#plus it will be more believable to Moreau

[firebirdsdaughter]

Something that occurred to me this time…

… Is that Eliot deliberately brings Hardison w/ him to confront Moreau the first time. He tells Nate that he and Hardison will do it (don't worry, I also Love Hardison taking the moment to be like 'hey, are you okay?' bc those two usually express themselves through bickering so much that it clearly telegraphs just how off Eliot is being that Hardison is dropping the usual banter to be serious).

Which for one thing, says something about Eliot's confidence in Hardison in general, but also, like… Yes, Parker's probably not the choice for that introduction, it's not her style, but Nate or Sophie could also have played the part. He could have tried to go alone. But he pulls Hardison.

Obviously he's not trying to put Hardison in danger, he makes it quite clear in all other scenarios that he does not tolerate Hardison in danger (visual cues in The Gone Fishin' Job my beloveds), the others are well aware of the fact that he's Done Some Shit and are equally unaware of his connection to Moreau. And to be honest, I can't pinpoint an exact reason why I think he might have done it, chosen Hardison to be the one who finds out first. Maybe he suspected Moreau would underestimate Hardison, making him safer (relatively, if course), then someone like Nate or Sophie. Maybe he thought it would be best to have Hardison's tech skills as back up. Maybe he thought Hardison would roll w/ the punches the best. Maybe he just wanted Hardison there for morale.

I don't know, but it's a moment that didn't really occur to me the first time, but I think is actually quite meaningful in a more emotional way.

[sapphicrow]

The choices for the side enemies in each section of resident evil was very deliberate, and shows off both what Mother Miranda thought the lords deserved and what suits their characters. This may have been for difficulty purposes for each area, but still. I think it is a nice tidbit of flavor to our characters even if it’s indirect. Also I have brain rot.

Moreau doesn’t have any mobs. His reservoir is uniquely isolated. It’s evident from the way the other lords treat him that this is how they feel towards him as well. He isn’t a popular fella. As such, Mother Miranda granted him no special protection or privileges. Besides, I’m sure his bile would repel any creature, even a zombie or moroaica.

Lady Dimitrescu has many creatures within her castle because she interacts with more people on the regular. It’s canon that she had a whole service of female servants who were regularly harvested and experimented on. These subjects are later turned into one of two things: moroaica (the on ground creepy crawlies), or samca (the harpy looking things on the roof). Though we know Alcina isn’t Miranda’s favorite, she’s still pretty high up there. She had to make these critters herself still. Plus, her castle is huge and it only makes sense to have scattered security. I’d say Alcina’s daughters count as a high honor and another reflection of the characterization of Castle Dimitrescu.

As for Lady Beneviento, her situation is an interesting one. Angie doesn’t quite count as a mob, since she is technically an extension of Donna’s consciousness. This is obviously part of her as a person. Disregarding Angie, Donna has no major creatures. I say this because I don’t believe her dolls count as beasts bestowed upon her by Miranda. They’re handmade. She had to harness the skills of cadou experimentation, combined with the craftsmanship of doll making. This reflects Donna because she is isolated, but skillful enough to combat it unlike Moreau. She’s delusional, but evidently not to the same degree as Sal. She copes in her own fucked up, crafty way.

Last but not least, Heisenberg. Now, Heisenberg is Mother Miranda’s established favorite. The golden child. The sun of her sons. It’s also established that Mother’s fondness is by no means requited. Heisenberg loathes her. But nonetheless, even with his absolutely meh loyalty, he has a fair deal of power bestowed upon him. Disregarding his cadou abilities, he has the entirety of the lycan pack. That is no small force. Miranda practically trusts the most dangerous lord with an army. I’d like to believe she isn’t stupid enough not to realize his faulty loyalty, but I feel as if she treats him like a second true child. He’s the son that could’ve been Eva’s big brother should everything have worked out. Love is blind, and Miranda’s too busy to question cutie Karl. Karl also has the Soldats that he’s made himself. This is an intriguing view of him in my opinion. Karl lets Ethan slaughter Miranda’s creation because the entire time he’s been using the powers she gave him to oppose her. Silly guy moment.

Mother Miranda herself has no side mob which is very purposeful as well. She works alone. Her sidekick is the cadou, which we see in the form of all those root looking appendages bursting forth from the ground later in the game. Unlike Moreau who’s isolated due to his insufferable and odorous nature, Miranda is alone by choice. By grief, more accurately. Why bother with companions when Eva isn’t back yet? For her shattered mindset, I’m sure the thought of her daughter is companionship enough. Even with the mold making an appearance, Ethan only has to engage in combat with her herself. This is because even with the mold present, she’s still the vessel. It’s illogical and unnecessary for the megamycete to risk itself when Miranda is right there and so willing to take the blunt of the force.

The megamycete’s side mob is every single thing infected with the mold.

Thank you for reading :) hope it was coherent

[fantasy-relax]

Brain worms attacking me.

Re8 Monarchy/medieval au/ omega verse because if I am cooking I'm gonna put every spice I want to.

Miranda (omega) is the queen living in cold war after the recent death of her husband, she is working in the betterment of the kingdom for her toddler daughter, Eva. The lords and ladies are children of the most high noble houses.

The stereotyping of the A/B /O is fading in the kingdom, all have the right to education and part of heritage, but of course there are people that refuse to change and keep thinking of alpha as the top, beta the middle and omega at the bottom. The same way men have more value that women. So the preference for children in this kind of families is:

Alpha male

Beta male

Alpha female

Beta female

Omega male

Omega female

Again the amount of people that follow that believe is few, not enough to cause trouble in general but still annoying. The most affected are the ones that are raised in them.

As the parent have the right and obligations to take care of them, alphas have the most attention while the rest have the minimum necessary to avoid legal trouble, omegas (male and female) get married off to other families in exchange of money, land, ect, as they are considered better partners than betas females because of better fertility, strong maternal instinct, least problems in childbirth plus the sex in the Heat period is fabulous, this is pitifully legal as is the right of the family and the engagement is made early as possible.

Of course when they're old enough to go to school the alphas get their asses kicked for their behavior, betas too if they are arrogant enough to act like jerks, but if not they along with the omegas receive the help they need (therapy, better education, etc) as they are pretty much handicapped and denied access they need, lucky omegas without engagement can found love there and move out of their house, unlucky ones end in loveless marriage (sometimes very, very short marriages, omegas have really strong maternal instinct, hurt their children and they will tear your throat and that is their right to do).

Dimitrescu

The house is in charge of thee commerce and internal affairs also have a wine business. Alcina (beta) is the youngest of the family, she suffers for an illness that make her weak but not bedridden, Miranda is the only one that has enough medical knowledge to treat her so she have stay in the palace for long periods of time.

Her family is old and traditional, after the period of mourning they were bothering Miranda to remarry because the kingdom needs a strong powerful alpha or at least a level headed beta to reign. Not a emotional and weak omega, least an female omega but Miranda is a very capable queen and most of the other nobles considered her more than enough, she is smart, cunning and not weak at all, she is the caring and terrifying mother of the kingdom and she demands respect, so give her that or she could appoint someone that will. They stopped after hearing the subtle threat but they were scheming.

She is the only daughter, she has two brothers, one alpha that treat her as dirt and one omega that is trapped in his room learning how to be a good husband (he couldn't escape, he tried but his family power and influence was bigger), is not surprise that is the only one to treat her as family and in response she treat him as human ( is not a surprise that he dies by his hand not soon after she goes to school)

Alcina is a truly a noble woman and well educated thanks to living half of the time with Miranda, she is more capable than her brother's and the best option to be the heir of the dimitrescu house but of course her parents denied her so she settles with the winery her parents relent because they don't have a better option, plus her sickness make her unappealing to marry, so they hope when the heir have children they will take care of it.

Moreau

In charge of the medical knowledge and service, also being the closest to the ocean are in charge of the fishing and ships. Salvatore (beta) is a weird boy and only child, he is small an suffers from chronic pain but is extremely intelligent so that was enough to be a acceptable heir, at least until another child is born. Something that will take time as his parents are always deep in their studies neglecting him, just give him enough attention to study his illness, treating him as a lab rat more than a son. As is the case with alcina, he tends to be in the palace most of the time under the care of Miranda.

He sometimes stay in the lake fishing is very calming for him (not because there is a very attractive boy helping his fisherman father every weekend)

Heisenberg

In charge of the minery and metalurgy, Karl is the youngest of five brothers and the only omega, his siblings play fight with him and teach him how to throw a mean punch, his parents give him all the education he wants. He is a truly loved and spoiled child, also a genius but he is lazy as his brothers are the one with all the responsibilities, he sometimes go to the palace because is the place with the biggest library and he loves to Learn. He is always guarded by Urias his personal knight, a young hardworking man of humble origin as the only son of a fisherman (that looks too much at Salvatore direction).

