#being part Infinity Knight

[inspectorspacetimerevisited]

The last thing the Inspector needed to do was shut down Shoop’s ship before it sucked all the water out of a 20-kilometre radius of downtown London.

Of course, the ship would divide the engine room into two parts, trapping Mona on one side. How fortunate that the Inspector could remove all those useless memories to allow her to remember being part Infinity Knight, and the two of them shut down the ship before it started up.

[geminialchemist]

I made this originally as a comment on a post on Reddit, but it seemed well liked, so I thought I’d expand on it a little and make it a post here on Tumblr.

Spoilers for Shadow of the Erdtree abound, don’t read any farther if you don’t want the ending spoiled.

I really loved a lot of the lore about Miquella up until the big reveal that he Miquellested Mohg, and was bringing back Radahn as his consort. I remember finding the crosses across the land, and then finding the one in the fissure, and seeing that he abandoned his love there, and man, that was so good, so chilling to see that Miquella, known for his compassion and kindness, had thrown that away. We were going from cross to cross, learning just how much he was willing to mutilate and change himself for godhood… only for him to cling to a childhood crush he had on his older brother. That’s lame. Like, really lame. And gross!

And Mohg. I know we joke about how he beat the allegations, but remember that he needed to wed an Empyrean for his plans to work out with the Formless Mother. These plans he already had in place before Miquella charmed him, since Sir Ansbach was already a Pureblood Knight working under Mohg before Mohg was charmed, meaning Mohg had already established the foundations of his dynasty. That means Mohg was going to go after either Miquella or Malenia, since they were the only Empyreans left, and tell me, which one sounds like the easier target, the small child, or the undefeated champion? Miquella was always going to be taken by Mohg, the retcon just exists to make Miquella look more morally questionable while stripping Mohg of a bit of his agency and villainous identity. The entire Mohg portion feels like a rewrite when the entire reason he was charmed by Miquella is because he had some unspecified way into the Shadow Lands, and it’s never really talked about ever again. Mohg’s entire purpose in this plan comes off as an afterthought, with no specifications as to why he was needed, other than a vague “he was needed.” Even the use of his body to resurrect Radahn is unexplained as far as I know, though I headcanon that it’s due to Radahn’s body being too rotted after the centuries of Scarlet Rot infecting it, and they needed a demigod’s body, so Mohg was the only one to use available, but it would have been nice if that had been explained.

Godwyn would have been better as a final boss, and it didn’t even need to be actually Godwyn to work, since I know some people don’t think that would work from a lore perspective since his souls is gone, and his full return would wreck the Duskborn ending. Of course, “gone” is weird way to put it, since his soul isn’t destroyed, it’s in whatever afterlife exists in Elden Ring and just not being reincarnated like everyone else who dies after the rune of Death was removed, so Miquella could maybe work a way to get him back. The DLC is in the Shadow Lands, where all things that die pass through, after all. Get rid of Mohg being brainwashed, but keep his body being used so that Sir Ansbach, one of the best NPCs, still has a quest to follow in putting Mohg’s body to a proper rest. It also makes sense, Godwyn’s body is really messed up, bloated, and multiplying all over the Lands Between like a cancer, and can’t be used for ressurection.

Still, I think a failed Godwyn would be better. Maybe we skip the whole Promised Consort part, and just have it be the first act of Godhood Miquella does, because ew, am I tired of the incest surrounding Miqella’s character. Godwyn The Golden starts the fight off back in his prime, doing loads of attacks infused with Holy damage, coming off as the perfect and powerful Demi-god he’s always stated as being in the lore. Then he starts falling apart at phase 2, his phase 1 attacks being switched to being ghostflame infused rather than holy, Miquella now on his back and any new attacks added to phase 2 take on the holy affinity due to his presence. Then phase 3 hits, no holy infinity at all, all attacks do ghostflame or deathblight buildup. Deathblight is already so underused, so it would be great here. Godwyn is falling apart faster the more we fight, and Miquella, holding on, is getting hurt by the ghostflame and deathblight while desperately trying to keep his beloved brother together.

Have the fight set during an eclipse, too, sorta like the final boss of Dark Souls 3, the Soul of Cinder. Really tie it into the lore of Miquella trying to bring Godwyn back, like we find out at Castle Sol, where he had hoped to use an eclispe. I’d even say to make the light from behind the eclipse change color as the fight rages on, starting off bright and holy, and change it to the horrid dark grey and sickly yellow that deathblight has by the third phase, so rather than the arena getting brighter than a flash bang like it is in canon, have it get darker and gloomier. And of course, after the fight, the eclipse has faded entirely.

Instead of a cutscene that is nothing but information we already know(Seriously, what was even the point of the cutscene we got? It gave us not a single piece of new information), Miquella is lying on the floor, mostly dead, much like Morgott after we beat him in Leyndell. He isn’t dying because of us(honestly, I don’t even know why he died in the DLC, he’s so high up on Radahn’s back we never really get a chance to hit him directly, but he dies when Radahn does for whatever reason), instead he’s dying from clinging so tightly to Godwyn and trying to hold him together, burned by ghostflame and deathblight. He laments that even as a god, he wasn’t able to fix anything. Not his sister, not his brother, not the Haligtree, none of his plans ever work. No matter the sacrifices, personal or otherwise. He’s a failure in every way, and the knowledge breaks him as he sobs and dies.

However, if you visited every cross before the boss fight, you can absorb the essence of Miquella’s discarded body, and if you beat him then, you’ll get the option to return his discarded flesh and emotions after the fight. Doing so heals him, and gives him back everything he discarded, like his love, his fears and doubts. He fades away into light particles, and if you sit at the grace in the arena, he’ll appear like Melina does, sitting across from you and with a healed character model. This gets a few bits more dialogue, some exposition, yadda yadda. He’s a god without a consort, you’re a lord without a throne. He’s unsure, and not confident it will work, but maybe if you work together, something good can come of this tragedy? Giving up now would just be spiting in the faces of everyone he’s hurt. You’re strong enough to stop him if he loses his way again. (I think the reason he chose Radahn in canon was because of his strength and kindness? He trusted Radahn to do what was right after he threw away his love and compassion, entrusting Radahn to lead him down the right path when he lacked those things, and to be strong enough to resist his charm. That’s again entirely headcanon due to our lack of knowledge about their vow, but I’m adding it here because this is MY fanfiction and I can do whatever I like!)

(This part is more of a personal bit I’d have liked added because I find it amusing, rather than because I think it would make it better. Remember when you go through all that trouble to find Fia, and she asks if you’ve come all this way to kill her, and you can just say “No, I want to be held,” and it’s the funniest chunk of text you get in game? I really wanted something like that with Miquella. He wants to know why you came all this way, entered the Shadow Lands, a sealed off region of the world where only death awaits, where you fought against insurmountable odds, all to get to Miquella, presumably to stop him, only to heal him at the last moment, in which you can straight up tell him to his face you want to be his consort, and he’s just as confused and amused as Fia was. He knows you aren’t under his charm, but still he questions if it’s possible you are if you went this far just for that.)

This unlocks a new ending for the base game, the Age of Compassion. You summon Miquella like you would Ranni after beating Elden Beast, and together you usher in a kinder world, this time without the brainwashing. Or maybe with the brainwashing. Or perhaps it’s vague about the brainwashing, and if this is a good or bad ending in classic Fromsoft fashion. I’d prefer no brainwashing, and Miquella still unsure if things will work out, with it ending ambiguous if the Age of Compassion lasts, or fumbles and falls to a world blind to it. All you and Miquella can do is hope it will be better.

That might be a lot to ask, but look, it’s the only way I’ll ever get to live out my fantasy of being fought over by a cold, goth witch gf and a soft femboy twink with hair longer than I am tall, okay?

[fallingsatellive]

⩝

This isn't just an essay about my archetrope identity; it's also the explanation for what it even is.

I've tried to narrow it down, I've tried to separate it, and I've tried to find convenient ways to define it. I explained it as having multiple distinct archetrope identities that were closely related—"wanderer," "mimic," "opportunist" "shapechanger"—but they aren't distinct. Most archetropes will say their archetypes are things like knight, or unreliable narrator—I don't think mine is inherently different or more internally complicated in any way, but the problem is that most archetypes and concepts have words that mean them. Everyone knows what a knight is. No matter where and how long I pored over the dictionary and Etymonline, I couldn’t find one single word that explains what I am. I had to realize that it's the very fact of what it is that makes an existing word or phrase impossible. So I made my own.

