#New Mutation/ Conclusion

[filmjunky-99]

t h e a n d r o m e d a s t r a i n, 1971 🎬 dir. robert wise

'We have the organism at Wildfire and we continue to study it. We now know beyond a doubt that other forms of life exist in the universe.

However, with this new knowledge, there's no guarantee that another so-called biological crisis won't occur again.' - stone

'What do we do about that?' - senator

'Precisely, Senator. What do we do?' - stone

[codenamesazanka]

My prediction on what was Scissors-kun's deal ended up being pretty correct: he was indeed abused - horrifically so, being tied up and locked away - and then abandoned by his family during the war because of his quirk. Except Horikoshi actually exceeded my expectations and revealed that it wasn't because of behavioral issues (not that it would've justified it! Never. but I was imagining a parallel to Toga), it was only because his quirk was a random mutation, and also his family sewn his mouth shut.

Because thing is. The set up for something like this was here all along. I predicted it based on things that were already happening in the story. Continued fear of 'abnormal' quirks; horrific domestic violence enacted due to this; Heroes never catching wind of this because this was from a family that weren't consider 'Villains', so this was Scissors-kun's normal. And this normal broke and the dark secret got revealed only because something extraordinary happened - the country collapsed. Scissors-kun family left him, so he was able to escape.

But... none of this is apparently going to be addressed. The happy ending is Scissors-kun being found and helped, instead of any widespread, far-reaching, systemic change that would prevent shit like this. No, 'but it's obviously going to be addressed off-screen' doesn't count. The story brought up on-page and explicitly that quirk discrimination is a thing, that abusive quirk counseling/treatment is a thing, that abuse and abandonment of children is a thing. I expect the solutions to be on-page and explicit as well, and not just 'if I reach out when it's not my business, then...!'

(Also. it is their fucking business. They're government employees. Their job is to save people and guarantee the welfare of all citizens. it is very much their business.)

I'm not upset that Scissors-kun isn't Shigaraki; never really expected that in the first place. Shigaraki died. Deku fucking failed. I've come to terms with it. I'm not upset that Shigaraki wasn't saved, but this kid was; not even in the meta-, story-, character-sense, because, fine, he's replacement goldfish Tenko, but I'll take the 'we'll do better next time', it's a good thing this kid gets saved, it's what Shigaraki would've wanted, it's what the League fought to destroy for. It's even good that The Old Lady has become a better person.

What baffles me is that this save occurs pretty much because of nothing except the purported 'What Deku Showed The World That Day (When He Killed A Man)'. This save isn't because Heroes and civilians have more awareness of victims. This save isn't because society is promising to stop quirk discrimination. This save isn't because Ochako learns of Toga's abusive parents and so sets out to tackle this issue of quirk-related domestic violence. This save isn't because Deku has lead a new movement to stop bystander inaction. (Moreover, about 'bystander inaction' - Scissors-kun lists 5 other people outside his immediate family of Dad/Mom/Sis who knew about him... and did nothing. His uncle, his aunt, his grandparents, his great-grandfather - if they didn't directly help sew Scissors-kun mouth shut, they still turned a blind eye and never alerted authorities. (Tenko explicitly states this as one of the factors that led to him lashing out, but I guess the story forgot about it long ago, so. Even with the memories sharing of Chapter 417 and 418, Deku never sees this.))

As I said above, none of the issues that lead to Scissors-kun being in the circumstances he was in has been addressed.

This save isn't because any random civilian has decided to help - because any rando can and should help! This isn't even because Old Lady came to the guilt-ridden conclusion herself to do better.

This save is because Old Lady, carrying the burden of guilt, watched Deku kill the kid she didn't save all those years ago (tho she doesn't know it) and is apparently inspired by this act of "I can't help but do something" to finally take action (as helpfully narrated by Hawks). It's not because civilians have done any deep thinking about the rot that permeates their culture; it's because Deku was a hard-working murderer on TV. There were dozens of other people on the street. Real change should've been a whole crowd of people seeing Scissors-kun and wanting to help - someone giving him a blanket or offering him shoes while another calls for an ambulance???

But whatever. I just want to state this: the first thing that truly saved Scissors-kun was Shigaraki's destruction. Without it, his family would've stayed in that house and kept him locked up. It's really only because of Shigaraki's destruction that Scissors-kun even got the opportunity to find freedom and get his hand held.

[cenorii]

Can't he be killed? (generalized theory)

All info about why Wesker is not dead is now compiled in one place with new info. Each chapter is important to the overall meaning, so don't skip a chapter.

1. Body 2. Cutscene detailing 3. End credits re5 4. Umbrella Corps 5. Suspicious mentions 6. Photo on the wall 7. Weapons 8. Conclusion

I think we should start with the most important fact on which all theories hold - his body. So first we will talk about the properties of Wesker's body.

Chapter 1. Body

Let's start with the infection. The virus in Wesker's body is a single virus called Prototype, which he got from Birkin. According to Birkin's note (Virus Memo from Umbrella Chronicles), Prototype must be injected a few minutes before the "envisioned contingency". This is an obvious hint that the virus only activates after an "envisioned contingency", i.e. after stress (physical). But let's answer the question, what is stress, scientifically speaking? That's right, stress is hormones. When a person is injured, their body releases cortisol, the stress hormone, adrenaline, and a host of others. It's these substances that activate the Prototype virus in the body.

When Wesker injected himself with this virus, he needed to receive any conditions of increased stress, in simple words - to cause the very "envisioned contingency", to increase the influence of the virus, helping the body to initiate synthesis. When Tyrant wounded him, Wesker went into anabiosis (according to Virus Memo), and the virus was instantly activated because the wounding caused a huge amount of hormones to be released into the bloodstream. Because of Wesker's original compatibility with the Prototype, he is the perfect host for the virus and the effect he got is the maximum of what the Prototype is capable of.

During his anabiosis, the virus regenerated tissues in Wesker's body, repairing his fatal injury, and continued to slowly alter his body, fusing and invading RNA into his. When Wesker woke up, he didn't have any special abilities at first, though his eyes could glow for a brief moment. The glow in his eyes is closely related to emotion (also hormones), but I'll talk about that later. He felt the lightness of his movements, felt that he could move faster than before (Umbrella Chronicles), because he didn't know what he was really capable of yet, and the virus hadn't had time to change his body completely (we can tell that from his eyes, which were still blue).

Three months after this event, Wesker was able to mutate permanently. His eyes are the only external evidence that the mutation is complete and the virus has changed his body (Code: Veronica).

He has gained a number of abilities: his speed, thanks to the improved structure of his body tissues, can now rival that of a bullet. When he moves quickly, it looks like teleportation to normal people, because the human eye can't keep track of such fast movement. His body is solid, making it painful to damage him in melee combat (in re5, Chris's fists hurt and his face contorts into a grimace after he punches Wesker in the face). His regeneration is capable of healing injuries of any severity. He also has increased strength, but its limits are unknown because Wesker hasn't used it on anything significant. However, he can punch through dense metal with his hand, as well as lift a heavy rocket.

And all of these abilities are closely related to hormones.

Remember how his eyes is glowing in Umbrella Chronicles when he got mad at the RED QUEEN? Now remember every battle against him in re5, as well as the Spencer death scene. Every time, before using the abilities, Wesker's eyes would glow. His eyes are the truest indicator of his emotions. If his eyes are glowing - he is annoyed about something, angry, and all these emotions are the result of hormones.

Hormones are not only the element that activated the virus inside Wesker in re1, but also the tool he uses to control his abilities.

Wesker, provoking his emotions, unconsciously causes bioluminescence in his eyes. By experiencing emotions and making his eyes glow because of it, he can change the density of his body, increase his speed, strength.

Further evidence of this is the scene where Excella pierces his skin with a needle and injects the serum without obstruction. Wesker is calm, his eyes are not glowing, his body density is normal. If he were angry - the needle would break against his skin.

And now we come to the most interesting part of this chapter... What happens if you piss him off to the max? Can he become even stronger than he was in re5? I won't keep you in suspense, the answer to these questions already exists officially - Lost in Nightmares (re5 DLC).

During the events of re5, Wesker's powers are restrained by two factors at once - he wants to test what Chris can do, so he deliberately restrains his powers, and he's also not angry, just annoyed. Because of these two factors, all the fights with him in re5 are only a fraction of what he is capable of.

But in Lost in Nightmares nothing holds him back, for here he is truly angry, he is enraged. He has learned the humiliating truth about himself and his life. And feeling unthinkable irritation that some decrepit old man has the nerve to do this to him and then proclaim his old body as God, Wesker can't contain his emotions. For 10 whole years of living with this power, he kept emotions under control and learned to control them so that his abilities were as effective as possible, which is why such a big shock removed all restrictions from his consciousness and everything that was being held back came out.

In a fight with him he would spare no one, any blow he threw could prove fatal. One simple push with his hand is a long stun. Missed a qte? You're dead. Even in a normal comparison, he's much stronger here than in re5. And that's thanks to the fact that his power is fueled by his anger and frustration, which is a huge amount of hormones.

In the final battle re5 (volcano), Wesker is very angry, but there's a factor that keeps him from using his powers the same way he did in Lost in Nightmares - it's the serum (PG67A/W). But what did this serum do to him? Did it take away his powers? No.

PG67A/W does not take away Wesker's powers, but instead stabilizes them (if administered under the right conditions, when the virus inside him destabilizes over time). If an excessive dose of PG67A/W is administered and causes an overdose, his body becomes severely stressed, as hinted by his headache. After an overdose of PG67A/W, his body tries to cope with the strain and his strength increases even more, making it hard to control. When Chris injected him with another extra dose of PG67A/W, his strength became impossible to control and he gave up speed altogether. This can be seen in the airplane fight: Wesker gradually loses the "grace" of his attacks, they become chaotic, and he loses the ability to move quickly, and with each "teleportation" his jerks become shorter and shorter, and eventually he loses control of this ability altogether.

