#Cosmic Widow

[beneathathousandskies]

Book Review: Cosmic Widow (Agent Renault Adventures) - Jonathan Nevair

Hello! The first review of 2025 which was meant to be one of the last of 2024, as I had been hoping to have this up before Christmas and it is long overdue. I have loved all the Agent Renault Adventures series so far, but this one utterly stole the show for me (and it also has my favourite acknowledgement ever!); and in all honesty I don’t think I have done Cosmic Widow justice in this review so…

[thanos-the-dad-titan]

Dia De Los Muertos MCU

[dessertbird]

Daily Destiel 💙💚

He manipulated him, he made him promises, said, ‘paradise on earth’ and Cas bought it and you know what that got him? It got him dead! Now you might be able to forget about that, but I can’t! 🥺😭💔

[astramachina]

Started reading The Fisherman (a book that was not on my list to read this month) and my god I've never been more captivated by pages-long descriptions of fishing in my life. This is not a joke. Anyone who can do this with their prose surely deserves some kind of award.

[noirandchocolate]

‘Because she likes people,’ said the witch, striding ahead. 'She cares about 'em. Even the stupid, mean, drooling ones, the mothers with the runny babies and no sense, the feckless and the silly and the fools who treat her like some kind of a servant. Now THAT’S what I call magic–seein’ all that, dealin’ with all that, and still goin’ on. It’s sittin’ up all night with some poor old man who’s leavin’ the world, taking away such pain as you can, comfortin’ their terror, seein’ 'em safely on their way…and then cleanin’ 'em up, layin’ 'em out, making 'em neat for the funeral, and helpin’ the weeping widow strip the bed and wash the sheets–which is, let me tell you, no errand for the fainthearted–and stayin’ up the next night to watch over the coffin before the funeral, and then going home and sitting down for five minutes before some shouting angry man comes bangin’ on your door 'cuz his wife’s havin’ difficulty givin’ birth to their first child and the midwife’s at her wits’ end and then getting up and fetching your bag and going out again…. We all do that, in our own way, and she does it better'n me, if I was to put my hand on my heart. THAT is the root and heart and soul and center of witchcraft, that is. The soul and center!' Mistress Weatherwax smacked her fist into her hand hammering out her words. 'The…soul…and…CENTER!’ Echoes came back from the trees in the sudden silence. Even the grasshoppers by the side of the track had stopped sizzling. 'And Mrs Earwig,’ said Mistress Weatherwax, her voice sinking to a growl, 'Mrs. Earwig tells her girls it’s about cosmic balances and stars and circles and colors and wands and…and toys, nothing but TOYS!' She sniffed. 'Oh, I daresay they’re all very well as decoration, somethin’ nice to look at while you’re workin’, somethin’ for show, but the start and finish, THE START AND FINISH, is helpin’ people when life is on the edge. Even people you don’t like. Stars is easy, people is hard.’ She stopped talking. It was several seconds before birds began to sing again. 'Anyway, that’s what I think,’ she added in the tones of someone who suspects that she might have gone just a bit further than she meant to.

--Terry Pratchett, "A Hat Full of Sky"

[nasa]

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[sonjalikestodraw]

Lovers, come get your groom!

Smitten is here to look dashing ✨ and sweep you off of your feet — and he's already dressed up!

Design notes:

Based on a peacock; symbol of love, vanity and cosmic majesty.

As a part of Slayer's psyche, represents Passion + Uncritical Infatuation

Inspiration: a swashbuckling adventurer (boots, trousers and duelist cape) and a prince (flowing poet's shirt, lavish decorations to match the Princess).

Every design element directs your eye to his chest/heart. ("I wouldn't mess with him. He has very strong feelings.")

The duelist cape is not only fancy and theatrical to fit his personality, but also wide open (vulnerable) and asymmetrical (skewed priorities).

Is part of "the knights" (him, Hero and Skeptic) but wears no protective gear whatsoever. Smitten is confident that he won't get hurt unless he thinks he deserves it.

The frills on the shirt matches Damsel's frilly dress.

Big love = big man = big arms for carrying his beloved to safety!

