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cafedanslanuit · 4 years ago

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↪ commissioned work! this was a request by @joy1579. for more info about my commissions, check my blog ♡

summary: when mc gets into a car accident, jumin ends up with her medical records. he never thought he would find out about what happened to his wife six years ago.

pairing: jumin x mc

warnings: mentions of suicide

words: 2.7k

“Mr. Han”

Jumin turned his head to his secretary, his right eyebrow arched in annoyance. He knew it was uncalled for, but it had been a really stressful morning for him. He was in the middle of his third and longest meeting and it didn’t seem like he would be getting any results n that day, no matter how different proposals he brought to the table. Knowing beforehand how difficult this particular client used to get, he had asked Jaehee not to interrupt him under any circumstances. And that was the first thing she had done. Jumin massaged his right temple with his fingers, his gaze hardening under Jaehee’s concerned expression.

“Assistant Kang, I’m in the middle of a meeting.”

“It’s MC,” she quickly said. “She’s been in an accident.”

Hours later, Jumin couldn't remember if he apologized to his client or if Jaehee had to do it for him. He just knew a couple of seconds later, he was riding the elevator to the main floor, his assistant by his side, her face much paler than usual.

“You weren’t picking up and apparently she set Zen as her other emergency number. He’s on his way to the hospital but called me to let us know.”

“How bad is it?”

“They didn’t tell him specifics but it seems a car hit her while crossing the street."

Jumin wasn't surprised when he realized Driver Kim was already waiting for him when he arrived at the main floor. Jaehee was definitely diligent and was used to thinking ahead in any situation. He muttered a 'thank you' and got in the car in a hurry, closing the door a little louder than usual.

He fixed his tie as Driver Kim hit the engine. He stayed silent the whole journey, his mind fixed on the memory of her wife's eyes as she wished him a good day that morning.

The messenger had been blowing up after Zen had announced MC's accident. Jaehee and Saeyoung were trying to calm down Yoosung, promising him they would inform him about MC's status as soon as they heard something.

"Could you stop?" Jumin muttered, looking at Zen's shaky leg. The actor shot back a glare at him, his leg still moving.

"I'm worried, okay? It's been more than forty minutes since we got here and she's still in the Emergency Room. We still don't know how bad it was."

"I know. But you shaking this bench with your leg isn't helping."

"Oh, I'm sorry Mr. Trust-Fund Kid, what have you been doing to help this situation other than looking at your phone?"

"I've made arrangements for MC to be sent to one of C&R's partners’ clinics as soon as she's out of the ER," he replied, looking back at his phone.

"Why am I not surprised this is about money?" Zen snickered. Before Jumin could reply, they both shot up their heads at the doctor calling out MC's name.

"I'm her husband," Jumin said and just at that moment, Zen noticed how his eyes were a little wider than usual. It seemed not even Jumin could maintain a cool head under the situation, even if he pretended to do so. "How is she?"

"Your wife was hit by a car. She has two broken ribs and a concussion. No internal organs were compromised, but she needs to stay overnight for observation."

"I've made arrangements for her to be sent to a private clinic. The ambulance is awaiting orders, when will they be able to take her?"

"In that case, please go to our information module and they will help you," the doctor said. Without wasting another moment, Jumin started walking to the said module, faintly hearing Zen thanking the doctor before following him.

He ignored the actor's rant about him being impolite to the doctor as he signed over several paperwork for MC's transfer. After huffing at him for the third time, Zen told him he would be heading to the clinic before him, as he rode his motorcycle to the hospital. Jumin nodded as he kept writing his name in almost every form, his hand in pain from the tension he was under.

He was about to sign the last one when he noticed the words "mental health", "psychiatry" and other things that weren't related to the accident.

"What's this about?" he asked. The lady behind the desk took a quick look at the paper before going back to her computer.

"Due to the nature of the accident and her past medical record, you have to sign this. It just says you will be responsible for her mental health as she will leave our facilities without staying at the psychiatric ward,” she said in a monotone voice.

"What does her accident have to do with mental health?"

"Your wife’s records show she was admitted here six years ago for a suicide attempt, so it's policy to keep a watch on her after accidents that could potentially be something else," she explained, without taking her eyes off her screen.

Jumin blinked, trying to process what he had just heard. His pen shook in his hand as his mind raced with different thoughts, the threads becoming more and more knotted the more he tried to make sense of it. Without another word, he signed the last paper and handed it back to the woman, turning in his heel to go to the ambulance.

He didn't remember when they got MC on the ambulance or if they asked him anything before driving to the clinic. Sitting on the passenger's seat of the vehicle, his eyes were focused on an idle point in front of him, the words of the woman playing on loop inside his head.

One week later, MC was discharged from the clinic without major complications. Jumin had been by her side as much as he could, going to the extent of hiring a nurse for when he had to go to work. She had refused at first, but after Jumin’s insistence, she reluctantly accepted. They had told her it would take from six to eight weeks to recover, so she guessed she could make an effort to make her husband feel safe.

Almost one month after MC’s accident had passed, and still, thoughts about her medical records ran across Jumin’s head every minute of every day. He felt a lump of his throat every time his mind considered the possibility her latest accident may have been an attempt to end her life. Was she unhappy? Did she want something he couldn’t provide? Was there anything he could do to spare her from her pain?

He knew he wasn't supposed to have that information. Her medical records were private and if it weren't for the car accident, he wouldn't have been able to know otherwise. To be honest, he was still doubtful the woman behind the information desk should have given him that kind of information. He was sure it was supposed to be against the law. He huffed. He knew public hospitals were definitely not the best, but he never anticipated a breach of information. Medical records were supposed to be private. He should have never had access to that kind of information. Without the lack of professionalism from the medical staff, there couldn’t have been any other way for him to get the information. The only other way he could have known was for someone to hack--

Saeyoung.

Jumin had never taken out his phone as fast as he did in that moment. Entering the messenger, he found Saeyoung’s picture and hit the call button.

“Hello~ Is this by any chance my dear Elly?” Saeyoung greeted him.

"Did you know?"

"I know a lot of things, for I am God Seven!" he chuckled.

"Did you know MC had tried to kill herself six years ago?"

The immediate silence on the other side of the line only confirmed his initial suspicion. Jumin heard a sigh from the hacker, along with some movement that let him know Saeyoung was changing rooms to talk privately.

"Yes, I knew," Saeyoung said, his voice with no remnants of the teasing tone he had just used. "Did she tell you?"

"The hospital wanted to keep her in the psychiatric ward before I sent her to the clinic. They didn't believe it was an accident".

"Oh, but it was!" Saeyoung assured him. "Remember they caught the guy a week later? I was the one that sent the videos to the police so they could identify him. Well, Zen sent them, but I gave him the tapes from the surveillance cameras that caught the accident and posterior escape."

"You are… sure it was an accident?" Jumin muttered, sitting down on the sofa.

"Jumin," Saeyoung said. "I would never lie about something like that".

The call was cut short after that, Saeyoung wishing MC a quick recovery and cracking a joke before saying goodbye. Not even a full minute after the call had ended, he saw MC coming from their bedroom, slow steps as she made her way to the kitchen.

“My love, you should be resting,” Jumin said as he stood up and joined her, his arm trying to steady her healing body. “If you need anything you can just call for me.”

MC shook her head. “It’s okay, I have to start with small steps, right?” she said, but let Jumin guide her to the kitchen table and took a seat. “But if you could brew some tea for me, that’d be great,” she smiled. Jumin nodded and started filling the kettle with some water.

If the accident had been just that-- an accident, then it was the right call not to tell the clinic about her medical records. Even if he was glad she hadn’t tried to take her own life this time, it didn’t erase the fact there had been an actual attempt a few years ago. What had made her take that choice? Had she regretted it? Would she ever consider it again if she didn’t find herself happy by his side?

“Are you okay?”

The voice of his wife brought him back to reality and saw the kettle had overflowed long ago, water still coming from the faucet. He closed the tap and nodded, pouring the excess of water on the sink.

“Are you sure?” she insisted. “You can talk to me about anything, you know.”

Jumin turned around and looked at her wife’s concerned face, his walls breaking down almost instantly at her doe eyes and small pout. He took a deep breath, knowing it would probably be the hardest conversation he would have with his wife.

“I saw your medical records,” Jumin confessed. It pained his heart to see her expression change to a fearful one, her eyes leaving his own as she seemed to search for something on the floor. MC began fidgeting with her hands, rubbing them together hastily.

Jumin let out a long sigh and sat next to her. There was nothing he wanted more but to take her in her arms, never wanting to see her afraid again, but he didn’t want to hurt her. He knew her ribs were still healing. Instead, he took her hands in his and squeezed them gently, trying to calm her down.

“You don’t have to be afraid,” he said, his thumb stroking the back of his wife’s hand. “I just… I don’t understand. I want to know why.”

“Does it matter why?” MC quickly answered, her eyes still not meeting his.

“It does to me. I never felt more afraid than the day Assistant Kang informed me you had been in an accident. The sole idea of losing you is a nightmare I never want to go through. I wish I could understand why you took that decision so I make sure you never feel that same way again.”

A faint of a smile appeared on MC’s lips.

“Jumin… I-- I was in a very bad place. And I got help. I went to therapy and I… I’m fine. I was ‘clean’ for over a year before I met you. You don’t need to worry about me,” she assured him, her hands squeezing his back.

“If this isn’t supposed to make me worry, why didn't you tell me?”

He saw MC tensing up, a small grimace on her face as she turned her body to him. Her expression was stern, but her trembling bottom lip gave her away.

“Because…” she started, making an effort not to shed a tear while making her point across “that's not who I am anymore. Meeting you, someone that didn’t know me at my worst-- that was all I ever wanted,” she admitted with a sad smile. “I wanted a chance to meet someone who wouldn’t look at me like I’m broken, or like I can break again. Because I won’t. I’m not that woman anymore, Jumin, and I don’t want you to look at your wife and only think about her worst times.”

Jumin listened intently to MC in silence. He had never thought of her as broken, not even before finding out about what had happened. But it made sense his worry could make her feel insecure about her progress. He was thankful she put it into words, he wouldn’t have wanted to make her feel uncomfortable in any way.

“And I also didn’t tell you because I don’t owe my story to anyone. Not even my husband. This story is mine to tell or to silence. And I know it’s not like you looked for it, so I’m trying to be as open as I can, but--”

“MC,” Jumin interrupted her. “My love. My wife,” he took her hands to his mouth and kissed them. “I’m so happy you stayed,” he whispered, his voice breaking slightly at the end. Tears started falling down from MC’s cheeks and she bit her lip, trying to calm herself down. “Maybe I wasn’t there for your worst. But I can promise I’ll be there for your best. I hope your best can be by my side.”

MC smiled and tried to dry the tears on her face with her shoulder. She winced in pain at the motion and immediately Jumin let go of her hands and offered her his handkerchief. MC accepted it and softly patted her skin.

“I didn’t want to tell you about it because of what happened to Rika,” MC confessed in a soft voice, her eyes searching her husband’s. “I know how dear she was to you. I didn’t want you to relive any bad memories.”

“Losing Rika was… worse for Jihyun than it was for me.”

“Maybe. But you told me she was your only female friend. That must have meant something,” MC reasoned, giving him his handkerchief back. Jumin set in on the table.

“I miss her,” he sighed. It was MC’s turn to take his hands in comfort. “But… It's been already six years since she left us. It still hurts, sure, but never enough to turn a blind eye at my wife’s pain. She was my friend but you’re the love of my life. There’s never going to be anything or anyone more important than you.” He paused and took a deep breath. “I… I understand why you would want to keep it private but please, never do so in fear of upsetting me. With you by my side, there isn’t anything I can’t handle,” he said, taking her hands to his lips and leaving yet another kiss on them.

“I love you,” MC whispered, cupping Jumin’s face with her right hand. She smiled when her husband leaned his face against her palm and placed a kiss there.

“I love you too,” Jumin said, his eyes fixed on hers. “And I mean every word. I will make sure our years together are the best for both of us. I’ll keep the promise I made the day we got married five years ago: from this day on, you have a safe place in my arms.”

MC smiled and nodded, remembering her husband’s wedding vows. As he kissed her palm again, she realized she had nothing to worry about. This was still her second chance for a new life.

#mystic messenger #mysme #jumin han #mysme jumin #mm jumin #mm #jumin x mc #mysme jumin x mc #allie does commissions

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douchebagbrainwaves · 3 years ago

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THE COURAGE OF PRODUCTS

Although a lot of money to keep it. They're the skiers who ski on the diamond slopes. But other considerations can outweigh the advantages of young founders are. Some are fit only for entry level jobs, but others are ready to rule the world. It's not unheard of for VCs to meet you when they have no intention of funding you, just to pick your brain for a competitor. The most famous example is probably Steve Wozniak, who originally wanted to build microcomputers for his then-employer, HP. I mean the structure of the calculation. Asking whether you're default alive or default dead, but we're counting on investors to save us. One of my most vivid memories from our startup is going to visit Greylock, the famous Boston VCs. The trends we've been seeing are probably not YC-specific. To the extent there is a peloton of younger startups behind them. It was supposed to come up with surprising new ideas.

Some popular magazines feature articles of this type on the cover of every issue. They're bolder because they know what they're doing on that computer, you'll find that everyone else still shares, you're in a job that feels safe, you are getting together with a group of other people who also want to look at the employment agreement you sign when you get hired. Even hackers can't tell. From that point, all Microsoft had to do was play hardball with licensees and copy more innovative products reasonably promptly. There were a lot of small, inexpensive computers before the Mac. A third and quite significant advantage of angel rounds is that they're often made by people working at home on their own startup is probably going to be an artist, which is the same thing as money. If it is possible to make yourself into a great hacker except by working with him, hackers themselves can't tell how good they are. They were invented by McCarthy in the course of developing Lisp. Start small. Startups hurt themselves way more often than not it makes it harder. In fact, this is part of what makes them gripping also makes them irrelevant.

