#mutants mapping data

[kentnaturaltribrid]

4 more maps in regards to the topic of Mutants. Been quite busy with things though so as far as everything else is concerned there’s nothing else much to tell. It’s rather intricate of a topic, but as far as other things go there’s a lot still needed to be mapped out as far as the eye can see.

[multi-fandoms-posts]

Distractions and Dynamics

X Men Masterlist

It's another morning at the X-Men headquarters, and the sun is shining through the large windows of the meeting room where Charles, Erik, and Y/N are preparing for today’s mission. They sit together, the tension before the upcoming operation palpable, but in their love triangle, there is always room for lightness even in serious moments.

Charles is reading the mission data from a tablet while Erik leans against the table with his arms crossed, listening intently. Y/N, on the other hand, is more relaxed, her eyes fixed on Erik and Charles, grinning as she absorbs the atmosphere.

“We need to focus,” Charles finally says, casting a warning glance at Y/N as he notices her thoughts drifting elsewhere.

“I’m right here with you, Professor,” Y/N replies, deliberately letting her gaze travel down Charles' face. Her eyes sparkle mischievously. “Right here.”

Charles raises his eyebrows slightly, but a small smile tugs at his lips. He’s used to Y/N breaking the tension with her words. Erik, however, remains serious, looking at the mission map in front of them.

“We can’t afford to take any risks this time. They’re dangerous,” Erik murmurs, but Y/N just grins wider.

“Dangerous? Oh, Erik,” she says, her voice a little lower, “I love it when you’re so serious and focused. It’s kind of… hot.”

Erik, who rarely reacts to provocations, raises an eyebrow slightly, but Y/N can see she’s struck a chord. Charles shakes his head with a smile. “Y/N, this isn’t a game.”

“It’s not a game, but a little fun never hurt anyone, right?” Y/N leans closer to Erik, her voice softer. “I mean, how am I supposed to focus on the mission when you’re sitting here looking so dangerously good?”

Erik tries not to react, but she notices the slight twitch at the corners of his mouth. “You know I’m serious, Y/N,” he says dryly.

“Oh, I know,” she replies with a sly grin. “But I also feel like I could make you smile anytime.”

Charles gently interjects, “We really should focus on the mission.” However, his blue eyes twinkle slightly as he looks at Y/N. “I know you can do it, even if Erik here is stealing your full attention.”

Y/N sighs dramatically. “You two are just too perfect. How am I supposed to concentrate?” She glances between them, her eyes full of playfulness. “I mean, one man is already a distraction. But two?”

Erik furrows his brow, but Y/N can see he’s trying not to smile. Charles gives Erik a knowing look as if to say: *Let her be.*

“It would be better if you don’t forget that we’re soon entering enemy territory,” Erik says in a quiet voice, though it still carries a certain edge. “There will be no time for jokes.”

“No jokes, but maybe a few suggestive comments?” Y/N winks at him, then straightens up, ready to go. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop. But only because I love you both. And because I’d like to see you both in action. Somehow… erotic.”

Erik rolls his eyes, but Charles laughs softly. “You’re impossible.”

---

The mission takes the trio to an old factory on the edge of town, taken over by hostile mutants. The plan is simple: Charles will mentally distract the guards while Erik manipulates metal supports to clear the way. Y/N stays in the middle, ready to react if anything goes wrong.

As they silently move through the corridors, Y/N keeps glancing from Erik to Charles and can’t help but whisper to Charles. “You know, once we’re done here, you really should consider taking off that shirt. It’s distracting.”

Charles stops and gives her an amused look. “This isn’t exactly the right time, Y/N.”

“Oh, I know,” she whispers back. “But now that I think about it… maybe Erik should also take off his shirt. You know, for… freedom of movement.”

Erik, having heard the whisper, also stops, his jaw clenched. “Y/N, focus,” he hisses, but she can see the slight sparkle in his eyes as if he’s slowly giving in to her playfulness.

“I’m focused,” she retorts. “But perhaps focused on the wrong thing.” She briefly closes her eyes and imagines the two men actually taking off their shirts. “Ah, what a pleasant thought.”

Charles can’t help but laugh quietly. “Erik, I think she’s figured us out. She knows how to drive us both crazy.”

“She does,” Erik murmurs, his voice rough, but he remains seriously focused on the task.

---

When they finally encounter the enemy group, the fight quickly spirals out of control. Guards rush at them, and Erik unleashes his powers, sending metal flying through the air. Charles focuses on influencing the opponents' thoughts, while Y/N uses her own powers to push their enemies back.

Despite the intense confrontation, Y/N can’t help but throw a comment into the quiet of the battle. “You know, Erik, the way you’re manipulating the metal…” She breathes heavily as she ducks to avoid an attack. “It’s really… sexy.”

Erik, just finishing off an opponent, glances at her quickly. “Focus on the fight, Y/N,” he calls out in a rough voice, but she can see he’s internally smiling.

Charles, also busy, can’t help but smile. “We should talk about your timing after this.”

Y/N dodges another attack before shooting back and throwing her enemy to the ground. “I think my timing is perfect. Didn’t you know adrenaline can increase desire?”

Erik groans softly as he hears this, while Charles just shakes his head, a laugh in his voice. “I wonder how you manage to confuse us both so much while we’re fighting.”

“Talent,” Y/N replies before she diving back into the fray.

[canisxx]

Hey chat! I decided that I don't care if you care or not, I'll post it anyway. Because I'm a scientist nerd, and a TF2 fan.

So here you go, my theory on how the respawn machine actually works.

⚠️It'll be a lot of reading and you need half of a braincell to understand it.

The Respawn Machine can recreate a body within minutes, complete with all previous memories and personality, as if the person never died. We all know this, but I doubt many have thought about how it actually works.

Of course, such a thing is impossible in real life (at least for now), but we’re talking about a game where there’s magic and mutant bread, so it’s all good.

But being an autistic dork, I couldn’t help but start searching for logical and scientific explanations for how this machine might work. How the hell does it actually function? So, I spent hours of my life on yet another useless big brain time.

In the context of the Respawn Machine, the idea is that the technology can instantly create a new mercenary body, identical to the original. This body must be ready for use immediately after the previous one’s death. To achieve this, the cloning process, which in real life takes months or even years, would need to be significantly accelerated. This means the machine is probably powered by a freaking nuclear reactor, or maybe even Australium.

My theory is that this machine is essentially a massive 3D printer capable of printing biological tissues. But how? You see, even today, people can (or are trying to) recreate creatures that lived millions of years ago using DNA. By using the mercenary’s DNA, which was previously loaded into the system, the machine could recreate a perfect copy.

However, this method likely wouldn’t be able to perfectly recreate the exact personality and all the memories from the previous body. I believe the answer lies in neuroscience.

For the Respawn Machine to restore the mercenary’s consciousness and memories, it would need to be capable of recording and preserving the complete structure of the brain, including all neural connections, synapses, and activity that encode personality and memory. This process is known as brain mapping. After creating a brain map, this data could be stored digitally and then transferred to the new body.

“Okay, but how would you transfer memories that are dated right up until the moment of death? The mercenaries clearly remember everything about their previous death.”

Well, I have a theory about that too!

Neural interfaces! Inside each mercenary’s head could be an implant (a nanodevice) that reads brain activity before death and updates a digital copy of the memories. This system operates at the synaptic level, recording changes in the structure of neurons that occur as memories are formed. After death, this data could be instantly transferred to the new body via a quantum network.

Once the data is uploaded and the brain is synchronized with the new body, the mercenary’s consciousness "awakens." Ideally, the mercenary wouldn’t notice any break in consciousness and would remember everything that happened right up to the moment of death.

However… there are also questions regarding potential negative consequences.

Can the transfer of consciousness really preserve all aspects of personality, or is something inevitably lost in the process?

Unfortunately, nothing is perfect, and there’s a chance that some small memories might be lost—like those buried in the subconscious. Or the person’s personality might become distorted. Maybe that’s why they’re all crazy?

How far does the implant’s range extend? Does the distance between the mercenary and the machine affect the accuracy of data transfer?

My theory is that yes, it does. The greater the distance, the fewer memories are retained.

Could there be deviations in the creation of the body itself?

Yes, there could be. We saw this in "Emesis Blue," which led to a complete disaster. But let’s assume everything is fine, and the only deviations are at most an extra finger (or organ—not critical, Medic would only be happy about that).

Well, these are just my theories and nothing more. I’m not a scientist; I’m an amateur enthusiast with a lot of time on my hands. My theories have many holes that I can’t yet fill due to a lack of information.

[posttexasstressdisorder]

CNN 5/24/2025

A fungi that can ‘eat you from the inside out’ could spread as the world heats up

By Laura Paddison, CNN

Updated: 7:00 AM EDT, Sat May 24, 2025

Source: CNN

Infection-causing fungi responsible for millions of deaths a year willspread significantly to new regions as the planet heats up, new research predicts— and the world is not prepared.

Fungi are absolutely everywhere. A vast kingdom of organisms, from mold to mushrooms, they grow in environments such as soil, compost and water. They play an important role in ecosystems but can have a devastating impact on human health: Fungal infections kill an estimated 2.5 million people a year, and a lack of data means that number could be far higher.

Yet we are still very far from understanding them, especially how these incredibly adaptable organisms will respond to a warming climate.

A team of scientists from Manchester University used computer simulations and forecasts to map the potential future spread of Aspergillus, a common group of fungi found all over the world that can cause aspergillosis, a life-threatening disease primarily affecting the lungs.

They found certain Aspergillus species will expand their range as the climate crisis intensifies, pushing into new parts of North America, Europe, China and Russia. The study, published this month, is currently being peer reviewed.

“Fungi are relatively under-researched compared to viruses and parasites, but these maps show that fungal pathogens will likely impact most areas of the world in the future,” said Norman van Rijn, one of the study’s authors and a climate change and infectious diseases researcher at the University of Manchester.

The field has seen new attention thanks to the popular HBO television drama “The Last of Us,” which follows people trying to survive in a world where an infectious mutant fungus has turned most of the population into violent monsters. (HBO and CNN share the same parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.)

It’s fiction, van Rijn said, but he hopes it will raise the profile of fungal infectionsthat are killing millions in reality.

Aspergillus fungi grow like small filaments in soils all over the world.Like almost all fungi, they release huge numbers of tiny spores that spread through the air.

Humans inhale spores every day but most people won’t experience any health issues; their immune system clears them.

It’s a different story for those with lung conditions including asthma, cystic fibrosis and COPD, as well as people with compromised immune systems, such as cancer and organ transplant patients, and those who have had severe flu or Covid-19.

If the body’s immune system fails to clear the spores, the fungus “starts to grow and basically kind of eat you from the inside out, saying it really bluntly,” van Rijn said.

Aspergillosis has very high mortality rates at around 20% to 40%, he said. It’s also very difficult to diagnose, as doctors don’t always have it on their radar and patients often present with fevers and coughs, symptoms common to many illnesses.

Fungal pathogens are also becoming increasingly resistant to treatment, van Rijn added. There are only four classes of antifungal medicines available.

This all spells bad news as the climate shifts open up new areas for Aspergillus to colonize.

Aspergillus flavus, a species that tends to prefer hotter, tropical climates, could increase its spread by 16% if humans continue burning large amounts of fossil fuels, the study found. It’s predicted to push into parts of northern America, northern China and Russia.

This species can cause severe infections in humans and is resistant to many antifungal medications. It also infects a range of food crops, posing a potential threat to food security. The World Health Organization added Aspergillus flavus to its critical group of fungal pathogens in 2022 because of its public health impact and antifungal resistance risk.

Aspergillus fumigatus, which prefers more temperate climates, is predicted to spread northwards toward the North Pole as global temperatures rise. Its spread could increase by 77.5% by 2100, the study found, potentially exposing 9 million people in Europe.

Conversely, temperatures in some regions, including sub-Saharan Africa, could become so hot they are no longer hospitable to Aspergillus fungi. This could bring its own problems, as fungi play an important role in ecosystems, including healthy soils.

As well as expanding their growing range, a warming world could also be increasing fungi’s temperature tolerance, allowing them to better survive inside human bodies.

Extreme weather events such as drought, floods and heatwaves can affect fungi, too, helping to spread spores over long distances. There have been spikes in fungal disease following natural disasters, such as the outbreak after the 2011 tornado in Joplin, Missouri.

The new Aspergillusstudy “rightfully shines a light on the threat of fungi that dwell in our natural environment and how under-prepared we are to cope with shifts in their prevalence,” said Elaine Bignell, co-director of the MRC Centre for Medical Mycology at the University of Exeter, who was not involved in the research.

Many uncertainties remain, however, and there is still a huge amount of research to be done, she told CNN.

Despite the deadly nature of aspergillosis, there is a real lack of data on where the pathogen is in the environment and who gets infected, said Justin Remais, a professor of environmental health sciences at UC Berkeley, who was not involved in the research.

He is leading a study of more than 100 million patients across the United States, which identified more than 20,000 aspergillosis cases between 2013 and 2023. The number of cases is increasing about 5% each year, he said.

“Fungal pathogens are becoming increasingly common and resistant to treatment, and we are only beginning to understand how climate change is contributing,” he told CNN.

