antagonize | week 13, shove baby out of the cradle

[ It was overwhelming at first. A few stray eyes, curious questions about what play was casting today - so, yeah, Elizabeth ended up blending in more than you'd think - an oversized hoodie hanging over her blue skirt was a nice hipster look. Perfect for faux-Gotham U. ]

What if we don't find him? There's thousands of students here...

[ Her voice is soft, passing through the crowds with Luke and Adam. She's been respectful but it's obvious with how darty - twitching - she is, that she is nervous. It's not because she has a physical body... a sense of touch and warmth (with a hug from Luke and a hug for Adam provided when she awoke here) that she misses.

God she misses this. ]

This... Luke, I've visited into quite a few cradles and I don't think you understand how difficult it was to see Adelina give up her family, to drag her away from them.. I -

Wait -

[ She cuts herself off, stopping dead in her tracks. Her heart is high in her throat as she stammers. ]

It's him. ...Jason...

[ It's nice to see Elizabeth again and they probably take more time than they should catching up while idly looking for Jason. Though Adam probably doesn't look too much like he's bothered with that—he's kind of wide-eyed about the whole college thing. He's never been on a campus before and this one's idyllic. He's tempted to separate and see every part of it, but Elizabeth manages to remind him that this is a cradle.

He stops with her when she points out Jason, nodding like they've found their prey. Then he turns to look at the two of them to not make him suspicious. ]

Alright. Game plan. It looks like he's mostly separated, all we need to do is get him to talk to us. Ask him about his cause, maybe.

Think he'll react poorly once we start in? We can get him alone somewhere.

[Like Elizabeth, Luke is a little flighty when it comes to being on a campus surrounded by thousands of people. Luke himself has never gone to college either and he's not entirely sure what to expect as he watches Jason from his spot with the other two. In a way, he's relieved that it's Adam and Elizabeth with him. On the other hand, he tilts his head slightly before he nods to himself, gesturing for the two to stick close and follow behind him.]

He's only gonna react poorly if we handle this poorly. Let's see if we can find out what he thinks is goin' on here. [With that, he continues to move and approaches Jason carefully, sliding right into his line of vision and flashing a somewhat nervous smile. He doesn't immediately speak up though. Instead, he's waiting to see how this Jason reacts to people in general.]

[The closer they get, the more apparent the reason why he's "separated" will be. He's leaning against a corner, twirling a monogrammed pen between his fingers. Just barely concealed by the wall are a couple of other students, which... seem to be having a conversation with Jason while he's slacking off in his signature collecting duty. His friends, maybe. They're equally as idyllic as the rest of this place, and even Jason seems to fit right in with general ambiance of the scene. He's healthy. Uninjured. Well-rested. He's genuinely happy.]

—Knowing what "oligarchy" means before it's assigned in class doesn't make you a political genius, you big boob. [It's the first thing the gang will hear as they get closer, though they may have to strain their ears to listen over the rest of the student chatter in the area.] That's not how it works.

[And, yeah. Maybe someone says "your dad is the oligarchy" and someone else complains about the usage of the term "big boob" in the 2000s. Jason looks ready to respond when Luke slides into his line of vision, and then he's gesturing dismissively at his friends. He'll be right back, it seems to imply, as he moves to do his sales pitch. Or signature collecting pitch, anyway.]

Hey. Hi, there. You look like you could be really interested in health, economy and education. [Yeah. It's that kind of stuff, pals. He's not going to let Luke get another word in before he shoves the clipboard and pen at him — or any of the other two. Whoever's closer.] Signature and student ID number, please.

[... There's a good page or two filled with signatures and student numbers. Will they add theirs? Or skip the pleasantries and get to business?]

What is his cause? Petitions for change don't typically go over well.

[ She says dryly, wondering if this was truly the norm. She watches as people sign up and chit chat with Jason's friends about issues - be it about the school or the latest planned mixer on Friday night. It's foreign, so she doesn't dwell long on it.

