#everyone gets to the vault before the attack

[watchyourdigits]

I'm so sorry to anyone who follows me and was invested in Night Letter. I haven't updated it in over a month & I feel terrible about it!!! I wish there was a way to post updates like this on AO3, but whatever.

This temporary setback is partly because my life is in shambles, but it's mostly because I was struck by the hand of God with an alternative plot that I've been too busy MARINATING in to properly write the originally planned story.

Spoilers in tags~

[wardensantoineandevka]

I feel like it says a lot about the relationships between the major institutions of the Trust and the Consectorship's place in it that Spahr's role, the role of any Prime Consector, can be summarized as: show pony, attack dog, scapegoat.

[ameliasmiscmonsters]

“Your Majesty, is it really… um, necessary for…”

“For what?” You raised an eyebrow as your Dragon Boyfriend loomed from behind you.

His neck was craned around the throne you sat on, head hovering just off the stone slab floor.

The man who��d come to see you, trembled as he spoke his next words. “I… appreciate all the good that he’s done as guard of the Kingdom, but… does he have to be within your presence all the time?”

A puff of smoke escaped the dragons nostrils. “Due to the recent attack on the Harbor,” you replied. “He does. This is as much for your safety as it is mine. He’ll get pouty otherwise.” You smirked as you looked around at the beast beside you.

“’Pouty’?” Your Dragon whipped around to face you, narrowing his eyes at your words. “I do not get ‘pouty’.”

To avoid this becoming a playful back and forth, you turned away from him and gestured for the man to continue, “he’s of no danger to you so long as you’re not trying to do me harm.”

The man swallowed hard. He went on with his request, while the dragon by your side held the man in contemptive gaze.

“My family isn’t sure that we’ll be able to make the next tax payment this month. My wife is due to have another baby in the coming weeks so we really can’t afford to pay the amount of tax demanded… a lot of other families can’t either.” The mans eyes darted to the Dragon.

The Dragon beside you sharply exhaled and turned his head away in disinterest.

“So… would you consider lowering the tax? Even if it was just by a few coins, we would be really appreciative.” The man looked back at you, his hat squeezed tightly together in his hands.

Even from your place on the throne, you could see his knuckles turn white from the strength of his grip.

You gave a side glance to your Dragon, who was now looking back at you.

You knew how much he loved gold, precious things that Humans and Dragons alike valued beyond compare. He loved watching the taxes being hauled in by the knights into the vaults, proud like he was the one who had brought them in himself.

It would be a wound to his ego if you let the tax price drop, especially after everything he did to defend the docks of the attack. In the eyes of the Dragon, he more than deserved that money.

Of course, there were concerns outside of your Dragon partner too.

The docks were still in the process of being rebuilt, and they weren’t even half way done yet. The crown needed every last coin it could get their hands on. With no docks, there’s no accepting merchants who will come in from abroad and trade, no way that returning sailors can come home and see their families.

So, it looked like lowering the tax was a no go… But, that didn’t mean to say that you couldn’t do something different to help the families struggling.

“I sympathise with your plight,” you began. “I know it’s been hard on everyone since the attack on the docks, and given that you’re expecting, here’s what I’ll do:”

The man stood up straighter, twisting his hat in his hands.

“I can’t lower the tax price, but I can do what I can to ensure that you have what you need for the birth of your child, and will do what I can to help any other families who are having trouble making ends meet, while paying the tax.” You stood from the throne and beckoned over a knight. “I’ll arrange for there to be a few free care packages to be sent out. This Knight here will take you to my secretary, you just tell her what you need and what other things your fellows need and then distribute them out evenly, alright?”

The man’s jaw dropped. “W-What? Free? You really mean it, your Majesty?”

“Well, it’s only fair. It’s not like your family planned this for the same time of the attack, is it?” You joked, smiling at the man.

A grin spread across his face and he rushed up to you. “Thank you so much, your Majesty, really thank you so much!”

And before the Knight could get between you and the man, he’d enveloped you in a hug.

“Hey!”

The ground trembled, and a shudder went through your chest.

The Knight finally got between you and the man and pushed him away. “Back away, now.”

As the man backed away from you, his eyes were focused behind you, the old fear back in his eyes.

You looked over your shoulder and found your Dragon, towering over everyone in the throne room, glowering down at the man.

“You don’t get to touch what is above you,” he snarled.

“Hey!” You rounded on the Dragon.

He looked down at you, and sunk at your warning look. He grumbled something inaudible as he settled back down and turned his head to look out of the stained glass window.

You turned your attention back to the Knight, “I’m awfully sorry about that, please don’t feel-”

But the mans face was as white as a sheet, his eyes had glazed over. It was clear there wasn’t a single word he was going to hear from you. Not after that scare.

You let out a sad sigh and gestured to the Knight who still stood beside you, “please escort the gentleman to my doctor and get him some water. When he’s feeling better, please offer him some coin for the fright and take him to my secretary for the care packages.”

The Knight nodded and grabbed the shellshocked man by the upper arm. “Come, now.”

Without much resistance, the man allowed himself to be dragged out of the throne room. Once the doors were closed, you rounded on the dragon.

“You can’t just do that to my subjects.” You scathed. “He was just grateful for the help I was giving him.”

“Peasants should know their place.” The Dragon huffed. “He should have known better than to try and touch you.”

Rolling your eyes, you jabbed a finger at him. “That’s besides the point. You can’t just threaten people like that.”

The pair of you glared at each other.

Your Dragon then sighed. “One of my main jobs here, is to protect you. It’s only natural that I do what others couldn’t.” His amber eyes darted to the remaining knights in the throne room.

There was a clink of their armour as your Dragon suggested. “Maybe you should replace them all.”

“It’s not a matter of them being able to do their jobs,” you returned, “it’s of you controlling yourself. If word gets out that you are intimidating people, it makes the crown and by default you look bad.”

“Then maybe your subjects should remember their place.” He leaned down closer to you, “or perhaps it should be you who does.”

Realising that he was just trying to get under your skin, you replied, “you’re being completely unreasonable. Until you’ve calmed down, you can’t be with me here.”

The Dragon balked. “You can’t be serious! One of the main reasons you keep me here, is to add another layer of protection and now you’re sending me away?”

“Yes!” You pointed to the windows behind your throne. “Go, now!”

At your command, several Knights stepped forward and unlocked the large windows from behind you and pulled them open, providing an easy exit for the Dragon to leave through.

You and the Dragon glared at each other again, before he scoffed and turned. Scaled tail swishing angrily, he spread his wings and took off into the sky.

You watched as he circled the surrounding city, before flying over the Palace and out of sight.

Sucking in a deep breath, you rubbed your forehead and took your place on the throne once again. “Who’s here to see me next?”

And the rest of the morning went on like nothing had happened. It was hard to push an argument like that to the back of your mind when you had to see citizens of your nation, but you did the best you could.

Ever since the attack on the docks, security had been tense, you were aware of that. But there was no need to frighten citizens who were in desperate need of help. You weren’t just about to become a ruler who ignores the need of her people just because of one silly attack.

To the outside world, everyone had to know that you were unfazed by it, which is why you opened your Palace to talk to the people.

By the evening, you were just about ready to collapse. The people all had the same kind of problems, money was difficult, people couldn’t afford basic house hold amenities and the tax.

It looked like you were going to have to offer free nationwide aide to the people at this point. There wasn’t anything else you could think of doing. On the upside, it would be good publicity for the crown and the peoples approval rating would go up.

As you laid in your bed, you stared up at the canopy above your bed. The silky fabric hanging above your head rustled in the wind of the window open behind you.

It was put in after your Dragon had vowed to protect the Palace vaults, and after you two started seeing each other. It was big enough for his whole body to fit through, and your room was easily twice the size it needed to be, so he had no trouble sleeping in the same room as you.

The room felt strangely empty without him in there with you. Normally, he’d have curled up around your bed in the centre of the room, forming a scaled barrier between you and the rest of the world. Protecting you from unseen threats.

Another gust of wind sent a shiver down your spine. Pulling the sheets over your shoulders, you wondered where your Dragon Boyfriend had got to.

He can’t really be that angry with you, could he?

Dragons are proud creatures, there’s no doubt about that. But… had you really offend him so much?

Normally, when he was in a mood, he would have come back to the Palace by lunch and talked through with you what was going on. But there was no sign of him.

You’d sent the guards to go and check where else he could be, and apart from that, there was nothing else you could do.

Before the thoughts could consume you, the sound of claws scraping against stone greeted your ears, and your bedroom shook.

You pushed yourself up from your bed, turning to face the window.

The Dragon had come back. Lowering his head to fit inside your room, he greeted you stiffly. “Hello.”

You sat up straight as he folded his wings and settled behind your bed. Thanks to his massive body, it made it difficult for him to formally address you. So, he bowed his head.

“I wanted to apologise for my behaviour earlier today.” He said, eyes trained on your carpeted floor. “As you are Queen, it was wrong of me to question your judgement. But, I must say this:” His head rose to meet your gaze.

“You are the only treasure I truly care about. The vaults and everything else that is valuable in this Palace, mean absolutely nothing to me. That man could have been hiding anything, a knife, some kind of airborne poison. All he would have needed to do, was get close to enough to you and then that would be it.” The Dragon pushed his head through your canopy curtains as you placed a hand on his snout. “I should have explained this earlier, and for that, I am sorry.”

Truth be told, you weren’t even thinking of something like that. Looking back, that was a completely legitimate worry.“… All I was worried about was my people.” You voiced your thoughts to him, “it hadn’t crossed my mind that enemies would even try and do something like that to me.”

The Dragon let out a snort. “You are too forgiving of the other humans in this world. They are always scheming, looking for ways to further their own agendas. Which is why you must be more careful.” He leaned away from your touch. “Promise me you won’t allow something like that to happen again? For your own safety?”

“I promise. I’m sorry I didn’t consider that earlier.” You admitted. “Thank you, for looking out for my safety.”

He let another puff of air escape his nostrils. “Someone has to, it’s not like those guards were doing anything to protect you.”

You let out an exasperated sigh, pulling the covers back over your body. “We’ll talk about that tomorrow…” Pursing your lips, you laid in bed. “… Please don’t be gone for that long again. You really worried me for a minute.”

“I didn’t mean to go for so long. I just wanted to make sure I had a clear head.” The Dragon replied as his tail curled around the end of your bed. “I could not willingly leave your side even if you commanded me to go and never come back. I’d find a way to hide in the vaults or watch over the Palace from afar.”

You chuckled at that, drifting off into a soundless sleep, happy that your Dragon was safe.

Hi! Thank you so much for reading my story! If you like this kind of content, you should check out my Patreon! There, I post stories twice a week and earlier than I post on Tumblr. I also post exclusive stories there too where you won’t be able to find anywhere else.

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[roach-works]

ok im waffling on about fallout instead of having breakfast but i saw a criticism of how the prisoners were treated that's stuck with me.

spoilers!

so i think the criticism wasn't incorrect, per se: it condemned the way the show portrayed the vault dweller's naive intention to rehabilitate their murderous captives. it found fault with a common, and horrible, message that tv shows like to say, which is that carcerial violence and even the death penalty is the only effective way to deal with criminals, who are a fundamentally Bad category of human. im sick of that message too! but i think that wasn't what was going on here, actually.

so like, the vault dwellers had only ever experienced violent loss the once, and didn't really know how to cope other than denial and repression of the ordeal. but they were all hopeful and enthusiastic that their prisoners, the invaders that came to kill them all and take their stuff, could be eventually welcomed into the community as their comrades. the champions of this cause were nebbishy dorks and painfully out of touch academics. this is pretty normal for how prison reformers are portrayed, if extremely fucking annoying for those of us who ARE in favor of prison reform.

but so of course when the son of the former overseer, Norm, speaks up and suggests killing the prisoners, because why should they share resources with invaders who explicitly wanted to keep hurting them? why should they show mercy to their attackers? everyone is appalled by this suggestion. because they had to reinvent the whole concept of vengeance right then and there, because grudges and cycles of violence are anathema to a bottle society like theirs. they have been raised all their lives to forgive and forget and now, put to the test, they're recommitting to this ethos: get along, let the past go, look towards the future, believe the best of everyone.

but the prisoners die, anyway. the prisoners are killed with rat poison. and the thing is that Norm who suggested it didn't do it himself. and the prison guard who's blamed for it, even though she privately agreed with Norm that the prisoners are dangerous and unforgiveable, she didn't do it either. it's not a moment of triumphant, cathartic vengeance and it doesn't prove that there's no way to negotiate with terrorists and invaders but kill them like vermin because that's not what the message is meant to be.

the message is that norm stands there in the middle of these inconvenient prisoners, these corpses dressed in his own people's uniforms, and he looks at the new overseer. and he knows that she killed them, and she knows that he knows. she wanted him to know. this is her message and he's reading her loud and clear. and he doesn't look like a guy who's just been backed up by authority, who's just been validated in his desire for the ultimate control over those who have wronged him.

he's scared and pale and the music is ominous as fuck. and he's inside the cell, he's directly in the middle of it.

because what just happened is that he realized his entire society is being held prisoner, and the overseer is the one with the rat poison. and that he doesn't know, anymore, what freedom and safety and justice actually mean, just that he doesn't have them and he doesn't know where to find them.

that's what that scene meant. not that rehabilitative justice is a pathetic delusion of people who have no idea how to make hard choices.

but that before you advocate for killing prisoners, you might want to see how big that prison is, first.

and which side of the bars you're standing on.

[star-girl69]

Love Song

Clarisse La Rue x Fem!Demigod!Reader

—-

a/n: just needed to do some general hc’s to get all my thoughts in order i hope you all enjoy!!

Love song - Lana Del Rey

warnings: the formatting is weird idk why i can’t fix it but y’all will live, swearing, a little itty bitty bit of violence, every facet of clarisse finding its way here and i love them all, tell me if i missed anything!!

—-

i’m sure we all agree on this

but clarisse is very protective of you

even if you’re a very capable fighter, even if you’re even better than her, clarisse is still so protective of you

i mentioned this in one of my fics (maybe so it goes…????) but like the reason behind this is the fact that clarisse is just SCARED

she is terrified of losing you bc you are the only one she feels like she can be herself with

like clarisse is insane!!!!! in a good way!!!!! but also she’s a 17 year old girl…. she wants TO BE LOVED

she tries to talk to you about how she feels about her dad and about everything else in her life, but even though she doesn’t want to be, she’s locked up like a vault

she knows her emotions are always super intense and she has big reactions

major anger issues but they’ve gotten better with age

the problem is she spent her entire life being told that she needed to calm down, that she couldn’t feel like that all the time, and she just tried to shut down

obviously that did not work

but it still makes it virtually impossible to talk about her feelings

when it comes to you tho she’s an open book

she’s a daughter of ares she’s headstrong she’s proud and her fatal flaw is PRIDE

i mentioned this before but she wants everyone to know that you’re hers and she’s yours

your relationship is partly very public

she’s not afraid to touch you or kiss you

she’s not afraid to show you off and (needs to) show everyone that yes your beautiful self belongs to HER

so naturally she gets very jealous

even when you’re like clarisse you are INSANE

there’s been a few times when you first started dating and you were still getting comfortable and weren’t that public yet so like someone would flirt with you

it went like this

boy: hey what’s up you’re kinda fine

y/n: oh! oh yeah no….. no…..

clarisse: WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU JUST SAY IM GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU—

then she started attacking him

lost dessert privileges for a month, she proudly declared that it was worth it (besides you would sneak her bites of yours like)

now that everyone knows you’re hers her jealousy is rooted a lot more in delusion and insecurity

you’ll be like in a group talking someone and she’ll pull you closer and be like “i think that guys staring at you a little too much.”

