The Christmas Ball (Tag) [FDoC]

Ella and Virgil twirled gracefully around the ballroom. Jeff sat with Alan and Gordon at a table and watched his children move with precision and grace around the floor, he smiled at the sight. Alan grinned at the sight of Ella and Virgil, he knew his sister loved dance she made it look easy no matter how complex the routine or move.

"She really knows what she's doing," Alan said to Gordon as he glanced at his fellow blonde brother munch on various hors d'oeuvres. He rolled his eyes at Gordon's lack of manners.

"Yes, she does," Jeff agreed with a nod at Alan's words. "But dance has always been Ella's passion."

The music came to an end, Ella, Virgil, John and Penelope, along with the rest of the guests on the floor clap for the orchestra. The three Tracy children moved back to the table, where the rest of family, sans Scott, sat.

Ella plopped down into the chair and sighed. She gently kicked off the high heels her long dress hid. A sigh of relief fell from the twenty year old female, she sank a little into her chair.

"Are you alright, Ella?" Alan asked as he looked at his sister with a worried frown.

"I'm fine Alan, my feet just hurt. High heels and I are not friends," she answered with a grin. "Where's Scott?" she asked as she looked around the table.

Jeff sighed but didn't say a word.

John and Virgil both sighed and sent annoyed glances in Scott's direction. Gordon was the one to answer the question, "Sulking more than likely."

Ella rolled her eyes, while the other three Tracy boys groaned at Gordon's words. She chose not to comment on Gordon's words, instead she grabbed a glass of champagne and took a sip. Her thoughts dwelt briefly on Scott's behavior, before she glanced around the room in silent search of him.

Sadly, she couldn't find him, instead she sank into her seat and watched the dance floor. Her grandparents were on the dance floor and they looked lovely. 'I wonder if my parents looked like that when they attended the Christmas balls,' she thought with a wistful sigh.

John got up from his seat and made his way to where Scott was hidden. "Are you going to ask her for a dance or stare at her all night?" he asked as he joined his brother's side.

Scott frowned at John, "What is that supposed to mean?"

John rolled his eyes, "You know what I mean, Scott. At least have a dance with her," he suggested as he looked over at his sister who wore a sad smile on her face.

Scott sighed but he approached the table, without a word he held his out for Ella to see.

Golden brown eyes looked up at Scott, she placed her hand in his as he helped up to her feet. Together they made their way to the dance floor, where the music was soft. Ella had a hand in Scott's while the other rested on his shoulder. Their height difference was more noticeable to the family members but no one commented on Ella's lack to proper footwear.

Grins broke out the four Tracy sons' faces as they saw their oldest brother with their sister. They hoped it would work out for them, if Scott would finally make a move and ask her out.

-fin

Thanks for reading Five Days of Christmas and Beyond. I'll be back tomorrow with my resolutions for 2019. See you then!

The Christmas Ball (TAG) [FDoC]

Ella giggled as she shared a dance with her dad on the dance floor. Her five brothers watched with various expressions of happiness and jealousy in the case of one Scott Tracy. John nudged Virgil to get his attention before he jerked his head in the direction of Scott, who stood against a wall with a glass of champagne in his hand as he watched Ella change partners.

"Man, Scott's taking this kinda hard," Virgil muttered to John as they looked between Scott and Ella.

John nodded, "He is, that's his third flute of champagne tonight. And something tells me, he's going to go through a couple more before the night is over."

Virgil's brown gold eyes widened as he heard John's words. "He does know that she's not coming back to the island with us for Christmas, right?" Virgil asked as he frowned at the guy who was dancing with his sister. His eyes on the drifting hands down Ella's back.

A smirk grew on his face, as he watched Ella step purposefully on the guy's feet before she took a step back to give some distance between them.

John sighed as he watched his sister handle herself. He worried about her, but he knew she could take care of herself. "Honestly, I have no clue. It wouldn't surprise me if he didn't know, since Ella isn't speaking with him and dad doesn't always tell Scott everything in regard to Ella. She tried for years after Scott left to keep in touch but he wouldn't give. Now, she's given up because he spent all that time ignoring her and trying to figure out his feelings for her," John remarked with a shake of his head and annoyed sigh at his older brother's stupidity.

Virgil frowned but didn't disagree with John. Instead, he kept an eye on Ella as the song came to end. "I'll be back," he told John as he moved forward to step up behind his sister.

Ella stepped away from Lucas Chamberlain, she quickly dismissed his offer of another dance. The last dance had been uncomfortable. Shudders ran down her spine as she recalled his wandering hands. "No thank you, Lord Chamberlain, I'm sure I'll find another partner for the next dance," she told him  through slightly gritted teeth and too wide smile, that warned off the suitor.

Virgil chuckled as he moved to stand next to his sister. "May I have this dance?" he asked as he offered his sister his hand.

Ella looked up at Virgil and gave him a warm smile, "Gladly," she answered as she placed her hand in his. Together they walked away from Lord Chamberlain and moved closer to Ella's cousin Penelope who had somehow convinced John to her for the dance.

A smile and delightful laughter fell from Ella's lips as she noticed poor John fumbling. Virgil's chuckles joined her laughter as they took first position and waited for the orchestra to start the music. Sure enough, a few moments later the music started. Ella fell into step with Virgil effortlessly, together they moved around the floor.

Many people complimented the two Creighton-Warrd ladies as they danced with their partners in an elegant and seemingly effortless fashion. It was clear to the various guests the two females had taken lessons in dance as moved around the room, skirts billowed out and trailed after the dancing pairs.

"He still brooding in the corner?" Ella asked as she stared just over Virigil's ear. The large amount of eyes on her petite form created a slight tremor in her movements, only obvious to John and Virgil.

"Yup," Virgil answered as he sent his older brother a frown.

Ella sighed and rolled her eyes, but didn't say a word. Instead she followed Virgil as he led her into a spin then dip before he lifted her back to her feet. Together they moved through a complicated set of footsteps as they listened to the song. Many audience members gasped as they realized the talent in dance Virgil and Ella had.

'Thank you mom for making all of the boys take those dance lessons with me,' she thought as she briefly looked skyward as if she would see her mom. But all Ella's golden eyes saw was the high ceiling that had had some sort of fancy design on it.

-TBC

Merry Belated Christmas everyone. I started this on Christmas Day but between napping, eating, gifts, and family I wasn't able to finish it until now. I'll be adding to my Five Days of Christmas since I did miss a few days. See you for tomorrow's piece or maybe another one later today. Not sure yet.

-ADF

Muérdago (Zorro) [FDoC]

Artemia Noche smiled as she watched her gavalan play on the piano. He along with the music of Navidad, her cheeks flushed as she met the don's dark gaze. But she didn't dare look away as he sang to her Noche de Paz.

The don finished he son with a flourish. Happily the young senorita clapped, "Bravo, bravo," she cheered as she rose to her feet.

Diego grinned as he stood from the bench and approached the petite female. "Gracias, Artemia," he thanked as he leaned to give her a gentle kiss on the lips.

"Diego," she sighed as she pulled away briefly to meet his gaze once more. Chocolate met gold as the pair looked at one another for a brief moment.

The don stepped back and offered the female his arm. Artemia slipped her arm through Diego's and together they wandered through the gardens that were on the de la Vega property.

Artemia and Diego spoke of their plans for the upcoming year. Surprise and shock filled Artemia, when she learned of Diego's desire to attend la universidad in Espana, after el ano nuevo. Sadness filled her as she realized Diego would be leaving her and their pueblo behind. She wore a false grin as they continued to navigate through the  jardin.

A pitter-patter of footsteps on the adobe path caught the couple's attencion. Artemia and Diego turned around to see Osita approaching.

"Osita," Artemia sighed as she knelt down to get a better look at her lamb. "Que estas haciendo?" she asked with a shake of her head.

She gently removed the item in Osita's mouth and giggled as she looked at the sprig in front of her. "Y ahdonde encontraste esto?" she wondered with giggles in between her words.

"What is it?" Diego asked as he bent down to one knee beside, Artemia and in front of Osita.

