#Knights of Nimrod

[knightly-knews]

Prithee, halt thy scrolling and lend thine ear to tidings from yon Capitol Hill!!

Many amongst us hath felt the burden of this new reign and are greatly dismayed by our course, whilst our lords doth quarrel over how to lead us astray. In light of this unrest, word hath spread of a movement to reclaim control over our fair realm. Below, I shall speak of their cries and the impact of this gathering.

A comrade, known henceforth as @mdg650hawk7thacct, hath diligently labored to discern the political landscape of our plight. Through his noble efforts, he hath uncovered a path to safeguard the good folk. In this discourse, he doth concentrate on how the outcomes of three forthcoming special elections, herewith in the following 60 days, might restore our realm from the grasping barons who threaten our very existence.

It beareth notice that whilst these elections take place in the New York and Floridian dominions, even if thou art far afield, 'tis wise to share with kin and cousins residing therein. Furthermore, be forewarned that the New York commonwealth hath strict laws governing the election date, thus if thou art a resident, make haste to stay apprised with thy local governance. We, the Knights of Nimrod, shall vigilantly oversee the circumstances as best as our valor permits.

[knightly-knews]

The people have deemed them enemies of the republic!!

These men just stole the personal information of everyone in America AND control the Treasury. Link to article.

Akash Bobba

Edward Coristine

Luke Farritor

Gautier Cole Killian

Gavin Kliger

Ethan Shaotran

Spread their names!

[mr-e-nigma]

My headcanons for their favorite Green Day albums

[comicwaren]

From X-Men: Before the Fall - Sons of X #001, “Run It Again”

Art by Phil Noto

Written by Si Spurrier

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking Down The Comics: Under the Mask

Moon Knight, Issue 20: Cut Adrift off the Coast of America

LOOK AT THIS COVER. I laugh every time I see it. It reminds me of like, Night on Bald Mountain when the devil creature is over the city and about to do his evil things. I feel like the past two covers for this run are just the artist (Bill) going, “I don’t know… Moon Knight in various poses of angst?” For no reason! 

Anyways… Let’s finish this run! 

So we left off with Marc finding plans for Nimrod to attack Manhattan and Marlene being undercover as his personal bodyguard. 

Now, up to this point, Moon Knight has been abroad. This whole run has been him retracing steps and places Marc has worked. 

I've noticed that in the original comics, any time Moon Knight had to travel out of the country, Marc Spector is the one in charge. 

He is well traveled and he has contacts all over. If there's a country, Marc has most likely been there being paid to be a bad guy. 

Perhaps Jake doesn't feel comfortable traveling. His home is New York and always has been. He found his identity there and his friends. 

Steven will sometimes travel, if it involves luxury, but usually once they leave the hotel Marc takes over. 

Now, we are finally heading back to New York. 

Which, oddly enough, Marc never feels at home on American Soil. He'll show up for a fight or two, but perhaps he just doesn't feel like he has a home there. He did, after all, leave his home in a hurry after a fight with his father. America is something Marc left behind. 

ANYWAYS: 

We see Moon Knight with scuba gear on... and still wearing his cape I might add... trying to reassure his contact that "Spector and I will take care of it." 

He notes that while he has faith in the plan, "our real strong suit is playing it by ear." 

This is true. Moon Knight is amazing at winging it. When things go to shit, he just goes. Which is probably for the best because a lot of his plans tend to go to shit. He's...He's not good at thinking things through. (Especially Marc). 

Streglov (the government contact) mentions that he really doesn't like the fact that Marc is emotionally at risk in this mission. Not just for revenge, but also that Marlene is involved. 

Moon Knight quips that "I didn't like anything about this operation, Streglov, but we're stuck with it." 

Once in full scuba attire: 

(WHAT ARe YOU WEARING MOON KNIGHT. That cape can’t be easy to swim in. Is that breathing respirator OVER YOUR MASK?! Are you….wh…. The depths this man will go to to keep his mask on…) 

As Moon Knight goes for a swim at night in full outfit... 

"Sure cold down here this time of night. Gives me the chills... Chills to match the goose bumps I got when Streglov mentioned Spector. Didn't like his tone of voice. Almost as if he was embarrassed to refer to Spector as a separate man. Guess I'd better face the grim possibility --Streglov may be catching on that Spector and I are one in the same man." 

Hmmm... Now, in the last issue, we had no issues with identity. Marc was undercover and comfortable not being himself. Moon Knight was an easy guise to slip into. 

He is grappling with 'secret identity' right now. He doesn't like the idea that people know who is under the Moon Knight mask. 

But also, he doesn't like the idea that people see the man under the mask as Marc Spector. 

He's so uncomfortable being known as Marc that he would go to great lengths to keep the guise up that they are different people. 

Which, in this particular circumstance, it IS silly. They are on a boat. It's assumed Marc got on the boat and now Moon Knight is there going on the mission saying that Marc sent him to do it and to trust him. 

There's a certain level of self delusion going on in which he wants everyone to believe that Marc is still on the boat. Perhaps that he wants to believe that Marc is still on the boat. 

In Moon Knight's eyes, Marc has very little place on this mission and he would rather everyone just play along. 

