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[cinamun]

Its their final day in Tomarang

Check out their little vacay:

Night Market & Sightseeing | The Screaming Gecko

[lajulie24]

For the fic writer questions, 38 or 49?

Ty!

38. Did any of your fics get surprisingly popular (whatever that means to you)? Which ones? Why do you think they were so successful?

A few earlier ones that seemed to get pretty popular included:

Corellian Lilies - I think this is probably because some people really love themselves a Bespin baby AU, and that’s what this one is. It’s the first fic I posted on AO3 and it still gets new readers from time to time.

Epic Love - I don’t know if I was surprised that this got popular so much as pleased. I think the appeal here was more a different version of how things went down in the TFA-era universe, and fixing the things that so many of us didn’t like about how Han and Leia (and Luke!) were treated by the Disney canon narrative. With bonus Jaina Solo!

Sampler - This one I didn’t expect to get so popular, but it features Leia doing some subversive cross stitch and ended up in a collection of fics where Crafts in SPACE! are featured, so I think that attracted some folks who might not have otherwise read it.

Our stained glass means nothing without light - I was REALLY surprised when this one jumped up to become my second-most-kudosed fic ever. I think we can credit the Obi-Wan Kenobi show both for this fic happening at all (Leia meeting up with Obi-Wan’s Force Ghost shortly after the Battle of Endor) and for people responding so strongly to it. They love Leia, they love Obi-Wan, I totally get it.

One Half Won’t Do - When I started this one, I was at first worried that it was too similar to some of my previous pre-ESB era fics, but people LOVE themselves a bunch of tropes, particularly a “Han and Leia pretend to be married except they are having real feelings for each other” trope, so this one took off. And I thought it was going to be a one-off, but folks have followed me though several chapters, which was also a pleasant surprise.

A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing) - Another fic that was supposed to be a one-off and grew lots of chapters and feelings along the way. I was pretty surprised about this one being so popular, too. It’s crack taken seriously (and it’s pretty wild crack, too…I was not expecting things to end up where we are). Another one where my readers have been very very patient (and I promise there will be more soon, and hopefully the wait will have been worth it). I’m not exactly sure how to explain the popularity except that 1) some people really love pregnancy fics and 2) I guess enough people trusted me to look past the extreme crackiness (ed: CRACK-iness, not crankiness) of the premise, and maybe folks were interested in something different?

49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!

Working on a few different things — I think I recently shared things from the next chapter of One Half Won’t Do and A Girl in Trouble on my WIP asks, but I also recently started the very beginnings of another fic continuing the series of moments that started with See if you can work me the way you say and Another time, so I’ll share a bit of that.

“You don’t know everything about women.”

Han laughed softly. “Anyone thinks they know about ‘women’ doesn’t know shit.” His thumb resumed its gentle caress. “I know you, Leia.”

The way her name came out of his mouth was gentle, yet almost obscene.

“You like to be out of control, but you decide when.” His thumb was making wide circles on her palm. “How.” His lips curled up in a grin. “Who.”

“Whom,” she corrected, her eyes maintaining their gaze. His fingers paused.

“Whom,” he agreed. “Can’t say I’m complaining about that.”

His fingers resumed.

Thank you kindly for the ask!

Fanfic writer asks!

[purple-comet-hurricane]

YEET so this was something i’ve been wanting to draw for a while and that is my main girls in my favorite continuities pbt

so from the top we have G1/TFA/Aligned Continuity

their names (from left to right) are in the captions

(bios under the cut)

The eldest of the sisters is Underglow, a F-15E Strike Eagle and a Kawasaki Ninja H2 SX triple changer. Underglow tried to set example to her two younger sisters Trickshot and Nightcall. The three were sparked from a Kaon hot spot during the golden age, all three aspiring to be medical professionals. They went to the Iaconian Institute of Medicine, Underglow studying under General Medicine to become a doctor. Shortly after graduating she ended up working at a small relinquishment clinic in the Dead End. Growing tense at her situation, she was one of the first of the three to begin participating in the Kaon riots. As soon as war broke out, she aligned herself with the Decepticons and worked as a brute rather than a field medic. She was quite a card on the playing field, the once compassionate doctor-turned-moral-less brute. Perhaps this was the Unicron blood that ran through her pumps that took the forefront. She was different, drastically different. She became a cunning strategist, a commander. A general. Quickly did she rise the ranks of the Decepticons. She fit their ideals to a T, it was like something in her turned the moment she rampaged through the streets during the first riots. A catalyst for something worse perhaps? She didn't quite know, but she wasn't so opposed to this now. She almost seemed to enjoy this newfound bloodlust. A far cry from the empathetic doctor she once tried to be. She was among the board of generals that reported to Megatron himself, among the top of the Decepticon hierarchy. There was only a few that beat her in rank and Starscream was one of them, even though she loathed the fool. Her early days in the war saw her among the frontliners, mowing down Autobots without remorse, however later into the war Underglow saw herself stepping back from the front lines and commanding troops instead of fighting alongside them.