“clarisse no the fuck he’s not what”

b/c of the fact that she isn’t a son for her father she gets insanely jealous if specifically a MAN gets even an inch too close however innocently

she doesn’t want to think it but she thinks you’ll eventually realize her father is right and she’s not as useful or good bc she’s a girl

most of the time when she gets jealous bc of her insecurities she just becomes extra clingy

but also any emotion she feels she gets extra clingy to you so sometimes it’s hard to tell LMAO

she isn’t really a big hand holder but that’s only because she’s actually holding you CLOSER to her by your waist

also one more note about your relationship publically

everyone gets whiplash bc like she’s a BULLY fo everyone else and then you walk over and she’s all heart eyes

i hate everyone but you trope save me

save me i hate everyone but you trope

THIS HAPPENED IN IN A GOOD WAY

clarisse: pushes percy over

you: nuh uh clarissseeeeeeee

clarisse: omg hi beautiful gf

you: touches her shoulder, looks at her disapprovingly

clarisse: fine i’ll go, *scares percy*, bye bye beautiful ily

like she’s just being a bitch and then all of a sudden you come around and she’s like hiiiiiii babyyyyy how is my gorgeous gorgeous girl today??

so outwardly clarisse is just very proud and touchy

privately she lets herself be a little more chill

this is where she really touchy you thought before was worse nah

idk if y’all have noticed but in my fics clar’s always holding on y/n’s hips and that’s just me self projecting bc i have the most horrid hip dips but my point still stands

SHE LOVES YOUR HIPS

would totally call them “love handles” IM SORRYY

but she just likes having a place to hold where she can just like kinda actually physically grab you with her hands

like yeah she can wrap her arms around your waist but she likes to GRAB you

cuddling w her is fun bc like this girl cannot get ENOUGH of you there’s only like three ways you cuddle

you on top of her whether just like completely on top of her (one of her favs) or just with your head on her chest

this is what happens whenever you feel scared

like there was a monster attack just near the barrier and you’ve all been feeling uneasy all day

TRUST you are sleeping in her bed tonight

wraps her arms around you so tight it’s like she’s crushing you

also she’s running your back or caressing your head whichever you prefer

she keeps her spear right next to her bed and makes sure you can see it so you know however subconsciously NOTHING can hurt you bc she’s right there (nothings gonna hurt you baby vibes)

or she’s on top of you this one usually happens when she’s feeling a little extra insecure and jealous and it’s like no one can see you if she’s on top of her so then you’re hers

she isn’t the smartest one in the bunch but she has good intentions!!!!

also she lays on top of you if you get hurt

like after so it goes for example when y/n got that little cut on her hand

you’re like “clar pls you’re crushing me”

“um ok you scared the shit out of me today tho you need to LET ME do this fuck”

third option

you’re both laying on your side and facing each other legs tangled together and she’s probably whispering to you

she’s a big whisperer i feel it in my heart

like tracing her hands on your face and saying your so beautiful or telling you how you make her feel

oh lord take me now

also she loves you the way hozier loves

“someone asked me in the end i’d tell them ‘put me back in it’ // darlin’ i would do it again // if i could hold for a minute”

“when my time comes around lay me gently in the cold dark earth no grave could hold my body down i’d crawl back to her”

like she BREATHES for you

if she died and then you were like “i miss you” trust she would find a way to come back to life

totally daydreams about going on such a fantastical quest that the gods offer both of you immortality so you can be together forever and ever and ever and ever and ever

like if the world ends y’all would still be there having a little picnic date

devotion is the only word that comes close

anyways

ok nicknames she calls you:

baby, angel, gorgeous, pretty thing/girl, beautiful, lovely, dummy (lovingly)

(recently saw a few posts abt clarisse saying mama/mamas i may be swayed)

dates she takes you on:

forces you to train w her even if you don’t like it but she lets you win OBVIIIII, under the stars in the woods, take your dinners to go and sneak back to either hers or your cabin to eat together, secret makeout sessions in the bathroom her cabin your cabin anywhere she can get her hands on you

this is so random but i get horrible migraines and i am ADDICTED to these like headache relief frequency sounds on youtube i swear they work and i was like omg you can’t have electronics at chb I WOULD NOT SURVIVE

so if you are a real one like me and get horrible migraines but this goes for being sick in general she’s like a little puppy pretending to be a wolf barely holding it together

she’ll be like at the foot of your bed begging you not to go into the light while shouting at someone at the same time to refill your water

you like have a cold

she would rub your temples if you had a headache and she would literally be like a doll for you to move around like oh you wanna lay on her chest? by all means

you wanna lay upside down with your feet in her face? as long as you get better you can do whatever you want!

you don’t wanna touch her at all? that’s where she draws the line

you’ll be like “ugh i’m hot get away from me”

“okay ☹️☹️”

“why are you touching my feet with your feet”

she places you above everyone else

like yeah other people are ok…….

but you 😍😍😍😍😍😍

this is slightly cringe but she would fr burn the whole world down and not let a flame touch you

LIKE HAVE YALL SEEN THE ANONS IVE BEEN POSTING AND THE CAPTURE THE FLAG THINGS 😱😱😱😱 (y’all always check my blog im always posting the funniest shit bc i’m funny)

“you’re one opposite teams blah blah blah you get hurt clarisse drops EVERYTHING to help you even if just a paper cut” (i have no chill fic coming soon)

THEN THEN the other one that was like “ok but what if you ACTUALLY get hurt like broken leg”

clarisse just goes crazy when you’re hurt

in so it goes: “what if that cut gets infected?”

you’re her WORLD she literally can’t stand the thought or something happening to you or else she starts literally shaking in anger and sadness

but when clarisse gets hurt it’s a whole other story

LIKE FUCK YOU JUST WANNA CARE ABOUT HER AND SHES ALL LIKE “it’s chill.”

NO ITS NOT YOURE GONNA BLEED OUT 😭😭

clarisse never let’s anyone but you see her true emotions

like yeah when you’re in public and you’re being cutesy she starts smiling and everyone is SO confused

but still

she never lets anyone see her as WEAK

so she always downplays her injuries in terms of how much they hurt, but flaunts them off proudly at the same time?? yeah that makes sense

after a capture the flag game you march her to the bathroom with a first aid kit “ok baby take off your shirt”

she always makes some flirty comment like SHUSH NOT RN

then she has all these bruises and every once in a while a cut from someone’s sword

you’re like 😔😔💔

you’re the only one she will let clean her up

unless she like breaks a bone or needs stitches (which has never happened) no way in hell she’s going to the healers

if you’re a child of apollo or smth she’s like “i literally have my own person healer right here…..”

anyways i think that’s all but i will probably be updating this when i think of more stuff bc as we know i have no chill

thank you all sm for reading and reblogging and liking and commenting and sending all of your WONDERFUL asks they make me so happy i’m always giggling when i get one

anyways bye bye 😘

—

taglist:

@lvrue @t-wylia @laughingcheese037 @kroumi @urdeadpoet @colezb @rey26 @harmzilla @elliewilliamsbae @amberfreemansburntface @kyuupidwrites @neverwaakeme-up @shark1008 @liballer @heyimadison @nvirskies @pnsteblnme

[usetheeauthor]

Kinktober Day 3: Brainwashing/Reprograming

Pre-War!Ghoul-ish!Cooper Howard x Reader

Summary: Cooper sure loves you; his little vaultie wife. Too bad you have no clue that you’re actually not the only two people left in the world.

Warnings: 18+ , non con mind control, implied age gap, gaslighting, manipulation, dub con kissing

A/N: I imagine Cooper in this in between his ghoul form and human form and the ghoul form is slowly corrupting his mind.

You don’t remember what life was like before “the blank” or the period in which your vault had been attacked. But by the time you came to, everyone in your vault was long gone. Dead? Alive? You aren’t sure. Not a single corpse or evidence of their existence has been recovered. All you remember was a bright flash of light and suddenly you were alone in the arms of a man you hardly knew.

He says he’s your husband who’s been searching for you for years. He says he loves you. That he’ll protect you. And you surely do believe those things but…something about him just feels like he’s hiding something. But all he’s gotta do is say a couple magic words and suddenly you don’t care to question him. Maybe you just love him all that much that nothing he’s hiding matters.

It is much better when you aren’t questioning things anyway. He’s much more affectionate when you don’t resist.

“Little wifey,” Cooper calls out as he comes through the doorway of the little pod home you shared. You rush into his arms, beautiful blue and white sundress flowing behind you. “There ya are, sugar. Missed me?”

“Of course, I did.” You say, holding him tight. “I was so lonely. Every time you walk out that door, I worry you’ll never come back and that I’ll be alone again.”

“Not a chance,” He says kissing you on the forehead. “I’ve searched all this way for ya darlin’. Nothing can keep me away from you. It’s just you and me against the world.”

“What’d you get this time?” You beam.

“I got you this purdy little necklace you can wear.” He holds up the chain with a small ruby pendant on it.

The souvenir looks familiar and the moment you touch it, flooding memories of a woman in authority washes over. You clutch your head in pain.

“You alright, darlin’?” Cooper asks. He touches your forehead with the back of his hand, checking the temperature.

“W-where’d you get this?” You ask fearfully while cowering away. “Why does it look so familiar? Like it belonged to someone I—ow!”

You hold your head once again, squatting as you buckle under the weight of your rapid thoughts. Cooper snaps his fingers and you instantly tense, looking up at him as your mind suddenly goes empty.

“Evergreen,” He says and your body loosens. It’s that magic word. The one that makes you feel at ease and then everything goes back to normal. But little did he know there’s a resistance within you this time, one that fights for you to seek the truth in your situation. “I’ll be putting this necklace around you, sugar. You’ll behave, won’t you?”

You nod mindlessly.

“Good girl,” He coos. “Up on ya feet.”

You obey, waiting on his next command. He does a spin gesture with his pointer finger and you oblige, back facing him. He pushes your hair out of the way, draping the necklace around your throat then clasping it closed.

“When I count to three and yours eyes are on mine again,” Cooper begins, whispering in your ear. “You’ll be my sweet little wifey again. 3…2…1.”

He snaps again. You blink rapidly looking around the room in confusion then down at your necklace with a smile. You spin on your heels to face him. “It’s beautiful, Coop!”

You kiss him and he cradles your face so gently in his large hands. “I love you so much.”

“Love you too, sweet pea.” He smiles.

He’d been a little risky offering you something that could have easily reminded you of your overseer. That would have been two years of properly training you as his good girl down the drain, if he hadn’t thought quickly on his feet.

But he can tell you’re succumbing to his love slowly but surely . Soon there would be no remembering the past and no more questioning things. Just you and him as it should be.

You pull away from kissing his full lips, caressing a hand over the ghoulish half of his face. It looks as if it’s spreading more and more as the days go by. Cooper doesn’t show it much but he’s insecure about his fading human form and in the back of his mind he fears you’ll find him repulsive and leave. And sure he could just make you fall in love with just the snap of his fingers. But if there’s a chance you could love him naturally without all the extra steps, he’d be more than overjoyed.

His breath hitches when your lips delicately graze web-like textured skin, showering him in soft kisses.

“Could I go to the storage area for some cake? I’d like to have some before bed.” You say, fingers interlocked behind the back of his neck.

“Too much sugar ain’t enough for mine, I guess,” He chuckles. “Long as you come back to me, you can eat all the cake ya want.”

“Yes, my husband.” You say as the dutiful, doting wife you are. Satisfied with your answer, he releases you.

Once you’re out of his grasp, you quickly scurry out and try to locate your nearest exits. You’ve been planning this escape for a long time: training yourself to resist his words, drawing and mapping out the facility’s square footage whenever you could, and finally waiting for him to come home so you could sneak the key fob from his pockets.

There were just too many clues. The blood on his shirt despite not having any wounds and the items he gifted you from time to time; you two weren’t actually the only ones on earth and you needed to get away from this man or who knows what he plans to do to you.

You stumble upon a locked room somewhere down a dark corridor, darting your eyes around to ensure Cooper isn’t around. Breaking the handle with a nearby fire extinguisher, you enter what looks to be an office.

From the information you’ve gathered based on the scattered paperwork, you were one of the scientists of this specific vault. A vault specialized with retaining war information from former war veterans. You gasp once you stumble upon Cooper’s file and the missing pieces of your memory slowly assemble accordingly. Your vault has conducted inhumane experiments on him and the other veterans from injecting them with radiation to test the effects on them to brainwashing.

Things came to a head when Cooper Howard set out of a pressurized blast within the vault that knocked you out as you were the only one furthest away from the site while the remaining of your crew got completely vaporized. The vault opening allowed for the traumatized veterans to eventually escape though Cooper stayed behind.

“I-I was the monster,” You whisper to yourself, tears streaming from your eyes. “No…I am a monster.”

“You’re nothing of the sort, sweet pea.” Cooper says from behind you. “You couldn’t help what you’d done. You were only doing your job. I never wanted revenge when it came to you. I just wanted to show you real love.”

“Is that why you’ve been hiding this from me? You wanted to protect my feelings?” You cry into his arms.

“I can make it stop hurting, ya know. We can go back to being just you and me. Forget the world out there.” He whispers.

“I’d like that. Please make me forget.” You plead.

“Of course, darlin’. Anything for you.”

Cooper cups the back of your head, his biggest ring digging into your scalp as he plants a passionate kiss on your lips. He lowers you on your back against the desk behind you. You surrender happily, smiling into the kiss and feeling safe.

You’ll never again part from him and Cooper’s, oh so, glad that you finally understand this. Maybe he hadn’t told you the exact truth you were searching for but he’d set things up just nicely for you to feel as if it were that way. The room was staged. Everything was staged, in fact, and there were no such things as the veteran experiments. But you don’t need to know any of that. He wouldn’t even begin to tell you the crazy things he’d done just to have you. All you needed to know was that Cooper would do anything to ensure that you remain by his side.

And, well, if you didn’t stay beside him, luckily he’ll always have a way to track you down.

[twipsai]

ive been wanting to do something like this for a while, so here we go

Silver's straightforward attitude and anxieties: a poorly formatted analysis

Silver's anxiety is something i havent seen talked about a lot, and im really just barely going beneath the surface here -- i hope i did it justice in anyway sfdkSKHJFDSKFH i think about his obvious anxiety disorder a lot

transcript of all the text i added under the cut incase its hard to read for some ppl ^_^

image 1 (source: IDW #8): "isnt really used to banter, got worried he actually offended Sonic"

"he worries a lot about not being useful, because thats pretty much his entire purpose in life. if hes not doing something, he will find something to do (badly) or panic. he gets nervous at the slightest insinuation that he mightve messed up because the last thing he ever wants to do is get in anyones way."

"for how powerful he is and how much shit he talks, Silver doesnt really think very good about himself or his own worth."

image 2 (source: Sonic Universe #82): "its hard to say anything here that i havent already said, its just another example os Silver having issues with his self wroth, and also a lot of his motivation coming from protecting the people he loves (and, more generally, protecting the world), considering a page after this he gets up and completely wrecks the Second Devourer"

image 3 (source: IDW #8): "Silver will take pretty much anything literally. he lacks the social skills to identify when someones being serious bc he grew up completely alone"

image 4 (source: IDW #14): "he cant lie (is both bad at it, and it really just doesnt cross his mind to do so), but he can change the subject"

"he also really doesnt like it when people are worried about him -- almost every time people show concern for him, he tries (and fails) to lie or change the subject"

image 5 (source: IDW #14): "he didnt see anything suspicious about [Starline giving the "vault code"] because he doesnt usually assume people lie directly to him, its just not something that usually crosses his mind"

image 6 (source: IDW #60, TSR interview): "Silver's rudeness, his naivete, misunderstanding of jokes/quips/banter, inability to lie, it all stems from his straightforwardness. its simple, but but oftentimes effective (yes i chose a bad page to showcase when it works, ignore that)"

"Silver doesnt like to beat around the bush or show off too often. go in, defeat the bad guys, get out. it ties in with his anxiety of the future -- time is always of the essence"

"Q: What are some of your favorite items to use during the race?

