#Human multiverse war

[bebx]

I need to see Chris Evans’s Johnny Storm meet and interact with Steve Rogers and confuse the hell out of everyone, including each other.

Marvel, please make it happen. I know you can do it

[2stepadmiral]

So, my biggest problem with the MCU multiverse is that they’re using it as a tool to introduce huge characters instead of just working said characters into the MCU naturally. Like, okay, I’m fine with Deadpool and the Fox X-men being done this way; this lets them send that universe out with a bang (a la Deadpool and Wolverine) and leaves the MCU free to introduce 616 versions of the X-men later in a passing of the torch sort of way down the line. But the Fantastic Four, Silver Surfer, Galactus, and possibly Doctor Doom all being variants from another universe who will presumably relocate to 616 at some point? I’m not a fan of it. I feel like the MCU x-men and the fantastic four should be natives of earth 616 instead of dislocated from their home universe.

I also worry that making Doom the villain of Avengers 5-6 as a last minute replacement for Kang would forcibly peak one of the best comic book villains way too soon, and I don’t like that they are basically doing it instead of just recasting Kang, who they have actually been building up over the last few years.

[humorously-yours]

A compilation of hot edits I found on Pinterest. Ft. Chris Evans playing Captain America 🫡🇺🇲

[paintedkinzy-88]

Then does that mean they have webbing on their wings?

Do you mean Swap Alph and Undyne?

If they got excessive LV, yeah, they could lose their feathers. They’re LV levels are kinda typical of guardsmen, though, just a little higher than the average monster (which is anywhere from 1-3, only really raising with their temper in some aggravating situations, or if they had to protect themselves).

Webbing/losing feathers would usually come about if a monster reached, say… more than 10, maybe. Cuz at that point, it’s more than just a job of peacekeeping or just keeping yourself safe. If your LV is 10, 15, or higher, you’re either doing it on purpose, or you’re in a position that’s likely already screwing with your mind anyway, like Horror.

[jackmischief]

Where’s that meme with the buff Shiba Inu and the wimpy one and the buff one is Steve mentoring Wanda and the wimp is Tony mentoring Peter??? That shit’s the best

[sentient-rift]

Multiverse War Part 7

(Continued from here on @fallen-symphony)

In order to help with the Multiverse War, Mr. Tinker returned to his original dimension to see if he could grab some robots who could help fight Slur's army. Things would not be like last time, because he was no longer defenseless. With him was his boy, Terios, along with Gamma and Emerl to back him up. Despite this, they wanted this mission to go as quick as possible. Dr. Starline still wanted his blood for "murdering" Dr. Eggman, after all.

"You sure about this, Mr. Tinker? If Dr. Starline took control of your robots, doesn't that mean we won't have any to bring back?"

"I know... This is a long shot. But I'm hoping there's at least one robot Dr. Starline didn't know about. I want to help our team win this Multiverse war as much as possible..."

"Should we check with Metal Sonic... I mean Shard. You said he helps fight against Dr. Starline, right?"

"That's true, Terios," Mr. Tinker said, "But I need him to look after Belle for me. I need to know she's safe while I'm away."

"EVEN IF WE DON'T FIND A ROBOT ALLY, I BELIEVE WE CAN STILL WIN THIS WAR. OUR NUMBERS HAVE GROWN BEFORE SLUR HAS EVEN STARTED PUTTING TOGETHER AN ARMY."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that, my friend," a familiar voice said from behind them.

Turning around, they saw Dr. Starline. However, he wasn't alone. With him were Eggman Nega, as well as a robot he hadn't seen in awhile.

"Greetings, Mr. Tinker. I hope you don't mind me using this fellow as my equivalent to your Metal Sonic."

"..."

"Metal Knuckles..." Mr. Tinker said as he looked at the robot Knuckles doppelganger.

"Whoa! You made a robot version of that knucklehead?" Emerl asked, "How come I never seen him around?"

"I locked him away ever since Metal rebelled and became Neo Metal Sonic," Mr. Tinker answered, "Even though I was able to reprogram Metal Sonic with absolute loyalty, I felt at the time that I couldn't keep track of two Metal Series robots and just focused on Metal Sonic rather than reprograming Metal Knuckles as well."

"A foolish oversight on your end, dear ancestor... Because you decided to discard it instead of fixing it, Dr. Starline had no trouble reprogramming Metal Knuckles to be absolutely loyal to him. I must say, with skills like his, it's no wonder Slur sent me to recruit him."

Recruit? That explains it. Nega is working for Slur, and now it seems Dr. Starline will be working for her as well.

"I must say, I was quite the fool for ever looking up to your former identity, Mr. Tinker. I've come to learn that Eggman Nega here is a far more superior Eggman than you ever were. I guess it's somewhat fortunate for you, though. I no longer hold that grudge against you for 'murdering' that has-been. And Slur seems to know what she's doing if she's recruiting those with armies like the Eggman Empire..."

Of course. That what Dr. Starline was referring to earlier. Slur's team may be small when it came to main members, but if most of them were leaders of an army, than their combined forces would create the biggest army in the universe.

"With that said, you are still on the enemy team. I can't just let you go after breaking in here now, can I?"

The platypus was quick to sick Metal Knuckles at Mr. Tinker and his team. It didn't take long for Terios and the other robots to defend the reformed genius.

"You're not touching my father!" Terios said as he changed into his Green Grenade Style and shot the Knuckles lookalike. However, it didn't seem to do much.

"You didn't honestly believe I reprogrammed Metal Knuckles but not take the opportunity to give him upgrades, did you?" Dr. Starline said with a mischievous grin.

Metal Knuckles countered with a Megaton Punch that sent the Shadow Android flying. Emerl ran at sonic speed to try and catch him, while Gamma initiated battle mode.

"NOW ENGAGING ENEMY UNIT! MISSION: PROTECT MR. TINKER!"

Gamma threw powerful punches at Metal Knuckles, putting up a good fight against the robot echidna.

"You're not the only one who's been upgrading his robots, Dr. Starline," Mr. Tinker said, "Gamma is a new and improved robot from his early days. I'm sure he can even give Omega a run for his money."

"I admit, I'm impressed," Starline said, slowly clapped his hands, "Even if you're still the inferior Eggman, you're still a genius in your own right. However, you seemed to have forgotten something..."

Before he knew it, Mr. Tinker and Gamma were surrounded by enemy Eggman Robots.

"This place belongs to me now, and all the robots you left here are under my command. Well, save for Metal Sonic and those two lackey robots. I always suspected those two were loyal to you. I should have reprogrammed them instead of falling for their sudden allegiance to me. Had it not been for Metal Sonic rescuing them, I would have had my chance to punish them for their little stunt."

Mr. Tinker let out a sigh of relief upon hearing that Orbot and Cubot were safe. He was afraid they would have either been reprogrammed, or worse... Dismantled.

"Anyhow, it doesn't matter how strong your robots are. I doubt they can take on an entire army. I suggest you surrender and accept your fate. We've clearly won the battle today.

"Don't count us out just yet!"

