#story: Fall In Line

[mirasmirages]

Fall In Line - Seven - Mission

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Contains: Arson, superhero fight

Henry stalked toward the small office building. It was dark outside, late at night, but light shone through a few of the windows on the fourth floor. He could see someone move.

Fuck.

He didn't slow down. Couldn't. His purple boots were quiet against the pavement.

Today was his first mission, Mr. Duncan had said. Mission. First. Henry had been out destroying things before, but never in a populated area like this. They had never called it a mission. He had never been in costume.

I want you to tear that building to the ground. No further instructions. The explosives on his belt lay heavy against his hip.

Henry walked in through the front door. Unlocked. Easy.

He could just set the explosives and leave. Brad had shown him how, kind of. It had been a while. And Henry wasn't sure if the explosives he had would be enough.

The safest option was to weaken the building by hand first. Punch through a few load-bearing walls to make sure it will all collapse. But there were people in the building.

He kicked the front desk in the lobby into the wall. He couldn't stop. Tear that building to the ground. How he wanted to do it was up to him, but he couldn't stop.

He walked a round to see what he was dealing with, how he could cause the most damage. And then he saw it. Fire alarm. Perfect. He pushed through the glass, setting off the alarm, and got to work.

The walls dented easily under his hands. Some of them were thin enough for him to walk straight through, but even the strongest ones barely hurt through his reinforced gloves. It felt good to be able to punch something without holding back. To release the rage that had been building for years under the helplessness of living under his dad, and then the doctors, and then Charles Duncan's mind control. The rage that built with each ring of the fire alarm, bringing memories he had no wish to remember.

He put his fist through a wall and tore it open, and saw a group of people on their way down the stairs. Three adults and two children.

The oldest child was a girl of about eight, and the youngest was a toddler who was clinging to the man carrying him. The two other adults raised their hands when they saw him, tearing through the wall, fully outfitted as a hero. As a villain.

Henry glared at them. "Out," he barked. "Get out!"

The group kept as far away from him as possible as they made their way to the door, and then they hurried away.

Good.

It didn't take long to set the charges and get out of the building after that. Henry could hear sirens in the distance. He pushed the detonator.

The heat from the explosion covered him. He closed his eyes against the light, didn't want to see it.

Someone pushed him to the ground.

He rolled over, threw his attacker off, and found himself facing a hero dressed in red, familiar from Henry's nightmares.

"Recognize me?" the hero grinned and threw a punch.

Henry dodged easily, his training allowing him to move without thinking. The hero attacked again, and Henry moved to the side, stepped back, avoiding being hit, but slowly being pushed into a corner.

Another hero hit the ground behind the red man. Her costume was white and blue, and she wore a cape.

"We gotta get out," she told the red hero. "Now. We've got first responders."

"Well, shit," the red one said. "You messed this one up, kid."

They both turned on him before he could process what was happening.

Hands were on him, his body flooded with pain, and he was out.

[amu-says-hav-says]

I can’t believe I went through all of Season 2 assuming Nina was the stand-in for Crowley when you actually pay attention it’s so CLEAR that she’s Aziraphale. I was tricked by her spiky, sarcastic, cynical outer shell and lulled into a false sense of security by Maggie’s bubbly optimism and wholesome goodness, because on the surface they reflect the ineffable husbands perfectly, in their personalities, their aesthetics, even many of their actions and morals. but not, and this is the real key, when it comes to their “relationship”. but those first impressions really had me damn fooled. 

I missed the blatantness of Nina’s “we’re just friends. actually we’re not friends. we barely know each other.” the same thing Aziraphale said in season 1.  the way he still struggles to quantify their friendship when Nina asks. Nina’s sarcasm when Crowley asks about rain and awnings because it worked for him (we all know it LMAO). hell, that whole convo the girls have in the rain is so AziraCrow (“I know. I’m not your type” “...You have no idea” hits so much harder the second time, help meeeee.) “Lindsay” maybe being symbolic of Heaven and Aziraphale’s toxic relationship with them and their abuse? (the handwritten text messages in red pen make me think of angry notes on paperwork, anyone else?) because Crowley has never actually cared about what Hell thinks of him, just not getting into trouble (or him or Aziraphale getting hurt). Maggie is always chasing Nina. NINA NEVER GOES IN THE RECORD STORE. Just like Crowley always goes to the bookstore, to Aziraphale, Zira NEVER WENT TO THE FLAT (apart from The Swap but that doesn’t count imo). Crowley has always chased Zira, not the other way around. Always there to rescue him, always going to him for company, always relying on their shared connection, always US. OUR SIDE. All through season one, he comes to Zira every time to work together, never trying to work alongside Hell in any way that isn’t to save their skins or Earth, while Zira hides things from Crowley because he STILL thinks Heaven is ultimately good and will do the right thing if he can just show them. fix it from the inside. 

