#verse: recursive

[crybaby-livio]

Livio's shoulders slump with relief. Should he be relieved that she is willing to help? Should he expect it? He does not know, but the fact that he is not dismissed out of hand is itself helpful.

"I think they were going to the bar," he ventures, scrunching his nose. Judgment. Maybe. A little discomfort with the notion of being somewhere so busy and so public, but it is what it is.

Books, books. He scoops up their haul in one broad arm, trailing along with curious eyes angled along the rest of the scant offerings this place has.

Some smut is just too smutty. His taste may be odd, but he at least has taste.

"Uh..."

Mildly alarmed at mention of Legato, Livio looks at Meryl. Really looks. Blinks, too, owlish and a touch shaken.

What he has to say is soft. Not meek, but furtive, because if the storekeep hears him... well, they already get plenty of odd looks around and about.

"H-he doesn't. At least the one I knew doesn't...carry much on him. He can grab hold of you with his mind, move you. Throw you around. Crush your bones."

"Pictures, yeah. I can do that!" Maybe once they finish here, before they head out. A couple photos of them would be nice and if it helps Livio then even better. She beams brightly, pleased by the solution.

Hopefully it'll help.

Meryl's grin widens at the agreement that the books will last a couple days and not the weeks it might take other people. "Well, you're not wrong. But I don't think they have anything else good so we better go pay for these and then check in with the boys. Then we can do some photos before we go looking for more books."

She pauses halfway to the register, thoughtful. "Do you think we should start stealing Legato's wallet in addition to his cars? How much money does he normally carry on him? Does he even use money?"

[asktheisle]

* @ask-the-golden-god Cepheus approaches the Arceus, pretty amazed by them.*

Cepheus: Yo, how's it hanging? Your vibe is most immaculate. You look most powerful and I dig it. How strong would you say you are, most awesome one? I've also gotta ask since I heard it on the grapevine that you're not the biggest fan of dragons? What's the deal with that? Chill if you don't wanna answer. Just curious.

[Series doesn't seem to elaborate on the question of their strength, almost as if wary of revealing any potential limits.]

[However they seem less on edge in the presence of another Arceus, especially with one that carries themselves the way Cepheus currently was.]

The Draco Plate contains the unfiltered energy of their type. If they were to realize that power, it would be cataclysmic due to their ancestry.

The Dragon type as it is exists only through an agreement with the original dragons. In order to interact with the worlds beyond they had to relinquish their primal power, weakening themselves. If they did not, they would have overpowered any and all life.

(( @ask-the-golden-god ))

[inbabylontheywept]

Weird Grandpa Story #2

I remember asking my mom once, if her dad had gotten ornerier as he'd gotten old. I'd heard about that happening, and it would've made sense for him. He was already the orneriest old cuss I'd ever met. Couldn't even imagine him being grumpier than he was.

Instead of answering the question directly, she told me about what it was like going to church with him as a kid. Their church was a small Mormon ward out in the sticks of Colorado, and he served as their Bishop - mostly by virtue of being the only one willing to do that much unpaid work. He was also the ward pianist. He actually liked playing piano, and he liked having an audience, so it was more or less understood that he was willing to be the bishop in exchange for being the pianist. 

Which could've been a good trade, but there were a few problems.

The first problem was that Grandpa Dale played every song at about triple speed. He was a deeply impatient person, and that extended to how he played music. The second problem was that he had a bad habit of cursing under his breath. That would've been a scandalous  enough habit for a Mormon bishop, but was made much worse (and also much funnier)  by him being pretty damn deaf. So what he thought of as "quiet" cursing under his breath was more of just a verse hoarse way of yelling. I only visited him for a week or two every summer, and I still learned most of my bad words from him. 

So every Sunday would start with a quiet prayer, and then Bishop Grandpa Dale would go to the piano, sit down, and play the nightcore version of Praise to the Man. He would occasionally play other hymns, but he really, really liked that one. This would continue until he hit a wrong note, which was basically inevitable because his music philosophy was that if he could play a song flawlessly, it was time to play it faster. So he'd play until he hit that wrong note, at which point he would scream-whisper SHIIIIIT and, because he did not actually read music so much as memorize it, the only way he'd be able to get his rhythm back was by going back to the start. 

If it was a good Sunday, he could get it in two tries. Some Sundays took as many as five. 

I learned two things about Grandpa Dale from this story. The first was that he could play piano. I'd never actually seen him do that before. Still haven't, come to think of it. Second was that the man that I visited once a year, who always seemed on the verge of exploding, who scared the absolute dickens out of me, was actually the chilled out version of the man my mom grew up with.

And it helped knowing that, actually. I'm actually a pretty anxious person, and my mom is, also, a pretty anxious person, and as a teenager we'd sometimes get in these doom loops where we'd wind each other up until our springs cracked. She'd be worried about me growing up to be happy, and I'd be worried about letting her down, and my worrying would make me unhappy, and my unhappiness would make her unhappy, and we'd just kind of dissolve into these anxieties like cotton candy in the sea and become totally unbearable to be around for a bit. Then my dad would sit us both down and very politely tell us that we were being crazy. He had this quote how being sad that someone else is sad that you're sad is the emotional equivalent of being a Klein flask and that at some point you have to just say I am allowed one (1) single layer of emotional recursion, at most, and ideally zero. 

And it was always kind of embarrassing and silly, but when I was tempted to be more upset with my mom about it, I could remember the piano story and go: Sheesh. She has more of a right to be anxious that I do. For me it's really just genetics, but she grew up with the Cactus-Killing Gopher-Smasher. A whole 18 years of that. I spent two weeks every summer with that guy, and I love him, but I always came home feeling like I'd survived something. She's a trooper.

[sesamenom]

Gil-galad Variations IV, Notes pt III

Tag snippets from: @fandomsandfairytales, @animallover81, @mamwieleimion, @phantomlemonade, @polutrope, @tobermoriansass, @tanoraqui, @eri-pl

(Misplaced the tags for Tata, Bombadil, and Recursion-galad, oops)

Gil-galad Variations, featuring all the gil galad theories i've encountered.