Beneviento

In charge of the textiles, botany and woodwork. Donna (omega) have a elder sister, Claudia.

Donna is a considered a weird child, rarely make eye contact, dislike to be dirty and prefers to play with her dolls than with other kids (they make fun of her) can go long periods of time in silence and in general be creepy. Her family try to change it, but after screaming fighting and a accident that scarred half of the face of the little girl they resigned and let her be.

It helps that donna is a omega, actually very good at botany, woodwork and sewing. Plus she is not bad at accounting. All the things that will make her a perfect heir, if she was more social and well, normal like Claudia. So they think about it, and decide to keep Claudia as the heiress but donna will be the one working behind the counter. Both girls are fine with this, Claudia found the paperwork boring and donna hated dealing with people.

Meanwhile her family thinks of her as weird, they is still care for her, she will work in her father workstation making dolls that will be selled across the kingdom and learning about all the paperwork that she needs to keep things moving, she will have tea and botany lessons with her mother learning how to be a proper lady and she will read books and listen to Claudia gossip, she loves them very much as they are all what she had, and forgive them for the accident, is okay she is okay she loves them, she really does.

Because of the injury she was treated personally be Miranda and after she started the training of heiress she have to go to the palace more often.

Claudia marries young and have a daughter, she names her Angela, the baby was born with a mark in the half of her face similar to the Beneviento Crest, so little Angie was considered a lucky child. At first they thought donna will freak out with a baby as they were loud and dirty just to be surprised as the baby absolutely adore her, asking to be carried by her, crying if she wasn't close and pretty much being her favorite person in the world something that Donna reciprocated with an unbelievable fervor.

The lords

Alcina hates Karl for the fact that he could be a example of greatness from the omegas but he chooses mediocrity (a small part of her is happy, children deserve to be loved and be carefree)

He hates alcina because she is so stuck up and never haves fun (a small part of him worries for her, he knows the rumors, how much hurt she have? )

They argue every second of the day (he will cover her with a blanket in the days when he sees her sleeping in the desk) call each other awful names (she makes sure that the book he wants is in the library) they hate each other (they love and protect each other with ferocity).

Alcina is very patient with Salvatore and Donna, even so, she will scold Salvatore because he Is almost the same age as her and should be able to make things by himself, he should man up and stop being a coward ( she still will go and help him anyway and verbally destroy the idiots that bother him).

Donna is the youngest so she have a soft spot for her, even with her peculiar behavior she try to be very gentle when they are together.

Salvatore loves all his friends ( the closest thing to siblings that he have) and loves Venerable Mother Miranda too ( she is the only parent that he ever had)

He works hard in his studies to cure alcina illness (she tells him to think about him first, he never listen, he could live with the pain, alcina could have a bad relapse an die, he will never let that happen) to reduce the scarring of donna face (he knows that she hates it and a part of her hates her family too even if she said that she loves them, he knows that lie to well) and to make medicine more easy and cheap to access for the commoners. He doesn't like to play fight with karl but he always is healing him when his experiments blow at his face (sometimes literally) and tries to be a mediator in his fights with alcina.

Karl mocks Salvatore cowardly behavior but will and has punch people making fun of him and donna (alcina too but he will never admit it), he goes fishing in the weekends with Salvatore (and pretend to don't recognize Urias working with his father or the lovesick look in Salvatore face, ew gross) he sometimes work with donna in creating new toys or machines for woodworking/industry.

He show his scars with pride, he is stronger that what hurt him, he holds donna hand when stupid people make stupid comments and smile with full teeth and malice when alcina tears them apart (he could see the same smile in Donna)

Donna loves her friends, they don't make her feel bad and wrong, Karl keeps an towel and soap in his workroom specifically for her and don't laugh at her when she plays with her dolls (he will run and come back with his toys and they will play together even if they aren't in the right age anymore), She can talk for hours with Salvatore about the plants in medicine and hide together in the theaters to see the plays (alcina is the one that makes sure that they are unbothered) and rant when the treatment of their families gets to be too much (she loves them, she does), alcina teach her a lot of tricks to deal with people or at least make it bearable to do but alcina also have a bad temper and sometimes it will explode (alcina always do her best to stop and leave the room but in the rare occasions that she screams at donna she will buy her all kinds of gifts with a small pout in her face) donna forgives her (but she will not advise her about Karl latest prank, because she can be very petty) and will bring her baby niece to meet them (all have the "there is a cat in my lap so I can't move" problem when baby Angie decides she is to comfortable)

All of them adore little Eva too. Alcina wil have false tea partys, donna will make dolls personalized for her, Karl will teach her cool experiments (and run away from an angry alcina) and moreau will read fairytales at her.

The fall and rise of the houses

Some nobles work with the enemy kingdom behind Miranda back with promise of power and wealth, this lead to the killing of the all the dimitrescu except alcina and the destruction of the principal fabric of the Heisenberg along with the family except Karl, his mother and two brothers, one decide to enlist in the war and die in it.

Alcina ascend and take charge of dealing with all the damage make by her family, she will not betray the trust that the people, the queen (Her mother) put in her.

Direct war is happening again, but Miranda is a strategist they make her move now she is making hers, the head of the enemy king and all of his direct line is hanged outside of the palace, the second line take the power and proceed to make peace and alliance. Chris, the new king offer two candidates to marriage Ethan and Mia. The engagement is made but the matrimony is paused when a plague take place.

Moreau takes charge fast and create treatments faster, this is his responsibility this is were his talent lies, he will not fail.

The plague kills people of both Kingdoms, precautions are taken even so fatalities happen, the moreau being the ones in most contact die quickly, lady Heisenberg and the last brother of Karl die , lady beneviento, Claudia and her husband and donna herself get infected, after the death of his wife and eldest daughter the lord in agony kill himself, donna is still alive and she will fight to stay because there is a little girl waiting for her, she will keep breathing even if hurts and burns, she will not leave her.

Moreau is doing the best he can, some treatments work others not, things get worse when Eva is infected too. She doesn't survive. Miranda don't talk and she and Moreau keeps working, Donna keeps walking in the line of death and life. The last treatment works, she survives, the kingdom mourns.

Karl put all his focus in his work, there are too many things to do, he can't stop. ( if he stop he will break, he can't break, he can let alcina and moreau do all the work, he can't face the silence in his house)

The Queen works hard to deal with the damage, the people admire her strength, truly a devoted monarch, truly a chosen by the gods.

(She wanted to end everything the moment that Eva exhaled her last breath, first her parents then her beloved mate now her daughter, did she offend the gods? Did something that she did that she said was the reason of this agony?.)

She wanted to die but she still have children to take care, she is the queen, she is the Venerable Mother of this Kingdom and her children are hurting too, she will make things better, she had to.

[gnar-slabdash]

Leverage Mark Showdown -- Second Heat Contestants

Where the nominator left comments (or fun extra descriptors), I'm including their comments, cause those are way better than what I'd come up with. Where they didn't leave comments, you'll have to settle for mine :P

Jack Lattimer The Radio Job, The Last Dam Job (also sort of most of Season 4) Hes a background guy, just barley staying relevant but also managing to be a pain in the ass to Nate and the crew, but he's not as much of a threat as Damien Moreau, but still stays in the background disrupting htings and giving the crew a hard time purely beciase he wasts a few extra bucks. Hes a bad gys that feels realistic an investor who found a way to cheat the system to benefit himself.

Jimmaaay Jimmy Jimmy Ford The Three Card Monte Job go grandpa

Dr. Anne Hannity The Inside Job That cocky/confident shit is hot... Except for the part where she manufactures a famine. But every time she thought she had a trump card she was sexy af

Dalton Rand The Future Job he's the worst kind of loathsome esp bc he's the most directly confronted with the harm he's doing and is totally blase about it

Nicky & Heather Moscone The Wedding Job They're both great caricatures and I like that they double cross each other.

Alan Foss The Two-Horse Job He’s one of the most well-sold “cartoonishly evil immature dickbag“ characters  we encounter. I love his arrogance, his uber-hateable sexism, and the over the top reactions he makes are so much fun to watch him get angry about. Damien Moreau, "IF WE MUST" The Big Bang Job, The San Lorenzo Job - specifically for the bathrobe and flipflops and being carefully staged to not look like everyone around him is normal human size, bless him - silly charming terrifying bastard man. can't believe this hasn't been done yet.

Retzing & Sons The Snow Job Dysfunctional crime family getting synergistically worse the more they try to deal with each other. Also I get excited every time I see my boy Jonathan from Buffy

Meredith The Lonely Hearts Job Man, she actually almost did our heroes in, didn't she? I love her grudging respect for Sophie, like she is genuinely into the art of grifting and willing to acknowledge being bested

James Kanack The First Contact Job He could have just been another rich and successful asshole. But no, that wasn't enough for him. HE HAD TO TALK TO ALIENS.

