#if you want a hint its the equivalent of playing music out loud thinking your AirPods is connected if you catch my drifttt

[yelenassecretlover]

OMG IM WRITING THIS FACE TIME SEX DRABBLE FOR YELENA AND IM PHYSICALLY CRINGING CUS WHAT YELENA GOES THROUGH IS SO FUCKING EMBARRASSING!!!!!!!! OMG I WOULD LITERALLY DIE!!!!!!! OH MY GOD IM CRYING ITS SO FUNNY THO LOL YA GONNA LAUGH

[aaaa-mpersand]

OCtober Day 8: Festival

thank you @oc-growth-and-development for the prompt! these are my funky little lesbians, in an arranged marriage au, having some fun at the celebration, hosted to end in one of them getting engaged to someone else. My characters are Calisto Oriyen and Adriana Oshiane. @statistical-improbabilities character, Pallas Galvan, is mentioned several time. Best friends to lovers, fake marriages, and some dancing.   “Your highness.” With a bow that almost had her head touching the floor, Calisto extended a hand. “Could I interest you in a request for the first dance?”

The princess in question raised both of her dark brows, outlined in kohl to make them even sharper, yet despite the steady gaze and indifferent demeanor, it took only a moment more for her mouth to quirk into a smile. “I’ll have you know, I’m as good as a married woman.” 

Calisto looked up, though her position remained as close to the floor as she could without lying down. “I’ll have you know, you’re too good to be married to any man in this room.”

Through her lashes, she could see the princess staring down at her. Her dress was a majesty––a deep royal blue with embroidered patterns all over––but it was only her face that Calisto had eyes for. The outline of her father was carved in her square jaw, high cheekbones, and oak-brown eyes, features that might’ve been more suited for a son. Her dark hair had been tied and braided into an elaborate bun, silver pins and glittering jewels shining through it like the night sky. Cal had never met Adriana’s mother, and neither had Adriana herself. Still, she couldn’t imagine another person with as keen a gaze and as careful a smile, much less a woman to inherit it from. 

“Cal,” Adriana said, with patience, not moving a finger towards Cal’s outstretched hand. “I do mean it.” 

“Your father’s trying to intimidate Pallas.” She tilted her head in mock contemplation. “And I reckon we have about two more minutes before people staring and pitying the cramp in my neck from standing like this.”

Adriana didn’t turn to see if what Calisto said was true. Cal had seen her watching them herself, waiting with her ever-sharp gaze. Still, she gave Cal her first real smile of the night. “Did you plan this?” “Your father’s been eyeing Pallas like a hawk all dinner, and I thought, why not?” Cal shrugged. “You’re going to marry him anyway.” With a careful gaze and a purposeful movement, she took Cal’s hand. “I suppose I am.”

Cal straightened, felt the strain in her back loosen. Melodramatics aside, she was almost starting to think that she’d get a hunch in her back sixty years too early, standing like that. Still, she made no indication of that as she sent Adriana a winning smile. Adriana merely rolled her eyes as she led Calisto onto the dance floor. It took the crowd about five minutes to realise they were dancing, and by then, it was five minutes too late. They both knew the dance well––six years at court, and it was still the only part of court courtesy that she happily took part in. 

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the emperor scowl as he glanced towards them, away from Pallas. Calisto let a wicked grin split over her face. Your insult, my pleasure, you old bastard. 

“Are you going to sway there looking smug,” Adriana said, though her own smile was dripping in amusement as well, “Or are you going to dance with me?”

Cal’s grin only grew wider. 

The first dance was always a cheerful one, meant to get young ladies and lords on their feet as fast as possible. As such, it was usually the least formal. (though, Cal thought wryly, that was equivalent to calling someone the ‘tallest dwarf.’) Adriana took the lead, and though the steps were more unfamiliar to her, she’d been at enough of these damned things to know the basics. Cal took the ladies role with ease, putting her own flair into the steps whenever things got too slow or repetitive. Her quick feet made quick footwork, and her one-sided cloak––short and the same color as Adriana’s dress––was a colorful flag in the wind as she twirled, skipped, leaned into Adriana’s steady weight.

She was breathing hard, beads of sweat starting to form on the base of her collar, but that didn’t stop her from sending Adriana an exaggerated pout. “I thought we were supposed to be dancing.”

Adriana rolled her eyes, and started going faster.

Cal felt the ripples around them. The partners around the, realising that their steps were out of time with the princess. The moment of panic: did I step wrong on that last phrase? She felt it spread around them like a tidal wave. The musicians began to speed up as well, not wanting to be out of time with the princess of all people, and everyone else was simply dragged along. This whole time, Calisto never took her eyes off Adriana, a genuine smile working its way onto her face as she kept up with Adriana’s pace. “You are horrible,” she said, no doubt noticing the same things that Cal did. Still, this wasn’t their first time at these damned court celebrations. “You adore it,” Cal shot back. With a hint of satisfaction, she noted that Adriana didn’t deny it. “If their old creaking legs get tired, they can always go sit down.”

