delicate

isn't it? isn't it? isn't it? isn't it?

isn't it? isn't it? isn't it? isn't it?

Family: On Mack Thomas

Headquarters

Seattle, WA

June 2015

10:32 AM

Mack readjusts his sweater for the hundredth time that morning.

The place is nicer than he had expected. He had passed by the building numerous times on his way to his previous work; it had caught his attention, but never to the point of him being curious enough to peek inside and inquire at the front desk.

If he had to be honest, then Mack wasn’t even sure why he was giving the new place a go to begin with. The last job was stable, he was practicing what he studied, and the people he had worked with were as friendly as they could be. It paid well, too. Why exactly he had decided to switch jobs out of the blue was something rash and impulsive; Mack didn’t know if he would even last in a place like this new one.

Maybe it was because he found the man cute. Maybe that was it.

Just weeks ago he was talking to a man who introduced himself as “Tad”; they were talking about what Mack did, what Mack could do, and about what Mack wanted. When he had admitted to the stranger that he was already getting bored with his current job, a certain kind of smile climbed onto the other’s face. The expression had made him fiddle with his shirt.

Cut to the present, and Mack is still adjusting his damn sweater.

123089: Birthday

"what's your idea of home, mack?"

Discussion: Mack Thomas

Good evening, all! 

If you noticed, I’ve shifted the schedule quite a bit. Instead of cramming two posts in one night, I decided to have Sunday as dedicated to Mack’s Discussion post. Watch out for the shifting of layout in a few hours! We’re getting pretty close to the end of the month, and this time we’re heading into Squad A territory. 

For this post, we’ll be talking about Mack Thomas. Similar to in Jian’s case, his name pretty much remains the same. I’ll be using the same system as last time—come the concluding segment of the post, I’ll put “Coa” or “DNAU” in front of Mack’s name to prevent confusion on which Mack is being discussed. 

As usual, if you’re interested in getting to know both versions of Mack, then feel free to click the “read more” link down below! 

"Do enjoy your stay."

Coalesce Spread: Mack

Parental: A Coalesce Short (2/4)

Mack’s Apartment

Seattle, WA

The United States of America

June 2017

“I’m not going to say much—but I will say that you overreacted.”

Aether said nothing. Mack heaved a sigh; getting up from his couch, he swept the empty glass of wine and set off to the kitchen to refill it. He honestly had no idea how to resolve the issue between Tadashi and Aether. While he knew that Peters was keeping the Korean company in the latter’s apartment, it wasn’t exactly enough to mend the rift between them. It was a bad fight. It was one of their worse arguments—hell, it was a rare incident of an argument to begin with. Aether and Tadashi weren’t the type of pair who fought.

But it happened just two days ago, and neither him nor Peters were sure on how they could make the two stand in the same room and apologize to one another. Mack exhaled as he gingerly refilled the wine glass; while he supported having an alcohol-induced night out Aether any day of the week, drowning one’s self in wine was never the best solution. He made a mental note to pry away the glass by the time she got pink.

Hell, he wasn’t even sure how he would approach Aether about the topic.

The argument ended with Aether leaving and Tadashi standing there with a look on his face that Mack hardly ever saw. It was more than ‘kicked puppy’; while Mack wasn’t one for emotions, seeing Tadashi like that made his chest hurt slightly.

He tried to see things from both parties’ perspectives. Aether was right in one way; Tadashi had to learn that she could take care of herself. Granted, he was fearful within reason, but it was something he himself had admitted. There was a need for Tadashi to let go of past fears and let whatever happen to happen. He couldn’t stop it.

Parental: A Coalesce Short (1/4)

Headquarters

Seattle, WA

The United States of America

June 2017

Peters and Mack didn’t know how the argument had escalated that badly.

All four members of Squad A were gathered in Aether’s office for debriefing purposes; after Aether had recounted the events of the day, Tadashi followed up with his usual spiel concerning their own personal safety. “Put yourselves first,” he reminded them. Throwing a glance in Aether’s direction, he continued: “We’re not going to get anything done if we don’t try and take care of ourselves. And that goes for all of us.”

“I can’t help but feel that you’re only targeting one of us,” Peters quipped. Tadashi said nothing; Mack tried not to look at Aether. The female merely glanced away and folded her arms over her chest. Looking unaffected was not one of her strengths; Mack could tell by the look in her eyes that she had gotten Tadashi’s message loud and clear. “So let’s address the elephant in the room—”

“No need.” Aether waved it off. Tadashi gave a frown and was about to speak up, to contest, but Aether carried on quickly. “I get it. I need to rest.”

