#ask: kaijuborn

[graedari]

Hello! I don't know if you remember but a while ago I asked for your permission to write something for the marked!Jess AU! Well, I finally got around to posting the first chapter over on Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/56387449/chapters/143273230 I know it's not the same as your AU, but I hope you enjoy it anyway :)

YESS!!! HI KAIJIU!!! I HAVE A BOOKMARK ON YOUR FIC FOR READING LATER!!! IM SO SORRY I HAVEN'T SAID ANYTHING!!! IM SO EXCITED TO READ IT BUT I HAVEN'T HAD DOWNTIME TO READ YET!!!

I saw when you tagged me and I have it sitting in my drafts as well to properly tag and scream about when I have a chance to read it!! I'm mega excited!!!

Marked Jessamine AU's will always be super dope and I'm excited to see what you do with it!! (Please feel free to like pop in in like 3 weeks if I still haven't read it! I promise its in my list but I'm crunching on a few projects and haven't had time for fun stuff TTutTT)

[l-a-l-o-u]

do you support ai art?

that's a tough one to answer. sorry in advance for the wall of text.

when i first started seeing ai-generated images, they were very abstract things. we all remember the gandalf and saruman prancing on the beach pictures. they were almost like impressionism, and they had a very ethereal and innocent look about them. a lot of us loved those pictures and saw something that a lot of human minds couldn't create, something new and worth something. i love looking at art that looks like nothing i've seen before, it always makes me feel wonder in a new type of way. ai-generated art was a good thing.

then the ai-generated pictures got much more precise, and suddenly we realized they were being fed hundreds of artists' pieces without permission, recreating something similar and calling it their own. people became horrified, and i was too! we heard about people losing their job as background artists on animated productions to use ai-generated images instead. we saw testimonies of heartbroken artists who had their lovingly created art stolen and taken advantage of. we saw people being accused of making ai-generated art when theirs was completely genuine. ai-generated art became a bad thing.

i've worked in the animation industry. right now, i work at an animation school, specifically for 2D animation. i care a lot about the future of my friends in the industry (and mine, if i go back to it), and about all the students i help throughout the years. i want them to find jobs, and that was already hard for a lot of them before the ai-generated images poked their heads into our world.

i'm not very good at explaining nuanced point of view (this is also my second language) but i'll do my best. i think that ai-generated art is a lot of things at once. it's dangerous to artists' livelihoods, but it can be a useful tool. it's a fascinating technological breakthrough, but it's being used unethically by some people. i think the tools themselves are kind of a neutral thing, it really depends on what we do with it.

every time i see ai-generated art i eye it suspiciously, and i wonder "was this made ethically?" and "is this hurting someone?". but a lot of it also makes me think "wow, cool concept, that inspires me to create". that last thought has to count for something, right? i'm an artist myself, and i spend a lot more time looking at art than making art - it's what fuels me. i like to imagine a future where we can incorporate ai-generation tools into production pipelines in a useful way while keeping human employees involved. i see it as a powerful brainstorming tool. it can be a starting point, something that a human artist can take and bring to the next level. it can be something to put on the moodboard. something to lower the workload, which is a good thing, imo. i've worked in video games, i've made short films, and let me tell you, ai-generated art could've been useful to cut down a bit of pre-production time to focus on some other steps i wanted to put more time into. there just needs to be a structure to how it's used.

like i said before, i work in a school. the language teachers are all very worried about ChatGPT and company enabling cheating; people are constantly talking about it at my workplace. i won't get into text ais (one thing at a time today) but the situation is similar in many ways. we had a conference a few months ago about it, given by a special committee that's been monitoring ai technology for years now and looking for solutions on how to deal with it. they strongly suggest to work alongside AIs, not outlaw it - we need to adapt to it, and control how it's used. teach people how to use it responsibly, create resources and guidelines, stay up to date with this constantly evolving technology and advocate for regulation. and that lines up pretty well with my view of it at the moment.

here's my current point of view: ai-generated art by itself is not unethical, but it can easily be. i think images generated by ai, if shared publicly, NEED a disclaimer to point out that they were ai-generated. they should ONLY be fed images that are either public domain, or have obtained permission from their original author. there should also be a list of images that fed the ai that's available somewhere. cite your sources! we were able to establish that for literature, so we can do it for ai, i think.