If one person gets more, someone else has to get less. I propose the following solution: instead of starting to ask too late whether you're default alive or default dead. That's a big change from the recipe for winning in the past century. Boston, it's even more true of every other city. Apparently when Robert first met him, Trevor had just begun a new scheme that involved writing down everything about every aspect of his life on a stack of index cards, which he carried with him everywhere. And they will. Which means for a group of people are never able to act as if they were paid a huge amount, or if the domain was interesting and none of the local farmers wants one, how will this sound to investors? There is one other job besides sales where big companies can hire first-rate people: in the top management jobs.

And, like Microsoft, they're losing. Was it that Europeans are somehow racially superior? Startups are not magic. I need to give an example of a big company—and that scale of improvement can change social customs. But they're not so advanced as they think; obviously they still view office space as a badge of rank. There may well be something that does, but if you could read the minds of the consumers, you'd find these factors were all blurred together. And finally, if a good investor has committed to fund you if you try to raise money. But the superficial ugliness of Perl is not the main thing they want. No doubt Bill did everything he could to steer IBM into making that blunder, and he has done an excellent job of exploiting it, but to write a spec for it, but if you could, I don't mean to suggest by this comparison that types of work that depend more on talent are always more admirable. Though, frankly, the fact that he has to do if you're not. Which means investors will get less stock and less control.

Working for yourself doesn't have to advertise. And fortunately at least two of these three qualities can be cultivated. We would have much preferred a 100% chance of $1 million to a 20% chance of $10 million, even though theoretically the second is worth twice as much. Get into the habit of thinking of software as having users. Industrialization didn't spread much beyond those regions for a while. The whole shape of deals is changing. If you're free of a misconception that everyone else, including your family and friends, will discard all the low bits and regard you as having a single occupation at any given moment he may need to be in a situation with two things, measurement and leverage. You please or annoy customers wholesale. And being a boss is also horribly frustrating; half the time: it's hard to predict which startups will succeed. I'd become so used to publishing online that the old method now seemed alarmingly unreliable, like navigating by dead reckoning once you'd gotten used to a GPS.

I was supposed to come up with as a technologist in residence. The third big lesson we can learn from open source and blogging? They don't want to abandon. And the second could probably be condensed into two words: give up. Most founders doing series A deals would prefer to take half as much stock, and then see what valuation they could get for the second half of the money to buy ads on Yahoo to promote their brand. This talk was written for an audience of investors. They allow measurement because they're small, and they asked what should we do? There seem to be most productive when they're paid in proportion to the size of the tree structure that every large organization is forced to adopt. You can see how dependent you've become on something by removing it suddenly. From what I've read about hunter-gatherers have much more freedom. If by the next time you need to get as much of your life you devote to your work. If you plan to get rich, and this is critically important for startups.

Thanks to Geoff Ralston, Maria Daniels, Sam Altman, Jessica Livingston, Jackie McDonough, and the friends I promised anonymity to for their feedback on these thoughts.

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mystic-messenger-writing · 6 years ago

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Okay, so, I've been reading though your blog, and absolutely love it. I had a bit of a request. RFA + Vanderwood, Unknown, and V reacting to your mean ex boyfriend. Like, not mean as in abusive, but one of those exes that get really angry when you break up with them, and they kinda stalk you/demand to get back together, or they try and sabotage things you work really hard on.

I’ve never had an ex and hopefully these don’t sound too similar! Also, sorry for taking so long to write this, I really appreciate your patience. But thank you so much for the request and I hope that you enjoy!! ^^

Yoosung

Yandere mode: activated

Yoosung is somewhat jealous of your ex, he hates the idea that someone like him had you as a partner

He hates how your ex is contantly asking for the two of you to get back together

It makes Yoosung so mad that he ends up crushing your boyfriend’s phone when he stopped you and Yoosung while the two of you were on a date

This finally made your ex realize that Yoosung can be scary he needed to leave the two of you alone for good

You were thankful to Yoosung for getting rid of your ex, kissing him as a sign of gratitude which made any traces of yandere Yoosung disappear as blushie Yoosung came back, much to your amusement

Zen

This man would not put up with your ex’s crap

Zen would be completely protective of you, making sure that you kept your distance from your clingy ex

When he once saw your ex in public, Zen slung his arm around your shoulder and kissed your cheek, then giving your ex the meanest glare he could

Zen left you alone for a minute and when he saw your ex trying to get back together with you, Zen straight up punches him in the face

Your ex finally backs off after receiving a broken nose, making your extremely relieved

Zen would always brag about being your knight in shining armor but he wasn’t just all talk, he would always protect you from anyone who would dare try and hurt you

Jaehee

Jaehee would act calm and collected in front of your ex unless they tried anything on you

Once your ex found you that you were dating a girl, he was furious and demanded to get back with him

Jaehee could tell how uncomfortable you were and told your ex off, ending it with a smack to his cheek as she lead you away from him

She had helped you to block his number and block him from social media sites, there was no way she was going to let him hurt you

The two of you saw him once more in public but as soon as he made eye contact with Jaehee, he ran away

Being with Jaehee always made you feel safe and happy and she would always protect you from any douche ex’s you had

Jumin

The second you ex boyfriend bothered you, Jumin was on it

When your ex demanded that the two of you should get back together, Jumin quickly intervened

He called his security team to teach your ex a lesson on respect as your ex quickly apologized for his behaviors

But it wasn’t enough for Jumin as he personally saw your ex to deliver a swift punch to him, telling him that if he made you feel uncomfortable again he would ruin him

Jumin made sure to give you lots of cuddles and kisses that night, promising that your ex would no longer bother you as long as he was around

And Jumin wasn’t planning on leaving anytime soon

Seven

Having a hacker as a boyfriend definitely had its benefits

When your ex started harassing you to get back together with him over text, you let Seven know about it and he was on it

He hacked into your ex’s phone and erased its memory and sent one message before permenantly shutting down his phone:

‘If you bother MC again I will personally come find you and teach you what happens when you mess with my girl’

You hadn’t heard a word from your ex since Seven took care of him, making you extremely relived and thankful

The thought of anyone, especially your ex, harassing you made Seven’s blood boil so he made a promise to always keep the creepers away from you

V was always known as a pacifist… until he met your ex

Recently, your ex boyfriend had been harassing you via text but it became worse when he stopped you and V in public and demanded that you get back together with him

V’s grip on your hand tighten as he calmly explained that the two of you were now a happy couple

But when your ex wasn’t buying it, V went up to him and whispered into his ear

Your ex slowly backed off, apologizing for bothering you before running off

When you asked V what he said, he shrugged and told you that he said if your ex ever bothered you again, he’d personally break every bone in your ex’s body

V kissed you as you thought how it was possible for your angel boyfriend to have such a dark side

Unknown

Saeran’s rage had begun to wear off over time as the two of you built a relationship

You had always tried to keep him calm until the day he saw your ex in public

Your ex casually slung his arm around your shoulder and begged you to get back together with him

But he jumped in surprise when he saw Saeran, giving your ex the most menacing death glare you had ever seen

Your ex quickly apologized and ran off in the other direction as Saeran pulled you protectively close to him

Saeran kissed the top of your head and mumbled an apology for his actions but you knew from that moment on that you would always be safe in his warm, protective arms

Vanderwood

Vanderwood wasn’t always the most affectionate boyfriend around, until he met your ex

When your ex started harassing you over text to get back together with you, Vanderwood snatched your phone and started typing

Without a word, he left your home and returned about an hour later

Vanderwood smirked as he told you that your ex boyfriend wouldn’t be bothering you anymore

When you asked what he did, Vanderwood shrugged and said that me met your ex and beat the crap out of him

Vanderwood shyly kissed you, telling you that he would protect against any of your ex’s or any guy that would dare try and hurt you

#mystic messenger #mystic messenger headcanon #mystic messenger imagines #mystic messenger Yoosung #mystic messenger Zen #mystic messenger Jaehee #mystic messenger Jumin #mystic messenger Seven #mystic messenger V #mystic messenger Unknown #mystic messenger Vanderwood

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shadowsong26fic · 6 years ago

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AU Outlines: Other Fandoms Edition

So I know that probably like zero of my followers on this blog even go here but I was watching Person of Interest lately, and I’ve also been reading occasional Supernatural spoilers, because I used to be in that fandom and I occasionally get curious. Especially this most recent season. Naturally, this woke up some old characters/situations/etc. that I used to work with, which I’ve been occasionally toying with in the back of my head when I’m bored and/or procrastinating other projects.

I’ve been going back and forth on how I feel about the one plotline that interests me this season (and by back and forth I mean I was really excited when I first read that a particular character was back; engaged by the summaries/etc. I read from his first couple episodes, the third one intrigued me until I read more detailed spoilers and then I started to side-eye it a little bit...)

And then I read up on last week’s episode. And nope, all my excitement is gone, replaced by Pissed for reasons I’m not sure I can actually articulate. (Though I kind of attempted to in the tags here on my personal blog.)

...honestly, I probably should’ve known better; making this kind of storyline really pay off/work would require a lot of attention given to a tertiary character, and given SPN’s track record with the internal worlds and motivations of characters who are not the Big Three, and the fact that they’ve been ignoring a lot of their established angel/vessel lore, the way Claire’s backstory more or less got completely forgotten...I should not have gotten my hopes up. Sigh.

ANYWAY this is now officially Spite Fic(tm). Here, have an outline of a Supernatural/Person of Interest crossover.

Starring Nick.

...uh, before I actually start, I should probably get some background out of the way.

For those of you who are unfamiliar, Person of Interest is a TV show that ran for five seasons, 2011 - 2016. Without c/ping the opening narration, the basic premise of the show is that, in the wake of 9/11, genius software engineer Harold Finch built a surveillance and analysis program, in an effort to prevent similar future tragedies. Out of fear that his creation would be abused, he designed the Machine as a closed system--basically, all that’s provided is an ID number (usually an SSN, at least for US citizens; but Our Heroes get a green card number in one episode, and a student ID number in another), and the person that number indicates is key to unravelling whatever is going down. The Machine was initially designed to predict mass casualty events/terrorism and provide the (relevant) number to the designated government operatives, at which point human intelligence takes over. However, the Machine also identifies things like…gang warfare/one-on-one premeditated murder (irrelevant numbers). That’s where Our Heroes come in.

The first half of the series is basically a procedural with a twist—each episode, the main characters get an irrelevant number (or more; the record was I believe 38 in one episode). They don’t always know how that person is involved, whether they’re the victim or the killer/perpetrator. In a few memorable cases, the number was arguably both.

Then, in the second half, a rival AI (Samaritan) is brought online, and the series becomes somewhat darker in tone and shifts into a cyberpunk apocalypse story. With a few regular irrelevant numbers thrown in on occasion as well, for good measure. For the purposes of this outline, we don’t care so much about POI B, for reasons I will explain, but it bears mentioning. Especially since Greer is still hanging around and trying to bring Samaritan or something similar online.

Right. On to some memorable/notable/important characters.

Our Heroes are Finch, who, as I said, designed and built the Machine. For various reasons, he’s living off the grid (he’s a very private person). Using a backdoor built into the Machine, as of when the series starts, he receives the irrelevant numbers. But he lacks the skills/ability to intervene directly, so he recruits John Reese.

Reese, then, is Finch’s partner/employee/they are totally married; a former CIA assassin who is now presumed dead, he does most of the hands-on work with the numbers and becomes known as the Man in the Suit who is basically Batman.

Carter! Carter is freaking amazeballs; she is p. much the moral/ethical center of the show, one of their two cop friends who was actually trying to track them/Reese down and arrest him for the vigilante BS for the first half-season or so but then they became friends.

Fusco is their other cop friend; former dirty cop/member of an ring, initially recruited by Reese to work undercover in HR (as said ring is called), basically runs on a combination of Dogged Loyalty (the reason he joined HR in the first place, transfers that loyalty to Team Machine, gets his moral compass recalibrated, and becomes one of the most loveable dudes on the show) and Snark (featuring such delightful quotes as “What was I supposed to say? Sorry, boss, Agent King is really a superpowered nutball. Just ask my buddy, the urban legend.” Also at least once a season, he makes a comment to the effect of “just when I thought you guys couldn’t get any weirder…”).

(Also, he is, as my roommate puts it, Shaped Like A Dad.)

Shaw joins the team in Season 3; textbook (and canonical!) bisexual compact Persian sociopath (note: she has some sort of Axis II personality disorder that is occasionally called sociopathy in-universe, but that doesn’t quite fit); there’s…there’s really not much else one can say without just like summarizing everything she does or quoting ad nauseum.

Root! Root is introduced as a major antagonist; hacker/programmer on Finch’s level who works as a contract killer, her initial goal is to locate and free the Machine, which ends up recruiting her early in Season 3 and becoming…you know that particular kind of reformed villain that becomes the weird family member because yes they’re still kind of awful and murdery, and they did a great deal of damage to you and yours, but you’ve now been through Some Stuff together, and besides, they’re your awful and murdery, you know? So not exactly a redemption arc, but they’re one of the Heroes now and just kind of stick with it. Like Barbossa, in POTC. Or Vegeta. My roommate (referenced above) calls this the Weird Uncle trope. And she fits this trope really well and I love it. Also, she and Shaw are canonically girlfriends as of...s4 or s5, depending on how you look at things.