Elizabeth is awkward when Luke speaks about it, looking between Adam and Luke. ]

He thinks this is real, there's nothing else much different than that. It's going to crush him, but -

[ She hesitates, she doesn't say "get this over with" or something, she truly wonders if it's better if he stays here. Happy. Blissful. She's never seen Jason this way, even when he let his walls down a bit with her.

So... Elizabeth follows behind Luke, closer to Adam with a worried look.

Hearing his voice was enough for her to feel her stomach knot up in guilt, so she leaves it to the boys for now to do it. To take lead. ]

Ah - yes, those subjects very much interest us...

[ She says idly. Lord, Liz at least sound like you fit in. ]

[ He thinks it's kind of funny that even in Jason's fantasy there are problems for him to fix. Some hero complex. Adam does manage to fit in, unlike Liz. He looks pretty comfortable here and he just smiles at Jason with interest. ]

But maybe you could sit down with us and tell us about what we're signing for?

[Why the hell is he being given a clipboard? He's just staring at it, lifting his eyebrows at the number of signatures and letting Elizabeth and Adam do the talking before he looks back at Jason curiously. He can't help but let his smile shift to something more amused. This is so unlike the Jason that he knows and at the same time it sort of is. But he's more willing to talk to people and that's a start, so he twirls the pen between his own fingers as he eyes him carefully.

How to explain...]

Yeah. Health, economy and education seems like a pretty broad topic and some of us aren't that great with numbers anyway. [He's also just going to withhold the clipboard to force Jason to talk to them.] So...sell us a little.

[He raises his eyebrows, visibly surprised. It seems like he's more expressive in his dream world, for whatever reason. Less of a sketchier, emotionally constipated asshole. Looks like all emotional issues can be resolved with a good, decent college education. Or... maybe with whatever this whole place is meant to represent.]

Goodness gracious, you want to sit down and talk about politics? [He clutches the front of his shirt, right over where his heart should be.] Hold me, dreamboat, 'cause I'm about to swoon.

[He sure did just call Luke a dreamboat. Or maybe it was Adam. Actually, it was probably both. Sorry, Elizabeth.]

Sure. We can sit. But seriously, you don't have to. Most people just sign and walk away. Warms the cockles of my heart, really.

[Just... sign and walk away? He doesn't mind. He has friends to slack off with. It's not like they have to feign interest.]

[ Look, all the flirts go over Elizabeth's head completely. They're both focused on getting to Jason and breaking the news, but she's ... selfish, she thinks. Maybe it's okay to just let him have every precious second he can. ]

Let's just say we want to know where our support is going.

[ Elizabeth finally takes a step forward, looking at the text that's littering the flyers and brochures. Support Health Services for Students, Learn About Upcoming Treasury Positions, Gotham U wants the arts back! ]

What happened with your art education? I - [ Pause as she looks to Luke. ] - I enrolled last term.

[ LORD SOMEONE GET TO BUSINESS BECAUSE ELIZABETH IS TOO TENDER-HEARTED BY NOW. This is her fourth one!! ]

[ Wow. This Jason sure is way more likable. And not just because he definitely called Adam a dreamboat, but that helps.

He only pauses when Elizabeth actually asks a question about the fliers. What happened to the game plan? ]

I, uh—you don't recognize us? Maybe if you think about it.

[Gods, why is this happening? He exchanges a look with Liz and part of him can't help but laugh unexpectedly because dream boat? Thanks Jason. But maybe he can work with that. He turns up the charm a little, angles himself to lean in just a little and more or less stare Jason in the face because This Is Serious.]

You might wanna think real hard about that before you answer, too. You wouldn't wanna disappoint us, would you?

[Let's try the easy route first.]

The same thing that happens to every decent art program. Some bozo upstairs complains about the fine arts being unnecessary. Someone pays attention to them. And next thing you know? We're down a ton of courses. Apparently — it's not good enough unless it's math or science.

