#and going on lex just makes me depressed

[possibly-pasta]

longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing longing

[shadyhouse]

happy pride im going on a date today for the first time in years 👉👈 im nervous as all hell tbh

[adhdstudybitch]

tumblr: reblogs are turned off for this post

Me, staring down the 15 new reblogs: you sure about that, bitch?

[suzukiblu]

Day two of February’s third weekly WIP behind the cut; “interdimensional kidnapping via Robin”. (( chrono || non-chrono ))

Kon cries a lot harder; hard enough he clearly can’t talk past it, hard enough to shake with it, and like–he’s not a small kid, honestly. He’s the smallest that Tim’s ever seen a version of Kon, yes, but he’s pretty big for his physiological age. Which, like–not surprising that he would be, really. He’s definitely in the expected top percentile for a ten year-old, if not over the expected top percentile. Tim would put him somewhere between 4’10” and 5’ and at probably a good hundred pounds or so, which puts him maybe nine to seven inches shorter than Tim himself is and maybe, like, forty-five or fifty pounds lighter. So . . . about seventy percent of his own body weight, give or take. And Tim probably has a concussion and at least a couple broken ribs, and definitely has plenty of cuts and abrasions and bruises deep enough that he doesn’t even want to think about how long it’s going to be until he’s field-ready again. 

He doesn’t do goddamn Bat-level training to not be able to pick up and carry a crying kid no matter what condition he’s personally in, though.

Tim scoops Kon up into his arms and the kid makes a startled little noise about it that cracks through one of his sobs, then grabs the front of his suit just next to the “R” decal tight enough that the body armor creaks and buies his face in his neck to cry even harder. He doesn’t hold onto him any more than that, but he’s still as close to clinging to him as he can get. 

Well–no, his TTK is definitely clinging to him, whether his actual physical body is or not. 

Tim wonders exactly how many times this kid’s been held by someone–at least how many times that he remembers being held by someone, anyway–but all things considered is pretty sure he wants the answer to be “none”. If Luthor really is the only person that this version of Kon remembers ever having been touched by . . . 

Yeah. Tim definitely wants the answer to be “none”, ugly as that thought is. 

“S-sorry,” Kon gasps brokenly into his neck. “M’sorry, m’s-sorry, I d-don’t–I dunno why, I–I can’t s-s-stop, I–” 

“It’s alright, kid,” Tim says, and doesn’t let his voice get any tighter. Really, it’s impressive Kon didn’t fall apart sooner. Or . . . depressing, maybe. “I’m just gonna carry you for a bit now. Just tell me if you want down, okay?” 

“I don’t,” Kon sobs, his TTK going tight. “Don’t put me down, don’t–please.” 

“Okay,” Tim says, and fucking hates Lex Luthor. 

He walks the rest of the way to the marina with Kon curled up in his arms and crying into his neck; digging his fingers into his body armor and his TTK into all of his bruises. Tim might need to do some repairs on the armor later but is really not concerned about it right now. It’s just a footnote to take care of before he tries to go on patrol in this specific suit again, that’s all. It already needed some fixing up anyway, after spending seventy-six hours going through the wringer in a reality that shitty. 

Also, like, he guesses he needs some fixing up after that too, admittedly. 

[chimcess]

Waterlog || pjm (3) (teaser)

Pairing: Jimin x Reader Other tags: Olympic Swimmer!Jimin, Ex Olympic Swimmer! Reader, Swim Coach!Reader Genre: Strangers to Friends to Lovers!AU, Coach!AU, Swimming!AU, HEAVY Angst, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, fluff, eventual smut, I'm so soft for these two it's crazy. Teaser wc: 391 Synopsis: After a car accident ends her athletic career, Y/N has slowly started rebuilding her life again as a high school swim coach. That’s until she gets a request from an old friend and finds herself back in the spotlight as the new coach of Olympic swimmer, Park Jimin. Warnings: toxic relationship (not reader and jimin), arguments, cheating (not reader and jimin), talks about previous child abuse, anxiety attack, strong language, crying, emotional abuse (not reader and jimin), mentions of depression and mental health, lots of angst in this one, finally making some progress though, age insecurity, mutual pining, lots of side character development in this one, they really are so sweet together, jimin just being the nicest boy in the world, so much PDA, physical touch is his love language 👀👀👀, more in the official posting...

Release date: April 6th, 2024 at 6pm EST

masterlist || playlist

Jimin and I said our goodbyes and I promised the blue haired boy I would call him in the morning to set up another meet up. He called it a group date, something neither Jimin nor I disagreed with, but it did make me feel queasy. Depending on how our conversation goes, we may never spend time together outside of training. I felt like I was going to vomit.

“Let me drive?” Jimin murmured as we parted ways with the couple. 

I nodded, digging in my purse to find them. “Mind reader, I swear. Get out of my head, kid.”

He snickered, “Who says you weren’t in mine, granny”

The queasiness dissipated and I felt like I could breathe a little bit easier now. Being alone with Jimin had never felt this nerve wracking before, not even the first time we met, and it was hard to explain all of the thoughts and feelings going through my head. We were finally having the talk, but I had never imagined it going this way. Handing him the keys, I elbowed him in the ribs.

“Whoops,” I mocked. “You know me and my bad eyesight, kiddo.”

“Watch it,” He hissed, rubbing the spot. “Don’t want you breaking anything. You know you have frail bones.”

I laughed, “Don’t make me give you a knuckle sandwich, punk.”

Sliding into the passenger seat felt less daunting after the light hearted exchange. Still, my blood was pumping as Jimin clicked his seatbelt in place. I had no idea when the conversation would shift into murkier waters, but I needed to start thinking about what to say to him. 

Denying my feelings would only make things worse, and I did not think the younger man would believe me. In fact, he would be offended that I thought he was dumb enough to get bamboozled in the first place. Lying did not seem like the right call anyway. My feelings were not something to feel ashamed about, but they were very frightening. 

“When is later?”

I gasped, startled out of my thoughts. We had been driving for over ten minutes already. Time seemed to slip by when I was lost in my own head. Jimin apologized for scaring me but repeated the question once I reassured him that I was fine.

“Now,” I mumbled. “I guess later is now.”

Taglist: @ownthesunshine @screamertannie @lovelytaes-blog @pernesianparapio @tae-with-some-suga @sumzysworld @chimmisbae

Let me know if you want to be added/deleted from the taglist. -Lex

[syppys-den]

The DC Universe as vines

John Constantine: Hey bro what do you want to eat?

Etrigan: THE SOULS OF THE INNOCENT~

Jason Blood: A Bagel

Etrigan: NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jason: (glances at Etrigan) two bagels (smugly)

WHO’S THAT POKEMON!? (shows Superman silhouette)

IT’S PIKACHU!!!!!!

IT’S CLEFAIRY! (shows Captain Marvel)

FUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

Madam Xanadu: if you are here speak to us

Deadman: JUST A CITY BOOIII!!!! BORN AND RAISED IN SOUTH DETROI-

Bruce: this is… so dumb…

Clark: the higher I am the better I can see

Bruce: you can- you can fly-

Clark: hush now gregory! I am searching!

Diana: like I really wanna teach yoga and zen and overall centeredness but I also like to really kill and STAB people on the weekends!

Kara: hey! How you doing? Well I’m doing just fine! I lied. I’m dying inside-

IDK: hey do you have any shaving cream?

J’onn: no i don’t like the way it tastes

IDK: wait you eat shaving cream?

J’onn no why would I eat it if I don’t like the taste?

Bruce: hey let me see what you have!

Damian: A KNIFE!

Bruce: NOOO!!!!!

Bruce: In the winter I like to dress in a cozy black jacket shirt and jeans~ in the summer I wear the same thing because I look good in black and I’m willing to suffer!

Lex: I didn’t ask to be born perfect. I demanded it.

Gordon: Detective this is a crime scene

Bullock: WHAT IS THIS THE MURDER WEAPON!? GET OFF MY DICK!!!

J’onn: Oh yeah I can do a pretty good human! (transforms) ahem Hel-lo! I-have-a-job! I’m going to work!

Krypto: yeah that’s pretty good!

Hippolyta: Son?

Diana: Yes Papa!

Hippolyta: How old are you?

Diana: I am three Papa!

Hippolyta: Take this knife, go hunt bear

Diana: Just one?

Hippolyta: Ho ho!

