(12/19 update: Story rating changed to M. Does not affect the first 21 chapters - they're still rated T.)
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5:46 AM, Saturday Morning
Beacon Academy West Courtyard, Front Gate
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The noise of the nearby city of Vale was too far away to be heard from the gates of Beacon Academy even during the busiest times of day; and this early in the morning, all you could hear were songbirds. There was also a breeze that sighed by every so often, but other than that it was as quiet as a tomb. The rising sun was in the midst of chasing away the darkness of night and, along with it, the brilliant colors of the sunrise. It was the kind of morning that serious artists and photographers would get out of bed early for.
Beacon did not have flowers at the front gate (there were trees, but there were no blossoms on any of them), yet it was also far enough separated from the airship dock that the breeze carried no smell of oil or machinery. It was a wonderful and terribly uncommon form of fresh air.
This was the setting that met her gaze as she slowly walked into the main courtyard and stopped before the stone statue - the one that depicted two huntsman standing in noble pride while a creature of Grimm growled menacingly from beneath. She never did figure out who carved it.
The woman stood no more than 5' 4" but had the air of someone who could fill a room with her presence alone. She wore a long white lab coat that almost reached her knees over top of a red, short-sleeved blouse and a black, knee-length pleated skirt. Her short leather boots only added an inch or so to her height. She also had on a fresh pair of black leggings. She had a few pens and a scroll-like device in the chest pocket – she would be the first to tell you that it was a much more advanced model.
The woman looked up at the highest tower of the school, her eyes drinking in every detail. She let out a gentle sigh, then pulled her device from it's pocket with her right hand, hitting a few buttons and nodding at the results. Her left hand absently scratched the back of her head, causing the dark, shoulder-length hair to sway. The red highlights really stood out in the lingering glow of the sunrise. It was actually a dark red color, but most of the time it looked black with red tips.
"One-Eight-Zero-Two, just as planned," she quietly intoned to herself. The scroll was quickly returned to it's place. "So nostalgic..." She looked up again, the still-orange sky making her silver eyes glitter with anticipation behind her wire-frame glasses.
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8:23 AM, Same day
City of Vale, Central Square Shopping Plaza
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Team RWBY sat at a round table in the food court, eyeing a set of cards that Ruby had laid out on the table. There were 8 cards in total, each one larger than normal trading or playing cards. All bore a stunning piece of artwork on the surface. And each one seemed to hold some kind of …special secret. That's what the four of them had been told, anyway.
The girls had just come out of a strange little shop that sold what they called 'novelty occult items.' There was nothing serious, like Ouija boards, but just fun little things; glow in the dark crystal balls and fancy wall art of pentagrams or paintings of demons, among other things.
What caught Ruby's eye, though, was a box of trading card packages in the back of the room, behind the check-out counter. The old lady who ran the store was eager to serve, using what looked like a semblance to select just the right pack. As she rang up their purchase, the woman was saying that the cards within the pack were relevant to the future of team RWBY. At the time, they didn't think anything of it.
Four girls, eight cards. They had already planned to split them up, and that meant each teenager got two cards. Now they just had to pick.
The shortest of the girls, Ruby Rose, picked first. "This one looks cool," she said with a smile. She wore her usual outfit today, a gothic-style black outfit with a combat skirt and knee-high leather boots. Over it all was her trademark bright red cloak with a hood. The midday sunshine glittered in her dark red hair.
The card she picked up bore the image of a large wildcat in a pose that would suggest it was climbing down from a tree. It had stripes like a tiger, but was more reddish in color. It's eyes were a blazing, fiery red color. The background featured a starry night sky. The words The Beast sat at the bottom of the card. "I like kitties, so …why not?" She muttered mostly to herself.
"Well I know which one I want…" Yang Xiao Long reached out and grabbed her first card. She also had on the outfit she considered her 'standard' – tall boots, black shorts, and a low-cut yellow blouse under a cropped leather jacket. Her favorite orange scarf lay around her neck and her two golden bracelets adorned her wrists.