Mitchell Kirkwood The Studio Job Dude was a charming psycho, I'd let him murder me for my songs 😍 Plus watching his face break was 😚 Divine 😚

Hugh Whitman The Gone Fishin' Job Yeah, you know, let's do some regular debt collection fraud and also fund an entire militia out in the woods behind the bank, that seems normal, right?

Larry Duberman The Reunion Job what if there was a nerd who had sometbing sooooooooo wrong with them. also his actor was in big eden i got really excited when i recognized him

Wendy Baran The Gimme a K Street Job - okay I cave, you got me with this one. You're gonna have to send some propaganda, cause the nominator didn't say anything and i literally remember nothing about this character except she thinks breaking teenage girls' necks is a fun way to make money - Update! The nominator says: - Okay I said Baran bc I hate her so very much -  And she’s a girlboss (derogatory)

Andrew Grant The Miracle Job Love the energy, love the way he threw a wrench in their plans by being even more of a sleazy money grubber than they expected (and more creative about it!), and yeah, he's another one that I actually feel kinda bad for cause playing on his anxiety was LOW.

Irina Larenko The Stork Job She was such a ditzy cunt, I hated her but I loved watching her on screen. Kinda cute in a way idk plus her main muscle was kinda unfff

[campto]

Keisha, Ebony Sow Goddess

It was a long time before Doctor Moreau dared transform a Black woman into a pig girl.

Why? Because he knew it was wrong.

What!? Doctor Moreau? Woke!? Ludicrous!

At first blush, that seems hard to believe. After all, we all know Moreau to be a twisted, obsessed monomaniac, whose main mission in life seems to be to turn as many women into pig girls as he possibly can before he dies, by fair means or foul. He thinks nothing of colluding with their husbands or boyfriends to kidnap them and forcibly transform them without so much as a by your leave. Or even just singling out, abducting and transforming lone, socially isolated single women who have no one in their lives to miss them, whom he believes would really benefit from the transformation, just for sh_ts and giggles. 

But for decades he limited these nasty pranks to Caucasians. He would not cross the color line no matter how much he longed for the challenge. Why? Could it be that maybe, because of his weird predilections he identified, seeing himself as part of a subjugated minority? Could be.

But then we tend to forget that Moreau was a product of 1970s university culture. When he was an undergrad at Columbia, he took Black Studies 101 as a so-called "gut" course to help fulfill his core requirement in the Humanities. But apparently the professor was so eloquent and engaging that Moreau was jolted out of his lifelong indifference to Civil Rights, and became quite a convert to the cause. He would participate in long, earnest, illuminating discussions with the prof, and from then on took issues of race very seriously. He even went through an embarrassing stage in which he prowled the campus in sunglasses, a daishiki and a knitted skullcap, until his professor advised him to cool it. In fact, he briefly considered minoring in the discipline, but by then he was immersed in his life's work and just didn't have the time.

Now this could all be a classic example of the old maxim, "even a broken clock is right twice a day," but really, you don't have to be Henry Louis Goddamn Gates Jr. to know that the spectacle of a White man kidnapping a Black woman and forcibly turning her into a pig is just plain wrong on more levels than most of us can count. So, as eager as he was to expand his repertoire to pig girls of color, he steadfastly refused to go there.

So it was with much wary skepticism that he received his first communication from Keisha. She told him that she had heard of his work, and that she was a Black woman who had longed to be transformed into a pig as far back as she could remember. Moreau suspected a setup. After all, it was a rare thing for anyone to volunteer for his services, let alone a woman of color. But after weeks of careful messaging back and forth, he determined that she was sincere, and they arranged a meeting.

And that was his next shock. Keisha was striking. Lovely face, musical voice, graceful gestures… at least a nine. True, she was a bit zaftig, but not enough to stand out these days. Moreau couldn't believe that this lovely woman wanted to be a pig. 

But then she brought out her sketches and models. On top of everything, she was a talented draftsman and sculptor, and had obviously spent a long time picturing exactly how she wanted to look. From that point Moreau was all in.

They collaborated for weeks preparing for Keisha's transformation. She became so thoroughly and enthusiastically involved in determining every aspect of her new body, from its general proportions to how long her ear tufts would be and the exact pitch of her squeal, plus the color, size and style of any adornments she might wish to wear, that Moreau began to see her more as a colleague than a subject. This was the first time in decades that Moreau had had such a willing participant, and he made a vow outdo every transformation he had done before. Nothing was too good for Keisha.

At last, the big day came. As he operated, Moreau was in the zone as never before, and followed Keisha's instructions to the letter, and then some. When he was done, he stood with his jaw open for long minutes, just completely overcome by the sight of Keisha's understated ebony swinish beauty and elegance. This was his best work ever.

And how did Keisha react when she first saw herself? Well, she couldn't talk, of course, but the way her ears perked up, her eyes widened, her curly tail twisted and waggled, the way she jumped up and down and scampered all over her recovery pen, all the time happily grunting and squealing to her heart's content told Moreau everything he needed to know. They had achieved success beyond their wildest dreams!

Now Keisha has the run of the place, and she and Moreau are inseparable. None of her initiations into swinehood: not being limited to communicating with pig sounds, not the food trough, not the mud wallow, not the need to relieve herself on the floor, not even her first liaison with a boar were in any way painful or humiliating for her, since she had been ready and eager to embrace them all!

But the best moments for Keisha are those like this one. Now she can just bask her lovely nude body in the sun right in front of everybody and not get a bit of pushback for it. Just like any other pig, 

"Just like any other pig." Mmmmmmmmmmmmm… what a lovely thought! Sweet dreams, Keisha!

[seawitchkaraoke]

A lot of the time tv shows will have really dramatic, huge stakes season finales and usually that doesn’t work for me. If I’m enjoying the normal monster of the week episodes, I’m probably not gonna enjoy it when you suddenly pull some convoluted high stakes plot. Plus that always leads to the stakes having to get higher and higher and higher in every season finale and often even in the non-finale episodes, until the world is ending every week and bc the stakes are constantly too high and the heroes survive it anyway, none of the stakes seem real or threatening anymore at all.

The Leverage season finales though, I really like those. And at first I wondered why, bc I mean, they do also go up in stakes and are dramatic and have complicated plot points, but then I realized: It’s because the high stakes in the Leverage season finales are personal rather than world ending.

Don’t get me wrong of course Moreau for example is a huge threat, not just for the team and of course stealing an entire election is bigger than anything else they’ve done up to that point but really, what makes Moreau such a good villian is his past with Eliot. What makes Sterling and IYU so intimidating is that they know Nate. Dubenich and Latimer are not worse than any of the other corrupt millionaires the team has taken down, again it’s only so high stakes and tense and dramatic bc it’s personal. And the Last Goodybe Job is.... well. There isn’t even one big villian there, it’s very much about the team, how far they’ve come who they are, about them saying goodbye to each other and, yes, going after their probably biggest target yet, but it’s not about the target.

(The actual highest stakes job as far as“how much is the world in danger” goes is The Rundown Job and that one isn’t even a season finale. And even that one, despite how tense it is, despite how much of course saving the world is actual literal thing they’re doing here, the focus is still on the OT3′s relationship, on Eliot and his past and “i don’t do that anymore” and “started running with some different people, like a hacker and a thief” and on “we change together” and and and but that’s a whole other post.)

And that’s also why after the season finales they can always easily go back to their more usual jobs, without it getting harder to believe that those jobs would be a challenge at all, or that they would bother with them, because they’re not that much less big in terms of how evil the villian is or even always in how difficult the cons are to pull off, they are mainly just a bit less personal bc they don’t have history with the evil CEO of the week.

Basically, it’s fucking brilliant how the pulled that off, because the season finales always have the tension and the drama and the stakes that they should have but bc they up all these things by using villians who know the team, it isn’t over the top and it doesn’t force the show into a never ending spiral of trying to up the stakes even more.

[wallflowerimagines]

I love your writing so much, it's very great! Anyways, can you make one with the lords with a s/o who can see ghosts, but everytime they see one they tensed up ? Thanks alot! <3 <3 <3

In a horror game???? With a horror villain s/o?????

Anon, you are so brave 😔✊ let's get spooky.

Alcina Dimitrescu

There are SO many ghosts in Castle Dimitrescu. And they're all so LOUD.

The majority seem to be victims of House Dimitrescu. All of them drift through the air, drained and skeletal, eyes sightless, and they just wail non stop. The wailing itself is actually kind of a lower volume, but because there are so many ghosts around, the sound layers and echoes through the space until you can barely hear yourself think.

They remind you of jellyfish in a way. They just aimlessly drift through the air, clothes billowing around them, sliding through the walls. Constantly screaming.

You actually prefer the ghosts of the victims of the Cadou experiments. They might be horrible, shuffling abominations of flesh and oozing blood, but at least they're quiet.