Kilowog: How does it feel to be the worst cop ever huh!? Sinestro: shutupyourmothabuysyoumegabloksinsteadolegos!

Kilowog: You fuckin take that back y-

John Constantine: Hey there demons it’s me, ya boi

Kara: EARTHLING TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER!

Lois: (sigh) this is him (shows president Luthor)

Kara: Oh ma gaw- I’m so sorry!

Lois: I’M SORRY FOR US-

Dick: We uh… don’t know who killed him…

Damian: May I make a suggestion?

Dick: WE’RE NOT GONNA CUT HIM OPEN PHIL!

Damian: YOU GUYS ARE BORING!

Kara: I may suffer from anxiety and depression but I’m still a queen

Bruce: (looking at the Joker’s body) He’s dead…

Dick: (Nudges Clark’s shoulder)

Clark: “Not the dickhead!” what do you want me to say!?

Diana: I’m so bored!

Clark: I wish Ryan was here!

Arthur: HEY GUYS!

Both: RYAN!!!

John Constantine: I was thinking I could do some magic!

Jason Blood: You!? Magic!? Charles! It says TALENT show!

Bruce: Show me the Police Sketch! What the- what the hell is this?

Eel: ART. Okay!

Bruce: OW FUCK!

Gordon: WHO’S THERE!?

Bruce: NOBODY FUCK OFF!!!

Harley: what would you do if there was a child right in front of you?

Joker: dgfghjfdkjsdiuj!!!

Harvey: I’m attorney Doug, you need a lawyer? Well don’t call me! I’m busy!

Lois: Who the fuck are yiou?

Clark (as Superman): Who the fuck are yiou?

Lois: I asked you first!

Clark: I asked you second!

[le-sluagh]

#14 Incorrect Batman: Vigilante (My AU)

Harley Quinn: I taught Bud and Lou a new trick. *throws ball* Fetch!

Bud and Lou: *just stands there*

Poison Ivy: They didn’t do it.

Harley Quinn: I taught them to ignore social conventions and think for themself.

*****

Alfred: Sleep is the body’s best safety mechanism.

Bruce Wayne: How so?

Alfred: It keeps you from screwing up for 8 hours.

*****

Riddler: What goes up but never comes down?

Mad Hatter:

Scarecrow:

Riddler: The amount of stress you're giving me.

*****

Harley Quinn: Hey, are you okay?

Harvey Dent: Yeah.

Harley Quinn: You don't look okay...

Two Face: Then stop looking.

*****

Mad Hatter: Everyone thinks I'm this soft cute person but I'm not!

Scarecrow: Mad Hatter, you cried for an hour after stepping on a bug yesterday.

Mad Hatter: It had feelings! It was probably going home to dinner and I killed it!

Riddler: ...It was a bug.

Mad hatter: It was a BEETLE, and its wife is definitely worried sick, wondering where it is, and I really don't get why you all think I'm so sentimental because I'm not!

Scarecrow: ...

Riddler: ...

Mad Hatter: Stop looking at me like that!

*****

Harley Quinn: We can bake these cookies at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or 4,000 degrees for 1 minute.

Two Face: No, that's not how you make cookies.

Joker: FLOOR IT!!

Harley Quinn: How about 4,000,000 degrees for 1 second?!?

Two Face: YOU'RE GONNA BURN THE HOUSE DOWN-

Harley Quinn: I'M GONNA HARNESS THE POWER OF THE FUCKING SUN TO MAKE COOKIES!

Joker: DO IT!

Two Face: NO-

*****

Mad Hatter: Oh, fiddlesticks! That really ruffles my feathers!

Riddler: Please, just say fuck.

*****

*After discussing a plan during a meeting of the Legion of Doom*

Lex Luthor: Does anyone have any questions?

Harley Quinn: Is this legal?

Lex Luthor: Does anyone have any relevant questions?

*****

Riddler: Stressed.

Two Face: Depressed.

Scarecrow: Possessed.

Mad Hatter: Obsessed..

Joker: Chicken breast.

Everyone: ...What?

Joker: I just wanted to join in.

*****

Riddler: What's the signal when something goes wrong?

Scarecrow: We yell.

Mad Hatter: ...That'll work.

[lost-creatures]

"Hot Cougars in your area". She'd seen the ads a hundred times before, they were probably the only motherfuckers willing to advertise on these piece of shit message boards, and most of them were just scams anyway. This time though:

Reader Discretion Advised: Eaten Alive, hard vore, snuff, vomit, musk, yuri, t4t

So I do as I'm told and walk away from my campsite in the middle of the night without telling anyone. We didn't have to go far— just some state park in the mountains above the suburbs. An arid montane scrubland echoed across the rolling surface, its reds and yellows muted to grey and blue in the winter moonlight. Three ridgelines deep into the mountains already. Just the hike to the backcountry campsite beat my ass, so my legs are screaming as I walk into the cold.

/

it was an unlicensed app, right? but you know the website seemed normal enough and i figured that if this worked, i wouldn't really care what they did with whatever got left behind. enough debt to buy a house i guess? i thought i'd been fucked anyway, made a profile and went 2 weeks without a response or message. they're just gonna rob me, huh? this is even better than Lex.

i really needed a girl to pin me down and start tearing into me, nobody ever goes hard enough goddammit. if you want something done right i guess you need to find the real deal.

i almost deleted the app, told myself two days in a row that i should. then, a photo, a mass, the clash of textures between corded muscle and gelatinous organ, heaped onto the dust at night. the kind of thing you'd see on a trail cam, but the angle was wrong.

how can i reply? i can't just hit her with the keysmash, how many women like her can even admit they'd want to do this to you. prey have to stand out a bit more these days, predator populations are way down.

"hey um, is that your work? i really liek it ;3"

fuck goddammit its over im fucking blowing it

"thnk u for noticing meeeee!~"

i'll just kms i'm cooked

"sorry i, the composition of the piece is very strong. the way the textures of the corpse contrast with the dusty landscape, acts to draw your focus as much as the border of the spot lighting and surrounding darkness. the off center lighting creates an almost sfumato effect along the massing, creating beautiful shadow shapes. would you want a new subject? ;3"

"Hahaha, you're cute aren't you?"

my rizz is unlimited

"We should meet. Do you know Henry Coe?"

/

Going back down the 22% grade is harder than climbing it and made even worse by the loose gravelly surface and the too many gin and tonics I had after we made camp. My boot catches a rock as I leave the trail and my knees hit the rocks. It hurts, but I'm having trouble finding the meeting spot, maybe some blood on the trail will help her find me. It feels like she's already on top of me. There's a pressure in the air and it makes every crack and shift in the earth reverberate across the slope. In that moment I can hear every motion every breath under the scrub. There's nothing, just wind howling over the crest of Mount Sizer. But I can feel her boring into me. I keep waiting for her to collide with me, knock me to the ground. I want her I want her inside me.

I want to be ready so I strip my torn clothing from my body.

This has to be the spot, the singular tree matches the photo she sent. I sit, bare ass shivering on the stone under the tree and wipe the fresh beads of blood down my knees, only managing to make a big red smear reaching halfway down my shins. The premix gin and tonics from the campsite start to fight their way back up my throat.

"I didn't think you were gonna show." she's smiling. Her stare pierces through me like I'm not even there. Its entrancing.

Her amber felid form followed my same path along the mountainside and into this depression. A little bit of my blood already stains her muzzle.

"You're Eloise? You know you shouldn't give your real name out to strangers on the internet, right?" She stretches the last word out, lilting, like she's trying hard not to laugh.

I'm struggling to respond through the boozy haze, the biting wind, and the nerves I get just looking at her. "i didn't really think it mattered" I uncurl a bit and she finally gets a look at my face. "can i know yours?"

She jumps, pounces, closing the distance between us faster than I can react. The full weight of her body hits me square between the breasts. Between her body and the rocks beneath every last wisp of air is pressed from my lungs. Her scent hits me all once as I gasp for air, she's actually wild, fuck. Her stink is acrid, acidic, astringent, its the kind of smell that sucks the moisture out of the air and dries out your mouth. I don't gag so much as start panting and straining towards her. "Its Tiffany." Planted on my sternum she makes every breath a labor and I barely manage to whisper a reply.

"i… i…"

I've wanted this for so long but I never thought I'd get this far. I have no idea what to say.

She shifts her weight into my guts and the sick I've been holding back overtops the lump in my throat and pours weakly down my chin. I gag into my chest as my entire body contracts and the waves of my vomit splash flecks of evidence into the fur of her breast and forelegs.