“Your creaking legs, you mean?” Adriana replied innocently.

Cal flashed a grin. The next sequence was a twirl, and when Adriana pulled Cal’s back close to her chest, she leaned a little closer than absolutely necessary. In the breath space between, she whispered, “Was that a challenge?” “Maybe,” was Adriana’s smooth reply, right as she pulled Cal into the next sequence. 

Going faster. 

The dancing had Cal’s heart beating fast, but it was the playful spark in Adriana’s eyes and the teasing edge to her tone that made her heart flutter. For a moment, she thought back to how it had been before. They’d been too young for anyone to consider them anything other than friends. The times when Adriana wasn’t too worried or too tense to truly relax had never been common, but they used to come around more often. A simpler time. No talks of marriage, at least, even if everything else was still the same.

But as the steps went faster, and Cal’s breaths came just a hair quicker, she knew time waited for no one. Mourning what had been would get her nothing, and in truth, there was nothing to mourn about the person in front of her right now. Adriana had grown into her full height, standing as tall as her to-be-fiance, though she was still built like a bird. Her strong jaw had filled out, her gaze sharpened, her hands more sure, and though she still held her heart guarded as ever, Calisto knew her spot right beside it better than she knew herself. 

Neither of them faltered in their steps, even once, though Calisto moved as quick and sure as outstretched flames, and Adriana as smooth as the dark ocean’s currents. Dancers around them peeled away one by one to rest their legs, or simply wanting nothing in the insanity of the musicians’ quickening pace, to match their princess’ feet. 

“Tired, Riana?” Cal said, chest heaving now. “Thinking of that glass of wine you left on the table, perhaps?”

“Not at all.” Adriana said, but Cal could see her running out of breath as well, perhaps more so than Calisto. Though she had less steps and longer legs, Cal was made of lean muscle and years of physical training, while Adriana was built as if she had a bird’s hollow bones, a pallor made from spending late nights in the library. “Well, I am,” said Calisto cheerfully. Adriana let out a breathless laugh, surprised by the sudden honesty, the strain in her chest momentarily forgotten.

There were only a few couples left on the center of the floor, and Cal knew the musicians wouldn’t be dragging this song any longer, what with everyone’s unamused looks and the emperor’s patience being pushed to the limit. She saw Adriana’s gaze flicker to them, a moment of guilt in that ever-sharp gaze, but Cal pulled her back to attention with a small squeeze of her hand in Riana’s.

To hell with them, she thought, but didn’t say, This is ours. They’ll have the rest of forever to dance with partners that don’t even matter to them. “Just one dance, for us,” was what she said out loud, barely loud enough to hear over their steps on the floor. But Adriana nodded, and didn’t take her eyes off Cal. It was just them, now. She could see the sweat on Adriana’s brow, the warm breath from her lips. It only made the heat in Cal’s chest burn, feeling it all the way from her flushed cheeks to the tips of her fingers. Adriana’s piercing gaze only made her feel more bold, more sure. The rest of the room was a blur; only the feeling of Adriana’s hand in hers and their movements in perfect sync were present in her mind’s eye.

And then, with a final twirl and dip, the music ended. 

Cal could’ve spent eons in that moment. Adriana’s flushed cheeks, stained red lips, their foreheads inches from touching. Silence.

No one clapped. 

So Calisto stepped out of their embrace and bowed anyway, though her head brushed nowhere close to the floor. Adriana remained standing and sighed, but held onto one of her hands. 

---

“How are your legs?” Adriana asked cooly, pulling them away from the center of the floor as people began to drift back there in pairs. 

Cal smirked. It had been nowhere near a workout, though Cal’s legs still strained slightly from a dance well enjoyed. “I’d worry more about yourself, Riana. You looked like you were about to faint when they ended the song. I would’ve had to catch you, and put your dearest Pallas to shame!”

“Thanks to you, I’m not going to have enough breath left to last me two steps into the next dance,” Adriana said, but the traces of her smile had yet to disappear from her voice and her face. “You’re the princess, Riana,” she said, in a silver-sweet tone she used only when teasing, “I’m sure no one would judge if your creaky legs were giving you tr–– hey!” Cal said, pulling her hand away as she felt the sting of Adriana pinching it. 

“Play nice, Calisto,” she said, as she walked back towards Pallas, the man she would be engaged to by the end of the night. Cal knew it didn’t mean anything–from both Pallas’ words and Adriana’s–but that didn’t stop it from feeling like a bucket of cold water and a harsh reality check. A few minutes of respite, was all they’d managed to save for themselves.  “Make sure to walk it off!” Cal called after Adriana, her grin never faltering. “Sitting down right after physical exertion is not good for your legs!” Adriana glanced back to smile at her as she left, and from the warm feeling that still burned in her chest, Cal knew those stolen minutes would be enough. 

[calliopesquill]

A Year in the Life - Chapter 1

Cross-posted on AO3.

