#kryptonian worldbuilding so.

[blorb-el]

1. ithe kandorians have been trapped in that bottle for who knows how long, they seem to have developed some interesting attitudes towards death and recycling. unless this is just a Kryptonian Thing

2. four hour workday extremely based

action 280, “trapped in kandor!” 1961, script jerry siegel, pencils and inks jim mooney

[suzukiblu]

Do you read much fic yourself? and if u do, do u have any recs?

I kinda read fic in fits and starts, to be honest? Like it ebbs and it flows, pretty much, hah. So sometimes I read a TON of it and sometimes I pretty much don't read any at all. So like, currently not really, but previously enough that I def DO have recs, haha.

Not an exhaustive list of my faves, just some random Good Ones I can think of off the top of my head ( all some variant of DC or DPxDC ).

( also def read the tags on these, there's def some tags on a few of them that at least some people would wanna know about before reading. )

Catching Icarus by Fantasyfire ( YJA!Conner gets Super-adopted, interdimensionally-speaking. Fully the inspo for that "the last son of Krypton meets Hypertime Kon" WIP of mine, for the record. )

I Want It That Way by WynterSky ( Tim/Kon but make it 90's and also an emotional rollercoaster. )

Stress Relief by daemoninwhite [ nsfw ] ( Kon goes to a sex club in space for some free-use/stuck-in-wall-style stress relief and gets exactly what he wants. )

Jasmine Luthor by Die_Erlkonigin6083 ( Jazz finds out her biodad is Lex Luthor and literally does not care until she finds out CONNER Luthor exists. )

The Unnecessarily Dramatic Death of One Jasmine Fenton by Rowan_the_Escapist ( Jazz and Jason meet at a party and it all goes to shit pretty quick. fyi I will chew on this worldbuilding and also this version of Jazz/Jason until I ALSO die. )

Lazy Sunday by Faeriekit [ nsfw ] ( . . . I did not think I'd be so into Jason/Tucker but uhhhhh turns out I'm real into Jason/Tucker and especially into Jason getting consensually hypnotized into a househusband while absolutely desperate for his boyfriend Dom to fuck him, go fig!! )

The French Mistake by Vamillepudding ( The wrong Bruce is in this reality but he's a much better dad than the right one, so is that really a problem?? )

Buy One, Get One by iselsis ( Incubus!Jason gets rescued/surprise-adopted by Batman and then tries to figure out if it's safe to ask Bruce to save his succubus!mom from his shitty dad. )

Catherine/Bruce Medieval AU by iselsis and PotatoLady ( I am not emotionally well about this whole entire concept, hahaha. Omegaverse medieval AU where Bruce beats Willis in a fight and therefore wins whatever belongs to him. Which in this scenario includes Catherine and Jason. )

bystander by greeneyedfirework ( Batfam omegaverse where alpha!Jason finds a messed-up Robin!Dick in heat and it is a Problem(tm). One of the specific genre of omegaverse-Robins-in-distress that was inspo for the "Robin gets nested" WIP. )

Eyes Like Kryptonite by dragonez ( Lena Luthor gets a strange Kryptonian on her balcony who doesn't know if he's from an alternate reality or time-travelling and wants specifically HER help. Kara/Lena. )

your ghost i will gladly bear by merils ( Interdimensional Timkon featuring two Robins on a rooftop while they're both dead. THIS CONCEPT, I LOVE IT. )

This isn't how things are supposed to go. But we've always been unorthodox. by RenkonNairu ( Please and thank you for this slightly niche and highly interesting omegaverse take including omega!Kon, bless. Also Tim/Kon and Bruce/Clark, accidental and deliberate and deliberately-AVOIDED bonding, and the shitty version of Lex/Clark. )

Fairy Godbrother by envysparkler ( Batbrothers accidentally-on-purpose decide to meddle in another reality's version of themselves in quick succession, or over the course of several years, depending on how you timestream it. )

. . . . . . like, just go check out thebodydies and Briarwitched, I cannot effectively narrow down the options there, haha, just gooooo.

[nitewrighter]

Who do you think would be the best DC hero to appear in MAWS and why is it Wonder Woman?

...I think the best DC hero to show up in MAWS is Mister Miracle, actually.

-We already have hints at Apokolips as one of the factors which took down the Kryptonian Empire and Scott was raised on Apokolips.

-MAWS already has a major focus on technology as part of its worldbuilding and Mister Miracle is a very tech-y gadget-y superhero with the added benefit of also being from space like Superman. Also the fact that his flight is dependent on his Aero-discs would give him a noticeable visual contrast to Superman's style of flight.

-Scott's Mister Miracle definitely has an aspect of PERFORMANCE!! and SHOWMANSHIP!!! as part of his overall superhero persona which would be a fun contrast against Clark's more warm and gentle Superman.

-It would literally be so so so funny to see Scott nearly kill himself multiple times with his crazy Mister Miracle stunts and freak Clark the fuck out only for Scott to be perfectly fine.

