#estela the snake

[scalygems]

Estela is ready for spooky-ooky night 🔮🎃

[tthrough-the-treess]

I just finished Endless Summer book 2 and I have to say that what happened to Lila was unfortunate but it doesn't change the fact that i really, really, really hate her.

My mc isn't celebrating her death but she sure as hell ain't shedding a tear either

[marmolady]

Homecoming: Part Two

PART ONE, PART THREE

Main Pairings: Estela x (f)MC, Graleister, Variego

Summary: Endless Ending. Back on La Huerta for the first time since the world's resurrection, there are some heart-to-hearts with old friends in order.

Word Count: 4680

Chronology: After 'The New Taylor' and 'A Ride to Remember', sort of midway through 'Inheritance'.

Tagging: @saivilo, @edgydepressedchoicesthot, @sceptilemasterr, @greengroove @mauvecatfic​

Thanks for reading!

“Howdy there, pilot. Have you thought of a name for her yet?” Taylor asked as she stepped into the cockpit, squinting as she adjusted to the bright light that shone through the large windows as they soared over the Caribbean.

“You comin’ in here to annoy me is just part and parcel of my La Huerta jobs now, ain’t it?”

“Oh, Top Gun, so sentimental,” she teased-- but really, like she could talk.

Jake rested his hands behind his head and looked out over a familiar green spot in the blue expanse, now fast approaching. “Well, she’s no ‘Delilah’, that’s for sure. If something comes to me, it comes to me. But like I say, it ain’t the same. It’s not as if you people are about to let me hide from the world with this baby as my only friend.”

“Damn straight.”

“Thought as much. Well, everything’s reading as normal; think we might make it, sans freaky storms this time.” Jake turned to his visitor with a smirk. “I’m still gonna want you to get your ass in a seat. A landing’s a landing.”

Safely in her seat-- Estela by her side, and little Fenix in a pet carrier tucked against the seat in the next aisle-- Taylor felt her stomach doing violent flip-flops as the green spot in the ocean came closer, beginning to take on detail. Rivers she’d bathed in snaking out to the sea, Atropo looming, and the now-abandoned Celestial-- still standing by all appearances unchanged-- in its shadow.

Estela was calm and quiet, contemplative as the small plane descended. So much about this journey was familiar, and yet, everything had changed. This time, marching towards her destiny wasn’t a lonely trail to a foregone violent conclusion; this time, the future was all a big unknown other than the fact that it would be anything but lonely. She wove her fingers with Taylor’s, feeling nerves flowing through, and gently squeezed.

“Almost there, querida.”

With a gentle bump, the plane was on the ground, and Taylor gave a small sigh of relief. She didn’t want to be rude about Jake’s flying ability, but until that point, she’d finished every ride with him in either a crash, a near crash… or plummeting into the sea. That she was something of a nervous flyer was, she thought, pretty damn reasonable.

In no time at all, the cabin door had been swung open, and the warm Caribbean air welcomed the small group home.

“And here I was worried I’d need to replace another plane. It seems the pilot can fly one of these things after all; that’s a fiver I owe you, Grace.”

“He of little faith,” Grace laughed, though it was quite clear she was at least somewhat giddy with relief. “Jake knows what he’s doing.”

No sooner had Taylor set her feet on La Huerta soil than a familiar figure was running towards her, streaking out of the cover of the foliage at the side of the runway.

“Diego! Ohmygod!”

Diego flung his arms around his friend and held her tight. Last he’d seen her, she’d only just clawed herself back from death’s door; Taylor was going to get hugged, and she was going to get hugged hard.

Estela set out into the humid air, immediately aware of the sounds of the jungle; insects and birds, rustling of leaves. Even the smell of the soil was distinctly La Huerta. She hadn’t expected to feel like this, but… she was home.

_____________________________

An almost comically deep miaow made Estela jump. Engrossed in what she’d been writing-- and the frustrated doodles she’d been swirling on a separate piece of paper-- she hadn’t noticed Taylor’s cat, Madam, joining her on the wooden bench outside their home.

“I must be making myself crazy, hey Mierdita? I guess you’re here to make sure my senses stay sharp… or you’ve come to complain to me about Nixie.”

“Mow.”

Estela giggled and scooped the little cat, presently bright orange in colour, though that was subject to change, and hugged her to her chest. It was nice to have the company. Taylor was down on the beach, catching up with Diego for the first time in far too long. And what Estela was doing… for the most part, she needed to be left in her own space to do it. The little cat might have been a distraction, but from the number of doodles Estela had scribbled, it looked as though her productivity had already peaked for the time being.

“You’ll just have to learn to forgive Taylor. You know she likes to surround herself with lots of friends.”

Madam nimbly climbed her way up onto Estela’s shoulder, and enthusiastically rubbed against her face.

“I’m glad I can make you feel better. I guess I wasn’t getting anywhere with writing this anyway….”

With a little sigh, she tucked the unfinished letter in her hoodie. She’d written so many letters to her mother-- one for every week she’d been working here on the island-- but to find the words to say goodbye, to get some kind of closure, did not come easy. Maybe with a little more time to think….

“Hello?”

Estela looked up to see Varyyn outside the front of the house. “Haalta, Varyyn. I’m round the side.”

With a low growl, Madam ducked down into Estela’s hood and pressed herself against her neck. She eyed their visitor with great suspicion from her perch.

“It looks like your little friend is happy to have you back,” Varyyn said as he approached, “--and less pleased to see me.”

“Don’t worry; she has a lot to say, but it’s all talk. She won’t bite.”

Varyyn, rather daringly in Estela’s view-- though he did regularly hang around with a hulking smilodon, so maybe he was just good with cats-- reached and tickled Madam under her chin.

“I have been wanting to find you,” he said. “Diego had told me you were preparing a memorial for your mother.”

‘’S a long time coming,” Estela grunted. “And maybe it’ll be a long time still; I don’t want to do anything extravagant, but it’s got to be right.”

“That is fair. I hope I am not disturbing you.”

“No, no. I don’t mind,” she said, gentler. “So long as it’s in progress. Finally. I couldn’t exactly get any kind of closure until I’d dealt with Rourke, and then… I needed to go home. I dunno… maybe it was easier to feel it as anger, because the sadness was too much to bear if I let it take its place. When I let myself really feel it….” A tear rolled down her face, and she brushed it away. “I don’t know if I can say I’m at peace with it all… I don’t think I ever really can be. But I’m better. I brought over the letters Mom sent me when she was here on the island, to bury. And I then thought of writing again… to say goodbye. All I’ve gotta do now is find the words. Anyway,” she finished hurriedly, “you wanted me for something?”

Varyyn nodded sagely. It wasn’t lost on him the intimacy of what was being shared. Perhaps the violent death of his own mother had given Estela a sense of tragic kinship with him?

“Seraxa and I talked at great length. It had… troubled me that there had been no acknowledgement of your mother’s sacrifice. She must have felt very alone standing against the Hydra, but we will not see that bravery forgotten now.”

He reached into his satchel, and brought out a neatly folded set of clothes.

“To wear the traditional uniform of our warriors is the greatest of honours. We wish to pay tribute to your mother as a hero to the Vaanti, if you will accept this gift.”

Estela’s eyes grew wide, and her bottom lip wobbled. “I--- um, thank you.” That’s the best you can manage? “I… don’t know what to say. Thank you.” In Varyyn’s nod of understanding, the look in his eyes, it was plain to see he felt the depth of her gratitude.

A gentle smile came to Varyyn’s face, as though he was relieved. “It is your choice whether you would like to wear this in her honour, or simply keep it as part of your memorial.”

Her cheeks flushed, Estela hugged the folded uniform to her chest. There were just… no words to adequately say what the gesture meant. For Estela’s own protection, any trace of Olivia Montoya’s connection to Everett Rourke had been wiped from record; and with it, all evidence of the courageous last stand taken. But here she was remembered.

“I don’t think I’ve told you…,” Estela choked out after a little while. “I mean, it’s not as if I’m the best conversationalist… I don’t know what to say to people half the time.” She shook her head. “But, anyway, I always found you impressive. When your mother died… it was sudden, and brutal, and somehow you had the strength to honour her by taking up her mantle. Immediately. And you always seemed so together, however much you were crumbling on the inside. You had to be.”

“I had good friends to lean on. And I had Diego.” Varyyn chucked darkly. “It is terrible, but when you all came back through the gate, as much I was very sad for you all, and for Diego, that everything you knew and loved was gone… there was a very selfish part of me….” He stalled.

“Fair enough,” Estela said, not about to force him to finish a clearly uncomfortable sentence. “It had only been a couple of days. How’s anyone supposed to bear that much loss? While carrying the expectations and fears of your people? Diego gave you comfort when you needed it most. And… then you gave him the same.”

“Yes.”

Having that shoulder; it made all the difference. It made living through the worst of horrors bearable, and then, somehow… it made the act of living on, in hope, possible. Varyyn had Diego. She, Estela, had her Taylor. And they all had one another.

“We’re lucky we found the right people.”

___________________________

As she slogged through the soft white sand, Taylor wasn’t sure what was going to give out first, her legs or her lungs. Using her best friend’s hand as an anchor, she kept on putting one foot in front of the other.

“Hey, Taylor, you know, it might be easier to have a real conversation if we sat down for a bit.”

Diego was polite and tactful, but what he meant was clearly; ‘You are an absolute wreck; sit down before you put yourself in an early grave’.

Taking the hint, Taylor flopped down heavily, squinting against the bright sun as she tried to get herself comfortable. While she struggled to get her breath back, Diego sat himself down close by, patiently letting her recover.

“I swear the beaches in San Trobida aren’t so much of a work-out,” Taylor said apologetically. “Not as soft. I have actually gotten a lot fitter, if you can believe it.”

Diego put a hand on her shoulder. “I can actually. You did a pretty good job of covering up how much you were struggling those last few days you were here, but I really don’t think you were fooling anyone. You do look better. Last time I saw you, it was hard not to get the impression that one stiff wind could have you over.”

Taylor snorted with laughter. “Damn, and I thought I put up a good front.”

“Not remotely. You are incredible, my friend, but a talented actor you are not.”

This was wonderful. The warmth of the sun of her body, and the easiest of company. Taylor reclined back, her arms propping her up in the sand from behind.

“Well, now that I’m not having to focus on not falling over… how’ve you really been?”

Diego stared wistfully out to sea, all the while playing with a little lock of his hair that Varyyn had braided for him. “’How have I really been’ as in not the brush-off, ‘oh, I’m good’ answer?”

“Yep. And I promise I’ll keep my own bullshit in check as fair trade.”

“Okay. If that’s how we’re doing this.” Diego fiddled with his hair for a little while longer as he contemplated his answer… and where to start. “I’m good.” As Taylor rolled her eyes, he added quickly; “ I am good.”

“Yeah?”

“Going back home was the best thing I could have done; it made me realise just how much I actually belong here. I’ve found my people. And Varyyn. I don’t have to tell you how cut up I was to be away from him; you could see it. Heck, even Grandma Bhandarkar saw it-- I have never been force-fed so much in my life, and I grew up with my abuela!”

Taylor chuckled. She was eternally grateful that the extended Catalyst family had been there for Diego when she couldn’t be, through one of the most pivotal periods in his life. “Did you… did you manage to talk to your parents at all?” she ventured gently.

With a sad smile, Diego shook his head. “I called from Raj’s place. I did speak to my dad, and honestly it was better than I expected. But he said Mom’s not ready.”

“Oh, Diego….”

“No, I knew she wouldn’t be ready.” He gave a little sigh. “That big, scary conversation’s done now, though, and I feel kind of… lighter. Like… I can start to accept how things are. If Mom and Dad were ever going to accept who I am, you’d think the year and a half I’d disappeared off the face of the earth would have done the trick.”

Taylor put an arm around Diego as he sniffed. “You know it’s all them, yeah? None of this is on you.”

“Yeah… I know. I came back here and… Varyyn just looked at me like I was the most beautiful person in the world. I could not have felt more loved. So, yeah-- I’m good.”

“So,” Taylor said gently, “what happens next? Do you still want to come back to Hartfeld with us in September?”

Diego huffed out a long exhale. Now, that was a question.

“The only really honest answer I can give you is… I don’t know. Could not be more conflicted.”

