#get flashbanged idiot

[tinnedmarlin]

FULL BRIGHT

[killjoysquid]

GET OUT!!

[bravecrab]

Can't help but imagine some poor bastard in Hyrule finding a dazzlefruit for the first time, taking a bite, and getting flashbanged in the face.

[joelemmons]

gneeperton

[betweenblackberrybranches]

Okay ready with the sketches of the next automaton au comic update

Yay

Now the actual work begins...

[yankee-in-wyndon]

Magic anon, a smiting, your fine though it's just light and sound

[automatic audio recording]

"huh?"

There's the sound of something metallic hitting the floor, followed by a loud noise.

"FUCKIN' HELL!!!"

[tahnisreu]

if any of ya'll wanna ever co-op in fop you're more than welcome to add me : heartonpins (PSN)

[chryzuree]

well, that post i made right after i woke up from my nightmare is unreadable. thanks for playing along, everyone

[yurischolar]

My mom did this to our old lady by accident...sea urchin....

[atypi-cals]

I feel like there's some sort of demon clinging to my shoulder causing my insomnia...

[mikaorangeart]

I call this one "CMYK" aka "I can't believe I managed to do this in a single afternoon" aka "get flashbanged idiot lol"

No readmore this time. You're watching the timelapse whether you like it or not

[aurae-rori]

DR RATIO ANALYSIS: PART 2, ELECTRIC BOOGALOO

SPOILERS FOR 2.1 CONTENT.

Now, you might be saying - "Aurae, you already did one, why do you need a second?" And my answer is, "LORD, I FORGOT TO TALK ABOUT HOW HIS DEFINITION OF 'IDIOT' IS DIFFERENT. AND ALSO HE DOES NOT HATE AVENTURINE NOR DOES HE THINK AVENTURINE IS STUPID." Once again, here is my disclaimer - although I have been researching psychology for a solid six years, I am NOT a professional. (I will be, one day. Just you wait, just youuuu wait-) So understand that everything I say has been analyzed with personal judgement, with my own conclusions, come to with logic and my personal interpretation. This is just what I have concluded, and you are always free to disagree.

This is my legacy. To be an analyzer. So let's go.

Okay, now that my disclaimer is over, let's take off Ratio's plaster head and chuck it into the sea, and see - what does he mean by 'idiot'?

This will be much shorter than my last, so don't worry - I will not be flashbanging you with another 4k words. This is more like a follow up, than anything else, because there's a few things I wish to touch on.

Dr. Ratio doesn't hate idiots in the sense that he hates people that have 'low IQ' or are 'stupid' in terms of being 'slow to understand'. I definitely touched on this in my last analysis, but he hates people who take their education for granted and don't go places with the gifts that they've been given. He hates "idiots" - "narrow minded" people who have the capabilities to do more and perceive more than they choose to do. People who deliberately look away or take what they know and what they could do for granted. He wants to open people's eyes and allow them to see life from multiple different angles and he believes that everyone should have a chance to learn - with the whole "knowledge for everyone" thing he's got rolling.

He wears a plaster head around people he doesn't seem to know too well in order to think more, or so that he doesn't have to see the faces of the people he dislikes. Pretty good roast. However, he does NOT wear that plaster head around Aventurine. Let's listen to the doctor's judgement - Aventurine is far from stupid. Although he likes to chalk up a lot of the things he does to his own luck, he is an INCREDIBLY capable individual who's managed to get this far because of his own form of genius. He's a man who relies on chance and good fortune, yes, but his charm, his way of scheming, and the way that he's good with people? That's skill. A talent he doesn't take for granted. Dr. Ratio respects him for this - because despite the fact that he has no proper education, he has his eyes wide open to the world and doesn't take shit for granted. He learns what he can in order to survive and he does it fucking well - Aventurine is a very smart man. He's observant, quick on his feet, and great at going with the flow and thinking in the moment.

