Show & Tell
TVSTRANGERTHINGS
titsay
YOU ARE THE REASON
@theartofmadeline
sheepfilms
I'd rather be in outer space 🛸
roma★
No title available
DEAR READER
wallacepolsom
Product Placement
Kaledo Art
izzy's playlists!
we're not kids anymore.
No title available
Aqua Utopia｜海の底で記憶を紡ぐ
★
Cosimo Galluzzi
Andulka
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from Italy
seen from United States
seen from Switzerland
seen from Ukraine
seen from France
seen from Argentina
seen from Brazil
seen from Malaysia
seen from Singapore
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
@xwesjames
WESLEY JOEL JAMES
WES
he/him • straight • born March 31, 1990
born and raised in Mesa, Arizona. father to Arabella Joslyn. son to Patrick James and Eileen Vaughn. younger brother to Nicholas, Matthew, Shannon, Zachary, and Benjamin. older brother to Serena. moved to Merrock in 2015. groundskeeper at Pinecrest Cemetery. reptile dad to banana the snake and reptar the bearded dragon. currently single.
BIO • STATS • CONNECTIONS • TIMELINE
It seemed like the last couple of winters that he had been home snow had been fond of showing up in Merrock. Tristan didn't really mind, growing up here he had seen his fair share of them, and now he preferred still getting out, seeing if anyone in town needed help versus being holed up in his home. "I'm grabbing a few things myself, mainly to throw in my truck to have while I'm driving around the next few hours. "I figure they're probably trying to get us in and out, figure they'll be wanting to send the staff home soon." Glancing out the door to see the snow was picking up some.
"Out helping people out, or what?" Wes asked, himself preoccupied with his job before he made it home to focus on that. When Tristan speculated that the restaurant was looking to get customers in and out, he agreed with a nod. "Thank God they stayed opened this long to have a place to stop in at." He was sure that the employees needed to go home, but was grateful to have had the option. And it was clear he wasn't alone with the amount of patrons waiting alongside them.
"And the baby's going to be spending some time in our room once they're here, anyway, so that gives me a buffer," Cage knew that he would get it done; he worked well with deadlines, was used to it, but he couldn't deny that it made him a little antsy whenever he sat down and actually looked at his to-do list. But it would be worth it whenever he walked into he nursery to see his handmade furniture, to see his wife rocking their baby in a chair that he made, surrounded by fixtures that they placed together. One day at a time, though. "Keeps me busy," he said with a smile, "plus, time to travel with Shawn if he needs it, he's got to make a college decision here in the next few months."
"Got plenty of time," he chuckled with a shrug. Wes let out a harsh exhale at Cage's mention of Shawn having to decide on a college soon. It was one of those things in life that sounded beyond stressful. "How's the college search going?"
Who: Tristan Newman & open!
What: Winter Snowstorm 2026
When: late January
Snow was coming down, it wasn't so heavy you couldn't see through it -- but it came down still heavier than a fine flake. It was another winter where a storm was blowing into town and Tristan felt on edge. He knew how to prepare for disasters, but he wasn't used to not having someone to boss around during them. Usually it was his troops, but now it was just him, still figuring out his balance. It was far better now, with working at the garage, continually letting himself bust his ass on cars until he was covered in sweat, aching in a way he remembered all too well. When the storm had been brewing, words flitting around by people wondering if it would really storm or not, he had hooked the plow up to the front of his Ford Raptor just to be ready. Now he was glad he did, as he patrolled the roads, he managed to clean up a few places that looked like they didn't have anyone to do it. Sure, the town kept working on their own but Tristan needed to feel like he was doing something. After several hours, light starting to go down he parked the truck and hopped out heading into one of the few establishments still open to grab some food for the truck before heading back out. There was a few stragglers inside, "Everyone stocking up on takeout too?" Asking the person next to him.
Even after a decade in Maine, Wes still was not fond of dealing with severe snow storms. This was especially the case when he was set to work. Wes had stopped by to pick up some food before he made his way back home after spending the day at the cemetery, maintaining the place through the snowfall so far. It had been days of preparing beforehand. He was waiting for his dinner when he heard Tristan's question. "Wouldn't call it stocking up, but I can't speak for everybody else." He was sure that there were enough folks in town who had done just that, but he was simply in search of dinner in a warm restaurant.