However, his strength and regeneration aren't something need special control over, nor are they something can "just not use" like high speed. Those are his passive skills, if I may say so, but they too are made more effective by his emotions.

When Wesker impaled the rocket with his hand, he proved that he still had his strength. But strength alone is not enough to stab a rocket. Even the strongest man risks breaking his fingers if he tries to do the same. Wesker's body density is off the charts in this situation. He's so durable that this is the only battle where he can't be stunned (even with a rocket launcher).

He's incredibly angry, and he's also overdosed on Uroboros and all his previous powers are aggravated due to PG67A/W. In that situation, he's invulnerable. And if such a creature falls into the lava, its body density and regeneration won't allow the volcano's temperature to critically harm it.

At the end of re5, Wesker has all the conditions to survive.

Sorry for the lack of gifs with all the moments when Wesker's eyes start to glow… I felt lazy.

Chapter 2. Cutscene detailing

The cutscenes in re5 are incredibly dynamic and directed. The detailing is also their key element, which gives such an aesthetic effect to the overall picture. The game had enough budget to make the cutscenes top-notch, and the developers were up to the task. Or not?

Wesker is a character that is no small part of RE. Not only did he appear in re1, Code: Veronica, and re4, but he was also a major character in Umbrella Chronicles. He had a big impact on lore, other characters, and perhaps even helped boost the popularity of the franchise. If such an important character is destined to die at the end of re5, shouldn't he have a detailed cutscene showing his death? Nemesis had a death animation shown in re3 (1999), even Saddler had a death animation in re4 (2005). Even Sergei Vladimir had a death cutscene in Umbrella Chronicles (2007), but not Wesker in the 2009 game.

In the scene where his death, the final act of his life, is supposed to be shown, all the attention was given to rocket launchers. Don't you find that strange? And then the main characters fly away without even checking (at least from afar) if there will be any activity in the volcano after their shot or not. Isn't Chris used to the fact that after taking critical damage, his enemies can mutate a lot? Flying away like that right away is stupid.

I find the "understatement" in his "death" a brilliant decision - it's a bridge to the future that will serve as an excuse for "why he's alive" if they bring him back, or an excuse for "why he's dead" if Capcom doesn't want to use him again.

Now let's turn our attention to the death of Alex Wesker in Revelations 2:

Her death is final, which is why it has such a detailed cutscene. Her current consciousness is now in a new body (Natalia), so it's necessary to show that the old Alex is finished.

Chapter 3. End credits re5

Toward the end of the song in the credits, you can see a dark object appear below the surface of the water, slowly floating to the left. It's hard to see, so I brightened the video so everyone can see it.

This object appears to be shrouded in tentacles, and also floats from the side of the volcano where Wesker "died". There are no other creatures created with Uroboros in the vicinity. So it can't be anyone else but him.

It could be considered an official hint that he's alive.

Chapter 4. Umbrella Corps

The 2015 game (Umbrella Corps) contains straightforward hints that Wesker is alive. This game is officially declared canon, so ignore its poor ratings. Despite being a bad game, there is some good information in it, but not much at all. So...

The plot: the main character is an unnamed mercenary nicknamed 3A-7. He is part of the Umbrella Corps, a secret corps that belongs to Blue Umbrella, an organization that "reformed and got on the right path". Didn't it seem like a lie back in re7, right? The purpose of this corps is to search for bioweapon samples in quarantined areas that the BSAA has failed to sterilize well. The main character is involved in an operation called "The Experiment" but survives every step of the way due to his combat experience. The plot glimpses an unknown Corps Leader (Executive) who even his subordinates know nothing about. One man who sent 3A-7 on missions once wondered why this Executive was so feared, why he was so intimidating, and why he knew so much about the events in re4, as if he had been to that island himself. But only two men survived the events in re4 - Leon and Wesker. A male subordinate attempted to get the Executive's DNA, but disappeared in the process. He was killed for wanting to know the truth and was replaced by a woman who also knew nothing about her boss. At the end of the story, the main character survives even after the most difficult challenge and is contacted by this mysterious Executive and told that he has plans for 3A-7. The main character is voiced by D.C. Douglas, just like the Executive, whose voice can be heard in co-op mode at the end of the missions.

His phrases: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pe7LEaA7em8.

Wesker is also voiced by Douglas. So why would Capcom use such a recognizable voice on a random character? Why voice two characters at the same time with that voice? It can only make sense if the Leader turns out to be Wesker, who survived the volcano.

It's all very suspicious and ambiguous.

Chapter 5. Suspicious mentions

In re6, everyone suddenly learned that all this time Wesker had a son he didn't even know about - Jake Muller.

The note Jake's mother left him before she died reads:

"My beloved son, Jake. Please forgive your mother for leaving you alone so soon. And please don't hate your father. Your father surely still loves you from the bottom of his heart. Stay strong and know that you will meet him one day."

Don't you find Ms. Muller's certainty that Jake will one day meet Wesker suspicious? It certainly could have been a dramatic element, telling the viewer that Jake will not meet him because his father has died and he is now all alone. However, now, knowing all the facts telling us otherwise, Jake's mother's words sound different. They sound like a prophecy. Why was she sure that Jake and Wesker would meet? How deep is this iceberg?

Chapter 6. Photo on the wall

On Karl Heisenberg's (re8) wall are many pictures that are intertwined with red line - it's his board for investigating Miranda and everyone involved in the Village. Chris is one of those involved, Karl is aware that he is here. However, if you use the free camera to get closer to Chris' photo... you can see that there is a red line running from him to some small gray photo that is hard to see from a distance.

At first it appears to be a photo of Karl, however the person in the photo is older than him. I believe this character is intentionally made to look like Karl to confuse the players and not give too direct hints. The other people from the photo are easily recognizable, even references to re1 are present. However, this person from the photo is unknown. The only thing that is known is that he is somehow related to Chris.

If you superimpose Wesker's face from re4r over this photo, you get a perfect match of facial features. If you doubt it's him, just look closely at the shape of the nose, the distance between the nose and mouth, and then look at the shape of the face and chin. They are identical. Considering that the rumors of re4r development came out in 2021 (the year re8 was released), it's not surprising if Wesker's new face could have been used here as a reference... or a hint.

When comparing, it's obvious that this is an aged version of Wesker's new appearance from re4r. In 2021, at the time of the re8 storyline, he is 61 years old. Judging by the fact that Chris's photo is recent, that means Wesker's photo is fresh too. What is unusual is that he now has long hair. However, this could be a very logical outcome, as he chose to go into hiding after re5.

Here's my little edit where I only added different clothes and long hair.

Chapter 7. Weapons

In re7 that it is revealed that the Blue Umbrella are using Wesker's designs to create weapons effective against biological threats. Various firearms signed as "Albert W." are now being used by BSAA soldiers. Isn't that strange? No matter how good these weapons are, naming them after a bioterrorist and enemy of humanity is a strange move, isn't it? Someone secretly respects him.

Chapter 8: Conclusion

Keeping all the previous points in mind, it's hard to seriously argue that Wesker is dead. There are too many hints that he can't be killed. There are also hints that he has a clone (two different characters with Wesker's voice in Umbrella Corps).

Once again, the "understatement" in his "death" is a brilliant decision, it's a bridge to the future that will serve as an excuse for "why he's alive" if they bring him back, or an excuse for "why he's dead" if Capcom don't want to use him again. But considering how often we see mentions of him and hints of being alive, Capcom really want back him as soon as possible.

[dodgeballstuckonthegymceiling]

May you do some rottmnt boys headcannons for how they would react if Draxum tells them that they were y/n pet turtle before he stole and mutated them

It feels weird to write this with a romantic relationship so Im going to make this plutonic.

Raph Leo Donnie and Mikey finding out there are the readers old pet.

🐢 Anime boy backstory 🐢

Before Draxum started the mutation process, before he got ahold of Splinter, he needed some actual test subjects. You where an average New Yorker, you went to school and had a part time job and even had some unique pets that you where very attached to.

A alligator snapping turtle, a softshell, a red eared slider and a little box turtle. Draxum took interest in you because of your pets. Huginn and Muninn where sent out to find the perfect animals to mutate, that's when you where targeted by him.

On your way home from a trip to the vet to check up on your little guys health you got jumped. There was no possible way to get out but you where not about to leave your pets. You tried to run but after being picked up by Draxum's vines you got thrown against a wall, passing out. When you woke up your beloved pets where gone.

Raphael

★ He was the one who tracked you down after Draxum told him he once was someone's pet. It was kinda awkward expanding everything to you but after introducing himself you immediately pulled him in for a hug.

★ He kinda gets protective of you. But not from other people! Just in general, you took care of him when he was small. It's only fair that he does the same for you.

★ You and Raph end up being the responsible ones in there little family. The difference between getting in trouble with You instead of Raph is that you always lecture them for at least an hour. Also you get to say stuff like "I raised you better than this."

★ You get invited to every family movie night and everyone fights over who gets to sit next to you because you always cuddle with the closest person. turtle?

Leonardo

★ The reaction he had was similar to the one in in the gif above ⬆️. Yes, he was a plane old turtle once but it took him by surprise when it came out that he was a pet.

★ He's a total lap dog towards you, and only you. There's no getting out of it. He'd walk up to you and plop himself down on your lap and look up. You always give in and give him shell stitches. It's not weird if it's from you, okay!

★ His brothers collectively agree that you are now basically his babysitter. He gets into a fair amount of trouble, imagen Raphael saying "if you don't stop I'm telling y/n!" Or being the one who now yells at him after making bad discussions instead of raph.

Donatello

★ Blank face before quietly saying "What?" He knew that he was just a regular softshell but surprisingly he never thought about where he came from before getting mutated.

