Line #9 Heartwarming/Worm


1	%%Moments pages are Spoilers Off.
2
3	'''Note: Spoilers for events prior to and during individual SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments below are unmarked.'''
4
5	%%Gestation
6	[[AC:Insinuation]]
7
8	* The simple hug Lisa gives Taylor, while it seems like simply a friendly gesture, it comes off as a lot nicer when you remember Lisa's powers make her extremely good at reading people. It's more than likely that she's fully aware how touch starved and lonely Taylor was, and does it explicitly to make her feel better and more welcomed.
9
10	%%Agitation
11
12	[[AC:Shell]]
13	* Brian became a villain in order to get money and a respectable facade so he can take care of his younger sister and gain custody away from his extremely messed up mother.
14
15	[[AC:Hive]]
16	* [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2011/12/10/interlude-5/ Interlude 5]]. Mercenaries, yes; villains, yes; but Faultline's team feels like a group of people who really care about each other and want to help each other succeed and be happy.
17
18	%%Tangle
19
20	[[AC:Buzz]]
21	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/01/28/buzz-7-4/ 7.4]], when Rachel notices the crush Taylor has on Brian, she offers some dating advice. Even if [[DoYouWantToCopulate it's not advice Taylor can use]], the fact that ''[[NoSocialSkills Rachel]]'' tries to help her out is touching.
22
23	%%Extermination
24	%%Sentinel
25	%%Parasite
26	%%Infestation
27
28	[[AC:Plague]]
29	* [[PunnyName Assault]] and [[{{Tsundere}} Battery's]] [[SlapSlapKiss relationship]]. Love may redeem but it doesn't make him any less annoying.
30	** According to the site's character page, by the time of the story's start they are married to each other. [[spoiler:Which makes her death at the hands of the S9 and his reaction all the more tragic.]]
31
32	%%Snare
33	%%Prey
34	[[AC:Prey]]
35	* The Undersiders save Amy, who has been hostile to Skitter and Tattletale, from Siberian and try to comfort her. In turn she helped them and gave Skitter Atlas.
36
37	[[AC:Colony]]
38	* The portrayal of the relationship of [[ThoseWackyNazis Othala and Victor]] in [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/10/23/colony-15-3/ Colony 15.3]], which is based on averting PoorCommunicationKills using honesty and trust.
39	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/10/25/interlude-15-donation-bonus-2/ the second part-15 interlude,]] Brian is suffering from symptoms of PTSD from his captivity. He can't sleep, has vivid flashbacks, and is hitting a body bag till his hands are bloody. Taylor comes by to cook him dinner and offers to let him practice his power on her. She offers words of comfort and promises to be there for him as they share a moment in the darkness. They share their first kiss, and snuggle up together on the couch. Just before he falls asleep, Brian thinks to himself that it feels like he can finally breathe.
40	** Not to mention, in case you missed it: Aisha set the whole thing up -- first, by asking Taylor to come over; second, by making sure Brian stayed in the base long enough for Taylor to arrive; and third, by getting out of the way so they could be alone together.
41
42	[[AC:Monarch]]
43	* Pretty much defines Defiant (a.k.a. Armsmaster) and Dragon's admittedly [[StalkerWithACrush unconventional]] Transhumanist [[SickeninglySweethearts relationship]]. The chapter in which it is revealed manages to be heart-warming despite containing liberal doses of the Nine attacking a hospital and targeting the [[WouldHurtAChild nursery]] first.
44
45	* After Skitter shot Coil, when the Undersiders are riding back to their new base, Bitch holds her hand to offer comfort and support. It was a quiet but very powerful moment considering Bitch's background, the drawbacks of her power, and their history together. It shows just how close they have become and how important she is to Bitch.
46	** The only reason that Taylor worked so hard, the only reason she stayed with Coil, was to rescue Dinah. After finally killing him, she finally comes face to face with her. She apologizes for taking so long to rescue her. Dinah was held captive for months, drugged out of mind, and her power abused causing her terrible pain. But she kept up hope that she would be rescued because her power showed that there was always a chance of escaping due to Taylor. She runs to her rescuer, and hugs her as hard as she can.
47
48	%%Migration
49
50	[[AC:Queen]]
51	* Considering how dark Worm is and how many broken families Taylor knows, her reuniting Dinah with her parents was very sweet. Especially because Dinah was absolutely convinced that her parents wouldn't want her back. No matter what anyone else says about her she was a true hero during that moment.
52	* Although it's also a show of how insane he is, Trickster's devotion to Noelle is awe-inspiring if you look at the situation from his point of view. He, a relatively normal guy with limited teleportation powers, is facing down an entire crowd of supers including the world's second strongest cape. Anyone in that crowd could probably kill him in one hit. His only backup is Noelle, the love of his life, who's in the process of being turned into an EldritchAbomination that will eventually kill him and who could very well kill him accidentally just by turning around too fast. His reaction?
53	--> ''(Noelle) faced Eidolon and the other flying cape.''
54	--> ''Trickster adjusted his hat and did the same. The two of them against the world.''
