#sterling being a good dad

[duusheen]

Don’t let anyone make you change unless you want to 💖

[puhpandas]

the thing is that I literally love the idea of 3 star fam never wanting to go back to the pizzaplex and not feeling any sense of duty for what goes on there once they're free and just. only doing the mimic trapping and that's it and letting Cassies dad (if they even knew about him) do all the dirty work mimic duty of setting up mxes and they just finished it once he died but like. are they going to TREAT it like that.

would they treat it like 3 star being desperate to live normally and wanting nothing to get away from everything freddys but until they end things for good, as the only people left who can, and a reason that they HAVE to go back with cassie being manipulated by mimic, theyll never be truly free and they have to face their fears/abuser to achieve that, but their absence was purposeful this whole time because of them wanting nothing more than to be involved, or are they just not going to touch on it and their absence will feel random and meaningless and Cassies dad important for no reason without that 3 star characterization and itll be mid

[lufyuu]

(I accidentally deleted the ask last time so bare w me, I'm so sorry anon😓 , it was about how my ocs would react to a trans reader)

Well I'll start with that none of my ocs will treat you differently regardless of the fact you're cis or not! Maybe they have different thoughts of you though

➤Eun Hyunwoo

He probably didn't know you were trans before working with you. He just thought you're a very pretty man<3 I mean, there are feminine looking men in the industry too so it doesn't matter if you're feminine/masculine presenting! He'd be extra careful during sex though, he's not ready to be a father and with your job...it's impossible for you to be pregnant whilst working at the same time. He's also always going to be there for you when the gender dysphoria hits, he doesn't understand it as he himself has never felt it but he'll do anything in his power to make you feel better. He often affirms your gender by calling you all sorts of things. "My pretty boy" is what he loves to say the most. He also loves to refer to you as his boyfriend a lot. And I mean a lot. He's partially flexing the fact that he's dating you too.

➤River Sterling

Mans didn't pay much attention to you before your first meeting, but he had heard about the rumors of you being afab. He brushed it off since it's really none of his business. When anyone talks shit about you just for being trans, he's ready to give them the "shonen background character treatment" if you know what I mean lmao. He's always going to use protection during sex! You're both in your early 20s! No way he's going to be a dad! Loves the idea of it though. He probably once tried to turn you into a cis man, not because he wants you to be one, but it was when you were having major gender dysphoria. He thought he'd be a good boyfriend and give you a dick and balls. Unfortunately, even the powers of a protagonist have their limits. His efforts were still appreciated, though! Loves stroking your hair while calling you "the loveliest boy he's ever met". He's an ass at times but can be sweet when needed!

➤Liu Zihao

Couldn't care less that you're trans. He has a duty to uphold, and that is to punish you for your wrongdoings. Though he does think it's convenient since getting you pregnant would be easier now. Who could blame him for wanting to breed you full of his cum? He's been waiting for you for so long it's only right for him to take what he wants now. He isn't the type of guy to babytrap you though. Gender dysphoria? Now that, you have to explain to him. Despite being in a powerful man both in the political stand and in general, he's only learned about the laws. He doesn't really understand humans. When he does get it though, expect him to be very supportive. Maybe overly supportive. Probably empathizes the word "boy" a lot when referring to you. Not that there's a lot of people he can talk about you to. He just doesn't care what you have under your pants.

➤Han Minho

I'm not sure how this one would work as the way reader met Minho was through military training where everyone was amab but let's say they do meet. Again, doesn't care much. Though he's ready to be a father, it all depends on you whether you want to start a family with him or not. He'd rather your parents know about the situation first before anything that far happens. He doesnt strike as a guy who knows that much about gender dysphoria. Probably awkwardly caressing your back as he tries to again, awkwardly comfort you. "You're a boy..I don't know what's the problem..?", he's trying his best.

[dnpanimationstudioclone]

What drinks could you see your I.M.P gang be?🍺🍸🍹🥂🍷

🔫Blitzø🐴: Moscow Mule. Strong, spicy but with sweet side(like him), and Iced(how he likes em and loves the name🫏. I imagine he can handle his liquor fairly well 🥃 and not really too picky with drinks. He def likes em hard enough to numb himself after a long day….or thinking too much on “stuff”.

🪓Millie🐂: Tequilla sunrise. Spicy & sweet, just how she likes em. Can really handle her liquor, even more than Blitz. Def enjoys spicy strong drinks like tequila! I can also see her have a bit of a sweet tooth so def enjoys a bit of sweetness with her drinks along with the spice, great balance! 🍹

🎼Moxxie🐊: French 75. Elegant & sweet just like him. I imagine Moxxie prefers lighter drinks, def a man of classic tastes 🍸🥂🍷 and fun fact, the drinks name was inspired from the 75mm field-gun used by the French during WW2🔫 perfect fit for our fav Gun-imp.

🌙Loona🐺: Blueberry Seltzer(fun fact wolves(I def see Loona be part wolf 🐺 ) actually like blueberries and in my take, Loonas a stoner and advice my friend @a-sterling-rose gave since I’m not the biggest expert with alcohol, weed & alcohol don’t mix very well so she’d most likely enjoy stuff like seltzers . I feel like if she had Beezlejuice it’d be watered down type of stuff or just flavour like it🍯🐝 I can def see her enjoy mocktails too like a Shirley Temple.

😈Addtional I.M.P facts😈

Blitzø would sometimes order Bloody Mary’s for his whole breakfast if he didn’t feel like making himself one🥓🥚 have you seen the kinda toppings they can get?! Calls it “brunching on a budget”.

Blitz loves doing drinking games 🥃🎱 would end up in the hospital trying to do “never have I ever”. Remeber when Quagmire was doing it? Like that🤣

Blitz is good at keeping track of happy hour 🍹🍻 other things not as much🤣

Blitz def enjoys getting crazy cocktails 🍹 enjoys trying out stuff with flashy colors and decor.

Alcohol tolerance High-low. Millie, Blitz, Moxxie & Loona.

