates that she is not Magneto’s daughter.

August

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #112 “Magneto Triumphant” by Chris Claremont

Magneto reiterates that he never worked with Mesmero and the being who claimed to be Polaris’ father was a robot.

September

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #113 “Showdown!” by Chris Claremont and John Byrne

Magneto’s Antarctic base is destroyed and with it the “work and memories of a lifetime.”

Magneto is sad to have the X-Men destroy everything but steels himself with the thought “I am alive.”

1979

August

Avengers (1963) #186 “Nights of Wundagore!” by Steven Grant, Mark Gruenwald and David Michelinie

Wanda and Pietro return to Transia looking for information about their past.

Transia is a German-speaking nation.

Their mother is revealed to be Magda, no last name is given for her.

Magda left her husband because she feared his powers and desire to rule the world. (This story will change somewhat as the idea is developed)

Magda ran away from Transia after giving birth.

The narrative implies she went into the wilderness to die.

Wanda and Pietro were then given to Django Maximoff and his wife to raise.

September

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #125 “There’s Something Awful on Muir Island” by Chris Claremont

Magneto runs across an image of Magda on a memory tape and reminisces about his late wife thinking “Magda… my late wife. I’d almost forgotten how beautiful you were… How deeply it hurt when you ran away from me.”

This reveals him to the reader as the father of Wanda and Pietro.

1980

October

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #138 “Elegy” by Chris Claremont and John Byrne

Polaris is once again mentioned as not being the daughter of Magneto.

1981

January

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #141 “Days of Future Past” by Chris Claremont and John Byrne

In a far distant possible future Magneto is revealed to be working with the X-Men after mutants face genocide and persecution.

Magneto’s name is revealed to be Magnus for the first time, no last name is given.

August

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #148 “Cry, Mutant!” by Chris Claremont

Magneto meets Cyclops’ (Scott Summers) girlfriend, Aleytys “Lee” Forrester, for the first time on his island base in the Bermuda Triangle.

September

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #149 “And the Dead Shall Bury the Living” by Chris Claremont

Charles Xavier reveals that Magneto is “Caucasian, probably Nordic.”

Charles reflects that Magneto was “the first ‘evil’ mutant the X-Men fought.” (The use of quotes around the word evil is intentional to suggest that Magneto is not really evil)

Charles thinks that “Magneto and I are uncomfortably alike.”

October

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #150 “I, Magneto” by Chris Claremont

Magneto learns of Jean Grey’s death and says that he grieves for her. He states “I know… something of grief. Search throughout my homeland, you will find none who bear my name. Mine was a large family, and it was slaughtered.”

Magneto speaks to the crew of the Soviet submarine Leningrad in Russian.

Magneto keeps his computer programming book written in a language neither Kitty nor Storm (Ororo Munroe) can read.

Later, after a fateful confrontation with the X-Men, Magneto thinks he’s killed Kitty Pryde. He is gripped with remorse saying “What have I done?!” and “Why did you not understand? Magda – my beloved wife – did not understand. When she saw me use my powers, she ran from me in terror. It did not matter that I was defending her… that I was avenging our murdered daughter. I swore then that I would not rest ‘til I had created a world where my kind – mutants – could live free and safe and unafraid. Where such as you, little one could be happy. Instead I have slain you. I remember my own childhood – the gas chambers as Auschwitz, the guards joking as they herded my family to their death. As our lives were nothing to them, so human lives became nothing to me.” (This is the first time Anya is mentioned even if she is not yet named, as well as the first time that Magneto is mentioned to be a Holocaust and Auschwitz survivor.)

Storm tells Magneto to pray to his deity as she intends to kill him for hurting Kitty. Magneto replies “As a boy, I believed. As a boy, I turned my back on God forever.”

When Storm suggests that his good dreams have been corrupted, Magneto insists that he is too old to change and has lived with his hatred too long.

Afterward, Charles offers that Magneto “Will emerge from this crucible the good man he once was and may yet be again.”

1982

September

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #161 “Gold Rush” by Chris Claremont

The narrative tells us the following took place twenty years ago placing these events around 1962.

Charles recalls meeting Magneto long ago in Israel when he went there to help treat Holocaust survivors.

Magneto is a volunteer at the hospital where Charles is working.

Magneto is introduced as Magnus, no last name is given.

Magneto reveals that he grew up in Auschwitz and states that “I have no family, Dr. Xavier. Anymore.”

The Auschwitz prisoner number tattooed on Magneto’s arm is revealed to be 214782.

The doctor Charles is working with says most of the volunteers were concentration camp survivors who “bring a degree of empathy to their work that the rest of us can’t match.”

Charles and Magneto grow close during their time together despite different views on the future of humans and mutants.

They also become close with Charles’ patient, Gaby Haller who is suffering severe psychic trauma from her experiences during the Holocaust.

Charles eventually comes to realize that “in many ways, Magnus has been as deeply scarred by his experiences as Gaby.”

Charles and Gaby start dating.

Eventually Charles and Magneto reveal to each other that they are mutants.

Charles and Magneto go to Kenya to rescue Gaby, who has been kidnapped by Hydra.

Magneto tells the Hydra leader, Baron Strucker, “You will find me considerably harder to slay than your countrymen did my family at Auschwitz.” and “Unfortunately, my power did not manifest itself ‘til I reached adulthood. By then the war was over. But had I possessed it in the camps, butcher, the tyranny of your Third Reich would have been ended overnight!”

They rescue Gaby and part ways still ultimately disagreeing about means and ends because of the violent methods Magneto used against Hydra.

Magneto flies off with an enormous stash of Nazi gold plundered from Hydra.

Until he disguises himself as Hydra, Magneto only wears white throughout the issue.

December

Marvel Graphic Novel #5 “X-Men: God Loves, Man Kills” by Chris Claremont

(This story is a stand-alone story, it doesn’t really get mentioned in the regular Uncanny X-Men timeline or referenced anywhere else, unlike the Dazzler graphic novel published in the same line. That does not necessarily mean it is out of continuity, just that it doesn’t ever get called back to during Claremont’s further writing.)

