🤩 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: edgy_mando Hello everyone! It's time to direct the spotlight toward our community members, and today we will get to know better edgy_mando!

"My name is Patryk, known as Edgy_Mando. I’m from Poland and I am a 90s kid. During the day, I work as a graphic designer and in my free time I am a LEGO freak.

LEGO was my favorite toy in childhood. I received my first sets from my grandfather, who initiated my passion to bricks. Back then, we loved building the first Pirates and Castle sets together. I have many wonderful memories from those times.

My return to LEGO happened two years ago. As a huge Star Wars fan, I stumbled upon the Razor Crest set from Mandalorian in a store and fell in love with it. I thought, why not buy and build it? Since then, I have started collecting LEGO again and have been enjoying myself. Additionally, I have always admired toy photography by other creators.

I decided to join this community by actively managing Instagram and regularly taking photos of scenes I come up with.

At first, my photos focused only on Star Wars, but I quickly realized that it limits my creativity, and I wanted something more. In my gallery, you can find photos from Pirates, Castle, City, Marvel, and my own imagined universes. Currently, I enjoy photographing the amazing world of Castle and the daily life of City residents.

Most of my photos are taken at home. I feel the most freedom in creating when I can calmly analyze and set up everything I need in my own space. A big advantage is the control over the light and the possibility to create my own scenery using elements such as sand, gravel, moss, artificial grass, etc.

Equipment I use is a Xiaomi Mi Note 10 smartphone as my camera, RGB LED lights, a tripod, and paper cards for light reflection. As for editing software, Lightroom helps me with color correction, while Photoshop is used for retouching (removing dust and unwanted scratches on a minifigures).

I try to make my photos as natural as possible, but as a graphic designer, I sometimes add minor special effects, mainly in themes like Star Wars (lightsabers, blaster shots, etc.).

I find ideas for photos everywhere! From my everyday life and surroundings, which I use in the City series, to pop culture, movies, games, or even art, which allows me to create my own themes. I have plenty of ideas, and when I decide one, I build MOC (My Own Construction), set up scenes, and turn on the lights to realize my shot as it looks in my mind."

Thank you for accepting our invitation and let the community knows you better!

If you want some insights on the exclusive picture and for a better view of the others, head to our blog at https://brickentral.net/.

- @theaphol, Community Outreach Manager

seijatachi played and i dipped my toes back into the still unnamed kny tokyo ghoul au

smthn smthn fox trio retired their fox masks since theyre pretty high-profile from before they moved to the 19th ward, sabito & makomo switched to rabbit masks (sabito's white w red eyes, makomo's gray with closed eyes & smile) & giyuu switched to a black cat mask with yellow eyes. all three have fur cape kinda things attached to the back of the masks to hide their hair (sabito did it originally bc his pink hair is a dead giveaway) their old fox masks are associated with a small gang of ghouls bc sakonji made them all their masks himself, at first they started out as just "Fox - [number]" but the numbers slowly kept climbing and their masks started getting custom designs so they started naming em proper, makomo's "Fox - Comedy", giyuu's "Fox - Tragedy" & sabito's "Fox - Reaper"

when tanjiro & nezuko joined sakonji made them fox masks bc theyre part of the family too :) but they still get different masks for actual use bc the CCG is very weary of the fox ghoul group, especially if new ones popped up

i was gonna put it in the tags but its too long lol

first scene i got down goes like: nezuko loses herself to hunger a little and starts running towards smthn that smells good, tanjiro following her bc he doesnt want her to get hurt, they find genya crouched over his kill and she starts having a breakdown, genya politely offers a bite before kaigaku comes in and starts kicking him around for hunting in 'his territory', giyuu arrives and beats kaigaku's ass before telling him to fuck off, giyuu suddenly realizes tanjiro's human & nezuko's not a full ghoul and walks closer questioningly, tanjiro steps in front of her protectively and asks him to stop approaching her, giyuu sits down placatingly & genya realizes tanjiro's human and gets a bit nervous watching them, nezuko still having her breakdown denying that shes a ghoul, giyuu "youre not a ghoul.. youre not human either- youre something else entirely.", genya pipes up "im not a normal ghoul either- you're not alone.", they chat a bit and genya tentatively asks if theyd not… out genya as a ghoul… tanjiro shakes his head "of course not- you've been nothing but polite to us!", giyuu escorts them to their cafe and tries to get nezuko to understand what being any part ghoul is like without scaring her, sakonji takes over when they get there, sabito comes in from his rounds pissed off about something and slaps his mask on a table ranting about it before he notices There Are Kids Here and hes being Scary, at first hes shocked abt tanjiro and shifts his eyes back to white but then he notices nezuko "woah… how'd that happen?" giyuu "i wasnt going to ask about that yet." sabito "ah, sorry. you can… keep on.." and goes back to quietly arranging his shit

