#Uncle Simpkin

[ferbracket]

Doofenshmirtz Family Bracket

Aunt Effie. ''Roger, so polite.''

Uncle Simpkin. ''The coolest car of all was the Boomshlaka 320-I, run by my Uncle Simpkin!''

[steakout-05]

headcanons about peter simpkins, professor brains, barry steakfries and how they all tie together (this is starting to become less headcanons and more just rewriting my own canon at this point lmaoooo)

Peter Simpkins and Professor Brains were university friends who had both moved to Australia for its promising technological and scientific fields of study. Simpkins was very extroverted and chatty, while Brains was more introverted and reserved, but they both shared an immense interest and joy for robotics and biological sciences. Simpkins was much more creative than Brains was, but Brains was able to take those ideas and apply them in a more realistic logical point of view. the potential of their genius and ideas were always fully realised when they were a team, so they founded their own robotics and technology company using the funding from their university.

Legitimate Research had actually first started out as a force for good, although the ways they orchestrated it were a little bit odd and unconventional. they wanted to develop the world of robotics with creative and useful machinery that would stand alongside humans, and to do this, they designed a lot of their technology after animals. the Profit Bird was meant for carrying medical supplies and had more of a messenger pigeon design. Mr. Cuddles was meant to assist aircrafts as a sort of flying signal device, like a big flying lighthouse. Flash was originally conceptualised as a support dog for aging people who could also complete many human tasks that his owner wouldn't be able to. his initial design was based off a Great Dane dog, although many smaller designs were also conceived as ideas for the robotic dog.

a couple years after Brains and Simpkins founded Legitimate Research and were ready to start prototyping their ideas, Simpkins fell in love with a woman he met in the city named Mareth, or Mary for short. Mareth was a nurse who had a big heart and always had a funny story to tell. she and Simpkins got along incredibly well, exchanging each other's numbers that very same day. eventually, around a year later of becoming closer and closer friends, to partners and then lovers, the two got married. Brains had also been a close friend of Mareth during this time and would discuss a lot of his plans for his company with her, as the medical industry was one of Legitimate Research's biggest points of focus at the time. the week before they got married, Simpkins offered Brains to be his best man and stand alongside him and his newly wedded wife at the ceremony, to which he gladly accepted, feeling honoured that he had been accepted into Peter's new family.

Barry Steakfries was born shortly before the passing of Peter Simpkins. he was only a few weeks old when he died, and thus Barry only has one extremely blurry memory (which he wrote off as just being a dream) and little hints to go off of as to who his birth father was. Mareth never told Barry about Simpkins when she remarried with Lareth, for she was worried the grief would get in the way of his development as a person. she wanted a child who would be strong enough - stronger than her - to overcome anything that came his way. she thought just letting Barry live a normal life would be better for him.

Professor Brains was actually supposed to be Barry's uncle when he was born. being such a close friend of Simpkins and his wife Mareth, Simpkins entrusted Brains with the honour and responsibility of being a sort of uncle figure to baby Barry. Brains was unsure about it at first, as he had concerns that expanding his family like this might interfere with their work at the laboratory and he was experienced with children, but after some reassurance from Simpkins, Brains took the responsibility and agreed to come visit Mareth and baby Barry the next week when Mareth got out of the hospital.

this would never happen.

Simpkins had passed away during a catastrophic accident that occurred during a flight test with an early Mr. Cuddles prototype. the mechanical dragon's controls had malfunctioned and became stuck in one direction, and Simpkins was unable to stop it before it crashed headfirst into a nearby aircraft, killing the young scientist instantly. Brains witnessed the entire event, feeling his heart drop and his body freeze up as he watched the burning mass of metal plummet to the ground. as soon as he managed to land his own dragon and make his way to the wreckage he was immediately overcome with devastation and guilt, believing he was the sole reason for Simpkins' demise, as he was the one who organised the flight test, and retreated back to his laboratory in tears.

ever since that day, Brains never truly got over his guilt. he's been permanently stuck in the anger stage for god knows how long and felt himself getting more and more spiteful every day that passed. from that day on, Brains yearned for complete control over every situation he could gain control over so that nothing like this could ever happen again. he became desperate, digging up those old cloning machine prototypes he and Simpkins had attempted to develop all those years ago, trying his absolute hardest to try to reincarnate the man he felt responsible for losing until he just couldn't anymore. he just kept spiralling more and more in his own grief until he was nearly unrecognisable from the person he was before. ditching all his original values, all the initial plans he had at using technology to make the world a better place, he had become the very villains that he and Simpkins once dreamed of overcoming.

Mareth, who was just as devastated and confused, had no idea what to do after the sudden death of her husband. she had just given birth to a new baby boy and was still recovering from the stress it put on her, and she just lost the closest person she had in her life. she was in a very desperate spot. she was on maternity leave, she had just gotten out of the hospital and there was nobody else around who could help take care of her and her child; they were all too busy with their own lives to make time for hers, and Professor Brains had mysteriously gone completely silent since the incident. not wanting to give up the new family she wanted so badly to create for herself, she made the hard decision to remarry with another man and try to give Barry the best life she possibly could while trying to grapple with the intense grief she felt.

despite Mareth's best efforts, Barry never really had a good relationship with his stepdad (despite the word stepdad, Lareth was, in fact, not the dad who stepped up). there was always this distance between the two, as if there were an invisible brick wall separating them from really becoming close with each other. Lareth always seemed cold towards Barry, never really liking to talk to him and just giving one word answers whenever Barry spoke with his dad. not to mention, Lareth was already an older man when Barry was a kid, and by the time he reached his early adult years, Lareth had begun to show signs of dementia, and would become quite angry and aggressive towards the people around him who he started to recognise less and less each day. he'd often pressure Barry to continue his family tradition of gramophone selling, despite the fact that it would have clearly gotten Barry nowhere in life. Barry never really felt like he could be himself or address his needs to his stepdad when he was a kid, so he ended up growing much closer with his mum.

bonus stuff:

Toni is one of the first successful clones to have been created after Simpkins' death. he retained all the knowledge and knowhow of the late scientist, but none of what made the original man himself. he was simultaneously his own person and forever bound to the identity of someone else who had been gone long ago. he was fired by Legitimate Research after he had stolen and bastardised the original blueprints for the Profit Bird and Mr. Cuddles vehicles, as well as prototype blueprints for Flash, an idea Brains and Simpkins had conceptualised but never completed.

this also means 'Robot Bird' doesn't depict Simpkins' death, but it is pretty damn reminiscent of how it happened

Professor Brains, in canon appearances, has shown occasional fondness towards the main trio of Barry counterparts. there was that scene Brains and Barry had in the original PSP version of AOZ where they had a little heart-to-heart upon learning they share a first name (that was, until Barry turned around and called him a little bitch), and that little bit we get with Betty in the Pixel invasion event from Jetpack Joyride 2 (specifically: Brains: "So it is! Well, Betty, I must say, it's been a blast working with you." Betty: "Aww! It has!" Brains: "But like all one-dimensional supervillains, I shun all meaningful interpersonal connections. NOW GET OUT OF MY SPACESHIP!"). my headcanon is that deep down, Brains doesn't really hate Barry or his counterparts, and he even kind of likes spending time with them and is a little hurt when they treat him like the villain he is. he won't admit it to himself, but a small part of him pursues Barry out of a desire to see how his little nephew's been doing. it's a subconscious thing that he either refuses to acknowledge and work through or doesn't even realise is there.

[nysocboy]

Gemstones Episode 3.9: Baby Billy is Bi, Peter Plots Revenge, and Kelvin and Keefe Cuddle.

 Episode 3.9 seems rushed -- it could easily be three hours long.  The marital-problem and sibling-problem plots have been resolved, but we still have Uncle Peter, The Simkins, Dusty Daniels, and Bible Bonkers, and the writers have to find some way to tie them all together!

Baby Billy is Bi:  Still trying to sell the siblings on his Bible Bonkers game show, Baby Billy (Walton Goggins, top photo), reveals he is friends with Dusty Daniels, the racing champ.  We cut to a scene of the two, plus famous actor Gene Hackman  (played by Kevin Murray) in Monte Carlo on New Years' Eve, 1999.  They're awaiting the Y2K bug, hugging, dancing, and dropping acid as if it's the end of the world.  

We cut to a bisexual after-party, with Dusty, Baby Billy, and Gene Hackman having sex, maybe with men, maybe with women.

