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calypso-finale · 1 year ago

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Hundred Eight.

Smiling at Diji “thank you” I said to him “it’s fine, I don’t want you scratching the cars now” he laughed at me, I am so useless with driving but I need to get my ass in gear “he is lucky to have you, these cars are crazy” I have to laugh because I don’t think he is “he isn’t lucky, I am hell but I ruined a lot of things for him, and the cars I got him for his thirtieth he gave back but then I had the number plates so what I am doing is rewinding it back and doing his thirtieth again, I told his mom and she is having Aziel. It’s not romantic but I just want to do it for him because I ruin a lot of his time, but this is what I would do for my friends, like he is a friend” Diji smirked “he is a friend and lover, but you know what go for it. He seems happy and so do you, and you’re cooking, wow he is so lucky” I swatted him “stop it, so did you see Colin?” I asked “yeah, we still boys, he said that he ain’t letting that ruin a friendship and yeah, we are good. He is alive but I said let it go, he will find a better woman. Halle and him just fizzled what can we say. I said to Lillian if that happens to us, please don’t cheat, tell me” nodding my head slowly “Lillian really loves you, I don’t see it. Like with Halle I did start to see the change and I was like mhmm she was keeping that in her, Lillian isn’t interested but I am happy for you both, you know what I asked Oakley what you want from your birthday, he said peace away from you, I think he was joking but he wants me to meet his therapist, like boy? So I am meeting him there” Diji snorted laughing “his way of maybe wanting help, or seeing if the things you both have can be helped, go for it. But it’s nice touch redoing what you missed, you a good person when you not on something, go for it sister” he hugged me “aww thank you, I love you so much Diji” he chuckled “an older brother you never had” he added “yes, my god. I wish I had that, I mean look, I call you for advice and help and you are always there” he smiled “that is my nature, that is why Lillian loves me, what can I say but have fun” bless his heart.

I feel like an idiot because I am late, as always. Knocking on the door before opening it “hi” oh it’s a woman, she has a deep voice, Oakley said it was woman, I think “come in, welcome. I am Leanne, please come in” she shook my hand “hi, I am Rylee” looking at Oakley, he looks like a spoilt child and is giving me the look Aziel does when he is bad, sitting down on the couch “we just kind of started didn’t we but you’re not here to be judged, Oakley was ok to openly have you here” looking over at him “really?” I said “I mean yeah, why else you here” he laughed “Oakley is naturally a very calm guy, and quiet too. I think understanding him is hard, for the most part. Are you ok with Rylee knowing things?” Leanna said to him “yeah, yeah” he said “we discussed a lot, I mean yes he is quiet but he does talk when needed, but a lot of the things we discuss is childhood isn’t it, things we don’t like to say a loud, being silent is best and it’s not a bad thing but we all need to talk about it. Oakley finds it hard to talk about things because all his life he has been told to supress his feelings at home, it was just the streets and him wasn’t it?” looking at Oakley, he nodded his head “music is his form of release, childhood trauma build you to who you are now, Oakley speak to Rylee. She is here, we had his friend here didn’t we, and you opened up then, how about now. We discussed that you can’t move forward clinging onto things, so Rylee is here and for you” Oakley looked at me “she thinks I was groomed as a child” he pointed, my eyes bulged out “Oakley, come on now. It isn’t a joke, talk. It’s good to talk” he sighed out “because I was on the streets for so long, because like I hung out with wrong people, because to make money to get studio time, I did things like a runner with drugs. I saw things like people getting beat up, like girls and that. I only like did it for money, I would drop drugs off from one point to another, but the money wasn’t anything, it was ten pounds, for my life. And like I was young” he shrugged “you was ten” she added “these men were same age as you are now Oakley, you was groomed into it because you was on the streets. And silence, that is all they wanted from you, if you want your relationship with Rylee or another we need to be open. You was ten, your mother kept throwing you to your grandparents, she didn’t have much money but gave you. Then you wanted to save to be a rapper, you wanted to be that. Then what happened?” Leanne is strict on him “I was robbed for that, at my grandma home. And they took all the money I made, they said it was a loan, I never did that” he mumbled “you was groomed to be on the streets and deal, and then when you wanted a way out you ended up having hate thrown at you” he never ever spoke on that to me, I am in shock “that is where the hate came from” he added.

I didn’t know this “why did you never say this to me?” I asked Oakley “I never thought it was a bad thing, like I was on the streets and that to me was fine” he mumbled “so this is why they hate you so much in west? You got out, how did you even get out, that is deep” I said “Ybeez” makes sense “denial is hard, I still feel in Oakley mind he hasn’t been groomed and that it was normal to be doing all that, but we are getting there aren’t we?” Oakley shrugged “I suppose, I just think it’s a little dramatic to say I was groomed. But if it makes you happy and content we can roll with it, but we got a special guest. Let’s speak on her” look at him diverting “no, this is about you. Why you changing it up on me, I am her for you and want to know more about you Oakley” he cringed “do we though?” I laughed “we do, because I know you wasn’t always like this, you’re so reserved. Like this whole no drinking, no drugs. Like how, why?” he looked away from me “so you have questions that need answers, Oakley you want to answer that?” he is going to hate this “you can answer it for me” he said to Leanne “we can talk, you seem to be in a good mood. I won’t push it” even she knows how quick his mood can switch.

I am thankful for Rylee and that breakaway in Greece, it was nice to have just a girly time and talk about things. I mean the biggest thing was to find out that Imani is actually speaking to a footballer on the low, she is sneaky that girl, but I couldn’t be happier in my life, I have a man that I do love and my family, my business, I am just in a good spot, but I need to start shopping for a home. I want my own home, like Rylee has and rents it out when she can, I mean I may not be living here because of Taylan but I want a home here because my dad and this whole no man in the house, also I can’t be fucking Taylan in my parents’ home, that is just weird, so I need to get one. And then I need to discuss a home with my fiancé, I cannot wait to be with him. Taylan does make me happy, but I am glad we had that time away, and that he knows he can’t just rule me like that “the wonderer returns” Taylan said “and you said you couldn’t make it, and look at that” he came to LA for me, he is so sweet “give me a hug” I came to the coffee shop as soon as I landed, Taylan picked me up as he hugged me “missed you so so much, look at this tan” I giggled “thank you, looks nice right but I missed you. A lot” he put me down “I have your Latte; I have your cake. It awaits you” I cooed out “you trying to get on my sweet side after that little disagreement” he pointed at me “see, a disagreement. It wasn’t an argument, remember that” sitting down across from him “well I was annoyed” I said “yeah you got annoyed, but it doesn’t mean we was arguing, we disagreed. I think you just get so worked up for nothing Ti” so he says “well I think that New Zealand isn’t the go to place to marry? Like who says let’s get married there?” I am right “we are different, we aren’t the same. We aren’t going to do the boring shit of Bora Bora, we are us. Come on now, there is beautiful spots in New Zealand. It is better for my family, and my mom said she would appreciate it too, she thanks you” I frowned “thanks me for what?” I am confused “to have it in New Zealand Ti” I am so confused “who agreed to that though?” I asked “us” I pulled a face “we are discussing Taylan, I said that to you” he can’t be jumping now “just like you didn’t discuss the bridesmaids, I mean you have friends why them two?” I scoffed “my friends are my bridesmaids and then my sisters, I wanted them to be it too ok. I decided that, that is my choice” pointed at him.

He says we don’t argue and that we have disagreements, but he sure does piss me off that I want to lash out “but still, I feel like your sisters don’t deserve to be that” he continued the shit he is saying “why so?” I asked “Rylee treated you like shit, not so much Imani. She is nice but Rylee fucking treated you bad and you just ride her wave” I laughed “what wave? She is in London, we get on. I am happy that my sisters are going to be bridesmaids for me, I love them. I don’t care about the past, we were teenagers then, we all fuck up do we not” he waved me off “fine, how was your trip. Look I am not mad, I am not upset but just I want good by you” nodding my head “but my family is mine ok, and they may not see eye to eye but they my family, my sister is my sister and if she called me right now I would be on the plane there because that is what families do so please, end of” he nodded his head “fine” he mumbled “how was Greece?” he asked “Greece was so good, I enjoyed it, I told them girls that we need to do it more often and you believe my Imani is getting with a footballer? Another British one at that” Taylan cooed out “you and Imani love your footballer men don’t you, classy men I would say” side eyeing him “what is your problem with Rylee?” I asked “what do you want me to say? I have no issues, I was joking. Like why can’t I joke?” rolling my eyes “well those jokes aren’t funny so please don’t bother again” he chuckled “so least you had a good time, so can I now go on a boys holiday?” nodding my head “why not, just don’t drink” his face dropped “and then you say that joke, yeah” he got up “I am using the bathroom” I think I annoyed him now.

Taylan came back but he seemed like he was mad when he left “yeah” he just said “what you mean yeah? I am sorry but like I thought we liked these jokes or is it just at my family? This is what I mean, it’s not nice so I want you to stop. I hope you aren’t doing this behind my back either because I want us to get along, Taylan me and you get on, we do. But politics puts us back you know that” he nodded his head “I get it, and I am not doing anything like that behind your back” nodding my head “I think we can overcome this, and also my dad will love you like I do” he chuckled “your mom has also changed on me” I pulled a face “Taylan, we barely see my family you know that, you can’t just say that she has when literally you only see her on parties and events” he laughed, I am glad he laughed because he sounds stupid “I am like a needy child, I just want to be liked. That is all, just seems so easy for others. I want your family to like me, like mine likes you. Just yeah, but don’t worry about it, me and you going to be good. I can’t wait to marry you” I sighed out “also my mom did mention she wants me to keep the Fenty name” I just saw the blood drain from him “she did the same with Aziel, she wants that to run through, her name is power and she wants me to keep that, so she wants me to have the double name like I am Brown” he is shaking his head “my name holds powers” he added “I can say Fenty in this coffee shop right now and every person here will know who, and why they know it, my mom is right and, oh wow!? You’re storming off now” he shook his head “it’s not the Rihanna show you know, you all can’t abide by her, you’re marrying me! I don’t care if Rylee jumps off a bridge, she does her but me and mine, they keep mine” shaking my head “then really? You need to think if you want this, or me. My mom is right” let him have a tantrum, I am sure my dad did too about it and he got over it and compromised.

#Chrianna #Chrianna FF #Fanfiction #Fanfic #Chrianna Fanfic #Chrianna Fanfiction

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moontomes · 2 years ago

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Ronnie's Tales: Finley Grey

The hour was running late as he made it religiously down the street. The splitter-splatter of his steps seemed to be brasher today. Despite the incessant rain he felt content with how the work day had gone. He could still feel that his bundle was safe underneath his clothes, and he prayed it remained that way for a few minutes longer.

As he reached his destination, the background voices grew louder. With a deep sigh he encouraged himself to brave through the door. The sound came to a halt, before he could say anything a dark shadow brushed past him, making him lose his footing. “What did he want this time, mother?” He asked as he rose from the ground. After closing the door carefully, he retrieved his bundle from under his shirt and set it on the table.

“He wants to raise the rent once again.” A meek voice replied. “I think it’s best if we find another place.”

“But… This is our home. It’s just his now because father…” He lowered his head. His mother rested her hand on his shoulder.

“I know dearest. I know how important this place is to both of us.” A strong cough interrupted her. The boy helped her to a chair and pulled out a handkerchief. The woman accepted it with her shaking hands.