The middle child of the three is Trickshot, a F-117 Nighthawk and Dodge Challenger triple changer. Trickshot was much more reserved than Underglow, she had a genuine passion of wanting to help others and prove that she wasn't some disposable from Kaon. She worked hard to earn a degree is surgery, hoping to because a surgeon and help those in need. What ended up happening was because of her place of origin, no hospital would offer her a position. So she decided to go back to school and learn forensics instead. There she, with the help of a former colleague from university, forged a fake resume to earn her a position among the senate's police force. She worked alongside those like Prowl, Chromedome and even Orion Pax in her time as a forensics investigator. However quickly was her file dug up and compared with those kept in a senate archive. She was quickly found out as a fraud and had to be discharged from her position. When the riots began she was hesitant, not wanting to stir up more trouble than she already caused with the senate. As rioting teetered into war, she aligned herself with the Autobots initially, acting as a field medic and working alongside an old classmate, Ratchet. For a while she was content with this, at least now she can help. However towards the peak of the war troops were running low. So she and many other non-combatants volunteered to fight for the cause. Trickshot wasn't a great fighter, but she was an amazing shot. She became a sniper, taking out figureheads from afar. For most of the war this is how she spent her time, sitting at vantage points shooting down Decepticons and raising siege on Kaon. It wasn't until she was captured along with many other scouts in an ambush that she was considered MIA. She figured Optimus and his Autobots would rescue her and countless scouts and soldiers that were captured. But he never came. Instead, Trickshot raised her own escape. Evacuating the last of the troops, Trickshot was caught by her sister Underglow. The two had an intense showdown but it ended up Underglow speaking to Trickshot, wholeheartedly, convincing her that the Autobots don't care about their soldiers. How Optimus left her to die. It instilled this cynicism in her and with slight hesitation, she gave herself in to Megatron and defected to the Decepticons.

The younger of the three is Nightcall, a UH-60 Black Hawk and Yamaha YZF-R1. Nightcall being the youngest of the three meant she had much to live up to. Going to the same institute as her sisters, she had to compare grades, behavior, as well as being compared to her older sisters. However she didn't quite mind. She was studying to be an anesthesiologist after all. She tried to keep a cool and collected demeanor when interacting with other students, many noted she was quite quiet and introverted. However she was more or less freaking out on the inside hoping to make a good impression. Throughout her education however she could be considered the one with the best grades and most qualified for a position of her skillset. Yet those two little words that caused her sisters so much trouble plagued her as well. Of Kaon. This lead to a panic to the young bot, she didn't have herself together enough to make do with what she had. She banked all her time and shanix on this and she's being turned away at every door. What can she even do? Come the rescue of her eldest sister and she is now working as a pharmacist in the Dead End. She wouldn't say she enjoyed the job per say, but it did pay the bills and she can live with that. However the side comments she get leave much to be desired. Then came along the riots. She was a gentle femme at spark, with a spark of gold and the patience of a saint, she tried to participate in her own way, despite how quiet it may be. True she saw the light in the problem but she couldn't possibly commit arsony or any other kind of felony because of it. She supposed that was also her downfall. She initially aligned with the Autobots, acting as a field medic alongside her sister Trickshot. Early in the war Nightcall along with a few other medics were transferred to an Autobot stronghold on the otherside of the Rust Sea. There one of the most awful biological attacks seen in Cybertronian history would be held. Troops coming back from battle unknowingly carried a pathogen for an unknown plague. However quickly did it spread from troops to officers to medics. Everyone in the secluded camp had been infected and quickly wiped out. The affect of the virus was fast-acting, meaning it killed the host in minutes once it reached full incubation. There weren't many survivors that were recovered from the site before dying in Autobot hands. However one of the only survivors who actually survived the attack was Nightcall. Being an anesthesiologist as well as versed in medicine, she managed to delay the inevitable long enough to be discovered. But it wasn't Autobot troops that came to her rescue. She was picked up by her sister that lead an army to siege the Autobot camp. It didn't take much convincing to have Nightcall defect. Once taken under Decepticon wings, she was treated with a fast acting antidote, though it killed the virus, it didn't do much to fix the damage it had already caused. Ashamed of herself, she chose to hide her identity, using a full-face holo visor and mouth modifier. She prefers to work behind the scenes as a security and communications officer.

