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will byers stan first human second
One Nice Bug Per Day
Misplaced Lens Cap
#extradirty
ellievsbear
Xuebing Du
Andulka
trying on a metaphor
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
❣ Chile in a Photography ❣
$LAYYYTER
Mike Driver
hello vonnie
Keni
Show & Tell
i don't do bad sauce passes
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
taylor price
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@estherquinn
ESTHER NICOLE QUINN. essie, es. she/her, cis woman; september 14, 1987. merrockite girly, born and raised, member of the Quinn family. little sister (and current housemate) to Elise, mama to Mae. currently working as a part-time server at Taste and mortician at Quinn Family Funeral Home downtown. can often be found in the park, at the lake or beach or under a big tree somewhere knitting or crocheting.
bio. stats. timeline. connections. wanted. muse. writing ideas.
"That's very true." Dominic gave a simple nod, a bright smile appealing on his features at that. Honestly, he was just glad that the world wasn't all doom and gloom all the time, that there were more people out there who cared than you thought. "I imagine some people do," he responded with a chuckle. "Been to a wedding and then you're really craving a pizza. Why not?!" The opposite wasn't quite so easy to get away with, though. "I do... and sometimes. Especially in the summer. We don't really have a dress code as such, but board shorts and flip-flops have never felt appropriate."
"Plus, imagine the pictures that you could get out of it," she said, raising both brows, "get an entire wedding party to come together in their dresses and suits, have their picture taken inside Pizza Thyme, shoving breadsticks and pizza in their mouths." Actually, those were the kinds of memories that she could only imagine everyone wanted to make, no matter what. Herself, included. Or maybe she was just that hungry. "That's what I was thinking," because while that person might still be dressed, she wasn't sure that it was the kind of 'dressed' that he was expecting when he stepped out of the kitchen. "I guess it's the... luck of the draw, living in a beach town?"
“I’d hope not, at least! She’s just silly like that,” Oliver chuckled. His dog always had been a sweetheart. She was also very smart and curious. It made for some very interesting walks over the years. He grinned at her observation. “That would be the one. It’s my favorite book. So naturally I think it was pretty fitting. Wanted to keep that bit a part of me. My high school students back in Seattle loved her and would put little regency hats and garb on her. It was very sweet, and she didn’t mind at all. She loved every bit of it,” he smiled. “I love the classics, grew up on Jane Austen and the rest of those great writers. And it just stuck with me. I’ve seen the movie and the series multiple times. Both have their charm. Of course the 90s one sticks closest to the purists, but I also cannot resist a bit of what they did with the movie. Personally as someone who is a bit of a hopeless romantic, I think it dives into the romance right on the spot.”
"There's nothing wrong with a silly pupper," because at least that meant that they were happy and healthy and knew how to live their best doggie life, at least. Esther might not have a dog of her own, but she understood how important it was for them to be good, happy animals, and a little spoiled, too. "Oh, that's adorable!" she let out a warm, bright laugh, clapping her hands together, "I can imagine it. You have to find a best friend slash lover for her that can be Mr. Darcy, so that she has her true love forever," even though it had been a while since she had last read the book, Esther could remember it quite fondly. Not to mention all of the media surrounding it, too. "I remember watching it in theaters when it came out! Which… might be aging me a little bit," but she had loved seeing a book that she had read and a series she had watched turned into a beautiful movie. "Couldn't agree more, it's a great date night movie, or perfect wine on the couch at home movie, too."
"Sorry, I feel like I'm bragging about being tall now," he said, though he didn't feel sorry at all, and his tone as good as confirmed that. Being tall was one of the things that kept people from finding him exceptionally annoying. "Well, I'd nothing myself short, but thank you." Che shook his head, a bit sadly. "No, I'm really bad at the cranes, I can only do very simple folds. Did you do the towels for...family members? Loved ones? At childhood sleepovers?"
"You are hurting my feelings a little bit," she said, holding her hand up to show two fingers just the tiniest little bit apart, before breaking into a laugh. She wasn't too jealous about height differences, but... couldn't say it didn't make her laugh a little. "My daughter, mostly! She got a kick out of seeing what kind of animals I could do when we were on vacation and the room keeper did it for us... mine lacked a little something," skill, mainly, but she didn't want to put herself down.
