#I have been. not on tech. for a while
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kaidatheghostdragon · 10 months ago
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De-age fic, but good parents AU
Something de-ages danny, not a clue what exactly, but it does. BUT, danny had already had a good reveal with his parents, so he goes home and they see him de-aged and immediately get to work figuring out how to get him back to normal.
Life goes on as normal, its just that danny's body is about ten years younger. He still has to go to school (with a story that the thing that de-aged danny was aimed at fenton and phantom jumped in to take the hit but it got both of them - or open secret au, take your pick), still has chores, still has to deal with the ghosts that cause problems.
With barely a pause to question 'is that still danny?' everyone continues as normal.
Thing is, there's the typical information firewall we like to invoke to explain why the justice league doesnt know about amity. It blocks ghosts, Phantom, infinite realms, liminality and ecto-contamination, you name it.
What it doesnt block? Baby Hero.
As in, now that Phantom is tiny, everyone and their dog is taking pics and recording phantom to coo all over him on social media. Everyone is enjoying how adorable he is while it lasts. Even the rogues are playing nicer to soak it all up.
The justice league is concerned. Apparently there's some new hero (phantom has been active for over a year by now, minimum) operating in the midwest, and he is literally preschool age. Even the Robins didn't start that young! Who is raising this kid? What are they thinking?!
Its frustratingly hard to get any more intel about phantom (because the firewall is still catching everything else about him), so theyre gonna have to send someone in blind to scope out the situation.
Who do they send? You can decide, but i vote they put together a team: batman (wfa characterization) because he knows how to handle child vigilantes, wonder woman because everyone loves wonder woman and she's a good voice of reason, and zatanna (NOT constantine! Zatanna is more child friendly) to cover magical bases in case this is something like a captain marvel situation.
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starscream-is-my-wife · 3 months ago
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at least the twins don’t know about this
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bixels · 5 months ago
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As cameras becomes more normalized (Sarah Bernhardt encouraging it, grifters on the rise, young artists using it), I wanna express how I will never turn to it because it fundamentally bores me to my core. There is no reason for me to want to use cameras because I will never want to give up my autonomy in creating art. I never want to become reliant on an inhuman object for expression, least of all if that object is created and controlled by manufacturing companies. I paint not because I want a painting but because I love the process of painting. So even in a future where everyone’s accepted it, I’m never gonna sway on this.
if i have to explain to you that using a camera to take a picture is not the same as using generative ai to generate an image then you are a fucking moron.
#ask me#anon#no more patience for this#i've heard this for the past 2 years#“an object created and controlled by companies” anon the company cannot barge into your home and take your camera away#or randomly change how it works on a whim. you OWN the camera that's the whole POINT#the entire point of a camera is that i can control it and my body to produce art. photography is one of the most PHYSICAL forms of artmakin#you have to communicate with your space and subjects and be conscious of your position in a physical world.#that's what makes a camera a tool. generative ai (if used wholesale) is not a tool because it's not an implement that helps you#do a task. it just does the task for you. you wouldn't call a microwave a “tool”#but most importantly a camera captures a REPRESENTATION of reality. it captures a specific irreproducible moment and all its data#read Roland Barthes: Studium & Punctum#generative ai creates an algorithmic IMITATION of reality. it isn't truth. it's the average of truths.#while conceptually that's interesting (if we wanna get into media theory) but that alone should tell you why a camera and ai aren't the sam#ai is incomparable to all previous mediums of art because no medium has ever solely relied on generative automation for its creation#no medium of art has also been so thoroughly constructed to be merged into online digital surveillance capitalism#so reliant on the collection and commodification of personal information for production#if you think using a camera is “automation” you have worms in your brain and you need to see a doctor#if you continue to deny that ai is an apparatus of tech capitalism and is being weaponized against you the consumer you're delusional#the fact that SO many tumblr lefists are ready to defend ai while talking about smashing the surveillance state is baffling to me#and their defense is always “well i don't engage in systems that would make me vulnerable to ai so if you own an apple phone that's on you”#you aren't a communist you're just self-centered
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mrsnaildood · 8 months ago
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Misc. CX-Tech drawings I've done throughout the year. Third piece is fanart for @toomanyteefs's fic Reclaimed.