Aventio aside, I actually believe that Dr. Ratio would be a really good teacher to those who struggle. He's patient where it's needed to be, even if he's got a quick temper, and I believe in his pursuit for knowledge he would do his best to go out of his way to find strategies that would work for their individuals. We're all unique, and he's aware of this - and because he wants to allow people to think for themselves, whatever helps the individual works. Depression? He's got a psych degree, I'm sure bro could give you some strategies. Autism? He has a touch of the 'tism himself. ADHD, and not feeling organized? Bro will help you. It's canon that he's a great fucking teacher - those who finish his classes go on to become successful people who are intelligent and critical thinkers. Round of applause for Ratio, the man that kins my father. He's shit at emotions, but great at knowledge.

Also, on that note, I believe that he would most likely hate parents that push thier "gifted" students to the limit without any compassion for the person that they really are. He's most definitely got some of that academic trauma so I believe that bro holds a secret disdain for parents who just use their children to gain more recgonition. Well, not so secret. He'd cuss them out. (Ratio please cuss out the horrible parents.)

Dr. Ratio, the Teacher ever. (Hey, maybe he'd get along with Kunikida...)

Also, I am definitely planning on making a fic where he teaches Aventurine Latin. As long as you're eager to learn and willing to look past the chalk being thrown, he's got a place for you.

Thanks for coming to my tedtalk. I did not read this through, so this is not edited. Take my unedited rambles.

[teecupangel]

I had this unhinged crossover idea, Desmond getting yeeted into left 4 dead. Consider this like a really, really late Halloween thing.

I hadn't thought too much on how things would play out for Desmond but all I know is he fucking hates it, he's thought he hated being the main target for Abstergo? Oh he's gonna hate the undead despite feeling a bit of sympathy for them.

I mean, the green flu appeared to have started slowly before things spiraled out of control continuing to evolve and further spread, and the next thing people knew, their loved ones were dropping like flies only to rise once more and begin just attacking out of nowhere. Heartbreaking to him but now his fight for survival just got worse, there's no innocents anymore, and survivors who were once kind and generous are now willing to kill other survivors just to stay safe and get supplies.

He did find some of the saferoom wall writing hilarious though, if he found a marker he totally adds his two cents in.

Absolutely hates the special infected, avoiding witches? He can manage that unless some idiot startles her, first encounter he had was not fun- he swore his heart stopped for a second hearing the witch screech. And don't get him started on the hunters, they boggle his mind and make him internally rage. Of all special infected, he's 100,000% certain if he drops and all he'd end up a hunter, and that thought terrifies him above all else.

Like, could you imagine that? Hunter!Desmond would be a freaking menace, and unlike other hunters who aren't all that silent due to his training and bleeding effects, his stealth goes above and beyond what the typical hunter is capable of. Nightmare fuel for sure.

Well, this is obviously a very late Halloween thing because I just answered this today XD

I have fond memories of L4D as it was the game me and my friends would play between classes if we were quite bored. I even play Back 4 Blood with my friend a few months back just to get back to that L4D feel (and also because it was one of the few games we both had that we could play together hahahaha).

Out of all the infected, I prefer being the Hunter so there’s definitely some bias when I say that I agree with you that Desmond would definitely be the worst kind of Hunter.

Made for stealth and speed, compounded by his unique genetics that makes him the closest Isu among the humans if we don’t count the Sages.

He wouldn’t just be a Hunter, he’d be a mutated Hunter.

One might even call him the Apex Hunter.

His vision would stay in a heightened state of Eagle Vision, unaffected by flashbangs or any kind of tools that might impede his visions or other senses.

The heightened state of Eagle Vision meant that not even walls can hide his preys and he has… ‘favorites’, one might say.

The Apex Hunter would prioritize hunting and turning specific humans.

Humans that would turn into Hunters as well, joining him with some kind of strange pack-like intuition.

To the humans, it would seem random and they won’t realize it but the Apex Hunter…

He turns those that glowed bright to him.

