#orchidbreezefc

[felixcosm]

YEAH!! Yeah-

My favorite part of the most recent episode was when Mike Walters (older cowboy) started strangling Mike Walters (young Mike Walters, who is also half Mike Walters) while Mike Walters (younger cowboy) tried to break up the fight until Mike Walters (young Mike Walters who is the personification of a Live Laugh Love sign) all let them out of the storage unit they've been stuck in.

Meanwhile, Mike Walters (middle) was mysteriously absent.

[hyperfocusedcloneshipper]

WOE.BEGONE Iterationship Fic Recs

A while back I promised to throw together a rec list of my favorite iterationship fics so I am finally getting around to it!

There are so many good ones that I return to again and again. So let’s do this! There are some SPOILERS below up through the recent season so if you are not caught up proceed at your own risk.

I must begin with @solipsistful’s this heart of mine. For me it was the fic that launched a thousand (or, more accurately, 114+) fics. It centers on Mike and Michael in an established relationship? affair? something. Definitely something. And it deals with the fallout of being discovered. Needless to say if you read and enjoy my ongoing Mike/Michael series Love in the Time of Iterations and Retrocausal Pockets, you have ace from the solipsistful collective to thank. I also recommend Don't make this weird and Some Poor Decisions by them as well.

...

The first annual Mike4Mike month was February of 2024 and it was, unsurprisingly, a boon for iterationship fics. When I read @felixcosm's it’s like you wanna get caught, I was positively delighted. It centers on a very bored Mikey having to sit through a meeting at Base while a bored (and horny) OverMike sits at home in Mikey's cabin. OverMike decides to entertain them both by texting Mikey and things get, uh, let's just say heated.

...

Do yourself a favor and drop whatever you are doing and read Reflecting by @orchidbreezefc. The writing is lush and leaves you holding your breath. Set during season 5, it's a brilliant getting together fic that captures the self doubt and deep longing of Mike and Michael. If you enjoy that then go read Nostalgia, also written by @orchidbreezefc, to have your heart ripped out. It's set during 107 and I will leave it at that.

...

If chaptered fics are your thing I highly suggest @felixcosm's what it means to claim my body. In this fic Mike is taken by the compound and then eventually returned to Sat Base. I don't want to spoil too much but Felix does such a great job of exploring the guilt and self loathing Mike feels after being held by and experimented on by Ty Betteridge and the guilt everyone around him feels for not realizing he'd been taken.

...

@muppet-chaos gave us a DELIGHTFUL fic called Schemes and Consequences in which Edgar makes an offhand comment that implies that Michael is the hottest Mike Walters iteration. This of course sets Mikey out to prove Edgar wrong by trying to seduce Michael himself. It's equal parts hilarious and hot.

...

If you haven't dipped your toes into WOE.BEGONE's tag on ao3 yet then you don't realize that probablynotsafeforwork is an expert at writing smut of all varieties. Tender? ✅ Silly? ✅ Angsty? ✅ Romanitc? ✅ Raunchy? ✅ They do it all. Getting Heated is an Omegaverse fic in which Mike discovers that he's suddenly switched from Alpha to Omega and it is positively scrumptious. Omegaverse not your thing? Don't you worry, probablynotsafeforwork's got you with fics like I Will Carry You Home in which Michael carries Mike home four different times only for Mike to be the one to eventually carry Michael home. It's sweet and sexy and I return it again and again.

...

This next fic was written to me as a birthday present so MAYBE I am biased but I don't care. you haven’t relinquished as much as you want me to believe is sweet and tender and sexy. In this one @felixcosm writes Mike and Michael enjoying a rare moment when it's just the two of them at Sat Base and Mike wants to make the night last.

...

@muppet-chaos broke my heart with The Best You've Ever Had (Is Just A Memory) in which Mike is called upon to help Mikey figure out who the Michael iteration is that's in compound storage. This fic is set after the fallout of the Showdown at the Shadow Dome. The story bounces between the present and a happy memory Mike has of Michael. This one's for the angst lovers.

