NIGHTSHADE.

if there's one thing gods love, it's tragedy. with wings that burn and men who fall. marco santos; 37 yrs | sous chef at alvaro's

[marcoscntos]

TASK ONE - Character Intro

FullName: Marco Gabriel Santos

Nicknames: Santos

Age & Birthday: 37 years; July 25th, 1986

Occupation: Sous Chef at Alvaro's

Preferred Pronouns & Gender: he/him; cis-male

Sexuality: Heterosexual

Hometown & length of time in Briar Ridge: Houston, TX, & twenty-seven years

Neighborhood: Downtown

Family: Carlos and Maria Santos (grandparents), Juan Santos (younger brother), Gabriela Santos (niece)

PINTEREST | CONNECTIONS | PLAYLIST

Trigger Warnings: parental death, child abandonment, criminal activity, prison

Marco Santos has always carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. A renowned chef on a one way track to success, his career came to a screeching halt when Marco took the blame for a crime he didn't commit to protect his brother and ensure that Juan could be present in his newborn daughter's life. After five years, Marco was just released from prison and is dealing with the fact that his sacrifice might have been for nothing.

Marco’s mother died when he was pretty young. From that moment, his little brother, who was just two, pretty much became Marco’s responsibility. Their Dad really struggled with providing for his sons, but when Marco was about 10 years old, he got a job that would finally allow him to pay the bills, but would require him to travel a lot. So he sent Marco & Juan to go live with their grandparents in Briar Ridge. Shortly after moving to Briar Ridge, Marco met and befriended the girl next door. They became best friends and remained so for the rest of their childhood.

Marco worked really hard to be the best that he could be at… everything. He studied hard, practiced any and every sport he played as much as he could, even worked as hard as he could at being the best big brother. He wanted to make sure that by the time he graduated from high school, he would have several options to ensure he started making enough money to help his family out. But his brother didn’t have the same goals as Marco and after falling in with the wrong crowd when they were kids, continued on a downward spiral that kept getting him into bad shit

After graduating from high school, Marco managed to get a scholarship to a world famous culinary school in Orlando. His time in Orlando made him realize that cooking, and simply being in a restaurant environment, were his passion. The eldest Santos thrived while he was there. When he left, he asked the girl next door to keep an eye on Juan, and with the physical distance from constantly looking over his shoulder for his brother, he was finally able to focus and really thrived while in Orlando. When Marco graduated, he got a job working at a restaurant there. He planned on staying in the city, at least for a couple years and working his way up the ‘ladder’ so to speak. But after receiving a frantic call from his grandmother about how out of control Juan had gotten, Marco packed up his bags and moved back home, feeling like his brother had been and always would be his responsibility

Over the years, Marco has worked at different restaurants in Briar Ridge, until about 8 years ago, he finally got his big break and landed a job at Alvaro’s. Despite how bad things were with Juan, Marco’s professional life, at least, seemed to be doing pretty well. Then, things got turned upside down six years ago when Juan got one of his flings pregnant. From the moment his niece was born, Marco fell head over heels. Gabriela, named after Marco in an effort to show how much Juan appreciated his older brother, became the single most important thing to him and for that first year she was alive, Marco took care of her just as much as Juan did.

Five years ago, things came crashing down when Marco caught his brother breaking into someone’s house in a wealthier part of town. With Juan already having several priors on his record, Marco went in after him to try to get him to leave, afraid of the repercussions his brother would face if he were caught. A silent alarm was triggered & before they knew it, the cops arrived. Not wanting his brother to miss out on all the time with his daughter, who was just a year old, Marco took the blame so his brother could escape & was arrested in his place. Because it was his first offense, Marco only received 7 years with a chance of getting out on good behavior. He got out after 5 and is now on the path to getting his life back, including trying to adopt his niece who he’s learned his brother basically abandoned after he went to jail.

[cali-cabrera]

Starter for: @marcoscntos Location: The Penalty Box

With some game playing on the screens around the bar, Cali and her friends were huddled into one corner of The Penalty Box, merrily cheering when everyone else did even if they were too busy chatting to actually pay attention to the game.