Those with higher Isu genes that the rest.

And it is those nightmares that plague Desmond’s sleep.

It makes him fear being infected.

Not that it was easy for him to be infected.

He wore a mask to cover his face and lessen the chance of being hit by blood or any kind of body fluids from those he takes down. He goes to the nearest museum and ransacks their historical weapon and armor displays, going for the chainmail and leather armor instead of a full metal armor. It was as light as he could get it while offering the necessary protections as he sometimes has no choice but to get into close combat with them.

He goes for weapons his Bleeds are familiar with, a hunting bow for stealth kills that wouldn’t alert the hordes, a sword with the nearest weight to what he was familiar with, a hunting dagger that he uses more as a utility tool than anything else and an emergency pistol he got from an undead police officer he took down.

He kept his identity a secret. There was no need to tell everyone he was Desmond Miles, not when he’s not sure yet if Abstergo had already been wiped out or if they’re not behind the scenes, protected by the best security money can buy.

He woke up alone, in a room that had enough clues for him to figure out that he was about to be dissected (or vivisected since he wasn’t dead yet).

No clues on where the Assassins were.

If there were even Assassins left.

All he knew was that he woke up and the world had turned into a post zombie apocalypse.

So he continues to travel, focusing on the rooftops to traverse and only making contact with other survivors when it was necessary (or if his kindness gets the better of him).

He does not give a name.

But his existence is whispered regardless.

The White Hood.

A man clad in a white hoodie with a blank mask that covers his entire face.

You know when you see him because…

His white clothes do not have a speck of blood at all.

[definitelynotstable]

Matching [Ghost x fem!Reader]

AN: My essay is due tomorrow at 5pm and I still haven’t started. I’m really trying my luck here. 

Synopsis: You and your Lieutenant manage to get matching wounds. A certain Scottish sergeant finds it amusing. Word count: 930 Warnings: Canon compliant violence, blood, guns, field medicine etc Ghost x fem!reader (callsign Red): No explicit romance but the chemistry is there babes. Veeeeery slight angst but mostly fluff. 

[][][][][][][][][][]

“You’re an idiot,” the Lieutenant gritted out as he tore your pant leg. If you hadn’t been so out of it you might’ve found it hot.

“Save the lecture for later, LT.” You groan as he wraps his belt around your upper thigh, pulling it tight as a makeshift tourniquet. “Suffering enough as is, yeah?”

He mutters something intelligible under his breath, shaking his head as he gives the belt one last tug. You hiss in surprise, batting weakly at his firm grip. He defends himself easily, shoving your arms back against your sides.

“Hold still,” he growls sternly and you still your wriggling. His eyes sharp and hard. No room for argument. 

Bullets thud and ricochet off of the crate the Lieutenant has dragged you behind. Happy with the tourniquet, he settles you against the wall, leg stretched out in front of you. 

“Stay.”

You scoff at the order but do as he says. Ghost turns his back to you, inching forwards to fire a round back at the hostiles. There’s a yell and a thump. The constant fire ceases. The Lieutenant edges around the crate, gun poised. 

“Bravo, this is Ghost. Main atrium is clear.”

“Copy, LT. We heard disturbance through Red’s comms, you seen her?”

You reach for your comms before the Lieutenant has a chance to reply. “I’m with the LT, nothing major, Gaz.”

Ghost scoffs, you glare at him. 

“Copy that, Red. Moving in now, LT.”

Ghost nods, hand against his ear. “Copy. We’ll cover you.”

You press your hands against the cool brick behind you, stumbling to your feet. You grab the ACR leaning against the wall next to you, slinging it over your shoulder. 

“Think you’ll last, sergeant?” The Lieutenant’s eyes are questioning, watching as you limp over to his side. He’d call EXFIL if you even gave him the slightest indication you couldn’t soldier on. 

