#because that can be adjusted with costuming etc.

[isfjmel-phleg]

Okay, I can't do fancasting, but I can pinpoint what I personally would be looking for in actors for a YJ-and-adjacent adaptation.

Whoever would play Tim would need to be able to convey a lot of seeming contradictions. Friendly and affable but intensely private. The Only Sane One but in fact just as unhinged as the rest of his friends. Resident logician and strategist but brimming with (mostly) controlled emotionality. Comes across as mature and sensible but also has lots of annoying little brother energy. He would need to demonstrate a wry, self-deprecating humor while also having the capacity to be driven and serious and sit on rooftops to brood when necessary. Should have the physicality of someone who has carefully trained for what he does, not someone who has effortless natural talent.

Kon should be the charismatic teenage hero type, like something escaped from a Disney Channel show. Lots of Attitude™, lots of style, lots of action. Boisterous and cocky but can be caring and gentle. This actor needs to have fantastic comedic skills because Kon needs to be funny. Deliberately, consciously, genuinely hilarious and witty. Not at all dark and brooding. But he should also be able to pull off a very specific type of angst--depressed but in denial about it. Kon's happy-go-lucky persona is both an expression of his natural personality and a front he clings to avoid being vulnerable, so his actor should be able to convey these layers of complexity. Hypothetically, his actor would also be playing Match and would have to pull off a cold, efficient, vindicative (but ultimately tragic) persona too.

Bart needs to be played by someone who can avoid making him a caricature. The fun and humor and lightheartedness need to be there, of course, but they're combined with a very teenage belligerent and stubborn side. This needs to be someone who can convey a unique style of thinking and get across that Bart is in fact quite intelligent and perceptive. There should also be an ability to effectively emote without words. It's a highly energetic role with a distinct physicality. Ideally, Bart's actor would also be playing Thad, so he would need to be able to pull off the contrasting roles, to give each of them their own distinctive mannerisms and styles of speech and physicalities, and to absolutely nail the emotionally intense climax of Mercury Falling.

Greta's actress should be able to be both genuinely sweet and genuinely terrifying. One is not a mask for the other; she is both at the same time. She should be able to deliver some of the most disturbing and hilarious lines ever with utter sincerity (things like "Death is coming, and...he's on skis"). She has a vindictive streak and can be harsh but not so much that the audience won't feel for her. There's an innate vulnerability and waiflike quality to this child despite her powers. This is a very dramatic role that would require a broad range as Greta gradually goes to the Doug Side dark side before being restored back to life.

Cissie needs to have the air of someone overtrained since childhood in athletics with a side of pageant-like skills--like a child on one of those dreadful reality shows about exploitative parents. She is poised and controlled and elegant and knows how to make an impression. At the same time, she is intensely emotionally driven and would need to pull off highly dramatic scenes, like her attempt to get revenge on her school counselor's killer--but also drama played for laughs, like her expectation that she'll have to become a villain after the failed revenge or her reaction to being dragged into the baseball game.

Cassie is an interesting combination of reckless enthusiasm and struggles with self-confidence. Not big on tact and can be toxically optimistic. Her actress shouldn't be the glamorous type; she needs to seem like a very ordinary, relatable, down-to-earth girl (who happens to have superpowers). No big transformative makeover moments--she should just become more and more comfortable with and confident in who she is as she matures. Her actress should be able to convey the stages of an arc in which she gradually figures out her distinctive identity and develops as a strong leader and role model.

Anita's actress needs to have a strong, authoritative presence. You should really feel that she can compel others to do her bidding at the sound of her voice. She should have a warm quality too that really comes through in her relationship with Slo-bo in particular. There needs to be a balance of her formidable powerfulness and the fact that she's a teenage girl who is increasingly in over her head, and her struggles as she is stuck raising her deaged-to-infant parents must be poignant.

Slo-bo should be cast as someone who has the quality of an old soul despite being the technical youngest of the group. He should combine the tough abrasiveness that he feels he needs to assume as Li'l Lobo's successor with a keen sensitivity and struggles with self-loathing. He insists he's not a good guy and presents himself in the most morally gray terms he can, and this isn't an act (exactly), but it's complicated by the fact that he is legitimately kind and self-sacrificing. If played right, the audience won't initially know what to make of him but by the end should be heartbroken by his apparent death.

For Ray, someone who can portray the heroic nature of the character, but neither formidably muscular or a suave heartthrob type--he's rather ordinary. This needs to be someone with good comedic timing, someone who can pull off the naivete and the Absolute Disaster-ness and seem out of his depth in the real world, but also convey introspectiveness and a longing to be loved. He wears his heart on his sleeve, struggles with some depressive episodes, and can be quite vulnerable, with some notably dramatic scenes. There should be a bit of an edge to the character as well, as he becomes more jaded and makes choices that could potentially result in his going evil.

Grant needs to have a sort of ordinary-teenage-boy quality. Earnest, sweet, eager to prove himself, awkward, a bit of a goofball. But his actor should also have the capacity to handle a highly dramatic role. He should be able to convey explosive anger without being brutish and unsympathetically aggressive. There's an underlying anxiety in how he responds to the world, something ingrained in him by his abusive upbringing. Despite his powers and the anger and strength associated with them, he is emotional and vulnerable, with quite a few scenes that would require him to weep. He undergoes a striking change in demeanor after his face is scarred, and his actor would need to make the transition into bitterness believable.

[kinokoshoujoart]

the coolest kids in forgotten valley!!☆

(…it seems there may have been a stretch of time where rock and lumina were the only kids in forgotten valley…🥲)

poseref

[parkersbliss]

A Domestic Life | S. Riley

pairing: simon “ghost” riley x female reader

warnings: none just some fluff bc I don’t see enough for him :(( maybe OOC

synopsis: just some fluffy headcannons about the infamous ghost and how he treats relationships

a/n: there is not enough tooth rotting fluff for this guy and I’m gonna fix that starting now

Masterlist | Taglist | Prompt List

requests open for ghost!

—

sleeps like a log. the guy sleeps on his back, pointed at the sleeping and when he’s out he’s OUTTTT that boy does not sleep on the field so in an actual bed? he’s comatose. of course if you have a nightmare you can wake him up anytime. he’ll be a little confused at first but he’s got the spirit

enjoys cuddling but not in his sleep. he overheats so easily bc of how big he is so you guys keep your space. he is happy to hold you before bed though while watching a movie or scrolling on tiktok

he’s a DRY texter oh my god. it’s like your biggest pet peeve. “how’s your day” “fine” “made any progress?” “no.” you’re working on improving his skills but he’s just like that. you asked a question, he answers. besides he doesn’t frequently have time to text you long detailed replies

obviously ghost loves his mask, and it makes sense for him to conceal his identity but he doesn’t when he’s back with you. he likes to keep his identities separate. ghost and the mask for the field, regular simon at home. it’s not like anyone would know they were the same guy, except you of course.