DO NOT LET BLITZ &/OR MILLIE BE IN VEGAS! It will not end well

Millie’s great in drinking competitions would def do a shot competition with Blitz and win. Probably had tons of practice doing those with Sallie May(I can see her be a mint julep type). I imagine she def enjoys stuff with tequila too! I can see Striker be her best competition🥃

When it comes to Bar Trivia nights on the other hand…🩸not so well🩸 Warning, LOT of blood at the end.

Blitz & Mills have a fair share of bars they’re banned from. They sometimes keep track like a competition which Mox wish they didn’t.

Millie def went to a lot of saloon type bars back in Wrath. Loves the drinks. Loves the bar fights even more(there’s a very good chance she starts them or atleast def adding fuel to the fire) 💥🩸

Moxxie LOVES stuff like vineyard trips/wine tasting 🍷🍇 I don’t see Millie be too into wine/wine tours as much as Moxxie(I can totally see Blitz tag along if it means getting drunk with him). I can def see Moxxie being home meats & cheeses for Millie which she def enjoys 🍖🧀🫕

Moxxie def enjoys wine & cheese nights 🍷🥂🧀🫕 LOVES preparing charcuterie. Loona & Millie would most enjoy the meats, Blitz the cheese 🧀 🍖

Moxxies got a good collection of wine 🍷 great guy for asking to parties, brings good stuff.

Blitz has a lot of drink mixers.

I can see Moxxie be fairly good at making drinks himself🍸 even has his own lil kit. He was used to making em for his dad & associates.

Blitz has asked Mox for him tips & info about drinks/making them to make himself as well as occasionally impress Stolas🦉

If Loona was to drink stuff with alcohol I can see her like drinks such as Rum & coke, hard seltzer and champagne punch !

Loonas usually the designated driver for Blitz & the gang doing drink nights, second best chance would be Moxxie, third Millie🚐 Blitz is usually the one needing a designated driver with him.

What do u guys think? What drinks could u see fit the gang? I’d love to know💖

[bluerosefox]

2024 Prompt List (Part 2)

|The Flow of Time (Deaged Tim) (CW takes matters into his own hands when he spots a deaged Tim timeline where his family fails to save him from Ra’s plans) |Once Upon A Time... (Hinted JasonxDanny. Dead on Main) (Ghost Robin!Jason finds a sleeping Ghost Prince Danny when in the Realms. and a sticky note is hinting something) |That Good Ol' Fenton Charm (SelinaxDanny) (Deaged Danielle and Dan!) (Danny meets his neighbor Selina when one of her cats gets into his apartment one night!) |Little Danny's Big Adventure (Mentioned Regent Jazz) (Deaged/King Danny) (Little Danny gets yeeted into the DCverse when he was deaged, stops a villain and goes to a safe house for naptime!) |Always Favors You (Half-Brothers Danny and Jason) (Ghost Prince/King Danny) (Jason is invited to the crowning of the future Ghost King Phantom. Thing is the Ghost Prince is his half-brother he gave away years ago when he was a baby) |Masks and Moonlit Night (Anger Management) (Jason and Jazz meet at a masquerade ball and its a bit of a fairy-tale moment) |“Daddy! Mommy’s is having Ellie!” (Anger Management/Deaged Danny and Dan/Reborn Ellie) (Jason has a lot of secrets, one of them comes to light when one of his son’s call him while he’s Red Hood in a panic about their mom having their sister a bit early.) |Saying Sorry Will Never Be Enough (Dannny/Any of the Bats/Birds) (Danny is happily packing his apartment, about to move in with his partner, when he gets a knock on his door. Its his parents.) |Phantomish Rouges (When Team Phantom gets put into the DCverse, Danny is hurt and needs to be in a cryo sleep to recover. Team Phantom doesn’t have much of a choice and have to turn to some criminal activity to survive) |Dinner? (Spirit Halloween) (College age Danny is surprised when he opens his door and finds a recently dropped out of med school Bruce freaking Wayne at his doorstep and been asked out by the young man) |Striking of the Clock (Future Braindead/Deadtired) (Tim finds a way to get Bruce out of the Time stream, he has to summon the Ancient of Time. However it seems like he can’t so he summons the next best thing, the Ghost King. But... Why is the King flirting with him and why is the Ancient of Time calling him his new apprentice?!) |Disney Style Romance (Death Defying or NightBirds) (Dick is the family member that would have a Disney style romance when his dog Haley plays with a green puppy named Cujo) |Genie Gave Me a Brother AU (Reborn!Danny and Tiny Tim) (Tim figures out a artifact his parents sent home from one of their digs. He makes a wish for someone to be with him at the same time Danny is going on a reincarnation vaycay) |BREAKING NEWS! Youngest Wayne’s Secret Lovechild?! (Maybe Serious Chaos?)(Deaged Danny!) (Due to Vlad, Danny is deaged and a older teenage Ellie runs to Gotham to hide and take care of her template. However she is mistaken for Damian Wayne’s lover/baby mama and Danny is their son by the media due to being saved by the teen outside of costume) |Her Astrophel and Sterling (Al Ghul Danny/Deaged Dani(Ellie)/ good Mom Talia!) (Instead of the Bats finding Danny (Danyal al Ghul) is alive, Talia discovers her son is alive first, and that she is a grandmother) |Save Her (Deaged Dani. Dad!Danny Mom!Cass) (Cass finds a destabilizing Dani and with the help of others figure a way to save her. The only way is to have her deage with Cass’s dna) |Portal Passage (LOA Jason and Toddler Damian) (A Pit Raged Jason in the middle of LOA training finds Damian. In a attempt to escape with the toddler finds the two into the Pits that spits them out in the Fenton’s lab) |In Any Lifetimes (Ghost King Danny or Ancient Danny) (Danny is summoned to the DCverse when he senses his Forevermore is being used to summon him. Who they are is up to the reader/writer)

[deconstructthesoup]

Some miscellaneous stuff for the Fantasy High Leverage AU:

After getting kicked out, Kristen got taken in by Ankarna and Cassandra, who are living their best country-lesbian vibes out on a farm together---a farm which eventually gets in financial trouble and almost gets shut down by a corporation, which is how the crew learn about Kristen's past before she was a hitter. The farm winds up doubling as a safehouse. (Also, Ankarna wears flannels and has a shotgun, and Cassandra does tarot readings at their stall at the farmer's market on weekends. They also have a little black cat, with no relation to Kalina.)

