#inversed doppelgängers

[yasminhananis]

Paul Atreides & Feyd Rautha in Dune: Part Two // Dune by Frank Hubert, Chapter 48

[10thmusemoon]

You know how fics will have SY/SJ show up and be like “yeah that’s my bro, we were separated as children [aggressive eye contact at YQY]” with the full expectation that he’ll play along

Can you imagine the inverse happening though?

Idk maybe SY transmigrates into Xuan Su or something and cultivates a form to Advance the Plot. Suddenly a YQY clone shows up, wearing the same kindly face but dripping with sarcasm, claiming they’re brothers?

Shen Jiu would nearly Qi deviate at the first “ge” from Shen yuan’s mouth. He would be stalking Qiong ding peak to try to uncover whatever scheme this is before yqy is taken advantage of. LBH avoids his fate simplicity because SQQ is too busy stewing in jealousy, fury, and self loathing at the audacity of being replaced by some doppelgänger.

(There’s the secret fourth emotion at suddenly seeing two YQY’s who are just so comfortable with physical touch…)

It wouldn’t take long for SQQ to try to corner yqy to bully the truth out of him, only for SY to intercept at every step because he’s all too aware of YQY’s weak spot for this man. Meanwhile airplane is having a heart attack because WHOMST THE FUCK is that?? He didn’t authorize this Mary Stu shit?!! (When he discovers its peerlesscucumber he 100% thinks they’ve transmigrated into his self insert fic of pidw)

No one is having a good time except maybe LQG who suddenly has a new free shixiong to sniff around.

[wulfhalls]

denis saying the paulfeyd fight was approached like an intimate symbolic union… his ass will not be shying away from quasi-incestious paulalia vibes 🫡

let's gooooo off putting insane finish each others sentences knowing the others thoughts before they even say it psychic soul connection two sides of the same coin mirror images twin flames gothic doppelgänger inverse pictures of each other completing themselves thru the other spousesiblings co ruling their empire feel sooooo sick about them actually

[fantasyinvader]

Today, I had a revelation.

In Kamen Rider Ryuki, there's a rider who looks like Batman. Ren aka Kamen Rider Knight. Even has a bat-theme going on, as he's partnered with a bat monster. Ren is involved with the Rider War, a (rigged) battle royale where they last remaining Rider gets a wish granted. Ren's wish is to save his girlfriend, put into a coma by his bat-monster. But while Ren is angry and abrasive, he also struggles with the idea of actually killing others. He has to defeat an unknown person brainwashed into being the final boss Kamen Rider Odin (only for another Odin to pop up. Again, rigged), but he also grows close to some of the other Riders.

It's an interesting inversion. Batman is famous for his no-kill policy, justifying it that if he begins to kill criminals it'll become easier and easier until all he only stops criminals by killing them. It's a slippery slope argument, why he doesn't want to be judge, jury and executioner, and something to take into consideration with how many stories speculate on Batman's mental health.

But this is what got me, the MC is a rookie journalist (with a respected female sempai) who tries to stop Ren from killing. Shinji Kido just wants everyone to stop fighting each other and instead focus on stopping the monsters from eating unsuspecting civilians. Everyone finds him annoying, but other Riders do grow attached to him. Kamen Rider Raia sacrifices himself to save Shinji after his fortune telling said Shinji would die, and he believed his fortunes were always right. Ren finds himself conflicted on the matter, even tries to cut ties with Shinji.

Ryuki was Toei wanting to show kids what heroism actually was (despite introducing the first evil Riders). And it's answer is being willing to sacrifice yourself for others. Ren puts himself through hell to save his girlfriend. Goro replaces his master as Kamen Rider Zolda so his master can die in peace to his illness. Tiger wanted to be a hero, even sacrificing his mentor who always preached “the needs of the many...,” but is recognized as one when he sacrifices himself to save a child from a traffic accident. Again, Raia died protecting Shinji and Shinji dies protecting a little girl from monsters prior to the final battle. Sacrificing others is not heroic, Shinji taught us that.

Shinji is... the show's Superman. That's what I realized today. The one whose example inspires others. His klutziness isn't an act like it is with Clark, but he'll help out people out of a genuine desire to help. It's how he's introduced after all, getting into a fight with a driver on behalf of someone in an accident. And in his main finisher, he jumps to the skies in a pose right out of the comic books.

In the end, it's Shinji's influence that convinces the female lead Yui, a mirror doppelgänger of the big bad's dead sister, to convince her brother to let his sister go. To not sacrifice the Riders (and the civilians who get killed as collateral) in order to save her, using his powers to prevent the Rider War from ever happening after who-knows-how many timeloops...where Shinji always got involved and messed things up for him.

I hated Ryuki's ending when I first saw it, since it retconned the entire show, but as I got older I appreciated it more and more. Now I love it. I wonder if the Superman parallel was intentional. I mean, it's not like Western Superheroes are unknown over there. Legendary mangaka Osamu Tezuka was the president of a Superman fan club once upon a time, and the guy who drew Speed Racer also made a Superman manga, while Super Sentai borrowed elements from a Spider-man show Toei made in collaboration with Marvel comics. So...maybe? But considering how Superman has been restored to being a hope maker after being so cynical due to Man of Steel and the New 52, it's nice to think that in the early 2000's someone, even in Japan, knew what he was about and served as an inspiration for another hero.

[twdmusicboxmystery]

Social Media Odds and Ends

As always, here are some things that I've either found or have been sent to me in the past week or so.

First, it appears they've pushed the Richonne spinoff back. No idea why. Could be any number of logistical, money- or business-related things.

