#fractured magic

[emrowene]

Free to read now: FRACTURED MAGIC

A penny dreadful for the modern reader! A thrilling tale for the masses! Read all about a corrupted hero's hunt for redemption and an elven lordlings' quest to rescue his kidnapped King. The two estranged best friends are racing against time -- and long-lost gods -- to achieve their goals. Will they make up and work together before it's too late?

Fractured Magic is a queer fantasy webserial. New chapters are published on substack and at emrowene.com every monday.

[emrowene]

my main story is fractured magic, a gothic fantasy webserial! the official blurb:

To Leandros Nochdvor, Egil was the greatest hero the world had ever known. It had nothing to do with the man's accomplishments, numerous though they were. It had nothing to do with the past Egil overcame or even the lives he saved. It was simply this: he taught Leandros how to live. And then he taught Leandros how to love. And then Leandros lost him. Years later, when Leandros' uncle is kidnapped by a strange woman with stranger powers, Leandros must confront his grief and ask himself: what would Egil do? So Leandros gathers allies, each with their own pasts and secrets, and sets off to save his uncle the kind. On the journey, he faces old gods, forgotten magics, and bitter betrayals, but the foe he crosses at the end of it all makes the rest seem small: Egil, back from the dead. How could Leandros hope to win, facing the famous Egil? How could he want to, facing the man he once loved? And if this righteous hero saw the need to bar Leandros' way, then which of them is right

Let’s get to know your main story! Tell us a little bit about it!

[fanofspooky]

Scream King - Anthony Hopkins

[heartsswirls]

it all started w oreos 💕

[mtg-cards-hourly]

Fracture

"Your defiance is amusing, little mage. It's time you learn how fragile you really are." —Extus Narr

Artist: Miranda Meeks TCG Player Link Scryfall Link EDHREC Link

[cloaksandcapes]

This is a great item to use as a GM\DM for a new plot arc, or add a bit of chaos into a game where players are feel comfortable.

Have a beloved NPC pick this up and split into a Chaotic Good and Lawful Evil versions of themselves. The Chaotic Good NPC is the one causing the MOST trouble and needs to be tracked down. The Lawful Evil NPC actually wants to work with and help the group...but their methods are questionable.

They should also be planning ways to get rid of their good counterpart at the height of the arc as they don't want to be joined back together. Either way have fun and let me know if you use it an how it goes! :)

Anima Fracture

Wondrous Item, legendary

“A  black large shard of unknown origins. When you stare into the glossy surface, the reflection staring back at you seems to be of a different mind. It’s believed to come from a larger source of the same material.”

When a creature makes physical contact with this magic item, they must make a DC 20 Charisma or Wisdom saving throw (whichever is lower). On a successful save, nothing happens and they are immune to the effects of the item for 24 hours. On a failed saving throw the being is magically split into two identical beings with the same memories and magic items. Neither is a clone or a copy, they are both the same creature with one distinct difference. One of them has an alignment of Lawful or Chaotic Good and the other the opposite alignment.

The two still share the same goals and motivations they had before the split, but those same tenants may now be warped by the shift in alignment. If both halves make physical contact with this magic item at the same time, they must make a DC 20 Charisma or Wisdom saving throw  (whichever is lower) at disadvantage, if both fail they are rejoined into one being, and retain memories from both. If one or both succeed, nothing happens.

Join us on Twitch every Mon\Wed\Fri to create new Homebrews and check out our Patreon for 482+ magic items, tokens, maps, and more.

[cherryiious]

what if I just dropped sailor toolshed without any context- ( @thegiftedau )

[imtrashraccoon]

Fractured souls? 👀

This is one of my favourite wips I've ever written! I've teased it a few times on my blog but I want to finish another fic before I post it. I got 13 chapters pretty much done!

It's an Underfell fic that takes place in the early 2000's post-Pacifist route where most monsters are way taller than humans. There's political unrest and government corruption aplenty but the focus of the story is on Found Family and overcoming trauma.

There's gonna be a love triangle and soul shenanigans like rescuing a certain character stuck in the void. Also, a new magic system that I haven't used before. Yeah, all very exciting!

