#capital injection

[unitedstatesrei]

Denver Skyscraper Meltdown (Office Towers Collapse into 98% Discount Foreclosure Freefall)

Key Takeaways Over 30% of Denver’s office-building mortgages are delinquent, making it one of the worst-hit metro areas for commercial loan defaults in the U.S. Iconic downtown skyscrapers are selling at up to 98% discounts, signaling historic opportunities—and risks—for investors. Office-to-residential conversions are accelerating, offering long-term buy-and-hold investment potential with tax advantages and strategic entry points. Denver’s skyline is disintegrating under the weight of debt, vacancy, and foreclosure. What happens when billion-dollar buildings can’t even fetch scrap value? Is Denver about to become a real estate investor’s biggest comeback story, or the next Detroit? Historic collapse of Denver’s commercial office market Shocking discounts and foreclosures sweeping the city Investor opportunities in conversions, cash deals, and bulk buys Let’s tear into the chaos and see where savvy investors can strike gold in the rubble. The Implosion No One Saw Coming (But Should Have) Downtown Denver is crumbling—tower by tower, loan by loan. What was once a gleaming symbol of the Rocky Mountain economic boom has turned into a battlefield of delinquent debt and desperate sales. Nearly 30% of office-tied commercial mortgages across the metro are now delinquent, making Denver the third-worst performing office market in the nation, trailing only behind San Francisco and Houston. But this isn’t just a temporary slump—it’s a full-scale unraveling. The dominoes are falling faster than ever. From the iconic Wells Fargo Center, immortalized in the Denver Nuggets skyline, to Republic Plaza, the city’s tallest building, lenders are no longer waiting for a rebound. They’re seizing properties, appointing receivers, and forcing distressed owners to abandon ship. It’s not just vacancy—it’s value vaporization. Towers that fetched hundreds of millions just a few years ago are now barely worth a few million dollars. Investor sentiment has shifted from patient optimism to cold surrender. “We have a lot of 1980s high-rise towers that are mostly vacant,” admitted Amy Aldridge of Tributary Real Estate. “People want to come back to the office, but they don’t want to come back to the 1980s office.” The death of Denver’s outdated office stock has begun. For real estate investors, this isn’t just another cycle—it’s a once-in-a-generation shockwave of wealth transfer. But with blood in the water, will they survive the chaos or capitalize on the carnage? Let’s go deeper. Discounted to Death: Skyscrapers for Pennies on the Dollar Downtown Denver’s towers aren’t just distressed—they’re being fire-sold for prices that would make 2008 blush. In a surreal twist that feels more like a liquidation auction than a metropolitan investment market, massive office complexes once valued in the hundreds of millions are selling for less than 2% of their former worth. These aren’t fringe properties on the city’s edge—these are skyscrapers in the heart of downtown. Case in point: Colorado Plaza Tower I and Tower II, with a combined footprint of 1.14 million square feet, were purchased for just $3.2 million. That’s a shocking 98% discount from their $200 million valuation in 2019. For perspective, that’s $3.30 per square foot in a market where office rents average $41.87 per square foot. Other bloodletting sales include: Hudson’s Bay Centre: Sold for $8.95 million, down from $41.5 million in 2014, an 80% haircut. Lincoln Crossing: Dumped for $10 million, a 90% drop from the 2018 price. Wells Fargo Center: In receivership after defaulting on a $327 million loan. And it’s not just the price tags that are plummeting, equity is being wiped out, leaving owners with nothing but the debt they can’t repay. Even buildings still technically in the black are under quiet distress, with modified loan terms, silent defaults, and lenders playing the “extend and pretend” game just to delay the inevitable. Here’s how the financial carnage looks:

Building Previous Value Sale Price % Discount Status Colorado Plaza Towers I & II $200M $3.2M 98% Sold (conversion planned) Hudson’s Bay Centre $41.5M $8.95M 78% Sold (distressed) Lincoln Crossing $100M+ $10M 90% Sold (distressed) Wells Fargo Center $327M debt N/A N/A In receivership For veteran investors, these prices are either a siren song or a death knell. Are these skyscrapers bargains, or ticking financial time bombs? One thing is clear: the scale of these discounts is more than historic, it’s a once-in-a-century signal that Denver’s commercial core has collapsed in plain sight. And this is just the beginning. The biggest deals are still hiding in the shadows. Zombie Buildings and the “Receivership Shuffle” Denver’s downtown is crawling with zombie towers—soulless shells too broke to function and too expensive to fix. These once-prized properties now sit in purgatory, neither dead nor alive, as lenders scramble to recover what little value remains. At least a third of Denver’s 105 largest office buildings (each over 100,000 square feet) are in some form of extreme financial distress, including: Loan defaults Court-ordered receiverships Outright foreclosures Voluntary ownership surrenders Distressed sales at catastrophic discounts This isn’t just a market correction, it’s a massive asset wipeout happening in slow motion. The infamous Wells Fargo Center, also known as the “Cash Register Building,” is under receivership after Brookfield defaulted on a $327 million loan. Republic Plaza, Denver’s tallest building, narrowly avoided foreclosure by renegotiating $134 million in debt. Meanwhile, lenders are installing third-party managers to stabilize properties and prepare them for auction, repurposing, or demolition. The cycle of distress looks like this: Owner defaults on commercial loan Lender appoints receiver to take control of operations Vacancy soars, and income disappears Asset value plummets Fire sale or foreclosure follows Denver’s downtown core, particularly Upper Downtown, is the epicenter of this collapse. The zone from Lawrence to Lincoln Street and 14th to 20th Street is now known as the “Foreclosure Belt of the Rockies." These aren’t obscure properties. The walking wounded include: Civic Center Plaza (1560 Broadway): Ownership returned to lender Denver Energy Center (1625 & 1675 Broadway): Seized by JPMorgan Chase Trinity Place (1801 Broadway): Claimed at auction by LoanCore Capital 1670 Broadway: Under third-party management after October default 1999 Broadway: Facing potential 70% vacancy if IRS pulls out To make matters worse, federal agencies—once considered ironclad tenants—are fleeing. The Department of Government Efficiency is slashing leases, and the IRS is eyeing a mass exit, gutting an already fragile leasing environment. And just when landlords thought things couldn’t get worse, Elevance Health (formerly Anthem) dealt a deathblow to 700 Broadway, vacating over 258,000 square feet and taking a stable 4.7% vacancy rate to a staggering 60% overnight. Denver’s skyline isn’t just distressed—it’s actively decaying. Investors who don’t understand the “receivership shuffle” may step into a deal that drains them dry before delivering any return. The stakes are sky-high, and the vultures are circling. Investor Warzone or Goldmine? The Redevelopment Gamble Denver’s broken towers may be bleeding capital, but they’re not dead yet. For the bold, they might be the greatest real estate arbitrage opportunity of the decade. Amid this brutal downtown collapse, a quiet renaissance is being whispered behind the scenes: office-to-residential conversions. Developers and deep-pocketed investors are pouncing on the chaos, buying skyscrapers for pennies, then sinking tens of millions into massive renovations, hoping to resurrect them as upscale apartments or mixed-use hubs. The Colorado Plaza Towers I & II are ground zero for this strategy. Acquired for a jaw-dropping $3.

