#DC HIRE ME CHALLENGE

[groovyace]

RED ROBIN REDESIGN RAHHGGGG 🗣🗣🔊🔊🔊📢📢📢

I took elements from his different suits plus added some extra flair. My favourite being the addition of climbing shoes.

[rillette]

GOD HARD AGREE I WANT HELEN BACK!!!!! id love to hear your ideas on helen + mini jl team!!! (i think she would do great with damian, colin, jon, etc. the children yknow.)

me and @aloofwindbag have been brainstorming our baby JL au for like the past couple months its soooo so dear to me <3 our idea is like. helen and lian and the west twins team up since they're already connected by their families so they should already be friends. and then that expands to other kids in their age range, like rani, milagro, animal man's daughter, offspring, etc. my favourite reoccurring villain that we've come up with so far is a daughter for the tattooed man who uses like dollar store temporary tattoos so its like dolphins and rainbows and shit.

[not-another-robin]

WHY DIDNT ANYONE TELL ME THEY GAVE THIS MF A SWORD

[thotpuppy]

20 questions for fic writers!

this kind of stuff is super neat to read from others and share and talk about sooo thank u so much for the tag @sugareey-makes-stuff!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

On its face, 40, but 5 are co-creator tags because i illustrated them, 3 of them are art for the steter bang independently posted separate from their fics, 1 was gift art for the steter vday exchange, and 1 is a 60k+ roleplay that i only wrote like half of haha. so its actually 30-31

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

365,587 but again, not all my words. Without the 8 fics mentioned up top, its at 250,197 total. the fic i co wrote is 69,599. Without any of that, my total is 180,598. if i only cut half out, its at 215,397 which is. still pretty good i guess???

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Published, I have fics for Voltron Legendary Defender, Teen Wolf, Danny Phantom, and Sk8 the Infinity. I pretty much only write for Teen Wolf right now. I have WIPs and ideas for DC, Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun, and of course Danny Phantom.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Grandma, What a Big Dick You Have! (the better to fuck you with my dear) (Sterek, WC 5,644, one shot, Rated E)

Churn My (Peanut) Butter (Steter, WC 3,074, one shot, Rated E)

A Collision of Interest is Inevitable  (This is that role-play) (PompousPep, WC 69,599, part 1 of ?, Rated M)

Why (not) Me? (Sterek, WC 6,496, one shot, Rated M)

Now Hiring (Sterek, WC 5,724, part 1 of WIP series that's currently 4 parts. Rated E)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I do my very best to meet my commenters however they meet me. If they just drop some emojis, i drop some back. If they give me a long, thought out comment, I give them one back. Etc etc.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

This question and 7 are both hard because I pretty much exclusively write happy endings. A Snap, a Shudder, and a Home probably has the least upward lifting ending? It's not sad or angsty, but it speaks to unresolved tensions. The problem isn't over, even if they have a taste of peace. (Sterek, WC 1,669, one shot, Rated T)

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

They all have happy endings! ARGH! The most outwardly enduringly positive fic I've written, however, is probably:

Daisies and Daffodils (You Make Me Smile) (Sterek, WC 3,864, one shot, Rated T) I was just in such a smiley, indulgent mood the entire time I wrote it, and it still makes me warm and smiley about it now.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not technically, though I have gotten two particularly unpleasant comments. One was on a Sterek fanfic trope challenge fic, for the prompt "Forced Proximity". Stiles and Derek get put into a '7 minutes of heaven' sort of situation by Lydia and one commenter was SO MAD that I didn't tag the fic as RAPE/NONCON ????? They also lectured me about being sexist and having double standards because it wouldn't be okay if Sterek were Women, which was just all sorts of yikes. (WC 2,912, Rated M, link here.) The other time I got a negative comment was actually on my most recently posted WIP Under My Skin, which is a Stackson fic. The hatefulness wasn't directed at the fic itself, but it WAS targeted at one of the main protagonists of the fic, as if implying I would be "punishing" said character for his "crimes" which were Being Human and Struggling. It made me super, SUPER uncomfortable and I ended up leaving the thread on read because I just got so unhappy every time I read the comment that I decided it wasn't worth even trying to explain myself. (WC 55,613, chapter 18/?, Rated E, noncon warning)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Haha.... normally I would say that's literally most of what I write, but I have a surprising number of lengthier non-smutty fics than I realized. I also legitimately have a Just Porn fic series, though, and I've written some pretty horny stuff in general. (Sterek+ others, WC 23,152, Rated E, parts 4/?)

