emma.keaton

[emma-keaton]

BASIC INFORMATION

Full Name: Emma Kate Keaton

Nicknames: Em, Ems, Emmy.

Gender identity/pronouns : Female/she+her

Age: 35

Orientation : Heterosexual

Marital status: Married Widowed

Place of Birth : Aurora Bay

Length in town: born and raised in Aurora

Occupation : Owner of Elegance Dance Studio

Residence: Seabrook Quarter

@aurorabayaesthetic

trigger warnings: death, grief, unplanned pregnancy, car crash

BACKGROUND

Emma Kate Keaton was born and raised in Aurora Bay, born to Christine and Alan Halsbury. Yes, the infamous Halsbury family that resides in the wealthy gated community of Aurora Bay Drive. Her family has a slew of problems they make sure to sweep under the pristinely cleaned carpet, however money was never one of them. For as long as Emma can remember and truthfully even before she was even born her father had an abundance of money in his bank account. Alan Halsbury came from money, yet at a young age he began investing in companies as soon as he got his trust fund he more than doubled it in just a few short years. Emma had never lived a life where money was a struggle, yet despite this Emma never let it affect the way she treated those around her. Naturally kind, a bit soft spoken, and witty, Emma was taught were early in life from her mother poise and elegance.

Although Emma often only saw her mother from afar, her care often relegated to nannies and workers of the home, her mother's insists on proper etiquette and care were deeply instilled. Her mother, a ballet dancer in her youth had insisted that her daughter would be placed in ballet from the moment Emma could walk. It would teach her elegance, poise, and discipline her mother would always say, yet as the other Emma got, the more she felt ballet was more so a way for her mother to place her off somewhere so her parents were free to socialize. You see the only thing Christine cared more about than poise and elegance was the connections she made with other wealthy folks in Aurora. Christine was known for throwing extravagant parties, for spending her husband's wealth on designer everything, having the best equated to being the best. So often she primped and primed Emma almost as much as she did herself.

Emma and her parents were never necessarily close, Emma did her best to stay hidden behind, spending most her days at the dance studio, it being the one place Emma felt like she could breathe. While she danced she often felt the harsh inner voice of critiques instilled from her mother would fade. Not much interested things happened until Emma at sixteen met a boy. Damian, a boy from her class with a smirk that always brought butterflies to her stomach. The two never went passed a friendship, in fear what her parents would say or do, yet Emma couldn't deny the feelings she began to feel for him. Their relationship stayed mostly platonic, with the occasionally flirty comment that always made her cheeks color. However, that all changed the summer before Emma was due to move to New York for the fall. Emma had gotten into a performing arts school and with Damian freshly off a break up she knew if they were ever going to explore their feelings now was the moment.

That summer was filled with romance that Emma had only ever dreamed of at that point, and the two fell in love fiercely and quickly. Their summer romance came to an abrupt smack of reality when Emma realized that she was pregnant. She knew before the test showed that plus sign how her parents were going to react, and she knew instantly her life was going to change forever. Her parents made it clear, either find an alternative or have the baby and have nothing to do with them, so Emma packed some pieces of luggage and that was that. It wasn't long before Damian saved up from his new job and got down on one knee. It was fast but she knew even then her family along with her future was with him. The two were married quickly after, a few months before their son was born. They never had as much as when she lived with her parents but she had never been happier.

Their marriage was filled with a lot of love, laughter, and growth in those first ten years. Despite him needing to travel often for work she found immense delight in being a wife a mother. All that tragically changed however, one night when she got a phone call that would change her life forever. A car crash, a car crash and everything she had spent years building collapsed in seconds. She was told Damian's body was too destroyed in the accident so she wasn't even able to see him one last time. To make matters even more complicated she had taken a test that very morning confirming they were in fact going to have a second. With not much options left she had to do what she never wanted to and ask her parents for help. She asked for a loan to buy the newly for sale dance studio, changed its name to Elegance Dance Studio, a nod to her mom, and began her life as a newly single mother of two.