Alcina notices you flinch without any kind of visible stimulus, and immediately gets suspicious. She pulls you into a room and demands an explanation of your behavior.

If there is a problem, she's going to fix it.

When you tell her about the ghosts, her lips press into a fine line. You mean to tell her that these worthless wastes of space are crowding her halls, polluting her home even after their death?

They dare to not only crowd the noble house of Dimitrescu under her nose for years, but they're bothering you while they do it?

Yeah, Alcina is Furious.

She gets a couple exorcists on Retainer. Every month or so, priests of various religions are paraded through the house and cleanse the place from top to bottom. She has you follow them around and check their work, too. If any of them happen to be charlatans, they'll just join the horde of ghosts. No skin off her nose.

It is a little annoying that she has to hire even more people to clean up the mess in her Castle, but Alcina is a highborn lady. Any kind of clutter (living or dead) is unacceptable. Her home should be pristine.

Besides, her favorite reward is seeing you fall asleep in her arms, entirely peaceful. You had been so obviously stressed by the situation. It's such a relief to have you relaxed and calm once again.

Donna Beneviento

When Donna finds out you can see ghosts, she gets a bit ...manic.

This is a woman who lost her entire family, and is unable to deal with grief in a healthy way. She's constantly in mourning garb, and her veil rarely comes off. Hell, her grief was the catalyst for her current hobby-- which is what turned it into a hyperfixation.

I'm not going to lie to you, this revelation puts your relationship on pause. She's going to use you to get what she wants, and she wants her family back.

Donna pulls out all the family photo albums and portraits. She coaches you on her mother's laugh, her father's focused expression. She gets the projector and plays you home movies to show you how they walk and talk. Anything she can show you to help identify the ghosts of her family, she does it.

If you tense up, Donna gets so excited. Is it someone she knew? Her sister, maybe?

Unfortunately, most of the ghosts around are Donna's victims. They huddle in the corners of her home, rocking back and forth in terror, clawing at the walls in a futile attempt to escape whatever horror they've been eternally trapped in.

Sometimes, at night, you hear soft whimpers and scratches at your door...

If there is a ghost that isn't a member of her family around, Donna gets frustrated with it. She will banish any ghost that isn't a member of her family, or a member of the previous staff that could help them in the afterlife.

Eventually you need to sit her down and have a serious conversation with her. You're not something she can use to connect to her family. You might be willing to help, but all she's done lately is treat you like an object, not a partner. It has to stop.

It's the wake up call Donna needs. You both hold each other and cry for a long time, because the last thing she ever wanted to do is hurt you, but... She misses them. So much.

You still look for their ghosts for her, still tense in the hallway, but Donna stops asking you to describe them to her. She trusts you to tell her if they look familiar now. She can be patient.

Salvatore Moreau

Fish man might have been a doctor once, but he is a Small Town Doctor from a small fishing Hamlet. I don't care how much "logic" and "reason" you might think he has. This man is SUPER-fucking-STICIOUS.

Salt over your shoulder, four leaf clover carrying, fear of curse having man DOES NOT LIKE the idea of being haunted.

The ghosts of the reservoir are extra spooky too. Some of them are mid-mutation from the failed Cadou experiments...But the drowning victims are more common.

There aren't many ghosts around, but when they do appear, they're bloated, skin slipping off their bones, clothes dissolving around them as they glide through the air. They move much slower than other ghosts too, like the fact that they died in the water has permanently trapped them in that state.

If you tense up out of nowhere, Moreau does too.

What did you see?? Are they close?? Do they look bound to an object??

Salvatore will turn into his giant fish form and yeet anything that you might feel to be haunted over the mountain range. He takes no chances with that shit.

You two both are regular customers of the Duke's specifically for new exorcism methods. The Duke doesn't scam you guys either-- he provides candles, scriptures, holy water, perfumes, all of it works to keep the spirits at bay.

You and Moreau will walk around the reservoir, on guard for any hauntings, and clean up any area that might possibly have a ghost attached to it. It's a incredibly weird and very niche bonding experience.

By the end of the day, the reservoir is the least haunted place in the whole Village. Just how you and Salvatore like it.

Karl Heisenberg

Eat my ass, spirits

Heisenberg is not afraid of ghosts. He actually makes fun of you a little bit for even believing in them, until he sees you tense up out of the blue.

He trusts you enough to know you're not lying to him, so he knows that you are seeing something. He just doesn't know if they're really ghosts.

There aren't as many ghosts in the factory as there are at the Castle, but there is still quite a few.

A lot of them are missing limbs, unsurprisingly. They gasp and scramble around, eyes (if they are even there) bulging out of rotting faces as they scan the surrounding area for their missing pieces. They scuttle around like spiders up and through the walls, poking their heads into random rooms and constantly searching for something, anything to make them whole.

The worst thing about them is that they ALL scream when they see Heisenberg. It's not even a wail like from a normal ghost-- this is a full on shriek of rage and grief. They know who he is. They know what he's done. And they can't do anything about it.

Is it any wonder that you tense up all the time?

After you describe the ghosts in more detail to your partner, Heisenberg sets his jaw, gets pissed, and finds a way to exorcise the lot of them. While he can't see them, you can, and they might make you think less of him. He can't have that.

Plus, they're obviously bothering you. Karl does not tolerate some dumb spirits harassing his partner. If he has to nail a couple crucifixes to the wall and get a spray bottle of holy water, he will.

He also sees if he can kill his victims in an isolated section of the factory. Maybe having one specific room might limit the range on these things? It also makes for easier clean up.

[movedtodykedvonte]

The 4 Lordlings

I have a lot of headcanons about the lords and their relationships with each other so this is just a dump post for a lot of them:

Moreau isn’t the least favorite sibling amongst them, Miranda just likes him the least so the others keep away to avoid negative attention

Alcina is the least favorite cause she’s a kiss ass who WILL tell on the others for brownie points

Alcina and Moreau get along the most, not because they enjoy each other personality wise but because Alcina likes his vintage movie collection and he likes the company

They sit in silence during these movie nights but Alcina always thanks him for making a trip

On rare occasions he’ll bring good cheese and Alcina will dip pieces in blood

Likewise, Donna and Karl get along best cause he’ll fix her dolls and she helps him graph for his soldiers

Donna knows about the soldiers but just believes Karl got into doll making like her

Donna and Moreau know the most on each other but don’t hang out much

He is wet and slimy and will water-log her dolls. Plus Angie can easily get lost in the reservoir

Being the first two, Moreau and Donna really feed into the family dynamic and will sometimes call each other big brother and little sister respectively

Donna is the only lord to ever tell Moreau that he looks nice on certain days (its a lie but she knows it means a lot to him)

Donna and Alcina do get along on the basis that Donna compliments her home and Alcina likes she’s the next cleanest lord

Otherwise there’s a lot of tension seeing as Alcina wants to be the favorite DAUGHTER and child. She’ll be passive aggressive but Donna is used to it

Alcina didn’t initially hate Karl and neither did he. But after he started becoming the favorite she would antagonize him purposely

Karl was young when this started so it really got to him. Imagine a child who never stopped resenting his school yard bully

Karl only visits the castle to fix holes in the wall because while he hates Alcina, he feels bad that the girls will never be able to see the village let alone the outside world.

Karl and Moreau used to get along really well. Moreau was excited to have another sibling that was a boy and Karl thought he looked like a cool monster from his story books

Their siblinghood failed because when he was young and more gullible to Mother Miranda Karl would believe her when she said Moreau was a failure and worthless unlike him

Karl began bullying him and Moreau withdrew, hating the new hostile treatment

Now Karl feels a little guilt over it, realizing Moreau was the most negatively effected of the lords. That's why he got him the TV, so Moreau could pretend things were good like in the movies (Mother doesn’t know)

Sorry if this was a lot! But I think of these guys a lot. I’ll post more if people want or post headcanons if people ask about specific things!

[writtenicarus]

Hi,.....if you don't mind me asking, can I ask your top 5 (or top 3) favorite characters from AFTG? And why do you love them? And your top 5 favorite moments from the novels? Sorry if you've answered this question before....Thanks....

OMG AN ASK HELLO <333

I'll go with top 5 characters and moments hehe

characters

1. neil - my baby has been through so much and he is fucking badass, I love him so much and he is my favourite fictional character of all time which says A LOT

2. andrew - AGAIN. my guy has gone through so much and I relate to him too much. also he is FUNNY AS FUCK seriously drugged or not I love this guy he is fucking hilarious

3. aaron - aaron is just aaron, I again relate to him and he is so overhated I love him so much. my boy was just DONE WITH LIFE tbh and i just ..god wanna hug him so bad

4. nicky - my guys done shit but in the long run I loved his development into a more respecting person and he just gives off this over excited nervous energy I know way to well

5. jean - JEAN. JEAN MOREAU. WHATS TJERE MOT TO LOEV.

and moments/scenes

1. first andreil kiss - i mean. obviously.