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

I haven't, but I'm not opposed to doing one? I tend to prefer crossovers that are more, characters from X in setting from Y than, like, main characters interacting? But I have read a good few crossovers lately that have made me much more open TO writing a crossover in the future.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Thankfully not, yikes

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Naw, but I'd be open to it! I have blanket permissions for a lot of stuff right on my ao3 profile. (:

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yeah :,^)

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

If you'd asked me this like 5 years ago I would have said Drarry. I HAVE answered this question with Drarry many times. I think, at this point in time, however, it is shifting. It very well may be Sterek. Drarry has absolutely shaped a huge amount of how I create, how I write, what i read, etc. though so it would be inappropriate to say it held no influence over me.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I think it's entirely possible i will never finish the TBHK Wondering Prince fic I started. It's somewhere between traditional fairy tale, medieval fantasy, and the witcher, with a good bit of TBHK's whimsical supernaturality.

16. What are your writing strengths?

I tend to do well with dialogue IMO, as well as general world building, both fantastical and mundane lol

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

plot. The actual beats of the story. I have wonderful, grand ideas on what a story should be! I even have thoughts on the conflicts, major stepping points, etc, but MAN do i get tripped up on the actual getting from point a to point b thematicall.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

*wiggly hand gesture* I think if it is a language you speak, and it is only occasional words or a line or two, it makes sense to use the other language, but in every spoken situation in visual media, you would get subtitles explaining what was being said if it went on longer than that. If the audience doesn't speak the language and they have to go to the end of the chapter/fic/etc to translate it, that can be enough for them to just gloss over and not even read it. Or, if you don't speak that language at all and you use google translate? you might have written something very different from your intent that people who DO speak it catch and get tripped up by. I think it's better to just, say that the character is speaking in another language and translate it in text for your readers.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

teeeeeeeeeechnically homestuck? for 'posted on ao3'?? But also, I've lowkey been writing fanfic adjacent works since i was like 6, but i don't rly wanna count that LOL

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

This bitch is my baaaaaaaaby. Stackson, WC 55,613, Chapters 18/?. https://archiveofourown.org/works/48834448 Currently a WIP but with a deadline, so it WILL be finished! This is probably the fic that got me REALLY into writing fic on my own though. https://archiveofourown.org/works/29829636 It really brought me back to my love of writing and was the first finished work in a long ass time. I also think it's really funny and a great example of what I can do when I apply myself. (PompousPep, WC 4,545, 2 chapters, Rated M.)

Tagging: @geekmom13 @always-mimits @sinnabon-cosplay @okdeannawrites @whimsicalmeerkat @clotpolesonly @hedwig221b @wolfspurr @lavender-lotion @adrianfridge

(Blank under the readmore)

20 questions for fic writers!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

3. What fandoms do you write for?

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

8. Do you get hate on fics?

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

16. What are your writing strengths?

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

19. First fandom you wrote for?

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

[waitingforthet]

Needless to say, DC did not hire me to be the new writer on Challengers of the Unknown.

[nintendouniverse2023]

The following progressive of My Batman AU resembles some new origin stories and new accomplishments between the DC Universe.

Bio: Edward's childhood wasn't all that great, His father hated him, always called him a moron. This lead to prove into proving to his father wrong by entering a $50 dollar earing contest. He won but unfortunately this lead to Edwards father accusing him of cheating and beat him for lying. Over the next few year, he grew up to be a F.B.I agent secretly working for Commissioner Lobe.

