#better rectify that''

[khashanakalashtar]

Phayu LITA

Boss Chaikamon

I read this post about how different Noeul is when he's playing Rain, and felt the need to compile some photos of Phayu not looking like Boss and Boss not looking like Phayu

[dayurno]

this is somewhat of a vent post & something i said i would not do again but has been plaguing me enough that i think getting it out might feel better. so. has anydoggy else been. Baffled and upset by nora sakavic’s refusal to speak on how terribly aftg has treated its characters of color? with the author of the series coming back with a new book and starting up on her online activity again, and questions of what she’d change about aftg bubbling up, it’s particularly glaring to me that we are all playing this very long game of pretend where we ignore how badly the non-white cast has been treated & her lack of thoughts on it

and i understand not wanting to bring up nicky and thea because people pick on her for it. i’m not trying to discredit nora sakavic’s terrible history of getting harrassed online by aftg fans. but i think it is very cynical, and it is very juvenile, and most of all very cruel, that she gets to ignore the very real ways the books have set up these characters to be hated. i think it’s obvious why the characters who get the most hate are the only canonical characters of color, and i think we do not get to treat this like a deliberate decision on the fandom’s part when the books have put these same characters in degrading and embarrassing and terrible positions in the first place. aftg is not a story about nice characters with clean pasts, but there is a very specific nastiness to the only characters of color being a brown man who sexually harasses and later assaults the main character, a black woman whose only scene is her lashing out at her love interest after being ignored for the first two books, and the japanese villain who gets maybe two lines of complexity before he goes back to being a terrible person. the white cast, in comparison, while not at all free from flaws, are never shown to commit mindless evil; all of their actions are ultimately justified. the book goes out of its way to give them concession after concession. we know exactly who to side with, because aftg tells us who these people are. does nicky’s assault ever get addressed in the books? does riko’s reasoning to be the way that he is ever gets more than briefly aluded to? is thea reserved even a shred of humanity or grace in her one scene?

anyway. it’s been years of talking about this and the fandom has been constantly hostile to criticism in this regard, and more recently any criticism at all, and it’s Grating to be on the other side of this discussion. it’s exhausting to know that in ten years we do not get even an acknowledgment besides the author saying she will not answer questions about nicky and thea anymore. it’s upsetting and it’s ugly and i wish no one had to talk about this again, but we do because what i thought was common sense has been washed away by a sudden influx of no-nuance adoration for the trilogy. basically i hope we all explode

two hours later edit: you're allowed to reblog this! sorry about the confusion

[diddlesnap]

The Hunger Games but make it an early 2000s shoujo manga

[everymadara]

Chapter 661

[sysig]

Old habits die hard all the way around (Patreon)

[kindahoping4forever]

is there any hope in praying for a new kh4f writing piece? or are you officially retired 😓 i beg i plead i weep i NEED a fresh ashton one-shot like my life depends on it 🙏

Definitely not retired! I truly never meant to go this long without publishing a fic - last year was just a very weird, unbelievably difficult blur for me, the hiatus just happened and to be honest, I regret it every day.

But! Although my posting stopped, I never really stopped writing (I think my longest streak of not so much as opening a doc was about 3 months.) I've been writing much more infrequently than I'd like and with much more effort and hesitance than I'm used to (turns out going from practicing a skill every day for years to just... not doesn't do much for that skill or one's confidence 😬) but I have still been writing! Unfortunately, finishing stories hasn't been my strong suit recently and that's primarily why I haven't posted in so long. And why my WIP folder has been this stacked for the past year lol:

Some docs are just a few paragraphs long while some only need a few paragraphs to be done. I'm kind of at this weird crossroads right now where I definitely want to finish some of these fics (why let all that effort go to waste) but also I want to jump on ideas that are newer and have less baggage in my brain (it's been extremely frustrating trying to get back to where I was!). So I'm trying to navigate that while also trying to get back into the writing mindset and routine again, learning to trust my instincts again, find a way for my brain to be a comfy and fun place to hang out in again. I am determined to get there, and sooner than later this time. I feel closer than ever! And when I do, Tumblr will be the first to know. Promise. 💙

[shit-before-the-shovel]

a post honoring j's ✨curls✨ because i miss them

[murderbees]

evil thoughts have taken ahold of me

featuring Rinzler, Beck, and the Black Guard Test

this is kinda long

Rinzler is the final test. Every black guard knows this. He doesn't know why it took so long for him to be approved. Beck should have been down there cycles ago. He fights better than most of the other rectified programs, and they could kill a BASIC easily. He was great before the rectified him, now he's almost perfect.

