#i know it doesn't target just one specific emergency but it all goes into a pot that then serves the places of greatest need

[cyphyree]

FREE RICE - Official UN World Food Program free nonprofit game that Feeds those in Need!! https://freerice.com/

What does it do?

You play simple trivia games in-browser, and for every correct answer you will help raise "rice" (meaning money to go into emergency relief such as rice and other foods) to help feed those most in need.

Freerice officially works with the United Nations World Food Program (see: https://unric.org/en/freerice/ ), which serves, as of writing:

State of Palestine

Afghanistan

Ethiopia

Ukraine

Sudan

Yemen

See more listed here: https://www.wfp.org/emergencies, as linked from Freerice

How does it work?

Private sponsors now match the rice grains earned in the game. Every question you answer correctly earns 10 grains of rice, triggering a financial payment to WFP. The donations generated through Freerice help support WFP's work in emergencies around the world. (source: https://freerice.com/frequently-asked-questions )

100% of all funds generated via Freerice go to the World Food Programme. Freerice does not earn or keep any money it raises.(source: https://freerice.com/about-us)

Important Notes!

If nothing shows up when you hit "PLAY GAME," try enabling cookies to reveal the site shown above

Making an account is OPTIONAL, not having one does not lessen your impact

Can be used towards virtual community service (download a certificate to fill out yourself)

Freerice has no time limit and perfect for using in conjunction with arab.org, a single click website for various good causes

[ebodebo]

Chasing The Mask

—red hood is on the hunt for the director and his accomplice, blueprint, gotham's most notourious art theives.

—red hood x art thief "blueprint!" reader

—2.5k+

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A heavy dew settles over the city, along with a light fall of freezing rain. It would almost be calming if you didn't know it was Gotham. One of the most crime-ridden cities in the world. Full of crooks and villains alike. 

Among the haze of rain and sleet, a vigilante sits perched on the top of one of the city's most renowned museums, The Metropolitan. The Red Hood, so he calls himself. While most nights he goes out into the night by himself, to his dismay, tonight he is accompanied by his heroine brother, Nightwing.

The Metropolitan is filled with some of the most exquisite pieces of art made by some highly famed artists, from Van Gogh to Basquiet. It is home to a most priceless collection, indeed. 

Of course, with such valuable pieces, the museum has been the target of numerous theft attempts, and tonight is no exception. 

"You didn't have to come," Red Hood snarkily says as he leans against the red brick encasing the rooftop exit door. 

"Just trynna' help out." The honesty in his voice makes Red Hood roll his eyes. He doesn't necessarily hate Nightwing but he thinks he's too smug for his own good. An entitled, know-it-all. But they are brothers, after all. So, there is a sense of undeniable care there. 

"I've got it taken care of." Red Hood counters, crossing his arms. His tone is almost defensive. Does Nightwing believe he can't catch a simple art thief? Like he's some kind of amateur?

"Is that right?" Nightwing questions, crossing his arms, too.

"Yes." Defensive, again. 

"Because, last time I checked, The Director and Blueprint are still running around Gotham." Nightwing accused. 

"Way to state the obvious, Dick." Red Hood enunciated his name. Dick was used to Hood using his name as a homonym, often. 

"I'm waiting." Hood finally answered his question after the insult. Nightwing let out a light laugh. "For what exactly?" He pushes, uncrossing his arms and walking over to the brick wall Hood was leaning on. 

"An opportunity," Hood stated as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Jesus Christ, Jason." Nightwing pulled his hand up to wipe across his face, which was covered by a simple black domino mask. 

"This is exactly why I didn't want you to come, Dick." Hood sighed deeply. "Talk too much." He finished, uncrossing his arms.

"Sorry, I have-" Nightwing started, but Hood quickly interrupted.

"Wait, shut up," Hood stated, putting his pointer finger in the air.

"You're really starting to piss me off." Nightwing exhales, anger simmering off his body. 

"Dick, I'm serious," Hood says, turning his head to look around the roof. "You hear that?" He questions.

"Hear wha-?"

"Boys." Hood and Nightwing quickly turn to see Blueprint emerging behind the bricked rooftop door they were leaning on. 

"Blueprint," they simultaneously say. "What are you two doing here?" you ask, tilting your head. Nightwing is quick to respond. "We could ask you the same thing."

"A woman never reveals her secrets." You chirp, pointing your finger at both of them. You walk closer to them, smiling. "It's actually good to see you both." 

"Wish we could say the same." Hood finally speaks. His words are gruff and gray. You rapidly turn your head towards him. It felt weird seeing him like this. Not even thirty minutes ago, you were lying in the sanctity of his warm, cozy bed in a post-orgasmic haze. It wasn't like you and him were dating, but you shared a specific intimacy that wasn't common to either of you. 

Normally, you wouldn’t give boys like him the time of day. But, what can you say? He’s a great lay.

You did like him, sure, but this was strictly business. There should be no feelings involved in business.

"Blue?" Hood questioned, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

You shake your head, absolving you of your thoughts. "Would love to stay and chat, boys, but I have some paintings to tend to." Thanks to The Director, you swivel on your heel to head toward the rooftop exit door that's been propped open. 

"That won't be happening today," Nightwing spoke, pulling out his slick-black Escrima Sticks. 

You let out a smug laugh. "And I suppose you two are going to stop me?" You crossed your arms over your chest, tilting your head. 

"That's the plan," Hood said, pulling out his weaponry, which was tucked nicely in his jacket. 

You gave a nice, wide smile before pressing the button on the small metal capsule of a lead-lined smoke grenade that had been concealed in your hand, throwing it in front of them, unleashing a cloud of smoke that covered your being as you made your getaway.

"Bye-bye, batboys." You yelled to them as you sprinted to the ajar exit door and entered the museum's stairwell.

"Fuck." Hood says through coughs as the smoke forces its way deep into his lungs. Even with smoke filling his lungs, he's still quick to spring into action, following you inside the museum, with Nightwing following hot on his trail, coughing as well.

You flew down the steps. Skipping three, even four, steps at of time. When you turned around after you got inside, they weren't even behind you, still coughing and heaving on the smoke. It was a damn shame Jason was so tall because once you scaled the second staircase, you turned to see Jason beginning the second one. Your eyes widened under your mask at how swift he was. You turned and continued sprinting as fast as your legs could go.

You could faintly hear Hood and Nightwing yell at you to stop, but you pursued down the flights downstairs, reaching the last set of stairs. 

You scrambled up as Hood came unexpectedly close and almost grabbed your arm, but you managed to escape his grasp, holding the handle of the main door and slipping inside, slamming it in his face. You breathed a sigh of relief as your legs carried you over to where The Director AKA your dad was standing, holding an authentic Da Vinci portrait. 

"Nice job, Blue." Your dad remarked, referring to the diversion you created with the bats so he could slyly take the precious art without them interfering. Though slamming the door did make an excellent barrier, you had forgotten to arm the system back, so Hood and Nightwing forcefully pushed the door open. 

"You didn't arm the door system back?" Your dad hissed, looking down at you.

"I-shit." You cursed, turning to see Hood and Nightwing standing only a few feet from where you and your dad stood. 

"You really think you're going to get away with this?" Nightwing cockily questions, stretching his arms down with his sticks in each hand. 

The Director let out a deep, guttural laugh, causing you to spin your head to face him. "Don't you see? I already have," he declared, showing the painting in his hand.

"We could still take you out." Hood points out, his eyes on The Director, as his hand slides to reach for a gadget on his signature utility belt. Though, he couldn't feel anything. Did he seriously forget to bring it?

"How are you going to do that, Hood?" The Director challenged. "Don't have that shiny belt on, do you?" He questioned, gesturing to his waist.

Hood glanced at Nightwing. "You forgot your belt?" Nightwing questioned, disbelief coating his voice.

"I could have sworn-" Hood says before shaking the rest of the sentence off. "Whatever. I don't need it." He assures, assuming a fighting position.

It was honestly true. Hood was an incredible fighter. Watching him fight was astonishing. He could move his body in ways you didn't even know were humanly possible. But, you did not want to fight him. You just wanted to appease your father by helping obtain the painting, so you could all get the hell out of there.

"Get them." Your father demanded, looking down at you. You hesitated, looking up at your father. "Did you hear me? Get them." His words came out harsher than the first, showing his agitation. 

"Come on, Blue, we won't go that hard on you." Hood snarkily remarked, and you reached for his belt wrapped around your waist. You felt a weird sense of guilt as you covertly pulled out a Batarang.

"You just gonna stand there or-" Hood starts but is interrupted by the Batarang swinging right near the side of his head. 

"I actually think I'd like to play, Red." You mischievously say, running towards Nightwing, catching him a little off guard, and extending your leg to kick him in the stomach, pushing him back, as he holds his stomach.

"Come on, Red. I won't bite." You say, making your way over to him while Nightwing is still down. You let out a powerful punch, but he's quick to move his head to the side, dodging it. 

"Actually, I think you might." He says, grabbing your extended arm and twisting it so your body turns in the other direction. 

Nightwing makes his way up. "Well, that was easier than expected." He said, wiping his hands together.

"Because I did all of the work." Hood chimed, still with your arm twisted behind your back. Their banter made for a good distraction so that you could reach into the utility belt Jason mistakenly left at your house and grabbed a stun gun. 

You turned quickly, letting go of contact with him, as Hood talked, and pressed the tazer to his forearm. Although clothed, the powerful current still hit his skin, making him drop to the floor, convulsing.

"Wanna have some fun, Grayson?" You sarcastically ask as you step closer to him. He swings his sticks in front of him in a criss-crossed pattern. 

You take his silence as an answer. "I knew you were always the boring one." You sigh, holding up the stun gun.

"That's a bat-belt." Nightwing states casually, looking over at Hood, whose body is hunched over on the ground, still convulsing. 

"Aren't you just a genius? You sneered, carefully watching him. 

"How the hell did you get bat-belt?" Nightwing gruffly questions, eyeing your hand with the stun gun. You narrow your eyes at him. "Like I said before, a woman never reveals her secrets." You quickly move towards him, though he's not so off guard. Not like Hood was. 

However, unlike a taser, a stun gun does not shoot any projectiles, and it has to be held against a body or skin to do any damage. Nightwing was standing a few feet from you so the stun gun would do you no good. 

But, you don't even get a chance to use it because he's quick to knock the stun gun out of your hand and uses his stick to hit across the museum, a ways from any of you. 

"Ah, I get it," Nightwing says, letting his sticks rest on his side. You tilt your head to the side. "Get what?" You shouldn't be indulging him. You should be kicking his ass, but with Hood down, Nightwing wasn't going to be so much work. Plus, in between fighting them, your dad had slipped away, leaving you to do the damage control. 

"You got it from Jason, right? Well, stole." He dragged out the last word. 

"It's not really stealing if he leaves it in my apartment. Is it?" You retort smugly.

"Of course he did." As he finishes his sentence, you realize you two have been talking for a while. Well, in hindsight, in normal conversation, no, but this is supposed to be a fight, not a catch-up. Wait, I haven't heard Hood? Upon this epiphany, you turn to see an empty spot where Hood laid.

"Where-where did he go?" You stutter, deciphering when he could have left and how you didn't hear him.

"Oh, Jason?" Nightwing starts. "He left a while ago—once you turned around, actually." He coolly says this, sliding his sticks back on through the straps on the back of his suit.

This was a diversion, and you were stupid enough to fall for it. Shit, your dad is going to be so pis-

"Got em'," You hear Hood's voice echo off the walls as he walks in with your father, ropes tied around his hands and ankles, painting in hand. He handed him off to Nightwing as he placed the art back in its place.

You and Hood watched as Nightwing dragged him through the exit door you all came in through.

"So, heard you stole from me?" Hood tuts, shifting closer to you. 

"Like I said to your brother, it's not stealing if you leave it in my apartment." You retaliate, your throat drying as he moves closer.

"It's still mine." He's now standing right in front of you. You feel flustered at the proximity but cannot let it show. He would never let you live it down. 

"And I want it back," he casually says, his hands ghosting over your waist, housing the belt in question.

You look straight up at him. "Take it then." You swear you could hear him inhale deeply at your suggestive words, but you don't ask. 

His hands wander to the belt, hanging a little low on you. You swear he holds his fingers on the front part just to tease you, and if that was the goal, fuck, did he succeed. But you wouldn't tell him that. His ego is already huge. His fingers leave the front portion of the belt and continue dragging slowly along the sides until he reaches the back to unclasp it, and pull it off of you.

Once he steps back, you release a breath you didn't even know you were holding. "I would leave now." He suggests, wrapping the belt around his own waist. "You know, before the police get here."

"Okay." You felt like he had just put you under a spell. You are willingly agreeing with him. He can sense this, too, and smirks under his mask at your cooperation. 

"Night, Blue." He says as he turns to the rooftop top exit door, pushing it slightly.