“It’s not that simple, Aether,” he responded. The two of them looked at each other, Tadashi only looking more upset and Aether clearly trying not to get agitated. Peters muttered a yikes under his breath and Mack inhaled deeply. It was rare that the two ever got into arguments—if anything, the two who bickered the most were Aether and Peters, but a fight as serious as the storm that was brewing had last occurred long ago.

Pride: A Coalesce Graphic

"I sing Vanessa's symphony; Eliza tells her story.

Now fill the world with music, love, and pride."

(Lin-Manuel Miranda)

Traditions: A Coalesce Short (2/2)

Headquarters

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

December 25, 2016

9:54 AM

“We better make this quick,” Peters groused. “I have a flight at 2PM and I definitely don’t want to be late like what happened last year.” 

“You weren’t late last year,” Aether told him, waving it off. Peters, in turn, gave her a look. “Calm down, Peters, you’ll make it—we’ll just have our usual brunch and then you can get to the airport. Who’s bringing you, anyway, and where are your things?” the male gestured outside the office, wherein his luggage was comfortably resting right by her office door. “And how long are you staying?” 

“Just until Friday. I’ll make it back for Mack’s birthday,” he promised. “I had to save my vacation days for this one. Surprisingly, a lot of HQ went back to see their family this year,” he pointed out. Aether nodded slowly. 

Both of them were in her office, waiting for Tadashi and Mack to arrive. It was one of their traditions; the squad met up in her office to exchange gifts, and would then celebrate nearby by having a brunch out. Peters would leave the earliest, as he had a flight to catch, while Aether would leave to spend the remainder of the day with Mathieu. Tadashi’s plans for Christmas depended on the availability of his sisters, while Mack was perfectly content staying in and gifting himself as much sleep as possible. 

Despite it being a holiday, they still caught some of the others catching up on work. Aether had passed by Ross, who wished her a Merry Christmas and explained that he had to pass something along to Forensics; Sol, on another hand, was busy finishing up a report that she had due on the very day. “It’s grueling,” she said with a weary smile. “But I’ll finish it.” 

And it was a pretty okay Christmas so far, Aether reflected. She and Mathieu woke up together, had a light breakfast, and agreed to meet after lunch so that they could go out and have a small date of their own. He was busy visiting Jin-ho and Tony in the former’s residences; most likely giving his gifts and picking up the ones from the Korean. 

“Merry Christmas! Or happy holidays, depending on your beliefs,” a voice came. Aether looked up to see Tadashi standing there with Mack behind him, the latter shaking his head as he ducked into the office. 

Memory: A Coalesce Short

Headquarters

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

December 2016

Mack had a tendency to lose track of time.

He remembered the important dates, of course—he had celebrated Christmas a week back with the Squad. It was nice; they had exchange gifts and had brunch together at one of their favorite restaurants. The mood was at its best. Aether had been leaning against Tadashi and laughing as Peters told one of his stories from high school, and Tadashi had an arm casually wrapped around Aether’s shoulder. Peters was drinking and telling about one of his many failed dates when he was a high school freshman, and Mack—

Mack was watching, observing. And even then he felt happy.

That was Christmas, at least. When they had to get back to work two days after, Mack found himself losing track of time yet again and busying himself with work, just as he did for the rest of the year. There were times wherein Tadashi had to tap his shoulder and ask if he wanted to join them for lunch, and Mack was prone to meal skipping so he quickly agreed.

When he would tell others—like the Squad—that he tended to lose track of time and dates, Peters joked that Mack might end up forgetting his birthday eventually. The rest of them laughed at that, and Mack himself admitted that something like that could very much happen in due time.

And it did.

OCs x Social Media: Mack Thomas

Cover Up: A Russie Features Short

Headquarters

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

December 2016

The Monday after it happened, Mack came to work bearing a violet scarf snuggly-wrapped around his neck. He second-guessed at first, wondering if it would be suspicious if he wore it the entire day; but then again, the weather had been growing colder and it was Christmas season. Mack didn’t have an excuse to not wear it—it would look completely inconspicuous. 