[Clearly, he's salty even in his own dream world. It's not the perfect world unless he gets to pick a fight with someone for some reason or another, it seems. Oh, dear. He does look amused by Adam and Luke's questions, though, crossing his arms like he thinks they're trying to be cute.]

Sure. Might've met in hell, 'cause you guys are hot. [A beat.] That was a joke, by the way. I know diddly squat about who you guys are. Too many faces. Too many places. Can you blame me for forgetting if we've met before?

[Look. As far as he's concerned, he's had to meet a lot of people over the years. It comes with living and not dying and being an overachieving asshole.]

[ She has her moment, just sitting there and listening to him. It was nice see him like this, but Adam's words snap her to reality. "Reality" being a sensitive subject here. Elizabeth tightens a bit as the boys both continue and she bites her bottom lip trying not to feed into it. ]

Popular guy. [ She says dryly, but more so amused. ] My name's Elizabeth. This is Adam and Luke. We've crossed paths a few times.

[ Adam can see what Luke is trying to do and he has to keep himself from snorting. Then Jason keeps responding and he just grins. He will absolutely remind him of this when he's in his right mind. ]

Got it in one. [ The hell bit. ] See, we're still somewhere in there. Let us help jog your memory and we can see a lot more of each other. [ He motions for them to move to one of the further away tables. ]

[He has to be the adult here, but that's always messy business. He needs to keep Elizabeth on track, keep Adam from being a shit, and keep Jason's attention all at once. He's still holding onto the clipboard though and waves it a little teasingly, already heading for the table Adam had motioned to.]

Tell you what. You come listen to us and help us out a bit, all three of us will sign your petition. We got a deal?

Jason. Though I get the feeling you already knew that.

[Yes. He's starting to get suspicious now. There's still a smile on his face, but he's sizing the three of them up. No one gets this pushy over student petitions, do they? No. Not really. And add to that the insistence that they know each other, and... Well. Death or no death, he's still one of Bruce Wayne's kids. Paranoia is handed down through osmosis.]

Hah— You really must want something if you're holding my clipboard hostage. I don't need your signatures that much, y'know.

[He will follow them nonetheless, but they might want to convince him to stay and fast.]

[ Elizabeth crosses her arms, a bit awkward and defensive, but she pipes up. ]

Please. [ ... She doesn't want to do this. If she can catch his attention, she starts towards the tables off to the side which Adam indicated. Luke may have the clipboard, but she's the one who's being more transparent now. ] We only met around 13 weeks ago? It wasn't fairly long ago, but - ...Oh, Adam, I can't -

[ She can't look at Luke or Adam, but she just... sits down on the nearest chair, trying not to get emotional. ]

[ Yeah, they're pretty suspicious. He gets that and lets Elizabeth explain, sitting down with her. When she can't finish, he frowns and puts a hand on her shoulder, then looks at Jason. ]

Look, we have something very important to tell you. Something you want to know and we can prove it. Will you hear us out?

[Unlike his friends, he doesn't sit down. Instead, he's on his feet and holding the clipboard, fully prepared to move in case Jason tries to walk away. He gives Elizabeth a reassuring squeeze to the other shoulder and he looks at Jason firmly over the top of Adam's head, thinking of the best way to phrase this.]

Seriously, don't make us do it the hard way? I don't like the hard way. Not nearly as nice as decent, civilized conversation. [...he grins.] Not that there's much civilized about where we're from, but that's just part of the story. [Also is anybody else still getting used to the fact that Jason has two eyes again? Because Luke is.]

[... And this is the point where the smile on Jason's face becomes something more familiar. More of a sneer than an expression of happiness or anything like that. He huffs out a laugh, looking between the three of them and reminding himself of possible escape routes. He can tell Luke is prepared to stop him if he moves away, but the other two are seated.

