#yeah i know the idea of someone working on the institution from the inside is futile

[infamous-light]

Captured Part VI

Dark! Wandanat x Villain/Mutant! F! Reader

Ch. 1 Ch. 2 Ch. 3 Ch. 4 Ch. 5

AO3: Captured

Summary: You and your mutant friends have been in hiding due to the havoc you all wreaked over the past few years. One day, you all decided to make your presence known and rob one of the largest federal reserve banks in the U.S.

Unfortunately, things did not go as planned for you.

Word count: 2.4K

Warnings: Allusion to non-con (it's not explicit), mind manipulation, kidnapping

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows through the broken windows of an abandoned rowhouse, you slouched in an old armchair, its once plush fabric now tattered and worn. Your fingers idly traced the frayed edges as you listened to the murmurs of your friends surrounding you.

To your left, Caleb paced back and forth, his footsteps echoing in the empty space. He ran a hand through his hair, the strands standing on end with static. Wes leaned against the back wall, idly flipping a switchblade open and closed.

Aria sat cross-legged on the floor nearby, her fingers flying across the keys of her laptop, the screen casting a faint glow on her face. Ellie stood by one of the windows, peering out into the darkening neighborhood, her expression unreadable.

“We need a lot of cash, and we need it fast,” Caleb muttered, rubbing his temples in frustration. “We've got debts to some dangerous people, and you know they're not the patient type.”

Wes nodded solemnly. “We could always hit up another drug stash.”

Ellie shook her head. “We've hit up every dealer in Baltimore already. We need something bigger. Something that can last us long term.”

“True. I guess we can't keep relying on small-time gigs.” Wes added, his brow furrowing in contemplation.

The air grew heavy with desperation as everyone racked their brains for a solution. And then, like a beacon of hope in the darkness, Caleb's suggestion cut through the silence.

“What about the Federal Reserve Bank in New York?” He said, his voice tinged with excitement.

Your heart skipped a beat as the weight of his proposal sank in. The Federal Reserve Bank. One of the most heavily guarded institutions in New York City.

Your eyebrows rose as you glanced at Caleb. “The Fed? Seriously?”

“Yeah, think about it,” Ellie chimed in. “All that money just sitting there, waiting for someone to take it.”

“Hold on just a moment,” Aria interjected. “The federal reserve doesn’t actually hold cash.”

A collective sigh rippled through the group, and Caleb threw his hands in the air in frustration.

“Well, there goes my idea.” He grumbled.

Aria held up a hand, her eyes gleaming with a mischievous glint. “But it does hold something far better. Gold bars. Thousands of them.”

That revelation sparked a renewed fervor among everyone.

“We'd just need a solid plan,” you said cautiously, trying to sound practical despite the excitement building inside of you. “If we manage to pull this off, we have to leave the country as soon as possible. We'll need to lay low for a couple of years again. Is that a risk we're all willing to take?”

The weight of your words hung heavy in the stale air of the building. But the lure of the heist, the promise of freedom and wealth, overshadowed any doubts.

“What places are you thinking of?” Wes asked.

“Well, we could stay in Belarus or Slovakia for a start and then go from there.” You replied, giving him a half shrug.

Aria nodded thoughtfully; her expression serious as she considered the logistics. “Yeah, those countries could work. We'd need a safe house, somewhere off the grid.”

You leaned back into the armchair, its worn upholstery creaking beneath you, and gave your friends a grin.

“So, let's hear it then. How do you propose we pull off the heist of the century?”

***

You stirred from your slumber, feeling the gentle sway of someone shaking your shoulder. Slowly, you blinked your eyes open to see Wanda leaning over you with a smile. She was wearing a flowing sundress, the fabric rustling around her as she shifted on her feet.

“Wake up, darling.” Wanda whispered, her voice a soothing melody that pulled you from the depths of sleep.

Groggily, you stretched and yawned. As your senses came back to life, you realized you had dozed off on the couch, the television playing an ad in the background. Wanda leaned in a little closer, her warm breath brushing against your cheek.

“It's almost dinner time,” she said. “Are you hungry? Would you like us to fix you something to eat?”

You nodded mechanically, more out of habit than genuine hunger. Your gaze drifted past Wanda's shoulder to the clock on the wall. Its hands moved steadily, showing the time to be 4:50 PM.

With a small sigh, you realized how much of the day has already slipped by unnoticed.

“I think I'll go take a shower.” You murmured.

The words were heavy on your tongue as you pushed yourself up from the couch. Wanda nodded understandingly, her expression warm and patient as she gave you space to gather yourself.

“Of course, take your time.” Her gaze lingered on you for a moment before she straightened up.

Your eyes shifted across the living room, and you noticed that Natasha sat at a nearby table, engrossed in her laptop. The sight of Natasha on her laptop triggered a sharp pain in your skull, and suddenly, the image of Aria sitting in front of her own laptop in your dream came rushing back to you.

For a moment, you found yourself frozen in place.

You stood there, lost in the whirlwind of your thoughts. Natasha's gaze lifted from her laptop; her expression inscrutable as she met your eyes.

She broke the silence, her voice steady but tinged with a hint of restraint. “Do you need something?”

You hesitated for a moment, unsure of how to respond.

“Uh-no, I'm just feeling pretty tired.”  You replied, your voice slightly hoarse.

“Alright.” Natasha said plainly.

She returned her attention to the screen, seemingly unperturbed by the exchange.

Feeling Wanda's light touch on your left shoulder, you looked up to meet her gaze, only to find her giving you a strange look.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly, her voice laced with genuine worry. “You seem... distant.”

You tried to muster a reassuring smile, but it felt forced on your lips.

“I'm okay. I think I stood up too quickly.”

Wanda studied you for a moment longer, her expression unreadable, before nodding slowly.

“Alright,” she said, her tone gentle yet firm. “Go take a shower. It might help you feel more awake.”

You offered her a grateful nod before leaving the room, the weight of uncertainty still heavy on your mind.

With each step toward the bedroom, the remnants of the dream clung stubbornly to your mind, like tendrils of fog refusing to dissipate. The hallway stretched out before you and you soon reached the center where it split into two. You found yourself at a crossroads, both figuratively and literally.

You glanced down the hallway to the right, where the dim light revealed a series of closed doors leading to other rooms. You didn't have the chance to wander down it last time. Your mind flickered with the idea of discovering more about your surroundings, searching for potential escape exits or hidden passages.

As you looked back toward the living room door, you caught the sound of Wanda and Natasha talking, their voices mingling as they discussed what you all should have for dinner.

No.

There wouldn’t be enough time to do what you needed to do. With a heavy sigh, you pushed aside the urge to snoop around and instead made your way to the bedroom.

As you entered, your eyes drifted toward the only window in the bedroom. Memories of examining the window in the storage room flickered briefly in your thoughts. You approached the window, your hand hovering over it. You placed your palm flat against the cool surface, feeling the smoothness of the glass beneath your touch. But as you did, a sense of disappointment built up within you.

It was made of the same tempered glass as the storage window. Despite the discouragement, you wouldn’t give up. You turned away from the windowsill and stepped into the bathroom, intent on taking a refreshing shower to help clear your mind.

***

You sat at the dinner table, your fork clinking against the plate as you absentmindedly pushed the food around. Wanda was to your right, her expression content as she delicately picked at her own meal. Natasha sat across from you, her gaze fixed on her plate.

Despite the palpable atmosphere, Wanda remained unfazed, engaging you in conversation as if everything was normal.

“Are you enjoying your meal, honey?” Wanda asked, her voice warm and inviting.

You glanced at Natasha, catching her eye for a moment before turning your attention back to Wanda.

“Yeah, it's great.” You said, attempting to sound cheerful.

Wanda's smile faltered for a brief moment, a hint of doubt flickering in her eyes before she smoothed it away with practiced ease. You shifted uncomfortably in your seat, wishing for this tension between you and Natasha to end sooner rather than later.

As dinner came to an end, you started to stand, ready to help with the cleanup, but Wanda stopped you with a gentle touch on your arm. “There’s no need to worry about that. Why don't you pick out something for us to watch while we take care of this?”

You hesitated for a moment, but you nodded, grateful for Wanda's gesture to get you out of this situation.

“Sure.”

You headed to the living room, leaving Wanda and Natasha to clean up the remnants of dinner.

Once you entered the living room, you noticed that the couch lacked its usual array of cozy blankets. It seemed oddly bare without them. With a mental note to grab some from the nearby closet, you reached for the remote and scrolled through the options on one of the streaming services.

You paused, your finger hovering over the OK button as you debated between a classic comedy or a gripping thriller. Eventually, you settled on ALF, hoping its humor would help lighten the mood.

With the TV show playing in the background, you made your way over to the closet and opened the door. The hinges creaked as the door swung open, revealing a bunch of blankets and throws neatly folded on the shelves.

You reached in, your fingers grazing the soft fabric as you searched for just the right one to bring back to the couch. You selected a blanket large enough to cover you all, its warmth already promising to chase away the chill that seemed to permeate the room.

Closing the closet door, you sighed, ready to get the night over with. But just as you were about to turn around, the TV suddenly turned off, casting the room into unexpected darkness. Startled, you froze, the blankets slipping from your grasp.

Heart pounding, you slowly turned the rest of the way, your eyes widening as you caught sight of Natasha standing by the couch. You could see the faint outline of her features, illuminated by the glow of the hallway light filtering through the partially closed door.

“Natasha,” your voice trembled slightly, surprised by her sudden appearance. “Is everything okay?”

Natasha's piercing gaze was fixed on you, her eyes burning with a mixture of anger and wounded pride. A cold chill swept through the room, raising the hairs on the back of your neck. With a sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach, you realized that whatever was happening was far from over.

Without a word, she advanced toward you. You took a step back, your heart hammering against your ribcage.

“You think you can just deny me?” Natasha's voice cut through the silence like a knife, her tone dripping with venomous contempt.

Before you could respond, Natasha closed the distance between you two in an instant, her hand shooting out to grab your arm in a vice-like grip. The suddenness of it all caught you off guard, and you couldn't help but wince as a jolt of pain shot through your forearm. Her grip was like iron, the force of it leaving bruises to already bloom beneath her fingertips.

“Please, Natasha, stop! You’re hurting me!” You cried out, trying to wrench your arm free from her grasp.

Natasha's grip only tightened, her nails digging into your skin with cruel determination.

With a swift motion, she shoved you backward, sending you stumbling against the couch with a startled gasp. Adrenaline coursed through your veins as you braced yourself for another attack. Instead, Natasha loomed over you, her expression twisted into a mask of rage and frustration.

“Why are you being so difficult?” Natasha demanded as she folded her arms across her chest. Her eyes pierced into yours with an intensity that made you squirm internally.

You wanted to resist her control, to break free from this terrible situation. But on the other hand, there was a nagging fear low in your gut, a fear of what she was capable of if you dared to defy her.

“I-I'm just nervous.” You forced out, the lie tasting bitter on your tongue. Your palms felt clammy, and you resisted the urge to fidget under her scrutiny.

“I can tell.” Natasha retorted, her tone dry and devoid of sympathy.

“It’s just-I’m not used to doing this kind of thing.” You confessed, the admission leaving you feeling exposed and vulnerable.

“Well, you'll get used to it.” Natasha said as she stepped closer. Her hand reached out, fingers tracing a path along your jawline. You shivered under her touch.

“You need to relax,” she murmured, her voice low and husky. “You'll enjoy it, I promise.”

A surge of nausea churned in your stomach, bile rising in your throat at the implication of her words. The thought of succumbing to Natasha's desires against your will filled you with a deep, primal dread.

Natasha’s movements were deliberate as she moved to straddle your hips, pinning your body against the couch. Every inch of your body screamed at you to fight back, to push her away, but you forced yourself to remain still. Her lips then curled into a predatory smirk, her eyes alight with desire.

Natasha leaned in, her breath hot against your ear. “You can't stay nervous forever.” She whispered.

Her hands roamed your body with possessive urgency, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. Your skin crawled beneath her fingertips, and you fought the urge to recoil. Tears began to well up in your eyes as Natasha's lips brushed against your pulse point.

A wave of revulsion crashed over you, accompanied by a sickening sense of resignation. The line between desire and coercion blurred, leaving you trapped in a nightmare from which there seemed to be no escape.

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff #natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff #marvel #scarlet witch #natasha romanov #dark wanda x reader #dark natasha x reader #wandanat x reader #scarlet witch x reader

[xetswan]

Twilight- Unknown: Chapter Seven, The Battle

(Alice x Reader x Jasper)

[six] [seven, end of The Eclipse]

Later that night, Bella asked for a sleepover like old times. It shocked me at first. I was expecting her to ask more questions about my past lives but surprisingly she didn't.

We just watched movies together, eating popcorn. Maybe a random question about what it was like being a vampire.

She was sound asleep after the second movie. I decided to watch a few others but in the middle of the night she swings her fist, hitting me right in the arm. "Bella? What happened?" I woke her up, she breathed heavily, her heart racing.

"The intruder... The newborn army. They're all her puppets. Victoria." She says out of order and I raise a brow. "Alice or I would've seen if she wanted to make an army." I argue. "Unless she's hiding behind them, and she's letting someone else decide. Maybe she found out how you guy's visions work." She explains, I sit a little straight. Considering it.

"Trust me, I hope what you're saying is true and that it's her. I'll speak to the Cullen's about it, go back to sleep." I tell her, she nods her head. "We'll talk more about it tomorrow." I assured her since she seemed like she wanted more from the conversation.

I told Edward about it over the phone, now he's changed his mind about Bella being allowed to be even near the fight. Knowing she's a huge target. He's so serious about it he wants Jacob to help him with his idea.

We stand in the woods together. Jasper, Edward, Bella, Jacob, and I. Jacob goes away with Bella in his arms. Us three wait here.

"Okay, go ahead." Edward nods to us. Jasper and I take each other's hands and smell for my sister. Nothing comes about, only Jacob's wolf smell.

"All we picked up was wolf stench. No Bella. This will work." Jasper tells his brother who seems relieved. "Great."

"Okay, Alice, don't be a stranger." My dad waves to my girlfriend as Bella gets out of her truck, confused. "Okay." Alice grins. I see Bella's surprised face.

"Your alibis for the battle is all arranged." She says, pulling me into a small kiss. Holding onto my waist. "Really?" Bella asks.

"I told your guy's father that our whole family's going camping this weekend. So you two are having a sleepover with me. Charlie is going fishing anyway." Alice simply tells us.

I'm surprised he went for it since I am dating Alice but it's probably because Bella will be there and he doesn't think I would do that around my sister. Which I wouldn't... Just in the woods...

"Charlie? You guys are on the same name basis now?" Bella questions. "Yeah, that's crazy." I add in with a little chuckle.

"Me, he likes. Actually, you and Edward will have the house to yourself tonight." Alice smirks at my sister. "Like alone?" "We're all going hunting. Powering up for the battle. You're welcome." She smiles, walking me to her car and we stand there.

"I'm going hunting?" I raise a brow.

"Well, we can go away from the others, of course." She flirts, pulling me closer by my neck to kiss my lips. "Mm, I guess so." I kissed her once more.

"I'll see you later, lovebug." She tells me, opening her car door. "Can't wait." I wink, walking away to join Bella again, going inside our house.

"Hey. Do either of you want a sandwich?" Charlie asks us. "No, I'm good." Bella says. "I'll take one." I yawn.

"Well, the sister. [Name]'s girlfriend. I like." He points to me and I smile, Bella playfully rolls her eyes.

"Alice, yeah. She's great." My sister agrees. She moves over to the sink to start washing the dishes. "Hey, dad. I was wondering. Why didn't you get remarried, after mom?" She asks him suddenly. I look over to him, he seems a little stunned by the question but nonetheless he answers it.

"I don't know... Guess I still haven't met the right gal. Why?"

"I don't know. I thought you just... Maybe you gave up on the whole institution of it. Of marriage. But do you think there's any value in it?" She rambles a little bit. I scrunch my face in where she's going with this.

"Yeah, yeah marriage has value. When you're older. Much older. Like your mother. It seems to work out fine for her the second time around. Later in life." He says.

"Yeah, I guess." She shrugs.

"You definitely don't wanna have to get married because you weren't careful." He tells her and I snort out a laugh, getting a small glare from both of them. "What?" She huffs.

"Look, you know what I'm talking about. Both of you should listen. There's things that you need to think about if you're gonna be physically intimate." He begins, both Bella and I groan.

"Not the talk." I complain. "Oh don't, it's just as embarrassing for me as it is for you two." He tells us. "I doubt that. And don't bother because mom beat you to it like ten years ago." Bella tries to stop him.

"Well, you two didn't have partners ten years ago." Charlie defends.

"I'm sure things work the same way." Bella shakes her head. "Alright, so you guys are taking precautions and-"

"Okay, dad. Please don't worry about that with me. Edward is old school." Bella admits to him. I see my dad perk up a bit.

"Old school, great. What's that? Like code for something?" He questions her. "Oh my God. Dad. I'm a virgin." She blurts out.

"Okay, good. Glad we covered that." He sighs. "Me too."

"Virgin...Liking Edward a little bit more now." He says and that makes a mortified Bella bolt for the door. I laugh quietly.

"I wouldn't laugh [Name] I still gotta talk to you." He points to me and I smirk.

"I'm a virgin too." I lied to him, why would I tell my dad I've had sex? Do I look stupid to you?

"Good, Cullens are getting on my good side today." He mutters and I shake my head, leaving the room.

Later that night Bella had left to go to the Cullen's house as I was joining the others during their hunting.

The whole time my mind was away from everything. Thinking about how the fight is going to go down. How I have to use my wolf form during it. I've been practicing with Sam but it hasn't been easy. It's been the complete opposite.