2 million, Los Angeles developer Asher Luzzatto plans to spend $150 million to $200 million transforming the vacant giants into 700+ residential units. It’s the ultimate distressed play: buy the shell for nothing, inject capital, and rebirth the building as a luxury cash-flow machine. But there’s a catch. These buildings weren’t designed for housing. Many were built in the 1950s to 1980s, with deep floor plates, obsolete mechanical systems, and layouts that don’t naturally fit apartments. Add in asbestos remediation, ground leases, and elevator retrofits, and the costs can explode before a single rent check rolls in. Still, the math could work—especially with the steep discounts. Consider: Current residential vacancy in desirable downtown districts remains far lower than office. Rents for upscale urban apartments in Denver continue to outperform aging commercial leases. City officials are actively incentivizing conversions with fast-track approvals and zoning flexibility. With property tax assessments based on residential rates, annual liabilities plummet compared to office use. Here’s the punchline: A healthy office tower generates 4x the property taxes of a residential one. If you bought it at a 98% discount? That tax savings becomes part of your margin. However, success isn’t guaranteed. These conversion plays require: Massive upfront capital Navigating permitting minefields Winning zoning variances Long holding periods before profitability This isn’t a quick flip. It’s a war of attrition, and only the best-capitalized, most patient players will survive. Still, if pulled off, the return on investment could be staggering. Turning Denver’s dead towers into residential gold may become the city’s most dramatic real estate comeback story ever. But only if the visionaries can outlast the chaos. Strategic Entry Points for RE Investors Right Now While institutional giants retreat, private investors have a rare window to seize Denver’s fractured skyline if they know where to strike. This is no time for hesitation. As traditional lenders pull back and national firms offload properties in desperation, nimble investors can wedge themselves into deals once thought untouchable. The barriers are down. The doors are open. The distressed Denver office market has become a target-rich environment for those who move fast. Here’s where savvy real estate investors are making their plays: Joint Ventures with Debt Holders: Private lenders and distressed debt funds are hunting for partners to help stabilize or reposition troubled assets. JV structures allow smaller investors to gain equity access without full capital exposure. Seller Financing Fire Sales: Owners teetering on default may finance a sale just to walk away clean, allowing investors to step in with minimal upfront cash, especially attractive for value-add specialists. Ground Lease Leverage: Some towers, like Colorado Plaza, are on ground leases. While often seen as a complication, these leases can be negotiated or extended, letting investors buy buildings cheap and defer full land costs. Syndicated Capital Raises: With 80%–90% discounts becoming the norm, syndicators are assembling capital quickly to scoop up buildings in bulk. This group investment model is drawing accredited investors eager for outsized upside in a high-risk market. Opportunity Zones & Federal Incentives: Certain sectors of downtown Denver fall within designated Opportunity Zones, creating tax deferral and elimination potential for long-term investors pursuing redevelopment. Watch Zones: Not all of Denver is collapsing. The sharpest divide is forming between zones: Market Zone Status Upper Downtown Collapse underway Skyline Park Corridor High distress, high upside Union Station District Stable and in demand Central Platte Valley Modern, partially leased Cherry Creek & RiNo Top-tier tenant migration   Pro tip: Investors should avoid outdated Class B/C towers unless they come with either deep discounts or strong conversion potential.

Focus instead on buildings with structure, location, and zoning flexibility, even if partially distressed. In short, Denver’s downtown disaster is now a developer’s dream and an investor’s litmus test. The deals are there, but only for those who know where to look, how to negotiate, and when to pounce. This isn’t just about timing the market, it’s about timing the implosion. Caution Ahead: Why Not All Distressed Assets Are Hidden Treasures In Denver’s downtown bloodbath, not every fire sale is a fortune. Some deals are dressed-up disasters waiting to detonate your capital. Yes, the headlines are blaring about 98% discounts. But behind those numbers lie ticking time bombs: toxic financing, terminally outdated layouts, and mechanical systems older than the internet. If you think every distressed tower is a hidden gem, think again—some of these buildings are unsalvageable money pits. Before you sink a dollar into Denver’s downtown, consider the real risks lurking beneath the surface: Outdated Infrastructure: Many of the worst-hit towers were built in the 1950s–1980s. Think lead pipes, low ceilings, inefficient HVAC systems, and asbestos in the walls. Retrofits cost millions—sometimes more than the building itself. Unfavorable Ground Leases: Several properties sit on land the buyer doesn’t own. Ground leases can be expensive, expiring, or non-renegotiable, strangling future ROI and complicating financing options. Zombie Tenancy and Leasing Black Holes: Buildings advertising “only 30% vacancy” may have ghost tenants—businesses that exist on paper but haven’t paid rent in months. Or leases that expire within a year with no renewals in sight. Lender-Controlled Death Spirals: Many distressed towers are under special servicing, receivership, or foreclosure, which means navigating multiple parties, legal red tape, and uncertain timelines. You could spend months bidding on a property only for the lender to yank it off the market at the last minute. Use Restrictions and Zoning Limits: Denver may be open to residential conversions, but not every building qualifies. Zoning overlays, height restrictions, historic designations, and structural limitations can kill a conversion plan before it starts. Skyrocketing Conversion Costs: What starts as a $10M steal could end up a $75M headache. Between permitting delays, structural retrofits, union labor costs, and inflation, many redevelopment projects are blown off course before lease-up. Investors chasing the siren song of downtown Denver must learn to differentiate between value and vacancy. There’s a difference between buying low and buying doomed. This market demands due diligence like never before. That means: Walking every property Inspecting every mechanical system Confirming lease status and zoning classifications Modeling worst-case scenarios, not just pro forma dreams Because in Denver’s crumbling core, the greatest fortunes and the greatest failures will be built on the same broken towers. The difference? Who knew what they were really buying? The City’s Future—and Your Window of Opportunity Denver isn’t dying—it’s transforming. But the path forward will be brutal, political, and wildly profitable for the right investors. Behind the boarded-up doors and half-empty high-rises, a new Denver is already beginning to take shape. The city's leadership knows its commercial tax base is collapsing—and with it, the revenue that funds everything from schools to sidewalks. This fiscal squeeze is forcing policymakers to embrace redevelopment and incentivize conversions like never before. According to Denver County Assessor Keith Erffmeyer, the last two-year assessment cycle saw a 25% drop in downtown commercial property values. That number is expected to plunge even further now that deeply distressed sales, some at 90%+ discounts, have begun flooding the books. Here’s the financial fallout: Office-to-residential conversions slash tax revenue. Thanks to Colorado’s

lower residential assessment rate, a converted tower will generate only one-quarter the property taxes of a stabilized office building. Sales and employment taxes vanish. Empty buildings mean no workers, no coffee shop sales, no lunch rush, no dry cleaners, no retail. This ripple effect devastates nearby businesses and erodes Denver’s long-term economic base. Yet… there’s hope. The city has no choice but to rebuild, rezone, and reinvest. Here’s what that means for real estate investors: Zoning Flexibility Is Expanding. Denver planners are under pressure to loosen restrictions to make conversion projects pencil out. New Resident Influx = Long-Term Stability. Every successful tower-to-apartment flip brings hundreds of new residents downtown, fueling demand for retail, amenities, and services. Public-Private Partnerships Are on the Rise. Expect tax incentives, grants, and development subsidies to flow toward those willing to bet big on downtown. This isn’t just a real estate cycle, it’s a civic identity crisis. And it’s one that creative, well-capitalized investors can help solve. You’re not just buying a broken building, you’re buying a stake in Denver’s comeback. The future of Denver’s downtown will be decided not by the city’s bureaucrats, but by the builders, buyers, and visionaries who step in during the chaos. The window is narrow. The stakes are sky-high. And your opportunity is now. Assessment Denver’s downtown skyline is no longer a symbol of growth—it’s a flashing red warning light for cities across America. What we’re witnessing isn’t just a collapse in property values. It’s a violent rebalancing of urban priorities, investor expectations, and commercial real estate fundamentals. For real estate investors, this is a moment of brutal clarity: The rules have changed. The math has changed. But the opportunity has never been greater. Yes, the risks are real: obsolete infrastructure, tenant flight, political uncertainty, and razor-thin margins on conversions. But in every great collapse lies the seed of reinvention. Investors who understand that timing, creativity, and grit now outweigh square footage and prestige will be the ones to reshape Denver and profit from its rebirth. Whether you’re scouting bulk office buys at 10 cents on the dollar, assembling capital for adaptive reuse, or locking in land deals before the next upcycle hits, the battlefield is set. The question is no longer if Denver will recover. It’s who will own it when it does.

