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peace-coast-island · 6 years

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Arabeth Liao’s life has always been full of ups and downs. From her rocky relationship with her stuck up parents and oldest brother to struggling with finding her place in the world, she somehow managed to always muddle through. What keeps her going is her second older brother Lawton, her sister in law/best friend Valentina, and their kids Mallory, Skylar, Erisy, Rockwell, and Saige. Arabeth wouldn’t know what to do without them, especially Valentina and Lawton. They were always there for her, no matter how much she annoyed them and she was grateful for that. But all of that changed on the night of June 18, which will go down as the worst day ever for Arabeth, Lawton, and the children.

Ever since she was little, Arabeth knew that her parents could care less about her. They always idolized Ellison, who’s the ideal son, everything Lawton and Arabeth were not. Not surprisingly, their parents’s blatant favoritism was the reason why Arabeth and Lawton had a difficult childhood. Arabeth acted out while Lawton retreated, and while he got his life together, Arabeth couldn’t. To escape her parents she would go out partying, sometimes for days. She struggled to keep her grades up in school because she couldn’t focus and when her teachers suggested that she get some help, her parents refused. No matter what she did to try to impress her parents, they always labeled her as the problem child, the incompetent one. Eventually, she stopped trying.

Soon after turning eighteen, Arabeth got the hell out of the neighborhood. She hopped from one friend’s couch to another, struggling to find work. Unfortunately Arabeth couldn’t hold a job for long and fell into a deep depression because it was just too much for her to handle. The possibly of going back to her parents scared her but she was sliding deep and there was no point in fighting. But she had no choice and moved back in with her parents.

Five months later Arabeth left home again. This time she had some support from Lawton, who put aside some money for her to stay with him until she found a job and a place to live. So in the middle of the night Arabeth packed her bags and took the bus out of town. Several hours later she got off at Spectrum Falls where she met her brother and his fiancee Valentina. Arabeth quickly became friends with her and at times it seemed like Lawton was the third wheel when they were together. As soon as she met Valentina, Arabeth had a feeling that things were going to be a lot better for her.

After a rough start, Arabeth managed to find a place of her own. Knowing how much trouble she had at home, Lawton kept a close eye on her, sometimes to the point where she felt inferior to him. Unlike her, Lawton didn’t cut school, got into fights regularly, or got arrested. He left home after high school, became an airline pilot, and met Valentina, a fashion designer from New Jersey. Although Arabeth loved her brother, she couldn’t help but feel jealous of him. It also didn’t help that he was a bit hard on her when she got fired or got in trouble at work. Whenever things got heated between the siblings, Valentina would step in and help the two work out their problems. It was times like these when Arabeth respected Valentina a lot.

Eventually Arabeth found her footing, or at least some stability. At Valentina’s suggestion, Arabeth enrolled in a community college. Despite some difficulty, she managed to graduate. Meanwhile Lawton and Valentina married and had twins Mallory and Skylar. After shuffling in and out of jobs, Valentina offered Arabeth a job at Shine! Boutique as a cashier, which she reluctantly accepted. Arabeth didn’t have a good record with retail but working with Valentina made it a lot easier. It wasn’t perfect as she had to rely on her brother and best friend as a crutch but she was a lot happier.

Years later, on June 18, Arabeth had no choice but to step up and become her brother’s rock. That was the day when Valentina was killed in a car accident on her way to pick up Lawton from the airport. It was the day before anniversary and Lawton came home day early due to a last minute schedule change. Arabeth woke up to several missed calls from her brother, niece, and nephew at one AM. On her way to the hospital she kept wishing and hoping that it was a bad dream.

The next several weeks were painful for the Liao family. Lawton took time off work to take care of the kids, sometimes to the point he became somewhat clingy to them. There were also days when he couldn’t get out of bed, leaving Mallory and Skylar to take care of Erisy, Rockwell, and Saige. Arabeth helped out as best she could but she too wasn’t able to get through the day. Her parents were of no help as they never liked Valentina for reasons no one understood and believed that all Lawton needed to do was snap out of his grief. Arabeth and the twins knew that Lawton blamed himself over the accident, which is why he tried so hard to become involved in his children’s lives. While trying to get through to her brother, Arabeth realized the extent of their upbringing as Lawton tried to ignore his own problems by trying to take care of everyone else’s.

Up until then, Arabeth was mostly getting by. She was happy, being surrounded by family who cared about her, and being able to take care of herself. But she still got in trouble occasionally and didn’t think much about her future. In a way she was still living off her brother’s family, expecting them to bail her out whenever something went wrong. She wanted to grow up but was afraid to and so she was stuck somewhere in between. With Valentina gone, it was time for Arabeth to finally grow up, for herself, her brother, and the kids.