My Bethyl heart would like to think it's because they're going to make Bethyl the focus for this year. Richonne's will be the focus of next year.

No way to know, of course. That's just me guessing and hoping, but there it is.

Then this.

Yeah, no idea what he's alluding to here, but clearly it's TWD related. So, not really Bethyl, but to me this shows that what we've been saying all along is true. Even the characters not currently slated for a spinoff (such as Zeke, CAROL, Aaron, and others) are still involved in the TWD universe and there are things in the works that the actors clearly know about. So, just kind of interesting.

Norman posted this as well:

I'll just copy and paste the short convo my fellow theorists and I had about it:

@twdmusicboxmystery:

Okay, we all know that Norman is into some weirdo stuff. It wouldn’t surprise me to learn that he’s pals with Ozzy Osbourne, as we already know he’s friends with Marilyn Manson. (Or he may just like Ozzy’s music. And, you know, cool.)

But even so. Isn’t this like the dozenth time in the past month that he’s posted something about either wolves or moons?

Can’t help but think of that scene in Diverged where he’s fixing his bike and hears wolves howling in the distance. 🤔

@wdway:

He does seem to be on the theme of wolf and wolf related things, doesn't he?

@galadrieljones:

Funny you mention Diverged, @twdmusicboxmytery, as I immediately thought of the [howling] caption. I feel like we focus so much on Find Me but Diverged is also a total puzzle. I know we’ve tried to speculate whether it was written before Carol exited the spin-off. I really think it had to be, considering that it’s called “Diverged” and is a man allegory of separation.

It’s also a story about process, and problem solving. A very weird episode. Daryl has to fix his bike, which requires him to solve the problem of his missing knife. Carol is solving multiple problems at Alexandria, and the knife helps her solve those problems. Each character is dealing with an obstacle. Daryl is dealing with a slew of military walkers. Carol is dealing with a rat.

The howling wolf is fully environmental. It must be foreshadowing. It’s almost comical. Any and all wolf imagery refers back to Beth and to Coda, re: Gimple’s “Up the Wolves” and the Hannah Fairlight magazine cover. I really don’t see how they’re gonna have a bunch of wolf and full moon references and NOT expect a scrupulous audience to draw a connection back to Still and Coda. So, yeah.

Oh, and in Diverged, the knife is another callback to Beth, re: the transfer of a knife between Carol and Daryl, but the knife doesn’t belong to either. In Them, the knife is Beth’s. In Diverged, the knife is Leah’s. Leah is a mirror image or inversion of Beth, but at the time, she didn’t look like Beth yet, and we were confused. Now, however, after the “Ponytail,” we know that Leah is meant as a clear Beth proxy/inverted doppelgänger. So it changes things.

Finally, Emily posted this:

@wdway:

I find it interesting, but I'm also a little clueless as to what she's referring to. I want to believe it might be love, but that's probably just my Bethyl bias blindness.

@twdmusicboxmystery:

I mean, I think love works as the answer, but that's very broad. She's talking more about attractive forces in the universe, drawing what you want toward you. Witches use spells to get what they want. Evil ones might use them to hurt others, but they're still after something they want. Manifestation is about "manifesting" the life you want. Quantum physics is science's answer to attractive forces in the universe. (Love is one of these forces, btw.)

So, I think it's about what many people would consider the mysterious forces that lead us toward fate, destiny, etc. That bring us answers and help us understand the meaning of our existence.

Sounds like an allusion to Daryl finally finding Beth to me. ;D

@wdway:

Thank you so much for explaining and I love your explanation. That writers perception is very helpful.

@twdmusicboxmystery

So yeah. There's the social media tidbits for this week. Make what you will of them! 😉

[autisticlio]

Raymesis Propaganda

Who is Raymesis?

Raymesis is a playable character in Ubiarts games for the Rayman series. He is a clone of the main character Rayman created by Mr. Dark, the first game’s antagonist. While he is functionally a costume, from in-game descriptions and the Brawlhalla crossover, he is shown to have a mischievous and hot-headed personality who previously worked under Mr. Dark, only to now focus on ruining Rayman’s reputation instead. Why? Just for the lols.

“In an attempt to tarnish Rayman's reputation, Raymesis dresses like him and stalks the Glade of Dreams smashing things! A desperate case in need of serious anger management.” - Rayman Legends description.

“Bubble me! Rayman's evil clone! What a nightmare you were! Still single? Well, you are soooo ugly. Blame it on Mr. Dark! You ARE on my side though...GULP, right DarkRay...!” -Polokus in Rayman Origins.

However, Raymesis is only one of many ‘evil Rayman’ characters. One of said other doppelgängers is referenced in Polokus’ comment (DarkRay being the mimic in Rayman 1). This has lead to a variety of speculation on whether these evil Rays are all the same or not.

In any case, Raymesis is also one of Rayman’s alts in Brawlhalla. This variant of him gives the player Psychlops gloves, Psychlops basically being one-eyed blobs that protrude spikes when threatened. So basically pufferfish gloves. He also has an axe like Rayman and Barbara in the game. Look how excited he is about that axe.

Why you should vote for Raymesis

Who doesn’t love a doppelgänger that specifically exists to mess with the protagonist? He has a fun color palette from the cool colors, being an inverse to Rayman’s red and orange. The purples of Rayman’s hoodie are also Raymesis’ hair color instead. He also bears spirals and glowing yellow eyes, just like his creator.

While at first glance he may seem to just be a simple palette swap, both the staff and fans are evident enough that he’s left a clear impact on the Rayman series. For many, such as myself, he is one of their favorite costumes to play as. Raymesis is for the teens who were obsessed with Hot Topic and Invader Zim, the Shadow the Hedgehog enthusiasts, and the gays.