"Its okay kiddo, you don't have to say anything"

"please," I'm coughing up the heavier stragglers stuck in my throat, "you're beautiful" It just burns now. "i need you to take everything from me"

She laughs and looks down, guiding my eye to her massive paws pressing into the plush of my abdomen. To the contents of my stomach emptied over my still flat chest and softening waistline, dripping off in chunks. The tips of her claws poke from their cuticle in their round furred sheath. Fully deployed, each one looks like a karambit, sharpened just for me. She runs her paws gently over my belly, the touch imperceptable over that of the scouring wind, and still, red and black beads follow in the trail she leaves. The roughness of her underpaw brushes past my aching nipples. I can't help but gasp at the burst of sensation attacking my touch starved corpus. She cups her mouth over my breast and gently rolls the small lump of fat around with her tongue, punctuating herself by flicking the tensed tip against my nipples. I can barely process how desperately horny I am. Between my love life sequestered behind a screen and my newly sensitive flesh, I was unprepared. Warmth spreads where my cunt should be and I can't help but grind weakly against her soft underbelly. The first hardon I've had in weeks, I'm almost crying. She pauses a moment and grins down at my weak erection to let me frot against her own growing studded clit. She pins my wrists against the stony ground and puts her hips into it. I'm screaming, the feeling is so intense it almost edges into painful. She's growling feral in my ear, gravel infiltrating her saccharine valley accent. God Fuck please I need it its fucking happening. I shoot; I didn't even know I could do that anymore. The thin mucus spraying from my tip coats the gap between us and she thrusts harder against my pelvis. When she shoots, it hits me in the chin so hard I yelp.

"You really are cute. I hope I can keep you." Her voice trails off and she looks down at me with pity or maybe resignation.

Held down by her impossible strength, she pulls open the soft flesh of my belly like a ripe persimmon. I scream and the sound is deadened and hurried away by the gusts up the windward side of the mountain. Her snout pushes into the freshly wet cleft and I feel her buried deep inside my guts. She works her way underneath my ribs, my chest swelling at the foreign addition. There is a new pressure in me as she nibbles at my liver, the taut wet bulge of organ fills her mouth. I feel her tugging at me with suction at the back her her throat. Her teeth sink into me and the shifting cords of her stiff neck pull with enough force to tear the dark mass free. I sit in a howling void, fully part of that world. I am pure energy bursting forth from a charred vessel. Steam rises around the internal heat bleeding external, a pocket in our frigid night. Spread thin over the earth, I hope she makes eye contact with me while she chews at the choice cuts. She looks back at me, almost bashful at the intimacy held in our stares.

She lays by my side devouring me. Her cum pools in my jugular notch, stained pink with flecks of blood. A tongue like a wave of sand cleans my blood from my outstretched hand. She works her way between each of my fingers all the way down to the webbing. Rolling them over and over with that wet muscle. She knows exactly what she's doing, she's still finding ways to tease me back to ecstasy. In one smooth motion she pulls the hand into her mouth, laying the wrist perfectly along her incisors, canines neatly out of the way. And she bites, gently at first, and then the muscles in her jaw tighten and contract. Blood oozes forth and then sprays from the base of the bite. The radiocarpal ligaments snap apart in suddenly relived tension and her teeth smash themselves between my many carpal bones. My hand spasms, articulated by pain, and she rolls her bite just enough. The back of my hand hits the wet of her hard palate and every nerve in my hand screams as it comes away in her mouth. She pins the arm under her while she sucks at the meat of my hand.

its too much its everything im scared i cant

I come to and the wind's died down a little, the moon's not quite where it used to be. I guess you can live a pretty long time with your guts out and no liver. Longer than I'd have thought anyway. A stump of a wrist bounces off a rock as she drags me. The edges are black with either dried blood or frostbite. I'm not sure how much longer I have left, but every second I get with her is an eternity.

[shieldmaidencreative]

Shadows Move In Where Faith Used to Be: Chinese Apps and the American People

There is so much to write about at this moment, it was rather hard to for me to narrow down a topic. Fortunately, in the past couple days, a new story hit the media out of nowhere that made the decision for me. All that being said: have you heard about DeepSeek?

It’s a Chinese generative AI app, based upon the same precepts as ChatGPT. Literally it was built using that software. The claim is that it took ~$6 million to make, compared to the running costs of about half a billion for the other generative AI models. Once this news hit the market, the blue chips crashed and shook the US tech world.

There are plenty of fun side topics that we’ll cover with this one. For the first part, I’ll go into two of my favorite things: schadenfreude and hubris. The past few weeks, schadenfreude has been getting me through the news cycle. I know it’s not a virtue, trust me. But I am only human, and with the depressing news we have lately, it’s sort of been a good feeling to see the people who made assumptions get wet-fish slapped with reality. You’ll notice, with the flurry of Executive Orders the American President has made lately, he didn’t manage to leave the Ukraine war in the first 24 hours as promised, nor has he done anything to lower the price of groceries, eggs, or gas. And, in fact, he has said he won’t (although he says he will lower drill restrictions in protected areas, that won’t drive gas costs down; though, if there was more competition from green initiatives that he’s cutting, it would). I just bring those specific topics up because the people who voted for him claimed it was due to those topics, and they are already dead on arrival. As the rest of us knew they would be. So seeing the inevitable happen, has been the spark of joy I’ve been taking from an overwhelmingly dark time.

The other bit, hubris, is aimed directly at the tech bro overlord douche cadre. I’ve always thought to be a billionaire is a sign of a personal failing; it means you didn’t take care of those around you on the way up. And if you continue to be a billionaire, it means that you still aren’t taking care of people like you should. They could use the dearth of wealth to solve, or nearly solve, all issues we have. But they don’t. And now that we are in this new administration, they immediately bowed down, got in line, and showed us their true natures. Happy for years to stand quietly behind the scenes pulling strings, they have completely capitulated to our new system and tossed out equality or any other moral standing, in the hopes of favor and succor from above. And man, that really made me angry. They don’t even pretend to want to help society now. Google announced yesterday it’s changing its maps to show the Gulf of Mexico inaccurately renamed to Gulf of America, Facebook is going to stop trying to limit hate speech and disinformation at all, and Elon….well, look at that goose stepper up there. He’s just missing the mustache.

So when China announced DeepSeek, I immediately had two responses: wariness because I know why China is doing this, but then there was schadenfreude at the tech sector freaking out. These guys thought they were untouchable, they put themselves on pantheons and thought they finally made it. They could show us their matching Lex Luthor tattoos finally! They own everything and there’s nothing we can do about it!

And then…BAM. China, playing its long game of stealing and silence, tossed this embarrassing grenade right in their sausage fest. MUAHAHAHAHA! Their stocks tanked, billions were lost. The initiative they just announced last week for “AI dominance” suddenly looked, in the daylight, as though it had gotten dressed in a dark room and didn’t check the mirror on the way out. Wait, you all need half a trillion? They did it with 6 million! They kicked the stool out from under the American tech bros, and man was it nice to see them fall.

I also find it vindicating that there are huge moral quandaries with generative AI that haven’t been addressed at all by the government or the tech oligarchy: how they scrape the data of humans to create their content, but don’t compensate them for it. How their output is displacing the careers of real humans, without compensating the system it’s stealing from. How it takes a huge amount of power to run the systems. All of these issues may hit those dudes differently, now that China is wearing the shoes they’ve been sporting.

However…now that we’ve gotten past the flash of “weeeeee”, I’ll move on to my larger emotional response. If you’re American, this isn’t something to truly celebrate. It will be another vector for China to steal our ideas, code, and initiative; after all, that’s how they were able to make DeepSeek in the first place. There’s even evidence that they are using black market NVIDIA chips to make it, since they are restricted from buying them. This comes shortly after the revelations about the two 6th generation fighter jets they purport to have, which if the claims are true, means they have beat us to market. Again, this is based off of data that they stole from us (I remember they hacked the F-35 program while I worked there, and stole plans. And it certainly wasn’t the only time). They excel at taking other people’s ideas and building on them, and we are seeing those chickens come home to roost. For years, they have been thinking strategically about global markets, while we continued to only think tactically.