He poured them tea and sat by her side. “I can work more hours at the factory. Mayhap Sir Albert will let me tend to his gardens again, now that spring is starting.”

“Finley, whatever is in there?” She pointed at the bundle that rested on the table.

“Happy Birthday Mother!” Finley smiled. He unwrapped the bundle to reveal a small meat pie. “I hope you like it. It’s from the main street bakery.”

“Child, you shouldn’t have…” A small smile blossomed from Lillian’s lips. “I appreciate the sentiment. But we could have used this money for rent…”

“We also need to eat.” The boy proceeded to cut the pie in four pieces, wrapping two of them with cloth. Finley placed one of the pieces on a plate in front of his mother. “Happy Birthday.”

As he laid in bed that night he stared at the ceiling, thoughts kept running through his head preventing him from sleeping. How had everything gone so wrong? His blonde hair had turned auburn with the work at the factory. The cuts in his hands throbbed faintly, but at this point it had become a familiar discomfort. Just 3 months ago, he had turned 13 years of age. It was the third year in a row that he’d gone through that day alone. He looked to his side. An empty cot laid to his left.

The Grays were once a family of four, until the consumption found its way into their home as well. Finley was blessed enough to not fall to it. Back then he started finding his way around the city to run errands. Father had to be sent to a sanatorium and mother despite being ill kept with her seamstress work as best as she could. Rowan just laid in their room, left to the will of God as the family could not afford medical care for two people in such a delicate situation. But Rowan was young, and children can shake things off more easily. Their prediction was not too far off. The first to go was Claude, even though he was at the sanatorium. Lillian still tried to admit little Rowan after his death, but it was far too late for the child.

Finley could still feel the miasma that hovered once around their home. The smell of the salves, the sound of the whispers every time someone walked past their door. During that time Finley had to sleep near the entrance, it was the first time the twins were so far away from each other. It was also the last. The town became accustomed to Finley running around, looking for small jobs a 10-year-old could do. Many took pity on the dressmaker’s son and would ask him to run errands.

One such individual was Sir Albert Harris. A quirky old man, who despite his age still was one of the most eligible bachelors in town. He was the owner of the town’s biggest factory and fancied to order suits from Claude Gray. Saddened and concerned about the surviving Grays’ situation, he had employed Finley in the factory for machine maintenance. For Lillian he couldn’t do much else than to recommend her for clothing repairs. She had survived the illness but not without a cost. Lillian had become homebound and sometimes even breathing was a hard task.

There were others however that were not so sensitive to their plights. Such as Eugene Baker, whose ears felt deaf to Lillian’s pleas when they couldn’t afford their mortgage. Baker was quick to repossess the house and shop to the bank, but was ever so graceful to let them live there in exchange for rent. Said rent kept increasing every few months, just like Eugene’s pocket watch collection. Life had become so kind to him that now he could afford to send thugs to the Grays’ residence to deal with Lillian when she did not conform.

Soon enough his wage was not sufficient to afford their living. He had resorted to taking food from the factory’s storage. He could not stand the taste of sardines anymore, but there was no choice.

When the sun rose, Finley decided to make his way to Harris’ Manor. The mansion lay on the outskirts of town surrounded by a forest and protected by the river. The water here was clearer than down the road in town. Finley immersed his hands in it and washed his face. With a flick of the wrist, he rearranged his hair and straightened his collar. As he walked through the main gate, he tried to calm his breath. Finley regarded the garden meticulously. It was kept, but he felt like he could do a better job. The rose bushes needed tending and the fruit trees needed some branches cut to look even better in the coming months.

Soon enough he found himself sitting in Sir Harris’ study. Bookshelves filled with trinkets, tomes, scrolls covered the walls. Finley found himself fiddling with an object on the desk as he waited.

“That is a sea astrolabe, do ye know what it does?” Questioned a raspy voice from behind him. “It’s a nautical instrument.”

“Sir Harris! I’m so very sorry.” Finley jumped to his feet. “Thank you for receiving me.”

“I 'ave something fer ye, since ye appear to be inclined towards the sea.” The man procured a title in his shelves attentively. “I 'ave never seen someone like sardines so much.”

The boy lowered his head. He could feel tears forming in his eyes, he bit his lower lip firmly so as to not let out a gasp. The man rested a hand on his shoulder and lowered his gaze to meet the child’s. “The book is called Treasure Island. I think you will like it; it is quite recent.” He rubbed the boy’s shoulder. “It’s alright son. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Do ye need something my boy?”

They sat together opposite each other. Finley could not bring himself to look Albert in the eyes. His nails dug deep into his thighs, and he tried his best to sit upright. Albert observed the boy as he let him speak his mind fully. When it was over a long silence hung in the study.

Albert rose from his chair and walked to the window. As he stared outside, he found the response for Finley. “Ye’r true. The garden could be even more beautiful. I’ll be sure to have a word with the help. Thank ye for yer keen eye.”

Finley felt his heart drop to his knees. He slumped on the chair; a warm tear fell on the back of his hand.

“Now something ought to be done about that banker.” Albert faced Finley. “Maybe I am interested in buying another house in town.”

The eyes of the boy were now fixed on Albert. All the anxiety floating in his chest suddenly came to a halt leaving him without breath. “S-Sir?”

“Thank ye for coming to me boy. It takes a lot of courage to ask for help. Ye are the bravest person I know son.” Albert sat on his office chair. “I did not help that weasel out of his situation for him to become a tyrant. Did ye know he lost his house once gambling at the pub?” Sir Albert Harris let out a hearty chuckle. “I do not need for ye to work more hours son. I need ye to grow up proper. Yer eye for detail, yer honesty and courage. Ye are someone I need on me side.”

“You helped him as well Sir Harris?” Finley could not stop himself from asking.

“Aye, I had been away from home for years. I’d been travelling the world over trying to find meaning, trying to run for me duties. Me duties are to care for the people of this town.” Albert paused. “I too went down dark roads, but I was able to find me way because I was lucky enough to be born in a golden cradle. When my little fit of grandeur was over, I was shameless enough to run back home to Papa. But ye always need someone to stretch out their hand for ye.”

Lillian lived comfortably for the two remaining years of her life. Finley, now 15, and Sir Albert Harris’ personal assistant, bid his goodbyes to the house that had seen him grow. A bittersweet feeling always overcame him when walking past his old residence. So many good memories, yet so much loss haunted those walls. He remembered being with Rowan and their adventures, climbing trees, discovering magical lands. He remembered his father and his clothes were always so full of chalk. He remembered his mother darning socks through coughing fits.

Working with Harris was never easy. His belly was never hungry again, but most of the time Finley seemed to forget his own name. “Boy”, “Son”, “You” became more familiar to him than his given name. He began to live through the pages of the pirate books that Albert would frequently buy him. It was true that the boy was fond of them, they reminded him of his twin. His birthdays still felt empty, despite the lavish parties Harris’ would throw in his honour.

Rowan and Finley had always completed each other. Finley loved to be inside, he was the first to learn how to read and write in their class. His character made him an easy target for bullies to torment him. Rowan on the other hand found himself at peace outside. Exploring every nook and cranny on their street, convincing strangers to visit his father’s shop. Every day the twins would share stories of how their days went, Finley always made sure to write his sibling’s thoughts adding his own touch. Suddenly, Rowan sneaking into Mrs. Evans’ garden was a tale about discovering a land with talking flowers.

Three years later, on one cold winter morning, Sir Albert Harris forgot to wake up. Finley Gray, who had become his ward, was the sole heir to his estate. Young Master Gray left the factory in the capable hands of Mr. Greene and decided to write for Rowan again. The townsfolk found it weird that they would sometimes find the young man reading aloud in the cemetery, but in the end, he wasn’t hurting anyone.

He found himself making a modest living out of his adventure novels. His pirate romances inspired many a children’s play times for years to come. The delight people found in his stories inspired him to keep writing. People admired the sincerity of his characters, since Finley always pulled from his live experiences.

As travelling by steamboat grew in popularity, Finley Gray, decided it would be an adventure worth his time. It was mid-November when he boarded a ship for the North Sea. The small voyage was supposed to be a trial run of the boat in such severe waters. A storm during night time took the crew by surprise, leaving the vessel capsized on a small islet near Heligoland. Most of the crew was eventually rescued, but Finley Gray’s body was never found. When next he woke, he was floating above the clouds. His memories were jumbled and every move he made had to be premeditated. As he managed to soar back to solid ground a screech from behind startled him to his core “Ein Geist!”.

#ronnietales #writing #vtuber #vtuberen

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marmolita · 3 months ago

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fic exchange roundup

I've posted some various fics for exchanges this year but been absolutely falling down on the job of sharing them on social media, so here's the catchup! Please heed the warnings on these.

The Ecstasy of Saint Lillian

Exchange: Smut4Smut

Fandom: Original Work

Ship: Older brother excelling at sex magic/Virgin brother starting at same magic school (M/M)

Notable Tags: sibling incest, sex magic

Words: 3,026

Henry Loxlian, just past his eighteenth birthday, was the most highly anticipated student at the Academy of Saint Lillian in a century. His good looks, sultry voice, and charm all spoke to great things. Given how his classmates in secondary school adored him, everyone assumed he must be already exercising his abilities: drawing their admiration, pleasing them in their exploratory forays into sexuality. Everyone was counting the days until Henry would arrive at the Academy and learn to share his gift with even more skill, and start drawing his connection with Saint Lillian into his partners. What everyone didn't know was that Henry was a virgin.

The Black Tide's Revenge

Exchange: Nonconathon

Fandom: Original Work

Ship: Pirate Captain/Aristocratic Prisoner (M/M)

Notable Tags: noncon, rape, flogging, object insertion, public humiliation

Words: 1,848

Captain Roan Griffin tapped his saber against his knee as he gazed down at the Marquess of Westhall. "I have to admit," he said, "I didn't expect it to be quite this easy to capture the Governor of New Corinium. Especially given all of your posturing about how you're going to-- what was it? 'Clean up the depraved pirate rabble poisoning the waters of the Belangi Sea?'" "Go to Hell," Westhall spat, heedless of the cutlass Roan's Quartermaster, Tommy, held to his throat.

Hookup

Exchange: RarePairExchange

Fandom: Stardew Valley

Ship: Alex/Sebastian

Notable Tags: casual sex, closeted character

Words: 3,176

It was late when Sebastian left the saloon, after losing his third round of pool to Sam. Abigail had left after round two, saying her mom would be mad if she was out too late, though she didn't look happy about it. Of course, that meant round three was full of Sam ribbing Sebastian about how he and Abigail should date, leaving Sebastian hot-faced and uncomfortable. It wasn't that he didn't like Abigail, he just wanted someone a little more . . . masculine.

In progress: my entry for enemies to lovers exchange...

#fanfic #fanfiction #lita talks about herself #heed the warnings guys please

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qnewsau · 9 months ago

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Joel Devereux calls for more support of local queer artists

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/joel-devereux-calls-for-more-support-of-local-queer-artists/

Joel Devereux calls for more support of local queer artists

In our regular monthly feature with local artists, photographer and producer Joel Devereux answers questions about himself, his craft and calls for more support of local queer artists.

I discovered photography…

After accidentally falling into it. I used to be more of a drawer and painter, and I started exploring mixed media works in my teens. I needed to document sculptures I’d made for my studies, so I bought a little starter camera (a Nikon D90 which I loved) to have a go at capturing works myself.