on the off chance he’s home for halloween, he doesn’t use his mask as a costume (just in case anyone could connect the dots) but does keep the skeleton theme

his favorite holiday is christmas and he always makes sure he can have it off

he LOVES to cook. he doesn’t eat good when deployed so he loves coming home and cooking himself up exactly what he wanted. don’t get me wrong, he loves if you cook too but there’s something about not being able to control what you eat and then having full control and making homemade pasta for him

wears beanies all the time in winter. the dudes got a buzz cut, standard, so his heads cold. he loves when you wear a matching one with him

wakes up at the ass crack of dawn bc his body is just used to it after so many years

when he retires, he plans on having a small farm for even fresher homemade ingredients like eggs, milk etc. and he’ll wake up early to do the farm chores

again with the shitty food thing, he only likes gas station coffee. he’s so used to a crappy cup of joe that he can’t do the fancy shit. then again, he’s more of a tea guy anyway

loves his alone time but he likes you there, if that makes sense? like he loves reading a novel and not talking but just having you also read in the same room

likes just sitting on the couch together and watching a movie

It took him a while to adjust to physical touch after it being 1.) mostly abuse or 2.) enemies after him but he is not completely against it. he knows it’s important in relationships so he tries his best and eventually learns to love it

a sucker for slow dancing in the living room. bonus points if it’s with the christmas tree lights and music. he loves swaying around and the occasional stepping on feet and your giggles

his most prized possession besides the guns and you is a le creuset tea pot you gifted him for christmas. it’s bright blue with a gold handle and perfect.

he has a tea collection on display and is always trying new flavors from around the world. his green tea is imported from japan ONLY. always makes two cups for himself and you

loves to do any picnic dates or apple picking or farm style dates. the man loves food as FRESH as possible.

his bucket lists consists of food places around the world he wants to try and go with you.

including fugu from japan. you are totally opposed because of the whole life or death thing associated with it, but simon’s used to risks and he’ll do his research ofc.

he’ll never admit but he wants to go to america just to try the fast food there. he knows it’s bad and the opposite of what he stands for but the chinese in britain is ASS and doesn’t canes, in n out and chick fil a look SO good?

bicep holding >>> hand holding

he needs routine. simon needs to wake up at the same time, make breakfast for you guys at the same time, have his quiet time on the porch. watch the morning news with you and the tea. always at the same times. he tries not to but he can’t help bringing some of his military life home

his crew knows he has a wife but that’s it. ghost keeps simon separate and you are married to simon.

plus he can never be too safe when it comes to his work. the only name you went by when he’s deployed is “my wife” or “mrs riley”

doesn’t even carry a photo of you bc he’s that paranoid

you guys actually get married within 18 months because it just makes life easier. as soon as simon knew he wanted to marry you, he did.

it’s just easier in the military bc of pay, benefits, deployment, etc. and ofc he loves you and was locking that down ASAP

sends you recipes when he’s deployed for you to make and rate

when he can’t sleep, which is often, he just lays next to you not touching and contemplated how it is after all the bad he’s done, how he got it so good.

and he makes sure you know how appreciative he is

[coochellati]

How many kids do you think Bruno would ideally want to have? And what kind of father do you think he’d be?

Hi!!!! Oooh, this is a super fun question!!!

Before I get into it, I just wanted to say that Maggie (@cornerfortherats) and I had a great discussion over this question, and since some of these thoughts are hers, I wanted to tag her for credit !!

I believe Bruno would want one or two kids, probably leaning toward two. He’d want to ensure he could give equal time and attention to each child without stretching himself too thin. While I think he could handle more than two—okay, leading a team of mafiosos isn’t the same as raising kids, but the leadership skills he’s cultivated would certainly be useful in parenting—that doesn’t mean he *wants* more. And of course, he wouldn’t treat his kids the way he treats his teammates; he would give them much more love and care.

As a father, Bruno Bucciarati would be deeply involved in his children's lives. He wants to give them the kind of life he had before his parents' divorce—one filled with love and warmth.

Bruno would be the type of dad to hug his kids often because he didn’t receive much affection growing up. It can be awkward adjusting to normal levels of affection when you’re not used to it, and he wouldn’t want his kids to experience that. He wants them to know, without a shadow of a doubt, that he loves them.

Every night, Bruno reads to his kids the way his mother read to him. Those memories are something Bruno is no doubt fond of, and he wants his children to feel that same warmth.

Bruno spends as much time with his children as he can because he feels the best part of his life is spent with his family. He wants to be there for every moment—his children’s first words, first steps, etc. I can totally see Bruno letting his kid dress him up (maybe as a fairy princess for a tea party or something). However, he would not allow anyone to take a photo of him while in costume.

You can bet his children are getting the best education possible. As someone who never had the chance to attend a good school, he wants to make sure his children are well set up in life, and thanks to Passione, he can afford to send them anywhere.

Bruno is the type of dad who would cry when his kids are born. However, it wouldn’t be at the hospital as you might imagine, but alone with his partner and baby. It’s a mix of the usual dad joy and the relief of finally getting to rebuild the family he lost. He feels an unspoken awe and eternal gratitude towards his partner for making their baby, like a "how did you create someone so amazing?" kind of feeling. (This last part only applies if his partner is AFAB.)

He would probably try to quit being a mafioso to focus on family when his first kid is on the way. This would be difficult, especially if he’s already deeply involved, but he’d be concerned about the danger his connections could pose to his new child.

Additionally, he wants to be a role model for his children, and the best way to keep them out of a shady life is to cut ties with Passione entirely. Bruno would never allow his children to join Passione or even come close to it. He would also be very secretive about his past life as a mafioso, shielding his kids from that part of his history. (He may eventually tell them about his experience in the organization when they’re much older.) He’s determined to make sure they grow up loved and safe, ensuring they steer clear of a dangerous path.

Due to his protective nature, he might come across as a stricter parent. In his mind, enforcing order ensures safety, something he didn’t have the luxury of growing up with. Bruno shows this strict side quite often in Vento Aureo, such as when he and his team arrived at San Giorgio Maggiore. Before stepping off the boat, while his team was happily imagining what kind of food they would eat later, Bruno snapped, impatiently reminding them that they were still on a mission. He would be significantly less stern with his children than he is with his team, but still firm.

Overall, Bruno would be an amazing parent. Sure, he may be strict at times, but he doesn’t want total control over his kids—as someone who has a deep understanding of life’s perils, he wants nothing more for them to grow up safe, happy, and most of all, loved.

thanks for the ask!! <3 ily!!

[kimyoonmiauthor]

HWA writer is doing a vote on Artificial Intelligence and a round up on what graphic designers actually do and why you shouldn't shoot your foot.

So writer news the HWA is voting about AI use, both in writing and covers. Most of my social media bubble is saying NO. 'cause obviously, it's stealing other people's work, but there is also this guy...

I get it, a lot of people don't understand the process that graphic designers have to go through. But it's harder than people think and some of the cost is BUYING LICENSED PICS TO USE IN YOUR COVER.

Unlike AI, graphic designers pay the photographers, etc OR have really expensive equipment to make high res images for book covers themselves. My cheap camera was 600 bucks in 2019. That does not include background, lights, etc. If you're complaining about the cost of custom covers from graphic artists, think about the cost to hire models, costume, and the camera equipment.

But it's more than Oh, snap pretty pictures or pay for it, there are other principles that go into art which include composition (which I covered many times), color and color theory knowledge (which AI can't always do well because there is also psychology per culture that one has to put in.)

There is also typography and knowledge of the market and psychology. You're paying for a lot more than Oh, just slapped pictures together. You're paying for a human who can create something unique that shows off the elements of your book in maybe ways you didn't think about.

Graphic artists are artists because we do things like arrange your websites for you to maximize psychological interaction. Graphic artists are not on the same par as AI.

So, no, this is a horrible take. I use traditional and computer media. But you can't unite if you think, OMG, you drew that in a computer v. you drew that on paper versus and think the first one is invalid. OMG, you wrote that in a computer. You wrote that on paper. The principles the human is applying are pretty similar.

Many graphic artists also draw. Many people use both media.

When Will up there can explain the positives and negatives of what a tangency is and how to color adjust a photo digitally on levels+curves, and how those things can affect the psychology of people interacting with their final product, then he can talk about OMG, how digital art is ruining covers.

