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----------=BigCloset Retro Classic!=----------
My name is Laurence, but I usually go by Larry. Joey is just a weird nickname I got saddled with, that everyone in the family but me seems to like--Livy's fault, now that I think of it. It's a long story, one where I entered the part of playing the role of Louisa instead of Kurt in a school play and suddenly decided to do something about the wrongness of me I had known about for a long time. I decided to be the girl I knew I was on the inside, that I've put a lot of effort into hiding from everyone, until now...
Leeway
Admin Note: Originally published on BigCloset TopShelf on Friday 04-07-2007 at 11:57 am, this retro classic was pulled out of the closet, and re-presented for our newer readers. ~Sephrena
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This story is 142 words long.
Comments
Leeway
Where did you get the name Wendy Arden? That is a very unusual name combination.
That which we call a rose
I'm always fascinated by what people pick up on in my writing as noteworthy.
A number of the characters in Leeway are based (usually fairly loosely) on particular people I knew when I was the protagonist's age, who often had similar relationships to me as the characters do to Leigh. To sort of keep straight who is based on whom, so I can keep them a little bit grounded in reality, I have a sort of informal rule for changing the real person's first and last names to come up with the character's name.
A few break with that rule somewhat but this is the only character for whom I didn't change both the first and last name, but only the first. She's based on a girl who a couple of times was not nice to me in ways that went beyond what a basically decent human being should be capable of, even an immature, self-centered one. So I guess I felt the need to "get her back" by using her real first name for an unlikeable character, changing only the last name, and that only subtly. I'm sure most of my classmates would have no trouble figuring out who I was satirizing based on the character's name and behavior.
If you know someone of that age with that name from the general geographic area of the story (the clues are there to figure it out, though I decided to fictionalize most of the local placenames too), rest assured it's not the same person. Unless of course it's her married name....
Hewwo ^.^
Hope you can find it in your heart to continue your wonderful series Justme. Its been a long time....
*hug*
Sephrena Lynn Miller
BigCloset TopShelf
It has, hasn't it?
Been a long time, I mean. I never meant to go this long. I've had three more chapters in the works for ages but... well, just keeping my life from going off the rails the past few months has been taking all my focus and concentration. So even if I had time to work on it I wouldn't have the mental energy.
I hate leaving it unfinished, though, and I really want to share what I've already written when I have a chance to get it whipped into shape. I don't know where my life will be a month or a year from now, so I don't want to promise anything, but... I'll do what I can.
Thanks for your patience and support.
We will be there
I hope to see you continue it too.
John in Wauwatosa
P.S Many of my characters are based on people or composits of people I knew or know.
John in Wauwatosa
Please
Hi,
This story is wonderful, I like how it goes, and our Joey sure is doing well, and have great parents, and a great sister :) I haven't finished reading it yet (I just had to stop at 4 am), and I'm a little bit disappointed to see that Linda has not come around yet.
I'd love to see the issue resolved cleanly in your next chapters. To me, it seems that Linda has also lost a friend for no good reason and I can't see why she wouldn't want Joey back as a friend.
I just hope one day ... you'll continue :)
Thanks
Mildred
Finishing the story ?
Hi there,
Just worked my way through the whole Leeway story as it stands now; just wondering about the continuation of this story, since I'm almost dying of curiosity to see how Leigh will cope with the rest of her life ;)
Very well written; I would love to see the next part(s) posted here...
Grtz, John
Still working on it
No idea when I'll have the necessary time and inspiration to finish it up, but I've got a few more chapters' worth mostly written and it probably needs at least a few more beyond that.
I did tell my readers, when I went on "hiatus" a couple of years ago (she says, feeling a bit sheepish), that I want to finish it at least in rough form before I begin to post any more chapters. When I do, though, here is where they will be posted.
Hugs,
Erin M. (justme)
We will wait ... are we there yet?
I know the feeling, muses can be pigs as can RL,
John in Wauwatosa
John in Wauwatosa
Another vote for Leeway
I just wanted to add to the comments here and say how very much I enjoyed this story.
It's very engaging and more true-to-life than most TG stories; the characters come across as individuals, and I like the way women and girls are characterized in particular. The story also has a lot of personal resonance for me: I'm about five years older than Leigh and remember lots of things from that era, and I had similar interests (astronomy, black-and-white photography). She's about two years away from encountering the very first personal computers, and based on her reaction to timesharing I have a feeling she might wind up in the software industry, like many of us. :-)
I also like your use of language. The use of present tense and stream-of-consciousness makes it feel very immediate and emotional. It was fun to read (and re-read!)
Like everyone else, I hope we'll get to see more of Leigh's adventures at some point.
...and a question
Does "Linda Thorsen" come from where I think the name comes from? :-)
;) You caught me
I had almost forgotten and was about to answer "no," but now that I think about it, yes, I remember that I happened to be researching The Avengers on IMDB for the story about the time I was trying to come up with a name for her character, and saw that name and thought it fit her well. I didn't like the character she played on the show, though--too wishy-washy compared to Diana Rigg's Emma Peel, who I idolized and for whom she had the misfortune to be the replacement--so I changed the spelling of the last name.
A fellow fan then, I presume? The show's theme is the default ringtone on my mobile. :D
Mrs. Peel...we're needed...
I remember being confused and conflicted like a lot of things, perhaps like some other girls here? I wasn't sure whether I wanted to marry Diana Rigg or be Diana Rigg...Anyone else?
God bless you all! Andrea
Love, Andrea Lena
[Raises hand]
1970-72, when I first watched the show on U.S. TV, was a very confusing time for me--I had figured out that I was "supposed" to be a girl, but knew that I "obviously" wasn't one because of what was between my legs, and also that letting any hint of how I felt show through was a sure recipe for playground beatings, not to mention public ridicule and derision, of which I had a near-phobia.
I knew I wanted to grow up to be Emma Peel when I watched that show, but my dad saw my reactions (which I'd unsuccessfully tried to suppress) and interpreted them, with more than a hint of pride, as early signs of red-blooded heterosexuality, so I wasn't quite sure myself what my feelings meant. A number of similar situations over the next few years only contributed to my growing confusion. It took me another thirty-five or forty years to sort it out, actually.
The Avengers
Not a fan, no -- I wasn't aware of the show when it was on the air. When it was mentioned multiple times in the story, I went and read up on it at Wikipedia, purely out of curiosity, and the name "Linda Thorsen" jumped out at me. :-)
Go rent it!
I could try to describe it, but I couldn't do it justice really. You have to see it to understand. It was both distinctively of its time, and decades ahead of its time. The seasons with Diana Rigg as Emma Peel are the ones to watch, in my opinion; Linda Thorson's character, Tara King, wasn't worthy to wax Emma's Lotus Esprit, as far as I was concerned.
It was very formative for me, and unusually empowering of girls and women for a show of that era, especially while Diana Rigg was on it.
It' the first
time I think I've commented on this story. I've read it three times so far. You've got a great deal of talent and it definitely shows in the story. I've a really strong desire to read the other chapters that might finish this story but god this could so easily and well deservingly become a series.
I realize that RL issues rarely seem to help writers with that occasional kick it likes to give us just when we thinks things are going good.
I hope things turn around for you in which ever way you need.
Take care and remember if you've got a fan base out here.
Bailey Summers