#For Better or Worse Part 2

[hinamie]

playing around w slightly different hair renders

[bunnieswithknives]

OH MY GOD??? HAS IT SERIOUSLY BEEN A MONTH????? I am so sorry guys

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[englishsub]

book rec by me

so you want to get back into reading books but have no idea where to start and disdain booktok (if you get me started on this however i will become an unskippable cutscene so that's for another day). understandable. there is so much out there and it is all so overwhelming and you don't even know what you like now that you've been a decade out of the game. again, understandable. it does not have to be scary. i will help you. below i have created some categories that can get you started.

i want to read Literature

literary fiction, with crossover from historical fiction and magical realism

PEACH BLOSSOM SPRING by melissa fu

THE VASTER WILDS by lauren groff

THE FAMILY CHAO by lan samantha chang

OUTER DARK by cormac mccarthy

SEVERANCE by ling ma

LIGHT FROM UNCOMMON STARS by ryka aoki

IDENTITTI by mithu m. sanyal

PIRANESI by susanna clarke

i want to read sci-fi/fantasy that won't break my brain

sci-fi and fantasy that is gentler on the brain cells. easier to grasp magic systems with multiple but not an overwhelming number of overlapping plotlines

EMILY WILDE'S ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF FAERIES by heather fawcett

KINGS OF THE WYLD by nicholas eames

THE JASMINE THRONE by tasha suri

THE CITY OF BRASS by s.a. chakraborty

A RIVER ENCHANTED by rebecca ross

JUNIPER AND THORN by ava reid

BLACK SUN by rebecca roanhorse

THE FINAL STRIFE by saara el-arifi

THE BONE SHARD DAUGHTER by andrea stewart

i want to read sci-fi/fantasy that forces me to lock the fuck in

i would not recommend picking these up as your first foray back into books after many years of not reading recreationally, but i'm not your mom.

THE SPEAR CUTS THROUGH WATER by simon jimenez

JADE CITY by fonda lee

THE FIFTH SEASON by n.k. jemisin

THE RAGE OF DRAGONS by evan winter

A MEMORY CALLED EMPIRE by arkady martine

GIDEON THE NINTH by tamsyn muir

THE ART OF PROPHECY by wesley chu

THE GRACE OF KINGS by ken liu

horrify me!

there is far more to the horror literary canon than stephen king and dean koontz, i promise. consider looking up warnings for these.

TENDER IS THE FLESH by agustina bazterrica

THE RUINS by scott smith

CONFESSIONS by kanae minato

EPISODE THIRTEEN by craig dilouie

REPRIEVE by james han mattson

MARY by nat cassidy

DEAD SILENCE by s.a. barnes

AUDITION by ryu murakami

THE SALT GROWS HEAVY by cassandra khaw

don't care, i want romance

some of these feature crossover genres, like fantasy and horror.

VAMPIRES OF EL NORTE by isabel cañas

DAUGHTER OF THE MOON GODDESS by sue lynn tan

SEVEN DAYS IN JUNE by tia williams

HAPPY PLACE by emily henry

ONE DARK WINDOW by rachel gillig

i want QUEER romance

again, a mix of historical, fantasy, and contemporary crossover genres.

WE COULD BE SO GOOD by cat sebastian

IN MEMORIAM by alice winn

MOST ARDENTLY by gabe cole novoa

A STRANGE AND STUBBORN ENDURANCE by foz meadows

A MARVELLOUS LIGHT by freya marske

THE EMPEROR AND THE ENDLESS PALACE by justinian huang

SPELL BOUND by f.t. lukens

SORRY, BRO by taleen voskuni

ONE LAST STOP by casey mcquiston

DELILAH GREEN DOESN'T CARE by ashley herring blake

i haven't felt anything since i read percy jackson/the hunger games in middle school/high school

adventure is still out there.

SCYTHE by neil shusterman

WE HUNT THE FLAME by hafsah faizal

SIX OF CROWS by leigh bardugo

GEARBREAKERS by zoe hana mikuta

i'll read anything that's not straight or white

many books in the above categories fit this, but here's even more, across a variety of genres.