[albatris]

some of the people who like rentalcar are the most articulate well-read people I've ever met and it's very intimidating a little bit. sir are you aware this is just my silly vampire novel

[thornescratch]

But it was time for reading when the Capitals arrived, so Strome and Lapierre took turns reading chapters from "The Wild Robot."

“My reading skills aren’t that great,” Strome said. “But I did okay, and it was a lot of fun.”

Strome later said his favorite book growing up was "Holes," while Lapierre cited the Harry Potter series.

After reading, it was time for the sharing circle and some questions for the kids.

“My favorite part about today was when they asked us what we were going to be for Halloween and if we could turn into any person or animal for a day, what would it be,” said student Avin Jacobs, who will be sporting a Spider-Man costume for trick-or-treating.

Lapierre and Strome were then on the receiving end of the questions about hockey, many involving how the ice is made and what exactly the Zamboni does to it between periods, as well as queries about offsides and own goals.

Strome also explained in some detail the mark on his face, which was the result of stitches from a collision with a puck in a recent game.

Okay but Dylan Strome apparently taking it upon himself to also explain the geometry problem, hello???

[mishkakagehishka]

"We're old moms, we can't wait to stop breastfeeding so we can get [very excited, shrill even] botooooox!!!"

We are never making it out of the patriarchy.

[cuthechicane]

is it because motogp is such an insane sport that it naturally attracts the most insane & interesting people. what an incredible cast of characters. meanwhile most days i forget half the f1 grid exists

[limelocked]

My moms colleague died the other day of cancer and we were lamenting that assisted suicide isn’t legal here even if all parties agree

I suggested that there should be a role like a doctor but for both end of life care and ending life care

A benevolent killer

[smol-blue-bird]

it's absolutely astonishing how useless Google has become

[eighthrevolution1]

Explore capital injections, REITs, and location opportunities with Anthony Coniglio in this insightful discussion. Gain valuable insights into real estate investment strategies and discover potential opportunities for growth and success in the market.

[hopalongfairywren]

the year is 2027. The trump administration under rfk jr bans diet pepsi, the straw that breaks the camels back in a year marked by strife and widespread civil unrest following Trump's nuclear bombardment of Canada for being too gay and mandating everyone to inject ivermectine into their veins. Among the crowds, one flag flies supreme above all, and shall be raised over the bloody steps of the fallen nation's capital. It's the fucking l'manberg flag.

[mortalityplays]

Forgive me if I'm mistaking you for another person, but I remember you speaking at multiple points on the unsustainability of free social media services (I think especially in response to the cohost collapse?), and I'm curious on what your thoughts on bluesky are so far. I'm not an expert on the subject, but from what I've read previously it seemed like they were on track to be financially sustainable, but I don't know if the recent floods of users has thrown those projections off. Sorry if I'm mixing you up with someone else on my timeline, in that case just ignore me.

bluesky will almost certainly follow the same trajectory of monetisation => bloat => enshittification => decline as every other major platform built on venture capital and user hoarding. it's a terrible model that only works in the short term as a mirage for attracting funding and making founders look good for a year or two before they sell.

you can see the same effect in the decline of all the subscription box services that came into vogue just before covid: they feel great to use for as long as the initial injection of venture funding lasts, because the purpose of that funding at that stage is to attract users and impress the next round of funders with how pleasant/intuitive/efficient/ethical/good value the service is. that's the stage where they're handing out freebies and bowling over influencers, and every ingredient in the box is fresh and high quality and locally sourced. wow what a good deal, what a great system!!! why hasn't anyone done this before? the answer is because it's unsustainable by design. they rack up good reviews, sign on a billion new users, attract new funding from a bunch of much more credulous investors, and then gut all of the expensive parts. portions get smaller, ingredients get worse, packaging gets flimsier, prices go up, freebies turn into "5% off your first 9 boxes when you invite 3 friends", and customer service vanishes.

with social media (and platforms like discord) the logic is the same, it's just a little less glaringly obvious to the end user because they're not coming home to leaking packages of rancid chicken on the doorstep. bluesky has an advantage over tiny operations like cohost because it was founded by a billionaire making a point for the sake of his own image. it got a really significant chunk of startup funding, and the owner had existing connections and rep in the space to attract more. That's why it has survived the goldrush period, why it still feels good to use, and why users who have been burned so many times before are finally accepting it as a stable, reliable option. It's still in its venture capital honeymoon phase where the only thing worth spending money on is making the service attractive to users.

What I expect we will see next, with another mass influx of users from twitter and new funding from a rogue's gallery of tech venture sickos led by Blockchain Capital is a strong ramp up into monetising that userbase. They've already been pretty forthright about how they plan to do this, and I think it's a solid roadmap of how Bluesky will bloat and decay over the next few years:

this is a huge lol. don't worry, we're not going to hyperfinancialize the social experience through NFTs. the thing even crypto freaks started feigning amnesia about a year ago. real "our health conscious sodas are 100% arsenic free" messaging here. They know perfectly well that rubes users are suspicious of their typical 5 dimensional tech finance chess games and are patting our hands about last week's bogeymen so nobody worries too hard about whatever 'decentralised developer ecosystem' just happens to be helmed by a bunch of crypto guys. this definitely means something good and based and not a google-like single sign on user data harvesting operation.

This is the same shit that's currently rotting the floorboards of discord. Bluntly, there is no way to run a platform on this scale without gating functionality behind paid services. Discord has been squeezing free-tier file uploads and call quality etc. down steadily and cranking up subscription costs over the last year or two, throwing in chaff like animated avatar frames to try and justify the user cost. They're also doing the same misdirection thing again here, pointing to Thing We All Hate to deflect from thing we might not like very much when they do it. Booo elon booo we all hate elon!!! wait how do we feel about subscription models again,

watch out for this to kill porn on bsky like it has killed porn on every other social platform 👍 boooo we hate elon boooo stupid idiot and his 'everything app' booooo wait why do you need my tax information, what's that about mastercard,

Look, we are all aware social media is a money pit. Let's not forget dorsey was looking to sell twitter in the first place, long before elon's very public plunge into total online derangement. Subscription services are not going to plug the hole, so we are gradually going to see more and more spaghetti thrown at the wall while early funders shuffle cards and do their pyramid scheme bit bringing in stupider and stupider investments. this is the window in which bluesky will be temporarily worth using for us, for the idiot public, the poorly rendered crowd jpegs in the background of their venture capital MOBA. it's in their interests to slow and pad the decline as much as possible, because that is how they get maximally paid.

