#Dynamic Hotspoting

[848ellie]

Walking in Miami neon paradise at night. 🌴

[ao3-shenanigans]

I'm a novice writer and I've been thinking about posting my first fanfic for a while, but after seeing many writers torn to pieces by commenters and the way they're treated by a portion of fandom (specifically on Twitter) I find myself losing the excitement to share my work.

Can you give any advice on how to overcome this and build confidence to post despite all the negativity?

Oh goodness! Fandom infighting is The. Worst.

You have a couple practical options:

On Ao3 you can disable comments all together or make it so comments have to be previewed by you before they go under your fic. Folks can still leave Kudos but can’t comment unless you change or approve it

I’d also suggest being clear in your tags about what your fanfic will entail, most fans should know about the Don’t Like, Don’t Read policy that is general fandom curtsey, but if it’s a newer fandom, it may not be common knowledge

Maybe don’t share your fic on Twitter/X if that’s the hateful hotspot

In terms of having the confidence to post? Know that someone out there is going to love your story, even if it’s the most generic plot or has weird ships or dynamics. People will read anything - that’s why ao3 is so huge! We’ve got every flavor of story, not just the favorites! (And you never know if yours might become someone’s favorite:))

[abyssalzones]

hey. are you cool with long billford (critical, but more critical of the fandom than the ship itself) rants in your inbox? if not that's totally cool, that's why i'm asking before sending the long ass rant. explanation below if you'd like more details about what i mean before deciding:

i always thought past-billford was at least interesting, purely as an exploration of trauma (and how ford has moved on and is working through that trauma with a loving family). but i feel like the fandom SAYS they feel that way and then proceeds to post the most gross and victim-blaming things i've ever seen. and i feel like i'm the crazy one for thinking that's an insane thing to do, purely because it seems like everyone and their mom is doing it. so it's really nice to see someone (a popular someone!) go "no, this relationship is actually super abusive and unhealthy, and i'm not going to post a million and one comics of ford's family making fun of him for being abused by a triangle".

okay listen you guys are great and I appreciate feedback on my writing and thoughts And Such but at a certain point you've gotta go make your own posts. you already know I agree with you! for the most part! aside from the fact I kind of don't like using a ship name just to describe a dynamic between two characters! but I'm not really into the idea of my inbox becoming a hotspot for people to air their grievances about a thing I already complain about a lot, and I worry I'm encouraging that. it's just kind of tiring! I don't know.

'fandom' as a whole is so inscrutable and annoying that at this point my in-depth criticism of it is reserved to venting in private avenues with my friends. I understand its relevance to the story in the case of something like the new book, and how that might be spawning a lot of discussions about audience interaction, and that's fascinating to me on some level otherwise I wouldn't bring it up, but I also would rather just think about the story itself usually because otherwise I have to go watch some sea otters and calm down. so, consider this me lightly shooing you and everyone else who has sent me long rant-like asks about this ship off my porch, maybe to go do or think about something else for a while. in fact, here, go watch some sea otters.

[napoleondidthat]

[On Joaquin Phoenix’s performance] “Joaquin studies the psyche, and the psyche of Napoleon is so strange The film feels like that. It’s kind of peculiar, and there’s an intensity in that. Napoleon wasn’t stoic and wonderful like Russell Crowe was in Gladiator. He was a dictator, a war criminal, really. It couldn’t be rousing, because that man killed hundreds and hundreds of thousands of men, in my opinion needlessly. And for what? To get an empire, for what? In the end, it all disintegrated anyway. That psyche run wild is dangerous as hell, and very strange. And this is a portrait of that.”

—Vanessa Kirby

[Phoenix’s visit to Napoleon’s tomb, and to the military hotspots] ” I went to all the museums and, yes, it’s very interesting but, yeah, you’re looking at swords and blah, blah, blah, who gives a fuck. I mean, honestly, I want to make it a great thing to talk about for your piece, but yeah, you walk around and you look at the things and you go, ‘Oh yeah, that is a very small jacket.'”