Artemia lifted the little plant and presented it to her amado. beloved "Muérdago," she answered with a laugh. Mistletoe

Diego chuckled as he saw the plant in her hand. He leaned over and gave her another kiss on the lips. He would never tire of sharing kisses with Artemia, his amor was strong and unrelenting for the young Noche dona.
-fin

Sorry for not posting yesterday, it was a busy day for me and the family. But this means you'll get a Christmas piece! See you all tomorrow.
-ADF

Winter Kisses (PR) [FDoC]

Ava smiled as she looked up at the snowflakes falling out of the sky. "Wow," she sighed in disbelief.

Troy watched the petite white ranger with a smile on his face. He reached out and grasped her hand in his own.

Ava's head moved from the sky to meet Troy's blue-gray eyes, "Merry Christmas, Troy," she said as she leaned forward to place a quick kiss on his cheek.

As she pulled away her cheeks flushed a bright pink color.

A wide grin grew on the red ranger's face, he leaned down and placed a kiss of his own to her cheek. "Merry Christmas, Ava," he replied as he tugged her in the direction of the park.

Ava's laughter ran like bells behind them as they moved through the park.
-fin

Ava and Troy, despite the fact that they are a failed OTP I still love them together. This is set sometime around their first Christmas together in Power Rangers Megaforce. See you all tomorrow.
-ADF

A Christmas Dance (TEC) [FDoC]

Ella grinned as she watched Jason on the dance floor. He held Cordelia in his arms and gracefully moved her around the ballroom. The lights from the chandelier and the sconces around the room made Cordelia's lilac colored dress glowed against her brother's navy blue suit.

"They look like lovely together," a voice commented from just over Ella's shoulder.

The Princess of Nightshade glanced to her right to meet Prince Henry's eyes blue eyes. "Yes, they do," she agreed as she turned her attention back to her older brother.

Henry looked at the young Princess with wide eyes. "May I have this dance, Ella?" as he offered her a hand.

Ella huffed as she gently placed her hand in his. "Yes, you may," she said as they made their way to the dance floor.

Together the Prince of Stardune and Princess of Nightshade moved around the dance floor in front of the large crowd gathered to celebrate Yule in Nightshade. Eyes were on the heir and the princess, to many of the visiting royals it was clear just how much they care for each other. Whispers gathered in the crowd as they eyed the couple.

Jason watched his best friend with his only sister and smiled.

"They make quite the sight," Cordy observed as she glanced at the heir of Nightshade.

"Yes they do, Cordy, yes they do," he nodded in agreement.

-fin

Welcome to the Five Days of Christmas, for the next five days I will be writing a little piece of Christmas. Today we ventured back into The Eleanor Chronicles, I have been wanting to go back for a while and couldn't think of anything. Stay tuned for tomorrows piece. Merry Christmas!

-ADF

Bubble Lights (Journal)

Hello everyone, today I'm writing to tell you about something I've heard about but I had never seen until this year. Bubble lights. My dad has mentioned these lights to me before, he's always nostalgic about them around Christmas, since they use to adorn his childhood Christmas tree. I had heard of them, but I had never seen them.

My dad described them as lights with glass containers that made bubbles. Me, being me, I thought he meant that they blew bubbles out while hanging on a tree. Total misconception and misunderstanding on my part. My sister had mentioned that she had sold a pair earlier at work this month and my dad became somewhat desperate to find them.

Earlier this month, last weekend, I think, we were at Shopko. We've been taking weekly weekend trips to various stores in our area to get a look at their Christmas decorations. Well, at Shopko we found the bubble lights. I saw that they were glass tubes with different colored liquid, still confused, I thought they made colored bubbles but I didn't say anything. Anyway, my sister bought my dad a strand of them. He was absolutely giddy, for a man in his 50's missing two toes and having just recovered from surgery it was hilarious to see the spring in his step and happiness in his gait and face. He was excited, super excited, I can't help but wonder if maybe he was taken back to a time when he was a kid with his siblings and parents.

My dad isn't one to open up about his feelings, but I do wonder from time to time. Anyway, my sister got him a set as a Christmas gift. We got home and began to finish decorating the tree. We had put it up the weekend before but we realized that a few of our lights were out and needed to be replaced, so it wasn't until last weekend that we were finally able to decorate. I opened the box of bubble lights and my sister and I placed them on the tree.

It was beautiful to see the lights, especially the bubble lights but I was disappointed that they didn't blow bubbles. My dad and sister got a kick when I told them that I had thought they blew bubbles. But they are beautiful and add a certain look to our tree. While the top is bent a little, because it's just a tad too tall, it's still our tree with the garland, lights, mulicolored and white, and the various ornaments that we've collected over the years. Even mine and my sister's personal collection are proudly displayed. The three snow globes that typically adorn the bottom of the tree, were joined by two newcomers this year. A set of penguins and white owls, my first snow globe.

The tree looks lovely with it's mismatched eclectic style but it's ours all the same. And my sister plans to get a bubble machine next year for the tree. I can't wait to see my family enjoy their gifts on Christmas, while I know the gifts that I've gotten I'm still happy to be able to spend the day with my sister and parents.

Hopefully, I'll have another journal or short story to share for you guys later this week. I kinda want to post little pieces throughout the next few weeks to make up for lack of posting this month.

-ADF

P.S. To those who don't know what bubble lights look like, here's a picture.

Wrap Up of NaNo

Hi everyone, so before I dive back into blog posts, I figured I would give you all the final run down of my NaNoWriMo story the stats.

Week Three Total Word Count: 45,061
Expected Word Count: 37,400

Week Four Total Word Count: 53,313
Expected Word Count: 49,300

50,000 Word Badge: Day 25 with 50,146

November 30th (Last Day of NaNo)
Expected Word Count: 52,700
Total Word Count: 55,509
Hand Written Words: 1,160

As you may or may not know, this was my fifth attempt at NaNo. My fourth consecutive attempt, and the first one that I 'Won'. I'm still not done with my story, I am still working on it, but I'm not pushing myself as I did last month.

This NaNo was the best one for me and I think it was because I actually attended write-ins within my Home Region. I met people, who like me are trying to cram a 50k book out. I made some new friends and I'm excited for next years NaNo. I hopefully will be going back to my first and second NaNo stories.

I did still keep up with my nightly journals, and I didn't count words towards the final word count. Maybe one day I'll count my journal words and tell you what my actual end of the month word total was. But for now I am leisurely working on my story.

See you all later in the month with some Christmas themed pieces.
-ADF

NaNoWriMo Week 1, 2, & 3

Hey everyone, we're officially three weeks into NaNoWriMo. I'm just going to go over some of my stats with you.

The daily goal NaNoWriMo recommends to hit the 50k in 30 days is 1,667 words. My daily goal is 1.7k or 1,700 words.

Day One total words: 3009

Week One Total word count: 16,785
Expected Week One Goal: 13,600

5,000 Word Badge: Day 3 with 6,895

10,000 Word Badge: Day 5 with 12,302

25,00 Word Badge: Day 11 with 25,739

40,000 Word Badge: Day 18 with 40,047

Write-Ins I've attended in person: 4
Virtual Write-Ins: Most of them if not all

Week Two Total word count: 33,005
Expected Week Two Goal: 25,500

Week Three Total word count: ??
Expected Week Three Goal: 37,400

Overall assessment so far: I think I can actually hit the 50k before the end of the month. I have had a busy week last week. And it will be busy through until the Monday after Thanksgiving, but I know that I can write everyday even if it's only a handful of hundred words, here and there. I'll post another update some time next week.

-ADF

What Have I Been Up To Lately? (Update)

Hola everyone, this past week has been a really weird one. There was a family emergency that has caused some things to back up on me. But like always, we're pulling through the mess with as much grace and love that we can. I won't specify on the emergency right now, there may be a later blog post.