Silver: [...]but the Jade Wisps' "Ghost" is the only one I like. I can disappear and focus on the race."

"it does make him forget to stratagize and cooperate with his friends sometimes, though, when his first instinct is "hit it until it stops moving""

image 7 (source: Sonic Rivals 2): "im not really going over his bluntness in this, but literally the entirety of Rivals 2 covers that. he doesnt think to hide what hes doing because he knows hes in the right, so he just expects everyone else to know that. he expects people to believe him just because hes telling the truth. he doesnt see why he would have a reason to lie, so he never thinks to justify his actions."

"a lot of this bluntness is also shown in IDW #64 -- Silver cant be stealthy and observe someone from afar to save his life when he knows hes right about them. he really takes no time to explain that Duo is Mimic before Whisper steps in and attacks Mimic, even though if he took the time to talk through what happened, he probably couldve convinced Lanolin of Duo's true nature"

image 8 (source: IDW annual 2022): "Silver has pretty much zero idea how to navigate the world outside of helping other people and saving the world. he is almost constantly in "survival mode" and doesnt know how to handle low-stakes"

"(he sometimes takes casual conversation too seriously because of this)"

"he is constantly worried about the future. to an almost unhealthy degree sometimes, its often all he thinks about. when he knows exactly what to do, he comes off as confident and powerful, but when he doesnt know what to do..."

"...he completely spirals. to him, an uncertain future is worse than a doomed one. not knowing how to fix things is one of the most terrifying thoughts to him."

"if Espio hadn't been here to calm him down, i think its super likely he'd have had an anxiety attack."

image 9 (source: Sonic Generations, IDW #64, Team Sonic Racing, Sonic Universe #79): "like, i truly cannot emphasize enough how he cannot relax. anything can be a threat, and if he doesnt see an immediate one, he will find something that is one. "

"he can rarely calm down, because every second hes in the past is another second he should be saving the future"

"i cant properly showcase it here, but if you run past him in Gens, he'll immediately be on-guard."

"he has to always be looking for the next world-destroying foe, it's pretty much his default setting."

"there are tons more examples of his overt anxiety, but these are some of the more prominant examples."

image 9 (source: Archie Sonic #235): "we even see in the traitor arc in archie how Silver is constantly paranoid. the idea never crosses his mind that there is no traitor, because something is always wrong. hes like a machine built to find a problem with no off switch"

"almost anything can set him off and make him untrusting of anyone, because thats the only way he knows how to live. anything can be a threat in his eyes, and when there is no threat, he will either find one or panic that he cant find one."

"because when you spend your entire life fighting,"

"how else are you supposed to live?"

[radioactive-reactions]

How would the companions react to discovering not only Vault 111 but also the frozen Sole Survivor

Whether they saw it as a potential treasure trove, a nostalgic relic, or just a safe, quiet refuge, Vault 111 always seemed to attract the odd scavenger or adventurer. After slipping past the door, however, this particular intruder would end up stumbling upon something far stranger than they could expect...

Cait hadn't really taken the time to scope out the Vault before diving into it headfirst- having a pack of feral dogs nipping at your heels will do that to you. Coming face to face with the frozen Sole Survivor down there is freaky enough to give her a heart attack, but as the perfect audience for her rambling stories and a nonjudgmental drinking buddy they soon become the centerpiece of her impromptu hideout. As for actually getting them out? Fuck if she knows how.

Codsworth knows full well what the Vault up the hill contains, of course. How could he not? Much of the aging robot's time is spent tending to his owners' pods: tightening every bolt, polishing the glass, keeping the steel casing free of even a single speck of rust. The only thing that keeps him going is the thought that on some level, under that thin layer of frost, they might know he's there for them.

Curie's unbridled excitement at making contact with another Vault is quickly tempered once she actually sets eyes on the denizens of said Vault. With nothing but time and centuries' worth of medical expertise to work with, she immediately sets to the task of bringing Vault 111 back to life- not just the Sole Survivor, but everyone consigned to a cold and inglorious fate in those cryopods. This is a mission worth spending another two hundred years on.

Danse has been assigned to scour the Vault as part of a routine sweep for useful technology- a task entirely beneath a Paladin, but what he finds there more than makes up for it. Immediately, a whole field research team is dispatched to the vault and the cryopods are airlifted out one by one. The Sole Survivor's first memory of the new world is waking up to the harsh white light of a Brotherhood lab, bombarded with questions and shoved blearily through a battery of tests. Not a great first impression.

Deacon still thinks the Vault would make an ideal fallback hideout, even with the rows of corpsicles. The eerie blue glow and residents in cryosleep are pitched to Desdemona as enhancing the ambience, but the suggestion is soundly denied for the Vault's visibility. Even so, Deacon maintains a post outside, just in case one of those poor bastards stumbles out one day.

When Hancock inexplicably wakes up in the Vault after partying a little too hard, he immediately assumes he's still hallucinating- that, or he's been picked up by Zetans. It takes him hours of trying to pry the Sole Survivor's pod open in a hungover haze to finally give up, writing the place off as another of the Old World's many sins and decent subject matter for his next speech.

MacCready almost feels at home in the vast underground chambers of the Vault. Almost. No matter how convenient the Vault is as a last-ditch hideout, its residents creep him out too much to stay there for any real length of time. He tries his hardest to avoid their frozen stares, endlessly grateful that it's them in there and not him.

Valentine relates to the frozen Sole Survivor a little more than he'd like to admit. Two abandoned relics, used to serve a greater purpose and then thrown out like so much junk when they were done. He knows more than anyone what a harsh awakening they're going to have- if they do wake up. Every so often, he'll wander back to check on them, sharing a yarn about his latest case and watching for any progress. On the day that pod does unseal, he'll be there to lend a helping hand... but until then, all he can do is maintain a file. It's one hell of a cold case.

Piper feels a little guilty that her first thought is how good of a story this will make. 'Pod people slumber among us', maybe? She doesn't want to risk the Sole Survivor's life by touching anything, but maybe if she spreads the word someone out there will be able to help them. That's how she justifies it to herself, anyway- now if only there was some concrete link to the Institute she could work in...

Preston has been surveying the area around Sanctuary for potential threats to the burgeoning settlement... and he still isn't entirely sure that this doesn't count as one. It takes a moment to line up the resident registry with the names on Sanctuary's rusted-out mailboxes, but once he does, he has the Vault sealed up again out of respect for those who came before. If he and his scant resources can't help them, he can at least let them rest in peace.

Strong hammers away at the pod to no avail before stomping off in a huff to seek his next victim somewhere else. Canned food clearly isn't his thing.

X6-88 is here for a routine checkup - nothing more, nothing less. Although the Director had been cagey about what exactly he wanted to be kept safe down here, there was nothing X6 wouldn't be prepared for... so he thought, at least. The sight of a person, frozen and contained, gives him a rare moment of pause and elicits an uncomfortable, involuntary comparison to the dormant synths rolling off the assembly line. Nevertheless, he makes sure the cryopod is still functional and returns home, all the while trying to forget their strange resemblance to the Director.

[maezysworld]

test subject x the ghoul pt 1

Pairing: cooper howard x fem! cat mutant & sniper reader (thats a mouth full lol)

I've never really written stories like this but i think this is a fun idea so ill try my best anyways please please please msg me if you have ideas and or suggestions (i am sensitive please be nice LMAO)

Warnings: slow burn, writer is dyslexic, might be slightly out of character, a whole lot of guns, not proof read

context: you are part cat due to being experimented on you have the cat ears and eyes along with all there senses (i do plan on making a full backstory)

your on the search for a doctor who has a large sum of caps over his head, you could care less about the caps you don't have a lot to do in this world so you take any opportunity you can to have some fun no matter how risky it could be. considering the amount of caps, you already know it will be quite the task but you don't mind playing with your food.

you've asked around the wasteland a little (not that a lot of people really said anything useful) but any information you got led you to a town called filly. you entered filly walking in trying your best not to draw more attention to yourself, the gasmask your wearing doesn't really help with that but you don't really need people knowing you have animal ears and eyes. you take in your surroundings as you walk with a crowd looking for the highest most excluded building you could see when a ghoul catches your eyes, you walk a bit slower admiring him for a moment watching him roll a vile in between his fingers before snapping out of your trans and picking up you pace again.

you get to the top of the building staying low to the ground making sure no one sees you up here before laying on your stomach and pulling out your sniper riffle. you sit and watch everything for about 7 minutes until a familiar doctor falls into you glance. you don't even bother lining up your scope to his head, you don't feel the need to someone else is bound to get him after you shoot him regardless but that's more then okay with you, you don't mind playing a waiting game.

you see him talking to a vault dweller just before an older woman who seems to run a shop approach them, you try you best to listen in but all you can seem to make out is the shop owner saying something about getting out of here. "this gasmask is fucking me over" you whisper with a sigh readjusting your arm a bit to be more comfortable.

suddenly the ghoul stands up, along with a few people just now noticing there's a ghoul in the town as they cautiously speed walk away from the area. the ghoul shouts something about this doctor having a hefty price over his head as almost everyone moves away from the man. a sly smile grows on your face now knowing hes involved with this bounty as well. the shop owner says something and before she can even finish her sentence the ghoul shoots the mans foot off, the poor vault dweller just stands there in fear and confusion, a wave of sympathy overcomes you knowing you were just like her you almost wish you still were.

the old woman shouts "i gotta 1000 bottle caps for who ever kills that fucker!!... but you dont get SHIT if i kill em first!". your not to sure why but after hearing that you start to focus your scope on anyone who starts to even look at him. the ghoul holds his gun out gun on the trigger ready to shoot just waiting for someone to make the first move as he looks around in a circle. a man in a black hat and googles pulls out his gun but before he can even pull the trigger the ghoul shoots him in the chest, his bullet exploding on impact. immediately after more people start shooting at him, he turns in a circle again shooting anyone who try's to get near him as you shoot the people from a distance. in all honesty you know he probably doesn't need your help but still you continue with out a reason to be doing so. you see someone trying to come at him with a knife from behind and just as the ghoul turns around to attack you shoot the man with the knife and the glare of your scope hits the ghouls eye and he looks up as you give a slight wave right before pointing to signal behind him as a brother a steel knight shows up.

you see the old woman and the vault dweller go run and hide into the shop bringing the doctor with him. you know you wont to much to the walking tin man so you decide to go down and listen in. you try your best to sneak in with out anyone seeing you but as the ghoul is on some broken steps you look over at him and with out a doubt he was looking dead at you before getting right back into combat. you ignore it and continue to snoop in on the others.

you keep your back pressed tightly agents the wall. hear the woman convince the vault dweller to take the doctor to moldaver, you've heard of the woman but have never had any encounters with her based off the things you've heard you know this will be a good time (you would have never found anything about this situation fun before the war). you start making your way out of the building after hearing that its plenty for you to go off along with now having both the doctor and the vault dwellers sent. you decide to hide in a ally and wait for things to die down before leaving.

after about 9 minutest you don't hear metal clacking or guns shooting you start to leave filly. you didnt get to far outside of the town before you hear a gun cock behind you "aint you a little over prepared?" you hear a mans voice with a southern accent referring to your gas mask. you turn to face the voice seeing the ghoul you've been eyeing this whole trip "doesn't effect you now does it? is the gun really nectary after i helped you?" you scoff offended but knowing youd do the same "now i aint ask you to do that for me, did i?" he says finger on the trigger. you think for a moment 'rude ass' you think to yourself "i guess not, but a thank you would be nice" you say with sarcasm in your voice. The Ghoul keeps his eyes upon you as you speak, the gun never moving. He lets out a short laugh at your attempt to engage. "You want a thank you for a job half done? bailed in the middle of a fight.. not that id thank you anyways i didnt need your help smooth skin. what's you goal here you tryn to steal my bounty" he says sounding more relaxed than he should be. "not necessarily, i don't want the caps if that's what your worried about." the gun never wavers even as you speak. "so just what do you want then?". "entertainment, not much to do in this world." you say with a smile on your face, not that he can see it. The Ghoul is surprised by your answer. He lowers his gun slightly, looking you up and down, but still doesn't trust you. "You ain't got better things to do with your time? Like finding food, or water, or caps?". those things are all fairly easy to come across for you, your sneaky and when you want something you take it. "lets say that all comes easy" Something you said intrigues him, and his gaze lingers on you a little longer. He shifts his weight to his left foot, and holsters his gun. "You saying food, water, caps just comes to you?". you relax abit more now that his guns down "i never said that, its just easy to get. now i have some information that may be of use to you, and im more then happy to give it under one condition" The Ghoul's interest is piqued. His curiosity getting the better of him, he nods his head. He wants to see if what you're peddling is actually worth something. "And what would that condition be?". you feel excited, youve never traveld with someone much less had company in years and the though of him agreeing (even if its not very friendly) makes you happy "i come with you on your bounty." He considers it, still not fully trusting you, but also intrigued by your offer. "And why the Hell would I want you along for a bounty hunt? Why should I trust you? What's to stop you from just turning on me? "he responds "you interest me, my weapons aren't out now are they? if i wanted to kill you i would have done it while i was on the roof" you say slightly muffled from your gas mask. He looks at you for a moment, thinking it over. He didn't like the idea of traveling with someone he didn't know, but he wouldnt mind the help from someone who knows how use to use a gun(not that he'd ever admit that). "Fine, we'll go after the bounty. But the second I even get a hint you're planning something, I'll kill you where you stand. We clear?". "understood." you say trying your hardest not to sound excited. He nods, then turns and begins walking away the dog standing behind him following. He calls over his shoulder to you.

please let me know what you guys think of this and im open to any suggestions and ideas ( i would also love name ideas for this) :)

notes: @s-lock-doctordonna I LOVED YOUR IDEAS AND I WILL BE USEING THANK YOU <3

[gunsandspaceships]

MCU Timeline: Thor

This timeline is based on the actual data from the movie and other directly connected movies (The Avengers and Thor: The Dark World) and not on Fury's Big Week (see the reason here).

965 AD - The last great war in the Nine Realms. Frost Giants from Jotunheim attack Midgard. Odin's army battles them in Tonsberg, Norway. He loses an eye, but defeats them and takes The Casket of Ancient Winters and Loki, son of Laufey, king of Jotunheim.

~11th century AD - the last time Lady Sif and The Warriors Three visited Midgard.

The main events of the movie take place in November 2011 (see explanation at the end of this post):

Shortly before November 20th - Loki anonymously shows Jotuns a secret passage to Asgard.

~November 20th:

Day-Evening - Thor's coronation ceremony is interrupted by the Jotuns breaking into Odin's Vault. The Destroyer kills them. Thor, Loki, Lady Sif and The Warriors Three go to Jotunheim. Thor starts a fight with Jotuns. Odin takes everyone back to Asgard and banishes Thor, stripping him of his powers.

Night - exiled Thor ends up in Midgard (Puente Antiguo, New Mexico, somewhere near Santa Fe) where Jane Foster, Erik Selvig, and Darcy Lewis accidentally hit him with a car. On top of this, Darcy uses a taser on him and he wakes up in the hospital (though not for long).

In Asgard, Loki learns that he is a Jotun and the son of Laufey. Odin falls into Odinsleep.

~November 21st:

Loki "temporarily" takes the throne of Asgard as the only remaining successor.

Early morning - events of "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Thor's Hammer" one-shot. Somewhere near Flagstaff, AZ.

Note: locations were determined by the distances on the sign from the one-shot.

Morning - locals find Mjolnir near Thor's landing site. Thor runs out of the hospital. Jane hits him with her car again.

