#everything is complicated

[frances-baby-houseman]

We went to temple tonight for a yom ha'atzmaut party and they started playing david melech yisrael and I was like a sleeper agent being activated. I haven't sung this in decades-- they didn't sing it at our last temple!-- and yet! when it started I did the hand motions as though the last time I'd done it was yesterday.

[riocki]

Log #2: 01302024

Maybe it’s the night wind coercing me to write about you. Maybe it’s the fear of letting go of things so fast. Or maybe it’s the anxiety of waiting for another day to pass. Whatever it is, I wish you well.

How do you do these days? I hope you’re getting nice sleep — unlike me who’s unable to have a proper one ever since starting a new year. I always seem to have it the worst during the early months of the year — maybe my body remembers that night. Did you know our bodies can store memories? On a cellular level, it can. Do you think it’ll explain why my fingers twitch, my eyes suddenly hurt or my chest heave at the recognition of even the smallest thing that can remind me of you? I already know the answer to that.

My parents said I was good at making friendships when I was a child. Now it seems to be the complete opposite. Nobody stays. Even you. I still hold a grudge for the people who leave me. But I know I don’t hate them, not really. Because I can’t. Because I can understand people to a level they aren’t even aware of. I understood why you left and I accepted it even like my next breath. I’m so understanding of others, I overlooked everything that concerned me because I deemed it too low compared to other people’s. Have you experienced the same? Is this a bad attempt on still finding something we can both relate too? I told you I’m bad at this now.

I think the distance is a good thing. Sometimes, that is. Sometimes, I force myself to have fun because not everything should revolve around you and your life. Sometimes, I beat myself up over all the things I did wrong. It gets worse at nights — hence whatever I’m doing right now.

Do you miss it as much as I miss it?

I missed out on a lot of your teenage years, and you missed out on a lot of mine. Which is good, I think. It’s for the better that you didn’t witness how I was firsthand, right after you left. Or they left. A lot of people leave, please tell me why they do. Maybe you can convince me, you were always good at it.

Do you hate me?

I know there were moments where I was absent. I’m self aware. Do you hold it against me that I didn’t choose to view your messages? Is it the reason why you stopped reaching out?

If you knew the things I knew, would you have still ignored me?

I like to believe I’m stronger now. But everytime I’m faced with a problem and everything crashes down and I remember, I still get petrified and scared. But I don’t cry anymore. Maybe that’s an improvement.

I’m sorry. I need some sleep.

[ptsdickgrayson]

At least I know my dad was always proud of me. Literally no matter what I did he always was proud and loved me unconditionally. I wish my mom would do the same

[ciearcab]

other misc gnshn stuff from while i’ve been playing this summer

[hajihiko]

[mx-lamour]

I'm afraid of disappointment

Money is bad and awful

I can't trust people

And I don't know what's causing my vulvitis

How are you today?

[inkskinned]

the thing is there's like, a point of oversaturation for everything, and it's why so many things get dropped after a few minutes. and we act like millennials or gen z kids "have short attention spans" but... that's not quite it. it's more like - we did like it. you just ruined it.

capitalism sees product A having moderate success, and then everything has to come out with their "own version" of product A (which is often exactly the same). and they dump extreme amounts of money and environmental waste into each horrible simulacrum they trot out each season.

now it's not just tiktokkers making videos; it's that instagram and even fucking tumblr both think you want live feeds and video-first programming. and it helps them, because videos are easier to sneak native ads into. the books coming out all have to have 78 buzzwords in them for SEO, or otherwise they don't get published. they are making a live-action remake of moana. i haven't googled it, but there's probably another marvel or starwars something coming out, no matter when you're reading this post.

and we are like "hi, this clone of project A completely misses the point of the original. it is soulless and colorless and miserable." and the company nods and says "yes totally. here is a different clone, but special." and we look at clone 2 and we say "nope, this one is still flat and bad, y'all" and they're like "no, totally, we hear you," and then they make another clone but this time it's, like, a joyless prequel. and by the time they've successfully rolled out "clone 89", the market is incredibly oversaturated, and the consumer is blamed because the company isn't turning a profit.

and like - take even something digital like the tumblr "live streaming" function i just mentioned. that has to take up server space and some amount of carbon footprint; just so this brokenass blue hellsite can roll out a feature that literally none of its userbase actually wants. the thing that's the kicker here: even something that doesn't have a physical production plant still impacts the environment.

and it all just feels like it's rolling out of control because like, you watch companies pour hundreds of thousands of dollars into a remake of a remake of something nobody wants anymore and you're like, not able to afford eggs anymore. and you tell the company that really what you want is a good story about survival and they say "okay so you mean a YA white protagonist has some kind of 'spicy' love triangle" and you're like - hey man i think you're misunderstanding the point of storytelling but they've already printed 76 versions of "city of blood and magic" and "queen of diamond rule" and spent literally millions of dollars on the movie "Candy Crush Killer: Coming to Eat You".

it's like being stuck in a room with a clown that keeps telling the same joke over and over but it's worse every time. and that would be fine but he keeps fucking charging you 6.99. and you keep being like "no, i know it made me laugh the first time, but that's because it was different and new" and the clown is just aggressively sitting there saying "well! plenty of people like my jokes! the reason you're bored of this is because maybe there's something wrong with you!"

