#susie grove

[miraofhearts2point0]

Do you have designs for the missing kids in your au? I'm really curious on what they look like!

i started some doodles after you asked, so here!! they’re still not completed, but i thought i’d share anyways :)

[cringywhitedragon]

Kirby AU idea: Reviving/Saving Sectonia and Haltmann

Possibly two of what I think are Kirby’s most tragic villains and since they canonically die I decided why not say screw it and give them a a second chance at life because I like reviving characters from the dead because it would make everything better for those they were close to.

I apologize for anything being off but I’m trying my best.

Sectonia:

I’ve had a few ideas on how to approach this one form either Clone Sectonia going rogue from Haltmann to simply Taranza finding some way to bring her by back by collecting the petals from the Dream Stalk but here’s one that’s a bit more out there.

Perhaps it was a wish or perhaps it was from some other means.

Yet the Queen who had been driven mad by beauty did not find herself being put into an eternal slumber.

Instead she awoke atop a bed of flower petals sounded by what seemed to be a lake or some body of water. Bright moonlight streamed down from what seemed to be a canopy.

Her first reaction was that of shock as she looked down at her hands, realizing that she was no longer in her prior form. To confirm this, the confused Sectonia crept her way towards the water’s edge to gauge upon her reflection…

…Only to be looking down at the face of the person she used to be before she had lost her mind in madness.

Sectonia would beck away in shock as she tried her best to process just what she had seen. It was as if she was looking at a ghost but eventually the Queen pulled herself together, getting up to explore the area she was in.

Sectonia had also noticed that her desires were gone. As her mind began to recall what had happened, regret for her actions and horror at what she had truly become began to dawn on her.

She made a choice to not return to her people after everything she had done, knowing that she could not bear them. Instead choosing to live out her days in exile within the forest grove she had awakened in, eventually turning the lakeside into a beautiful garden.

Yet one faithful day, she would cross paths with a familiar face while out on a walk. And well, poor Taranza thought he was simply seeing things would nearly drop the flower he carried as a memory of her, rushing to his once believed deceased friend to give her a hug.

Haltmann:

Through some means, Kirby was able to free a part of Haltmann’s Soul from Star Dream’s control. That part in question would eventually find its way back to Popstar where a now amnesiac Haltmann would awaken, his body and soul in a sort of strange limbo between existence and non-existence.

He would only remember a few things, namely somebody named “Susanna” that he recalls having a drive to find. Another thing Haltmann finds on himself is a broken pocket watch. This leads him off on a journey to get his memories back and to find this “Susanna”.

The people of Popstar are cold to Haltmann despite him not having a clue on what he had done but eventually he does manage to atone for his wrongdoings (by defeating a new threat which had been brought on a result of Star Dream, each time slowly regaining some of his memories and repairing his soul and body) and in the end is reunited with “Susanna”, who he recognizes as Susie.

The now reunited father and daughter go on to rebuild Haltmann Works in a new direction.

[gacmediadaily]

EXCLUSIVE: Lauren Holly and Bruce Boxleitner are the latest actors to join the holiday movie repertory at Great American Family.

The duo will co-star in Aurora Christmas opposite network mainstays Jill Wagner and Jesse Hutch. The movie follows Erin (Wagner), who joins her dad Doug (Boxleitner) for a Christmas in the family’s former hometown of Aurora on a mission that is part business and major bucket list item for Erin to see the Aurora Borealis light up the Northern sky. Realtor Lori (Holly) and family friend and local tour guide Trevor (Hutch) create a Christmas inspired at every turn by faith, love, and hope, so much so that Christmas bells hung over decades in a forest grove ring an unbroken song, a harbinger of miracles to come.

Great American Family’s holiday roster of stars includes Mario Lopez, Candace Cameron Bure, Cameron Mathison and Danica McKellar. More actors will be announced at a later date.

“As we approach year four of our Great American Christmas franchise, we are proud of the family of actors we have assembled that are at the top of every viewer’s list of favorites. This high quality talent is just one of the elements that distinguishes Great American Family from other networks and content providers who are simply making movies that are set during the Christmas season,” said Bill Abbott, President & CEO, Great American Media. “Our storytelling is filled with characters who revere family, faith and country and their journeys establish a foundation of hope and joy for so many viewers throughout the Christmas season.”

Aurora Christmas is executive produced by Brad Krevoy, Jill Wagner, Susie Belzberg Krevoy, and Micheline Blais. David Anselmo produces. Kelly Martin is supervising producer. It is written by Amyn Kaderali with revisions by Ernie Barbarash.

Great American Christmas returns in October.

[bmaxwell]

Baldur's Gate 3

Baldur's Gate was my first-ever PC game. I came home with a shiny new PC a coworker built for me, and stopped at Best Buy to pick up the MicroProse Magic the Gathering game and Baldur's Gate. The game was positively mind blowing. It used AD&D rules (my first tabletop system) it had gorgeous isometric graphics, and FIVE (5) discs. Console gaming had nothing like it.

5 years later I was burned out on the genre* and maybe the rest of the world was too, because that style of game stopped being made. Years later when Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny, and Divinity Original Sin came along, I spent time with each but was never truly enamored with them. I figured that, like RTS games, Metallica, and kart racers, CRPG's were something I used to like.

So when Baldur's Gate 3 released in early access, I largely ignored it. I'm not going to spend time playing an unfinished story-centric game, and even if I did? I haven't finished One of These in some 20 years. It's a bad bet.

However.

I'm like an alcoholic that drives past every bar in town every day. I listen to video game podcasts, and I talk games with friends. A couple of friends' enthusiasm for the game was infectious and, near release, Larian Studios announced that they were upgrading standard preorders to the Deluxe Edition for free. Well, if I ever do want the game I'll want the deluxe edition, and I can get that upgrade for FREE now? I'm basically losing money if I don't buy it. Right?

Buy it I did, and I was immediately hooked. I even spent an eternity in the character creator,** mostly debating my race and class. I get major FOMO with games like this. I want to see everything there is, and that's just not possible. I can't pick every lock AND smooth talk every conversation AND be a follower of every god, and so on. I finally settled on a Tiefling Warlock, a patron of The Great Old Ones.

Oh Aremon. I have so much I need to warn you about. But alas, I cannot.

It turns out there's a lot more than your character and class keeping you from seeing everything Baldur's Gate 3 has to offer. The game gives you an incredible amount of freedom. The studio touted the game's "17,000 endings" which seems nonsensical. After putting a hundred hours into the game I can believe it now. There are choices and events - big and small - whose outcomes ripple out into what feels like an ocean of possibilities.

The game reacts to everything you do. I've played a few saves and have friends playing their own campaigns, and the way we swap Baldur's Gate 3 stories feels like the old days on the playground. "Oh, you saved the druid grove? Well I heard you can assassinate the leader and there's a war and the whole GROVE is basically destroyed! Billy says he went and saved their missing leader and Susie says she helped an evil Drow elf raid the grove and burn it down!"

Susie that bitch.

And that's all true. Every action you take, every quest you follow through on or ignore, every area you miss altogether - these all have tendrils that spread out and touch every other thing in the game. It feels like there's a DM with a folders full of wrinkled papers of hastily scrawled notes alongside their binder of carefully written world lore that the players may never see.

The story revolves around mindflayers, opening with your character being restrained and infected with a gruesome parasite. It's a pretty good impetus to set you off on a quest to get that teethy little tadpole out of your head. No one needs to tell you that the kingdom is in danger, you have your own personal stakes in the form of unwelcome parasite in your brain. You can just watch that opening cutscene again if you need reminding of the situation's urgency. *shudder*

Or, perhaps not. Maybe this tadpole gives you cool powers. If one tadpole is good, more must be better!

Right?

As of now I am into chapter 3, exploring the titular city of Baldur's Gate, and I have no idea how this is all going to play out.*** The shades of grey and the way the game subverts expectations speaks to the quality of its writing. Dungeons and Dragons is some 50 years old now. Creative works carry the world view of their makers - hopes, fears, sense of justice, and prejudices are all along for the ride. They HAVE to be.

It's a black and white world where the monsters are evil and the heroes are heroic. The black skinned Drow are born evil and cruel, orcs are wild, savage, dumb, and violent. Mind flayers are cruel, thriving on enslaving others for their own ends. Thankfully the writers have gone outside the tired stereotypes pretty often with Baldur's Gate 3.

It makes me happy that I have a female Tielfing demonic barbarian who is somehow big hearted and vulnerable while also being powerful and kickass. My cleric is worships Shar, goddess of darkness. She's not necessarily evil per se, but she's definitely not about holy water and rays of holy light shining down from above.

And those mind flayers? Maybe they're not so bad. Not all of them. Some of my best friends are mind flayers! Or maybe that's my tadpole parasite thing speaking. I've met monsters who were not monsters at all. It's a lot of shades of grey and I DIG that.