—Joaquin Phoenix

[On Napoleon and Josephine’s divorce scene where Phoenix slaps Kirby in agreement] “My biggest compliment for any take or scene, is, ‘Christ almighty, where did that come from?’ That wasn’t planned. He just fuckin’ slapped her. She didn’t know it was coming either. The whole room went [sharp intake of breath]. And you know, what could’ve been a boring scene suddenly had magic.”

—Ridley Scott

Trivia: Scott has a super cut that goes into Josephine’s life before Napoleon. So you fans of Josephine, don’t give up hope!

This is such a mess. You have English actors being typical English and hate Napoleon but for some reason want to do a movie about him anyway even though he is a Hitler and Stalin and according to Kirby a war criminal. Fantastic. Nothing like approaching a subject neutrally.

Joaquin isn’t impressed with museums much I see.

Okay Scott, wants us to know that the film isn’t a love letter to Napoleon and he’s a bad dude, they aren’t showing just good things Napoleon did. So instead they will show things Napoleon NEVER did like SLAPPING JOSEPHINE AT THE DIVORCE CEREMONY. It’s not as if Napoleon didn’t do shitty things to Josephine that, if you want to show their dynamic you could go to. Yes, Napoleon did shoot at her swans at Malmaison. Yes, Napoleon did force her into carriage rides when she was suffering migraines. But making stuff up out of whole cloth is infuriating.

So on top of the already inaccurate information out there: Napoleon was racist and shot the nose off the syphinx and shot at the pyramids proves it, Napoleon was short and therefore he had to conquer the world, we can now also get Napoleon was a wife beater. And surprise, the misinformation still comes out of England.

[try-set-me-on-fire]

Tagged by @rewritetheending for wip Wednesday! I’m giving Eddie heat stroke sorry dude the torments continue

It’s so hot Eddie’s stomach muscles have locked into a permanent clench. The call about a fire at an apartment complex over near Wilshire had come in at around 6 this morning and it’s almost noon now, and they’re still working their way through hotspots that seem to flare right back up after they’ve been put out. Eddie is in an apartment he’d been in two hours ago when he’d used it to get to the unit next door, and which hadn’t even been touched by smoke then and has since become an inferno. There had been a big poster of one of the Texas Rangers players on the wall next to a UCLA pennant, and Buck had nudged him and cackled as he made a gesture Eddie thinks was supposed to convey tipping a cowboy hat. Both decorations are gone, probably floating around them in ash, wall completely engulfed.

It’s hard to catch your breath when you’re bathed in this much heat, and Eddie is grateful for the years spent honing his and Buck’s dynamic duo act. There’s no need to try to force words out when he holds out a hand and knows Buck will be there to put a hose in it. Just holding the hose steady is making his arms shake, and he’s fighting down waves of nausea, but they’re beginning to knock the flames down when the radio crackles on.

Tagging @devirnis @kitkatpancakestack @homerforsure @iinryer @rogerzsteven @bigfootsmom @burins @shortsighted-owl who are you tormenting on this fine Wednesday

[satanicgingermom]

This au is overtaking me. Anyway here’s some extra lore bits that’s didn’t fit in the character sheets:

1. So Smile Precure’s insane growth spurt happens the years that Akane is in the hospital. As Akane is kinda in and out of consciousness that first year, it leads to her having grown like three inches whilst asleep, so her coordination is fucked. When she first starts physical therapy she trips over her own two feet so much that she almost injuries herself again. It was a rough year for the Smile Team. ( poor girls has insane growing pains and a bestie in the hospital. tragic)

2. Honoka and Nozomi actually study together! They’re not as close as Nagisa and Rin, but they are good friends now! Honoka is great at helping Nozomi study, because she’s been helping Nagisa study for years and Nozomi may get distracted easily but at least she actually wants to study.

3. So otona was kinda a mixed bag, but the idea of Saki wanting to study abroad to study baking is kinda everything to me? I’ve also lived in the city she wants to study in, it’s actually the place I watched splash star for the first time. It felt right. That said, fuck her marrying a random man, she and Mai have been together for years and have the healthiest dynamic out of everyone here. Saki’s the only one who will actually tell Mai what goes on in the damn theater.