Blasting through the horde of robots were Terios and Emerl. With their combined efforts, along with Gamma by their side, they were able to take down quite a few of Starline's forces. However, the army just continued to grow, and they began to become overwhelmed. Mr. Tinker began to panic... But not for his own life this time. No, he was worried about his boys. Even though they came to protect him, Mr. Tinker couldn't forgive himself if one of them were killed in battle.

I need to call for backup, Mr. Tinker thought to himself.

And before he could even activate his communicator, a dimensional rift opened above them. Did RiFT see what was going on and send backup ahead of time? But then again, something was different about this rift. The color was different, being more of a purplish pink rather than its usual indigo. Was this Slur's dimensional gateway? But them again, RiFT described her gateways as a blue-green color. Who's rift was this?!

It did not take long for someone to jump out, and he was a complete stranger to Mr. Tinker. But judging from Starline and Nega's face, they had no idea who he was, neither.

"Are you... For us?" the platypus asked, "Or for Mr. Tinker?"

"..."

The stranger didn't answer. He just looked sternly at Dr. Starline, then at Eggman Nega, who began to look a little worried. It was clear he didn't view them as allies. The mysterious robot boy then looked at Mr. Tinker. Unlike the evil scientists, he gave the reformed genius a warm, reassuring smile, as if saying "Don't worry. I'm on your side." However, there was something more to it... It was almost as if he was greeting an old friend. But Mr. Tinker knew he never met this robot boy before...

The boy landed where Emerl, Terios, and Gamma were, ready to fight by their side.

"Well, it's clear he's with them," Nega said, "No need to hesitate, Starline. Destroy him along with the others."

"With pleasure," said the platypus, "Robots! Attack!"

The Eggman robots charged at Mr. Tinker's team once again. It was at this moment that the robot boy finally spoke.

"Hey. You have the ability to copy abilities, right?" he asked Emerl.

"Yeah. It's a Gizoid thing," Emerl answered, "Did RiFT tell you that?"

"Yes, and no," the boy said, "I'll explain later. Just watch what I can do, alright?"

"Sure. I could use some more abilities," said Emerl.

The android flew into the air again before dashing down into a horde of robots like a homing missile. All robots who made contact with him were destroyed in an instant.

"Whoa!" Emerl shouted with excitement, "That's like a Super Homing Attack! If only Sonic could see that!"

After the cheering, Emerl continued to observe the boy's dash attack until it was registered in his memory bank. The Gizoid then began dashing into robots just like the boy. With two of them performing this attack, it made taking out the robot army a little faster and easier. With that said, it was only four of them taking on an army. How long would they be able to last.

"It doesn't matter that an additional member joined you!" Starline said, "It's only a matter of time before my army gets the upper hand, and you all perish..."

Beep! Beep! Beep!

Nega's communicator was getting a call from Slur.

"Nega! What's taking you so long?! Did you get Starline to join us?"

"Yes, Lady Slur," Nega answered, "We just had a run in with some of our adversaries is all."

"Well, put it on hold. The time will come to destroy them. But right now, we need you and Starline over here! The other recruit isn't cooperating! Teseo and Analogman's hacking is keeping him under control for now, but his resistance is strong! Obake will need your help in reprogramming him!"

"Very well," said Nega, "We'll be right there."

After Nega ended the call, Starline let out a sigh.

"It seems we'll have to postpone our battle," he said, "I really was looking forward to seeing you crushed by the very robots you built... But perhaps another time."

Using the device Slur gave him, Nega opened a portal back to base, with Starline, Metal Knuckles, and the remaining Eggman Robots following him. Mr. Tinker could finally breathe after the portal closed. Everyone was safe, thanks to this mysterious stranger.

"Thank you," Mr. Tinker said, "I don't know who you are, but you helped us last a little longer."

Mr. Tinker reached an arm out for a handshake.

"I'm Mr. Tinker. Glad to have you on the team..."

What the reformed genius didn't see coming was instead of a handshake, the robot boy embraced him. What he said only surprised him even more.

"Father... I thought I would never see you again..."

Father? Mr. Tinker would have remembered building this boy if he were truly his creator. But this boy sounded so genuine. Despite being a robot, he spoke like a boy finally seeing his long lost father. He was like Belle and Terios; He was a robot with a heart. It may not sound like something Eggman would build, but it definitely sounded like he was a creation of Mr. Tinker's.

"I... I'm sorry, my boy..." Mr. Tinker said, "But I'm afraid you have me confused with..."

"No, it's okay," said the android, "I know you aren't the Mr. Tinker of my dimension... It's just... Good to see your face again after so long."

This was just like when Mr. Tinker met the Belle from a different dimension. Despite knowing she was a different Belle, he still considered her his daughter. Despite understanding what this boy was feeling, he didn't understand how he doesn't know of his existence. Surely, if there was a Mr. Tinker in his dimension, then would there be a version of this robot boy in his own dimension as well? Mr. Tinker couldn't explain it, but there was something "off-worldly" about him, like he didn't really belong in this universe. And yet, he's calling Mr. Tinker "father?"

It seemed Terios liked the idea, as he was tugging on the robot boy's arm like a little kid would to a big brother he looked up to.

"Does this mean... You're my brother?" the Shadow Android asked.

"If Mr. Tinker made you, then yes... And no."

"Here we go again..." Emerl said, "You told us you'd explain later. I think now is a good a time as any."

"It will be best to explain everything when we meet up with RiFT," the robot boy said, "But I will give you a short version of it right now; My name is Rodea, and I come from a Paradox Dimension."

To be continued...

(New Paradox Muse coming soon!)

[temsikfates]

verse tags drop

[dcxdpdabbles]

DC X DP: The Summoning Conditions of the Ghost King.

Danny Fenton is new to his title.

It's been about two years since he defeated Pariah Dark and inherited his seat through the right of conquest. Now Danny knew, on some level, that Pariah was King of Ghosts, but in all honestly, he had been preoccupied with getting his town back from the zone and keeping his friends and family (and the rest of the town, he guessed) alive.

The victory had been just within the lines of a fair fight, only because a dew ghost argued that his shifting his dad's ecto-skeleton suit was a form of armor only after his power ran over it.

If Danny had fought in the ecto-skeleton suit without doing so then it would not have been considered a fair fight as it wasn't his own strength, and thus, he would not won the right of conquest.

But he did. And now Danny was crowned Ghost King. Which came with all sorts of responsibilities and proper conduct for someone of his new stature.

Many ghosts were willing to teach him the way- Princess Dora, Clockwork, Frostbite, Ghostwriter, and even the Observants- but Danny struggled to adjust. He had no idea being King meant he had to play diplomat to the literal multiverse- as the Ghost Zone or Infinite Realms touched every possible world at every possible time- and follow specific rules of being a Ghost.

A vampire could not entire a home without being invited in.

A fae could not take control over a human without knowing their name.

And a ghost could not make a chance to the living plane without meeting requirements, like an agreement on a contract.

That was why the Ghosts never passed Amity Park's limits and why Pariah Dark had chosen to take the town into his domain instead of expanding his attack. The Fentons have unknowingly created an open contract with anything that could get past their portal by opening it up and claiming themselves the protectors against ghosts kind.