I can't get used to using it. It doesn't feel right.

I want to let the others know I don't think I'm going to turn but I know that would only upset them. They're busy hunting right now though so I've just been climbing through the trees.

Watching the view above. It's a scene I don't think I could fully appreciate as a human. I mean I can see further so there's that.

"[Name], darling." I heard Jasper speak, startling me since I wasn't paying attention. I jumped down from the tree.

"Yes?" I innocently ask, smiling at him. "I have something to talk to you about." He admits, I tilt my head. Not saying anything, just letting him continue on. "So, the battle." He starts then immediately pauses. "Mhm." I hum out.

"We've come to the conclusion that you should be with Bella. Away from the fight. Edward thinks it's best that it's another person protecting Bella up on the mountain. And then he and Jacob will be-" "Pause." I laugh out loud.

"I'm getting put with the weird love triangle?" I question, a little offended that they're making me do this. "I don't want to but yes." He nods his head shamefully.

I stare at him for a moment. Calming myself before I speak. I understand where they're coming from and it won't hurt to be up there. I'm confident in my family to get it done without even getting hurt. They're strong.

"Okay, I'll do it. Only because it does help me make sure my sister is safe. The only thing is I won't know if you and Alice are." I frown, grabbing his hand.

"Alice thought of that. You're a hybrid, you can hear everything from a distance." He tells me. "If one of us gets hurt you'll hear it and you can come a runnin." He smiles. I shrug my shoulders letting out a long breath.

"I guess, if I hear anything of your two's distress I will be there." I warned him. "Understandable, darlin." He kisses my lips shortly.

In the morning I'm waiting for Bella and Edward as Bella spread little drops of blood around the woods. "You're going overboard." I heard Edward say.

"If this is all I can contribute, I want to be thorough." My sister tells him. "The newborns will be frantic. Now let me put a bandage on that." He tells her. "It doesn't bother me anymore." He adds and I'm a little confused on why he said that. "Since when?" My sister asks.

"Since I spent 24 hours thinking you were dead." "You're not wearing your ring." Mm now I understand. "Well, I didn't want to risk losing it." She simply says. "Or risk Jacob seeing?"

"I think we should wait to tell him. I mean, at least till after the fight." I can't believe I found out they were engaged this way. "If you're having second thoughts..."

"I'm not. I just want him to have a clear head." Bella assures him. I hear Jacob come into play so I walk towards them as well.

"Whose head is unclear?" Jake asks. "Nobody's I hope." My sister says. "Alice says there's a storm coming." Edward announces.

"I can feel it." I stare up at the sky. "Me too, we should get going." Jacob says. "I'll take the longer route. But I'll get there first. Set up camp." Edward tells Jacob and I who nod our heads in understanding. He turns to my sister and kisses her before leaving.

"I have to turn. I'm not getting carried by you, sorry Jake." I apologize unsincerely. "Understandable." He waves me off. "Here. So I have something to change into." I hand a small bag to Bella.

I go off into the woods, taking off my shirt and pants before transforming into my wolf form.

I meet them up at the mountain, beating Jacob and Bella by a few minutes. Edward covers me in a blanket as I transform back into my regular form.

"Jesus, I'm glad I have the wolf heat." I let out a small shiver. He laughs. "Here." Bella hands me my bag and I thank her before going into the tent.

I quickly changed. I hear them talking but I don't pay much mind to it. Not really caring enough to do so. "You guys can come in now."

Late in the night the storm gets worse and worse meaning it's only colder. Bella's freezing, her teeth chattering can be heard miles away.

"I should have chosen a site lower down." Edward frowns. "No, it's fine. I'm okay." Bella assures him. "What can I do?" He asks. She only shakes her head. The zipper opens, revealing Jacob.

"I can't sleep with all that teeth chattering going on." He chuckles. "Forget  it." Edward stops him. "She may need her toes someday and let's face it. I'm hotter than you and [Name] here." He begins to crawl to Bella's side but Edward's hand is suddenly hard on his shoulder.

"Get your hand off me." Jacob warns him. "Get your hands off her."

"Don't fight." Bella says, still shivering. Edward notices how cold she looks and pulls his hand away. "Ashe gets sick, it's on you." Jacob tells him. Edward glances at me and I nod my head.

"Just let him, it will help her." He closes his eyes, letting Jacob do it. "Why, You're freezing, Bella. relax , you'll warm up soon. Faster if you took your clothes off." He jokes around. I make a disgusted expression.

"Jake." Bella warns him to stop. "Survival one oh one."  He sighs. Edward glares at him. This is going to be a long night.

I lay in the corner of the tent in my own sleeping bag. I slowly fall asleep, luckily just missing the conversation Jacob and Edward have.

In the morning Bella and I climbed out of the tent. We're met with the young wolf, Seth sitting there. Staring at us. "Hi, Seth." Bella waves to him. I give the boy a small smile who huffs in response as a little hello.

"Where's Jacob? Did he already..." "Not yet." Edward cuts off her sentence. "He's checking to see if the woods are clear before he goes." He tells her, wrapping an arm around her and that makes Seth job off.

"I'm really sorry about last night. That couldn't have been easy for you." Bella begins and that's my cue to leave the scene.

I joined Seth up above from where he was. It's boring up here. I wish I argued with Jasper and stayed to fight but I knew it would've made way more problems than what it's worth. I don't want to argue with them anymore.

After a while passes I know that Jacob joined them. I listen to the fighting down below. I focus on Jasper and Alice's voices, their grunts and orders to each other. I wish I could be there with them. I hear Alice and Jasper fighting one of the same newborns.

"Jasper- back off- you can't be everywhere at- watch out!" I hear Edward shout to the air, knowing they couldn't hear him. I hear Alice tell Jasper she can handle themselves.

I stand up to go join but Edward's already at my side stopping me. "He's alright. She is too. You can't join." He tells me and I glare up at him.

"Like hell I can't." I push past him but he only speeds in front of me once again. "Not yet." He tells me. Then we both stop. We share a look with Seth.

"Someone's hurt?" Bella asks us. "Seth, go." I ordered him. He bolts away from the campsite. "Is it Jasper?" She asks another question.

"She's close. I can hear her thoughts. She knew we weren't there but she caught mine and [Name]'s scent." He explains. I stand close to Bella, he stands in front of her. "She knew Bella would be with me. She thinks she's lucky with [Name]." He translated her thoughts out loud to us.

"She found us." Bella whispers.

"She's not alone." I add in. Then a boy, the missing one from the papers, steps out of the woods.

"Riley, listen to me. Victoria's just using you, to distract me, But she knows I'll kill you." Edward tells the boy who looks shocked at first. He hesitates. "In fact, she'll be glad she doesn't have to deal with you anymore." He tries to convince the boy, knowing it's the truth but he of course doesn't know that. Victoria emerges out of the woods.

"Don't listen, Riley. I told you about their mind tricks." She tells the boy, who is obviously easily influenced. "I can read her mind, so I know what she thinks about you." Edward tells him.

"He's lying." Victoria argues. "She only created you and this army to avenge her true mate, James. It's the only thing she cares about. Not you." Edward says.

"There's only you. You know that." Victoria says after seeing the hesitation in Riley. He focuses back on us. Positioning to attack. Victoria's eyes meet with Bella's, filled with bloodlust and revenge.

"Think about it. You're from Forks. You know the area. That's the only reason she chose you. She doesn't love you." Edward was a bit more harsh with his choice of words. Riley falters slightly. "Riley, don't let him do this to us. You know I love you." Victoria forms her face to be more emotional. Somehow convincing the boy.

"You're dead." Riley attacks Edward.

Seth leaps from the cliff above and lands on Riley taking a chunk out of hus hand. He screams in pain. Seth circles back for another attack. Edward starts toward Victoria as I hold onto Bella making sure she's not able to be touched. Victoria goes to escape but Edward darts in her path.

"You can escape. You always do. But you won't get another chance like this again." Edward threatens her choices. She hisses back at him, backing further away.

"You want her. You want [Name]. You want me, Jasper and Alice to feel the pain you felt when we killed James. When we tore him into pieces. Then turned him into ash. When I turned him into nothing." Edward edges her on. Which it works. She erupts and charges toward Bella and I.

I hold onto Bella before running out of the way. Edward intercepts her plan and they roll down the hill.

We watch Seth get kicked down the cliff. Riley spins toward us. To help Edward I push Bella back and grab Riley myself.  As we fought together he got me into a headlock. Edward fighting with Victoria seemed a little hopeless.

That was until Bella stabs her arm with a shard of some rock slate.

They stop going towards the smell. I take the arm that was around my neck and rip it off. A loud screeching noise because of it.

I toss the arm to the side and Seth leaps up, tackling Riley. Dragging him into the woods. "Victoria! Victoria!" Riley screams but the redhead does nothing, not even giving him another glance. We hear the screeching of his head getting torn off by Seth.

Edward charges towards Victoria, the two clash and begin to fight. It was fast.

He pummels her down and has himself behind her, holding her in a death grip. She struggles glaring at Bella and I. I ripped my shirt and tied it around Bella's wound tightly. Edward bares his teeth and bites a chunk from her neck, ripping her head off.

"Edward." Bella says, going towards him as she tries to touch him but he turns away. "I didn't want you to see that."

"I'll get some bandages for your arm." He starts for the tent but Seth lets out a small howl.

"Something's wrong." Bella says. "Alice needs us." I tell them. "And now." Edward agrees. "Why? What's happening?" Bella asks.

A massive fire burns when we show up. The Cullens and the wolves drag what's left of the newborns into the fire. "How long?" Edward asks.

"A few minutes. Maybe ten." Alice tells us. "They timed their arrival well." Rosalie joins in. "Probably hoping the newborns took a few of us out." Emmett spits.

"What's she doing here?" Edward points to the newborn girl behind them.

"We offered her safe haven if she stopped fighting. She took it." Esme tells him. "The pack needs to leave. The Volturi won't honor a truce with the werewolves." Carlisle speaks up.

"Where's Jacob?" Bella asks. "There." Edward points to the large world but then he hears a vampire behind him. Leah charges.

"Leah, don't!" Edward shuts but it's too late. The newborn grabs her ruff, yanking her off of her paws but Jacob leaps onto him tackling him. He tries to bite the newborn but it gets its arms around Jacob, crushing him. Jacob howls in agony. I wince at the sight.

"Jacob!" Bella screams. The other wolves pounce on the newborn, pulling him apart.

Edward and Carlisle appear to Jacob's side. Jacob is back to his human form. His face contorted and looked like he could barely breathe.

"Hold on, carlisle is gonna take care of you." Edward tells the boy. "The bones on the right half of his body are shattered." Carlisle tells everyone. Jacob squeezes Edward's hand. Bella reaches them, dropping to her knees and she strokes his face. "Bella." He huffs out. "Jake, I'm right here." She says.

"Jacob, you idiot. I had it." Leah tells him, saddened by what happened and obviously feeling guilt. "Leah." Sam states, basically telling her not now.

"I need to set the bones before his accelerated healing kicks in. It's already starting." Carlisle says. "We need to get him out of here. We;re not gonna win in a fight with the Volturi." Edward orders,

"We'll take him back to Billy's." Sam nods. "I'll be there as soon as I can." Carlisle assures them. "Hand in there, Jake. We got you." Bella touches him one last time.

Jacob cries out in pain as the pack lifts him.

"They're here." Alice speaks up. I stand between Jasper and her.  "It appears you've done our work for us." Jane comes into view out of the smoke.

"Impressive. I've never seen a coven escape an assault of this magnitude intact." Jane raises a brow. "We were lucky." Carlisle smiles.

"I doubt that." Jane hums. "It appears we missed an entertaining fight." Alec frowns in disappointment. "Yes, it's not often rendered unnecessary."

"If you'd arrived a half hour ago, you would've fulfilled your purpose." Edward hostilely tells her.

"Pity."

She then looks behind us, spotting the young girl. "You missed one." Jane points.

"We offered her asylum in exchange for her surrender." Carlisle informs her. "That wasn't yours to offer." Jane moves towards the young one. Esme shoots Carlisle a concerned look.

"Why did you come?" But before the girl can answer the question she uses her power on the girl. She screams in pain.

"They came to destroy us. To kill Bella and [Name]." Esme speaks but Jane ignores her. Enjoying the pain. "Who created you?"

"You don't need to do that. She'll tell you anything you want to know." Esme pleads with the blonde vampire. "I know."

Carlisle puts a hand on his wife's shoulder. The girl's screams stop. "I don't know, Riley wouldn't tell us. He said our thoughts weren't safe." She tells Jane, who only zaps her again.

"Her name was Victoria. Perhaps you knew her." Edward says.

"Jane faces Edward with an unnerving smile. The other three positions behind Jane. "Edward. If the Volturi had knowledge of Victoria, they would've stopped her. Isn't that right, Jane?" Carlisle makes eye contact with the girl who just stares at him.

"Of course. Felix." She suddenly says and the brunette male moves to the girl.

"She didn't know what she was doing. We'll take responsibility for her. Give her a chance." Esme begs with Jane and the other members.

"The volturi don't give second chances. Keep that in mind. Caius will be interested to know that she's still human." Jane looks over to Bella. "The date is set." Bella spits out.

"Take care of that Felix. I'd like to go home." She ignores my sister.

The male does it and we all wince at the noises. "Thank you, Felix. Until next time." They all leave.

Later that day I sat in my room. On my bed more specifically. Alice and Jasper at the foot of it.

"Edward and Bella are engaged." I suddenly tell them with my lips pursed out stuck in thought.

"Mhm, that's huge. Are you excited for them?" Alice asks me and I nod. "Of course."

"Why are you bringing it up, darlin '?" Jasper asks with a small smirk on his lips.

"Oh no reason." I lay back in my bed. I hear them snicker at me. Joining me in laying on either side of me.

"Is there something you're hinting at?" Alice pokes my side. "I don't know, am I?" I stay strong with a stern straight facial expression.

"Well polyamory isn't exactly legal in most states." Jasper points out to me.

"Let's move to another country." I simply shrug my shoulders causing them both to laugh.

"We'll get married." Alice hums. "Someday."

"Why not now." I offer. "Are you proposing to us?" She asks and I raise a brow. "Mmm, why do I have to be the one to propose?" I huff.

"You brought it up." Jasper reminds me and I chuckle.

"Fair, fair." I kiss his lips then face Alice to do the same.

"Let's let them have their moment then right after steal their thunder." I exclaim, closing my eyes.

"Sounds fair to me, lovebug." Alice lays her head on my chest.

"Yeah, very smart, darlin." Jasper agrees.

Masterlist

A&J ML

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#twilight #twilight x reader #alice cullen #bella swan #carlisle cullen #jacob black #jasper whitlock #jasper hale x reader #alice cullen x reader #esme cullen #twilight imagine #rosalie twilight #the twilight saga #twilight saga #edward cullen #jasper cullen x reader #jasper cullen #jasper hale #jasper #billy black #charlie swan #carlisle x esme #rosalie lillian hale #rosalie x emmett #rosalie cullen #seth clearwater #sam uley #embry call #volturi #caius volturi

[wgc-productions]

As a certain protagonist from an award winning Tony Kushner play once said: The Great Work Continues!

You can read my reactions to the 3rd episode of the Magnus Archives under the cut.

00:00 Okay, Silly question. Is Magnus a person? If so, do we meet that person? This is a ~silly question~ cause I think it might literally be the name of the freaky little place Johnathan spends all his time and, if so, this was probably discussed in Episode 1 but I don't want to go back and listen to answer my question.

01:09 And I am gonna speed skip through these ads. You guys should listen though.

02:00- I wonder if people skip through the ads on Small Victories? No hard feelings if you do.

03:01- Dang. Sucks for Casey Shane.

04:26- You know what's across the street from my house? Another single-family house! Which, to some urban planners, probably is a horror unto itself.

05:05- My prayers have been answered. It's the Magnus Institute. (That doesn't solve the problem of if they are a real person who is significant, because why is this freaky little institute dedicated to investigating strange phenoms named after you if your'e a perfectly normal fellow?)

07:53- Okay, so yes the people these logs are about are very strange, but also, even before the people got ~supernaturally~ strange the log holders are still very judgmental of what is just a little odd behavior. I mean, when I was younger I would practice making and mimicking animal noises, be drawn to small dark warm spaces, would repeat the words people said as they said them, and would talk to myself all the time. If one of these people were around me then they'd think I was a little alien horror!

10:30 As someone who has never had a concussion, what's it like?

11:41- Buddy boy, take a Tylenol.

12:53- Honestly the square hole is the most alarming thing about this. Think about it. When's the last time you've seen a perfectly square hole on a piece of antique furniture. Just one hole with no other decoration. As a lover of old furniture, it gives me the williams.

15:06- THIS MAN IS A TERROR!

15:26- HERE YE! HERE YE! Local man obsessively watches mentally disturbed man from his window. More at 11.

16:02- If you're so concerned you need to get the man some help, brother.

17:59- April 7th? Ah, yes, Good Friday. He dropped the ham on the floor and ate it anyway. Harrowing.

18:36- I feel like video games would be great for this guy. Get to sit at home, be invested in a world outside of you, and you don't have to creep on your neighbor for all the days of your life.

20:09- Alright. I am, admittedly, alarmed.

21:02- See and this is why you should have sat there and ate your food. You wouldn't know Lovecraftian Horrors live next door if you minded your own business.

22:23- I know it's the accent, but when he says "Graham" it sounds like 'Gray ham" which amuses me greatly.

23:28- Oh, he's happy to see you.