I started producing Burlesque shows in Fortitude Valley in 2013 alongside Lillian Lace (that show, Vanguard Burlesque, is still running to this day), and we needed poster images so I put my hand up to photograph.

I would describe my style as….

Creative portraiture. I don’t like to overthink it or box myself in. My style of hero shot is typically always a centralised figure in some glamour lighting. I like putting people with their character front and centre. The only thing I really don’t want to shoot is weddings. Not my bag.

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The biggest myth about photography is…

It’s about the camera you have. There is a whole industry out there of men of a certain age buying the biggest and most expensive cameras, having no idea or motivation to learn how to use it, then reselling them to budding students at half the price. This is how I obtained most of my gear in the early days.

You can create some very compelling imagery on some very cheap gear. My first lens (a nifty 50mm) cost me $125 14 years ago and I’m still thrilled with the photos it captured. Even phones take some great shots now. I’ve never understood photographers who get mad at iPhone photographers and if it’s because they’re threatened. Don’t be bitter, be better.

Famous subjects

The most famous person I’ve photographed is…

Paris Hilton. And she was an absolute delight. She was in town to promote her latest perfume through South-East Asia and the club I worked for booked her to DJ. She was only booked for an hour but (after being a little late) performed for over two hours and even treated us by singing Stars Are Blind and a few others.

She’s a good-time gal! As a long-time Simple Life fan, it was definitely one of the highlights of my nightlife photography career.

My dream person/s to shoot would be…

I’d have to say Dita Von Teese. It’s been the same answer ever since I started getting into burlesque and then photography, so it seems like the perfect marriage of both of those interests.

I’ve even had friends work alongside her on tours around the world so maybe one day I’ll get that opportunity. I’m not really one for idols or fandom, but it would be a pretty full-circle moment for me.

Taking pics

Having my own picture taken is…

A rare treat when it’s right. I’m not often in front of the lens and I very much prefer being behind it nowadays.

If I know I’m going to be photographed I like to give people something fun to look at so I’ll put together an outfit or bring out a classic piece of mine.

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The secret of taking a great photo of someone is…

Making them feel at ease. I say being photographed can often feel like being sung Happy Birthday too. You can start to overthink your face and hand positions and get in your head about it because there are a lot of variables out of your hands. I think acknowledging both photographer and subject are here for the same mutual goal helps.

The best thing you can do when getting your photograph professionally taken is…

Fake it ’til you make it. The irony that pretending to model actually looks pretty convincing in a still photograph. There was that one video that went viral of a model in China cycling through fashion poses which I swear gets referenced to me on every second photo shoot I do. Anytime someone brings it up I tell them to imitate it and you usually get some pretty decent shots out of it.

The scene

The Brisbane scene is….

In a transition phase. A difficult question to answer right now given the state of the wider entertainment industry as it finds ways to respond to the global cost of living crisis. I can only speak as a producer in this space which has been my position for the past 11 years or so.

We have a lot of talent and innovation here, but it’s no secret that the local arts scenes are struggling in the landscape right now, amongst big-ticket acts and international tours post-pandemic taking up most of people’s disposable income.

We aren’t able to access mid-week hospitality and entertainment like we could when I was coming up through the scene, and sadly there aren’t as many well-paying gigs as they’re used to be.

I feel Brisbane also struggles from competition fatigue, and whilst it’s a great platform to discover and highlight new performers who may not have regular gigs, not every show in the city should be using this method as a way of escaping paying talent.

I love our scene here, I owe my entire career in entertainment to it, but I’m concerned for its future if audiences aren’t in a position to support our craft. Our jobs are real and we deserve to be paid for it.

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The next big artist on the scene in Queensland is….

too hard to choose! But I will have to say Micah Rustichelli, who’s a dear friend of mine and is really shaking up the indie performance scene at the moment. I really appreciate Micah’s versatility as a visual artist and I enjoy not always knowing what’s in store next.

I like people who keep you guessing. It’s a skill I admire and need to work on myself. I will also shout out another friend, the wonderfully talented Sahara Beck. I recently had the pleasure of photographing the cover of her album All Attention On Your Emotions, and it’s just a beautiful body of work that everyone should have a listen to.

You can follow Joel and his work on Instagram @devereuxxo or visit joeldevereux.com

Read next:

Archie Arsenic calls for more accessible queer spaces

Get to know First Nations queen Chocolate Boxx

Spill the tea with Brisbane drag star Maxi-Bon

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

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casicroaks · 1 year ago

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At the insistence of his new friends, Woody finally opens up about his life previous to Andy. Meanwhile, as Bo discovers there was so much that was left unsaid between them, she resolves to follow his example -and tell him what she truly went through, between being taken to a new family and finding her own capacity for independence.

CHAPTER 2

[ CHAPTER 1 // CHAPTER 2 // CHAPTER 3 // CHAPTER 4 // CHAPTER 5 // CHAPTER 6 // CHAPTER 7 // CHAPTER 8 // CHAPTER 9 // CHAPTER 10 // CHAPTER 11 // CHAPTER 12 ]

"Wait a second," Giggle interrupted. "When…? So you were first given to this Davy kid in 1952, right?"

"Yeah, that's right," said Woody.

"So… When's this chapter? The, like…?" Giggle tried to count with her minuscule fingers. "So if Davy finished high school…"

"1975?" asked Duke.

"No, uh…" Woody thought for a moment, rubbing his nape. "I guess… The late sixties?"

Giggle and Duke exchanged glances.

"Remember anyone from the sixties?"

"… Bolt-O," said Duke. "I'm pretty sure he's from around that time."

"Yes, that sounds about right," agreed Giggle.

"You spent quite some years on that shelf, then," said Bo to Woody. He shrugged it off with a smile.

"Bah, they went by fast. And after I saw little Jenny, you know, at least I knew what I was waiting for."

Anyway, no matter exactly at what time in history Jenny's infancy happened, a baby in the Oakley home meant a lot more noise and movement. From his shelf in the studio Woody could clearly hear Lillian carrying a shrieking Jenny down the stairs, taking her to the kitchen to feed her, singing sweet little songs to her to calm down her crying. She used to sing the same two songs, but Jenny was not very choosy. Lillian soon got the hang of it and while Jenny still woke up screaming –Woody wondered if even that young she could have nightmares, and doubted the pink puppy plush toy did anything to truly comfort her –the baby's mother was quick to learn how to appease her and entertain her. While Davy was working in his studio, Woody's attention drifted away from the designs his old kid was occupied with and listened, very attentively, to what Jenny liked and what she didn't. Lillian talked to her in a slow, sing-songy voice, repeating everything, apparently to make sure Jenny knew what she meant. After all, Woody thought, babies do indeed don't know how to speak.

Davy soon began leaving the house more often –as if he had gone back to school; a comment at the dinner table let Woody know that Davy had managed to get the job he had applied for. The cowboy felt happy for him –but couldn't help to agree with Lillian when she told him that he ought to help more in the house, that she could barely keep up with everything she had to do. Woody remembered how Davy had to learn to fend for himself when his mother left that faraway autumn, and was certain that he'd tell Lillian he'd lend a hand –but then he lied –he lied! –and told Lillian he had never cooked in his life, and joked that he was afraid he'd poison everyone with what he might manage to prepare. Lillian chuckled, sighed and left the subject.

Woody spent that whole night asking himself why Davy had lied to his wife.

And so it was (like before) Mom, Woody and the kid, little Jenny Oakley, left in the house. Once he got a good idea of when Davy –Dad, he had to remember –left for work and when Mom made the beds and cleaned the rooms and bathroom, Woody would climb down the shelf. He had learnt that if he went forward to the shelf next to his and took a small leap to get to the top of the library, he could get to the floor much easier, taking fewer risks. He would sometimes look around the living room, trying to get a glimpse of Jenny, to see whether she was playing with any new toys –perhaps Christmas or a birthday had come and he had been asleep and missed it –and attempt to guess how old she was now. Woody was getting anxious. He recalled how, in the box, it had once said for ages 3 and up; surely, when she became three years old, that was when Davy would give him to her. Perhaps he'd mock-wrap him and give Jenny his childhood toy for her birthday; Woody fantasized with repeating that wonderful first he had had with little Davy.

Why did Jenny took so long to grow up, when Davy had done so much, much quicker?

Jenny demanded much more from her Mom than Davy did, as well; sometimes Lillian would lose her patience and start yelling at the baby, and those times –when there were only screams and shouting –made Woody remember the fighting between the parents when Davy was a boy. Luckily Jenny would cry, and Lillian would then comfort her, and it would soon be over. But it was clear in her mother's voice, just how taxing baby Jenny could be. Woody was a bit worried she may be more than he could handle.

But then again, the next day, he'd head her Mom playing with her, tickling her and singing her songs and he'd hear the baby's laughter, and he'd imagine her high lilting voice saying "Giddy up, partner!" just like Davy did, and she'd imitate the sound of galloping horses and he'd be the sheriff of the room. Woody could hardly wait.

With the passing of days, and different milestones being reached –Jenny saying her first words, her first steps, her first haircut, her third birthday –Jenny became less of a possibility of a new owner and became more and more a certainty; any day now, Woody thought, just any day now, and Davy would take him down that shelf. He no longer dared to step down through the library, nor to take a peek at the kitchen –even less climb up the stairs; now Mom spent the whole day cleaning or cooking, and Jenny spent the better half of the day also all around the house. Her mother had been right; she was a rowdy one. She was often calling her mother to pay attention to her, either by pure persistence or by loud shrieks. She run up and down the stairs, skipping a step, sometimes tripping and falling and laughing instead of moaning in pain. She was boisterous, treading heavy when playing with her toys –she did have toys up there! –and yelling commands and dialogues. Jenny's mother would often berate her but in a much more different way than Davy's Mom did; this new Mom would tell Jenny to be quieter, to be careful with her clothes, to brush her hair before going out. It seemed all mothers were this preoccupied with being neat, thought Woody.

Once, taking him by surprise, Woody saw Jenny coming into her father's studio. He could finally take a look at her. She could walk, and now had hair the color of straw, and just as unruly as straw, too. She had a few pearly whites, just barely visible when she flashed a little excited smile. While Davy was working on one of his designs, Jenny walked in –without asking, without even knocking.

"Look, dad, look!" she said, raising a piece of paper. "Look, I made you!"

"You did, now?" asked Davy, smiling too. "Let me see –oh, my goodness, that is me! And who's this?" he asked, pointing at another figure in the drawing.

Little Jenny laughed. "You know…!"

"Do I?"

"Yes! You know!"

"Is it mom?"

"Yes!"

"And this one, in the middle? She's a bit short, isn't she?"

"No, I'm tall!" cried Jenny.

"Yes –but is this you?" asked Davy. "Is this Jenny?"

"Yes, it's me!" she said, pointing at the drawing too. "And this is Ann, and this is Barr…"

"Wow, Barr is really tall!"

"She is!" said Jenny, defending her drawing. "But I'm tall. I'm more tall."

"Yes, you are," laughed Davy. "May I keep this, please?"

"Hm…" said Jenny, crossing her arms. "Hmmmm…"

Davy lost his smile. "Please, don't make me beg."

Jenny laughed. Woody noticed she had a very easy, lively laughter. He decided he liked her already. "It's for you!"

"Aw, thanks, darling," said Davy, kissing her on the forehead. "I've got to keep working, alright, Jenny?"