Graphic Designers also know how to typeset your covers, who usually do it digitally, so don't eff with them by slamming the people that work with you. Because lemme tell you, the thing that makes your covers and the back of your books look excellent is that tight yet quite difficult art of typography. If that graphic designer really cared, they put that little extra work into eliminating the rivers on the blurb for you to make sure it was that extra bit more readable. They cared about the color of the type and the type face. And those people too are graphic designers. Psychologically, great graphic design is chef's kiss and when typography is done just so, the potential reader *feels* it through the design and the emotion your book is promising to give them.

So don't disparage graphic designers. Even for the fraction who cannot draw, when they are good they HELP with your marketing that much more.

General advice: Don't disparage platforms. Don't disparage your fellow true artists/creatives. Because it's likely you'll have the opportunity to work with them someday, and do you want to cut off the roads to making your book/product the best it can be? Uplift. Graphic designers are not the same as AI. Graphic designers pay other artists for licenses to their work.

Add to that the HWA is holding a vote about AI writing, etc. And yeah, we kinda need to spread this info around.

Dear HWA Members, An open comment period will be coming soon on the drafted Horror Writers Association Al Policy which has been diligently crafted since March. Members, please look for a Special iMailer in your inbox by the end of the month with instructions on where to send your feedback. The feedback period will be open for open for 25 days. The Board of Trustees values art and artists and looks forward to the comments from its membership. Sincerely, Maxwell Gold Executive Director, HWA

[hoardlikegoldenirises]

This is Peter's "move your arm before I kill you" face 😄 aka his "I only agreed to stand here to make my aunt happy and would rather be anywhere else" face.

EDIT: decided to change the eyeshine color lol

closeups and a bonus doodle below:

say cheeeeese!!! (left to right: flash, janine, aracely)

I realized while drawing this that I accidentally put the boys in left-to-right order from least- to most-fucked up face 😂 Ben and his perfect nose 🙄🤣 IDK what he's saying but probably something engineered specifically to make Peter mad.

He's smiling. 🙂💢 See? Busted nose. Turns out I also put them in order of "least to most traumatized," now that I think about it... Peter is a little less uptight by 2016 but... only a little. He might even not be wearing the costume under his clothes.

I know you're probably thinking "how the fuck is Ben less traumatized than Peter?" but in this case it's true. Ben is the most well-adjusted of them all. Comparatively.

Kaine is definitely wearing his costume under his clothes. Head to toe coverage, no skin except face and hands basically ever. When I sat down to sketch this pic this morning I realized that he probably doesn't like having his picture taken, because he has very bad self-esteem (understatement) and lots of scars, but probably also for Warren reasons, as essentially an ex-lab specimen. So he's hiding.

His hair would be in the process of growing back out from a buzzcut, if it's November 2016... so a bit longer than his shoulders, most likely.

If it wasn't like, May's idea to take the pic and Janine w/ the camera Kaine would not be tolerating this. He'd either leave or break the camera LOL but... if May wants a pic... he can at least pretend to be in it.

Miss Maybelle... The only one in the pic who doesn't have anything weird going on (ah, her strange nephews and their strange eyes). She has an O2 tank though. Her lungs are not very strong after 2012 because ummmm... Kaine stabbed her in the chest. (He apologized, it's fine 😓😅)

Ben's tan lines 😂 peter has 'em too but Peter is all covered up obv. Peter's neck tan line is actually way higher up though, because his costume has a higher neckline so he has to wear higher collars/scarves/whatever even if he rolls the neck down. But (not pictured) Peter's arms are more tan than Ben's because Ben's Scarlet sleeves are longer than Peter's Spidey sleeves. Obv Ben isn't wearing (the top of) his costume in this pic though. and they can both roll the sleeves up anyway.

That's the watch Peter got May for her birthday in 2007 btw. Actually the color is wrong because I didn't bother to check my own #lore but also because I almost forgot to color it at all (lol whoops) so I was just like. It's purple, I remember that much. But the strap is supposed to be "pale violet linen."

I also almost forgot to draw Peter's wedding band entirely 😂 Luckily I remembered! lol

Kaine is wearing a kilt, by the way (over jeans or leggings or something probably... well, maybe not leggings if his costume is underneath...) My goal is for him to find a different way of expressing his masculinity. related to why i am sticking to pink for his theme color (for costume etc.) and letting him grow his hair back out. I think he probably has some genders going on but not in the way that Flash has. He's not a girl. More like he wants to be nothing at all... null gender... etc... but also he doesn't have the language for that and would likely push back against it because of the way he was treated by Warren and the issues he has with like. personhood and manhood... but experimenting with (expensive) clothing is a way for him to explore his own autonomy in spite of that treatment and a way to learn to hate himself a little bit less, maybe, even though he's still very insecure.

he also has a "nazi punks fuck off" shirt, but... he wouldn't wear that to thanksgiving with aunt may... probably. I'm sure his leather jacket is around here somewhere...

i picked thanksgiving arbitrarily btw 😂 it just made the most sense as a reason for may to force i mean ask them all to come over and get pictures and stuff. kaine leaves nyc in 2012 following ben and only comes back for good in 2016, but when he and aracely first come up in the summer there's a bunch of stuff happening so it makes sense to do fall, once it's settled down...

May: Oh, by the way Peter, I invited your... brothers... to Thanksgiving. Peter: You did WHAT?!

[artisgonnabeok]

Best Friends of Friends.

More Details Below:

So, there are two characters here, the second Trickster aka Axel Walker and Red Hood aka Jason Todd.

I picked these two for a few reasons:

1:they are both close friends with Bizzaro, with Axel however it's in another universe. I love the friendship Bizzaro has with both of them so when it came to deciding who's head Axel will be holding it came down to Joker, Riddler or Jason... I picked Jason

2:for the event there had to be a Batman component so.. I picked Jason. It doesn't help he is easily the most recognizable out of the boys.

3:Also Jason died before and when you're making a spooky drawing you can play around with that concept.

4: the popular headcannon that his eyes glow helps provide a lovely contrast.

5: been working on my Jason design for months

6: For me picking Trickster the main thing was... I like drawing him and he's one of my favorite characters.

7:Also he's worked in Gotham before.

8: Also my design for him has two golden fake teeth in the form of fangs which can easily become vampire fangs.

9: The boy is goofy which allows more freedom in the colors he wears, his facial expression plus his actual clothes.

10: using him allows me to worry less on a specific pattern/design and more so what I am trying to convey.

Details:

As always... I have patterns.

I wanted to adjust my design I have for him originally which Incase you forgot is this:

As you can tell his hair is different in the form of the purple sides. I added a animal pattern to further push this crazy, childish side of him.

Also I added more piercings to his updated design as well as gave him a younger look

Now most of the patterns I added were out of seeing what I could do to add more wacky. However the music notes were added as a reference to his earbuds he normally wear.

Going back to the patterns, I wanted to fit as many clashing colors and patterns into his costume as I could. This adds a contrast between him and Jason but also it works with his character.

The costume itself is a fusion of his outfit and a vampires, of course a vampire cape, vest, etc. but then we have the see through sleeves, the oversized shorts. We have him showing off his robotic arm.

Also a closer look at the see through sleeve:

Also his arm got a upgrade from the original design:

Old:

New:

The biggest change was having his entire arm robotic.

By doing that the "T" tattoo ended up going away. However I did bring it into the design in the form of it being apart of his prosthetic.

I also kept the muscle design with his arm but this time looking at reference photos to get the lines more accurate.

