#tag:val

[valerie-reese]

Task 03- Aesthetics- Give Me The Years Back

[...]

After crawling into his bed that night, he found that the second thing he felt was grief.  Curled around himself with his eyes closed tight against the onslaught of tears, Valerian grieved the child he’d never known he wanted. He couldn’t- wouldn’t- let Angelo see this part of the Aftermath. Angelo had gone through enough he didn’t need Val’s grief on his shoulders.

Valerian saw the future that they could have had. He saw white picket fences in some suburb, making dinners with Angelo, running after toddlers and dogs and a silver ring on his third finger. He saw tucking some brown-eyed child with his dumb ears into bed at night, and teaching soccer to some blue-eyed child with springy curls . He saw locking all the doors of a house he’d never been in before crawling into bed next to Angelo. He saw that future being torn away by Angelo’s parents in an instant, and he saw his relationship with Angelo falling apart in the aftermath. 

[...]

@dogtrainerangie

[valerie-reese]

Mabel Reese

Mabel Reese is the youngest child of Vivienne, Mari and Johnathon Reese, and the only blood child of Mari Reese. Mabel took after her mother- punky, and wild, and ready to kick ass if need be. Unlike her older siblings, Mabel still practices Wicca. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin with her girlfriend, Eleanor, and her six year old daughter, Maevaris. She works as a waitress as she tries to get her music career off the back-burner. 

[valerie-reese]

Caroline Wood (nee Reese)

Caroline Wood is the oldest child of Vivienne, Mari and Johnathon Reese, and the only of her siblings to leave their childhood thinking, “Jesus, my family is weird.”. Caroline likes to pretend she has everything under control, and she’s the happiest person on planet earth- after all, her marriage is strong, her daughter, Alyssa, is healthy, her career as an interior designer is going well- and she’s an active participant in her church. That means everything’s going fine, right? Caroline refuses to let people see through her facade- she hates church, she doesn’t love her husband, and she hates feeling so fucking boring. But she’s keeping it together. She’s keeping her marriage together. For Alyssa. For her daughter. Her daughter deserves a normal life.

[valerie-reese]

Task 03- Aesthetic- “Ma Petite Chouchou” 

Valerian was raised in San Diego, California in a pink Victorian-style home by queer, polyamourous witches; Vivienne, Mari, and Johnathon Reese. Vivienne, his birth mother, is a french woman who runs a witch shop. Mari is an art teacher at a high school, and frequently encouraged her children to participate in queer activism with them. Johnathon was a stay-at-home father when the children were young, but went to work with Vivienne at her shop when the kids were school-age. 

[valerie-reese]

36-39**

36) Favorite daydream?

I’m married. My child is playing in the backyard. Everyone’s happy. Sometimes it’s a night time sort of dream, too. 

37)What’s the most interesting historical lgbt+ fact that you know?

Uhhh. When President Clinton signed DoMA, my dad was so upset that he didn’t talk to anyone for three days, and only spoke up when my mama accidentally knocked the aquarium off it’s shelf and started crying. My mama never cries. Now, I know that’s not exactly what you were looking for- but my parents are lgbt+ and it seemed pretty big. I was twelve.

38)Favorite cartoon growing up and what you think it says about your personality?

Beetlejuice the Animated Series. We didn’t watch a lot of television but I liked that one. Lydia and Beetlejuice were weird, like my family. 

39)What’s your love language?

Physical touch. I’m a tactile person.

[valerie-reese]

11, 12, 13, 14, 15

11)What’s your favorite reaction from someone when they learned you were lgbt+?

“Well, no fuckin’ duh, we raised you. I was more surprised that Caroline started dating boys than you.” -My mama, when I told her about my crush on a boy at my school. 

12) Favorite Pride memory? (If you haven’t been to pride, do you want to go?)

My parents started taking me to Pride before I can even remember- my favorite Pride memory was when I was fourteen or fifteen, I’m not really sure which year it was. I just remember, there was a moment where an older man spoke to me and he treated me like I was there for myself. For years, I’d been there as a supporter, an ally, as someone’s kid- but I was finally old enough to be there for me. 

13) Do you have a place near you where lgbt+ people like to go and hang out?

The entirety of Boystown. I don’t know, I’m kind of a homebody unless someone invites me somewhere.

14) If you could open up a hangout spot for lgbt+ people, what would it be and what would you call it?

Maybe a book store or library focusing on centering queer authors and stories? I’m a doctor, dammit, not a businessman.

15) Best gay joke you’ve successfully executed?

Is not memorable enough to mention. Sorry.

[valerie-reese]

Johnathon Reese

Johnathon Reese is a quiet, gentle sort of man. He had never been much of a talker- though, he didn’t much need to be with Vivienne and Mari in his life. He has a lovely singing voice, though. He’s a romantic sort, used to show up at the end of Mari’s school day with daisies in hand and invite her on an adventure. He would write letters and poetry for Vivienne, a gesture she appreciated much more than flowers and adventure. Johnathon brought up children first- they had been together for years, and he had always wanted to have kids one day- and he was the one who they decided would stay home when the children were young- not all three of them had to work, after all.

[valerie-reese]

Mari Reese

Mari Reese is the wife of Vivienne and Johnathon Reese, and birth mother of the trio’s youngest child, Mabel Reese. Mari is a spunky, punk plus-sized queer activist and high school art teacher. She was born in Texas, and moved to Southern California in her early twenties for university, and to pursue art. Mari was the first person Valerian told about Angelo, when they started dating in high school. 

[valerie-reese]

Vivienne Reese

Vivienne Reese is the matriarch of the Reese family, a queer, polyamorous witch who runs a shop selling supplies for other wiccans and providing tarot readings for those who ask- for a reasonable price, of course. She moved to Southern California from Toulouse, France when she was fifteen. She is the birth mother of Caroline Wood (nee Reese) and Valerian Reese, but after complications with Valerian’s pregnancy, her and her partners decided Mari would be the birth mother of any future children. 

[valerie-reese]

Task 03: Aesthetic- Valerian Alone

[valerie-reese]

Task 002- The Abode

Valerian purchased this small fixer-upper after living in an apartment in the city for about a year- in his eyes, it was perfect- even if it needed a bit of work. It’s a two-story home with three bedrooms, an office, and hardwood floors throughout. Right now, Valerie lives in it with just his ferret Penelope, but bought it with the hopes to build a family there one day. He had to learn how to do everything- he didn’t know how to do any handiwork. In the last few years, he’s fixed the holes in the walls, replaced the windows, fixed the squeaky floorboards and leaky pipes, and filled it with plants. He had a bit of help with the decorating.