...

@falloutcoys made me a Mike/Mikey believer with almost like you never left. Set during episode 135, Mike and Mikey have reunited to solve Michael's ARG but they take a moment to catch up first. It's hot and sweet and does a wonderful job of capturing the character voices.

...

@falloutcoys also gave us the utterly perfect Close Quarters. I'll go light on details so that I don't spoil the reveal but this fic is set during the period in which Mikey is crashing at Sat Base and Mike and Michael are trying to keep their relationship under wraps. But they also simply cannot keep their hands off one another. Hijinks ensue.

...

One of the few iterationship fics that isn't about iterations of Mikes Walters is In Case of Emergency. This one focuses on Base Chris and Chris who is not from Base (not to be confused with CANNONBALL). It's a delicious and playful sexting fic in which Base Chris gets a text out of the blue from his iteration.

...

A lot of people clocked the chemistry between XL and 47 right from the moment they were introduced. When Mike tried to do some recon and stood in for XL, a lot of NSFW ideas started getting tossed around and @solipsistful, genius that they are, gave us fucking around and finding out in which Mike attempts to impersonate XL and realizes he might be in over his head.

...

You want something silly and adorable and less spicy? @ty-bayonet-betteridge has got you covered with A lover is someone to be silly with. Set during the period of time where Base is stuck in the Dome and most of the Mikes Walters (that we knew about at the time anyway) were staying with Tex, MW and MDawg do their best to irritate Mikey by pretending to be in a relationship. Looking for spice? Don't worry they've got you covered there with Proud of Yourself in which Mikey 🌶️ rewards his past self 🌶️ for helping him outsmart Ryan after delivering Ryan the files from inside Tier 2 during episode 31.

...

[sylibane]

Happy birthday, @orchidbreezefc!

I know very little about woe.begone other than you like it, so I hope my research paid off. Plus, this let me experiment with some collage stuff. Hope you like it!

[humor6969]

Mom said it's my turn to talk about how Edgar and Mike’s interactions affects the relationships they build with people around them, how that in congruence with the plot, helps develop the themes of self-identity, tyranny, and how we perceive the world around us through the lens presented to us by the very society that limits us, as presented in WOE.BEGONE.

Mike and Edgar’s relationship exemplifies w.bg strongest narrative theme. Both of their characters are introduced with the uncomfortable sword of damocles that is power hanging over their heads.

When Mike was introduced he was powerless. It’s clear he was unhappy with his life and that playing  w.bg was the only thing he thought he could do to feel in control. Nothing could dramatically change your future like putting your life on the line for internet fame. Ironically w.bg only served to further demoralize him, taunting him with the promise of power while further taking his agency.

Edgar was introduced as someone who hadn’t realized the power they don’t have. There was a massive gap in knowledge between what Edgar knew and everyone around him knew. In that way he was isolated from most other tier two co-workers without realizing it. Even Mike was getting to know him on false pretenses. Mike had power over him, he also had knowledge similar to the rest of tier two employees and was manipulating Edgar into helping him learn more.

By dating Mike, Edgar gained new kinds of control/power. A growing desire for more is always one of his strongest motivations, as opposed to Mike’s motivations that vacillate from desperately wanting power to running away from it.

Mike is not only the person who first introduced Edgar to time travel, but also provides Edgar with people willing to follow his orders. He is someone who totally shares those desires. (power hungry assholes <3). We never hear Edgar speak much about people he knows outside of base even before it was created. Edgar might have felt lucky to have found someone like Mike, who (had already done the hard work being social with his co-workers) comes with a pre-established friend group.

His new boyfriend came with not only immense world shattering knowledge and power (as well as near total compliance concerning) but a loyal army for him to command.

These problems are typified by all the ethical/moral dilemmas they are forced to face with the idea of iterative personhood. 

I said "near total compliance" above as most disagreements he and Mike have are caused by how differently they both treat iterations even when they share the same definition of that concept. Mike (as he has made it very aware) sees iterations as a unique individual. His iterations are just some real fucken weird guys who happen to share a lot of his memories.