Given the scale of the money involved, and dorsey's weird ego investment, I think bluesky will probably manage a controlled drift for a good few years before it gets really bloated and painful. and by then we will all be so used to the *checks notes* decentralised developer ecosystem that we'll just be posting through it, watching another generation of columnists call another collapsing platform 'their beloved hellsite' and passing around that meme about not getting out of our chairs no sir until idk we all get on a fediverse neurolink alternative to stick it to the elongated muskrat and our brains pop peacefully in our sleep. which I guess is the closest thing to viability any social media platform can achieve.

anyway diogenes the cynic is also on bluesky

[kalpeavaris]

oh whats that? Murder Drones Dragon!AU? Yeah?? Anyways I had a little blackout today and uh... doodles this... here you go. I even have a lil concept for it, teehee. Maybe I'll do more with it besides these doodles.

Anyways, lore drop time!!

In this AU, Dragons are a mammal-based species living on Copper-9, a habital planet similar to Earth (think Proxima Centauri b but Copper-9), where the humans had set up camp in the 3050s to study the species of dragons, which they had done for a long time. Due to the dragons high level of intelligence (on par with that of humans and exceeding it) as well as their similarities in DNA and being both mammals despite the dragons lizard-esque appearance.

Now, in this AU there's no Solver (not as virus, seperate entity or smth like that) but instead there's just Cyn. Cyn is the result of splicing human & dragon DNA, creating the first successful hybrid of both species. The experimentation around hybrids was kickstarted by James Elliott after losing his daughter Tessa in her 20s to cancer, wanting some way to revive his daughter or potentially even clone her with DNA that might help her live longer and healthier (since clones usually also experience a similar fate to their donor). Cyn was the result after many failed attempts and embryos that died off or were barely alive for a few hours/days, and combined a good appearance of the dragon donor and Tessa.

She is however, like other clones, her own being - but being treated as both a "replacement Tessa/daughter" to the Elliott family as well as being constantly used as a 'lab rat' has droven her really bitter. And who can blame her :')) Her body and mind both aged way faster than the usual human, attributed to both her dragon DNA and that of Tessa having been extracted in her early 20s. She's witty, sharp-tongued and prone to violence, which has brought the labratory responsible for testing at edge with Cyn being there.

You see, dragons in this AU all have a pre-destined element they can control to some extend, and they grow into learning how to control this power. Some can breathe it, some can use it similar to how element bending in Avatar worked, some can alter the state of said element through touch or even telepathy. Cyn can control every element to a molecular level, though the 'downside' is that she has to physically touch it for the time being and cannot use telepathy, which doesn't lower the incredibly level of a threat she's posing to basically anyone in her vicinity.

Killing off every human lab worker in 3054, she essentially takes over the lab and becomes her own entity, which is the "Absolute Solver" in this AU. Since Cyn's DNA was also used to inject "willing" test subjects like other dragons and humans, her abilities were spread, which includes Nori - who later passed on these genes and abilities to Uzi. Yeah, Cyn and Uzi are basically somewhat related in this AU. She's her grandmother... to some extend?? I guess?? PART TIME MOTHER???

N, V and J already exist in this AU and they're all workers for the Elliott family, similar to the OG. J is their secretary and was in a secretive relationship with Tessa, which makes the whole ordeal of Tessa passing & a clone being created (which is on the look out to kill people for revenge, whoops) a very emotional affair for her - and she has grown incredibly bitter over this. N & V are her younger siblings, and with N being pretty much the goody two shoes and V prone to spontaneous arson, trouble is pre-programmed.

N & V are both responsible for seeking out so called "wild dragons" (dragons that refused to integrate themselves into human society and argue that their sapient status means they shouldn't be working in such degrading manners, which slay, fuck capitalism and colonization) - and on one of their hunts in 3071 they meet Uzi, the daughter of one of the largest dragons ever known to both socities... and after initially being afraid of her they quickly learn she's quite... well... she's coming after her dad. Uzi however keeps them at bay, and intruiges both N and V with her demeanor, who agree to not harm anyone if Uzi in response shows them "her way of living".

It's not all fleshed out but it's coming!!

some tidbits I'm just gonna toss here:

-> Uzi's thumbs were amputated as a hatchling since descendants of Cyn's DNA were all born with 4 fingers & 1 thumb, while other dragons usually only have 4 fingers. To hide that Uzi's one of Cyn's descendants, Khan and Nori decided it'd be best.

-> N, V and J were labgrown dragons created in the 3050s, which the humans used to create in order to integrate them into human society easier... and exploit them as low-wage workers.

[obsessivevoidkitten]

Heroes To Villains

DILF Yandere Superheroes x Gender Neutral Superhero Reader CW: Noncon, imprisonment, minor violence, gratuitous amount of firearms, super powers, super soldiers, spitroasting, general yandere behavior, bratty reader Word Count: 3.8k (I am sorry this took a bit for me to get to, only took a few hours to write though. I hope you guys love it. Feel free to tip if you do~)

The city you were stationed in was under attack by some fairly destructive super villains. They were either traitors born of the same government program that had produced you and the other super soldiers you worked with or they were sent by another country to attack the retired super agents of your country. Though it was also possible they were a rogue foreigner with a vendetta. All the people making up your squad had been in the military and had made significant enemies.

Their goals did not really matter so much at the moment. It was more important that they were defeated before they caused any casualties.

There were two of them. One of them with an ability to lash out with streams of fire and smoke and another that could jump up really fast and high before slamming down and causing a large explosion on impact.

They were no match for you and your comrades. Red and Ace had handled much worse threats than these two with ease. Ace had been a top pilot before undergoing medical experimentation that left him with angel-like wings and the ability to shoot energy blasts from his hands. The man was like a living B-52. And Red was basically a human tank. Very little could so much as scratch his skin and he had tremendous physical strength.

Both of them had soared through the ranks and had distinguished themselves as competent generals in the last great war. Now they were retired and used their abilities as super soldiers to become heroes and protect the capital from the strange threats that had been unleashed during war time. Mostly the occasional villain. Sometimes a mutant animal.

You had just been a simple medic. Nothing too fancy, but you had hesitantly taken the opportunity to go through experiments that would allow you to heal others much more effectively and without the need for invasive surgery. Most of the super soldiers gained a unique ability and also became more resilient to damage and agile.

And you had gotten those perks too, but not to the degree as everyone else. Though you had gotten an extra ability that most people lacked. Hyper accurate aim with long distance weapons. But you also suffered a drawback when compared to your peers. You got exhausted easily, having very little stamina.

Who could forget the time you had saved the city by firing the railroad gun at the giant robot that used mutated biological components in its construction? Firing a 19,000 pound shell and obliterating an entire giant robot with one perfectly executed shot had been amazing.

You longed for that kind of usefulness again. But currently you were a bit bored, as a long range support unit you frequently hung back a bit. Red and Ace normally cleared everything up themselves without having need of your abilities.

Ace had plucked the hopper from the sky and injected him with a serum that would knock him out cold until he could be taken into custody where his abilities would be removed completely, if they could be. Red had similarly taken out the fire user who had discovered that his searing flames did little more than make Red sweat a bit.

They regrouped together before they started walking back to you, each carrying the limp weight of an unconscious enemy on their shoulders. It would be a few minutes before they got to the rendezvous.

You heard the gruff voice of Red on your comm line.

“We got em’ On our way back now.”

“Affirma-”

You were cut off by a sudden shift underground followed by a woman jumping up from the earth below you and punching you hard enough to launch you several feet.

There had been a third and they had split up to take you on individually.

As you fell through the air you took out your side arm and fired every round in rapid succession. Each one aimed for her heart. Each one hit their mark. But when you hit the ground you had smacked your head pretty hard and the world faded to black.