Oswald then secretly goes to Commissioner Lobe to hire one of his best F.B.I Agents to capture Batman was Edward Nygma. Penguin showed Edward that Batman existed and knows what the drugs come from and sold to Falcones' men. This gives Edward an idea and would do it with his favorite games as he said all he ever needs is a few hostages and Thugs. “And as right now Agent Nygma has retired, you can call me, The Riddler!” While Batman is on his night potrall in Gotham, He suddenly gets a hacking call from Riddler and challenges him to solve his puzzles and riddles. Batman dosn’t take him seriously at first, Riddler reveals he has kidnapped victims and threatens to kill them if he doesn't play along. Batman reached the first victim to save then get ambushed by a group of thugs. After defeating them, Batman interrogates the thug telling what Riddler is. Then the thug explains that at the end of each crime, he left a riddle at its place. By using his batcomputer, and his own detective skills, Batman managed to solve the riddles and save only half the hostages. Then it seemed to reveal a location where half of the hostages were in an abandoned maze, where Riddler gives an upgrade to it. Batman then gets to the Maze to encounter The Riddler in person *wearing his suit, Question Mark on Bowler hat and Tie and a question mark cane* Riddler then challenged the Dark Knight to survive his deadly challenge. Batman was able to solve all the riddles and save the hostages. Riddler admits he was working for Penguin and turned himself in without a fight.

But luckily later he was back on the streets ether before and after Dr Deaths defeat, placing Riddles and Puzzles to show him that his crimes were the opportunity to claim his supremacy to all of Gotham. But thanks to Batman involving his plans, Each of Riddlers operations were stopped by Batman. He had a big rivalry with The Joker because he proven to be jealous from the fact that he was supposed to be Batman’s greatest enemy. This leads up to an full out war between him and The Joker. His most operations of the war between violence and impossible riddles. He even come to close into killing Kite-Man’s son over information of The Joker. After the war was over and transferred to Arkham with the other villains, He continues his crimes with Riddles to prove his superiority.

Appearance: Black Hair, Purple Glasses, A gray pants and question mark hat, Gray shirt with a purple vest and tie with a green question mark, Brown Shoes, Purple Gloves, Gold Question Mark chain and a green tailcoat with question mark.

Voice Actor: Wally Wingert

Age: 26

Height: 6ft

Weight: 156 ibs

Personality: Intelligent, Smart, Native, Mental Tempter, Dramatic and Determined

Favorite Foods: Furits and Sometimes Desert

Family: Unknown, Emma Nygma *Younger Sister*

Allies: Two-Face, Mr Freeze, Killer Croc, Poison Ivy, Black Mask and The Penguin *sometimes*

Enemies: Kite-Man, The Joker *Rival to Batman* Batman and his Bat Team, Catwoman and The GCPD

Likes: Blackmailing, Riddles, Puzzles, Mind Games, Maze's and Writing Poetry

Dislikes: Murder *If nessasry *, His Plans being ruined, The Joker involving his plans and completely ruined everything, Failure, Backfired and Being Electrocuted

[savingthrcw]

what if the point of her character is that she doesn't have a super specific past or personality because she's The Liar which can make her fit in pretty much any fandom - birth name is Elizabeth but the name she feels most real to her is Stella, because it was given to her by her baby sister. Goes by whatever name feels more appropriate around your muse.

And like, when she's herself she's chill and uncaring at the same time, would definitely spend her days having cocktails by a pool after a night of dancing, either living the Life or eating McDonald to cure her hungover (or the historical version of trash food), can't stop conning even if she's rich because she still can't resist a good crime, probably has a mountain of diamonds somewhere. Especially can't stop when she can punish someone who is being cruel.

But when she's LYING, she can be anything and anyone. Her gift, which she excels at, has always been to lie/con/act, BUT she decided to use it for good after she found out how nice it felt to help people (Leverage style) or avenge them or whatever else she can offer, and she's the kind of conwoman who gets Christmas cards from her former marks because either they never found out she tricked them or were still charmed after discovering the fact (again, Leverage style, if you've seen it think of Sophie). She WILL even give away her beloved money if it means saving people, but she'll do it while complaining a lot. She will destroy those who scam sick people too. She's got no fighting skills but has connections that can make her dangerous.