23:37- Honestly, I do think it's way more interesting (or at least has the potential to be deeply interesting) to explore the idea that monsters and horrors exist but they don't want to hurt you. They are just living parallel to you. Yeah there may be a strange horror living across the street but he'll smile at you like anyone else would and he won't do anything to hurt you or hurt anyone else, but the internal discomfort you feel upon seeing something you were told was scary is what drives your fear. The fear and horror is internal.

25:28- See! Grayham didn't even hurt anyone. He was just chilling and trying to smile down the weirdo who was watching him for months. Honestly, Grayham was being very kind all things considered.

26:16- How do you know Graham didn't have the monster inside him all along?

26:40- Look. He was playing a fun little game with his stalker friend.

27:04- They want me to be scared, but I really do think the idea that the Graham like thing was a little strange and was toying with the watcher a lot more fun.

I think this is my favorite episode so far! I liked the story telling and the descriptions did leave me with strong mental images that I just don't think they'd be able to replicate on screen.

I will say I am scrolling through the episode list and I do not see a clear break in seasons, so could someone let me know where Season 1 ends?

#the magnus archives #liveblog #fiction podcast #audio drama #audio fiction #tma #tma spoilers #magnus archives #Spotify #wgc liveblog

[37q]

ppl are wishy washy because in this day n age being understood means being captured. aside from the market demographic capture via data collection were inundated with and rightfully wary of, people are just unevolved and ashamed.

if you 'know' their depths & complexities then they assign you a position of judgment over things they personally condemn themselves for. they barely know how to articulate their complexities, and oftentimes leaving them unarticulated is a way of honoring them because it feels more authentic to work through it holistically & across the mystified path of life. to name it is to embody it with intention, and theyd rather think its a controlled demolition if nothing else.

on the other hand, we have the tension between knowability and subjective recognition. what the body refuses to acknowledge it will surely resist coming out of someone elses mouth. 'labels are for institutions', and far too often were told were something and end up hurt. theres a distinct fear of the consequences of, lets say, someone imposing their idea of you onto your life.

theyre the experts of their experiences and theyve been deceived or disbelieved too often to let someone come in and talk like they know them. even if theyre deep friends, people get anxious, and if theyre strangers then it just feels like profiling or stereotyping.

broad and abstract analysis can only get you so far, and materialist minutiae vacillates between psychoanalytic and dismissive. people eventually filter out platitudinous noise, but when something hits too close to home they get scared about people putting words into their mouth, feelings into their bodies, and thoughts into their head -- because theyre still divesting themselves from exploitative dependence.

speaking of abstraction. i havent done a historiographical comparison yet but i do know continental philosophers demonstrate this shift to control.

largely borrowing from "Postscript on the Societies of Control" and im gonna make some people mad by summarizing here: foucault outlines in his works the discrete, institutional discipline at the heart of 'who we are' in the modern age -- the facilities of the 'panopticon' itself -- and deleuze builds on that, outlining the permeation of control into the digital and molecular commodification of 'who we are'. foucault points at the cop inside your head, deleuze just gestures vaguely at your whole body.

(side note: you can see this early 'digitization' of the subject in the phasing-out of outlawry and the phasing-in of personally identifiable tracking information such as tax and eventually birth records. cool histories out there about the proliferation of imperialism and privatization of labor.)

so we have that... philosophical context, but can we tie that in to todays social climate? comfort-based security and community policing, rampant fear of intrusion and manipulation and deceit, the privatized centralization of safety and the power of its enforcement, double consciousness-affirming pop psychology... yeah that tracks.

ppl are scared of being known! when they see a trickle of feedback over something thats a little too authentic they feel like theyre splitting between what theyre willing to concede and what they actually hold dear enough to fight for. people are afraid to confront themselves, and even confront each other! so many things in our life corrode our interdependence and impermanence into something that we can touch and protect, an individualist myth of stability and independence!

so maybe your friend has a funny way of re-stating the story you just told them. it could be lacking context, depth, inarticulable complexity, and their detachment makes the representation taste bitter.

but its a new kind of real, one synthesized through their lifes context, depth, and inarticulable complexity. you cant be sure that if they were in your shoes they would tell the story the same way you did, and understanding the cooperation involved in developing knowledge makes their re-telling feel gentler. its not quite right, but you have to be open to suspending that tension, the true 'unknowability' of an 'objective' situation, if you want your change to bloom instead of fester.

[fruit-salad-ship]

Au idea: full metal alchemist au where peach and gray are small town alchemists that plum keeps trying to recruit to be state alchemists but keeps failing to

Love is stored in the full metal au.

I gave this mild thought once, I think peach was an alchemist that used medicine as a weapon, but otherwise was known as a doctor. People would say she’s a good person who despite her grouchy behaviour would actually never hurt a soul undeserving. She’s swooped in and taken out military folk bullying towns people, and thrown hands with the worst kind of thugs around who’d come to her turf and start fights. Her alchemy is rooted in the idea that you can change the base structure of a human body, it’s just chemistry. You don’t have to touch the souls, that’s too far even for her, but the physical self? Hell yeah. Every human contains bacteria and acids that’ll spiral out of control in no time under the right conditions. She just…sets those up and accelerates them. She’s put stomach acid in place of cartilage, the fluid in your brain? Yeah that’s all filled with bacteria from your colon. She may just fill you with tumours, there’s potential in every body to do that. You will slowly rot, and by the time you die, she’ll be long gone. Your lungs? Yeah. They’re gonna swap with your kidneys now. Nothing works in your body without air, game over. She is boarder line horrific in a match and because she doesn’t like to use that kind of ability normally without real reason, she’s jacked and fights you with her fists normally. Her body is littered with tattoos. Each is a circle unique to her area of study, that frees her up from drawing the big complex diagrams normally used in a fight. She’s got one on the wrist however that is for turning her rings into knuckle dusters and back again. For a little aid if she’s not about to destroy someone’s entire physical being.

Greys the doting loving man she does not deserve, though his specialist I’m not sure of yet. He’s gentle and sturdy and creative, clever, but not fast nor mean, always the one to talk peach down from her rage, and she usually listens. Or makes someone sick in a way that it’s a ticking time bomb. They’ll perish elsewhere, and grey things she’s spared them their life. She has not, she’s just good at making it look like she has. Benefit to being a doctor, you know how long a body has to handle something like an infection or thinned heart walls, can essentially set up a heart attack. Who’s going to blame you? Natural causes right there.

Anyway yeah, grey. Idk, ideas? He’s not a fighter, but very smart. Maybe he could have looked into the study of automated machinery, not bound with souls but like, robotics? Sort of? I’m not sure if that’s a good fit, he’s a;ways the tough one to match.

Plum however was born into a military family, never cut loose, never wanted anything else, just to rise through the ranks and make her family proud. Thing is the more she sees, the more she realises the military isn’t all that good an organisation, and her want to be a pillar of justice and honesty is going to fail if she’s doing it under the guise of what her family stood for. She goes to make her own path, but does so from the inside of this institute. Her first job? Track down some worthy alchemists to take the places of those she’s lost along the way. A few come and go, and sure, they’re good at their job, but not groundbreaking, not special. That is until she hears of a doctor and her partner out in the middle of nowhere, curing things with alchemy in ways that haven’t been done before. The rules are followed, this isn’t a philosophers stone incident, but the doctors using a combination of new theories, modern practice, and alchemy baselines to make injuries that would take months to recover, heal in days. People go to her unable to walk due to injury, and she’s finding ways to fix it. A doctor like that would be useful.

Thing is, the closer plum gets to this, the more she realises this doctor is actually no doctor at all, unhinged, genius yes, but completely ungovernable. She follows no rules, she obeys no man, and refuses to cooperate at all when asked to sit and chat about military options. Plums tried to catch her in her garden, and ends up barred by huge bramble walls, or yeeted out by the very earth she stands on.

Plums actual alchemy itself is grounded in tradition, a practice handed down through several generations. She is smart, educated on many matters, and uses her abilities in a very flamboyant way, something she picked up from her mother. She is highly adaptable and has branched out to study as much as she could.

#fma au #this is one of my fav anime’s guys #you hit a passion topic #winner #fruit salad #brainrot

[starr-fall-knight-rise]

Insider Threat

https://www.patreon.com/empyreaniris?fan_landing=true

https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/182501791735/master-post

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jzEIdDAB4omdO2JcQVMObfrhLJ5kX4ONmSsLypM1ks0/edit?usp=sharing.\

The Noxumber hospital card reader blinked twice and then turned green. The hospital door unlocked with a distant click, and they stepped inside to the hustle and bustle of a busy hospital. Nurses, doctors, and orderlies flowed this way and that way over the smooth, white flooring, a slow flow illuminated under the harsh glow of the fluorescent lighting.

A nervous sickness rose up in their stomach accompanied by a sort of tingling thrill. 

This was it, this was the day.

“All hail Void.”

They muttered the words under their breath as they headed further into the hospital slipping through the maze of bodies before finding their way into the locker room. They recognized other members of the surgical staff, pulling on their scrubs, tying up their hair, preparing themselves for a fourteen hour shift.

No one here really minded 

Getting a job at Noxumber Hospital was an enviable position. It was the top ranked surgical institution in the galaxy as of this moment, and there was always some interesting procedure or other being preformed in one of the several state-of-the-art surgical suites.

Most everyone was satisfied.

Most….

They had been working here for a few years now, and in all that time they had been continually passed over. Younger members of staff had received promotions, extra training, or even been given some other important responsibilities and a pay raise, but not them. They had tried to talk to their supervisor about the issue, but they had been stonewalled on several occasions.

They generally considered himself to be a patient, person, patient and talented and generous, and all those things you needed to be to be a good surgical nurse, but the doctors here didn’t respect them, and the other nurses didn’t see them as the authority they certainly were.

They had more experience than anyone else on their unit, and yet nothing had changed in all the years they had worked here.

But now that didn’t matter so much anymore.

They had a new cause.

Someone who would properly appreciate them for what they were about to do. They already had friends in high places. Kazna herself had contacted them, spoken with them privately about what they were going to have to do.

They pulled on a pair of surgical scrubs and hurried to view the surgical board projected above the Nurse’s station.

Yes, they were on for this afternoon.

For the most important act of their life.

“Morning, looks like it's going to be a busy day.” One of the doctors said, barely turning his pompous head to look at them as he picked up a clipboard from the station, “I saw your name up on the board. You’re working with doctor krill today, that must be exciting.”

They tried to hide a sneer, “Yeah, a real privilege.”

The doctor looked up, a frown crossing his face as if he had heard the derision in their voice. They did their best to control their facial expression and smiled at the doctor. Stupid doctors, all of them were the same, annoying and, big headed and totally unappreciative of how much work the average nurse does in a single day. It was their honest opinion that most doctors had no real idea what they were talking about. The true brains of the operation were the nurses.

Honestly, they could have done all of the diagnosing and prescribing without the help of a doctor. In fact , doctors don’t spend nearly as much time with the patients, and so were less likely to know what was actually wrong.

Ten minutes till rehearsal, but they still had to wait several hours before their big moment.

They hurried off down the hall and towards the surgical suite where the other surgical nurses were already scrubbing in. The Anumectomy surgeries were a big deal, there was always a small army of nurses and doctors there to help, and doctor Krill himself was still the only surgeon ever to have performed the surgery.

They had never been invited to participate in one of these surgeries before, a fact that rankled them to no end since they had been nursing here since the hospital was constructed. By now they should be one of Dr. krill’s right hand assistants, but again they had been overlooked by other, younger blood.

Dr. Katie was already waiting for them in the prep room just outside the surgery. 

They curled their lip at the tall, slim doctor.

Out of all the doctors in the hospital, Dr. katie was one of the worst.  She was only in charge of things because she was personal friends with Dr. Krill, but other than that, there wasn’t really anything special about her. In fact, she was far more about looks than she was about work. They wondered how long katie took to put on her face of makeup in the morning. You would never catch a nurse doing such a thing, worrying about their looks, with makeup and stupid stylish glasses, and that dumb haircut.

“Alright everyone, rehearsal. You newbies pay attention okay.”

They sneered. Doctors always liked to be condescending towards nurses.

“You’ve all been chosen because of your excellent track record as surgical assistants in the past, and we have the upmost faith in you,”

So damn condescending. If they had had a tomato on hand, they would have thrown it.

Still holding her clipboard, Dr. Katie outlined how things were going to go, keeping her incredible sense of superiority this entire time. They hardly paid attention to the instructions. They didn’t need to be told how to do their job by someone who would only be observing. Instead they went over their own plan.

It honestly wouldn’t take much.

Just had to accidentally nudge the stupid little alien surgeon at the right moment and the Saint of Anin would be gone.

They sneered again at that thought.

The Saint of Anin.

They had only come here for the opportunity to work in one of the top rated hospitals in the galaxy, but when it came to Arcadia itself, they hated it. It was too dark, and the people were all violent barbarians. Their whole “Culture around combat” was stupid and unintellectual. And the next time they had to look at an open LFIL couple they were going to have to scream.

The fact that the Saint of Anin, ha adjust birthed some freaky human hybrids didn’t make the whole thing better. Imagining a human together with a drev was enough to make them gag. It was just unnatural, and sstupid, and honestly needed to be stopped. That was something Kazna and them agreed on.

It was nice to be seen.

They went over the surgery several times, until they felt like screaming.

But then it finally came.

Dr. Krill arrived to scrub in, and they did their best  not to imagine punting the bug-like creature across the room.

He really was an ugly little thing.

He turned to look at them, his creepy insect eyes perpetually wide. One of his gross little antane flicked slightly, “Are you all ready?” Nods all around the room, “Remember don’t lock your knees, if you need a break, go ahead and scrub out, we have alternates to take your place. No need to be a hero. Get your water and then scrub back in. Take care of yourself.”

They did their best not to roll their eyes.

Everyone scrubbed in and put on their surgical gowns stepping into the surgical suite to wait while the patient was prepared. 

Paralyzed and unmoving, the Drev didn’t look half so intimidating.

They almost protested when they were tasked with helping place the head clamps on the alien creature, but that would only have been counter productive. They tried not to make faces as they opened the Drev’s mouth, tilted its head back and locked it in place. The inside of its mouth was warm, squishy and faintly orange.

Drev blood is orange where human blood is red.

Unnatural.

Of course, Dr. katie was allowed to begin the procedure, while Dr. Krill simply hovered close by.

Though now came the dangerous part. Lord Celex stepped into the room, rainbow hair tied up under a hair net, goofy little bard covered under a surgical mask. The mind reader was the biggest issue in this while thing, but Kazna had instructed them on the proper way to prevent mind reading.

A poem repeated in their head over and over again.

besides .

Celex would be too busy to notice.

ANd indeed he seemed to sense nothing wrong as he stepped into the room.

Overhead, in the viewing gallery, they could see Adam Vir standing and watching nervously down at the Drev creature. In one arm, he held one of their weird little hybrid creatures.

Gross

The thought was only a small break as the poem repeated.

Were they ready to do this for several horus straight?

They had to be. 

Minutes ticked into hours, song lyrics running around inside their head, repeated phrases. Eventually Dr. krill took over making only minute movements with his hands as he made his way into the creature’s brain.

Not much longer now.

“Almost there.” Krill muttered, “Just a little.”

Now!

They moved forward, suddenly all pretenses dropped.

Celex sensed it as soon as their mind let go, turning his head with wide eyes too shocked to be angry. They lunged forward intending to shove Dr. krill forward, hopefully to sever the wire and kill the saint of Anin. Their hand was just inches away from Krill’s back, when it suddenly felt like they had run into a brick wall. 

There was a sharp impact, somewhere around their stomach, like they had been punched.

They doubled over in pain, but when they finally looked up, they saw nothing but a slow flower of red blooming on the front of their gown. They looked down in shock, and then up, coming face to face with Dr Katie, who now stood between them and dor Krill. The woman’s face reflected their own shock. In her hand she held a bloodied scalpel.

“True Darkness.” They hissed.

Katie lunged forward, burying the scalpel into their chest thai time.

The room was filled with shocked silence, and then a sharp ringing.

They fell over backwards.

***

Apotheosis did not make a scene when she woke, slowly coming to consciousness in a dim sort of radiance, and the smell of iron, thick on her tongue.

Human blood.

She would know that smell anywhere.

She lifted herself slowly from her seat and turned her head to view the carnage, the body of a surgical nurse lying flat on the floor surrounded by a slowly spreading pool of blood, Doctor katie standing shell shocked over the body, her gown peppered with little red droplets.

And all around them the entire surgical staff in shocked horror.

Sunny could feel them, hear their inner thoughts and ran backward through their memories.

Celex offered the full scene to her.

This nurse, had been following Kazna’s orders. 

This nurse had wanted to kill her.

Interesting that Dr. katie would begin her combat body count in a surgical suite, but honestly. Apotheosis approved. 

It was as good a place as any.

[lycanlovingvampyre]

MAG 107 Relisten

Activity on my first listen: putting up a new fence (now moved to a different part of the property though!).

JON: "Also, I’m definitely being followed. There’s a police officer, I saw him at the airport as well, he stood out a bit because he wasn’t immigration, or TSA or anything like that. He just, he just looked like a Chicago beat cop." Probably a coincident, since the Stranger is an Entity that gets a lot of screen time, but Jon's always getting paranoid for a longer period of time when there’s a Stranger after him (see Not!Sasha and S2paranoia-machine!Jon, nothing with Daisy though).