★ He gives you random tests on your knowledge of softshell turtles. Like you could be folding laundry and he'd just say "what is the proper temperature for a softshell turtle enclosure?" He does this to try and figure out if you where a good pet owner. He's come to the conclusion that you where a pretty good pet owner.

★ He wonders about what could've happened if Draxum never stole him and his brothers from you. Things could've turned out way differently, the thought comes back to him every once I awhile.

★ You know things about him that nobody else knows, like where he likes to be pet on his shell. But he refused to believe you without any proof. He is only slightly embarrassed when you demonstrate for him.

Michelangelo

★ *New parent acquired* He got really excited and asked a ton of questions. Did you get him from a pet store? How much did he cost? Do you still have his old habit??? He needs to know theses things!

★ If you have any photos of him and is brothers as regular turtles he's going to ask for copy's. Don't tell anyone but he's working on a family album in his free time.

★ You are now his older sister figure, no you aren't getting out of it. He comes to you when he needs help or has a problem with something or someone. He says that he inherited your kindness even though it doesn't work that way.

★He lowkey love's it when you pamper him like he is still your pet turtle. Doesn't matter if he's a big guy now! He wants chin scratches and lap pillows. Also he makes Draxum apologize for what he did to you.

[truths33k3r4]

PART 25 of the Mutation Situation Comic Dub is UP!!!!

All credit for the stellar art goes to @indieyuugure while I edited and lent my voice to do the dialogue and theme song in a Cappella. :) Epidemic Sound covered the music and sound effects!!

One more week guys.. And then the Mutation Situation will be finished. Just…. Wow. :) The time really has flown. I’ll miss voicing the 2012 boys, and will especially miss their handsome human faces and designs, but guys. GUYS. I can not WAIT to jump into a whole new original universe that Indie created for Indie TMNT. I am so HYPED!!!!!!

See you all next Saturday for the exciting conclusion of this incredible series. :) haha I sound like an old tv show host HA

To God be the glory!

~ Melissa

[midnightcreator12]

....thought on Mutant Mayhem Splinter at 4 am

Now, locically, pre-mutated Splinter probably looks and acts different than other rats because of story-telling reasons....

But what if he's a domestic rat?

It's not uncommon for people to think they can release their pet rats and they'll be fine. Especially impulse bought rodents and/or fish.

^^ Splinter is much lighter furred than every other rat we see in his flashback. He's also is built rounder, more on the 'cute' side.

And seems to have trouble bonding with other rats (odd, since rats are communal animals) and makes no mention of a family before the turtles (also odd, he would have had many siblings if his mom was a street rat)

And he retained his memories from being a normal rat but has a VERY personal vendetta against humans that may go beyond just 'humans were mean to me when I was a normal rat'

After all, if he grew up a street rat, that was just how things were. Everything was out to get you because you were at the bottom of the food chain. Why would he develop such a hatred for humans if them not liking him was just another factor of his life since day one?

So, what if he's a domesticated rat that someone bought, thinking a rat would be an easy or fun pet. But something happened (turned out a rat was a bad pet for this person or they moved or lost interest) and just put Splinter outside, thinking 'New York is full of rats, he'll be fine'

Splinter's anger towards humans started when the one that was supposed to take care of him left him alone. And everything from that point on just added to his conclusion, culminating in his attitude towards humans during the movie.

[honey-minded-hivemind]

Vampire Bat Mutant Reader AU, where Reader is an ex-ward of the joined Brotherhood and X-Men, and is possibly related to Wolverine or Sabretooth.

It's a dog eat dog world, and Reader is so, so tired of it. They hate being what they are. They hate being called a monster. And they hate, hate, HATE the people who turned their backs on them, who told them they weren't welcome anymore...

Reader can't help that they were hungry! They can't help that they were born like this. They can't change their mutations or be someone they're not. They can't do it anymore. They refuse.

So here they are, trying to figure out how to make sure they aren't immortal, and letting themself fade away as they refuse to drink blood or eat meat. It hurts, but... they don't want to be stuck on this miserable earth with these horrible people for the rest of eternity. So... they just need to make sure they aren't immortal... they just have to go on a bit longer, is all...

Except among the mutants, well... changes have happened. They're still fierce, dangerous, cold-hearted to their enemies and foes... but they're trying to be a bit better to their kids. Trying to be warmer, or more parental, more caring. They still don't let anyone get away with harming their kids. That's non-negotiable. But they'll try to not jump to conclusions so fast...

The newer mutants (Kurt, Kitty, Evan, and Todd) are excited about school, and at least trying to figure out their powers and make new friends (who aren't just their roommates and guardians). And they like the looks of this new kid, who has sharp eyes and bright teeth and seems a bit too depressed, a bit too lonely...

It's time to make a new friend!

And Reader is terrified that their old "family's" newest members are trying to be around them, because they're scared what will happen if the adults catch wind of this... would they actually kill Reader this time? Would they punish their kids, the way they did to Reader and Scott and Jean and the others? Or something worse?

(Scott is finding it hard to believe, but... the new kid... they look like... but it can't be... Reader? He... he has to tell Jean. Now.)

@thewickedweiner @sugar-soda What do y'all think? I thought, huh, what if Vampire Bat Mutanr Reader is a Dark AU, but mixed with good-old fashioned Creed or Howlett Reader too? Did I pull it off?

[kid-az]

All Tomorrow’s: Vanga Vangog’s Processor and Asteromorph’s HC’s

The grand finale of this saga of Vanga’s posthumans, and this one is on one of the saddest stories among the posthumans, the Mantelopes! In canon they had been born in bodies that made them unable to meaningfully interact in the world inspite of their sapience, and this would disappear quickly in a few thousand years as their songs of sorrow turn into regular mating songs and bellows.

Of course, that had not happen in Vanga’s timeline. Instead, the Asteromorph’s took interests on these posthumans due to the realization of their high intellect. This process, at first merely one of master and servant, would become a symbiotic one for both parties, with the Processors acting as the Asteromorph’s brains and memory-keepers, and the Asteromorphs the Processors hands and (Relative) brawn.

You can do a surprising amount with just a brain, and the Processor’s are the penultimate conclusion of that question, their relationship with the Asteromorphs making their empire far more technologically advanced and powerful than in canon, ironic considering the Asteromorph’s themselves wouldn’t become bigger brained.

-Their curious minds and natures made Processor’s extremely excited and interested on learning new ideas and things, to the point that they and the Asteromorph’s would make earlier contact with the Second Empire in this timeline, learning about all of their cultures and sharing some of their technology and ideas. This also had the benefit of stopping the Gravital’s from killing everyone.

-They kept their ancestral traditions of singing songs, their laryx (Voice box) being the only thing other than their brain to grow in size. Only instead of singing exclusively sorrowful songs, they instead sung songs of hope, rage, and so many other different emotions, including those only they can feel. Their laryx were so developed that they could mimic a ton of different sounds we couldn’t, including metal guitars, chainsaws, plane jet engines, and stuff that is beyond our hearing range.

-Most Processors are born offworld in the zero-gravity habitats of their Asteromorph Symbiotes, though there is still a very sizable trillions of them living in their home-Star system. This birthplace is effectively their version of Mecca, as almost every Processor visits once to several times during their lifetime. (With help from Asteromorph’s of course.)

-The Asteromorph’s are much less reclusive than in canon, and in fact a sizable amount of the population are now living in space habitats or even low-gravity worlds of other posthuman species. The highest populations of them live alongside the Modular People, Stickmen, Pterosapien’s, and the Satyriac’s .(Even they need to cut loose and party!)

-The Asteromorph’s knowledge of their ancient history, alongside the Processor’s general intelligence and assistance from the Second Empire, allowed them to find their ancestral homeworld earth far earlier. No one would inhabit the planet however, instead deciding to seed the almost deserted planet with new life from each of their worlds and millions of years later, when the sun threatens to blow up, they safely move earth into a new star system, allowing the introduced, establish and possibly sapient life to flourish.

-The Asteromorph’s and Processor’s of later times treat eachother like friends or even siblings, with an eachother being paired so long as they get along very well.

-After reaching connecting eachother’s consciousness’s, the Processor’s would offer their Asteromorph and other posthuman brethren the ability to do so as well, with them being able to agree or decline however they see fit.

-Once finding the Qu, this Posthuman empire would not horrifically mutate or kill every last one of them, instead deciding to strip them of all of their biotechnology, take down their leadership, and having them live alongside as equals….. the posthuman’s unwilling to stoop down to their abusers level.

-Like in canon, they would all disappear from this galaxy, but instead of it being a relatively ambiguous fate, the Author’s species would discover what had truly happened to humanity……… in that they had reached apotheosis and have left this universe altogether, instead deciding to seed new universe and life, so that they may love today, and seize all tomorrows.

[fruitcoops]

Debut

Day 5, ft. our black-cat lucid-dreaming king. Characters belong to @lumosinlove (sorry not sorry for what I did to your favorite boy) and header belongs to @noots-fic-fests!

Yesterday's movie: It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! (1966)

TW for mentioned movie-murder (nobody actually dies)

Regulus spared the glass double-doors hardly a glance before wrinkling his nose. It was hot out, sticky and steamy, and the direct sun pummeling the entire courtyard reeked of early September. Busy chatter ran rampant around him between flashes of color and blurry faces.

“I’m dead,” Regulus said decisively.

Next to him, Leo rolled his eyes and caught his tennis ball on the downswing. “You haven’t even been to first period.”

“This—” Regulus gestured at the main building, blindingly bright and stuffier than any high school had the right to be. “This is hell. Ergo, dead.”

“Tell me again in pre-calc and I’ll believe you.”

“You tested out of pre-calc,” Regulus reminded him, laying back on the hood of Leo’s car. The blue paint was unspecific and unassuming, almost black in certain lights. “And that’s an ugly sweater you’d never wear.”