4. It’s been a hot minute since I watched suite, but in my memory they were all dramatic bitches with crazy pressure on their shoulders and then Kanade. From Kanade’s pov it looks like they’re being shitty, but this is actually just because of some crazy misunderstandings. Hibiki in particular has a lot on her plate, and it’s not her fault Kanade didn’t make any new friends! Kanade smh you’re such an idiot <3

5. Mana still has no idea Rikka has a crush on her. It’s actually becoming painful to witness. Alice is very thankful that Rikka has a new project to keep her distracted.

6. Is the theatre haunted? Yes. Why doesn’t Akane think it’s haunted? The ghosts like her. They’re leaving her to her own devices because this is the most comedy they’ve had in years. The Sunbeam itself is on a magical fault line, so that’s why it’s such a creature hotspot, but there are ghosts sitting in the wings watching all these girls fuck up

7. Anna is a whole mess into herself, but, uh, let’s just say she has a lot of growth to do before she’s actually a good person. Oh she likes Rin a whole lot, but boy howdy does she have some ulterior motives.

[darkmaga-retard]

Today we're sitting down with Michael Yon, a former Green Beret who's spent years as a war correspondent in conflict zones around the world. In this conversation, Yon shares his candid thoughts on global migration, cultural shifts, and what he believes are serious challenges facing the United States and other countries.

Yon doesn't shy away from controversial statements. He argues that "United States is clearly going into civil war" and says "The main invasion engine for the United States is our government." Whether you agree with all of his views or not, his firsthand experiences offer a unique perspective on current events.

Throughout the chat, Yon touches on topics like border security, cultural assimilation, and what he sees as looming threats to societal stability. He suggests that "The life that you had before is over" and advises listeners that they might need to make some tough choices in the near future.

Time stamps (Youtube)

00:00 Introduction: The State of the Nation

00:45 Interview with Michael Yon: Background and Expertise

01:13 Global Hotspots: Key Locations and Issues

02:40 Japan's Health Crisis and Chinese Influence

04:42 Migration and Information Warfare

08:39 The Situation in Canada and Europe

21:58 The Tribal Dynamics of Conflict Zones

41:17 The Strategic Importance of Panama and Colombia

47:59 Understanding Cultural Substrates

48:28 Migration Issues in the Western World

49:08 Election Integrity Concerns

49:51 Border Security and Migration Patterns

53:18 The Role of NGOs in Migration

54:14 Economic and Social Impacts of Migration

01:01:18 Cultural and Societal Changes

01:03:27 The Role of Media and Influencers

01:15:56 Military Perspectives and Leadership

01:20:18 Preparing for Future Challenges

01:28:04 Final Thoughts and Recommendations

[hinacu-arts]

Writing idea masterpost - DP x DC

Fav tropes (specifically: DoM tropes)

Danny & Billy dynamic

Doofenshmirtz AU

Ghost King Court AU

Haunted hotspots

Tik tok stitch

Movie night

Dani & Kon platonic soulmatch - timkon

Vlad sues Lex for plagiarism. Danny sues Lex and Superman for custody of Kon

Football tailgate

"Pit incubus"

Asexual repro = Zeus?

Prince Jason 1 / Prince Jason 2

Royalty AU

"Spooky"

Dead On Main

DoM cult ritual

DoM Wedding

DoM sleeping beauty

DoM R.I.P.D. AU

DoM Hades & Persephone

DoM spooky speed dating

DoM sex pollen

DoM college aus

DoM soulmates?!

Royal Arranged Marriage

Serious Chaos

SC Student AU

SC Zookeeper AU

Eleanor

Missile launcher

Irritation-to-lovers

Get out of my city

Royal Match

Prompts

Fenton-Foley Protection Services

Amity is city-state

Wrong number

Batfam ghost cores

Boor

PTA wars

Jason the book review youtuber

Spacedace's QoC au designs

These two aus

[transingthoseformers]

I am super interested in your Tranaformers Omegaverse thoughts. Cause how would that translate to Mechs?

Omegaverse and the WerewolfAUs that spawned it are guilty pleasures of mine.

