#concurrent lore post

[concurrent-if]

Coda doesn't notice how numb their hands have gone until they try to unclench them. Only then does the painful lack of pain hit them.

"Mx. Maeson?" a pleasant voice greets them from somewhere to their left.

Coda jumps in their chair, head whipping around. A blonde woman is standing near the reception desk, her eerily pale hands clasping in front of her.

"Yes?" Coda asks. Their voice rasps out of them, rough around the edges.

The woman steps closer, and --

No. She's stepping, yes, but she isn't walking because her tasteful kitten heels aren't actually touching the ground.

Coda swallows, looking from her feet to her face. She's still smiling that too-pleasant smile.

"Hello, Mx. Maeson, I'm pleased to finally meet you in person," she chimes. And chimes is a good word for it - bell-like, metallic, inorganic.

Before she -it - makes an official introduction, Coda knows who it is.

"DAISY?" they guess.

"Yes," it says, tilting its head slightly in greeting. The motion is very human but too subservient. "I wish we were meeting under better circumstances."

"I-" Coda feels their voice fail. They have to clear their throat and try again. "I thought I was meeting with Mr. Romero."

DAISY doesn't take offense. Its eyes suddenly flash - they shimmer electric-bright as it says, "One moment... Yes, I see that Mr. Romero scheduled this meeting. However, I'm afraid this type of meeting is outside his purview."

Coda tries to keep the anger from their voice when they snap, "And it's in your purview?"

"It is." Simple, to the point, but said in that perfect tone of sympathetic understanding.

"I-" Coda begins, something tight welling in their throat. "I don't see how you can help more than a human."

They would have never said something like this under normal circumstances. Coda knows that most modern bots are better at interpersonal problem-solving than some humans. Most humans, even.

But this... Coda can't talk to a DAISY about this. They need a person - they need to look into a pair of real eyes while their life breaks apart.

DAISY waits patiently for a few moments before reaching out. It gently places one of its near-translucent hands on Coda's elbow. It's the faintest impression of touch, nothing more than a light pressure.

But this is the first time Coda's been touched since...

Coda swallows. Swallows again.

And then they're shaking, hot tears welling on their lashes.

"Coda," DAISY begins, its voice soft. So understanding. "Would you like to sit outside with me? There's a very nice garden just outside. We can sit and talk."

Coda doesn't know how, but this breaks them. They nod, tears thick as they rush down their cheeks.

The pressure on their elbow shifts, becomes DAISY's entire arm tucking around theirs. It can somehow support some of their weight and guide them outside, around a corner, and into a peaceful zen garden.

It helps Coda sit on a bench before alighting beside them. It doesn't say anything, but its slight presence is somehow... enough.

"Are you going to try to psychoanalyze me?" they attempt to joke, voice thick.

"I wouldn't dream of it," DAISY says.

"Can you dream?"

DAISY smiles a little. "That's the age-old question, isn't it?" After a moment, it continues, "Do you dream, Coda?"

"Yes."

"Does your other self dream?"

Coda stills, surprised. They even stop crying. "You'd know that better than I would."

DAISY's smile is a little sad. For a moment, Coda thinks it's a real response, not something programmed.

"I can't know everything. There is still a spark of mystery, even there."

"Are we... happy there?"

"You can find reports in your assistance hub," DAISY replies so swiftly that Coda wonders if it's an auto response. DAISY blinks rapidly before adding, "I believe that the Graves-Maeson household is one of the happiest I manage."

It's not the answer they want, but it's still an answer that gives them hope. Coda heaves a sudden, painful sob. They bend over their knees and let themself really feel for the first time in four days.

DAISY rests a there-but-not hand on their back, and Coda appreciates it more than they thought possible.

[bloodpen-to-paper]

Felps is a goddamn enigma. He's not on the server enough to be a concurrent member but he's on too much to be considered a non-concurrent member. He's described as just "spawning in" during IRL events. He canonically drove and crashed the ship with the Brazilians that got them on the island. He was reintroduced as a new member the day the September batch arrived (he was not a new member). The admins gave him his own little iceroom recreation at spawn that he woke up in, and made him an official introduction post on the twitter account as part of an elaborately dedicated inside joke. He was the first one to get abducted by the Federation and spear-head the current lore all because he fucked off to Japan for a month. Getting kidnapped is called getting "Felpsed". He got a weird marking in his arm that was never brought up again. His biggest contribution was Festa Junina but everyone knows him for the ginormous square he's digging out block by block (he has threatened to restart the entire project if anyone uses Create to empty the square. No one knows why.) The most significant thing that happened during the France Vidcon stream was the members using Cucurucho to place a block of bedrock in Felps Square before they immediately crashed. The recap video has this

for his stats page. Its all just Felps.

[mamawasatesttube]

I wanna start reading triangle era superman but I didn’t realize it was like a whole decade of comics. And that’s just a bit too much with the amount of other series I need to get around to. So in your opinion what are the most important arcs and which ones are your favourite? And which ones have the most kon in them because I am obsessed.

asdfjsk yeah it's definitely a solid chunk of comics. very worth it overall but i def get it, it's quite the time investment!! if you ever need it and haven't already seen it btw there is a whole beautiful reading list for the whole era here :)

but as for specific ones i'd rec... let's see. okay. i think i'll categorize this as bold being important issues plotwise or for character stuff, and italics being my favorites.

TRIANGLE ERA READING RECS, RIMI EDITION.

eta i accidentally hit post instead of save to drafts bc im a clown. give me a few hours and ill have the actual full thing up sdlkfjsdl

Action Comics #662

Superman (1987) #53 (the first few pages are important as follow-up to Clark revealing his identity to Lois; the rest is some kinda racist garbage)

Superman (1987) #59

Adventures of Superman #481-482 (the parasite's postcrisis debut as a villain and one of the darker stories out there. fun to me!)

Superman: The Man Of Steel #5 (atomic skull and really fun format for this issue that takes advantage of the comic medium!)

Action Comics #672

Adventures of Superman #487

The next part of this list is the "Panic in the Sky" event, which is pretty fun if you like big teamups!

Action Comics #674

Superman: The Man of Steel #9

Superman (1987) #65

Adventures of Superman #488

Action Comics #675

Superman: The Man of Steel #10

Superman (1987) #66

Adventures of Superman #489

And then we're back to more episodic stuff...

Action Comics #676

Action Comics #677 if you want to know part of why I don't really like Mae lmao

Action Comics #678 (explanation of "how Lex Luthor cloned himself and pretended to be his own son")

Superman: The Man of Steel #14

Superman (1987) #70

Superman: The Man of Steel #16

Superman (1987) #72

Superman: The Man Of Steel #17 (ILYSM Keith. also: first appearance of Doomsday!!!)

Action Comics #683 (Tim is here!!!)

Next up: The Death And Return Of Superman. This event is absolutely required reading and also fucks severely - the BEST event DC has ever produced, in my opinion. And, of course, Kon and John Henry Irons's debuts!!

The Death and Return of Superman is primarily within Triangle numbering but does include a couple of other crossover issues as well, so for it, I'll direct you to this list. I highly, highly recommend reading the entire thing. ♥

Now back to issue by issue!

Adventures of Superman #506 (Kon lore!)

Superman: The Man Of Steel #28 (follows up on John Henry as a prelude to Steel (1994)

Superman (1987) #84 (CW: Child death)

Adventures of Superman #507 (CW: extremely racist white supremacist villain. Aftermath of child death. This is a three parter that includes follow-up on Supey #84 in interludes between the action plot with Bloodsport.)

Action Comics #694

Superman: The Man of Steel #29

Superman (1987 series) #85 (CW: aftermath of child death) (Cat Grant I love you so much I'm so sorry)

Superman: The Man Of Steel #31 (sets up the clone plague arc)

Adventures of Superman #511

Next up we have The Battle For Metropolis and The Fall of Metropolis (both of which feature Kon :) yaaay!)

Action Comics #699

Superman: The Man of Steel #34

Superman (1987) #90

Adventures of Superman #513

Action Comics #700

Superman: The Man of Steel #35

Superman (1987) #91

Adventures of Superman #514

Action Comics #701

Also more or less concurrent with the Fall of Metropolis storyline is the Milestone/DC crossover "Worlds Collide" which I am not including here because a) it's in a whole bunch of books that aren't triangle era Superman too, and also b) for the sake of length, since it's not what I would call essential for future plot. But if you're interested in reading it, you can find it on this page with a ctrl+f!