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turtleblogatlast · 4 months ago
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I adore the idea of Leo developing a love for glam rock not only because he likes the music but also because of how many glam rock bands had vibrant and extravagant eye makeup - looks that his own red stripes were right at home with.
Like just imagine a little Leo rifling through his dad’s music and choosing to vibe with glam rock specifically because he was like “:0! Like me!:)”
#rottmnt#rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles#rottmnt leo#rottmnt headcanons#rise leo#has someone said this before idk probably#most definitely honestly I’d bet money on it but ah well#I haven’t been around in a while helloooo everyone#I still love this turtle#I was at work and this thought hit me and I was like dang…wait that’s cute…#and it’s TRUE too#Leo’s glam rock look in the ep ‘Al Be Back’ literally looked more glam BECAUSE of his stripes#if he had a regular non striped turtle design and still chose glam rock as his fave the red crescents wouldn’t be out of place there!#I love it#little leo grew up amongst little green faces so much like his - aside from two glaring red differences#idk I actually really like that all four brothers have SOMETHING unchangable about them that makes them stand out design wise#raph is BIG and SPIKEY yet somehow SOFT LOOKING#leo has SO MANY STRIPES including BRIGHT RED CRESCENTS on his FACE#donnie has a SOFT SHELL often covered by his TECH#and mikey is SMALL and often makes himself even SMALLER#I love their designs so much actually#don’t mind me just thinking about how Leo’s face stripes work so well for him on multiple accounts#as a face man#literally putting emphasis on his face in a character design standpoint to note it as something to look at#but also as someone who ‘wears a mask’#the bright flashy mask that is just as natural and HIM as what it’s hiding#flashback to episode one where behind his red stripes was a flashing red eye#actually since I talked myself into it I’m back on my:#‘Leo was always naturally adept at being a ninja it’s just that his environment & upbringing made those skills adapt to showmanship’ agenda
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hobbithoes · 5 months ago
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who up yankin they gith rn ⁉️
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sciderman · 8 months ago
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Yk, I hate that adaptations keep making Peter a high schooler, and not just because it means he never evolves, but because the adaptations now also include wider Marvel, whitch usually (thanks to the MCU) is at the modern day stage with legacy characters and new age teen heroes, meaning that Peter is taking up Miles' spot and you can really tell when they put him next to someone like Kamala Khan or Sam Alexander who are Miles' pals. Tho Peter taking Miles' stuff is just a modern issue overall, just look at MCU whitch just stole and re-skinned Miles' personality, characters, story-beats, even the costume to an extent and then made it worse.
agree 👏
#sci speaks#sci. release the script doctor you did where it actually was miles in the mcu and peter parker is a grown ass man.#it was funny. peter was a really bad intern at stark industries#who stole stark tech on the sly.#and of course. tony catches wind of this because he has cameras everywhere and. those cameras happened to also catch.#him sneaking out of work as spider-man.#and tony ropes him into civil war or whatever because otherwise he could Literally press charges.#and peter's :((((((((#begrudgingly joins tony's side.#in the post credit we see that he's been gathering stark tech to build miles morales some very neato webshooters.#and voil.a. miles is the star of homecoming and. peter is the mentor figure that encourages miles to start small.#miles: but YOU teamed up with the avengers a#peter: do as i SAY not as i DO.#sighs. so little would have to change.#but no more child soldiers and no more over exposure of tony stark. fantastic. superb.#also showing a slightly sneakier peter parker who isn't exactly entirely morally upstanding.#steals from billionares while they're not looking to serve the people who need it.#robin hood figure !! sexy. would falll to my knees for a peter parker like that. would be my favourite on screen peter ever.#and it puts him more in an interesting spot with the villains in the movies too.#if we still go with the route of all the villains being affiliated with stark tech and stealing / using stark tech#then peter is like. in a more complex role in the story. he stole stark tech too. is he better than the criminals?#he uses it for good. he thinks. but that's his judgement.#just i think it would be neat. all the “you're just like me” rhetoric falls so flat in those movies.#but what if it hit different.#but that would be if marvel had the courage to make a complex spider-man movie#where peter parker is allowed to make morally complex decisions asides for “uhh. stupid kid makes stupid mistakes”#sci talks movies
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omnificent-orion · 10 months ago
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Day 3: Connection
You were once me, I'll never be you. Let's meet again, in the next--
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laughhardrunfastbekindsblog · 9 months ago
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I've been thinking a lot about the scene involving "Clone Force 99 died with Tech" and trying to figure out why it STILL doesn't sit right with me even now, 5 months after the Bad Batch finale aired.