However, my main motivation for wanting him to win is who his opponent will likely be: Mr. L, aka Brainwashed Luigi. Having two characters from a platformer series duke it out would be the perfect way to end this tournament. It would be perfectly chaotic, and I think it would be exactly what Raymesis would want if he were real.

In conclusion, vote Raymesis!

ROUND 5

SIDE A

[richrantferguson]

What to say to the carnival knife thrower when he knocks at your door

In society’s carnival of dark souls, we gotta worry about maniacs mistaking us for shooting galleries and crooked politicians swiping our price of admission to pad reelection funds. In the hall of mirrors where everything means nothing and nothing means everything, our inverse selves roam amongst us, doppelgänger gangbangers murdering sanity first and refusing to ask questions later. A…

[reachingforthevoid]

Doctor Who: The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion

I rewatched this serial on 14 September 2023.

We begin with a recap from The Day of the Doctor (2013) because the serial continues on from there. Two Osgoods explain a problem and a solution. The problem is huge - factions of Zygons are rebelling against the truce on Earth and humans and Zygons are in grave danger.

This serial is full of doppelgänger goodness, as well as a few trips away from London. London is still the centre of it all, though.

As I wrote in my Black Archive on Face the Raven, “These Doctor Who Zygon stories explored the strains on refugee aliens living in a forced peace and what happens when a group radicalises among those refugees. The stories, while not subtle, do handle the complexities with a degree of sensitivity. They also deal with the effect of forgetting recent history, in this case enforced to protect UNIT’s Black Archive and the fragile peace between humans and Zygons on Earth.”

I adore Osgood, and the ending is just fine.

[nonexistent-tales]

rant time woohoo (you have brought this upon yourself, for the better or the worse)

edit nov 30 2024: added cut

even before the 1.2 billion mark, you could see the time between addenda increase exponentially. Just two years in and Hiddleston is starting to resort to using more substances, and two years is already a long time (random elehitch plug, this is how long i theorize the doppelgängers were stuck in that elevator, and look how they turned out :3). Skip to 5 years, and he's just... wandering. He's already used up the main sources of stimuli he's provided to its best, all the amenities and the other 'human' beings. It takes two more years for him to start something new: cooking. A hobby that could suffice for a lifetime. More than double the amount of time he's spent on the island, he's nearly mastered the art without needing text books or outside sources of information in general (a positive thing, since it makes him take longer). More than double again, going strong yet he's beginning to become bored.

Double that time again, he's gotten bored of the craft. He starts something new: construction.

The hobby is harder and takes up much more time than cooking; only when nearly a millennium had passed, he reaches equilibrium of that art.

2,000 years, he's desperate for ways to stay sane.

5,000 years, he starts ripping up his hard work.

11,000 years, he resorts to violence on others and himself.

He gets numb to the concept of violence nearing 20,000.

6 times that, 124,000 years and beyond, he keeps on finding ways to kill himself over and over again, as he heals slower and slower, years reaching the millions.

Past that, the addenda show the barest actions he tries, looking at the sun and trying to leave again. By this point, it's obvious that he's tried everything. He could've (and likely already) mastered other arts, like painting, writing, farming, swimming, but what's the point of that when it will, at some point in time, become obsolete in helping you maintain your sanity?

Exponentially, as the numbers increase, the closer he gets to nothingness. It's an inverse relationship. Less and less things can and will happen. There is barely anything he can even do anymore, and as time passes, 'barely' will turn into 'nothing.' Even the smallest of things wouldn't be able to do anything. Not even daydreams and fantasies created by the mind would suffice.

A whole trillion years, and he stops moving. The closest one can get to death in a world where it doesn't exist is apathy. Apathy to yourself, to others, to your environment, to everything. It's the best way to cope, but it's not a solution.

5x10^28! years. 5, twenty-eight zeros, factorial. Multiply all integers inside 50 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 000 with each other, that's how many years Hiddleston has been in this 'paradise.'

"All potential permutations of particles within SCP-7179 have been theoretically reached."

Everything, any situation possible within this hell, whatever you can think of, has already happened. Every, single, one, of, them. Has he tried backflipping thrice from a palm tree into the sea? It happened. Has he tried baking an apple pie in exactly 16 minutes and 38 seconds? It's happened. Has he made your moms secret family recipe, intentionally or not, five times? It happened.

10^100! years later, I repeat, an entire googol factorialized, a second of eternity has passed. Hiddleston is still there. He always will be.

A second of eternity, but it's not. An eternity is still an eternity. Infinite. 10^10100!!! aeons later, you'll still be here. Not even 1/6 of a googolplexian of a millisecond of an eternity has even passed, nor will it ever pass.

Any number, no matter how large or humanly incomprehensible, is still nothing when compared with the face of infinity.

Ok something I love about the SCP-7179 addendum is the fact that after the 1,200,000,000 years mark the spaces in between each mention of what Hiddleston increases more and more. Representing the nothingness, boredom, and lack of any new stimuli that 7179 gives after prolonged time there.

[hearttstopper]

Do you have recs for psychological thriller films?

Hi! Sorry this took me a minute, I drafted it to come back to it and forgot about it. But here are some of my fav psych thrillers under the cut :)

(I’d like to quickly preface this rec list by saying that psychological thrillers don’t always equal horror movies. I saw some people saying that they think they’ll skip Don’t Worry Darling as they’re not fans of ‘horror’ movies and as a big fan of psychological thrillers, & I think that’s a really sad reason to skip a movie :( I’m not big on scary movies either, so I don’t think it’s fair to write off all psychological thrillers as horror movies. Usually psychological thrillers focus more on internal struggles that the characters face - death, purpose, reality, etc. Psych. thrillers can have elements of horror, sci-fi, drama, comedy, etc. etc - there’s tons of crossover in this genre - but overall I’d say that the aim of a psych. thriller is to keep you on your toes and thrill you, not horrify you like an outright horror movie does. Just something that bothered me when I was seeing initial fan reactions - hopefully some people will reconsider!!)

