#theme: race

[thetouchof118]

a future with you

day 30 submission for @bucktommycharityrace!

From April 1 to April 30, 50 creators will post their creations while bringing awareness to 2 organizations: Lambda Legal and American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 and fights to protect civil liberties. Currently, the ACLU is fighting to: advance racial justice and systemic equality; protect and expand voting rights; defend immigrants’ rights; protect LGBTQ equality, including trans youth; advance criminal justice reform; defend reproductive rights.

Please consider donating for ACLU 🌞

[matchingbatbites]

Steddie meet-cute where Steve is a queen/contestant on Drag Race and Eddie is the guy he has to give a drag makeover for a main challenge. The mini challenge winner gave Eddie to Steve in an attempt to sabotage him because their vibes are sooo different and doesn't think Steve will be able to make him look good.

Unfortunately for that person, Steve has a competitive streak a mile wide and is determined to come up with something that works for both of them. The two find a middle ground between Steve's pageant glam and Eddie's metal grunge by going with a more Gothic-style Old Hollywood vibe.

Eddie is surprisingly helpful with the costume part of the challenge - "I've been making my own RenFaire costumes for yeeeaaars," - even though he's about as graceful as a baby deer when Steve puts him in a pair of heels.

What's really surprising is that he and Eddie get on like a house on fire. When they're not talking about the challenge or giving shit to the other players in the room, they're completely absorbed in each other.

They learn that for all their differences, they have a lot in common too, including the fact that they're both LA transplants from Indiana, and they've lived only half an hour away from each other for the last two years.

Steve can already feel a crush on Eddie blossoming, but he's determined to keep his focus on the competition - at least, until Eddie asks if there's anyone waiting for Steve back home.

Steve tells Eddie about Robin, his best friend and sister he never had, and Eddie says "But no boyfriend?" Steve shakes his head. "No boyfriend."

"So if I asked to take you out after you win the crown?"

Oh. "Well, we won't know if I've won until the show airs, and that'll be months from now. But I'd be more than happy to go out with you once we finish filming."

Steve finishes out the challenge, not really caring if the cameras were peeping in on that little interaction - if he has his way, he and Eddie will be months into dating by the time it airs.

They don't win the main challenge, but the queen who tried to sabotage Steve ends up in the bottom, so he's not really mad about it, actually.

When they film the grand finale - with Steve still reeling over the fact that he actually made it to the final three - Steve is more than happy to point out Eddie sitting in the audience with Robin.

And then a few months later, Eddie is right beside him when it airs on TV, the loudest person in the bar when it's Steve's name that's officially announced as the winner.

[statisticalcats2]

I feel like there's this weird like... mirroring of white man's burden where instead of the burden being to "civilize" non-whites, the burden is to help preserve their culture but in the most racist way possible by acting like BIPOC would never come up with concepts like democracy or gender/race/class equality or secularism on their own and it's not just bad for white people to force themselves into BIPOC cultures and try to change, it's also bad for the BIPOC cultures themselves to try and change and all the human rights activists, democracy supporters, and secularists are traitors brainwashed by the West and it's right for their governments to suppress, abuse, imprison, and murder them.

[cadillacjohnf1]

hey guys i just woke up from a nap did i miss any big news today?

[100line]

PANIC! PANIC! PANIC!

[faithinlouisfuture]

444 - POST SPRINT PRESS CONFERENCE (MIAMI GP 2025)

[avalonlights]

"The view is pretty great from up here, huh? "Yeah... It's not so bad, pretty boy."

Here is my creation for the @harringrove-relay-race! Next up, please look forward to a wonderful work from @desperate-not-serious! 🏁

[autumndragon]

honestly i really appreciate the writers of rtte stretching the rating as far as they could, now more than ever, because i can't believe how refreshing it is to hear words like "kill" and "death" and "tortured" just be said instead of it being censored away

[bearforcecaptions]

It started, like it always did, with the flicker of the lights and a low hum that seemed to come from deep within the walls. I’d been here long enough to know that sound—the pulse that heralded the arrival of fresh faces. I wasn’t sure how many I’d seen come and go by now, but I’d learned to recognize that shifting vibration in the air, the way the gym seemed to breathe in new people, new victims, and eventually, exhale them as someone else entirely.