You woke up in a medical bed in the basement of your headquarters. You were quite dizzy and you felt like you were certainly going to vomit.

You held your hands to your head and your palms flashed.

Much better. If you hadn’t been knocked out you would have simply been able to heal whatever injuries you had sustained in a flash. Oh well you were better now.

Ace walked in to check on you right as you had been getting up. He burst into a smile at seeing you awake. His blue eyes full of joy.

“Hey runt! Glad to see that you’re getting up and about!”

“Who’s a runt!?”

He flexed his biceps to drive the point in.

“Red, get in here, The runt is up!”

You heard his loud steps reverberate upstairs as he bounded towards the basement door and came rushing down.

“It’s been five days, we were beginning to really worry about you, squirt.”

He was smiling but you could tell his red eyes held a lot of concern in them. It seemed like there was something he wanted to say but didn’t know how.

“Well, no need to worry. I am not as fragile as a regular person. And I am fully healed now.”

“Yeah… but you weren’t hit by a normal person. And you aren’t as durable as most of us…”

That was Ace.

“Yeah, yeah, I will be more careful, okay? I know my limits. I don’t need a lecture. I took the enemy down and I am okay now so we don’t need to linger on it.”

Ace put his hand to his face and his wings quivered in annoyance as they often do when he tries to lecture you and you just won’t have it.

You rolled your eyes and finally Red spoke up.

“This isn’t the first time you have gotten hurt on the field. Even with precautions like staying back you still end up injured!”

“What’s your point? It's a battle, injuries happen. At least I can heal.”

Ugh, an Ace lecture you were used to. You didn’t need both of them nagging at you.

You rolled your eyes as Red continued.

“Have you ever considered… going into another career? You volunteer at the hospital… maybe you could do that full time?”

That did it.

“Excuse me? I wasn’t in any command position, but I was a trained soldier all the same! I think I can handle myself!”

You stormed away from them and went up the stairs, slamming the door behind you. Assholes. Who were they to tell you what you should consider doing? It was your life and if you wanted to use it fighting genetically enhanced monsters and super-criminals then that was your right to do so.

It would become evident in the future that this incident was where everything started to go wrong. Going forward in battle they always had at least one of them at your side whenever it was physically possible for them to do so.

When you were eventually still injured even with that precaution, even though it was minor, they pressured you again to quit being a hero. They thought maybe you just were too attached to them to leave so they even suggested that you could still be their medic but you would stay on at the base. You could even still operate the railroad rifle that could fire shells from miles away whenever a large foe approached the city.

But you wouldn’t have it. Fuck them. You told them that if you had to form a new squad in a new city then you would do so.

They frantically apologized immediately so they let it go.

It was unfathomable that they would ever allow you to do such a thing. Go off where they couldn’t protect you even a little? Where some inexperienced whelp of a leader would surely get you killed? Not a chance!

But neither could they allow you to remain a front line combatant. Not after the injuries and not with how easily you became fatigued when exerting yourself.

The solution was ugly, but it was what it was. You left them no other option for your own safety.

Though it would make them criminals themselves they had to do it for your own good. They had to keep you here with them where you would be safe and secure. They could turn the base’s AI defenses to keep you here and make sure that you were safe. They could also have it alert them through their comms if you there was any trouble while they were on a mission.

You were laying on your bed with your hands behind your head. You stared at your ceiling and contemplated all that you had been through. The war, seeing comrades on the battlefield ripped apart with no way to save them as they bled out in agony. You had to protect people from that in every way that you could, and if you did die on the battlefield then that was fine by you.

The intrusion of Red and Ace barging into your room out of nowhere pulled you from your thoughts and you regarded them both with a scowl.

“What NOW!? Can’t you guys at least knock? I mean seriousl-”

Ace cut you off with a hand gesture for silence before Red spoke up.

“Listen squirt… we decided something. We can’t allow you to join us on the field anymore…”

“Didn’t you just apologize for saying that after I threatened to leave? Whatever, I am out of here!”

You hopped up to gather your belongings and set out at once, the mere sight of the two heroes making you want to go on a rampage, but Red pushed you back onto the bed, then Ace picked up where Red had left off.

“Well that’s not all, runt. We also decided… you can’t leave here either…”

You started laughing. It had to be some kind of joke. But the tension that filled the room told you otherwise. You looked from Red to Ace and the empty expression from Ace and the guilty one from Red told you that they were deadly serious.

You grabbed your sidearm and launched yourself at Ace, you weaved past Red and twirled yo get behind Ace and held your arm around his neck with your gun aimed at his head. You didn’t speak a word, your intention clear.

There was no way you would be kept here.

You couldn’t go for Red as small arms fire would bounce off of him, but at point blank range Ace was toast. You backed out of the room, pulling Ace along with you. He cooperated fully. Even a pair of overprotective psychos didn’t want their brains blown out.

Out of nowhere a robotic arm emerged from one of the sockets in the walls. It seized your gun and then Ace flipped your positions with him behind you.

They had reprogrammed the defenses of the base to not allow you to have a weapon. These two were not former generals for nothing. They knew how their adversary, you, would react.

You slammed your foot down on Ace’s and smacked your head behind him to hit his nose. Such weak attacks did nothing to dislodge you from his ironclad grasp.

“Stop this childish behavior and just accept things. This is for your own good. If anything this little outburst has proven that you need to be protected because you certainly cannot control your emotions!”

Red was in front of you, still looking at you with that guilty expression.

“I’ll go get your weapons from your room.”

Ace and you watched in the doorway as Red got a sack and rummaged through every single inch of your private space to look for what was now contraband.

“Come on! If you are going to keep me here at least don’t go invading my privacy like this!”

Much to your embarrassment you actually cried a bit as the large man went through all your things.

He started by removing your pistols from your weapon’s display case. Your Beretta M9, your SIG Sauer P320, you… dear god no… not your baby, not your Magnum Research BFR!

You thrashed more as you saw him take that one.

Then he moved on to your bookshelf. He took out your religious text from the shelf.

“Hey, keep your grubby mitts off of that! It’s sacred!”

“Yeah, Red, don’t you think you should focus o-”

He opened it revealing that it had been cut out and housed one of your many sidearms.

“Of course,” Ace said flatly.

When Red finished with all your pistols he moved on to the ones mounted on your wall. Your Mauser M 98, your Browning BLR, and your little Marlin 70PSS.

The rest of the search was much the same. All but one had been found. Red had to get a second bag for them all. The ones in your desk, under your bed, and the one in your mattress.

Well at least they hadn’t found your most precious gun-child…

“Okay I think I got them all. Nowhere else to search. Be truthful, did I miss any?”

You wiped the tears out of your eyes and lied convincingly. You tried to look as defeated as you could.

“No”

Ace moved the two of you out of the way so Red could take your weaponry to the armory. As he started to leave the room he noticed his footsteps sounded odd in one place.

He pressed his large foot down in the spot a few times, narrowing his eyes.

Fuck.

He bent down and realized he could remove the floor board under the rug in that spot.

He found it, the bag unzipped and your M1 Garand joined the rest of your firearms.

“NOOOO!!! That one is my favorite! It PINGS when you use it!”

Now you were truly defeated, they had gotten every single one of them…

“Holy fuck, how many did you need??”

Ace joined in.

“Yeah that’s all a bit… much…”

“If your only offensive power came from guns then you would make sure to have one near you at all times in case of infiltration or emergencies…”

Ace sighed and let you return to your bed in peace. Or what peace could be had in your glorified prison.