Tasha grinned and thought about it, not having done so before. "For sure, I definitely will trust a dog's intuition when it comes to people, like if they like you that's a good sign." If they didn't, we'll that was a whole different story. "Thank you," she grinned and bent down to scratch under her dog's chin, "honestly not really, but like I don't hate it. If you know what I mean?" Giving him a kiss and then standing back up her eyes got wide, "oh. Hmm," she paused and took a step back. "When did you move away? I moved here back in two thousand and eightteen."
"Animals are normally better judges of characters than humans, anyway," at least in her experience. She had noticed many times working in different shelters that animals could pick up on things that people often missed, and it definitely made her trust them a little bit more. "You're very welcome. And I do know what you mean -- you'll listen to it if it's on the radio or in an elevator," she let out a laugh, shrugging one shoulder, "but probably wouldn't chose it for your Spotify playlist." That was how music worked, in her experience. "I left in... actually, yeah, I left in the summer of eighteen, myself. So we must have just missed each other."
"I get it! Roomie life with your sister is fun! Enjoy it while it lasts!" Cori was sure that Esther and Elise would enjoy the reunion, living together, until Essie found her own home. It was one of those situations to make the most of and create cherished memories. "In a couple of years, she'll be joining us for drinks," Cori laughed through a smile. She was excited to see Mae and spend time with her. "Of course, I can't imagine it going to anyone else. I'm sure that if you weren't up for it, our uncle would just keep working forever. Perfect timing though!"
"I'm going to!" eventually, she'd find her own place, cozy up in it, make it feel like home, and then she knew she'd look back on her time with Elise and wish she would have enjoyed it a little more, so that meant taking advantage of every moment. And, of course, spoiling the cats rotten while she had a chance, too. "Don't remind me," she widened her eyes. "She tells me all the time about her plans for her twenty-first, and it's mind boggling. That's my baby girl!" But apparently, that was what happened; kids grew up. "No kidding, which… he probably will, anyway. Even when he retires, he'll still hang out and help me, and I won't complain about that, everyone loves him there. I love him being there, it's a win win."
Dom smiled, a simple smile, but he followed it up with a nod. "I think there are more than you realise," he responded. "They're out there hiding in plain sight." Over the years, he'd find himself surprised by the occasional good deed that would come completely out of nowhere. It was never really expected these days, for people to do good, for them to care —- but they still did, an awful lot of them. "I don't know. I'd have to be in the situation," he laughed. "Oh yeah, there are certainly some places you need to be dressed up for, never really felt like lunch is for high heels." More laughter and he shrugged his shoulders.
"Better than the opposite," she said with a small smile. There could always be bad people out in plain sight, not bothering to hide who they were, and Essie wouldn't want to see those. In fact, the more good people in the world, the better, that was how she chose to look at it. "Alright, that's fair," she said, laughing. "You're right. Imagine walking into Pizza Thyme in formal wear," although if you were out for a fancy event and really craving a slice of pizza... sometimes it just didn't do to go home and get changed first. "You own Overlook, right? Do you ever get people coming in wearing some ... out of dress code ensembles?"
Xander nodded at that, realising that he did understand —- it was much how his own mother had been when he'd moved to Florida for college. Having that freedom when located elsewhere had been a breath of fresh air, but it meant he'd been able to get to know his mom again. "I get it," he told her. "My mom was exactly the same with me for a long time. We had an odd relationship. She felt like she needed to project me all the time, then realised she didn't when I moved..." He chuckled at her words. "I don't think it's childish. It's really cool. Everyone should love that."
"And how about now?" she asked, looking over at Xander, "do you feel like you being away from home, living life on your own made her realize that you could handle it?" Because that was how she had grown to feel about Mae, watching her make decisions -- and smart ones, to boot! -- and take care of herself without needing her mother. Not that it didn't sting a little bit sometimes, realizing that her little girl wasn't little anymore, but the pride far outweighed any other feeling. "Yeah, good point," she said with a bright smile, "although knowing you feel that way, too, that means we have to go check out the touch tanks before we're done here today, I hope you know."
