Valentines Day 2026

 As ever I've been meaning to put some more posts up recently but I've just not had the time. Today is a Saturday though and Valentine's Day so I thought I would put up a few themed caps based around love and the day itself. 

Chocolate Addict (2013)

This caption was created for Rachel's Haven's February 2013 caption competition which had 'Candy' as a theme. 

Run For Love (2015)

This caption was created for the February 2015 caption contest on Rachel's Haven which had the theme of  'This body is a canvas waiting for you to paint your desires with your sweet kisses, soft touch, and gentle caress...'

Crushed (2021)

This cap was created for Brittany7 over at the Haven and was part of my Love Witch caption offer in which my witchy character Ember offers to assist members with their love lives for fun and profit. This has become a favourite of mine especially with the suggested changes and the Witch Advisor gag. 

A Walk in the Park (2022)

This cap was created for Jeannie over at the Haven and was part of a lesbian themed cap offer I had on at the time. 

Christmas Captions #2

 Here's another batch of captions created for the Haven's 12 Caps of Christmas this year. 

My Christmas was fine overall although I'm not too pleased to be back at work so soon. Here's a little tale though, over the last few weeks I went to see a favourite Christmas movie of mine played in a church with a live soundtrack. I was wearing a red maxi skirt, t-shirt, yellow cardigan and a pink coat and I headed to the toilet before the show kicked off. A very nice lady directed me to the ladies - which I did not want to go in for obvious reasons so for a few moments I was staring at the various toilet signs on the wall like I was trying to decipher hieroglyphics until she left. She didn't but she suggested the disabled toilets instead which I duly took somewhat sheepishly. I also posted my Role Exchanger: Office Christmas Party story on The Changing Mirror and it's elicited some nice comments. If anyone is interested this story, which is about 9-10 years old now is elsewhere on the site but anyway captions...

A Hot Girlfriend for Christmas (2025)

My first idea needed a bit more work so I came up with this as a replacement and I quite like it even though I couldn't decide on a TG method and nearly left it as a mystery.

Christmas at the Lodge (2025)

With this one, I was inspired by the picture which just screamed 'bimbo discovering snow' and I worked back from there. 

The Night Before (2025)

I was working on this one for quite a while. The picture is AI generated but it had a storybook look to it so I tried writing some poetry and parodying Clement Clarke-Moore's classic 1823 poem A Visit from St. Nicholas. 

Halloween 2025

 I've been meaning to update this for a while now, adding what I've been doing and even a few story recommends but time just got away from me. I was also going to, due to it being spooky season, do a quick bit of flash fiction but even that I've struggled with so here is a double header of caps featuring monster based weirdness from 2014. These were created for the Rachel's Haven October Caption Contest with the theme of 'You are the Thing Demons are Afraid of'. Looking back, I quite like these two and in a lot of ways they sum up my style and humour. 

Enjoy and Happy Halloween! 

Invasion (2014)

Demon Rising (2014)

Back to the 1960s

 I've always enjoyed time travel programmes, films and captions and one of my favourite times is the 1960s as I love the fashions. Well, at least I thought it was until I looked into doing this and found I hadn't done that many. It's either this or the 1980s so I guess we'll have to see. I've even done a brand new cap for this post!

The below caption was created for the August 2016 caption contest over at Rachel's Haven which had the theme 'Time travel'. The title derives from The Who's album and movie Quadrophenia. Reading it again, I quite like the story in this of a world weary time traveller suddenly being given some free will back. 

Modrophenia (2016)

The below caption was again created for the Rachel's Haven caption competition. Now we are in April 2022 and theme is 'Possession in Either the Past or Future'. Obviously I chose the past and I quite like the idea of using a new phone app to insert someone into a photograph. I love the outfit the girl is wearing in this one too. The only thing that could be improved is the name of the band 'The Pop Cats'. I'm sure there must be a better one. The title is taken from a British sci-fi anthology series from the 1960s. 