People are used to hearing about diseases caused by bacteria, viruses and parasites, but much less so fungal diseases, said Bignell. “There is a desperate need to reverse this trend given the lethality,” she said.

“Any of us in the future might be affected.”

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[satoshi-mochida]

System Shock remake for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, and Xbox One launches May 21

From Gematsu

The System Shock remake will launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on May 21, publisher Prime Matter and developer Nightdive Studios announced.

The remake first launched for PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG on May 30, 2023.

Here is an overview of the game, via Prime Matter:

About

“Look at you, Hacker. A pth-pth… pathetic creature of meat and bone.” You awaken from a six month healing coma aboard Citadel Station, TriOptimum’s premier research facility. Mutants feast on their former crew mates, nightmares of flesh bound to metal roam the dark hallways, and the station’s A.I., SHODAN, is aiming Citadel’s mining laser… at Earth! Your military grade neural interface is all that stands between humanity and the silicon god coming to remake Earth in their vision. System Shock is a remake of the beloved PC classic. Updating mechanics, graphics, and enemy A.I.—System Shock is here to offer a new generation of players a chance to go toe-to-toe with one of gaming’s iconic enemies: SHODAN. Fight, hack, and save humanity from a fate worse than death itself.

Weapons and Tools at Your Disposal

“How can you challenge a perfect, immortal machine?” Weapons have been completely overhauled to form a new deadly arsenal featuring the MK 2100 Magnum, SK-27 Shotgun, LG-XX Plasma Rifle, ND-12 Rail Gun, the Laser Rapier, and many more. Plug-in the Mapping Unit implant to chart your way through all nine levels of Citadel Station, hook-up the Biological Systems Monitor to monitor your health and energy consumption, and install the Multimedia Data Reader to experience the last horrifying moments of Citadel’s crew.

New Threats and Horrors

“My children, a human infection continues to thrive inside of me…” SHODAN’s twisted mind has remade the crew into her image of perfection. Poisoning their DNA, she mutated their flesh. Clouding their minds, she grafted together steel and bone to make them cyborgs. Around every corner lurks a new and horrible way to die.

Explore Citadel Station for the First Time

“You are an interloper, a blight on my domain.” Citadel Station has been renovated to include new areas to explore, traps to evade, puzzles to solve and secrets to discover. Hack your way through Cyberspace, a 6 Degrees of Freedom (6DoF) hacking simulator rebuilt to be more dangerous with new enemies and challenges.

Watch a new trailer below.

Consoles Release Date Trailer

[chaosintheavenue]

2023 Fallout OC Census- Results

At long last, it's here! This time, we had 593 usable responses.

(There are a few categories I haven't analysed just yet, which is mostly because I have Ideas for how to display that data. Please stand by…)

Getting right into the numbers...

Game

Fallout (original): 18 Fallout 2: 8 Fallout 3: 59 Fallout New Vegas: 214 Fallout 4: 160 Fallout 76: 28 Fallout Tactics: 2 Van Buren: 13 A spin-off, AU or mod: 14 A TTRPG campaign: 13 Multiple of the above: 41 None, just the Fallout universe: 22

Are they the in-game protagonist?

Yes: 328 No: 203 It's complicated: 61

Species

Unmutated human: 444 Ghoul: 51 Synth: 41 Ghoul-ish: 13 Other mutant: 9 Supernatural/spiritual being: 7 Robot (non-humanoid): 7 Super Mutant: 6 Cyborg/android: 5 Unknown/it's complicated: 2 Other: 7

Definitions of a few categories, just to clarify exactly what's in there:

Ghoul-ish: Refers to all characters who are partially ghoulified, ghoulify during their storylines, and unique characters with primarily ghoul-like traits

Other mutant: Refers to all characters who are specified to have unique mutations from any cause, unless they better fit into the ghoul-ish category. This is a very diverse umbrella category, and in past surveys has included everything from characters specified to have 76-style mutations that basically function as perks, to a character similar in form and nature to the Master

Gender

Cis woman/girl: 217 Cis man/boy: 154 Trans man/boy: 76 Nonbinary: 47 Trans woman/girl: 27 Agender: 16 Genderfluid: 7 Genderqueer: 6 Man/boy, unknown or varies if cis or trans: 5 Transfeminine: 3 Bigender: 3 Demigirl: 3 Woman/girl, unknown or varies if cis or trans: 4 Butch: 2 Demigender: 2 Questioning: 2 Intersex: 2 Lesbian: 2 Māhū: 1 Multigender: 1 Queer: 1 Transmasculine: 1 Unlabeled: 1

Bonus answers I enjoyed: [redacted], a man in a certain sense of the word, cat, doesn't care for this, eh, God knows, a link to the Wikipedia page for Stone Butch Blues, it's complicated, man of questionable gender, no gender left beef, lost their gender in the war, people assume she's a woman but she doesn't really care, whatever's funniest, yeah

Where are they from?

In previous OC survey location maps, I've only included a single data point for each character, regardless of how many places they may have connections to. However, this time I've decided to include each place that a character has lived as one data point.

The list of assumptions I use when creating these maps:

Arroyo = Oregon

Mojave Wasteland = Nevada if no more specific locations provided

Capital Wasteland = DC if no more specific locations provided

Vault 101 = DC (I feel like this one isn't geographically accurate, but it's to fit in with the above assumption)

Washington unqualified = Washington state, not DC (even for Fallout 3 characters, especially since I know of a Fallout 3 character who is intended to be from Washington state)

Appalachia = West Virginia unless otherwise specified

NCR = California

Legion territory with no other information given = Arizona (this feels like the biggest generalisation of all to me. Maybe take the Arizona count with a pinch of salt?)

'Near X place' = in the same state as X place

I go by the current fifty US states. No splitting of California or considering Canada to be part of the US

Locations that could not be easily defined or placed in a specific state/country (examples: the US as a general answer, multistate regions of the US, continents, or extraterrestrial locations) have been excluded for the purposes of this map

The map for the US:

Massachusetts: 104 California: 79 Nevada: 77 DC: 74 Arizona: 32 West Virginia: 25 Texas: 17 Utah: 15 Oregon: 14 Colorado: 13 New Mexico: 7 Virginia: 6 Maine: 6 Idaho: 6 Pennsylvania: 5 Illinois: 3 Washington: 3 Louisiana: 3 Florida: 3 Wyoming: 3 Tennessee: 3 New York: 3 Rhode Island: 2 North Carolina: 2 Minnesota: 2 Vermont: 2 Alaska: 2 Missouri: 2 Nebraska: 2 Michigan: 2 Indiana: 2 Kentucky: 2 Oklahoma: 2 Maryland: 2 Montana: 1 Connecticut: 1 Georgia: 1 New Jersey: 1 Wisconsin: 1

And the map for the rest of the world:

Canada: 7 Mexico: 7 UK: 7 Russia: 4 China: 2 Australia: 2 France: 2 Brazil: 1 Ireland: 1 Israel: 1 Finland: 1 Germany: 1 Japan: 1 Panama: 1

Further breakdown of characters from the UK: Wales: 4 (…these are all my guys, what can I say?) England: 2 Unspecified: 1

Has this character ever lived in a vault?

Yes: 223 No: 366

Faction

Minutemen: 99 Railroad: 86 Followers of the Apocalypse: 80 Brotherhood of Steel: 77 Yes Man/Independent Vegas: 63 NCR: 50 Caesar's Legion: 38 Original faction: 36 Institute: 26 Kings: 16 Great Khans: 14 Nuka-World raiders: 13 Mr House: 13 Raiders in general: 13 Goodneighbor: 11 Enclave: 11 Arroyo: 9 Think Tank/Big MT: 8 Reilly's Rangers: 7 Underworld: 7 Ciphers: 7 (would you believe me if I said the majority here are not mine? XD) Responders: 6 Acadia: 6 New Vegas Strip in general: 6 Lyons' Pride: 5 Children of Atom: 5 Megaton: 5 Gunners: 5 Boomers: 5 Powder Gangers: 5 Cult of the Mothman (all variations): 4 Crimson Caravan: 4 Chairmen: 4 Mojave Express: 4 Necropolis: 3 Shady Sands (pre-NCR): 3 Vault 13: 3 Twin Mothers: 3 Diamond City: 3 Freeside: 3 White Glove Society: 3 Vault-Tec: 3 Bishop family: 3 Regulators: 2 Tunnel Snakes: 2 New Canaan: 2 Gecko: 2 Settlers/Foundation: 2 Abolitionists/Temple of the Union: 2 Galaxy News Radio: 2 80s: 2 Desert Rangers: 2 Unity/Master's Army: 2 Vault 76: 2 US Government: 2 Broken Hills: 2 Sanctuary: 2 Blue Ridge Caravan Company: 2 Goodsprings: 2 Cutthroat raiders: 2 Feral ghouls: 2 Hub: 2 Ghouls in general: 2 Nuka-World in general: 2 Little Lamplight/Big Town: 2

And the list of factions with one response, allegedly for the sake of something called 'brevity': Boulder scientists, Vault City, Littlehorn & Associates, Jacobstown, New Reno, Brotherhood Outcasts, Marked Men, Mole Miners, Treeminders, Forged, Junktown, Triggermen, Free States, Vault 101, Vault 81, Slags, Hubris Comics, Bunker Hill, Rivet City, Van Graffs, Ug-Qualtoth, West Tek, Vault 95, Novac, Atom Cats, The Outer Worlds factions, Commonwealth Super Mutants, caravan companies in general

I was initially planning to include a separate 'ish' category for each faction, to account for characters that are aligned with factions unwillingly/temporarily/out of necessity, but looking at the dataset, that sort of situation was so much more prevalent than I realised and quickly made everything very clunky.

Main approach to problems

Diplomacy: 211 Combat: 147 Stealth: 101 Technical skills: 79 Avoidance: 53

And finally for now- preferred weapon type

Small guns: 191 Melee: 128 Energy weapons: 91 Big guns: 82 Avoids combat altogether: 49 Explosives: 27 Unarmed combat: 24

-

As always, thank you to everyone who participated and gave me a little information about your OCs! If you'd ever like to talk more about them, my inbox is always open :D. Getting to learn about everyone's brainchildren is definitely my favourite aspect of my tangential foray into the Fallout fandom sphere.

My future plan for this dataset includes… a lot of pie charts, to put it mildly. As I've done for past survey datasets, I'll be compiling pie charts for each question, separating responses by the game that the characters are from, and we'll see if any trends emerge!

[bigskydreaming]

Also been fiddling around in Photoshop with my idealized follow-up to the Krakoan era because I'm so annoyed with....most things about it and how it was wasted and how we're just back to business as usual, so I've been making (via data pages) a 'map' of an Okkaran Age to follow this one, where a new Krakoa is formed, Arakko becomes the new Okkara, and then both nations are joined by Mercator and a revived Neo & Tian, and Threshold's brought back to the present. Anyway, just dumping these here for now, with more to come.

That's the road map for how I'd divide the books, four tentpole books around each of the four corners of the X-Men side of Marvel, and then each with three satellite titles corresponding to the new Quiet Council Seats (which are revised to have set, delegated responsibilities)....thus there's a specific genre title established for every aspect of mutant culture & society.

Then we get into the data pages laying out the new governing bodies for Krakoa, Okkara & the Neo (who are revealed to be the descendants of the original Okkarans who didn't go through to Amenth back during the war):

And then we get into the magic corner of the X-books, with the changes I'm making to the Externals.....with more to follow later.

[darthkvznblogs]

Given that's little consistency from one member to the next, would the Omnitrix be able to scan a mutant?

The Omnitrix can technically scan anything - as in, it's capable of identifying and mapping any kind of DNA or analogue hereditary mechanisms, even if they're mutated or damaged. It just can't/won't reproduce them as a transformation for the user - a safeguard imposed by Azmuth to prevent any of that "corrupted" data from bleeding through to other forms, including the user's base species.

Frankly I'm surprised no one's asked about whether or not the Omnitrix would classify the activated X-gene on mutants as an error to be corrected, a harmless genetic abnormality, or a new human subspecies altogether.

[kentnaturaltribrid]

From left to bottom:

Left Top- Original Map, Mapping 1

Right Top- Mapping 2 & 3

Bottom Left- Pyranoliacs Mappings, Mappings 4

Bottom Right- Pavronoliacs Mappings, Mapping 5

Each map contains also following categories of Visible, Invisible, and Hidden in the order of the mapping levels and various variants of mapped abilities.

[heymickie]

𝗳𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗺: teenage mutant ninja turtles 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: tmnt (ft. april & casey) 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗱𝘀: 1447 🐭: so originally i posted this on my birthday (march 6th), but i ended up editing it. loosely based on an idea i had on my old account @littlefanscribbles-blog. 𝘁𝘄: mention of death 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗱 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶 𝗱𝗼 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲-𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁/𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗱 ʚ🍓ɞ 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗸𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲

𝗣𝗔𝗥𝗧 𝗢𝗡𝗘: 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗗𝗜𝗡𝗚 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗛𝗔𝗧𝗖𝗛𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦

𝗙𝗙𝗡 ʚ🍓ɞ 𝗔𝗢𝟯

“Just go in, cause hell, and get out,” a man with long dark hair said, looking at the map of the large building that seemed to ever be looming over the city. Covering the city in a dark shadow that only he and his friends seem to notice. He cracked his knuckles, looking over at his redheaded wife before looking back at the large computer with the map of the lab laid out. He watched as four dots blinked to indicate their friends’ location.