Because really, looking at the line and how Hunter and Wrecker respond to it from an in-universe standpoint, it does fit the specific scenario well. Crosshair is getting ever closer to Tantiss with a severely wounded Wrecker refusing to give up, and he's worried. So Crosshair drops that bombshell of a line, reminding his brothers that the squad has permanently changed, in an attempt to try to save Hunter and Wrecker by convincing them to leave him and find a way to contact Rex as he storms Tantiss on his own, because it's "what he deserves." Hunter responds by saying Omega and the clone prisoners need all of them - which (being generous with my interpretation) is likely meant to address the "I deserve to die alone" sentiment Crosshair expressed by instead providing him another purpose. Then Wrecker responds by saying they know the risks and aren't charging in recklessly - addressing Crosshair's original concern.
So I think I would ultimately be fine with this scene as-is if 1) it didn't end up being the last time the brothers ever reference Tech, and 2) it didn't come at the end of an entire season's worth of complete mismanagement regarding the Tech storyline.
Now, I admit my perception will likely permanently be colored by the fact that when first watching the finale and hearing Crosshair say that line, part of me still clung to hope that Tech would show up before the end credits, but in between heaving sobs the analytical part of my brain was going "...Really? A full season of baiting us and THAT'S how you're going to tell your audience Tech isn't coming back? If that's really the case so help me..." And we all know that really was the case 😫😤😭
(Screaming into the void. Starting to realize I do a lot of void-screaming when it comes to season 3, especially with everything after "The Return.")
But even setting aside how soul-crushingly painful that line is, what continues to drive me absolutely bonkers about it is:
1) Tech sacrificed himself so that his squad COULD carry on without him, whether that meant fighting or not, and yet again the narrative itself refuses to openly acknowledge this. Even if Crosshair isn't at a point where he can really accept this (and that's a valid stance for him to take), it would have gone a long way for the show (via Hunter or Wrecker in this case specifically) to still definitively highlight why Tech had done what he did, especially after an entire season that ended up only implying that Tech's sacrifice held the squad back from achieving their goals.
(Another fan told me that they believe the line was a good way to acknowledge how important Tech is because the squad will never be the same without him. While I see their point, I think if the show really wanted to push that sentiment it would have landed a lot better if worded a bit differently and stated during, I don't know, a memorial for Tech. With all Tech's family there. Not desperately thrown out there by Crosshair in the middle of a mission as an attempt to shock/guilt Hunter and Wrecker into saving themselves - after all, as noted above, the purpose of the line in context isn't specifically to honor Tech anyway.)
2) There's no follow up to address the fact that Tech sacrificed himself, in part, so Crosshair could still be saved - nothing to provide that vital reassurance to Crosshair that he was/is WORTH saving.
3) After an entire season of being excruciatingly vague about whether each Bad Batcher has fully grieved or not, they're STILL keeping it vague and robbing the characters of any cathartic moment to acknowledge Tech in a way that actually respects his sacrifice and shows his family - his squad - is acting to honor his memory.