The walk to the stadium is rhythmic, each step matched perfectly to the rest. Their shoes clack in unison against the floor as the arena opens around them.

It's bright, but the helmet filters the light easily. A list of parameters and directions scroll down his vision. It's dismissed quickly. He knows what he's here for, and he's seen many tests before.

When they stop, he looks around. The platform rises, but it's clear and flat. Surrounding him are the other potential black guards. They are few, 10 at most, and half are rectified. He stands just to the left of center, it's a good position.

The audience roars and roars, whether for their deresolution or their survival is unclear. He filters it, halves the volume. They're useful in their own way. Anticipation over clever setups invisible in the arena, screams as a disc rebounds unoticed, the reactions just factor into his strategy. Use everything in a fight, especially your surroundings. He forgot who told him that.

He doubts that more than 3 of them will pass, and hopes the rest have the decency to derezz somewhere avoidable. The last thing he wants to deal with is watching his step. Voxels, despite their shape, are slippery. The spilled energy will be a problem too, but sometimes it's a hidden advantage. Most programs don't know but even processed energy can be absorbed, if you have the mods for it.

His teeth and hands ache as he remembers. The cycles spent on that table were numerous. Night and days blurring as his render cracked and split apart. It was put together just as gently, which is to say, Dyson seemed to take great pleasure in shoving sharp angles and harsh clawing routines into his sore code. There are still sections that chaff and clip into each other, but he's learned to ignore it. His claws click against his baton. He won't be using it.

They stand, eerily still. Across the stadium, a screen lights up, announcing the grand champion and their doom. The roars grow louder, shaking the various screens and reverberatng through his chest.

Rinzler makes no sound. His moves are sleek and smooth. His armor glints under the lights, and that purr saturates the pit. The program next to him starts to shake, their baton tapping against their armor as Rinzler takes position. That's the issue with non-rectified programs, they fear.

A loud buzzer sounds and the walls raise around him. A countdown sounds as he plans his route.

10

A display flashes across his vision.

Last 10 microcycles. Land at least 5 hits on Rinzler.

9

Hmm. Odd, usually it's 3. He blinks it away and turns to watch the other programs. The 5 Basics start to shuffle, he and the 4 rectified stay still.

8

The walls halt. In the corner of his display, he draws a map of the walls. It's not complete, but he'll add to it as he runs.

7

One program walks to a corner, she's shaking. He knew she wouldn't last.

6

She curls into the wall. He takes a step toward her.

5

The other rectified turn to each other. The Basics nod to each other. She derezzes her helmet.

4

Beck stands in front of her. She looks up.

3

She must be an idiot. He crouches.

2

He holds his hand out. She smiles.

1

She puts her hand in his.

Start Challenge, Let the test begin.

He yanks her forward. Her eyes widen, she falls easily. She hasn't hit the ground before the voxels clatter across the ground. The arena is silent for once.

He stares dispassionately at the mess. It got on his helmet. He wants to sigh, but there is no time. His hand dips into the pile, seeking the energy seeping across the floor. Behind him, one of the Basics starts to yell.

It seeps across hidden channels in his armor, illuminating his body. It looks like lightlines, but only for a nano.

The audience is whispering, the sound glides over his audio processors. The other rectified programs are grouping together, hoping that if they attack together, they might survive. The Basics are horrified, they'll be derezzed shortly.

He ducks before he registers it. The orange disc slicing above him, zipping through the program behind him. The energy splashes across his back. He lunges to the side, narrowly dodging the second.

Rinzler is quiet as he dispatches two of the others. The rectified jump into action, discs flaring and batons rezzing. Beck sprints into one of the halls, he doesn't look back as the clinking of voxels echoes behind him.

He flips up, rezzing his baton and jamming it between two walls. He swings, once, twice, and flys up onto the walls, circuits flashing. The audience roars. He has watched all the previous matches, no program has made it above, no program has tried. No warning blares in his vision. Either it's never been out of bounds, or no one thought it was possible. It doesn't matter either way.