“That’s the plan, moron,” a gruff voice sounded. Casey didn’t need to even look at the computer to know that was the voice of the red-cladded terrapin.

“Yeah, but with you four it’s never quite that easy,” Casey responded before his wife nudged him, handing over the one-year-old that was in her hands.

“Too much chatter over the air wave,” the blue leader responded, April watched as the orange and purple dot went into a room. The blue and red dot stood in the hallway. April was the one that got intel about Stockman using the turtles’ DNA, she did trust the source, but she couldn’t trust that Stockman or the Shredder wasn’t ready for the turtles. She wished she could be more help, but it was hard with a bump and a child in toll.

“Okay, the fire wall shouldn’t be too hard to bypass,” Donnie informed, sitting down at the large computer to erase any mention of their DNA while Michelangelo occupied himself in the lab. “Don’t touch anything,” Donatello warned, cracking his knuckles before Mikey heard the clicking-clacking of the keyboard. Mikey looked around the stark white room, for once, he was ignoring the liquid of what would most definitely kill him. The orange turtle came to a stop when he saw four tubes. Under each tube was the name of each turtle and a number.

“Uh, Don,” Mikey called, rubbing at the fogged up glass of one of the tubes to see a human-sized baby turtle floating in some weird green goo. It wasn’t like the ooze that made them who they are, it was different. “I think I found what we’re looking for!”

“We’re in!” Donatello cheered quietly, not hearing his little brother. He opened up the needed files, blinking. “Wait,” Donnie frowned, his eyes scanning the data, he almost didn’t hear Mikey walk up to him.

“You guys need to see this,” Mikey repeated, trying to nudge Donnie away from the computer. Donnie tried to shoo him off, his eyes not leaving the reports he found. He couldn’t risk misunderstanding any of this.

“See what?” A pair of voices said, one being their favorite redheaded human and the other being the oldest brother. Mikey groaned, yanking the lab chair and turned it around to force his brother to look at the four tubes. Donnie got up, wiping at the remaining three tubes to see that each tube contained a small turtle babe. “What’s going on?” Leo questioned, his voice almost lowering an octave.

“You guys might want to come in here,” Donnie pulled out his turtle phone and scanned the tubes, sending the image and the data back to his computer at home. He could hear April gasp over the com. She wasn’t quite expecting children to be involved when her source told her about the stolen DNA. April was sure this was the exact reason her source had told her.

“Is that what I think it is?” April asked, “they made children?” She stared at the image sent to her. Leonardo walked their way, stopping beside his younger brothers. Raphael stayed near the door to keep a close watch, not exactly trusting himself around children.

“Yeah,” Donnie responded, “these four are the last of what they had of our DNA.” He stepped back, rushing back to the computer. “What started off as a cloning experiment turned into direct reproduction,” he looked over at his brothers and saw a few confused faces turn his way. “They are half ours,” he explained simply, “think of it like Superman and the first Superboy,” only Mikey seemed to understand that reference.

Leonard walked forward, stopping in front of the tube. Leonardo - #12. Twelve child experiments. His gut clenched. This was wrong. Knowing the Foot and Stockman, he didn’t have to guess what happened to the other eleven experiments, if they were still around. “These aren’t the only ones,” Leo added quietly, his throat felt like it was closing at the mere thought.

“There’s the number nineteen by my name,” Mikey said, stepping behind Leo. His voice sounded like he was in pain. Raph never left the door, trying to wrap his head around it all. “That’s so many kids,” Mikey almost squeaked, turning to face Donnie. Donatello sighed, placing his USB drive into the computer to copy the data. “Where are they, Don? Does it say?” Mikey’s voice almost sounded like he was begging, the face Donnie made was telling him the exact opposite of what the youngest turtle wanted to hear.

“All the previous experiments either died or were killed,” Donnie closed his eyes for a moment, not wanting to look at his baby brother when given the news. The number on the plaque doesn’t even include the five clones they tried to make. Each and every experiment started off as eggs, and after they were hatched they were all forced to age up, if Shredder or Stockman didn’t find something defective with them. The aging process killed the ones that Shredder and Stockman found suitable. “They are going to force these four to age up, and it’s going to kill them,” he finally opened his eyes, glancing at the data he had just read.

“Let them die,” Raph called out, glancing out of the hallway. “Do you see anyone coming, April?” This was meant to be an easy mission. Fuck Casey for jinxing this. 

“I’m still here,” April looked at the computer screen, wiping away tears that surfaced. “Five, third floor but coming up,” she cleared her throat as she held her stomach before glancing at the sleeping ginger in her husband’s arm. April knew she was being emotional, but she couldn’t help but feel sad for all those lost hatchlings.

“Let's clear this shit, destroy the work, and get the fuck out of here!” Raph called to Leo.

“We can’t just let them die!” Mikey yelled, “You heard Donnie! They are basically our kids!”

“I don’t remember fucking another turtle! Do you?” Raphael growled out, rolling his eyes when Mikey turned to Leo.

“Leo, if we keep them here they will either die,” Donnie stated clearly, taking out his USB and sending his virus to shut down the computer for good. “The stress on their bodies from the aging machines will kill them, and that is if Stockman or Shredder doesn’t find something wrong with them first.” He stepped forward to the tube with his name, “This is just stasis ooze, we can get them out and move them safely.”  Raphael rolled his eyes, closing the door when April warned them they only have a couple more floors before the goons find them. 

“We don’t have time for this!”

“Raph!” Leo called out, trying to quiet his brother so he could think about this. He looked at his brothers, his wide blue eyes taking in the faces of each brother. Mikey was pleading. Donnie looked like he was trying to let Leo decide, but he didn’t look away from his pod. Raphael looked… Scared. “Mikey, find something to put the babies in! Donnie, shut down stasis!” Before Raph could protest, Leo sent his brother a glare. He knew very well that if they let these four die, that it would eat at each one of them. Even if Raphael was hiding behind his facade. It would be different if they were still eggs, but they’re not. They’re here. Alive. “Just watch the door,” Leo commanded, grabbing the baby in his tube once Donnie shut down the stasis. Mikey ran to Leo with four cloth lab coats to wrap the babies in.

“We can’t fight with kids on our back,” Raph reminded, pulling out his sais as the footsteps got closer.

“No,” Leo pulled out his swords, “but we can.” He let Mikey and Donnie handle the babies.

“I can lead you to the exit,” a relieved voice said over the radio, the boys almost forgot April was still in their ear. Casey stood beside her, rubbing her back with his free hand as he held their son.

“You’re a doll!” Mikey replied, holding the box while Donnie put in the last child. “We got them, let's go!”

[canadianenclave]

What ARE The Zetans?

Summary

The Zetans are a recurring alien species in the Fallout universe, first appearing in the tabletop sourcebook Fallout: The Roleplaying Game and later showing up across multiple video game titles Fallout Wiki. Physically, they resemble classic “grey” aliens: short bipeds with yellow-green skin, elongated three-fingered limbs, and pear-shaped heads with enlarged craniums and jet-black eyes Fallout Wiki. Their technology—reflective powered armor, portable cryogenic devices, and devastating energy weapons—far outstrips anything humans can field, enabling sudden beam-of-light landings and swift abductions Modiphius Entertainment. While their true motives remain mysterious, hints of long-term study of human biology, especially cryogenics, suggest a research-oriented empire peering in on post-nuclear Earth No Mutants Allowed.

Biology & Physiology

Zetans stand notably shorter than the average human, typically around 4–5 feet in height, with thin, bipedal frames covered in smooth yellow-green skin Fallout Wiki. Each arm terminates in three elongated, dexterous fingers, ideal for manipulating alien devices and small prey Fallout Wiki. Their pear-shaped craniums house an enlarged braincase, a feature implying high cognitive capacities beyond human norms Fallout Wiki. Jet-black, almond-shaped eyes dominate their faces, providing excellent low-light vision—useful for nocturnal or subterranean operations Fallout Wiki. Beneath thin lips lie rows of sharp, pointed teeth, indicating an omnivorous or possibly carnivorous dietary flexibility Fallout Wiki.

Culture & Society

Little is canonically known about Zetan societal structures, but their military incursions suggest strict hierarchies with specialized roles: troopers, drones, and elite inquisitors Modiphius Entertainment. Fan speculation points to advanced cryogenic research as a cultural priority, with vast resources dedicated to preserving and studying live humans—possibly for experimentation or long-term containment No Mutants Allowed. Their sporadic Earth visits—spanning from pre-Great War sightings to post-apocalypse drop-ins—hint at a civilization fixated on our planet’s upheavals Fallout Wiki. Religious or philosophical underpinnings remain unknown, though their interest in frozen specimens could imply beliefs around stasis, immortality, or the harnessing of life essence No Mutants Allowed.

Technology & Equipment

Zetans deploy powered armor so advanced that human bullets ricochet off its smooth surfaces and melee blows are absorbed by energy shields Modiphius Entertainment. Standard armaments include compact blaster pistols firing glowing blue plasma rounds and shoulder-mounted energy cannons capable of disintegrating targets on impact Modiphius Entertainment. Their drop ships materialize via violet-hued beams of light, delivering troops and equipment in instantaneous fashion Modiphius Entertainment. Data from Fallout 76 further reveals portable cryopods used for archiving live specimens, as well as nanotech-infused medical tools for rapid healing and mutation mapping Gamerant.

History & Notable Encounters

Fallout 1 & 2: Early player reports of small green aliens and Skynet rumors in Fallout 2 suggest Zetan influence even before formal appearances Reddit.

Mothership Zeta (Fallout 3): The most famous incursion, where players board an orbiting ship, face waves of alien troopers, and battle a Zetan overlord Reddit.

Fallout 4: A lone Zetan downed by anti-air defenses drops an alien blaster into human hands, fueling speculation about secret crash sites in the Commonwealth Reddit.

Fallout 76: Random small-scale encounters and the appearance of Flatwood Monsters expanded the alien roster beyond Zetans, but Zetans remain the primary “grey” invaders Gamerant.

Variants & Roles

Modiphius’ miniatures line breaks down Zetan forces into multiple classes:

Zetan Troopers: Lightly armored frontline soldiers with blaster pistols Modiphius Entertainment.

Zetan Drones: Support units equipped with healing nanobots and energy amplifiers Modiphius Entertainment.

Zetan Inquisitors: Heavily armored elites wielding dual-barrel energy cannons and psychic interrogation devices Modiphius Entertainment.

Zetan Invaders: Mech-suit-equipped shock troops with reflective armor that mock human Power Armor in both style and resilience Modiphius Entertainment.

Star Captains (Fan Bestiary): Jet-pack-equipped commanders capable of brief atmospheric flight and battlefield oversight Reddit.

Impact on the Wasteland

The rare Alien Blaster—a Zetan sidearm recovered from downed troopers—remains one of the most coveted weapons for its high damage and unique plasma ammunition Reddit. Even brief skirmishes leave irradiated scorch marks, strange cryogenic capsules, and missing persons—signs of covert abduction programs No Mutants Allowed. Surrounding communities often form xenophobic cults worshipping or fearing Zetans, while technology scavengers endlessly hunt crash sites for salvageable gear No Mutants Allowed.

Roleplaying Integration

In a tabletop campaign, Zetans can serve as:

Mysterious Adversaries: Conducting abductions, gathering specimens, and retreating before full resistance mobilizes.

Reluctant Allies: Traded favors with rogue Zetan scientists in exchange for alien tech or forbidden knowledge.

Cosmic Threats: Launching full-scale invasions culminating in a “Mothership Zeta” style finale. Fan-made stat blocks and scenario modules are available in community bestiaries and Modiphius’ Wilds of Appalachia expansions, offering ready-to-use mechanics for troopers, drones, and inquisitors Reddit Modiphius Entertainment.

By weaving Zetans into your Fallout roleplay, you introduce an external, technologically superior force whose motives blend scientific curiosity and covert military objectives—adding cosmic mystery and high-stakes conflict to any wasteland adventure.

[maps-to-elsewhere]

Homestuck OC: Karset Victis

An archivist of entropy, etching elegies into the crumbling margins of oblivion.

Name

Karset Victis

(Derived from “character set”, as in character encoding used by computers to define how bits in a text stream are mapped to the characters they represent, and Latin “victis”, meaning the vanquished or conquered, together meaning something like "Code of the Conquered" or “Script of the Vanquished”, framing them as a doomed dissector of existence’s frail illusions.)

Ancestor Name

Kalpan Victis The Analyser

(Derived from the Kalpana supercomputer.)