Today I want to give you some updates:

• Inktober: As some of you know I decided to do Inktober this year, in hopes of getting back into drawing and art. I'm a few days behind but I do plan to draw/ink a few things today. I was able to do Mermay everyday back in May but this month is a little different.
• NaNoWriMo: Yes, I will be doing NaNo again this year. This is my fourth consecutive year of making the attempt to write 50k words in one month. Will I finish? I have no clue but I do have a story that it just waiting to be written.
• Nightly Journals: As you may/may not know, I nightly journal. It's really a brain dump to just write whatever story I want at night before I go to bed. It has become a night time ritual for me, and I plan to continue to do this during Nano. I didn't do it last year, but I am making the attempt this year. These words could end up in my final word tally, it just depends on how far behind (desperate) I am.
• ADF-Writes: I will try to post updates but these may be sporadic to non-existent. I can't make any promises. Since I decided to just post whenever I could here, it will be the same during NaNo. I want to update at least once, so be on the look out for it.

I think that is everything, I will post another update. See you on the flip side. 

-ADF

Halloween Movies (List)

Halloween is my favorite holiday, for so many reasons. I'll give you a few reasons. Halloween is the day that my parents got engaged, so it holds a special place in my parents' heart for that reason. Two, Halloween is the day before Dia de las Muertos (Day of the Dead), a two day holiday that is celebrated in the Spanish community to remember our loved ones and party with them. Three, Halloween and Dia de las Muertos are the days where the spiritual world is closest to our ours and they can mingle with us mere mortals. But for my family October is the start of our month long Halloween movie marathon.

Whenever we aren't watching our weekly TV shows we can be found watching some sort of movie. We have tons of VHS tapes full of Disney Channel Halloween movies, some are more memorable than others but we still watch them every year. I'm going to share some of my all time favorite Halloween movies, top five for sure. If you want more please leave a comment.

First on the list is Halloweentown, the first movie. This has been apart of my life for twenty years now, I can't believe that it's been twenty years since the first movie came out. Marnie was a character that I could relate to, despite being only four years old. Marnie's decision to go to Halloweentown after her grandma, was something that I enjoyed. These movies hold a special place in my heart for the fact that it is a beautiful story of family and being yourself. 'Being normal is vastly overrated'

Next up is Teen Witch, this movie isn't quite a Halloween movie but witches fall in the category of Halloween. I first saw this movie on TV in the 90's, I can't remember the channel since I was a tater tot. The opening sequence of this movie has haunted me for years.

I could never remember the name of the movie. Just this sequence has haunted my dreams and thoughts for years. My sister and I speculated the movie for years, we were never sure the name of the movie. But we did find the movie, my sister found it for me one day when my parents, sister, and I were at a local pawn shop. That feeling I got when we put this movie in the DVD player and saw this opening sequence was amazing. I had finally found the movie that had captured my heart when I was a little kid.

Oh this is tough numbering my favorite Halloween movies. The next one on this list is It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. I have been watching this Halloween special every year since I was a kid. It is a Halloween tradition, in our household and I never, ever miss it. 'I got a rock' is so classic and poor Sally. She misses all of the tricks and treats of the night. But Lucy, we see a different side of Lucy in this special.

Number four on this would have to be Don't Look Under the Bed. This is classic Disney channel, the boogyman under your bed isn't what you think it is. This movie was full of so many unexpected twists and turns, I loved Frances and Larry's interaction with one another. The idea of being in high school and seeing your little brother's imaginary friend was interesting. As a kid this movie freaked me out but I still enjoyed the movie a lot.

Some honorable mentions for this list: Nightmare Before Christmas, Coco, Book of Life, Pooh's Heffalump Halloween,The Haunted Mansion, Scream Team, and Tower of Terror. If you want to know my thoughts on these Halloween movies, let me know.

And the moment of truth,'It's just a bunch of Hocus Pocus!'

Hocus Pocus is number five on this list. Every Halloween without fail this movie gets pulled out to be watched. Sometimes it gets pulled out sooner, just because our family wants the Halloween vibes early. The Sanderson sisters are creepy as hell. Thackery was the character that I always felt sorry for because he was cursed to live an immortal life. As you watch this film more and more, little things pop out and lead you to learn more and more about the Sanderson sisters, Thackery, and Billy. This is one movie that we watch at least twice every Halloween, and it's the 25th anniversary of Hocus Pocus. This movie has been around the same amount of time as my parents have been married.

See you all next blog post
-ADF

My Failed OC's

Okay, so back when I started this blog, I shared two of my failed stories. Story ideas that I had hit a road block on that I didn’t/couldn’t continue. I want to go back to that idea but with my OC’s in relation to fanfiction. I’ve shared many of my OC’s, who exist in various universes, I’m pretty sure I have one in just about every universe at this point… Today I want to share some of my failed OC’s or pairings. I’ll do my best to explain why each one failed, and where along the way.

Amelia Carter x Scott Summers: Amy is my frequent Marvel and DC OC. She has multiple ships and ‘verses within the realms of the Marvel and DC universes’. So, all pieces that I’ve ever written of Amy and Scott (Cyclops) whether she be mutant, inhuman, or human never work. There are only a few pieces of Amy and Scott that I have successfully written. Most of them, involve, Scott being cold and rude. Or Amy is getting injured or dying. This has happened in almost every Amy Scott piece. For whatever reason, Amy and Scott are not compatible, which is fine. It led to the creation of Ella, who is happy with Scott (sometimes Scott and Jean)…

Lyra Knight x Rex Racer: Honestly, this one was doomed from the start… This version of Rex Racer is based off the 2008 movie, that many people said was horrible. I didn’t think it was too bad, not as great as the original anime show but not horrible. Lyra and Rex were dating back when they were older teenagers/ young adults. Before Rex faked his own death and left Racer Motorsports, Lyra became pregnant with Ava.

Lyra never got the chance to tell Rex, since he supposedly died. And while, there is a huge part of me that desperately wants Lyra and Rex to be a couple, it won’t happen. When Lyra meets Racer X face to face, she knows or suspects like Speed that he is Rex Racer, she doesn’t fall for the facade that he’s giving the family. But it has been nine years, a lot can and has happened to the pair of them in that time. Rex now lives in the identity of Racer X. While, Lyra struggles to raise her child on her own. They can never be together, simply based on the fact that Rex works with the CIB and he has a thing with Minx. A part of his heart will always belong to Lyra, and he will do anything to protect his daughter when she joins the racing world at sixteen, he won’t ever get to be with his childhood sweetheart and first love.

Ava Oliver x Troy Burrows: Ava Oliver is an OC that is set in an AU of Power Rangers. She is the younger sister of Claire Oliver, my OC who is paired with Hunter Bradley. Ava is the white Megaforce Ranger, she lives in Angel Grove with her Aunt Ashley and Uncle Andros (Yellow and Red in Space Rangers) and attends Hardgrove County High with her friends. This relationship is one that just fizzles out. Ava and Troy realize that they are better off as friends, this relationship holds a special place in their hearts as it’s their first relationship.

The blame for the fallout of this relationship lies with their Ranger duties getting away. They don’t get the time they need to just be Troy and Ava. They remain good friends after the ending of their relationship. Troy is the first person who learns about Ava’s acceptance to Amber Beach University for college. Plus, he is the one who encourages her to apply for the internship at the museum, which leads Ava into becoming the White Dino Charge Ranger. (Which is a story in and of itself that I want to write and share at a later date.)

-fin

Hi everyone, sorry I've been MIA for almost two weeks. I meant to post this last week, but I was busy with a lot of other things. Life and I got a new computer, super excited to start working on new video projects.

Everything Ends (PR)

"Troy," Ava sighed, her eyes filled with sadness as she met her boyfriend's blue-gray gaze.

"I know, Ave," he said as he gave her hand a squeeze. His left arm snaked its way around her shoulder. The brown haired teen held her close.

Ava closed her eyes to hide the tears, she buried her face in Troy's shoulder. Sadness and grief clouded the duo heavily as they stood on the beach. Together, they stood side by side and mourned the end of their relationship.

-fin

This will ficlet is actually an intro into a later post. I'm hoping to have it up later this week.