I also added graffiti to the new design to better fix Axels character. I added rust as well due to the fact that Axel is a villain after all, so it makes sense for his prosthetic to not be in the best shape. Especially since he's a teen who doesn't seem to care much about his own health.

As for Jason, having his head off is a design choice because it allows me to reference the Batarang scar, the Lazarus Pit, His death, all in one simple pose.

I really wanted to have his eyes glow green because, Lazarus Pit and also Spooky Halloween.

I used my toned down design for him, added in the scars but also I added in the eye thing because Spooky Halloween.

The background is a mix of several things because I really want you to figure it out for yourself on what it is.

All in all I am proud of this artwork and it was really fun participating. Thank you so much @wait-whos-batman for doing this Spooktacular event.

[cowgurrrl]

I present more Joel Miller headcanons: Pre-Outbreak Edition

Author’s note: that ask about preoutbreak!Joel got me thinkin 🤔 (gif by @userpascals)

Oh my god he’s so soft

He definitely went to Mommy and Me playtimes with Sarah after her mom left to try to make friends and all the moms couldn’t stop talking about the young hot dad

Got into contracting because his dad owned the business and let him come on as a partner when Sarah’s mom got pregnant

Tommy definitely moves in with Joel once he returns from Desert Storm and helps Joel raise Sarah (even though he’s still a kid himself)

Joel is a Worrier™️. Every time Sarah would lose a little bit of weight or fall behind on a milestone, he would be rushing to call her pediatrician or his mom to make sure he didn’t accidentally break his daughter

Have you seen that TikTok of the baby laying on his dad’s guitar? I totally think Joel would’ve played guitar and sang for Sarah on nights when she couldn’t sleep

There’s a great picture Tommy took floating around somewhere in Austin of a three-month old Sarah reaching for Joel’s guitar while he looks down at her and sings. He looks so tired and his hair is a mess and there’s spit up on his shirt but his eyes are so bright and happy

Her favorite song was Delta Dawn by Tanya Tucker and Joel could probably play it with his eyes closed

Joel would totally be the dad to carry his baby around in a Baby Bjorne so he can have free hands. Sarah loved it so much that when she outgrew it, they both had trouble adjusting

Sarah loves going to the zoo so much as a toddler that one year Joel splurges and gets them season passes

They end up in the butterfly sanctuary or the aquarium for HOURS every weekend

That girl ADORES her dad and uncle like those men are her whole world

Sarah takes her first steps in the kitchen because Joel put her down and she was DETERMINED to make it known how much she wanted to be held (yes, Joel cried)

Her first word is Dada (yes, Joel cried)

On her first day of kindergarten, Sarah had no problems walking right into school with her huge looking backpack but Joel was the one who lingered in the doorway, watching his little girl go and make friends on her own for the first time ever (yes, Joel cried)

He really tries not to work so much but life and bills get in the way so he works more than he wants to but he still manages to rent the newest Disney movie from Blockbuster when it comes out

That man would be so Southern holy shit

His mama raised him to be a polite gentleman and he tries to raise Sarah with the same manners

He would also be the type of Texan who calls everyone pet names. He uses pretty much all of them: mama, honey, sweetheart, darlin’, etc, but baby girl is reserved for Sarah

During Fair Week when Sarah gets out of school, Joel, Tommy, and Sarah load into the truck and go to the county fair

Same thing for Fiesta in San Antonio. It’s a long drive but he justifies it because he gets to spend time with his family

When he gets jobs out in Lockhart or Ottine, he always stops by Buc-ee’s to get Sarah a new shirt

There was one point where Joel Miller was punctual but after Sarah was born, he’s always late

He’s always the last one into PTA meetings, parent-teacher conference, and whatever else but the important thing is that he’s there

As Sarah gets older, he would reach out to her mom every so often, half-hoping she would want to know about Sarah, but never gets a response

They definitely do matching Halloween costumes for as long as she lets him get away with it

Her first Halloween, Joel was a fireman and Sarah was a Dalmatian

Every Christmas season, they go out to the Miller family ranch in West Texas and spend time together. It’s not a lot of property and the house is older than Joel but it’s cozy and Sarah loves it

Joel often feels like he doesn’t know what he’s doing when it comes to raising Sarah but when she brings home a class assignment for him to hang on the fridge, he cries again

Sarah had to write about heroes. Her class had been learning about firefighters, doctors, and nurses and the kids got to pick anyone and write about why they’re heroes. Some kids picked Spider-Man or their dogs or even the school crossing guard, Mrs. Quintanilla, but Sarah picked her dad

“My dad is my hero because he works very hard! He helps fix people’s houses and gives them safe homes to live in. I love my dad because he is my best friend and he takes care of me and sings to me. That is why my dad is my hero,” her scribbly second grade handwriting is transcribed by her teacher on her paper

He hugged Sarah tight and left it on the fridge for a year before carefully tucking it away in a memory box to look at for when he feels down

Being a single parent is tough but Sarah makes it all worth it

[bigfan-fanfic]

Considering you only gain muscles by working out, and to work out, you need to lift heavy things, technically, Clark couldn't be muscular since he's way too strong to actually be able to train his muscles. Which means: Clark chubby farm boy is actually a possible and viable thing.

SO, fun fact! This is totally true, and in fact addressed often in comics.

It's usually agreed upon in canon that Clark didn't develop his powers right away, with his capacity for absorbing and utilizing solar energy gradually expanding, around the same time as the onset of puberty, probably around age 14. So though his powers' growths were rapid once they manifested, he did have some time to adjust until they reached their maximum. And it was during this time he was helping out on the farm, using that as a kind of informal training (lifting hay bales for strength, which progressed to lifting cattle to lifting tractors, etc.; practicing control and finesse with say, chickens and caring for livestock with super speed).

Remember, Clark is supposed to be potential for the high school football team in Smallville, and that immediately makes me think stocky and sturdy, not cut and visibly muscular. At the point where he's at the full strength he'll know as Superman, he's got pretty much no upper limit, and generally nothing that's going to help him train his muscles. So definitely, early career Superman is going to be more mass than muscle.

However, once he gets full access to the Fortress of Solitude and the support of the Justice League, he can get some assistance - Wonder Woman has incredible, divinely empowered strength, and as a warrior trains often - she helps instruct him in martial arts and can help him train at full strength. Meanwhile, Batman can help him train in environments built to limit his power, like red sun training rooms and such.

Considering his physiology is more dependent upon solar energy than anything else to build his strength and keep him healthy, I'd say solar energy keeps him from atrophying. But considering if he's got energy akin to photosynthesis from the sun, I'd suggest he never really gets much of a lean musculature and remains bulky and sturdy.

Above is Christopher Reeve both training and in costume as Superman - his muscles are well-formed, but his torso isn't like, eight pack abs and dehydrated - he's clearly building muscle mass and body fat in a healthy way, and it shows in his costume. He looks sturdy, and strong.

Above is golden age Superman next to a bodybuilder/powerlifter, which I think Superman's original design is supposed to evoke. He's not popping muscles through his suit, but he's clearly really fricking fit and strong. Even his waist is more close to the width of his chest than more narrow like you see in more contemporary illustrations.

My thought is that Clark's physique is a lot more like someone at the Highland Games. Built for strength and sturdiness. He doesn't have to keep lean because he's not worried about endurance and agility because he already has that from his powers. Big arms, broad chest, likely a little bit of a tummy. And if he's under layers like Clark usually dresses, he can easily be mistaken for pudgy instead of powerful.

In any case, that's my untrained viewpoint on the subject. Basically my sweet polite farmboy is basically a photosynthesizing plant with muscles. Wait, is that why Poison Ivy's pheromones can work on him???