Next up is Zero Hour, which is its own thing but ofc has all the fun tie-ins. The main event isn't triangle, but it's got its moments (and Kon is there also, if you're Konmaxxing).

Superman: The Man of Steel #37 (this tie-in is just hilarious)

Superman (1987) #93 (augh)

Action Comics #703 (augh)

After that, we have the setup to a doozy of a Superman storyline (about someone he knew as a child in Smallville who has a serious grudge against Clark Kent discovering his secret identity, and unleashing the horrors). The prologue to this storyline is:

Superman: The Man of Steel #0

Superman (1987) #0

Adventures of Superman #0

Action Comics #0

Then we get back to regular numbering for each series. There is another long crossover event ("Dead Again!") about Clark questioning his reality and if he's actually Superman or if something went wrong when he came back from the dead (spoiler: it's Brainiac fucking with his mind), but honestly I don't care about it that much, so I'm skipping that one. If you're interested, though, ctrl+F "Dead Again" on that same list I linked above!

Superman (1987) #98 (augh Cat Grant I love you augh)

Action Comics #708

Superman: The Man of Steel #43

Adventures of Superman #522

And then we get into "The Death of Clark Kent", the arc I mentioned above.

Superman: The Man of Steel #44

Superman (1987) #100

Action Comics #710

Superman: The Man of Steel #45

Superman (1987) #101

Adventures of Superman #524

Action Comics #711

Superman: The Man of Steel #46

Back to episodic stuff again after that, including some aftermath:

Superman (1987) #102

Adventures of Superman #525

Superman: The Man of Steel #48

Superman (1987) #104 (if you care about Cyborg Superman)

Superman: The Man of Steel #49 (Keith my darling <3)

Action Comics #715 (leadup to......)

The Trial Of Superman: possibly my favorite event in all of Triangle. "Why isn't Superman around during Underworld Unleashed?" Well you see he got abducted by aliens. No, really. (Also Kon is here!)

Superman: The Man of Steel #50

Superman (1987) #106

Adventures of Superman #529

Action Comics #716

Superman: The Man of Steel #51

Superman (1987) #107

Adventures of Superman #530

Superman: The Man of Tomorrow #3

Action Comics #717

Superman: The Man of Steel #52

Superman (1987) #108

Adventures of Superman #531

PHEW THIS IS SO FUCKING LONG. i'm getting a migraine so i'm taking a break here. i really didn't mean to publish this yet, but whoops. anyways, if i don't come back and finish out the rest in a day or two, poke me!

[rei-ismyname]

Uncanny X-Men #13 Review

TLDR I liked it!

This is an interesting issue, certainly more ambitious than anything in the run so far. It has direct continuity with at least three issues in this run, yet it introduces mostly disparate plot elements at the reader out of nowhere through three mostly separate concurrent narratives. Sadurang, the oddly misogynist dragon from issue #1 shows up, we follow a new young black mutant in the 1920s from segregated Chicago to Jim Crow Louisiana, and the Outliers channel Scooby Doo. A lot happens, which is good, but the mystery is thick and it's mostly setup. Understandably, as it's Dark Artery part 1/4 - so I'm parsing questions instead of answers.

Loving the makeover, dude. Ice suits you

Gambit can't sleep in part because Rogue steals all the blankets. They're both cold. Sadurang the God Snake showing up might have something to do with that - it's not explicit, but Gambit suggested he fuck off to Antarctica when they first met and it seems he did just that. Gambit has been using the Eye of Agamotto he stole to blast children and teleport around, but Sadurang doesn't seem to mind right now. Or does he? Feels like he's kinda hitting on Remy a little bit tbh.

Logan and Sadurang should have a sniff off

He's got questions - very personal and specific questions. 'Where's the bird, thief? You harbouring giant Latverian birds here? I'm asking questions I know the answer to but srsly, spill the tea bestie.' Mind your own business, buddy.

Gambit has no idea what he's talking about, and probably doesn't know about near-immortals fucking either. After Storm and Logan banged, DOOM sent a giant bird to talk to her. Sadurang doesn't really care, it seems he was just making conversation as befits la noblesse oblige. No idea where Gambit kept got those cards from seeing as he's only wearing underpants, but the dragon isn't here to fight. Gambit hops on his back and they fly away. It's refreshing to revisit a plot point that's actually been set-up instead of just springing out of nowhere - I was wondering if we'd truly have to wait a year for his promised return. It seems not, the perceptive icy weirdo has a proposal.

This is Miss Henrietta Benjamin, or Henry. She's a schoolteacher from Chicago who's a mutant and she's leaving for Louisiana to fulfill a duty - and putting her mother, also a mutant - to rest is part of it. Markers of segregation and systems of black solidarity are everywhere, though it's difficult to tell whether the marks she's making are mutant-related or a system of pictorial communication for black folks. Underground railroad code-style. I was only aware of this stuff through the Hobo Code and Skyrim, though pictographic code is much older than that. I assume it's the latter, but the 'Midnight Bark/M' is used in a few pages which confuses the subject. Could be both.

I did quite a bit of research for this (which is why it's later than usual), as the US history we do learn in Australia is about as accurate as our own black history - not very. We pretend to be post-colonial when we're anything but. I want to say it's the 1920s, though I'm going to miss a lot of context. I feel like I should say that upfront - plus I don't want to speak over or for black voices. Henry is seemingly heading to set up the Outliers plot, which promises to be important to mutant history.

I think if you're going to explore (three) hundred year old mutant lore (as has been done before,) striving for authenticity by telling it through black POV has a lot of merit. Uncanny is occasionally a Southern Gothic book, and I'm interested to learn why a young black woman would head south when when black folks were migrating north en masse (The Great Migration) in response to much harsher laws and extralegal discriminatory practices. X-Men has a reputation for diversity, but honestly it's pretty damn white if you look at the numbers, the leadership, and definitely the creators. Uncanny is more diverse than usual, though the 2D black villain that is the Podcaster makes no attempt at exploring the dissonance of her behaviour and motivations intersectionally.

It's a positive thing to have minorities in fiction that aren't solely defined by that, though Warden Corrina Ellis in particular is a visible black woman operating a monument to mutant oppression that she built. Before that she hosted a popular anti-mutant podcast and got a prominent government contract off the back of that. The tactics she's using to systematically break the will of an outgroup - torture, dehumanisation, brainwashing, indefinite imprisonment, even chattel slavery (she was going to sell Beast and did sell Calico) and legal indentured servitude - it beggars belief that she wouldn't have complicated feelings or delusions about what she's doing. Her blackness is kinda relevant and the absence of any depth so far certainly makes me ... vigilant. Wary.

There's a lot of potential for exploring black history and the mutant metaphor but there's also a great many potential pitfalls, something Marvel in general doesn't have the greatest track record with. Much has been made of the 1963 run being inspired by the Civil Rights movement, but I don't buy it because it's not on the page at all. 6 white people with wealth who collaborate with the establishment and use force to keep other mutants in line - I don't see it. Marvel is historically super white and clumsy at best with matters of race. It's not a coincidence that Kitty Pryde has dropped the N bomb 3 times over the years. This history doesn't mean that the mutant metaphor and segregation can't be done well together, or at least inoffensively, but it's all in the execution. 

Henry's train ride is uneventful but for a black conductor making the 'Midnight M' signal several times, which she ignores. She can't take the risk that he works for The Service, a nebulous group of mutant hunters. I've been iffy on the M as a modern invention, but it being a known quantity a hundred years ago (exclusively amongst black folks so far) suggests it's a contemporary appropriation or revitalisation. It ties the signal to a significant and specific time in history, which I'm honestly not sure how I feel about. Henry refers to the (Dark) Artery in Louisiana as her duty - interring her deceased mother with 'their kind.'

