#raising victor vargas

[itsmyfriendisaac]

Raising Victor Vargas: in order to salvage his reputation, a self proclaimed playboy from the Lower East Side spends the Summer pursuing Judy, one of the few girls able to see right through that macho façade. His antics outside come into conflict with two younger siblings & a strict grandmother at home!

[papas-majadas]

Thrift store pickups.

[eliotbaum]

As a DM running two different CoS games, I'm so curious about yours. How did Things happen with Lydia? Is Victor around? It all sounds very very different from how I portray both her and Wachter.

Sorry for letting this sit so long! Finally had time to write stuff down. All the infos about our game's Lydia, the Vallakovich and Wachter family under the cut. Spoilers!

[CW for emotional (spousal) abuse, miscarriages, birth trauma]

So here's some general infos about Lydia and Fiona's backstories. We got to know Lydia as we were welcomed in the Vallakovich home by the oh so happy couple. In the middle of the night, no less, after just having been hunted through the woods by Morganta. My cleric PC spent a lot of time in the St. Andral church Lydia frequented, as he helped out Lucian. Through his time with the Vallakovichs, who took a liking to him, he learned more about how deeply unhappy and sadly, emotionally abused Lydia was in her marriage. What started out in a mutually loving relationship ended tragically onesided, as Vargas lost himself to his madness and paranoia over the years, while Lydia held onto hope that tomorrow, maybe another chance for them will come.

Viktor was almost a miracle to the couple. With miscarriages and stillbirths, Lydia grew more strained and anxious to provide an heir. When Viktor was finally born then, and survived, it was supposed to be a joyous occasion — but Lydia fell into postpartum depression and Vargas, already tilting towards his ideology, was no support to her. Or Viktor, as Vargas was afraid to repeat the mistakes of his own abusive father's past. Viktor was practically raised by his nanny, who ended up as his first victim in his teleportation experiments. Lydia and Vargas never knew.

Fiona Wachter staged a coup, assassinated Vargas and almost Lydia and Viktor as well. So Lydia was there on the stage when everything escalated. She was saved, and Viktor teleported away — now caught in a teleportation loop after aiming for magic too powerful.

Lydia was completely broken after this, but embraced a second chance and a new chapter in life.

Fiona's storyline is similar as to the one in canon I believe, though some things were toned down. Ties to Ravenloft, cultist, though one centered around a prophecy of the sun coming back to Barovia. Our DM linked Lydia's and Fiona's stories, so that they grew up as childhood friends, though the relationship strained more and more during Vargas' reign. Viktor drove Stella insane, Lydia, due to the All Will Be Well! ideology was a terrible friend during Fiona's time of grief. Stella's madness was Fiona's breaking point, and she aimed to eradicate all of the Vallakovichs.

[kofilovescoffee]

Raising Victor Vargas (2002)

[loadednachosao3]

Non-cartel au Salamanca family? Family restaurant!!! Maybe Lalo worked there too before he and Gloria divorced

Tuco would be in his 30s, been working as head chef since Lalo got fired left. His sister (Gonzo's wife) works at the register. The twins are a couple of years older than Nacho and have been serves/delivery drivers since they were teens (they share a 1 bedroom apartment bc um, well...the housing market these days, am i right?)

Nacho having really nice memories of getting to run around the restaurant when he was a kid but then being cut off from his dad's side of the family bc tio Hector took a while to forgive Lalo for getting divorced and coming out :(

More important question; are Lalo's parents alive? Bc I imagine seeing his granpa/ma would make Nacho feel all new kinds of shame :))

ok all of you gave me some really great answers but I think this one is gonna be the victor for me bc this is so cute

it weaves in really well with what I had already figured out for them, chiefly:

Tuco and the twins are around as "uncles" (they're technically Nacho's first cousins once removed but no kid can remember that), they would die for Nacho

Hector isn't around Nacho ever because Gloria put her foot down abt it after a particularly traumatic incident he caused Nacho during his childhood

and, to answer your question, unfortunately Lalo's parents are not still alive, which is why he was mostly raised by Hector, and coincidentally why he was so willing to cut Hector out of Nacho's life at the first excuse

abuelita Salamanca is still alive but she's Hector's mother and it's tricky to get Nacho to see her without Hector also being nearby, so he gets and gives Christmas and birthday cards as his main interaction w her

now, Gloria's parents are alive, but they live in Galeana, so Nacho's only "grandparent experience" in the US that is not a Salamanca is Manuel's father, who would also die for Nacho. he is this ancient old widower immigrant who speaks little to no English, who Manuel brought up from Mexico once he started his business.

though Nacho isn't blood, grandpa Varga treats him like his own, and Nacho loves him too. Nacho goes over there to help when Manuel can't, with things like shopping and cleaning and gardening and all. grandpa Varga always thanks him with an old person candy that Nacho doesn't actually like, but takes from him anyway.

as for Lalo, after leaving the family restaurant that exists now because this is too cute an idea to pass up thank u anon, he left and got a "good job" i.e. a higher-paying one, and Hector resents him for that especially. Nacho knows Lalo's new job is good, but doesn't understand what level of wealth they're dealing with, because Gloria made Lalo keep it under wraps so Nacho wouldn't go around thinking their family is rich and turn out entitled and spoiled.

