#mirrored mirage

[imlivinginyourtrashcan]

Okay fiiiine guys; have a sneak peak of MM PII/lh

Lenore walks through the hallways, paranoia beginning to creep into her as she replays the conversation in her head. It seemed so ridiculous, but then again, much weirder has happened within the confines of the Academy. The bell rang out through the empty corridors, making her groan. Great. More demerits to lap onto the pile. She can’t help but stare at the windows, if her reflection could speak, wouldn’t it do so while they were alone? Or is hers smarter? “No no no no, you can’t possibly be willing to entertain that idea.” She mutters, waving a hand away from no one. She glimpses Duke at the end of the hall, putting more pep in her step to catch up with his casual stride. “Duke!” She called out. He paused and turned around, smiling as soon as he saw her, “Mon amie!” He pats her on the back, “Glad to see you’re still in one piece,” He raises a brow, “C'était quoi ça?”

“Hm?” Lenore hums, tilting her head to the side, ear falling on Duke’s hand, “Why did Madame Antoinette drag you off like that?” She didn’t ponder the question, an amused smile appearing on her face after his question slipped from his mouth. “Oh, nothing really.” She dismissed, walking a bit ahead of him, “Talked my ear off about something, can’t remember what it was now.” Duke snickers, rolling his eyes playfully, “Are we going to have to try and throw her off the balcony again?” He jests, making Lenore’s demeanor grow serious, “Watch. It.” She spat through clenched teeth, he raised his hands, “Alright! Alright! Désolé, ponytail!” She still had the expression of a pissed persian cat, opening the doors of the classroom.

Miss Poppet had been rambling about the lesson for some time, all eyes turning on the two of them as they entered, “Tardiness!” Miss Poppet gawks, pointing at them, “5 demerits! Both of you!” Duke nearly groaned before the two sat down next to each other, alongside their companions. Lenore looked up at Pluto, “Did we miss anything?”

“Nothing of value…” Pluto replies, shrugging his shoulders, “Just a new lesson.”

“What about?” Duke asks, leaning forward to hear Pluto better. But instead, Berenice butted her way into the conversation, setting her hands behind her head, “Summin’ ‘bout mirrors?” Lenore could feel her face go pale. Crap, Annabel was right?! She thought she was crazy or something.

Annabel looked on, trying to keep her composure for the remainder of Ms. Poppet’s babbling, there were warnings there, she was sure, but she couldn’t focus on that right now. She would occasionally glance toward the room’s window, half wishing that the one off mirror incident would happen again so she could prove to Lenore that she wasn’t some madwoman desperate for attention. But alas, nothing. “One more thing!” Mrs. Poppet announces, clasping her hands together, “Specters are unnecessary for the lesson, do not use them unless it is absolutely vital. Good luck, students!”

Not even a second went by, and Lenore was separated from her peers, and from Annabel. She was surrounded by a maze full of mirrors, the walls and floor surrounded by glass prisms, and yet she couldn’t see her own reflection. Odd. She walked straight for a while, touching a hand to the glass in front of her, stroking it downward with her fingertips. “Strange…” she muttered, “LENORE!?” Shouted a voice, Morella’s. “Morella?” Lenore called back, following the sound, “Morella, darling? Are you here?” She called again. “Lenore!” The voice cried back, downpitching into twisted distortion. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. Lenore slowly creaked her head upwards towards the monster, seeing its hunched back and hulkling quadrupedal exterior. Claws for limbs, orange coat draping on top, and a circular mirror for a head. “I’ve finally found you..” The voice shifted in pitch, mirrored head peering down at Lenore, who didn’t hesitate for a second, turning and darting the other way.

She heard the beast roar, hearing the glass behind her thunk as it approaches, thunking right into the dead end wall, she stands and looks behind her, the monster growing ever closer. She felt a pit in her stomach, refusing to shut her eyes even though she knew the end was approaching. She feels the mirror ripple and she’s pulled in quickly, reaching towards nothing. The monster stops in front of the dead end, a low growl emitting from its throat, it looks up and cries in a bellowing his, turning away and thunking its claws into the porcelain ground.

“Lenore?” Asked a voice, making Lenore’s eyes shoot open, turning upward to see who it was. “Y’alright?” It was Montresor. He sets her down and grips her shoulders, staring into her dazed eyes, “Goin’ up against that kinda thang? Pfft- shoot! I admire yer bravery, firebug!” His face softened, looking at Lenore intently, watching her hold his head. “Y’okay? Yer not respondin’.... should I go get Duke?”