-You have a very cool potential drama factor since Scott could be a refugee of both Apokolips's general suckiness and Krypton's attempts at conquest, so he could have a lot of potential interactions with Kara.

-Mister Miracle and Big Barda are basically a package deal, which means MAWS would have TWO wifeguys now, plus Scott and Barda also have a size difference like Clark and Lois but it's gender-swapped.

-Introducing the New Gods is a good way to HINT at Darkseid without immediately cramming Darkseid down everyone's throats.

-Introducing non-trinity Superheroes is a good way to significantly expand MAWS's universe without elbowing out Lois and Jimmy as Clark's primary co-stars.

-I love them.

BONUS: Basically since we see Clark be very conscientious about how much damage he can do as Superman, it would be very funny to have that contrasted against Scott and Barda, with Barda FUCKING WRECKING EVERYTHING and Scott cheering her on.

I love Diana, I do, but the heart and soul of her character is magic and mythology, and I feel it would be really difficult to introduce her to the MAWS-universe in a way that meshes with that show's worldbuilding without changing massive parts of her character. Again, I stress: I would prefer if other members of the Trinity got their own shows establishing them in their own rights rather than just being shoehorned into MAWS.

[vinelark]

ALL timkon recs I BEG

hello hi! here are some of my favs! it got long so putting some under the cut

💄 Lipstick on the glass by @cairoscene read for timkon being soft and goofy and disgustingly in love, set in vague future college-y years with amazing core four dynamics too. cair is one of the funniest people to ever exist and we are so blessed that they decided to write some timkon. (also read for my own greatest contribution to literature, the fictional “jerry the void nexus” meme)

🎢 been a number and a name by @wynterstars i had SO MUCH FUN reading this one, a 90s comics-divergent AU where robin and superboy become friends—and crushes—when superboy is pretty new on the scene. feat. lex luthor being terrible, tim staging a rescue operation that at one point involves platform shoes and a blonde wig, spice girls references, and fantastic action sequences. it’s also a series, with an installment focusing on kon & clark, and a currently updating longfic sequel with SO MANY timkon identity shenanigans (my beloved) and kon feelings (also my beloved).

📸 the surveillance series by @smilebackwards i feel like i rec this all the time but it’s because it’s THAT GOOD. a tim-centric AU where tim joins the family late, but is still involved in bat business without the bats realizing. there’s some fun timkon identity shenanigans at the top, and some of my all-time favorite tim characterization (ruthless! lonely! brilliant!) plus a great tim & bruce arc, too.

🦉 Detours by miyaji_08 this is part 2 of a series and i def recommend reading the whole thing! a reverse robins + joker jr au that has lots of trauma and lots of healing, and in part 2 there’s timkon identity shenanigans that’s simultaneously enemies to lovers + And They Were Roommates. tim sure does run a gauntlet of horrors in this series, but it has so much healing and also one of my fav reverse robins concepts i’ve read so far.

📱 unfurl by @burins tim and kon might be dating, and there’s no kryptonian sex ed handy. bruce, being bruce, makes it his business, which means talking to clark and Realizing some things about his own feelings. superbat are billed first here, but i think timkon steal the show—i laughed out loud like five different times reading this. hilarious and sweet on all sides. (and if you like this, check out their timkon road trip fic!)

🌾 A Saturday Evening by malcyon in which tim visits the kent farm for family dinner with kon, feat. very sweet established relationship timkon and fun superfamily dynamics, and it touches on tim’s past grief over kon’s death (and complicated feelings post-undeath).

🤼‍♂️ Sore Loser by @hearteyeshayley kon learns that tim always let him win while sparring, and has to process that. this was such a fun exploration of tim’s prowess as a fighter—one who regularly has to go up against superpowered friends and foes alike—and also tim as a person who is always doing mental calculations about the people around him (in an endearing way). kon, too, got his time to shine and grow, and the ending was so smart and sweet.

🔮 Ascension by Violet_Witch an AU longfic where tim is a witchling and kon is a fallen angel who has (oops) just lost his wings. tim sets out to help get kon’s wings back, and there’s a ticking clock because angel wings are dangerous in the wrong hands—and tim has a big, horrible secret that’s about to come due. the plot/worldbuilding of this was WILDLY cool, and there was a big ol misunderstanding in the middle that had me clawing my face off (in a good way).

🌌 straight on ’til morning by merils kon vs. the terrifying ordeal of growing up, feat. sweet friends-to-lovers timkon and really thoughtful exploration of some of kon’s canon past relationships and their abusive dynamics. i haven’t finished this one yet but it’s been rec’d multiple times and i’m excited to dive back in (and it's recently complete!)—and what i have read so far gave me an amazing sequence of kon and dick interacting and dick’s big brother mode activating in an instant, which is something i now desperately need more of.