[throat-chained-twin]

Raising Victor Vargas

[16kimmy]

They both die at the end

Mateo Torrez- is an eighteen-year-old who spends the majority of his time online playing video games or reading Count Downers, a social media platform where deckers discuss their last moments. He begins the book feeling regretful about his life and frightened of dying. His anxieties prevent him from becoming the carefree person he wants to be.

Rufus Emeterio- a seventeen-year-old kid, has been in foster care ever since his parents and sister passed away four months before the book's opening. Rufus has been lost ever since he lost his family. Although he has become close to Malcolm, Tagoe, and Aimee while residing in the foster home known as Pluto, he has seen a change in his behavior, becoming more violent and callous than before as a result of his survivor's guilt and trauma. But as the day goes on with Mateo, he begins to talk about his emotions, grows more kind and trustworthy, and even gives away his prized bike.

Aimee Dubois- is a Pluto member and the ex-girlfriend of Rufus. She had previously resided in the same foster home as the other Plutos, but she has now moved in with her aunt. She decided to end her relationship with Rufus because of this action, which made her want to start over. Aimee is a symbol of the morphing and transforming dynamics of relationships. They are both able to admit that their feelings are no longer romantic, even though she plainly feels profoundly for Rufus. Amy appears to grow more appreciative of the Plutos as a chosen family throughout the course of the book. Despite the fact that her life is changing and she has left the foster home, she does not have to abandon the Plutos.

Tagoe Hayes and Malcolm Anthony-are Rufus’s best friends and members of the Plutos. They care deeply about Rufus, and both Tagoe and Malcolm risk prison time in order to ensure Rufus can spend his last day as a free man. The Plutos represent a family of choice, and Tagoe, Malcolm, and Rufus have supported each other through family trauma. After Rufus’s death, Tagoe and Malcolm will carry on his memory and ensure he is not forgotten.

Patrick “Peck” Gavin-Former gang member Peck is Aimee's lover. At the start of the book, Rufus assaults him, which motivates him to seek retribution repeatedly. Peck stands for the division between morality and law. The other characters disapprove of Peck's choice to seek retribution even in the face of Rufus's approaching death, despite the fact that he has every legal right to do so for the assault on him.

Lidia Vargas-the one and only friend Mateo has is Lidia. About a year ago, she split up with her partner, Christian, and is now raising her daughter, Penny, alone. Since he doesn't want to face Lidia's reaction or run the risk of passing away in front of her, Mateo initially decides against notifying her about his approaching death. Lidia demonstrates to him that his decision to keep it a secret from her was selfless because it denied her the opportunity to say goodbye properly.

Vin Pierce- a wrestler, has been identified as having a degenerative muscle illness. He is enraged by the world and takes comfort in thinking that he has power over others. After receiving his call from Death-Cast, he decides to detonate a bomb at his gym in order to kill as many people as possible. Vin is a symbol for how resentment, rage, and entitlement may distort disappointing hopes. He uses violence to express his anger instead of accepting his situation, hoping to make innocent bystanders suffer for his misfortune.

Delilah Grey-Delilah, a young reporter, believes that her Death-Cast call was a practical joke played on her by Victor, her ex-fiance. She's devastated over the thought of wasting her last day after discovering it was real.

Howie Maldonado-Famous actor and author receives his death notice on the same day as Rufus, Mateo, and Delilah. He consents to conduct one last interview with the publication that Delilah works for. He acknowledges that he now regrets neglecting the people who mattered to him in favor of his job, proving that interpersonal relationships are more significant than material accomplishments.

The young adult science fiction book “They Both Die at the End” was written by Adam Silvera and released on September 5, 2017 by Harperteen. American author Adam Silvera was raised in the Bronx and currently resides in Los Angeles. The third book by Adam Silvera centers on two teenage boys named Mateo and Rufus who learn that they only have one day left to live.

Adam Silvera, “They both die at the end”

“Fast-forward five years when Death-Cast came into the picture and suddenly everyone was awake at their own funerals. Having the chance to say goodbye before you die is an incredible opportunity, but isn’t that time better spent actually living? Maybe I would feel differently if I could count on people showing up to my funeral. If I had more friends than I do fingers.”

