#a.

DIGGING DEEPER.

TW: needles tw; torture tw; indoctrination tw

chapter 1 ( just another product ) : he's not the only parentless child raised by the military. if he didn't know better, isaac would assume that the east atlantic army doubles as an orphanage for the multitude of children it manages to nurture and train. he can't say he remembers his childhood all that well, whether it's because there's nothing to properly remember, or because there's too much to remember, he can't say. his life wasn't unlike those of his classmates, most of whom were his age, but some older, some younger. he vaguely remembers a hall of bunkbeds, a large cafeteria, scrubbing bathrooms, physical training and classrooms with projectors. the only aspect of his childhood before his teens that's any sort of hold over is, of course, vera ward.

chapter 2 ( the best i know ) : what it is about vera that initially attracted him, isaac doesn't know. all he knows is that, anywhere she was, he found himself gravitating towards. they'd eat together in the cafeteria, they'd train together in their free time, did homework and studied for tests together; perhaps it's the part where she's always just accepted him for who he is. not loud, not outgoing, hardly a playful bone in his body—though whether that's because of his environment or his personality, isaac has no idea, and frankly, doesn't care to do any sort of deep dive into. vera is softer than he is, far more compassionate, and it helps him ease the tension permanently etched into the muscles of his shoulders.

chapter 3 ( a beating heart of stone ) : the way their paths—and his path from the other kids in their year—diverge is when he's sixteen, handpicked for a different program after graduation, instead of the few years of prep for fieldwork. the adults would continuously explain to him that this is a good thing, an honour, a result of all the hard work he's put in; isaac believed them, initially. it's how he met felix estrada, a man he'd only heard of before that moment. when this new part of his training starts, isaac realises with blinding pain that he's made a mistake, but with the inability to give in—give up—he doesn't let anyone know. they use the neuramble system for rti training as a stepping stone to his specialist training—as a forward unit, he'd be more susceptible for capture than the main squad, something that isn't explained as a likelihood, rather than an inevitability.

chapter 4 ( the price you pay ) : he'd never been born with any mutations, adverse or otherwise, at least, not to his knowledge. perhaps that's what actually makes him the right, blank slate for the work dr. estrada does on him, as part of his further education. isaac has never seen the details about the procedures, just knows the very visceral effects thereafter—a break-through, they'd call him, in the next stage of human evolution. he doesn't know what it means, and doesn't quite cares to know, mostly focused on getting through it all. at this point in his life, it's not so much the injections that hurt anymore, rather than the delayed effect, the feeling like frost in his veins spreading up his arm, seizing muscles, the headaches and the burning eyes, the searing skin and the throbbing eardrums. the ultimate result of it is muscle efficiency, making him faster and stronger than the average soldier, with eyesight and hearing to match—the downside is being shackled to afterglow for system maintenance.

chapter 5 ( heads will roll ) : it's only recently that he's graduated from his specialist training as well, receiving his first assignment under one ryo sasaki. it's a name he's more than familiar with—not only did he find out in his early teens that vera ward, his best friend, is much more than that, and that the story of his life thus far has been… fiction at best, by sixteen, he was more than aware of who his parents truly were. ryo sasaki, his father, has never so much as spoken a word to either of his children, let them feel alone in the world, raised by a machine, and while isaac will follow the orders of a superior officer as he's been trained and conditioned to, this knowledge makes it difficult for him respect the man. as for his other parent, well… he knows he's the second chance, to show those who raised him that treason is not genetic, that failure isn't bred in, and isaac is determined to be all that she was, and better.

EXTRAS.

( CONNECTIONS. )

falina “claymore” roux ( biological parent )

ryo sasaki ( biological father )

felix estrada ( physician )

vera ward ( fraternal twin sister )

( MEDIA. )

pinterest

soundtrack

( QUICK STATS. )

mbti : intj

enneagram : 5w6

moral alignment : lawful neutral

temperament : melancholic-choleric

greek god : ker

zodiac : virgo sun ; capricorn moon ; taurus rising

( CHARACTER INSPIRATION. )

the winter soldier ( marvel )

john wick ( john wick )

agent 47 ( hitman )

eve macarro ( ballerina )