The game gives you some weighty choices. I've had a handful of moments where I had to sit back and ponder for a few minutes, and these usually involve my party members. Each party member I've recruited (I have missed a few that I know of also) has been wonderfully written and voice acted. They each carry their own baggage and their own backstory that they will eventually share with you. We're all in the same parasitic boat together, but we each have our own demons.****

I have a vampiric theater kid, a spunky demon lady, a melancholy mage, a heroic warlock, an emo cleric, and a fearsome warrior traveling with me. Well, had. I ended up killing one of them when their morals went too far off the rails for me. It's not a choice I made lightly and I do not regret it. My friends have had their stories play out differently. The world reacts to your decisions and so do your party members. They're not just blank ciphers to blindly follow in whatever you do. They'll make their opinions known up to the point of leaving or even attacking you. I've seen their stories play out in very different ways based on who was in my active party at the time of a key story event.

Video game stories are very hit or miss for me. With RPG's I'm usually there for the combat and systems as much as the story. Baldur's Gate 3's main story is engaging and kept me invested from start to finish. Every party companion felt like a fully fleshed out character who I wanted to learn more about and hear more from. Even some of the game's side plots were engaging - one involving a hag comes to front of mind. There's just so damn much DETAIL here, and none of it feels extraneous. The developers have clearly played a lot of Dungeons & Dragons, they know the sorts of things players want to do, and they made a game that says "Yes, actually you CAN do that" surprisingly often.

That freedom extends to the game's combat as well. You can throw objects, ignite pools of oil or alcohol, electrify water, push people off ledges, and on and on. My concern was that I'd get overwhelmed like I did with Larian's previous game Divinity Original Sin 2, but the combat threads the needle of being challenging without typically being overly long (spending an hour plus in combat only to lose and have to start over feels bad).

I can't close this review without mentioning that Larian did a great job replicating the act of rolling a die, a key component of tabletop games. The die clatters about and settles on its number in a satisfying way, and the excitement of a natural 20 on a long shot or the deflation of a crummy roll are intact here in this digital translation. The game handles luck streaks too - there's an option called Karmic Dice that you can toggle in the system menu, which prevents long runs of bad die rolls. After all, the dice add some welcome randomness but they should never play a huge role in determining how things play out.

The inspiration system is also wonderful - the game grants characters an "inspiration point" that can be spent on a reroll either in combat or in a skill check. These points are earned by essentially roleplaying your characters; smooth-talking Astarion will get inspiration points whenever you lie, persuade, or otherwise bullshit your way through a situation while no-nonsense bruiser Lae'zel is inspired whenever you mop the floor with foes in battle. The game is full of these thoughtful little touches.

The game writes a LOT of checks in the opening act, and somehow manages to cash them all. Choices you've made, people you've helped or hurt or ignored will come back around to you in the final act. Major events will play out wildly differently based on who is in your adventuring party. When it came down to the end, I made choices that felt right for the people in my party. It felt more like an ensemble cast rather than my character being the star of the show and everyone else supporting him. I'm writing this the morning after finishing the game, and I'm debating whether to reload my final save to see how other options play out. On one hand, I'm curious; on the other, it feels like the ending I got was my canonical ending, and playing tourist with it would feel dishonest.

As someone who hasn't seriously played D&D since 3rd edition (and not at all with the 5th edition ruleset used in Baldur's Gate 3) I'm not sure which elements are from the tabletop and which are unique to the video game. All I know is that, while no videogame can wholly replicate the experience of spending a Saturday afternoon at a table rolling dice, talking in bad accents, and poring over rulebooks and character sheets with friends, Baldur's Gate 3 does a better job than any game before it. *After Icewind Dale, Icewind Dale II, Planescape: Torment, and Baldur's Gate 2 **At least 15 minutes! ***I've since finished the game ****Figurative and otherwise

[kinonicaltrickster]

Kin List! + Me

fox/vix [me!] - 🐾foxy

Giovanni Potage [Epithet Erased] - 🧶giovanni potage

(fanon) Bendy [Bendy And The Ink Machine/Dark Revival] - ✒️devil darling bendy

Sally Starlet [Welcome Home] - ⭐sally starlet

Birthday [Rhyme And Reason] - 🪅birthday bash

Shuichi Saihara [Danganronpa] - 🔍shuichi saihara

Hajime Hinata [Danganronpa] - 👔hajime hinata

Khonjin [Khonjin House] - 🍕khonjin

Pent/Shelby [Supermental] - 🧿shelby/pent

Marceline + Marshal Lee [Adventure Time] - marcy/marsh🎸

Cheesy [Inanimate Insanity] - 🧀cheesy

Tails Doll [Sonic The Hedgehog] - 📍tails doll

Rainbow Dash [My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic] - 🌈rainbow dash

Susie [Deltarune] - 🦖bully buster susie

The Mangle/Toy Foxy [Five Night’s at Freddy’s 2] - 💄mangled matter

The Soul [Chonny Charming Chaos Compendium] - 🔱the soul eclectic

Sonic The Hedgehog [Sonic Franchise] - 🦔literal sonic speed

Bill Cipher [Gravity Falls] - ⚠️one eyed monster

Polle [Mouthwashing] - 🐴product of consumption

Click Clack [Great God Grove] - 🗒️sounds of a typewriter

friends and others tags here!

[sams-special-space]

2023 Reads!

Here's my list of everything I've read for 2023! I'll be updating it regularly as the year goes on.

I'm currently in the middle of going through my backlog of books I've read and posting reviews, which will then be linked on the list! If you see a book on the list you're interested in hearing my thoughts on, shoot me an ask or a DM and I'll respond asap.

The list is under the read more since it's pretty long! A few notes: - Bolded titles are favorites - Blue-colored titles are non-fiction

River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey

They Both Die At The End by Adam Silvera

The Underneath by Kathi Appelt

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen

The Obesity Myth by Paul Campos

This is Our Rainbow edited by Katherine Locke

Too Bright To See by Kyle Lukoff

Ellen Outside The Lines by A.J. Sass

The Insiders by Mark Oshiro

The Ship We Built by Lexie Bean

The Thread That Binds by Cedar McCloud

The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex

Damsel by Elana K. Arnold

This Common Secret by Susan Wicklund

The Voting Booth by Brandy Colbert

May the Best Man Win by Z.R. Ellor

Let’s Talk About Love by Claire Kann

Different Kinds of Fruit by Kyle Lukoff

We Cast A Shadow by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

Heart of a Samurai by Margi Preus

The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls

Out In America edited by Michael Goff

The Golden Hour by Niki Smith

Every Body Shines edited by Cassandra Newbould

Ophelia and the Marvelous Boy by Karen Foxlee

The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch

The Bride was A Boy by Chii

Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa

Counting By 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan

In The Shadow of the Throne by Kate Sheridan

Act Cool by Toby McSmith

Embrace Your Size by Hara

The Third Person by Emma Grove

Meet Cute Diary by Emery Lee

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

Fat Chance, Charlie Vega by Crystal Maldonado

You’re The Only One I’ve Told by Meera Shah

The Land of Stories #1: The Wishing Spell by Chris Colfer

A Boy and His Bot by Daniel H. Wilson

Alone by Megan E. Freeman

The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee

That Sky Blue Feeling Vol. 1 by Okura

If I See You Again Tomorrow by Robbie Couch

What We Don’t Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon

Our Dreams at Dust Vol. 1 by Yuhki Kamatani

Our Dreams at Dust Vol. 2 by Yuhki Kamatani

Our Dreams at Dust Vol. 3 by Yuhki Kamatani

Our Dreams at Dust Vol. 4 by Yuhki Kamatani

Other Boys by Damian Alexander

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee

This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki

On A Sunbeam by Tillie Walden

Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman

Below the Belt edited by Trystan T. Cotten

Amelia Gray is Almost Okay

Unbound by Arlene Stein

The 57 Bus by Dashka Slater

Nimona by N.D. Stevenson

Our Dining Table by Mita Ori

I Think Our Son Is Gay Vol. 1 by Okura

I Think Our Son Is Gay Vol. 2 by Okura

Are You Listening by Tillie Walden

I Think Our Son Is Gay Vol. 3 by Okura

The Talk by Darrin Bell

I Think Our Son Is Gay Vol. 4 by Okura

Wake Up Little Susie by Rickie Solinger

New Kid by Jerry Craft

Junior High by Sara & Tegan Quin, Illustrated by Tillie Walden

Fat Talk by Virginia Sole-Smith

[motownfiction]

first light

On the day Steph gets her driver’s license, she decides to take Sam out for a spin. She has a multi-layered motive. He doesn’t need to know it, but she can’t help but know it. On the one hand, she wants to take Sam for a drive because he’s her boyfriend who’s been driving her to and from everywhere since he got his license in March. On the other hand, Steph wants to take Sam for a drive because he’s her boyfriend, and until two nights ago, she was sneaking around with Daniel whenever she could. Steph’s trying to make up for lost time, except that’s the problem. She and Sam never really lost time at all.