JON: " I managed to track down the arresting officer, one Jay Rebecks, who said that she’d been found over the body of Gerard Keay reading from a large, strangely-shaped book. They’d been unable to determine if the mutilations on Gerard’s body had been done by her, and in the end she somehow managed to talk them out of pressing charges." I couldn't quite follow MAG 4 and MAG 62 so I had no idea what this meant when I was first listening XD For someone paying attention to the lore of the Keay family I think this was... an open book! *badum tss*

JON: "Elias has, um… I, I, got a letter, well, an envelope… it’s, it’s a statement. There’s, there’s a note, “to tide you over,” and, uh…" At this point we already know that being away from the Institute too long will make you sick (see MAG 90). But this is not was this is about... I wonder how long Jon has been dependable on statements. And what happens at this point, if a fledgling Avatar stops reading them. Will he also starve? Either way, from my first listen I remember this point very clearly, thinking "Wow, this is... not good...".

I don't know, which of the described scenarios in the statement is scarier. Seeing this burning ghost train with people inside, the interrogation by someone clearly up to no good or knowing that they will take everyone and everything you love one by one.

JON: "But, as usual, he chose to keep this very useful information to himself." Elias is clearly doing this, this withholding of information, to keep Jon in a scared state. Loss of control is a factor for anxiety disorders.

JON: "there’s a woman here in the cafe, the diner, whatever. I’ve seen her car, I think she’s following the bus. She’s early 30s, I think, dressed nondescript: hard-wearing denim, old leather. And she is… definitely watching me." Okay, now there's a Hunter, but that paranoia was very brief.

JON: "So… kidnapped. Again." A TMA S3 classic!

JULIA: "Weirdest thing, really. Didn’t mean to spill half of it, but… really helped me put the pieces together. You know?" I just love how TMA gives canon explanations for things which are just necessary for a working narrative but make no sense in rl (I know, this lore has already been established by now, I just like this so much I simply cannot not point it out).

It wasn't hard for me to recall "Mustermann" as a name of the Anatomy Students from MAG 34, since this is the placeholder name we use where I live (btw, "Muster" means "exemplary" and "Mann" is just "man". So a exemplary man. Yeah, sexist much... For females they sometimes use "Musterfrau", "Frau" meaning (you guessed it) "woman". German is such a binary language it hurts me everyday...)

@a-mag-a-day

#a-mag-a-day #mag 107 #tma #tma spoilers

[asterz-playz-official]

[unwinding au] - season 3, part ?????

Aaaaaaaaagh i feel like I’m missing something what is it what am I

OHHHHHHHH

Michael didn’t get out of the institute using the mirrors, he doesn’t like using the mirrors (at all)-

He took the tunnels. He had no idea where he was going, but he took em anyway, cause he figured he had the best chance at finding the right way through.

He actually also took the tape recorder that was there, I was wrong. He didn’t want anyone to find out what he’d done (they sort of did anyway :( ) and also it had just become a “comfort item” at that point.

He sort of feels the same way about the recorders as Martin does, but also feels like they give him a sort of anchor to steady himself with so he can keep himself together.

[CONTINUED BELOW!!!!]

I really wish I could find some good maps of London so that I could plot out his course, but he tries going to his own apartment initially, only to find it surrounded by police/law enforcement.

So he feels very much like he’s got nowhere to go.

For the first time, he wishes he could just loose himself in a crowd and find himself somewhere else.

He’s just… too tall for it. He’s worried he’d just get spotted immediately.

But it turns out that doesn’t matter anymore. It’s as if no one can really see him, or at least can’t pick him out from the rest of the crowd. Which, by the way, is really uncomfortably bump-y and jostle-y, and he hates it just as much as he used to, but it works.

Not just to hide him, but to get him to where he’s going.

Somehow, he finds himself inside of a department store.

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so I decided it’s probably either Peter Jones or Harrods… but……

How tf do UK department stores work

help

Ummmmm heck it’s fine I’ll just wing it and revise later, at least i’ve got a vibe

So, Peter Jones and partners, runs into someone he knew before the institute.

I don’t know her name, but she’s pretty and a fantastic person and I tried to draw her one time but I don’t feel like it came out quite right, however I’m still going to drop it here.

(Uuuuugghhhhhhhh yeah there’s a lot I don’t like about how I drew this, I don’t feel like I got her features right and I wish I could go back and change it but it’s PENCIL and erasing/redrawing is ANNOYING aaaaaa /lh)

(I’m actually not going to insert the drawing. I just feel like it’s probably wrong in a hundred different ways, and I’d like to research some stuff further first before I make a finalized design.)

She and Michael talk a little bit, her manager comes over and does the whole “you’re paid to sell things to customers, not chat with them,” thing and Michael actually glares at him!

Yasmin(a?) (this is why i want to do more research, I don’t feel like that’s right aaaaaa) is completely taken aback by this, because the Michael Shelley she’d grown up with had barely ever glared at someone in this sort of a situation.

Michael was a tiny bit surprised by it, too, but fuck it- he was fed up, tired, on the run, possibly turning into a monster, and this clerk was being completely unreasonable (in his opinion). He was having a bad day and hadn’t seen his friend in years, couldn’t he just leave them alone?

Apparently not. The manager was getting very disgruntled, and curtly acknowledged him with a steely-eyed stare, and told him that if he wanted to make a fuss over the store’s management rules, he should leave the department and go speak with the (police? Upper management? Idk).

And thus a small standoff occurs. I’m honestly impressed that the manager could remain rigid in his stance with this tall guy basically looming over him, but by god he did- and then the usual thing of “I’m going to call the cops.”

And naturally, Michael gets both upset and a bit panicked.

The guy turns away to call someone on his phone, then notices some strange movement out of the corner of his eye and turns around to see Michael, looking… definitely different from how he did before.

He’s trying hard not to look at his friend, cause he feels like if he does, he’ll scare her, but the manager is staring right at him, into his twisting face, and screams after taking a few moments to register what’s going on.

And then Michael leaves.

——————

The police get there far too late to catch him exiting the building, and naturally, daisy is a little more than a bit miffed by this.

He’s just glad he could get away at all. He’s actually unaware that the police are following him.

Thing is, he didn’t actually even hurt anyone, he just scared the manager and ran away. Supposedly, no actual harm done, (the manager’s now marked but Michael doesn’t need to know that 🫠), so the police leave.

He considers checking in to a hotel or something, but… it feels like it’s too… risky.

So he just… sleeps wherever.

It’s awful.

His friend’s probably trying to figure out where he went, just so she can understand what the heck’s going on and why the police are trying to find him, cause last she heard, he was working at the infamous “Magnus Institute”, which, as far as she understands it, is essentially a fucked-up library of weird things. So maybe things had gotten a little too weird for him, or he’d just been some kind of serial-whatever this entire time. They hadn’t even explained the situation to her when they’d questioned her about him. She fully thought she was going to be arrested as an accomplice or something, which would have been awful, but apparently all they cared about was getting him.

And she kind of wanted to know why.

I mean- look. Scaring someone’s manager with a gun or blackmail or something is one thing. But with just a look? That stuff was not normal, she knew it wasn’t, and he was gonna have to spill everything to her.

Once she could find him, at least.

She took a few days off from work to wander around and see if she could look for him in… the shops, maybe, or nearby apartments. But nothing came up. No sandy-blond-haired skinny tall bastards in the directory, or around there anywhere. (Sounded like she was ordering Starbucks or something every time she asked around about him.)

She nearly tripped over him when she was passing through (insert place name here, I really need to get a map or else I’m just going to end up playing mad libs with location names for this, lmao).

She had been trying to find a bar she thought he might be relatively more comfortable at than the others in the area. Bars in general did not seem Michael’s style, but she was running out of options, and hey, he’d obviously changed at least a little bit since she’d seen him.

But the expression on his face when he looked at her, startled, confused — hell, maybe even hopeful — was exactly the same expression he’d worn that day that the two’d met each other the first time.

They’d both been different then, in their own ways. But now, it seemed like one of them had changed… well, a little more than would be possible for the other.

Still him, though. She could be sure about that.

And he needed some help.

“Hey.” She said simply, in greeting. “No complaining, no insisting on not bothering someone, we’re going to get you a bed.”

#the magnus archives #tma #michael shelley #michael tma #tma au #tma unwinding au #unwinding au #tw police #FINALLY found the thread of the plot #it would be kinda fun to name the next chapter ‘monster house’ #just putting that in the notes so I remember #tma fic #sorta #just a draft tho #rambles

[mesillusionssousecstasy]

The Imperfects

From the start, I knew the show would be canceled after his first season.

It was nice, but that's it.

It's like Teen Wolf meet mad scientists.

The characters were great.

It really liked the duo Dr. Burke and Dr. Sarkov.

But it wasn't as entertaining as others series.

Why they needed a cure when the pills worked so well?!! So many others thinks didn't make sense either.

ps: What was so urgent with Darcy's phone call?

Some quotes:

"- You know lying is a form of selfishness? (Juan) - And judgment is a form of control." (Tilda - Episode 4)

"- Why are people so obsessed with the idea of becoming a superhero? (Episode 4)

"- No, the science is that complicated. It's the curse of being a prodigy. I'll always understand the world in a way regular people could never comprehend." (Dr. Sarkov - Episode 5)

"- Pro-tip. If you speak less, you will learn more." (Dr. Sarkov - Episode 5)

"- Yeah, pro-tip. Speak less, live more." (Juan - Episode 5)

"- How do you feel? (Dr. Sarkov) - How do I feel? My girlfriend just dumped me by scientist. (Juan) - Oh, no, I mean physically. Yeah, I don't care, emotionally speaking." (Dr. Sarkov - Episode 7)

"- How about I know what it's like to lose someone you love?" (Episode 7)

"- Hate will eat you up inside, but you've gotta find a way to forgive." (Juan - Episode 7)

"- Because I wanted to give you my condolences. (Dr. Sarkov) - Sure you do. (Tilda) - I'm being sincere... Do I sound naturally sarcastic?" (Dr. Sarkov - Episode 7)

"- I don't want to. Immortality? Ugh, imagine. Never get anything done, because "There's always tomorrow." (Dr. Sarkov - Episode 7)

"- Our DNA doesn't make us monsters, our actions do." (Juan - Episode 7)

"- If you're gonna assist me, get one thing straight. This is not a democracy. You do what I say, when I say it. And if you don't like it, feel free to skedaddle." (Dr. Sarkov - Episode 8)

"- According to the clerk, someone matching Sarkov's description and level of jerkiness stopped here about an hour ago." (Abbi - Episode 8)

"- He was flirting with you. (Dr. Burke) - Of course he was. It's time for the tipe. (Dr. Sarkov) - Maybe he just thinks you're cute." (Dr. Burke - Episode 9)

"- Never underestimate a roach, agent. When everything else on this planet is dead, the roach is the one left." (Dr. Cain - Episode 9)

"- I'm Alex Sarkov. I'm a selfish, self-centered, narcissistic jerk." (Episode 9)

"- Dr. Hallenbeck said feelings are a waste of energy." (Dr. Sarkov) - I mean, you must feel something. Anything? (Dr. Burke) - Nothing. Maybe a simmering resentment for their selfishness. (Dr. Sarkov - Episode 9)

"- Careful, you'll chafe your hands. (Dr. Sarkov) - Now you develop a sense of empathy." (Dr. Burke - Episode 10)

"- Well, how was I supposed to know the Helix Institute is a shell company? When someone offers you money, do you ask where it's from? Or how much you can have?" (Dr. Sarkov - Episode 10)

#the imperfects #netflix series #tv-show #paranormal #scientist #burke x sarkov

[makahimetenshi]

Follow me inside the wastelands - Arthur x Female Sole Survivor

This one will be a long fic, with a lot of chapters I already write the concepts, I don’t play as Nora in Fallout 4 since Nate for me is the real protagonist but I liked the ideas of this two I see  on some other fics on the fandom, so I wanted to do my own too

If you are very very very delighted with one fic and want a continuation I didn’t write or post you can donate me at least $5 bucks, most of this fics have next chapters I don’t finish because lack of motivation but hey a $5 is a $5, I see a few reviews and coments that fics that are abandoned months laters receive coments of wanting to know what happends next. Here it is, I finished my handling with you all, enjoy the fic

  The first thing Maxson thought when Danse presented Nora to him…

Well isn’t this one a beauty?

Really impressive beauty, rare actually, caught his attention like it never did with a woman before.

But besides that, they didn’t talk much, in fact, they didn’t know much about each other.

She was always with Danse as he was her commander office, do task and missions with him, walk around, talk to him on Danse presence mostly…is not like they have events to know each other, the paladin was always around them, guiding her to be a perfect Brotherhood soldier

And she fulfilled everyone expectations, Danse, Ingram, Kells, Maxson…

The teleport machine to the institute? Heck yeah he supervised the whole construction and was around like it was his own masterpiece, but he had seen the woman work and fight for that idea to sucesfully work and bring results.

The infiltration to the institute? Her own brilliant work.

The data leack? Didn’t have any obligation, could just say she coulnt or that the device they gave her didn’t work to do big amounsts of copy, but she did it anyway.

Bringing back to the wastelands an amazing cientific old partner of the Brotherhood? Perfect charisma

Nora was a loyal Brotherhood soldier, Danse instructed her well to be what everyone needed and wanted, and she delivered it with amazing skills, outstanding the Paladin would say, and he would agree too

They knew each other from far, he was his boss, his supervisor, someone she received order and bring results but not much more so despite being Arthur pretty amazed by her habilities and had the curiosity to know her more that opportunity never came to be just because of how big the brotherhood and their organization was.

Well there was that one time…

He knew that on the lowest levels of the Prydwen the soldiers often made…little parties, and some some some times he would join, everybody received him well and didn’t threat him any different, at least at the party, at the other day it was a different story but in the party he was another more, and he was glad for that because he was almost one of the youngest people on that little reunions.

They chat, and drink, and play little silly games and he would enjoy that, no one would try to sneak a secret or try to buy a promotion or recognition, it was really a brotherhood he appreciated with all his heart.

But one time she was in one of this reunions and both were caught in the other gaze, multiple time, despite being sitted in opposite directions

Why she was looking at him? He was indeed looking at her but only because he caught her looking at him…and so several times.

Apparently that night he joined was particulary special because Nora and Danse together bring two sets of drinks called Vim they pick up from a place called Far Harbor so far away from the Commonwealth…slightly different from the Nuka Colas he was used to, different taste but same scent and some some some of that drinks have alcohol so everybody was woozy about it.

Danse and Nora were a good team, they make results and he can appreciate that a lot since they needed help constantly to advance, as far they were together he would not fear for their safety because together they do amazing.

If they have a baby it would turn on one of the strongest soldiers, perfect good clean with no radiation genes from her and also good genes from Danse, strong, tall and bulk.

For a moment he thought what if in some future they…join…together…such an amazing couple would be a great asset to the brotherhood units but that thought was interrupted again because he was feeling a gaze again. Nora was looking at him while drinking an alcohol Vim, sitting in a crate box, Danse was in a totally different place chatting with some friends of him so…he wasn’t around this time

The red light illuminating the place was hiding his blush as he as getting a bit aroused by the hungry gaze of the woman.

Altought he did nothing more than just looking back at her, locking their eyes together.

He didn’t know her much, never talked more than formalities and very planned responses, but can appreciate her beauty and value.

Skinny curved body, rumors says around she didn’t eat much because the fact that the food was kinda radiated didn’t make her exactly sick but it was just disgusting to the taste. He heard once at the dinning room that the woman preffered to drink Radaway that some Rad Sugar Bombs, for a moment he thinked that was weird but didn’t put much effort in a gossip, that would be rude.

It was difficult to see more on the dark and under the red lights, specially if she had a black suit but the way her legs crossed to be sitting intrigue him. Nora had a strong prescence, a luminous aura that cause things in people and he was getting aware of that

Arthur broke eye contact, took a bottle, open it, and made the same as her, stare into her eyes as he drinked, the woman finished his drink in one spit and stare at him, breathing in and out.

One shot of a alcohol bottle? Pretty impressive, even him wasn’t able to do that

As he went down, Nora approached him with a can of purified water, passing it, Arthur look up to her in the red lights amazed by how…attracted…he feeled to her strong presence.

-Drink water Elder or the headache is going to be a pain tomorrow –as she talked Arthur stare at her red painted lips and brown eyes with curled black hair.

She looked like a beautifull housewife from the old books, a true old American dream.

Trying to be subtle, he picked up the can, his fingers touch hers for a moment but instead of getting nerveous they both…stay…with confidence he look from her toes to head, scanning.

When he reach her face he saw she didn’t move, she noticed. Their fingers separate and the woman went back to sit at the crate box and look another place

That was all the interaction they had on the night, not so much later the woman join Danse on the chat with his friend and he left the party, but it was intriguing at least.

Knewing that the team of knight and paladin were so close broke his heart when he made the realization that…she had to execute him.

This was another test to her brilliant and loyalty.

He didn’t want to execute the paladin he knew from so long ago, nearly a good friend more than just a soldier to his cause but…he was a synth, everything the Brotherhood hated and despised, he had the obligation to set the example and do the right thing…not let an spy ran freely in the corridors of the Prydwen, not let a synth carry the sing of the Brotherhood on their chest, not let an abomination have the ranks and sacrifices of the cause…

He trusted in her to execute the mission, a great devotion to the cause was an inspiration to all.

It wasn’t easy tho, when he arrived on the vertibird with his team of guards to the listening post, even she would never admit it,  they were trying to scape together or at least place a lie but…she come to her senses, put the Brotherhood first, and serve herself loyal.

Maxson approached both at the exit of the station, she was nerveous, he was defeated.

First time he see a vulnerable face on her.

They tried to negociate with him, try to make Danse look good for all his time on service but it was useless, all the dawns playing chess in their reunions together wont make him soft, he was firm on that choice.

Farewell, friend.

-Danse please –she begged to him, grabbing his hand and giving a hard shake, the woman voice break as she started to cry, it was a really sad scene all made by his own choices and actions but he woulnt turn down the chance to exterminate a synth from the institute, it was his mission, the mission of the entire Brotherhood, if he failed, the Brotherhood would do it to.