Stellar cycles later, two sparklings were born from the dying hot spot of Kaon baring the same markings on their lips as their predecessors. Two of the last sparklings to be born from Kaon, they were named Vice Drive of Kaon and Stick Shift of Kaon.

Vice Drive, the older of the siblings, is a Chevrolet Camaro 1SS and Kawasaki Versys 650 ABS triple changer. Initially finding herself lost in the vast ruins that was Kaon, she was found by an Autobot search team after they followed what seemed to be the sounds of a baby Cybertronian. They were right to assume so, though when they went back to see if the hot spot had any more, Stick Shift seemed to have disappear. Needless however, the scouts brought the sparkling back to Optimus Prime. Though the Prime met the youth with hesitation, this is war, this is no where to raise a child. They shouldn't have to live like this. However many of the troops that stood before him vowed to keep the sparkling safe, rather their hands then Megatron's. So that's how she was raised, among war and rubble with joint cusody of most of the Autobot fleet. However the older the got the quicker she had to mature. She had to learn about death, grieving, sacrifice and betrayal. A lot for a young child to get used to so fast. The moment she was old enough to form her own trains of thought, many of the older generals of the Autobot cause tried to urge Optimus Prime to let her make use of herself, to have her fight like the rest of them. Optimus being the way that he is was quite hesitant, she was still so young and to send her out to battle? He couldn't possibly do that to a child. Ratchet was quick to interject, stating they could always use more medics in the field. Forming a quick plan, Optimus place the care of Vice Drive in Ratchet's hands, where he taught her everything there was to know about medicine. She was a natural, she stayed focus and knew what she was doing. In no time was she patching up bots in timely manners like it was no big deal. Though Ratchet was proud of her to say the least, he couldn't help noticing the similarities between her and one of his old colleagues. Vice Drive stayed with the Autobot cause, helping when she could and being proud of it. All until Cybertron's lights went out. She was launched into space with many other bots where she spent deca cycles until she received transmissions from Earth. Landing into the organic planet, her beacon was quickly met with hostility as Decepticon grunts tried to make waste of her. However what was left of Team Prime came to her rescue, and that is where she plans to stay.

Now, the younger of the twins was Stick Shift. A Hover Jump Jet and Yamaha MT-10 triple changer, Stick Shift was quite peculiar than all five of her siblings before her. The moment she was sparked the young Stick Shift found herself hiding in the shadows. Having been barely missed by the gaze of the Autobot scouts, Stick Shift went to quick work to the overall plan that had her sparked in the first place. Stick Shift always knew, deep down, she was made for a reason. All of her siblings were. They were instilled with a tiny bit of impurity that caused them rejection as many of Primus's children. As Stick Shift got older, hiding amongst the shadows and plotting, she heard voices, not of many, but one voice. One that compelled her to do many things she didn't think to try. Many that convinced of things she didn't understand. The voice spoke to her, it rumbled through her chassis and into her processor. It felt like it came from within her. There was many things she was told, in fact. Among those was the thought that she was a rejection of Primus, a mistake child that shouldn't have been sparked. She bore the mark on her lower lip, a single black stripe. She was told the blood of Unicron runs through her veins, that she was touched in her spark by darkness, blood that coursed through her circuitry and decided her fate. Because of this she was not allowed into the All-Spark where Primus lays, she was essentially immortal. As was all her siblings before her. They were lost causes however, they didn't yield to Unicron's will, he couldn't reach them. But Stick Shift, he could. She was a one-bot cult, of sorts. Believing that Unicron will end this war once and for all and achieve what he sought to do in the first place, devouring all who called themselves creations of Primus. Only those who abandoned the false god would be spared. Or so she thought at least. Cycles did he scheme and set up her maker's resurgence. When Cybertron went dark, she stole a Decepticon escape pod, from a now abandoned Kaon. Arriving on Earth, the crust in which encased her master, she set to try and bring her reckoning on both the Autobots and Decepticons. However she didn't reall get this chance as Megatron seemed to have gotten to that before her. He tried to bind himself to Unicron forcefully, she could feel it. As she was essentially Unicron's presence outside his tomb. Even though Megatron and Optimus stood together to 'destroy' Unicron before he could destroy Earth, Unicron was not 'truly' dead, no. He still had an asset that lived, an asset that he lives through. Contacting both the Autobot's Base and the Nemesis, she relayed but one cryptic message. "You may think you have defeated him. But you only made but a roadblock for his resurgence. He is not dead. Unicron lives."

