#SLMs

[orisretr0]

YO

YO YO YO

GUESS WHO JUST GOT DONE EDITING AN AWESOMR FIC YESTERDAY :D WE FINISHED CHAPTER ONE!!!!!!

COWRITTEN WITH @bugba-bugbee GO READ IIITTTTTTTTT

[mysocial8onetech]

Learn how Phi-3.5, Microsoft’s latest Small Language Models (SLMs), are revolutionizing AI. These open-source models support more than 20 languages and handle contexts longer than 128K tokens. With enhanced training approaches for optimized performance and security, Phi-3.5 models are highly capable and cost-effective.

[govindhtech]

Utilize Local AI: Revolutionizing Nearby Small Enterprises

In recent years, AI has grown essential to the daily lives. It has been linked to operating in massive, centralized cloud data centers, though. “Local AI,” often referred to as “on-device AI” or “Edge AI,” is becoming more popular this year. AI algorithms, efficient language models (also known as Small Language Models, or SLMs), and local vector databases are all getting smaller, more effective, and requiring less computing power. They can now operate locally on a wide range of devices as a consequence.

What is Local AI (on-device AI, Edge AI)?

Running AI apps locally on a device rather than depending on (remote) cloud servers is known as “local AI.” Such on-device AI operates in real-time on consumer electronics (such as smartphones and wearables), commodity hardware (such as outdated PCs), and other embedded devices (such as robotics and point-of-sale (POS) systems found in stores and eateries).

Why use Local AI: Benefits

Many of the issues and difficulties with existing cloud-based AI applications are resolved by local AI. The following are the primary drivers of local AI advancement:

Data security and privacy: Information remains on the device and under one’s control.

Accessibility: AI can function without an internet connection.

Sustainability: AI uses a lot less energy than cloud configurations.

Additionally, local AI lowers:

Latency, allowing for real-time applications.

Commodity business cases are made possible by data transmission and cloud expenses.

Local AI may open up new opportunities for a variety of applications, including consumer apps, industrial automation, and healthcare, by utilizing the capabilities of Edge Computing and on-device processing.

Privacy: Keeping data secure

Local AI provides an answer in a world where worries about data privacy are growing. Sensitive information stays local since data is processed immediately on the device, reducing the possibility of security breaches or improper use of personal information. Data ownership is obvious, and exchange of data is not required. In sectors like healthcare, where sensitive data must be processed and utilized without being transferred to external servers, this is the secret to employing AI ethically.

For instance, a doctor’s device can execute diagnostic or medical data analysis software locally, which can then be synced to other local devices on the premises (such as PCs, servers, or particular medical equipment) as needed. This guarantees that patient information never leaves the clinic and that data processing complies with stringent privacy laws such as HIPAA and GDPR.

AI Accessibility: Anybody, Anytime

The fact that local AI can operate without an internet connection is one of its biggest benefits. For customers who live in rural areas or have erratic access, this creates a world of possibilities. Imagine using your phone to access language translation, picture recognition, or predictive text features without requiring an internet connection. Or a retail store’s point-of-sale (POS) system that functions flawlessly without internet access.

In order to prevent businesses from losing operational efficiency because of network problems, these AI-powered solutions can still manage inventories, evaluate client purchasing patterns, and provide offline product suggestions. This is made possible using local AI. Because of its low hardware requirements, AI is now available to everyone at any time. As a result, local AI is essential to democratizing and expanding the use of AI.

Energy Efficiency for Sustainability

Massive server farms that use a lot of energy are necessary for cloud-based AI. Data centers worldwide used between 240 and 340 terawatt-hours (TWh) of power in 2022, despite significant efficiency gains. Data centers today consume more power than whole nations like Argentina or Egypt, to put this into context. In addition to contributing to around 1% of energy-related CO2 emissions, this rising energy demand puts significant strain on the world’s energy supplies. These trends have been exacerbated by the development of AI.

By 2030, data center energy consumption may rise by 160% due to AI workloads alone; according to some projections, AI may use 500% more energy in the UK than it does now. By then, data centers may be responsible for as much as 8% of all energy use in the US. On the other hand, local AI offers a more environmentally friendly option, such as by utilizing Small Language Models, which need less energy to operate and train.

Local AI greatly lessens the requirement for continuous data transfer and extensive server infrastructure because computations take place right on the device. This reduces energy use and contributes to a smaller carbon impact overall. By reducing dependency on power-hungry data centers, incorporating a local vector database can also increase efficiency and lead to more ecologically friendly and energy-efficient technological solutions.

When to use local AI: Use case examples

There are countless new use cases made possible by local AI. Advances in AI models and vector databases have made it possible for AI programs to operate economically on less powerful hardware, such as commodity PCs, without requiring data sharing or an internet connection. Offline AI, real-time AI, and private AI apps on a range of devices are now possible with to this. Local AI is becoming available to a wide spectrum of users, from smartphones and smartwatches to industrial machinery and even automobiles.

Consumer Use Cases (B2C): Commonplace apps such as voice assistants, fitness trackers, and picture editors can incorporate generative AI capabilities or AI to provide quicker and more individualized services (local RAG).

Business Use Cases (B2B): Local AI may be used by manufacturers, retailers, and service providers to analyze data, automate processes, and make decisions in real time even in offline settings. This enhances productivity and user satisfaction without requiring continuous online connectivity.

In conclusion

Local AI is a potent substitute for cloud-based solutions, increasing AI’s sustainability, privacy, and accessibility. Artificial intelligence may now be implemented on commonplace devices with to Small Language Models and on-device vector databases like Object Box. Local AI is changing how to use technology everywhere, from the average user searching for always-available, easy tools to major corporations aiming to enhance operations and develop new services without depending on the cloud.

Read more on Govindhech.com

[arcane-vagabond]

Stranger Like Me Masterlist

Pairing: Dr. Jack Abbot x Reader

Summary: From a young age, the animal kingdom had fascinated you, and maybe that's why you chose to pursue that passion. You quickly became a force within the field, becoming the leading expert on ape social structures, which is how you found yourself on an expedition into the African jungles searching for a troop of gorillas. What you weren't expecting, however, was to run into the local wild man on one of your excursions... (Tarzan!AU)

Series CW: Language, Inaccurate science jargon, Inaccurate field jargon, Poaching, Animal Cruelty, Inaccurate Climate Depictions, Wild Man who doesn't know much, Wild Man in the big city, Exploitation, Corporate Greed, Smut, Fluff, Angst, Violence. Individual chapters will have their own warnings.