"Can we watch TV?" she asked.

"Later, alright? I've got to finish a thing I'm working on. I promise we'll watch TV later."

"Promise?" insisted Jenny.

"I promise, darling," he said with a smile, and so, satisfied, Jenny smiled, too.

"Jenny, baby, leave dad alone, okay?" said Lillian, calling her from the living room. She obeyed her mother.

Davy chuckled. He thought for a moment. He took a few sketches off his corkboard to make place for the drawing, and pinned Jenny's drawing there, above his desk. From that moment on, each time Davy went into the studio and turned on the light, he saw the drawing and smiled a little. Woody expected this could help him realize how happy he could make her, giving him to her.

It made Woody quite relieved to realize that Davy was a much more loving father than his father was. While Lillian did spend the most time at home with Jenny, when Davy came back from the office where he worked Jenny would always run to the door to give him a hug, and by the sound of it, he was hugging her too. During weekends, they'd go to the movies –Woody imagined it was like the TV, but even bigger –or to the park, or to have some ice cream. Sometimes, Mom would go too. It all seemed much happier, overall, than when he had first arrived. Woody hoped this meant Jenny would be happier, too.

And a few week after her fourth birthday, the moment came.

Woody had been sitting on his shelf, as usual, still slightly disappointed that Davy hadn't given him to Jenny as a birthday gift. But then Jenny came into the studio, with a plastic horse in her hand. Woody stared at them, wondering if they could talk.

Davy continued his sketching, ignoring her. Jenny, on the tip of her toes, tried to get a look at what her father was working on. She spent some time looking at his hand swishing around the paper, and soon got bored and looked around.

"I made that drawing," Jenny said quietly to the horse, pointing at the drawing on Davy's corkboard. From behind him, she couldn't see it, but Woody noticed Davy's smile.

She continued looking around, at the things arranged on the desk, at the books in the library –hanging her head sideways to try and read the names on the spines –and then she looked up, higher, until her eyes finally –finally –set on Woody.

"Dad, what's that?" she asked, pointing at him. Woody yeehawed and whooped silently, truly straining not to move a single fiber of his being. This was it.

Davy looked up. He got off his chair –he stood up –and picked Woody from the shelf.

"This old thing?" said Davy. "He's Woody –oh, dang, your mom forgot to dust it," he said, blowing the dirt off his hat. "He was my favorite toy when I was little," He then looked back to Jenny. "Do you want to see it?"

Jenny swayed from side to side, saying nothing. For a moment Woody thought that perhaps –since Mom had forgotten to dust him and if he seemed too dirty and shabby –then she'd say something like 'no, he's an ugly old thing, put it back on the shelf', and then –then…

But luckily, Jenny smiled and reached out. Woody went from Davy's –now, definitely, Dad's –hands to Jenny's. She inspected him carefully, taking off his hat and fitting it again, putting her small fingers around the sheriff badge, wiping the dust off it. She turned him around to find the white ring, and pulled his string, and Woody said There's a snake in my boot! Jenny chuckled.

"Would you look at that, the voice box's still working," said Davy, rather surprised.

"He's funny," said Jenny. "Woody?"

"Sheriff Woody, that's his name," said Davy, and Woody was moved to notice (or at least he wished to notice) a tinge of nostalgia in his voice. "There was this old TV show… Bah, doesn't matter. You like him?"

Jenny nodded. "He's just like the guy in that movie we watched."

"Which guy?"

"You know… The cowboy. The one with the horse."

Davy laughed. "Alright, I think I know which one."

Jenny smiled at Woody. Davy, in the meantime, watched them both.

"… Would you like to keep him, darling?"

Jenny looked at her father.

"Of course, you must promise to be careful with him."

"Alright," said the girl.

"Will you be careful?"

"Yes, dad."

"Promise?"

He was to become Jenny's toy –but even still, Davy –Dad –still cared for him.

"Yes, dad, I promise."

Davy smiled. "Alright, then. Go on, I've to finish this."

Jenny smiled widely, showing her budding teeth. And then, she ran out the small studio, away from the shelf, and through the living room filled with sunlight, and then she ran up the stairs –and Woody felt like he was flying, soaring through the air –and landed on Jenny's room.

It had changed a lot since his days as Davy's toy. The wallpaper, the furniture, everything was different, to accommodate a young girl's tastes. She had a small collection of six horses of varied sizes and colors –some of them seemingly hand-painted by their owner –standing all together in a spot on the brown carpet. The bed had a floral print and a white wire headboard, with a matching little nightstand. Beyond the bedding and the dust-pink curtains, the toys were another thing entirely. Woody had expected several dolls, all primped and dressed up, like the nasty puppy had said some time ago. He could only spot four of them: a flat plastic doll –which, disturbingly, looked almost like if a regular doll had been crushed or stamped brutally –two ragdolls, made entirely out of cloth –and a Barbie, the one he had heard so much from the TV commercials. She was very thin, entirely made of plastic, with long black eyelashes and long, tangled blond hair. Curiously, this doll wasn't dressed like the others in old-timey dresses: this Barbie had a long black overcoat, a black hat, a white top brown boots and black pants.

Besides these dolls there were a few smaller dolls with childlike faces, chubby cheeks and adorned with fabric flowers as hats; a baby doll, with an uncanny resemblance to baby Jenny; and another disturbing image, a similarly childlike doll but with a deformed grin and colorful, messy hair.

No matter, Woody thought, feeling thoroughly out of his depth. He had managed a room before, this wouldn't be that different just because there were more people to keep track of. And, if the horses and the black-hatted Barbie were any indication, Jenny had inherited her father's love of the Wild West.

"There's a new sheriff in town," said Jenny in a low voice, moving Woody around the horses and the dolls. Woody thought, that's right. If said from her own mouth, there'd be little doubts regarding his authority. "So I hope you all are ready to see some law and order put into this place."

Jenny immediately grabbed one of the ragdolls. "Finally, the post office heard our pleas!" she said, in a high voice. "At last, the horses will be safe again…"

And then Jenny began humming a song. Woody was left on the carpet, just like the ragdoll, as the little girl hurried to grab the Barbie and sit her on the biggest horse. "Not if I'm here," she said, moving the Barbie's head. "I see we got a sheriff now," said Jenny, in a slow Southern drawl. "Well, we're gonna see how that turns out, won't we, Bella?"

Jenny let out a sinister neigh as she moved Bella, swaying the horse's long braided hair. So the Barbie was the villain, thought Woody. He should have guessed by the black hat.

"Jenny, come to dinner!" called Mom from downstairs. "And wash your hands!"

"In a minute!" cried Jenny in response. "Don't dare think this' the end of it, sheriff," she continued, again with the Southern accent. "You'll soon see who's the fastest, quickest, swiftest shooter in the whole land."

"Jenny!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" she said, dropping her toys and running downstairs.

Silence. A few seconds passed.

The first to move was Bella, having to make some effort to get back on his hooves.

"Hey, Barb, help me out with this knot –will you," he said, cocking his head.

"She's a kiddo, you can't expect her to braid like her mother," said the Barbie.

While they were occupied with that, two of the smaller dolls helped Woody back on his feet.

"Oh –thanks," he said.

"What's your name, Mr Sheriff?" asked one of the ragdolls.

"I'm Woody. Sheriff Woody," he corrected himself. "I used to be Davy's toy."

"Who's Davy?" the ragdoll asked.

"He's Jenny's father."

"Oh! You mean Dad," laughed the ragdoll.

"Yes –Dad," Woody said.

"Well, welcome to the great old town of Jackalope, Mr Woody," said the ragdoll. "My name's Felicity, and these are—"

"Please address me as Sheriff Woody," asked Woody. "Or Sheriff, for short."

Felicity looked at him up and down, unimpressed.

"… Alright, as you wish. These are Polly," and she gestured at a ragdoll with black yarn hair. "And Annie-Lou," she gestured at the ragdoll with blond braids and a large straw hat.

"Pleasure to meet you, Sheriff," said Annie-Lou, taking a bow.

Woody tipped the edge of his hat in return. Felicity then gestured at the shorter plastic dolls.

"And these sweet babes are Rosy, Sunny and Tiny."

All three, the one dressed in red, the one dressed in yellow and the one dressed in purple also took a bow. Woody tipped his hat again, but also took a little bow, wondering if that was the correct greeting now.

"This is Joey –he manages the horses during playtime," said Felicity, gesturing at the grinning, crazy-haired fella, who also, of course, took a bow –and Woody was already too distracted by the cowgirl-outfitted Barbie and her steed to focus on the rest of the toys in Jenny's room. "And this pretty lady is Sophie –she's our head of security and rescue…" By this point Felicity also noted Woody wasn't really paying attention.

"These are –a lot of names to keep track of," commented Woody, still with his gaze fixed on the tall blond doll.

"Yes, but you'll get the hang of it –right, sheriff?" said Felicity, more than a bit annoyed. "Right?"

"What? Ah, yes…" said Woody, and then pointed –as politely as he could –to the Barbie and the horse. "Tell me –who is she?"

"She is public enemy number one, notorious thief and outlaw Barbara Ann "Bandit" Barlow," said Felicity. "Barbara Ann to her friends, Barb to her real close friends."

"So she's the villain, I assume," said Woody. It was a bit strange for him to have a gal as a villain, but he supposed it shouldn't present any problems.

"Villain? Oh, sheriff, things don't work like that here," said Felicity, clearly holding back a chuckle.

Woody frowned. "Oh, how so?"

"Barbara Ann is the leader of the pack," said Felicity, pointing at her. "She's Jenny's favorite. And she knows it –you weren't thinking you'd just strut in and get top billing, didya, sheriff?"

Oh. So that was how things were.

"Please –excuse me a moment, Frances," said Woody as he hurried away from her and towards Barbara Ann.

By the time he was less than two steps from her, the big horse let out a loud neigh. Woody automatically jumped back –and tripped over his legs –and fell to the brown carpet. Barbara Ann let out an amused snort.

"Hello there, sheriff," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "Just a piece of advice, you shouldn't get too close to soon to Bella, he's a jittery fella."

"You scared me," said Bella in a low voice.

"Well I –I'm Sheriff Woody Pride, miss," said Woody, still unsure of how precisely he would make Barbara Ann come to her senses and realize that as the eldest toy and as Dad's previous favorite, he probably should get at least shared authority on the room –but trusting he'd come up with something. "And I was Dad's previous…"

"Yeah, I heard," said Barbara Ann. "You aren't a quiet speaker, are you, mister?"

"That's sheriff Woody—"

"I know, I know –cut the crap, sheriff," sighed Barbara Ann. "Listen now, I'm not in the mood to deal with this right now, you get me? Leguizamo here," and she made a gesture to one of the horses, a brown one with white spots, the only one who was still perfectly still. "Is still in pain and healing from her broken leg, and we're running out of Band-Aids, and the tape is below in Dad's studio, where we can't go… And as if that were all, our last newcomer, Sophie, suffered some kind of shock coming here and won't talk to us –which is an issue, since Felicity decided to name her our head of security –without even asking me—"

"Would you rather I be head of security?" asked Woody.

Barbara Ann turned to look at him. "What'd you say?"

"I've gone up and down these stairs a few times. When we're not in playtime, I can help with that…" he said. It was already clear to him that Barbara Ann wasn't very patient (was that a normal trait in girls?) and if she was indeed the favorite, it would do him no good to get on her bad side. "That way you and Faith can try to find some job that shocked gal could be useful in."