Journey to the Unknown (2022)

And now to the newness! I've been toying around with AI recently and this is one of the random images I came up with. I enjoyed writing all the 1960s slang. The idea of a time travel portal in a diner is derived from a Stephen King book and TV miniseries 11.22.63. Neither of which I have actually read or watched but I keep meaning to although I see the series is now 9 years old! Afficionados of British sitcom may also remember the 1990s Nicholas Lyndhurst starring Goodnight Sweetheart. The premise was that a TV repairman was able to travel back to the 1940s by using a specific alleyway (Ducketts Passage) in London. I'm quite pleased with my final line on this one too.   

The Beachcomber Café (2025)

2024 Wrapped - Part One

Over on Twitter they've now introduced a 'wrapped' feature so I was interested to see which were my most popular tweets/captions of the year. The results may surprise you. They did me. My three most popular caps came from later in the year and I don't know if they are the ones I would have chosen but it's interesting to see. 

So here's the countdown...in third place we have: 

The Applicant (2024)

In second place...

Skinny Dipping (2024)

And finally the winner is...

Trapped! (2024)

Of the three I think I prefer the first one and I'm quite surprised at what came top as it was quite a quick one. In fact whereas I work more on long form captions the Twitter ones are just a case of finding a picture and thinking something up and only occasionally do I plan things out. 

Although I know it's an AI and I should take everything with a pinch of salt but I think that there is some truth there. For example, apparently I seem to do bimbo captions the most of all which is surprising because I've been doing some more sissy stuff this year. It does mention a love for the Barbie movie though which I don't think is correct although I did use it for some caps in the early part of the year. Apparently my top words of the year were: Bimbo, Transformation, Sissy, Pink and Elixir. It's also nice to hear some words of praise as to my caps using a blend of humour and TF fantasy and some witty dialogue. Yes of course it's all AI BS but it's nice to think about. 

So what of my captions for Rachel's Haven? Well I haven't done that many this year but I think my favourite would be the below one for Dementia. 

Hostile Takeover (2024)

Christmas Captions #1

 Every year I have been running an advent caption calendar on Rachel's Haven which many people have contributed to over the years so I thought I would throw this year's captions in here and one from last year I liked. 

Girl on a Pearl (2023)

This one is from last year and is based on the whole 'Elf on a Shelf' thing. Not something I'm overly familiar with as it wasn't around while I was growing up. A simple idea given an Ember twist. I usually bring her back at least once a year at Christmas as she's so much fun to write for. Re-reading this I think it's the dialogue that tickled me the most. It does feel a but cringy sometimes to laugh at my own jokes but then if I don't, no-one else will. I'm especially proud of the petulant final line. The lament of many a TG caption protagonist. 

A Christmas Like Hers (2024)

This one is another Ember one and it went through a number of changes. In other versions it was more of a twinning one and they were still together but it ended up more as a jealous ex one. The 'Winter Wonderland' line was one I took from another idea with another picture I never used in the end and I'm quite pleased with the 'baby kick' line as well. People getting understandably angry with Ember is always fun. 

Stand-In Stacy (2024)

Ok here's the last one and I'm stupidly pleased with it. When I saw the photo it immediately said 'vlogger'. Here is someone giving an instructional video. The little antlers as well were an easy item you could attach to a willing victim. It's almost like a Twilight Zone twist in the tale at the end. Cute outfit too.

April Fools

No joke, I swear. As it's April Fools Day (for another hour anyway) I thought I would put up another caption as, unlike Easter, I have done quite a few on the subject of practical jokes gone wrong. This was an often used theme of the Rachel's Haven caption contest and since this caption was made nearly a decade ago I thought I would give it another airing. The title is a bit clunky but I still quite like it as a concept so prepare yourself for a short tale of revenge, dinner and accidental gender reassignment. 