Osita's Introduction (Zorro)

Cautiously, she crouched down and offered the white beast in front of her the vegetables from her basket. As the little lamb approached to accept the carrots, Artemia Noche gently and calmly ran her fingers through the soft white fur.

"Estas muy bonita," the young senorita cooed to the baby next to her. You are very pretty.

"Not as lovely as you," a familiar voice commented from just behind the petite female.

With wide eyes, Artemia look over her shoulder, her golden eyes locked onto the dark brown eyes of one young don. "Was that meant to be a compliment, Don Diego?" the fifteen year old asked the eighteen year old man who stood a few feet from her.

A fond smile grew on the de la Vega don's lips. "For you, Senorita Artemia, always," he answered with an exaggerated bow.

Soft giggles fell from fifteen year old's lips, her shoulders shook at Diego's words. A soft bleeting joined Artemia's laughter, with wide eyes both don and senorita looked at the lamb. The white furred baby kept bleeting as if Diego's words had been funny.

"Who is this little one?" Diego asked as he stepped closer to get a better look at the little lamb. He bent down next to Artemia, silently he met her gaze as he held a hand out.

As she read the silent request, Artemia nodded. Her eyes flicked over the lamb who's eyes widened at the sight of don Diego. Gently, he petted the soft fur of the young lamb.

A few moments passed before Artemia answered, "Her name is Osita." Golden eyes hardened as she met Diego's gaze with a defiant stare. Silently, she dared him to object to the name of her beloved pet.

"Little bear," he murmured softly as he caressed the young-ling just behind her ear. A grin broke across his lips as he looked from Osita to Artemia. "It fits her well, Artemia."

A soft smile grew on Artemia's face. "Gracias, Diego. Manolo spent an hour laughing when he heard her name. Even now, whenever he sees her with me, he will burst into peals of laughter."

Diego frowned, his brows furrowed as he heard his amor's words. Gently, he cupped her cheek, making the little senorita meet his gaze. "Te amo, Artemia," he softly whispered as he leaned close. Softly, with a feather light tough, Diego pressed a kiss to his love's pink full lips.

The little lamb, who was comfortably in front of Artemia Noche and Diego de la Vega, bahhed, in a demanding tone.

The pair broke apart to look at Osita, who stopped crying when two sets of eyes turned to look at her.

"Oh, Osita," Artemia sighed as she shook her head. Some of her dark hair fell from the bun at the nape of her neck.

-fin

Well, I did warn you all that I would be creating an OC for Zorro. Here we are, say Hola to Artemia Noche, the significant other of Diego de la Vega, before he left to Spain for school. I am excited to share these pieces with you all. Zorro has been apart of my life for a very long time, and when I recently found the episodes on YT... Well, I knew I wanted to create a character for this world. This is based on the 1957 Walt Disney Zorro, staring Guy Williams (the things that man as Diego de la Vega does to my heart), I have written a few pieces based off of episodes but they're snippits, not whole episodes.

These pieces will incorporate English and Spanish, as this was set in California in 1820. I am excited to be able to write bilingual pieces, I will translate things with italics but if I think it's simple then I won't.

My Suicide Thoughts (Real Life)

My battle with suicide and depression... this is a difficult thing to write and even talk about.

I was probably my most depressed and suicidal age 14-15. I had a lot of things going on in my life at that point. There was so much stress from school, family, friends, and life it felt like I was drowning and no one could see or cared. I was in a dark place... no one really knew it. But I was fighting a lot of inner demons.

I was a freshman/sophomore in high school, with homework in most classes. I didn't have a place to escape from the craziness that had been my life. I wanted an escape, a way out.

One night I told myself that I would finally just end it all to get away.

As I sat in my room and thought about how I would kill myself, a thought kept creeping into my head. My mom...

What would happen to my mom if I was suddenly gone?

I stopped to think about the answer. I didn't have a definite answer... but I mentally saw my mom devastated. Just crying endlessly crying. That scared me, my family we don't show our emotions with one another unless it's something super extreme. At this point in time our family was not close as we are now. Sure we talked, but we never talked about our feelings, ever.

But that one thought, of my mom. It stopped me that time.

I tried to keep afloat in the ocean of craziness. Somethings in life got harder, my dad's health became a big piece of concern. My grandpa's further health decline was another.

Time, time was running out for my grandpa, he had been bedridden at for about two years, at this point. My family lives in California and my parents, sister, and I live in Washington. Two whole states away, we could never afford to go visit. The last time we had been to California to see our family was 2002, I was seven at the time and an awkward kid.

The stress became too much to handle, something had to go... So, when I got sick one time in sophomore year, it was for a long time. I kept trying to go back, but my body was never ready. This became a pattern of being in school, three days a week out two. It went on for a good month and a half. My grades were suffering, badly. People noticed, I knew people noticed but no dared to ask.

I figured instead of out right ending my life, I would do something more subtle. Meals quickly became I thing that I didn't consume. I tried to starve myself to death...

It didn't work... it did develop into an eating disorder. Not bulimia or anorexia. It became a matter of eating one or two meals a day to keep up appearances, but hardly anything else. I do suffer from bouts of my disorder from time to time.

After my failed attempt at starving myself, I broke down. I confessed everything to my parents. I was a huge sobbing mess at the end of that confession. Everything... every single little thing that had been on my mind had been spilled. The suicide attempts, the self esteem issues, my stress from dad's health, grandpa, our financial problems, so many fears and little things. They all came out in one go.

I am so thankful that I have a family who I was able to tell this to.

Last year, it was a really stressful year. In March of 2017, I was going through a bout of depression. I was hopeless. 'Guys, I'm feeling suicidal. I'm not saying this for attention, I need to say this'

My parents and sister hugged me tightly, as if to keep me grounded. Then, together as a family, we tried to figure out a way to help me and everyone else stress less. My family is rock, my parents are really strong, for going through all of the shit, we've gone through. Never once have they complained, they've taken the situations and faced them head on. My parents are my heroes and I know that I will never be exactly like, but if I can be even one tenth of them then I will be happy.

Help is out there, you are not alone. It just takes just one thing to remind yourself that.

I will include information down below to suicide help line.

-ADF

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

1-800-273-8255

Suicide Prevention Website

What's New and Coming (Update)

Hello everyone,

I am back... I have decided that I'm going to put pressure on myself for word count or certain posts per week. This blog was created to share my love of writing and get over my fear of sharing my writing. And want this blog to be about writing and being open and honest. As honest I want to be with you.

Posts are going to be different. I want to share new posts with you. Like journal entries, my favorite things, life updates, and of course my own writing. Whether it is fanfiction or my own original work, I want to share this with you. I want give you all a look into my life and the things that I go through. I'm not sure what the new posting schedule will be. At least once a week, but I will try to shoot for two. If  I don't have two posts then I'm not going to worry.

I want to stress less about this blog. I just want to share what I feel comfortable sharing.

September is Suicide Awareness Month, I want to tell about my experiences with depression. And my thoughts of suicide. I'll have a post up maybe Wednesday or Friday. But if you're sensitive to this kind of information please feel free to skip.

-Alex

Taking a Break (Update)

Hi everyone, so as from the title you know what this update is. I am taking a break from the blog. There are a few reasons for this, but the main one is due to stress and pressure. I am stressing myself out with posting twice weekly new content that is at least 500 plus words. While, I can pull inspiration from my journals it takes time to type out hand written pieces and half the time I have to edit those.

Yesterday was my birthday, and while it was a happy day there was a dark cloud that hung over my day. On the 18th, my family and I received news that we were not expecting at all. A relative very suddenly passed away and we're not sure on everything that happened. So, at this time I need to take a break to try and recover.

I hope that you'll understand, I will try to post in September.  But please feel free to read some of my previous blog pieces as a lot of them are quite fun reads.

Gala Searches (DC Amy-verse)

Brown eyes scanned the crowded ballroom, Amy kept her eyes out for her children. Easily, she spotted Damian hidden behind a large potted plant. A smile crossed her face as she saw Damian wasn't alone. Ella stood beside her brother, her dark waves hidden in the crown braids she wore. Amy's heart squeezed as she moved her eyes in search of her oldest two children.