[thebigreylotheory]

Episode 8: Rey Jane Eyre

TheBigReyloTheory Trasherpiece Theater (brought to you by Mucinex) Presents:

Star Wars Episode 8: Rey Jane Eyre

Please have your teacups ready.

Beware, *spoilers* for Jane Eyre book/movie (2011 and 1943 are my favs, but I’ve never seen a really bad version) if you’re not familiar with ‘em.

So, quick recap of events prior Episode 7:

“My name is Rey Jane Eyre – I was born after the Battle of Endor, a harsh time of change in the galaxy. Credits and position seemed all that mattered. Compassion was a cold and disagreeable word. The Force, too often, wore a mask of bigotry and cruelty. There was no proper place for the poor or the unfortunate. I had no father or mother, brother or sister. As a child I lived with my aunt, Mrs. Reed of Jakku. I do not remember that she ever spoke one kind word to me.” –Opening Prologue 1943 version

Ya see, poor lil baby Rey is an orphan. She is taken to live with her uncle and aunt on Jakku. Unfortunately, her uncle (blood relative) died shortly after. Which left Rey alone with her mean, uppity aunt and beyond bratty cousins. Surely she has more relatives, who would be kind, out in the deep reaches of the galaxy?? Yet, sadly, no one shows to take her away.

As punishment, her mean, uppity aunt locked her in the room where her uncle died. Rey feared seeing her uncle as a Force ghost. So much so, she developed emotional hang-ups about the Force (explains why she ran away after her Force vision at Maz’s Castle…)

Eventually, her aunt decided to rid herself of Rey. She called Lor San Tekka, a prominent leader of the Force Church on Jakku, to take Rey to his Force-based boarding school for orphans. But, eventually, even San Tekka wanted to be rid of Rey. To make an example of her in front of the other orphans, he banished her to live in an At-At, where no one from the school was permitted to speak to her.

The rest you know, else re-watch TFA again.

Onto Episode 8:

Needing an education to make her way in the galaxy, Rey trains with sympathetic Jedi Master, Luke “Temple” Skywalker. Under Skywalker’s training Rey becomes a power Force user. So much so, Rey decides to teach others at Luke’s academy. However, after a few years, Rey develops a case of wanderlust and decides to look for a new job.

After posting her resume online, Rey is offered a tutoring job by someone named Captain “Alice Fairfax” Phasma. Apparently, Captain Phasma’s boss has an orphaned ward who is Force-sensitive. Sounds like the perfect situation and an opportunity to see the galaxy!

Therefore, Rey leaves the Luke’s academy and journeys to a distant planet. When she arrives at the impressive manor, Thornfield Hall (much like Varykino), she is met by Captain Phasma. Unfortunately, Captain Phasma’s boss is away on business. Resolved, Rey begins training her absent employer’s ward, Adele. (Rumor has it that she was named after absent employer’s favorite singer-songwriter. He just loves that “Hello from the other side” song.)

Thornfield’s nice and everything. But strangely, there’s this mechanical breathing sound coming from the attic…Captain Phasma tells Rey to ignore it. And, never to go up there.

One night, Rey is bored and walks to a nearby village when, out-of-nowhere, a speeder appears on the road. Equally startled by her sudden appearance, the rider falls off the speeder, onto the ground. Rey quickly helps him back on the speeder, all-the-while thinking, he seems very familiar.

After Rey walks back to Thornfield, she is immediately introduced to her employer and Master of the House and Knights of Ren, Kylo Ren. Oh. No. This. Is. Awkward. (But those tutoring contracts are unbreakable.)

After some tense stares and tricky conversation, Rey and Ren realize their attitudes are quite compatible. Kylo Ren is peculiar, but fascinating. Together, Rey and Ren spend many evenings in deep conversation.