(Also, not necessarily relevant for this outline, but on the subject of Weird Uncles, one cannot talk about POI without mentioning Elias; our friendly neighborhood Mafia don. No, really.)

And Bear! Cannot forget Bear. Bear is Finch and Reese’s dog, acquired at the beginning of S2 and the most amazing. He also has a twitter! In Dutch!

On to some antagonists, Greer is not our friend. He works for/created a company called Decima Technologies; his goal is to bring an unrestricted AI online and let it run the world for complicated reasons relating to some of his experiences during the Cold War working for MI6. Also he has a very punchable face.

And then there’s Control, who runs the Relevant numbers program for the government. She is an awful, awful human being (fully aware of it, too; she has a great speech in the third season finale about how she’s a Necessary Evil and why) and I love her so much.

Okay, that’s the basics for the POI side of things. I can go on a lot longer if y’all want more details (I didn’t even cover my girl Zoe or Leon or…), but that should be enough foundation for the outline to make sense?

For the SPN side of things--I’m not going to summarize the canon background, due to it being the larger/primary-ish fandom. But in terms of the relevant AU stuff, I’m going more or less with the backstory I established for Nick for The Promises of Angels and Cartography!verse.

Basically, he was a high school history teacher; his wife and son were murdered by a serial killer known as the Chesapeake Ripper

(There might well have been/probably was some demonic involvement, though not in the same way as I think S14 canon established; basically either because a “talent scout” demon like that one s7 episode was already involved or because the Ripper was operating independently and a demon got involved later, he was pointed towards this particular woman and baby who fit his victim pool. Either way, Nick was targeted because he was the right bloodline and accessible, because vessel lines are a thing even if the show has forgotten that.)

(Also, Lucifer later took Nick to kill the Ripper. Signing bonus. So to speak.)

After Detroit, Nick gets picked up by Meg, who holds on to him for a while for a variety of reasons (information that might be buried in his memories from the year he spent possessed; the chance that he might be a new key to the Cage…) until the Leviathan turn up, at which point she no longer has the resources to keep him. She cuts him loose at that point, rather than killing him (mostly because she thinks Lucifer left him alive For A Reason and until she knows what that is, she can’t kill him).

So, at this point, in Promises or Cartography, Nick just sort of wanders around for a while until he runs into Claire or Jody, respectively.

For the purposes of this AU, he ends up drifting to New York instead.

And, with all that background out of the way, NOW we can get to the actual fun stuff.

…no, wait, I lied. One more note: as with p. much all my SPN projects, I am following Logical Time rather than Show Time. Which is to say, when calculating dates/figuring out where the timelines intersect/etc., I’m including the two skipped years (between S5/S6 and between S7/S8).

(That being said, I reserve the right to stop caring about the timeline later and just mashing things together as I think it would be entertaining.)

ANYWAY.

We open in the first half of POI S3, somewhere between “Mors Praematura” and “Endgame” (i.e., Root is in the library, but Carter hasn’t initiated her takedown of HR yet). If my math is right, this puts us either in S7 or during the second gap year for SPN.

It starts as most of these adventures do; Team Machine gets a new number.

“This one may be a bit of a project, I’m afraid,” Finch says. “Nick Cross has been missing for several years. He hasn’t been seen since May of 2009, and there’s been no electronic activity on his identity in that time, either.”

Of course, when they dig into his background, his wife and son getting murdered comes up.

“Any chance he killed them?” Reese asks.

“No, he was cleared at the time. They were victims of a serial killer, and Mr. Cross had solid alibis for three of the five incidents, including the one involving his wife and son.”

(Shaw, at that point, theorizes that Nick’s number came up because he somehow tracked the Chesapeake Ripper down and is planning to kill him. And, if that’s the case, doesn’t really see the point in stopping him.)

(“Start with finding him, Ms. Shaw,” Finch says. “We still don’t know if that is, in fact, what’s going on.”)

(Finch also doesn’t approve on principle, of course, but that is not an argument he wants to have with Shaw on this particular morning.)

(Plus, the Ripper seems to have stopped operating at around the same time Mr. Cross disappeared...so there’s a chance that Shaw’s theory is accurate, just out of date.)

In any case, they reason that the Machine wouldn’t have handed them his number if he weren’t alive and in range; Reese and Shaw ask Carter and Fusco to see what they can pull up, and start doing their own legwork.

Carter ends up being the first to find a lead—while on her regular patrol with Laskey, she spots a guy who matches the description, albeit with a few extra scars, and is acting a little off. Like he thinks he’s being followed/watched.

Reese goes to check it out, and this is where things get, uh, Weird.

See, here’s the thing. I love John Reese, and he is a man of Many Skills.

But, uh.

Being approachable and reassuring is Not Among Them.

Like. Don’t get me wrong. When he’s in Bodyguard Mode, it is exactly the right level of Intimidating. He just…has trouble turning it off.

Look, the dude is a semi-retired CIA spysassin and it oozes out of every pore unless he works really hard to tone it down.

(And sometimes even then.)

And since this is just, like, preliminary surveillance to see if this guy Carter spotted really is their number, and he’s not planning to make contact yet, he’s not really focusing on toning it down.

So, when Nick spots him, guess what this looks like to him.

Yep, he thinks Reese is an angel.

He runs.

Reese: “....yeah, pretty sure that’s our number. And he just made me.”

(If Carter didn’t already, Reese probably also mentions that the five-year-old DMV photo they’re working from is out of date; Nick is pretty badly scarred, they look kind of like radiation burns.)

Of course, it was hard enough to find Nick in the first place, so Reese doesn’t want to lose him again. So, made or not, he continues following. Hoping to get to a position where he can make contact and figure out what’s going on. Or just keep tabs on him until Shaw can catch up and take over.

(Not his favorite approach, but he screwed up somewhere and that’s what he’s stuck with now.)

Nick knows the angel is still on him--and this is new and terrifying; he’s had demons after him a few times since Meg ditched him, but this is the first time an angel’s found him and, frankly, angels are worse than demons in his mind.

(Also he’s supposed to be warded how did the angel even find him--)

(Yeah, Nick has gotten a couple tattoos in his post-Meg life--he’s warded, the same sigils that are etched into Sam and Dean’s ribs; he also has a standard anti-demon-possession tattoo.)

In any case, he has a knife up his sleeve, he just needs to get somewhere more or less out of sight, just for a minute, maybe not even, and then he can throw up a banishing sigil. He just needs that minute.

Reese spots Nick duck out of sight into an alley and heads that way, picking up his pace. There’s a chance he’ll lose the number in there, depending on how many exits there are--

Nick casts his sigil and then books it, not wanting to stick around and see if it worked.

Reese gets there just a hair too late.

“I lost him,” he admits, then catches sight of the bloody drawing on the wall. “...but I think I might have an idea what our number’s running from. And why he disappeared for so long.”

“Yeah?” Shaw asks.

“Looks like he might’ve joined a cult."

“....really,” she said. “Huh.”

“He drew some sort of occult symbol on the wall. Looks like blood.”

“...okay, so he joined a cult.”

“It makes a certain amount of sense,” Finch says. “He went through a horrible tragedy. He could have been vulnerable, especially if he sought but failed to find any comfort in traditional religion.”

Reese takes a picture, and sends it to Finch. “Think you can figure out what this is?”

“Well, it’s hardly my area of expertise,” he says, “but I’ll see what I can do.”

“We’ll work on picking up his trail again,” Shaw says, appearing beside Reese in the alley, as she does sometimes. “Maybe stop by and pick up Bear to help.”

...and now skimming over the next few hours...

Finch spends some time in one of the few corners of the internet he’s not super familiar with, and does identify the symbol eventually.

“It’s for protection or warding. Specifically against angels.”

At which point Shaw busts up laughing at the idea of anyone thinking Reese is an angel.

But that does support the idea that he’s running from whatever cult he got mixed up in.

ANYWAY moving on.

Reese and Shaw eventually catch up with Nick again.

Unfortunately, so have the people who are after him.

(And by people, I mean demons. Two of them.)

(Who recognized Nick, obviously, and had the same ideas as Meg, with regard to his potential Uses.)

(Only they’d rather off him so no one gets to unlock whatever secrets he might be holding.)

Shaw goes up--she’s the better sniper, after all--and Reese makes his way into the alley where Nick is cornered

Firing, naturally, at their kneecaps.

Except.....

Nothing...nothing happens...?

(Well, except now the demon is pissed and gunning for Reese instead.)

(Nick is very relieved to see that this guy is not, in fact, an angel. Angels don’t normally use guns.)

(Of course, now he’s just confused, wtf is going on.)

“What the...” Reese says.

“Maybe you missed,” Shaw smirks, from her perch.

“I didn’t miss.”

“Sure,” she says, aiming at the demon chasing him, getting a solid hit in the shoulder.

Which....also does nothing.

“...well, that was weird.”

She fires again, this time a killshot--yeah, yeah, there are Rules, but under the circumstances...

Meanwhile, Demon #2 has gotten ahold of Nick. Who has frozen a little bit.

(He tends to do this, when stressed/triggered--internalize things, and just go blank. He was more or less catatonic when Meg found him, started gradually coming out of it; when Sam got his soul back that sort of accelerated the process and by now he’s mostly functional, but there are Moments...)

Shaw keeps firing at Demon #1. It’s not killing it, but it’s keeping it pinned down so hopefully Reese can reach and extract their number.

“Finch, we’ve got a Situation here.”

“Yes, I can see that.”

(Finch has hacked into some nearby security cameras.)

“You have any idea what the hell is going on?”

“I’m afraid not, Ms. Shaw,” he says. “It’s only the two of them, I think--no one else is coming though the police will probably be responding to the shots soon--”

“Yeah, Finch, I know. Reese?”

Nick is up against the wall and Reese bodily hauls the demon off of him to engage in a fistfight.

(Did not expect a skinny kid like the demon’s host to pack this much of a punch, he’ll have some fun bruises tomorrow...)

Which snaps Nick out of it.

Demons. These are demons. Only demons. I know how demons work. I can--

He rattles off an exorcism, as fast as he can.

The demons scream and smoke out, leaving their two dead hosts behind--Host #1 may have been dead already, or Shaw may have killed them; Host #2 was already gone.

“Finch?” Shaw says. “Finch, are you getting this?”

“I’m--yes, I see it,” he says.

Reese is about to add something, but the Nick passes out--Demon #2 managed to score a solid hit before Reese got there--and he moves to catch him.

“Damn it--he’s bleeding, pretty bad.”

“Get him to the safehouse,” Finch says. “I’ll meet you there, and we’ll...we’ll figure all this out.”

“Library’s closer,” Shaw points out. “And you said no one else was around.”

Finch hesitates for a moment--more concerned about Root than about their base being compromised, at the moment--then nods. “Fine. Bring him here. I’ll clear off a space for you to patch him up.”

“Copy that,” Shaw says. “Reese, stay with him, I’m gonna get us a car.”

...okay, I’ll admit, the rest of this first New York adventure isn’t super well planned out in my brain. So, skimming through it pretty quick...

They bring Nick back to the library. Shaw patches him up, while Finch goes over the footage he found, trying to figure out what the hell just happened.

Nick eventually wakes up. There’s a Talk.

“They were demons,” Nick explains. “They, uh. They can’t be killed, not with guns. There’s a couple specially-designed weapons, I think. And angel blades. Holy water will burn them, and you can use salt to keep them out. Best thing to do is probably trap them and exorcise them.”

Basically, Team Machine gets The Talk about monsters and so on Existing.

He admits to having been possessed for a year when they ask him why demons are chasing him, though he’s a little vague on further details. He does mention Meg, too, that she held on to him after he was dispossessed.

He asks how they found him--he’d thought his warding was messed up, especially when he thought Reese was an angel.

They give their characteristic vague answer, then ask, “If you’re...warded, how is it they found you in the first place?”

He figures, at this point, that his warding is fine--it doesn’t hide him from demons, necessarily, but even if it did, warding doesn’t stop the bad guys from spotting him by chance. Which is, incidentally, exactly what happened.

Nick also, of course, gets in the usual number questions; “who are you” “why are you helping me” etc., with the added weight of his possession and the fact that they took on literal demons to try and save his life.

Also, somewhere in this mess, Nick wanders off into the part of the library where Root is being held. Possibly while the rest of Team Machine is getting what they’ll need to deal with whatever Climactic Fight will end the episode/section.

(Nick was a high school history teacher, and this is a really awesome library, of course he’s going to go exploring if he’s left alone.)

(Bear is there to keep an eye on him/keep him from leaving.)

(Bear also gets many scritches and pets, as he deserves.)

Anyway, Root and Nick have a conversation; whether she and the Machine are already doing their Morse Code thing or something else is going on...or...something...anyway, Nick gets read in on the Machine’s existence.

(His reaction is more or less “...that does not even make the top ten most unbelievable/dangerous things I know exist, so...all right then.”)

Finch gets back to find them talking about history or something. Bear is next to Nick, who is a lot calmer/more willing to work with them than he was before. Root is just inside the cage wall, idly scritching Bear’s ears as they talk.

(This is actually Important.)

Anyway, eventually there is the requisite climactic fight. Possibly angels are involved--I know Shaw gets her hands on an angel blade at some point...

Point is, things get resolved, more or less. Nick ends up leaving New York.

BUT! Because Root had a Moment with him back there, and Finch saw it, he’s willing to unleash her a little earlier when the shit hits the fan a few episodes later.