LAST NIGHT AT THE TELEGRAPH CLUB by malinda lo

BABEL by r.f. kuang

WHEN THE RECKONING COMES by latanya mcqueen

THE UNBROKEN by c.l. clark

IF YOU'LL HAVE ME (graphic novel) by eunnie

LEGEND OF THE WHITE SNAKE by sher lee

THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE THE TIME WAR by amal el-mohtar and max gladstone

SHE WHO BECAME THE SUN by shelley parker-chan

"all ya books suck"

like any other genre or book age group, there are duds and there are standouts. ya is not special in this regard. try some of these!

DIVINE RIVALS by rebecca ross

STRIKE THE ZITHER by joan he

THE RED PALACE by june hur

A STUDY IN DROWNING by ava reid

EMPIRE OF SAND by tasha suri

LEGENDBORN by tracy deonn

i check out and read a lot of these books for free via my local library by using the libby app (you can even add your friends' library cards to gain access to libraries in places you don't live). when i'm feeling like reading via audiobook, i use libro fm!

look, no one HAS TO read diversely. no one is going to be reverse fahrenheit 451'd and locked in a room with no fanfic and only books and not let out until they work their way through the entire literary canon. but reading, and reading widely, and reading diversely, is what teaches people to form their own opinions and question the things they are told. it's why they hang up stuff like "READ READ READ!!" in grade school classrooms.

we live under systems that increasingly benefit from going unquestioned. no, of course reading ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE by robin hobb is not going to dismantle these systems tomorrow, nor probably even in our lifetimes. but doing it will help set up a world capable of doing it in the future. and until further notice, we are all part of this wretched world. might as well read a good story while we're here.

anyway, i'm reading THE WEST PASSAGE by jared pechaček and the new cmq book this week.

[sforzesco]

I got. thoughts. about valens and voices in imperial roman history. but I also got a lot of thoughts about uhhhhhh choosing your brother for co ruling the Fratricide Foundation Story Empire. many thoughts about themistius' oration too

Brotherly Love, Themistius (trans. Peter Heather & David Moncur)

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / insta

[nattikay]

with tumblr reminding me that ArtFight is sneaking up fast, I'm finally making some ref sheets for two characters that I've been meaning to upload there for years but just never got around to. First up is my ponysona! I've had this character for a very long time (nearly a decade), I just don't draw her much since I'm more of a lurker in the MLP fandom.

In a G4 setting her name is just Windrose. In a G5 setting Windrose is her surname and her first name is Skyla. You can call her whichever.

The other character I'm working on a ref for is Kelda (Trollhunters)! So anyone who remembers her, keep your eyes peeled hrh

[post-it-notes7]

On the bright side, now Mir Falspar can enjoy some semblance of peace and quiet (barring the indignant shouts of DMK in the background) before whatever is about to happen to him... happens.

and the clock ticks down, down, down

[beaulesbian]

I was once again thinking about this goofy Luffy moment after his Lucci punch™ and i had to see it frame by frame.

first the force of it throws them both away, and while Lucci is seen on screen tumbling for a long moment, Luffy is just away in a blink of an eye.

and then his funny scene - his legs are like jelly that he tries to get under control,

he stumbles, falls, rolls into a mix of all his limbs and eyes,

and then only the cloud behind him cushions his fall

- which would be interesting if he can subconsciously control that while he tries to regain the control over his movements - that the environment around him still adapts to his awakened Devil Fruit abilities and morphs to help him. Where others would probably fall through that cloud, for Luffy that cloud backs him up like a trampoline.

It's just fascinating!

[judasisgayriot]

3x15 Consequences - Xander, defenceless (part 1)

[ridl]

waiting for ganyu banner in 2022 vs waiting for keqing banner in 2025(?)

[arttsuka]

Ok here are my thoughts about arcane season 2, buckle up

I wana say, I liked the second season, less about what we saw, more about the story they wanted to tell.

It started fine but as soon as episode 4 came the problem was clear. The pacing was bad. Everything was happening too fast, there was no time for smaller moments. A lot of character development was off screen too.

