story bellingham
detailsbiocvfacts coding by ~argoan, edits by ~satellite / please don't remove!
⤑ full name Astoria Coriander Bellingham nee Fitzpatrick ⤑ also known as story ⤑ age & birth date 29 & March 10th 1987 ⤑ birthplace born and raised in San Francisco, CA ⤑ current location boston, Massachusetts ⤑ occupation Coloring book/childrens book illustrator & flight attendant for British Airways ⤑ relationship status widow & single ⤑ brownstone in south boston (courtesy of her father who bought it) house tour & more pics

Marcus Fitzpatrick had always known he wanted power, authority, and as much control as he could gain. But this wasn't in an effort to use it unjustly; he wanted to be able to work his way into the political world so that he could truly make a difference and influence on the world - or at least, his little corner of it. His ambition, intellect, strong leadership gifting, and charismatic charm was what found him climbing the ladder of politics. A California man, he had his sights set on becoming the mayor of San Francisco. And eventually, if he played his cards right, he'd want to find himself seated in Congress. While his political track was headed in the right direction, his love life was another thing entirely. He hadn't exactly married Leanna Parker for the connection they shared. Not at all - he actually married her because 1) she was gorgeous, with the brightest blues and the richest brown curls, and 2) because after a month of romping around beneath the sheets, she found herself pregnant with his child.

Not wanting to ruin his blossoming career with a scandal (at least not this early in said career!), he popped the question of marriage, and Leanna said yes. Their first baby girl came into the world, they named her Camilla Saffron, and she wasn't exactly the easiest. Marcus was finding it difficult to connect both with his new wife and his new child, particularly because the baby wailed every time he tried to hold her. So his working hours increased, and he'd make up almost any excuse not to go home to his family. But then a couple years later came the little miracle known as Astoria Coriander, and she instantly became the little love of her father's life. He was instantly smitten with the pale skinned, bright eyed baby. And for the first time since he'd married Leanna, he thought maybe he'd made the right decision. He doted on the redhead girl and Story, his little princess, was the epitome of a spoiled daddy's girl. This stirred up the envy of her sister Camilla, who was always seeking to find her father's attention, but never was able to compete with her little sister. A rivalry and animosity was cemented into place between the two sisters at a young age; one that would journey into their adult years, causing an endless amount of drama between the two, and the entire family. Although Story is always willing to work things out with Cammy, but some bridges simply cannot be mended.

While their father the politician was out working his ass off, their mother the trophy wife was at home trying to raise the two girls, whom she initially homeschooled along with the help of a charter school. Leanna was what most would describe as a hippy, or tree hugger - she loved the outdoors, she loved being in nature, and she loved teaching her children about Mother Earth. This sparked within Story a love for plants and animals, and is what ingrained in her the need to treat the earth kindly by recycling and helping out the environment however she can. When Story was four years old, her parents had their third and final child - a son they named Ryan Basil. Story adored her little brother and they grew up being close friends. Still, even the little boy couldn't replace her as the apple of their father's eye. By the time she was in middle school and the sisters were teenagers, their fights became too much for their mom to console, so they were both placed in a private school in order to bring more space between them. Being among her peers helped Story a great deal, as she had always been a friendly and outgoing girl. She made friends easily, unlike Cammy who had always been shy and sickly, so this sadly began to create a further wedge between them.

When she became a freshman in high school, she convinced her father to let her go to a public school - which would not only get her further away from her sister, but also give her more opportunity to make friends and be social. This was a great experience, and she was very popular. She was a smart girl who excelled in all of her classes, and she was always willing to help those less fortunate than her. For the most part, high school was a great experience. However, in her senior year between the age of 17-18, she was trapped in an abusive relationship by an older guy who manipulated her and treated her very poorly. She had been so naive and innocent at the time that she didn't know how to remove herself from the relationship or the situation. Though she tried to hide her bruises and the emotional turmoil she was in, eventually her father found out - it took everything in his power not to find the boy who had hurt his little girl and destroy him. But thankfully his ties in government ensured that they would go through a court case where the offender was tried and sentenced to three years in prison for domestic battery.