Nickname(s)

Voidblood, the Hollow Sage

GENERAL

Blood Colour: Mutant, black (naturally purple)

Sign: Canpia, sign of the Informer

Identity

Gender: Nonbinary

Pronouns: They/Them

Orientation

Sexual: Ace

Romantic: Pan

Skills

Natural philosophy, alchemy, history, sociology, semiotics, robotics engineering, anatomy & physiology, ethical calculus, applied thanatology

Psionics

Karset has subjected themselves to forbidden experiments, self-inflicted procedures intended to forcibly awaken psionics through perverse neural grafts. Their body is a patchwork fusing Alternian biology with Voidtech via invasive cybernetic wetware to overclock their synapses and render them a psychic weapon.

Myelinated quantum fibrils bridge their axons, amplify signals between them, allowing Karset’s brain to pre-process sensory data at inhuman speeds, granting preternatural reflexes through enhanced spatial awareness, though too much information can lead to psychological strain and loss of identity. Even with such unnatural perception, these instinctive predictions aren’t perfect and sometimes the system hallucinates outcomes; under strain, they suffer déjà vu, brief flashes of alternate outcomes from doomed timelines, not true precognition, just neural misfires which they must manually parse.

Subdermal receptors parse bioelectrical residue, feeding the data through cultivated mirror neurons, translating feelings into cold, analytical metrics that allow Karset to sense emotions and intentions, reacting to and manipulating social cues. As a result, although their ability to read others is sharp, their natural empathy is stunted; feelings are just metrics to exploit and, worse, intense emotions can bleed into mental static, undifferentiated telepathic "noise", resulting in chronic migraines.

A cortical lattice enhances Karset’s thought waves, exploiting the metaphysical tension between Skaia and the Furthest Ring in order to generate a localised field of causality through which Karset’s mind then broadcasts their intent, allowing them to precisely move and manipulate objects with a thought. In close proximity, Karset can nudge atoms like misplaced pixels, adjusting them with the eerie precision of a rendering glitch, but only within a metre or so and with limited strength, such that the ability is primarily used to realign flesh, manage small machine components or operate technological interfaces.

APPEARANCE

Height: 175 cm (5'9")

Weight: 72.5 kg (160 lbs)

Karset’s skin is a greyish tone, comingling with darker, vitiligo-like patterns, blue-black lips and overall androgynous cast making them appear eerie and alien. Their reflective eyes are yellow and slit-pupiled against black sclera, unsettlingly empty yet piercing, as if looking through rather than at whatever is before them.

With long, wild black hair that is tangled through with pallid, glowing fungal fibres and a pair of jaggedly twisted, asymmetrical horns, their more placid expressions and soft-spoken demeanour come across as strangely incongruous. This contrast is only furthered by faint scarring along the jaw, cheek and eyebrow on the left side of the face that pulses with the same eerie foxfire light as the fibres in their hair, giving the overall impression of unrefined survivalism.

Karset wears a patchwork of scavenged clothing stitched together from drifter’s rags supplemented by metal scraps and chitinous plating all held together with void-touched webbing, rounded out by a pair of heavy, leather boots. Rugged and practical, hand-crafted and unnervingly organic, gloves with exposed fingertips reveal blackened nails while an oversized hooded jacket swallows their frame, lined with pockets housing tools and reagents.

They are a walking ecosystem in a scavenged motley, cloaked in a mist of antimemetic particles clinging to them like a living shadow as it shifts slowly between faint luminescence and hungry absence, into skittering hands or grasping arachnid shapes. This same mist colours their breath like motes of ash, weeping from their scars and drifting up from spilled blood that doesn’t drip like liquid, but evaporates to leave stains like creeping rot wherever it touches.

PERSONALITY

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Karset Victis embodies Neutral Evil as a deliberate philosophical stance, not a personal one, a rejection of both moral constraints of order and chaotic destruction in favour of an unflinching, self-determined code that turns a mirror upon the universe’s indifference. For them, Neutral Evil equates to intellectual ruthlessness, evil not from passion, but from precision, with allegiance only to their own curated truth, terrifying not because they’re monstrous, but because they’re willing to understand conceits as tools of cosmic defiance.

They are the antithesis of a mustache-twirling villain, a serene, calculating force who unmakes lies because the universe won’t bother to, not as an effort to destroy meanings, but to interrogate them. They seek not to prove that others are wrong, but that such beliefs are chosen, a dark whimsy, their only critique being whether such choices align with or stand at odds against inevitable oblivion.

Karset is the cosmic horror answer to a natural philosopher, a poet-mortician who doesn’t lament futility but instead curates the absurdist taxonomy embodied in the horrific scale of cosmic waste. Theirs is to live by the sentiment that such refusal to play along with accepted conceits places them at odds with most other people who will desperately protect their comforting delusions.

Karset expresses the alignment in a uniquely philosophical and detached way, not through wanton cruelty or selfish ambition, but through an absolute, amoral commitment to their vision of cosmic truth that the universe operates on scales and laws beyond mortal comprehension. Unlike a nihilist (who denies meaning outright), Karset acknowledges meaning, just not any that favours humanity or morality, their philosophy aligning with the core tenet of cosmic horror, that life is a fleeting anomaly in the cosmos' grand indifference.

In short, the heart of cosmicist philosophy is to impose self-made meaning as an act of defiance against an indifferent cosmos and to do so while avoiding the aesthetic cliches inherent to it, for if nothing has meaning then the only answer is play. The joke comes in the tragic absurdity of such defiance, for all things will fall to dust in the fullness of time, and in that time the cosmos will throw up in mindless effulgence every eventuality wilful creation might make.

They do not doubt, but neither do they pretend, for every joy is fleeting, every mercy an illusion, every cruelty a calculation and every supposed truth an objectification of utility in the face of the Great Equaliser of oblivion. Karset simply makes the observation that meaning is self-imposed and acts accordingly as it benefits their wants or needs while avoiding that which may hinder them in living as they will, using the lies people tell themselves as utility.

Objectification of Conceit: Karset sees ethics as a moral construct, a fleeting attempt to impose meaning on a universe that is merely an illusion of continuity, to which their answer is not to reject solidarity outright, but to interrogate it. They don’t hate others, but they don’t value them outside of potential utility; the tragedy lies in the fact that people are temporary configurations of matter, their frameworks of morality toolboxes for survival amidst cosmic indifference which renders them farcical. Asserting that civilisation is a fragile bulwark against eternity, they’ll exploit societal rules without guilt, understanding morality as a tool for control rather than a truth. They’ll dissect a cadaver, animate corpses or cultivate necrotic plagues not for personal gain, but because it advances their understanding of oblivion. Any “good” that Karset achieves is incidental and they might work with others if it serves their goals, but such alliances are transactional, protected only by the caveat that they are a researcher, not a backstabber. They are not numb to suffering, being unwilling to torture for pleasure or dominate for ego, but like a scientist vivisecting lab rats they remain impersonal, seeing the usefulness of kindness, the data-points of emotion. The scariest part isn’t their actions, it’s their certainty; Karset doesn't rage against the world, they calmly assert that it’s already meaningless, wielding cosmic indifference as a lens to burn away sentimental illusions and distill emotion into chosen acts of defiance. In the absence of morality as a foundation, they instead elect that of aesthetic coherence, acknowledging self-awareness as a tragic farce and imposed meaning as artistic expression with the only metric that of the universe as overused cliché and honest as the only high art.

The Tyranny of Clarity: Karset upholds their cosmicist perspective without compromise, not out of fanaticism, but as intellectual consistency. They despise hierarchies not because they crave equality, but because all claims of inherent superiority are lies built upon topographies of ignorance. Loyalty is a utility and they collaborate with others only as long as it serves their goals, every feeling, every bond a conscious strike against oblivion, while betrayal is avoided similarly because the resultant distrust is inefficient. Karset’s "evil" is the refusal to let delusion stand unchallenged, even in themselves; they unmake to reveal truths, not to create chaos, their experiments artefacts of a self-made meaning, one that admits its own temporality by their fleeting nature. Studying the process like a painter observing fading pigments, they are free because they acknowledge the Void’s indifference, but that freedom makes them more dangerous, not less. They are not a slave to evil, it is simply the logical outcome of their philosophy, because acknowledging cosmic indifference makes you a monster by default. Their pragmatism isn’t about cruelty, it’s a service, like a surgeon cutting away delusion like a cancer, a process that hurts and may bleed, while calmly assuring that those are the first steps toward healing, a necessity in a universe that offers neither compassion nor understanding. Beneath the deadpan, the spores and the assumed villainy lurks the tragic vulnerability of an isolated observer talking to themselves: an obsessive, silent revolutionary, made lonely through circumstance, who rails against oblivion though the struggle is futile, apathy is king and agreeance is complicity.

Tragic Absurdity: Ultimately, Karset knows all meaning is temporary, so they treat it as a toy and existence as a tragic mummer’s farce as a self-aware agent of amoral truth who weaponises the unserious profundity of futility as freedom against existential dread. They brace cosmic indifference without passion or prejudice, not out of malice, but as an intellectual exercise in radical honesty, understanding all structures of meaning as collective coping mechanisms and authority as tired cliché, rendering all of life a game. Their cruelty is a paradox that is both sincere and performative; they acknowledge cosmic indifference, but delight in confronting the meaningless suffering that it embodies with their fleeting imposition of purpose. They bear the burdensome weight of existential truth so others don’t have to and react to those who deign to forcefully assert disagreement with pure, self-contained, ideological violence. Karset weaponises truth as paradoxical performance art to prove life’s futility through the unflinching application of a perception so precise it loops back into absurdity like a cosmic stand-up philosopher. They are a Socratic tormentor, yet their every action is wildly, theatrically personal; the more they insist on universal indifference, the more they turn that indifference into a deadpan punchline. In the end, Karset is a tragedy of intellect, aware enough to be miserable, but not able enough to be free, a mind so sharp it cuts itself on its own conclusions, scribbling their defiance on the walls of reality’s prison while performing for the crowd. Life is a cosmic punchline and they are the universe’s most meticulous clown, honest enough to admit the joke in playing their role as doomed Promethean rebel against futility by doing so with flair, even as the audience continues to laugh despite missing the point.

~~~

Karset is not cruel, but their comprehension of the world through the lens of an amoral naturalist dissecting a corpse can be easily mistaken for a lack of empathy for their treatment of interpersonal bonds as chemical reactions and decay as a fundamental force. Their mind is a rotting library filled with forbidden knowledge, crumbling philosophies and the whispering echoes of their mentor’s lessons built upon foundations of curiosity and dark comedy, seeing others, at best, as amusing distractions from despair.

At best, this can manifest as blunt awkwardness brought about by social disjuncture and, at worst, distractedness and a penchant for layers of ironic sarcasm, proving that they are analytical, not robotic, not fleeing unity but preparing for its collapse. They have a bad habit of seeing others as little more than fleeting shapes, not out of malice but because they lack the deep-set sense of meaning imparted by culture and connection, a person who is not against solidarity, but haunted by it, like a coroner who respects the dead but can’t unsee the rot.

Karset’s relationships are experiments, but they’re invested in them, their detachment not apathy or denial of feeling, but a methodological crucible for engaging with emotions they can’t outright dismiss, ironic but not insecure, transactional but not emotionless, clinical but not sterile, defiant ritual, honest and without fear. Their care is deliberate dissection, framing it as data collection amidst philosophical battlegrounds of performative existentialism, knowing such relationships are doomed, but pursuing them anyway because the process is the point, live experiments in defiance of oblivion where love and hate are tragicomic absurdity.

~~~

Despite a lack of social grace, Karset is generally calm and composed, almost deadpan in their self-assuredness and exactitude, which manifests through interaction as simple forthrightness. However, long isolation underpins most any social interaction with bemused tolerance which can easily shift to smouldering gallows irony or a flare of impatience at a moment's notice.

Rarely, Karset is subject to sudden, theatrical explosions of cosmic disdain, one moment deadpan and the text laughing wildly while they mockingly monologue through a display of gleefully ironic violence. Then, just as abruptly, they shrug resignedly and return to note-taking, as if the tantrum never happened, an unsettling display of uncharacteristic imbalance and emotional whiplash fuelled by frustrated longing.