I've heard they were supposed to have more seasons but decided last minute to cut the show short because 'there are more stories to be told'.

Caitlyn had most of her arc off screen which is such a shame, I really wanted to see how she realized she was being manipulated, I wanted to see her dictatorship era. But we got none of that, it's implied it happened but we didn't get to see it.

Sevika was relevant up until ep4 and then we see her again in ep8. I don't think she has any speaking lines after ep4. Such a waste of her character, she was really interesting.

Isha. She came to the series as suddenly as she left. I have a lot of problems with her character, one of them being that she wasn't introduced organically. She randomly fell on Jinx (by accident). Arcane relies way too much on 'right place right time', on coincidences so, when that can be avoided, it definitely should. Make her fall on top of the first person that passed through on purpose so she won't get hurt (that person being Jinx is the only coincidence here). Her sacrifice felt a bit unearned because we didn't get to see her a lot, and after ep6, they never speak of her again (it affected Jinx sure but they don't even mention her once).

Mel. They did her dirty this season. They speedruned her arc (and the whole thing felt so out of place). I've heard that maybe the next show was going to be focused on Noxus etc which, if it turns out to be true, would be a bad decision. If they are actually planning on making something about Noxus, I'd at least expect Ambessa to be there and also, it would be a great opportunity to learn about Mel and her powers in greater detail instead of whatever we got.

Viktor as the herald, ultimate life form or whatever was so short lived. Make you wonder why they decided to include it only in the last episode instead of implementing a bit earlier.

Vi was also so, useless this season. She did almost nothing. She was a punching bag for the most of it.

Jinx felt a bit ooc, less about what she was doing and more about how there wasn't any time to see her get over Silco's death. Silco had such a negative effect on her mental health (all these hallucinations from s01) but he dies and boom, mentally stable? I would have liked to see her become healthier (it would also tie nicely with getting to know Isha better).

Vander. They brought him back. It was actually foreshadowed in the first season. Him being back is not my problem, on the contrary I think it was a great way to naturally bring Vi and Jinx back together. My problem was how we see him for 2 episodes (and then he 'dies'). It felt like a waste of time honestly, time that could have been used to see something else.

Episode 6 has to be the worst episode of the whole show. The pacing is pretty bad. The events that take place in it feel like 3 episodes, not 1. We get not 1 but 2 different artstyle montages, making the episode look, weird...

The best episodes were probably ep03 and ep07. Both had nice pacing (especially ep07, it felt like it was straight out of s01) and the story explored in them was pretty captivating. But I do have a problem with ep07. It's where Ekko got his 'time powers' from and honestly, they were pretty underwhelming? Also not at all well implemented to the story. We literally see him use them 3 times. 1: when he finds out about them, 2: when he saves Jinx and 3: when he goes back to try not to get captured by Viktor's mannequins. The last 2 on the same episode. That 4-second-limit was never really relevant (at least I don't think it's was). They wasted an entire episode giving him powers only for him to never really use them and for the machine to act as a bomb.

Also I didn't like the dancing scene with Powder and Ekko. I understand the vision behind it but I felt like my TV was dropping frames. It felt choppy, cheap (such a shame for a beautiful scene).

Now, I liked the lesbian sex scene in ep8, I really did, but it felt so out of place. Jinx basically implied she was going to kill herself, Vi was on the verge of tears because she was insecure about how she seemed to only make the wrong choices and then, that scene happens. It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. I've seen people compare it to the s01 'Jayce/Mel vs Viktor dying' scene and while I understand where the comparison is coming from it's definitely not the same. In that scene, Jayce didn't know Viktor was dying (he knew about his deteriorating health, but he was clearly shocked and left Mel to go check out on him etc etc).

Also, Caitlyn should have gone down on Vi. I think they image would have been stronger. Vi was at the bottom of the barrel her entire life (literal plot point, being from the undercity etc) so seeing Caitlyn, someone of higher status and power, being the one to 'bow' would just be more powerful. Just a thought.

I just feel like I liked their relationship and dynamics more in s01. They had more casual moments, more natural dialogue. Yes we won but at what cost? Their relationship was so sweet in s01. In s02 it started sweet, turned out to be manipulative on Caitlyns side*, they break up and then they're fine again.