-Its alright, we did our best, you convinced me that I was wrong to be ashamed of my true identity, whatever you decide know that im going to my grave with no anger and no regrets –his old friend smiled at Nora, who was sniffing trying to control her breathing and not burst in a desesperate cry.

Her eyes open, then turn down her head, still grabing Danse hand, it was useless, the man prefferd to die than fail the Brotherhood, he wouldn’t allow her to kill Maxson and run away together like they would peacefully do a few minutes ago. She bite her lip and looked at him, trying to say something.

-Danse i…

-Knight! –Arthur called raising his voice, then something snap at her and turn down the head again, letting the synth hand go.

That was the goodbye

-For the good of the Brotherhood…he needs to die…-said in a deep whisper with the voice broken, the synth completely surrender at his side, accepting his fate, Maxson would never admit this to anyone but he wanted to cry, such devotion and sacrifice for the army that took him as a son so many years ago to turn his back on him almost make him cry

Arthur didn’t want to look at that, the execution of one of his best friends, but he needed to swallow the sorrow and watch.

To not let her fail her mission.

To not let her threason the brotherhood.

To not let her fall in the charms of that abominations, infiltrating in peoples lives messing up with their heads, not let her fall at being alert and smart.

-In this moment im proud of you like im ever going to be –Danse salute her and went a few steps back, Árthur watching every moment, the synth put the knees on the floor and his hand on the back, head down looking at the ground.

Watching an execution was always hard, no matter who it was, a civilian, a criminal, a supermutant, a raider even…but the fact that he was carrying one of the brotherhood uniforms was heartbreaking for Arthur.

Even if he really wasn’t one of his brother he has been for many time.

It was a tense moment, she took a seconds to grab her arm and approatch him.

-Danse…-she whisper, trying to make him get in reason but…

-Ad Victoriam soldier –in the exact moment he said that, Nora blow his head with the laser pistol, she gasped loud and move a hand to close her mouth at seeing the horror, but after realizing what she done she jumped to the ground and went desesperatly to pick up his rolling head.

-Danse! –she screamed as she put a hand inside from the neck and started twisting it, confused the elder approached very carefully that she didn’t enter in a homicidal anger caused by the trauma of killing by her own hand and desition such a close partner…but he wanted to see, he didn’t understand.

What was with this animalistic behavior? Almost cannibal? She was crying and sobbing as wet flesh sounds appeared from the…cripped head…Arthur looked at the body for a second, headless.

Goodbye Paladin, synth or not, ill make someone burn your rest and give you a proper memorial recognition, you were right, you thought you were human and you choose to fight for the brotherhood like that.

It didn’t took long for Nora to find something inside, something sharp and hard, not…organic, it was a hard position to move the hand, she was blind and it was also stuck but after trying and trying hurting his own hands in the attempt…she took it, the synth component, it was there.

She didn’t doubt Danse or Maxson about it, but at least if he needed to die…better not be a mistake.

Arthur watched her blend, curl and cry on the ground, hugging the cripped head and…the synth component, he swallow saliva and turned back, this was…anguish…her feelings were staring to penetrate his hard temper and he cant loose it, he wasn’t allowed to loose his temper no matter what kind of situation…if he didn’t leave he would start crying over the loose of his old friend.

-Ill see you in the Prydwen to claim a new mission, knight –Arthur took a deep mouth of air and…started walking to the ventibird, not even offering her a ride, he couldn’t be seen crying by no one.

He walked in the dry and dead forest to the transport taking big breaths to suppress the need to cry.

At the Prydwen, he sent a squad to recover the body and…did give him a proper memorial after burning it, even if it woul be a great asset to the scribes and cientifics…no…not this one, even if his brothers despised him for being a synth his service would not be forgotten.

Nora in fact, came back to the Prydwen, after that display of sadness and desesperation he expected her to abandon and dismiss leaving the Commonwealth forever but…she was there, to ask for her next mission, with the holotags of Paladin Danse like she was supposed in the beginning to accomplish the task.

She was loyal to the Brotherhood, she would be there.

Not so long later she almost alone with barely her own forces and resources, destroyed the institute, and went recognized and promoted to sentinel, the hightest rank you can archieve in the brotherhood of steel.

Purely based on her results, preservation, and achivemts, the vault woman from 200 years ago turned on the first sentinel in this chapter of the brotherhood, one of the fews in the entire country all by her own sweat and tears.

And she was over there, around, working for the brotherhood

A year later that event she came to his office after scheduling a meeting, with a bucket 20lts of white paint, that impressed Arthur who didn’t understand what the hell was happening but still motherfucking impressive.

--Good morning Elder, me and the Minutemens clean one of the biggest Commonwealth hardware stores from a group of raiders that took it as a post for ambushing caravans and travelers for the tactic position and bussy roads on the wasteland everyday, a very needed route to move between settlements like Diamond City, Cambridge, Boston… we have resources for the next ten years in tools, paint, glues, scews, nails, gas, all kind of chemicals for different uses…

Arthur was indeed, impressed, but the experience talk for him before he can achieve the sentinel victory

-Biut theres more right?

Nora took a moment to calibrate her voice and speak, full confidence.

-As a minuteman general, as well as a Brotherhood sentinel, ask your collaboration with the new adquisition, the brotherhood now have a tremendous operational and good state base in a very important place between very important destinations with a lot of useful resources, I will ask in the name of both groups to…take control over the hardware store, use it as a new permanent base, put troops day and night there and give the control of the zone to the brotherhood, it will help near settlements to feel more secure and get out raiders by making them know that a new big order is there and they aren’t welcome.

Arthur took a big breath by the noise, she sounded so…clear…secure, firm and perfect…This was the kind of news he wanted to hear all the time, this was marvelous, excellent, a very big advance…

Something in his chest hit him hard.

The way she stand still, quiet and being all secure in this very moment…

-Near to Diamond City there are 3 raiders settlement and 2 supermutants if I recover right

-As long as goodneitborght, but I have plans for that place, they are no use and no harm to anyone right now, not us, not minutemen, not civilians, not anyone –Arthur raised an eyebrow, but trust her ideas.

-If we settledown in that new base we can take that groups out with no problem, secure the area and not let them return by placing adecuate protection, like patrols, turrets… -Nora nooded, but then Arthur got an idea that confused him – I know about your…non brotherhood past and  activities but why did you make this operation on your own?

-When you name me sentinel you and coronel Kells told me that I will now make my own projects and missions…and you all will follow my wisdom and choices with thrust –this time Arthur nooded, full of pride and exciment, when he named her sentinel that day he thought…that it was something she didn’t care or understand enough, that I was just anothyter thing that happened since her answer in that moment was so…dry and formal, almost practice, just formalism.

But it was meaningfull, and it give results.

This almost never happends, not with many soldiers, but he wanted to cry at feeling so overwhelmed, this…is what every general wants from their armys and she was giving him that moment.

Right now he was happy of fulfilling sucesfully his mission.

-That’s right, we will follow our sentinels to the end of the wolrd

-That’s why I want to make this statement –now, her voice wanted to keep his attention, and he will, looking at her eyes directly – I did not make this operation to put the brotherhood in a compromise of taking with no option this new base, this is optional, you can take the base as a gift and exploit it…but I also want collaboration

-State your point sentinel.

-I will not place a number or a bid, but the minutemen, and I, for my mens, want collaboration, we want to work out the resources of the hardware store and use them.

Deal, collaboration, with an army ruled by a brotherhood sentinel.

-Very well, sentinel, you own this victory, the brotherhood is going to capture that point, secure it, defend it, equip it and manage it, that point and the locations around, no problem, we can share and trade with the minutemens as most you can

-Also have to use the facilities, theres a lot of industrial machine…like carpenter tools and hydraulic presses and ovens…

-No problem –Arthur could swear he was drooling over the possibilities that just one woman, one soldier, gave the brotherhood with this movement.

-We also want to secure and liberate the roads and paths to the settlements around so the trade and traffic will go smooth to help that people

-It’s a good idea, sometimes I send my own ventibirds to fly up brahamns for free so traders can move from one point to another safely without raiders to menace them, but its expensive and the gas is hard to get to use in on that

-I knew it Elder, that’s way I wanted to capture this post too

Arthur wouldn’t reprimand her at all, since after all she was sentinel and almost didn’t have the authority to defy her but the question wouldn’t harm, he raised an eyebrow and move his hands over his back, stepping in and walking in her direction, this time  she moved  a bit surprised for the sludden change and for some reason the reaction in her beauty looks…adorable.

-May I ask where did you get the funds and resources for this operations?

Nora was confused –funds? Like caps?

-Yeah, that equipment and…

-My minutemens are not mercenarys they are just regular people –now Arthur is confused now –organized group of just civilians

-But the guns and the armor…

-It was all about the ambush and the plan we take them out there, althought I must admit i…used laser bullets from the brotherhood deposits but it was necessary for the operation, I didn’t want to blow the place down with fatmans to kill all the raiders, and the use of regular bullets could cause explosions since theres so much chemical products around….-Nora had the confidence to not get in problem because she was well…a freacking sentinel and she was giving the big offer to the brotherhood anyway, everyone was winning.

-I must say, just for protocol that I will be asking for a investigation about…the founds for you operation, but I also must say thank you very much sentinel Nora, it’s a honor to be brothers together

Nora breath out, not nerveous, they weren’t going to find much more than just departures of laser weapons and laser bullets, same with gammas, even the armors she and the minutemens managed to get it, must admit it was very suspicious and small ethic to steal from the brotherhood to plan a raid with the minutements but that just the way thing developed.

And she was a war hero for destroying the Institute, she deserved it.

-So be it

-Why you didn’t ask the brotherhood for this operation? You are a sentinel, we have the obligation to follow you,  as a sentinel you have the freedom to move on your own as long it is for the good of the brotherhood but I never heard…this is a surprise –Arthur laughted- a very amazing surprise

-Since the beginning the minutemens and i…do things –the woman didn’t understand the question, but he did understand her answer- do things for the people, for everyone

Arthur didn’t expect that answer, and for some reason it moved something inside his chest.

He didn’t know her full story, is true, but right now it sounded…magical

Who was this non radiated goddess of destruction that help people around with a army of apparently angels that doesn’t need caps?

-There wasn’t any brotherhood brothers involved?

-Oh, there are four, they were the only ones with me included with a power armor the rest…

The elder breathed, and then feel brave, he had a lot of emotions in his chest right now, it didn’t have any sense, his logical part asked him for a investigation and how the hell everything sounded so perfect almost like a trap the other one was delighted with the news with her with the results…

He raised a finger and put it over his lips with a chill smile looking directly at her eyes.

-Sentinel, this are all wonderfull news, why don’t we discuss them at a dinner tonight? I believe everything can wait a few ours more

He will investigate, and search, and ask, and validate her words and success.

Arthur was no fool.

-Ehhh sure…-she whisper, nooding without understanding much.

He waited for things so be that way of course, he wanted to be positive too.

Something inside him wanted to believe in her.

-Great, my mans will look after you around 8pm, we can talk about this victory while enjoing a meal.

#arthur maxson #fallout 4 #elder maxson #makahimefanfic

[bluepenguinstories]

Duck, Duck, Goose Issue #4

When Mac saw what had unfolded, he was speechless.

“So?” She asked, impressed with her finding.

“What is it?” He leaned in and squinted. In front of both of them was the table in his room, and laying on that table was the suit that she had picked up from her old home.

“It’s a suit of armor!” She explained with a big, open mouth grin on her face, “I can float off the ground with it, so I’m sure with some tweaking, I can even fly around with it. It can fold up when I tap on the palm, and when I put it to my chest, it attaches itself to me. However, it’s really heavy, and it’s doesn’t really fit my shape. It’s bulky and loose, so it would be impractical to wear. I can barely move around in that thing without getting winded.”

“Don’t you work out? Are those muscles of yours useless?” He asked.

Nemesis shook her head.

“That’s not the point. If I can get it to conform to my shape, then I can adjust to the heaviness. I’m sure there’s other features that I haven’t figured out yet. I want to know as much about this suit as I can: if I can figure out how it works, I can make adjustments and modify it.”

“And how are you going to do that? Designing tech is my hobby, and even I’m not sure how I would go about something like this. We’re both in our first year of high school, we’re not grad students at some technological institute, nor kid geniuses. I only know what I know because I’ve studied for years in my free time. What do you do in your free time?”

Nemesis never thought she’d get asked that question.

“Mostly practice fighting. Sometimes at night I go out for evening strolls. The cool night air helps me think. Other than that, it’s just homework and sleep, but mostly because I don’t have a lot of interests.”

“With that in mind, do you really think you can do all the things you’re describing?”

“Look, I know I’m not some girl genius, but I can learn! How do you think I got these muscles in the first place? I had to start somewhere!” Nemesis shouted.

“Okay, okay, chill. We’ll look over it together. I’ll tell you what I know and I’ll try to show you what I’m doing.”

Nemesis shook her head again.

“You can only go so far. I do want you to look over it, but...I can’t always rely on you, and I know what I want out of this. What if it needs repairs? I need to be the one to make this so that I can know this inside and out. We have a connection, I can tell.”

“What? You and that suit?” Mac raised an eyebrow.

Nemesis nodded.

“Very well,” Mac sighed, “I think we’re on the same page more than you realize. This will take a lot of effort on both of our parts. I’ll give you a list of resources. I don’t know how long it will take before it’s in a shape you’re satisfied with, but if urgency is what you’re aiming for, let’s both do our best. I just ask...what do you plan on using this suit for?”

“Mostly defensive purposes. Never know when I’ll be in danger. And...maybe I could defend others. Help them. What if someone else is in risk of falling from a high place? Or a fight is about to break out?”

“And? What would happen if a fight breaks out?”

“I would stand in between,” she pounded her fist against her palm, “I...I know how I am,” her smile faded and she looked down at the floor, “but I would only fight back if I had to.”

“I don’t know how much I trust you not to give into your own impulses,” Mac’s face narrowed, “but,” he raised his index finger, “if I can somehow help you in helping others...we might have be onto something.”

Upon hearing that, her face lit up once more, and she grabbed Mac’s hands.

“Oh, thank you! Thank you!”

“Ugh. Those palms of yours are gonna get greasy before long. Best to invest in hand sanitizer,” he groaned, then pulled his hands away and shook them. “Still...yeah. This is pretty cool.”

Back at home, she laid the armor across her bed and studied it. She noticed small details but nothing that stood out. The best that she had was that the armor was large, much too large for her, and it gave her an idea.

If there’s no way to access the metallic properties that made this armor, then maybe there’s a way to redistribute its parts to shape it in a way that fits me…

She still didn’t know how she would go about it, but it was something. Added to that was her drive to redesign the armor, and for that, she grabbed a sheet of notebook paper and a pen and began scribbling out a rough design:

Wings in the back, blades that shot out from wrist attachments, a cooling and heating system, and an overall sleeker shape.

When she finished drawing and listing out some of the features that she wanted it to have, she turned the armor back into a cube, then went to sleep.

Days passed. She went to school as normal, picked up books on designing and coding. Took classes on mechanics and engineering, welding and 3D modeling. After school, she would go over to Mac’s house and they worked together, trying to take the armor apart and reshape it. While stripping the back, both friends were surprised to find a large blade already attached. Heavy to the point that she could barely lift it, she got another idea.

“Hey. What if we could take this apart, too? Turn it into multiple weapons?” She suggested.

“Now, what do you need weapons for anyway? If you ask me, we should just throw that thing away,” Mac replied.

“Weapons don’t just have to be used to hurt people,” Nemesis pointed out, then argued, “besides, why throw anything here away when we can reuse it?”

Mac snapped his fingers, “all right. It’s your toy, anyway. So what do you have in mind?”

“Blades that pop out from the top of each wrist. Each blade has a small rod attached, which, when pulled out, can connect to the other rod and form a double-bladed spear. Then, there should be just enough parts left over for a curved sword. I’m thinking something jagged. Serrated? Is that the right word?”

“Beats me. Sounds like you’re just going for whatever sounds the coolest to you.”

“Yeah? Is there any problem with that?”

“No complaints from me, chief,” he shook his head.

They continued their work. It was a couple months later when the shape was one Nemesis was satisfied with and the wings were installed (both welded to the back and programmed into the armor’s system. It seemed to have its own code, one which Nemesis had trouble following, but once she was able to program a few small features to the armor, the rest set in over time.

For the moment, no weapons were forged or installed back onto the armor. The giant sword they had plucked out sat in Mac’s walk-in closet, blocked off by empty boxes in hopes that his mom wouldn’t hear the commotion (though Nemesis wondered about trying to tidy up Mac’s room in hopes of impressing his mom). It took their combined strength to even stand it up against the wall, let alone get it into a position where it wouldn’t fall back onto the floor.

On the weekends, she would still visit with Trey Cherry and spar with him. Recently, he had the idea of fighting back, just to test her reflexes. He was surprisingly agile, and she had to look for the slightest change in movements to know what to dodge and how.

At one point, she managed to pull a sweeping kick before he could grab hold or dodge it. It almost hit him at the side of the stomach before she stopped herself and backed away, hands over her mouth.

“Oop! Sorry!” She gasped.

“Heh. What for? You think I’m some frail old man?” He snickered. “Just don’t kill me, got that?”

“Ha. Like I would ever do something like that,” she replied, “unless you’re a lot more frail than I thought you were.”

Together, they both laughed.

They continued to spar after that and she smiled at the thought of the progress she made. She had even improved in other ways, like being able to do handstands, and cartwheels. Along with that came the ability to walk on her hands, then kicking while doing a handstand.