That's an advantage if things go sour.]

Oh yeah, big guy? What's the hard way? Because the way I see it, your little ragtag group of friends showed up and started acting like we've met before. Are you even students at this school? No — don't answer that. I already know you're not. [The tone is familiar, too, though he's far more nicer even now.] So, tell me... Is this a cry for attention? Some kind of publicity stunt? Because you're really barking up the wrong tree.

[He's significantly more PG-13 and has both eyes. There are a lot of things to get used to here.]

[ The more defensive Jason becomes the more scared Elizabeth becomes. She's torn between seeing him happy - normal - and ... well, putting him at risk on the ship again. Adam and Luke's hands tether her, but before she can even think she blurts out - ]

This isn't your life, Jason. [ It's poetic, utterly vague. ] I know it.... I know it's hard to grasp that, trust me... Just please keep calm and we can help you.

[ There's an audible sigh when Luke starts throwing out threats. This was not part of the plan. He reaches over to grab Luke's wrist to make him calm down and not start anything. ]

There is no hard way. [ He nods over at Elizabeth, telling her she's diong the right thing. ] She's right. This is all fake. We know the real you and this is all in your head. That's why we're not students here and why we don't belong. [ Just. Motions to Elizabeth. ]

Also if I were going for publicity stunt, I'd do something more drastic. [He mutters to himself, but ultimately calms when Adam takes his wrist. He sighs deeply, bringing his free hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose and stare at Jason carefully before facing Elizabeth and Adam.]

...truth is, Elizabeth is your girlfriend, Adam and I are friends. Sort of? About as friendly as you can get when fighting an alien. [Gods that sounds crazy, let's dial it back.] Anyway, s'like they said. This is gonna be hard to believe but this isn't your real life. We all know the real you and how things really go. But you've gotta hear us out.

[For a moment, he stares at all three of them in disbelief. Not his life. It's all in his head. His girlfriend. It's all so completely and utterly absurd that the only natural reaction to all of it is to laugh. This is ridiculous. He thinks they're insane.]

Keep the clipboard. You guys are fucking nuts. [Waves a hand at them, dismissively. First threats, now this. It's hilarious.] You should go pay a visit to Arkham. I bet the lunatics there would love to have you.

I don't know if Jason considered us courting but...

[ She mumbles under her breath at Luke. She wishes so badly she could pull out some bit of information Jason disclosed to her - about any of this, but even with the memories of their 'secrets' being revealed... she falls short. Jason was a private guy, after all. ]

I promise you, there's nothing wrong with our mental stability. I..

[ She lowers her head and leans to Luke and Adam. ]

If I can focus... I can... ...I can show him his world - show him a window to it. Give me five minutes and if he doesn't come around, allow me to show him what his world is really like...?

[ It was all hush hush, of course. ]

Edited 2016-09-03 21:57 (UTC)

Yeah, yeah. It's crazy, but we're all going to tell you the same thing. [ He kind of hesitates to bring up the spaceship and aliens because. Wow seriously they're crazy. How else to explain it... ]

We do know you. We know that you... your skills. You can hack and lockpick and you have some medical experience, like... performing blood tests. [ Seriously he knows nothing about Jason. He gives Elizabeth a subtle nod to agree to her plan since it seems like they might need it. ]

[Elizabeth also gets a short nod because...last resort. It's all they can do. He watches Adam grapple for something to use and he frowns to himself, testing how tight Adam's grip is on his wrist. When he finds he can't move much, he rolls his eyes instead.]

Jason Todd, age 19. Six feet tall, two-hundred and twenty-five pounds...somehow. Skilled with lockpicking, hacking, medical knowledge, hand-to-hand combat though also good with blades and firearms, multilingualism, and decisively not a detective but someone who's prepared with above average observational and deductive skills. Someone who doesn't back down from opinions and also would play with a lightsaber if given the chance. And also somebody with the color scheme of a traffic light on occasion? Green's real distracting when it's on your ass, especially when the cape's not that long. [...there's a short smile.] A little bird told me all this...a sparrow, I think? Wait, wait no...I think it was a robin? Yeah. Yeah that sounds right.

