#ten men mbs

[nobodysdaydreams]

Okay now I'm really done. Thank you @mvshortcut for being a beta reader and approving my ten men dialogue! 🥰

Summary: The ten men make an interesting discovery

[sophieswundergarten]

I really want to see a hostage negotiation where the Ten Men have one of the kids or something, but the others have Crawlings

And Mccracken's like "..... Do we really need him?"

But in the end they have to go get him back because they know he'd give up all their secrets (probably on accident)

[sophieswundergarten]

#Source: The Activity Book#I wish I was joking#but no#what are they even going to do with that???#given their tendencies to resort to brute force/arson/explosions#(which are like the least subtle ways to kill someone)#I expect that gum didn’t get a lot of use#except maybe by Crawlings#who almost accidentally killed himself several times when he got the lethal version mixed up with his Minty Fresh Trident gum#or whatever idk I don’t chew gum#very curious now to hear y’all’s opinions on what type of gum Crawlings would chew#the mysterious Benedict Society#tmbs#crawlings#McCracken#the ten men

(@acollectionofcuriousreblogs)

#prev tags I'm dying#Random Non-Canonical TMBS Facts You May Not Know Part 3:#the Ten Men also carry antidote chewing gum in the frequent event that Crawlings is a dumbass once again (frequent)#ah who am I kidding. this is canon#also I bet they have it if they want to discreetly poison/kill someone?#probably government officials#or like. if they're stealing children then maybe they offer gum to the orphanage director/guardian etc#they'd have to not be on their guard though#I think you're right they probably got much less use out of the gum lmao#akjfhdkja but now I'm picturing#mid fight with Milligan. the shock watches and laser pointers and pencils just aren't cutting it.#Crawlings has a brilliant idea. a perfect plan. a failproof scheme.#he does the 'time out' signal to Milligan and is like 'hey man do you want some gum'#and Milligan. is just like. dude. c'mon.#do you really think I would fall for that.#I'm not mad just a little disappointed#and then Crawlings is like oh well. was worth a shot#ooh but now he sees the gum and he's like actually some gum might be nice actually. while I'm getting beat up#he pops it into his mouth and immediately collapses#and has to be resuscitated#either by an irate McCracken (old sport this is the THIRD time this week I'm *this* close to running you over with the Salamader)#or Milligan who just KNEW they'd have antidote gum because of course Crawlings would fuck it up somehow. of course#and he can't just let him die of course. unfortunately#so he gives him the antidote and he's like#'Can you breathe?'#and Crawlings is like uhhh what the actual FUCK just happened#and Milligan is like cool so you can breathe. moral obligation fulfilled. and immediately resumes beating the shit out of him#ANYWAYS#my apologies for writing an entire Ten Man crack fic in your notes <;33

#fucking. ran out of room in the tags BUT#what I was gonna say that got so rudely CUT OFF and SILENCED#Crawlings absolutely has trident minty fresh gum in the work briefcase#but he's got a stash of his favorite bright pink bubble gum somewhere#he doesn't bring it to work because he'll get bullied to hell and back by the homies#kinda doesn't help the image yknow#ANYWAYS#ten men#the ten men#crawlings#mccracken#garrotte#sharpe#I'm not gonna tag all the Ten Men but Katz brothers my problematic cringe fail faves <;33Reblog

(@mvshortcut)

Random TMBS Facts You May Not Know Part 3

One of the canonical weapons of the Ten Men is poisonous chewing gum.

[deeskip]

based on this

[fandom-queen-13]

do you think McCracken is really his name or did he just crack so many things they started calling him that

Personally, I think it is his name

that being said does Crawlings get his name from crawling into situations he can't get out of

[bi-demon-ium]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @mvshortcut !!!!!! 🎉

[azaka3507]

OH MY GOD GUYS. I JUST HAD THE BEST IDEA EVER. HORROR ANALOG TMBS. IM SO HAPPY I THOUGHT OF THIS IM JUMPING AROUND!!! SO LIKE I WANNA TELL U GUYS BUT LIKE I WANT U GUYS TO SOLVE IT TOO FJSJFNSJISOWNS IM TOO EXCITED TO HOLD A PROPER CONVERSATION 🙁🙁🙁🙁 BUT LIKE IM THINKING OF MANDELA CATALOGUE WAY AND I ALSO WANNA KNOW WHAT YEAR DO U GUYS THINK TMBS WAS IN LIKE IN THE BOOKS

so im gonna make like another account js for this and maybe im gonna use myself as characters (expect kate to have black hair guys) for like pictures and stuff IDK GUYS AM I TOO DERANGED HELP???? IF ANYONE WANTS TO JOIN IN PLS DO SO!!!! LIKE IT'D BE A FUN GROUP ACTIVITY 😭😭😭 (guys pls I'm too excited for this help)

[tmbs-misinformation]

Constance once drew on Crawling's face with colorful Sharpies.