Finally free from the toxic relationship, Story leaned heavily on one of her closest friends, a guy named Phillip Bellingham. He had enlisted into the army after they had graduated high school, so the two remained close through letters and phone calls. It didn't take long for them to get swept up into their feelings and realize they were in love. When Phillip proposed to her, she said yes, and they were married on a San Francisco beach the summer after she turned 19. Sadly, the happiness that they were destined for was short lived when, a year later, Phillip was killed overseas in Afghanistan. This sent her life into quite the whirlwind, all of her hopes and dreams feeling dashed into pieces. But as deep as her feelings went, Story knew that she couldn't let herself fall into a pit of depression that would take her months to crawl out of. So, with the help of her father, his money and connections, she was accepted into Cambridge University in England. Here she would reinvent herself - she'd keep her late husband's surname, but she would take on the customs of this new culture - even going so far as to speak with a British accent. It seemed so natural to her, and getting lost in this other side of herself would help her cope with her pain. In University she studied plant sciences because of the early appreciation her mother had given her for gardens and anything botanical related.

The only problem was that when it came down to it, her heart wasn't really into science. What really pulled at her heart strings was a random art class she took when she was 21 in order to help her de-stress and cope with the emotions that still very much whirled around inside of her. She found that while she wasn't necessarily naturally gifted at art, that a lot of practice and hard work would hone the skill of drawing and sketching. Mostly she focuses on doodles, designs, and simple child-like pictures that she creates. And after someone told her she could make a go of using her art for illustration, she decided to look into this career. After graduating from Cambridge, she wasn't quite sure what she wanted to do, but she knew she wanted to follow this newfound passion. The reason she moved to Boston was in part to cope with her ex's death - he had family in the area - and in part because she got connected to a small publishing company that was interested in her artwork. So she settled down in Massachusetts, trying to jumpstart her illustration career through marketing her illustrations.

Unfortunately, illustration didn't exactly take off the way she wanted it to. So, in order to pay the bills, she got a job as a flight attendant because of her love for traveling. She worked for a couple of different airlines throughout the years, where she would travel both domestically and internationally. She loved being able to help other people in such a simple way while being able to see different sights the world had to offer. Gradually she has made more of a name for herself with illustration, so she works on coloring books and children's books - it has gotten her more work, and as of six months ago, she has slowed down with working as a flight attendant. She works with British Airways now and will take one or two trips a week to London.

As for her love life, Story has found relationships difficult since becoming a widow. She's not opposed to them, she loves the idea of matrimony, but she is also very scared of such a commitment that may cause her more heart ache. It was in Boston that she met Daniel Grayson. The two started dating, their relationship quickly intense and passionate; when he proposed to her 8 months in, she easily said yes, despite her fears. But four months into the engagement, Story found herself making all the excuses to break up with him - he was 'too distracted' with work and they had 'rushed into things', which was all true, but the other reality was that she was just too scared to put herself in the position of losing someone else whom she was capable of giving all of her heart to. It wasn't a messy break up, per say, but it was enough to force her to face more of her issues. Now, she's certainly not over her long-term commitment struggles, but she is trying to be more open and honest - with herself, and with those around her.

comic verse tie-ins
• Name means Star (at least according to her mother!).

• Middle name is similar to Koriand'r, Starfire's original name from Tamaran.

• She is the princess of her father's world, as Koriand'r was an actual princess in Tamaran.

• Her gift in languages aligns with Starfire's ability for 'linguistic assimilation'.

• Her father is in a position of government (California Senator) because Koriand'r's father was the king of Tamaran.

• She is the middle child of three, with an older sister and a younger brother.

• Her older sister hates her, there is a lot of contention between the two.

• Her job of being a flight attendant means she flies often, aligning with Starfire's ability to fly.

• She was in an abusive relationship as a young woman which connects to Starfire being tortured and experimented on for years.

• She married once for love, but her husband died in war.

• She and Daniel Grayson (aka Nightwing) were in love and engaged to marry, but broke it off.
facts
• Story was given the name Astoria because her mother grew up in the beautiful town named Astoria in Oregon, but furthermore, her mother liked it as an alteration of the name Aster, which means Star.
• She was given the middle name of Coriander, again, thanks to her mother who liked to think outside the box by giving all of her children middle names of spices or herbs.
• Speaks four different languages fluently: English, Spanish, German, and French. Edit: with knewfound abilities, she also now speaks perfect Russian and Danish.
• Very friendly and outgoing; flirtatious and shy of long-term commitment; very emotionally driven, passionate and feisty with a fiery temper if tested; strong and confident; semi-flighty and semi-flaky; prefers organized chaos (she always knows where her stuff is, even if it looks like a mess) and has a poor short-term memory.
• Story likes a balance of being busy and having down time. With her flight attendant job, she'll pick up hours that will have her out of the country for a handful of days at a time. She doesn't get a lot of sleep when her work schedule gets tight, but she loves what she does. Then she'll have a week or two in the month where she stays home to relax and catch up on her illustration work. It's a system that might seem crazy, but it works for her.