2. the bus scene before that one game - i just think this was really wholesome and kinda the calm before the storm because it really shone a light on andrew's love hate for neil

3. "no" "that's why" - highlights how much neil validates and respects andrew's boundaries like a king and i love how andrew has found someone who can do this for him

4. "you believed him" "i was seven" - HEARTBREAKING. my heart shattered but I really liked this development as we began to understand andrew more and more and plus, unfortunately, his experiences made me feel less alone

5. "doesn't mean I wouldn't blow you" - LMFAOOOOOOO

thanks for the question ml x

[acapelladitty]

About the Resident Evil Lords. While I do believe that they were all severely abused by Mother Miranda and suffering some form of trauma from it. That doesn't really excuse what they've done to those innocent people, especially Ethan and his family. Is it bad that I still pity them though? What's the line between villainizing trauma survivors and making sure assholes face the consequences of their shitty actions?

Oh, there's absolutely an argument to be made for how horrendous their pasts may have been in terms of kidnapping/experimentation etc and having some pity or sympathy for them is totally understandable and can result in some really interesting takes!

What I'm talking about are the folk who are like "Yeah, Ethan broke into their homes and didn't stop to listen to them before trying to kill them so he's the real villain." As if each Lord wasn't in possession of a jar full to the brim with dissected bits of his literal infant daughter lmao.

Every single Lord is a cunt in their own right:

Dimitrescu and her LITERAL torture dungeon which is flooded with instruments of pain and blood. Plus, the poor bastards who've been drained of it and left to suffer.

Benevineto and her wicked mind-altering drugs and obvious penchant for playing with and killing anyone who came too close to her home and/or dolls.

Moreau and his clinic which he uses to experiment on people and infect them with cadous to see what different kind of monsters he can create.

Heisenberg and his gauntlet of lycans and machinery which is openly used to play with and torture folk for his amusement and the amusement of the other Lords.

In humanising the Lords, the goal shouldn't be to justify and reduce their villainy but to make it all the more horrifying since they ARE human at their core and there is something even more twisted about their actions that comes from that fact. It forces them to be viewed as fucked up people and not inhumane monsters without rationality. Again, it comes down to nuance.

[electronicgirl25]

And here I am writing this post to prove that Heisenberg is nothing but a secret sweetheart during the whole game.

1) He helps Ethan since the beginning and during the entire game: the wooden boxes painted in yellow stripes are his since in his section of the game he painted the directions signs such as “good luck” or “Rose is waiting for you”. 2) The “Look out the window” message is from him: I’m sure we all get spooked by the lycan popping in front of the window, but did you noticed that the message to make you look for the code is written in the back of a photo of a Panzer Soldat? Heisenberg helps you finding a better gun.  3) He’s to some extent sweet with Donna and Moreau: despite the fact that he’ve never wanted to be in Miranda’s family I got the impression that, aside from Miranda and Alcina, he doesn’t really hate the other two, probably just finds them annoying from time to time. What gives me the idea is the fact that he states that he wants to keep them entertained. And, yes, you can argue that it was all an act so Miranda doesn’t sniff the rebellion coming, but do I have to remind you that Lady Dimitrescu argues with everyone and believes she’s better than others without hiding it. Plus Miranda doesn’t really seem to care if they get along or not as long as they do as she says.  4) Makes Moreau feel better: in Moreau’s diary you can read his fear to be left out from Miranda’s project with Rose but Heisenberg makes him feel better by saying all the Lords have to be there or else the ritual won’t work which is obviously a lie because we know by the end of the game that the Lords don’t need to be physically present at the cerimony for the ritual to work, only the flasks, that can be all gathered by a single person on the altar. Again, I don’t see a reason why Heisenberg should have acted nice since they’re so chaotic and dysfunctional as a family. He said that by his own will, maybe taking pity on Moreau.  5) Lowkey compliments the younger siblings: he says to Ethan that he didn’t think he would pass Donna and Moreau sections, indirectly stating they’re pretty tough and lowkey admiring their powers and strength. Notice how Alcina is not present in this dialogue since Heisenberg hates her and thinks nothing of her.  6) Lets Ethan live for the 100th time: a particular scene surprised me in the game. And that scene was the one in which Heisenberg starts to transform his body by adding pieces of metal to it. At that point he could have killed Ethan so easily if he really didn’t want him to interfere with the rebellion maybe impaling him again but with more bars, cut his head with a sharp piece and so on. But he didn’t! He just lets him go by saying: “I don’t want to see you anymore, don’t stand in the way!” I was so shocked at that point because killing Ethan, who was no use to him anymore since he refused to collaborate, seemed to be the only left move and reasonable thing to do for a villain. He doesn’t even try to kill him, just makes him fall in the water so he stays out of his way!

Now if you’ll excuse me I’ll be staying in this corner crying for the next three months.

[suddenrundown]

hello idk where to put this so I am sending it to you since I sent you that long ask about the marshal dynamic.

a conversation between Sophie and Eliot - same feel as the tap out job. I think Eliot respects Sophie in a way that allows him to feel comfortable being more vulnerable with her. plus, he knows she could read right through him either way. this takes place in an au where Sophie knows about the ot3 and the “your marshal” conversation was her getting at something deeper. also an au where Sophie has seen Eliot and the Marshal interact. idk I am grasping at threads I am stressed. I also cannot write Sophie to save my life. I am sorry.

–

Eliot approaches Sophie after everyone else has gone to bed, still turning over the cryptic words she said in his head. “You told me your whole life changed when the right person arrested you. Why?”

Sophie nods. “Because I see the way you look at her.”

Eliot can’t help himself bristle sliglhty, “I know you ain’t suggesting I leave Parker and Hardison, so what were you gettin at?”

Sophie scoffs, “Yes, I fell in love with Nate, but that was almost as an afterthought. He changed the course of my life. I was a little lost before him, always looking for the next score - it was fun, don’t get me wrong. But I never was able to look at the big picture until Nate showed me the way. I was never played the white knight before he forced me into the role.”

“The hell you think we’re doin, I might be gettin old but I can still kick a rich asshat down. Ain’t looking for a change.”

Sophie thinks for a minute. “Hardison has gotten really good at explaining the redemption process… without saying you still refuse to believe you can be redeemed.”

“I’ve known I was going to hell since I was 18 and started following bad men’s orders.” Eliot stumbles over the admission.

“You know you see yourself in the Marshal, don’t you?”

“Why, cause she nearly kicked my ass?”

“No, because she is you.” Eliot grumbles, but listens. Sophie’s using that soft but voice that says she knows she needs to tread lightly but that she won’t budge. 

“You still hide your intelligence well, Eliot. But you and I both know that enlisting when you were 18 wasn’t your only choice.” 

“Sure felt like it at the time.”

“I know. But try to imagine, just for a moment. You were never going to stay a small town hardware store owner, but what if you went to the academy? The cop role would be easy for you to fall into. University–“ 

Eliot scrunches his face up.

“Don’t look at me like that, I know you like to read. As I was saying… a degree or two, you would have made detective, or branched off into the Marshal service…”

“If I never had’ve gotten my hands dirty… never worked for Moreau,” Eliot sighs out the last words, tiptoeing over the name. 

“Damien Moreau was a cruel man, but he did not break you, you proved that. You survived him.”

Eliot doesn’t agree but he doesn’t fight the admiration in Sophie’s voice. “I would be a very different man.”

“Maybe one that looks a lot like Maria Shipp.” 

“I don’t want to be her, if that’s what you’re sayin. I wouldn’t be - I wouldn’t have any of the good in my life now - I wouldn’t have met you and Nate - I wouldn’t’ve found Parker and Alec… I ain’t got the time or willpower to regret everything I had to do to get me here.”

“I’m glad you can recognize that. But that doesn’t mean you can’t look at her and wonder who you could have been if you hadn’t been through so much pain.”

“That pain made me.”

“It’s not that simple, you know that. You let yourself stay separate, still, even from them.” *

Eliot winces at the accusation. But he knows his cover was blown the moment the trio showed up in Boston. There was no hiding from Sophie Devereaux.

She continues, “Engage in the curiosity, if you want to get to know the Marshal. Maybe it will help you see that you are worth the love you are given. You can die thinking you’re going to hell, but one day, you should get around to learning that the people who hold your heart see a very different version of you.”

–

*i can’t stop thinking about that script line: Eliot Spencer. Improbably still alive, steps into view by a tree. Always a little separate, even now.

@pebblesrus thanks for this!! I don’t know what to say other than to just post it because if you wrote it people should see it! It’s lovely <3

[bansheeoftheforest]

Can we get some rambles about some Moreau's Revenge AU? Like more in deoth about how everyone reacts and feels? Maybe some Emma reaction? Jacob? The public? Does feral!Jekyll ever hurt anyone badly? Do he and Zosi play alot? Is Hyde still there, just trapped in the subconscious of Henry's mind? When he's back to himself, does he still maintain some of his feral behaviours? Does he slip into his feral state as a defense mechanism?