“That’s… that’s fair.”

“I keep thinking about that vision we saw when I took my action figures from Vaanu.  I didn’t think it was possible for me to be that comfortable in my own skin, but it wasn’t like I was just seeing it-- I could feel it.”

“Yeah. It was kind of, just… radiating off you. You were just one-hundred percent genuine Diego, no holes barred… and everyone just loved you for it.”

“Look, I know that whole thing was just Vaanu trying to manipulate you into sacrificing youself--”

“Diego--”

“No, it’s okay. Because even if that’s all it was, it doesn’t matter. The more time I’m here with Varyyn… and people are respecting me as me-- you should see the queues of kids that form when I re-tell the original Star Wars trilogy….”

Taylor chuckled fondly.

“...The more I realise that, actually, that could be me. If I wanted it.”

“That really could be you. Without a shadow of a doubt. It would just mean…”

“Leaving Varyyn? Shattering both our hearts into a million pieces? Yeah, that’s the sticking point.”

Putting her head on Diego’s shoulder, Taylor offered what support she could. “What… what does he think?”

“He really loves me, so he’s unhelpfully understanding about the whole thing. It would be so much easier to know what I should do if he’d just say he’d rather I stay here!”

“So inconsiderate.”

“But, well, he said how much I light up when I talk about what I saw in that vision. And he lights up when he talks about that,” Diego said with a resigned laugh. “He says if I stay here, I shouldn’t be giving up every part of me.”

“He’s right,” Taylor said. “It’s you he fell in love with, and it’s you the hordes of Vaanti children seek out whenever they need smiles put on their faces. One way or another, I think you should always feed the real you. ‘Cause that guy’s pretty great.”

Diego glanced away, bashful, but unable to hide his smile. Again, he started playing with his hair.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough, Taylor. How about it’s your turn. Do you have a plan? I guess Vaanu didn’t bother showing you what a future on Earth could look like, hey?”

Taylor gave a soft humph. “No, they certainly did not. That’s something I’m just going to have to figure out myself.” She frowned. “They just showed me enough to put the pressure of ensuring the happiness of everyone I love on my shoulders,” she said bitterly.

Catching her tone, Diego raised an eyebrow. “That’s really getting to you.”

“Yeah,” she heaved. For a moment, she considered what she wanted to share. “Look, I haven’t exactly talked about this before…. All those visions I saw, just about all of them showed you guys rocking your dream careers. Except for, well….” She trailed off, sadly.

“Except for Estela and Aleister, right? Now you mention it, that does kinda say a lot about the impact Rourke had.”

“Exactly. It makes me so… so angry,” she said, than added with a dry laugh, “I don’t have the energy to be angry. Seeing you all die in my dreams doesn’t help either; all I can think is that he did all that. ”

“So, you’ve put it out there now. Maybe that’ll help you move past it?”

“I sure hope so. Letting that fester isn’t going to be healthy for me, and it sure as hell won’t do Estela any favours. She’s been amazing. There’s been so much she’s had to move through. I think I’ve been so focused on her that it only just recently sank in how much I’m simmering in hate for that bastard. And I don’t want to let it out and feed into her own feelings. Does… that make sense?”

“That sounds pretty natural,” Diego assured. “Being protective of your family is pretty much wired into you; kinda makes sense that it would get you all fired up-- and that you want to shield Estela from even more hurt and anger. I’m here, you know. If ever you need a best friend to off-load on; I’m your man.”

“Thanks,” Taylor said softly, and boy, did she mean it. A little smile came to her face at the sound of Furball yipping as he chased a euphoric Fenix up and down the shoreline. Bad feelings passed quickly, for there was just too much beauty in the world she had fought for and won.  “All things considered, I’m doing really well. Since I ramped up the self-care, I’m getting less nightmares-- I know they’re not proper nightmares, it’s just my brain replaying memories that aren’t even all mine. But they’ve gotten better.”

Diego shook his head, incredulous. “Honestly, I don’t know how you managed to sleep with that going on at all.”

“With great difficulty is how,” Taylor laughed. “Poor Estela is now pretty used to me waking her up, screaming and crying.” She smiled softly. “I don’t know what I’d do without her; she has this magic way of just… chasing away all the horrors. I guess it’s because I feel safe when she’s holding me.”

“N’aww!” Diego’s eye twinkled. “I really am the best wingman around. I’ll happily accept tips for match-making services given.”

Taylor snorted. “I feel like we can take some of the credit, but fine, thanks for the help. I’ve seen hundreds of different versions of me and Estela falling in love… and it’s surprising how many times it was you who gave me the push.”

“So, you really do owe me one.”

“I really do.”

Fenix ran over, panting heavily, and flopped down into Taylor’s lap. A little way behind, Furball trotted after.

“Hey, Diego?”

“You’re missing your buff wife?”

“That, and I’m absolutely starving. You wanna head back to Catalyst Village?”

Diego looked out at the darkening sky. This day had flown. No doubt, the days to come would fly too, and in no time at all he’d be faced with leaving Varyyn… again. Then his stomach growled loudly.

“Apparently, you’re not the only one. Come on-- d’you need a piggy-back?”

Indignant, Taylor plopped Fenix down in the sand and got to her feet. “I certainly do not.”

“Okay… reframing that. Would you like a piggy-back?”

Ooh, that smirk. “Oh, all right,” she relented. “In the time it would’ve taken me to walk back, I’d have already died of hunger.”

So, they made their way back up the beach; Diego giving a more-weary-than-she’d-care-to-let-on Taylor… and their two furry companions leading the charge, drawn home by the scent on the wind of food being cooked over an open fire.

___________________________

“A toast!” Aleister pronounced loudly, holding aloft a glass of Breath of the Moon. As his friends and family around the fire raised their matching cocktails, he thrust his own glass ever-higher with slightly-tipsy gusto. “To new beginnings! To reuniting with comrades! To bringing about justice!”

Estela leaned over and whispered in Taylor’s ear. “You see why I thought you should only take a little sip of this stuff?”

Taylor sniggered. “I’d make a toast to the fact that we have a whole house to ourselves again.It’s gonna be a lot easier to get our sex on when your brother and sister-in-law aren’t in the next room.”

Giving her wife an exaggerated wink, Estela huddled closer, delighting in the giggle she stirred. Somehow, everything felt easier here. It was is if just to be in this place brought her back to the best of herself, to the sense of peace within herself that had once felt like an impossibility. Now, with Taylor, in their home and surrounded by people they loved, it was an inevitability. This time would refresh her-- it would them both-- and ready them for the greater steps that lay ahead.

It seemed the feeling was catching,for everyone was relaxed and laughing as they cooked skewers over the crackling fire and sipped their cocktails. In the firelight, Varyyn’s face seemed to glow with affection for his beloved husband beside him-- who himself was bubbling over with the simple pleasure of being surrounded by friends. Estela wondered about the two of them… what the future might hold. A year could go by so quickly-- she learned that the had way when she’d been counting down to Taylor’s self-sacrifice-- but away from the one you loved, time would stretch agonisingly. She did not envy the choice Diego was faced with; that they were now with him to offer support though that… that mattered.

Opposite them, Jake was back to ribbing Aleister, something even more fun now that the target was a little sozzled. No amount of back-and-forth teasing could hide the genuine --rather unlikely-- friendship that had formed; Aleister, blessed with both wealth and contacts in high places, had made himself a pivotal force in the fight to clear Jake’s name. The more Estela had gotten to know her unexpected sibling, the more it became obvious to her that at his heart, Aleister was driven by the same protectiveness of those dear to him that powered her. It was something, she’d come to realise, that Rourke had cemented into them both-- not through any passing of genes, but by fierce resistance to the poison he’d inflicted. It had taken time… and it had been painful, but in their budding kinship, Estela had found undeniable comfort.

Taylor took Estela’s hand, and laid a weary head on her shoulder.

“Hey.”

“Hey, you,” Estela laughed softly. She could feel the smile on Taylor’s face; so open and radiant, full of tenderness for the people surrounding her, and it spoke wonders.

With her free hand, Taylor gently chinked her glass to Estela’s.

“Cheers. To being home.”

“To being home.”

[mendesstories]

From the Ground Up

A/N: This idea came to me when I first heard the song ‘From The Ground Up’ by Dan + Shay a few months ago and this has been sitting around in my drafts ever since. I never liked how it kept turning out and I’m still not a 100% proud but here goes nothing. Tell me what you think!!

Taglist: @mendesficsxbombay @particularnervous (if you’d like to be added or removed let me know)

March 2016

“So...it’s time, eh?” He sighs looking at her. 

She glumly nods, her eyes roaming everywhere but refusing to meet his. Her mouth opens to say something but her throat runs dry and suddenly words seem hard to find. Truthfully, she’s not sure what to say to the boy she loves when he’s about to leave for what, she prays for his sake, is the first of many of his own world tours. 

She steps towards him, takes a deep breath and attempts to gather her resolve for him.  

“I’m only nervous because I don’t know how things will work out ahead.” 

“But I’ll call ever-”

“No wait let me finish, I want you to know that this-” she gulps and her fingers fidget with the frill of her top, “-this is big and it’s going to change your life. I’m so so proud and happy that you get to do this because, my dude, you deserve to live your dream more than anyone else I know. And, even if all the distance and time changes us, I won’t hate you ever, you’ll always be my best friend first.”

He wants to tell her that her fears are irrational. They are them, they’ll get through it all together but he’s not sure he can actually convince her this time. If he’s being honest he’s terrified she’s going to be right like always, that’ll he’ll get caught up in the glitz and glamour of it all and lose her. 

He moves towards her tentatively, hands snaking around her waist and she melts into his embrace. Her head rests on his chest, her shoulders shuddering and for a split second, he blames himself for choosing to do what he loves and hurting the ones he loves in the process. 

For a fraction of a millisecond, he has this feeling although nothing might ever be the same in his life again, that somehow the two of them will pull through it. That little glimmer is enough for him. Now, it’s his turn to take a deep breath and garner some strength for her sake. 

He whispers softly, “Believe me, baby. We’ll be alright.”

Her dad watches them wearily from the side. He knows Shawn is a bright young boy with big dreams filling up his mind and only the best intentions at heart but he cannot help his fatherly inhibitions from clouding his thoughts. 

He wonders how right Shawn is in choosing to make this his career and not going to college. He isn’t sure if they truly understand how the dynamic of their relationship is about to alter, both of them ambitious but heading down starkly different paths. He worries the scrutiny and attention that is bound to come, will wear out even his strong-willed little girl. 

August 2019

Post-concert Shawn is always on an adrenaline high. Tonight, however, was truly special. He’s played the biggest show of his life. A sold-out stadium in his home city. The same place he would pass by numerous times as a child with his gaze fixated and eyes wide unable to wrap his mind around big it is. 

Certainly, he never imagined that one-day a deafening crowd would sing the words he wrote in his journals back to him when his slacked jaw and welled up eyes leave it hard for him to swallow and finish the words.

She’s out there in the deafening crowd with her hair flying in every which direction with his sister singing along to every song just like everyone else in the audience. His biggest (and possibly favourite) supporter since day one. 

He gets off stage a jittery mess with his heart still pounding fast against his chest and the whole room is electrified with his entrance. He hands his guitar to Cez and is pulled in for a hug.

There are bottles clinking, friends and family making rounds hugging him and each other. There’s enough energy in the room to spark up the CN tower standing tall behind them. 

The past five years of his life and career have gone by in the blink of an eye. She was right when she predicted everything would change but  the one thing that’s stayed constant is that he wouldn’t want to do any of this without her by his side, be it having to clean up the beer bottles and leftover pizza after Brian’s roaring 21st or playing a twice as roaring Rogers Stadium. 

So, smile a mile wide and hands still clammy he makes his way towards her. He picks her up giving her a quick twirl and she lets out a little laugh. It’s enough to ignite his burning heart further. 

He puts her down and she pulls him in closer for the tightest and warmest hug ever. Her blanket of love, happiness and pride envelops him. 

He did it 

Something lights up in her holding him so close in her arms. A glimmer, like the one he had in the airport all those years ago, tells her as long as they are hand in hand giving life their all, they’ll have many more moments like this one.  

September 2019

He’s seated in the crowded auditorium between her parents and little brother, adjusting his dress shirt and formal slacks waiting for the graduation to start. 

