#long boi under the cut

[machiroads]

Machi's 2023 Year In Review

'23 was a bit of a wild one. A toast to the last twelve months (both in fandom and IRL) under the cut.

Fic

Here's what went out the door in '23:

Naruhata Noir

I started posting NN in December '22, about a month after finishing 9L. At one point last year I joked about finishing the entire thing in the week between Christmas and New years. Evidently, this did not happen for a variety of reasons:

A) A series of events occurring in my personal life that do not merit further detail that I will herein refer to as "the conga line of nonsense". That kicked off during last year's holiday season and bled into like...May. Which leads directly into:

B) Tears of the Kingdom came out. And;

C) A general loss of motivation in the project.

During the aforementioned Conga Line of Nonsense, I had a goal of finishing before TotK came out, but I only managed to cobble together another 4 chapters between January and May. After somehow managing weekly to biweekly chapters for 9L, NN was much more sporadic, and at one point I had people asking me if I was still alive. Which. sucked, since I generally strive to be a somewhat reliable person.

Once the TotK hyperfixation hit, I managed maaaaaaybe another 2 chapters before I finally got bored of grinding monsters to upgrade outfits. I did manage to meet the third self-imposed deadline of finishing before going to Japan for 2 weeks, so at least that's one W.

In addition to the distractions of Life, NN was more challenging to write for a few main reasons:

Aizawa is not the narrator. Look, I'm mature enough to acknowledge that he is Blorbo From My Shows, and everything I write wants to revolve around him. Taking a step back from that and trying to get into another character's head after spending 8 solid months on 9L was an adjustment. It took me a bit of time to find Shinsou's voice.

Most of the relationship dynamics in this fic are non-canonical, and pulled directly out of my ass. Shinsou's relationships with the Hottas are central to the back half of the fic, and his relationship with Mirko also becomes prominent at times. NONE OF THESE CHARACTERS HAVE EVER INTERACTED IN REAL LIFE I'M JUST SMASHING DOLLS TOGETHER LIKE I DID AS A 7 YEAR OLD.

Trying to parallel something I already wrote several months ago is hard. I wanted NN to make sense on its own, but also follow the relevant bits from 9L. This was next to impossible to accomplish without sounding clunky. Almost from the very beginning of the fic, the outsider's perspective of Aizawa's first steps, I felt the urge to change the dialogue because the story that I wanted to tell from Shinsou's perspective was different from the one I wanted to tell from Aizawa's perspective. I locked myself into that rigidity for a while, until I finally decided just to say fuck it at the end and modify the 9L dialogue slightly because the story had taken on a life of its own.

Erasermic took a major backseat in this one, but I still needed to scratch the itch, and I think that's why I ended up writing 2 emic one shots in between chapters.

I don't think a direct parallel spin-off is something I would try writing again, and the fic was probably a lot longer than it needed to be, but at the end of the day, I'm satisfied with the way it turned out, and I'm happy I was actually able to finish it this year.

Here's a collage of my inspo for Aizawa's apartment cobbled together from google maps and japanese real estate websites.

Being No One, Going Nowhere

The first of the 3 one shots that I put out this year, and a proof of concept that I can slap together 3k in a day and a half fever dream and call it a fic.

This one in particular was instigated by one of @o0fyuu0o's tweets that refused to leave me alone. And maybe also the two broken arms story from reddit, but you know, like, less incesty.

Mic was extremely pathetic in this one, which is immensely fun to write. Just a pathetic little meow meow. Sopping wet cat of a man.

College AU was fun to write, emboldened in part by @kyurilin's fic Stray. After being married to canon-verse for both 9L and NN, this was an exercise in just making shit up, and also living vicariously through the memories of the house I lived in for the better part of 2 years as an undergrad. I graduated 7 years ago and it is still crystallized in my memory.

A Tumultuous Sea, You and Me

I've been nursing a healthy crush on Pirate!Aizawa (or Paizawa, as the kids on JP Twit call him) since the Volume 35 character page came out in June '22. Paizawa even killed a 2 year long art block, that's how powerful he is. (Look!)

I do not remember what exactly spurned this one on, but it also got written in the span of about 2 days. I think I reread The Art of Drowning at some point this year, but I do not remember if it was during the writing frenzy, or sometime before it.

Aizawa gets to hold the meow meow card again in this one. His 2 sentence rivalry with Vlad is one of the best things I've ever written.

Of the 2 days I spent writing this, I probably spent 75% of that researching pirate ships. I used almost none of it, and have forgotten almost all of it by this point.

I feel like everyone that dips their toes into the realm of merpeople has a different interpretation on it, but I wanted to spend approximately 0 minutes on worldbuilding, so it's just kind of a chill coexistence between the pirates and the mermaids in this one lol. People were intrigued by said "worldbuilding" however and wanted more, but I think I've scratched the mer-pirate itch for now haha.

1966 Ford Nutstang GT350 Shelby

@kyurilin made a tumblr post that misspelled "mustang" as "nustang" and I skim-read it and saw "nutstang" and was like "you know what would be a terribad nickname for the car? Nutstang." At which point I immediately informed her, which led down the rabbit hole of a very loose RP (as it often does) and I decided YOU KNOW WHAT? I SHOULD JUST TURN THIS INTO A CRACK FIC.

At which point I had to sort of construct a loose plot around the entire bonkers concept. Nemuri held a key role in the pseudo-RP, but I ended up wanting to keep the fic tight and her role was mostly cut. But rest assured she is there in spirit, though, judging.

The plush nutsack is just a bastardization of a kangaroo ballsack coinpurse I saw in a Crap Souvenirs From Around The World calendar I had many years back that has imprinted on my memory. At no point did I seek out visual reference for it, and neither should you. It is up to the reader's imagination.

On the topic of bastardizations, the reappearing nutsack plotline is borrowed from the drawfee gnome saga.

Mic yelling GOOD MORNING and Aizawa banging his head on the underside of his desk is S tier slapstick.

PEOPLE MADE ART????

Some wonderful listeners readers are still making art for 9L, and we have been blessed with two beautiful new pieces this year:

Mic and Eri's selfie, from @kaleidoscopedrawsjpg

The Only One Bed scene, from @guiltyfixations

@obsessed-dragon also drew the photo of Shinsou holding Miso from Naruhata Noir, and Black Spider Eyes drew Aizawa dangling out the window from Tumultuous Sea.

Every time a piece of art drops on my dash, or I see my fic being recommended to other people, my brain does a lil short circuit and I have to go get up and walk around for a bit. I'm not sure words can express how much it means to me that people have enjoyed my writing enough to recommend it to other people, or sit down and create something of their own based off of it. It's humbling, and I'm truly grateful for every kind word or "sketch I should have maybe spent a little longer on" hahaha

Stats!

Look, I'm an engineer. I can't resist the thrall of Microsoft Excel. So here's A Chart.

I value Bookmarks the highest of all the stats that AO3 spits out. Views are pointless (skewed higher in the context of multi-chap fics). Kudos are an indicator of how many people read and liked enough to leave a kudos, but bookmarks are my indicator of how many people liked it enough to keep it around to read again, or recommend to others.

The bookmark-to-kudos ratio is (in my unscientific opinion) a measure of how many people loved the work vs how many people just liked it.

From the chart above, we can propose the following conclusions:

9L is still, far and away, the most popular, and most well-loved thing I've ever written. I'm fine with that.

The Nutstang fic was a certified cult classic, with a bookmark-to-kudos ratio of almost 0.3, second to only 9L.

NN is at a respectable ratio of 0.24 (middle of the pack), but in terms of number of kudos, is not that far ahead the mer-pirate fic. NN was not tagged as erasermic, so I do think this checks out in terms of sheer exposure.