Despite all the rumors swirling around, the way Fig and Fabian met is surprisingly mundane: when Gilear moved from Portland back to London after he and Sandralynn divorced, Fig went with him, and she got enrolled in the same school that Fabian was attending. The two of them became fast and immediate friends, wound up becoming the most popular kids there due to their combined chaos and the fact that they were kind to those who needed it, and were pretty much inseparable from that point forward. And when Fig introduced Gilear to Fabian's mom, who'd been widowed for a while and was looking for someone stable... well, as much as Fabian complained, it meant that he and Fig were officially siblings. (They learned how to grift from Hallariel, who was a very well-renowned thief in her day. It's how she met Bill, after all.)

Fig is the sibling who's the "bad actor in a theater setting, good actor when she's breaking the law" type, though it's a bit more complex than that. She's amazing at coming up with a character on the spot, building off of the questions that people ask her, and remembering details so none of the information contradicts what she's already said, but she finds scripts "boring and restrictive," and always tries to put her own spin on things... which doesn't always fit well. She does get a little better at following a script of sorts when she's on the crew---at least, she learns to follow the plan.

Kristen hasn't gone by "Kristen Applebees" since she was fifteen---instead, the criminal underworld knows her by "Kristen Justice-Forester," referencing her adoptive moms. Mostly because that sounds generally more badass, but also because she really wants to forget about her old life as the church girl next door.

Gorgug's legal name is "Gavin Thistlespring," but he's been going by Gorgug since he was twelve---it was the name of his first ever D&D character, and it eventually became his hacker handle. (This is really because I just needed an explanation as to why a perfectly normal human in a world that's basically ours would be named "Gorgug." I do something similar for Fig in a lot of my AUs---her name's either just "Fig," or she's named after a character from a fantasy series that Sandralynn likes.)

Someone suggested that Kalina is the Sterling equivalent, and I liked it so much that I decided to make it canon---but instead of being Riz's former partner, she's his dad's old partner and mentor who was forced to help cover up Pok's death. She's not necessarily bad, but she does have a very black-and-white view of morality, and she's not a fan of Riz's new, less-than-legal idea of justice.

Adaine still has the Parker rep of being "crazy," but in a very different light. Rather than being a thrill-seeking ball of chaos who's an unpredictable wildcard in every way when the story begins, she's unsettlingly quiet, perceptive to the point where she can predict things minutes in advance, and acts seemingly without morality and with her own skewed logic. As she spends more time with the crew and warms up to them, however, everyone starts to see that Adaine is unflinchingly and unfailingly kind---and that once she actually warms up to you, she will talk nonstop about anything she's invested in, whether it be obscure history facts, thieving tips, or whatever show, book, or video game that one of the others has gotten her hooked on. She's just closed off as a defense mechanism.

Fabian is the sibling with a deep and personal bond with Riz---not that Fig isn't close to him, but Fabian and Riz shot each other when they first met, and you can't beat that. And while Fabian used to have a thing for Riz, he eventually realized that Riz wasn't interested in any kind of relationship, though neither of them fully had the words for it (because, y'know, this story still starts in 2008). Still, though, he considers Riz his best friend and vice versa, and once he's on the crew, he never dates anyone without introducing them to Riz first. And his affections tend to bounce back and forth between Gorgug and Ragh. Or both. Let's just say that Fabian's got the most romantic drama out of any of them.

Riz is still close with his mom, despite the fact that, as a lawyer and former cop, he knows that she probably wouldn't approve of what he does. He just tells her that he runs a private detective agency, which isn't too far from the truth---hell, it's their cover story, after all.

Fabian's father was the greatest thief in the world when he was alive, but that came with a lot of enemies, and that's not something that Fabian wants to deal with---not to mention, he's always been adamant about making a name for himself, and to not just skate by on the Seacaster name. If that means that he has to refer to himself as "Fabian Faeth," well... so be it. He reasons that it's Fig's last name. Not Gilear's.

Fig has never met her bio-dad before the story begins... but she does meet him eventually. There's a whole thing there.

Adaine does not kill Angwyn in her backstory. However, she does get to do that eventually, and it's cathartic as fuck.

[emp13]

I may have zero followers but that’s not gonna stop me from talking about teenage bounty hunters. It is one of my favorite shows of all time and everyone who hasn’t seen it should. April Stevens is an amazing character and she’s so tragic, she knows she’s a lesbian but can’t act on it because of her dad. Then her dad gets sent to prison and the girl she’s had a crush on for years kisses her. She’s able to go on secret dates with her awesome girlfriend, they were even going to sleep next to each other at the lock in, she is finally in a good place and her homophobic piece of shit father named John Stevens who I will murder with a club comes knocking on her door. For some reason unknown to April he asks about her girlfriend, she’s scared and makes a cruel decision because it’s all she can think to do to save herself.

On the other hand there’s Sterling who figured out she was gay a week before she kissed April. While we never see a lens into what her parents think about gay people Anderson and Debbie are likely to at least tolerate it. They’re both shown to be flawed parents but they truly unconditionally love their two children. She also was the person who put away John Stevens. She is the sweetest person ever and is too good for this world while also being a somewhat repressed Christian girl who’s incredibly horny. She’s such an interesting character because that’s messy and something that isn’t really shown much.

Both April and Sterling are messy queers who just want to date each other but can’t because of stupid John Stevens and their homophobic community. The messiness of these characters is what makes them so interesting, neither April nor Sterling lose their faith because they’re gay despite being taught that queerness was antithetical to their beliefs. The chemistry between them is also perfect, they feel like soulmates. I just love this show so much, it’s so campy and fun and fuck Netflix.