Around noon - Coulson finds Mjolnir. S.H.I.E.L.D. builds a "fortress" around the hammer. The scientists give Thor clothes and food. S.H.I.E.L.D. takes Foster's, Selvig's and Lewis' equipment and all their data.

Note the warm clothes that all the characters wear (except for the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, but they always wear suits even if it's freezing outside), the bare trees everywhere, the brown grass and bushes, and the tangerines (their season is late fall - early spring).

Evening - Thor and Jane head to Mjolnir's location.

Night - Thor storms the "fortress" around Mjolnir, but is unable to lift the hammer. S.H.I.E.L.D. places him under arrest, and Coulson attempts to interrogate him. Loki visits him and informs that Odin is dead and Frigga does not want Thor to return. Selvig takes Jane back to their base, but then returns to rescue Thor with a fake driver's license.

Why it's late November: Look at the "DOB," "Issued," and "Expires" dates. They all say November 21st. That's a little weird. We also know that this DL is fake and that it was somehow made by Selvig, Jane, and Darcy on the same night. There will be another fake ID in Iron Man 2 with a date tied to the actual date of the events. Based on these little clues and other things that scream "late November", I would take a chance and guess that this day in Thor is November 21st.

Selvig and Thor talk and drink at a bar. Selvig asks Thor to leave town, but gets drunk and Thor carries him to Jane's van. Jane and Thor spend a PG-13 night together.

Loki goes to Laufey with an offer to let him kill Odin and take the Casket.

~November 22:

Despite Selvig's request, Thor stays.

Lady Sif and the Warriors Three arrive in Midgard.

The battle with the Destroyer. Thor sacrifices himself and dies. Odin sees this, and Mjolnir flies to Thor, now worthy, and brings him back to life.

Notice the store with Christmas decorations in the background.

Loki brings Jotuns to Asgard and then kills Laufey. Thor gets there and fights Loki, who is trying to destroy Jotunheim. Thor destroys the Bifrost to save Frost Giants. Loki falls into the remains of the Einstein-Rosen Bridge.

Early 2012 - Dr. Selvig is invited to work on Project Pegasus (S.H.I.E.L.D.-NASA study of the Tesseract).

Fury's Big Week note: as we can see, the movie tells us in every way that the events take place at the end of the year, and not in late May - early June.

Why 2011:

In The Avengers, Fury mentions that the events of Thor happened "last year." He says that on May 4th, 2012, so "last year" is 2011.

All the clues in the NASA location scene in The Avengers tell us that Dr. Selvig and Clint were there for no more than a few months: Selvig did not have enough time to complete his calculations, did not reach the testing phase, and had not enough time to get closer to Barton. This means he started working on the Tesseract in 2012, not earlier.

Before this, a month or two (not too much, not too little) had passed since the main events of Thor, as evidenced by the way Fury and Selvig talk about it in Thor's mid-credits scene.

It's hard to imagine Loki or Thanos going more than a year without action.

In Thor: The Dark World, Darcy says that Thor was last "gone for two years," that is, if we count from the fall of 2013 (events of Thor: The Dark World, where Thor reunites with Jane), we get the fall of 2011, the exact period we've established here.

Iron Man (2008) Timeline

The Incredible Hulk (2008) Timeline

Iron Man 2 (2010) Timeline

Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) Timeline

The Avengers (2012) Timeline

[caesariawritesstuff]

Hello Caesaria!

First- I just absolutely adore your writing, and when I saw your Valentines prompts I got so excited!(just SO NERVOUS TO ASK LOL)

Anyways, this may be super dorky, but for the Valentine’s ask could I get a 🌹💋Robin!Reader x Arkham Knight!Riddler with the prompt number 7 from your jealousy 2 list? I want you to have free reign with it!

Thank you!<3

P.s., I am so stoked for Arc 2 of C&M!<3

Only the Beginning

Summary: A run-in with the Riddler leads to an unexpected outcome.

Word Count: 2.4k

Content Warning: Hate-fucking, smut, brief violence

A/N: Ahh this was a blast to write and I really hope you enjoy, @riddled-with-fear! PLEASE don't be nervous to ever send me a request! And I am ALSO stoked for Arc 2 of C&M!

The Gotham Merchants Bank was surrounded.

Red and blue lights flashed against the darkness, the wailing of police sirens ringing in your ears. From your post atop the adjacent building, crouched on top of a stone gargoyle, your vantage point gave you a good view of everything below: the bank was completely surrounded by GCPD officers, their guns drawn, batons out, tasers at the ready. You narrowed your eyes, peering around, studying the situation. You green-and-red costume clung tightly to your body, the smooth surface and weave of the material perfect for to protect you from oncoming attacks, both from bullets and fists – the likes of which you’d felt many times over.

Sucking in a breath, you braced yourself against the stone, your gloved fingers brushing against the hardness, as you said, “Oracle, what’s the situation inside?”

“The Riddler is robbing the bank,” she said into your earpiece. “He has six hostages. You better move fast, Robin. He’s cleaning out the vault now.”

You nodded; you didn’t need to be told twice. For the last year, you’d been training under Batman and Nightwing, taking up the mantle as a new Robin after the last had been shot in the leg, rendering him incapable of fighting for some time. He was still in recovery, and right now, they were counting on you to get in there and get the job done. You couldn’t let Edward Nigma rob this bank dry and potentially hurt everyone inside. And knowing him, you didn’t know if he’d take any of these hostages as part of his twisted games, either. The thought made your stomach roll, but there was something else, too – the strange way your heart leapt into your throat at the thought of him, a flush burning on your cheeks.

Ever since you’d begin your career as Robin, you’d run into the Riddler more often than you expected. Time and time again, you’d gone toe-to-toe with him, taking down his most intricate of traps and puzzles, before hauling him away to the GCPD. But you had to admit, there was something about him that was…strangely endearing. Was it the sound of his voice? The way he carried himself? The way he spouted riddles at you as if you were an idiot, even though you answered each one without fail and with ease? Was it the way you watched his brow furrow in frustration when he realized you’d outsmarted him? You didn’t know what it was – but just the very thought of him clouded your thoughts more than you cared to admit.

And tonight was no different.

Shaking him from your thoughts, you leapt across the building and over to the bank. Luckily, there was a rooftop vent that you managed to crawl inside and shimmy your way down. Dust brushed against your suit, the smell of must invading your nose, as you crawled your way through the vent with ease. This wasn’t the first time someone had robbed this bank, and it wouldn’t be the last – and by now, you’d memorized this route like the back of your hand. You gritted your teeth, making your way through the vent, before coming to a stop at an opening in the central part of the bank – but the sound of a familiar voice made you pause.

“Well, well,” said the Riddler, his voice oozing that classic arrogance and ego that somehow always made your stomach clench with nerves and warmth. “What do we have here?”

“Please don’t hurt us!” someone cried.

“Oh, please. I’m not going to hurt you,” the Riddler said with an exaggerated sighed. “You aren’t even worth a shred of my cerebral capacity to spare you another thought. Now, hand over the jewels. I won’t ask again.”

You paused. It must be someone wearing nice, expensive jewelry, like rings and bracelets or necklaces. But you couldn’t sit here any longer and let him torture these people into submission – you had a job to do. Bracing yourself, you rushed out of the vent. The metal grating burst open as you burst into the central lobby.

“What?” the Riddler asked, spinning around, his eyes going wide as the sound caught his attention.

You immediately locked eyes with him. He looked like a mess: greasy, mussed up hair, goggles on his forehead, a dirty wife-beater with a green button down scattered with question marks and cargo pants. Every inch of him screamed the sort of man who didn’t take proper care of himself, and yet somehow you couldn’t pull your eyes away from him all the same. Your heart leapt into your throat, and you balled your hands into fists, bracing yourself into a defensive stance.

His lips pulled back into a smirk. “Girl Wonder,” he said. “Alas, we meet again.”

“We really need to stop meeting like this, Nigma,” you said, rolling your eyes. It was a good thing the mask covered your face. The last thing you needed was him finding out your secret identity. As you spoke, your gaze shifted to the six hostages he had held at gunpoint.

“I think you enjoy meeting like this,” he said, sighing, rolling his eyes. “Does the Dark Knight really think sending you will change anything? I’m far more equipped to deal with anything you throw at me, Girl Wonder, so please. Let’s not waste time.”

His gun turned on you, but you noticed his finger barely hovered over the trigger.

“Please,” you scoffed out a broken laugh. “As if. You can barely handle me at all.”

That made his smirk grow – long enough for him to lower his guard and drop the weapon just slightly – giving you enough time to pull out your own shuriken – and you threw it right at his hand. The movement was so fast, and the gadget flew so quick through the air that he barely had time to register it as it smacked right into his hand.

“Dammit!” he cried, hissing through his teeth as the gun slipped from his grip.

It was just the chance you needed. You raced towards him, your breath coming out in short bursts – just as you raised your leg and kicked him in the chest. Riddler went down, a strangled cry escaping his own lips, as he stumbled backwards and landed onto his back. His pupils were blown wide, a look of surprise crossing his face, as you straddled on top of him – trying to get a hold of his wrists so you could pin him down and grab a pair of handcuffs from your utility belt at the same time. But as you did, he only struggled against you, limbs flailing wildly, sweat beaded on his brow and trickling into his greasy hairline.

“Get off of me!” he cried, thrashing about.

“No!” you cried. “I’m taking you in, Nigma.” Your words were spoken with much conviction, so much determination. You glanced aside at the hostage and yelled, “Go!”

The six people jumped to their feet and scrambled out of here, almost tripping over their own two feet as they went. Riddler reached out, trying to scratch at you, but the thick gloves on his hands made it impossible. You reached down, one hand on his chest to keep him pinned while the other grabbed onto his throat, your gloved fingers wrapping tight around the thick muscle – but as you did, your eyes locked with his – and for one simple moment, time seemed to standstill. Gotham faded away into nothingness, and not even the wailing of sirens could be heard. The edges of your vision clouded as warmth filled your bloodstream, spreading down to your core – and when you shifted slightly, you suddenly felt it: a firmness in his pants.

And that’s when you realized he had an erection.

You blinked, barely able to comprehend what you were feeling. Barely able to realize that he was underneath you with a hard on as your straddled legs grinded against him. Heat immediately rushed in between your legs, pulsating there, and your mouth fell agape in surprise.

“You could get off of me now,” he said, but you noticed the flush creeping up his cheeks. “Or do you like thinking you have some kind of control over me? You think you’ve overpowered me, when I’ve simply let you—”

“God, don’t you know how to shut up for one second?” you cried, the words slipping out of your mouth against your control. “You’re so annoying.”

“So I’ve been told.”

“I hate you,” you said, rolling your eyes – but you still didn’t make a move to get off him. It was like the two of you were glued together at the hip, unable to be pulled apart.

“I hate you as well, Girl Wonder,” he muttered.

“It doesn’t seem like it to me,” you replied, unable to stop yourself. The words out of your mouth were so unexpected, but the warmth and heat in your core was too much to ignore.

A shadow passed along his face as he blinked, as if uncertain what to say. He shifted again, the heat spreading even more now along his cheeks. “Then you’re fooling yourself, Girl Wonder. You—”

“Oh, shut up,” you said – and pressed your lips to his to silence him.

He tasted like salt and sweat and something metallic. Immediately, his mouth parted to join with yours, and you pushed yourself harder into him, gliding your tongue against his own. The soft brush of his tongue made a moan, a gentle sigh, escape your mouth. It had been so long since you’d been kissed, so long since you’d felt this level of warmth. The hand around his throat loosened, trailing upwards towards his face and into his slick, oily hair. The Riddler groaned into your mouth and arched into you slightly, his erection pressing against your core. Heat spread across your skin, like you were being warmed by a fire and—

“Robin, are you all right?” Oracle asked. “Your vitals have increased exponentially.”

Her voice in your ear immediately made you pull away. A flush crept along your cheeks, and you stared down at Riddler as he gazed up at you with heavy-lidded eyes, smirking.

“As I thought,” he said. “Even the Girl Wonder can’t resist me.”

“Shut up,” you muttered. “I only did that to make you be quiet.”

“What else are you going to do to make me be quiet, hm?” he asked.

The question made you pause. The heat inside of you was too much to bear, too much to handle, and a needy desperation filled your center. You locked eyes with him for just a moment – but that small moment seemed to be enough of an answer for what you both wanted. Immediately, your hands snaked down to his belt, undoing it with rapid succession. You knew the cameras were already disabled, thanks to him, and you only had a few minutes before the GCPD would come barging in here.

“Hold the GCPD off,” you said to Oracle. “I’m busy.”

The Riddler locked eyes with you again, and you immediately pulled his cock from his pants. Long and hard, dripping with precum, the veins bulging out. His shaft was warm in your hands, and you gave his cock a few lazy pumps. He hissed between his teeth as you he grabbed onto the zipper of your costume and yanked it down in one smooth, fluid motion. You didn’t have time to dawdle – you needed this. Now.

You immediately shifted your suit to the side to expose your dripping wet cunt, angling it above his cock, and you sunk down onto him. Both of you sighed in ecstasy at how he filled you to the brim, sinking yourself onto him thick inch by inch. His hands gripped your waist as his back arched, his eyes fluttering closed, as if he was lost to the sensations you provided for him. The feeling of his thick cock inside of you was like heaven, and immediately, you began to move, riding him with a fierce desperation.

You clamped your mouth shut as you slammed yourself down onto him again and again, each time his cock hitting that sweet spot inside of you that made you see stars. Soft gasps and pants escaped your lips, grunts of pleasure escaping his own. There was no time for intimacy, no time for words – just a simple hate fuck as the two of you lost yourselves to the pleasure you both desperately needed and craved. You felt his thumb stray forward, the rough edge of his glove circling your clit, and you gasped, a low cry threatening to spill from your lips. The sensation of the glove and the pressure he added only increased your stimulation, sending tiny fireworks of pleasure all throughout your core and down your thighs.

“Fuck,” he whispered, his eyes opening just enough to look at you. “Who knew the Girl Wonder could fuck so well?”

“Shut up,” you hissed. “I’m not doing this for you – I’m doing it for me.”

His smirk grew slightly. “There are so many people out there you could be doing this with, so why me? The person you despise so much?”

His question made you pause – because you knew the hidden truth. “The thing is…I don’t despise you. Not really. I never have.”

His brow quirked upwards, a curious look passing along his face – but his smile widened into something tricky and tantalizing, before he slammed his hips up into you. You cried out, clamping a hand over your mouth to keep from crying out, as he thrust wildly into you with reckless abandon, a man in the throes of a lustful frenzy. Each thrust of his length into you made your pleasure increase – tightening and tightening – until it snapped completely.

You cried out as your orgasm washed over you, lightning bolts of pleasure running up and down your body. You trembled atop him as he stilled, cum spurting from his cockhead, filling you completely. Your eyes fluttered closed as wave after wave of pleasure and ecstasy consumed you – until your climax faded away into nothingness. Gasping for air, you peeled your eyes open long enough to look down at him to find him smirking that patented, arrogant smirk of his, looking like he was a king being serviced.

A beat of silence passed. But you pulled off of him, quickly zipping up your suit as he tucked his cum-coated cock into his pants, the both of you frantically cleaning up the remnants of what just happened before the GCPD could burst inside. Just as you jumped to your feet, his hand shot out, grabbing your wrist tightly.

“We’re not finished here, Girl Wonder,” he said, a low growl deep in his voice, before he let you go. You pulled away, glaring at him with malice in your eyes – but you knew the truth: this was far from finished.

It was only the beginning.

[mysteryshoptls]

SSR Jack Howl - Club Wear Voice Lines

When Summoned: I don't plan on getting stuck in a pack with everyone else. I'll run at my own pace.

Summon Line: I got a good training regimen going. I'll improve my physique before the next meet... And I'll definitely beat my target time!