Heart-shaped hair buns for a relaxed, soft look. He's all friendly curves.

Peacock antennae = hair pins, with more hearts like visual noises. Surely, she can hear his spirit!

Peacock face markings = fluffy, shapely beard for a virile, masculine energy (and for the record, I ADORE butch Smitten headcanons)

Default/Damsel look is gold + crystal. Here, the cape decoration is directly modeled after Base Princess' crown, while the gold comes from the single color mentioned from Damsel's basement. He's a simple rescuer, a golden trophy. His boots are brown for the classic swashbuckler boot (+ matches Hero's brown feathers).

Burned Grey look is black (both a groom about to be wed and a widower) with the cape tattered (love lost/tarnished). The white pearls on the brooch are the same kind as Grey's crown.

Thorn look is dark red with black boots, a somber and bloody color scheme for our history with the Witch and Thorn's mood. And yet a passionate, romantic red. Wears a single poppy, picked from Thorn's cabin... it's as if he's dressed for a date, with a flower in his lapel.

[theoppositeofprofound]

Briefly enraptured by an AU where the only thing needed for elven marriage is eye contact. That’s it, just eye contact between two people who mutually, absolutely want to get married. Melian and Thingol really were gone from first sight. Finwë and Indis’ remarriage was an issue because it’s a small continent and there’s a decent chance they’d accidentally elope. Aredhel and Eöl, who didn’t have any half measure in them, got screwed over by the cosmic happenstance of thinking “would” simultaneously. Elrond and Celebrían on their third meeting, both a tiny bit precognizant, already predisposed to know their fate, catching each other’s eyes over a dinner table and agreeing to let fate win. Lúthien looking Celegorm in the face as defiance—he can see her all he wants but she’s already realized his worth. Andreth, whose people had dealings with elves, staring into Aegnor’s eyes and begging him to flinch.

Of course this quickly devolved into thoughts of elven chastity veils, and blindfolds, and mirrored sunglasses, and stupid little horse blinders. The eyes of the Eldar in battle are notable because otherwise they have these weird googles on the rest of the time. The debate about whether widows and divorcees need to take precautionary measures, now that they’ve invented widowhood and divorce. The social mores. The controversy. The songs. The eye contact averse humans who think that it rocks that elves won’t look at them. I cannot stress this enough, the very ridiculous, frankly counterproductive little glasses.

[sleepyfan-blog]

Aranea posuere ultricies

Author’s note: this fic has been inspired by @cosmic-cryptid-from-beyond ‘s pocket titus sketches! Please check out her art! Thank you for letting me write this

Warnings: spiders, spider-killing, please ask me to tag if something bothers you/I missed it

Tagged: @egrets-not-regrets @the-pure-angel @i-am-a-dragon34 @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan @bleedingichorhearts

Tagged: @felinisnoctis

Summary: You acquire a small but fierce protector

You were fumbling with the keys to your front door, holding them in hand as you try to unlock your front door. As you attempt to put the key inside the lock, a large black spider slides down a hair-thin spider silk thread, nearly landing in your face.

You let out a startled shriek of surprise, stumbling backwards as fear and panic grip you. Your heart hammering in the back of your throat and adrenaline causing your body to tremble and freeze as you try to figure out what to do.

The black spider twists on the thin string of spider silk, revealing a bright red hourglass marking on it's abdomen.

More anxiety fills you as you clock that this is a venomous spider - one that could make you quite ill, if it bit you.

The best thing to do would be to somehow non-lethally move this Black Widow away from your door and place it somewhere in your garden... But you have no way of doing so without having to get into your home first...

Which would mean dodging the spider still dangling at eye level. You swallow dryly, still struggling to figure out what to do (and a small part of you feeling very silly about your panic) but you didn't want the spider to potentially crawl onto you, if you tried to dodge around it in order to get into your home.

Before you could make a decision, you felt a pair of tiny but heavy pair of feet land on one of your shoulders before the unexpected weight left you just as quickly.

A tiny Astartes yelled out what he clearly thought was a fierce battle cry "COURAGE AND HONOR!" as he swung a teeny-tiny hammer at the abdomen of the black widow that had been menacing you.