in front of people sabito keeps up a kind/peppy personality but he very easily dips into being intimidating when hes mad, people in the cafe usually only see it when assholes start harrassing makomo or other female workers/diners and he takes them outside- its also about the only time people will see giyuu proper Scowl instead of his usual blank/airy look. when nezuko joins as a server (with tanjiro) people are a little less likely to yell in the proximity of a 14 year old girl, but if they do sabito tries to not be as outwardly scary around her and adopts a frankly even more sinister look where hes passive-aggressively smiling with blatant murder in his eyes, tanjiro usually guides her to the other end of the cafe when he starts looking at people like that,,,,

matched w a girl on tinder and all was well until she asked abt my having listed my sexuality as asexual, so i explained what it means to me and she ghosted 😔

hello

Fanart Spotlight: Ash and Greninja

Artist: tuze111 on Twitter

NIGHTWING PROFILES: Chris Kent/Lor-Zod

1st Nightwing Appearance: Action Comics vol. 1 #875 (2009) Other mantles: Superboy Secret identity: Christopher Kent is the adopted son of Clark Kent and Lois Lane

ORIGINS

Lor-Zod is the son of General Zod and his partner, Lieutenant Ursa, the enemies of Superman. He is known by his adopteé name Christopher Kent. After stopping Zod and Ursa's invasion of Earth, Superman adopts him into the Kent family. Chris takes a different path than his parents and becomes a crime fighter.

After Chris returns to the Phantom Zone in order to prevent the Kryptonian prisoners there from ever escaping again, his body experiences an unusual side effect and ages into young adulthood. Looking for a means of escape, he goes to Fort Roz, where he finds Non, who provides him with shelter from the Phantom Zone prisoners. Whilst there, Chris finds his father's laboratory containing Brainiac Probes from Brainiac's attack on the city of Kandor long ago. Using the equipment, an accident happens: Chris makes contact with Thara Ak-Var, who happens to be located in Kandor after it was restored to its original size and is already connected to the Kryptonian God Flamebird. 

Since Chris isn't used to talking mind-to-mind with Thara, he is left in incredible pain, which allows other inmates to find his whereabouts. Chris is then captured and tortured by his father. Only hope and his connection to Thara keep him alive during the torture. 

Thara saves Chris, using a Phantom Zone Projector, which allows her to fight off the Kryptonian prisoners. After freeing Chris, she is attacked by Non, but Chris begs his friend to let them escape. 

Since the danger isn't over yet, and Thara knows that the thousands of Kandorians in the physical world pose a great threat to Earth, she joins Chris in becoming a crime fighter. Thara and Chris adopt the code names of two legendary Kryptonian heroes, Flamebird and Nightwing. 

As Nightwing, Chris actively patrols several American cities. 

Appears as Nightwing in: Action Comics vol. 1 #875-#879 (2009), Supergirl: The Hunt for Reactron, World Against Superman, World's Finest Book One: Nightwing & Red Robin (2009)

TRIVIA

Chris was born in the Phantom Zone. The unique nature of his birth makes him the only occupant of the Phantom Zone that can retain his physical form throughout the dimension.

As a result of his birth, Chris isn't considered a pure Kryptonian but a mutant due to being born in the Phantom Zone and being exposed to the effects of that dimension. 

During the time he spends with his biological parents, Chris suffers many forms of abuse. 

At first, Lois refuses to adopt Chris. However, after Chris saves her from getting killed by Bizarro, Lois changes her mind and welcomes the kid into the family. 

Lois chooses the name “Christopher” for Lor Zod. 

So Chris could have a normal life growing up, Superman asks Batman Superman to develop a watch-scale Red Sun radiation projector that could be used to suppress Chris' powers.

After watching Robin's acrobatic skills (Tim Drake), Chris developed an interest in Tim that turns into a close friendship. 

Chris isn't proud of his heritage and insists on being addressed by his human name.

Non is the only person in the Phantom Zone that treated Chris with kindness.