Dinner for Jokers (2014)

 

Check-Up #29

 Ok so once again I make it right to the dying embers of another month having posted nothing but still wanting to keep this blog going. I've meant to write a longer section about some of the TV programmes I've watched recently with some gender change themes but I guess I'm out of time for now. I would still like to leave you with something though so I looked around for an Easter themed caption but haven't been able to find one so maybe I ought to give that a shot in the future. 

Anyway, here's one that I did for Chelsea Baker over on Rachel's Haven with a very gossipy theme. Hope you like. 

The Kiss and Tell Queen (2021) 

Check Up #28

 Ok so in this one I'm going to attempt to round up the last year and try to make up for 6 months of not posting anything. 

• Earlier in the year I moved house and it took me a while to get used to it. In some ways I've still got a bit more tidying and decoration to do. It also didn't help that my parents decided to dump even more old stuff from my teenage bedroom on me without warning so now I have a spare room full of stuff that needs sorting out, nowhere to put it and no time to do it in.

• Due to this I also had to have some furniture moved over (because I couldn't bear trashing something I've had for nearly 40 years) so a chest of drawers full of my femme clothes had to be moved out of the way. Now of course this means that the moment you moved it the bottoms fell out of the drawers meaning all my clothes fell out in front of everyone. I had to scramble to try and pick everything up and getting increasingly more angry about it all. No-one mentioned it so I don't really know what to make of that. 

• I finished my cap debt list over at Rachel's Haven this year but I'm still doing the odd one or two. For the meantime though I like the immediacy of using Twitter even though it's not quite the site it used to be for obvious reasons.

• At the end of the year I was mostly preoccupied by a couple of weddings. The first was more of a reception I was invited to and I had decided to dress for it. It was in Manchester so I had to travel a bit for it and even then the venue was a way out of town so I had to make a decision about whether to go by public transport or by taxi. I don't take a lot of taxis so it put me on edge a little bit but needless to say it turned out ok in the end and I quite like the outfit I chose however I did have some issue with some pink flats I chose that were too big for me. I should have tried them on in the shop but this was one of those times when my nerve went. On the day of the wedding I had to quickly dash up to the shop I bought them in to replace them. Everyone was so nice about it in the shop that I wonder why I didn't do this before and waste time trying to find ways to adapt the original shoes.

• The other wedding I attended this year I didn't dress femme for because I had a specific role - I was the Best Man so not only did I have a speech to write but the arrangements were on and off for a while and I didn't really know what was happening. Despite the nerves I now look back on it fondly. 

• Due to moving house earlier in the year and the train station being closer I haven't been getting quite as much exercise as I have before and unexpectedly I managed to put on 3 stone in weight which I have been trying to lose for the last few months. This means that there are some clothes that no longer fit which I'm quite down about. I'm hoping I can get the weight off at some point next year. 

• I haven't really done much cosplay this year apart from when I went to a convention earlier in the year. I would still like to continue though and there are still a lot of costumes I would like to try. I miss the days of the big conventions I used to attend with my friends. I'm not sure I have the stomach to go alone anymore unless it's just to look round the merch stalls. I haven't collected autographs for about 20 years and that was mainly Buffy the Vampire Slayer which I'm coincidentally rewatching.  

• I haven't bought many new clothes this year, a couple of dresses and skirts though and a top I think. One of the dresses came without a button at the back so again I'm resolving to learn to sew again so I can do these small jobs for myself. In fact this dress is a bit of a departure for me as it's a black and white leopard print. It's not normally a pattern I go for as it's a touch chavvy (which is no bad thing and I would love to go full chav one day just for the sake of dress up but not for my personal style) I do like this one though as it's in my usual Clara style with a small black collar. 

• Towards the end of the year I was able to go to a few events dressed which was quite cool. I was also told by one bloke at a party I was making him feel underdressed and this was only in one of my normal dresses and some tights I bought from Snag. 