It leaves all sorts of interesting space given how much emphasis the allspark/matrix/hotspots are given in terms of reproductive politics. Adding Omegaverse breeding shenanigans is just chef's kiss for interesting horny chaos.

Plus Megatron as an Omega type?

Please don't leave me hanging

In my mind, in a transformers omegaverse scenario, most of the population are betas... And entirely incapable of sexual reproduction (as is common in transformers)

It's only alphas and omegas, both of which are rare (I've been toying with the classic idea that omegas are especially rare), who can sexually reproduce. I'm setting up the idea in my head of Cybertronian sexual reproduction being something uncommon in my head, thus why the heavy reliance on other more asexual methods of reproduction.

Now, I'm trying to figure out the anatomy and how that would work considering how valveplug anatomy often integrates both sets of sex bits into one bot. (Would cybertronian betas have both?? Would they have neither? Would they have single sets of valves or spikes like human betas often do?? I've been considering the second idea heavily tbh) (how would cybertronian alphas and omegas differ from cybertronian betas?? Would they still have both sets but one of their bits is Special, would they only have single sets but they're Special? In general what are the anatomical differences??)

(Within the omegaverse, there's flexibility in how the author tends to depict things. As is the same with transformers sexual anatomy. So there's like all of the wiggle room here.)

In my scenarios I've been running, I'm torn between two situations:

Megatron has hidden the fact that he's an omega from just about everyone relatively well... Until a well placed heat reveals it all?

Megatron is one of, if not the most well known omega out there. Usually there's a lot of "Non-Traditional A/B/O Dynamics" in this one, because hghhhhh omegas getting to be mean as they rightfully deserve

(hmmmmmm but the concept of "alpha!Megatron who discovers he has absolutely no interest in being the Big Bad Dominant Alpha in sex... :)" has just come to me and I am curious about it)

Blame my usual "earthspark Megatron goes into heat" plotline for this.

Now, while I haven't read a proper omegaverse fic in years, I have somehowed my way to omegaverse TikTok. I will never forget the look in those people's eyes as they explain what slick is to the masses again and again. Also that one guy who keeps suggesting there's an interesting crossover between omegaverse and in universe religion to be had, considering what we know of Cybertronian religion I feel like alphas and omegas would have an interesting place in Cybertron's mythology.

[ausetkmt]

The blockbuster “Black Panther” movie highlighted the sweeping antagonism that has existed for ages between African Americans and African immigrants, speaking directly to this state of dynamic tension.

One cultural hotspot for this tension is in the word “Akata”, a West African term from the Yoruba tribe with a complicated history. The word is derogatory – not a term of endearment – and some West Africans use it to describe Black Americans and American-born Nigerians.

It is a divisive slur that has contributed to the “otherizing” of native Black Americans and has driven a wedge between those who use the word akata and those who get called the word akata.

Here are five things you need to know about the use of akata by West Africans towards Black Americans:

It means ‘cotton picker‘ or ‘wild animal‘

Akata means “cotton picker” in reference to Black Americans who were taken as slaves and shipped to the Americas to work on cotton and other plantations. It also loosely refers to a wild animal or cat in reference to someone who is uncultured. The slur has subsequently been picked up by other Nigerians and West Africans to refer to African Americans and American-born Africans.

Much of the tension between Africans and African Americans exists because we don't talk enough about our uncomfortable relationship.— Luvvie is the #ProfessionalTroublemaker (@Luvvie) January 10, 2014

African mothers warn their children not to marry ‘akata’

African mothers living the U.S. as immigrants or back in their home country in West Africa usually warn their sons and daughters against marrying African Americans because they are considered akata and thus not cultured enough.

There are books, songs and movie scenes about akata experiences

American-born Nigerian author Nnedi Okorafor has written two books about the Nigerian American – also known as Naijamerican – experience. There is also a song by Ikey that asks “akata” to stay away from him. A scene in the movie “Sugar Hill” starring Wesley Snipes shows an interaction between Black Americans and Nigerian diplomats over the work akata that ends up in a fight.