All posts related to this series will be tagged with "SLM," "Stranger Like Me," and/or "Tarzan!Jack”.

*Denotes Smut

Main Masterlist || Jack Abbot Masterlist || Blog Rules || Writing Rules

Series;

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four (Coming Soon)

Drabbles;

Nothing to see here yet…

[lonestarflight]

Portraits of all three Skylab Astronaut crews.

source

[yagmurbodrum-blog]

[doctorsiren]

So I said this in the tags of my last post, but then I went wacky and doodled up some pages of this other AU idea that stemmed from the idea of that comic I did

In this AU, Miles goes to Diego Armando’s office a few weeks after the Fawles trial. There is no cocky, arrogant, or smug air about him like there was during the trial and instead he seems really shaken and nervous. Diego’s like “hey what’s wrong?” And Miles is quiet but then says that he needs help. He tells Diego that he can’t get the image of Fawles’s suicide out of his head and that he has no one he can talk to about this. Diego asks about Miles’s mentor, but Miles says that there’s absolutely no way he could ever go to his mentor for help with emotional stuff because it would show “weakness” and he also isn’t comfortable with von Karma. To make a long story short (because I’ve thought so much about this), Miles ends up pleading with Diego to protect him from von Karma just in case he goes after him for switching sides to be a defense attorney. He knows that von Karma will see him as weak and a traitor for switching teams after a single case, but Miles can’t be someone he’s not. Diego points out that Miles seems to be trying to be who von Karma wanted him to be. So he asks Miles what he wants to be, and Miles responds by saying he wants to be his dad (just like in my 1985 animatic 😭).

So Miles decides to renounce prosecution. He rips off his cravat and throws it in the garbage in Diego’s office and declares that he’ll become a defense attorney. He also asks Diego is he could be his mentor to help him in both being better at defense law and also just being better with interacting with people.

He joins the Grossberg Law Offices and works alongside Mia and Diego to gather evidence on Dahlia Hawthorne, as he now too believes that she has done terrible things.

After Diego is poisoned, Miles freaks out because people just keep dying or getting hurt around him and it scares him. (Oh…baby boy just wait until Mia dies too-)

He takes the case to defend Phoenix, gets TERRIFIED when Phoenix eats the poison necklace, and then at the end, Phoenix was like “oh wow! You’re a defense attorney now?? Lmao when did that happen??” Bc he had been too busy simping over Dahlia. But Miles tells him that he should still pursue law so that they could work together and also so that Phoenix’s law classes and studying wouldn’t have gone to waste. So Phoenix becomes a lawyer and works with Miles and Mia at the Fey & Co Law Offices until she dies and then it becomes Edgeworth & Co Law Offices because he had been a lawyer for longer.

I like the idea that in this AU, Phoenix and Miles obviously have huge crushes on each other, but these idiots still refuse to acknowledge or admit it <3

Also :((( when Diego wakes up, he still goes on his whole antagonist arc as Godot, and Miles refuses to tell Phoenix the truth about who he is. See, I also like the idea that in this AU, Nick and Miles are still as cagey with their past and truths as they are in normal AA

As you can see, I am perfectly normal !! I think about ace attorney a very normal amount!! 🤭

[izloveshorses]

Will wonders never cease?

[yakamoz-cirkini46]

Bennn geldimmmmm🙂🙂

[govindhtech]

DDR5 MRDIMM: The Future Of Data Transfer And Performance

Intel Data Center Chips are enhanced with new ultrafast memory.

DDR5 MRDIMM provide a novel, effective module design to improve system performance and data transfer speeds. In order to enable applications to surpass DDR5 RDIMM data speeds, multiplexing enables the combination and transmission of several data signals over a single channel, hence expanding the capacity without the need for more physical connections.

How by cleverly doubling the memory bandwidth of conventional DRAM modules, Intel and industry partners were able to release top-end Xeon CPUs with a plug-and-play solution. System memory, or DRAM, is essential to performance even though Intel’s main product emphasis is on the processors, or brains, that power computers. In servers, this is particularly true, since the number of processor cores has increased faster than the memory bandwidth (i.e., the memory bandwidth available per core has decreased).

This mismatch has the potential to be a bottleneck in heavy-duty computing tasks like weather modeling, computational fluid dynamics, and certain forms of artificial intelligence.

What Is MRDIMM

Intel experts have discovered a way to break through that constraint after years of work with industry partners. They have developed a unique method that has produced the quickest system memory ever and is expected to establish a new open industry standard. The first to take use of this new memory, known as MRDIMM, for improved performance in the most plug-and-play way possible are the newly released Intel Xeon 6 data center CPUs.

According to Intel’s Xeon product manager in the Data Center and AI (DCAI) division, “a significant percentage of high-performance computing workloads are memory-bandwidth bound,” which is the kind of task that MRDIMMs are most likely to help with.

This is the tale of the DDR5 (Multiplexed Rank Dual Inline Memory Module)MRDIMM for narrative efficiency. It sounds almost too wonderful to be true.

Bringing Parallelism to System Memory, with Friends

What Is RDIMMs

As it happens, the most widely utilized memory modules for data center tasks, called RDIMMs, actually feature parallel resources, much like contemporary computers. That’s just not how they’re utilized.

A senior principle engineer in memory pathfinding in DCAI is one of the two ranks for performance and capacity in the majority of DIMMs. It’s the ideal location.

One way to conceptualize ranks is as follows:

Banks: one set of memory chips on a module would belong to one rank, while the others would belong to the other. Data may be separately stored and retrieved across many ranks using RDIMMs, but not at the same time.

The electrical load of each MRDIMM is combined by the mux buffer, enabling the interface to function more quickly than RDIMMs. Additionally, the bandwidth of memory is increased because both ranks may now be read in tandem.

This jump, which would typically require many generations of memory technologies to accomplish, results in the fastest system memory ever constructed (in this example, peak bandwidth climbs by approximately 40%, from 6,400 mega transfers per second (MT/s) to 8,800 MT/s).