If you want to interact maybe she's "working" or maybe she's at the point of retiring, or she's being hired to do her job by the other person, or, more easily, your muse or a person close to your muse is the NICE type, and she feels compelled to help when they are in trouble, especially if it means freeloading for a while. She could be in the police's radar in certain fandoms and tasked to help (technically there is no charge against her whether because her fake identities are the wanted criminals or because like I said her marks just can't hold it against her)

shippy wise: she's only good at flirting when she's acting a role (she gets shy if flirted with otherwise, she's not that smooth). I historical/fantasy fandoms she's a widow, who impulse-married a boy she was in love with as soon as she was of age, already thinking of retiring by then and staying out of the game while married (because yes, she was already into this as a kid, her whole family is a mess of criminals) but he died a couple of years later and she was done with romantic commitment for the time being, at least in her real personal life. In modern verses she didn't marry the guy, life just got harder so they simply split up and she went back to what she was good at. Also, she DOESN'T sleep with her marks to con them, she only sleeps with men she actually likes. She claims it's because it'd make the game too easy and she likes a challenge. If a guy is too kind and gullible as opposed to a gullible bastard, she CANNOT con him, she doesn't have the heart for that.

and if anyone is interested let me know!

specific of fandoms where she can't just be human:

baldur's gate 3: a bard with very high charisma and deception obviously, and maybe spells to charm people.

dragon age: rogue and spy, bit like Leliana. Still has spells to charm enemies.

grishaverse: a tailor who specialized in changing her own face first but besides that she's the same person from the bio

marvel/DC: can be a completely normal person dragged in for her ability to lie or, if it works better for our plot, an alien with the same skills but also the ability to make people believe ONE lie at a time until she drops it (the rest is up to her regular acting)

ouat: part of Robin Hood's gang at first but moved because she wants to make more money, would be a tax collector when cursed

merlin: a sorceress that has obviously a lot of extra charming powers but much like in the mcu cannot and will not abuse of that power

icons not mine! credit to hollowedartist and buffyism

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

Bramhall

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 14, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

Yesterday, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT) announced he would not run for reelection. That announcement came just as The Atlantic published an excerpt from a forthcoming biography of Romney by McKay Coppins in which Romney expressed disgust with his Republican colleagues for feeding Trump’s lies to their voters in exchange for power and acknowledged that “[a] very large portion of my party really doesn’t believe in the Constitution.” 

Coppins had access to Romney’s private journals, correspondence, and interviews. He describes Romney as isolated from other Republicans in Washington, unwelcome first because he was disgusted by Trump and vowed to be independent of him and then because, in the first impeachment trial, Romney voted to convict on one of two charges.

Romney said that “[a]lmost without exception” his Republican colleagues “shared my view of the president,” but they refused to speak up out of fear that their voters would turn against them. Coppins recounts a weekly caucus lunch at which Republicans gave Trump a standing ovation, listened as he boasted and rambled through remarks, and then burst into laughter as soon as Trump left.  

That loyalty appears to have been behind leaders’ refusal to address rumors of violence on January 6, 2021. According to Coppins, on January 2, 2021, Senator Angus King (I-ME) warned Romney that a high-ranking Pentagon official had told King that right-wing extremists online appeared to be planning to attack the government on January 6 to stop what Trump had told them was the stealing of the 2020 presidential election. They talked of guns and arson and bombs, and they talked of targeting the traitors in Congress, among whom they counted Romney for his vote to convict Trump on one count in his first impeachment trial. King was concerned for Romney’s safety.

Romney promptly texted then–Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) to recount the conversation. “There are calls to burn down your home, Mitch; to smuggle guns into DC, and to storm the Capitol,” Romney wrote. “I hope that sufficient security plans are in place, but I am concerned that the instigator—the President—is the one who commands the reinforcements the DC and Capitol police might require.” McConnell never answered. 

When even after the events of January 6, fellow senators continued to execute their plan of objecting to the counting of electoral votes for certain states, Romney called them out on the floor of the Senate for “being complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy.” 

