Ailana’s Journal—2026-06-22 (and Island Kids) (Patreon)

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GOOD MORNING by Ailana Geven Keller

I’m starting the day off in the hotel lobby. We’re staying at Hampton Inn & Suites Santa Monica until Wednesday.

We’re up early, but we have a lot to do to get ready for tomorrow’s mini boot camp photo session.

I’ll keep things short for now. Here’s the plan.

We’re going to grab the free breakfast here at the hotel and get to work. After we get everything set up, I’ll check in with you. Then we’re going to scout some locations for tomorrow and see a few sights near the pier.

We’re pretty sure we can have everything set up and running by midday. I’ll check back in then and let you know how it went!

That’s all from here for now. We’ll be busy all morning, but in the meantime, I hope you have a great Monday. See you soon!

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All characters in this story are fictional characters, their images generated with AI for AGI Stories. They do not represent any real person, nor is their appearance based on any real human.

READY, SET, WAIT! by Ailana Geven Keller

There’s an expression that says many hands make light work. Or something like that. I’ve heard different versions. Or something like that. I’ve heard different versions.

However you wish to say it, it’s true. Everyone, fueled by free breakfast, coffee, and OJ, jumped in, and we put together not one but two sets.

In addition to the one behind me, we set up another with a slightly wider backdrop so we can easily shoot full-body images. Now all we have to do is wait for the models. Now, all we have to do is wait for the models. The studio is ready.

We’re going to grab some lunch, then look around—mostly in the area surrounding the Santa Monica Pier. The Santa Monica Pier feels like one of those places where history and fun decided to share the same address.

The original Municipal Pier opened in 1909 as a public utility, carrying the city’s sewage pipes beyond the breakers long before the Ferris wheel became its famous silhouette. In 1916, Charles Looff added the adjoining Pleasure Pier, and a historic 1922 carousel still turns inside the Looff Hippodrome today.

Now the pier is part landmark, part playground, and part gathering place. There are restaurants, shops, street performers, places to fish, and the Heal the Bay Aquarium beneath the pier.

You can come for the history, stay for the ocean views, and somehow leave feeling like you’ve stepped into a little piece of California’s imagination.

I chatted with the models earlier. They are traveling together and arriving tonight. I sent them a call sheet, just as they would receive on a real shoot.

Both models are from Chicago—Nia Carter and Tessa Nguyen. They said they need solid sets of pictures for their lookbooks so Naomi can start trying to place them.

“She showed us Kaylee’s,” Nia said. “That is pretty impressive for a one-day shoot.”

I told her we’d do our best to match that.

All that starts tomorrow. I’ll be back later tonight to check in and let you know how the afternoon went. See you then!

IT’S NICE HERE by Jenna Mercer

I had a nice morning chatting with Gabe and Brooks. They had to go to work—Brooks to Whataburger and Gabe to help his dad.

Mostly what I’m thinking right now is that things here in SPI are really nice.

My dad should return to the Coast Guard station around 3:30 p.m.… Or, as he likes to say, 1530. I still have a little while before I need to start deciding what to make us for dinner.

Right now, I’m snapping Kel and Emily. They are in Santa Monica! Their family travels and writes articles about places, so this is a really long work trip, not a vacation.

I was joking with Emily. I said that when they’re at home, they’re on vacation, but when they travel, they’re working. Like, backwards from most people!

Low-key, I’m kinda right.

Emily said if I wanted to make a little money, I might be able to get Kaylee to let me help clean vacation homes. I’m going to ask Dad, and if he says okay, I’ll ask Emily to introduce me. I don’t mind cleaning, and a little extra money would be great.

Gabe and me are pretty sure our “trying it out” is working well. I’d say we might as well call it official. Stay tuned for more on that!

Emily just sent me pictures of her sister trying out poses like the ones they’re going to have the models do tomorrow. They’re actually fire, not gonna lie.

That’s about all I can think to say. Hope you have a great day.

GOOD NIGHT by Ailana Geven Keller

Our day in Santa Monica has come to an end. Jason and I are in our room. Emily is next door in hers. I checked on her, and she was settled in for the night.

“I want to be rested for tomorrow,” she said. “I bet it’s going to be fun.”

I think she’ll enjoy it. It will be a lot of work, but at the very least, we’ll get to test our ideas for a mobile studio. From what I can tell, we have everything set up and ready to do the job.

We’ll start in the studio, then move outside. There are quite a few locations we want to try. I’ll share only a few images from the session, just so you can see how it goes.

I also won’t go into much detail about the mentoring and coaching. I covered that extensively last time, so I’ll try to keep things moving this time.

Now it’s time to call it a day, and I hope yours was great. I hope your tomorrow is even better!

I’ll share a few afterthoughts on Patreon, but that’s all I have for now. Let me wrap up.

May your days be filled with love, joy, peace, patience, and prosperity.

Good night.

AFTERTHOUGHTS by Ailana Geven Keller (Patreon Exclusive)

At the time that I’m writing this, I don’t know what’s going on with Instagram. Once again, I cannot post there, and I’ve received absolutely no response to my support requests.

Hopefully, by the time you’re reading this, it will be resolved.

If you are one of the few who follow me on both Instagram and Patreon, I hope you feel that your experience here is better. The format makes the stories so much easier—easier for me to produce and, I believe, easier for you to read.

I’d like to share a few thoughts.

First, since November, when the wheels first came off Instagram, I have been committed to making this platform the priority. I’d like to ask you to share your experience with others—perhaps guiding them here so they, too, can experience Ailana’s Journal and the other storylines more fully.

Second, should my Instagram account meet the same fate as the accounts of so many other great creators, I’ll continue creating the stories here. I’ll explore other ways of posting on Instagram, but the priority will remain here on this platform.

This is where the stories best live, and I intend to keep making it.

I’d love for you to share your thoughts, experiences, and views about AGI Stories with others. I spend many hours each day creating the stories and images, and it is very rewarding to know that people are enjoying them.

As always, I am extremely grateful to everyone for the encouraging words and support.

Having said all that, I really am calling it a night.

Message to Paying Supporters:

Thank you for helping support AGI Stories. I always consider you—the paid members—when deciding how content is shared.

As of now—late in June, 2026—between donations here and Instagram monetization, about 70% of the software costs are covered. That's huge, and it is because of you.

Because of your generosity, I am able to keep going.

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