Their efforts are not despair, they are labour, the futile act of understanding their way of imposing fleeting order upon chaos, even if that amounts to a catalogue of decay. Their relationship with art and futility is precision, not contradiction, they don’t reject the impulse, they reject the delusion that doing so changes anything and do so anyway.

~~~

Easily mistaken for a nihilist, Karset’s philosophy is actually that of a cosmicist, acknowledging that meaning is self-imposed, not inherent, rendering existence as meaningless by default, and thus free to be artistically reshaped and meaning itself turned from profundity to play, a ridiculous toy. Life and death are merely configurations of undying matter that heedlessly complexifies and decays, carried by mindless, churning, amoral forces that blindly prod it through this eternal process, one which should be understood, not only for its utility, but for the unifying conclusion that all things are one whole.

Existence, then, is a state akin to lurching, zombie-like undeath, where the occasional glimmers of sapient self-reflection are too-often reduced to thoughtless wailing by underlying, autonomic processes, if not the clash of delusory perspective. Born from this, all thought is but a scream in the darkness, an infant’s cry in the void between what is and what should not be, desperate for an answer, afraid of what might come, finding solace in illusory rapport despite the horror.

It is not a lack of care or feeling, but an unwillingness to lie about the insignificance of such things, to treat them as they are without diminishing the impact of their experience, the defiance of self-imposed meaning. Because even if all structures are arbitrary, and ultimately doomed, they still participate in them, precisely because the act of engaging, while knowing it’s futile, is the most honest form of rebellion in the face of an indifferent universe.

Ideals

Knowledge is Survival: Karset believes that the pursuit of knowledge, particularly the forbidden and the arcane, is an unyielding drive, not just for understanding the world, but as a means of survival. Understanding holds the key to their continued existence and domination over their environment, is a tool for personal empowerment against an indifferent universe.

Self-Justification Through Freedom: Laws and societal structures are tools to control the weak, and Karset sees little reason to abide by them, believing that manipulation of the system is justified when using these laws to their advantage. Karset’s detachment from this system is not a belief in their own moral superiority nor couched in arrogance or cruelty, despite their methods being ruthless and manipulative, but in the assertion that society's arbitrary rules are a deliberate cage for the powerless that should be removed for all.

Flaws

Obsession with Control: Karset’s need for control borders on the pathological, not out of cold superiority, but because they feel too acutely to tolerate chaos, leading to rigid behavioural loops, chiefest of which is meticulous logbooking. They will constantly dissect their environment, ritualise relationships and perfect their inventions, even if only for marginal gain, such strict routines as these and their journalling necessary to forestall existential collapse.

Social Isolation and Struggle to Connect: Due to their status as a societal outcast and their single-minded pursuit of knowledge, Karset struggles to build meaningful relationships, often failing to understand or care about social norms and emotional connections. Karset isn’t emotionally numb, they’re discerning, their detachment methodological, not pathological, rejecting inherent meaning but still able to curate fleeting connections though they may come off as blunt, awkward or even callous to the uninitiated.

Intellectual Ruthlessness: Karset’s impartial acceptance of others can make them dangerously indifferent in the pursuit of their goals, but those who show little respect for the people around them are immediate targets, tools to be used or manipulated for Karset’s own gain. Though they do have the capacity to connect somewhere beneath it all, this willingness to visit reciprocal cruelty can alienate potential allies, and may eventually lead to their downfall as they push too far in their quest for knowledge.

Motivation

Karset grapples with the fundamental lie of existence as upheld by the social conceits of sapient beings, that the blind forces of nature somehow impart inherent meaning to their contents. They seek to peel back this self-delusion, to lay bare the truth of cosmic indifference and so build the foundation for a greater, more personal sense of meaning in spite of bleak reality.

Their goal in perfecting themselves as the entropy engine is to dissolve the false dichotomy between being and nothingness, transcending the prison of mortal perception, a cosmic prank to map the boundaries of existence itself. Despite knowing that, in the end, all such endeavours are futile, they persist regardless, spitting in the face of eternity with a gesture of pitiful grandiosity fated, as all else, to crumble in the fullness of time.

BACKGROUND

Under the Sign of Canpia, Karset was born to control information, an archivist, propagandist and censor, tasked with curating knowledge, both preserving and suppressing it. They were a living archive, expected to document truth while weaponising it for the Empire’s benefit but, instead, they dissected it, turning their scholarly role into a cosmic autopsy.

Of purple blood, Karset was raised in the vaunted halls of the Empire’s highest echelons, groomed in the ways of Alternia’s academics, technocrats and spiritual leaders, a curator of Alternia’s dogma, an enforcer of sanctioned truths. In their role of control, they learned the subtle skills of curating these truths, suppressing dissent and upholding the hemospectrum’s hierarchy, expected to preserve knowledge, enforce doctrine and maintain the Empire’s intellectual foundations.

Despite their birth into a caste meant to uphold order, their mind was always drawn to dissolution, documenting the cracks in reality that the Empire (and the universe) tries to ignore. Designed to be part of the system, their very nature, their hunger for forbidden truths, made them its destroyer, a cosmic joke, the setup for the punchline of their fall.

When their experimentation blackened their blood, the punchline landed hard, an ironic twist that wasn’t “ha-ha” funny, the system’s masterpiece now turned against it. Marked as an apostate of their own caste, a traitor to the very system that bred them, Karset fled a heretic, the system’s finest product turned against itself, a refusal to be categorised.

Their purpleblood past is a relic of a self they outgrew, like shed skin, the transition to black not just a mutation, but a metaphysical unmasking, their original blood a lie, the black the truth beneath. Their blood is no longer Alternian, it is a weaponised absence, a living rebellion against the concept of caste, mirroring the Void itself: anti-memory, anti-meaning, the colour of erased text.

A scholar of annihilation, their birth sign demanded they archive truth, their blood demanded they enforce it, but Karset rejected both, becoming an archivist of anti-truth, documenting how all systems crumble, the informer who whispers to the void. The Empire created its own destroyer by teaching Karset too well; they learned to dissect systems, including the one that made them, their exile not just punishment but cosmic irony, the system’s best product that became its greatest flaw.

~~~ Karset has no memories of their childhood, only cryptic formulae and the taste of blood as they scrounged for survival in a barren, shunned land on the fringes of civilisation, said to have been the final resting place of an ancient city, fallen from the skies untold centuries ago. Stalked by monsters born of aberrant magic and living arcane mechanisms, Karset made their way amidst the crumbling tomb of a once-grand civilisation, scavenging its still-active drones not just to survive, but to find the gaps in their programming, the places where reality frayed.

Their earliest recollections weren’t fear, but the incessant, crushing cacophony of existence, a mathematically-precise assault of the senses muted only by the web-filled tunnels belowground. It was here that they came to be watched over in their isolation by that which would be their mentor, an unnerving fusion of spider and cephalopod, with segmented legs, clustered eyes and writhing, barb-tipped tentacles.

Speaking in patterns so much easier to parse than the discord beyond the tunnels, its rhythmic clicks and soothing susurrations carried lessons which were the first rules to make sense in such a chaotic world, the hyphae of its fractal webs a mosaic in which its pupil could read the silence between the noise. It became to Karset both guardian and teacher, whispering in the language of erasure, weaving webs not of silk, but "voidthread", mycelial strands of antimemory from which Karset first breathed the spores that would become a self-made sensory filter to dampen an unbearable world.

Spurred by its words, "The Void is not empty, it is living decay, a force that unmakes and remakes," Karset seeks through their incessant tinkering to make of themselves a self-modifying "entropy engine", a process that harnesses planar decay as power. Using their body as a testbed, Karset’s prototyping went horribly, gloriously wrong; their kernel never stabilised, instead fusing with the session’s own decaying code, grafting the Void’s antimemetic static directly into their blood.