If a ghost could defeat everyone in the Fenton household- as the ground of where the zone was open and the beings calling that location a home- then they would become the portal's rulers and be able to leave the city. Thankfully, that contact applied to Danny, and he had never lost, no matter who challenged him.

His ghost sense activated the contract, alerting him of a new challenger. After finding his family contract, Danny had thrown a fit in the Ghost King's Keep. Thankfully, he could close it with the help of Clockwork, who agreed to be his final challenger, and once he won, the portal was forever closed.

Danny then discovered he had to create his own Ghost Conditions as Phantom, The Protective Spirt of Amity Park, and Phantom, the Ghost King. He argued with the Infinite Releams council, something he installed to help him rule and to lowkey have them continue to govern themselves with his own laws, keeping them from killing each other- until his core began to deteriorate the more he neglected his Ghost Conditions.

Clockwork has to intervene, telling him in little words to write up his Ghost Conditions and have them ready in a month or experience his soul being ripped apart by nature.

Danny agreed to write up the Conditions as soon as he could....and then did what any sixteen-year-old teenager would do with a work assignment. He procrastinated until the night before it was due.

Panicked, he sat down in front of his laptop to write, telling his parents he had a big essay due and could not answer any calls until late.

At three am of the following day, Clockworked appeared for his Ghost Conditions which outlined his limitations and certain requirements for Danny to operate.

He worked hard on Phantom, The Protective Spirt of Amity Park, to allow him to live everyday human life and shift into a ghost to protect his town whenever he needs to. He ensured that he could not be used to cause human death by a weapon in a mortal war, and his condition for working on behalf of a human was to have a recommendation letter from both FrostBite and Clockwork out of both ghost-freewill.

He figured it would make it practically impossible to make him a weapon or make him do anything against his will. He didn't want to end up like Ember or Desiree, who relied on mortals to get power, but he also did not want to be so obsessive about protecting something he forwent everything like Sculker or Walker.

He spent so much time on it that he forgot to leave time to work on the Phantom, and Ghost King lists until his eyes were dropping closed and Clockwork was messaging him that he was on his way to both lists.

Danny panicked and wrote something down- hoping he would redo the assignment later on- just to have something to turn in. The lack of sleep and stress caused him to not think clearly.

When he woke seven hours later, he realized this wasn't just some English assignment he could ask his teacher to let him redo. This was set in stone conditions and said conditions had already been passed around the multiverse. Some of his work even appears in his timeline, in some ancient civilization, thanks to Clockwork flinging copies of his Ghost Conditions into time portals.

Thank the Ancient Cores that Danny had copied and pasted the parts of about not making him a weapon for mortal wars or mindlessly killer. He hoped that it wouldn't come to bite him in the ass.

It bit him in the ass a week later when an alien threat so big the Heros of the Justice League were so desperate for a counter-attack they allowed Batman to attempt to summon the Ghost King even at the Justice League Dark's warning.

Batman had known about the Ghost King's Summoning Conditions from his time with Ra's Al Ghul. It was, after all, Ra's civilization that had been the one to find Danny's list from Clockworks time portals.

Danny knew this because one of the conditions was letting him know of the human's intention before they could summon him. He honestly heard whatever Batman was thinking and whatever the man could hear.

"Bats, this is baty even for you!" A disembodied voice hissed. Danny was startled so hard on his bed, having been scrolling on his phone when the British man spoke.

"If we can convince the King that the lives of Earth are at risk, he will aid us in the battle. He can not kill humans, but the aliens are not human." Batman answered, and Danny felt his core drop. Oh no. a loophole.

"Or he could kill everything around in a fit of rage!" The other man yelled. "No one understands the Ghost King! His Conditions were so open-ended anything could happen!"

Hey, Danny thought they were pretty solid, actually.

"Doesn't matter. We are out of options." Batman replied, and between one moment and the next, Danny was floating above a summoning circle, still wearing his snowflake pajamas- complete with a large holding- his phone in the same lying on his stomach position.

Thankfully, he was in his ghost form.

"What-"

"Phantom, Ghost King, I call upon you for aid. The lives of all human life are at risk of destruction." Batman said, his thoughts silent like the grave, and Danny had no idea what he was thinking.

Danm. Danny's wording of "Knowing a human's intention before summoning the King" meant that he could not hear the human's intention once the summon happened. Maybe his language was too open-ended.

"Ugh." He slowly sat up in a cross-leg position, eyeing the gathered heroes. It looked like all of the Justice League was present- all looking worse for wear. Whatever aliens were, the League wasn't kidding when they sent out an emergency shelter notice. "Um, that is...Well, you see, the funny thing is you have to pass some trials before I can help you. Batman Sir."

The Dark Knight showed no outward emotion as he nodded even as a few heroes seemed confused by Danny's nervousness. "I will undergo them."

Please disagree. Danny wanted to scream, flushing a bright green. He wrote those trails in two minutes. They are embarrassing!

Instead, he heard himself say as if speaking from his frozen ice core. "You must pass all my trails. The first shall begin right now and you must have opponents of those you cherish the most. They must be someone you love so much that the thought of them hurting will destroy you. They must take part now or drop dead if they refuse."

A glowing green snowflake appears under the feet of five individuals in the crowd. Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, Orphan and Spoiler.are dragged to the front of the crowd, to stand next to Batman in the Ghost Kind's trails.

Batman froze and a man in a trench coat swore. "I warned you!"

"Wait!" Flash yelled, but it was too late. The Ghost King Trails had already begun. Danny wanted to scream, but he felt his body move one arm up, creating a sizeable frozen slate of ice to hover over the heroes.

A familiar song filled the air as smaller slates appeared before each hero. Words slowly carved across the large and small ice, much to the confusion of everyone present.

"Is...Is this Kahoot?" Red Robin dared to ask, watching the words finish being made, and the Kahoot music continued to count down.

Danny wants to hide his face in his hands, but he instead shouts, "The first to twenty is the victor and shall be the one I shall give my aid to! Now time is running out, humans, pick your answer for... Question one...According to the Ghost King, which Gotham hero has the best ass?"

Ding.

Everyone turned to Orphan when she quickly pressed B. on her ice tablet. Since she was the only one who moved in time before the timer ran out, her answer was displayed before all eyes.

She chose correctly. B. for Red Robin.

Orphan shrugs at Red Robin's gape. "His Highness' eyes did a slow up and down when they spotted you. It wasn't hard to guess."

Danny thought making a Kahoot was fast, and no one would be able to guess the answers to questions about himself. He thought it was foolproof.

He was wrong.

"Question two: Which is the prettiest star in the Milky Way!" Danny shouts in a pompous tone that contradicts his embarrassed frown and glowing green blush.

The heroes of Gotham stare at him before they all press A for Sirius.

"How!?" He asks when all of them get the answer right. Right now, Orphan is winning, so she is the closest to his contact dealer.

"You're wearing the star on your nightcap," Red Hood deadpans.

"Q-Question three.....What is the Ghost King's favorite Holiday?"

Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding. Ding.