The blow struck true and spider guts splattered over several square inches of your front door.

You unfroze in time to carefully catch the little blue and gold colored tiny Astartes before he fell the rest of the way to the ground - or left a dent in your front door. "Thank you, my lord, for rescuing me." You murmur, having heard from co-workers and online posts how to best appease these tiny but fierce warriors.

The Astartes squeaks and wriggles in your hands in surprise "unhand me, mortal! I must continue my duties."

"As you wish. I was concerned about the fall relative to your size. Would you like something to eat in thanks for rescuing me?" You ask, carefully setting the tiny warrior down on the ground.

He stares up at you through his helmet for several seconds before answering "... Food would be most welcome... And I have fallen further than this. Your concern is..." he hesitates for a couple of moments before continuing "Welcome but unnecessary. Food would be gratefully accepted. I have not eaten in some time."

You nod, unlocking and opening your front door "After you." You murmur, not wanting to accidentally step on him "Unless you'd grant me the honor of carrying you to the kitchen?"

The small marine looked at your entryway, tensing as your cat - a loveable and very chatty coal black cat came trotting up to where you and he were standing with his usually creaky "Mreau!"

"I would like to be carried. Ideally on one of your shoulders, or in a hand or a chest pocket." The tiny marine declares, his helmet still pointed in your cat's direction.

Dixie sniffed curiously at the Astartes, the tip of his tail flicking back and forth.

You bend down and place one hand next to the marine so that he could climb up at his own pace. You reach out with your other hand to pet Dixie "Easy there, Dix. No mischief with our guest." And now you realize that you had yet to ask for the Astartes' name... Or give your own. "Would you like to share your name with me?" You give him your name "I apologize for not introducing myself earlier." You add.

"... I am Lieutenant Demetrian Titus of the Ultramarines Second Company." Titus answers after a few moments of hesitation. He removes his helmet, revealing a weathered and scarred but kind (and handsome) face with soulful greenish-blue eyes and short brown hair that frame his face. He climbs up onto your hand.

You set him on one of your shoulders and quickly move through your home to your kitchen. You set the lieutenant down on your kitchen counter before starting to rummage through the fridge, asking "Is there anything in particular you'd like? I have some left-over taco stuff, pasta with spaghetti, sandwich fixings... I also have some Ice cream and cookies, if you prefer something sweeter."

"I am unfamiliar with those food items. Astartes can eat nearly anything..." The little being answered, shifting a little as he answered "But I have been traveling for some time, and a hot meal would be a welcome indulgence."

You nod and grab two bowls as you're hungry too. You make sure that the bowl for the lieutenant is shallower so that he can better reach inside of it. A quick couple of minutes in the microwave and both bowls of food are steaming hot.

Titus ate quickly shoving handfuls of pasta and sauce into his mouth with his armored gauntlets "This is delicious, thank you."

You hum and smile "I'm glad you like it. Would you like some water to wash it down? I'm about to get myself some water, anyways."

"Water would be helpful. I need to clean my armor, as well as drink." Titus answers, before focusing once again on the food.

~

Weeks had passed and Titus, while he regularly wandered off, had become a regular member of your household.

Currently you were holding him in one hand, having helped the Astartes reach one of the insects encroaching on your property.

He looked so adorably pleased with himself you couldn't help it. You pressed a kiss to his forehead, murmuring "Thank you, for saving me from these awful bugs, Demetrian. Your swift movements and firm strikes slew the enemy handily."

Demetrian blushed, tucking his chin to his armored chest as he hands came up, flailing a little "I... I am merely doing my duty..."

"And you do it well, my lovely Angel." You earnestly compliment.

The Astartes blushes more and looks away from your face at your words, clearly struggling to regain his composure.

You chuckle softly and kiss the top of his head, murmuring "Too much praise, my knight-savior?"

"Yes... But... I... I crave it as well. I must... I must atone for this sin." Titus mumbled, still not looking up at you.

"... It's not a sin to enjoy the praise you get, Demetrian." You point out gently.