Edgar doesn’t. Even as the person who created and defined the term ‘iterative personhood’ he views them as disposable copies of the ‘real thing’ or as a back-up. When someone dies he can just load a new copy of them from his save data good as new. 

And as much as Edgar has said he would never hurt any Mike he does so repeatedly throughout the whole series. Edgar might think it's a pity to kill an iteration. Edgar clearly doesn’t like killing anyone (especially a Mike) but he never empathizes with them. He nods his head sympathetically and probably does truly believe it's a waste of a life, but he never has acted like he’s losing a person he cares about. Edgar has shown little to know remorse when it comes to lying or manipulating Mike. Only apologizing when his plans cause Mike permanent suffering or trauma. Although this does not come from a place of malice (*cough* read this post by orchidbreezefc *cough*)

Even iterations of Edgar don’t seem to care about any of the differences between the many Mikes.

When Mustardseed is captured by the Flinchites and interrogated by Michael. Mustardseed immediately speaks to him in the exact way base Edgar has been shown to speak to his Mikey. And not just the same tone of voice. He uses the same playful comments, affectionate teasing, and pet names without any of the hesitation Micheal was noticeably experiencing. To Edgar, he was picking up just where he left off with OverMike. 

(I wish we had more moments with Edgar. Most speaking lines he has are in scenes that have some kind of big Plot Event. I wanna listen to him and Mikey talk about movies. I wanna dissect them)

Edgar may be smart enough to work in a top secret government weapons compound but without Mike he's stuck working a 9-5 desk job with no real human connection. 

Without Edgar, Mike is a dumbass cutting his body parts off for podcast views. 

Mike and Edgar’s relationship changes the whole structure of the show. I feel like the ‘Mike talks to the audience while openly referencing he’s making a podcast’ framing device ends in the middle of season three. Specifically, episode 31 where that pretense drops. I honestly don't know if it's just a coincidence or if Dylan Griggs has made a comment about it (if so whoopsies but I'm trying to make a poetic-y point here). But it's the first episode with only character dialogue and has no narration. It’s also the first episode where Mike shows more serious romantic interest in Edgar. Obviously the narration is still a major part of most episodes but Mike stops breaking the fourth-wall to quip about episode production.

Honestly Edgar’s whole character is my favorite part of w.bg. He makes such a great contrast to the Mikes’ personalities and beliefs while still being a strong guiding force for him to depend on. 

Hope this reads as more then sleep deprived rambling. Inspired by @orchidbreezefc's post (this might not have made sense without reading it)

[quotesandmiracles]

Challenge: make a poll of your five fave characters of all time, then tag five people to do the same.

I was not tagged, but saw a poll at @sazandorable; my five tags are @reflingthefox @orchidbreezefc @transbeetleboy @transmascphoenixwright and @zeco5000.

[orchidbreezefc]

Infiltrated (1730 words) by orchidbreezefc Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Outer Wilds (Video Game) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Clary/Yarrow (Outer Wilds) Characters: Yarrow (Outer Wilds) Additional Tags: Psychological Horror Summary: Yarrow visits the Ash Twin Project while waiting for Clary, Pye, and Poke to return from their mission. He hears a weird sound from outside.

--

i don't always crosspost my fics here but i think this one's fun. it was me looking at that really grim bit of environmental storytelling outside the ash twin tower and saying "i could make this worse." enjoy!

[sandybrett]

Belatedly answering a tag game from @ante--meridiem:

Last song: something from the WOE.BEGONE soundtrack, not sure what.

Currently watching: no TV shows, just Unlearning Economics on YouTube.

Three ships: Geoffrey/Ellen (Slings & Arrows), Tex/Outlaw (WOE.BEGONE), Matt/David (The Grotto).

Favorite color: dark purple, maybe?

Currently consuming: nothing at the moment, but I just had some nice cheese bread.