Yang's card depicted a well-muscled young man in a boxing pose, both fists close to his face for protection. All around him was a jungle environment. The words The Fighter were written across the bottom. She grinned as she examined it and wolf-whistled, saying, "My kind of guy."
Blake Belladonna could only roll her eyes, "Why am I not surprised?" The only faunus in the group continued to keep her ears hidden beneath a large black bow, but the others had gotten used to that by this point. The rest of her outfit was a combination of black and white pieces, with very little color. The brunette reached over and grabbed a card for herself, quietly musing, "I guess I'll take this one…" In her defense, Blake wasn't really looking at what she grabbed.
The card depicted two figures, both androgynous and lacking any distinguishing features, and both in what could only be called a …passionate embrace. The focus of the image was on the shorter of the two with the taller being partially cut off at the edge. Behind them was a field of royal purple with a velvety texture. The Lover was emblazoned across the bottom of the card.
Yang noticed the slip-up, naturally – the blonde brawler put on a cheeky grin and waggled her eyebrows obnoxiously. The brunette glared as her face went flush with embarrassment. Ever since she had discovered Blake's hidden copy of Ninjas of Love, Yang had become insufferable. More than normal, anyway. She never missed an opportunity to poke fun at her partner, but at least she was keeping it low-key for now.
The fourth member of the team glowed in the sunshine, mostly due to her white-themed look. Boots, combat skirt, Bolero jacket – all white. The only bit of color was the inside of the jacket, which showed a bright red around her collar. In contrast to her clean, immaculate appearance, Weiss Schnee was also on the path to becoming a proper Huntress just like the rest of her team. "I suppose I'll take…" the long white ponytail swayed as the girl looked back and forth, then said, "…this one."
The heiress of the Schnee Dust Company selected a card that depicted a line of medieval knights in plate metal armor, all bearing sword and shield and all battle ready. All but the foremost knight bore shiny new suits of armor; the one closest to the front had clearly been through it's fair share of combat. This card read The Soldier at the bottom.
The girl didn't say it out loud, but looking at this card made Weiss think of her older sister. It was a comforting feeling. Winter was the only member of her family that Weiss could stand being around for more than five minutes.
"Ooh, I know! Now we pick one for our partners!" Ruby piped up quickly, the idea just now hitting her. Sensing no resistance, the girl in the red cloak snatched up another card and presented it to her own partner. "For the girl who sees all," she said solemnly.
This card bore the image of a great eye floating above a detailed cityscape with a backdrop showing a vast field of stars. If you looked close enough, you might have thought you could see the silhouette of Beacon amidst the buildings along the bottom. The card was called The Watcher.
The heiress was less than thrilled and groaned, "Bleh, an eyeball…" She then whipped around with a light blush and quickly squawked, "Ruby Rose! You don't mean to say that I …peep, do you?!"
The redhead choked and sputtered, "Ack, no! No-no-no-no-no!" Frantic arm waving, then, "I just meant… uh, I mean…"
"I think she means to say that you don't miss a chance to correct our mistakes," Blake offered.
Yang grinned, "Blake to the rescue!"
Weiss puffed her cheeks in annoyance - apparently that reason wasn't much better – just as Yang grabbed another card and handed it to Blake. The picture on this one displayed a cloaked figure standing in the middle of a gigantic, ruined clock face. The figure's tattered robes hid any distinguishing features underneath. There was mist in the background, obscuring whatever lay beyond. "For the girl who still has plenty of mysteries," the blonde said. The card read The Eternal along the bottom.
"Creepy, …but cool." Coming from Blake, Yang could only take that as a compliment. She grinned mightily.
There were now only two cards left, and Weiss jumped at one, "I think we can all agree who gets this one…" and handed it to the leader of team RWBY. This card depicted a single blood-red rose, in full bloom, over a field of white. Numerous thorns encircled it at a distance. The rose was rendered in stunning detail, and the words The Rose adorned the bottom.
"Of course," Yang and Blake intoned in stereo. Ruby accepted the gift with a grin. Seriously, who else would take a card like that? It literally had her name on it.
That left just one card, and all four occupants of the table looked at it and sighed. This was the one card none of them wanted. Reluctantly, and because she was last, Blake handed it to Yang.