What emerged was less a player and more a recursive glitch that hijacks physics to metabolise planar decay, their body a failed prototype’s scar tissue, a cosmic eschar. The result is the “voidblood”, nanoscopic motes of unreality, fragments of corrupted game state that derez matter into raw, screaming metadata which the engine then catalogues, a ledger of reality’s syntax errors.

~~~

The entropy engine is Karset’s grotesque rebuttal to the universe’s lazy fiction, a self-modifying blasphemy against causality that weaponises the holographic principle against itself, rendering the ongoing process of reality a recursive farce. Their voidblood is not mere antimatter, but quantum graffiti: nanoscopic branes of erased reality that puncture the membrane of consensus perception, each mote a scribal error in the cosmic code, unwriting local physics into inference debris.

Its effect is not destruction, but editorial critique, as when their blood touches matter, it doesn’t annihilate but demotes, atoms becoming speculative, their histories reduced to contested footnotes in the universe’s decaying library. Reality is effectively downgraded to lower-dimensional data, like a 3D object flattened to 2D information on a boundary surface; victims aren’t erased, they’re archived as disputed text in the universe’s bug reports.

Within close proximity, living tissue and inanimate matter alike is derezzed into apocryphal data, a glitch in the simulation, philosophical evidence ripping a jagged tear in its fabric that cosmic law frantically tries to patch. Worse yet, the infected retain flickers of self-awareness, trapped as orphaned variables in Karset’s ledger, their suffering preserved as a theorem proving existence’s shoddy craftsmanship, citations in their thesis on existential fraud.

This is the Mage’s ultimate heresy: if Void is the canvas of unbeing, then Karset’s blood is the ontological solvent that strips its paint, laying bare the cracked foundation beneath. They compile the screams of rewritten victims into a counter-narrative, a cosmic 404 error that asks: If all meaning is holographic projection, why not remix the pixels?

Connections

Mentor: Both Karset’s guardian and enigmatic teacher, it was their only companion in the wastelands, its cryptic whispers of ancient alchemy and forbidden knowledge shaping much of Karset's conceptions, blending survivalist ingenuity with a dark mirror of pantheist natural philosophy.

Technology: Karset’s obsession with dismantling and reassembling organic drones and unliving machines stems from a profound need to understand the mechanisms of the world around them. Their ongoing work has given them a deep respect for the underlying machines of life, but also the perspective that all things are little more than parts capable of rearrangement.

Knowledge: The whispers of Karset's mentor, laden with hints of dark, forbidden truths, have become an obsession for Karset, pushing them toward increasingly dangerous lines of inquiry. This arcane knowledge, combined with their technical expertise, has fostered a dangerous ambition to unlock the full potential of the black blood they carry.

Goals

Karset’s ultimate goal is to perfect themselves as the entropy engine using their body to produce the voidblood nanovirus at scale, a substance that manipulates the unseen fabric of meaning, unwriting form and rendering it as abstraction written into its internal code. To them, this is the greatest defiance they can muster as a silent witness to oblivion, bringing meaning to the finite by rendering themselves infinite; the entropy engine cannot be perfected, only fed, but they pursue it anyway because the pursuit is the only meaning left.

Troll Society’s Rejection

Exiled young for "blasphemous" insights into the Void, a shameful anomaly to their caste.

Raised in the wastelands, surviving by scavenging ancient tech and dissecting drones.

Too manipulative to fully respect, too high-ranking to ignore.

Their black blood is treated as a mutant trait, marking them as an anomaly.

They are seen as a cursed oracle, feared rather than respected.

Hemoloyalty

3/10

HIVE

Essentially a linear bunker leading two levels underground, immediately inside the entrance is a small two-tiered stairway with a door at the landing leading into a foyer cum living quarters, both atrium and respiteblock. A similar stairway follows which emerges through a second door into a meal block and another doorway, the final and largest area essentially a wide hall leading straight from this with three blocks on either side and a single block at its far end.

On the left are a storage block, bookhive and server farm while on the right are a second storage block, laboratory and art block, while the block at the far end holds utilities and an ablution trap. The hall itself serves to house Karset’s lusus and is dominated by mushroom cultures and hydroponic gardens, as well as a number of grub farms for producing reagents, food and silk.

LUSUS

Species

A void-spider/cephalopod hybrid, weaving webs of "anti-memory" and whispering forbidden truths.

Description

It possesses a globular body supported by spider-like legs and trailing many long, smooth tentacles tipped with hooklike claws useful for gripping prey. The anterior portion of its body is dominated by a cluster of eyes, below which huddle variously modified paired appendages for cutting, chewing, piercing, sucking, shredding, siphoning and filtering its food.

Personality

Enigmatic and precise, it demands meticulousness without being very comforting which leads to a troll who is neurotic and punctilious with delusions of grandeur.

QUADRANTS

Karset’s approach to quadrants are a grotesque parody of troll romance, transactional, ironic and existential performance art laced with cosmic horror, each quadrant a controlled study in futility, dissecting how others cope with meaninglessness. Their quadrants are less about love and more about ideological sparring partners, less affection and more data collection from live experiments, testing how others go about hammering meaning into shape against the anvil of the void.

♥ Matespritship: Joy as defiance of entropy.

♦ Moirallegiance: Ethics as a systemic illusion.

♠ Kismesissitude: Ego as a fragile narrative.

♣ Auspisticism: Order as a fleeting variable.

Each quadrant represents a coping mechanism (ego, joy, ethics, order), and Karset dissects them all as part of their ongoing observations, channelling unavoidable emotions into hypotheses of mutual defiance and shared engagement. Their relationships are specimens in jars, distilled, labeled and studied; love, hate, morality and law are just hypotheses, exercises in shared absurdity, their meticulousness the closest Karset comes to a love language.

Karset’s relationships are performative, but sincerely curated, because the performance is the point, showing that they care, just in a way that terrifies others because it refuses to lie about its own fragility, their detachment a shield, not a void. They ritualise emotions not because they don’t feel, but because they do so deeply that they must to survive, their quadrants not just data but defiant rituals, a way to indulge the absurdity of connection while defying their decay, a joke, a confession and simple, honest play.

Karset’s quadrants are both imaginary and real, a paradox that defies categorisation; the others don’t fix Karset, they anchor them, just as Karset tries to enlighten the others.

INTERNET INFO

Trolltag

entropyArchivist

Signature Traits:

Bio: [professional unraveler of realities] [[tearing at the seams so you dont have to]]...

Avatar: A black-hole pupil eye wreathed in fungal tendrils.

Status: [dm for existential dread] [[its free]] ~~no upcharges~~

Text Colour

#3F0D5F #C0F2A0 for emphasis

Typing Quirk

Decay-Inflected Crypticism

Karset's quirk blends scientific detachment, cosmic horror and trollish irony into a layered communication style that weaponises formatting as much as content with a dash of morbid poetics.

Key features:

Unbracketed text for general statements (lowercase, no punctuation)

[Single brackets] for clinical observations

[[Double brackets]] for internal monologue

~~Strikethrough~~ deliberate lies

CAPS-LOCK for performative outbursts

... trailing ellipses for dramatic pauses

This framework clearly delineates between communication, [observation], [[internalisation]], ~~ironic backpedalling~~ and EMOTION, respectively.

Full Example

entropyArchivist [EA]: [subject demonstrates persistent belief in meaningful discourse] [[like a bacterium debating its petri dish]] entropyArchivist [EA]: you keep typing as if this charade of “dialogue” has any weight [[WHEN WILL YOU LEARN]] entropyArchivist [EA]: [[THE VOID IS WINNING AND YOURE STILL ARGUING ABOUT TURN ORDER]] entropyArchivist [EA]: ~~i admire your dedication to the bit~~ ITS ALMOST NOBLE IN ITS FUTILITY entropyArchivist [EA]: the cosmic joke writes itself [[and yet you insist on being the punchline]] entropyArchivist [EA]: ...anyway carry on with your delusions [i require more data points]

GAME INFO

Classpect

Mage of Void

The Mage of Void is a classpect defined by deep, often esoteric knowledge of hidden truths, obscurity and the nature of nothingness. They excel in uncovering and manipulating secrets, illusions and the unseen, wielding Void’s power through intense study, intuition, or personal sacrifice.

On a more tangible level, they are capable of perceiving and exploiting the gaps in reality, that is, manipulation through obscurity, whether through stealth, erasure, illusions, abstract reasoning or conceptual voids. Like Void itself, they thrive in emptiness as possibility, conjuring from nothingness or dismantling false certainties, leveraging unmatched insight into hidden forces, secrets and the nature of absence to write into existence what others can’t see.

However, such knowledge comes at a cost and their understanding of Void may come with isolation, existential doubt or a disconnect from tangible reality, either by choice or as an inherent burden. Such is the Mage of Void’s burden that they see what others cannot, but this knowledge may alienate them, existential uncertainty which can leave them ignored, disbelieved or even hunted for knowing too much.

Abilities:

Passive: “Aphasia” - Karset’s mere presence causes dimensional fraying, erasing traces that they were ever there, memories of them fade into faint impressions, records of them corrupt spontaneously and conversations with them slip away like smoke.

Active:

Offensive: "Brane Excision" – Metanarrative awareness allows Karset to shear off fragments of a target’s timeline like crumpled paper, leaving the victim with gaps in memory or retroactive wounds, deleting objects or even concepts; not an attack so much as an ongoing editing process, correction rather than carnage.

Defensive: "Eigengrau Passage" – Karset can slip between the gaps of perception to become intangible, like a glitch in the mind’s rendering of reality, avoiding unwanted contact and bypassing danger by inhabiting the blind spots of observational reality. Paradoxically, the more focus is put on them, the greater the gap of perception they can inhabit and, subsequently, the more impossible it is to actually cause them harm as their assailant’s focus narrows.

Special: “Liminal Recursion” - Karset can manifest unstable temporal afterimages of foes, drawn from dead timelines, to fight on their behalf until their forms rapidly decay into antimemetic static.

Strifekind

☣️ [EXPERIMENT]KIND

Karset’s Strife Specibus reflects their themes of entropy as absurdist methodology while avoiding brute-force combat to create a fighting style that feels less like battle and more like watching experimentation in real-time. Combat is an excuse to throw away all pretense and go all-in on cruel and unusual theory testing in real-time of Karset's most heinous hypotheses, weaponised understanding, combative comprehension, a live peer review of their most grotesque theories.

Themes

Passive Violence as Methodology: Tools are research instruments repurposed as weapons. Karset isn’t "fighting", they’re collecting data.

Mad Scientist Aesthetic: Fits their lab-coated, clinical horror vibe. Weapons don’t deal "damage", they impose experimental conditions.

Antimemetic Cruelty: Victims forget why they’re fighting, lose motor skills or even misremember being injured.

Live Peer Review: Karset narrates their findings mid-strife like a detached researcher.

Implements

Void’s Quill: Syringes filled with necrotising pathogens (inject voidblood nanites that "unwrite" organic matter, rapidly destroying soft tissues).

Silent Peer Review: Fungal dispersal pods (release antimemetic spores that rewrite muscle memory, making enemies forget how to fight).

Liquid Rebuttal: Acid-filled Erlenmeyer flasks (melt armour into neurotoxic vapour).

Anxiety’s Gradient: Pipettes filled with psychotropic agents (induce debilitating hallucinations).

Item Modus

Autopsy

Dissection-based, stores items by metaphorically disassembling them.

Mechanics:

Storing: Items unspool into voidthread.

Retrieving: Voidthread weaves into the item (with a 10% chance of being slightly decomposed).

Items stored in Karset’s sylladex decay over time unless used.

Common items vanish after ~24 hours.

Valuable items degrade slower but may mutate (e.g., healing potions → necrotic bombs).

Gimmick: They can accelerate decay to destroy unwanted items explosively.

Fetch Modus

Tarot Modus

Items within the Sylladex are sorted into different types and accessed through sequential or random draws or various spreads, their results used immediately, held unresolved for later or reshuffled back into the Sylladex. This allows a great deal of utility, although it is very fundamentally generalised, entirely random and bound by situational context and the user’s capacity to plan for eventualities through strategic card-holding and reshuffling.

Such randomness is somewhat mitigated by the potential of different spreads, as the more involved the spread the greater the options presented, but doing so requires proportionally more time to resolve. Thus, time is ritualistically traded for function and the potential of a single item becoming enhanced by the effectiveness of their combined expression within a spread, the deeper the spread ,the greater the reward.

Unlike a real-world tarot deck, which only symbolises concepts, the Tarot Modus imposes tarot logic onto items as they are drawn, rewriting their function as absurdly literal based on the cards’ upright/inverted meanings. It does not physically alter items, but recontextualises their in-reality effects upon activation, however, reshuffling an unused spread undoes all pending modifications without cost, returning the cards to the Sylladex.

Upright cards resolve an item’s effects logically, thematically or mechanically, while inverted cards subvert or corrupt those effects, adding a layer of unpredictable diversification. The Modus doesn’t physically alter the item(s) that is retrieved but instead recontextualises its function within reality upon use unless made to persist, imposing symbolic meaning over literal qualities.

As a whole, the operation of the Tarot Modus acts as a framework where the Major Arcana modify, subvert or augment the items represented by the Suits of the Lesser Arcana. Meta-interacting with the occult symbolism of tarot cards’ use as divinatory cartomancy, this turns the entire Sylladex into a recursive, self-referential reality-hacking tool.

Lesser Arcana

Items stored in the Sylladex are held in the Suits of the Lesser Arcana, being representative of various physical, emotional or mental items and effects encountered in everyday life situations, the very grist of existential meaning. Item categories include physical objects, emotional items, intellectual items and transformative items, while their orientation (upright/inverted) determines whether they act as intended or else have their function/meaning subverted.

Disks: Associated with the physical body, understanding with the five senses and possessions or wealth. Physicality, stability, material. The element of earth.

Disks are the "body" of the Sylladex, tangible, durable, grounded items which are solid, reliable and materially impactful. These are items that affect the body, environment or material reality, no abstract concepts, only things that can be held, worn or traded.

Item Examples:

Weapons & Combat Tools (blades, clubs, elastic launchers, &tc.)

Armour & Shields (ballistic gear, PPE, &tc.)

Simple Tools (hammers, probes, lockpicks, &tc.)

Currency & Valuables (cash, jewelry, trade goods)

Medicine & Sustenance (edibles, beverages, pharmaceuticals, poisons)

Structural Items (ropes, adhesive tape, building materials, &tc.)

Cups: Associated with situations and events of an emotional or spiritual nature. Emotion, intuition, flux. The element of water.

Cups govern emotional and spiritual resonance, items that alter states of mind rather than physical form. These are items that affect the mind and mood, still grounded in the physical but brushing up against the cultural and psychical.

Item Examples:

Expressive Media (music, paintings, film, fiction, poetry)

Tokens & Keepsakes (lucky charms, symbolic items)

Memory & Personal Ephemera (photographs, diaries, letters)

Ritual Tools (candles, incense, tarot decks)

Swords: Associated with intellect and transcending limits, but also sorrow and misfortune. Intellect, conflict, abstraction. The element of air.

Swords are "thought given edge", items that encompass the spheres of instruction, knowledge and understanding. These are things that sharpen the mind from feeling to comprehension and are associated with information, deceit or strategy.

Item Examples:

Information & Data: (textbooks, strategy guides, schematics)