With a break in the game and people taking the opportunity to get some air, the bar emptied out slightly and Cali took the opportunity to grab a drink whilst she could actually cross the room to the bar. As she waited for her drink, she was aware of a presence a little too close to her right hand side. "Can I get you a drink?" Shaking her head, Cali glanced towards the voice. "I'm good, thanks though." As the man asked again, Cali rolled her eyes a little. "Answer is still no. Pretty sure my boyfriend would prefer it if you could take a couple of steps to your right. So would I, for that matter." Handing over the cash as she was handed her drink, Cali turned to walk away from the bar.

Noticing her friends had also taken the opportunity for air and sensing her friend from the bar was following her to try his luck again, Cali turned towards the door to join them when she collided with a body. "Oh shit, sorry." Glancing up, her face split into a grin. "Baby, you're here! I thought you got lost." Widening her eyes a little, Cali reached up to wrap her arms around Marco's neck, whispering in his ear as she hugged him. "Play along?"

[marcoscntos]

Marco wasn't exactly a social butterfly, but after a jam packed week helping Gabi with various school projects and such, the thirty-eight year old needed some adult company. So he'd left his niece with his grandmother and headed to the Penalty Box to watch the game. He was a little bit late, only arriving after half-time had already started, so he took the opportunity of everyone milling around to try and spot an open space at the bar. He was heading for a secluded corner spot when he bumped into someone and a familiar scent washed over him.

Marco instinctively wrapped his arms around Cali's waist, returning the hug, but also making sure she was steady. At her whispered request, Marco's gaze scanned the crowd behind her, lips quirking upwards when he spotted the clearly disappointed male.

"Ahí estas hermosa!" There you are, beautiful! He replied, loud enough for the male to hear him as he dragged his gaze back to meet Cali's. He kept his arm around her shoulder, holding her close to his side. "Who's your little friend?" he asked, nodding in the direction of her would be companion.

[maricabrera]

Leaning back against one of the counters, Mari's arms crossed over her chest as a smirk overcame her features. She wasn't going to comment on the fact that she'd quit music five years ago, walked away from the only dream she'd ever had because of her pride and broken heart. No, he didn't deserve to know that part of her life. Instead, she merely quipped, "Well some of us like to remain humble in our roots, you know. Make sure we keep in touch with the little people like yourself." The jab left her lips without so much as a second thought, but the irony of it all was she was in her service industry herself. She had no right to look down on him, and yet there she was. Doing just that. "So you have added stalkin', then. Because I doubt Cali's done a lot of chattin' about the things I like to eat. Not when the two of you have so much to catch up on." In a moment of protectiveness over her sister, Mari's expression grew hard. "You missed a lot, you know. You weren't there when she needed you."

[marcoscntos]

Tongue in cheek to keep himself from lashing out, Marco shook his head and let out a bitter laugh. "Little, huh?" he scoffed. "Right." He knew full well, based on what the community knew about him now - what they thought they knew about him - he deserved to be looked down on, deserved to be thought of as a criminal, a low life. How did someone who had grown up in this community, the way that he had, turn around and stab one of its' members in the back by breaking in like he had? He wished that Juan - the one who had actually committed the crime - felt half the shame that Marco felt for something he hadn't even done. Instead, Marco's brother couldn't care less. He bit back the retort about what he and Cali had or hadn't been catching up on since he'd been back. Instead, he raked a hand through his hair, trying to calm himself down before he spoke again. "Look, I know, okay? I know I wasn't there for a lot of things, the biggest thing." he added, pain filling his gaze as he was reminded once again about their father's death. It killed him that he hadn't been around, hadn't even known about Mr. C's passing until he'd gotten out. "You think I don't regret the decision that put me away all those years every single day of my life??" It was the closest he could get to the truth without actually telling her all of it. "Well, I do. Not being there for Cali when your father passed will always be my biggest regret in life, Mari. You have to know that."