I was sitting by the dumbbells, idly polishing off another set of curls I didn’t really need to be doing anymore, when the door swung open, and in they came. Two of them, both looking like they’d walked through the wrong door at the wrong time.

The first guy was scrawny, mousy even—brown hair, glasses slipping down his nose, a baggy sweater that swallowed his frame. He looked like he should be sitting in front of a computer, not stepping into a gym full of iron and sweat. The other guy was taller but equally unimpressive—shoulders hunched, face pale, with a thin mustache that seemed like an afterthought. They couldn’t have been more out of place if they’d tried.

And they looked as bewildered as I’d felt the first time I’d walked in here.

“Uh… hello?” The shorter one’s voice wobbled, and he gave the tall guy a nervous glance. They were strangers, that much was obvious. They didn’t even acknowledge each other beyond the initial glance, both of them clearly too preoccupied with their surroundings to question why they’d ended up here together.

I watched them, letting the silence stretch, because I knew what would happen. It was always the same.

“Hey, are you—do you work here?” the tall one asked, finally noticing me. His voice was a little steadier, though he was doing a terrible job hiding his panic.

I shook my head. “Nope. Just been here a while.” I gave them a once-over, smirking a little. “Let me guess… you two didn’t mean to end up here, did you?”

The short guy swallowed, eyes darting to the mirrors that stretched endlessly around us. “N-no, I was just, uh, walking out of the library and… then I was here. I didn’t—” He cut off, glancing at his companion.

“Same,” the tall guy muttered, his voice tinged with an edge of irritation. “I was leaving my apartment, and then… this.” He gestured at the gym, clearly baffled.

“Names?” I asked, leaning back and crossing my arms, the familiar weight of my own bulk a comfort.

“Ben,” the short one said, his voice a little squeaky. “I, uh, I don’t belong here. I don’t even like gyms.”

“Kyle,” the other one said shortly, fidgeting with his phone. “This place has gotta have a way out. Right?”

I almost laughed. “Good luck with that. You can try every door, every window—it all leads right back here. I’ve seen dozens try, but…” I shrugged. “You get used to it. Or you work out. It’s about all there is to do.”

Kyle’s mouth twisted, annoyed. “What do you mean, ‘get used to it’? We’re stuck here?”

“Looks that way,” I said. “But hey, I’m sure you’ll find your way out if you keep at it.” It was always the same—let them struggle, watch them slowly surrender to the gym’s rhythm, see them lose themselves, inch by inch.

And, as expected, they did. They tried every door, every possible exit, each attempt leading them back to the gym. They tried using their phones, but of course, the batteries died quickly, and there was no signal anyway. Hours passed—though time was slippery here, never quite settling. They wandered and fumed until, finally, I saw them gravitate back toward the equipment, eyeing it like a last resort.

“Nothing else to do,” I said, smirking. “Might as well use what’s here.”

Kyle glared at me but sat down on a bench press, placing his hands on the bar with the unsure grip of someone who’d never really lifted before. Ben was more hesitant, looking around with a lost, almost pleading expression before finally moving over to the dumbbells.

At first, their workouts were awkward, tentative. Neither of them had any real technique, and I could tell from their shaky form that they hadn’t set foot in a gym in years, if ever. But slowly, they fell into a rhythm, each rep easing the tension from their faces, each lift dulling the spark of panic in their eyes.

The changes started small, as they always did. After some time—hours, days, who could tell—Ben’s clothes began to shift. His baggy sweater started clinging to his frame, as though the fabric itself had decided to tighten. His arms, once scrawny, began to fill out, biceps firming, shoulders rounding under the now-stretched material. His glasses slipped off his nose one day, forgotten entirely, his vision sharper, clearer than it had ever been.

Kyle, meanwhile, seemed to grow taller, his posture shifting. His thin arms started to bulk up, each curl thickening his biceps, veins beginning to rise to the surface. I could see his hands flexing around the weights with more confidence, a focus that was edging into something else, something more intense.

One day, Ben was in the middle of a particularly heavy set of deadlifts when he paused, shirtless, sweat rolling down his now-muscular frame. I blinked, realizing that his baggy clothes were gone entirely, replaced by striped workout pants that clung to his legs, each squat revealing powerful thighs straining against the fabric. Around his neck, a thick silver chain gleamed, catching the light. He hadn’t had it before, I was sure of it, but it was there now, heavy and solid against his chest, as if it had always been.