"Wait, " Jesse asks, "Did did you have sex with Dusty Daniels?"

"I doubt it,  but you never know...that's not the important part of the story."  The important part: he can talk Dusty Daniels into leaving his fortune to whoever wins at Bible Bonkers, the Gemstones or the Simpkins. 

So Kelvin came out to the family yesterday after years anguish, angst, self-doubt, backing-and-forthing, and annoyed viewers, and he still hasn't said the word.  Now Baby Billy comes out as bi with utter nonchalance.  Why couldn't he have said something to his nephew during Cousins' Night, or back in Season 1?

El Molino: We cut to a locust splatting on a windshield.  It's Uncle Peter and Chuck, driving the U-Haul full of explosives.  Peter has finally come up with a plan,  He doesn't specify what it is, but since it involves the Gemstones and explosives, it's not hard to figure out.  They're nearly out of gas, and the militia took all of their money, so they stop at El Molino, a real Hispanic supermarket with two locations in Charleston, to use the cash-counting machine.  

While Peter is inside, the U-Haul explodes!  He thinks that Chuck has been killed.

Out to the Family: The family gathers in Eli's parlor to watch a tv news report about Chuck's death.

Wait --when did the siblings stop hating their father?  Was a reconciliation moment cut?

 Notice that the guys are sitting on the right side of the room.  In four shots, Keefe moves from sitting a few inches away to leaning against the chair, his shoulder touching or almost touching Kelvin's thigh. They are so close that Kelvin can't move his hand or foot without bumping into him.

  They used to be very careful to avoid public displays of affection, holding hands under the table and forehead-pressing instead of kissing.  Now they casually cuddle in front of everyone, even family members who did not see the kiss.

They discuss the Bible Bonkers Family Feud-style game show.  The siblings will compete, but they need two more.  They were going to ask Chuck, a big Bible nerd, but he's dead, so it will have to be Karl and May-May.  

More Bible Bonkers after the break

Of all the gas stations in South Carolina:  Homeless, friendless, abandoned by his family, Peter sits outside a convenience store.  He prays: "I am in my darkest hour.  I am but a lost sheep in need of a shepherd.  Please give me a sign."

At that moment, Keefe pulls up in the Smut Busters van.  He's using that van for everyday chores?  Surely he and Kelvin have a dozen cars.  

He's listening to the song "Holy Lightning Rod" by Blesst, a Christian metal band (created for this episode?).  In Season 1, he considered metal music Satanic. He's come to realize that you don't need to give up things that you love to be a Christian, like heavy metal, Goth/Fetish outfits, and sex with guys.

Did God send him as the sign, to bring Peter back to Christ?  If so, it doesn't work -- they don't recognize each other.  (After all, they have only seen each other once).  So no soul-winning for Keefe.  But Peter does steal the Smut Busters van.

God saved you:  In the wilderness church, Karl and May-May mourn Chuck's death, clear off brush, and pray -- then she crosses herself   Surely somebody on the staff knew that only Catholics use that gesture.   Suddenly Chuck walks in!  He's alive!

Cut to the family back in Eli's parlor.  This time it's just Eli, the siblings, and the Montgomerys. Chuck explains that he made sure the parking lot was empty, then set off the explosion and ran away, so his Dad would think he was dead and he could escape.  

It still caused a lot of property damage, and no doubt terrorized the shoppers, who thought they were being targeted by a hate crime.  On August 3, 2019, a gunman opened fire in a Hispanic Wal-Mart in El Paso, Texas, killing 23 people and injuring 22. Surely the writers were thinking of that incident when they specified a Hispanic supermarket.

"Why were you super-mean to us, while we were in captivity?"  Chuck doesn't explain, but he avers that he didn't actually want them to die. Then why were you shooting at them?  Besides, he blew up the van to save them.  Doesn't that make up for the kidnapping?  I thought you blew up the van to save yourself.

So, about Bible Bonkers?  Chuck is a Bible expert, so May-May can drop out. The team will consist of Jesse, Judy, Kelvin, Chuck, and Karl.

Later, at the amusement park, Chuck tries to apologize to Jesse. They bond over having Daddies who are embarrassed by them.

The Bible Bonkers Filming:   Apparently several weeks have passed. The Bible Bonkers set is finished, and they're going to film the first episode.  Isn't it a conflict of interest for the Gimstones to sponsor the show and compete in it?  But I guess they'll be donating the prize money to the church.

In the dressing room, Billy offers to give the sibling  the answers to the quiz questions.  Apparently once a grifter, always a grifter.  They refuse.  He claims that their parents were so neglectful, he practically had to raise them. 

As Gideon drives Eli and May-May to the filming, they see Peter in the stolen Smut Busters van.  He's up to no good!  Follow him! Why didn't Keefe report the van missing?

On set, the band starts to play and the dancers twirl about. Showtime! Baby Billy does a cheesy stand-up bit, then introduces the Gemstones vs. the Simpkins. 

Notice Kelvin's textured single-breasted green coat, "The Attico" from Farfetch, "The global destination for modern luxury."   It will become important later.

 The Simpkins team includes siblings Vance, Shay, and Craig, not seen since Episode 1, plus two young Asian girls.  Apparently they are ringers: there is no indication that any of the siblings has a partner or children.  Compare with the Gemstones, who, for all their faults, have devoted partners. 

Baby Bill asks easy fill-in-the-blank style Bible questions to Jesse-Vance and Judy-Shay.  The Gemstones lose.  

Now it's Kelvin-Craig's turn.  First Kelvin does a self-aggrandizing coat-swirling dance. Keefe, watching from the VIP section with the other partners, responds with a  weird robot thing.  It looks like he's following along with the move they practiced.  

Meanwhile, Gideon, May-May, and Eli follow Peter to the Salvation Center.   Couldn't they have called the police from the car?  Don't these people have cell phones?  He drives to the loading dock, on a day when there are no services, so he probably expects the church to be empty. 

When the Gemstones confront him,  he announces that he has filled the Smut Busters van with explosives, triggered by his fitbit watch.  Wait-- where did he get a second batch?

 May -May yells that both his sons are inside.  Chuck is alive after all.  At this point, Peter would probably give up the plan, but he is interrupted by......

The full review is on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends

[wherevenusholdssomeofficespace]

Part 4

And speaking of Perry, B-plot side of things we have the dysfunctional Doofenshmirtz family. Doof’s evil is primarily motivated by the abuse he suffered as a child from his parents and the favoritism his mother gave to his brother. His abandonment and then adoption by ocelots is a frequent plot-point. In addition Heinz also has a daughter of his own who he loves dearly, but doesn't always listen to (and a robot son he refuses to acknowledge as such), and an ex-wife who he resents more than she resents him though the two of them are on pretty good terms all things considered. He also has an assortment of extended relatives who are referred to, including his grandfather Jose, a great grandmother Gretel, a grandmother Gertrude, uncles Fluffy Pants, Simpkin, Boris, an Aunt Effie, a Great Aunt Henrietta and and a cousin Narthelliot.

While most of these relatives are one offs, and they all help develop the fact that Doof comes from a large, rather messed up, family. Despite his parents disowning Doof, he’s in no way cut off from the family altogether. If there's a need for a plot point, giving Heinz some relative as an explanation is not an uncommon way of doing it. While not all of his family hates him, the fact that he’s not cut off completely subjects him to continued mistreatment. A lot of his behavior can be explained by his family, or at the very least by Drusselstein, being as harsh a place as it is. The father’s day episode calls attention to his relationship with his father specifically, as the kickball episode relates to his mother specifically. 

Perry is ALSO a part of Doof’s family, something he does clearly state. Perry and Doof’s relationship may go beyond any sort of traditional relationship. But there are several plots dedicated to their relationship, both in Phineas and Ferb, and even in Milo Murphy’s Law. Doof’s biggest supporters are ultimately not the family he was born into, but the family he made, as his blood family is ultimately actively harmful to him. It compliments the Flynn-Fletcher family well in that regard. The Flynn-Fletcher's an example of a happy blended family, where everyone loves each other, blood related or not. The Heinz's family are far less consistent with giving love, both to those adopted and those by blood. Doofensmirtz suffers abuse at the hands of his blood relatives (who seem just fine with his wife), as well as from his adopted family the ocelots (though, that probably less abuse and more Ocelot parenting techniques don't work as well for humans, we don't see as much of the Ocelots who raised Doof as his bio parents). Doof mistreats Norm, but showers Vanessa with praise. Hates his brother (who we've never actually see be more than slightly childish towards his brother), but still tries to win his parents affections. Feels more bitter towards his ex-wife than he does about her. Even his relationship with Perry is fraught with antagonism and pettiness and while they both are each others most important person, that doesn't necessarily mean they bring out the best in each other.