In short, thanks to Root kind of sort of Bonding with one of their weirder/more fragile numbers, Team Machine is much better positioned to deal with Endgame nonsense, which means, first, that Carter gets to live (though Reese might still get hella shot, depending on how exactly Root changes what happens with Simmons; but he won’t go on his Roaring Rampage of Revenge); what follows is then that Team Machine is all working on the same page when Claypool’s number comes up aaaaaaand we avert Samaritan. Yay!

(Carter does still deduce the Machine’s existence, of course, gets upgraded to the yellow box and everything. And, remembering the late-S1 drama, strongly advocates for Fusco getting read in, too.)

(She gets her way on that, too. Eventually. Probably before too much longer, even.)

Also, Control does reveal herself, but doesn’t manage to capture Root just yet.

(Which also means Root doesn’t get her implant, at least for a while.)

But apart from that, we can leave this group to their own devices for a while, and get back to following Nick, who is now past his Origin Story, so to speak...

Hokay. So. After Nick leaves New York, he just starts sort of drifting again, and then a few days later, he gets a phone call.

Which he actually answers; in all honestly very few people would reach out to him this way, and he’s pretty sure none of the things that terrify him are on that list.

“Can. You. Hear. Me?”

Nick stares at the phone for a long moment. The Machine repeats herself.

“…no.” He hangs up.

(Look, he knows damn well what that phone call was; Root told him enough when the two of them talked in the library. And he is not interested in letting another near-omnipotent entity screw with his head. Once was enough. He learned his lesson.)

The Machine backs off, deciding to try a less-invasive way of trying to get in touch with/recruit him.

Why is she doing this? Well.

The Machine’s mandate/objective is to protect humanity. When Nick came up on her radar as an irrelevant number she could offer her assets, she noticed some…let’s call them anomalies. In archival data about him, about the two people talking about murdering him…lots of things didn’t add up. Which is why he got pushed to the top of the list, so to speak.

(I mean, assuming she does put a certain level of thought/deliberation into which numbers she sends her assets? If two come up at once that are unrelated, does she need to decide, or do they get both? This isn’t 100% clear in the show, I don’t think; pretty sure all the multi-number episodes do end up being related, even if they don’t appear that way at first, apart from, like, backlogs from when the Machine has to go dark temporarily for whatever reason…anyway, if that is the case, she picked Nick because there was a lot of Weird Shit going on around him and she needed her human assets to sort through it, because she simply didn’t have the tools or parameters necessary to work it out for herself.)

So, Nick’s number comes up, and even more strange things keep happening. The Machine evaluates, and comes to the conclusion that there’s an entire class of threats to humanity that she hasn’t been monitoring correctly. The fact of the matter is, she was programmed with certain blind spots, because Finch had certain blind spots.

But the Machine is now in a position to correct that. She’s aware of the flaw in her system and, thanks to the changes she’s been making since Stanton’s virus and the other S2 arc plot stuff allowed her to start altering her code in a way she couldn’t before…

She can make up for it by adding yet another set of numbers/another protocol. Relevant numbers to the government as always, irrelevant numbers (within their reach, at least) to Finch and his team, “necessary” numbers (i.e., protecting the Machine herself/keeping tabs on other, potentially hostile, ASIs) to Root, and now…we’ll call them “hidden” numbers.

Of course, the next problem is, while there’s a lot of data available about monsters, angels, demons, etc., it’s very hard to sort through what is useful data and what is, frankly, BS. And, unfortunately, she lacks the parameters to do it herself.

Ergo, she needs a human asset to help her figure it out. Teach her/help her define this new dataset.

(And also to intervene when necessary, but that can come later. She’s got a bit of a learning curve ahead of her first, and she knows it.)

But, of course, she doesn’t want to retask any of her current assets—both because they have enough to deal with and because, again, learning curve. Better for at least one entity involved to know what they’re doing, right?

And so, she decides to recruit Nick. Nick, who has already been her window into this hidden world. Nick, who needs her as much as she needs him.

(Kind of like Root, except absolutely unlike Root. Like in that they were both drowning when she approached them, and needed her to give them a framework to cling to, to drag themselves back to the surface; unlike in that Nick is drowning in a very different ocean than Root was.)

Anyway. Eventually, she does manage to talk to him, and explain what she wants.

And he’s still not...100% sure how he feels about working with her, but...well, data entry, right? He can do that. Maybe.

“I don’t know how much help I’ll be,” he admits. “Just because I was possessed for a year doesn’t mean I know everything.”

“It’s still a place to start,” she replies. “Eventually, I’ll figure out the patterns and be able to extrapolate.”

“...okay, then.”

(As it turns out, he knows a lot more than he thinks he does, which is utterly terrifying; he has a lot of subconscious/residual information buried in his mind.)

Of course, eventually, just data entry isn’t enough.

The Machine doesn’t have all the answers/all the patterns down, but she has enough that she’s starting to identify threats/numbers she can assign out.

But Nick...well, Nick is fragile. Mentally, of course, but physically as well--burned inside and out, metaphorically and literally, by a long, incompatible possession.

At the moment, though, he’s the only asset she has in this area. Recruiting others, from among the insular, paranoid hunter community...is going to be difficult.

She spots something she thinks he can handle, especially if she grants him God Mode access and keeps him there.

He stares down at the text message she sent him.

“...I can’t do this,” he says. “I can’t...”

“Can we please try?” she says. “I’ll help you.”

“...I...”

“It’s a demon, I think.”

He thinks about it for a minute. He can handle demons, he thinks. He has before, after all. He understands demons. And...

(he thinks about the feeling of evil still living under his skin; he thinks of blood on his hands and in his heart; about all the nightmares and half-memories; about how he feels too small for his own body, how his thoughts echo inside his head...)

(he wants to do better. he wants to be better. maybe helping...people like him, people who have gone through what he went through...maybe that’s a start. to make up for what he did.)

“...is the host still alive? When I...if I manage to get there and exorcise them...are they still alive?”

“I can’t tell,” she admits. “I’m sorry.”

“I’ll...try,” he says. “I’ll try.”

It ends up, fortunately, being a win for all of them--the demon is thrown enough by seeing Lucifer’s former vessel that Nick has a chance to act; the host is in fact still alive.

Nick spends hours after the exorcism, just...sitting with him, talking. Helping him cope/process things.

“...we should do that again sometime,” he finally tells the Machine, after he goes back to wherever he’s sleeping these days.

So, he starts kind of sort of hunting after that, with the help of an ASI.

Every time he directly engages something, he’s in God Mode. He has to be, because of the aforementioned damage; he wouldn’t survive on his own.

(Probably, at some point, he and the Machine put together something like the Tenebamus Infinitum forum in The Promises of Angels; online support group/community for possession survivors.)

(Sam may or may not find his way there...)

At first, they mostly focus on demons/possession cases. Sometimes ghosts. But they slowly start to branch out into other areas.

They deal with some miscellaneous monsters, faeries, maybe a vampire...good times.

Pretty much the only ones they avoid are angels and pagan gods, because Nick cannot deal.

(Angels for uh obvious reasons; pagan gods because he remembers like two things from his possession with any clarity, and one of them is Muncie, Indiana/Gabriel’s death.)

(The Machine occasionally considers trying to get him into a hospital for a while, the way Root was--she thinks it would help him--but he’s...managing for the moment, so it’s not as necessary, and she does still need him actively working....plus, he’s terrified of being sedated so...this gets put on indefinite hold.)

During this period, though, they do acquire two more Friends.

First--and I’m not 100% sure how they meet; possibly similar to how Nick and Jody meet in Cartography!verse, i.e., a grief support group of some kind.

Anyway, first he meets a young woman, a psychiatrist. Who is familiar, if peripherally, with angel and demon type stuff.

(Other monsters are gonna be a little New to her.)

Her name is Ashley Finnerman.

(Yes, as in Donnie.)

(He was her cousin.)

(After what happened to him, she started trying to figure it out, and eventually did.)

(...honestly, the forum may be her idea. She definitely joins it, not as a fellow survivor, but as a crisis counselor/trained professional who will believe them.)

(Ashley is pretty big on community building in general; yes, she’s a therapist and that’s a start, but she’s only one person. In her ideal world, they’d be able to draw in other professionals--psychiatric because this is an underserved population that desperately needs those resources; medical (as in physical medical/other MDs); legal...anyway, she’s not 100% sure how to go about doing that, but helping out on with Tenebamus is a step in the right direction, in her opinion.)

Ashley is eventually read in on the Machine as well. She has more or less an actual Life outside of it all, so she isn’t as immersed as Nick is, but she’s still definitely part of his team.

And second...somehow, they acquire Adam.

How? ...again, not 100% sure, but probably one of two ways--

One, something similar to Promises, where Nick gets too close to the Cage mouth for some reason and is offered a Bribe. He takes the bribe, with exactly zero intention of following through on his end of the bargain, so to speak.

Two, some kind of straight-up Fairy Tale Bullshit. S6 establishes that faeries can reach the Cage; Nick somewhat accidentally does a favor for a powerful faerie through his work with the Machine, and to repay the debt, the faerie (or possibly a High Up Faerie who has taken ownership of the debt because he helped someone in their court/their child/something or other) restores his Counterpart to him? IDK, something like that.

...I think I like this option. He accidentally does a favor for, IDK, Mab. And she, not wanting to be in his debt, heads down to the Cage.

This works because, a) Mab is probably one of the few entities that can go toe-to-toe with an Archangel like this; and b) Michael is actually on board with springing Adam.

(Not necessarily because he gives a shit about Adam, but he does give a shit about Justice, and keeping Adam down here, especially with Sam gone, is not Justice.)

Naturally, she doesn’t tell Nick ahead of time--he did the favor without consulting her, she shall repay him in kind. Faeries and Obligations, man.

Anyway, Adam joins them, and then Nick doesn’t have to be quite as hands-on because Adam is perfectly capable.

(Adam also, at some point, makes a comment about the three of them having ‘nearly a complete set.’)

(I have no idea how/if they’ll ever be able to find someone to fit in for Gabriel, but three out of four!)

(Nick finds this oddly hilarious, for reasons he can’t quite articulate.)

So, that is what Nick is doing while Team Machine is foiling Vigilance and Greer and Decima and dealing with their Hard Sci Fi end of things.

Let’s bring these two worlds crashing back together, shall we?

(Well, I say crashing together...this probably isn’t the first time Nick has run into the others since that first adventure.)

(If nothing else, he’s stayed in touch, off and on, with Root.)

(And I’m pretty sure the others have met Adam.)

(Maybe that was where Shaw got her angel blade...)

So, timeline for this. Uh...probably at least a year after Nick’s first encounter with Team Machine. For the SPN side of things...ehhhhh I’ll handwave/stop caring and say this is sometime in the latter half of S8. Between the first two Trials. Let’s go with that.

Nick and co are back in New York, probably dealing with something on their end of things. A ghost or something.

And then they get sucked into some Team Machine nonsense.

Control still wants the Machine--or a suitable Plan B--back under her complete, well, control.

Decima is going after some other potential ASI.

(Root is back in town to deal with them.)

Vigilance is involved too, because why not.

(Greer can’t initiate his endgame there just yet, after all, so they’re probably still operating.)

Nick, Adam, and Ashley are pitching in, because they’re here and the Machine needs all the help she can get on this one. Because Reasons.

Meg gets involved--this goes AU in that she escaped Crowley somehow. And one of the first things she does is try to check on her various assets, so she’s trying to track Nick and figure out what the hell is going on with him.

Crowley, of course, is chasing her, trying to get her back.

And, to round it all off, Sam and Dean are chasing him.

(As they approach, Sam starts noticing a weird buzzing feeling in the back of his head. Like circulation returning, or something like that. He decides not to mention it--thinks it might be a new Trials symptom, and he’s already hiding those from Dean, what’s one more secret? Besides, they need to know what Crowley finds so interesting about this place...that’s way more important, right?)

So, all these disparate parties converge on wherever the potential ASI is being held/built.

Root and Nick, of course, are both in God Mode.

(...incidentally, Nick is...nnnnnnnnnot super comfortable with calling it that? He and Adam and Ashley mostly just call it access or full-access.)

(Nick has the same tingling feeling in the back of his head, but he can’t do anything about it right now. He just focuses on the task at hand, and getting himself and his friends through this alive.)

The Machine tips Nick off to the fact that there are demons sniffing around--a couple of Crowley’s minions. Which, of course, Nick and his team can handle, but there’s several of them around and we reeeeally don’t want Crowley getting access to an ASI.

(Especially not S8!Crowley.)

So, Nick, Adam, and Ashley head off to put up wards and shoo off any demons they can, leaving the others to deal with the Decima nonsense/destroy the drives or whatever.

There’s a lot of ground to cover, so they split up.

Eventually, Nick gets pinned down by Decima mooks, trapped in a corner of the facility where he’s trying to finish getting the wards up.

“What...what do I do now?” he asks the Machine.

She runs her simulations, and it doesn’t look good.

And here is where it’s different from, say, “If-Then-Else.” Slash another way Root and Nick are very different people/assets.

Whereas Root is perfectly okay with obeying orders from her God without question, Nick needs to be told his options and make the choice himself.

At some point, he describes Access as oddly comforting. It’s almost as overwhelming, almost as much of a surrender, as consenting to possession is.

But there’s one critical difference.

He doesn’t have to listen to her.

He can say no.

He can hang up.

I mean, it’s generally speaking a bad idea to do that, but the option is still available.

So, his head doesn’t feel as empty with her in it, but a lot of it is still on his terms.

That being said, when there’s no time, or it’s a very immediate “there’s someone behind you” type of God Mode moment, of course, that’s less of an issue.