Their voices had started changing too. Ben’s soft, slightly nasal tone had dropped an octave, his speech slower, more deliberate. And Kyle—Kyle’s words had taken on a thicker edge, a hint of something foreign, like he was translating from a language he couldn’t remember ever learning.

They still didn’t talk much to me, but when they did, it was strained, their English slipping. “Bro, give… give weight,” Ben would say, frowning as he searched for the words. I watched, a strange feeling twisting in my chest, as he began to look less and less like Ben, and more like someone else entirely. His face was fuller, his jaw sharper, a shadow of stubble darkening his cheeks. The softness of his expression was gone, replaced by something hard, a smirk that looked alien on his once-innocent face.

And Kyle… his posture was different, arrogant almost, his shoulders broad, his chest thick and powerful. His thin mustache had grown into a rugged stubble, framing his mouth with a sharpness that hadn’t been there before. His hair was shorter now, neater, and there was a glint in his eye, a confidence that hadn’t been there when he’d first walked in.

Their workouts became more intense, their bodies transforming faster. The new clothes clung to them, hugging every inch of their muscular frames. Ben’s bare chest gleamed with sweat, his thick arms flexing as he adjusted the bar, his lips moving as he muttered something low, almost guttural. “Bassem… weight…” he called, voice deep, accented. He didn’t even seem to realize he’d stopped calling himself Ben.

Kyle—now calling himself Kareem—grinned, nodding as he handed over the barbell, a sense of brotherhood, of shared purpose in his eyes. They had become each other’s world, barely noticing anyone else in the gym, certainly not me.

I tried to talk to them one day, hoping to catch some glimpse of the men they’d once been. “Kyle—Ben,” I said, using their old names. “You don’t… remember anything, do you?”

They looked at me, confusion flickering across their faces. I tried again. “Ben? Kyle?”

But they only glanced at each other, murmuring in Arabic, the syllables sharp and fluid, familiar to them but incomprehensible to me. “Bassem, shouf…” Kareem said, grinning as he motioned to the weights, a cocky glint in his eye. They both laughed, low and rough, as if they shared some private joke. Whatever English they’d once known was gone, slipping away like sand through fingers. They were different now—men who owned the space around them, who looked at the gym like it was their kingdom.

Their arrogance grew too, an alpha confidence that radiated from them. They strutted through the gym like they owned it, chests out, heads high, each step powerful and self-assured. The last traces of who they’d once been were gone, replaced by the men they’d become—Bassem and Kareem, powerful, proud, and utterly transformed.

The day the lights flickered in that familiar rhythm, they paused, exchanging a glance. Their bodies tensed, and without a word, they strode to the door, side by side, muscles rippling, their stubbled faces set in matching smirks. Bassem slapped a hand on Kareem’s back, muttering something in Arabic that made them both laugh, the sound low and rough, filled with a confidence that bordered on arrogance.

They walked out, swaggering, their steps heavy with purpose, never once looking back.

I watched them go, feeling that familiar pang of loss, of frustration. It was always the same—they came in, fought, transformed, and left, and I was left behind, the only one who remembered who they used to be. The gym’s hum settled back into silence, satisfied, and I knew it would only be a matter of time before it found someone else. Someone else to mold, to reshape, to consume.

And I would be here to watch it all over again.

[cantobear]

🐍💝!

[n64retro]

Diddy Kong Racing Theme David Wise Diddy Kong Racing (Rare, Nintendo, 1997) Original Soundtrack Nintendo 64 1997

[captainharlock]

birthday present i drew for @dbdonryo :))

[melon-colli]

LIGHTNING STRIKES THRICE IS SUCH A GOOD NAME FOR YELLOOW AAAAAA

[weirdofish]

Well, would ya lookit that? A new holiday-themed image!

Anyway, I have this incredibly stupid joke headcannon that Eggman literally goes feral over Cadbury creme eggs. Like, the instant he smells one his aggression shoots through the roof and he just books it on all fours like an angry bear. Of course, once Sonic and Tails catch wind of it, they waste no time having a bit of Easter fun XD

Happy Easter!

[fragmentedmirrors]

AHH THE CREW T0T It has been a while since I drew them!

I also did more lasso art. Drawing fingers is HARD for lasso art.