The first four, almost five years of her daughters life were some of the most challenging, difficult, and enduring of her life. She did what she had to get by, trying her best not to dwell on the way things were. Currently she is doing her best to juggle paying her parents back, raising her children with love and attention, something her own childhood lacked, and to move past the grief of losing her husband.

WANTED CONNECTIONS

dancers at her studio

fellow parents, maybe parents of the friends of her children

her former husband's family members

a man who she has been slowly getting to know, it hasn't gone anywhere, but the are friendly

friends who helped her through her grief, or friends that she lost due to her grief?

siblings, sister or brother, or both? whether they are strained or close we can discuss.

husband taken by @damiankeaton

[jaspermorgan]

Jasper let out a laugh. “Yes, you’re right. I think it’s only fair to pay for your drink in exchange for honest feedback. It's you that's doing me the favour after all... So what do you think of the one you have there? It's not my personal favourite, but it seems to be popular. As for appetisers, I would recommend the mini spicy tacos- both the meat and vegan options- and the pumpkin empanadas; all lovingly handmade right here at the hotel. I wouldn't be offering them if I didn't think they were the best, I promise."

Jasper’s expression changed when the woman mentioned her husband’s funeral. “Oh… Well, I'm sorry about your husband, but I suppose the outfit is in keeping with the dark Halloween theme." He didn't know if he should ask about her husband, but she seemed quite nonchalant about the situation considering she was wearing the funeral dress to a Halloween party. "Are you enjoying the evening?"

[emma-keaton]

"Glad to see we are in agreement and not just because I think I have well ... maybe six actual dollars and probably a handful of monopoly money my four year old shoved into my purse." Emma said letting out a small chuckle even though she was fairly certain the part wasn't necessarily just a joke. Emma's daughter Gracie was quite fond of playing pretend with mommy's purse these days leaving Emma to find all sorts of toys and misplaced items in there later. When the male inquired about her drink currently in her hand she simple shrugged, she had better for sure, but she had yet to try what else was on the menu for the night. "It's not the best drink I've ever had, not the worst, mediocre at best. Why don't you pick the next one, and food, right probably should eat some of that, why don't you pick that too." Emma said realizing she hadn't eaten much for the day, it wasn't unknown for her to drink more than she ate lately, her appetite never fully returning. Noting his expression change when she mentioned her deceased husband she sighed quietly. Getting stranger's sympathy never got less annoying to her. She knew they meant well but there's only so many times someone can say I'm sorry for your loss before you start to feel numb to it all. "Why let a perfectly good dress go to waste right?" She said trying to lighten the mood she had just succeeded in darkening. "Well my honest answer on the night might cost you another drink." She half joked finishing the remaining liquid in the glass in front of her.

[ambivalenceshefelt]

Nikki: Being a hot girl is about mentality too so..... Nikki: I will hold you to that. Otherwise I'll be wailing outside your door in my party dress.

[emma-keaton]

Emma: Let's hope not, I am definitely not a hot girl if that's the case. Emma: No wailing on your birthday, I won't have it!

[ambivalenceshefelt]

Nikki: Don't pretend you're an old lady when you look like that, please! You're too hot for that!! 🔥 Nikki: I will take whatever time you can give me and I won't complain, I swear

[emma-keaton]

Emma: I am old and gosh if being hot means going to bed by ten and eating a carton of ice cream alone most nights then for sure I'm the hottest hottie that ever lived. Emma: I will do my very best not to leave before 9pm, best offer for my favorite little sister.

[damiankeaton-deactivated2025042]

He knew what he was doing wasn’t right. Deep, deep-down Damian knew that the right thing to do was to take a step back, disappear again, and let Emma move on. Let her be her own person, fall in love with someone else and live a happy life. Could he actually give her happiness once again, after everything he’s done? Could he be a good father to their son, when he could barely recognize the man in the mirror? He had no answers to the questions that lingered in his mind, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to step away from her. He needed her so much, he dreamed of seeing her every single night for those five dreadful years, and yet now, he knew that all he was doing was hurting her. 