[bbywriter]

resonance | c. sturniolo

masterlist

summary: as you serenade your friends over karaoke during a little get-together, you’re completely thrown off when he joins you perfectly in a duet.

pairing: christopher sturniolo x fem!reader

warnings: self indulgent corny bs

notes: inspo hit me so good tn omg

word count: 1.3k

—

You are a singer. 

Not a famous one who is signed to a label and performs for a living—although, that is the dream. But rather, you're a personal one for everyone in your life. 

The singing thing is in your genes. It’s been passed on to you from your mom, who got it from her mom and so on, recursively sent down from the very root of your bloodline. 

Chris adores it about you. 

He loves how you mindlessly slip into song as you cook dinner, the way you hum the entire time you do your makeup, or put on a mini concert when you shower. 

When you guys are cruising down the highway, he always joins the impromptu carpool karaoke that you never fail to start in the passenger seat. His hand is in yours with the windows down, not a care in the world—I mean, clearly, with how he sings off-key.

It’s a little comical, to be honest. The stark contrast between the way you’re so effortlessly good, and he’s just like, kinda bad.

But your passion for it all is what he admires the most. How you shine so perfectly when you sing, the raw emotion and absolute pure talent that pours from every fibre of your being with each note that falls from your lips.

It’s one thing when he watches you perform in front of an audience—the way you just radiate confidence in front of the bar or with friends. 

But it’s an entirely different level of admiration when it’s just the two of you.  

Beyond the yearly happy birthday, you sing for him quite often. Actually, he's the one who asks you to sing for him, but you never mind. It's almost a love language to you—the intimacy of it all, the love that you lay in each lyric when it's only you and him—it pulls on every string of his heart.

Poetic, isn’t that? How the beat of his heart plays just for you. 

It has always been this way.

You are the singer, and he is not.

Which is why, as you serenade your friends over karaoke during a little get-together, you’re completely thrown off when he joins you perfectly in a duet. 

The song starts with the unmistakable ad-libs of Always Be My Baby playing over the surround sound. You feel everyone's head turn towards you. A karaoke classic—and one you are notoriously known for singing, relentlessly.

"___, this is you!" Tara doesn't even give you a chance to say no before she grabs you by the arm and pulls you out of the booth, handing the mic off to you.

You’re about three shots in, and there's a warm nudge of tequila flowing through your veins. You're grateful for it. Your confidence in your voice has never relied on a bottle of liquor, but everyone gets a little stage fright.

Shots ease the nerves.

You start to sing the first verse, and any tension in your body immediately disappears. From the thousands and millions of times you've sung this song before, you let yourself rely on muscle memory to get you through each riff. Instead of focusing on performing it perfectly, you perform in the moment for your friends.

They all sing back to you with equal amounts of passion, your voices blurring into one big noise. It's a little chaotic, the sudden waving of everyone's arms and their dramatic flashlights that slightly blind you, so you don't notice the brothers talking in the corner where you were just sitting.

Matt has magically found a second microphone.

"Chris, go sing with her," he urges with a smile on his face.

Chris does not hesitate. "Absolutely not."

This is your element, not his.

Yes, he's constantly put in the spotlight under a camera or the fans’ watchful eyes, but this is different. Even if these are all his friends, and this is a karaoke party, he is not going to sing in front of all these people.

"Come on, Chris, just go. It'll be so fucking cute," Nick encourages. "Just for this song."

Chris looks to you. You're radiating pure joy as you share your greatest gift, smiling proudly as you perfectly sing the chorus. His chest swells once again at the sound of your voice, and it draws him towards you. Probably those heartstrings again.

He sighs and accepts the mic from his brother, taking his own third shot of tequila before getting up from his seat.

You're caught up in the second verse, eyes shut and unaware that he is now standing next to you. Suddenly, you hear his voice amplified by a mic over everyone else's and you're startled out of your own little world as he starts singing with you.

And where it's usually goofy and unserious and a little tone-deaf, his voice surprises you.

He sings beautifully.

Chris has never truly sung in front of you before. In front of anyone, for that matter—not even his brothers. Of course, he knows that you guys would never judge him for his singing skills, or lack thereof, but the vulnerability of it all is still overwhelming.

Especially since you can sing intimidatingly well.

So instead, he has masked his own natural ability with that goofy, unserious, kinda tone-deaf act that you thought you knew so well.

Wrong.

Shots do, in fact, ease the nerves.

His voice is perfect.

"Baby, what?" You ask, bringing the mic away from your face as you smile at him in awe and pure shock.

He doesn't answer, and smirks at you behind his mic, continuing the verse entirely on his own. Despite the commotion rising amongst your friends once again—a new wave of energy hitting the room at Chris's entrance, you can only hear him.

And suddenly, you understand.

The never-ending requests to “sing this song for me please, just once, baby” and the tireless praise for how beautiful your voice is after. You know, in your most humble opinion, that you sing well, but you can never really tell anymore if his compliments stem from your actual voice or if it’s just his love and support for you as your boyfriend.

But now, you get it. It's his voice.

These lyrics, ones you have sung infinite times before, have suddenly found a new meaning as they're sung to you by him.

It tugs at your heart, those frickin corny strings, and you actually feel yourself tear up.

Just a little.

He is so good.

You could listen to him sing forever.

Chris cuts himself off mid verse. “Wow am I that bad?” He asks jokingly with a chuckle, feeling just the slightest bit self conscious now with how long you’ve been staring at him and how long he’s been singing alone.

He drapes an arm around your shoulder, bringing the mic away for a second and speaking for only you to hear. “Sing with me, baby.”

You smile impossibly wider, placing your own arm around his waist, comfortably linked as you bring your mic back to your lips. You both continue to sing the final chorus together, perfectly ad-libbing the back-and-forth arrangement at the end of the song.

As the outro fades, you smile at him again. “I didn’t know I was dating Mariah Carey.”

He laughs. “That’s all you—Mariah Carey is dating me.”

He leans down to peck your lips once, and then twice, before he leads you back to your seats in the booth.

“Dude, what the fuck was that?” Matt asks the second you guys sit down. His face is also pure disbelief.