Groooovy!!: I'll shake everyone else off. The one who'll cross the finish line first will be... me!

Home: Right! Guess I'll start with some warm-up exercises.

Home Idle 1: Marathon running is a sport where it's important to determine strategies for pacing and positioning. I always have a plan of attack for each one I run.

Home Idle 2: I recommend the woods behind campus as a good running course. The path is unpaved, so it's just right for building your core.

Home Idle 3: I find pole vaulting to be frustrating. Even when I think I've made the jump, sometimes my tail gets caught on the pole. I need to figure out a way to overcome that somehow.

Home Idle - Login: I like how we can visually see our results with proper timekeeping in Track and Field. That helps me see exactly how well I'm doing, and how far I've come.

Home Idle - Groovy: If you're planning to watch our practice, then go sit in the tree shade over there. No, it's not 'cause I'm worried about you. You'll just be a distraction if you're too close.

Home Tap 1: Guess I'll have to do some shoe maintenance soon. I need to make sure my prep is spot on so I can have some real results, so.

Home Tap 2: We went into the mountains for the Track and Field Club training camp. Because of the thinner air at that higher altitude, it made for a harder run and good exercise.

Home Tap 3: Athletic supporters help to reduce unnecessary muscle movement, which in turn helps me from getting tired too quickly. It's definitely a must if we're practicing for long hours.

Home Tap 4: Deuce raced against an upperclassman in the 400 meter dash. Man, no matter how many times he was passed, he would quickly overtake him... He's got mettle.

Home Tap 5: I'm hungry. I want to eat something, but... I'll hold off for now, because I'm about to go running. I don't want to stress out my stomach and lower my time.

Home Tap - Groovy: I tried filming my running form... But it's just not working out. Oh, you'll help me video it? Alright, I'll leave it to you then.

Duo: [JACK]: Deuce, can you keep up with me? [DEUCE]: Don't underestimate me, Jack!

Requested by @dida-books.

[myokk]

before it felt like a sin, ch. 2

ch.1

pairing: Sebastian Sallow x f!MC

word count: 6900

summary: Eloise never wanted to be different.

And yet, her differences are what have defined her life up until this point: growing up as a squib in one of the most prominent wizarding families, being exiled to muggle society, and then attending Hogwarts at the age of sixteen.

She finds herself thrust into the life she should have been prepared for from birth but was denied. As she navigates this new life and her new precarious position in her family, she must come to terms with the fact that maybe what she dreamed of her whole life isn't turning out how she ever expected it would.

a/n: here's chapter 2!! I just wanted to add these amazing beautiful drawings I look back on allllllll the time, by @kay9leo 🥹🫶 I LOVE YOU SO MUCH !!!!! 😙💓😙💓😙💓

I also want to reiterate that this fic is REALLY CANON DIVERGENT!!!!! I will NOT be following the game’s plot at all really with this (it really starts to diverge around chapter 6/7 maybe I don’t remember), and I don’t see Eloise as the game’s MC either.

Things were definitely not going as planned…not that Eloise had really known what to expect. Almost from the moment the portkey had brought her to meet Professor Fig, it seemed like everything had gone from bad to worse.

And it had all started out so well. He had handed her the provisional wand, and upon contact the magic coursing through her had been exhilarating. Finally Eloise was able to experience what she had dreamed of for so long. All too soon, however, she was putting the wand to use in ways she hadn’t imagined. Watching Mr. Ospric die had made her blood run cold but then she didn’t have the luxury of processing the shock as so much was happening at once and there was a dragon and death and then…another portkey? Before she knew it, she was fighting some sort of sentient guardians in some mysterious Gringott’s vault and there was concrete proof of the goblin uprising…it was simply too much to take in at once.

Now, she was standing in front of the ornate entrance to a room Professor Fig had called the “Great Hall”. He checked the pocketwatch inside his robes again, and muttered (more to himself than anything) “hopefully the sorting is still going on…” and then in a louder voice as he glanced at Eloise - “come along then, young Eloise!”

He peered more closely at her then, taking in her pale appearance and added in a kinder tone, “I’m sure you’re hungry. We’ll just head in and get you sorted into your house, and then an early night for the both of us. Don’t worry about the things that were lost in the attack - I’m sure one of your new housemates will share her things with you until they are replaced.”

With that, he pushed open the doors and ushered her in. In any normal circumstances, Eloise was sure that she would have been absolutely in awe of the breathtaking appearance that greeted her. It was simply…for lack of a better word, magical. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the night sky above the castle, stars glimmering through the wispy purple clouds that covered the ceiling. There were thousands of candles floating in the air, illuminating the hall in a soft, golden light.

She couldn’t focus on any of that.

As soon as Fig opened the double doors, the low chatter that filled the Great Hall slowly faded as everyone turned to look at who had entered. Eloise froze. Hundreds of faces all staring at her, filled with curiosity.

Judging her.

They must all know that she was a squib and didn’t actually belong there.

No. She had proved her magical capabilities earlier that day, albeit in a different manner than she had expected. She deserved to be here just as much as they did.

The teacher at the far end of the hall was saying something and the students surrounding her had begun to whisper amongst themselves. There was so much buzzing in her ears that she didn’t hear a word that was said. Then, a familiar voice - how in the world could it still be familiar after so much time? - broke through the fog and her head turned sharply to the side at the noise.

“Eloise?”

Her gaze met familiar hazel eyes as Leo quickly stood up, taking a step towards her before he caught himself and stayed where he was. If the shock hadn’t already been apparent enough in his voice, one look at his expression told Eloise everything. He hadn’t had any idea that she had been accepted to Hogwarts. After she had been burned off of the family tree by her mother, it was like she didn’t exist anymore. Of course he hadn’t known that she would be there.

Leo had changed since Eloise last saw him. Of course he did, she thought to herself. It had been five years, after all. The same unruly black curls, same eyes. And yet…he almost seemed a stranger to her. He was taller, face more angular and defined than it had been at thirteen. Voice deeper. But, the expression of vulnerability and guilt written all over his face was something she recognized well. It was the same expression that he had had the last time he saw her, the face she sometimes saw before falling asleep. Just as quickly as it flashed across his face however, it was gone, hidden behind a stony exterior. His expression hardened and he sat down just as quickly as he had stood up, quickly averting his eyes. The people around him were looking between them curiously, but before Eloise could even begin to process this new situation, she felt a gentle push on her shoulder.

Professor Fig had been talking to her. “…the Sorting Hat. You need to go up and get sorted into your house.”

She looked up at him and realized that he was gesturing to the front of the Great Hall, vaguely recalling how Leo had described the sorting ceremony in his first letter home from Hogwarts. Everyone was still staring.

Well, let them, she thought. Eloise tossed her braid over her shoulder and lifted her head high, straightening her posture in the meantime. Did it matter if everyone was staring at her? She determined that if people were going to be whispering about her, speculating about her, she would give them something to talk about. About the girl who was admitted in her fifth-year at Hogwarts. The girl who surpassed them all.

Eloise shook off Professor Fig’s hand and walked to the raised platform, where there was a stool and a professor waiting with an ancient wizarding hat in her hands. As Eloise sat down, a semicircle of professors behind her and the tables of students in front of her, the hat was placed on top of her head. It was so formless and well-worn that the faded fabric slid over her eyes and she was surrounded by darkness.

Hmm…interesting, a voice purred in her mind. Eloise jumped at the sound. Don’t worry, dear. I won’t hurt you, although I suppose that not everyone would say that. My, my. You have had a rough go of things, haven’t you?

It’s not often I get to sort a new fifth-year student. She realized that it was the hat talking to her. Always much more interesting, you see. The first-years are always fun because I get to see their potential and who they will turn out to be, but even that can be fallible sometimes. People are shaped by their experiences.

An older student, though? Someone closer to the person they will be, with more experiences that have shaped them? Oh yes, these are the ones I like the most.

Wait, thought Eloise. You’ve sorted others like me before?

Oh yes. A pause. The voice purred in her ear. I can see the hunger for knowledge in you. But…Ravenclaw seems too simplistic. Behind the intelligence lies great ambition. A desire to prove yourself. Prove you belong. Yes, you may have had a rough life but you have managed to use what’s around you to your advantage. So, you must be a…

“SLYTHERIN!”

Eloise started at the sudden shout, realizing that it must have been out loud. As the hat was pulled off of her head, she could see the students at the table at the far end of the hall, the one Leo was at, break into furious whispers amongst each other. The teacher with her smiled kindly and pointed Eloise in their direction. “That’s the Slytherin table, dear. Once you sit down, we can begin eating.”

Eloise got up numbly and slowly walked towards the table. The whispering got louder as she neared it, and the students kept shooting her glances. Most seemed simply curious about the new, older student who had just been sorted into Slytherin, but others looked at her with hostility. Two students moved aside and motioned to her.

“Figured you would rather sit with us than the first years.”

The girl who spoke gave her an appraising look, taking in her muggle clothing and mussed-up hair. Eloise sat down next to her, nervously smoothing her hands over her skirt. Now that the sorting was over and she was actually interacting with her future classmates, she felt exhausted and completely unable to keep up her facade of nonchalance.

“I was going to ask if you like quidditch but…judging by your clothes -“

“Gods, Imelda,” came a drawling voice to Eloise’s left. “Can’t you give the poor girl a break? Not even one second at our table and you’re already trying to recruit her for the team.”

The boy who spoke gave an amused look to Imelda before turning to Eloise. “You’ll want to watch out for that one - if she even gets a whiff of the fact you can fly a broom, she’ll be out to recruit -“

“It’s not my fault!” Imelda interrupted forcefully, smacking her hands on the table and leaning over Eloise to talk to him. “Our best players all graduated last year and I have it cut out for me -“

“- you to the Slytherin team,” the boy concluded, ignoring Imelda’s heated protests. She sat back with a huff and crossed her arms. “Just ignore her. It’s what we’ve found works best. I’m Sebastian Sallow and this is Ominis Gaunt. Two people you will actually want to spend time with.”

He stuck his tongue out at Imelda as he held his hand out to Eloise. The boy across from them snickered quietly to himself as he listened to Imelda splutter in denial. Eloise shook Sebastian’s hand hesitantly. “Eloise. And actually,” she added, turning to Imelda, “I do know what quidditch is. Unfortunately, I’ve never ridden a broom though.”

That got Imelda going again, this time about how it was absolutely impossible that someone could know about the existence of quidditch without ever touching a broom. She seemed to be of the opinion that knowing of its existence meant an undying desire to learn how to play. “So you’re not a mudblood, then? Oh, who am I kidding - of course you’re not. We’re in Slytherin, after all. But how…”

Fortunately, food started appearing on the table before Imelda could finish her thought. It was enough to move her attention from Eloise as she began to pile different foods on her plate. To be quite honest, Eloise was relieved. She wasn’t sure how much she wanted to tell others about her circumstances, especially during this first night before she knew anyone. Would they think differently of her if they knew that she had been disowned from her family and presumed a squib?

Who was she kidding? Of course everyone would judge her for that. Besides, she knew she wanted to talk to Leo before revealing anything - maybe he could help her get a feel for how to approach the situation. If he wanted to even associate with her, that is. Once again, the thought passed through her mind that he could have changed through the years, just as she had. Their parents could be quite persuasive, and more often than not the two siblings had learned that it was easier to go along with them than against.

Leo had grown up with the adoration of their parents, showing magical prowess at the young age of three, when his favorite toys started following him around in a little parade. Eloise, on the other hand…as the years passed and she still wasn’t showing signs of anything at all, not even a measly show of a sneeze blowing her away, their parents started working to distance the siblings from each other. It hadn’t been very effective and yet…without her presence, she could see him moving on in his life. Just as she had tried to do.

A sharp poke to her side. Eloise jumped and looked at Sebastian. “Aren’t you going to eat anything? You need to grab the good things before they’re gone - it’s every man out for himself during the feasts.”

She looked around and, sure enough, the food on the plates was steadily going down. It all looked absolutely delicious - mountains of meat, bread, puddings…her stomach growled loudly as she took it all in. Eloise hurriedly started putting the closest food to her on her plate, reaching over to give herself a heaping serving of mashed potatoes on the side. “Thank you.”

“No problem,” he replied after swallowing the food he was eating. “I’m sure you’ve had a long day if you arrived that late to the sorting ceremony. As you walked up to the stool, Ominis and I had a bet about which house you would be sorted into. I told him, after my first glance at you, that I could tell you’d be one of us, but unfortunately, he - “

“Hey! I can hear you,” Ominis said from across the table, leaning forward slightly. Eloise realized that he was blind - his eyes had no pupils at all. His gaze was unfocused but his head turned in her direction. He explained, “I could only sense your form as you walked down the Hall. And, for the record, before Sebastian can say otherwise, I said I could tell you would be a Slytherin. Will the blind jokes ever get old?”

“As long as I have breath in my body - hey!”

Ominis had thrown a roll at Sebastian’s head which, surprisingly, hit its mark.

“I might not be able to see what just happened, but I know that I’ve just won,” Ominis said smugly, returning his attention to his plate.

Eloise just sat there, not really knowing how to react. This time, it was Imelda’s turn to say, “just ignore them. Luckily, we won’t need to see much more of them as the feast’s finishing up.” She wrinkled her nose in Sebastian’s direction, a gesture that was swiftly returned. Even though she had just met the three of them, Eloise couldn’t help but feel happy just listening to their back-and-forth. She did feel a twinge of…something, though, knowing that she could have been with them since their first year, if only her magic had shown itself sooner.

Mountains of dessert started to replace the remnants of the dinner: plum pudding, lemon tarts, cakes…it was more dessert in one place than Eloise had ever seen in her life. None of the students held back at all trying to get their favorites, especially if it was at the expense of another. The atmosphere was electric - everyone was excited to be back among their friends and catch up over everything that had happened the summer before, and Eloise was happy to just be among them.

She reached for a lemon tart, and when she looked up, she saw that Leo was staring at her intently. He looked away as soon as they made eye contact, but the moment didn’t go past Imelda’s notice.

“Do you know him?” she asked, nodding towards Leo. Eloise flushed and looked down at her plate, nodding reluctantly. She knew as soon as they went through role call the next day, everyone would know that she was a Babbit.

“Yes, he’s…er -“

Eloise broke off, grabbing the nearest goblet of pumpkin juice and drinking the whole thing in one go. When she came up for air, Imelda was still looking at her expectantly. Eloise took a deep breath and tried continuing, but… “I’m not really sure,” is all that came out of her mouth.

Imelda furrowed her brow, clearly trying to figure out how that answer made sense and Eloise wasn’t about to clarify for her. Although it wouldn’t be long before it got out that they were siblings, she wasn’t sure how much she wanted these new acquaintances to know about her at the moment. She had had enough pitying looks to last her a lifetime, and she just knew that once they found out she had been a squib…

“Hey Sebastian,” a pretty blonde girl said, leaning towards the group. She shot Eloise a curious glance but quickly looked back at her target. “Where’s Anne? Is she still gone this year? What a pity…the two of you are…were…sewn together at the hip and I was looking forward to finally being the one who gets between the two of you this year.” At this, the girls surrounding her started tittering and she flipped her hair over her shoulder and pouted. “I thought there would be more of a challenge. But if you’re going to be the changed Sebastian again this year…”

“Who’s…” Eloise trailed off as she saw Sebastian’s expression. It had changed into something almost unrecognizable - at least, to someone who had only known him for all of forty-five minutes. He was looking at the girl with a mixture of barely-controlled fury and…something else that Eloise couldn’t quite place. She shrank away from him as she took in his stricken expression.

“She’s still sick,” he said shortly as he stood up. His hands bunched into tight fists and his body was shaking. Sebastian quickly turned and stormed down the hall. They all watched him go in silence; once he left, the blonde girl turned to Ominis.

