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

Aboard the Titanic (Journal)

Hi everyone, today is a journal post. I wanted to share my experience about the Titanic Exhibit that is happening in my hometown. It's been town since October through May 20th. My parents, younger sister and I went yesterday.

I have never seen the movie. Plain as day, I just have never seen it. My sister is a little historian, she's obsessed with Ancient Egypt and the Titantic. She was very excited to hear about the arrival of this exhibit. This was her dream to go, and it was an amazing experience.

The musuem where the exhibit is hosted, has multiple floors. It all added into the experience of the trip. After paying to see the exhibit, we were all given boarding passes of actual passengers who were aboard the ship. You get some information about who they traveled with, age, arrival and intended destination.

The exhibit starts with history of the Titanic. It gives a history of White Star Line, Andrews (the designer), Ismay, and Peirre (White Star Line's two heads). The Titanic was one of the three transatlantic ocean liners White Star intended to design to be bigger than the rest; Titanic, Olympic, and the Britannic. There were two rooms to demonstrate what a first class and third class passengers would have been placed in. Second class was not displayed but it was stated on one of the plaques that it was somewhere in between the two rooms but closer to a first class. There was even a piece of the First Class Grand Staircase and Chandelier on display.

Neither of these things are truly accessible as the staircase has since disintegrated. The Chandelier was not in the debris field. My sister has mentioned that the artifacts on display were in the debris field and not from the actual ships. So, as to respect the lost ship and lives from the tragic accident.

In the next room, just a little ways down, we learned more about April 10th. The days passengers began to board the ship. There was a little bit of information about Captain Edward J. Smith, who had planned to retire in 1911, but was persuaded to captain the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic.

This same room introduced the guests to some of the First and Second Class Passengers, such as John Jacob Astor IV, Ida Straus, and Reverend Thomas Byles were a few. We saw pictures of Cafe Parisian, with the ivy grown walls. A menu for first, second, and third class passengers for April 14th, 1912. In the displays we saw a lot of personal items. Like china, tea cups, money, and pins.

The next part went into the insides of the ship. A mock boiler room was set up with infinity mirrors. The lights were set in an orange red color to simulate heat, even the room felt warmer as well. It was a great way to just experience what went on behind the scenes that the passengers maybe weren't privy to viewing.

Just a little ways down, the hall was dark. And the Ice Warnings that had been sent to the Titanic were displayed on the walls. Along with the times and the ships that sent those messages. The room turned dark with a slight blue hue to it. Cold, as if you were actually in the water. A large piece of ice out on display, for spectators to see and touch. Titanic is doomed. The last words on the wall before you're moved into the next part of the display.

A sadness lingered between me and my sister. The looped video shows a computer generated recreation of the event. I only watched once before I felt sick to my stomach. I tried to hide my tears, I'm not sure if I failed or succeeded.

The discovery of the sunken ship is the next room. Still chilly. In this final room we learned mor about various people some of their identified personal objects. Even the preservation process and the detieration of the ship itself.

We saw William Henry Allen's work shirt, socks and suspenders. Ismay's decision to abandon the ship he had helped create. Margaret Brown's bravery in deciding to go back and grab others. Officer Phillips who sent out the SOS signal. The Straus couple, Ida refusing to leave Isidor. Together, they would die as they lived life...

Finally the memorial wall, where you learned the fate of your ticket. Three of the four of us survived. But one of us was lost in my family. There was a quiet sadness between my sister and I as we gazed at the names and all of those in third class and crew who were lost. More lost than those who lived. Even the story about the lifeboats, not enough or fully filled to capacity. It was heartbreaking to learn that. So many could have been saved. The band played until the very end and Captain Edward J. Smith went down with his ship. Never to return home to his wife and daughter as he had promised.

It was humbling to be able to see the history. My sister was able to elaborate and spout off random bits of trivia to my mom, dad, and I as we walked through the rooms. She was the one who noted that as we traveled through the museum that it felt as if were experiencing the the tragedy. And she was right, we really did.

It was an experience that I won't forget. One that just reminded of the fragility of life even more.
-ADF

Bond and Co.

Ava climbed out of the back of the van, she quickly moved to the drivers seat. Frantically she started her car and drove to the meeting spot for her fellow agents. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened as she impatiently waited for Bond and Forty-Nine to arrive.

The communications agent tapped her fingers against the steering wheel as she looked out her mirrors. Eyes constantly moving in search of her charges. If they didn't arrive in ten minutes, she knew the rules with the agency. She did not want to leave the duo behind, as they were both two of the best agents within the agency.

The back door slid open. Ava snapped her head back to see Forty-Nine climb into the back. The bottom of her dress torn and caked with mud and dirt. Her high heels in her hand, which she promptly flung onto the floor.

"Forty-Nine, where the did the intel go wrong?" Ava demanded as she shifted the car from park to drive. Her foot slammed on the gas, as they van took off to head back to headquarters.

Agent Twelve met Forty-Nine's blue eyes in the rearview mirror. The anger in Ava's eyes was evident as she briefly sent Emma a glare over her shoulder.

Bond turned his head to see the guilt in Emma's face, as she looked down at her hands. The same hands that she nervously wrung in her lap to avoid meeting the gazes of Bond and Twelve. A frown marred the senior agent's lips as he began to wonder if Forty-Nine had kept things from him and Twelve.

"Emma," Ava growled frustrated at the lack of an answer from the Intelligence Agent. Her grip on the steering wheel tightened, knuckles white as she moved the car onto a highway entrance.

"Emma," Bond quietly said. Worry lines creased his face.

The blonde agent sighed but said nothing. Instead, she turned her head to look out the window.

As the silence ensnared the trio, both Bond and Ava realized that Emma was hiding something. Something that had compromised the mission and potentially the agency. H would be hearing about this incident and demanding a review of their three combined files and missions.

Ava and Bond shared a concerned glance, as they approached HQ. Fear in their features as they prepared themselves for the worst case scenario.

-fin

Camp NaNo Update

Hey everyone, it's the second of May. Woo-hoo. A lot has happened since my last piece. Well, not a lot a lot.

Anywhere, I'll start with Camp Nano. I finished camp with over 30 hours of writing. I spent about four of those hours on the actual piece that I was meant to be working on for Camp but my mind just wasn't in the right headspace. But I am almost done with the chapter that I have been working on for four... five years at this point. So, progress.

I saw Avengers: Infinity War, I died. I'll maybe do a more comprehensive post on my thoughts later. I did write a few pieces for it. One just kills me. They may eventually get posted here but not for awhile. I am not in the right place to be dealing with the events of the movie. Like seriously, the Russo brothers pretty much killed all of the Marvel Fandom in the movie. Horrible simply horrible. I died my heart just hurts.

Spam, I have been getting spam comments. I don't want those here. I will remove them, and I have. I have spent a lot of time on this blog. I don't mind if people want to comment, but please keep it relevant to piece. DO NOT post links to things that have nothing to do with the piece of work that I have presented.

I'm also doing Mermay this month. So, I'll be writing and drawing... Wish me luck on these. I want to get back into drawing, as art has been a passion of mine for a long time. And I haven't really sat down to just draw in a while. So, this is will be good practice for me to get back into.

See everyone on Friday! Still only posting twice a week.

-ADF