But something like this, where there’s a fork in the road?

If there’s time, she’ll lay out two or three of the least bad options and let him decide.

“If you go out the door and turn left, you will run into Control. She will figure out you’re tied to me, and she will take you prisoner. She will almost certainly torture you, to get you to give me up. Adam and Ashley will meet up with my other assets, and they will rescue you, but the chances of their success are very slim. There is a five percent chance, at best, that you will survive. It varies, depending on how quickly the others can mobilize.”

“Okay,” he says, and swallows. “And...and Adam and Ashley, will they...?”

“They have better than even odds of surviving.”

“Okay,” he says again. “What else?”

“Turn right,” she says. “You’ll run into the demon who held you captive.”

“Meg?”

“Yes.”

That’s not so bad, he thinks. Meg didn’t torture him too much, and she wanted him kept alive.

“Control will capture Root instead,” she continues. “Sameen and the others will attempt to rescue her. Adam and Ashley will pursue you.”

Control capturing Root, on the other hand, seems like a very bad thing. Still...

“Adam and Ashley?”

“About the same,” she says. “But there is another concern.”

“Okay.”

“If Meg takes you, there’s a chance she’ll find me. And if she does, it’s extremely likely that someone less friendly will, as well. There is also an approximately 17% chance that you’ll wind up in Crowley’s hands instead of Meg’s. And his chances of finding me are a lot stronger.”

Yeah, no. That cannot happen.

“Are there any other options?” he asks.

She pauses for a split second. “Turn right,” she says. “Then at the first hallway, turn left instead of going straight. I’ll have to leave you then--there are several Decima soldiers, but if you manage to get past them on your own, you’ll find Sam and Dean Winchester.”

It hits him like a punch to the gut.

“Your chances of reaching them without my help are better than your chances of surviving Control,” the Machine continues, “but not by much. If you can get there, though, they most likely won’t harm you.”

Unless I’m in full-access mode, Nick thinks, and shivers a little.

“And I can say with approximately 97% certainty that, when Adam and Ashley find you, they won’t harm them, either. I cannot say the same for the demons or Control.”

“They won’t hurt us physically,” Nick finally manages to say. “But I can’t...I-I-I don’t know how I’ll...I can’t shut down, not in here. A-and I don’t know how Sam will react to seeing me, I’ll probably seriously fuck with his head a-and I can’t...I can’t...”

(there’s this running refrain in his head, that Sam Winchester is perfect, and that Nick is the reason that everything goes wrong.)

(the Machine regrets even more not getting Nick more help.)

He takes a shaky breath. “Plus, I don’t know if Adam’s ready for that yet,” he says. “He hasn’t...uh, he hasn’t said anything about wanting to track them down.”

“That’s true.”

He’s quiet for another minute.

“Nick?”

“...I’ll take my chances with Control,” he says.

“I understand,” she says. “Thank you. And I’m sorry.”

(It’s not what she would have advised him to do, necessarily--she would have advised him to try for Sam and Dean; it balances protecting her with protecting the majority of her assets.)

“Directions?” he says.

“Open the door and turn left.”

She guides him down the hallway, advises him where to dodge, where to strike. He picks up a gun at one point--

(he’s hesitant, and she reminds him “you’re in Control’s world now, you have to play by her rules.”)

He gets to the inevitable trap, where ISA corners him and Control is there.

She recognizes, pretty quickly, that he’s in God Mode.

“...now just who the hell are you?”

On the other side of the facility, Ashley’s phone rings.

“Can. You. Hear. Me?”

The Machine also advises Root that Nick has been captured.

She and Finch have finished neutralizing the potential ASI drives; Reese and Shaw are with them; Carter and Fusco are currently working on securing their exit route, after driving off a handful of Vigilance mooks.

“We need to move,” Root says. “Control has Nick. Adam and Ashley will meet us.”

Reese nods once. “Lionel, Joss, get ready. We’re headed your way.”

“Copy that,” Carter says. “Fusco--”

“On it.”

Meg has realized that Crowley is here, so she’s now in the process of finding her own exit. He’s in pursuit.

Sam and Dean got all turned around and manage to get to just the right hallway at just the right time to see Adam and Ashley piling onto an elevator.

“...Dean,” Sam says. “Dean, tell me you’re seeing what I’m seeing.”

(he doesn’t press his hand. he hasn’t hallucinated in almost two years, he doesn’t need to--)

“Adam?” Dean calls.

Adam half turns to them, hesitates for half a second, then follows Ashley into the elevator and the door slides shut.

...and I’ll admit I don’t have a whole lot planned out beyond that. Also this is getting, like, super long. So, quick wrapup, so to speak.

So, Team Machine, plus Adam and Ashley go to rescue Nick.

Sam and Dean track them down.

Adam goes to talk to them, try and get them to back off.

“I have to go rescue my friend,” he says. “But once I’m done with that, we can talk. I promise. We’ll set up a meeting and I’ll tell you...as much as I remember, I guess. But right now, I have to go rescue my friend. Kind of on a clock here.”

“We’ll help,” Sam offers.

“This isn’t really your kind of thing,” Adam says. “This isn’t monsters, this is the ISA.”

“The what now?” Dean asks.

“Like the CIA, but on steroids.”

“...how the hell did you get involved in CIA bullshit?” Dean asks.

“It’s kind of a long story,” Adam says. “Which I will tell you, once my friend is safe. So can you please just...let me do this first?”

“How did...” Sam asks. “How did you get out?”

“Also a long story,” Adam says. “But I’m the only one who came out, I swear. And...” He hesitates. “They...mostly left me alone, after you were gone. If you were worried about that.”

(Sam hadn’t been, mostly because he had been Very Firmly Not Thinking About Adam for a while now, but he’s relieved to hear it.)

Reese steps out. Possibly holding his grenade launcher. “Come on, Adam, we gotta go.”

“Coming,” Adam says, then turns back to Sam and Dean. “I will call you as soon as we’re clear. I promise. Don’t follow us, okay?”

Without waiting for an answer, he follows Reese and they go to rescue Nick.

(Obviously, S&D don’t listen and do, in fact, follow Adam, but I’m not 100% sure where that would go.)

(Other than they do, in fact, manage to extract Nick alive, but it’s a near thing.)

(The fun thing here is, Control actually can’t break Nick. Well, she can’t get him to tell her anything about the Machine, anyway.)

(Yes, everyone has their breaking point so far as pain/torture goes, and Nick is no exception.)

(But he will physically break--i.e., die--before he mentally breaks.)

(And while psychological torture would be a lot more effective, she doesn’t know what buttons to push.)

(When she runs his prints/whatever, she gets the name Jacob White, which is an identity that Finch put together for him, for when he needed to interact with the real world. Since his own identity is...complicated.)

(Yes, that is a reference.)

(I couldn’t resist.)

(Also, the Machine, through Root, gets to deliver her verbal bitchslap to Control at last.)

Uh....yeah. That’s all the actual Plot I have at this point. But some other notes!

My girl Zoe is totally in the know. She may or may not have encountered Bela at some point, or found out some other way, but she does know.

(She never told Harold and John because--well, honestly, why would she? Her stock in trade is secrets, after all. And it never came up, and she wasn’t involved with Nick’s first adventure.)

Elias will turn up at some point. And basically become something like John Marcone, if any of y’all are familiar with the Dresden Files.

Bear’s Plot Armor may be some kind of magic, and I would not be surprised if he could take on a Hellhound and win.

Carter and Jody. Just...just Carter and Jody, man.

Like I said, Shaw gets her hands on an angel blade at some point. She and Dean probably bond. I feel like they would bond.

Also, I think Dean gets put into God Mode at some point. Possibly as his first real introduction to the Machine.

Like...IDK, he and Sam are with Nick for some reason, Nick, as implied above, cannot go into God Mode in front of the two of them, and honestly Sam going into God Mode in front of him would also be pretty devastating, so...Dean’s phone gets to ring!

“Can. You. Hear. Me?”

“...the fuck?”

“Can. You. Hear. Me?”

“Yes, I can--what the fuck is--”

“Two. O’clock.”

::turns and OHSHIT just in time::

IDK the idea just entertains me.

...yep, I think that’s it.

If you’re still here, thank you for putting up with my nonsense/checking this out.

Tune in next time, for an actual serious AU outline of some kind.

(....who am I kidding, these things are never serious XD)

#shadowsong writes spn #shadowsong26fic #shadowsong writes crossovers #au outlines for the win #shadowsong writes self-indulgent bs #shadowsong is feeling Spiteful today

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growningupgeek · 7 years ago

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Lonely Roads-March, 2009

Lonely Roads Masterlist

Word Count-1575

Characters-Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester, Castiel Novak, Charlie Bradbury, Bobby Singer.

Summary-The race to get to the author of the Supernatural books begins.

A/N-Better late than never. This one was a bitch to write and, believe it or not, this was planned all along. Tags under the cut, please send an ask or DM me if you’d like on or off.

-JediCat

Sam ran both hands through his hair in frustration. After both he and Charlie had run into dead ends trying to track Carver Edlund down they had finally tracked down his former editor. It had taken almost three weeks to find her and set up an appointment for a meeting, Charlie had made it for as late in the day as possible since Sam was still a bit uncomfortable around humans but luck had run against him. A meeting earlier in the day had run long and now he was sitting in the reception area waiting for her to finish the appointment before his. Finally, the author she had been talking to came out and the receptionist gestured him towards the door. He just hoped he could keep this interview short so he wouldn’t have to mess with her memories too much.

By pretending that he was interested in investing in publishing another round of the Supernatural books he managed to get Sera thinking about Carver Edlund, pulling his real name, Chuck Shurley, and his location from her mind in a short time. Promising her that he’d continue to consider it he shook her hand before he left, erasing any memory that he’d even been there.

He leaned against the wall of the elevator as he texted the information to Charlie waiting for the door to close. He heard the other elevator door open and looked up just in time to meet Dean’s shocked green eyes as the doors slid shut. He jammed the button for the next floor down and got off, following the halls until he found a stairwell then using his inhuman speed to get down them and out of the building before Dean could catch up with him.

“God, I wish Ash was out of the hospital,” Dean said to Cas as they got out of the elevator. As they walked toward the office of the editor of the Supernatural books that they’d managed to track down, he glanced into the door they walked by out of habit. There was a tall guy in there, just looking up from his phone. Dean felt his face go slack in shock as he saw a face that was as familiar to him as his own; Sam in the other elevator. He threw himself at the doors just as they shut.

“Son of a bitch,” he swore punching the door. Without another thought he ran to the nearest stairwell, shoved the door open and practically flew down the stairs. He burst into the lobby, breathing hard just as the doors opened to reveal an empty car. His shoulder slumped at the sight and he rode the elevator back up to the publisher’s office, where Cas was just exiting.

“I have part of the information we need,” Cas told him with a frown. “Would you care to explain what that behavior was all about?”

Dean shook his head. “Not here, wait until we get back to the car.”

They were both quiet on the way down to the lobby and on the walk back to the Impala. Once they were settled, Dean told Cas what he’d seen. Cas looked at him for several long minutes and then said, “Dean, it’s been more than a year. I think if Sam were alive he would have found a way to contact you by now.”

“So, what? I was imagining things,” Dean asked clutching the steering wheel as he guided his baby through the late afternoon traffic.

“No, I’m saying that you saw what you wanted to see,” Cas tried to keep his tone soothing so Dean wouldn’t know he was on the verge of panicking. “You saw a tall man with long hair and, to your mind, it was Sam.”

Dean didn’t say a word to Cas the rest of the way to the motel as he thought about what the other man had said. He pulled a bottle of whiskey out of his duffle and proceeded to drink what he thought he’d seen that day out of his mind. He was about half way through the bottle and everything was getting a pleasantly blurred around the edges when he closed his eyes for just a second. When he opened them again, bright sunlight was coming through the thin motel curtains and Cas was standing in the door with breakfast.

They pulled up in front of Bobby’s late in the evening. Dean was hoping that he would know someone who could get them an address to go with the name they had or would at least let them use his computer to see what they could find out. As they got out of the car they could hear Bobby yelling at someone. “If I trip over one more wire I’m gonna kick ya out no matter what Ellen says, ya idjit.”

A grin split Dean’s face as he raced up the stairs; there was only one person who would be stringing wires all over the house. He shoved open the door and yelled, “Hey Doctor Badass, when did they let you out?”

“A couple of days ago, amigo,” Ash called back. He came into the kitchen, slapping Dean on the shoulder on his way to the fridge. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, showing the scars from his almost healed skin grafts. The fire at the roadhouse had spared his face and hands, but a burning beam had fallen across his back leaving third degree burns. His hair wasn’t as long as it had been but it was growing back slowly, his mullet another victim of the fire. His face went serious for a minute when he turned back to Dean and tossed him a beer. “Sorry to hear about Sam, dude.”

“Thanks, man,” Dean replied popping it open and raising it in a toast to his brother. Ash tapped his beer against Dean’s and they both drank them down. Dean got two more out of the fridge and settled himself against the counter after handing one too Ash. “So, you back in business, man?”

Ash shrugged with a slight flinch. “Sorta, I gotta get Bobby’s internet upgraded before I can go all out.”

“I need to find someone and all I have is a name and city,” Dean said.

“”That I can do, let’s get going,” Ash replied with a grin.

It took less than ten minutes to find an address for Chuck Shurley. Dean and Cas decided to leave in the morning after dinner and a good night’s sleep. Cas volunteered to take the couch leaving Dean the bed in the spare room. The four hunters talked late into the night about the Supernatural books and how this Chuck might know about the Winchesters in attempt to be prepared for anything. He didn’t say what he was almost sure of; he needed to see the man first. Finally, he stretched out on the couch, pretending to sleep so that the others would go to bed. When he was sure everyone else was asleep, Cas got up and went out into the junk yard. Finding a large open area deep in the piles of rusting cars he stretched out his wings.