The tiny Ultramarine in your hand huffs a little before settling into your hand, mumbling in a language that you do not know, still blushing.

[loosiap]

Scalp & Hairline Overlay Box 2 - 17 PV2 recolours and round hairline

@pforestsims & @deedee-sims made this awesome Scalp & Hairline overlay box. Some creators already made recolours in their prefered hair systems BUT since these are all recolours using the same packages they all conflict with eachother and you can have only 1 box. I wanted to have one of Simgigglegirl's in my game and also separate one that would have colours I post therefore I made this box. Looks the same, works the same but doesn't conflict with original box nor it's recolours.

Box's object is the same as original (because I like it), only two colours are new: PForest's hair trimming accessories found in Buymode → General → Dressers, for 25 Simoleons:

Scalp's and hairline's textures and alphas are the same as in this second PForest's version with round hairline instead of original widow peak (credits for the texture PForest's used goes to BillieLith). Recoloured in colours I usually upload: Poppet's V2 natural and unnatural colours as well as BerryNooboos’ Cosmic, Wyxii’s Mint, Furbyq's Afterglow and PMG's Amphitrite; aditionally I added Volatile and LightGrey colours that @rudhira's adding to her custom hair retextures.

↑ Shown on base game's hairbald mesh using PForest's mesh default and my hairbald texture default. I recommend downloading PForest's no shine default or Rudhira's v1 default or my hairbald texture default so colours won't look dull on this mesh. Swatch included in the download. Avialable for all ages and unisex.

DOWNLOAD: MF | SFS

Textures are in standard size (512x512px), format DXT5, I included all textures in the download in png format just in case someone wants to edit them or recolour or smth (delete them otherwise)

There are some additional informations in the README.txt file included in the download, you check it out 👉👈 (lmk if you think I should add some more info)

Also Thank you @themeasureofasim for great tutorial!

[beneathathousandskies]

Cover Reveal: Cosmic Widow (An Agent Renault Adventure) - Jonathan Nevair

[thanos-the-dad-titan]

Dear God, this is an A.I. nightmare.

And why is Drax got his hand down his pants!?!?

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Underrated af Hindu deities that DESERVE recognition:

1. Pratyangira: Goddess of magical spells.

2. Narasimhi: Goddess of witchcraft.

3. Aranyani: Goddess of forests.

4. Yami: Goddess/lady of life and sister of Yama.

5. Pushan: God of marriage, travelling, roads and feeding cattle.

6. Varuni: Goddess of wine.

7. Kamakhya: Goddess of desire.

8. Ratri: Goddess of night.

9. Nasatya and Dasra (Ashwins): Twin gods of medicine.

10. Annapurna: Goddess of food and nourishment.

11. Shakambhari: Goddess of vegetation.

12. Mariamman: Goddess of rain.

13. Shitala: Goddess of cold and disease.

14. Dhata: God of health and magic.

15. Vishwakarma: God of architecture.

16. Skanda: God of war.

17. Shani: God of karma and justice.

18. Manasa: Goddess of snakes and fertility.

19. Kubera: God of wealth.

20. Nidra: Goddess of sleep.

21. Chamunda: Goddess of war, famine and fear.

22. Akhilandeshwari: The Cosmic Egg, she who is never not broken, Goddess of brokenness.

23. Dhumavati: The Widow Goddess.

24. Chitragupta: God of justice.

25. Murugun: God of war, victory and knowledge.

26. Jyestha: Goddess of laziness and elder sister of Lakshmi.

27. Alakshmi: Goddess of misfortune and twin sister of Lakshmi.

28. Amsha and Vivasan: Solar deities.

29. Dantakali: Goddess of teeth.

30. Himavat: God of the Himalayas.

31. Samudra: God of seas and oceans.

32. Dyaus: God of sky.

33. Tapati: Sun Goddess.

34. Rohini: Moon Goddess and one of the Nakshatra deities.

35. Pramatha: God of ghosts...? (sources unclear)

36. Shachi: Goddess of jealousy.

37. Jara: Goddess of old age and daughter of death.

38. Mara: Goddess of death.

39. Chhaya: Goddess of shadows.

40. Ushas: Goddess of dawn.

41. Sanjna/Sandhya: Goddess of dusk, clouds and chastity, sister of Kama.

42: Bhramari: Goddess of bees.