•  This year I also read Grayson Perry's memoir Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl which had some interesting things to say about his transvestitism. 

At least I know I'm going into 2024 with less chaos and change ahead of me than there was in 2023 so at least that's something hopeful. 

Check Up #26

Once again I say I have been meaning to update this for quite a while. 

In March I went to a convention again. I did get back into it last year although lately I've been feeling that I don't really want to keep doing so on my own. Back when I was a teenager I did end up going to a lot of conventions and things on my own simply because no-one else wanted to go with me and I was determined not let that spoil what I wanted to do. These days I think I feel the loneliness more and sometimes I just can't face it. It's why I have been thinking that if I do want to do more cosplay it will mean travelling to a lot more conventions and probably spending most of the day on my own trudging round merch halls. 

Anyway, this time I was staying with some friends and I ended up dressing for more or less the whole time I was there. I did a couple of new cosplays with varying degrees of success and I'm even thinking about more for next year. On the Saturday night I was probably the prettiest I have ever looked. I had a very gothy dress on, tights, boots and a friend leant me a fascinator and I did get some really nice comments on it. I still probably should experiment with make-up at some point. 

I haven't really bought much else, perhaps a blue and white striped top and another blue pleated maxi-skirt. I'm still really enjoying wearing maxi skirts. I had a couple of events on recently so I was able to dress up for those which I'm always pleased to do although it does bring a dose of anxiety as well. I'll go through the motions of regretting what I'm doing but knowing that if I don't do it I'll regret it more and more. The current climate and endless gender debates don't really help either.

I've also recently completed my caption debt list on Rachel's Haven and it feels good. I don't know how often I'll cap from now on but I doubt I'll stop completely and although I enjoy doing it on Twitter sometimes I prefer something a little longer form. One thing I also enjoyed doing on Twitter recently was a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' type story made up of various polls. It was fascinating to see the answers that I got and to be able to write something every day. 

Moving House

 I have meant to update this blog more often since the beginning of the year but the big event in January was my decision to move house and that kind of put things on hold. 

I had lived in my old place for over a decade so it was was quite emotional for me to move especially into a house that I also had an emotional connection with as my new house was previously owned by relatives of mine and is now owned by my parents. In fact one concern of mine was that I would lose a little of my privacy which is quite important to me considering my crossdressing. Also I knew that I would have to bag up everything and take it over to my new place and I was afraid that someone would see as people were helping me move. 

To be fair I don't think my parents have a real issue with it, they'll think it's strange but also don't want to see me get my head kicked in and unfortunately it looks like the situation is only getting worse out there. I don't think anyone saw anything but at the same time I wouldn't be surprised. They certainly haven't said anything to me if they have. Ever since I tried to speak to my parents about it and it went slightly wrong I haven't broached it since plus it was never important to me that they know and, hell, I never saw myself doing this. I considered it a secret I would take to the grave with possible exception of a sexual partner willing to explore that with me so the fact that I've been able to reach the stage I have has been a blessing. I did have a slightly odd conversation with my mum about coat hangers though recently and the inference that I know what sort of coat hangers you use to hang up skirts. If that sounds odd reading it sounded odd to type and I may be slightly paranoid. 

So anyway I been here over 6 weeks now and I feel more settled than I was when I first moved in. Early on you just need a few creature comforts I think and once I was able to watch the TV I was more or less fine. I have more space but having trouble trying to arrange my clothes and to be honest it was one of the only times I've felt bad about my dressing. If I had just stuck to male clothes I could have had it sorted out within an hour but it's still there waiting to be done. At least I don't have my incredible collapsing clothes pile anymore and I also have a full length mirror at last which is very helpful. 