To clarify: AKATA IS A DEROGATORY TERM FOR BLACK AMERICANS **AND** AMERICAN-BORN NIGERIANS/WEST AFRICANS. SUNNY NWAZUE IS NIGERIAN AMERICAN AND GETS CALLED THIS NAME IN THE BOOK. THE TITLE IS INTENTIONALLY PROVOCATIVE. IS THAT CLEAR ENOUGH FOR YOU?— Nnedi Okorafor, PhD (@Nnedi) September 24, 2019

Most African Americans do not know what akata means

The average African American person does not know or understand the context of akata because they do not expect that a Black-on-Black slur word exists. It comes as a surprise to many to learn of Nigeria-origin hateful rhetoric towards their own Black descendants of slavery.

Listen to GHOGH with Jamarlin Martin | Episode 74: Jamarlin Martin Jamarlin returns for a new season of the GHOGH podcast to discuss Bitcoin, bubbles, and Biden. He talks about the risk factors for Bitcoin as an investment asset including origin risk, speculative market structure, regulatory, and environment. Are broader financial markets in a massive speculative bubble?

The slur is common knowledge among second-generation Nigerian-Americans

The use of the slur is familiar among second-generation Nigerian Americans. This is largely due to an identity crisis from having one or both parents who are immigrants to the U.S., according to studies. Use of the word “akata” depends on the context.

[americangeophysicalunion]

Sink or Source? Quantifying Carbon Flux in a Great Lakes Estuary 

Dear AGU:

Occurring at the land-water interface, Earth’s estuaries, are hotspots of carbon cycling.  Muskegon Lake is a highly productive urbanized estuary that drains the 2nd largest watershed in Michigan into the 2nd largest Laurentian Great Lake – Lake Michigan. Our aim is to quantify the carbon flux in this dynamic ecosystem through experiments and time-series measurements that track changes in oxygen concentration (as a metabolic proxy for equimolar changes in carbon) in the lake. Here, graduate student Kaylynne Dennis is collecting surface water to fill clear and dark bottles and redeployed in the lake over a full diel cycle to gage the daily rates of photosynthesis and respiration, respectively. Biweekly experimental measurements will be complemented with seasonal ship-board and continuous time-series measurements of oxygen concentration by the Muskegon Lake Observatory (www.gvsu.edu/buoy/). How will river loading, thermal stratification, wind mixing and algal blooms impact in-lake carbon metabolism, and what effect will the ongoing El Niño conditions have on the net carbon balance of this estuary? What bearing will these findings have for estuaries elsewhere – and the global carbon cycle?

­– Bopi Biddanda, Kaylynne Dennis, Tony Weinke, Eric Snyder (Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University, Muskegon, Michigan, USA www.gvsu.edu/wri/), and Steve Ruberg (NOAA-Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA www.glerl.noaa.gov/).

[nebsisdead]

"Why are so many people in the minecraft community bad people?"

WARNING: THIS POST CONTAINS TALK OF POWER DYNAMICS, ABUSE, SA, ETC

This has become a fairly popular question. Whether it be a joke to poke fun at the ridiculous amount of minecraft youtubers who are awful people or a genuine curiosity.

Now I dont have all the answers. I am not saying I do. But I think I have a couple of answers. None of them are clear-cut, and I think they blend together. So, let's begin

1. It's a kids game.

Predators flock towards spaces with children. And games for children will be a Hotspot. Especially something like minecraft that had a massive ressurgance in 2020. This happens all the time, both online and offline. Disgusting people using children's products to hide their pedophilia.

2. The world is full of awful people.

The internet is a Russian roulette of fame. It doesn't matter how good your content is. Fame happens randomly and sparcely. When your content is good, you can graple onto the game and harness it. However, with something as fickle as a random chance, you're bound to get some weirdos and degenerates. And in a community as large as minecraft, it isn't surprising stuff like this is happening.

3. We don't know them

I've seen a lot of people act betrayed and shocked when bad information about their favorite CC comes out. And as much as I do, I get the sadness that comes with it. It's a bit ridiculous. What they are doing on that screen is not them. It is a performance, a show for our entertainment. With editing and practice, they can formulate an entirely different identity. So, for those acting, how we could've seen any of this coming. We couldn't, but we can learn to not attatch ourselves to people we don't know.