Edited 2016-09-03 23:00 (UTC)

So it's folie à deux. Or folie à trois — mutual insanity. Nice to know you're all getting along so well.

[Multilingualism is confirmed to remain true in this illusion, at least. His expression remains virtually the same; only a raise of his eyebrow as Luke begins to list his skills. It's not until he brings up robins that he shakes his head at them.]

Do you usually comment on little boys's asses? [In this world, there is already another Robin. The difference is that he's more at peace with it.] If you're implying I'm the brat that hangs out with Batman, save it. I'm not. I'm just a student. No hacking, no lockpicking, no medical experience, no nothing. Sorry to disappoint, but recurring to vigilantism isn't really my brand of heroics.

Edited 2016-09-03 23:33 (UTC)

[ Elizabeth takes a moment to look away during the entire conversation. Luke was talking about the profile cards, going forth with Adam's lead into it. If the boys looked over, they'd see Elizabeth with her eyes shut, her fingers tense and tearing away at nothing in her lap. Her fingers struggle, as if there's resistance, but she is very... very casual about it.

While they bicker back and forth, a heavy glob of blood trickles from Elizabeth's nose due to the strain, a wince and flinch of her body before the tear opens up a few yards behind Jason. It's grayscale, static ring opened similarly to a window - a 6 by 6 opening of ...

It was dark. The moon barely catching the light between the dead branches of the tree that overlooks the grave of Jason Todd. The marker was simple - decorated with Here Lies Jason Todd. Even the patches of grass that press into the sides of the cement was dying and decayed, but from the boys viewpoint? The 'window' was undoubtedly showing a grave.

If they inquired deeper - or even stepped through - they'd see the dirt mound of the grave begin to shift.

Once the tear is open, Elizabeth lifts her fingers up to wipe away at the blood, smearing it just barely as she tries to play it off. This was such a harsh world to find for some reason, one that seemed to stuck between retcons and realities? Who knows - but Elizabeth felt that it was worth it to show. She has no clue what this pertained to - no understanding of context, but this... this is what she had to show as a backup. ]

Edited 2016-09-03 23:49 (UTC)

[ Nope, his grip is tight and it only tightens when Luke tries testing it. Jason is stubborn and they all expected it, but he doesn't know why Luke is working against this. ] Seriously, can you stop?

[ That's to Luke. When he looks back at Jason, there's... something. He thinks it's a glitch in the cradle at first, but then he looks at Elizabeth and gets it. She may not know what that scene is, but he can guess. He hasn't forgotten that little trivia about Jason crawling out of his own grave.

Which is horrible and he sighs, glancing off. ] Jason, behind you.

[He doesn't get a chance to say anything about what Adam's doing, if only because he's suddenly distracted. He's worried about Elizabeth but doesn't get to say so, if only because he's watching the tear open and he falls silent when Adam tells Jason to look. It's...a harsh reality, he thinks. He doesn't quite know how Jason feels since he never broke out of his grave prior to the cradle project, but this isn't easy for anyone to watch. He stops fighting and instead steps a bit away to give Jason a clear look into the tear.]

[He notices the glob of blood trickling from Elizabeth's nose as he finishes denying the truth. While he still believes that the three of them are completely and utterly insane, that doesn't change the fact that seeing someone wince and flinch as they bleed is extremely distressing. He eases up for a moment, unsure of what's happening here.]

Hey, are you—? [Okay, he means to finish. But then everyone looking at something right behind him. It could be a trap. He's aware of that, which is why it's with some resistance than he tentatively casts a glance behind him.

He's just in time for the show.