Grey cotton switched to thick stripes by the time he looked at Leo next; the stupid silver chain remained around his neck. Leo frowned down at himself. “I like this sweater.”

“Hmm.” The characters didn’t tend to care whether Regulus interacted with them much or not. The plot plodded on until he shook himself awake or the blare of an alarm did it for him. It rarely came to a conclusive end.

“Natalie got a phone call last night from some weirdo on the landline,” Leo continued, tossing his ball back up in the air. “They were talking about…I dunno, I think he was asking her questions? Sounded like a guy, anyway.”

“Horrifying.”

“Kasey’s going over tonight with Finn’s brother to keep her company.”

Regulus stretched his back against the windshield and looked to the vast sky. No matter how far he tilted his head back, the old tin roof was always visible. It was a mutated version of his memories—he hadn’t tried very hard to remember what it looked like from the outside. Sirius had excelled there. Every professor remembered his name.

A thread on his baggy jeans was coming loose. If he allowed the dream to progress, Leo would no doubt call him later to inform him, distraught, that Kasey and Finn’s brother (whose name slipped Regulus’ mind constantly) and probably Natalie had died in some explosively gory fashion. It would be distressing despite the fallacy of it all, he’d drag himself awake, and then it would be three o’clock in the morning and he would be sweaty with adrenaline. Regulus had enjoyed the party at Leo’s new house. He’d prefer not to pay the cost of attendance (a rare seasonal hangover) before he absolutely had to.

Denim-on-denim warned him of a new presence before he could actively pick a new story. “O’Hara.”

“Babe, is he bothering you?” Finn’s voice dragged and drawled with California haze. Under his arm, Tremblay narrowed his eyes at Regulus. His bubblegum gave a violent pop.

“Not too bad,” Leo said playfully.

Did Finn even own a denim jacket? God, he probably did. Even Regulus’ imagination couldn’t have pinned something that specific from nothing. Maybe he should just let the rest of this murderous Riverdale-ass nonsense play out in its original form to punish that fashion nightmare.

“Can you wear a hoodie like a normal person?” he yawned. Apparently, he was overtired even in his sleep.

Finn fixed him with a comically disgusted look. “Why are you even here?”

Where the fuck had Regulus picked that accent from? “This is my high school,” he said. “I spent the whole night at your house, can I have some peace and quiet here?”

Logan popped another bubble. His scowl held far too little legitimate danger; if nothing else, that would have tipped Regulus off. The original outright animosity had rested much heavier on him than teenage pouting.

But there—on the steps. “Calisse de crisse,” he muttered, swinging himself down from the hood of Leo’s car.

The courtyard was almost perfect under his feet, as if he was feeling the asphalt through his old loafers. He had hated those goddamn shoes. He came to a sharp halt, right as his shadow fell across lined paper marked with meticulous, infuriating lines.

“Go away.”

Sirius blinked up at him. “Hi.”

“Stop,” Regulus insisted. “You’re not supposed to be here.”

“Why?”

“We didn’t go to high school together.” Honestly, it was so embarrassing for his brain to mix it up this badly. Valley-Girl Finn O’Hara was a nightmare in and of itself; the least his imagination could do was keep track of a timeline. “Put your physics away and leave.”

Sirius’ brow creased. “How did you know I was doing homework?”

“Unlucky guess.”

“How did you know it was—"

“Because you’re always doing your fucking physics in my nightmares!” Regulus dragged a hand down his face and gripped the back of his own neck. It felt like nothing, not even air. He squeezed his eyes shut and turned his face toward the clouds. “Yes, I understand, I hated the classes Sirius excelled in as an extension of my own complex inner world, merci, au revoir.”

When he looked down again, Sirius was gone. Remus Lupin leaned on the railing by the bay windows, looking out over the river. He had a book in one hand and a bloody knife in the other.

Regulus stared at him.

“No.”

It was Leo when he blinked. A dark robe and everything, and that tennis ball instead of a book. His face got a little fuzzy in profile, but cleared up when he looked at Regulus head-on.

Regulus tipped his head back and forth. “Better.”

He walked with Leo through the never-ending halls. Some were direct rip-offs of his actual high school, down to the navy lockers and their silver buckles. Others had been borrowed: a staircase from elementary school, a music room from Steinhardt, the artificial glow of Sirius’ basement skating rink around a corner. His stomach swooped at the sight of the broken dumbwaiter he and Sirius had used for hide and seek, and he ground his teeth hard.

He had his loafers on. His khakis were tight on his thighs. Leo’s footsteps made no sound.

“I think you’re supposed to be a serial killer,” Regulus noted on their third circuit of the second floor. “With a mask and everything.”

“Oh.” Leo sounded almost disappointed. “I mean, I could?”

“I might just be bad at imagining that.”

“Should’ve stuck with Lupin,” Leo agreed.

“I can go off and find him—”

“Don’t leave me here,” Leo groaned, walking backward for a few floppy steps that made him look more like himself than he had the whole time.

Regulus huffed. “Neither of you pose much of a danger to me.”

“I think we do, in a way.”

--

No.

The thought was forceful enough to pull Regulus to the surface. He exhaled hard, blinking fast until his left eye decided to get with the program and open properly.

The stove’s electric clock told him it was just past two in the morning. Not bad.

He sighed. His feet, tangled in the fresh sheets Leo had laid out for him, still felt too compressed. That explained the loafers. He could get up for a few minutes; make a snack, take a walk around the still-sparse main floor of the house. He didn’t hear anyone else up yet.

Or he could stay here, burrowed in a quilt that smelled lightly of magnolia. The sheets let his legs free when he stretched, still shaking off the scent of bubblegum and industrial cleaning solution. He was tired. Perhaps a little drunk, enough to dull the oncoming throbbing behind his temple. The sugar rush was long dead.

Regulus tucked his nose down into a butter-yellow square and shut his eyes. Being asleep was an exhausting business. He had too many questions. There was too much to nitpick. Too much psychoanalysis to avoid.

The sheer audacity of Leo to pull some therapy trick in Regulus’ own dream. As if he wouldn’t be aware of it, as if he’d fall into the trap that easily. Regulus muffled a frown in the quilt. If Leo, the real one, was an actual danger to anything but the occasional low doorframe, he wouldn’t be on the foldout in the first place. Really, it was just lazy writing.

Do better, Regulus thought as he shuffled deeper into his cocoon. From the top, this time.

[rowniebow]

Tasm!pete loosing m!reader after Gwen but reader comes back cause marvel shenanigans 😍 and sees Peter beyond broken and tries to comfort him ?

the last time | tasm!peter parker x male!reader

pairings: tasm!peter parker x male!reader

cw: death, wa-oh, is it considered angst? a lil bit o cursin, no way home mentions

word count: 3.3k+

an: no way home had such nice closure for tasm!peter, so happy bout it. thank you so much for requesting! hopefully ill be getting through the other few i have before winter break is over n i gotta go back to work + college. stay safe, happy new year if i don't have anything else till then!

masterlist

⭒

"damn it," you huffed, holding peter's heavy, limp body close. you leaned against the turned over car, taking a moment to find your thoughts.

you squeezed your boyfriend in your arms, hoping he could feel your silent prayers that he would wake up and save the day like he always does.

but as the stomping got closer and his breathing stayed shallow and struggled, you came to the conclusion that he was not going to be able to help you this time.

you, as quietly as you could, grunted while moving peter on to your back. your sore muscles ached. your ripped skin pulled. your bleeding wounds burned.

peter's limp body draped over your back easily. your legs took you to behind another set of turned over cars. to your relief, the villain didn't see you two moving at all. maybe he was too consumed with trying to take down the manhatten bridge that you were desperate to get off of.

you set your sights on your next set of rubble that you'd go for coverage to. your legs seemed to drain of adrenaline with every step you took. your feet felt as if bricks were piling on them, and the dragging began.

within so few feet of the large rubble pile, filled with car parts and pieces of the bridge the large villain was tearing from the bridge, your foot caught on something, sending your heavy bodies toppling over. your elbows and knees seemed to hit every booming metal possible, and echoes of clatter rang out over the bridge.

the monster drew it's attention to your fleeting body and began making it's way towards you.

you unknowingly prayed it didn't see you as you pulled peter into your arms and crouched into the rubble. your breathing was heavy, and you were sure this villain could hear that whether he saw you or not.

your prayers failed to be answered, yet again.

the monster took his ginormous hand and swiped the large rubble pile away as if it were crumbs on a table.

you looked up at him - he was some sort of animal mutation. an ape the size of a whale with claws similar to a cat and skin similar to a lizard. he had as many eyes as a spider (which made your skin crawl) and the teeth of a shark.

you don't know what peter had gotten himself into with this guy, all you knew is how determined this monstrosity was to reveal spider-man's identity.

the creature's odd hand's came down quickly, smacking you two a great distance away. you kept a tight hold on peter, your hands moving to protect his head and neck while you two were in the air.

so very lucky for you, though, that you got to land on your back onto the hard gravel and peter's body came flopping on top of you, his head on your chest.

you gasped for breath, the air in your lungs seeming to have lost it's way. you back burned from the many small glass shards finding their own way into your skin.

your arms went limp from exhaustion, only your hands being able to grip on to peter's arms to keep you in touch with reality.

you felt the large creature's booming steps make their way towards you, and you did your best to try and sit up with peter. but of course, your exhaustion proved to be stronger than you, and his steps quicker.

you only mustered a pleading look, but of course the immoral being paid no mind to you, only snatching peter's limp body up.

a toothy grin (if you could even call it that) pulled at the creatures face. the pleasure it got as it tried to slip it's claw under peter's mask practically made the monster shake.

you took the rare leisurely speed of the creature as an opportunity, grabbing a nearby pipe, and using the last bit of your strength to throw it at the creature.