As for new clothes, I bought a lovely blue pleated maxi skirt. I've always wanted one like that as I think they look so beautiful. I never used to be one for long skirts but these days they really make me feel feminine. I did have an issue with it though as some stores seem to have decided never to reopen their changing rooms since lockdown nearly 3 years ago. This led to me getting the wrong size and having to take it back and exchange it the same day. I was at least able to wear it out for some birthday drinks though, pairing it with a grey sequined jumper. I've also been able to get a new houndstooth dress and a lovely vintage 1950s look Hearts and Roses dress from a charity shop which was another lucky find. Nearly bought a pair of pleated ladies trousers this weekend but unfortunately missed out. 

I haven't been doing as many captions for the Haven recently as I mostly stick to Twitter now and I have given ChatGPT a go this week to see what kind of stories that would produce. I hope to get back to the Haven at some point though. 

 

Check-Up #25

Ok, I've meant to update this for a while now and suddenly we're at the end of December and getting ready for the New Year. I may just go with the bullet points again for brevity's sake. 

• I've had an up and down couple of months. I went away for a few days in November and came back with a cold (nothing serious, not COVID or anything) but it just proved hard to get shot of so I wasn't feeling up to much. Before that though I went to a sci-fi convention for a nice couple of days. I was able to do some cosplay as well, rolling out my 13th Doctor and Star Trek cosplays. In the evenings I also had the opportunity to dress which was quite nice and I had some compliments which is always welcome (apart from the odd moment in which someone half-heartedly tried to steal a necklace from me). 
• I'm glad I had the opportunity to do more cosplay this year but it's something that, for me, the future is uncertain. I'm not sure if I want to keep going to shows as it can be lonely if I'm always going on my own. You do get used to it after a number of years though but then we also don't know how many years we have left. There are still a few I would love to do like the 10th Doctor, Missy, more Clara stuff, more Harley Quinn. Seeing Star Trek: Strange New Worlds this year I've been thinking about Nurse Chapel and also in the last month or so I've been thinking about the 14th Doctor's outfit as well. 
• I recently bought a couple of new skirts, one purple with a black pleather ring around the bottom and the other is an argyle patten in blue, black, white and yellow. I also bought a necklace in the shape of a key but I think that's about it for things I've bought recently. 
• Regarding fashion, I notice that argyle is quite trendy recently, tank tops are back and also large collars on dresses and jumpers. 
• One thing I have noticed is that nowadays when I go out or purchase tickets for events I do consider whether or not I'll be able to dress at them. It's really one of the first things that pops into my head. I did have an event planned for early December which unfortunately had to be cancelled due to the ongoing train strikes here in the UK. Luckily though around the same time I was able to book up for a podcast recording and I was able to dress for that which I was quite pleased with. 
• I had a nice Christmas with my family in the end and got some lovely gifts. New Year's Eve is probably just going to involve me and the TV again and to be honest I've been a little down this past week due to changes at work and preparing to move house in January so unfortunately things probably aren't going to settle down for a bit. 

Finally, here's a Christmas caption I devised for a more slimline version of the Christmas advent calendar I usually oversee on Rache's Haven so I hope you like. 

A Sissy for Christmas (2022)

Shulkie

Yes, it's another Marvel tie-in. 

Anyway, the new series She-Hulk: Attorney at Law dropped today and I must say I really enjoyed the first episode. A few years ago I did read the graphic novel of Dan Slott's 2004 run on the comic, Single Green Female, which I picked up in a charity shop and enjoyed it so much I bought a few more so I was really pleased to see this one pop up on Marvel's slate. Tatiana Maslany is a brilliant actress as anyone who watched the fantastic Orphan Black will know. I have also toyed with the idea of cosplaying She-Hulk as dressed in the black skirt suit of Jennifer Walters but I think it may be too much make-up for me. 

So as she's currently in the news here's a caption featuring the green goddess I did for Chelsea Baker on Rachel's Haven. I quite like it although I'm not too sure about the scream at the end. Feels a bit much now. Anyway, hope you like. 

