#and i think 15 would survive to the end not based on his fighting just based on his smarts

[lookingforhappy]

Five's Original Apocalypse (aka the one he got stuck in) wasn't caused by the moon

I don't think it was caused by the moon/meteor hitting the earth like at the end of s1, I think it was an alternate apocalypse caused purely by Viktor's unrestrained powers.

The amount of destruction that the moon caused is disproportionate to the destruction we see in Five's apocalypse.

The moon fragment that hits earth is bigger than the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs. The Chicxulub asteroid (type that into google to get a fun little animation!) measured roughly 15 kilometers wide, for reference, this is 15 kilometers:

it's not even big enough to cover all of London or NYC. The crater it made was 10x that:

looking at the size of the smaller moon asteroids, they seem roughly the right size (note that i am terrible at maths and will not be doing any science to reach this conclusion) based on the explosion size - and there's at least 13 of them. 13 dinosaur killers before the big fragment even gets close.

using this guy's estimation, the larger fragment is a minimum of 100 km, which is more than 6x the size of the Chicxulub:

and guessing from the chicxulub crater, this crater would be 10x 100km = 1000km.

which easily eats most of western europe or at least 12 states:

which is more than an extinction event, it's The extinction event, possibly Earth's extinction.

it's not super clear what part of Earth the fragment hits, I think it lands somewhere in the pacific

the strip of dotted lights leading from the bottom right meteor to the middle most meteor is likely California -> Mexico, with the Meteor hitting close to or the east of Hawaii (RIP Hawaiians)

I've said this recently but I think this shot, showing the earth getting wiped out in a fireball shockwave is of California's coast.

with the bright group at the bottom right being LA (where Claire lives) with the sticky out bit being Long Beach. and the bright group at the top being San Francisco with the blue strip being San Pablo Bay and San Francisco Bay

But my main reasoning (because this is a superhero show where u have to suspend ur disbelief) for why the moon wasn't the cause of the original apocalypse is this:

Vik didn't seem interested in ending the world. He was more interested in just playing in his orchestra until Luther and Diego tried to charge him.

He also doesn't do anything even related to the moon on purpose, rather he gets interrupted mid power use, seemingly causing his powers to rebound back into him which he is unable to contain/control causing all that pent up power to release in one strong stream. sort of like how water will, under pressure, release in a stream, but without it will trickle in the direction of least resistance.

In Five's apocalypse, Luther, Allison, Diego and Klaus all die fighting Leonard and Viktor before the world ends

so with Viktor (presumably, unless Leonard survived having his eye socket ripped from his skull) as the last man standing, there's nothing to stop him from finishing his orchestra. which is what I think caused the end of the world.

Viktor's powers are already active before the orchestra begins, his eyes are white. Then as the hargreeves attack he begins to glow as he uses his powers not just to repel them, but to force the orchestra players to stay. But nobody's attacking him when his powers bleach him white, something they never do again. All he's doing is playing the violin, particularly, he's building up to the crescendo, if not at the crescendo when this happens. And soon after than, his powers begin to build in the surrounding area, with visible waves emanating from him.

So what I think the series of events were leading up to the original apocalypse, without Five's interferrance:

Luther, Diego, Allison and Klaus all play Reginald's murder mystery

Leonard finds the Red Book and begins manipulating Viktor

Leonard kills Helen Cho and Viktor gets first chair

Leonard's plan to trigger Viktor's powers by forcing him to watch his boyfriend get beaten up works but causes him to lose an eye

Leonard gets a prosthetic eye fitted

Viktor and Leonard return home for whatever reason - possibly to confront the Umbrella's with Viktor's new powers and learn their part in the cover up

Leonard is very obviously manipulating Viktor and using him to attack the Umbrellas, possibly even revealing his true motives

A fight breaks out causing Luther to rip Leonard's eye from the socket and for Viktor to crumble the entire building and kill Luther, Diego, Allison and Klaus

Viktor, pissed and betrayed, continues to attend his orchestra

Viktor's emotions doubled with his sound-controlled powers cause him to accidentally overload and destroy the world, but not destroy the moon in the process

We've seen Viktor do something similar in s2, in the FBI building. And while he was able to recover and only destroy one building, it was still an uncontrolled blast of power which wasn't even aided by Viktor's violin, complete with bleaching and new flight abilities.

We've also seen Viktor's powers kill people without any real root cause, complete with burned out eye sockets and withering bodies

but each time we see this element of his powers, he's interrupted before he can finish, so potentially, prolonged exposure to his life draining power could cause someone to end up looking charred

(i personally think this body is leonard but that's neither here nor there)

whilst those who were already dead prior to the activation of Vik's energy draining beams, may not have taken much if any damage (as there is no life or ebbs of life left to take)

this also has the added bonus of not burning literally everything (the hargreeves' bodies included, as well as the multiple books and newspapers and the glass eye that Five owns in the apocalypse).

and without the asteroid impact there is no mega tsunami to worry about either (which, if it hit close to Hawaii, would flood the entire west coast of America at the very least.) no acid rain or nuclear winter obscuring the sun for years. no acidic oceans. and it won't take 1000 years for plants to come back (and seeing as Five is already seeing plants return a mere 45 years after, this kinda tracks).

so basically what I'm saying is, the apocalypse that Five grew up in is not the same apocalypse that Viktor caused at the end of s1. Five probably did have the moon present, which probably contributed to him not suspecting meteor or outer space origins for the apocalypse, but rather human based causes such as the owner of the eyeball.

[liljakonvalj]

I watched the Great Mouse Detective tonight and as someone who loves this movie, here's some of my thoughts:

First of all and this cannot be overstated: Best. Sherlock. Holmes. Adaptation.

I was today years old when i discovered that Olivia and her dad are Scottish (which explains her father talking about catching a train at the end of the movie)

(I grew up with the swedish vhs and watched it in english for the first time today. in swedish none of the character's have any particular dialect )

The aesthetic of Victorian human London but with mice having a miniature society mirroring it?? Love that!!

Despite Basil being the titular character and being the main character in so far that he's the one going on a personal journey and change through the movie- Dawson is the POV character for most of the movie which I find interesting

The transitions when Basil tells them about Ratigan and then showing the audience what he's up to and then back to Basil's apartment are stellar

All the songs are sung in universe - I think this is the only disney movie to do this??

And two of them sung by the villain?! Outstanding move

(It should be mentioned that the remaining song was sung by sexy, stripper mice in a bar)

The heroes drink alcohol, get drugged, enjoy a strip tease and accidentaly causes a bar fight all in the same scene

Yes, the toy store was both entrancing and scary to me as a child. The first doll they see when they enter? That doll whose face smashes and nearly kills Basil and Watson? The toys from which Fidget steals the mechanics? All super terrifying

Ratigan is the only character to have a human-like five-fingered hand, all the others have standard animated four-fingered hands

Ratigan mention a that he thought basil would be 15 minutes quicker to find his lair - which he uses to taunt his enemy but it also means he cannot be there to observe his machine killing his captives. That gives them the opportunity to escape unseen. If Basil and Dawson hadn't been late they probably wouldn't have survived, just saying

The clock tower sequence!! I actually clapped when it started

The cogwheels were computer animated while the mice were drawn by hand - which makes for a really dynamic moving camera

(The man who talked about this in the extras were so enthusiastic about this. Love that for him)

Speaking of moving camera - I greatly enjoyed the camera movement when Rattigan jumped over the citizens to reach the balcony with Olivia and the bat after his plan had been foiled at Buckingham palace. It was really fluent and full of angles

Back to the clocktower: when Ratigan snaps and you can see the angry pen strokes?? They simply don't make movies like this anymore

That was of course very scary too as a child

The final battle outside on the clock hands? Give this movie all awards !!

When Basil comes cycling on that little propeller thing? Link in Tears of the kingdom wishes he could do that

In the extras someone mentioned that they'd made extensive backstories of all the characters: why Rattigan became evil, how it was for Basil to grow up so smart etc. And i desperately want to read that

I know no one cares about the swedish voice actors but I found the different performances of both Basil and Rattigan interesting. I know Vincent Price is much beloved as Ratigan (justly so) but idk if it is nostalgia speaking but I think swedish Ratigan really held up. There were actually some lines that I knew by heart in swedish where the delivery was preferable to the English one for me. After looking it up i saw that the swedish VA is an opera singer (base) which really isn't a surprise given his performance. Basil's voices were really similar normally (so similar I didn't hear the change when I switched between languages - which i did one time to freshen up the swedish voices) but the VA in swedish goes up in falsetto quite often which gives a quite manic impression. Swedish!Basil's sanity is hung by a thread in his restless pursuit of his arch nemesis - which makes his devastation when Ratigan bests him more believable imo. English!Basil is much more a proper, brittish gentleman throughout. All performances were great, I just found the differences interesting.

I have some Core visuals from this movie living rent free in my mind since childhood which are: when Basil compares the two bullets, the closeups as Fidget jumps out at the audience, when Dawson pulls out the glass door with his finger, Ratigan squishing Olivia's doll, Basils machine when analyzing the paper, when Toby makes a stair out of his ear, that flag/balloon/matchbox contraption they used to chase Ratigan at the end, the end fight on the clock arms.

Did i miss your favourite part of the movie? Any core memories from this movie for you?

[piedpiperslists]

Is there any jungkook smuts/fics based on like a church setting, or any virgin jungkook fics you can recommend me please?

Hi. These are the fics I can think of with a church setting:

* s - contains smut

Doxology by dark-muse-iris - one shot (s) / wc~6.3k / secret relationship, PWP Summary: It’s Easter Sunday, one of the holiest of days for your presumed faith. But instead of spending it taking in the Lord’s message while tucked between your devout parents, you’re off sinning with the man who knows how truly wicked you are.

The Kids Aren’t Alright by sketchguk - one shot (s) / wc~10.5k / pastor’s kid!reader, FWB Summary: Sneaking around with Jeongguk during your Christian retreat is complicated when you’re both dedicated to your jobs as co-youth group counselors at your father’s ministry.

Shiver by hansolmates - series (s) / bad boy!Jungkook, church girl!reader, childhood friends to lovers, FWB Summary: Your childhood crush Jeon Jungkook has changed since he moved out of his small town church community and attended college. When he returns for a Christmas mass, you suddenly crave a taste of his fun and carefree life. In exchange, Jungkook craves a taste of you.

As for virgin!Jungkook fics, here's about 15 fics listed under the cut. But is this a trend lately, the asks I've gotten have been mostly about virgin!Jungkook lmao

A Blight on the Heart by thatlongspringnight - one shot (s) / wc~13.3k / established marriage, historical au Summary: You married him because you wanted a new life, and even with the struggle, the fights, you’d marry him again any day. Or - Jungkook loves you from the moment he reads your first letter, and the rest is history.

But We Loved Too Young by jl-micasea-fics - one shot (s) / wc~10.4k / childhood friends to lovers Summary: Jungkook is everything you’re not, the ying to your yang. Your tight knit friendship nurtured from childhood survived the major life events that most don’t, and to that end, you suppose you’re fated to be together, until unrequited longing is eventually noticed, and boundaries are forever crossed.

Close the Distance by hearts4joon - one shot (s) / wc~13.5k / college au, neighbors au Summary: Two different adults, living two completely separate lives — in the same neighborhood. A guy who’s overbearing mother makes him carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. A girl who’s parents are all too drawn to her younger siblings to even give her the time of day. While the two fall in an unlikely relationship (very unlikely), they still ravish each and every part of one another in every way — the best of attention, the one they both craved all their lives.