4) Above all, IT'S THE ONLY TIME TECH IS REFERENCED IN THE FINALE OF THE SERIES IN WHICH HE IS A MAIN CHARACTER and it's not in a way that highlights his positive influence on his brothers, nothing to indicate that this mission to Tantiss would have been just as important to him as it is to the rest of them so they're going to pull together as much to honor him as to accomplish their objectives, nothing to make that reference anything more than a knife to the heart. (Oh, sorry, there is that goggles reference in the epilogue. With Omega, alone. Yet again, the brothers have no meaningful interaction about Tech.)
And the thing is, even if when Tech does come back (and I firmly believe he can), the show that is specifically centered around the Bad Batch should not have ended without providing meaningful closure for all of them. (Yes, I'm still banking on another clone-centric show being in the works; but Rebels clearly left the door open for further stories while still leaving things wrapped up for all the main characters at the end of that show, and that could - and should - have happened here.)
...Anyway, now that I've gotten all that off my chest, maybe I'll be a bit calmer during future rewatches of the finale 😅
... Scratch that, I'll probably need to spell out all my grievances about the CX plotline before I reach the point of watching the finale with relative calm 😬
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boughclan-clangen · 6 months ago
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hi everyone! no page today, probably not sunday either. my pc has been out of commission for over a month so i've been drawing on my laptop--but i'm getting to the point where i really would like to 3d model my backgrounds to make them a little easier on me and give me more energy to experiment/make pages nicer, so i'm going to try to hold out until my pc gets fixed and i can do so for these next couple of pages.
it'll be a lot of front-loaded work, but it'll be worth it in the long run, i think!
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inarcad1a · 1 month ago
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1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - X - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9
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might-be-tiny-gt · 10 months ago
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Last year I wrote a story about a streamer who shrinks based on chat donations. I meant it as a one shot, but guys…. GUYSSSSS.
I think about this story ‘s universe a lot. I have lore notes just collecting dust and I need to share it or I might go absolutely mad XD Made these visuals charts to get the basics across but if you’re interested in my lore and semantic ramblings, feel free to read below the cut.
Consider this my unofficial pitch bible for Down Played.
General premise: Monica Diaz is Twitch streamer with steadily growing fan base. Her tag is MiniMushroom and her aesthetic is cottage core. She loves all things magical and tiny, especially toadstool mushrooms, that’s the image most associated with her “brand.” She’s approached by a mysterious benefactor who has developed technology specifically for Monica to test and utilize for her streams. It’s called Byte-Syzed Tech and it connects to a user’s twitch stream and based on the user’s preferences, gives the audience the ability to change the user’s height. The one shot I wrote takes place during Monica’s first live use of Byte-Syzed tech on stream. If I were to develop this into a full story I’d probably go back a bit and start around when Monica is first approached about using Byte-Syzed tech then continue to follow Monica adjusting to using Byte-Syzed more often. How she deals with the size change on camera, off camera, how her social and personal life are affected, all that good stuff. I think it would like a slice of life feel good kinda story.
Characters:
- Monica - Main character and primary user of Byte-Syzed tech. Surprisingly enough, she’s actually a law school grad who probably would have put her degree to use if she didn’t accidentally gain a massive following on twitch. Funny how life works out. She stands at 6’4 and always was fascinated with the idea of being small (Basically, she’s a g/t nerd who doesn’t know what g/t is) so being gifted Byte-Syzed and being able to use it on stream is kinda a dream come true.
- Kim - Monica’s girlfriend, roommate, and stream moderator. Kim and Monica were high school sweethearts but drifted apart in college due to personal matters in Kim’s life including having to drop out of college. Kim and Monica rekindled their relationship a few years later and Kim cites Monica and her encouragement as a big reason why she’s been able to get her life back together. She’s currently back in college working on getting her degree in Mathematics.
- The Twitch Team- Moni hosts solo streams but also very often collabs with three of her online friends. Ariel (@Lifeisthebubbles), a Vtuber who is the only one Moni has met in person. Corey (@McDonuts) an NB asmrist on youtube who started streaming games for fun. And Phin (@UrguyPhin) Corey's bf and the competitive gamer of the four. All three of them were streaming with Monica when she first used Byte-Syzed and have since gotten used to pausing their games so an ever shrinking Monica can adjust her set up.