Same Standard Memory Module, Just Faster

You may now be asking yourself, “Wait a minute,” whether Intel is returning to the memory market. No. Throughout its history, Intel has abandoned its different memory product businesses, some of which are extremely well-known, despite having begun as a memory firm and inventing technologies like EPROM and DRAM.

The MRDIMM‘s simplicity of usage is what makes it unique. There is no need to modify the motherboard since it uses the same connection and form factor as a standard RDIMM (even the tiny mux chips fit in previously unoccupied spaces on the module).

The reliability, availability, and serviceability (RAS) and error-correcting capabilities of RDIMMs are also present in MRDIMMs. To Vergis, data integrity is preserved regardless of how distinct requests are multiplexed over the data buffer.

All of this implies that data center clients have the option to choose MRDIMMs when placing an order for a new server, or they may subsequently remove the server from the rack and replace the RDIMMs with new MRDIMMs. Enjoy the improved performance without changing a single line of code.

Xeon 6 + MRDIMM 

A CPU that is compatible with MRDIMMs is necessary, and the Intel Xeon 6 processor with Performance-cores, code-named Granite Rapids, which was released this year, is the first one on the market.

Two identical Xeon 6 systems one with MRDIMMs and the other with RDIMMs were evaluated in recent independent testing. Up to 33% more work was done by the MRDIMM-equipped machine.

Small language models(SLMs) and conventional deep learning and recommendation system workloads are among the AI workloads that can readily operate on Xeon and benefit from the bandwidth improvement that MRDIMM provides.

MRDIMMs have been released by leading memory suppliers, and more memory manufacturers are anticipated to follow suit. With assistance from OEMs like NEC, high-performance computing facilities like the National Institute for Fusion Science and the National Institute for Quantum Science and Technology are aggressively implementing Xeon 6 with P-cores due to MRDIMMs.

Read more on Govindhtech.com

[mistymisfit]

So long, Marianne IV

Summary: Reader is a spy working undercover in Gotham when she meets Jason Todd, who despite her better judgement she forms a very close friendship with. This story follows their escape from Arkham asylum, their fall out and the times they run into each other as they get older.

Warnings: mentions of sex (but nothing smutty happens), mentions of past torture and sa!!, also one mention of Jason pushing reader's hair back but that's all that's said, no texture or anything specified.

Word Count: 4,1K

a/n: told myself i'd stop posting this series on tumblr and keep it only on ao3 but whatever, i'm having writer's block so idc

Read on ao3

Masterlist - Mobile masterlist

Your first thought is "what are we even doing anymore?" It's great to have him back in your life, but what the fuck is going on? Ever since you worked things out with him after what happened in Gotham, you started to sneak and meet him in secret. First, it was random hotels until he bought a few safe houses in the city. You never went to the same place twice. The safe houses would always switch after a while, he'd sell them and replace them. Out of the current ones, there was one of them uptown, then the other was downtown, and the third one was near the harbors.

You've been doing this for months, secretly meeting him in the dead of night every once in a while, and it'd always end up the same way. You see him, you get overwhelmed with how much you missed him and cry, then he'd wipe your tears off, and you'd sleep with him and leave. Frankly, you were growing a bit tired of it. He wasn't honest to you most of the time, wouldn't even tell you what he did when he was not with you. It didn't matter how great he was, it was exhausting being pushed away this much.

The first time you met him like this you cried, telling him all about how sorry you were for yelling at him like that, for saying all those things to him and leaving so cruelly. And he'd say he was sorry about locking you up and that he was a jerk- you agreed on that. To be fair, you were both wrong; you put yourself in danger going to Gotham that day, but it didn't give him the right to behave like that.

"Let go of me!" You had screamed when he picked you up, carrying you over his shoulder. "I swear to God, Ja-"

He cuts you off with a grunt before you can say his name. You trashed and kicked, but it was no match against his strength. Using your powers was out of the question, freezing him would only make it harder to escape his grasp. In between you cursing and yelling at him, he managed to walk to the military car so he could throw you into the backseat.

"Is this your fucking plan?" You were yelling as he opened the door "Have you lost your mind? You are giving him exactly what he wanted!"

"Shut the fuck up," He whispered angrily, putting a gloved hand over your mouth and hovering over you as you laid on your back. You looked around to see his men on the front seats quickly averting their gaze from you two. Of course, it was all about questioning his authority in front of them, it was fragile like that. "I don't want you to get hurt, so they're going to take you somewhere safe"

You took his hand off your face before saying "And I thought you were making decisions for yourself. Can't you see you're still his puppet? Just stop-"

"Enough, you are leaving. Now" You watched as one of his hands searched something in his pockets, handcuffs. It almost made you want to roll your eyes.

"Ja- Wait, what are you- stop it" You kicked him, trying to get out of his grasp "you're a fucking idiot, you're so brainwashed you can't see you're playing right into his trap"

"Quit it"

"Quit it? Let go of me!" You shrieked as he managed to bound your wrists behind your back. Then the anger got to you and you lowered your voice before you could say the meaner things you could come up with "You never left Arkham, huh? Figured I forgot a part of you there, left your humanity behind"

"Yeah, I'm a real monster sweetheart" He scoffs, and even over the modulated voice, you can tell the hurt in his voice, how much your words were affecting him. It made you feel bad for a second until you remembered how he was treating you.

"Clearly, you're not the person I thought you were." That's the last thing you say to him before he knocks his helmet against your head, rendering you unconscious so you wouldn't escape and ruin his plans.

You woke up with a killer headache and no idea how long you've been out or where you were. What you do know is that you're laying down on a mattress on the floor, no longer handcuffed and with an ice pack on your forehead right were Jason hit you. As you gradually regained consciousness, you started to check your whereabouts before you could move again. The room was dark, had no windows, and looking at the walls, you realized you were at some old, run down abandoned place. Panic quickly washed over you as you checked the state of your clothing; nothing was wrong with it, and you left out a sigh of relief.

You could hear voices outside, not outside the door but a bit further away. Moving as silently as you could, you walked towards the voices, going down a set of stairs and hiding behind a pile of wooden boxes as you tuned into the conversation a few meters away from you. It seemed to be some sort of weapon exchange, as most of you could make out of what they were saying was about either guns or ammo. You could only see the backs of some of Jason's men and not who they were talking to, but you recognized that voice as soon as you heard it. You took a step back, unknowingly knocking over some things and not being able to react and freeze them on time due to the shock. You'd drawn their attention to you now; neither Jason's nor Harley's goons were as fast as her to react.