I didn't have space for pics of most of the Outliers adventure - Ransom is woken up by Deathdream's hand over his mouth and he wigs out. Deathdream gathered all the Outliers, but no adults, to go to the Dark Artery right now. He doesn't really explain that, just says spooky shit and speculates that this is what called them here. We find out it's a graveyard, so I assume Deathdream is communicating with the dead, or they him. Calico especially is scared and Ransom assures her she can sit this out if she wants. She has a crisis of identity, so the others assure her she's a mutant. With that, she's committed. Acceptance and validation from the outgroup/community you're connected to is important, especially for young people. Given her upbringing, I think it's realistic that she keeps backsliding and retreating to her mother's awful mantras. Her initial acceptance happened way too easily after Gambit's 3 panel pep talk, so I enjoy that it's an ongoing process for the most sheltered and socially privileged of the group.

Marcus St Junior and Alice watch them go and clearly know something about the 'door' or Dark Artery. That they're black people who own/run Haven, Henry's destination, suggests a historical link of some kind. Maybe. Probably. Alice seems concerned while Marcus leaves it in the hands of 'our Father' - most likely God, but it often pays to note exact wording. Henry came here for her parent, so a family connection is possible. Either seems reasonable, though if Alice has a reason to be concerned maybe they should be accompanied by the adults whose care they're in? Simone has a Raid on Graymalkin - four issues to tell this story, so we shall see.

Meanwhile, one of the aforementioned adults has been dropped in The Savage Land by Sadurang. Gambit is still without britches, so it's a good thing Marcus doesn't know. Haven has a couple of rules - everyone pitches in, the kids go to school (maybe it's the holidays,) and wear fucking pants. It's come up more than you'd think.

Sadurang is unimpressed with Gambit's efforts to take down a Tyrannosaurus Rex (or an Allosaur maybe, idk) and steps in. It doesn't do much so Gambit blows it up in an act of ecological crime. I have it on good authority that the Savage Land is a protected ecosystem. Lucky Ka-Zar or the RSPCD aren't around - Sauron would certainly object too.

The big cold snake says he admires Remy because they're alike. Feels like a backhanded compliment, or at least a manipulative way to build rapport. He calls him 'admirable' for not wanting to kill the dinosaur - admirable like he used to be. As if to demonstrate, he asks Remy if he objects to eating the dead dino, which he obviously doesn't.

Apparently the Eye of Agamotto (the left one at least) makes you crave flesh. Animals at first, then people, those closest to you. Sadurang will generously take the Eye back, sparing Remy this fate but it's a one time deal. Choose now! Limited time offer. This feels like a scam, lol. He politely asked if he could eat a dead dinosaur, which is probably what dragons do anyway - eat stuff. Agamotto has shown up here and there and we saw no evidence of cannibalism. Doctor Strange has worn one of his other eyes for decades (there are 3,) as have previous Sorcerers Supreme. This Eye certainly does different tricks even for the untrained Gambit. Portals aren't new though randomly blasting people is. This curse or whatever would also be new. It doesn't mean he's lying, necessarily, but it feels like he is. Sadurang was going to come and get it in a year anyway, so it's blatantly not a one time deal. We don't know what Gambit chooses, but I suspect he'll give it up and really need it later or something. We shall see.

Henry arrives in New Orleans and looks to continue on to Haven ASAP. A local porter gives her the lowdown on what's safe and allowed for black folks, but they're interrupted by Jacob Miller from The Service. He's either been following her or had eyes on the train because he questions her about the M, calling it a 'hex sign.' Dude probably was with The Service too. They duel with courtesy and innuendo but Henry's a sharp customer.

Miller offers to carry her bag, not taking no for an answer, then rips it open. She has bricks and a journal in there, neither of which interest him. He doesn't approve of her being educated/able to write - as a black woman it could be either or both - but he arrogantly doesn't read it. As he bids her goodbye with false politeness he instructs his partner/subordinate to follow her. He sucks.

'If she isn't a moonflyer she knows one, I'll wager' - suggesting that The Service are mutant hunters, proto-Purifiers perhaps - while introducing a new old mutant slur (alongside 'Johnny Devils' and 'abbhorences.') Henry notices a mark meaning 'beware' on the train station sign. Her eye glows red, Cyclops style, as she affirms that The Man is watching while vowing that they're almost there and her mother can rest soon. Her thoughts are stylised as journal entries,with the framing of her writing this letter about past events.

The issue ends on the Outliers reaching their destination - a circular room with coffins laid out neatly. A graveyard underneath a swamp, as Calico says. Ransom picks up a book from the centre of the room that's not a match for Henry's diary, and there's torches burning. Deathdream confidently states that they've been doing so for 300 years, but offers no explanation for how he knows that. 300 years is a long time - whatever this is would have been established for 200 years before Miss Henrietta Benjamin made her journey. The French founded New Orleans in 1820, so we're talking early or even pre white history in the region. There's a Latin carving inscription on the wall that Jitter translates as 'bring us your own to rest forever.' Everyone except Deathdream is spooked, and he repeatedly tells them to not be afraid. They literally walk past interred bodies standing up with their arms crossed. It's objectively scary.

The cliffhanger is that this place is guarded by the Man-Thing. Deathdream is characteristically calm while the others are not. Hopefully they can overcome that, or not get touched by The Man-Thing, because nobody wants to burn. Most people, anyway. I am not a Man-Thing expert, though I do know that he guards The Nexus of All Realities in Florida, and has only been doing so since ~the sixties. This doesn't look like the Nexus of All Realities or Florida, but that's a mystery for next issue.

Uncanny X-Men #13 is all questions and set-up, but it passes a vibe check for a Southern Gothic mystery from history. It's a little railroady in that all characters spend the time travelling to a place and just arrive there, but there wouldn't be room for much more without cutting the Gambit plot. It didn't seem to have much to do with the A and B plots in different time periods - which is fine - it just distracts from the definitely connected journeys of Henry and The Outliers. It's a little jarring to cut from Southern Gothic to dinosaurs in the Savage Land, but it's part 1 of 4, so they may well be connected. Right now I'd prefer the other plots be more fleshed out, but I suppose it's a good thing to leave us wanting more.

It's certainly ambitious in its scope and I'm invested in the mystery that's being built here. I'm happy to say it feels like Simone is hitting her stride, leaning into the setup without replaying Rogue angst beats or having to worry about Xavier's dense gravity pulling the characters into his orbit. The issues I do have are caused by infrastructure - the book has a lot of characters and Jubilee and Kurt especially feel like NPCs. Marcus and Alice just watching the kids head into a swamp underscores their position as passive characters, but that's okay right now. Aside from doing a bottle episode, there's no way around that, so playing the cards as they lay and centering The Outliers is a strong move.

Dark Artery part 1 feels like a strong start for four parter, and for the first time I'm delighted to say that this issue is worth reading. A good issue even, with more of the elements I like and less of the undeveloped fluff. Henry is a mystery with some pretty big hints and The Outliers' Scooby Doo-ing Southern Gothic feels organic with me asking 'what's next?' I've been harah on this book, which I don't apologise for, but fair is fair. #13 is solid.

[linkons-most-wanted]

Captivating Moment and Operation Aether Ordeal

Caleb's Lucid Dreams myth being more or less in the main story timeline (more like a Bond than the other Myths) prompted me to go back and watch Captivating Moment again, and I realized that it's pretty explicitly set during Project Aether Ordeal (i.e. during the 3-4 months after MC is first in the N109 Zone) which is actually really interesting and puts the rest of MC and Sylus's "early in the relationship" memories into a pretty specific place in the timeline.

This is sort of a ramble but with lots of citations so I hope it'll be interesting to the other folks enjoying the lore and the meta aspect of the storytelling!

Spoilers below the cut! Sorry if it doesn't work on mobile, I only halfway understand how mobile Tumblr decides when to use/not use the "keep reading" cut 😅

Disclaimer 1: First off I want to say that an exact timeline is sort of not the point of LaDS, they intentionally give themselves room to not have to manage continuity perfectly, but I enjoy putting things into context.

Disclaimer 2: As a writer myself, I feel comfortable speculating on things that happen "behind the scenes" with creating LaDS, since I've worked myself into some continuity errors and ret-cons of my own. You can decide how plausible or not what I'm suggesting seems.

Okay back to the lore dump.