Shulkie (2015)

The Capping Years: 2013

The caption I've chosen for 2013 is something a little different which is perhaps why I've selected it. Vancouverite over at Rachel's Haven asked for a twisted wishes type scenario.  There would be a gender change...but with a caveat. In this case you either have large, but fake looking, breasts, a large bum or the dress sense of a hooker once you are outside of the office. As you might be able to tell I loved writing the fashion part of this as I love messing with styles. Never done anything before it before and luckily this was well received so I was proud of it. 

What would you choose? Let me know in the comments...

You Make the Call: Working Girl (1) (2013)

You Make the Call: Working Girl (2) (2013)

Check-Up #20

So what have I been doing recently? 

Not much really. I haven't bought anything new clothes wise apart from a necklace with a large silver heart on it but I have had some opportunities to dress recently as I've had some time working from home. I've also found that shaving most of my body hair has helped with my mood as I've often looked down at my various hairy limbs and despaired somewhat. I always pledge to shave more often but I rarely do plus you do get those horrible stubby hairs that you can never entirely get rid of. Maybe I ought to try waxing or go somewhere professional to try and get it done properly. 

Speaking of work (and I know I may be sounding like a broken record here) but we have a staff event coming up that is partially going to be on a boat. So do I dress? I've thought about it and the various dresses I could wear for it but I fear the confidence may leave me unless my old friend alcohol becomes involved as it has whenever I took a big step in my dressing. I haven't decided whether I will do yet but I still have a few more weeks to think about it. If I don't I know I will be miserable for most of the night but if I do it may be one of my more nerve-wracking nights and I've had quite a few but it's different this time as I won't have any of my friends around me. I expect it's one of those times when I just have to get over the initial awkwardness and questions and it will be fine. Funnily enough also in July I have a friend's wedding coming up in which I have no qualms about dressing for but I'm torn between wearing a suit, at least for the ceremony, or buying a new dress. Well, I probably have something I could wear anyway if I didn't get something new. That should be fun anyway. 

I finished watching Sex Education and I would recommend it and it has some wonderful LGBTQ+ representation. I certainly wish I had something like this when I was younger. Everything I learned about sex I had to pick up myself as neither school nor my parents taught me anything. I doubt it would have made much difference as I still would have been a shy child but you never know. 

I've started to do more captions for the Haven again too and I'm still enjoying producing work over on Twitter so it's a surprisingly creative time for me. 

Ms Marvel

Once again where Marvel goes, I follow. As Ms Marvel has presently landed on Disney + and is doing well I thought I would put up a couple of themed captions. Unfortunately I don't have the names of either cosplayer.  

This one was created for Jeannie over at Rachel's Haven and uses one of my favourite concepts - Secret Cosplay. The premise being that a person receives an envelope with a cosplay choice on they must dress as for a local convention and if they dare ignore it then the choice will be fulfilled whether they like it or not. I seem to remember creating as a way to get some quick capbacks done with a common concept I could use without doing the same thing over and over again. I have varied it and there are quite a few captions and characters I've used it with now. This one is more the classic Carol Danvers version of the character though rather than the Kamala Khan version from the TV show. 

Secret Cosplay: Ms Marvel (2018)

This second caption was created for Jay Seaver over at Rachel's Haven and was inspired by the then recent Captain Marvel movie and riffs on a more conventional bodyswap scenario.

Marvel-ous Cosplay (2019)

Terri in the Multiverse of Madness

Well Multiverses seem to be all the rage these days and the other day by chance I found a couple of captions related to them. 