[bxnesamxlia]

A bright smile was forming on Feli’s face slowly as she fully realised who was standing in front of her right now. It was good to see him again. Even though it had been a while and she knew where he had been all of those years. And things didn’t add up there. Feli had known the Santos boys both and something just didn’t feel right. If there was one of the Santos boys who she had expected to end up in jail, it would have been Juan. “Okay, I am going to hug you. I don’t care if you don’t want it or not,” she said with a chuckle before moving in closer to the man she had always nearly considered family. His grandparents definitely were her grandparents, she would not see them otherwise. They had helped her dad and her so much when they had arrived in Briar Ridge all those years ago. “I was already grown up when I saw you last. I mean… I was twenty-eight when I saw you last. Please don’t tell me you still looked at me like a little kid back then,” Feli said, nearly offended by the comment before finally wrapping her arms around him to quickly hug him as a ‘it is nice to see you’. “I’ve been well. Still trying to find my way in life, which is nothing new I would say.” Even though she had already come a long way since the moment she turned her life around. “But I am very excited that we are going to be working together!”

[marcoscntos]

He chuckled as she stepped in and he easily wrapped his arms around her, squeezing her tight before letting her go. It felt nice to have such a warm reception, nice to not have someone immediately react with a changed opinion about him. For whatever reason, Feli didn't seem to be treating him any differently than she had for their whole lives, and Marco couldn't help but be grateful for it. He laughed again at her disdain for his comment. "No, but it's fun to tease you about it, hey? At least I'll always have the fact that I saw you in your N'sync obsessed days to hold over your head." he teased. "You and me both." he answered, feeling the weight of trying to figure out his path in life now more than ever. His time in jail had turned everything upside down, the trajectory he had been on spiralling out of control. "Me too! It'll be nice to have someone around who doesn't think I'm an asshole." He murmured the last part under his breath, almost hoping that she wouldn't hear it. He shouldn't be engaging in a pity party. He should just be grateful to have even been given the job.

[cali-cabrera]

Ever since they had met, Marco and Cali had been inseparable. If you saw one, you knew the other wasn’t far behind. When they had gone to different colleges, they were in touch every single day and had made regular trips to visit each other and then overnight, there was nothing. It had been Cali’s choice, out of her pain and her stubbornness, to not see or speak to Marco whilst he was in jail, but it had upended her life in ways she couldn’t have foreseen. Now they were different people and she had no idea if they could ever get back to the place they had been before. A place she wanted to go back to more than anything. At his admission, she felt the little lump in her throat reappear and she quickly cleared it with a cough. “We must have kept missing each other then..”

Nodding, Cali glanced up at him, enough time to catch his eyes before she quickly looked back out to the dark sky to avoid getting lost in his dark brown hues. “I know, I should’ve called. I just needed to sort through some things in my head.” Taking the spoon back from him, it was only when the flavour hit her tastebuds she realised that maybe things weren’t so different after all.

“Are you insane?” Looking at him, Cali’s face showed her disgust at his opinion. They had always gone for the same flavours, hers was cookie dough and his was cookies and cream and the rivalry between them was a constant throughout their relationship. “Cookie dough is obviously superior. How have you been gone five years and you still haven’t developed any taste?” Nudging his side with her elbow, she scooped a spoonful of her ice cream into her mouth. “At least you never brought mint flavour down here, then I’d have to throw it straight in the trash.”

[marcoscntos]

His shoulders raised in a haphazard shrug. "Who would've guessed it is actually possible to miss running into each other in this tiny speck of a town." he teased, referring to how often they used to complain about not being able to avoid any of the people in their lives that they had tried to ditch. He had lost count of how many times he'd embarrassed himself at school and still been unable to avoid running into the kids he'd embarrassed himself in front of outside of school. It had been the bane of their existence as kids.

At Cali's admission, he was unable to help quirking a brow at her. Was this Cali admitting she should have reached out first? But his lighthearted response quickly grew serious. "Look Cali," he paused to rub at his eyebrow, "Look, Cali, I don't want to make things difficult for you. I understand that you've had a lot of time while I was away to build a new life. If me coming back digs up old things for you, things that you already dealt with, I get it. I can step back a bit. Whatever you need." It was a fucking lie and he hated that it had even come out of his mouth. He didn't know if he could actually step back from Cali, but for her sake, he did know that he would sure as hell try if that was what she needed from him.

His mood lightened as she nudged him with her elbow. "Look, I'm the one who spent five years craving nothing but cookies and cream, not cookie dough, so I think it's safe to say my taste buds know what they want." he quipped, prepared to have her throw his crappy taste buds right back at him. "But at least we can agree on something, hey?"