Magneto joins forces with the X-Men to save Charles from Reverend Stryker and prevent his anti-mutant genocide. He tells Cyclops “I am not your enemy, X-Men, nor do I consider you mine.”

Cyclops presses Magneto about his plan to become world dictator and Magneto replies “I have lived under a dictatorship… and seen my family butchered by its servants. When I rule, it will be for the betterment of all.” Cyclops asks who takes over after Magneto dies, Magneto responds “You, of course, Cyclops. And the X-Men. Why do you think I want you by my side?”

Charles refers to Magneto as Magnus.

Magneto asks Charles to join him and his cause after they defeat Stryker, and though tempted, Charles ultimately refuses holding on to his dream of human/mutant integration.

Magneto parts ways with the X-Men despite them asking him to stay.

1983

February

Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1982) #4 “Please Allow Me to Introduce Myself…!” by Bill Mantlo

Magneto discovers what happened to Magda after she left him and finds out that he is Wanda and Pietro’s father.

Magda’s fate is more vague in this telling, saying only that she “fled into the night” without the implication that Magda wanted to die.

Magneto reveals this information to Wanda and Pietro. He meets Pietro’s daughter, his granddaughter, Luna.

Magneto asks Pietro and Wanda to accept him into their lives.

1984

May

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984) #1 “The War Begins” by Jim Shooter

(Though the Secret Wars story line continues to be published after this date, the event ends and the regular in-universe timeline resumes with Uncanny X-Men #181 published in May 1984.)

When the Beyonder transports heroes and villains to a far away planet to fight each other, Magneto is placed among the heroes.

The other non-mutant heroes are leery of Magneto so Magneto decides to leave and solve their predicament by himself.

July

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984) #3 “Tempest Without, Crisis Within!” by Jim Shooter

Magneto captures Wasp (Janet Van Dyne) and brings her to his headquarters in hopes of convincing her to join forces with him

Wasp, addresses Magneto as Magnus.

Magneto and Wasp have sex.

August

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984) #4 “Situation: Hopeless” by Jim Shooter

The X-Men leave the other heroes and join Magneto to try and end the situation they were brought into.

November

The New Mutants (1983) #21 “Slumber Party!” by Chris Claremont

When Warlock falls from space he crashes into Asteroid M. Magneto attempts to create a force field to protect Asteroid M but is unable to do so. Asteroid M is destroyed and Magneto is apparently knocked to Earth from space.

December

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #188 “Legacy of the Lost” by Chris Claremont

Lee Forrester finds Magneto injured and floating in the water near the center of the Bermuda Triangle. She fights off a shark and brings him aboard her boat.

1985

January

New Mutants (1983) #23 “Shadowman” by Chris Claremont

Magneto insists on leaving the hospital and going back to his island base in the Bermuda Triangle.

Lee and Magneto journey there alone on Lee’s boat.

Magneto is seasick the entire way there.

On the island Lee challenges Magneto on his anti-human stances.

February

New Mutants (1983) #24 “Hollow Heart” by Chris Claremont

Magneto apologizes to Lee for being rude to her and compliments her appearance.

Lee begins to see Magneto in a new light.

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984) #10 “Death to the Beyonder!” by Jim Shooter

Magneto is tempted to join forces with Doctor Doom, who the narrative implies is using some sort of power to sway Magneto to his side. Magneto “Reaches out to grasp Doom’s spectral hand – but then, he hesitates. His eyes find Xavier’s, and for an endless split-second, he trembles on the brink…”

April

New Mutants (1983) #26 “Legion” by Chris Claremont

Lee is awakened by Magneto having a bad dream, he is making noise and screaming.

Magneto is using his powers in his sleep and speaking in a language Lee doesn’t know.

She wakes Magneto before he causes himself harm and he is grateful to her for saving his life.

Magneto tells Lee that he was dreaming of “a time and place I thought forever… buried.” Lee says she’s never heard such desolation in his voice. Magneto replies “Death. Resurrection. I’d have died tonight, I think, if not for you. Twice now, I owe you my life.”

Magneto and Lee have sex.

Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars (1984) #12 “...Nothing to Fear...” by Jim Shooter

It is reveled that the Beyonder placed Magneto in the hero team because “His desires seemed like theirs.”

June

New Mutants (1983) #28 “Soulwar” by Chris Claremont

Lee has second thoughts about Magneto the morning after.

Magneto brings her breakfast the next morning, complete with a rose.

Magneto uses his powers to prevent Lee from leaving their conversation and this frightens her.

Magneto pleads with her to give him a chance. He tells Lee how Magda left him after learning he was a mutant. “My wife, Magda, had such a look on her face – I had saved us both from a marauding patrol of secret police, yet all she saw was that I had used super-powers to do it. In that moment, I became different – our love meant nothing. I was no longer human. I was a mutant, a thing. She ran from me, in terror. I never saw her again. Never knew – until much later, far too late – that she had borne my children. Don’t – please Lee, don’t you run from me, too. I cannot bear to be alone and I am sick at heart at the realization of what I have become. Help me, Lee, I… beg you. I need you.” (In this telling there is no mention of Anya, only a reference to the twins – Wanda and Pietro)

Lee refuses Magneto leaving him brokenhearted.

July

New Mutants (1983) #29 “Meanwhile, Back at the Mansion” by Chris Claremont

Lee has time to reflect and realizes she does have feelings for Magneto. She confesses her feelings for him and they reconcile.

Magneto apologizes for using his powers in a high-handed way and promises to do better.

Charles asks Magneto to lead the X-Men and the New Mutants against the Beyonder.

Secret Wars II (1985) #1 “Earthfall!” by Jim Shooter

Magneto rallies the X-Men and the New Mutants to fight the Beyonder, and as the Blackbird is out of service, Magneto uses his powers to fly the Xavier institute limousine from New York to California.

August

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #196 “What was That?!!” by Chris Claremont

Magneto is brought into the X-Men fold.