Donnie Darko: After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a man in a large rabbit suit who manipulates him to commit a series of crimes. 

Se7en: Two homicide detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.

Gone Girl: With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.

Silence of the Lambs: A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.

Us: A family's serene beach vacation turns to chaos when their doppelgängers appear and begin to terrorize them.

The Sixth Sense: A boy who communicates with spirits seeks the help of a disheartened child psychologist.

Zodiac: In the late 1960s/early 1970s, a San Francisco cartoonist becomes an amateur detective obsessed with tracking down the Zodiac Killer, an unidentified individual who terrorizes Northern California with a killing spree.

Inception: A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O.

Shutter Island: In 1954, a U.S. Marshal investigates the disappearance of a murderer who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane.

Mulholland Drive: After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.

Requiem For a Dream: The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep. (More of a psychological drama - horrifying, but not outright horror.)

Nightcrawler: When Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.

10 Cloverfield Lane: After getting in a car accident, a woman is held in a shelter with two men, who claim the outside world is affected by a widespread chemical attack.

Black Swan: A committed dancer struggles to maintain her sanity after winning the lead role in a production of Tchaikovsky's "Swan Lake".

Invasion of the Body Snatchers: When strange seeds drift to earth from space, mysterious pods begin to grow and invade San Francisco, California, where they replicate the residents into emotionless automatons one body at a time.

Signs: A family living on a farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields which suggests something more frightening to come.

One Hour Photo: A mentally unstable photo developer targets a middle-class family after his obsession with them becomes more sick and disturbing than any of them could imagine.

The Shining: A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.

Disturbia: A teen living under house arrest becomes convinced his neighbor is a serial killer. To Catch a Thief: A retired jewel thief sets out to prove his innocence after being suspected of returning to his former occupation.

The Burbs: An overstressed suburbanite and his neighbors are convinced that the new family on the block are part of a murderous Satanic cult. (More of a bizarre comedy with horror undertones, but I still love it so... watch it.)

[bladesradshack]

alter intros ig because we never did any

Dani (she/he), 16/17, host/co-host

Cab (he/they/it/car), 15/16, host/co-host

Jared (he/him), 15-20?, co-host

Lemon (she/xe/they/any nps), 12-14?, co-hosts sometimes

Friend (it/they/xe), ageless, fronts sometimes

Mob (he/void; introject of mob from mp100), 13-16, fronts sometimes

Apple (they/doll), 17+, fronts sometimes

Luc/lucius (he/vamp/they), ageless, fronts for specific things (not negative)

&/&&&/and (it/4/he), ageless, fronts due to specific things (negative)

Dk (changes)(any pronouns), ageless, fronts when it makes sense

Akira (they/ad/void), 15, fronts ...?

Ivan (he/him/?), age unknown, fronts Randomly

Some alters (mainly introjects) we speculate but not entirely sure of

markiplier (yup)(he/him), age is . Age, no idea abt fronting

Technoblade (came from a small hyperfix im assuming)(he/him), age ?????, fronts????

Fuckihn. Cabinet Man Lemon Demon (help /lh)(he/??????), no age, vibes only

Their Roles etc

Dani is the fighter (and the funnier one)

Cab is the doppelgänger of blade (aka he subs in when blade isnt fronting when he Should Be)

Jared is some random anime fan i guess (no specific role)

Lemon is sort of a little but not because shes fairly close to the bodys age as is so we like to call xer our friend :)

Friend is the one who kinda co-hosts with cab or mob a lot. i dont really know its role but theyre anxious a lot?? Idk

Mob is an introject/fictive of shiego from mp100 (which he knows), he doesnt front often but he's definitely there. He's sort of like a very friendly protector in a sense.

Apple. Oh apple... gayass alter and also sort of an nsfw oriented alter but thats none of yalls business

Luc is also gayass alter but inverse /j , he is the confidence booster TBH funky little vampire

& is not for the public so i advise not talking to him (genuinely), he holds a lot of trauma from a lot of psychosis related events and childhood stuff. He digs minecraft tho so we let it play sometimes!!

Dk is (me) generally not too known. Sort of a bandaid to put onto a cracked window but thats OK i dont mind

Akira is the younger version of us. They also go by our deadname partly but we sorta do that as is (unaccepting household vibes) so its not too big of a difference idk. Sort of a trauma holder but stored away.

Markiplier is 1) unknown and 2) seemingly the uplifter??? Idk if he's fr in here but theres always a possibility (we have his traits)

Techno is also unknown but im guessing that we just act like him sometimes .. so much he might have become his own alter??? Its hard to explain but i dont think he has a role exactly

Cabinet man was probably due to a hyperfixation on the song Cabinet Man by lemon demon but I honestly think that he has always been here somehow

Ivan is just manic idk but hes cool tho makes cool little drawings (that i find slightly concerning but im all for it)

Triggers !!!!!

simulation jokes

Glitchy like videos

Asmr

8d audios

Specifically tapping or knocking in 8d

Soupaslide (esp by hanging)

Self harme

Yelling

Things that cant really be explained

Thanks for reading 😁😁😁

[ao3feed-tododeku]

Opposites Align

Opposites Align by MakeshiftDust

Todoroki took a closer look at the stranger. He was startled to see his own face staring back at him, including the scar, though it was over his right eye instead of his left. The man had similar two-tone hair, but it wasn't the same. Instead of red and white, it was black and white- with the white on his left side. They both wore the same black turtleneck sweater. His eyes were cold and lifeless, and his lips were turned up in a wry half-smile.