Still Cooking:

FFXII AU

I started this one in March during the conga line of personal life nonsense. I somehow lured in Robbirdthe8th and @o0fyuu0o and @obsessed-dragon and got a solid month of drafting done before I was like "maybe I should work on NN again" and then it sat dormant until like. October.

It's up to almost 30k across 3 partially written chapters already, and I outlined 9 chapters. It is almost certainly overambitious, and I will almost certainly run into the same motivation issue I had with NN because it's a rooftop 4 fic and not just erasermic, and it has a demographic of approximately four people as an AU of a game that came out in uh........2006.

I thought I'd get at least some of it out in '23 but I'm taking it easy and just writing when inspiration strikes at the moment.

Fortuneteller AU

I started this one maybe a week-ish ago, in my quest for a pitch for the erasermic zine (surprise! they haven't made official announcements yet, but I'll be in it. this is an easter egg for those of you who made it this far). It's going to end up far too long for the 3k word limit for that, so I'm just co-opting it for another one-shot. Taisho era urban fantasy dabbling in some Violet Evergarden/FMA-esque post-war themes. Mic with pince nez. Aizawa in hakama. Gratuitous amateur tarot. It has gripped me by the throat.

More from the Nine Lives Extended Universe (canon-willing)

I've got 3 more spin-offs to 9L simmering, just waiting for canon to figure out its business. These are:

When The Battle's Lost and Won

A final battle post-mortem in 4 parts (if 3baka all make it out alive that is). Every few chapters of canon that come out, something gets added or tossed. Extremely fluid at this point, but there are some good quality blurbs and bullet points in there.

Kintsugi

The erasermic epilogue to 9L, from Mic's perspective. An exploration of their relationship beyond the final battle, with an overarching theme that I've borrowed from a Dorktown documentary on former Toronto Blue Jays pitcher Dave Stieb: Not at all, and then all at once.

This one's just pure body worship, punctuated by an extremely casual marriage proposal. A lot of people still comment on 9L like "THIS CAN'T BE IT, WHERE'S THE REST OF IT?", so I hope this will satisfy those looking for some closure from a relatively open ending.

The Way of the Househero

With the impending graduation of the hell class, and a body that doesn't quite move the way it used to, Aizawa has a bit of an existential crisis and semi-retires so he can be a full-time parent to Eri while figuring out what's next for him. Mostly slice of life. No real plot to this one yet, mostly just vignettes. Aizawa finally gets cats of his own, makes mom friends, and becomes more of a knife slut (only its in the kitchen now instead of on the streets).

IRL

Painting

Every room in my home is painted some sort of bland pastel, and this year we managed to purge pastels from four rooms: my home office, our living room / dining room, and our bedroom. I am enormously pleased with how each of these have turned out.

Gardening

We moved to this house in January '22, and last year was mostly seeing what came up in the garden. This year we cleared out a lot of the decorative shrubs in our backyard (turns out you can hock shrubs on facebook marketplace), and planted a veggie garden. The extent of my gardening experience prior to this year was mowing the lawn as a teenager, so this year was a continuous learning experience, and likely will be for many more years to come.

We had some big wins (potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, cherries, squash, dear god the squash), and some losses (apples that were infested with tent caterpillars, arugula that bolted, and lettuce that got eaten by bunnies to name a few).

In addition to veggies, we also did a lot of general cleanup around the rest of the yard, including clearing out some invasive species and thinning out some partially dead shrubs. We mostly let the yard do its own thing last year, and the previous owner of our home died about 6 months before we moved in, so it was probably neglected for a while. I cut out a blackberry cane that was as long as our driveway. I bought a wood chipper and a compost aerator and am learning the art and science of turning yard trash into yard treasure. (I have not peed on my compost pile yet, as recommended by /r/composting. Maybe some day.)

I also adopted a clipping from my sister-in-law's monstera, which has done quite well (except for the parts my cat has taken a mild interest in nibbling on from time to time)

Travel

Probably too much travel this year ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

3 Weddings (4 if you count the one in December '22 that's included in the Conga Line of Nonsense). Got covid at 2 of them. Invited to a fifth next year. Wishing everyone of marriageable age I know IRL a very elope

Trips for work to Winnipeg and Calgary (to which I have never been before, but are both underwhelming). Also got to fly on a floatplane for the first time, which is noisy, but the views are unbeatable

I turned 30 this year, and after the Conga Line of Nonsense, I said fuck it, we're going back to Japan for my birthday. 2 weeks, 8 cities. L: Shimanami Kaido cycle (still somehow 30 degrees in September x full sun x forgot sunscreen x 80km = pain) (my husband has proofread this and insists that this is not an L but agree to disagree) W: Hokkaido (beautiful scenery, incredible food, not 30 degrees in September lmao)

Anyways

If you made it this far, thanks for reading, and thanks for your love in '23. I hope to provide you with more of the same nonsense in '24. Let me know if you want a spinoff cats + gardening + DIY blog, since that's just my life now. Happy new year 🍾

[crystalleoi]

i got a 7th gen ipod nano and. well. you know.

additional doodles

[scribblemakes]

I was going to put two Skills in one like usual but I’m finding it hard since it’s so close to being all done! So I’m dragging it out a little to even the amount of Skills  again.

[ID: Two images depicting Logic as a larger monstrous design. The first image shows Logic at both a low and high level. At a low level, Logic is in pieces in Harry’s hands, both of them inspecting the parts. At a high level, Logic is standing behind Kim and inspecting a shape in its hand. The dialogue reads:

Small Logic: “There’s, uh- Maybe- ... Nah, I got nothing.” Kim: “Are you sure detective? This isn’t a lot of evidence, we could be arresting an innocent woman.” Large Logic: “Of course you’re sure. The pieces fit. It makes sense. It’s her.”

The second image shows different iterations of the Logic skill. /End ID]

[sincerelyandyourstruly]

#boyyuri

on xiaoven & yearning

—

so as we all know, "yuri is when there’s themes and motifs and yaoi is when there’s two blokes who do fuck all. if you reblog this you love trans people." (tumblr user dyggot, 2023.); that "yaoi is about entanglement and yuri is about yearning." (tags by tumblr user thyminesquared, 2023, screenshot and archived on this post.)

as should be clear from these definitions, this essay is not going to concern itself with whether a pairing counts as "yaoi" or "yuri" on the sole basis of the genders of the characters involved. although i understand the deeply gendered connotations of both of these terms, to ME, yuri is about the distance between one’s self and others around them (maybe people, maybe dreams and ideals), and the deeply-rooted desires that grow in that gap as a result.

as a post made to tumblr, put in the xiaoven tag, everyone reading this knows the basic lore surrounding their characters and world: that venti is the anemo archon, god of wind and freedom; that xiao is the last yaksha, who wields the power of anemo in battle to protect his homeland of liyue; that Visions are considered to be representations of a person's dearest wish, crystallized into physical form. but let's run over the basics again real fast, just to keep this piece from having external dependencies to understand, yeah?

venti is a wind sprite from mondstadt who ascended to godhood at the end of a rebellion against the at-the-time god of storms keeping his people in a cage made of windstorm thousands of years ago, and he chose his ideal of freedom to honor the bard who led said rebellion and died at the end of the final battle, but whether the nameless bard even got to see the clear skies he fought so hard to live under is currently up to interpretation. either way, venti took on the nameless bard's appearance so that his nation's people would never forget the true hero who won their freedom, but because thousands of years have passed the people have kind of forgotten by now anyway, and venti probably has a lot of identity issues about it!

also he's a bard who plays music in exchange for wine because singing to pass on the memories of heroes past and then drinking to numb the grief of people's forgetting is how he Copes™.