Ghosts Just Wanna Have Fun by sugaxjpg - one shot (s) / wc~20k / med school au, psychic au Summary: When Jungkook discovered that he could communicate with dead people, the last thing he expected was that they would be there to give him romantic advice.

Gotcha by whatifyoulivelikethat - one shot (s) / wc~11k / childhood friends to lovers, college au Summary: The color blue. Two white hairpins. “Hey, Jungkook.” A laugh with shaking shoulders that Jeon Jungkook thought he would hear and see forever. Hey, Jungkook. But then those words became a memory, until she was standing in front of him again, sporting the title of “Virgin Killer” and Min Yoongi by her side. Was this his second chance or just another memory?

I Want to Have Sex by jeongi - one shot (s) / wc~7.2k / established relationship Summary: You plan on taking your boyfriend, Jungkook’s, virginity tonight.

Infatuated by namsjunies - one shot (s) / wc~3k / university au

Need to Know by pixieknj - one shot (s) / wc~4.4k / virgin!Jungkook, friends to lovers Summary: Jungkook’s tired of you teasing him…

The Virgin Volume by kpopfanfictrash - one shot (s) / wc~6.8k / angst, college au Summary: The story of how The Rich Man’s Crochet Club Jungkook lost his virginity. Prequel to The Monogamy Monologues.

Here's more virgin!Jungkook but I keep getting an error, so I had to break up the list.

Wait, You're a Virgin? by joonsmagicshop - one shot (s) / wc~8.8k / college au Summary: Jungkook gets teased at a college party for being a virgin and asks you to help him out

Will You Make a Mess Now? by softyoongiionly - one shot (s) / established relationship, college au Summary: Jungkook’s never been touched before and, after a hectic end to his semester, he thinks he wants that to change… Can I Make a Mess Now? by softyoongiionly - one shot (s) / established relationship, college au Summary: Jungkook’s never had sex before but, after realizing that he’s falling in love with you, he thinks he wants that to change.

Glitter and Disquiet by joheunsaram - two shots (s) / CEO!Jungkook, YouTuber!reader, enemies to lovers, chaebol au Summary: Poised to inherit Korea’s largest gaming company in a few months, the world looks at Jeon Jungkook as a symbol of envy. Why wouldn’t they? He has everything, riches, power, and according to the rumour mill, endless women. Little do they know that his father’s company is on the verge of downfall, he barely has respect of his employees, and regardless of the rumours, he’s just a virgin saving himself for true love.

For Science by boymeetsweevil - series (s) / nerd!Jungkook, friends to lovers, FWB, college au Summary: Jungkook asks you to let him watch you get off. For science.

One Time, In Your Room by ubemango - series (s) / established relationship, college au Summary: There are papers to write, and virgins to daydream about. (You can think about Jeongguk’s dick later.)

[astroenchanter]

As was promised, it's Eva time.

Starting off broadly, with Artemy and Daniil being narrative foils, two halves of a whole one might say, I think it's fair to assume they would have similar narrative beats. With Artemy's big heart wrenching girl event being self sacrificing for Murky, and with Daniil being, lets just say... not a nice man, I think that's going to result in the event making the player even more like garbage. I have 2 main ideas for what could happen, first one is simpler, and I came up with it before the new teaser and leak so I'll discuss it first. Based mostly on the time travel aspects and systemic focus, I think that with cleaver sequencing and being distracted with quests, IPL could make us think Eva survives into the late game. Then doing a time travel back to do a seemingly net positive systemic action that results in her death and it's going to have to be a "Good ending" OR Eva, but not both situation. With the "You can't save everyone" motif, Artemy can't save Aglaya without betraying the town, I don't think Daniil could save Eva without betraying something VERY important to him.

Now this 2nd one is where the gameplay crackpot shit begins. The screenshot of Daniil's gay little People Journal gives SO much to work with. This'll take a minute to get to Eva so hang on for a sec. First, it has "previous day" "next day" and "all files" With the time travel elements I assume this implies you're filling in people's profiles throughout different pockets in time. Second, day 8 has a ping / update or some sort on Peter. And since it's 00:15 it's likely a condition that develops strike of midnight day 8 (or whatever the time travel equivalent is). Now, P2 has had a habit of rearranging, scrapping and remaking quests out of whole cloth, but keeping narrative threads and fleshing them out. The only thing in that time frame with Peter is likely to be the drama that happens with Maria and Aglaia. Peter was notably was in a bad state during the events of that scuffle, I think that it's possible Peter's "diagnosis" in that notebook, would be one of the mental variety, ie, depression with "Harmful Habits ... Alcohol abuse..." like what was shown in the screenshot. With that update it could result in Daniil doing some sort of "mental health checkup" on his friends. Where he treats them in his harsh and clinical way where he goes through a similar process of diagnosis to figure out what's wrong and how to proceed. The thing is, pathologic loves to put you mental state where you're fighting and you're so focused on people being shitty and horrible and the fighting systemic shit and the plague, and then when you're fully immersed in that mindset it pile drives you with the most painfully human thing you've ever seen. If they do that mental diagnosis, I think Daniil won't see the signs in Eva. Like yeah Peter is a depressed wreck, but everyone can see it. But the whole point of the classic plot with her was that you couldn't really understand what she was saying or going though until it was too late.

It could be both of these, or neither of course. I just figure I could get some hopeful predictions out, there since I know there's a lot of people worried the Bachelor route.

I also think the "Diagnosis" of all the main characters could be good characterization of Daniil, where he views everyone through that medical lens, maybe even noticing small details about people like Artemy's leg injury from his train fight.

[lavendertownsghost]

RvB Restoration incoherent liveblog, then more coherent thoughts at the end

spoilers of course

Kai!!! God I hope she's in more than one scene

Why do I feel like something's up with Wash?

Wait when did they get Sheila back??

Hey they actually mentioned O'mally and how Doc perceived that

Like how they kept Grif being absolutely done with everything like in season 15

Simmons stop being mean to your boyfriend

I just realized that Epsilon's armor is from a different game than the others

Oohhh wow the Great Destroyer prophecy is actually relevant

wait how is Felix part of the Meta 2.0? I thought they just couldn't get Elijah Wood back for Sigma and that's the orange AI talking to Delta, but it's actually a version of Felix??

Yep, totally expected the Reds to nope out xD

OK that's totally Sigma with a different voice actor (Miles?). Or was Epsilon was implying that Felix and Sigma merged somehow.

This is also a real good look into how Maine was tortured

Tucker noooooo :(

Wash go save your boyfriend

Also wait why is Wash in a hospital again? he was fine at the end of season 13. Unless this is a hallucination and he had a mental break

Surprised Grif went along with this

479er!!!! My girl!

Also did Sarge forget for like the 3rd time that the Red vs Blue fight was fake?

Ahhh yes, the classic Sarge plan of 'Kill Grif'

Love how they glossed over the actual fight at the end of season 13

Oh god the zoom class flashbacks

WAIT WHAT

oh shit that's Tucker in the armor

hey you know what would be real fucked? if Junior shows up

oh wow didn't expect the Reds to straight up leave Caboose to die

wait Sarge don't do a heroic sacrifice

hell yeah Sarge badass moment!

oh no Sarge in front of that door

fuck, if anyone from Blood Gulch was going to die it would be Sarge

aww Sarge finally saying he's proud of Simmons legitimately has me tearing up

People are going to say that Sarge being nice to Grif is out of character, but honestly I think it fits

why do I think Doc is a hallucination of Wash's?

oh wow Simmons

Grimmons moment? Run away with me, just the two of us.

aww Grif, choosing to stay of his own volition

So they're retconing Private Jimmy again? Church was in a robot for Blood Gulch?

Church gets a body again?

aww memories :) someone better draw fanart of Caboose, Grif, and Simmons and reminiscing around a campfire

Where is Carolina in all this?

I'm wondering if this is to bring Tex back instead of Church?

oof Simmons' robo arm

TEX???

Simmons badass moment

hey wait Simmons better not die

Car moment!

FUCK YES TEX

also is Wash just unconscious somewhere?

oh there he is

ooohhh he's calling Carolina with he beacon?

oh shit are we going to get a Tex and Carolina team up!

yeah Carolina!!!!!

wait Grif and Simmons don't know she's Allison's kid xD

mother daughter team up for the ages

you know, if Tucker was still conscious in there he would absolutely make a joke about getting double teamed by two badass ladies

You know, I don't think Tucker is surviving this

Oh fuck yeah Tex!

wait what how can she use the sword?

oohhh Tucker was still holding it

Theta baby boy :(

awww Tex and Church are finally together

now someone get Tucker to a hospital

I feel like the best plan would be destroying it- oh there it goes

oh Doc is totally a hallucination

oh Doc is dead :(

North??

oh it's all the Freelancers :(

Yeah I can definitely see that conversation between Wash and Carolina as either romantic or platonic, everyone wins there

is One from season 18? I don't recognize her

oh the shot of them on top of the base :(

Grif goes home... alone :(

aww the credits with everyone's faces. that last shot of the four of the OG RoosterTeeth crew:(((

I think that was a good end. I wish Wash would have actually talked to Tucker, and I'm sad we didn't see Donut and no canon grimmons but that was a long shot. I wish there was a bit more of Tucker as himself, but he's been the main character for a while so it was nice to focus on the others. the actual ending after the fight did feel a little rushed, I would have liked a bit more of Blue team recovering. also is it now just Simmons and Lopez vs Caboose, Tucker, Wash, and Carolina, or are the Freelancers going to leave?

I'm making a separate Grimmons post

All in all I liked it :) I think the most important thing was the everyone was in character. I know people are going to nitpick it and tear it apart, but it honestly could have been way worse.

Bow Chicka Bye Now

[aita-blorbos]

WIBTA for leaving my team?

hi. i (15 nb) have a dad and brother who were in a space program who, along with their pilot, allegedly “died” on a mission to one of plutos moons. after getting over the initial shock and grief i started to realize that things weren’t adding up, so i did some of my own research. i got into the space base and pilot training facility to get more sensitive info i couldn’t find online, but i was caught each time and eventually banned from the premises with a promise to press charges if i returned. i wasn’t going to give up, though, and knew something was VERY wrong at this point, so i altered my appearance considerably, ran away from home and enrolled as a cadet communications officer under a false identity, using the spare time muster to gather more info.

at first i was wary of the two other cadets i was grouped with (my pilot, L (16M) and engineer, H (16M)) but they grew on me quickly enough, and eventually i started to consider them as my friends, although i still tried to keep my identity and intentions hidden from them in case they were to expose me or distrust me.

a couple of weeks ago (? i’m not actually sure how many earth days have gone by, my laptop displays a date but we are FAR away currently and i’m unsure if there is time dilation to account for) i managed to successfully start picking up unknown signals on the roof of the building at night in spots i wouldn’t be detected. i was going to just add this to my data and continue from there but unfortunately eventually my friends caught me sneaking me out and followed me up there. before i could feasibly explain myself something fell to earth VERY close by— which we determined was the pilot of the mission my family went missing on (S, (20s something M)). more than ever i KNEW they weren’t dead. the three of us took off to try and rescue him, and were intercepted by someone ELSE, (a dropout pilot, K, (16M)) who apparently knew S and wanted to be the person to rescue him from the med techs trying to take a look at him after he plummeted from space in an alien spacecraft. eventually the five of us made it out of there, and K took everyone on his low flying craft out to a shack he apparently had been living in since dropping out. K and i compared notes on the aliens and eventually the group of us located a very odd looking alien craft, which reacted to L’s presence, and to avoid the military searching for us we entered it, where it sent us halfway across the universe. we learned that THIS spacecraft were made by an extinct race with only two surviving members, who were cryogenically frozen for ten thousand years, and were apparently the only ones that could stop a different alien race, which is evil and what had taken my family.

we all eventually got assigned different spacecrafts, which were all lion shaped mechs, that could form together to make a very powerful and incredibly advanced super-mech-thing that you’d only see in comics. so, a lot to take in very very quickly.

as we’ve been fighting off the evil alien race, i’ve gained some valuable information regarding where i might start to really look for my dad and brother. as much as ive been happy to be able to help out, in the end tahts not the reason i came out here and my family has always been my first priority. recently i’ve gotten my things in order and prepared to leave before we took the next step, which would be getting off the planet we’re currently stranded on. i went to tell my team this and K told me i was being selfish and that everyone has a family they want to get back to and saving the universe would save everyone’s family anyway. i still want to leave but i’m not trying to be selfish. this was my intention from the BEGINNING even if things got very off track. they don’t know how hard i’ve worked to get here.

