Profile
Sterling
Intro
hardworking • loyal • intelligent • impulsive • loner • prideful • dedicated
Lauded as one of the Lawbot’s greatest minds, Sterling is a high ranking, high status Cog with a longtime job as one of the heads of the Lawbot Science and Toon Studies Department. Despite this, he is usually rarely seen outside his work environment and almost completely keeps to himself. He keeps out of the spotlight and away from cameras, reporters, and mainstream Cog life. He will happily accept praises, awards, and recognition then quickly disappear back into his lab. He’s not really shy, but just prefers being alone or around a select few people. He is, and always has been, very dedicated to his job and often works long hours, even after others have gone home. He takes great pride in his work, putting his all into any task he’s given.
While always very introverted, he became even more reclusive after losing his much loved partner, Sophia to Toons. He was rarely seen and almost never spoke to others for months, becoming obsessed with finding a way to kill off Toons, as a whole, in revenge. He was nearly on the verge of losing his mind completely, letting the obsession consume him, until he came across another Shyster who’d been nearly drowned in the line of duty. He took pity on her and fixed her up, bringing her back to her fully functioning self in less than 24 hours. That Shyster, Shelby, was extremely grateful and volunteered herself to be his assistant, as he did not have one at the time. He was skeptical, but gave her a chance, something he’s so glad he did, as she’s been undeniably helpful and become his closest companion. He spends a lot of time around her both at work and off the clock. They get along so well after so many years, that he has even recently taken her on as his new romantic partner, something he never thought he’d be able to do.
Since making a new close friend and assistant, Sterling has lessened his obsession with killing Toons and begun gradually focusing more on other scientific research and general Toon studies and tests. He has a severe weakness for Shysters as a whole, and is especially kind to them at all times. His main annoyance, when it comes to other Cogs, is having to interact with those of lesser intelligence. With a mind as sharp as his, he doesn’t take lightly to dumber Cogs and can be curt, rude, and even genuinely mean to them, depending on how much their lack of intelligence annoys him.
His current focus in life is on his new, young son, Silas, and he now only works on the clock and puts all his free time into raising his baby boy.
Personality
- being alone
- showing off
- observing others
- Shysters
- experimenting on Toons
- solving problems
- hot beverages
- science, facts, & knowledge
- candles
- musicals
- quiet places
- intelligence
- keeping himself & his mind busy
- Toons
- failed experiments
- being touched
- dumb people
- boredom
- meetings
- menial/repetitive tasks
- traitors
- not knowing something
- being questioned
- wind
- disorganization
- Toons
- zap gags/electricity
- fire
- losing Shelby
- death
Probably the main thing Sterling is known for is his incredible intelligence. He learns quickly and is capable of putting learned knowledge to use to solve just about any problem that may come his way. He has helped design improvements for his fellow Cogs and is hellbent on finding the perfect way to kill off Toons. He is good at figuring things out and even if it may take him a while, he will rarely fail at finding the solution to a problem.
It can be creepy how patient Sterling can be. He does have a limit break, but he can seemingly sit and wait patiently for something for a very long time. Whether waiting for some sort of chemical reaction or for his latest vicitim to finally take their last breath, he'll just stand there, neutrally observing the event. Only one Toon has ever managed to escape him and they said one of the worst things about the experience was having Sterling just stare at them, unmoving, unfeeling, and waiting for the Toon to die.
He will never give up, as he never has given up in finding the perfect way to kill off Toons. While the priority of this may fluctuate with time, it's not something he'll forget or give up. He's like this about many things. He'll spend all his time possible on a project he's committed to until its completion. Due to his obsessive nature, he can have trouble focusing on anything else until that main thing has been taken care of.
Everything in Sterling's home and lab is perfectly organized. Everything has a place and is spotlessly clean. He hates for his things to be touched or moved and will get genuinely upset if this happens. He is picky about cleanliness, personal hygiene, and having a neat environment. Some experiments are messier than others but he has no problem going over everything and cleaning up after himself, actually finding doing so rather relaxing. He believes his way of doing things helps him focus and allows him to know where anything he might need will be. He often re-organizes other people's things his way without asking first
- friendly (to Shysters)
- creative
- hardworking
Sterling is a complete loner and dislikes being around others. He is not afraid or shy in crowds, he just hates being around others. He has little patience for most people and thus chooses not to engage with others. He avoids crowds, parties, and other gatherings and only attends group meetings that are absolutely essential. He tolerates being around his closer contact co-workers since most are at least near his intelligence level. All others can stay as far away from him as possible. He is much happier on his own and is always alone down in his lab with only his assistant, Shelby, being with him most of the time.