But he couldn’t step away from her, not now, not when the damage was already done. “It’s okay. Deep breaths, Emmy, please. It’s okay.” He couldn’t help but get more and more worried about her as she seemed to struggle, and he knew it was his fault. He should not have approached her. He should not have been so selfish. Yet, Damian’s words seemed to fall to deaf ears, with Emma getting worse by the second. How much had he damaged her if this was her reaction to a word or two? And as her knees buckled, the man panicked. Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her up into his arms with ease, fearing that another moment, and she’d collapse on the floor. “Let’s get you some fresh air, okay? There’s too many people here.” Eyes fell on them as he moved through the crowds of dancing people, but none of that mattered to Damian right now;  he just wanted to make sure that Emma was feeling okay once more, that she wasn’t falling into this darkness that seemed to linger around a lot lately. 

Just moments later he finally found himself outside, even if it felt like an eternity to him. “Focus on your breathing. Breathe in, as deep as you can, and then out. That’s all that matters right now, okay? Breathing is all you have to do.” He tried to coach her through it as he made his way over to the nearest unoccupied bench. Slowly and carefully, he set Emma down on it, the chill of the night settling in around them. “See the flowers there? Look how pretty they are. Lavender, I think. Focus on them, and nothing else. Breathe in, and out, and focus on the flowers.” He could only but hope that this would help. Making sure that she wasn’t falling down or collapsing onto herself, Damian let go of her, only to shrug his hoodie off, wrapping it around her shoulders to keep her warm. They might have been by the ocean, but the nights were getting colder with the winter approaching. And whilst his hoodie was just about the only thing that kept him in costume, his mask remained, and all he could hope was that it would be enough for Emma to consider him nothing more but a stranger. Or did he actually hope that she would recognize him? That she’d think it was okay that he was there, with her, no longer pretending to be dead?

[emma-keaton]

Her breathe was quick and shallow she could physically feel her head spinning from the rapid thoughts that were beginning to blur together. Her body felt shaky and suddenly too weak to keep supporting her upright. Looking down she saw her hands shaky as the felt clammy and it was as if any remaining strength she had left gave in. She wasn't exactly sure from when the panic attack started to when everything around her went black. The last thing she could recollect was the feeling of strong arms around her petite frame and then bam blackness. When she opened her eyes again and slowly felt herself coming back into consciousness, the cold air against her face, her heart starting to slow steadily. She felt her hands still a little shaky but the speed in which the were shaking had decreased. Slowly her senses all began coming back ad she realized the muffled sounds the she was hearing was a voice. A male voice that sounded exactly like the voice she had playing on a loop in her mind over the last five years. Suddenly the words that were a muffled jumbled mess became crystal clear as the voice said it again, this time the sound of his voice came as clear as a dagger to her heart when the name Emmy escaped his lips again. There was only one person who ever called her that. only one person who knew to use a name with such sentimental meaning behind it. When her breathing steadied a little, her heart finding its way to a more consistent beating she looked at the figure in front of her. His face was covered with a flimsy green mask, but she took this moment really study the facial features that were not covered by the mask. She looked into his dark brown eyes that had the warmth of familiarity mixed into them. She scanned his face searching for any sign that he was the man her heart was longing for but her mind had reminded her she grieved. It was seconds before her eyes landed on a physical abnormality just above his right eyebrow. Her heart sunk before speeding up again, it couldn't be, could it? She could still remember the night Damian came home with a bandage over his right eye. Some drunk idiot at the bar swiped him with a broken beer bottle when Damian stepped in the stop the fight between the patrons. It was only eight stiches he told her not to worry. She reflexively raise her hand to trace her fingers over it like she had done so many time in the past but something in her stopped herself. How? How could the thought that kept returning to her brain make any logically sense when everything rational in her mind was telling her that it was impossible. Yet somehow her heart still tugged and the very unlikely possibility that the man sitting across from her, the man coaching her through a panic attack like he had done it before, the man with an identical scar was somehow her late husband. She knew how absurd that very thought was that there was no humanly possibly way for it yet she couldn't fight the urge to find out. When he moved closer to her draping his jacket over her shivering arms she once again felt the desire to remove the flimsy piece of fabric that was standing between her and the truth. One gentle tug on it and she would have the answer, the answer that truthfully she was afraid to find out, yet the more the sat together the more she knew she couldn't go on not knowing. Feeling her fingers shaky with the adrenaline and fear coursing through her veins she took every inch of courage she had and pulled the mask away quickly. When she was met with a face she thought she would never see again she felt suddenly ill. Was this finally her going insane? Had she finally lost what was left of her sanity. She felt the floor and the sky flip and felt like she was going to pass out again, yet managed one letter to escape her shaky lips. "D"