- The Benefactors- Keeping their (Plural, there are two of them) exact identity to myself for the time being, but basically they’re mad scientists with the best intentions. Their antics have garnered attention across the internet as they have created and gifted inventions to up and coming online creators that seem to defy all laws of physics. Anti Gravity chambers, a literal money tree, a mask the morphs the wearer’s face, and now the Byte-Syzed size changing tech. Despite their inventions going viral, their identities have remained hidden. So what is their deal? They’re just big fans of these creators and for lack of drawing skills have gifted them weird inventions instead. Nerds… Due to the nature of Byte-Syzed and the possible effects it can have on the human body, Monica and Kim remain in close contact with them.
How Byte-Syzed Works in Universe: This I wrote tons of notes about when I first thought of the idea. Byte-Syzed can be divided into three key components; The program, the arm band monitor, and the sync suit.
The Program is installed on the user’s computer and connects directly to the arm band monitor and sync suit. The program has user friendly set up that allows the user to input the direction of height change (Shrink or Grow), The minimum or maximum height change, How height change occurs (By views, chat commands, donations, etc.), and rate of height change (How much height is gained or lost with each instance of viewer interaction.) EX: If height is based on donations, the user can set it up so they lose 1 inch for every 10 dollars donated. They can set the minimum height to 6 inches, so once they’ve received enough donations that they have shrunk down to 6 inches, Byte-Syzed will hold at that height. More donations may come in after, but the height will remain at 6 inches for the duration of the stream.)
The Arm Band Monitor, is the device the physically changes the user’s height after connecting to the Byte-Syzed Program. It also monitors and display’s the user’s current height and vitals. All data collected from the arm band will then be saved and can be referenced later if the band is connected to the computer. The arm band must be kept on at all times during active use and active reset of Byte-Syzed. Active use is the time in which Byte-Syzed is being used in a stream and the user’s height is actively changing. Active reset refers to time after the stream has ended and the user is either set at their new current height or in the process of returning to their normal height. After a stream has ended the user will remain at their changed height until they press the reset button on the monitor. Once the reset button is active, the user will return to their normal height at 1.5 times the amount of time it took to change to their current changed height. EX: A user has finished a stream that was 4 hours. They hit the reset button which will return them to normal over the course of 6 hours. (4x1.5=6) This only applies for time Byte-Syzed was in use, not how long a size change occurred. EX: If the user’s stream was 4 hours, but they reached their minimum height in 3 hours, the reset function will account for the 4 hours the stream lasted. This is a safety procedure to reduce stress on the user’s body. Note: If the reset button is not pressed, the user will remain at their changed height for a period of 12 hours. After 12 hours, the reset function will kick in automatically.
The Synchronized Suit or Sync Suit is directly connected to the Byte-Syzed program and will grow and shrink with the user at the same rate as the user. Normal clothing can be worn above it but they will not change size with the user, only the sync suit. The sync suit Monica received came with the suit, shoes, and a headset with a built in microphone to keep audio input even over the course of her size changing. More sync suits are in the process of being designed and produced, with the goal of making sync suits that resemble everyday clothing like t shirts or skirts.
Fun Story Ideas:
- Origin story. How Monica met the benefactors and was gifted Byte-Syzed, her and Kim’s gripes about using it, actually going through with it and the pros and cons she noticed, the end of her first size changing stream and dealing with being tiny in her own room and her girlfriend’s hands. Etc etc
- Monica finished a late night stream using byte Syzed and forgets to press reset when she goes to sleep so instead of growing back over the course of the night she wakes up at her tiny size. After realizing her mistake she begins the growth process but now has to do it while attempting to do her regular day time activities.
- Monica is approached by a doll company to collaborate on a new doll based on her, only issue, their studio is several hours away and they want her to model at both her full height and at the height of the dolls. After some consideration Monica and Kim decide to take a road trip to the studio and use Byte Syzed at the studio under Kim’s careful supervision. What could go wrong?