In the car, everything feels normal. Exactly as it should. Sam’s sitting in the passenger seat, bobbing his head in time with the music. Before they left, Steph’s mom gave her a full-throated warning about paying too much attention to the radio and not enough attention to the road, so maybe Steph should just forgo the radio for a little while. Susie should have known that Steph could never do that, especially not when Sam Doyle is in the car. If he doesn’t hear a little bit of music every hour, he might explode. At least, that’s what Steph thinks. It helps to imagine Sam a little cartoonish. Ironically, it makes him feel more human that way. More real.

Sam fiddles around with the glove compartment, trying to find something (anything). Steph’s heart skips a beat as she listens to him rifle through everything. She’s pretty sure she cleared out all evidence of Daniel, but after she broke it off with him, she wasn’t really thinking straight. Granted, she wasn’t really thinking straight the whole time she was having a fling with one of Sam’s best friends, but at least she wasn’t quite in a stupor. She thinks about everything she packed in Daniel’s relationship box – the one she stealthily dropped off at his house yesterday evening, twenty-four hours after their breakup (if you can call it that, which Steph is pretty sure you can’t). She’s pretty sure she got everything.

And then Sam finds a cassette of The Lovin’ Spoonful.

“Look at this!” he says. “I didn’t know you liked The Lovin’ Spoonful.”

Steph wrinkles her nose before she catches a glimpse of the tape out of the corner of her eye. Yeah, she knows that tape. Her favorite song on it is “Coconut Grove.” She used to ask Daniel to play it when they drove around. It’s not his tape. She distinctly remembers packing it up and giving it back to him last night, in the ex-relationship box, where it belongs. This is not Daniel’s tape.

But it is Steph’s. She went out and bought one all her own, just because Daniel liked the songs, just because he told her that he thought of her whenever he listened to them.

And in a way, isn’t that worse?

“Oh,” Steph finally says. “Yeah. I don’t know. I kind of got into old music this summer.”

“Finally,” Sam says. “I’ve been trying to get you into old music since it was new. What finally changed your mind?”

Steph sighs. She’s not sure what to say. 

Hooking up with your friend gave me perspective. I should take more of an interest in your interests! 

It’s true, but it’s not something she can say.

“I’m growing up, I guess.”

That’s not a lie, either.

Sam sits back in the passenger seat and smiles. It’s the kind of smile you get only when you’re in love with somebody. Steph should know. She never gave the look to Daniel, but she’s given it to Sam since before she knew what would become of them. It’s why she and Daniel could never work. She loves him, but she could never give him that smile.

“I can’t believe it,” Sam says. “You know, you were incredible before you started listening to stuff like this, but I can’t help but think we’re gonna have a little extra fun now.”

“Yeah,” Steph says. “No kidding.”

“Yeah. How about you grab your new favorite cassette and put that in for me? I wanna hear what you’ve been listening to when I’m not around.”

Steph’s heart seizes up. When Sam’s not around. When Sam’s not around, Steph listens to the sound of Daniel DeLuca’s breathing … Daniel DeLuca’s steps … Daniel DeLuca’s voice and laughter. She hears the music Daniel plays, and she almost loves him like she loves Sam. Just not quite.

Right?

Steph can’t say any of that in front of Sam (or anybody, for that matter). Instead, she just grips the steering wheel too tightly and nods (despite her clenched jaw).

“Right,” she says. “Maybe I’ll get it for you when we come to the first light.”

Sam nods, and Steph nods back. She doesn’t know what else to do. Maybe it’ll be like this for a little while. Maybe she’ll deserve it. The awkwardness. The uncertainty. But she’s going to make it work with Sam. She has to.

He’s the only person she really wants to smile at.

[goosehadfood]

You have no idea what you are getting yourself into by asking that question.

If I had to have a favorite family I would probably say either the Willow family or honesty the whole Rosid Clade since like all the plants I live are in there (Lichens do NOT count as plants so they are NOT in there) (lichens would be another topic that you do not want to ask me about or else I will yap lots)

But favorite trees would probably be the Staghorn Sumac, Weeping Norway Spruce, or Black walnut.

Weeping Norway Spruces used to be my favorite when I was like… 9 😭 but now that I’ve been reminded of them they kinda chill. They’re like the nonchalant dread heads of the tree world: 

Staghorn Sumac is probably my current fav just because of how useful it is. My grandma bought me one for my birthday this year and I named her Susie and I love her so much. You should be able to make lemonade with their fruit except for the fact that the deer in my area keep on eating her to skin and sticks because they are assholes so shes been to stressed to fruit this year. May get a fence to put around her: heres a picture of a staghorn sumac (not Susie :[ )

Last of all is the Black Walnut which I only really like because I live in a walnut grove and they make really fun popping noises when you run over them. Another fun thing I like to do with them is peel their skin then bash them open with rocks to eat them like a primal animal, one downside is that they stain your hands really bad and every time I harvest them people look at me weird and wonder what’s up with my hands (this isn’t my hand btw):

And uhhh I could probably go on for 5 more paragraphs but you probably don’t want to read that so I’ll cap it off here ( btw I also have a Magnolia in my yard and while they aren’t the best flowering tree they’re pretty solid)

What’s your favorite kind of tree? (I may or may not judge you based off your decision)

I love willow trees and magnolia trees! Especially when the flowers r pink :3

if we’re gonna judge decisions then, what’s YOUR favorite tree ( ˘ω˘ ) /nm

[thecreativemillennial]

Happy belated birthday to Amy Jo Johnson, who turned 52 yesterday

[detroit-grand-prix]

Wildest Dreams Chapter 20 - Everything Has Changed

Chapter summary: The new race calendar has been set, and Phoebe heads to Austria to compete in her first-ever race: The 2020 Austrian Grand Prix.

Content warning: N/A

Chapter word count: 5,648

Author's Notes: Okay, this is where the real-world race results are going to start to deviate a bit from actual results and timelines a bit. More or less without being too spoilery, don't expect the situation at Williams to be quite the same as it was in real-time. I mean, they're not going to be competing for championships still, but I think their fortunes will fare a little bit better than they actually did in 2020. When I wrote this story originally, I didn't know much about Niki Lauda. Since working on "Star-Crossed" with @totowlff, I've come to have more appreciation and fondness for him, and wish I'd shown him more in the story leading up to this point, but it is what it is. I've written a new section in this chapter for him, though. I will also not do a complete chapter for each race like I did with this one, but I wanted to spend time here since it's Phoebe's first F1 race. Here's a picture of Susie Wolff's helmet from her time at Williams. She debuted this design in 2014. It was designed for her by Roland Mouret, a French fashion designer that Susie likes (or at least did in 2014). I thought since it was likely that she wouldn't be able to go because of restrictions, she'd like to do something special for Bee's first race. There are slight modifications just because Williams wasn't sponsored by Martini anymore. If you want to hear what Phoebe's engineer sounds like, he's in this video of all of the 2020 engineers. The link will take you right to the relevant part of the video. He's Latifi's engineer, but Phoebe is in Latifi's seat right now, so Gaetan is her engineer. If you've never seen the pit board group picture that's mentioned, here's an okay example of one. It seems like teams will take them after the race when they get a good result. Lewis and Valtteri are both in front of their pit boards here, but I think Williams getting into Points and Almost Points on their first outing of 2020 would have been HUGE for them after the 2019 they had.

Red Bull Ring, Spielberg, Styria, Bezirk Murtal, Austria July 1st, 2020

The revised season calendar was finally set, and the first two races would be in Austria, at the Red Bull Ring. The two races Bee was most looking forward to this year, in Suzuka and Austin, were both officially canceled, but Bee was still happy that she would get to race. She’d even had special helmet designs planned for those two races, specifically. At least they’d get to go to Monza, still - she had another special helmet planned for that race, too.

Rather than go back to the UK, Bee opted to stay in Stuttgart for the month between the calendar being confirmed and the first race. She had to make sure to be extra-diligent about working out and getting some limited practice in her at-home racing sim. It wasn’t the same as using the proper sim at the factory, but with lockdowns, travel restrictions, and mandated quarantine periods, going back to Grove would be more trouble than it was worth.

She checked in with Natalie via Zoom before she left for Austria. Bee felt a little bad for Natalie - she was apparently quite busy with a lot of her clients being other athletes that were temporarily out-of-work and likely not dealing well with being idle. Motorsport was one of the only sports that was planning a comeback. 

“I was so nervous the entire run-up to Australia, and it didn’t even happen.” Bee told Natalie. “And it feels weird because I’m not nervous right now, but I’m sure on Saturday and Sunday I’m gonna be a mess.”