We still don't know the exact timeline after Homecoming Wings, but the writers usually give themselves some flexibility to work with, so I'm not anticipating us finding out that something happened immediately after Homecoming Wings. At that point, we're still sort of in Operation Aether Ordeal, though all parts of the Spatium Core have at least been spotted. (I need to replay the second half of Homecoming Wings, I forget exactly where that left off.)

Notably, in Captivating Moment, MC mentions she's on an 'Aether Core' mission. When the myth dropped concurrent with Sylus's release in July, we wouldn't start getting content about Operation Aether Ordeal until October. So if you watched the myth early, you could kind of assume that MC is chasing a lead about her own Aether Core--but that's pretty much resolved at the end of Long Awaited Revelry. Rather, I think this was intentionally a reference to Operation Aether Ordeal, though vague enough to not spoil anything.

One reason this is likely an intended reference (but ends up creating a continuity error) is that the season is given as spring. I'll have to make a longer post about it, but before Prologue to Tomorrow, the most natural time for Operation Aether Ideal would be spring 2049. This assumes that only about a month goes by between MC becoming a Hunter and the Bloomshore District Explosion, which is a natural assumption for an otherwise unspecified time skip, and the early chapters of Under Twilight give summery vibes, though the season isn't specified.

However, Prologue to tomorrow's Xavier branch, Voyage of the Outcast, goes and sets itself in autumn. Since it's explicitly two months after Long Awaited Revelry, then LAR and Captivating Moment must happen circa July/August, which is solidly summer, not spring.

I think this is specifically why the new Serpent's Cast World Underneath story says that snow is on the ground during the Bloomshore District Explosion--the writers realized they needed to extend one of their unspecified time skips, and the best candidate was the time skip between Talented Hunter and Under Twilight. By adding a 6mo time skip there, then Voyage of the Outcast is able to correctly happen in autumn.

But the consequence of this is that Captivating Moment, which was already published, now represents a continuity error by stating the season to be spring when it should be late summer or autumn.

From a fanfic/headcannon perspective this is actually really easy to solve--the conversation between MC and Sylus about plants (and how little he sees them in the N109 Zone) works just as well with autumn leaves or late-summer vibrance as it does with spring blooms.

Not sure how interesting this will be for others, but as someone who's kind of driving myself crazy trying to sketch out the main story's timeline, I felt a little less insane when I started to see the evidence that the writers also sort of lost track of things and went back to ret-con them. 😅

The time skip being lengthened has some other interesting consequences--MC now has known/reconnected with Xavier, Zayne, and Rafayel for over a year by the time she meets Sylus. That's interesting context to think about for their relationship at the time of Prologue to Tomorrow and Homecoming Wings. I think a lot about Zayne's comment in Homecoming Wings that MC "needs something other than lukewarm"--i.e. he realizes he's not being clear enough that he wants to spend more time with her, and he needs to be bolder. It pushes Zayne memories like Everlasting Wish well after late 2049, which isn't particularly consequential other than that it assures my heart that the world won't like, entirely abruptly explode? probably?

Again I want to emphasize that fitting the Memoria into the main story timeline is kind of missing the point, since they're meant to be branching timelines with room for "what if this relationship went after, what if that crisis didn't happen" etc. It's meant for each player to be able to string together their own continuity that makes the most sense to them--which for me personally is enjoying the challenge of trying to fit everything into the context of the main story. 😅

Since it's rumored that we're getting a Sylus main story branch soon, I'm really curious how much they'll reference, where they're going to go with it, the relationship stage it'll represent, etc.

Alright that's enough of me rambling about the timeline for now. If you got this far, thank you! <3

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

hcs of how assorted fe8 characters play pokémon:

eirika

favourite game: BW1 and/or SM (likes the characters and story. was genuinely sad when n left at the end of bw1.)

unironically loves, and uses pokémon that are usually hated or otherwise ignored, such as simisear (she picked oshawott in her first playthrough of white), audino, zebstrika, drampa etc. though tbh she enjoys all pokémon in general and usually tries for 100% dex completion in every game.

completes every single sidequest she comes across, because she really wants to help the npcs. would prefer to play through the main story slowly and at her own pace, except her friend group is full of people who play for endgame content and/or competitive, and she more often than not is urged to complete the main story quickly so she can help them out with postgame (e.g. trading post-HOF version exclusives).

only occasionally dips her toes into battle facilities, usually because another friend (or her brother) is challenging multi battles and needs a partner. the one battle facility she actually grinds of her own accord is the battle subway, for character-related reasons.

doesn't battle much, really just her friends if they're up for it. prefers to do other co-op activities in multiplayer such as raids.

ephraim

favourite game: pokkén (loves beating the shit out of opponents in a fighting game. it's cathartic at least.)

doesn't really catch a lot of pokémon, just those he thinks looks cool / strong. the exception is when he's trying to help his sister complete the dex and needs to catch version exclusives.

in fact the twins always get opposite game versions (for mainline + old mystery dungeon) for that reason, to cover more ground, e.g. ephraim's first pokémon game was black, eirika's was white (which their dad bought for them when they were kids). they either play third versions (emerald, plat) / single titles (LA) concurrently, or only one of them plays while the other backseats the entire time.

rushes the main story to get to the battle facilities (and endgame items for competitive prep). was very disappointed when SV didn't have any sort of battle facility.

ladders a lot ingame and on battle sims. also fights innes every friday night, where he runs the risk of getting both of them banned from showdown over battle chat getting spicy.

lyon

favourite game: explorers of sky, poképark 2 or SM (he vibes with the more grim plot)

also a 100% dex completionist, though he usually tries to play third versions / transfer from other games to do so.

has memorised at least one dex entry for every pokémon. just knows all sorts of stats and lore off the top of his head.

actually knows how to datamine / modify game files. he will never admit it but he absolutely has used cheats ingame before.

doesn't do battle facilities beyond grinding for BP for items, or playing with friends. he prefers to explore the region to its fullest extent and learn about all the background lore.

he does play competitive, but isn't very good at it yet because he doesn't really have time to practise (actually studies irl).

may or may not also be making a horror romhack of his own with knoll's help.

joshua

favourite game: TCG (or masters) (gambling)

likes running risky strats such as (in mainline) multi-hit moves without skill link / loaded dice, serene grace + paraflinch etc. frequently also does these on challenge runs such as nuzlockes, because it's funny.

for the tcg pocket people: he mains celebi. 'nuff said.

actually pretty good at the game, he just can't resist the allure of 50/50 coinflips to decide a game.

.

[pawborough]

August-September Post-Alpha Check In

Hello, everyone!

With the release of Alpha testing, we have in this update a retrospective on the test itself, a host of content from August, some lore drop, and word on where we are with Moontail and Leopard! 

Let’s begin with some art!

Southern Romanovtsa 

Users in our Discord participated in a community game to see the preproduction designs of our Romanovtsa variants. The Southern olive variant is done!

Design and illustration by Hydde

Crests

We’ve illustrated two more forum crests, Orchard Crest and Spectral Crest!

Design and illustration by Giulia

Currently, Demonic is being illustrated now!

Regal Set recolors

Regal set had its recolors done!

Black, grey, white, red, orange, yellow, green, teal, blue, purple, pink, and brown, recolors by Emma (@missbluefrost)

New Accessory: Gilded Crest

Next, preview of the design for the Gilded Crest, the sponsored accessory item from the individual who won our sweepstakes: Emma! (Not the one on our team)

KS sponsored by Emma, illustrated by Azarel

Harvest Logo

As promised, the Harvest logo was updated to better reflect the difference in the thematic stone and incense items. 

This visual will slowly be updated in all our content. 

Wheatley and Crowley

Take a peak at the newest progress on Whealtey and Crowley!

Leopard and Moontails Check In

As promised, we want to release these two things together. So where are we? 

Moontails have all patterns but Leopard done. 

Moontail wing colors, a mighty feat, are good to go, but we are currently working on perfecting the tail and whisker glow colors. Moontails will be utilizing the accent 1 color for their glow tint, much like the previous cat creator, and we’ve had to start from the ground up on accommodating all of our colors in a way that flatters the glow. 

In addition, doing this work now will help benefit any glowing mystic breeds in the future... ;)

Here is an example of in-progress glow designs: 

Thistle, Wisteria, River

Overall this breed is very robust in comparison to our other breeds, and it will be extremely rewarding to release all 3 wing types at once. With all the effort gone in, Moontails have certainly earned their place as a legacy breed. 