(Dare I say Doof tends to be more affectionate/forgiving towards those who treat him worse, and harsher towards those who treat him neutrally/kindly. Almost like he doesn't know how to be in a mutually respectful relationship...). It is overall, a (cartoonishly) toxic family.

Doof (sort of), finds himself a part of a family in MML where support is unconditional, and he latches onto that. A family he was "adopted" into but is more tolerated than adored (and who Doof does not seem to know how to properly interact with). Doof does not have a healthy idea of family. He oversteps boundaries with the daughter, is rude and self-centered towards Martin and Milo's struggle's with Murphy's Law, and oversteps boundaries and is overall ungracious towards the Murphy parents. And he refuses to engage with Perry for a good portion of his stay out of pettiness. And yet, he does (mean) well, and their (relative) patience, does give Doof the chance to grow past his past, filled with trauma and evil schemes. Learning how to be a good guy. (Though with Milo being cut off I do wonder what the thoughts were for Doof in S3. He definitely got left off halfway through an arc). He's not quite part of the Murphy family. But he wants to be. And he could be. After all the Murphy's are very familial people, blood related or not.

[crispyafterdark]

Simpkin Doofenshmirtz in Phineas and Ferb's "My Sweet Ride."

I can see at least one reason why Dr. Doofenshmirtz admires his uncle so much.

[thompsborn]

Which cast do you picture in the Homeward Bound universe? Id assumed it was tom holland’s peter because harley doesn’t exist in the other spidermen’s movies but I also know you’re a Garfield-Spidey fan and that Harry Osborn and Gwen haven’t been MCU’d—just out of curiosity!!

okay hi this is the first of my current EIGHT unanswered hb asks omg. i'm !!!!! actually shaking with excitement about the fact that i'm about to get to ramble SO MUCH about hb holy shit. okay. okay.

so, obviously harley is based off ty simpkins, but i kind of?? like i mean, yes ty literally plays harley lmao, but also i picture him SLIGHTLY differently in my head. like how he looks in endgame i feel is a different vibe than how ty looks irl. i don't know if that makes any sense at all but i can't explain it, it's just like. he looks like ty but to the left. that's harley in my head. i cannot describe it any other way.

hb peter is 100% tom's peter because homeward bound is 100% canon compliant up to no way home (except for some headcanons such as peter having an uncle ben but uncle ben dying when peter was still really little in order to not fuck with the spidey home trilogy being peter's origin story - there are some other headcanons too that i can't remember off the top of my head, but i tried to make all of them align with mcu as much as possible as to not fuck with canon)

for harry and gwen it's not a spoiler for the most part except for one thing is kinda spoilery but not really? it reveals something about one of their characters that has not been established in the fic yet so just to be safe i'm gonna tag this w the spoiler tag and put it under the cut

okay so i'll start with harry

so there's a lot of variations with harry - sometimes he has brown hair, sometimes reddish hair, usually blue eyes, though i love the idea of him having green eyes because. i mean. duh.

i didn't really think of fan casts for him specifically in hb, i haven't really gone in depth with his appearance in any of the chapters, but @alwaysonlineau made the actor from love, simon, nick robinson, the icon for harry's account and now i kind of can't picture anyone else lmao. nick has hazel eyes which can look greenish at times so i'm here for it. also i loved his acting in jurassic world and in love, simon so i think he could pull off harry pretty damn well.

here's the picture of nick robinson that @alwaysonlineau used that i REALLY love because it definitely has harry energy to me:

also i love that nick was in jurassic world with ty lmao. the ages are off obviously, nick is 28 and literally played ty's older brother in that movie, but for the sake of a fan cast i think nick when he was early 20's looks very Harry Osborn to me. at least he feels very fitting for fanon harry.

if someone were to actually play harry in the mcu i don't know if he'd feel super fitting, i've seen people mention harrison osterfield for mcu harry which i could see. i also looked through a list of harry fan casts and david mazouz looks harry like to me a bit. charlie heaton was also listed which idk if he could pull harry off but looks-wise i could kind of see. asher angel. i know timothee chalamet's name has been tossed around a bunch and i mean i think he could do it but he doesn't look like harry to me lmao. they'd have to make his appearance work for it.

maybe charlie rowe, who i also saw listed as a fan cast. asa butterfield was on that list as well and i could see the mcu going that route too. but in homeward bound, i pretty much just envision nick.

as for gwen stacy!

so, i thought this before @alwaysonlineau came back, and i know i'm not the only one because i've seen quite a few posts on here and other sites saying the same thing, especially after across the spider-verse came out and gwen had the trans flag and coloring and such, but i really think that hunter schafer would be an INCREDIBLE gwen.

it hasn't been mentioned in the fic yet (mostly because i didn't think of this until i was already like halfway through the fic and then i didn't officially decide on it until across the spider-verse came out) but gwen is trans in homeward bound. it's gonna be made explicitly clear as soon as i can figure out a fitting reason for why it wouldn't have been mentioned so far - it feels as though, since the fic is peter's pov and he's never mentioned it, it should be that gwen hasn't told him so he doesn't know, which means finding out is going to have to be a thing. not like a huge thing but it's going to have to become a scene of some kind that establishes the fact that she's trans and then also addresses why she didn't tell him/any of them.

i haven't decided on how yet - it might be a super casual thing where she just never thought to mention it because it's just a part of who she is and she doesn't feel the need to tell people because she doesn't think it really matters (and also hunter schafer has stated that she passes as a cis woman i remember seeing an interview after euphoria season one where she was talking about it and how like yeah it's great to have trans inclusion and representation in euphoria but also she knows that she's white and passing and that's probably a big part of why she got the role, which basically i'm mentioning because if hunter were to play gwen then gwen would also be able to pass very easily as a cis woman as well). i might make it a bigger thing, like maybe she experienced something (some kind of transphobia) in the past that made her very wary about telling people and then by the time she wanted to tell them it had been a long time so she didn't know how, etc. etc. etc.

i'm queer but like i'm a cis lesbian not trans or nonbinary or anything, i do have multiple trans friends and i've seen a lot of posts and art and such about different lives and experiences trans people have had but i'm still cis, so if anyone who isn't cis has any input on what they'd like to see, please let me know. i don't want to approach the topic with a lack of sensitivity and i want to have trans rep in hb but if people want it to be a casual thing then that's what i'll do, if people want there to be more to her backstory then i'll do that instead.

but yeah, basically i can REALLY picture hunter as gwen, like some of her acting in euphoria i feel has some potential gwen energy to it (specific scenes, some displays of emotion that i could see gwen having, etc) but also this picture of hunter feels VERY gwen to me:

also also, obviously zendaya is rue in euphoria so her and hunter are friends and have great chemistry together and as a gwemj lover that means a lot to me pdfjg

another possibility i could see is emma meyers, aka enid from wednesday. i think she's a great acctress and could encompass gwen's energy pretty well too, but my first pick would be hunter!

long answer short:

in homeward bound, i picture harry to look like nick robinson and i picture gwen to look like hunter schafer.

[chiliconsharls]

I love ty simpkins yall

[anniesocsandgeneralstore]

GIRL. You know I'm gonna ask for the werewolf au kiddos face claims! Like you had to ask! 😆

THANK YOU MA'AM 💕😭 knew i could count on you

there will be some repeats, obviously, from the Regular Canon AU. they're all just so cute....Jake and Ronnie will make such cute kids I swear.

Noah Bradley

face claim: Cory Gruter-Andrew detail: blond hair, brown eyes - basically jake's twin except those eyes. he is confident and even-keeled and does not take his role as jake's heir lightly

age: 14

Rhodes Peter

face claim: ty simpkins detail: blond hair, green eyes - he might have that seresin hair and eyes, but his face is ronnie through and through. he often feels stuck in noah's shadow, definitely has a long teen angst phase (wonder which uncle he got that from)

age: 13

Maisie Carole

face claim: isabella sermon detail: blonde hair, brown eyes - kinda the perfect combo of her parents, the calmest of the kids

age: 10 (i know she doesn't look ten just....bare with me lol)

Beau Oliver

face claim: noah jupe detail: brown hair, brown eyes - ronnie's mini, down to the core

age: 9

Aurora Grace

face claim: abby fortson detail: brown hair, green eyes (i know the face claim doesn't have green eyes, but this is my world and i do what i want) - definitely has the rarest hair/eye combo. she is the sweetest of the kids, a complete doll.

age: 3 (i also know she doesn't look three.....she just has the right face ya feel?)