Sterling tends to do things first and ask questions later. He will rush into things and cares little about what happens as long as he himself comes out okay at the end. He has gotten himself in trouble for his reckless behavior, but it hasn't stopped him from continuing to do things however he wants.
Sterling is quite prideful. For the most part, he takes pride in his appearance and especially takes pride in his work. He tends to think of himself as better than most and isn't afraid to let others know. He thinks very highly of himself and will even put others down, especially if it is regarding their intelligence (or lack of it).
- vengeful
- manipulative
- insensitive
He doesn't seem like the type but Sterling is actually an excellent cook. He has a rather refined palette and likes lots of "fancier" food and more complex dishes. He's picky about the quality of his ingredients and presentation of dishes. He has a collection of many spices, including rarer and more unusual ones he likes to use when coooking. He's the cook of the home.
Sterling has found fishing to be a relaxing and rewarding hobby. He likes slow-paced hobbies and doesn't mind waiting it out while enjoying nature around him. He can cook up a mean meal with what he catches afterward.
While most commonly seen in a bowtie at work, he has a large collection of ties to wear on all other occasions. He likes to collect ties with nice colors, patterns, even sillier ties he probably won't wear just to expand his collection.
- violin & cello
Has a habit of pacing the room when deeply thinking/lost in thought. He feels the need to pace so much so that he'll try to pace in places where there is nowhere near enough room to possibly do so. It is rare for him to realize how long he's been pacing or that he's doing it at all as he often gets deeply lost in thought when he's walking around like that. He will often mutter under his breath to himself when doing this, while working, and when trying to focus. If one were to pay attention long enough, he can seemingly have entire conversations as if he's talking to someone else about whatever he's doing. Shelby says she hates this habit cause she always thinks he's talking to her when he isn't.
Sterling does not and never has seemed to understand that there is a certain distance you stand from others. While he isn't much of a people person, he often tends to stand much closer to others than socially acceptable. Isn't adverse to checking someone over as if they were a rare specimen of some endangered species if someone is of interest to him.
- staying up too late
- constantly adjusting glasses (they fit fine, he just does it for no reason)
- cocks his head when asking questions or listening intently to something
Design
he will always brush/style his hair when important
VIEW REF
Always On
- ID hangs from his neck at work at all times.
- Often wearing purple, plastic-frame glasses, especially if he needs to see something far away (he is quite nearsighted).
- Head mirror only worn while working, mostly just used to keep his hair out of his face.
- When working, he is almost always wearing his lab coat over his vest and shirt. He DOES NOT wear a full Lawbot suit!
Notes
- He’s thin/lanky and not very strong. Should NEVER be drawn muscular!!
- He has a big/prominent nose!
- Like all modern Spin Doctors, he has two bolts where his ears should be and he shouldn't be drawn with traditional ears.
- His left pupil (red eye) is permanently dilated (enlarged) and cannot shrink, even when shining bright light into his eyes.
- He's got a streak of silver hair at the front of his head. He's not even close to old, just incredibly stressed.
- He collects ties, please be CREATIVE with his bowtie, it doesn't have to be red and can also be a normal tie!
- Won't wear sleeveless, tank-tops, etc.
- NEVER shirtless around others; self-conscious, likes to stay covered.
Conversation
He does not really talk in any particularly unique way. His voice is pretty average in pitch and he has no specifically discernable accent. He is usually polite, even if he isn't too fond of you. He speaks very matter-of-factly, sounds confident in his words, and usually prefers to use formal language for nearly everything even when it sounds awkward to not use more common slang terms.
Common Conversation Starters:
Sterling does not like to talk to others and rarely starts conversations himself. If he does, he gets straight to the point.
Swears?