oh and for the record, i think it's completely stupid to replace any creative position with an ai. that's just greedy bullshit. ai-generated content is great and all, but it'll never have soul! it can't replace a person with lived experiences, opinions and feelings. that's the entire fucking point of art!!

the situation is constantly evolving. i'm at the point where i'm cautious of it, but trying to let it into my life under certain conditions. i'm cautiously sharing ai pictures on my blog; sometimes i change my mind and delete them. i tell my coworkers to consider ways to incorporate them into schoolwork, but to think it over carefully. i'm not interested in generating images myself at the moment because i want to see what happens next, and i'd rather be further removed from it until i can be more solid in my opinion, but i'm sure i'll try it out eventually.

anyway, to anybody interested in the topic, i recommend two things: be open-minded, but be careful. and listen to a lot of different opinions! this is the kind of thing that's very complicated and nuanced (i still have a lot more to say about it, i didn't even get into the whole philosophy of art, but im already freaking out at how much i wrote on the Discourse Site) so i suggest looking at it from many different angles to form your own opinion. that's what i'm doing! my opinion isn't finished forming yet, we'll see what happens next.

[lady-arryn]

trick or treat!!

Trick!!

[tildytwo]

When the Knife of Dunwall comes forward with damning information, Corvo and Jessamine find themselves growing closer to him.

HI, @kaijuborn! I'm your @dishonoredgiftexchange Fugue Feast creator this year! You asked for Daud/Corvo/Jessamine, and I tried to figure out a way to get these three together. Hope you enjoy!

[talk-of-tyria]

Just out of curiosity, have you ever accidentally recorded the same dialogue twice?

Great question! Not ever accidentally, as far as I can remember. To avoid inadvertent repeats, I try to record in one session all the dialogue in whichever area I’ve staked out.

But do I sometimes have to record the same dialogue over…and over…and over? Yes: NPCs talk over one another quite often! I try to get takes that are as clear as possible (although that’s proven to be next to impossible in one particular spot in Kessex Hills), which sometimes means I’m left recording the same conversation a half dozen times (and occasionally being forced to splice together different takes for more seamless audio).

[oprez]

Hello? I think you're the mushroom head I met in Timberline falls today after legendary ley line anomaly? :D Is it you?

Same head!! Awww, this is so sweet! Yes, yes it is me xD Nice to meet you on tumblr too!

[wontyoureadtome]

Part 4 (Final Part) of “A Faithful Companion” by Kaijuborn (author blog @kaijuborn)

Fic Rating: Teen   Length: 17:13

Ship: McHanzo

First Part    

A Faithful Companion Tag

Thus we come to the end of our Saturday Updates (I hope you enjoyed them, they won’t be back for a while)!

Direct download via Google Drive Here, and has been crossed posted on Ao3! (There may also be a blooper reel coming). 

Thanks again to everyone for their love and support 💕 I really couldn’t ask for better followers ( ˘ ³˘)♥

[muja-bunny]

McHanzo Fic Rec List - Pt 2

Some hopefully fluffy (but mostly smutty) McHanzo fics since we could all use it right now.

Part 1 Here

His Only Tell by kinkyhanzo (trueblackhand) Rating: E Word Count: 4,000 Summary: Being an omega is a secret Hanzo Shimada plans on taking to the grave. His life in Hanamura was cruel enough to demand it, make that fate seem utterly inescapable. But Overwatch is different, the people here are different. He meets an alpha. One with honeyed words and deft hands to soothe the hardest of his hurts, one that can take him apart so gently Hanzo doesn't notice until he's stripped bare. It changes everything. Content/Warning(s): ABO, Lactation

Dangerous Pastimes by fishpoets Rating: E Word Count: 3,400 Summary: Jesse's exhausted, but Hanzo's followed him back to his room, and he's not one to waste an opportunity. He can still show Hanzo a good time. Content/Warning(s): Erectile Dysfunction

Smoke by Totalspiffage Rating: E Word Count: 3,000 (2/2) Summary: Hanzo is intrigued by McCree's cigarillos, and asks to try it. McCree gives him a very personal demonstration. Content/Warning(s): Trans Hanzo, Fingering but no PIV sex