They became friends. On Ren’s part, he becomes very attached to Rey. So much so, he insists she must attend the First Order gatherings he hosts at Thornfield. Rumor also has it, Kylo Ren plans to propose marriage to a beautiful and talented officer very soon. Although Rey is secretly jealous, she figures it’s probably for the best (with the contract an employee-boss relationship would just be weird).

As the plot thickens, Rey is yet again awakened by the strange sounds of mechanical breathing. Only this time, there’s a light, no, a fire coming from Ren’s room! Rey saves him by throwing water all over the place. It’s strange…cause it’s almost like the fire was started by a lightsaber…

On an equally strange night, during another First Order gathering, General Armitage “Mason” Hux arrives. Ren is not happy to see him and becomes very annoyed. During the evening, Hux sneaks into the mysterious attic and barely escapes. Rey is forced to care for his severe wounds. Before Rey can demand an explanation, a holo arrives with the urgent news that Rey’s mean, old uppity aunt is dying and wants to confess her certain-point-of-view truth to Rey before it’s too late.

Thus, Rey immediately leaves Thornfield and returns to Jakku. Her aunt tells her the truth: Rey has a wealthy uncle who wanted to adopt her. Yes! Rey knew she had sensed it. Unfortunately, her mean aunt told her wealthy uncle that she died at San Tekka’s school. Rey forgives her, because it’s the way of the Jedi.

Returning to Thornfield, Rey assumes that Ren is probably married by now. She figures, maybe, she’ll find a new gig, cause it’d be torture to see him with someone else. Surprisingly, the rumors are not true. Maybe stormtroopers just like to gossip like old ladies. Ren confesses how much he’d miss Rey if she left, and Rey admits her feelings for Ren. Sweepingly, he proposes marriage!

Well, this sounds like a happily ever-after. But Star Wars is never that simple. After accepting his proposal, Rey develops strange nightmares. As her wedding day draws near, her wedding veil is mysteriously ripped in two. She gets a bad feeling about this. But Jedi are encouraged to love, so it’ll probably be alright…

Standing with Ren at the altar, Rey knows it’s the happiest day of her life. Until General Hux crashes the ceremony. What is he doing here? It’s not like they sent out holo invitations or anything…this was supposed to be a secret wedding, like Anakin and Padme!

*Cue dramatic music* I know this is a terrible long post, so click to continue...

Hux announces there’s a reason Rey and Ren should not be wed. Kylo Ren already vowed himself to the dark side years ago! He worships his grandfather’s helmet, he’s practically married to it. And he keeps his grandfather’s Force ghost locked in the attic like a maniac!

Well, Ren is caught red-handed. He admits to everything, throws a tantrum, and takes everyone back to Thornfield’s attic to see Vader’s Force ghost. He tries desperately to reconcile with Rey, explaining that the dark side tricked him, and he never knew that he’d be practically married to helmet or stuck with Vader’s ghost forever. He begs her to run away to the unknown reaches of the galaxy with him. Maybe they can hide from the ghost.

But, these are some deep-rooted issues, and Rey can’t believe her husband-to-be kept them from her. Unable deal, she slips away on a ship in the middle of night. As fate would have it, she runs into her old friend Finn! Turns out, his name is actually St. John (pronounced SIN-jun, you need to know that so you can be fancy). He’s found his long lost sisters and is well on his way to becoming a Force monk. He happily offers Rey a job teaching at his school.

As Rey starts her life over, a holo informs her that her wealthy uncle has passed away. He named her his heir. Rey can hardly believe she is now loaded with credits. As an act of goodwill, Rey decides to share her wealth with Finn and her new friends. Afterwards, Finn becomes increasingly inspired to act as a missionary and spread knowledge of the Force across the galaxy. He asks Rey to accompany him as his wife. However, Rey senses that they do not love each other and that theirs is merely a means to an end. As she considers Finn’s marriage of convenience, she suddenly hears Ren crying her name through the Force. Rey realizes what she must do. She rushes back to Thornfield.

Only Thornfield has been destroyed, just like Rey’s nightmare. Rumor has it, Vader’s ghost escaped the attic, set a fire, and attacked Ren. Ren lost an eye and his hand while trying to save everyone. Ben left Vader’s helmet in the ashes, renounced the darkside forever, and moved to a remote planet.