Nightwing, Red Robin, Red Hood, Spoiler, and Orphan picked D. for Halloween but only Batman chooses correctly with B. for Valentine's Day.

He does not explain how he knows that, and Danny is starting to worry the greatest detective in the world is going to figure all his answers out, and he will end up serving them.

Sweating, he moves on to the next question as John Consistent watches on, wondering if he indeed was an Occult expert as he thought or not because none of what was happening was what he thought would happen.

They may stand a chance yet.

Master Post Link

[zylev-blog]

Danny is Bruce Wayne

Lots of bad things had happened to Danny. He’d been turned into a half ghost, been cloned, been hunted for sport because of his new species, and had the government turn against him and his parents when they tried to support him. Needless to say, he wasn’t having a good time.

He had been in the Infinite Realm, trying to find a solution to their problems. Supposedly, out of all the dimensions in the Infinite Realm, none of them had ever declared war against them and declared them as a nonsentient species. It had angered a lot of ghosts, with good reason.

When the Fenton portal suddenly disappeared along with Vlad’s portal, he didn’t know what to think. He thought maybe the locations had changed, and searched all around the area, coming up empty. It wasn’t until Clockwork told the ghosts that the dimension had been destroyed did it really set in.

He was alone. The sole survivor. Maybe it was for the best. He just hoped it was quick for his family, and that they didn’t suffer.

What was he supposed to do now? Clockwork took him under his wing and showed him how to have inter-dimensional traveling adventures. The two would pose as father and son (not that it was an untrue statement at this point) and they explored the multiverse together. They’d fought demons, aliens, humans, and anything or anyone who threatened the timeline of that dimension.

Danny eventually got older. It took him a while, now that he wasn’t bound to his own timeline. He was around sixteen now, but he had seen and done so much that he didn’t even flinch at the scariest of threats.

“It’s time.” Clockwork told him.

“For what?” He tilted his head, looking at Clockwork.

“Your next task. This one will be solo.” Clockwork opened a portal and gestured for him to step into it.

“Will you come and get me when it’s done?” He asked, hesitating. Why did this feel like goodbye?

“I will. But I’m afraid it will be a while.” Clockwork smiled sadly at him.

He hugged Clockwork, partially surprised when the god of time hugged him back. “You’re sending me there to live, aren’t you?”

“I am.” Clockwork let him go, for once not being cryptic. “You’re ready.”

“Thank you for everything, Clockwork.” He smiled, then walked through the portal.

As he stepped into the cold autumn night, a glowing green sticky note appeared into the palm of his hand.

Do not let them see your ghost form.

He burned the note and shifted back to his human form. It had been a while since he had been in it, and he noticed that it was as tall as his ghost form was. He was still growing, of course. He was 5”11, and seemed like he was going to inherit his dad’s 6”7 stature, if he was lucky.

The first thing he noticed about the city was that it reeked. He wanted to pinch his nose, but he held back. He wasn’t going to let some stinky city make him gag. He’d literally gone to the stinkiest planet in the universe once! Now that he thought about it, was that training for living in… wherever he was? He looked around and saw a sign. Gotham. This should be fun.

[ringtoned]

the circumstances that allow the Spiderverse to thrive are so fascinating- multiverses in the MCU are kind of flopping because there aren't enough *widely* recognized versions of a character to serve as exigence for one, but peter parker has quite possibly the most well-established and rigid yet versatile storylines ever created- his canon was already so fluid, and is exponentially so as we keep telling his story

my mind goes immediately to tom holland's spidey skipping the "origin story," proof it was already so well known that it didn't even need to be told, inadvertently creating an entirely new origin for peter, arguably a new character, one that doesn't know harry or gwen, isn't a photographer, doesn't work for the daily bugle, hasn't classic villains like the symbiote (or truly ANY THAT ARE PRESENT IN NWH, and he probably never will now that he knows they exist) and hasn't had those arcs affect his character. the mcu spiderman films are some of the highest-grossing ever and despite creating an entirely new version of peter i feel he's still thought of as one guy- like, "harry osborn" is still "peter parker's best friend" even if he isn't in some universes. there are millions of other classic spiderman story beats that are left out of very popular interpretations of peter and yet they're still universally true to his character. like, maybe everything is happening to him at the same time, somewhere.

the idea of a canon event just makes this make so much sense and peter's multiplicity makes the idea of other spider-people so easy to accept and even a welcome change from loosely rehashing peter's story. these essential beats being so richly explored and deconstructed is just so genius because it just flips all of that over its head like something something anyone can wear the mask... im just in awe.

this also being due to so many licensing wars, globalization of media, and the comic book movie explosion is like, this couldn't have happened in any other time in human history and along with the revolutionary animation i just can't believe i'm alive to witness it

[mechaknight-98]

Faewild FT Jiheon

Author's note: A collaboration between @slowlydifferentbluebird and I doing some experimentation. I was given Fairy Jiheon as my prompt.

The story of Archfey The Honey Queen is super weird. Allow me to explain. Jiheon (the human name of The Honey Queen) was originally part of an all-girl bard group called Fromis. As an aristocrat and noble woman she was highly sought out like each of her members. To keep them safe their guardian (A rogue’s guild named Pledis) learned of the many magic towers of the Archfey Tasha. Seeing an opportunity they locked each member in a magic tower outside of time and space while they waited for the perfect time to utilize them. There was one exception a half-elf fighter bard named Gyuri who escaped. Jiheon however being the studious student she was turned this into an opportunity. She studied the many magic teachings and magic of the Archfey Tasha and over time she began to learn and refine her magical skills. Due to the influence of using and learning fey magic her timid nature was replaced with one more of amusement and trickery that led to her becoming a powerful Archfey in her own right. Eventually, she abandoned the name Jiheon for The Honey Queen, as her magic became synonymous with the sweet scent it left. After that, she just kept learning and gaining power and knowledge. In between her intense studies, she would explore other realms in the hopes of finding something to entertain her. Usually, though these distractions lasted longer than a year and the already longed-lived Fey grew tired of such pursuits…until she got bored again

The Honey Queen the Archfey sat bored in her tower. it had been decades since she had seen anyone else in her little section of the Feywild so she decided to venture into the mortal realm.

Her infiltration point was a small rift that led into Waterdeep. She decided to go to the Yawning Portal which would provide some entertainment. She looked around the bar for the most audacious and vibrant individual. Eventually, she found it in a warrior who was covered in head-to-toe metal armor she didn't recognize. Jiheon approaches them with a dazzling eye smile that people have started wars to possess even if for a fleeting night.

“What’s your name?” Jiheon asks.

The person in armor looked up at the young fey girl and said, “Theo”

“Oh, that's nice well Theo. Would you like to play a game?” Jiheon asked her eye smile blazed with a curious intensity that let Theo know he could be playing with fire with her but their competitive spirit beat out their rational mind.

“That depends… what's the prize?” Theo replies.

“Your firstborn?” Jiheon asks,

“It's always the same with you fey. Always the firstborn with you fey. why is that?” Theo replies

“Maybe I think you're cute,” Jiheon replies.