“Well, what’s the absolute worst thing that can happen?”

Bee turned over the possibilities in her mind. Sure, the worst thing was probably any of the inherent risks of high-level motorsport, but those risks were always there, and had been there since she was young. 

“I dunno. Having a bad race, I guess. Finishing last.” Bee said. 

“And is it going to be the end of your career if you have a bad race, on your first race? Everyone has had bad races. Even Lewis. Even Max. And it’s your first one! The beauty of it being your first race is that you’re sort of free from any expectations of how you’ll perform, I think. Sure, Claire will want you to do well, and I’m sure you’ll want to do well for yourself, but you don’t have a baseline to live up to yet.”

That was true. It was freeing. It wouldn’t last, but even George had a very rough year and nobody was doubting his talent. Bee didn’t have quite the level of pure, raw talent that George had, but she certainly would try.

Instead of staying in hotels, a lot of drivers were planning on renting motorhomes for the race, and staying on the trackside campsites that fans normally used, since there would be no fans in attendance at this race. One of the other drivers put a link in their WhatsApp group to a company that did motorhome rentals in the area, and would even drop it off at the track so Bee wouldn’t have to worry about driving it there - she was a professional driver, sure, but a large motorhome was very different than an F1 car or her little Mercedes hatchback. 

Bee thought it was a great idea - she used to love camping with her parents and grandparents when she was younger. Every summer, Bee and her parents would take a long trip to the US, and it included a camping trip with Bee’s grandparents on her mom’s side to the Upper Peninsula, generally staying in a state park on the shore of Lake Superior. Plus, it would make social distancing far easier than it would be while staying in a hotel.

Bee arrived at the track on Wednesday, having flown from Stuttgart to Graz. It all felt almost routine at this point. Her visits to Austria had become frequent - she’d been making this trip at least once a year for the past six years, since her Formula Renault days, and she’d flown into Vienna last spring for Niki Lauda’s funeral.

That was a sad day. It was pouring rain in Vienna on the day of the Mass, which seemed appropriate for the occasion. Bee hadn’t been to many funerals, and certainly not one quite as massive. It had also been a long time since she’d been to church. Her mother had grown up Catholic. Bee had been baptized and her family attended Mass when they lived in Michigan, but they hadn’t bothered going since moving to Germany. 

Going to St. Stephen’s Cathedral was almost as awe-inspiring as meeting Niki the first time had been. The moment when Niki called her “The American from Stuttgart” and told her that he was happy that she was with Mercedes would stand out in her mind forever. 

Bee regretted the fact that she hadn’t gotten to know Niki as well as she would have liked to before he became too ill to attend races any more. Before his health took a turn for the worst, she had been at a few races that he was in attendance, always watching by Toto's side. There was something about him - maybe what he meant to the sport, maybe his famed swagger and bluntness, that made her a bit intimidated by him. Bee wasn't sure why she was so nervous around him. He never gave her any reason to be - he always was very kind to her, and he reminded a little bit of her grandfather, Daniel.

On one occasion, though, Bee plucked up the courage to ask him to take a selfie with her. It was during a rather dull free practice session, but she wanted to send it to her dad. Her dad had a hard time believing that she was working so closely with the Niki Lauda, one of his childhood heroes.

"Well, if he doesn't believe you," he said, with a wry smile, "I guess you could just bring him to the track."

She never got the chance after that, but at least he obliged her. As far as she knew, her dad's desktop background on his work computer was still Bee's selfie of her with Niki Lauda.

She always had found it touching that he knew of her before they’d even met, and remembered who she was just by description when Toto introduced the two of them at the first US Grand Prix she’d gone to, shortly after being made a Mercedes junior. The idea that she somehow registered in his mind, despite all of the people who he had known and met over the years, was jarring. Bee had never thought of herself as anyone exceptional, even though being a woman and gotten as far in racing as she had made her only one of a few. 

“He remembers everyone. Plus, as often as Susie talks about you to him, I’m definitely not surprised.” Toto said, when she mentioned it once.

During the service, she mostly stuck by George the entire time. She was nearly overwhelmed as she was introduced to a lot of Formula 1 luminaries of the past that her father had grown up admiring. She managed to avoid talking to Dr. Marko. She spotted Daniel Bruhl, who was one of her favorite actors, but couldn’t work up the courage to say anything to him, given the solemnity of the occasion. She spoke briefly to Toto and Susie. Toto looked sadder than she’d ever seen him, which was understandable, given how close he and Niki had been. Toto introduced Bee to his two older children, Benedict and Rosa. They were both just a few years younger than Bee was. Bee was surprised at how similar both of them looked to Toto, given how much Jack looked like Susie. 

The service was a fitting tribute for the man - maybe a bit more solemn than he was, but it an occasion befitting a giant of the motorsport world.

As far as getting ready for the race, there were seemingly a million little tasks to accomplish, which helped prevent her from getting too nervous. She had to submit a negative test to the FIA four days before arriving. She found her rental motorhome fairly easily as well. It was small, but quite nice inside - very modern-looking, certainly nothing like the old Winnebago her grandparents owned when she was young. She also rented a bicycle from the rental company with it - drivers wouldn’t be allowed to go out or do any socializing with each other, but she had started to enjoy biking during her free time over the pandemic, and Toto mentioned that there were some very nice trails and bike routes around Styria.

It looked like Emilia had already been by to drop off groceries and supplies for the week. Since teams would have limited staff, interaction would be restricted to team bubbles, and drivers wouldn’t be able to go out, she would have to fend for herself as far as meals go. Well, somewhat - Emilia would be doing the cooking, because she was in charge of Bee’s meal plan anyway, and Bee was a terrible cook. 

She started putting her clothes and things away when Emilia came in. 

“Oh, good, you made it. You found the groceries, I assume? And the bike? We can do a training ride later.”

“Oh, did you bring one too?”

“Yes, I thought it was a good idea, so I rented one as well. That way I can make sure you’re not slacking.” Emilia said, teasing Bee a little.

Emilia sat down at the motorhome’s kitchenette table and produced a stack of papers from her backpack with an official-looking FIA header and started flipping through them. 

“Now”, she said, “You’ll need to go to the garage once you get settled in here to check in with Claire, you’ll need to do a COVID test, and they’ve instituted some rules regarding team bubbles. You’ll need to observe social distancing rules - two meters apart from anybody not on your team, no going into other team garages or motorhomes or you’ll be subject to fines, no going out unless it’s necessary, all of the usual things. It sounds like other teams are setting up bubbles-within-bubbles, but I don’t think we are, but the sheet says to keep interaction limited to your engineer and mechanics. And your ‘manager, performance coach, and press officer are exempt from team bubble restrictions, along with team staff as necessary’.” She said, reading directly from the sheet.

“Well, okay then.” Bee said, putting the last of her things away. “I guess I’m ready, if you want to go over to the garage with me.”

Bee got checked in with Claire, went over and stood in line to get her test, nearly sneezed on the swab as they put it up her nose, and walked up the paddock, just to see who had all arrived. It was eerily quiet, without any fans and a limited number of staff for each team. The only press around was the media staff that worked directly for Formula 1.

When she thought about it, though, this wasn’t the worst way to experience her first F1 race. She would rather there not be a global pandemic raging if she had the choice, but with less of an audience at the track, there would be less pressure on her. Sure, there was a television audience, and she would need to be able to focus, but the atmosphere might be more akin to pre-season testing than an actual race.

She had some time to take a nap, and then Emilia got her up to go on a 30km bike ride (Emilia called it a “short ride”) before dinner. They rode in a wide loop around to the nearby town of Knittelfeld and back. They rode past the hospital Bee was taken to after her accident, just over four years ago.

“Did I ever tell you that the worst race of my life was here?” Bee said, while her and Emilia were taking a short rest under a tree.

“No, what happened?” Emilia said, handing Bee an brightly-colored electrolyte drink from her backpack. 

Bee took a long sip of the drink and said, “I was in Formula 3, so… it was just over four years ago now. I was about to overtake this kid - he was a Red Bull junior too, just like I was at the time - and he squeezed me into a wall, right at the Rindt corner, which is turn 9, I think. They had these big kerbs at the time called sausage kerbs - to prevent you from leaving the track to pass. Anyway, my car kind of vaulted over it a little and when I landed, I ended up in the wall. I ended up with a concussion and a broken wrist. They had to put my radius back together with a plate, and they had to take a graft from my hip because it broke my scaphoid, too.”

“Oh, yeah, scaphoid fractures take a while to heal unless you use a vascularized bone graft.” Emilia said, nodding.