A hand pressed against the petite brunette's back. "What are you up to?" a familiar voice whispered against the shell of her ear.

Amy's grin grew as she spun around to see her husband. Even in three inch heels, Amelia Wayne was only five feet four, in comparison to her husband's six feet two. Bruce easily towered over his wife, but neither complained.

"Keeping an eye on our children," Amy answered as she pressed her hands against Bruce's chest.

Blue eyes met brown as he gazed at his wife. "They know better than to misbehave at a gala," Bruce reminded his wife. His eyes narrowed as he glanced around for his children.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night dear," she said with a sly grin on her red painted lips. She gently patted her husband's cheek before she turned on heel and made her way over to Dick.

A warm smile crossed her lips as she looked at her oldest Robin, he stood with an wrapped around Barbara Gordon's waist. The Batgirl who had taken over her role as the woman of the night. The auburn haired woman looked happy and gorgeous in her beautiful dark blue dress a soft homage to the first Batgirl and Nightwing costumes.

"Ah, the woman of the hour," Commissioner Gordon said as he caught sight of the Wayne Matriarch.

"Hello Jim," Amy greeted Gotham's Police Commissioner wit ha warm smile as she sidled up to her son's left side. "Barbara," she added as she met the red head's gaze.

"Amy," Babs greeted in return as she moved from Dick's side to hug her mentor and mother figure.

Amy's arms held onto her surrogate daughter tightly, Barbara would always hold a special place in her heart. She enjoyed time with her red head child, just as much as the rest of her chaotic children.

"Hey, where's my hug?" Dick cried out in outrage as he looked at his mom.

Both the brunette and red head scoffed at his question. Amy sighed and didn't say a word to her son. Instead, she shook her head at her first son.

"What?" Dick asked as he looked at his mother.
-fin

Interrupted Night

Sapphire happily sipped on the champagne  from her glass with a grin. Her blue eyes spotted a familiar tall figure enter the night club. With an eye roll, the dark haired woman looked at her best friend with a raised eyebrow.

"They're here again," Sapphire commented before she took another sip of her bubbly.

A groan escaped Melinda Halliwell's lips. "Why? God, why can't I just be left alone?" she questioned was she looked up at the ceiling.

Sapphire sent Melinda a sad smile, she reached a hand out and squeezed one of Mel's. The French-Egyptian witch empathized with her best friend.

"Because older siblings always butt in, especially their little sibling's business," Artemis St. Rose commented from Melinda's other side. "I can't believe they had the nerve."

"It's only Wyatt and Christian, thankfully Chris and Henry didn't show up," Sapphire reassuringly told her friends with a smile.

This was one of those times that Sapphire was grateful that she was an only child. But she had a lot of surrogate/adopted siblings from all of her best friends.

Before either Mel or Artemis could reply, a throat was cleared behind them. Three sighs simultaneously left their lips.

"Hello ladies," Wyatt greeted his sister and her two friends.

"Wyatt," Saph coolly replied. Her eyes filled with disappointment, a pout on her red painted lips.

"Christian, why are you here?" Artemis asked her brother with anger burning in her brown eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed with a frown set on her lips.

A smirk played across the oldest St. Rose's face, "I can't go out for a drink with my best friend?" he asked with a false innocent smile on his face.

"Ooh, I oughta," Artemis mumbled, she her attention back to her champagne. She downed the rest of the glass and slammed it onto the bar. "Could I get four shots of vodka?" her voice sweet sounding, asked the bartender with a wink.

"Of course, Miss St. Rose," the bartender answered with a wide grin.

"Be careful, Artemis," Sapphire warned softly. She glanced at the contents of her glass, the idea of throwing the remaining champagne at Wyatt and Christian briefly temped her. A frown crossed her lips before she decided against the action. It would be a waste of good champagne.
-fin

Zorro's Return (Journal)

Today's piece is a journal entry for you guys. So, story time, as a kid I used to have Disney Channel East and West. Mind you this was back in the 90's. One of my favorite things my family and I would do was watch Zorro (the 1957 Disney version) with Guy Williams as the titular hero. We would watch the two episodes at seven at night. Then three hours later, we would re-watch the episodes at ten. Then my sister and I were sent off to bed.

I wasn't in school at this point, and my parents were flexible with bedtimes for me and sister. We won't get into their parenting style, not the point. 

Anyway, this happened for a few years. I must have seen the two seasons in their original black and white version and colorized version at least five times each. It was a great show, and as someone who is Mexican-American it was a great representation of my ethnicity, despite the fact that it's set in 1820 Spanish California.

Why am I bringing this up in today's journal? Well, I've recently found a few of the episodes in their black and white format on YouTube. The colored versions are also available to watch there as well. I've started watching them again and I've re-fallen in love with this show. No, I haven't seen the 1990 version, but I have seen the Antonio Banderas movies, and they're pretty good. But the 1957 version of Zorro holds a special place in my heart. This was the version that I grew up watching, Guy Williams was my first Zorro.

Yes, I am aware that Guy Williams is not hispanic/latino, but he's actually Italian-American. I'm 1/8th Italian, on my dad's side, it doesn't matter to me.

I am so happy to find a piece of my childhood to re-watch and enjoy. Somehow, I'm instantly brought back in time to a little girl, who sat on the couch next to her sister. Together, we're singing the opening song and watching with such captivation that the living room is quiet. It's a fuzzy memory but it's still there because every time I hear the words 'Out in the night, when the full moon is bright' I'm reliving those precious moments.

I guess, today's journal piece was just to share this childhood memory with you guys. And maybe it's a lesson about representation as well. As a Mexican-American, it's hard to find TV shows and movies that have that representation of a bi-cultural family. Zorro was one of those rare gems that fit the bill, in my opinion. Plus, it also plays into Bruce Wayne aka Batman, so I'm not complaining. 

Thanks for reading

-ADF

Endings (Marvel Amy)

Avengers Infinity War: Amelia Carter-Sousa/Steven Rogers/ Grant Ward/Brock Rumlow

“Everyone on my position, we’ve got incoming,” Steve’s voice came through the comms.

Amy looked around the battlefield for Grant, Brock, and one Bucky Barnes. As she spotted her two soulmates, and Steve’s best friend, she lifted the three of them into the air. As they all flew through the sky into the woods, which surrounded the capital of Wakanda, Amy felt a horrible feeling in her gut.

“It’ll be alright, sweetheart. Don’t worry so much,” Brock commented as he looked at his petite wife.

Brown met brown and brown, as she looked from Brock to Grant. The three of them all felt worry in their hearts, this battle had been building up since Loki’s invasion of Manhattan six years ago. The same battle that brought Amy, Grant, Brock, and Steve together as a foursome.

With keen eyes, the Inhuman female spotted her super soldier soulmate. She brought the three men with her down for a landing. “Brace yourselves,” she said quietly as she landed on the forest floor. Grant, Brock, and Bucky still hovered only a few inches above the ground before she released her telekinetic hold on them.

With small steps, Amy stood on Steve’s left, her hand grasped his tightly. Fear creating trembles through her body.

Steve squeezed her hand, as they watched and waited for the arrival of Thanos.

“Steve,” she faintly got out. Her voice caught in her throat. Tears filled her eyes as a sense of dread consumed her body.

Captain America turned his head to look at his wife. There were no words to comfort her or even reassure of their survival. Instead, he pressed his forehead to hers, in hopes that she would find peace in these last few moments.

As he pulled away, Brock and Grant joined them. Together the foursome stood together. A picture of calm and strength as they waited.

It was a short wait. A breeze from seemingly nowhere caught Steve’s attention. As a group, the Avengers excluding Wanda and Vision turned to see a giant wrinkled purple being step out a portal that resembled the kind the tesseract created.

“Steve, that’s him,” Bruce Banner’s voice gravely called out through comms.

Steve activated the new shield from T’challa. Then as a group, the Avengers ran to take on the alien set on destroying the world. Bruce took the lead, only to be sent flying and embedded in a rock bed. Grant threw a hellfire chain, like a lasso to wrap around Thanos. Only for it to be destroyed.