I call it Wayvariance. It's a portmanteau of sorts, between the words "wayfar" and "variant." A wayfarer is obviously a traveller or explorer, but the etymology of way (to mean the course by which something occurs) and fare (to mean to wander, to be/exist, or even simply just to go) implies a connotation of someone who doesn't just travel, but who's defined by it. Variance originally meant only the act of undergoing change. Its meaning of diversity, difference, came later; a result of inevitable change. The way evolution is a constant course of change, meaning inherently that it's also existence in infinities.

Wayvariance is being a wanderer. Not because I travel a lot, but ontologically. I always leave. I leave both physically and existentially. The wanderer grows bored with home, with comfort and familiarity. Not just bored. Sick. Sick to its stomach. Being in one place for too long creates a miasma. I could find something to hate about anywhere I end up. I've lived in enough places in a short enough amount of time to feel that anywhere I go next is implicitly not a place I'll stay for very long, and to feel like even just three years is a crazy long amount of time for me to spend living somewhere. A new city to become part of is my version of someone else’s return to a cozy childhood bedroom. But I never really am a part of them, I know by now. The homebody is a river carving canyons over eons. The traveller is always the fish.

"I would tell you about the ocean if I had a moment to stay and chat. But those other places call again and we will never see each other after this. I seem to be the only one who recognizes this. You say ‘keep in touch’ like I have hands and not fins."

I go where I go. It’s a matter of perspective whether it's freedom or being towed by an invisible rope to unknowable destinations, I guess. I choose to appreciate it, but only because I couldn't ever choose to stop it. To drift through existence. The word “plankton” etymologically traces back to the Greek for “wandering.” Plankton are defined as any creature which does not swim purposefully, but rather is carried by ocean currents. Am I purposeless? Rootless? Is this why so many people think their roots are their purpose? I never knew what it was like to have either. No wonder I'm anti-zionist as a Jew. Doikayt doesn’t just mean hereness to me, it means anywhereness. There is no soil or stone with my names already carved. There are no waters that whisper for me, only to. You get it.

Which is all to say: the difference between a wanderer and someone who is lost is only a matter of deciding that what you are is a conscious choice rather than being haplessly dragged along by the universe. Either way, there is no end and no source. I don’t even know what to say when people ask where I'm from. Whatever works, who’s asking?

Wayvariance is being a shapeshifter. One who changes. Not just their shape, too, but their whole self. Recreates the self. In fact, it’s my only constant. The one thing that will never change about me is that I will always change. I know that I'm trans because I seek radical physiological transformation more than any other reason. I cannot live a whole life without knowing what it feels like to be so drastically modified; not even out of a frenzied sense of curiosity, but out of an unavoidable instinct. I crave change, and I need it. The wanderer grows bored with home, with self, body, mind. It needs to leave. Stagnation kills me, like mosquitoes breed eggs in the still waters of my life. My name isn’t the same as it was 3 years ago and it won’t be the same three years from now. Even the way I write or draw is inconsistent. Even the way I type. An example: it wasn't a mistake to switch from digit to word when writing the same number just now. I felt like it—but I can't explain why.

Shapeshifter transforms the body and the mind remains intact. Wayvariant, on the other hand, becomes. Embodies. Change does not even have to be from the inside out. When I put something on myself—a name, an answer, an image, a character, a preference—it seeps into my epidermis like the ink of a tattoo until the only way to remove it is with the regular moulting of my feathers. I can't relate to stories of fictional shapeshifters because I can’t imagine turning into something physically but not becoming it in my entirety. What do the words mind, heart, body and soul mean? They are all equally mutable and impermanent. I have identified as otherkin for nearly eight years and I don’t have the same kintypes I did when I first realized, not because I was wrong about being a fox, but because I became a badger instead. Not even the same kintypes I did half that time ago, not because I was wrong about being a badger, but because I became a cladotherian instead. Queer, but never wanting to call myself “against labels” or “still questioning” just because I was aroace femme-presenting nonbinary and now I'm a butch bi man. You get it.

I used to relate to the phoenix. But there's no dramatic blaze of fire or victorious rising up from the embers for me. I don't need to burn to exist in the ashes of everything I used to be. Maybe someday a sapling will grow from them instead of a bird. If there was such thing as consistency, I would consistently be changing. But there isn’t. So when I grow into a tree, I certainly won’t be a bird anymore.

Wayvariance is adaptation, and by extension, survival. Sometimes Wayvariating is like being the last survivor of an apocalypse because you refused to die more like a cockroach than a hero, but that’s OK, you’re used to the loneliness. Sometimes it’s change that’s evolution at such a rapid pace it doesn’t need generations, only you and a certain willpower. Was there a reason the bird needed to suddenly be a tree in the first place? Sometimes Wayvariating is like chewing your leg off to get out of the trap. Backed into a corner snapping and hissing, it’s not very heroic either but I’ve always been more like a wild animal than that particular archetype allows for.

That also means Wayvariance is mimicry, inherently. Mimicry is survival. An adaptation. Some creatures will mimic a coloration of a poisonous species to deter predators. Some creatures will mimic the beats of a human interaction, perfectly memorized and choreographed to avoid being noticed. Some won’t even realize they are the only one in the room who’s having to pretend to be human. For a lifetime. They just know that snapping and hissing don’t protect them as well as dancing and laughing do. So I learned how to dance and laugh, but not because it's funny.

A terrifying concept for humans to think someone in the room might not be the same as them, but somehow smiles and speaks like them all the same. Like it has learned their behaviors, their patterns. A horror movie monster. One you don't notice right away, even speaking to it. What is it scheming? A great evil? To hunt, kill, devour? To make innocent humanity its victim?

Why would an animal have to pretend to be poisonous if it was the one who was bloodthirsty?

Wayvariance is opportunism. That’s also an adaptation. A Wayvariant is an animal that can survive on any diet, in any biome, because it takes what it can get while it can get it. That’s being a generalist. For a wild animal, at least. A sapient person's version I guess would be called eclecticism. My preferences are wide enough that I may as well not have any. Being a generalist means I say I “don’t play favorites” and I say I “have no taste” in things because I never know what to say when someone asks me my favorite type of movie, or game, favorite genre of music, what’s your dream job… where would you like to live? No answer, for me. Every answer. I could find something to love about anywhere I end up.

I also endeavor to diversify the self, too. Not just my options. It’s not just about differences. It’s about encompassments. It is difficult for me to make my self small because it naturally desires so many things. Therian, but struggling to whittle myself down to as socially acceptable a polytherianthropy as I can muster even if some people can only imagine I'm struggling to “maintain so many conflicting identities.” Autistic, and having special interests in topics some people find so impossibly broad like “art” that I have genuinely, not joking, had my disability fakeclaimed over it. Archetrope and having a 'type so conceptual and expansive as this that I need to make my own word for it. You get it.

Which means Wayvariance is to contain multitudes. It is not a contradiction for me to contradict myself. It comes easily because I'm not just OK with being confused or confusing, I embrace it. I don’t understand how others would find being "your own opposite" hard to wrap the mind around. Asymmetry? A walking paradox? Maybe in the eyes of others. Multitude eyes see those variating evolutionary infinities behind themselves. You can be both the desert and ocean. You can be snow and fire. You can be the desert and the ocean but not both at once. You can be snow and fire, but neither snow nor fire. This is so normal to me that it’s tricky to explain. When I write or do art, a million projects open at once that I chip away at over time across the board works better for me than putting all focus into one; if I'm playing three games, or watching three shows or reading three books at once, I finish all three before I would have finished just one if it was the only one. Something about the variety keeps my attention better than hyperfocus ever could, even with the autism/adhd combo. I liked having a million thousand nested links on my blog because there’s something about labyrinthinely navigated lists that makes more sense to me, and something about having different sideblogs for different topics that doesn’t. And I'm plural. No need to expound upon that one. Plural in more than one way, even. Plural in different ways that don't stay consistent. If I expound anyway, it's because I can't help it. You get it.

Wayvariance is ambiguity. I revel in it. I love those stupid link labyrinths, but I also like having nothing in terms of information that's accessible at all, even difficultly, because obscurity is my nest, where I feel safe. Vague isn’t uncomfortable for me, if anything, it’s familiar. Uncertainty is like a lullaby and a confident answer to a question is like waking with a start from the sensation of falling; you know the feeling—jarring, sudden. I'm not insecure when things don't make sense, though I know others sometimes see it that way if I'm nonsensical too often. I never feel more secure than when things don’t make sense. If there was such thing as home, mine would be the strange and ephemeral, and the antichronology of dreams, and enigmas. But there isn’t. So I am always waking up somewhere time exists, and you know the feeling, jarring and sudden. Making myself understood sometimes is like a fool’s errand, especially because way too many people think being esoteric is always a choice. I make an entire new word to describe my archetrope identity and then write an entire essay trying to explain it, because (as the modern adage explains) “human language is like trying to nail down the ocean” and unlike some, I am not human, I am the fish called to seas and from river to river, never with the privilege of walking back onto dry land where words lie.