55
56	[[AC:Scourge]]
57	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/02/23/scourge-19-2/ 19.2]], Grue is stuck in an AngstComa after being caught inside Noelle (which, as a side effect, caused flashbacks to worse versions of all his most traumatic memories). Skitter and Aisha sit down with him and get him moving so Aisha can take him home.
58
59	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/03/12/scourge-19-7/ Scourge 19.7]], Lisa finally reveals her backstory and why she went out of her way to help Taylor so much. Lisa/Tattletale had her trigger event after her brother killed himself, and she spent night after night agonizing about how she should have figured out what was going on with him and spoken up about it. When she first met Taylor, she could see that Taylor was in the same state of utter despair that her brother was in, so she kept going out of her way to help her, feeling the need to save Taylor when she couldn't save her brother. She has taken many reckless risks, partly in order to help both herself and Taylor, and partly because she wants to prove herself because she is constantly driven by guilt about not speaking up sooner about her brother's suspicious behavior before his suicide. After Tattletale reveals all this, Taylor goes to hug her without saying anything.
60
61	* A little moment in [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/03/16/interlude-19-y/ Interlude 19 (Donation Bonus #2)]]: a Parahumans Online poster called [=WagTheDog=] and longtime fan of Bitch/Hellhound/Rachel starts a thread asking how she might hypothetically become one of her minions. Char sends her a private message.
62	-->► '''[=WagTheDog=]''' (Original Poster)\
63	Replied on July 3rd, 2011:\
64	Omg.\
65	It’s all good.\
66	Harder than I thought but all good.
67
68	[[AC:Chrysalis]]
69	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/04/02/chrysalis-20-5// 20.5]], over a hundred students stand up and form a human barricade to protect Skitter/Taylor from Dragon and Defiant after they exposed her identity. And after the last kernel of them make it out of sight and they stop, each of them, starting with Fern (whom Skitter had just expressed suspicion of that morning), explains the key incidents that gave them a personal allegiance to the Undersiders or to her specifically.
70	** A Heartwarming Moment all by itself is Taylor's initial reaction.
71	--> "You saved my dad," Fern said, as if answering a question I hadn't asked.
72	--> ''Saved her dad?'' [[ButForMeItWasTuesday When?]]
73	* In the same chapter Dragon comes to the decision that she can no longer justify following orders against her conscience, despite her literal inability to disobey a legitimate authority, and that she would rather risk irreversible alterations to her very self, possibly even death, than go on like that.
74
75	[[AC:Imago]]
76	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/04/13/imago-21-2/ 21.2]], when the groundskeeper at the graveyard comes upon Skitter sitting at her mother's tombstone, and realizes she's only come to visit, he offers her tea or coffee and lets her have some printer paper to write a letter on.
77	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/04/23/imago-21-6/ 21.6]], Skitter gets the chance to see the group of damaged, screwed-up people out of whom Bitch has made a sort of family.
78	* [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/interlude-21/ Interlude 21]] has two:
79	** Parian, still uncertain, still decidedly the junior member of the Undersiders, being the one who gives them a way to understand Skitter's decision in a way that lets them deal with it.
80	** Flechette getting the chance to be with Parian as her lieutenant.
81
82	[[AC:Cell]]
83	* [[https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/cell-22-1/ 22.1]] shows how much Taylor matters to Dinah, in the latter's reaction to Director Tagg threatening the former.
84	--> "The last thing I want is another arrogant dickface telling me what to do," Dinah said. "You want answers, Director? Fine. Twenty two point eight one three percent chance you die painfully, over long, slow minutes or hours. Maybe soon, maybe in twenty years, but it'll bring you to tears, and you'll wail in pain. That's a freebie. Want more details?"
85	* [[https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/05/09/cell-22-3/ 22.3]] has Taylor's father come into her interrogation cell, seeing her for the first time after she was outed as Skitter. A wordless minute passes where Danny almost lets his anger get the better of him... but wraps her up in a tight hug instead.
86	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/05/16/cell-22-6/ 22.6]], when Dragon hugs Taylor at the very end, you realize it's the first motherly hug Taylor's had since her mother died.
87	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/05/18/interlude-22/ Interlude 22]], when Bitch loans "therapy puppies" to people after Taylor defects.
88
89	[[AC:Drone]]
90	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/05/28/drone-23-2/ 23.2]], it's revealed that Pretender's ''entire'' team is planning to break him out of prison and leave the Protectorate. While it's an understandable frustration to the good guys, their loyalty to each other is admirable, especially considering that they were previously identified as a team composed of scoundrels and cunning rogues.
91	* [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/06/04/drone-23-5/ 23.5]] has Taylor's reunion with the Undersiders.
92
93	[[AC:Crushed]]
94	* In [[https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/crushed-24-4/ Crushed 24.4]], Regent, the TokenEvilTeammate of the Undersiders, makes a HeroicSacrifice to save Imp, his friend.
95	* In the same chapter, Taylor convinces Phir Sē, a cynical villain who is willing to take a chance to burn the city of New Delhi to ashes if it means killing Behemoth, to let her try to work with the heroes to help him, convincing him to give up his doubt just this once.