📧 aaaand would it even be a reclist by me if i didn’t include send to all by @cairoscene the absolute moment i find myself feeling down i go reread this and boom. i am instantly laughing again. timkon are just one part of a bat grab-bag here but they are so so funny and cute and in-character. maybe one day i’ll compile the timkon-centric sequel that exists in my head but for now i’ll just go reread this for the zillionth time.

okay yeah!! i’m probably missing so many good fics here because i constantly have like a zillion tabs open that i plan to read someday. also i reserve the right to reblog later like OH I FORGOT— but in the meanwhile, happy timkon reading!

[stars-obsession-pit]

Since my brain has continued to rotate my alternate take on kryptonite being made of ectoplasm (here) I’ve decided to give the idea a name:

Souls of Kryptonite AU

I still don’t have any big or solid plans with it or whatever but. Yeah.

Anyway, I started thinking a bit about some worldbuilding possibilities around the thing. Nothing is too concrete but I wanted to write them out:

So, firstly:

Krypton’s destruction in some way involved ectoplasmic contamination of the planet (to justify why its bits got weird)

But then I had two ideas on how to take it:

1. Kryptonite flat-out is ectoplasm

When Krypton exploded, the energy output of the blast caused the souls of the dying Kryptonians to crystalize

Thus Kryptonite technically isn’t the shards of the planet - it’s the shards of the people

Because the souls crystalized in this way, they never fully formed ghosts. Instead, they’re just trapped in essentially the moment of their death

Kryptonite can hurt ghosts to touch because of the emotions contained within leaking through

I don’t have any fancy explanation for the Kryptonian power sapping part. Maybe the nature of it being their souls cause some sort of magic effect? Or maybe it’s literally just still radioactive in whatever special way. There are options.

Using it as a power source may or may not harm the souls - I’d think it probably would, but depending on how the energy effects work it might be arguable that the souls wouldn’t take much damage

Probably would require fancy ghost magic or ecto-technology to free the souls

You might be able to get a power boost by eating it but you really shouldn’t because that’d be like, soul cannibalism.

2. Kryptonite interacts with ectoplasm

Kryptonite is less “solidified ectoplasm” and more of a sponge that draws in ectoplasm from around it

Thus when any ghosts formed during the planet’s destruction, they were immediately pulled into it and trapped

And if any other ghost touches it later, it will start to drain or even capture them too

The ectoplasm stored in Kryptonite gradually leaks out as a different form of radiation - this is what allows it to interfere with Kryptonian powers

Generally, the more charged with ectoplasm a piece is, the stronger the radiation it releases is (this just feels like a logical rule)

The souls/cores/whatever-you-want-to-call-it of the trapped ghosts aren’t deconstructed (maybe because the ectoplasmic makeup of that part is different enough to hold it together)

Though maybe using it as an active power source could gradually damage them, to add extra angst to the usage of it in tech

However, any new ectoplasm the ghost forms while trying to heal gets torn away and spread throughout the rock

Thus keeping the ghosts stuck in a barely-formed state (essentially trapping them in the moment of their death)

Also this continuous drawing on the trapped ghosts�� ectoplasm allows for the Kryptonite to remain powered indefinitely

Kryptonite can’t hold an infinite amount of ectoplasm at once - it eventually becomes saturated and stops taking in any more (beyond replenishing what is loses to radiation)

At that point, it’s harmless for ghosts to touch (and can even give them a power boost if they consume it)

Yep i’m keeping the possibility of eating the rocks. Just make sure it’s filled with only non-sentient ambient ectoplasm and not souls and you’re good to dig in!

That saturated state could be used as a way to free the ghosts - continuously flood the Kryptonite with enough ectoplasm to keep it saturated, and the ghost will be able to reform without being drawn back in

Carefully breaking the stone might also work, but I’d probably add some sort of complication with that - maybe in regards to the stored ectoplasm being released suddenly or it potentially damaging the souls within

I feel like the latter option allows for some interesting concepts, but it’s a bit less faithful to the original “kryptonite is ectoplasm” idea

[frownyalfred]

hello! I’ve read different omegaverse fics and most of them seem to have different worldbuilding so I was curious about yours. In ASOH, do mated alpha and omega couple’s heats and ruts line up? Also how often do heats and ruts hit? I would also love to know if you have any thoughts on if any of this is different for Kryptonians. I hope you have a great day, I love your writing!

I actually think they start to sync up even before mating. The longer you spend near your alpha/omega, the closer your ruts/heats get to each other. Gradually at first, until they start to overlap and then sync. Mating would automatically cause them to sync, I imagine. And a shock heat/rut could cause a sync if it was strong enough, even while unmated.

In my head, ruts/heats come cyclically around 4-6 times a year. Some people have fewer, some more.

Some things I think are different for Kryptonians: fewer annual heats/ruts (possibly leading to repopulation issues back on Krypton), longer knots during ruts/heats, more likely to experience mini ruts/heats during pregnancy to encourage healthy progression. Just a lot of adaptive instincts and physical changes to try and address fewer pregnancies in the last few generations on Krypton.

[shoot-i-messed-up]

Jesus christ writing this superlantern arranged marriage au from Clark’s POV is ridiculous. On a textual level, everything I’m writing is either the characters speaking Kryptonese or Hal speaking English that is translated by the power ring into Kryptonese so Clark (he’s not called that in the fic, obvi) can understand him. But on a meta-textual level, I’m translating all the Kryptonian stuff into English so the reader can understand.

