ˣ﹣₂₃ ╱ 𝐿𝐴𝑈𝑅𝐴 🅚

the mixture of rain-soaked asphalt and faint sewer scent makes the gotham air difficult to breathe. you're no stranger to the rot that seeps into every corner of this city, just as the rot has attached itself to your bones like a parasite. from her words, it would be easy to assume the queenpin of gotham has seen the world for what it truly is: a cesspool of greed, violence, and copious power. there's a chance she's right —– maybe you can't stop crime. no, in fact, you know you can't stop crime. no matter how many throats you slit, bones you break, or allow the inside you off its leash; there will always be more crime. you were not meant to be a savior nor a hero —– you were born and bred to be a weapon. you're the boogeyman who comes in the middle of the night, prowling through the dark and leaving a trail of bodies in your wake because it's all you know how to do. you were made to destroy lives, not save them.

beneath your skin, you can feel the city's pulse —– a steady stream of the corruption that beats in time with your own shattered heart. the way gotham wraps itself tightly around your neck, whispering into your ears all the same agony the facility did. this is all you'll ever be. a weapon, a killer, a beast dressed in a girl's flesh with a cowl to hide it. but, there's something more beneath the surface than what meets the opposite's words. something that not even the queenpin of gotham, with all her seized power, can grasp. you're also a survivor. a victim, an orphan, and a young woman with enough rage to draw both claws through the bedrock of the earth.

she means well, you know she does. it's in her voice —– almost as if she's attempting to soothe something that can't be soothed. better ways of spending your energy? rage is all you know. seeking vengeance / serving penance. her concern brushes off you like rain against adamantium, sliding until it pools at your feet, unnoticed and unwanted. your eyes narrow in a way you've perfected —– a look that says more than you could ever. there's a part of you that wants to laugh, but it dies shortly before it reaches your throat. better ways, better ways, better ways —– as if you're wasting something precious. like there's any part of you that isn't already spent, burnt out, or hollowed by the things you've done over the years. as a child. the claws, an unforgiving extension of yourself, are a reminder. they don't care about better ways. not even a decade after the fact.

if you're going to deactivate, please try and at least unfollow me prior! i know that's a little difficult to remember and i promise, i won't have a breakdown about it - but it would just make my brain function a little better with the whole even following + follower numbers thing <3 <3 <3

if you use chatgpt to write your roleplay responses, please don't even follow me! i cannot even believe this needs to be said, but here we are, finally facing the fact that people are using chatgpt to write their roleplay responses. absolutely wild to me - but nonetheless, just stay away from me! i find it extremely disrespectful and ultimately, a waste of my time, as a writer + plotter. (and i'm sure i'm not the only person who would think this as well.)

i have nowhere on my blog for this so i'm going to briefly discuss laura's healing just because this moment made me want to discuss it!!! (and yes, nyx edit incoming bc i just finished reading) this isn't what i'm going to consider to be my full-fledged meta regarding her mutation, but it's definitely a good starting point!

laura's healing factor is incredibly fast and just like logan's, capable of closing bullet wounds and mending broken bones within a matter of seconds (or minutes depending on the injury). in some instances, her healing is almost instantaneous, particularly when she's engaged in combat/already has adrenaline rushing through her body. in anw #1 (2015), laura takes a barrage of bullets and heals before the assailant can even reload. she even suffers a gunshot wound to the head and is recovered within a matter of mere minutes. her healing is usually depicted as even faster than that of logan, partly because her youth provides her with a more resilient physiology than hers. however, this speed is not consistent across all situations. laura's healing factor can be delayed or impeded depending on, like stated above, the severity of the wound AND the presence of certain toxins that can counteract her mutation. in anw #18 (2015), laura is exposed to a nanite-based virus that temporarily shut down her healing capabilities — this demonstrated that while her mutation is extremely power, she is also not invulnerable. she is also capable of taking damage AND even being killed via the murmasa blade (which is an object i need to discuss more on logan, rather than here.)

one of the more nuanced aspects of laura's healing factor is how it responds to both her mental and emotional state. while laura is in a mentally stable mindset, her healing is at its most efficient. however, when she is in distress or experiencing depression, the process can become erratic. in x-23 #3 (2010), laura is exposed to her "trigger scent" that drives her into a berserker rage, killing anybody in sight. after the effects wore her, her healing factor struggled to keep up with the damage she'd taken — both from others and herself, indicating her mental state can significantly slow down her healing. this is also echoed throughout the various times laura is shown to self-harm. in x-23 #4 (2010), laura slashed her arms and while the wounds were non life-threatening, they noticeably took longer because of how low her mental mindset was at the time. this is rooted heavily in the mind-body connection, where the subconscious plays a significant role in how a body prioritizes healing.