[marcoscntos]

His shoulders raised in a haphazard shrug. "Who would've guessed it is actually possible to miss running into each other in this tiny speck of a town." he teased, referring to how often they used to complain about not being able to avoid any of the people in their lives that they had tried to ditch. He had lost count of how many times he'd embarrassed himself at school and still been unable to avoid running into the kids he'd embarrassed himself in front of outside of school. It had been the bane of their existence as kids.

At Cali's admission, he was unable to help quirking a brow at her. Was this Cali admitting she should have reached out first? But his lighthearted response quickly grew serious. "Look Cali," he paused to rub at his eyebrow, "I don't want to make things difficult for you. I understand that you've had a lot of time while I was away to build a new life. If me coming back digs up old things for you, things that you already dealt with, I get it. I can step back a bit. Whatever you need." It was a fucking lie and he hated that it had even come out of his mouth. He didn't know if he could actually step back from Cali, but for her sake, he did know that he would sure as hell try if that was what she needed from him.

His mood lightened as she nudged him with her elbow. "I mean, I'm the one who spent five years craving nothing but cookies and cream, not cookie dough, so I think it's safe to say my taste buds know what they want." he quipped, prepared to have her throw his crappy taste buds right back at him. "But at least we can agree on something, hey?"

[kanthcnys]

Park Hyung Sik as Ahn Min Hyuk & Park Bo Young as Do Bong Soon 1.03 | Strong Girl Nam Soon (2023)

[marcoscntos]

@cali-cabrera

[marcoscntos]

💛 👗

💛  how empathetic is your muse? how compassionate are they? is this something people expect from them, or are people surprised when they find out how compassionate or empathetic they actually are?

I'd say Marco is pretty empathetic. He kind of went to jail because of his empathy. He knew what being found guilty of breaking and entering would mean for his brother. Juan had several priors on his record, so he would have gotten a much longer sentence. Not only did Marco do it out of empathy for Juan, but also for Juan's daughter. Marco wanted Gabi to get to grow up with her father around. So yeah, I'd say Marco's empathetic and compassionate. Maybe too much so?

As for how other people react to finding out about his empathy/compassion, I think based on the conviction, a lot of people who used to think he was an empathetic person might not think so any longer. So I think after the conviction, a lot of people would be surprised.

👗  what is your muse’s fashion sense like? are they able to dress the way they want to? what would they wear in an ideal world?

In a lot of ways, Marco is a creature of habit. Once he finds something that works, he sticks to it. So he's been rocking jeans and a t-shirt or a button up jacket for a pretty long time now. If it weren't for work, that's probably what he would wear every day of his life.

[marcoscntos]

😍

Does your muse believe in true love? Why or why not?

Definitely. It was pretty much impossible to grow up in his grandparents' household, or around Mr. and Mrs. Cabrera and not believe in true love.

[weirdlypersonalrpmemes]

PROMPTS I’D LIKE TO RECEIVE, PART 1.

⤿   headcanon memes; comfort character edition!   tw: death, family, religion.    

send in a symbol and i’ll answer the corresponding question about my muse!

[ 🧱 ] how would you describe your muses’ morality? what are their core values?

[ 🌎 ] are there any aus you have for your muse? what are they like, and how is your muse different in them?

[ 😱 ] does your muse have any specific fears? where did those fears come from?

[ 🤝 ] how does your muse approach intimacy? are they hesitant, or do they like it? what types of intimacy do they like and dislike? (ex. physical intimacy, sexual intimacy, emotional intimacy, etc.)

[ 👪 ] what is your muse’s relationship with their parents like? was it always this way?

[ 💍 ] does your muse have a “type” of people that they prefer to enter relationships with? is their type generally compatible with them, or does the dynamic tend to be toxic?

[ 🏆 ] is your muse multitalented? what are their hobbies, and why did they pick up these hobbies? if they don’t have hobbies, why don’t they?

[ 🐱 ] does your muse have pets? did they have pets as a child? how do they feel about animals?

[ ❌ ] is there something your muse struggles with that they might never overcome? what is it? why do they have so much trouble with it?

[ ✨ ] what aesthetics or symbols do you reference when writing your muse? are these backed up by canon, if your muse comes from a canon? is there any specific relevance to these choices?

[ 🌱 ] what themes are relevant to your muse?