AND ALSO he will occasionally sleep for hundreds of years at a time.

Meanwhile, xiao is an immortal/"illuminated beast" from liyue whose true form is technically that of a bird, but he goes around in the form of a hot emo boy, ostensibly because he needs hands to don his mask, hold his spear, and do his dance to conquer the remnants of evil gods, the act of which literally taints his soul with their sins— his karmic debts.

anyway he was enslaved by an evil god in his youth because said evil god (probably) knew his True Name and because we're going by fairy rules this means he was forced to commit atrocities (namely eating people's dreams) against his will until the god of contracts geo archon zhongli killed his previous master, gave him a new name, and contractually tasked him with the job of subduing the demonic remnants of other defeated gods, which he has since proceeded to unflinchingly, unwaveringly, and unquestioningly obey for the last few thousand years. however, despite his unfathomable obedience and devotion to his duty, his Vision (his life's greatest desire) is that of anemo (of freedom).

also a few hundred years ago when he was about to succumb to the weight of his karmic debts, xiao's life was saved by the sound of someone (venti) playing the flute in the marsh where he'd been working, and so now his dream, the deepest wish he holds closest to his heart, is to someday "wear the mask and dance — not to conquer demons, but to the tune of that flute amid a sea of flowers." (xiao's character card, genshin impact, 2021)

…can you guys believe that the dihua flute moment was like all we xv shippers had to hold onto for like two years?! that, and xiao's extremely yearnful voiceline abt venti that's just like, "venti? is that what he goes by these days? his tunes are… nevermind." but the point of this recap i hope has become clear by this point: that the relationship btwn xiao and venti seen through these few snippets alone is just rife with potent yuri energy.

like, to elaborate on the opening of thie essay, yuri is specifically about the uncross­able distance between two people who are already sitting right next to each other, so close that only a single thread of wind could even hope to weave its way between them— although, as evidenced by the fact that such a thread of wind could weave its way between them, they are still shy of truly touching— and the painful yearnings of being unable to close that gap… even though you both exist so close to one another, so similar in both place and time, you are the only thing stopping yourself from reaching across that seemingly infinite distance.

as a result, i think that unlike yaoi, yuri— thematically speaking— tends to have a greater mutuality to it: whereas i understand being in a yaoi to be more about acting on one's impulses towards one another and passing along cycles of power, i believe that an important aspect of being in a yuri is the constant fear and anxiety of violating an unspoken boundary because you're afraid that you aren't actually on the same page about those.

deep down inside, you know that you're not supposed to want all the things you've built for yourself in all those private daydreams and self-indulgent fantasies you've created about yourself with the other person, because you know you're not supposed to have drawn your boundaries the way you have, such that the other person would be let in on the most intimate parts of your identity (if they were willing to see all that is ugly sleeping under­neath your skin.)

as mentioned in the paragraph summarizing his lore, xiao's youth was marked by the fact that his very autonomy was continuously violated in service of forcing him to violate others' boundaries, crushing their hopes and devouring their very dreams. his deep cultural ties to liyue as the land of contracts means that he carries within him a keen sense of obligation as inseverable as the need to breathe; thus, saddled with guilt and believing himself to be incapable of gentility, he has come to view himself as nothing more than a weapon for others to use.

in signing his contract with the geo archon, xiao went from a situation where his agency was continuously denied and his boundaries intimately violated to one where he relinquished his agency and had his boundaries delineated for him by his new lord.

he has no desires of his own; immortals aren't so worldly. (if that were true, he wouldn't have a Vision.) he is not an active subject in his own life; anything he does is the effect of someone else's will. (if that were true, he would have stopped protecting liyue the moment that he learned his lord abdicated his rule.) he does not let anyone near him; it is inevitable that his karmic debts will force his hand against them. (if that were true, he wouldn't have been saved by the sound of venti's flute playing nearby.)

don't you see? he places himself in a subservient role to everyone around him, rigidly obeys every ritual of propriety, because he is afraid that by asserting agency over a situation, he will end up violating other people's boundaries again. except that this time, the responsibility for doing so would fall squarely on his own shoulders.

during the main quest arc for liyue, zhongli literally fakes his own death as an archon so that he can finally retire and be free from his own contractual obligation to the nation. this gives us reason to believe that xiao's contract with the geo archon has thus been rendered void, meaning he no longer has any obligation to continue his endless suffering for the sake of liyue— yet he does so anyway.

i think a lot of fans tend to view this as xiao needlessly chaining himself down to his duty, something that's often framed in fanworks as something rather tragic in venti's eyes. however, as the god of freedom, venti feels very strongly about giving other the freedom to make their own decisions, even if he himself may disagree with them or wish they had chosen differently. others' autonomy is deeply important to venti, perhaps even so far as to call it sacred: to order anything from anyone would be a violation for the boundaries venti has set for himself as an archon.

and because we're all familiar with genshin impact lore, what i have to say next should go without saying, we are all so familiar with it: the element of a person's Vision will be directly related to the kind of ideal they strive to meet and uphold, and as such, can generally tell you a lot about a person's desires.

xiao wields an anemo Vision— the only known anemo wielder in liyue until the arrival of xianyun, presumably because that is how deeply ingrained the binding sense of obligation is in its culture— and wears it visibly on his person at all times. it would be ridiculous not to believe that venti knows, and intimately so, just how xiao desires.

and i think that a lot of fans can fail to consider the idea that to xiao, his duty of protection is a choice he made of his own volition when he was first set free, and is, in all likelihood, one he continues to make in canon. yes, this choice comes with a great many obligations restraining him in various ways— but do our choices truly mean anything if they are not bound by obligation? this is something venti would obviously understand and respect as lines drawn in the sand by xiao himself, and he would never dare even suggest they be crossed.

it's clear from the various scraps of in-game lore that xiao craves proximity to and knowledge about his savior in the marsh. yet, he refuses to go out of his way to attain these things and will even deny ownership of these desires altogether because in a sense, they are blasphemy: venti, although not his archon, is still a god.

might seeking venti out over zhongli not be considered a sign of detracting, or perhaps even failing faith in the unwavering sureity of the geo archon? or even if it turns out that's not so— who is xiao to ask anything of venti? the god of freedom must surely be a flighty little thing, following his every capricious whim. to ask him to stay would be akin to tying him down, no?

clearly, there is no need for xiao to call out for him. if venti wants to be with him, he will simply be there.

(and if he doesn't, then he won't.)

((after all, it is the duty of the servant to wait on the master's call.))

it's easy to imagine that these two immortals might end up in a sort of song and dance of propriety for a while, that at fight might be genuine, but eventually just becomes habit and custom. they both want, in some way, for xiao to lay down his duty, to be free of the strict hierarchy of master & servant or god & disciple. but for venti to say it so plainly would feel like he's trying to convert xiao to his ideals— a discomfort that would more than likely only be compounded by how seriously xiao takes the word of god(s), and how expressly venti hates being treated like anything but an equal— and so he would hesitate on his feelings; whereas for xiao to speak of his desires so plainly, it would feel like a betrayal of his duty— that which he chose to shoulder as his first act of free will.

you see it, right? the gap between these two characters, whose lives will otherwise touch and cross over and over through their long, immortal lives, and the mutual desires they can both plainly and painfully read in one another, yet never individually act upon due to their already-established senses of propriety, tradition, and boundaries?

these are the basic yuriisms of xiaoven genshinimpact.