On the weekend following her and Mac’s adjustments to the armor, she rushed over to that abandoned factory to meet up with Trey. She had on a long, black overcoat, a scarf over her neck, and thick, black pants as winter made for an unpleasant time to be out.

At the abandoned factory, Trey sat on the steps to one of the many entrances. She never dared venture inside, and figured it wasn’t the most pleasant place to be in the first place. Rats, cobwebs, food wrappers, an old blanket, she could imagine it all, even if it wasn’t the most accurate picture. Trey had in his hands a bottle of whiskey and he chugged the thing down, as if unaware that Nemesis had stopped by.

He reeks of it too, she noted, the air of booze drowning out the winter chill.

Had she a more discerning eye, she would have noticed his own peering off to his right side, the same direction that she came from. When she stood in front of him, she gave a small wave and he could no longer ignore her.

“Hey, I got something cool to show you!” She smiled wide and shook her fists as she announced.

“Yeah? Unless it’s a porno mag, I’m not interested,” he dismissed her. While he always had a gruff, smoky voice, that time he sounded especially bitter.

“And why would I be carrying around one of those?” She folded her arms.

“Just sayin’. Now go ahead and show. Wouldn’t wanna dampen your good mood.”

She clicked a button she had on her palm and the armor that was situated on the back of her jacket in a thin, translucent square, formed around her. In an instant, she had the helmet on and everything.

“Pretty cool, huh?” She placed her hand on her chest as leaned over. Trey, however, spat out his whiskey and backed away, wide-eyed.

“Ho...ho...how did you get such a thing?!” He trembled in shock.

“Why? Is something wrong?”

He stopped trembling and his aghast expression changed into a slight smile.

“Not in the slightest,” he shook his head, “I just wasn’t expecting to see something like that again.”

“Again?” She asked, and that time, she was the one to tense up.

“Where did you find something like this?” He asked as he sat up straight.

“At my family’s old cabin. Well, my original family,” she explained. “My class went on a field trip down to Alaska and I found it in the woods.”

“Wait...family’s?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you by any chance related to a guy named Erebus Rhamnous?”

She took a step back, shocked by that name.

“Yes. He was my father.”

“AHAHAHAHA!” He laughed up a storm and slapped his knee, “no wonder!”

“What? What’s so funny? And how do you know him?”

“Know him? We worked for the same company! Oh, this is rich,” he wiped away a tear.

“Well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but he died.”

“Ah, it was bound to happen sooner or later,” he stopped laughing and returned to a more neutral expression.

“I don’t know what happened, or how, but one moment he said he had business to take care of, and the next I was rushed off to an orphanage.”

“Oh, honey,” he shook his head, “he didn’t just die. He was murdered.”

“How do you know that?” She sat on the ground across from him and let her helmet slide down.

“That’s just what happens when you try to quit. Last time I saw him, was back at the cafeteria at our company. He mentioned to me about quitting, and while I didn’t tell anyone, word must have still gotten out. Those guys want you there for life. If you try to quit, they send someone after you to snuff you out. That’s why most don’t quit. Hell, I hate to admit it, but I’m technically still employed. I just haven’t picked up any assignments or collected any cash from them in years. Can’t stand that place, but I value my life too much to let someone else take it from me.”

“So if they gave you a job to do...would you do it?”

He scratched his chin.

“That’s...a hard one to answer.”

“Still, murdering if you try to quit?! Shouldn’t that be illegal?!”

He chuckled at that remark.

“Most companies are shady. That one just happened to be less shade and more pitch black. We’re a little outside of any legal jurisdiction.”

“What exactly was your company that they would do such a thing?”

“We called ourselves ‘Janitors’, due to the fact that much of our work involved cleaning up other people’s messes, so to speak. Everyone had a different specialty. Mine was gathering information. He happened to be a hunter. There must have been countless lives he had taken, himself. Me? I don’t even want to think about the lives I might have been responsible for.”

“So the one who killed him was a Janitor?”

“No doubt. Just a shame, I still have fond memories of hanging out with him, as well as another Janitor named Douglas Fir. We used to hit up strip clubs together in between jobs. Oh, we were a riot.”

“I don’t need to hear about that,” she stopped him before he could get into one of his escapades.

“Well gee,” he scratched the back of his head, “now I have even more reason to help you out, don’t I?”

“Not really. You do what you want,” she got up and looked out toward the fence she hopped over.

“In that case, I think I ought to tell ya: those guys you beat up a while back? Yeah, they came back, along with a few other men in overalls. They looked like the were jacked up on some ‘roids.  They were asking about you, too. They seemed like they meant harm, so I just told them that you lived in Vancouver. That should hold them off for a while, but you should still be careful.”

I figured something like this might happen, she thought before replying, “thank you.”

“Ha. Don’t mention it. That was your daddy’s armor, by the way. I assume you tweaked it in some ways, as his made him look like a fat, juicy beetle and with you, it makes you look like a dragonfly. Strange, though. I’m sure he would have been prepared for a fight with a Janitor, meaning he’d have worn his armor when he died. So what does that make yours? Did he have a spare?”

“I don’t know,” she shook her head, choosing not to look his way.

“Bah. More questions than answers. I’m past the age for curiosity. I only learn things when I have to.”

Nearby, on the streets, a firetruck with its blaring siren rushed past. It pierced through her ears with how close it was.

“I should go,” she said.

“Don’t tell me –” He balked.

“I won’t tell you, then,” she cut him off. “I should go.”

Her helmet slid back up and her wings sprung up.

“Hey, one word of advice before you go: don’t let too many people know you’ve got that armor! Especially if you’re going to go and –” She shot up into the air and flew away before he could finish. “HEY!” He yelled and sprung to his feet where he kicked some rocks away.

“Damn teenagers,” he grumbled as he spun around and sat back down.

She crept by, going from alleyways to rooftops as she did her best to avoid attention being brought to her. In the distance, she could still see the firetruck racing down the street and her vision followed the direction it was headed in: an apartment complex, up in flames, with smoke billowing out.

Between building to building, she leaped with the boost from the heat on her shoes propelling her forward. As she got just a couple houses down from the smoke, she hid behind the balcony of a rooftop and overheard a woman cry out:

“MY CHILD’S STILL IN THERE!”

Nemesis noticed the crowds of people and did her best to avoid them as she entered the apartment complex from one of the windows to the side.

Inside, the heat fogged up her visor and the smoke around the apartment Her suit protected her from the flame, as well as the smoke, but the heat still felt suffocating.

“HELLO? IS ANYONE HERE?” She called.

No sign of anyone. She rushed toward the front door to the apartment and shoved her way through the door. Down the burning hallways she called out again. This time, she heard the answer in the form of a screaming and crying little girl, followed by a series of coughs.

She followed the sound of the voice down the hall and near the end of the hall, by a stairway, she punched through the door and knocked it down.

Through the burning apartment, she found the little girl’s cries leak through fallen roofing blocking the door to her room. She shoved the debris aside and found the girl, behind her bed, sobbing.

“Come on, I’ll take you,” Nemesis knelt down and told the little girl.

The little girl coughed, then asked, “who are you?”

“I’m…” Nemesis was at a loss for words, “I’m a firefighter,” she lied and took the girl into her arms. As they exited, she told the little girl, “hold tight. Try to face my chest.”

Nemesis found the nearest window and leaped out from the side facing an alleyway. She let her wings spread to cushion the descent. Once on the ground, she set the little girl down. Past the alleyway, she could see the crowd staring up at the burning apartment complex. Rows of firefighters lined up and sprayed down the burning building with their long hoses.

“Ma’am, we sent someone in. If she’s in there, we’ll find her,” one firefighter told the mother.

“You should go,” Nemesis told the little girl.

The little girl wheezed, but nodded and ran off out into the crowd. While hidden behind a dumpster, Nemesis removed her armor and sat back, wiping the sweat off her forehead.

“Looks like more improvements will be needed,” she took a deep sigh, then walked out from the alleyway.

“Mom, mom!” The little girl cheered.

“Slop?” The mother sobbed, “how did you get out here?”

“A robot saved me, mom!”

Nemesis scoffed, then let out a little chuckle under her breath as she walked away from the scene.

“So I’m a robot now? Well, whatever. I guess there’s worse things to be,” she said to herself.

Back at Mac’s house, Nemesis shared the news.

“What?! Do you know how dangerous that was?!” He was in disbelief.

“Not with the armor. The most dangerous thing is…” she pointed to her chest.

“What? Your boobs? Big whoop,” he scoffed.

“No! This armor doesn’t have a cooling system! It needs air conditioning! Heating AND cooling! It’s practically a computer, isn’t it?” She explained in shouts.

“Quiet down. Mom will hear us,” he shushed her. “But yes, I suppose if you’re going to make modifications, that ought to be one of the. Do you even know how you would go about it?”

“Microscopic fans,” she replied.

“Right. Well, technology like that doesn’t come cheap. You could probably look into it online and ask some technicians, but I take it you’d rather keep this a secret and do it yourself, right?”

She nodded.

“We’re still in high school. Funding this pet project of yours is going to cost you money. Yet another dilemma you didn’t consider, huh?”

Nemesis got to thinking: Yes. Having a job is an integral part of living in a society. I suppose it was inevitable.

In between her studies and spars on the weekends, she would seek out places hiring that would accept a teenager. At times, she would witness fights on the streets and would change into her armor to break them up. She managed to stop them without much issue, but had to run just as fast as the others in the fight ran, so she wouldn’t draw too much attention to herself.

As she made more appearances on the streets with her armor, word began to spread. Articles in the paper were written about this mysterious armored figure spotted. Posts made online. News anchors reported it. Despite all that, she never even noticed the attention her actions had garnered.

Several months passed, and she was in her second year of high school. There was a long period of inactivity where she didn’t don her armor, and that just got people talking about what an urban legend that mysterious figure was. At 16, she finally found work while passing by a place named Golden Egg Diner with a help wanted sign hanging from the window. The building was small, painted blue, and conjoined between two, much more attractive places (a fast food chain, and a used bookstore with a cafe inside) which also happened to be much taller and with flashier signs.

She didn’t care. She needed work.

The interviewer was a large guy with grease all over his otherwise white shirt. He had on a large, puffy white hat and a 5 o’clock shadow. His name was Rocko Moonshine and he made sure all of his employees knew it.

“Name?” He began.

“Nemesis Clemens.”

“Age?”

“16.”

“Bit on the young side, but if you’re good, it shouldn’t matter. Can you make a mean pancake?”

“The meanest. I piss people off with my pancakes.”

“Can you make a nice pancake?”

“Oh, I don’t know, chief. That might be a little harder.”

Rocko cracked a smile.

“Good. You’re hired. You start tomorrow. When are you available to work?”

“Any time after school and I’m free on the weekends.”

He reached out and she shook his hand.

“Oof. Tight,” he remarked. And here I thought I was the one with the hard grip, he then thought.

“I’ve been told I’ve got that gorilla grip,” Nemesis remarked.

“Who told you that?”

Nemesis paused. She couldn’t remember.

“Never mind that. Thanks for having me aboard.”

While on the way home, she received a text from Mac urging her to show up at his house. She groaned, as she expected to collapse on her bed as soon as she got home.

At his house, Mac pulled up multiple articles from different news sites describing the figure in armor.

“What’s wrong with these pictures?” He asked.

“Whoa! I didn’t know I’ve been talked about!” She remarked, looking at each screen.

“Yes. Which means word will spread and the more danger you bring to yourself,” he went on to explain.

“Hey, I haven’t beat anyone up in a long time! And I’ve saved people! Just the other day, someone hung from a sculpture off the side of a building after accidentally slipping off the roof. I helped them down. Shouldn’t that count for something?”

“Yes. I’m not worried about that. I’m just worried about you doing something stupid and putting yourself in danger. We don’t know how much this armor can take or what others are capable of.”

“You’re right. Technology is pretty advanced. Maybe there’s more suits like this one,” she nodded along.

“We just don’t know,” he shook his head. “Which is why I propose you let me act as your guide when you’re wearing that suit. I’ll install something. It might take me a couple of weeks, so do you think you can handle being without it until then?”

“That should be fine.”

Her first week at the new job was rough as she adjusted to working as a cook. She had to take on many orders as they came, as the place was much more bustling than she could have imagined. From the outside, she swore she never saw more than one or two customers at the time, but it turned out that different hours brought different crowds.

One such crowd left her suspicious. There were four men in black suits, black bowler hats, and dark sunglasses. After the waitress brought them their coffee (no sugar, no cream, extra salt), she couldn’t help but notice them staring in her direction while she cooked up their meal (each man ordered a giant omelet. One, a strawberry yogurt omelet. Another, a bacon and broccoli omelet. The third, a hard boiled omelet).

Whatever it was about them, it unnerved her. She thought they would have left after an hour of her making meals for other customers passing through, but no. There they were, still seated and conversing with each other, meanwhile glancing several times in her direction.

When Rocko dismissed her for her break, she walked through the back door and drank from a water bottle as she relaxed in the alleyway.

The three men at the diner stepped into the alleyway from the streets. She waved to them and tried to play it cool. I’m sure this is trouble, but I don’t know how yet.

“Hey, lads,” she greeted. “Enjoy the food?”

“We’ve come to deliver a message on behalf of Don Treble,” one of them men announced, and all three of them pulled out switchblades from their pockets.

“Is that so?” Her casual smile left her and was replaced with a scowl as her tone lowered as well.

My anger is always with me. But that doesn’t mean I have to release it all at once, she told herself as one man ran forward with the switchblade and swung it around. She ducked under his swings before grabbing his wrist and slamming it against the wall, causing him to drop his knife. One of the other men ran forward to her left and tried slashing her, but she cartwheeled out of the way and midway through, kicked the man’s wrist and disarmed him. The third tried stabbing her while she was distracted. She sidestepped just in time to grab his arm and flip him over as she slammed him down to the ground.

As she held him down, the other two grabbed their knives and ran toward her. Sensing their movements, she grabbed him by his collar and held onto it.

“I wouldn’t make any sudden moves,” she growled before flipping him over and holding onto him by the back of his collar.

“You think you scare us?!” One man barked.

She shook her head and thought, how come I’ve heard that one so many times before?

The man she held tried to break free and swing his arm with his switchblade behind him. She grabbed onto his arm with her free hand and squeezed. As the switchblade dropped, she kicked it up and caught it between her fingers.

She took the switchblade and shoved it...right into the wall across from her. It stuck into the concrete filling with no hope of being pulled out.

“How?!” The two men were baffled. Meanwhile, the one she had held onto tried elbowing her in the stomach. She noticed in time to step back and kicked him in the back just as fast. He stumbled forward and joined the other two men.

“Now. What message did you have for me?” She asked.

The three men were fuming. Two of them still had their switchblades, while the one without tried pulling the one stuck in the wall out. It wouldn’t budge.

“You interfered with our business,” one explained, “we were supposed to carve ya up a little, let you know not to mess with us again.”

She nodded without smile.

“Tell your boss I got your message loud and clear. So I promise you this: I won’t carve you up with your switchblade, and if you run right now, I’ll even let you keep them.”

She had no idea who this Don Treble was, but she anticipated such an encounter when she helped Mac out. As I told him before, I’m okay taking the heat for him if it means he’s safe, she thought.

“No way! Why should we listen to you?!” The one on the left barked. All the while, the man who had lost his switchblade took his chances and ran off. As she let him pass through her and out into the streets, she didn’t so much as flinch.

“See that? He had the right idea,” she pointed behind her.

Neither of them seemed to listen. Both of them charged at her with their knives firm in their grip. This time, they were sure, they wouldn’t drop them. Nemesis shook her head. Stubborn lot, she thought.

On her right, the man swung to the left. She leaned back while the one to her left swung in the other direction. She did a backflip, then landed on her hands and propelled herself forward and with her legs spread out, she kicked both in the stomach with an upward dive. They stumbled back and when she landed back on her feet, she dashed toward them, placed both palms on their faces, and slammed them both to the ground.

They tried to wave their knives around while their faces was covered by her palms. Neither of them reached her, and worse, she elbowed their arms and knocked the knives loose.

Knees on their stomachs, she grabbed the knives from them and spat in each of their faces before getting up.

“I’ll be confiscating these until you learn how to use them,” she rasped.

She walked over to the nearby dumpster and lifted the lid, then dumped them in as they faded away in the pile of trash.

“Have fun,” she mocked, then walked back toward the backdoor to her job. The two men scrambled to their feet and dived into the dumpster with their bottom halves hanging out.

She walked over and kicked both of them, and the lid fell over each.

Back inside the diner, her boss walked up to her.

“What was up with all that commotion outside?” He asked.

She shook her head.

“Just a couple of dumpster divers.”

Back on shift, she cooked for the patrons, and the whole time continued to feel uneasy.

My troubles may have just begun. Still, I hope my message came across, she thought.

#nanowrimo #writing #stories #duck duck goose #nemesis #action #thriller #drama

[seismicsight]

On Cop Toph

nobody can convince me that toph didn’t actively and openly refuse to enforce any laws/ordinances set by the Council that she felt were either (1) unjust, (2) discriminatory, or (3) served some underlying political agenda. 

this definitely made her unpopular among the later iterations of the Council, but who was gonna suggest ousting toph?? toph, the famously talented inventor of metalbending, well-connected noblewoman, venerated war hero, and best friend of the Avatar? yeah, thought so.