43: Bankamundi: Goddess of hunting and fertility.

44: Bhadra: God of hunting.

45. Rundas: God of hunting and fortune.

46. Vasanta: God of spring and flowers.

47. Grishma: God of summer.

48. Varsha: God of monsoon.

49. Sharada: God of autumn.

50. Hemanta: God of early winter.

51: Shishir: God of winter.

52. Savitr: Solar deity, mostly of sunsets and sunrises. Also god of motion.

53. Anila: God of cosmic elements.

54. Danu: Goddess of (primordial) waters.

55. Revanta: God of hunting, horses and warriors.

56. Bahuchara: Goddess of chastity and fertility.

57. Rati: Goddess of love, desire and passion.

58: Kanyakumari: Goddess of chastity.

59. Nirrti: Goddess of death, decay and sorrow.

60: Kotravai: Goddess of war and victory.

61: Vac: Goddess of speech.

62: Sarama: Goddess of intuition (and dogs but not that sure)

63: Karni: Goddess of power, victory and mice.

64. Asvajayu: Goddess of fortune, joy, good luck and happiness.

65. Dhisana: Goddess of prosperity.

66. Mohini: Goddess of enchantment.

67. Lajja Gauri: Goddess of abundance, fertility and sexuality.

68. Shashthi: Goddess of vegetation and reproduction (also benefactor and protector of children).

69. Anumati: Moon goddess of spirituality.

70. Poleramma: Goddess of plague and smallpox.

71. Phul: Goddess of disease.

72. Santoshi: Goddess of satisfaction.

73. Tara: Goddess of felicity and optimism (she is different from Tara, who is a Mahavidya, a tantric form of Parvati).

74. Oladevi: Goddess of cholera.

75. Apam Napat: God of water.

76. Bhaga: God of wealth.

77. Vinayaki: Elephant-headed Goddess of wisdom

78. Chelamma: A Scorpion Goddess

79. Saranyu: Goddess of clouds.

80. Dhishana: Goddess of abundance.

81. Kshetrapati: God of fields.

82. Urvaraa: Deity of plough lands.

83. Sraswan/Saraswat: Another God of the Saraswati river, and her Rigvedic husband.

84. Trita: A minor water deity.

Note: When I first made this post I didn't quite notice it but here are a few things.

1. Some of these Gods and Goddesses are the same person. Like Pratyangira and Narasimhi, or Murugun and Skanda, etc.

2. I didn't add many lesser known forms of Parvati and Lakshmi, but many ppl have added them and I'm grateful.

[hexhomos]

Sorry, I'm asking here because asks aren't on your doomreed account, but do you have any fic recs for them ? You and vinnies art have intrigued me 😭 they both seem like such wet cats in different ways, and I love that

help i didnt know asks were off fixed that now thank you... I have two fics i keep in my back pocket as like, exemplary distillations of their whole thing (one in college vs one of their usual superhero stuff,) these are;

Supersymmetry and Night Blooms

Rly good examples of their usual shenanigans, the second one is directly based on a canon comic issue that *feels* like fanfic by a prolific yaoi author, the first is set in a modern-time re-imagining of the fantastic four where they meet in a supergenius internship thinktank for gifted youngsters. There's other fics that are good but i think they might be super confusing without canon context! which leads me to my second point. After you read these fics...

A lot, and i mean A LOT of official doomreed stuff feels straight up like fanfic. Either because its so beautifully woven or insane in concept (doctor doom points a gun at the real life Jack Kirby and Stan Lee to get himself written back into reed's life in his 3rd ever classic appearance, in the 60's, THAT'S the bodyswap issue)

or because the literal authors themselves come out to say 'they're soulmates' or 'they're in love' and Im talking abt this:

(^joseph culp, the first ever doom actor from 1994)

(^fantastic four (2019))

I've got even more stuff under the cut!! AND recs!!! CLICK! v v v

(^jonathan hickman, author of arguably the best FF saga & Secret Wars (2015)!!!)