"Goodnight, Red." You say, releasing a sigh of relief once he steps outside the door.

"Oh my God." You say to yourself. "That was-" You pause, taking a deep breath. "Do I like Red Hood?" You question, thinking. "No. Definitely not. It was nothing." You lie to yourself. You had only ever slept with the guy, so it just had to be the undeniable sexual tension between you two. That’s all. Right?

You thank God when you push open the rooftop door that Hood isn't hovering behind the door, listening to you essentially try to deny, and fail, expressing your feelings for him.

It is so nice for Hood that stairwells offer a safe place during storms, but they also offer space for a secret spot, just like the one Hood implemented into the walls of The Metropoliton some years ago.

He used to hide from criminals chasing him through the museum, which happened quite frequently, but now he was using it to simply make sure you left okay. But who knew it would double as a way to hear about your secret love confession? Certainly not him. 

reblogs & comments are encouraged!

[sarcastic-sketches]

hey what about that archon Star Wars where Obiwan goes undercover as a mercenary and fakes his death would Anakin still get tricked?

Ah yes, the Rako Hardeen arc. This is one of the story arcs that's going to happen very differently to canon because of the elements involved directly impacting Anakin being a Kitsune. I'll have to watch the arc again when I come to write it to make it more accurate (along with some medical research) but this is the way I imagine it playing out. TW for bodily harm, people getting shot.

So while Obi-Wan is all ready and set up for his mission to be shot by a bounty hunter that's been hired specifically for this task, everyone has kind of forgotten that the reason Anakin is the only Kitsune left in the GFFA is because they were hunted to the point of near extinction for their tails. By hunters.

They've all gotten a little complacent with the change by now. He's an accomplished General in a war, he dodges death all the time, they all forget that he is still vulnerable to attack from sources other than the Separatists. Even when on Coruscant.

Obi-Wan is putting himself directly in the way of a blaster bolt from a bounty hunter. A group of people who are rewarded for their oppotunistic nature. The plan kicks off, Obi-Wan gets shot and falls off the building, with Ahsoka reaching him first only to discover that he isn't breathing. Anakin is still at the top of the building, leaning over the edge to see Obi-Wan's body in his Padawan's arms.

Meanwhile, Rako is lining up another shot as his other, personal target has now walked into frame. He's thinking, 'you know what? Maybe I should take a pot shot for a tail while I'm here'. You miss all the shots you don't take after all and he brought a bullet just in case. Obi-Wan is known for always having Skywalker not far behind him after all.

What are the chances he can nail two Jedi in one day?

Only Anakin isn't wearing body armour or being targetted by a fake bolt. He's too busy zeroing in on his Master's body down on the floor to notice something else is wrong. In his distracted state, the next shot goes straight through his chest. A real solid bullet made of silver. The silver doesn't actually do anything, Rako might just be a bit superstitious and thought it might help weaken such a creature, but it's really just the physical trauma of the shot itself that brings Anakin down.

Ahsoka, still cradling Obi-Wan's body has to look up and find her own Master now slumped over the side of the building after a second shot has gone off. She reaches the top of the building just in time to see Rako advancing on an unconcious Anakin with a knife. She doesn't even hesitate to launch herself at this bounty hunter, who is now far too close to defend himself against a light saber. He makes a run for it and Ahsoka can't leave to chase after him, she needs to call support. She needs to...

Stop the bleeding and call for help.

"Jedi emergency. Calling for med evac!" Ahsoka hisses into her comm as she jabs a thumb into the hole punched through her Master's back, just under his left shoulder blade. That's a collapsed lung... "Copy that. Ship in the air, what's the situation?" the voice of a clone responds. No doubt one of the Coruscant Guard who are always monitoring the military comm frequencies for just such an occasion. "Two Jedi down. General Skywalker is critically injured, projectile through the back. General Kenobi is," she has to pause to swallow through the saliva filling her mouth, throat tight with her panic. A fluttering inhale quells the nerves in her chest before she raises her comm again. "General Kenobi is unresponsive. Blaster bolt to the chest. Please, I need immediate medical assistance."

"We're on our way. ETA two minutes."

It is the longest two minutes of Ahsoka's life as she tears the fabric of her glove from her arms with her teeth to stuff against the bleeding around her thumb.

It is later commented upon that it's remarkable the shot didn't kill him. Kitsune are durable but perhaps some baser instinct caused Anakin to move the slightest inch so the bullet missed his heart. But it means he is left healing for the duration of Obi-Wan's mission. With blood loss and a perforated lung, a bacta bath would not be enough to get the General back on his feet. The news that Anakin got shot for real because of the deception has Obi-Wan feeling very unnerved and guilty. He had a mission to complete, and he committed to the task, but Anakin was never meant to become a target himself. The plan succeeds without issue and the bounty hunters captured at the end of the Festical of Light. All this subterfuge and fuss hardly seemed worth it in the end... it all felt very anticlimatic.

Anakin is still upset that he was lied to - especially in an attempt to take advantage of his emotional reactions - but since he was out of it for the whole thing, he never had to really experience Obi-Wan's death. Never had to go through the mourning of his Master or contemplate living in world without him in it. But he knows Ahsoka did, and he's more pissed off on her behalf than he is for himself once everything is over. Especially since he wasn't able to be there for her either.

Ahsoka, on the other hand, is still reeling from nervous relief that she didn't just lose her two Masters at the same time. Plus the fact that her on the spot first aid - and I like to think she'd previously bothered Kix for some pointers - actually saved Anakin's life. There isn't enough space in her brain to feel the sting of deception really. Perhaps it'll come later. Right now, she just wants her two Master's to get along and forget everything else that has happened.

[fruit-salad-ship]

Pirate junk No.13846

honestly i dont know what to say im just here putting my brain worms on the table. while my computer backs up.

Plum defo works her way up to being close with this woman, and one day she pulls into port and asks the crew to go enjoy, pays them all a chunk of gold to just go onto the land and have fun for like, two nights. Peach is told nothing, comes back from aquiring specific things plum wanted from town to an empty ship. Well. Nearly empty. Plums spent a while with Peach, couple years now, just travelling, being close with her, realising shes just sad and not scary at all unless you threaten what she holds dear. Theres a billion candles lit on the deck, you can see the ship from three streets away, youd think it had caught ablaze with the light. Peach shows up and Its a close recreation of that one memory plum had of her and her wife, give or take some details. They have a very sweet date night, get to dance and be together uninterupted by work or ship problems. It rings very true with Peach, she's been quietly growing fond of this one. Theres a weird irony to have her own play be used against her.

She's not mad at it, its oddly sweet actually. Gets the idea of how her wife felt once, feels good about that. Plum makes the joke that the only thing missing is a proposal, seeing as that's how it went down all those years ago.

It plants the seed unintentionally.

Its not until a while later, someone instead of hunting peach, comes for plum, and the whole crew see the true monster creep out of this woman. Peach goes full hostile to stop the death of another Levithian. She puts maximum effort in, hardly touched by damage, and those hits she is struck by are on purpose, to pull someone closer, or pin them in thinking theyve got the advantage on her. They do not.

Mid battle things get messy, Plum is freed from the holding cell they had her in, the girls are back together, Grey getting their ship across the way to fire on their foe, wood splintering, fires catching as lanterns smash and tumble with each strike. Both women fighting in such a way that feels like a dance, Peach constantly taking hits for the Captain she came across the waters to save, it doesnt bother her, pain is temporary, and it gives Plum an opening, lets them tag team a rival crew despite being heavily outnumbered, targeting the nasty hunter captain finally. Peach uses one, THE ONLY single battle trick she's got to take them down. Closes one eye, the remaining one blinks and suddenly in a flash looks like Boa's, pure white with the sliver of an iris, painfuly bright. She locks eyes with asshole who threatened the woman she's ready to murder an entire ships worth of people for, and you see the massive serpant leap from the sea and swipe past. The hunter is consumed, the back of the ship shattered, everyones getting knocked around, Peach grabs plum and a rope from the mast stopping them falling in as the ship tips almost back on itself. That little skill is essentially like tagging an enemy so Boa can take out vital targets, reserved for emergency. Theyre trying to get off the crumbling ship, still kicking and fighting the odd crew member, dodging loose barrels, heavy ropes trying to sweep their feet as they run, and in that chaos, in the canon balls shredding the ship they stand on, they get to the edge of the deck staring down into the ocean below and plum grabs her second mates hand to stop her jumping in.

The noise is consuming, the creak and crack of this sinking ship frightening, a sailors worst nightmare, but both just look at eachother, wind whipping hair around, bloodied and battered, but alive, together.

"Marry me-" falls out of Plum's mouth without thought, the bravery gained from seeing how streamline they worked together and seeing what they were capable of was incomporable. Peach doesn't flinch when a shot shatters the mast, feeling the heavy metal ball zip past her, unable to look away from her captain. She grabs her by the chin and kisses her hard, throwing them both into the water as the enemy vessel keeps falling apart.

Boa picks them up, bringing them to the surface before heading back to their ship. In that moment of travel it feels like the question didnt get answered. Plum sgot her arms around Peachs waist as she sits behind her, head on her back, stewing in her own head.

Later when Plums in her cabin alone, regretting her dumbass words, she was too forward, too bold, the old pirate wasnt ready, she just got caught up in it all, caught up on her. Peach knocks, snaps the woman out of her own head before coming into the space. There's nothing either can say for a moment, Peach sees her anxiety spike, sitting with a slouch in an armchair before placing something small and metal on the table. A ring. "Been carrying it around for a couple of months, never really knew why." a calm expression as she leans back. "Until now. It should fit." Plum just looks at her, picks it up, words failing her, glancing at this woman with one burning question.

"Thats a yes, if you're wondering."

[intervalart]

Werewolf and Vampire AU Masterpost (specifically for the LAL western chapter)

I can't believe this is a thing I'm writing because this is normally NOT my thing, but the brainworms are very very real, so a few things I'm gonna get out of the way right now:

•The tag I use for this is "bark bark flap flap", so if you wanna mute it cuz you're sick of seeing it, please feel free.

• The end goal of this for me is not shipping. If it happens to end up that way, that's fine (I am even warming up on the prospect as I write the characters more), but overall I'm just playing with character chemistry. I'm stating this up front because of the explicit sexual culture around werewolves and vampires online. I will not be making any sexual content for this AU (ESPECIALLY not anything omegaverse, I have very little tolerance for that malarkey). At most it may be gore.

I would request you not use my AU writings/character designs/story beats etc for sexually explicit material, but obviously I can't stop you. Just keep it away from me, thanks.

The rest is under the cut, from hereon, gods help us both.

----

The overall premise here is set in the Wild West chapter obviously, but I'm not opposed to other timelines and their monster AUs hopping in for fun. (I know there's a popular theory about Oboro being a fish yokai of some kind, that one rocked)

In this AU, Sundown is the werewolf and Mad Dog is the Vampire.

"But Aima-" I hear you cry. "Mad Dog should be the werewolf cuz he literally has Dog in his name." You are not incorrect. And if you wanna expand on this yourself you are welcome to! But personally I think that since Mad Dog is already a tumblr sexyman fruitcake, his vibes work better with vampires overall. And Sundown is a stoic lone wolf anyway lol

ANYWAYS, there's monsters all around the Wild West, and the frontier folks are out there just tryin' to make it.

Mad Dog in this setting is still a Bounty Hunter, but also goes after monsters. He's still clever and crafty, but one night, he bites off a little more than he can chew, and the target he's pursuing gets the better of him and is interrupted before he can totally drain him, when causes him to turn instead. (Will make a post later discussing how vampirism and lycanthropy spreads in this universe, but the long and short of it is vampirism is a parasite, lycanthropy is a virus)

Sundown is the werewolf, in fact that's where his name came from in this AU (The sun setting and shifting into a werewolf). The current lore is Sundown saved his town from a werewolf, but got infected himself, and took out his own town.

Sundown and Mad Dog have still known each other a long time, but neither either of them knew each other when they were human. There's a bit of hypocrisy to them both, since Sundown could find others affected by the virus and stick around with them in a pack, meanwhile Mad Dog is still a monster hunter when he's a monster himself.

Annie in this setting is also a monster hunter, in training under Dallas.

O. Dio is a kelpie (design is still a WIP), and the Crazy Bunch is a group of aquatic monsters that roams around taking over water sources for their territory, and their main beef with Success is (since they used to be a mining town), some of their water runoff was contaminated by mercury.

Currently I'm just running on the premise of them hanging out, and being In Situations, with no real chronological story beats, but it's implied that Sundown wants to find a cure for his lycantrhopy (because therapy doesn't exist yet I guess lol). Or just be killed (like the canon). Whichever comes first.