[hatchetation]

the way teenage bounty hunters DESERVED a second season. like what a tightly written, quippy, funny little show with so much heart. there’s so much good going on in it but things I particularly love:

Twin themes!! There’s so much good foreshadowing surrounding the big reveal (iykyk) and there’s also so much DOUBLING. Double lives especially is a big theme. Like, Debbie hiding Dana; sterling and Blair hiding their bounty hunting; the (functional) froyo shop being bowser’s bounty hunting lair; Terrance the lone wolf bounty hunter and bowser with his little “teen white savior” teammates; Yolanda’s sister who is a perfect foil for her; miles hiding Blair from his family; sterling hiding april from Blair…and then april hiding sterling period.

And I guess the doubling is kind of showing like, here are all the possibilities and here’s what happens when we let love in and here’s what happens when we shut it out

so much good stuff about being from the American south. As someone who grew up in the south and who grew up visiting close family in Atlanta…it is cool as fuck the way the south is portrayed in all of its complexity. The show does not shy away from issues of race, religion, SES, etc SPECFICALLY in Atlanta and manages to do it in a way that doesn’t come across as heavy handed. This show could ONLY be set in the south—it would be a fundamentally different show in any other setting

Also, like I said with the doubling points above, this show is full of secrets and secret keeping!!! But yet a fundamental point of the show is that being silenced is one of the worst things that can happen to a human being. There’s a scene where Blair is telling sterling that her dad yelled at her and that the worst part of all is that he told her to Be Quiet! And like in some ways that scene highlights what a loving household Blair has grown up in that the one of the worst things her Dad has ever said to her is be quiet (not even shut up)…but it really made me be like wow being told to stop questioning and be quiet IS something terrible. It’s a denial and a violation of our right to use our voices

and like it’s not a coincidence that in the final ep Dana gags sterling. Because the way sterling is talking to her is powerful and you can tell it is making her hesitate and question her whole life

so yeah anyway watch teenage bounty hunters! Or if you haven’t in a while, it’s definitely worth a rewatch

[thatgenderfluidmonstrosity]

Alright! Cars Movie Opinions this time!

Cars 1:

It’s just such a classic. Literally what?? Like- the way Lightning develops into such a cool and interesting character- how he shows what he learned when in Radiator Springs? Fucking delicious.

I loved how snarky he was in the beginning of the movie, but honestly, that scene where he was flirting with Sally in traffic court- lowkey embarrassing my guy 😭

DOC HUDSON!?!? IM SORRY, DID YOU MEAN DAD HUDSON?.???

Also, idk if it’s already established in the fandom, but Sarge and Fillmore… omg they are such a thing.

Car 2:

Yep, here it is, the controversial movie.

Well- I fucking loved it. My first watch through, I seriously couldn’t believe that it was considered the worst movie. Then I watched it a second time and did notice a couple things. …Then I watched it a third time. But! I still think it’s wonderful. It’s not a good sequel, but oml is it a good spy movie. Finn McMissile? Literally so baby girl. Leland Turbo?? Rod Redline??? Somebody needs to throw the creators in jail, because it seriously it must be illegal to create such good side characters. I mean- they aren’t even side characters- they literally showed up for less than 10 minutes.

Nonetheless, they have stolen my heart.

Holly Shiftwell = baby girl

The conflict between Mater and Lightning was certainly lacking, but regardless, I still liked the movie.

Cars 3:

KAJXKWJIXWJ ITS THE BEST ITS THE BEST ITS-

Ahem, anyway, Cruz is so baby. She’s just so. She. I. I love her.

Doc is Lightnings dad, Lightning is Cruz’s dad. Seriously. There’s no other way. I love how, once they find their middle ground (McQueen and Cruz) and enjoy the others company, they fit so well together. The conflict with Jackson Storm, then Sterling? I- I don’t even-

DOCS LEGACY?!.!. (It being continued through Cruz with the number and McQueen with the name)

THE LETTERS HE SENT SMOKEY,!,!?,

WHAT.!,?,?.

Anyway, other thoughts:

The fucking MUSIC!!! THE MUSIC, MAN!!! All music from all the movies is just so sdjkxsjkxjeicjs‼️‼️

Personal Favorites include: Real Gone and Life Is A Highway (Cars 1), It’s Finn McMissile! (Cars 2), and Run That Race and Glory Days (Cars 3)

Also, instead of a 4th Cars movie, Pixar should create a show that is just different ideas taken from the fans, like: More Doc Hudson History, More Backstory on Finn and Leland’s friendship, and If Cruz would have been able to meet Doc. Like- come on, these are solid ideas!

Finally, I didn’t think that many people were still really active in this fandom- but I’m so happy to be a part of it! I love Cars so much, and I’m seriously so sad I didn’t get into it earlier.

Anyway- I think that’s it :3

[secret-history-hyperfixation]

Things I love about Bunny:

(a.k.a. me being a Bunny apologist)

• Adhd Humor (“Metahemeralism”)

• He’s definitely a twunk. 6’3” athlete, but also:

“Bunny lay on his stomach on the hearth rug, doing his homework”

• Just wants to be included with what’s going on between his friends. (Fomo king)

• Deflects when people ask if he's drunk or if he has a hickey.

• He’s a good artist.

• He says this about Charles:

“Charles is a handsome fellow and a sterling character all around, but I wouldn’t want to marry him, would I?”

• The jokes he makes, albeit insensitive, are so ridiculous. He definitely likes attention and making himself and other people laugh.

(The “queers being obsessed with food” gibe was so ridiculously funny to me. Bc he says that and then proceeds to be obsessed with food himself.)

• Steals a cheesecake, doesn’t like it, keeps eating it anyway.

• That time he kept stealing lamb chops, and Charles was babyishly pleading for him to “wait a minute, there won’t be enough to go around.”

• Henry being his best friend.

- Changed his major to be in Henry's class

- Wears the same glasses

- Gushes to his dad about him

- Says to Richard: “That Henry… I love him, and you love him”

• Sidenote: I love Bunny's dad. He seems so sweet. He likes to dote on his grandchildren and also their pets.