Barbara Ann, to his surprise, smiled. "That's quick thinkin', sheriff. I like that in a toy," She did indeed carry that Southern drawl even out of playtime. "It's a matter of time, here, mister. Whether you're quick enough to get to your spot –whether you manage to take care of yourself…"

"This new sheriff is mighty dusty, Barb," said Bella, sniffing Woody's dusty vest.

"If you get too dirty too fast, too broken too quickly, then that's one way ticket to the dumpster, mister," said Barbara Ann. "If I were you I'd take care not to get these feathers too ruffled."

"Oh –miss, if you could tell me—"

"It's Barbara Ann to you, sheriff Woody," she said. "No missies to me."

"Alright…" Woody thought that name was too much of a mouthful, but –what else could he do? "Is there a pink dog plush toy here? I've met her a few years ago, and—"

By Barbara Ann and Bella's expression, something had happened to her –and it sure didn't look pretty.

"Yeah –Peggy, we called her," said Bella, hanging his head.

"Peggy was Jenny's first toy. Ever since she was a baby…" Barbara Ann let out a chuckle. "Gosh, she was a handful, you know. But she didn't deserve what she got…"

"What happened to her?"

Barbara Ann looked at Woody straight in the eye.

"It got dirty, and ripped, and forgotten under the couch," she said gravely. "We tried getting a rescue mission to get her back to the room, or at least to sneak her with the rest of the dirty laundry –but Mom found her, and…"

"She was dirty and broken beyond recognition," murmured Bella. "A shadow of her former self."

"Hear, hear," said Barbara Ann, gently patting Bella's hide. "Peggy was tossed into the garbage. We never heard from her again."

Woody gulped. He had hated that plush toy –listening baby Jenny laughing, probably playing with her, delaying his arrival into Jenny's life –and he had wished the pink puppy would just leave –but he never wished for something like this.

"I'm sorry," said Woody, the only thing he thought he could say.

"Let it serve us as a warning," said Bella. "That we shall never be lost on the lower floor; that we shall never become lost toys."

"Hear, hear," said Barbara Ann again, sighing. "If we take care of ourselves and of each other, Peggy's parting won't have been for nothing."

Woody took a moment to put himself in Barbara Ann's boots. He imagined what would have happened if the plush toys in Davy's room –heck, even someone closer to him like Applebite or Professor Atom –had been thrown away on his watch. By the time Davy's mom had decided to dispose of them, they had barely exchanged any words with Woody –and neither Woody nor any of the other toys in Davy's room really had any system to help the other if one became lost or ripped or especially stained. He should have thought of that as soon as he got there, Woody thought bitterly. But then again, he was a wide eyed young buckaroo, fresh out of his box, just arriving to his new home. How could he have known what was expected of him so soon?

Jenny came back after dinner, meaning to keep playing for a bit more; but Dad –now, definitely, Dad –ordered her to brush her teeth and get some sleep. So Jenny did so, changed into her star-print pajamas and snuggled under her floral quilt next to Barbara Ann "Bandit" Barlow, while Woody –thankful to be played with again, thankful for having been seen and accepted and included, despite it not being what he had expected –spent the night not in a shelf, but in a toy box.

#toy story #toy story 4 #fanfiction #bo peep #woody pride

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bearwiththe-goldenheart · 5 years ago

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Happy Birthday Lillian!

Happy Birthday to my sweet girl Lillian! Her birthday was November 10 however I couldn't do anything for her birthday because I was sick but now that I'm a bit better, I still don't have the motivation for a full fic so have a skit instead!

♡♡♡♡

Lillian: "Soh, I have a lot of work that needs to get done, can't this wait a little longer?"

Soh: "But that won't be fun Lil-Lil~! It's your birthday after all, can't you spare a few minutes~"

Lillian: "I really don't think-"

Soh: "Excellent! It's all settled then, we'll go now then, shall we!

Lillian: *sigh* "I suppose..."

*a few hours later*

Soh: "Well that wasn't so bad now wasn't it, Lil-Lil"

Lillian: "I-i guess you were right for once, I didn't think you would take me somewhere I actually will want to go, especially not a bookstore...!"

Soh: Tsk tsk, you really underestimated me didn't you Lil-Lil!"

Lillian: "I-im sorry, I didn't mean too..."

Soh: "Haha your really are easy to tease, no wonder why Miss Lynette was so keen on letting you stay."

Lillian: *blushes* "S-she was...!!"

Soh: "Nevermind that, I have another gift for you~"

Lillian: "Another one? Oh you don't have to-"

Soh: "You right I don't but I want to so let's go~"

Lillian: "K-kay...!"

*back at the shop*

Soh: "And here we have...huh where is tge decor-?"

Caesar: "The hell are you doing Soh! We're not ready, get her out of here!"

Soh: "Oops my bad, sorry!"

Lillian: *mumbles* "Why's Caesar here..."

Caesar: "Hah what did ya say, don't think that I didn't hear you! Tch, now that the jig is up, guess there's no point in hiding it, we were planning a surprise party for you, shortcake"

Lillian: "H-huh a party for me...!"

Soh: "You ruined the surprise, Mr. Caesar!"

Caesar: "Eh! You ruined it first when you brought her here an hour earlier, idiot!"

Lillian: "I still don't understand..."

Soh: *tilts head* "Eh? What's not to understand Lil-Lil?"

Lillian: "I don't understand on why you're going to the trouble to throw a party for me..."

Soh: "You don't? I thought it would be pretty obvious...it's because we care about you Lillian!"

Lillian: *blushes* "E-eh really!"

Caesar: *snickers* "Tch, always the last one to catch on...

Heidi: "That munchkin of yours was constantly talking about it, like it was his own birthday!"

Lillian: "Even you too Miss Heidi!"

Heidi: "Why of course I would! I will never pass an opportunity to see that hunk of a lion, once your little friend shows up with him, fufu~"

Lillian: (Poor Nana...)

Caesar: "So the talking meat finally showed up after all, what about all that talk about it being "too hard" hmm?"

Heidi: "Why you little...!"

Soh: "Lil-Lil can you come here for a second"

Lillian: *nods*

Soh: "Are you enjoying yourself? I'm sorry that this wasn't the traditional birthday part you wished for, but I hope this is good enough"

Lillian: "This is everything I ever dreamed of and more, I really can't thank you enough for this Soh, this is exactly what I wanted" *blushes*

Soh: "No need to thank me, I'm just happy that you're happy, happy birthday Lillian and a million more to come....!"

#happy late birthday lillian!#ask my daughter anything!#also i hc that lillian is a regular customer at lynette and silas bookstore and you cant convince me otherwise-#i also just really wanted to show off my heidi sprites for some reason!#soh x lillian

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bridgeportbritt · 3 years ago

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Willington Palace | Sage, SimDonia

Diana: You ready for this, papa bear?

Gerhard: As ready as I’ll ever be.

Diana: Time to age up, little one.

Diana: That wasn’t so bad, was it?

Gerhard: We’ve certainly experienced worst.

Diana: That’s for sure. But, tonight? We put it all past us. Right, my little Prince?

Parker: Randa!

Maranda: Well, hello, Mr. Parker! I hope everything is to your liking.

Diana: Wow, Maranda. You’ve outdone yourself. This looks amazing.

Maranda: Guests should be arriving soon. We’ve also upped security as you’ve requested.

Gerhard: Thank you, Maranda. Parker, want to dance?

Parker: Danse!!!

Diana: Good job, Parker!

Maranda: Guests are here. Go ahead, Your Majesty, Your Royal Highness. I’ll keep an eye on Parker.

Gerhard: Thank you, Maranda. Have fun, Parker.

Diana: Little Beckett is so adorable! I’m so excited you brought him. You know the world wants to see more of the Lockwoods.

Beckett laughs: I know. I know. I think we’ve been enjoying time off a bit much lately. Elena’s struggling with keeping up, but I convinced her to take some portraits that we will release soon.

Diana: That’s wonderful! Please, let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I don’t want to force anything, but want to keep the people happy, as well.

Beckett: I understand. I promise, SimDonia will be seeing more of us.

Diana: It looks like Beckett Jr. is ready for that.

Beckett laughs: I think you’re right.

Alvin: So, how have you guys been holding up? It’s been about 4 months since... the incident, right?

Gerhard: If you don’t mind me speaking freely, it’s been a challenge. But that woman I married? She is tough. I can’t even imagine what’s she went through, but she keeps on going.

Lillian: That’s Diana for you. I don’t know how she does it. But I’m so glad everyone’s safe and happy and that it’s over, right?

Gerhard: Yes, I believe so. Security team has assured us that the Pendites United movement... died with him.

Alvin: Let’s hope so.

Phillip: Happy Birthday, Parker!

Rose: Parker, you’re just so cute!

Parker: Cupe!

Laughter

Diana: Parker, honey! Let’s go take a photo with daddy.

Diana: To new beginnings!

Gerhard: New beginnings!

Parker: Wiggigs!

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supercorpkid · 4 years ago

Text

Sweet 16.

Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader

Word count: 2430.

“Hey! There she is!” Kara opens her arms excitedly when you walk home from school.

“Here I am.” You answer unaware of why she’s so excited. It’s just a normal day.

“Your birthday is in a few days.” She says and you agree with your head. “Are you excited?”

“Sure.” It’s what your mouth says. But what your face says it’s ‘whatever’.

“I see that.” She waits until you’re seated to reach out from the other side of the counter and hold your chin up on her hand. “What’s wrong, little one?”

“Nothing’s wrong, momma.” You shrug. “It’s just a birthday. Just another day.”

“It is absolutely not just another day!” She lets go of your face and makes her way around the counter to reach you. “It is the day that the person I love the most in the universe finally came into my life.” She hugs tight and you smile.

“Mom’s birthday is still a few months away.” You joke and Kara squints her eyes at you.

“I’m serious, baby.” She sits next to you with the biggest smile on her face. “What do you want in your party?”

“I don’t know.” You shrug again. “Can I ask for anything?” She agrees with a nod. “Ok. Then, how about for my party, we don’t have one?”

Kara’s face drops when you say that, and she looks disappointed. You don’t want a party, honestly your birthday will be like every other birthday. Alex, Kelly and Jamie come over, Kara buys all the food in the universe, Lena buys all the presents in the universe, and that’s it. You’re fine with how things are. Besides, who else would you invite to the party anyway? Lillian Luthor? It’s a laughable thought.

“Just us family having dinner is enough.” You reassure her.

“Fine.” She still pouts though. “What do you want as a birthday gift?” Another shrug. “How about that video game you told me about?”

“Nah. Jamie already got it for her birthday and we usually play it together anyway.”

“Ok.” Kara agrees with her head and thinks some more. “A new phone?”

“Mine is fine.”

“A car?” She tries with a chuckle and you laugh too.

“I can fly.” You get up from the stool. “A hug will do. Oh, and maybe I can skip school?”

“That’s it? As your birthday present you want me to let you skip class?”

“No. I want you to convince mom to let me skip class.” You raise your eyebrows a couple of times at her and she agrees with her head. You kiss her cheek. “Don’t stress about it. Really. It’s just another day.”

You go to your room and lay in bed thinking about this ‘just another day’. You remember you were once so excited about birthdays. As a kid you would get up before your moms, run to their bedroom, climb on their bed and wake them up yelling ‘it’s my birthday!’. You could never wait until later to open all your presents (Lena would always save the best one for the party), and you would annoyingly tell every single person you saw that it was your day. Now the only thing you want is sleep until late and maybe go to your lab alone.