Rey finds the map to the remote planet and rushes to Ben. She knows the Force has compelled her to forgive him and show compassion. At his secluded moisture farm, Rey reunites with a powerless, even more forlorn Ben. She confesses her love and promises to nurse him back to health again. They are married. With Rey’s help and a few visits to the bacta tank, Ben recovers in time to see the birth of their first-born son.

The End.

(Until Episodes 10-12…)

[claraduffy]

Lynda

Over the summer, Lynda watched a Spanish film with her mother called Palmeras en la Nieve, or Palm Trees in the Snow.  In the movie, the characters were on an island, watching sea turtles come out of the ocean to lay their eggs. When someone asked the main character how the turtles knew to come back to that specific shore, he said “They will always know this place. This is where they were born. It’s in their blood.” At this, Lynda sat up straighter, a chill running down her spine. Is that why I feel so connected to the valley? she thought, because it’s where I came into the Earth? Kemps Ridley Sea Turtles also find their home in the valley on the shore of South Padre Island.

The Rio Grande Valley spreads across 5,000 square miles at the southern tip of Texas. Lynda calls it a space caught in between two countries. Known as “the Valley” to its residents, the region doesn’t feel quite like the U.S. to Texans, or like Mexico to its many immigrants. The Valley possesses a culture and pace of life so distinct from the rest of the country, newcomers sometimes experience culture shock upon arrival. Spanish and English mingle and marry to become Spanglish, and the social customs are more Mexican in their warmth than abruptly American. Families are close knit and several generations often live together in the same house. The Mexican food is greasy and authentic and the cities feel small, though they often have 60 to 70,000 people.

The first time Lynda visited the Valley, she had just graduated from high school. This trip was her graduation present: a week at the beach with her parents, and a chance to see the place where she was born, Weslaco. Lynda didn’t know anyone who had been there; she hadn’t seen pictures. It was the type of place that in such silence grew slowly in her mind, and by graduation it had become so mystical that even the drive through the monotonous King Ranch felt charming. Gone were the Hill Country limestone and clear, swift rivers she had known in Kerrville. The landscape became scruffier with mesquite, salt cedar and cactus, as if it was some great, burly man trying very hard to grow a beard. Her parents, Mirta and Ramón, and Lynda drove down I-35 then I-37, finally to 77 which runs through Harlingen, Texas, to the Mexican border town of Matamoros. Out of the car window, she watched how the landscape slowly became flatter and wider. It feels like something unfolding, she thought.

She was born there, but nine-month-olds cannot remember the suffocating humidity, jarring compared to the coolness of the Texas Hill Country where she grew up. Throughout the week, the South Padre Island sun saturated her skin and her parents showed her the roots of her life. The chance to explore a place abounding in Mexican culture had Lynda grinning and taking pictures, instead of feigning embarrassment at the antics of her parents. It was while driving home that she realized the what had been the first major crossroads of her life: to grow up in the valley or to grow up in Kerrville.

As the story goes, the spunky and decisive matriarch of the Gonzalez family, Tia Lily, decided they needed a place further north in Texas to settle. The Gulf War put economic strain on the valley, and Lynda’s father, Ramón, wasn’t finding good construction work in Weslaco anymore. Initially hoping for a job at the Veterans Hospital in Kerrville, Tia Lily found a job working as a waitress at a local Mexican restaurant. She called her brother immediately, and Ramón rolled into Kerrville in an aged and rusty truck, holding a gas container atop the car with one hand and driving with the other. He took a job at the restaurant his sister was waitressing, and has worked there since the drive north in 1991. His wife and small daughter, Lynda, joined him a few months later.

The truth is, Kerrville is very white. And Lynda’s family was Mexican, through and through. As an immigrant, her mother especially missed Mexico and held tight to her culture. Even though her parents had always worked for low wages, their incomes had stretched further in Weslaco. In the valley, a much lower average income affords a tightly knit community of struggling families. In Kerrville, Lynda’s family was an island. She always felt that Kerrville was her home, but not quite like she belonged there or was wanted there. The conservative culture in rural Texas meant Southern hospitality didn’t always extend to Mexican immigrants.

She wore overalls every single day of 7th grade. It was a comfort blanket for me, she remembers, I always felt awkward at school because I didn’t look like anybody, and I was already freakishly tall for a 12 year old. Her dad teases her from time to time, randomly bringing up the year of the overalls. “Mija that was so cute. Why don’t you wear them now?” he asks.