Surprisingly, he almost never swears and gets offended by those who swear a lot. If he does curse, it's usually absent-mindedly or when he's especially frustrated or emotional. If he does knowingly swear at you, it's a very good sign you've messed up and things aren't likely to look good for you.
Quirks
- Can make his voice surprisingly soothing when he wants to, like, lull you to sleep soothing. He cannot sing, however, do not expect lullabies.
- Gets angry with himself when he stutters or forgets a word.
- While he is a show off, he does not like talking in front of large crowds or audiences, even if it's about himself.
- Looks up when thinking about what to say next.
- Often tilts his head when asking questions.
- Generally says whatever he is thinking or whatever he wants to without care to how others will take it. Struggles to keep negative opinions/thoughts to himself. Can come off socially awkward or rude because of it.
- He can speak 2 different languages fluently (English/Spanish), 2 decently well (German/Japanese), and he is fluent in American sign language.
- Often uses big/scientific words and momentarily forgets why normal people don't understand him. Has to "dumb himself down" a bit to talk to others at times.
Health
Posture
Always maintains as perfect as possible posture. Sometimes seems too stiff/uptight.
Smoking/Drinking/Drugs
Does not engage in any smoking or other drugs. Drinks rarely, usually wines and spirits.
Physical Health:
Other than some minor twitching tics from being zapped long ago, Sterling is physically normal and healthy. Has small twitching spasms of mostly his upper body and has occasional verbal tics and stutters when talking which annoy him when they happen.
Mental Health:
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Has mild case of OCD. It can cause issues for him but he is usually able to get through the day without his OCD causing too much trouble for him.
Favorites
pepperoni pizza w/ extra pepperoni
coffee, hot chocolate, tea
chocolate chip cookies
lavendar, purple, blue
cello, violin, piano
country, classical, rock, R&B
mystery, nonfiction, soft spot for romance
4
octopus, elephant
daffodil, peony, lily, poppy
overcast, rainy
sunset and sunrise
autumn
Halloween
Story
Past
Summary
- Learned a lot of what he knows from another brilliant scientist named Vincent.
- Was around as an old-school Spin Doctor before the Lawbots underwent upgrades.
- Meet a Shyster named Sophia who shared an interest in science and they soon became lovers.
- Sophia was ultimately killed in battle by a tesla coil gag. Sterling did everthing he could to bring her back but there was nothing he could do. Has been hellbent on finding a way to kill Toons since.
Sterling is actually a lot older than he thinks he is. He was around as an old-model Spin Doctor and, due to being one of the best scientists the Lawbots had to offer, he was allowed to upgrade to the new model. Despite being around for nearly 15 years before upgrade, he has little memory of anything more than a few years before his change because of a malfunction that occurred during his upgrade that corrupted parts of his past memory.
He spent most of his first year as any other Cog, fighting Toons and trying to climb the corporate ladder, but with an undeniable intelligence and interest in science, he was soon allowed to train under another Spin Doctor named Vincent, one of, if not the best scientist in Cog Nation history. He learned quickly and by his eighth year, he was one of the head scientists and doctors in Lawbot Headquarters. He often credits Vincent with a lot of his knowledge and was sad to see him leave headquarters to return to the fabled Cog Nation for bigger and better work. He tries his best to do things the way he feels his teacher would have.
When the Lawbot division was basically torn down and rebuilt from the ground up and new, updated Lawbot Cog models and types were introduced, he was one of the first to be allowed an upgrade. It was shortly after their introduction that he met a Shyster named Sophia. He wasn't much for love and romance, but something about her struck a chord with him and he was almost instantly smitten. She had an intense interest in science and visited the scientists of the Lawbots after nearly every shift. She gravitated towards Sterling since he had little issue with her being around and loved that she was interested in learning. Only a couple weeks after meeting her, he'd ask her out and she would accept. They hit it off quickly and soon, you'd think they were a long married couple. Their relationship only got stronger with time and lasted nearly a year before something would happen to her that would change Sterling forever.