(things got even better when she ascended to the Board of Directors and became a non-voting member of the Council herself. then she was gleefully allowed to call out every single lily-livered politico as she pleased to their faces and on the record.)

and you bet your ass that in the short time she spent running the RCPD, she encouraged every single goddamn member of the force to question institutionalization and practice personal discretion with every case/call. and because she’s got that lie detector status, nobody could get away with misconduct or abuse of power under her watch thank you very much.  

i bet between her and aang and zuko, the systemic support of rehabilitation instead of punitive incarceration as a means to curb crime was written into the founding documentation of the republic. i mean, between toph, who’s been on the receiving end of unjust incarceration, zuko, who was given a chance at rehabilitation and came out the better for it, and aang, whose core moral beliefs hinge on respect for all life... yeah i’m gonna say that this was a thing.

being someone who’s experienced for herself the ways that corruption can manifest in institutionalized settings, she set out from day one not to let the place go to the dogs like every other powerful body out in the EK. it’s why the department is so small. they ONLY handle crime. not mental health issues, not social services, not homelessness, not private security, etc. and it’s also why the officers only have restraining metal cables on their person.

while we’re at it, i wanna address fandom discussions around toph being anything else besides a cop in her adulthood. and i generally agree. if i were to run with my own original ideas, i would have never pegged her to be law enforcement as an adult. 

but to be fair to LoK blogs i wanna interact with, i’m keeping toph’s affiliation with the RCPD in my headcanons. and to be fair to all of us working around canon, toph is nothing if not a pragmatist at heart. 

while the idea of toph becoming a staunch anarchist or vigilante are appealing, realistically i don’t see her deciding on maintaining these ideologies/lifestyles to their logical conclusions. 

anarchist: for one, while i think toph’s particular sentiments fall in line with social anarchism, she’s not nearly politically-motivated enough to try and start her own movement (katara is more the group’s activist personality), nor is she keen on dismantling whole existing systems... because then as the inciting agitator she’d be left with either the responsibility to institute a whole new societal structure through widespread political ground-work, or shoulder the blame if her actions created a power vacuum that could be exploited (side-eyes at Zaheer, the idiot who thought that killing a single monarch would solve the problem of corruption in the EK without major social momentum and collaboration.) toph is not a politician. she’s just NOT, sorry.

would she join an anarchist community if she found one? oh, for sure. that i can concede.

vigilante: i can definitely see her dabbling in vigilante work in her youth. i really can. it’s good outside-the-law fun that serves a morally-justifiable purpose. in the wake of corrupt or unjust institutions, she would definitely find appeal in taking up a mantle and taking things into her own capable hands. 

however, i imagine this lifestyle can’t be maintained indefinitely. for one, toph likes recognition and praise, and vigilantism requires an amount of secrecy that would start to grate on her after a while. not only because of her desire to be seen by others, but also because it might remind her too much of her own trauma and the years she spent sneaking away to participate in Earth Rumble as a child. and two, vigilantism doesn’t solve the problem of corruption or incompetence in existing institutions. after a while on this schtick, she would definitely get frustrated at the relatively tiny impact she can make as a lone actor (especially because she can’t like...write politically powerful messages at the scenes of her vigilante work to incite a social movement.) 

as such, i think a more pragmatic approach is toph working for herself as a bounty hunter or earthbending master or even being a self-sustaining homesteader (and then moonlighting as a vigilante). i doubt her dad would willingly bankroll her without some strings attached, or even that she’d be happy to take money from him because doing so suggests that she can’t sustain herself without assistance. note: vigilantism alone doesn’t pay. at all. it’s why famed vigilantes in fiction are often secret millionaires or work well-paying day jobs.

now... getting the opportunity to establish a brand new institution? one she can mold into anything she wants? one she can lead and thereby use as a vaulting point to have the ear of the powers that be in an entirely new society? bruh. definitely an upgrade from working under an alias on the fringes. which is why i think she agreed to do it in the first place.

establishing the RCPD started out as a favor to her closest friends...but i hold that it then became her opportunity to create something better. 

given this conclusion, i do take issue with the way the RCPD is characterized in LoK, as well as her life story around the job, but this post is long enough already. /rant

#toph #headcanon v: esteemed #headcanon au: esteemed #yeah i know the idea of someone working on the institution from the inside is futile #but this is a fantasy world #where toph had the opportunity to FOUND AND RUN the entire institution in a NEW society #let me have my HC that she was a revolutionary and controversial figure in the city #and that the police force SHE created could be actually progressive and useful

[askforimagineoroneshot]

An oath to die by (Jace Wayland x Reader)

HI, this is not a request but my work. I wrote a whole story about this in my native language. And I was thinking about doing little something I love for myself to get back to writing. So here we go.

I love books, I have a tattoo with my sister with this theme. I love the movie. I am not a fan of the TV show. SO If you want an imagine then I will you actors from the movie.

Anyway. Here we go. The reader is in a relationship with Jace. Romantic one. And then Clary came in the picture. She gets a little jealous and feels like he cares more for Clary then her. She goes to Magnus for a drink and ends up staying there for the night.

Enjoy. Love you all. Send request! I write for all the characters of these books. 

MASTERLIST

Reader's point of view

Rain starts pouring from the sky. I don't care. I feel numb. That is what happens to you when you care for someone too much and then they hurt you. I know it sounds like a cliche.

So here I am, on my way to Magnus Bane. I am not expected. I don't really care. No party is going on tonight because of the weather. Allday is like this. Rain starts and then after ten minutes it's over.

I don't feel cold. I have my uniform on. It keeps me warm. I have a hood over my head but I feel my dark hair getting wet. I am almost there. Just two more blocks. It won't take long.

I have my weapons on me. I hope that Magnus doesn't care about it. I just want to relax somewhere where Jace won't find me.

When I get there I knock at the door and wait. The huge wooden door opens and a warlock is there with a cup in his hand dressed in his cashmere rope. He looks surprised to see me. Alone.

“I am not in the mood for helping shadowhunters tonight.” He says with a bored look on his face.

“Good, because I am not here for that.” I start honestly. He looks even more surprised but not in a bad way. He is waiting for me to continue. “I am here because I had a rough couple of days. And I hoped that you can help me relax.”

I am honest. I have nothing left to do. Yes, I can and I do trust Izzy and her brother. But I need to be away from it all. At least for a little moment.

“Well, then come in.” he steps aside. “I am up to no good. I hope you know that. “ he joked around. And after a long time, I smiled. I am here for just a moment and I feel better.

I followed Magnus inside. He leads me into his library. There is a couch there so I take a seat. I look where he is going. He puts his cup down.

“I guess that you want a drink.” he looks me in the eye.

I only nod. I took my jacket off and placed it on the floor. It's wet and I don't want to ruin his chair. I have a dark shirt on now.

“There you go.” Magnus passed me a glass. “Now what happened?” he asks the question I imagine he is dying to ask. He takes a seat in a chair next to me.

“Nothing I guess.” I look down into my lap. “It's just, Jace takes care of Clary now. I know why and I care about her. It's just.” I stop for a moment. I don't know how to continue.

“It doesn't feel right to you.” he finished for me.

“I guess. I don't really know so it is hard to talk about it. I just feel alone when I look at them.” I look at him. I am looking for understanding.

“Yeah, love can hurt for no reason sometimes. But I think you just need to relax a little. Step aside and wait just a moment.” he told me.

Maybe it is not a bad idea after all.

Jace's point of view

“Do you know where Y/N is?” I asked Alec. We just got to the institute. I was too busy to look after where she went.

“I don't know. But I think she told Izzy something. Try asking her.” he gave me his answer.

“Okay.” I went off. Clary was somewhere behind me. I didn't really care about it. She is safe. I can take a break from her. I took my phone and I tried to call Y/N. Nothing. Well, that's weird.

“Izzy,” I called after the dark-haired girl in front of me. She stops in her tracks and looks at me. “You know where Y/N went after we got out of that bar?” I asked her.

“Yeah, she is fine and safe. Don't worry about her.” That is the only thing she told me before going somewhere in the halls of the institute. I tried to stop her but knowing her long enough I knew she wouldn't tell me a thing.

So I give up. I am going to my room to take a shower and take a rest. On my way there I tried to call Y/N but nothing happened again. So I wrote her a text. Asking where she is and why. Hoping for an answer I take a shower.

Reader's point of view

It has been a couple of hours.But it didn't feel like it. In my mind it was just a moment of peace. I decided to spend a night at warlock´s coach. He didn't want me to go back to the Institute. Not when I got a little tipsy.

So here I am. Watching the ceiling with my brain running to places I couldn't go before. I am always too busy to think about nothing. It is either Jace or now Clary or the Downworlders. I let go of my instincts and let myself rest.

“Hello there.” I hear a voice next to me. When I open my eyes I see a pair of cat ones. “Good morning.” Magnus says to me.

“Good morning.” I sat up and greeted him. When I get a better look I see a cup he is holding for me. I take it carefully not to spill. “Thank you.”

“Did you sleep well?” he asks. “You looked peaceful when I checked on you.” I didn't feel weird that he came here to watch me sleep. I felt safe here. I am not that type of hunter that doesn't trust any other race.

“For the first time in a while I did.” I took a sip of chamomile tea. “Thank you for letting me stay at your place.”

“You're welcome. You can come to me at any time. Alec is holding you close so will I. You are not that awful.” he smiles at me.

“Thank you.” I laugh. “I need to go. Jace cald me and texted me last night. He must be worried.” I finish my drink.

“It is good to let people that we love and they love us know we are not matter of course. They need to know that they have to appreciate us as well.” he seems really calm.

“Yeah, I guess. I am gonna use your bathroom.” It is not a question. “Sure, go for it.I am sure you will find a way out of here.” I only nod to let him know he doesn´t need to let me out.

Jace's point of view

Now I am really nervous. Y/N was not in the Institute the whole night. So here I am on my way to Izzy´s room. She knows where she is. It's not that I am controlling or need to know about every step of hers but I am worried. Especially in the world we as hunters live in.

“Jace, hi.” I hear a female behind me. I know it is not a Y/N. I could recognize her voice anywhere. This was Clary. “I am on my way to the library.” she told me as if she wanted me to follow her on every step like a lost puppy.

“You will find a way there I believe in you.” I tell her without hesitation or turning to face her. “Take Simon with you.”

As I am about to approach a women's wing of the Institute I meet up with Izzy. “There you are.” I say as I stop in my tracks in front of her blocking her way out.

“Well I am busy now. If you could come around later.” She gives me a sarcastic smile.

“No later, now. I tried to call Y/N and text Y/N all night. With no answer. I need to know where she went yesterday.” I am forward. I am not patient anymore.

“Why do you need to know?” she asks me with the same amount of sarcasm.

“To know if she is safe.” What did she expect me to tell her? That I need to know about her every step of the way? Is she crazy.

“I told you she is safe.” Izzy was about to continue but another voice stopped her.

“It's okay Isabelle.” I turn around and see my little angel. “I am here and safe.”

Before I have a chance to notice Izzy is gone and I am following Y/N like a puppy. “I was just worried about you. You disappeared like a ghost. Not telling me where you went. Spend night somewhere at the mercy of whatever is out there.” I am talking to her back as I tried to keep up with her.

“Come on in.” she smiles when she opens the door to her rooms. “I needed some time and space to think. That's all. I was safe and Izzy knew where in case I was needed.” she tells me calmly.

“Time and space to think about what?” I sit down and watch her take her clothes off with her weapons.

“About myself, Jace.” she turned to face me. “About everything. Even Clary and Simon.” she seemed mad. I understood her. I am just worried about us when she says things like this.

“You don't need to worry about Simon or Clary. I will deal with her and I don't want her to affect us and what we have.” I get up to walk to her. I put my hand in hers and make her come closer to my imbrease.

“Well, that no longer matters. SHe is here and no matter how this situation will end it will affect all of us.” She looks down at our hands. “Nothing will be the same.” she lets out a breath I didn't know she was holding.

“I will not let her get between us. I love you too much for that. You are my world and she may change some things around here but not us.” I put my free hand under her chin to make her look at me.

“Do you promise?” she asks me with her big Y/E/C eyes.

“I swear on Raziel.” I seal that promise with a kiss she leans in. It is not only a promise to her. But to me as well. It is an oath I will live by and die by.

#jace wayland x reader #jace wayland imagine #jace wayland oneshot #the mortal instruments #the mortal instruments imagine #shadowhunters #shadowhunters x reader #the mortal instruments x reader

[dickwheelie]

This is a little specific so feel free to give it a pass if you're not into it, but would you like to like to do season 2 Lunch Date Era jonmartin with the 'friendly hugs' prompt? Thank you, and have a good day!

specific prompts are actually really nice, they give me something solid to work off of, so this was actually perfect! I had a lot of fun writing this one. thank you and enjoy, anon!

____________

Jon can't stop bouncing his leg.

He keeps forgetting that he's doing it, and then noticing again, and then forcibly stopping himself, but it never lasts long. The cafe is crowded and loud, which is distracting enough on its own, but Martin is also there, sitting across from him and tucking into a sandwich, gamely trying to engage Jon in conversation even though Jon keeps getting distracted and bouncing his leg.

"Jon? You there?"

Martin's voice fades back into Jon's awareness, and he shifts his gaze back to him. "Sorry," he says for the fifth time that lunch hour, "um, say that again?"

He feels bad. He does. Ever since he found out about Martin's CV, Jon's been kicking himself over how paranoid he'd been, thinking that Martin was out to get him, shouting at him over what turned out to be nothing. Jon doesn't want to be that sort of boss, that sort of person, but he'd just been so overwhelmed. He could hardly believe it when Martin asked him to join him for lunch, after all the things Jon's said to him. Still, he's grateful for the olive branch. It's too bad he keeps messing it up by forgetting to listen to Martin when he talks.

Speaking of--

"Oh, damn," Jon mutters, interrupting whatever it is Martin is trying to tell him. "Martin, god, I'm so sorry, I just got--"

"Distracted?" Martin says, and to Jon's surprise he doesn't seem annoyed, just . . . concerned. "I've noticed. Jon, are you feeling alright?"

"What? Yes, I'm fine." Jon eats the last few bites of his salad so he doesn't have to meet Martin's eyes.

"Sure? Because you seem really anxious." Martin's voice has that soft, worried lilt to it that Jon used to get annoyed by. It doesn't bother him so much anymore. It's . . . sort of nice, really, to be worried over, sometimes.

Not now, though. Because right now Jon doesn't need to be worried over. "I'm not anxious. Just . . . it's distracting in here. It's loud."

"Oh, well, let's go then," Martin says, finishing up his sandwich and standing up to gather his coat. "It's not too cold out. We can walk around downtown until lunch hour is over."

"I--" Jon wants to protest, but he realizes that yes, getting out of this small cafe would be very welcome. "That's . . . that's a good idea, actually."

His leg can't bounce when he's walking, and the early winter air is cold but not biting, and the walkways aren't crowded. Jon can feel himself calming down by the time they get a block away from the cafe. Maybe he had been a little anxious, after all. This was a very good idea. Martin has very good ideas, he thinks.

"If that cafe was too much," Martin is telling him, and thankfully Jon is actually able to listen to him now, "there's another place we could try next time. New Indian place, right around the corner from the Institute. Tim says he goes there whenever he has a PT appointment, to treat himself."

Jon wants to go back to the fact that Martin wants there to be a next time, but for now there's something more pressing to address. "Tim's still doing physical therapy?" he says. He'd thought he was finished weeks ago.

"Yeah, he says it's just follow-up appointments. He's mostly okay, they just need to make sure he's improving, I guess." Martin shoots him a sidelong look. "I thought you and he were close."

"Not, um . . . not so much anymore." Jon stuffs his hands into his coat pockets, ducking into his collar. "We don't really . . . talk."

"Oh," Martin says. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah." Jon doesn't want to get into it. Thankfully, Martin doesn't press the issue.

"Are you still going to PT?" Martin says instead. "You don't have to tell me, obviously. I just . . . I never see you outside the archives anymore."

Jon bites the inside of his cheek. "I, um . . . I sort of . . . stopped going. After the second appointment."

Martin stops short in the middle of the sidewalk, and Jon has to double back. "Christ, Jon!" he says, not angry, but aggravated. "You can't just skip out on that stuff, you could do permanent damage--"

"Martin, I'm fine," Jon says. "See, I'm walking around and everything. Trust me, if it was bad, I'd have kept going, but the whole thing was a waste of time and I had work to get done--"

"Your health comes first," Martin says, with finality, before his demeanor softens. "I'm not an idiot, Jon, I notice you staying late and coming in early, I notice when you skip meals. You're running yourself ragged. It's a job, Jon, and trust me, I know how important this work is, I get it, but none of it, alright, none of it's more important than you."

Jon blinks at him. He wants to protest, but every half-formed rebuttal sounds either defensive or outright silly. Martin is right, after all. Jon just wishes that he weren't, because then he wouldn't have to reevaluate everything he's been doing for the past two months.

Martin goes on, taking a step closer to him. "Just . . . you don't need to keep throwing yourself at a wall, Jon. At least give yourself a break every once in a while."

"I can't just walk away, Martin. O-Or, I don't--" Jon's voice has gone shaky. He clears his throat and tries again. "I--I don't really know how. There's just . . . there's so much, and I don't know where any of it leads, if it's leading anywhere at all, and . . . I just . . . I've no idea what I'm supposed to do about all of it."

Martin gives him a look that Jon doesn't know how to place. It's not pity, or condescension, which Jon would expect from most everyone else. He just looks . . . sort of sad. His hands are clasped in front of his chest, tugging restlessly on his fingers. "Jon, would you . . . um, that is . . ." Suddenly Martin thrusts his open arms out towards Jon and blurts out, "Would you like a hug?"