the pipe landed painfully in one of the many eye's of the creatures. the creature winced as if it were a mere eyelash that got in it's eye. all of the eyes looked directly at you. the glare it gave you nearly made you throw up, but you choked it back.

the creature tossed peter's body, the impact causing him to slowly gain consciousness again.

he slowly blinked his eyes open, the sheer of the mask over his eyes brought him back to the reality of the situation.

his head throbbed, the pain filtered into his eyes. the daylight was too much for him. he felt every part of him to an intense degree. each and every nerve was more than aware of the state of his body.

but through the sheer of his mask and through the pain of his body, he heard your arguments in the distance with the creature that, he only now is coming to remember, is supposed to be dead by now.

you were wrapped in the creature's odd, almost snake-like fingers. you desperately, weakly struggled as he tightened his grip.

you cough and groaned feeling your ribs break one by one under his pressure.

peter couldn't make out exactly what you two were saying to each other. the ringing in his ears too loud to hear anything, really.

but he saw mouths moving, and by the frown on the creatures face, he could only assume your sassy mouth got the best of you.

but the creature wouldn't have any of it. he raised his free hand, pointer finger out.

peter got to his knees, the world seemed to move in slow motion as he realized what was happening.

he yelled out a protest, pushing himself to his feet, the adrenaline suddenly fueling him like a truck.

but his yell meant nothing.

the claw went right through your torso.

the creature smiled, withdrew his hand and merely tossed you aside.

rage filled peter's bones. he was blind. he felt as if he passed out, only coming back to reality when he was standing over the creatures now deceased body.

peter stumbled to you desperately, the adrenaline carrying him farther than he should be able to go.

"peter-," you coughed out, struggling to sit up in an attempt to greet him.

"no, no, no," peter kneeled beside you, a hand under your back and the other hovering over your body, unsure of what to do. "save your breath, baby, we're gonna get you to a hospital, okay?"

peter tried to slip a hand under your legs to pick you up. your quiet groans and breathy 'ow's' stopped him, however, and he set you back down on the ground, not wanting to put you in any further pain.

"honey, please-," peter began to scan down your body. he wanted to find the wound, stop it from hurting you. he'd do anything.

"no, peter," you grabbed his face and redirected his sights back to you. "don't look at that, look at me." you smiled. your tired eyes were glazed over.

your fingers that hardly seemed to work made their way under his mask and pulled it over peter's head. the mask came off and revealed peter biting his lip, eyes full of tears.

"it's okay, sweetie,"

"no! it's not okay! don't- you can't leave me-,"

"i'm not leaving you, sweetheart,"

"you are, you are. i can't-i can't be without you,"

your hands kept on his cheeks and the smile on your face never left. you didn't want him to see you in pain. you didn't want him to remember you upset - because you aren't.

peter's tears soaked your fingers.

"i would never leave you, sweetheart, i'm-i'm not leaving."

peter broke away from your hands to look down and search for the culprit.

"hey," you quiet, breathy voice and weak fingers drew him back to your eyes. "stop, stop. just- me, look at me,"

"i-i love you,"

"i love you, too, peter," your droopy lids threatened to close but you refused. "you're doing great things, okay? you're-you're going to keep doing great things, okay?"

"okay," he stuttered through cries.

"p-promise me,"

"i promise,"

"you have to promise me, peter,"

"i do, i do, i promise,"

you nodded, leaning back on to the rubble, peter's hand still resting on your back. your eyes slowly searched for peter's hand, reaching and intertwining your weak fingers with him.

tears fell faster as he grabbed your hand firmly, not too tight in case you'd break.

"i'm not leaving you, okay, peter?"

"okay,"

"i'm-i'm not,"

"okay," his words of assurance were a stark contrast to his stuttering, sobbing, sadness.

"i l-love you,"

"i love you too, i love you so much,"

"keep doing good,"

"i promise, i will,"

the smile never faded, but peter watched as your glow did.

he watched as the light in your eyes left with your final blink. as the strength in your hand weakened. as the stiffness in your back collapsed onto his hand.

he pulled your limp body into a one-sided hug. your arms failed to wrap around his neck like they always used to. the crinkles in your eyes were soft and smooth. he seemed to be hyper aware of your breathless nose in the crook of his neck.

and he cried. he sobbed and screamed and pleaded for you to come back. that he didn't want to be without you, not again. he was miserable before you came in to his life and picked him off of the ground and rose him higher.

and peter was left alone on the manhatten bridge.

left alone with his anger and sadness once again.

⭒⭒

"okay, i have coffee, hot chocolate for ned's lola, and a little bit of whiskey for the man who's best friend just died," you muttered closing the door to ned's house carefully, hands full of the grocery bags full of candy and alcohol and stated drinks.

turning around, your sad eyes found the ones of the men standing around with the two children you were responsible for the safety of while peter and your, now deceased, best friend handled the criminals from the other dimension.

"oh, i would have got more coffee if i knew we were having guests," your shocked eyes scanned the unfamiliar men. "and, more alcohol," you looked the man in the spider-man costume up and down.

you smiled in spite of the awkward silence of all five people staring at you.

"oh, here, ned's lola," you grinned brightly handing the hot chocolate to the older woman.

"i'm going to bed!" she walked away, hot chocolate in hand.

"what's wrong with her?" you quirked an eyebrow over to ned.

the man in the spider-man costume muttered your name, and you finally met his teary eyes.

"hi, have we met?" you smiled softly, setting the full drink holder down on the table.

"they're peter parker's from other dimensions and i'm a wizard now! i can make portals with my bare hands!" ned burst out, his hands flying everywhere, while mj grabbed at a coffee, downing it without thought.

"i need a second," the 'peter' in the spider-man suit went for the door you had just come out of.

"oh, no, no, no, no! you are going to sit here with us-," mj began, shakily pointing between him and a chair.

"i just need a second!" he repeated louder, cutting mj off.

everyone stood watching as he left, slamming the door a bit, only to open it, let out a small apology to ned's lola, and close it again, gently.

"can you- i cannot- what the hell," mj muttered panicked under her breath.

your eyes lingered on the closed door. you grabbed your coffee as mj continued with her sputtering.

"hi," the nicely dressed man smile. "i'm peter, and he is peter, too."

"okay! sure," you smiled back, confusion written over your features with all that's happened. "peter's are here, too, now?" you looked to ned and mj.

ned, still in awe, nodded hurriedly. mj threw her hands up, lips forming into a thin line.

"okay, is he-," you gestured to the door. "is he okay?"

mj shrugged, obviously tired and confused, and most of all, worried. worried for peter, who you three had no idea of the location of.

"okay, don't worry about it, hon," you smiled and made your way towards the door. "nice to, uhm, meet you, mr.-," you stuttered over your words.

you still don't really understand all the multiverse stuff all too much, despite peter's explanation. you understood very well that you weren't the smartest when it came to the three brilliant science loving children, but when peter was explaining the whole situation to you, you'd never felt more similar to a wall.

"mr. parker?"

"yes," he nodded, and began speaking more directly to ned and mj about where your peter was and how he'd been looking for him.

you took the opportunity to sneak out of the door.

⭒⭒⭒

'peter' sat on the step to the house. his mind was full of you.

why were you here?

i mean, obviously it's not you, it's just you.

but you're so similar - why are you so similar?

why did you smile at him like that? like he was safe? you don't know him, peter shouldn't be safe to you. but, when he thought about it, you never treated anyone as if they weren't safe. that was something he loved about you.

you would have liked the shirt you are wearing, he would have bought you it as a gift if he saw it in a passing window.

his thoughts ran with all these insignificant thoughts about the two you's.

he wondered if your favorite color was the same, or if you had pets in this universe. or why you looked so damn similar.

he missed you, peter wasn't going to argue against that to anyone. it'd only been a couple of years. it's too soon to see you. fuck, it'd probably always be too soon.

"hey," he heard your voice. the tears that threatened his eyes finally blinked their way out of him. too soon, too soon, too soon, too soon. "are you okay?"

he found it insane how, even still with a different you, your voice is able to cut through any negative thoughts he was having. how you could quiet his mind and fill it with the most pleasant music.

of course you'd come out and check up on him. of course you're just as kind as you were. you are you, after all. no universe could lack your infinite warmth.

"i'm-i'm good, yeah,"

peter's voice cracked. he wanted to laugh at his bad acting.

you were silent for a bit.

peter stifled his sniffs and wiped at his cold, runny nose.

"you don't seem very 'good'." you repeated, hesitantly sitting next to him, a comfortable distance between you two. you silently handed him your coffee, which he slowly took hold of, keeping it close and muttering a thanks.

"i-i, um," peter went over his options and words.

he wanted to share with you. it's you: the person he told and shared every single thought with just two years ago, why wouldn't he want to share his thoughts with you? even if it's about how you died.

"there was a you in my universe,"

he noticed your eyebrows raise in interest. he noticed the sparkle in your eyes. "really?"

you always thought science was cool. you loved the idea of multiple universes, always coming up with different theories of how you'd be in different ones.

god, how he wished he could report back to you about this you.

he finally looked over to meet your eyes. you observed the redness and how glassy his eyes were.

"yeah, yeah, he-," peter choked on his words, not necessarily ready to share his darkest moments. even if it is with you. "tell me about yourself?"

"what?"

"what is your life like?"

you were taken aback by his statement. the only thing running through his mind was how you reacted the same when he asked you about your life in an effort to get to know you at the very beginning.

"oh-, i don't know how to summarize a life,"

peter felt his lips tug up a bit at your words. you're so awkward and nervous, just like you were at the start.

"i have a nice life. i mean it's been a lot recently with peter's whole identity thing. i have- erm," you coughed, choking on your words, remembering the news announcing her to have died. you let your eyes fall to the ground. "i had a really great best friend and we, you know. i helped her raise peter after ben,"

"who? aunt may?"

your pained eyes looked up and found his. "you know may?"

"i-i was raised by my aunt may, too."