A second after Jason has turned around, a hand punches through the mound of dirt. The fingernails are damaged and gone, blood dripping down the fingers while splinters of wood bury deep into the flesh. It's every bit the stereotypical horror movie imagery, and the rest does not disappoint. Another hand scrambles out from underneath the ground, digging and tearing and pushing dirt aside to make space for the rest of the body. Slowly but surely, a boy that is unmistakably Jason at a younger age emerges from the ground. He's bleeding — covered in cuts, flash burns, and looking very much like someone hit him with something heavy and metal until he dropped dead. By all rights, he should not be breathing at this very moment.

The older Jason, the one on this side of things, turns around before his counterpart can finish crawling out of his grave. He looks pale and shaken, but also unmistakably livid.]

You— Whatever the hell you think you're doing, stop it now!

[... And in case the three of them had forgotten about where they are, yeah. The students that are still around the area after class changes are reacting. Some of them running away from the display of metahuman abilities, others taking cover while simultaneously taking out their cellphones... and so forth. Jason's friends from earlier seem to be gone.

It might be a good idea to change locations, just saying.]

[ Elizabeth remembers the fear on the street when she's used her tears - the panic, the disgust - the fear and she tries to shut it out. Her eyes shut and she can't look - she saw the hand jet out from the cold ground and it was enough for her. It's stupid that she cares so much about a boy she knows nothing about, but here she is.

Here all of them were. Jason's raised voice makes her shoulders go up defensively and the tear remains. They see Jason's body crawling out and the confusion and rage in his youthful face. Elizabeth wants to cry, her eyes swelling with tears as the students yell out Who's the meta?! Someone call Superman! in the distance. ]

I'm sorry... I'm so sorry.

[ Adam hadn't cared much about the people around them because they're fake anyway and if Jason would just cooperate, they could leave already. But during that scene, even Adam has to look away, looking at Luke like he's trying to figure out what to do.

Elizabeth seems out of it now so he stands up. He has to get this under control. ] Jason. Take us somewhere we can talk about this.

[Well this sure is bad. There are people staring and Jason's yelling and without a lot of warning, he rips his arm away from Adam and shoots him a brief look of apology.]

Adam, grab Elizabeth. Liz, close the tear. [This is all hissed more or less as he looks at the fake people, immediately turning to Jason again.] ...seriously man, we need to talk. All of this will stop if you just hear us out.

["Bad" is an understatement. The beginning of a headache is weakly thrumming away behind his temples, some kind of pressure building up on the bridge of his nose as he tries to understand why he was shown an illusion of a younger version of himself crawling out of his own grave. It's fake. He knows that much. There's no way he died, after all. But it doesn't stop him from running a hand down his face in an attempt to get control over himself. It felt so real.

Explaining this scene away will be hell, come tomorrow.]

Fine. We'll talk. But after that — I want you gone. You have no idea what kind of mess you're causing.

[And without any further prompting, he's turning around and taking them to a more secluded part of campus. A private enough area that they don't have to worry about students or staff members intruding.]

[ Elizabeth's finally able to close the tear once the younger Jason crawls to his feet. She can't - it's too much. She barely shambles to her feet, holding onto Adam's bicep. Physically weak? A tiny bit, but she wants to get out of here. People were trying to hunt down the meta and frantically trying to call people on what she can assume was portable telephones?

She follows with Luke and Adam who try and diffuse the situation, to move into the area which Jason felt was safe. ]

I didn't mean for that - you have to understand. I had no clue he'd see himself - not like that...

[ Adam wraps an arm around Elizabeth to keep her upright and steady, checking to make sure she's not still bleeding or close to passing out. He follows Jason, glancing over at Luke to try to figure out what to do now. When Elizabeth tries to explain, he shakes his head. ]

No, we get it. It worked, didn't it? [ Maybe that's harsh of him but it did manage to do something. ] Jason, what she showed you was the real you. We told you this was all fake.

[With Adam guiding Elizabeth he nods and follows after them, but he's shooting her a weak smile anyway.]