It’s been almost two years since Miguel’s adventure in the Land of the Dead. Music has been returned to the Rivera family and everything is going great. But why does Miguel keep dreaming about the bridge? And why is this strange tourist asking him about astral projection?

Nell is a graphic novel artist who has come to Santa Cecilia in search of inspiration. What she finds is a strange boy with a marigold glow and strange abilities that he is only starting to realize.

When an old grudge rears its head and Miguel is stolen back across the marigold bridge it is up to Nell and the Rivera clan to bring him back before it’s too late.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Year in the Life

Chapter 1: New Arrival

Santa Cecilia was a postcard.

That was Nell’s first thought as the cab wound its way through the small town. With its colorful buildings and half-paved streets, it could have belonged in any decade at all from the last hundred and fifty years, with only a few hints of modernity. This was a place that moved at its own pace, that respected tradition as much as convenience.

This was exactly the atmosphere Nell was looking for, the perfect setting for her next novel. Well, graphic novel. With a mini-series, a stand-alone graphic novel, and a recently-complete web-series under her belt, Nell was more than eager to start her next project.

There was a kind of familial nostalgia that brought her to Mexico from her home in western Canada. Her great-grandparents had emigrated north at the turn of the century to settle in Montana. Their own children had continued the journey, living a couple of years in Vancouver before eventually settling in Kelowna. Though the small village that her ancestors had once called home no longer existed, Nell could feel the spirit of them here and hoped that the months she planned to spend in Santa Cecilia would help her reconnect with her roots as well as provide the inspiration she needed for her upcoming book.

She had the look of her grandmother when she was young, with soft brown skin and thick chestnut-colored hair. She’d gotten the color from her mom’s side, but the unruly waves of it definitely came from her dad. Most of the time she kept it tied back with some thick ribbon or in a braid of some kind, just to keep it out of her face. The light scattering of freckles that dotted her face came from his side as well. She dressed for comfort as much as style in a pair of cropped blue floral-print leggings and a white sleeveless tunic with crocheted lace insets. The sky-blue sweater she had worn for warmth on the plane was tucked away in her purse, unneeded in the heat of the late-afternoon sun.

Her fingers itched for her pencil as the taxi’s route took them through the town square, her toe tapping to the beat of the song that played through the crackling radio. The driver turned left down a street marked with a shoe, reaching to turn the music down as he did so.

Nell shifted in her seat, moving to gather her purse and carry-on, thinking they might be close, but the driver turned down another street and turned the volume back up again. His passenger gave him a strange look as she released her purse strap. What was that about?

The driver must have caught a glimpse of her expression in the rear-view mirror as he gave a casual shrug. “Better safe than sorry.”

“Pardon?”

The man shuddered and said something about “la chancela”. Whatever that meant.

Nell’s spanish was passable, the result of a few solid months of binge-studying and review with her mother’s parents. Slang, however, was something she still struggled with. She was pretty sure that a “chancela” was a sandal, but why would someone be afraid of a shoe?

The cab slowed to a stop in front of a three-story building painted a cheerful orange. Nell checked the address on her phone against the map she’d been following and smiled. She was finally here.

Nell stepped out of the car as the driver moved to the trunk to retrieve her butterfly-printed suitcase. She’d packed lightly for this leg of the trip, taking only one piece of luggage with her on the plane. The old steamer trunk that carried the rest of her things she’d shipped off a few days ago, and would be arriving later in the week.

She paid the driver, then moved to knock on the front door, trading the sunglasses that she was wearing for the regular prescription glasses that she had stashed in the case in her purse.

The woman who answered it barely came up to Nell’s chin. She was slight, almost birdlike, the image only enhanced by the bright peacock blue of her day dress. Her dark hair was streaked with grey, tied back in a loose tail.

“Siñora Montero?” Nell asked.

“Si!” The woman smiled. “Ah, you are Penelope, yes? Bienvenedo! Please, come in.”

Nell tried not to flinch at the use of her full name. “Ah, gracias. And please, call me Nell.” Only her grandparents called her Penelope. Growing up everyone else had called her “Penny”, but she decided to start going by “Nell” once she started university. But Siñora Montero had refused to call her anything but her full name since seeing her identification early on in their correspondence.

Her landlady continued to chatter cheerfully as she led her inside. “I see you made good time on your flight. My son, he lives in Mexico City, and he flies all over for work. I do not like planes. I would much rather keep my feet on the ground. Come, I will show you to your room.”

“Thank you, Siñora.”

Her landlady waved her off. “No no no. None of this formality. You will call me Tia, or Tia Caro. We are family while you stay with us.”

“Oh, um…. Okay. Gracias, Tia.”

The apartment she would be renting for the next few months was on the second floor. It was more like a bachelor’s suite, with the bedroom and living room sharing the central space, and a small kitchenette off to one side with a stove and a sink and a small refrigerator. If she needed any more space, Tia Caro told her, she was free to use the main kitchen on the ground floor. Oh, and she hoped that Nell would join them for dinner, as the tenants all ate dinner together most nights.