96	* In Chevalier's interlude there is a nice one. He'd barely able to stand, marching into Behemoth's kill aura, and when he stumbles someone he calls "old friend catches and supports him. Who is this old friend? Defiant, aka Armsmaster, aka Colin. The old friend shows that Chevalier has considered Colin a friend for a long time, and not just due to their recent character development.
97
98	%% Scarab
99
100	[[AC:Bonesaw's Interlude]]
101	* The fact that ''Bonesaw'', one of the most nightmarish people in the setting, can be set on the path towards redemption.
102	* Bonesaw/Riley making friends with Eli and ensuring that he's as far away from town as possible when the Slaughterhouse Nine come out of hibernation and make their move.
103
104	[[AC:Sting]]
105	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/08/06/interlude-26a/ Interlude 26a]], when Theo is sitting thinking about how his family has been slaughtered, Bitch notices he and Taylor are feeling the emotional strain and leaves them each with one of her dogs to be comforted in silence.
106	* In Interlude 26b Rachel and Taylor are looking forward to just hanging out for a while.
107
108	[[AC:Cockroaches]]
109	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/09/14/cockroaches-28-6/ 28.6]] there's a small moment where Uber was shown to be directionless without Leet, an echo on Taylor's musing that he'd have been better off without him.
110
111	[[AC:Venom]]
112	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/09/24/venom-29-3/ Venom 29.3]], Taylor puts aside the doubts that Saint has kindled about Dragon and returns the hug that Dragon gave her back in Cell.
113
114	[[AC:Speck]]
115	* Rachel deliberately entering Taylor's mind-control radius, because she trusts Taylor ''that'' much.
116	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/speck-30-2/ Speck 30.2]], Dragon helping Taylor, who's suffering from stroke-like symptoms and can no longer talk or read, find what she's looking for, saying that she trusts Weaver, and hoping that she wouldn't make her regret extending that trust. Made into a TearJerker by Taylor internally noting that Dragon is going to be the second-greatest threat to her plans once she finds out what she's doing.
117	* Taylor, even in her deteriorating mental state, being happy that Dragon was only [[FakingTheDead pretending to be dead]], even though this makes her entire plan harder.
118	* In [[http://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/10/26/speck-30-6/ Speck 30.6]], Imp stayed by Taylor's side as she mentally deteriorated and offered her words of comfort, and trusted her enough to help her carry out her plan even though Taylor was incapable of communicating.
119	* Throughout Speck, Taylor is shoving her friends ''out'' of her control zone even as her friends willingly step into it. Foil and Parian, in particular, accidentally fall out of her radius and promptly step back in, because they trust her ''that much'':
120	-->''The movements of the other two weren't coordinated well with my own movements. They rode the stuffed animal as it leaped to the next building, but momentarily passed out of my control.''\
121	\
122	''They didn't turn on me, didn't shoot me. They carried onward, and I adjusted my course to put them in my range again.''
123
124	[[AC:Teneral]]
125	* [[EarnYourHappyEnding Dragon and Defiant.]]
126	* Rachel's epilogue, seeing how Taylor helped her grow and her deciding, on the reasoning that it's what Taylor would do, to help the heroes with an unexpectedly violent trigger event.
127	** Despite still possessing her reservations about people, she also agrees to trust and cooperate with Miss Militia. This plus the heroism marks just how far Taylor and her CharacterDevelopment have taken her.
128	* We see that Glastig Uaine of all people was affected by Taylor's actions, and she's now following in her footsteps and trying to become a hero.
129	* The whole scene between Nilbog, Riley/Bonesaw and Glaistig Uaine/Valkyrie in the epilogue is strangely adorable, particularly the part where Nilbog and Valkyrie talk fairy-tale to each other and Riley smiles despite herself, what might be the first real smile she's had since her trigger event. And then Valkyrie realizes that between the three of them, they might be able to bring back the dead. The way she interprets her passenger's reaction to this? A smug? worm-thing is kind of cute, in a deadly, purring feline kind of way.
130	** It's even better: we've bumped into capes openly at odds with their worm-passengers before. Leet being the prime example: his eventually managed to kill him. This smug, warm, happy, fuzzy wormy? Is one backing ''a villain turned cooperatively socialising hero'' up with the equivalent of a backslap and thumbs-up. There's little directly violent about getting people resurrected, plugged into their "mates" and thrown back into the game, yet... happy-smug worm. O~K: are they learning new social tricks to override Daddy and Mummy's plans and parasitic programming? Was wormy actually taking notes on how to be their own, self-determined, more-adult-behaving-than-Dad, central shard in Dr. Yamada's sessions, too?
131
132	[[AC: Epilogue]]
133	* [[SurprisinglyHappyEnding "I could maybe learn to be okay."]]
134	** Really, all of the chapters there. Armsmaster proves that RedemptionEarnsLife and becomes the beloved hero Defiant, Dragon gets to finally live free of the programming blocks that forced her to behave in a LawfulStupid manner, the surviving Wards are recovering, the Endbringers have stopped attacking except in retaliation, the Undersiders are rising stars, and above all else, Taylor finally gets to retire and leave the whole suck of her entire career as Skitter behind her.
135

Context Heartwarming / Worm