Sundown has 2 forms, human and werewolf. He only shifts on the night of the Full Moon, and in emergencies/life or death cases. When he shifts, he usually doesn't remember the events of the night, only brief flashes and strong emotions. He does however have a brewed draught concocted of various vile herbs etc. that he can take the day of his shift that helps him stay more cognizant. But he can't always get all the ingredients for it, so it's not consistent.

Mad Dog has 3 forms, the humanoid form is the default, when he's running low on energy/blood he takes the little bat form, and he can take the big bat form whenever he wants, but it uses up a lot of energy, so he tends to not use it unless he has to.

Here's some reference for them so far (x) (x) (as a side note, I differentiate the big bat form with 2 thumbs and the small bat form with one thumb.)

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I will add more links, refs, and info etc. as I drum it up, so if I reblog with edit notes... Y'all know why.

Also, as an aside, I don't know if I will continue to put this in the Live A Live tag cuz I don't wanna flood it with my silly AU when people are probably looking for canon stuff. I'll be open to feedback on that point though.

[thornfield13713]

Crossover plans? Tell me more?

The one that's really got me thinking is the one that puts Maris and Charon coming to Dr Amari at roughly the halfway point between 3 and 4 - so, around 2282. So, the Minutemen are fragmenting after the death of General Becker, and in Diamond City, the new mayor just kicked out the town's ghoul residents and John McDonough has left with them. It'd be a fun vantage for Hancock's canonical coup, and might lead to some very interesting character interactions.

The way I think of it, Maris and Charon leave the Capital Wasteland around the time Arthur Maxson is consolidating his power, and probably with the Brotherhood taking potshots at them all the way. I'll have to refine this a bit once I've played more of the game, but so far I think that holds together. They end up in Goodneighbour because they're looking for Doctor Amari specifically - not sure how they heard of her, but they have heard that there's a neurologist in Goodneighbour who can show you your memories, and that sounds like a pretty good start for puzzling out what was done to Charon and how to reverse it. Unfortunately, they get into Goodneighbour under Vic's rule, which...is not a good time, for anyone.

They manage a bit better than most, because Charon is a terrifyingly tall badass and Maris is a doctor, or as close to one as you're ever going to find in the wastes. They do better than most drifters, and get set up with a standing series of appointments at the Memory Den to see what can be done about Charon's brainwashing situation. They definitely do better than John McDonough, who ends up a regular patient because...well, first, constant chem use isn't great for one's health. Particularly when one does not yet have a ghoul's tolerance. Second, he's Mayor McDonough's brother, and at this point that's probably widely known, and even if he helped some ghouls, you can bet there'll be others who are going to want to get what revenge they can, and probably a fair few smoothskins who want to take out their grievances on the Mayor of Diamond City's brother. Probably the only thing stopping some of the town's dodgier elements from trying to hold him for ransom is a) even at this stage, John's a scrappy little fucker and b) Mayor McDonough does not give enough of a shit to pay a ransom. And also, third, he's at least trying to help - bringing food to ghoul families and such - which is going to mark him out to a lot of people as an easy target, too soft to make it in Goodneighbour.

I'll need to figure out the rest of the plot from there, including characterisation for Vic, but I do like the idea that Hancock's emergence is a big part of this one, and also that Maris and Charon do not know and never learn that John-the-clinic-regular and Hancock-the-leader-of-the-coup are one and the same. Ghoulification...seems to be slower in most cases than it was for Hancock? I mean, there's mixed sources on this, but that's what I've mostly gleaned. So, he goes from fully human to fully ghoul very quickly indeed, far more quickly than is usual or even possible if one hasn't actually just had an A-bomb dropped on one's head. Might even be fun to play with very different opinions of the two. And as Mayor McDonough doesn't even recognise Hancock if you bring him along to the mayor's office, I feel like other people probably don't really know either.

And that's the rough premise. Maybe I'll even write it.

[requiesticat]

We need that Goldia x Lisette analysis and we need it NOW /LH

Now there's a couple I'm invested in.

(Spoilers for Pocket Mirror)

There's a page on tvtropes that goes more into the homoeroticism of this game. It may seem silly to put it this way, but considering the MC only gets close with female characters, holds their hands, and reacts to the one male character with confusion… yeah.

I headcanon Goldia as someone who loves everyone platonically, but I can see her being gay as well. The scene where she's sitting with Enjel on the moon feels like a romantic outing, for instance. Whether this counts as selfcest (as that page puts it) is hard to say, since the girls are technically reflections of her. We can consider them entirely different people, or rather alters who fronted as her disorders worsened.

When Goldia reaches Lisette's level, she's only heard about the latter or seen glimpses. You get the sense that she knows what to expect at that point in the game, but is at her most terrified. Then Goldia meets this disheveled-looking, unstable teenager with wild hair and scissors, who chased her through a mirror maze just before she met Harpae, and has now kidnapped her. Specifically the girl Harpae warned her about. Anyone would be scared.

But Lisette is more terrified than Goldia, even if she doesn't show it. When you live with mental illnesses, you live in a constant state of anxiety and sadness. And she is the embodiment of Goldia's loneliness, fear, and rage, blamed for everything that her host did in the past. In the real world, individuals who suffer from depression tend to hide it, pretending nothing is wrong, but they internalize every bad thing that happens to them. It gets exhausting to deal with these fluctuating emotions everyday, to an extent where you wish you couldn't feel anything at all, or want to die if it means the pain will stop. That's part of the reason why Lisette turns out to be introverted, speaking only in short sentences. She never really wanted to hurt anyone, but couldn't stop thinking of targeting those who wronged her, so she cast parts of herself away into mirrors, forcing them to emerge as disturbed, vengeful clones. The most lucid clone is the one we first encounter, who shows anger without hiding it and doesn't mince words.

So when the person who put her through the wringer suddenly shows up in a realm that's meant to be a safe space, Lisette is understandably furious. To her, Goldia is playing innocent and acting like she doesn't know what happened between them. None of this excuses her actions, of course, especially given that the protagonist has lost her memories- Lisette is effectively terrorizing a scared thirteen-year-old girl with amnesia.

But it all comes down to obtaining the pocket mirror. That goal is something I've always found interesting, in terms of character. She seems to know more than anyone else, acknowledging who the Strange Boy is and leaving notes around that express her desire to shatter Goldia's compact, which would effectively bring the world to an end. This awareness appears to be something Lisette hates. During the scene where she's wrapped up in chains, she outright calls the contract Elise made with the Strange Boy a "curse", which for all intents and purposes… it is. Elise's actions indirectly caused her suffering, and she can't take it anymore.

Fortunately, Goldia acknowledges her wrongdoings, promising to make up for them. She meets the real Lisette afterward, who is lying in a grave on the verge of death. Goldia apologizes again and comforts her, saying that she loves Lisette as much as the others. This brings them both closure. In one of the bonus rooms, Goldia continues to visit the hilltop overlooking Vienna.

Their relationship would be codependent to a bigger extent. More on Lisette's side, as she is someone who needs a partner that can care for her, and take her needs seriously. Someone who wouldn't leave in the event she has a breakdown. Goldia definitely could provide this, being a caring person in general. She'd pick up after Lisette and clean the mirror realm without complaint. Not everything would be fixed, though. There would still be tension between them due to their history. A lot of fights. Lisette probably wouldn't get along with Fleta, Harpae, or Egliette, even if Goldia wanted them all to make up.

Regardless: I think Lisette believes she's too broken to be friends with others, but they'd be happy together in spite of the difficulties they face.

[the-good-spartan]

Stalkers in the Night: The Krypteia

Few groups are more obscure despite being comparatively well known as the Krypteia. Please be aware that this is a grim topic, so if the mention of brutality to slaves triggers you, you may like to skip this one.

There's a lot said about what the Krypteia was in modern scholarship, which as usual, presents speculation with the total confidence of fact. In reality, it can’t be so easily pinned down; or, as Ducat says in his work, Spartan Education, speaking of a general agreement between the preeminent scholars in the field, ‘[there is a] disproportion that… exists between what modern scholars say about the Krypteia, and what an objective analysis of the sources actually allows them to say.’

I have assembled all the primary sources that explicitly mention the Krypteia [here]. The following is just my summary and thoughts on the subject.

The Stalkers in the Night

We know that in Hellenistic times, the Krypteia were an intelligence gathering unit of the Spartan army - basically, scouts; however, it's broadly agreed that Sparta in the Classical period didn't engage in scouting (or spying) activites - a position that I find hard to believe, but more about that below.

There's a general prevalence of thinking of the Krypteia as, to use Cartledge's terms, 'a kind of secret police… roughly ‘Secret Ops Brigade’, the principal aim of which was to murder selected troublemaking Helots and spread terror amongst the rest.’

Two interpretations offered by Ducat.

As noted in the adjoined primary sources, Ducat discards two of the five sources keeping only Plato with the scolion, and Aristotle, so this is by no means an exhaustive array of possibilities.

A Test of Endurance.

In this version, the Krypteia was a test for the 'boys' in their final years of the agoge (Ducat posits 28-30, but perhaps between 18-20, when they weren't technically men - this, as I explain in my post about the agoge, is very shaky ground; there is nothing certain here), where they were sent out into the mountains. Initially, they would have no clothes or food. They were expected to survive for a year, during which they couldn’t be seen by people - perhaps older men whose task was to pursue them. They would have had to hide by day, while emerging to kill helots at random by night.

An Initiation Ritual

Drawing on Aristotle - a group of young men sent out for a brief period to target specific helot troublemakers as a test and perhaps a hunt. They, too, hid during the day and hunted at night. Ducat goes all in on the concept that this was an initiation rite into adulthood.

My Conclusion? I Don't Know Her.

One thing that Ducat really bangs on about is how this process, in whichever form, cannot possibly be a preparation for war. Where, he argues, would it be of use to be able to do without any supplies or clothes/shoes? To have to steal your food and make do without a slave? In standard warfare, these skills are of no use.

Personally, this is one of those times when I think the answer is entirely clear - this is not for warfare in the external, phalanx/battlefield sense; this is internal warfare, frankly guerilla warfare, very specifically against the helots. I firmly believe that whatever else the Krypteia may have been, or come to be, at this early period it was definitely the pointed end of the brutal and continuous warfare being waged against the slave population of Lakedaimon.

It was obviously intended to induce terror. The hiding, the coming out at night, the going unseen - this was intentional and consistent in all accounts. The killing of helots - whether targeted individuals or at random - was a process whereby these men were being killed without knowing it was coming.

I say men, as in Thucydides, he mentions how the Spartans (not the Krypteia specifically - he doesn't use this term at all) killed any Helot men they might see in the fields who was particularly well-built or strong-looking; and lest we forget the episode of the two thousand helots who'd served as hoplites along the Spartans in the phalanx that were killed after the terrible defeat at Koryphasion (Pylos) in 425 BCE. Thucydides says '...nobody knew how any of them were killed.' [Thuc, 4.80]. This smacks of the Krypteia. These were certainly all men.

I don't understand how anyone can come away from these sources thinking it didn't have anything to do with warfare - but that's Ducat. He and I do not see eye-to-eye on much.

I also just want to mention that I can't help but think there is more to the idea in Phylarkhos, though discounted by Ducat, that this was an intelligence unit in the army at this early stage; and that they were already intelligence gathering - even if that was only within Sparta. I mean, for one thing, if there are specific targets, then those targets had to be identified in the first place. Who was identifying them?

I could go on for much longer than this, but this is enough of a summary, I hope, to give you the broad strokes of my thoughts on the subject.

[brazenautomaton]

you can pair a Devil Hunter and a Style or a Devil Hunter and another Devil Hunter. All of them can add more colors if you want, you don't have to pick a Style of the same color as your Commander. That's the whole point, so you can really customize it.

Starts at D.

You know what, I had it at 3, and I don't remember why I changed it to 2, but I will change it back.

ETB cost means "there is no window of time between paying the cost and the thing entering the battlefield. even if you cheated it into play, you have to phase out a legendary creature. if you can't do that, then it doesn't enter." you're allowed to be less precise in reminder text, see: Enlist referencing summoning sickness which is not actually a rules term. Also since it doesn't target, they can respond to kill whoever you were going to save with your DT, but you can transform another creature if you have another legendary on the battlefield.

You think so? I mean it is impossible to remove only if you're bleeding yourself to death. And for a Commander deck aggro creatures have to be really, really good. The only other formats would be Legacy and Pauper, and while Death's Shadow would like this, I don't think it would really make a splash in Legacy given what else that deck has. I'll shift it to uncommon, though.

Jester blocks one guy, he can't tap to stop someone from attacking him that turn (since they already did), I don't think he's really more powerful than other goad-enablers.