The final card bore the creepiest image thus far; a happy-face mask, seemingly made out of porcelain or glass, with a large crack down the middle. All around it were shards of other materials, such as rocks and dirt, and spots of what could have been dried blood - the art style was a bit less detailed than some of the other cards, so it was hard to tell. This card simply read The Broken.
Upon taking the card, the blonde visibly shivered. "Whoa… feels like someone just walked over my grave…" No one laughed as she rubbed her arms, trying to drive away the goosebumps. "Hey, Ruby, wanna trade this for… what did you have… the cat?"
"Nope," she answered, popping the 'p' sound.
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2:21 PM
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Rooftop Balcony
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The day had warmed up considerably since this morning, but it was still lovely weather. It was one of those days that Ruby couldn't resist just …wasting. She and Blake had both selected a book and moved their reading to the balcony area on the roof of the dorms. This was the same place that Jaune and Pyrrha, members of their sister team JNPR, had practiced their swordplay for a few weeks.
Looking around, Ruby realized, it really wasn't a balcony - it was just a roof. There was nothing more than a few air conditioning units up here. There wasn't even safety rails. Of course, that didn't stop several of the other students from bringing a couple of chairs and a table out here. It had become quite popular in the last week or so, with students using it to simply get away for a while.
Ruby and Blake had the place to themselves for the time being, and that was just fine with them. Like all good things, however, their solitude also came to an end when the door opened for Lie Ren, the quietest member of team JNPR. What was strange was that Nora Valkyrie, his childhood friend-slash-parasite, was not with him.
Seeing their looks of confusion, Ren simply shrugged and said, "She's taking a nap."
"And you escaped for a few minutes," Blake finished.
"Pretty much." The boy with a streak of pink amidst his black hair walked to the edge of the roof and stretched, his long arms reaching high as his back made audible popping sounds. "It's nice out here," he sighed.
The two girls silently nodded, not looking up from their books. No one moved for a few blessed minutes as the breeze drifted by.
"Oh, Ruby…" Ren looked over at the younger girl in the deck chair. "Nora said she saw someone today who looked just like you. Somewhere in the back of the campus, I think."
"'Looked like me?'" The redhead saved her place with a bookmark, her attention now fully on the older boy. "How so?"
"She said the woman had the same hair as you, but she didn't get close enough to see any other details," Ren pointed at the girl's head for emphasis. "Same style and color, evidently."
"Huh, that's unusual," Ruby's face scrunched. "I wonder who it was?"
"Wanna go find out?" Blake offered. She stood up, also stretching. "We have been sitting for a while now, and I need to move around a bit…"
"Sounds like a plan." Rising to join her teammate, Ruby looked back at Ren and said, "Don't leave her alone for too long…" she grinned. They all knew exactly who she was talking about. It wasn't a good idea to leave Nora unsupervised.
The taller boy sighed, "Yeah, I know…" as the girls made their way to ground level.
It went without saying that everyone was still tired. It had barely been a week since the White Fang, led by the 'master criminal' Roman Torchwick, had crashed a train car from an old underground tunnel into the middle of the city of Vale. This had allowed around 10 metric tons of Grimm to come pouring in through the new opening.
The Breach, as it had come to be called, had the potential to be far worse than it turned out - and it was only thanks to the efforts of team RWBY holding the line that reinforcements arrived in time to prevent a complete disaster. At the end of the day there were no deaths, Huntsman or otherwise, and as far as Professor Ozpin was concerned, that was the only number that truly mattered.
Three teams were the most involved and, as a result, were allowed a period of rest: Team RWBY, team JNPR, and the second-year team CFVY.
Leaving Ren to fend for himself, Ruby and Blake headed for the Pavilion. Nora had said 'the back of the campus,' so that was the most likely place their mysterious look-alike would be… assuming she was real, that is.