Leopard

Leopard is all done! Sans Moontails, but they’re currently being worked on. Here is an in-progress example:

WIP by Asp

Though, we are wary of using the designated “tiger” palette for Leopard 100% of the time, as we worry this will create a washed-out look for the pattern in the majority of cases, so while we tool Moontail glows, we’re visiting altering Leopard spot colors. 

As far as art goes as a whole, these two things are concurrently working alongside our main production push. A vast majority of our time is going towards icons or continuing accessory illustration. This will limit the amount of new content we can share, as it will just be the same items repeated several times over! However, we’re dedicated to taking the time to not only prepare our starter breeds, but to expand the breed compatibility for each accessory as soon as possible! 

New Information on the land of Kotemara

New information on the continent known as Kotemara, which is the name for the giant landmass that users will be joining when they play PawBorough. 

Kotemara is home to 7 Boroughs, which each have a capital, we're here to share the capital names for each!

Luna: Kotikansa Sol: Borheim  Upper Abyssal: Tsuribari Lower Abyssal: Umiya Zenith: Felkin Harvest: Hillshire Cogwheel: New Brassgate The Metropolis: The Spire

But there's something else...

The Wastes

The magic of the geological deposits that Catfolk are currently studying and learning has ran rampant in large areas around Kotemara, influencing the localized flora and fauna. These areas are home to large, powerful, magical beasts roaming the land, colloquially called Wastebeasts. Plant life either dies out, save for hardy, shrubby grasses and sparse foliage, or overgrows and mutates into a magical nightmare. 

All Wastebeasts are very dangerous and magically aggressive. Cats who brave the wastes seldom return home, and catfolk settlements bordering the wastes are frequently terrorized by Wastebeast attacks. 

The Spire, the head magical academy in The Metropolis, has sworn to make studying and controlling the Wastes its top priority in magical research and modernization. But the latest achievements coming from The Spire have been little more than pithy advancements in magical products...  

Independent organizations like Maven's Guild have cropped up around the Boroughs, with trained recruits helping scared cats cross the wastes, helping to fend off Wastebeasts from catfolk villages, and to assist with mundane errands. 

As you learn about Maven and her organization, you'll discover more about her connection to the Wastes... 

Alpha Retrospective

At the beginning of this month, we started dedicated Alpha testing. This was a challenging time, as we as a team have never before performed public-facing testing of this nature. 

But we are jovial and positive behind the scenes, because we have learned a lot regarding our own application, our development tactics, user feedback tracking, user desires, and community support management. This test-run has given us beginning experience on how the full game will function with an active user base, and has allowed us to foster a more prepared understanding for not only server preparation, but all further development efforts. 

In addition, the mass amounts of testing and QA reporting has truly helped to improve our development, as we can knock out and identify bugs much easier. We are thriving with this, able to swiftly chop and iterate upon any flaws found in the functionality. The flow of tickets means there’s always something to improve on, and we have burgeoned with this setup.  

The warm and positive attitude from our testers has also helped to lift our spirits. We’re very open to the criticism and feedback we have received on the application thus far! In fact, we’re duly grateful that so many users have put in their valuable time and energy to both constructively and bluntly critique what we have. Earnestly, with no aggression nor sarcasm: It is stellar that we have users who care. It means that we have something which people love, and want to see improve, and we could not ask for better! 

That being said, we were expecting more aggression and user vitriol than we actually received thus far, and it’s uplifted the spirits of our team in such a way that we’re real fired up!

Our biggest aspects we want to improve on going forward is: 

Better user-side communication. This will come as we grow and can expand our team. Right now, only two individuals handle user tickets, and with one of them being myself, who also handles a great brunt of not only user-side updates, but also all development management, and it can cause swift and detailed user-side communication to suffer. This is certainly a problem!  The infallible solution will be to hire more help once we have the resources, and for now we’ll do our best to structure the responsibility in a way which prioritizes communication more favorably for users in the coming future. We truly owe you all better! And we are very grateful that you are all so patient while we’re working this hard.

Better code management. In general, we’d like to see things come out the gate a little less breakable, and this is on us to improve. We’ve tightened our form, including running more tests before releasing updates or iterating, and we’re only seeing the application get stronger from here.

Staying vague on promising deadlines. Unfortunately, we did fall a month behind, and taking that into consideration, we're just not in a place to make sweeping promises on the timeline. We admit fault, and will learn from this. From here, we're going to err on the side of caution and simply take the time we need. It smarts that we have had so many roadbumps and delays, but what's important is that we are consistently making progress, and that the final product is robust and surpasses user expectation for fun and enjoyment. We're keeping our heads down and grinding on.

And here’s a summary of what we liked: 

Even without a gameplay loop, users have frequently reported having fun interacting with the mechanics. This implies that there’s an inherent enjoyment to the setup, and is one of the best omens for longevity as a game that we could receive. It means that, at our core, we have an enjoyable game. That’s huge! We can only improve!

We’ve knocked out bugs fast. Users have been happy to see new iterations frequently released for testing. 

Users are very eager to test, giving us detailed reports that improve our development.

In conclusion, this has been a hugely positive experience, and we’re excited to keep building and improving. 

We’re hoping to run this test for a few more weeks while we do the following:

Nail down intended functionality of all working mechanics. 

Iterate a few key functionalities: metamorphics, cross-team play, and potentially combat. 

We’ll then close the test, with an announcement of such a week before closing, and take some time to rest, reflect, iterate on any important aspects of the game that we’re missing, and polish what we have with the most pertinent user feedback. After which, we’ll prepare for the opening of Closed Beta! 

Here is an updated timeline to reflect how things are shaking out:

This will be cross-posted to our socials as we focus on updating them!

If I can provide a small update from myself, the project lead: Overall it’s been great, though I am personally working a lot. Between everything I do, I have been working myself to sleep most days of the week. Right now, I eat, I sleep, and I wake up to work on PawBorough, and many times I forgo the sleep part. So I have been extremely grateful for the positivity and patience from the user base, and I have to pre-emptively request a bit of grace and patience if I disappear for a time to get some rest. 

But saying this, I stress that you all do not worry about me! I am completely alright! In fact I am very happy to be working, and I love it. I simply want to communicate the amount of dedication I have right now, ask for a bit of grace if I'm slow to reply to questions or tickets, and to give a big THANK YOU for the opportunity you all have given me to be doing this. I really could not be more in love with PawBorough, and so far I see a bright path for it to grow its wings and flourish as it improves. I hope all of our supporters and users feel this with me!

And from here, I am going to be taking this upcoming weekend away to rest. But we'll be back bright and squirrelly on Monday!

To summarize: We shared the Southern Romanovtsa, Regal set recoloring, 2 new crests, the Gilded Crest accessory, the updated Harvest logo, an NPC wip, a lore drop for longterm conflict, and our Alpha retrospective.

What to expect next update: Further asset and development updates. Check-ins for how Alpha is going, updated Borough descriptions to put on the site, and any further plans we'll have to share. 

[internetgiraffekid1673]

Splatoon OCs be upon ye!

Alright, beloved mutual reminded me I needed to post my Splatoon OCs a while back before my art improves enough for me to be embarrassed about it. I finally finished the last drawing I needed to do sooooo. . .

Lore under the cut!

(First off, note that I've only actually PLAYED Splatoon 2 and have had to cobble together the plots of the other games from watching challenge runs and fanfics)

Meet my agents! They are fully OCs, because while I occasionally care what canon and marketing materials do with the agents, I also reserve the right to shoot canon whenever I desire!

So in my little Splatoon AU, agents 1-4 are the same. Agent 5 is Sheldon's engineering intern who took over for him after the events of Splatoon 2 but before the events of Octo Expansion. While agent 4 was doing her campaign, agent 3 was exploring the underground facility, and Octo Expansion happened soon afterwards (I think canon has them take place concurrently but this makes more sense in my head, so I don't care <3). Pearl and Marina are agents 6 and 7, agent 8 is agent 8, and neo 3 takes Original 3's callsign after his promotion to Captain.

I have not decided whether Side Order is canon to this AU or not, because I need to watch a playthrough of it. If I do include it, there's a high likelihood of me changing some things so a different agent does that plot, because Eight deserves a break and I will give him one gosh darn it.