[sqlmn]

Sebastian (pink hair) and Cornella (blue hair) meet as children and realize "ah, that's the kid my parents told me to avoid because of business reasons" and immediately decide "hey, we're going to be best friends and not fight". Which... in the long run helps a lot in regards to their parents companies because now the parents have to play nice around their kids.

long history below lol

So they're just bffs throughout their youth and a couple years before their high school graduation, Sebastian spots a kid with messy hair who looks really nervous. Since it's early in the year, maybe the kid needs help finding somewhere? So he goes over to offer to help him to class buuuuut the guy flinches and runs away. So Sebastian is ready to report to Cornella at lunch but she slams her hands down on the table saying "I JUST SAW THE CUTEST GUY EVER". And Sebastian puts his concerns on hold until he realizes they're about to talk about the same guy.

The duo then decide "operation befriend shy guy" and spend like an entire school year getting Matis to warm up to them. Good! Except now they're seniors and STILL both pining for the underclassman (only a grade below) and they have an agreement to not pressure Matis into any weird situations about picking between them.

Matis and Sebastian like to draw though and so one day as Sebastian is vibing and sketching Cornella while stealing glances at Matis, he decides to put little hearts around her head. It's fine, it's not weird, it's totally cool. And Matis sees and comments he must really like her and while he DOES really like her it's .... not quite like that. So he laughs it off.

The two graduate and then start to train at their parents companies while attending college and the years go on. They still sometimes think about Matis and go "wonder how he's doing" "wonder if he's more outspoken now" "wonder if he'd remember us" because they're both very normal about the lingering crush they have. Cornella walks into the building she works at one day and is going directly to her office in hopes no one sees her since she's supposed to be off when she hears her name.

"I'm not here, you didn't see me and you REALLY didn't see me if my dad's asking" is her immediate response but the guy's like 'oh, sure, understood. i am interviewing someone who said he went to school with you' and so she looks over and is just. Floored. Yup, still nervous looking, definitely remembers them, he's doing fine, and he's apparently now working at her company. Fabulous.

She does say hello and then nervously excuses herself to go to her office before anyone else sees her but hey see you around good to see you bye haha... and calls Sebastian with "He's hot now" with no context. So he asks who and she's like "oh only the cutest boy to ever plague our brains for years" and Sebastian is just "wait wait, Matis ? ? YOU SAW HIM? WHERE? HELLO? Why was I not invited to see him? Why did you not video call so I can see him? WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE'S HOT" and then they scheme how to actually meet up and involve Matis. And they agree while he's definitely handsome dealing with other people, the fact he still blushes and looks nervous around them and looks to them for approval is the absolute cutest thing on the planet.

[impossible-rat-babies]

.

god bless my friend for being a champ to fuss with texture stuff so eyrie can have their light scars + EW chest scar

[danidoesathing]

wait hello I just saw that ‘feelings about the cowboys’ post and am EXTREMELY INTRIGUED by the “Lonesome Dreams is a time loop” thing??? 👀

ok ok ok so like. the plot of the lonesome dreams MV always kinda bothered me cause like if it's Huron and Blaquefut's first encounter, just. huh? How does Huron have a picture of Blaquefut in his pocket? why does he have a picture of Blaquefut in his pocket? is he searching for Blaquefut, if so, why? did he take this journey in search of him, and if so what could Blaquefut possibly offer to make him take such a dangerous journey? it just. never made any sense to me.

the island is implied and often theorized to be the afterlife or some kinda limbo. And Blaquefut does die during the Time to Run music video, so the idea of Huron going out to save his brother isn't really that much of a stretch. But he knows Huron at that point so Lonesome Dreams couldn't take place afterwards, right?

but like. what if its not their first encounter?

Time and death have always been a bit fucky in LH lore and like. lets say Blaquefut dies right? and somehow, Huron figures out this island exists and even though its insanely risky and may not work, he's willing to try. Because he can't just abandon his brother and he's willing to risk life and limb for it. So he does, and he does make it to the island. And then things just get...weird. it already doesnt make sense already with the changing biomes and the seasons changing within too short of a time. But even memories start to blur, even if the feelings remain. And washing up on the shore with nothing but a picture of man and the strong urge to find that man, Huron's left with no choice but to follow his instincts. It does eventually lead him to find Blaquefut, whose got no clue who he is either and well. we see what happens next. They form a close bond and get off the island together, and set off to all their future adventures together. They grow as close as brother and form a loyalty to the other unlike any other.

At least until it loops back around to the Time to Run MV and Blaquefut dies again.

and like. lonesome dreams the song is also weird in the sense that like. its not actually about the events of the MV and more about Huron having a strange dream about a lonely world that makes no sense. Maybe, one he's been to before 👀.

seriously like look at these

and hey hey. you wanna know another fun aspect of it that ive completely pulled out of my ass? with this theory and the fact that Huron is the one perpetuating the loop, it keeps with the "doomed both by the narrative and their own actions" and "I love and care about you a lot and that will be the death of us" things. Because the whole thing in the album is like. Huron really wants to go home to Helena. and as time goes on, he becomes more and more desperate to actually get back to her.

but in this scenario, its a timeloop. one he's causing, because he just...can't let go of his friend. He wants to get back to her more than anything but how could he just abandon his brother? if there's even a slim chance of saving him, how could he not take it? so he goes after his friend, and brings him along to this journey to get back home, and then Blaquefut dies again and Huron is going to go save him again and he just. isn't going to get home because he can't let go. Maybe if he took a different path, maybe if he stopped trying to go home and accepted that the life with Helena is unobtainable to him, then maybe they can avoid that fight and maybe Blaquefut can get out it alive. But Huron can't let go of Helena either, so he'll keep trying to return and Blaquefut is loyal enough to follow him to the ends of the earth and it just. keeps going. He can't have the life with both that he desperately wants but he refuses to make the choice necessary to free them from this loop. and thus the cycle continues.

[pare1dolia]

[Flesh and Blood TCG] An Analysis of Maxx "The Hype" Nitro

(aka Blorbo Bleebus from my Card Game) (we're in for a long one boys)

Note that this is, primarily, going to be a story analysis rather than a mechanical one. As much as I love Maxx's mechanics, they're pretty straightforward in terms of the Mechanologist hero class. One of these days I'm gonna build him, I swear.

Part 1: The Background of Maxx Nitro

To begin, the guy's an orphan. He's taken into Rosario Orphanage, of which there are many in the city of Metrix, at the very young age of six years old. However, even at this very young age, Maxx shows an aptitude toward destruction. However, it's not just destruction that he's got an aptitude for; he's also exceedingly good at chemistry.

"While the other six-year-olds were making mud pies in that open sewer they called a playground, I was making potions in the janitor’s cupboard. Yeah, too young to be messing with chemical compounds, but I was never one to be age appropriate. Chucklate Bistink was my most successful concoction, especially when heated in the canteen oven. Cleared the whole place for days. Orphanage management had to put us up in a hotel while they deodorized the place."

This quote from the story System Failure gives a really good bit of insight on this. At the age of six, the age of a first-grader in our world, Maxx was capable of taking chemicals from the janitor's closet and making very, very potent stink bombs at the very least. But, there's something else that is brought to light, and that's how Maxx seems to describe Rosario.

Given his disdain for "the system" to begin with, there's some obvious bias in the language he uses to describe the orphanage. However, it doesn't seem entirely uncalled for, either. As discussed later, Rosario seems to be a privately-owned business, and their true nature is exposed later as a hub for experimentation.

"Turns out the Rosario Hills Institute runs most of the city’s orphanages. Not out of the goodness of their hearts. The orphanages are gathering grounds for their “subjects”. Special kids like me. Kids with unusual talents. At first, I thought it was a bit of a lark. My own room, good food, a decent bed, and attention from some very interested whitecoats. Then the tests started, the prodding and poking, the scans and samples. I soon discovered that special isn’t all it’s cracked up to be."