So it looks like the terrorist plan is to put four oil tankers out in the water in key locations, purge the oil, letting the gas build up until a spark sets the whole thing off in an explosion. 

Nimrod is on one of the tankers. He plans to blow his tanker and send a signal to the others to blow their own. The pressurized explosion form the built up gas will be devastating and then the oil in the water will catch fire, encircling the island in a raging fire inferno. 

Moon Knight is to get on Nimrod’s tanker, cut a hole in the hull and release the gas to prevent the explosion. He will then stop Nimrod, preventing him from signaling the other tankers, giving other teams time to take them out. 

A convoluted plan on both ends. 

Would the ship blow up? Yes. Science has proven that this is what caused some famous explosion at some point (I'm not looking up which boat it was. It was in port and the built up gas caused a devastating explosion that wiped out the whole town, but if you know it then kudos to you). 

Are there better ways to do this? YES. JFC yes. Just put a bomb on the boat. Why is he going so over the top? Why is the only method of preventing the explosion cutting a hole to let the gas vent? What about all the oil in the water that is polluting and causing a fire hazard? And with that much gas build up, ANY spark could set off an explosion. What if it goes off before you’re ready?!

Convoluted plan aside... Moon Knight gets on the tanker, now in search of Nimrod himself. 

Moon Knight is now lamenting that he needs to keep control of his emotions. "I've got to control myself... Avoid hasty judgements... Keep myself from thinking about it..." 

Good luck with that buddy. Hasty judgments should be your middle name. 

Back with Nimrod, we see Marlene still playing bodyguard. 

Nimrod is doing his bad guy rant about how Moon Knight destroyed his base. He rants about how he's a one man army and will take down the city no matter what it takes. 

As Moon Knight makes his way through the tanker, taking out bad guys, he reminds himself that he's not doing this just because of Marlene. 

As Moon Knight busts into Nimrod's room, Nimrod shoves Marlene forward, demanding that she attack him. 

Luckily, the two other lady bodyguards jump in and attack first. 

Oh! And here we see our hero once more face on the floor in a helpless position. 

Back at Grant mansion: Hey! We haven't seen this place in a while! 

Frenchie has taken Jake's cab back to the mansion to GET TO THE CHOPPER. 

Back on the tanker, Moon Knight wakes up in a very Bond-like situation. 

I do appreciate that each time we look at Nimrod after this while Moon Knight is tied up, Nimrod is upside down. It’s a fun touch in perspective. 

Nimrod gloats a moment then moves to unmask Moon Knight. 

Back in the day, secret identities were pretty sacred. All heroes who wore masks kept their identity pretty tightly locked down (Notable exceptions to those that wore masks: Tony Stark who can't stop telling people who he is and Captain America who no longer has the ability to just be Steve Rogers). 

In current times, Moon Knight really stopped caring and ever since Civil War (don't get me started on that Marvel Event), the only one who really keeps his identity is Spider-Man. And that really depends on what Spider-verse you live in. 

So back in the day, Moon Knight kept his identity a secret unless you were in his close circle of friends. 

This really worked well for Steven Grant, who needed to maintain his social standing to get into high class crowds. It also helped Jake keep his own personal life and let him work the underground. 

When it came to Marc, it really didn't matter. Marc didn't really have a normal life anymore. 

Not to mention the only people that knew who Marc Spector even was were probably those that had come up against him as a Mercenary. 

So Nimrod is momentarily shocked then laughs about how he now has both his nemeses helplessly held captive. 

He leaves Moon Knight helpless and we get...this...view....

Um... Anyways... 

Moon Knight realizes that the crescent darts are still on his belt, being mistaken for decoration! 

So he wriggles around till one pops off and falls towards his restrained hands. He misses quite a few of them. 

Of course on the last dart, he finally catches it. 

Now he just has to saw through the rope restraints. 

Back up top, Nimrod is relaxing with his three bodyguards. They doze and Marlene finally gets a chance to slip away. 

Just as she is about to leave the room, one of the other bodyguards wakes up. 

Marlene assures her that she's just going out for fresh air, but the guard is suspicious She wakes up Nimrod. 

Marlene finds an escaped Moon Knight and they team up together to start taking out the guards. 

The hapless lackies all taken care of, they return to look for Nimrod, only to walk into a trap! 

Nimrod makes a run for the detonator to blow the other ships. Marlene tells Moon Knight to go. She'll deal with the other two ladies. 

We get several pages of Marlene in an out and out brawl with the other two ladies (all three are in bikini uniforms, but not drawn softly. Bill gave them good muscle definition for the time.) To the credit of the writing team/artist team, it's not a cat fight. They use martial arts, punch, and hit one another with chairs and things. 

Marlene makes nice work of the other two and wins the fight. 

Meanwhile, Moon Knight is up against Nimrod and his Arsenal of weaponry. 

Moon Knight is hit by a grenade and once again....

He sure does spend a lot of time down there. 

Dizzy from the hit, he stares down the barrol of a gun and remembers his friend being gunned down right in front of him. 

"A memory of Ben Abramov, his oldest friend, jerking from the impact of a sniper's bullet... Twisting slowly through pain towards a last fall into a darkness called death..." 