So basically at its most ridiculous level, Hal is speaking English, which is translated into Kryptonese by the power ring for Clark, which I then translate into English text for the reader. And don’t even get me started on the Kryptonese words I made up for worldbuilding which don’t get “translated” into English for the reader because there’s no English equivalent, or the English words that Hal says that have no Kryptonese equivalent, so Clark can only hear the untranslated sounds that he’s making and processing it as Kryptonese syllables, which I then have to represent textually in English

[jesncin]

Hello! I'm not sure if you read the Actions Comics #1074, but I wanted to get this thought out of my head. Spoilers ahead!

Clark got sent back in time when Krypton has yet to be destroyed. After saving a stranger from a malfunctioning flying bot, he was sent to Krypton Hospital and, after he was given treatment, a meal, and new set of clothes, he immediately went to place Lara and Jor-El were.

I couldn't help but think his sudden visit to Lara and Joe-El reminded me of how in some Asian countries, you could just walk into your neighbor's home, usually without a prior notice, and just...eat with them, talk with them, and other activities. I remember someone talking about how in their country, they would go to their neighbor's home so much and help them with chores like laundry, they knew the days when that neighbor does which chores and always got meal going there.

In my country, the Philippines, my grandpa's neighbors would just appear with no notice, and give my grandparents company!

Indeed, Clark did send some sort of message about his visit to that Lara received, but he immediately left from the Krypton Hospital to the place of Lara and Jor-El's, and even though the Science Council is conceited, the communal spirit must be so strong for Lara to just accept this stranger's sudden and quick request for a meeting, even though she doesn't know them.

just...something about community and how people just helping each other because they want to, which bring about an easier life and also a joyful one

Anyway! What comics have you recently read? I think Absolute Superman is out now! Have you read Absolute Superman? What do you think about it?

I gave said Action Comics issue a quick read!

It's definitely not intentional in the story, but it does serve as a nice jumping off point to thinking of Krypton as having a type of collectivist communal mindset for treating thy neighbors. Part of what fascinates me about Kryptonian worldbuilding is exploring what the idea of a doomed utopia could be like. I'd personally love to see writers pull inspiration from cultural philosophies like Gotong Royong or Bayanihan, along with challenging human structures of gender, class and spirituality. An indigenous-inspired Krypton would be phenomenal.

But as long as DC Comics continues to be a reflection of a white dominant industry, we're not going to get anything like that soon. The Action Comics story is charming enough, I like seeing Clark try out Kryptonian clothes and mention that he has a language barrier, but the white imagination can only go so far without having lived it.

I have read Absolute Superman! My feelings about it are actually pretty similar. I'm glad I wasn't excited for AbsoSupes because it sounded boring from the promos, and turns out, it (the first issue at least) was indeed dull. Something Absolute Superman shares in common with Absolute Batman is that it doesn't stand on its own. These takes rely on being contrarian (what they call "subversive") to their source material. If I didn't know anything about Superman, I'd honestly think this was a pretty generic alien superhero story.

I notice most of the people enjoying AbsoSupes are praising it because they've done 80 years of Superman homework to get all its references and recognize what it's twisting. But I think an over-reliance on expecting your audience to do reading pre-requisites to even like a story at all is weak. Absolute Wonder Woman on the other hand, is an outstanding, mythic take on the character- no homework required, just genuinely compelling characterization and storytelling.

(spoilers for Absolute Superman #1)

To bring this back to my feelings on Krypton, Superman writers and DC as a company; I think stuff like Man Of Steel, that Krypton tv show, MAWS and Absolute Superman reflect the very limits of the white imagination. New Superman writers are no longer invested in exploring Superman's origin planet as a utopia, because that's not something white people can relate to or fathom. Instead, they'd rather Krypton be a direct reflection of Earth's problems.

Kryptonians are now colonizers, classist and bigoted. Krypton is no longer the land of the future sending down their one hope to guide the imperfect people of Earth into a better tomorrow. There's no appealing contrast between Earth and Krypton anymore, and because of that- Kal El becomes an exception from Planet Colonizer. He's just some decent guy from the other equally shitty country. It's not that you can't make an interesting hero from that, but I've certainly seen that guy many times before. It's nothing new.

Kal now doesn't have a cast system and wanders around on his own, I've seen how that kind of character struggles because I've read Martian Manhunter stories. Kal talks to his suit because he's Iron Man now I guess. Kal was actually more grown up when he was on Krypton instead of a baby, so... just like Supergirl is in canon- well that's not new either. Lois Lane is a government agent here, because why have characters who occupy unique jobs like being a librarian or a journalist when you can make them yet another cop or agent? When the biggest personal experience integrated into Kal your Absolute Superman writer boasts about is how he's the first writer who is actually from Kansas to write Superman, this is what you get.