Hellfire was thrown into a tree, which split in half upon the impact. Rocket Racoon, Falcon, and War Machine threw all kinds of firepower in rockets, short range miniature missiles, and bullets. Nothing worked, it bounced off some sort of invisible shield that surrounded Thanos.

Nat and T’challa’s general of Midori Ana threw their staff and spears only for them to bounce off. Amy flew into the air and lifted several trees from the roots up with her telekinesis. She broke them into sharpened spears and aimed at Thanos. They proved to be ineffective, disintegrating. Before she too was thrown into a tree not too far from Hellfire.

Amy gasped as she landed on the ground with a loud thud, her eyes locked onto Grant’s whiskey colored eyes. She reached a hand out to find one of Grant’s. Tightly she held it, as her eyes fluttered closed. She knew the others were trying their hardest to take out Thanos, they needed the help.

Together, she and Grant climbed back to their feet, his hands on top of her shoulder. With a nod, Amy and Grant turned to see Steve against Thanos.

Grant threw another hellfire chain, this one closer to the ground to wrap around his ankle. Amelia used the vines and other flora to snake itself around Thanos like a rope. Together they pulled tautly on their ropes.

Thanos jerked back only a few inches, but he flexed his muscles. The hellfire chain and flora ropes snapped like rubber bands. The couple flew back onto the ground from the force of the snap.

A groan left Amy’s lips as she landed on her back, hard. Someone landed not too far to Amelia’s right, she looked over to see it was Steve. She flipped onto her front and crawled over towards the final soulmate she found, but the one she knew of first.

“Steve,” she gasped out as she reached his side. One hand on his cheek.

“I’m okay, Amy,” he replied as he sat up.

She helped him to his feet, before she went to Grant’s side. She pulled on his arms, forcing him to sit up. With a groan he stood up. “Where’s Brock?” he asked.

Brown eyes looked around for Crossbones. She spotted him not too far. Together, Amy and Grant made their way over to Brock. Just as they reached Brock, an explosion of golden light fell around the area. Amelia closed her eyes against the blinding light.

Hesitantly after a few minutes, she opened her eyes. “Brock,” she softly called as she looked at him.

“I’m alright, sweetheart, save your worrying,” he replied.

Together the trio moved to join Steve, but before they reached their fourth soulmate. The golden light erupted once more. With closed eyes, Amy turned her head into Grant’s chest to avoid the brightness.

“What did you do? What did you do?” Thor demanded loudly.

Amy looked for Steve, she saw him in on the ground. He wasn’t too far from where Thanos stood with Thor. An axe in the purple aliens chest. The hand which wore the golden gauntlet now black and smokey as if it had been burned.

“Steve,” Bucky called out as he approached his friend.

Amy and Steve turned to look at Bucky. After two steps his new mechanical arm disintegrated into ash. Only seconds later his body did the same. A gasp fell from Amy’s lips as a pain hit her. Heart clenched, as if someone had ripped it from her chest.

“Amy.”

“Sweetheart.”

Two voices, called out. Amy and Steve turned to see Grant and Brock dissolve.

“No no no!” Amy cried as she tried to grab onto Brock’s hand.

Just as her fingers brushed against his, a pile of ash fell onto her fingers.

“NO!” the shout fell from her lips as she fell to her knees. The pain in her heart grew as she looked at the piles of ash that belonged to two of her three soulmates. Two of her husbands gone like smoke in the wind.

Arms wrapped around her shaking body. Sobs fell from her lips at the loss of her husbands. How could they have disappeared? Where had they gone?

So many questions but no answers filled her thoughts. Blinded by her tears she had no idea where Steve was. Gasping breaths left her lips. The arms that held her, hugged her tightly. Sobs that didn’t belong to Amy joined hers, sobs that sounded familiar.

-fin

A/N: I wrote this literally when I got home from seeing Infinity War on April 27th. I've been sitting on this for awhile and with the digital release of Infinity War just last week, I figured now would be a good time to post. I want to delve more in this soulmate quad. Yes, they are all soulmates and it is AU, I'll hopefully post more soon!

Where Have I Been? (Update)

Where have I been for the last month?

Well, that's kinda an interesting story. At the end of June and start of July, in the middle of the night, I heard my dad groaning in pain. I took him to the ER, a few hours later, we learned that he had a gall stone attack and he should have his gall bladder removed. We had been at the ER for nearly five hours at this point, and I hadn't slept. I ended up pulling an allnighter, boy I was a fun person to hang out with the next day. Haha, no I was not, I was exhausted all day and the next few days.

Anyway, my dad is fine now. He hasn't had the surgery to have his gall bladder removed yet. It's a work in progress at the moment. In July, I decided that I would make another attempt at Camp NaNo to try and finish Crimson and Indigo...

That was bust, yes, I worked on my writing for over 30 hours (my goal was 30 hours), I did no work on C&I. But I'm hoping to slowly get back into. So, keep your fingers crossed that I can actually finish the darn thing after nearly six years of working on Claire.

Let's just say that July was a weird and rough month for me. As a result I did not do anything for the blog. I do apologize for that. You'll receive your regular twice weekly content starting on Monday. So be on the look out for some new posts.

-ADF

Unwanted Grief (DC-AmyVerse)

Persephone Carter-Sousa stood between her Uncle Clark and Uncle Barry. While neither were biologically related to the teen, both were close friends to her mother. Her aunts, cousins, and other family members surrounded the trio on one side of the obsidian barrier. Across the family were other people who knew Amelia, such as employees at Carter Industries. Or old friends from Gotham Prep, Harvard, or childhood friends. Various members of the Justice League stood opposite of the family, such as Green Lantern, Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Wonder Woman, Vixen, Zatana, even Constatine. Her mother had some amazing friends hero or not.

A single tear ran down her cheek as she stared at the large coffin in front of her. Her mother pale and still form inside the soft cream silk interior, hidden from the world. Peonies and lilies covered the top of the casket. It loomed largely in front of the teen. Silently taunting her of death’s hold upon life. As death had taken her mother, suddenly and quickly.

Blankly, the sixteen year old female stared in front of her. On the opposite side of her mother’s casket stood her father. A man, she had met only a handful of times in her life. Bruce Wayne was not someone she could say she got along with. He frightened her, fear still lingered in her bones from their first introduction of one another. That fear grew even more, when her mother revealed to her just who the billionaire was in relation to her. With her mother gone, there was nothing that could keep her out of his grasp.

The court battles over Persephone, while the public was unaware of the them, said teen was very much aware.

Briefly, she locked gazes with her father. The same cold ice blue eyes, the only thing that she had inherited from Gotham’s Dark Knight.

Easily, she could see the sorrow in the icy depths.

Anger filled her, he didn’t deserve to feel sad. Bruce Wayne had done nothing but hurt her mother, time and time again. Never once did he care for her mother, never in the sixteen years that she had been alive or the eight years he had been married to her.

A hand fell on Seph’s shoulder, spooked she looked away from her father to meet her Uncle Clark’s gaze. His sea blue eyes filled with tears. “It’s time, Seph,” he gently told her.

Slowly and hesitantly, she stepped forward and laid the white rose on the black coffin. She pressed a kiss to the cold metal, that entombed her mother.

“Mom,” she softly whispered, unwilling to say goodbye to her mom.

Once she stepped back, to join her family, others stepped forward to say their own goodbyes. She sniffed and wiped away. Safely tucked into Superman and the Flash’s sides, sobs began to fall from her lips.

Heart wrenching painful sobs ripped themselves from her chest, she could barely breathe. But several arms wrapped themselves around her and held her upright.

“Oh, Seph,” the voice of Kara Danvers softly and sadly said.

Unwilling to watch anyone else say goodbye, she hid herself in Clark’s arms. A habit she had developed early on in life. Her Kryptonian relatives always gave the best hugs aside from her mom, Uncle Barry, and Aunt Cait.