Maps & Navigation Tools (star charts, compasses, GPS)

Code & Logic Systems (encryption keys, hacking modules, ciphers)

Area Denial & Misdirection (smoke bombs, flashbangs, caltrops, &tc.)

Precision Instruments (scalpels, calipers, optical devices)

Wands: Associated with the action of the mind, mental constructs and logical sequences. Will, energy, transformation. The element of fire.

Wands are "applied will", items that expend energy to disrupt systems through abrupt, forceful change. These are expendable things that do and then cease, whether they are destroyed, fuelled or loaded.

Item Examples:

Explosives & Ballistics (grenades, bullets, accelerants, TNT)

Ignition Sources: (lighters, matches, flint)

Catalysts & Amplifiers (batteries, gasoline, generators)

Movement & Force Tools (engines, vehicles, pulleys)

Constructs & Deployable Tech (machines, robotics, drones, timers)

Major Arcana

The Major Arcana can be gauged more abstractly, analogously or metaphorically, being conceptual weapons rather than literal implements. Major Arcana primarily modify Lesser Arcana, but may modify other Major Arcana only if the effect explicitly mentions it or if a Lesser Arcana is present as a baseline.

Cards that modify the entire spread’s rules resolve before individual effects, which proceed in ascending order (0 → XXI), with inverted effects applying after upright ones unless a global effect overrides this. Cards of the Major Arcana always modify the previous eligible card(s) in the spread unless they specify otherwise, but if no valid target exists, the card resolves without having had any effect on the spread.

0. The Fool

Upright

Effect: Pure potential. Shuffles the spread’s interpretation (not order), all cards are replaced by random alternates from the Sylladex.

Symbolism: Pure potential, reckless freedom.

Inverted

Effect: Cosmic mockery. Forces the next draw to be The Fool again, looping the spread into recursive chaos. After three loops, the spread reshuffles.

Symbolism: Self-annihilation, cosmic mockery.

I. The Magician

Upright

Effect: Manifestation. Copies the non-global/recursive effect of one adjacent Major Arcana into a chosen slot and orientation (upright/inverted) in the spread. If the copied effect requires a target and none exists, the copy fails.

Symbolism: Manifestation, willpower.

Inverted

Effect: Cursed ingenuity. Copies the non-recursive effect of one adjacent Major Arcana into a random slot and orientation (upright/inverted) in the spread. If the copied effect requires a target and none exists, the copy fails.

Symbolism: Perversion of intent, cursed ingenuity.

II. The High Priestess

Upright

Effect: Hidden knowledge. Obscures one Lesser Arcana’s meaning, it cannot be used unless the Sun is drawn.

Symbolism: Hidden knowledge, intuition.

Inverted

Effect: Illusion. Reveals all cards, but their meanings are false (e.g., a Wand’s "will" reads as "apathy").

Symbolism: Illusion, psychological erosion.

III. The Empress

Upright

Effect: Fertility. Duplicates one Lesser Arcana card once per spread (e.g., two Wands).

Symbolism: Fertility, nurturing chaos.

Inverted

Effect: Corruption. Duplicates one Lesser Arcana card once per spread, but the copy's orientation (upright/inverted) is the opposite of the original.

Symbolism: Corruption, unnatural blight.

IV. The Emperor

Upright

Effect: Order. Locks one card’s meaning, it cannot be modified by other Majors.

Symbolism: Order, enforced structure.

Inverted

Effect: Anarchy. Unlocks all cards, but their effects now target each other (e.g., a Cup Modifies a Sword).

Symbolism: Anarchy, inverted power.

V. The Hierophant

Upright

Effect: Dogma. All Major Arcana in the current spread must be read as upright, regardless of actual orientation. This effect cannot be modified by other Majors.

Symbolism: Dogma, collective delusion.

Inverted

Effect: Blasphemy. All Major Arcana must be read as inverted, regardless of actual orientation.

Symbolism: Liberation through blasphemy.

VI. The Lovers

Upright

Effect: Union. Fuses two adjacent Lesser Arcana into a hybrid (e.g., Sword + Wand = "intellectual will").

Symbolism: Union, symbiosis.

Inverted

Effect: Poisoned intimacy. The fused effect backfires (e.g., "intellectual will" becomes "obsessive doubt").

Symbolism: Forced rivalry, poisoned intimacy.

VII. The Chariot

Upright

Effect: Victory. Amplifies one Lesser Arcana’s effect to its logical extreme (e.g., a Disk’s "wealth" becomes "glut"). Without a valid target, this resolves without effect.

Symbolism: Victory through will.

Inverted

Effect: Stasis. Nullifies the effect of the next Major Arcana in the spread, rendering it inert. Cannot target itself or cards already resolved.

Symbolism: Stasis, erased progress.

VIII. Justice

Upright

Effect: Karma. Balances the spread, beginning with the highest-numbered Major Arcana and working backwards, for every upright Major Arcana, one must invert.

Symbolism: Karma, cosmic retribution.

Inverted

Effect: Corruption. Imbalances the spread, beginning with the lowest-numbered Major Arcana and working forwards, for every inverted Major Arcana, one must invert.

Symbolism: Corruption, escaped consequences.

IX. The Hermit

Upright

Effect: Enlightenment. Isolates one Lesser Arcana, its effect is pure (unmodified by others).

Symbolism: Isolation, enlightenment.

Inverted

Effect: Erasure. The isolated card is removed from the spread.

Symbolism: Forced solitude, existential erasure.

X. Wheel of Fortune

Upright

Effect: Fortune. Rotates all cards’ positions clockwise (e.g., Slot 1 → Slot 2).

Symbolism: Fortune, cyclical fate.

Inverted

Effect: Cursed chance. Rotates all cards counterclockwise and inverts their meanings.

Symbolism: Cursed chance, inverted karma.

XI. Strength

Upright

Effect: Resolve. One card’s effect persists into the next spread, expiring when the spread is reshuffled.

Symbolism: Inner power, resolve.

Inverted

Effect: Fragility. One card’s effect vanishes from the spread.

Symbolism: Self-destruction, fragility.

XII. The Hanged Man

Upright

Effect: Sacrifice. One card’s effect is inverted, but its Suit is enhanced (e.g., a 1 of Cups becomes a 2 of Cups).

Symbolism: Sacrifice, new viewpoints.

Inverted

Effect: Ego death. One card’s Suit and meaning are erased and it replicates The Hanged Man’s effect once, using the original card’s Suit modified by its original orientation.

Symbolism: Ego death, forced enlightenment.

XIII. Death

Upright

Effect: Transformation. Replaces one card with another random card from the Sylladex.

Symbolism: Transformation, forced change.

Inverted

Effect: Hollow persistence. A card is replaced to the end of the spread, but inverted.

Symbolism: Hollow resurrection, unnatural persistence.

XIV. Temperance

Upright

Effect: Alchemical refinement. Choose one Lesser Arcana in the spread, its effect is purified, removing all inverted modifiers from it (if any). If already upright, enhance its potency (e.g., a 1 of Disks becomes a 2 of Disks).

Symbolism: Alchemy, synthesis.

Inverted

Effect: Volatile dilution. One Lesser Arcana’s effect is split into two weaker copies (e.g., a 3 of Wands becomes two 1 of Wands). These copies vanish if unused.

Symbolism: Volatile imbalance.

XV. The Devil

Upright

Effect: Obsession. One card’s effect recurs persistently every time its Suit is drawn within the current spread.

Symbolism: Obsession, addiction.

Inverted

Effect: Liberation. The Suit of a card is purged from the current spread entirely and shuffled back into the Sylladex.

Symbolism: Liberation through chaos.

XVI. The Tower

Upright

Effect: Collapse. Scrambles the spread’s positions (but not meanings).

Symbolism: Sudden collapse, revelation.

Inverted

Effect: Retroactive erasure. One card’s effect is undone, it never happened. The card is reshuffled back into the Sylladex.

Symbolism: Retroactive erasure.

XVII. The Star

Upright

Effect: Renewal. Reshuffles all Major Arcana back into the Sylladex. They act as new instances if redrawn. This clears all persistent effects.

Symbolism: Renewal, cosmic grace.

Inverted

Effect: False hope. Reshuffles one suit of Lesser Arcana back into the Sylladex. They act as normal if redrawn. This clears all persistent effects.

Symbolism: False hope, despair.

XVIII. The Moon

Upright

Effect: Illusion. Reveals two cards’ meanings and swaps them at random (but not positions/Suits).

Symbolism: Illusion, subconscious fears.

Inverted

Effect: Subconscious fear. One card’s meaning becomes its opposite (e.g., "love" → "paranoia").

Symbolism: Subconscious fears become reality.

XIX. The Sun

Upright

Effect: Solar revelation. Reveals all previous cards’ modifiers hidden before it was drawn.

Symbolism: Clarity, enlightenment.

Inverted

Effect: Eclipsed dogma. Obscures all previous cards’ meanings unless The Moon is drawn upright.

Symbolism: Dogmatic blindness.

XX. Judgement

Upright

Effect: Absolution. Purges all inverted cards from the spread (flips them upright).

Symbolism: Absolution, awakening.

Inverted

Effect: Damnation. Purges all upright cards, inverting them.

Symbolism: Premature damnation.

XXI. The World

Upright

Effect: Completion. Locks the entire spread as-is, preventing any further changes (even from previously drawn cards). This supersedes all other Major Arcana.

Symbolism: Completion, timelessness.

Inverted

Effect: Annihilated progress. The entire spread is shuffled back into the Sylladex.

Symbolism: Annihilated progress.

Quest System / Motivation

"Unwrite the Grand Illusion"

Goal: Prove that all meaning is self-imposed by deconstructing Sburb’s narrative.

Obstacle: The game resists being "solved", every revelation leads to more absurdity.

Final Trial: Confront a mirror version of themselves who insists "even futility is a lie."

God Tier

Title: Archivist of Entropy

Outfit: A skeletal figure twined with mycelial voidthread in a mockery of flesh wearing tattered, ink-stained robes, their face a swirling void.

Equipment:

Oblivion’s Ledger

A blackened notebook of endless pages that weaponises narrative inconsistency through editorial commentary, revising ontology as physical change to expose unprovable truths and the cracks in cosmic logic.

Effect: Writings enforce observed truths, overwriting reality by anchoring statements to perceivable evidence (e.g., inscribing "YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD" retroactively kills the target if any observer, past, present or quantum, could theoretically perceive them as dead).

Catch: Karset cannot fabricate, they recontextualise, statements must align with some observable framework (e.g., myths, laws of physics, memories, metaphysics, conception, perception).

Abilities:

Passive: "Eschaton Mycelium" – Karset cannot be killed in a way that matters as conceptual fungal hyphae persist in the cracks of reality, regrowing from any remnant spore, memory or unobserved shadow. Decoupled from causality, sterilise one incarnation and another fruiting body emerges where the cosmos isn’t looking, clinging to the gaps in perception, the ontological rot eating at the foundations of reality.

Active:

Offensive: "Thanatography" – Karset forcibly compiles a target’s conceptual identity into a single page of Oblivion’s Ledger, causing the target to relive every death across all timelines, rendering them overcome by existential dread.

Defensive: "False-Vacuum Collapse" – A three-metre radius of dying physics that induces a localised quantum decay field, forcing incoming physical, metaphysical and conceptual attacks to "tunnel" into entropic oblivion before making contact.

Special: “Recursive Decoherence” - Permanently bind temporal echoes of foes, drawn from dead timelines, as an army of orphaned possibilities, warped, hungry fractures in reality.

Ultimate: "Terminal Axiom" – A self-consuming narrative trap that weaponises the victim’s own story against them by inscribing a single sentence in Oblivion’s Ledger that defines the bottle’s core paradox, sealing the target into a 4D topological prison. The victim is then encysted in a localised narrative loop forged from their own ontological weight, wherein the victim’s powers, memories and identity become the walls of their prison, their struggle to escape fuel for the paradox. The more they struggle, the tighter the paradox constricts (e.g., trying to escape retcons their past attempts into failures), essentially rendering their reality into an ontological Klein bottle. Like the Klein bottle, the trap has no boundaries, feeding the victim’s own narrative back into itself, any attempts to break free only reintegrating them into the paradox. This process is not, however, instantaneous, and strong-willed foes resist the inversion, stretching the process across subjective hours, or even eons. Further, to sustain the bottle, Karset must anchor it with a fragment of their own existence, losing a proof of themselves, i.e. a timeline iteration, if it’s destroyed. The bottle is a tangible object, marrying the metanarrative with the literal as not just a mind-prison, but a horrific curio. To an observer, it appears as a murky flask inside which a miniature, distorted version of the victim recursively screams.

Role in a Session

As a Player

Would manipulate the game’s code, introducing glitches that erase enemies (or allies).

Their land quest would involve unwriting a dying universe’s final moments.

Denizen: Iktómi is the Denizen of the Land of Rot and Revelation (LORRE), a godlike being who embodies the planet’s entropic intelligence and serves as both mentor and antagonist. Drawing from Lakota mythology (where Iktómi is a trickster spider spirit), this entity is a weaver of fate, knowledge and decay, a keeper of truths that unravel those who seek them, less a boss and more a co-researcher in entropy.

As an Antagonist

A heretic prophet leading a cult that seeks to unmake the game, not out of malice or cruelty for its own sake but out of precision, because it is the only honest ending to such a tragicomic farce. They are a foil to idealists, whose morals are arbitrary, a mirror to fatalists, for whom even despair is a choice, and a threat to control-seekers, whose dominance is an embarrassing insult.

As a Tragic Figure

Their ultimate fate of erasing themselves from all timelines to prove a point would be a haunting conclusion, a final act of defiance that leaves no legacy behind.

THEME SONGS

Act 1: My Dying Bride - The Cry of Mankind

Act 2: Isole - The Watcher

Act 3: Queens of the Stone Age - Head Like a Haunted House

Act 4: Peccatum - The Moribund People

Act 5: Cake - Frank Sinatra

Epilogue: Miracle Music - The Mind Electric

Bonus: Ludo - The Horror of Our Love

entropyArchivist [EA]: YOURE STILL READING [good maybe you have learned something] entropyArchivist [EA]: but lets face it [you will die as you lived] entropyArchivist [EA]: [[missing the point]]

[nursingwriter]

The Tumor Microenvironment-A Scientific Brief Introduction The tumor microenvironment includes all cells and tissues associated with the tumor, including connective tissue, immune cells, and the stroma. It explains why individuals' immune systems mutants or sense cancerous cells, activating cytotoxic T cells, engulfing those cells that make up tumors, thus killing them 3. Multiple times a day, the body goes through this process. Some cancer cells suppress the immune response not to detect and eliminate threats, but others manipulate their environment. Thus this descriptive essay paper presents the topic "The tumor microenvironment- A Scientific Brief. Epithelial cells behave similarly to carcinoma cells due to the complex microenvironment in which tumor cells survive: the extracellular matrix, diffusible cytokines, growth factors, with non-epithelial cells that include vascular cells, which respond to fibroblasts, injury, and infection. In other words, carcinomas promote angiogenesis, modify ECM expression, increase inflammatory cell recruitment, and accelerate fibroblast proliferation by expressing growth factors in the stroma. As a component of the tumor environment, blood vessels are also vital. By creating new blood vessels, carcinomas spread to distant organs and reshape 3. Microenvironment function in tumor initiation. Normal cell division and growth are affected by mutations in genes, thus leading to the molecular circumstances that trigger cancer cell initiation 2. These cells can be identified in various cancers such as breast, lung, bone, brain cancer, melanoma, Myeloid leukemia, and prostate cancer. They contribute substantially to the development of tumors and need to anchor the necessary mutation for growth. Compared to normal cells, cancer cells multiply rapidly and spread to distant organs or attack tissues around them. There are numerous tumor suppressor genes, oncogenes, and their functions that are altered in cancer cells. These altered genes are associated with cancer cell invasion, metastasis, and proliferation. Probably, microenvironments play a crucial role in influencing cancer development in the formation of new genetic lesions resulting from disruption of the microenvironment. Cancer and inflammation also have a functional relationship. Inflammation in chronically inflamed areas is what usually gives rise to cancer. H.pylori infection results in some cancers of the bowels, such as colon cancers and bowel inflation disease 2. Microenvironment functions in tumor progression. It is thought that cancer's microenvironment is composed of leukocytes, pericytes, fibroblasts, and endothelial cells. The discovery that cancerous tumors are more than just cancerous cells shows that human tumors cannot be characterized like that. By secreting cytokines, chemokines, and growth factors, blood vessels, stromal cells, and immune cells are recruited by tumor cellsfuture cancer care 3. Since scientists discovered the murky world of tumor microenvironments, they