First ship: I honestly don't remember. WOE.BEGONE is the first fandom I've really actively participated in, but I've been invested in a lot of other fictional relationships before. Basically, I don't treat shipping/not shipping as a binary so I find this question impossible to answer.

Relationship status: [REDACTED]

Last movie: probably the Barbie movie; I don't watch a ton of movies.

Currently working on: among numerous other things, my conlang.

Tagging @tuesdayisfordancing, @chavisory, @autogeneity, @roseapprentice, @solipsistful, @theyofmanyvoices, @fortunechaos, @orchidbreezefc, @auxilion, and whoever else wants to do it!

[twyxted-mind]

Tagged by @fivedayslater to make myself in this picrew and post the last song I listened to.

And the last song was Bohemian Rhapsody.

Tagging @orchidbreezefc, @wwaywward-vvagabond, @o-sakakakakaka, @katzenklavierr, and @astr0nomically, but no pressure!

[solomontoaster]

Stealink this meme from @orchidbreezefc becuase it's 9am and i'm trying to encourage myself to be enough of a person to do all of them homework I didn't do over Thanksgiving break.

Last song? Oddly enough it's "We're All In This Together" from High School Musical, which I've never seen, but it's on the playlist I built for the absolutely insane Vampire the Masquerade game I'm in right now.

Favourite colour? Not to be stereotypical, but like... baby blue has my whole heart and it's a little bit because it's the Boy Color™ and I get to choose the gender things I like.

Last movie/TV show: Uh.... I've been bouncing around a lot. Either Phineas and Ferb or the Great British Baking Show.

Currently watching/listening: I am in the midst of binging all of Mythbusters while I try to write my first two major papers in five years.

Sweet/Spicy/Savoury? Spicy. Like, I like all of them, and I do have quite the sweet tooth, but I like spicy food enough that I trained up my spice tolerance. As a kid I couldn't handle spicy food at all, now I don't blink about ordering off the authentic menu at my favorite Sichuan place that doesn't spice adjust.

Relationship status: There's a sort of thing. I'm the occasional side piece of one member of a poly thruple, which honestly, has been a pretty ideal set up.

Current obsessions: So you know that Vampire the Masquerade game I mentioned? For all it's issues VtM has consumed me heart and soul. I liked it because vampires, but then I found a Jewish religious path in the Dark Ages configuration? And it was shockingly good? And that was the point I realized "Oh, I'm here to stay huh..."

Last thing you googled? How to spell "Sichaun."

tagging @calsyee, @jamesclarkross, @handfuloftime and anyone else who wants to

[neovid]

Adding in the variant by @orchidbreezefc

People have written a lot of touchy-feely pieces on this subject but I thought I’d get right to the heart of the matter

[hyperfocusedcloneshipper]

What's your top three favorite chapters? What about other fics?

Oh jeez. This is going to be difficult. Let me start with some of my favorite fics by other fic writers and then I can try to get to my top three favorite chapters

I have to start with this heart of mine and i am missing you because they really are the two fics that sort made me fall in love with w.bg fanfic. heart of mine was especially a source of inspiration for me. I basically read that and immediately wanted more. I don't know if I would've ended up writing fanfic if not for ace from the @solipsistful collective.

After that... god this feels impossible. But let's give this a shot.

I feel like everyone should read Doubled, it's a work of art and I am positively rabid for it. If you are a fan of MW it's such a great take on the character. ace is also responsible for Tether and Honeymoon

probablynotsafeforwork has been publishing some truly delightful and charming fics of the smutty variety. I highly recommend Playin' Pretend and Playing Favorites to get a start with especially if you enjoy Mike/Michael fics

A Lover is Someone To Be Silly With by @ty-bayonet-betteridge is so sweet and captures the voice of MDawg and MW so well. I revisit that fic often because it just such a gorgeous snapshot of what those two could be. A Very WOE.BEGONE New Year's is a wonderful fic that captures so many of the woe.begone characters and gives them all of them a happy new year. Also I adore their series Two Liars Lying To Eachother.