Magneto dissuades Rachel Summers from killing an anti-mutant extremest demonstrating his full acceptance of doing things the Xavier way.

Magneto states that “My children have disowned me.” Referring to Wanda and Pietro.

Magneto draws a parallel between himself and Rachel Summers saying that he “Like Rachel… has dwelled too long in the valley of the shadow of death. In too many tragic ways, we are kindred souls – survivors of the holocaust, children of the abyss.”

Kitty remarks that Magneto has the makings of a hero and Magneto replies “No. I am no hero, merely a man… who has seen and done and endured what can never be forgotten… or forgiven.”

November

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #199 “The Spiral Path” by Chris Claremont

Magneto and Kitty attend a reception at the National Holocaust Center in Washington, D.C.

Kitty asks those in attendance if they have any news of her great-aunt Chava who lived in Warsaw before the war.

Magneto reveals that he knew Kitty’s aunt at Auschwitz. He also runs into some friends, other survivors who were at Auschwitz with him. They remark that Magneto helped to save them, and many others. (One could read this conversation as implying Magneto was Polish by nationality)

Magneto’s friends state that he had been in Auschwitz “from the very start.”

Neither of his friends use his name during the conversation.

Mystique and the Freedom Force arrest Magneto for the US Government. Magneto surrenders himself into their custody.

December

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #200 “The Trial of Magneto” by Chris Claremont

Magneto is put on trial before the World Court.

Gaby Haller acts as his defense attorney.

She argues that Magneto should only be judged for actions undertaken after his rebirth from infancy.

She reveals that Magneto was an inmate in Auschwitz “as an adolescent.”

Magneto is revealed to be, biologically, only in his early thirties.

The proceedings are interrupted by an attack. Charles and Magneto end up away from the court.

Charles entrusts the running of his institute and the keeping of his dream to Magneto telling him not to return to court to be martyred. Charles is then beamed aboard a spaceship for urgent medical care.

1986

January

New Mutants (1983) #35 “The Times, They Are A’changin’!” by Chris Claremont

Magneto takes up his post as the headmaster of the Xavier Institute. Magneto tells the New Mutants he is doing this to “honor that friendship” he has with Charles.

The New Mutants are skeptical of Magneto, but Magneto asks them to give him a chance. He says that both he and Charles view this as a way of “putting things right” after all the evil he has done in his life.

Magneto has doubts about his ability to run the institute.

Magneto wishes Lee were with him, but she’s running her ship. Magneto misses her which surprises him because Magneto “thought I was beyond such caring.”

Lee wrote Magneto a letter telling him that she loved him and calling him darling.

Mirage (Dani Moonstar) is attacked on her way home from town and once Mirage is safe, Magneto finds the attackers. He destroys their house and threatens “Once, with far less cause, I would quite cheerfully have slain you – rent your bodies limb from limb as easily as I did your house. Indeed, I am sorely tempted. The world would not miss such as you. But I am older, a littler sadder – and I hope, wiser. I have learned a better way.” and “Mine is the power to destroy – but I choose not to. Profit from my example. The evil you do others returns unto you a thousandfold – it scars both body and, far worse, soul. Continue down this cruel and bloody road you’ve chosen and one day, you’re certain to meet one not as forgiving as I. Is that what you want? The choice, as ever, remains your own.”

Mirage’s attackers turn themselves into the police.

February

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #202 “X-Men, I’ve Gone to Kill the Beyonder!” by Chris Claremont

Magneto uses Cerebro.

March

Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #6 “No Strings Attached!” by Steve Englehart

Wanda invites Magneto to her thanksgiving dinner but ultimately tells him that he will have to prove himself before she’ll accept him into her life.

Magneto takes responsibility for being a bad father. (the author doesn’t write consistently on if Magneto knew he was the twins’ father or not, he also doesn’t seem to care if Pietro has any hard feelings about Magneto, Wanda is the only one who counts. Also, he has Magneto call pregnant Wanda hysterical for no reason, just fyi.)

April

New Mutants (1983) #38 “Aftermath!” by Chris Claremont

The New Mutants are collectively dealing with psychic shock after their meeting with the Beyonder. This includes nightly collective nightmares for the students and Magneto.

Magneto has doubts about his ability to help the students recover.

Emma Frost offers that Magneto should send the children to her Massachusetts Academy where she can use her powers to help them.

Magneto meets the Salem Center High principal Analie Hogarth. Magneto reveals that he is posing as Charles’ “mysterious older cousin” and going under the alias Michael Xavier, an identity Charles created for him.

One of Emma’s students, a Hellion named Empath (Manuel de la Rocha) is revealed to the reader as having manipulated Magneto to feel lost and confused.

Magneto tries throughout the issue to help the New Mutants, but nothing works. He finally agrees to Emma’s offer.

May

New Mutants (1983) #39 “Pawns of the White Queen” by Chris Claremont

Magneto goes into a spiral after sending the majority of the New Mutants away to Emma’s school, Mirage and Warlock being the only students who didn’t go. Mirage criticizes Magneto for not doing more before leaving to go back to her family.

Magneto swims.

Magneto shaves with a straight razor.

Magneto learns that he was manipulated into letting the New Mutants go to Emma’s school. Magneto proclaims Emma “Will learn – very soon and to her eternal sorrow – the Magneto is not a man… to have as one’s enemy!”

Emma alerts the police, telling them that Magneto is attempting to abduct her students knowing that the Avenger’s will try and stop him.

June

New Mutants (1983) #40 “Avengers Assemble!” by Chris Claremont

The Avengers are told Magneto is going to abduct children, all of them assume Magneto has gone bad again and wants to use the children to reboot the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants with younger, more malleable minds.

Magneto has a conversation with Warlock reminding him to never take someone’s “lifeglow” aka their life force which would kill them.