[tossawary]

I've been thinking a lot about DCU stuff and Ace Attorney thoughts got mixed in by accident, because it's got a lot of the same themed, colorful character designs and silly pun names. So, of course, I started immediately daydreaming about a DCU-style Superhero AU for Ace Attorney. (I often do not fully control what I think about.)

And then I was like, "I think I just finally have to play Ace Attorney at this point, before I get stuck in a weird daydream loop because I don't know enough about the plot to worldbuild properly. I will let this be the final push to just start these games."

Based on my extremely limited knowledge (I have only actually played 2 episodes of the first game), here are my Superhero AU thoughts so far. I don't like 1-1 character role match-ups in general when I fuse worlds, so none of these AA characters are fully aligned with any particular DCU character.

Phoenix Wright would make a good speedster, I think. This is partially because of the spiky hair, but also because there's a terrible irony to being the fastest man in the world who keeps being too late to stop certain tragedies. It also suits the way he's apparently never properly prepared for anything but also quickly manages to pull through. He's probably still a defense attorney in his civilian identity. (In accordance with later games, he has to stop being a superhero for several years when he's framed for a crime.)

Besides Phoenix's mentor Mia, who is also both a superhero and a lawyer, ordinary civilian Larry Butz is the only person who initially knows that Phoenix has superpowers. He honestly hasn't told anyone Phoenix's secret identity! But Larry also somehow gets into more scrapes and "damsel in distress" situations than Lois Lane and he's not even an investigative reporter.

Mia Fey, Maya Fey, and Pearl Fey have a Shazam situation, I think, in which they transform into a "Mystic Champion" magically empowered by the ghosts of their ancestors. Like a Shazam & Danny Phantom fusion. Mia Fey was the first in her family to become a publicly known superhero. A lot of people don't know that it's not the original Mystic Champion (same face and same superpowered form as Mia, which breaks Phoenix's heart a little every time) until Maya or Pearl transforms back into a regular girl after the fight is over.

I think Miles Edgeworth is a Batman type hero, but one still partially ensnared by Manfred von Karma, who is his Ra's al Ghul. (This makes Franziska into Talia, but there is definitely nothing romantic there.) Maybe he does have superpowers of some kind, maybe not, and he could still potentially be a prosecutor. He doesn't have a Brucie persona, though. Phoenix is not impressed by Edgeworth's harsh and even cruel approach to vigilante work. (Steel Samurai was Miles' Gray Ghost or Zorro hero inspiration, I'm guessing.)

Gumshoe is Miles' Commissioner Gordon figure and doesn't know his secret identity yet. He's either going to learn in the middle of a really bad situation or he's just going to straight-up figure it out himself one day and scare the hell out of Miles.

I'm still thinking about characters like Kristoph and Klavier Gavin, Apollo Justice, and Trucy Wright, but I don't know enough about them to fully flesh these thoughts out yet. I think the Gavins would make good Kryptonian equivalents (a cold and calculating Superman and a rockstar Supergirl), Apollo might make a good Wonder Girl equivalent (his bracelet becomes a Lasso of Truth) as the lost son of an Amazon, and Trucy would obviously be fun as a Zatanna type of hero.

[gnomewithalaptop]

do you have an all-time favourite fic (or multiple)?

Oh hey lbb! Hope you're feeling a bit better! But YEAH man it's hard to pick a favorite, but I'm always happy to scroll through my bookmarks for recs (I will, however, limit myself to three for propriety's sake)

Okay, so, first things first: this one won't be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm lowkey obsessed with something just broke by BeatriceEagle. It's definitely not a lighthearted read, and I'm putting an obligatory trigger warning for discussions of sexual assault, but I love the epistolary format the author used, and the no-kid-gloves examination of how abuse gets reinforced + propagated within tight-knit communities is honestly really well done. Lots of tough questions in this one, and not a lot of easy answers

Next up is I wanna save that light by suzukiblu. BRO. Cannot recommend this fic enough. It's basically a look at what would've happened if Kara arrived on time, with some really interesting worldbuilding on Kryptonian cultural and language differences. I actually can't get enough of it

Finally, I really vibed with In This or Any Other Universe by wildsofmarch -- it's basically a mainline DC comics/Battinson dimensional smashup, where Comics!Dick-as-Batman ends up in the Battinson universe. Excellent prose style, wonderful dynamic between Dick and Bruce -- it's just glorious

[blorb-el]

Psssst does the au superbat fic exist bc I waaaaaaaaant it

I want it too 😭 tragically it only exists in about........4.5k scattered scenes which I try to poke at in between working on my main project rn!

misc worldbuilding scraps that are currently rotating on the back burner:

(omegaverse) human instinct relies on scent > hearing > taste > sight to find compatible partners, kryptonian instincts lean on sight > hearing > scent > taste, hence the mating markings

omegaverse humans have a much higher degree of face blindness than we normal humans do lmao

helps clark pass, the more he pulls his scent back the more it fades away, clark kent smells so dull/insignificant/mild that it seems like he's got a medical condition (hypomyrodia). jonathan kent had this. when jonathan and martha found bby kal, he was scared and tried to match scents to the two humans who found him, which caused his kryptonian scent to quickly fade. a hypomyrodic pup would probably face high abandonment rates and low adoption rates, so it was probably a relief that two willing parents brought the pup in

kryptonians all pretty much exist along a relatively smooth spectrum of sexual characteristics and can transition somewhat like clownfish if there's a hormonal imbalance in their community. having zero (0) other kryptonians around does things to clark before he grows the fortress and is able to synthesize hormone stabilizers

humans meanwhile have ten major sexes because betas can be true beta, alpha-leaning, or omega-leaning depending on their recessive genes

poison ivy is x100 more horrifying in any omegaverse world. she only manages to zop clark though bc the pollen is enchanted. however it's enchanted to induce primal alpha hindbrain, which means something very different to lone kryptonians than packbonded humans

it would have been the norm on krypton to have one's facial markings out. kryptonians would pull them back if they were sick, or perhaps terrified... primal hindbrain clark looking around and seeing nothing but non-glowing faces, and it coming across as everyone around him fucking terrified of him

for the first few months of their acquaintance clark is like. im not sure what gender batman is and at this point i'm not sure its ok to ask (he can smell past the concealing patches to bruce's strong omega scent but the patches could also be doubling as, like, the equivalent of binders, could be that batman's gender is null, but he mixes in diluted alpha cologne, but that could just be for concealment/intimidation....???)

sun-powered kryptonians have a strong, distinctively alien but somewhat alpha-smelling scent (when they're not pulling it back) but barely leave any on people they try to scent with, and scents barely stick to them. when clark politely explains this to bb dickie hes just like well i guess ill just have to scent you for longer! and clark goes 🥺

at this early point in the timeline barry is the only known omega superhero so the tabloids are huge into superflash

anyway all that's just kind of fluff/details... the core theme i've been rotating around is overcoming real and genuine barriers to intimacy. the loneliness of knowing you're a square peg in a world of round holes, the necessary compromises of sanding away your corners, the joy of meeting someone who will stretch to meet you where you are. there's a fair few excellent fics of bruce uncomfortable in an omega's role and body, i want to come at it from a perspective where a xenomegaverse clark has to define what gender means to him, in the heightened roles of the omegaverse. we are looking also at layers of passing. when parts of your closet become your armor that protects but encumbers you, and other parts become your exoskeleton, which grow into who you are. we are looking at that comic about the orchid that has the pattern on it meant to appeal to an extinct species of bee. we are looking at compromise made of love and compromise made of fear. and we are looking at tentacles baby.................

[artbyblastweave]

Currently on episode 3 (2?) of MAWS. A few notes: One interesting thing about S:TAS is that you got an excellent sense of what the post-Superman status-quo was displacing. The first episode after the pilot involved Bruno Manheim, a conventional mob boss, running afoul of the Toyman, one of the first of the new crop of supercriminals, in a way that reminds me of The Long Halloween. Whenever Bruno Manheim shows up for the rest of the series, it's in the context of his struggle to remain relevant until he's killed while trying to be a cats paw for Darkseid. In the S:TAS pilot, Lex Luthor's big plan was an under-the-table attempt to evade an arms embargo and sell the combat robots to a post-soviet state; a very ripped-from-the-headlines plot for the 1990s, interrupted only by the abrupt injection of an out-of-context problem in the form of a Superhero. The show had a lot of nods like that, to the way in which Superman and company were beginning to upend a world that was, in terms of its economy and geopolitics, at least a little like our own. Justice League took it further- demonstrating that Superman has a positive impact on nuclear disarmament policy, but then further demonstrating the government's antsiness about the overall shift in the balance of power towards the Justice League, with their secret killsat and so on. However. The series was aware of how the world was changing, but didn't advance a precise mechanism for why all the disparate weirdness happened to kick off all at once, in time for Superman to encounter and fight it. Because that was pure Doylism- Now that Superman exists, wacky stuff needs to start happening so he can have something to fight each week. MAWS patches this from a watsonian perspective- there's a common (Kryptonian) origin of most of the supervillians Superman is going up against. However, there's a level on which this has made (all two episodes) feel siloed away from the world at large, in a way that the first two (four?) episodes of S:TAS didn't. Intergang goes from an established Mafia-style crime syndicate desperately using alien tech to remain competitive in a post-Superman world, to three comically-incompetent crooks who could barely knock over a convenience store. The robots go from a human technology built for war profiteering reasons to (implicitly) salvaged Braniac-tech. The arms-dealing plot is still present but it's a bit less clear on the face of it who's bankrolling this and who was supposed to be buying it. Cadmus is the strongest tie that this show has to the sense of realpolitik or the balance of power or whatever it is you want to call it, which was threaded through the older shows at a pretty deep level.