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2:40 PM
Beacon Academy East Courtyard, The Pavilion
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The Pavilion was one of the few places on the campus where people could go and just relax - it was not a multi-use facility like nearly every other spot on campus. Tree-lined paths gently curved around small hills dotted with small statues and flower beds, and a small creek trickled it's way through the middle of it. Benches were frequent along the trails, giving visitors plenty of places to rest. At the center of the area was an expanse of pavers with numerous tables and chairs, forming a common area that was often used for picnics and larger get-togethers. It even hosted a school-wide chess tournament a few years back.
The sight that greeted the two teens made them think that even this sacred place was no longer safe from 'urban development.'
The tables had been cleared away to make room for something straight out of a science-fiction comic book. A mammoth device had been built in the center of the area that resembled a large ...gate? An empty door frame? Ruby had never seen anything quite like it so making a good comparison was rather difficult. Numerous large pipes and cables ran from the base of the device to a nearby set of metallic boxes - the younger girl guessed that this was the 'control center.' There were also a large number of structures that looked like antennas. The smaller girl quickly glanced at the sky to check for any flying saucers that might be circling overhead.
When Ruby and Blake first rounded the corner and saw all of this, they actually noticed two figures present, and one of them was clearly Nora's look-alike. Even from several yards away, Ruby could recognize her own hairstyle. The 'clone' was wearing some kind of lab coat, though, so it wasn't that creepy.
A second, smaller girl in a tattered red cloak that was way too similar to Ruby's was standing in the center of the gate-looking device. The hood was raised, so the face was obscured by the shadows. The first figure hit a few buttons at the control center, the device appeared to charge itself up, and then…
The smaller figure vanished in a burst of light. There was no noise.
Both Ruby and Blake froze, eyes wide with shock. Neither of them were certain if they had just witnessed a miracle of modern science or a straight-up murder. This meant that neither of them noticed the first figure turn and walk towards them. Nor did they see her smile in an …eerily familiar way.
"Well, …you guys are early."
Blake snapped out of her trance hard. There was no mistaking that voice, even if it had aged a few years… this woman sounded exactly like Ruby!
The faunus tried to speak, but found her voice to be a bit rebellious. Ruby found she had no such problem as she gasped, "Wh-what… what did… wh-where… how the… What the hell?"
"I promise I'll explain everything," the look-alike said quickly, "just ...give me a chance, okay?" Relieved that the teens no longer looked like they would run screaming into the hills, the mysterious woman extended a hand to the redheaded teenager, her glasses gleaming in the sunlight. "Ruby Rose of Remnant-1802, I am Ruby Rose of Remnant-5815. Nice to meet you."
Getting no immediate reaction, the duplicate Ruby grinned and added, "And in case you're wondering, I'm 27 years old and a fully-accredited doctor, as well as a professor of Multi-Dimensional Theory."
Blake's jaw basically hit the ground. Never one to be outdone, Ruby let her entire body do the same.
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6:31 PM
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Fourth Floor – Team RWBY Dorm Room
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Ruby Rose - the younger Ruby - held an ice pack to her head. That fall was not a good idea. She was sitting on Weiss' bed next to the heiress, who wore a similar expression to her partner. She looked like her skull was soon to erupt. Blake and Yang sat on the lower bunk opposite the other two, both with a simple look of pure shock. All of this was due to the room's… extra occupant.
"Wow, …I haven't seen you guys like this in so long…" The 'older' Ruby was practically hopping around with glee. "This is so cool! Weiss is still all, like, cold and sublimating, Blake is still all normopathic with a side of vellichor, and Yang's a total-"
"Okay, whoa whoa WHOA! Slow down there, professor!" Yang had just about had enough of the newcomer using such ...exaggerated speech. "Smaller words please. Some of us here don't have our doctorates yet." Despite her reputation as 'the blonde brawler,' Yang was really very smart - she was easily holding high grades on pretty much all of her classes thus far and she actually enjoyed language arts to a certain point (although history was the bane of her existence). But even so, this woman was testing her patience.
The 'professor' cringed once she realized her mistake. "Sorry… heh heh. I guess I got a little carried away…" She scratched the back of her head, then tried again, "I just got so worked up, I mean I haven't seen you guys in, like, years! Seriously Yang, don't be so irascible…"
The blonde actually snarled and started to lunge at the older woman, but Blake held her down with a firm grip on the shoulder. Lavender eyes flashed crimson as Yang crossed her arms and muttered, "Now she's doing that on purpose…"
Blake had to hide her grin, and almost laughed out loud at the mental image of Yang in a fur tunic growling 'Big words make me angry!'