“Who are you?” Todoroki demanded.

“Call me Shouchan,” said the stranger- and was that his own voice?

Words: 6745, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Categories: M/M

Characters: Todoroki Shouto, Shouchan (inverse Todoroki), Midoriya Izuku, Bakugou Katsuki, Kirishima Eijirou, Awase Yousetsu, Kamakiri Togaru, doctor (OC)

Relationships: Midoriya Izuku & Todoroki Shouto, Todoroki Shouto & himself

Additional Tags: Doppelganger, Mirror Universe, Supernatural Elements, Characters Are Pro Heroes, Misunderstandings, Todoroki Shouto needs anger management, Todoroki Shouto Needs a Hug, Todoroki Shouto Needs Therapy, Evil doppelgänger, Midoriya Izuku is a Good Friend

Read Here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/31119647

[mythicaltype]

Physical copies of this zine are available in my Etsy shop.

Text in images:

So You Met Your Doppelgänger: How to deal with the other You. 

A practical guide.

Step 1: Don’t Panic. 

Your doppelgänger might be as confused as you are. Determine if they are:

a) a shapeshifter

b) a time traveler

c) a clone

d) from an alternate universe

e) a long-lost twin

f) any of the above...plus evil

IMPORTANT!

Do not assume your doppelgänger is evil. They probably are not trying to take over your life or hurt you.

Probably.

Step 2: Learn about each other.

Determine which of the following applies to you and your doppelgänger: 

- You have the same skills, likes, dislikes and personalities

- You are inverses of each other--different skills; opposite likes and dislikes

- You share the same memories

- You share new memories each of you creates (this may require testing)

Step 3: Decide how to co-exist. 

Depending on the goals of you and your doppelgänger, decide if you will share one life (one identity) or have two lives (two identities). 

Weigh the pros and cons, as well as ethical concerns.

If you need to set up an identity for your doppelgänger, see the [REDACTED] guide.

[corvidspectre]

A Path to Trace

DannyMay Day 1

Prompt: Crossing

Ao3

Wordcount: 1170

Summary:

Danny imagines that as he is on the precipice of a choice, he is on the precipice of death, also. These events are undoubtedly intrinsically linked. He could imagine this cold numbness, the detached reality and the comfort of existence replaced with a fuzzy numbness, as death. Life seems so far away. But the other side, across the bridge that lies before him, somehow, is a mix of both, the energy in the air even from here was palpable. It was ridden with vitality, and undeniable life, even in the serenity of death.

He doesn't quite let the silence stretch eons, but he knows he could.

Danny's eyes fluttered open, and he did not know where he was.

He was aware this should be worrying, concerning even, but the awareness was distant. The feeling was distant. It was as if everything was on mute, like there was a blanket of fuzziness over his own corporeality. He felt out of body, lacking the heaviness of life. It would have been relieving, had he the capability to even remember what relief would feel like in his numb state.

The surroundings are boundless, endless fields behind him, and he is struck with some likeness to the fields of asphodel in the history myths Jaz went through a phase of loving, once upon a memory. They are peaceful, plain and mundane, yet they're enticing in a sense that one could waste away hours in them and not even realize. Directly in front of him however, is a bridge, shaky but wide, stretching over a bottomless chasm seeping into darkness before seeing an end. The land it leads to is hazy and obscured, an unclear path. It seems distinctly green, swamp like and bursting with life. Green goop glowing in a way that was reminiscent of toxic waste hung from trees and clumped in neon puddles, but it seemed... natural. Like there was a balance between this toxicity and the bursting blooms of blossoms and black roses littering the lush grass. He could just make out a path, leading from the bridge, but it didn't look much travelled.

He couldn't recall coming here, and couldn't think to where he could ever have seen it before. It didn't seem like he could dream it.

The last thing he remembered was... electricity? Green, static, pain, lighting flashes and then nothing. Then here. What had even happened to him?

Was he... dead?

He felt like his emotions were melting in horror, fear, confusion, shock, but slightly to the left. He was sure they were there but they were detached, somehow. Belligerent, vigorous, unabashed amounts of indisputable terror, but slightly to the left. Suddenly, he notices a hollow cold in his chest, like there's ice weighing down his lungs and drawing his heart into a frigid wasteland of not beating. Because it isn't. Beating.

Was this the clutches of death slipping it's claws into his skin before dragging his life from his body, or was this the aftermath?

“You're not quite dead, yet. You have a choice to make first.”

The voice is echoing, but strong, and loud. He whirls around towards the fields, but no movement occurs. There's a small breeze, but not enough to make anyone feel anything, barely enough to move the grass; could it even be called a breath? He looks back out towards the bridge, and there is a figure that was noticeably not there before standing half way across, exactly. He has snow white hair, and glowing green eyes. The same green of the goop emitting the faint glow on the other side. Darker skin than Danny, but their faces... they could probably be twins. He is an inversion, and a doppelgänger, but Danny, even if he could feel, would feel a calmness seeing him. He is not alone, even if he is only joined by himself.

“What choice?” Danny's voice is thinner, and reedier than he would have liked, but again, cannot find it in himself to care. The figures face is blank, and his voice is devoid of tone. The only movement he makes is his mouth as the words tumble out.