ENDING THOUGHTS

Sure, I liked Wilbur Soot's content. But guess what? He's not my friend or my good buddy. So , just stop listening and paying attention. In the end, the internet is an echo chamber of parasocial relationships and bad decisions made since we see ourselves as above consequences when behind a screen. So my parting advice is to stop living through the internet. See reality. Because you're gonna realise how fucked up your perception really is.

[wavewrites]

Toothache

Cavities in the mouth (rough draft)

~ hello! I recently posted a prompt on my ao3 regarding this Wenclair fanfic that is pretty much a 90s esque college candy shop au with a sprinkle of a/b/o dynamics as I promised to my readers. This is the rough draft to the story which I’m still working on but will complete soon, and hopefully by next Tuesday with my schedule I’ll have it done.

The story is still up for some changes and small tweaks of course, and I do hope my readers who I’m making this for add input into the story meant just for them, but either way i hope you will enjoy this rough draft intro to toothache. ~

"Oh my little scorpion this is a wonderful idea!" Gomez said as he held her mothers hand. "Your mother and I think this is a great opportunity for you to connect with others." He said, ever the gentle voice in things, he tried his best to calm the already tense nerves of Wednesday. Though his coaxing voice only made her more annoyed.

Her mothers made her want to explode. Per usual of course.

"No, my mother only thinks this is a good idea. You just follow her word." Wednesday glared at Morticia, her tone spiking on the edge of rage and she scoffed as her mother glanced away. "Well, Wednesday I do feel this is a good benefit. It will help you in the future managing the other businesses, and I do feel the connection with others is-"

"Something I don't need. I have no use for the money as all my books are paid for." Wednesday said as her face soured. While she perfected the art of stoicism, the small details in her face almost always gave her away.

Wednesday never worked a day in her life when it came to the topic of service jobs of any kind, spoiled maybe, but not in the way others may take it. She was always interested in business and ruthless command. She was to check in with her fathers law firm and venture around the world to consult relatives and manage other businesses in the near future, but as she moved to Jericho for college, an esteemed private school that was held for high expectations and education, she was to manage her own little business to prove she was capable of managing the other, much larger ones meant for her to own.

A candy shop.

She was to manage a fucking candy shop of all things.

Or, a rather large bakery but the point still stands. Wednesday had no want for such things, she barely wanted to go into business, and preferred something more gory, but the law firm Gomez has kept thriving will end up in the hands of pugsley, and the various businesses distributed amongst the eldest Addams children will befall upon Wednesday and her other family members she’s not to keen on meeting again for a will reading and consulting about business.

either way, she was in for a stressful college life, and an even more stressful work environment.

She already didn’t want to go to nevermore, but with all the things that happened last year…it was best she went.

“You will learn to love it, as me and your father have.” Morticia said as she gave Wednesday the keys to the candy shop. “It’s a hotspot now I’ve heard, you will definitely need to hire more staff, and please keep us informed dear.” Gomez pitched in, almost ecstatic for Wednesday when she honestly wanted otherwise.

“You have me go to a college for kids like me whose parents given them everything on a silver platter. I would rather the opposite.”

Wednesday stated. And in some way she wasn’t wrong. She knew the Tanakas, a vampire family name that stood for hundreds of decades, had a daughter go to the same school. Satan knows how long that leech has attended, but such matters made her wish she went somewhere that emphasized the ‘private’ in private school.

Nevermore, while Wednesday was sure held itself high in its education and self image for those that fall under the outcast umbrella, was not a place that held itself high for the Addams one. It had various rules set in place and multiple safety measures ever since her mother and father attended, but such things would never stop Wednesday Addams from doing what she wanted.

She could admit, even though she hated Jericho, and overall any place that held humane life, she had connections here. This town was all family names and forced smiles with a generous sprinkle of morbid, and the people that came with it were no better. But Wednesday would have to bite the bullet this time as her mother’s usual calm and collected voice that made her want to scowl most her life calmed her to no end like she was a child again, looking for a sense of safety.