(already) means "You can't copy the copy you made, since the thing it targets doesn't exist yet and thus you do not already control it." She used to be able to copy multiple times for two mana, and it was redonkulous. Auras are the primary use case, and as implied by the Bestow creatures in her colors also from DMC4, she can copy Bestows to get a token with the Bestowed aura. But the kind of thing Zada likes in terms of "single target spells that get something else neat not directly related to that creature" will also be good for her, though not nearly as degenerate, and she can copy Credo's trigger to make 1/1 shielded guys or copy Agnus's ability to proliferate twice.

I didn't think it was a pie break since it was specifically only for creatures you already had on the battlefield. You still can't bring out something surprising.

So you can't stick your nose in a combat that doesn't involve you, which would make the board math way more complicated.

That is the idea!

He's supposed to be paired with Nico, that's what his precon deck will be -- Nico is the one who builds all his gear in DMC5.

Yeah, because every Empower is someone's Devil Trigger / super mode, Nico's has to be her van, but she's the one driving it so it just is always crewed. Oh, you know what, I can actually give it a crew ability, and then make it get something every time it's crewed, so the more people pile in the more it does.

You can cast it from exile no matter how it got there. It's like Misthollow Griffin. You can also reanimate it, and probably should. V's ability makes it very easy, since V can exile Nightmare to an escape cost; Nightmare is V's ultimate summon and they're designed to work well together but you don't strictly need V to us it.

Good point, I'll change

Do you think it should be changed? Because of the Stylish Ranks, and how you can lose 1 every combat, when you are doing well you will draw a lot of attacks, so you need some really good emergency block buttons.

Karn doesn't let people drive because he's a narc

Just like any other "can't be" effect. If a card effect or SBA says to do something to a creature, and another effect says that thing can't happen, it doesn't happen. It's like Indestructible creatures staying out while they have lethal damage. It doesn't even create an infinite loop like Bog Serpent and Assault Suit: a creature with negative toughness tries to go to the graveyard as a SBA, True Power stops it, SBAs did not cause anything to change, so priority goes to the next player. SBAs will try and fail to kill creatures with 0 toughness or lethal damage after every single action for the rest of the turn, but won't hold up the game. (They used this in the Theros boss battle against Xenagos, it wasn't an official card but it does work in the rules.)

"And he's got that! And that is the end of -- OHHHHHHHHHHH! God Dammit!"

Stylish Ranks say (once per player per combat), first strike and double strike won't double-dip. Multiple attack phases will, though.

yay, I'm glad you're interested, I will post it when I finish them!

the problem of course is there isn't any goddamn deck builder that lets you use custom cards and also allows you to do tyhings like "sort by card type / mana value" that deck builders do, even if just for real cards. tappedout.net has the ability to add custom cards to a deck but what they fail to mention is that once you do, that deck cannot be edited in any way until you take all of them out since it causes errors.

edit: also Quicksilver Style is overcosted because it is a command zone counterspell. same for Royalguard Style.

an entire 125-card set, with new mechanics (Stylish Ranks and Empower, which is a "fixed" Champion), Battles, Sagas, co-op partners, and the goddamn enemy color tango lands why have you not made those yet.

I'll be making up actual deck lists next, using these cards and existing cards to make 100-card preconstructed decks.

[gabrieldrawsstuff]

weirdly specific modern day au headcanons that i can't be assed to draw-

eren: tried setting an orphanage on fire once. showers twice a month and owns one pair of sweatpants. definitely ate toothpaste as a kid. doesn't wash his rice and eats it plain. has never been chill and never will. the only thing that keeps him functional is pure spite. does not trim his beard. burns his hands on a stove weekly

mikasa: once did a backflip off of a 4 story building. got banned from local taco bell for psychically maiming a cashier because they were rude to eren. probably goes to sleep with shoes on. voted most unhinged in highschool just because eren already had the most likely to go to jail title.

armin: i can see him getting hit by a car weekly. actually goes to a gym but unfortunately gains no muscle mass since his metabolism is faster than a goddamn jet. doxxes people on Twitter if they annoy him enough. if he feels an emotion he'll die. sleeps in a bathtub at the parties. he actually gets invited to every single one because it's impossible to not like him.

jean: probably into 80s fashion. did a super important presentation about ethical issues in a fashion industry and then added vine boom and fnaf ambience sound effects. constantly made to buy others alcohol because he looks over 21. develops carpal tunnel every so often.

connie: threw a toilet down a cliff. did cinnamon challenge in middle school and then had to go to a hospital. definitely owns a scooter that breaks his ankles whenever he rides it. has never given a fuck in his life unless something involves his mom and is not ashamed by it.

sasha: worked once for the mafia and only realized that two months after she was let go. havent touched make up in her life because her dad told her it would make her acne worse. threw a brick at a nazi. possibly did so twice. possibly did so near a cop and had to book it.

marco: pro police at some point in his life for sure. volunteered at a hospital despite the fact that all the children he took care of seemed to fucking despise him. is a designated driver even tho he cant drive. cartoonishly bad luck. has everyone's blood type memorized

reiner: says hi, goodnight and thank you to the bus driver. gets hurt often enough for nurses at the hospital to know his full name and address. definitely lifts with a suicide grip with some sad rapper songs blasting in his earphones at the gym. his apartment is invested with rats but he's chill with that

bertholdt: wears at least 4 layers of clothing at all times. once was made to read out his poetry in front of the whole class in elementary school and he still thinks about it at night. gets locked in collage library so often it gave him a key to the emergency exit. realized he's allergic to peanuts at 24 because he thought they were supposed to hurt his mouth like that.

annie: the girl with a knee brace at school. gets questioned by the police way too often for a person who never done anything illegal. used dish soap in the shower for solid 4 years of collage yet her hair was never greasy. doesn't have a favorite ice cream flavor but she pretends it's eggnog because armin thinks so. pirates every single movie she watches.

ymir: smells like an old lady's cat. has also tried setting an orphanage on fire once, but it was by an accident and in her defense the childern loved the fireworks. uses ridiculously bad fake ids yet never gets caught. shoplifts at target if she gets hungry, not because she doesn't have money but because she has a personal vendetta against target

historia: the most pathetic wet rag of a woman youve ever seen. uses colorful markers to decorate her notes at school. the only two emotions she has ever felt were rage and rage but slightly to the left. has a ridiculously famous shitpost account on twitter

pieck: gets like 2 hours of sleep a week. makes yeager bombs at 4 am yet never appears drunk. will and can do anything. there's nothing you can do to stop her. could probably kill the president of united states if she wanted and got a nap. she likes to take photos of clouds and has an entire folder for them in her phone

porco: really angry everytime he has to be responsible. makes funny faces at crying children in a bus yet he only makes them cry harder. can only speak one language, but learnt how to curse in at least 20. gets into IKEA bed displays. worked in food delivery at least once.

marcel: got stabbed in elementary school with a pen and still has a piece of it in his tigh. can move his ears and loves freaking out people with it. is lactose intolerant but drinks a gallon of milk a day and doesnt regret a thing. there's a rumor in the school he went to that he died for no reason.

zeke: would be friends with levi ngl they have the exact same dry humor. for some reason can do a flip. can play piano but in a way a person who was forced by their parents at a very young age to perfect an instrument can play.

levi: replies to texts by only typing ok or sending a thumbs up. have never send an email and never will. once felt a human emotion while stargazing with his friends and never recovered. appeared in a local cryptid sighting instagram page twice.

hange: gives themselves ivs if hangover. has glasses held together by a scotch tape and hot glue. missing at least two fingers due to accidents at work. jogs at night. probably got almost kidnapped as a child.

erwin: wakes up like a middle aged dad. gives himself pep talks in the mornings. once discovered a dead body in a public restroom and called the authorities only after he pissed. actually likes mcdonalds sprite. has never felt a touch of a woman and yes his mom counts too.

gabi: she would be way cooler if she had an internet access as a child. bit a homeless man unprovoked as a toddler and still tells this story as if it's something to be proud of. ate an entire stick of glue and was somehow fine.

falco: he's really sweet but talks about dinosaurs too much. when he grows up he drives over speed bumps as if he has extra lives. cries if a teacher is mean to him. is really good at table tennis to the point of concern and maybe even fear of his family and friends.

[roswelldetails]

Episode 2x04 - What if God Was One of Us

EPISODE SUMMARY:

AN ACT OF GOD — On the verge of a breakthrough in her quest to save Max (Nathan Dean), Liz (Jeanine Mason) turns to Kyle (Michael Trevino) for one last favor that could potentially land him in hot water. Meanwhile, Michael (Michael Vlamis) and Alex’s (Tyler Blackburn) investigation into Nora (guest star Kayla Ewell) leads them to a farm, where they meet a historian named Forrest (guest star Christian Antidormi). Elsewhere, Cameron (guest star Riley Voelkel) confronts Jesse Manes (Trevor St. John) about her sister’s whereabouts, and Isobel (Lily Cowles) uses her powers for good. Amber Midthunder also stars. Shiri Appleby directed the episode written by Steve Stringer & Christopher Hollier (#204). Original airdate 4/6/2020.

DETAILS:

Roy said that he took veterinary training, which is how he was able to help with Louise and Nora's injuries.

"How come it feels like you don't know what I'm saying, but you know what I'm thinking?"

Roy moved the truck (with the pods in it?) to the livery.

"Boss's wife won't let him blame the drought on God so that honor goes to his foreman -- that's me."

Kyle on The Science:

"You're telling me that Michael Guerin used pinball parts and a car battery to cause cutaneous perfusion?

(Cutaneous perfusion...i think it is circulation of fluid/blood through tissue, but it's a bit above my head)

The device Liz needs is a "Personal Genome Machine". She ordered it when she still worked at the hospital.

Before entering the Crashdown, Graham Green tapes a Missing sign on the door for Hank Gibbons (who Noah killed in 1x13).  Apparently someone covered it up.

The sign is HARD to read, but I think it says:

"All viable leads reported to Graham Green's UFO Emporium will receive a free keychain.  Make certain you subscribe to the Weekly Probe as we dive deeper into the untold stories of Roswell and answer the question on everyone's mind.  ARE YOU NEXT?"

Graham Green references that he's the "creator of last week's 39th most downloaded true crime podcast." (Assuming that this is the Weekly Probe, referenced on the poster).

Graham Green is opening a 1947 themed malt shop at the UFO Emporium

U.F. Doughs (the Crashdown's new donuts).

Isobel's been coming to the Crashdown every day for weeks.  (Note that this episode is the first one that really doesn't have a clear time context).

"Feliz cumpleanos, mama!" Happy birthday in Spanish, of course, but note Kyle's choice term of endearment for fic purposes!  And she responds in kind "Gracias, mijo!" (Mijo = male version. Arturo calls Liz mija = female version)

"A wild Michael Guerin finally emerges from his weeks-long hibernation in a lab and a library."

Again, non-specific time frame.

"When every other farm was struggling, the Longs experienced record-breaking crops.  Summer of '47. No one could explain it…till October '48. The day after that photo ran in the paper, the farm was devastated by a massive fire.  Foreman, entire staff killed. Whole place burned down."

"What caused the fire?"

"Well the paper called it an act of God.  Said it was a freak storm. Bolt of lightning strikes the barn the same night that my mom's caught and locked up in Caulfield."

Wyatt Long's horses are named "Diamond" and "Silk".

Jesse Manes' beer of choice is "Polestaff".

Cam's postcard from Charlie (Likely the reason she came back to Roswell) says:

"See you back in Roswell --Charlotte"

Top left corner says "Greetings from Roswell, NM".

It was mailed to Jenna at the Green Hill Motel in Dayton, Ohio.

Jenna says it's not Charlie's handwriting.

Isobel in the mindwarp: "And what's your dream, Arturo? What would be your miracle? What do you pray for?"

Arturo & Rosa's fight… 

"Did that fool give you drugs? I'll kill him!"

"Ow! You're hurting me! That's child abuse!"

"Everything I do I do to hold you up and you see it as abuse. I don't know what to do anymore!"

"Yeah right." Rosa falls down and laughs.

"This isn't funny! Sheriff Valenti won't give you any more chances."

"You should be happy. You wanted me to be on the field hockey team, remember? You said I should make friends and have good American fun."

"Who sold you the pills?"

"I stole them."

"Was it Frederico?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"Tell me the truth!"

"It was Mom! She's either too high to notice that they're missing, or she knows and she doesn't care."

"You're lying to me. I don't know how to help you."

"So stop trying then. I'm beyond hope anyway, right? That's what everyone else in this town thinks."

"Maybe you're right. I'm going for a drive."

Arturo tried to register with Instagram as PancakePapi!! He ended up with PancakePapi58!

Scene with Steph and her dad...FIRST MENTION OF SOPAPILLAS ON THE SHOW!!! 🤤🤤🤤🤤 (They're the best...in New Mexican restaurants they're like, both an appetizer and a dessert.  They're like hollow fried bread that you eat with honey. Delicious.)  See here:

Plus it gave the show another opportunity to be authentically New Mexican through food references.  (Last season it was in episode 2 when Arturo asked,"red or green?" And Liz replied "Christmas!". In New Mexico that means half red half green chile smothering her plate.) Like so: 

1948...unclear how much time has passed, but Louise says months.