"Well thank you." She hummed, smile playing on her lips. "Felt a bit like wrangling a circus for a while there, but they all performed really well." A few had been a bit wary of the large crowd, of which a little pep talk had fixed. However, Kenzie was more than ready to just wander around the rest of the festival, fuelled by a snack or two. It's something she would have denied herself several years ago, showing a hard earned step in her recovery.
"Maybe a drink? A smoothie is appropriately 'spring-ish', don't you think?" She was trying to get into the spirit, even if fall and winter were her favorite seasons. Spring had its positives too.
"I can only imagine," she said with a warm laugh. Essie had raised her own little girl to be a bright young woman in college… but boy, did she remember the days of helping out on field trips, birthday get togethers, playdates in the park, and wrangling little kids really should have been a sport in the Olympics. One that would be very, very hard to earn gold in. "I hope that you get a little break now, maybe a couple of days to yourself to bounce back?"
"Drink it is!" she said with a bright smile. "I saw some pretty things that Cobblestone was offering, bright colors and what not, which screams spring-ish! I bet that they'll be our best shot," she began to lead the way in that direction. "I've mostly been sneaking picnic foods all day from the baskets we put together for Taste."
"Pup cups," Nathan said with a nod. Those would definitely be a whole lot better than insects. Thankfully both of his dogs were properly trained that the chance of them suddenly eating random butterflies, or anything that wasn't directly given to them, were slim. "This guy would prefer cooked chicken than colorful butterflies anyway. He just wants to make new friends, and failing miserably," he let out a chuckle as he reached down and gave Ace scratches on the back of his ear. "Yeah. Things finally feel less doom and gloom. With everything that's been going on with the Benefactor lately, we definitely need less moody weather. I don't know if you've heard?" It would be a surprise if Esther hadn't heard about it but it was better to check first regardless. "That's very nice of you. You might want to be careful that your uncle doesn't suddenly decide to retire and let you handle the funeral home," he joked, feeling a little familiarity with the sequence of events. His parents waited a year before handing the store over to him. But before that happened, while he spent most of his time at Takato's, he did help occasionally at the store after he moved back to town.
"Honestly, I shouldn't, but I kind of get jealous when dogs get offered those in a drive through. Maybe I would also like to have a cup of whipped topping offered to me," she said with a laugh, trying to imagine the reaction of a barista if she were to ask for something like that instead of her usual frappe or latte. That might be the kind of thing that gets everyone talking about you. "Well, he's got a new friend in me, for what it's worth," she said with a bright smile. "My sister's got cats, though, so he has some pretty stiff competition." Elise's maine coon cats were huge and vaguely dog-like, to begin with, but… still. "I've hear da little bit, yeah -- about the resort that they want to open, and what a mess it's making? I'm against it, for what it's worth," she gestured to herself and shook her head, "but I am excited to see so many people kind of banding together to fight back against it, that's a huge relief." Esther would have hated to move back to Merrock just to find out that the town that she loved was completely changing. "See, normally I would agree! But… he's one of those kindly old folks who absolutely loves his job and will probably stay longer than he should," because Uncle John was well known and well loved, it was hard for him to walk away from something he had loved for so long, but the time would come. "Are your parents still here in town? They didn't decide to retire somewhere warmer and tropical?"
"It is actually and a lot of people with attitudes and harsh words." Mariah nodded. "Not the friendliest place to live, but close to a lot of wonderful sights and businesses." It had been a blessing and a curse to live there. Things could be really good and things could be her worst nightmare. She couldn't take the instability. She needed stability for the twins. She snapped out of her own thoughts when Esther asked if she liked living in New York City. "Umm...it had its pros and cons." she said with a nod.
Mariah smiled as she and Esther continued to connect. It was good to feel seen and understood again. It had been a long time. "My dad likes fancy restaurants so we would go once a week for daddy-daughter dates, but my mom was more down to earth and would sneak my pizza and fries whenever life called for it." she grinned. "It seems like you were very creative." she chuckled softly. "I usually just had a canoli with every meal. Well, two really. One for each baby I guess." she chuckled at the memory of being pregnant with Sera and Schuy. "Does your child love blueberries or hate them now?"
