#anyway. there were three main characters.

[darker-than-darkstorm]

Did I reblog this one before? I might have.

Anyway, this was the first Shadow novel I ever read (this exact edition, too), though I'd been listening to the radio shows for years — thanks to local radio stations having "old time radio" blocks, not because I'm nearly 100 years old. :D

The Shadow of the novels is very different from the radio show. He has no powers, but he's a master of stealth, disguise, and gunplay, wielding a pair of .45 Magnums, and with a veritable army of "agents". Also unlike the radio Shadow, who would rarely kill villains (and that was mostly in the first season, where he killed indirectly by setting up traps, warning the villains about the traps, and then shrugging as they ignored his warnings and fell into the traps anyway; most villains died by falling into their own traps), the Shadow of the novels killed people all the time, most often by just shooting them.

Most of this story is told from the point of view of Harry Vincent, one of the Shadow's agents (who never appeared in the radio show) and the Shadow himself doesn't appear until very late in the book (or, more accurately, he actually shows up really early in the book, but the reader doesn't learn which character he's disguised as until near the end).

The other novel I read was The Ghost Makers, a smaller story about a bunch of con artists. A police offider, Detective Cardona, who had only one line in one episode of the radio show (and that line was something like "Yes sir"), is the main character in that, receiving coded messages from the Shadow in bouquets of flowers, though the Shadow does take a more direct hand in things.

I've also read a three-novel omnibus, The Weird Adventures of the Shadow (with novels The Grove Of Doom, Voodoo Death, and Murder by Moonlight), that were written later, after the radio show became more well-known, where the Shadow himself is the point of view character, and he's written more sympathetically. Margo Lane (who was created for the radio show) also appears in these stories.

Good times.

Vintage Paperback - The Shadow #07: Gangdom's Doom by Maxwell Grant (1970)

[bloodyinkandquill]

Venomshank and child zombie Reader

ughhhh headache, but me and my sister are watching the season two finale of toh, it’s my fav show it’s her first time watching it, the collector is my favorite character, they’ve been my pfp on my main since king’s tide aired

- Venomshank can’t recall every person he’s turned, when he goes feral he cant recall those times and if he doesn’t have his mask on it leads to him later discovering a good amount of new zombies, so when he starts finding new zombies recently he doesn’t think much of it, he does feel bad for basically killing innocent demons but he is still a deity so he doesn’t truly feed that bad

- That changes though when he finds one zombie, cowering behind something watching him, eyes scared but also not quite understanding what’s happening to them, it was you, he knelt down to you and took of his mask to try and appear less scary

- He could tell you weren’t fully turned but turned enough, some of his zombies were brainless husks but on rare occasion the bite doesn’t work correctly and leaves them half themself half zombie, so he tries to gently explain to you what happened, you got infected by something and now you’re partially a zombie, your reaction is either scared and terrified or maybe a bit excited because zombies are cool

- He tells you that he can bring you to your parents if you have any, you say you don’t so he asks if you’d like to accompany him, internally he’s trying to make up for the fact that he bit a child, not really having anywhere else to go you agree, maybe he’s also filling a bit of a hole, he does miss when Sword was a kid

- Venomshank treats you incredibly kindly and gently, he does everything he can to stop the turning so you stay at the amount you are, he can’t cure you but he can stop you from turning further, he also figures out exactly what inside you turned, what organs no longer work, he finds you no longer breath but to some degree your heart still beats, it’s odd

- He cooks you food rich in vitamins and such especially vitamin D since you can no longer go in the sun, hope you like oranges! His cooking is actually really good, if not a little strange, but not bad since he’s already raised one mortal child he knows what they eat now

- Speaking of you get all of Sword’s hand me downs, clothes and toys, his old room, he of course also gets you new things as well, most of Sword’s stuff was donated anyways, but he also gets you teething toys, the zombie part of your brain really wants to bite any and everything so having teething toys instead of gnawing of furniture is good, if you bite him he doesn’t mind he laughs about it and takes a fake snap at you, you giggle and he makes sure to never actually bite you, worried it would finish the turning process

- Sword first meets you around three weeks later, he’s gotten very curious as to why his dad’s been in the mortal world so much recently so when he stops by his home to check in with his dad he sees you hiding behind the couch, at first he’s confused till he notices your rotted skin and understands, he also takes pity on you, slowly as Sword visits more, especially to take care of you when his dad can’t, you get closer, he basically becomes an older brother to you, which he sort of is since his dad is sort of acting as a dad to you

