Our Story

Stories have always been part of my life. For a long time, they were something I created on my own.

Then Valerie came along—and everything changed.

From the time Valerie was born until she started school, we had a standing tradition: Grandma Day—one day a week, just for us.

We read books. We did crafts. But most importantly, we told stories.

Valerie didn’t just play with toys. She created worlds.

Here for example, is the T-rex in a chef’s hat running a bakery with his Velociraptor friend.

Entire storylines were built around characters like Kitty and Phoenix.

She brought those worlds to life not just at home, but in her preschool classroom—recruiting her classmates into the story and assigning roles, actions, and dialogue like a seasoned director.

I hadn’t just found a creative companion. I’d found my storytelling partner.

Suzanne

The only thing I ever wanted to be when I grew up was a writer. (Except for a brief period when I was three and decided I would be a firefighter. I really wanted to drive the fire engine!)

Yes, that's my shiny new fire engine in the background.

My parents read to me every day: children’s books, of course, but also poetry and bits of the classics. Story time was my favorite part of the day.

When I was five, I loved stories so much that I was willing to give up playtime to start school.

It seemed like a fair trade at the time, but stories don’t always thrive on a schedule.

My plan was simple: once I could read, I could learn anything I wanted, whenever I wanted.

Naturally, I assumed that meant I wouldn’t need school anymore. It was a brilliant plan.

Life, however, had other ideas.

It took a few scenic detours, but I eventually found my way back to where five-year-old me always meant to go: spending my days creating stories and sharing them with others.

Valerie

Valerie Grosser is a young artist and cosplay creator who loves bringing imaginary worlds to life.

She designs and builds her own cosplay masks, costumes, and props, and has won several cosplay competition awards, including Best Of and Best Prop for a pair of mechanical wings she engineered with a pulley system.

She also creates character illustrations and designed the cover art for The First Shift.

Valerie shares her creative projects on her YouTube channel @toxic_cosplay, where she enjoys showing how ideas turn into real-world creations.

Together

What began as shared play grew into something more—stories, characters, and entire worlds we now build together.

Most of our stories begin the same way they always have—with a simple question:
What if?

Or just as often… why couldn’t we?

If you’ve ever followed an idea just to see where it might lead, you’ll feel right at home here.