Chris Kent is emotionally bonded to the Flamebird entity and its host Thara as she is to the Nightwing entity within him.

The first thing Clark teaches Chris is how to fly.

In Injustice: Gods Among Us (2013), Chris appears in his Nightwing guise as a support card in the setting of the mobile version of the fighting video game.

He was supposed to become Nightwing in Kingdom Come, but that didn’t come to pass. Later the Alex Ross design appeared on several covers but only one interior page.

In The Multiversity: The Just (2014) #1 Chris is Clark’s biological son and his Superman successor.  

In Countdown: Arena (2008), Chris is Buddhist.

Chris appears as Lor-Zod in Young Justice Season 4. It’s his first multimedia appearance.

Apart from the pre-New 52 main universe, Chris has appeared in three different Earth 16 universes.

Griosk is thousands of years old, he's seen quite a lot of death, from war, plague, famine - or even so plainly as watching everyone he'd grown close to grow old and pass in time that feels like just a breath ago

It's the main reason why he stays so distant, spending a lot of time alone only to think, to dream of a reality where the very thing he holds power over would eventually come to claim him, fortunately though, in later years he takes to reading to occupy his mind away from those thoughts

Yet despite that, as civilizations grow, technologies develop, and both beast and human come to intermingle, he doesn't hesitate to join them, in fact he even takes on a more appealing - convenient form to fit in

So it's only a matter of time till someone new comes along to steal his heart, even when he knows it's bound to be broken

🌿 Deity of Wisdom

ORLIN. The soft spoken deity of wisdom. The wind seems to blow in just the right direction, and the stars appear to align for you when Orlin asks they do as much. Xe is the hand that guides mortals back to home and safety, kind and ever-patient. Only when xe feel truly at ease does a more humorous, sarcastic side of xem arise.

Orlin is also the deity of travels and navigation.

APPEARANCE. A soft, earnest smile graces xyr features. Chestnut hair is neatly and wisely kept at a short length, xyr fringe just enough over xyr eyes and hair falling at xyr neck. Even xyr clothes appear to fit just right, everything about xem smart. Xe moves about with ease, smooth in their measured steps as xe carefully scrutinizes the world.

PERSONALITY. Patient, considerate, reliable, responsible, friendly. // Melancholic, self-critical, overworking, cowardly, feeble.

RELATIONSHIPS. The child of Cosette, the goddess of fire, and Andreas, the god of water. Their relationship is rife with disagreement, as well as a lot of love and passion; thus, Orlin finds xemself naturally falling into the more diplomatic role of the family to balance all their tempers. It is at times a thankless job, but xyr parents and sibling never fail to make their appreciation known through their abundant adoration for xem. Always the good one!

AMONG MORTALS. Xe enjoys an excellent image among mortals, with xyr kindness to bring mortals back home when they find themselves stranded at sea never going amissed. Xe makes sure no one will ever lose their way, and see their loved ones again. There is also a sizable following of academics and scholars who pray to xem for insight and safety during their research.

TESATA DICERAGA. Letters written to xem, of thanks or of good news, is one that is greatly welcomed. Xe values the written word and the wisdom of the people, and thus, even the smallest nugget of gossip on the streets about who is getting married, or who shall move on to the city, is one even xe will accept.

༺═──────────────

NOTE. Tesata diceraga" means "sacred information" within the language of the world, which is specifically to refer to the lore of the gods..

Branden Cook @ World Premiere

🤩 ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: zekezachzoom Hello everyone! It's time to direct the spotlight toward our community members, and today we will get to know better zekezachzoom!

"My name is Sunny but you might know me better as zekezachzoom on social media. I am a freelance graphic designer and have been a toy photographer for 10 years.

I came up with this profile name after my sons’. Zeke is my second son and Zach my first. I imagined them running away after calling their names, hence Zoom. I live in Singapore where we have two seasons, Rain and Shine. It’s a tiny island and getting around is pretty fast and easy. I have a few favourite spots around the island for toy photography. I will be more than happy to explore these places with any of my overseas friends if they pop by this part of the world! Though sometimes I wish we have mountains, rivers and maybe desert for more outdoor choices. On the plus side, being a small island makes organizing an outing with fellow toy photographers very easy, even if it is a last minute thing.