She hummed softly and nodded. "Yeah I know the Benefactor has really upset the town. It's even effected my upcoming business. Not by much, but I get the evil eye from some people in town. I'm not working with the Benefactor at all or my company. I want all the small businesses to thrive and I think putting a resort here would just attract the wrong people." she said honestly. Her ex-fiance and his family in particular.
"Speak first, think later kinds of people," she said with a nod of her head, knowing that sometimes, people in places where you needed to rush and rave and do anything but be polite and kind ended up being… well, the opposite of polite and kind. "I think as long as you can deal with city life, the pros of being around so much history and good food and shopping would outweigh the cons of bad people," she agreed with a laugh and a nod of her head.
"Ah, so the best of both worlds!" she said with a grin, knowing that it would be a good way to go about things. Those big, fancy dinners had their places, but sometimes a girl did need pizza and fries, or a burger they'd been dreaming out. Essie liked to think that she could find that balance when it came to her palette, too. "Hey, nothing wrong with that, you were eating for two! You had a good excuse for it," and honestly, carrying babies was hard enough work -- why not indulge? "She does," she nodded her head, "she'll be coming home from college for the summer and I know we'll be buying up tons of blueberries to bake with."
"Unfortunately, you'd get that kind of reaction no matter what sort of business -- or what timeline -- you were opening. People like to keep those small town vibes going, so they get nervous whenever someone new's around. But once they see that you don't mean any harm, people will come around. You don't seem like you have evil villain plans!"
"I'm a whatever I think looks cool at the time type of guy, but denim is a bit more versatile," he admitted. "I feel like a lot of people end up drowning in trench coats, though, like you have to be tall and cool and I'm definitely only one of those two things." He nodded along with her football comments. "Well, it's more of...origami skills, so it has nothing to do with football, that's the secret there. You can figure it out, you only need to learn once." He shrugged. "I think it suits the super villain vibe."
"No, you're very right, I can confirm. As a short person, I would absolutely drown in a trench coat," she said with a laugh. Esther lacked a little bit in the height department, which meant that she wasn't going to be waltzing around wearing short skirts and long jackets, or else she might look like she was playing dress-up. Not really her cup of tea. "You could pull it off, don't sell yourself short," she assured him with a laugh. "Oh, oh, right. Does that mean you're really good at making those little paper cranes, too? I tried to get into towel folding once -- you know, like at those luxury hotels? Didn't work out so well."
"Oh, come on, it's not so bad. You'd get to witness the awkward silences for dinner every single night," Elise joked, if it could be called a joke. It was a bit too close to the truth. "Just like me? I guess you'll have to pick up bartending, we can give you some shifts over at taste and give the poor guys behind the bar a break." She winked at her sister, who likely knew full well that wouldn't happen. "Playing favorites with the nieces and nephews? That's not very kind of you at all." Elise tilted her head, musing for a moment. "Maybe with a big slice of chocolate cake with some homemade ice cream on the side."
"Nothing makes a dinner that I already don't want to eat taste better than having to deal with awkward silences and dirty looks," she responded with a knowing glance in her sister's direction. They had both grown up with more than enough of that, absolutely earned their freedom from it. "I think I like serving the food more than the drinks, I feel like... you know, someone else is responsible for making the food, I just deliver it. But drinks? People are so picky about those!" She didn't need to be told some fancy drink name only to make the absolute worst drink on earth on accident. Ruin Elise's whole business. "They don't need to know, Elise!" she gently knocked her hand against her sister's arm with a laugh, before nodding, "but okay, so what you're saying is we also have to make our own ice cream, now?"
who: lara & @estherquinn
where: Cityview Park
when: a weekend in June
“Thanks for meeting with me,” Lara signed, happy to have a walking companion for the day. The plus side about late spring was that the weather was typically very nice. She didn’t have to worry about puddles or anything like that. “How’s your daughter enjoying college?” She asked her friend as they walked through the park, signing slow enough so she could follow along, phone at the ready in her front pocket.
"Of course!" Esther beamed at Lara, speaking the words carefully, and doing her best to pick up on the sign language she had learned through the years. Getting to spend time with a friend? Something that Esther definitely did not take for granted these days. "So far, so good," she replied with a nod, "she's definitely ready for spring break. Has some plans to travel with her friends, wants to be here for the carnival. Your daughter -- she's ending her junior year of high school?"