                                                SUMMARY:

A blog called CountDowners is being browsed by 18-year-old Mateo at 12:22 in the morning. when he receives a call from the company Death-Cast, which provides people with a day and a half's notice before they pass away. Mateo hangs up the phone as his herald Andrea inadvertently confuses him with the previous Decker she contacted. His anxiety, lack of friends, and the fact that he already misses the Mateo of the future cause him to panic. Mateo would go out and live his life in the future. Before he passes away, Mateo swears he will leave his apartment and visit his best friend Lidia, his father (who is in a hospital in a coma), and Penny, Lidia's daughter. An hour and a half later, 17-year-old Rufus is in the process of hitting a boy named Peck for stealing his girlfriend when he receives a call from Death-Cast informing him that he will pass away today. Victor, Rufus's herald, is benevolent, but this is ineffective because Rufus doesn't want to commit suicide by beating someone. For his funeral, he returns to his foster home with his closest friends and foster siblings, Malcolm and Tagoe. On the drive home, Rufus makes a call to Aimee, his ex-girlfriend and former foster sister. She accepts their invitation to meet at the foster home, but she also brings Peck. The funeral for Rufus begins with tears and deep meaning before the cops show up since Peck contacted them. While Rufus sneaks out the back and rides off on his bike, Malcolm and Tagoe defuse the situation with the police.   

Mateo decides that he wants his tombstone to bear the inscription, "He Lived for Everyone," and downloads The Last Friend, an application created to assist Deckers in making friends on their End Day (their last day alive). He requires guidance throughout the day because he doesn't want to inform Lidia that he is dying. Because he wants to be the type of person who sings in public and wears ridiculous hats, he decides to make a photo of himself wearing a Luigi hat his profile photo. The first few people he talks to are impolite or cold. Rufus thinks that since he no longer has his pals and can create new ones because of this, he sits down next to some graffiti advertising "Last Friend”. Mateo and he start video chatting right away, and Rufus agrees to pick Mateo up from his apartment. They both feel anxious. Mateo takes a photo of his father and himself when they were children, writes some comments for the neighbors, and then then he follows Rufus out of the building.

Mateo requests they bury a dead bird that was found in the roadway. Active Instagram user Rufus captured Mateo burying the bird in a picture. He accompanies Mateo to the metro because he believes Mateo is too talented. Mateo enters a different railway compartment and asserts that the revelers have no business being there. Mateo joins Rufus in the party-filled carriage. They exit at the medical facility. Already feeling guilty about remaining inside his shell, Mateo Mateo is upset in Dad's room because he believes that since Dad was present when Mateo's mother passed away giving birth to him, he ought to be awake right now. He explains to Elizabeth, his father's nurse, how his parents became engaged before attempting to reveal a secret to his father. He can't express it, but he gives Dad the picture of them and a note in which he declares that he was brave. Rufus walks him out of the medical facility. When they come across a homeless person, Mateo urges that they give him some money because they won't need it after today. At about the same time, Delilah, a young reporter, convinces herself that her ex-fiance, Victor, a member of the Death-Cast, is playing a joke on her and that she won't actually pass away. When she finds out that movie star Howie Maldonado will pass away today.

Mateo and Rufus decide to eat breakfast at Rufus' preferred cafe since it is too early to visit Lidia. Upon learning that Mateo and Rufus are Deckers, the waitress, Rae, offers to give them their lunch for free, but Mateo is adamant about paying. Rufus draws a picture of the world because he wanted to travel and shoot pictures while they talk about what they wanted to be when they grew up. Mateo declines to ride on Rufus's bike to Lidia's after their supper, so the two of them walk to her apartment instead. Mateo reveals that Lidia's lover, Christian, passed away just before Penny was born, which is why he doesn't want to inform her he is dying. Lidia slept through Christian’s attempts to reach her, and Mateo doesn’t want to hurt her even more. Mateo goes upstairs to assist Lidia in cleaning up and feeding Penny, while Rufus stays downstairs. When Lidia exits the room, Mateo drops an envelope of cash and saunters off after telling her she's amazing. Lidia's number is blocked by him. Outside, Rufus advises Mateo to find solace in the idea that he will be able to say goodbye. To give Rufus' friends something to remember him by, Mateo urges Rufus to upload vibrant Instagram images from his last day.

Mateo learns that Malcolm and Tagoe are in jail from a phone call from Rufus to Aimee. Mateo is terrified by Rufus, so he flees, but Rufus hangs up on Aimee and pursues Mateo as she continues to date Peck. Mateo gets the full story from Rufus about Central Park. He reveals that he has been living with foster parents for the past five months after being involved in a car accident that resulted in the deaths of his parents and older sister Olivia in the Hudson River. He assaulted Peck last night because he believed he would never be successful. Mateo asks Rufus to accompany him to a Make-A-Moment station because he is aware that Rufus isn't a monster. They are checked in and set up to participate in virtual skydiving by a stoic woman named Deirdre. The boys agree that the experience was strange after having paid $240 apiece for it. Mateo follows Rufus to a pay phone cemetery, where they discuss Indiana Jones and the day Mateo gave his shoes to a child who had none a year earlier. The narrator introduces Kendrick, a child who is not now dying but was jumped and had his shoes stolen a year ago. Since receiving his shoes from a total stranger (Mateo), Kendrick has developed a strong desire to punch people.