I developed these guys while I was playing Splatoon 2 and thinking about what kinds of weapons I like and which personality would suit each one. While I obviously didn't have enough spots in the Squidbeak Splatoon to fill ALL available weapon types, my favorites are all covered here (note the absence of brushes, rollers, and blasters, all of which I hate).

Eight, being the protagonist of Octo Expansion, is an amnesiac former child soldier who does not remember his given name. He got attached to the name Eight after hearing Marina, Pearl, and Cuttlefish call him that through the entire plot, and has decided to just keep it. The rest of the Splatoon teases him relentlessly about it, since they're supposed to have callsigns to keep their identities SECRET.

Sunny and Eight have been roommates since he escaped the underground facility (as is the official explanation for why agent 8 and agent 4 can share gear after beating Octo Expansion). Sunny and Ian have a very sibling-like relationship and bicker constantly to show their love, which drives everybody else up the wall. After Sunny and Eight had already been roommates for quite some time, Ian moved in with them and he and Eight started dating.

Tori was unaware that Sunny existed for a significant majority of the Splatoon 3 campaign (possibly all of it, I haven't quite decided when my little gremlin child crash lands into Splatsville). But once she finally does make an entrance, BOY is it an entrance. She was aware of Eight due to people bringing him up in casual conversation but was not quite prepared for the totality of the person. Tori idolizes Captain 3, 4, and 8, and they all act as her mentor figures, teaching her about lots of different aspects of combat and also just life in general. She's the baby of their little family!

Tori and Honey are very close, as the two outsiders who weren't involved in the previous campaigns. Honey's like her cool older cousin or classmate in the grade above. Honey's very exhausted by the antics of the rest of the Splatoon, but loves the work they get to do and is very protective of them all (which mostly expresses as them being very pedantic about gear checks). They respect Captain 3's authority (despite being older), but they REALLY frequently want to clobber Sunny and Eight for being idiot self sacrificing risk takers (they occasionally feel this way about both agent 3s but 4 and 8 are SO much worse).

Uhhhhh. Ian is bi, Eight is pan, Sunny's aroace, Tori doesn't know or care yet, Honey's agender/panromantic/asexual. Enjoy my little fools, I greatly enjoy hallucinating Scenarios for them. Peace out!

[m1ckeyb3rry]

ok running away after posting this but anyways .. nagimira lore ig .. LOL some of them i had no idea what to put because there’s so many concurrent aus of us in my mind that we are like simultaneously 50 million beings all at once SDKJFH anyways. most beautiful cringefail couple of all time essentially 🙂‍↕️

[azure-za-raid]

Update post

So my plans include the creation of maybe like 4 fics?

College Ending AU

The Time Scramble AU

Tales of Arcadia: Underground

Big Jim AU

Which honestly these could use better names

But yeah they’re being planned out

Throughly this time, to avoid me abandoning them like last time

Here’s what to expect

College Ending AU

Will completely overhaul Wizards and RotT getting rid of that whole strangeness with it

Will be extended and the earliest part takes place concurrently with Part 3 of Trollhunters / Part 1 of 3Below

Minor tweaks to Trollhunters and 3Below

Changes and additions to character arcs

Inclusion of the tie-in content

Time Scramble AU

An AU where four major timeline converge into one (-:

Tales of Arcadia: Underground

An additional side story that takes place concurrently with the original Trollhunters’ Story

Additions and expansion of lore not touched on in the original series

A story with original characters

Big Jim AU

An AU I mostly made cause nobody talks about

A: Early Troll Jim concepts of him being able to shift sizes

B: Corrupted Jim

So a unique story for him in a very different version of events for Trollhunters

[pluckyredhead]

Time for more Fourth World posting that no one asked for! I've previously written about the Fourth World comics of the 1970s and the 1980s, so here are the 1990s:

New Gods (1995): I FOUND IT! I FOUND A GOOD NEW GODS COMIC THAT ISN'T BY JACK KIRBY!!!

Okay, so the art is 1995 in the worst way, but the first 11 issues (written by Rachel Pollack) are actually excellent? The problem with previous New Gods runs was that it's hard to write about a utopian world at any length, but writers tried to introduce conflict by having the people of New Genesis be shitty, which undercuts the whole...utopia thing. Pollack has the corruption come from outside, which makes all the difference.

Basically, Darkseid manages to invade the Source (God, essentially, but more of a place than an entity) in an attempt to conquer it, but Orion follows him, and, desperate to stop him, kills him. However, committing patricide within the heart of the Source corrupts it, causing natural disasters on Earth and making everyone on New Genesis go evil or crazy or both. Which was all part of Darkseid's plan (he regenerates himself out of Orion's flesh, which is both very gross and a total mic drop moment) but now the cosmos are in upheaval and that's bad for everyone.

The other thing this book does that most post-Kirby New Gods books don't manage to do is treat Orion like an actual goddamn hero. Yes, he is angry and violent and makes bad decisions driven by destructive impulses. But he also loves Highfather and Lightray and New Genesis deeply, and this book allows those things to be stronger in him than his rage, and I'm crying about it. HE IS ACTUALLY A GOOD PERSON HE'S JUST ALSO A VERY CRANKY ONE.

The last few issues are by John Byrne and the plot and tone diverge pretty sharply but that's a lead-in to a different series so I'll talk about that in a bit.

Mister Miracle (1996): The universe tends towards balance and so because New Gods (1995) was good, this comic sucks. It sort of fits into the same continuity (it takes place after Darkseid dies), and so everyone on New Genesis is kind of being an asshole. But a lot of it just doesn't make sense and isn't explained? Like, they want Scott to be the new Highfather, even though Highfather is totally around in the concurrent New Gods series, and also this is presented as just a thing that everyone knew would inevitably happen, which...no? Honestly, the things that happen in this comic are so bizarre and arbitrary - characters appearing out of nowhere, continuity errors, random and baffling changes to the lore - that I kept thinking they were going to reveal it was all a dream. Bad.

Jack Kirby's Fourth World: So in the last 4 issues of New Gods (1995), Bryne takes over and long story short, Apokalips and New Genesis are smooshed together into one planet split down the middle (and also Orion dies). This series picks up from there and also ties into the Genesis miniseries. Byrne's art is always great, but the stakes are so exhaustingly high (the planets are smooshed together! now they're separated! Orion's dead! now he's back! now Highfather's dead!) that I started feeling numb pretty quickly.

It also relies heavily on the whole "god" thing, which means way more religious themes than I'm particularly comfortable with. (And yes, Kirby also drew very heavily one biblical themes but more for worldbuilding. He didn't have everyone on Earth "lose faith" because of issues with Source, as if atheists are just fooling themselves.) I just don't need that much Thor and Odin in my Fourth World comics, and the two of them repeatedly saying that they are "the closest to the Old Gods" is way too literal. (A commonly accepted version of events is that one of Kirby's biggest frustrations with Marvel was not being able to write a Ragnarok story and kill off Thor and his supporting cast, which is why he came to DC...where he immediately opened his book about NEW gods with the words "There came a time when the old gods died!" and a clear depiction of Ragnarok. This fan theory has several holes in it, not least of which is that Kirby did draw a Ragnarok story for Marvel, but the aggressively obvious allusion here just feels like Byrne is elbowing me in the ribs going "Get it? GET IT?")

Also, there are weird changes to the lore. I've mentioned before that in Mister Miracle #1, Scott is clearly already familiar with Earth, meaning some time has passed between his escape from Apokalips and our first sight of him...but Kirby has him living on Earth for two hundred years before Mister Miracle #1, including marrying a woman who isn't Barda - as if the idea that Scott and Barda had spent that long apart or that it took Barda that long to decide to leave Apokalips makes any sense at all. Tigra, Orion's mom, spends issues and issues claiming Orion is the result of a one night stand she had with some guy and thus not Darkseid's kid, and nobody really believes her but it's never actually resolved. Also, Infinity Man turns out to be Darkseid's brother??? What the hell.