"Pretty much just started," he turned the door knob over, looking for any sort of damage, trying o decide if it was something that would fit with the ideas for the room. Although ideas was still pretty vague -- they hadn't decided on a theme just yet, although they had some basic ideas floating around in their minds, at least. "I'm only doing drop-ins at work until the baby's here, so I've got the time to work on it. A lot of the furniture's underway, and that's really the hard part," painting and putting down new flooring and fixtures wouldn't take too long once he got the ball rolling. "'Tis the season for home improvement, right?"
"You got some time, especially if the furniture's getting done," Wes nodded. "Gotta get the basics done before anything." Though he knew that Cage was a carpenter by trade, it was still impressive to him how much was being done by him personally. Perhaps also influenced by the differences in his own experience when Arabella was first born. It sounded like Cage would have time without being in the shop all day. It had to be an exciting time. "Perfect time to get some things done around the house, if you ask me," Wes shrugged. He had to admit that part of getting around to working on Ary's room was the excuse to do something around the house while the teen was gone.
“Pumpkin carving takes less skill sort of.” She shrugged. Halloween wasn’t necessarily her favorite holiday. She loved a good pumpkin pie and that was it. “Well I am sure they won’t judge your work.” Teens these days rarely found anything their siblings or parents did as cool. “Thanks. This is all in good fun. It’s okay if it even falls apart. It can still be eaten.” She reminded. “Though dots were never that appealing, they make good decor for the houses.”
"Everybody's got their own holiday skillset," he chuckled. At least the outcome was edible, in this case, the gingerbread house. "Candy is candy," he shrugged, not one to discriminate with food.
"Little bit of a surprise? Good dad," he said on a laugh, glancing over the options in front of them. As someone who combed through endless fixtures at the antique store to upgrade and update the rooms in his house, the other homes he worked on… anything, really. And honestly, normally it was easier to get those selections made when you didn't have kids tagging along for the excursion, even in a place full of old things. "Nursery shopping, kinda," he narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as he reached for a brass door knob, looking it over closely, "I don't want to dip too much into my work unit, figured I'd come look for some new stuff for that. Well, old new."
"Something like that," he nodded. Though it wasn't the goal, that was the approach he was going with. Wes was comfortable enough making purchases himself that he was certain his daughter would like. "Ah.." Wes's brows raised in intrigue upon hearing that Cage was nursery shopping. He understood why Cage would rather pick up items at Polished Brass versus going into what he had set for his work. "How's nursery set up going? Just getting started, or?"
WHO: Cage & OPEN.
WHERE: Polished Brass, countryside
WHEN: early January, 2026
The holidays had come and gone, and life was pretty quiet for Cage. He had taken a step back from work to focus on family, spending his days covered in saw dust and listening to Willie Nelson in the garage as he began to amass baby furniture -- a crib, a changing table, a dresser, an armoire that he knew they wouldn't need for years, but suddenly didn't think the baby could live without. Was it nerves? Maybe. Did he feel productive? Absolutely. But he had been restless that afternoon, the house a little too quiet with Cordelia at work and the kids at school, and he did need to start looking for fixtures, which had led to him standing next to a big wooden cabinet full of old brass door knobs, light plates, crystals from old chandeliers no longer being used, but too pretty to sit in a trash can, sorting through each piece one by one until a shadow fell over his hands, and he glanced to the side, offering his fellow shopper a smile. "Looking for something, or just out burning through Santa's Christmas money?"
"Nah. We're upgrading Arabella's room and bathroom, so I figured I'd stop by and see if I found anything while she's with her mom for her to come back to," Wes explained his purpose for being at the shop. One to always spoil his daughter, Wes couldn't help himself. He also figured he would make some progress on the plans while the teen was out of the house. "What's got you here today?" he turned the question back to Cage.