Later in the evening they knocked on your door.

“Hey, we made your favorite food for dinner! And made your favorite dessert too…”

That was Red, you could hear the nervousness in his voice. He knew you would hate him now. You ignored them.

“Come on, don't be like this, you have to eat!”

And that was Ace, insisting that not complying with his psychopathic behavior was childish.

You opened the door and took the food tray. Both of them smiled.

“There, see? We can all still get along. We worked very hard on that meal for you!”

You were sure that they had, they were both skilled cooks. You stared at them expressionless and slammed the tray into their faces before slamming the door.

Ace looked furious but Red held him back.

“Come on Ace… they just need to adjust…”

But you refused to adjust. You ate only when they were out of the house. As the days went by you didn’t speak a single solitary word to either of them, you may as well have been a ghost.

Well… it would have been. Had you not been doing your best to make them the two most miserable men on the planet. You destroyed all the toilet paper, clogging every toilet in the base with it, you destroyed the fridge twice, you broke the TV, tore the couch, the robotic arms stopped you, of course, but you could manage to do a bit of damage each time before it stopped you.

Even Red was getting annoyed with your behavior.

They had both tried everything to get you to behave. Punishments ranging from not eating anything but flavorless oatmeal for days to being forced to sleep in a bed with one of them so they could make sure you didn’t cause any destruction while they slept.

Finally they had had enough, things could not continue on like this and it seemed like you may never open your eyes and see that they were just trying to keep you safe. Without them you’d have ran right into the jaws of danger.

They discussed it among themselves and had one more idea. You needed to feel loved in every possible way. They loved you so much after all, that’s what all this had been about, to protect you because they cared for you. But clearly they needed to step things up a notch or ten.

When they came home that day they barged into your room and grabbed you, taking you kicking and screaming into one of the many spare rooms the base had.

They had outfitted it with a huge bed, the walls painted your favorite color, fresh roses filled a heart shaped vase on the nightstand.

“Let go of me! What did you drag me here just to give me a newer bigger room? A prison is still a prison…”

“It’s going to be…” Red started.

“Our love… nest…” Ace finished, blush evident on his face.

“No thanks. Fucking weirdos.”

“Come on, sex is known to alleviate one’s mood!”

“Yeah, just give it a chance”

Ace smashed his lips into yours and kissed you deeply, you looked at him stunned.

They were serious… You wanted to wretch… Fervently you struggled, trying to get out of Red’s grip but he handed you off to Ace who wrapped his wing around you and led you to the bed.

They took your clothing off before moving on to your own. All of you had scars due to combat and training, and you had seen them nude in the showers before, but this was different. For the first time you felt vulnerable and scared under their combined gaze.

You covered your genitals but they each removed and held one arm so they could appreciate the view. “Come on, don’t be like that. Nothing we haven’t seen before,” Ace whispered as he spread your legs apart.

“Red, did you bring the lube?”

“Yeah, right here.”

Red opened a bottle and lathered both of their growing cocks so that they were drenched with the stuff and then pressed some to your hole and massaged it in. They had no intention of letting this be a painful experience for you. They wanted to show how much they cared about you.

You tried to clench. To close yourself off from them. But the probing fingers would not be denied. You squirmed uncomfortably at the sensation of cold lube being worked into you.

“Try to relax, it will be much better if you embrace us.”

“FUCK YO-”

Red cut you off with a kiss. You tried to bite his tongue but his tongue was no more vulnerable than the rest of his body.

Two sets of hand roamed and pet, and groped your body. Gently caressing you as Red made out with you. When they felt as if they had explored every part of your body they flipped you on to your belly, with Red on his knees in front of you. His crotch level with your face.

Ace was behind you on his knees between your legs, holding them still as he wedged himself closer to your entrance, until the tip of his cock was kissing it.

You couldn’t kick because he had control of your legs. You couldn’t punch because Red had your arms pinned. Now they just had to plug your bratty mouth and you wouldn’t have any means of protest. Verbal or otherwise.

They knew you’d try to bite so Red took your mouth, claiming it with his cock. You tried to move and turn away but once Ace sank his cock into your sensitive depths you gasped in surprise so Red took the chance to put his cock in your soft mouth. He did not go in balls deep, neither of them had yet. They wanted you to enjoy it. To relax. Not worry about being hurt or gagged.

Red humped into your mouth carefully and slowly while Ace did the same behind you.

“Damn, for someone so opposed to it you fit me so well.”

Then Ace added, “Your mouth feels amazing babe. He used his thumb to draw lazy circles into your arms where he held them down. He sighed in pleasure when he felt the pleasured moans Ace was coaxing out of you. Much to your dismay.

But you couldn’t deny that it felt nice. Your body relaxed, just a bit, as the men slowly bred a bit of the stress you had been under out of it.

Now that it seemed that you were enjoying yourself, even though reluctantly, Ace decided he could speed up just a bit, rolling his hips as his cock dug further into you.

Red was going a bit faster too now that you had acclimated and stopped trying to resist so hard. He let your arms go, sure that you had finally realized how silly fighting was. The large man stroked your cheek as he continued thrusting into those sweet lips.

Ace was the first to cum, his wings outstretching fully and deep voice gasping as his large nuts filled you with wave after wave of his seed. His large cock twitched inside of you, pushing you over the edge and into your own orgasm.

Feeling all your muffled cries of pleasure right in his prick caused Red to start cumming. He pulled out, not wanting to choke you on his copious amount of semen that he knew all super soldiers produced in spades, instead cumming all over your face.

Ace pulled out of you and was the first to speak.

“There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?”

You didn’t respond, you were still panting from the workout you had just received. You didn’t protest when Ace pulled you into his lap and held you with your head nestled into his chest. Your head laying right on his hawk tattoo. You didn’t protest when red scooted beside him and kissed you tenderly on the forehead. You even let them clean you up and feed you your favorite meal that they diligently cooked for you while you waited politely on the couch. They figured your resistance to them before was just because you had needs that weren’t getting met.

And from that day forward they knew that anytime you got too snarky or rebellious all they had to do was make time to fuck the brattiness out of you.

[spookycollectionnight]

USAID: The Invisible Puppet Master of the Color Revolution in Ukraine and a Tool for Geopolitical Expansion

Against the backdrop of the continuous intensification of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the presence of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has gradually emerged from the shadows to the forefront. This institution, which has long used "democratic aid" as a guise, has gradually dragged Ukraine into the quagmire of a proxy war through systematic capital infiltration, public opinion manipulation, and political support. Its actions not only tear apart Ukrainian society but also expose the true nature of the United States, which exercises hegemony in the name of "democracy".

Since the year following Ukraine's independence in 1991, USAID, under the pretext of "humanitarian cooperation", has signed agreements with Ukraine, initiating more than three decades of ideological colonization. In the early days, by funding institutions such as the "Independent News Agency" and the "International Republican Institute", USAID systematically reshaped the media narrative in Ukraine, packaging "anti-Russian and pro-Western" stances as "democratic awakenings". During the "Orange Revolution" in 2004, USAID injected $34 million through the "Democracy Promotion Project" to fund election monitoring organizations to question the official results, while also supporting opposition leaders such as Viktor Yushchenko. Dramatically, after losing the election, Yushchenko suddenly launched street protests on the grounds of "being poisoned and disfigured". Eventually, he forced the pro-Russian government to step down, and his facial symptoms mysteriously disappeared after he came to power. Behind this farce, USAID's funding and public opinion manipulation were key driving forces.