He recalls that one late night during the Europe leg of the tour when he woke up to fetch some water and realised she wasn’t in his arms. He found her with her shoulders bent over her textbooks and laptop, reading and rereading the words attempting to make sense of the page. She rubbed her eyes and willed herself to stay awake. 

5 more minutes she convinced herself every five minutes

His heart plummeted looking at her haggard appearance knowing he was partly responsible for it. He never asked her, he never had to, she magically always knew. She could tell sense his anxiety building up. The initial buzz of being on tour fading away. He wanted to come home, tease his sister and press kisses to his mother’s cheek. 

She would give him the world if he so asked and if there was anything she could do to keep his heart even slightly happier, she would. So without much hesitation, she makes a few adjustments in her budget for the rest of the month and flies out to him. 

The glint in his bright eyes and his warm laugh reverberating through her eardrums when she surprised him made it all worth it. 

Standing in the dim light of the tour bus it occurred to him how selfish and unfair he was to be so caught up buzzing around in excitement of her arrival to see how all that she does for him takes a toll on her as well.  

He knows she’s going to compensate for this trip by working a few extra and long shifts around her classes. Her classes are a whole other story. They are far from easy and he has come to understand computer science is an incredibly time consuming and draining major despite her being passionate about the subject. 

Recording albums, selling out stadiums, and writing heart-wrenching, gut-twisting songs was never her dream but she believed in his nevertheless. While chasing her own dream, she’s continued to support his.

Decidedly he wipes the sleep away from his tired eyes. He makes up his mind that he’s going to help her study even if that meant simply keeping her company. 

“What? Why are you awake?” She asks him breaking out of her trance as he settles into the space beside her. 

“Here, please take care of yourself, honey.” He mumbled into the dark placing a cold glass of water and some fruit in front of her. 

Andrew may have found them the next morning all cuddled up, soft snores leaving their exhausted bodies, but they had successfully finished her linear algebra 1 work. 

His face breaks into the biggest grin when they announce her name. Hands clapping as loudly as possible while she walks up on stage beaming with pride and standing tall in all her 5 feet 5 glory. Her dad even whistles a few times. He can only imagine how proud her parents are of their daughter. 

She did it

His chest constricts with a bubbling feeling and he isn’t quite sure what it is. Perhaps it’s pride but something tells him it’s just the all-consuming love he has for her and all of her.

4 years later

The second she is pushed out the room is engulfed in an overwhelming torrent of emotion.

She’s beautiful

It’s his first thought. Certainly, she’s covered in baby gunk but she’s still beautiful. 

The silence in the room for the first few seconds seemed piercing. Is she alright? She’s supposed to cry, right? Why isn’t she crying? Then it’s replaced by her faint little cry which grows louder and louder until it has turned into an all-out no holds scream. She’s loud but he doesn’t mind in the slightest. She’s safe. His wife is safe. His own family is here safe and sound.

“We have to clean her up first.” The nurse declares gently picking her up from her mother’s chest where they placed her for barely a minute. 

He doesn’t want to let her out of his sight. So, he drops his head and presses a kiss to his wife’s forehead, whispers an ‘I love you’ and speeds off after the nurse.

Not so much to one’s surprise she cries and shrieks as they take a prick of her blood and check her vitals. It takes everything in him to not pick her up and coo into her little ears that he’s right here and as long as he’s round he won’t let anything bad happen to her.

“Hi angel, I love you.” He bends down and mumbles as the nurse runs a washcloth across her tummy.

He never imagined those five words would alter his life and perspective forever. Her cries seem to subside and he knows that newborns have little to no muscle power and she can’t really see but he swears she looks at him and calms down. 

4 years later 

Estela Mendes is nearly four now. She has more fun each day than should be legally allowed. She struggles with sharing toys and her parents’ undivided attention with her toddler brother (her parents promise you they are working on this), while her curiosity about the baby in her mama’s belly grows each day.

4 years and 7 months later 

Gotta support the neck Gotta support the neck

The thought has been drilled into his head by his parents over the past few months. While his fans may have said countless things about his large hands, some of their words managing to leave him haunted, he never really noticed how large his hands actually were until now. She seems so little and fragile in his arms compared to the first two now notorious Mendes siblings. 

It’s safe to say the youngest Mendes daughter wasn’t planned yet somehow she came at the perfect time.

The two of them had spent a fair number of nights with goosebumps rising on their skin in the Toronto breeze, after putting their kids to bed, (god, how do they sound so old?) huddled shoulder to shoulder as she indulged in her choice of cravings for the night (it was a jar of pickles more often than not) dreaming of what the baby girl growing inside would be like.

Now, she’s here and he’s enamored with her very existence. He can’t keep his eyes off her. If it was all up to him he’d sit there for hours on an end memorizing every little detail of her being and watch her attempt to clasp her small figures around his large ones. 

His wife rests her head on his shoulders, exhaustion rimming her eyelids with her matted hair against her forehead. She moves her hand that is free of the IV needles and tubes to bring the two older children, smitten with the latest addition to the family, closer into her lap. 

Everything he’s ever wanted - needed really - is right here in his arms. He feels complete. 

7 years later 

The youngest Mendes child is clutched to her waist, hands moving animatedly describing plans she has with her siblings for the rest of the day, as the pair of them make their way out to the rest of the family in their backyard. 

His wife’s heart grows in size finding both sets of grandparents recollecting stories while Shawn teaches his two older children how to strum a certain chord on his guitar. 

The mess of curls - that is her son - seated on Shawn’s lap has a glint of mischief lacing his eyes trying to think of ways to add his touch of fun to the relatively calm backyard. 

She puts her daughter down who wobbles across the grass to where her dad and siblings are seated.

Now, all four of them are playing some game. He somehow manages to lift all three of them into the air, makes the sound of a bear growling, places them back onto the grass gently and tickles them until they’re all in fits of laughter. 

The delirious belly laughs they let out at his antics have him grinning ear to ear. The simplicity of the moment overwhelms him. This is all he could ever dream of having and more. A family of his own, people that are his own and people with whom he can cherish the wild rollercoaster of moments his life has been and continues to be.

All those inhibitions her dad had at the airport years ago no longer hold true. He’s watched Shawn grow into being the incredible partner and father that he is today. 

He’s the man her dad hoped he would be. 

65 years later 

The morning sun streaming in uninvited kisses them awake. He opens his eyes to the slivers of light peeping in through the gaps in the blinds casting thin stripes across her tan and angelic skin. 

She blinks multiple times adjusting to the sudden light drowsily, mouth curving into a lopsided grin as he pulls her closer into his embrace. 

65 years old now, in this little house that they made home when they stepped foot into young, first child on the way, eyes dancing with excitement for the future. 

The pictures that adorn every nook and corner of this warm and humble abode are a testament to their tale. The clouds may have rolled and the earth may have shook but they sheltered each other through the wind and the rain. 

They did it

[pixelbirb-choices-blog]

@ last reblog

Remember that one diamond scene where we followed Estela to kill the giant crab and MC got bitten by a snake and she sucked the venom out? That was the one scene that really irked me in ES. Killed my suspension of disbelief for a long moment because c'mon, she'd totally know better than that. Don't do it IRL, and please, to all content creators, don't write this into your stories.

[skyecrandall]

Choices Community Awards 2018 : Nominations Results + Link to final polls

First up now that we have concluded with the nomination phase, it is now time to start the final step of the CCA 2018. Click the link underneath to get redirected to the poll in question.

Link to polls of the CCA Finals

You have until Saturday 12 January at 23:59 (GMT+4) to vote.

Please try to vote unbiased and fairly. You do not require any email or send in any personal details to vote. Just click the link and make your selections.

Also please spread this post around so please Reblog. Thank you.

Anyway, If you want to see the results of the nomination phase , press the read more link.

Best Male LI:

1) Ernest Sinclaire - 15 votes

2) Tom Sato - 9 votes

3-Tied) Damien Nazario , King/Prince Liam - 8 Votes

5) Beckett Harrington - 5 votes

Best Female LI:

1) Annabelle Parssons - 15 votes

2) Kamilah Sayeed - 9 votes

3) Hana Lee - 8 votes

4) Estela Montoya - 7 votes

5-Tied) Sloane Washington , Skye Crandall, Hayden Young, Victoria Fontaine - 6 Votes

Best Supporting Character(Male):

1) Elliot Vance - 18 

2) Zack Zilberg - 13

3) Diego Oritz Soto - 9

4) Zeph Hernadez - 8

5) Mr.Chambers - 7

Best Supporting Character (female):

1) Nadia Park - 19

2-Tied) Briar Daly, Olivia Nevrakis -15

3) Michelle Nguyen - 10

4) Erin Ward -8

Best Antagonist

1) Cecile Contreras - 16

2) Gaius Augustine - 7

3) Nathan Sterling - 6

4) Jeff Duffy - 5

5) Duke Richards - 4

Best MC

1) D&D MC - 14

2) PM MC - 12

3) BB MC - 8

4) ILB MC - 7

5) TRR MC - 5

Best Atmosphere

1-Tied) It Lives Beneath , Desire & Decorum - 14

3-Tied)The Elementalist (Eww) , Veil Of Secrets - 8

5) Bloodbound

Best Book

1- Tied) Desire & Decorum , Perfect Match (Book 1) - 13

3) It Lives Beneath - 12

4) Bloodbound - 10

5) Veil Of Secrets - 8

Most Humane

1) Hayden Young - 14

2) Imogen Wescott - 5

3) Damien Nazario - 4

4-Tied) Elliot Vance , Skye Crandall - 3

Best Non-Mc Romance

1) Mr.Chambers X Mr.Konevi - 14

2) Elliot X Robbie - 11

3) Nadia X Steve - 8

4) Zahra X Craig - 7

Best Non-Romantic Relationship

1) Elliot / ILB MC - 16

2) Nadia / PM MC - 5

3-Tied) Andy/Tom, Michael/Maria, Olivia/TRR MC, Nadia/PM MC, Kamilah/Adrian - 4

Best Plot-Twist

1) Damien being replaced by Dames - 14

2) Nathan being a snake - 5

3) Evil duffy - 4

Funniest Character

1) Maxwell Beaumont - 13

2-Tied) Nadia Park , Lily Spencer - 8

4) Tom Sato - 4

5) Jeff Duffy - 3

Thank you again to everyin who sent in their nominations. The turn out might have not been as great as last year but I didn’t let this get to me and I continued the process. Unfortunately since I started my first job, posting the results of the nomination phase got delayed.

I will request you to participate to the CCAs one last time for this season and go vote for the finalists in the link above.

-Chetav, with love

[mind-reader1]

The Twins of La Huerta (Ch.3)

A/N: This is a collaborative fic from myself, @bbaba-yagaa, @brightpinkpeppercorn and @roonarific. It is DIFFERENT than the one posted by @sceptilemasterr over the past few months. That being said, this story doesn’t strictly follow canon, it’s got crack-fic moments, serious moments, NSFW moments. A bit of everything and so we really hope you enjoy! Not for the faint of heart. (This is the last time this warning will be posted.) It’s also come to my attention some tags aren’t working, please let me know if that’s the case! 

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1,920

Catch up with Chapters 1 and 2 here!

Last Time: The group decides to celebrate having the hotel to themselves with a pool party. Estela and Tyler had a little heart to heart under the stars, and Taylor saw something strange in the jungle that Jake tried to help her forget. 

Chapter 3: Trails and Tails

She woke up the next morning, Jake was gone. Slipping into some clothes she found the group downstairs, chaos reigning. Raj had made everyone his famous 'hangover cure’ breakfast, no one had time to eat it though because Lila came in with big news, she had figured out what happened to the guests. They were at some emergency shelter, only no one knew where exactly that shelter was.

“I'm in.” Jake said, everyone looking at him confused.

“You said you were going to look for the shelter. I was supposed to be on a beach in Mexico by now, everyday I spend here is money lost.”

“Me too! I'd love to see the island.” Quinn giggled turning to Tyler who was looking for Estela. This kind of thing seemed right up her alley.

“Are you going to come Tyler?” She rested her hand gently on his arm, but he ignored her.

“Whaddya say Princess? Are you coming?” She could feel everyone's eyes on her, she couldn't stop thinking about the tiger, the way it stalked her in the bushes. Her hands were getting sweaty, Tyler watched her closely, worried about her.