“That sounds a little unsure.” She teased. Naomi knew building gingerbread houses could be tedious. A lot of work was put into building and trying to make sure everything stuck. It also meant decorating it and getting the chance to be creative. “Frosting can be messy.” She almost felt like it was the bakers glue. Examining the work so far in front of her, she offered a smile. “It’s looking great so far to me. Nothing is close to falling or anything so that’s very good.” She gave a small hand clap. “Take your time with it. Slow and steady wins the race or whatever.”
"Not so much my thing. More here for them," Wes admitted, pointing over at the group of teens who were clearly having a much easier time than he was. "You know, pumpkin carving? Great at that. This.. no improvement no matter how many years I do this with Ary." He glanced over at his daughter with a smile before turning his attention back over to Naomi. "At least a lot of this stuff is good enough to eat while trying to keep this thing together," he chucked, taking some of the candy laid out to use for decor, popping it into his mouth.
Who: Naomi & Open (0/4)
Where: Gingerbread House Workshop (Cherry Amour Bakery)
When: December 2025
Even if she was the complete opposite, Naomi zipped up the grinch onesie all the way up. She allowed her staff to come in onesies for the event if they wanted. They closed a little early to host a workshop on Gingerbread houses and applied all the materials. It also meant that the bakery hosted a toy drive this year for the first time since the top of the month. “Thanks for donating!” She called out as a customer dropped off a toy. Her staff had pulled off a miracle in making the inside of the bakery look like a gingerbread house to fit the theme. Setting out more baked good on the table, she was happy to help others decorate. “How’s it going over here?”
Wes was never one to pass up taking Arabella to participate in community activities, always looking to keep the teen busy. Gingerbread house workshop was right up the girl's alley, so he found himself chaperoning both his daughter and a couple of her friends.
When Naomi stopped by their table to check in on them he greeted her with a smile. "Going good, I think.." he glanced over the houses in the works by each of the teen girls at the table, encouraging them also to respond to Naomi. "Nothing falling apart in pieces means success with this sort of thing, no?" he chuckled.
Sometimes, people just connected well with a camera. And clearly, this was Arabella's moment to shine, something that brought a grin to Stelly's face when she made the suggestion to move along the creek a little bit and see if they could get some photos up that way. "Absolutely! If you want, we could even get some solo shots," they shot a sidelong glance at Wesley, smile on their face, "if dad doesn't mind sitting out on some. I don't want him to get jealous of you getting to be a supermodel or anything, I know how he can be." Not at all the type to be jealous, but it was still kind of fun to tease, and get the daughter on their side.
Wesley couldn't help but laugh when Stelly suggested he may get jealous of Arabella doing solo photos. He shook his head as he laughed, "go for it." As long as his daughter was having a good time, he was going to let her enjoy it. With that said, the teenager excitedly turned to Stelly, grin across her face, ready to go.
Without a doubt, Stelly knew that they were getting some good stuff -- Ary worked with them so well, and Wesley didn't put up a fight at any of the suggested poses, which was always a good start. Taking a beat to check their camera when Wesley asked where they were at, they flipped through the photos and nodded their head, "things are looking pretty good here… do you feel like a few more, or are you guys ready to call it?" Of course, Stelly was mostly asking Ary, knowing that Wesley would let the girl do whatever she wanted to do, but Stelly knew that sometimes it was best to let the clients decide. Otherwise, you just ended up with photos of miserable people looking… well, miserable. That wasn't going to help anyone. "I'll leave it up to you guys, 'cuz I'm good to go either way."
At the question of whether to take more photos or call the session, Wesley gave Arabella the go-ahead to make the call herself. After all, he was sure that they had gotten a nice enough shot to update the family photos he had at home. That was all he was after. Arabella was the one having more fun with the photoshoot. He gestured for the teen to respond to Stelly, though an excited Arabella instead turned to Stelly to ask if they could walk a ways up the creek for photos with different visuals. Wesley shrugged at the question, allowing for Stelly to respond to see if they were up for a move.