Love so sudden and so sweet by kaijuborn Rating: E Word Count: 12,000 Summary: AU where Jesse meets Hanzo in Hanamura during a mission when they are both young. Jesse falls fast and hard for Hanzo, and they share a night neither of them will ever forget. Content/Warning(s): Switching

Target Panic by Philosophics Rating: E Word Count: 20,000 Summary: McCree looks him steadily in the eyes. “I said, I’m in love with you,” he repeats. Hanzo stares some more as the words sink in. “You,” he states imperiously, “are mistaken.” Then he promptly turns on his heel and strides out the open carrier door. - In which McCree confesses his love, Hanzo has some difficulty believing him, and the team seems entirely unable to keep from sticking their noses into the whole affair. Content/Warning(s): None Notes: Podfic version by Wontyoureadtome

Blue Roses and Salted Caramel by AsheRhyder Rating: G Word Count: 11,000 Summary: Hanzo hated Valentine's Day and everything that went with it. This got exceptionally awkward for a man whose courier service saw business triple in the lead up to February 14th. A series of 'special deliveries' between Mr. Jack Morrison and Mr. Gabriel Reyes drew his attention. Initially, it was because he wasn’t sure if it was the world's most polite form of hate mail or the world's most awkward flirting... But then there was something about Mr. Reyes' son, Jesse, that kept him coming back... Content/Warning(s): R76 side pairing Notes: Podfic version by Wontyoureadtome

Of the Pickle Persuasion by Byacolate, mywordsflyup Rating: T Word Count: 15,000 (7/7) Summary: Hanzo is convinced that his bento wagon is locked in a corporate deathmatch with the taco truck down the street. Genji just wants to flirt with the produce vendor. Content/Warning(s): None

Crown of Horns by  pocketpom Rating: M Word Count: 151,000 (55/55) Summary: "But you know, I rather like the idea of you as one of those beasts. Wouldn't that look nice for the clan, Hanzo? A living, breathing dragon, chained to a post in the gardens." Content/Warning(s): None

Legacy by sciencefictioness Rating: E Word Count: 27,000 (6/?) Summary: Hanzo hadn’t even been on date since he came to America and started his life over, despite how long he’d called it home.  Years upon years, finding his place there with Genji, slotting himself seamlessly into the city as though he’d lived in it all along.   He’d fallen into a depression for awhile, worried that underneath the weapons and the dragon tattoos, without the trappings of his family name, out of the shadow of Hanamura, there was nothing left of him.   That he was a Shimada, and nothing else.That he’d left all his worth behind.  A bow, and some blades, and his birthright. Figuring out himself had been hard enough on its own.   Now he was supposed to go to a bondage club, have a drink with a man he’d never met, and ask him to do things Hanzo still had a hard time talking about with his best friend? Tell me what to do, tie me up, put me on my knees, when Hanzo had never really kissed a man. Content/Warning(s): BDSM

The Cooking Cowboy, with Jesse McCree by SadakoTetsuwan Rating: M Word Count: 66,000 (26/?) Summary: It had started simple—he just needed a good recipe for matcha cake to surprise Genji on his birthday, and so he’d started clicking around for tutorials on YouTube. But now Hanzo is in deep, and is officially part of ‘The Chuckwagon’; the mostly middle-aged, mostly female fan following of YouTube cooking sensation Jesse McCree, the Cooking Cowboy. How had his life come to this? Content/Warning(s): None

[throughoutthestars]

Some McHanzo fic recs cause yknow... i like ‘em. There’s a lot and they’re in no particular order.

Your Cheatin’ Heart by SleepySkies

Summary: “A stowaway, a wager, a deck of cards. Sex on a riverboat.”

Historical AU, completed, Explicit

Words: 6,829

A faithful companion by kaijuborn

Summary: “Hanzo is a wanderer, always on the move after leaving his home and his duties. However, when winter comes and he finds himself in an abandoned town, he decides to stay for a while. A large, three-legged wolf accompanies him, though the animal appears to be more than what first meets the eye.”

McWerewolf AU, completed, Teen and Up

Words: 10,195

Continued under Read More

Three times is a pattern by kaijuborn

Summary: “Three times Hanzo meets Jesse during their lives; three times there is a puppy involved; three times Hanzo wants nothing more than to see Jesse again.”