“I...uh.” Jake grinned.

“It's okay if you're too scared. You can stay here with the rest of the goof troop.”

“We should stay Tay.” Tyler leaned over to whisper. She scowled at both of them, she wasn't some scared little kid.

“Wait! I'm coming.”

“Why?” Diego asked.

“Aren't you at least a little curious as to why no one came back from the shelter yet?”

“Yeah, but that doesn't mean we need to go looking. It's horror movie 101, but I'll go just so I can say I told you so when something attacks us.”

“I’m going too then.” Tyler jumped up as the rest of the group was getting ready to leave.

“I think we've got enough Boy Scout.” Jake grinned.

“Tyler can protect me!” Quinn giggled grabbing his arm.

“Who are we to stand in the way of love Jake?” Taylor teased her brother. Strolling through the forest, Quinn began to admire the brightly colored flowers, they seemed to be glowing unnaturally. She leaned in to smell them while Jake took a step back, something about overhearing stories in the right dive bars and not trusting anyone after running secret government missions. Taylor took a step back from the flowers wary, Jake pulled her closer to him.

“Good call Princess.” His arm snaked around her waist as they walked together. Tyler's hands balled into fists as they walked, catching glances of Jake's hand sliding a little lower, as Diego grilled him about Estela.

“Oh no! This doesn't make any sense.” Lila frowned looking around.

“What doesn't make sense?” Taylor asked.

“The shelter should be right here according to the signs!” Aleister rolled his eyes annoyed.

“Great. The tour guide is lost. What do they even pay you for anyways?”

“Tactical scouting 101 kids. Get to high ground. See that rocky cliff over there? I'm checking it out.”

“Ooh that sounds like a waterfall nearby. I'll bet the shelter is near it.” Quinn piped up.

“I really think we should stick to the trail, the shelter should be just up ahead.” Everyone was bickering about why their idea was better and it was getting old.

“Why don't we split up!” Taylor suggested.

“I'm staying here on the trail.” Diego said, Aleister plopped down indicating that he wasn't going anywhere.

“Want to keep me company Princess?” Jake winked. Tyler jumped up to interject but didn't have time.

“That'd be fun.” They ran off and Tyler tried to chase after them, but Quinn stepped in his path smiling at him.

“Want to come with me? Keep me safe?” Quinn giggled. Tyler rolled his eyes and let her drag him off.

****

Jake deftly leaped and ducked as they combed through the forest to the mountain.

“You do this alot? Hiking through the forest that is. You seem pretty confident in the outdoors.” Jake turned to look back at Taylor and smiled, make sure she was keeping up.

“I grew up in a Louisiana town that was so rural it wasn't even on the map. When it comes down to it, the swamp and the jungle ain't so different.

“Probably less gators though.”

“Less gators, more jaguars, I'd call it even. How about you Princess? This your kinda scene?”

“I love the outdoors. Blue skies, fresh air, a soft sea breeze...it's perfect. I mean I should be more freaked out by...whatever that thing was I saw last night, but being out here? I can't help but feel happy,” she saw Jake watching her intently as she spoke a twinkle in his eye, “the company doesn't hurt either.” She winked but Jake had turned away and didn't seem to hear her.

“That why you come with? Wanted a nature hike?”

“It’s not a nature hike unless we're au natural. I came for the company.” Taylor tried again and this time he heard her.

“Oh!” She could tell she caught him off guard.

“You're not like the others here Jake. You're confident and capable, and you seem like you know what you're doing. I don't know what it is, but...I want to be near you. I feel safe with you, is that weird?”

“Naw, not weird. Just classic Princess.”

“Are you ever gonna use my real name?” She playfully crossed her arms.

“Only when you've earned it.” He winked.

“And how do I do that Top Gun?” They emerged at the base of the cliff they needed to climb.

“Well how's your rock climbing?”

“Let's find out.” She sauntered off in front of him, shaking her hips, knowing that Jake was watching her. They began climbing the cliff using small handholds to pull themselves up. Breathing hard, Jake crested the cliff first, Taylor just about to follow when the rock she had hold of crumbled beneath her grip.

“Ahh!” She grabbed the edge of the cliff, before Jake could even react she was pulling herself up.

“Nice moves Princess.” Jake walked over and looked out over the forest, it was an incredible view. The forest went on for miles in different shades of green, blue water just barely visible on the horizon. She sidled up beside him, but he wasn't paying any attention to her, so she decided to have some fun. She peeled her shirt off.

“It's soooo hot.” She fanned herself and Jake turned around, his eyes widening as they raked over her body with desire.

“This place never stops taking my breath away.”

“It's one hell of a sight.” Jake grinned and forced himself to look away.

“Hey Top Gun, that look like a shelter to you?” She pointed out to a small grey building by the river.

“Hot damn Taylor, nice eye.”

“So, I earned it?” She grinned.

“Don't get ahead of yourself Princess. Maybe before I leave we can go on another climb.” There was a genuineness to his voice that made Taylor smile.

“I'd like that.”

“Let's get back to the others.”

****

Tyler and Quinn walked in silence until she turned to him.

“Thanks for coming with me.” She grabbed his arm and smiled at him.

“I just wanted some space from Jake…” she trailed off, tears welling in her eyes.

“Not your favorite person?”

“No. He made me feel dumb earlier… calling me Pippi Longstocking and throwing pumpkin spice lattes in my face. He has me pinned as a spoiled, sheltered college student which isn't true at all. I just wanted to enjoy the flowers! This is my first time ever enjoying the outdoors, I didn't have a normal childhood.” Tyler did feel bad for Quinn, Jake's comment had been harsh and demeaning, he didn't know what his sister saw in that low life.

“Yeah, that was pretty messed up. I'm sorry he said that to you, I don't think you're dumb.”

“Thanks,” she giggled, “is this your kind of vacation?” Tyler nodded.

“I really enjoy the outdoors, everything about it. It's just... peaceful.”

“Maybe Jake just doesn't understand that. He seems like he's seen some scary stuff.” They heard the sound of rushing water getting closer.

“I just think he's a dick. Don't worry about what he thinks Quinn.” She smiled just as they emerged through the trees and into a beautiful lagoon with a waterfall. Quinn quickly peeled off her clothes, wading into the water. Tyler hung back on the beach, a pang in his chest, he wished that he was here with Estela. They could be bitching about Jake, maybe swimming together, he could finally disarm her of the stupid pencil. He snickered to himself and hung his head between his knees as he sat in the sand. He was pining for a girl who threatened to kill him with a dull pencil, not once but twice, and told him to stay away. There was just something about her that drew him in, like a moth to the flame.

“Tyler come swimming!” He sighed and peeled his shirt off headed towards the water when a glint caught his eye. He bent down to pick it up and it was a pirate doubloon.

“What'd you find?” Quinn wadded out of the water, resigning herself to the fact that she wasn't going to convince him to go swimming. He showed her the piece of pirate gold and her eyes widened in surprise.

“Do you think it's real?” Tyler shrugged.

“We've seen lots of crazy stuff on this island. Wouldn't surprise me much.” he snatched it back and stuck it in his pocket, Quinn frowned.

“I guess we should go back then.” Tyler nodded and started the trek back.

****

Jake and Taylor had found the shelter, it was a short walk from the where everyone had split up, off the path.

“Why are we celebrating? Is this place not giving anyone else 28 Days Later vibes?”

“Shelters are made to keep you safe, not look pretty. C'mon.” Jake led the way into the dilapidated shelter only to find it was empty and worn down on the inside as well.

“Maybe pop culture Petey was right. This place is giving me the creeps.”

“I don't like this Tay.” Tyler appeared at her side.

“Anyone else want to go back to the jungle with pretty flowers? Anybody?” Quinn's voice was shaky.

“Lots of muddy shoe prints. They seem recent, someone was here.” Jake knelt down. Tyler uneasy feeling began to grow.

“Tay. We should get out of here.” He grabbed her arm.

“I'm not leaving our friends Tyler!” everyone jumped as they heard a skittering noise, like rats, but it was something much larger. They followed the source of the noise to a large black hole where the concrete wall had collapsed, the flowers from outside growing out of it.

“I think it came from in there.” Diego pointed. Tyler took a deep breath and stepped up to look.

“Something's definitely alive in there.” before anyone could process, a small figure came bounding out of the darkness. It was a small, blue, fox looking creature, ice clinging to the wall behind it. It seemed afraid, no one knew why until they heard the low, deep growl behind them. Turning they came face to face with the creature Taylor had seen the night before.

“Jake! What do we do?” Taylor looked at him and it was the first time she had ever seen him look scared, he grabbed her hand, she grabbed Tyler's with her other one. 

Perma-Tag:  @brightpinkpeppercorn @sleepwalkingelite @ooo-barff-ooo @endlessly-searching-for-you @agent-bossypants @roonarific @likethetailofacomet @zaffrenotes @mysteli @vickypoochoices @kayann93 @jlouise88 @zigortega4life @findingdrake @bbaba-yagaa

Jake Tag:  @endlesstaylormckenzie @sophie-summer  @darley1101 @emomoustache​ @xo-endlessmayhem-xo​

Twin Tag:  @sceptilemasterr @queerchoicesblog

[sceptilemasterr]

ES Act 3, Scene 12 - The Battle of the Celestial

Title: Endless Summer: The (un)Official Screenplay

Main Pairings: Estela x Ian (M!MC), Jake x Alyssa (F!MC)

Other Pairings: Craig x Zahra, Grace x Aleister, Michelle x Sean, Diego x Varyyn

Genre: Full Rewrite

Rating: PG-13 for swearing, violence, alcohol, and sexuality

Summary: The students, Lila, and Jake try desperately to fend of the Hostile invasion and get everyone safely to the roof.

Previous Scene: ...Try, Try Again

Masterlist: Link

INT. THE CELESTIAL - MORNING

[MONTAGE]

Jake and Alyssa run into a hallway, creeping swiftly past a pair of Vaanti scouts. They knock on Grace’s door, and someone opens it.

ALYSSA: Grace?

ALEISTER: Oh! Erm... I- I was just-

JAKE: Hey, we ain’t judgin’ ya, Slytherin.

GRACE (V.O.): Al? Is someone there?

ALYSSA: The Hostiles are here! Right now! Have you seen anyone else?

GRACE: Quinn’s probably in the kitchens-

JAKE: Thanks. Get to the roof!

~ ~ ~

Ian and Estela round a corner and run into Diego and Raj. Ian starts to explain the situation when another Vaanti, AREHI, appears and yanks Ian away from the others. Estela turns and whips Arehi hard on the top of the head with the butt of her spear, and he crumples.

ESTELA: Keep your hands off him!

IAN: You’re... you’re amazing, Estela.

She smiles, then looks back at Diego and Raj and gestures upward.

ESTELA: We’re heading to the roof.

DIEGO: Got it. C’mon, Raj!

~ ~ ~

Quinn and Michelle sprint through the kitchens with Furball riding Quinn’s shoulder, being pursued by three more Vaanti firing blunt-tipped arrows at them. They duck into a storage room and find Alyssa and Jake, the latter holding the strange futuristic gun he had found earlier.

QUINN: They’re right behind us!

JAKE: Not for long. Time to find out what this thing does.

The Vaanti cross into their line of sight... and Jake aims the gun with both hands and fires! A strange ring of prism energy expands out from the gun, growing as it heads straight for one of the Vaanti. Through the ring, the same area can be seen, but devoid of any people and with everything covered in dust. When the ring passes around the Vaanti, both him and the ring vanish.

JAKE: Whoa. The hell?

ALYSSA: Do it again! Quick!

Jake fires once more, capturing another Vaanti and causing her to vanish as well. Before he can fire again, the remaining Vaanti fires an arrow, but Furball jumps off of Quinn’s shoulder and freezes the arrow mid-flight. Michelle leaps forward and delivers several quick jabs into the Vaanti’s neck and back, and he falls unconscious.

MICHELLE: Pressure points. Works every time.

JAKE: Great, that took care of ‘em. To the roof!

~ ~ ~

Estela and Ian rush into another hallway to see Craig grappling with two Vaanti at once. Zahra crouches behind him, typing frantically on her laptop. The laptop dings.

ZAHRA: Now, Craig!