Maggie working up the courage to finally say something, to put herself out there, while Nina is utterly oblivious and then when she does realise Maggie has feelings, becoming standoffish, putting up that barrier, fighting it, denying it, ITS SO CROWLEY AND AZIRAPHALE IN THAT ORDER. the way I was fooled into thinking Nina’s trust issues are Crowley because he does have trust issues ofc he does BUT Crowley has ALWAYS TRUSTED AZIRAPHALE. has always relied on him. has always been hurt when Aziraphale doesn’t immediately reciprocate the way he expects (the holy water request, the bandstand, the “off in the stars” etc). he’s always the one putting himself forward. Aziraphale has always been the one to second guess everything, to fight their connection, their similarities, their friendship. the girls really made me think it was going to be okay when they sat Crowley down, even as my inner sirens were going haywire about Metatron interfering, they were telling Crowley he just needs to open up and it’ll all work out BUT HE’S ALREADY AT THAT POINT. he may not say it, and by gosh is that part of their damn problem, but he’s always SHOWN IT. he’s not Nina who needs time to heal and recover from her broken trust, he’s always been Maggie believing it doesn’t matter, they’ll end up together in the end anyway AND I WALKED RIGHT INTO THE TRAP THAT THIS MEANT THEY WERE GOING TO BE OKAYYYYYYYYYYY

[halloawhatisthis]

I was dying, and no one could see it but you. You saved my life, Joan.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

While you were fighting in the war, I was falling in a pit.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[divorcedfiddleford]

and you may say to yourself: "my god! what have i done?" and you may tell yourself: "this is not my beautiful wife!" and you may tell yourself: "this is not my beautiful house!" and you may ask yourself: "well, how did i get here?"

time isn't holding up, time isn't after us, time is a pony ride! (images described in alt text)

[cozylittleartblog]

me omw to scare mormons out of a wendys!! 🍂🖤🍟

ootd from like 2 weeks ago and yes that really happened

[cemeterygrace]

LADS IM PISSING MYSELF THERES RUMORS THAT WARPED IS COMING BACK NEXT YEAR FOR THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY

[humblewonderer]

every post I see about the new Quotev update gives off the vibe of a fallen nation, who's once prospering citizens have now become refugees and are pushed out into the cold, wide world to fend for themselves

[creature-once-removed]

every time I re read GtN I am caught off guard by how serious it is

Like, Gideon spends the first few pages checking everywhere for possibilities for Harrow's skeletons to ambush her. And then she nonchalantly tells Aiglamene that Harrow would do literally anything to hurt her.

You don't really notice it the first time around because of the lighthearted way it's written, but when you know the context for all of it, it becomes uncomfortably clear how intense and dangerous the situation is that Gideon tries so thoroughly to avoid here.

[booasaur]

Special Ops: Lioness - 1x07

[jacarandaaaas]

Mirabel Madrigal & Creativity:

So something I’ve realized after watching the movie a couple of times now is how mirabels story can easily correlate with the experience of someone creative when you’re only considered of use if you’re academically smart.

Not only do they refer to the magic as “gifts” and “gifted” very common terms associated with people who are considered academically smart but also the fact mirabel is shown as an artist. Our first introduction to her you see her room is plastered in artwork as a 5 year old and even after the prologue you still see she’s kept her artistic side. the thing is mirabel is incredibly talented she draws, she sews, she embroiders, paints, plays the accordion too! These are all incredible talents to possess and yet do we ever see her getting praised for them in the movie? not really. because mirabel doesn’t have a “gift” a literal magic gift yes but also could be interpreted for a creative as academic smarts. Creative thinking is something mirabel possesses and its quite literally the answer in the end but because she’s not smart in the expected way i.e academics she feels she’s not worth as much as others in her family.

I like to think making her an artist was an intentional choice as I know a lot of fellow artists have had people tell us it’s not a “useful” skill to have in the real world. It’s not worth taking the time doing when you could be pursuing medicine or law or something that uses your brain. Even in the ending of the movie mirabel tells them they’re “more than just your gift” which I feel can relate a lot to people who heavily rely on their academic achievements they can forget it’s ok to not do 100% every time and these ridiculous standards are just wearing you down.