When she moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas, Lynda found the world as she had never known it before. She spent her first semester being a good student, but by second semester, she wanted to be something else. She joined the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Ballet Folklórico. For the first time, she grew upset at how much of her mother’s culture had been repressed in Kerrville, and how little she knew of the politics or artistic accomplishments of Latinos.

As a senior at UT, she wondered what would make her happy after graduation. A Teach For America representative reached out to her in an effort to recruit “high performing Latino students” into becoming teachers, and invited her on a recruiting trip. She took a risk and climbed into a van headed to San Juan, Texas, thinking of the last time she had been to the valley after her high school graduation. Stepping out of the van, Lynda hit a wall of humidity and smiled. She later walked into a high school, and every single student in eye shot was Latino; her jaw dropped. Lynda hadn’t known schools like that could exist. The exclusion she’d felt at Tivy High School in Kerrville would never have happened here.

She was walking to class several months later when she received the acceptance email from TFA. Immediately, an overwhelming sense of bewilderment and relief washed over her as she thought, Here is this thing I’m doing with my life now. I’m moving to the valley.

That May, Lynda graduated from UT among a great crowd under flashy fireworks. This remains one of her proudest moments. She will later warn me never to graduate in December—there are no fireworks.

“Mami, where in the valley should I apply to be a teacher?” she asked her mother from the couch that summer, studying a map of the Valley. Mirta was making mole in the kitchen.

“Your Dad and I always really liked Harlingen,” said Mirta.

Lynda’s eyes widened.

“Do you think that’s where I would have gone to high school?” she asked her mother.

“Yeah, probably,” said her mom. “I think we would have moved there. Your dad always got a lot of construction work in Harlingen.”

Lynda sank back into the couch, wondering about this place called Harlingen.

June was sneaking up on May when it was time to begin interviewing for a teaching job.  Lynda was sporting a heavy cast on her arm due to a serious car accident shortly after her UT graduation, so Mirta drove her to Brownsville for her Texas certification test and subsequent interviews in towns all over the Valley. It was at a baseball game at UT Pan American in Edinburg—a community activity with the rest of the TFA corps—when she was surprised by an email from Clarkson, her former English and newspaper teacher, UIL Journalism coach, and her greatest influence in high school. The email advertised a high school journalism job in Harlingen. It felt too magical to her that Clarkson would lead her to her first teaching job, but she wasted no time in texting her TFA recruiter.

“We don’t have anyone at Harlingen High School,” he replied, “but if you get hired by them in the next 48 hours, I’ll stop making appointments for you elsewhere.”

At the job fair the next morning, she practically ran to the Harlingen High School table, and handed her resume to the recruiter, Joe Montemayor.

“Hi! I’m interested in the journalism job,” she began, “I’m certified by the state because I just got my degree in it. I’m with TFA—” Montemayor cut her off.

“Wait, you want the journalism job? You have the paper from the state?” He turned to the woman sitting next to him and squealed, “We found her!” He insisted that Lynda was the answer to their prayers. He even called the principal in front of her. “Stay there,” he said, “Don’t talk to anyone else. “I found her!!” he blurted into the phone, leaving numerous voicemails when the principal didn’t pick up. Lynda’s shoes were glued to the floor.

That night, Lynda wrote in her journal, I get to be a Clarkson for someone else. If I’m lucky and I do this right, I get to be like Clarkson to someone else. I know how this story ends, because Lynda was my Clarkson.

On the first day of school that August, Lynda wore a red dress with a collar and a wide black belt. She stood tall and strong and welcomed her first period yearbook class. One student was five minutes late, rushing in as Lynda was telling the class where she was from, where she went to school…

“Sorry!” the late girl called out, “I had to drop my brother off at middle school!” Her impish smile did little to counteract her rude interruption. Lynda had expected this; she’d trained for this. “You can just sit there,” she told the freckle-faced girl, trying to remember where she was in her introduction.

It’s very hard to know to understand some things at 16. It’s difficult to see beyond your own nose, to stop looking in the mirror. Luckily, there are people like Lynda who choose to be teachers, and step into the worlds of bumbling 16 year olds, who are continually running into walls with their egos and wearing their ignorance like horse blinders. Lynda showed up to that classroom, 9104, and she engaged with students. She listened first, spoke second, and consistently told them there was more to it all than the tip of their noses, the reflection in the mirror, the notifications on their phones. Her room became a haven at lunchtime and during her conference period. She was hardly ever without a shadow.