- Months have passed and Kim and Monica have grown well adjusted to the major size difference between them after Monica finishes a byte syze stream, however curiosity has gotten the best of her and Kim wonders what it would be like to be the tiny one for a change.
If you have read this far, you have my eternal gratitude. Thanks for reading this far, I really hope you liked it XD Maybe if time and motivation allows I can flesh the story out.
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pidgeonlaguz · 2 months ago
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howdy!! it's been a minute but i'm still around. fair warning-- i have been lurking the whole time and have about. 100+ posts drafted 😵‍ you'll be seeing these shortly, i'll try my best to space them out as i get around to tagging them
#tldr im fine it's just been a lot lately and i havent had the energy to tag anything#which!! i like being chatty in the tags and i try my best to say at least something cool about any art or fic i rb#when you're running on 0 tho.... it gets hard to keep that energy up yk???#long version: (if anyone is reading this ty but feel free to drop off at any point it's kinda heavy and just a vent)#hit the 'one more minor inconvenience and im running off into the woods forever' point about five major events ago yet we're still truckin#firstly: found out two months ago (february) that i needed 6 credits worth of college by june to keep my teaching license for next year#so accelerated online graduate courses were the only option and i have since done more work for that than my 5 year undergrad#im almost done with the second class but im so fuckin drained dude i havent been able to really draw/write or play music or sew or anything#everything i do try has either been hit with the executive dysfunction or turns out Bad enough that i get frustrated#shortly after i found out the nice old guy downstairs died my upstairs neighbor who i cared a lot about died. last week and im still waitin#to find out when the funeral is from her son. ive been taking that kinda hard since i feel like i should have checked on her#my parents are moving 17 hours cross country to move back to where we are which is nice but ive been hearing about all their stress with th#house sale on loop by this point whenever i talk to them. which fair they managed to sell the house in a week when we thought itd be months#got smacked with thousands of dollars of surprise car repairs out of nowhere to get my inspection sticker and am still trying to recover#and petty things: lost my favorite piece of clothing and broke my glasses last week while running tech week for the kids#idk man any one thing at a time i could've toughed out better its just been all at once#anyways like i said i'm still truckin and will probably delete this (or at least the tags on it) later had to get all that out somewhere#messenger pidge#if anyone did get this far down thank you for watching me yap <3 i promise im good and will be back to normal shenanigans soon hopefully
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phagodyke · 1 month ago
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7hrs into my work day lets play a fun game of how much overtime will they make me do 🥰
#i should be going home in AN HOUR!#if im here until 7 again im pulling a sickie tmr idgaf#making me run this stupid thing twice in a day bitch it takes 5 hours!!!!! and i had to do an hour of washing up this morning from#yesterdays run bc we havent had a functional lab dishwasher for 3 months yep we have been fucking handwashing every piece of lab glassware#FOR THREE MONTHS!!#u guys dont even fucking know how much glassware we get thru in a fucking day its shambles#i dont think i even have enough glassware for my second run this afternoon so im gonna have to wash up more#one of the other techs made up the most time consuming reagent for me tho which saves me an hour bless her#but fuuucking hell. hoping when i get back from lunch theyll tell me i dont need to do any more 😭#so i can LEAVE. ON TIME. PLEASE#i cant do another 11 hour day man im not on a fucking shift pattern. if i was then at least id be able to fucking meal prep in advance#but nooooo theyre addicted to giving me unscheduled overtime to do tasks i fucking hate#also did i mention they made it even more complex so now i have to take readings every 30 seconds while constantly titrating this shit#for TEN HOURS. the amount of focus it takes is horrendous i have to keep the number in a 0.0016 range and there are so many dilutions#all this and u can still only analyse 3 samples in 5 hours bc everything has to be in triplicate its fucking sisyphean. hell on earth#puts my head in my hands and wails. im fine ahahahhaahaha. everyone in the lab is being nice abt it at least im getting a lot of pity#i wish i could work shift pattern by this point man or like a 4 day week w 10 hour days. when my managers back im gonna ask her abt it#bc theyve let a few other ppl have custom hours. they wont let me work weekends which is annoying bc im SO productive alone#i might ask again lol so much of my shit is fully independent anyway. aourgh. i get so twitchy from staring at the numbers it makes my#vision swim a bit..... well im used to it#aight vent over im going back in..... wish me fucking luck guys#.diaries
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pocketramblr · 1 month ago
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Could you talk MORE about ideas and thoughts of Kon and Jemahl becoming friends? What about their individual characters that makes you love them?