First we exported our manufacturing to them, hollowing out our middle class at the enrichment of the few. Trickle down economics somehow still hasn’t worked, in the 40 years since we started trying to get it to work. Any minute now, right? So our populace is unhappier and more tired, and broker, than ever before. China has executed extremely high levels of industrial espionage against us, and continues to do so, at a prolific scale. They’ve infiltrated our extremely sensitive government systems time and time again. And that doesn’t even include the actual spies that have infiltrated our universities, to pick our brains about our newest ideas.

So now, we have the results coming to market. 6th gen fighters, DeepSeek, and TikTok. I was going to write about the TikTok ban a few weeks ago, but wanted to see things play out. I’m now extremely happy I did, because it pairs perfectly with current events.

TikTok is a dangerous tool, as the government has been saying (and the American people ignoring), for years. It’s no coincidence that the version China allows its own citizens to use is far different from our own. It’s meant to dull us down and occupy our attention, so that we don’t accomplish anything with drive. It’s a time suck. It pushes disinformation. It ruins our attention span. It also gathers massive amounts of data on us. I personally predict that at some point, China will use that data to make digital AI agents to “befriend” users and then use PSYOPs on them to further degrade their loyalty to America and one another. I believe that they will use the data from DeepSeek to do the same; it gathers an incredible amount of data from the moment you download the app to your phone.

The TikTok ban, which Trump originally proposed (and I supported!) has now been stymied by Trump. He claims Microsoft are in talks to acquire the American arm of the business, and we shall see what comes of it. It’s been turned back on for American users. But what’s been fascinating to me has been watching the response online of the average user.

Overwhelmingly, I have seen Americans who use TikTok blatantly say, “So what if they have my data. American companies already have it all and sell it to anyone who wants it.” And you know what? Solid point.

This is a sign of the breech of trust between American government and its citizens. For many years now, I’ve been a vocal supporter of privacy laws like the EU has, and of harsh penalties for companies that fail to prevent security breaches. Neither has gained any traction in the US. Since the government believes its job is no longer to protect the average citizen, but instead to provide the opportunity to any sap who wants to bilk a buck from his neighbor the protection to do so, Americans are hugely data compromised.

Many times a year I am notified that some site or another has been breached. Companies are very poor custodians of customer data nearly across the board, and there is nearly no restriction on the data they can collect. There was just a huge data breach of an app schools use called “Powerschool”, announced last week. That data, among other things, included Social Security numbers of students and teachers, affected up to 70 million users, and was all achieved by one admin’s compromised credentials being used to login. As someone with software development and security experience, there are so many red flags here. Why was ONE lowly admin able to access the social security numbers of that many people? Why was no one alerted at that massive of a pull? Why were they stored in unencrypted areas, instead of being accessed individually with a key? And, why will nothing be done about it? This stuff is not rocket science; it’s lazy engineering because they companies don’t have the incentive.

If we made it so that there were fines and jail time for stolen data, security would improve immediately. But they get away with it. If someone came in my house, and stole my social security card, they would face fines and jail time. Why should the digital data be any different? If a bank lost my money due to their poor security, I would be protected. Why is this different?

In my option, the American government has done a terrible job of protecting us from this. Part of that is they don’t feel the pressure; part of it is laziness; part of it is the fact that most of Congress has no clue how technology works because they are dinosaurs and lawyers. But I also think the tech sector has done a terrible job of being good citizens as well. And now, guess what’s happened: They’ve done such a bad job, that people think China has their interests at heart more than America. And for me, it’s hard to say they seem totally wrong. China certainly doesn’t have their interests at heart, not at all. But it’s getting harder to be convinced that our own country’s government cares about them, either. And that is so dangerous.

In this moment, the users have the power, and they don’t realize it. We need to have people who understand current issues step up to the plate to protect us. We need to be on the same team again, and by that I mean ALL American citizens need to be protected, not just the rich. In this moment of chaos and terror, I’m not sure what will happen. But at some point, Trump used to be convinced that TikTok and China were dangerous. And he need to remember that they still are. We also need to stand with our true allies again, and make data and security standards with them. If we don’t stand with them, someone else will, and nature abhors a vacuum. I don’t like this isolationist stance we are moving toward; the world is too interconnected for it to be feasible. I have hope that this will be realized again at some point.

Please don’t download those apps. Please don’t give your data and your attention to bad actors. And while we’re at it, contact your Congress people and let them know your concerns about data, and about the overreach of our tech sector. And if you care about any of these topics, please consider helping do something to turn this around. Run for office, use your voice, speak up. We need people who care about change to make it; it’s happened before and the time is perfect for it to happen again.

As always, thanks for reading. Please add me to your RSS feed and share, and contact me if you like. I’d love to hear from you. Times are scary but not impossible. We are in it together. And, I hope you enjoy seeing the tech bro coalition with their bloody teeth this week (I sure am). Like Mike Tyson says, ”Everyone has a plan till they get punched in the mouth.” Maybe they’ll realize they need to take care of Americans if they want Americans to take care of them. Or maybe we need to make them realize it.

[titanrpg]

NO GOOD DEED: Bleed 10,000 Hit Points devlog v0.1

since a lot of people were excited about the intro snippet i posted for NGD, i thought maybe i'd record some game design thoughts as i continue working on it

going gmless

as i play and design more ttrpgs over the years, i've become less interested in games that require a lot of prep for the gm. or a gm at all. when i design a ttrpg, my default is gmless unless the game requires a gm to function properly.

going diceless

i'm also going diceless because the main mechanic is everyone's shared pool of 10,000 hp that takes 1 damage every second of real play time. i want that to shine, so i've made a ton of choices toward that goal. the mechanics heavily revolve around using and replenishing hit points. dice would just distract from that. plus, every game i've ever written is influenced by wanderhome so honestly it's been a long time coming, my writing a diceless, gmless ttrpg hah.

central gameplay mechanic (lack thereof)

NGD was born out of my own values and growth and discovery of Black anarchist theory. writing this game is a way for ME to see how these ideas play out in a 'micro-community' (shout out to jay dragon for the term) of a few friends at a table. obviously, a gm is thematically irrelevant to this idea. and as i explored a central game mechanic, i realized there couldn't be one. not for this idea.

instead, each playbook contains its own "mini game." (shout out to SLAYERS by gila rpgs for its cool asymmetric class system where i saw this first.) the setting itself will have mechanics to interact with, but each playbook has its own resolution mechanics and toys (one uses a rubik's cube to predict the future, another uses a toy top to pause the timer from ticking down, another uses a deck of playing cards, you get the idea). will this work? i'll find out in playtests haha.

an emerging theory of written narrative art forms

i'm finding that writing a ttrpg can be similar to writing a novel if you have an argument you're trying to make. mechanics communicate values and philosophy, and you can explore so many variations on a theme.

the big difference between a ttrpg and a novel (in my view, in this context) is that when you write a ttrpg, you're outsourcing the character creation/development process to the readers. it's unsurprising to me that i enjoy this, since my main "Thing" in ttrpgs is SRDs (systems that help people make their own games). caltrop core, emerge8, etc. i find the architecture/value exchange that underlies games really fulfilling to work with.

based on my experience with ttrpgs lately and novels in my undergrad degree, here is a theoretical relationship between them all, where reader involvement starts high and declines from left to right and author involvement starts low and increases from left to right:

srds -> ttrpgs -> novels

which is all just to say, writing NGD has felt like all the good parts of writing a novel and none of the parts that take me forever

final thoughts

hey, if you're still reading this, thank you. i'm enjoying this project more than p much any other ttrpg proj this whole year. i've also been in varying intensities of depressive episodes all year. it's more like i have episodes of good mental health sprinkled in with a depressive baseline. i recently increased my meds dosage so hopefully that helps.

i'll be back with another update soon. playbooks are up next.

follow me to stay updated!

-Lex

Titanomachy RPG

[cecilebutcher]

〈⛯ℂ𝕪𝕣𝕦𝕤 𝕆𝕝𝕪𝕞𝕡𝕚𝕒⛯〉

Pinterest moodboard

“You are the dancing queen

Young and sweet only 17”

!!Likes do nothing, Reblog instead!!

C.w: cheating. Depression.

Cyrus is part of my twst x Greek mythology oc series. Go check it out!