It's difficult for me to pick a fave from @felixcosm but I'm going to go with a normalcy i'm begging you to know and it’s like you wanna get caught. a normalcy i'm begging you to know captures really early Mike/Michael so well, balancing that tenderness and frustration that they have for one another. it’s like you wanna get caught is just so very hot and funny. I love the way OverMike and Mikey are written in that one and captures their voices so well.

@muppet-chaos manages to convince me of ships I never thought I would and one of the best examples of this is Employee Benefits which centers around Topher Evans (CANNONBALL). They also wrote one of the most heart breaking Mike/Michael fics with The Best You've Ever Had (Is Just A Memory). I come back to that one again and again for how well it captures Mike's sense of loss. In that same vein Was I Delicate Enough? is a poignant and tragic snapshot from MW's perspective that I reflect on often when I write my own MW centric chapters. Also @muppet-chaos is the genius that brought up Mike4Mike Month! We should be singing their praises!

@orchidbreezefc wrote Reflecting and it's one of those fics that had me holding my breath the entire time I was reading it because I was so caught up. The writing is gorgeous and lush. I am almost loathe to recommend Nostalgia because it absolutely gutted me, but I'd be lying if I said I haven't reread it dozens of times. It's a heart breaker be warned but it's a beautiful one and somehow takes the end of episode 107 and makes it hurt even more.

I never thought I would buy into a Mike/Mikey ship but almost like you never left by @falloutcoys made me a believer. It is sweet and hot and I won't even try to pretend I haven't reread it several times over. Also this house will never forget your name is a gorgeous fic that takes place while Mikey is staying with Matt and my heart just aches every time I read it. Please go give it a read, it's utter perfection.

I also highly highly highly recommend Teacher's Pet. Some really good fucked up shit in there and really captures Michael's desperation to be a sheepdog for the Mikes. It's also hot even as it's disturbing.

Okay. I've put off choosing my favorite chapters of Love in the Time of Iterations and Retrocausal Pockets as long as I could 😅. I will not be able to limit it to three, I am so sorry. This series is my baby and I really do put SO MUCH thought into it so I hope it's okay if I go a little overboard here.

I'll go in chronological order:

Chapter 8: Distractions

I love this chapter because its encapsulates the ways in which Mike and Michael try to protect one another and how they make sure that the other knows they are worthy of protection and love.

Chapter 13: Sheepdogging

I felt like I really nailed the argument between Mike and Michael towards the end of this chapter. Michael is furious with Mike but is able to be mature enough to recognize that now if not going to be a time when they can have a productive discussion about the shit Mike tried to pull.

Chapter 14: (Pair Bonding) Studies

This list would be incomplete without this chapter. I went into this chapter knowing it would have a lasting impact on the series going forward but it wasn't until I did my final edit of the chapter that I realized that it would forever change things for Mike and Walt (and as a result, Edgar and Michael as well)

Chapter 20: I thought that I could trust you

This chapter hurt me to write. I had planned out the MW arc and I remember feeling absolute dread the closer I got to writing this chapter. As soon as I hit publish on this one I wanted to write Mike and Michael back together. I'm glad I stuck to my original plan but it was extremely difficult. I ended up writing chapters 21, 22, and 23 all at the same time.

Chapter 25: Unwell

This chapter signals a real shift between Michael and Walt. I think it might be the first time that Walt is really truly vulnerable with Michael. It's a fairly quiet chapter compared to the others I chose but it is an important one for Michael and Walt's relationship.

Chapter 34: Bound: Part 3

I picked Part 3 because it's kind of the culmination of the entire Bound arc but those three chapters were originally one chapter. The Bound mini arc was important in that it solidifies the relationship between Michael, Mike, Walt, and Edgar. They spend all of Wedding Week essentially figuring out how they work together and for all intents and purposes make their quad official.