The below was created for Chelsea Baker on Rachel's Haven and uses a screencap from the makeover (actually more a make-under show as they championed natural beauty and teaching people how to live without tons of make-up) TV show Snog, Marry, Avoid which I used to watch quite a lot. The title was taken from a 2009 episode of Family Guy which itself was a nod to the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby Road To... movies 

Road to the Multiverse (2013)

This second one may be a bit tricky to understand without context since I basically took someone's preferences and flipped them. This was done for Felicia Hextus over at Rachel's Haven who loves to be age reduced, shrunk, teased and humiliated so obviously I turned her into a strong, powerful maneater. Luckily she enjoyed it and also really liked having her preferences turned against her and saw it as a form of teasing in itself. It's always nice when you hit on a kink that may not have been there before. This cap also brings back one of my favourite characters, Ember Montoya, and if I ever mention parallel universes the universe of shrimp often comes up which is a reference to Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Now, I'm not sure if there is a reference in the title unless I thought it just sounded good but knowing me there probably was but I can't remember it now. 

Felicia of Two Worlds (2015)

Sex Education

 Things have been a bit busy recently but there are a couple of things I wanted to talk about. Firstly I mentioned joining Twitter last month and I've really been enjoying it. My captions have been doing quite well (I think, anyway) and it's also taught me the value of brevity as I only have 140 characters to play with. Doing a new caption for the Haven recently I could feel myself editing it a bit more so hopefully it has sharpened up my skills a bit. 

Now, like a lot of other Doctor Who fans have been doing recently, I have started watching Sex Education on Netflix as one of the main roles is played by the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa. The show had been on my list for a while but other things had taken precedence so this was as good an excuse as any to begin. For the uninitiated, the show is a comedy drama which revolves around teenager Otis Milburn (Asa Butterfield) and his sex therapist mother Jean (Gillian Anderson). Otis attends sixth form at Moordale Secondary School (which weirdly seems to resemble an American high school) and with another pupil, Maeve Wiley (Emma Mackey) starts an under-the-wire sex clinic of his own advising his fellow students for money. Gatwa plays his gay best friend Eric Effiong. From here on in the spoilers for season one start so please look away now if you are still wanting to watch this and go in cold (please come back if you do though. I'll still be here, hopefully). 

Promo poster for Season One of Sex Education
(L to R: Ncuti Gatwa as Eric, Emma Mackey as Maeve and Asa Butterfield as Otis)
Credit: IMDB

The episode I want to discuss is the fifth episode of season one (no title given) which (surprise, surprise) involves crossdressing. It's Eric's 17th birthday and he and Otis have tickets to a screening of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Both dress in drag for the event and both have very different evenings. While Otis gets side-lined by Maeve and the main plot which involves finding out who has been sending photographs of school mean girl Ruby's vagina to everyone, Eric continues on alone. If he were already being written by Russell T Davies he would doubtless be a super confident charmer and would mostly probably seduce someone at the bus stop but not so much here. We are not in some bustling metropolis but a small town and you feel for Eric as he stands alone at a wooden shack of a bus stop out in the woods. On his own and out of his element he retreats into himself and I know just how he feels. Two lads approach and he turns away and tries to hide himself in a place where he has nowhere to run which is another feeling I know all too well. I often wear a big coat if I can which is all the better for covering yourself up from other people. At least the station platform I often frequent is longer than Eric's bus stop. Noticing his birthday badge though one of the youths smiles and says that not only is it his birthday too but offers Eric a drink and compliments his outfit. 

Sadly that's the best that Eric's evening gets. Not only does Otis never show but his coat is stolen and he gets attacked on his way home. Calling Jean for a lift he returns home with her only to have a bust up with Otis over his desertion. Over the next couple of episodes he's a broken man, choosing less flamboyant clothing and trying not to be seen eventually getting into fights and being suspended from school. I have to say I have been feeling this a little at the moment too due to what happened to me at work a couple of weeks ago. While I've never been the type to scorch the Earth, I haven't painted my nails again since. This being television it does have a happy ending though as Eric rediscovers himself through a service at his local church and a stranger with fierce nails on his way to a wedding. A school dance proves his big opportunity for a comeback and of course he makes up with Otis. 