So in conclusion I believe mirabels story resonates a lot with the experience of being a creative person but your skills not being seen as valuable. I just love that they made mirabel an artist to show how talented she actually is! she shows that creatives are valued and appreciated and needed and deserve to be encouraged not shot down! so thank you mirabel valentina rojas madrigal for being my favorite artist <3

[mirasmirages]

Fall In Line - Six - Obey

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Contains: Lab whump, accidental murder (maybe), restraints, mind control

Henry groaned as he hit the ground for the twelfth time that day.

"Close one." Brad reached a hand out to help him up.

Henry let him, but once he was up, he swiped a leg out and pulled on Brad's arm to make the older man crash to the floor.

"Cheater," Brad said, but didn't sound too mad about it.

They were doing balance practice today, fighting while standing on a balance beam. Henry had gotten pretty good at it when the beam was on the ground, but once the beam was lifted a few feet, it was like starting over. And Brad was fast. If Henry lost his balance for even a second, he had already lost.

"I'm never gonna win unless I cheat," Henry shrugged, and helped Brad up. "And I'm getting tired of losing."

Brad chuckled. "You sound like a villain."

The words sank into Henry's stomach and settled there, distracting him for the next round, and the next. When Brad decided they were done, he had won more than twenty times, and Henry had won twice.

"You're getting better," Brad remarked, walking Henry back to his room.

"Yeah," Henry said, but it didn't make him feel very good. "Hey, Brad?"

"Yes?"

"When I came here, it was because I was injured," Henry started. They had never talked about this before, and he wanted to find the right words so Brad wouldn't shut him down. "And I thought... I thought I would go home when I was better. But I am better now, aren't I? I'm walking and moving just fine. The stuff I'm doing with you, I didn't know how to do that before, so why do I need it now? Like, what's the point?"

"You can use it to impress girls," Brad suggested.

"No, but really," Henry said, stopping outside the door to his room. He was going crazy with his theories and no one to talk to about them. He needed to hear the truth. "What's going on?"

Brad opened the door, and nudged him when Henry didn't move. "We're here," he said. "Go on."

"Brad, please."

The pleasant look fell off Brad's face, turning strict. "Go."

Henry sulked, moving slowly back to his bed. A doctor put a hand on his back and pushed to make him move faster.

"I'm going," Henry grumbled and shook the doctor off.

Today was a test day, it seemed, with blood samples and test swabs and scratching his skin. It was like the first few months here all over again. He halfheartedly followed the instructions barked at him. If they couldn't be nice, why should he?

"How much time left?" he asked the young doctor who was poking his arm with something over and over again.

She didn't reply.

"Hey." He grabbed her hand, forcing her to stop. Her eyes shot up to meet his, bright blue and wide with surprise.

Everyone in the room turned to watch them.

"Let her go," another doctor said. Doctor Brooks. She was here a lot, enough for Henry to know her name.

"Tell me how much I have left," Henry said. He didn't feel like playing nice today. He tightened her grip on the girl, making her wince.

"Two more tests," Doctor Brooks bit out. "It should take less than an hour."

Henry pointedly let go of the girl's hand. She backed away from him. "See, it's not that hard to talk to me, is it."

He had known there would be consequences for being difficult. 'Threatening an employee', as they called it. But just because he knew it would happen didn't mean he would be happy about it.

They belted him down, with his wrists stuck to his waist and his body to the bed, helpless to do anything on his own. And while they were never gentle, some of them were rougher with him now. Little pinches and slaps, whispered insults where there used to be silence. All he could do was insult them back, until he spat at one and they gagged him.

"I like him better like this," a doctor commented to a nurse who was doing something with his arm again.

Henry wanted to strangle them both. He flexed his fingers and jerked against his restraints just to make the job harder for the nurse.

"I don't know," the nurse said. "Sedation had it's benefits. Are you sure we can't up his dosage?"

"Unfortunately. Brooks doesn't want it to interfere with the tests."

Henry flexed his hands. Tightened his fists. Jerked against his restraints.

The nurse slapped him on the arm in annoyance.

He did it again, and tore his hands free.

"Oh shit!"

The nurse and the doctor both jumped back, while Henry took the gag from his mouth and tore through the rest of his restraints. He was strong enough for that now. The doctors didn't understand how dangerous he could be if he wanted to. He jumped on the nurse, slamming the man to the ground with a hand around his neck.

"Security!" the doctor called through the door. "Security!"

"Did you feel safe like that," Henry hissed, shaking the nurse. "With your drugs and restraints and security? You think they can get here in time to save you?"

He tightened his grip, watching the man's face turn from red to purple.

"Let go of him!"

Several people burst through the door. Henry didn't look at them. Only the man under him, desperately clawing at his hand. Taking back some of the power they held over him. He could kill this man right now, and they couldn't stop him.