Ok i just gotta mention I love it when people come up with aus, thrust them onto me, and then tell me to come up with ideas/the canon for the aus, I'm not even sarcastic, I just love that everyone has collectively decided that I'm an au hoarder and therefore, I should have all the aus and I should also be the one making the content for them. I love my job and I love all my little kitties bringing me dead mice all the time <3

Also! I'm just going to ramble every single fact that my brain comes up with, and this is specifically going to be about the Feral!Branch of the au <3

Henry got kidnapped after walking home from a dinner with a few of his close friends. Moreau stalked him until Henry was alone, to which he knocked him out and dragged him off to his funky hideout.

It takes a whole month before people find Moreau's hideout. By that time Henry has already been severely beaten, his bones are broken and his body is bloody, yet that doesn't stop him from prowling his tiny cage. Much like an abused dog, he completely ignored his wounds or just made them worse by biting on them, or by trying to stand on his legs when the rescuers found him. Instead of cheering and being relieved, he snarled and growled and tried to swat at them with his claws.

The first four that got into the hideout were Brokenshire, the Commissioner, Jenkins, and Wipple. The four of them were already friends with Jekyll and they were the most worried. While the other police arrested Moreau, they took it upon themselves to find Henry.

They found Henry in a small labspace, laying on the floor while whimpering. The moment he saw them he became aggressive. The only indication that he really was not human anymore was his eyes, sharp teeth, claws, and pointier ears. Subtle changes that were enough to tell them that there was no awareness behind those large eyes.

The sound of pain and anger that Henry made when they had to muzzle him is a sound that will forever haunt every single police officer from that day forward. They had to cuff his arms and practically drag him to the police vehicle, despite the muzzle he managed to make his displeasure and pain quite clear.

They brought Henry to the Society immediately, and made sure that no one else saw him. They but a sheet over the cage they kept him in and told anyone who asked that it was a runaway monster that they were going to dump with the Lodgers. They made the Lodgers gather in the foyer before the revealed who actually was in the cage.

The Lodgers were, to say the least, shocked and horrified. Not only was Henry so badly beaten that he could barely stand by himself, but the way he snarled and swatted after them invoked such a... Uncanny feeling within them. It wasn't really until then they realized how serious all of this was, the whole situation with Moreau.

All Lodgers were absolutely disgusted with what Moreau had done to Henry, but Ito, Maijabi, Jasper (plus Rachel and Robert, of course) were the most affected. The police had to physically restrain them from rushing up to the cage because if Henry got close enough he would not hesitate to hurt them. Brokenshire and the Commissioner (God I swear to god I'm THIS close to oc-fying him oh my god) both have scratch marks from trying to get close and calm Jekyll.

The police helped the Lodgers move Henry to an empty lab room where he could be alone. They still kept him in a cage for quite a while, yet the moment that they had gotten him into the room, Robert completely burst out crying. He really could not believe that happened to his best friend, he is unsure if they even can save him, yet he swears to himself that he will make sure that Henry is safe. He was this close to decking an officer who, during a meeting that he attended at the police station with those present during the day of Henry's rescue, suggested that they put Henry in Bethlam.

Robert did not allow anyone to get into Henry's room, mostly for their own safety, and because he wanted to monitor Henry's recovery himself. No one really listened to that. Sometimes a Lodger (or a whole group) would sneak in just to have a look at him, or give him some treats or some kind of toy. Henry often found himself too exhausted and too wounded to try to chase them away, instead panting on the floor of his cage for most of the time while his visitors observed him with pure sorrow.

Ito, Maijabi, Jasper, and Rachel were the ones that visited Henry the most. Ito and Maijabi would often just sit a bit away from the cage and observe him for a bit, maybe try to talk to him, occasionally they would help steal food from the kitchen to give to Henry. Rachel and Jasper were put in charge of feeding him most of the time, and it was only when Rachel and Jasper threw in chicken in his cage that he let himself be distracted from them and stop snarling just so he could eat. All of them left with tears in their eyes most of the time.

All the Lodgers would be worried, all Lodgers would try to visit Henry, but out of them Ito and Maijabi had it worst. Maijabi felt like he was losing his son, Ito-- so often cold and honest-- had never cried so much in her life when seeing her mentor in such a state. They often comfort each other, and do their best to always be available to help Robert with whatever he needs.

Emma route: I imagine that Henry and Emma are already married at that point. She has been worried sick for Henry the entire time, the police stop by her and Henry's house immediately after dropping Henry off at the Society. She rushes to the Society and the Lodgers all seem so... Sad, horrified, she gets more and more scared and suddenly she sees Robert and Rachel and Jasper, all three looking pale and ill. She begs them to tell her where Henry is... Robert can't even get any words out of him. He simply shows her to the room where they are going to keep Henry and shows her Henry's cage. Poor man is still laying bloody on the floor, still in a muzzle, but he barely has any visible sclera from his dilated irises and his hair is wild. He lays like a beaten dog, he doesn't even react as Emma kneels on the floor outside his cage. Emma turns around and demands and explanation from Robert, Robert sits down on the floor next to her and quietly explains everything the police told him, what Moreau did to Henry. Robert hugs Emma as she just starts crying, but both leave quickly to not... Well, bother Henry, who grows impatient and starts rattling against the cage. Not only has she been incredibly scared and worried for her husband the entire month he was gone, now Henry seems so close and yet so far away and he doesn't even recognize her, he is beaten like a dog and thinks he is some sort of animal and it just... It all becomes so much for her. She leaves the Society and the Lodgers don't see her much after that, although she does come and visit almost every day (and whether or not people know that she does it, is an entirely different question) just to see her husband. Sometimes she will bring food (Henry always loved her cooking) or a toy for him, and she ends up being the first person that he actually allows to touch him voluntarily, despite Robert forcing himself on him so he can patch him up.

Jacob route: Jacob would find out because Abberline and or Brokenshire would tell him about the state they found Henry in. Jacob would probably hear the news that Moreau’s lab got busted and immediately make his way to the Scotland Yard and demand that the police tell him where Henry is. They would tell him as much as they are allowed to about the case, then tell him to go and talk to Robert Lanyon in the Society. Of course Jacob doesn’t do that, he just immediately breaks in and searches everywhere for Henry. Eventually Robert spots him parkouring over the rafters and chases him down until Jacob manages to find the room where they keep Henry. Jacob opens the door and immediately finds Henry tearing through an entire turkey leg, although he immediately abandons the food snarl and bark (or, well, the aggressive equivalent of a bark) at him and Robert, reaching his hand out of the cage in an attempt of tearing them to shreds. No recognition at all in his eyes, Jacob can only stare for a while. Henry looks the same yet so inhumane. Robert does his best to explain everything, Jacob can only watch in pure horror as he hears what became of his lover, seeing it right in front of him. He doesn’t even let Robert finish his sentence before he has already stormed out. He does not care what the police planned to do with Moreau, he goes straight to whatever cell they keep him in and murders him in cold blood. He doesn’t go back to the Society afterwards, no, he goes to the train hideout and hastily tells Evie and Green what happened to Henry, he spends the rest of the night drinking. Unlike the Lodgers and Emma, he stays away for quite a bit. He doesn’t return until a few days later when he has managed to pick himself up. He makes sure that the news and/or rumors of what happened to Henry dies down quicker than they can rise, sometimes he actually has the courage to visit him but only every few days. He gets to see first hand how Henry recovers-- physically, at least, and slowly and surely he starts warming up to having people near him. After only a few weeks, Henry allows Jacob to touch him. Something about him (and Emma in her route, of course) feels familiar, calm and protective. Henry puts his head in Jacob’s hand and Jacob quietly swears that he will always protect him, no matter how long this goes on for.

The public (even including the Lanyons and the Carews, and most parts of the Scotland yard) never get to know what actually happened to Henry, as the rescuers made a good job at making sure no news or rumors spread or that anyone saw Henry in the state he was in. As far as they are aware, Henry is currently in a coma, and slowly Robert feeds into the news, updating people around them about Henry’s condition. “He is stable”, he will say, “but I’m afraid it’s hard to know when he will wake up... If he ever will”. It’s safer to make it seem like he is unconscious rather than conscious because Robert knows that people (journalists, Lanyon Sr, Sir. Carew, etc) will demand to visit him. Once Henry is unferal, they let him decide when he wants the news of his “awakening” to be spread.