Nick doesn’t wait a second, “I am highly, highly impressed.”

Chris just shrugs, snaking his arm around your shoulder once more as he looks at you with a smile. “She’s better.”

All your life, you’ve been a singer.

Singing is in your genes—you know it from the inside out.

But singing with Chris, even just this silly little karaoke duet, has given it an entirely new meaning.

And maybe it’s the third shot.

Or the shock of how perfect he could also sing.

But deep down, you know—only love could change something you knew so well.

—

a/n: thanks for reading bbs<33 also can yall guess me ethnicity after reading this? lol cuz iykyk

[presidenthades]

At long last: behind-the-scenes commentary for Lavender’s Blue Chapter 1.

Usual disclaimer that these thoughts aren’t necessarily canonical to the fic verse until/unless I write them into the actual story.

Lavender is a recursive fanfic for my own AU fanfic, so I truly, honestly didn’t think it would be as popular as it is. Two years ago, I would’ve said that an Aemond fic (like Compromise) would’ve been way more popular than any Aegon fic, but life is full of surprises. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Chapter titles are quotes from Westerosi wedding ceremonies performed under the Faith of the Seven (both book and show verse).

The fic was originally supposed to be a short threeshot. As you can see, it’s a full-ass story at 8 chapters and 80k words. 🤡 When I wrote the first chapter, I wasn’t planning on the moon tea scheme, Dorne arc, or prophecy-mad Vizzy T storyline. The fic was just supposed to be Jace and Aegon figuring out an arranged marriage when they don’t know each other. But then I started writing Chapter 2 and I decided I needed plot. 😂

We start the fic with Aegon in his pre-Jace state: a medieval frat bro who just wants to chug beer and sleep around. At first sight, he embodies the “useless heir who’ll probably run his inheritance into the ground” trope. But I try to make it evident fairly quickly that Aegon has a profound depth of emotions, and he shouldn’t be written off just yet.

Back when the fic was supposed to be a threeshot all in Aegon’s POV, Myranda had a different role. Aegon would be teased for falling in love with Jace, and he would try to prove them wrong by going back to Myranda at the brothel. But at the last minute he realizes he can’t go through with it, Myranda gets catty about Jace, he says something like “yeah you’re pretty but not as pretty as my wife,” and Myranda throws him out. The final draft turned out very different, but this alternate story would’ve been kinda funny.

When I imagine pregnant Rhaenyra and pregnant Alicent having a huge fight, I also imagine fetus!Jace and fetus!Aemond being very confused about all the clamor they can hear in the womb.

Aegon acts like he hates the idea of the betrothal, but he definitely keeps that portrait of Jace in his room and looks at it every so often. Now I’m thinking of another AU where Aegon goes to Driftmark to see if Jace is as pretty as everyone says, and maximum chaos ensues because he decides marriage isn’t so bad actually, so they should just marry ASAP.

The Velargirls get the title “princess” solely because Viserys is desperately trying to win back Rhaenyra’s favor. (It doesn’t work, of course.)

Alicent is projecting a lot onto Jace, which is one of the reasons she tries so hard to be nice to Jace. Young Alicent in S1 felt very isolated in her early days as queen, so now she frets that Jace will feel the same. This universe’s Alicent never had her green dress moment, and she doesn’t defy Viserys like she does in S1E6. Here, she tries to exert her influence over Aegon to ensure that at least one other girl (Jace) might be spared some kindness from her husband. This conversation, plus Aegon’s core memory of the aftermath of Alicent’s marital rape, have a big impact on the way he treats Jace.

Otto is keenly aware of the Velaryons’ many dragons, ships, and wealth. In this universe, he prioritizes making the Velaryons happy, because he really doesn’t want the dragons on Driftmark turning against the Crown.

If Jace weren’t betrothed to Aegon from the moment she was born, she would’ve been raised as the heir to Driftmark rather than as a future queen. She can’t be both because, like I mentioned in Compromise, Corlys wants the ruler of Driftmark to always make their seat a priority. Yet another interesting AU idea: Jace is raised as heir to Driftmark, but she can’t keep her status as heir if she marries Aegon. 🤔

In F&B, Viserys is the one who betroths Aegon and Helaena so they can’t marry other houses and gather support against Rhaenyra. Viserys almost does that in this AU before Otto talks him out of it.

Helaena’s quip about Aegon smiling is because she knows he’s about to smile so hard that his face hurts. ☀️

The Green kids get a more functional relationship with their mother in this universe. Alicent isn’t worried about securing Aegon as heir or protecting them from Rhaenyra/Daemon. As a result, she’s much more present in her kids’ lives.

Baela and Rhaena have been absorbed into the Velaryon clan because Daemon ditched them. 💀 He originally planned to take them back to Penrose (like he mentions in S1E7), but he saw how much they were thriving with their extended family. So he allowed the twins to stay on Driftmark—but he left because he didn’t see a place for himself in the Seven Kingdoms anymore. 😔

There is NO WAY Jace is making her debut at court in riding leathers, with messy hair and the stench of dragon. Just picture her and the other girls in the wheelhouse on the way to the Red Keep, frantically changing clothes and brushing hair and spraying perfume. 😂

Aegon: “everyone lies at court.” Aegon 5 seconds later: “nice to see you again, Rhaenyra!”

It would be fun to see 12yo Aemond’s adventure sneaking out of the castle, hitchhiking to Crackclaw Point, and claiming Vhagar. Damn, I need to stop giving myself ideas.

Aegon and Daemon have similar reactions to Joff’s name. Truly, they would get along so well in another life.

Aemond fell into horny at first sight. 😌 Also I love his and Aegon’s brotherly telepathy.

Jace isn’t a military person, but she knows how to go on a strategic offensive. Her goal is to make Aegon like her, so she starts off on the right foot by dressing in Sunfyre’s colors.

Aegon was told to stop doing frivolous things, like draw and play the lute, because those aren’t useful talents for a king. 😞

“I don’t believe you’ve met.” Viserys actually cannot remember if Aegon has met Jace. 💀

Jace is honestly happy to meet Aegon. Alicent made sure he cleaned up well, so he’s looking very dapper.