⊱Bᴀsɪᴄs⊰

Name: Cyrus Olympia

Age:17

Date of birth: June 19

Zodiac sign: Gemini

Hight: 177cm

Dorm: Rosantée (a beautiful dorm made by @midnightmah07 & @viilpstick)

Class: 2B

Place of birth:

Father: Aegaeon Olympia (48)

Mother: Dimitra Titan (42)

Step mother: Eileen Olympia (50)

Brother: Lex Olympia (19)

Brother: Seraphim Olympia(19)

Sister: Daria Olympia (18)

Twin Sister: Cinda Olympia (17)

Brother: Nestor Olympia (16)

Sibling: Aison Olympia (16)

Sister: Xena Olympia (6)

Dominant hand: right

Based off: Apollo(Greek mythology)

Sexuality: Bisexual, poly.

⊱Aᴘᴘᴇᴀʀᴀɴᴄᴇ⊰

Cyrus is a 177cm guy with tanned skin and freckles scattered all over his body, most noticeable are the ones on his face and shoulders, alongside a Beaty mark next to his mouth. He has blond wavy hair that reaches a bit under his shoulders that has grey strands scattered all around. He has a lean frame and baby soft skin, but is surprisingly strong.

⊱Vᴏɪᴄᴇ Cʟᴀɪᴍ⊰

D4vd (singer)

⊱Cʟᴜʙ⊰

Music club.

⊱Bᴇsᴛ Sᴜʙᴊᴇᴄᴛ⊰

Poison making. Music.

⊱Hᴏʙʙʏ⊰

Any and all things that relate to music. Archery. Camping. Travel. Dancing. Painting. Drawing. Artsy stuff. Poetry. Gardening.

⊱Bᴀᴄᴋsᴛᴏʀʏ⊰

Cyrus was born to a single mom along side his twin sister Cinda. Their mother, Dimitra, had slept with their father without knowing that he was married with children. After they were born all theee of them- him his sister and mom -moved in with their father and his family. Surprisingly, things went smoothly and they even got three more siblings.

Cyrus grew up loving music art and anything that’s artsy and creative. From a young age his parents would buy him instruments of all kinds for him to try, and he would excel in each and every single one they gave him. When he turned 14 he started to upload music he wrote on wetube for the world to see, and he quickly blew up. In only a year he had a large fan base. Now at 17, Cyrus is the biggest indie artists out there.

ᵉʳʳᵒʳ ᵉⁿᵗʳʸ ᶜᵃⁿᵗ ˡᵒᵘᵃᵈ....

⊱Sᴘᴇᴀᴄɪᴀ�� Mᴀɢɪᴄ⊰

-:Helios’ light:-

The ability to create instruments out of thin air that act like light. He can create up to 30 instruments at a time. The instrument he creates can play on their own or he can play them, and he can create a melody that changes a person mood. For example he can create a calming melody, or a sad melody, or an angry melody. No matter what type of music it is, the melody is always what he wants.

⊱Tʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛs Oɴ Cʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀs⊰

𝚁𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚕𝚎: Rosehearts? I think I know him? Though in all honesty I pay no attention to that school.

𝚃𝚛𝚎𝚢: I don’t know. But why is his name just…. Three?

𝙻𝚎𝚘𝚗𝚊: ah prince Kingscholar. In the wise words of my beloved twin sister Cinda, what a fucking bitch.

𝚁𝚞𝚐𝚐𝚒𝚎: He’s like, Leona’s henchman, right? Poor guy.

𝙺𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚖: Ah Kalim is so cute! I met him when we were kids and he’s always been so shy and adorable~

𝙹𝚊𝚖𝚒𝚕: He’s too serious in my opinion. And way too overpriced. But I suppose he has his reasons. 

𝙰𝚣𝚞𝚕: who?

𝙹𝚊𝚍𝚎: oh I have some of those! Jade gems are just so pretty you know?

𝚅𝚒𝚕: Vil! Oh I’ve worked with him before and he is so cool!! Words cannot describe Vil Shoenheit. Truly they cannot.

𝚁𝚘𝚘𝚔: Rook Hunt! Ah, such a fun guy. Me my sister and mom go hunting with his family a lot, so much fun. He’s crazy, but definitely fun.

𝙸𝚍𝚒𝚊: my beloved Cousin Idia shroud. Seeing him, I just want to put him under one of those lamps they place plants under so they get light.

𝙼𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚞𝚜: the oh so great Mallues Draconia. I have no opinion on him. Though he is pretty hot.

𝙻𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚊: idk who that is in all honestly. Next.

𝙽𝚒𝚎𝚐𝚎: I’ve worked with Neige a few times. He’s nice. And has a nice singing voice. I don’t have much of an opinion on him.

⊱Pᴇʀsᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛʏ⊰

Positive traits: kind, nice, generous, clever, intelligent, creative, responsible, reliable, brave, confident, independent, loyal, dedicated, cheerful, supportive, helpful, ambitious, caring, loving, easy going, open minded, patient, empathetic, witty, self confident, talented, gifted, truthful, passionate, friendly, sociable, charismatic, charming, warm.

Negative traits:fearful, anxious, argumentative, possessive, jealous, envious, naive, spoilt, unstable, uncontrollable, wild, pushy, petty, emotional, cunning, passive, chaotic, egotistical, prideful.

Neutral traits: energetic, positive, honest, lighthearted, sarcastic, competitive, sentimental, private, soft, talkative, flirtatious, dreamy.

⊱Fᴜɴ Fᴀᴄᴛs⊰

Worked with Vil before and is friends with him.

RSA golden boy.

1000% mamas boy.

Super fucking fun.

Like he doesn’t get angry.

He gets upset and is pretty dramatic but doesn’t get angry.

But if you manage to get him angry.

The only thing you can do is pray.

Super fucking emotional.

Their dad’s favorite son. Not kid, that’s Daria.

Hopeless romantic no1.

Has a new crush every other week.

Spoke 10 lies his whole life.

Bitch. Just. Straight up bitch.

Closest to Nestor and Cinda.

Most famous and biggest indie singer ever.

60% of his songs are love songs

30% are about him mom and sister.

10% about whatever he feels like.

Designated doctor.

Because he is a doctor

Don’t ask how he can be a doctor a singer and a student at the same time.

He’s built different.

Surprisingly strong.

Has a tattoo off a sun flower over a sun on his back.

Top of his class.

Flirt.

Went through a one year long depression where his life was in danger.

Is better now, but still takes anti depressants.

Cried when Cinda said she wouldn’t attend nrc with him.

In her own words “too much guys. No thanks”

Has three swans.

No one likes them except for him.

comments are more than appreciated. but reblogs help the content reach more people so please reblog if you want to like<3 likes do nothing. Seriously, don’t like, reblog.

[mistress-of-vos]

Okay so I'm about to explain very slowly the reason why I dislike when batfam fans talk sh*t about Lex: This image right here, yes. This.

Not only is this openly disgusting and rude, but it's also clear that there's no knowledge or comprehension about Lex Luthor as a character; and the comparison with Joker is simply and absolutely ridiculous. People are incapable of understanding that Lex is a villain on his methods, not because he - calls people slurs (which is a delusion of batfam fandom). And let's be real, Lex wouldn't have meetings with Bruce or Tim, they don't run WE, Lucius Fox does.

Making characters homophobic ain't funny. This "trend" of sh*tting on iconic DC characters that people know nothing about is gross. Not only are we living in a moment of rampant queer phobia and hate, which makes these kind of posts extremely nasty, but Lex Luthor is a character that has been used to transmit queer messages before (he has a comic where he's married to Superman, has a son with him, and Smallville *exists*). The hate that batfam fandom have for him shocks me, because it's pure mischaracterization done to prop up Bruce.

The jealousy towards Lex as a character is insane, because he has suffered enough due to creators needing to prop up Bruce. Lex is not the weird imitation of E*on M*sk that batfam fans want him to be, and I guess that must hurt, because I see posts like this one all the time, crying for someone to create content that does Lex dirty.

It reminds me of people arguing Jean-Paul Valley would be homophobic just because he happens to be Catholic, ignoring that he's a male character that breaks gender stereotypes and whose main plot is the vulnerability depressed people go through. Just because Lex is a villain doesn't mean he's s bigot (and for the record I also think all of this applies to Ra's except that Ra's' haters are usually just racists).

Lex is the child of a migrant family. He grew up poor and with a genius that made his life in school painful. He was abused by his father and had to take care of his sister. He made his own fortune. His intelligence allowed him to give life to science that no one had seen before. His charming with people was so large that he could get into politics. His empire is so strong that not even the al Ghuls could destroy it.