"did i-?"

"no, no, you-" peter felt a sob kick in his throat. "you and i, we-uhm. you were my mj."

you felt your glassy eyes widen. your eyebrows finding your hairline.

you did find him cute. you two were certainly much more similar in age compared to your peter being on verge of eighteen

"i was?"

"you were,"

"what-what happened?"

"i-," peter swallowed his words but they kept resurfacing. "i got involved with someone who was trying to expose my identity, too. but you-you saved me. but i-i couldn't save you."

"oh," you watched his eyes train on the ground. they scrunched together in an effort to build a wall against himself. his fists balled up, his fingers bruising his palms.

you scooted closer. you wanted to keep your distance for his comfort. but, if you two were that close in his universe, you're sure he wouldn't mind how close you sat.

your arm fell onto his back, rubbing it in smooth circles. you took attention to how different his suit compared to the one you were most familiar with.

"you don't blame yourself, do you?" you almost heard a small laugh in his throat, and you suddenly became embarrassed by your question, "sorry, that was dumb. you're you, of course you do,"

he laughed louder, more hearty. more full.

you always had a way of making him laugh despite the circumstances.

"don't-don't blame yourself," you tripped over your words. "if-if i'm anything like me," you squinted your eyes at how odd the sentence was, "then i'm sure i was fully aware of the situation."

peter looked over to you. what a surreal experience it was, to be getting consoled about your death by you.

"i thought it was worth it. my life for yours. i feel the same about the peter from this universe. i'm sure i wanted you to be happy and continue doing good things,"

peter flinched at words that felt too similar to the sentiment you left him with.

"i wouldn't want you to stay grieving over me like this, peter. i don't want you to grieve over me like this. i want you to be happy and enjoying the life i left for"

peter's lack of sounds or movements stirred the pot of anxiety in your stomach. your fingers twitched and your eyebrows felt knitted together.

you didn't think twice about your instinct to very gently wrap your arms around him.

an arm crossed over his chest and tugged on his shoulder to pull him into you. your other hand made it's way into his hair, and you ran your fingers through the messy brownness.

he leaned into your touch, he'd never fight an opportunity to feel your touch again, even just once more. his head found its way onto your shoulder.

"i'm-i'm sorry, i'm not good with words," you whispered.

he laughed, tears falling despite his happiness to be in your arms. at least he can take it in and a enjoy it this time, truly absorb you knowing this would be the last time.

"it's okay, i know,"

you two sat like that for a long time. no words, just your hands nervously in his hair and his head relaxing on your shoulder, face in your neck.

you worried you smelled bad, and how badly you were with your words, whether you upset him more, if he could hear your heartbeat.

peter disregarded everything, though.

he took in your sweet smell, you smelled the same as you. he went over your words in his head, appreciating your thoughtfulness. he'd learned to decode what you and others felt were messy sentences. your "messy sentences" became the only ones he truly felt he could understand.

and he very much could hear how fast your nervous heartbeat was.

[celosiaceo]

Last-minute Arcane theory

Dropping my inactivity streak to write out my last-minute Viktor theory before act 3 drops 🎀

ARCANE SEASON 2 ACT 2 SPOILERS UNDER CUT

I found Viktor’s new commune cult and the iridescent transformations on the people he “healed” to be very interesting, as well as the way that the Hexcore changed to be something more organic rather than mechanical-automatic.

With that I kind of got invested in poking at what exactly the hexcore became and what it was actually doing to people. And I think that it’s all a mushroom!!!

A big part of that conclusion to me is a polymer in mushrooms called chitin — in fungi, some mollusks, sea organisms, and insects use chitin as a structural polymer to build cell walls (in fungi) and exoskelletons (in mollusks, shellfish and insects)

When it’s pure, chitin is pliable, tough, resilient and in thin layers is translucent like in insect wings. In thin layers it can organize itself in stacks of photonic crystals which create iridescent colors when light hits them, which reminds me of a thing or two

(for sidenotes, the shiny marks that the people get seem to have a metallic sorta glimmer to them, which I think references titanium prosthetic implants that are very common in today’s medicine!! the shiny medal combined with iridescent chitin could in theory make something that looks similar visually, not sure if chitin can actually be combined with metal or not tho, and would coincide with the marks being placed on the ailed parts of people like prosthetics)

As chitin isn’t a “native” molecule to mammals or plants, both have immune receptors that can recognize chitin and initiate an immune response to destroy it if it’s detected within the organism

mammals have those receptors mainly in their lungs or intestines, but they can also be on the skin

Plants too have receptors that can set off the defense response against chitin but! Commensal mushrooms (that leech off a host for nutrition without harming or benefitting the host) have a way to shut this defense (it’s not understood how as of now), and some pathogen fungi can release proteins that block those receptors and mask chitin so the immune response isn’t activated — which could be why the “healed” peoples’ bodies don’t reject the transmutation despite not being injected with shimmer like Viktor had been

Because it’s a natural compound, chitin can also be made really biocompatible (compatible with the organism, not rejected by the immune system), and for that it has many applications in real life medicine being tested in the current time! Those include tissue regeneration, wound dressings or cancer treatments (also sounds pretty familiar, as the "healing" cured tumours caused by shimmer and various mobility disabilities and injuries)!

Another thing that further got me convinced in the hex-shroom theory is the prosperity of the commune — when it started, it looked like a barren wasteland with some metal scraps scattered around, but just after 6-7 months (that’s how long I heard the timeskip between act 1 and act 2 was) there’s flower fields and fully grown fruit trees? A mutated ”mushroom on steroids” could in fact be behind that in theory

Fungi are aaancient organisms, and they can form soil from inorganic matter by breaking it down for nutrition, they also very much enrich existent soil, and many mushroom species form symbiotic relationships with plants. and back to chitin, it can be used in agriculture to improve plants’ pathogen resistants, growth and defence against pests! So if the whole place is infused with the hex-shroom, it’s very possible that it’s also behind the agricultural boom, or “healing the land”, in the commune too! This thought train got me really concerned about Vi actually, and made me wonder if her suddenly considering joining the commune after eating several of the local fruits wasn’t a coincidence…

So how do people iridescent markings turn into the things Jayce sees in his flashbacks? I suspect the hex-shroom an be behind that too!

I suspect that the hex-shroom consumes the host over time and replaces their human tissue with itself. People in the commune end up with increasingly more hex-mushroom in their body from the “healing” that slowly becomes harder and takes their bodies over while their natural defenses are silenced, and because everything they eat has grown from the soil that the mushroom formed and with the help of the mushroom as a fertilizer and growth agent

Chitin also explains the transition of the markings to the wood-like material itself. When combined with some additional molecules or stacked in thicker fibrils chitin becomes way harder and stiffer and loses its translucense, becoming more of a dull color as it gains density. In it can form incredibly strong microfibrils that are harder and stronger than bone or steel!! In hindsight this explains why Viktor only ended up with a hole in his chest and not reduced to atoms by Jayce’s shot while the whole roof behind him was obliterated

Since the people don’t have mouths or eyes and appear to be hollow (missing brains or other organs), they look like mushroom stalks a lot to me, since those are often hollow too. By then they’re probably sustained entirely by hex energy from the core in a kinda invisible hyphae network and their senses work off of it too by group communication through the network (through the glowing fingerprint marks) or something.

The way the healing entirely removes the people’s sense of self-preservation very quickly also reminds me a lot of the cordiceps mushroom, which overtakes the host’s body and makes it put itself in open spaces where it’d be easily eaten by predators

Ok but why would the hexcore (and the hex matrix too) turn into a mushroom specifically?

I thought about that too, then I remembered that the hexcore started mutating after absorbing Viktor’s blood, and the matrix probably started mutating after Viktor coughed down the tunnel leading down to it all the way back in s1e5 (thats the only reason that’d make sense to me, since arcane had done insane foreshadowing like that before)…

With that in mind, it’s very possible that Viktor’s affliction is some sort of chronic fungal infection of the lungs — he’d be at a high risk of any given chronic infection, due to growing up in the fissures with health compromised by the Grey.

And so the hexcore and the matrix absorbed his blood and the pathogen fungus within it and mutated, adapting to the fungus’s functions and patterns, even down to looking like mycelium/hyphae while healing Viktor.

If before it acted like nuclear energy, serving whatever purpose it was given without its own motivation, now it has a motivation; to propagate and spread and infect, corrupting the minds of its host to not let itself die out, the way it manipulates Viktor’s, the primary host’s mind to believe that “healing” others of both ailment and identity aligns with his altruistic motives of actually saving lives and the way it removes any self-preservation of its secondary hosts

Anyways I’m shaking and crying over the prospects of act 3 god save us all idk how I'm gonna fall asleep today... preparing my tear glads

[supremechancellorrex]

I've been thinking about what the Bad Batch means to me these past few weeks and things just don't quite sit right. When I started watching the Clone Wars, it felt like a lot of love and care had been poured into the project. The clones had unique personalities built from the ground up, with even minor characters getting quirks. Hevy only appeared in two episodes, yet is so loved. Hardcase is missed despite only really appearing in one arc because of expert character crafting and real, actual effort with the writing.

The point of the Clone War was that the clones were individuals, they had agency and they could have an impact on their lives and others. Referred to as 'property', with no representation or rights, they are slave soldiers in function, who are biologically identical although at times with slight variation, but their personalities and motivations matter and have weight. This is why Fives nearly ruins Palpatine's plans. This is why Rex is able to resist the inhibitor chip in Order 66 and help save Ahsoka.

This is why I'm not sure I can forgive the Bad Batch.

Spitting on Grandpa

When the Bad Batch started, I was initially quite excited because it was advertised as a sequel to the Clone Wars. The first episode opens up with the title 'The Clone Wars' fading into the Bad Batch, but the show is anything but because the 'regs', as normal clones have been dubbed, don't matter now. Instead, the only characters with agency are a special group of clones who mostly don't look like the clones based on Jango Fett (Temuera Morrison) or even scientifically fit the basic definition of what a 'clone' is.

