anything i do becomes vertin reverse 1999
This is what I've been up to when I was gone.
New Arcana Idea to play with. Constantine included.
Arcana returns, but she's significantly weaker than before. At first she is welcome back at Manus, however there is infighting and politics now spreading throughout the order. Without Arcana as the head, Manus fractured into different smaller factions who all have different theories on how to reach their goal.
Arcana wants to retake control of Manus but in her current state she is unable to reign them in. They decide they don't need her anymore. Some also feel like Arcana's sight of her real goal since she met the Timekeeper.
With nowhere else to go, she pops up in the Suitcase. She wants to strike an alliance to take down the current leaders of Manus and start over. Vertin has no intention of letting Arcana continue her reign of terror, but she begrudgingly sees use for Arcana.
So Arcana ends up in the Suitcase but like Isolde she is not allowed to leave freely.
The only person Constantine can't stand more than Vertin is Arcana. The two are always talking in circles around each other and playing mind games. Vertin is highly amused by this until she inevitably gets dragged into it as Constantine's proudest creation and Arcana's greatest obsession.
Honestly the mind games go nowhere. They go off on tangents often since it's more about winning than reasoning. Arcana doesn't give a damn but Constantine is simmering inside because she has no idea what the hell is going on in Arcana's head.
Interestingly, Arcana is one of the few people to make Madam Z openly hostile. Granted it's still restrained but you can tell she wants Arcana nowhere near her baby.
In terms of teamwork, Arcana follows Vertin's orders without question but then suddenly pull a monkey's paw. As in, Vertin will tell her to do something and she'll get it done in the worst possible way. When Arcana's feeling cooperative, they are a terrifying duo.
It's a cycle of people using each other to reach a common goal. I feel like we can explore darker sides of the Timekeeper this way to. She's a sweetie, but she's able to manipulate and scheme just as much as Constantine and Arcana. She can see their train of thought even though she doesn't agree.
When she takes Arcana on missions she keeps in her line of sight at all times. She's afraid of what Arcana will do the moment she takes her eyes off her. Naturally, Arcana will sometimes vanish just to stress Vertin out and do the most mundane things like buy herself a drink or watch the birds in a nearby park. She hangs around and waits to see a frustrated Timekeeper chase after her.
This whole thing was created because I had a vision:
A miserable Vertin and a curious Arcana eating McDonald's in Constantine's office. Constantine is listening to Vertin give her a personal update on how their mission went. Constantine is there listening with her head in her hands and a Happy Meal on her desk.
The McDonald's was Vertin's idea. She was hungry. As much as she dislikes Arcana, she won't let people under her go hungry either. Arcana's never had McDonald's before so this is new to her. She's examining her nuggets and a VERY tired Vertin is opening the sauce to show her how to eat them.
The Happy Meal was bought for Constantine to "cheer her up" because the mission was a disaster and Vertin had to share the news. Essentially she's just screwing with Constantine because that's the only silver lining in the whole ordeal.
I've been thinking about this AU for a while now but haven't really gotten a solid idea of which character should be which.
Though, I've already decided from the start that Sonetto would be Veronica, Vertin would be JD, and Schneider would be H. Chandler because... red. Other then those 3, everyone else is still up for debate. For example, Matilda. At first I wanted her to be Martha but then I had a thought of making her H. Duke.
If anyone's interested in my 2am thoughts of an au let me know what characters you think should be who. It'd be great.
so basically notes on shuori is just people doing the vice ganda horse transformation
I CAN'T WAIT ANYMORE PLEASE ARGUS MY WIFE I NEED YOU
That silhouette in the middle
Looks oddly familiar
at the end of the day, the main story is just arcana hating on lesbians and vertins polyclue
At first, Vertin's team is mostly used to exterminate leftover traces of Manus Vindictae. They hunt them down all over the globe.
Vertin still recruits people to both the Foundation and her department along the way. That is one of the Foundation's main goals after all. However, she has all the "unhinged" or "dangerous" arcanists under her care since the Foundation doesn't know what to do with them, but doesn't want them causing trouble.
Then, the Timekeeper Department moves more toward problem solving. They are sent to investigate rumors and situations when the Foundation doesn't want to use their own manpower. They will also deal with Critters and Arcane shenanigans. Because Vertin's Department is so diverse, they also do humanitarian efforts. Druvis can help a poor village with failing crop yields. Lilya can deliver medication and other resources in emergencies. There are arcanists who can track down bad people and also find people who are lost. These are just a few examples but I'm sure there are many more. This also makes the Foundation look great and boosts their reputation.
However, as time goes on the problems Vertin's Department are sent to face become increasingly dangerous for them to handle alone. Things that the Foundation should be using their own people for or at least help with.
It's the same issue as before: the Foundation is afraid Vertin will turn against them. She now has the means to do so. The Foundation may have more people and resources, but Vertin's people have experience, pure power, and unwavering loyalty. Vertin has tried to assure them that she just wants to live in peace, but they are still terrified of the possibility.
So they've started sending Vertin's people on more dangerous and sometimes even unnecessary missions hoping to thin her numbers out. Her arcanists are too dangerous for society anyway. They will die as martyrs. At the same time, The Foundation hopes to make Vertin's people lose faith in their leader. They want to create internal conflicts and want to instill someone more loyal to the Foundation as the head of the Department.
But they can't find anyone who can reign in the Arcanists like Vertin. They've tried bribing and making offers to her people directly but it always blows up in their face.
Vertin's personal connections with her people seem irrational and far too emotional. Her people will follow her into hell but the problem is they keep coming back. The Foundation is forced to acknowledge that they have no control over the situation anymore. This insight causes more tension in the Foundation.
They thought they trapped Vertin, but it turns out their the ones trapped with her. They can't get rid of her or else her people will run loose. They can't replace her because her department won't accept anyone else.
Vertin still does the missions, but demands proper resources. She still leads her people to help others and save arcanists seeking refuge. However, whenever the Foundation gets too pushy or unreasonable during a meeting, all she has to do is place her Suitcase on the table. The unsaid threat is more than enough to shut them up.
Constantine is actually on Vertin's side in all of this. She's tired of all the cowards yapping. As much as she hates to admit it, she's seen Vertin grow into the force she is today. She and Vertin openly argue about things, which makes other people on edge but it's normal for them. They have an understanding: Vertin will help the Foundation, and the Foundation will help her. That's all there is to it but only Constantine seems to get that.
On that note, Vertin is one of Constantine's greatest achievements. Constantine is confident in her abilities and judgement, which in a way translates to an odd form of trust in Vertin. Maybe not in Vertin herself per say, but trust in the way Vertin will act.
Madam Z thinks Vertin has grown on Constantine, but Constantine looked absolutely disgusted by the assumption.
They could never make me hate you Theopil