The furnishings were simple, with a wood-framed couch set against the end of the double bed in the center of the room, a couple of end tables, and a kitchen table with two chairs off to the side. The walls were painted bright white, contrasting with the muted orange of the floor tiles. A pair of hand-knotted rugs framed the bed, a third spread under the coffee table in front of the couch. The windows, Nell was told, could be opened, but did not have a screen. She should make sure that they were locked overnight, or if she was going out for the day.

“Ah, but you are tired after your long trip. I will leave you to settle in and you will join us for dinner tonight, si?”

‘Tired’ was a bit of an understatement. Flying was approximately equivalent to the seventh circle of Hell to someone like Nell, who was prone to debilitating motion sickness. The Gravol that she’d dosed herself with that morning had become her best friend by the end of the day, allowing her to sleep through most of the flight.

“Ah, si. Gracias, Tia Caro.”

“Ah, de nada!” Caro smiled. “Here, I will leave your keys on the counter. The square one is for the front door, and the round one is for your apartment. If you have any questions at all, I will be downstairs.”

Nell saw her landlady out and locked the door behind her. She didn’t bother unpacking, didn’t even take off her little ballet flats. She barely managed to shuffle over to the bed and fall face-down on the covers before falling into an exhausted sleep.

Nell was awoken some time later by a knock on the door. From the sound of it, they might have been knocking for a while. She surfaced blearily, rubbing her eyes with one hand, knocking her glasses askew.

“Penelope, are you awake?”

“Ah…. yeah. Si. I’m awake.” Mostly.

“Supper will be on the table in a few minutes if you want to join us downstairs.”

Nell’s stomach grumbled loudly in response. “I’ll be right down. Gracias, Si— ah… Tia Caro.”

As the sound of her landlady’s footsteps retreated down the stairs, Nell glanced around. Some time during her nap she had kicked off her shoes and wrapped herself up in the covers like a human burrito. She ran one hand absently through her hair, finding it escaping from its braid in mad, staticy frizz. Nell released the braid with a sigh, combing through the tangles with her fingers. That seemed to only make it worse so she dug her comb out of her carry-on to attempt to tame the beast before she met the rest of the residents.

She knew from earlier emails that most of the people who lived in the building were related to Caro in some way. The non-family tenants lived on the second floor with Nell.

It appeared that most of them had already gathered in the dining room by the time Nell had made her way down. She could hear them from the stairwell, a cacophony of loud voices carrying snippets of conversation that she only half-understood.

Tia Caro reigned over the kitchen with a wooden spoon and a floral-printed apron. A younger woman – her daughter? – followed behind her with a giant tray heaped with tamales that she placed in the center of the gigantic dining room table. Three young girls, the oldest maybe eight years old, were seated between their parents at one end of the table. Two older gentlemen, one with a truly impressive greying moustache, sat across from them. There was also a middle-aged couple and another older women in a white blouse and purple skirt seated next to them.

The landlady grinned when she saw her. “Ah, Penelope! You are awake! Come, come! Join us. Everyone, this is Penelope, our newest tenant. Penelope, mi familia. My daughter Esperanza and her husband, Juan, and their girls, Maria, Anabel, and Lia. Across from them is Antonio, and Carlos. My sister, Lucia, is there at the end of the table with Nico and Renata.”

Unsure how she was going to keep all of their names straight, Nell waved. “Nice to meet you all. Is there anything else that needs to be grabbed from the kitchen, Tia Caro?”

“No no, everything is here. Come, sit!” Caro insisted. “We will get to know you.”

The moment Nell sat down she found herself loaded with questions, her plate loaded with food.

“So Nell, what brings you to Santa Cecilia?” Lucia asked

“Do you have family here?”

“Of course she doesn’t, Carlos. If she did she would be staying with them.”

“You don’t know that. Maybe they don’t have room.”

“Familia es familia. There is always room.”

“Why is your accent funny?” That one from the middle of the sisters – Anabel?

“Woah, woah! One at a time,” Nell laughed. “First, please call me Nell. Penelope makes me feel like an old Victorian lady.”

“But it is such a lovely name!” Renata protested as she served herself from a plate of arroz con pollo.

“Gracias– Renata was it?”

“Si.”

“Gracias, Renata.” Nell said with a nod. “I like it too, but I feel like it’s a little mature for me, you know? For now, I think ‘Nell’ suits me better. I came to Santa Cecilia because I’m doing some research for a new project. I don’t have any family nearby, or at least none that I’m aware of.”

“You are family while you are here,” Caro said with a kind smile from across the table. “Penelope is a very talented artist.”

“A real artist or one of the ones who scribbles on a blank canvas and calls it art?” Antonio asked from behind his giant moustache, flinching away with a sharp ‘ay’ when Caro clipped the back of his head with her hand. “Just asking…”

“I’d call myself a real artist,” Nell answered evenly. “But I suppose that would depend on if you consider graphic novels to be art.”