[myreitha]

Costume time!

Okay, you know what, I want to share this process and I've chosen y'all to suffer with me.

SO! A friend of mine doesn't have a spooky show to produce this year, and so is putting all his energy into a cool-ass halloween event (Fancy paper invites, puzzles to solve, challenges, games, seances, etc). The whole thing is themed around this fake secret society that we're all now part of, and the dress cose and we're being encouraged to come up with cool fancy clothes/outfits to match the theme to come in. Best description I can come up with for this theme is "Fancy witchy-vampire" (Like, think VtM, but witchier). THAT SAID. I'm still out of a job, so, I've got to be strategic. AND I've got the itch to make things. Even better. (More past the cut!)

I don't have photos for a lot of these earlier decisions and stages, sorry. BUT I go through my closet and costume tubs (the for-fun-or-cosplay costumes as well as the circus/performing ones) and have a nice closet-runway to figure out what I'm starting with and settle on this one burgundy satin wrap top with big-ass sleeves that I love. . .that unfortunately doesn't go with much that I have in my wardrobe that vibes with the theme. (There's like. . .one or two things it works with, but I want to be FANCIER). So I sketch around and come up with an idea based around this shirt (and a statement necklace collar I have that was some of the best $5 I've ever spent)

I have this old dress I'd bought at a flea market years ago and had altered to be an overskirt for a hoop skirt, and then it's been worn as a bustle with the bodice tucked away more times than it's felt hoops. It's a similar color as the top, so I figured I'd finally take the bodice off it, pull it in to be something I could walk in that wouldn't trail on teh ground, and I could set it under a corset in the center. Bing-bang-boom! Genius!

No. The skirt and the shirt were similar-but-different enough colors and textures that they clashed. Damnit. Well, I can ditch the skirt and figure out the rest! Some skinny moto pants. A decorative corset - I could embroider a corset (Myr no), or, ooh, use gold appliques (Okay, more realistic, proceed).

Next step was to mock things up as I'm trying to find what I want without purchasing a bunch of shit, which got me to this:

Okay okay okay. Cool, I've got a direction (that's not the shirt, but it's the closest I coudl find online to use, so I used it). Now for the endless internet and thrift store (No fingers, not thirst store, dear god) and internet thrift store searching to find me some cool-ass pants and a corset and some shoes that'll work with this. You'll notice, though that my statement necklace has been swapped out for cool-strappy-thing. Because statement necklace-collar is geometric and GOOD LUCK finding geometric applique. Harder than I expected. Took me a couple months to find things that weren't lots of money that I could afford. BUT I EVENTUALLY DID IT. This included buying multiple corsets with the intention of returning things. Benefits of modern shopping. The happy "lets try everything on" day was this weekend!

SO FAR SO GOOD. Took a poll from friends and the short corset is the winner. It's definitely the best constructed of the three, though the pants aren't QUITE high enough waist to be able to wear under it without some adjustments. But it'll do. The shoes turned out to be dark brown instead of black, so I need to see about making them black (and fixing them so the tongue doesn't decide to go deep diving towards my toes.) Other things to do: bring in the wrists of those sleeves some, they're a bit too big (Here they're clipped with bobby pins), decorate the corset, maybe add some gold detailing onto the pants? They've got that gold ridging along the thighs that you find on moto-pants, but that's absolutely invisible most of the time, so I think if I just brush some gold paint along the tops of those ridges, it'll make them pop in a good way. You'll note that none of these photos have the strappy-thingy, and instead we're back to the statement necklace-collar. Turns out the differece between the image I found on the internet and teh shirt I own is enough that you BARELY SEE the strappy. Also, I decided that instead of using applique, I'd buy some gold paint, make a design that'd work, and paint it on the corset. Only time will reveal whether this was a good or a bad idea.

Other thing this showed me is that this doesn't feel FANCY enough. So I'm coming back to that half-skirt idea. This time, though I'm thinking about something sheer - either a burgundy to match the top, or a black with gold accents (OR A FULL DESIGN?!?!?!).

Last night I got flat photos of the corset for figuring out the design, since the shape I was working with in my sketches doesn't match the chosen corset shape. Pls to enjoy some of the designs I was playing with:

Proooooobably going to see about adjusting the eye design. I think it fits the theme best.

Last night I started on the alternations by taking in the waist of the pants. Please have this photo that happened 30 seconds before my thread was attacked.

[aoinene-ceo]

Since it’s October, what Halloween activities do you see Aoinene participating in?? Matching costumes, decorations, costume parties, trick or treating, festivals, etc. I see them both as being really into the holidays/seasons so I think they’d go all out🎃

🎃 Aoinene Halloween 🍬

Sorry I took so long to answer !! I have a lot of thoughts about how they'd spend Halloween ... σ(^_^;)

When they were kids, I could absolutely imagine Aoi, Akane, and Nene grouping up and trick or treating around the neighborhood !! That was when the tradition of matching costumes started !! Aoi and Nene would be something like princesses or fairies, and Akane would be a Knight or Guardian.

Even as a little kid, he got distracted trying 2 protect Aoi ... So, Nene and Aoi often skipped off together, hands intertwined as they gathered candy. (Nene intermally freaks out about Aoi touching her because she thinks she's really pretty and starts worrying about strange things like if her hands are sweaty, or rough, or just uncomforting in some way to Aoi.)

Aoi probably still had "Aoi Privelage" back then, so I can see her getting extra candy for looking super cute in her Halloween costume or something of the like. Nene gets a little down about it, and Aoi assures her she's the cutest girl in the world, and shares her candy !!

────── · · ୨୧ · · ──────

Aoi also definitely gets invited to a bunch of Halloween parties, and Akane insists on being there along with her for protection. Even though she enjoys the season, I can't see Aoi enjoying parties much. The sheer number of people would mean she couldn't show a single crack in her mask, and that pressure would scare her. I think deep down she would want to run off with Nene and Akane and do stupid, silly teenager things, but she knows she has a reputation to uphold and the parties are more an obligation than fun event.

Nene would probably have fun, and Akane might lighten up over time, but the most fun they'd have would probably have the most fun crashing at home that night and gorging candy while they play a scary or supernatural game - one that Aoi suggests.

────── · · ୨୧ · · ──────

Past highschool - or when Aoi and Nene start dating - I think Aoi may have moved out so her Mother can't dictate her anymore. At least, not directly. She and Nene probably moved into a small apartment together !! They decorate it like crazy and prepare costumes (matching ofc !!) Most of the month is spent adjusting their rooms and apartment to the Halloween theme.

I can definitely see them with a purple & green themed halloween !! In my Aoinene heart, Aoi's favorite holiday is Halloween, so they basically go around doing every halloween activity there is to offer !! (^^)d Pumpkin carving, apple harvest, apple cider. They prepare snacks for movie later - buying candy i bulk, gathering popcorn, baking cookies - then set out for the night.

After they return home, I can totally see them watching horror movies, falling asleep in the early hours of morning curled up on the couch together while something's still playing. The headache the next morning would go crazy, but it's so worth it ... (* >��<)

[slocumjoe]

Do you have any random headcanons about any of the comapnions that you want to get off your chest?

Oh, 100%. A lot of this is mostly inter-personal headcanons, how they react to each other. Very found-family based, heavily pushing my "Hancock and Danse become besties" agenda. Less based on the individual. Oh, and follows the "all move to Sanctuary" thing, so people who don't like that might not buy in to this.

