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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

you know how Reynie misheard Kate when she was explaining the Ten Men to him and thought they were called Tin Men? I think everyone should have just committed to the bit and collectively decided to call them Tin Men. It's subtle enough that you can't really tell unless you listen really closely, and then once you think you heard something off you've got to listen at least three more times just to be sure, and- yup, alright, Milligan's definitely calling us Tin Men. But then they can't unhear it. It's only ONE letter off and it haunts them, every single time, over and over again, and applied with enough pressure and persistence eventually all of the Ten Tin Men will simply disintegrate on the spot, leaving both the Whisperer and Mr. Curtain vulnerable to attack. in this essay I will-

HAPPY BIRTHDAY @mvshortcut !!!!!! 🎉

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

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

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

A long awaited sequel to this post, in which I will discuss the inherent lgbtness of the other Mysterious Benedict Society characters

Nicholas Benedict? Gay, wears his gay little outfits and lives in his gay little house with his gay little family

Milligan Wetherall? The bisexual of all time. He and Kate went to their first pride parade together

Ledroptha Curtain? The worst type of gay person: a theater kid

Moocho Brazos? Gay and he’s done drag, I know this in my heart

Reynie Muldoon? Bisexual (thank you TLS) and I know on my heart he’s arospec and GNC

Sticky Washington? World’s most handsome bisexual, the representation we deserve

SQ Pedelian? No gender, only bird drawings and childhood trauma

The Ten Men? Evil polycule >:]

Cannonball? Aroace, my funky dude with like 5 minutes of screentime 🫶

Captain Phil Noland? Far too occupied with a slight case of low blood sugar, a faltering marriage, and the liens on his house and vehicle to think about sexuality, but frequents gay bars because he likes their drinks better

Tai Li? He’s like a nephew to me, I want to show up at his house during the holidays with a tin full of cookies and give him $10 to buy himself something at the mall

Beware: Riddle Of Ages Spoilers

I’m a little sad we’ll (probably) never get a Riddle of Ages adaption simply because I would die to see the build up scene prior to the Ten Men fight at the street fair. In the book that scene was so suspenseful, and I can see it so perfectly being adapted to film. Imagine…

We open to a fast, moving shot Kate driving Mrs. Plugg’s motorcycle. She reaches the crowd leaving the fair; people pass in front of the camera, we get some shots of the cycle’s wheels as Kate slowly navigates through them. It’s all very chaotic and claustrophobic, but Kate catches a man’s arm and asks what’s going and he tells her about the gas leak. Finally, she makes it through and begins driving again, but much slower. It is much quieter with the crowd gone and the hum of the motor had even died down. She passes abandoned stalls, the wind blows discarded fliers past her. She comes to a stop at the end of the of the fair, and we get a shot of her dropping the kickstand. The motor turns off and everything is quiet except for the wind. She looks around, there is a dark alleyway, and then we see it. There is something there, sitting in the alley. We get the feeling that something is very, very wrong. Kate calls out, first quietly, then finding the strength in her voice to be loud. She takes slow, measured steps into the darkness as she continues to speak at the stranger, never getting a response. We zoom in on the strangers trembling fingers, suddenly the sound of them hitting the table is magnified, it’s all we can hear. Kate noticed it to, she tentatively addresses the stranger a final, quiet time but she is focused on the sound. She knows something is going on and trying to figure out what. The tapping hammers in her skull in time with heartbeat, which we can now hear. We focus again in the stranger’s hands, and suddenly, in short flashes, they become Reynie or Sticky’s hands from so many years ago. They are tapping out Morse code in the front yard outside of Mr. Benedict’s house. Back to the strangers hands. They tap .-. and the symbols appear on the screen. Then ..- comes. Finally, -. Letters of the alphabet cycle underneath the Morse code as she decodes before finally landing on R U N. The audience and Kate come to the same conclusion in that moment. Everything goes quiet as we see fearful realization cross her face. We zoom in on her mouth as she whispers to herself “Run.” But it’s too late.

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

It took forever to wash off.

Both Curtain and Benedict were holding in their laughter.