“Yeah, exactly - that’s what my surgeon told me. Anyway, I was in that hospital that we rode past a little bit ago for almost a week. And then I got thrown out of the Red Bull program. Helmut Marko - you’ll see him around - called me before I was even out of the hospital, and left me a voicemail. They were my only sponsor at the time. I was convinced my career was over.” Bee handed the empty bottle back to Emilia and stood back up, ready to make the trip back.

“Well, it wasn't. And you’re here now, as a Formula 1 driver.” Emilia said, zipping the empty bottle back into her backpack and climbing onto her bike. “That’s pretty cool, I think.”

“Yeah, I think so, too.”

The next day was the track walk, press conferences, and strategy briefings, but there was a little more time between activities because of the lack of sponsor activities and press obligations. Bee and George were paired together for the virtual press conference, because the interviews were done within team bubbles. They were still on the stage like they would be for any other press conference, but reporters were asking questions via Zoom instead of being in the building.

Bee did get a few of the expected questions about it being her first race, how she felt as the first woman to enter a Grand Prix in a while, but to her relief, she got some questions that weren’t related, like what it was like to develop last year’s car, and how it was feeling this year. 

She saw Toto in the paddock as she was leaving the press conference. She waved, but he dashed over to where she was. 

“Bienchen! Good to see you! I know we can’t hug but we can -” He stuck his elbow out for a socially-distanced ‘handshake’ like she’d seen other people doing.

They tapped elbows, and laughed about it - it looked and felt a bit silly.

“Well, you’re my manager, so I think you’re allowed in my ‘bubble’, but better safe than sorry.”

“Oh, before I forget,” he said suddenly. “I actually have something to give you. Are you staying at the hotel, or at the campsite?”

“I’m at the campsite, I’m not far from the entrance. If you text me later, I’ll just meet you outside of my motorhome.”

As promised, Toto met her at her campsite later on, a large box in his arms.

“Now, this is from Susie, since she couldn’t come this weekend… just because of restrictions and all. She wanted to be here for your first race, but she said this would have to do. She said that the only stipulation is that you have to call her on FaceTime when you open it, and you can’t open it until Sunday morning before you head over to the garage.”

“Oh, intriguing. She must know how much I hate surprises.” Bee laughed. “Do you know what it is?”

“No. She wouldn’t tell me, I think she was worried I’d spoil the surprise.”

They chatted for a few minutes, catching up on what they’d been up to on their breaks. Bee thought Toto looked far more relaxed than usual, almost younger. He had a markedly shorter haircut, which likely had something to do with it. Apparently he and Susie had been staying in Austria, and it had been nice for them to be able to spend so much time together.

“But, I did miss all of this,” he said, waving his hand. “It’s nice to get back to racing. I don’t want to say I was getting bored, but, maybe a little.”

Friday rolled around, and it was time for free practices. It would be the first time Bee - or any of the drivers, really - would be in an F1 car in a while. For the first few laps, it felt very strange to be driving the car again. The first time she was on her brake, her head tilted forward, like she’d forgotten that she needed to hold herself upright. After that, though, she managed to regain her muscle memory and things were coming back to her. 

Bee wasn’t really nervous until qualifying, but she tried to remember what George had said - that it was fine if she didn’t have a great first run, she would have more chances. 

Unlike Formula 2 and 3, where qualifying was a 30-minute straight drive for lap time where your time determined your grid placement, Formula 1’s qualifying was a bit more complicated. For the first 20 minutes, all 20 cars on the grid try to set the fastest time, and the slowest 5 are eliminated from advancing to the next qualifying round. The same thing happens again, and then the final 10 move on to the third round, or “Q3”.

Bee was the third driver out on the track, behind both of the Alfa Romeos. It was best to try and get out of the garage as soon as possible to avoid getting stuck in traffic on the track. George managed to squeak by into the second round of qualifying by a fairly thin margin. Bee was eliminated in Q1, but her only goal was to not qualify in P20, and she ended up in P17, so it wasn’t an entirely unsuccessful session. For Williams, though, it was a massive improvement to even have a car in the Q2 round after not being able to do so at all last season, so the mood in the garage when Bee returned was jubilant.

Despite the suspense almost making her give in and open the box, Bee waited to see what was in Susie’s package until Sunday morning. She got up, got dressed in her team kit, and called Susie on WhatsApp while she was sitting at the kitchenette in her motorhome. Emilia wouldn’t be around for a bit, so she figured now was a good time.

She called Susie’s number, and waited a moment for the call to connect. Susie’s face appeared a moment later, with Jack sitting in her lap.

“Hi, Susie! Hi, Jack!”

“Hi, Phoebe!” (“Bee!” Jack squealed as he waved at her.) “Okay, I see that Toto gave you the package, and it’s not been opened yet, so that’s good.”

“And you wanted to watch me open it with you watching?”

“I did!” 

“Okay, let’s see.” She cut the packing tape on the plain cardboard box, and there was another, glossy black box underneath. There were no logos or anything on it, but she had an assumption on what was inside given the approximate size, shape, and weight of it. It was very familiar-feeling.

“Do you know what it is?”

“I have a guess.” 

“Go ahead and open it!”

She took the lid off the box, and removed the foam insert covering the top. There was a greeting card envelope underneath. She opened the card first - there was a message in Susie’s neat handwriting on a plain white card.

“Bee,

Today is the day of your first race as a Formula 1 driver.You were 15 years old when we met. I will never forget meeting that fierce, determined young woman who one day dreamed of reaching Formula 1. You’ve had a long, hard road to get there, but I never had any doubt that you’d make it one day. When I told you that you had the heart of a lioness, I meant it, and I still do.

The day you had your last race in Formula Renault, you gave me your helmet to thank me for my help. I still have it - it’s on a shelf in my office at Venturi. You’ve never had to thank me - I’ve always been happy to support you, and it’s been a joy to see your journey in motosport so far. I really wanted to see your first race and cheer you on in person, but that wasn’t possible, given the circumstances. You told me then that you wanted to give me one of your Formula 1 helmets one day, but I decided that I would beat you to the punch by giving you your first Formula 1 helmet. I hope you wear it during today’s race and know that I’m with you in spirit and cheering you on from Vienna. 

Go get ‘em.

<3 Susie :)”

It was signed with her signature and the trademark smiley face she always included in her signature.

She lifted the foam covering off of the top of the box, and saw a white dome with the number 50, in a neat, navy blue sans-serif font. She lifted it out of the box, and couldn’t help but gasp.

It was the brand and style of helmet that Bee wore, but it was painted to be a copy of the helmet Susie used when she was a Williams test driver in 2014.

It wasn’t an exact copy, of course - Martini was no longer Williams’ title sponsor, so a few things had to be changed out of necessity. The Martini-branded stripes had been changed to regular red, white, and blue stripes, which was convenient given that it was close to the original, and Bee was American. There was a single light blue star on the back, and one on each side below the visor. Each side of it had a pattern of red and blue squares and stripes that made it look like a modern art painting. Susie had told her the original design was made by a fashion designer that was a favorite of Susie’s, Roland Mouret. On the side, where Susie’s signature was on her original, she had signed the name “Phoebe” with the same smiley face. Other than those subtle changes and the current sponsor logos, it was a shockingly close replica of the original.

Bee had always really liked Susie’s helmet, and was disappointed when she joined Williams the year after they no longer had Martini as a title sponsor. 

Bee was speechless, and swallowed around the lump in her throat that had formed. 

“Susie, this is…”

“Do you like it?” She looked expectant, almost.

“I love it. It’s… I can’t even describe it. I’m so excited.” Bee’s vision was going a little blurry from the tears that had come to her eyes. “I was really upset when I realized that you wouldn’t be able to be here for my first race, but… this really is the next best thing.”

Emilia came in then. She was there to make sure Bee was up and ready and ate something before they needed to go to the garage. She had a few light media duties before she’d need to get ready today - her and George were slated to give a brief interview for the pre-race broadcast.

“Who are you talking to?” Emilia said, in German.

“It’s Susie, she’s on WhatsApp.” Bee said. “Look what she gave me!” she said, holding up her new helmet.

“Oh!” Emilia said, coming around to the front of Bee’s laptop. “Hello, Susie. How are you? I hope you’ve been doing well.”

“I’m good, Emilia! Nice to see you again! Take good care of Bee today.” Susie said.

“I will.”

“I have to go, Susie. I have to eat before we go over to the paddock, but I really appreciate this. I’m going to bring it to the garage right away so they can get the visor films on it. Call me later, if you get a chance.”

“I will, Bee. Good luck today. I’m rooting for you. I’ll be watching, and I’ll definitely call you later on.”

Bee had a protein shake with her breakfast, which was some oatmeal with some almond butter and berries mixed in. It wasn’t quite the same as peanut butter, but it was passable, and a good source of carbs and protein to keep her full and energized all day. She also started drinking the horrid isotonic drink to make sure she was hydrated. She’d be sipping on it near constantly until the race started.