Delaney Moral

face claim: maggie elizabeth jones detail: blonde hair, brown eyes - another perfect combo of her parents, and a complete wild child

age: uh....this is her probably age like 5 or 6

[a-man-for-hire-and-his-archives]

SBS & NITV new crime drama True Colours is a murder mystery like no other

A powerful collaboration between SBS and NITV, True Colours is a murder mystery that twists and turns between two laws to find a killer very close to home.

Things are not what they seem in a new four-part crime drama True Colours.

What starts with the investigation of a car accident soon turns into an epic hunt for a killer. It’s a murder mystery like no other exploring culture, community, family and one woman’s pursuit to find her place within it.

Set in the fictional community of Perda Theendar against the backdrop of the Northern Territory’s Mparntwe (Alice Springs) and Yeperenye (East MacDonnell Ranges), the series in English and Arrernte, is a ground-breaking insight into the Arrernte peoples’ connection to art and cultural practices.  

Detective Toni Alma, played by Rarriwuy Hick (Redfern Now, Cleverman, Wentworth), is assigned to investigate a suspicious car accident in Perda Theendar, the Aboriginal community she left as a child and has had little to do with over the years. The beauty of Aboriginal art and the sometimes-devious practices in the global art market lead Detective Alma on a hunt for a killer in her hometown.

Rarriwuy Hick and Luke Arnold star in a gripping murder mystery set in remote Australia. Source: NITV/SBS

Hick spearheads a stellar cast including Luke Arnold (Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of INXS, Black Sails), acclaimed singer-songwriter Warren H. Williams, and Miranda Otto (The Unusual Suspects, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, The Lord of the Rings).

Rarriwuy Hick said she is "beyond proud" to be involved in such a ground-breaking drama series.

"(True Colours) takes viewers deep into the world of a First Nations community as it has never been seen before, also showcasing Arrernte language which is extraordinary to hear and perform," Hick said.

I can’t wait for everyone to see this amazing series. — Rarriwuy Hick.

"It’s always a pleasure to bring a character to life on screen, but there’s something special about playing Toni Alma. As a woman who is trying to work out who she is and what she wants, she is as equally drawn to her family and culture as she is confronted by it. I can’t wait for everyone to see this amazing series.”

Aboriginal art and the sometimes-devious practices in the global art market ignite a hunt for a killer in a small community. Source: SBS/NITV

Vivienne Alma, Miranda Otto and Warren H. Williams make up the dynamic cast of True Colours. Source: NITV/SBS

The creative team behind this bold story are co-creators Erica Glynn (Redfern Now, Black Comedy, She Who Must Be Loved) and Warren H. Williams (who also stars in the series as Detective Alma’s uncle, Samuel), with writers Erica Glynn, Steven McGregor (Sweet Country, Mystery Road), and Danielle MacLean (Little J & Big Cuz, Mystery Road).

The series is produced by Penny Smallacombe, and Bunya Productions’ David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin, the award-winning team behind Sweet Country, Mystery Road, and Goldstone.

The ensemble cast includes Errol Shand, Emilie de Ravin, Trisha Morton Thomas and Ben Oxenbould, and is rounded out by exceptional local talent, many of whom count the series as their first acting role: Sabella Kngwarraye Ross Turner, Kurt Abbott, Kumalie Kngwarraye, Natalie Pepperill, Warren ‘Wazza’ Williams, Grant Wallace, Janaya Kopp, Siobhan Breaden, Genise Williams, Martin McMillan, Keenan Mitchell, Stella McMillan, Rosario Young, and Waylon Dixon.

SBS Head of Scripted Julie Eckersley and NITV Head of Commissioning and Programming Kyas Hepworth agree SBS and NITV are a great team.

"We believe in the unique power of fiction to transport audiences into fascinating and often underexplored worlds not otherwise seen on Australian TV," the pair said.

"True Colours is NITV’s first foray into long-form drama and continues our commitment to telling diverse stories with a distinctive voice. This is not only a remarkable drama, but also a significant moment in television history.”  

Luke Arnold plays Nick Gawler (skin name: Purrellar), not only is he Toni's policing partner, but also her ex-boyfriend. Source: SBS/NITV

Playing Fantasia, Siobhan Breaden is one of the many exceptional local talent from the Central Desert area. Source: SBS/NITV

The series will be subtitled in Arabic, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese, Vietnamese and Korean​ and will be added to the subtitled collection on SBS On Demand.

True Colours leads SBS and NITV’s impressive NAIDOC slate for 2022, including two specials of Living Black that take a closer look at the making of the series, including a forum where Grant is joined by the cast and creators to explore how culture and community shaped this unique program. 

True Colours premieres Monday 4 July at 8.30pm on SBS and NITV. 

Source: Sbs Australia

[forgottenpnffacts]

After restoring his Uncle Simpkin’s 1957 Drusselstein Buhmshlaka 320-I in “My Sweet Ride,” Doof re-engineered the car back from rust into a Montevillebad Grand Prix racecar.

[ferbracket]

Doofenshmirtz Family Bracket

Uncle Simpkin. ''The coolest car of all was the Boomshlaka 320-I, run by my Uncle Simpkin!''

José

[quicksilverjr]

( willem de schryver. 22. he/him. cismale. ) are you a HERO? something tells me that sneakers worn down from running across the world, fists always ready for a fight, and deep insecurities hidden behind sarcastic remarks make you who you are, THOMAS “TOMMY” SHEPHERD. with the powers of SUPERHUMAN SPEED & MOLECULAR ACCELERATION, you’re sure to have a jovial, bitter personality — and you definitely belong to SWORD. were you listening to OH NO! by MARINA on your way to the subway? it suits you. we can’t wait to see what you do next! // @reshieldedintro

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐍𝐀𝐌𝐄: thomas “tommy” shepherd

𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐀𝐒: speed

𝗔𝗚𝗘: twenty-two (22)

𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌: willem de schryver

𝐕𝐎𝐈𝐂𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐈𝐌: ty simpkins

𝐒𝐊𝐈𝐋𝐋 𝐒𝐄𝐓: 

superhuman speed - can run, move, and react to things greater than the average human. ish top running speed is 761 miles per hour. this power also increses his stamina, agility, reflexes, durability, and perception.

molecular acceleration - can generate hyper-kinetic vibrations that accelerate the molecules in matter, causing any solid objects he directs his energy at to explode.

intangibility - can destabilze his own molecules to walk through solid objects; with enough concentration, he can cause other people to walk through objects with him as long as they’re touching. he’s still working on controlling this power, as he often can’t control when he unstabilizes.

𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘: frank shepherd ( father ), mary shepherd ( mother ), billy kaplan ( reincarnated twin ), wanda maximoff ( ❛mother❜ ), the vision ( ❛father❜ ), pietro maximoff ( ❛maternal uncle❜ ), lorna dane ( ❛maternal aunt❜ ), erik lehnsherr ( ❛maternal grandfather❜ )

𝐙𝐎𝐃𝐈𝐀𝐂: virgo sun (i’ll figure the other 2 out later shh)

𝐖𝐈𝐊𝐈 𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐊:  ⚡

was your character “blipped” out? if so, what did they return to and how is it affecting them?

tommy was blipped out. he had been having another yelling match with his dad about how his grades were dropping again. he felt being dusted in excrusiating detail as his body naturally tried to hold himself together. the next thing tommy knew, he was standing in his living room again, now decorate very differently, standing in front of a horrified man and his wife who he did not recognize. in the five years he had been gone, frank and mary shepherd had up and left new jersey. being abandoned by his parents really did not help. tommy went on downward spiral, cutting off contact with his friends and family. picking up petty crime again to deal with some of the negative energy building up inside, tommy was finally found by s.w.o.r.d. a few months ago after someone sent in a witness report of him robbing a gas station and phasing through the wall to escape.

while part of him is happy to be back with his fellow young avengers, truly the only family he has left, he’s haunted by the five years he missed with those who weren’t blipped.