Theo looks up at her confused, “huh?” they say

Jiheon fakes an innocent confused face “Huh?” she repeats. Theo stares at the fey confused.

Then they ask, “Okay what's the game?”

“Fairy Chess,” Jiheon says with a smile. “Only the best, and most interactive game in the multiverse.”

“No that game is Magic the Gathering by the Combotronics Wizard Sir Richard Garfield,” Theo asserted Jiheon rolled her eyes before smiling and laughing with her disarming eye smile

The armored man stares at her sighs then gets up and follows Jiheon who smiles.

"So how do you play fairy Chess?" Theo asks.

Jiheon smiles.

"It's simple it's like regular chess except there are four additional and it is customary to remove one piece of armor as this is usually played after a Fey wedding."

Theo's eyes narrowed.

"Excuse me?" he said Jiheon smiled and said

'Did I missspeak?" Theo looks at her confused and she says

"Excuse me" theo roll your eyes annoyed at being drawn into a weird proposal.

"Okay, enough talk let's play. Jiheon says as she snaps taking Theo and her to her tower.

Theo blinked as they found themselves standing in a lavish tower filled with ornate furniture and shelves lined with various knick-knacks from different realms. They turned to Jiheon, who was already setting up an elaborate chessboard with an extra four rows and some very unconventional pieces, including a tiny dragon and what looked like a dancing mushroom.

"So, about that armor…" Jiheon teased, her eye smile even more dazzling as she gestured to Theo’s heavy metal suit.

Theo sighed, clearly unamused but resigned. "Let’s get one thing straight—I’m not removing anything."

Jiheon pouted playfully. "Not even a gauntlet? How disappointing. You really know how to spoil the fun, don’t you?"

"Fun is subjective," Theo replied dryly, watching as she made the first move, sliding a fairy-shaped piece across the board.

Jiheon leaned in closer, her voice a playful whisper. "Well then, let's see how you handle a game where the rules might just change on a whim. After all, it wouldn’t be 'Fairy Chess' if it was too predictable."

Theo raised an eyebrow, clearly bracing for whatever chaotic nonsense Jiheon had in store. "Let’s just get this over with."

As the game began, Jiheon’s mischievous smile hinted that this would be anything but a straightforward match.

The first move was simple Jiheon opened with "The Ruy Lopez"

Unaware of how the game was being played Theo went to move one of the pieces they didn't recognize forward hoping Jiheon would explain if he couldn't move it that way or not.

They did a zig-zag to move the piece out of the back row. Jiheon smiled, at thier intuitive knowledge of the game, but latent talent was nothing against skill. Jiheon captured Theo’s first piece. She smiled and whisked her fingers causing his helmet to fly off.

"Oh you are cute," Jiheon says with an enthusiastic stare at the young Aasimar . Their silvery skin is flawless, except for a singular scar across their left eye.

"Oh, what happened there?" Jiheon asks as Theo makes another move and captures one of Jiheon's pieces, they barely has enough time to dodge as one of her vambraces flies at them.

"My sister was practicing a blade barrage spell and I got hit by it."

Jiheon smiles interested as she makes another move. "Oh, are your sisters' casters."

"Yep in fact my younger sister is Princess Illuna's magic teacher" Jiheon's eyes widened at that

"So how did you become this armored titan?" Jiheon asks as she watches Theo Make another move, and capture another piece. She smiled as she took the bait. Now she would take the next two pieces. What she didn't know was that Theo was hoping to play a draw.

As the game continued, Jiheon’s smile widened, recognizing the subtlety in Theo's strategy. They played cautiously, trying to lure her into overextending, even if it meant sacrificing a few pieces along the way.

Jiheon, not one to be easily outmaneuvered, made her next move with grace and precision, capturing another of Theo's pieces. With a flick of her wrist, their breastplate unbuckled itself and clattered to the floor.

[bebx]

major Deadpool 3 spoilers!!!!

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there’s just no way that that was the last time we saw Chris Evans as Johnny Storm. I know he’s “dead”, but this is Marvel we’re talking about, especially with the whole Multiverse thing (Wolverine was also dead). but actually… I think he may not even be the same Johnny from the 2005 & 2007 Fantastic Four movies; the suit was different (which I know probably meant nothing) and he was in the void, didn’t that imply he was a variant and therefore he was sent there?

anyway, no, I don’t think that that was the last time we saw Chris as the Human Torch, especially when they’re building the whole multiverse concept up for Secret Wars.

yes, his cameo may appear as a comedic shit and giggles. but I genuinely think that it was actually Marvel’s way of indirectly telling fans he will be back. maybe not this exact variant(?), but there are thousands of Johnny Storm variants and there’s definitely at least one of them with Chris Evans’s face that is alive and waiting for an actual return with his team.

“but Chris’s version is dead” as I said, we don’t even know if it’s the same Johnny from the 2005 & 2007 movies. (there’re at least 2 Loki variants that is Tom Hiddleston; the main timeline Loki and President Loki). or even if that was the same one from the 2005 & 2007 movies then that still doesn’t mean Marvel will let him stay dead, especially when there’re literally endless ways Marvel can bring him back because they know that’s what fans want.

seeing Chris Evans and the rest of the 2005 & 2007 Fantastic Four cast reprise their roles in the upcoming MCU projects (looking at Secret Wars) is something I believe can and will happen.

now imagine Chris Evans’s Johnny Storm meet and interact with Steve Rogers and confuse the hell out of everyone, including each other. imagine experiencing that in cinema 🥹

[unlikelypandahologram]

Reasons to ship every single version of MegOP

since Very Dumb Discourse™ exists about whether or not certain versions of this ship are valid, this is going to be THE most positive post about all versions of MegOP. refer back to this post for reasons to ship your favorite version of MegOP if anyone gets weird about it with you. now let us begin!!

G1: goofy '80s faction dads fighting each other in a denny's parking lot every week LET'S GOOO, that shit is fun as fuck. orion pax also totally had a celeb crush on megatron before megatron ruined that and shot him and his pals 😔 and there's a lot of angst you can add with megatron becoming galvatron and optimus coming back to life to see how much he's changed!