So you grin, giving the stoic man a clap on the back. “We’ve got a terrorist to catch, LT.”

[][][][][][][][][][]

The Lieutenant’s pace is fast and unwavering. Bodies fall and bullets ping as you clear the hallways of the compound, providing cover for Bravo team who were attempting to secure the HVT. 

“On my six, Red.” Ghost barks, sending a round into the second atrium. The room is teaming with hostiles. Your leg throbs with a heartbeat of its own but do as your asked while the Lieutenant readies a flashbang. He lobs it into the room, ducking around the corner to take cover. You step past him, firing a couple of rounds at the flailing hostiles. 

A classic stun-’n-gun. 

Ghost joins you, providing cover as you together clear the room. 

“Bravo this is Red,” you pant in exertion, pressing a gloved finger to your comms, “second atrium is clear, copy?”

“Copy.” Soap’s accent is strong as he responds, “Target acquired, heading to EXFIL now.”

You raise your hand to reply when you catch a movement out of the corner of your eyes, a hostile on the floor fumbles for his gun. Someone barrels into you. Pain flares through your leg you hit the ground. You manage to send a bullet into his skull, the man slumps back, dead.

Ghost groans from where he lies atop you. You grit your teeth, shoving him over. “Christ, LT. Buy a girl a drink first.”

The Lieutenant huffs, clutching at his leg. “Noted.”

You notice the crimson soaking his right thigh, swearing under your breath and ignoring the pain in your own leg, you bat his hands away. Loosing your belt, you work it up his leg; just as he’d done for you earlier. 

“Eager to match, hm?” You joke, pulling the belt tight around his upper thigh. Exactly where his own belt sat on your own leg. Ghost doesn’t make a sound but his jaw clenches beneath his mask. The blood flow slows and you sigh.

“Fuckin’ hell.” He breathes, clambering to his feet, “Johnny’ll have a right laugh when he sees us.”

You nod, breathing sharply as you put pressure on your leg. Ghost takes note immediately, kneeling back at your side. He grips the belt around your own thigh, meeting your eyes with a questioning gaze. You bite your lip but give him quick jut of your chin. The Lieutenant gives the make-shift tourniquet a sharp yank and you yelp, grasping his shoulder to prevent yourself from falling over. 

“Sorry,” he mumbles, squeezing your calf for a second before dusting off his hands and returning to his feet once again. 

“Don’t worry about it, LT,” you assure him with a quick quirk of your lips, “matching, remember?”

[][][][][][][][][][]

Soap’s guffaw as he spots you both stumble towards the heli is music to your ears. 

“Now this’ll be a good story,” he chortles, racing over with Gaz who wraps an arm behind your back. Soap deposits Ghost in the seat opposite you, kneeling at the Lieutenant’s side as Gaz kneels at yours - a medkit open beside them. 

You sigh, resting your head against the rattling metal of the chopper as it starts its ascent. Your tired eyes meet Ghost’s, his cobalt irises twinkling. The Lieutenant pulls his mask up slightly, revealing his smirking mouth.

“Told you,” He mouths before yanking it back down, mirroring you and leaning back as Soap cuts away at his pant leg. 

You roll your eyes but can’t stop the tired smile from settling over your lips.

[][][][][][][][][][]

Masterlist

[its-a-me-mango]

Hello hai! You're such a cool SMG4 artist and I love Mango! Bro is just a Mario duplicate that's got a PHD and a job, I love them for that <3

Anyways, I thought of a funny little scenario between Hexsy and Mango, where when he's doing a check-up on her, they scare her pretty bad by grabbing it suddenly, so she accidentally FLASHBANGS him with the light on the end of it

*drops art and runs like a maniac into the sunset*

KTXYKHLFHLCCHLCHKDCHKKGSKXHLH I LOVE THISSSSS, GET FLASHBANGED IDIOT!!!!! THIS IS SO GOOD HEXSY IS SUCH A COOL CHARACTER, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS I ALWAYS LOVE SEEING MANGO INTERACT WITH OTHER CHARACTERS SO THIS RULES!!! THANK YOU, HEXSY FLASHBANG THIS MOTHER FUCKER AGAIN LCHKXGXYKIXTHKXGKCYCYOIT

[baradorable]

The Grand Unifying Prodigy Theory

So the new NYX issue raises a lot of questions. Some things just don't fully add up if you think about it, or are too convoluted.