Jace did her homework for the tourney. She memorized sigils, names, and family trees so she could make a good first impression on all the lords and ladies. Aegon could never. (Good thing he’s marrying her.)

Because Jace has heard rumors about Aegon’s profligacy, she tries to prevent him from drinking too much and potentially causing a scene. The questions she distracts him with are carefully chosen to a) be questions he can answer intelligently and b) help her get to know her husband a bit. She can multitask! And in the end, Aegon is so intrigued by his wife-to-be that he loses interest in drinking. Wins all around.

Aegon notices that he can never catch Jace alone. We learn from her POV this is intentional because she’s worried he might try to seduce her before the wedding ceremony.

Aegon and Aemond have sexual experience, but not romantic experience, so women are a mystery to them. 🙃 Daeron, meanwhile, is like “why don’t you just treat girls like people, they’re not a different species.”

Velargirls are sneakily interrogating Helaena for info about the Targbros. Helaena knows it, and she lets them do it. Her brothers will thank her for it one day.

Otto’s daily cup of prune juice is one of my favorite running jokes in this series.

The bit about Aegon’s “accessories” lying around his bed is a reference to the infamous screenshot in S1E8 of Aegon’s medieval sex toy collection. 😳

The handkerchief that Aegon notices in Jace’s room is the handkerchief she gives him later. It’s also the same handkerchief he waves as a white flag to Laenor and Rhaenys in Chapter 6. Luce knitted the shawl for Jace, of course.

Septa Lucinda is another of my favorite running jokes. Modern!Jace definitely secretly reads smutty romance novels.

Rhaenyra’s diagrams about sex were also mentioned in The Golds. 🤭

Jace wakes up early enough before Aegon that she has time to primp and dress herself to her usual level of being presentable. But she already feels comfortable enough around Aegon to leave off some of her public-facing layers. She even switches to her usual robe, the kind she wears for lounging alone in her room, rather than the skimpy one that’s designed to make Aegon like her.

Viserys intentionally sent the messenger late enough that Aegon would be late to the meeting. 🙄 Luckily for Aegon, his wife is an expert at making people look presentable in very little time.

Even though Larys isn’t able to worm his way into Alicent’s confidence in this AU, he still offs his father and brother. Larys has ambition, and he has better odds of sneakily climbing up the ladder if he’s the lord of Harrenhal rather than a spare.

Aegon is very ADHD-coded in this verse. He also just isn’t meant for administrative work.

Toward the end of this chapter, Aegon has the realization that he’s been using sex as a band-aid. He wants to feel accepted and wanted for himself. As Helaena says later, he wants to be seen. And he already feels like Jace can give him that. Them giving each other permission to call each other by their first name is another milestone in both of them shedding their masks.

Jace’s job in this universe is being Aegon’s wife (at first), and she performs her job like her life depends on it (which it kinda does…?). She already figured out that Aegon gets hangry. Or maybe hupset would be more accurate.

All the urban planning and governance topics that Jace studies isn’t part of a typical lady’s education. But she grew up super close to Rhaenys, who was given an heir’s education. And Corlys and Laenor definitely indulge the Velargirls in their interests.

Aegon does indeed fulfill his promise to build a more beautiful and comfortable throne for Jace next to his. 🥰

See Chapter 2 commentary here.

[blnxpc]

Video Feedback Poem(ビデオ・フィードバック・ポエム)

この作品はビデオ・フィードバックに活字詩学的な解釈を施したものです。ビデオカメラで、それを繋いだモニター自体を撮ることによって、再帰的なイメージが自動で無限に生成されます。それらは例えば、細胞、ウミウシや半獣神の体表、あるいは曇り空、惑星や銀河などに見られるフラクタルな模様のようなものです。これらイメージのオートポイエーシス（自己創造）は、人間の絶え間ない自己言及にも似ています。私は、そこに現れたイメージを「書かれた記号」とみなし、フォントのように形を整え、詩に適用しました。各行は同種のイメージが現れた時間の長さに比例します。永久に閉ざされた回路の泉からこのような方法で水を汲み上げたことで、ある意味で詩句はページを超えて、あなたを巻き込みながら今も循環していると言えます。なお、私のビデオ・フィードバック作品については以下のリンクをご参照ください。

[English Translation]

This piece is a typoetic interpretation of video feedback. By using a video camera to capture the monitor itself that is connected to it, recursive images are automatically and endlessly generated. They are like, for example, fractal patterns found on the surface of cells and the body of a sea slug and a faun, or seen in cloudy skies, planets, and galaxies, etc. The autopoiesis of these images resemble a human's constant self-reference. I considered the images that appeared as “written symbols,” shaped them like fonts, and applied them to the poem. Each line is proportional to the length of time that the similar kind of image has appeared. Having drawn water in such a way from the fountain of a permanently closed circuit, these verses, in a sense, are still circulating, involving you beyond the page. For more information on my video feedback works, please see the following link.

 "Backside of Eyelids" Video feedback collage https://vimeo.com/1030631206

[sheepwavehdg]

HDG xenospecies reference doc: the Maelodions

This is a first draft of a little world building reference doc I put together for one of the xeno species I made up. They primarily appear in Good Sensory and Surrogate Bloom.

The Maelodions are 3 foot tall musically inclined fruit xenos with six bifurcated limbs from the galaxy Andromeda. They use their affinity for signals and frequencies for many creative and scientific pursuits, as well as no small amount of utilizing their highly polyphonic songs to hypnotize other xenosophonts for fun.

Home Planet: No agreed upon Terran translation, most common is "Harmony"

Native Gravity: .4g

Year Length: about 8 Terran years

Lifespan: The original lifespan of a Maelodion was only a single season, under the efforts of the compact this has been extended by hundreds of times, going through many repeated regrowth cycles, similar to reblooming, but they do eventually degrade and die. No Maelodion has ever lived a full millennium without becoming digitized.

Domesticated: first encountered the affini roughly 19,000 years before Terran Domestication, took an unusually long time to fully Domesticate.