Or at least, that’s what he had thought. Aether had also been wearing a scarf of her own—red as wine—when he arrived at the office, sipping at her usual mug of coffee and leaving a light lipstick stain on it. “Cold day,” she commented, green eyes spotting the scarf. “I thought you weren’t the cold type?” 

“It’s almost below ten,” Mack defended. She nodded slowly and took another sip from her coffee, Mack approaching the coffee maker to pour himself his own mug. “How was your weekend?”

“It was good.” Aether gave a small smile, “Went Christmas shopping. The company party is in one, two weeks? I thought that it was best to be prepared. Mathieu and I went together, he had to get gifts for his friends also.” 

He threw her a cheeky smirk. “Did you get him something, or did you just get some ribbons? If you know what I mean.” Mack chuckled at the sight of her cheeks reddening and narrowly dodged a crumpled paper thrown his way. “Touchy, I didn’t know that you were the type.” 

Mood Boards: Mack Thomas

Team Roles: Squad A

Support Group: A Blogsary Short

The Cage

Atlanta, GA

United States of America

August 2017

“Apparently, I was doing it the wrong way. I might have missed a step or two,” Mack explained. He took a long sip from his drink, “I was supposed to dip my fingers in and then slowly trace them around the rim.”

“For it to work?”

“Mhm. And apparently, if there was a vibration coming from the rim, then it was working. You could work at different speeds but the most efficient one came at a certain speed.” Peters snickered at that, only to be joined eventually by Tadashi and Aether who bore drinks of their own.

“What were you guys talking about?”

“The art of wine glass music,” Mack replied, to which Peters replied at the same time with a much more vulgar suggestion. The curly-haired man barked out a laugh, with Aether’s ears turning red and Tadashi clearing his throat with a raised brow. “Wine glass music—it was a college thing,” he explained with the hint of a smile.

“It sounded like something else for a moment,” Aether muttered. Peters could only waggle his eyebrows at her while the two settled into the booth. “Something we can’t really talk about.”

Team Profile: Squad A

Assistance: A Blogsary Short

i.

When Aether first hears of Peters’ accident a first year into their being a squad, the last thing she expects herself to do was to promptly lose her shit in front of a large portion of headquarters’ various other employees. Tadashi physically restrains her from marching up to the agent spreading the news; he finds himself with his arms locked around her and holding her tightly, teeth grit as she demands and yells.

Aether loses control in that moment and lets go of her careful, calculated self. Tadashi doesn’t quite realize how harrowing this reality is until they’re back in a spare office, Aether pacing back and forth, muttering until realizing what had happened and breaking while swearing.

The situation: it was a robbery incident, something at one of the city’s larger and well-known banks. Peters had been recruited to join the team, and without much thought about it, agreed. After all, Squad A wasn’t as busy as they were, and he was craving to go out there and do something.

Peters going out without alerting them wasn’t the problem, no. Tadashi could scold him about that another time with Aether staring him down with her cold gaze. The problem was that he had gotten shot—Peters had gotten in the way when one of the gunmen had gone awry with a gun, and the blue-eyed American was the one shot instead of a child or someone younger.

Aesthetics: Squad A

Home: A Blogsary Short

Headquarters

December 2009

The first time Tadashi receives their files, he opens them after Eri’s left. The first thing he reads are their surnames: black and in bold, spelled out in caps, with the first reading MAXWELL and the second reading PETERS. He opens the one on top first, flips to the first or second page, and then sees the 2x2 picture of a female staring at the camera with a completely neutral expression.

Her picture haunts him slightly. She couldn’t be older than seventeen, eighteen. Dark hair, a slim face, piercing green eyes. No trace of a smile on her face, instead just a face staring into the camera with a blank, calm expression. Tadashi found himself wondering if she knew what she had gotten herself into and secretly willed for this young lady to stay back in England, find another job where she could keep herself safe.

Looking at the next file wasn’t any better. It bore the picture of a male this time, a few years younger than the female but still young nonetheless. He was remarkably handsome, the slightest trace of a smirk catching his attention. Brown hair, blue eyes. He looked strong, confident, like he could conquer the world on his own. He wished the same for him; wanted him to stay in New York and work alongside his father. It was much safer there—

But for some reason, they were both coming there—to HQ, to Atlanta—with in the span of a few months. He swallowed nervously, flipped through their files and read through the information presented. Two completely different people. Two completely different pasts. His heart ached for the female and felt a certain flutter of pride for the male.

Teaser #01: Blogsary '16

intuition | determination | stamina | introspection