If the goal of befriending Kamala was to sacrifice her, why bother spending time befriending her? Just direct her to Times Square at the right time.

What's the deal with the quiet assassinations?

Why did Hellion suddenly get nerfed during the fight with Prodigy?

How could Prodigy beat Hellion with a grappling hook?

Prodigy spent the book thinking about the false dichotomy of Magneto vs Xavier, but at the end says that mutant culture is the X-Men? He says it belongs to "all of us," but then the X-Men line throws it all off.

But here's how it all comes together: Prodigy is in on it, and he's the mastermind behind it all.

What We """Know"""

So the Quiet Council's plan seemed to be: make big scenes and use the chaos to quietly kill some government officials. Then, they lure Ms. Marvel into a confrontation with the Krakoan, in which she loses and gets brutalized on TV, so people can witness what happens to those who try to get in the Council's way. Prodigy messed things up by getting involved. He defeated the Krakoan and got him arrested.

From the outs, it looks like Prodigy doesn't fit anywhere. In fact, having him involved ruined their plans. So how could he be in cahoots with them?

If you look at it from the perspective that he's involved, suddenly the plan makes more sense. Little gaps start to get filled in. Now all we need to do it fill in the gaps his involvement creates.

Prodigy here is notable for three things: his role at the university, him stopping the Krakoan, and his perspective on mutant culture.

Prodigy vs the Krakoan: Julian Forgot His Powers (And So Did Prodigy)

And yes, I know I shouldn't capitalize all words in a title. But I think it looks nicer. I'm going by vibes.

Okay, so let's analyze the fight and go over how it makes no sense.

Realistically, Prodigy could defeat the Krakoan. With his brain, he can glean Julian's strategies and work around them. He also knows of one of Julian's biggest weakness: violent women sound. He could throw some flashbangs and make enough noise to break Julian's concentration. Without his telekinesis, Julian is at a major disadvantage. Prodigy can solo most people when it comes to physical combat.

But instead of actually using strategy, Prodigy's plan is to... dodge attacks and then get a lucky shot in. Yeah, he could get in Julian's head and learn where his next attacks will be, but this whole strategy predates on Hellion not just grabbing him in mid-air, or putting him in a bubble, or flying faster than Prodigy can move, or creating a bubble around himself, or just... hovering a few feet higher, out of Prodigy's range. Hell, Prodigy's plan would sink if Hellion took hostages, or just flew up to the news helicopter, climbed in and took a nap.

Both of them could have easily ended the fight in a few seconds. Instead, it's a long, drawn-out, dramatic fight. All because both of them forgot to use the full extent of their powers.

It only makes sense if one or both of them were holding back. Otherwise, both characters randomly became idiots for the plot to work. And we know Hellion's not dumb, because he's already involved with the Quiet Council's secret, multi-step plans. Plans that include deception and creating big scenes to hide their true motives.

Why didn't Prodigy come in with a plan? I guess he only made do with that he had, so no flashbangs or firecrackers. Sure. Maybe he couldn't use the full extent of his powers. But why would Hellion let Prodigy win? Because he could use the full extent of his powers.

Conclusion: Hellion wanted Prodigy to win.

This is Entertainment

And after all, why wouldn't Hellion crush Prodigy like he did Kamala? It would only emphasize his statement. Oh, but speaking of Kamala, notice how she punched him into a truck on one page, but then got decimated on the next page?

Hellion could have crushed Kamala easily. But he was stalling for time until the cameras arrived. The whole point of the fight was to make a show of it.