He acts and kicks the gun at the lat moment, causing it to discharge into Nimrod's face. 

"And another memory, also snarling... Nimrod Strange crushing Marlene to his chest, smearing his lips over hers..." 

Moon Knight jumps up, enraged. 

"You've killed my friend and soiled my woman, Madman!" 

He attacks the disoriented man, punching and coming at him head on despite bullet fire. 

When the fire becomes too intense, he falls back to get the high ground. 

Nimrod makes a last desperate run for the detonator and Moon Knight tackles him. 

Moon Knight takes a blow to the head that leaves him in his favorite position on the floor. 

We get a really nice page here and you really have to admire the art, the layout, and the tension. This is just a fantastic page! 

He knocks out Nimrod before he can push down on the detonator! 

And now we get a bit of our nit and gritty man showing his emotions. 

MK: Marlene...I...That last gesture...It was stupid. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me.

Marlene: Hush, Steven. If such a gesture can ever by earned, you did tonight.

He cuts the detonator and calls for Frenchie to be picked up. He leaves Nimrod on the boat and rushes to inform the agents waiting that the mission is a success. 

Moon Knight laments that Nimrod knows who he is and will most likely tell everyone who he really is. 

Just as he's about to confess to everyone that he and Marc Spector are the same person, Nimrod wakes up and manages to set off the bomb. 

His ship blows, taking out everyone still on it. 

Thankfully, the other ships have been disabled and taken out before they too can blow. 

"You were saying?" 

"Oh, nothing. Just that Spector and I are a good team. He does the undercover work and I'm the visible one up front." 

Hmmmm. Very true. Very visible. 

Epilogue: 

Back in Jerusalem... At the home of widow Anna Abramov, she receives a message. 

"Anna- Ben's work finished --Spector." 

She crumbles the letter and weeps silently. 

"Then she sips some tea and wraps herself against the chill, and for a time she is quiet, and she is still, and she is alone... An hour from now the tears will start again...and last until dawn." 

END ISSUE and end to Nimrod Strange. 

This was a long run of Just Marc Spector in his element. 

We got to see a lot of Marc’s skills and the things he did before Moon Knight and what gave him the ability to put on the mask and be as brutal and effective as he is. 

It also showcased Marlene in good light and we even got a lot of Frenchie action. 

As for the bad guy, he seemed like he was supposed to be bigger than he was. He boasted a LOT about his abilities, his firepower, and being unstoppable. But he just hit behind his goons for hire, his bodyguards, and his weaponry. He really just didn’t strike me as a big top tier villain. 

And maybe that was some of the point. A single guy with power and an idea that managed to gather people together to try to do terrible things and hurt a lot of people. 

This was a very run run, especially traveling to Israel and going against the elite three. The story and imagery in that one was amazing. 

Honestly, it was pretty amazing to just focus on Marc. So that makes up for the fact that the villain was just utterly detestable, and not in a fun hate the villain sort of way. 

We also got to see him be utterly pissed and petty, culminating in spitting on Nimrod, then instantly feeling shame that someone saw him. I think that sums up Marc pretty nicely. It isn't often he gets to spit on a terrorist who enjoys killing and hurting people. But then he feels shame that he let his emotions out. Oh Marc, stop being a bottle of suppressed emotions.

It ends in a way that a lot of Moon Knight comics tended to end back in the 80s: A sad and lonely note. Though they won and get to go home, there is still the Widow who is alone and will always be alone. 

Marc sends her the note, but Marc can slip back down into his safe mask of nothing and doesn’t have to think about her anymore. His friend is dead, and it’s another name added to his list of people he failed and watched die. 

What did you guys think of this run? Thumbs up or down for the bad guy? 

I think what’s really exciting after this and seeing Marc work, is knowing where it’s all culminating in at the end of the first big 1980s run of Moon Knight. 

[apheliia]

maybe my bias towards kaeya is showing through with this one, but i think family line!reader would bond the most with him after joining the knights of favonius (and would bond the least with jean, in the beginning at least).

hear me out: kaeya is kind of a troublemaker LMFAO he gets his job done and he is good at it, but it doesn't mean he's not a little uhhh.... troublesome. he also has been known canonically to get along with children (e.g., klee). he is canonically a good caretaker, regardless of what anyone has to say about him. i think he would bond almost effortlessly with a troubled teen. he knows family matters are difficult and might even be able to relate to their mixed feelings about their vision. he'd give them adequate freedom to exist without feeling mircomanaged but would also have the capacity to be stern enough that they would listen to him when necessary. he backs off enough so that they don't feel controlled, but he gives them hell when they've done wrong and about behaving properly as a knight and no, i know he fucking sucks, but you cannot punch nimrod. i know. you need to defend your little sister and i completely respect that but you cannot do it in that manner while you are a knight.