The worst Henry has hurt someone was either fighting back to Moreau (which didn’t happen often, as he was too scared of him), but I’d also like to imagine that besides scratching the officers, he bit and hurt Robert quite badly, either Robert or one of the Lodgers, because he got overwhelmed and stressed. Robert really does not blame him no matter how badly it hurt or how serious the wound got, he shouldn’t have overwhelmed him but in his defense, cat body language is hard to read on a human. A positive from that was that Henry clearly felt guilty afterwards when he calmed down, which might have been the first ever sign that Henry was “savable”, as he clearly felt bad over what he did rather than trying to finish the job. It was the first time he actually walked up to Robert and touched him-- headbutted him, even, because he felt so bad for what he did because Robert has only been nice to him. Robert was wrapping a bandage around his arm when Henry came up to him, gently chirping and headbutting him, and Robert straight up bawled his eyes out.

Zosi was literally the only living being that Henry allowed close to him for many, many days. Zosi was both undead and also an animal, which was the two things that Henry associated with safety after having found comfort with Moreau’s monstrosities. Zosi was quickly in charge of being the one to give Henry food and medicine since Henry would allow no one else to get close to his cage, and Zosi was in sole charge of keeping Henry entertained and happy and calm while Robert tried to figure out how to proceed with the treatment. Zosi was just happy to have Henry back, and Henry was happy to have a friend.

When Henry got tortured and lost his sense of awareness, Hyde faded away, but only temporarily. He is, as said, trapped in the mindscape for the time being and until Henry gets his awareness back. It’s quite a nightmare for Hyde because he is watching in real time, while also processing the trauma from Moreau, as Henry’s mind crumbles. Gone are the mind people, instead they are replaced by vague primal instincts and animal behaviors. It’s definitely not as serious as Hyde feels it is, as it’s a slow but sure recovery from a steady dip to awareness as soon as Henry is removed from the lab, but it’s still incredibly scary for him. Henry can’t see or hear him anymore, and even if he could, he wouldn’t be able to react or process him.

It takes almost about 1-3 months before Henry has warmed up to everyone, physically healed, and was able to get the therapy he needed to even become aware, yet he never got rid of the feralness in him. Whenever he is stressed, scared, or overwhelmed, he might jump back into pure feralness or get a few of the key characteristics; subtle physical and behavioral appearance, etc. Sometimes it’s hard for him to get out of it, sometimes it’s not. Sometimes all he has to do is calm down and relax, sometimes he has to sleep it off. Regardless, the Lodgers and his friends/love interests all do their best to keep Henry calmed and relaxed, and make sure he never has to endure as much stress as he did before and after what happened with Moreau. 

(Basically, he goes from full feral to what the Feral Au is rn)

The public never really gets to know about Henry’s... Ahem, condition, however, most seem to accept the excuse that Henry has terrible anxiety after his torture, ergo making it easy for his friends or lover/s to help Henry out of a room or a situation when he starts feeling overwhelmed and like he is about to turn feral. They are all calm and patient and loving and protective with him, every single one, and Henry is forever grateful for the patient they bring him.

Some random rambles btw:

Out of everyone that isn’t his lover for the branch, Henry’s favorite persons are Maijabi and Ito. Maijabi because he feels like his dad, Ito because the feral state in Henry sees her as his cub or pup, in some weird way. When Henry is docile, both Maijabi and Ito quickly learn that Henry very much loves attention and grooming his favorite persons.

I got the idea while writing the Emma route that maybe she was already pregnant by the time that Henry got kidnapped and turned feral, although it was early on in the pregnancy. I just love the angst of Emma wondering if she will lose her husband and if Henry will ever get to meet their child, and the thought of feral Henry freely being allowed to get close to Emma (they were all very worried about that) and immediately sniffing and headbutting her belly is just <3 (Also the thought of Henry almost immediately panicking when the kid is born and Emma wants him to hold him, suddenly his eyes dilate and his hair puffs up but it’s like a cat staring at something absolutely wonderful)

Surprisingly, Frankenstein was one of those who often would sneak into Henry’s room just to see him. In this crossover au, I’d imagine she’d be much more sympathetic for him. Maybe she would talk to him and apologize for bringing him into this at all, maybe she would even apologize for what she said and did to him personally.

I refuse to acknowledge a bad au branch for this one where Henry turns permanently feral and they either have to kill him or let him loose in the wild <3

[jewishmarkbryant]

I have not stopped annoying @pro-daydreamer for about twenty-four hours about my Pasithea Powder thoughts and theories both before and after the s2 finale came out, so I’m going to brain dump them here. Let me know if anyone wants to hear more because I am BURSTING and do not have time to write all the new fics I want to tackle right now.

Do we have confirmation that Evelyn is dead? Just saying. I don’t believe we ever saw a body and I don’t trust the PSA.

Even if we DID see a body… I dunno, I just don’t trust those fuckers

What is the DEAL with George and Medea oh my god where do I even begin

Let’s start with Medea and culture because I keep envisioning it like. Very Spartan. Fight for your spot and your pride. Lots of pride and honor and loyalty and shit. George can throw a punch but they sure have received their fair share too

“I haven’t fired a gun since —“ SINCE WHEN GEORGE? You’re a civilian… you’ve had training… were you always a civilian? Is this just how Medea is? Are you just very paranoid? FINISH YOUR DAMN SENTENCES.

I need to know why Molly and Jackie named Dr. Moreau after. You know. The infamous Dr. Moreau. Don’t get me wrong, I adore all references to the vivisecting villain, but.

Um. Also, I’m getting back into Leverage right now so there are far too many Moreaus in my life.

I know that nobody really realizes that they’re friends now, but Moon didn’t mention George at all in her plot except when saying they’d be blamed with Sophie. Is this because she assumes they’ll escape? Or that Jane won’t care what she does to them? Does she have something really grisly planned either way? What is happening

Amita. I haven’t stopped thinking about Amita in ages, I keep relistening to the mind meld. (Gonna assume she/her pronouns going forward but I could be wrong because that mind meld bit was intentionally confusing). Buckle in cuz the followinf is only vaguely based in canon fact:

I figure most things in the mind meld section could apply to either or both Sophie and Amita, which means “I always knew she was going to leave” (paraphrased) could be Amita too

Worrying about the situation on Letnos and not knowing where Amita was… followed by Pheris being safe… Pheris watching the hummingbirds… yall I think Amita is dead

Plus the “little cuts on her face” could be either Sophie or Amita if Amita was in the war zone

Why was Amita in the war zone? Was she working with the same group as Evelyn? Is this why she had to leave? Was she for peace when George was for war and this is why they haven’t fired a gun since? Is Sophie partially responsible for both their deaths???? My brain is Buzzing.

[metal-bending-trashman-simp]

So I have a theory that Before Moreau was changed into the fishy baby we know today (and also now) that he was high-functioning autistic. As someone who grew up and still lives with someone that’s HF autistic, he deffinately fits the bill in the form of mentality (I guess is what you’d call it).

For example my brother who’s autistic is 21 but he has the mentality of a 12 year old instead of a adult, which means he acts more like a child most of the time while being in a grown mans body.

This would explain why Moreau calls Miranda “mommy” and also why he acts more like a kid that’s attached to their moms hip instead of like the other lords when he’s an adults (plus I think it’s believed/canon that he was changed as an adult and was one of Miranda’s first experiments)

This may not be the case but this is what I like to believe.

[nothisis-ridiculous]

Duplicity

An AU where Kaidan joins Cerberus for the events of ME2.

Chapter Eight: Visitors

"You could have changed first," Mary's eyes flickered to the man, "it would have made a better impression."

This was the Commander on her best behavior, attempting not to scorn the man she once loved. The man that had carried her broken body from the field and into safety. The man that blushed and rubbed at his forehead under her scrutiny, unconsciously buying himself further slack with a motion that brought her back to the old days. She thought reaching him was impossible then; now it was somewhere between impossible and a nightmare. The dissonance firing off in her skull was astounding, painful.

"I was worried about," he choked out, in the husky tone that made her heart flutter, " you."

"We should worry more about ourselves- really, Kaidan? Mouthing off to the Illusive Man?"

Honestly, she was proud of him. Other than the one time he killed a superior, he was quite mellow toward most authority figures. The point value tripled because it was toward the Cerberus ring leader. His hand rubbed the back of his neck, fiddling a while before he would answer.

"Commander, the writing's on the wall here- he sent you... us into a trap. It was negligent at best, he could have easily told us. Given us a chance to prepare-"

"Leave that sort of thing to the three billion dollar asset."

"Four billion," Kaidan smirked, "that also happens to have a death wish."

Mary's eyes fluttered away, losing her will to act brave. Her heart was allowed to fear for another, "maybe I was aiming for you."

His dark eyebrow raised.

"Besides, I can at least try to end my life in the way I see fit."

It was a harsh kickback from the moment of vulnerability. It was too easy for her to return to a level of comfort with Kaidan; why wouldn't it be easy? They had spent nearly a year together more than enough time to grow close, to learn all the ticks and what they meant. Plus, she was bitter. Angry, he had a part in bringing her back to this fucked reality. One where she was shackled to Cerberus. Where her autonomy was a fading illusion, Mary was trapped, and rattling at the bars wasn't enough. Whether it was the nuclear option or falling into submission wasn't entirely clear, both paths still fought.