[emrowene]

The finished piece! The Oracle of Damael from Fractured Magic.

[nellasbookplanet]

Book recs: many worlds, alternate timelines edition

I've previously written a rec post on the portal fantasy genre, so let's now take a look at a very similar trope: that of parallel universes and alternate timelines!

Unlike portal fantasies, these books are usually scifi, relying on the theory of the multiverse, however there are exceptions (a common one being that of a 'sliding scale', where worlds move from scifi to fantasy the further you go).

Also, surprisingly many of these books have queer themes and characters!

Previous book rec posts:

Really cool fantasy worldbuilding, really cool sci-fi worldbuilding, dark sapphic romances, mermaid books, vampire books, portal fantasies, robots and artificial intelligences, post- and transhumanism

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with an * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

Sci-fi in the multiverse

Fractured Infinity by Nathan Tavares

Hayes Figueiredo is a struggling film-maker who wants to finish his documentary, who's life gets turned upside down when he meets the handsome physicist Yusuf Hassan enters his life, claiming an alternate version of him is a great inventor who's sent a mysterious device to their universe. As Hayes gets drawn deeper into the conspiracy - and his feelings for Yusuf intensify - he has to decide just how far he's prepared to go to win the life and the love he wants. Featuring a very gay and very morally dubious lead, this is a creative and strange read.

The Space Between Worlds (The Space Between Worlds series) by Micaiah Johnson

Multiverse travel is finally possible, but there’s just one catch: No one can visit a world where their counterpart is still alive. Enter Cara, whose parallel selves happen to be exceptionally good at dying. As such she has a very special job in traveling to these worlds, hoping to keep her position long enough to gain citizenship in the walled off Wiley City, away from the wastes where she grew up. But her job is dangerous, especially when she gets on the tracks of a secret that threatens the entire multiverse. Really cool worldbuilding and characters, also featuring a sapphic lead!

Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi

More of a space opera than a typical multiverse story, Ascension follows Alana Quick, an expert Sky Surgeon who stows away on a spaceship in hopes of landing herself a job. But the ship and its crew are in deeper waters than she expected, facing threats emerging from a whole other universe, all of them searching for the same person: Alana's spiritually enlightened sister. Undeniably a bit of an odd read, Ascension is also very creative and features polyamorous lesbian relationship.

Finna (LitenVerse series) by Nino Cipri

Novella. Working as a minimum wage employee at a big box furniture store already sucks, but it gets exponentially worse for Ava when a customer gets sucked into a wormhole and she gets sent to retrieve her from the mazes of the multiverse. To make matters worse? She has to work with her ex. A fun, quick and creative read as well as a scathing critique of capitalism, also featuring a major nonbinary character in Ava's ex and colleague.

The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi

In an example of extremely differing timelines, The Kajiu Preservation Society features an alternate Earth that's home to giant kajius who feed on radiation. During the height of the pandemic, Jamie is suddenly in the need of a new job. Rescue comes in the form of an old acquaintance who works for a secretive animal rights organisation and invites Jamie along. This one is lighthearted and a bit gimmicky, but also a fun and quick read.

The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky*

In yet another example of very different timelines, The Doors of Eden is something of an experiment in speculative biology, featuring versions of Earth in which various different species were the one to rise to sentience, from dinosaurs to neanderthals. Now, something is threatening the existence of all timelines, dragging multiple different people into the struggle, among those a pair of cryptid hunting girlfriends and a transgender scientist.

The Long Earth (The Long Earth series) by Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter

When a device consisting simply of some wiring, a three-way switch and a potato makes it possible for anyone who wants to travel the multiverse, humanity is changed forever. But despite their great similarities, these worlds also have great differences from our Earth - such as a strange lack of humans. Joshua, one of few people able to cross the multiverse without the help of the potato-device, sets out to explore these seemingly endless worlds.

Hominids (Neanderthal Parallax trilogy) by Robert J. Sawyer

On a parallel Earth, neanderthals have developed a radically different society from ours. Ponter, one of these neanderthals and a physicist, gets accidentally transported to a research facility in our world, where he's faced with the great cultural differences between human and neanderthal society. Meanwhile, back in his home world, his housemate Adikor is charged with his murder.

Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey*

Thora and Santi are strangers, brought together by a coincidence and torn apart just as abruptly when tragedy strikes. But this is neither the first nor the last time they meet - again and again they encounter each other, as friends, lovers, enemies, family, every time recognizing in each other a familiarity no one else carries. But with every new life, a mysterious danger grows ever closer, forcing them to find out the truth of their connection. Calling this a multiverse story isn't entirely correct, but it also isn't entirely incorrect, and saying more would be an immediate spoiler. It's a puzzle-box of a story that goes some entirely unexpected places in a very wild ride, featuring a bisexual co-lead.

Magic in the multiverse

The Invisible Library (The Invisible Library series) by Genevieve Cogman

Irene works as a spy for the mysterious Library, which collects fiction from different realities. She's sent to an alternate London rife with magic and chaos to retrieve a dangerous book, but by the time she arrives it has already been stolen. Alongside her assistant Kai, she races to find the book before it's too late.

Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore*

Young Adult. Jane is invited by an old acquaintance to an extravagant gala in an island mansion, stranding her among the rich and glamorous. But being surrounded by rich people is the least of Jane's problems: the mansion is housing secrets, some of them tied to Jane's own family. The mansion offers her five choices, all of them leading her down different paths and different answers. Jane, Unlimited is a choose-your-own adventure story of sorts, featuring five different endings in five different genres, each more off the wall bonkers than the next. It also features a bisexual main character!

A Darker Shade of Magic (Shades of Magic trilogy) by V.E. Schwab

Kell is an antari - one of the only people able to travel between parallel Londons; Red, Grey, White, and, once upon a time, Black. Kell's London is a place of magic, where he works as an ambassador traveling between the worlds. He's also a smuggler, secretly and illegally bringing objects between the worlds. His hobby brings him into hot water when an exchange goes wrong, and lands him face to face with the cut-purse Delilah, who's prepared to do just about anything to step from her Grey London to one of magic and adventure.

Fucked up parent-child relationships in the multiverse

The Possibilities by Yael Goldstein-Love

Ever since her son Jack nearly died at birth eight months ago, Hannah has had the niggling feeling that something is wrong. When Jack is mysteriously snatched away, Hannah's fears are proven true; now she must employ a strange and newly awakened ability to cross between parallel worlds to save him. On the lighter end of the scifi spectrum, The Possibilities explores the fears and anxieties of motherhood through the spectrum of the multiverse.

Midnight Robber by Nalo Hopkinson*

Utterly unique in worldbuilding, story, and prose, Midnight Robber follows young Tan-Tan and her father, inhabitants of the Carribean-colonized planet of Toussaint. When her father commits a terrible crime, he's exiled to a parallel version of the same planet, home to strange aliens and other human exiles. Tan-Tan, not wanting to lose her father, follows with him. Trapped on this new planet, he becomes her worst nightmare. Enter this book with caution, as it contains graphic child sexual abuse.

Bridge by Lauren Beukes

When she was little, Bridge and her mother Jo used to play a game - one where they traveled to other worlds, inhabiting the bodies of their other selves. Now Jo is dead, and as Bridge is cleaning out her apartment she finds a strange device: a dreamworm, the very thing that supposedly makes inter-dimensional travel possible. Suddenly faced with the possibility that multiverse travel is real, Bridge is struck by a different question: could her mother still be alive? Scifi spiced with a healthy dose of body horror and some absolutely wild twists, Bridge also features a bisexual lead (however this is a blink and you'll miss it moment) and a nonbinary co-narrator.

Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool

Infinity Gate by M.R. Carey

An AI threatens millions of alternate versions of Earth, and a political and trading alliance binding them all together is prepared to stop it no matter the cost to human life.

Ida by Alison Evans

Young Adult. Ida struggles more than most young girls with finding her path, as she has the ability to shift between parallel worlds, allowing her to see many different possibilities

The Art of Saving the World by Corinne Duyvis

Young Adult. A dimensional rift has opened in Hazel's backyard, and is strangely tied to her presence, growing volatile if she travels too far away and forcing her to stay in her home town. That is, until not one but three other Hazels falls through the rift into her world.