"Thanks!" Chelly smiled at the two, placing the pumpkins in front of the two adjacent seats as Ivy waved to them in greeting before they sat down at the table. The teen had still at least humored her by agreeing to carve pumpkins together, and she figured she'd be at least a bit more chatty with their company. Deciding to grab a sharpie from the center of the table to outline a design before jumping into it, Chelly looked over, "Are you two planning on carving yours, or are you doing some painting?"
"Carving," he nodded in response to Chelly's question. "Gotta say, we're kind of pros at this," he chuckled, earning a laugh from Arabella who went on to explain that she and her dad had been carving pumpkins together since she was a toddler.
Wes is attending the party at Vibrations in a last minute costume as Max Goof. It’s the first Halloween that Arabella is doing her own thing with her friends, rather than him, so he opted to attend the party as more of a chance to socialize with his own age group.
Seeing Arabella take control over the posing didn't surprise Stelly one bit. She seemed like the type who would know exactly kind of photos she wanted, and how to make sure that her dad got into some fun poses, too. Maybe a couple of embarrassing ones, to boot. "Alright!" Lifting their camera once more, Stelly began to snap the pictures as they moved through the poses, calling out more to Ary than Wes -- she was the director, after all -- "don't be afraid to change pose while I'm snapping away, sometimes the candid ones end up even better!"
At this point, Wes was just letting Stelly and Ary vibe, following direction from each to make the vision come about. He chuckled as his daughter physically shifted his poses and location from time to time for what she thought would look better. It was evident that the teen was having a great time and that was what mattered the most. For her part, Arabella continued to take control, directing the photoshoot and checking in with Stelly intermittently. Eventually, feeling like there had been sufficient time with the photos Ary was set on getting, Wes took the opportunity to pull his daughter closer by the shoulders for some sillier photos. "Alright, where are we at Stel?" he asked, unsure if the photographer wanted to get anything different, as he let Arabella go with a laugh.
who: chelly & @xwesjames
where: the community center
when: october 18th, 2025 (the pumpkin party)
Carrying the two pumpkins they picked out, Chelly met Ivy halfway in the room where she held two apple ciders. She insisted they couldn't carve them without a seasonal drink, which Chelly couldn't argue with. Finding somewhere the two of them could work on their canvases, she spotted Wes and his daughter, guiding them to their table. "Hey! Mind if we join you two?"
Wes was never one to pass up the opportunity to carve pumpkins with Arabella. It was a long held tradition that he was glad the teen still enjoyed participating in. While they would still be craving more pumpkins closer to Halloween, Wesley and Arabella took the chance to do so at the community center. They were discussing potential design ideas when Chelly and Ivy approached the table that they were seated at. "Not at all! Sit down," he nodded with a warm smile, hands gesturing to the empty chairs at their table for the pair to sit.
SAv took a deep smoke filled breath in again, blowing to the sky. The movements as easy as signing a signature at this point, and she stamped it out. We're just two people raising a kid together. It was what she had wanted to hear — her own situation mirrored only a little. Before Lou leaned into official territory with her, she was jealous of Ari. A manifested feeling long before she even laid eyes on the man, when she learned the existence of Archie at all. But right now, Wes tampered the blue of a flame light ignited in the back of her mind when reminded again, "What's it like with the other people, the girlfriends -boyfriends, whatever —what's that like? Being a part of Ary's life?"
Wes took a moment to ponder Sav's follow up question. He wasn't entirely sure how to answer as he could only speak for himself. But he had learned a thing or two over the years. "I don't date a lot.. not seriously, anyway. There's been a couple people here and there, between both of us. Over the years. To be honest, we just learned real quick, and have an agreement in place, we don't introduce Ary to anybody unless it's real serious. That's few and far between. Not everybody's jumping to be a stepmom, or step-dad on Kels's part I guess. Not everybody's down to be second to a kid. Don't blame them. Just means it's not heading anywhere serious enough to involve her. And anytime it has gotten that serious.. just gotta tread carefully. Can't say there's ever been issues with the people we do bring around her. More, trying not to hurt her in her getting too attached. Then things end, this person she loves just isn't around anymore. We do our best not to put her through that. Dating's just different, as a parent. As long as everybody can be an adult, you know? Everyone involved's just gotta be mature to spare the kid."