If you need to mistreat Lex Luthor to prop up Bruce Wayne, the only heir of a white family that comes from rich British people and whose company is kept alive thanks to Lucius Fox, then I think you should consider that Bruce is, simply, not that good of a character.

Oh, and read the comics before speaking up on a character. It's *so* obvious when people have only read the batfam silly webtoon. Can't relate!

[weirdo09]

Lex is a thick baddie Mirasol!!But Percy is the black bf who stays keep his gf fed🥰

omg hold on just a lil percade idea

me, I love to eat, ‘m also thick 🥰

Cade: *curled up with Percy* ‘m hungry

Percy: *gets up and goes to the kitchen*

Cade: Percy? whatchu doin?

Percy: makin my queen somethin to eat, what else?

Cade: *giggling* thank you, perc.

but no like food is such a love language especially in black n dominican culture, so beautiful

like you cannot tell me the minute someone’s like “I’m hungry.” he’s dashing to the kitchen to make a full meal when the person would be talkin bout a little snack

you cannot go hungry with him, he won’t let you. you not hungry? okay, drink this. you just not feelin like eating anythin big? here, have a little snack.

it would be an insult to him if you ever thought of not eating cause like “don’t worry, I’ll make you something!” something be literally enough to fill up a dinner table for christmas.

he falls head over heels for thick baddies so why wouldn’t he wanna cook and feed his woman like yo, you crazy?!?! he definitely uses food as a way to show his love and physical affection and music really

like he’s a whole package, I think this fueled me to actually want to write my percade hcs cause they gotta come to life 😚

but no we need more rep for thick girlies that isn’t so white centric cause it’s just skinny y/n but big like the whole y/n personality is there but it’s just depressing

anyways, perlex, punkflower and percade for the winnnnnnn !!!! 💯🥳

[jupitermelichios]

I'm feeling the need to be a hater but in a harmless and ultimately meaningless way, so join me around this barrell and lets shoot some motherfucking fish

Disclaimer: I am not telling you you can't enjoy these movies, or judging your taste if you loved them. This is literally just me being a hater about movies that happen to bug me personally for various reasons.

*of these random 10 11 movies I personally really hated

** obligatory disclaimer that I did not pay to watch this movie, JKR did not make a single penny out of my morbid fascination with cinematic trainwrecks

(despite what this list suggests, I watch a lot of movies that aren't cgi-heavy blockbusters, but having a specific interest in movie adaptations of comic books means I watch a lot of really terrible cgi-heavy blockbusters)

Anti-propoganda below the cut

Spawn: this movie hurts to look it. One of the single most visually unpleasant experiences of my life, and I'm including recovering from major surgery in that.

Batman v Superman: the entire plot hinges on people believing Superman shot a man to death with a gun. A less significant but unavoidable plot point involves Lex Luthor giving someone a jar of his own piss as a death threat. Compared to that, the Martha thing barely registers as stupid.

Cats: is it as bad as the viral reviews claimed? Sadly no. Did I almost strain a muscle trying not to laugh too loudly at how terrible it was when I saw it in the cinema? Absolutely.

Fantastic Beasts: none of the FB movies could reasonably be described as good, but the third one really lends credence to the JKR black mould poisoning theory.

The King's Man: they very clearly ran out of filming time/locations due to covid, and then for some reason instead of shelving what cannot have been a particularly expensive production, they decided to edit together what little footage they had and release it as one of the most fascinatingly incoherent movies of the last decade.

Last Airbender: the very rare movie that actually is as bad as the negative hype, this may have the worst use of cgi superpowers in all of cinema.

Fant4stic: if you don't have depression, but want to know what it feels like, watch this movie. That utter emptiness you're now feeling? That's what depression feel like. You don't feel bad, necessarily. You just feel nothing.

Transformers: none of the bayformers movies are good, but Last Knight is the only one which just straight up doesn't make sense. It's like someone took the strawman 'terrible soulless entirely CGI blockbuster' movie people use in tumblr arguments about hollywood, and decided to actually make it.

Black Adam: I feel bad about how terrible this film is, because it was a genuine passion project, and it has a great cast, but it also has the worst colour-grading and some of the worst editting I've ever seen. If a group of untallented first year film students got trapped in purgatory with dwayne johnson, pierce brosnan, and manual editting equipment from the 1930s, and had to make a superhero film in order to escape, this is the film they'd make.

TMNT: this film just makes me irrationally angry. It feels like a bad youtube skit about 'what if michael bay made an animated kids movie' but it's real and it cost $150 million

Flash: this was going to be a 10 option poll, but then I remembered this movie includes CGI christopher reeve, against the express wishes of christopher reeve, and WB went ahead and released it after Ezra Miller was arrested for kidnapping, and then it had the gall to also be a terrible film in almost every way.

[chickwiththepurpleguitar]

I’ve seen that your thinking about taking some request so… I’d love to read a Bobby/Alex with suicidal!Alex written by you, I’m really in love with your writing style. In any case, I hope you manage to reach your 100 fic goal! 🥰🥰🥰

Hello!! SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG. I am now actually trying to reach my 150 fic goal.... but at least I was finally able to put your awesome prompt into words! Hope you enjoy :)

TW: depression, talk of suicide attempt/ideation (nothing graphic, no one dies or is even hurt). take care of yourselves folks

Bobby’s not asleep when the phone rings, but he is a level and a half away from finally beating Zelda’s Adventure, so the annoyance in his voice is entirely legitimate when he answers with a simple, “Dude.”

He doesn’t need to bother asking who it is. Only his dumbass friends call him in the middle of the night.

It’s Alex on the other end, and his voice comes out quiet and dull, more so than just the late hour would usually warrant. “Hi.”

Bobby sits up straighter, pausing his game and putting the controller aside. “Alex? You all right, man?”

Alex gives a soft, sleepy hum. Bobby starts looking for his shoes.

“Bad night?” He fights to keep his voice calm and casual even as his heart threatens to beat right out of his chest. He doesn’t know the whole situation yet—there’s no point in getting all up in arms about something that might not even be happening, especially if his panic ends up being the very thing to push Alex over the edge.

“Yeah,” Alex whispers, voice a little teary now. “I didn’t—I haven’t—”

“Okay,” Bobby steps in so he doesn’t have to say it, even as he goes practically faint with relief. He holds the phone in one hand so he can pull his shoes on with the other. “I’m coming over anyway, okay? Be there in ten minutes.”

“It’s so late,” Alex whispers. “Shit, I shouldn’t have bothered you. Fuck.”

Fuck is right. Bobby’s mind races—he’s gotta hang up the phone if he’s gonna leave the house, but if he leaves Alex spiraling like this…

He’d call Luke or Reggie, middle of the night be damned, and ask them to stay on the phone with Alex until Bobby can get over there, if he hadn’t promised himself—promised Alex—that he wouldn’t tell their friends how bad this gets sometimes.

So he cuts off Alex’s rambly apologies with a quick, “Hey, hey, hey, where are you right now?”

A pause, and then: “Bathroom.”

Bobby mentally curses. The only worse place for Alex to be when he gets like this than the bathroom is the kitchen—and pills are a lot easier to swallow, pun morbidly intended, than putting a knife to your skin. The temptation is harder to resist when he’s on his own.

But he takes a breath, keeps his voice calm. “Okay. That’s a good place to be, yeah? Nice and quiet in the bathroom.” He rubs a hand over his mouth, thinking. “Listen, Lex, I want you to look up at the ceiling for me, all right? How many grains are in the tile?”

Alex scoffs. “I don’t fucking know, like a million?”

“Right, but I gotta know how many exactly, see, so I can… so I can get the same design at my new place!”

He’s got his keys, his coat—shit, pants would probably be helpful. After a moment of hesitation, Alex says, “The fuck you talking about? What new place?”

“The place… that I’m gonna get for us. After high school. All right, you hear me? I want those same damn tiles for the ceiling of our bathroom when I get you out of that fucking house and someplace safe, so I need you to count the grains for me, so I know how to get ‘em exactly right.”

He’s dressed now, one hand on the front door—all he needs now is for Alex to be okay, and then he can go make sure Alex is okay.

“What about Luke and Reggie?”

“Oh, those two doofuses? They can live with us too, I guess. If they want.”

Alex snorts, and it’s enough. Enough to tell Bobby he’s still got some humor left in him, despite the bad night. Enough to let Bobby’s heart drop out of his throat, to let him believe Alex is out of the danger zone. It’s gonna take a lot to get him totally back in the green, to convince his brain to shut up for a minute and let Alex believe Bobby when he says he deserves to live.