• Bunny is the baby in his family.

His terrible jokes are prob a result of this. Most likely the only way to get attention being the youngest in a family of FIVE BOYS. (nightmare)

• He is so submissive around Marion.

It’s adorable that Marion is his girlfriend bc she is such a mom, and Bunny so easily submits to her.

(When Marion is mad at him, he still sulks his way home to her even tho he's like: "who does she think she is? telling me what to do?” And then five minutes later he goes “anyways guess I'll head home now.”)

• Also, their relationship is described as that of a 20 year marriage. (silly. sweet.)

• Every person that is not the Greek Class seems to *love* Bunny.

• But Julian calls him, "timid, puritanical, almost"; "He's such a sweet boy, so silly; I'm really very fond of him."

• And Judy thinks he's hilarious.

• Bunny is not violent, unlike Henry, or even Charles. He really just talks a lot of shit.

Even when he says queer people should be burned at the stake, Richard asks him "What about Francis? He's your friend.” (Bc obvi Richard, with his amazing gaydar even tho he’s straight, can tell Francis is queer.) And Bunny is like, “He just needs to get a girlfriend.”

That’s clearly a shitty, tone-deaf thing to say, but he's not violent even though he just said “burn them.”

• Also, why is Bunny inquiring about the stuff Francis is into? He must be wondering for himself.👀

I was rooting for Bunny the first half of the book, even when I knew what would happen.🤦

[gnar-slabdash]

Speaking of last names.... and I'm just totally spitballing here in the interest of getting some representation for something i wish I saw more of.....

My favorite headcanon about Sophie's name is that the reason she never admits to a "real name" is because after all of her different identities and all of her identity crises, being Sophie Devereaux is how she got the opportunity to really decide who she is and where she belongs, so she's decided Sophie Devereaux IS her real name.

Nate, meanwhile, his name is so very tied up in his history with his father, who he still loves but doesn't necessarily want to identify with. And when he got his dad a new identity, he put his mom's maiden name on it, wanting to tie both of them more to her history rather than the ignominious one that has Ford stamped on it.

When my parents got married, my mom felt a lot of loyalty to her family identity, and her family was really good at welcoming my dad in and making him part of the family too. My dad on his side had the opposite experience, his family was very controlling and very excluding and neither of them really wanted to continue to be part of that. So they decided what worked for them was, my dad took my mom's name. And you know what's fucked up? That was in the mid-eighties, and to this day I've only met like one other person whose parents did that, haven't ever met a M/F couple of my generation who did that, and definitely haven't ever seen it in media. It's weirdly isolating to never see representation of this one little thing. What the fuck is up with that? Is this one bit of patriarchy just THAT pervasive that the idea of just choosing whichever name works best for the couple is just unthinkable?

Right, so, I was talking about Leverage. Now I'm not saying Nate would ever in a million years be the one to SUGGEST it. And it would definitely take some arguing to come around to it. But I think in the end he'd acknowledge how awesome it would be to throw away the patriarchal demand to uphold a family tree he's trying to break away from, and instead take a completely fictitious name that became, through love, his wife's real name. I think it would be in the true spirit of building a found crime family based on what matters to them, their relationships to each other, and not having to do things the way they've been told they should.

Also I think they should force Sterling to officiate and have to be the one to stand up and say "I now pronounce you Mr. and Mrs. Devereaux."

btw if you DO know of media where this happens or if you or someone you know has done it, I would love to hear if you're willing to share :)

[simon-roy]

The idea of logging on a colonized alien planet brings my mind back to the planet Lalonde from Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn books - a world that had very hard wood as its only meaningful export, and was also stuck developing its economy from agriculturalism (due to investment shortages, though).

All this is to say - Hey! What are some foundational inspirations for your sci fi verse? You gotta have some like recommendations of classic or older sci-fi for us, right? What are some of your suggestions of books and authors to read?

OK SO - My sci-fi tastes have sort of ended up in some very specific niches. Growing up, I was a Larry Niven +Jerry Pournelle man, in part because my dad amassed a huge collection of their books - then gave 90% of them away before i was old enough to read them. So one of my teenage missions was rebuilding that library, trash and all!

Stuff like Footfall, Ringworld, Gil "The Arm" Hamilton, Protector (yes i attempted to name a comic series similarly, and paid for it) "The Mote in God's Eye"... you name it, I read fuckloads of these books. And while they tend to land on a sort of human chauvinist "mankind will win based on his inherent adaptive human-ness, and the aliens will fail because of their rigid alien-ness", this shit was very foundational to me.

Their more collaborative series, The Man-Kzin Wars and War World, also loom large in my teenage mind. The Man-Kzin wars are super fun - humans meet a race of tiger-men, and go from being NWO peaceniks to roughneck cat-skinners in a generation! PEACE AND LOVE WONT DEFEAT TIGER MEN!

Similarly, war world (like lots of that 70s/80s military sci fi) was a sort of catch-all for western military nerds to play with their favorite factions - it was a planet where all the un-ruleable ethnic groups and nationalities had been deported by the authoritarian earth government, and left to rot... until a race of genetically engineered fascist super men land on the world, and start trying to rule the place. Pretty fun shit.

As I got older, I turned hard into William Gibson, and read the absolute shit out of both the Neuromancer trilogy and the Bridge trilogy, as well as his short stories. Bruce Sterling was part of that wave for me, too, and I religiously sought his old paperbacks out too. In terms of novels, "Distraction" is my favorite coherent Sterling Novel - though the short stories in the "Schismatrix" novel/collection of his remain my absolute favorite space opera pieces.

At this age, too, I found my top-top fave Sterling Stories - "Taklaman" and "Bicycle Repairman", both gritty pseudo-cyberpunk stories of the highest degree, in this collection:

This thousand-plus page collection of short stories and novellas was basically my bible for a few years - i put sticky notes on each story i loved and meant to return to, until the book was so festooned with sticky note bookmarks i abandoned the practice altogether. If you have the chance, just buy this book and chew on it for a few years.

