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Neighbourhood > Guest Character Profiles > Fanto Hodges Daniel Dinnen

David [Fanto] Hodges 1999
Parents: Kurt
Occupation: Student, Artist

When Anne Wilkinson found herself with a mysterious admirer, it turned out to be a student from her course, David Hodges. David was known by the nickname Fanto, because of his love of phantom comics. Although Anne wasn’t ready for another relationship so soon after Bill Kennedy, she and Fanto became good friends and bonded over their shared love of painting.

When local café Grease Monkeys put out the word that they were looking to commission a young artist to paint for the venue, both Anne and Fanto entered the competition. They were chosen as the final two and café manager Desi Grant decided to hold a paint-off so the public could decide the winner. In the end, Anne’s work was commissioned, but she had other things on her mind when her family announced plans to move to Darwin. Around the same time, Fanto told Anne of his dream to open an artists’ co-op, where they could all work together. After searching for a couple of weeks, he finally found an appropriate warehouse and things began to take shape. His relationship with Anne also developed, as they shared a kiss and she admitted that she was growing to feel more than friendship for him. Their biggest obstacle proved to be Bill, who found it extremely difficult to see his ex-girlfriend moving on with someone else.

As the artist’s co-op began to grow, Fanto spoke to Anne about them using it as living space as well. With her family about to leave, she decided that the warehouse would be ideal for her to move into. Bill and Anne’s relationship continued to cause problems, and Fanto decided that he and Anne should spend some time as a couple in public, to show Bill that they were moving on. They decided to have dinner with Anne’s brother, Lance and his girlfriend, Amy Greenwood, at the pub. However, the evening went badly, as Fanto found them both to be shallow and, when they returned to the warehouse, he told Anne that it might be best if she didn’t hang around with them anymore. Things only got worse when Amy called over to the warehouse one day. When Anne and Fanto left her there alone, she ended up wrecking his new painting.

But as he noticed that he was losing Anne’s sympathy, Fanto decided to make more of an effort with her friends. He invited Amy over one afternoon and, when Anne went out, he invited Amy to pose nude for him. She was disgusted and walked out, but Fanto made sure to tell Anne his side first, so it would look completely innocent. Meanwhile, Fanto told Anne that the warehouse was going to be knocked down and they would need to find new premises, so he pressurised her into using the house she’d received in Lily Madigan’s will as their new studios and living space. Just as she’d given her tenants their marching orders, Anne got a shock when Fanto’s father, Kurt, paid a visit to the warehouse while he was out. She found out from Kurt that they’d been getting the warehouse rent-free, so, when Fanto came home, she demanded to know why he’d been taking $50 a week from everyone who’d been living there. Fanto tried to explain, claiming that he’d needed the money for the exhibition he was planning, but he didn’t think they’d be disciplined enough to cough up of their own accord. With the trust completely gone, Anne cut her ties with Fanto completely, and went to live with Amy and her family.

Biography by Steve

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