Completed, Dogs~, Teen and Up

Words: 6,935

Keep You On My Side by maskedhero, radiantsaber

Summary: “Hanzo Shimada has loved Jesse McCree for years. And for years, he remained silent.”

Completed, ‘two best friends raise a kid’ AU, General Audience

Words: 11,438

Magic McCree by Cawaiiey

Summary: “Hanzo Shimada does not want to be here, he does not like strip clubs and never has. And Genji is wrong, he does not need to 'get laid', no matter how long this dry spell has lasted. He knows he'll regret being here tonight, and he needs a drink. And the tall glass of water clad in plaid that just bumped into him could be what cures his thirst.”

Completed, Stripper!McCree or club AU, Explicit

Words: 15,125

Catch & Release by CaptainCorgi

Summary: “Jesse came to a full stop. This wasn't a whale or some unfortunate dolphin. The top half of the creature exposed itself as a man.“Shit.”Jesse felt his hand go to the revolver at his side, brushing the handle and approached the seemingly unconscious creature. Mers were not something he had experience with. They were a menace to sailors. Jesse had never seen one - much less one washed up on a lonely stretch of beach looking like it had been run through a shredder.”

Completed, Mermaid AU (Hanzo), Teen and Up

Words: 15,470

For all the Marbles by Kalikuks

Summary: “McCree spoils the Noodle Dragons.”

Completed, Noodle Dragons AU with Established Relationship, General Audiences

Words: 1,052

Drop Dead Gorgeous by kembrelu

Summary: “Hanzo buys and moves into a ranch in the south-western US. Why wasn't he forewarned of the angry cowboy that haunts it?”

In Progress, Ghost AU (McCree), Ghost sex (love me some ghost sex tbh), Explicit

Words: 21,463 (so far)

Who Taught You How to Hate by Valpur

Summary: “He’d always known it was going to happen. There weren’t many ways to go for a rogue like him, but all in all he would have much preferred a clean hole in his skull rather than being hanged for robbery and murder. Especially because this one single, fucking time he was not guilty.    McCree is having the worst time of his life and an outlander happens to save his sorry ass. Things go awfully weird after that - and he enjoys it all too much.”

Complete, Western AU, Mature

Words: 46593

Look Up and Wonder by MarieJacquelyn

Summary: “Jesse McCree gets a job offer to rescue one H. Shimada at 3:23 AM. He accepts it at 3:54 AM. It does not go according to plan. (An Overwatch/Firefly AU)”

In Progress, so good honestly i want to consume this story if it was cake, im not joking im a sucker for this story, Firefly AU, Explicit

Words: 75,796

Body In Electric Blue by saltsoldier

Summary: ““I am inside of you.” Hanzo blurted, disbelief prevalent in the look of pure, unadulterated shock he wore.“I’ve dreamed about you saying that darlin’, but in my head it was a lot sexier.” McCree shot back, quick as a whip. A glitch in the respawn system causes McCree and Hanzo to switch bodies.”

In Progress, Body Swap AU, Teen and Up

Words: 33,721 (so far)

Bend, Bow, Break by teeterss

Summary: “Jesse McCree can't sleep and somehow meeting Hanzo Shimada makes everything a lot worse.”

In Progress, Hurt/Comfort, Explicit

Words: 23,822 (so far)

Against All Odds by CommonNonsense

Summary: “From the moment McCree meets him, he knows Hanzo is a prideful man. If there's one thing a prideful man can't turn down, it's a good old-fashioned bet. And McCree would know, because he's the exact same way.”

In Progress, Medium Burn, Teen and Up

Words: 23,338 (so far)

four days by starscry

Summary: ““I have an embarrassin’ favor to ask of you,” Jesse says.       Hanzo stares at him expectantly, a single brow arched. “And what is that?” he asks.     “Y’see, my family might currently be under the impression that I’m bringin’ home a date for a few days next week. And, the thing is, I don’t really have one. So, I’m currently S-O-L and would really, really appreciate it if you came home with me for a few days and, uh. Pretended. To be my boyfriend.”         He stares down at his plate and jabs a fry into the enormous puddle of ketchup gathered in the center of it. If only the fry could be his hypothetical four-day boyfriend, he thinks; it would save him an enormous amount of embarrassment. It would be tastier, too.          [ Or - McCree desperately needs a fake date to bring home to his family, and Hanzo never does anything half-assed. ]