“Hhhhh…” She groaned, “Yyyyyeah, I’m gittin’ ‘em,” Montresor began, patting Lenore’s shoulder, “Stay right ‘ere, I’ll be back.” He darted off in a few seconds, jumping into another mirror without struggle. Lenore holds her head, feeling the whole room spin, it's almost too overwhelming, feeling her grasp on consciousness slip. Before it all goes dark she sees a blur, and hears a muffled shout, “Ponytail!” And then it goes black.

[gracebethartacc]

traditional doodles (ignore Grogar looks weird I had no refs to go from😭) + cosmos from the comics but my au/rewrite adaptation :3 + final legion of doom line up with elements bc I wish soooo bad the writers hadn’t scrapped it <\3 (also prob gonna call the group something different but not sure what yet maybe just straight up the legion of disharmony idk lol) but anyway YAY EVIL GANGS ALL HERE YIPPEE

[triggerthy2]

here we are again

[animalb0y]

Stevie Nicks, 1981.

[saviaris]

happy pride!!!! this is my lil contribution bc i honestly have thought about this for a while and yeah this is a v rainbow not so lil guy (he's tall ok) also demi there for sure because i think phai.non is one of the most emotionally closed off in intimacy of all types kinda person that like. he really wants to know someone first ( if he lets them in at all given his losses ) and it just makes a lot of sense to me? i've thought about possibly pan but yeah...i don't see that either. emotional connections are everything to a guy who literally has walls after walls while still seeming like the most approachable guy in amp.horeus. i think if i saw more interactions with other people i'd reconsider this but as of now, this is where i'm leaning, although i'm usually hesitant with labels?

i mean it's really up to intrepretation but i'm not really like... stern about this it's just what i'm thinking so far from what i've got. we have five...more patches to go i think? or four i'm not sure until november, iirc of amp.horeus so. it's really seeing what will happen and who else he interacts with but yeah while he is v demi-coded to me he also is very like...gay. just. his interactions with my.dei yes are a part of it but. he just strikes me even with stell.e as like 'big brother / new best friend to join the best friend hoard of tb' than like. flirting with her. but again, this may change because i'm not really usually labelling but this is my gut feeling as of now! plus i am considering a lot just. how closed off phai.non is emotionally. he just hides it so well within an 'open' demeanor right out for all to see. but romance isn't...even his priority. people not dying and era nova / not losing others / fixing the mess that is his wor.ld is.

[steviescrystal]

I love her so, so much. 🖤💜🤍

[jichulichu]

another fanart dump

[gaoau]

Mirror Mirage

Dive, sink, drown back in time.

pairing — Lu Guang x gn!reader word count — 1.6k

Sand slipping through the minimal space between the fingers; bricks replacing the marrow of the bones; madness and sanity, coherence and nonsense. People exist chained to numbers going in circles endlessly, round and round and round. Those who obey the passage of time, and those who rebel against its confinements. Citizens and criminals—or rather, regulars and murderers. Time is a fleeting permanence.

Rules are created to keep order, balance, peace, life. To disrupt them, ignore them, forget them means to end harmony and wreck existence. Do not change events in the past, for it shall destroy the present. Simple, incomprehensible; either way, the most important rule of life. Allow things to flow however nature properly dictates it, intervene as little as possible or not at all.

Time is incredibly fragile, yet so unbelievably sturdy. In study halls and waiting rooms, it becomes thick, hefty; it is present, it takes the lead, time keeps everything and everyone grounded in a locked box. Lu Guang witnesses first-hand the way it weighs on [Name]. They're paying close attention to their teacher as she rambles on and on and on. He isn't, he's watching them.

The sands of time seem to blow against their eyes, blinding them with haze and tiredness. The seconds carve themselves onto their skin, filling in the gestures when they struggle to understand. Their gaze flickers briefly towards him; a mere moment, yet so lengthy. Lu Guang sees it all.

He's one to follow the rules presented by the universe—he knows of their existence, he knows of their purpose, he knows not to break them. He reminds Xiaoshi to not disrupt them with stupid impulses in his emotions. He is careful and responsible as he holds delicate life between his fingers.

Unlike him, time is a responsibility [Name] doesn't assume—he figures that's why it hits them a billion times harder.

Rarely, however not impossibly, there exist places where time thins out into nothing but an insignificant strand of hair. Anywhere from empty parking lots to 24-hour convenience stores. [Name] takes advantage of these cracks, these openings, these flickering phenomenons where the past overlaps with the present. They slip right into them to destroy all they know as it is today.

They're one to dance around the rules imposed on them—they know of their existence, they care not about their purpose, they ignore their importance. It's fun, it's thrilling, and it puts food on their plate every time another clock shatters. They choose who to ruin while remaining unharmed as they cut the cord for others.

Lu Guang catches sight of their sparkling gaze and radiant complexion in the night. When there are too many stars to keep track of, time holds the least amount of power. It doesn't hit [Name] at all.

He glares as they leap back and forth between the now and the yesterday. One second they're gone for an entire two weeks and a half, the next hour they return within five days of a minute. Every time, they greet Lu Guang with a childlike grin.

"You shouldn't play with time so carelessly," he advises. It falls on deaf ears, for they're gone to December of a decade ago.

They reappear to his left, behind a pillar in an abandoned construction site. They hand him a souvenir—discontinued in this day and age. He frowns. Before he can reinforce his scolding, [Name] retorts, "Who says I'm playing?" A chuckle sounds as it flutters towards the moon. "Sports are a game, but still a job."

On the news, reports of happy lives turning upside down in an instant, overnight, without sense flood the channels. Lu Guang downs his coffee as he considers calculating the impossible, reaching results of two plus two summing up to a billion and five. Successful men reduced to bankruptcy, powerful women thrown off their throne, people left and right losing a realized existence to an inexplicable car crash. Events that shouldn't happen, but they do.

Disrupting the past means obliterating the present. Most commonly known as the butterfly effect: a mere ant changing its course may bring empires to their doom. He wonders if [Name] knows what they're doing—of course they do, and that is why they continue to do it.

When they meet him for coffee—hours after class but before they can slip into the past through a malfunction in the frame—Lu Guang doesn't want to believe they are the cause of all these misfortunes. Time breaks where it's forcefully torn apart. "So this is your job?" he begins, stare deadpan and inexpressive. [Name] freezes at his sharp words stabbing through their chest and crushing their lungs. Lu Guang continues in a flat sentence, "Messing up the pa—No. Destroying the present is your job?"

They force out a bitter chuckle. They pretend to not be burning up inside and outside. Their reflection in their drink distorts itself with the quivering of their hand. "It's more than that; it's worse than that."

Lu Guang leans into the table to try and find their gaze. They refuse to meet him as they turn their head away from him. "What do you do, [Name]?" he speaks between a sigh and dreadful firmness. He emphasizes his syllables too much for comfort.

With their cup pressed against their lips, [Name] manages an excuse in the shape of a mumble, "I play God." Lu Guang scrutinizes their rotten words through narrowed eyes. "I'm the ant that destroys empires." They finish their coffee before he decides to give up on glaring into their soul. He doesn't understand what they mean and they aren't willing to admit their criminal deeds. The issue is dropped by the time they flee for summer of half a century ago.

Time breaks where it's forcefully torn apart. Time requires constant stimulation in the proper places to continue its cycle of opening up and overlapping wherever chance dictates it. [Name] slips through a gap they find by coincidence or by fate, then they slice the same gap wide open once more to ensure their return to their present. If the space sews itself back up, the stitches shall forever remain closed. Although [Name] can't confirm any of their hypotheses, they aren't willing to test them out. As long as they can set off the events that shall satisfy their clients and later find their place where they rightfully belong, all is fine.

An ant may turn left to allow an empire to thrive. It may also turn right to bring it to its knees. It may as well march forward to let it exist in mediocrity. Whichever path the ant may choose, they can all be overwritten if so it's desired. [Name] plays with the cause and effect of events already set in stone; they carve new engravings on pieces of brick to replace what has already been decided. Dangerous gambles produce disastrous outcomes.

Time is thin in bathrooms in the middle of the night. Lu Guang flicks the light on at something past three in the morning. There's a haze of thick tiredness hanging over his eyes, but he cannot get a wink of sleep no matter how hard he tries. He splashes water over his face to give his mind a chance to find clarity somewhere in a refreshment. When he stares at the mirror above the sink, he's wide awake with energy of alert spiking his every nerve. Eyes closed, breaths even, basking in the sleep that has long escaped his grasp, his reflection slumbers peacefully in [Name]'s arms. He shoots a fleeting glance behind his shoulder to make sure they haven't broken into his place. He turns back to his dormant reflection and can't distinguish whether the droplets trailing down his face are the water from earlier or a nervous sweat.

He glares into their downcast eyes. The smile they wear blurs the line between painful and comforting. Their hands settle on his shoulders and Lu Guang can almost feel their touch through the reversed image the mirror offers back. His reflection is safe in their hold and [Name] is there, but not with him on this side—on the right side.

"If anything," they begin unprompted, "I did it because of you."

Lu Guang frowns on defensive instinct. "I didn't ask you to do anything."

They chuckle. It sounds so distorted, travelling through solid time and space and not through the air like it's supposed to. "I know, but I couldn't help myself. I can't imagine a present without you again." Their choice of words tears him apart.

"Do you think I can imagine one without you?"

"You won't have to put in that effort. You'll just have to get used to it."

Lu Guang falls silent. Sorrow shall morph into indifference overtime. At the same time a scar fades, the body grows closer to death. Time heals all wounds but it also makes it so no more wounds may happen. What a cursed thing the tick-tock of the numbers truly is.

Ever-so-softly, they speak up again with a trembling tone, "You always look so tired." The touch of their thumbs ghosts underneath the closed eyes of his reflection. He thinks he can feel their warmth breaking up through his skin. "Get some rest, yeah?" He closes his own eyes, knowing the most he can do is nod along with their demands.

By the time he dares open them up again, all that's left of [Name] is a whisper of their words in the form of resilience. His reflection blinks back at him. He decides not to find them.

—あごす (agosu) • 2021

[coolzvillesuckz]

who's the one reflected in the mirror / is it me or you?

[valdrift]

honestly yea i can understand why ppl were confused/disappointed with rotb mirage's personality bc i dont even think much wld have changed if he had his og one ? like its probably. definitely for comedic relief purposes to balance out noah's role as the straight man but just put in jazz at tht point ! and if mirage HAS to be there i honestly wld have loved to see snooty ex-noble mirage's dynamic with a human when he doesnt like earth and also his past of mistrust from his own faction

[yugiohcardsdaily]

Mirage Mirror Force

"When an opponent's monster declares an attack: Special Summon 1 Illusion monster from your hand or GY, and if you do, return the attacking monster to the hand. If a face-up Illusion monster(s) you control leaves the field by an opponent's card effect, while this card is in your GY (except during the Damage Step): You can banish this card; Special Summon 1 Illusion monster from your hand or GY. You can only use this effect of 'Mirage Mirror Force' once per turn."

[haryuwu]

I live...!

I just got drowned in the depths of nonstop art commissions ToT I'll update again soon about the 6th chapter of Le mirage!

[gracebethartacc]

YIPPEE

[leolithe]

Snakegirl Clowngirl Mirage? Don't mind if I DO. (source)

[papillondusublime]

Je marche dans un vide, Tel ton cœur, insipide. Là me crachent des vents Dévorant mes instants. M’avale alors le sable, Dressé comme une table. « Interdit de t’assoir! » Crie l’étoile du soir. Je m’adresse aux ténèbres Mais, de leurs yeux funèbres, Elles boivent le jour Aux promesses d’amour. Je plonge au ciel et de Sanglots remplis mes creux. Les larmes – oasis, Mirage de l’abysse. Un béant précipice Est ma soif de justice. Le comblent des fossiles; Exister c’est l’exil.

Homme sans patrie, Tu es comme un désert froid. J'erre à l'infini, Perdue au fin fond de toi. Homme sans patrie, Tu es comme un désert froid. Touchant l'infini, Tes rêves j'entends et vois.

Tu es miroir qui pleure, Image de douleurs Dont les vagues se brisent Sur mon cœur et le brisent. La brise des malchances Porte ailleurs mes souffrances. Les pays sans visage Dessinent paysages. Et, d’une voix cassée, J’ose enfin confesser Ma solitude aux arbres Aux racines de marbre. Je tombe avec la feuille Dans sa tombe sans deuil. Enterrée dans l'oubli, J’ai sommeil. Elle, un lit. Rêvant, un voile épais M’est plus lourd qu’une épée. Linceuls de fleurs fanées Gisent où je suis née.

Homme sans patrie, Tu es comme un désert froid. Chante à l'infini Au nom du soleil en toi. Homme sans patrie, Tu es comme un désert froid. Chante l’infini Au nom crié mais sans toit. Sors du froid désert, Ouvre la porte aux rivières. Et fuis les mirages Au reflet à ton image. Enfant de la joie, Deviens la voix du sublime Car ce n'est pas toi Le désert froid et l'abîme.

Homme sans patrie, Tu es comme un désert froid. Homme sans patrie, Le désert ce n'est pas toi. J'erre à l'infini, Perdue au fin fond de toi. Touchant l'infini, Tes rêves j'entends et vois. Tu es comme un désert froid. Tu es comme un désert froid. Tuer tous les déserts froids: Voilà l'essentiel. Voir est l’essence du Ciel.

-Poésie: "Chanson du désert froid (d’après un rêve)", à lire dans "Genèse d'une femme" par Marine Mariposa, disponible gratuitement sur https://sites.google.com/view/papillondusublime/gen%C3%A8se-dune-femme -Image: ''Bédouins dans le désert'', Eugène Alexis Girardet

[unmatchedmemer]

"He promised me a better heaven ... Instead I got a worse hell."

...'Two Psychopaths, One diary.'