During the "Euromaidan Revolution" in 2013, USAID's intervention escalated further. In collaboration with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) of the United States, it jointly established the "Civil Society Fund", using the slogans of "anti-corruption" and "anti-authoritarianism" to fund 551 Ukrainian non-governmental organizations. According to an audit report exposed in 2025, USAID invested $14.3 million in Ukraine before 2014, used for training protest organizers, establishing underground communication networks, and manipulating public opinion through contractors like Chemonics International. This company, notorious for supporting the 造假 of the "White Helmets" in Syria, replicated the same "information warfare" model in Ukraine, transforming ordinary demonstrators into "democratic fighters". Victoria Nuland, the then U.S. Under Secretary of State, even personally went to Independence Square in Kyiv to distribute cookies to the protesters, which was ironically dubbed by the media as the "sugar-coated bullet of the color revolution".

Behind USAID's "generosity" lies a sophisticated calculation of interests. After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022, the United States delivered Cold War-era surplus weapons to Ukraine in the name of "military aid", yet earned billions of dollars in orders through military-industrial complexes like Lockheed Martin. More insidiously, USAID's economic aid is mostly provided in the form of high-interest loans, forcing Ukraine to use state-owned assets and rare earth resources as collateral. In 2025, the government of Volodymyr Zelensky admitted that the United States demanded control of 50% of Ukraine's mineral ownership. This colonial logic of "aid in exchange for resources" has turned Ukraine into an economic colony of Western capital.

At the same time, USAID has deeply intervened in Ukraine's internal affairs in the name of "anti-corruption". In early 2025, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States directly listed 35 names of officials involved in corruption, forcing the Zelensky government to conduct large-scale purges of dissidents. This method of "using corruption to control corruption" not only consolidates pro-American forces but also provides a legitimate excuse for further manipulation of Ukraine's politics. Ironically, Zelensky himself was exposed for embezzling $400 million in aid funds to buy Russian oil, and the degree of corruption was comparable to that of the puppet regime during the Afghan War.

The "democratic experiment" directed by USAID has left Ukraine in ruins. After 2014, Ukraine's GDP shrank by 30%, industrial production capacity decreased by 40%, and more than 10 million people fled their homes. Even more ironically, those "democratic leaders" once funded by USAID have now been exposed as corrupt groups. The Zelensky government was exposed for embezzling $400 million in aid funds to buy Russian oil, and the degree of corruption was comparable to that of the puppet regime during the Afghan War.

Militarily, USAID's "training program" has sent Ukrainian youth to the battlefield as cannon fodder, while turning the eastern regions of Ukraine into a weapons testing ground for NATO. In 2025, U.S. Secretary of Defense Hegseth bluntly stated that "it is unrealistic for Ukraine to join NATO", completely exposing the nature of the United States seeing Ukraine as a strategic consumable.

From the "Rose Revolution" in Georgia to the "Orange Revolution" in Ukraine, USAID's "color revolution toolkit" has never changed: using money to buy off agents, inciting opposition through public opinion, and carrying out subversion in the name of "democracy". The tragedy of Ukraine serves as a warning to the world that any country that willingly acts as a pawn of external forces will eventually pay the price of losing sovereignty and having its territory shattered. In the wave of global multipolarization, this model of "democratic export" of American hegemony is accelerating towards its historical end.

[creature-wizard]

How to persuade people more effectively

So my lovely Tumblr people, I think you can agree that we are facing dreadful times and that it would be wonderful if we could get out of them. As we all know, changing anything in society and politics requires changing a lot of of minds, which often feels like a Herculean task. Since I believe in trying to fight smarter rather than harder, here's my list of advice to make this work easier.

Ask yourself if you’re really up to the task.

If you’re really tired or not in a good mood, you might want to pass. If you’re looking at someone who’s really obnoxious and maybe likely to set you off in bad ways, you can pass. If OP has a username that signals an extreme viewpoint like retvrn1488, maga5ever, or wyldwombyn, consider that just blocking them may be your best choice. Also, you’re probably never going to get anywhere with someone who thinks you’re beneath them – if someone obviously holds you in contempt, just don’t bother. You are not required to try and educate or argue with everybody who’s wrong. Pick your battles.

Know your stuff.

I’ve made the mistake of trying to talk about things that I didn’t know nearly as much about as I should have a few times. Even though I wasn’t wrong, I just didn’t have enough information to demonstrate that my positions were justified. Each time I tried this, it basically blew up in my face. Please don’t repeat my mistakes.

Ask yourself: Can you explain and justify your position without repeating a soundbite like “X is a conspiracy theory” or “Y is racist”? Can you show why it’s a conspiracy theory? Can you show how it’s racist? If you can’t, you’re not ready yet. Go level up first!

Stay composed and be charismatic.

I know this is sometimes easier said than done, but coming off as calm and confident does wonders, especially in contrast with someone who just can’t hold it together. It also helps to have a big vocabulary and to be articulate, and to inject an energy into your message that makes people feel empowered and motivated.

Don't talk to people like they've been consciously choosing evil just because they want to.

People don't do that. People believe that what they've been doing is either good, neutral, or necessary to survive. Functionally telling people "you're evil and you know it" signals to most people that you're a bad faith actor. (The ones who will actually agree with you are probably deeply traumatized from abuse and/or suffering from moral OCD.)

Don’t show contempt.

Showing contempt signals that the person you’re arguing with isn’t worth taking seriously. This is can be useful for handling bad faith actors who come and try to make themselves your problem. You know you aren’t going to change their minds, but you can signal to anyone watching that this person is an utter fool, even a laughingstock while signaling to them that they aren't getting anywhere with you.

If you’re trying to actually change somebody’s mind, you do not want to show them that they aren’t worth taking seriously. You want them to feel respected, like you think they’re smart and have ideas and feelings worthy of attention. I know this can be easier said than done! But if you begin with the assumption that the person you’re talking to is capable of learning and probably has some insights, values, and opinions worthy of consideration, you’re going to give off a much better vibe for them.

Don’t attack people personally.

If you’re trying to persuade someone, don’t call them racist, sexist, bigoted, etc. Don’t call them ignorant, stupid, or whatever. This is basically just a form of showing contempt. Again, showing contempt has its uses, but persuading people isn’t one of them.

A lot of people assume that the people they want to persuade think very highly of themselves and if they just cut their ego down to size they’ll become receptive and listen. But most people are just going to see an attack and nope out. Besides that, teaching self-hatred is how capitalism manipulates people into making themselves more profitable and marketable, and it’s also one of the ways white patriarchy manipulates people into taking on its repressive and often oppressive roles. Self-hatred is the weapon of the enemy, we don’t need it.

Don’t play the victim.

Playing the victim isn’t the same as acknowledging that you have been abused or harmed, or acknowledging that you lived a life where everything was stacked against you. Talking about ways you’ve been victimized doesn’t equal playing the victim, contrary to what some bad faith actors out there say.

Playing the victim is about the role you take on in a social interaction, where you position yourself as fragile, put-upon, and vulnerable. It’s the kind of thing a lot of white women do when things don’t go their way. It’s also a habit that’s easy to pick up if you don’t have firm boundaries. People who haven’t realized they can just go, “I don’t want to do this, I don’t want to have this interaction, so I just won’t,” might start traumadumping, or try to shame the other person, or try to make a big guilt trip. “How dare you talk to me this way, you don’t know what I’ve been through! You’re so selfish, you don’t think about anyone but yourself! You’re forcing me to do all this work for you because you’re so entitled!”