I started toy photography after posting an image of Spiderman squatting on the window ledge overlooking the neighborhood on Instagram…and then discovering the community. Everyone was and still is very encouraging and I think this helped in me trying to better myself with each photograph. Though Instagram is not what is used to be, but that is a discussion for another day.


Talking about process, if there is a brief for the photo (commissioned work, photo contest), I will usually follow up with some research work on the topic. At the same time, I will park the topic for the photo at the back on my mind and let it simmer unconsciously.

However, for personal work, I usually do not actively chase for ideas, forcing them out. I find that most ideas come to me randomly. This usually happens in a variety of ways, like watching videos on any subject, going about my daily life, observing and listening to things around me. I think being curious about everything and anything certainly helps in generating ideas.

Once I have a photo idea, I then let it sit and simmer further in my mind’s eye. This can help take the concept to more interesting directions in terms of story, setup, composition, lighting, etc. More ideas can be built upon this initial concept base on even more things you see and observe. It also allows time to think about how to setup the shot.

I will always sketch my ideas on my notebook, which is always by my side. At present time, I have more ideas than time to shoot!

When it comes to the shoot itself, I usually start with the mobile phone, quickly checking the angles and then locking my camera to a tripod. I always use a tripod to gather multiple shots of the same angle with different lighting, atmospheric effect so that I can then composite them in post if need be. Then I will shoot couple of shots for final composition without the lighting and atmospheric effect. I enjoy the post production work, especially the color grading part. Sometimes, the word PHOTOSHOP give rise to arguments within the photographic community. To me, it’s just a tool to bring the picture to its maximum potential.

I think people I know in the community know me for my punny, silly and light-hearted stuff. So much so that friends recommend me toys they think that might fit this style. However, recently I find myself going all over the place in terms of themes. I just enjoy the process of experimenting different approaches, be it the storytelling or the technical bits of photography. When I am shooting indoor, I usually set up for low key images. It gives me a chance to experiment with indoor lighting. If there is one thing I would tell my younger self when I started, it’s to pay attention to lighting. It can elevate a nice photo to a great photo. Also, I like to build simple sets with everyday object that end up looking like something else when viewed through the camera. I do this mostly because I am lazy and don’t have the patience to build dioramas. I am usually with a group of friends when I shoot outdoors, because we have a monthly gathering among us. During these outings, I am constantly looking out for areas with awesome lighting. I try to reserve my action shots (ie scenes with flying debris) outdoors, mostly because there is no need to clean up after the mess! Also, outdoor light is beautiful…but fast changing lighting condition is another story all together.

When I first started, it was all about the Star Wars figures. I had stopped collecting figures since the 1980s , but it was the Star Wars Black Series that got me collecting again with all its glorious articulation. Once I discovered the community, I realized that there were other characters to be bought! I sometimes wonder if that is a good thing, from my wallet’s point of view.

I find myself gravitating towards nostalgia when it comes to the figures I buy. So, my collection and images usually reflect that, with movie/TV characters from the 80s. Stuff like Aliens, Indiana Jones, Predator and Back to the Future, etc. However, whether they are LEGO minifigures, statues, 6 inch figures, I will shoot any figures as long as they serve the stories. Each type of figures has its own pros and cons and challenges. But I would not have it any other way.

This is my basic equipment list: • Nikon Zfc with kit lens (16mm to 50mm) • Lensbaby Sweet 35 lens • Helios 44-2 58mm lens • Extension tubes for close ups • 2 speed lights • Couple of LED cube lights • Manfrotto tripod

Why toy photography? I love pop culture and telling quirky weird stories with characters I love. I can never produce awesome looking illustration of these images I have in mind and photography seems like the next best thing. Hence toy photography! When I first started, I was always coming up with ideas in the middle of the night and sketching them down and made it my mission to spread this hobby. I recall vividly telling a friend how much I enjoy this hobby and was going to just keep throwing out toy photos into the internet and see what comes back. And a lot has indeed happen since then: • I started a local Facebook group to organize more toy photography outings and share photos. • Managed to get featured on national newspaper and television, because they came across my work online. • Made friends on social media and participated in podcast by some of these friends. • Conducted workshops. • Shot for some toy companies. • Collaboration with toy designers and model/diorama makers. • Nikon Ambassador.

I have enjoyed the journey so far and look forward to improving myself. Something I always remind myself: your best photo is the one you have not taken yet."

Thank you for accepting our invitation and let the community knows you better!