Honorary mentions AKA these didn't really work for me but maybe you guys will like them: Dark Matter by Blake Crouch, A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray, Interworld by Neil Gaiman & Michael Reaves, The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

[introvertgoat]

hc that throughout the years, jude takes leaves of absences form being high queen to go spend a couple months w vivi heather n oak !!! madoc too ig while he’s still exiled lol. ( vehemently ignoring the stolen heir’s canon sorry not sorry.) family bonding time, far away from the hubbub n chaos of the folk, n also the realization that jude doesn’t mind the mortal world all that much. yes it’s not faerieland, but it’s smth alright n she finds it soothing at times. she’s less unhinged n paranoid compared to when she was younger n the ptsd from her past has decreased in its intensity thanks to heather-mandated therapy ( heather only had to hear a couple times abt the duarte sisters’ fucked up childhood for her to plead jude to go to therapy—vivi alrdy has— n jude relented after 5 yrs of honest-to-god begging. big slay heather our mental health queen 🫂) and so that’s why she can even leave faerieland in someone else’s hands. these visits aren’t too frequent but they r long in their duration. 3-4 months tops. sometimes cardan comes along bcs the bed feels empty w/o jude n— Okay he’s js lonely w/o his wife. sue him. some poor hapless councilor advisor is forced to be in charge in their place (they send letters weekly. ‘please your majesties, when will you be returning home ?’ #urgent LOL) one day jude (age:37) notices grey hairs appearing on her head n she sort of freaks out. not in an entirely vain way either. more like:. oh fuck aren’t i supposed to not age as long as im in faeirieland ?? 3 long discussions later w cardan n the royal folk-human specialist, the conclusion that is reached is that bcs of jude’s visits to the mortal word, as infrequent as they r, theyve seemed to affect the way her body ages. or more aptly put, doesn’t age lol. jude gets some grey hair n lines on her face while still technically NOT aging. n she feels less panicky abt it bcs hey she’s not aging. sort of. meanwhile, cardan finds himself deeply enamored w jude’s grey hair n the subtle creases on her face that multiply slowly. he tells jude js so n she’s like i am not susceptible to flattery cardan greenbriar. hes Serious abt it tho n tells her that he isn’t saying that bcs it’ll make her feel better or wtv but bcs her aging evidently is actually beautiful to him. cue jude sour pursed lips for a bit as she gets these days when it comes to cardan being unbearably earnest towards her but she feels less weird abt the hair n lines so :)

anyways this was a long-winded niche asf hc that appeals to exactly only 2 ppl on this site n im not even confident in THAT estimate lol

[ryssbelle]

Finishing up the magical wars with @hazethestrange wars Era's, @spacebagel54 Captain no balls, and mine!! Who goes by Evan.

And ye if you've seen the last post you'll notice Kio's wars is here, I merged the layers for formatting reasons so he's here now just chilling, don't mind him.

[hi-kyle]

Its been like several months but i have more drawings

A lot of these r from au roleplays and just my own au designs n shit

They'll be labeled each in image descriptions btw

[kuchipark]

MY FRIEND JUST GAVE ME €3 SO I CAN BUY THE FROM DUSK TILL CASA BONITA DLC!!!!!!! LIFE IS GOOD!!!!!

[rhyme-thinks-stuff]

Fractured Life: A Life Series Crossover AU

(I've had this post in my drafts for almost a month now, hopefully it makes sense! i put a lot of work into it)

An AU where I put characters from my various different fandom interests into a Life Series game and shake them about >:]

Features characters from Homestuck, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Legend of Zelda Tears of The Kingdom, Hollow Knight, and all the regular Life Series members, with a total of 44 players. I might add more if I feel like it, Hades and ATLA are especially tempting me, but then that might me too many characters.

This AU is mainly just a concept/outline for now, a little sandbox I can think about and play around in. It's ment to be self indulgent and fun. I've made a whole lot of notes and a few bits of drabbles and oneshots, a bit of art, and a Minecraft World!