“I have a question,” Emilia said. “I’ve been learning a lot about racing since you hired me, but there’s still one thing I don’t know.”

“Hm?” Bee said.

“Why do your drink bottles have those long tubes? I understand the bite valve, but not the tubing.”

“Oh. It’s so you can drink out of it with your helmet on, if you wanted, especially when you’re sitting and waiting in the garage before you get started, or between qualifying rounds, or something. There’s also a drink system in the car - there’s a tube that passes through your helmet and into your mouth, but I don’t like using those. They’re too prone to malfunctioning and then you just end up with a mess, so I don’t bother, unless it’s really humid out.”

They walked over to the paddock so Bee could do her media duties, and then she and Emilia went to her drivers’ room in the garage so she could warm up and change. She gave her new helmet to one of her mechanics to have the visor tear-offs applied. There was also a driver’s presentation where there would normally be a drivers’ parade,

Afterward, Emilia helped her with her warm up, stretch out, and gave her a brief massage, ironing out the knots in her shoulders and neck. Emilia was incredible at this, and Bee found it very relaxing. 

“Not too sore after qualifying yesterday? Do we need to tape anything? I know it’s been a while.”

“No, it’s not too bad, but we’ll see what I feel like after the race.”

“Are you feeling okay? Nervous at all?” 

“Strangely, no. Not right now. I just feel… I don’t know. I’m happy I finally got here.”

“Good. Get changed then, I’ll see you out in the pit lane.”

She and George both came out of their rooms around the same time. They gave each other a fist-bump, but George pulled Bee into a hug, social distancing be damned for the moment. They were both still masked, at least. 

“Good luck today, Phoebe. You’ll only get one first race, so don’t worry about the end result. Just do your best and have fun.”

“I will. Thank you, George. Kick some ass and get us into the points.”

They had to go out onto the start line for the national anthem. Each of the drivers was wearing a t-shirt given to them by the GPDA union in support of the Black Lives Matter protests happening in the United States - they were black t-shirts with “END RACISM” in large white letters. 

They all stood in a circle on the start line around podiums that held each of the podium trophies. A string quartet (plus an accordion and bassoon player) stood on a platform above the pitlane. They were wearing traditional alpine costumes - the women wearing dirndls, the men wearing lederhosen. A pair of skydivers drifted above the track, holding an enormous Austrian flag between them. The entire anthem was instrumental, which made Bee wonder what the lyrics for the Austrian national anthem were. The only part that was sung were the last words: “Vielgeliebtes Österreich!” (Austria, dearly loved!)

Finally, it was time. Bee walked back to the garage. She put her radio earbuds in, her HANS device on, put on her helmet, and pulled her gloves on.

She climbed into the car, and the mechanics went to work, getting the car out onto its place on the grid. 

“Radio check.” Gaetan, her engineer, said.

“Loud and clear.”

The nerves started to hit her with a vengeance, then. It was becoming too real. She tried to breathe, to visualize the racing line around the track, just like Susie had told her to do all those years ago. She wasn’t sure if it actually did anything to benefit her performance other than give her something to focus on, but it always seemed to work for her. 

Finally, the mechanics dropped her car off of its jacks and withdrew. She saw the marshal wave the green flag. Time seemed to slow as the starting lights turned on. She didn’t blink. Finally, it was lights out on her first race.

She got a decent start, but ended up in some pretty heavy traffic around turn 1. The first few laps went without incident, and without really any changes in track position. Eventually, Max and Lance had issues that caused their retirements. Gaetan kept her up to date on retirements, kept updating her on her pace. 71 laps was a long race, but once she got started, Bee didn’t even really notice how fast time was passing. George was right - it felt like any other race she’d done. There were more and more retirements - 7 in all, strangely none of them from collisions. She and George were both steadily moving up the grid. He was able to grab 9th place after Giovinazzi from Alfa Romeo had a fuel pressure issue. Bee finished her first Formula 1 race in 11th - just striking distance away from the points, following Sebastian, of all people. A double points finish for the team - even a points finish for her, would have been absolutely incredible, but she was mostly just happy she’d made it to the end and that her car had been reliable enough to get her there. Maybe she had gotten lucky with so many other retirements happening, but for now, she’d take it.

“Good job, Phoebe. There’s the flag, that is P-11. An excellent first race in F1, I think!” Gaetan said. She could hear clapping and cheering in the background of his transmission. Compared to last years’ races, Williams was off to an incredible start. 

“Thank you! That was fun! Let’s do it again next week.”

After the cooldown lap she pulled her car into parc fermé behind Sebastian’s Ferrari. 

She felt a bit bad, because P10 was not a great result for him, but if he was upset about it, he didn’t show it. He ran up to her as she jumped down from her car and pulled her into a hug, lifting her off of her feet briefly. He set her back down and she stood there for a minute, trying to contend with the fact that her childhood idol was still racing, and she’d only finished one place behind him in her first race. It was a little overwhelming.

She couldn’t hear if he was talking through her earbuds, helmet, and balaclava, so she just patted him on the back. He released her and gave her helmet a good-natured tap. He grabbed her arm and dragged her in the direction of what she assumed was the weighbridge where they needed to go and be weighed post-race. They stripped off their helmets and balaclavas as they walked.

“That was such a fantastic first race, Phoebe. I couldn’t believe it when I looked up at one point and saw you behind me.”

“Thank you. I still can’t believe I’m here. I know I probably just got lucky with all of the retirements, but… I’ll take it.”

“Ah, but, making it until the end is half of the battle.” he said. 

As she was on the weighbridge, the other drivers milling around congratulated her, clapping her on the shoulder. They didn’t say what for, but she knew it was because she got a decent result on her first race, and probably because she was the first woman in 30 years to run in a Grand Prix. The enormity of the moment hadn’t quite set in yet - she was too sweaty, exhausted, and somehow still buzzing from adrenaline. She and George walked back to the Williams garage to a cacophony of cheers. It was their best finish in a long time - almost a double-points finish. They were technically ahead of Red Bull in the constructors’ championship right now, as both had retired, so the mood in the garage was celebratory. Claire hugged them both at once, and told them she was so proud of them. 

“Can you guys do that again next week?”

They took a group picture with a pit board, like Phoebe had seen a lot of teams do (and she was in a few from Mercedes).

Someone had changed the sign to say: 

GEORGE P9 

PHOEBE P11 - 1ST RACE!

Bee was elated. She drove in her first race. She made it until the end. She was spitting distance of earning points, which hadn’t been done by a woman since the 1970’s. She and George had given their team a good result, which they absolutely deserved for all of the hard work she did. 

She couldn’t wait to do it all again next Sunday. 

[reallyhardy]

went through the goes-wrong-verse playbills/programmes - that is, ‘the play that goes wrong’ and ‘peter pan goes wrong’ (thank you @cornleypolytechnicgoeswrong​ !) trying to piece together each society member’s career within the society PLUS if possible whatever it was they were doing at the polytechnic (university) course-wise, along with whatever other character snippets they give. this is mostly to inform me when writing but i thought it’d be useful for other mischief/goes wrong fans!

chris bean:

as of TPTGW is the ‘newly elected’ head of the drama society, and is known at the university for his charitable & philanhropic work. he has six acting credits within the polytechnic to his name.

i was going to presume his choice of course at the uni was acting or directing, but his PPGW bio states that his ‘dacting’ (directing and acting) is all self-taught, so who knows. maybe he’s just in the society because of his aforementioned charitable work.

robert grove:

has starred in 40 productions with the society since 2002 (when he began work at cornley polytechnic as a caretaker - i’m taking this to mean he was never actually a student there.) anyway wow explains why they call him a “veteran actor” lol.

he offers acting lessons (reacting, gesturing, emotioning and acting) and can be contacted via twitter @robertgoodactor. i’ve looked this twitter account up and it does exist it’s just not been used since 2017 - that said there are some in-character photos of henry lewis as robert and nancy zamit as annie on there and plenty of tweets.

he runs an extremely dubiously safe cornley youth theatre program and can be contacted at his email robertgoodactor@hotmail.com (membership fees are non-refundable.)

trevor watson:

in TPTGW is arbitrarily from ‘the north east’ (rob falconer’s portrayal, whereas chris leask’s portrayal is firmly and specifically scouse.)

he has a twitter account (rob falconer’s portrayal) @trevtechie, with i think probably the most tweets of the cornley twitters. stopped being updated in 2017.

his participation in haversham was to complete an electronics module - as the light and sound technician i’d assume his course was in this kinda field.

he states that after haversham he wants to never work with the cornley drama society again, but as of PPGW he’s “following in his parents footsteps” and has pivoted to possibly actually studying stage management. (his PPGW bio states that he’s in his final year at the uni for the 3rd time running. so it could mean his staying on with cornley is like partially due to failing his course?)