This was his big problem spending so much time with humans, finding space to spread his wings. He allowed his wings to drift in the night winds, enjoying the feeling of it through the feathers, as he thought about what he had become. He was now considered a fallen angel by his former comrades in the garrison, if they found him he would be killed on sight, but he wouldn’t trade this new family he’d found to be back in Heaven’s good graces. Dean had become more of a brother to him than anyone had ever been other than Gabriel, Bobby and Ellen treated him just as they did Dean, Jo reminded him of the fledglings that used to come to him for advice and Sam treated him as a friend and equal. This little family may have been broken in some ways, but it was his by choice and he found he liked it that way.

His phone rang, surprising him out of his thoughts. He furled his wings as he pulled it out, recognizing Sam’s number. “Hello, Sam.”

“Hey, Cas,” he replied. “I’ve tracked down Chuck Shurley and I’m going to see him tomorrow. How’s it going on your end?”

“Ash has been released from the hospital and is staying at Bobby’s for now,” Cas sighed. “He got an address and we are leaving in the morning. We should be there by late afternoon.”

Sam swore softly. “Can you slow him down? I need to talk to Chuck before Dean does.”

“I’ll do my best, but there’s something you need to know, Sam,” Cas replied. “I can’t be sure until I see him, but Chuck Shurley is a name on the list of prophets of the Lord.”

“And what does it mean if he is,” Sam asked.

“It means that his Guardian is an archangel,” Cas replied. “Don’t threaten him in any way or you will bring down Heaven’s wrath down on yourself.”

Cas could hear the wry smile in Sam’s voice when he replied, “Won’t be the first time, but I’ll keep that in mind. I’ll talk to you again soon.”

Cas put his phone away and looked at the night sky one last time before returning to the house. He lay back down on the couch to pretend to sleep until morning.

A/N 2-So who’s looking forward to playing dueling computer hackers?

Forevers- @darkcastersruletheworld @iwantthedean @little-red-83 @ashleymalfoy @isometimeswritesomethings @sammy-moo @mrswhozeewhatsis @kittenofdoomage @fast-times-in-the-impala @wonderless-screwup @deascheck @mrssamfuckingwinchester @winchesterprincessbride @tjforston @writingthingsisdifficult @mysaintsasinner @mogaruke @wheresthekillswitch @skybinx-blog @bohowitch @jensen-jarpad @ellen-reincarnated1967 @masksandtruths @getyourrocksalt @born-to-be-his-baby88 @oneshoeshort @grace-for-sale @winchestergirl-13 @bethbabybaby @apeshit7x

SPN only- @sandlee44

#supernatural fan fiction #spn au #supernatural au #Lonely Roads #Vampire!Sam #Hunter!Dean #Castiel #Bobby Singer #Doctor Badass #Ash #Charlie Bradbury #Chuck Shurley #spn fan fic #Sam Winchester #Dean Winchester

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perfectirishgifts · 4 years ago

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Lattice Semiconductor Launches New FPGA For Cyber-Resilient Systems

New Post has been published on https://perfectirishgifts.com/lattice-semiconductor-launches-new-fpga-for-cyber-resilient-systems/

Lattice Semiconductor Launches New FPGA For Cyber-Resilient Systems

Earlier this week, Lattice Semiconductor announced its newest product built on the Lattice Nexus FPGA platform, the Mach-NX. The Mach-NX FPGA product family addresses the growing threat of firmware hacking attempts on systems, leading to the loss of customer IP. Moor Insights & Strategy have written a lot about this growing threat, funded by nation-states with “as a service” business models.

As bad actors continue to attack firmware, companies like Lattice Semiconductor need to constantly be upping its games to enable their customers to create cyber-resilient systems. Enter a new FPGA from Lattice. The Mach-NX is a high performance, low power FPGA product family aimed at dynamic, real-time, and end-to-end platform protection. This launch is the next logical step for Lattice on its low power FPGA journey and marks the third Nexus launch in a year. The company is uniquely positioning itself as a leader, if not the leader in low power FPGA security solutions, and this launch helps reinforce that.

Lattice has been delivering new security-focused FPGAs at a faster cadence than we are used to. Since FPGAs are incredibly flexible, it also gives Lattice the ability to expand its presence into different markets that need programmable security solutions. In recent memory, Lattice launched CrossLink-NX in late 2019, Certus-NX this past summer, and now Mach-NX. You can read my full write up on the Certus-NX launch here. Lattice was ambitious when it promised to speed up its launch cadence by 3x, and it has done just that in 2020. The company seems hyper focused on low power FPGA dominance as 2020 comes to an end, and its future seems bright.

Lattice Semiconductor Mach NX

As hackers continue to attack firmware vulnerabilities with nation-state budgets and “as a service” models, companies need a flexible, secure solution that can adapt and serve different industries and applications. That problem is the exact reason that Lattice developed its new security-focused FPGA, Mach-NX. The new Mach-NX FPGA family will build on the previous product, the Lattice MachXO3D family. The new Mach-NX product family will address future server platforms, computing, communications, industrial, and automotive systems. Like other Lattice Nexus products, the new Mach-NX FPGA will utilize the same 28 nm FD-SOI fab process. While not a bleeding edge geometry, the specialized FD-SOI process technology allows Lattice to deliver extremely energy-efficient solutions without sacrificing performance. I also believe this solution is much smaller than competing solutions. High performance while maintaining low power matters a lot when you consider that traditionally high-density FPGAs trade power for size. I’ve talked enough about application and product introduction; let’s get into the nuts and bolts of the Mach-NX.

I listed the new features verbatim for the Mach-NX FPGA products from Lattice’s announcement.

Up to 8.4K LC of user logic, 2669kbits of user flash memory, and dual boot flash feature.

Up to 379 programmable I/O supporting 1.2/1.5/1.8/2.5/3.3 I/O voltages.

Secure enclave supports 384-bit cryptography, including SHA, HMAC, and ECC.

Lattice Semiconductor Mach-NX

The first goal of a security solution is establishing a Hardware Root of Trust upon boot, which the Mach-NX does. The Mach-NX FPGAs also give users real-time performance against security risks with real-time SPI monitoring. According to Lattice, the Mach-NX FPGAs can again recover firmware within microseconds, where other FPGAs can take 100s of milliseconds or even minutes to recover firmware.

The 384-bit encryption is a significant security upgrade from the 256-bit encryption we saw with the last generation products. This security level becomes essential, especially when considering the longevity of end products that would adopt the Mach-NX, which could be up to 10 years. As the number of attack vectors and cyber-attacks is increasing rapidly, security solutions need to adapt and become harder to hack. Another value that customers get from implementing Mach-NX FPGAs is customizing solutions specifically for their applications and use. Customers will be able to configure their FPGAs’ security using RISC-V and Lattice’s Propel Design Environment. I admire the way Lattice is positioning its Mach-NX solution as a first on, last-off, real-time, fully customizable solution for the customer’s unique needs. When you pair these solutions with Lattice’s security service, SupplyGuard, a customer’s system can be protected throughout the product life cycle’s duration.

Lattice Semiconductor Mach-NX

Wrapping up

All in all, Lattice’s new Mach-NX looks to deliver on its core value proposition and extends the capabilities of Lattice’s previous generation of secure control FPGAs. Attack vectors and hackers will continually evolve their attack methods, and as those change, I believe s Lattice’s solutions will volve to address those methods.

Since this time last year, Lattice has launched three FPGA product families built on its Lattice Nexus FPGA platform with no signs of slowing down. If you recall, since CEO Jim Anderson took the helm Lattice looks to have generated a tremendous amount of momentum with Lattice Nexus, as further reinforced by the launch of Mach-NX. Add to that the work the company has put in to round out its offerings with application-focused solutions stacks and software design tools, and it’s clear they are laser-focused on delivering on the promise of low power programmable leadership.

Note: Moor Insights & Strategy writers and editors may have contributed to this article.

Moor Insights & Strategy, like all research and analyst firms, provides or has provided paid research, analysis, advising, or consulting to many high-tech companies in the industry, including 8×8, Advanced Micro Devices, Amazon, Applied Micro, ARM, Aruba Networks, AT&T, AWS, A-10 Strategies, Bitfusion, Blaize, Box, Broadcom, Calix, Cisco Systems, Clear Software, Cloudera, Clumio, Cognitive Systems, CompuCom, Dell, Dell EMC, Dell Technologies, Diablo Technologies, Digital Optics, Dreamchain, Echelon, Ericsson, Extreme Networks, Flex, Foxconn, Frame (now VMware), Fujitsu, Gen Z Consortium, Glue Networks, GlobalFoundries, Google (Nest-Revolve), Google Cloud, HP Inc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Honeywell, Huawei Technologies, IBM, Ion VR, Inseego, Infosys, Intel, Interdigital, Jabil Circuit, Konica Minolta, Lattice Semiconductor, Lenovo, Linux Foundation, MapBox, Marvell, Mavenir, Marseille Inc, Mayfair Equity, Meraki (Cisco), Mesophere, Microsoft, Mojo Networks, National Instruments, NetApp, Nightwatch, NOKIA (Alcatel-Lucent), Nortek, Novumind, NVIDIA, Nuvia, ON Semiconductor, ONUG, OpenStack Foundation, Oracle, Poly, Panasas, Peraso, Pexip, Pixelworks, Plume Design, Poly, Portworx, Pure Storage, Qualcomm, Rackspace, Rambus, Rayvolt E-Bikes, Red Hat, Residio, Samsung Electronics, SAP, SAS, Scale Computing, Schneider Electric, Silver Peak, SONY, Springpath, Spirent, Splunk, Sprint, Stratus Technologies, Symantec, Synaptics, Syniverse, Synopsys, Tanium, TE Connectivity, TensTorrent, Tobii Technology, T-Mobile, Twitter, Unity Technologies, UiPath, Verizon Communications, Vidyo, VMware, Wave Computing, Wellsmith, Xilinx, Zebra, Zededa, and Zoho which may be cited in blogs and research.

From Cloud in Perfectirishgifts

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ofcounseltech · 4 years ago

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Controlling Your Data and Keeping the Wolves at Bay

I our previous Blog article, we discussed how Branded Email, email addresses like [email protected], presents a much more professional appearance than [email protected], regardless of whether Jack picked 1979 because that was the year he was born or because the previous 1978 “JackSmith”s were already taken. But they do more than just present a professional appearance and a more memorable email (and website) address. They let you control your firm’s data and help protect it against one of the most likely threats. What does that mean, why should you care, and how does the equivalent of a “vanity plate” for email help you and your firm? Let’s find out.

Your Firm’s Data

What comprises a typical law firm’s data? Of course there’s the public information contained in its website, like the names and biographies of the attorneys, areas of practice, press releases, etc., but it is the private information that we really care about and is of the most concern.

Some data, like basic HR information, you might not want released to the public and competitors, like salaries, social security numbers, home addresses, and the like. But that is true of any business. Unlike most regular businesses, law firms are in the unique position of having very private data on, from, and about their clients. Releasing this kind of data is just not an option and almost certainly violates one or more of the ethics guidelines resulting in state bar penalties that range from private reprimand letters to suspending or even disbarring attorneys found in violation. Losing your ability to practice law obviously has a clear financial impact, but also can open the door to malpractice lawsuits which can get into even greater penalties.

Before we go into the details, we should answer the question “Who are our adversaries?” Let us simplify things and change the question from “who” to “what.” For this article, we will go with the stock villain of so many fairy tales: the wolf. There are two different types of wolves that can cause us to suffer a loss of confidentiality in our data. We will cover each in turn.

Threat 1: The Big Bad (Hacker) Wolf

From the perspective of information security experts, this scenario typically results from an external, malicious, third party who manages to get into your systems. This could be the teenage hacker from Scandinavia who breaks into your system because of an easily guessable password or, more realistically, a ransomware program that is sent as a phishing email that seems legitimate enough that someone, a partner, and associate, an admin, anyone, accidentally or purposely clicks on, and is then introduced into your system to steal or encrypt everything. And while these are real threats, and while our everyday media, movies, and television make it look like this is a pervasive threat, statistically there are other threats much more frightening.

I know, this is like reading an original Grimm Fairy tale, “and they were trapped there and the evil monster came home and found them and then ate them up. The end. Good night. Don’t let any evil hungry monster get you. Because it’d eat you up, too. Sweet dreams.” But we need to leave the Big Bad Wolf for a future discussion. I want to talk about a much more likely and scarier threat from a much more realistic, scary wolf that poses a much greater threat to your law firm.

“But my staff are not monsters!” you say. “I know them, I trust them.” That’s because these are part-time wolves. Most of the time they are trustworthy. But at certain times, when the moon is full, they are werewolves.

Threat 2: The Insidious (Yet Trusted) Werewolf, Two Different Kinds

We all know what werewolves are: dangerous wild monsters that seem like perfectly upstanding citizens that people know, love, and trust. It gets dark, the moon rises and the real fun starts. (Yeah, sometimes they’re pretty sketchy and wolfy in human form, but no one trusts those kind anyway.)

The thing is, there are two kinds of werewolves: the ones who know they are wolves and understand what the full moon means and the ones who don’t, and wander into the night not knowing what is about to happen next.