G-d, why the hell was I an English major.

Wayvariants are outsiders, foreigners wherever they go, from across oceans to their home towns to the inside of their own heads. I am, after all, a wanderer, and I always leave. I leave both physically and existentially. Because I always leave, I also always arrive. I am a stranger wherever I arrive. Both physically and existentially. And a journey inevitably always changes the traveller. If I ever were to come back home, I'd be a stranger there too.

But like I said. There is no such thing as home.

[positivelybeastly]

From the Ashes Infinity Comics #15: Pygmalion, Part 1

So, for those who are not aware - Infinity Comics are online-only comics distributed through Marvel Unlimited, their subscription based app and browser collection of comics. Regarded as 'inessential,' but still very much canon, the raft of Infinity Comics coming out of From the Ashes have been quite good, but I haven't seen fit to comment on them for a bit, until now, because . . .

Let's go.

For those not aware, Pygmalion is a famous novel by George Bernard Shaw, detailing the attempt by a phonetics professor called Henry Higgins to 'elevate' a Cockney flower-girl named Eliza Doolittle.

Intrigued by a bet that he could pass her off as a duchess through careful schooling, he decides to take her on, and though he succeeds, she ends up feeling marginalised and overlooked, treated as an object of gambling and curiosity rather than an individual in her own right, and though the play is best known for the 'culturing' of Eliza Doolittle, it is as much about the arrogance of Higgins, who is a thoroughly unpleasant and rude individual, in thinking that he has any ownership over Eliza for his education of her. He may have 'created' her, but he does not control her.

The Factory that the X-Men are living in at present must have really good central heating for Cyclops to be wearing basketball shorts and a crop top that short.

Beast is currently investigating some kind of issue with Magneto's chromosomes - to put it succinctly, he appears to be ageing rapidly, and does not have access to his X-gene at present. This is a continuation of the storyline in the previous Infinity arc, which focused on Magneto.

Something worth noting - this is the first acknowledgement of the fact that though Hank's body may be of roughly the same physical age as his original, his mind is considerably younger, situated at some point in his mid 20s. For someone who was always the oldest of the original X-Men, this is fairly significant.

Also worth noting - Hank joins the ranks of superheroes who are actively seeking therapy for their problems! Good on you, Hank! And good on you, too, Scott, for suggesting it. Though, perhaps, given recent developments in the mainline X-Men comics, you should take your own advice . . .

The fact that Hank refers to himself as the only one left seemingly confirms that X-Force took care of the Beast clones who Beast Prime planted around various landmarks as part of the Ghost Calendars arc. Though they were defeated in their respective future timelines, I wasn't quite sure if they had been taken care of in the present as well. This seemingly confirms that they were.

Hank's therapist is Dr. Andrea Sterman, a supporting character from Jed MacKay's Moon Knight run, and a member of the Midnight Mission. Given that the writer, Alex Paknadel, confirmed on Twitter that he talked with Jed MacKay about making sure all the details for Hank's storyline would line up with the mainline X-Men book, I can only imagine this was done as a rather fun continuity nod.

Hank also refers to a Shi'ar warship, an avian alien race that the X-Men deal with on a regular basis. This makes sense, given that Hank was beamed aboard the Shi'ar imperial flagship during the events of Dark Phoenix Saga in 1981 - ancient history for us, but relatively fresh in Hank's mind, given his memories come from 1985.

Hank, naturally, does himself a disservice here. Dark Beast was, assumedly, abducted at a relatively young age from his human parents, and indoctrinated by Mister Sinister as something of a protege - a protege living in perpetual fear of his mentor. He probably didn't have a chance to develop any kind of moral code divorced from the social Darwinist hellhole that is the Age of Apocalypse.

That being said, Hank probably lacks that context, and Dark Beast is unique among Age of Apocalypse denizens, not just for his unerringly cruel nature, having never shown any altruistic tendencies (unlike, say, AoA Cyclops or Nightcrawler), but also for his resilience. He persists, even now - though last seen in Immortal X-Men #9 as a head in a jar, he has come back from the dead at least twice before, and it is unlikely he is gone for good.

Fun fact - his appearance here is based on the costume he wore during his scrap with Emma Frost's X-Men team in a confrontation with Spider-Man and the Lizard. Though the X-Men naturally encountered him after this point, it's fun that this appearance by Dark Beast is considered iconic enough to be the 'definitive' look for him by this comic.

Hank's final remark, about 'Henry McCoy plus time equals atrocity,' is a sentiment often repeated on social media boards, and it's interesting to see it being internalised by Hank himself, given his unique perspective on the events that created his future self and the other potential timelines the X-Men files likely refer to.

Mm. A lot to unpack here.

Hank's relationship with his X-gene has always been complicated, and the way he views it here, as essentially morphing him into a shape that he finds abhorrent, predatory, and beyond his control, is consistent with how Hank seemed to see himself during his feline mutation, which lasted from 2000 to 2013.

Though his feline phase is not referenced in this comic, beyond the 'over time, and with a little help, these became more pronounced,' (probably a reference to Sage's jumpstarting his secondary mutation) it assumedly would be in the files Hank has been using to catch up, and one has to wonder if he's been repeating some of the thought processes that made feline Hank such a uniquely neurotic version of the character.

It's also nice to see a canonisation of my long held fanon that Hank's X-gene is actively attempting to craft a form for him that is best suited for survival, a belief that Hank only hinted at back in Morrison's New X-Men, but which made sense, given the circumstances of his mutation in X-Treme X-Men.

That being said, Hank's own mind seemingly strays back to the night his furry mutation first manifested at the Brand Corporation in Amazing Adventures, where he flew into a berserker rage and nearly killed Carl Maddicks, which always seemed a little incongruous with how Hank was written in subsequent appearances in Avengers and Defenders, but which now seems to be retroactively made an expression of the brutality he was capable of during his feline phase.

The 'violent upheavals' Hank refers to here are likely his initial secondary mutation, and then his near-death experience when said mutation randomly destabilised in All-New X-Men. It could also be a reference to his numerous genetic troubles during X-Factor volume 1.

His opining that he found refuge in the life of the mind is very reminiscent of Hank's desire to find meaning in poetry, literature, art, humanity, in the wake of the changes in his body in both X-Factor and New X-Men. X-Factor #33 and New X-Men #117 both specifically reference his delight in the freedom to think, in opposition to the clouding of the mind that came with his Pestilence inflicted dumbing down, or his newly awakened predatory impulses.

Ironically enough, Magneto is, aside from Simon Williams, the character with whom this version of Hank has shared the most panel time and dialogue, between his conversations in X-Men and previous From the Ashes Infinity Comics. It would appear that Max's need for a cure for his condition are fostering a necessarily stronger bond than Hank and Max have ever shared before in canon.

Precisely where the rest of the team is during the course of these events is unknown. If I had to guess, it's possible this might be set during the events of X-Men #2, where the rest of the team was attending to a mutant rescue in San Francisco, accounting for the lack of availability of the Marauder and a reliance on an old Quinjet.

Quite how Hank got his hands on said Quinjet is unknown, though it's possible it might be a holdover from Hank's Defender days, where he would regularly borrow a Quinjet from the Avengers, for purposes ranging from actual superhero missions to attending Patsy Walker's wedding.

Though this Hank's memories originate in closest proximity to the Defenders, and though that team did enjoy some degree of notoriety under Hank and Candy Southern's stewardship, the Avengers have always been where Hank was most popular in-universe, and he has had a habit of using that association to smooth things over in mutant related books, such as in X-Factor volume 1 and the 90s X-Men run.

Unfortunately, mutant rights are in a more dire state than ever before, with things having seemingly gotten only worse for them since the 1980s, and it's likely Hank didn't expect this level of hatred from normal civilians.

I have, unfortunately, run out of images, so I'll be posting the last of this issue and my final thoughts and predictions in another post.

[springbreezes-and-peonies]

Everyone! Meet Praespero my baby boy. I have not posted him here yet! Here we go!