The kid's name is Walt.  (Walt Long?? Some other last name?).

Nora says that under the tarp is the "pumpkin launcher" and it's a surprise.

Nora says it's not safe for Michael here, "but soon."

"Hey do you smell that? It smells like rain.  It's what you smell like under all the grease and bourbon.  It's what your workshop smells like. Something alien happened here. Not that I can still smell it 70 years later."

"This is the best evidence I've seen that Max and Isobel's mother survived the initial firefight. This is something that you do with family."

"Nora's my mother. If she was here at the same time as Louise…"

Note - when did they confirm who Louise was or that she was Max & Isobel's mom? This has not happened narratively yet.

Since Walt was a young kid, Alex thinks there's a chance he's still alive (though at the end Nora definitely thought he died when the barn blew up. I suspect that Walt survived and is the key to the story...not fact, just speculation.)

Forrest: "The foreman, Roy Bronson, was definitely hiding something.  But it wasn't Little Green Men. It was Nazi spies."

"This is like Junior Year eraser room, getting caught by Coach Wiggins."

OG callback to the eraser room being the high school makeout spot. OG, "the eraser room takes our innocence." 

Rosa in Spanish "¿En serio?" Basically "are you serious!?!" Or "really?" When the blender shorts out (awfully similar to her first Noah nightmare in 2x01)

"...when Charlie told me she had stole classified documents, I reported her.  I thought I was doing the right thing and the military put her in prison."

"Right. Where she was safe."

"No. I… I didn't know who she really was when I turned her in. I didn't know what prison would do to her."

"She wanted you to turn her in, Jenna. She set you up to do so. She knew that as long as she was in government custody no one could get to her."

"Charlie fought in two wars.  Who was she afraid of?"

"A private securities firm, most likely.  You know that I met her? She was working on this genetic sequencing project that had the potential to save lives, but also destroy them. And there were some people out there who saw applications for her research that went beyond her intentions."

"She was doing research that could help save lives, and people wanted to use it to create a bioweapon."

"Well yeah, she created this pathogen that could seek out and dismantle specific sequences. Just think about it -- a smart bomb that could be detonated in the middle of a crowded city, only harm it's intended target. Think about the innocent civilian lives saved while you take out leaders of terrorist organizations."

"Or commit genocide. If her work fell into the wrong hands, it could quietly wipe out entire groups of people because they share a certain genetic code, while their neighbors go about living their lives.  Why do you know so much about this? What's your interest in my sister?"

"I believed that I had a use for her pathogen, at one time. But my fight is over now."

A few notes about this exchange.

Clearly Charlie's pathogen is the key ingredient in the smart bomb that Flint was developing, as discussed in 1x12.

Liz's "personal genome machine" can break down the alien genetics and give Project Shepherd what they need to use a smart bomb on the aliens. 

Don't forget, her lab is protected by Air Force security set up by "Alex's team". (Badbadbadbad!)

Rosa describing her bipolarism. 

"I get these mood swings sometimes. Like, I can be happy and singing one minute, and then, all of a sudden, this darkness just closes in over me, and I have all these voices telling me that I'm worthless."

Jesse gives Cam the name of the security firm looking for Charlie.  We don't see the name of it. He warns her to be careful. "I may be hobbled but they are not."

"Now, you were hunting aliens, and I gave you Max's name. Why didn't you lock him up in Caulfield with the rest?"

"I don't know.  I guess I feel like there's a story unfolding in Roswell. Has been for more than 50 years.  You can't blame me for wanting to see how it ends."

Catherine Zeta-Jones in a laser maze -- Liz is referencing the 1999 movie Entrapment.

Liz trying to science-intrigue Kyle….

"Interesting historical footnote. There was an internment camp in Roswell. Nazi POWs built half this city.  Hence the iron crosses. My great-great grandfather BoDean's foreman got busted for hiding a couple of women here. According to him 'A couple Nazi spies escaped and strudeled their schnitzel for room and board right here on this very farm.  See, I was never really as into shooting squirrels as Wyatt is, so, when I came out here for summers as a kid, my cousin Kate and I -- we'd prowl the property for artifacts."

"You know, what we're doing you and me -- it doesn't only have to be for Max...once Max is healthy, we could use this genome machine to Target cellular apoptosis.  I mean, we could craft polymerase sequencing in human DNA. We don't have to stop. We have no boards, no restrictions…"

Apoptosis is also sometimes referred to as "cellular suicide" or "spontaneous single cell death".

Polymerase is like the building blocks of DNA.

In other words, Liz is really, really smart.

FORREST LONG!!!!!! 😂😂😂. 

Alex on the bullet shells: "These match the M1917s the airmen used in '48.

"They were scattered all over the property. Legend has it the Nazis we're building some kind of bomb in the barn. Then one night the Air Force showed up."

"The night of the fire."

"The blaze burned so hot it turned sand to stone. Papers say that lightning struck the barn and everyone died in the flames, but...that's bull.  See I think the Air Force covered up the massacre that happened when they discovered that weapon.

A few things on this scene… 

Forrest mentions his cousin Kate...Wyatt's sister who was murdered by Noah in 2008.  So Forrest is Wyatt Long's cousin. 

Substitute Nazi for alien and it's probably all based somewhat based in truth.  In the 1940s that definitely would have been a reasonably obvious way to cover it up, especially given the history that Forrest cites and the military culture in Roswell.

Note: POW = prisoner of war

The iron crosses Forrest references…

Article on the German POWs in the Roswell Daily Record…

Walt was hiding in the barn when Tripp made it explode.  Explosion looked shimmery, like the alien ship & tech. 

Also, more info than you ever wanted to know about the Roswell Army Air Field/Walker Air Force Base/Roswell International Air Center...including some info on the POWs.

Sheriff Valenti's theory on Noah's death:

"I think Max Evans poisoned Noah and left him in the desert the night of the lightning storm, and I think Isobel Evans was in on it."

Kyle says it would take gallons of acetone to poison someone.

Tripp was Alex's great uncle

Nora was working on a ship to take the pods home.

TRIPP MANES!!!  Full name is Eugene Manes III.

Alex finally gives Michael the piece of alien ship he's had.  He doesn't want to be another Manes man standing in Michael's way.

Cam's voicemail to Liz.

"Got a lead on my sister.  Give me a call when you get that tin-star-wearing E.T. awake, so I can curse him out for worrying us all. Good luck Liz. Bring Max home."

Arturo's Spanish to Liz and Rosa.

"Das gracias a Dios.  Gracias todos los dias."

Translates generally to "Thank God.  Thanks every day."

Isobel's monologue at the end:

"The idea of God always freaked me out. Like, apparently he made people in his own image, which, first of all, get over yourself. And also, does that apply to us? Does every planet have its own God? Let's say that we're all clones of the big guy in the sky. Well then, doesn't it stand to reason that we're all capable of slinging light? Well I guess by that same token we're all capable of tremendous wrath. We're walking contradictions. A never-ending mercurial rise and fall. Darkness and light. I guess the real miracle is choosing the light. Despite the ever-present darkness. Look at us. You're in the middle of a downright biblical desert, galaxies from where we started. I mean, our very existence is a miracle. I'm capable of so much more than I thought I was, Max. I really think that maybe I could do great things. I need you to come back, okay? I need you to be the thing that I can believe in. That doesn't let me down. I just need this one little miracle, and I promise I won't ever ask for anything ever again."

MUSIC:

1. LEN "Steal My Sunshine"

2. Spacehog "In The Meantime"

3. Duke Ellington "Take It Easy"

4. Maná "Como Te Deseo"

5. Oasis "Don't Look Back In Anger"

6. Ben Harper "Waiting On An Angel"

[ravynfyre]

No fierceawakening, your gut is 100% correct: there was DEFINITELY manipulation going on.

I just want to point out that EVEN IF the individual has BPD and they are "just accurately reporting their feelings", IT IS STILL MANIPULATION. That whole "don't assume it's manipulation", I feel, is bullshit. It Does. Not. Matter. if that is what they legit feel. That doesn't make it 1) okay, and 2) not manipulation just because it is "real". They KNOW when they say that shit what it will do. It is WHY they are saying it. They have LEARNED that saying those things tends to get them the results they want, and those things being "accurate representations of real emotions" does not change that they are verbalizing them for specific responses. That is manipulation, full stop.

BUT! Even IF, somehow, this individual is SO self-absorbed and SO unaware that they don't realize that their words will (hopefully) call up a specific result that they are looking for and they are *actually* doing nothing more than verbalizing their genuine feelings with no expectations of inspiring the "appropriate response"...

It still. Is not. YOUR. RESPONSIBILITY.

Full stop.

If they threaten to kill themselves, even if they are blaming the "why" on you, that is 1) not your fault, 2) not your responsibility, 3) NOT APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR NO MATTER HOW "AUTHENTIC" IT IS. Even if they go through with it.

First off, if anyone ever makes that threat, you call 911 (or your emergency services in your locale) and you report that they have made a threat against their own life. Even better if you can snag a video of them doing it to show the authorities when they arrive. Because EVEN IF you are a certified, accredited, and licensed therapist, YOU ARE NOT QUALIFIED TO HANDLE THE SITUATION. If you aren't a therapist, then they need to see one, and if you ARE a therapist, they need to see an IMPARTIAL one, and you aren't it.

Next, you need to remove yourself from the situation as soon as it is safe to do so. Ideally, you will feel safe enough to remain until the authorities arrive so that you can speak with them and give your account of what happened. If you cannot safely wait that long, then leave. get out. Go somewhere safe. If it's close enough to return and talk to whoever shows up, great. if not, then just make sure that whoever you called understands that you are removing yourself from a dangerous environment, and how to contact you.

And here's the unpleasant, unpopular truth - if the person who threatened to harm themselves actually goes through with the threat, it is NOT because you were not there to stop them. It is NOT YOUR FAULT. We, as individuals, are responsible for our own actions and no one else's. Period. If that person genuinely "cannot live without you", that is NOT your fault, and seriously, how much longer do you think it would take to go from that to, "if I can't have you, no one else will either." Because that happens. OFTEN. (the one call in my whole emergency services career that legit still gives me nightmares over 20 years later, and will for the rest of my life, was exactly one of those situations. and no, she didn't survive it. worse, her kids almost didn't either.)

It is not your responsibility to light yourself on fire to keep someone else warm.

And the ONLY way that it could be argued that the abuser managed whatever "because you weren't there" is NOT because you somehow failed to stop them from doing it, but that they were finally free to hurt you in a way that you will never get over. Because if you *could* genuinely walk something like that off? They wouldn't have targeted you in the first place.

It isn't your fault. It doesn't matter how "authentic" the emotions are. You are responsible for YOU. And it IS, by all the gods, manipulation.

I will say it again: DO NOT light yourself on fire just to keep someone warm.

Related, I am glad to hear that you got away from that situation. No one deserves to live like that.

It's strange. I'm watching another of Dr. Ramani's videos, and someone is mentioning their abuser threatening to kill himself if she left. And Dr. Ramani is saying that's a classic abusive tactic and almost always traumatizes the partner.

But I've watched so many videos on "destigmatizing BPD" that say "people with BPD are so afraid of abandonment they really do feel death would be preferable, so when they tell you that they're just accurately reporting their feelings. Don't assume it's manipulation."

And it leaves me confused. Because... my abusive exgirlfriend did that to me, and worrying she would kill herself and it would be "my fault" was ABSOLUTELY one of the most harrowing experiences of that relationship.

And looking back on it happening to me, I DO think there was manipulation going on, whether or not she was consciously intending it because she's that shitty a person or whether BPD just makes you do it.

Because with her, she did it specifically on a night when I told her I would be going to bed at 10 and not staying up, that it was a boundary and I was not going to stay up. It was THAT night, at 11:whatever.

I learned very quickly not to go to sleep because she might die, so she never did it again. I don't think it was too long after that that I had my "I fully expect to get hit, it won't surprise me at a--HUH THAT MEANS I SHOULD LEAVE DOESN'T IT" encounter with the clue by four and skedaddled.

Anyway, I see such varIation about how one should interpret that, and it's still weird and a little triggering to me, because... BAD MEMORY VERY BAD MEMORY.

Anyway, if you have BPD and you're tempted to do this to make someone stay with you... maybe do absolutely everything you can to find a way to do something else instead. It's fucking terrifying.