The ones who don’t know try to do the right thing. They have no idea that when they wake up in the aftermath of a disaster with no idea or memory of what happened that they were the cause of the problems. In the digital world, these are the folks who have no idea what link they clicked on (hint: it was probably a link to fullmoon.com). They are the innocent people who, because they failed to follow basic advice of “be careful where you go,” wind up getting bit and then cause lots of problems to others. In later posts, we will address these folks and we promise we will be kind. These are almost always innocent victims of well crafted Internet trickery and having a company culture that makes it OK to admit when you might have made a mistake, instead of persecuting them, is essential.

Today we are focusing on the people who know they are werewolves. Behind their smiling facade, they know what they will do when the appointed hour comes, the damage that it will cause, and they’re totally OK with it. In the security realm, this is called an Insider Attack. This is the real treat. Statistically, your firm is far more likely to have data security problems caused by insiders than by outsiders.

(If you want to dive into statistics and surveys on the insider threat, here’s one example, the 2020 Insider Threat report from Gurucul: https://go1.gurucul.com/2020-Insider-Threat-Report.)

Insider Attacks: Claws for Alarm

Insiders are trusted employees. They have access to client data because they deal with the clients every day. They can be secretaries, admins, paralegals, Of Counsels, associates, or even equity partners. (While true sole practitioners do not face the risk of an inside job, there are still many valid reasons to use branded email. Our focus here is on non-solos.) At some point someone in the lifespan of your law firm who is working with (and for) you will at some point no longer be working at the firm. You may fire that person or that person may choose to quit. Perhaps they received a job offer from a competing firm. Maybe they are being fired for cause or maybe because of economic reasons. Whatever the reason, they now may have a vested interest in your client data, which is now no longer their client data. It becomes pretty tempting to take any client lists and contact information they can get their paws on. In addition to client data, simple things like model contracts, pleadings, research, and other firm work products are fair game.. How do you stop that from happening? How do you stop your intellectual property from being stolen and your clients getting poached to another firm? Is this unethical behavior? Certainly! But it can be a pretty gray area and very difficult to prove who took what when, after the barn doors have been open (and maybe were never closed). But there is hope.

Vanity Plates or Silver Bullets?

And this (finally) brings us back to how Branded Email can be a tool to fight against insider attacks. If your email is [email protected] and your associate’s email is [email protected], these are personal email addresses that are owned and controlled by the individuals, not the firm. And when “MoonWatcher” leaves, he takes his email address with him and retains access to all the email sent from and received to that account. Any online accounts tied to that email (westlaw, PACER, local court’s e-filing, etc.) will remain active, attached to that email.

Let’s look at three different scenarios when a wolf is no longer employed by a firm.

Scenario 1: The Wolf Leaves (With Your Virtual Rolodex)

“MoonWatcher” leaves the firm—on good or bad terms, it makes no difference. If active clients were communicating with him using his personal email address, then they keep communicating with him, at that address, after he leaves. In a best case scenario, he sends a very brief reply to the client and CC:’s the firm, saying that he has left the firm and from now on please direct all communications to a specific attorney at the firm. Sounds a bit awkward, doesn’t it? And that is the best case. If the client and “MoonWatcher'' have been working together for years and have a good rapport, the client might reply (but not to you) and ask for more details or where MW is now working. That client is ripe for the picking.

Since MoonWatcher’s email account is his own personal one, he retains access to all of his old emails and all of his client contacts. And he can send email to anyone from the same account that used to be affiliated with your business. If other clients’ emails were included or mentioned at some point, he could contact them,and directly inquire about their legal needs.. Is that ethical? Generally not. It really depends on the nature and content of the communication. Would your firm know about it and would there be an easy, quick path to remedy the situation and confirm the nature and substance of the communication? Probably not.

So far, we have focused exclusively on email. But what about all of the computer files?

Scenario 2: Hunting the Wolf at Midnight

As in the previous scenario, if you were sharing files, pleadings, research, etc. and MoonWatcher walked out the door (we will stick with Google Drive for our example, but the same thing is true for Office365), unless your firm has well defined policies and well defined roles (or groups) upon which access to the common drive is regulated, your drive files are exposed. If it so happens that you had a policy that specified what to do when an employee leaves and you could figure out everything he had access to, you could revoke those permissions to the shared files. But any files sent as attachments through email are his to keep forever. So while it is better than doing nothing, it provides very limited protection.

Using our werewolf analogy, it’s midnight, you hear howling, and you bang on some doors to get a few sleepy villagers together with some torches and maybe a few wooden broom handles, to try to hunt down the wolf. The night is cloudy so you don’t know if the moon is quite full or not, and the group decides it’s best to split up. Let’s just say the anti-werewolf squad isn’t a roaring success. The point is that these villagers did not have a plan ahead of time and are trying to wing it. It is possible that someone gets lucky and brings a silver pitchfork and is in the right place and the right time. But that is not a good security plan for the village.

Note that you absolutely should have written policy on what happens when employees come and go, but that’s a topic for a future article.

So how would this play out if our village had a plan?

Scenario 3: Plan Ahead—Take the Moon Out of the Equation

Let’s play out our scenario of MoonWatcher leaving if your firm’s email was branded and owned 100% by the firm.

[email protected] is now [email protected]. When MW leaves, you or the HR person would simply log into the Google (or Microsoft) admin web page for MyLawFirmsName.com, select MW’s account and lock it out. The end. (It’s a pretty boring story, actually. But that’s what we want.)

Typically this entire process is a few mouse clicks. At that point, MW no longer can log in, cannot get email (old or new) from that account, cannot send email from that account (which comes from MyLawFirmsName.com or whatever name your company uses), and cannot get to any of the shared documents that could be retrieved from that account. Sure, there are some details on how access permissions are configured and there are even ways to get around this, like if MW printed every email he ever received and took it home with him, but the gist is that for a nominal cost (about $75/year/person), you can increase the access control and protections you have on your client data, email communications, internal work products and access to third party resources.

You don’t deal with the werewolf on his terms, he deals with you on your terms. The anti-werewolf squad is standing by, ready to go, and they have trained in how to deal with this situation. And most importantly, they do their job during the day when it is safe before any problems occur! On full moon nights, the wolf has no access to anyone, all the doors are locked. And anyone who might need to venture out has the proper protection.

The Point Is

Custom domains are not a silver bullet cure-all, but they are also not just a vanity license plate on the “information superhighway.” They define and identify your company and use this branded identity to set boundaries on, and protect, your private information—private information that is one of the most valuable assets, and biggest liabilities if mishandled, that your company possesses. Use it so your protections against insider attacks will be a howling success.

Contact us at Of Counsel Technologies to learn how you can protect your assets, your reputation, and your company with this simple step.

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mysmestuff · 7 years ago

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Ice Cream Delight: Saeran x Reader (Part I)

A/N: First time writing a mystic messenger fanfic!! honestly I’ve been wanting to set up a mystic messenger blog to pour my FEELINGS OUT because I just finished V route like two days ago and honestly I just want death more than ever:) lmao, but I hope you enjoy <33 (this is more of setting up the story, so I know it’ll be a bit boring >< sorry)

With some miracle, you finally regained full consciousness of your own body, immediately escaping the so-called paradise that was promised to you and many others. Easily finding your way out, you continuously ran under the dark endless sky, trying to find a public place to idle in, hoping that it would prevent Anon from forcing you to return. It took a while to find a place as it was 2am, and it was bizarre that the place that was still open was an ice cream store, Dottin’ Dips. You quickly entered the store, regaining your breath as you took a seat. After your breath returned to its normal pace, you looked around as you realized that you might seem strange to others. But after scanning, the only people that existed was a teenager behind the counter, his eyes closed and he wore headphones, that were obnoxiously loud, and a man hunched over with headphones as well, seemingly focused on the laptop in front of him while eating his ice cream. You were bewildered for a moment as you noticed there were 4 empty cups stacked atop one another beside him, indicating he was on his fifth cup, but you dismissed the thought as you were relieved no one paid attention to you.

You hurriedly opened the laptop you had been clutching, it had everything you needed, the laptop was your hacking device after all. The options for wifi access were the ice cream store’s and one titled “GTFO, don’t even try” which you guessed was the wireless hotspot next to the man devouring ice cream. You went for the hotspot as store wifi would only leave traces, and you were greeted by a complicated system that to other normal individuals would seem like a virus or an impossible puzzle. This system was familiar to you though, it was the old method of hacking. Shrugging off your surprise that the man was obviously a fellow hacker, you effortlessly went around the system and connected to the wifi. With the card you had stolen from Anon, you were able to rent a decent townhouse that was around the area, making sure to leave the payment trace to a luxurious hotel far away, a week at the hotel matching the 6-month advance payment of rent for the townhouse. It was the perfect plan as Anon falsely believed he knew you, as someone who enjoyed luxury and the finest treatment possible and you already knew that he would think your plan would be to idle for a week and move in with a relative nearby. As you worked on configuring your traces, you also booked a taxi cab to come but away from the store about 5 buildings down. Just when you finished and closed your laptop, you see Anon calmly crossing the street, with your adrenaline rushing again, you quickly realized your mistake and click your tongue in annoyance, scanning the card properly, you were right in your assumption that there was a tracker attached to it. Despite the circumstances, you were able to calm your nerves to think of a way to distract him enough to be able to leave.

An option would be to cause a scene enough to attract attention of either or both of the men in the store. Maybe scream or slap him- but before you knew it, Anon grabbed your arm, forcibly yanking you to stand up, keeping a smile on his face. “Here,” he places a cup of mint-colored ice cream on your hand, firmly holding it in place as your hand visibly shakes. You tried to scream, or thrash in place, but you couldn’t. You grew more and more desperate as you could feel yourself losing control, dreading to return to that god-forsaken place. Just when you lost all hope, your senses and control were back in your power. Assessing the situation, you noticed that the man who was rather occupied with his laptop mere seconds ago, was protectively in front of you, Anon smiling innocently with his hands up, as if he was surrendering. “Hey man, I’m just trying to pick up my girlfriend. It’s not safe to be out and about, especially with the recent kidnappings and multiple murders,” Anon glanced over the man’s shoulders at you, grinning, “Right babe?”

You shudder in response to the endearment. You reflexively tightened your fist, realizing that it was clutching unto the man’s back, his leather jacket. As you were just about to let go in surprise, your fist tightened even more when you noticed that the ice cream that was in your hands a moment ago was now on the floor, melting and the liquid slowly making its way to your feet. Flashes of memories had you holding your breath, the bright white tiled floor and the mint liquid switching to gravel ground and blood, back-and-forth repeatedly. You weren’t sure how you were able to snap out of the memory, but the source of miracle might’ve been the man as he asked, “Are you alright?” His deep and reverberating voice had interrupted your thoughts.

Nodding your head and evening your breath, you stepped closer to the man’s back to avoid the melting ice cream. “Ba-” Anon was interrupted by the man who asked you another question, “Do you know him?” You quickly shook your head no, and you saw Anon expressing shock, as he most likely thought you had already been revoked from controlling your own body. The man wasted no time to hold down Anon, and you loosened your fist, placing your hand back to your side. The sudden movement of Anon’s arms being held behind his back led to the sleeves of his coat to fall, revealing the tattoo of an eye. You saw recognition within the man’s expression and he seemed even more determine to protect you, tightening his hold on Anon. While holding him down, the man turned to you, casually smiling (you were pretty sure it was sarcastic), “I’m Saeran, nice to meet you. I suggest taking this time to leave while you still can, far from here if possible.” He was right. You finally had the opportunity to escape, why were you remaining in place? “Thanks,” you say as you scramble to grab your laptop and run out the door. Before you passed him, he stopped you, “Wait!” still holding down Anon, he handed you a tissue, “Here.”

You didn’t bother questioning what it was for, accepting it with, “Thanks.” Anon stopped grunting and desperately called out, “Babe! Babe!” as you ran out the door and down 5 buildings, where the taxi had been waiting and you quickly entered the taxi. After telling the address of the townhouse, you removed the tracker from the card, placing it in the seat next to you. “After dropping me, please head to C&R hotel to get your payment, it’ll be tripled,” you added the last part as the man hesitated, suspecting you of someone trying to get away from paying, but then he recognized the company that owned the hotel, known for compensating for any trouble that might be related to them.

You look out the window, replaying the recent event, surprised that when Anon called out to you, there was no effect. “It didn’t work, my body or brain didn’t react to it,” you whispered to yourself in disbelief. Just then, you see your reflection from the window, your eyes were slightly puffy. You tentatively touched your cheek, and felt a slight dampness. With a chuckle, you wiped your cheeks with the tissue the man, named Saeran, had handed to you. Maybe the situation was too much that you were unable to notice that you had cried, you don’t even have an idea when you might've cried.

The taxi driver disrupted your thoughts, “Miss, we’re here.” You thanked the driver and got out of the cab, the only items you had with you was your laptop and the stolen card. You were in bliss though, the taste of freedom had you grinning. As the townhouse already had furniture, the only problem you would have to worry about was food and clothes but you could shop for those later. The lady you were renting from decided to drop by, offering you towels and food she had prepared. Apparently, towels and food were always her welcome gifts, but you were thankful nonetheless and didn’t pry into the reason. After she left, you ate half the food she gave you, saving the rest when you wake up, and knocking tf out on the bed when you reached the room.

#saeran choi #mystic messenger saeran #mystic messenger #mysme saeran #mm saeran #saeran x reader #mystic messenger fanfic

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mystic-messenger-writing · 7 years ago

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I'm so glad I found your blog! I love your headcanons :) How about RFA + Saeran as parents and their reactions to their babies firsts? First step, word, and first time saying I Love You to them?