UPDATE: i didn’t end up leaving, but it’s been a few months (i think) and K found out something about HIS family (apparently he lied and he’s an orphan, but maybe he isn’t, i don’t know.) and now HES leaving the team to look for HIS family. also he’s part alien (specifically the evil kind). go fucking figure

[paingoes]

for the ask game!!!

2,7,9,14,15,17 and 19 for delta and 2,5,7,11 and 19 for paris

don't feel pressured to anwser them all though!! i know its kinda a lot

oh this is delicious thank you for this. yayyayayyaya.

delta

7. What attribute of them (some facet of their personality, their history, their look, or whatever etc) would you find most important to somehow preserve if they were transplanted to an AU fanfic?

most important delta traits to me are his intelligence and his ability to stay calm. he's very unflappable under most circumstances and he can put up w a lot so he's kind of indispensable in a crisis. i feel like in any circumstance he somehow ends up as a load-bearing structure so he's usually doing a lot of important work and typically going unnoticed for it.

9. If your character could have handed their role in the plot to someone else, would they have?

nope. he definitely thinks of himself as exceptional and he's kind of right to feel this way -- no one else survived the institute. he's pretty sure if anybody else had his role they'd totally crumble under the pressure OR they'd go in the other direction and become totally unhinged. just let him do it. its fine.

14. How does your character feel about riding horses (or your world's closest approximation of a horse if it lacks horses)?

lol this is funny cause im actually writing a section about horses right now. delta's ass does not go outside. he would not get on a horse.

animals like him though <3

15. Is your character's first instinct fight or flight? Is there something that could force them to do the opposite?

definitely freeze. this is a sad but pretty consistent trait about him is he's been conditioned to ignore his own danger response. he only flinches when he's about to get hurt, he doesn't fight back or try to escape :(

17. Is your character holding any grudges? Are they likely to stop?

hmmmm.... no. well it depends. i think it varies based on the day but right now i don't think delta can even feel anger. it's another thing he's been taught to suppress. he gets irritated sometimes but it will be a while before he can allow himself to be truly angry about what's happened to him.

paris

5. Did they have a pet as a child?

no :(

7. What attribute of them (some facet of their personality, their history, their look, or whatever etc) would you find most important to somehow preserve if they were transplanted to an AU fanfic?

lol im glad you asked! paris's character is very much shaped by his circumstances so i think he'd actually be very different depending on the universe he's in. for me i think the most universal traits he would have are behavioral issues, physicality, and sensitivity. that's kind of a weird list i guess i mean in any universe he'd get pissed off easily and be good at fighting and get lost in his own thoughts a lot. in comparison to delta i actually dont think he'd have to necessarily be important in any universe -- i feel like it's pretty obvious paris should not have been in power and does not enjoy being in power lol. he would not gravitate towards it naturally. he accidentally became an important person as his job and its ruining his life.

11. Does your character have a pet peeve?

would be shorter to list the ones he doesnt have tbh. he hates slow walkers though he's def shoved tons of people out of the way for that. MOVE.

[crazysodomite]

my thoughts on fallout 2: fo1 was definitely better

ultimately it was. okay. it wasn't so bad i wanted to quit but there wasn't really anything gripping or memorable.

the beginning of it was ASS. it all went downhill after the starting cutscene which i liked.

i genuinely wish the whole tribal aspect wasn't there entirely because it makes me so uncomfortable and it feels out of place. i enjoyed myself way more when i pretended it didn't exist at all and that's pretty bad considering it's the main quest.

the whole 'chosen one' thing wasn't enjoyable to me at all. i liked that in the first game it was more down to earth and realistic. you weren't the most awesome or strongest or chosen, you were probably just the only one who agreed to go out or just looked like you could survive outside...

the geck thing is goofy. sorry. I didn't like it. Whats with this game and geckos? The gecko enemies also felt cartoony and out of place to me…

i would say the game feels scattered and confusing. a lot of the areas felt forgettable. its hard for me to even structure what i think because i don't know where to start.

arroyo: im glad i never had to go there after the start of the game. BORING AND BAD! ugly location with boring quests and unlikeable npcs.

klamath: boring. i barely remember anything about it and couldn't name any npc from there if you put a gun to my head. i severely dislike sulik. so so so so so uncomfortable. though i liked that toxic caves had a secret not accessible at the start!

mordoc: it was okay. once again the npcs are forgettable but i do remember when i saw the fake corpses and was shocked. i liked that a lot.

im writing this from memory so if i forget a location it was just so bad that i completely forgot…

vault city and gecko: i actually liked the quests here and it's where things picked up a bit. i liked lenny and his interaction with marcus later on. i liked harold too but there's not much to do with him.

uhhh…. the den i think?: i already forgot all about it. boring…

broken hills: i liked this location and the quest. marcus is one of my favorite npcs and i enjoyed having him as a follower. i wish there was more though…

redding: pretty boring and i really, really dislike the alien enemies. there was potential in the whole miner rivalry but in the end it was just. give it to one or the other person.

new reno: i didn't like it and pretty much didn't do any quests there but that's my personal opinion i guess. it was mostly because there was just too much going on and too many people and i dont want tofuck or do drugs so im leaving… i liked when they stole my car and i talked the guy into giving me upgrades and free batteries though!

NCR: it was fine. i didn't spend much time there except the bazaar to buy weapons. i enjoyed the fact tandi was there! i also liked talking down the guy with the bomb.

it was annoying having to leave my companions or tell them all to holster their weapons so that's why i rarely went inside. it definitely has potential

vault 15: i liked it!

vault 13: i really liked it, and i wish there was more to do there… the concept is pretty awesome

military base: i really really enjoyed this location. it was so fun to explore and get all the holodiscs. it was exciting.

san francisco: hands down the ugliest location in the game in my opinion. it had such great potential that i feel was wasted. it felt extremely out of place and like it didn't belong in the game. i WISH it was better because the concept of the location was great with the big ship and all. the girl i saved from the alien also got me stuck in a corner and i had to load a save. i couldn't name any npc from there if you put a gun to my head. though i liked seeing the big shuttle outside.

navarro: i liked it. getting there was fun and the side quests were okay. i hated that there were only 2 ways to get to the fob without fighting, and both of them were really stupid in my opinion.

i love the enclave soldiers talking heads. they look like adorable little critters to me.

the enclave: it was okay. i hated the electric floor puzzle. i hated how many npcs were there and i could only talk to like. 3 of them. it felt unrewarding when i talked a scientist into killing everybody with toxins and it looked weird when everybody except the important npcs died. the dialogue with the scientist was written really weirdly. the president is just boring and pointless? vice president even more boring and more pointless. the president is basically just there for you to kill him and get the card, and there's no way to talk him into giving it to you or stealing it or doing it any other way. you can only kill him which is annoying.

the end boss is just. okay… i don't remember him being foreshadowed or mentioned prior. you can't talk to him. killing him is surprisingly easy if you get the key card and talk the other guys into helping you. hes boring and forgettable as a final baddie especially compared to the master. i already forgot what his name was. to be entirely honest. he also looks like a cute little thing to me

i loved the cutscene of the ship taking off though. it was really good.

NPCs: idk if it's just me. This game is SEVERELY lacking in talking heads. There's WAY way more npcs but they're just completely forgettable and boring. There's a lot more 'flavor' npcs which is annoying because i can't always see who i can actually talk with. its really annoying to click through a whole room just to realize no one has anything useful to say. i know unique npcs usually have a unique description but hovering over each npc in a HUGE map is frustrating.

the speech options rarely made me felt like i accomplished something by choosing the right options and usually felt like "oh. i passed a check. how boring.."

in fo1 almost all locations had a talking head who was a pretty developed character with a lot to say and ask. here i can pretty much count them on my fingers which was disappointing… i can remember most important npcs in fo1 which is not the case in fo2

maps: maps are bigger and usually uglier to be completely honest. a lot of useless houses and useless npcs. a lot of maps also don't even label shops and look very similar so i have to run around aimlessly until i stumble on the one building i need. i would have preferred smaller maps with more condensed content. some maps felt cool and enjoyable and some were so bad i was kind of shocked.

in general. it was Okay. i wasn't ripping my hair out from how bad it was but there's really not much i want to replay the game for. there definitely were some fun moments but not A Lot. my favorite locations were probably the military base, vault 13 and vault 15.

[purple-ant]

12 and 15 for the new ask game, pretty please. 😁

12. What's the funniest or craziest AU idea you've ever come up with?

Most of my AUs are pretty mundane: some time travel, TOO MANY different Sith AUs, someone survives/someone dies... the craziest would probably be the Obi-Wan Revan AU

After their death, Revan refuses to merge with the Force until the Sith are dead. Thus, their soul is reborn over and over again, but every new life remembers nothing, and only has incomprehensible feelings, constant deja vu and strange habits. Obi-Wan becomes another rebirth.

In this au, Revan's personality gradually awakens. Some lessons seem familiar to Obi-Wan, he often hides his face, which is why his friends begin to give him masks, and on Mandalore he is haunted by a constant feeling of deja vu in battles with the Death Watch. This all becomes stronger after Obi-Wan's fight with Maul on Naboo. This shit EXPLODES after order 66. Revan never replaces Obi-Wan and the Jedi doesn't fully understand what's going on, but he suspects. They talk in dreams, which Obi-Wan does not remember in the morning.

Oh, and there was a possible ending where Ob-Wan gets caught after the order, there's torture (huh) and Sidious doesn't realize which dragon's tail he's pulling until it explodes in his face.

"Who are you?"

“I am Revan and you are nothing.”

a little maceobi as a bonus

15. Have you noticed your style change over time?

Okay, just recently I was reminded of the existence of my fics from 2018 and that they were actually posted. Of course, like anyone scared to death at the prospect of seeing the work of their past self, I reread it. What can I say…

I think (hope) in my texts there is less pomposity and strained philosophy, where every line must necessarily carry Meaning. I try to let characters act more based on the information they can actually get and already have, without magically reading another person's mind or instantly understanding a situation out of blue. Show, don't tell has become a very important rule for me.

oh and keeping track of in what tense I write, yes

[omgitsaime]

Movies I'll Probably Never Make: Open for Business

Three quirky best friends go against their principal's wishes and open up an anonymous advice column in their high school's dying newspaper.