Craig leaps backward as a heavy steel fire door slams down, sealing the two Vaanti away from them. He and Zahra high-five before noticing Estela and Ian.

ZAHRA (sarcastically): Thanks for the help. And by “help,” I mean “doin’ jack shit.”

ESTELA: You had the situation under control.

IAN: We’re all going to the roof.

CRAIG: Sounds cool, bro. See ya there.

~ ~ ~

Jake, Alyssa, Quinn, Furball, and Michelle sprint across the atrium, which is covered in a thin layer of water. The elevators have all been propped open with heavy furniture, preventing the Vaanti from using them. Several electrical cables snake through it to a fuse box at the far wall, where Lila waits with Sean.

SEAN: Go, go, go!

They make it to the other side, a group of Vaanti hot on their heels. The second they clear the water puddle, Lila flips the switch and an electrical current arcs through the water, electrocuting their pursuers and knocking them unconscious.

LILA: Hope that didn’t come as a... shock!

ALYSSA: Wow. Thanks, Lila.

LILA: Of course! Just keeping you all safe!

JAKE: We’re all goin’-

SEAN: I heard. The roof? Let’s do it.

[END MONTAGE]

Next Scene: Crouching Nerds, Hidden Badasses

Tag List: @brightpinkpeppercorn @mysteli @edgydepressedchoicesthot @bbaba-yagaa @endlesshero1122 @endlessly-searching-for-you

[nothingeverend]

TRON en mi legado

Cuando era chico, uno de los primeros videojuegos que utilice fue Tron, en los arcades lleno de luces de neón alrededor de él, me hipnotizaba para que fuera directo a la maquina. En un principio creía que eran líneas pillándose, hasta que capte que eran motos dejando una estela luminosa que provocaba el choque al más puro estilo del famoso Snake en los Nokia de palo. 

Después de un tiempo cache que era una película, en el cual un programador entra a la red y lucha contra un virus. En ese momento la estética de los 80´s se adecua perfectamente a la película y la tendencia del Ciberpunk en auge, ayuda a que todo confluya a un hermosa película llena de efectos visuales hechas por computadora, pioneros en ese periodo, tan así que no logró despegar y solo quedar como un largometraje de culto para los ñoños nerd.

Ahora veo Tron Legacy, con una dirección de arte hermosa, la música de Daft Punk, el nivel de los efectos visuales dan a entender que crearon esta película con mucho amor. Aunque su historia tiene muchos huecos argumentales y los personajes no son tan llamativos, siempre que la pilló en Tv me la quedo viendo como la primera vez en ese oscuro cine de Estación Central. Cuando me piden una crítica por este largometraje, no puedo ser objetivo y rebusco las formas para que el próximo sea el afortunado de ver Tron con los ojos que yo lo veo. 

[julia-highstorms]

30 Days of Choices challenge - Day 11

Link to the full challenge by @pixelberrychoices-verse

Day 11 - Favorite Villain

Another unpopular opinion of mine, but I love the villains. They’re the necessary evil and the more twisted their morals are and wicked their minds are, the better tbh 😂

Gaius Augustine

No other character terrifies me more than Gaius Augustine. I held my breath on every single scene he showed up. The way he Turned Kamilah? That was traumatising af.

Rowan? Sillas? Rourke? They’re a bunch of amateurs. No one is a match for this Vampire God. He’s too powerful and his plan on building a Vampire Empire... thats fucked up. I can’t wait for Bloodbound 2

Top 5 Favorite Villain:

1. Gaius Augustine (Bloodbound)

2. Luther Nevrakis (TC&TF) - he made an alliance with Kenna, so the Warrior Queen killed Empress Azura for him and then he tried to kill her!!! We gotta respect a treacherous snake, and this is why I consider him a better villain than that Witch-who-craps-lighting

3. Everett Rourke (ES) - that man gave me so many headaches lol and those things about Estela and Aleister??? And those endings????!!!!! I shall never recover from them. Damn you, Rourke.

4. Rowan West (PM) - megalomaniac psycho with a God complex, it felt so good cutting his robotic eye off 😂

5. Hayley Rose (Most Wanted) - such a manipulative girl! John Tull??? He was just her minion, she is the ultimate MW villain.

[scalygems]

Saturday, May 28th at 12PM PST ☆

Estela mug + sticker, and Patreon sticker + print leftovers!

STARRYPAIGE.COM

[vertiny-main]

BOOK 2, CHAPTER 1

Masterlist here.

Reactions under the ‘Keep Reading’ cut.

- Alright, we back, and I’m more than ready to get my best friend back!

- Ooof, I’m on the loading screen, and boiiiii, I am r e a d y for this!

- That’s actually a really cool way to give the player the choices to import their previous choices.

- I’M DEAD OML. As it shows you a “flashback” type thing, the art of Sean in the pool is the background and it pops up with Diego saying “Come on, MC. We promised we’d make the most of this trip.” and I just… I’m dead. 😂

- I am on my way, Diego. Hold tight.

- Estela smashing Rourke in the face right off the bat? Oh-kay.

- Estela I love you, but even I can’t let you beat a man when he’s out of it.

- You know, go straight into planning when you’ve had a massive rush of adrenaline, which is probably gonna wear off so you should probably get some sleep first, before coming up with a battle plan.

- Wooooow - “Oh my god, MC just said ‘sack’! I’m dying! I can’t breathe!” - Craig, I love you so much.

- “…But you’re the best, and I love you.” I LOVE YOU TOO RAJ!

- Zahra is awesome. I love.

- Can I still wrap Aleister in a hug?????

- I love that Jake’s silver lining is about us not getting killed and going through the portal. 😂

- ‘Book 2 introduces Tough Choices. These choices have a percent chance of success based on your relationship with a character.’ WELP. Y’ALL IT LOOKS LIKE WE’RE GONNA STRUGGLE FROM HERE ON OUT.

- My heart was like “Nope, this isn’t gonna work.” as I tapped on the tough choice, but iT WORKED!

- And uh… “…Okay, MC. For you.” STOP IT QUINN!

- Jake, honey, I love you, but… DON’T YOU DARE TELL ME YOU THINK DIEGO IS DEAD!

- WAIT WHAT?! DIEGO IS IN MY MIRROR???

- Okay, never mind.

- Aye, we get the closet in this book!

- The outfits in this book are cute!

- I know who Mar would want me to pick for who I spend time with when coming up with a plan, but honestly? I think I’m gonna pick Sean and stick with him! I’ll definitely do a playthrough with Jake for myself (or for y’all if you want that?)

- Ooof, MC x Sean squeeze at my heart. They’re utter dorks. I love.

- Like, I know Diego let himself be taken so it would save MC, but do you know how cool it’d be to have had MC taken instead? (Or MC and Diego?) and see how they went through the six months and if they started to give up hope or anything like that! Oooo!

- “What are you talking about, MC? Everybody knows by now you don’t have any.” Oh, honey, I have a lot of flaws.

- It’s lowkey tempting me to be a thot and date all at once, but I can do that on my other phone. For my main playthrough, I’ll stick to Sean.

- So, MC and Sean just kissed, and MC’s just complimented his kissing skills, and this utter dork… “Who cares, if it didn’t come from you?”

- Mysterious doors… Why do I feel like this isn’t gonna end well?

- Again, I love Craig and Zahra and their dynamic.

- Not gonna lie, I have always personally thought that the medical symbol (the three snakes/hydra thing) has always been kinda cool!

- “Quick, MC! Grab the Twizzler!” Oh Raj, I’ve missed you!

- Jake, we’re gonna be amazing friends. “…whatever sex dungeon Rourke has set up.” My exact thoughts!

- Huh, it’s a weird museum thing and one of the domes are broken?

- Why do I feel like something is gonna happen. Michelle offers MC the idol and instead of saying anything else, it just says ‘Touch it.’ I DON’T WANNA!

- Told ya something would happen.

- AWH MICHELLE BBY! I AM SO SORRY! I’M PROTECTING YOU TOO!

- I DON’T LIKE THESE IDOLS.

- My babies are all ready to go save Diego with me. I’m emotional.

- Rourke, I’m calling bullshit that we’re on the same team.

- Can I punch Rourke yet???

- I really wanna, pleaseeeee.

[dyanjong]

The Rose | Childhood from Dyan Jong on Vimeo.

Directed by Curry Tian Produced by Good Company Executive Producer: Mel Roy

Executive Producer: Transparent Arts Creative Director: Dyan Jong Project Coordinator: Jieuny Jang

Producer: Luke Gilbert 1st AD: Eric Sheehan 2nd AD: Raymond Harper

Cinematographer: Jay Swuen 1st AC: Alexander Castro 2nd AC: Kaori Kinai Steadicam: Andres Raygoza

Editor: Louie Seguin Colorist: Sean Henderson VFX Artists: Jenni Yang & Logan Seaman Post Intern: Vincent Wu

Gaffer: Jon Sohn BBE: Preston Maestri Key Grip: Aaron Trujillo BBG: Emilio Zertuche

Choreographer: Genna Moroni Dancers: Jobel Medina, Madison Olandt, Sasha Rivero, Stephanie Kim, Derion Loman, Zak Schlegel

The Rose MUA: Sinh Vo The Rose Hair: Yukina Mitsuhashi Liu MUA: Andre Campos Key Hair: Ana Estela Hair Assist: Michelle Zaharek

The Rose Stylist: Roy Back Dancer Stylist: Isiah Ahmad Dancer Stylist Assist: Jaelin Philips

Production Design: Thrift Shop Studios & The Tactical Chimp Production Assistants: AJ Inatsugu, Alison Dufault, Philgence B, Hevin Gil, Brandon Jame

CCO: Justin Byrd Water Safety: Chris Peterson Snake Wrangler: Rick Nyberg

Management: Transparent Arts A&R Direction and Coordination: Rachel Lee Public Relations & Publicity: Angela Mach (Platform PR)

[the-light-of-stars]

Genuinely curious, could you tell me some of the clues that Estela is Rourke's daughter?

Oh sure thing anon!*cracks knuckles* ok here we go:

- first of all Estelas file says that her father is unknown

- Estela also mentioned in a dialogue that he left her mom

- If you look at their respective game sprites Estelas skin color seems to be lighter than her moms, implying that, while her mom is Colombian, her father is most likely white

- if you unlock the computer at the end of book 1 Rourke says “I’m sorry, Olivia” when he sees Estelas face at the beginning of book 2, while he’s still dazed. And as we learned later Olivia is Estelas mom.

- In Estelas idol flash forward he also tells her that he could’ve never brought himself to killing her mother personally, which is why Lila had to do it. This is weird, considering that he has obviously no problem with killing people, so the reason why he didn’t murder Olivia himself must be personal.

- if you choose the LI scene in the winter resort in book two, you discover an old note, in which Rourke talks about the “new researcher” (which has to be Estelas mom considering the rest of the chapter), and how he feels like they knew each other before she started working for him

- When you talk to Imogen in the MASADA facility and ask about Olivia, she gets obviously angry, and if you ask her why she says that she couldn’t stand her. She also says that she never met Olivia personally, and didn’t want to either. Which, to me, seems like the jealousy of a woman that has been cheated on.

- Also the fact that only Estela, Aleister and IRIS were with MC when they unlocked the computer, and that Aleister was the only other character in Estelas idol flashback

- Now those are a bit of a stretch but still: Estelas name means “Star” which fits with the whole astronomy thing going on, and her zodiac is draco, the dragon. Since it’s about the zodiac that’s a Greek dragon, aka essentially a giant snake, and the only others with snake related zodiacs are Aleister and Rourke himself.

- Plus, it would just make for a lot of drama

[ladyseaheart1668]

Endless Summer Book 4: Daughter of Vaanu (Chapter 28)

Description: Lila seeks shelter with the Catalysts. Estela and Aleister confront their father. Meanwhile, Tahira gets an unexpected visitor.

Tagging: @xo-endlessmayhem-xo @princesstopgun @mysteli @endlesshero1122

Notes: I already announced this on AO3, but I tend to forget to make these announcements on Tumblr, too. I will be writing a Book 5. There is just too much story left for me to sum it up in Book 4. There’s still a good bit left of Book 4, though.