Pain filled her as she realized that she would never get another hug from her mom. Whimpers escaped her lips as she tried to feel warmth of some kind. Cold filled her and embraced her much like death had held her mother.

-fin

DC Amy-Verse

"Clark, Kara," Amy softly called out. She knew her two favorite Kryptonians would be able to hear her from the Cortex.

Within a few seconds, both Clark and Kara arrived along with Barry. Amy raised a silent eyebrow in the speedster's direction but didn't utter a word.

"What is it, Amy?" Clark asked as he looked at Amy with a concerned look on his face.

"This data from Batman and Arrow's sample. It looks off," she explained as she moved over to allow Barry and the two Kryptonians room to read the information on the screen.

The mother of one gently ran her fingers through Charlotte's dark locks. The little girl looked up and met her mother's dark eyes. Confusion on her face as she glanced at her aunt and uncles. Amy pressed a kiss into Charlie's hair. The little girl climbed into her mom's lap and continued to color her picture.

"Huh," Barry said as he looked at Amy. "These readings are off, but not in the usual way."

"How so?" Amy asked as she looked at the CSI with a frown on her face.

"The DNA from the arrow head and batarang. The blood sample, I can't get a positive match in the system. But I may be able to break down the samples to find possible paternity or maternity matches," Barry admitted as he met Amy's gaze with a concerned look upon his face.

"The samples look familiar. I'll run the breakdown sequence and see what we get," Barry added as he left the Cortex.

Amelia rolled her eyes as she realized Barry was probably in the lab to set up the changes.

"Uncle Barry is funny, mommy," Charlie commented from Amy's lap.

The dark haired female shook her head at her daughter's words about her uncle. Clark and Kara both laughed at Charlotte's obvious remark.

"You're not wrong, Lotte. Barry is funny," Kara agreed with a grin.

"Hey!" Barry cried out from the entryway of the Cortex.

Charlotte jumped off her mom's lap and wrapped her her arms around Barry's lets. "I still love you, Uncle Barry," she told him as she looked with wide innocent eyes. Eyes that shined brightly in the room lights.

Before Barry could respond, a voice interrupted the moment. "Barry, did the results give us anything?"

Charlotte gasped, her grip on her uncle's legs tightened as she attempted to hide herself from the man who stared at her funny. The others who joined him gave the four year old, the same odd looks. She turned away to avoid being seen.

"Nothing conclusive, at the moment, Bruce," Amy answered to keep her ex-husband's attention away from her daughter.

A frown and glare were sent in Amelia's direction from Gotham's Most Eligible Bachelor, but Amy chose to ignore his actions. Instead she smiled at the sight of Dick Grayson, who stood just behind Bruce. She remembered when she and Bruce had decided to foster the acrobat.

"Hello, Dick," Amy greeted him with a warm smile on her lips.

"Melia," he replied as he stepped around his adopted father. The first Robin moved forward and pulled Amy into a hug. Neither said a word, as they pulled apart. The dark haired male jerked his head in the direction of where Charlotte hid herself.

With pursed lips, Amy gave him a hesitant nod. Her eyes strayed to Bruce with a soft glare in her eyes, before she looked back at Dick. He sent her a soft smile before he made his way closer to Barry and Charlotte.

"You are a cutie," Dick complimented the little girl. "My name is Dick Grayson, what's your name?" he asked as he knelt down in front of the little girl.

Her bright blue eyes curiously met his, her head tilted to the side as she peeked at Dick from behind her uncle. Charlie flicked her eyes over to her mom's to see the warmth and reassurance that made her feel at ease.

"Charlotte Caitlin Kara Carter-Sousa," she proudly answered with sparkling eyes filled with delight.

"Caitlin Kara?" Dick wondered as he heard her middle names.

With a nod of her head, the little girl answered, "After my Auntie Cait and Auntie Kara." Her blue eyes flicked over to meet the eyes that belonged to her Kryptonian aunt. "Momma couldn't choose and figured she'd give me two middle names, just like her."

-TBC

PRIDE

The clock tower in the center of town looms high, lights from the base shine up sides of the bricks. A rainbow is painted in lights up and down the walls. Strength is found in those who stop or just glance at the building.

At the base of the tower, a pair sit on the steps in the twilight sky of pale lavender.

"This is it," the younger of the two says softly. "This is the symbol of me and what I've done this year."

A smile that is fond and sad, crosses the older sister's face. "You're more than just a rainbow," she replies. "But you're my favorite one, if you have to be."

Laughter bubbles up and falls from their lips. "Good to know. But are you?" the short haired woman trails off in her question to her sister, who is more petite.

Long dark, slightly purple tinted hair flails. "Not yet, but you are strong for sharing what you did."

A silence falls between the sisters as they watch the sky darken. The rainbow in the sky against the old worn bricks shines brightly in the sky and upon the sisters. 

-fin

Dedicated to my little sister, who just this year came out to the world as being bisexual. I don't care what she is, to me she will always be my little sister. It doesn't matter who you love, love is love and it doesn't judge.

This Is May (Journal)

May is almost over, and a lot has happened this month yet so little at the same time.

What have I done this May?

Mermay, I've been drawing a mermaid everyday in the month of May.I have desperately been wanting to get back into drawing and sketching. This has been a huge motivation for me. I might post pictures next week of my pieces if anyone is interested. There aren't many finished pieces as they're just rough sketches but some of them mean a lot to me, and some are super different.

I did my fifth year of Free Comic Book Day, it was a lot of fun to do with my sister. We've been doing it for five years now and it's always a blast. We're able to see more of the comic book community in our home town. Together we went to two comic books shops in our area and collected the ones we wanted. Our first stop was Starbucks, though for coffee. A tradition that has been going on for five years.

The Titanic Exhibit, on Dia de Madres (Mexico's Mother's Day) my family and I went to the Titanic Exhibit. I've already done a post on my experience.

My sister got a job this month. I'm super happy for her. She's only been on the job for about a week now but she's enjoying it. I drive her to and from work, so my gas has been leaving my car faster than I would like. Gas is really expensive where I live at the moment.

As a kid every Memorial Day weekend, we watched the Indianapolis 500. This meant the phone was off and no one dared to leave the living room after the race had started. It's been a tradition for my dad for a very long time, one that my sister and I have picked up.

This past Sunday was no different, I got up to go to McDonald's for breakfast (another tradition). It was the first year after my dad's heart surgery that we all were able to watch the race. Last year my dad was one state over recovering at a rehab hospital. We did watch the race but it hadn't felt the same without him. This year we watched the race. There were no big crashes this year, which was nice to see. I would have preferred an Andretti Autosport win, but nope.

We have our favorite teams and drivers. And as a general consensus we don't really like Team Penske or the drivers for that team. Just personal preference, they come off a bit snobbish. But that is neither here nor there.

The Indy 500 finished, and imagine to our surprise when ABC said that they would airing the Monaco Grand Prix. I've never seen it on TV before, so it was exciting for me to watch. Dad was pretty pumped too. Following the end of the 78 lap race, the Coca-Cola 600 started. It was great to have all three races back-to-back-to-back. Usually after the 500 we try to catch a nap before the 600 but that didn't happen for me this year. Both my dad and sister took naps to watch the races.

Overall, May has been an interesting one for me. But it felt familiar at the same time. This is May.

-ADF

Family Outings (TAG)

Five year old, Ella Rosewood stood beside her older brother John as he expertly and gently manipulated the claw machine, they were in front of. The mahogany haired girl watched in awe with rapt attention as the claw reached down and grabbed the grey owl, Ella had been eyeing when they first arrived at the restaurant. John’s tongue peeked out as he looked at the claw and prize with concentration.

The claw came up and dropped the stuffed toy down the chute. The strawberry blonde reached down and picked up the toy. “Here you go, Ella,” the nine year old boy handed the owl to his little sister.

Ella accepted the owl and gave her brother a hug. “Thank you, John. He’s so cute,” the five year old gushed.

John chuckled and gently patted Ella’s head. He gently disrupted her curled pigtails that had been tied with blue ribbons. John awkwardly looked at their dad and older brother, Scott, for help.