"You!" She exclaimed in that high-pitched voice of hers, your heart felt heavy in your chest as it felt tighter and tighter and harder to get the air in and out of your lungs. You could feel the acid traveling from your stomach to your mouth and had to swallow down the need to puke."All grownup, Arkham's little princess!"

She kept talking as she walked closer to you, you shook your head saying no, unable to get any word out of pure fear; it had been years since you had felt that helpless. "Ah, you always healed so fast, not a scar on your pretty face, besides you know...that" Her cold fingers traced the tiny scar on the apple of your right cheek before you weakly pushed her hand off.

Your fingers went to your cheekbone, covering over the area you healed all those years ago, Jason didn't know about it. He didn't need to know about the acid burn scar you would have on your face had it not been for your powers.

"You used to be my cutesy dress up doll!"She laughed, grabbing a strand of your hair and twirling it "Remember when you wore my outfits? You looked so adorable!"

Then you remembered you were no longer tied up or keeping a cover or that you haven't been Marianne for a while. So with any and all the strength you could find, you raised your fist and delivered a swift and highly trained blow to her face. The silence that followed was deafening; the militia men were well instructed and had orders not to let anything happen to you, so they were ready to stop the situation from escalating. Stopping Harley's company from getting involved. She spat out blood and smiled, her twisted smile made your stomach turn once more. But you were free, or at least freer, so you grabbed one of her ponytails and smashed her head to the concrete wall. No longer putting up with the torture she put you through.

"What's wrong?" She teased, laughing through it "Didn't cha' miss me too? Cause I sure did! How much fun was it when I nailed your hand to-"

You let go of her hair only to push her away, making her stumble a few steps from you "Shut up, shut the fuck up!"

Then it's her laugh, that wicked, overly exaggerated high laugh that made you launch yourself again at her to fight her before you're stopped, dragged back by someone. You look up to see his expressionless helmet. He's been here this whole time? Didn't matter as you immediately started wriggling, trying to get out of his hold.

"Heal her" He ordered you, you jerk your arm out of his hand and take a few steps back, almost tripping. What? You looked up at him with eyes brimmed with tears begging to be shed and scared at how much he reminded you of him at that moment. It was like you went straight back to your captors, forcing you to heal and slow down his disease.

"No." your voice came out so low and shaky that you almost cringed at yourself.

"Stop causing me so much trouble and fix her face"

"You will not speak to me like that"

"I'll speak however I want, now do as you're told" He grabbed your face harshly; he didn't like the look in your eyes at all, or the fact that he successfully scared you into doing something you didn't want to. A whine escaped your lips as he gripped your jaw tighter, and only eased up once your eyes lit up. He could already feel the guilt eating him up, but his mind was dead set on carrying on with his revenge.

"Harley get you and your people the fuck outta here" He orders, before giving his men the same command. To leave you two alone.

"Gladly," She scoffs, holding her no longer broken nose "it was good to see ya' again"

"You're working with her?" you recriminated, shoving him and getting out of his grip once she left

"She works for me."

"Don't you dare touch me," you stepped back, raising your arms defensively when he tried to reach out for you "you heard her, you know what she did-"

"I'm using her, it's part of a plan"

"Did this big plan of yours really need her?" You sighed, wiping the tears that fell down your face; again, you found yourself crying over the same thing. Something you thought you had pushed down years ago. His silence gave you all the answers you needed

"Fine, I'm leaving"

"Wait a-" His hand caught your wrist.

"Let go of me," You struggled out of his hold "I don't even know who the fuck you are anymore. Working with her, all of them, you really are just one of the people you used to chase"

He opened his mouth to say something, not that you would know under the mask, but stopped when you added one last thing before you left. "You're just like him, and killing Batman won't fix the shell of a man you are"

Jason regretted what he did, his revenge plan didn't seem as important when he broke down after being unable to kill Bruce. He had him, but he didn't manage to pull it off. He lamented it especially when he needed you so badly to tell him it'd be okay and he wasn't a failure but you wouldn't, and now he'd probably lost that comfort forever due to his own doing.

He thought very differently. From his point of view, he was coming to you whenever he needed a decent sleep. It seemed this was the only way he could get at least an hour of useful rest, he thought fucking you was a way of making you hate him less. Maybe if he made you feel good, then you'd let him get close. It was his very fucked up way of saying he was sorry. This was the routine until tonight when he showed up incredibly injured, talking about some black mask character-- whoever that was. He had broken a few ribs and his nose; his body was poorly stitched in multiple places, and you were sure he had more wounds than those he admitted. It was a miracle he managed to leave Gotham to see you. Despite his insistence on being okay and that he was not in pain, you got to healing him.

"You have-"He whispers, wiping the blood off your nose.

"Oh it happens sometimes," You brush it off, taking the tissue from him. "do you feel better?"

"Mhm, thanks" He nods, cupping the back of your head with his hand and pushing you into a kiss.

"Wait, you should rest" You sighed "I haven't healed you completely "

"I know-" He smirks, kissing you again.

"Jay, I don't want to" You put your hand on his chest, trying to get some distance.

He sighs getting away from you and sitting as far as he could on the couch. Even if he was pissing you off, you've grown to appreciate seeing him in casual clothes. Right now, he was wearing a (way too tight) black shirt, his cargo pants as well as his boots were also black. He'd lost the leather jacket the second he walked through the door of the safe house, the safe house he'd bought to be able to meet you. You knew that with Jason you had to take what you could get, so you cherished seeing him dress like a normal person for the actual weather and not being covered from head to toe. You sigh back, rolling your eyes, and crawling to his side.

"Can't we just talk?" You whisper, tracing circles on his chest and hoping he wouldn't just get up and leave.

"Talk? " He chuckles in disbelief "What do you want to talk about?"

"I don't know, anything" You shrug, but a smile creeps up your lips when he turns to see you.

"How was your day at work?" He teases, knowing you wouldn't tell him about that.