Written: 2015-2016 (I was 14 and 15, y'all!)

If you liked these, you'll probably like this: Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), Sixteen Candles (1984), To all the Boys I've Loved Before trilogy (the books especially, given the time this script was written), Paper Towns (2015), Pitch Perfect (2012), Pitch Perfect 2 (2015)

Characters: Allie (14, Not Like Other Girls, always knows the right thing to say, aimlessly in love with Brad, clueless about Peter's feelings for her)

Peter (14, video game enthusiast and definitely smarter than you, fiercely loyal, always coming up with new ideas, has a crush on Allie)

Trevor (14, class clown, golden retriever boyfriend, the only things in life he takes seriously are Brianna, the advice column, and his friends)

Brianna (14, rich girl cheerleader with a heart of gold, fashion forward, always trendy, Allie's soon to be step sister, Trevor's girlfriend by the end)

Brad (15, popular football player of the junior varsity team struggling to find himself, well meaning but easily influenced, big heart, Not Like Other Jocks, redeems himself by the end)

Callie (16, lead writer of school newspaper, book smart, but not all that street smart, determined and not afraid to break a few rules to get what she wants)

Ben (17, editor in chief of school newspaper, quiet, reserved, a little more reluctant to break the rules, but will do anything to get into a good college)

Principal Cochran (late 40s, principal of the school (guys, it's been almost a decade, I don't remember the name of the school lol), stuck in his ways, overly strict, money obsessed, think Principal Rooney)

Why I stopped writing: I literally lost the script. I know I sent a draft to an old friend of mine, but that email has been lost to time, and now that I don't have the base, I can't remember which direction I was going in with the story before I stopped writing.

Themes from this story that appear in my other stories: Found family, platonic love, individuality, fighting manmade systems, lots and lots of 80s pop.

One interesting plot thread/character arc is that almost a full decade before the likes of Andrew Tate came onto the scene, telling young boys to be "alphas" and that they need to discard "low value women," Brad's plot was that he felt guilt over the prank he pulled on Allie to secure a spot on the varsity team, and over the course of the film, decides that being a man lies not in who he hurts, but who he helps. I was literally a fourteen year old girl writing this. I don't know what prophecy came to me in my sleep, but...holy shit.

Would I revive this story: Hell yeah! This is such a cute and solid story, with 80s influence, sweet moments, and honestly, the kids need a fun high school romp that is just about enjoying life and being 14. @sizzlingsandwichperfection-blog, I'm so sorry. I am so, so sorry for the abuse we put you through back in the day. We really took you for granted.

Fun Fact: The one and only surviving artifact of this film is the Spotify playlist. It is peak mid 2010s quirky teen comedy, and if you're old like me, this'll take you straight back to high school. I think you guys will love it.

Let me know if y'all think I should make this a series! I have a lot of scrapped scripts that I lowkey still think about lol

[hanyo-inu-yasha]

History, with headcanons:

Inuyasha grew up under the care of his beloved mother, Izayoi, within her father's estate. Due to the extreme prejudice of the court, Inuyasha relied on his mother's company and support, but also recognized the heavy burden she herself bore. In light of that, he tried his best to grow quickly and not to add any undo stress on his ailing mother, whose health never quite recovered after the tragic death of her beloved.

Although Izayoi tried her best to live and stay around a long time for her son, she eventually succumbed to illness when Inuyasha was only ten years old. Knowing even then that he would be killed if he stayed, Inuyasha packed only his own belongings, refusing to take even a single thing more, and set off to make his own life...

The following years were fraught with peril, as Inuyasha was forced to fight, and sometimes flee, for his life. These were the most shameful years, in his own eyes, where he could only survive through cowardice, living like a scavenger. As his body grew, so to did his own power, and eventually, he reached the point where he no longer had to flee and hide from larger youkai.

Humans, however, still refused to accept him. Through these unfortunate encounters, he came to believe he could never be accepted as he was, and thus, sought after the sacred jewel in order to become a full youkai. In doing so, he hoped to discard all weakness, of body, mind, and spirit.

When he first saw Kikyo, he did not think much of her, but her mercy made her stand out. Time and time again, he tried to steal the jewel, and yet, he never once intended on killing her. In the same way, Kikyo never harbored any true ill will, and despite Inuyasha's many attempts, she only ever sought to subdue him.

Eventually, the pair are able to sit and talk together, and Inuyasha comes to see Kikyo as not just a real person, but a human woman. It's then that he begins to truly see her, and from that point on, he stays close by her side. When Kikyo suggests he might become human, and that they could be together this way, Inuyasha is quick to agree. This acceptance is what he wanted all along, and he no longer sees a need to become a youkai...

When he arrives at their promised rendezvous, he is met with an arrow and Kikyo's scornful expression. The hurt goes deep, and yet, this is exactly how he should have seen it going. Of course a woman like Kikyo could never truly love him, nor wish to remain by his side. He feels a fool for ever having trusted her, and in his wrath and devastation, turns back to the violence he knows. He steals the jewel, and is subsequently sealed away, with Kikyo's hateful eyes as the last thing he sees.

Misc.

Inuyasha is aged 15/16 at the start of canon, going on 18 by the end of the series. We can always write later in the timeline.

I am writing based off the MANGA, but with plenty of my own headcanons. Naturally, canon divergent.

Expect a lot of foul language.

Mun =/= muse. We may share a few thoughts or traits in common, but I am not Inuyasha and he is not me.

Physical Description;

Height: 5'6"

Eyes: Yellow/Gold/Amber (depending on lighting) with slitted pupils. His eyes reflect light in the dark. In his human form, they are rich brown with round pupils and non-reflective.

Sex & Gender: Inuyasha is intersex. (Link to description TBA.) Identifying Male/masculine.

Body type: Muscular, but lean. As a teenager, he has very little body fat, but as the years grow kinder to him, he gains some healthy weight and gets more beefy.

Main Verses;

#verse; separate ways

In the reality where Kagome is sent back to her own time and never returns, Inuyasha must come to terms with her absence and find peace with the people who are still around, and those who come after.

#verse; continuation

Just a vanilla continuation of canon with whatever divergence suits us. Can be set at any point in time.

(TBA)

[skelletors]

MCYT as D&D Characters 3 - Technoblade

🎵It's been a while🎵

Yeah, not that frequent of a poster on Tumblr, I already posted this on Reddit months ago but I realized I never posted it here, lol!

Also, before I say anything, u/CarbonatedChlorine on Reddit actually made a truly fantastic build for Technoblade as a Zealot Barbarian. Now this is an excellent choice for Techno, but I don’t want to rip them off so I’ll be going for a different approach, but seriously. It’s very good, I will be linking their post at the end of mine.

Before we begin, here are the ground rules I’ll be working with

This will not be balanced and the builds may not be very good. This isn’t for the minmaxers (not that there's anything wrong with that), this is purely based on either stories these people have participated in or their overall persona on the internet

These characters will go up to level 20, but in no way do you have to play them to the max level to get all the mechanics that make up the character

There will be no homebrew for this build

I will be using standard array for all of these characters (15, 14, 13, 12, 10, 8) when determining the stats for these characters for my own ease of use.

Character Traits to Emulate:

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! Insane, busted warrior

Techno never dies, and neither will this build

Pig

The peer pressure is strong, but the tactics are stronger

Race, Class, Background and Stats

Race: Shifter (I chose Shifter for a handful of reasons. One, it handily gives the pig aesthetic while acknowledging the more humanoid Techno art. The specific Shifter type I would choose is Beasthide, considering it just makes someone more beefy).

Ability Score Increase: +2 to one stat, +1 to another (Charisma and Strength respectively).

Darkvision: You can see in the dark! Sweet!

Bestial Instincts: You can have proficiency of one of the following skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Intimidation or Survival. Let’s go for Survival.

Beasthide: When you shift, you gain a +1 to Armor Class and 1d6 temp hp

Background: Soldier (I think this is pretty obvious, but from any perspective you look at Techno, either from SMP Earth, the Dream SMP or just his general prowess in PVP, there’s no better fit than Soldier for a background).

Proficiencies: Athletics, Intimidation, land vehicles, a gaming set (Chess since why not)

Class: Paladin (Now while Barbarian or Fighter may be the first instinct for a D&D build of Techno, but I think this is a more interesting take for reasons you’ll see when we get to the subclass).

Stats:

Strength: 13 + 1 = 14

Dexterity: 

Constitution: 14

Wisdom: 8

Intelligence: 12

Charisma: 15 + 2 = 17

Level 1: Paladin

Divine Sense: You’re able to sense any celestial, fiend and undead within a 60ft radius, how many of them there are and the type. You can do this a number of times equal to 1 plus your Charisma modifier. 

Lay on Hands: You can heal people from a pool of hit points from which you can restore people equal to your paladin level x 5. You can also do this to yourself! Yet another way that you will not go down.

Level 2: Paladin

Fighting Style: There are numerous good fighting styles for Technoblade, but I decided on Great Weapon Fighting, where if you roll a 1 or a 2 on a melee weapon attack’s damage, you can reroll the die.

Spellcasting: One word. Smite. Pick and choose your smite at your leisure and revel in the obscene amount of damage. Almost as if you were blessed by the Blood God himself…

Divine Smite: Oh, did I say I was done with smite? No, you get more smite-age. Whenever you hit a creature, you can expend a spell slot to deal extra radiant damage, starting at 2d8 for a first level spell slot and increasing by 1d8. This damage is further increased by 1d8 if the target is undead or a fiend. Again. Revel.

Level 3: Paladin

Divine Health: You’re immune to disease

Subclass Time! Subclass Time! The lucky subclass being, of course…

Oath of Conquest! Just look at the tenants, it screams Technoblade energy. A blade can end a life. Fear can end an empire. Ah it’s SO GOOD you guys. This will give you access to a couple of handy spells, but that’s not the main interest of Oath of Conquest.

Channel Divinity: You get two options for your Channel Divinity as a Paladin, both being excellent options that really exude Techno energy. You can use one of these options once per short rest.

Conquering Presence - You inspire fear. You make a creature within 30ft of you make a Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of you for a minute. They can reroll this check once per turn.

Guided Strike - You have supernatural accuracy. Whenever you make an attack, you can add 10 to the roll before the DM says whether you hit or not, but after you see the roll.

Both of these are super fitting for Techno, being both an intimidating force on the battlefield and not one to miss his strikes.

Level 4: Paladin

Ability Score Improvement: Every few levels, you can add to your ability scores (either a +2 to one or +1 to two) or take a feat. This time, we will be adding a +1 to Strength and +1 to Charisma, bringing them up to 15 and 18 respectively.

Level 5: Paladin

Extra Attack: You get to attack more, hell yeah! More attacks = more smite = more carnage. Truly, the peak of D&D

Level 6: Paladin

Aura of Protection: Whenever you or an ally within 10ft of you makes a saving throw, they can add your Charisma modifier to the roll. Who wouldn’t feel stronger when fighting alongside The Blade?

Level 7: Paladin

Aura of Conquest: Whenever a creature is afraid of you and within 10ft of you, even in total cover, their speed is reduced to zero. Along with this, they take psychic damage equal to half your turn if they’re in that zone at the top of their turn. I’d be scared if I was staring down Techno in hypothetical combat.