Praespero

Dimensional traveling hero and knowledge preserver. He has magical abilities to pluck things out of thin air if he can focus on them. Really he is dimensional shifting to pull them to his current reality state (like Jobu Tupaki if anyone has seen Everything Everywhere All At Once)

BACKSTORY:

His dimensional shifting abilities come from the giant star-like scar on his head, he was tested on by another of his kind who he loved dearly and it ended up being a perilous experience for him, far more painful than he’d thought, like having your existence tossed into an inter dimensional blender, it caused the wound and for a time a very fractured state of existence for him. His powers essentially work by him being “aware” of himself in any of the infinite dimensions there are out there and using a shift to pull whatever magic or item he needs at the moment, which he is good at NOW but with it being forced on him to make him a good weapon (and not researcher like he was led to believe) it was extremely jarring and almost unbearable, not at all the process he was made to think it was. He lost his sense of self in the consciousness of all his other selves and being aware of them, like staring into the face of something divine and forbidden. And when he was panicked and scared, his friend and lover still didn’t cease the experimentation, and wouldn’t until he forced him to by ending him. He had to meditate, alone and in a very mixed up state of agony and confusion to be able to center himself on the version of him that he knew and was used to and to actually tap into the powers he’d gained, figuring he could use them for good. He is very anti-authoritarian, and rebellious since that point in his life forward. He doesn’t keep his home in one place too long either and shifts it through different dimensions when he feels like he needs to. A part of him still fears that the version of himself he found and connected with while meditating in the sea of consciousness after the experiment, may not be his original self he was before BUT he figures (like most bad things) it is best not to dwell on that! 😊

Likes:

stars

birds

the horizon

Books

History

Adventure

Being adored

Marbles

Compliments

Flirting

Bagels

Infinity

His Dog 🩷 (best friend)

Dislikes:

doubt

Doomers

miscalculation

actually getting lost

Deserts

The nightmares

The idea that he might lose himself in another version of himself

Morpho Knight

[leoruby-draws]

Decided to post some more random, mostly minor characters from the DC universe, mostly ones that seemed they would be fun to draw. I guess technically these drawings are all based in my TrWh au, as always. Here they are:

Wanted to draw heroes with wings, I draw Vanessa quite a bit so I had to learn wings and feathers. Still working on it, but its fun. You can see Vanessa there at the bottom middle, looking a little menacing.

The girl with red wings is called...Redwing aka Carrie Levine. I thought she was a sweet kid, so her ultimate fate was pretty sad. Wonder if she'll come back to continuity at some point.

The guy with the mohawk is Northwind aka Norda Cantrell, part of Infinity Inc the earth 2 version of a Teen Titans group. He honestly didn't get a whole lot of focus in Infinity Inc, like the writer didn't know what to do with him. Maybe they should've made him into the magic fighter of the group, almost felt like thats what they were going for him before they wrote him off.

The girl in yellow is Dawnstar, part of the Legion of Superheroes. I haven't read much of LoSH, mostly some 90's issues. But her design is soooo pretty I had to draw her, her costume here is a mix of her various outfits.

Lastly, here's Bluejay aka Jay Abrams again, part of Justice League Europe. Kinda thought JLE was a bit of a letdown, I mean the team's made up of mostly americans not europeans! I think Crimson Fox was the only european, I thought her set-up of being two people was cool.

Little extra Infinity doodle, here's Hector Hall (Silver Scarab) hating on poor Norda, with Lyta Trevor (Fury) looking on with confusion. Hector's just a hater (tho there's reasons for it ig), an archetype you see sometimes in some superhero groups, like Roy Harper or Guy Gardner. The plot-line of Hector's resentment of Norda was kinda interesting, but like with most things in Infinity it didn't get the focus it should've gotten. Speaking of Infinity, here's some more doodles:

There's Rex Tyler (Hourman 1) with little Rick Tyler (Hourman 2), enjoying some father-son time. Apparently Rick's first costume isn't well liked (so says reddit). I thought it seemed cute but maybe it works better as a kid's or sidekick's kinda costume?

In the middle is Jack Knight (Starman) suffering as he interacts with Sylvester Pemberton (Skyman, formerly the Star-Spangled Kid) and Courtney Whitmore (Stargirl, actually she should still be S-SK but whatever). In my au he actually joins Infinity Inc, since everyone becomes heroes earlier he's actually around when the team's still running. I suspect his dad (Ted Knight) forced him into it. Also Courtney doesn't respect Jack at all, he's so annoyed at this. Look at her mini-staff, I presume Ted made it for her.

Also there's Beth Chapel (Dr. Mid-Nite) and Jesse Chambers (Jesse Quick) looking cool. Jesse also joins Infinity Inc in my au, will there be a love triangle going on between Beth, Rick and Jesse? Don't think Rick's gonna survive that, aw well.

Look at baby Jade and Obsidian, Alan is overwhelmed by their antics.

In another post someone asked if I could draw more of the Relative Heroes, a super obscure hero group. So @draculaura1660, this one's for you. Here they are:

I kinda had a hard time drawing this group, cuz their costumes are so complicated! I wished there was a reference/concept art for them cuz it was a struggle trying to figure out the details, the comic art did not help matters at all. You might have noticed I changed details anyways, I tend to simplify costumes for my au both to make it easier to draw and also to signify their younger ages. It's just fun to play around with costume design ig.

Some more characters!

Jinx, who looks very different between her comic and cartoon self. I did like her pink hair, so decide to see how it would look on her comic self. There's Kole, who also has different designs in comic/cartoons. I think her comic costume is so cool, esp that color pallet! But I love her pink hair in the cartoon, so she's got pink hair here! Just like pink hair a lot lol.

The other pink haired girl is Laethwen, love interest of Ray Palmer in Sword of the Atom. I think I made her hair more pink to better differentiate her from Starfire, also, again I just like pink hair. I wished she and her little kingdom didn't die, in my au Ray saves them! Maybe he relocates them to his backyard or something?

Little Donna and Vanessa doodle, did you know they never once interacted on panel? The closest is when Donna brings her stepsister Cindy to talk to Vanessa instead. I wonder how they would even interact, I know Vanessa wanted to be wonder girl (and resented Cassie for 'taking' it from her). Did she look up to Donna, or wanted her out of the way? Funnily enough Donna wasn't even Diana's sidekick when post-crisis started, due to both their origins being reworked and contradicting each other's timelines. It's all very confusing.

Anyways, some bonus doodles:

Had fun making a new outfit for Laethwen, I imagine she took some inspiration from indigenous groups from the Amazon, seeing as that's where her people crashed into.

Kole's costume is just so beautiful but so complicated, maybe that's why she got killed off so soon in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Lastly, here's Bette bugging Dick with Barbara being super amused about it. I said in my post about her that I didn't really care about her crush on Robin, which is true, but I still wanted to doodle something making fun of it. Poor Dick is doesn't know how to get outta of this social situation.

Well that was a lot, hope you liked all that.

[shippyo]

Meet life herself.

Pale without ever seeming to present even a shadow in her figure with her iridescent mantle, she is infinite in its entirety, born from the void or rather...this one reborn from nothingness, an eternal cycle that she finds herself in with everyone in the universe and at the same time is not the same "life" as never in any of her lives has she been the same, her purpose is merely to exist without any ties other than to wait for everything to end once again, what she does in each life is different because nor is she still the same person,thus this one has her own way to do her things.

Life has the power to lengthen and shorten the life of whoever she wishes, or , provide a new life as those it calls her children, who are the butterfly beings like Morpho knight, souls of beings fallen into misfortune from the course of life that she herself brings to her strange and calm dimension with the question of,resting in peace in the infinity of the underworld OR with a new destiny guided by her in a purpose,reborn.

Those who choose to go to the warm hands obtain the joy of being reborn, yes, in a butterfly, different from who they once were and with the blurred memories of her former life, all for them, her most beloved children,but even so,she still loves all life in the existence of this one.

"Well,well,if it isn´t the part of all and nothing,my daughter sure talked alot about your fights ·child of the stars· thehe,nice to meet this version of you."

This life is calm and extremly patient and never seems to feel burden , because, ironically she can still die to return to all and give it to new lives to reborn into someone again and much different from who she was with the eternity of the universe,again and again and again, there should be no surpise to you who are reading that this is merely one of the reincarnations of life herself of the thousands that once were and will be. Even so,this one allows herself to be seen by the width and length of the universe, she simply appears with total calm even in the most dangerous of abysses or calmest gardens, simply observing and you can go talk to her, ask her whatever you want and she will always show kindness and try to share her point of view of life with you if thats what you wish.