- Venomshank feels guilty a lot, he wishes he never would have gone feral without his mask and turned you, he feels like he ruined an innocent child’s life, you’ll never grow up and you’re not fully yourself anymore, when he thinks your not looking he throws pained glances your way because he wishes he could have done something more to help you, he doesn’t regret meeting you but he wishes he never had to

- Sometimes he has to go away for days at a time, maybe two weeks if he’s unlucky, he insures you have more then enough food and such and makes you promise to be careful, you always do, even pinky swearing to top it off, sometimes Sword will take care of you but for the most part you can take care of yourself, you usually just sleep a lot, or zone out, since you turned you do that a lot, sometimes you’ll zone back in to realize you were just standing in the kitchen for 7 hours straight, you just eat like 13 oreos, have some water, and go to bed

- Speaking of bed your sleep schedule doesn’t exist, sometimes you sleep for 2 days straight, which sort of terrifies him, sometimes you sleep through the day and are up at night, other times you have a regular routine of sleeping at night, you also take a lot of naps, you have less energy as a zombie and you also get bored a lot, he plays with you and does things with you to keep you busy which you appreciate greatly because it beats sleeping all day, though sleeping is nice, so is biting, biting galore

- The other swords do not know of your existence, he fears them seeing you as too weak or a waste of time so he keeps you secret, maybe Darkheart knows of you but the others just think he’s spending more time training his mentee, when in reality he’s caring for an eternally child demon, he knows eventually he’ll have to say goodbye, in one way or another you will finally pass on, but for the time being he has you and he can care for you, protect you when he couldn’t before, it’s bittersweet but he knows he just has to cherish the time he does have with you

ugh my fucking head help my headache is so bad ughhh, maybe i should put on my old glasses till i go to bed, i just need to figure out where they are, anyways hope yall enjoyed thanks for reading!

[anthro-cat]

im sad that i have so many ideas but can't finish any of them due to lack of artistic skill and imagination

[fenkko]

cant believe i reached 30 tags in prev post rambling about homestuck i didnt even know there was a limit

[altfire]

WELCOME TO AERMAINH

Book One: RAPTORA

tag: #aermainh status: planning/in progress genre: high fantasy/romance

Summary

One hundred years ago, the people of Aermainh waged war against their own gods and sent them back to the realm from which they came in an event known as the Godsend. Since then, magic has been a finite resource - the blood of the gods' only casualty, metered out slowly, and this precious ichor is running out.

The spoiled youngest son of a governor, Velius Mattia could not care less about the ichor running through his own veins when he drops out of Laryce Academy for Mages. Frustrated with his lack of innate talent and the grueling coursework, he runs away to the capital city of Elaboros to celebrate the first centennial of the Godsend and avoid the wrath of his demanding family.

Ortag Garrok has never left the arid northern desert of Aermainh or, indeed, his own village before he's banished. Accused of a crime he didn't commit and far out of his depth, he travels deep into human territory looking for somewhere new to belong.

On the beach of the Elaborate Sound, these unlikely companions are enlisted to aid a forgotten minor god, Raptora, who has been trapped on Aermainh for a hundred years with no way home. They resolve to help the Lord of Oaths open the gate to the Aviarium in exchange for all that they dream - but Vel and Garrok will soon discover that there's good reason Raptora's otherworldly kin were banished.

(Character list + some notes/thoughts/additional info below cut!)

From left to right: Lioren Florianus, Hermiscia "Miscia" Mattia, Velius "Vel" Mattia, Ortag Garrok, Adaric "Daric" Mattia III, Adaric Mattia II, Caysin Rea. Right click + open in new tab to take a closer look - the image is huge and took me forever lmao. Also the bird represents Raptora :3c

I'm not really a writeblr bc I barely write and also barely -blr, but I follow a couple and I'm super inspired by their passion and posting so I'm. Trying it out. Idk I'm nervous but whatever.

I've been working and thinking about Aermainh forever - I first thought of the name and gods in 2018, and this iteration has been in progress (though on a backburner) since late 2022. I wanted to create my own fantasy world for a couple reasons:

Firstly, I've been writing Elder Scrolls fic with OC focus since 2016 and wanted my own world to play with since I was basically writing original fiction without having to do any worldbuilding, but using someone else's world has its own drawbacks

And second, I want to create the kind of book I want to read, in the most self-indulgent sense possible. M/M romance, maybe explicit smut (still deciding lol), but all alongside the sweeping, immersive world and wonder of my favorite paperback fantasy novels. I'm especially inspired by Scott Lynch's Gentlemen Bastard Sequence and the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling.