Below is an explanation of the rules of the game, a complete list of characters, art I've made, screenshots of the Minecraft world, and some extra ramblings about it.

RULES

Fractured Life has the same basic rules of any Life Series, with some bits of added worldbuilding for the story. This season's gimmick is that it's a mix of every other season, both in the rules of the game and the world itself.

Backround Setting

Players don't choose to be in the games.

Players are sent signs a couple weeks before a game starts, generally in dreams.

Players have all their memories intact when they start their first game but they may grow foggy over time.

When a player loses their last life, they're made a spectator ghost until the end of the game.

Ghosts cannot talk to living players (most of the time) but can talk to each other.

All players are sent home at the end of the games.

Basics

Limited amount of lives

Lose enough lives and you turn red, and hostile

You're out when you lose your last life

You can give another player one of your lives

Each session some of the players will be boogeymen, and will have to kill another player or be sent straight to red

Each player has a “Path” that gives them additional mechanics they have to use to play the game

Each session is 72 hours long, with 24 hours off time in between 

During the break players aren't allowed to kill each other, and timers are paused

Each character is assigned a “Path” which determines which past game’s mechanics they use. Last Life mechanics are spread across each, most players use mechanics from Double, Limited, or Secret Life in addition to this. Winners get the same mechanics they had in the game they won.

Limited

Each Limited player has 864 hours to live (1 canon hr = 36 AU hours)

Normal deaths take off 36 hours

Boogey deaths take off 72 hours

Normal kills give 18 hours

Bogey kills give 36 hours

576+ hours = green

576-288 hours = yellow

under 288 = red

36 hours = 1 life (for trades)

Limited yellow lives can kill green lives of any path

Double

Double players each have a soulmate, with whom health and lives are shared

Boogey consequences are shared but only one player has the curse

A Double player doesn't need permission from their soulbound to trade lives away

Secret

30 hearts as usual

trading lives doesn't change heart amount

regular rewards and penalties

Secret Keeper is in a more hidden location

Red lives are given 1 task to harm someone each session and gain 10 hearts from completing it

Reds may attack players outside of their task, and get hearts from kills

3rd

starts with 3 lives, cannot interact with any extra mechanics

CHARACTER LIST

There's 44 players total in Fractured Life! The total cast of the Life Series is 18 people, it's a bit more than doubled because I couldn't bring myself to cut anyone, and I might add more if the whim takes me. I'm probably not going to come up with full stories for each and every one of them, but I want them here in my sandbox anyways.

Life Series OGs

Grian

Scott

Pearl

Martyn

Scar

Gem

Jimmy

Mumbo

Lizzie

Cleo

Etho

Bdubs

Joel

Rendog

BigB

Tango

Skizz

Impulse

MLP

Twilight

Pinkie Pie

Rarity

Apple Jack

Rainbow Dash

Fluttershy 

TOTK

Link

Zelda

Hollow Knight

Hornet

Quirrel

Hollow

Ghost 

Homestuck 

John

Rose

Dave

Jade

Roxy

Jane

Jake

Dirk

Karkat

Vriska

Kanaya

Terezi 

Nepeta

Feferi

ART

Terezi pushing Quirrel off a cliff because what i even the point of making a crossover AU set in a death game without making characters you like push each other off cliffs. I came up with this idea by choosing two characters at random to write a drabble of an interaction between them, and said interaction ended up being an attempted boogey kill. Quirrel has a sunhat because it'd help keep the sun out of his eyes while he explores, Rarity made it for him!

Another random pairing! Zelda and Applejack's bases are fairly close together, and I think they'd get along pretty well! Zelda has diplomacy skills and AJ has friendship skills. Here Applejack is giving Zelda bread, in the early game before everyone gets stable food sources.

My twin suggested that Fluttershy and Mumbo be soulbound together because it'd be funny. So here they are being disasters together :D

Zelda and Hornet are two of my favorite video game characters ever, the thought of pairing them popped into my head and wouldn't leave so here we are <3

Hornet and Link are soulbound. They agree to team for practical reasons, and then Hornet slowly finds herself caring for both them and Zelda. Meanwhile Zelda is a Limited Player, which means she has a timer ticking down instead of lives. Link and Hornet try to keep her alive for as long as possible.