Acknowledging the problems was one thing, taking action was another. Concerned about their father, Mallory and Skylar turned to Arabeth for help. Tired of feeling helpless, Arabeth sat down one night and thought about things that she could do, like thinking about her future and what she could do for her family. The next day, she woke up feeling rested for the first time in forever and made a promise to herself to get her life together. After doing a lot of searching, Arabeth walked into the Kachina Cadence Dance Studio to apply for a position as a dance coach. Arabeth had always loved dancing and if she had the discipline, maybe she would have pursued it. She may lack professional training but she had a feeling that if she worked hard enough, she could make something out of it. After all dancing was something she could fall back on when she needed extra cash and even after she didn’t have to do that anymore, Arabeth still practiced from time to time.

Once she began putting her life together, Arabeth’s next focus was on Lawton and the kids. Once Lawton let go of his guilt and allowed himself to grieve, the Liaos were on their way to recovery. On the same night that Lawton announced that he was quitting his job as a pilot to take care of the family, Arabeth announced that she was going back to school to pursue ballet while working at the dance studio. Since no one saw either news coming, the siblings looked at each other, wondering if they were replaced by someone else. After hearing her brother ask if she was possessed or something and then checking if she was sick and her doing the same, Arabeth had a feeling that things were going to be all right.

So a few weeks later Arabeth moved in with her brother so she could help take care of the kids and be closer to the studio. Although she saw her nieces and nephews regularly, it’s a lot different living with them. Arabeth was always known as the cool aunt, sort of like a big sister, so the idea of being a role model and parental figure was terrifying. She wasn’t sure if she could juggle family, school, and work but after what she and everyone else has been through, Arabeth figured that she could make it. Of course she wouldn’t be Arabeth if she didn’t drive her brother up the wall or get involved in shenanigans with the kids. Missing Valentina continues to be a struggle but her memory is what keeps Arabeth going.

After years of being on a rollercoaster full of doubt, insecurity, and lack of direction, Arabeth Liao has finally found her footing.

#hollywood u #hwu #hwu game #headcanon ramble #Arabeth Liao

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peace-coast-island · 4 years

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Diary of a Junebug

Collecting starfish and trying to make a difference

Years ago I read a story about starfish. Basically, a woman comes across hundreds of starfish that were washed into the sand. So one by one, she begins throwing them back in the sea. While doing that, someone walks by and questions why she’s trying to save the starfish if they’re gonna get washed up again at some point.

What difference does it make?, the passerby asks.

For that one starfish I just threw in the sea, it means everything, says the woman.

I don’t know why but that story always stuck to me. When people ask what I want to do in life, I say that I want to help people. When I think about helping people, I think about the starfish story. A little goes a long way. I won’t be able to save the world or make a huge impact on a community but at least I can do something for one person. And for that one person, it makes a difference.

I don’t want to be a hero, I just want to be there for someone who needs a shoulder to lean on. I won’t make waves, but at least I can create ripples.

Pearl, Marianne, Fran, and Mike are visiting the camp for a much needed break after everything going on at Hollywood University. Coincidentally, the beach is full of starfish seashells so Isabelle and I arranged a seashell event. Since the universe tends to work in strange ways - at least according to the way I see it - I think it’s a sign.

For almost five years Jamie had been building an entourage of actors, writers, musicians, and other media professionals who are affiliated with the Hollywood University - Peace Coast campus. A bunch of friends like Ally-Nicole Sinead, Celinda Sharma, Vincent Yang, Lenie Langbrook, Quentin Toledo, Arabeth Liao, the Kayode triplets, the Sala cousins, Pearl, Marianne, Fran, and Mike - and tons of others - were part of that group.

What makes Jamie’s entourage stick out from other entourages in the university is how diverse it was. The other entourages are predominantly white, straight, and able bodied, which says a lot about the culture of the campus. The university as a whole prides itself for being inclusive, but is it really?

Don’t get me wrong, the university did make some strides in terms of diversity and inclusion when it first started out - particularly in terms of the LGBT community. But as it began to grow, it began following the money and sidelined the voices that they once aimed to amplify. That, along with various missteps involving the treatment of various POC figures is what caused people like Jamie and Pearl to become disillusioned with the university.

It’s such a shame, especially when you’ve got a bunch of talented people who are constantly ignored in favor of someone mediocre because of their ethnicity/background/sexual orientation, etc. There’s also blatant favoritism, which sucks as well.