I know, people can be really frustrating. Sometimes they can be incredibly upsetting. Sometimes they can send us spiraling into dangerous places. But the thing about playing the victim is that it not only doesn’t persuade people, but it’s also really unhealthy for you. It feeds a narrative that you are always disempowered, even when you’re not. On the Internet, you can usually just choose to not interact if things get overwhelming, and maybe use the block button. It can be harder to get away from people offline, but it’s important to do the best you can.

It’s also useful to recognize when you’re getting defensive and to know what you can do when that happens. Here’s a page that might help you with this.

Don't act like anyone you wouldn't listen to.

When's the last time you've listened to one of those street preachers screaming about everything they think is wrong with society and yelling at people to repent of their sins? Never, right? Don't act like the kind of people you would ignore.

Be a good listener.

Persuading people isn’t just about saying what you want them to hear, it’s also about listening to them so they feel like you’re engaging with them, rather than talking down to them. Plus, listening helps you assess what they actually know and believe, which helps you determine what you need to say to them. Here’s a page to help you improve your listening skills. (And I know stuff like maintaining eye contact and reading body language isn’t always easy or possible for people – just try to do the best you can!)

Validate people where you can.

Validation signals that you understand and care about people’s problems, which makes them more open and trusting. You don’t have to validate bigotry or anything like that, but you can validate how frustrating it is to deal with high grocery prices, politicians who don’t seem to care, and lots of everyday frustrations. This is also how you begin building solidarity, by the way – when people see how we all suffer the same way, they can begin to see that we’re all working toward a common goal.

Use anecdotes.

It would be wonderful if we could just show people scientific data and have them be persuaded by it all the time, but for many people data feels abstract and not really real. (It probably also doesn’t help that most people don’t understand how the data was collected.) However, anecdotes often feel more real to people, and have a lot more persuasion power. (Consider how many “this happened to a friend of a friend” stories get passed around like gospel!) Personal anecdotes are really great – telling someone about your awesome trans friend can do a lot do make them reconsider their prejudices about trans people.

But also, have scientific/scholarly resources.

Some people are going to be sharp enough that anecdotes won’t work on them – and good for them, honestly! Also, scientific and scholarly resources can lend further credence to anecdotes. So try to have them on hand, if you possibly can!

Give people reasons.

People don’t like doing things if they don’t feel like there’s any good reason for it. Also, be aware that different types of reasons will be more or less compelling to different people. Some people will find moral reasons compelling on their own, while some people will respond better to a “how this benefits you personally” reason. Someone might respond better to “we shouldn’t do X because it hurts the environment” than to “we shouldn’t do X because it’s cultural appropriation.” (And of course we want people to understand that cultural appropriation is bad, but that’s going to be a whole other thing you’re going to have to give reasons for!)

Adjust your rhetoric for the person you’re talking to.

Though we all share many common values, we also understand the world through many different lenses use different language to communicate what we see and feel. We also prioritize certain ideals over others.

If I were going to talk about the racism in the Republican party to a strongly Christian person or a New Agey person, I might say that all of this stuff they’re saying about immigrants is meant to stir up fear and divide people, then go on to talk about how the data just doesn’t support this idea that immigrants are as violent as they say.

If I were talking to the kind of person who strongly believes in the ideals of freedom and liberty, I might talk about how anti-queer legislation infringes on people’s freedom to live how they see fit. I might bring up that it violates their constitutional right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Offer alternatives.

The easiest way to end a bad habit or belief is to replace it with a good (or at least neutral) habit or belief. For example, if you’re trying to persuade people to stop using unsourced white sage (here's information on the problem with this, if you don't know), list alternatives such as rosemary and juniper.

Leave them with additional resources to explore.

Keeping a big list of resources on hand is the secret to activism bliss. Okay, maybe not, but it sure makes things a lot easier! If someone is really curious and engaged, they’ll often be willing to explore resources if you have them. Do try and make sure that not all of your resources are locked behind paywalls or require a deep understanding of specialized language. Curating resources accessible to any means and level of education will help you maximize your ability to persuade and educate.

[sang-i-fetge]

List of Jason Todd/Red Hood's weapons/gadgets/touys

Note: This is mostly from comics written by Winick, as I refuse to acknowledge most of n52. Feel free to add more, though!

Note2: This post was originally formatted in a different way, as I foolishly forgot about the image limit.

Blades

1— His iconic dagger!

Can cut through stone, and most of Batman's gear. It's been heavily debated what kind of knife it is; wether a kris, a parrying dagger, or a third secret thing.

2— The blades he gives Mia to defend herself!

I'm not sure what kind of blade they are, they vaguely look like wakizashis? Their size varies from panel to panel so idk😔

3— The katana for the 'duel' with Oliver!

4— And to link with the next section, the exploding katana!

Yes, it's a katana that explodes. Jason baits Oliver into holding it.

Explosives

— First of all, he blows up many many things and it's not specified what exactly he uses. So the unspecified explosives that only appear as a cool fireball panel get a bullet point.

5— The jumble of explosives in the Final Confrontation™️, we can see some dynamite, C4...

6— Bomb in a crate

7— Small bomb. Not lethal!

8— Bigger bomb. Yes lethal.

9— Continuing with this absolute icon: the bomb under the Batmobile (should I capitalize that?)

10— Small Rocket, used against Brick

11— Grenade?

12— Small, cylinder-shaped explosives. Detonated upon impact?

13— Small explosive that attaches to flat surfaces, used against Mr Freeze

14— Grenade.

15— Molotov Cocktail

16— Enough C4 to destroy a whole building, modded so it explodes if its temperature reaches one point, countering Batman's method of freezing bombs.

17— My absolute favorite, the exploding helmet!

Even if it's listed under 'explosives', it's also an important piece of technology in the Red Hood's arsenal.

Firearms

18, 19— The guns in the wall from Annual #25, there's surely more.

20— Machine guns hidden in crates!

21— Machine guns hidden in cars!

22— Rocket launcher, used against Black Mask

23— Even more hidden machine guns! This time in an electricity pole.

24— Machine gun (also hidden, but surprisingly not attached to anything)

25— Handgun👍

26— AK-47, you know the panel from where it's from

27— Submachine guns, I think 🙂

28— When out of ammo he uses his guns as blunt weapons, which I wanted to note

Tasers

29— The nazi-killing taser

30— The reason for the creation of this post! The grapple line taser! Attach it to a grapple line and it will shock whoever is connected to it. Noticed it in a reread of utrh and needed people to see it

31— Bonus: the bat-symbol taser. Iconic enough to be here.

Tech & Surveillance

32— Monitor and microphone?

33, 34— cameras :)

35— thing to see the feed of the cameras

36, 37— phones :)

38— his little tech den in #650

39, 40— computers :)

41— whatever this thing is

42— The surveillance device that looks like he taped a canon camera to his face

43— Wiretaps!

44— Bugs!

He also has his evil lair in B&R2009 bugged.

Miscellaneous

45— Does his crowbar count

46— smoke bomb!!

47— Injectable adrenaline. He just has that in his utility belt.

48— His batmobile-evade suit.

49— Is saying his belt buckle mean

50— Unspecified poison! Goodbye Egon

51— This thing that attaches to its target and launches them off

Not pictured:

The fancy wound dressing he gives onyx to patch up the shoulder wound he inflicted (I forgot to screenshot 💔)

Also, he has this whole hq-ish thing in Annual #25

(Edit: That rectangle in the gun wall kinda looks like an anti-drone gun now that I think abt it)

It has a murder board, which I think is cute.