Companion Headcanon Grab-bag

Cait; Really confused about her sexuality internally. Has changed her mind on her labels so many times. Is she gay? Bi? Pan? Straight? Ace? Sex-repulsed? Hypersexual? She likes sex sometimes and other times she hates the concept. What's her type of person, if any? What does she want out of a relationship? Just sex? What would she need in a partner? Tries to not think about it, so damn confusing. Just follows her whims. Would get on great with an elder queer person, really needs some guidance there. Also, has a fear of monkeys, apes, etc. Jangle toys and those cymbal monkeys. Fucking horrifying.

Codsworth; Babies the other companions like a mom. Putters around the bunkhouse making sure Piper eats something before she's out the door, cleaning up after Hancock's midnight snack, picking MacCready's coat off the back of a chair, hovering to block Danse's view of the coffee pot as Nick adds honey and sugar for him specifically. It's one house with a dozen adults of questionable emotional and mental stability. It's a robot butler's Olympics. Outside of the others...has spent two centuries trying to kill one single radroach. Its the same one, he's sure of it. It lives under the bridge and appears only under a full moon. It is his mortal enemy.

Curie; The most intimidating girl in the bunkhouse, not Cait. Because Curie doesn't put up with any bullshit. You look pale, come here and let—come here and let her feel your forehead. Too hot, you're taking the day off. She'll make you some tea—no, Danse, she doesn't care if that one joint on your Power Armor is bugging you. Bed. Does she need to go get Nick? She'll get Nick. Excellent! What kind of tea would you like? Curie is very sweet and caring, but she’s a hardass when it comes to the health of her compatriots. And you can't just...refuse. Maybe you could, but...no one's ever tried. Even Gage gives up once she smiles and tilts her head, but narrows her eyes. Fucking Gage.

Danse; You can tell he's feeling under the weather, be it mental or physical, if he hides from Curie. Danse ends up getting on pretty well with Hancock, Nick, Cait, and Preston once he's better from BB. Hancock reminds him a lot of Cutler, in some ways. Cait reminds him of many Initiates, hotheaded and eager but lost on their place in the world. Nick mentors him on the synth thing, and he and Preston are very similar. Once he's mostly adjusted from everything, adopts a...questionable wardrobe, things he would have worn in the Brotherhood if not for the uniform. Adores gaudy, odd-patterned shirts, bright colors.

Deacon; After the Institute is dealt with, by any means, and he has something of a support group with Sole and the others...goes back to Deacon. Its hard, it takes a lot of time, but he stops the home-grown identity crisis. He grows his hair out again, gets a charming grey-red stubble. Still likes costumes and such, but he tries to stay the one person, not fake anything. Again, very difficult. But he tries. Has an odd kinship with X6-88. X6-88 tries to figure out his identity, Deacon tries to relearn his. Also gets along better with Danse and Hancock, understands the "who am I" thing. But the real pals? Deacon and Jun Long. Jun's hype man. Gets what he went through; University Point was destroyed long after Deacon left, but that was still his home. And losing his son...Deacon respects that Jun kept chugging. Tries to help him regain his confidence.

Gage; This is a domesticated Gage, as much as Gage can be domesticated. Always has a horrific story that he likes to pepper into conversations. Deacon tries to one-up him, but Gage always wins, partially because Gage is telling the whole-ass truth. Never says anything about himself, though. Socially hovers around Longfellow, really curious about all of his stories. But Gage keeps his distance far, faaaar from everyone else. Marcy Long swung a folding chair at him, his first day visiting Sanctuary. Thinks little of Preston at first, but the moment he notices that they're almost the same person, just on the other side of the coin, has a crisis. Catches himself not criticizing Preston at one point, when he could have, and has to start a fistfight with him to feel better. Gets along great with Shaun and other local kids, who are into his raider stories. Marcy keeps hunting him for sport, though, so he only has a few minutes to talk before a rake goes for the other eye.

Hancock; Opinion of Danse does a complete flip the very second Danse apologizes. Hancock rubbed it all in his face, took schadenfreude in it. Then Danse's mental health dissolved into goo, and it stopped being funny. And then Hancock felt like fucking shit when the racist technofacist was the bigger man who felt terrible looking back on everything. It took time for their relationship to go from hostile, to civil, to friendly, but Hancock is basically a sphinx cat that wants to drape himself over Danse and cuddle all day. Danse, for his part, is grateful that Hancock could forgive him at all. Also, considers MacCready a brother, no exaggeration. Bobby is his little brother, Duncan is his nephew, blood be damned. It's good for him, after what happened with McDonough. Still refuses to process that. He never was on good terms with him, anyway, but...nope, not thinking about it. Doesn't do chems around Duncan, knows Bobby is iffy about it.

MacCready; Really didn't want to introduce Hancock to Duncan, for fear of Duncan having some...lingering memories about Ghouls. Nope. Duncan loves Uncle John to the moon and back. If Hancock isn't hugging on Danse, he's hugging on Duncan. Also befriends Jun, though he feels some guilt at his baby having survived. MacCready spends a lot of his downtime trying to educate himself, reads. Does those school workbooks if he can find them. Is really entertained by the notes left from the students using them, then gets miserable when he thinks about what happened to them. Incredible at any accuracy-based game. Don't challenge this man to ping-pong.

Nick; Resident therapist. Has, in earnest, considered installing a confessions box in the bunkhouse. Just when he thinks he's heard the worst of their lives, Hancock will remember that his brother buried him alive, or Piper mentions that her dad kept twitching at the funeral as they burned him, or Gage says one sentence about an ex-boyfriend. Then he reminds himself, yeah, these kids are Traumatized with a capital T. Wishes he could drink. Has a list of people to check on in order of priority, every week. Preston is first, Gage is last. Both reasons being, both have so many issues, but won't talk about them. Bangs his head on a wall when he notices this. Sits with Codsworth some afternoons and they share a private nervous breakdown. Has considered getting a gen 3 body, but...he'd want a custom, not someone else's, like Curie's situation. And not like OG Nick, either. Himself. Whatever that looks like.

Piper; Not over her parents dying and never will be. She was 14 when her dad died. Mom died giving birth to Nat. Had to be a mom, and then a mom and a dad, when she herself was a kid, still. Clings to the newspaper because it was all she had, her only power as a little girl alone in the Commonwealth with a toddler. Things get easier, but never less painful. Relocating to Sanctuary made things a bit better, especially since McDonough couldn't threaten to throw them out anymore. Jumped and screamed in place when she was proven right about him. Stopped when she noticed Hancock upset. Continued when she was out of his view, but quieter. Befriends everyone to some extent, but Gage. Gage has some...irritating opinions on the press, chief being, "Hey, you got everyone to kill each other, sounds like. What, that weren't the goal?"

No. What kind of name is Porter, anyway? Ugh.

Preston; So much pent up anger and frustration. Will never let it out. The restraint it takes to keep from maiming Gage like a fucking alligator could hold up the Prydwen if made a physical force. Very confused on what Gage thinks of him, though. Seems to change daily. But hey, he's always down to throw Gage out of a window. 10/10 way to spend an afternoon, eagerly looking forward to next time. Goes drinking with Danse often. Keeps an eye on Nick, sends Sturges his way if he starts making odd noises when he moves. Tries to keep some distance from the others. He lost people he thought family on Quincy...and some them, they didn't die. That was the bitterest thing of all, that they lived before anyone else.