(^Cantwell, author of the Doctor Doom comic!!)

These are excerpts from the canon fantastic four book, DOOMGATE:

There's even an RPG INSTRUCTION MODULE based on the idea of an earth where Reed & Victor partner up in college, Reed dies a tragic death (via their lab experiments) and Victor assumes such a traumatized widow role in his honor that he grows up to be a golden hero and protector of earth LOL (still a bit nuts):

This is not even to touch on the breadth of all their comic issues and little moments together. Victor canonically delivers Reed's second child and he chooses her name! Shes treated like his child too and calls him uncle doom!!

...Victor even asks Reed out on candlelit dinner dates for a yearly Latverian holiday!

In fact, that's the great starter doom/reed issue i keep recommending: read [ My Dinner With Doom right here. ]

If you enjoy that, check out my [ broader post guide for doomreed reading. ]

Still on the fence? try out these single comic issues:

Doctor Doom:

*Fantastic Four (1961) annual 2 (Classic origin of Doom issue) *Some call it MAGIC (the introduction of Doom's struggle w/ the devil for his mother's soul)

Doomreed:

*Marvel Two-in-One (2017) annual 1 *Marvel Two-in-One (2017) #11 (2nd fic i linked is based on this!!!!!!!!!) *'Duel Intentions' short story *Doom 2099 (2019) *Fantastic Four #700 special *Shame Itself (noncanon satire mini)

Anyway I've had a lot of fun reading these series generally and their big, year-spanning arcs are incredible. People hype up Secret Wars for a reason, Hickman's fantastic four builds up a really compelling doom/reed epic of cosmic divorce proportions. And its about love! And Forgiveness!

[narwhalandchill]

the concept of long term eventual reconciled-but-in-an-insane-people-way endgame renheng on a cosmic immortal timescale kinda fucking sends me bc like. blades just not going to die that much is clear yes but dan hengs lifespan is still going to have a natural endpoint before he has to go hatch his lizard ass all over again and redevelop his powers and access to his past lives' memories (cue the vidyadhara preceptors watching scandalized and in horror as he chooses to ditch his people once grown up to seek That Guy all over again every fucking time) so blade has to fuck off on a whole widower/celibacy arc in between each cycle

but also theres literally only so many times blade can consecutively marry dan hengs newest reincarnation (hes minmaxing for a combo streak and also speedrun any%) before hes going to end up like that guy from reddit with the 5 subs

[pitviperofdoom]

Any book recommendations? That remind you of fanfics you write? That inspire you? Or you just plain like?

Pretty much anything by Tamora Pierce, she's the kind of writer I want to be. The Protector of the Small series is my favorite of the bunch, but you do kind of have to read Song of the Lioness and The Immortals first, which are both also extremely good. They're all four-book series but I race right through them.

Favorite Neil Gaiman books are: Good Omens, The Graveyard Book, and The Ocean at the End of the Lane.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao is Pacific Rim meets Handmaid's Tale meets Hunger Games in a science fantasy version of China. Great book if you love it when a female character is also a rabid honey badger.

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee. Bisexual british lordling goes on his Grand Tour with his best friend/crush, hijinks and manhunts ensue. I haven't read the other two books of the trilogy yet but I intend to.

Currently rereading The Lord of the Rings and loving it.

Tailchaser's Song by Tad Williams: cat-based xenofiction, but tone-wise it's more Watership Down than Warrior Cats. Rich animal fantasy with a kiss of cosmic horror.

Big fan of Jane Austen, favorites are Northanger Abbey and Pride and Prejudice. In the same vein, Evelina by Fanny Burney came out before Jane Austen's novels but occupies a similar vein of romantic satire of 18th century British society.

The original Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories are genuinely so good, I need to reread The Hound of the Baskervilles.

The Redwall series basically raised me as a child. A lot of my feelings about how stories should go come from what I absorbed from Redwall.

If graphic novels count, Mouse Guard by David Petersen.