(he later tells them to tell diluc about it and let him handle it instead. even if they aren't close, he still knows his brother well enough to know that diluc will damn near murder nimrod the second he hears about his freaky behavior.)

jean, however, would find it harder to get along with them. that isn't to say that she doesn't, but i think she would hover a little too much when she has the time to, like a worried mother, which... i think, would annoy family line!reader to a certain extent. she does it because she cares and because she's worried but it's a little bit intense at times and i don't think that [name] would like feeling any more controlled than they already do. her job is to make sure they're doing theirs—their home life isn't her business so she should just stop asking already (though i do think their hostility towards her would stop eventually; it's just that, in the beginning, they would not want to open up or talk about it with her).

lisa is probably somewhere between that. depending on what they do, they would interact the least with her so i'm not sure what their dynamic would be just yet; i have to think about it more.

[sifya]

Reading about Carl Eldritch and Geoffrey McCullum as abusive relanship in fanfiction is a little sad. Yes, from the limited information we have, Mr. Eldritch doesn't sound like someone you'd want around if you were a vampire; he seems extremely zealous and brutal.

However, it doesn't sound to me like he was abusive to Geoffrey. The biggest proof is how much confidence Geoffrey possesses. Usually, people who grow up in abusive situations have low self-esteem, which is clearly not the case for Geoffrey.

That doesn't mean Carl was the perfect parent. I think they still had a complex relationship, a blend of mentor-pupil and father-son. I think Carl is like Hecate from Hades II: they love their pupil like a child but feel guilty for turning them into a child soldier. We don't know why Carl decided to adopt Geoffrey, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was more than just pity. I also believe Carl wasn't human but a Nimrod.

There are two possibilities: Arthur's blood, or he was already an old Nimrod. I'm more inclined towards the second one, as Carl doesn't have a background like Kendall Stoneor Geoffrey.

However, his writing showed his total hatred for vampires, which is characteristic of a Nimrod—a vampire who preys on other vampires while hiding its identity. There are two other curious points that make me believe Carl was a Nimrod:

His last name, Eldritch, which means "strange or unnatural, especially in a way that inspires fear."

His gun, "Baker," is part of the Hunter DLC. The other weapon, "Dragonbane," used to belong to a vampire who hunted other vampires. I wouldn't be surprised if Carl was one of King Arthur's knights. All these theories bring an interesting storyline for Geoffrey, especially if he was turned. Imagine Geoffrey feeling like he failed Carl, then finding out that the man who took care of him was a leech? He probably didn't die, but he had to abandon Geoffrey and Priwer. The rage, resentment, confusion—yes, full drama!

[pinkfloydfan4578]

What are your favorite songs and albums?

Oh my gosh thank you so much!

Every Pink Floyd song and album, although I must admit I’m basic and love the big 4, meddle, and… Atom Heart Mother (finally something unexpected ig?) the most!

Soycd might be my favorite song of all time

Dancing Out With The Moonlit Knight and Firth of Fifth by Genesis, Selling England is definitely my fav album of theirs

Love prog but am actually an alternative girl at heart

Nevermind and In Utero by Nirvana, specifically lice Drain You, Territorial Pissings, Lounge Act, Heart Shaped Box, and Frances Farmer

Jar of Flies and Dirt by Alice In Chains, so so good. Especially love Rooster, Dirt, Would?, Them Bones, Nutshell

Superunknown and Badmotorfinger by Soundgarden, both of those albums are unskippable for me, though I especially love The Day I Tried To Live

Pearl Jam’s Ten is a 10/10 masterpiece

Core and Purple by Stone Temple Pilots

Live Through This by Hole

The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A, In Rainbows

Also obsessed with Hearing Damage by Thom Yorke rn

Tragic Kingdom and Return of Saturn by No Doubt

Green Day!!! Kerplunk, Dookie, Insomniac, Nimrod, Warning, and American Idiot is an incredible 5 album run, especially love “Panic song”

Blink-182’s Enema of the State

The Stranger by Billy Joel

Ziggy Stardust - David Bowie

Document by REM

Siamese Dream and Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by the Smashing Pumpkins

The blue album by Weezer

The Joshua Tree by U2

My Love is Cool - Wolf Alice

Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sgt. Pepper’s, Abbey Road by the Beatles

More songs I love!

• Road to Nowhere and Naive Melody (this must be the place) by the Talking Heads

• In the Meantime by Spacehog

• The Bleeding Heart Show by the New Pornographers

• Rosyln by Bon Iver and St Vincent

• Back in the Day - Local H

There are more ofc but I’ll stop here! Thank you sm for the ask!!

[shieldborn]

VERSES:

1 -- House of Madness Main DND / fantasy verse. | 20-25 years old Associated with strangewonderful's Nimrod Roy.

Lacking any memory of her life before being pulled into the Shivering Isles, Nora has only the realm of madness to call home. The people are absurd, the ruling god Sheogorath a figure of chaos and danger. She wakes in the world with the god's symbol across her face, marking her one of his champions. Despite their strangeness, the people are more victims of the world than she is, so she lends herself to their protection and over time finds a corner of the capital to call her home. She keeps a small room at the central tavern, spending rare quiet days browsing the markets for ingredients and training with the sword and shield she is known for.

2 -- DND Prequel to House of Madness | Age varies [BACKGROUND] [OATH]

Nora Hashal spends the first part of her life on her parents' farm. It is a comfortable enough life, they make enough to get by, but her dreams are filled of the knights of great excitement and adventure that made up her bedtime stories. Without a formal education, her best way out is to join the local garrison as a solider. She works hard and is eager to please, following orders without question until her unit is sent to die in an unwinnable fight. As she wakes to the damage around her, she discards her unit's colors and sets off on her own, still believing in the shield-bearing knights of legend, but swearing that her name would never again belong to another.