As i got into my 20s, Charles Stross became my lode star - his books like Accelerando and Glasshouse were total game changers for me. They come with their own peculiarities, but I loved his transhuman/posthuman musings (or at least i was obsessed with his stuff for a good few years - the venn diagram of his obvious interests and my own overlapped enough that his books were great fodder for a growing sci-fi loving brain).

But since then, my main literary squeeze has been the great man, JACK VANCE. Working on Prophet, my friend @cmkosemen made a remark about how much the early issues of the series reminded him of a book series called "Planet of Adventure" or "the Tschai Cycle", by Jack Vance. The book has a beautifully simple setup - a man from an entirely undescribed spacefaring human civilization crash-lands onto a weird planet. But on that planet, he finds four separate civilizations, each who possess a population of enslaved humans, culturally and physically molded to the needs of their masters. And each book of this series covers our generic hero's interactions with each bizarre expoitative culture. I was extremely intrigued.

Soon thereafter, I found my current absolute favorite book - "THE DRAGON MASTERS". A book about an isolated medieval world... which gets visited, once every few generations, by a black pyramid starship, flown by a reptilian race known as the Greph. The greph capture humans to (surprise surprise) breed them into hyper specific slaves... who in turn become Greph-like in their thinking and demeanours. But the last time the BLACK PYRAMID landed, a bunch of angry medieval dudes stormed the thing, blew it up, and captured a bunch of greph... who became the breeding stock for a whole new human world of slave labour. By the time we meet this planet, the two rival lords of the human-populated regions have been breeding greph slave warriors, or "dragons", for generations, for combat against one another. But soon, the black pyramid will return...

I love this book I even spent a good few months during covid talking with the Vance Estate and several publishers about developing it into a graphic novel, but nobody could quite agree on how it could get made with old Simon getting a paycheque... so sadly it fell apart. There are concept drawings floating around my patreon and other corners of the internet. But one day I'll use 'em...

My other favorite books of his, to name a couple of the MANY books of his I love:

THE BLUE WORLD: A caste system of humans, descended from a crashed prison ship, live on floating settlements on an ocean planet, paying protection to a giant long-lived intelligent crustacean. But one man is tired of giving up all his crops to this tyrannical megafauna...

THE MIRACLE WORKERS: Rival lords on a planet descended to medieval tech (surprise surprise) fight using armies... and rival SORCERORS who employ the powers of suggestion to voodoo each others' warriors... but when facing non-human intelligences, these sorceror's skills fall short.

But there are heaps more, and I love most (thought not all) of the ones i've read. They're generally short, concise, and full of all sorts of bizarre bullshit.

THere are more books i've read and enjoyed in my life, of course, but these are the core ones that I think of when I think of my career as a sci-fi reader... let me know what your top recs are!

[agentsterling]

Alright, guys! TADA! Here I am!

For those who haven't guessed, that cryptic countdown was me going through the last FOUR HUNDRED PAGES of Sterling's blog, retagging and rereading all I could to reacquaint myself with what's been going on in his life last we saw our boy. Now that the count is down to 0, I am all caught up, the new tags have been added to his tags section, the events have been added to his work history. I just have to update his bio, drop a few drabbles to catch everything up, and we will be good to go.

So last we saw Sterling he was in the middle of the Ethan Chen breakout plot and also getting stabbed by Loki. Loki-mun and I will finish up the thread of him being stabbed and once that thread concludes I will play Sterling injured as he continues to look into Loki's daughter's disappearance. I don't know if and when the Ethan Chen plot will continue so until it moves forward I will ignore the consequences of that plot as I don't know what those consequences will eventually be.

Anyway, sorry I've been gone so long. I've missed you all and I've missed Sterling so much.

Oh! One more announcement. Ara is being de-aged. Instead of turning 3 in December she will be turning 2 so she can more closely match my son's progression in real life and I can use moments from my life to make Ara more real. Plus, I didn't get to play a lot of her growing up and I desperately want sure Sterling being a dad moments.

Thank you for your patience and I hope to be back making opens and jumping into threads by the end of the week.

[ceruleanmusings]

Blood Diamond; Year Five

Year Four

@myloveforhergoeson @witchofinterest @raging-violets @partiallypearl

"What's that?" A blond boy—an upside-down blond boy—jabbed his finger in James' direction.

James looked down—or, rather, up, since the gold necklace now hung around his face. Adjusting his grip on the smooth metal of the jungle gym, his eyes crossed as he took in the piece of jewelry. "A necklace."

The boy shook his head and stepped closer this time, pointing at the symbol on the end of the necklace hanging by his nose. "What's that?" he repeated.

"A star."

"It doesn't look like a star."

"It's a star of David. My bubbe gave it to me."

"Oh." The boy tilted at his side, turning his head upside down. His long, blond hair lifted off his head, mimicking James' brown locks, revealing two thick, light eyebrows. "Well, it's nice to meetcha, David."

"My name's not David!" Letting go of the bars, James flipped over and landed on his feet. He held his hands out, waiting for the wooziness to pass, and turned to the boy who now stood straight again. "It's James." And he thrust out his hand like Brooke taught him to when he met someone new.

"Hi James! I'm Kendall!" Kendall grabbed his hand and gave it a few hearty shakes. And when he smiled, dimples popped into his cheeks.

James stared. "You have holes in your face," he stated.

Kendall shrugged. "Mommy says they're angel bites."

"Why would an angel wanna bite you?"

"I dunno. Maybe I smelled good?"

James took a step forward and sniffed at him. "You smell like oatmeal."

Kendall shrugged again. "My baby sister threw it at me." His arm jutted outwards, nearly clothes-lining a boy running past him. He didn't notice, or didn't care. "My mommy and my baby sister are over there."

James spotted a woman with red hair pulled back into a ponytail, wearing a large red flannel shirt with tattered ends placing a series of kisses on the round cheeks of a giggling baby. They looked happy.