There's a level on which I'm being extremely unfair, because I'm comparing 60 mins of worldbuilding to a continuity that ran 15 years and probably close to a hundred hours- this could plausibly go anywhere. Indeed. One aesthetic criticism I had of the show, which I'm walking back before having even made a post about it, is that with the kryptonian tech meta-origin, I thought they were getting dangerously close to doing the MCU thing of villains who show up in costumes-that-are-barely-costumes, street-clothes or military-wear augmented by a few gadgets, with some aesthetic signifiers referring to the more costume-like costumes they had in the comics. Then I did a quick scan of S:TAS and noticed that very few villains in that are actually wearing costume-costumes- instead, it's altered physiologies, experimental bodysuits that look like skintight spandex in the abstracted artstyle of S:TAS, or clothing that's just the style in the alien society that they're from. Villains who are clearly wearing considered costumes are much more prominent in Justice League- set years after S:TAS, when the precedent for costumed villainy has had time to solidify. This last paragraph was what this post was originally going to be about, incidentally.

[suzukiblu]

listen listen i know we are so pleased with this match is pretty much just a setup for some fun porn later on but i'm over here getting hyped for the worldbuilding and seeing your take on betas. i love how you've interpreted them as the ones who make sure things get done when the alphas and omegas are too drunk on hormones to think straight. it's very funny to me as a concept lol. I'd love some more for wip wednesday if you're not swamped, otherwise this is just some appreciation for that au <3

The omega has their same face and same build, but his hair is bone-white and his skin is much, much paler than theirs, and his eyes don’t have any visible sign of pupils or irises, which makes for a slightly off-putting look on both Kryptonians and humans. His clothes are unsurprisingly Earthling-styled, if a little off-putting too, and he’s wearing loose-fit white boots and gloves and a fitted electric yellow bodysuit with the Agenda’s insignia–the Agenda’s logo–where his family crest should be. 

Kara doesn’t like the sight of that. Not the Earthling-cut clothes on one of the only people left in the universe who should be wearing Kryptonian-cut ones, but especially not the damn logo.

[nitewrighter]

So like... I'm reading Superman: The Man of Steel Issue #62 and initially I was kind of shrugging the Hamilton+Krypton parallel off because at first it just seemed like, "Oh, you're just juxtaposing Jor-El's dread at the impending loss of Krypton against Superman fighting against the impending total-death-of-earth-because-our-Sun-Got-Eaten." You have Superman's loss of power without sunlight juxtaposed with Jor-El's scientific mastery being ultimately helpless in the face of this existential threat. But then midway through it pancake flips the despair of the whole thing because Superman has what Jor-El doesn't--not heat vision or super strength because he's a yellow star-irradiated mutant of his species--but rather a planet that trusts him and is willing to work with him to save themselves. And like, this isn't even played in such a way as 'ough it's Krypton's fault this happened to them' but rather it's a thesis of "Interpersonal connection is our ultimate salvation, and it is so easy to lose that. Even if you're the smartest, most powerful people in the world. Especially if you're the smartest, most powerful people in the world."

You'll remember that "Kryptonians aren't even mammals" commenter i was talking about like... a week back. Like, they pretty much were operating from this position of, "If you posit any headcanons on Krypton that it was flawed or that there were cultural factors contributing to the totality of its destruction, then you're undermining Superman's immigrant narrative because you're making him quote unquote 'One of the good ones.'" But like...this is also where the line of speculative fiction vs societal narrative gets blurred. Speculative fiction is supposed to take certain worldbuilding elements to various extremes to illustrate how those elements operate within our society--and like, the crazy thing about Krypton is, that though there's a lot of aspects of it that were meant to be portrayed as extremes in the silver, bronze, and modern comic book ages, I feel like we have more in common with this fictional planet than ever. Like, is it really less relatable when you talk about it as a cold and alienating society when we're literally dealing with that right now?

[halfagone]

if you're answering questions about WIPs I read the summary for your *escape* one and holyshit that sounds good. "The ghost zone haunts Danny right back" is such a baller concept. It's listed as Horror and I'm not much for that genre but I'm hella intrigued and I'd love to hear more. (Especially like. How do the aliens know about halfas?)

Fun fact about this story, the title is originally meant to be escape with the last e flipped upside down but it looked funky on the Tumblr post, so it's only that way for my WIP doc XD

I'll admit I'm not super into horror either, but if you've read one of my current WIPs called bones and all, it's a little similar in that regards that it has horror elements and for escape I'm definitely trying for the soft horror. But it's mainly a psychological thriller on Danny's side of things.

There is a lot of worldbuilding to this fic, which is part of the reason why it remains as an unreleased WIP and I haven't uploaded the first chapter yet. But something that I strongly headcanon, and I try to make a point of when I can, is that humans are not the only ghosts that exist. You'll know this, you were very passionate in replying to my newest one-shot Lament for the Soul. But humans are not the only ghosts, and that's why I try to stray away from calling Danny's civilian form "human" because even as a ghost he's still human he's just dead- but enough about that.