You were so anxious for leaving the whole ‘birthday conversation’, you didn’t eat and you’re starving. So, you wait a little until you see Kara is not in the kitchen anymore and you sneak there.

“Kara. What’s-?” You hear Lena’s voice from the living room. You’re not using your super hearing, they’re just close enough. “What’s all this?”

“Look at her, Lena.” You use your x-ray vision and you see a bunch of photo albums on the table. “Look at this cute little bean, all excited about her birthday.”

“Yeah, God. She loves it so much.” Lena agrees, grabbing one of the albums to look at it.

“Loved it.” Kara corrects her with a sigh. “She just told me she doesn’t want a party, and as a birthday gift she wants to not have to go to school.”

“What? Why? Do you think there is something going on at school?” Lena asks and you sit closer to hear their conversation without them seeing you. Honestly, you’re so good at eavesdropping you don’t even need powers for that.

“I don’t know. I think she just doesn't want to think about this day, you know?” Kara sighs and holds one of your pictures up. “I get it though. I mean, just look at this little smooch. Rao, she’s so big now. She is doing great with her powers; she has her own lab.”

“Yeah. She is smart, independent, strong, caring…” Lena completes the thought and you smile to yourself.

“Soon enough she’ll go to college and like…” You can hear Kara choking a little and you know she’s crying. “She won’t need me anymore. And I’ll be here all alone.”

“Why, thank you, honey.” Lena says ironically.

“Alone with you.” Kara adds trying to make her feel better.

“Oh yeah, that’s a lot better.” Lena breathes deep and wipes Kara’s tears. “Let’s not think about this now, ok? Let’s think about what we can do to make her enjoy her birthday like she used to.”

“I don’t want to push her into this. If she’s not feeling it, maybe we should let it be.” Kara closes one of the albums. “If not going to school and a family dinner is all she wants…”

“Wait, what? You can’t be serious. You really don’t want to throw her a party? You? Of all people?” Lena asks, surprised.

“Don’t look so shocked.” Kara crosses her arms. “If she wants to pretend that she’s not getting older, I’m fine with that. We can go on pretending she’s still 15 for years, that way she will never leave me.”

“Kara, this is not about you.” Lena does her whole ‘business woman’ pose. Crossed legs, fingers intertwined placed perfectly on top of her knee and serious expression. “Our daughter is incredible, and she can’t get stuck here because we’re unable to let her go. She deserves to see and save the world. She deserves to create incredible things and make the world better. We can’t get in the way of that.”

“I know, but…” Kara is still crying. “She is my baby. And I love her so much, and I want to be around her all the time. Maybe… Maybe we could build a time machine and relive her childhood all over again?”

“I don’t think you know how time machines work.”

“Fine. Then maybe I could go to college with her. You know, I’ll sign up for some classes and…”

“Yeah right, because that’s exactly what she will want. Go to college with her momma.” Lena hugs her and gets close to her ear. “I can think of a few things we could do to have fun when she goes off to college.”

Ew. No. You get up from where you’re sitting and grab a bag of chips and go back to your bedroom. This just turned R18+ super fast, you don’t want and shouldn’t listen anymore.

Your birthday came along really fast. None of your moms mentioned anything about a party, and Kara only said that your family was coming for dinner, so apparently, they decided to respect your wishes.

“It’s your birthday!” Kara walks in your room early in the morning, you wake up with a smile. She throws confetti in your face and you laugh. “Happy birthday, not-so little one.”

“Still little, momma.” She jumps in bed next to you and hugs you. “Thank you.”

“Happy birthday, babygirl.” Lena walks in the room and you see she has a box on her hands. “No peeking!”

“Uh, is that my present?” You raise one eyebrow and she agrees with her head.

“Guess what it is.” Kara says next to you and you shrug.

“Donuts?” You ask with a smile, but they shake their heads in denial at the same time. “Birthday cake?” Another no with their heads. “Cupcakes?”

“It’s not food.” Lena answers and comes next to you.

“Oh, then you guys probably didn’t get me what I wanted.” You joke and Kara laughs next to you. “Unless is a dog.”

“Definitely not a dog.” Lena gives you the box and you hug her to say thank you. She kisses your forehead. “I hope you like it, baby.”

“Cool, thanks mom.” You smile at Lena and then turn to Kara. “Now for your birthday gift to me. Did you do it? Did you talk to her?”

“Yes, kid. You don’t have to go to school today.” Kara agrees with her head and you smile.

“Well, thanks for the gifts. Now I’m going back to sleep, because I don’t have to wake up early today. I love you both. Happy birthday to me, yay!” You say not excitedly and put the blanket over your head, so they can take the hint and leave you to go back to sleep.

You wake up hours later and you’re starving. You joked about donuts and birthday cake, but you kind of wish they actually bought those. You hear the doorbell and Lena yells it’s for you, so you get out of your pajamas in a flash and run to the front door.

“Grandmother?” Your eyes grow bigger and you look at your mom next to you, still holding the door open.

“Granddaughter.” She answers with a tiny smile. “Do you mind if we speak out here for a minute?”

You look at Lena for permission. She gives you a little nod, and you take that as incentive. So you go out the door, and Lena closes it, to give you guys some more privacy.

“I just came by to wish you a happy birthday. It’s a very important age.” Lillian says and you smile.

“It’s just another year.” You shrug and she shakes her head.

“I suppose.” She clears her throat and you see she has something in her hands, and it’s carefully wrapped in a red and blue paper. “I wouldn’t know what’s important for a kid, anyhow.” She takes a deep breath. “I hope you enjoy it.”

She hands you the box and you so desperately want to lower your glasses to make sure it’s not a kryptonite bomb inside, but you refrain from doing so. You don’t want to seem impolite. You unwrap the paper and see a video game console, also red and blue. You smile.

“I remembered you told me you made one videogame and, well, the guy at the store told me this one sells well with kids.” She says and you beam at her. You almost feel like hugging her, but you don’t want to impose, so the smile will have to do.

“Thank you. It’s amazing, really.” She agrees with her head, looking proud of herself.

“A book would be better, but I don’t think you can get any smarter.”

“I could. But I would be unbearable.” You laugh and she smiles lightly. Kara lands on the doorstep at the moment.

“Lillian.” Kara says as a hello. Lillian turns back to her, adjusting the clothes on her body, looking nervous.

“Supergirl.” She replies, bitterly. Then turns back at you. “Well, happy birthday.” She mentions to leave, but before she tilts her head. “Granddaughter.”

“Thanks.” You salute her off. “Grandmother.”

Lillian makes her way to the black car parked in front of the driveway. Kara hugs you sideways and you get inside the house. You see her looking at the console on your hands.

“Birthday present.” You smile showing it to her.

“The one you wanted.” She stares at it for a while. Then agrees with her head, like she had just checked for bombs and it’s safe.

“Guess who just landed in the backyard?” Lena asks and you furrow your brows.

“COUSIN!” Superboy walks in all dressed in his stupid super hero clothes and you toss the video game to Kara and run to hug him.

“What are you doing here?” You ask surprise and stop smiling for a second. “Oh no, what have you done?”

Everyone laughs, well aware of his reputation, Conner also laughs and messes with your hair.

“It’s your birthday, lab rat! You actually think I would miss that?” He smiles and whispers in your ear. “I also know your moms buy the most delicious food for this day.”

“It’s true!” Kara agrees from the other side, proving there’s no way you can keep a secret from her. “I just went to Italy and picked up all of her favorites. Everyone else is already on their way, so we’ll eat in a while.”

“Your mom’s the best.” Conner says, making Kara smile, very proud of herself.

“Your uncle is also the best.” You hear behind you and you look at Superman standing on the backyard door with a smile.

“Kal!” You run to him and hug him tightly. You haven’t seen him in such a long time. Kara shows up behind you.

“Hey Kal.” You let go of him and Kara hugs him. You look at Conner and you both go to the living room, and let the grown-ups talk. You show Conner your new video game and you both play with it until the doorbell rings.

“I’ll get it.” You run to the door and see aunt Alex, aunt Kelly, Jamie and Eliza on the other side. “GRAMM!”

“Hi sweetheart.” Eliza smiles and kisses the top of your head. She looks at your surprised face. “What? You thought I wouldn’t come to your birthday?” You’re so happy. You can’t believe she left Midvale just to see you. “Happy birthday, sweetie.”

“Thanks Gramm.” You say and she goes inside.

“Happy birthday, kiddo.” Aunt Alex hugs you and your smile just grows bigger and bigger.

“Happy birthday, little Danvers.” Jamie hugs you and whispers in your ear. “If you leave me alone in school again, I’ll murder you.”

Aunt Kelly also wishes you happy birthday and you all go inside the house. You’re almost back in the living room when the doorbell rings again, and Nia and Brainy come inside too.

When you finally reach the living room, you see three shadows running around and you smile. Soon, the whole place is ready. There are balloons, a happy birthday banner, and the biggest birthday cake you’ve ever seen. You thought you had no one to invite to your party, but now looking at the full house, you smile to yourself. Your whole family is here. And they are amazing.

#supergirl #kara danvers #lena luthor #supercorp #kara x lena #supercorp fanfic #supercorpfamily #kara x reader #lena x reader #supercorp daughter #reader insert

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twilightinanotherlife · 3 years ago

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Rose joining the Cullen Clan.

Rosalie Lillian Hale was born in Rochester, New York on April 22, 1915. She first met the Cullens when they moved to town in the new year of 1933. Back then the Cullens were actually the Cullen/Masens. Carlisle Cullen was a physician at Rochester General Hospital. He shared his home with Earnest Masen, an architect, and Earnest's younger sister Edythe Masen. There were rumers about the nature of Carlisle's and Earnest's relationship (OMG they were roommates!?). Back then, Earnest and Carlisle weren't together yet because they were oblivious to each other's feelings. (And it was driving Edythe crazy).

Rose was first introduced to the Cullens at their housewarming party. The Hales were among the families invited. Rose didn't have much of an opinion on Carlisle or Earnest. She wasn't interested in medicine or architecture. And she didn't care about the gossip surrounding them. Rosalie was, at first, bothered by Edythe's good looks because she was unused to someone being more beautiful than her. However, she soon grew comfortable around Edythe after being given a tour of the Cullen home. Rosalie's favorite room was the music room. There was a beautiful grand piano in the center. Rose had taken lessons has a child, but she was years out of practice. Edythe showed her the basic scales and while Carlisle and Earnest socialized with party guests, Rosalie and Edythe played music.

After that, Rose and Edythe became good friends. Rose found Edythe to be very perceptive. She liked that, because it meant Edythe saw her. Not the vain and materialistic girl that society saw, but the true her beneath. Yes, Rose was vain but only on the surface. In truth, Rosalie was simply happy to be herself. All she really wanted was someone who truly loved her and a baby. At some point, Rosalie became engaged to Royce King II. Edythe expressed her dislike of Royce many times to Rose and warned her to be careful. Rose dismissed the warnings as the words of an overprotective friend.