Complete, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Mature

Words: 23,887

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors by vandoodle

Summary: “Hanzo Shimada regrets ever joining Overwatch after he is paired with Jesse McCree, known cowboy enthusiast, and dropped off in the middle of American suburbia. Forced to blend in with the environment, endure neighborhood cookouts, and share his new living space with his so-called 'Husband', the two prepare to preform the ultimate sting operation: taking down the Vishkar corporation once and for all. He can't help but think this will all go horribly wrong.    Or, alternatively titled: the undercover fake-marriage fic that every fandom deserves.”

Complete, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Teen and Up

Words: 75,467

Hanzo’s Moving Castle by MarieJacquelyn

Summary: “In the land of Ingary, where such things as spells and dragons really exist, it is quite a misfortune to end up on the wrong side of a magical curse. Everyone knows that wizards and witches are much better at putting curses on people than they are at breaking them. If you do end up cursed, it is quite an undertaking to find another person proficient enough, and willing, to break the spell. Jesse McCree had been cursed and considered himself quite luckless for the experience.”

In Progress, Howl’s Moving Castle AU, Explicit

Words: 10,257 (so far)

hearts of glass, souls of steel by DangerDuchess, TheHiddenPassenger

Summary: “Jesse McCree and Hanzo Shimada are just friends. They're very GOOD friends, of course, but there's really nothing more than that between them... A dispute about hygiene plants the seeds of something for which neither of them is prepared and with sake to water it, the blossom blooms just a BIT too quickly.”

In Progress, shower, they’re in the shower and theyre Just Bros (tm), Friends to Lovers, Explicit

Words: 18,926 (so far)

Lost In Translation by BenevolentErrancy

Summary: “There are things you never need to hear your brother say and among that list is anything pertaining to him blatantly and shamelessly flirting with a good friend. Especially when said brother is flirting exclusive in a language said friend doesn't understand. If Hanzo doesn't get over himself and just straight out ask to kiss McCree in English Genji is going to personally kill them both, he shouldn't be forced to be in the middle of this.”

Complete, Pining, Teen and Up

Words: 36,968

Overwatch Lane by FrostysaurusRekt

Summary: “When Jesse McCree moved to Overwatch Lane to give his kids a better life, he'd never expected to have a neighbor who glared at him from his window as often as possible. Little did he know he'd be tangled up in the life of one Hanzo Shimada more than he ever thought possible. And who would have guessed he'd soon love every minute of it?       Tags and rating will be updated as the story progresses.    Modern-ish AU”

In Progress, Modern AU, Mature

Words: 34,164 (so far)

Popcorn Redemption by wyntera

Summary: “They say life isn't like the movies.   Well, partner, they ain't never worked for Overwatch.”

In Progress, they watch movies and fall in love its great, also really long i never noticed, Not Rated

Words: 179,288

Spring Onion and the Silver Bullet Blitz by Byacolate, mywordsflyup

Summary: “Jesse McCree bares his throat for no man. For a dragon, though...”

Complete, Werewolf McCree and Weredragon Hanzo, this is so good i would also eat this if it was cake, Explicit

Words: 66,990

The Familiar of Hanzo by Jakallx

Summary: “He hadn’t seen the hat in the dim light of the hallways, but now he looked down at it in horror. Not only had he summoned a human, an American human, he had summoned a cowboy as well.High school sucks for Hanzo Shimada. Things get a whole lot worse when he accidentally summons Jesse McCree as his familiar. It's a Witch School AU with animal companion familiars. Basically, Overwatch, Harry Potter, and Familiar of Zero throw a party on Halloween. There's ghosts and teenage romance.”

Complete, Magic AU, General Audiences

Words: 47,597

[l-a-l-o-u]

hey! the picture with a village that goes in a spiral was made with AI, if you want to tag it as such

thanks for letting me know!

[talk-of-tyria]

@kaijuborn You’re spot on! There are several bits of dialogue that occur both in Ebonhawke and DR, including that one and “Dragons? Bah! Never seen ‘em. All fantasy if you ask me,” which is especially amusing to hear in Ebonhawke when you consider that Kralkatorrik just about flew over Ebonhawke only a handful of years ago.