Yeah!!! I absolutely can keep talking about them!!!
My love of Kon started decades ago when I was a young child taken to Six Flags by my grandparents, I was too terrified to ride the Superman ride but the giant Super Family character signs around the ride enchanted me, especially the extremely cool looking Superboy. Years later when I actually read Reign of the Supermen I was like "yeah this kid rules" but also realized that John Henry was the most perfect man ever. Superboy as a clone of a dead man trying to find the role he was "supposed" to have while also discovering who he was resonated with me for. reasons. He's a good mix of relatable personally, and reminding me of some of my students- kids who want to do good but struggle with a lack of context or support. John Henry being one of his few early places of support is but one reason why he is so perfect. Anyway, then I started reading Superboy (94). I think the idea of using superhero to explore child celebrity exploitation is a good one but the execution is all over the place, so my favorite parts of the run really are the Cadmus focused segments and my top arc is always Hypertime. I love alt versions of the same character. Yes, yes, look into the mirror and confront those parts of yourself!!! I also love how Kon just does not give up, not in a fight, and not in believing in others. This is partially because he's so much like Superman because he wants to be, and partially because he's two years old. Both reasons are great.
Desiring to read more of John Henry, I then started reading Steel (94), which is, well, a comic about a Black superhero in the nineties whos execution is also a bit over the place. I think it's absolutely worth a read, but... Now, Jemahl is introduced as a 14 year old boy who's getting involved in a gang and obviously his uncle is unhappy with that. His family keeps telling him why it's a bad idea, but to no avail. Now, Jemahl isn't as relatable to me personally, but I am a Jemahl Defense Team Member. Not everyone in the Irons family is exactly the genius engineer that perfect man John Henry is, but they're all smart. Smart enough to figure out Steel's identity even when John Henry had been faking his death for five years at that point.
So, Jemahl is a smart kid who's father was killed* by a gang despite not being involved with anything*, and then his uncle and the family's main financial support was also killed* despite being wholly separated from any criminal activity*, and for the last five years has watched his mother support his great-grandparents, himself, his little sister, and younger foster siblings all on her own. Because they don't have any other family, because everyone else was killed for his grandparents being civil rights activities. So, when Jemahl's family keeps telling him to stay away from that sort of things because it'll be more dangerous... Why would he believe them? Sure, they say it, but all the evidence points to the fact that staying away just means you don't see when it's coming and have no backup when danger and death and bullets comes for you anyway, like it did his father and uncle. Jemahl loves his family and wants to help them. Jemahl is also a Black fourteen year old who is denied agency and opportunity for both his race and his age, which must be incredibly frustrating. Yeah, I really cannot blame him for not immediately jumping to obeying every thing his uncle said when he came back, because you know, this uncle has been falsely playing dead for five years. I know John Henry's a perfect man, but Jemahl's got no reason to! Especially not when more people start dying! If only John Henry returned for a time and could rebuild a relationship with his nephew by offering understanding of his motivations and actual support to act in a better way to reach his goal of protecting people and not feeling powerless. Alas, soon Steel got a new writing team and John and Natasha leave DC and Jemahl is sent away to witness protection program with his mother and great-grandfather and basically never seen again except one issue where Natasha visits for Christmas and it is... Not great. I don't know if him being forgotten at that point is a mercy because at least it means they didn't do anything worse with him, but... Anyway in 2015 DC was reshuffling the timeline again and for a brief, beautiful two issues we saw a world where John Henry took both Natasha and Jemahl with him to Metropolis when he left DC, and taught them how to repair his armor so they could feel like they were a part of helping defend others without putting them in danger themselves. Uh and then they built their own suits and immediately jumped to being heroes themselves because of course they did. Wow! It's like Jemahl flourishes when given the right tools to be the caring and protective guy he is! (This is a little weird though because these issues make him younger than Natasha instead) Tragically after the reshuffling, Jemahl Irons never existed. But they said the same thing about Kon and hey look who came back anyway!