They’ve got a long night ahead of them, but everything will look brighter in the morning.

Alex starts to count, low but out loud, and Bobby breathes through so much love for him it hurts. “Good job, buddy,” he whispers. “Wait right there for me. I’m on my way.”

[iphoenixrising]

Hi! I just wanted to send you a message, firstly to wish you a happy new year! And secondly just to say that you’ve been providing incredible and free works of art for nearly a decade (probably longer, but it’s been nearly a decade since I first followed you!!) and I just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the tireless work you’ve put in. I hope writing has been as much of a joy for you as reading has been for us! Wishing you a wonderful 2025 :))

Hi babe.

Ah, thank-you for the loves! It's so amazing to think you've been with me that long, you know? There's many of the fandom peeps that text me or send me messages that have literally been there since the first Tim Drake fic went out. My daughter was still a baby back then and she's in sixth grade now and is almost as tall as I am tbh. Crazy how much time has passed.

And, you know, the years I haven't been writing much because ah work and other interests as I finally spread out my fanfic wings to devour content rather than create, I still come back here and be amazed at the amount of fics and ficlets and stories and half-baked headcannons people are still finding and enjoying today. In the shitshow the US has become in the last year, it's a welcome feeling to know some of the depressed and down-trodden can find some kind of comfort in ass-kicking vigilantes, Doctors with hobbies, Omegas that can only run from what they need for so long, the real feeling of Welcome Home, the owfucks and attitudes and steamy accents, the birds that can only go forward - never back, the absolute slimy creep Ra's can turn out at the most inopportune moments, the array of named concussions to make them seem a little less bad, infinite cups of coffee and Grape Zestis, the cliffhangers that might never get finished, and a plethora of other things hidden in the dark niches of this blog.

Hopefully, someday I'll go back for my MA in Creative Writing and get out of Tech to do this, or a version of this, in real life. But, until I do, I might as well share just a bit of the next installment of the TimDick (maybe TimDickJay...?) Sentinel/Guide au, right?

Hm, why not? You can check it below the cut ;)

After turning down any attempt of his Sentinel to contact him (i.e. actually duck and dodging said stalkery behavior he is intimately familiar with), it all comes down to the basics less than a month after the disastrous discovery in a hotel room right after he'd played Wayne Enterprises CEO with the likes of Lex Luthor–

who will always and forever be King of the Douche Canoes, seriously

– the breakout at Black Gate is the most all hands on deck that's happened in Gotham in the last year.

Since several members of the Rogue Gallery teamed up to set the explosives, well, every Bat is expected to set-up in Gotham, and Red Robin, for as much as he's stayed the fuck out of their business in the last year, finds himself already in the city for a few meetings with Lucius about next quarter when the night sky outside Wayne Towers lights up with the very familiar symbol.

"Dammit," he breathes out, pretty much aware he could just ignore it. Considering Nightwing, the Red Hood, Batgirl, Black Bat, Robin, and B were all in the city tonight anyway.

(What's one more body between the people of Gotham and the baddies? Well, depends on the body, doesn't it?)

Lucius gives the usual suffering sigh he gives Brucie Wayne when the other mask falls away and leaves the vigilante behind.

"I guess we can pick this up tomorrow," the head of R&D tells him idly, scrolling through text alerts on his phone while Tim visibly reins himself back in to the new line of motherboards going into their medical cradles for military aid.

Tim just stays quiet for once because even though Lucius and Tam both know the big secrets, it's still not something they talk about unless a thorough sweep for bugs has happened in the last thirty minutes.

(Ninjas suck sometimes. #facts)

"It's fine. We still have a few more things we can cross off the list–" Tim starts, jaw tight when he turns away from the familiar symbol, when some things still fucking sting even though he's been doing his level-best to move the fuck forward.

Lucius hums at him and holds out his phone with a tight smile.

The quick update on Gotham's Track the Crime Spree app shows him exactly what's going down, and his truly epic facepalm is the loudest thing in the office.

**

The Batcomm he hacked is on mute, voices in his ear to keep up with the criminals spilling out of Blackgate and swarming the city. Not to mention some of the classics had a hand in making it happen.

The initial plan changes when the Bats start calling dibs on bad guys, throwing out their locations, heading toward the more-than-usual amount of mayhem.

He doesn't throw in on the convo, instead starts picking off the small fries that just happened to be more concerned with escaping and hiding than doing a fair amount of damage the second they hit Gotham proper.

(Really noobs)

He's running through alleyways, easy, fast, and furious to take down the low-level escapees with quick double zip ties for wrists and ankles, not even really working up a sweat.

He leaves the big times to the official night crew, deals with the small fries and enjoys the burn in his thighs as he runs.

Batgirl spots him, yelling out something before he's off again, not interested in some kind of reunion.

(And her low level shields make his back teeth ache with how vulnerable she is, how much she needs someone to strengthen them for her, how he could do it without working too hard... Dammit, the Guide in him is drawn to her with those pesky instincts he's been trying to get under control.)

His first big bad of the night comes in the form of–

Condiment King.

And just. 

This guy.

He really wishes he had the time to enjoy witty banter and a long, drawn-out fight with some heavy hits. Anything to stop him from the low-level buzz on the edge of his shields he knows is Nightwing. He zip ties Buddy Sandler to a light pole and his backpack of condiments to another, he gets one good one before it’s time to move on. 

“Well, I relish the win, but you and the rest are going back to jail. See ya next crime.”

Then he’s off, shooting a grapple, taking off into the night.

Mortimer Kadaver was already kidnapping a victim, and he gets a satisfying crunch when he breaks the guys nose after a look at the torture implements in the back seat of the stolen sedan. The citizen takes off without a look back, completely ignoring him to wait for the police.

He jumps on another stolen car, riding a few blocks at breakneck speed before he punches out the driver’s side window and steers the car himself.

(It’s fun when the low-level thugs don’t know what’s going on. “How are you not driving?!” “Tell the hand in the window to give me the wheel back!”)

He doesn’t get thrown when brains kicks in and the driving thug slams on the brakes, but it’s a close thing.

Instead, he’s trying not to smile when they tumble out the other side of the car on unsteady legs. It’s an easy KO when the city is literally going to shit over the comm in his ear.

Things get real when O calls everyone in on the West side where the bigger, badder B is apparently ready for a round 2 of the “break Batman’s back” challenge.

(It’s the worst possible time for that guy. The flash of memory, of being Dick’s Robin for the short stint, of working with him while Bruce had to train his body again to take on the mantle after Jean Paul had to admit defeat. The best times, the most painful memories. All of it swirling in his chest with the buzzing on the edge of his senses getting sharper, cutting into his shields. All the bullshit stories about True Pairs and here he is, tempting the bond with things like proximity and ass kicking.)

He hits the top of the water tower to check out the sitch, trying to stay out of sight, out of the way of the main family doing their things while Bane is hepped up on venom and swatting at Robin and Black Bat like flies.

No one has to say it while calling out strategy, but it’s a pretty obvious distraction play. Keep the Bats busy while the bulk of baddies get ghost. It’s classic Bane, really.

Since the venom is highly flammable and there’s a lot of vigilantes he doesn’t want to face, he does the next best thing - makes a plan.

It easy to drive KG Beast and the Baffler right up his grill without ever being seen by the Bats as the three big baddies smack into one another on the down swing of some stunning blows. 

A combination of smoke pellets, knockout gas, and bo to the back of the head puts them out for the count in a move even he didn’t think was crazy enough to work.

Slam dunk. It’s buy two and get one free day.

Even better, Black B and Rob were back far enough to miss him through the smoke even though his rebound was a top notch move even for a season vigilante.

Which is why it sucks when Polka-Dot Man actually gets the drop on him because honestly, that guy. He does deliver a stunning back kick to put the B-lister down, but it does make him see double for an important enough second.

“Daw, takin’ alla the fun outta my night, Pretender,” the Red Hood drawls from a rooftop above him, the glint off shiny .45s too bright in his spotty vision. “Nice a’ ya ta actually show the fuck up fer once.”

“Honestly,” he banters back while the woozy sensation fades to a low grade headache, “how many asses in spandex does one city need?”

He gets a chuckle rather than a bullet to the head, so that is most certainly a win.

The drawback of gaining attention of the Red Hood, however, is the lack of duck and dodge that really is part of his new pseud.