For Otis himself I'm pleased to see that, being straight, he has no qualms about dressing in drag and attending the show with his friend. No feeling of being made to do it or embarrassment (well no more than that of an average awkward teen). I have to wonder where they both got the outfits though and despite saying it's a yearly thing they do it seems like the first time unless of course it's normally something they do at home. I'm just nitpicking though. Even Otis gets compliments on his outfit which, again is nice to see. We don't have universal acceptance or universal hatred but something inbetween which is what real life is like. Otis may be a little sheepish about his new look but he shrugs it off as no big deal and no-one particularly makes fun of him either. Of course he also stays within the confines of their cosy town and not into the wider world like Eric. 

One final person I would like to mention in all this is Eric's dad, Abeo Effiong (DeObia Oparei), who goes on a journey of his own towards acceptance of his son. A couple of episodes earlier he catches Eric in drag and demands he remove it so you get the impression this he is your typical religious, unaccepting father. In episode five he tries to stop Eric going out in drag by almost pleading with him to rethink his outfit. I recognise this too from the time I told my own parents by turning up at their house wearing a denim miniskirt. It's that same look of trying to work it out, trying to make sense of it and also the realisation that your child has just painted a target on their back, the 'oh he's going to get the shit kicked out of him' look. I can sympathise so much with that. Later when Eric returns home he can tell that something has happened but Eric is in no mood for talking. The next morning he spares his blushes with the rest of the family by making up a cover story and when Eric rediscovers himself and gets dressed up for the dance his father offers to drive him. Outside the school they have a heart to heart and Abeo admits he admires his brave son and that maybe he should be braver himself. Revealing his background as an immigrant made me realise that he must have been hiding for a lot of his life, scared to put his head above the parapet, and that there must be people in this country who have been settled for over 50 years but still have that same sense of keeping their heads down lest somebody try to throw them out. 

I must admit I didn't expect any crossdressing in this show and I doubt it will happen again but I'm glad at the way it was handled.

The Capping Years: 2012

When I was thinking about what captions I wanted to put up for this, Taking Her Place was one at the top of the list. This caption was created for Crow over at Rachel's Haven and is still one of my favourites. 

It features another in the line of alien entities who seem to like messing with accepted roles and DNA. I only did a couple with The Persuader in the end perhaps because it took too much thought to think up the phrases I would need to use but it might be nice to go back to it at some point. Switching clothes and personalities is always a fun topic for me and although this doesn't feature a clothes swap it gets quite close to it. I'm also pleased with the final line which indicates that balance will be restored and she will take his place. 

I'm still playing around with my style here as can be seen by the bold colours of the text box and background and I'm still using a thinner font than I eventually ended up staying with. I think it fits the character too. This was one of the longest stories I had done at the time at least in one picture.

EDIT: I was thinking about this again and one thing that did niggle me was the amount of time Amy was ill as opposed to the amount of time it took for Charlie to change however in these days of COVID and self isolation it doesn't seem that outlandish any more. 

Taking Her Place (2012)

The Capping Years: 2011

 I knew exactly the cap I wanted to put up for 2011...and then I re-read it and discovered that I made it in a different year so had to pick again. 

There's quite a few I had in mind looking through my old stuff, for example Red Dress Redemption was an early favourite, I introduced my Neighbour Virus and Reflections concepts, Lego Lady was my first caption contest win, The New Lisa allowed me to write up an old fantasy of mine (one of my earliest), In Custody was another favourite and the first chav cap I did and A Punky Phase remains a Medallion of Zulo cap I still love. 

One thing I also noticed was that my caps are a bit more positive and featured protagonists who either didn't mind or welcomed the change or the chance to dress. 

The one I did pick was The Punk Singer though which I did for Vancouverite on Rachel's Haven. It was a kind of 'She'll Become What She Hates' cap but in the end there are a lot of good things about the change so I like to think it ends on a positive. I think must also be my first F2F caption 

The Punk Singer (1) (2011)

The Punk Singer (2) (2011)