"That's my mommy," James said, pointing. Brooke, by comparison, didn't look happy at all. Not with the way her dark eyes narrowed and her eyebrows furrowed; with crossed arms, she stood off to the side of the other mommies gathered under the decorated pavilion and barked at someone into her phone.

"She looks scary," Kendall said, nose wrinkling. "Is she a witch?"

"No. But I think that's what my daddy calls her so I don't know."

"Oh."

"What does you daddy call your mommy?"

"I don't have a daddy."

James blinked. "Everybody has a daddy."

"I don't."

"Well, where'd he go?"

"I don't know. All mommy said was he's gone and we have to take care of each other now."

"Oh." How would someone's daddy just disappear? James always knew where his dad was; in bed sleeping most of the time. And when he wasn't sleeping he was going on adventures, that's what Sterling said. And that's why James spent a lot of time with his mom. But he didn't mind, he loved being around his mom. Even if she was grouchy a lot. One day she'd want to play with him and he'd be ready. "Do you wanna go find him?"

"No. I'd rather have cake." Kendall's eyes trailed back to the pavilion where a table decorated in large 5s had a blue and white cake sitting in the middle of it. "Danny's cake is chocolate, I think."

"I love chocolate," James said with a sigh. Not that they had much in the house. Candy and sweets were scarce, even at Halloween. He could only get a piece of candy when he was quiet for a long time.

"Me too!" Kendall gushed, eyes lighting up. "I really like chocolate pudding."

James gasped, eyes widening. "Me too! But my mommy won't let me have it."

"Why not?"

"Because she says I'll get messy and she doesn't want me to get messy."

"Really? My mommy lets me paint with it."

"She does?" James' eyes nearly popped out his head. Playing with food was unheard of in his house. Every time he tried to make a game with his dino nuggets Brooke told him to be quiet and eat. And if he tried again, she'd cut the heads off the big ones, telling him they were extinct. She always jumped to the end of the story.

"Yeah! When we're at the beach. I get to eat it, too."

"Wow! Your mommy sounds fun!"

"She is! She's the best mommy ever! She's letting me play hockey too!"

"What's hockey?"

"It's so fun! You get sticks and you can whack things with them and you get to ice skate!"

"I love ice skating!" James gushed. "It feels like flying!" Well, the one time he went it did. It was one of the rare moments he and Sterling and Brooke spent a day out. The ice was slippery and he thought he'd fall but he held onto Brooke's and Sterling's hands and he was safe. And at one point Sterling carried him on his shoulders while he skated around. They flew so fast, James was reduced to exuberant giggles and chanting for his dad to take him flying again and again.

"Yeah, it's really fun! We're going tomorrow."

"Can I come too?"

"Let's ask my mommy!"

Kendall took James' hand and lead him over to his mom as she put the baby back in a faded stroller. She put a bright pink pacifier in the baby's mouth only for the baby to spit it out a second later. The two boys approached as she picked it up. "Mommy, this is James. He's my friend," Kendall said, lifting up their clasped hands as if for proof. "He likes ice skating too and wants to play hockey. Can he come with us?"

"Well hello James, it's nice to meet you," the redhead woman said with such a warm smile James felt like he'd been bathed in sunshine. "I'm Mrs. Knight"

"It's nice to meet you, too!" Stepping forward, James held out his hand. Mrs. Knight laughed as she shook it. Her hands were warm too. Brooke's were always cold. "Can I come skating with you?"

"We should probably ask your mom first," Mrs Knight said, lighting tapping a finger to James' nose.

"Okay, she's over there." James stared hard at Mrs. Knight as he declared, "Make her say yes."

Mrs. Knight laughed and stood. "I'll see what I can do. Wait here."

"This is my baby sister, Katie," Kendall said, pointing to the stroller.

"Hi Katie." James leaned his head into the stroller, waving at the little girl. She grinned a gummy smile, reached out, and tugged his hair. hard. "Ouch!" Jerking backwards, James rubbed at the aching spot on his head.

"Yeah, she does that sometimes," Kendall said with a small smile.

Head still stinging, James laughed. His new friends were fun.

[diana-daphne]

15 questions for 15 friends!

Thank you for the tag @jomarch-wannabe !

Are you named after anyone? I’m technically named after a tv character from a teen drama, because for some reason, my mom let my older sister chose my name, but my mom was unaware of her motives until it was too late lol

When was the last time you cried? Yesterday when an old man yelled at me at an estate sale, apparently asking if cash would be ok was a mistake, and I was already having a rough day lol

Do you have kids? No, and I don’t plan on having them! I really like kids, but not that much and I know I’m just not quite cut out for it.

What sports do you play/have you played? I did ballet for exactly 1 year then decided it was too much work, but I still like watching it lol

Do you use sarcasm? Almost To a fault, yes! I get it from my dad but reading Percy Jackson didn’t help.

What’s the first thing you notice about people? It depends, but it’s usually either eyes or voice, I’ve always found different eye colors interesting and I like to think I’m quite good at deciphering peoples tone. (I’m probably not)

What’s your eye color? Grey.

Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings, I try to be a scary movie girl, and I definitely still enjoy some spooky fun, but once it gets to proper horror movie status I chicken out.

Any talents? Drawing (for the most part), though I’ve been neglecting it for a while.

Where were you born? THE GOOD OLD USA BABY!,!!🇺🇸🏈🦅🥧

What are your hobbies? Drawing/painting, watching movies, reading, listening to music and making pretend movies in my head, thrifting

Do you have any pets? A spoiled fluffy cat named sterling but he only responds to kitty.

How tall are you? 5’5.

Favorite subject in school? History!

Dream job? Living in the plaza like Eloise and or being Fran fine, but on a more realistic note, hopefully something to do with film making/theater/entertainment, if you couldn’t tell I’m quite undecided.

No pressure tags! @suncherrytree @thatsthetea0sis @littlemyinvadeshighbury @allthatglittersisusuallyglitter @mhnmmmn @arrant-knav3 @pinkishreveries @nothingtodotonight @kikispongecake @neolando and that’s not 15 but I’m too tired and my brain isn’t working, so who ever wants to join go ahead lol

[lumilasi]

Finished her up finally.