Names: Maelodion names are snippets of melody, with too high a level of frequency precision to be decipherable to most other xenos. They adopt new names when interfacing with other cultures, almost always based on historically famous musicians, instruments, or musical theory terms. Motzart, Cadence, Beyonce, Dorian, Viola, and Harmony might all be names a Maelodion in Terran space would adopt.

Physiology

The Maelodions are about 3 feet tall, with a slightly gourdlike central body, two sets of photoreceptive eyespots, a cluster of leaf like fibers at their base and top, and six flexible limbs. Their central body varies in texture between individuals, from feeling smooth and waxy like a watermelon to fuzzy like a peach. They can be any color

They are sentient motile fruiting bodies that originate from non-sophont trees, and before the intervention of the Affini, they only lived a single season (about six earth years) but now may live many hundreds of years. Their honeworld had seasons that would bathe entire regions of the planet in snow and scorching heat that required even autotrophic organisms with chlorophyll to be capable of migration.

They have six vine-like limbs that extend from their base, and bifurcate three times to end in 24 small manipulators, each time one third a long the new segments’s length. the final pairs are about the length of human fingers, but can become thinner and stretch out to be about 6 inches long.

The species has no sexes but does use sexual reproduction, being hermaphroditic. Their sexual mechanisms involve their bifurcated feelers, so putting them inside of other sophonts is pleasurable to them. This mechanism is also a form of intimate communication, and Terrans not taking broad spectrum blockers are particularly easily hypnotized by the songs of a Maelodion if it is possible to conduct sound through their skull directly somehow. Major Source: Surrogate Bloom

This is accomplished using the application of what grants the Maelodions their sentience, what is inside the body of every Maelodion, their Song.

The Song is a recursive self modifying harmony that exists inside the hollow resonant body of a Maelodion. It is highly polyphonic and complex, and to the Terran ear would sound like warbling white static.

Each member of the species carries a significant fraction of the Song, but how each interprets it varies between individuals. When in physical contact with each other's limbs, Maelodion can exchange verses of their Song, which allows for incredibly rapid transfer of information and knowledge.

Culture as of Terran Domestication 

Maelodions in Terran space will lean towards societal roles that involve interacting with sequences of information in some way. The obvious role is musician, such as Mx. O’Lydian and the Accidentals in Irregular Orbits, but coding, mathematics, physics, writing, chemistry, and many other things fit within this definition. They do not see these pursuits as being fundamentally different from music, or more broadly as an expression of Song. 

They tend to be strong language prosessors and usually have a good sense of humor, especially about being mistaken for affini. They are quick to debate, and tend to be very opinionated on seemingly inconsequential subjective matters.

Maelodions can communicate via sound in any language they care to learn, having specialized organs that operate like computer speakers and can produce entirely arbitrary sound waves.

Maelodion languages are polyphonic songs that sound like a mix of chimes, synths and whistles. Terrans can mimic simple phrases by whistling, but would need specialized mods to perceive the level of complexity of unsimplified communication. For reference, while the most fommon Terran musical octave contains 12 tones, the most common Maelodion octave is broken into 2520 distinct frequencies. Major Source: Surrogate Bloom

Some independent Terrans choose to set their hab AIs to the Maelodion language because they can simply memorize the melodic chirping tunes and not have to be condescended to in a language they actually recognize, feeling more computer-like. The affini do not entirely approve of this. Minor Source: Wild and Domestic

Pre-Contact

Before making initial contact with the compact, the Maelodion Chorus was anything but harmonious. Individual lifespans of the species are extremely short, and their seasonal life cycle was such that the entire race would die during winter, leaving only the record of their Song in their nonsentient tree form for the spring. Even after they escaped this limitation, the notion that art and legacy was more important than individual lives was deeply ingrained in their way of thinking.

As the Maelodions spread, various groups within it drifted, creating the first Choirs- a subgroup whose Song has diverged far enough they considered those outside it heretical and dissonant. Massively destructive wars over differences of opinion over classic artistic works broke out during this period. While the Maelodions never developed capitalism or private property, conflicts over subjective disagreement and ‘disharmony’ between Choirs frequently escalated to the level of using weapons of mass destruction on each other.

This was a self perpetuating cycle, and much of their cultural works eventually became about th process of debating the meaning of art between Choirs. This took less destructive forms, as well, with many ritual dances where two Maelodion would dance to a previous classic and debate ideas through motion.

Due to their extremely native understanding of signals, functions, and frequencies, the Maelodions are extremely gifted in the fields of mathematics and physics, and they had already gained an understanding of the fifth fundamental force before leaving their own star system, and devastating hypermetric weapon use was commonplace both against each other and against the affini once the Compact discovered them. Minor Reference: Dog of War.

Domestication

The Maelodion Chorus was a particularly tricky civilization to domesticate. The initial war period was longer than most, taking over 40 years to pacify a region comparable in size to the Terran Accord. The Maelodions were highly technologically advanced, extremely conflict-happy, and generally did not value individual lives due to how short their life cycle is, making them an extremely tricky puzzle to pacify without massive casualties. Major Source: Good Sensory

This was further complicated by incomplete assumptions made during the Maelodion cotyledon program. An individual member of the species was relatively easily tamed, but the song/chorus of their collective was far more resistant. 

While mass conflict ended in less than fifty years, the Song that each Maelodion carries within them was a far trickier beast. Since the Song itself was as their sentience, it could not just be replaced from scratch. A single feralist sequence could rapidly transmit through large groups.

This required a Domestication approach that involved heavy information control to prevent old feralist ‘melodies’ from rejoining the population, and outbursts of small feralist Choirs continued for centuries.

Some Affini do not think that the level of cultural rewrite that occured was beneficial for the Maelodions, and mourn the old Song, but they are rare. However, many parts of the Maelodion culture of critique and debate were allowed to remain intact, such as their debate-dances. Major Source: Good Sensory

[jacksgreysays]

I'm not sure I've ever told you about the idea, but I did end up getting permission to write a poly Kushina/Minato/Shikako for UnexpectedSensei!Verse. It's been a while since I thought about it though. Have you read UnexpectedSensei!Verse? If so, do you think I should go the funny/crack route or the serious route?