Bases from this post vvv

I love my silly crossover crackship throuple <33 I think Link and Zelda are in a QPP, Zelda is bi and polyamorous and Link is demiromantic and acespec. Hornet hasn't had much chance to be in a relationship like this before, she's still figuring herself out.

MINECRAFT WORLD SCREENSHOTS

Parts of builds from past games are scattered throughout the new map. I did the replicated bases in creative, and the original ones in survival!

Scar's base was torn out of the ground and put up in the sky which he's a little bit annoyed about since he didn't even move out of it. I spent way too much time on trying to get the path blocks here exactly correct!

I built Pearl's tower first, it was very fun! I had difficulty finding reference for the roof but a Scott thumbnail came through for me.

The Scottage, it's at the edge of a town. This one's pretty unfinished

Desetduo home. It's a bit torn up, not exactly in the same way as in canon though. I think the older builds are somewhat built on memory, rather than being the exact same places just moved to this map.

Original builds time! Here's a bridge I built.

This is where Zelda, Link, and some amount of the HK bugs live. It's dimmed so the bugs have a place to hide from the sun, but still spawnproof.

Aplejack's farm area! I just like making big wheat fields. And I think AJ'd want to make sure no one starves to death, even if they are in a death game.

Side note, I wanted to add more images but hit the limit D:

Bonus ramblings!

If you got this far then thank you, that's very cool!! PLEASE ask me any questions you have I'd be happy to answer them, and feel free to suggest ideas for character interactions and things like that :D

I've been working on this AU in bits and pieces since January.

Planning this AU is what made me finally get around to reading the last half of Homestuck.

It's also a large part of the reason I'm currently rewatching MLP:FIM

I haven't been able to watch anything since this without considering adding the characters to the AU. 

Revolutionary Girl Utena, Delicious in Dungeon, and Avatar TLA have all tempted me with this, however I have 44 characters already I really shouldn't. 

I've also briefly considered adding Genshin and She-Ra characters to this AU but I just don't have much the fixation on either of those right now.

Also considering Hades characters that would be so fun. Hmm. but again 44 characters. I'd have to expand the world border.

I've ended up shipping Zelda TOTK and Hornet HK because of this AU. My idea is that Link and Hornet are soulbound together and Zelda is Limited. Hornet sticks with them for practical reasons at first but ends up bonding with both of them and she and Link try to protect Zelda and keep her in the game as long as they can. 

I think this is a post canon AU for the Homestucks, they're probably in their early twenties. I was originally going to have them still be kids because there's something very funny to me about the idea of the other characters being concerned about the teenagers in this death game only to find out they're all very used to death and carnage, but I decided I'd rather they be a bit closer to the other characters so things are a bit better balanced. 

Also all the trolls survived because I wanted Nepeta and Feferi here. I don't think I'm going to include the other six, because again the cast is large enough, but I might change that later if I get more invested in them all. And then I'd probably also add Calliope because I like her and I might as well! 

The ponies are somewhat humanized, but still have their pony ears, coat colors, tails, hooves, and horns/wings. None of them can fly or do magic.

I've done most of the work on this before Real Life came out, I'm not sure yet if I'll find some way to work it in or just say it happens afterwards.

it took me a couple hours to write this post.

I have 37 separate documents for this au in a folder, including it one I used to write this post in.

I have 15,000 words worth of notes and planning

in addition to notes I have ~6000 words worth of drabbles and one shots, and bits of a possible first chapter from Twilight's POV

this post is ~1500 words long and I think I spent over 6 hours putting it together somehow!

[weareallfallengods]

What are some low-level spells from any universe, game, magic system, etc. that could be used to devastating effect when a little Tactical Creativity is applied?

For example, using Create Water (fills a container with up to 5 gallons of water) on someone's lungs, causing them to drown, or heating up a teakettle to boiling in just a few seconds, but do that to someone's skull (it's a closed container really, so cooked brain + steam = BOOM!), or Heat Metal to cook a knight in full armor?

I'm writing a character that I want to be the embodiment of Tactical Creativity, and I'd like more than just a couple options.