Ruby spoke up for the first time since they all got into the room, "So… you're me from …the future?" She looked up at her 'older self' and put on a confused look. "But why are you here? Are you trying to prevent some kind of …futuristic worldwide disaster? Won't your presence in the past have some sort of butterfly effect?"
Everyone in the room was now looking at the shorter redhead in a mixture of shock and confusion. Ruby had clearly been watching too many sci-fi movies lately.
"Hoo-boy… where do I even begin?" The older Ruby grabbed the desk chair and sat backwards in it so she could face the center of the room. She rubbed her temples before she started speaking, "Well I managed to convince Ozpin this morning, so I guess I can run through it again for you guys…" She grinned at Yang, "And I promise I'll keep the words as short as I can."
A low growl was her only response. Everyone else waited eagerly for the stranger to speak.
"Okay, first I need to make sure we're all on the same page. For the time being, you can all call me 'Carmine.' It'll be a bit less confusing than two people answering to 'Ruby.'"
The woman who now called herself Carmine pulled out her scroll (although it looked like the daddy of all scrolls, to be honest) and hit a few buttons. The device projected a hologram into the center of the room that showed a line extending from the outer edge towards the middle. "This chart represents the flow of a normal timeline – for lack of a better term. Everything you do from waking up… eating breakfast… going to class… etc."
With each example she pointed to a different area on the timeline, her finger creating circles along it's length. "Each event creates a temporal axis that branches off into a new timeline based on the choices you make…"
The line forked at each circle, a new line branching out from each point to flow parallel to the first. "And these lines also branch out…"
Similar circles formed on the new lines, also branching into their own lines. "And it just keeps going. Every choice you make creates a new timeline, each one with it's own distinct frequency. Each branch follows the events that occur as though you chose each unique choice."
She paused, adjusted her glasses and took a breath, then said, "And that's the basics of Multi-Dimensional Theory. Are you all still with me?"
Weiss was sitting on the edge of the bed, hanging on every word. Blake had a focused look on her face, clearly trying to process everything she'd heard thus far. Yang's face was blank, her eyes fully glazed over.
Ruby spoke next, saying, "So does that mean you're not from my future, …or, that is to say, this future?"
While the rest of the room was startled that the teenager understood so much, Carmine didn't bat an eye. "I'll get to that in a moment." She pressed another button and the view of the timeline zoomed out - way out. What looked like a single tree branch quickly grew into a truly massive spiderweb of lines, all branching from single events. Everyone in the room gave a quiet gasp at the sight.
"The 'frequency' of this particular timeline is 1802, right…" she pointed to a seemingly random line, "…here," which then lit up, allowing it to stand out amidst the cluster of lines. "And I'm from…" another line lit up, "…this one, 5815." The distance between the lines was rather large. "Our timelines divided a short while back …at least, by your reckoning."
Carmine sighed a bit, taking a breath. "It took me the better part of 10 years to isolate these frequencies and confirm my theory. Another two just to construct the transport system. I still have a lot to figure out with this stuff… the biggest mystery is exactly what I'm measuring the frequency of." She emphasized the final word by tossing her free hand into the air, then letting it fall to her side.
She closed the program and returned the scroll to her pocket with a flourish. "And as much as I'd like to explain further, I need to check on my equipment outside before I turn in for the night."
She walked to the door, but turned back to examine the faces of her former teammates. All had the expressions of people who would find sleep to be a luxury that would elude them this evening. Carmine grinned before saying, "Don't worry, I'll be sure to cure your ellipsism tomorrow. Don't let Yang be too implacable, okay?" and she quickly shut the door behind her.