Life again in her strange irony, or... in this "she" shares a certain friendship with Necrodeus, the death himself, both believe that they were once a couple on a wedding day about to enter into their union that, to the misfortune of both, they died together with the same all, waking up like this in front of the other, whether it is mere coincidence that both have that blurry memory or not, for them nothing is the same and who they once were supposed to be or last selfs does not mean anything anymore, but still they remain united and at peace with each other until one day, Necrodeus will put an end to everything so that everything will rise from a new nothingness and life will once again reborn with him in a new identity and form, this is their eternal cycle that binds them from the void together with all the souls of infinity.

[You can send any asks or questions to the box-thing to her if you are interested to interact wit this oc AND please be respectfully if my canon/story of kirby stuff isn´t 100% accurate with the kirby lore or yours,i just love to have my own interpretations of it and create alot jsjs but i do hope you all love her and enjoy this </3]

[bittersweetresilience]

hehggehhe hi sunny…TOP FIVE RENJING MOMENTS/SCENES/DIALOGUE from your Own fics……or anywhere. anything you want forever. renjing

OH MY GOD ISA... I HOLD THIS QUESTION LIKE A PIECE OF TREASURE AND THEN RUN AROUND AND BITE YOUR ANKLES SO SO SO SO LOVINGLY... AND ALSO GET SLIGHTLY SHY BUT OMG I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU INFINITY

1. the ending of 大鱼 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

“You’re tired, aren’t you?” Yingxing murmurs, and his eyes are pale violets in the darkness, luminous. “You should go back to sleep.” Except Jing Yuan has a dream, sometimes. In the dream, he is falling. In the dream, he is turning into the sky, and there is no other ending. In the dream, he has been alone for seven hundred years, and this night is the real dream. Jing Yuan does not know which is which. All he knows is that he wants to live a little longer in the one where he has Yingxing.

the orgasm scene is also a good one but i'm on the floor forever about the ending. the culmination of the themes of dreams and suicidal thoughts and longing... this excerpt gives me emotional damage but i loved writing the whole scene because i finally got to come full circle with all of the extended imagery.

2. this bit from 起风了

Jing Yuan wants to say—even if you keep them, you can’t keep me. But he bites his tongue. He doesn’t want to make it real, not now, not here. Not when Blade is with him. Besides, for all Blade knows, Jing Yuan is just being self-defeating. Or maybe he does know. Maybe he knows and that’s why he came. Maybe he’s here to let him leave. “Aiya,” Jing Yuan says, around the sudden lump in his throat. “You still haven’t showered. Can we wait to argue until you’re clean?” Blade doesn’t move. “If I go, will they still be here when I come back?” Maybe Jing Yuan doesn’t know anything.

起风了 is in the same universe as 大鱼 and it features dom sub blade taking care of jing yuan while jing yuan is having suicidal thoughts so basically i eat this whole fic out sloppy style

3. this flashback from 浮生若梦 😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

“But if I die first…” “Tch, why would you?” “Hey, being a Cloud Knight is dangerous, you know? Otherwise my parents wouldn’t have tried to stop me.” “…fine then. What happens if you die first?” “Yingxing-gege, you have to come see me.”

i think you can already guess what has happened... this little section is placed right before blade enters the sanctum where he will see jing yuan, before he understands what he will see, and let's just say, that makes me feel SICK

4. this scene from and i get the feeling that i'm living

“I suppose it’s all right if you stay, then,” Jing Yuan said, and his laugh was a little melancholy. He hadn’t coughed all day, but he did after that sentence, smothering it in his sleeve. “It won’t be much longer, anyway.” Something tightened in Blade at that, some sort of resistance. Was that why Jing Yuan had insisted they walk around? As some sort of last meeting? The way his gaze had been so slow to part from the bustling stalls of Aurum Alley, the paper kites they flew in front of the Palace of Astrum, the starry skies of the Divination Commission—had he been delivering his farewells to the home that he would live and die in? Tightening again, and Blade found that there was a reason for him to be here after all. That he couldn’t accept this.

it's a hanahaki fic hey why are all of these major character death fics and i have. feelings. about blade being unable to accept that jing yuan will die like this and deciding to take him away so he can at least fulfill all of his wishes and allow him to feel happy and free before it happens.

5. IPC RENJING AU

“If you keep that up, you won’t be able to afford our apartment,” Blade says. “What an unthinkable situation. I’ll have to depend on you for everything.” Blade huffs a laugh. Low and short, but it trickles like honey from the earpiece all the way down to Jing Yuan’s fingertips.

SO AFTER ALL OF THAT TRAGEDY HOW ABOUT SOME DOMESTIC WORKPLACE ROMANCE... they are literally so sweet in this au i need to cry about it. i just yoinked a random dialogue from the fic because i don't have a particular favorite. the entire au is my favorite.

THANK YOU FOR COMING TO MY TED TALK I LOVE YOU

[dartagnantt]

Channel Infinity (and Beyond!) | Because gods probably don't all equally hate the undead

PDFs of this and more can be found over on at my Patreon here! I release everything for free, so your support makes this possible. I've also started making a new system based off of 5e, 6th Dawn! Become a patron and join the playtest.

My Kickstarter is live! Get 20 different types of lycans now!

Ever find it odd that EVERY cleric, no matter their inclination or alignment have Turn Undead? I did, and as part of my 6th dawn project, I sought to give the cleric the ability to choose from one of different CDs to pick from. Originally it was just going to be between Turn and Wrest Undead for good and evil, but then I considered some version of PF1e's channel energy. Which resulted in Bolster the unliving, divine wrath, and moving preserve life to base cleric. But, also giving life cleric both effects of channel positive energy. How is this balanced? It doesn't discriminate, of course. (That's how you know they're good :P) But also I took a page from my neutral paladin (and I guess the arcana cleric) and give a turn everything, which I claim is balanced because if you have summons, boy they won't like this very much :)

And now to plug my stuff. I release homebrews weekly over on my Patreon. Anyone who pledges $1 or more per post don't have to wait a month to see them, and also help fund my being alive habit.

At the moment, they have exclusive access to the following:

Prior Connections

Circle of the Sands

To Shreds, You Say?

Chimeric Hunter Conclave

I also have four classes, and a splatbook over on DriveThrueRPG to check out:

The Rift Binder. A class specialising in summoning monsters and controlling the battlefield.

The Witch Knight. A class that combines swords and sorcery in the most literal way.

The Werebeast. A class that turns you into a half beast to destroy your foes.

The Beguiler. A spellcaster dedicated to illusions, enchantments, and general fuckery.

d'Artagnan's Adventurer Almanac. A compendium of races, subclasses, feats, spells, monsters and more!

[grandpasessions]

Now the story of Abraham shows him [Kierkegaard], more clearly than ever, the contrast between two kinds of religious life, distinguished by very different attitudes to the world.

The sacrificial part of Abraham’s movement dragged out in the arduous journey up Mount Moriah and climaxing in the unthinkable binding of Isaac, the heart-stopping flash of a knife – is perceived by some people to be the summit of the God-relationship. Kierkegaard admires the ‘monastic movement’ of withdrawal from the world, rarely attempted in this modern age where religious passion is no longer valued as it used to be. He calls those who live like this ‘knights of resignation’, in contrast to the successful figures in Danish public life who are appointed Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog by the king. While these worldly knights enjoy secular prestige, the knights of resignation stand apart from the world, spiritually elevated and remote.

Yet something higher still lies beyond them, a paradoxical peak that can be reached only by descending. Having renounced everything for the sake of God, Abraham made a further movement, returning to the world, embracing finitude, and living contentedly with his earthly gifts. Walking down the mountain with his son Isaac beside him, he was not just a knight of resignation, but a ‘knight of faith’. For Kierkegaard, Abraham exemplifies a way of being human in the world that neither withdraws like a hermit or a monk, nor conforms to conventional bourgeois values. The ‘guiding star’ of Abraham belongs to a paradoxical constellation: a faith that is lived in the world, yet defies worldly expectations.

Kierkegaard imagines the movements of this faith as the light, graceful leaps of a ballet dancer – repeated again and again, each time a little different, and as arduous to perform as they are delightful to watch. The soul’s dance expresses its longing for God, for eternity, for an unknown infinity. Most people are ‘wallflowers’ who do not take part in this dance; the knights of resignation ‘are dancers, and possess elevation’ – but when they land, they falter, showing that they cannot be at home in the world.

A knight of faith, however, lands as easily as he leapt, ‘transforming the leap of life into a walk’. He makes existence look so easy that there is nothing to tell him apart from the most unreflective, spiritless person who, immersed in everyday concerns, sees no significance in life beyond its immediate satisfactions and disappointments. The knight of faith’s relationship to God is entirely inward, hidden from public view. A divine grace sustains each step of his journey through the world, but he receives 6 this gift secretly, in silence.