“Gods, what’s his problem? So what if she misses a few days of school?” She looked around at everyone, pouting. “You all know I’m right. Last year he was a mess but he should be getting over it by now.”

“You always speak before thinking, Victoria,” Ominis said tersely, getting up. “One of these days, it’s going to get you in trouble. If you keep this up, when that happens nobody will be around to help you pick up the pieces.” With that, he strode away after Sebastian.

Eloise blinked and looked around. The rest of the students were starting to get up and slowly move towards their respective common rooms having finished their dessert, and the prefects were starting to herd the first-years along. Victoria laughed weakly and turned to her friends, effectively ignoring Eloise and Imelda as if they weren’t there. “I think the summer holidays have made people extra sensitive this year. I honestly don’t know what their problem is.”

“Come on, then,” said Imelda, shooting Victoria a dirty look. “Let’s head to the dorms.”

Eloise stood up and started following Imelda’s lead. She was parting the students with ease as she walked through the crowd. Her strides were so long that Eloise had to half-jog to keep up with her. “Our common room is in the dungeons,” Imelda said, looking over her shoulder at Eloise. “The other houses are creeped out by it, but they haven’t actually seen it. You’ll see.”

Because of how quickly Imelda strode through the corridors and down the stairs, Eloise didn’t have much time to take in the rest of the castle. She did however realize that they were winding through the corridors in such a way that she would be hopelessly lost if Imelda weren’t with her. The two of them arrived at the Slytherin common room well before the other students due to Imelda’s fast pace. As they entered the common room after saying the correct password - basilisk - Eloise couldn’t help but look around in wonder. There was light piano music playing in the background - Chopin, Eloise thought she recognized it from her piano lessons at the muggle school. Even though the overall tones of the place were cool - blues and greens filtering through the tall glass windows and from the lamps, the checkered marble floors and columns giving off an air of cold elegance - the beautiful rugs and happily crackling fires made it all come together and seem oddly cozy. Various tables and desks were scattered around the space, and comfortable looking armchairs and couches crowded around low tables. Eloise could just picture it teeming with students studying after class or hanging out on the weekends. She knew that it was a place that could finally feel like home to her.

“I tried, Ominis,” came a hushed whisper from near the windows. Imelda and Eloise froze at the entrance to the common room and glanced at each other. “I just can’t do it. I know what you and Anne told me but…”

“Sebastian. Anne doesn’t want you to wallow and waste your time here worrying about her. I know that you’re worried for her. I mean, I am too. You know she’s like a sister to me.”

“You have no idea,” Sebastian interrupted fiercely. His back was hunched over and he was holding his face in his hands. “It should have been me. I can’t live with myself. With this guilt.”

“No, you -“ Ominis cut himself off as the sound of the other students filtering in started to fill the room. The boys abruptly sat up straighter, although they didn’t look at each other. Oblivious to the tension between the two, a group of second-years sat on the sofa right next to them, as they excitedly caught up with each other.

“I’ll show you our room,” Imelda said, turning to Eloise. “It gets pretty crazy here the first night back from any holidays, with everyone catching up. I don’t know about you, but I want to get some sleep! Quidditch tryouts are next week and I already know how exhausting it will be.”

Eloise really was exhausted, and nothing sounded better to her than finally going to sleep. The dorms seemed to be set up so that the stairs going up led to the girls’ dormitories, and the ones going down to the boys’. Imelda explained that it was due to the fact that boys weren’t to be trusted, and the stairs would turn into a slide if any boy attempted to go up them. It wasn’t something that Eloise had even considered, due to the fact that she had just come from an all-girls school, but she flushed at the implication.

As they reached the staircase, they almost crashed into Sebastian. Imelda had been marching towards the stairs with a single-minded determination and Sebastian had been heading towards his with just as much purpose.

Eloise bounced off of his shoulder. She grabbed her own, wincing slightly. He was more solid than he looked. He looked blankly at the two girls before shaking his head and realizing where they were. “Gods, I’m so sorry. I’m just -“ he gave his head another little shake and saw that Eloise was holding her shoulder. “Are you hurt?”

“It’s fine,” Eloise reassured him. She gave a small smile. “I’ve had worse, it’s really nothing.”

“Yeah, yeah,” interrupted Imelda. She shot Sebastian a concerned look. “Go to bed. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

Imelda shook her head sadly and the girls resumed their path. “Poor boy. He hasn’t been the same since the summer after our third year. I mean, he was always kind of obsessive, but in a charming way. He was on the quidditch team with me, and always really determined to be the absolute best, always working hard to show all of the other students they don’t even know half as much as he does. That sort of thing, you know? It’s not like he was insufferable, his charm drew everyone to him.”

She held the door open and Eloise walked in. It was a cozy circular room, with five four-poster beds. A small fire in the middle of the room warmed the whole place up, and Eloise was relieved to see it. When Imelda had told her that their dormitory was in the dungeons, she had immediately pictured a dark, cold, slimy space. Only one of the beds didn’t have trunks placed at its foot, and Eloise went straight to it. Her trunk had been lost in the dragon attack. She was relieved to see a nightgown laid on top of the bed and a pair of green slippers neatly lined up on the floor; she hadn’t been sure what she would wear.

Imelda sat down heavily on the bed next to Eloise’s and started unlacing her boots. She continued talking. “Then, in our fourth year, he comes to school after summer holidays. Alone. He hasn’t been the same since. Nobody’s quite sure what’s going on with his sister, except that it’s bad. She’s not expected to live much longer.”

“Oh my god,” breathed Eloise. “I can’t even imagine.”

“Me neither.” Imelda shook her head. “He got into trouble left and right last year, there were even rumors of a duel…I don’t think there was a single week where he didn’t have detention. I mean, I don’t blame him, but - he was taken off the team! This year he better not, I can’t afford to lose my best beater again.”

The girls continued chattering quietly to themselves about other topics as they got ready for the night. Slipping into their nightgowns, braiding each others’ hair, and, finally, slipping under the freshly turned bed covers. Eloise turned towards Imelda and simply whispered, “thank you.” Although they had just met, Eloise felt certain in the knowledge that she had just made her first friend.

Imelda waved her off. “It’s nothing. Get some sleep, the first day of classes is always overwhelming. I can’t even imagine starting as a fifth-year.”

With that, she rolled over and soon Eloise heard her breathing deepen as she fell asleep. She stared at the canopy covering her bed for what seemed like an eternity. The low murmurs of the other girls as they came in and got ready for bed slowly morphed into drowsy good-nights, until finally the room was silent except for the steady tick of a clock and their breathing.

As tired as she felt, Eloise couldn’t stop the racing of her mind. It felt like the last few days had more action than the entirety of her life. Even though banished had, at the time, been incredibly momentous for her, it paled in comparison to finding out that she actually was a witch and had been admitted to Hogwarts. She had used magic for the first time today. The rush of power that ran through her body when she cast spells was unlike anything else she had ever experienced. It just felt right. Like some part of her that had been hidden away had finally made itself known and she felt whole for the first time. She wondered if everyone else felt that same rush, that same desire to know and master absolutely every aspect of magical knowledge. She had been given a gift that until now had felt like a pathetic little daydream and she wasn’t about to waste it now that she had it.

The clock kept on ticking lazily and still Eloise was awake. She eventually got up and after shrugging on a robe and slipping on the green slippers, headed towards the common room. She and Imelda hadn’t spent much time in it earlier, and she wanted to see it at least once without any people, maybe as a space just for herself.

As it was even later in the night - it must have been around three - the fire had been extinguished and the light filtering through the windows had turned an even deeper shade of emerald green. It covered the mahogany furniture with an eerie light, as if Eloise had stepped into some strange underworld instead of the empty Slytherin common room. She trailed her hand along the velvet back of a sofa, mesmerized by the stark contrast of the green highlights and black shadows as her hand moved. Lazily twirling a globe as she walked past, the room silent except for her muffled footsteps.

It was precisely the silence that absorbed her completely. Being alone had always been her favorite thing; there was just something so special about being the only person in a place, feeling as if you were the only holder of some great secret. Eloise made her way towards the tall glass windows as if in a dream, not really noticing anything of her surroundings and yet taking it all in. The feeling of being there.

When she heard the soft voice she nearly jumped out of her skin.

“You couldn’t sleep either?”

Eloise whirled towards the voice, feeling as if her heart was about to burst through her chest. The student - a male - was sitting by one of the windows. Since the only light source was the windows, his face was entirely shrouded in black. Eloise was suddenly very aware of how indecently she was dressed to be outside of her dormitory. The sudden change from complete, eerie tranquility was shattered and she wrapped her robe more tightly around her, keeping her arms hugged around her body.

“Who -“

The boy straightened up, tilting his head back toward the window and, with the aid of the green light, Eloise saw that it was Ominis.

“What are you doing down here, Ominis? You almost gave me a heart attack! You’re sitting in the shadows and I thought I was alone.”

“I could ask the same of you,” he said simply, the hint of an amused smirk gracing his features. “And, might I add, I didn’t mean to scare you on purpose. I thought you were purposely walking towards me. For all I know, it could be the break of dawn and I’m basking in the early rays of the sun.”

Eloise’s jaw dropped open in mortification. She had completely forgotten that he was blind. “How did you know that I was walking towards you?” She clapped her hands over her mouth in horror, the words leaving before she could stop them. What was wrong with her? With her sudden movement, her robes had fallen open again, revealing her nightgown, but she was too distraught over possibly having offended Ominis than continuing to follow the rules of propriety. “Oh Merlin’s beard, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

He just huffed quietly. They hadn’t spoken much at dinner, and Eloise was positive that he was angry with her. Maybe he had only acknowledged her presence because his best friend had seen fit to talk with her. Growing up blind, it would make sense for him to be sensitive to any comments regarding it…her face was flushed with mortification and guilt, and she slowly started backing away. Eloise figured it was better to just end the whole encounter being ruder still by making a hasty retreat, than to put her foot in her mouth once again and risk offending him more.

“No, wait,” Ominis said as soon as he realized she was walking away. His voice was choked with emotion and it seemed difficult for him to get the words out. Eloise froze and looked at him. His whole body was shaking, and she couldn’t tell if he was angry or…

Was he laughing?

“I might be blind, but I’m not deaf. In this silence, I would have been able to notice if anyone had entered the room even if they were trying to be sneaky, which you certainly were not. Stay, if you want.”

Eloise hesitated, then took the seat across from Ominis in the window. She nervously smoothed her nightgown over her legs. “Just so you know, you’re completely in shadow. If you hadn’t said anything, I probably would have walked right past you without realizing that you were here too.”

“I’ll choose a better spot to sit next time then, when I can’t fall asleep in the middle of the night,” he replied seriously. If not for the fact that he had just been teasing her, she would have thought that he was really taking what she said into consideration. “You never answered my original question. You can’t sleep?”

Eloise shook her head, then quickly added, “no. So much has happened these last few days…my brain always has a hard time turning off. Especially after a day like today.”

Ominis hummed in understanding, tilting his head towards her. The green light filtering through the water danced over his gaunt features, making his cheekbones and the dark circles under his eyes more prominent. His pupil-less eyes glowed eerily in the light. “I can only imagine. You arrived late to the sorting, and your aura was very unnerving as you stepped into the Great Hall. I immediately knew something was extraordinary about you.”

“My…aura?”

“Yes. I might not be able to see, but my wand does it for me. It’s hard to explain but…I can sense the people around me. I can’t make out features, but everyone has their own unique aura radiating from them. Yours is…different.”

Different? It must have something to do with the fact she hadn’t had any magical ability until recently. Maybe it was stunted or…maybe her aura was different due to the stress of the day.

“I saw someone murdered in front of me today,” Eloise blurted out before she could stop herself. Ominis didn’t look surprised by her sudden outburst, he merely remained still as he waited for Eloise to continue. “It was…shocking. A dragon came out of nowhere and just ripped our carriage in half, taking Mr. Osric with it. The worst part is…I’m-I’m shocked because it happened. But I’m not sad. I don’t feel the horror I think I should be feeling, and that is more horrifying to me. When I was lying in bed, the events of today kept replaying in my mind on a loop and I kept on trying to make myself feel the correct emotions. But I couldn’t. Something inside of me is broken.”

Eloise looked down at her hands, fingers wringing and untwisting together in her lap. She tried to force herself to sit as still as Ominis, but it was impossible. She couldn’t believe how easy it was to unload all of this onto a stranger, but he didn’t seem to mind listening. There was silence for a few minutes, but it wasn’t an uncomfortable one. Eloise peeked at Ominis from under her lashes. The boy appeared to be deep in thought.

“I couldn’t sleep either,” he finally said. “It’s normal for me, though. I also have a hard time turning off my thoughts, especially at night. This little corner of the common room feels like mine, in a sense. I’ve been coming here to think since I was a first-year. Maybe I subconsciously chose this place because, if you’re right, it’s more hidden than the rest. Nobody will see me if they’re sneaking around late at night, and it’s so peaceful.”

“That I can agree with,” said Eloise. “I actually came down here to see what it was like when it’s empty. I don’t quite know how to explain it, but this place already feels like home to me. A far sight better than the place I left behind. Places.”

“If you want me to leave, I’m fine with giving up my hiding place for a worthy cause.”

“No,” Eloise said quickly. “I…I like having you here. With me. It means I don’t have to be alone with my thoughts.”

Ominis smiled and tilted his head, not quite looking at her in that odd way of his. “It’s nice, talking to you. Most people avoid me. I can’t imagine why.”

Eloise huffed in quiet laughter. They sat in silence for a while longer, until Ominis broke it again. “You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to. But…am I correct in guessing that you and Leo Babbit know each other?”

Eloise’s breath hitched in her throat. She still wasn’t sure how much of her past she wanted people to know…but she also knew that as soon as the day broke the castle would be swirling with rumors. And, as much as she hated the thought, the truth would come out one way or another. She had been lucky enough so far…her name hadn’t been said at the sorting due to the unusual circumstances. But, come morning, everyone would put the pieces together once her name was called out by a teacher.

She could test the waters with someone like Ominis, who seemed like the sort of fellow who would take it in stride.

“I…like I said, you don’t have to tell me,” Ominis said softly.

“No! No, it’s fine,” Eloise assured him. “It’s…complicated. I would prefer if it never came out but…if the school I was at before is any indication, everyone will know by lunch tomorrow regardless of if I say anything or not.” She took a deep breath, steadying herself. “My full name is Eloise Babbit. Leo is my brother.”

Ominis showed no reaction. It gave her the strength to continue.

“I was rejected by my family. As the years went by and I still wasn’t showing any signs of magic, I was ignored by my parents in favor of Leo. When my eleventh year came and went without any acceptance letter to Hogwarts, I had to come to terms with the fact that I was actually a squib. Up until then, I had held onto the hope and the day I lost that, I lost everything. I was banished and burned off of the family tree, like I never existed. Until a few days ago, I was learning how to become a perfect muggle wife at one of their horrid finishing schools. My family had already prepared a marriage for me to a prominent muggle family, reasoning that I could at least give them important connections.” She spat that last word out. Even speaking the words was a bitter reminder of the life she had almost led. “Based on Leo’s reaction, he definitely didn’t know that I had been admitted to Hogwarts. I don’t even know what’s worse: if my parents knew and decided not to tell him, or if the fact that I was burned off the family tree means that they wouldn’t have received a notification.”

She stared at her hands again. What was it about this boy that made her want to unload everything to him? Yes, he had asked her about it, but she still felt guilty for talking to him at all. Like somehow, telling him would make it his problem as well.