He leaps across the gaps, cataloging the paths and turns. Above the pit, names are being crossed off quickly. There's 5 micros left and 3 names.

1 Basic and 2 Rectified. None have completed the second parameter. The counter dings above him, the Basic landed another hit. The rectified darts below his feet. He watches and waits.

The biggest challenge isn't hitting Rinzler, it's surviving. The longer you stay in combat, the more injured you will be, the harder it will be to survive in the end. Conflict must be saved until the end. The threads he spins are near invisible, but Rinzler is a moniter, he'll see them like a light trail.

The board above him buzzes, now it's just him and Rinzler. He drops into the maze and hits the ground running. 3 micros left.

The borrowed energy buzzes under his render, surges through him, but he has self control. He won't use it until necessary.

He reaches an open space, it's his best bet. More room to manouver but flat. There is no high ground here.

Rinzler proves him wrong. The purr registers just as the disc cleaves past his helmet. He's standing on the walls, just like Beck was. He thought Rinzler hadn't looked up, he was an idiot.

It's a dance before long. Beck flips and rolls and jumps. The arena boasts burnt slashes and puts from Rinzler's disc. The purr increases, almost crackling. When the next throw doesn't come, Beck stares up, ready and waiting.

Rinzler leaps into the space, discs arcing across the space, but Beck dodges then blocks. He filters out the audience completely. He can't afford another distraction right now.

Rinzlers back flips over his own disc as it ricochets into the air. Beck flattens, slams his disc into the ground next to him, the floor gives out and shatters into bright pixels. Rinzler's discs fly back into his hands.

Beck swings his legs up, catapulting himself into the air, and as he spins, he parrys one of Rinzler's discs. He lands briefly, kicking off again and flipping over Rinzler. By the time his feet touch the ground, Rinzler's legs are sweeping out, but he expected that.

His disc stricks down, forcing Rinzler to thrown himself back. Beck advances, but never throws his disc. It's a flurry of light and limbs.

Beck gears up, letting the stored energy flow into his arms, and hits one of Rinzler's discs. By now, they had fallen into a pattern, almost a dance. Block, parry, throw, flip, duck, strike. But as the energy flows across his shoulders, Beck manages a smile.

The disc spins out of it's path, racing into one of the halls. It cuts an orange cord.

Rinzler doesn't falter. He punches and kicks and slams into Beck. Micro fractures open along Beck's limbs, but he's happy. The fight is just slightly more fair. Now that they're both down to one disc, Beck can finally get some hits in.

He tilts his head left, letting the disc slice across his helmet, sparks flying. He doesn't see Rinzler's fist as it slams into his side, micro fractures splitting into full glowing crack. His audio and visual are cut off for a moment as errors race across his display. All he can see is red.

He's knocked to the ground, but as he falls, he grapples onto Rinzler, dragging him down too. They roll across the ground, hissing and crackling as they go. It's bad form, but Beck derezzes his helmet to bite down onto the arm trying to slip across his throat.

The punctures let the smallest amount of energy seep into his mouth, not enough to help anything, but he hopes the shock will give him time to think. Rinzler's purr turns to cracking, the sound grates over Becks audio precessing. His hesitation gives Beck the opportunity to tear his head back, voxels flying into the air as he crunches down.

Somehow, during all this brawling, he's managed to fulfill the hit counter. All he needs is to survive for 25 more nanos.

Rinzler throws himself back onto his hands, twisting in the air and lands across the arena. Beck scrambles up, wincing at the damage he'd sustained. He can't keep this up for much longer. Rinzler shifts, posture falling the tiniest bit looser and Beck knows playtime is over.

They're in a standoff, but he needs to draw this out as long as he can. He shifts back into a fighting stance. 20 nanos left.

Rinzler rushes forward and Beck evades and parrys. His arms are too weak to block. Any stored energy he has left is gone. This isn't about passing the test anymore, he needs to live. He wants to live.

Rinzler's strikes are direct and forceful. There's something familiar about this, but he doesn't have time to dwell. He sacrifices his right hand to dash across the clearing and into the halls.

He weaves through the orange threads, listening to them snap as Rinzler chases him. 10 nanos.