It's a similar case with Prodigy. He could have ended things quickly and without much of a fight. But that wouldn't be a good show now, would it?

If Julian was already nerfing himself for one match, who's to say he wasn't doing it for the other match? If he was purposely making a show out of one match, who's to say he wasn't purposely making a show out of the other?

Let's go back to the assassinations real quick. We know Hellion's been causing a ruckus in public, lifting trains and throwing them at his stalker. But he's never shown killing anyone on-screen, and the only confirmed deaths are select targets in the city government.

In fact, this suggests that his only victims are the government officials. And remember: he could have killed that train full of people in issue 1. But he let them live, because he never wanted to kill them. All of the Krakoan's plans have been about making big shows, while hiding his true motives.

So here we have the Krakoan purposely limiting himself in order to draw things out and make a spectacle. With that in mind, it makes sense why he went easy on David: the goal was never to kill David, even if he was getting in his way. He had other plans.

Conclusion: Hellion let Prodigy win in order to hide or progress another, less obvious plan.

The Grappling Hook

Prodigy's grappling hook makes no sense. When you have a grappling hook, you have to stop, climb up, disconnect it, fling it to another location and - assuming you didn't miss and have to start over again - make sure it's secure before he can swing around and start the whole process over. The point of grappling hooks is that you can't swing around and dodge things like Spider-Man.

Yet here Prodigy was, swinging around like Spider-Man and dodging attacks.

But now go into this fight with our assumptions from earlier. If the fight was staged and David needed to win, then we can explain the grappling hook defying physics.

Maybe Hellion was manipulating the grappling hook? Making sure it always landed and stayed still, so Prodigy could easily swing around and do his impressive feats of agility.

After all, the fight wouldn't be a big spectacle of Prodigy had to stop every three seconds to set up his grappling hook. The fight would end very quickly if Hellion just attacked the location of the hook and sent Prodigy falling to his death.

This could easily just be the grappling hook reflecting the green light from Hellion's energy attacks. OR it could be a green aura surrounding it as Hellion subtly manipulates it. But it's probably just reflected green light. But what if it isn't?

Remember: the fight had some big explosions. Those could have been used to distract people and mask the mistakes in the fight.

But for this to work, it would mean that Prodigy would need to be in on the plan. Otherwise, how would he know that Julian would play fair? How would he be able to swing around and dodge attacks? How would he even move around?

Conclusion: Hellion was actively enabling Prodigy during the fight, AND Prodigy was in on the plan.

Why did Prodigy throw a rock at Hellion's head?

Just for fun.

The Kamala Factor

Hellion was never going to kill Kamala. He doesn't like killing. And even if he's behind the assassinations, the book made it clear that he was only targeting bad people, and everything else was for show. Both David and Kamala explicitly stated that Julian isn't a psychopath. He wouldn't kill an innocent person, much less a mutant.

Now here's the kicker: Hellion makes a video game reference to Kamala. Hellion plays video games, but he doesn't just casually drop references like he did here. He's not a quippy character in combat. And he just so happens to use it on the one hero who would get and appreciate the reference.

It was a secret message. He knew she'd get the reference. He was subtly showing her that he was playing around, not being 100% serious. That he wasn't the monster he was portraying himself to be.

She was never in any real danger of dying.

But let's circle back to Prodigy. He was watching the fight with his flatscan boyfriend at home. When he saw Kamala was in danger, he ran to her location and got there just in time. How convenient, he just happened to live close to the location of the attack. It's almost as if the attack location was chosen with this in mind, to ensure Prodigy arrived on time, without doing anything to contradict his previous "I'm staying out of this" stance.

Now it makes sense why Kamala was selected as the target for this convoluted plan. Prodigy would only get involved if his student was in danger.