Level 8: Paladin

Ability Score Improvement! Let’s go for the Tough feat this time. Your hp is increased to an amount twice your level, and then +2 for every subsequent level. Again, just more hp so you can keep swinging.

Level 9: Paladin

Nothing really happens at this level but the standard spell slot increase.

Level 10: Paladin

Aura of Courage: All allies within 10ft of you cannot be frightened.

Level 11: Paladin

Improved Divine Smite: Hey, if you thought smite was good, it just got better. Whenever you hit a creature with a melee weapon you do an extra 1d8 radiant damage. Just in case you were worried about not doing enough murdering, or something.

Level 12: Paladin

ASI time baby! We’re taking another feat, Great Weapon Master. You do extra damage on a crit with a melee weapon and can choose to take a -5 to hit for a +10 to damage.

Level 13: Paladin

Again, nothing happening out here.

Level 14: Paladin

Cleansing Touch: You can end a spell cast on yourself or on someone else. You can do this a number of times equal to your Charisma modifier and regain all uses after a long rest.

Level 15: Paladin

Scornful Rebuke: To those who dare to attack you, they suffer psychic damage equal to your Charisma modifier. Those who step to the Blood God will suffer the price.

Level 16: Paladin

ASI! This time, we’re actually improving the ability scores, going to add a +2 to Strength, bringing it up to 17.

Level 17: Paladin

Nothing happens at this level, alas. Just more spell slots for smiting.

Level 18: Paladin

Aura Improvements: All of your aura’s radius increases to 30ft.

Level 19: Paladin

Ability Score Improvement, for the last time. We’re taking the Savage Attacker feat, where once per turn, you can reroll melee attack damage.

Level 20: Paladin

Here we are. Your capstone ability.

Invincible Conqueror: You become an avatar of conquest and for a minute gain the following effects

You’re resistant to all damage

Whenever you make an attack, you make another attack.

Your melee attacks crit on a 19 and 20

You regain this ability after a long rest

Truly, an ability befitting Technoblade. Just think of all the insane clutch moments this would apply to!

I hope this was satisfying and clear for all of you! I put a lot of thought into what I could customize about this and I hope it lives up to Techno’s legacy.

[wormytoast]

holy shit. i beat protocol 6.

only took 2 tries too! the rng wasn't on my side until the literal last plane lmfao

so the main stuff: this took me 2 tries. the first try i went with the preservation 3-star equation but i got hard-stopped at the second boss. yanqing just kept locking his toughness bar and i didn't dare bring silver wolf into the battle cuz i knew he would kill her VERY quickly 😭 so i quit and decided to go with the abundance 3-star equation on my next run

my second run was a whole mess. first plane was the same as always but i had to reroll the 3-star equation from the first boss twice before getting the abundance one. the main problem was the game literally refused to give me abundance blessings despite having the abundance seal curio.

somehow i got 3 weighted curios and some other regular curios, and in the second plane i got a curio escapade that allowed me to reroll one and i got the preservation weighted curio! i also synthesized some regular curios and got the PLAGUENEST! this was one of the two curios i was missing which was exciting.

unfortunately, i didn't have 8 abundance blessings by the time i hit the second boss which was yanqing AGAIN. i resigned myself to ending the run BUT it turns out the laurel curio WORKS FOR BOSS DOMAINS (it's description specifies "defeated in a battle outside of a final domain"). so it was counted as a win!

it took screwy's blessing shop in the final boss domain AND the cake cat resets to activate the 3-star equation 😵‍💫 but that's all i needed!

the final fight was honestly kind of funny—the boss was sam which was VERY lucky because it meant i could go double sustain with luocha and aventurine AND use silver wolf to implant wind weakness for blade 😀

key points of my strats this run:

team members:

luocha's heals constantly proq the abundance blessings and give team-wide heals to charge dewdrop.

aventurine's shields prevent one-shots and keep the rest of the team safe—his fua also gives him a ton of toughness depletion and an extra attack to heal from luocha's field.

silver wolf is the least important but she gives a ton of def shred and toughness depletion to the boss and implants the needed weakness.

blade is SUPER important, because he synergizes with the abundance path extraordinarily well—not only does it make him extremely tanky but it's a HUGE buff to his damage. his dewdrop values are constantly out the wazoo which lets him deal a ton of damage while not being even close to dying. the literal only time he'd drop under 50% hp is when he used his ult lmfao. i love my old man cockroach <3

team order had SW and luocha on the outer slots while aven and blade were in the middle. the only one who would get close to a ko is silver wolf.

weighted curios

the abundance one gives a stackable shield when units are healed by the abundance team member. i think luocha's field proqed this?

the preservation one consumes hp instead of the shield value when the unit's hp's is above 50%.

this basically meant that my team's shields were constantly being reinforced thanks to both aventurine's skill+fua and luocha's heals refreshing shields while at the same time allowing my team to take chip damage from attacks which could proq blade's fua and my entire team's grit stacks!

blessings:

mainly tried to focus on survivability. the most important ones are from the abundance and destruction paths:

"mudra of blessing" which, when upgraded, charges dewdrop based on max hp instead of current hp,

"regression inequality of annihilation" which distributes damage across all allies and makes all allies receive 15% less damage,

"boundary density expansion group" which gives stacks of grit whenever allies lose or heal hp.

other abundance blessings i had were the 3-star one that has blast healing as well as the 2-star one that deals additional damage to enemies based on a unit's current hp. other destruction blessings i had were the 1-star blessings that increase max hp as well as increasing def and effect res when losing or healing hp. i also 2 had preservation blessings to bulk up shields.

equations:

borisin: 3-star. the main damage dealer. blade can essentially super-charge the damage of annihilation flower with his insane dewdrop values. the tally would usually get to at least 200k if he got to act a couple times before it.

viscorpus: 2-star. literally an equation made for blade. it increases the dewdrop value limit AND restores part of the charge when dewdrop is broken with a basic attack.

memosnatcher: 2-star. when characters use their ult they will consume hp and have a chance to freeze enemies (ehr based on their grit stacks). helps with survivability and crowd control AND helps proq blade's fua. (somehow this had a much higher success rate than the 3-star pres/rem equation...)

wingweaver: 1-star. increases charging efficiency of dewdrop when an enemy is defeated and restores hp for all allies.

drifting circus: 1-star. which increases a character's max hp based on aftertaste hits. mainly for blade due to his kit but worked for aventurine since he also has a fua and it would be proqed a LOT.

regular curios:

easily the least important category. the only important ones were:

family ties: gives a 30% damage boost for every destroyed curio in your possession (i had 2, so 60% dmg boost).

space-time prism: a classic! increases all allies eidolon level by one when in battle. not really needed but very nice for aventurine's shields, SW's ult up-time, and blade's damage!

other stuff about the run? i also had the 3-star blessings "perfect experience: innocence" and "vineyard: against the night". the first one is the dissociation on break blessing. the second deals extra aftertaste damage in a character's next fua whenever they use their basic/skill/ult.

the game doesn't save un-expanded equations in your save file but i had two! i don't remember what they were though lol

i also had the lightning weighted curio which... i kind of didn't need at all lmfao. i'm convinced that curio was only made for acheron so that her ult could have more weakness break efficiency.

i also got an occurrence and a curio i was looking for! i was missing the plaguenest curio (i'c ranted about this a lot) but i was also missing the ipc promotion saga iv occurrence, and i somehow got it in this run! super lucky :)

[dankusner]

Dan Rather, at 92, on a life in news

“NO SOLDIER WORTHY OF THE NAME WILL LEAVE EVEN A DEAD COMRADE.”

No soldier worthy of the name will leave even a dead comrade.

There's a great misunderstanding of what soldiers Sailors Marines and Air are afraid of in war.

They are afraid of dying, of course 

They are 

But that's not what they're most afraid of.

Fighting men and women are most afraid of letting down the guy to their left or the woman to their right. — DAN RATHER, TEXAS Thine alabaster cities gleam Undimmed by human tears! America! America! 

TELEVISION 

Ex-anchor Rather gives CBS interview

It was his first presence on the network since his bitter ’05 exit

NEW YORK — Dan Rather returned to the CBS News airwaves for the first time since his bitter exit 18 years ago, appearing in a reflective interview on CBS Sunday Morning days before the debut of a Netflix documentary on the 92-year-old newsman’s life.

After 44 years at the network, 24 as the CBS Evening News anchor, Rather left under a cloud following a botched investigation into then-President George W. Bush’s military record. 

Rather, who was born in Wharton, signed off as anchor for the last time on March 9, 2005, and exited the network when his contract ended 15 months later.

With continued enmity between him and since-deposed CBS chief Leslie Moonves, Rather essentially became a nonperson at the news division he dominated for decades.

“Without apology or explanation, I miss CBS,” Rather told correspondent Lee Cowan in the interview, which aired Sunday. “I’ve missed it since the day I left.”

Rather escaped official blame for the report, which questioned Bush’s Vietnam War-era National Guard service, but, as the anchor who introduced it, was identified with it. 

CBS could not vouch for the authenticity of some documents upon which the report was based, although many people involved in the story still believe it was true.

In the documentary Rather , debuting Wednesday on Netflix, Rather said he thought he would survive the incident, but his wife, Jean, told him, “You got into a fight with the president of the United States during his reelection campaign. What did you think was going to happen?”

Rather did not retire after leaving CBS, doing investigative journalism and rock star interviews for HDNet, a digital cable and satellite television network. 

Over the past few years, he has become known to a new generation as a tart-talking presence on social media.

This past week, he posted on X during former President Trump’s hush money trial: 

“Is it just me or did today seem sleazy even for Donald Trump?”

“You either get engaged and you get engaged in the new terms ... or you’re out of the game,” Rather said in the CBS interview, filmed at his home in Texas. “And I wanted to stay in the game.”

The Netflix documentary traces his career from coverage of President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, the Vietnam War and Watergate, through his anchor years and beyond. 

It includes some of the then-tightly wound Rather’s odder incidents, including an assault in New York City by someone saying, “What’s the frequency, Kenneth,” then later appearing onstage with R.E.M. when the group performed its song of the same name.

In both the documentary and in the CBS interview, Rather bypasses his career when talk turned to his legacy.

“In the end, whatever remains of one’s life — family, friends — those are going to be the things for which you’re remembered,” he said.

'Steady. Courage.' 

Netflix's 'Rather' tells the story of one of America's top journalists

Dan Rather, the subject of the new documentary "Rather," available on Netflix starting May 1, has been a journalist for some 70 years.

When it comes to summing up the legacy of a man who has been on the public stage for decades, historian and author David Brinkley has this to say about Dan Rather.

"Journalism is a higher calling, not a career," Brinkley concludes in the new documentary "Rather." "When you're looking at who were successful journalists over the last 50 years, Dan Rather would be at the very top of the list."

"Rather," available on Netflix on May 1, is as adroit, informed and, at times, intense as its subject matter. 

It does not stint on the controversies, including the reporting mistakes that ultimately ended Rather's career at CBS News. 

Yet for most of its 94 minutes, the documentary gives an unerring account of his history and, because of his vantage point in national media, ours.

Dan Rather: The early years

The movie does not start with Rather's childhood, but it records that he was born in 1931 in Wharton County, Texas, during the Great Depression. 

When he was 12, he developed debilitating rheumatic fever, something that informed the way he faced the rest of his life.

"While not as bad as polio, (it) is very bad," Rather told the American-Statesman in April 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. "I was bedridden for the better part of two years. And I know that plenty of other people have gone through even tougher times."