“If there’s anyone in this school who understands the horrors of one’s family, it’s me,” he said. Eloise looked up at him in surprise. He chuckled quietly, as if he could see her expression. “My family are direct descendants of Salazar Slytherin. Absolutely stark-raving mad, pureblood fanatics. We’ve gotten quite reclusive in the past hundred years or so, and don’t have much contact with the outside world. Your family’s inbreeding resulted in fear of giving birth to a potential squib. Mine, in the form of a useless, blind son who has no interest in continuing their crazy beliefs. I guess you could say we are two kindred souls. Maybe that’s what your aura was trying to tell me earlier this evening.”

“I guess so,” Eloise replied. Both could tell that the other wasn’t saying everything on their mind, but she wanted to give him the same comfort he had offered her and decided not to pry. “Thank you, Ominis.”

He inclined his head towards her and then moved his unseeing gaze to the large stained glass window. They sat there for quite some time, at least it felt that way to Eloise. The passage of time seemed not to exist as she and Ominis sat there, deep inside their own thoughts. Formless shadows danced behind the window, their regular movements helping to calm her thoughts. After what seemed like an eternity, Eloise found herself stifling a yawn.

“It seems your day has finally caught up with you,” Ominis said, smiling softly. “I think it’s best if we head to bed. Hogwarts might be more progressive than the muggle school you’ve just escaped, but if anyone sees us here together it would just further the rumors already swirling around you.”

Eloise nodded her assent and stood up slowly. She hadn’t realized how much time they had spent there until she felt the stiffness in her muscles that only comes from remaining still for a very long time. Ominis also got up slowly, gracefully stretching out his long body in the process. As he stood, she saw him grab his wand out of his pocket, and it began glowing a faint red as he walked. That must be how he gets around, she thought to herself. He did say his wind has a mind of its own.

She followed him and they slowly made their way to the two sets of stairs leading to the dormitories. They paused once they were about to part. “Goodnight, Ominis.”

“Goodnight, Eloise. I’ll see you tomorrow. Or rather, I’ll sense your presence later on this morning.” He gave her a faint smile and then turned to head down the stairs leading to his dormitory. Eloise stood there, watching until she couldn’t see the red glow of his wand anymore. With a yawn, she turned towards her room and soon slipped under the covers, sleep finally coming. Before she fell asleep, she had only the fleeting realization that Ominis had not actually answered her question.

The title is a link to everything on ao3, but just in case you didn’t catch that, here it is🫶

next chapter

[tinycheesecakedetective]

INTRODUCTION

 "Deep within the bowels of Beast-Yeast rests a forest unlike anything you've seen before. Walls of ivy weave through abandoned settlements. The canopy of trees looms above you, each branch buckling and interlocking with another as they block your path. Dirt roads litter the floor, always ending at the same place."

 "What was once a solace for many has twisted into a refuge for one cookie only. Those that enter her woods are at her mercy."

 "She is relentless, she is cruel, and she is desperate. And you're the only one who can stop her."

  ~~~~~~~~

Hello everyone! I'm back to ramble on some more about things I made. Today I would like to talk about Wilted Lily Cookie! Of course, I won't be going too deep into her. This post will be covering her general vibes, as well as a bit about her area and her backstory. This will not be covering her relationships with other cookies, her arc with Fleur de Sal, any other motivations, etc. All of those topics will be covered in future posts.

Now, without further ado, let's begin.

GENERAL INFORMATION

  Once the witches' most promising protégé, Wilted Lily was revered and adored by her peers and followers. But after an attack from wild witches, the growing tension on Earthbread, and a confrontation turned violent, the Silver Guardian turned her back on everything she knew. Now known as the Witch of the Ravenous Wilds, the beast became hellbent on making the witches atone for their actions.

While her overall demeanor appears meek, do not be fooled. Her cruelty knows no bounds, and she can upend societies with a single hum. Her word is a disease that plagues the hearts and minds of her followers, and her confidants remain loyal to her and her madness alone. Don't bother reasoning with them, they can't be saved.

Wilted Lily is the fourth ancient to become a beast.

She's naturally gifted at phytokinesis, but leans more on dark magic.

Back when she was the Silver Guardian, Elder Faerie would show her a special vault of spells, giving her a wide access to faerie magic.

Her relationship to the beasts as a whole is neutral, viewing them as a necessary demonstration of the witches' neglect. Once she stops them, well... The other beasts won't be an issue.

LOCATIONS

The Ravenous Wilds   Beyond the borders of Faeriewood lies the Ravenous Wilds, a no man's land overrun by plant life and dark magic of all kinds. The forest is almost impossible to enter by normal means. Wilted Lily has ensured that herself. Those that try to enter never return, or rather don't return whole.

If you manage to enter despite that, you'll be met with a heavy fog and gnarled, overgrown vines mimicking trees swaying in the wind. The sky becomes a light crimson, and no stars are visible to the naked eye. Many strange and new creatures wander the wilds, and they won't attack unless they deem you a threat, so keep your head low and your weapons lower.

The deeper you go, the more distorted the wilds become. Nerves of vines pulsate as the first trees appear, sickly and grey and weaving within each other. They tower over you, blocking the red skies with their canopy of branches. Bugs larger than you skitter up and down the chafing trunks. Eyes begin to watch you, some curious, some malicious, and others still apathetically.

The Nest   The first set of buildings appear, shaped like cages and whittled out of silver branches. They fractal, everything bleeding out into lines and lines of houses and branches. It's incredibly easy to get lost here, as the beginning looks exactly the same as the end. The wildlife here seems to appear... calmer. Several types of docile animals appear, as well as a wider variety of plant life. But don't let your guard down. The threat here isn't the flora or fauna, it's the legion of Fae that live here. Avoid them at all costs. They don't take too kindly to visitors.

The Calamity Point   At the epicenter of it all is Wilted Lily Cookie's "kingdom," If it can even be called that. A few vanilla orchids can be seen scattered near the ground alongside other shrubs. Jagged sets of silver branches reach down into the floor, making up each spire's walls and rooms. Webs of white moss line the windows in numerous patterns. Lilies grow from the dirt floor and clear water flows throughout the kingdom.

At the center of it all is The Heart, made up of every vine in the forest. It hangs over the center of the room, pulsating and beating life into this cursed realm. Mucus seeps out and drips onto the floor, birthing many abominations that terrorize the land. Many Fae tend to it, patiently awaiting the reawakening of The Calamity herself. If you look closely, you can see the faint silhouette of Wilted Lily Cookie within.

BACKSTORY

The Death of the Silver Guardian

  As the herald of Solidarity, Wilted Lily Cookie acted as the Faerie King's most trusted advisor and as a guide for lost and wandering cookies. Perhaps her most notable job, however, was as the Witches' Apprentice. When she first was created, Lily herself sought to study under her creators and learn their ways. In return, she would benefit all of cookie-kind with her newfound knowledge and skill. Of course, working so closely with the creators meant Wilted Lily was restricted with what she could share and do. Under their careful watch, she would never become a ruler, and she could never venture outside of their watchful eye.

But rules were meant to be broken, and Lily often traveled beyond her creator's boundaries despite their warnings. Until one fateful day. She had made her usual rounds outside of her range, researching the creatures and wildlife that thrived there, when she was ambushed by wild witches, savage and cruel. Unlike the benevolent witches, these hags cared not for her life; the only thing that they valued was how she tasted. With her power, she managed to escape within an inch of her life and ran back to her creators. The witches, benevolent and kind, forgave her for going beyond their sight, and reassured Lily that as long as they lived they would never let harm befall their beloved cookies.

For the time, this was enough to satisfy Wilted Lily Cookie. True to their word, she never saw those wild witches again. But doubt isn't rational, and it began to creep into her heart like a thorny vine. Had they really stopped those awful savages? What if her creators, blessed they be, also ate cookies? The lunatics at the edge of the world were still witches, weren't they, surely they wouldn't be so easily stopped, right? And if they couldn't, then was she actually learning anything of use? What if they were lying to her?

                 What if they lied about everything?

  "...could I trust them? Should I trust them?"

This seed of doubt overtook her mind, and she paused her apprenticeship. Her fears manifested into plotting all sorts of schemes and defenses for the worst case scenario. To help prepare the world, Lily broke her silence about the incident to some of her followers and noted the... very unique reactions to her plight. She had tried to tell her friends, the other guardians, but by now many of them had become unreachable. The only two willing to listen were her lover and a haunted wraith, and even then they could only do so much. Times were getting worse. More and more cookies came fleeing from the other realms. Attacks on the Faerie Kingdom became more frequent, and armies counting up to the thousands came like floods. Wilted Lily did the best that she could, but it wasn't enough. Where were the witches? Why weren't they helping them? Discouraged and frustrated, she came to the rational conclusion that this problem was something only she could handle. After all, she knew the witches better than anyone.

One fateful day, she went to confront them herself. A single cookie against the world, armed against the only gods she ever knew. She demanded answers. She demanded to know why they weren't acting. Their answers felt hollow, scared even. Wilted Lily could've never imagined they'd look so helpless. How disgraceful. Lily steeled her nerves, glaring with disdain before rushing to attack them. Even with the power of her soul jam, she knew this would be no easy feat. But she never expected to lose this quickly.

She felt her body quickly being cast down, feeling cracks run along her back. She couldn't move. The pain seared through her dough like none before and none ever would. She blinked a few times, seeing the deep regret the witches had on their faces. A bitter laugh echoed from her aching body. Everything blurred. One second she was on the ground, the next in her lover's embrace. Lily dove in and out of consciousness before finally stabilizing in Pure Vanilla's kingdom, accompanied by him and other healers working to help her.

The days melted into each other. Her recovery was swift, but nothing could heal the wounds carved into her heart. When she finally returned home, Pure Vanilla asked if he could stay by her for a bit longer. She didn't remember what she told him, not like it would matter. Wilted Lily forced him out, ignoring the thumps against the thorn wall and drowned out his pleas with her sorrow. One day, he would understand. But she couldn't afford any distractions. She was going to get her vengeance. Even if it meant becoming the very thing she swore to fight against.

  ~~~~~~~~

[its-gjera]

FNaF: Security Breach Gameplay Redesign Concept/Word Vomit

Hello everyone! Recently, I've been re-playing FNaF Security Breach with the purpose of getting the platinum trophy. While playing I just couldn't help but wish this game was just... better.

I know a lot of you out there like the game and story how it is, and you probably don't want to listen to someone who probably thinks they could do better (I can't) but I still couldn't help but wish, and in wishing I was just filling my brain with ideas and concepts and all these other things that just make it hard to focus on anything really.

So I made this gameplay redesign list of things I would've added to make the game more fun and engaging, just to get it out of my head. Feel free to ask questions about anything you like!

An important thing to note: This list only focuses on gameplay with small hints to story. Far more creative people than have made story rewrites if that's what you're looking for.

●General Info:

-Five Nights: Gregory is trapped in the Pizzaplex for five nights. As each night passes, survival becomes more difficult as enemies will hunt you down more frequently.

-Health: Gregory has three hit points. After all three hit points are depleted, getting hit one more time will be game over. Use bandages, medkits, snacks and food to recover or temporarily increase HP.

-Stamina: Stamina is used when sprinting. When stamina is depleted, your movement speed is reduced. Use drinks, food and snacks to recover or temporarily increase STAM.

-Inventory Management and Save Rooms: While the game autosaves after an encounter, you can save at any time in a save room, which usually takes the form of a Security Office. Security Offices are a safe haven where you can take a breather, craft items for the journey ahead, and manage your inventory by organizing your backpack or deposit items in a safe. Careful! You are not safe from every threat.

-Protection: Equip various types of headgear to protect yourself from attacks. (Construction hats, race helmets, Fazerblast helmets, sauce pans) all headgear protects you from one hit, unique headgear protects you from two hits. (Foreman hat, Roxy's Helmet, Fazerblast Captain Helmet, Golden Pan)

-Crafting: Gather materials to create all sorts of useful gadgets to protect yourself, or to cause more property damage.

-Hacking: Gregory is more skilled than he looks. Use his phone to hack into computers, doors, and other systems found around the Pizzaplex.

-Traversal: The Pizzaplex is huge, but getting around on foot isn't the only option for traversal. Use skateboards, shopping carts, segways, and even golf carts to move around more effectively.

●Movement Options:

-Running: Toggle the run button to run. Does not consume stamina. One handed Items can be used while running. You can run in any direction.

-Sprinting: Double tap the run button to sprint. Consumes stamina. Items cannot be used while sprinting. You can only sprint forwards.

-Prone: Hold the crouch button while standing still to go prone. It's the slowest traversal option as you're crawling, but it generates the least amount of noise and can be used to crawl into small gaps.

-Sliding: Tap the crouch button while running forwards to slide. Can be used to evade attacks. You can continue running or stay crouched after sliding.

-Diving: Hold the crouch button while running to quickly dive to prone. Can be used to evade attacks. You can dive in any direction.

-Vaulting: Vault over large obstacles.

-Tuck and Roll: When falling from big heights, hold the jump button right before landing to break your fall by rolling. Caution! Not every fall can be broken.

-Rail Slide: Hold the jump button while near a slanted stair railing to slide down. Remember to hold the button again before reaching the end of the railing to avoid stumbling.

●Gadgets and Doodads: Find or craft the various items you can use to survive the night. Deployable items must be carried with both hands and cannot be stored in your inventory.

-Flashlight: Illuminates dark areas. Requires batteries.

-Throwables: Throw objects to distract enemies. It could be whatever. Soda cans, spent batteries, coins, junk, etc.

-Gregory's Phone: It isn't much, but a clever mind such as yours turned it into an efficient hacking machine. Requires charge.

-Slingshot: Taken from the Lost and Found office, the Slingshot can be used to distract enemies and destroy surveillance units. Can be upgraded to be more effective. Different types of ammunition can be crafted for it.

-Fazcamera: Fazcamera can be used to stun bots and blind animatronics. Requires film rolls to be used.

-Fazerblaster: Can be used to stun bots and blind animatronics. Requires batteries.

-Fazbear Tazer: Can be used to shock and disable bots or surveillance units. Can slow down animatronics. Requires taser cartridges. Can be upgraded.

-Interface Tablet: This high tech tablet can be used to access the interface of your gadgets such as drones, AC cars and more. Can also be used to command Utility Bots.

-Nail Gun: A low damaging, but fast firing Nail Gun which excels at taking out smaller enemies. Requires large battery and Nail Gun magazines to work. Caution: Tactical reloads discard all remaining nails still in the cartridge.

-AC Car: Can be used for surveillance and is good at distracting enemies.

-Mini Surveillance Drone: Can be used for surveillance and distraction.

-Firecrackers: Ignited and thrown. Excellent at distraction and concealing most sounds you make.

-Firework Box: Deployable. After ignition, the box will belch out loud and bright fireworks that will distract enemies and conceal noises you make.

-Deployable Camera: Deployable. Tripod camera that can be placed anywhere on ground level and can be accessed at anytime using your Fazwatch.

-Shock Charges: Craftable. An electrical spike that can be thrown at any surface as a trap or thrown directly at bots to shock them.

-RC-SC: Craftable. Remote controlled toy car with a Shock Charge that can be detonated at any time.

-DJ BoomBox: Deployable. The BoomBox, when deployed, will start playing loud music that will not only distract enemies, but will cause bots that get too close to it to start a small dance routine. Animatronics can be distracted by it, but they will destroy the Boom Box once they find it.

-Jumping Jack: Craftable. Deployable. A large wind up box that can be placed down and wound. After the music ends, Jack will come out of his box, causing a loud distraction and damaging bots that get too close. It will self-destruct shortly after deployment, shocking anything in its blast radius.

-Smoke Bomb: Craftable. Creates a smoke screen that conceals you and disorients bots and animatronics.

-Sticky Camera: Craftable. Can be thrown or launched at any surface and later accessible with your Fazwatch.

-Override Key: You can use the Override Key to disable bots by inserting it into their CPU on their backsides. It will not work if the bot is aware of your presence.