Romney recalled that some senators refused to convict Trump in the second impeachment trial out of concerns for their safety and that of their families. Romney himself had hired a security detail for his family since the attack on the U.S. Capitol, but at $5,000 a day such security was out of reach for most of his colleagues. 

Just eleven years ago, Romney was the 2012 Republican nominee for president. Almost 61 million Americans voted for him. Now he is leaving public service with voters calling him a traitor and threatening his life. 

In the House of Representatives today, Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) had to pull back one of the eleven spending bills that Congress needs to pass before the end of the fiscal year on September 30 to fund the government. Extremists say they will not bring any of those bills to the floor without deeper cuts than McCarthy agreed to in a deal with President Biden earlier this year. 

In a conference meeting today, McCarthy allegedly exploded at the extremists stopping the budget process, who hold over him their power to challenge his speakership. “If you want to file a motion to vacate,” he said, “then file a f*cking motion.” Rather than backing down, an extremist leader, Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL), continued to needle McCarthy on social media.  

The House went home for the weekend. While it made no progress on the budget this week, Speaker McCarthy did manage to initiate an impeachment inquiry into President Biden in an unsuccessful attempt to appease the extremists. According to Jonathan Swan, Maggie Haberman and Alyce McFadden of the New York Times, those extremists have been conferring with Trump. 

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has led calls to impeach Biden, told the reporters that she told Trump she wanted the impeachment inquiry to be “long and excruciatingly painful for Joe Biden.” Ultimately, she says, she wants a “long list of names” of those she claims are involved in crimes with the Bidens, and when Trump wins the presidency in 2024, she wants “to go after every single one of them and use the Department of Justice to prosecute them.”

Today the independent counsel appointed by then-president Trump to investigate Biden’s son Hunter charged Hunter with three felonies related to the fact that he falsely claimed he was not using illegal drugs when he applied to buy a handgun that he owned for about 11 days in 2018. Los Angeles Times legal affairs columnist Harry Litman noted that in June, after five years of investigation, the Justice Department negotiated a plea agreement with Hunter Biden’s lawyers in which Biden would plead guilty to two tax offenses and receive probation, and a gun charge would be dropped after two years if he continued to stay drug-free. 

Although Biden had taken the unusual step of retaining Trump’s appointee, then–U.S. attorney David Weiss, to continue to investigate Hunter even after Trump’s term ended, to avoid any appearance of interference, Republicans protested what they saw as preferential treatment for the president’s son, harassing Weiss’s team and FBI agents and their families. Then the deal fell apart for reasons unrelated to Hunter.

And now Weiss has brought more charges. Litman notes that “the charges Weiss brought are rarely pursued for their own sake. The department does bring such charges against defendants who use improperly obtained firearms to commit other crimes. And in one or two instances, prosecutors appear to have used such charges against defendants whom they knew to be particularly dangerous. But this indictment over an isolated lie by a relatively harmless firearm applicant seems to be without precedent.” 

But, Litman notes, the Republicans now have something with which “to muddy the waters with respect to Trump’s multiple criminal indictments.” As if on cue, House Oversight Committee chair James Comer (R-KY) claimed that “[m]ountains of evidence reveals that Hunter Biden likely committed several felonies and Americans expect the Justice Department to apply the law equally. Today’s charges are a very small start, but unless U.S. Attorney Weiss investigates everyone involved in the fraud schemes and influence peddling, it will be clear President Biden’s DOJ is protecting Hunter Biden and the big guy.” 

Yesterday, President Biden spoke at a campaign reception. “Everybody always asks about impeachment,” he said, but he didn’t think much about it. He noted that Greene had vowed to impeach him the first day she was elected, and said: “I get up every day…not focused on impeachment. I’ve got a job to do. I’ve got to deal with the issues that affect the American people every single solitary day.”

That focus today demonstrated the vision Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have for the U.S. After yesterday’s meeting between Russia’s president Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un, U.S. national security advisor Jake Sullivan today held a trilateral call with his counterparts in Japan and South Korea, honoring the agreement forged at the historic trilateral summit of the three countries at Camp David in August. Together, they noted that North Korean arms exports to Russia would directly violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions, including ones for which Russia itself voted.