Hood literally throws him over a shoulder and dives off the Wallstone Apartments while Red is still reeling from the blow, bellowing out when a meaty arm clamps on the back of his kicking legs in a very subtle warning.

“Leggo!”

“My ass. Stop yer squirming, fucker.”

“How about we compromise. Let me go and you can kick someone else’s ass?”

“Nice try. Like I dunno who yer really running from?”

“I’m fighting crime, not running you asshole!”

“Sure, sure. Ya know what they say. De Nile ain’t just a river in Egypt.”

“I don’t even live here anymore!”

“Oh? Can’t wait ta tell B ya just said that, Timmer.”

“I’m not his responsibility, didn’t you get the memo?”

Wind in his hair over the bad section of bail bondsmen and sleazy villain insurance. The plan forms while Red Hood arches his back to throw them both high in the air before the second grapple *zings* and latches on.

“I said th’ same thing at one time. Ya already know bout that shit, an’ how B didn’t give one fuck ‘bout what I hadda say.”

“The difference is you’re actually part of the fucking family, Jason!”

“Mmhm. Keep onnit, Replacement. M’comm is gettin’ alla this, n’ ya know it.”

“So what? No one’s bothered giving a crap  so far!”

Did he get hit with a truth serum or is this just the concussion talking? 

(R - Randal, Randal the concussion is awful and he should really stop this messy truth shit no one needs to hear.)

“Come off’n it, Timmy. Like ya don’t already know B gotcha tracked within an incha yer life? Think he just gonna let the smart one run off wi’ Shiva fer fuck’s sake?”

Even with Randal being a pain in the ass, Red has a terrifying moment of panic. They know. They all know.

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure, sure. Tell that ta Dickie why dontcha? I ain’t seen ‘in that pissed off inna hot minute.”

“He already knows-“

“Does he really now? Why don’tcha tell ole’ Jace all ‘bout it, hm?”

His voice through the synths sounds very not inviting.

“Randall is a fucker and he needs to lay off,” which has Hood laughing even if he doesn’t know what Red means by any of it.

They land it with a jolt — right in the middle of a brawl.

Which is just about the speed he really needs right now anyway.

Black Bat swings by with a screaming escapee dangling from one hand by his ankle while she smiles under the stitched-up mask and gives him a happy wave. The comm in his ear hasn’t fallen out so he knows the others are spaced out, corralling the others with the help of GCPD.

So, the fight is on a little more than he originally thought.

But still, the burn feels better than the low-grade concussion and the pulsing heat of Sentinels (of his Sentinel), close by. He knows Jason’s shields are fractured, held together by pure stubborn will. He knows Steph is a few blocks down, whooping it up with her shields scarily open for her senses to reach far enough out to track stragglers. B is held together the best of them all, but Dami is developing his senses now and his control is sporadic at best.

Punching the shit out of thugs takes some of the weight off the knowledge, doesn’t completely distract him from his own instincts, but distracts his brain just enough.

Leg sweeps, palm to the nose, kick to the back of the knees, a spinning whirlwind of ass kicking, back-to-back with Hood, spit blood when he takes a hit, clench his teeth when he feels the strain on Nightwing close enough to make his skin burn with it.

His chest is heaving by the time the groaning pile of bodies is down for the count and the red and blue is lighting up the night on their way. He scrambles for a grapple gun while Black B and Hood are finishing up the zip ties. But when he points it the way he wants to go, his finger won’t squeeze the trigger.

“Clean-up’s goin’ all right,” Hood reports, nudging his shoulder with the hand still holding the .45. “Lookin’ like B’s gotch some a’ th’ bomb residue ‘case ya wanna get in on that, nerd.”

“Like you’re much better,” Red rasps out, grapple in his lowered hand trembling, the pounding in his head worse than any concussion.

He knows what this is, the only thing it can be.

“Mmhm. ‘Least I don’t need a fuckin’ engraved invitation ta come back ta the Cave.”

Red’s head whips around, the whiteouts on the mask narrow in a who the fuck are you talking to? kind of way.

Hood crosses his arms over his massive chest because the guy knows when he’s feeding someone a line.

Welp, since everyone already knows apparently.

Right in front of the helmet, Red Robin shoves the grapple back in his belt and deactivates the right gauntlet with his left hand. The helmet cocks to the side in question, but Red moves with fluid grace and speed, even with Randall riding his cape, and slaps his palm on the only bare skin available, on the side of the Red Hood’s neck.

His instincts jump immediately and reach out to the dangerous cracks and crumbles in the Red Hood’s shields, the painful red throbbing of shields crumbling.

He might hear a noise out of the synths, might imagine it because what does Jason Todd owe him really?

But it’s easy, just like putting together the pieces of evidence from a crime scene. The fractured plates protecting Hood are hot to work with, a sharp sting across his brain pan (something that could be from the Pit or be just natural Jason Todd, zombie Sentinel extrodinaire), eases down with the pieces coming together, strengthening, forming a stronger metaphysical shield to give Jason a measure of peace from his own overwhelming senses. It’s a  the relief of relaxing a clenched fist after the fight.

The reason Sentinels need Guides.

(Well, there’s more to it than just that, isn’t there? And Red’s brain can’t help but flinch back to those dreams, to a voice in his ear and hands on him — Guide mapping, his dream Sentinel whispered against skin.)

Red doesn’t manage to stop Hood from sinking to his knees in the aftermath, downed criminals, things on fire, GCPD almost on top them, and Black B nearly vibrating out of her mask next to them, hands hovering and afraid to touch.

Instead, he feels the reverberation of that deep noise coming straight out of the Red Hood’s chest. The relief under the constructed shield thick between them while they stand in the middle of the street.

That growling purr is almost enough, almost enough, to stop him from turning on his heel.

But the gloved hand snags the hem of his cape stops him in his tracks. his eyes blow wide behind the whiteouts and he sees a second of Hood's emblem before his literal savior, Cass, snaps him up and throws him over her shoulder before she takes off.

The night takes a turn for a "what the fuck?" when he and Black B take a few pauses to double team some of the baddies when the Red Hood loses them close to Robinson Park.

Things got more dicey when N spots them taking out Joyful Noise before the sonic blaster destroys yet another pointless sculpture. The comms erupt in a whole lot more noise in the shit show his "duck and cover crime fighting" night has devolved into.

(He's not going to focus on how his head is just a little sore instead of Randall being a right pain in the ass, isn't going to think about the implications here. He can't focus and keep moving through the baddies if he has a sane moment to wonder if it was that easy because he also...Jason-)

They manage to evade the Bats (mostly), ignoring the cajoling and usual back-and-forth once they realize Red Robin is part of crime time.

Cass does him an absolutely solid, driving them to his other, other underground bunker, letting him hang his head against her back while the air hitting them reeks of smoke, burning plastic, and gasoline. He doesn't get the underlying tinge of metal, blood, and fear -- that was from Jason's head while those shields were coming together nicely.

(When he's a full continent away, he'll have him moment of panic, but until then, Cass is totally not addressing the very obvious elephant in the bunker.)

She stays for post-patrol snacks, producing a family-sized box of Cheez-Its and some Alfred sandwiches that are somehow still cold.

They do the usual throwing off sweaty top layers, domino and mask, stare at two episodes of The Office with Zestis from the mini-fridge in the corner.

One-handed signs while they chew, hit a quick patch up job, and the night is finally over.

Cass checks the Batchat to make sure everyone made it out of the city after one hell of a night and gives no reply to the questions about Tim, much to everyone’s dismay.

The next shift of GCPD is coming on, so the city is secured for another day. She produces a backpack and changes into soft leggins, runners, and a hoodie he's pretty sure is Bruce's.

Tim does a good job on her knuckles, and she gives him a kiss on the forehead, makes him promise to stay away from screens and not to sleep for a few hours yet.

After she takes off, he breathes out a long, breath, collapses on the overstuffed couch a minute before going to the lower levels, thinking about catching up on paperwork before he's got to meet with Lucius again. A nice shower, some coffee, and he could do some work, take an actual moment --

("True Pairs, an honest Sentinel and Guide relationship, can include sharing such effects of injuries.")

He shakes the thought out, rolls his neck, and picks up his discarded utility belt, trying to find as many things to divert his attention to as possible.

The door to his lower levels slides silently open under his fingerprint and an intensive alphanumeric code, but some premonition sends a familiar chill down his spine, the vestiges of the old Robin instincts.