3 -- Modern Twisters (2024) verse | 23 years old Associated with entriprises' Catherine Carter.

Nora Hashal could not wait to escape the small town she grew up in, longing to leave the farm behind for the allure of the big city. To trade the spanning fields and dirt under her nails for neighbors her own age and a Target that's not in the next town over. She gets and quits a job in private security, and unwilling to return home after such a quick failure, stumbles upon a job listing for a farmhand. It comes with food and lodging, and Nora has missed more of her old life than she wants to admit, so she becomes the second occupant of the Carter farm.

4 -- Little Bug in the Big Apple Marvel 616 / Main alt. / Verse jump | 20-25 years old Associated with strangewonderful's Andie Eliot.

If Nora found the world of madness strange, it still made more sense than the land of "New York," where hulking metal creatures roam between mazes of towering structures, higher than any building in the Shivering Isles. Nora does not know how to get home, but she knows she cannot stay. This world is loud and confusing and she is alone, aside from a curious masked young woman known as Lovebug who offers to help her find her way back.

[ahlite-a]

people / orgs lumine hates and would love to kill or see dead

childe

zhongli

the fatui and everyone involved with them (aside from any kids being used against their will, for the most part)

most of the knights of favonius

nimrod (has broken his hands)

albert (has broken his jaw)

scaramouche (yes, still)

the gods broadly speaking

ei is on thin fucking ice

[knightly-knews]

Hark! Good morrow, noble denizens of Fort-Nimrod!

Verily, as thou art aware, with the ascendance of our newly crowned sovereign, his counsel hath taken upon themselves the mantle of controlling the discourse of the common folk, by the king's command. Yet, we at Knightley-News remain steadfast in our quest to unify the voices of thee, the populace.

As gallant knights of the fort, we cherish the honor to heed and recount thy tales, and we shall place the news into thine hands for thy wise reflections. Notwithstanding the counsel’s inclinations, we place our faith in thy intellect and judgment to aid us in this tumultuous hour. Henceforth, we pledge our solemn vow to carry thy words forth and steadfastly uphold the honor of this venerable nation.

Before thou dost depart, we chanced upon a peculiar feline on the path. Though aged and weary, a glimmer of contentment shone within its gaze as it bestoweth upon me its “last dabloons” to convey. True to our word, I grant thee: 5 dabloons!

Fare thee well for now, dear citizen! We fervently hope to meet again ere long.

[hrodvitnon]

Writing prompt! While Vivienne probably lived as a peasant scholar most of her life, who’s to say she somehow found herself in a situation somewhat similar to this at some point?

…(also, Ling probably finds the idea of being “kidnapped by a dragon and added to its gold hoard” really hot)

Well, this got away from me! Also I spent way too long trying to figure out what dragon!Vivi could've been doing in the 1530's and what was happening around then and what kind of armor she'd have...

---

Turns out even dragons like to veg out in front of the TV now and then; Vivienne reclines back on the sofa to channel surf while Ling settles herself in to cuddle on top of her like an overgrown cat, settling on the History Channel because it's always a riot watching Vivienne angrily spit fire at brain-rotting garbage like Ancient Aliens because "I WAS THERE, DAMN IT!" Fortunately the show currently playing is Forged in Fire, which is good for Vivienne's blood pressure.

Suddenly Ling recalls a particular detail from when she first learned her girlfriend is a dragon. "Hey, I've been meaning to ask. What was that suit of armor in your treasure hoard?"

"The Maximilian plate with the beaked visor, 1536," Vivienne rattles off without blinking. "I got it for my knight job."

"I'm sorry... did you say night, as in after sundown, or knight, as in shining armor?"

"The latter," Vivienne replies, but then purses her lips. "Although, I wasn't officially knighted or anything, I just ran around pretending to be a knight errant for a time. It was all very Don Quixote. I still have my sword, a Zweihänder from Germany! Did you see it?"

"I actually don't remember. You'll have to take me on a proper museum tour next time we go to the hoard." Ling rests her chin on Vivienne's chest and bats her eyelashes. "Did you have a fair maiden to rescue as well?"

"Funny story, that. Do you recall I was apprenticed under Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa until he died? Johann Weyer was my first human friend? 1535, thereabouts?"

"I wasn't alive at the time, but sure."

Vivienne puffs the bangs out of Ling's face with a huff. "Wise-ass. Well, after Master Agrippa passed, Johann left to study medicine in Paris and I wandered around France, heard about all the chivalric romances going on and thought I'd have a go at it. Suppose I was trying to cope with depression over my teacher's death. Anyway, I commissioned an armorer..."

"I was gonna say, did you just happen to snatch up a suit while some poor sir was taking a bath or something?"

"Give me some credit, dear -- I'm a dragon, not a thief. Besides, stealing from a fellow knight wouldn't be at all chivalrous, would it?"

"So how did you end up with a damsel in distress, anyway?" Ling asks, now trying to picture how Vivienne would look in that armor.