Delilah begs Sandy, her boss, to let her speak with Howie. Delilah is sent to purchase a copy of Howie's first book after Sandy reluctantly agrees that she can accompany them. Mateo requests permission to visit his mother's grave in the interim. Before they board the subway, Rufus buys some Legos for Mateo, who uses them to construct a haven when the train's power briefly goes out. Rufus watches over him and snaps a picture of Mateo dozing off as he falls asleep. The boys talk about their perceptions of what life after death is like as they go through the cemetery. Mateo suddenly pauses when he approaches his mother's cemetery, since someone is also digging Mateo's grave nearby. Rufus orders the man to go. In his incomplete burial, Mateo sits with Rufus after spending time with his mother and reflecting on his birth. The boys find that they both have vivid recollections of Althea Park as they converse. Mateo then takes Rufus to a dock so that Rufus can find solace in the passing of his parents. Surprisingly, this works. Mateo buys a mystery book that is wrapped in paper and some postcards when Mateo and Rufus visit a bookstore. A Decker named Vin detonates a suicide device outside, killing several Deckers and injuring Mateo, Rufus, and Delilah. Mateo finally agrees to ride on the back after Rufus makes the decision that he must ride his bike.

As Rufus bikes, he unwittingly rides past the apartment building that Deirdre, the woman from Make-A-Moment, is standing on. She’s prepared to kill herself because her job makes her feel like life is pointless—however, seeing Rufus and Mateo down below makes her decide to live. When the boys get to Althea Park, Mateo jumps off the bike, thrilled that he took a risk. They’re both even more afraid of dying after seeing so many die from the bomb. They play a game on the monkey bars, and then Rufus gives his bike to a guy who recently wrecked his—he won’t need it anyway. At the same time, Peck contacts his pal Damien concurrently. They make the decision to reassemble the gang and execute Rufus to exact revenge on Peck. While waiting for Rufus to divulge his location, Peck pulls out his revolver and keeps an eye on his Instagram.

Mateo and Rufus choose to use the subway. They play a game in which they invent tales about other passengers and then act as though they are already married. In their imagined story, Rufus has a tattoo of Mateo, and they both work in a structure that Mateo created. The guys exit the train as Mateo decides to leave his wrapped book for someone else. The book is located after two female boards. Zoe is a Decker, and Gabriella sprays graffiti for Last Friend all over the city. Lidia receives a call from Mateo inviting her to meet them at the Travel Arena, and she shows up shortly after. Mateo and Rufus are free to enter, but her ticket costs $100. During their Around the World in 80 Minutes tour, Rufus insisted they get off the trolley in a fictional Puerto Rico. In the Rainforest Jump, a tourist attraction, Mateo persuades Rufus and Lidia to jump off a 20-foot cliff with him. Mateo leads the group there. Rufus has the impression that he has been baptized and that he has cast all of his rage into the pool. Rufus insists they must go to a nightclub for Deckers as he and Mateo swim to the surface while holding hands.

Due to his familiarity with the experience of losing a loved one, a police officer by the name of Officer Andrade releases Malcolm and Tagoe from custody. Rufus calls Malcolm and Tagoe, and they arrange to meet at Clint's graveyard, the Decker club. Rufus posts a photo of the sign on Instagram, prompting Peck and his crew to go there and exact their retaliation. Mateo wishes he'd stayed longer at the club. Mateo gives Rufus a kiss after their karaoke performance of "American Pie" because he believes Rufus gave him life. Then, Malcolm, Tagoe, and Aimee show up. Howie is being surreptitiously driven to see his first love while being interviewed by Sandy and Delilah in the meantime. He is very sorry for how he lived his life. Delilah takes over because Sandy's queries are tedious. Howie replies candidly, "I wish I had been able to connect with my family more." He understands that, despite the fact that he has a large internet fan base that keeps him from feeling lonely, he longs for genuine companionship. He perishes as the vehicle veers off the road in an effort to avoid Peck, Damien, and Kendrick. Sandy and Delilah live. 

Rufus gives his buddies hugs and introduces Mateo and Lidia to them. After that, everyone starts dancing. Mateo and Rufus slow dance while lamenting the things they'll never be able to achieve. Mateo apologizes to Lidia privately for not approaching her sooner. Mateo is unable to respond to the question she poses about what she plans to do without him. Mateo looks up to see that Peck and his crew have come with a gun before turning his focus back to Rufus. Mateo knocks Peck down with a punch, which allows Malcolm to bodyslam the remaining members of the group. With Mateo by his side, Rufus grabs the gun, fires it into the wall, and then flees. They pass Dalma Young, the creator of the Last Friend app, as they run by without realizing it. Dalma thinks Last Friend accomplishes excellent things, despite the fact that she despises the way certain users abuse the service. Rufus agrees when Mateo requests to visit Dad one final time before they head to his place. Mateo sings and plays Elton John's "Your Song" for Rufus as Rufus snaps shots of Mateo jumping on his bed in his room. Rufus records a movie. The boys eat, go to sleep, and declare their love for one another. They make a pact to stay in bed, but Mateo gets up an hour later to make tea. He is killed when the broken stove catches on fire.