So that's why I love those two guys individually. But I also think they could play off each other in a lot of fun ways:
As John Henry's nephew who has complicated feelings but ultimately respects and admires his uncle, especially when given the chance to follow in his shoes, and as the first kid John really got to help in this way. I mean, Kon knew John before he knew Kal. His idea of Superman is tinted by Steel's advice. I think Kon reminded John of his niblings at first, and so there's some good friendship there. (Much like how I enjoy Kon and Natasha being friends).
People have immediate assumptions when they see Kon and when they see Jemahl, in very different ways. Are they jealous of the other, or are they glad it's not what the other deals with because they at least feel familial understanding for their own problems?
When Match was introduced, the Agenda was intending on making and selling hundreds of Superboy clones to use as weapons, Kon was like, "uh??? Slavery??? Bad?!?!?" And I imagine Jemahl would have opinions on this whole thing as well. In fact, Jemahl would have opinions about a lot of things in the SB run, because part of it is Kon being a few months old at the start and having no context for anything like, you know, the colonization of Hawai'i, and part of it is because Kon's a white boy written for white boys. Not only would Jemahl have opinions, he would love to share them and educate Kon, and only somewhat because he'd get to feel like the smart one for once. (Curse of being only a mildly genius kid in a very genius family ig)
Actually they both do have shades of really needing to feel needed and become depressed, albeit in different directions, when they don't. Also, abandonment issues... So much. I'm sure that's something that would get better with their friendship. Or not. Could go either way, highly dependent on timeline lol
I think they could just also hang out. Like, I think they'd enjoy each other's company because it would come with much fewer expectations compared to basically anyone else in their home/hero communities. They can listen to music together, or play with TTK, or say things about girls that they will absolutely wish they had not said once they are no longer aged 14-16. If this is a post-rebirth friendship after they both get powergirl'd, they can hang out and either talk about the world they miss or Absolutely Not Talk About It and just soak in not being alone, at least in this way.
*yeah his dad and uncle weren't really killed and yeah they were involved but that was secret shhh this is as far as Jemahl knows
#ah i have been writing this answer for. a while. i need to go to sleep now oops#but i love them!!!#Jemahl and Kon being friends (a la the convergence timeline where things go better for Jem) happens in my earth 891 au#which is where i put nice things i deserve like jem and nat and kon playing video games together and cloisteel and karakori and-#but i think 'jemahl + kon' will refer to that kind of young them friendship for me#and 'jamal + kon' will refer to a post rebirth adult friendship by two guys forgotten by a world that mistreated them#jem and kon are goofball teen heroes debating the steelworks vending machines while trying to beat the other to a fire rescue#jamal is lying on the floor as kon muses about how no one knows about krypto the earth dog now and tells kon he wishes he had a giant hammer#to hit him with if he has to hear about any more super pets again. (kon keeps going since clearly jamal wasn't listening. earth dog.)#jem and kon will bare their teeth to defend the other from the press questions#jamal will ask kon if he's ever hated a dead baby before and kon will say no unless he himself counts as a dead four year old#jem and kon gossip about how good or bad or easily ttkable the other teen hero tech is#kon tells jamal about his fake gemworld adopted daughter and jamal tells him he's not sure sometimes if he was older or younger than his nat#that's the vibes i think....#pocket talks to people#mars rnr#yeah we'll keep charater tagging why not#kon el#Jemahl irons#also#john henry irons#since he's kinda a linchpin here#ooooh i spent way too long answering this I'm gonna pass out now#may i dream of blorbos
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allgremlinyaps · 2 years ago
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stop arguing the existence of forklifts in the atla comics under my post you guys. there was an honest to god truck in Day Of Black Sun
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