Characters by @arcadekitten

I finished watching the movie and thought of this :D

[saintvainglorious]

Fics I Enjoyed in January - DC Comics Fic Rec List Part 2

I am still neck-deep in DC fandom this month and the fics have been so so good. Unlike last time, I am too tired to write mini summaries/reviews, so I'm going to feature my favorite quote from each fic instead.

My first DC Comics fic rec list is here!

Floor Plans by @oh-mother-of-darkness (Teen & Up, 1k, 2016) “I really didn’t want to die,” he finished. “I was kind of hoping if I laid here long enough, I would remember what that felt like.”

Losing two brothers in six months takes an emotional toll.

almost right by @bitimdrake (Teen & Up, 3k, 2020) He desperately wishes that he didn’t know what Dick’s cheekbone feels like under a gauntleted fist.

Bruce sucks in a breath, hand raising to fix the cowl. Dick flinches back.

but more with love by @danishsweethearts (Teen & Up, 3k, 2022) Dick wakes up one morning, groggy from a dream that he thinks might’ve been about the circus and also about his favourite car and also about how lonely he is, and realizes that he can’t remember what his mother’s voice sounds like anymore.

O Robin, Robin, wherefore art thou Robin?

The Mechanics of a Hug by @sohotthateveryonedied (General Audiences, 4k, 2017) “You know… that crushing sense of depression? Like,” Dick chews his lip. “It’s. A physical weight. Makes it hard to breathe?” “Yeah,” Tim says, soft. He smiles, wryly. “I sort of hoped you didn’t, though.”

“So,” Tim ventures. “It's… what, a cuddle pollen?” Bruce just shrugs. “Something like that.”

No Pain, All Gain by @sohotthateveryonedied (General Audiences, 1k, 2020) Tim’s eyes go even wider. “You stole my organs?” “Technically,” Jason chimes in, “the doctors stole your organs. We just gave them permission.”

Bruce checks Tim’s IV. “Are you in any pain? Do you need more morphine?” Tim’s pupils are so wide that only the faintest ring of blue can be seen. He watches Bruce the way a five-year-old watches cartoons. “I’m all good, B-dog. All Gucci, like we cool teens say." His words are slurred almost beyond recognition, but Tim doesn’t seem to notice or care. "I could fight Superman right now.”

The Wind Sits in the Shoulder of Your Sail by @birdchildsnest (Teen & Up, 7k, 2020) “Oh my god. Bruce. I can’t even tell if you’re serious. When everybody finally eats the rich—they’re going to eat you first.”

At least, back then, Tim had barely been a teenager. He could almost forgive his own volatility. And he’d been smart enough (scared enough?) not to tell Jack that he didn’t need him. What was his excuse now? Bruce was his dad (at least, in the legal sense), but (surprise, surprise) it turned out that Tim wasn’t any better at being a son. Or Tim and Bruce still have some things to sort through after the adoption.

I Left My Conscience On Your Front Doorstep by @dustorange (Teen & Up, 21k, 2022) He doesn’t want to be loved if being loved is like this.

"I think I'm leaving," Dick whispers. "I think I'm not coming back."

bad boys bad boys (whatcha gonna do) ♫ by @drakefeathers (Teen & Up, 20k, 2014) "They live their lives thinking they can charge through the city with the right to hurt and kill and destroy as many lives as they want. And they do it all without a shred of remorse." “But—” Damian begins, brow furrowed in confusion. “Isn’t that like you?”

a Jason and Damian as Batman and Robin AU!! featuring a bunch of graffiti, a rival dynamic duo, and Cat Jason (a cat named Jason).

The Biggest Mistake by @oh-mother-of-darkness (General Audiences, 1k, 2016) “I could ground him anyway, if it would make you feel better.” “He only said it because I called him ‘a garbage can so ineffective it actually became garbage.’”

"You know what really needs to be addressed? Bruce's truly terrible treatment of Damian." -Me, on a daily basis

been a number and a name by @wynterstars (Teen & Up, 35k, 2023) “Turns out if you just say ‘spacetime’ until people’s eyes glaze over they don’t really question anything you say. Also, somehow nobody expects me to be able to actually do enough math to explain it.”