When Sophia filled in for a coworker that was killed in battle, she would ultimately be killed herself by a Toon using a tesla coil. Sterling was the one to find her body and he would try everything he could, contact everyone he knew that had any experience in repairing their fellow Cogs, stay up for three days straight, but even with his incredible intelligence and drive to never give up, there was nothing even he could do to bring her back. The electricity has fried her and she was mentally gone, left as just a shell of her former self. Absolutely heartbroken, Sterling would snap, losing his mind and turning his casual dislike of Toons into a murderous hatred. Her death would drive him almost insane, making him hellbent on torturing, dismembering, and killing Toons. He would never feel the same and not only despised, but was envious of Toons for their unending joy. He seeks to find the source of their happiness and other than killing them, has torn them to pieces searching for it, doing the same to Cogs he felt were too happy as well. His final goal is to find a way to kill off all Toons for good. He found an old book with a "recipe" for creating a liquid you could dunk Toons into that would kill them as they're otherwise immune to death. Simply called "Dip", the recipe is damaged and has missing information. Sterling spent much of his time trying to recreate and figure out the missing info with only mild successes of mutilating Toons.
Present
Summary
- He has come close to recreating the fabled Dip recipe and has even invented an injection that can slowly kill Toons off, though it's not 100% effective yet.
- Sterling found a Shyster, Shelby, when scouting for spare Cog parts and took her to his lab to fix her up after being damaged from a fall over a waterfall. He got her back up and running and she was so thankful, she offered to be his assistant, which is eventually accepted. They've been work partners since.
- Sterling and Shelby, after many years of growing their relationship are now a couple and have a son.
- Sterling has made a near complete 180 in personality since meeting Shelby in general and is now much calmer, happier, and less aggressive than he was after initially losing Sophia.
Sterling continues his vengeance and has come closer and closer to finding the perfect way to kill off Toons. He's made huge leaps forward and even invented the first injection that kills though the results can still be iffy. Once he's managed to kill a Toon, he'll carelessly dismember them or use them in some sort of experiment. Live Toons are also kept for experimentation.
One fateful afternoon, during his 8th year, he overheard that some Cogs had gone over the waterfalls in Acorn Acres, a heavily forested area in Toontown. He likes to scout the streets for spare parts of Cogs destroyed in battle and went to inspect the area himself to see if any parts of those Cogs might have washed ashore. He found a couple parts and then, as he was getting ready to leave, he came upon a Shyster lying in the grass not far from the water. He felt bad for her and took her back to his lab to see if he could fix her up. Within a few hours, he had her back up and running and that Shyster, Shelby, was incredibly thankful.
She came back to his lab a few times before asking if he could use an assistant as she loved science. He was a bit reluctant as his last assistant, Soren, had been one of the Cogs who worked with Vincent but was taken as Sterling's assistant when Vince left. Soren was jealous of Sterling's constant promotions and recognition and their work relationship strained until Sterling had had enough and fired him. Soren now swears vengeance against Sterling and they keep their distance from each other. Despite that failed assistant, he decided to take her up on her offer on a trial basis. She passed his testing with flying colors and she's been by his side ever since.
Once Sterling had a new companion in the form of Shelby that he got along with very well, he soon began to change over the years and his once laser focus on ending Toons slowly took the back burner to other projects, though it is not something he's ever forgotten. His aloof, aggressive attitude towards others lessened, and he was able to come out of the deep depression he was in after losing Sophie. It took years, but after some time, he eventually began to develop feelings for Shelby, something that he'd never thought he'd be able to do again. He credits her with being the reason for many of the positive changes in his life and making him happy when he thought he'd never be happy again. They eventually got together as a couple and now have a son named Silas.
Sterling still works on various tasks and occasional experiments but his focus has shifted a lot more towards his new family. He no longer spends the same extra long hours at work, preferring to actually clock out when his shift is up and go home than stay after hours. He's a completely different Cog now and, while he still is making slow progress on his Toon destruction plans, he's nowhere near the same in obsessive dedication to the task. He mostly wants Toons gone now to protect his son and has promised to make more progress before he's an adult.
Trivia
- He has been credited with the creation of a handful of bug fixes and upgrades now used by the Cogs as a whole.