For dpxdc crossover fics, we tend to include headcanons/fanon that there are natural portals that appear on Earth. This headcanon, coupled with the idea that there have been previous, natural halfas in the world, led me to thinking that there could have been other halfas that were not human. So there could have been Kryptonian halfas or Martian halfas, as just a few examples. Obviously their stories have either been lost to time, they were never known to have existed, or they were mistaken as something else. (Which would be understandable, in the case of Martians since ghosts have a very similar skill set, but I digress.)

This then led me into thinking that, hey, if other halfas existed, then it's entirely possible that other worlds and species could have known about them and made it a cultural phenomenon or gave it religious significance.

In the case of escape, the alien species mentioned in this summary has a very deep connection to their deceased ancestors. The biological ecosystem of their planet is closely tied to the Infinite Realms, so when the planet starts failing, and crops don't grow, and the weather turns turbulent, they begin to suspect that something is wrong in the Infinite Realms. They hold seances to their ancestors and ask them for advice on what needs to be done, and their ancestors tell them of the only living halfa (aka Danny) who could help them. They say he comes from a planet called Earth, and thus, the aliens go there looking for his help.

The "Ghost Zone haunts Danny right back" is essentially Danny dealing with the problems within the Infinite Realms that has been affecting this alien species. Although, of course, he has no idea that these two things are connected. This AU specifically also does lean into my beloved medium!Danny headcanons, so Danny has vision/nightmares and other things I'll save for later.

This story has a lot of worldbuilding, like I said. So... Hopefully it will eventually see the light of day. XD

[beatrice-otter]

Sedoretu Exchange recs

I have finally, over a month after the collection was revealed, had both the time AND the brain space to read through the entire collection. If it weren't sedoretuex, I would probably have given up, but there aren't that many sedoretu fic out there so I wanted to savor what was just written.

First, I received an amazing DS9 fic by violet_pencil that does SUCH interesting worldbuilding.

Bread and Roses (19535 words) by violet_pencil Fandom: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Rating: Mature Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Kira Nerys/Miles O'Brien, Keiko O'Brien & Miles O'Brien, Bareil Antos & Kira Nerys, Bareil Antos/Keiko O'Brien, Bareil Antos/Kira Nerys/Keiko O'Brien/Miles O'Brien, Kira Nerys/Keiko O'Brien/Miles O'Brien Additional Tags: Episode: s01e01-02 Emissary, Bajoran Culture (Star Trek), Canon Rewrite, Episode: s01e13 Battle Lines (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Episode: s01e20 In the Hands of the Prophets, Culture Shock, POV Kira Nerys, Season/Series 01, Kira Nerys has PTSD, Alien Cultural Differences, Worldbuilding, Marriage, Alternate Universe - Sedoretu Marriage Series: Part 2 of violet's star trek fusions & crossovers Summary:

"Marriage is the greatest adventure of them all. It's filled with pitfalls and setbacks and mistakes, but it's a journey worth taking." — Miles O'Brien, "Armageddon Game"

Hearts starve as well as bodies: Give us Bread, but give us Roses. — James Oppenheim, "Bread and Roses"

Other fics I loved:

Any Four Walls (11952 words) by tielan Fandom: Marvel Cinematic Universe Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Pepper Potts & Steve Rogers, Maria Hill/Steve Rogers, Maria Hill/Pepper Potts, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Maria Hill & Tony Stark, Maria Hill/Pepper Potts/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark Additional Tags: Sedoretu, Developing Relationship, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-ish Summary:

“I thought we should probably have a discussion,” Tony says blithely. “About futures and pasts and all that.” As always, tielan does an amazing job of handling the characters with insight and grace.  

A Kryptonian Marriage (2493 words) by Chromatographic Fandom: DCU (Comics) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Clark Kent/Selina Kyle/Lois Lane/Bruce Wayne, Clark Kent/Lois Lane Characters: Lois Lane, Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne, Selina Kyle Additional Tags: Sedoretu, Pre-Relationship, but it's gonna happen, Lois Lane-centric, on screen Clark/Lois, Kryptonian World Building, For funsies, Krypton had moieties, and sedoretus, but Earth does not, Timeline What Timeline Summary:

Lois loves Clark - all of Clark, and she'll show it to him in every way that she can.

Or: Earth doesn't have moieties, and sedoretus - but Krypton did.

Interesting worldbuilding, and I love Lois' care for Clark and his culture

Four, for Four Decades (9624 words) by blueyeti Fandom: James Bond (Craig Movies), The Old Guard (Movie 2020) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: James Bond/M | Olivia Mansfield, Andy | Andromache of Scythia/Booker | Sebastien le Livre, Andy | Andromache of Scythia/James Bond/Booker | Sebastien le Livre/M | Olivia Mansfield Characters: M | Olivia Mansfield, James Bond, Andy | Andromache of Scythia, Booker | Sebastien le Livre Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Behavior, Sedoretu, Sedoretu politics, Historical, Immortality, Immortal James Bond, Worldbuilding Series: Part 1 of Bond & The Old Guard Sedoretu Summary:

In November, 1950, James Bond died on M's orders. He came back.

Great explanation for why James Bond has kept going on for so long ...