Maria, the eldest of the girls, raised her hand as if she was in school, waving it in the air. “Ooh! Ooh! What’s a graphic novel?”

“Graphic novels are like….Como lo dices… big, fancy comic books. I have four out in total right now, and an online series that I’ve just finished that will be released in hard-copy volumes in a few weeks.”

“Chido!” The little girl declared. “Can I see? I wanna read comics!”

Nell hesitated. Her work tended to be a little more PG-13 than Maria’s parents might approve of. Shooting them a quick glance, she made a mental note to let them take a look before they let the kids read them. “Ah… I have a couple copies up in my room. But I can show you some of the pictures later if you want.”

“SI!”

Nell slept late the next morning. Having stayed up late into the night getting to know the other residents, she felt she deserved a bit of a lie-in. Today was for settling in and exploring the town where she would be living for the next few months.

And, she thought as her stomach growled at her, getting some groceries.

But first, a shower. After spending most of the day before travelling, Nell was feeling more than a little scuzzy and was eager to test out the shower in the bathroom that was opposite the kitchen. It was narrow enough that Nell could have rapped her elbows against each of the tiled walls – something she did entirely by accident while she washed the soap out of her hair.

Refreshed, Nell stepped out of the shower to dry off. Drying her hair was a battle she simply did not feel like fighting today, so she did the best she could with her towel and spent the next few minutes muttering curses as she tried to fight a comb through the tangles. Then she twisted it up out of the way in a messy ballet bun, securing it in place with a large hooked hairstick.

That done, she pulled a bottle of sunscreen from the drawer under the sink. If she didn’t want to turn into a walking sunburned freckle within five minutes of being outside, she was going to have to make sure she covered herself before she left the building. With this in mind, she double-checked her purse for the smaller, travel-sized bottle that she had packed with her.

Her outfit for the day was a split-back apricot-colored tee-shirt printed with little rainbows, paired with mint green capris and a pair of heather grey ballet flats.

As Nell double-checked her purse, she heard the chime of incoming mail on her phone, and smiled when she saw that the message was from her parents.

Hi honey!

Glad to see you’ve arrived safely. Loved the pictures of your new place. It’s so cute! I can’t wait to see how it looks once the rest of your stuff arrives.

Do you know when your trunk is supposed to get there? Dad is worried that it might get lost in transit. Do you still have your tracking number?

We have been looking up Santa Cecilia on google and it looks like such a cute little place! I am sure you will find lots of inspiration for your book there.

Dad’s been learning to use the Skype on his phone. He’s almost got the hang of it now. We will give you a call later tonight and you can give us all the details!

Have fun! Be safe.

Love,

Mom and Dad.

Nell chuckled, shaking her head as she typed out a response. Her dad was fairly helpless when it came to technology, her mom not much better. Until recently email had been the extent of their expertise. The idea of her parents im-ing or attempting a video chat was just funny.

Hi Mom,

I checked the tracking when I got up this morning. My trunk should be arriving tomorrow afternoon.

I’m heading out for groceries right now. My landlady gave me directions to the market so I’m going to grab some bruch and explore a bit this afternoon.

I will call you tonight and spam you with tourist pictures.

Love you!

Nell

Message sent, Nell tucked her phone into her purse, grabbed her keys from the kitchen counter, and headed out.

She might have gotten lost once or twice but she did eventually locate the post office, the grocery store, and a little bakery that she couldn’t resist. With a paper bag full of breakfast pastries, Nell wandered off down the street.

She must have taken a wrong turn somewhere because instead of finding the grocery store, Nell found herself in a wide stone plaza with a large wooden gazebo erected in the center. A sort of farmer’s market was set up around the perimeter against the backdrop of an old church with a tall bell tower. There were people everywhere, haggling over produce, drinking coffee at the little cafe, or catching up with their neighbours on the latest goings-on in town.

Nell immediately lamented leaving her sketchbook at home. This was exactly what she had been looking for when she came to Santa Cecilia. This sense of tradition married with modernity, and a sense of timelessness behind the daily hustle and bustle. She could spend days sketching here, capturing the imposing sweep of the bell tower, the bright paper banners that criss-crossed between the buildings.

Oh, and the music! Nell’s exposure to mariachi was fairly minimal, but there was something truly incredible about seeing a performance in person. It was the perfect backdrop to the scene.

Nell immediately wanted to get a closer look at their costumes, drawn to the contrast of the gold braid against the deep blue of their charo suits.

All except for one, a kid who looked like he might have just started high school, dressed in worn jeans and a white tee shirt. His fingers flew over the strings of a pearl-white guitar, picking out a complicated melody that blended perfectly with the other band members.

He played well, she thought. For someone so young. And given the ease of which he played off of the other musicians and engaged the small crowd that had gathered to watch them, he was no stranger to performing.