This series also has a lot of Takion, a real Original Character Do Not Steal of a guy if ever there was one. He's Paul Kupperberg's OC, not Byrne's, but he shows up and is sparkly and more powerful than everyone and can talk to the Source and all the other characters ask him for advice all the time even though he literally just showed up and Beautiful Dreamer is in love with him and then he becomes the new Highfather. Big Mary Sue energy. Also he looks like a ripoff of Waverider, who is already firmly in Original Character Do Not Steal territory.

Anyway the series ends with Apokalips and New Genesis gearing up for a final, major clash...and then the last issue is literally just Byrne retelling a mashup of Forever People #1 and Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #147, but setting them in the post-Crisis universe instead of their original pre-Crisis framework. And then it's over. What? What???

Anyway on to the 2000s and the series I've been looking forward to since I started this project, Walt Simonson's Orion! See you in the next post!

[m0r1bund]

"Lore, where have you been?"

In hell, probably. I remade M0R1BUND.com.

“For the love of god, why?”

Short answer: to save time and money.

Long answer: Sharing art was getting burdensome. Neocities hosts static websites built with html, css, and javascript—which is awesome for its mission, to encourage people to create future-proof websites. But this also means that every page is created and maintained by hand. I handle every little link and file and bit of code, and if I want to do site-wide changes, I have to push those by hand, too. This takes time, and so does writing image descriptions and cross-posting art to other websites. It became normal for sharing art to eat up an entire day.

I later created Basedt.net in WordPress, so that I didn’t have to worry about managing link hierarchies, which was a big timewaster on my old webcomic. I liked working in WordPress well enough, and I knew I would benefit from being able to use PHP to manage the sheer amount of stuff that’s on M0R1BUND.com. I was also paying double for webhosting through two different services, when I really didn’t need to…. So… I knew it was inevitable that I would consolidate the two at some point. It was time.

I do really love Neocities and I’m sorry to let it go. I encourage anyone who wants to learn web design and create their own website to start there.

Anyway, that’s how I ended up in hell for 6 months.

“What’s changed?”

Most things. I’m most excited about the quality-of-life stuff, like being able to sort art by character/location/world, or being able to move between individual pieces instead of having to return to the gallery landing page. There are lots of things I want to add, but my soft deadline for this was the new year, so I focused on recreating M0R1BUND.com as it existed before… well… this.

I’ve also edited most of my writing. This site is old, and the art is even older, it felt good to give it some TLC.

There are still a few things missing from the new site:

The Woods and RANSOM. They aren’t really representative of Basedt or Mercasor anymore, and I was not a competent writer in 2018. If I re-share them, it will be in the distant future.  

Some of my Those Who Went Missing stuff. I haven’t been playing TWWM publicly, so this is lower priority right now. It will happen when it happens.  

Some twines. They haven’t adjusted to the new filepath format yet. Killswitch is here, though :)

If you need them urgently for some reason, I can share them with you? but that seems doubtful haha.

Links to pages on the old M0R1BUND.com are broken and will remain broken until I set up redirections to the new M0R1BUND.com. I have no idea how long that will take! … Hopefully not long, given the new semester is here.

And of course... If you see anything weird, tell me! I test as much as I can, but I only have access to so many devices. Break this website within an inch of its miserable life so that I can fix it.

“How’s Basedt going?”

It’s going. Recreating my website took precedence for the above reasons, but I’ve been working concurrently on it in my spare time. We move like a glacier into the new year. ETA: ???

[wowowwild]

I asked for 20 but I also want to ask about 21! I love fic recs.

21. Did you ever read fanfictions? Which one is your personal recommendation?

Sorry it took so long! It took me a while to get everything in order, but here it is.

So fun fact: Whenever I read a fic I love I book mark it with the note j'adore so I can read it again later. Some of them get this note preemptively. I also tend to go through a tag on ao3 in date posted ascending order so I start with the oldest and work my way forward so I don't potentially miss anything, but I haven't made it all the way through some tags that I would like to. If there's a fic you think I would like that's not on here, I probably just haven't gotten to it yet! (Most of the newer ones on here I found through Tumblr.)

Also! I'm pretty sure any of the ones that involve smut I have marked as such, but please check the tags on the actual fic before reading! I am not responsible for what content you choose to consume!

That being said, here is Ace's All Time Best Fic Rec List (AATBFRL for short):

Nobody Can Just Say What They Mean (Series)- The first fic is Narumitsu and the second is Klapollo and I think about them allllll the time, especially Things Are As They Are altered me on a microscopic level. Rocks are just rocks, you know? (Narumitsu, Klapollo)

undeniable you (the currents pulling me onward)- Idk what to say. Kristoph Gavin dies in prison and Klavier is suspect #1. Apollo flies back to defend him and yaoi happens. I'm a sucker for Klav getting all scrungled up.

fame vs infamy (the price of writing fanfic out of spite)- It's a crack fic. It's funny. 10/10 would recommend. (Klapollo)

The Definition Of Home- And there was only one bed?!?!?!?!?! What?!?!?!?! And there was a little angst in the bed?!?!?!?!?! Unbelievable. Actually the angst was on the couch, the bed made it better. (Klapollo)

13 Hours- This fic keeps popping up in my fever dreams. I'm not even kidding. I didn't have it bookmarked the first time around but when I found it again, I was like 'oh, I know this one! It haunts my dreams!' and immediately slapped a j'adore on it. Airport Klapollo getting together.

Dig Enough Graves- This one is still being put out, it's a Klapollo roleswap and I love it. I get so excited when I see it's updated. So many things are happening and we have clues and I'm gonna figure it out, ok? *boston accent* I'm sleuthin 'ere! (rated M for violence and sex reasons)

stop the presses (series)- V funny. Apollo works as a columnist and writes thirst essays about KlavGav and gets a date out of it. I am very impressed with the coding used to make this look the way it does.

And if my wishes could all come true- I have reread this one a couple times. I think about it a lot. It is genuinely so funny and makes me feel all sorts of things. I love pre-relationship klapollo divorce complete with alimony while they were not not dating but actually not dating, Apollo you can't just assume that.

Nothing Like This Feeling- Apollo top suregery fic with a dash of Klapollo!

Turnabout Dishwasher- For when you get the hankering for a 422.6k work of art. It's like three fics in one that happen concurrently, which doesn't sound like a description that makes sense unless you read it. There are so many characters here, and shipping is part of it but it's also a whole lot of everything else. These characters are actually living and you get to take a look see. (klapollo, blackmadhi, wrightworth, look just read the tags on the fic there's so much going on)

Such Terrible Tales- A gorgeous magic filled AU with a focus on the casts of aa5 and aa6 and fun cameos from Investigations (so far). This fic is still on going and I would def recommend reading it as it comes out! I love trying to figure out the lore and what will happen next! This fic kind of pulls me off my hinges lol. (blackmadhi)

You Wear Stripes, Too?- Apollo and Klav come out to each other as trans and nb respectively.

Things Best Shared- Klav teaches Apollo guitar.

For A Bad Time Call Simon Blackquill- Iconic blackmadhi fic. I think about it all the time. V funny fake dating au with bits of angst.

Last Resort- And they were roommates! Blackmadhi roommates with lots of healing and shenanigans.

Dating for a Turnabout- Narumitsu fake dating for a case. Larry is there doing Larry things. Franziska did it to them bc she is very smart and cool.

Vacation All I Ever Wanted- I think about this sooooooo much. Tagline: One condo. Six lawyers. Seven secret plans. What could possibly go wrong? (klapollo, narumitsu, athena blackquill and trucy are there)

Alternative Dispute Resolution- Apollo makes Klavier talk to Mr. Wright before they can start dating. It's awkward (and funny) and Trucy is a delight.

Turn(about) my words- The fic where I realized I instinctively start laughing when someone gets shot. He's fine. uhhh narumitsu, phoenix got shot of course bc why wouldn't he and found family stuff.

You're Alive (And that's the only thing that truly matters.)- Klavier gets poisoned and Edgeworth tells the nurses Apollo is his partner so he can get in to see him. Turns out I don't laugh at poisonings, only shootings.

Dog Days- Apollo and Trucy go to another Gavinners concert and Polly misinterprets everything all the time.

Reckless Endangerment- One of the funniest klapollo get togethers. Pollo insults him real good while he's standing behind him, klav thinks about going abroad to study, phoenix has prosecutor going abroad ptsd, apollo might actually be into the gavinners, or at least the titular member.