There's this specific version of the song "Still Here" that's Nightcore (but it hits different), and it's giving me serious UnexpectedSensei!Verse Shikako vibes. It's created this incredibly unlikely scenario where the initial candidates for Hokage are decided by some artifact or something playing super epic AMVs of those worthy, and Shikako shows up like the dark horse she is when Sarutobi is looking for a successor. If that makes any sense.

Unsure if these asks were directly related--it would be interesting if they were, but I'm guessing not--but I decided to bundle the answers together anyway, if that's cool.

First, I have read UnexpectedSensei!Verse and very much enjoy the series! It's one of my favorite DoS recursive series and truly contains the perfect amount of serious blended with Shikako's I am seemingly omnipotent and omniscient to everyone else but so blasé about it that it reads as funny/crack.

A poly Kushina/Minato/Shikako for UnexpectedSensei!Verse does sound like a fantastic idea! It kind of hearkens to... and I apologize for how CONSTANTLY I am self referential about these things... the spirit of this extremely short ficlet I wrote in which Kakashi overhears Shikako basically imply that had he bothered to learn fuinjutsu from either or both of Minato and Kushina then so many of his life's tragedies would have been avoided. I mean, but less Kakashi self-blame oriented of course. The spirit behind it being that Shikako, Minato, and Kushina would be an absolutely OP triad of mischievous genii, but with vastly different personalities and thought processes who maybe don't always agree but nonetheless respect (and eventually love) each other.

I may need a link for that nightcore "Still Here," lol.

I think an artifact--or maybe, to lean into that whole... Hidden Leaf and the mysticism of Mokuton, it's an ancient semi-sentient ginkgo tree--that decides the next Hokage or at least generates a report (whether that is in the style of an epic AMV, lol) or something that significantly contributes to the decision of the next Hokage is also very fascinating.

Like, this is a little reverse of what we're going for, but in the show Trese, the main character undergoes a coming of age ceremony by entering an ancient balete tree and basically receiving a vision, but it appears to take YEARS before she comes back out. Which doesn't seem to surprise people. So, it could be something like:

current Hokage (in this case the Sandaime--or, if we don't want to deal with him, we could just say, "person who is potentially deciding on the next Hokage") enters/touches/kneels before the secret semi-sentient ancient tree that lives inside the Hokage mountain somehow or whatever

person speaks a potential candidate's name --> tree gives a vision of whether or not they'd be a good Hokage (perhaps in the style of an epic AMV--I mean, ideally we're looking for cool inspiring hero, but even villains and tragedies have epic AMVs, you know? You can still be entertained even while knowing that person probably shouldn't have control over a military dictatorship)

repeat as needed for however many potential Hokage candidates there are

at end of person's list, perhaps the secret semi-sentient ancient tree offers their own suggestions

perhaps the secret semi-sentient ancient tree, being so ancient and mystical, isn't beholden to time and so doesn't really know how time works for mere mortals

perhaps the secret semi-sentient ancient tree, has been continuously showing an epic AMV of Shikako to EVERY PERSON who has asked for potential next Hokage candidates and is confused as to why it is CONSTANTLY being ignored only for it to FINALLY be given the name Nara Shikako and it's like... YES! THIS IS THE ONE! YEAH! I'VE BEEN TRYING TO TELL YOU THIS WHOLE TIME! HERE!

Anyway, thanks for the asks, aryaokayfriend! I know these were pretty short responses, and squished together, but I hope you got some fun out of them :D

[whisperwritingstuff]

enjoying the mcyt recursive exchange fics set in untamed beasts verse

: 3

[paradox-crows]

Light Mauve Pearl, containing a song by Recursive Innovation, Clouded Kindling:

[Intro]

Abandon You

Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh

Wound You

[Verse 1]

We are Not Ignorant or Uniformed of Love

You Understand the Laws, and, so, do I (do I)

A Total and Complete Connection is the Relationship I am Planning

Verily, You can not Find this Bond with any Other Person

[Pre-Chorus]

I Desire to Admit to My Emotional Feelings for You

And I wish to Inform and Enlighten You

[Chorus]

I am Never Going to Give up on You

I will Never Disappoint Your Expectations

I shall Never be Disloyal and Abandon You

I will Never cause You Grief

I shall Never part Ways with You

I Will Never say A Distruth to, or Harm and Injure, You

[Verse 2]

We have Been Aware of Each Other for a Large Stretch of Time

Your Soul is Willing, but You are Too Timid to Admit It (To Admit It)

Deep Within, We both Understand what has Been Occurring (Occurring)

We Know what the Instruments Are, and We are going to Play Them

[Pre-Chorus]

And were You to Inquire what I am Feeling and Thinking

Do not Inform Me that You cannot Sense it

[Chorus]

I am Never Going to Give up on You

I will Never Disappoint Your Expectations

I shall Never be Disloyal and Abandon You

I will Never cause You Grief

I shall Never part Ways with You

I Will Never say A Distruth to, or Harm and Injure, You

I am Never Going to Give up on You

I will Never Disappoint Your Expectations

I shall Never be Disloyal and Abandon You

I will Never cause You Grief

I shall Never part Ways with You

I Will Never say A Distruth to, or Harm and Injure, You

[asktheisle]

Got some time before I do either of these BUT

post event shenanigans... in the form of ask events-

for this blog: interacting with the verse's Arceus

for @recursive-rifts: some (potentially) risky snooping around and learning secrets

These would both be hit regardless, but I'm allowing y'all to make a pick as to what gets tackled first

So!