“You will make wonderful memories, I promise.” She said, looking at Wednesday and offering a comforting smile. Wednesday didn’t have the words to say she loved her, or that she believed every word, and instead offered a small touch to her hand before retreating like she was burned.

“I highly doubt it.”

And as Wednesday met with Weems, a part of her, the inner workings of her soul, disagreed plenty.

But who was she to say otherwise?

[sparkmender]

It is a creeping sense of betrayal, these kinds of things.

Rung tries to put it out of his mind, of course— there are so many chores to do in a day, and Elegy still needed to be supervised, and then of course the hot spots needed tending to on a cycle, so he did what he could to visit each of them, quietly checking up when the blacksmiths weren’t in the way, and there’s hobbies and things to read and baking and when that fails, Megatron had ideas of his own—

But keeping busy will not change who he is, or what he is. No sacrifice or choice or denial can absolve him from this basic fact:

There is no way to cut out the Quintesson. It is in his core coding, the rounded, curling lettering stark against the straight-edged NeoCybex and modular Primal Vernacular. It is etched in his frame, tucked away in places only Rung ever notices. It is obvious in the sockets that stud his body and the thin shape of his frame and the softness of his protoform. Transformers were dynamic, angular and built to handle life on Cybertron. Rung is round and quiet and… fragile.

It is a paradox.

He is old, but surely not old enough to have been tampered with or formed during the Occupation. The Primes were in power throughout his juvenile period. For goodness’ sake, Alchemist Prime had been there at the little Temple when he’d been pulled from the hotspot there, overseeing the harvest. He’d been the one to point out that Rung was going to need oculars like he wore.

It doesn’t make sense.

But he can’t stop himself from worrying about it. What would even be the point of a Quintesson agent with a meaningless alt. mode?

[leoruby-draws]

Introducing for the young Outlaw team, is... Argent/Toni Monetti and Boomerang Jr/Owen Mercer!!

I'd been wanting a speedster for the team, I really liked Godspeed but as I said in my last post it simply wasn't meant to be. But then I found Owen, and I just knew he would fit in perfectly.

Owen is the prankster of the team, tho the other kids like pranks as well, Owen takes it to another level. While he likes to cause a ton of trouble, he's a pretty nice guy regardless. He also loves his dad and idolizes him, his dad loves him a lot in turn. His father, the original Captain Boomerang is a bit torn on wither to bring Owen into the family 'business' or leave him out of it.

Interestingly Owen and Barry Allen seem to get along as well, Wally is baffled by their friendship. Barry might be trying to convince Owen to try to be a hero, instead of a villain. Honestly Owen isn't really sure what path he wants to take, tho for the moment he's just happy to have fun with his friends.

As an aside, his backstory is the similar to post crisis, he was just discovered at an earlier date.

As for Argent, while looking around for characters around Jason's age, I discovered the Titan characters from the 1996 Teen Titans book. I quite like them, and I was originally was gonna put Risk on the team, but Risk felt too similar so many other characters.

Thinking it over, I decided that Argent would make the more interesting choice, her personality would make more interesting dynamics with the others, not to mention her history with Rose Wilson. Plus I wanted a more feminine character, make the team more balanced.

Her backstory (along with Risk, Prysm, and Hotspot) is the same as post-crisis, their powers simply activated at an earlier age.

With these two, you can see that theirs a bit of a divide between more traditional good heroes, and a those with a more morally ambiguous bent. Tho that was what I was aiming for. I wanted to team to be diverse in powers, viewpoints, and come from different areas of the DC universe. I'm really liking how this teams working out, there might be a couple more characters to bring it, tho I don't want to make the team too big.

Anyways some 'concept' art of Toni and Owen, I'm really proud of Toni's design especially (took some inspiration from her 2003 cartoon design):

And a bonus little comics of these two! Well, hope you like them! I really had fun drawing all this!

[march-harrigan]

OMG you did a White Rabbit reader with Jervis? Could you do a Chesire Cat type reader with Jervis? One whos like, Just as mad but is super self aware n shit?

So, I had to redo the second half of this one, but it's done! I enjoyed getting to do another Wonderland dynamic! Although I'm not sure I managed to make the madness shine through as much as I would have liked. More carefree/risky behavior than anything.