And in Largo, Maryland, today, after listing the economic accomplishments of his administration, Biden called out the Republicans for their lack of policy plans. For all the time they spend attacking Bidenomics, he said, “here’s what they never do: They never talk about what they want to do…. They tell you what they’re against. What are they for? It’s like they want to keep it a secret.” 

Biden pointed out that just months ago, Republicans threatened to default on the U.S. debt, and now they are breaking the commitment they made to resolve that standoff. Working from a budget produced in June by the Republican Study Committee, which has 156 out of 222 of the Republican members in the House, Biden explained that Congressional Republicans now are doubling down on the old trickle-down economics that “hollowed out…the middle class…blew up the deficit…produced an anemic economic growth…and…stripped the dignity and pride and hope out of a community, one after another.” 

“[Y]ou hear from our friends on the other side, the MAGA Republicans, what’s wrong with America. Everything’s wrong with America. They keep telling us America is failing,” Biden said. “Well, they’re wrong. They’re failing. America is not failing. America is winning. And there’s one reason for it: you. All you people get up every single morning and go out to try to do the right thing. You, the American people—you’re the one with grit and determination. Not me or your elected officials. You.”

“We’re the only nation based on an idea—an idea. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Look,” Biden said, “we’ve never fully lived up to it,’’ but “[w]e’ve never walked away from it.”

“These other guys are trying to walk away from it.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb: 13-year-old Bruce Wayne attends an exclusive prep school for the gifted. But in this case, "gifted" means kids with super-powers. Bruce is suddenly the least special person in his world--and must learn to work with the talents he does have. It’s hard enough being in middle school, but it’s even worse when you’re the only kid at your school who doesn’t have super-powers. That’s the case for poor Bruce Wayne at the Gotham Preparatory School for the Really, Really, Really Gifted, where the struggles of being un-powered are made worse by the presence of so many exceptionally gifted students. He doesn’t stand a chance of winning a race against the future Flash, or a swim meet against the future Aquaman, and he always gets picked last for dodgeball. And when it comes to winning the attention of the most popular girls at school—Diana Prince and Selina Kyle--he figures he stands no chance at all. Bruce does have a goal though: he wants to make a difference in the world. But how can he do that when he doesn’t have any powers? While the Future-Supers are currently content to simply use their gifts to glide through school and court popularity, Bruce struggles to figure out if he has any gifts at all — and if so, how to use them.  His challenge comes when he discovers fellow student Jack Napier and his hired bully Bane shaking down lesser-powered students for money, including that hapless kid Dick Grayson. Someone must stand up to them and somehow, it’s going to be Bruce!

Review:

What do you do when you go to an exclusive prep school for the gifted...and you have no super-powers? For 13 year old Bruce Wayne, all he wants is to be a vigilante and help people but finding a way to do that is a lot harder than it seems when don’t have super powers like super speed like Barry Allan or super strength like Clark Kent. Bruce wants to make a difference, so despite not having powers he’s going to have to figure out a way to help others with just his brain. When Bruce discovers another student doing evil, it’s up to him to find a way to stop him before other students are harmed. This was a cute new take on middle-school Bruce and his origin story of wanting to become a vigilante and starting off his Batman career. Young Bruce here still has the one important thing about Bruce: he just wants to help people. Bruce is just an ordinary (albeit super rich) guy who has to figure out how to use his own skills and talents in a world filled with super powered individuals. Overall, a fun take on Bruce’s journey to becoming Batman and definitely a unique one.

*Thanks Netgalley and DC Entertainment, DC Comics for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[mostlysignssomeportents]

This day in history

Today (Apr 30) at 2PM, I’ll be at the San Francisco Public Library with my new book, Red Team Blues, hosted by Annalee Newitz.

Tuesday (May 2) I’ll be in Portland at the Cedar Hills Powell’s with Andy Baio.