Philosopher of the Heart Claire Carlisle

[lumilasi]

I wanted to draw something more worthwhile today, but due to utter lack of proper sleep for past 3 days + resulting severe mental health drop, I only managed to doodle some NCP lore relevant stuff. I've mentioned the Overshadowers Council in some posts, but there are other important governing bodies, such as the Arcane Council, they handle the matters of primary magic users.

(I.E beings who otherwise would just be humans, though non-human beings also ofc learn magic that might be outside of their "natural" type, in those cases deciding which of the five groups they fall under is just trickier sometimes, and often they are already governed by another body)

I picked 5 main categories even though I do know there are plenty more, I just wanted to keep the scope fairly limited for the time being as this is just world BG lore. How I defined each is somewhat loosely inspired by D&D, but has more of my own twist on things so its not exact. Also picked a character to represent each category lol

For the Sigils, I decided to only use one of them to show examples of how they work, I just didn't have the energy to do all 5

More info below:

It is VERY rare for a magic user to be able to claim two titles and requires some very specific circumstances. Currently, the only known person who is technically both a Sorcerer and a Warlock is Azul Samaros/Chester Knight

Technically, Soul Eaters could be considered the most ancient Warlocks there are, but given their power is so inherent to them by now beyond just channeling something, they are classified as their own thing by now.

Sorcerers/sorceress' are the most powerful magic users, whereas Mages are considered the weakest, given their abilities tend to be highly specific.

In case of a nonhuman being with natural magic learning something beyond that, their matters are mostly still handled by their own governing body, unless the situation specifically relates to this learned magic.

Characters shown in the post: 1.Beatrice (Forest/plant witch) 2. Janus (Summoner mage/has some wyvern heritage so he can use fire) 3. Reuben (Fire Elemental) 4. Angus (Blood sage Warlock) 5. Iris (Astral Sorceress)

The name of each sub-branch are as follows: Witch Covenant, Mage Ward, Elemental Hive, Warlock Guild, and Sorcerer Senate

While Franziska Belmont (A character in NCP) Is known as a "Cat witch" by humans (or sith-cat) she does not fall under the governance of the Arcane Council, given she doesn't have any magic powers that aren't natural-born skills for her.

The governing body is largely democratic, though when it comes to voting for the members of the individual branch, only those part of the said branch can do so. (witches can only vote in covenant elections, Warlocks in the Guild election, etc).

Every magic user listed as the Arcane member however, can vote for any candidate for the Arcane Council itself.

ABOUT THE SIGILS:

Witch symbol: inspired by lavender flower, which is associated with mystery, magic and spiritualism among many other things, also in the shape of a star, which is also a classic magic symbol

Mage symbol: a torch and a common portayal of a soul as a ball of flame, referencing the fact basic magic exists within everyone, even if they cannot use it. Blue because I needed the full rainbow lol

Elemental symbol: Life tree, as reference to how life is formed and shaped by the basic elements. Green because nature reference

Warlock symbol: Spooky spiky starlike shape with eyes and blades, because Warlocks often do stabby spooky stuff, and ofc red because blood. 3-spikes as to reference mind, body, and soul.

Sorcerer symbol: A Hourglass with the infinity symbol, because magic is "eternal" in the eyes of the people, and this is also often the most ancient type of magic people can utilize. Golden yellow to give off a "regal" feel. (They are often seen as sort of "nobility" among magic users and held in high regard/feared the most depending on the power's themes)

OTHER CHARACTERS FROM NCP THAT ARE SPECIFICALLY MAGIC USERS/HAVE LEARNED MAGIC OUTSIDE THEIR NATURAL POWER:

Witches: Yume, Clover (male witch)

Mages: Miriam, Adam (He is a chesire cat who has learned illusion magic on top of his basic abilities) Lionel (He's also a chesire, has learned exorcism magic)

Elementals: Currently none apart from Reuben

Warlocks: Marci, Azul

Sorcerers: Azul (his primary type), Thalia

[zerogate]

In a 2006 review of recent developments in the historiography of the Crusades, Norman Housley wrote:

Although there is much that is contested in the history of crusading, one advance that has been made in the course of the last half century would probably be disputed by nobody: that the crusades played a central rather than a peripheral role in the development of medieval Europe.

“There can be no doubt,” Housley adds, “that crusading was one of the features of medieval life that gave Catholic Europe its remarkable rate of growth. This established an inherent dynamism that characterized the central Middle Ages.”

One of the most remarkable aspects of this impulse is its sudden manifestation. “It was not the culmination of an evolution, but the almost spontaneous outpouring of a prodigious power of collective animation,” wrote French historian Paul Alphandéry around 1930. We can pinpoint the day (27 November 1095) when the call fell like the Holy Spirit on a crowd, before being preached by an army of missionaries.

The First Crusade (1095-97) was a success, celebrated in what can be regarded as the earliest propaganda campaign of global scale. The First Crusade became for Westerners what the Trojan War was for ancient Greeks. Christopher Tyerman writes:

The scale and rapid production of histories of the First Crusade by eyewitnesses and others eager to interpret the startling events didactically finds no parallel in medieval historiography. Within a dozen years of Jerusalem’s capture, at least four full eyewitness accounts, three major western histories and part of the great Lorraine version by Albert of Aachen were being circulated along with a bevy of other accounts, more or less derivative, imaginative or polemic. While originating in monasteries and cathedrals, these texts reflected and excited secular interests, for example in local heroes or national pride. Most of the histories sculpted stirring tales of faith, bravery, suffering, danger, tenacity and triumph. The theologians distilled the message of God’s immanence and Christian duty; the no less artful eyewitnesses provided accessible tales of miracles and butchery. One of the very earliest, the Gesta Francorum, included elaborate scenes with stereotype exotic Orientals declaiming extravagant, bombastic nonsense much in the style of the verse chanson de geste. Naturalistic representation, especially of the enemy, did not feature.

The epic stories of the First Crusade had such a lasting impact that, when a Second Crusade was preached in 1145, the response was, again, overwhelming. “I opened my mouth, I spoke, and at once the Crusaders have multiplied to infinity,” Bernard of Clairvaux wrote to the pope. “Villages and towns are now deserted. You will scarcely find one man for every seven women. Everywhere you see widows whose husbands are still alive.”

[...]

The Crusade was a new religion. Guibert de Nogent, one of the most enthusiastic chronicler of the First Crusade, remarked that before, knight could only attain salvation by giving up their way of life and become monks, but “God has instituted in our time holy wars, so that the order of knights and the crowd running in their wake … might find a new way of gaining salvation.” The Crusade, declared a fourteenth-century master of the Hospitaliers, became “the nearest route to Paradise.” Welsh priest Adam of Usk went further in his Chronicon (early fifteenth century):

Any man who will not set off at once for the land where God lived and died, any man who will not take the Holy Land’s cross will have but little chance of going to heaven.

-- Laurent Guyénot, The Crusade is Over

[shipcestuous]

(submission)

Found these. 

F*cked by Natalie Knight (twin brothers x sister)

Warren and Ryker. My delinquent twin brothers from hell.

Our father caught them setting the high school athletic center ablaze and sent them away to rot in jail for six years.

But being locked away did nothing to curb their appetite for sin and debauchery.

Now they’re back with a new agenda—fuck, torment, teach—with one thing on their minds: making up for lost time with their spoiled little sister.

Me.

Obsessions: Part 1 by Lily Black (father x daughter)

I wasn’t supposed to crave him, but I do.The more I try to resist, the more my desire grows.One night changes everything because now he wants me too.What we’re doing is sick, twisted, and wrong,but like addicts, we chase the high,but how long until we fall?

Obsessions: Part 2 by Lily Black (father x daughter)

I swore to protect her from the day she was born,and I intend to keep that promise.What we have is wrong in the eyes of many,but I haven’t felt anything this right in my life.But secrets have a way of getting out.Ours could destroy us both.But if the choice is her or walking away,I’ll choose her every fucking time.And God help anyone who stands in my way.

Crooked Cove by Rory Ireland (brother x sister)

Our parents sent me away because they’re terrified that I’ll corrupt their only daughter.They should be.I’ve returned for summertime on the cove.My restraint is hanging by a thread.All it takes is one taste and I’m hooked.I’m the monster under her bed and her saving grace all rolled into one.And I’ll stop at nothing to claim what’s mine.