where are they living? are they living with anyone?

it’s hard to keep a speedster who can also phase through solid objects contained. currently, tommy finds himself bouncing between campus at s.w.o.r.d.’s training facility, at least until he can weasel himself out of the legal charges hanging over his head from his little bender. but tommy has also found a place amongst the mutants of genosha. the island is a nice escape for him when it gets too much in new york... sometimes being the only mutant on the team has it’s perks.

why is your character affiliated with s.w.o.r.d.?

as much as tommy advertises being a independent individual, he truly felt lost after returning from the blip. he followed in suit with most of his friends, deep down not wanting to get separated from them again. plus, he was offered some wavers from previously mentioned legal charges if he joined: his record is already dirty enough. he truly enjoys being a hero and wants to keep doing the work for as long as he can.

who are their major friends, allies, and foes?

first and foremost, his fellow young avengers -- billy kaplan, teddy altman, kate bishop, cassie land, america chavez, eli bradley, nate richards, david alleyne (pls someone bring him), noh-varr, etc. even if he doesn’t say it outloud, tommy is deeply loyal to all of them. he keeps his mouth shut when it comes to his opinions of the folks of the avengers, he doesn’t hate them but he doesn’t love them either. a more recent new ally of his comes in the form of magneto-- even though he’s unaware of their familial ties. the world is his main foe: tommy will not hesitate to go after anyone who hurts those he cares about.

whose hands do they believe the country should be in?

tommy stays out of politics. my guy is an ex-felon, he doesn’t even qualify to vote.

what’s their current mental state at? their physical state?

physically, tommy’s never been better. he is at the top of his game when it comes to harnessing his powers... minus his loose grip on his ability to become intangible. mentally, tommy has never been good mentally. what work he had begun to do to fix some of his problems before the blip were immediately flushed down the toilet once he came back, though he has finally crumbled under billy’s nagging and started seeing a therapist again.

wanted connections.

friends outside of ya

roommates

good influences

bad influences

juvy buddies

mutant juvy government testing facility buddies

friends with benefits

flings

ex flings

mentor

frenemies

[nysocboy]

Gemstones Episode 3.9, Continued: Five plot resolutions and a funeral

The tv taping is interrupted by a swarm of locusts!

Locusts are not unheard-of in South Carolina. In fact, every 13 years, a swarm of the similar cicadas emerges. Ecologists consider them beneficial, since many animals and birds eat them.  And they do not sting or bite.

But these are not ordinary locusts.  The swarm flies directly through the service entrance and into the tv studio, crashing and smashing everything.  They may not sting or bite, but having dozens of buzzing, crawling things splat into your body, hitting your hair and face, must be  disorienting and painful.  People stumble in every direction, crashing into each other. Some are hit by falling lights and sound equipment.  A round image of Baby Billy smashes someone's head.

You can tell who actually cares about their family by who runs away (the Simpkins) and who looks for them (the Gemstones). Jesse saves not only his family, but Eli and Dusty.  The Montgomerys and BJ/Judy save each other.   

The Kelvin/Keefe rescue is the most dramatic:  Looking for Kelvin backstage, Keefe is overcome by the locusts and collapses, coincidentally just behind a girl who has been killed by a falling spotlight.  When Kelvin finds him, he yells "Leave!",  as in "Save yourself!", but Kelvin spreads his heavy woolen coat over the two of them and yells "I got you!"

Intimacy alert: Keefe holds on to Kelvin's hand and thigh.

Green is Kelvin's preferred color, but the Attico with the long green fringes was chosen deliberately to look like grass.  The guys are dead and buried.  Keefe has a symbolic death and resurrection in every season, but this is the first for Kelvin.  Maybe this is his final expiation, burning away the last of his guilt and shame over being gay.

The family stumbles out onto the loading dock.  Everyone else has scattered.  

Intimacy alert: Kelvin keeps his arm on Keefe's back to guide him out of the studio.  

Femme alert: look at Keefe.  Hour glass figure, large pearl necklace. past-shoulder length hair: with a different face, you would mistake him for a lady. This is the second time that he has dressed as a minister's wife. So, Mrs. Lincoln, other than that, how did you like the show?

Resolution 1: Uncle Peter. Uh-oh, one of the locusts has crashed into Peter's fitbit trigger, destroying it, so the van will blow up in one minute.  Run away!

Peter jumps into the van and drives it to safety. 

Everyone gasps as they see the explosion.  He has sacrificed his life to save them, thus earning his redemption.  

The Funeral: Cut to Dusty Daniels' funeral, an unspecified amount of time later.  Like no other funeral ever, the siblings sit in the front row, and their partners behind, but seated so that we can see them all in one shot.   

Femme alert: Again a stereotypic minister's wife, Keefe wears weird feminine rose-colored glasses.

Resolution #2: The System.  Remember their long-standing feud?  We see BJ and Judy filming a commercial  for Amber's marital System, and then the two women have a reconciliation.  They're still not best friends, but they vow to get along.

Resolution #3: Smut Busters.  Remember Kelvin taking his job at the church back?   We cut to the guys waiting for other Smut Busters outside a porno store. Apparently it was re-instated, no doubt with changes: no vandalism or assault, just lawful protest on public property.  Keefe relishes the idea of the protest, "Let them know we're watching.  Judging their lifestyle." Hey, you were using some of those sex toys, you hypocrite!

Kelvin adds: "What people do in their bedrooms, behind closed doors."  Suddenly he sees the connection to what he and Keefe do "behind closed doors."  

Keefe frowns, seeing the connection, too. 

 "Or...we could give this one a miss."  They could "live and let live," and find some other way to serve the Lord.

In case you still doubt that they have a sexual relationship, they admit it here.  Who still has that doubt? But why don't they come out with the proper terms: "We're gay. People will judge the fucking and sucking we do in the bedroom."  Maybe because homophobes object to the actual word "gay" rather than the identity.  I've seen several programs where people start sentences like "I'm...." and "I thought you were....", only to be cut off before The Word.

Apparently Kelvin and Keefe are no longer youth ministers, or they couldn't just leave.  They would have no choice but to stick around and lead the others.  Maybe they are adult volunteers?  There must be other adult volunteers, too, to drive the teens to the protest. The Smut Busters may not be a teen project at all, anymore.

So, what new way to serve the Lord will they find?  In the HBO photo archive, there are two photos from a cut scene. First, Keefe is at the Gemstone teen center, looking angry, wearing what looks like a Renaissance courtier costume. Next Kelvin, the director of a play, is holding his hand while giving instructions to an actor off stage.  Maybe the scene will be re-used, giving the guys a new mission in the theater.

Resolution #4: Pontius: Remember that Jesse promised to enroll Pontius at The Citadel, the South Carolina military college? Cut to him dropping Pontius off. He was rejected by every college he applied to, but The Citadel has a 99% acceptance rate, plus Jesse probably promised to build them a new football stadium.

Resolution #5: Gideon: Remember, Gideon can't do stunt work anymore, but he doesn't want to be Eli's driver forever. What else is there? He's been reading Eli's autobiographies all season, and while they are fishing, he tells Eli, "I want to do what you do." "You want to preach?"

"I think so." Presumably this means that he's off to college, then seminary.

Eli tears up with pride. The end.

The full review is on RG Beefcake and Boyfriends

[ladyherenya]

Books read in December

I set myself some reading goals for the end of the year -- finish any books I’d already started, read the books I'd already borrowed, and to read ebooks I’d bought before buying any more. But I guess most of those books just weren’t the right genre? A few exceptions aside, this month I read a bunch of other things instead.

Also read: The Frost Fair Affair and Holiday Brew by Tansy Rayner Roberts, and Sweetest in the Gale and 40-Love by Olivia Dade.

Reread: Love Lettering by Kate Clayborn and Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston.

Total: thirteen novels (including two audiobooks and two rereads), three novellas, and three story/novella collections.

Favourite cover: The cover was what caught my attention for Finding My Voice and Old Baggage.

Still reading: Between Silk and Cyanide by Leo Marks, Or What You Will by Jo Walton and The Disorderly Knights by Dorothy Dunnett.

Next up: A Most Improper Magick by Stephanie Burgis.