Technically Jamie’s entourage isn’t really an established thing anymore as it hasn’t been active in over a year. But others still refer to it as such because everyone still hangs out together, even after they’ve moved on. So even though the entourage has disbanded, it doesn’t seem like it. That says a lot about the community Jamie built with her entourage.

Pearl and the others joined the entourage about three years ago. That was shortly before things really started to change so their experiences have been a mixed bag. On one hand, they got to meet a bunch of cool people and experience great opportunities but at the same time have to deal with the university’s bullshit regarding their performative activism.

While criticism of how the university pats itself on the back for being so diverse has been going on for years, shutting down the Hollywood U/Starlight Theatre program is what caused things to blow up. Starlight Theatre is run and owned by a black Asian woman and most of the performers happen to be POC and/or LGBT as well as most of the people in the program.

The university claims that budget issues is what prompted them to shut down the program as they felt they could use that money for other resources that better fit the university’s vision. Enrollment in the program has reportedly dropped, which Pearl says is not entirely true. While the cohort has gotten smaller, it’s important to note that in recent years, most of the staff and students are white.

So it’s no surprise that most of the entourage has left the university over the past two years. Considering how many of our friends have been screwed over, I don’t blame them for leaving.

The amount of bullshit from the university is far too long to list off so I’ll only mention a few big ones. Shutting down the theatre program’s a big thing as Pearl and Marianne are part of the faculty. And before that they were severely underpaid and under credited as well as ignored over their white colleagues. Marianne had resigned last semester on a sour note after getting fed up with the higher ups. Pearl was tired of their shit too but chose to stick around because she wanted to make a difference and the students loved her.

Three West End and Starlight actors who were in Jamie’s entourage - Mariah Huang, Killian Bhandari, and Hayden Pettinelli - have been outspoken about their mixed experiences with the university and the theatre program. You have three professional actors being underpaid and ignored as well as being told flat out that they were hired so the faculty looked more diverse. They also had to deal with microaggressions from colleagues as well as poor communication with the higher ups. With the entourage being disbanded, they left the program shortly after.

Jenny, Clarry, and Lyndi have said that their college experience has been mixed. While all three have received great opportunities for their futures, they feel like they have to work at least three times harder than their white peers. Lenie and Rika feel the same, and as both are half white, they have their own issues with how they’re treated. Quentin Toledo, Tiffani Monaco, Adrie Castalucci, and Vincent Yang have issues about accessibility accommodations as the university has been less than accommodating to those who need it. Ally-Nicole Sinead, Beatrice Sala, Arabeth Liao, Celinda Sharma - and many other WOC - have criticized the misogyny that runs rampant in the university. Steven Fischer and Mike Shafir are among many who have spoken out about antisemitism. Fran Raleigh, Elliott Marchand, Maura Zeigler, Colleen Anantha, and countless others called out the university for homophobia and transphobia. And the list goes on and on.

At some point these people have been called ungrateful for criticizing the university and equate it to biting the hand that feeds you. Well, most of these people are already successful on their own and the reason why they came was to make a difference. While the university initially had good intentions, it’s clear where they stand in the long run. While they have made strides in terms of diversity and representation, the last few years feels like a backwards slide.

They say that attendance has gone down in certain groups and I wonder why. Could it be that a lot of people don’t want to be involved in a place that underpays them, treats them like shit, force them to deal with those who only want to work with them for woke points, and not be given the credit they rightfully deserve?

So what’s the big deal?, some may ask. Why is representation and diversity so important? Well, to answer in the most simplest terms, it’s because we exist. We deserve to be heard and for our stories to be told. We are not stereotypes or caricatures, we are people. And just giving more roles to POC, LGBT, and/or disabled actors isn’t going to solve everything. The whole entertainment industry has its issues so giving people jobs for the sake of diversity won’t fix things, especially if we continue to be undermined and fucked over.

The reason why people like Jamie, Pearl, Marianne, Fran, and Mike stuck around for so long - because they wanted to help others, to provide opportunities for them to shine. In a way, it’s kinda like trying to singlehandedly throw hundreds of starfish back in the sea with their own hands.

Some may say it’s futile and there’s no point because it is what it is. But why does it have to be that way? If the current system is bullshit, why not take it apart and build a much better one? You don’t have to put on a grand gesture to make a difference. You might not be able to save the world, but you can save someone’s world. And that will cause a ripple effect that will spread into small victories.

#animal crossing #animal crossing pocket camp #Diary of a Junebug #headcanon ramble

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