“To cross the bridge, or to not. You will only get this time to make this choice. Your choice, is final.” Where the breeze is faint where Danny stands, a strong gust of wind falls over the other side as he speaks. Everything over there seems more dynamic, dripping with vitality, although they share a similar tranquillity. They are not the same, nor are they opposed, but they are different. Not quite a dichotomy; more like a mix of one and something he can't quite recall. There were other places, once. The other side, as similar as it is to where he now stands, is also similar to there, in a way the land under his feet will never be. He knows this fundamentally, but he doesn't know how.

He imagines that as he is on the precipice of a choice, he is on the precipice of death, also. These events are undoubtedly intrinsically linked. He could imagine this cold numbness, the detached reality and the comfort of existence replaced with a fuzzy numbness, as death. Life seems so far away. But the other side, across the bridge that lies before him, somehow, is a mix of both, the energy in the air even from here was palpable. It was ridden with vitality, and undeniable life, even in the serenity of death.

“What will happen if I stay?”

“You will stay.”

“And if I cross?”

“You will follow the path.” He speaks with your own eerie voice. “It is not a path many have ever walked; it is not one many ever will. But you should know, though the choice is yours, so is this path. It is your destiny, to both choose and refute.”

He doesn't quite let the silence stretch eons, but he knows he could.

“Is the path a good one to take?” He rasps, and though there is a quietness about him, his voice still carries. A gleam enters his doppelgänger's eyes.

“It is a treacherous path at times, and you will encounter many hardships. But it is the only path you have left to take, and only you can find out when it ends, and what good you will find along the way. It is a half-life, but still, a life”

Danny had not moved before now, and is cautious in this, his terse first step towards the bridge. Another, and he is confident he will not fall. Will not falter. Will take his path.

There was really never any choice at all, he thinks. He was never meant to stay in that field of nothingness, empty and brokenly peaceful, a trap of mundanity and non awareness. The more he walks, further away from the fields, the more he feels, and he once again begins to breathe, and his blood just might flow, and his heart just might beat. The Doppelgänger does not move as Danny breaks into a run, but he grins sharply, and as Danny runs into him, he feels lightning ripping through his veins, the neon sludge choking him and a million green suns burst behind his eyelids but his body does not stop running.

Danny will never be alive again. But he can still live, he thinks, if only a half-life. What else is there to do?

Danny crosses the bridge.

With a deep breath, he takes the first step onto his fated path. Darkness envelopes him and he embraces this darkness, willingly falls into the endless void of an in-between.

And then, he wakes up.

[beaubaltsoul]

just got back from seeing endgame. some thoughts below.

DO NOT READ IF YOU DON’T WANT TO BE SPOILED, DUH! 

So I feel like I should preface this by saying that I'm not really the type of person  who wants or likes to dwell on the bad parts of movies. If I go to the theater to watch a movie it’s because I'm excited to see it. I WANT to be there, you know?

That being said, as I sit here after having just come back from seeing Avengers Endgame, trying to find the right words for how I feel, all I've got is: sad. *insert helpless/confused shrug gif*

(Edit: I started writing this as soon as I got home from the movie but that has now been many hours ago)

I mean it’s the end of an era I guess, so maybe sadness is just par for the course. Things ending are kind of like small deaths. There’s gonna be a grieving process. But y'all, I just don’t think that’s what it is for me. (At least not completely.)

I like the mcu a lot. I don’t like it unequivocally and unconditionally. I have favorite and not so favorite mcu films. I have favorite and not so favorite characters. We all do. That’s the cool thing about the world of superheroes. There's a whole lot of variety and options.

And overall, I really did like Endgame I think. The fights were intense and thrilling, the funny parts were funny, mostly coming from who you’d expect, and other times coming from a surprising source. The emotionally heavy parts were a mixed bag for me. Some of them made me feel a lot of things. Some of them didn’t make me feel anything. If only because some of them were centered around characters that I have not connected to or cared about in other movies.

But all this so far has just been me giving a kind of vague review of the movie. What I really came here to talk about was how unexpectedly pissed I got about Natasha’s arc in the movie.

I should let you know that I don’t know much about the character of Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow outside of what I've seen in the mcu. And even within the mcu she hasn’t been one of my favorite characters. I've liked her and appreciated her, she just hasn't been my fav, you know?

So anyway, I don't really know how to transition to this smoothly so I'm just gonna outright say it: I'm so fucking pissed they had Nat sacrifice herself on Vormir to get the soul stone. I'm just. SO ANGRY ABOUT IT. It was an absolutely horrible inverse parallel to Thanos killing Gamora to get the soul stone. They made me watch another woman be sacrificed to serve the story. And once again, they gave us that awful prolonged shot of her dead body at the bottom of that cliff just like they did with Gamora.

Like, y'all! what the fuck! I know Natasha willingly chose this for herself and I know that Clint was just as willing to sacrifice himself, and he actively tried to to so and there was a scuffle, but that deosn’t change the fact that it ended up being Natasha. I really desperately hoped that since she sacrificed herself, since the two of them were willing to lose their own lives instead of forfeiting someone else’s, then they’d get the stone and also get to keep their life. I thought maybe the soul stone would reward them for making the selfLESS choice instead of the selfISH one. But she died just like Gamora. And she remained dead. I just really can’t get over it. 

The one woman on the original Avengers team didn’t even get to participate in the final epic showdown and I'm very unexpectedly emotional about it. 

Speaking of the final showdown, everyone’s entrances, all those that got dusted portal-ing in from across the globe to fight Thanos and his army, was definitely one of the well-earned emotional highs of the film.

And I'm sorry but I really need to talk about a few other parts of the movie that irked me.