One evening, late in April, just after Rosalie's 18th birthday. Carlisle found Rosalie bleeding to death on the street. He had smelled the blood. Her clothes had been torn to shreds and Carlisle could easily guess what had happened to her and who had done it. Carlisle found Rose half conscious. He spoke gently, telling her was going to take her to his home and treat her injuries. That's exactly what he did, but her wounds were to severe. She was going to die. Edythe was there to help however she could. She could hear Rose's thoughts. Her fear. Her anger. Rose knew she was dying. Edythe heard Carlisle's thoughts as well. He wanted to change Rosalie. Edythe spoke the truth quickly and quietly to Rose. That she and her family were vampires. That she could hear thoughts. And that Carlisle could save her by making her like them, but it would cost Rosalie what she wanted most. A baby.

"I can't have a baby if I'm dead," Rosalie thought. "Either way, I loose my dream. But I don't want to die this way."

Carlisle changed Rose into a vampire. The Cullens moved to an isolated house a few miles outside of Rochester where Rosalie went through the transformation. Edythe spoke to Rose as she changed in an attempt to comfort her. Upon waking, Rosalie was afraid and wary of Carlisle and Earnest. She only trusted Edythe to be near her. Edythe helped Rose in the following few days adjust to her new self. Soon after, Rosalie killed Royce and his friends for what they did to her.

Rosalie fell into a deep depression. She stayed with the Cullens because she had no where else to go. Things got better when after Rose found Emmett in 1935. He'd been mauled by a black bear and she carried him over a hundred miles to Carlisle. She begged Carlisle to make Emmett a vampire and save him. Carlisle did as Rose asked. Sometime in 1936, Emmett and Rosalie had their first wedding. Rose still has her bad days and moments of regret, but mostly she's learned to make the best of her life.

I hope I did Rosalie justice

#rosalie hale #rosalie lillian hale #edythe cullen #edythe masen #carlisle cullen #dr. carlisle cullen #earnest cullen #earnest x carlisle #carlisle x earnest #earnest masen #emmett mccarty #emmett cullen #rosalie x emmett #emmett x rosalie #twilight #twilight au #life and death #life and death crossover #my au

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endlessfangirlao3 · 2 years ago

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There you are.

Relationships: Asagiri Gen/ Senku Ishigami

Characters: Asagiri Gen, Ishigami Senkuu, Ooki Taiju, Ogawa Yuzuriha, Nanami Ryuusui, Saionji Ukyou, Lillian Weinberg, Ishigami Byakuya Other Character Tags to Be Added

Additional tags: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Romantic Fluff, Soulmates. Color Blindness, angst in later chapters, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Idols, Idol Gen, for now pure fluff, POV Alternating, Asking on A Date, Romantic Soulmates, Established Relationship, Ramen date, Ramen, Couch Cuddles, Watching a moive, It's winter!, Idol practice, Even More Fluff, I swear there's angst soon, More information on Gen's past mentalist career, It's almost Christmas, Plans For The Future, Getting to Know Each Other, Again, Birthday plans, Christmas Shopping, Somethings wrong, late night walks, Small cameos from the others, Talking On The Phone, Date Night, Teasing, sorry for the slow updates, Coffee, First Kiss, Learning even more about Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added

Chapter 12 out of ?: December 24th

Summary: Senkuu did feel a bit silly about the gift he got for Gen, but what do you get a man who can get himself anything? In total, the gift only must have cost 1500 yen but Senkuu knew better than to think his soulmate was materialistic. Despite how glamorously Gen lived… “Ughh,” Senkuu groaned. “What am I thinking?”

#dcst senku #ishigami senku #senku #sengen #sengen fanfic #sengen fan #senku x gen #senku ishigami #idol au #drst #dcst #dr. stone #fanfiction #fanfic #ao3 #ao3fic #asagiri gen #gen asagiri

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violetrose-art · 3 years ago

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Frankenweenie Headcannons, Theories, and Ideas

This is just a list of the theories, headcannons, and ideas I came up with for Tim Burton's Frankenweenie. I might add more later on, so watch out

-When he was six years old, Victor Frankenstein got Sparky as a small puppy from the local pet shop

-Elsa got Persephone as a gift for her seventh birthday

-Victor’s full name is Victor Charles Frankenstein

-Victor is strongly not fond of sports, especially baseball. But he does love to play fetch with Sparky and ride his bike

-Victor secretly has a crush on Elsa, but he’s too nervous to say anything. But he wouldn’t mind just being friends with her

-Even though he doesn’t get along too well with Toshiaki and Nassor very well, Victor doesn’t mind Bob (who was one of the “cool kids”) being nice to him

-Victor used to have a pen pal in London named Shamus Holmes. They wrote to each other back and forth almost every week, until Victor reached college. That was when the letters from Shamus stopped coming

-Victor isn’t allergic to anything, but he does get nauseous around peaches for some reason

-When he grows up, Victor either wants to become a scientist, a vet, or a movie director… but he can’t decide

-Victor likes to watch both horror and sci-fi films. His favorites are Karloff’s “Frankenstein”, “The Fly”, “The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms”, “Behemoth the Sea Monster”, and “Earth vs. the Flying Saucers”

-The Monday after Dutch Day, Victor was told to stay after school for baseball practice, but when he hit the ball and ran around the diamond, he broke his arm and got a black eye and he was suspended from the baseball team… which he thought was the best day ever

-Victor isn’t particularly fond of his young cousin, Vincent Malloy. He’s often annoyed by Vincent's slightly obsessive mannerisms and all of his Vincent Price talk and Vincent's mother blames Victor for introducing her son to scary movies in the first place

-Victor was born on August 31st, 1957

-Elsa’s full name is Elsa Anais Van Helsing

-Victor and Elsa first met on their first day in kindergarten. They both reached out to grab the same toy, but their hands touched and their eyes met. After a tiny squabble over the toy, they started playing together and they quickly became friends

-Elsa was born on October 28th, 1957

-Elsa isn’t into sports, but she enjoys going swimming or roller skating on occasion… She also likes to watch Victor Frankenstein at baseball practice sometimes

-Elsa is highly allergic to bees and pistachios

-A year after Dutch Day, Mayor Bergermeister forced Elsa to take ballet lessons recently and she doesn’t like it

-Elsa has an interest in history and she thought about becoming a historian someday

-Elsa has a secret crush on Victor, but she’s too shy to say anything

-After the events of Dutch Day, Victor promised never to reanimate Sparky again if he died one more time. Eventually when he was in his late teen years, he let Sparky die because he and Elsa wanted Sparky and Persephone to be together in death. The two dogs were buried in the pet cemetery together (Romeo and Juliet style)

-Elsa likes to watch horror movies in secret. Her absolute favorites are “Bride of Frankenstein”, “Dracula”, and “The Phantom of the Opera”

-After Dutch Day, Victor and Elsa started to grow closer and closer, as well as their dogs Sparky and Persephone

-Despite her uncle's protests of having a dog around, he agreed to let Elsa keep Persephone. But he insists that she keep the dog away from his front lawn

-Sparky and Persephone had four puppies together. Their names are Coal, Raven, Anastasia, and Hades

-When they were in the eighth grade, Victor and Elsa had their first kiss at a Halloween dance at school. They had their second kiss after a Christmas dance recital; they were performing the Nutcracker together. They started officially dating when they were freshmen in high school

-Elsa’s favorite books are “To Kill a Mockingbird”, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland”, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”, “Romeo and Juliet” and other works of William Shakespeare and her favorite writers are Lewis Carroll, Harper Lee, and Shakespeare. She also enjoys Edgar Allen Poe’s works

-Elsa considers Weird Girl (aka, Mindy) a friend, but she doesn’t like it when she creepily stares at her

-Elsa had a pen pal in New York City named Kristen. They wrote to each other a few times a month, but they lost touch when they reached senior year in high school

-When Victor and Elsa grew up and got married, they had two children. Their names are Peter Timothy Frankenstein (age 12) and Moira Juliet Frankenstein (age 8)

-Weird Girl’s full name is Mindy Cecilia White

-Mindy was raised by a single mother who was a medium, as well as a psychiatrist

-Mr. Whiskers was adopted as a kitten by Mindy from a local pet store. He was the only one of the litter that wasn't adopted because of his large starring eyes

-Mindy took the same ballet classes as Elsa

-Mindy has a crush on Edgar. She secretly hoped that Mr. Whisker's would one day dream about her and Edgar

-After Mr. Whiskers’ death, Mindy fell into a deep depression. Elsa was there to comfort her in her time of need and she even helped her bury the body in the pet cemetery

-Mindy first discovered Mr. Whiskers’ ability to predict the future through cat litter one morning after changing it; it was shaped in the letter B. On that same day, a girl named Brooklyn from school got three strikes at the bowling alley

-Mindy was born on April 3rd, 1958

-Edgar’s full name is Edgar Abraham Gore

-Edgar has a crush on Mindy, but he believes she’s out of his league and was too afraid to approach her

-At one point, Edgar wanted a snake or spider for a pet, but his mother told him no. Once tried to adopt a wild raccoon, but got a scolding from her when he let it into the house

-Edgar was born on September 14th, 1958

-After Dutch Day, Edgar developed a fear of rats

-Edgar still wants to make a death ray with Victor, even though they can't actually make one

-Mindy and Edgar started dating when they were in their sophomore year

-When they got married, Mindy and Edgar had a daughter named Giselle (age 7 ¾)

-Toshiaki’s full name is Toshiaki Ito Oroku

-Toshiaki's mother and father were originally born and raised in Japan until they moved to the US a month before he was born. Being an open community towards different race groups, New Holland was the perfect location to start a family

-Toshiaki was born on May 28th, 1956

-As a reward for winning his first science fair, Toshiaki was given a pet turtle, who he named Shelly. Shelly was unfortunately passed away when he was left outside in the hot afternoon in his aquarium for too long

-Toshiaki and Victor are frenemies, mainly friends, but mostly enemies

-When Shelly died two times, Toshiaki was very upset. But luckily, he had his friends to comfort him after his second and final burial

-In school, Toshiaki met one of the new girls, a Japanese girl named Mae-Lee, and he quickly developed a crush on her

-Years later, Toshiaki and Mae-Lee got married and had two children, a daughter named Shelley Sue (age 8) and Yoshi (age 7 months)

-Nassor’s full name is Nassor Hannibal Karloff

-In school, Nassor stood out from the other children due to his height and cynical macabre personality. The only thing that made him happy as a child was his pet hamster, Colossus. One day Colossus went missing and Nassor was frantic with worry. About five days later, Colossus was found trapped inside the wall and he had starved to death, leaving Nassor heartbroken

-Nassor has an interest in Ancient Egyptian culture around pharaohs and the afterlife. It was his idea as tribute to Colossus would be mummified and placed in a large tomb

-After Dutch Day, Nassor was found wrapped up and he was untied by the others. While he holds no grudges against Toshiaki, he doesn't exactly forgive him for causing Colossus's second death

-Nassor was born on February 24th, 1956

-After Dutch Day, Nassor met one of the new girls, a young lady named Hillary, and he was instantly infatuated with her

-When Nassor and Hillary grew up, they got married and had a son named Darwin (age 12)

-Bob’s full name is Bob Adam Hill

-Bob’s dad passed when he was rather young, making his mother, Mrs. Hill, extremely protective of him, and he finds it super embarrassing

-Bob hates it when people talk about his weight. When he fell down a manhole by accident, he got stuck and had to have a crane to pull him back out

-Bob was born on July 6th, 1957

-In school, Bob had a crush on a girl named Jenny

-Bob first met Toshiaki shortly after Shelly's death. Despite Toshiaki's cold behavior towards him at first, they became good friends