The Avengers battle Magneto who tries to keep Warlock safe and not harm the Avengers. He attempts to explain himself but the Avengers refuse to listen. Captain America tells Magneto of Namor’s heroism during WWII, Magneto replies saying “How fortunate for him, Captain. At the time, I was but a victim of that self-same tyranny. Then, I lacked the strength to win my freedom – and save the lives of those I held dear – but Never Again!” Magneto insists that he has “learned a better way” and is no longer a villain.

The New Mutants rally together and come to Magneto’s aid giving Captain America pause to reflect that the Avengers have welcomed other reformed villains, why shouldn’t they also welcome Magneto.

Magneto and Emma work together to heal the New Mutants’ psychic shock. Emma “made their minds whole… but not their hearts, or souls. Now, at last, with their teachers’ help and support, they have faced their nightmares… and dealt with them… each in their own way.” Emma remarks that Magneto was able to reach the New Mutants on a deeper level which made a “crucial difference.”

September

Vision and the Scarlet Witch (1985) #12 “Double Size Climax!” by Steve Englehart

Magneto is invited to welcome Wanda and her twins home from the hospital after she gives birth.

October

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #210 “The Morning After” by Chris Claremont

Magneto is invited to take the place of the White King in the Hellfire Club.

November

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #211 “Massacre” by Chris Claremont

Magneto chides Kitty for eating junk food and tells her “Just don’t make a habit of such behavior.”

The X-Men discover that the Morlocks have been massacred. Magneto says “No! The horrors of my childhood, born again – only this time, mutants are the victims, instead of Jews.”

December

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #212 “The Last Run” by Chris Claremont

Magneto uses his powers to heal Colossus from grave injuries. The narrative states Magneto “Has taken life so often – brought harm so easily it became almost second nature. Now he has a chance to heal. He will die himself before he fails.”

1987

January

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #213 “Psylocke” by Chris Claremont

Magneto informs the X-Men that he intends to join forces with the Hellfire Club and have the X-Men work alongside the Hellfire Club against the Marauders. The X-Men agree.

New Mutants (1983) #47 “My Heart for the Highlands” by Chris Claremont

While dealing with the aftermath of the Morlock attack, Magneto urges Moira to eat and prepares a meal for the two of them to share, complete with full place settings and candelabra.

Magneto tells Moira “I have lived my whole life with despair, Moira, believing the worst of humanity. But since becoming headmaster of Xavier’s – more especially, by knowing the New Mutants – I have learned… the virtue and power of hope. This is a lesson I will not easily cast aside.”

February

Fantastic Four vs. the X-Men (1987) #1 “Are You Sure?!” by Chris Claremont

(This miniseries dovetails into the regular Uncanny X-Men timeline and even though it runs concurrently with the similarly titled “The X-Men vs. the Avengers (1987)” these stories are not overlapping timeline wise and the events of the Fantastic Four miniseries only makes sense to have concluded before the Avengers miniseries begins.)

Kitty is in need of high tech medical care to resolidify herself after being stuck in a permanent phase. Without help she will eventually dissipate. Magneto goes to seek help from Reed Richards.

The Fantastic Four are suspicious of Magneto but agree to help.

Upon arriving at Moira’s Muir Island research facility, Reed has second thoughts and declines to help for fear he could outright kill Kitty accidentally. Magneto insists that he at least try and even attempts to steal Richards’ machine to use it himself, but the Fantastic Four thwart this plan and the X-Men are left without hope for Kitty.

New Mutants (1983) #48 “Ashes of the Heart” by Chris Claremont

Magneto is alone at the Mansion, the New Mutants having disappeared and by many are presumed dead.

Magneto goes through each New Mutant’s room and tidies it with the help of little robots he calls widgets.

Stevie Hunter, the school PE teacher, tells Magneto he should give up and face reality that the New Mutants are dead. Magneto tells her “I’ve come to know these children, and… care for them. Whatever I was, Stevie – whatever I become – they mean too much to me… to abandon them.”

March

Fantastic Four vs. the X-Men (1987) #2 “Truth and Consequences” by Chris Claremont

Magneto and the X-Men turn to Doctor Doom for help to save Kitty.

New Mutants (1983) #49 “Ashes of the Soul” by Chris Claremont

Magneto has a dream of when his family was killed by the German death squads known as the Einsatzgruppen.

It is spring time. A small group of people are gathered in front of a pit in the countryside.

Magneto is depicted as a young, black-haired boy, perhaps 10 years old, wearing short pants and long socks.

Magneto’s sister appears to be two or three years older than him.

German soldiers fire at the group of people killing all save Magneto. Without understanding what happens, Magneto’s powers manifest enough to spare him from death, “His mind burns, power he never dreamed existed coming alive.”

He is buried with his family and the rest of the victims, but since he did not die he climbs out of the pit.

Magneto is depicted breaking through the earth to the shock of the German soldiers. Magneto’s black hair has turned white.

Magneto wakes from his memory-dream thinking “So long ago, so far away. Yet the memories are still vivid. Every detail, etched with acid. My power – my mastery over magnetism – first manifested itself that morning. It saved me, why wouldn’t it do the same for those I loved?! The Germans were so astonished by my survival, the decided to spare my life. I was sent instead to a concentration camp. Auschwitz. Sometimes, I wish I hadn’t struggled so hard.”

Magneto wonders if his dream is a harbinger of mutantkind’s eventual fate.

Magneto is still undecided about joining the Hellfire Club thinking “If we stand alone, we could be destroyed. If I accept this alliance… we could be destroyed! The choice is mine – the responsibility is mine – but I don’t know what to do!”

April

The X-Men vs. the Avengers (1987) #1 “Justice for All” by Roger Stern

The Avengers track down Magneto and insist they’re going to bring him back before the World Court and end his trail properly.

(Jim Shooter is fired as Editor in Chief from Marvel Comics this month leading to several years of corporate fuckery that resulted in erasing all of Magneto’s character development and pivoting him back to being an antagonist by the 90’s)

May

New Mutants (1983) #51 “Teacher’s Choice” by Chris Claremont

Magneto and Storm work together to repair a failing breakwater and save a human community from a hurricane.