Years later, she would tell me, “Teaching my first year was so hard. It was a continual process of questioning whether or not I was doing a good job. But at the end of the year, I  realized I really loved my students. And I kind of really liked living in Harlingen.”

As Clarkson had done for her, Lynda guided me through the publication of a Literary and Art Magazine, weekly newsletters, meetings, and later a poetry slam (pictured right). She was patient with me when I threw my assignments at her in the form of paper airplanes, when I lost enthusiasm, when I was inconsistent. She guided our creative writing class through “Novel November,” a 50,000-word writing project that challenged me the way nothing had before. She expected big things of us. But the best part of having Lynda as a teacher was also getting her as a friend. There is no one else I talk about quite as much, when I explain anything about my interests, my career path, my major, my plans. She has touched all of it, simply by giving that late, freckly girl in her first period another chance.

In Spanish, the word “querencia” is the noun version of the verb querer, which means “to want.” The closest words in English are fondness and longing. I am bold, but hopefully accurate, in saying that Lynda has a querencia for the palm trees, taco trucks, and high school students in the valley. Years after I walked in late to her first period class, she said to me, “When I am driving down 77, it is like gears shifting and clicking into place, and they finally lock into that  place where they are supposed to be resting. And I feel very whole there. It’s mine, and I feel lucky because I don’t know if everyone gets to find that in their lifetime.”

Lynda is a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle winding up back on South Texas shores. She is a clear voice of goodness, a raspa con chile y limón in the  afternoon with a classroom key stub dangling from a necklace around her neck. She is Lynda, full of truth and grace and loyalty and questions and ideas. And I’m just thankful she followed her querencia to my hometown.

[cinamun]

Well friends,

While things are happening in the background (TFA resumes shortly), we might as well dive into a chapter recap. At 21 chapters in, there is A LOT to account for. But this chapter was all about Hope (literally and figuratively).

Shall we?

And so it began.

Hope moved from the safety and comfort of her family to the foot of Mount Komorebi. She had always felt especially connected to that place and if you've read up to this point, you'll know why.

Appropriately titled "A New Journey", this chapter shows us all of the ups and downs of exploring new relationships, new surroundings and what happens to loved ones you leave behind in the process.

This chapter also introduced a new character. A popular Komorebian native, also an influencer and gym rat, Mr. Kenji Thomas:

He would be the spark that lit a match of doubt under Hope. Doubt that she would need to work her hardest to overcome while her beau, Jayce, was battling his own struggles and slowly drifting away from UBrite.

But then, one day, it happened.

Sure, it wasn't the literal second she turned 18, but it happened nonetheless. On a cold winter's night between terms at the base of Mount Komorebi, in a small village geared towards students studying abroad, in a teeny tiny apartment, Hope trusted Jayce with what is arguably the most valuable part of her and he did not disappoint.

That night would set off a chain of events that would eventually lead to their first place together, an epic proposal, wedding and honeymoon.

But not without them both first graduating from college.

Dira and DJ grew up into teenagers and became literal twins of their parents. Dira learned the hard way what it meant to be attracted to toxic muscle head men with big wheels. Sometimes you catch them getting brains in the bathroom behind your back.

DJ is learning now that size matters as his high school sweetheart refuses to go near him after a botched first-attempt at woo-hoo.

Dira seems to be getting closer to the nerdiest kid at CDHS and all of this while the most popular PR Firm in all the worlds deals with cleaning up the biggest scandal in recent memory, friends drift away and simulated life moves on for Indya and Darren Drake, the founders of all of this who now find themselves raising yet another young mind after a certain relative was profiled, yet again, by 12 and their cronies.

What began as a new journey, ended as a new journey. The start, a journey toward new beginnings and freedom. The end, a journey toward recovery and healing after the unthinkable occured just feet from Hope and Jayce's very first place.

and here we are... preparing for the aftermath after a series of very unfortunate events took place within the span of 10 minutes.

What a lot to unpack and probably the longest chapter yet. And while there is certainly more to come as the stage crew sets up for chapter 22, thank you thank you thank you, I get inspired by you and keep writing because of you, don't forget this gift for you and that's on scooby dooby doo, where are you.

-Cin