And Hell Followed by Beckett Riley (brother x sister)

My parents thought emigrating from Germany to the American frontier was going to be a good thing. But it seems that a darkness is doomed to follow us wherever we go and life can be so harsh and unforgiving in this world, especially for a woman.

Luckily, I have my brother, Thomas, to watch out for me. He can only do so much, though, and after that vile attack, I find myself shrouded in darkness more than ever. It was then I realized that festering gloom came from within.

Although society won’t take kindly to it, we have forsaken God to live an unholy life, and just as things finally began to calm down, the past reared its ugly head and came back to destroy everything we’ve built.

But as Thomas once told me, I would ride my steed through the fires of hell to salvage the only thing worth living for, and if the devil himself gets in my way, he will beg God for mercy.

Stolen Kisses and Secret Promises by Rue Seven (brother x sister)

My sweet Kielyr, we were far too young to understand why our parents decided to go separate ways and keep us apart for so many years. Luckily, we found our way back to each other. Never in a million years would I have ever imagined to hold and kiss you like this, to feel this ever-growing love for you. I’m lucky that I get to call you my love, my girl, my everything, my forever.

From the day we finally met, I promised to protect you. To never let anything happen to you, and to be there for you every second of every day, no matter the circumstances. I also promised to love you no matter what. No matter who’d find out about us, and I like to think that I’ve been able to keep our love protected for longer than we had ever expected. I’ve kept all those promises—and will continue to—but there was one day in our lives I hope to never relive ever again.

That day shattered me. It broke my heart to see you in so much pain, and even when you say to leave it all in the past, I still think back and wonder what I could’ve done to avoid it all. To save you from that cruelty. Sweet girl, you are so incredibly strong, and even after everything you’ve been through, your light still shines bright.

I spend every day admiring your kindness, gentleness, and selflessness.You’re truly one of a kind, and I’m forever thankful for your love. I will love you until infinity runs out. Yours always, Rellian.

Love Unexpected by Q.B. Tyler (stepfather x step daughter)

I’d only wanted one kiss.

One kiss, under the dark of night, in a city where no one knew us.

One kiss fueled by my hormones and alcohol and the blinding grief over losing my mother.

One kiss from the man I told myself was untouchable.

But, it didn’t stop at one kiss.

And now we are running full speed down a road with no intention of stopping.

His touch disarms me.His kiss revives me.But, our love, could destroy me.

Love’s Forbidden Flower by Diane Rinella (brother x sister)

The heart cares not what society forbids.

Lily nurtures a secret love for a flawless man—the one who is her soul mate. Donovan is gorgeous, charismatic, and delights in all of Lily’s talents and quirks. Their innate knowledge of each other is almost telepathic. Together they interlock like fine threads creating luxurious silk.

But society dictates this picture-perfect adoration is the ghastliest of all possibilities.

As Lily embarks on a quest for the romance the heavens intended, her suitor turns reluctant. Desperate to uncover why Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hiding decayed from a tender-hearted gentleman into a ferociously self-serving, cocky bastard, Lily is prepared for battle when it comes to the salvation of her soul mate. However, Donovan traps Lily in a mental game of chess, leaving her to question his sanity. When Lily’s revelations about Donovan’s destructive alter ego lead to an inconceivable truth, can she help Donovan survive fate’s cruel joke?

Time’s Forbidden Flower by Diane Rinella part 2 (brother x sister)

An eternity of passion cannot be quelled by society.

Once upon a time Donovan assured Lily all of her dreams would come true. But how could he keep the promise of a fairy tale when her truest goals could not involve him, though her deepest desires did? Now, Lily has it all—love, passion, a family, and the career of her dreams—with Christopher. But something is lacking. She and Donovan have spent the last ten years living apart, and the soul mates are eager to reunite. Can Donovan keep his promise to give Lily all she desires, even with Christopher in the way?

For Lily and Donovan, the past is a mirror to the future that cannot be shattered.

Donovan is convinced Lily has been his love for all eternity. Determined to unravel the past, they embark on a journey to discover where it all began. For centuries Donovan has stolen Lily’s heart while forced to suffer for his love. How much can a soul endure before the breaking point is reached and a monster emerges? Can the demons of the past be combated to pave the way for happiness in the next life? Or has the abuse suffered in this life already turned Donovan hell bound? Time and again, one woman has destroyed their happiness. It’s time to silence her once and for all.

Off Limits by Astra Rose (step father x step daughter)

Have you ever wanted something you just couldn’t have?

When her mother abandons her, Danica Holland doesn’t want to reach out to her ex-stepfather for help–even though he’s always been the one and only parent she could rely on. But when Social Services intervenes on her behalf, he rushes in with open arms…and broad shoulders, strong hands, and that cleft in his chin that drives women wild.

For Danica, life with Jean-Luc Rochat was always safe and secure. But after a year apart and a lot of growing up, things don’t feel so straightforward anymore. For example: Jean-Luc was always loving and protective, but was he also always…this hot?

While Jean-Luc struggles to resist his inappropriate fixation on his stepdaughter and be the parent she needs, Danica realizes that she can’t settle for anything less than the one man she truly loves–even if he is the one man she can never have.

PIKE: St. Charles Hockey Volume 1 by A. Briar (twincest)

PIKEDevil Incarnate. My fraternal twin brother is back in town and he is hellbent on making my life literal hell.

RHYSDaddy’s Princess. My fraternal twin sister. She’s never lived a day in hell, but I’m here to change that and I’ll be holding her hand as we walk through the fiery gates.

[swallowtail-ageha]

Hey what about

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

16. Deepest darkest secret they won’t even admit to themselves (i know it’s gonna be oblivious maybe)

49. Favorite toy as a child

For Maria, Gehrman and Laurence

Ask from this post

Maria

2- Ok, i might have complained about it with infinity but she is not a good person!!! She is not heroic!!! And thats what makes her compelling!

Reducing her to simply heroic lady who is sad (and for what exactly since people just tend to remove her share of blame in both the hamlet and the research hall 🤔🤔) is a huge disservice to her character (albeit this is an opinion i see more on reddit and barely see on tumblr anymore since people who think like that are either blocked by me or have me blocked lol)

16- That part of her actually enjoyed taking part in bloodshed! I assume she was very brutal, both as a knight and as an hunter, but didnt think much of it or tried to rationalize it until. Well. Yknow.

49- Waaah i actually think that she was super into those porcellain dolls. She was a very lonely and isolated kid, and she projected that need of company and warmth onto them. This is also a thing that makes the plain doll situation of her even more ironic

Gehrman

2- He didnt want to fuck the doll guys. Guys i swear it isnt that funny of a joke guys. Guys the doll doesnt bleed cum please guys learn to make jokes that dont involve sex guys

16- Ok actually his feelings for maria because i think he felt both paternal instincts towards her but also he wanted to fuck her and like knew it was wrong because it was his several years younger pupil and never actually acted upon it and genuinely respected her as a person but also. It Was There and him dressing the Doll in childlike clothes were also partially a way to distance himself from those feelings and lean more on the paternal aspect of the thing

49- i actually think he was too poor to have any real toys growing up so he'd make up for it by using quite literally anything as a toy with the power of ~imagination

Laurence

2- Hmmm... that he did found the healing church and was alive to rule it. There is a theory that is taking foothold that the church started after his death but. Eh. Him being the leader makes it a story 10 times more compelling (and also him being dead before the start of the church would make a giant timeline headache regarding the research hall)

16- Heheheh that he knows he is miserable and has been slowly pushing away from himself everyone else, and that anyone who personally knew him long enough doesn't really like him as a person anymore

49- if i have to be honest i have no fucking idea lmfao. Always struck me more as that weird victorian child who spoke in riddles and foresaw his death instead of playing

[millenniumdueled]

Wish of Final Effort: part 2

The Other Yugi doesn't let himself look away.

He makes himself watch as the mirror knight forms of his Partner and his best friend are cut down by their legendary counterparts. His eyes meet the hollow, empty stare of the mirrored Yugi.

And he swears he sees his Partner smile, before his form disintegrates in a pixelated cloud of glitter under the knight's sword. As the cards in his hand shake, a single tear slips down his cheek, drips off his chin, onto the Millennium Puzzle that hangs heavy around his neck.

But the Pharaoh rights himself. He grabs the chain of the Puzzle in his free hand and takes a deep breath. As Timaeus and Hermos return to his side, he narrows his eyes on his opponent and the immortal serpent

and ends his turn.

Dartz laughs again. Quiet at first, but slowly growing into a maniacal cachinnation.