*

Queen’s Play by Dorothy Dunnett (narrated by David Monteath): In 1548, Francis Crawford of Lymond arrives in France, incognito in order to protect Scotland’s queen, seven-year-old Mary. I enjoyed this, even though I am not very interested in the antics of the French court and thought The Game of Kings benefitted from having more characters who I found wholly likeable and/or who matter, personally, to Lymond. Dunnett is an impressive storyteller -- vivid descriptions, lively dialogue, nuanced characters and twists that take me by surprise. Moreover, those satisfying puzzle pieces explain the plots and intrigue, give insight into personalities and develop the narrative’s themes (here, the consequences of power). 

The Kinship of Secrets by Eugenia Kim: In 1950, four year old Inja lives with her grandparents and uncle in Seoul, while her sister Miran is in America with their parents. War delays the family’s reunion. This is a fascinating portrayal of two sisters growing up in different countries, and an incredibly poignant story about a family separated. Compelling, and beautifully written, and despite moments of intense grief, hopeful. I liked how, in the end, Inja and Miran didn’t have all the answers.. But I wonder if I’d have found the ending more satisfying if I had a deeper understanding of who they both were as adults.

Teacup Magic series by Tansy Rayner Roberts:

Tea and Sympathetic Magic: Stephanie Burgis recommended this novella as something similar to her Harwood Spellbook series and it certainly has a similar appeal: romantic fantasy, bordering on comedy-of-manners territory. Like Georgette Heyer but with magic and diversity and an intention to challenge problematic and outdated attitudes. Charming and cosy, like a good cup of tea rather than a frothy hot chocolate. Miss Mnemosyne Seaborne, a reluctant guest at a houseparty. She joins forces with the other guests after an unexpected abduction occurs. Entertaining, and even though it was too short for me to really become invested, I immediately wanted to read the sequel.

The Frost Fair Affair: After her previous adventures, Mneme has new friends, a suitor and a campaign: overturning the social conventions which prevent women from travelling by portal. After someone in Town steals her political pamphlets, she gets caught up in a mystery. I enjoyed this oh so much! I found myself caring a lot more about Mneme and her relationships; I liked the mixture of intrigue and danger, and how in the cause of dealing with these, Mneme learns more about the man she hopes to marry; and the Frost Fair, on a frozen river, makes a delightful setting. I'd love to read more.

Belladonna U(niversity) series by Tansy Rayner Roberts:

Unreal Alchemy: Oh, this is my new favourite! Urban fantasy about Australian uni students who are connected to an indie rock band, Fake Geek Girl. These stories are funny, geeky and romantic, with great chapter titles and lots of fandom references. They employ different points of view and different narrative styles in a way that’s really effective. I love the characters and how important and intense their non-romantic relationships are. Between them they have a variety of romantic/sexual relationships and feelings, but friendships and familial relationships, like the one between twin sisters Hebe and Holly, also drive the narrative. The first collection contains four stories/novellas.

Fake Geek Girl -- Ferd moves into the Manic Pixie Dream House; Holly and Sage argue about the future of the band.

Unmagical Boy Story -- Viola has feelings about her best friend losing his magic, transferring colleges and making new friends.

The Bromancers --  The band and frriends spend a weekend at a magical music festival.

The Alchemy of Fine -- A prequel about the band’s origins.

Holiday Brew: This collection is more serious and less overtly fandom-y than the first, but arguably still very meta (especially if you consider Viola, Jules and Ferd as a response to the trio in Harry Potter). I sat down intending to read just one of these stories -- and ended up reading them all.

Halloween Is Not A Verb -- Holly invites various people to their mums’ place for Halloween.

Solstice on the Rocks -- A short story about university graduation.

Kissing Basilisks --  Begins on New Year’s Day, is compelling, and picks up the non-band-related narrative threads from Fake Geek Girl.

Missing Christmas by Kate Clayborn: This novella is loosely connected to Beginer's Luck but stands alone. It's sweet. Business partners and best friends Jasper and Kristen pay a last minute trip to a client and get trapped by a blizzard, which pushes them to reconsider the boundaries they’ve drawn in their relationship. I liked the moments which showed that they’re an effective team because they know each other so well and can communicate through subtle body language. 

Finding My Voice by Marie Myung-Ok Lee: Ellen is a Korean-American teenager in her final year of high school. Her story is about applying for college, gymnastics training, Ellen’s relationships with her best friend and her first boyfriend, dealing with racism at school and with her parents’ expectations that she will follow her sister to Harvard. It’s very short, first published in 1993. I was aware of all the places where a YA novel written today would be allowed to give more details and to expand the story, but it was still interesting.

The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas: I’ve borrowed this several times this year, only to return it unread each time, and I was starting to wonder if I really wanted to read it. But once I actually sat down and focused, I quickly realised that I definitely did! I became completely engrossed in this Mulan retelling. It’s a tense adventure. I enjoyed the characters and their interactions, particularly the elaborate courtesy of formal conversations, and the way Mulan and her companions value loyalty and camaraderie. I thought this was a very believable take on the whole girl-disguised-as-a-boy thing too.

Dear Mrs Bird by AJ Pearce: In 1940, Emmy wants a newspaper job but is instead typing up letters for a women’s magazine and discarding mail from readers whose problems are Unacceptable. Frustrated that Mrs Bird won’t offer advice to so many women in need, Emmy's tempted to take matters into her own hands. Her optimism means she makes some naive mistakes, some of which made me wince, but it’s also an incredible strength. She's delightful company. I really like how much of this story is about her friendship with Bunty and I enjoyed the insight into women's magazines and the Auxiliary Fire Service.

The Lonely Hearts Dog Walkers by Sheila Norton: Recently separated, Nicola moves back in with her mother, starts as a teaching assistant at her daughter’s new school, gets a puppy and joins a group of dog walkers, who embark upon a mission to save the local park. This was very low-angst and, once I realised the sort of story it was, kind of predictable. I can recognise the appeal of this brand of realism, but personally would have preferred more humour or more emotional complexity. Were Nicola a colleague, it’d be easy to find things in common to discuss, but her story wasn’t quite what I was looking for.

Chasing Lucky by Jenn Bennett: When Josie and her mother return to Beauty to look after the family bookshop, Josie has plans -- keep to herself, finish high school, secure a photography apprenticeship, move to LA. But after Josie accidentally breaks a store-front window and her childhood friend Lucky takes the blame, Josie’s priorities change. I enjoyed this more than I expected to. I particularly liked how Lucky subverts people’s expectations, and how Josie’s family works at communicating better with each other.

Old Baggage by Lissa Evans (narrated by Joanna Scanlan): It’s 1928 and Mattie Simpkin, a now-middle-aged militant suffragette, lives in Hampstead with her friend Florrie Lee (aka The Flea). Mattie gives lectures about the suffragettes but realises she’s not reaching the younger generation. So she starts a club for “healthy outdoor fun” for teenage girls. Mattie is wonderfully forthright -- amusing, engaging and informative when it comes to things she’s passionate about -- but she’s also fallible.  A really delightful yet bittersweet story about friendship and loss and the opportunities available for women. I liked its awareness that being able to loudly be yourself is a privilege not everyone has. 

There’s Something About Marysburg series by Olivia Dade:

Teach Me: Rose is unimpressed -- not only must she share her classroom with the new history teacher, he’s been given her Honors World History class. There’s something particularly satisfying about people who have been hurt and lonely finding support and love in each other. I like that they get to know each other over many months. I like Martin’s relationship with his teenage daughter and Rose’s relationship with her ex’s parents is so touching that one scene made me cry. And it was interesting seeing the US school system from the perspective of experienced teachers; I appreciated the details about their jobs.

Sweetest in the Gale: a Marysburg story collection contains three novellas about couples in their forties.

Sweetest in the Gale -- Griff is worried when Candy, a fellow English teacher, returns for the new school year uncharacteristically sombre and subdued. A really sweet romance about people who are navigating loss and grief.

Unraveled -- Maths teacher Simon is assigned to observe and mentor the new art teacher, Poppy. I enjoyed the threads of mystery.

Cover Me -- After a concerning mammogram result, Elizabeth marries an old friend so she’s covered by his health insurance. Predictable as anything, but that made it a safe position from which to explore serious and sobering topics.

40-Love: I’m not interested in tennis or holiday resorts; I was disappointed that this novel wouldn’t show Tess being an assistant principal; and even though some of my favourite fictional couples have a significant age-gap, I’m wary about age-gap romances (and socially-programmed to think it’s odd for a woman to date a much younger guy). But I liked the other stories in this series and I was curious. It’s Not really My Cup of Tea, but I was convinced that Tess and Lucas were both capable of making their (somewhat unconventional) relationship work. An interesting exercise in challenging my social-programming.