Storm urges Magneto to accept the position of White King in the Hellfire Club.

Magneto refers to his helmet as a symbol of his past life as a super-villain.

Magneto and Storm jointly accept the role of White King.

June

Fantastic Four vs. the X-Men (1987) #4 “A Matter of Faith” by Chris Claremont

Magneto confides in Storm his feelings of helplessness to do anything to save Kitty. He reflects on his past saying “Roughly five hundred miles in that direction is Auschwitz – the Nazi death camp – where my parents and sister were murdered. I should have died with them. And due west from Latveria is the Soviet city of Vinnitsa. There was a fire. I was injured saving my wife. My daughter remained trapped in the burning building. She was much like Kitty, my Anya. The most beautiful of children – two years old, Ororo, and she never cried. She only laughed – with wonder and joy – as though life was some magnificent adventure, staged for her alone.” (There is some contradiction between this telling and the others, some of the details change as ideas are developed even though the story remains wholly the same.)

He goes on to say “She burned, Storm! My power was weaker then. I used it to save my wife, but couldn’t reach Anya. A crowd had gathered. I begged for help. They refused me. They saw I was a mutant and some called for me to be hurled into the same flames that consumed my child. Too late – in rage and a grief that ravages me still – I came at last to my birthright: the absolute control over the forces and manifestations of magnetism that is the power of… Magneto! Magda… was so terrified of my power… and how I wielded it… that she fled from me. How different, I wonder, would the pathway of my life have been if she had not? In that awful moment, Storm, I lost everything.” (This telling of the story does not include the secret police)

Magneto tells Storm that he feels he is forever haunted by his past saying that people insist on seeing him as a villain even though he’s changed. He reflects that maybe he should have gone back to finish his trial.

Reed Richards finally comes to help them save Kitty and later Magneto and Richards make peace with each other.

July

The X-Men vs. the Avengers (1987) #4 “Day of Judgment” by Tom DeFalco

Magneto surrenders himself to the Avengers and agrees to finish his trial before the World Court.

Gaby Haller once again acts as his defense attorney.

Magneto uses his helmet and advanced technology circuits to influence the chief justice to rule in his favor. It is unclear, however, if he actually was able to influence the judge or if the judge ruled in Magneto’s favor of his own volition. The court declares it has no jurisdiction over Magneto.

Marvel Fanfare #33 “Shadows on the Soul” by Chris Claremont

(This story originally written for a different series but never released until 1987.)

Magneto and Lee are together and confess their feelings for each other.

Magneto calls the X-Men his friends.

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #219 “Where Duty Lies” by Chris Claremont

It is revealed that Magneto has publicly assumed the identity as a cousin of Charles’ who also bears the last name Xavier.

August

Classic X-Men (1986) #12 by Chris Claremont

(Classic X-Men reprinted earlier Claremont X-Men stories but added new material (sometimes individual pages, sometimes additional short stories) to fill out the issue and tie into current comic continuity. Claremont wrote both the original X-Men issue that was being reprinted and the new material that was added.)

(New material that takes place directly after Uncanny X-Men (1963) #104)

Magneto is asleep not long after being resurrected by Eric the Red. He is dreaming “As always, the dream begins with Auschwitz… and Magda. More than a million people died in this camp. And with World War II ending – the Third Reich defeated – it’s guards wanted no witnesses left… to tell the tale of this horror.”

Magneto prevents a camp guard from killing Magda, then takes the guard’s gun and runs away with Magda.

Magneto is said to have “been here from the start… grown to manhood within its electrified barbed wire fence. If he was to die, it would not be in this abattoir… and not without a fight!”

Magneto and Magda run into the wilderness, eventually escaping into the Carpathian Mountains where they eventually settle and begin to build a life together. The page shows Magneto felling a tree, learning woodworking, studying, Magneto socializing with friends at a dinner table, getting married to Magda and cuddling his wife and newborn daughter, Anya.

Magneto is described as having “an insatiable hunger for knowledge, coupled with a wildfire intelligence” so eventually “he bade the village farewell and took his family eastward, into the Soviet Union, hoping to win a place at university” (This suggests that Magneto was living in a village in the Polish side of the Carpathians)

Magneto, Magda and Anya come to the “city of Vinnitsa, the biggest they’d ever seen.” (This suggests that Magneto and Magda came from a rural village or town before being sent to Auschwitz)

Magneto leaves his wife and daughter to go find work.

Anya is depicted as a child between 4-6 years old.

Magneto’s powers first manifest when he has a disagreement with another man. Magneto realizes the powers come from himself and isn’t sure what to make of it.

Magneto returns to the inn where he and his family are staying since this is their first day in the city. The inn is on fire and Anya is trapped on the second floor of the building.

Magda is in the building trying to save their daughter, Magneto uses his powers to get her to safety.

Magneto curses in Russian.

Magneto attempts to get to Anya but is prevented by secret police who are trying to arrest him for his earlier disagreement.

Anya dies in the fire, Magneto’s powers break loose killing those around him save for Magda.

Magda is terrified by what she just witnessed and runs away from Magneto.

Magneto wakes from his dream and uses his powers to save a nearby mother and child from a fire.

Magneto speaks French.

1988

January

New Mutants Annual (1984) #4 “Mind Games” by Louise Simonson

Magneto lectures Sunspot (Roberto da Costa) that the new Mutant Registration Act presents a real danger to all mutants. He states “There are diverse elements in the government who are eager to locate us mutants… in part through their Mutant Registration Act. Some of them would use us. The others would destroy us. I have staked my life that they will do neither.”

New Mutants (1983) #59 “Fang and Claw!” by Louise Simonson

Magneto is overjoyed when Sunspot and Warlock return from an absence.

A villain pulls up a file on the New Mutants showing their images and listing everyone’s name, code-name and powers. Magneto’s profile lists him as “Magnus, Magneto, Master of Magnetism, School’s Headmaster” no last name is given.