"Ugh," You complain, but when you try to get away from him he is fast to grab you and pull you flush to his chest "Jason, is this all that you want from me?"

"What do you mean?" He lets go of you enough so you can put your arms on him to prop yourself up to look him in the eye.

"Sex, Jay" You sigh exasperated "Do you visit me just 'cause you want to get laid?"

He's taken aback by your question; you wanted more from him? Also, is that what you think of him? And on your side, you can't decipher his expression. Sometimes you miss being 16 and knowing exactly what went through his mind. He used to be so easy to read, now it's like he's purposely closing off any and all information he didn't want to give to you willingly. You had your suspicions that he'd come see you just because it was easier for him than letting some random girl see his scars, you even doubted he went out at all for the very same reason. You figured maybe it was easier to let his guard down with you since you had already seen the worst of him and been through the same. Maybe it was just convenient that he was still in touch with his high school sweetheart.

He shakes his head no, regretting giving you that impression. His cheeks blushed thinking he was to blame for it, remembering how he broke into your apartment that night. He intended to apologize, in between his new activity as Red Hood, he'd found the time to search for you in Bludhaven like he was originally meant to before you found him first. He stood on the roof of a building in front of yours for weeks before he actually tried to contact you, going over and over again if you'd even want to know anything from him. Eventually, he grew a pair, missing you far outweighed the shame he felt.

"Shit," You cursed when you saw him standing on your apartment "you can't be here"

He was disappointed by your reaction, yet he knew he should be grateful you weren't greeting him with a punch to his face. He opened his mouth to speak, but you immediately signaled him to stop. You looked around for a pen and paper and wrote down: meet me at the Harborview plaza 3 streets down. I'll get a room and leave the window open for you.

He agreed with a silent nod and left through your window, he made his way to where you told him to meet you. Jason knew he was in no position to question you and ask why wouldn't you want him in your apartment. He clearly knew where you lived, so keeping that a secret wasn't an issue. He expected yelling, cursing; Jason knew you never held back any words when mad at him. While overthinking your skittish behavior, he finally sees you open the window on a seventh floor. Of course, you couldn't have made it easy and asked for a room on the first floor, but then again he was the one taking you to the top of Gotham's skyscrapers so you could marvel at the view when you were 16.

"You shouldn't have gone there, we don't know if they're listening" You explained as soon as he came in through the window.

"I-uh,sorry" He's had months to think about what to say to you, but now that you're in front of him he's at a loss for words. No speech he had prepared came to his aid. "I didn't think about that"

He reaches for his bike helmet, undoing the buckle under his chin so he could drop it and see you. Or mainly so you could see him, maybe it was selfish of him, but he wanted someone to see him, look him in the eye and not be scared of him. Jason wanted to know if he could still count on you for that.

"I'm so sorry," You started to sniff as soon as you saw his face, wiping the tears with the sleeves of your sweater "I never should've said those things to you"

"No, I'm sorry"He finally took a step closer to you, pulling you in for a hug "I'd never forgive me if I were you"

"I don't think you're like him at all, I'm sorry I told you that" Your cries turned into sobbing, and suddenly you couldn't hold back any emotion anymore as you set the waterfalls of your eyes free. It was like a dam broke when you saw him, and everything you've been pushing down was now out in the open and you couldn't control it. He let you cry into his chest, wrapping his arms around you and rubbing your back to comfort you. After a while, when the sobbing didn't seem to calm down, he guided you to sit on the bed. Wiping the tears from your face with his thumbs. Kneeling down in front of you, he told you to take deep breaths, helping you relax.

"Baby," he whispered, kissing your knee over the jeans you wore "I keep fucking everything up with you, can you forgive me?"

You nodded, still tearing up and opening up your arms, so he'd come up and hug you. He does so, pushing your back to the bed and laying on top of you in the process. You're about to say you're sorry again when he kisses you. He stops, giving you a second to tell him to fuck off and looking for a response in your eyes. Lucky for him, you understood his silent question and nodded as your fingers ran through the back of his hair, and he lowered himself once more to kiss you saying, "I'm sorry, I'll never do that again to you"

So with Jason finding himself sleeping and waking up with more energy, your little rendezvous started. He's only realizing now that he has been giving you a wrong impression all this time. He sighs before, in a rare flash of vulnerability, he tells you what he thinks.

"I've been trying to make it up to you," his eyes dart to the floor, he's got every right to still be embarrassed about kidnapping you and what he made you do "make you hate me less"

The closest he's been to opening up like this was that one time when he had you wrapped under his arms, your skin touching his, and the question slipped from his overworked mind through his lips: "Are you scared of me?" You shook your head no, pressing a kiss to his scarred chest as you drifted off asleep. "No, no I'm not. We're okay," you had mumbled in response.

"I don't hate you, Jay" Music to his ears, he even contemplates asking you to say it again

"But you cry every time we meet"

"I-" You don't want to admit he has a great point, besides now that you think about it, this is the first time you ever said no to him "I have my reasons, besides you cry too, does that mean you hate me?"

"No" He defends himself, damn it, he thought he was hiding it well "I could never hate you, I love you no what ifs"

You smiled sweetly; that was what you said to him once. Many many years ago, when he was still Robin, it felt you were both completely different people from that distant memory where you told him "I love no what ifs, Jay". He had laughed then, now you doubted he would ever be that joyful again.

"Come on, you used to tell me everything," You encourage him "tell me something, anything"

"Anything?" He pushes your hair back, and you nod eagerly "You don't look like a Marianne, or a Penny, or any of your other aliases"

"Really?" You raise an eyebrow in fake disbelief, you never felt those names suited you anyways"Does my real name fit me better?"

"Yes," He whispers with his hand cupping your cheek. Even if your situation is not the best or what he'd hoped for when you first met, he's still glad to have you around. Sometimes, he remembers all the dreams and plans he had and holds back from scoffing when he recalls how he already made his world spin around you before you even kissed.

"You know," Now your hand caresses his scarred cheek "my offer still stands, I can try to get rid of your scar if you want to"

He blinks, not knowing how to take your words. Did it bother you? Did it make you like him less? He takes your hand off his face, and with that, he withdraws the hand in yours. Your expressions turns sadder, he can tell, so instead, he opts to deflect the conversation as he usually does.