If you want some insights on the exclusive picture and for a better view of the others, head to our blog at https://brickentral.net/.

- @theaphol, Community Outreach Manager

.

me suddenly getting kudos on dfu

Origins is a prime example of what I like to call the “early days rule” and that’s if something is set within the first two or three years of Bruce being Batman it’s more often than not going to be fantastic. Those first few years are like the Goldilocks Zone for solo Batman stories.

And Origins is set right smack at the end of year two, and it’s fantastic.

Meet Hazel!

Name:

Hazel

Tumblr URL:

@allsassnoclass​, but also @5sos-fic-exchange​, @5sos-writing-week​, and this one, because I am the mod!

Archive of Our Own Username:

allsassnoclass (brightblackholes)

Favorite 5sos song?

Babylon!!!!!!!!

Three songs you’ve been listening to?

Romeo & Juliet by Peter McPoland Stick Season by Noah Kahan Talking Business by Dessa

What do you enjoy most about writing fic?

a lot of things! I really enjoy building words and crafting plots and stories.  I love creating characters!  I love stringing sentences together!  it’s hard to pinpoint what, exactly, I like best right now, but I just really love creating stories!

Describe the vibe of your songfic in three words:

apocalyptic, anxiety, endings

Special Promo:

my masterlist

NIGHTWING PROFILES: Dick Grayson

1st Nightwing Appearance: Tales of the Teen Titans #44 Other Mantles: Robin, Target, Renegade, Agent 37, Red X, Talon, Batman Secret Identity: Richard “Dick” Grayson - the oldest foster son of Bruce Wayne, and a former professional trapeze artist

ORIGINS Before Crisis on Infinite Earths, Dick Grayson retired from the name of Robin in New Teen Titans #39, and gave the name and uniform to Jason Todd in Batman #368. Dick continued working with the Teen Titans using civilian aliases to do undercover and reconnaissance work before debuting as Nightwing during the Judas Contract storyline to fight Deathstroke. 

After Crisis on Infinite Earths, a retcon in Batman #408 establishes that Batman fired Dick as Robin after he was injured fighting the Joker. However, in Nightwing Year One, Batman instead fires Dick from Robin when the pair has an argument over time split between Gotham and the Teen Titans. Dick then seeks advice from Superman, who tells him the Kryptonian story of Nightwing. Dick debuts as Nightwing in Gotham after creating a costume inspired by his father’s performance wear, helping Jason complete his last tests to become Robin.

Appears as Nightwing in: Teen Titans books including New Teen Titans (1980 and 1984), Titans (1999), the Nightwing solos (1995, 1996, 2011, and 2016), Outsiders (2003), as well as various Batfamily books

TRIVIA

In Nightwing Annual #1, published in 1997, Dick says that his father was Kalderash Romani and his mother was white. However, this was changed in New 52 and Rebirth to Dick having a Romani mother and a white father.

Teen Titans Academy (2021) establishes Dick as having used the name Red X in the past. Prior to this, Dick only used Red X in 2003’s cartoon version of Teen Titans.

Dick's fingerstripes design on two separate occasions incorporated claws on the tips. One such design can be seen in the graphic above.

In Batman/Superman: World’s Finest (2022) #7 Dick visited the Bottle City of Kandor, in some story variations the origin city of Nightwing, for the first time.

Dick has had seven children in Elseworlds and briefly had a stepson named Dennis in the 1990s. None of his children have worn the Nightwing mantle.

Dick graduated High School in 1969 and had solo and team adventures as Robin for 15 years before becoming Nightwing in 1984.

Although Dick is known for having two main love interests with red hair, Starfire and Oracle, by number he has dated more women with dark hair. Two women with blue hair have also been among his love interests.

Dick has done long-term undercover work several times, most notably in the Bludhaven Police Department in Nightwing (1996) and in Spyral in Grayson (2014).

According to Nightwing Rebirth, Dick is named after his mother’s close friend who later became Raptor. In the Young Justice cartoon he is named after his paternal uncle, who went by Rick.

During the Silver Age, Dick had a maternal aunt named Harriet Cooper, who appeared in 28 Comic issues and 77 Episodes of the 1966 Batman TV Series.

Dick is traditionally the first sidekick to debut in-universe, and was DC Comics’ first kid sidekick to appear in publishing history, a year and a half after Crimson Avenger’s adult sidekick, Wing.

On Earth 3 Dick had a sister named Rachel who died with their parents.