"Oh I remember the days of having to move back in with Karissa in her apartment.." Cori chuckled at the memory of moving in with her own older sister following her split from her longtime boyfriend over a decade prior. Eventually, you got tired of being in one another's space, no matter how close you were to your siblings. "Space is good!" Cori nodded, in agreement. "Oh, just counting down the days for summer, I'm sure!" As Essie updated Cori on her daughter's life, it sounded like Mae was doing just as Cori expected. At the offer for a girl's day including Mae, Cori eagerly agreed with an excited nod. "I would love that!" She was sure that she and Essie would also find one on one time to catch up, just the adults. Even if Mae too was technically an adult now too. "You know, it had to come eventually. I think you're the perfect pick to take over when the time comes. And whether that's what keeps you here, I can tell you, we're all so happy to have you back!"
"Elise has one of those houses where we could probably go all day without seeing each other if we wanted to, but the company is also kind of nice." Until she had enrolled in university just a couple of years ago, Esther had never really lived on her own. She had gone straight from living at home to living with her boyfriend to moving together into a new state… and then back home to have the time with Elise, and she was very grateful for that. "She'd love it, too, she's definitely at that age -- college and all -- where she's coming into her own as an adult, likes hanging out with the people mom used to hang out with," she laughed, shrugging both shoulders. Mostly because Mae was no longer little Mae anymore; she was grown. It sometimes made her heart ache, but there was a lot of pride involved, too. "Thank you," she smiled warmly, "I figure as long as it stays in the family… that's the most important thing. That, and I did just graduate university for that exact reason, so I might as well put it to good use!"
Being born a Hayes, JJ never had to worry about money. While his father's side of the family had always been financially well off, his mother's side had come from old money. The Dumont family trust fund had paid for his education and allowed him to live quite comfortably. While he had not always been close to that side of the family, he understood what it meant to have that kind of money. So, he had not even bothered to give the Benefactor the benefit of the doubt. "Oh, I didn't realize you were working at Taste. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for you. I think I'll have Mia with me for a few hours, and then I'll be on my own." As it would be his daughter's first time attending a town-wide event, he did not want to overwhelm her. He wanted to bring her to a few kid-friendly activities, and then send her home with his parents so that he could enjoy Spring Fling as well. "Well, in that case, I'll hopefully see you this weekend. If not, enjoy Spring Fling and don't work too hard." He grinned at her, pocketing his phone. "I should get going. I need to pick Mia up from daycare."
"Every now and then, when Elise needs me," she said with a nod of her head. While it wasn't a full time gig, she knew how much the business meant to her big sister, and besides, it kept her busy, gave her something to do, a little spending cash on the side -- not that she was begging Elise to pay her or anything, but she genuinely liked the work, too. And, well, maybe the free samples she could squeak out when she asked nicely. "That sounds like a nice time, I'll be sure to keep an eye out for you," she said with a nod, hiking her purse up on her shoulder a little bit. She could remember what fun it had always been to take Mae along to events in town, her first carnival, her first beach trip, just watching her experience everything for the first time. She knew JJ would have a blast. "Of course -- it was good seeing you, I'm sure we'll run into each other again," she said with another smile and a touch to his arm before she started down the sidewalk to continue on her quest for lunch.
Lottie stood there, she was happy to see a familiar face and when she was pulled in for a hug, she smiled as she hugged back. As she pulled back she smiled, "Well welcome back, we needed to see you back in this town. Did anything specific bring you back home?" She smiled, she hadn't left Merrock so she didn't know what the pull for leaving was as she loved the town. She couldn't help but laugh, "Well thank you. Also this is Maisy, my daughter." She smiled as she watched her daughter briefly wave at Esther.
"Thank you! It was a long few years," she said with a soft laugh. Even if she had visited plenty, taken vacations back home with her little family, it still wasn't the same as being home again, which really was one of the best feelings in the world. "My uncle, actually. He's looking into retiring over the next couple of years and said he'd like me to take over the funeral home," she gestured to the big, old house behind them, a staple of town since… God knew when, really. "So I figured no better time than the present to get back into the swing of things, especially with Mae in college and all," she had more time to herself these days, which she loved. "Maisy! Hi!" she beamed, waving back at the girl, "it's so great to meet you."