[lady-raziel]

because there is nothing to lose the people saying biden should resign now so kamala can still be the first female president are absolutely right but why stop there? inauguration day is 70 days away let's make "president for a day" a real thing. say "fuck it we ARE going to do the arbitrary quota DEI bullshit you accuse us of" and speedrun first [category] presidents. revolving door type thing.

first female president. first openly gay president. first transgender president. first president who has been to space. first president gamer president. first mime president. just play president bingo and hit as many categories as possible while we still can. make all of trump's #47 merch unusable by forcing him to be the 115th president instead. who cares anymore let's peacefully transition power but do it in the most chaotic hot-potato way possible

[kizzer55555]

DP x DC: The Most Dangerous Card Game

Ok so Danny has essentially claimed earth as his. And he is fully aware that there are constant threats to the planet. Now he can’t stop a threat that originates on earth (that’s something he’ll leave to the Justice league) but he can do something about outside threats. Doing some research on ancient spells, rituals, and artifacts, he cast a world wide barrier on the planet to protect it from hostile threats so they cannot enter. This will prevent another Pariah Dark incident. However, barriers like this come at a price. You see, there are two ways to make a barrier. Either make one powered up by your own energy and power (which would be constantly draining) or set up a barrier with rules. The way magic works is that nothing can be absolutely indestructible. It must have a weakness. The most powerful barriers weren’t the ones reinforced with layer after layer of protective charms and buffed up with power. Those could eventually be destroyed either by being overpowered, wearing them down, or by cutting off the original power source. No, the most powerful barriers were the ones with a deliberate weakness. A barrier indestructible except for one spot. A cage that can only be opened from the outside. Or that can only be passed with a key or by solving a riddle. So Danny chooses this type of barrier and does the necessary ritual and pours in enough power to make it. And he adds his condition for anyone to enter. 

Now the Justice league? Find out about the barrier when Trigon attempts to attack, they were preparing after he threatened what he would do once he got to earth. How he would destroy them. The Justice league tried to take the fight to him first but were utterly destroyed, so they retreated home to tend to their injuries, and fortify earth for one. Last. Stand. Only when Trigon makes his big entrance…he’s stopped.

The Justice league watch in awe as this thin see-through barrier with beautiful green swirls and speckled white lights like stars apears blocking Trigon and his army’s advance. The barrier looks so thin and fragile yet no matter how hard the warlord hits, none of his attacks can get through and neither can he damage said barrier. That’s when Constantine and Zatanna recognizes what this barrier is. Something only a powerful entity could create. For a moment, the league is filled with hope that Trigon can’t get through yet Constantine also explains that it’s not impenetrable. And clearly Trigon knows this too for he calls out a challenge. 

And that’s when, in a flash of light, a tiny glowing teenager appears. He looked absolutly minuscule compared to Trigon and yet practically glowed with power (this isn’t a King Danny AU though).

And that is when the conditions for passing the barrier are revealed. And the Justice realize that the only thing stopping Trigon and his army from decimating earth. The only way he can get through….is by beating this glowing teenager in a card game. 

Not just any card game though. The most convoluted game Sam, Danny, and Tucker invented themselves. It’s like the infinite realms version of magic the gathering, combined with Pokémon, and chess. And Danny is the master. So sit down Trigon and let’s play.

(The most intense card game of the Justice league’s life).

After Danny wins, this happens a few more times with outer word beings and possibly even demons attempting to invade earth, yet none have been able to beat the mysterious teenager in a card game. Constantine might even take a crack at it and try to figure out how to play. He’s really bad though. Every time this happens, the Justice league worry that this might be the time the teenager looses. Yet every time, he wins (even if only barely). 

Meanwhile, Danny, Sam, and Tucker have gotten addicted to the game and play it almost daily. Some teachers might seem them playing the game are are like ‘awww how cute’ not realizing this game is literally saving the world. Jazz is just happy they aren’t spending as much time on their screens playing Doomed.