@damiankeaton

[reneebrandxn]

Renee hadn't even realized that it was Emma standing next to her until she spoke. Recognition immediately took over as she stood up a bit straighter while taking the cream from her. "Emma, hey," she greeted as she poured just the right amount of cream into her coffee, "how are you?" Renee knew it was a loaded question, given that she was aware of what time of year it was - Renee felt the same in the summer months. But Renee knew that Emma knew she could be honest with her.

[emma-keaton]

Emma knew that Renee knew all to well how she was feeling. That despite the years going by it never really feels normal to lose someone you love so much. She knew that the blonde in front of her was someone she didn't have to say too many words to for her to understand how she felt yet she also knew if she needed to talk it out the woman in front of her would be there to listen. She was grateful that in the midst of her grief she had a friendship like this. When she was asked how she was she wasn't sure she could ever fully answer that question. If she said good she felt like a part of her was lying and if she said horribly depressed she knew it would worry those around her. "I'm well you know, I'm okay one minute a mess the next. Constantly fluctuating between numb and bombard with emotion. How are you?" She asked bringing her coffee to her lips.

[jazlobos]

"Oh.. yeah." She was kind of disappointed when she said it. She forgot that most of the people she knew had kids already.

"It's not as fun when you're no longer participating." She frowned and took a sip of her drink. It was best she ended the night too. She had to be up early to help teach some choreography. "I'll call it a night alongside you. I got some stuff to do in the morning that I should be present for." The last couple of words were said with sarcasm.

"But you owe me next time. Maybe we could do a wine tasting." @emma-keaton

[emma-keaton]

"I know I do bring a certain charisma to the outing but unfortunately real life is calling me back in." Emma teased and took a sip of her remaining drink which was now mostly ice and a little bit of alcohol. "I agree you should probably call it a night seeing as you are supposed to be at the studio bright and early, and as much as I like to think I could teach a hip hop class you and I both know I can't." Emma said with a laugh and grabbed her purse to grab some cash to pay for her half of the tab. "I never saw no to a glass of wine, I would love to, just give me enough time to find a sitter and I'm in."

[ambivalenceshefelt]

Nikki: Are you good with the sitter for Friday?

Nikki: Swear if you don’t come to the party I’m gonna cry in my mock prom dress all night

@emma-keaton

[emma-keaton]

Emma: Of course I have a sitter, wouldn't miss it for the world! Emma: Can't promise I'll be able to party as long as you youths but I will definitely be there for a little bit to celebrate my favorite sister!

[reneebrandxn]

open - @aurorabaystarter where - driftwood coffee

Renee quite literally lived off coffee. Having to chase two boys with free spirits and high energy levels while handling a demanding job like a doctor, she was tired. Although she wouldn't change it for anything in the whole world. She loved her boys, even if days like today were blessings - a day off for her and the boys were in school. She was going to enjoy as much Renee time as possible before she had to pick them up. She was grabbing some cream for her coffee when the canister she grabbed was empty. "Excuse me," she asked the person next to her, "is that cream full?"

[emma-keaton]

Emma gently poured the cream into her coffee watching as the dark black coffee in front of her lightened almost instantly. As she grabbed a spoon and stirred her coffee she couldn't help but wonder when the darkness that surrounded her husband's death and encompassed her would too lighten. When she heard a voice inquiring about the cream she was still holding on to while she was lost in her thoughts she looked up to see a familiar face. Ah Renee, she was one of the few where Emma didn't have to pretend and mask like she wasn't always on the verge of falling apart. Sadly if anyone understood the struggle of losing a partner and raising two littles alone it was Renee. "All yours, something is telling me I'm going to need something a whole lot stronger to get me through the next couple of weeks." Damian's death anniversary looming over her with every passing day and her youngest daughter's birthday approaching Emma was at a constant battle of emotions.