But what really caught her attention was the glow.

An aura of golden orange surrounded the boy, flaring around him as he played, visible even in the bright glare of the sun.

Well, visible to Nell at least. Seeing auras was not entirely new to her, though it wasn’t something she experienced very often. But never in her life had she been able to see one so clearly, and never under direct sunlight!

Damn, who is this kid?

The band finished with a flourish and a series of loud, ringing gritos that had Nell jolting.

How did they even make that sound?

Nell shook her head. Not important. What was supposed to be doing again? Right. Getting groceries. Well, at least she was in the right place for that.

She left the plaza a short time later, wondering if Tia Caro would let her keep some of her purchases in the main fridge as she might have overestimated how much food her little fridge would hold.

And if she got turned around a couple more times on the way back home, well the only one who would know that was her.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you’ve enjoyed the first chapter of A Year in the Life! I’ve got a lot of fun stuff planned for this fic and my goal is to release a new chapter every week or so.

This chapter was much more Nell-centric just to give you all the chance to get to know her, and I will be introducing POV sections for Miguel and the rest of the Riveras as the story goes on.

If you want to follow the fic on AO3 as well, you can do so here.

Also I am searching for a beta reader to help me edit and to bounce ideas off of, so if you are interested please pm me and let me know!

Thanks for reading!

[htqcars]

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Whatever improvements are made to the engine, gearing, tires, and aerodynamics, the bottom line is what happens on the road. That’s where performance measures such as our on-road fuel-economy figures can help. (Check our fuel-economy ratings.)

Drive Wheels While most mainstream cars use front-wheel drive, luxury cars are typically available with rear- or all-wheel drive, though brands such as Acura, Audi, Lexus, and Lincoln offer front-wheel-drive models.

Front-wheel drive typically provides better traction than rear-wheel drive in slippery conditions. Conversely, rear-wheel drive usually enables better handling and steering on dry roads. All-wheel drive offers significantly better traction during inclement weather and better dry-pavement handling and cornering than front-wheel drive. But AWD does not shorten stopping distances, it adds cost and weight, and it often comes with a small fuel-economy penalty.

Towing Most luxury SUVs can have tow ratings of 3,000 pounds for small car-based crossovers to more than 8,000 pounds for traditional truck-based vehicles.

Access Ducking, bending, and squatting aren’t luxury experiences. Most luxury sedans and SUVs are designed to provide easy ingress and egress, often employing an exit mode that automatically powers the driver’s seat back and retracts the steering wheel. Some models will even cinch the doors closed, requiring only the barest of human effort.

Rear-seat access is more variable. Being lower, sleeker, and with thicker seat bolsters, sporty cars are almost always more difficult to enter. Try entering and exiting through all doors, front and rear, when comparing cars. A well-designed sedan should provide wide doors and enough headroom so that front and rear passengers can access the cabin without bumping their heads. Some sedans are styled with low, sloping rear rooflines. Such coupelike designs can degrade rear-seat accessibility, headroom, and the driver’s view aft.

A common feature among luxury cars (and, increasingly, among mainstream cars) is the proximity key. The key is actually a small transmitter that can stay in your pocket or purse. As long as the key is with you, the doors can be locked and unlocked by pressing a button on the door handle (or sometimes by simply touching the handle itself). Some cars will illuminate puddle lamps under the side mirrors when a person with the key approaches. Most cars with this feature also have keyless push-button ignition. This feature makes it almost impossible to lock your keys in the car because the doors won’t lock if the key is detected inside. But once the engine is started, it is possible to drive off without the key.

Cargo If you expect to carry long or bulky cargo, look for a fold-down rear seat with a tall, wide opening to the trunk behind. Even a small pass-through port can be handy for long, slender items such as skis. Batteries in hybrid models can restrict trunk space, and both hybrids and high-end models with reclining rear seats may not have a fold-down seatback or a pass-through. Unlike in mainstream sedans, fold-down seatbacks are sometimes an option on small and midsized luxury cars, and they’re not available at all on the largest ones.

If you plan to carry a lot of passengers in your luxury SUV, make sure to check out how much cargo room is left in back with all the seats raised. Most seven-passenger SUVs leave little space behind the upright third row—think grocery bags, not luggage. Only the largest SUVs offer decent cargo space with all seats occupied.

Advanced Safety Features The newest and most advanced safety features tend to be offered in luxury cars first. Expect a high-level of safety systems to be available, though on several luxury cars (notably those of German pedigree) such features can be optional.

Forward-collision warning and automatic emergency braking are two valued systems that are fast becoming standard equipment on many new vehicles. Forward-collision warning (FCW) technology provides a visual, audible, and/or tactile alert to warn the driver of an impending collision with a car or object directly in its path. If a car equipped with automatic emergency braking (AEB) senses a potential collision and you don’t react in time, it starts braking for you. IIHS data show rear-end collisions are cut by 50 percent on vehicles with AEB and FCW.