BW: it's the sheer fucking comedy gold factor of a newly minted college graduate and a terrorist dinosaur IMMEDIATELY singling each other out on a prehistoric rock and deciding to call their daily gang slap-fights the BEAST WARS, what iconic drama queens LMAOOOO. also, megatron made his final body in BM look like optimal optimus SPECIFICALLY to fuck with him, and that's just...incredible

UT: the fact that megatron CANONICALLY acted like a grieving widower over optimus after he died in armada is. amazing. never forget their absolutely insane obsession with each other that they can never EVER give up on played a direct part in unicron nearly ending the world <3

Bayverse: this is the one continuity of all fucking things that gave us the lore about megatron being prime's lord high protector. absolute galaxy brain writing from the tie-in comics. also these two would ABSOLUTELY have the messiest, nastiest, most brutal hate sex imaginable, and that's beautiful. <3

Animated: optimus being a rookie washout underdog and megatron being a super scary much older warlord is a really interesting and underrated fresh take on their dynamic! lots of fun to be had with exploring what their relationship would be like after megatron finally acknowledged him as his archnemesis, lol. also...age AND size difference ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Prime: do i even need to say anything, i'm pretty sure that one flashback still of orion and megatronus being friends is responsible for birthing a million shippers for this pairing alone LMAOOOO. the bitter ex-boyfriends energy was TRULY off the charts in this show, it's a damn shame megatron never appeared in RID15

Cyberverse: same bitter ex-boyfriends energy but this time with dates at maccadams. megatron also dies encouraging optimus to beat the unhinged alternate dimension megs AAHH THE ANGST

IDW1: they're both depressed gay war criminals in this one who CONSTANTLY live in each other's heads rent-free and that's amazing, lmfao. also, megatron becoming an autobot means this is one of the VERY FEW continuities where it's not nigh impossible to figure out a way to give these two a happy ending together in fanon

IDW2: space date space date SPACE DATE. they were falling together and everything. megatron also LITERALLY tells optimus to open himself to him...to give him the matrix...yeah megs my dude i'm sure that's the ONLY thing you wanted from optimus "opening" himself. toootally positive, lol

G1 Marvel: megatron was SUPER fucking pissed and weird as shit about the time optimus died over a video game. it counts

Dreamwave: their first fight had megatron urging optimus to join him AND they disappeared together in a space bridge explosion once which is like, a fanfic-esque setup for them to be alone. also i'm pretty sure this is the continuity where optimus accidentally gave megatron a lobotomy, so...uh...potential for angst is to be had

SG: mirror universe!! evil crazy villain optimus with noble goody-goody hero megatron has so much potential for absolute chaos. bonus if you also bring in the normal versions somehow through multiverse shenanigans <3

KP: the only way this version of prime can redeem himself from the creepy underage human girl bullshit is if he gets a good hard dicking from megatron. next

Prime Wars: huge "ex-husbands go on a road trip with their disgruntled daughter" energy here. megatron also LITERALLY says "oh optimus, if only you could see me now" <3

Earthspark: again...need i say why? they're pals and working together from the get-go, what's not to ship??

Skybound: optimus literally wears megatron's arm. truly beautiful <3

TF One: it's not out yet but give it time. the entire movie is going to be about orion and d-16 being madly in love and tragically breaking up, baby!!

[insanityclause]

Over the past 13 years, Tom Hiddleston has died more times than he can recall. “Let me think about this,” the actor tells us, pausing to count in his head. “I think, officially, there were two big ones.” 

He’s referring to his many exits from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the blockbuster franchise in which he’s played shape-shifting Norse god Loki Laufeyson since Kenneth Branagh’s 2011 film “Thor”—the son of Asgardians Odin (Anthony Hopkins) and Frigga (Rene Russo), and the half-sibling of Thor (Chris Hemsworth), the god of thunder. 

The character has since bounced between villain and reluctant antihero across five films, a handful of post-credits scenes, and Michael Waldron’s Disney+ spinoff series “Loki,” which Hiddleston also executive produces. The show wrapped its second—and supposedly final—season last November. The finale presents an end for the character, but not one of the aforementioned “big ones.” 

Hiddleston’s first “official” farewell came in Alan Taylor’s 2013 sequel “Thor: The Dark World,” which saw the god of mischief take a sword to the chest to save his beefy brother. “As written in the first script, it was a true sacrifice,” Hiddleston says. Unfortunately for Marvel’s long-term plans, the actor had done too good a job playing the trickster.

“When Marvel [executives] were testing the movie, they’d given [viewers] questionnaires that said, ‘Is there anything you didn’t understand?’ ” he remembers. “Literally every single audience member said, ‘Well, obviously, Loki’s not really dead.’ ” 

In classic comic-book fashion, the character did return, gallivanting alongside his brother in Taika Waititi’s 2017 follow-up “Thor: Ragnarok.” He died again one year later (“big one” number two) in the Russo brothers’  “Avengers: Infinity War.” There were no smokescreens or questionnaires this time; audiences watched as Loki’s neck was crushed by the purple fist of intergalactic warlord Thanos (Josh Brolin). 

Hiddleston remembers arriving in Atlanta to shoot his final scene and immediately bumping into Brolin. “He came up to me, gave me this huge hug, and said, ‘I’m so sorry, man.’ ” 

He meant it, too; everyone meant it. The sun, it seemed, had actually set on Hiddleston’s MCU journey. “At the end of that scene, I got a big round of applause, and everybody was so sweet and kind and gracious,” he says. “I got notes and emails saying, ‘Tom, you’ve done so much for us—what a journey. Come and see us anytime.’ I really thought that was the end.” 

And it was, for real, right up until it wasn’t—when the time-traveling shenanigans of 2019’s “Avengers: Endgame” blasted a younger version of Loki out of the established canon and into his own series. Over two seasons, the multiversal storyline envisions the title character as a figure who exists outside time and space. Across all there is, was, and may come to pass, there will always be a Loki, in some form, wreaking havoc. 

Hiddleston has long since accepted what this means for him as an actor. Maybe “Loki” Season 2 really was his last time in the role; or maybe he’ll play him until the sun burns out. “I’ve realized that, in human consciousness, that’s who Loki is,” he says. “Loki is this ancient, mythic character, who, in our collective mythology, represents the trickster, the transgressor, the boundary-crosser, the shape-shifter—somebody who’s mercurial and spontaneous and unpredictable who will always confound your expectations and wriggle out from underneath your certainties and convictions. Someone who we need and [who] is necessary.”

Hiddleston pauses, getting emotional. “Maybe Loki escaping death a couple of times is sort of an emblem of who he is in our culture,” he says, grinning at his own gusto. The actor has a habit of being self-deprecating about the depth of the character’s lore. “I spend a lot of time thinking about Loki. You can probably tell.”

You can tell, and it’s incredibly endearing. Talking to Hiddleston about Loki feels like discussing Shakespeare’s Richard III with Laurence Olivier or Tennessee Williams’ Blanche DuBois with Jessica Lange. They were actors who put their definitive stamps on those roles by returning to the well and constantly digging deeper. 

In conversation, Hiddleston is equally as likely to reference comic-book arcs as he is the ancient, anonymous Old Norse scribes of the “Poetic Edda” or Richard Wagner’s epic four-cycle opera “Der Ring des Nibelungen.” He speaks reverently of actors who embodied the trickster god before him, like Jim Carrey in Chuck Russell’s 1994 comedy “The Mask” and Alan Cumming in Lawrence Guterman’s 2005 sequel, “Son of the Mask.” He also heaps praise on those who played the part after him, such as his “Loki” costars Sophia Di Martino, Richard E. Grant, Deobia Oparei, and—in one very surreal Season 1 moment—“some alligator they found somewhere.” He cites legendary Marvel creators Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Walter Simonson alongside the likes of English essayist Walter Pater and Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw, who once wrote of life as a “splendid torch” to keep burning for those who follow.

“Loki is ‘a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment,’ ” Hiddleston quotes, “and I want to make it burn as brightly as I can before passing it on to future generations.” 