Exactly three seconds after the lock clicked shut, Carmine heard a roar of frustration from Yang, followed by the sound of three teens trying to hold her down before she went tearing into the hallway. The woman could only chuckle in amusement, but as it continued she laughed harder and harder… and it seemed to get worse the more she laughed until she almost couldn't stand up. It had been five years since she'd seen her old team - but it had also been five years since she'd had any reason to laugh at all. This was something she'd sorely needed.
There would be time for the more …important part of her story later.
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PARADIGM OF THE ROSE
Chapter 1:
The Arrival
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8:45 PM
Beacon Academy Dormitory, Guest Wing
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Mercury and Emerald sat in total silence …well, almost.
The one noise in the room was the rhythmic tapping of the index finger of a certain highly powerful, and very dangerous woman with black hair and blazing yellow eyes. The former assassin and thief, respectively, didn't even dare to breathe too loudly.
The reason? Cinder Fall was smiling.
That meant they were in some deep shit.
"So… let me get this straight… the program I entered into the CCT mainframe… the Queen Virus, that was supposed to be untouchable… is gone…" It was less of a question and more of an accusation.
Emerald swallowed hard and wondered if she'd live long enough to actually fall asleep tonight.
Cinder picked up her scroll from the bed beside her and looked at the screen, trying in vain to tap or swipe away the image that was now repeating itself over and over. It cycled between two pictures - the first was an altered version of her hacking program's insignia of a chess piece, except this one had been broken in two, followed by a line art silhouette of a man standing next to a large cooking pot with a mustache and an angry look on his face. Beneath this was five large words in block lettering: NO ILLEGAL ACCESS FOR YOU!
"And this thing even locked me out…" Cinder simply could not get any reaction from the device in her hand.
Mercury dared to speak up next, offering, "There shouldn't be anyone on the planet capable of reverse-hacking to this extent, much less taking care of that program so quickly."
Cinder simply ignored him as she stared at the screen for several more minutes. Her anger finally fading, she intoned, "If there's a joke here... I do not see it."
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A New Note from The Author:
Welcome to the Multiverse!
I know good and well that this story is probably too big for me. I know a concept like the multiverse is the kind of thing that can get super confusing when done wrong. I know I've promised something epic, and have yet to deliver.
I also know that I'm not giving up.
About a year ago, I was only four or five chapters into the story when something happened in my life that shook me up and almost left me mangled on the floor. It was truly a disaster. It was actually another author on this site, and my working on this story, that helped me pull through my depression.
Nearly a month later, the situation was resolved. I still remember the pain I felt back then, and how much it helped to focus on this tale. I will never forget that it was this community that helped me pull through, even if most of you didn't know it. In return, I promise I will finish this story. I promise, to quote the illustrious Monty Oum, to keep moving forward.
=^w^=
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Official Story Disclaimer (this will not be repeated): RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth and the illustrious Monty Oum, may he rest in peace. Any semblance of scientific fact included in this story is almost entirely made up on the spot. The setting is meant to be canon up to the end of volume 2 of the show, and then spiraling far, far away from canon after that. Compass directions used were based on the brief shot of Vale's map from Volume 1 and are based on the idea that the Beacon Academy campus faces West. I claim only the original versions of Ruby Rose I have invented for the purposes of the story, unless otherwise noted. In that case I will give full credit to the original creator of that particular version. Salt and vinegar potato chips are rubbish. This story was conceived and written in the time period between the finale of volume 4 and the premiere of volume 5 on October 14th, 2017, ergo any information revealed after that point will not have been considered for the final story. Unless said information is worth the effort, I will not bother rewriting anything herein to accommodate it. I am Groot. Soup Nazi reference is from the TV show 'Seinfeld.' While I am a big fan of ships between characters, this story will focus more on the adventure and conflict between 'good' and 'evil' rather than relationships. Any song lyrics included in the story are the property of their respective copyright holders, I claim nothing since I can't write music to save my life. Full list of genres to be included in the final version of the story (as of this point in writing): Action, adventure, friendship, sci-fi, tragedy, parody, fantasy, family, and with a little bit of hurt/comfort and romance thrown in for good measure. I will neither confirm nor deny any claims that I was inspired by a certain American comic book series from 2012 involving a certain arachnid-based superhero involved in similar multiverse situations.