Maxx discovers this through personal experience, somewhere between the ages of eight and ten. This was after he taught himself how to hack into computers very adeptly at the age of seven. At this point, it's very obvious that while he's almost always had a want for dismantling defunct systems, there's a definite reason for it: Rosario Hills Institute input not only a fear of, but an anger toward systems that are supposedly there to help.

That doesn't mean he's completely unsympathetic to people, though. As the story of System Failure progresses, in Maxx's breakout of the local prison, he shows more concern to "humaniforms" (read: non-robotic lifeforms) than he does to robots. This extends even further to calling emergency services for any humaniforms that were injured within the initial breakout.

This leads to our next part.

Part 2: The Philosophy and Paranoia of Maxx Nitro

Synthetic Futures takes place before the prison breakout of System Failure. In the opening scene, Dash and Maxx are having a discussion on how best to overhaul the systems that dictate life in Metrix. This is already a fascinating scene to me, because typically individuals like Maxx aren't given the time of day in fiction of this kind.

Dash asks if Maxx wants to overthrow the healthcare system, the public transit system, even the sewer system. Maxx responds with a no to all of these, and eventually follows it up with:

“The oppressive systems, Dash! You know, the ones that exploit us, grind us down. Like the enforcers.”

Which leads to this next part:

The mere mention of the e-word makes the anarchists twitchy. Particularly Maxx. He leans forwards, changes to a harsh whisper, like that’ll fool any half-decent surveillance device. “They’ve been tracking us all for weeks now.”

And this illustration of Maxx, which accompanies the passage:

Notice how bloodshot his organic eye is. The scraggly lines for stubble across his jawline, or even the way his hair isn't quite fauxhawk, but rather just a mess of uneven bits. While this could have just been a purposeful way to make him seem "crazy," given the background as discussed in Part 1, there are a few assumptions and headcanons that can be made here.

First off: Maxx's philosophy is to help humanity while breaking down the forces considered oppressive, such as the police unit known as enforcers. This also includes megacorporations such as Cogwerx and Teklovossen, and by extension, more than likely the Rosario Hills Institute. Privatized systems that say they want to help, but also cause intense problems for anyone involved.

Second off: He's intensely paranoid. It's likely he's been losing sleep over the possibility of surveillance, and he really has no way of knowing how to mitigate that. Again, given his background, it's almost to be expected; he's been poked and prodded enough. Never again.

Part 3: Conclusion

So what does all of this leave us with?

Maxx Nitro was a victim of a system that not only failed him, but also the people he grew attached to during very traumatic experiences. This led him to want to destroy these sorts of systems, which exploit vulnerable people to create something profitable. (Sounds familiar.)

This led him, in his adult life, to be intensely paranoid because of the desire to break these systems and start anew. That being said, he doesn't actually seem to want to hurt anyone. Nobody organic, at least.

Does that mean what he's doing wouldn't have consequences? Of course it would. He's kind of a morally grey character, but in my opinion, he's on the lighter side of grey than others in the Flesh and Blood roster.

I dunno. I just think he's neat.

[skrunksthatwunk]

mannnn ok i've been waiting for the yyh fixation cycle to put me back on (!!!!!!!) rather than (thing i am so normal about but it's dormant) and it's taken a little longer than i expected and i was worried it was going away but i am happy to announce that WE ARE SO BACK BABYYY

[pkmnomegaverse]

Okay unhinged omegaverse posting time but….I’ve for sure thought about what a dystopian omegaverse AU would look like for this verse (basically omegas are getting the short end of the stick in society. “Misogynistic” route, so to speak). And while it’s pretty easy with Gen 1-4 since protags so young that “arranged marriage” to a not-terrible partner is how I often run things (as ships are all presumably the same(ish) as Mainverse), it’s 5-6 that are always tricky to work with. Since protags are old enough they would be going through their heats and probably would have a matebond in the works. Per how I headcanon things.

So! My thoughts on Hilbert/N and the mess that could be. Hilbert would he promised away to some guy. No canon character fits in my head so just some older alpha guy OC. But not Cheren since would need to be an alpha so beta Cheren it out of the running. But something something in this route Hilbert hasn’t quite gone through his first heat yet (which is typically the time bonding would be arranged in these “arranged marriages”). So Hilbert is traveling around for one last hurrah before married life it is. But he would end up going into heat for the first time in Chargestone Cave while N is around and things get out of hand (obviously) and bam. They sleep together since can’t hold back (not like Hilbert actually likes the guy he’s promised to). Easy to give into the guy he’s actually attracted to. Matebond time (RIP the Shadow Triad kinda just lurking and not having the gumption to stop things tho. Even tho you know Ghetsis said they better intervene if N tries to hook up with some troublesome omega). Like in theory, Hilbert was suppose to call up his betrothed once he could tell he was going into heat and get things sorted out with him. But since he never liked the guy…

On N’s end, I headcanon that the con of Ghetsis keeping him so isolated is that he’s initially more susceptible to omegaverse nonsense since has no built up tolerance. It’s one thing if it’s an omega he doesn’t know. Can resist enough to flee the area. But when faced when someone he’s attracted to…his feelings overwhelm him.

I do think it would make kind of a mess of the plot and N leaving at the end would be extra cruel. But would for sure explain why Hilbert leaves to find him. Would not actually make N back down though. Would instead push him further towards the idea that Hilbert will join his side after he defeats him. Will still need to fulfill their roles as opposing heroes in the short term. But will be together in the end, as the twin heroes were always meant to be one (going with the idea Kyurem was originally the three dragons as one). Even in non-dystopian Mainverse I tend to view it that in the back of his mind, N kind of assumes he and Hilbert will get together in the end once he defeats Hilbert. Hero dragons were meant to be one, afterall. But the feeling is more pronounced in this version of events.

My gut reaction to the idea was actually that they would just disappear together after the main plot of BW. Hilbert had fucked up the life he was suppose to lead (disgraced omega) and since they’re bonded, the two are tied together. Would be painful to abandon each other. So when N makes his whole speech thing about leaving, Hilbert grabs his hand and asks to go with him. And they disappear together. No one sure what exactly went down during that final confrontation with the heads of Team Plasma, as no one remains behind to tell the tale.

As for how this would effect BW2, I have less thoughts on that, but maybe Hilbert is with child or recently given birth to his and N’s first child, thus why he wouldn’t show up and only N does, once word of Team Plasma resurgence gets out. Boy on maternity leave (ignoring how I don’t actually think this would stop Hilbert from getting involved. Boy could be in his third trimester and is still gonna throw hands with Ghetsis). Nate/Hugh are easy to deal with though since are just another “happily arranged marriage” where Hugh isn’t opposed to Nate going on a journey despite being at the age heat/rut are just starting to affect them both (can continue my Gen 5 parallels Gen 1 agenda since that’s how I deal with Red/Green as well. Happily arranged marriage duo who travel at the same time so the alpha can be close by on the off chance the omega goes into heat). So Nate/Hugh would def have to deal with that during their travels. Like maybe Hilbert would show up post canon to talk with Nate (since wants to meet this guy in person who N seems to like) and Nate is kinda shocked since was not expecting to meet the hero of Unova despite all the stuff he did for the region. And then it turns out the region's hero is already expecting/has had a child!! A bit inspiring, perhaps. How being an omega with a mate doesn't stop Hilbert from being kickass when the going gets tough.

[general-kalani]

{ Plotted starter with @merchantofwhispers }

The stronghold was rather quiet this night. The exterior of the building was heavily guarded. Spotlights to make sure that this dark night nothing would escape their vision.

or, well, tried to since Nikolai had snuck on by. The interior was like a maze, crossing in on itself and having multiple dead ends.