*in ep3 it's clearly shown that while Caitlyn loves Vi she's willing to manipulate her to reach her own goals. That first kiss we see was definitely more of a 'I'm gonna play with your emotions so you don't doubt me' rather than 'let's just kiss now'.

I liked how Jinx cut her hair. The whole 'hair holds memories' and how she was ready to move on. Too sad that scene didn't have the proper gravity it deserved because the lesbian sex was happening (probably) the same time.

Ep9 was, something. I'm conflicted about it. On one hand I really liked how they tied up Viktor's and Jayce's plot lines, on the other hand everything else was so rushed. Caitlyn and Mel were a team (they didn't feel like one honestly), they fought Ambessa and then she randomly died from the black rose. It felt like they just wanted an excuse to kill her. 'She needed to die so Mel could become the wolf' no, not really. She could still be alive, have Mel 'spare her life' or something. It would be more on track with Mel's ideals that way.

Jinx sacrificing herself to save Vi was also so forced**. It felt specifically written so she could 'die'. I do believe that 'Jinx is alive' theory because Caitlyn looking at the vents while holding that monkey head Jinx's bomb had + that air balloon Powder said she'd fly away with are all too specific to be coincidences.

**her sacrifice was forced but foreshadowed. Isha was acting as an 'archetype' of what Jinx had to become. Her whole existence in the show was so Jinx could become an icon for Zauns revolution and for her to sacrifice herself so Jinx could see and do the same, break the cycle.

What really bothered me was how Jayce and Viktor seemed to be the only characters who had a complete story, everyone else had a lot missing scenes (they did too but way less, there never was a point where I thought 'where does this come from?', everythingwas explained about them. I wish I could say the same about the 'arcane', magic). It's so unfair, on the female lead show about 2 sisters for the male characters to be the final focus. Also another thing that bothered me how they did a seemingly better job at writing Ekko/Powder, the straight ship we got to see for 1 episode on a different timeline, rather that Vi/Caitlyn, the lesbian ship AND main focus since they're both main characters from the timeline were following.

Something else, I feel like the score for s01 was better/more memorable than s02. Sure s02 has some pretty good songs but s01 felt more diverse on that? Maybe that's just me.

Kinda lazy how they used the same song for the opening credits while using visuals way too similar (if not the same) to the artstyle of the show. Although, truth to be told, the s01 opening was way too good for any standards, it would be very hard if not impossible to make something better. Still, I feel like they could have done a better job.

Also maybe that's just me but there were a lot of predicable moments. Sometimes a scene would start playing and I'd know exactly where it was going (something I can't say for season 1).

I really liked in s01 how in each episode, before the opening, we got to see some glimpses from the past of each character. It was a great way not to have too many random flashbacks and include these scenes organically in each episode. In season 2 we don't get that. I understand that we already know these characters but it's still something I adored from s01.

What made s01 so appealing was how they handled the story, didn't rush things. How they took their time to make us understand and like the characters. With s02 we didn't get that luxury.

Season 1 was a masterpiece and unfortunately, season 2 didn't meet the expectations.

I still enjoyed watching it but it was definitely not as good as the experience of watching s01.

[sarafangirlart]

Going through the Internet Archive (god knows how long it will stay with us) and found another cool adaptation of Perseus by Corinne J. Naden and Robert Baxter

This book has such a cool artstyle

Adorable family moment with Dictys

[sprite-and-the-bunnydragons]

Sometimes writing is creating paragraphs about how each of your major characters change over the course of the book, and then you get to the last dude and go, “Welp. He’s just weird.”

[rosie-tyler]

Siiighhhhhhhhhh

[hislittleraincloud]

...This delivery is as spirited as the AI I have of him in my 2-year-old trailer above.