Good Advice- Klavier Gavin makes categorically bad decisions in the face of love. (klapollo)

Hot For Justice- klavgav gets a muse, guess who?

Rules for Dating a Rockstar Prosecutor- klapollo first date that literally everyone is more invested in than Apollo (until he actually goes).

The Things We Do For Gym Access- Fake dating so Apollo can use the gym at Klav's place until the one he normally goes to gets fixed. Except they're actually really into each other and it's killing me everyday it's killing me I'm dead I'm dying they're so dense and in love and can't figure out why they haven't been caught and it's bc they actually feel like that and on top of pretend dating are pretending to date each other to themselves just kiss istg. Rated Explicit for sexual reasons.

The Walk to Tomorrow- Narumitsu doing Narumitsu things.

Legal Partners- Oooooooo this one! I also think about this one a lot. Narumitsu and klapollo and everyone is idiots they're all idiots. Klav and Edgeworth make a stupid, stupid bet about who has the more meaningful connection with their preferred defense attorney. I love this type of fic.

Turnabout Rubesville- Edgeworth gets accused of murder in a small town bc he's a grump. Phoenix sorts it out.

You Ever Been In Love?- Everyone gets way too involved in making Wrightworth happen, and it goes horribly until it goes right.

Gravity- Rated Explicit for sex reasons. Tbh I really like the oc. She's real cool. def read the tags for trigger warnings. (klapollo)

The soul truth (and nothing but the truth)- Franmaya! There's some spirit medium shenanigans and Lang is a bro.

Exorcism- Klapollo AU aa4 rewrite Kitty is a doll I love her these boys are unhinged look they have a conspiracy closet ok? Rated E for sex reasons.

Play Your Cards Right- Narumitsu agree to go on a date and shake hands about it. Rated E for sex reasons.

Hostile Environments (Series)- Justquill Shenanigans

satisfaction brought him back- Justquill Simon gets turned into a cat. I love fics where someone gets turned into a cat. There aren't a lot but it is a trope I enjoy. I've def read this one a couple times.

Stripped- Klapollo impending. Apollo is also secretly a stripper. Idk if this fic will ever get finished but I liked everything in it.

Curiosity Created the Cat- Klapollo impending. Also not finished and maybe never will be and only 3 chapters but in this one Klav gets turned into a cat. I'm sorry.

if it's really me you seek- Klapollo. I'm just going to post the official summary bc I j'ador'ed it but I don't remember exactly which one this is: Or, when Apollo comes home from Khura'in only to learn that Prosecutor Gavin is avoiding him, the last thing he expected was for Gavin to offer to let Apollo stay at his house while he looks for a new apartment.

As of right now this is everything in my bookmarks that I've read, I think you can figure out my favorite ship lol.

[lanthei]

pinned

hello, my name is Jesse, and this is my blog dedicated to my dnd character, Lanthei! she is my babygirl and i love her and i write edgy fiction a lot of the time about her and the rest of the party :3

for my other links:

my personal blog

my photography blog

Bio, Cw's, and Table of Contents

Lanthei

Lvl 6 Seraphim Warlock, Celestial Pact of the Blade

Created by my dear friends @psychopomposus and @clowd-pillow for their homebrew 5e campaign inspired by and set in the worlds of Sarah J Maas's ACOTAR and Throne of Glass books

DISCLAIMER: I have read exactly 0 of SJM before. The stuff I write or that we play in will probably not be concurrent with her lore. I don't care, lol, go bug someone else about it

Our party consists of Lanthei, her twin brother Azazel (Seraphim Rogue), the Seraphim Paladin Baraqel, Peregrine Bard Emery, and our Half-wraith Wizard Bricriu. Lanthei is the world's only known Lightbringer, and leader of the Brightbane, an elite guard for the Dawn Court's Torre Cesme. Her main love interest is her secretary Celeste. Her patron is unknown. All she has is the Sentient spear Hema, which also gives her Hemocraft abilities.

Content Warnings

i write edgy stuff. not crazily so, in my opinion, but probably enough to warrant this section. i will of course be writing specific cws for each story as i post them, but some general ones are as follows: ptsd, blood, gore, fear, violence, body horror, sesbian lex

Table of Contents

Stealth Mission

omg you've actually read this far down

i just really like writing, especially about this character. im super grateful to have gotten to play her, and to my friends for trusting me with her. i hope you enjoy my funny little gay girl and the trauma i put her through >:3

[tboyquackity]

finally making the smallest possible post abt this smile but sorry i love lore i love being annoying don't PLAYYY w me over fighting a bit of misinfo 👍 but the mansion frm tftsmp isn't in the crazy distant future like sm ppl are inclined to believe, it isn't sm manner of cschlatt endgame, it isn't his final fate

first off, take this section w a grain of salt but i'm like 90% sure when the stream was being released either the cckarl or tftsmp account announced it w a tweet that said "in the not so distant future". i would be willing to bet on it but i haven't been able to find it. just smthing to keep in mind.

SECONDLY:

here's the clip where they say it doesn't, confirmed by Multiple Characters. cconnor says point blank "oh, he's been dead a couple months." and cschlatt doesn't disuade him at all? if you're in mega hell for a billion years that doesn't seem like the kind of thing you'd let slide? especially considering the type of person cschlatt is. if he had a problem with this comment he'd be extremely vocal about it.

thirdly: cconnor is alive? his canon ending is that he's dead but tethered to the living world in the nether w the syndicate, with a pink sheep. if he's meant to be dead, where's his sheep? and if he's meant to be revived, why wouldn't schlatt be alive too? it's not like the syndicate would have a problem with it, or bother to gatekeep the info? considering how lax they are with actual shitheads, i don't think mildly mean guy from 3k years ago is going to be on their radar that way.

fourth:

this is in relation to the stream where cconnor comforts ctommy after being revived, where he shows him his diary book. ctommy flips through it despite being told not to and sees this:

which means that the cowboy ep was not long before the mansion ep. which is corroborated by every point so far 👍

fifth:

OK i think this part is just a fandom misconception but the tales characters aren't exactly reincarnations? at most they're related, themselves in a time travel sense, similar, but most are their own ppl AND even exist concurrently. in the wild west, we get john john as a character, played by ccranboo which draws the connection, but we know for a fact that the child stolen from that town is the butler from the mascarade. their stories are happening at the same time.

you see the same w characters reminiscent of cq, csap, ctech like. they could all be in the same room together by walking a few streets down. it can't possibly be reincarnation? one of the biggest and only clues we get to connections from the main cast to tales, in the main lore, is cponk saying she's related to jack from the town that went mad, and csam saying that helga looked like cquackity, and joked they could be related too. the characters just seem to look like/be related to eachother, but that's the extent.

ANYWAYS YES THAT'S my thesis tysm for reading :heart_hands_emoji: hope i could clear some stuff up :]

[hoodies-monster-ranch]

A Sideblog for monsters

Hi! This is @hoodienchaos , a dude who made a bunch of ask blogs ( @ask-team-spectrum , @the-abandoned-digital-city , @pmd-genetic-ties ). I however kinda needed a blog to give stuff thats not within the askblogs’ timeframe (Future shenanigans, introducing future characters, AUs, Crossovers)

So I made this little nugget of a blog.

I’ll post infrequently about art, aus, lore bits, etc etc in hopes of keeping the main blog clean.

IMPORTANT TAGS

#Canon

What it says, this is canon. usually this tag is for Lore, Past events, events happening concurrently to the main blog’s timeline, or anything I deem important enough that it WILL happen.

#DubiousCanon

Often Future events, certain crossovers, or character interactions. It could be canon or it could be completely different by the time said character comes into the story. Depends on how I feel.

#NonCanon

Literally cannot be canon due to circumstances within the scenario (usually dealing with dead characters)

#Alternative Timeline / #AU

Aus I really liked and wanted to explore for a small period of time, usually they’ll be snippets here and there.

#Misc Art

What I’ll tag References, Concept art and stuff under. Just everything in the middle.

RULES

1) Be respectful, im just one dude on the internet trying to make funny memes.

2) Don’t send fetish shit to me in any form or try to make an attempt to, you’ll be auto blocked.

3) I’ll add more when I go on.