It took forever to wash off.

Both Curtain and Benedict were holding in their laughter.

OH MY GOD IM SO SORRY, I DONT USE MY CURRENT ACCOUNT THAT MUCH ANYMORE SKANFJEIEND ANYWAYS ‼️‼️‼️‼️

[theworldiswhispering]

Pacifist girlies would love Milligan from the Mysterious Benedict Society

[phtalogreenpoison]

In which I interrupt my Reynie posting to tear the Ten Men into shreds

First, I will go through the ten items in the briefcase (based on my memory of the puzzle book I fixated on once like seven years ago) and very helpful notes from @mvshortcut, and then I will get into other weapons and general aesthetic.

whip like neckties – to represent a tie (haha) to the overseer/manager role and how this is inherently tied to the white supremacist ultra capitalist patriarchal system, especially through a supposedly objective lens (and a definitely Western one too)

sedative handkerchiefs – to represent lulling people into complacency with the system

razor sharp pencils – to deter competition by tearing their opposition to shreds verbally

laser pointers – to represent using technology that may or may not be made to help and then turning it around and using it against people

poisonous chewing gum - to represent the few perks given to people who have to participate in hustle culture either in the office or “fun” things

staple removers – to represent removing enforcing teeth from some actually good project by seemingly helping but actually by force if you look even a bit closer

paper clip chains – to represent the chains of piecemeal bureaucracy that delays action and justice for years

calculator bombs – to represent technology without safeties to satisfy greed

business cards – to represent how insidious and seemingly needed unregulated capitalism (which could include a kind of honeytrap)

letter openers - to represent the systematic tearing down of work of people from historically disadvantaged groups, or perhaps to weaponize the anticipation of waiting for their approval or lack thereof

Now for the other weapons:

the shock wristwatches – that represent using shock factor over one incident to distract from larger problems over time

clipboard boomerangs – to represent how checking boxes can be used to deter action for needed justice

cigar box – to represent toxic masculinity in the office, especially with sexual harassment

evil tooth – to represent a gluttony of sorts for power wealth and lording it over others through unfair means

dagger shoes – to represent stabbing people who keep trying to climb up the ladder from the ground down

Plus there is also the fact that the main Ten Men (I'm thinking of McCracken in particular) are depicted as white, and how this in and of itself excuses so much of their actions to society because it ties into white collar crime as well as getting a slap on the wrist because surely they seem like upstanding members of society? And then there is the Katz brothers being described as blond and blue eyed, which could be a reference to conservative fascist corporate influence, and their handsome sharpness is considered the ideal, as opposed to say another blond like Milligan (who is much more scruffy and is in the metaphorical dirt of allyship, at least in my headcanons). As a final note, these are all my interpretations and a slight rant, but I appreciate how this series makes you think, and you can read it and reread it at different levels and layers as you grow up.

[nobodysdaydreams]

I know it's late for this, but here's how I think characters in the Mysterious Benedict Society would have reacted to the solar eclipse.

Nicholas- obviously he'd be so excited for this. The world goes dark, he passes out with joy.

Rhonda- buys everyone eclipse glasses and makes sure they understand the dangers of looking at the sun

Number Two- complains about the traffic because tons of tourists are coming for the eclipse and her mom has a ton of weird conspiracies about what the eclipse means, but once the eclipse is happening, she very much enjoys it.

Milligan- happy that he's able to experience such a unique and special moment with his daughter that he will treasure forever

Miss. Perumal- educates the children on how solar eclipses happen and bakes cookies for the watch party

Kate- climbs a tree so she can be closer to the sun and get a better view

Martina- was planning on forcing the tetherball team to practice through the eclipse, but begrudgingly cancels practice to join Kate in the tree

Reynie- is excited about the eclipse in a very average, but endearing way.

Sticky- is fascinated by and excited for the eclipse, but then he saw a video about what happened to that one person that stared at the sun and even though he knows that won't happen to him because he has the right glasses, he still can't get the thought out of his head. His friends help him calm down, and he ends up enjoying the eclipse.

Constance- pretends she doesn't care about it that much, but she actually does and writes an incredibly beautiful poem about it afterwards which she shows to no one.

Nathaniel/Curtain- cancels classes at the Institute to view the eclipse and somehow turns it into a metaphor about himself. I don't know exactly how he would do this, something about the moon being the darkness of Nicholas that blocks out the brilliance of the sun (himself), but the sun is all powerful and shall surely rise again, I don't know, something like that. However, if this happened during season 2, he would 100% incorporate it into his cult's doctrine just because he can. He'd make that the day and hour of his evil plans just for the symbolism.