[damiankeaton-deactivated2025042]

It was amazing, to get lost in the moment for just a second, to pretend that everything was okay again. That they were in the living room, dancing to whatever song they had picked that night – her so brilliantly and effortlessly, and him so clumsily, but still working so perfectly well together. Damian would‘ve done anything to go back to those days, given up anything to pretend that the past five years haven‘t happened, but all of it was just wishful thinking, nothing else. They were here, pretending to be complete strangers even if he knew that Emma knew him the best in the whole world. And even so, it was proven to be not enough.

He wanted so desperately to tell her that he was sorry, even if it wasn‘t enough to make her forget the years of thinking that he was dead. Damian wanted so desperately to make her pain, that was so evident in every piece of her, go away, take all of it away from her, but he knew he couldn‘t. All he could offer her was a stranger‘s smile, so painfully familiar but no longer the same, and he found himself wondering whether this was a good idea. Whether approaching her, whether returning back into this town was a good idea in the first place. Still, Damian didn‘t let go of her as they slowly moved to the music, selfishly wanting to hold her close for just a little longer. 

The moment he spoke, Damian knew it was a mistake. He could feel the way her body stiffened, the way it suddenly slipped from his arms, and it broke him to see her like this. To know that he was responsible for all of it. „Hey-„ He spoke, cutting himself short as Emma stumbled, moved away from him. Out of a reflex, he reached or her once more, his hand moving gently to her cheek. He wished he could soothe her, tell her that everything was okay, and that was exactly what he found himself attempting to do out of a habit, before he could think logically. „Emmy, it‘s okay, everything‘s okay.“ It wasn‘t, but Damian couldn‘t stop the words spilling from his mouth. He hated seeing her like this, and he wanted to make it all better. His fingers trailed down her cheek, a motion he liked to do when they were simply cuddling on a couch after a long day of work; and he‘d lie if he said that he didn‘t miss it. „Just breathe. Please.“ @emma-keaton

[emma-keaton]

Something in the male's touch felt so familiar and yet so foreign it was enough to send a shiver down Emma's spin. The way he held her frame was as if he had held it a before and not just in this very moment for the first time. She felt the room sway along with them, just what exactly was in those glasses of wine, and did she somehow have more than she accounted for. She racked her brain for any possible rational reasoning for why she was feeling both so intoxicated and terrified by the presence in front of her. When it became a little more than Emma could bare she gently break the hold he had on her trying to excuse herself as gently and politely as she could. It wasn't his fault, the man had barely even said more than five words to her but it didn't matter. Just being this close to someone, someone who wasn't Damian felt wrong. It felt like she was cheating on him somehow, even though he had been gone for many years now. When was this feeling going to go away? When would she stop seeing and feeling Damian in every man who got even a little close to her. Something in his voice played on a loop in her brain, over and over into she felt like she was going crazy. There was nothing inherently absurd about the statement he made and yet here at the very sound of it was causing her to spiral. She replayed it again and again, it was low and barely above a whisper but she felt the moment she heard it something in her came alive. She couldn't be sure but she felt like something deep inside her knew it was the voice that she had been playing on repeat in her head, the same voice that was on voicemails that she only allowed herself a listen to only the roughest of nights. Was she hearing it now only in her mind? Was her heart that so completely tied to Damian that no matter how many years passed she was destined to be haunted by the ghost of him. That any time she got close to even in something as simple as a dance there he would be hovering over them, playing tricks on her mind. She mentally reminded herself that she was going to have to call her therapist, maybe adjust her meds again. When she stumbled back she felt him catch her effortlessly, immediately placing his hand on her cheek as if he had done a million times before. How could he know that very gesture would feel so familiar, that it was something only Damian could- no, no she wasn't doing this, she wasn't allowing herself to even give into even the absurd thoughts that it was really him in front of her. No it couldn't be-the way he said hey so softly, the same way she had heard it said so many years before. No it couldn't. Although even to her best abilities to refuse to believe it were getting weaker and weaker by the minute. "Don't." She said backing away from his touch as if his hand was burning fire to the touch. When she heard the nickname that only Damian ever called her she felt her blood go cold. The room grew still, her breathe caught in her lungs and her heart fell slow. She felt sick and felt dizzy as a million thoughts crashed into her mind. It felt like they were all flying in so quick that with every minute that passed she felt more and more weak. She wasn't able to realize with all the thoughts swirling around but her breathe had gone short and shallow. She found it harder and harder to breathe and put her hand up to keep him away but felt weaker with every second that passed. "It can't, you can't, it can't." She said in between the rushed breathes, she felt suddenly too weak to stand and felt her knees buckle under her.