How is this not meant to be insulting for TCW and the Clone Fandom? I watch normal clones like Commander Wilco get shot in the face. I watch Mayday choke and die for Crosshair's development. I watch Rex play second fiddle to the Bad Batch on screen, the man and leader who used to always say "I'm always first, kid" and take the reins. I watch Cody appear for an episode only to not appear again this season and have no impact on the narrative other than Crosshair's development. Can 'regs' no longer change the world? Do the 'boring', 'regular' slave soldiers have no impact anymore?

Echo: "The fate of all the clones is now sealed because of us."

When it comes to normal clones impacting the narrative, the closest we get is Rex's resistance network, which features actual clones actually doing something. Yet apparently an episode about the Bad Batch discovering an island paradise world and battling a tsunami deserves more screen time than seeing how the 'regs' set that one up. Even this plot point is less about finally saving Howzer and normal clones like him, and more about Echo not being with the Bad Batch and further setting up the plot regarding Tech and Crosshair. The normal clones remain non-entities outside of the Bad Batch's development, they have no agency beyond this.

This is why we see stock reg clone characters bully the Bad Batch in the Season 1 opening, because despite them all being slaves under the thumb of fascism and the fact normal clones treated Ninety-Nine (the beloved hunchback clone from TCW Season 3) fine, it's the Bad Batch's plight that only matters now, their persecuted perspective on being special and better than the regs, regs that are now treated as old news, an afterthought. The world feels small, and inexcusably less richer than it was.

Essentially, we're no longer allowed to see what the reg clones motivations are, why there are reg clones that actually, canonically, dislike the Bad Batch as opposed to Ninety-Nine. People like to speculate, but on screen we are not shown or told in TBB. We're also not shown why all the named clones from Howzer, Mayday, Fireball, Gregor and Nemec to Cut, Cody and Rex never had issues with the differences other than they're the good regs I guess. Hell, even Cody and Mayday's remaining squad say nothing of Crosshair's mutations, not even one catty comment.

Conclusion

So, what does this mean? The Bad Batch steals the clones' agency and makes it their own. They wear the clone identity, but refuse to help normal 'reg slave' clones that look like actual clones in favour of focusing on themselves and their 'more important' personal problems. The Bad Batch are special not because of who they are or that they've worked hard, but because they look different from other clones, because they're just more capable and have special abilities. It's not who you are that counts, it's what you are.

And, now, I even see fans doing what TCW told us not to, disregarding normal clones, 'explaining' why the Bad Batch are fine to leave the reg clones to die because they called them "The Sad Batch" one time. Somehow the Bad Batch undoes all of TCW's work, stripping the clones of their agency and making them into just victims sleepwalking into extinction as we wait for the Bad Batch to consider trying to actively save them.

Echo: "The fate of all the clones is now sealed because of us."

And, then the rest of TBB go cave exploring and holidaying on Pabu. This series might as well be about natborns.

[seriousbrat]

Do you think Lily’s patronus makes sense as a Doe? Because when I think of Does I think docile, timid, fragile, sensitive and fearful and Lily doesn’t quite match that description. I know patronuses aren’t always 1:1 with the wizard’s personality but usually there is some overlap (Sirius is loyal and protective, James encapsulates the positive and negative qualities of a stag with his leadership and strength but also the toxic masculinity, Remus is needing of a pack and is also clever etc.). So do you think there is some part of a doe or what they symbolizes that fits with Lily’s character OR do you think her patronus changed to match James who’s already was a stag?

If you’ll allow me to ramble about my own theories here for a minute than I would like to say that I actually believe that her’s changed. I think this mostly due to JKR saying this in a interview awhile ago when someone asked if it was a coincidence that jily had matching patronuses: “No, the Patronus often mutates to take the image of the love of one's life (because they so often become the 'happy thought' that generates a Patronus).” Her statement implies (or more outright states) that there was a change of patronus for atleast one of jily, And since James was already a stag animagus at 15 we can assume that his patronus was always one (further evidence is that McGonagall’s patronus and animagus is both a cat).

I personally believe that patronuses are a manifestation of hope, the desire to go on, and the idea of what to continue living/fighting for (“The Patronus is a kind of positive force, a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon — hope, happiness, the desire to survive” from Lupin, and then Luna says this while helping Harry conjure one in DH “"We're all still here," she whispered, "we're still fighting. Come on, now...”). So I think given this it makes a lot of sense for Lily’s patronus to change to reflect an image of James. She is a targeted individual in her new small society that is at war and there isn’t much hope to be found anywhere, but she finds hope in James because he represents the life she wants to have that’s not connected to the war, a normal happy family. Her “happy thought” in the midst of death and destruction is family and love (also meaning this is what she wants to preserve and fight for, and it is ultimately what she dies for.)

It’s also interesting that her patrounus takes a female form, we know it’s possible for characters to have a patrounus that differ from their gender but that isn’t the case here. And while I know the doylist answer has to do with JKR’s views on femininity and gender in general, from the watsonisan perspective this could mean a couple things:

She is a doe because her hope lies within her being James’ wife and partner (like the family thing I said above. It’s not about the title or status of being a “wife” but about the normalcy, safety, intimacy and love that it represents)

She is a doe because her identity is separate enough from James where she wouldn’t mirror him but instead be her own version (possible, but less symbolically satisfying to me lol).

Or is it just something else entirely?

anyways sorry I didn’t mean for that to be that long lolll, but If you vibe with my “Lily patronus changed theory” what do you think it was before?

Also I consider you a lily expert so if you think this theory is trash or missing something lmk lmao

omg wait this is very interesting and absolutely NOT trash!! to be honest with you, I've thought about this a little myself before and never come up with a wholly conclusive answer. But personally I think it's very possible that Lily's patronus might have changed. I skirted around this issue in my fic by not having Lily produce a corporeal patronus until she was already with James lol.

Re: the doe, obviously in real life many prey animals are skittish, shy, and fearful because that's how they survive. This includes male deer too, because they will also startle easily. But I think that Lily could definitely be said to have qualities that are doe-like in a more symbolic way: grace, beauty, a gentle and caring nature, devotion to her young. I think it is an animal that fits Lily in many ways, and I think the symbolic/mythological meaning associated the animal is maybe more relevant than how the real animal behaves in the wild.

But even though I think Lily has doe-like qualities I don't think this precludes her patronus having become a doe because of James. It's more about the person she grew into, alongside James, than her identity totally changing because of her relationship. I think it still represents her, she IS the doe but she just grew into that person over time.

If Lily's patronus did change to mirror James, I REALLY like your idea that it reflects what she most cares about, that James (and what he represents to her) becomes her happiest thought and what she's fighting to survive for. Not just James, but later also Harry- whose Patronus is also eventually a stag.

As for what it might have been before (or had she never met James) it's a difficult question! I recently assigned patronuses to all the order members for ease of writing and lowkey I feel like I've run out of animals lol. I could see her as some kind of bird perhaps (I always feel like I default to giving people birds though lol) maybe a dove... or a seabird of some sort. I've always really liked the storm petrel, which is thought of as intrepid and brave and is known to fly through terrible weather, it cares for its single young, and has apparently been used as a revolutionary symbol. There's something really beautiful and dignified about them to me, they're lonely but resistant which could fit Lily's position as a Muggleborn amidst the war, if she hadn't fallen for James and joined the Order with him. So that's my first thought-- I'd be open to ideas though!

[tokiro07]

Toki Reads Shonen Jump 2024, Issue #52

HxH: Morena's card game begins, and she exposits that she was conceived in a state-sanctioned non-consensual orgy; Borksen learns that thanks to Nen restrictions, she actually does have actually does have an escape route. The implications of Morena's backstory are certainly staggering, but also lost on me

Yozakura: Taiyo has an "I know you're in there" fight with himself, ending with him expelling Asa by shooting himself in the heart. Taiyo's willingness to damage his own body to make it uninhabitable to Asa doesn't seem ideal, but definitely preferable to being possessed

Undead Unluck: Soul tries to force Andy and Victor's souls back together, but Rip cuts them apart permanently with Unrepair. This is Rip's capstone, where he finally uses Unrepair for someone else's happiness instead of ruining his own with it

Roboco: Roboco writes more shameless ripoff manga, but finally learns that her own original material is a lot better. I have no faith that this lesson will stick

Sakamoto: Atari's luck has literally run out; she reveals to Tenkyu that his friendship w/ Uzuki is irreparable; Shin resolves to kill Tenkyu, even if it means severing ties with Sakamoto. Both Tenkyu and Shin are losing their friends because they're killing in their name against their wishes; Atari's an idiot for using such an obscene amount of luck last chapter just to fire ONE bullet

EluSam: Tokiyuki and realKojiro gush over Kojiro as he fights Nagao; the scene cuts away to Mima getting into architecture and interior design. This seems to have an affect on enemy morale, but I feel like it's not worth ignoring what seems to be Kojiro's most important fight

Witch Watch: The flashback gang discusses the legacy of Familiars and their prejudice towards humanity; Kuon warms up to the team, and Taiga raises more death flags. The idea of magic fading away as a sign of peaceful times is a topic I've been thinking about a lot lately because I've been revisiting Medaka Box; this may inform a future essay

Blue Box: Taiki endears himself to Chinatsu's dad with his earnest, if a bit overbearing, nature. I'm glad we're not drawing out the tension too much, it makes the dad more relatable

Akane: Despite Miroku's refusal to let them perform, Shiguma and Issho learn enough rakugo for Kiroku to give them a slot; Miroku offers to grant Kiroku his name and rank if he will use it to expel the pair. This is clearly the event that led to the founding of the Arakawa School, but even with a foregone conclusion, it's a nailbiter