"Is that it?" he asks. "You waited 10,000 years to delay your death by one turn?" He narrows his heterochromatic eyes at the Other Yugi with a venomous glare. It costs him 10 cards to order Geh to attack, but the sacrifice is nothing to Dartz.

This is the last turn, after all.

He orders the divine serpent Geh to attack, targeting the knight Timaeus.

But Critias looks over his shoulder, his familiar, intense stare boring into the Other Yugi's eyes. The Pharaoh nods, and the knight raises his sword.

The serpent lunges at its prey.

The Duelists are blinded by two flashes of dazzling white light in quick succession. The first, as a beam shoots from the knight's raised blade. It expands in an instant, taking form in a wide, arced wall of glittering light.

The second as the serpent Geh crashes into it.

It sounds as if a bomb goes off. The powerful shockwave ripples through the temple, knocking both Duelists off their feet and causing the ancient stone walls to shake and crack. As the dust clears, both Dartz and the Other Yugi push themselves to their knees to assesss the outcome.

The three legendary knights stand, tall, strong, and unharmed. The only sign left of the divine serpent Geh, with all its infinite attack points, is a glowing, teal hole in the fabric of reality itself.

For a moment, time stands still, and neither Duelists dares to breathe.

"How..." Dartz gawks.

"The only thing that can destroy infinity, is itself. Your serpent hit a wall and ate its own tail," Critias explains flatly.

"Critias's effect lets him use the power of one trap in my graveyard, and I chose Mirror Force," the Other Yugi explains. "And since you bet all of your Lifepoints on that snake... You lose, Dartz."

Dartz takes a step back as sweat drips down his back. He stares into the glowing rift with wide eyes. "You don't understand--!" he gasps, somewhere between exasperation and frustration. "It's too late! My god only needed one more powerful soul. The Leviathan will still--!!"

It happens in just a blink of an eye.

Dartz is cut off mid sentence as a massive serpent, far bigger than the divine Geh, strikes from the rift in reality. Its mighty jaws close around its loyal servant, and the beast disappears.

The Other Yugi holds his breath. And the seconds tick by.

Finally, the guards relax their stances, first Timaeus, then Hermos and Critias. As they turn to the Pharaoh, he can finally let himself breathe.

"Is it over...?" he asks the knights.

As if on cue, the ocean floor trembles far below the island temple, nearly knocking him off his feet once again. He catches himself, looks up just to see Timaeus shake his head.

"I'm afraid not.... Dartz is defeated, but the Leviathan still rises," the knight explains. "And we can no longer help you from here on. However..."

He looks to the compatriots at his sides, and they both nod. All three lift a hand toward the rift, and in unison, they order the souls of the Chosen Duelists to return to this world.

The Other Yugi's eyes go wide.

Are they really--

He watches in wonder as three golden orbs float from the rift. They seem to struggle at first, as if being pulled back by the teal light that radiates beyond reality, but once free, they drift and bob like bubbles on the wind. One floats past him to sink into Seto Kaiba's chest, another rises and dances its way into a wall that it easily passes through.

The third slowly bobs over to the Other Yugi, where it comes to rest in his hands. It's an odd sensation, holding a soul in his hands. Weightless, without any tangible surface, and yet a definite form in his palms. The golden light it emanates is soft and comforting, warm and familiar.

Like holding sunlight.

The Pharaoh takes a deep, deep breath, failing to hold back his tears as he brings his arms around the light, hugging it into his chest with a smile.

"Welcome home, Partner."

[themculibrary]

Avengers Reacting To Their Movies Masterlist

A Beautiful Journey (fanfiction.net) - Aragorn II Elessar T, 566k

Summary: Watch-it fic. In 2035, members of the Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four bring forth the Avengers, Scott Lang, Hope van Dyne, T'Challa, Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Pepper Potts, Aunt May and Loki from the past to watch the first three phases of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

All the Days of our Lives, Phase 1 (ao3) - ElrondsScribe pepper/tony, jane/thor, clint/laura, ian/darcy, wanda/vision, sharon/steve, bucky/natasha N/R, 41k

Summary: An Avengers-watch-their-own-movies fanfiction. I know it's been done before, but I wanted to try it with a more expansive audience. In addition to all the Avengers (both retired and active) you'll find Nick Fury, Maria Hill, Laura Barton, Betty Ross, Helen Cho, Jane Foster, Darcy Lewis, and even Ian Boothby.

Post Captain America: Civil War. AU, obviously. All ships in the tags. Please do enjoy! Warning: there will be a bit of language.

First up: Captain America: The First Avenger

Assemble (ao3) - Stand_with_Ward_and_Queen T, 201k

Summary: Ten years after Thanos’ defeat, Clint Barton, with help from Stephen Strange and a SHIELD agent named Leopold Fitz, brings the Avengers, plus Peter Parker, Scott Lang, and T'Challa, from a few months prior to The Avengers Civil War to show them the future so they don’t repeat the same mistakes.

Avengers Watch Ant-Man and The Wasp Quantumania Trailer (ao3) - SpiderWidowFam88 scott/hope, hank/janet, pepper/tony, mj/peter T, 5k

Summary: [Part 2 of Avengers Watch Stuff]

After Watching the events of No Way Home, the Avengers have some time to cool off and have a chat before their host plays another assortment of clips of their future.

This time, it's about the rise of a new villain and the adventures of the lovely Scott Lang.

Avengers watch Captain Marvel (fanfiction.net) - Roxas Itsuka T, 30k

Summary: Called forth by an unknown being. The Avengers are made watch a movie about a hero who came not long before them. Fury and Goose present also. No pairing.

Avengers Watch Spider-Man No Way Home (ao3) - SpiderWidowFam88 mj/peter, pepper.tony T, 71k

Summary: The movie left me feeling so heartbroken for our favorite spider kid so this is how I'm dealing with it.

Expect everyone being protective of Peter and desperately wishing they could be there to kill all of his problems.

Cough* cough* Natasha...

It's exactly what the title says.

They watch Spider-Man No Way Home

bro (ao3) - hunkahulkaaburningfudge G, 64k

Summary: The Avengers watch their future.

A Hawkeye watch-it fic.

bus boy (ao3) - hunkahulkaburningfudge clea/stephen, kate/america G, 40k

Summary: The Avengers watch their future.

A Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings watch-it fic.

Film Reels (fanfiction.net) - Little-miss-laughs-alot G, 19k

Summary: A stack of film reels sent to the Avenger Mansion will be intriguing for some, but for one, it will be difficult. Reliving Steve's past- before and after Captain America came to be, they get to know exactly who the kid from Brooklyn really is. Now Complete!

pizza balls (ao3) - hunkahulkaaburningfudge wanda/vision, kate/america, clea/stephen G, 58k

Summary: The Avengers watch their future.

A Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness watch-it fic.

Rewriting The Way This Story Ends [IM1] (ao3) - bookaholic4ever G, 49k

Summary: An Avengers watch the MCU fic. Will be Tony Stark centric. The OG 6 and Bucky, Sam, Wanda, Vision and Rhodey are also included. Can the Avengers watch and learn from their mistakes to protect their earth and in turn the universe from a madman? Read to find out. Set after Civil War and Homecoming but before Infinity War.

In this installment they are watching Iron Man.

stupid pigeon (ao3) - hunkahulkaaburningfudge layla el-faouly/marc G, 67k

Summary: The Avengers watch their future.

A Moon Knight watch-it fic.

The story behind the man: Iron Man 1 (ao3) - Anothershadow24 bruce/tony T, 34k

Summary: A year after the so called 'Civil War', the six original avengers, plus Sam, Wanda, Vision, Fury and Hill, get locked up on a room to watch a stack of films about one Tony Stark.

Watching- Iron Man 1 (ao3) - Schayisgay pepper/tony T, 28k

Summary: Up First- Iron Man 1.

The Avengers and Co watch their resident Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist as he becomes Iron Man.

Watch my life, feel my pain (Do I deserve it?) (ao3) - Wise_writer_girl wanda/vision, steve/natasha, sam/bucky, bruce/thor, pepper/tony T, 175k (WIP)

Summary: The Avengers wake up in a theater, the Theatre of Judgement, all from different times in the MCU storylines. The Judgement Spirit, Justice, is forcing them to watch WandaVision clips. If Wanda has suffered enough, Justice will bring Vision, Tommy and Billy back to life. But things don't seem so black and white when the loved ones of the other heroes are brought in as well. A deal must be made: the reveal of the darkest, most embarrassing and most painful moments of their stories in exchange for just a moment longer with someone they've loved and lost. Can the Earth's Mightiest Heroes cope with their best-kept secrets being exposed?

For the sake of those they love, they're going to have to.