[lunar-solarsystem]

Favors For Favors - Lose Clarity AU

[ Point in time - Ruin’s been chucked into a dead dimension… again. Left with his thoughts and depleting battery power… again. Incidents with Moon Nexus have already occured. Molten had found Ruin again, his programming still unfixed. He threw Ruin back where he had been before in the same dead dimension. ] ——————————

…Silence. That’s all there was. That is, unless Ruin sung a song to himself again. Nothing to do, nothing to see, nowhere to go. Ruin was stuck. Again. In the same dead dimension for that matter…..

One of the worse parts, he knew he wouldn’t be able to tell Puzzle anything. Explaining things last time was bad enough - having to explain why he was gone for weeks and left Puzzle alone. He, of course, had told Puzzle about his plan for ‘The Collapse’ and needing to get rid of the Creator Council; and the side effect in which Solar had to die. He told Puzzle not to say anything, which they did wonderfully. Being of Ruin’s code, it was easy to understand them and easy for them to learn things. They were already a decent actor and liar when needing to be; Ruin was still the main problem for things and would be encountered with more often. Puzzle was never really in the need to act or lie, but they would if needed. They knew how to hide, too; stay hidden if unwanted guests found where they and Ruin hid. Puzzle understood the extent in which Ruin had to go for ‘The Collapse’ to happen, however they were a bit gloomy for a few days afterwards - specifically from the outcomes, feeling as if they could’ve done something that didn’t have to be so drastic; Ruin still knew there wasn’t any other option. Puzzle would come to visit Ruin every so often when he was stuck stationary in Parts & Service, careful to not be seen by anyone else aside from their father figure. As much as he loathed asking the favor, he asked Eclipse to watch over Puzzle one day just as Eclipse was about to leave, right after walking in and yelling at Ruin and whatnot. Eclipse seemed as if he didn’t care at the time, yet Ruin saw them getting closer once he came back after returning from this dead dimension the FIRST time. Eclipse still denied it, just as he does with Earth, but Ruin believed Eclipse grew a soft spot for Puzzle. Yet of course, Eclipse being Eclipse, would never and will never admit so.

All Ruin could really think about now, as his battery slowly draining, was about the time variation between this dead dimension and the other dimension - Was he gone for weeks already? Months? Hell, a year?? He had no idea. He didn’t bother to TRY and keep track of time. At this point, he only hoped Eclipse stayed again. Sure, he and Ruin hated each other; that is something that’d never change. But Ruin could only hope Eclipse would stay with and watch over the one thing Ruin couldn’t bare to lose. The one he saw as his own, the one he cared for..

Ruin didn’t notice a sound near him, nor faint footsteps. No; not until someone spoke.

-

“Hello again, Ruin.”

Ruin looked up from the ‘floor’ of the vast void, meeting Dark Sun’s gaze. 

“…Dark..Sun?.. Wait, why are you here exactly? I thought you did not need me anymore, as you said it the last time.”

Dark Sun hummed. 

“Hm… Well, it appears I do in fact need you again. My.. ‘business partner’ wants something from you. He asked me to come and get it if you were not already dead, as he finds himself.. ‘busy’, I guess would be the word.”

“And what exactly is this thing you need from me..?”

“That would be your virus. Or its code. Whichever it is.”

Ruin looked taken back for a moment.

“M-…. My virus..? Why would your partne-“

“I’d rather not explain. He didn’t exactly explain everything to me, anyway. He claimed his curiosity still revolves around your code and wanted me to do him a favor.”

Ruin scoffed a bit. 

“It won’t do you any good. It’s never worked on me.”

“I know you’re lying, Ruin. You should know I have my ways of knowing things, and that’s one thing I know is a lie. It’s been acting as a killcode like most Moon’s would have… Now hasn’t it?”

Ruin fell silent. What was he supposed to say? He knew it was true. The cure never worked properly on him - Puzzle had been constructed instead. His virus… It was still working.. since he left his dimension. He knew it too. He’d snapped a few times, at least twice in front of, or at, Eclipse; and others as well. Thankfully, he never snapped around Puzzle. Not fully, anyway. There’s been times he’s been close...

“Hm. I thought so.”

“What do you even want with it..? I’m afraid it may not, or won’t, do you any good.”

“I said my new colleague wanted it. I’m only doing him a favor.”