"Can I ask you something?" He changes the subject, and you nod, allowing him to do so even if it's exhausting at this point "Would you ever want to get out?"

"Jay-" you sigh, knowing where this conversation is headed. You couldn't leave with him, no matter how badly you wanted to. "You know I can't"

"I asked if you wanted, not if you could" He insists, secretly hoping you give him the answer he expects. Give him a sign of how important he is to you, he'd drop his Red Hood persona in a second if you asked. He's learned his lesson after being the knight, and he's been trying to redeem himself by taking out the bad guys in Gotham instead of working with them.

"Of course I want to but-"

"We could find a way out, I-" he doubts but decides to push through "want more than this"

"Hm, you want me to be your real girlfriend?" you hum, your expression softening and your shoulders relaxing as you played with his hair, him leaning into your touch which he finally learned to enjoy. "You'll finally take me out on a real date?"

"Yes, everything," He closed his eyes, relaxing even more. His tone also weakened, becoming almost a pathetic whimper as he made promises to you "whatever you want"

"You'll be honest with me?" You question, your free hand going to the other side of his face, making him look at you.

"Yes, I promise" He replies, holding your gaze "We'll work something out"

"Okay, I'll get you as much information as I can." You nodded, maybe you could hold onto the hope that he'd put his brain and abilities to good use and he could find the way out that you couldn't. Maybe two heads can think better than one alone.

[rabidbatboy]

VOORHEAN: slasherval loving men / SLM

TIFFANIC: slasherval loving women / SLW

LENZIC: slasherval loving nonbinary / SLN

TAGGING: @radiomogai @juvelic-archive @orientation-archive

🧼 ——— COINED BY ME

[arcane-vagabond]

Stranger Like Me: Chapter Two

Pairing: Dr. Jack Abbot x Reader

Summary: From a young age, the animal kingdom had fascinated you, and maybe that's why you chose to pursue that passion. You quickly became a force within the field, becoming the leading expert on ape social structures, which is how you found yourself on an expedition into the African jungles searching for a troop of gorillas. What you weren't expecting, however, was to run into the local wild man on one of your excursions... (Tarzan!AU)

Content Warnings: Language, Dead animals, Injury to self, Reader is a bit of an idiot, Baboons, Jack not understanding boundaries, The crew make fun of Boots. I think that's it.

Word Count: ~3.3k

Series Masterlist || Main Masterlist || Writing Info || Blog Rules

You woke up to the sound of yelling coming from the Frank’s tent. You scrambled out of the sheets, barely pulling on a pair of shorts over your underwear before running out of the tent and towards the camp. Frank and Whitaker were standing outside the tent, looking uneasily at each other as Mel, Trinity, and Victoria all came running up with you.

“What’s wrong?” You asked, a little out of breath from your run. “What happened?”

“Well,” Whitaker started, glancing over at Frank as the brunet ran a hand through his hair.

“Wild man left a goddamn fish in my bed,” he snapped, glaring disdainfully into the tent.

“He what?” You questioned, pushing past them to look in through the opening. Sure enough, a large, bloody fish sat atop the usually pristine sheets. You grimaced, backing up to stand with the others. “What kind of fish is that?”

“What?” Frank hollered, looking at you incredulously. “Who gives a shit? There’s a fish in my bed, Boots!”

“Do you think he’s threatening you?” Mel asked thoughtfully, stroking the length of her jaw as he eyed the fish. Frank turned to look at her, a surprised look on his face as if the thought only just crossed his mind. He looked back at the fish with pursed lips.

“Jack isn’t like that,” Whitaker assured, placing a gentle hand on Frank’s shoulder. “I’m sure it’s just a misunderstanding.”

“There’s a fish in my bed,” Frank gritted out, waving wildly towards the tent. You rolled your eyes, crossing your arms in front of your chest.

“Quit being such a baby about your gift,” you scowled. Frank began to splutter, face going red as he fought to form a coherent thought. At that same moment Robby and Dana came walking up from where they had been fixing dinner.

“What’s going on?” Dana asked, glancing around at your little group. Frank pointed a finger into the tent, taking deep breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth as he pinched the bridge of his nose. The two older researchers pushed past you and Trinity to peer into the tent, their eyebrows shooting up their foreheads at the sight.

“Huh,” Dana laughed out. “He must have seen you working with the plants this past week.”

Frank stared at him for a second, blinking slowly as he processed what the brunette just said.

“Pardon?”

“He sees me growing some of the food here,” Dana explained, gesturing towards the small patch of land she had set aside to grow some vegetables for the camp. “I use fish from the river to help fertilize the crops. He helps me with it sometimes, in fact. He must have thought you’d want some fish to help with your research.”

“Oh, that’s so sweet,” you sighed. Frank stared at you, an unreadable expression that slowly morphed into one of distraught.

“But,” he murmured, waving uselessly back at the fish, “my bed? Why?”

“Now that is a bit of a mystery, I’ll admit,” Dana hummed, staring confusedly at the bed. Robby rolled his eyes.

“Is it though?” He muttered, giving you a knowing look. You shifted uncomfortably. Surely he wasn’t implying…

“Boots, we’re going to have to take a raincheck on going down to the waterfall,” Frank sighed, looking at you now.

“What?” You frowned. “No way! It won’t take you that long to clean up! We can just go after!”

“This is going to take me forever to clean up,” he argued, shaking his head. “No, we’ll just go tomorrow or something.”

“Frank, if I have to spend one more day in this godforsaken camp, I’m going to lose my mind,” you scowled. “I’ll just go on ahead and you can meet me when you’re finished. How does that sound?”

“It sounds like a terrible idea,” he frowned. “The jungle is dangerous, Boots. God only knows what’s out there waiting to snatch you up.”

“You’re being ridiculous,” you snapped, glaring at him. “I’m just as capable as the rest of you. I can take care of myself. Mel, tell him.”

Mel sucked in a breath, eyes darting between the two of you as you waited for her to say something.

“I don’t know if I feel comfortable getting in the middle-”

“Fine, whatever,” you hissed, turning back to Frank. “Frank Langdon, I am a capable woman who can take care of herself. I’ve done this plenty of times before when you aren’t here to infantilize me.”

He mulled over your words, but it was Trinity who spoke up first.

“I mean,” she started, crossing her arms, “all of us go off all the time. She should be fine on her own, right?”