dennis tyde:

in his TPTGW bio it states that he joined the drama society after failing to get in to any other societies.

he didn’t live on university campus and commuted in from his parents’ house. he mostly just wanted to make friends - he’s interested in snooker and wants to meet like-minded people.

in his PPGW bio he still wants to make friends and says you can reach him via twitter @dennistyde. i checked this account too and again it does exist but hasn’t been used since 2013, and there are only 3 tweets so its much more bare-bones than the others. i like his one tweet about drinking a mug of bovril to calm his nerves before a show.

as of 2021 in promotional vids we learn that dennis and robert now live together.

max bennett:

in TPTGW bio it says he was a first year studying human geography and crime which i was surprised about but sure okay. it also says here that he happily donated “a large portion of his recent inheritance” to the society to help fund it.

at the bottom of TPTGW’s cast page it states that the west end performance of the play is “made possible by a generous legacy from claude bennett” who’s presumably max’s grandfather? or just father? idk

his TPTGW bio also says his favourite movie is the legend of bagger vance which i’ve never seen but is apparently a will smith golf movie.

his hobbies as listed in his PPGW bio are chess, cooking & hanging out with friends and fam. he also dedicates his performance in PPGW to his grandma claire, which is sweet.

annie twilloil:

as of TPTGW she’s designed, built, painted, costumed & stage managed every cornley show for the past 3 years. in the PPGW bio, it states she’s studying cognitive behavioural therapy and pottery, and has taken up life drawing at the student’s union (as the model.)

after haversham, she apparently had an internship lined up at the bolton octagon.

she has WILD backstory in her PPGW bio that says she dedicated her performance to her estranged husband julian who she hoped was in the audiance and two children frangipani and ylang-ylang. not sure if the kids are with her or with the husband but either way, wild. nuts. pretty funny but also pretty tragic.

she’s also got an ad out looking for a new bloke (i suppose if her husband isn’t in the audience) apparently she’s been left by boyfriends previously for an air hostess, a stripper, and a coal miner.

she also enjoys knitting and playing the banjolin (an instrument she made herself.) her email address is greatfunmum@hotmail.com.

she has a twitter account that again hasnt been used since 2017 (@annietwiloil). a couple tweets chronicle dave hearn’s shoulder dislocation but as max so i guess its canon that max also dislocated his shoulder, but he did it while trying to open a twix? lmao

sandra wilkinson:

in her TPTGW bio it states that haversham manor is her 11th production with the company. idk how frequently they put on shows.

she won some kind of local kids beauty pageant in 1998 and did some modelling for a local restaurant (the sunam balti house, which apparently the cornley crew frequent? or have at least been to - seems they struggled with spicyness levels there, especially dennis.)

nothing on her course at the university, i might just take a stab and assume she was actually doing acting, since her bio is mostly about her being a performer.

she’s a big fan of jeremy irvine, they mention him in both of her bios.

jonathan harris:

is a total health & fitness guy. his course at the uni is in physical education and he’s also a model, though who’s to say what for. in PPGW this is expanded and he’s moved on to being a combo model/actor/photographer/lifecoach.

he loves his outdoor sports: mountain biking & kayaking are noted.

he had a bath salts advert out and he hoped it was gonna go national.

lucy grove:

her surname IS grove! i wasn’t sure, but that’s confirmed. not really much about her in there, because the bio is written by robert and he just used it to gas himelf up.

can’t tell if she’s a student at the university or just in the society through robert. genuinely there’s just not a lot to go on when it comes to lucy.

another note is that the murder at haversham manor and the version of peter pan that the cornley crew perform are both written by ‘susie h. k. brideswell’ who i guess either chris knows or chris is a big fan of?

other notes... they try so hard to make out like the characters aren't all the same age like implying that robert is genuinely older than most of them etc etc but ofc the cast featured in the TV broadcasts are all visibly the same age... ofc all this is just comedy innit so you can take it or leave it

also i realised that the american version of TPTGW calls it “the cornley university drama society” since i guess you guys dont have polytechnics over there. a polytechnic is like... a university that offers the arts (among the classics you know science law what have you) basically. by 2021 in promotional videos etc. shields in character as chris has dropped “polytechnic” altogether from the group’s name (but varies between calling it ‘the cornley drama society’ and ‘the cornley amateur dramatics society’) i assume to reflect how much time has passed since the group put on their first production under chris’ leadership - and that now they’re simply operating unattached to the university because they’ve become a real family. love love love, sillyness and love.

[rabbitmarrow]

On the morning of October 25, 1967, married couple James and Annie Mae Richardson kissed their seven children goodbye and left for work at the orange groves.

The four oldest children soon left for school, while the younger three were in the care of neighbor Bessie Reece.

When lunch time arrived the four children came back home to eat with their siblings the lunch of rice, beans, and grits that Annie had prepared the night before.

Shortly after the children returned to school their teacher noticed they were all not feeling well and they were all rushed to the hospital. The principal went to check on the other three at home to find they all too were extremely sick and they were sent to the hospital as well.

James and Annie were notified one of their kids was very sick and they needed to get to them as soon as possible.

When they arrived at the hospital they were soon told Betty (8), Alice (7), Susie (6), Dorreen (5), Vanessa (4), and James Jr. (2) had all died. Dianne (3) was still clinging to life, but sadly she passed away the following day.

Joseph H. Minoughan of the Arcadia Police Department assumed it could be a poisoning and started the investigation right away.  At the Richardson home all he could find was a small can of insect spray, which didn't seem to be the culprit.

Police chief Richard Barnard and Desoto County sheriff Frank Cline joined the investigation and throughly searched the home and shed out back but, did not find anything out of the ordinary.

But the next day it was found that all seven of the children had large amounts of the highly toxic pesticide parathion, which use has now been banned, in their systems.

Police were notified by Reece that a neighbor, Charlie Smith, had some how found a 2 lb bag of the pesticide in the shed. Minoughan collected the bag from the shed but remained adamant it had not been there the day before. 

 Coworkers of the Richardsons stated that just hours before the children were murdered they saw James talking to an insurance salesman. James did admit to this, but stated he was approached by him first.

It didn't take long for the case of seven poisoned children to make national news. Reporters from all over the country flocked to Florida asking questions as to who could have possibly done such a horrible thing.

Bernard had stated to an attorney that, "Cline saw the chance to make a name for himself. He needed to make an arrest real bad."

Two days after the children were laid to rest, James was arrested and charged with seven counts of murder.

Barnard claimed countless times, "There is just no case against that man."

But, James remained in jail.

When John S. Robinson, a young white lawyer, heard of the case he took a great interest. Robinson saw that the judge was constantly persuading others into a guilty vote, and overall, the courts had no evidence.

Robinson called the Flordia chapter of the NAACP and they, as well as Robinson, took over in representing James at his trial.

While in jail, James claims Cline constantly harrassed him, calling him racial slurs, and questioned him in a "very mean way". Robinson also found that Cline tapped the cell to be able to spy on their conversations. 

With this Robinson was able to file Habeas Corpus and for a short time James was out on bail.

The trial began on May 27, 1968 with an all white jury.

Several cellmates of James claim he confessed to killing the children for insurance money. But, the insurance salesman testified that while they did speak about the policies, James was unable to pay for them at that time so they would have not been able to be cashed in, something James was aware of.

All law enforcement involved also testified and stated the bag of parathion was not at the scene October 25.

Someone who did not testify was Bessie Reece, who was there that day and the one to feed the children. It's speculated the prosecution did not want her called upon because it would then be found out that she was on parole for murdering her husband via poison. Up until her death from Alzheimers in 1992, Reece had confessed to the murders numerous times but was never taken seriously.

After just a half an hour, on May 31, 1968 the jury came back with a verdict of, "death with premeditation at the hands of James Richardson and parties unknown."

James with sentenced to death.

Thankfully, after five years on death row the U.S. Supreme Court denounced the death penalty as unconstitutional and James' sentence was commuted to life with the possibility of parole.

During his time in prison, a prominent lawyer named Mark Lane took interest in the case. Lane found that what little evidence there was, was never truly looked in to. After receiving the full case file from a friend, he took the file and gave it to the current Govenor pleading for the case to be reopened. 

The case was turned over to then Miami-Dade County prosecutor Janet Reno who concluded James did not receive a fair trial.

Twenty-one years after the orginal trial, on October 25, 1989 James Richardson was released as a free man. 

As of 2018, James is recieving compensation for being wrongfully incarcerated and is working on a ranch as a caretaker.

[thepaladincosplays]

Can categorize which characters belong in the Callyieverse, Tales of Mewni, etc.?

Sure.