This level of study started before he even landed the role. He recalls the 24 hours leading up to his “Thor” audition, when he was 28 years old. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2005, he quickly earned small-screen and stage acclaim—but he hadn’t yet achieved a major breakthrough. When he received the script for “Thor,” it felt familiar. “I remember thinking, This is almost Shakespearean, this language,” Hiddleston says. “What’s the best example I can [look to] of an actor who managed to humanize and make real this elevated world of myth?” 

He found the answer in Christopher Reeve, who played the title role in Richard Donner’s 1978 blockbuster “Superman.” “He’s masterful in that film,” Hiddleston says. “In a way, it’s a similar premise: He’s a god or he’s a being from a different realm, and it’s not naturalistic in the way that we might expect. He does it so truthfully, and it’s so clear and clean and open and honest. I thought, If I can even approximate or get close to the kind of clarity that Christopher Reeve had in those films, I’ll be lucky.” 

And then, the morning of his “Thor” audition, Hiddleston went for a run, “which is my habit before doing anything unusual,” he explains. 

Running has remained a constant throughout the actor’s MCU tenure. At any given moment over the last decade, the god of mischief was likely doing laps around Marvel’s go-to shooting location, Pinewood Studios (now Trilith Studios) in Atlanta. “Life is movement; I really believe that,” Hiddleston says. 

“I find when I’m running or walking, the repetitive nature of it relaxes the mind and allows ideas and inspiration to come from a deeper place. I see my work as an actor—especially in preparation for a project or a scene—as almost preparing myself to be open and ready to receive ideas, to receive energy from other actors, to receive energy from my imagination.”

Hiddleston found the technique particularly helpful when he was filming a scene for the “Loki” series premiere that he calls “one of the most thrilling challenges I’ve ever had as an actor.” In it, Loki has been poached from the flow of time itself by the temporality-policing Time Variance Authority and forced to watch what is, essentially, a highlight reel of his entire MCU arc. It’s one of the most deeply existential moments you’ll ever find streaming alongside the likes of “Bluey” and the “Cars” movies. Here is a man watching the sum total of his life—his hopes, his dreams, his failures, his own death—play out in a 30-second clip that ends with the cold, clinical words: “End of file.”

“I just kept imagining: If you were afforded the opportunity or forced to watch your own death as a bystander, it would bring about an existential shock and crisis unlike any other,” Hiddleston explains. “It was a scene where I thought, I don’t have a reference for how to play this. I just have to allow shock, disgust, disgrace, shame, disbelief, acceptance, incredulity, and sorrow to exist in the center of me.” 

As an executive producer on the series, Hiddleston had a say as to which of Loki’s many misdeeds would play in the sequence. He chose clips like Frigga’s death in “Thor: The Dark World” and his father’s final words in “Thor: Ragnarok”—moments Hiddleston knew would most fill the character with regret. As production was preparing to shoot the scene, he asked first assistant director Richard Graves for a 20-minute warning.

 “I decided to jog around the stage and internalize as many of those memories of those people, those characters, those actors [as possible]—to try and find the center of my own vulnerability,” Hiddleston says. “Part of the joy of it was just going back to basics, trying to simplify this very complex thing…. Go for a jog, get into your body, allow yourself to be open, and just be there; just feel it.”

One “Loki”-like time jump later, Hiddleston found himself in a similar situation as he was preparing to shoot his final moment of Season 2—a scene that effectively caps Loki’s 13-year arc. Across 12 episodes, the show guided its title character toward a truly heroic end: With all of existence on the verge of collapse, he steps out of time to tie the strands of every reality together. As the credits roll, Loki sits at the center of time, holding in place all that is—alone. 

It’s a lot for any actor to internalize, especially one who’s performing solo in front of a blue screen. With 45 minutes to cameras rolling, episode co-director Aaron Moorhead made a suggestion. “He said to me, ‘Why don’t you go back, if you can bear it, and watch some of your work [over] the last 15 years?’ ” Hiddleston remembers. “ ‘Take it in, see what it means to you, and then carry it when you step out onto the stage.’ ” 

The actor took Moorhead’s advice to heart. And suddenly, without meaning to, he was mirroring the moment that started the series: absorbing the sum total of Loki’s MCU run. But this time, his regret had been replaced with gratitude. Hiddleston watched clips from “Thor,” remembering a time when he and Hemsworth had yet to ascend to the A-list. He recalled working with powerhouses like Hopkins and Russo, and the bonds he forged with the “original six Avengers” in 2011. He thought about how fun it was to film “Thor: Ragnarok” with Tessa Thompson and Jeff Goldblum, and of the more recent friendships he found with his “Loki” castmates Di Martino and Owen Wilson. 

“I thought, What Loki is doing, he is doing for his friends. And so, Tom, why don’t you do it for your friends?” Hiddleston says. “That’s where the two of us met in that moment. And then I was so grateful I had this most amazing crew, and we did it together.”

The actor is, of course, noncommittal as to whether this is actually the end of his MCU run. The franchise is scheduled out until at least 2027, and Hemsworth has mentioned his desire to make another “Thor” film. And if Loki’s past has proven anything, even the most official endings can be undone. 

Either way, it seems to Hiddleston that something significant has ended, even if it’s just Loki’s full-circle arc. “I hope it feels redemptive because his broken soul is partially healed; and you see that this character, who is capable of love, has made a decision from and for love,” he says. The actor cites the “beautiful prologue” of the first “Thor” film, in which Hopkins’ Odin tells his two sons: “Only one of you can ascend to the throne, but both of you were born to be kings.”

“At the end of Season 2, Loki is sitting on a kind of throne; but it’s not arrived in the shape he expected, and there’s no glory in it,” Hiddleston explains. “There’s a kind of burden, and he’s alone. He’s doing it for his friends, but he has to stay there without them. There’s a poetic melancholy there which I found very moving.”

For now, Hiddleston “can’t even conceive” of his life without Loki. He only hopes that he’s lived up to his guiding ethos as an actor, which he sums up with a plea from E.M. Forster’s 1910 novel “Howards End”: “Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height.”

“The feedback loop for actors is that we get to inhabit a fiction,” Hiddleston says. “But hopefully, that fiction bears the shape of a truth that we recognize about life—that what we do reflects the ups and downs, the peaks and troughs, and the breadth and profundity of all of our lives.”

Hiddleston exists in that space between fiction and reality, the work and the resulting art, the prose and the passion. Long after we’ve moved on from our interview and started casually discussing the cherry blossoms blooming in New York, his eyes light up. He’s made another connection, remembered one more thing—just one last thing he’d like to impart about Loki. 

He spends a lot of time thinking about Loki. You can probably tell.

“I’m so aware that the reason I’ve been able to play him for so long is because of the audience’s curiosity and passion,” Hiddleston says. “I’ve been delighted to find that for a character of such stature, he’s remarkably human. Many of the characteristics that people connect to in Loki are deeply human feelings. That’s been the pleasure, is infusing this elevated character with humanity.”

Even then, honestly, it feels as if Hiddleston, like Loki, could go on forever. Unfortunately, outside of the MCU, time moves in only one direction. Once again, he has to run.