A mixture of anguish and rage consumes Rufus. He travels to the hospital with Mateo's body before paying his father a visit. When he phones Lidia, she assures him that if Rufus is unable to inform Mateo's father that he is gay, she will do it on his behalf. Rufus is then able to introduce himself to Dad and inform him that Mateo demonstrated bravery on his last day in a note. His Instagram account is also included. Rufus then makes his way to Althea Park. When Delilah decides she needs to phone Victor to confirm whether her call was a horrible joke, she does it while writing Howie's obituary at a diner near Althea Park. It isn't. Victor drives off toward Delilah at a high rate of speed. Rufus keeps replaying the footage of Mateo singing to him before crossing the street.

Instead of the usual "they lived happily ever after" story, this novel offers the readers an incredible scenario. This story, along with his other books, taught queer people not to be afraid of coming out and showing society how they feel and who they are; however, just like Mateo, who takes his time discovering what he truly wants and feels, everything will be all ears for someone when they are ready to come out. It makes us realize that there is no life without death, so we just need to make the most of it. Although not everyone is open to this type of behavior, the majority of people are now, and I am moved by how well-written and representative of modern society this type of narrative is. 

Society views death as the loss of everything, which is why people are frightened to confront it. The book makes it abundantly clear to us, the readers, that time is clearly not enough for two people who sincerely love each other, especially when they are aware that the hourglass is almost out of sand. This is true even if you are both productive, crossing everything off your bucket list and spending every minute and hour together. The premise of this novel encourages society to be inspired by the trip both Rufus and Mateo took while heading toward death with every minute they lost, fighting the world that was against them, and treating our own with respect rather than making them fear death, which will surely happen.

[wlwmoko]

raising victor vargas dir. peter sollett (2002)

[ameliaslist]

Raising Victor Vargas (2002)

[eighthxjune]

[nrlowe-design]

poster, RAISING VICTOR VARGAS

2020.

[ifonlyshahrazade]

best decision I made today was watch raising victor vargas

[throat-chained-twin]

Raising Victor Vargas

[itsmyfriendisaac]

All Fall Down   (1962)

Baby Boy   (2001)

Beautiful Thing   (1996)

Big Eden   (2000)

Bird   (1988)

Blue Denim   (1959)

But I’m A Cheerleader   (1999)

Claudine   (1974)

Coming To America   (1988)

The Count Of Monte Cristo   (2002)

Cruel Intentions   (1999)

Cry-Baby   (1990)

Edward Scissorhands   (1990)

Eyes Wide Shut   (1999)

Front Cover   (2015)

The Gene Krupa Story   (1959)

Good Fences   (2003)

Grease   (1978)

Happy Together   (1997)

Hard Paint   (2018)

Heartbeats   (2010)

A Home At The End Of The World   (2004)

I Killed My Mother   (2009)

The King & The Clown   (2005)

I Like It Like That   (1994)

I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK   (2006)

Indignation   (2016)

The Inkwell    (1994)

It's A Boy Girl Thing   (2006)

Just Friends   (2018)

La Bamba   (1987)

Life Like   (2019)

Lost In Paradise   (2011)

The Love Of Siam   (2007)

Mambo Italiano   (2003)

Matthias & Maxime   (2019)

Method   (2017)

Moulin Rouge!   (2001)

My Beautiful Laundrette   (1985)

My Cousin Vinny   (1992)

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist   (2008)

The Night Before   (1988)

No Ordinary Love   (1994)

No Regret    (2006)

The Object Of My Affection   (1998)

Priest   (1994)

Purple Rain   (1984)

Raising Victor Vargas   (2002)

Shameless   (2011)

Soldier’s Girl    (2003)

Strictly Business   (1991)

Tinta Bruta   (2018)

The Torch Song Trilogy   (1988)

Trick   (1999)

Uncle Frank   (2020)

Wildhood   (2021)

Y tu Mamá También   (2001)

(500) Days Of Summer   (2009)

[lawful-evil-novelist]

Rogue Kids Updates

So I’m going to run through the Rogue kids in age order and the updates to their storylines including changes in parentage, living arrangements, and home life.

Let’s begin.

Eleanor (17) and Elizabeth (16) Nguyen: If you can’t guess from the name change, Ed didn’t give his daughters the surname Nygma, and ditched the name himself when Ellie was ten and Lizzie was nine.

Leon Vargas (17): Leo now has a mother, Anita, who works at Gotham City University as a professor.  She and Angel do live together.

Tobias Bloom (17): Firstly, Tobi now has a proper Korean name, Yi-Seul, and goes by it at home.  His parents, Se-Hyeon and Jae-Min Park, were also developed and Zach was changed from adopting Tobi from foster care to being his godfather that got custody of Tobi after his parents passed away unexpectedly.

Barbara and Todd Quinzel (17): Not much has changed, just integrated the Joker/Jack Napier split into their home life.  Harley is now Jack’s partner and they’re raising Barbara and Todd together.

Aisling (17), Maxwell (15), and Niall (13) Machin: All Machin kids were aged down and they all now have relationships with their mothers.  Lonnie splits custody of Aisling with her mother, Siobhan, has full custody of Max while his mother, Molly, is in the hospital, and is still with Niall’s mother, Erin.