-Bob has an interest in marine life and he has a fish tank full of different kind of fish up in his room

-When he grew up, he and Jenny got married and had a son named Carl (age 12)

-Mr. Frankenstein’s full name is Edward Steven Frankenstein

-Edward was an avid lover of sports, especially baseball. He played as a star athlete in high school, where he first met Susan who was cheering with the other cheerleaders

-Edward has a bit of hard time understanding his son, Victor, but still supports him nonetheless

-Edward likes to role play with his wife Susan that he's a travelling salesman when her "husband" isn't around the house

-Edward often gets people who ask him about his last name Frankenstein. An old family rumor was that he was a direct descendant of the original presumed fictional scientist, Dr. Frankenstein

-Edward tries to get along with his next door neighbor, Mayor Bergermeister

-Mrs. Frankenstein’s full name is Susan Delia Woods Frankenstein

-Susan and Edward Frankenstein first met in back high school; he was a star athlete while she was the head cheerleader. A few years after graduation, they got married and she gave birth to Victor at age 31

-Susan has two sisters, Lillian and Francine. Francine is the eldest, Susan is the middle child, and Lillian is the youngest. Lillian is Vincent Malloy’s mother

-Susan isn't as social with the other mothers/housewives with their gossiping. She prefers the company with her family instead. She is friends with Mrs. Van Helsing, though

-Susan had a pet calico cat when she was younger named Lacey. But poor Lacey died when she was around Victor's age, so she knows what her son was going through

-Mayor Bergermeister’s full name is Robert “Bob” Clarence Bergermeister

-The Bergermeister family has been mayors of New Holland for generations. They were known for their strict laws, rules, and leadership towards its citizens

-Bergermeister has a very low tolerance towards animals, especially dogs… probably because he never had any pets growing up

-Elsa’s father’s full name is Jonathon Gabriel Van Helsing

-Elsa’s mother’s full name is Lydia Hermione Bergermeister Van Helsing

-Mr. and Mrs. Van Helsing are philosophers, hence why they tend to be away a lot. They travel to countries mostly in Europe, like Romania and the Netherlands. They sometimes take Elsa with them when they have to go out of the town, state, or even country. But most often, she stays behind because of school and just wants to be at home and spend time with Victor

-Mayor Bergermeister is in fact the older brother of Lydia by four years. Like most siblings, they do love each other but sometimes can’t stand each other

-Lydia is one of the few people and things that actually scares Mr. Bergermeister, despite the fact that that she’s his little sister. She doesn’t take nonsense from him or anyone else and she’s not afraid to stand up to him. When she’s done, he usually replies weakly “yes, sis” or “yes, little sis”

-Jonathon grew up in Romania for most of his childhood, but when he lost his parents, he immigrated to the United States to make a better life for himself. He met Lydia when he was about to start high school

-Bergermeister loves gardening, especially his first prize flowers. He absolutely hates it when the neighbor's dog lays his "business" all over the lawn

-Bergermeister cares deeply for his niece and younger sister… but he isn't very fond of her husband, Jonathon

-At first, Bergermeister greatly disliked the idea of Elsa and Victor being together, but he eventually grew to respect him

-Bergermeister used to be married; he and his wife even had a son named Bernard. But the couple had a huge fight and they filed for a divorce. When the divorce was finalized, his ex left New Holland and she took Bernard with him

-Bernard Bergermeister was never close with his cousin, Elsa. In fact, Elsa often found Bernard to be quite repulsive

-When Bernard grew up, he met a wealthy young woman named Lucille and they had a son named Bruce (age 13)

-Mr. Rzykruski’s full name is Ivan Darius Rzykruski

-Ivan was born in a small Eastern European village. He grew up influenced around various scientists in the community. Both of his parents were scientists in different fields of expertise and would encourage him to pursue his dreams

-By the time Ivan was 18 years old, he immigrated to the United States and eventually landed a job as a university professor teaching quantum mechanics. He met with various famous scientists in his career

-Ivan tends to be a bit dramatic in his teachings. He briefly took acting classes in his youth, but he wanted to focus more on being a scientist

-During one of his science lectures, Ivan met a woman by the name of Vanessa. They quickly fell in love, got married, and had a son named Dirk. Unfortunately when Dirk was about 9 years old, Vanessa passed away because of cancer. Ivan was heartbroken and he and Dirk missed her terribly. When Dirk was 10, Ivan sent his son to a private boarding school in another part of the state. But when the boy turned 14, he went back to public school

-Dirk grew up and met a woman named Clarice. They got married and had a daughter named Ingrid (age 13). But Clarice died of a terrible sickness when Ingrid was about 3 or 4, then Dirk died in a car crash when Ingrid was about 7. That was when Mr. Rzykruski took his granddaughter in and raised her as his own

-The gym teacher’s full name is Coach Darla Gladys Barnes

-Bob’s mom’s full name is Barbara Deborah Ferguson Hill

-Vincent Malloy’s full name is Vincent Sebastian Malloy

-When Vincent grew up, he met a woman named Marilynn, they got married and had a daughter named Winona (age 7). But Marilynn got into a bad car accident and passed away, leaving Vincent to raise his daughter on his own

-The invisible fish Victor reanimated didn't die. In fact, the fish used its invisibility powers to slip out of the glass jar Edgar was keeping it in and disappeared into the sewer, rumored to still be there

-The reason that New Holland has so many lightning storms is part of an old town legend. Centuries ago when the first settlers built New Holland, there was a young witch by the name of Loretta Thistletwing and while she was a good witch, she kept her true nature a secret from the superstitious townsfolk. Unfortunately, one fateful night, Loretta accidentally caused her powers to be revealed and the townsfolk formed an angry mob to have her killed. However, her beloved familiar black cat, Midnight, heard of the danger and tried to defend his mistress, only to get killed in the process. Outraged by the loss of her beloved pet, Loretta unleashed a curse upon the town right before they burned her at the stake, saying that the town would be cursed with perpetual thunderstorms and any lightning that hit a deceased pet would bring it back to life, unleashing its fury upon the town. This is why the lightning brings dead pets back. But Sparky is the only good one to be reanimated because Victor loved him so much

-Susan and her two sisters are the three granddaughters of Victor Van Dort and Victoria Everglot. Susan’s son and only child, Victor, was named after his great-grandfather who passed away before his birth

-In the past, New Holland had experienced horrible monster attacks and many of them were based on famous movie monsters. There was a mutated bulldog made out of slime (based on the Blob), a half lizard/fly (based on the Fly), a gigantic pet capuchin monkey (based on King Kong), and even a phantom like cat (based on the Phantom of the Opera). Of course, the current townsfolk never believed these supposed stories until the Dutch Day incident

-Legend has it that the curse Loretta put on the town could only be broken when a pet that had been deeply loved by its owner was brought back peaceful and the townsfolk came together to save it should it die again. This ultimately ended up happening by the end of the movie and the curse was unwittingly broken

This is all I've got so far, but feel free to tell me what you think and tell me which one is your favorite

#frankenweenie #Tim Burton

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coffeeandcalligraphy · 3 years ago

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Hi, Rachel! I was wondering if you’ve written anything that you’re especially proud of recently. It doesn’t have to have been published. Love your YouTube videos! :)

First, thank you for sending this question! <3 I've been going through a hard time lately with finals season and missing home, so this is just a really nice message to receive!

I have written a couple things I'm really proud of! I guess this isn't technically recent, but last semester I polished up my short story Phantom State (used to be Phantom Limbs in D Minor then just Phantom Limbs and now it's Phantom State) and it's my favourite short story I've ever written, I think. For some backstory, PS was one of the very first short stories I wrote. I started it in grade 12, and it took me a very long time to actually complete a first draft (a year) which is a long time for someone who usually drafts my stories in one sitting. I actually vlogged this process HERE! While I was happy to complete the draft, the story was so far from being finished, haha. That draft was such a pieced-together mess of the year it took to write it, though the foundation of the story was there. Flash forward to working on the story with CPs, etc, I thought the draft was in a good place, and submitted it to a couple magazines before re-reading it last summer and just not liking it.

I decided to workshop it for my fiction workshop this year and I’m so happy I did because it really forced me to edit the story before I submitted it. SO MUCH labour went into bringing the draft into workshop, even though the changes were small (the smaller changes I find can be the most difficult). I’m forever going to keep my prof’s editorial letter for this story, lol, it means a lot to me. Idk, working on something for so many years on so many drafts (which is unusual for my short fiction process) and then FINALLY finishing it was such a magnificent feat. This story took me from age 17-20 to complete! My magnum opus, lol. The characters, especially our narrator, Linda, mean a lot to me. I don’t usually feel attached to my short fiction characters at all, but Linda feels like my baby! I was thinking of adapting this story into a novel for that reason.

In other news, I WROTE A REAL NOVEL OPENING!!!! I hate to say the Fostered books don’t feel like real novels, and absolutely not to discredit my own work because my work is great in those books, I just haven’t written a non-Fostered novel opening since, I think I’m Disappointed (omg)?? Anyway, if any of y’all were here for The Sun Only Drowns Us hype that happened in April 2020 before the project intimidated me so badly that I fled into writing Feeding Habits out of fear (lmfao), then y’all know what this book is about! Here’s the summary (it might be a bit outdated):

The summer the sun turns poisonous, 15-year-old Eva commits to living off-the-grid with her neighbour Lillian Radoccia and her children, Charlie, Vera, and Jack. Lillian is convinced the sun is an evil, poisonous force that drives people to their ultimate deaths, so to protect herself and her family, she swaps her bustling life in a small British Columbia town, for a secluded life on a desolate island. They settle at a remote cabin where they only live at night, which Eva is thrilled about at first, having come from an emotionally absent household, though she quickly realizes something is not right when Lillian’s only daughter, Vera, turns up dead shortly after her sixteenth birthday. Coupled with Lillian’s increasingly peculiar relationship with eldest son, Charlie, Eva’s new life as an honorary Radoccia child begins having more consequences than benefits.

I never finished the novel opening back then because I got so intimidated by the retrospective timeline where the narrator dips back in time during flashbacks. I am honestly short-storied out right now, and really felt nauseated by the idea of having to write another short story for workshop (literally nauseated, like I can’t do short fiction for another couple months lol!), so I chose to do a novel opening for my second submission this term as a change. I discovered the sort of apparated pieces of this opening and absolutely fell in love with the writing (2020 Rachel was SO GOOD at detail!!!) and the characters all over again. I’m very happy I never finished the opening back in 2020, because truthfully, I was not skilled enough to play with the timeline back then, which the chapter needed. 2022 Rachel was legit STRUGGLING through figuring out the timeline myself, and I think I finally fixed it?? I know there’s a writing vlog where I talk about this struggle... I can’t remember which one but oh god, I was so thrilled to have finished the chapter! Honestly, this is the biggest thing in my writing career that has happened in a very long time, because I’m debilitated by novel openings. They terrify me so much to the point where I cannot write (y’all don’t even know--I actually restarted writing the opening of Houses With Teeth for this workshop, another book I fear-quit, but then also fear-quit that LOL), so I was so relieved that this opening worked out.

I want to make a video reading some of the writing I’m really proud of recently (unfortunately no short fiction or poems that I want to get published but lots of novel stuff) so this ask also comes at the perfect time!

Anyway, this was fun! If anyone wants to learn more about these projects or want to read some excerpts, lmk...!!!

#asks #writing #thesunonlydrownsus

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