#15yrsago HOWTO keep your laptop from being searched at the border (it’s hard) https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/05/protecting-yourself-suspicionless-searches-while-t

#15yrsago EFF and security experts to Congress: We need hearings on Customs laptop seizures and snooping https://www.eff.org/press/archives/2008/05/01

#10yrsago Mozilla to FinSpy: stop disguising your “lawful interception” spyware as Firefox https://www.wired.com/2013/04/finfisher-firefox/

#10yrsago EFF challenges bogus 3D printing patents https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/04/eff-partners-challenge

#5yrsago Hope Larson’s “All Summer Long,” lively YA graphic novel about tween friendships, rock and roll, and being yourself https://memex.craphound.com/2018/05/01/hope-larsons-all-summer-long-lively-ya-graphic-novel-about-tween-friendships-rock-and-roll-and-being-yourself/

#5yrsago Speaking in my professional capacity as a dystopian science fiction writer… https://memex.craphound.com/2018/05/01/speaking-in-my-professional-capacity-as-a-dystopian-science-fiction-writer/

#5yrsago It’s back! British Conservative politicians’ habitual “go ahead, kick me in the balls, I can take it” pose https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/apr/30/sajid-javid-tory-power-stance

#5yrsago McDonald’s workers across the UK are striking https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/may/01/mcstrike-mcdonalds-workers-walk-out-over-zero-hours-contracts

#5yrsago George Mason economics department admits it sold hiring control to anonymous, super-rich donors https://crookedtimber.org/2018/05/01/the-public-choice-of-public-choice/

#5yrsago Thousands of prominent AI researchers tell Nature they won’t have anything to do with its new paywalled journal https://openaccess.engineering.oregonstate.edu

#5yrsago Parliament to Zuck: show up or else https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/1/17306684/uk-zuckerberg-testimony-facebook-data-privacy

#5yrsago Right wing snowflakes moaning about Michelle Wolf’s hilarious White House Press Corps monologue show us real “PC” https://www.currentaffairs.org/2018/04/what-being-politically-incorrect-actually-looks-like/

Catch me on tour with Red Team Blues in Mountain View, Berkeley, San Francisco, Portland, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, DC, Gaithersburg, Oxford, Hay, Manchester, Nottingham, London, and Berlin!

[groovyace]

What if I went thru my Jason Todd arc for the 1876th time.

[rillette]

ur sleepers illustration is godly but the first thing i always see is TOILETRIES and i get so confused until i scroll back up to see that it was you who posted it and i go "AH IT'S SLEEPERS"

sorry im kinda dumb

GOOD that means i did my job properly!! The toiletries panel is super bright and in the middle of the page so it draws the eye to mirror how hal keeps looking at it in the text ^_^

[not-another-robin]

DC hire me to make a series about the absolute chaos of Bruce and Alfred's first years as a family challenge. Including but not limited to Lucius Fox getting a backstory, breaking hearts over Harvey Dent and Bruce's friendship, and my personal favorite: Unhinged Alfred

[inlibrariusvenefica]

Lunar Return May 20-June 15 2023

LR Moon in 4H

Focus on home, ancestry, mother/father/the more nurturing parent, who you are in private, inner foundation, your origins, lineage, elderly people, property. [Edit 5/19/23: I’ve been diving back into working on my family trees and gathering more information to add on to individual’s records. Also, the last of my mom’s paternal uncles passed, so we got a funeral to go to.]

Waxing Crescent Moon Phase

Growth and awareness. Overcoming obstacles

Aquarius Ascendant (Theme of the Month)

Ankles, batteries, broadcasts, leg calves, clubs, colleagues, electricity, electronics, friends, idealism, humanitarianism, inventions, legs, motion pictures, nerve specialists, organizations, new teachings and occupations, photography, progressive, psychology, radio, rebellions, reform, research, science in general, sociability, societies, phones, tv, Internet, social media, advanced or free thought, hopes and wishes [Edit 6/10/23: I twisted my ankle which took practically a month to heal.]

Ascendant Ruler in 4H

Again with home and one of my parents, private identity, property, elderly people

4H Stellium

See LR Moon in 4H above

Other Things

Area of life important for the month= Ascendant at 1° Aries degree= Outlook on life, outward behavior, persona, self awareness, general health, appearance, individuality, skin blemishes, inflammatory diseases, the face, fire, hardware, hats, head in general/organs within the head, headaches, sharp/cutting instruments, military matters, surgical operations, sharp tools.