February

Classic X-Men (1986) #18 by Chris Claremont

(Additional material to Uncanny X-Men (1963) #112)

Storm reflects on when Magneto was turned into an infant, thinking “He returned completely to a state of grace.”

March

(The X-Men are presumed dead after the events of Uncanny X-Men #227)

New Mutants (1983) #61 “Our Way!” by Louise Simonson

Magneto discovers one of the New Mutants, Cypher (Doug Ramsey) has been murdered after a misadventure. Magneto lashes out at the New Mutants for not protecting Doug and for disobeying him. Everyone is deeply upset.

Magneto goes to the infirmary where Doug’s body is laying. He pulls back the sheet covering Doug and looks at the boy thinking “Curse you Charles Xavier, for putting me in this position! I have no rapport with these children. Observe the bitter fruit of my labors!” Magneto kneels at the side of the table where Doug lays and weeps over his body. “An ill wind is coming… they are registering mutants like the once registered my people in Poland…! Who knows what horrors await us. But they are only children. How can they possibly understand… any of this.” (This suggests Magneto is Polish by birth)

Classic X-Men (1986) #19 by Chris Claremont

(Additional material to Uncanny X-Men (1963) #113)

Magneto is described thusly: “His wealth places him far beyond the dreams of avarice. And he numbers some of the finest minds on Earth among his acquaintances. The one facet of his personality that has not changed throughout the decades is his love of learning coupled with an insatiable curiosity about the universe.”

Magneto is a regular correspondent with Stephen Hawking.

Magneto is seen working with advanced scientific equipment making discoveries capable of revolutionizing particle physics and would qualify him for a Nobel prize.

Magneto remembers that Magda used to find him studying long hours to the point that he’d “forgotten food, and sleep, and even her.”

Magneto shaves with an electric razor.

Magneto thinks about Magda and Anya thinking since his resurrection he’s never been stronger or more haunted.

Magneto wonders if Magda is still alive and if she recognizes the famous “evil mutant” as her former husband.

Magneto describes Charles as his dearest friend.

(New material presented in the form of a backflash that takes place at some point after the Uncanny X-Men (1963) #161 story which details Charles and Magneto meeting for the first time. This story suggests that these events take place shortly before Uncanny X-Men #1 when the X-Men face Magneto for the first time in 1963.)

Magneto single-handedly takes out a secret Nazi base in South America and captures Oberstrumbanführer Hans Richter to be taken back to Israel and be put on trial.

After using his powers, Magneto suffers from debilitating psychic pain “Worse than the bite of the kapo’s whip, the murder of parents and family. The death of a child. The loss of a beloved wife. It passes quickly leaving him alive – and almost wishing he wasn’t.” Magneto observes that “These seizures strike now whenever I use my powers. More extreme my usage, more debilitating the attack.”

Magneto reports of the captured Nazi to a group called only “Control” (This seems to be a stand in for a Mossod style organization.)

Two weeks later, in Rio de Janiero, Magneto reads an article about Charles Xavier and wonders if he shouldn’t reconnect with him and seek help for his psychic attacks.

A woman in a bikini and sarong approaches Magneto asking why he’s dressed so formally in a suit and tie at a beach front cafe. Magneto replies “This, I’m afraid, is as uninhibited as I get.”

The woman turns out to be Magneto’s lover Isabelle, no last name is given.

Magneto recounts to Isabelle about how Anya died and Magda left him.

Control did not want Richter captured as he was a useful informant, so they send a squad to kill Isabelle and Magneto. They succeed in slaying Isabelle, but Magneto uses his powers to fight against them.

Magneto looks on Isabelle’s body completely disillusioned with humanity. The reader is told that “the dream dies… and the nightmare is born.”

June

New Mutants (1983) #64 “Instant Replay!” by Louise Simonson

Magneto is disgusted with himself after being forced to lie about the circumstances of Cypher’s death. He tells the New Mutants “It’s wrong. His parents have the right to know the truth about their son… about the way he died. But I feel that it would be dangerous to reveal ourselves as mutants at this time.”

August

New Mutants (1983) #66 “Sorcerer’s Duel!” by Louise Simonson

Magneto is seen in his old purple and red villain costume for the first time since Uncanny X-Men #188 and Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars #12. This seems to be the start of Magneto’s corporate mandated pivot back to being an antagonist.

November

New Mutants (1983) #69 “Bad Company” by Louise Simonson

Magneto, dressed once more in his traditional red and purple outfit, holds his helmet in his hands as he says “All I have ever wanted for mutantkind is peace and prosperity. I thought I had found a better way to achieve my goal… and eschewed my old, violent ways. I had hoped to find solace as teacher and protector of the young. But they refuse to be safeguarded, if they are on Earth, I will find them… and protect them actively in the way that I know best.” Magneto puts his helmet on.

1989

April

New Mutants (1983) #74 “The Right Stuff�� by Louise Simonson

Shaw blames Magneto for damages to New York City caused by Magick’s (Illyana Rasputin) Limbo demons.

Magneto and Sebastian Shaw fight each other briefly, Magneto accuses Shaw of not caring for mutantkind.

Later, Magneto talks to Emma and suggests that Shaw was right to blame him.

May

New Mutants (1983) #75 “King of the Hill!” by Louise Simonson

Magneto fights with Shaw for control of the Hellfire Club.

Magneto comes out of the confrontation victorious and Shaw is expelled from the club.

Magneto and the New Mutants have a falling out and the New Mutants refuse to have anything more to do with him.

November

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #253 “Storm Warnings” by Chris Claremont

Magneto and Moira quarrel on Muir Island about him parting ways with the X-Men, the New Mutants and the Xavier Institute.

Magneto is convinced “There is a war coming, Moira. And you are a fool if you do not see it. We mutants cannot be wished away, we are here on this earth, more and more born every day. There are those who will accept us, and those who fear us and seek our destruction. And, worst of all, those like Genoshans… who desire to exploit us for their own power and profit. We must be strong enough – as a people – to survive without the sufferance of the one or the aggression of the others. I mean to ensure that. I must – because there is no one else.”