Kill Blue: Juzo and Shin use assassin techniques to advertise the bakery; Yoichiro wagers his staff's bonuses to whichever club can beat their challenges. Clearly he's plotting something, but I can't quite see yet how this furthers his plans

Nue: Rido spontaneously achieves his Bankai Spirit Armor and promptly passes out. It looks cool, but I'm already so unclear on this power system's rules that such an upgrade only serves to confuse me further

Kagurabachi: In a side story, we revisit everyone's favorite guy, Sojo, trying desperately to enjoy a bath despite his routine being ruined at every turn. Looking back, I'm sad that Sojo died; I hope he continues to haunt the narrative

Chojo: Keinain's new assistant, Makami, finds everything about the Chinjuku station to be lewd; this is not because she's a prude, but an extremely repressed pervert. Would

Astro Royale: Himuro reveals he became a cop to stop the Yotsurugi family from interfering with his dad's business, but only found out later that they were supporting him through hard times; the damage he caused this business relationship resulted in his father's suicide; he eats the Daybreak Ore and becomes a mutated mass. Himuro's motivations now reflect Kinpa's, but just like he hurt his dad by targeting the Yotsurugi's, his rage is misdirected and self-destructive

Kiyoshi: Asuta's time runs out and he gets away, cementing the sacrifices made to summon him; as he leaves, he calls Kiyoshi his soulmate in a perverse twist on Kiyoshi's own desire for friendship. Axe-deniers when the lead fails and lets 100 innocent people die - 🎉🍾🥳🎊🥂; throw the yaoi girlies in there too since there's about to be a huge boost in sales

Hima-Ten: Tenichi takes up the rear on the class hike; Himari fakes an injury to keep him company. Very cute, but how the hell does this moron not realize she's in love???

Ichi: Just before the contest begins, Ichi sees a mysterious figure; the Kindake Magik vows to kill everyone who doesn't worship his mushrooms, then escapes into his mushroom forest. So much for not being a human-hater; Togeice's poor sense of direction will certainly make this challenge much harder on her

Shinobi: Yodaka sabotages Hachikuma's strings and turns them against him. Though heavy-handed, Yodaka straightening and braiding Hachikuma's discarded, tangled strings as a symbol of the value of putting effort into maintaining relationships is sweet

Hakutaku: The mechanics of the AR game are explained, but Hikuma sleeps through people actually enjoying it. Maybe it's cus I don't like mobile games, but I do not see the appeal of this game, which is probably the most damning indictment of a game design manga

Syd Craft: Elio is revealed to be Levie Olyn, Syd's favorite romance author, who became his assistant after he cleared her name in a case; she writes her books to vent her DEFINITELY NOT ROMANTIC feelings for Syd. That's a great dynamic, I love girls who pine, I'm super endeared to this idiot

My top 3 manga for the week are:

Undead Unluck, unsurprisingly, for its fantastic color page, multiple great spreads, and at least two of what will undoubtedly become the most iconic moments in the entire series; congrats on netting the final cover of the year!

Syd Craft for continuing to expand upon its concept in a way that really appeals to me; let it be known I never said Tsutsui was a bad author, I just said he was a coward

Kiyoshi for dodging the axe, establishing an interesting dynamic between Kiyoshi and Asuta, and the bravery to leave it on such a bleak cliffhanger

Runners up include Astro Royale and Shinobi Undercover, both for giving me some interesting symbolism to chew on, as well as Hima-Ten and Chojo for women in denial that fall short of Elio

Edit: I want to correct something I said last week - it does not seem like Bug Ego is joining Weekly Jump after all, I think someone I follow on twitter either got a bad tip or I misunderstood what they said. Bug Ego was added to the Shonen Jump app, not Shonen Jump itself. Apologies for any confusion!

[covid-safer-hotties]

Reference saved in our archive

Another great reason to mask: Covid can infect many other animals, and their mutated covid strains can reinfect us too. Keep everyone safe and healty: Mask up in public.

Abstract Background The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 has not only affected humans but also raised concerns about its transmission to wild animals, potentially creating natural reservoirs. Understanding these dynamics is critical for preventing future pandemics and developing control strategies. This study aims to investigate the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wild mammals at the Belo Horizonte Zoo in Brazil, analyzing the virus's evolution and zoonotic potential.

Methods The study was conducted at the Belo Horizonte Zoo, Minas Gerais, Brazil, covering a diverse population of mammals. Oropharyngeal, rectal, and nasal swabs were collected from 47 captive animals between November 2021 and March 2023. SARS-CoV-2 presence was determined using RT-PCR, and positive samples were sequenced for phylogenetic analysis. Consensus genomes were classified using Pangolin and NextClade tools, and a maximum likelihood phylogeny was inferred using IQ-Tree.

Results Of the 47 animals tested, nine (19.1%) were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Positive samples included rectal, oropharyngeal, and nasal swabs, with the highest positivity in rectal samples. Three genomes were successfully sequenced, revealing two variants: VOC Alpha in a maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and a fallow deer (Dama dama), and VOC Omicron in a western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla). Phylogenetic analysis indicated potential human-to-animal transmission, with animal genomes clustering close to human samples from the same region.

Conclusions This study highlights the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in various wild mammal species at the Belo Horizonte Zoo, emphasizing the virus's zoonotic potential and the complexity of interspecies transmission. The detection of different variants suggests ongoing viral evolution and adaptation in new hosts. Continuous monitoring and genomic surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wildlife are essential for understanding its transmission dynamics and preventing future zoonotic outbreaks. These findings underscore the need for integrated public health strategies that include wildlife monitoring to mitigate the risks posed by emerging infectious diseases.

[honey-minded-hivemind]

AHHHHHHHHHH, okayokayokay big brain time, might be a little short.

For the yan parent/s of reader, I thought of either Magneto or The Professor, or the potential of them together maybe, either way I really like the idea of the adult yan being completely side-swiped by the fact that they have a/another child, that they didn't know about.

If Eric was the one related to Reader, He's probably the whole reason the world order changed so fast in the first place, because when he realizes that he not only lost Pietro, but Reader too? He would be so broken, down to a point where he almost completely lost it. I'm in love with the angst that would come with reader not knowing either, I mean i really really like it, whether reader believed their parents were dead, or that they'd abandoned them, it doesn't change that reader craves the affection of a parent, and the lack of that kind of love hurts them in a way they never let anyone (except the notes they left) know about.

And none of that even touches on how Wanda feels.

I have to brainstorm a little more on Charles, but what do you think?

Also, if reader did have a beast/werecreature mutation, the difference in the way they died could have been way worse :)

Lamb Anon

Hooooooly mole and mother of pearl, 🐑 Anon!!!!! That is so intriguing! (Also, if you want, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the different adults being Reader's parent! Be it The Professor, Wolverine, Mystique, Storm, Beast, or Sabretooth, I'm up to explore it with y'all!) Now, if Erik was the dad... well, it's a wonder the world, or at least a good chunk of society, is not dead. His son is dead. So are his ex (friend's, partner's) two children. And Reader... And he found out that Reader was his child. They were his own flesh and blood. They were Wanda's sibling, as well as Pietro's. And they'd never know.

The notes they left behind, not many, but a few, detailed how they felt... and it's so different from everything they've see- did see, from them. How they don't- didn't have a parent. How they looked up to them, possibly several of them. How they feel shame and guilt and self-loathing, for desiring a relationship between them of parent and child. Their envy, then subsequent self-hate over the fact the others seemed closer, had a bond with a parent that they lacked...

In conclusion... Reader was lonely, lonelier than they ever let on or peek through their mask. They craved what they felt they couldn't, or shouldn't, have: Family. Someone to love them. Someone to want to care for them. Someone who wouldn't abandon them or push them aside or hate them, like they'd always known...

It breaks something inside him.

This was how they'd... felt. Was this how they felt in their final moments? Was it worse? And the way they'd died... It was awful... And it had happened to two of his own, and two of Charles'...

But this-

It will not go unpunished.

Perhaps in the past one of them could have talked the others out of what they're about to do, but this time? None of them are opposed in the least. They'd all lost someone, multiple someones. And the only course to take was to avenge them. It would be bloody, violent, deadly... But it will be better, in the long run. No more war. No more blind hatred. No more fear or panic amongst the people. They will either accept this new peace, or be cast from it. There is no other way...

(He wishes it wasn't this price he had to pay to finally achieve this goal... He wishes it hadn't broken Charles, either... But... At least the world will be better. In the end... he wishes it didn't taste so bitter on his tongue, this newfound peace and the price they'd paid for it...)

Wanda...

She'd seen several things that scarred her.

She'd been in many places where she was alone.

She'd known what it was like to suffer for things one couldn't change.

And now her brother was dead over the blind hatred of others. Scared... alone... and suffering in the end. (Not completely alone Yet he was the last one to #>÷, wasn't he?) She was on her own. There was no one waiting for her. No one to crack jokes, or to share sarcasm with, or to enjoy the dawn with a kettle of tea... No.

He was gone.

And so was Reader.

And it was a new sort of pain, with Reader. Because they were their sibling, unknown and distanced, who would never know of their shared blood or parent... Who they'd never be able to hang out with again.. Who'd never sleep over again, or hug them, or bring over foods they knew they all liked...

She can't help when the tears spill out, and it can't be helped when she's helped tear apart the people who'd done this to them, to her father, to their friends, to her.

(She isn't sure, when the new order is brought about, if it's what her siblings or their friends would have wanted. But with the results? With the fact that they've brought about peace, safety, acceptance? She isn't sure they'd be right. She hopes they're resting, wherever they are. She hopes it doesn't hurt anymore. Yet even so... if reincarnation did exist... or her powers were of a different kind...)

She'd want them back.

And this time, she'd find a way so they couldn't be taken away from them, so they wouldn't suffer the same fate...