Hunter (17) and Ayah (16) Jones: Hunter and Ayah now have a mother, Delilah, and I’m amid developing her character and her relationship with Waylon.

Lavender (17) and Clover (16) Isley: No changes to Lavender and Clover.

Gwendolyn Tetch (16): Gwen has a set mother now, Mary Dahl, which functionally does solidify that Gwen will inherit hypoplasia from her parents.  She is still in Barbara Gordon’s custody but Mary has visitation rights, Jervis does not.

Ezekiel Dent (16): Zeke is no longer in Harvey’s custody and he now has a mother, Grace.  She was Harvey Dent’s fiance and has custody of Zeke.

Dorothea (16) and Pluto (14) Crane: Changed Dorothy’s name and also their mother.  New mother is named Ophelia, their home life hasn’t changed much otherwise.  I will talk your ear off about Ophelia though.

Violet Mavis (15): Violet was aged up and additionally now has a mother, Sofia, and a more solid identity.  She has some design changes too which I can go over another time.

Marcus Wesker (15): Marcus was also aged up and he now lives with his parents, George and Louise, not his grandfather.  Arnold does live in their household (when he’s not doing crime things).

Evangeline Fries (14): Eva lives with her mother Nora and her stepfather, Jeremias.  Victor has supervised visitation but usually doesn’t take it.

Aiden Lynns (14) and Cosette Walker (14): Drury and Garfield are now married!  Aiden and Cosette have established surrogate mothers (Estelle and Ivette) and are siblings.

Jeremy Todd (11): Jeremy is now significantly younger and has a mother, Valerie Spade.  Jury’s still out if she and Jason are still together or just coparenting.

[timeless-hollywood-classics]

Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi (December 11, 1922 – January 10, 2008), known professionally as Maila Nurmi, was a Finnish-American actress and television personality who created the campy 1950s character Vampira.

The daughter of a Finnish immigrant, Nurmi was raised in Oregon and relocated to Los Angeles in 1940 with hopes of being an actress. After several minor film roles, she found success in the Vampira character, television's first horror host. Nurmi hosted her own series, The Vampira Show, from 1954–55 on KABC-TV.

After the show's cancellation, she appeared in the 1959 cult film Plan 9 from Outer Space, directed by Ed Wood. She is also billed as Vampira in the 1959 film The Beat Generation, where she appears out of character and instead plays a beatnik poet. Nurmi also appeared in the 1959 crime film The Big Operator. She was portrayed by Lisa Marie in Tim Burton's 1994 biopic Ed Wood.

Maila Nurmi was born Maila Elizabeth Syrjäniemi in 1922 to Onni Syrjäniemi, a Finnish immigrant, and Sophia Peterson, an American of Finnish descent. Her place of birth is disputed: according to biographer W. Scott Poole in Vampira: Dark Goddess of Horror (2014), Nurmi was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts. However, during her career, Nurmi claimed to have been born in Petsamo, Finland, claiming she was the niece of Finnish athlete Paavo Nurmi, who began setting long-distance running world records in 1921, the year before her birth. Public U.S. immigration records show her father's immigration at Ellis Island in 1910. Additionally, Dana Gould claimed in a 2014 public interview that he had seen Nurmi's birth certificate, which listed her birthplace as Gloucester, Massachusetts.

During her childhood, Nurmi relocated with her family from Massachusetts to Ashtabula, Ohio, before settling in Astoria, Oregon, a city on the Oregon Coast with a large Finnish community. Her father worked as a lecturer and editor, and her mother also worked as a part-time journalist and translator to support the family. She graduated from Astoria High School in 1940.

In 1940, Nurmi relocated to Los Angeles, California to pursue an acting career, and later in New York City. She modeled for Alberto Vargas, Bernard of Hollywood, and Man Ray, gaining a foothold in the film industry with an uncredited role in Victor Saville's 1947 film, If Winter Comes.

She was reportedly fired in 1944 by Mae West from the cast of West's Broadway play, Catherine Was Great, because West feared she was being upstaged.

On Broadway, she gained much attention after appearing in the horror-themed midnight show Spook Scandals, in which she screamed, fainted, lay in a coffin, and seductively lurked about a mock cemetery. She also worked as a showgirl for the Earl Carroll Theatre and as a high-kicking chorus line dancer at the Florentine Gardens along with stripper Lili St. Cyr. In the 1950s, she supported herself mainly by posing for pin-up photos in men's magazines such as Famous Models, Gala and Glamorous Models. Before landing her role as 'Vampira', she was working as a hat-check girl in a cloakroom on Hollywood's Sunset Strip.