Chapter 28: Mimicry

Tahira

Why, oh why did I agree to do this press conference so early in the morning? I barely slept last night, and a cup of extra strong coffee isn't really cutting through the haze. But I've got Grayson on one side of me and Meiko Katsaros on the other, offering support. One of these two people knows who I am under the mask and supersuit I'm wearing. Both are necessary allies at this conference. I clear my throat, shifting slightly at the podium.

“I know the first question on everyone's minds has to be regarding my whereabouts for the last ten weeks. To be honest, the exact location is still something of a mystery. It appears that the experimental reactivation of the Prism Gate within the Prescott Industries lab is what allowed me to return with Silas Prescott, and several of the scientists who were involved in the project are working with me to get some answers, but as of right now, I don't have anything more to say on that matter. As to whether or not Silas Prescott may still present a threat, I can assure you that DA Katsaros and the Northbridge Police Department are keeping him under surveillance while he recovers. And once he does, it will be up to the justice system to decide what will become of him then. I will be advising them as far as I am allowed, advocating for a course of action that keeps the public safe. And I will now open the floor to questions...”

Michelle

Tahira's press conference flickers on the television set mounted near the ceiling in the corner of the hospital cafeteria. It's on the edge of my vision, but I only let it hold my attention for an instant before my eyes drop back to Lila, sitting across from me with her knees drawn to her chest. Her coffee is going cold on the table in front of her. She is still wearing scrubs, and the nametag of a nurse I actually know fairly well. If I hadn’t been told by the Endless that Lila was alive, I would have taken this woman across from me for one of nature’s doppelgangers. A trick of genetics and chance that happened to create a person nearly identical to Lila in appearance. This woman acts nothing like the Lila I knew on the island. That Lila was as irritatingly bubbly as she was ruthless, and neither side of her personality was a lie. That image of her doesn’t quite gel with the woman sitting across from me now, showing a dozen red flags.

“Lila, why don’t you take that nametag off?” I coax gently.

“I’m not Lila anymore,” she mutters. But she complies, removing the badge and placing it facedown on the table in front of her.

“Is there another name you go by now?”

“…Most of the time. But…” She trails off and stays silent, giving no indication that she intends to continue that thought.

“…Do you want to tell me what it is?”

She shakes her head. “No. Just call me Lila.” She looks up at me. “You don’t seem surprised to see me.”

“…Actually, I am.” It’s not really a lie. I wasn’t expecting to see her here. “At least a little.”

“I suppose with Alodia turning up again, it can’t be that big of a shock to find out that I’m alive, too.”

“Clearly you haven’t completely neglected to watch the news. But in point of fact, we learned that Mike was alive well before Alodia came back.”

“…Mike…which one was Mike?”

Oh, right. She was already dead by the time Mouse’s identity was revealed.

“Jake’s navy buddy. The one who was killed by his commander. Or…so he thought. Mike actually survived, and he became Mouse. We rescued him from Lundgren, but then he was killed helping us in the final battle. And then we got off the island and discovered him alive.”

“…Oh. Of course. I remember Commander Lundgren’s trial…”

“Now. Why don’t you tell me what you were doing in Silas Prescott’s hospital room?” Lila averts her eyes, hugging her knees more tightly to her chest. When she doesn't answer after a moment, I continue, lowering my voice. “I don't want to get you in trouble, Lila. If you can convince me that you don't mean him any harm, I am entirely willing to overlook the fact that you're illegally impersonating a nurse.”

Lila looks up sharply, fear and hurt in her eyes. “I wasn't going to hurt him...” she whispers faintly. “I...was just a messenger...”

I hold her gaze, and will her not to look away. “...Who's message were you delivering?” I ask like a mother who already knows the answer. I fear that I do.

Tears are pooling in Lila's eyes now. Her lips start to quiver as her face reddens. I'm not entirely expecting what she says next...although perhaps I should have been.

“...Help me, Michelle. Please...I think he's going to make me hurt someone.”

I take a moment to collect myself, the way I do when a patient starts coding. “...By 'he', I assume you mean...?”

She nods. “...Mr. Rourke,” she whispers.

“Rourke is in prison, Lila. He's in prison for life. He can't make you hurt anyone.”

“Yes, he can!” she growls under her breath. “You know he can! You know he has that power!”

“You resisted him once before,” I remind her. “When he wanted you to hurt us. You fought back. Protected us.”

She is quiet for a moment, apparently considering this. Then she sighs, shaking her head.

“I think I was stronger then.”

I frown, lowering my voice. At this hour, the cafeteria is pretty quiet, but I'm not taking chances here. “Lila, how long have you been...alive?”

“...I...think it's been about five years...”

“And...how long have you been in contact with Rourke?”

“...About since he went to prison. A few months after.”

“What?! Oh, Lila...!” I'm caught between frustration and pity. I know from Alodia that Lila didn't have any family on the outside. She dedicated her life to Rourke because she believed he could erase her troubled childhood. “Why didn't you seek one of us out? You must have realized we all made it off the island, and you were our friend at the end. We could have helped you.”

She shrugs miserably. “...Maybe I wanted you to remember me as I was.”

“...But you went back to Rourke?”

“I don't know, Michelle. I felt sorry for him. I wasn't intending to show him anything except sympathy...”

“Except that Rourke is a master manipulator. He's a psychologically abusive asshole, and losing everything hasn't changed that.”

Lila shakes her head hard. Then, quick as a striking snake, she reaches out to grasp my wrist. “It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how it happened. You have to help me now. He knows Alodia is alive. He knows she's pregnant. And he's planning something.”

Alodia

I'm dreaming. I know I am. I'm clinging to the mast of The Dorado while Cetus' storm has the sea roiling and crashing against the hull. I've lived through this moment. And now I'm living it again. And I know what happens this time.

I won't...I won't watch him die...

Craig is going to die this time. The dream me, the one who doesn't know what's going to happen, doesn't understand why she's suddenly looking around for Craig. Why she's suddenly so sure he's in trouble. But it won't be until Cetus' tail comes down and splits the deck in half that he'll be lost.

Wake up! Wake up! There is no point in reliving this!

Isn't there...? Isn't knowledge your greatest weapon? To protect them? To protect yourself? To protect your child?

...But what can I learn from this? What can I learn from watching this again?

What makes you think I can tell you? I'm only your subconscious. Or perhaps I am the Endless. Or even your father.

Cetus' tail lands the blow that shatters the deck and throws me into the sea. I can feel the electrical current that rushes through his body as if through my own. It leaves me stunned, too stunned to think of swimming. It's Craig who first finds me in the water, holding my head above the surface, while he is battered by the raging waves...

No! No, I won't! Let me go!

I'm not holding you captive, Alodia. Go back to your husband...

… I come awake with a soft gasp. The child in my womb stirs in response, as does their father beside me. His hand gropes for mine.

“You okay, 'Lodia...?” he mumbles, his voice languid with sleep.

I blink, getting my bearings. The digital clock on the bedside table reads 2:41am. “I'm fine. River just decided that this was the perfect time to practice kickboxing.”

Jake shifts onto his side, stroking my belly with his free hand. “Go back to sleep, kiddo. Your mama needs her rest.”

“So does your papa,” I remark. “You'll be waking both of us up at all hours with crying soon enough. He should sleep while he can. Unfortunately, he's kind of a worrywart, and he wakes up whenever I do.”

“Someday, kiddo, you'll hear a story that explains exactly why that is.”

“...But not for a very long time, I hope.”

“Well, I'm not suggesting it would ever be a bedtime story. I'm guessing our kid will have the sex talk years before they have the 'Mama's half-alien' talk. Hell, I'd suggest we give 'em the 'Papa spent three years on the run from the military' talk before we try to explain everything that happened on that island and why they have so many aunties and uncles who aren't related to us.”

“...But you think we should tell them eventually?”

“I think it's not unlikely they'll need to know. And I want them to know some day that their mama saved the world.”

I snort a little. “Well...there's time enough to figure out when and how we'd explain everything. Nearly 3am isn't exactly the time to be making decisions like that.”

“Fair enough.” Jake draws me gently into his arms. “Let's get some sleep instead.”

I close my eyes and nestle my head on his chest. My head rises and falls as he lets out a contented sigh and presses a kiss to the top of my head. I tighten my grip, trying to ignore the growing dread behind my heart. In the back of my mind, I can hear it calling me, the image of the chained woman hidden in the poolhouse, carved from the amber of Elyys'tel.

Sean

“We need to warn Alodia and Jake,” I insist.

“Warn them of what?” Michelle snaps, exasperated. “That a man who is currently languishing in a criminal asylum on the opposite side of the country thinks he might be able to use her or her baby to activate a doomsday machine?”

“You make him sound so harmless,” I snap back. “You know he isn't. He's a dangerous egomaniac with an indomitable will who actually built a functional doomsday machine that he could have used her in...”

Michelle sighs, rubbing her hands over her face. “You're right,” she concedes. “He's not harmless. But right now, he's contained. The Omega Mech doesn't exist anymore. Neither does the Island's Heart. I don't doubt he has the will, but right now, he's severely lacking in resources. There's no good reason to stress them out right now. Especially while Alodia's pregnant.”

“Michelle,” Quinn says gently, “think about that for more than a moment, you'll realize keeping it from them is a really bad idea. If you thought a patient of yours might have cancer, you wouldn't hide it from them just because you also thought it was a long shot and you didn't want to stress them out.”

Michelle looks down at her hands, gripping fistfuls of her scrub pants in her lap. I reach over to cover her hand with mine, stroking her knuckles with my thumb.

“...Alodia and Jake aren't patients,” she says flatly.

“No,” I agree. “They're our friends.”

“...And they won't thank us if we hide this from them,” Quinn adds. “They have a right to know.”

Michelle closes her eyes with a sigh. Finally, she nods. “Okay. You're right. We'll call a Catalyst meeting. But...I think first, we should decide what to do with Lila.”

I glance over at Lila, curled up on the armchair in the corner of Michelle and Quinn's apartment, gazing back at us with dull, exhausted eyes. It doesn't feel quite right, discussing her as if she isn't in the room, but I honestly don't know if she'd talk back if we did try to bring her into the conversation.

“I don't think we should keep her here,” I murmur. “For a few reasons. One of which is named Montoya.” I don't mention a first name on purpose. I don't think Lila has been made aware that Olivia is alive, and I don't want her to find out like this.

“That is a good point. The closer to us Lila stays, the more likely it is she's going to encounter her. And...that could get messy. Frankly, I don't think either of them need that right now.”

“But where else could she go that would be safe?” Quinn asks worriedly. “Ultimately, isn't Lila safest with the Catalysts? What if Aleister and Grace were to look after her?”

“And what if Rourke has some way of tracking her?” I ask. “If he gets his claws in her again, she'll then have access to basically all the resources of Rourke International.”

“I'd suggest sending her to be looked after on the west coast,” Quinn sighs, “but if she is being tracked...that would be even more dangerous, since she'd basically have total access to Alodia and the baby.���

“And that is not an option,” Michelle declares fiercely. Her mouth twists a little. “I...suppose we could take her to a women's shelter...”

I feel something cold grip my gut. My grasp on Michelle's hand tightens involuntarily. She frowns, her free hand coming up to cup my cheek, and gently turn my face toward her.

“...Sweetie, are you okay?”

I swallow against the sudden dryness in my mouth. “Y-yeah. But...I don't know if a women's shelter is going to be the best place for her...”

“Why not? They're better equipped to counsel and protect abused women than any pocket of Catalysts on our own would be.”

“None of them know Rourke, though. And...” I trail off, hesitating for a moment. While I feel plenty safe revealing details of my troubled childhood to Michelle and Quinn and indeed any of the Catalysts, having Lila in the room makes it more difficult. But I draw in a breath, and lower my voice. “When I was about twelve, Dad went through a particularly bad phase. Like...bad even for him. Momma actually feared for our lives. It was the one time she tried to get away. Packed me up and drove to a women's shelter while he was out of the house. It wasn't like it was a bad place, but it also wasn't the most secure, and...”

“...He found you,” Michelle finishes grimly. I nod.

“Didn't do any physical or property damage, just came in and yelled a lot, scared the crap out of all the residents and their kids. ...My dad was unhinged and brain damaged. Rourke...isn't. Well, unhinged, maybe, but he's sharp. He's deadly smart.”

“...And in prison,” Michelle reminds me.

I shake my head. “No prison is escape-proof. You know that. We were warned. You heard it from her own lips.”