Chapter 37: Alive & Free

This Chapter was such an undertaking. I had to go back and revisit everything from Chapter 13 onward to remind myself what would have been going on in the background of this chapter. I had this chapter planned for a couple months and was very excited to write it because I knew if I didn't write this chapter, the OvEdgar Council would just come across as one dimensional villains and I really didn't want that. What I didn't expect was just how much I would adore these characters.

Chapter 46: The To Do List

This is not the first Edgar-centric chapter but it is one I am especially proud of. I adore Edgar so much and I loved having the opportunity to explore what it looks like when he is pushed to his emotional limits. And I loved being able to explore the ways in which he used his competency to avoid dealing with his grief.

I think I'll leave it there because the more I look at my AO3 page for IRP the more I want to add other chapters to the list and it's already so so long.

Thanks so much for the ask, this was a lot of fun and I ended up rereading a lot of my favorite fics from other fic writers to put this post together 💕

[sylibane]

WIP tag game! Thank you to @orchidbreezefc for tagging me, I love getting tagged in stuff like this.

Apparently the game's to share the most recent line you've written for a WIP then tag as many people as there are words, but I always feel nervous that I'd tag someone who doesn't want to be involved and/or miss someone who wants to and make them feel left out, so I won't tag anyone and just encourage anyone who wants to keep the chain going.

I've been outlining more lately than actually writing, but here's a bit from an attempt at making a character (also this is more than a line because I don't like the last line just on its own and the previous person posted more than a line. lol what are rules)

Lunch was also the best time to talk to the other students. Ferrick wasn’t a very talkative boy himself, but he was happy to listen to them talk about who was smuggling in forbidden food or sneaking around the fortress at night or trying to lure other students into some illicit activity like secret gardening or board games. He usually ate quick enough that he had time to stop at Inquisitor [name]’s office.

[quotesandmiracles]

Tagged by @6wings-manyeyes, ty!

Last song? Der einfache Weg from Mozart! Das Musical, Oedo Kuipers & Mark Seibert; was relistening my Warframe/Dishonored playlist.

Favourite colour? Teal; i have a hexcode somewhere.

Last movie/TV show: Rewatched Fate/strange Fake pilot episode.

Currently watching: Nothing specific. Secret Life Mumbo POV?

Sweet/Spicy/Savoury? Savoury.

Relationship status: All good.

Current obsessions: Waver Velvet, my beloved; also been playing AFK Arena a lot and hanging out on dragon capitalism site.

Last thing you googled? Searched for where to watch strange Fake.

Tagging: @reflingthefox @orchidbreezefc @riddlesandlies @barbrububble @featheredbirblet, whoever else sees this and wants in.

[felixcosm]

@orchidbreezefc

some vibes presented without elaboration

[orchidbreezefc]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: WOE.BEGONE (Podcast) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Major Character Death Relationships: Mike Walters/Michael Walters Characters: Mike Walters, Michael Walters Additional Tags: Transcription of Canon Scene, Canonical Character Death, Angst, Pining, Unresolved Romantic Tension, Ambiguous Relationship Status Summary:

"If it works, I'll see you back in the good times." A fine sentiment. If only it hadn't been exchanged by two of the only people who don't believe it.

--

woe.begone fic... 2!!! were y’all normal about 107? cool me neither

[twyxted-mind]

Oh shit I got tagged by @orchidbreezefc

Last song? Europe's Skies (Belarusian) by Alexander Rybak

Favourite colour? Green; in case you didn't notice

Last movie/TV show: Puss In Boots: The Last Wish, AKA that movie where everyone who watched it was horny over either the artstyle or the wolf

Currently watching/listening: MasaeAnela's started a new LP of the Super Mario RPG remake

Sweet/Spicy/Savoury? Spicy, little bit savoury

Relationship status: I'm good thanks

Current obsessions: I'm autistic; these things rotate like tires

Last thing you googled? Ah, hm. Uhhh probably laptops, since I've been kinda sorta looking for a new one.

Tagging: @o-sakakakakaka and other than that I'm leaving it open; you wanna do it, do it