Cancer in 6H (where in your life you are able to work out some of your emotional challenges this month) = care and health of body, comfort, what you eat, illnesses, habits, routine, one’s capacity for service, work environment

Pluto conjunct AC= Personal transformation. Maybe personal crisis. Depending on past actions, you may get power and become a leader or lose your authority.

Uranus conjunct IC= Disruption and change in home life, parents. Home may need repairs. A need to change in your inner life. People may try to hold you back in your career, public reputation could suffer if people feel threatened by you.

Mars conjunct DC= Passion and conflict in one on one relationships. Could feel annoyed by other people. Natural enemies will become obvious. May have problems with men and dominant women. Maybe some outside thing makes you feel like  it’s thwarting your plans. [Edit 5/11/23]= YEAH it’s already shown up not just for me but for people I know. We’re all having problems with a shared obvious enemy]

Jupiter conjunct North Node= Positive and lucky. New people enter your life. Not the time for carefree decisions.

Venus trine MC= Getting opportunities for career growth through colleagues and bosses. Public image improves. [Edit 6/10/23: I got asked by my manager to be on a hiring committee for a new job in our department. Same manager has helped me with applying to a master’s program that will either advance me in my profession or will be a safety net if I get laid off]

[firelord-frowny]

i had a conversation recently where someone brought up how he drove across the whole ass country to help his best friend move from the dc area allllll the way to los angeles.

and i sat there just

in this utterly fucking dismal hole in my mind, feeling like there are 0 people on earth who would give enough of a fuck about me to drive across the country for me if i ever needed them to.

he talked about what a great time it was. 4 days driving through mountains and farmland and deserts. the different colors of the soil. the plants, the trees, the clouds, the stars, and he'll be so glad to make the drive again someday soon. i said something like, "wow, you drove all that way for your friend??" and he goes, "Hell yeah!"

if i try to imagine someone driving across the country for me, i just see them sitting bitterly in their car, rolling their eyes, commiserating with someone on the phone about how needy i am, about how much i owe them, about how i don't deserve this much of anyone's time, about how i just shouldn't pursue anything in life that would require anyone else's help or attention to accomplish it, and that if i can't do something by myself, then i don't deserve to do it.

why would someone take off work for me? or use up so much gas money? why would someone subject their knees to the discomfort of several hours a day sitting in a car, just for my benefit? why should anyone be uncomfortable for me? i'm an idiot for even thinking i might be worth the trouble. i'm stuck up and full of myself and presumptuous and i should have just hired a moving company like any self respecting independent adult instead of asking someone to upheave their life for a week just so i won't have to face a new challenge on my own.

[coleyjulia1]

Fish Out Of Water

Having any job at a young age comes hand and hand with challenges. Transportation, getting hired in the first place, and most importantly respect. after turning sixteen and getting a licence usually fixes the first issue. Jobs usually hire people with experience so working for a family member is a great way to get your foot in the door and have something to put on a resume. Now earning respect is a little harder. When working as a restaurant manager at the age of nineteen, the staff were older than me and initially didn't care for what I had to say. If I told them to take their sweatshirt off so that they were in uniform, they typically just would not change. I've learned the best way to establish leadership at a young age is by being helpful and good at your job. When the restaurant was busy, I would help run food, and expo food, manage guest complaints, and bus tables, and assist in hosting. As a manager, no task was below me to do. Through being useful the servers began to respect me as a manager and view me as a manager and not a kid. Another example was when I planned my first event not working for a company. I planned a bat mitzva this year in DC and flew in from South Carolina for the event. Upon arriving at the venue the head of catering stepped on my toes, undoing the things I had planned to match how she envisioned the event. After I began doing my work and telling her to trust what I had planned, by the end of the night she was asking for my contact so she could use me as a planner to recommend. My best advice is to not expect everyone to respect you right away but to keep your chin up because you will earn it with hard work.