First of all, I CANNOT BELIEVE that they didn’t let Nebula kill Thanos!! That woman has been trying for soooo long to kill that bastard and they fucking gave that honor to Thor at first, and then Tony at the end. And I get that this is an AVENGERS movie, that those original six would be the focus of the film. And I get that every single protagonist in the film has suffered greatly because of Thanos, but are we not all agreed that Nebula has the most personal stake in this fight against Thanos? That fucker physically and emotionally abused her for most of her life and then killed her sister just as she and Gamora had begun to have a healthy relationship with each other. NEBULA DESERVED TO KILL THANOS. I really thought they would at least give her that.

And lastly, and I recognize that this is my own personal bias since Carol has been one of my favorite characters for many years now, but I had really thought/hoped that Captain Marvel would be more involved. I know the Russo brothers talked a lot about figuring out how to involve her without having her overpower the other heroes, but I think they did a shit job of it. They just crippled her character by sending her back into space to do whatever, while everyone else figured out how to fix the universe. She was left out of most of the movie only to come into the final fight towards the end to take out Thanos’ giant ship that was bombing the battlefield. Like, the Russos only wanted Carol to be powerful when it when it was convenient for them and other than that she was unnecessary. It’s so annoying. And god, they painted her as such a better-than-you lone wolf type of person, I hated it. Like, yes, Carol is a very independent and capable woman, but she’s also absolutely a team player and I don’t think the Russos understand her. Please Marvel, let Carol be written by someone who understands her from now on. And I know that Brie filmed her parts of Endgame BEFORE Captain Marvel had started filming, so that might be part of the characterization problem. But the problem is also just men.

And I guess I was also hoping for her to be more involved because I thought there would be more of a passing the torch feel to the movie. Not just for Carol, but also for Peter and T’challa (and also Valkyrie???) There kind of was for Scott I guess? And there definitely was for Sam. Again, I know this is an AVENGERS movie, so the original group would be the focus, but yeah, just to repeat myself, I did think there would be a sort of group passing of the torch. A bit disappointed that there wasn’t.

We did get short haired Carol which was a blessing. And we also got that really cool part of the final fight where all of the female superheroes teamed up for a hot second. But it really was just a hot second y’all, it could have lasted a little bit longer. ALSO, there was some emotional emptiness to it because NAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE TOO.

Okay, I lied above, this is actually the last thing i'll say. I'm fine with how they ended Cap’s story. Was it a cookie cutter happy ending that we’ve seen countless times before? Yeah kinda, but like I said, I'm cool with it. I am of the opinion that both Steve AND Peggy deserve to get what they want most, and what they want/wanted most was each other. They finally got their dance, and then they got a lifetime together and I'm happy for them. (Side note, old man Steve looked like Joe Biden and it made me uncomfortable. I really hope Chris Evans doesn’t age into a Biden doppelgänger. That would be sad.)

I really don’t know what this post has turned into. It’s mostly just an outlet for me to express my feelings about the movie. I just wanted to say somewhere how incredibly sad I was about Natasha’s story arc, even if I'm still mostly confused about why exactly it impacted me so much. And also to express my disappointment about some other aspects of the movie. And like, I get it, this is a big fucking film in terms of characters involved and that’s a really difficult balance to pull off, but I just feel like where sacrifices were made, they were made to the detriment of some of the female characters. idk. Natasha’s death just really fucked me up y'all. 

[jonkentdeservesbetter]

Okay okay okay okay okay.

I love this concept. It’s got my creative sparks flying and I just HAD to ramble!

So, the premise: the events of S2 were all caused by a mind-link dreamscape, which is why everything was so weird and so wrong.

There are things I really like about the original concept, and things I’d change if I were a Superman & Lois writer making S3. For instance, I would make it Clark, Jordan, Jon and Lois, JHI and Natalie, in the dream. I’d also probably go with the Black Mercy idea rather than Kryptonite, or some tech; similarly to the Dominator mindscape-tech.

We know that over the summer (between S1 & S2), JHI and Natalie left, and then Lois met with them, and they all returned to live at the Kent farm. Well, we never saw them INSIDE the house, right? My thoughts: when they entered, there was a trap that got them. Some instances of the dream are shared, but others only happen in one or two minds…

Additionally, the prison changed things—or at least, it felt like that to the characters. It made up the distant, cold and snappish Lois that they remembered over the summer. It made up Clark’s visions, and Lois actually being wrong about Ally and the Inverse Society, and it made Lucy insufferable.

It made up Candace, Jon’s girlfriend, since Tegan dropped him all over again.

It made up Sarah’s cheating, the idea having come from Jordan already learning she’s bi and his own insecurities about being able to keep her interested, and made him dream up a scenario where fake versions of his half-sister and brother would compare it to his own secrets, since to Jor, they’re similar.

It made up JHI’s injury, then moved on from it like it hardly happened. That’s why, when he gets another head injury, it was just fine.

But these are all just the tip of the iceberg!

Like, the source of the dreamscape is purposely praying on things that bring out strong emotions in each prisoner, as well as making them do things they never would: in typical Black Mercy fashion, it needs them to stay engaged and fueling the illusions.

Fears and desires are both fulfilled.

Fears:

Lois becomes a harsh mother, Clark a harsh father. Lois loses Clark, and isn’t reassured. Jon is immediately given up on by his dad, who also never listens, doesn’t ask about his health after XK, and is left behind while his dad and brother go flying. Jordan is losing Sarah. He loses his dad, and so does Jon. Micky attacks Jon, and he can’t defend himself. Clark is losing control of himself. Lois is losing her only friends and sister. Natalie repeatedly has to face the mortality of her dad. Clark’s mind conjures a new reason to feel guilty, even though it’s so unlikely: Lana’s lingering feelings for him; this is because the Black Mercy has once again created new memories (the retcons). Additionally, it’s being fed info about the real world, or perhaps future events: Lana being mayor of Smallville, and Daniel Hart quitting.