Jackson and Jillson- they also saw the video about the people who stared at the sun and they have made it their personal mission to warn everyone about proper eye protection

SQ- he's happy to be able to spend the day with his dad watching the sky. He later draws a really beautiful picture of the eclipse.

Jeffers- stares directly at the sun and suffers permanent eye damage despite being warned multiple times

Dr. Garrison- fascinated by the eclipse for scientific reasons, but takes advantage of the distraction to escape and begin hatching an evil plot

Marlon- does not care at all that the eclipse is happening but goes along with whatever Curtain wants

Captain Noland- views the eclipse as a sign of coming doom

Cannonball- is 100% on board with whatever conspiracy Noland believes

Number Two's mom- views the eclipse as a sign of coming doom

Number Two's brother- is 100% on board with whatever conspiracy his mom believes

Number Two's sister- doesn't care at all that the eclipse is happening, but goes along with whatever her mom wants

And I know I've been doing mostly show characters, but...

Crawlings- stares directly at the sun and suffers permanent eye damage. But he only stared at it with one eye because he kept the other one closed thinking that would somehow save him from being burned, so now he wears an eyepatch over his bad eye, but that's not the same one as the one where he lost his eyebrow, so it doesn't cover that damage either, he just looks like a mess.

The Rest of the Ten Men- think Crawlings is an idiot for looking at the sun and claim they don't care at all that the eclipse is happening (Sharpe lowkey does, would never admit it).

Seymour, the orphanage cat- continues being a cat. Is very confused when it is suddenly nighttime. Then when its daytime again, he shrugs it off and goes about his business.

[sophieswundergarten]

Other Things I Think the Ten Men Should Have in Their Briefcases

Highlighters with Acid in them

"Erasers" that are Really Dense and Can Be Thrown

Very Sharp Staple Removers

Scissors whose blades can be separated and used like Daggers

Really Strong Rubber Bands that can be used like the paperclip chains (Or to cut off someone's circulation. Y'know)

Pushpins that are Tiny Poison Injectors

Loose change that is actually Super Magnets

Post-it Notes that give Very Bad Paper Cuts

Label-maker whose ink causes Hallucinations Upon Contact

Scotch tape that Binds To/Destroys camera lenses

Glue that can be Poured into Any Mechanism and Gum Up The Works

Cuff-links with Tiny Razor Blades in them

[oflightningandstars]

Hi! As you know, I am always up for MBS Space Opera content! Do you know how you're going to work Sticky into the world, yet? And are the Ten Men going to be called that, still? (I can imagine they might have other ways to hurt people than office supplies) Thank you!! :)

Thank you for the ask!!

Sticky!!!! His backstory is pretty similar to the books (though overall that can be said for a lot of the kids) in terms of he grew up with his parents and was pressured to do well in academic competitions and he eventually ran away. In the AU specifically, he initially grew up on a planet but then his parents sold their home to get a ship to travel to the various competitions. With the prize winnings, they would get bigger and fancier ships, which always feel very empty, and never anything like (the home they once lived in on the planet)a home.

He runs away at about the same age as in the books, but based on when [plot] kicks off, he's on his own for longer. During this time, I think he maybe gets a remote job under a pseudonym and rents a small room on a hub station. He visits archives when he can and continues absorbing information about anything and everything, re-learning how to learn for himself and enjoy it again.

The Ten Men are indeed there! And they absolutely have ten ways (minimum) to kill people. I appreciate you asking about them because figuring them out has been tricky and this made me double down on trying to get answers (still hasn't happened, but working on it 😄) The thing with the Ten Men is that their businessmen outfits are really really good, I don't think I had fully appreciated before how it lets them move about the world undetected/without drawing suspicion, because a businessman with a suitcase is totally innocuous, there are a million of those. But there's also something about the societal status related to that role, as demonstrated with wearing a suit and fancy watches and stuff, which also impacts what roles they might try to blend in with. I haven't been able to find a particularly sci-fi niche for them to blend in with, so currently they are still generic businessmen, but with some more sci-fi vibes, especially with the objects they carry. However, this is still very much a work in progress :)

Also AU stuff is really interesting because it forces me to do character analysis stuff, thinking about things like what the core elements of a character are and what is their role in the story and how would that translate, and my brain normally just doesn't do analysis like that, so it's an interesting challenge!

[deeskip]

"Again as if in a dance, the Recruiters adopted different poses. Some spread their arms as if welcoming an embrace. Others reached out as if to shake hands in greeting. And still others raised their hands, palms forward, in a calming gesture that Reynie recognized too well. All of them were smiling, smiling."

[papermillll]

the best way to describe the different vibes of the tenmen (book) and the greys (show) is that the tenmen are feral wolves, while the greys are domesticated dogs

[plentyghosts]

Hey thought I had what if. what if the new mystery sister has the Ten Men