- Since a Toon killed Sophia, Sterling's casual dislike of Toons as a whole has turned into a seething hatred. He wants nothing more than to see Toons wiped from Toontown and does everything he can to make that dream come true. He's invented multiple ways to mutilate and torture Toons and even created a Dip-based injection that kills Toons in minutes (but not too fast though, he needs them to suffer first). His ultimate dream is to bring back the Dip in its full, former form as shots are not an efficient way to get rid of Toons. He has the old "recipe" for Dip but it's damaged and missing information. He's been trying to figure out the missing ingredients since.
- Sterling never feared any specific gag until Sophia, his first partner, was killed by a tesla coil zap gag. After seeing the damage it did to her, he has an almost irrational fear of zap gags and electricity in general. He hates the buzz of electricity and has broken lights simply because the buzzing freaked him out. He is unnecessarily careful with plugging and unplugging things. Strangely, he refuses to let his assistant, Shelby, plug/unplug things, change light bulbs, or do many similar things that could theoretically get her electrocuted and does these things himself despite his fear. He'll shove her out the way if she's going to plug something in and do it himself instead, asking if she's okay in the process. He is, unsurprisingly, also terrified of lightning and never goes out during thunder storms. As a tall, walking, metal target, he's probably making a smart choice. He'll avoid going out in storms in general because there could still be unpredicted lightning, you never know.
- When he's bored, he likes to spin in his office chair.
- Will never forget a face but isn't very good with remembering names.
- Has a kill count of 13 dead Toons.
- Really likes country music and southern accents.
- Gets cold easily, almost always in long sleeves.
- Mildly electrocuted himself when trying to fix Sophia which gave him the permanently dilated left pupil and twitchy facial tics.
- Because his first lover was a Shyster, he is a complete simp for the Cog type as a whole and lets Shysters he meets push him around. He's an absolute sweetheart to any he comes across and would never even dream of hurting one.
- Despite working closely with her as his assistant for over 5 years now, he still often calls Shelby "Shelly" instead of "Shelby" and genuinely thinks he is right no matter how many times she corrects him. In mock revenge, she picked up the nickname "Ster-fry", "Ster-fried rice" and other plays on it. He's still not sure how to feel about it and is usually just left without any real reply.
- Sterling once poisoned a notable Big Wig that insulted, beat up, and made Shelby cry just for accidentally bumping into him and spilling something on his designer suit. The murder was never traced back to him and Shelby doesn't even know he did it.
- Sophia gave Sterling a String of Bananas plant. It has grown quite large and he treats it like his baby. Visitors can look and they can touch if they don't value their hands.
Related
Sterling does not have many meaningful relationships. He is a strict loner and has little desire for socializing. He isn't very friendly and tends to think of others as too stupid and not worth his time. It's hard for him to empathize with others and he isn't one to enjoy sitting and listening to others talk. He'll make ocassional small talk with his co-workers and politely greet them but considers his relationships with them to be very surface level and based on expected social niceties. That politeness extends to just about every Cog he meets for the most part though a conversation with him will rarely go beyond a simple hello/how are you. He is respectful to his higher ups even if doesn't think very highly of them.
The only exception is that he is super kind to any Shyster he meets. He is genuinely friendly and nice to any that may cross his path and is a complete pushover for them. While he has few friends, those he does have, he is very loyal to and protective of. Most of them are Shysters. He doesn't like being touched, but will let his closer friends touch him freely and even hug him if they want to. He does not associate with Toons unless he's chatting with them about their eventual deaths.
Since offering herself as his asisstant, Sterling and Shelby have become quite good friends. They're usually found together throughout the day. While they started off a bit standoffish towards each other, they were able to begin bonding over their intelligence. Sterling actually admires how unexpectantly smart she turned out to be and they reguarly try to outwit each other. Shelby has helped him in countless ways from gathering his test subjects to just being there to hold something for him. Her perceptiveness has sometimes been the last thing needed to help him figure things out. She's very loyal and always sticks up for and stands by Sterling. They work incredibly well as a team.