It was all a set-up. Kamala was so focused on Sophie betraying her, that she didn't even notice Prodigy was in on it. David is in on the plan - only instead of setting Kamala up, he and the others are trying to make Prodigy look like the good guy. To get Kamala on his side.

But this would only make sense if he knew about the Quiet Council's plan and was actively working with them.

Conclusion: He knew about the Quiet Council's plan and was actively working with them. Also, his plan involved saving Kamala and defeating Hellion, so he could get Kamala on his side and follow his beliefs.

But speaking of his beliefs...

Mutant Culture is the X-Men

Okay, so Prodigy's heroic speech to Hellion has him say: "We're the custodians now. Mutant culture isn't Krakoa. Mutant culture is the X-Men."

Which is weird, because the last issue was about the Morlocks/Arakki and their culture. And most mutants aren't the X-Men, even if they're a driving force for things. That's like saying American culture isn't America or its history, American culture is the Kardashians.

I get what he probably means: the people who are there now, the diaspora, the heroes and villains, the mutants who continue on. Every mutant is the spirit of mutant culture. Their identity is not defined by their nation, but its people. But why, specifically, say X-Men? It's dumb and, say it with me, makes no sense.

Look at his narration throughout the issue. He criticizes the false dichotomy of good vs evil, Charles vs Xavier, us vs them.

Further, he's been actively keeping mutant culture alive by educating people about Krakoan culture.

Here's the kicker: David expressed dissatisfaction with the city's government at the start of the issue.

Oh, curious. Hellion was specifically targeting the city government with his attacks.

With this in mind, and the assumption that David and Julian were purposely putting on a show, now it all makes sense: he's trying to publicly distance himself from the bad guys, but he actually agrees with them on some level. And they have a common enemy.

In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the attacks on the officials were Prodigy's plan in the first place. Think about it: would Julian even know all the intricacies of New York's local politics, enough to know who, where and when to target? Would the Cuckoos care enough to learn, when they could just mind-control all the Council members into having a public orgy to get them all fired?

Conclusion: Prodigy is a bullshitter.

My theory is that he falls somewhere in the middle of the Xavier-Magneto spectrum. The Quiet Council is going too far with their command and conquer ideas. But Xavier's dream of co-existence is too flawed. So go for a middle ground: co-existence, but taking steps to ensure the humans don't mess it up.

But Prodigy Got Arrested?

Yes. If this was all part of the plan, he still threw away a good career and risked being sent to prison. He loses the influence he had as a professor to educate the masses and keep Krakoa alive.

But think about it: he lose everything because he chose to do the right thing and stop a bad guy. He's making himself out to be a martyr who's being unfairly punished for the system. Something he knew would happen, because he told Kamala about the risks of him getting involved earlier in the issue.

If he lost his job? Mutants will see him as a hero and rally to his cause, while Kamala will respect him more. If he kept his job? Sweet, tenure and the opportunity to keep spreading the good word of Krakoa.

Or, alternate theory: what if this was just Plan B?

Because Prodigy's flatscan boyfriend was watching the drama on TV, and he was wondering why no other heroes were showing up. Weird detail to mention. Usually heroes don't show up in another series outside of crossover or a plot point. That's just how comics work. So why call attention to it?

Maybe a hero was supposed to show up and get involved, and they were going to be Hellion's opponent. They show up, defeat Hellion, and he gets arrested. No loses their jobs, no one gets hurt. Except for Kamala but whatever. She'll be okay. Since no hero showed up, Prodigy had to step in and get involved to keep the plan going.

Prodigy wanted to keep the job, but he was willing to sacrifice it for Plan B, to ensure everything went smoothly. It was a worthy sacrifice.

Of course, Hellion goes to Graymalkin either way. And that's right where he needs to be. He could be their man on the inside, keeping tight until the Council or X-Men launch their strike on Graymalkin. With his help, they can free all the mutants who are being unfairly held captive.

The martyr angle is cool when you look at the cover for #7, coming in a few months.