“Guys?” Quinn pipes up. “...I think I may have a solution.”

Raj

“Absolutely. Don't even worry about it.”

“Are you sure?” Sean asks. “Are Craig and Zahra gonna be okay with it?”

“I'm not going to be here much longer. I have to be in Rome in a few days. It will be nice to have company. If you're okay with putting her up another day or two, then I can take over after that no problem.”

“Wow, buddy, that would be amazing of you. It's just that it doesn't feel like she'd be safe leaving her at a women's shelter, but we don't want to keep her in the same city as the Montoyas longer than we have to--”

“Hey, man, you don't need to explain. Lila's our friend, even if there is still some leftover awkwardness. I want to help her.” I hesitate a moment. “But...regarding what she told you...about Rourke's plans. ...How much danger do you think there actually is?”

“That's kinda hard to predict. Michelle managed to get it out of Lila that he's been contacting her via a cellphone disguised as a hairbrush. We blocked his number, and we can probably get that brush confiscated from him. But...I don't know. I don't think I can ever be completely confident that Rourke isn't a threat anymore. Not since Alodia came back.”

I sigh. “...Yeah...I get that. God, it's so crappy that she still has to worry about him at a time like this.”

“It's crappy that she has to worry about him at all. I feel shitty saying this, but I wish he would just die already. He's not doing anyone any good hanging around, why can't he just give up the damn ghost and leave us all alone?”

I sigh. “Honestly, man...I bet even Aleister would agree with you there.”

Aleister

“This feels like a foolish idea.”

From the driver's seat, Estela glances at me just briefly before turning her attention back on the road.

“I need to know what he knows. I need to know what he's planning.”

“He's not going to give himself away. You know that.”

I watch her grip tighten on the steering wheel, watch her masseter bludge against the skin of her jaw as her molars grind into each other.

“I have to look him in the eye.”

“...I worry that we'll give away more secrets than we gain from him,” I sigh.

“How long have you known me that you think I can't keep secrets?” she asks peevishly. “Do you think I could have been a San Trobidian revolutionary if I were that prone to cracking under pressure?”

I can't hold back a wry smile. “Dear sister, when it comes to secrets, you are a locked safe. You will not yeild but for the right combination. But let us be realistic, you are not subtle. Everyone knows a locked safe conceals valuables, even if they can't access them.”

Perhaps in spite of herself, she snorts, and I see a smile playing around her mouth. “And what does that make you, brother? Are you a locked safe concealed behind a hidden panel?”

“Absolutely not. I was a complete disappointment to the man, remember? At best, I am a Batesian mimic.”

“...A what?”

“A harmless prey species that evolves to resemble one that is harmful to its predator. Such as the viceroy butterfly whose colors mimic those of the toxic monarch butterfly. ...Or, perhaps to use a more apt example, the harmless king snake, whose coloring resembles that of the venomous coral snake.”

“...Of course. Much more fitting to compare our dear...sperm donor to a venomous snake than a butterfly.” She is quiet for another moment. “...I want to make sure we get ahold of that hairbrush-phone. I don't fully trust the guards at that place. I'm sure they're doing their best, but...”

“But Father is a dangerous megalomaniac, a master manipulator, et cetera.”

“Precisely.”

I sigh, leaning back in the passenger seat and letting my head drop against the headrest. “Well...I'm still worried about this whole idea. But I suppose we can't just let it lie when Lila was sent to deliver a note to Silas Prescott. ...That suggests he isn't resting on his laurels.”

“Or the memories of his laurels. Clearly he wants to taste glory again, and the means may exist to him now.”

I feel my fingers curl tightly against my palms. “We won't let him get to her.”

* * *

As usual, Estela and I are searched at the door for any dangerous items that we may otherwise smuggle into our detained father before we are finally led to the visitation room. We are made to sit in chairs spaced a safe distance apart so that we could not touch each other, and guards remain beside us, watching for any suspicious movement. Twenty minutes later, our father is led into the room. We are each permitted one embrace at the beginning of our visit, and one at the end. To keep up appearances, we each stand in turn, gingerly taking his hands while he stiffly kisses our cheeks. I'm sure the guards never miss the way we flinch at his touch, but if they have opinions on it, they have never shared them with me.

It would be impossible to miss the rather large bandage wrapped around his right hand, even if he didn't physically touch me. I let my eyes linger on it as he seats himself across from us, folding his hands delicately in his lap.

“What a pleasant surprise,” he remarks, his voice honeyed and cloying. “It has been quite some time since my children visited me.”

“Perhaps now you have some idea of what it was like to have you for a father,” I snap back. “...What happened to your hand?”

“Ahh, this? A little...incident in art therapy. One of the new inmates doesn't seem to be very fond of me because he stabbed my hand with a pencil when I reached across the table for the glue. He wasn't supposed to have a pencil. Heaven knows how he got ahold of one.” He smiles placidly, pointing to a spot on the palm of his hand. “Right about there. Most of the graphite was removed, but it does seem that some has been left behind. I am likely to have a small gray tattoo for the rest of my life.”

“Fascinating,” Estela deadpans. “Have they taken away your hairbrush yet?”

Father rolls his eyes. “Yes, my dear. Since you managed to find out about that, all my personal effects have been confiscated. I may only use what toiletries they provide me with now.”

“You should have realized it would only be a matter of time before we figured out it had gone missing. And considering it has a tracking device...”

It does not actually have a tracking device. And the project is so old that no one at Rourke International has paid attention to it in at least fifteen years. And of course, Father knows that. I am sure he has guessed by now how we knew of the hairbrush-phone. But I take a chance on the belief that he does not wish to get Lila into legal trouble for smuggling a phone into a prison.

“I will concede I did not expect it to last. But I was so unbearably bored.” He pauses, tipping his head slightly. “But enough about me. How are you, my dear children? How are all your friends?”

“They are fine,” Estela growls. “All very well. No thanks to you.”

He smiles, a knowing, unsettling smirk, and his eyes shift from Estela to me and back again. He pins his gaze on my sister. She sets her jaw, glaring back at him with the cold defiance of a warrior facing interrogation by a sadistic enemy. I shiver slightly, knowing that with her past it is all too likely she lived that exact scenario before. I realize that I've gone rigid in my seat. There is a contest of wills about to take place here. The fencer in me can practically see them taking up their guard positions, my father in posta di fenestra, my sister in posta di donna.

“I see that you found my...present.” He leans forward slightly. “...How is our dear Ms. Chandler?”

Estela's expression wavers just for an instant, and I suppress a grimace. This is what I was afraid of. He means to trick her into giving away something, just as she means to do to him. Honestly, I am not sure who will win here. I don't feel perfectly safe betting for or against either of them. A hydra against a dragon. One a megalomaniacal master of manipulation, the other a warrior with a will of iron.

“She is home,” Estela answers coldly. “With her family.”

“How lovely. A family. Mother, father...perhaps brothers and sisters, too. No...that's not right, is it.” He sighs mockingly. “Poor little orphan girl. Well...maybe not poor...”

Estela narrows her eyes. “And what do you know of it? You took her from her family for five years. We thought she was dead. We mourned her.”

“No, you didn't. You thought she was gone. You knew she wasn't dead.”

“We assumed you had killed her,” I counter.

“Kill a specimen as unique as she? Of course not!”

“You don't know the first thing about her!” Estela snarls.

“I know what she is.”

“You don't know her any more than you know your own children. Not even the one you crafted so carefully. When are you going to wake up and realize where you are, Rourke? You're rotting in a criminal asylum while the son you rejected is running your empire alongside the daughter you never knew you had! He has your throne, your kingdom...he even has a loving partner.” Estela's eyes narrow. “...You couldn't even keep my mother in love with you.”

I feel my eyes widen as Estela's blow visibly lands. Genuine hurt flashes across my father's face before anger rushes in to take its place.

“...Olivia came back to me,” he growls.

“To support me. Your daughter. ...She never even told you about me, did she. You didn't figure it out until after I was already there. Even after your wife was gone, my mother didn't want you in my life.”

I turn away, covering a smile with my hand. Estela may be hitting below the belt, but I can't help but enjoy it. I should not have underestimated her. Given the color of my father's face right now, she may actually be winning. But then he shakes his head, and a placid smile settles back onto his face. He turns his gaze onto me.

“...Aleister, my boy. ...How is my grandson?”

I stiffen, feeling the breath rush from my body. “He is...well.”

“It is quite a legacy he was born into. ...The heir to two international industrial empires. One of the few things you did right in your life, wedding and bedding Grace Hall. In the old days of kings and queens, treaties would be built on a union like yours.”

“I love her!”

“An added bonus for you, of course. You're like Victoria and Albert. But without the incest. Tell me, does the boy ever get to see his maternal grandmother?”

“That's hardly any business of yours, Father.”

“I think we've overstayed our welcome,” Estela says flatly. “I'm ready to go. How about you, Aleister?”

“...Yes. Yes, I quite agree.”

We go through the motions of a goodbye, and make sure we collect his hairbrush-phone from the warden. We're silent on the way to the car. It's not until we're on the road that Estela breaks the silence.

“So. What did we actually learn?”

I am quiet for a moment, considering. “...One thing is for certain, he doesn't think everything is lost.”

She nods. “You're right. We've seen him despairing. He still thinks he can succeed in his goal. Whatever that goal really is.”

I sigh, rubbing my chin absently. “...What if Lila wasn't his only contact on the outside?”

She frowns. “Who else do you think he could control like he controls her?”

“...I don't know. It's just...I have a very bad feeling that he still has more influence than we know.”

Tahira

Grayson never believed I was dead. He never let anyone at Prescott Industries believe I was, either. In the aftermath of the battle, he was vocal in his belief that I was among the missing, but I was surely alive. There were quite a few people unaccounted for, but all the bodies they found were identified fairly quickly, so it seemed plausible. Once he learned for sure that I was alive, the official story around Prescott Industries was that I had been severely injured, and I was taking an extended leave of absence to recover. He builds up my return for a few days, and I practice limping around Mom's apartment with the aid of a cane until I've perfected the just-barely-limping limp. When I get back to work, I'm greeted with warm welcomes, a few questions about how I'm feeling, but no one seems suspicious. Mostly, they're just relieved that I'm okay. Even Marjorie gives me an awkward hug and then pretends it never happened. And I pretend the gesture didn't make me teary-eyed.

I'm only back at work for a few days before Halloween weekend is upon us. I volunteered to help serve drinks at The Grand all weekend. Without any time to put a real costume together, I decide to go with the wench costume I wore to the Rennaissance Faire a couple years ago. It's about as authentic as such a costume can be. I tuck the linen shirt into the green brocade skirt, and pull on the brown overskirt. My mother is helping me lace up the corset when my phone buzzes with a text from Grayson, letting me know he's downstairs. Mom grins when she sees the text over my shoulder.

“You be careful with that boy, sweetie,” she teases. “It's always a risk to date your boss.”

I snort. “Come on, Mom. I've known Grayson since college. He was my friend before he was my boss.”

She kisses my cheek. “I trust you, baby. Have fun tonight. I know you're supposed to be working, but have fun, too.”

“I will. You gonna be okay alone for the evening?”

“Of course. I'll be passing out candy to all the tiny monsters in this building. And if one of them attacks me, my daughter's Dragonness, and I know how to reach her.” She hands me my backpack. “Supersuit's in here, keep your phone in there, too, and keep it near you all night. Understand?”

I grin. “Yes, Mom. Thank you.” I kiss her cheek. “Love you.”

“Love you, too, baby girl.”

* * *

I have to laugh when I get downstairs and find Grayson standing outside the limo. He's dressed in an elegant pirate captain costume, complete with a velvet coat, tricorn hat, and a plastic cutlass. He grins when he sees me.

“Your mom told me what you were going as. I thought I'd make an effort to match.”

“Right. So, tonight I'm the plucky barmaid, and you're the handsome pirate who strolls into my seaside tavern looking for a tankard of ale.”

He laughs. “Roleplay. I like it. But alas, work awaits us. Shall we?”

He opens the door for me, and we slip into the car. As the partition rises between us and the driver, the limo glides away from the curb.

“Hey...how's your dad?”

His expression falls. “Mostly recovered. He'll be discharged soon. And then he goes under house arrest...”