The idea for the Vampira character was born in 1953 when Nurmi attended choreographer Lester Horton's annual Bal Caribe Masquerade in a costume inspired by Morticia Addams in The New Yorker cartoons of Charles Addams. Her appearance with pale white skin and tight black dress caught the attention of television producer Hunt Stromberg, Jr., who wanted to hire her to host horror movies on the Los Angeles television station KABC-TV, but Stromberg had no idea how to contact her. He finally got her phone number from Rudi Gernreich, later the designer of the topless swimsuit. The name Vampira was the invention of Nurmi's husband, Dean Riesner. Nurmi's characterization was influenced by the Dragon Lady from the comic strip Terry and the Pirates and the evil queen from Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

On April 30, 1954, KABC-TV aired a preview, Dig Me Later, Vampira, at 11:00 p.m. The Vampira Show premiered on the following night, May 1, 1954. For the first four weeks, the show aired at midnight, moving to 11:00 p.m. on May 29. Ten months later, the series aired at 10:30 p.m., beginning March 5, 1955. Each show opened with Vampira gliding down a dark corridor flooded with dry-ice fog. At the end of her trance-like walk, the camera zoomed in on her face as she let out a piercing scream. She would then introduce (and mock) that evening's film while reclining barefoot on a skull-encrusted Victorian couch. Her horror-related comedy antics included ghoulish puns such as encouraging viewers to write for epitaphs instead of autographs and talking to her pet spider Rollo.

She also ran as a candidate for Night Mayor of Hollywood with a platform of "dead issues". In another publicity stunt, KABC had her cruise around Hollywood in the back of a chauffeur-driven 1932 Packard touring car with the top down, where she sat, as Vampira, holding a black parasol. The show was an immediate hit, and in June 1954 she appeared as Vampira in a horror-themed comedy skit on The Red Skelton Show along with Béla Lugosi, and Lon Chaney, Jr.. That same week Life magazine ran an article on her, including a photo-spread of her show-opening entrance and scream. A kinescope of her The Red Skelton Show appearance was discovered in 2014. It is available as part of the Shout Factory DVD box set Red Skelton: The Early Years.

When her KABC series was cancelled in 1955, Nurmi retained rights to the character of Vampira and took the show to a competing Los Angeles television station, KHJ-TV. Several episode scripts and a single promotional kinescope of Nurmi re-creating some of her macabre comedy segments are held by private collectors. Several clips from the rare kinescope are included in the documentaries American Scary and Vampira: The Movie. The entire KABC kinescope, plus selections of the KABC pitchman who introduced the clips, is available in the 2012 documentary Vampira and Me.

Vampira and Me also features extensive clips from two previously unknown 16mm kinescopes of Nurmi as Vampira on national TV shows, including her starring guest spot on the April 2, 1955 episode of The George Gobel Show, a top 10 hit. The Vampira and Me restoration of the Gobel kinescope was documented in a 2013 short film entitled Restoring Vampira.

Examination of Nurmi's diaries in 2014 by filmmaker and journalist R. H. Greene verify longtime rumors that in 1956 she was the model for Maleficent, the evil witch in the Disney conception of the classic fairy tale "Sleeping Beauty." The Disney archivist subsequently confirmed these findings.

In 2007, the kinescope film of Nurmi in character was restored by Rerunmedia, whose restorations include The Ed Sullivan Show and Dark Shadows. The restoration utilized the groundbreaking LiveFeed Video Imaging process developed exclusively for the restoration of kinescopes. The restoration was funded by Spectropia Wunderhaus and Coffin Case.

A reconstructed episode of The Vampira Show was released on DVD by the Vampira's Attic web site in October 2007. The release imitated a complete episode by using existing footage of the show combined with vintage commercials believed to have been directed by Ed Wood[citation needed] and the full-length 1932 feature film The Thirteenth Guest.

Nurmi made television history as the first horror movie hostess. In 1957, Screen Gems released a syndicated package of 52 horror movies, mostly from Universal Pictures, under the program title Shock Theater. Independent stations in major cities all over the U.S. began showing these films, adding their own ghoulish host or hostess (including Vampira II and other lookalikes) to attract more viewers.

Nominated for a Los Angeles area Emmy Award as 'Most Outstanding Female Personality' in 1954, she returned to films with Too Much, Too Soon in 1958, followed by The Big Operator and The Beat Generation. Her best known film appearance was in Ed Wood's camp classic, Plan 9 from Outer Space, as a Vampira-like zombie (filmed in 1956, but released in 1959). In 1960 she appeared in I Passed for White and Sex Kittens Go to College, followed by 1962's The Magic Sword. The classic clip from Plan 9 from Outer Space featuring Vampira walking out of the woods with her hands pointing straight out was used to start the original opening sequence of WPIX Channel 11 New York's Chiller Theatre in the 1960s.

By 1962, Nurmi was making a living installing linoleum flooring. "And if things are slow in linoleum, I can also do carpentry, make drapes or refinish furniture", she told the Los Angeles Times.

In the early 1960s, Nurmi opened Vampira's Attic, an antiques boutique on Melrose Avenue. She also sold handmade jewelry and clothing. She made items for several celebrities, including Grace Slick of the music group Jefferson Airplane and the Zappa family.

In 1981, Nurmi was asked by KHJ-TV to revive her Vampira character for television. She worked closely with the producers of the new show and was to get an executive producer credit, but Nurmi eventually left the project over creative differences. According to Nurmi, this was because the station cast comedic actress Cassandra Peterson in the part without consulting her. "They eventually called me in to sign a contract and she was there", Nurmi told Bizarre magazine in 2005. "They had hired her without asking me."