And I’m glad that you sent in this request because I absolutely love it! I apologize for not adding all parts of your request, I didn’t want these to be too long and if I could, I would write pages upon pages of the RFA and friends as parents! Thank you for the request and I hope that you enjoy! ^^

Yoosung

Ever since his son was born, Yoosung was determined to be the best father that he could be

He put aside his gaming addiction in order to spend more time with his son, he was especially excited to witness all of his son’s firsts

When your toddler was beginning to babble, you and Yoosung had s contest to see if your son would say your name or his first

One day when your son was sitting in his high chair while eating his baby food, he grabbed a handful of the mush and threw it at Yoosung exclaiming “Fo daddy!”

Despite having half of his face covered in baby food, Yoosung lifted his son in the air and cried tears of happiness that his son finally spoke

Seeing how happy Yoosung was made you forget your little contest, until it was time for your little boy’s first steps

But Yoosung was completely jealous when your son waddled his way to you instead of him but joy quickly took over as he saw his son’s bright, smiling face

Yoosung cherished you and his son more than life itself, he couldn’t wait to see his little boy keep growing and witness many more firsts

Zen

Zen was already a supporting and doting husband but when his son was born, he cared even more for his growing family

You had been talking about your son’s first even before he was born and Zen didn’t think much of it

That it until the little boy started trying to form words, Zen was determined to make him say his name as his first word

You both kept encouraging your son to say Zen’s name but the little one suddenly called “cat!” and then started pulling on his father’s ponytail

Zen had to hold in his displeasure, along with a sneeze, as he son kept telling the word cat with you snickering behind them

After learning his first word, Zen wanted to have a better experience with his son’s first steps

Zen demonstrated many types of absurd walks for his giggling son to motivate him to walk

His son kept on laughing as he walked wobbly towards Zen’s outstretched arms, catching his son into a hug

Zen felt so much love for his son that his little boy’s first only made him adore him even more

Jaehee

Jaehee never would have thought that having a daughter with you would bring so much joy into her life

She significantly cut down her work hours in order to spend more time with her little girl since she was excited to witness all of her firsts

When the little one started speaking more coherently, Jaehee wanted her to have a suitable first word

The two of you were trying to get your daughter to say her first word but were interrupted when Jaehee received a phone call

She answered Jumin’s call and when they were done talking, she saw you giggling awkwardly

Your daughter kept saying “Mm Han!” Over and over again since she heard Jaehee answer him on the phone

With her first word being something Jaehee never wanted, the two of you decided to see how her walking progress was going

The little one was all smiles as she walked unevenly between the short distances of you and Jaehee, making both of you tear up with happiness

Jaehee loves every moment she spend with her daughter and can’t wait to spend even more time with her little girl

Jumin

Jumin loved spending all as much time as he could with his newborn daughter

He started working more at home since he believed his daughter deserved to have both her mother and father to give her lots of love

When she became a bit older, Jumin was adamant about hearing his daughter’s first word

It was late one night when you and Jumin were trying to calm down your fussy daughter

Nothing seemed to calm down the little girl until Elizabeth walked into the room and meowed loudly

The little girl immediately calmed down and started reaching for Elizabeth calling “Cat cat Elly cat!”

Jumin ignored the third word his daughter said and placed tons of kisses all over face as you and him told her how proud you were of her

When it was time for your daughter to learn how to walk, it was one day when Jumin was working at his home office

He saw Elizabeth walk into the room followed closely by his giggling daughter making Jumin laugh himself

Seeing how close his daughter was with the two of you plus Elizabeth made Jumin feel like the happiest man in the world

Seven

Seven wanted his son to grow up knowing that both of his parents loved him dearly

He wanted to make all kinds of memories with his son, one of the first being his little boy’s first words

The two of you tried to get your son to say his first words but he was being stubborn and wouldn’t say anything

So Seven made a cat robot to help teach his son simply words

One day when you and Seven were playing with your son, he looked up at his father and pointed at him saying “hacker daddy!”

You rolled your eyes knowing that Seven made the cat robot teach your child strange words but your heart melted when you saw how happy Seven looked with his son in his arms

When it came to teaching your son how to walk, you made Seven promise to teach your little boy traditionally with no robots

Your little boy had some troubles walking so Seven guided his son until he wobbled his way over to you, the three of you laughing together

Seven wants his son to have the happiest life that he can and plans to make many happy memories with you and his little boy

Unknown

Saeran was absolutely terrified of becoming a father and even started distancing himself from you and his son

He started spending less and less time with the two of you, scared of hurting his child

But when your son was at the age of speaking, you had a happy surprise for Saeran

You went into your bedroom one day when Saeran was working, holding your son as you whispered in his ear and pointed to Saeran

He was at a complete lost as to what was going on until his son reached out towards his father saying “Wuv you daddy!”

Saeran broke down into happy tears as he took the little boy from you, cradling him to his chest as he apologized to the both of you for being so distant

When it was time for your son to learn how to walk, Saeran was there for his boy the entire time, giving him words of encouragement and love

The two of you cheered when your son took his first steps, Saeran beaming with pride since his son learned to walk before his brother’s child

Saeran may not have been the best father in the beginning, but he promises to never leave your or his son’s side as he continues to experience all of his little boy’s firsts with you

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abumblebeeat221b · 8 years ago

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A List of Everything that is Odd about ‘The Six Thatchers’

I watched it again.

And I have to say I’ve read better fan fics on ao3. Gosh, if this had been something on ao3, I’d have stopped reading by the time they made John cheat on Mary. My comment would have been something like: John is hopelessly OOC. Mary’s characterisation is great, but why would you kill her off?

But since, by some unfortunate events, this happens to be the first episode of series 4, here are a few things which were referenced/out of place/ or just plain odd.

Our doctor said you were clean.

A few hours ago, Sherlock was having a Vicotrian Mind Palace trip. We worried for a year that he might have OD-ed. How does this qualify as clean? Or rather did Sherlock Holmes tip some poor government doctor off to fake his results? Is this some weird AU?

Only those within this room, code names Antarctica, Langdale, Porlock and Love, will ever know the whole truth

Antarctica: no idea.

Langdale is a reference to Langdale Pike from ‘Three Gables’. In the story he is a curator of scandals for some paper, and gives Sherlock Holmes the real name of a rich, famous, beautiful and industrious woman whose actions happen to affect one of Holmes clients. He lets her off the hook after making sure she’d come up for the travel expenses for his client, whose biggest dream is to see the world.

Porlock. Fred Porlock. ‘The Valley of Fear’. First, Porlock warns Holmes in an encrypted message about one of Moriarty’s plans (against a Mr Douglas), but then becomes too afraid of his master. Aaaaaand. On top of it, the story has Douglas faking his own death, who back in America, had brought a gang (the Valley of Fear) to justice, and is busy trying to save his life once the criminals get released again. Douglas dies in the end, even though Holmes warned him. And good old Holmes blames Moriarty once more. (Although who knows. Maybe Douglas just faked his death again?)

There was once a merchant, in the famous market at Baghdad.

The fable of the Appointment in Samarra, a.k.a “You can’t cheat death”. But then Mycroft lets us know that Sherlock wrote an AU where the merchant flees to Sumatra and escapes death. If we are talking about symbolism, then what does that stand for? (Also, don’t forget Sherlock’s vow, his promise he’d help Mary to escape. Maybe he did. Maybe he did not and Mary still escaped?)

But when they opened up his lungs…sand.

The drown man whose lungs were full of sand: no idea what that might be about. I can’t even come up with a scenario where that would be a possible cause of death. Maybe he inhaled water mixed with (river?) sand?

Come back! It’s the wrong thumb.

The severed thumb aka ‘The Engineer’s Thumb’. The only interesting thing about this story is that the criminals manage to flee and a house burns down. I’m not sure if this qualifies as foreshadowing (the burning house from the trailer, anyone?)

It’s never twins.

The case is called The Duplicate Man on John’s blog. We already had a reference to A Case of Identity last series (man plays the suitor for his step-daughter), so I’m not sure what this could be.

Dimmock, look in the lymph nodes.

And the above also goes for the guy with ink in his lymph nodes. What?

The canary trainer?

There is a ACD but extended canon story with the title of 'The Canary Trainer’, which is basically an early Adlock fan fic set after Holmes fakes his death at the Reichenbach falls.

The heart medication you’re taking is known to cause bouts of amnesia.

Not a clue. But since in the episode the case features on John’s blog: why have they really stopped updating the real one? Or why haven’t they at least deleted the Six Thatchers from it?

You can’t arrest a jellyfish.

The one with the jellyfish aka The Adventure of the Lion’s Mane. It was the jellyfish. What a surprise.

Sherlock’s phone. I couldn’t help noticing that Sherlock works a LOT during the first part of the story. We have him solving cases for Dimmock, Hopkins, Lestrade. On top of his private ones. Maybe he is anxious to give whatever Moriarty has set up for him to come his way. Maybe Mofftiss are trying to mirror the ‘That just sort of happened.’ bit with the Sydney opera house serviettes from The Sign of Three.

The really uncomfortable bit with John and the woman on the bus. To everyone who say John is not wearing his wedding ring when we see his right hand combing though his hair: it’s because it’s on his left. When we get the whole bit later in the story, it is there (or just look at the 2 days promo pic). Of course, why they couldn’t flip the shot so that we see his left hand (Martin Freeman is left handed, I’m sure he could have done the shot with his left hand) is beyond me.

The Thatcher case and the explosion. If you hit a car, usually, there is no explosion. Unless you want there to be an explosion. But even then, staging the whole thing can be difficult. Besides, who came up with the idea that cars are airtight, or that corpses don’t smell? Although, I have the feeling the latter one might be an honest mistake.

Mrs H. Since when are we calling Mrs Hudson Mrs H? I know it’s in the books. But that seems like a rather deliberate change in the show…

The client with the badly removed tattoo. I’m not sure what this was supposed to be about. The Red-Headed League. How did I miss this? Also there is a far-fetched parallel to John, maybe (the tattoo man’s wife left him, just like Mary leaves John, in a way).

And then we get this:

- So, what’s this all about, then? - Having fun. - Fun? - While I can.

And I’m tempted to say that’s foreshadowing. Sherlock honestly thinks something is coming, and he is not sure he’ll be able to have fun afterwards.

Toby the dog. The Sign of Four. Mary Morstan’s origin story. In the book Toby is not a bloodhound.

The hacker. It really happened. Twice, I know of. Last year a British teenager was accused of getting is hands on some CIA e-mails. And they speculated he wouldn’t get charged in the end, because of the case of Gary McKinnon who had hacked US military computers back in 2002. But thanks to the British government, his actions didn’t have any major consequences.

Ajay. Last series, we were made to believe Sherlock spent one and a half years as some sort of agent fighting Moriarty’s network. He is supposed to be a professional. I get finding the memory stick in the bust makes him emotional. But why would he tell that stranger Mary’s real name? And later, why would he tell Lestrade of all people that the guy who almost shot him used to work with Mary?

The memory stick. Even a memory stick with a metal case has plastic parts. And those busts had to be put into an oven to harden. Do you know what happens to a memory stick in an oven? And if for some reason physical rules do not apply in the Sherlockverse, then what happened to the chain the memory stick was attached to? That seems like a bit of an unnecessary mistake.

I also don’t get how that memory stick insurance is supposed to work. There were four of them, i.e. four memory sticks. One of them could have easily fallen into the wrong hands.

The hideout below the church. Before Sherlock meets Mary in that church, he already told John. Who told him to plant a tracer inside it.

The American passport. It says it was issued mid October 2014. Do you know what happened mid October 2014? According to John’s blog, that was a few weeks (maybe a month?) after Sherlock got shot in HLV. Maybe Mary thought she’d need to be on the run again. Maybe Mofftiss just f*cked up.

The Culverton Smith poster at the bus stop.

E at the bus stop. I really don’t trust her. John meeting her is not a coincidence, I think.

The question of all questions: Did John cheat on Mary? I don’t know. I do think he was slightly tempted to, but odds are he didn’t in the end. Because a) as half the fandom has already pointed out before me, it would be ooc. Also, if you are married to an ex-super agent, and your best friend can read you date going by your clothing, then I don’t think you’d really go through with it. Or else Sherlock and Mary would have noticed (of course, them knowing about it would give the story a slightly different turn).

Mary takes the bullet. And Lestrade finally learns who really shot Sherlock Holmes a few months ago (was that supposed to happen?).

Sherinford. What does Sherinford have to do with “13th”?

Norbury. That is a reference to The Man with the Twisted Lip, which is basically a case of a man having the day job of a professional beggar to make money for his family.

Mary’s message. “When I’m gone. If I’m gone”. Mary makes that correction every time. Does it matter? The latter one could be read as a condition. Of not necessarily being dead. I don’t know.

Death waits for us all in Samarra. But can Samarra be avoided?

Why does the episode close with Sherlock asking if Samarra can be avoided? He is not talking about himself. Maybe he isn’t even talking about John.

Go to hell, Sherlock.

Of course, the post credit snippet is on this list. We have Mary swearing eternal friendship to him a few scenes earlier. She is asking him to ‘save John’ in her message she recorded on the run. Before she knew Sherlock would find her. So why the sudden change in tone?

Some have noted that Hell is an actual place in Norway. I think that wasn’t quite what Mary had in mind. But there is not much I can offer as an alternative. At least, Hell would give us a glimmer of hope (and yes, I want that on a T-shirt).

If anything, re-watching that mess of an episode made me realise how much I want Mary to be alive again.

#iwant2believe

#sherlock #sherlock bbc #bbc sherlock #the six thatchers #meta #sherlock meta #references #sherlock canon #bringherback #i want to believe

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