X6-88; Has an interest in art but loathe to act on it. Very attached to his coat. Had a father figure in the Institute, was his personal servant. That man was killed by a rogue synth. X6-88 joined the courser program after the funeral. Protective of Shaun, ends up being popular with his child friends/classmates, who are all curious about the tall, dark man who doesn't speak much but holds Shaun's hand. Privately, X6-88 considered himself a child, young, once. Shaun is literally a child synth. That has to be confusing, being the ghost of dead man, made for his living parent. Dislikes Gage the most, dislikes Piper and Danse the least. Learns to respect Preston, even if he disagrees on his philosophies; at least someone on the top was trying to restore the world, even if it wasn't quite working. Has a fondness for sour apple candy.

[baileythebean]

Vent below the cut so HUUUUGE trigger warning.

So usually I vent in my dad’s (Anomaly’s) DMs because he’s great at comforting me, but Im too pissed for this right now and I dont want to bother him. I swear I am so fucking close to actually killing myself, it’s scary.

My mom has an aversion to me ever binding. I am transmasc (FtM), and I am out to my parents. My mom claims to be a “good”, “supportive” mom, and I do occasionally have moments where I’m like “oh yeah, she’s making progress, she’s learning! :)” and then it’s always fucking ruined by saying things like “well Bailey is your nickname, your name is [deadname].” - “well you’re still biologically female.” - lots of bullshit little jabs at me whenever I ACTUALLY get brave enough to talk about my identity, which is rarely. Unfortunately, any chances of me getting a binder were ruined when I just asked her flat-out. I said it was for cosplay, just to play it safe, and it was still a hard no because “It destroys your body!” - “You wont develop properly!” - “You’ll regret it!” Along with several long rants about ALL the research she’s done, (probably barely any, and it was most likely on social media) and all the stories she’s heard about people who regretted surgery or just transitioning in general and had lawsuits for them, which is like, very low. The regret rate for transitioning is in the DECIMALS and yet she refuses to acknowledge that. We also have a history with suicide, as that’s how my dad left us, and yet she either hasn’t seen or doesnt care about trans suicide rates BECAUSE of being denied affirming care or harassment?? Anyways, here’s where my shit show of a story starts. I managed to get by fine with layering sports bras for a while and just not wearing anything tight-fitting. I figured she’d warm up to it eventually. But recently, I got a new cosplay (Venti from Genshin Impact) which involves a corset, and even if I layer or adjust the shirt, makes my chest look very weird if I dont bind. I started feeling more dysphoria than ever in my life and made a plan to get a binder before my first time wearing the costume. Said plan succeeded, and I had my friend get me the right sized binder at a birthday party one day through a queer kids program that offered them for free. I was so happy and started wearing it to get used to it and break it in since that day. Unfortunately, today I made the mistake of leaving it on my bed visibly.

My mom also has a terrible habit of going into my room and my spaces to clean, even though I usually do it myself anyway, and I LITERALLY FUCKING TELL HER NOT TO EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I dont want her touching my stuff EVER, not just when I’m trying to keep something from her. I told her to stop and she kept picking up trash, and she spotted it. She questioned me about it, and I caved, telling her what it is, how its been considered medically safe, and reciting like, ALL the safety instructions from the top of my head, hoping it would give me a chance at keeping it. I failed. I got yelled at for destroying my body, ETC ETC. finally, she says that she needs to keep my binder in her room so she can make sure I ONLY use it for cosplay and I’m pretty sure she’ll check if I’m wearing it every day.

Then this bitch PUTS MY BINDER ON and tells me it’s too tight. First, it’s supposed to be. Second, THATS NOT YOUR SIZE. I’m sobbing my eyes out right now, and the only thing keeping me alive is my boyfriend, and a literal fictional character. I want to tear my flesh from my bones when she tells me that puberty sucks for everyone, and she doesnt get the fact that it’s a million times worse for me because I’M A BOY. I’ll be lucky if I make it to the end of the year. I’m just done. I want it to be over. Someone come and end it for me, please. I cant take any more.

[jungle-angel]

Tricky Little Treats (Ben Mears x Reader)

Summary: Randy is dead set on making his Halloween costume but it's definitely apparent that he has a little trouble with the scissors

Warnings: Parenthood, boy shenanigans, cuteness overload etc.

"Alright buddy, you're lookin pretty good," Ben said as he buttoned up Sean's little orange pjs.

Your son was barely home two days and already he was the star of the house with everybody wanting to hold him and pass him around. Randy had already eagerly been tending to his big brother duties while the same went for Mark and thankfully it meant no shortage of help.

"Alright let's go downstairs and see momma and your brothers," Ben whispered.

Downstairs to the living room he went only to find Randy cutting away at an old sheet with his baby scissors. There were scraps of it all over the floor while a sheepish look came over the toddler's little face.

"Daddy I hada trouble wit da scissors," Randy chirped.

"Yeah I can see that bud," Ben chuckled. "Hey dear?"

"Yes?" you called from the kitchen.

"Charlie Brown had some trouble with the scissors."

You came out from the kitchen where you had been helping Matt Burke prep for the big Halloween party later that night, unable to control the grin crawling across your face and the laugh boiling in your throat.

"Oh Randy come here," you laughed, hugging the sheepish looking toddler. "This happens all the time."

You took the rather holey sheet and placed it over Randy. You and Ben both couldn't deny that he looked kind of cute. "So you know what we'll do, is we'll take some black felt and we'll cover the holes with it," you told him.

"I gonna be a ghosty wif a hundred eyes?" Randy asked.

"Yup," you answered.

Randy ran of cheering but not before you took the scissors straight from his little hands. "Now we just have to find out where all my black felt went," you remarked.

"Last I saw, Mark was using it for Halloween decorations," Ben said, adjusting Sean against his shoulder.

You made a face and nodded. Knowing Mark, he was probably making some sort of monster movie model or something up in his room.

You kissed your husband and son, unable to resist how cute your little one was in his pumpkin pjs. "You know everybody's gonna keep circling back because of him right?" you joked.

Ben laughed a little. "Yeah I figured," he said. "But I also figured we've got the biggest candy stash in town so that'll be a big part of it."

"Good that means we won't have leftovers," you told him.

Sean began to wriggle a little, a sign that he wanted out of his daddy's arms and somewhere else. "Alright, alright little man," Ben said to him. "You're goin in your Baby Moses basket for now."

Ben very gently placed Sean in the Baby Moses basket by the window and covered him with the knitted throw blanket on the back of the couch. Oreo, one of your house cats, jumped right into the basket with him, purring like crazy as she nested in beside him.

All that afternoon, Randy ran around the house in his newly made Charlie Brown ghost costume and when Mark got off the bus from school, he rushed upstairs to jump into his hobbit costume. You and Ben had always loved this time of year, the excitement and anticipation of it all making everything worthwhile.

[suzukiblu]

Something I was pondering last night, and thought I'd share with you: trans superheroes who only realize they're trans, after their superhero identity has already been established. Like, do they transition both superhero and civilian identities, do they intentionally keep one identity as the wrong gender to make it harder for someone to link the two, etc. (Assuming no transphobia, but the hassle of updating things is still around because that's universal no matter what needs to be updated.)

For someone who intentionally cultivated every aspect of their superhero persona, to get across a particular impression, "gender" would just be one more part of the mask for that identity. For someone where the superhero is who they are, and civilian life is just to fill in the gaps, it's not like they'd needed to do any forms when they changed their costume to something that worked better, and they'd picked their hero name themself anyways in the first place, they can adjust it themself if they so choose.

Oh, or a thought I just had, for someone who's especially good at acting instead of just dodging the question: have their superhero persona come out as trans, and then come out as trans a month later in their civilian persona, and say that they were inspired to come out by [actually themself].