The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn: After watching Bridgerton (not always to my tastes but mostly fun), curiosity prompted me to read the opening of the second novel, and I was so entertained by Kate Sheffield verbally sparring with the viscount, whom Kate is determined to prevent from marrying her younger sister. I continued to be entertained up until the viscount acts a bit too entitled on his wedding night (that’s unattractive, if outrightly problematic). Which left me in rather an uncharitable mood for the final act, so I can’t identify if the drama of dealing with past traumas didn’t meet the standard of the earlier comedy or if I just hold such scenes to differing standards.

[ilovemcu3000]

The Stark Kids and where they went in life (my headcannon)

All 3 are Co-CEOs of Stark Indistries after Pepper retires at 65 (never remarried, and keeps her ring on every day until she dies)

MORGAN HOWARD STARK-POTTS

5-? years old: Lexi Rabe (I hope Lexi plays her as long as possible tbh, because to me she IS Morgan. But if not I have my fan cast for pre-teen and teen - adult Morgan here too)

12-15 years old: Millie Bobby Brown (I got the idea from the new Godzilla, Idk I just like the idea of Millie playing an older Lexi, I think they look really similar)

16 and older: Katherine Langford (I know some people don’t like this casting decision, which is fine, but it’s what seems to be the future and I think she’ll do great, she’s a good actress and I trust marvel with casting)

Personality: Confident, Genius, very proud of who her parents are, Loving, if she’s quiet she’s either PISSED or so sad and/or anxious that she’s breaking down, has anxiety like her father did but handles it like a champ in most situations unless it’s overwhelming, professional like her mom, mannerisms are 55% Tony and 45% Pepper, family is most important thing to her, Tonys sence of humour, 25% little s*it, has her own Iron Woman suit like Pepper and helps Harley with his Iron Lad suits + Peters Spider-Man suits.

Idol(s): Mom And Dad without question

Best Friends: Shuri Udaku, Cassie Lang, Lila Barton, Cooper Barton, Nathaniel Barton, Monica Rambeau

Family: Virginia Stark-Potts (Mom), Anthony Stark-Potts (Dad), Peter Parker and Harley Keener (practically adoptive brothers), Uncles are all male avengers basically (but her favorites are Happy,Bruce, and Rhodey for obvious reasons), Aunts are all female avengers (but Carol Danvers , Hope Van Dyne, Nebula, And May Parker are her favorites) God mother: Natasha Romanoff, Grandparents: Maria And Howard Stark (she hates Howard after learning everything about how he treated Tony) and Peppers parents whoever they are 🤷🏻‍♀️, Sister in Law: Michelle Parker-Jones (Morgan has loved having her in the family since they met when Peter and Michelle started dating 😂 and Morgan was MJs maid of honor at their wedding)

She still vaguely remembers Tony. Occasionally watching the recording/ other videos of him and asking mom or her brothers or any of her aunts and uncles when she wants to learn more about him helps too...she’s so proud of who he was, but sometimes can’t help but feel like something great was ripped away from her. Like an almost perfect puzzle just missing one peice, her dad. (This is her favorite video of him btw ⬇️ 😂)

HARLEY KEENER

Ty Simpkins is Harley no matter what (obvi 😂)

He’s 12 in Iron Man 3 And 17 when the Decimation happened ( he probably got dusted in 2018 so he’s still that @ the funeral)

Personality hasn’t changed much, he’s still kind of a little s*it and loves science. He meets Peter and Morgan at the funeral and they are “The Stark Kids tm” from then on because they realize THEY are Tonys legacy, what he left for the world

Him and Tony had kept in contact since 2013, Harley started being invited for Thanksgiving and Christmas among other holidays in 2014 and has gone every year. He lives with his mom and his sister is off at college...once Tony died he started hanging out more with Pepper, Peter, and Morgan because he knew they needed support. And him and Peter knew they needed to make sure that Morgan knows who her dad was and what he did. It got to the point where he would spend a week with his mom, then a week at the stark lake house until he got his own house at 20, and then becomes Iron Lad with the help of his new found brother and sister Peter and Morgan, and some of Tonys old files and information about the suits. He helps keep things in order at SI and around the world. His mom and actual sister come visit every week. And Pepper, Peter And Morgan with all of the other avengers are his other family. He found a new family and purpose thanks to Tony and he’s forever grateful for it.

PETER BENJAMIN PARKER

Tom Holland IS Peter Parker period, end of discussion

We’re still unfolding his story in the MCU, so this will be a little bit harder, but I have my ideas.

He was hurting bad for about two months after it all happened. Especially after her figures out why Tony invented time travel and his reason for helping the rest of the avengers...to get him back. He blames himself, for Morgan not growing up with her dad, and for Tony not getting the happy ending he deserved. That’s why he vowed to himself to protect Morgan until the day he dies and never let her forget how amazing her father was. But he learns over the years that Tony is still with him, and he’ll see him again someday. The experience of losing Tony and his run in with Mysterio matured him a lot

He went from this

To this

And it is (1) because of the emotional taxation of dealing with the death of his third father figure. The one he thought he would have for at least longer than Ben, but that didn’t work out.

this is the moment he goes from being a happy-go- lucky teenager to a strong, brave, man. Not because he wants too, but because he has experienced enough pain in his 16 years of living that the child-like feeling of euphoria “nothing can possibly go wrong” kids and teens usually have has faded

⬇️

(2) He also matures because of the betrayal of Mysterio, the villain that hurt him the most mentally, that paranoia of him looms over peter in the future too...whenever something he feels is “too good” happens, ( graduates high school, marries MJ, etc.) he can’t relax because he wonders if quinten is still alive and tricking him. He still is positive, and the purest bean there ever was, no one can take that away. But he just takes his duties as a hero more seriously. He does the same thing as Harley, a week with May and a week with Pepper and his new older brother and little sister along with the avengers. He marries Michelle after 3 years of dating and after being married for a year they have two girls that are two years apart my headcannon names are Abigail Franklin Parker-Jones (Michelles grandmas name and you gotta keep Benjamin Franklin in the family since him, his dad, and his uncle have either Benjamin or Franklin as their middle name so Franklin is her middle name) and Riley Edward Parker-Jones (Tonys middle name in honor of him) and Miles comes in after Abigail but before Riley. Peter and Miles have practically a Carbon copy relationship to the one Peter and Tony had and Miles reminds him so much of himself at that age, being a surrogate father AND a real father too makes him appreciate what Tony Stark and Ben and Richard Parker did for him ten times more 😂 he’s convinced those three men are his guardian angels

Tonys legacies are these three...and he could NOT be prouder

[popcorn-for-dinner]

I don’t want to wait for my dad to die, to cry.

If my dad died today, what would I say? What would I wish I had said?

Sat in the darkness of my movie theatre, as Alan Silvestri’s sombre score begins to swell, I can feel my neighbours on the brink of breaking down- some had already been weeping for a solid five minutes. Then, as if to break those of us still holding it together, Tony Stark’s pre-recorded hologram gets up from his seat, stares directly at his wife and daughter and proclaims “I love you 3000”.  

All I could think about at this point was how far he (Tony not “Iron Man”) had come and how rich that journey had been. As if to buttress my point, a minute later, Tony’s memorial floats across the lake, adorned with his first arc reactor- a call back to his first appearance in this sprawling cinematic universe. When Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow) had gifted it to him in Iron Man 1, she had inscribed on it “Proof that Tony Stark has a heart”.

Boy, did he!

In the lead up to last year’s Avengers: Infinity War, I discussed the paternal relationships portrayed in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (coincidentally, Infinity War is a film in which a father throws the daughter he loves off a cliff, to her death. Father issues? What Father issues?). Some criticisms levied against that piece were that it was too long and bloated. So, my response? A sequel, naturally.

With that article, I wanted to highlight that we all have our different parental issues- even superheroes have them! These issues were not peculiar to us individually. Naturally, we might feel this way but they were so commonplace in fact, that the biggest franchise in the world was examining them in their billion-dollar entries.  

What I had not thought about though, was what was next? I had not fully considered what happens after you acknowledge your issues. What do you do next, is it important to do anything, can I (please) just revert to auto-pilot? In a cruel twist of art imitating life, I had failed to consider the aftermath, because I had not yet reached that point of “after”. How could I write about a journey I had not yet taken?