"As it happens, my human shape shared just enough resemblance with one of the ladies of the French nobility. There was some confusion and before I knew it people thought Duchess Je Ne Sais Pas was kidnapped or something, which led to her actually getting kidnapped during all the nonsense and led to me donning the armor and chasing after the criminals to save her."

"And you still didn't get properly knighted?" Ling says.

"I was depressed and going through a rather expensive coping mechanism. Besides, I was a scholar -- and turns out horses can smell dragons and don't like being saddled by them. Now, there was this one time I wound up kidnapping a princess during..."

"You kidnapped a princess?!"

"Again, depressed teen dragon. Now, I want to say it was during the Italian War of 1536, '38...? In any case, I wasn't taking my loss well at all, there was a war going on, everything just built up until some nimrod set fire to my hut and I just..."

Vivienne clenches a fist, the skin around her knuckles hardening into reddish scales. Ling is always so fascinated when her lover's draconic nature begins to peek through the glamor, the mixture of familiarity and extraordinary. Vivienne cranes her head back and puffs out a small stream of fire into the air.

"...I rampaged. I'm not proud of it, no matter how young and dumb I was. Johann would've boxed my ears till they bled, said I was too choleric for my own good. In the moment, it just felt good to cut loose and let my wings stretch for a while. Didn't care where I went. I crawled up a tower, found a woman inside. Her name was Margaret. Next thing the poor girl knew, she was stuck in my old treasure hoard while a dragon bawled her eyes out."

Vivienne's eyes don't indicate if she's still bothered by her youthful mistakes (understandable on account of having literal centuries to get over things like that). She doesn't often go into dragon form to take Ling flying, due to not wanting anything to go wrong and their hectic schedules at Monarch, and now there's a particular itch growing in the back of Ling's mind.

"So, how'd Princess Margaret handle it?" Ling breaks the silence. "Because that must've been quite the whiplash."

Vivienne's mouth breaks into a smile. "She actually cheered me up, said that getting grabbed by a dragon like that was the most fun she'd ever had. It turned into a game. Knights started coming in trying to rescue her only for me to scare them off, which was her idea. Eventually the time came for Margaret to return, so I put on my armor and carried her home. I actually felt better after all that."

"...and?"

"And what?"

"What else did you guys do?" Ling quirks up her eyebrows. "Just the two of you, a dragon and a royal captive, all alone in your lair for an extended period of time..."

"Ling, I wasn't in the best place mentally or emotionally, and she was already engaged to marry. I'm pretty sure half the men who tried saving Margaret were hired by her betrothed. Nothing happened."

Ling blows a raspberry through her lips in disappointment and turns to face the TV. Unexpectedly, she feels claws combing through her hair and Vivienne's breath turns hot.

"What would you expect to happen...?" Vivienne husks, her voice turning low and growling, sending shivers down Ling's spine.

She tries to wave it off as just passing curiosity and is about to turn on the news, when the TV is shut off and the remote tossed across the room. Ling valiantly keeps her eyes averted, knowing what will happen once her gaze locks onto Vivienne's while she's letting her inner monster come out to play... not that her resolve hold on for long once the dragon jackknifes and sits up, leaving Ling curled up in her lap, and a thick tail wraps around her in a makeshift cage.

Ling swallows hard.

The dragon purrs, "Where you thinking I might... eat my pretty captive...?"

Ling's fingers dig into Vivienne shoulders; otherwise she'd be gripping those horns growing out from her dark hair. Grabbing those horns and holding on for dear life has become a regular occurrence now that Vivienne's become comfortable enough to bring out the dragon during intimacy.

Those claws run down the small of Ling's back, teasing at her hip, and slide up her thigh. The vibrations from Vivienne's purrs cause Ling to squirm in her lap and she bites her lip to hold back a needy sound when a long, hot tongue flicks at her throat.

"Answer me, Princess," the dragon growls. "Did you think I'd take you to my hoard... tear these bothersome clothes to shreds..." There's a telltale scrape of claws scratching into the fabric of Ling's pants. "...and feast upon you like ambrosia...?"

Ling whimpers and her eyes lock onto Vivienne's glowing green stare, pupils turned into vertical slits that widen once the scent of her arousal hits the beast's nostrils. That tongue slides out to lick pink her chops.

Now the dragon snarls. "Be a good girl and answer me, and I might do just that."

"Yes," Ling gasps.

[thevindicativevordan]

Comics this week ?

Knight Terrors: Superman #1 - Enjoyed it, primarily for Reilly's art, still nice to have Williamson continue his hot streak of Superman being a cut above his usual output quality-wise. Clarks' big fears being explored here of being alone and drawing villains to Earth were better choices to the cliché of Lois/Jon/Ma and Pa dying.

World's Finest #17 - Strong ending to an otherwise weak arc, again mostly thanks to the artist. Mora was unleashed here with all the fight scenes, you can tell Waid likes Kara because of how often she gets to participate in the fights. Newmazo ended up being a dud, boring character with a one note motivation that did not compare well with Hickman's revamp of the similarly motivated Nimrod. His defeat being the result of power overload again was commendable for trying to figure out a new method of achieving that, but it's still the same old cliché we've seen before. Least the upcoming arcs look more interesting, although it's funny Waid is bringing back Magpie for his retelling of the first Superman and Batman team up. For all his hatred of the Byrne reboot, he can't seem to escape Byrne's shadow. Looking forward to that, the Riddler/Phantom Zone story which will hopefully include a Superman villain, and of course Boy Thunder's return.