-Command Key: Use the key to access the Automatons around the Pizzaplex.

●Accessories! Your guide to being a material gorl: Finding certain clothing options and accessories give you passive bonuses. Items include shoes, backpacks, gloves, outerwear, and facewear

•Footwear

Gregory's Shoes: Some raggedy old hand me downs. Hardly fit you. No bonuses.

Running Shoes: Roxy themed, Cassie would love these. Slightly increases running speed.

Soccer Shoes: Left behind by some unfortunate kid, these neon green shoes now serve to help you survive. Decreases stamina consumption while sprinting.

Basketball Shoes: Red shoes from an expensive looking brand. These shoes increase your recovery speed from jumping, vaulting, rolling and diving.

Sneakers: Like the name implies, these black shoes help conceal the sound of your footsteps and increase crouch walk/running speed.

Sandals: Unless you like making your life harder, you probably shouldn't wear these. Decreases running and sprinting speed, also makes your footsteps slightly louder.

Bunny Boots: Slightly decreases running/sprinting sound radius. Why are these bots looking at me funny?

•Backpacks

Runaway Backpack: This bag was supposed to contain all the stuff you cared about, but there was no time. No Bonuses.

Duffel Bag: Large bag from some employee, this bag greatly increases inventory capacity, but slightly decreases your overall movement speed.

Explorer Backpack: Belonging to some outdoorsy wannabe, this bag makes swapping items faster.

Designer Backpack: Probably costs more than what Vanessa makes in a month. This bag adds more quick slots item spaces.

Medic Backpack: Found in the Daycare, this bag can hold more healing items and increases healing speed.

Utility Backpack: Belonging to the Fazbear construction crew, this bag increases crafting material carrying space. Increases crafting speed.

Girly Backpack: There are better options you know…

Purple Backpack: Found near Vanny's hideout. Smells awful. Increases carry space for food and drink.

•Gloves

Sports Gloves: These stylish gloves increase the reload speed of all your gadgets.

Archery Gloves: Someone's hobby probably. Increases slingshot reload and draw speed.

Technician Gloves: Increases hacking efficiency.

Utility Gloves: Reliable and simple. Increases crawl speed and decreases time to prone.

Wooly Pink Gloves: No bonuses. Why?

Bunny Gloves: Fluffy and Soft. Why is your heart beating so fast?

•Outerwear

Black Hoodie: A bit large on you. Conceals you more effectively in the dark.

Leather Jacket: Old looking, but stylish. Grants immunity to self inflicted electrical damage.

Reflective Jacket: While it makes you easier to spot in darkness, you are almost invisible to surveillance systems such as cameras and drones.

Freddy Hoodie: Cute. Comes included with bear ears on the hood. Increases Freddy's overall movement speed when controlling him.

Bedazzled Jacket: Bright and makes so much noise when moving. Are you sure?

Bunny Hoodie: Why is this your size? Comes included with bunny ears on the hood.

Sports Glasses: A little corny. Increases ADS speed.

•Facewear

Face Mask: Hopefully washed. Muffles your breathing, increasing stealth.

Freddy Mask: Of course you're picking the Freddy mask. Animatronics have a tougher time spotting you.

Rimmed Glasses: Kinda makes you look like a nerd. Increases hacking speed for doors.

Technician Goggles: Silly looking. Allows you to see through smoke more effectively.

Heart Glasses: Nope, not useful. Adds a red tint over your vision.

Bunny Mask: Allows you to see better in the dark. Makes Vanny think you're cute.

●Enemies! Bad Guys a Plenty:

-Notoriety Level: Destroying property, being spotted by surveillance units and causing general chaos increases your notoriety. It is increased in five stages. The higher it is, the more bots will be sent your way. Get it high enough, and an animatronic or something even worse, will be sent to hunt you down.

-Staffbots: Instead of alerting animatronics, Staffbots resort to just attacking you. They're weak and not very smart, but high in numbers. Shocking them twice will destroy them.

-Security Staffbots: Slightly more intelligent and tougher, these units will also try to incapacitate you. Shocking them three times will destroy them. Destroying them increases your notoriety level.

-Surveillance Cameras: Every camera in the Pizzaplex is now being used against you. If spotted by them, they'll alert any nearby bot or animatronic to it's position and increase your notoriety level. Shock them or use your Slingshot to destroy them.

-Surveillance Drones: Similar to the cameras, these drones will patrol the Pizzaplex by flying around. If spotted, the drone will alert nearby bots and animatronics to your current position by constantly following you. Shock them or shoot them down using the Slingshot.

-Oppressor Drones: The larger counterpart to the Surveillance Drones. When spotted, these units will instead fly over you and shock you, damaging and slowing you down.

-Music Men: Usually found in large groups, these things will pile on top of you, slowing you down and creating noises to alert enemies to your position. They're incredibly fragile, just about any form of damage will destroy them.

•Animatronics: Your most dangerous foe. The animatronics can be found patrolling certain areas of the Pizzaplex. They cannot be destroyed, shocking them will only slow them down and stuns will not stop them in their tracks. Gaining a notoriety level four will cause any one or two of them to hunt you down. Getting caught by them results in a game over, no matter how much health you had.

-Glamrock Chica: “Pizza!?” An all rounder, Chica has moderate speed and agility. She's pretty easy to distract, but also checks hiding spots more often. Can be found in the kitchens, Mazercise or the Cupcake Factory.

-Roxanne Wolf: “I'm the best!!” The fastest of the bunch, Roxy can be found in Roxy Raceway or Glamrock Salon. While incredibly fast, she struggles often with avoiding obstacles and rounding corners. She also stays blinded for longer.

-Montgomery Gator: “Rock and Roll!” While on the slower side, Monty cannot be blinded by the Fazcam or blaster, but he is far more susceptible to shocks, being slowed for longer. Usually found in Gator Golf and Bonnie Bowl.

-Moon: “Night, niiiight…” The stealthiest one. Moon will try to get the drop on you by hanging from the ceiling, but he's the most tunnel visioned, as he can be more easily mislead. Can be found in the Daycare and Parts and Service.

-Destroyer 9000: “DESTROY ALL HUMANS!!” An atompunk style robot used to promote Fazerblast as a sort of “antagonist” to Freddy, this one is the slowest animatronic, can only walk towards you, but is the most resilient. Destroyer cannot be Shocked or blinded and will walk straight through obstacles in its path. Can be found in Fazerblast.

-EnviroRobotics Crusher Model A-37: “Bzrrrt!” Similar abilities and speed to Destroyer, this one acts as a garbage disposal unit. Is not actually aware of your presence, it's just crushing garbage and you just happen to be in its way. Can be found in the sewers.

•Vanny: “Are you having fun yet?” Not even an animatronic, yet the most dangerous and agile of the crew. Vanny can be active at all times after a certain time period every night and roams just about anywhere she pleases, and is summoned near your position when reaching notoriety level five. She also comes to your position if you stay in an area for too long. She cannot be blinded and will dodge any of your attacks. Her mere presence will disable all electronics, including lights, bots, animatronics, your traps, gadgets and Freddy. You cannot distract or hide from her as she knows your position at all times, your only option is to run as far away as you can. She can even attack you while in a Security Office. You are never safe from her.

●Sweet Friends of Mine:

-Freddy Fazbear: “Way to go, Superstar!” Your first ally, Freddy functions similarly to how he does in the original, but you now have the ability to give him commands. You can have him follow, spread out, go re-charge, or go for repairs. You also have to be more careful about when you enter him, if an animatronic sees you enter him, they'll attack the both of you, in which case Freddy will be forced to eject you so he may fight off the attacker. If damaged enough, Freddy will be forced to retreat to Parts and Service for automated repairs. The animatronics will forget what they saw the next night.

-Vanessa. A: “You and me, Gregory. Together” Vanessa is unfortunately confined to a security office, but is still able to assist you by controlling the Pizzaplex system from her office. She can disable security cameras and turn off the lights of certain areas, turn on the Automatons, lower your Notoriety Level. She'll even give you supplies should you visit her office. The Player is able to play as Vanessa by contacting her through the Fazwatch. While playing as her, you can perform more precise control over the Plex, access security cameras and mark enemies. As the nights progress, Vanessa will become more scarcely available as Vanny becomes more active.

-Automatons: Found within pods around the Pizzaplex, Automatons are utility bots not connected to the main network and instead rely on their own centralized network within their pods. Because of this, they're passive towards you and will follow your orders should you activate them using the Command Key. Be cautious, the Automatons can only roam in a certain radius outside their pods. Different types of Automatons have different behaviors and ways to help you. Medical Units will provide you with healing items, Construction Units are tougher and will give you a hard hat should you not have one, Security Units do more damage and have a larger roaming radius.

●Other Features:

-Mental State and Other Status Effects: Reminder; you're playing as a nine or ten year old boy, who is affected by the situations you may find yourself in. Being in danger or chased for too long will cause Gregory to enter a panicked state, where the corners of your vision will darken, animatronics will look far scarier, your breathing will become uneven, and Gregory will even be heard crying. He will calm down eventually, but staying in a Save Room, consuming food and drink, entering Freddy and speaking with Vanessa will calm him down more effectively. But on the opposite side of the spectrum, listening to the music you unlock through the Extras Shop, slightly increases overall movement speed.

-Property Damage: Property Damage or PDs is a currency you can earn by wreaking havoc in the Pizzaplex. Destroying anything owned by Fazbear Entertainment will earn you PDs. This currency can be spent in the Extras menu, where you can buy concept art, models, music, gameplay modifiers, cheats, different outfits for Gregory and different paint jobs for Freddy. You can check how much damage you've caused and to what at the end of every night by using your Fazwatch. See how much money you can make Fazbear Entertainment lose at the end of your play through!

-Dreams of Past Days: After surviving a night, Gregory sleeps throughout the day, where he dreams about his past, giving the player a clearer picture of who he is and why is he here..

-Survival: Bonus gamemode. See you long you can last against endless hordes of enemies!

●Achievements:

King of the Plex: Earn every trophy! Now what?

Boo!: Get jumpscared.

Getting Quirky: Survive night 1.

Twitchy: Survive night 2.

Hey! You're doing great!: Survive night 3.

Have You Tried Playing Dead?: Survive night 4.

What a Bad Night: Survive night 5.

We're Still Here: Survive night 6.

Superstar: Escape the Pizzaplex.

My Brave Little Knight: Save the Princess.

Fool's Game: Avenge Freddy.

Puppet Master: Discover the truth behind the mystery of the Pizzaplex.

Welcome to the Family, Son: Get caught by Vanny while wearing every bunny themed accessory.

What's Wrong With You?: Survive a night while wearing every joke accessory.

Bragging Rights: Win a round of Fazerblast.

Ace in the Hole: Win a round of Monty Golf.

You can Dance!: Escape the Fazcade.

Too Old for This: Get banned from the Daycare.

Name of the Game: Earn the highest level of security clearance.

Terrible Job, Superdork!: Yes there's fall damage.

Cost an Eye: Cause $80,000 in damages in one night.

Chaos Machine: Cause $200,000 in damages in one night.

You did WHAT!?: Cause $1,000,000 in damages in a single run.

Slayer: Destroy 30 bots in one night.

No Peeking: Destroy 15 cameras and drones in one night.

Electromagnetic Pulse: Electrocute 8 enemies at once.

Expert Scoundrel: Lasted 20 minutes in survival mode.

Hoarding: Find every collectable.

Ill Gotten Gains: Buy something from the Extras Shop.

[greenleaf4stuff]

I saw lot of posts about Hancock and The Ghoul/Cooper Howard meeting which is a cool scenario to think about for sure, but may I present you this:

Hancock and *Norm* meeting

Those two have a surprising amount of similarities in the character arcs/backstories.

[Spoilers for FO4 and the Fallout TV show up ahead!]

Like. They are both guys who knew that something *wrong* was going on around them; Hancock knew that McDonough’s campaign against the ghouls and how Diamond City exiled them was wrong, and later on he disliked how things were going in Goodneighbor before he became mayor. Norm knew there was something up with the ‚vaulties‘ from Vault 32 and later on knew that Vault 33 wouldn’t send out ppl to get his and Lucy’s father back, and that something was going on with vault 32 (or, actually, all the three vaults).

They both felt as if they were cowards when faced with great danger and injustice; Hancock didn’t oppose McDonough’s actions as much as he (felt he) could have and also felt like a coward when thugs beat up ppl in Goodneighbor. Norm felt like a coward for hiding during the attack of the raiders and didn’t follow Lucy into the wasteland, saying he is ‚too chicken‘ to do so.

And then? As a consequence to these injustices, to their own cowardice, they both decided to say ‚fuck that‘ and do the right thing, even in the face of massive opposition and everything stacked against them. Instead of backing down or being intimidated, they turned around and used their skills to try and make a change.

Hancock tried to help the exiled ghouls, and later on became a ghoul himself, got inspired by the historical John Hancock, found himself a group of people and took out the thugs in Goodneighbor. And then became mayor of the town – not quite turning it around 180 degrees, but still making the town a safe haven for all the ‚misfits‘ of the wasteland; fellow ghouls, assaultrons, ppl who didn’t think they belonged anywhere else. „Everybody ’s welcome“. An anti-thesis to what his brother stood for in Diamond City.

And Norm, he asks uncomfortable questions. He needles people for information. He finds a temporary ally in Chet, who despite his own cowardice promised to protect Norm for Lucy and helps him to get into vault 32. Norm puts clues together, hacks into terminals, reads, asks further questions – even causes some unrest, especially when it comes to dealing with the imprisoned raiders. He has managed to outsmart everyone around him and find out the secret of vault 31, an act that required courage especially considering Norm cannot just up and leave the vaults. Even if he makes it back to vault 33. He had to know that getting caught would have dire consequences one way or another, and still he persisted in his quest.

And (extra warning – heavy spoilers here!) they both can make some very horrible discoveries about their family members. John Hancock – originally John McDonough – can find out that his older brother, who exiled all the ghouls from Diamond City, has gotten replaced with a synth doppelganger. Probably even before he drove that hate campaign against the ghouls, making Hancock question whether he even hated the ‚right‘ person aka whether he had hated his brother for the wrong reasons all these years.

And Norm finds out that Hank Maclean has been alive before the bombs fell, and got thawed out of cryogenic slumber. That his own father lied to him and Lucy, is part of an ‚elite‘ class of people who manage vaults 32 and 33 while keeping their inhabitants in the dark about their true purpose – to be breeding stock in an attempt to create the perfect managers and re-populate America in their vision. The vision of Vault-Tec.

The person they saw as their family might have just been someone they didn’t truly know.

They share a lot of similiarities, and I think they would get on like a house on fire.

This is just headcanons from this point onwards, but I can see Hancock appreciating and valuing Norm’s perception and intelligence, as well as his subtle way of communicating that he knows more than he lets on. And I can see Norm understanding Hancock’s approach to his town and how he leads it, how he makes sure that his people are safe. (Remember, Norm made the suggestion to kill the captive raiders because they killed his fellow vault dwellers and kidnapped his father – his and Hancock’s brand of justice might not be that much different.)

I also think they could have epic verbal spats and very, very witty banter together.

If Norm had Hancock in the vault and voiced his suspicions to him, Hancock would have followed him and helped. No questions asked. He likely would have been pissed on Norm’s behalf too.

And if Norm had been there when Hancock planned to overthrow the mayor in Goodneighbor, Norm might not have taken up arms, but he would have used his skills to take care of turrets, terminals or locked doors/safes. And he wouldn’t be afraid to give Hancock a piece of his mind if he felt the mayor was too far up his own supply of chems.

Tl;dr – I think there are a bunch of parallels when it comes to Hancock and Norm Maclean and therefore them meeting could turn out incredibly interesting. Also I think both characters are really neat.