I have at LEAST four fic ideas with trans!Kon wanting to come out as an established Super--one AMAB!nonbinary, two AMAB!femme, and one technically-not-trans-everyone-just-THINKS-she-is-'cuz-SUPERMAN-is!femme--and another one with literally ALL of the Core Four wanting to come out, so like . . . yes, yes, please, I have SO MANY thoughts about trans superheroes and how they do/do not choose to present in and out of costume. SO MANY.

(also now I kinda wanna watch Cybersix again, nooooo reason . . .)

[premenstrualhomicide]

2023 intentional feminism [SUCCESS]

hey ladies! about a year and a half ago i finally wrote a list of feminist goals for myself, and as of this month, i've completed them all. intentional feminist action is something that has become very important to me and has effectively improved my confidence, body neutrality, social awareness, and overall wellbeing. i'm really proud of myself so i thought i'd share my success with y'all and talk a little bit about the journey.

GOAL #1: STOP WEARING SKIN MAKEUP

this was one of the first ones i completed, although getting comfortable with the change took a bit longer. i threw out all concealers, foundations, etc. shortly after writing my list of goals, and luckily my frugality saved me from going out and buying more in moments of low self-esteem. the hardest part of this goal was when, about 9 months after i had stopped wearing skin makeup, i developed a chronic illness that frequently flares up and is very visible. since then, i have had many days where i have to force myself to go out with blotchy, red, even bruised skin covering my face, and limbs. it's been difficult to adjust to strangers staring at me, but i'm really proud to say i've grown more comfortable in my skin as a result and have not given in to the urge to cover my symptoms with makeup.

GOAL #2: STOP WEARING EYE MAKEUP

eyeliner was a lot harder to surrender. in my teenage years, i wore a lot of eyeliner, often sharp and dramatic wings. i leaned heavily into the alternative style because i felt i wasn't attractive enough to perform femininity in the more traditional or conventional way. so for many months after giving up my concealer, i still wore eyeliner frequently. but in the year 2023, i've worn eye makeup a total of 1 time (with the exception of costume/cosplay makeup). it's a difficult thing to let go of, because almost all the pictures i have of myself as a teenager depict me with my eyes neatly framed with dark wings. and i'll admit it: it looks fantastic on me. but i've found ways to keep myself from falling back into that addiction, like not taking selfies of myself as frequently as i used to, not using social media, practicing body neutrality, and remembering the ultimate reason i'm doing this: to help other women feel comfortable in their natural state.

GOAL #3: STOP BUYING UNCOMFORTABLE CLOTHES

right now my wardrobe contains quite a few tiny skirts, crop tops, and other mobility-restricting, revealing articles of clothing. i'm slowly phasing them out as i shift my apparel to more oversized clothes, sweaters, men's jeans, professional suits for my career, and long skirts in which i can easily move. what has helped is a new job at a company that sells bras, panties, pajamas, and loungewear to women who want to be comfortable. we provide a less objectifying alternative to stores like victoria's secret, and so my employee discount has made it easy to stock up on unbelievably soft cardigans, pajamas, and wireless bras.

GOAL #4: STOP SHAVING

two things i learned after i stopped shaving: 1. there's a significant number of women who don't shave but have such fine/light body hair that it appears as though they shave regularly. 2. i am not one of those women. shaving had been a sisyphean struggle for me since the age of 12. my body hair is dark, grows quickly, and will do everything in its power to make "smooth legs" impossible. i remember years of researching different methods of shaving and hair removal, googling how to prevent "strawberry legs", buying various creams and lotions and exfoliants just so i could obtain that air-brushed look that seemed to come naturally to all the girls around me. giving up on shaving forced me to confront the truth: i am a hairy woman. i have hairy arms, hairy legs, hairy toes, i even have some visible mustache hair. while i will sometimes meet women at university who don't use makeup for any number of reasons (yay!), it is very rare that i see other women with hairy legs. and god have i been searching. in fact, i can only think of one time in this year and a half i've seen another female who visibly doesn't shave, and then i found out they don't even identify as a woman. very disheartening. i'll keep wearing shorts and being hairy in hopes that my female peers and younger girls will have a change of heart, but for now it still feels a bit alienating.

GOAL #5: JOIN A FEMINIST ISSUES ORGANIZATION

!!!!!!! very proud to say i had the opportunity to work for the Feminist Majority Foundation during this past election season. my state had a very critical piece of pro-choice legislation on the ballot in november, so my job was to canvass students on and off my campus, and to provide reliable information about the issue. so happy to have played a role in securing abortion rights for women in my state. for any women wanting to get involved with feminist orgs and potentially make some money, the FMF has a great list of job listings!

GOAL #6: JOIN AN ALL-WOMEN CLUB

this is similar to goal #5, but i wanted to find a space where i could be away from men, but without the pressures of activism or employment. i just wanted a fun, preferably creative activity i could do with women! and this month, i was approved to join a feminist writing/art publication at my university! i'm on their design team, so i get to make cool t-shirt designs and will help with the aesthetics and layout of the publication once we have all of our submissions in. it's about 8 female students, all of which identify as women which is always a plus, and i'm having a blast so far. female separatism isn't something that's realistic for me at this point in my life, but having little groups like this away from males is really comforting.

GOAL #7: SOCIALLY SURROUND MYSELF WITH (MOSTLY) WOMEN

like i said above, i'm no hard separatist. it's a dream that maybe i'll be able to reach someday when i have more financial independence, but for now i do frequently interact with men. i have a couple male friends, i have a good relationship with my brother and my dad, and there's always going to be men in my classes. this goal was intended to remedy the issue i encountered during my teenage years: i'd spent so long removing myself from the idea of womanhood that i barely had any female friends. for the same reasons i didn't feel like a woman for a long time, i didn't interact with women on a personal level for years. there's a few ways i have worked to fix this in 2023. first, i have made substantial progress in mending my relationship with my mom. we hadn't been close since i was very young, and the fact that i related more to my dad only further pushed us apart. i always had seen her as a traditionalist, because she had some outdated beliefs and didn't affirm my gender identity when i was identifying as trans, but post-peak reflection made me realize she was incredibly progressive for her era. she had a college degree, she waited a long time to have children, she was independent and competitive. i took time to apologize to her for the things i said in past years, and acknowledged her positive impact on me as a woman. we spend more time together now and are planning a road trip together in january :) i also try to prioritize making plans with the female friends i have made at university. it's fun to find events to bring them to, or just to have dinner together. in addition, i had the opportunity to travel abroad with three women, and the (somewhat terrifying) experience provided some wonderful bonding. two of the three are now some of my closest friends. finally, i now have a part-time job at a women's intimates store, like i said above. every employee there is a woman, and i'm the youngest, so it's given me a chance to interact with a wide variety of ages. some of them are grandmothers, some of them have never had kids, some of them are married, some of them are divorced. it's the sweetest group of women and i especially love talking to my manager, a tall, loud, 50-year-old misandrist who lives alone with dogs she's rescued from abusive homes and spends her money on travel and her passion for football. i really value time and conversation with older women now.

2023 has been a year of purging. i've cleansed my life of beauty routines, body expectations, my ex-boyfriend (ew), and it's given me the strength to continue my self-improvement and feminist work. i started the year still struggling with eating disorder recovery, recently assaulted by my ex-boyfriend, and frequently having nightmares. now, my grades have improved, i often surprise myself with how little i care about my appearance, and i've stopped having sex with men.

for 2024, my goal is to continue my cleansing work and to make it a year of cultivation. i want to cultivate my education and to cultivate skills like sewing my own clothes, cooking, growing food, and writing fiction. in addition, i will cultivate the female relationships i've established. wish me luck, and happy new year! :)