His father and mother lent him the tools to get through this crisis, values that pop up in various ways during the documentary.

"First, live in the present. My mother had a saying: 'About yesterday, no tears, about tomorrow, no fears.' I’ve repeated that from time to time," Rather told the American-Statesman "The words 'steady' and 'courage' have had a lot of meaning to me. They were two of my father’s favorite words. When I was bedridden, he’d put his hand on me and say, 'Steady. Courage.'"

At his father's insistence, Rather rebuilt his body through hard outdoor labor. 

He recovered well enough to later join the U.S. Marines, but the service ousted him when Marines found out about his history with rheumatic fever. 

He attended high school in Houston and studied journalism at Sam Houston State Teachers College in Huntsville.

"Rather" swiftly records his debut in Houston-area radio during the early 1950s. 

He learned to improvise on the air, and he gained exposure to national TV audiences as a KHOU-TV reporter during devastating 1961 Hurricane Carla. 

His key innovation was not to brave the waves on the coast, as many remember him doing, but to superimpose a transparent satellite image of the giant storm over a map of Texas; more than 100,000 people subsequently evacuated.

Impressed, CBS News appointed Rather as bureau chief in Dallas, where he led the reporting on the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. 

He covered the civil rights movement on the ground, where the abuses against protesters pricked not only his conscience, but also that of the nation, which had not before seen the brutality of Southern racism in such bold, moving, inescapable images.

After a time as White House correspondent, Rather spent a year reporting on the Vietnam War in the field — an assignment he sought aggressively — and, once again, the nation could not turn its gaze from the raw violence or the dismal fates of American soldiers. 

This brought on vituperative personal calls from President Lyndon Baines Johnson, the kind of thing Rather wore as a badge of honor.

Rather became part of the news during the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago when, trying to do his job, he was manhandled by convention security, not unlike what the autocratic Mayor Richard Daley's police force was doing to protesters outside the hall. 

During the early 1970s, he followed the Watergate scandal down every dark alley of President Richard Nixon's crimes and coverups.

Anchor of the 'CBS Evening News'

Among Rather's exploits during this period, some of them while he was a crucial part of the wildly successful "60 Minutes" news team, was going undercover in Afghanistan in 1980, disguised in local dress, after the Soviet invasion. 

Media critics who felt that this kind of reporting was a stunt called him "Gunga Dan," but once again Rather had demonstrated the value of one of his guiding principles — courage.

For a while, Rather used that word to sign off his broadcasts after he succeeded beloved anchor Walter Cronkite in 1982, at a time when most Americans retained a deep trust in the reporting by the three network news shows. 

Yet even those who admired Rather for his tenacity as an investigative and foreign journalist admitted that in the anchor's chair, he could appear rather stiff, distant, even a bit awkward, with little of Cronkite's avuncular warmth or, over time, not quite enough of the elder statesman's blanket credibility.

Even as anchor, Rather took on big, dangerous assignments, such as reporting live from Tiananmen Square in 1989. 

Yet into the Reagan years and later, Rather was drawn into the political Manichaeism of the era, accused of nurturing a liberal bias. 

Critics dismissed his journalism as slanted by pointing to his intense, insistent questioning of politicians and their representatives.

One particular turning point came in 1988 when he stepped into trap laid by conservative media advisor Roger Ailes. 

In what was supposed to be a short, general interview, Rather pressed a seemingly surprised Vice-President George H.W. Bush with questions about the Iran Contra scandal. 

The edge in Rather's voice was all that the right needed in order to discredit Rather's objectivity.

From that point on, Rather's demeanor became a rallying point for right, even when the facts supported his case. 

They mocked Rather when, in 1986, he was attacked on the streets of New York by a man repeatedly asking, "Kenneth, what's the frequency?" 

Later the culprit, who was convicted of murdering an NBC stagehand, was identified by multiple sources as Rather's attacker.

During the 2004 presidential election, CBS obtained documents that appeared to verify damning accusations about President George W. Bush's service in the Air National Guard during the Vietnam War, which some later said were forgeries. 

Rather charged ahead with a "60 Minutes" report.

A series of revelations ignited a firestorm. 

Rather apologized on air for the mistake, but that was not enough. 

He stepped down as anchor of the "CBS Evening News" in 2005. 

When he refused to blame one of his staffers for mistakes, according to the documentary, he was forced into retirement from CBS in 2006.

Dan Rather after CBS

To the surprise of few, the fallout from the Bush story did not stop Rather. 

From 2006 to 2013, he hosted an investigative series for HDNET (later AXS TV). 

In 2018, he began leading an online newscast, and since 2021 he has produced the newsletter "Steady" on Substack.

Along the way, Rather became a surprise superstar on social media through often humorous bursts of moral insight for turbulent times. 

The lack of restraint common on social media posts seems to suit his outspoken personality. 

As the documentary points out, he has become a hero for a generation who not only missed him altogether on the "CBS Evening News," but may have never seen a network newscast.

"Rather" does not glide over his personal life, and his deep affection for Texas, where he keeps a Hill Country home with his wife, Jean Rather. 

It serves as the location for some of the documentary's interviews, especially the ones that share his perspectives on having spent such a long time on Earth.

"What old man do you know who doesn't want to tell you what he's learned out of life?" Rather says in the movie. "Working in television, social media — did he cover Tiananmen Square? Did he cover the Vietnam war? Did he cover Watergate? Did he cover the Kennedy assassination? As time moves along, that's not going to amount to very much. In the end, whatever remains of one's life — family, friends — those are going to be the things for which you will be remembered.

His daughter Robin Rather, who serves as a sort of emotional anchor for the documentary, confirms that her father is grounded in family life.

"As a journalist, he's all about courage," Robin says. "As a father, he's all about the love, absolute, unconditional love."

One of the surprisingly deft sources of wisdom in the movie is talk show host Andy Cohen, who once worked in the CBS newsroom. 

The documentary makers save this gem for the closing segments:

[that-sokovian-bastard]

I'll Be Okay (1/2) - Jason Todd x Reader

Words: 6186 Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader, Bruce Wayne & Reader Featuring: Alfred Pennyworth, Dick Grayson Warnings: Death, grief, crime-fighting, mentions blood, hurt/comfort Summary: Five years ago, you lost your best friend. Now, you think he may be back. Author's Note: This is based on Under The Red Hood. You and Jason were/are the same age and were dating before he died (in freshman year of high school!)

This is another fic for girl-next-door-writes's Bingo challenge! This is for the Hurt/Comfort prompt.

DC / Bingo / Full Masterlist

Part 2

---

BREAKING NEWS

Bruce Wayne's son, Jason Todd, reported dead after a bombing in Sarajevo, Bosnia.

In complete shock and fear, you sat staring at the bat-computer with Alfred when that segment came across all three screens. There wasn't any story yet, as it was just reported, and Bruce hadn't even called either of you. Heck, you were expecting them to come back that night since Bruce found where Jason was! That was the whole reason you were even at Wayne Manor because you wanted to give Jason the biggest hug when Bruce brought him back.

But now, you couldn't.

You weren't talking, you weren't crying, you weren't even blinking. Only did you move once the report switched to the weather in Gotham, and you turned to Alfred. "That...that can't be real, can it?" You asked him barely above a whisper.

"I'm," He paused. "I'm not sure. I will call Master Bruce right away," Alfred said, turning to grab two handkerchiefs, one for each of you. Once you took yours, he pulled the phone out and waited for Bruce to pick up. He called twice, both ending in voicemail. "Master Bruce, please return our call when you can," He said and ended the call, giving up until Bruce could call back.

"I thought they were coming back to Gotham today," You said. "What happened?"

Alfred sighed, wiping a tear off his cheek. "I know they tracked Joker down, but they were working together. I'm not sure what changed," He said.

You navigated over to the search engine and looked up Jason's name, seeing if you could find any more information on what you two just saw on the news. You clicked the first article to appear, which was published twenty minutes ago.

This week, Bruce Wayne and his son, Jason Todd, visited Sarajevo, Bosnia. We have been informed that Todd, 15, was in a bombing in Sarajevo and did not survive. Currently, we have no source of the bombing and no comment from Mr. Wayne.

They all said the same thing. There was no further information other than that Jason had died in a bombing, and it was driving you crazy that Bruce wasn't answering to confirm or deny anything.

Finally, a long hour later, Alfred's phone rang, and he put it on speaker so you could hear as well. "Master Bruce, we saw the news. Is it true?"

Bruce sighed and didn't respond for a moment. "Yes. Joker. I was too late," Was the only explanation he gave. "I will be leaving in the morning to bring Jason's body back. We will have a burial after I return," Bruce said.

"Are you okay, sir?" Alfred asked though he knew the answer.

"I'm fine," Bruce said, which you both knew was a lie, but it was best not to push.

Alfred looked at you, not sure what to say. "We'll see you tomorrow, B," You said.

It was a phone call no one wanted to make or receive. In a matter of hours, you lost your best friend after searching for him for a week. His adoptive father was feeling responsible, and the butler had no idea how he would keep the family together. You zoned out after you said goodnight, thinking about what would come next.

After Alfred ended the phone call, he insisted on getting you something for dinner. Though it was past midnight in Bosnia, it was only dinnertime in Gotham, and Alfred needed to make sure both his and your needs were met in this time of grief. And while you ate dinner, he made calls around to others to make sure Dick and Barbara would be able to be around for Jason's burial when Bruce returned.

How were you going to get through life now without your best friend?

---

Five Years Later

There were strange rumors going around. About a person all the criminals around were scared of but also working under, but you couldn't find the name. You brought it up to Bruce, and he said he would look into it. He hadn't been the same since losing Jason, especially not wanting to have others on his team that he could potentially lose.

It wasn't a great coping mechanism, but it was the only thing that kept you distracted. You liked sitting in the Batcave, on comms with Batman, listening to him go through all his patrols and missions, helping him from behind the scenes. When Jason was still Robin, you would only be there when you two did homework together or were just hanging out; you never helped with Batman-related issues. But once he was gone, you needed something to put your mind on; and helping Batman was a perfect way.

Bruce didn't like it at first, but it at least kept you from trying to be some type of Robin, and it kept you safe behind a computer. And you liked going to the Batcave, talking with Alfred, and seeing what Bruce was up to, and it was always fun when Nightwing came into town. It had been a while since you'd seen him, so hopefully, he'd stop by again soon.

You scrolled through your phone as you watched where the Batmobile was headed, following some truck to deliver something to Black Mask, as Batman said. Batman had an idea of what was inside of it and was determined to stop it before it made it to Black Mask. You had him on speaker so you could hear whatever Batman said, either to you or the guys driving the truck.

Once he stopped, you pulled up the nearest camera so you could see what was going on. The truck spun out, and whatever was being transported fell out the back. There were shipping containers all around the place. "Who are you working for?" Batman asked the driver, and he refused to tell Batman the answer. As the driver made more excuses, the box that slid out of the truck started beeping, and Batman secured the suspects to the damaged truck.

"It's called Amazo," Batman declared, and your head snapped around. Amazo? That would certainly be interesting.

You couldn't see anything once Batman threw a smoke bomb, so you just listened. He was grunting while fighting Amazo, which was normal, but you just wished the smoke would go away so you could watch. It sounded like Batman got hit and was thrown into one of the containers around, but you weren't entirely sure.