There was a silent moment between the two before Dark Sun sighed low, taking a small step forward and speaking once more.

“Why not this then, Ruin? A favor for a favor.”

Ruin turned his head slightly towards Dark Sun, reserved with his words as he listened to Dark Sun’s proposal.

“Now; you allow me to take your virus, and I’ll help you get back home. And perhaps get you fixed up as well.”

Ruin stayed mute for moments at a time… Long moments, actually. Looking down at his own hands, they slowly broke away. Disintegrating and disappearing gradually, in some strange way. Hell, his entire body was doing that. He thought himself lucky his important systems hadn’t started doing that yet. He thought for a moment…. he supposed this deal wouldn’t be too bad if he took it… right?

Dark Sun heard Ruin sigh, watching as he made himself stand. Grunting now and then from pain picked up by his pain receptors, Ruin turned to face Dark Sun.

“Alright… I’ll agree to this.. ‘favor’ you need me for. As long as you don’t need me again.”

He seemed irritable, which could be the virus affecting his mentality again. Dark Sun didn’t question it, opening a portal.

“Hm. Believe me Ruin, I plan to stay far away from your dimension after this. It doesn’t have much use to me, the dimension itself nor the people living in it. I can nearly guarantee this is the last time you and I meet. Come on, now.”

Both of them stepped through the portal Dark Sun made then and there, the opening disappearing behind them. Ruin, now leaving the dead dimension behind once again, hoping it’d be the last time he’d do so - and hoping it’d be the last time he’d leave unintentionally. He hoped…

yet it won’t be the last.

.

.

Later…

Dark Sun returned to his and Moon’s Nexus’s place in the pocket dimension after assisting Ruin and taking his virus code. Before Ruin departed, he thanked Dark Sun. It seemed unusual, but it was fine…. Dark Sun supposed, anyway. Yet “Dark Sun”… Heh, he still hated that little ‘nickname’.

Everything around ‘Sun’ was silent, aside from his steps while he walked towards Nexus’s laboratory. He listened as the sounds of Nexus rummaging around his lab and testing his developing newfound power on different objects became louder the more ‘Sun’ got closer. He walked in, standing in the doorway and watching Nexus. Nexus didn’t notice ‘Sun’ immediately, being distracted by his own means. It took a moment to notice.

“Tch. Stupid- Ugh, okay whatever. I’ll jus- ..! Oh, you’re back already. Hm. Did you get what I asked?.”

“Yes; I did, as a matter of fact. I don’t really know what you expect to get out of it, but whatever. Not really much of my business nor do I care too much. Here.”

‘Sun’ gave Nexus what he collected before heading back towards the door. Nexus appeared pleased.

“I’m going to tend to my own matters. Do whatever you wish, Moon. Just don’t destroy the pocket dimension, if you can manage that.”

“NEXUS.”

“…Right. Nexus…”

He left without much care for referring to Nexus by his previous incorrect name, leaving Nexus in his lab once again. Nexus smirked, turning to a small containment unit he made previously and placed the small trinket containing Ruin’s virus code inside. Scanning it, he gathered its data. He could see history on it as well. Not its literal history, however enough to understand where it’s been. Although barely used, it had… potential. Corruptive potential. Unusual, but strangely attention grabbing to Nexus. Hm… 

Studying this should be interesting.

[toaarcan]

Anyone noticed that Surge is like... aesthetically derived from Scourge, but her damage and reasons for hating Sonic are way more similar to Fiona?

Kidnapped by a mad scientist (Starline/Robotnik), experimented on in a traumatic fashion (turned into a lightning-powered anti-Sonic/used for the Auto-Automaton prototype), blames Sonic for her situation happening at all (because he didn't kill the villains before they could hurt her/because he didn't come back to save her), and is angry at Sonic for not taking a stronger position against the villains (explicitly/implicitly).

And given how well-received Surge has been, there's a level of "Wow they could've done something like this a while ago if anyone at Archie had seen Fiona as a character rather than a love interest" but honestly I'm mostly just glad they finally did something with the concept of "Person who feels that Sonic is to blame for everything that went wrong in her life and wants to kick his teeth in about it."