[ipatrichor]

absolutely!! under a cut bc this shits gonna get Long :D also warning for mention of a past suicide attempt (taking place before the story) as well as c!dream being. yknow. himself. some very heavy themes connected 2 that also but dw there’s a happy ending i promise :’

- so first off, wilbur's ability developed, like, super late- as far as techno and everyone else knows, he doesn't have one. and between villains and corrupt heroes, it can get downright dangerous to even just exist without an ability to protect yourself in an emergency. the government doesn't care, not really, and citizens are left to fend for themselves for the most part. techno specifically targets corrupt authorities (government and hero) to send a message and keep everyone in line so that (theoretically) everyone will be safer in the long run

- wilbur, meanwhile, is very much not willing to wait for that long run. he's actually one of the few heroes techno respects (despite their rivalry) because his priority in any situation is protecting civilians, even if it means not chasing down a villain or whatever. he's very much focused on making things safer for everyone now so that people like his brother will be able to live in peace

- so, in a way, they’re both doing what they do for each other’s sake :) it just very ironically brings them into conflict with each other both ideologically and physically (they beat the shit out of each other trying to keep each other safe do you see my vision Can You Hear Me-)

- civilian wilbur is just a Regular Guy w no powers who works at a library and has a little apartment with a cat (mr. president my beloved) and he's been to therapy for Certain Things i'll explain later and he's doing good! really! ok only partly but still :' his life is good whether he believes he deserves it to be or not and he has no reason not to be happy really. he has friends, and family, and a cat, and lots of plants and Everything Is Fine :)

- meanwhile, techno is a fancy tech development guy with a flashy power whose life is not quite as idyllic as wilbur's is (on the surface, at least- they both have plenty of problems). he has a fancy like. penthouse or some shit idk but it's pretty empty, and he spends most of his time working bc he doesn't have that many people he's close to :' he at least has one close friend in phil, who’s been his coworker for years and is more of a family friend at this point

- anyway they r brothers and they get together every week to have lunch and check in on each other (a tradition established after a very difficult time where wilbur nearly died and now they're very careful about keeping in touch). however, their respective hero and villain alter egos are also nemeses and regularly beat each other up. somehow neither of them have caught on to this, despite the number of excuse they've had to make for minor injuries (techno thinks wilbur is a lot clumsier and more prone to sore throats than he actually is, and wilbur thinks techno's research involves a lot more excitement than it actually does)

- so when it comes to their secret lives techno has a very For The Greater Good mindset (or at least, tries to focus on that), while wilbur feels Very guilty abt lying to his brother abt something as big as having an ability and being a hero. he doesn't really have any other good options tho, considering if techno found out he would freak abt the danger and get all worried and it just wouldn't be safe. the guilt sorta piles up and contributes to the amount of stress he's under, but it's fine he has cats and that's basically the same thing as going to therapy right?? he's Fine :)

- his behavior is becoming increasingly suspicious (tbf that goes for both of them but at this point wilbur just kinda accepts whatever weird shit techno does so he's. not exactly suspicious that his brother is the supervillain he fights on a regular basis jkgbfh). unfortunately, techno sees what's going on and connects some dots in a Very wrong way, coming to the conclusion that wilbur has been getting worse again mentally and not telling him even though he Promised he would if it started getting bad which is. sure a thought to have rattling around in his brain!

- so things are starting to get a tiny bit tense between them and wilbur doesn't understand why, he knows he's keeping a secret but he would tell techno if it were safe, he really would! and on the other side techno feels hurt bc he thinks wilbur doesn't trust him- or worse, that he's already spiraled far enough to be planning something self-destructive like when they were teens and wilbur tried to kill himself and techno somehow just hadn't noticed, which is not any more comforting a thought

- and wilbur just. does not figure out what techno is Actually worried about, so he gets a tad bit defensive because from his perspective he's being basically interrogated about things that he left behind him years ago and he would really like to move on from the reminders, thanks, and why is it even getting brought up in the first place???

- and maybe all that frustration goes into them getting a little more worked up when they fight each other, and getting a little more violent, and listen this is all Perfectly Healthy as an outlet (beating the shit out of your random anonymous rival but also equally getting the shit beaten out of you. yep nothing wrong here mhm)

- by now even the people in their lives are starting to notice that things are tenser between them, like phil checking on techno before clocking out to make sure that if he's going to stay in the lab all night he's at least had food and water, and wilbur's friend/coworker fundy who listens to him vent and encourages him to keep trying to communicate his perspective instead of just going w his instincts to withdraw and self-isolate jkgbdfh

- eventually, things kind of come to a head and they have an argument. but because they're allergic to actual healthy communication they just snap at each other and then wilbur storms off and doesn't answer calls (though he does respond to texts every so often to let techno know he's still alive, he's mad but not That mad)

- and ofc both of them feel awful about it!! they hate fighting, and they hate being at odds, and it's been years since they had that bad an argument and now theyre not really sure how to resolve it bc theyre both simultaneously thinking that the other is a dickhead (somewhat affectionate) but are also having that 'oh fuck wait am i the dickhead' moment where everything just feels awful :/

- and they're struggling in their alter egos too, tho the physical fighting part has toned down some! neither are doing well mentally, and wilbur doesn't go on patrol nearly as often bc he's in and out of depressive episodes while techno is a lot more... shall we say goal-oriented (by which i mean a lot less nice abt his methods. not that he was 'nice' before, but u get what i mean :’)

- that's when something surprising happens- they end up having a conversation! not as civilians, no, but one night wilbur ends up going out on patrol bc there was a sighting of techno even tho he's in a depressive episode, and turns out techno isn't in the mood to fight much either so they end up just sitting on an out-of-the-way rooftop and talking. they both explain their situation very vaguely 'i felt like my friend didn't trust me and was a dick even tho they were just worried for my safety' and 'i've been too overbearing with my friend and i lashed out even though they were within their rights to feel defensive'

- and they actually end up giving each other basically the same advice- talk to them, say sorry, calmly explain your perspective, and listen when they explain theirs. then the two of them leave, both feeling a little better, and the next day wilbur gets a text message from techno saying sorry and asking if he's willing to talk and he calls him right away and the two of them Finally communicate kjgdhgfhgb

- so they work things out (without spilling any of their secrets)- techno explaining that the situation reminded him of their teenage years and he was just scared, but he didn't mean to make wilbur feel like he didn't trust him or his progress and wilbur explains that he didn't catch onto why techno was worried and thought it was just accusations, and he apologizes for reacting so strongly and not hearing him out

- unfortunately, not everything is better :' the stress of the argument and the relief of working things out has only multiplied the guilt wilbur feels over his secrets, and without noticing he starts to slip into one or two old habits while out as orpheus. it's nothing big, necessarily- he just pours more of himself into hero work, and is just a little less careful about his own safety, and it never gets far enough to be a serious injury bc he knows how techno would feel and he can't do that to him but it's still Not Good :/

- so it's like he's basically trying to save even more lives at risk to himself to sort of- assuage the guilt of lying to his brother, basically? and while this is happening, someone else comes into the picture and decides u know what? this orpheus guy could be useful if only his priorities were a bit.... shifted

- so here's the scoop on dream in this au! my guy is a top hero, very against techno's villainsona (which i’m thinking abt calling curtain call or something similar- a theatre reference for wilbur, while wilbur picked a mythology reference for his own name bc of techno ^^), lowkey corrupt but in the way where he started out with good intentions that got warped to the point where it's like well does that even matter anymore u've still done bad shit. anyway he has a very polarized view of good and bad, which is ironic considering the shit he gets up to, and as a well-established hero he decides to take this promising newcomer under his wing and give him some Friendly Advice :)

- basically, his advice is mostly ‘hey focus more on catching villains if you want to help more people’ but said thru three layers minimum of assholery so :' and wilbur is obviously not a fan of that idea because the whole reason he became a hero was to protect civilians, but it's hard to go against his new orders as what dream has deemed his new protege (even tho wilbur very much did not agree to that, once the press gets wind of it it's basically official so like :/)

- btw, the underlying politics here is that wilbur's ability is actually a lot more powerful than he realizes. he can (with difficulty sure, but still) get anything organic to do what he asks. that includes people. that includes villains. yes, with strong-willed people it's difficult and doesn't last long, but it still has a lot of potential- if wilbur uses his ability to get someone to hold still, another hero can swoop in and capture them while they're basically stuck. and that's the kind of power dream wants, the kind he needs to 'restore order' by arresting/shutting down every villain (no matter how small)

- so basically, dream starts pushing orpheus to strengthen his ability! from not letting him leave his ordered post to rescue civilians (which orpheus still defies, but the frequency of that starts to lessen) to making him take on tasks that are way too difficult and not letting him stop until he's literally coughing blood from a damaged throat bc dream wants that ability as strong as possible in order to use it to the greatest effect

- it is not fun for anyone involved! techno's getting worried, bc wilbur is clearly beyond stressed and also might have some kind of injury he's hiding because of how often he can't talk bc of a 'sore throat' which is a shit lie when you've told it ten times already in the past four months, wilbur

- heres the thing. techno hates himself for it later, but at the time he sees what's happening with orpheus and dream. not exactly, but enough to get the vague understanding that the guy is getting pressured into becoming the kind of hero he doesn't want to be. but he's already got so much going on with worrying about wilbur and his plans, that he just... doesn't do anything. doesn't offer another option, a way out, because he doesn't know that he knows orpheus. he sees enough to get a vague idea of what's going on, but he dismisses it as not his problem- the guy is his enemy, for gods sake, what does it have to do with him? he still doesn't put the pieces together :’’

- so. both wilbur and orpheus are doing worse and worse mentally (and physically let's be real) and he's honestly considering just quitting hero work because this is not what he signed up for- and he probably would if it weren't for the chance that dream would find his civilian identity (and therefore techno, and fundy, and all his coworkers and friends). that's a risk he just can't take, not when it also means putting his brother in danger, and so he stays and tries so fucking hard to be what dream wants from him :' he can't, tho, bc in the end what dream wants isn't a protege or even a person at all- he wants a weapon, and wilbur can't be a weapon. he really just can't because hes a Person and he can't make himself be anything less

- so things are being stretched to the breaking point, and everyone is confused and terrified (except dream he is Far too satisfied with the current state of events but don't worry that won't last) until, eventually, things come to a head. orpheus is patrolling and runs into curtain call doing a Scheme (maybe to send a Message idk irrelevant) and tries to stop him

- here's the thing. in all their time of fighting, orpheus has never used his ability on curtain call- not like this. for a split second to make him trip up, sure, but never an outright Command. he far prefers communicating with plants and animals rather than commanding, but in this situation when he looks at him and says freeze curtain call can't move

- it doesn't last longer than a second (bc if my guy is anything, he's strong-willed) but that combined with orpheus' desperation is enough to make curtain call realize that oh. this is wrong. something is very wrong, and it happened technically on his watch, and when they started getting along they became something almost as much friends as rivals and something is very wrong with his friend

- so in the moment techno is trying not to make orpheus panic even more by moving towards him slowly w his hands out, but the guy is clearly on the verge of a breakdown and he keeps trying to freeze techno by repeatedly commanding stop, get back, stay away and such phrases. techno is feeling very awkward but also the older sibling instincts are kicking in and he's very worried about his friend so he keeps going even tho he keeps getting frozen for a second before shaking it off

- and heres the thing. wilbur's ability sometimes fucks up his throat real bad by hurting the insides (the vocal cords are mostly fine so it's not permanent damage, the inside of his throat just gets kinda clawed up from the power of the words so the whole thing looks worse than it actually is w blood and all but it's still not Fantastic) and he'd already overworked it at dream's orders that day so he is Not doing well. like he is literally in a lot of pain and spitting blood from the scraped up throat but ignoring it to try and get techno to leave or hold still or back off or something, he doesn't know what he wants in this situation but everything is kinda too much and all he's Sure of is that dream would hate the weakness he's showing right now

- so he's backing away and techno is moving forward and trying to calm him down (and is very worried because what the Fuck happened to his friend while he was busy with other things what the hell did dream do to him). and when he runs out of room to back away, techno just very lightly puts a hand on his shoulder bc he doesn't want to be overwhelming but also he needs to snap him out of his panic (he's really not trained to deal with any of this jkdgbf his only experience comes from helping wilbur thru panic attacks n stuff, which is actually far more relevant than he realizes lmao)

- and heres the thing. wilbur has been so caught up in everything going on and so incredibly stressed that when he feels a gentle touch not meant to hurt he completely breaks, like collapses sobbing. techno just kinda awkwardly holds him and lets him cry because this is something he can do- he's not good with words, but this is a Tangible Action he can take to help

- they stay like that for a while, wilbur completely breaking down while techno holds him and internally chides himself for ignoring the warning signs, until finally he gets out the stress and is a lot calmer. and techno, wanting to fix things, asks him point-blank what dream did to him

- now, if it was wilbur and techno as civilians, this would be a normal question that he'd be willing to answer :' unfortunately, orpheus doesn't trust curtain call like that, and also he just. he can't make himself talk about it partly because of his complicated feelings and partly because his throat is Fucked Up