The Vigil #3 - Haven't seen such a neurotic group since Morrison Doom Patrol. Everyone is manipulative and working their own angle, which needless to say I love.

Blade #1 - Solid first issue! Action sequences were uneven, some of them were great and then there were a few panels like the one where Blade kicked the mattress that just came across as comical. But the idea of Blade getting played into protecting an ancient evil, and now he's gotta try and undo his fuckup is a great premise for this run.

[strangestcase]

Dracula Daily talking about Dracula's three brides vs Lucy's three vampire hunting suitors as if it's some woke polycule to polycule combat when it's not. It's Stoker's sexist racist nonsense.

They never even fight each other. Mina and Van Helsing kill the brides. Lucy's suitors slay her for crying out loud

The real polycule to polycule combat is Nimrod Strange and his three lady bodyguards vs Marlene Alraune and her three crimefighting boyfriends collectively known as Moon Knight.

Marlene fights three women at once and fucking wins and yet the fandom complains she's 'boring' and 'not as cool as Layla'.

BRUH Marlene could beat my ass any time (I am shot at by the horny police)

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking Down the Comics: Disguises

Moon Knight, Issue # 19: Assault on Island Strange

We continue the fight! 

And he looks a little tattered there in the cover. Which... You learn that the more beat up gets the better the fight. He fights the best when he's just obliterated. 

In fact, that's a very familiar pose... Any time they want to tear him up a bit, they always rip up the knee and thigh.

The story opens with an airstrip in Lebanon where terrorist recruits are meeting up. 

Moon Knight crashes the party. 

He glides in, easily mistaken as a ghost (a common theme in early comics). They shoot at him, terrified. 

"This is the closest I've ever come to a kamikaze glide... No doubt about that... But time was running out and I coudn't figure out any other option!" - Moon Knight demonstrating his lack of forethought into his own safety. 

He is trying to figure out how to get on the plane that will take the recruits to Nimrod Strange's island so he can infiltrate it. 

Now.... He could have EASILY snuck his way in as Marc Spector. A well known Merc in the field with brutal and effective tactics.... But Marc is also not careful about his 'secret' identity as Moon Knight and his name IS starting to make its way through the circles. 

But then we wouldn’t have this lovely display of Moon Knight’s sense of humor/wit. 

Moon Knight takes care of the last of the guards then runs to the side where he meets up with Frenchie and Marlene. 

He instructs them to "give me Spector's Clothes." 

Marlene tries to warn him about something but Marc snaps that he has no time and starts to change. He assumes a fake ID (with a Lockle's mustache and some glasses). 

He assumes the I.D. of "Yitzak Topol". That's an interesting choice in name.... 

He, Marlene, and Frenchie are posing as Revolutionaries with "colorful and checkered pasts. 

They gather with the other recruits in the back of a truck before the guards return. 

One of the guards remarks that he didn't see a 'ghost' but a woman! That's what Marlene was trying to warn him about. 

The guards are too concerned about arguing amongst themselves and get in the truck. 

They eventually board a plane after having their credentials checked. They have papers given to them from the government agency that they met up with in Jerusalem in the last issue. 

Meanwhile, a well armed ship stays just outside the island's patrol range. It's the government people that sent Marc and friends in. 

The men wait anxiously and argue. One is upset about sending in civilians, one tries to reassure the others that Marc knows what he's doing. 

The first brings up the fact that Marc Spector has worked both sides of the field, both good and bad depending on who paid the best. 

The second assures them that Marc was friends with their top man, who was killed by Nimrod's men. 

The first is now double worried about Marc going in full of emotions and an eye for revenge. 

Back on the island, Nimrod Strange goes to greet the new recruits. He is, as always, flanked by his three lady bodyguards. 

He comments again that his blond one is getting too slow and needs to be replaced. 

Nimrod looks over the recruits and asks who they are and their past political affiliations. 

Marlene gives her cover story and Nimrod notes that she fits the bill to be his new body guard. 

He decides to test her and sicks his three ladies against her. 

Now this is where respect for Marlene comes from. She's always shown skill in protecting herself. Moon Knight has never had to 'rescue' this damsel. She always ends up saving him. 

She was trained with guns when she helped her father on dangerous digs. She learned self defense and then Steven insisted that she learn how to fight. She's parried with Marc countless times and she's also quite smart. 

Marlene makes quick work of her attacker and passes the test. She's now a personal bodyguard for Nimrod. 

One might imagine that the replaced bodyguard is quite bitter. 

She notes Marc and Frenchie talking together and taking interest in Marlene. She's instantly suspicious. 

Meanwhile, Nimrod reveals to Marlene that he has a new position for himself too. He has a new outfit full of weapons and the likes and calls himself "Arsenal". 

He demonstrates his new killing tools. He has the sniper weapon, the throwing knives, the nunchaks, the firearms, and the garrot that all the former leaders had (see previous issues where Moon Knight kicked ass). 