Magneto tells Banshee “I am sorry things have to end like this – but I suspect it’s for the best. Some roads are better traveled alone.”

Magneto leaves.

1990

October

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #269 “Rogue Redux” by Chris Claremont

Magneto intervenes to save Rogue’s life after she is reborn from another dimension without her mutant abilities. He attempts to return her to her previous strength and powers in his base in the Savage Lands.

1991

February

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #273 “Too Many Mutants” by Chris Claremont

Jean tells storm that she’s concerned Magneto is returning to his old ways.

March

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #274 “Crossroads” by Chris Claremont

Magneto narrates this issue: “All my life, I have been drawn to the wild and desolate places of the world. As a boy, I saw myself walking where no man ever had. Alone against the elements. The more I came to know of people… the more strongly that yearning dream spoke to me. As the fierce, unyielding emptiness without struck some resonant echo within my heart and soul. Yet for all of that… for all of life replete with it’s share and far more of rage and pain and suffering, as harshly given as endured… still I manage to find myself with allies. Who appear determined to stand by me, regardless. I wonder which are the greater fools: they for trying and trusting, or me for allowing it.”

Magneto is working with Ka-Zar and a depowered Rogue in the Savage Lands against the evil Zaladane.

When Rogue fights one of Zaladane’s goons, Magneto intervenes, thinking “I hear my daughter Anya scream as she burns before my eyes… hear Isabelle’s gasp of surprise as she is murdered… two I loved but were unable to save. Only avenge. It will not be that way with Rogue.”

Rogue presses Magneto to be merciful, saying “We’re the good guys, right?! We’re s’posed t’ stand for something better!” Magneto narrates “She actually believes that. Why can’t I? All I see is blood. That already spilled. That yet to be. I see my path so clearly. But I turn away.”

Magneto narrates “Later in my citadel, I reflect that ages ago – in what for me was another lifetime – I used my knowledge of genetics to mutate a band of swamp savages into super-powered beings. When they were no longer useful, I abandoned them to their fate, forgot their very existence. More of my past come back to haunt my present and threaten the future.” and in regards to his past as leader of the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants “It is a goal I once had, in those long-gone days of madness, when I was reviled and condemned as a super-villain” and then later “My life’s ambition has been to safeguard my fellow mutants. Zaladane has no such compunction. And I hear the echo of Der Führer’s voice in the radio of memory, smell the awful stench of the sick and dying as the cattle cars brought the condemned to Auschwitz. I wear red, the color of blood, in tribute to their lost lives. And the harder I try to cast it aside, to find a gentler path… the more irresistibly I’m drawn back. I should have died myself, with those I loved. Instead, I carted the bodies by the hundred by the thousands… from the death house to the crematorium… and the ashes to the burial ground. Asking now what I could not then – why was I spared?! To bring others the death that passed me by?”

Magneto narrates on Zaladane “The more I come to know of her… the more I find myself trapped in a mirror… staring at a distorted vision of myself. Sleep is a mistake. But I’m so weary this once I can’t resist. Any more than I can hold at bay… the nightmares that come along. Flowers. Scent of growing things. Joyful sounds of life. So clear. So crisp, after more than half a century. Someone sobs. My sister holds tight my hand. My father still cannot believe this is happening. I hear laughter. The guns blaze, and I’m falling with the others. Into darkness. Loamy earth smell tainted by the acrid burning of lime. All of us pressed so tight together, embracing eternity. So easy to give up. Lie in my grave. Breathe my last. But I fight!” (This recounts the events around Magneto's family's death depicted in The New Mutants #49)

Rogue wakes Magneto and they share a moment before being interrupted by Ka-Zar. Magneto thinks “Am I imagining the sudden spark between us. Leaving Rogue as shaken as I? Leave well enough alone. I am pledged to another. As much as one can pledge a heart full of ghosts.”

Magneto narrates “I cannot recall a point in my life when I did not fight. Nor any longer of a time when war held the slightest horror for me.”

Magneto’s group is aided by Nick Fury’s group which includes the father of one of the Soviet sailors killed my Magneto on the submarine Leningrad. Magneto narrates “Again, a cry from the past. One father to another, in anguished grief for a slain child. At the time, my actions seemed quite appropriate. The Leningrad had fired a salvo of nuclear ballistic missiles at me, so I sank her, with all hands. Thinking of that crew not as people, but merely an object lesson: how dare they defy me, threaten me, these Russians whose countrymen let my daughter burn to death? There is too much history and hate between us. I cannot talk to these men.”

April

Uncanny X-Men (1963) #274 “The Path Not Taken” by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee

The Russian colonel guns down Magneto leading to him being captured by Zaladane. The colonel joins Zaladane. Zaladane uses a machine to try and transfer Magneto’s powers to herself. Under the influence of the machine Magneto narrates “Try as I might, I cannot stop this. And worst of all, as my life is torn from me, turned into a sideshow entertainment for the Brainchild’s sadistic pleasure… with my strength devoted wholly to that struggle, I have nothing left to block my emotional responses to the memories themselves. Once more, I hear myself howl ‘til my voice shatters at the sight of my daughter, Anya, burning to death before my eyes. Once more, hot blood mixes with salt tears as my beloved Isabelle’s throat is cut by those I thought my trusted friends. Once more, rage flashes through me… hand in hand with a terror I’d not felt since Auschwitz… as at last I confront the Shadow King. Followed by sick shame at the awful cost of my survival.”

Zaladane leaves Magneto with her minions. Rogue and her team have infiltrated Zaladanes stronghold and once Magneto realizes they are there, he strikes the minions unexpectedly. Magneto narrates “They think me beaten, finished. A mistake many have made in the past. As I found the strength, as a boy, to survive being machine gunned and buried alive, and later the unimaginable horror of Auschwitz… so do I find it in me, here and now, to break free.”

Magneto narrates “The primal, paramount lesson of my life is that I can depend on no one save myself.”