This dead end was no exception, except guards were at the door. Now that changed things, the others didn't have this kind of special attention.

There was a sigh from one of the guards. At least three were there, only one of them was looking out a window smoking a cigarette.

"Does that Joseph fuck ever shut the fuck up about this 'end of the world' shit? God I wish Jacob would take him out so I don't have to keep listenin' to it."

"Say that in front of him next time and he's splaying your skin against this door, you know what Joseph means to him."

"Not much, you hear him? Not even John respects Joseph and I hear John's the youngest of them all. What fucked up shit we keeping him for?"

"Well apparently he has Visions. They've been accurate so far, why not keep using him as a tool?"

"Fuck that... Easier to shoot him so I don't have to play guard..."

There was the sound of footsteps walking away.

"The fuck you going?"

"Away. I need to clear my head I can't stand his rambling. Any longer and I'm gonna go in there and shoot him myself. I'll be back in a minute."

It left two at the door now.

[wolfsbaneandthistle]

Image ID: Two character design portfolios for the Zoronxie aliens Lirck and Clatter. Both are bipedal and look vaguely like prehistoric raptors. They have feathers, wing-like arms, tails, long segmented necks, and hooves. Their faces are grey and stone-like, with horns. Clatter is a light blue, and one nostril slot on her face is shaped like a smile. Lirck is taller than Clatter, and a much darker blue, nearly purple. The shape of her eyes and nostril slots make her look mad. Individual descriptions of each character can be found in the image alts, and descriptions of additional drawings on the photos can found under the cut. End image ID.

I love it when adding longer image alts make my tumblr drafts completely glitch out.

Sketch IDs, two of them together, a little bit of character lore, and some biology notes all under the cut.

Continued image IDs: Another drawing of Clatter shows him fully dressed in a flow-y grey skirt, pants, and shirt with separate sleeves. They are sprinting with their wings held close to their body. She whispers to herself, "Oh shit oh shit oh shit". There are also two uncolored sketches. The first shows Clatter actually smiling. His face doesn't move, but he bends his neck in a curve and fluffs up his feathers. The second sketch has two panels. The first shows Clatter looking up towards a loud 'Clung' sound. She then looks down, yelling "FUCK."

Another image of Lirck shows her fully dressed and lying down. She wears her chaps and two cloaks. One cloak is a light grey covering her neck and back. It's embroidered with purple clouds on the back. The second cloak is a darker grey and covers her tail. It also has some embroidery, a purple wavy pattern. There are also two uncolored sketches. The first shows a very happy Lirck holding a potted plant. His face does not change, still looking grumpy. I promise she is very happy. The final image shows Lirck with her head down and horns facing the viewer. His stance is wide, his tail raised, and his wing claws are close to the ground. Text next to her reads 'headbutts you'. End continued IDs.

Image ID: Lirck and Clatter together. The main drawing of them from the previous images are there, showing that Clatter is about a head shorter than Lirck. The drawings of them clothed are also there. It looks a little like Lirck is glaring at Clatter as they run. A new uncolored sketch is also there, showing the two head butting. They are pissed at each other, and are locking horns about it. End image ID

The text reads:

Lirck is from Zornxia, the Zoronxie homeworld. She’s a retired hunter-warrior from the Coalesced House of Hunter-Warriors. He held the rank of elder, marked by her docked tail. She currently works as the botanist, gardener, and security guard on the Little Bird.

Clatter is from Enith, and was adopted into a Corldaxian family. She didn’t grow up around many Zoronxie at all, but supposedly his birth parents were from the Glasswork Democracy region on Zornxia. Much to Lirck’s disdain, Clatter’s fashion sense is more Corldaxian than Zoronxie. Clatter currently works as an engine mechanic on the Little Bird.

Image ID: A couple of anatomy sketches with notes. Zoronxie ‘faces’ are completely immobile, more like a mask. They have a dry clay texture. They use the lines on their face to breath through, and their respiratory system is in their neck. A note reads that they use hemocyanin to transport oxygen, which is a bit less efficient than hemoglobin. They have four lungs in all, and two hearts. Their feathers are more like long hairs connected to quills than true feathers. They also have two mouths, which are separate limbs in front of the arms. A note reads that they are usually kept tucked up and hidden by feathers. There is also a size chart of Lirck and Clatter compared to a human. Lirck only reaches the human’s shoulders, with her horns reaching a bit higher. Clatter is a head smaller than Lirck. End image ID.

[starlitangels]

Masterlist [Update #12]

Exactly what it says on the tin, organized by characters. (Specifically, if they feature prominently, not just if it’s from their listener character’s perspective, so the same title will probably appear multiple times, though only linked once to keep things from getting overwhelming)

The Pups AU has its own segment at the bottom! As does Good Boy Audios!

The page on my blog with the Masterlist has also been updated!

Redacted ASMR/Audio Masterlist

Davey

An Alpha’s Mate’s Job

Wolf Hunt

DnD Headcanons

Too Young

Shaw Pack Boi Headcanons

Gone Wrong

This One’s Mine

Play-Fight

Something You Should Know

The Pack Run

Enticing

Forever

Reunions

Imperium Episode Flashback

Latent Fire Elemental

Fight (featuring Darlin’)

In The Cell

Pushed

Broken (Not Broken) (featuring Darlin’)

Broken (Not Broken) - Part 2 (featuring Darlin’)

Broken (Not Broken) - Part 3 (featuring Darlin’)

Broken (Not Broken) - Part 4 (featuring Darlin’)

Broken (Not Broken) Epilogue - Motorcycle Date (featuring Darlin’)

Broken Feathers

Silver Wolf

Masquerade

Scouting

Fight Night

In The CEO’s Office

Don’t Worry, Be Happy (featuring Darlin’)

Thrown to the Wolves (featuring Darlin’)

My Angel (Sent to Save Me)

Shards on the Counter (featuring Darlin’)

Smash Night (Shaw Pack Edition)

Asher

Wolf Hunt

Imperium Episode Continuation

DnD Headcanons

Too Young

Shaw Pack Boi Headcanons

Gone Wrong

This One’s Mine

You’ll Do Fine

The Pack Run

Suit ;)

Reunions

Imperium Episode Flashback

Pack Gossip (featuring Darlin’)

Sledding

Double Date

In The Cell

Bobcat

Pushed (featuring Darlin’)

Broken Feathers (featuring Darlin’)

Ash’s Letter

No Way Out

We Match

Lord and Lady (Imperium AU)

Masquerade

Lord and Lady - Part 2 (Imperium AU)

Fight Night

Lord and Lady - Part 3 (Imperium AU)

One of Us, Now

Shards on the Counter

Ask For Your Blessing

Smash Night (Shaw Pack Edition)

Consequences (featuring Darlin’)

Milo

An Alpha’s Mate’s Job

Wolf Hunt

Shade Fight

DnD Headcanons

Shaw Pack Boi Headcanons

Gone Wrong

The Pack Run

Ficlet for Romirola

Reunions

Imperium Episode Flashback

Boo

Investigation

In The Cell

Bobcat

Dead Pen

Dull Teeth

Broken Feathers

Charity Ball

A Real First Date

Country Swing

Pulling Away (featuring Darlin’)

Pulling Away - Part 2 (featuring Darlin’)

Masquerade

Fight Night

Kept Running

One of Us, Now

Not Again

Smash Night (Shaw Pack Edition)

Sam

Pack Instincts

Embarrassing Stories

Race

Gone Wrong

This One’s Mine

Play-Fight

Not Fighting Alone

The Pack Run

As A Wolf

As A Wolf [Extended Edition]

Reunions

Tell Me?