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

Tmbs Ten Men Content once more

Let’s set the scene

McCracken: Well, it appears our means of travel have each been rendered unavailable for reasons both sound and idiotic. The Salamander is under maintenance after Bludgins spotted the busted underside, Hertz short circuited the fake ambulance to blurt out his victims’ cries, and Crawlings, dear boy?

You are never driving the small luxury sedan again lest you wish your stubborn eyebrow to be your only evidence of existence. Am I clear?

Crawlings: Oh come now, the officer gave us a par-

McCracken: Gave you, a ticket. With that out of the way, any suggestions from the peanut gallery?

Mortis: I suppose a modified hearse might do us some good.

Hertz: Ha! What next, my friend? You want plastic spiders and webs along for the ride? I say we fix the ambulance immediately, besides what’s stopping Sharpe from fixing it anyways?

Sharpe: Computers are much more simple than an ambulance, and your toys can wait, Hertz.

Garrote: Well, even our own off-time vehicles are too normal, if still lavish. Besides, Bludgins’ muscle car would give us away.

Bludgins: It’s better than Burnside’s little dingy hog.

Burnside: Say that again and I’ll ignite that ale sac you call a liver. Besides, the missus will notice anything missing since you want to use the family man.

Crawlings: Wait, speaking of which… McCraig! Be a good fellow, you must have an idea, right?

McCraig: Uh… well… I was supposed to take the family out on a boating trip. We have the boat and everything but uh, it hasn’t been used since the priso-

McCracken: Ah! Well done! We have our temporary arrangement-

McCraig: Wait! Wait! We can’t, we-

Sharpe: We currently have 76 confirmed kills, a Swiss bank account, black market dentistry, and a protected position as a frustrated scientists personal child abduction force. I’m pretty sure you can convince your wife.

McCraig: *Gulps* Here goes…

*Phone Rings*

Mrs. McCraig: Honey? What’s wrong? You usually never call me at work.

McCraig: Honey, hi. Listen, my coworkers and I are in a bit of a bind and a way to solve it would be to use the boat and spare ca-

Mrs. McCraig: HAROLD BARTHOLOMEW CRAIG! After all this time of it wasting away in the garage, you only want to use it for your work!? Didn’t you promise Susie you’d let her drive it at the Lake last summer? I can’t believe you-

McCraig: Honey, honey, please, the fellows and I have important work to do, and look how politely they’re asking.

*He shoots the original four a pleading look to even appear remotely grateful as he turns on the FaceTime and leans for them to enter view .*

*McCracken straightens himself and gives a smile, Sharpe slightly nods his head, Garrote beams and looks straight into the phone camera, and Crawlings gives his eyebrow the good ole worm wiggle.*

Mrs. McCraig: … fine. But tell the bald one to check a doctor. That eyebrow looks like it’ll fall off.

McCraig: Yes honey. Thank you dear~ *hangs up*

McCracken: That wasn’t too hard, was it? Now, my colleagues, it’s time to pick seating arrangements.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

calculator bombs – to represent technology without safeties to satisfy greed

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

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

Now for the other weapons:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you for the ask!!

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

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

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

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

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

Summary: The ten men make an interesting discovery

swipes everything else off of the table to yell about diasomnia flower bookmarks

(I gave Silver one too :D)

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

Highlighters with Acid in them

"Erasers" that are Really Dense and Can Be Thrown

Very Sharp Staple Removers

Scissors whose blades can be separated and used like Daggers

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

Pushpins that are Tiny Poison Injectors

Loose change that is actually Super Magnets

Post-it Notes that give Very Bad Paper Cuts

Label-maker whose ink causes Hallucinations Upon Contact

Scotch tape that Binds To/Destroys camera lenses

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

Cuff-links with Tiny Razor Blades in them

new game is to type one through ten in your tags and see what comes up. i think my favorite of mine is ‘my uncle told us he spent seven and a half hours in a sensory deprivation tank once’ but ‘gideon the ninth motherfucker’ is a close second

Ah yes, the Ten Man *looks at hand*