Magneto fights against the Russian colonel saying “I am sorry for your son, colonel. Which is more than I ever heard… for the slaughter of those I loved.” Colonel Semyanov says “Your… daughter you mean? And that absolves you of any crime?” Magneto replies “I never said it did. For who we are, and what we have done, comrade colonel… we are both of us condemned.”

Rogue and Magneto argue over how he intends to deal with Zaladane. Magneto says “The New Mutants were left in my charge and they suffered for it – because I tried to pattern myself after Charles Xavier. I am not Charles Xavier. I will never be Charles Xavier. I was a fool to try. As he was, for believing I could succeed. My people are in danger – more so now than ever before – from the Hellfire Club and their accursed Shadow Kind, from foul creatures such as this, perhaps even from the very United Nations which Colonel Fury loyally serves. And a kinder, gentler Magneto cannot save them.”

October

X-Men (1991) #1 “Rubicon” by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee

Magneto has established a mutant haven on a new Asteroid M. World governments are wary of it and the X-Men are dispatched to discover what’s going on.

Magneto raises the submarine Leningrad (which he sank in Uncanny X-Men #150) from the sea floor. He finds some of the nuclear missiles the submarine was carrying are intact.

Inside the submarine, Magneto comes finds himself sitting among the bones of the Leningrad’s crew. “Now though, at last, he finds himself face to face with the consequence of his acts. And he remembers another time, other bodies, bones still coated with the flesh of family and friends, tossed into a lime-soaked pit and him along with them, only he was still alive. Somehow, he clawed his way to the surface.” (This again refers to the account of Magneto's family's death in The New Mutants #49)

Rogue tells Magneto that his actions are scaring people. Magneto says “I tried my best to change, I did my best to follow Xavier’s path to a peaceful co-existence between Homo Sapiens and Homo Sapiens Superior. And paid for that folly with the blood of innocents.”

Later on Asteroid M, Magneto ruminates on his latest conflict with the X-Men thinking of Wolverine in particular “For the brief time I worked with the X-Men, he accepted me wholeheartedly. If not as a friend, then at least as a comrade-in-arms. Why then has he turned on me? What has changed? Why must blood always come between me and others?” (Magneto has been working with the X-Men and the New Mutants since 1985)

Radical mutant acolytes that have decided to follow Magneto, led by Fabian Cortez, fight with the X-Men. Magneto puts a stop to it and says “All my life, I have seen people slaughtered wholesale for no more reason than the deity they worshipped, or the color of their skin – or the presence in their DNA of an extra, special gene. I cannot change the world but I can – and will – ensure that my race will never again suffer for its fear and prejudice. Henceforth, I declare Asteroid M a sovereign world. Home and haven to mutantkind. If you are born Homo Sapiens Superior, then you are automatically a citizen, entitled to safe haven above and security below. Even you X-Men – even your mentor, my old friend, Charles Xavier – are welcome here. But mark this and mark it well – harm done against any mutant is harm done to me. And I shall respond accordingly.”

November

X-Men (1991) #2 “Firestorm” by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee

Beast says that the Genoshans are changing for the better, and asks why Magneto is going in the opposite direction. Magneto says “You know that answer, Beast… you would have to live my life. And I would not wish such a fate, even on my most hated enemy.”

Magneto abducts Charles and Moira looking for answers about his genetic structure. Moira admits that she saw there was a genetic instability in Magneto’s genetic matrix, and she tried to stabilize it when he was an infant in her care.

Magneto is infuriated that Moira conducted genetic experimentation on him in an attempt to change who he was. He questions every decision he’s made since his rebirth.

Moira is apologetic, but Magneto’s anger is unabated. He tells her “I heard those same rationales as a boy, in the Auschwitz death camp, from Dr. Josef Mengele himself!”

December

X-Men (1991) #3 “Fallout” by Chris Claremont and Jim Lee

Moira reveals that the genetic experimentation she did on baby Magneto didn’t work.

Moira also points out that Cortez has been using his power to weaken Magneto.

Cortex flees Asteroid M and fires a shot at the complex that will kill all the inhabitants.

Charles and the X-Men prepare to leave in their spacecraft, but Magneto refuses to leave with them instead choosing to stay on the asteroid to preserve its integrity as long as possible using his powers. He tells Charles “My life was shaped by forces and events none of you can possibly understand. You speak to the best of humanity. I have endured the worst. You imagine the reality of the Holocaust, of the Nazi death camps. I grew up in one. Perhaps, as you say, I am tainted by blood and rage – and death. But perhaps as well, that blood and rage and death comprise the armor that will sustain me and those who stand by me through the ordeal to come. The past is prologue, old friend. And the future I behold for you is… war. We have already chosen our path.”

Asteroid M blows up just as the X-Men escape. Charles tells them all “At the last… he opened his thoughts to me. He is still the man I remember from younger, happier days – who was my friend – and yet… none of that matters anymore, does it? ‘I save you, X-Men,’ he said, ‘because that is my task in life: to safeguard my people – Homo Sapiens Superior – mutantkind – from those who would do us harm. And those forces are legion. In that and I suspect nothing else, Charles, we are much alike. I have survived one Holocaust, I could not tolerate another. Nor any who – by accident, by intent – act to bring it about. I bore no animus to you, old friend, or your students until you chose to oppose me. Then, I had no choice but to count you among my enemies. Have no illusions on that score. Perhaps it’s best it end this way, Charles. Best for my dream to end in flames and glory, here far above Earth… for if we were ever to meet again… I would have shown you no mercy. I give you your dream, Charles. But I fear, in time, your heart will break as you realize it has ever been a fool’s hope. Farewell, my friend.”

Chris Claremont was removed from the X-Men without explanation and left Marvel after this book. He had been writing for the X-Men for 17 years. To learn more about Chris Claremont and his work on the X-Men and the corporate fuckery that lead to him leaving watch the 2018 documentary Chris Claremont’s X-Men which is currently available free on YouTube.

If you feel like I’ve overlooked or left out an important issue from the 1963-1991 era, please contact me and let me know. I will update this list with more information if any comes to light.

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