"Let. Him. Go."

Henry glanced up. Two guards, and Doctor Brooks. One of the security guards had a gun trained on him.

"Charles Duncan has spent too much money on this for you to shoot me," he said.

"If we shoot you we can fix you right up, don't you worry," Doctor Brooks said. "But it will hurt less if you cooperate. Let him go."

Henry considered his options, hated the fact that she was right. His hand tightened until he felt a crunch.

He looked down, instinctively letting go. The man's face was contorted in pain. The soft, crackly feeling of breaking cartilage echoed in his hand.

The guards rushed him. Henry didn't fight back, too stunned by what he had just done. They held him down, and Henry's body flooded with pain as they hit him with a taser of some kind.

He woke up in his bed, head fuzzy with sedatives. He was secured to his bed more severely than before, with thick cuffs around his wrists and ankles in addition to the belts. Something was covering his face.

"Mmh," he said, trying to open his mouth. He couldn't.

Doctor Brooks came to his bed, poked around a little, but didn't talk to him. She did something with his IV and went to use the phone on the wall.

Henry stared at the ceiling. Memories floated by, hard to pin down. The man's face turning purple. The crunch of his throat. The terror in his eyes. The feeling of power, of having turned the tables on one of them.

Time was hard to focus on when he was sedated, so Henry didn't try. He just let it flow past, until his mind would eventually clear.

"I hear you've been causing trouble."

Henry looked up to see Charles Duncan in the room, along with a brunette around Henry's age.

"Mmh," Henry said.

Mr. Duncan gestured at one of the nurses, and they removed the muzzle. Henry grimaced, trying to get the feeling off his face.

"Let's make sure that doesn't happen again, shall we? Let me introduce you to Miss Campbell."

The woman took a step forward, unsmiling.

Henry's stomach churned with worry. This was different from other times the doctors had decided to punish him for something. Mr. Duncan made it seem like he was gonna be tortured or something.

"Miss Campbell is a very talented girl." Mr. Duncan smiled, putting a hand on her shoulder. "I am very proud to have her work for me."

He let go and she went to stand at the side of Henry's bed.

Henry looked away in defiance.

"Look at me," Miss Campbell said, and Henry looked at her. Brown eyes and red lips and perfectly styled hair. There was something unsettling about her. "You will do everything Mr. Duncan tells you to. You will not harm him."

She stepped back.

Henry wasn't sure what was going on. This was extremely anticlimactic.

"Look at me," Mr. Duncan said.

Henry did.

"Tell me your name."

"Henry Baker."

Mr. Duncan looked at him. Waited.

"Henry Baker, sir," he corrected.

Henry shrugged.

"Say it."

"Henry Baker, sir," Henry said.

Mr. Duncan nodded. "You will address me as sir. You will treat anyone who works for me with respect. You will not harm any of them."

Henry scoffed, but he still didn't look away. He felt weird. His skin was tingling. His brain was tingling.

"Untie him," Mr. Duncan said. The belts and cuffs were removed. "Come here."

Without thinking, Henry went to stand in front of him.

"Kneel."

Henry went to his knees.

"Good," Mr. Duncan said. "Excellent job as usual, Ms Campbell. Henry, go back to bed. We're done here."

Next

[lattuce]

shoutout to media with only one female character that’s just a vessel for a sexual assault and/or pregnancy plot line with very little or no characterization beyond that

[idcallmyselfhuman]

This quest was short and sweet; I enjoyed it. I was kind of afraid they were going to pull another fetch quest that jebaits you into an assassination attempt, so this was really nice.

With all the survivors' talk of how Pilgrims 'are', as well as Aiden's general attitude towards the shitheads he encounters, you can sometimes forget that first and foremost, you are playing a brother.

My favorite quests are the ones where Aiden just shows how playful he can be, contrasting his own memories of himself as a child, ever the worrywart while his sister wanted to play with him. You start to wonder how much his memories of Mia affected his personality, since that was all he could hold on to in her absence.

[trentcrimminallybeautiful]

i have this really stupid idea in my head that im frankly a little obsessed with and the idea is this: trent crimm doing a drunk history episode on ted lasso's first tenure at richmond. is that how drunk history works? i don't think so. do i care? absolutely not. it's a special episode who cares because this image is not only hysterical to me but treasured. i treasure this image. i hold it close in my heart and also laugh and laugh and laugh.

[kyouka-supremacy]

kind of curious why you would say akutagawa + the other children in his group dearly love each other, it's not something i personally see from either the backstory short story or beast itself?