Also, I just think big lizard people are neat. Maybe that's my TES-brain disease. I love Argonians so much.

ANYWAY this post is super long and if anyone actually read this far, thank you!!!! If you have any questions about any of this - the story itself, the characters, the world (I have a map!) - feel free to send me asks!!!!

[lambjock]

i think that viewing the little hope relationships as just ‘family’ ( specifically : blood family, ones with traditional roles and relationships, one bred from a nuclear familial structure ) has a habit of dismissing them entirely. it is not blood that binds them together, nor is it family structures, and throughout every iteration of their lives things change. sometimes they’re merely neighbors with a slim portion of blood relation, sometimes they’re bound by flimsy paper or war, and sometimes they’re students at a college following their professor around. the nature of their relationships change, as do their circumstances and surroundings, but they ( as a mismatched unit ) are eternally bound and divided by a child and an inherent, unescapable tragedy. the important aspect of their relationships is that they are agonized individuals who are stuck together and wouldn’t like to be. the important theme between them is that despite their determined suffering, all the bad ways they clash, and in spite of a bubbling self loathing so awful that it literally kills them, they have found love and comfort in each other anyway, or perhaps have realized a love that has always been there. there’s no ‘i love you as a daughter’ between angela and taylor, just as much as there isn’t any ‘i love you as a sibling’ between dennis and tanya. they just love each other. even the clarke family, arguably the most familial bond they have, still isn’t traditional. none of them are blood and all of them are strangers inside their own home. they don’t look alike and they don’t share dna and they typically don’t care for the facade of a family either, more content to treat each other like roommates at best, and that’s fascinating because why would they care? why would standard labels matter to souls as ancient as theirs? it’s just another flesh they adorn, it’s just another pain they’ll carry and shape and hate. idk! i just think forcing titles on it all is rather boring in nature, and actively hinders the genuine relationships there, in an attempt to have a rulebook of sorts to follow. i also just loathe how the found family trope is constantly turned into a literal family, when it was made to spit in the face of a nuclear family structure. but that’s just me <3

[sonknuxadow]

they werent lying that knuckles series barely has knuckles in it

[todayisafridaynight]

I’m fairly new to the fandom, but I do have a question if you can answer it! Why do people ship Daigo with Aoki / Masato? I tried looking to see if they’ve interacted before, but couldn’t find anything! Sorry for asking I’m just </3 dumb AND I LOVE YOUR ART OF THEM!!! Nerd looking ahhhhhh

hi ! welcome to the community i hope you're having a lovely time so far and ty for enjoyin my stuff :) no need for apologies it's a very fair question to have :]

i cant speak for everyone (all. ten people into masadai anyway) but Personally To Me i just think the idea of them together is very funny. thats quite literally it im afraid..

[icewindandboringhorror]

Recent game related things .. hrmm...

[mifflebat]

Request- Young Splinter? From any version of tmnt, but I was thinking your own iteration!

young splinter and his best buddy!

this made me so happy i love getting to talk about iteration turtles, their origins in particular (i’ll ramble in tags) thank you so much for the ask!

[nymphoutofwater]

hello there folks! @infodump-matchmaking seems to not be so active lately, so I thought I’d do this the old fashioned way.

I’m working on a story right now in which one of the main characters has a strong interest in astronomy, which I know no more about than the average third grader. Is there anyone out there who’d like/be willing to tell me all about it?

[mayordeas-clone]

the character ensemble art is gonna get goofy when i make a page in my notes app that looks like this

[spin-in-time]

Ninjago s1 and s2 i miss you so fucking bad . ;;;;;;;;;;;; i have to rewatch them, My God....

Lloyd and garmadon angst around the s1 finale, I MISS YOU, DO YOU WANT ME TO BAWL MY EYES OUT . ;;;;;

[bmpmp3]

the really beautiful landscape/skyscape animation in makoto shinkai's works tends to be the big thing i see focused on and that is understandable and deserved like the weather and lighting effects are unREAL but i do think we should also appreciate how absolute insane the plotlines of his original movies get. at least two movies with in universe catastrophes with major ecological implications. the guns and explosions. theres that one movie i havent seen yet with the guy who turns into a chair (?)

[cosmicrhetoric]

im undecided on how i feel about berserk cause on one hand some of it really hit hard and i like the main Question of god and fate etc. that the series is about but on the other hand man idk 😬. i do think the funniest possible outcome of me trying to read this is actually just playing dark souls instead

[arolesbianism]

Finally got around to designing some of the oldest members of the og magic cat world story, yknow only took me like 5 years fhfksgkfg