Jon's speechless. What a thing to be asked, he thinks, and especially by a coworker, no matter how well they know each other, it's completely unprofessional, and even if Martin were his closest friend, which he isn't, but even if he were, why on earth would Jon of all people need a hug? Sure, he's not doing all that great, but Martin doesn't need to know that, and anyway how is a hug supposed to fix anything, especially a hug from someone who doesn't know the half of what Jon's been going through lately, or how scared and confused he's been, or about Jon's very serious problems that are complicated and terrifying and can't be fixed with something as childish and simple as a--

"Yes, please," Jon says, the words coming out in an exhale of pent-up tension, and he all but collapses into Martin's open arms. His face lands just under Martin's chin, half-tucked into his shoulder, and he's just barely able to wrap his arms around Martin's midsection as Martin hugs him back tightly, squeezing him against his chest, and Jon had never known how strong Martin was, how much he had been hiding beneath those soft jumpers of his. His arms, all muscle beneath fat, feel as though they could fight off an army if they really wanted to, and despite his nagging paranoia, Jon can't help but feel utterly protected by them. He feels himself relaxing, bit by bit, sinking into the softness of Martin's chest, letting him hug him closer, just tight enough to be secure without hurting. As he leans into the hug, he doesn't feel any concern about Martin losing his grip or slipping backwards. Martin can take his weight; he knows this. He is as solid and reliable as a wall, and just as stubborn, and he will not drop Jon. Jon lets out a deep sigh, his breaths evening out and slowing, tension seeping from his limbs until he feels entirely relaxed. He feels cared for. He feels safe. It's been so, so long since he's felt safe.

He doesn't even notice that he's closed his eyes until Martin's arms shift around him, and Jon realizes they've been hugging for probably way longer than is normal. His eyes snap open and he backs off, hands sliding away from Martin, clearing his throat awkwardly. He tries not to miss the gentle security of Martin's arms.

"Um," Martin says, sounding like he's about to apologize, but Jon interrupts him.

"Thank you," he says, trying to keep his voice even. "That was--I, um. I needed that." When was the last time he'd hugged someone? Jon can't even remember. "It was really nice," he says quietly. Another one of Martin's brilliant ideas.

Martin nods, looking relieved, and perhaps a little fond, though it may just be Jon's imagination. "Anytime," he says, and Jon thinks he might mean it. He hopes he does. "What are friends for, eh?"

Jon blinks. Are they friends? How long has that been the case? He looks at Martin, hands stuffed into his coat pockets, a small smile on his face, and he thinks that yes, maybe they are friends. It would be nice to be friends, anyway. If Martin says they're friends, Jon won't correct him. "Yeah," he says, and he's very glad to see Martin's face brighten at the word. "I, um," and Jon needs to clear his throat again, "I-I'll try. To have a break once in a while."

"Promise?" Martin says, and Jon can't help but laugh.

"I promise."

Martin nods. "Okay. Good."

"This, today, lunch I mean, this was nice. I'd . . . um. I'd like to do it again."

"Oh! Um, sure. Definitely," Martin says, smiling.

"We can go to that Indian place," Jon says.

"Sure," Martin says. "Tomorrow?" His look is hesitant, but Jon's answer is immediate.

"Yes," he says, letting a smile run over his lips. "Yes, Martin, I'd like that very much."

#tma #the magnus archives #jonmartin #martin blackwood #jonathan sims #gwyneth writes

[dathen]

Okay I have some complicated thoughts following Melanie’s arc that all build on top of each other and hinge HEAVILY on unreliable narrator interpretations so bear with me

In my relisten I’m at the beginning of s3, and it always shocks me a bit at how quickly she interprets Martin’s interaction with her as hostile.  I’m going to skip over the “it’s understandable, Melanie’s had a hard time in her career” disclaimers since there’s plenty of meta on that already, and instead follow the effects of this tendency: not on others, this time, but on her

(This got absurdly long and covers so many episodes so I’m going to split it into separate pre- and post-bullet surgery posts)

Rewinding a bit, the last time she was at the Institute, she was starting to get along with Jon before he seemed confused about her comment on “the other Sasha.”  It takes her a split second to interpret that confusion as him suddenly deciding to gaslight and mock her, gets angry and tells him there is something seriously wrong with him, and leaves before he can ask what she means.  Given how tenuous their truce was and the fact she and Jon had mocked each other in the past, it’s an outburst that at least has some personal history behind it.

But only a couple episodes later, we learn that it’s not just Jon she responds to in this way.  In TMA 84, she meets our Martin Blackwood!  Customer service voice opposite-of-Jon politeness extraordinaire!  And as soon as he gets confused about the two Sasha comment, she.......immediately assumes that HE is also trying to gaslight her.  She insists that “I’m not doing this again” without giving him a chance to ask or explain, so they miss the opportunity to piece together the deal with the Not!Sasha.  Her doing this with someone she just met shows a much broader pattern than her interactions with Jon.

That very episode, Elias offers Melanie a job, and she accepts despite Martin’s protests.  Later, she accuses them all of them being an “old boy’s club” because she interpreted Martin’s warnings as sexism rather than trying to protect her.  As the audience, we see the unreliable narrator of her perspective at work: we know that Jon and Martin were genuinely confused, and we know that Martin was trying to save her, and that all of these instances were her seeing it as people being out to get her.

Hop forward to the notorious gossip scene in TMA 106.  Here, Melanie complains about Martin being hostile to her.  My first assumption was that this was all offscreen, but after this parade of misinterpretation and comparing to her and Martin’s actual interactions, I have to wonder:

TMA 84, after Martin tells Melanie about the murder, and right before Elias interrupts:

Martin:  Are you sure you’re alright?

Melanie:  Yes!  I just got… God, I’m kind of at the end, you know?

Martin:  The end of what?

Melanie:   Everything.  Friends, clues, savings. Everything.  Options.  There’s nowhere left for me to go . I don’t know why, but…  I just, I just felt that perhaps coming here might help.  And talking things out with Jon.  I mean, I mean he’s awful, but at least he listens, you know?

Martin:   (soft) Yeah.  ...I’m sorry.  Um, is there anything that I could, like, maybe...do for you?

They get interrupted immediately after this, so this was the first impression Melanie was given.  Then, when Elias offers the job, she...assumes Martin’s “I don’t think that’s a good idea” is from sexism, when he’d just been talking about murders and disappearances that caused that very job opening.

TMA 88 

Melanie:   Are you alright?

Martin:  Yeah… Sorry, just a lot of change recently, y’know.  You and John and Sasha and… everything’s gone a bit wrong.  It’s the not knowing, you know?  I mean, Jon’s still alive.  Not sure why, but I’m sure of that.  But Sasha, I…

Melanie:   Yes, it’s… it’s probably, um…

Martin:   Sorry, sorry, I’m...  What do you need?

Next interaction!  Oh this one HURTS.  Martin takes her question literally, and starts telling her why she’s not alright, a reverse of their earlier exchange.  But Melanie came by for a question and wasn’t prepared for an honest answer, so Martin quickly reels it in and asks what he can do for her once again.

Skipping forward a bit in that same scene:

Martin:   Oh, you weren’t here when we took the place over from Gertrude!  It’s been over a year just to get it like this.  I mean, I think the database was on Jon’s list, but--

Melanie:  So how do you track someone down?

Martin:   Oh, oh well, y’know, we’ve a few contacts in various record offices around the place.  Aside from that it’s just… just a bit of detective work, really.  Tim used to do a great line in impersonating people to utility companies!  Heh, the number of times he got them to give him ‘his own’ address--

Melanie:  Right, right… Um, this one, the name is 'Jude Perry.’ Doesn’t mean anything to you, does it?

I LOVE THIS EXCHANGE.  I TREASURE IT.  Having bottled up his emotions, Martin is going in full Friendly Helpful Coworker mode.  There are so many little details here signaling that he’s embracing her as part of the team, sharing anecdotes about Tim’s shenanigans and Jon’s old plans, looping her in as One of Them as he helps her get what she needs.  This is the kind of approach you go to management trainings to get, to help new hires feel welcome and part of things.  But alas, Melanie is in a hurry and wants to cut to the chase, so all this is lost on her.

TMA 98 - I won’t copy it all in here because it’s long, but this is an overwhelmingly positive interaction.  She asks if he’s okay, but he bottles it up and says he’s fine.  This time, she presses, and he admits it’s because of the statements.  Martin ends up asking for help!! and Melanie agrees!  She’s on the way to murder Elias, but she still gets credit for “I’ll ask him to cut you some slack.”  Then she invites him to drinks!

And then.... TMA 106

Melanie:   Anyway, Martin’s always been lovely to you.

Basira:  Hmm. I don’t know, I mean, you should have seen him when I turned up last year. I think he thought I was trying to steal his precious Archivist.

Melanie:   Ahhh. I got the exact same when Jon was hiding out, and came to me with his “source on the inside” stuff.  Martin was not impressed.

WAIT WHAT

We just looked over all their interactions!  They were all soft and lovely and welcoming!!  But then we hear Melanie with “well unlike how he is to me, Martin is nice to you.”  This was taken at face value for years, but when you line up all of the above, I feel there is a strong basis to say this is another case of Melanie’s first impressions + over-defensiveness gone wrong.  Just like we saw her initial bickerings with Jon solidify into series-long hostility, her interpreting Martin’s confusion as gaslighting and warnings about the job as sexism seems to have doomed her opinion of him long-term.  We hear Martin being kind and concerned and welcoming, then hear Melanie contrast it as bad treatment.

Recently, a mutual considered this even further to how she talked about losing all of her friends with the Ghost Hunt UK circles:

Melanie:  Even back then, I could feel all my old friends starting to distance themselves from me. ...  I stopped asking the others for help, and I kept my research to myself. I talked to them less and less. By the time I was arrested, I think a lot of them had already given up on me.

I have to wonder...did this sort of dynamic play out here, too?  Did she assume that her friends’ concern was judgment or hostility?  Were they giving up on her, or did she lash out and push them away?  Either way, it’s easy to see parallels to s2 Jon in her description, here, with her withdrawing and diving alone into increasingly risky research without asking for help.  And s2 Jon definitely shared Melanie’s tendency to see offers for help and support as hostile.  (Aside:  I interpret her and Georgie as not very close at this point, like a networking contact rather than a friend; Melanie comes to Jon for someone to talk to about her struggles above her, and Georgie seems to be unaware of all of Melanie’s encounters pre-s3)

And on that downer note I am ending part 1...but PART 2 IS GOING TO BE WAY HAPPIER THAN THIS.  Here, we see Melanie with a lot of people who would have supported her if she let them:  Martin, Jon, possibly the friends she said abandoned her.  But in her effort to protect herself and not let history repeat for how she’d been hurt in the past, she ends up alone and spiraling.

#tma #the magnus archives #tma spoilers #melanie king #tma meta #I had to stop myself from just rambling All Melanie Feelings in Every Direction to stay on track #but hoo boy writing this gave me a lot of feelings for the martin melanie friendship that could have been

[its-real]

I was going to wait until I had finished doing all the concept sketches for this but uh, I’m lazy so here take it as it is I’ll keep adding surely surely.

-LONG POST-

AU where the hermits fall into the boatem hole with no way to fly out because of some event that happens - maybe an apocalypse, maybe everyone just goes apeshit, who knows - and they all get messed up heads from falling in the void and passing out n fun stuff like that. They ‘land’ - idk how this would work without them dying lol - in a semi futuristic city which for now let’s just call it Boateqm (silent q). The hermit crabs would also fall at different rates therefore appear in the city at different times. So where do they end up?

Hospital gang:

Etho wakes up in a hospital bed with no memories - most of them will wake up with no memories btw - his doctor/nurse (this hospital may be understaffed) Tango asks him a bunch of questions then has to go see another patient. Etho is seen by a certain Bdubs who had just finished visiting his buddy Scar -will get to him next- in the bed next door. Bdubs walks back to notify Scar, a fashion designer, that the guy in the bed across would make a great model, just look at the striking hair! And the red eye! He opens the curtains on the side and Scar gets a look. He asks if Etho would like to be hired. Etho is to say the least very confused and on the verge of a panic attack that never quite seems to happen so he’s in a weird kind of limbo anyway it is now that his doctor/nurse Tango comes back and having overheard the conversation suggests it would be a good idea. The hospital can only take custody of Etho for so long, might as well start earning money now so he doesn’t become homeless. Etho is still very confused. So Tango just agrees to the job for him as his caretaker lol, and besides Scar comes here kinda often so Tango trusts him. Anyway Etho’s true passions he discovers are synthesisers, breeding horses with Bdubs and finding elaborate ways to do tax evasion. A simple man.

Scar is in the hospital because he got SCAR (hehe) from walking into a glass door in his super fancy house, which he owns because he’s a super fucking rich fashion designer of his own label Scara (this is not the first time he’s walked into a glass door). Scar refuses to go to a rich people hospital tho cause 1) he cares about healthcare and wants more funds to go to lower grade hospitals 2) Tango is his mate, and needs a goddam raise. But yeah, very successful, ran for mayor once but someone really didn’t like that which resulted in another hospital visit. Mans in the wars. One hospital visit he got really inspired by the fabric and stuff there so he had a line of clothes that were hospital inspired one time, in turn making hospital inspired garb very trendy for a bit. What a mad lad. Ideas man. Some would call him a genius if he didn’t keep on walking into glass doors n shit. Scar woke up in the back room of a small tailoring shop owned by a nice old couple who took him under their wing. He thanks them in every award speech, and whenever he’s in the area make sure to stop by and give them presents. His side hobby is gardening.

When Tango came to, he was lying on the footpath of a quiet street in the suburbs just out from the main city. Gorgeous day, golden hour, pretty houses, very aesthetic. He also had a leg injury, fuck. So Tango did what anyone would do: hobbled to the nearest house, asked in the nicest way he could under a lot of stress (so he kinda yelled) for a first aid kit, and performed surgery on himself atop the nice families dinner table. The nice family turned out to have called the police and an ambulance, who showed up just as Tango was wrapping up his leg with a bandage and took him away to the police on a stretcher. This debacle got him a leading story on the local newspaper: ‘Man performs surgery on himself after waking up with no memories and a leg injury’. After being questioned by the police, they decide they can’t really charge someone with amnesia and no money with anything like breaking and entering (he did knock and they did let him in) or property damage (blood on the carpet). The paramedics are stunned at his surgery, so they tell the police to take him to the nearest hospital and get him hired there, he could save so many lives. He gets hired by the head doctor after an examination of the surgery. The head doctor doesn’t really care that Tango doesn’t have any records or anything, the hospital is understaffed and Tango seems like an Angel sent down from the heavens to him. Tango is very very good at his job. So good that he gets offered a job at a far better paying hospital which he takes, then soon drops because he prefers the chaos of his old job much better.

Tango found Impulse extremely dehydrated, looking like death, wandering outside his flat one night, so he carried the man inside and saved his life. Now they are flat mates, and Impulse works in a tech store - an upgrade from working at a service station previously.

Bdubs woke up in an inner city park at night, homeless, broke, and in the company of other homeless and broke people. He built his way to success, got luckily hired by some rich asshole to mow their lawns plural - the rich asshole didn’t ask much questions, he just saw a poor man criticising the way a park had been landscaped to an old guy in a caravan and though it was good enough, seeing as the last one quit - and Bdubs didn’t mind too much, because the rich assholes property was really gorgeous. Once Bdubs was able to say he had work experience and wasn’t homeless he started babysitting the kids in the neighbourhood, pretty good money. Plus the kids love him, and everyone he meets loves him, he's just a nice guy. He met Scar because he had to purchase a suit for a kids birthday party, so he went to the cute little tailors shop he always walked past on the way to his favourite cute little gardening supplies shop. By now Bdubs had been promoted to part time gardener - the job is shared - and started working on and off at a building firm. They become besties, turns out Scar is also really into gardening etc etc. Eventually Bdubs becomes an architect, mainly designing for city contractors n such but occasionally designer homes, like the one he did for Scar.

Mumbo and Grian wake up in the hospital around the same time that Etho is still there, however Etho has been awake longer, and should really find a place to stay soon now that he’s got a steady job. Since - ok plot point here - the two are in the exact situation that Etho found himself in, he starts to feel like something weird is going on. Mumbo and Grian take a lot longer to recover than Etho did, and the two become hospital bed neighbor buddies. When they finally recover Scar offers them a temporary place to stay at his house while they find work. Tango gets Impulse to put in a good word for Mumbo at his work.

Nomads:

TFC is an old man who lives in a caravan off the money he made being a very successful miner, he now collects pretty shiny rocks and gems and stuff to give to kids. He’s like an all year round caravan Santa and wise old mystical figure. Dope.

Joe is a humble man who likes to wander. He’s never had a home, but if he needs anything he’ll go to TFC’s caravan or a homeless shelter or something. But he isn’t sad or anything, he really likes the freedom of being a simple wanderer.

Others:

Keralis is a business partner of Bdubs. Kerlalis is mega stonks. He was one of the first to land, had a big diamond in his pocket, bought shares in a company that blew up soon after and now he is really fucking rich.

Doc and Ren are the only ones who remember anything, and they arrive at the same time. Doc manages to keep his cool, but Ren loses his shit and gets thrown in a mental institution. Doc spends some time trying to get Ren out, and after a final success and laying low for a bit the two seek to bring all the hermits together.

Pearl ends up working in Bdubs building company.

Beef works in a music shop -sells records and instruments- and he starts up a record label out back after his boss retires and passes the shop onto him.

And yeah I don’t really know the other Hermits that well was hoping some of ya’ll could help me find places for them in this city :) don’t really know how to format this either so maybe some input would be nice, just wanted to get the idea out hehehe

#hermitcraft #hermitcraft au #ethoslab #goodtimeswithscar #tangotek #impulsesv #bdouble0 #mumbo jumbo #grian #tinfoilchef #joe hills #keralis #docm77 #rendog #pearlescentmoon #vintagebeef #hermitcraft fanart #hermitcraft fanfic #etho fanart #tangotek fanart