Frank gave her a hard look before huffing.

“Fine,” he relented, “but don’t go too far, okay? I’ll join you when I’m finished with this. Hopefully, it won’t take me too long.”

You smiled in victory, turning to head back to your tent and get ready. It didn’t take you long, just changing into a fresh set of clothes and filling up your canteen with water before grabbing your backpack. You were just about to leave camp and head towards the falls when Dana stopped you.

“I packed you some lunch,” she said, handing you an old container. You took it from her, smiling gratefully as you shoved it into your backpack.

“I’m guessing there’s something else you wanted to say to me?” You asked, earning a chuckle.

“Just,” she hesitated, shoving her hands in her pockets as she gazed into the jungle, “be careful. I didn’t want to say anything in front of Frank, but Victoria and I spotted a leopard by the river not too long ago. It’s possible it’s moved out of the area, but I wanted to let you know just in case. Just stay vigilant.”

“Yeah, I will,” you smiled, readjusting the strap on your shoulder.

“I’m sure Jack will be keeping an eye on you too,” she added. “You should be fine.”

“Thanks, Dana,” you nodded, turning and heading into the jungle before you.

The sun shone brightly, some of the rays penetrating through the canopy above. It was strange being out in the wilderness by yourself, the strange new noises keeping you slightly on edge as you continued to trek through the leaves. You took another swig from your canteen, the cool liquid easing the unsettling warmness that surrounded you. You tried in vain to wipe away the sweat accumulating on your forehead, letting out a frustrated sigh and grunt of disgust when you just ended up smearing more sweat onto your face. You shoved the canteen back into your pack, stopping when you heard a chattering sound coming from up above.

You looked skyward, seeing a couple of baboons racing along the trees. You grabbed blindly for your notebook, eager to jot down some notes and sketches of the creatures for Robby and Whitaker to go over when you returned. You trotted after them, now digging in your bag for a pen as you continued after them. The baboons noticed you, chattering at each other loudly as they took you in. Seeming to taunt you, they waved their arms at you, tilting their heads as if to say “can’t catch me.” You huffed out a chuckle, twisting and turning through the trees as you chased them. You were so caught up in trying to jot down some notes that you didn’t notice the dip in the ground or the tree root that arched out of the dirt beneath you. You fell with a panicked yelp, hitting your head on another one of the large roots, the world going dark around you.

You weren’t sure how long you had been out, probably not too long since the sun still beat down through the canopy. You touched the sore spot on your head, wincing at the slight sting, but sighing with relief when you checked your fingers and found no blood.

The baboons were still shrieking and chattering above you, almost as if they were laughing at your unfortunate predicament, and you cast an errant glare upwards at them. Damn monkeys.

An ache rippled up your leg from your ankle, and you bit your lip as you shuffled back to lean against one of the trees, hoping against all odds that you hadn’t done anything too bad to it.

Your head pounded, a wave of dizziness running through you that was most certainly not helped by the intense humidity and heat of the jungle. You let out a groan as you experimentally moved your ankle, hissing when a jolt of pain ran up your leg. Yeah, definitely sprained. You huffed out a sigh, leaning your head against the trunk of the tree.

The cacophony of noises did little to ease your aching head, and you wished you had waited for Frank to finish cleaning his bed like he had insisted. Now you were stuck out in the jungle, hoping and praying someone would find you before something else did.

You groaned at the thought of what Frank would say if he could see you now. That smarmy look he’d give you as he looked you over. The “I told you so” that would follow. You would never hear the end of it, but a chilling thought ran through you. The group had to find you before Frank could be his insufferable self, and as far as they knew, you would be down by the waterfall. How far away were you? You scolded yourself for straying away from the trail markers that had been laid out. How was anyone supposed to find you now? You sniffled, biting back the tears that threatened to spill over.

You checked your canteen, grimacing at the sound of the half empty container. Setting it down with a thud you gazed at the canopy above, wiping the sweat from your brow. It could be hours before someone realized you were missing. You hoped sooner.

Another wave of emotion rushed over you, and this time you allowed yourself to let a few tears slip down your cheeks. How could you be so foolish?

The sound of rustling foliage drew your attention across the small clearing, your heart rate picking up at the sound. Your thoughts raced back to what Dana had told you before you left the camp. Victoria and I spotted a leopard by the river not too long ago. Inwardly groaning, you lamented about your situation, hoping that whatever was hiding in the foliage wasn’t a giant cat. You stayed as still as possible, praying for whatever it was to continue on. From the sounds of it, whatever it was, was huge, and it was getting closer.

You gripped your canteen in your hand, ready to throw it at whatever came out of the dense leaves. It wouldn’t do any lasting damage, but perhaps it would daze the creature long enough for you to scramble away and towards help. Surely Jake was done by now? How long had you been out here?

You bit back a shriek as the leaves parted to reveal...a man?

He so unfairly handsome. Tanned skin stretched across bulging muscles, greying, brown hair curling at the top of his head. It was his eyes though, that captured your attention. Deep, mesmerizing honey-colored eyes that stared at you intensely, as if trying to make sense of you.

"Who the hell are you?" You asked, voice tight as he crouched down, inching closer to you with slow moments. "Where did you come from?"

He didn't answer as he crept closer, his movements almost like that of the apes you observed during your travels. His hand reached towards you, his knuckles brushing against the tips of your fingers. You jerked your hand back, regarding him wearily.

"Human?" He asked, cocking his head to the side.

"Me?" You spluttered, feeling heat rise to your cheeks. "Of course I'm a human! What did you think I was?"

His eyes narrowed at you, his lips pressing into a thin line as he seemed to consider you.

“I see," he spoke, his English seemingly broken. "What kind?"

It took you a second to figure out what he was asking you.

"I'm a woman. A scientist like Robby and Dana and the others," you told him, a sense of unease filling you. Was this the man that Robby and Dana had told you about? What was his name again? Jack, right?

“Seen you at the camp,” he continued, watching you for a moment. “Smell good.”

Your cheeks warmed even further at the comment, and you cleared your throat before shifting where you sat, wincing as the movement jostled your ankle. Jack glanced down at the swollen appendage, frowning at the redness that seeped to the surface.