He trips over a new thread, the same color as the rest. On the way down, he thinks 'of course, Rinzler didn't just follow me up onto the walls, he copied my threads too.' and slams into the ground.

His shoulder starts to derezz as he skids across the floor, smearing light blue energy everywhere.

He doesn't get the chance to groan, Rinzler pounces. His foot slams into Beck's chest, cracks splintering at the impact. If the program doesn't get medical care soon he'll derezz.

5 nanos remaining.

Rinzler's disc flashs at his neck. He can't hear it, but Beck's sure the audience is screaming.

4

He sees his face reflected in Rinzler's helmet. Orange and blue interlace over his cheeks and jawline, and there's a smear of energy on his forehead. His eyes are grey, ringed in orange that pulses in time with his dimming circuits.

3

The disc doesn't move. He doesn't understand. Rinzler's other hand moves forward.

2

The gloved fingers brush over Beck's cheek, then dip past his ears.

1

His helmet rezzes around his face. Now they reflect each other, sparse orange light blinking in the dark. Something about this makes him unbearably sad, but he doesn't know what.

Challenge complete.

Beck collapsed back against the ground. Rinzler may be unpredictable, but he wouldn't disobey the directions, not at such a public event. Somehow he made it, whether it was his win or Rinzler's hesitation, he made it.

The walls collapse around them, but Rinzler doesn't get up. His disc goes dark, and that crackle becomes a grind. Something severe and harsh that has Beck attempting to crawl out from beneath him.

"Rinzler!" Clu's voice booms across the stadium. Rinzler's crackling ceases, he stands stiffly and retrieves his other disk.

Beck leans back onto his elbow, watching Rinzler. His helmet is pointed toward Clu's observation deck, but he's staring at Beck. Something unidentifiable causes his throat and chest to constrict. Whatever the case,

he lives.

[thelastharbinger]

NOT THE SERIES FINALE HAVING THE SAME EPISODE TITLE AS THE PILOT MARVEL I AM IN YOUR FVCKING WALLS

[whitmore]

anyway i think it would be crazy insane if when they find the eggs they find wilbur in there with them. just food for thought

[thisisallthehattersfault]

Having some thoughts about Dark!Sizhui and specifically his complicated perspective on Jin Ling. You’re the reason my family died, you were a baby and had no say in what happened. Xian-ge loved you, your family orchestrated his downfall. You literally spit on his name, he would tell me to forgive you.

I’m thinking about Sizhui worming his way into Jin Ling’s good graces, seeing his loneliness and uncertainty and the desperate need for affection quietly eating away at him, and using that to mold Jin Ling into something - someone - better, because Xian-ge gave up everything just for a chance to see you, and goddamnit I’m gonna make sure you were fucking worth it.

[freaky-flawless]

Nah, mattel needs to work on their social media presence, because this lack of communication is ridiculous. People kept asking in the comments about international shipping, and they only replied to comments complimenting them instead of answering these very fair questions.

[truecorvid]

(guy who is not responding to texts voice) damn why do i feel all alone in the world

[bohemian-nights]

what they did rhaena and baela is sad, the two don't say anything and just stand to the side with half smiles on their mouths, reviewing the scene from episode 10 it's very ugly, rhaena offering drinks to rhaenyra like... she's just there to serve her supposed queen? WTF!

You know what anon, I already thought it was bad enough that all the girls do is smile and look pretty and that showing Rhaena serving Rhaenyra was deplorable, but now that I’m really thinking about it, it’s an absolute disgrace. The disrespect is so blatant.

Hell, they had Daemon say he’d rather feed his sons to some dragons than see them serving Aegon II, but he’s okay with Rhaena being Rhaenyra’s servant?

No one better come in here talking about how Oh Rhaenyra was Visery's cupbearer, it's not a demeaning position. These two scenarios are not remotely the same. Rhaenyra was her father's de facto heir. He had her serving him so that she could see how things were done.

Rhaena serving Rhaenyra serves no purpose other than having her look like Prissy to her stepmother’s Scarlet O’Hara. It's beneath her 👏🏽

[miodiodavinci]

(head in hands) man.

[motleyfam]

EXTREMELY IMPORTANT UPDATE TO “SETTLE OUR BONES”

Jason’s pet mouse, Holden Caulfield, has been renamed “Holden Clawfield”

That is all.