Which brings us to here and now. During (yes, during) Avengers: Endgame, I began to see just how unfinished my writing was and as I continued to mull the themes over, this spiritual sequel began to take shape. I also noticed that just as Marvel had posed the question for my first article, they had also provided the answer for my follow up. So, because I am nothing if not consistent (read: one-dimensional), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) will once again serve, one last time, as both muse and avatar as I discuss the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) portrayal of healing during the aftermath. 

Healing can only begin when you confront your shit.

Deflection is easy. Deflection is safe. However, the true “after”- the needed healing, can only begin when we’ve been able to acknowledge and confront the issues.  

Tony Stark had a very tumultuous relationship with his father. Slowly, over the course of the earlier MCU instalments, we are given an idea of how this relationship grew from unrequited admiration/attention in Tony’s adolescence to estrangement and eventual resentment. After spending his childhood with a distant father and being “shipped off” to boarding school at the earliest convenience, Tony has no reason to believe that his father even likes him, much less loves or respects. This lack (and subconscious search) of validation would end up guiding Tony’s actions in his adulthood, both the applaudable and the self-destructive.

In Iron Man 2, Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson) gives Tony some of his father’s research which he had left specifically for him. It is in those research documents that he finally finds the validation he had been searching for his entire life- that direct vote of confidence from his father. In this direct-to-video address, Howard Stark (John Slattery) expresses belief in his son’s untapped potential while also, subtly, explaining the reasoning behind some of his actions.  

This is a rare feat. Many aren’t afforded that kind of insight into their parent’s thinking while they are alive much less decades after they’ve died. Tony was able to have a real confrontation with his past and as a result, the issues it had borne.  

As a side note, it is important to address that while it may be the method being discussed, this “direct confrontation” is not the only way to begin our healing. What is universal though, is the domino effect any meaningful confrontation can have. In Tony’s case, the closure this brings finally helps him get rid of the chip on his shoulder and kickstart his own healing process- a process we see begin halfway through Iron Man 2 and finally come to a (satisfying) conclusion in Avengers: Endgame.

Much like his tech, Tony Stark was always evolving, improving. From that moment in the cave in Iron Man 1 when he decided to be a better person, he was constantly on a path of self- improvement and in Iron Man 2, his relationship with his father was added to the checklist. With the earlier detailed confrontation, he was provided with some much-needed clarity. It was almost as if, immediately, in the back of his head, the emotional cogs began to move smoothly after years of disharmony. With the chip off his shoulder, things seemed easier. Slowly that paternal toxicity in him began to dissipate. He was no longer relying on the crutches he once had, and the healing truly began.

What we would then witness was that, with every succeeding movie, a more “fatherly” side of Tony began to appear. His healing process wasn’t explicit or in your face, he just slowly became better.  

Tony, of course, spends a large portion of 2013’s Iron Man 3 with a 12-year-old kid (Ty Simpkins) in a father-son, buddy cop relationship but it wasn’t until he recruited a teenage Peter Parker (Tom Holland) in Captain America: Civil War that we would see just how far he had come. Crucially, this doesn’t happen until Tony reaches a viable, satisfactory, conclusion to his arc with his father.

Ready or not, you have to move on with your life.

Time isn’t going to wait for you. Eventually, life is going to catch up with you. So, you need to start the healing process as soon as you can because it’s a life-long mission.

Tony Stark’s introduction in 2016’s Captain America: Civil War is during an augmented reality session. This particular session is set on the final day he sees his parents, the day they die. Towards the end, his mum breaks the fourth wall of the memory and implores young Tony to say something to his father because it’s the last time he will see them. He doesn’t argue or deflect, he isn’t sarcastic, instead he says to Howard, honestly, “I love you, Dad” and informs his mother that he knows “he (his father) did the best he could”.  

Sure, Tony engineered the situation, but that’s more growth than most of us experience. The silent healing at the back of his psyche had now got Tony to a position where he was comfortable telling his father he loved him and acknowledging that he probably did the best he could, mistakes and all. He didn’t say this because he felt it was expected of him but rather because he had got to a point where he truly believed it. Yes, his (real) father couldn’t hear him but he could say it. He could make this admission to himself.

For his healing, this was a conclusion he needed to reach before being able to successfully move on with his life. In the larger picture of the MCU’s story, this was an admission he had to make to be effective in the two very important relationships that were about to occur in his life- the first being with a certain precocious teenager from Queens.  

After enlisting Peter Parker, Tony assumes guardianship over him. Peter, also trying to fill that Uncle Ben shaped hole in his life is eager to impress “Mr Stark” and receive his validation- not unlike a young Tony trying to impress his father. Having done the necessary healing, Tony is now in a place where he can be that father figure to Peter. He now understands not only, how it feels to be the son of a distant father but also the reasoning behind the actions that might have made his father come across as distant.  

Knowing that life is never going to wait for us, it is incumbent on us to be serious about our healing. Because without it, we’ll just step back into life, into relationships, with the same hurt, ignorance, pride that will only serve to continue the wheel.  Like Tony in the cave, we need to make a decision to do better, be better.  

Don’t wait, cry now.

What was most indicative of Tony’s healing, was his self-awareness. At one point during an argument with Peter, Tony catches himself and mutters “Gosh, I sound just like my dad”. It’s the type of self-awareness that only comes as a result of doing the healing work.  

Like Tony, many of us take too long to confront the complexities in our parental relationships. We now find, that at this late stage, we are wistful for the relationship that could have been. We mourn the vulnerability that was skipped on, the laughs that were not shared, the emotions that were not laid bare, the cries that never were.    

This is why Tony’s augmented reality session was always important. It was his way of creating a model reality where he confronted his issues in time to have a good relationship with his dad, if only for just a second. It provided him with the opportunity to finally let go of his baggage and honestly and wholeheartedly appreciate his father, knowing “he did the best he could”.

With the results of his private healing in tow, he is now able to be a good surrogate father to Peter and real father to Morgan (Alexandra Rabe). We see that, to Morgan, Tony is everything he wished his dad was to him- affectionate, understanding, present. It may seem obvious that he would be the father he wished his father was but as we tend to see, that is rarely the case. What is more common though, is a continuous perpetuation of the cycle. Of course, it isn’t always intentional but without proper attention to the emotional scars, hurt kids become hurt adults who, via releasing their pent-up pain, raise hurt kids. Spokes on a wheel.  

Perhaps because of how perfect and apparent a conclusion the AR session was to the arc, I found the time travel sequence in Avengers: Endgame very surprising and equally impactful. Tony, after all he’s been through, all he’s learnt, is now face to face with his father. This isn’t a home video or a billion-dollar augmented reality experiment, it’s the real deal.

The Tony from a decade prior might have been sarcastic, snarky, deflective. But not this one. Not this Tony who knows his dad’s real feelings and motivations. Not this Tony who’s done all his healing work, who’s lost his adopted son and fathered a daughter. No, this Tony is honest, raw, emotional, thankful even.  He is appreciative of the life he’s had. He understands what his father is going through and will go through. He is (finally) at peace with the issues that arose because of both he and his father’s insecurities, and willingly accepts all he has become because of them.

And is that not the goal? To be able to reach a point where we can now look into their eyes and understand where they are coming from. To be at peace with all that we are and all that they were/are. To be able to finally accept and understand the importance of all the rough edges in creating us as rounded human beings. It should be the aim but like any other desired goal it requires work to get there. Sometimes even, unpleasant work.  

As Tony exemplified, everyone (even seemingly irredeemable billionaire, playboy, philanthropists) deserves to confront and conquer their issues and mend a tense relationship. While it will be tough, I write this with the hope that I have inspired someone to begin their own healing process. While yours is most likely not going to involve a billion-dollar AR experiment or time travel, you have the power to begin today.

It is admittedly easier for some than it is for others but like every other thing, it begins with starting. So, pick up a phone, send an e-mail, book an appointment or if you want, just start by yourself, in your head. Your confrontation can take any and many forms and I am ill-equipped to tell you what is best for you. There’s no manual on how to do it, what I have learnt though, is that the only important thing is that you start.  

“I thought my dad was tough on me, but now looking back, I just remember the good stuff” 

                                                                           -Tony Stark, Avengers: Endgame

Here’s to us, eventually, remembering only the good stuff.

Bankole Imoukhuede

@banky_I