On a field trip, Robin has a close encounter with the newest super in Metropolis, only to discover the hard way that Superboy secretly works for Lex Luthor. They agree to work together on a plan to free Superboy from Luthor’s hold, but Robin isn’t sure how far he can trust him—and his developing feelings only make things more complicated.

clean it like you mean it by @wynterstars (Teen & Up, 70k, 2024) "Wait, ugh, you're not my dead dad, right? If I'm getting a dying vision of my dead dad I want a do-over because he suuuuucked."

When Gotham's crooks have to scrub down their lairs, who do they call? Jason Todd, Gotham's first and only underworld crime scene cleaning specialist. He's spent his life dodging the Bat, but after a chance encounter he saves Robin's life. Tim Drake finds himself drawn to the conflicted rogue, and soon Jason becomes Robin's street informant. But they can only stay on opposite sides of the law for so long before something breaks.

3:16 by @wufflesvetinari (Teen & Up, 70k (WIP), 2023) “Try to decouple one thing from the other. I’m proud of you, but ice cream isn’t my grand statement about whether you’ve been good or bad today. Good things are good. Happiness is precious. Sometimes you just want caramel chocolate chip.”

The knife pushes thin along Dick’s carotid artery, cupping the indent between neck and jawline—forcing him to angle his chin. The metal is warm, pulled with execution speed from under Damian’s pillow. “Okay,” Dick says quietly, tracking the intricacies of his own heartbeat—counting the space between breaths. “Guess I did need a shave.” (With faltering steps, Dick and Damian become Batman and Robin.)

wolf-king of rome by @mysterycitrus (Not Rated, 25k, 2024) “You go after Joker, but you don’t kill him, because it’s not about the Joker dying, it’s about Bruce breaking his code for you. It’s about Bruce loving you enough to change himself for the worse. It’s about your idea of grieving.”

Jason doesn’t fear Dick Grayson. Fear itself has changed shape for him, since his return from the Pit - it tastes of dirt in his mouth, of drowning, of fire and blood and laughter, more than a tangible face. Still, he’d be stupid not to be cautious. Dick liked playing on an uneven field, and would do anything to keep him off balance, so he just had to stay focused. That’s the nature of the armistice, both waiting for the other to make a move. It’s like balancing on the head of a pin.

Declensions by @dustorange (Teen & Up, 13k, 2018) “Do not tell them your name. Do as I did to survive. I lied. I have always lied. Make one up. Do not let them have you. Say your name is…is…is…Richard Grayson. Or something. They are going to steal you; do not give them anything to steal.”

“My father,” Dick says, “worked the rope. It cut him. His hands were never clean.”

Passiontide by @bigdvmnhero (Teen & Up, 5k, 2025) Despite its faults, the day had tried to be good. He felt young, like someone's son.

On the 96th day Bruce didn't call, Dick remembered their old game. Three things he knew: 1) In three months, it would be Dick's death anniversary; 2) Bruce was still missing his check-ins; 3) Here Dick was, persisting. Imagine the things I'd survive, Dick thought distantly, if I loved Bruce less. Or: Agent 37 and his various crises of faith, on Day 277 at Spyral, Day 150, and Day -0.

the time you won your town the race by @silverwhittlingknife (Teen & Up, 4k (WIP), 2022) Tim. Tim is Dick’s. Death sharpens, clarifies these things. Who will receive the body, decide on the funeral, receive condolences, make all the decisions that matter. No one has questioned it, not even Tim’s friends. There’s a terrible clarity about death. If Dick said, let’s burn everything he owned, Alfred would do it.

He doesn’t know exactly what Tim would say. But he knows what Tim would do. Tim dies. Dick doesn’t take death for an answer. A Red Robin 12 AU.

door, opening by @cowboysorceror (Mature, 70k (WIP), 2024) Dick, with the keys to every locked door Jason has ever tried to open, tucked inside the cradle of his skull; all of that, snuffed out like a candle.

It’s barely audible, but he knows what he heard. A short, four-note whistle, chirping down – E, C#, then jumping up to A, F#, a little trill on the finish. He waits a moment, head turned slightly towards the dim shapes of storage containers between him and the ramp, eyes straining against the blackness. Long, stretching seconds. There it is again. His gloved hand, prickling with cold, closes into a fist. It’s a wood thrush. A small North American songbird that doesn’t sing at night, doesn’t live in the city. He knows what it means. It means hold, steady, not yet. It means wait for me, I’m behind you.