He's been drawn in the style of those murals people paint. You know the ones. Where people are killed unfairly, so they're memorialized and honored by people who they've inspired. I think there's a word for it, but Googling with a vague, largely biased, possibly misinterpreted sentence is hard. But you guys know what I mean. It's like that Lionheart mural in Robyn Hood? For the 3 people who watched that show. Mostly to laugh at how bad it is. But still.

But this is just my segue into my next point: speculating about Synch.

NYX #7

"I've seen what you're building, Prodigy. And I don't think you have any idea how dangerous it is. Ms. Marvel trusts you, but you're helping her perpetuate a lie. Sophie trusts you, but you're absolving her of her crimes. Wolverine trusts you, but you're asking her to indulge her violence. Anole trusts you, but he's the only one of you holding to the old ways. So I'll make this easy. I'll do it in a language we both understand. My name is Synch. And I challenge you to a battle to the death. I challenge you to the CIRCLE PERILOUS."

The solicits are written from Synch's perspective, and he's calling out Prodigy. And this message makes a lot of sense when you consider everything we've talked about.

Ms. Marvel trusts you, but you're helping her perpetuate a lie.

He's manipulating her, and she's going along with him. She's perpetuating his lies, because she's unknowingly supporting him while ignorant of his false flag operations and schemes.

Sophie trusts you, but you're absolving her of her crimes.

Sophie is in on the plan, and Prodigy is justifying all their actions. We saw how bad she felt about betraying Kamala, but knew she had to do bad things for the greater good. Prodigy gets to be the boss and direct her, so none of these bad things are really her fault: she was simply told to do them, because it was the only way to help mutants.

Wolverine trusts you, but you're asking her to indulge her violence.

This is curious. Back in issue 2, he at least wasn't aware of her stuff with Local or Mojo. But if she's in on the plan, maybe he was just surprised to see her doing things unrelated to their mission.

What's her role? If she's indulging in violence, maybe she's the one who's assassinating people during Hellion's attacks? After all, how can he single out one person during all that chaos, and manage to kill them and only them, each and every time.

I got the idea from Dewyatt. While everyone's distracted, Laura is sneaking in and killing the politicians. And if you want some extra drama for fun: since Hellion would be against her being used to kill, the Cuckoos wipe his memory of her involvement. Laura is against the violation of autonomy, but maybe she accepts it because she doesn't want Hellion to become a killer? Stopping him from killing, just like he stopped her from killing in the past.

Anole trusts you, but he's the only one of you holding to the old ways.

The old ways. We know Anole's ways are the ways of the Morlocks/Krakoans/Arakki. And while he's living in the sewers, he also wants them to walk on the surface openly, and without fear.

Prodigy agrees with those views. Maybe Anole trusts in Prodigy's plans?

Empath

Where does Empath fit in? He clearly didn't expect Prodigy to come in, and he was angry when he won. So he must not be in on the plan. So why is he there?

In this issue, one of the Cuckoos says how suspicious they'd look if someone from the outside saw that they were working with Empath. They don't seem to like him. Another Cuckoo elaborates that he's working with them. Either way, they clearly don't have much respect for him, and are other-ing him from the plan.

I'm not sure where he fits in. But if Prodigy is the mastermind, he's merely a pawn in a much bigger game. He thinks he's the puppeteer, but he doesn't even notice the strings coming out of his own back.

Conclusion

Prodigy is the mastermind behind the Quiet Council and its machinations. He's purposely staging big scenes to secretly assassinate bad people, but not actually hurting any innocent people. He's trying to manipulate Ms. Marvel and condition her to his less-than-ideal, but non-genocidal plan. He staged a fight with Hellion, so the latter could get arrested and be their man on the inside. In the end, Prodigy is trying to be the best mix of all previous factions, which he believes will ultimately guide mutants towards progress.

Will this be canon? No, absolutely not. This theory is complete nonsense. But I'm not going to let the truth get in the way of a good story.