[proudgirlinprogress]

The reason why I lean towards the directive is because many trans people I know personally were told "hey I think you might be trans" and it prolonged and complicated things, rather than helped. Theres some people in that group who have lasting effects from it, too, extremely anxious that they might have transitioned "to fit in" (obviously thats baloney but anxiety brain rarely cares about being reasonable). I can see the logic behind how some people tout the directive for transphobic reasons, but I think like everything its not black and white. My interpretation and interaction with this personal rule has been "dont tell someone theyre trans. remind them that exploration is an option, be an open resource, but dont decide for them", with how overt I am about recommending exploring their gender identity varying based on circumstances.

Point is, I'm reluctant to cast all of this as "transphobic people trying to stop more trans people from living as themselves" or the like. Its a fine line though, I get it.

Ramona: Yeah, uh, Roxie and I are both trans women.

Scott: Oh! So that's how she's one of your "evil ex boyfriends" despite being a girl!

Roxie, six inches from slicing him to bits depending on what he says next: Oh?

Scott, oblivious: Not "ex ... boyfriend", but "ex-boy ... friend!"

Roxie: ... y'know, that's the funniest way I've ever heard any "cis" person describe it.

Scott: Oh, really? -- Wait, why was "cis" in quotes?

Ramona, as innocently as she can manage: What do you mean in quotes?

Roxie, ditto: Yeah, this is a verbal conversation.

Scott: Uhhh, never mind.

The catgirl speedrunner from the High Council of Trans Women who was ready to clip through the wall and deck Ramona or Roxie in the face if either of them tried to violate the Trans Prime Directive, like with the Vegan Police: (retreats)

[tofixtheshadows]

So I've been thinking lately about how Mithrun is Kabru's dark mirror (more on that another time- it needs its own post), and I thought it interesting that one of their parallels is that they were both cared for by Milsiril, but in opposite directions. She took Kabru in as her foster after he was orphaned and tried to convince him not to become an adventurer. On the flip side, she helped rehabilitate Mithrun specifically so that he could rejoin the Canaries.

And I kept wondering: why?

For Kabru, obviously she loves him a whole lot- despite any other shortcomings in their relationship, I do believe that.

So I get why she tries to convince him not to go dungeoning, and, failing that, at least prepares him as thoroughly as she can.

But why help Mithrun? She used to hate Mithrun, but after realizing what a secretly twisted person he was, she actually thought of him more positively (oh, Milsiril). So it wasn't as if she held the kind of grudge that might motivate her to make his already-depleted life even more miserable by sending him back to the dungeons. And it wasn't that she felt bad for him either, since she didn't visit Mithrun for the first ~20 years of his recovery.

The Adventurer's Bible says that Utaya was the impetus for Mithrun returning to the Canaries, but Milsiril is the one who made the trip to see him and tell him about it.

Why would Milsiril work so hard to get her old coworker back into fighting fit? Why encourage him to return to such a dangerous lifestyle, when she was the one who chose not to mercy-kill him?

That last panel is such a crazy thing to hint at and then never elaborate on. Without it we could have just thought that Milsiril wanted the Canaries' work to continue without her, even if it seemed out of character. I think some people even assume she's just a natural caretaker as a foster mom and handwave it to include nursing Mithrun too. What could Milsiril's suspicious motives be? What does she gain from Mithrun joining the Canaries that isn't an altruistic desire to see dungeons safely sealed? Feeling a sense of responsibility for the work she left behind isn't an ulterior motive.

My theory is: Milsiril, knowing that Mithrun was empty save for the burning desire to face the demon again, wound him up like a clockwork doll and pointed him back at the dungeons.

Hoping that he'd eliminate the biggest threat to Kabru's life, before it was too late for him.

Milsiril the puppetmaster.

[criticalbeauregard]

agatha definitely didn’t need to kiss rio to use her powers on her or take billy’s place. she chose for it to be the last thing she ever did. she wanted to let rio back in so bad but she is so stubborn that the only way she could actually do it was with the promise of death swiftly after.

[coenubiaseraph]

All ancients re-designs + their weapons. Working on this took way too long, man. I had to get the anatomy accurate for everyone too for a separate ref sheet. But they're finally done.

[ruubesz-draws]

Godzilla (and co.) in jail :)

It feels nice to draw Rodan and Anguirus again :'))

[technically-human]

can you draw Edwin doodling embarrassing shit like ‘Edwin Rowland’ or a little doodle of Charles’s face with hearts around it then Charles comes up behind him like what are you doing?

He had some very specific embarrassing doodles in mind

ko-fi

[casscainmainly]

The Feelings About Tim Drake Alignment Chart

Cass and Dick versions. Yes I do subscribe to oifaaa's Jason doesn't know Tim's name headcanon. Also, as usual, open to change!