“Ella, what did John get you?” Jeff Tracy asked the dark red haired girl as he picked her up and placed her on his hip.

As Ella answered her dad’s question, Jeff walked them to the car. While, Scott and John followed behind.

Scott looked over at John, “That was nice of you to get Ella, the owl,” Scott told his brother. A smile on his face as they reached the car.

Jeff Tracy was putting Ella in her car seat. Lucille Tracy had placed seven year old Virgil and three year old Gordon in their car seats. Scott and John waited for their dad to finish.

“She really wanted that owl,” John answered as he met Scott’s gaze. “Besides, Ella was well behaved during lunch. She just sat on the table and colored in her coloring book.”

Scott nodded in agreement. “You’re not wrong,” he agreed.

Before he could elaborate further, “Alright you two, get inside,” Jeff said as he turned from Ella to Scott and John.

The two older Tracy boys moved inside and buckled themselves into the van. As Scott moved past Ella he gently ruffled her hair. A giggle fell from her lips, at her brother’s actions. He sat in the back, just behind Ella. Virgil just behind Gordon’s seat with John in the middle next to Scott. The Tracy Patriarchs both in the front seat.

Lucy had a smile on her face as she glanced at her children. The five of them were wonderful, despite, Ella being adopted into the family. Scott and John had never held it against her, while Virgil was only two years older than Ella. All of her boys loved Ella and she couldn’t be more proud of them.

As Jeff drove through town back to their small little farm, all five of the Tracy children chattered with each other. Excitement from the outing, but eventually Gordon drifted to sleep. Ella and Virgil followed after the youngest Tracy boy, moments later.

“Out like little lights,” Lucy commented as she looked at her three sleeping children.

-fin

Celestial Cookies (TAG)

Meanwhile, in the kitchen Alan and Ella were pulling out plates for the cookies. The Rosewood female had hidden the baked sweets to keep them away from her family. She knew better than to leave anything out for her siblings to get into.

“Hey, Ella,” Alan softly spoke as he looked over at his sister. “Can I ask you a question?” A curious look in his eye.

“Of course,” she answered with a smile as she stared at the shelves.

“Do you have a crush on Scott?” the blonde haired boy innocently asked.

Ella dropped on of her containers. It fell onto the counter with a loud clank. Her eyes widened as she spun to look at her little brother in shock. Never, had she expected for her baby brother to ever ask her a question like that. Had she been eating or drinking, she would have choked easily. So many thoughts ran through her head as she tried to find words.

“Everything alright in there?” Grandma’s voice could be heard from the living room.

“Everything’s fine, Grandma!” Ella called back in hopes that the matriarch wouldn’t peek into the kitchen. She sent Alan a frown from his earlier question.

“Hurry up with those cookies, Ella. Gordon looks ready to barge in,” Grandma warned from the living room.

“We’ll be a few minutes, Grandma,” Alan called out as he grabbed a few cookies from one of the containers. “Well?” he asked as he turned his attention back to his sister.

An annoyed sigh and gold-brown eyes were rolled. “Alan, I’ve been in love with Scott for my entire life. And he only sees me as his little sister. That’s all he’ll ever see me as,” she admitted with a sadness in her eyes.

Alan frowned at his sister’s words. He had never seen her look at heartbroken as she did in that moment.

With a wipe of her hand against her eyes to catch the unshed tears, she turned her attention back to Alan. “Let’s get these cookies out into the living room. Gordon or Virgil might bust in here demanding to be fed,” she suggested with a sniffled laugh.

Alan didn’t say a word. How could he? Instead he helped his sister arrange the large selection of cookies on the four plates. There was something for everyone to enjoy. Nothing super extravagant but Ella was always able to get creative with her baking.

“Ooh, carrot cake cookies,” Gordon happily exclaimed as he spotted his siblings with the four plates of cookies between them.

Ella rolled her eyes, but happily handed Gordon one of the plates. The gleeful grin on Gordon’s face brought a smile to her own. The aquanaut was easy to please, he had been a smiley baby. Ella remembered as a little girl she played lots of little games with the swimmer, more often than not they ended up in the little kiddie pool their parents had set up.

She placed the other plate on the coffee table in the center of the seating area. Happily she collapsed onto one of the couches with a soft sigh. From the corner of her eye she caught Scott’s stare, but didn’t do anything. Instead she sank further into the cushions and listened to their father.

Jeff was telling the group a story about his time on the moon. Ella’s eyes stayed on her father as she heard the story. It was one she had heard before, a story Jeff had shared with her after she had learned that she wasn’t a Tracy. The story was one that featured her biological father, Christian Rosewood. A smile crossed her lips as she heard the familiar story.

John sat down beside Ella, with a grin he wrapped his arm. He pulled her into his side and just held her.

"Hi John," Ella softly greeted her brother.

"Hi Ella," he replied with a smile.

Together the pair listened to their dad continue his story. Alan sat down on Ella's side and rested his head on her shoulder. A smile crossed the twenty year old's face as she happily cuddled with two of her brothers.

-fin

Celestial Cookies(TAG)

Ella watched the sky from her bedroom window, her eyes on the full moon. Thoughts easily dwelled on the old base there, the base where Captain Taylor, and both of her fathers, Jeff Tracy and Christian Rosewood once stayed. Sometime befor her birth and Scott's birth as well, despite being six years older than her.

"You're just like your father," a voice from the doorway commented.

Ella looked over her shoulder, she sent Grandma a warm smile. "Can't help it really," she admitted as she approached her grandma.

"I know, Ella. Let's see if anyone else is going to stay up from the eclipse," the Tracy Matriarch suggested as she led her granddaughter downstairs with an arm wrapped around her shoulder.

As they reached the landing, that hid the entrance to Thunderbird One and Two, Ella leaned over the railing to see all five of her siblings. Along with Brains, Kayo, and her dad. Laughter escaped her lips as she saw Gordon's celery bar wrapper hit Virgil as the blonde threw it over his shoulder.

"Ah, Ella, there you are," Jeff said as he sent his daughter a wide grin.

"Hi dad," she greeted as she rushed down the stairs and wrapped her arms around her dad.

Jeff returned the hug. He had been away from his children, Ella, Gordon, and Alan for most of the day. A mission for International Rescue with Scott and Virgil kep him busy.

"Hey kiddo, are you ready for the eclipse?" he asked as he met Ella's golden brown gaze.

Eagerly, she nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I baked cookies to snack on," she told her dad with a smile.

Jeff chuckled at Ella's antics. She could bake well, certainly much better than his mother. But wasn't going to tell her that. No, Jeff Tracy valued his life.

"Ella, what kind of cookies did you bake?" Alan asked as he looked at his sister with excitement.

Giggles escaped Ella's lips at her youngest brother's anticipation for the baked goodies. "I baked a few different kinds today little brother. Since everyone was home, everyone's favorite got baked," she answered. "Come on let's get you white chocolate walnut oatmeal cookies."

Alan let out an exclamation of delight as he followed after his sister to get his treat.

Scott, John, and Virgil all laughed as they watched their youngest brother follow after Ella. A sigh escaped Scott's lips as his best friend disappeared into the kitchen. So much had changed between him and Ella, since he left hom when he was eighteen. He remembered was small and gangly at twelve, she stayed that way until two years ago.

Christmas with an eighteen, almost nineteen, year old Ella surprised him. She looked different, as if she had grown more comfortable with herself. Her hair was longer, an Scott noticed the light amount of makeup she wore. It had felt like a piano had dropped on his head.

In the six and half years that he had been away, Ella grown up. He couldn't remember it when he visited hom during his years away from holidays or vacations.

"You know instead of longingly staring, you could ask her out," John pointed out as he watched his oldest brother with a teasing grin.

"I have no idea, what you're talking about," Scott scoffed, his eyes looking at the floor to try and hide his flushed cheeks.

John and Virgil shared an annoyed look with each other at Scott's denial. Neither of them were idiots, both had known of Ella's feelings for Scott for years and both suspected of Scott's mutual feelings.

-TBC