His other eyebrow joined, creasing toward the center. Reflexively frowning at Shepard's insinuation, a hand returning to massage at his temple, he had no defense. Nothing that would change her mind anyway. He loved her; that was obvious. He couldn't stand to lose her, but he had already told her that. It was in the galaxy's best interest to have her around and kicking Reaper ass, in that there was no doubt. Mumbling and fumbling over words wouldn't budge the Commander. There was no reason even to attempt such a thing.

"I won't apologize for bringing you back."

"What about working for Cerberus?" Mary spat.

Kaidan barked, the aggressive tone an accidental exhaling of emotion, "did Chakwas or Joker get this lecture too? Or is it just me?"

"Does it matter?"

"So Joker gets a warm welcome, you end up drunk with Chakwas, and I end up dodging crates? How is that fair?" he questioned with folded arms.

"They didn't see what they did first hand," she reeled, "they... you... didn't... you knew they killed my unit. You met Toombs."

"And hearing about it wasn't enough?"

Mary's throat bobbed, "it's different."

"Don't BS me, Commander," he retorted sternly, "we're way past that."

"I expected better of you."

"Why? Why just me?"

"You're a good man, Kaidan. I don't like being wrong," Mary went cold, folding her arms over herself, "I don't like thinking I misjudged you."

"Let me get this right...because of our relationship, you expect me to live up to a lofty standard?"

"Hardly lofty. Terrorist organization hardly seems your style," Mary's eyes barbed him with daggers.

"Yet you stick with them."

"What choice do I have? Can I just leave? They've brought in everyone I care about, the Illusive Man has already proved he doesn't mind using anyone connected to me as bait," she looked away, "I'm trapped here."

Kaidan lowered his arms, daring to close a portion of the distance between them. He wanted to assure her, to assuage Mary that she was not the only one caged. It wasn't the time, "I felt the same way when the Council... the Alliance threw me aside. Knowing the Reapers are coming is terrible stuff. Instead of waiting around, I did something."

"You went too far, Kaidan."

"The same could have been said when we mutinied."

"We didn't experiment on people."

"Yeah, Cerberus has a lot to answer for," Kaidan retreated.

Mary didn't answer, watching him coldly. He was sure if she could move from that bed she would have decked him hard on the way out. But she was stuck- tied to the bed by medical tape. She seemed in fine condition to anyone else, but he could see the subtle wince when her breath drew too deep, or her volume grew too loud. Kaidan knew Mary better than anyone.

"What am I supposed to say, Mary? Surviving tore me apart. You, you already know what happened at first, but I had the chance to do something. To fight against what I knew was about to happen," Kaidan stepped forward, "maybe we'll never be what we were. But don't judge me, and let me help. I know how this looks-"

The biotic finally dared to meet her gaze- just in time to watch the tears spring from her eyes," just stop," Mary pleaded, looking at anything else that could distance her, "it may have been two years for you, I get it. You've mourned me. It's only been a few weeks, I felt myself die... just to wake up, and everything is... different. I'm still not sure if I'm in hell or not. Cerberus wasn't even a place I'd be in my nightmare."

Mary's bright eyes suddenly caught him, "and you're with them."

Kaidan moved forward, a hand extended as the Commander curled into herself, pulling up the blanket in vain, hoping it would hide her. Sheild her from the vulnerability she was not willingly presenting. It leaked, and it was unfair of him to take advantage of her. In a previous time her guard would have dropped; now she fought to keep it up—only a part of her struggle to keep sane in this new life. His hovering arm dropped, retreating several paces to force himself to stop.

"I didn't want to believe it," Kaidan stalled, looking at his feet, "but I've been thinking, realized that some of these people are good people. Maybe misguided, but... good."

Mary nodded, keeping her head turned away from him.

"Look, I didn't come here to lecture you," Kaidan sent over a dossier from his omnitool, "I brought some good news. If pulling in someone else we know into this mess is good news."

She shook her arm free of the blanket, the orange illumination of her face revealing a subtle shift in her state. The corner of her lip pulling up after the initial pass of regret filtered over her face, at least the tears he should do nothing about slowed to a trickle.

"There are more dossiers, but I knew this one would be most the important."

"Send them over."

Mary scanned the other two, far more passive in her reading of the other potential members of her crew. This was his cue to leave, so he moved to do just that.

"Just be more careful next time," Mary murmured, following his path out of the medical bay.

Kaidan paused, nodding before ducking out of sight.

~~~

"Thanks Shepard, I will," Liara smiled warmly.

"I'll talk to you later, Li Li," Mary stood, acknowledging Miranda's sideways look with a lop-sided smile. Trotting down the stairs from the administrator's office.

"Jealous, Lawson?"

"No, I-" Miranda smiled nervously, "you aren't going to let this go, are you?"

"Not until I find the perfect nickname."

"Oh god," Miranda muttered, massaging her temples, "Miri and nothing else will be acceptable."

"Really?" Mary prodded but gently offering concern rather than utter mirth.

"Is it not embarrassing enough?"

The Commander grinned smugly, "no, it's just-"

"Just what?" Miranda blew with hands moving to her perfect hips.

Mary didn't avoid the conversation out of pettiness- Joker's voice drowned out the moment, pulling away from the lightness of her mood.

"Shepard, we, uh, have a visitor? Some Kai Leng he claims to be Cerberus."

"You let him on the ship?"

"Let is not the word I'd use."

"And everything was going so well," Garrus quipped, the quicker of her companions to read the shift of Shepard's energy.

"Mr. Moreau is correct, Mr. Leng is here on the Illusive Man's orders," EDI pipped in, "I had to let him in."

"You better hurry; he already pissed off Tali."

"I'm on my way, Joker."

"A stowaway problem, Shepard?" Garrus asked with a cock of his head.

"Miri," it was too grave for a lighthearted nickname, "do you know a Kai Leng?"

"That bastard."

Mary cocked her head, her smile fading into a frown, "Miranda?"

"This isn't good news, Shepard. He's the Illusive Man's personal pet," she spat.

"Threat level?"

"Ten."

Mary picked up her pace to the Normandy, ignoring the sideways glances and concerned looks she received. The doors to the ship were open for her, and an over-the-shoulder call from Joker directed the party to the shuttle bay. The elevator felt like it took centuries, and neither of her companions wanted to say a word. Not even a half ignored news clip to pass the time. Leaving her to claw at her vambrace, annoyed to be tramping through her ship in unclean armour. It was a minor detail, but she hated bringing unnecessary germs onto the belly of her ship. She had a quarian to consider.

As if that was her greatest worry at the moment.

Mary stormed into the cargo bay, surprised to find three figures, and notably the lack of a certain Quarian. The krogan presence was less of a surprise, if there was a fight Grunt would find it. With his space overlooking the bay, he didn't have to pry, and furthermore, Jack's latest biotic blast wasn't easily ignored.

"If you think I'm letting you take me now," Jack heaved, dodging a projectile and returning a side-stepped shockwave, "you're fucking wrong!"

"Jack!" Mary screamed, breaking the biotic's concentration, and then her head swiveled to the stranger, "you must be Kai Leng."

"Shepard," the dark-haired stranger drawled, sending an instinctive shiver down her spine.

She wouldn't be intimidated, ignoring the gnawing sense this man would as quickly kill her as he would shake her hand, but it couldn't stop the protect folding of her arms over her chest, "why are you tormenting my crew?"

"Lawson," he continued, the smug smile leaving as he examined the turian, "and this must be the one known as Archangel."

Mary stepped in to partially block his view of Garrus. She knew that look.

The mixed heritage man extended out his hand- Mary had never wanted to do anything less, but this was a power move. Declining would give him the literal and figurative upper hand. Fuck, his grip was tight, overbearing.

"I was sent here to help; after all, the fate of humanity is resting on your shoulders," Shepard felt the omitted words from his saccharine tone.

"I don't need the kind of help that torments my crew."

"I corrected your blatant disregard for Cerberus' confidentiality."

A chuckle escaped Garrus's airway, on inspection, Miri sported a fleeting smirk. Spurring Mary on to laugh in his face, "yeah, from stolen Alliance and Turian designs."

"This wasn't part of the deal, Shepard," Jack butted in.

"You'll get those files back."

"Will you?"

"You'll learn soon enough that Shepard gets her way, Leng."

Kai Leng took his turn to chortle, "so quick to betray Cerberus, Miss Lawson?"

Miranda exhaled slowly, "what's the harm in a few classified files," her tone almost defeated. Mary and Jack meeting each other with a curious look.

"I'm sure you can find your way to temporary quarters?" Mary returned her attention to the stranger, "The Illusive Man and I need to have a chat in the meantime."