And there’s obviously more: Jon’s afraid, since he was wrong about Jordan/powers changed his brother, that he’d be changed just the same: enter one “evil” doppelgänger Jonathan-El with the powers of Superman.

Clark also fears who he might be if he ever lost his way. Enter Bizarro; Clark’s subcon. mind is aware of how he’s unintentionally been neglecting Jon, so Bizarro does, too. But as the Black Mercy learns their fears, it pushes them to act in ways they wouldn’t, in order to feed into the pain of the illusions. The real Clark goes back to Jon and makes it clear he loves him, but Jon’s false-dad then goes back to treating him as he’d dreamed…

Lois suddenly finds herself unable to move, despite the fact she always would, instead just watching as her family is hurt and hurt…

Almost losing Jon, almost losing her dad, almost losing Clark, almost losing Jordan…

And for Jordan, everything seems to be telling him he can’t ever be with Sarah, the girl he loves. Even Sarah’s own mom says it.

JHI keeps getting pulled into heroics, afraid to not be there for his daughter, but unable to do nothing, even as he tries to resist it…

And of course, this is a dream, so their minds conjure up more than necessary, weaving a story—Lana’s hurt at the lies, guilt after yelling at Jordan. Kyle’s infidelity. The Merging and splitting of the two worlds…

In the S3 pilot, we get flashes of moments as they happen inside the mindscape, of who they belong to; who saw what and who did not, as well as the Black Mercy growing…

But we don’t see anyone saving them.

When all hope is lost, though, the Lane-Kents and the Irons gasp and jerk awake like they’d just been drowning, and we do see. It was Chrissy, who was worried when Lois never came to work, and went to the farm. Who saw the alien parasite (ha, the REAL Parasite of S2), and, remembering Sam, had called and gotten him involved. The DOD, now run by Anderson, because Clark had met the man over the summer and that, at least, had been real, saved the “civilians,” with Sam staying apprised, due to relation.

(Bonus points if instead of the DOD getting them free, because it IS a giant Black Mercy feeding on multiple people, Jon’s powers emerge and save them, but only Jon knows—he obviously doesn’t tell the DOD, and the DOD doesn’t know what happened (but are very suspicious, maybe…?), however, Jon also isn’t ready to confide in his family; he doesn’t know how much of that hellscape was fabricated, and how much…wasn’t. Not to mention, he just dreamed up two not-so-great versions of himself, he’s very much not confident he can handle powers morally!)

Afterwards, the families need to recover. And, with only the Lane-Kents to get what they’re going through, the Irons decide to stay close by. They all help each other heal, and THAT is season 3’s focus; and maybe Intergang does come back, because yeah, obviously there’s gotta be a big villain plot.

Desires:

Jordan gets all his powers, gets to be the hero, no matter the adversaries. Clark gets to have his brother, even dreams up a Tal-Rho he got to grow up with, who was soft and dedicated and loved. Lois…I mean, did she get any wins? Her dreams were always her family’s wellbeing in the real world, so maybe we can say the Black Mercy could only really focus on her fears, and/or that she had so much fear it zeroed-in on it. JHI and Nat had their moments as they rebuilt their lives together, got a new home, a new family, became superheroes together. Jon…well, technically he had a girlfriend, briefly he had powers…yeah Idk; same as Lois…?

In any case, everyone is saved, S2 is (thank fuck) thrown in the trash, Clark is suddenly very aware of Jon’s struggling and is back to having always been a gentle, loving dad. Lois is also back to always being a good, loving mom, and has renewed focus to save Lucy, but this time there are no world-disasters tied to her sister being rescued. Jordan’s back to a BELIEVABLE hero-rising story, and also is abruptly back to dating Sarah, who’s always been loyal, and doesn’t know who and what he is. And Jon…well, he finds out that his dad DID have that flying lesson with Jordan, the real Jordan, BUT he only didn’t talk to Jon after almost dying because the Black Mercy kept messing with his mind—he did screw up, he did forget Jon, just like he didn’t think to take Jon to the Fortress or to meet Jor-El, but he isn’t the asshole who repeatedly dismissed hearing out his son, who didn’t care to check that Jon was healthy after taking Kryptonian drugs, ect. There’s a path forward for them. They heal.

And Sarah is back to being pre-S2 Sarah, who’s a good character, and can I stress again that Lois and Clark were always and return to being understanding, soft parents?

I’m rambling. But also: Lara is S1 Lara again. That is also a big thing. Anderson gets a re-do of his character, the Supermen may have never existed, but Tag Harris does again. The boys and Natalie are basically a year younger or whatever and we can get more school stuff. Jon is free to get a new boyfriend significant other, because Candace is…well maybe she exists, but they only dated for like two seconds before the dream-prison and now he needs to break things off.

There is no Everyone Can Have Powers drug flooding the halls of Smallville high, BUT, like Lana eventually becoming mayor, and Kyle (probably) also being caught having cheated (and his atonement now going on off-screen because we saw it already), we find out that XK is giving the members of Intergang quick and temporary powers—with similar side-effects to the personality as Red K did to Clark in Smallville the show—in Metropolis. And, the dead JHI was killed by Intergang.

And now we have to wonder, how’d the Black Mercy weave in future events? Or, things that were happening IRL in another city? Because the prisoners didn’t know!

Or maybe someone has some precognition…

Who knows?