While Sterling is usually aloof and unfriendly, he is very nice, gentle, and sympathetic towards Shelby. He calls her by many pet names and is tolerant of her in many ways that he is not tolerant of others. He isn't physically capable of doing much, but he's very protective of her and doesn't like people to touch or bother her. He doesn't like to see her upset and will do everything he can to make her feel better. While Shelby is his assistant, now turned lover, Sterling has always treated her fairly and sees her on quite even ground with him. He's respectful of her and has actually come to value her opinions and companionship, going so far as to ask what she thinks on matters when he normally wouldn't care what others thought. He can no longer imagine living without her.
Sterling never thought he'd be a father. He's still worried he won't make a good parent, but is trying his best. He constantly dotes over his young son and makes sure he's warm, comfy, and happy. He is extremely protective of Silas and gets upset if someone so much as looks at his son too long or the wrong way. He loves holding and cuddling his son, having already bonded very closely to him.
Sterling and Sophia had a kind of quick-fire Disney movie romance type of dynamic so much so that they might as well have had a romantic duet to sing to each other. They were all about things like candle-lit dinners, common niceties like Sterling opening doors and pulling out chairs for her, and simple little outtings like a short walk just holding hands and enjoying each other's company. They almost always called each other by pet names. Sterling almost exclusively called her "Sophie". She ocassionally called him "Ling-Ling" playfully.
They weren't against public displays of affection and would happily give each other a quick kiss, constantly hold hands, and other little affectionate gestures. Some thought their relationship seemed fake while most had no real opinion, except telling them to get out the way and stop staring at each other. They got along as if they'd known each other for many years and seemed to hardly ever argue over anything. Sophie would always stop by Sterling's workplace after her shift was up and she spent almost all her free time watching him work and asking tons of questions that he'd happily answer. After being a couple for just over a year, Sterling was already on the hunt for the perfect wedding ring and was hoping to propose to her in the very near future. In the meantime, he'd given her a sterling silver, diamond-studded, heart-shaped locket containing the first picture they'd ever taken together. He had hoped to put a wedding photo on the other side. He now keeps the necklace in a lockbox as a piece to remember her by.
Sterling initially worked with Soren as understudies of another scientist. When Sterling managed to get enough promotions over Soren, Sterling took him as his assistant, but Soren wasn't happy being just the assistant. Soren wanted more and eventually started butting heads with Sterling. Soren tried sabotaging Sterling's work, began trying to get under his skin in any way possible, and overally became quite useless as an assistant. Sterling eventually got fed up and fired him. Soren taunts Sterling to this day if he sees him but Sterling does his best to ignore him.
Shyanne is the primary receptionist for the science wing of Lawbot Headquarters and as such, Sterling sees and greets her every morning. Sterling was the one of bring her fiance back from the brink of death and she's vowed to do anything he needs as a thank you for saving him. She initially didn't care much about Sterling, but is now extra friendly to him whenever she sees him in the morning.
When Sadie met him, she couldn't help but find him a bit scary. But when he said he could repair her severly broken face that she had forever kept hidden, she gave him a listening ear. She feels bad for him and thinks she's seeing a bit of what the real Sterling is like when she talks to him. Despite his incessant need to destroy all Toons, she still thinks there's something worth saving and hopes his passive and gentle behavior towards her means she can help him in some way. She eventually let him help her though she had to lie about her alliegance to the Cogs to do so. Though her face was repaired, it was fragile work and was broken when she took a beating, leaving a series of cracks over her left eye and robbing her of sight in that eye once more. Sterling promised to help her again if their paths ever cross in the future.
Sterling also cares about Sadie a lot after finding out she and Sophie were made back to back. He refers to them as sisters because of this and was amazed they ever met. He vowed to be a friend to her if she needs him because this even if Sadie wasn't that familiar with Sophie herself.
A friend of Shelby's that Sterling got to know through her. Sterling lets the rejected Shyster stay at their home some nights and treats her with kindness and respect she no longer gets from Cog society as a whole. She is very grateful for Sterling and Shelby's kindness and tries her best to repay it with small favors whenever she can.
Sterling's teacher and mentor. He always looked up to him as one of the most intelligent Cogs ever. When Vincent left Lawbot HQ, Sterling promised to keep his legacy going by doing things the same way he did. He credits him with a lot of his knowledge. They were good friends before Vince left and Sterling still thinks about him from time to time, hoping he's okay.
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