“Hurt?” He asked, leaning forward, his face so close to yours. You swallowed thickly, eyes roving over his face and hesitating on his lips. The scruff that grew on his face wasn’t a bad look on him, quite the contrary actually, and for a second you wondered what it would be like to feel it on the skin of your thighs as he-

You blinked rapidly, trying desperately to clear the depraved thoughts from your head. You chalked it up to the combination of the African heat and the fact you hadn’t been laid in God only knows how long. You cleared your throat and briefly met his gaze before looking away.

“Yes,” you answered him, cursing at the shakiness of your voice. “I think I hurt my ankle when I fell. Do you think you could go back to the camp and tell the others where I am?”

Jack frowned at you before shaking his head.

“Boots hurt,” he rumbled. “Can’t leave here.”

“Then how do you expect the others to—hey!”

You yelped when Jack slid one large hand under your knees, the other coming up to rest on your back as he lifted you off the ground. You scrambled to find purchase, finally wrapping your arms around his neck, eyes widening when he turned to look at you, face so close, your noses were practically touching. You tried desperately not to think of the hard curves of muscle you were being held against, willing yourself to think about anything else.

“This is,” you began, swallowing thickly as you stared into his eyes, “this is not the most practical way of doing this.”

He stared at you for a moment, blinking at you in confusion.

“Practical?”

“You know,” you mumbled, tearing your eyes away from him, “the best way to do this.”

He frowned at that, giving you a challenging look as his grip on you tightened. You gasped as he held you closer, a spark of mischief in his eyes.

“Can you walk?”

“What?” You blinked. He chuckled, bringing his face even closer to yours which was not helping you form a coherent sentence.

“Can you walk?” He repeated, the corners of his lips tugging up just a hair. You processed his question, scowling at him once you realized he was messing with you.

“No,” you huffed, meeting his gaze with a glare. He gave you a smirk as he turned and started walking through the jungle.

“You don’t have to be so smug, you know,” you grumbled, relaxing a little when you felt confident that he wouldn’t drop you. He hummed, the smirk still painted on his face as he continued on.

“So you know what smug means, but not practical?” You groused. Jack spared you a look before turning his attention back to where he was walking.

“Dana calls Robby smug,” he supplied. You hummed, but didn’t say anything else as the two of you carried on.

“Boots?” Whitaker asked as you and Jack appeared from the jungle. He was standing by the fire pit, a confused look on his face as if he couldn’t quite figure out what it was he was looking at. Frank and Mel glanced up at the sound of your name, the brunet scrambling to his feet when he saw you in the arms of the wild man.

“What happened?” He asked, crossing the distance to come stand beside you. Jack let out what could only be described as a growl as he swung you away, fixing Frank with a glare. Frank gaped at him, jaw slack. “What the hell-”

“Jack?”

All of you turned to see Robby and Dana walking up from the other side of the camp, looks of concern as they glanced between you and the man whose arms you were still currently in.

“I, uh,” you stammered, glancing around at everyone. “I fell.”

“You fell?” Frank asked accusingly, already eyeing your swollen ankle.

“I was following some baboons,” you admitted, refusing to meet his gaze. You could already feel the accusatory look he was giving you. “I was taking notes, and I tripped over some tree roots. Jack found me and brought me back here.”

“You were supposed to go straight to the river,” Frank accused.

“Yeah, I know.”

“You strayed off the path, didn’t you?”

“Frank-”

“Dammit, Boots,” he growled, running a hand over his face. “You could have been seriously hurt!”

“Speaking of,” Robby interrupted, moving forward to examine your ankle. “Let’s get you looked at. Jack, would you mind setting her over here?”

Jack looked over at the bench that Ice gestured to, pausing for a moment before walking over. He plopped down, situating you on his lap, his arms still wrapped around your middle. You let out an indignant squeak, glaring when Trinity, Frank, and Whitaker snickered, trying to cover them up with coughs.

“Looks like wild man is already attached,” Trinity quipped, earning another glare.

“Why don’t you come over here and say that,” you snapped, feeling the heat on your cheeks grow even warmer. Robby looked like he was struggling not to laugh as he crouched in front of you, and you just barely caught the smirk that Dana had on his face. You winced as Robby began his examination, biting your lip from the pain. You felt Jack’s arms tighten around you, and you gripped onto his arm a little tighter to keep from crying out at the red hot spike of pain that shot up from your ankle.

“Looks like you sprained it,” Robby finally announced. You let out a groan, leaning back into Jack as you rolled your eyes.

“Just my luck,” you grumbled. “How long am I stuck here for?”

“I’d say at least four weeks,” he surmised. “Maybe six if you don’t keep off of it.”

“Looks like wild man will just have to carry her around everywhere,” Trinity snickered, the others joining in with her.

“Would you be quiet?” You growled. “This is going to be a nightmare!”

“Serves you right,” Frank smirked, that smarmy look you hated already on his face. “You should have waited for me.”

“I hate you,” you mumbled, crossing your arms with a huff. Robby chuckled, moving to stand.

“Jack, would you mind bringing Boots to the medical tent for me? I should have a bandage for her to wear.”

You scrambled once again as Jack lifted you, clinging to his shoulders as he began to walk after Robby across the camp. The others were barely holding in their laughter as they watched you, breaking out into fits of giggles as you flipped them off.

Jack was none the wiser as he held you, his hold gentle as he took care to not jostle you too much. You supposed the next couple of weeks wouldn’t be so bad.

A/N: How are we feeling? Are we staying hydrated? Go drink some water ya silly goose.

As always, reblogs and comments are greatly appreciated. I no longer do taglists, so if you would like to be notified on when I post, please follow my sideblog ( @arcanevagabond-library ) and turn on post notifications! You can find me and my works on AO3 under the username arcane_vagabond. Until next time!

[lonestarflight]

"This 'Christmas tree' was created by the three crewmen of the third manned Skylab mission (Skylab 4) aboard the space station in Earth orbit. Food cans were used to fashion the tree. This photograph was made from a television transmission made from a video tape recording on Dec. 24, 1973."

Date: December 24, 1973

NASA ID: S73-38687

[yagmurbodrum-blog]

[rikaklassen]

Excited about the new Streetlight Manifesto album.

Oh my god, SLM hasn't released an album since 2013. Holy shit. So excited.