Nurmi worked on the project for a short time, but quit when the producers would not hire Lola Falana to play Vampira. The station sent out a casting call, and Peterson auditioned and won the role.

Unable to continue using the name Vampira, the show was abruptly renamed Elvira's Movie Macabre with Peterson playing the titular host. Nurmi soon filed a lawsuit against Peterson. The court eventually ruled in favor of Peterson, holding that "likeness means actual representation of another person's appearance, and not simply close resemblance." Peterson claimed that Elvira was nothing like Vampira aside from the basic design of the black dress and black hair. Nurmi claimed that the entire Elvira persona, which included comedic dialogue and intentionally bad graveyard puns, infringed on her creation's "distinctive dark dress, horror movie props, and...special personality." Nurmi herself claimed that Vampira's image was in part based on the Charles Addams The New Yorker cartoon character Morticia Addams, though she told Boxoffice magazine in 1994 that she had intentionally deviated from Addams' mute and flat-chested creation, making her own TV character "campier and sexier" to avoid plagiarizing Addams' idea.

In 1986, she appeared alongside Tomata du Plenty of The Screamers in Rene Daalder's punk rock musical Population: 1, which was released on DVD in October 2008. According to a Daalder interview on the 2 disc special edition of Population: 1, "There was a wild lady living out in back in a shed. Tomata befriended her and found out she had played Vampira".

In 1987, she recorded two seven-inch singles on Living Eye records with the band Satan's Cheerleaders. The singles, entitled "I Am Damned" and "Genocide Utopia," were both released on colored vinyl, the second one with a swastika on the label, and are extremely rare collector's items.

In 2001, Nurmi opened an official website and began selling autographed memorabilia and original pieces of art on eBay. Until her death, Nurmi lived in a small North Hollywood apartment.

Unlike Elvira, Nurmi authorized very few merchandising contracts for her Vampira character, though the name and likeness have been used unofficially by various companies since the 1950s. In 1994, Nurmi authorized a Vampira model kit for Artomic Creations, and a pre-painted figurine from Bowen Designs in 2001, both sculpted by Thomas Kuntz. In 2004, she authorized merchandising of the Vampira character by Coffin Case, for the limited purpose of selling skate boards and guitar cases.

In the early 1950s, Nurmi was close friends with James Dean, and they spent time together at Googie's coffee shop on the corner of Crescent Heights and Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. She explained their friendship by saying, "We have the same neuroses."

As Hedda Hopper related in a 1962 memoir that included a chapter on Dean: "We discussed the thin-cheeked actress who calls herself Vampira on television (and cashed in, after Jimmy died, on the publicity she got from knowing him and claimed she could talk to him 'through the veil'). He said: 'I had studied The Golden Bough and the Marquis de Sade, and I was interested in finding out if this girl was obsessed by a satanic force. She knew absolutely nothing. I found her void of any true interest except her Vampira make-up. She has no absolute.'"

The 2010 public radio documentary Vampira and Me by author/director R. H. Greene took issue with Hopper's depiction of the Nurmi/Dean relationship, pointing to an extant photo of Dean and Vampira sidekick Jack Simmons in full Boris Karloff Frankenstein make-up as evidence of Nurmi and Dean's friendship. The documentary also described a production memo in the Warner Bros. archive citing a set visit from "Vampira" while Dean was making Rebel Without a Cause.

The Warner Bros memo was first mentioned in the 2006 book Live Fast, Die Young: The Making of Rebel Without a Cause by Lawrence Frascella and Al Weisel, who were given access to the Rebel production files. An interview Frascella and Weisel conducted with actress Shelley Winters also uncovered an instance where Dean interrupted an argument with director Nicholas Ray and Winters so he could watch The Vampira Show on TV.

In Vampira and Me, Nurmi can be heard telling Greene that Dean once appeared in a live bit on The Vampira Show in which Vampira, dressed as a librarian, rapped his knuckles with a ruler because "he was a very naughty boy."

The English Punk rock band The Damned wrote a song about their relationship entitled ‘Plan 9, Channel 7’ and can be found on the 1979 album ‘Machine Gun Etiquette ‘ ( Chiswick Records )

On June 20, 1955, Nurmi was the target of an attempted murder when a man forced his way into her apartment and proceeded to terrorize her for close to four hours. Nurmi eventually escaped and managed to call the police, with assistance from a local shop owner.

She married her first husband, Dean Riesner, in 1949, a former child actor in silent films and later the screenwriter of Dirty Harry, Charley Varrick, Play Misty for Me, and numerous other movies and TV episodes.

She married her second husband, younger actor John Brinkley, on March 10, 1958.

She married actor Fabrizio Mioni on June 20, 1961 in Orange County, California.

On January 10, 2008, Nurmi died of natural causes at her home in Hollywood, aged 85. She was buried in the Griffith Lawn section of the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.