We know. But we all knew this wouldn't be easy either. [He looks back at Jason when they finally get somewhere private, folding his arms over his chest.] I'm sure you've got a lot of questions now...we'll answer them as best as we can, but you've gotta believe us. We were brought here to bring you back to where you belong, which is with us. We need you if we're gonna survive.

I don't give a damn about what you guys need.

[He's blunt, clearly pissed off by now. Gone is the friendly attitude from earlier as he watches all three of them carefully. It doesn't seem like he's armed for a confrontation, but it might not be a bad idea to stay light on their feet. Luke's threat from earlier still hangs in his mind, after all.]

You can't expect me to believe all of this is fake. Coming here, causing a scene, telling me I died — do you seriously believe that makes you trustworthy? [He shakes his head, clenching and unclenching his fists. His hands are uncovered, which is likely a rare sight for two out of three here.] This is real. I would know if I died, so... Whatever stunt you're trying to pull here, it's not going to work.

[Except, the more he thinks about the scene Elizabeth showed him, the stronger his headache becomes. It's better to focus on other things, isn't it?]

It's not a stunt!

[ That was the last straw. Despite how emotionally and physically draining it was, she takes offense. It's hard to accept, she knows that heartbreak. She knows that despite everything, maybe it would be better to live in this blissful. But since the first trial, Jason did his best for the good of the ship. ]

I wouldn't so recklessly display something like that to you - never to you. Jason, it's hard to imagine but this is all... It's what you've wanted. After dying, I suppose this is what your ideal world would be. You don't remember... But I promise you... We aren't lying.

[ She tries to just stammer it out, get the painful memories out but - ]

Adam and Luke - we're your friends. We met because of... poor circumstances...

Edited 2016-09-05 06:43 (UTC)

[ Adam nods to Elizabeth to encourage her to keep going. He's also becoming frustrated but honestly, he can't blame Jason. They haven't made themselves the most trustworthy or clear. ]

What do you think we're doing this for? All you have to do is believe us. You're stuck in something that's showing you everything you want, we're going to bring you back to reality. That's what you trusted us to do.

[This is tricky, he thinks. Elizabeth's upset and Adam's doing his best to support her and Jason's being frustrating. He lets the others say their piece and he keeps his arms folded over his chest carefully, hand running over his scar.]

I really don't like being the bearer of bad news, but they're right. You trusted us to jump in here and pull you back out to reality and you know? Reality sucks. But it's a lot better than this where nothing's even real. [There's a pause.] What do you remember prior to this moment? What memories do you even have of this place?

Yeah. Because everything I want is a normal life with 18 credits worth of classes and an overbearing parent. Sounds about right.

[Come the weekend, this will be extremely hilarious in hindsight. But for now, it's Jason stating exactly what this is all about. A normal life. A normal young adult experience. A normal, if not still slightly strained, relationship with his adoptive dad. It's a stupidly simple desire, and he's totally going to be mortified about it once the gang is successful.

But for now, his face twists as he tries to answer Luke's question. It's— Trying to find the answer makes him feel wrong.]

What are you getting at? I graduated high school. Enrolled here. I have tons of memories of this place. This is real.

Think, Jason.

[ Elizabeth knows this all too well - so, she'll take it upon herself to dig into the hoodie and - look, it's a handkerchief. It happened to her in both Columbia and in her cradle, so she offers Jason something to wipe away at his nose if his memories continue to conflict. ]

Adam's right... you trusted us. Sincerely. Try and think deeper. Past this place - dates, times, feelings... They don't add up, do they...?

[ She sounds crushed to be so blunt... so she gives him an apologetic, tearful glance. ]

You died, Jason... before you could have any of this.

Edited 2016-09-06 19:27 (UTC)

week 13, shove baby out of the cradle

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I FUCKED UP I DIDNT KNOW YOU TAGGED.