Other modern safety advances include telematics systems that alert emergency personnel if an airbag deploys, lane-departure warning systems that sound an alert if you change lanes without signaling, lane-keeping assist to center the vehicle in the lane if you start to drift, and blind-spot warning systems that indicate vehicles driving in the blind spots to the side and rear of you.

Entertainment and Convenience The latest mobile electronics enable cars to deliver the fidelity of home theater, along with Bluetooth smartphone connectivity, Android Auto and Apple CarPlay compatibility, and navigation guidance. Factory-supplied systems usually offer voice-activated controls for audio, phone, and navigation with various levels of sophistication.

Stereos are a selling point on many luxury cars, and most models come standard with systems that would be considered premium-level in mainstream cars. Some vehicles offer high-end branded stereos from suppliers such as Bang & Olufsen, Bose, Burmester, Harman Kardon, and Mark Levinson. These systems can cost thousands of dollars, with differences in sound quality that only a true audiophile can appreciate.

Luxury vehicles usually offer rear-seat entertainment systems that can play DVD or Blu-ray movies and have inputs for gaming systems and wireless headsets. There is a wide range of information and entertainment features available from the factory, additional ones that the dealer can install, and even more available through the aftermarket.

Audio System Most luxury cars come standard with powerful audio systems that allow you to play music loud with minimal distortion and more and better-quality speakers to enhance clarity and sound separation. They include USB and Bluetooth audio inputs, MP3 playback capability, satellite radio, and HD radio. Optional systems add digital sound fields, noise canceling, surround sound, and DVD-Audio playback. Depending on the package, an audio upgrade can add many hundreds or even thousands of dollars to a luxury car’s sticker price.

[thefilmsnob]

Glen Coco’s Top 10 Mega Man Themes of All Time!

Can you think of a game that has better music than Mega Man? You can’t because it doesn’t exist. Well, it might, but I’m not really thinking it through. Let’s just say the people who composed the music for Mega Man should all be billionaires and knighted.

Because of my love for Mega Man and the songs that accompany him on his robojourney, I thought it would be swell to list the absolute greatest 10 theme songs from the classic series. It wasn’t easy narrowing the field to just 10 tracks considering this music is better than anything Mozart put out, but I feel like I’ve chosen the best songs and supported my decisions well despite having absolutely no experience in music criticism. You’ll see. 

But, that’s neither here nor there. I now present the 10 greatest Mega Man themes of all time. I’ve added links under the entries, so you can drool over the music, as well as three runners up. Omitting these three songs is torturing me, but making tough decisions like this is why I get paid so much for this job hahaha just kidding, no one gets paid to write. Here’s the list:

Runners-Up

Flash Man (Mega Man 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_osNdk1mKRs

Spark Man (Mega Man 3)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xP-Yjn1E05M

Tomahawk Man (Mega Man 6)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hz-3Xd43OGo

Top 10

#10. Cut Man (Mega Man)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAeIMQierX4&t=1s

Cut Man’s theme is a great example of early Nintendo music that was more chipper and grainier in a charming way. This song makes you feel excited to control Mega Man and see where the adventure takes you. It’s uplifting, yes, but with a hint of darkness that says, “You can do it, but be wary.” The opening seconds of this song are really choppy, too, which is appropriate for this choppy kind of villain. In fact, the whole song brings to mind a pair of scissors flying around chaotically, slicing the air as they go. The original Mega Man had some great tracks, but this was the most lively and, indeed, the  best one of them all.

#9. Plant Man (Mega Man 6)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN_7Wy0RT00

This song from Plant Man’s rather unique forest stage is pretty complex. It starts out as a pleasant and optimistic tune as if it’s the soundtrack to an afternoon cruise on your day off. You think this carefree lifestyle can last forever, but then reality sinks in and the song breaks down to a very different tune as if the music is telling you, “Hey, listen, it’s not all fun and games. You have work to do.” And then it starts all over again, but now you feel even more prepared to take on the challenges that await.

  #8. Shade Man (Mega Man 7)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxSWjJmz1Dk

Shade Man’s theme is both scary and epic. I mean, when is something ever scary and epic? It’s almost unheard of. The song plays in a graveyard/haunted house themed level and it fits perfectly. It starts out slow and eerie, but as it progresses it becomes more upbeat, providing  you with that extra boost you need to get past the monsters. If this song isn’t called ‘Mega Man Faces His Fears’ then I feel sad for the creators. You just know this is the anthem Mega Man has in his head while exchanging blows with ghouls and goblins. In an installment with mediocre music and no other entries on this list, ‘Mega Man Faces His Fears’ shines through.

  #7. Flame Man (Mega Man 6)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKHVUupbqx0

For a Mega Man theme, Flame Man’s has an unusually long build up. Most of these songs sound like they were written by someone on crack; they start fast and insane and stay that way for 20 seconds until they repeat. This one progresses slowly and it doesn’t seem entirely thrilling at first. It gets a little more exciting and you start to think, “Okay, I’m biting” and then all of a sudden this magnificent chorus hits you like a punch in the face providing an immediate blissful high...much like the high the crack head composers felt while writing the music. The song also has a delightful Middle Eastern influence that matches the level and boss designs.