He is now his own slayer elite. 

He reveals that in two weeks the new recruits will be ready to strike against Tokyo, Lebanon, Poland, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Buenos Aires, South Africa and Manhattan. 

While the recruits are settling in, the angry former bodyguard has gotten her hands on the original recruit list. 

She takes count and notes that there are three more than there should be. Not to mention that there is no woman on the list. 

Frenchie and Moon Knight slip out at night, Frenchie to check out the planes and Moon Knight in search of the weapons. 

Moon Knight sabotages the guns and Frenchie works on all the planes. 

Moon Knight goes to check out how Marlene is doing only to find Nimrod with his tongue down her throat, celebrating her initiation. 

So he kicks their plan into high gear a little early. 

The ex-body guard has her own plan. She raises the alarm about there being two infiltrators and plans to take care of Marlene herself. 

Yeah, she can't even win in a training fight against the other two bodyguards, how's she going to beat Marlene? 

And yeah, she tries to get the drop on Marlene an Marlene kicks her ass before Nimrod notices anything strange. 

Out on the base, Frenchie sets off a detonator and blows up all but one of the airplanes. 

They plan to use the last plane to blow up the armory. 

There's a lot going on here. 

The plane takes off, Moon Knight flying. 

This...this is why Moon Knight should not be allowed near anything that flies. 

He can't get the plane working right so he decides to just.... crash the plane into the armory. 

I'm not going to count this under the tally for 'moon copter/plane crash', but.... Maybe there should be a talley for the number of times Marc/Moon Knight has used a vehicle as a weapon by crashing it into his target. 

The resulting explosion signals the government guys to move in on the island. 

Meanwhile, Nimrod, now calling himself Arsenal, believes correctly that the island is under attack. He grabs his nearest bodyguard (Marlene) and makes a run for it. 

Moon Knight drops in and confronts him. 

"You killed my oldest friend--among other things you've done to me and mine. I'm here to avenge those things." 

Not very specific there, Marc. Just there for general revenge, huh? 

Blinded by revenge, Arsenal uses the opportunity to attack. He lobs a grenade and Moon Knight deflects it but still takes a major hit. He's down for the count. 

Marlene is whisked away, attempting to keep up her secret identity, knowing she's the 'only link to Strange's future movements.' 

In the remaining rubble, they find a map of Manhattan with major bridges and tunnels marked off, implying they plan to cut off Manhattan island from the rest of New York and hold it hostage. 

End of this issue! One more to go in the saga of Nimrod Strange! 

This one was action heavy and kinda bland compared to the major themes and imagery in the previous issues. 

It served to show and highlight Marlene’s abilities to hold her own and her value. It also showed Marc’s temper a bit and how he can get so caught up in revenge that he loses sight of everything else around him. 

It could have touched on that more, but it had a very complicated plot for Marc to carry out. 

I also found it interesting that Marc’s chosen disguise had him looking a lot like a young version of his father. 

He dons the disguise easily and you have to wonder if this was something he had to do a lot back in the day or something new he’s learned to do. I’d wager it’s new. Marc Spector the Mercenary was not a man of disguises and not well known enough to need disguises. 

It wasn’t till Jake put on the mustache that Marc learned the value of changing his face. Now it’s very easy for him. 

In fact, he’s the only one that DOES put on a disguise. Frenchie and Marlene go as they are and only change their names. While Nimrod knows about Marc Spector, he has not seen his face. And even if he had done research into him, you’d think he’d know what Frenchie and Marlene looked like too. 

So the fact that Marc puts on such a disguise could be his own idea. His own way to feel more comfortable. To remind himself that he’s on a mission and can’t be Marc Spector right now. And when Marc can’t be Jake, Steven, or even Moon Knight, he has to put on a different mask. 

Marc once more needed and finding any way to not be himself. To put on a mask and not deal with everything that comes with being Marc Spector. 

And while in this issue, Marlene still insists on calling him Steven when she can, it’s almost half hearted. We haven’t seen Steven or Jake since the start of this particular run. 

At this point, Marc has to be clinging to front. He strikes me as the type that clings onto control with a death grip. There is no identified gate-keeper in the system at this point. The system is still freshly aware in many cases. So Marc holds on. 

And even if he didn’t… Jake is far from his cab and New York comfort. Steven is far too soft for the discomfort of this mission. They have stepped back and Marc is running the show. 

But you have to wonder how this is going to affect them all later. Are they going to resent him for running off and resorting to his old methods? Is he causing them harm? Diving into old trauma, bad habits, self harm… 

When they get the body back, will they be angry at him? Or will he be angry enough at himself? We know Marc does not like being himself. That he doesn’t like to front when at home in New York. Being front stuck for so long, how hard will Marc crash when this is over? 

[apheliia]

nimrod (and other weird adults at diona's bar): *exists*

diona's older sibling!reader, being physically restrained by two knights: let me at him! LET ME AT HIM—

EXACTLY!!!! AND I BET ONE KNIGHT ISN'T EVEN ENOUGH TO RESTRAIN THEM... IT'S GOTTA BE MULTIPLE KNIGHTS HOLDING THEM BACK