There’s Family Here

It Does A Wolf Good

Fringes

You Were A Dentist

Sledding

Medal

There’s Family Here Part 2

Still A Wolf (To Me)

Rainy Days in the Redactedverse

The Morning After

Broken (Not Broken) - Part 3.5 (featuring Angel)

Broken Feathers

Cherry

Pinned

(My) Mate

Meeting the King (featuring William Solaire)

Masquerade

Ring

Fight Night

Those Nights (Just One of)

The King (Pin the Crown On)

What Should Have Been

Protector/Protected

Marked and Claimed

Freeborn

Fell Through

Freeborn - Part 2

Handy Wolf

Neighbors (OC listener characters)

The King (Pin the Crown On) - Part 2

Watch Duty (featuring Lovely)

(Still) Not a Tank (race/role swap AU)

Smash Night (Shaw Pack Edition)

(Still) Not a Tank - Part 2

You’re a Good Man (I Was)

Vincent

Lovely’s Qualifier

Pack Instincts

Race

Gone Wrong

Electric Bridge

I Think I Always Knew

Nightmare

There’s Family Here

Medal

Playboy

I Woke Up Missing You

Something Nice For Tonight

A Skyside Morning

Cherry

(She’s) Beautiful (linked down in Pups AU section)

A Forever Filled with Love

Masquerade

High School Crush

Forever with You

DTR

Damien

Fire Bridge

So Much Easier (featuring Angel!)

Venting

Reunions

So Many Mugs

We Survived

Homecoming Game

The Traps We Build

Temperature Spikes

Safe Enough

(Not the) Perfect Kid

(Hopefully) An Enormous Amount of Guilt

Lasko

Air Bridge

Small Gifts, Small Family

Like This

I Changed My Name

Reunions

Guitar

So Many Mugs

We Survived

Homecoming Game

The Traps We Build

DnDnD

A Similar Warning

Huxley

Reunions

Comfortable/Comforting

When You’re Happy

Period Comfort

So Many Mugs

We Survived

Crochet and Sketches

Homecoming Game

The Traps We Build

(Not the) Perfect Kid

DnDnD

Shouldn’t Have Come Back

Gavin

Small Gifts, Small Family

Reunions

Learning to Trust

Let Yourself Feel

So Many Mugs

The Person I Was (The Person I Am)

(Never Chosen a) Charge

We Survived

The Traps We Build

A Similar Warning

Immediate Aftermath

The King (Pin the Crown On)

The King (Pin the Crown On) - Part 2

Maybe You’ll Find Them (featuring Avior)

Caelum

Better. Happier. Brighter.

Geordi

Projecting

Family Reunion

Audit Interview

Crosswalk

Psychic Scream

Worth the Effort

Avior

The Stars Go Out

You Are My Home

The Little Things

Sprig

Answers (For Once)

Warm

Into The Meridian

Double Date

Come Back to Bed

Before We Broke

A Walk in the Park

Rainy Days in the Redactedverse

I Want to Help People

Wanting

Through The Window

My Starlight

Picnic

Manageable Pieces

(What If) It Had Worked

Least Likely Places and Times

Dreaming

The Light of Jupiter

I Don’t Care (I Care)

Immediate Aftermath

Leader

The King (Pin the Crown On)

A Demon’s Devotion

Neighbors (OC listener characters)

Somewhere Only We Know

The King (Pin the Crown On) - Part 2

Meeting the Family

To Steer By - Ch 1

To Steer By - Ch 2

To Steer By - Ch 3

To Steer By - Ch 4

Crystal Stars

Soot and Suds

You’re Mine (I Don’t Share)

To Steer By - Ch 5

Elliott

Not Polite Company (featuring Aaron)

Hot Chocolate Dreams

His Shirt

(Not) The Screams of a Friend

What You Are (You Can’t Hide)

The Sweet Dreams Mug (featuring Aaron)

Red Button-Down (featuring Aaron)

Park Picnic (featuring Aaron/Smartass)

The First Morning

Warped Smile

Worried (featuring Aaron/Smartass)

Snuggle Bug (featuring Aaron)

Best Dad, Gabe

Porch

Not-Yet Alpha, Not-Yet Mate

Not-Yet Alpha, Not-Yet Mate - Part 2

Not-Yet Alpha, Not-Yet Mate - Part 3

Not-Yet Alpha, Not-Yet Mate - Part 4

His Mama’s Boy

Hoodie

Vega

(Part of) Who You Are (featuring Warden OC & Sweetheart)

Immediate Aftermath

The King (Pin the Crown On)

Morgan

Lord and Lady (Imperium AU)

I See You

Forget the Future

Lord and Lady - Part 2 (Imperium AU)

Colors of Humanity

Lord and Lady - Part 3 (Imperium AU)

S’mores and Cocoa

Someone Like Me

Blake

Hey. It’s Me

(Not) The Screams of a Friend

James

Processing Power

Through the Years

Parental Problems

Sorry (Isn’t Enough)

Disconnect from the Details

What You Are (You Can’t Hide)

Guy

The High School Years

Xavier

Spitfire

Sovereigns

Falling Stars (featuring E’Laetum, Min’Ara, & Brachium)

Fan Audios

Vampire Mate’s Possessive Ex Corners You (Alexis)

Your Packmate Asks for Advice (Amanda)

[Flashback] Overhearing New Moms in a Restaurant (Mrs. Shaw and Marie Greer) featuring @frenchiefitzhere

Hunted By a Sadistic Mass-Maker Vampire (Alexis)(Imperium AU)

Marie Has a Home Video for Your Mate (Mrs. Shaw and Marie Greer) featuring Frenchie again!

Getting A Call From Your Daughter (Micah Collins, Pups AU)

All-OCs

Donation

Donation - Part 2

Into Your Family

Shaw Pack Pups AU

Pups

Father/Alpha Balance

Never Disappointed

First

Baby Names

Guide Through The Forest

Solstice Ball

How I Met Your Mother

It Too Shall Pass

Defending Your Sister

School Bullies

Important to Me

Permanent Marker

Birthday Cake

Pups-Only Camping Trip

Inside-Outside Perspective

An Alpha Made to Kneel

An Alpha Made to Kneel - Bonus Scene!

A Beta Made to Weep

Keep Her Safe

You Picked Right

Kept Her Safe

Puppy’s First Summer Solstice

Waterfall

(She’s) Beautiful

Taken for Granted

Scratches and Bruises

Masquerade - Pups Edition

Reckless Teenagers

The Twins

Injuries Add Up

Latent Fire Elemental - Pups AU Edition!

(Not Just) A Fairy Tale

Little Darlin’

No One’s Favorite

(Like The) Fairy Tale Movies

Headstone

Getting A Call From Your Daughter (fan audio linked above)

The Wolf and the Bear

Coyote Problem

You can also read most of these on AO3!

Shaw Pack Pups AU

Shaw Pack One-Shot Compilation

Solaire Clan One-Shot Compilation

D.A.M.N. Fam One-Shot Compilation

Misc. Redacted Boys One-Shot Compilation

Avior One-Shot Compilation

Broken (Not Broken)

Lord and Lady (Not Posted to AO3 yet, but will be independent)

Not-Yet Alpha, Not-Yet Mate series

Good Boy Audios Masterlist

Because I think I've written enough to have one of those now?

Space Pirate Saga

Taliera

Paradise's Letter

The Fourseen/Pandora

The Spare Room

Keeping Cool

Recruited

How They Met

Magic of the Heart (MotH)

Too Much "Practically Family"

Bastard Warrior

Hand-to-Hand

If It’s a Lie (I Don’t Care) (coming soon!)