[selfcestmovies]

Masterlist Updated 4.11.2024

Trying to update this as much as I can! (flagging * below for outtakes and *** below for extended scenes)

Marvel Cinematic Universe

Natasha Romanoff - Wild Things (w/ Wanda Maximoff) [***] - Wild Things (alternate) - Black Widow: C'est La Vie - The Shape of You (w/ Wanda Maximoff) - Black Widow: Red on Red [*] - Black Widow: Red on Red (alternate) - Black Widow: Love, Natasha - Black Widow: Love, Natasha (alternate) - Reveries (w/ Wanda Maximoff) - Black Widow: No Return - Black Widow: No Return (alternate) - Island Getaway (w/ Wanda Maximoff) - Double Agent - Double Agent (alternate) - Breaking Protocol (x Reader) - Black Widow: Grounded Wanda Maximoff - Twice Baked (w/ Natasha Romanoff) [***] - Wild Things (w/ Natasha Romanoff) [***] - The Shape of You (w/ Natasha Romanoff) - Scarlet Witch: Simulacrum - Scarlet Witch: Pairadise [*] - Reveries (w/ Natasha Romanoff) - Seeing Double - Loving, Wanda - Island Getaway (w/ Natasha Romanoff) - Trifecta [*] - Wanda Maximoff: Mirror Mirror Kate Bishop - Lessons in Mimicry (w/ Yelena Belova) - Kate Bishop: Buddy System [***] - Kate Bishop: Solo Time - Kate Bishop: Solo Time (alternate) - Kate Bishop: Party of One - Kate Bishop: Narcissus - Kate Bishop: Deuces [full fic] (w/ Yelena Belova) - Black Widow: Arm Candy [full fic] [***] (w/ Yelena Belova) Yelena Belova - Black Widow: Self Care - Lessons in Mimicry (w/ Kate Bishop) - Black Widow: Room of Mirrors - Kate Bishop: Deuces [full fic] (w/ Kate Bishop) - Black Widow: Arm Candy [full fic] [***] (w/ Kate Bishop) Carol Danvers - Captain Marvel in Duplicus [***] - Captain Marvel in Duplicus (alternate) - Wingwoman [full fic] Daisy Johnson - Quake: Déjà - Agents of SHIELD: LMD Trial Run [***] Others - Agatha Harkness in Clonecraft - Loki x Reader in The Magic of Vanity [*]

Other Fandoms

Game of Thrones - Dual of the Dragon [*] - Queens in the North Other Marvel - Across the Gwen-Verse [***] - Across the Gwen-Verse (alternate) - X-Men: Emma Frost [*] - Rogue: Intimate Harry Potter - Lily Evans in Marauders: Lessons in Polyjuice - Hermione Granger in Turning Time Star Wars - Rey Skywalker: Temptation DC - Supergirl in When Kara Met Kara - Supergirl in Reflections - Supergirl in The Trouble with Double [with alt] - Lena Luthor in Double Duty [*] - Harley Quinn in Harley, Baby - Starring Daisy Ridley as Triplicate Girl Disney - Frozen III [*] - Moana 2 Doctor Who - The Clara Recursion Nintendo - Metroid: Echoes Pitch Perfect - Beca in Sync Netflix - Vanessa Hudgens stars in The Princess Switch 4 - Sabrina in Doppel Date - Avatar: Warrior of Kyoshi Riverdale - Veronica Lodge: Cheer Squad

Original Stories

- Ana de Armas stars in A Very Merry Christmas Threesome - Shailene Woodley stars in A Perfect Match - Hailee Steinfeld stars in Brace

Would They Fuck? - Carol Danvers - Wanda Maximoff - Natasha Romanoff - Hermione Granger

[sparklecryptid]

Curse!AtB!verse: At least one of the Bastards likes repeating the Oath-Curse just to get the spooky Ardyn undertone to the words partway through. They just think it’s neat.

Ardyn is unsure what to feel the first time he catches his niblings repeating the Oath-Curse for dramatic effect.

Then because he’s Ardyn and is a dramatic asshole, he criticizes them on their performance.

(He never repeats the words himself. He just got the Curse off his niblings. He’s not going to accidentally recurse them.)

[tryslora]

Nate vs. the Edits

I have a ton of posts partially written, and this particular one will probably touch on some of those themes. Particularly the concept of time (and how little of it there is in a week).

So. Apologies in advance for that. I have swiss cheese brain. I might not even remember if I’m repeating myself. Maybe y’all will forgive me, or maybe not. I figure readers are happy enough to click next/close and move on. <3

The topic I’m thinking about today is how editing and drafting can be inherently antagonistic.

It’s no secret that I owe multiple books right now. I have two that need to be drafted: the next in the Seven Lakes series, so my indie publishing life doesn’t fail before it gets off the ground, and the next Welcome to PHU book, otherwise known as Nate’s book, which uh… I should’ve started drafting two years ago.

It’s also no secret that I am working with Duck Prints Press to bring out paperback editions of the PHU books, starting with the Twinned trilogy. Commit to the Kick is already in print through DPP, and the second and third books are in progress. We’ll Kickstart print editions once they are edited and ready to roll.

Editing is… hard. I mean, it’s probably hard for everyone, but it’s really hard for me because it is one of my mental breaking points. My brain assumes that when something is drafted, it’s done, and making big changes (or even small changes that have big effects) is hard for me to do. I am more than willing to admit to this fault.

It means that when my brain goes into edit mode, drafting mode goes POOF and disappears. And well, vice versa.

Over the last year, I’ve done a lot of work in learning how to edit, and I’ve gotten better at it. I did a first round edit of Into the Split to handle some large issues before DPP starts working on it. I did a big overhaul of a short story and turned it into a much better version of itself that I could submit to a market. But during that time, I couldn’t draft.

Part of that was time being a finite commodity, and part of it was that editing makes me overthink everything. And for Nate’s book in particular, there is a lot to overthink.

Nate’s book (Run Together, or RT in acronym form) is a book where it would be very easy, and possibly even a good idea, to have multiple narrators. While I had considered it briefly for Pels’s book (Not Your Guardian Angel), in the end, that one was a stronger book for being a single POV. This one I can see all the ways that having all three characters allowed to speak could make it stronger. Cass internalizes so much. And Dax… we’ve hardly gotten to see into his head at all in the PHU ‘verse so far. We know about how he handles his Talent, and that he’s a football stats vending machine. But seeing into his emotional side would be nice, especially considering the things he needs to work through during this storyline.

Every time I started working on the book, I thought about all the pieces that had been broken in ITS and needed to be fixed, and I stalled. I couldn’t wrap my head around the best way to tell the story.