  #6. Splash Woman (Mega Man 9)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7qcJwJfyyk

Splash Woman’s music isn’t an instant hit. In fact, its merits were really only recognized by this observer when he was doing his research for this unnecessary article. But this song gets you right in the heart and soul. It’s a rare Mega Man song that is actually gentle and soothing, but also entirely motivating. There’s even an unusual poignancy during the flute section that produces an unreasonably strong emotional response. After the flutes, the song continues in a similar fashion as the opening, but with a little more urgency. This is a perfect song for an underwater level or if you need to feel like you’re being nurtured by a dear friend or loved one. 

  #5. Galaxy Man (Mega Man 9)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdDbbzuq1vY

This song is crack cocaine. It’s crack cocaine in music form. It may be the most frantic song in Mega Man history. There’s just so much energy in this one short minute of sound and it takes you places you never thought you’d go. As soon as you’re accustomed to a section of the song and feel like it’s reached its prime, it switches on you instantly and becomes even more intense, constantly pumping you up to battle more spaceships in this crazy outer space level. And, obviously, Galaxy Man requires a theme that sounds futuristic, so guess what? That’s what you get, friend. Just try not moving your head to this sound cocaine. If you say you can, we’re not friends because I’m not in the business of associating with liars.

  #4. Wood Man (Mega Man 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvAAOmoEftg

That drum solo. That drum solo that opens this song is pure bliss. This is the sound of my childhood as well as the childhoods of about 92% of North Americans and 107% of the Japanese population. If you don’t like that drum solo...you’re an asshole. This gets you pumped up to kill robot tigers in the woods before you even have the chance to move Mr. Blue Boy. Following the intro, there’s a sharp, but exquisite breakdown leading into some of the most pleasing, memorable and inspirational music of the series. Near the end of the loop, the same great melody plays but in a higher pitch with an incredibly crisp sound that feels like it’s coming from the heavens. Ya, it’s slightly repetitive, but beauty on repeat is A-Ok in this guy’s books. 

  #3. Wily’s Castle: Stage 2 (Mega Man 9)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_K9-SwNBMSY

Where did this song come from?!? Is this Mega Man? This is more of a symphony for crying out loud. The theme has such a different feel and is far more complex than any other song in the Mega Man catalogue, but it’s entirely welcome. A song like this could only be found in Wily’s Fortress. It’s so urgent and magical and screams Nintendo. And, whereas most Mega Man themes repeat after 30 seconds or so, this one keeps going for days and changes drastically throughout as if telling an epic story. There are so many moving parts to this anthem it’ll blow your mind. Fans might overlook the song because it’s tucked away in the ninth game in the middle of Wily’s crib, but this is one of the most unique pieces of music from the series. Who wrote this, a wizard?!?

#2. Metal Man (Mega Man 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y82DgpgrC0

I’m sure many fans would agree, but I consider the first Mega Man as more of a prelude to the rest of the series. It’s a good game, but highly difficult and unpolished, feeling more like an intriguing prototype. To me, Mega Man 2 is the true start of the series and any fan who knows anything about anything knows that you play Metal Man’s stage first. Ergo, this is the theme that introduces you to the world of Mega Man. When you hear this theme, you know you’re about to go on an epic adventure and it sets the tone perfectly, especially if you’re looking forward to playing all the subsequent games. In many ways, it’s the theme that produces the most excitement. At first, it feels like a fairly straightforward tune, but then you start to notice all these delightful nuances beneath the surface. Like metal (ahem) this song is both smooth and choppy and the shifts between the two qualities work perfectly. Altogether, this is an energetic, inspirational and complex tune that’ll pump you up for what’s to come. 

  #1. Wily’s Castle: Stage 1 & 2 (Mega Man 2)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJRoRt155mA&t=92s

This should be no surprise to fans of the series, not only because it tops so many lists of best Mega Man themes, but because this is quite possibly the greatest song known to mankind. You’ve just defeated all eight robot masters and now it’s time to battle your way through Dr. Wily’s fortress. It’s the beginning of the endgame for the boy robot and this music adds a giant exclamation point. It’s the real deal. The music starts aggressive and maintains that relentless fast pace throughout. There are undertones of doubt in the song that threaten to surface, but the optimism within casts a shadow on any negativity and wins the day. And the frequent shifts in pitch just add to the epic nature of this musical equivalent of intercourse. This truly majestic work of art is inspirational, catchy, complex, and just plain awesome. If this doesn’t pump you up for the rest of the game or series or even life itself, you’re a shell of a human being. I want this theme played at my wedding. Would it be wildly inappropriate? You bet. But this song is so good that I’m willing to ruin my wedding and countless lives just to force it upon the people I love most.