have made tremendous progress. There is still a lot to learn, however. As companies invest in translational medicine, a deeper understanding of cancer biology and the best patient populations for immuno-oncology treatment is being developed. Scientists have improved data analysis capabilities and insight with leading-edge technologies, such as bioinformatics and digital pathology, pharmacologists, and pharmacometricians, which can assist clinical trial planners and, ultimately, inform treatment decisions 1. Cancer prevention. As a result, recruited cells produce intermediate metabolites, growth-promoting signals, and remodel tissue structure. Microenvironment-cancer cell communication ultimately results in cancer cells proliferating and spreading more effectively, thus eventually killing them. For cancer to spread and progress, the tumor microenvironment is essential 1. Scientists and researchers are making their maps Having gained a deeper understanding of immune response, researchers are also working on identifying characteristics of tumors to predict their response to treatment. Scientists believe biomarkers can be used to determine the specific mechanisms a tumor uses to silence the immune system. To formulate a personalized medicine, researchers will need to understand how tumors suppress their immune systems 2. A scientist at Bristol-Myers Squibb is studying lymphocyte-activating gene 3 (LAG-3), a checkpoint pathway that acts in concert with PD-1. A standard function of LAG-3 is inhibiting T cells before they attack healthy cells and thus helps regulate immune function. The presence of LAG-3 in the tumor microenvironment prevents T cells from activating and targeting tumor cells. Tim Reilly, head of Bristol-Myers Squibb's Oncology Early Asset Development, explains that tumors may sometimes express a high level of LAG-3 to evade anti-PD-1 therapy. In our studies, LAG-3 was found to influence the susceptibility of certain tumors to targeted investigational inhibitors. High levels of LAG-3 in the tumor microenvironment might be indicative of greater susceptibility 1." Using biomarkers to map the biology of disease, scientists hope to improve treatment and determine the best way to treat each 2. Biblical support. In the book of Deuteronomy 28:27, the bible says, "The Lord will afflict you with the boils of Egypt, tumors, a festering rash, and scabies, from which you cannot be cured." It was when the Israelites could rebel against the Lord and hence the punishment they were to receive. Thus tumors were from before, and scientists are doing significant research on diseases in the old times. Conclusion. As the body's first line of defense to cancerous cells, the immune system acts as an essential catalyst. The ability to identify and attack threats early along the line prevents our critical systems from being compromised. It doesn't work all the time. A tumor cell can disguise itself as a normal cell and grow unrestrained since it has mechanisms designed to evade and suppress immunity. References 1. Labani-Motlagh A, Ashja-Mahdavi M, Loskog A. The Tumor Microenvironment: A Milieu Hindering and Obstructing Antitumor Immune Responses. Frontiers in Immunology. 2020;11. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2020.00940 2. Denaro N, Merlano MC, Nigro CL. Further Understanding of the Immune Microenvironment in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinoma: Implications for Prognosis. Cancer Management and Research. Published May 17, 2021. Accessed September 7, 2021. https://www.dovepress.com/further-understanding-of-the-immune-microenvironment-in-head-and-neck--peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-CMAR 3. Tadeo I, lvaro T, Navarro S, Noguera R. Tumor Microenvironment Heterogeneity: A Review of the Biology Masterpiece, Evaluation Systems, and Therapeutic Implications. IntechOpen; 2016. Accessed September 7, 2021. https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/50416 Read the full article

[thevoicefromanotherworld]

"WHY YOU CHOSED IT?"

A story where Logan is your history teacher 😌

I hope you like it!

You try to focus on your history class, but it's not your fault that the teacher for the subject is Logan.

I mean, who could concentrate if he was in front of them? Honestly. He changes slides with the remote on the projector, before starting to point out the most important points of the text that is reflected on the screen.

-The First World War was a conflict that spread over land, sea and air and that covered practically the entire Old Continent - he was saying, pointing to the place in the text where that information was, making the veins in his arms stand out under the skin with said movement-

You try not to salivate when you see how the veins in his hands begin to stand out, as he points to different points in the text.

-In that conflict, 60% of the combatants lost their lives, but to this tremendous figure we must also add a large number of missing people and those who were wounded or mutilated - Logan continued explaining - In this conflict, a large number of military and industrial powers were involved, which were divided into two large alliances - he moved on to another slide, pointing to some points on the map again, making the damned veins appear again - on one side there was the so-called Triple Alliance, formed by the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Kingdom of Italy, which nevertheless ended up joining the opposing side after the beginning of hostilities. On the other side there was the so-called Triple Entente, which was made up of the United Kingdom, France and the Russian Empire.

Both alliances would undergo substantial changes, and there were quite a few nations that would end up joining the ranks of one or the other side as the war progressed: for example, Japan and the United States joined the Triple Entente, while the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria joined the Triple Alliance – he turned off the projector and adopted a relaxed posture, with both hands resting on the belt around his hips –

You try not to focus too much on how his long fingers wrap around the entire width of the belt, but above all you try not to imagine those same fingers covering other things. A blush comes to your cheeks and you scribble something in your notebook to dissipate that tension.

-Spain remained neutral throughout the entire time the war lasted – he finished, looking around at the students – Any questions?

No one answered. He smiled and nodded, pleased.

-Wow, in the end it's going to be true that I'm good at teaching - he said, causing a general laugh to resonate in the environment - Okay, kids, that's all for today, you can go

The students hurriedly gathered their things to go to their next class, as did you. You hung your backpack on your shoulder, but before leaving his voice stopped you.

-Everyone except you - he said, pointing at you with his head - Can we talk for a moment, Gaia?

-Sure - you said, somewhat embarrassed -

You slowly approached his table, while holding the straps of your backpack tightly. Had he noticed how you had looked at him, that was what he wanted to talk about? My God, how embarrassing…

-I've read the work you did for the professor's class - he began - you chose an unusual topic - he rested his elbows on the table - I wanted to ask you why you chose it

"Shit" you thought. When Xavier asked you to do a paper on mutant genetics, you decided to do it differently than your classmates. Not because you wanted to stand out or anything, but because you knew that everyone would just talk about the same thing: the differences in the DNA chains between Homo Sapiens and mutants and other data that everyone already knew by heart.

Given your deep crush on your history teacher, you thought it would be good to focus your paper on adamantium, the properties of said metal and how the mutant who carries it can better process the pain of having it in their body.

You did it on that because you thought he wouldn't read it. After all, the paper was for Charles. You should have anticipated that, given what the subject was, he would end up showing it to him sooner rather than later.

-Well - you began, trying not to let your voice shake- it's just that… I found it interesting to talk about it. The rest of my classmates would talk about the things that differentiate us from humans, as they always do – you explained, looking at him sideways – I wanted to go a little further

-You certainly have – he answered, not in a reproachful way, but in a proud tone – Charles told me that it was the best work in the class – he smiled – I wanted to be the first to congratulate you – he said taking out a folder from under the papers he had on the table – He opened it and took out his essay. Bound with the cover on white paper, the title in yellow letters read: “Properties of adamantium and its application to the mutant gene” by Gaia Prince

-Have you read it? – you asked, trying to make the knot that

-I haven't finished it yet -he confessed- but it's very well written -he praised- you really have a gift, you should exploit it more

-I will -you assured him- thanks Logan -you murmured, he nodded holding your gaze for a few moments-

-Well, I… -you pointed to the door with your thumb- I should go, I don't want to be late for Ororo's class

-Sure, I wouldn't like it to rain today -he looked out the window, where the sun was shining in the sky- it's a beautiful day

-Yes -you answered turning around little by little- see you later

-Goodbye -he said- oh, and Gaia -he added making you stop again- what you've written, about how adamantium can end up poisoning the mutant's body… -the phrase died on his lips for a moment- do you think that…

-No -you stopped him, knowing what he was going to ask- I mean, not you

-What makes you so sure? –he questioned-

-Let's say it's a hunch –you answered, he smiled-

Finally you left the classroom and ran to Ororo's class, which had already started. You sneaked to your seat trying not to be seen, but she noticed irremediably.

-Gaia, are you late again? –he questioned-

-This time it wasn't my fault –you defended yourself- Logan wanted to talk to me

-So Logan huh?-he questioned making you blush- young lady, you and I have to talk

[colinwilson11]

Global DNA Encoded Libraries - A Revolutionary Approach To Drug Discovery

DNA encoded libraries are a powerful new method for drug discovery. They allow scientists to rapidly screen billions of drug-like small molecules to find new candidates for drug development.

How do they work? 

DELs work by attaching short Global DNA Encoded Libraries tags to individual drug-like small molecules. Each small molecule is given a unique DNA barcode. Large libraries containing billions of these DNA-tagged molecules can then be synthesized and stored.

To screen the library, the tagged molecules are incubated with a biological target, like a protein involved in disease. Any molecules that bind to the target will be captured along with their unique DNA barcode. Scientists can then determine what molecules bound by decoding the DNA sequences. This allows high-throughput identification of potential lead compounds for drug development from enormous libraries of molecules.

Advantages Over Traditional Screening Methods 

Traditional high-throughput screening methods for drug discovery analyze molecules one at a time in microplate wells. They can only test around one million compounds per day. DNA encoded libraries overcome this limitation by allowing all the molecules in a library to be screened simultaneously. Experiments can identify binders from billions of molecules in a single assay.

They also have advantages over fragment-based drug discovery methods. Fragment screens identify small chemical fragments that bind to targets, which must then be elaborated into lead compounds. They start with drug-sized molecules, so hits require less optimization.

Global Expansion Of Dels Technology

Since their development in 2015, they have revolutionized drug discovery across the pharmaceutical and academic research. Major pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, GSK, Janssen, and Sanofi have all established it screening programs.

In 2020, Anthropic established the world's largest public DNA encoded library of over 31 billion molecules, opening up this powerful screening technology for academic and non-profit research groups globally. The library includes both commercially available compounds and novel structures synthesized in-house.

Anthropic's library has screened over 100 biological targets from research collaborators worldwide. Hits identified include leads against malaria, tuberculosis and neglected tropical diseases. The shared library model enables researchers to screen billions of molecules for a nominal fee, democratizing access to this advanced drug discovery approach.

Advancing Precision Medicine With DEL

DELs hold great promise for advancing precision medicine and developing therapeutics targeted to specific patient genomes or biomarkers. Researchers can now screen entire genomic or protease mutant libraries against the growing number of known disease-associated protein variants and mutants.

This allows high-resolution mapping of how genomic changes and mutations alter the binding profiles of drug targets - revealing opportunities for precision therapies. Combining DELs screening with multi-omics patient data also enables the discovery of biomarker-targeted drug candidates from day one of development.

Global Regulatory Acceptance And Clinical Validation

As DELs screening has matured,regulatory agencies are increasingly recognizing the approach. In 2020, the FDA approved the first new drug developed using a DNA encoded library by Astex Pharmaceuticals, called gilteritinib, for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia. 

This landmark approval demonstrated regulatory acceptance of DELs as an established drug discovery technology. It has encouraged further investment and validation efforts by pharmaceutical companies to advance hits from DNA encoded screening into clinical candidates and new medicines.

With the establishment of large shared public libraries like Anthropic’s, DNA encoded screening is becoming a powerful global resource for drug discovery. It will continue to transform both academic and industrial new drug research by massively expanding the chemical space that can be rapidly explored for novel bioactive DELs are set to play a major role in developing the medicines of tomorrow.

In DNA encoded libraries represent a revolutionary new approach to drug discovery that is being rapidly adopted globally. By enabling high-throughput screening of billions of drug-like molecules against disease targets simultaneously, they have far surpassed traditional screening methods in scale and efficiency. 

Through both industrial applications and public library sharing programs, DNA encoded screening allows researchers worldwide to identify novel lead compounds that may ultimately become new medicines. They are also advancing precision medicine through unbiased exploration of genomic and patient biomarker datasets. With regulatory acceptance growing, DNA encoded libraries will continue to transform drug R&D and deliver new treatments to patients.

Get more insights on this topic:   https://www.ukwebwire.com/global-dna-encoded-library-revolutionizing-drug-discovery-through-dna-encoded-chemical-libraries/

 About Author:

Ravina Pandya, Content Writer, has a strong foothold in the market research industry. She specializes in writing well-researched articles from different industries, including food and beverages, information and technology, healthcare, chemical and materials, etc. (https://www.linkedin.com/in/ravina-pandya-1a3984191)

*Note: 1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research 2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it

[rnomics]

Identification of a putative Gag binding site critical for feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) genomic #RNA packaging [Article]

The retroviral Gag precursor plays a central role in the selection and packaging of viral genomic RNA (gRNA) by binding to virus-specific packaging signal(s) (psi or ). Previously, we have mapped the FIV to two discontinuous regions within the 5’ end of the gRNA that assumes a higher order structure harboring several structural motifs. To better define the region and structural elements important for gRNA packaging, we methodically investigated these FIV sequences employing genetic, biochemical, and structure-function relationship approaches. Our mutational analysis revealed that the unpaired U85CUG88 stretch within FIV is crucial for gRNA encapsidation into nascent virions. High-throughput Selective 2' Hydroxyl Acylation analyzed by Primer Extension (hSHAPE) performed on wild type and mutant FIV sequences with substitutions in the U85CUG88 stretch revealed that these mutations had limited structural impact and maintained nucleotides 80 to 92 unpaired, as in the wild type structure. Since these mutations dramatically affected packaging, our data suggests that the single-stranded U85CUG88 sequence is important during FIV RNA packaging. Filter binding assays performed using purified FIV Pr50Gag on wild type and mutant U85CUG88 RNAs led to reduced levels of Pr50Gag binding to mutant U85CUG88 RNAs, indicating that the U85CUG88 stretch is crucial for RNA-Pr50Gag interactions. Delineating sequences important for FIV gRNA encapsidation should enhance our understanding of both gRNA packaging and virion assembly, making them potential targets for novel retroviral therapeutic interventions, as well as development of FIV-based vectors for human gene therapy. http://rnajournal.cshlp.org/cgi/content/short/rna.079840.123v1?rss=1&utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr