#so this is the vengeance knight spirit :]

[voltaical-art]

urghh im just gonna post this… some Bishop lore…

[age-of-moonknight]

“Age of Khonshu: Part 1 - Moon Knight vs. The Avengers,” The Avengers (Vol. 8/2018), #33.

Writer: Jason Aaron; Penciler and Inker: Javier Garrón; Colorist: Jason Keith; Letterer: Cory Petit

[stealingyourbones]

Submitted Prompts #99

Jazz went to Gotham to finish her degree away from her parents, as their obsession with Ghosts started becoming dangerous to everyone. So, of course, she brought Danny with her, so he's also far away from them and the GIW.

Danny held out a whole year without going out on patrol, just establishing his haunt in the new city. Lady Gotham was very happy to be able to show them to their new place, almost giddy that the little King and his Queen Mother have come to live in her beloved city.

Of course, the first time Phantom floats out of his window and into the night, he has a new suit, made of padded black leather, and a fluffy white cape with a hood (imagine the Lightkin Cloak from Destiny2, but snow white, rather than black and grey), along with a facemask engraved with a fanged design. New haunt, new look, and the new look fit right in with the viciousness of Gotham City.

And, as luck would have it, his first Gotham Rogue was Poison Ivy. Thinking back to his fight against Undergrowth, Pantom opened with his ice, forming a double-sided axe to better cleave her vines apart, and locking Ivy herself down with ice.

To further distance himself from his identity as Phantom, in case the GIW somehow became smart at some point, instead of blasting ice like most ghosts fire ectoblasts, Danny asked Pandora for lessons on fighting with weapons, and Frosbite taught his how to channel his element as an aura, or a freezing breath. He even sat down to listen to Nocturne speak as they wove spells and ectoplasm, and the Personification of Dreams softly taught him how to use his powers through objects acting as catalysts, or as manifestations of his will, rather than throwing his affinities around by brute force.

With his new abilities and look, rather than fight like a feral raccoon, Danny took to fighting more like a spellblade, slinging around ice shard and spells to enhance his physical strikes, controlling the pace of a fight to get the upper hand on his enemies.

Suffice to say, Poison Ivy hadn't expected the Avatar of Icy Vengeance to lock her in a pillar of ice up to her neck while her vines withered into frosty sculptures.

Gotham's newest hero got awarded a new name by the news the next day: Ymir, Frozen Progenitor.

Danny thinks it's too pretentious for a random ghost, or random halfa, like him. Joke's on him, the perception of Gotham's people slowly starts empowering him, slowly enough that the only reason he notices his oncoming Ascension to myth as a Protector Spirit is when a terrified kid begs for his help, and he hears them loud and clear out of nowhere.

The Bats are confused by this Entity. Constantine stepped one foot in Gotham, felt it's cleaner air, the sharp bite of ice in his nose and lungs, and the overwhelming pressure of the new Godling training under Gotham herself to control his new powers, and ran out screaming about not getting paid enough to deal with divine beings. Zatanna is trying to contact Ymir to ask them to join the Justice League Dark.

Jason is vibing with the tall redhead Amazon he's met at Babs' library, and her feral little brother who cured his Pit Rage by biting his arm when they first met. One time Jason is in a pinch after a stakeout gone wrong, Bellona (Ancient Roman Goddess of War) takes the fight to his captors to free him, dressed in golden armor and wielding a spear Pandora and Firght Knight made for her. Nocturne and her brother worked together to imbue a spell into her back to give her wings she can use to fly or fight with. The fact it left a badass tattoo on her back, is just another way Jazz rebels against her parents. It also has Jason weak in the knees when he first sees it.

[quess-art]

Character Design for Princess Leah, mother of Silver

Design notes & Headcanons!

We very limited information about Leah so most of my choices are headcanons

Her princess design is based on King Henrik's colours which I assume are the colours of royalty

Since the Knight of Dawn's hair colour is Aurora's, Leah's hair is based on Prince Phillip's hair colour

Leah's dress is based on Aurora's and Aurora's mother's dresses in the Sleeping Beauty movie, especially the veil, dress cut, and accessory shape (modelled after Aurora's crown)

As the Princess of Dawn, many see Leah as a kind and beautiful princess who is always surrounded by butterflies attracted to her spirit

Although she isn't unkind, she has a sense of pride and petty vengeance. Many don't know that pretty-looking insects aren't the only critters around her

Like how Silver attracts animals and woodland critters, Leah attracts insects and arthropods. To an extent, she can communicate with these creatures. Thanks to this, crops grown on this land are bountiful and infestations are extremely rare

Leah is usually seen working in the castle so she uses the time surveying farmlands as moments of respite from maintaining the royal image (she also learned a lot of swears due to this)

Almost like Silver, when she sleeps, she's dead to the world. She's gotten used to waking up with her little friends crawling around/on her. When her future-husband was assigned to be her guard, he nearly had a heart attack the first time he saw this

She has 3 creatures she's especially close with: Albert XLI the silk moth, Ravanche the centipede, and Paon the jumping spider. She planted Ravanche multiple times on Henrik when they were younger when he was being stupid or annoying

She almost used her again when she saw Henrik antagonizing her husband but he stopped her. She constantly reminds him that he has already repaid the royal family for taking him in when he was younger but his sense of integrity and knighthood always seeks to repay the kingdom

But she is no knight or fighter. When the war ravaged the lands and fae-human relations broke in part due to Henrik's foolishness, she was separated from her knight and husband throughout the war

[moncherellie]

hii!! i saw you were taking requests so can u write an knight!ellie x princess!reader period piece?

it was never meant to be

a/n: thank you for the cool request! i don't know how i feel about this- never wrote for this time period before. it was a fun learning curve!! i hope you enjoy it. requests are open <3 please. please. tell me. smut or fluff or angst idc

-content/warnings: 1.8k words, fem!princess!reader x knight!ellie, arranged marriage/political marriage, mentions of reader having to marry a man, slight angst? happy ending though, feminine reader i suppose

You were a goddess amongst mortals, treading the Earth lightly and gracing the barren ground with flowering spring beauty. There was an elegance to your touch. Anyone blessed enough to know you were changed for the better, your kindness and charity caressing their soul like hundreds of dandelion wisps in the wind. Heads turned when you walked down the pathways, villagers hoping to get a glimpse of their beloved princess, to catch her stray gaze as she passed. You were the kind of person who would never be subject to malice; even if someone wished they could despise you, the love behind your eyes would soothe their violent minds. Your soul seemed to be sculpted by the hand of a creator who endowed you with pure goodness.

Ellie’s skin was etched with years' worth of hardship, mental fortitude carved into her perpetually crinkled brow. Dirt caked her bloodstream, poisoning her soul as it moved through her heart. Behind her eyes was no mercy, no forgiveness, only seeking vengeance on some imaginary being that had seen no value in her from the moment of creation. It seems the same deity that sculpted you had been corrupted as it created her, molding her heart of ashes and skin of rotten wood. She was a decades-old shattered, rusty sword thrown into a river. No value. No hope. Only a broken promise of a better future that had been forgotten.

​​But your merciful, generous sight had befallen her by some stroke of luck. You recognized something good within her and gave her the chance she'd always dreamt about. You sponsored her induction into knight training, looking past her fiery faults and into the essence of her spirit, finding a spark of virtue. You tended to it until the ember became a blaze, and Ellie Williams became a force to be reckoned with. Despite the whispers of naysayers around the castle, there was something honorable and just inside her. There would never be enough words in the English language for Ellie to express her gratefulness to you properly. Even if there were, she couldn't string them together- she was never skilled with words. Instead, her every step carried a purpose: to echo your goodness through her actions.

Every so often, she'd find a quiet moment and reminisce upon the years of hardship she'd endured in training. Initially, she'd been one of the weakest pupils, lanky and malnourished but with a lust for improvement. She would cry herself to sleep the first year, and every night, she'd sneak out to see the dear princess, who would hold her and assure her that she belonged. It took time, but Ellie began to believe her. She sought comfort from you night after night, conversation topics turning personal after Ellie’s mental health had begun to improve. You’d talk about nothing and everything: silly hypotheticals, stories of growing up. The juxtaposition between your upbringing and hers was comical, but you both found comfort in learning about each others’ lives. 

When Ellie was with you, she felt like her social status didn’t matter. She was just a girl, and you were just the girl she was in love with. The class difference didn’t matter and neither did the impossibility of being together. Just two girls in love, neither with the courage to admit it. 

The lingering touches turn into shy smiles as Ellie sits in your room. Ornate tapestries adorn the walls and silk kerchiefs cast you in warm golden light- you look like a sun goddess in a long linen dress, your well-manicured hand coming to rest on Ellie’s knee as you laugh at something she said. Her rude humor was a welcome change to the sterility of castle life. You grew tired of the roles forced upon you by your authoritative parents and court, and vastly preferred Ellie’s brash personality. Your parents would have a collective aneurysm if they knew you were mingling with the ‘peasant knight’ (their words, obviously), so the two of you were reduced to sneaking around. 

Ellie’s smile dropped a bit as she felt your touch through her trousers. Her head felt dizzy and she attempted to compose herself, finding it hard to focus when your touch was so delicate and warm. Your call of her name was like a siren song, impossible to ignore its dulcet velvety tones. “Ellie?”

“Yes, Princess?”

You scoff. “Stop with the title. You know I hate it.”

Ellie smiles. A selfish thought crosses her mind- she wishes you were born normal, born in the village like her instead of in an ivory tower. Maybe then, things could have worked out. “That’s why I use it.” You laugh again, and she feels her stomach turn. Why couldn’t you be like me?

-

A week later, Ellie’s thoughts are the opposite. You sit in the throne room, grandiose decor embellishing the great chamber. Lavish royal purple flags and bright maroon banners drop and fold along the walls. Opulent chandeliers of pure wrought iron hang from the ceiling, supporting crystal fixtures through which valuable beeswax candles bathe the room in light. Stained glass rose windows and fleur de lys seem to further isolate Ellie, who stands guard by your throne. Invasive thoughts plague her as she keeps her professional face. I don’t belong here. I never have. I wish I was like you- then I could take you away from here. The thoughts are heightened when she sees the reason the entire town is gathered under the concave.

Four suitors from across the land vie for your hand in marriage. Ellie bites her tongue, her taste buds flooding with a familiar metallic sting. 

They don’t really want you, not like I do. All they want is power. They don’t treasure your time or your kindness. You deserve more. 

She clutches her spear, posture erect, seeming the quintessential knight. Only you noticed how her hand shook with nerves, how she seemed to hold onto the weapon as if letting go would kill her.

Each suitor takes time to introduce themselves. They focus on their own qualities, never talking about why they would be honored to be with you. And they would be. You sit on your throne, deep purple taffeta draping your body elegantly as you cross your legs. Aphroditic, a Hellenistic Roman statue come alive. Romantic, expressive, nymphlike in every way. If you were Euydice, Ellie thinks she must’ve been Orpheus. The anticipation of witnessing you choose your husband (and thus leaving her) was beginning to affect Ellie physically. Her heart felt like it would die in her chest: she swore she felt an arrhythmia. 

First, the suitor from the East describes what he would gift you if wed. As if you would be swayed by material possessions. The suitor from the South notes his conquests. The changes in your expression are minute, but Ellie knows the look. You’re entirely disgusted, and she clears her throat to catch your attention. You look over, the unimpressed look still donning your face, but your eyes light up when you see her. Ellie smiles- a silent reminder: I’m still here for you. It’s like you’re the only two people in the room.

The Western suitor wears his pants inside out, and your eyes immediately meet Ellie’s. You cover your mouth with your hand, appearing classy while chuckling and snorting behind your cover. 

The Northern suitor is handsome and decent, Ellie reluctantly admits. She’s not blind. She hates that she doesn’t hate him. He expresses interest in you and vows to give you autonomy. It’s basic, but more than the others offered. She tries to read your expression and for once, she can’t. It makes her heart drop. 

After every suitor is introduced, you and your court go into the back room to discuss your final decision. The decision that, whomever you choose, will ruin Ellie. She stands guard before the door, straining her hearing to find some clue that you won’t marry these men. She begs silently to whatever immortal being watches over her. 

You haven’t done much for me. I haven’t asked for much. But I’ll do anything to stop this. Please. 

A knock at the door signals Ellie to move away. She takes your hand and leads you back to the throne. You sit, and Ellie has to will herself to let go of you. What if this is the last time she’ll be able to hold you? The thought nearly brings her to her knees. Her joints ache with every step she takes away from you, returning to her post in front of the chancel. Your father stands, his creaking bones the only sound in the room. Everyone holds their breath as he speaks.

It’s detached apolitical jargon that Ellie can barely pay attention to. She thinks that if she doesn’t listen, the situation won’t become real. To her dismay, your father ends his aloof speech and presents you. Sir Williams has never felt so sober.

Ellie watches with wide eyes as you stand. She peers up at you from below the stage, and she can’t help but realize what a perfect metaphor this is. You stand above her, gilded and unobtainable, while she looks up, dreaming of what could’ve been. Of course, she’ll support any decision you make, but she’ll never be happy with it. It seems time moves gruelingly slowly as she awaits your voice. At any other moment, she’d be hanging off your every word, waiting excitedly for what you have to share next. But now, she hopes the words never come.

You open your mouth, words leaving in slow motion. She wants to close your mouth to shut you up and kiss you so hard that you never think about anyone else again. She doesn’t.

“Dearest suitors, I thank you for coming here today. Your travels are long and treacherous and your efforts do not go unnoticed. As noted by my father, I have come to a decision regarding my spouse. I am firm in my choice, as this is the most chivalrous, goodhearted, and impressive person I have met. The only person who understands me.”

Ellie is used to you switching from your formal persona to your true self, but she never gets over it. It’s you, but it’s not you. You stroll along the chancel, in thought, and Ellie takes the chance to admire everything about you as if this is the last time she’ll be able to. Posture, gait, the way you hold yourself as if you’re sure about every action. She doesn’t know you’re terrified beyond belief.

Your finger comes out to point to a suitor. The great hall inhabitants draw a collective breath, Ellie included. You drag your finger from the right side of the stage, passing over the suitors of the East, South, and West. Ellie knows where this is going. Of course, you’ll choose North. He was the obvious choice, and she couldn’t fault you for that. And suddenly, your finger passes by him.

Ellie’s mind races. What’s happening?

Your body turns, and soon, Ellie stares down your hand, furrowing her brow. Her eyes are filled with childlike hope.

“Ellie Williams, if you’ll have me?”

[chocolatemilk-77]

Yandere Genshin Harem with Sick Darling (Part I: Mondstadt)

This was originally supposed to just be a little imagine of a harem with a sick Darling, but then it started getting super long so I went “hey, not not make it a small series?” I plan on making a Liyue part and an Inazuma part, and possibly one last bonus part at the end.

Other Parts: Part II: Liyue (in progress), Part III: Inazuma (in progress)

(a bit of yandere content ahead, nothing dark, all the Genshin characters are just super clingy and/or protective, Darling is gender neutral with they/them pronouns, the characters are definitely ooc because I don’t know how to write their personalities especially Eula)

You love your friends, you really do, but you wish they would give you a bit of space.

You’re resting at the Cathedral, wrapped in blankets with Barbara rushing off to grab more things you need while Rosaria is trying to get her to calm down.

Amber is hand feeding you and trying to keep your spirits high, Lisa is holding you and telling you to get some rest, Kaeya is being Kaeya and is teasing you on how adorable you look all swaddled up, Eula is demanding to know who you’ve been interacting with recently so she can take vengeance upon whoever gave you their disease.

“I appreciate the concern, but it’s just a fever. I can still take care of myself,” you sniff. Your nasally voice doesn’t do much to ease their worries.

“Even if it is “just a fever,” you’re still sick and need to rest! Now, come on, open up!” Amber holds a fork of steak near your mouth, adamant on not letting you lift a finger.

You’re about to protest, only to be cut of by a coughing fit. Lisa’s hand rubs circles on your back. “Now now, there’s no need to be so stubborn. Just let us take care of you.”

You have to admit, that steak does smell really good, and you haven’t eaten much today. So you open your mouth and let your teeth sink into the delectable meal. “That’s more like it.” Kaeya’s fingers run through your hair. “See? Isn’t it much easier when you do as you’re told?”

“Enough of your nonsense.” Eula waves away Kaeya’s hand and stands close to you. Her face is mere inches away from yours, and her eyes are swirling with bridled rage. “I will repeat this one last time; who dare pollute you with their disgusting virus?”

“No one, it’s just—“

“More blankets, more pillows, fresh water- oh no! I forgot the soup!” Barbara quickly drops the items she brought you before backing away again. “I’m so sorry! I’ll be right back—!”

“There’s no need for that.” Rosaria’s voice brings Barbara to a halt. “They have more than enough food right here. Your skills would be put to better use by ensuring their comfort.”

“Oh, you’re right!” Immediately, Barbara is at your side, holding both of your hands in hers. “Don’t worry. We’ll take good care of you until you recover!”

Even as everyone fusses over you, your attention keeps diverting back to Diluc and Jean. There’s a clear tension between them as they bicker between themselves.

“The knights are more than capable of taking care of them. Your services are appreciated, but not needed.”

“My maids are much more well equipped when it comes to matters such as this. Their every beck and call will be answered, and they’ll have all the comforts of home.”

“I am not doubting your maids’ abilities to care for their attendants. However, with Klee’s recent departure to retrieve Albedo, I’m certain the knights can handle this.”

Each word that spills out is laced with venom. Scowls on their faces, it’s a bit of a surprise neither has raised their voice yet.

“Huh?” Amber hums in confusion as you stand up, letting the blankets fall from your shoulders. “Where are you heading?”

“Just getting some fresh air,” you reply. “I appreciate you guys helping me, I really do, but trust me when I say it’s not that big of a deal.” You try to ignore the dizziness you feel as a consequence of standing up too quickly, only for your balance to be regained with the help of Lisa.

“Be careful now, cutie,” she playfully coos, though you catch a hint of concern in her words.

“Wait, I’ll come with you! Just in case, you know?” Amber excitedly bounds next to you, pulling you into an embrace. “Come on!” She cheerfully tugs you along, leading you to the exit of the Cathedral while Barbara worriedly tries to catch up, voicing her protests.

“Hold it.” Diluc’s voice stops Amber right as she opens the door.

“What do you think you’re doing? You could risk their condition worsening,” he continues.

Despite recently being in an argument with him, Jean nods in agreement. “Yes. Our best option would be to keep them inside so they have the chance to properly recover.”

“Oh come on. It’s just some fresh air!” Amber defends.

One second. They had taken their attention off of you for one second, and all of a sudden, you’re being snatched away. They’re all able to catch it, but only Diluc and Jean recognize the green blur.

“That bard,” Diluc growls before giving chase, with everyone else quickly following suit.

The one currently carrying you breezes through Mondstadt, knocking over anyone and everyone in their path. You’re faintly able to hear the calls of your concerned caretakers.

“How dare you!”

“Release them at once!”

“Please, come back!”

Suddenly, they fly upwards, and you and your captor disappear from sight.

~~~~~~~~~~

“So sorry I whisked you away without warning! You just looked like you needed a bit of space!” Venti’s singsongy tone made it hard to believe he was actually sorry.

You groan, too fatigued from your sudden abduction to really pay attention to anything as you’re carried into the branches of a large tree. The Archon sits down and puts you on his lap. A cool gust of wind makes you shiver, and sink even further into his embrace. You rest against his chest and he relishes in your touch.

Soon, he starts singing a soft melody. Any tension in your body is melted away and your eyes begin to droop.

“They’re not gonna be too happy about this, you know,” you quietly mumble. Your concerns are silenced as Venti rubs your back.

The soothing lullaby doesn’t stop until he’s sure you’re asleep. He takes a moment to admire your relaxed expression, gently caressing your cheek.

“There’s no need to worry, my dear, sweet cecilia. I’ll handle such matters myself.”

[lightwing-s]

the batboys' favorite male marvel heroes

Our golden boy, Dick, is a massive Spiderman fan. He’s not embarrassed in the least to admit it, and he’s also not worried people will think of him as just liking something popular. He has pretty good reasons to like Peter Parker and he’ll defend it to hell and back. He’s young, fun, and lighthearted. Heroic and smart and handsome and sweet and Dick can go on for hours and hours on that topic. At a young age, he sympathized with Peter for a number of reasons: they were both orphans, taken in by someone after this loss; even after all that pain they still grew up to be happy and joyful people to be around; both are very smart. As he grew into his super hero persona, they started sharing a whole lot more, like their flexible fighting style, the way they both deal with villains. And you’d often tell him they share the same bubbly personality. Also, Bruce used to spoil him rotten with spidey gifts. Comics, action figures, school supplies, spiderman shampoo and conditioner, towels… You name it, Dick has had it at home. Truly a spidey fanboy through and through. He also has a costume at home waiting for the day he can go on patrol wearing it.

Let's be honest here, we all know Jason would live for the anti-hero trope. Growing up, he’d always been drawn to more heroic types of antiheroes, like Wolverine for example, who’s hell bent on fulfilling his duty but does not live by the hero standards as some others do.  But after a certain incident with a crowbar and a clown, he saw refuge in the spirit of vengeance himself, the Ghost Rider. C'mon, a motorcycling maniac, whose body is completely covered in fire and who fights for justice no matter what? *side eyes a certain somebody* there's no way it isn't up to his alley. He’s in the comic store right after patrol, in the early mornings, to buy whatever issue was released next and reads it like it’s a Jane Austen novel. He also buys older issues, and keeps them wrapped and well stored like his precious babies and he ain’t letting anyone touch them. Perhaps with one dear exception, you.  Jay is into the classics though, if he had to pick between one out of all the riders he would have to choose the very first rider, Johnny Blaze. When riding his own bike, he’d pretend to be a rider, spitting lines he remembers from the comics and using them on random robbers he stops on the streets. Don’t talk to him about the movie though, that’s off topic.

Tim Drake is not one to pick “silly” heroes like his older brothers do. Or he at least pretends to do. He’s into the smart supes, with admirable brains and capacities well beyond imaginable. But he’s also a bit of a contrarian, so he won’t go for easy picks like Dick Iron Man. So when he sees a powerful AI turn into a nearly unstoppable android he instantly becomes a fan. Even before living with Bruce and becoming Robin, he would ask his parents to get him the new Avengers issue with Vision in it. However, unlike his brothers he’s very chill about it, he doesn’t feel like he needs to explain why his favorite is the best, or why they're a token of justice or a mad warrior. He knows Vision is good and that no one can fight him about it. He also wishes he could stay awake without the need for rest like he does, but he’d definitely miss the coffee.

Don’t really let anyone know it, but Damian’s favorite hero is his dad. But Batman is a real, flesh and bone man, so it won’t count here. He struggled to have a favorite hero, reading comics is “for children” and he’s too mature for that. He’s an adult. But when he caught a glimpse of Dick sleeping watching the new Moon Knight tv show, this boy got hooked. Not only is he a cool,  merciless fighter, he is also intelligent and has a cultural impact on him like no other. Marc’s internal conflict with all of his personalities feels like a reflection of Damian’s own troubles with his families’ contrasting ideals: is he supposed to be a deadly weapon just like his grandfather would want, much like Jake Lockely, or is he a nicer warrior-esque hero like Marc and his father? Anyway, that cape, Dami loves the hooded cape *see that, bats? much cooler!*

[mako-neexu]

AUGHHHHHHh!!!!!!!!! crazy again!!! it really comes back to prison tower/knk collab in the end oh my godfhkjdf

the way dantes' eyes in his first Avenger spirit origin carries a design similar to the demon pillars which also applied as well to his clothes especially his cloak which symbolize the fact that he really is meant to be a tool to goetia and was even prepared as a vessel for a demon god pillar but the context CHANGES once he met HIS ACCOMPLICE HIS DESTINY HIS STAR ON THAT DAY. the meaning CHANGES when he meets and gets to know guda!!! that which made him summonable and molded him into a shadow and flame of hatred manifest carrying the sole objective to harm that innocent soul, a man who is not "edmond dantes" overcame the shackles imposed upon him by the king of demon gods and accepted another fate, that shining star so brilliant and incredible, that dazzled him on that day.

goetia failed as he didnt understand humans even as that desire to protect is there- that which the vengeful demon once was a simple man with wishes of his own and so chose to become a tiny light of hope to this soul that proved its determination to him. he is not a man who gives into fate yet he is a fellow soul that has tasted hell and so knows the despair of being in a similar circumstance, this demon who carries a flame of hatred as strong as his compassion for others who wished to achieve that which they desire. because how could you carry such malice for humanity if you couldn't also love it. it's already a well-established fact that the opposite of love is not hate but indifference itself and vice versa...

cross shaped eyes symbolizing the existence as nothing more than a pawn and yet something shone at the edge of his vision, and so witnessed that little star that has yet to reach its destination, remaining bright even in the face of sins, in the face of so much darkness, he answers their steel of resolve with his own. and so breaks away from whom he was forced to serve and instead willingly embraces another kind of fate.

he doesnt and cant change into any class other than Avenger. for it is in this class that he met you on that day, it is in this class he would be able to remember you clearly and forevermore, as he can also stay by your side even should the world move on without you in it, even should the world itself shuns you entirely. it is in this class that he can also solely materialize in as the world famously remembers the count of monte cristo from the revenge story beloved by all not the man who let his flames be extinguished by love at the end of his journey. it is in this class that he's able to burn himself out as bright as the star that took his breath away. as dazzling and radiant as the moment that changed him in this 'second' life of his.

also notice how the angling of his face and body posture is changed like the glower from dantes part 1 greatly contrasts that of himself in part 2 3rd ascension where he stands as if empowered by that star in which he met... we meet the white haired demon of the prison tower, stuck once more in a hell which he loathed, here, he stands as if like an angel, like a demon, like a knight, like a priest...before his enemies, before his Master... it gives off the feeling of being empowered by love and hope and vengeance all the same after going through so much alongside that person he accompanied with all this time.... the resolve and attachment to which he cares about allowing him to be stronger than he ever was....allowing him to wield his flames for your sake.............

[fawntarot999]

What is your new 2023 aesthetic? 💁‍♀️👑💄

Close your eyes and take a deep breath, then pick a pile 🔮 don’t think too much 💋

Decks ~ Mystic Mondays Tarot, Fyodor Pavlov Tarot, The Herbiary Oracle, Rider-Waite Tarot, Rebel Deck Oracle, Tarot of the Cat People

Pictures are from Pinterest, I do not own them

Pile I ~ Jackie

King of Cups, 2 of Wands rx, 8 of Pentacles, 3 of Swords, 7 of Pentacles, Rose, Fool rx, Tower rx, Fucking Apologize, Blank

Hahahaha, okay Jackie you got hurt and now your coming back with a vengeance, huh? It’s real though. It’s not a fake bad bitch energy, it’s an actual prosperity energy. Let’s think Megan Fox aesthetic. 2023 is the year in which you should begin to pursue your creative desires more passionately and in more of a business sense. Stop planning and thinking so much and go get it because the energy is there to turn your emotions into art into money. You were deeply hurt last year. Heartbroken. Some of you were cheated on. This year is your restart. This is the year you’re done playing a fool and waiting for more bad events to happen. It’s the year you start over and learn how to crack open and be beautifully in sync with your emotions. Your challenge this year is forgiving yourself and practicing self care. Forgive yourself and apologize to everyone you’ve wronged. You’re literally being given a blank slate (your last card is blank) and all I hear in my head is “the rest is unwrittennnn”. Single, making money, being creative, bad bitch energy, reds, pinks, oranges, THE WORLD IS YOUR OYSTER THIS YEAR!

Spirit Shuffle ~ Both Sides of the Moon by Celeste, WYTYNM by Miles Monaco, Junie by Solange, 6000 degrees by $hyfromdatre, my strange addiction by Billie Eilish

Pile II ~ Skate

Queen of Swords, Lovers, Justice, Chickweed, Tulsi, Justice, Knight of Swords, Don’t Fucking Force It, Temperance, Page of Pentacles

Damn, Skate, ain’t shit slidin by you this year. You’re calling bitches out left, right, and center. This is that “don’t lie to me, I’ll know” energy. Some of you might be feeling emotionally detached as well. I’m seeing an alignment of many things here: being brutally honest and just with others, discovering your own self worth, and this cute little academia bookworm vibe that would be so cute on you this year. I keep seeing the cover of Khalid’s first album as like an aura or energy for you guys this year. I’m seeing a lot of you might be in school or even law school this year. Some of you might be getting a divorce. This is a good fresh energy for that and it feels very positive. This year feels like a “that girl” energy: focused on school or learning, truth, and reading of some kind, and really discovering what it means to have a self love relationship with yourself. The only thing is sometimes you have a tendency to force things or move too quickly. This year is about learning how to let life flow naturally, let things come to you, practice the law of attraction, and find abundance from a place of calm. I’m so excited for you, Skate. This year you will learn how sacred you are.

Spirit Shuffle ~ Sick Shit by Together Pangea, I’m That Type of N**** by The Pharcyde, Brain Soup by Nasty Cherry, Sugar Honey Iced Tea (S.H.I.T.) by Princess Nokia, THERAPY! by Lauren Sanderson

Pile III ~ Cig

Justice rx, 5 of Pentacles rx, Quaking Aspen, Daisy, 2 of Swords, You’re The Shit, Drop The Fucking Ego rx, Empress rx, Rejuvenation (Judgement)

This year you are coming into yourself, Cig. This is your “don’t fuck with me” year. You’re upsetting the scales this year, Cig, and you don’t care anymore who’s mad about it. You’ve been rejected and neglected and had love withheld from you. You’re over that shit. This is some powerful energy and it’s giving “I don’t care what you think about me anymore”. You are learning how to be yourself. You have been the peacekeeper for too long. You’ve been making compromises for others for too long. It’s always a choice between being who you really are and receiving love and resources. You are learning that you SHOULD have an ego because guess what, you’re the fucking shit, Cig. You are learning to integrate the masculine side of you. This could be finding your voice and speaking out, exploring gender and sexuality, or finally feeling enough autonomy to make choices for yourself. When you can employ this masculine side of you, you will feel truly expressed, fulfilled, and reborn. I thought this reading was gonna be light but I think this year is gonna be really transformative for you, Cig. And it will happen through your own choices and agency. You are already perfect 🪷

Spirit Shuffle ~ cat scratch by Dua Saleh, No Effort by Princess Nokia, Recipe! by Jean Deaux, Moody! by Jean Deaux, fxck it then by Yaya Bey

[lyannatropes]

I'm actually a relatively new follower, are there any blorbos in particular you want to show off?

I have many a blorbos that I actually don't show off enough, so here is some of them!

My secret obsession and awful woman I think about all the time. Opal is the first character I ever played in a ttrpg (Urban Shadows), and she was an ex monster hunter on a vengeance after her werewolf girlfriend was killed. She is so bad and tragic I can't help but love her deeply.

My dear "Looks terrifying, is actually a cinnamon roll (unless you hurt her shadow pet then fucking run)" lady knight, Lucrezia. She's an outcast who gets along better with spirits than humans, and she has a special bond with a shadow spirit who uses animal bones like shells called Catena. She's also another character I played!

My "Was a dragon in a previous life, is reincarnated again and again as a human after a curse" sorceress and artefacts enthusiast, Alyssa. She's also a character I played in an Urban Shadows game, the dragon playbook was perhaps the most fun I ever had. She had so many badass moments that live rent free in my head. I don't have art of her on my laptop and that is tragic.

Since this is getting long, I'll lastly mentioned my necromancer and lady knight Lavinia. She can see spirits and travel to the underworld, but in doing so accidentally poked where she wasn't meant to and she is now haunted by a powerful spirit. She is in a throuple with two other necromancers, Maria and Artemisia.

[iridiss]

So I really like the concept of MCD Aaron & Laurance being friends. If you moved some stuff around in the timeline, like delaying Laurance’s shadow knight transformation to WELL after they meet Aaron, and match things up in time for Laurance to travel to the VP timeline, die to the Alter at the very end of season 1 a la Garroth’s sacrifice in the Irene Dimension style, and become a shadow knight either before or during the time Aaron becomes Shad’s vessel, I think it could bring about some juicy character dynamics and scenarios

(character and story analysis/ideas/headcanons below, content warning for ptsd and in-depth discussions of trauma)

I like the concept of them meeting in life, before either of them have died, when Aaron has closed himself off from the world and become hardened by the pain, fear, grief, and vengeful fury that came from watching his wife, son, and entire village die. When they meet, he’s stoic, he’s living off of vengeance alone, he’s miserable. The feared and infamous Werewolf Killer gets picked up by Aphmau, Garroth, Laurance, and Dante and brought into the Phoenix Drop Alliance, likely because he’d have much better chances at finding and killing High Priest Zane with them than just by wandering the icy wastes on his own. But the boys take him in as one of their own, they become friends, and Laurance is an especially big help to Aaron’s progress. Laurance is the comedian, he’s the playful clown, he’s the competitive spirit getting others fired up and shining their brightest, he’s the hype-man, he’s the one who cracks the jokes that keep you going in the midst of the horrific terrors of war. He’s like a dog, he brings infectious laughter wherever he goes, laughter Aaron is in dire need of. Laurance teaches Aaron the value of being light-hearted and genuine. He teaches him how to unwind, how to relax, how to have fun, how to play again. Through him, Aaron learns how to recognize when he’s safe, when he doesn’t have to fight. He can put his sword down and kick back for a while, join in on the games. He can forget about the pain for a little while. He’s the one who teaches him safety—which makes it all the more impactful when that’s the very thing that later gets torn from them.

I like the concept of Laurance being a Shadow Knight at the same time his old friend has been warped into his Shadow Lord. Aaron fights Shad and tries to heaven and back to protect his old friend from all the torture and the beatings and the brutalization designed to crush, but there’s only so much he’s capable of saving. You can have one version of their dynamic that’s much less angsty, where he does actually manage to protect Laurance from Shad’s wrath and control, preventing him from spiraling from the trauma and Shad’s influence later, and Laurance gets to keep his old, bright self through his escape and rebellion—but you can also make some delectable angst from the two of them, and I think I like that concept a little better ;>

I like to imagine that though there is a magical aspect to the Shadow Lord’s control over his knights, and he is able to possess and “puppeteer” them and send them into a blindly violent state that can be signaled by the Knight’s strong emotions, most of what makes a Shadow Knight a Shadow Knight is purely psychological. Every one of them is a person that went through a literal and emotional hell so viscerally traumatizing that they’re just…broken. They have to follow his every order, they can’t speak for themselves, they can’t do or think anything else, because God only knows what would happen to them if they did, and that gets programmed into their bones so deeply that the terrified little animal in their brains isn’t capable of even thinking of anything else—because he’s in their thoughts too. He’s in their minds, he can read their thoughts, he knows how they’re feeling, he’s in their bodies, he’s in their veins and their guts and their bones, like a terrible leech. And what thing is more horrific than losing your own autonomy and self-agency, what thing is more traumatic than having someone else, a writhing parasite of an untouchable, unstoppable man, taking your body as his property and using you, breaking you, controlling you, making you do everything you never wanted to do, like a million cockroaches inside your innards, that you can never, ever, ever get rid of, no matter how much you fight—until it’s just not worth fighting anymore. What’s the point? He’ll always be there. He’ll always find you. And that’s what happens to every Shadow Knight, that’s the fear and trauma in each that drives them to do everything they do. Laurance, Gene, Zenix, Sasha, Vylad, Zane (especially Zane since he happened to piss off Aaron too), they all have it. It’s horrifying.

But when Shad is defeated and his soul moves on to become the Judgement we see in When Angels Fall, all of his prior magical control over his Knights is lost. Laurance and Aaron are freed, all their enemies are gone, they get their happy ending, and the war is finally won. But the two are still left with the grievous scars, physical and psychological, and the question of “What the hell are we supposed to do now?” They can finally be normal now, if “normal” was ever salvageable.

Aaron remembers his old friend. He still held on fiercely to everything he learned when he was with Aphmau and the boys, he held on to his gentleness, to his care, his heart, his yearning for the joy of times long past. He feels terrible for everything Laurance went through under The Shadow Lord’s command, and he wants his friend back, he wants to make it up to him and fix it somehow, even if it may be impossible to ever fix something like that, he still cares enough to try.

Laurance remembers too. To the very end, he held onto his heart and everyone in it with a shaking hand. He also understands pretty well what it’s like to be forced to hurt the people you love and do terrible things against your consent, he knows what it’s like to have someone horrible control you. So he holds an empathy for his old friend, he doesn’t blame him for any of his hurt. He knows it was all Shad, he knows logically that Aaron would never hurt him, he knows that Shad is dead and the threat is gone. But that kind of fear and pain doesn’t go away very easily, and certainly not by the scorn of “reason and logic.” A part of him has been killed, and it’s going to take a very long time to get it back, if he ever does.

He still cares for Aaron, he certainly doesn’t want to fight him or hurt him, and there’s a significant part of him that wants to keep him close. But there’s also a lot of him that’s still pretty fucked up, that still sees his Lord when he looks at Aaron. And that brings up…a lot of things. Self-destructive things, violently defiant things, furious things, crying things, hopeless things, hopeful things, comfort things.

Aaron tries his best to be gentle and reassuring and comforting, he tries his best not to spook him, but they have good days and bad days anyway. It’s all very messy, very angsty, very sopping-drenched in pain, and very much a struggle. They’re working towards getting through it.

I like that concept.

[age-of-moonknight]

Variant Cover for “Chapter 1: The White Knight,” Vengeance of the Moon Knight (Vol. 1/2009(, #1.

Penciler: Jerome Opeña; Colorist: Dan Brown

[sleepy-baby-witchy1]

war deities - sekhmet

sekhmet: egyptian goddess of war, healing, chaos, the desert sun, & plague

"so ra brought forth the goddess sekhmet, the destroyer." - carlos museum of emory university

crossing sekhmet was something that was literally a life or death manner. she was created to punish those disobedient to her father, ra. outside of her infamous wrath, she was a deeply loved goddess who had a protective aura and provided healing to her followers.

being one of many deities who protected the ancient pharaohs, it wasn't sekhmet's only job. many egyptian gods had dualities, as seen above. additionally, egyptian gods were typically depicted in triads or groups. the main group sekhmet is linked with is the eye of ra. this group consists of sekhmet, hathor, bastet, mut, & uadyet. she also has connections to pakhet, mehit, wadjet, & isis as well.

sekhmet's creation

as ra aged and his creation days were mostly over, mankind began worshipping apophis, the spirit of evil. furious with mankind for not obeying his laws or preserving ma'at, ra, the sun god, took out his eye and placed it on earth. after placing her on the earth, ra named her sekhmet the destroyer.

once she was set loose to punish those who had turned their backs on ra, it was an absolute massacre. after devouring the followers of apophis, sekhmet turned on those who hadn't betrayed ra and began killing them as well. one version of this myth says ra felt regret for what he had done, and ordered her to stop - but sekhmet was too far gone into her bloodlust. in an attempt to get sekhmet to stop her rage, he poured seven thousand jugs of beer mixed with pomegranate juice into her path. the pomegranate juice dyed the beer red, disguising it as blood. upon seeing the liquid, sekhmet went towards it and drank so much of it she became intoxicated and slept for three days. after waking up, not only was humanity saved, but she saw -and fell in love with- ptah.

another version of this myth says that ra met with all the gods to discuss what he should do upon discovering mankind worshipping apophis. nun, the father of ra, said he should create a spirit to kill only those who worship apophis. he agreed, and created sekhmet to punish his disloyal followers. sekhmet began her killing spree on worshippers of apophis, but it wasn't long before she turned her attention to people outside of those she had been sent to punish. the remaining people who hadn't begun worshipping apophis cried out to ra for protection and help. ra, moved by the cries of his people, dumped a mixture of beer that had been dyed with red ochre into either the fields or the river outside of where sekhmet was staying. lured by the "bloody" scene, sekhmet greedily lapped it up and became drunk. ra approached sekhmet and informed her that she no longer needed to be the destroyer, she would instead become the goddess of love - hathor. ra informed her she'd still have the same amount of power as she had now, but it would no longer be used for hate and destruction.

sacred plants

pomegranate, juniper

cinnamon, papyrus reeds, cloves, vanilla

roses, carnations, orange blossoms, lotus

sacred colors

red

orange

yellow

gold

white

sacred animals

lions

cobras, serpents

incense

copal

orange

ylang-ylang

dragon's blood

myrrh

kyphi

cedar

frankincense

sandalwood

patchouli

amber

symbols

ankh

fire

sun disk

papyrus scepter

udjat eye

sand

crystals for her

garnet, zircon, danburite, bloodstone, ruby, gold, sunstone, fire opal, tiger's eye

tarot cards associated with her

queen of wands

the tower

death

strength

knight of wands

the sun

epithets of sekhmet

mistress of life

lady of the tomb

gracious one

destroyer of rebellion

mighty one of enchantments

smiter of nubians

one before whom evil trembles

flaming one

lady of the place of the beginning of time

mistress of the tomb

great one of magic

pure one

awakener

ruler of lions

overcomer of all enemies

beloved sekhmet

scarlet lady

the powerful one

goddess of vengeance

lady of pestilence

mistress of dead

great one of healing

victorious one

sekhmet of the knives

links!

sekhmet myth 1, ancient egypt online, epithets 1, ask aladdin - sekhmet, tales from 2 lands 1, tales from 2 lands 2, finding dulcinea, the collector, egyptian museum, australian museum, land of pyramids

[xenonmoon]

OH YES IT'S EGYPTOLOGY INFODUMP TIME

Khonsu had indeed more than one aspect (as most of the Egyptian gods after all) and the most common were this four:

Ḫnsw-pꜣ-ẖrd - Khonsu the Child Ḫnsw-pꜣ-jr-sḫr - Khonsu the Provider Ḫnsw-(heseb-ahau) - Khonsu the Decider of Lifespan Ḫnsw-m-Wꜣs.t-nfr-ḥtp - Khonsu in Thebes Neferhotep*

*I left Neferhotep untranslated because it's composed of the hieroglyphs for nft + ḥtp and they can mean different things depending of the context.

nfr can mean "good", "beautiful", "perfect", while ḥtp if it's a name it means "pity"/"mercy" or also "offer", "offering table", if it's a verb it can mean "satisfy", "being satisfied", "being contempt"

Most of my sources leave it like that (Neferhotep), some of them translate it as "the Merciful" (although it should've been more ḥtp yt in that case?), others "beautiful and contempt", others "parfait d'offrandes" (perfect of offer?) and others again "vollkommen Gnädige" (perfectly merciful?)

Every time Khonsu and his aspects comes up I think of the Bentresh Stela (the picture below is incomplete but you can easily google it)

It's a sandstone stela with hieroglyphic incisions telling the pseudo-epigraphical story of Bentresh, daughter of the king of Bakhtan and sister of Neferure who was married to Ramses II

At some point this girl fell ill and they couldn't find any cure for her, so the king of Bakhtan sent a messenger to the Pharaoh of Egypt asking for help.

Ramses called for all the learned men of the palace and a scribe to go there and figure out a way to heal the girl, but they came home reporting their failure because apparently there was a spirit possessing her causing her illness and the only way to cure her was through divine intervention.

"Alright then" probably said the Pharaoh, going to the temple of Khonsu in Thebes

So basically Khonsu Neferhotep stacked 4 layers of magical protection to Khonsu The Provider and sent him to heal the girl.

It's the only case I know where different aspects of a god exist at the same time and interact with each other

One thing I found funny about this story is that as soon as Khonsu The Provider arrived (through his statue carried from the temple) he casted a magical protection on the girl thus expelling the spirit from the body

And that spirit is super polite with him, greeting the god with a sign of peace and welcoming him to the city before deciding to get back to whatever place they came from.

So everyone rejoiced and started preparing celebrations, at some point Khonsu said to his prophet to tell the people to prepare an offering not only for him but for the spirit too

And as they made an offer for the spirit, the spirit went away in peace

But as the celebrations were over the king of Bakhtan refused to let the god go home and kept the statue and shrine in his kingdom for 3 years and 9 months.

Until one night he had a dream where a golden hawk flew away in the general direction of Egypt - so he figured it was time for Khonsu the Provider to go home.

So the god came back to his temple safe and sound and everyone was happy

Story finished, let's get back to the comic-

Ah

I bet the last one was the cannibal hymn derivative they mentioned in Vengeance of the Moon Knight

They sure are cannibalising the cannibal hymn quite a lot

[drifting-pieces-blog-blog]

Breaking down the comics: Denial is Strange (Issue 36)

Moon Knight, Issue # 36: Ghosts

Written by  Alan Zelenetz and drawn by Bo Hampton 

Now, I’m a long time fan of Dr. Strange. In fact, he’s number three on my list of favorite comics! (Number two being Scarlet Witch and number one being MK if I even need to mention that). So a Moon Knight with early Dr. Strange cross-over? Yeah, I’ll dip into that no problem! 

The first page is a note from the editor, Denny O'Neil. You see, in previous issues, they had asked where fans wanted to see Moon Knight go. They were running low on ideas and didn't know how they wanted to further develop the character, as it looked like he was going to stick around for a while. 

Since Moon Knight started in a supernatural horror book (Werewolf by Night), it only seemed fitting that Moon Knight continue to carryon his career as leaning heavily on the supernatural side of things. A fist of the moon and Spector of vengeance, they have decided to let Moon Knight continue on his path of walking the line of what lurks on the other side of the shadows. 

"Lots of heroes catch crooks. Moon Knight will be going after a different quarry. We hope you'll go with him." 

Also it's interesting to note that they introduce Zelenetz and Bo Hampton as the new MK team, when they only did three issues before the 1980s series ended and things had to get a re-vamp as MK again went in a new direction. Hmm. (He does come back periodically in later runs, but doesn’t stick around.) 

For those unfamiliar with Dr. Strange, ....things get strange. An original Marvel character from back in the day, created in 1963 by Steve Ditko himself, he embraced the psychedelic comic art style of that time. Let me put it this way, if Dr. Strange gets involved, you know things are about to get colorful, confusing to look at, and WEIRD. 

That out of the way, we open in Nubia, in Ancient Egypt during the twentieth century B.C. 

We see a classic Egyptian styled man about to sacrifice a cat for 'the demons of the dark'. He declares himself Amutef, first among necromancers and worthy to be a pharaoh. 

Okay. That's a start. 

Suddenly a bunch of men run into the room. "Seize him, priests of Khonshu!" 

Yeah, it's illegal to slay 'the holy cat in mockery of the gods.' 

Amutef declares revenge (Mummy style). "On a moonlit night, ages hence when we meet once again." 

Once the mummification of Amutef is done, the head priest prays to Khonshu that 'this enchanted pendant will keep the base Amutef's soul bound within these linen grave clothes for all eternity." 

Amutef's spirit enters into the necklace, waiting for his curse to come to light. 

And right on cue, we head to the present where we see a beautiful blond woman wearing the necklace. 

"I may have been an archeologist's daughter, but these cat mummies can still give me the creeps." 

Aw jeeze. It's Marlene. 

And we see her there with Steven at the grand opening to an Egyptian wing of a museum as a memorial to her father. 

Marlene, why are you wearing an antique Egyptian necklace? 

"It will go to the museum one day, Mr. Director. I'm wearing it tonight for the first time since my father found it in one of the tombs of the Seti Kings." 

Yeah no. 

Their social session is interrupted by a security guard trying to kick out a party crasher. 

"Listen, we get all kinds of crackpots crying CURSE every time we open an Egyptian exhibit--" 

"But I am Stephen Strange, and my conjurations have led me here. I fear that evil will be born this night--" 

(I’ll start by saying the art style reminds me of the comic art from around late 1960s, but I’m also not a fan of how Marlene is portrayed here. She’s too soft and arm candy-esque. I miss the Marlene from Bill’s days where she was capable and intelligent.) 

Also, Steven clearly has NOT heard of Strange fully if he dismisses him after that display. You’d think by now that Steven would be like ‘oh. Right. I’ve fought zombies. This isn’t that odd for me.’

A cat (belonging to the security guard?) breaks loose and instantly goes to attack Marlene. Steven backhands it easily before it can sink it's fangs into Marlene. 

"In the name of the Vishanti! Don't you see? The animal senses evil." 

"Look. How are you at sensing harassment suits, Mister Magic?" 

"Dr. Strange, this is a museum, not a circus show." 

I love how no one ever takes Dr. Strange seriously when they first meet him. Even in today's age, they just write him off as a cheap palm reader. 

Marlene notes she feels terrible and wants to go home. Steven and Marlene head home and Stephen follows above. 

Stephen…This is why no one takes you seriously. I hate to hear how he talked BEFORE he became a sorcerer. Can you imagine him in the ER? “By Gray’s Almighty Anatomy, someone hand me the mighty retractor of Senn!” 

(Stephen what is that pose? Steven…What is that lurking image of you?) 

He scans Marlene while doing what I like to think of as his Vampire flight pose. 

"Yes--But wait, there is a mystic aura about this man, Grant, as well. Then there are occult forces at work here that appear to defy even earth's sorcerer supreme, thus--" 

He lays a protection spell on Marlene that will keep the possession at bay for the next 24 hours then flies home to do research. 

Back in the mansion, Marlene gets into her usual skimpy night gown STILL WEARING THE NECKLACE. 

Look, if I ever go to bed still in a necklace that gaudy, please consider me cursed. 

Marlene is worried about the curse. She feels terrible and she's a little spooked. 

Steven Grant feels differently. 

"That black cat at the museum has got you all strung out. You'll sleep it off. As for curses... You should know better than anyone, Marlene, that these days--for sanity's sake, I like to keep a cool distance between myself and thoughts of the supernatural." 

Steven no… 

Jokes aside, we must remember that DID is a form of self preservation, protection, processing, and denial. When it comes to their DID, Stephen has ALWAYS been the first one to go "Nawh. I'm fine." and then try to strong arm his way through every situation. Marc is the first to go "May as well die" and throw himself head first into a dangerous situation, and Jake is the first to go "It ain't my problem. I'mma chill here with my buds." 

Here is classic Stephen Grant, fresh off his most recent run of self doubt and slow crawl into a mental break (for the third or fourth time) and he's living in denial land and choosing a path that he feels is the most conducive to compartmentalize and keep his distance from their trauma. 

"I try to forget that the ruthless mercenary I once was--Marc Spector-- apparently died and was reborn in a desert tomb years ago... 

Under the gaze of a cold white statue of Khonshu, God of the moon... Whose spirit I use to believe reanimated me." 

And yet you won't shut up about it. (I kid, but seriously, Steven.) 

"Believed only too well. I relied on that superstition until I'd almost lost my mind --Forgot just where Khonshu ended and Spector or Grant began." 

Why does he always forget about Jake? 

"But you helped me see that I derived my strength and abilities from my own will and commitments, not from some long-dead mythology. You redeemed my soul and my sanity, Marlene...

And I'm not about to lose either of them again. So no more talk of witchcraft, okay? Just sleep tight while Moon Knight makes the rounds." 

Steven sure is in a mood. I don't blame him. 

(I also love how depending on who tells it or remembers it, we either see bloody beaten up Marc at the foot of the statue or we see a gently and sexily sprawled out Steven rendition with a gently weeping Marlene memory. I’d love to see how Jake remembers it.) 

Moon Knight takes off and a clearly possessed Marlene mutters a classic line about “After thousands of years we have met once more, fool Thosbi. Now Amutef’s spirit, given voice by inhabiting the mortal frame, shall utter incantations of revenge.” 

Classic. 

Meanwhile, Stephen Strange is doing his own thing. 

Stephen is...wordy. I'm going to summarize the WALL OF TEXT that is his ramblings and chantings. 

Marlene is possessed by an ancient sorcerer. Steven Grant has been mystically endowed with the spirit of an ancient priest of Khonshu. 

Meeting up on this moonlit night spells trouble with a capital T and now the curse is real. 

He must get Steven Grant to cooperate with him or it will spell doom for them both. 

And then we cut to Moon Knight, still angry about the implication of something supernatural happening to him. 

"Steel and glass and concrete. There's reality for you. No room in a city like this for superstitions." 

He spots some thugs assaulting a couple and he decides to glide down to intercept. 

Yeah that…that seems about right. 

He barely manages to dodge a gun shot, his crescent dart whacks a guy right in the face and cuts him, and he barely manages to catch up with the other two fleeing villains. 

And of Course Detective Flint arrives to drive in the nail. 

"Say, everything okay? Not like you to lose your wind over a trio of amatures." 

"Just an accident, Detective--Cape got caught, you go on and treat the punks to a night in the slammer. Put it on my tab." 

And to make his night even better, Stephen Strange shows up. 

"It was no accident, Steven Grant." 

"YOU again!? Am I supposed to admire your persistence or--Wait, you called me Grant?"

"Yes, it was Steven Grant I sought, and I'm afraid your costume does little to disguise HIS psychic aura. But, that is inconsequential--It is your life, not your identity, that is in jeopardy." 

I...Could have SO much to say about breaking down that statement and we'd be here all night as I talked about the psychic aura of Steven vs. the others, his life vs. his identity, and all that fun stuff... But I have a feeling the writer wasn't aiming for that line...sadly... SO I'll leave it alone....this time. 

He tells Steven that he's in danger and Steven demands to be shown the demons after him. 

Stephen tells him that they were the ones that grabbed his cape, but he banished them before they could destroy him. 

Moon Knight still isn't buying it. 

I swear, half the Dr. Strange cross-over comics are spent with Stephen trying to convince everyone that magic is real and that he isn't full of it. 

"I have learned that you are endowed with the spirit of a priest of Khonshu whose mystic powers are needed to save Ms. Alraune from the evil spirit which possesses her." 

Honestly, while this isn't the first instance of the OG comic showing the cult of Khonshu and the priests, this is the first time someone has considered Moon Knight to be imbued with the spirit of a priest of Khonshu. 

As many of you may be aware, the current run with MacKay pushes heavily into the Priest of Khonshu plot line, which has often been dropped and lost by subsequent writers after this one. 

However, Strange is insisting that the priest himself is inside Moon Knight, while it's long been determined that Khonshu himself has imbued Marc and the others with his own power to make Moon Knight his own sort of priest. 

Let's see how this issue plays it out. 

"I would have mesmerized you without asking in order to summon the Ancient Priest within your being... But even your unconscious will is incredibly strong and I could not break through it." 

I'm cackling about this. Imagine Strange trying to get in there and just being met by a really pissed off Jake Lockley. 

"Bet on it, Mister." Steven is thinking the same thing. You know it. "My will's like granite, because that's what holds the real world out there together for me. It's my sanity." 

Oh Steven... 

Moon Knight calls Khonshu a myth and make-believe. "Do you think I'd ever embrace that madness again?" 

He calls for Frenchie. He's done with this. 

"If the spirit is not exorcised from Ms. Alraune by tomorrow night, she will be the one who knows true madness. Without the mystic aid of KHonshu, my spells can protect her no longer than that." Stephen Strange calls after him. 

Moon Knight calls him a "blasted Looney" and takes off. 

The next evening at Grant Mansion, the doctor informs Steven that he can't figure out what's wrong with Marlene. 

Steven tells her that he'll cut the Moon Knight patrol short and be back before midnight. 

(She's still wearing the necklace). 

As Moon Knight leaves, Marlene sits up, possessed again, and sending the evil spirits out after the Khonshu priest Thosbi. 

This time they attack the chopper. 

Oh no. Not the chopper! 

While the possessed Marlene chants of vengeance from the balcony, cats start to gather in the nearby tree. 

Dr. Strange arrives to the chipper and starts to fight off the invisible demons that only he can see. 

Frenchie tells Moon Knight to glide to safety. The chopper is going down. (My dear Frenchie always looking out for his friend.) 

Moon Knight refuses to jump and the chopper starts to function again. 

A particularly nasty demon shows up to fight Strange. 

"Begone, Mage, for my chaotic powers are summoned by a spell more ancient than any your mortal lips can utter." It taunts him. 

While Strange battles the demons, Frenchie manages to land the chopper. 

Side note, I do love the way they draw Moon Knight’s costume. This is the start of the era where his shorts start to actually look like shorts and not underwear outside his outfit. You also see more black mixed in with his top and leggings. While you see the muscles, he isn’t drawn HUGE and ridiculous. It’s believable. 

Also behold Strange before the goatee! It looks wrong… 

Anyways, Moon Knight is not pleased to see Strange again. 

They argue and give me my most favorite image of Frenchie EVER. 

This man. I love this man. 

Look at it. The moon hat. The lighting on his face. The relaxed sit. The smoke rings. Not one not two but THREE pens in his pocket. The gloves. The match book in his other hand. This is just another day for him. 

The copter nearly crashed for unknown demonic reasons and his BFF super hero buddy is outside arguing with a wizard about being possessed by an ancient Egyptian priest. 

Jean-Paul Duchamp I love you. 

Strange tells him that if they don't contact the priest of Khonshu within the hour, Marlene is going to be lost to them. 

Moon Knight concedes. He jumps in the chopper and they follow Strange back to the mansion. ....Why he doesn't let Strange fly in his chopper but makes him fly...You got me? 

They arrive to find the mansion crawling with cats and Marlene in a trance staring contest with one of them. 

Moon Knight decides to take a short cut to get to Marlene as fast as he ....OH FOR CRYING OUT LOUD. THERE ARE SO MANY Other WAYS TO ENTER YOUR MANSION! YOU BUILT IT! 

(Adds another hash tag to the list) 

Moon Knight crashing through his own window with his nunchucks out in a room full of cats. I just... He is the ultimate catboy. 

They send away the cats, who were apparently there to attack the evil. 

Stephen sets the room up for the ritual and Steven carries Marlene to a chair. "Save her, Strange... Even if it costs me my mind." 

We get some interesting art here... They made Steven look like a bad anime magical girl transformation reaction or something. I can't even begin to describe this. I apologize for what I’m about to show you. 

Flew too close to the sun with Frenchie. Now we must all pay the price with anime boy Steven Grant. 

So Strange does his thing and forces the demons to show themselves. 

"Do you think to conquer Amutef with glibness of tongue, mage?! I who was first among necromancers, who dared blaspheme the names of Khonshu and Osiris.." He summons his own demons to battle Strange. 

He summons the priest of Khonshu through Moon Knight and we get some CLASSIC Dr. Strange art. We got the symbols, we got the squiggle lines, we got the colors, we got the eyes, we got the floating heads and we even got the floating hour glass. 

As much as I love Dr. Strange, it takes me a while to read his old comics. My processing skills can't handle the barrage of EVERYTHING on every page. I’m glad it’s just a little in this comic. 

We watch the two men do battle through time and space and in King Arthur's backyard for some reason... We see the great pyramids and some temples that my geographically challenged mind does not recognize... 

Just as the battle is picking up...

"What?! I sense emotions of abnormal pitch. No! They flow from the mind of Grant. The strain on his will is too great! But he can't succumb now---!" 

We see chanting and...wait... those words... They sound familiar...

"Khonshu, Nehem kua her entet ari-na maat! Amutef, thosbi! Affirms thee no longer to be!" 

Parts of that sound suspiciously like something Harrow chanted from the MCU show. HMMMMMM....

Yeah, the battle is over and Marlene and Steven come out of their trances. 

"You've survived, Steven Grant, and your mind is whole, stronger than before. You have experienced life AND death, the natural and supernatural. You have mastered your will and become a complete man." 

Then Strange essentially does the "I must go now" thing and zips away to fight the occult forces of evil elsewhere. 

We are left with Steven thinking things over. 

"Occult forces. Like Marc Spector's dying and being reborn through the ghost of an ancient priest. You know, Marlene? I believe him. I don't for one minute like the idea...But I believe him." 

The End! 

Okay you guys… This was a wild one. It was a disaster start to finish but it did what comics are meant to do and it made me laugh and it was fun. 

The art was…all over the place. It worked for an issue with Dr. Strange, but they made everyone FAR too baby faced and pretty. What’s weird is that the next issue is the same artist but he gets his shit together and it’s back to Moon Knight nitty gritty. What the hell happened? Let’s blame Dr. Strange on this one. 

But….

Can you imagine THIS being the face of Steven Grant, Marc Spector, and slap a mustache on that and you got Jake Lockley!? THIS?! 

He’s so judgy! 

I’m dying out here you guys. Someone draw a mustache on that and I’ll love you forever. I think this broke me. 

So… Aside from the… What ever all this was… It reminds me of the issue recently with Mackay. Where we got to go into Moon Knight’s mind-scape and we got to see Marc, Steven, and Jake all work together to defeat outside forces. They worked as a team and it was their special weapon. Going after Marc? No you aren’t. You’re gonna get punched in the face by Jake and Steven (steven gonna look at you like a highly disapproving father). In this early run, we don’t have the wonderful understanding and research into DID to fully comprehend or experience this, but looking back, I like to imagine it’s there under the surface. 

I also look at the priest as not being the one that revived them. Again, I cite Khonshu himself. The priest issue can be folded into current and then building lore of the Priesthood of Khonshu. This was an early and powerful priest that happened to have a grudge against this particular bad guy. Perhaps this is where Mackay starts taking his ideas and lore from. We’re already seen other ideas from the OG run that he’s explored. If this is the case, it’s nice to see him doing his research and getting back to basics. 

So what did you guys thing? Did it make you laugh too? Are we all cursed by the Magical Anime Steven image? 

Next time I’m dipping back into the past to cover some of the issues I skipped. We’re getting to the home stretch you guys. 

[rainbow-scarab]

The Ancient Sea of Hallownest: Part 1

Hallownest is an ancient land, of many people and successive kingdoms. It has been through many changes, from the Pale King, to the Radiance, to an ancient civilization that worshipped the void at the bottom of the world.

But this is not quite the whole story. The land itself is full of history. The fossils upon fossils that fill the ground point to a much deeper history, spanning to even before the Ancient Civilization.

For this theory I’ve made a four part post, going over the geological formation of Hallownest, the origin of the void, and the history of the peoples of Hallownest with a focus on the Ancient Civilization and snails.

Snail Shamans and Ancestral Power

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

<Theory Masterpost>

There is but one surviving snail we can see in Hallownest, but we can see they used to live in various areas throughout the kingdom. All the examples, living and dead, are of mysterious and powerful beings who were capable of creating spells.

The living example, known only as Snail Shaman (who I will call AMSS (Ancestral Mound Snail Shaman) for short), gives Ghost a spell, and is able to comment on any new spells and spell upgrades they get. Most of the information we know about the snails comes from these comments.

This spell commentary suggests some very interesting things to me, beyond just how spells work. Using that and other evidence, I argue that snails are a very ancient species with ties to the void, even more ancient than the so-called Ancient Civilization.

There are various forms of magic in Hollow Knight. Spells. Charms. Dreams. Marks, as I wrote about recently. Many of these have quite personal components to them. For instance, Salubra says:

Few ways a charm appears but mainly it's from final wish, a dying bug's potent desire crystallised into these gorgeous, powerful trinkets.

And when I analyzed marks, I found they were used to pass on something from one bearer of the mark to the next. The personal component to dreams and the essence from such I feel is a bit self-explanatory, carrying the thoughts and hopes of beings.

Now, how about soul and spells? The developer notes speak some of them:

Dev note “Magic”: spell is used, but magic in Hollow Knight is generally a shamanistic thing, so the words around it are more 'will' 'spirit' 'force' and emotions like 'rage' 'vengeance' 'longing' etc. Maybe magic can be used?

Dev note “Vengeful Spirit”: A desire for revenge is seared into the SOUL of those who fell in battle or were wronged in life. A Shaman can concentrate this desire and cast it out into the world to burn away whatever stands before them. - old descriptor text. Is pretty good! Should we put it in dialogue somewhere?

The dev notes are not canon, and were not intended to be public, but they may give insight into Team Cherry’s mindset. They seem to speak of a connection between emotion, soul, and spells. And from what survives in the game, names for spells like Vengeful Spirit, Howling Wraiths, and Desolate Dive carry something about emotion.

Examining the Soul Sanctum and how soul was used there can tell us something as well. The Hunter’s Journal entry on Soul Warriors:

Learned bug, wielding a refined pinblade. Enhances its combat prowess with harvested soul. Where these strange warriors go, whispers follow them. Not only are they skilled with a nail, they can also use some strange power to shift suddenly from place to place. Stay on guard.

And their dreamnail dialog:

This soul...Is it my own? ...This power...What did it cost? These skills...No training I recall...

Soul is able to store something of the knowledge of a bug, and if the dev notes are true, the emotion as well. When another being gains that soul, that knowledge can be transferred.

Now…the dialog from AMSS, on all the spells Ghost can get.

First encounter, when giving Vengeful Spirit: I'm going to give you a gift, a nasty little spell of my own creation.

With Desolate Dive: My third uncle used to possess similar abilities. He also possessed a ferocious temper! Ohohoho! What a dreadful combination.

With Howling Wraiths: Pried a spell out've my larger cousin did you? Aren't you the charming one. She's not usually the generous sort, certainly not as giving as myself, but she does have that wonderful voice! It's no surprise her spells take on such aural force.

These are all the base versions, the versions with no void component. Vengeful Spirit from the living Snail Shaman, Howling Wraiths from the one in Overgrown Mound. Desolate Dive is gained from Soul Master, but that’s not the way AMSS speaks of it—he identifies it with his uncle. A locked area of the Soul Sanctum contains a snail who looks to have been experimented on. This may well be the uncle, the true origin of the spell.

Each one of these spells is spoken of in relation to something of the personal of the snail it comes from. AMSS giving his directly, which he says he created. His cousin, who he knew to have a powerful voice, and whose dreamnail dialog indicates she wished to be heard. And the uncle, who may have expressed his anger with destructive spells.

Though soul may carry the thought and emotions of others, the snails seemed to harness their own emotions for their spells (whether or not it is enhanced or aided by any emotion in the soul itself).

What’s even more interesting to me is AMSS’s dialog when you factor in the upgraded versions:

With Descending Dark: There's another quality about you yet. You didn't perchance visit my fourth aunt? She makes her home beside that Crystal Mount. Leaves quite an impression on those that seek her out.

With Shade Soul: What's this? My vengeful gift has warped within you. You've twisted it into something... else. Ohohohoh! I knew it. My friend! You're a marvel. Your essence has melded with the spell. You must have found a powerful source to transform it in such a unique, expressive way.

With Abyss Shriek: That scream? Ooohh, distorted in such a way... It's not within the skills of us snails to do such a thing. Wherever you draw this new power from, it's not a place my kind ever thought to look.

Snail Shaman speaks of Descending Dark in a manner similar to Desolate Dive and Howling Wraiths, in that he identifies it with a particular snail. Even though this is a void version, rather than just soul. The snail in Crystallised Mound, when freed from the crystal, does explode into void particles that Ghost absorbs to upgrade the spell, but I’m not sure that’s the whole story of what’s going on here. For Desolate Dive, the unupgraded version, he speaks of the ability of his uncle, but here for the upgraded version, he just speaks of the “quality” and “impression” of his aunt. Less about the technique of the spell, and more something personal that has been imparted.

Shade Soul is gotten from the snail in Soul Sanctum, the one who very likely was the origin of the Desolate Dive spell. For this version of the spell, AMSS does not remark upon the qualities of the other snail, but instead comments on Ghost themself. Ghost’s “essence”, changing the spell into something unique.

(And, I would say, a massive point on the side of “vessels are real people with real thoughts and emotions”, for AMSS to call this transformation expressive)

This snail in Soul Sanctum, the likely uncle of AMSS, is only referred to as the “powerful source” that enables such a transformation. They scream and explode into void when Ghost interacts with the body. This snail is the only one in the game who can’t be dreamnailed. And it’s not due to void, as the one from the Crystallised Mound also explodes into void and still has dreamnail dialog.

My guess is that experimentation from the Soul Sanctum bugs tore apart everything this snail was, forcibly extracting Desolate Dive from them for Soul Master’s use, and there wasn’t much left of mind or emotion after that. Only a body left suspended in a half-dead state, who still held power but little to nothing of who they were as a person.

For Abyss Shriek, I’ll be coming back to examine it in a bit.

All these spells, as common with other forms of magic in Hollow Knight, seem to not just be about power and ability but also of personal traits. Each snail AMSS comments on was someone he knew and was able to recognize their influence in the spells. This is true even in the case of his fourth aunt, who he does not identify with the actual technique of the spell. It’s still true in the case of Shade Soul, where AMSS attributes Ghost as the source of the personal contribution, with their essence and creativity. Such a personal aspect seems critical to the creation, modification, and use of spells.

The snails in the game seem to be very concerned with relationships, especially family. AMSS is found in what is called the Ancestral Mound. When he sends you off to take care of the elder baldur in the mound, he says: “I'm sure the spirits of my ancestors will be watching over you.” Each snail he speaks of is one relative of his or another. The description of the shaman stone, which is shaped in the manner of all the snail-related charms (spirals, opening possibly representing a front-view of a snail shell), says: “Said to contain the knowledge of past generations of shaman.” The snail shamans seem to care about all family relations, whether those known personally or long dead.

Now, it’s possible some of the shamans were not snails. It’s possible some of the snails were not shamans. But the only examples we get in the game are where both “snail” and “shaman” go together. Desolate Dive was almost certainly not shared willingly with Soul Master. Vengeful Spirit was shared willingly by AMSS with Ghost, for whatever his reasons. I don’t know how uncommon such a thing was, to share with a non-snail, but I am assuming due to all the association we see in the game that the snail tradition of spells was something primarily shared among themselves. Due to this, I think the snails were primarily concerned with biological ancestors.

(It's possible AMSS shared the spell with Ghost due to both having void in them. The snails seem to be at least partially made of it. Perhaps he felt a kinship of some kind. But also, it did not seem to take anything out of AMSS to share the spell. At least, not like how it was with the snail in Soul Sanctum, who was hanging between life and death after everything that was done to them. Even if it took some energy, AMSS was still just as full of life as he was beforehand.)

The Ancestral Mound contains a whispering root. The words upon completing it:

...Soul attuned... ...Spiral focus... ...Shunned Power...

I’ve heard some people speculate on the meaning of “shunned power”. That perhaps these spells were a kind of magic that was not accepted by wider Hallownest. The words “soul attuned” I find fairly self-explanatory. Spells use soul, which the snails seemed quite adept at.

As for “spiral focus”…this is a bit more tricky. Focus, we know, is a word related to the use of soul, the name of the ability that allows Ghost to heal, and possibly related to other things.

Tablet in King’s Pass: Higher beings, these words are for you alone. Your great strength marks you amongst us. Focus your soul and you shall achieve feats of which others can only dream.

Record in Soul Sanctum: Record Aba / The mind still limits us so. / How to break past its constraints? / To attain a pure focus, is it even possible?

Snails also have spiral shells of course, and the charms associated with them are full of spirals.

But um. Spiral focus. In actuality.

I think this is a joke!

A reference!

It’s not the only time Team Cherry has put in some kind of reference. And it’s not like Hollow Knight is entirely humorless. Such a small thing as a piece of text in a whispering root is not too consequential to include a fun reference.

Strap in everyone it’s time to talk about the 2007 anime and source of memes past Gurren Lagann.

(Yes, I’m going somewhere with this XD And if you’d like to avoid major spoilers for the anime, you can skip the next couple paragraphs)

Spirals feature throughout Gurren Lagann. In its universe, there’s a force called “spiral power”, which is revealed to be the power of evolution. The tone of the show can be rather silly, and spiral power is used in an utterly over the top manner, able to give the characters power-ups in real time somehow. But even so, it’s still supposed to be emblematic of the power of evolution, as symbolized by the spiral shape of the dna double helix.

(Is it worth it to mention that spiral power was considered a threat by the “anti-spirals” and humans were forced to live in hiding underground? Just as Hallownest is underground, and you might say the snails’ spiral focus was a shunned power? Sure XD Sure)

I wondered if the snails might derive some sort of power from their ancestors. Just like soul itself can hold knowledge, and the shaman stone contains ancestral knowledge. Spells, which carry something of the personality of their creators, may have been passed along—if not the individual spells, at least the knowledge of how to create and wield them. I wondered if they might practice some form of ancestor veneration, tending to their mounds. AMSS indicates that his ancestors would watch over Ghost, who perhaps reside in Ancestral Mound, or are honored from there.

(AMSS calls himself bound to the Ancestral Mound. A dev note indicates it may be by duty or possibly he's actually incapable of leaving. I have to wonder if perhaps snails found it critically important to have at least one person tending to a mound, due to the tie to ancestors and the important place they hold ancestors to have. And with so few snails left.....AMSS was the only one to be able to do so... This is just speculative though)

Further than all this, though. I had to wonder, at the thought of dna and evolution, if the snails were perhaps something very ancient indeed. Even if, yes, my thoughts going in such a direction had started at the thought of memes, I had to wonder if such a thing could arise due a real theme. I had to wonder how far back snails tracked their ancestors. How many ages they had been in Hallownest. If they could have been there so far back, they weren’t even snails anymore.

Before going further, let’s talk about Abyss Shriek.

The Abyss Shriek is obtained in the Abyss, in a room full of odd objects.

This area seems to be associated with the Ancient Civilization (discussion on Ancient Civilization architecture in the third part of the series, so for now it can just be taken as an assumption). These objects are reminiscent of the look of Howling Wraiths and Abyss Shriek, and each one looks somewhat like a soul vessel. When using the dreamnail, you get this dialog:

...Our voices... will cry out... again...

Ghost can use Howling Wraiths in this area to upgrade it to Abyss Shriek. Void pours into the room from above, before Ghost absorbs it into their body, upgrading the spell.

AMSS says:

That scream? Ooohh, distorted in such a way... It's not within the skills of us snails to do such a thing. Wherever you draw this new power from, it's not a place my kind ever thought to look.

I find this quite interesting.

I’ve seen this dialog referenced before in order to say that the snails are not associated with the Abyss, Ancient Civilization, and void.

However, I disagree with that on two counts.

I do think the snails are significantly tied to void, with bodies partially made of void. AMSS also doesn’t seem to be surprised by Ghost’s nature and calls them a shadow, so it’s possible he recognizes void in another.

I do think the snails may be tied to the Abyss, though I’ll be getting back to this.

I think what is meant here is that the snails have no ties to the Ancient Civilization.

All other examples of the spells were related to emotions and personal ties. The snail shamans seemed to draw power from their emotions and ancestors. It may not be the physical location that made AMSS comment as he did on Abyss Shriek, but instead the identity of those who enabled the upgrade.

Our voices will cry out again. Whose voices? I assume those of the Ancient Civilization, due to the architecture.

If the snails were associated with the Abyss and void, but have an origin other than the Ancient Civilization, what would this mean?

I don’t think the Ancient Civilization was the first.

I think we can find evidence of something much, much older.

In the very rock itself.

In the fossils that are found all throughout Hallownest, but change to be only one type, deeper down in the Ancient Basin and Abyss.

And in the void sea that resides there.

Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

<Theory Masterpost>