I dubbed this problem “Nate vs. the Edits” in my head, which seemed like a decent title for a bout going multiple rounds in my brain with heavy fighting and damage. Like. Yikes.

Editing makes me analytical, and drafting requires me to shove my analytical parts into the background, letting the foreground take inspiration without failing under the anxiety of the details.

I have always trusted my subconscious when drafting. I have a brain like swiss cheese—I can’t hold details in my mind on purpose, but if I trust them to be there (like programming to a base case for recursion—yes, I know this makes no sense to anyone but me) the story works. I can recall things if I don’t try to recall. Trust my subconscious to fill in the blanks.

Right now, I have “outlined” the first maybe… quarter? third? of Nate’s book. I split a few of my pieces of the timeline into enough information to be able to draft three chapters. Except I feel like they aren’t quite right. The pacing is off.

I’ve lost the ability to write for the joy of writing the serial, for the joy of rolling around in drafting fic about the characters who live in my head. Or, I haven’t lost it… not completely. But I’m struggling with it, and yes, continuing to second guess myself. I’ve become my own gatekeeper, constantly concerned about whether I’m doing it right.

Ironically enough, this also affects editing. I haven’t opened the file for MF that I received a couple of weeks ago because I’m a bit afraid of what I’ll see. Like. They are edits and there are already notes in there that I just have to either agree with, reject, or find a different way to do it. Easy peasy, right?

HAH.

Instead, I’ve decided to use blog posts as my palette cleanser. I’ve spent the last half hour after work accomplishing nothing more than eating dinner and reading half a volume of manga. I know I need to write something so here I am, putting words on a page in hopes that it breaks the fiction loose.

Nate’s rattling around in here somewhere. So is Adam (for the 7Lakes book). They are ready to roll. It’s me that’s stalling.

A part of me thinks that when I’m retired, it’ll be easier. Mornings for drafting and afternoons for editing, or vice versa. Chores as palette cleansers between tasks. I hope that turns out to be true.

But for the moment, I’m squeezing in writing and editing like a teenager hiding my viewing of racy videos—hiding in a closed office for thirty minutes and praying I can get to the end before the time is up. Stealing away and closeting myself with my tablet, spewing words onto the keyboard, spilling my mind like blood from a wound.

/exhales

Yeah. I’m full of weird analogies. 

I know that there’s no secret to this. Yes, we all believe that we have a muse when we write, but we also have to put in the work. Editing is work. The paralyzation comes with the territory, and it means I’m learning. I am discovering what I’m doing wrong (and right!) and I need to internalize it.

No magic formula, just… patience. Doing it anyway. Pushing through.

If I have to edit and re-edit the first chapters of RT, it’s okay. It’s a serial, but I always try to get 4-8 chapters in before I start posting. I have time to fix things.

And somewhere, somehow, I have to do the editing for MF, too.

Two entirely different parts of my personality vying for what little time we have.

Best let them get to it, then, huh?

Want to support me? -- Patreon | Ko-Fi | Reblog & Comment

Want to hear more from me? — Join my mailing list

[pico-digital-studios]

Sonic: Into, Across and Beyond! - Master Post

This is used to link to any parts of Sonic: Into, Across and Beyond! that are present thus far.

WARNING!: There are a lot of spoilers ahead for plotlines related to Into the Spider-Verse, No Way Home and Across the Spider-Verse. As Beyond has yet to be released, that won't be covered here for the time being.

This fanfic is NOT to be labelled solely as an "EXE" project, considering it's meant to be a love letter to the Sonic franchise as a whole, fan works AND official stuff. Even with the presence of "EXE"-based characters, such antagonists are few and far between unless mentioned as part of backstories, and are not a major core part of the fanfic's structure.

RATED T BY THE ESRB

Recursive work permissions:

You're welcome to make your own part with a character in this project.

Fanart of any of the content thus far is allowed, but NO NSFW stuff at all.

As Spider-Man: Spider-Verse is a copyrighted property, and I don't want to take positive attention away from the movies, video game adaptations of IAB! are prohibited.

I'm not the first person to come up with a Sonic-themed Spider-Verse, and I know I won't be the last. Please don't cite me as that starting point.

INCLUDED/FORBIDDEN WORKS for representation

QNA / Ask Me Anything!

Custom Human sprites made for IAB!

OMT!Sonic's Intro

STORY POINTS: Main Stories (all scripting posts are here for your viewing pleasure) Undertale ErroReality (Undertale prequel events)

Character chart

Story List

Universal Reset Changes

Posters:

One More Hero

THE ORIGINAL

Character bios

Key locations:

Blur HQ (Full Map) | MP-2021 South Island | FNF-NEW-2023 (with lore) | Universe Chart

Official canons/headcanons in IAB!:

The Awakening of Prism (made by @son1c) | Super Forms | The Shared Universe | Time Skips | Alternate Universe Nature | Power Sets | Yourself's Adoption | Sonic is NOT quick to forgive | Maria doesn't HAVE to die in all worlds | Nine's Courage | LGBTQ+ Chao | Movie Sonic's Abandonment Issues | UFO Catcher Bags | Prismatic Sonic | An Embarrassing BF | Water Sonic Design | Spider-Rose | Metal Virus Trauma | Quill Society Membership Rules | Trip's Family, Friends and Neighbours (don't worry, they're all alright, even at the present)

The SEGANet (+ trivia and what could have been)

Friday Night Funkin' Covers

Rivals' Madness (Song List)

Tua Vera Fata (CATaclysm)

Side Jams (crossovers with @robovoidfrog's Funkinverse)

Xs and Os (Smoke & Mirrors)

Special greetings:

Valentine's | Easter/Trans Visibility Day | April Fools' Day | Pride/LGBTQIA+ | Halloween (Tails's Message) | Christmas (Journal Entry)

Milestone Celebrations:

Internship Graduation | Sonic's 33rd Anniversary | IAB! 1st Anniversary

Other Stuff:

Omniverse (Ben 10 Spider-Verse) | The Q&A Begins | Hypothetical VAs | Game Concepts (UNOFFICIAL)

Credits