- and techno, knowing better than to push on this, insists on giving him an emergency like. panic button thing and tells him very seriously that if he needs anything, he has another option. he can come to him anytime, for any reason- just because they're technically on opposite sides doesn't mean techno won't help him or just be there to sit with him yanno. (he was not aware that he was attached and now that he’s figured it out he’s not like. thrilled abt it, but also once he cares he Cares so he’s not taking half measures abt this lmao). while he didn't help before, he's now making sure orpheus knows he has other options! and it's not a fix, but it does help him feel less trapped, which lessens some of the stress djkgfbh :''

- and so for a little while after that, whenever he needs a break or things get to be too much, orpheus goes out and 'fights' curtain call, battles where neither Seriously try to hurt each other that inevitably end with orpheus chasing him out of the public eye and the two of them just kinda chilling for a bit to de-stress, and it helps! orpheus is getting a little less reckless with his safety and seems more resilient, and Completely Coincidentally wilbur seems to be improving some too, which are both a relief for techno so :' things are still not great, especially with dream still a problem, but they're definitely Better.... at least until dream figures out what’s going on

- see, unfortunately, dream is good at pattern recognition. so when orpheus starts to get more resilient, like he has some kind of outlet for the stress or someone else to rely on, dream takes notice because it's making it harder to control (read: manipulate) him- especially bc while dream's most effective tool is guilt-tripping, orpheus is starting to trust techno enough to eventually start checking with him to make sure what he's being told is reasonable (like, '[insert situation] is my fault, right' and techno is like '?? absolutely not')

- so dream starts paying attention to patrol routes and such, bc he doesn't have access to orpheus' identity so there's limited information here, and notices that outside of the ones dream controls, orpheus sometimes goes out at night to fight curtain call (and always conveniently disappears from the public view). and whether it's Actually a coincidence or not, dream has what he needs to throw suspicion on orpheus' loyalties (or at least, to threaten him with it). and so, he calls him in for a meeting! in a warehouse on the edge of town, where there won't be anyone to interrupt their conversation :)

- one thing leads to another, and orpheus angrily lays out the situation as he sees it- dream has been hurting just as much people as any villain, and at least curtain call cares about what happens to civilians. dream is completely corrupt, he's sacrificed his morals and doesn't deserve the title of 'hero'. unfortunately for wilbur, being stood up to does not make dream happy :'

- so dream and orpheus are in the warehouse, both of them pissed off and arguing, until dream decides you know what? his weapon has been getting a little too unruly lately, someone needs to teach him a lesson

- through all their time of being somewhat allies, orpheus has never once used the distress signal. not that things haven't been bad, no, but he's just never used it even once. so needless to say, when it gets activated late one friday evening and the location shown is in the shipping district on the edge of the city... techno is concerned enough to hurry. (he’s actually out of costume and has to spend the extra time gearing up and whatnot, which he will regret later because it means he's just a little bit too slow)

- what techno finds, instead of dream beating up an orpheus still not too badly injured to fight back, is a discarded weapon. see, if he refuses to make himself useful, then dream will make sure he can't turn that power against him. technically, he didn't take the vocal cords, but they and the whole throat are in bad enough condition that it'll be a miracle if orpheus ever speaks again, much less is able to channel his ability. besides the throat, the legs are fucked up, there are definitely internal injuries, & also several broken bones

- and here, i need to go a bit more into detail abt the mechanics of wilbur's powers! while techno has a voice changer as part of his fancy villain armor, wilbur doesn't actually need one! part of his ability is that he can make his voice sound different, mimicking the voices of people he's heard before. in practicality what that means is that he uses a lot of like. movie character voices jkdgfh,, but sometimes after developing the ability what he used to do to calm himself down was mimic techno's voice :'' it's the one he knows best since hes heard it every day of his life growing up yknow?? (since they're both adults it's not like either of them can just like. drop everything to be there, they both have their own lives, so on the rare occasions that wilbur would have a bad breakdown and techno wasn't available to call or whatever he would mimic his voice and tell himself that everything is okay, or count himself through some kind of focusing exercise)

- so wilbur (still in costume but not in the mindset of orpheus) is terrified, barely conscious, and when a disguised techno tries to check his injuries and whatnot the voice he falls back on is the one that’s always meant safety- techno’s.

- and techno is immediately alarmed because how does this person know his real voice and also why is he using it when clearly not in his right mind bc that implies it’s very familiar What. so he takes off orpheus’ mask, and is immediately hit like a train with the realization that the hero rival he’s been fighting and then trying to help this whole time is apparently his fucking brother and also, oh yeah, beat to hell and Actively Dying

- techno gives himself a quick count of five to freak the hell out before reeling himself back in and prioritizing the immediate situation :' so he uses some of the metal from his suit and nearby to create a makeshift stretcher and he gets wilbur back to his base and to immediate medical care (he knows a healer, ranboo, who can take care of the part where it's life-threatening but can't do much more than that bc healing too much too fast is Very unsafe)

- it's touch and go for a while there and if techno had gotten him to ranboo any later he might not have made it. as things are, he's currently in a medically induced coma so they can assess his injuries and work to heal them without him waking up and aggravating them by panicking

- so! as the situation stands, dream is off gloating somewhere, wilbur is in a coma, ranboo is doing his best, and techno is going over every interaction he's had with orpheus and all of wilbur's strange behavior that now makes sense in hindsight and is furious at himself for not figuring anything out sooner or even just doing more. and now he's thinking abt all the times he beat the shit out of orpheus, and all the times techno saw him overuse his ability and did nothing, and how it's all starting to line up with when wilbur would 'get sick' and lose his voice, and then he thinks abt dream and how he Saw and did Nothing for Months and just. yeah. it's a bad time all round!

- in the eyes of the public, the hero orpheus mysteriously disappears and dream announces that he's been captured by villains. meanwhile, both technoblade and wilbur soot go on extended leave from their jobs for a 'family emergency'

- here’s the thing. before he ditched him, dream made sure he saw wilbur’s face, and now knows who he is (and where to look for him and the people he cares about). so now, under the guise of being a Concerned Mentor, he’s poking his nose around wilbur's friends and family to try and gauge if any of them know of his heroing (and by extension where he might be now)

- and you might be wondering, 'pat! why does dream care where wilbur is? didn't he destroy his ability and abandon him?' and... technically, yeah, he did. only, he wasn't expecting anyone to come for orpheus since he didn't know about the panic button- his plans was to hurt him badly enough that he would be reliant on technology (and therefore dream) to use his abilities and he was actually on his way back when techno grabbed wilbur and vanished

- his plan was to gaslight wilbur into thinking it was techno who attacked and hurt him and dream Heroically Rescued him and saved not only his life but also his ability and therefore career, both making wilbur feel indebted to him and driving a rift between him and techno to isolate him and make him easier to control. he had (fake) security footage ready of techno showing up and attacking the building to show wilbur, but after mans got yoinked he went plan b and used the footage to show the public and frame techno for orpheus' kidnapping

- that’s right babey it was a Control Tactic this Whole Time >:3

- wilbur can't exactly defend techno or accuse dream when in a coma, and curtain call hasn't been seen again since that night since techno's been too busy looking after wilbur :' so dream does the next best thing, poking around the people wilbur knows and looking for clues. and most of them genuinely have no idea! they're worried abt wilbur a normal amount, mostly like 'oh hope his family is okay' bc family emergency excuse yanno :''

- there's only one person dream is suspicious of, purely because they're someone he Can't read- technoblade soot, whose reactions reveal nothing and who is less than impressed with dream's hero status and concerned mentor act. mans is just not falling for his shit and it's equally baffling and infuriating- dream is influential enough to work his way around any legality, charismatic enough to have the public on his side no matter what he pulls, a good enough liar to bluff his way through the harshest scrutiny- and yet somehow, every conversation with technoblade leaves him feeling like he's revealed more than he's learned. it's frustrating, especially because techno just. doesn't care. is completely unimpressed with his status, and his sympathy plays, and all his carefully calculated pinpoint strategies just bounce off

- he has no idea that techno is the villain he's been looking for, because for all his pattern recognition he just doesn't know techno. wilbur, had he pressed at some point, would have been able to pick out the lies because they know each other- they grew up together. dream has none of that history, and so he has no baseline to know if techno is lying to him or not (he is. he very much is)

- and eventually, dream gets- not careless, exactly, but frustrated. hasty. he rushes, because he's too impatient, and he makes a mistake: he gets tunnel vision. he gets rushed. he starts thinking of ways he can manipulate techno to force wilbur to come back to his control when he reappears, and he assumes that his manipulation is working better than it is and moves too fast. he doesn't spot the warning signs, and on god the guy is gonna pay for it

- meanwhile, techno absolutely knows and is not falling for any of this guy's shit. he doesn't know the extent of what happened, but it's plenty obvious that dream is the one who attacked wilbur (and even before then, had been hurting him for literal months)

- it happens a bit like this- techno's plan is mostly to just kill dream for what he did, but ranboo's roommate tubbo (a volunteer at the library and friend of wilbur's who knows a scary amount and just shows up at the lair like ayup anyone want some help destroying a green bitch) suggests something else :)

- see, curtain call has a Reputation, and more than a few fans. they think his hiatus is because he's planning something big, and tubbo suggests they give them what they want. he thinks techno should lure dream somewhere public and engage him in a fight, and while that's happening and it's in all the broadcasts (because the search for orpheus has been big news and dream and techno are both famous enough that a clash between them would be high profile, esp in a very visible area)

- and then, tubbo offers, he'll hack the broadcast and publicly reveal evidence of what dream's done (the only catch is that they have to get said evidence first but cmon, it's tubbo). his reputation will be completely destroyed, and then techno can kill him publicly as retribution

- while all this planning is going on, wilbur's condition is stable enough that he can be awake for a little while at a time. he can't talk because his throat is still fucked up and there's only so much ranboo can do with untrained healing powers :'' anyway he uses one of those boards with like some common phrases and an alphabet on them to communicate, but he's either unwilling to talk about what dream did to him or his mind is blocking it out to protect him bc he just. doesn't discuss it even when asked (they very quickly stop asking bc whenever dream is mentioned he gets this like. sad and afraid kicked puppy expression and they just can't handle that so :/ no mention of dream by name, and they don't ask abt him anymore)

- tommy (beeduo’s other roommate who got brought along by tubbo bc he knows what dream’s like & was worried abt wilbur) suggests using the codename bitch boy because it made wilbur snort the first time he suggested it and it's fine bc he's on enough pain meds that he has no idea who they mean.

- and yes, wilbur gets hugs! the first time he wakes up techno gives him a (very careful) long hug and promises that wilbur is safe now and he won't let anyone hurt him (wilbur definitely cries but shh). nowadays tommy is mostly in charge of keeping wilbur entertained if he wakes up while techno and tubbo are planning, and it definitely involves plenty of hugging bc my guy is So touchstarved :’

- so wilbur is (slowly) recovering both physically and mentally, and they've all resolved that they're getting him to a therapist the Second things are dealt with and it's safe to come out of hiding. one time when he's a little more awake wilbur gives techno a Look and insists that he'll go to therapy if techno does (not bc he doesn't want to go to therapy, but bc he knows techno should definitely go too) and techno immediately caves. tommy also goes, my guy has plenty of unresolved trauma :'' wilbur is like 'think of it this way we can all go to our appointments together like cool guys' and tommy is like well if ur getting therapy i guess it is for big men too and gives in

- (around this time, wilbur gets a trained therapy cat, friend! so now he has both friend and mr president, and they love their large lanky kitten very much <3)

- something else interesting in the interim: wilbur’s power, in light of.... circumstances, happens to- evolve, a bit. it happens, though rarely, in the case of extreme injury that would prevent a power from being useable, that the power can shift a little. that's because abilities come from energy buildup, which is part of why wilbur's is both so strong and takes such a toll- it developed late, meaning he thought he was powerless for a good chunk of his life. if someone who has an ability doesn't use it for long enough, it causes actual harm both physically and in some cases mentally- another reason wilbur struggled so much with his mental health as a teenager. practically, what that means is that the body (and the ability) adapts

- if wilbur can't use his vocal chords, then the ability will find a way- in this case, allowing him to project a voice instead of physically speaking. it's not nearly as powerful, and he can no longer control people's actions like he could at his most powerful, but it's enough that he can speak to the plants and animals again. there's a slight downside to this evolution, tho- remember what i said about wilbur being able to mimic voices? well, now that's all he can do. his vocal chords don't work, so he can't speak with his own voice anymore

- he finds out that he can do this at all by falling back into an old habit- when trying to calm himself from a panic attack, he instinctively projects techno's voice next to him talking him through it. actual techno, who is on the other side of the room, is definitely confused (but feels some warm fuzzy feelings later when he figures out what happened and why)