I see his hand curl into a fist on his thigh. I reach over to cover his hand with mine.

“I'm sorry...I shouldn't have brought it up.”

“No, it's okay. You have a right to know.” He sighs. “Especially in light of everything Aleister and Estela told us about Rourke trying to contact him.”

I frown. “Has he...mentioned anything about that?”

“Nothing. And I can't get it out of him, either. I...honestly can't get very much out of him on any subject.”

“...I'm sorry, Grayson.”

He sighs, shaking his head. “It isn't your fault. I just...want to enjoy myself this evening, spending time with the woman I love, basking in one of my greatest achievements.”

“So far.”

“What?”

I smile, slipping my arm through his. “One of your greatest achievements so far. With many more to come, I'm sure.”

* * *

The Grand is already getting busy by the time we arrive. Costumed patrons form a less-than-orderly line outside the door, where Kenji checks ID's, dressed as Indiana Jones.

“Are you acting bouncer this evening?” I call as Grayson and I head toward the staff entrance. “I thought Craig Hsiao was going to lend a hand?”

“Yeah, but he's coming with Zahra, and they won't be here for a couple hours. You two go on in, though. I got this covered.”

“I'll come lend a hand as soon as Tahira's set up behind the bar,” Grayson promises.

True to his word, Grayson makes sure I'm settled behind the bar before stepping out to help Kenji check ID's. I tuck the backpack with my phone and supersuit under the bar and pull on an apron. I've got help this evening, thankfully. Skyler, the guy Poppy dated for all of five minutes, is serving with me tonight. There's also a muscular blonde woman who looks to be in her late forties named Jenny, dressed in skinny jeans and a black tank top that shows off the exquisite sleeve tattoos that cover her shapely arms. For the next few hours, I get swept up in my work, taking orders, serving drinks, collecting tips. Zahra's band arrives and starts setting up, which seems to take awhile. It's while this is going on that I notice the patron in the Guy Fawkes mask at the end of the bar. The mask seems to be a half-hearted attempt at coming in costume, since besides that, he's dressed in ripped jeans and a gray sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head. Something in his manner sets off alarm bells. I check that my bag is in my line of sight and sidle down the bar toward him.

“Can I get you something, Fawkes?” I ask. “You got a week before you're supposed to blow up Parliment, want a drink in the meantime?”

“I'm also on the wrong continent,” Fawkes replies. “I'll take a beer, though. Whatever's on tap.”

His voice sets off a shiver of recognition, but I can't quite place it yet. I list his options, and he makes his choice. I fill a frosted mug and set it in front of him.

“That's six dollars.” He pulls a small wad of cash from the pocket of his hoodie and peels off a five and three ones.

“Keep the change for yourself, hero.” He wraps his fingers around the handle of the mug and pulls it toward him. “For the record, I wouldn't need gunpowder to take down a government.”

Even before he lifts his mask to take a gulp of his beer, I realize who I'm talking to. I lower my voice to a whisper.

“Caleb?! What the hell are you doing here?! I thought you'd left the city?”

“I did. And I'm not back in town for long. I'm just here to warn you.”

“Warn me of what?”

The guitarist on stage strums a loud chord that blasts out from the speakers and reverberates through the club, making me jump. Caleb glances at the stage, then jerks his head toward the door.

“Sounds like they're about to start, and I don't want to shout. You got a minute?”

I hesitate just a moment before grabbing my backpack and slipping out from behind the bar. Caleb gulps the rest of his beer and pulls down his mask, sliding off the stool. Outside, in the shadow of an alley beside the club, he lifts it up again. I look sidelong at him.

“You know, I'm not sure whether I should be surprised at your attire or not. On the one hand, a Guy Fawkes mask is...frankly predictable. On the other hand, that you would wear a costume on Halloween at all is honestly surprising.”

He scowls a little. “It's not a costume, it's just a mask. And I'm not really looking to be recognized.”

“So...what do I need to be warned about?”

“...Talos or Minuet mention to you where I've been since you vanished?”

“Vaguely. They said you were out in the sticks, running with some squatter gang.”

He snorts. “They're more than that. Started out as a bunch of strays and runaways, sure. Then Gigi got ahold of them.”

“And who's Gigi?”

“That's the question for the ages. What I know is she's a sadistic psychobitch who knows how to keep her gang scared and loyal. Some people got the natural talent for that. I didn't question it until I realized that something about her reminded me of Stonewall.”

“...Is she a superhuman, too?”

“Not as far as I know. She might be, though. She's never been exposed to the crystal, that much I know for sure, because she's said as much. What I was realizing lately is that she moves and thinks and acts like someone who's got...training. Kinda training Stonewall had.”

I almost ask what he means, but then I go quiet as a memory creeps into my brain. The morning of the gala that changed my life forever, I came into work and spoke to Santiago about the recent string of burglaries. The thieves, he said, probably had military training.

“...Military?”

He nods. “She's been talking a lot about the Prism Crystal lately. She always knew I'd been exposed and I'd gotten power from it, but it's only in the last couple weeks that she's really been interested in asking questions and getting answers. ...She let slip that she'd seen something like the Prism Crystal before.”

My blood sizzles a warning that I can't place yet. “Yeah...? Where?”

“In the Caribbean, five or six years ago. ...Talked about a jewel there called the Island's Heart.”

[reyna-elert]

Estela’s abandonment

On a bright summer morning, a young married couple sat within a nature gods temple expecting their beautiful baby to be born.  They had been expecting this day to come two weeks prior, but finally filled with joy as they knew the moment was now. As Ruth held tightly to Adam’s hand Adam kissed her head whispering that everything will be okay, that their beautiful baby would be born soon. The keeper of the temple sat at the edge of the hard bed telling Ruth to keep pushing. When the keeper spoke of seeing the baby crown after many hours, Ruth gave her final push and landed hard on the bed full of pain. But the pain she felt was different, it was a fire like burning pain around her entrance that exploded throughout her body. Ruth let out a cry of pain as the sun broke through the vines at the top of the temple. Adam held his wife with one hand snaked under her shoulders and another cupping her cheek as she started to sweat and cry drastically. As the pain slowly faded, Adam noticed she become peaceful and that the keeper of the temple had disappeared with the baby. When the keeper had heard Ruth cry out with such pain, she brought the baby to the fountain in the middle of the main entrance to wash off the blood and goo from the birth. As the keeper washed all the good and blood away, she whispered to the baby.

“Oh, my newly born child… You are beautiful, do not let anyone ever tell you anything else.”

She knew. This baby was different and the keeper was scared to return the baby as she knew the reaction that would come. She slowly wrapped the baby in a wool blanket covering as much of the baby as she could. She held the young soul tightly to her chest as she returned. She looked at Ruth and Adam as they smiled at her and the baby, she held a fake smile as her heart broke into pieces knowing what was to come. Adam walked over to grab the baby, the keeper slowly let go of the newly born baby as Adam took the baby into his embrace. He uncovered his newly born baby only to stand in shock. His face turned white as he held his infant, he wanted to let go. Adam turned to Ruth with anger and sorrow in his eyes. Ruth looked back at him with tired concerned eyes.

“What is it, Adam…” Ruth whispered. “Bring the baby to me darling I want to see our beautiful creation.” She said in a pleading tone.

Adam slowly walked to Ruth and handed her their baby. She gasped as she held her newborn. She sat there shocked as her baby opened its tiny eyes. Ruth turned white and screamed causing the baby to begin to cry out loudly. The keeper started to tear up as Ruth pushed the baby away.

“TAKE IT! TAKE THAT HIDEOUS CREATURE FAR FROM MY HUSBAND AND I!” Ruth screamed.

The keeper took the baby away and walked away, as Ruth and Adam slowly left her sight she held the baby close to her face and kissed its forehead, calming the baby instantly.

“I’m so sorry my young soul…”

The keeper walked slowly up the stairs as she held the baby. Ruth was crying in Adams' arms as he held her tightly. He was also crying. The keeper kissed the child one last time before she cleared her throat.

“It deserves its mother and father. Though you don’t want it, at least give it a fair goodbye. Give it to someone who will love it for who it is and won’t leave like you wish.”

Ruth and Adam sat in silence and disgust as the keeper stared at them.

“Fine,” Ruth spoke with hatred.

The keeper laid the baby down in a small stone bed and walked over to Ruth. The keeper began to tend to her birth wounds. Ruth held Adams hand as she winced from the aftermath pain. The pain slowly faded as the keeper casts a healing spell upon her. As the hour's pass, Ruth can walk again. She starts to dress in the clothing that Adam brought along, once she had fully dressed Ruth stared at the old firbolg.

“Let’s get this over with.” Ruth mumbles.

Ruth pulls her hood over her head as does Adam once they grab their child, who was placed in a warm basket by the keeper. All three left the temple and walked until dusk. The sun began to sink behind the large trees as the married couple struggled to find a place to leave their child. Ruth noticed the keeper kept distance from them as they were trying to find a spot. Finally, Adam found a spot under a large tree with bushes around it.

“Ruth, here,” Adam whispered in sorrow.

“Why the sadness?” Ruth asked with anger. “Don’t tell me you feel something towards this ugly demon child!?”

Ruth set the child under the bush then looked up at Adam.

“Ruth that’s not it. I just want it to have some sort of home.” Adam stated.

“It’s a Demon. It doesn’t deserve a home!” Ruth spat out.

“Every creature deserves a home Ruth, I know it isn’t what we wanted but are you sure you want to leave it. It was just born…” Adam said in a worried tone.

“I’m sure,” Ruth spoke with a final tone.

Adam stood there as Ruth walked away from there child, he looked at the sleeping newborn. It looked so peaceful, and at that moment it started to pour. Adam stayed put making sure the rain wouldn't hit the child. As Adam stood there, Ruth stood next to the keeper.

“Though she isn’t what I expected… please watch over it until someone finds it.” Ruth whispered looking the other direction from Adam. “Just as Adam wants, I want the same for it. Please stay and watch until someone finds it.” Ruth stood quietly as she waited for an answer. Adam walked up to Ruth and grabbed her hand, he wanted to go home. As the two walked away, the keeper grabbed Ruth’s hand with anger.

“What you are doing is a sin, I shall not watch it because of you two. I shall watch it because it deserves someone who will love it for itself. NOT it’s appearance. You will never forget this day Ruth, you will regret every second of leaving this child once it finds someone who truly loves it.”

Ruth stood in fear and silence.

“NOW GO, YOU do not deserve this child!” The keeper stated with anger.

Ruth and Adam looked back one last time to see their child sleeping peacefully, then silently and regrettingly walked away into the dark forest.

The keeper found a tree nearby the child and climbed up it to keep watch. She sat in that tree, for days, without sleep until finally, something had shown up. The baby had cried for hours, but the keeper couldn't do anything, she knew she would have taken the baby. She sat and stared as the creature slowly walked to the baby. Standing carefully in fear, the keeper hoped the creature would not eat the child. A few moments later, she sighed in relief as she saw the large creature call for its owner. A tall large man in dark brown robes showed up, he leaned down holding his large staff. The creature layed next to the tall large man as he sat on the ground. After setting his staff down, the man slowly reached into the basket and pulled out the crying child. Knowing that this man would take the child, the firbolg keeper left in silence.

“Shh shh shh, it’s okay my young child. It’s okay,” The man whispered to the infant. It stopped crying as the man brushed his finger across its face. “Hmm…” The tall man unwrapped the baby to find it, was a baby girl. He wrapped her bottom half back up and pulled down his hood. “Who would leave a beautiful baby girl out in a forest while it’s raining?” He spoke softly. He examined her softly to find no harm done to her. He took note of her skin, tattoos, ears, hair, and eyes. He turned to lean against the tree as he held the baby close to him. “Don’t worry my child. I will raise you as my own. I will raise you with all my love.” He held the baby close to his face when she grabbed his nose softly. “Estela…” He whispers out staring into the baby’s little silver orbs. The man’s large panther stood and came close to the baby, very gently and laid right next to her, beginning to purr loudly. The baby began to become drowsy. As the purring became louder the baby finally had fallen back asleep.

“C’mon Lucius, let’s take her home.”  The man held the baby close as he wrapped her in a bundle of blankets from the basket, the large panther named Lucius grabbed the basket in his mouth. They set off to the man’s and now Estela’s home too.