[crossbackpoke-check]

Bords fake smile is so obvious. Its that one.

a thorough investigation of thomas bordeleau’s smile so that i do not fall asleep on my breaks at work today

^^^ my sleep paralysis demon keeping me awake

research question: is thom’s fake smile crooked? is his real smile crooked? is he bad at posing in photos he himself does not take?

1. we are starting with photos of thom i already have on my phone, the number of which is probably going to be embarrassing but i can only have 10 on a post at a time. hopefully i don’t have more than that

this was easier than i thought because i forgot i had video of thom being giggly & embarrassed by podcast hosts—for sure a real smile, for sure real crooked. woof ✊😔

however i feel like this is cheating because the original smile in question was photographed, which leads me to:

2. more photos of borde on my phone

are you only showing half your mouth because the other half is crooked? this is the start of the evidence that borde is incredibly particular about angles & very aware of what he looks like on camera

real hot girls have italian summer boyfriends 😜 crooked smile is in full display but we don’t get the full eye crinkle—obviously a posed photo but likely caught in the middle of actually smiling and being happy, so the pearly whites are out [also: real wh*res wear their necklaces so that the pendant sits in the divot of their collarbone. speaking from experience bords i’m gonna ki** you]

more italian summer boyfriend posting, increasingly more photo op posed, evidenced by the closed mouth smile. this is the most relatable picture of him i have ever seen because i too am gay and do not know how to pose without throwing up a ✌️and awkwardly smiling without my teeth when forced to take a picture. unfortunately i don’t have an italian summer boyfriend wearing little white short shorts to gently touch elbows with :(

this is not a smile but it’s still crooked and i’m mad about it, and i also am 99% sure i saved this for matty looking good in the background before i even cared about thom but now that i’m unhinged this is good arm tattoo content (have been wondering about the little one on his left arm, clearly says “faith” here) and nose scar? scratch? freckle? it’s endearing 😡

3. this is still just more photos from my phone but i can’t have a list with two things on it so we’re all pretending like this is a valid bullet point

blanks my adopted blorbo 🥺🥺 this is a photo caught in motion of bords really smiling, unaware of the camera, which i’m using as evidence to say that thom real smiles w/ teeth. he looks overjoyed to see blanks & i can’t fault him (we are not discussing the kj tag now)

4. I THOUGHT OF SOMETHING TO GOOGLE SO I CAN STOP SCROLLING THROUGH MY CAMERA ROLL

thom looks like he inherited half of his mouth from his dad and half of it from his mom split down the middle (please see the chart)

assuming that this is baby thom, the smile has forever been tilted which is possibly even worse than the formation of a habit or a slant caused by injury or like. dip lip. nooooo borde has ALWAYS been like this

to conclude: i forgot what the question was but now you have a ??? masterpost ??? of borde’s crooked mouth 🤧

[handsomegentlebutch]

Hey I'm stoned and I think I look very handsome

[xerxestexastoast]

wow gamers long time no see

Lots of info I've posted to my age-old headcanon tag is terribly out of date as I've continued to develop it. Amongst the developments are:

The Master's history and relationship to canon has been hammered out a bit more, but I actually REMOVED some details (namely the "internal world override" and associated corruption of the seraphim and multiversal blast), mostly because I just forgot about it and kept soldiering on with new developments.

I think it's the right choice though, since I don't really need to have a coherent motivation for something so insanely eldritch. I also introduced a time loop to its influence, where its ultimate annihilation at the end of one of my major planned fics plants the seeds of its arrival on the mortal plane in the first place. I don't think I NEED it to be that cosmically sweeping for the seraphim to care about it anyway.

Seraphim don't have mortal protectorates as a rule anymore, nor are there legends like that. The Sanctuary Wardens are just terribly fond of the universe their nest is hooked up to. Humanity is their blorbo. The Wardens also live in the angelic equivalent of bumfuck nowhere so how would they even hear about something like that?

The seraph corruption bit was an off-the-cuff idea to reintroduce more popular fandom interpretations of Zero and Dark Matter to my Kirby headcanon in hypothetical scenarios, but once again, I Forgor. I've been cooking up multiverse headcanons that allow for the same kind of hypotheticals. In the wake of the Magologue I had a lot of thoughts about alternate universes and timelines and that has given me a lot of ammo for Fic Ideas to add on to my existing ones, what fun what fun

I have completely flipped the script on Morpho and instead of "Gala's pet butterfly" I've gone whole hog on their cosmic significance. They're the first seraph and the bridge between the ether and the void. Their nest, Hell's Blossom, sits right at the center of the Cloudrealms.

Likewise, this is evidence of literally all of my Galacta headcanons going in the trash. I've finally accepted that he's been GBJ'd from the main timeline, which has been a hard pill to swallow because I had him survive and recover on Ripple Star the instant I saw him in KSSU.

Nothing about my Gala headcanons was contradicted until Knightmare Returns in Robobot, where I couldn't cram the scenario into the timeline coherently in a way that was satisfying. It meant making the entire final part of the main story an illusion while Kirby was in stasis and trapped in a simulation. Meta had to break him out, and I just couldn't accept Star Dream Soul OS's exact copy of NOVA's design as their genuine design because I REALLY wanted the Clockwork Stars to have some diversity. Soul OS's Access Ark looking so much like Galactic Nova was a banger reference for sure, but it fucked with my vision for my Kirbyverse. Now with the power of AUs I can shunt that entire concept off into an altverse!

But also Galacta coming back in Robobot and subsequently Star Allies meant that my whole "he is unsealed as of Knightmare Ultra and plays an active role in major fanfic plans" was bunk. Took me ages to salvage Major Arc Fic #1 (RtDLDX gave me the necessary extra RtDL brainrot to get back into thinking about it). I still haven't salvaged my Galacta thoughts. Don't even get me started on Aeon Hero and the implication that Galacta is one of the Four Heroes of the Heart. Holy fuck I am still reeling. I thought I would get to keep his ancient supersoldier bioweapon backstory but NOOOO I GUESS I CAN'T.

I've considered making Aeon and Galacta separate people, with Aeon being the real Hero of the Heart and the genetic base for Galacta's creation, and that adds a fun detail where his Halcandran elements (eyes, horns, and natural levitation) can come from ANOTHER of the heroes! But this doesn't fucking explain why Galacta can summon the Heart Spears in Clash if he indeed is the same Galacta. If Galacta is sealed out in Another Dimension where time don't work right, then it doesn't make sense for etheric resonance (topic for another post) to copy Galacta into the AUs. Aeon himself is sealed inside his own Heart Spear as part of the seal on the Jamba Heart.

It's POSSIBLE that etheric resonance could conflate Aeon and Galacta into the same guy and put him in the Clashverse but that means we have TWO GALACTAS sealed in AD and I hope you all understand why I don't exactly want to go there. Once shit starts happening out in AD, it's outside the jurisdiction of any one universe. Etheric resonance involves information being passed from one universe to another VIA the ether (the intercosmic medium that we know in canon as Another Dimension). If you're imprisoned IN the ether, that information doesn't get the chance to travel.

While I'm less weirded out by more regular characters having altselves in the altverses, Galacta's character is DEFINED by his imprisonment. It feels markedly less weird when I cook up ideas for Magolor to meet other Magolors than, say, multiple different Galacta crystals just being out there. And THAT'S because the same Galacta being summoned to so many different timelines for the same purpose is itself compelling! It feels foundational to his Vibe, especially when I focus on what's actually canon. This poor fucker gets yoinked around constantly and has no say in it. I want to give him his freedom like I do with virtually every other Kirby character but I feel like he'd suffer from an eternity of madness only curable by death on the battlefield. How the fuck does a mortal mind withstand that? No wonder Morpho took him in Guest Star