"Packs quite the punch for a toaster on steroids, huh? Need a hand?" You heard a new voice and immediately perked up.

"Is that Nightwing?" You asked into the comms, not expecting an answer. "Tell him I say hi!" You said.

Unfortunately, they were too busy for Batman to pass along your greeting. Bruce, of course, rejected Dick's help, but everyone knew he was going to help anyway. Now you could see the fight again, though not entirely, but it was a better view than before. Lots more grunting and punching, and they finished off Amazo.

You piped up again when you saw them hauling the broken Amazo body. "Batman, tell Nightwing I said hi!"

You couldn't see it, but you knew Bruce rolled his eyes when you heard his sigh. "We're busy," He replied, not adding any more to it. You didn't push it again, knowing that Dick would surely stop by after. There had to be a reason he was in Gotham, and you were pretty sure it wasn't for Amazo.

The two rigged up Amazo to get the driver and passengers to tell Batman who they were working for, and once they said the name Red Hood, there were gunshots. All three men were killed by a sniper, and immediately, Batman took off after him in his plane, leaving Nightwing to clean everything up.

Bruce was focused, so he didn't respond to any of your questions. You heard some conversation between Batman and Red Hood, but it was a tad confusing since you couldn't see what was happening. Then, quickly, an explosion was blasted through the speakers, and Batman said he was coming back and cut off the comms. You tried to see if you could reach Nightwing, but he didn't have his earpiece in, so you just had to wait for both of them to return to the Batcave.

Dick made it to the Cave before Bruce did, which you were thankful for. "Dick! I was wondering when you'd come by for a visit," You said, giving him a tight hug.

He smiled back at you. "Hey, kiddo," Dick said. "Yeah, I guess it all worked out timing-wise."

Once Bruce made it to the Cave, you moved out of the way so Bruce and Dick could look at the screens. "This bit of intel is what brought me to town," Dick said and held up a USB drive. "Good thing I've always had perfect timing. Take a look," Dick handed Bruce the drive.

The three of you watched the short video that zoomed in on the man Bruce chased tonight: Red Hood. "I got this shot from a snitch. He says this guy's been making some serious moves," Dick explained.

"The Red Hood," Bruce deduced.

"What happened out there?" You looked away from the screen and at Bruce. Bruce didn't look at you, but Dick did look down at him. "I heard the explosion; what did he say to you?"

Bruce didn't answer and instead started typing on the computer. You hated when he did that! "Bruce, what happened?" You pushed.

He stopped typing as he was searching his database for more information on past Red Hood users. "He confronted me about the past," Bruce said, and he left it at that.

You shot Dick a confused face before looking back down at Bruce. "You think this guy knows you?"

"Not sure yet," Bruce said and went back to looking at the database. After Bruce scrolled through a few of the previous "Red Hood" personas in his database, he and Dick deduced that it was time to visit Joker to see what he knew of this new user. Joker was, of course, the most popular criminal to use the name, so it was best to see him.

You knew what was coming when Dick turned to grab a mug from Alfred and ask another question. A small laugh came out of your mouth when Dick turned back around, asking about going to visit Joker, seeing Bruce already in the Batmobile. Dick set the mug back on Alfred's tray, taking off towards the Batmobile. "Can't you just once say let's get in the car?"

Alfred shook his head as he offered you your mug. "He'll never learn," You told him.

"No, I don't think he will," Alfred confirmed.

It wasn't too long after the vigilantes returned from Arkham that they were out chasing Red Hood again. It seemed like now that Red Hood knew Batman knows he's around, what's the point in holding back? Bruce heard Black Mask discussing a weapons delivery via helicopter, and they quickly left the Cave to take care of this. And sure enough, there was Red Hood, hijacking the helicopter.

You and Alfred sat and listened to Bruce and Dick chasing Red Hood; too much going on at once to really comprehend. It got quiet once they ended at the train tracks, only a few city noises in the background, and the two of them talking about if they lost Red Hood. A few moments later, both you and Alfred jumped when an explosion came through the speakers. "Are you guys okay?" You quickly asked, moving fast to try to find a camera nearby so you could see what happened.

Dick groaned, which was the only reply you got. It got harder to hear as a train was fast approaching. Once the train passed, Bruce sighed. "We lost him. Nightwing's hurt," He reported.

When you looked back at Alfred, he was already making his way over to grab stuff to care for Dick when they returned. "Do you need help getting him back?" You asked, and you knew Bruce would say no, but you always asked.

"No. We'll be back soon," He replied, and Dick continued to groan as you assumed Bruce was helping him up.

Sure enough, when they got back, it was clear that Dick was out for at least a few days. Alfred was wrapping Dick's leg, making sure it would heal properly and it wasn't hurt past what Alfred could treat; Bruce was reviewing footage from the chase earlier.

"He's got some moves, huh?" You asked, standing behind Bruce and watching the video on the computer.

"Yeah, our boy here has some skills. He's been trained, and trained well," Dick said. "Like right there!" He pointed when Red Hood jumped off the building, and one of Bruce's lines got caught around his ankle. "That. He sliced that cable off his ankle before it went taut. You don't just do that. That has to be practiced, learned," Dick concluded.

Bruce spoke up this time. "And then there's the knife."

You cocked your head to the side, not sure what he meant. "What about it?" You asked.

"You guys know many knives that can cut my lines?" Bruce asked, looking between you and Dick.

Dick responded. "Not many."

"No, not many," Bruce turned back to the screen.

Dick tried to get up once Alfred wrapped him up but flinched when his foot touched the floor. "Alfred, take him home," Bruce requested.

"Bruce, I can still help," Dick tried to argue, even though he knew Bruce didn't even want his help in the first place.

"You already have. Thank you," Bruce said sincerely. "Go rest up." And right back to the computer he went.

You watched Alfred bring Dick some crutches to make the walk out of the Cave easier. Laughing once you heard Dick confused about Bruce thanking him, and you made sure to get your goodbye hug in before he made it too far. When you made it back over to the computer, Bruce looked over at you. "You should go home, too." He said.

Immediately, you shook your head. "Nuh-uh," You declared. "You already got rid of Dick; you can't get rid of both of us. Besides, I'm far too intrigued over this case. I wouldn't be getting any sleep anyway," You said.

Bruce didn't argue, knowing there was no way to convince you now. Instead, he went back to scrubbing through the video. "Is this the train?" You asked, and your question was answered when the same explosion from earlier played through the speakers.

Red Hood was now in the middle of the screen, looking right back at Bruce. "You haven't lost your touch-" He said but was cut off by the train.

"He said more, right?" You asked, certain that you could still hear something under the train noise.

"Yes," Bruce said, clicking on the audio to clean it up. He scrubbed it again, and it was a little clearer but not perfect. Taking a few more moments to make sure the audio was perfectly clear, he played it again.

"You haven't lost your touch, Bruce!"

Bruce stood up so fast that he knocked his chair over, and you nearly did the opposite when you heard Red Hood say his name, having to put your hand on Bruce's shoulder so you didn't fall over. "He does know you," You said, barely above a whisper. "Who is this guy?"

He took a deep breath, checked to ensure you were still standing, and slowly closed his eyes. "Mind giving me a minute?" He asked.

You took a step back, removing your hand from his shoulder. "Go ahead," You nodded, and Bruce opened his eyes to make his point.

"Alone?"

"Oh, right, of course. I'll just..." You thought. "Go get a glass of water from the kitchen." You rushed over to the elevator out of the Cave, not wanting to bother Bruce anymore. You figured he already had an idea who this guy was under the mask, but you weren't sure. You had an inkling of an idea, but it was stupid.

It doesn't make any sense for Red Hood to be him. Jason's been dead for five years.

But it's also all that makes sense.

You started wistfully thinking, piecing stupid ideas together. Lots of people have it out for Bruce, but with this guy, crime is down; that doesn't add up to the regular criminals Bruce fights. He's trained, and some of his training reflects how Bruce trains, right? He's going by Red Hood, which Joker went by at one point, and Jason was killed by Joker. That might be a stretch, though. But this guy knows Bruce is Batman, and he seemingly came out of nowhere?

Mindlessly, you filled your glass with water and sat at the table to think. It was a stupid idea. Jason is dead and buried on the grounds just outside of the house; it's not possible. Besides, you weren't even sure if you wanted that silly idea to even be true.

As you slowly drank your water, waiting for a little while before going back to the Cave, you let your mind wander.

"I promise, I'm fine," Jason said as he held his knee, trying to sound confident.

You rolled your eyes at him as you grabbed the first-aid kit. "Yeah, right, you're bleeding. At least let me clean it," You reasoned with him.

Jason sighed, sitting on your bed. He showed up, knocking on your window after he got into an argument with Bruce. He needed to blow off some steam and stopped some C-grade criminal robbing some shop, but he got knocked into a wall as he was leaving the scene. Finally getting away, he was near your family's apartment and thought going to you was better than trudging back to Bruce.

"I'll be okay," Jason persisted.

Once you sat across from him, you put the warm cloth on his bleeding knee. You'd seen Alfred heal Jason up plenty of times, so at least you had a bit of an idea of what you were doing. Jason cringed when you moved the cloth around to clean it, stinging a little. "I know you will be. But I'm going to clean the wounds," You said and pulled the cloth back, moving to grab the bandage wraps to put around his knee until he got home.

"I shouldn't have come," Jason said quietly. "I should've figured out how to deal with it by myself."

"Jay, you're fourteen; it's okay if you need some help from time to time," You reasoned with him. "Hell, you're lucky I didn't call Alfred. Give me your elbow."

Jason didn't respond when he let you look at his elbow. He was upset. And hurt. But he didn't want to admit that. "I know you're mad at Bruce, but you should go home. I'm sure both he and Alfred are worried about you," You told him, finishing wrapping up. "Look at me."

He listened, and you two locked eyes. "You're my best friend; you know I care about you. I don't want you to get hurt when you run off because you and Bruce fought," You said. "Do you want me to call Alfred so he can come to pick you up?" You asked.

Another few seconds went by as Jason thought about his response, and he slowly nodded. "Okay, I can do that," You said and got up to grab your phone, not before giving him a small kiss on his cheek to remind him how much you care about him.

You didn't realize it, but a lot more time had passed than you meant to. You were sure you could go back to the Cave, and Bruce wouldn't mind. After putting your cup in the sink, you headed back down there. Instead of finding Bruce at his computer, the Cave was empty, and you figured he went back out again, probably following Red Hood again.

You noticed the light to Jason's Robin costume was on, and you tried your hardest not to look at it. Why was it on, though? Was Bruce thinking the same thing?

It didn't matter. You couldn't get your hopes up and would talk about the Red Hood's identity once Bruce returned from wherever he was. You tried to connect to his comms, but he had them turned off, so you were stuck watching the map and waiting for him to get back.

Not too long after you were sitting in the Cave alone, Alfred made his reappearance after getting back from Blüdhaven. He offered to get you something to drink, which you gladly took him up on, and he made his way back to the kitchen. It was perfect timing because just as Alfred was heading out of the Cave, Bruce came back, and Alfred was able to get him something to drink, too.

"Where'd you go?" You asked, moving out of Bruce's chair so he could sit in front of the computer.

"Some assassins went after Red Hood. I happened to be there," Bruce informed you.

Your eyes nearly bulged out of your head when you saw the sword Bruce brought back. "Is that what I think it is?"