@damiankeaton

[emma-keaton]

send 📸 for an instagram post about your muse ( && nikki)

@ambivalenceshefelt featuring gracie keaton📸

[emma-keaton]

Cosmos - Where do you go to find peace?

The dance studio, preferably an empty dance studio.

[emma-keaton]

What was their childhood like?

Lots of silent stares across a grand dining table that seated up to fifteen but only ever had three taken chairs. Countless hours spent in the comfort of the familiarity of a empty studio, where Emma could silence her inner thoughts and focus on the freedom of dance. Cutting remarks from her mother that she would say in passing but left lingering effects in Emma's psyche. The muffled sounds of her parents disagreeing for the off chance the were in the same room only to completely act stoic at as if nothing happened the next moment. It certainly wasn't the type of childhood filled with hugs and laughter, her childhood is a big part in why Emma is so intent on making sure her kids don't have the same experience.

[emma-keaton]

Hyssop - Would you sacrifice everything if it meant saving everyone you love?

Once you become a parent the whole sacrificing everything becomes like second nature, so I would say yes I would.

[greengideon]

Gideon: You given much thought about Thankgiving this year yet? Gideon: Want me to set a plate for you at my place? @aurorabaystarter

[emma-keaton]

Emma: Oh G, that is incredibly thoughtful of you to think of us, but remember a plate for me isn't one plate but three. Emma: And truthfully, Gracie is in her picky phase so I'm not even sure she will eat much. Emma: Thinking of just doing some drive thru and calling it a night. #holidaysareoverrated

[emma-keaton]

What’s their relationship like with their family? Do they anyone in their family that they’re close to?

I am actually rather close to his younger sister Nikki, she was fairly young when we got married so I naturally kind of fell into the role of older sister, and since I never had a little sister of my own I got to live out all my older sister fantasies with her. After Damian's death the role of older sister in law kind of transformed into close friend and honorary sister. With his older sister, we are on friendly terms, but since she didn't stay in Aurora we never got extremely close either. As far as his parents go, well Richard and I got closer after Damian's death ironically when he stepped up in the grandfather department, and Linda? well let's just say she definitely lives up to that whole overbearing critical mother in law trope.

[thecarolinexkelly]

open - @aurorabaystarter

where - any food establishment

One of the first things Caroline did when she moved to Aurora Bay a few weeks ago was enroll her son in daycare so she could have time to get them settled into their new home. After spending the morning putting up photos and decor around their new place though, she was hungry, so here she was now, stepping inside a place that seemed relatively busy. "Hey." She spoke up to the person nearest to her, "So what's good in here? Any recs?"

[emma-keaton]

"I've lived here my entire life and although I can say Aurora isn't exactly known for it's finer cuisine, however, there are plenty of hidden gems scattered all over the place. It really depends on what you are feeling, Fired up has pizza that if you close your eyes taste very similar to something you'd find in the city in New York. Also the All Night Diner looks a little run down but I swear by their burger and fries, especially on one of those nights where you just need something hot and good, and if you need a good drink, well, the reed bars been around for ages for a reason, it's a staple around these parts. Oh and welcome to Aurora, what we lack in fancy dining options we make up for in breathtaking ocean views and awesome locals."