History TearJerker / Worm

* [[https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/interlude-19-y/ The first Parahumans Online interlude]]. There's a thread where various Brockton Bay residence are discussing loved ones they've lost in the wake of the city's {{Trauma Conga Line}}. Most of them write a paragraph each, discussing the tragedy, telling the story of how their particular friend or relative died...and then there's Vista's response (which might also double as part of a {{Heroic Safe Mode}}:

* [[https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/interlude-19-y/ The first Parahumans Online interlude]]. There's a thread where various Brockton Bay residence are discussing loved ones they've lost in the wake of the city's {{Trauma Conga Line}}. Most of them write a paragraph each, discussing the tragedy, telling the story of how their friend or relative died...and then there's Vista's response:

** Bitch was abandoned by her mom, and shuffled around from foster home to foster home because she simply wasn’t good looking enough for others to want to adopt her. Unable to socialize, her only friend was a stray dog that she took care of and who was trapped in a pool to drown by a foster mom to punish her for not obeying her. Her trigger event caused her pet to go wild and massacre her foster mother and siblings. She has been on the streets ever since and her power has actually made it almost impossible to connect with people. In her interlude, she privately wishes she could be closer with the rest of her team, but knows she will never belong. It says something that her screwed up relationship with Taylor is the best human relationship she has ever had.
** Alec was raised by Heartbreaker, who punished and tested him with terrible emotions growing up. After one such occasion, he didn’t speak for months. Growing up he had no close family due to being neglected by his father’s victims. After his trigger event, he was pushed to kill and torture people so his father could still find a way to control him. After finally killing someone, he ran away. But he is effectively a sociopath now. He doesn’t feel any remorse for the things he did for his dad, only that he felt it was pointless.

** Taylor's mom is dead, and her best friend betrayed her and joined a group of bullies. She has to go through sheer hell everyday. She was locked in a locker stuffed with used tampons, and despite everyone seeing it happen, no one got a teacher or tried to help her. She actually began to have a panic attack as hours went by and no one came to help her. It caused her trigger event, and the resulting senses from the bugs nearly caused her to have a mental breakdown and she was actually hospitalized. Despite all of this, no teacher would help, one of the bullies' lawyer father got them off, and things just kept getting worse and escalating. Things have just gotten worse and worse for her throughout the story, and she feels extreme guilt at the things she has done. She has outright stated that she doesn’t think she deserves to be happy.
** Brian’s mother is crazy and neglectful and he was raised by his very hard father. He was forced to train and spar in the gym against him, and his father didn’t hold back. He wants to take custody of his sister to get her away from his mother but privately worries that he won’t be able to help her. He also laments that he has very few social skills and close relationships due to his upbringing and lifestyle.