Bruce nodded slightly as he put it into the analyzer. "Yes, Red Hood's blood." Bruce didn't elaborate anymore, but he didn't need to. You watched as he pulled up the new Red Hood file to start analyzing, then brought up Jason's file, too. He did have the same thoughts as you, and you didn't know what you wanted the outcome to be.

Both you and Bruce watched the screen in silence, anxiety rising in your chest as it got closer and closer to completing the scan.

ANALYSIS COMPLETE

Another second passed before the bright red words came up above both photos. MATCH.

You gasped while Bruce's hands dropped as he stared at the screen. You were only brought out of your trance when there was a clanging behind you. Alfred saw the results and dropped the tray with the drinks, causing both of you to jump.

"It really is Jason?" You broke the silence, nearly ready to cry, but no one said anything else.

Bruce got up, leaving the match screen on the computer, and went to change. He didn't say anything, but once you saw him leave the Cave and Alfred told you where he was going, you followed. Alfred grabbed a lantern, and the two of you walked out to the grounds together, finding Bruce already digging up Jason's grave.

Once the coffin was uncovered, Bruce grabbed the crowbar and pried it open. Jason was still there, somehow. "Well, there you have it. He's still at rest," Alfred said.

"No, he isn't," Bruce picked the body up, and the hair fell off. It was a fake body, planted there by someone. Who? You didn't know. But you were sure Bruce did. Now, Bruce was only beating himself up about if he had looked inside when he brought Jason home, he would have known. But Bruce can't be blamed; all of you were grieving.

But Jason is still alive. He's out there, and has been, and now your hope has returned to you.

---

You were fuming.

Bruce had gone to meet with Ra's Al Guhl to figure out what went on five years ago, and on his way back, he had to stop to take care of Black Mask, Joker, and Red Hood. One thing led to another, Jason ended up with Joker and brought Bruce to Crime Alley. Jason tried to get Bruce to kill either him or Joker, but somehow Bruce found a way out of it.

And now he was back in the Cave, not wanting to talk about anymore past that, even though you knew there had to be more. It was driving you crazy that Bruce was keeping this all from you. Jason was your best friend and boyfriend; you grieved him just as much as Bruce did!

"Bruce, please, talk to me," You begged him as Bruce was non-stop walking from space to space in the Cave, trying to clear his head.

"There's nothing more to talk about, okay?" He exploded, then forced himself to take a deep breath. "Red Hood is Jason. He's alive. He wants to clean up Gotham by hurting more people, and he managed to get away tonight. I don't know what else you want from me."

You groaned. Bruce wasn't getting it. "I want to talk to him!"

"I don't know where he is," Bruce said, stopping in his tracks to make sure you heard him.

"That's bullshit. You're Batman; you know everything. You have to know where he is. Especially after you ran into him tonight," You crossed your arms, huffing.

Bruce shook his head. "I know everything?" He scoffed, still beating himself up over the discoveries from earlier. "We don't even know if he would want to talk to you. What would you say to him?"

"I just want to see him. It's been five years, Bruce. I know he's going through a lot, but maybe if I can get through to him, things will change and-"

"This changes nothing. That Jason we knew is still gone," Bruce cut you off, making you stop talking. "Look, I think you need to go home. Get some rest; you've been up for too long working on this case."

You cocked your head to the side, still looking at Bruce's face. "You're telling me to go get some rest? You haven't slept either!"

"Yes, I am telling you to get rest. Take the rest of the week off," Bruce deadpanned.

"Bruce, I can still help! We can find Jason, and I can talk to him!" You shot back.

"It was not a question!" He responded, much louder this time to make sure you were listening. "Go home. Get rest."

You stepped back a few, not expecting Bruce to raise his voice at you. Sure, it had been an eventful few days, but you were going through this together. "Fine. I'll see you tomorrow night," You compromised.

"Next week," He tried.

"Tomorrow night," You said as your final word and walked to the elevator to leave the Cave and the mansion. Alfred saw you when you got out of the Cave and offered to drive you home since it was late, but you declined. You'd just take one of Bruce's cars if he wanted you gone so badly. Besides, you wanted to call Dick and update him on everything you found out and maybe complain about Bruce a bit.

Alfred gave you the keys to the car you usually used and hooked your phone up, immediately calling Dick when you started driving. "Hey, kid. What's up?" He answered before the phone even rang twice.

"Well, I think the case is closed for now. Have you talked to Bruce yet?"

"Not since I saw you guys. What do you mean the case is closed?" Dick asked, sounding concerned.

You sighed, making sure to not lose your focus on the street. Luckily, the longest part of the drive was actually getting back into Gotham from Wayne Manor. Once you were back in the city, it wasn't too long. "Uh, we know who Red Hood is," You said, trying to figure out what Dick's reaction would be.

"Really?"

"It's Jason," You spit it out. There was a pause on the phone, probably Dick thinking to himself and trying to figure out how the hell it was possible. "Ra's switched his body for a fake and put him in the pit. So, now he's in Gotham." Still, there was more silence. "Dick, you still there?"

Dick coughed to bring himself back to reality. "I'm sure that was a harsh discovery. Why's the case closed if you guys know who he is?"

Honestly, you weren't sure. "I guess the right wording is that this side of the case is closed. Bruce is still angry that he's hurting people, so it's not totally over. Jason tried to get Bruce to kill him or Joker, but of course, he found a way around it," You rushed through the events of the night, sure that Bruce would send him the file in the next few days. Or you would, once you got back to the computer and read the full report.

"I see," Dick started. "How are you?"

"I'm pissed!" You said. "I want to talk to Jason; I want to see him. But instead of helping me, Bruce kicked me out. He drives me crazy!" You were past frustrated, just wishing Bruce would have listened to you instead of sending you home.

Dick chuckled. "Trust me, I understand. But maybe once he gets over tonight, he'll help you out. Besides that, are you okay?" Dick asked. He was always the one to make sure everyone was in their right mind; he fits the role well.

"I don't know. Finding out Jason is alive after five years? I don't think I'll be anywhere near okay until I can see him," You said, much quieter and taking some deep breaths. You were almost to your apartment, which was probably a good thing. You'd never admit it, but Bruce was right. You needed some sleep. And some food, but mostly sleep.

"And that's perfectly fine. If Bruce doesn't help you, I'll make my way back to Gotham once I'm healed, and I'll help you find him. Maybe it would be beneficial for him, too," Dick promised.

You thanked him a lot. For letting you vent, listening to you complain, and agreeing to help you. Though Dick wasn't the greatest brother to Jason when he was first around, after his death, the two of you got closer. "I think so, too," You said as you pulled into your apartment's parking lot. "I just got home. I appreciate you letting me complain," You smiled into the phone.

"Anytime, you know that," Dick reminded you. "Get some rest, and I'm sure I'll talk to you once you're back at the Cave," Dick said. Both of you said goodnight, and you hung up and headed to your apartment.

It had been a few days since you were home, since you were helping Bruce with this case and taking power naps in the Cave. It did feel good to come home and be alone and just sit in silence. You locked the door and went into the kitchen to heat up some leftovers before you passed out for the night.

As you put your food in the microwave, you heard a noise. You tried not to react, as you knew not to, and kept moving slowly as you listened. There was creaking, and it wasn't the usual "settling" noises; it sounded like someone was shifting their weight. As the microwave started to countdown, you moved around to make it look like you were grabbing other things for your makeshift meal. Instead, you were actually getting to where you stored your taser in the kitchen so you could be prepared if there was someone in your apartment.

Part of you thought you were overthinking things, and there was no one here, but you have been out of the apartment for a few days, and it's totally possible someone snuck their way in. You had no clue if this person was dangerous, so it didn't hurt to arm yourself. As you were getting closer to your taser, you kept hearing these same noises, and you had nearly confirmed someone was hiding around the corner.

Quickly, you grabbed the taser and walked to the corner, the microwave still beeping and covering your noises. You got ready to make your move, and as soon as you turned the corner, you held the taser in front of you with your finger on the trigger and yelled, "Don't move!"

"Don't shoot!" The man said at the same time, putting his hands up in surrender. "It's just me." He said.

As your eyes adjusted to looking at the dark corner, you realized who was standing in front of you. "Jason?" You asked, the word barely making it out of your mouth. "Is it really you?"

Slowly, he nodded. You still had your hand on the taser's trigger. "It is, I promise."

"Take off your helmet," You said, not making another move in case it wasn't actually him.

He moved his hands from beside his head and grabbed the helmet, carefully taking it off and holding it in his right hand, using his left to take off the small black mask still attached to his eyes. He looked up at you with the slightest hint of a smile.

You quickly lowered the taser, then set it on the counter, rushing up to him. "It's really you," You said, standing only a few inches away. You cupped his face in your hands, examining him with your eyes, which were already starting to tear up. "I can't believe it. What are you doing here?"

Jason nodded, his smile growing. "I missed you. And now that you know, I had to come see you. I'm sorry it took me so long," He apologized.

"I think I can forgive you for that, granted I did think you were dead," You said and lowered your hands off his face. He moved to set his helmet and mask down next to where you put the taser on the counter. "I can't believe you're actually alive."

"I know," He sighed. "It's been a rough few years, but I'm here now," Jason said.

You stepped back to look at him from head to toe. "I can't imagine."

He shrugged. "I'll be okay. How about you?"

"I think so," You smiled.

The microwave beeped again, making you realize you missed it the first time. Nodding to yourself, you grabbed the food out of the microwave and set it to the side. You weren't even interested in the food anymore; you just wanted to talk to Jason.

You knew you wanted to talk to him, but the minute you made eye contact with him, all the stuff you had planned to say went out of your head. "I know a lot is going on, and I know we have a lot to talk about," You started. "And trust me, I won't tell Bruce I saw you."

"Really?" He asked, a bit confused at that.

"Really. But I wanted to ask you a favor," You said. Jason nodded, telling you to go on. "Can we have one night that isn't about Red Hood or Batman and just pretend to be normal?" You asked. "We can watch some TV, or just chat about life after five years, or eat some snacks."

Jason looked down and shook his head, and you were worried he was going to decline you. But when he looked back up, and the biggest smile was on his face, you knew. "I would love that."

You smiled just as wide as he was and told him to wait for a second. You ran into your room, ruffled through a drawer in your dresser, and ran back out. "Take this," You handed him the piece of clothing.

Jason opened the sweatshirt and was a bit shocked when he saw it. "Is this one of my oversized hoodies?"

"Alfred gave it to me after he went through your room. He thought I would want it," You explained. "But you can wear it again, and it should fit fine since it was oversized!" You encouraged him.

"I think that is a great idea; I'm glad you kept it," Jason said.

Soon enough, you and Jason were sitting on the couch together like nothing had changed, like it hadn't been five years without each other. There was some late-night show on TV as you told him about your life over the past five years, just happy that you were in his arms again. It was a weird dynamic, and you know he's done some things you don't exactly agree with, but he is your Jason. Bruce said he isn't the same Jason that died five years ago, but sitting here, cuddling with him, you have to disagree.

Maybe you two could work through the weird things together. Jason definitely took a more violent and lethal approach to cleaning up Gotham, but maybe you could help him get out of that habit. You didn't want to tell Bruce you did get to talk to Jason because you were still mad that Bruce wouldn't hear you out or entirely tell you what happened. Maybe once you were over it, but for right now, this night was about you and Jason.

Though it's been five years, when he softly kissed you, it felt like you were right back at a high school dance with your boyfriend, and nothing had changed. Maybe things would work out on this weird, five years later, normal you were living.