- after that, he tries to speak physically and can't, and ranboo does some scans and finds out that his vocal chords are too damaged to speak. wilbur panics a little and runs through random sentences in different voices, making sure he isn't only able to use techno's and it works up until he tries to use his own and can't (the way it happens is that he never needed to use his ability to change his own voice to. y'know. itself, and so when he tries to use it it just isn't there. he can’t base it off a recording either bc you know how your voice always sounds different in recordings? yeah :' he can do a vague approximation based on them, but it's weird and feels wrong and just. he doesn't like it)

- tubbo is the one to point it out, but having a vocal mimic does present them with a very strong opportunity- a confession. or, y'know, an evil monologue revealing his twisted mindset, but close enough!! the only problem with that, of course, is that wilbur isn't necessarily in a place where he can speak in dream's voice and say those kinds of things without making himself panic (and therefore making the audio less credible)

- techno is mostly looking after wilbur for a while, while tubbo is in charge of gathering evidence. and here's the thing about tubbo, in this au- he's very kind! he loves animals, and his friends, and generally hopes for everyone he cares about to live long peaceful lives. kind, however, doesn't mean merciful, and he's viciously fucking cutthroat. dream has horribly hurt two people he cares about, now. one is chance, twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern- and tubbo doesn't intend to let this become a pattern. no matter what he has to do to ensure it, what legal lines he has to cross to obtain or forge evidence as necessary, he will to make sure dream doesn't get another chance to hurt anyone like that

- and here's the other thing. tubbo knows that it'll be difficult to get any of this to stick, even posthumously, and he won't rest until he tears down dream's memory even if it's difficult. so he goes to wilbur when everyone else is busy, and lays things out- while it can be done without a faked confession, it'll be more difficult to get accusations to stick. the best way to crush the public's faith in dream is to have a villain monologue, and wilbur is their only chance at that. tubbo knows it'll be making him relive his trauma in a way, and so he makes sure wilbur knows that it's still possible without so as not to make him feel forced into it, but it's their best option and wilbur thinks it over and comes to the same conclusion, agreeing to use dream's voice to fake an evil monologue for the broadcast

- so while tubbo is doing epic cool poggers hacker things digging up what little evidence dream didn't manage to cover up, tommy and wilbur collaborate as the two people who know dream and his goals/motives best of their team to write a monologue that sounds like something he'd actually say. the general idea is that they'll reveal that he attacked orpheus (since his disappearance and presumed kidnapping is this hot issue that everyone is all concerned about) and pass off the audio as having been recovered from a device in orpheus' costume that recorded the attack

- and it's definitely not fun :' wilbur was going to do it by himself, but when tommy found out he insisted on helping despite his own trauma bc he didn't want wilbur to go through that alone so. the whole time, friend is on wilbur's lap and mr president is next to tommy to help if either of them have a flashback or something (which definitely happens at least once, but they have the cats and they're there for each other so they make it through)

- meanwhile, techno is honing his ability and skills in preparation for Fucking Murdering dream, and tubbo has gotten a fair amount of evidence but admits that even with the monologue, there's still more he needs to find to build a strong case- it's not that easy

- and so now we slow down for a second! after all that emotional turmoil in the first half, things aren't magically fine just because wilbur almost died. they've been putting it all on hold kinda, but they do need to have a conversation about the secrets they've been keeping from each other

- it starts out as wilbur getting explained to him what happened and the reason he's in some weird facility with techno and some friends- specifically that techno and curtain call are the same person, and he had no idea until the warehouse that orpheus was wilbur but when the panic signal was sent he found him and brought him back to get medical treatment

- wilbur is understandably distressed to find out that the guy he's been fighting this whole time is his brother, and he goes through the same mental catalogue of injuries and fights that techno did when he first found out. he's probably going to spiral with guilt, but techno recognizes the signs and is like i think not, immediately shutting that down and being like nope. you didn't know, you can't blame yourself. and wilbur counters with 'ok well then you can't blame yourself either dickhead you didn't know either' because he just Knows and techno is like fair enough i guess (but they both still feel very guilty sjfbjd)

- after that wilbur apologizes for hiding his ability from techno, and explains that he wanted to tell him about that and heroing but by the time he'd established himself as a hero his ability was obvious enough that he didn't feel safe using it as a civilian and he knew techno would get all worried if he knew he was a hero and like. my guy did not want to deal with all of that sjfbdb :' and like, techno gets it. he doesn't like it, but he gets it bc he kinda did the same thing so :’’

- wilbur is less than happy abt techno being a villain tho, even beyond the lying part (he's not rlly upset abt that bc i mean he lied abt his own stuff so). mostly, he's upset bc of the civilians techno has endangered and his less than moral methods, and basically it's the difference between their ideologies (techno's end over means and wilbur's means over end) coming to a head

- the thing is that neither of them want to argue, not really :' wilbur still doesn't have much energy most days and he hasn't been able to rlly leave the hospital bed yet except for physical therapy (and even then he doesn't walk) so :' and techno is tired of arguing, he doesn't want to start the cycle all over again and so they kinda end up just agreeing to disagree ideologically but agree that that doesn't mean they can't care abt each other or get along

- before too much longer it's time for the action! and techno, like a badass, doesn't even have to issue a challenge- he goes somewhere pretty visible, and just waits. sure enough, before long there are newspeople hovering around at safe distances and dream appears all cocky and demands he return orpheus to 'where he belongs' (which pisses techno off bc dream is acting like some kind of pet owner or something, but whatever! whatever. that's fine, he's about to die anyway so it doesn't matter what he says)

- techno doesn't bother rising to the bait, instead they just fight. and here's the thing- dream is good. i mean duh, otherwise he wouldn't be a top hero, but still. he's very good at what he does. however, guess what he's been doing in the time that's passed while techno has been training and wilbur has been recovering and tubbo has been scouring every source of information he has for information?? well... not much. he was so confident in his own ability, so sure that when it comes down to the wire he'll triumph, that he didn't bother to put in that much work training and preparing- not like the rest of them did. he relies on his talent, and in contrast techno worked his ass off to get to his current level. so yeah, dream is an incredibly skilled fighter, but techno is better

- he gets his ass Beat. like, not too obviously bc techno a) can't make him look like an underdog or someone deserving of sympathy and b) can't make it too obvious that he's intentionally drawing out the fight to make sure it's being broadcast as widely as possible for tubbo to hack. so they have to Look equal but like. ppl who are professionals would be able to tell that techno is biding his time and waiting for something and that dream is just Not on his level sjfbhfnd

- things are heating up, civilians heroes and villains are all tuning in bc it's like. the climax of this big search for a kidnapped hero that has been going on for months, and then-

- the broadcast cuts out, replaced with footage of dream cutting a deal with some like. well known criminal or smth who got off thanks to their case being mishandled. it cuts to different footage of similar things, and over it a polite young man (aka tubbo putting on his most pleasant talking-to-authority voice) can be heard explaining what's happening and systematically uncovering every conspiracy and crime that dream has tried so hard to cover up

- and finally, in the end, it's revealed that dream was actually the one who attacked orpheus to silence him, and was really looking for him to finish the job after orpheus found evidence of his misdeeds and confronted him (a slight lie, but it makes the whole thing more plausible) and it plays the monologue that supposedly was recorded by orpheus's equipment immediately before the attack, where dream's voice says that he'll make sure he never gets the chance to tell anyone, and other such sentiments

- dream's reaction is actually pretty damning as far as the people are concerned- it cuts back to him, and the first thing out of his mouth (forgetting abt the microphones the press attached to his costume that he agreed to to help his Worried Mentor image) is 'how did you-' before techno attacks again- for real this time, and he's forced on the defensive

- and this time, techno speaks! he condemns dream for his hypocrisy and being just as much of a villain as the people he captures (if not more), and especially for doing what he did to orpheus :' dream can't rlly defend himself bc while neither of them are a good improvised talker, things are still completely on script for techno lmao and he does whatever catchphrase he has when killing ppl (bc of course he has one, hes a melodramatic fuck) and then tubbo cuts the broadcasts moments before dream is killed

- after that, we get a timeskip!! (which is how u know he’s actually dead SGHBFD)

- tommy is a medical student now! he still volunteers at the library when he has free time to hang out with the others, but he's spent so long being used as a weapon and told that he'll only ever be able to destroy, that he very much enjoys now using his hands to heal and save lives

- (tommy and wilbur, btw, did get justice in a more legal setting- they each testified about what dream had done to them, and paved the way for other people dream had hurt and fucked over to speak up without fear of being silenced. tommy's schooling is completely paid for and then some with posthumous reparations, and wilbur poured his part of the settlement into his beloved l'manberg public library. twice, on the anniversary of the warehouse and the day tommy escaped, they take a bunch of spray paint and paint a massive 'i <3 little penis' on dream’s grave)

- tubbo ends up getting a position at techno's tech company, as well as becoming a partner of sorts in exposing corruption Without killing anyone (bc every time they manage it with no casualties wilbur gets excited and tells them he's proud of them) really they're more like vigilantes now, but techno insists that they are Villains they have Earned that title and every time he says it tubbo cackles and goes ‘yeah sure’. he and ranboo live together, while tommy splits his time between their apartment and techno & wilbur's house. in the end, tubbo really did get everything he wanted! his friends are both safe and avenged, he isn't bored, and they all get to live chaotic but ultimately peaceful lives. also he hacks the government sometimes but it's fine! keeps them on their toes :)

- all ranboo really wanted the whole time was for everyone to be okay, and that's exactly what he gets. he lives with tubbo and their ugly-cute hairless cat michael, gets into friendly squabbles with tommy about the merits of healing abilities vs modern medicine, recently got his degree in library science and got fully hired at l'manberg public library, and most of all is happy. everyone he cares about is safe and living well, and his life is good, and he's happy

- friend and mr president are living their best life!! their large kitten is a lot happier now, even if he still sometimes has days where he needs reminders to feed himself or needs help calming down, but it's okay because they're very responsible parents and they love their giant cat son a lot <3 they get lots of petting, lots of food, lots of sunlight, lots of playtime, and lots of naps :} their life is good, and they're very happy

- techno has mostly retired from villainy (and Definitely retired from killing people via wilbur's puppy dog eyes), and is back to work at his fancy company w phil :} his apartment is no longer so empty anymore tho, because now he lives w wilbur! it's def chaotic (and techno definitely moved the both of them to a bigger place with accessibility accommodations) but there are a bunch of plants, two cats, and a bunch of teenagers constantly in and out keeping things lively, and he wouldn't have it any other way

- physically, wilbur is still fucked up and will never not be :' he uses a cane to walk (gift from phil) and his vocal chords never healed, but with time and therapy he's come to accept both of those things. he still works in the library, and loves it more than ever, and he lives in an accessible house with techno and has a garden as well as indoor plants ^^ his ability isn't a secret anymore, nor is the fact that he was orpheus :' it kinda can't be after all the legal proceedings and with the way he talks now, but orpheus was generally a beloved hero because of the way he prioritized civilians and so it's not like people bother him about it

- and he still struggles! there are days when he can't get out of bed even with techno's gentle prodding, and there are days when the pain gets too bad for him to move and he has to convince tommy to leave so he doesn't miss class, and there are days when he forgets where he is and that he's safe and will find somewhere small to put himself even though it's painful because he's having a flashback and doesn't remember that dream is gone, and his family and friends are with him through all of them. he shouts at them sometimes when he panics, and has unintentionally hit techno trying to escape an imagined threat, and once when he was having a really bad flashback he could only speak in dream's voice and nearly sent tommy into his own panic before tubbo walked tommy away and ranboo sat with wilbur to help him come back to the present

- but even though there are bad days, there are a lot more good days- days when wilbur wakes up feeling okay, and has the energy to go on a walk or at least garden, days when gives tours of the library and doesn't have to swallow down a moment of panic when someone claps him on the shoulder in thanks. days when he takes naps to rest instead of because he feels numb, days when he can laugh and joke and there's nothing hanging over his head at all

- he speaks by jumping between voice to voice as he pleases, combining vocal quirks from his friends and people he's seen until it's like all their voices came together to make him a new one. he still plays music, and he hasn't tried to sing yet but he hopes that if he keeps healing, one day he'll work up the nerve to try. things aren't always good- in fact, a lot of the time they aren't. but they're getting better, he's getting better, and he thinks maybe that's what matters

i'm abt to be so so normal about twinsduo in my superpower au. just. mmmmm yes i'm definitely normal abt this

techno is some fancy like tech engineering person in a big-name company wilbur works in a library they are brothers and have lunch every week to check on each other. techno is a villain trying to take down corruption in the system and wilbur is a hero trying to stop anyone else from getting hurt. techno's powers revolve around controlling technology/metal while wilbur can control anything organic. the mind vs the voice techno is all about imposing his will on the mechanical via thought while wilbur uses his voice to convince and persuade. they are brothers they are narrative parallels they come close to killing each other every week without knowing it