This story originally appeared in the June 6 issue of Backstage Magazine. Subscribe to In the Envelope: The Actor's Podcast to hear our full conversation with Hiddleston (out 6/6). 

[faeriekit]

sorry I need to lose my mind for a couple paragraphs:

THIS old man is WHITEPASSING.

So, if you're wondering how the hell this dude is Whitepassing, please note that this is restricted to a single comics run rather than All Alfreds in the Known Multiverse™. Anyway, I was reading the Dark Knights of Steel vol 2 of my own accord (and against the better judgement of friends) because I apparently enjoy suffering when I got the to the "Alfred has secretly been J'onn J'onezz the whole time" schtick and my brain turned clean off.

Because. Implications.

To start, when they draw J'onn as himself as opposed to his "Alfred" disguise:

J'onn is still drawn with what look like typically "Black" features, albeit with a few Martian overtones: high cheekbones, a broad face, a flat, wide nose. His "Alfred" form is distinctly differently structured with a narrow face, sharp nose, etc etc. Couple that with a backstory explicitly referencing escaping from a war and attempted enslavement, this is a pretty strong attempt at an allegorical Black alien, even if, uh, you know. It's also Alfred. (And yes this is all ignoring that J'onn is usually portrayed as Black; I just wanted to see if his allegorical Blackness still held up in this particular comic run.)

And there's a lot to be said here about the long and storied history of having black caregivers raise privileged white children and the racism embedded therein but that's not what's happening!! As far as I've gotten (and this is as far as reading vol 2 of the dark knights of steel compendium, and only vol 2), Alfred did stay beside Bruce ever since Bruce's parents kicked the bucket, but.

No one else knew "Alfred" was a nonhuman.

Not Bruce. Not his friends (if he has any). Not his fellows in the army, nor anyone else in the entire world— because due to the inherent prejudice of the setting, everyone he knew would quite possibly turn their back on him or turn him in if his true history was revealed. The world at large was prejudiced against him and non-humans like him, and the solution was to hide or otherwise obscure both history and origin so that he could move freely without repercussions. Even Bruce in this run, the only guy "Alfred" is with at all times, is shown to be prejudiced against non-humans and explicitly hostile. Hiding is shown to be not just necessary, but the only surefire way to survive the Plot™.

So, uh. Just to make sure everyone is on the same page, do y'all know what Whitepassing is...? Ever since White people started bringing slavery to the shores of the new world in the 1600s, people were pretty quick to discover that as long as you were born light enough, people would no longer harass you for doing dangerous and scary things like wanting to own property or to stop being held captive and forced to do hard labor or wanting to keep your own kids. It was easy to do! Provided, of course, that you could 1) escape your circumstances in some manner, 2) give up every person you ever knew, including all friends, family, and references to thereof, and 3) pretend you're someone else for the rest of your life without ever breaking your own cover.

You may be thinking, wow, this sounds horrible and traumatizing! Sure does, and that's because it is! But it's a pretty well-known part of the Black community even today, because if you could pass, you had an infinitely better chance at making enough money to live. You could feed your kids. You could save up to own your own home. You could get a career that didn't physically break you down or disable you.

Passing is giving yourself as good a chance to live as anyone else could ever get, and all it costs is everyone and everything you've ever known. Of course people chose to pass. Of course people choose to pass even here and now.

And you know what? As soon as J'onn reveals his nature, someone close to the throne takes advantage of the knowledge to immediately kill him. Fucked up. It's notable that, in some way or form, J'onn J'onzz, Martian man from outer space, is always human-passing, but the sheer implications of being explicitly depicted as Whitepassing, even if only accidentally, blew my brain clean open.

Imagine passing in a world completely foreign to you. You don't know their customs. You don't know their language at first. You have to learn to adapt. You can't say your true name or show your true face, or everyone will know who you are— what you are. Eventually, you learn to let people close to the mask you've made, but you can never relax with them; you can say your wife is dead, but they cannot hear her name, or they will Know. You can tell them your child died in your arm, but you can't tell them where, or when, or why.

You raise a child to adulthood. They do not know your true form, and you pray they never will.

You tell them the name appropriate for their society, and that is what they call you.

Anyway. This old man is Whitepassing. I feel so bad for him.

(It's important to note that while this part of the storyline doesn't seem to go anywhere that wasn't plot relevant, that somehow didn't stop it from manifesting in the middle of this medieval aliens comic. Which. Wow. What a move.)

[howlsofbloodhounds]

I’ve been thinking about ways Killer might’ve been instrumental in furthering Nightmare’s goals of widespread negativity, and I think he probably encouraged Nightmare to engage a lot more with mortals in Universes that aren’t aware of the Multiverse as a whole.

Universes that don’t know either Killer’s or Nightmare’s reputations or faces, but also don’t know anything about the Star Sanses, or Dream or Ink.

Reminding Nightmare that human mortals have their uses, and their souls are often stronger than most of monsterkind, reminding the Boss that cases like himself, Dream, Ink, Error, and even Killer are basically outliers. Not typically considered the norm.

I think Killer probably came up with the idea of creating cells inside those universes, secretly training and manipulating both human and monster agents to serve Nightmare’s goals, regardless if any of them are fully aware of that or not. Targeting any dumb or desperate fool, especially those who have any political power or authority over a certain place like a country or an army.

Encouraging wars, gang wars, revolts, territory spats, and acts of mass terror in these universes that could give Nightmare all the negativity he needs without anyone being all the wiser.

With everyone being too busy pointing guns and fingers at eachother to notice that they’re being used for something bigger. And Killer will keep the guns of war going by discretely turning everyone against their own groups, spreading rumors and propaganda.

Assuming Killer targets people who aren’t exactly important to that universe’s script, he may even be able to evade Ink’s attention for some time.

So while the Star Sanses might think that Nightmare only has himself, Killer, and possibly also Horror, Dust, and Cross/XChara doing his bidding.

He actually secretly has both deals & agreements with certain Multiverse-Aware universes—supply Nightmare and his Gang with resources & they’ll leave you alone—but thanks to Killer’s idea, he also has billions of regular Joes working for him and they aren’t even aware of it.

And, of course, Killer would be the one out recruiting people. And I think that the information about the operative cells would likely stay classified strictly between Nightmare and Killer, even if Horror and Dust are very likely suspicious.

But if any of them try to confront Killer about it he of course plays the fool, acting loud and annoying so all they’ll want by the end of the questioning is for him to just shut up and go away and they’ll completely forget what they were even asking in the first place.

(Not Dust though. Cuz while I get the vibes that Horror and Cross just wouldn’t want to deal with Killer, I think the similarities Dust sees between Killer and the anomaly only prompts Dust to pay closer attention to Killer’s actions and less his words.)

I think Nightmare’s Gang can be pretty cool if the rest of the Multiverse sees them as mostly a group of ragtag criminals causing mayhem and negativity wherever they go, but it’s just a front for a more numbered, highly structured and functioning organization with bigger, long term plans.

You could walk past a member of Nightmare’s organization and you wouldn’t even know it. The member themself may not even be fully aware of what they involved themself in.