So for the Callyieverse we've got my main characters Envie and Rogen, followed up by Seth; then for all the non-canon characters we've go Barry, Percival, Jenn, and Lola (who are all members of the H.I.V.E. Squad); Storm, Aeolus, Cinder, and Skyfire (the members of the New Titans); and Susie May Watson-Parker, A.K.A. "Dread."

Tales of Mewni we've got: Visas, Sarasim, Hava the Grandmaster, Haku, Kroviir, Viper, the Cauldron Child, Ar-Baruk, Ozedus, Ar-Janek, Marinus, Petal Groves,

I have a few characters that are part of their own little verse separate from the Callyieverse and Tales of Mewni. There's the three Irkens Spli, Razz, and Gloz; Yeshua, Eris' son; and Stella, the daughter of Ms. Bellum.

[caoscompanion]

Episode Summary:  Sabrina Spellman is about to turn 16, however, on her birthday she must fully embrace her witch half through a dark baptism, where she will pledge loyalty to the Dark Lord. But Sabrina is torn, as she must choose between her friends and her family. Sabrina spends the days leading up to her birthday finding answers to her questions about the ritual. Meanwhile, Sabrina's mortal teacher Mary Wardwell is killed, with Lilith taking her place. She seeks to bring Sabrina over to the Dark Lord's side. Sabrina must also deal with three sister witches known as the Weird Sisters, who look down on her for being a "half-breed".

First Appearances: Sabrina Spellman, Rosalind Walker, Harvey Kinkle, Susie Putnam, Mary Wardwell, Lilith, Zelda Spellman, Hilda Spellman, Ambrose Spellman, Principal Hawthorne, Assistant Principal Glover (mentioned only), Mrs Meeks, Prudence Night, Agatha Night, Dorcas Night, Faustus Blackwood

Music: Bad Moon Rising - CCR, Be My Baby - The Ronettes, I Put a Spell on You - Sylvia Black, Hurdy Gurdy Man - Donovan, Atomic - Blondie

Pop Culture: The film Sabrina, Roz, Harvey and Susie are watching is The Night of the Living Dead (1968)

Deaths: Mary Wardwell; killed by Lilith, via scissors telekinetically thrust into her neck, she bleeds to death in her own cottage. Conner Kemplar; stabbed to death, suspected to be at the hands of Witch Hunters. 

Baxter High Antics: Susie is bulled by Billy Marlin and his friends, but the Principal offers no help to the situation, suggesting Susie find another school. Ros and Sabrina form W.I.C.C.A (women’s inter-sectional cultural and creative association) to help battle the bullying and support all women in the school.

Witch Insults: Succubitches

Vocab: Factotum; Lilith refers to Stolas as her faithful factotum. Factotum is an employee who does all kinds of work. Gordian Knot: Lilith refers to Sabrina’s debate as a Gordian Knot. It is a metaphor used to describe a particularly difficult knot. It comes from the legend that Gordius, king of Gordium, tied an intricate knot and prophesied that whoever untied it would become the ruler of Asia. It was cut through with a sword by Alexander the Great.

Random Facts: Vines cover the inside of the walls of the Spellman house as you go up to the attic, which is Ambrose’s room. Despite the 60s aesthetic and implied timeline, Ambrose is show to have a laptop.

Spellman History: The spellmans have been witches for generations and generations. Every Spellman has been a witch. Edward Spellman, Hilda and Zelda’s brother, was almost excommunicated for marrying Sabrina’s mortal Mother, Diana. Ambrose Spellman has been under house arrest for 75 years. Sabrina was born in the grove in Greendale Woods on October 31st.

Edward and Diana: Edward was nearly excommunicated for marrying a mortal. Many despise him for it, including Lilith and the Weird Sisters. Hilda and Zelda say Edward and Diana were flying to Italy for Edward to give a lecture at the Vatican

Familars: Stolas, a raven; belongs to Lilith. Vinegar Tom, a dog (deceased); belongs to Zelda. Spiders; belong to Hilda has spiders. Salem, a black cat; belongs to Sabrina

True Faces: We see Lilith’s original face, the one from the Garden. We also hear her demonic voice which she puts on when talking in anger about Edward Spellman.  This is the first and only time we hear Salem’s voice. It is also the first and only time we see his true form, which is a feline-esque goblin.

Times: Midnight is a Witching Hour. A Blood Moon occurs once every 66 years and happens on Sabrina’s birthday this year. Sabrina is born on October 31st. Mary Wardwell is murdered on Monday 27th October.

Sabrina the Teenage Witch References; Sabrina turns on music with a point of her finger, and we hear a ‘sparkling’ magic sound, which was the way all magic worked in the original show. Hilda and Zelda are doing jigsaw puzzles together, with Hilda shoving the wrong pieces together with impatience, something that happened several times on the 90s show.

Relationships: Ambrose is the nephew of  Zelda and Hilda, but we do not confirm who his parents are. Sabrina is related to the Aunts via their brother, Edward. Harvey and Sabrina, who are boyfriend and girlfriend, say they love each for the first time. Their best friends are Ros and Susie. Ms Wardwell is declared to be Sabrina’s favourite teacher. Susie is bulled by jocks led by Billy Marlin. Prudence, Agatha and Dorcas are three students known as the Weird Sisters, they are known bullies.

Omens: A black bat smashes through Sabrina’s window and breaks it’s wing, and she kills it by smashing it with a book. It’s stated that a bat coming in through a window could be considered a bad omen.

Reading Materials: Greendale Gazette (read by Zelda), Demonicon (mentioned by Sabrina), Familiar Registry (Council catalogue)

[krispdreemurr]

hey airis is it alright if i ask for the faerune kris and susie find lancer baby in the unused classroom fic? it's alright if it'd be too draining

[sorry for the delay on this one!!! fic machine broke for a few months,]

They sit in the little grove that they’ve carved into a space for themselves, beneath the shelter of the treehouse. Susie has the boy on her lap, asleep, doglike ears twitching.

Kris is tapping on their phone rapidly, screen working despite the plastic-y texture of their fingers. “...Nobody’s responded yet,” they murmur. “Well, I mean, we got responses, but nothing actually helpful. You know. Mostly just angry rants.”

Susie sighs, shifting the child a little. “So what the fuck are we meant to do? We can’t keep a kid. Your mom’d notice, and I, uh, do not have space.”

“I don’t know,” Kris mumbles. “It’d be easier if he remembered anything, but...”

They trail off. Remember the boy’s confused, hurt voice as he described his ‘dad’, as he made it all too clear how young he’d been taken by something wanting a son, how he’d barely scraped together a coherent desire to escape.

But he had. And he’s out.

“Hell of a kid, huh?” Susie says, echoing both their thoughts. “Might’ve been years, and he’s still...”

Kris nods. “I’m, uh, pretty glad for that, for one. Even if it means we’re... babysitting? I guess?”

Susie nods, rocking the boy a little bit in slightly-scaled arms. Thinking.

“We can get blankets out here,” she says at last. “This spot’s still warded, and, uh, I have done way worse than staying in a treehouse for a bit. Not the best, but until someone gets out here with actual help...”

Kris hesitates, then nods. “Best we got. I’ll tell mom I’m staying over.” They sigh, dragging a hand down their masklike face. “This sucks, you know? He’s too young for this.”

“We were too young for it,” Susie says with a shrug. “But it happened, and we made it, and we’re fucking managing or whatever. Just gotta help him do the same.”

Kris nods, slowly. “Can’t fault that.”

The boy stirs, a little, opening an eye. “...morning,” he mumbles.

“Morning,” Kris says, smiling as warmly as they can manage. “You feeling alright?”

“Yeah, I feel... way fucking better!” He beams, bright and brilliant.

There’s a long pause.

“Okay, maybe swear less around the baby,” Susie says at last.

Kris is laughing too hard to reply.

[audiopilot]

Current WIP’s

Remanence (Chapter 6)

Realizing I can’t write fight scenes, I wrote one anyway, and now I have to go back and try and make it work.

This chapter will add a couple more tags to the fic and I’ll probably post a warning at the beginning regarding some body horror that will be taking place. 🤤

Update planned for late February.

Courtship Flight (Chapter 2)

Do I go with the good ending or the bad ending? CHOICES.

Update planned for March.

Stroke Your Ego

Julie/Susie where they’re cruel BFFs who play gay chicken. 🔞💦

Hoping to get it done for Femslash February!

All That Decays

DBD/Annihilation fusion AU involving Claudette Morel, Herman Carter, and others as part of a team dispatched into Area X/the Entity that falls apart under its influence. 

I’m so lazy about doing actual research! I’ve seen the movie but only read the first book. It’s so self-indulgent for my own weird amusement, without the excuse of being about a pairing, that I don’t know if I’ll ever post it. 😂

Dark Birds

Modern AU where Jake works at Smith’s Grove and doesn’t have a good time when he catches Michael’s attention.

I wrote ~5.4k and then realized I hated it ha ha ugh.