She's sort of the antagonist boss for the Sterling family/Starknight 'story', though not the "main" villain, as the endgame boss actually first needs to regain his memory lol (She might even end up helping the good guys at that point with her massive amount of knowledge that could be useful for them)

She is the boss for Cornel Sala, AND Vincent DeVos/Vee, who's my character Angus' toxic ex friend.

More info about Camilla below:

Name: Camilla Barone

Age: 39

Height: 171 cm

A mob family leader who is the head of the family opposing Vermontes

Role: One of the antagonists for the Starknight tag

Love interest: She has somewhat of a physical relationship with her vampiric right hand man, though its purely casual, neither she or him take it very seriously.

Subordinates:  Vincent DeVos (A plaque demon) Samar (A Seemingly ancient Soul Eater, who turns out to be the brother of the Soul Eater King/Deity) Cornel Sala (A vampire)

Rival: The Sterling family, a Sorceress-Grimmhound family that often meddles in their business to prevent the harm they may cause.

Powers:

Sharp shooter: Camilla has a very good aim with a gun, and is also excellent at using a rifle.

High intellect: she is a very good tactician, and is able to consider her next several moves ahead. She isn't the type to rush into action needlessly, and will listen if told doing something is just far too risky despite short-term benefit.

Knowledge of Ether: She knows a lot about the mythical world, mythical beings and magic thanks to Cornel, and always makes sure to keep as much knowledge as possible stored for future uses. This enables her to, for example, counter things such as Grimmhounds (Diojas' bio dad Alexander) or how to diffuse dark magic spells. (Azul's forte)

Natural authority: She has this natural vibe to her that makes people listen to her. When her brother mysteriously ended up dead, nobody questioned her and were fine with her becoming the next boss - despite her gender - because she's always had more respect from the members than her brother did. Also she's guarded by 2 VERY terrifying men typically (Samar and Cornel) so you don't wanna mess with her.

Weaknesses:

Being a human, she is fairly defenseless against a lot of magic things, if she hasn't looked into it enough, and therefore can still be caught off-guard even if she has studied her mythical enemies a lot.

Her job is very straining and stressful mentally, making her struggle with normal socialization, which does make her feel very lonely and isolated at times. Her mythical guardians are always by her side, but ultimately, deep down, she knows they're not the same as her fellow humans. (Also she really wishes she had a gal-pal to chat with)

Having been almost killed once before she can be pretty paranoid about her safety, even when being protected by a literal vampire and a soul eater. However, paradoxically she then might be too comfortable around them, sometimes putting herself at risk when Cornel is going feral for example.

Personality:

Camilla is very serious and closed-off most of the time, and tends to not care for unnecessary chit-chat. She is very cautious and considers her every move carefully. Being a mob boss means she has hardened herself for such things like violence, and didn't even shed a tear when her brother was killed.

She isn't entirely heartless though; for example, she tends to not be happy if children are mixed into the business somehow, or if needless violence is used. She also genuinely feels sympathy for Vee, and them being rejected by someone he loves, as well as pities their inability to see why that happened.

Camilla does prefer avoiding unnecessary violence whenever able, because she doesn't find it that productive and could just trigger unnecessary cycles of vengeance that is bad for business.

BG Story

Camilla used to be her brother's closest confidant, until he started to obsess over the mythical beyond what was typical of their family, to the point of wanting to start a "relationship" with one working for them - a Grimmhound Roman Bosco. She observed from the sidelines as he began dappling with things he didn't fully understand and without their usual safety precautions, to the point he didn't even always listen to the warnings given to him by Cornel Sala - a vampire working for Camilla who knows his shit - about being careful with what he got his hands to.

However, once Roman managed to escape her brother's clutches, he fully went off the deep end, forgetting all about his family duties and only focusing on in his pursuit to find Roman and get him back. At this point, Camilla approached Cornel, telling him she was concerned her brother could end up destroying their family if this kept up. He agreed with her assessment, admitting he'd been concerned with his more and more unhinged behavior; if he started getting too careless with his dappling with magic, that would be bad for Cornel too as him being alive could get exposed to the forces that had once hunted him before his supposed death. Sometime after this conversation, Cornel kills her brother secretly.

Now the new head of the family, Camilla is introduced to an old servant of the Barones, who was invited in to become her personal guardian as per tradition in their family (her brother had refused this offer at the time as he had Roman): a man who'd served their parents and grandparents; A soul eater called Samar. She is initially miffed about this, but he quickly becomes a surrogate father figure to her.

Fun Facts:

She's Demiromantic bi.

Camilla sometimes wears sunglasses, or glasses with one blackened lens, instead of an eyepatch.

Camilla doesn't like drinking alcohol, she hates how it can hindrance your decision making ability. She lets her companions check all her drinks beforehand too, to make sure someone isn't trying to smuggle her alcohol or something worse.

Barones are mainly "officially" known for smuggled goods, counterfeit items business, money laundering and arms dealing. (Camilla's brother wanted to get into drug trade too, but she finds that too risky and messy)

Their more mythical, occultist business is a well kept secret that only select few are aware of.

She has been offered to heal her eye by both Cornel and Vee, but has declined their offers, not really trusting either with vulnerable medical things like an eye.

Camilla doesn't fully trust either Cornel or Vee, but does trust Samar due to him having been in their family for so long. Ironically the person who stabs her in the back (involuntarily in a way, circumstances force it) ends up being him.

Camilla is aware there's sexual tension between Cornel and Sam as well, and doesn't really care as its not like she's in a serious relationship with the vampire.

She pities Vee, as she could tell almost instantly - alongside everyone else pretty much - why he was rejected by Angus. She is also not always that happy when Cornel tricks him into doing unpleasant work he's too lazy to do.

While DeVos sometimes freaks her out due to his whole plague demon deal, she tends to still be fairly nice to him, seeing him almost like a poor lost child who doesn't really understand yet where he went wrong.

The simple pattern tattoo she has is in reference to their late mother who also had similar tattoo, just around her collarbone.