✧ BACK WHEN I WAS LIVING FOR THE HOPE OF IT ALL…

Name: Ines Thompson (she/they) Birthday: August 31, 1967 (21) Faceclaim: Amandla Stenberg

✧ BEFORE SUMMER 1989

Everyone remembers the magic behind the memories of their first great loves. Salt air, the rust on the door, twisted in bed sheets… for the summer of 1989, a trip planned to visit their cousin in the small town of Nowhere became so much more. A connection as instant as when they met, they were passionately thrust into the middle of summer love full of first times. Or at least, that’s how they saw it, as they are the kind of person to give 100% of their heart, mind, and soul into whatever they do. Meeting new friends, spending days at Lake Always, afternoons walking down Cornelia Street, and nights in long car rides with no destination in particular - this new lease in life made them a huge romantic and optimist. Love had made them live for the hope of it all. However, by the end of the summer, they eventually had to learn one thing and that was the most important lesson, as the other half of what they called ‘us’ had truly never been theirs to lose in the first place.

✧ AFTER SUMMER 1989

Ines knows when they’re not welcome, and it was easy for them to feel a bit ousted the longer they stayed in Nowhere. So they moved out and onward, pursuing a career as an artist on the east coast. Ines made somewhat of a name for themselves in Brooklyn; they cultivated a niche social media following that went out of its way to purchase their unique and often abstract art. Some of Ines’s earliest pieces, though, were inspired by the short time she spent in Nowhere with the connections she created. Art had been their passion at a young age, so it makes sense that the summer of 1989, during their formative years in young adulthood, left an impression on their work. Work and family are their priority; Ines hasn’t properly dated since they were in their thirties, save for awkward first dates with other Williamsburg progressives.

Ines returns for the funeral mostly out of concern for Invisible String. They remained close with their cousin and seeks to continue that support and connection as they embark on their middle-age. Family is a priority to Ines; in 2020 they are a single parent to a twenty year-old daughter. Ines didn’t anticipate they’d be raising a child solo, but since her father left shortly after the pregnancy was announced all those years ago, Ines closed themselves off to all romantic prospects. Raising their child became top priority.

✧ PERSONALITY

+ open-minded, romantic, generous - self-absorbed, stubborn, competitive

✧ CONNECTIONS

BETTY: They met at a summer bonfire by Lake Always, during a daylight outdoor party filled with as much barbecue and booze imaginable. Betty and August hit it off fast, though that can be due to August’s forward nature. They were everything you imagine a summer romance to be, long laughter filled car rides, long wine-flowing sleepovers, and more. Wanting was enough for August. However, one day things ended abruptly between them and as soon as summer love came, it went.

INVISIBLE STRING: The plan for this summer was to come and visit their cousin Invisible String. Even though August got so much more out of the trip, without Invisible String showing them around town and introducing them to other locals in town, who knows if it will have gone as well as it had.

✧ BACK WHEN I WAS LIVING FOR THE HOPE OF IT ALL...

Name: (pronouns)  Birthday: (age)  Faceclaim:

✧ BEFORE SUMMER 1989

Everyone remembers the magic behind the memories of their first great loves. Salt air, the rust on the door, twisted in bed sheets… for the summer of 1989, a trip planned to visit their cousin in the small town of Nowhere became so much more. A connection as instant as when they met, they were passionately thrust into the middle of summer love full of first times. Or at least, that’s how they saw it, as they are the kind of person to give 100% of their heart, mind, and soul into whatever they do. Meeting new friends, spending days at Lake Always, afternoons walking down Cornelia Street, and nights in long car rides with no destination in particular - this new lease in life made them a huge romantic and optimist. Love had made them live for the hope of it all. However, by the end of the summer, they eventually had to learn one thing and that was the most important lesson, as the other half of what they called ‘us’ had truly never been theirs to lose in the first place. 

✧ AFTER SUMMER 1989

What have they been up to since summer 1989? What’s their story? Why did they decide to come back for the funeral? Please read connections before writing this part.

✧ PERSONALITY

+ positive, positive, positive  - negative, negative, negative

✧ CONNECTIONS

BETTY: They met at a summer bonfire by Lake Always, during a daylight outdoor party filled with as much barbecue and booze imaginable. Betty and August hit it off fast, though that can be due to August’s forward nature. They were everything you imagine a summer romance to be, long laughter filled car rides, long wine-flowing sleepovers, and more. Wanting was enough for August. However, one day things ended abruptly between them and as soon as summer love came, it went.

INVISIBLE STRING: The plan for this summer was to come and visit their cousin Invisible String. Even though August got so much more out of the trip, without Invisible String showing them around town and introducing them to other locals in town, who knows if it will have gone as well as it had.