Maybe Cheshire Cat!Reader will make another appearance someday, so I can flesh them out more.

People would have thought you mad if they saw you in this part of town. And to be quite honest, they were probably right. It wasn't exactly the safest, and yet here you found yourself, almost daily if your schedule would allow it.

Which is where the madness came in. Even by Gotham's standards, this place was a hotspot for crime. Not just normal, every day crime either. When you came here, you were at risk of a run-in with some of Gotham's worst. But your passion for urban exploration outweighed your sense of self-preservation, and so you'd explored to your heart's content. Yes, your priorities were skewed. You'd be the first to admit that. However, you personally saw no problem with it. After all, everyone was a little off in their own way, right? Why should you be the exception?

Besides, if you hadn't taken the risk, you'd never have met Jervis Tetch. And it was Jervis who kept you coming back after that first trip into no man's land.

He called you his Cheshire Cat. Even when you'd first met, your smile had reminded him of Wonderland's perplexing, grinning feline. If that hadn't been enough for him to make the connection, your propensity for not giving straight answers did it. You'd appeared in his hideout as if from nowhere, and it took him nearly an hour to work out your reason for being there. You'd talked him in circles that whole time. "Why is anyone anywhere?" you had asked. So imagine his surprise when he realized how simple it was. All you'd wanted was to get out of the rain.

From that point on, he was intrigued by you. As intrigued as you were amused by him. The mutual interest led to further visits and before long, those feelings had developed into something else entirely. You'd never officially spoken the words, but it was a forgone conclusion that the two of you were an item now.

It was during today's visit that you nearly gave Jervis a heart attack. It was one of those rare, sunny days in Gotham and you'd planned on surprising him with a picnic. Unfortunately, when you arrived at his hideout this time, he wasn't home. This happened from time to time, but he usually wasn't gone for long unless he'd planned something big. And so you took it upon yourself to wait for him. Naturally, to you, this meant climbing up to the roof and watching for him. What else were you supposed to do?

It was a little under two hours later when he finally arrived. By this point, you were lying across the roof. Your arm with the picnic basket dangling lazily off the edge while you held your head propped up with the other. You whistled for his attention and the small man squeaked in surprise, halting in his steps. "Oh, good heavens dear, you gave me a fright! I thought you might me one of those Batspawn." His voice lowered into a growl at the mere thought of the vigilante pests.

"No need to get your cute little bowtie tangled, Hatter, sweetie," you chuckled, lazily giving him your signature grin. You swung your legs around in one swift movement and sat up. The action seemed to draw a gasp from him. Likely worried about your proximity to the edge. "It's just me."

"Y… Yes, I can see that," he replied, voice shaky. He noted the basket in your hand. "I, um… See my little Cheshire Cat was planning a… Picnic?"

"Mm, something like that~"

"Well, I… I'm afraid to say," the Hatter stuttered out, casting a brief glance up toward the sky. Sadly, the beautiful weather had come and gone before he got here, the sky now overcast with the all too familiar dark clouds. Typical Gotham. "The sky's quite gray. A picnic, yes! But… Not today. And on the roof, I dare survey, not safe, I say. Why not come down here and play?"

The rhymes came out rushed and haphazard, easily giving away his apprehension at your chosen spot. With a chuckle, you decided you wouldn't distress him any further and carefully climbed down. Once you were safely on the ground in front of him, you greeted Jervis with a small, chaste kiss. It served to calm his nerves, and as you pulled away, you held the basket up in front of him. "Who says we can't have a picnic, hm? Just because the sun declined our generous invitation?"

"I… Yes, I suppose. But it looks like it must rain."

"And?"

"Well… The food might get soggy, dear."

"Hm. I suppose you're right. Well," you sighed letting your arms drop so you were holding the basket in front of your legs. "Who enforces the rules for picnics anyway? The picnic police? Batman in a gingham checked cowl? I say we take this inside."

"Yes, yes! You're quite right, pussycat!" Jervis giggled, unable to shake the humorous image of Picnic Batman. He eagerly linked an arm in yours and escorted you inside. "An indoor picnic is just what we need!"