[ 💀 ] has your muse gone through anything traumatic? if so, how has this trauma affected them?

[ 💛 ] how empathetic is your muse? how compassionate are they? is this something people expect from them, or are people surprised when they find out how compassionate or empathetic they actually are?

[ 👗 ] what is your muse’s fashion sense like? are they able to dress the way they want to? what would they wear in an ideal world?

[ 🔮 ] what is your muse’s relationship with religion and spirituality? were they raised in a certain religion? have they stuck with the same set of spiritual beliefs all their life, or have they changed over time? are they settled in their spirituality now?

[ 🤷‍♀️ ] how does your muse approach strangers? how does this compare to how they interact with close friends or lovers?

[ 🎵 ] is there a specific song or songs you associate with your muse? why is that?

[ 💸 ] if your muse had no shortage of money, what would they buy?

[ 🐺 ] does your muse like solitude? do they prefer it to being around others? how easily does your muse get lonely?

[ ⚰️ ] what are your muse’s greatest regrets? what would flash before their eyes when they’re on their deathbed?

[ 🧸 ] does your muse keep anything sentimental? if so, what do they keep and why?

[ 🙏 ] what does your muse need? this can be something material or something abstract.

[ 📚 ] what books does your muse have on their bookshelf? what books would they like to have? if your muse isn’t an avid reader, is there anything they collect or might like to collect?

[ 😍 ] does your muse believe in true love? why or why not?

[ 😇 ] what would your muse do if they became a god?

[marcoscntos]

cam's inbox | marco's inbox | val's inbox

[civanguneri]

Who | open ( capping at 3 ) Where | the beach. In the slowly dying out glimpses of summer heat, a deep chest rattling sigh escaped Civan as he was volunteered by his teammates to find a last minute substitute player. Why he of all people had been entrusted with the task he would never understand - but he begrudgingly obliged the others' urging. Bare feet carried him across the warm beach, stopping at the nearest beach goer who looked to be by themselves and of an age wherein they might actually agree to the favor and enjoy themselves. A hand raised to shield his eyes from the sun so he could look them in the eyes, offering what was a bit of an awkward forced smile. "Hey, uh, any chance you're up for a game of volleyball?" He'd gesture to the ball tucked under his left arm, as if that might be necessary. "Me and those guys..." he'd turn to glance back behind him to an equally shirtless crowd of adults around a volleyball net. "We're trying to get in a few season end plays, just for fun, and we had a no show."

[marcoscntos]

Marco was spending as much time as he could at the beach these days. Soaking up the last remaining dregs of warmth that he could. Besides, after being locked in a cell for five years, the freedom a wide open beach offered, was something he had a hard time staying away from. He had spotted the group of people playing volleyball up ahead, but he was still a ways away and didn't pay much attention to who was playing until he was closer. He saw one of the players separate from the group and began heading towards the person who was walking several feet ahead of him. Only as he continued walking, getting closer to the conversation, did he begin to recognize the man who had left the game and hear what he was asking. Civan. Marco winced inwardly at the awkwardness of running into the son of the woman who owned the house Juan had broken into five years ago. He tried to speed up, hoping Civan wouldn't notice him, but as the person Civan was talking to turned down his offer and the younger man's eyes turned towards Marco, he knew there was no avoiding it now. "I'm guessing you don't need another team player that badly?" he offered, glancing over Civan's shoulder at the group of people waiting around the volleyball net.

[emilmoreno]

Emil rolled his eyes, amusement evident in his feigned exasperation. "I know how much we're capable of eating," he retorted. More then contributing to that himself, what with his seemingly iron stomach. Since everything else was pretty much taken care of, he moved to sit opposite his friends with a handful of pretzels ungracefully stuffed into his mouth. "Yeah. It's always a good time. Spent most of mine with Isabel." Which was one hundred percent worth it, especially with the summer quickly evaporating out from under them. He had to make the best of the time he had with her. Emil's head snapped towards Callum with a far too broad grin, an eyebrow raised at his friend. "Oh ho-ho is that so? And he says he isn't a charmer, ha."

@papaflynn

[papaflynn]

"My Irish skin, I've no hope of aging well," Callum joked, shaking his head. "Emil will be as dashing as ever and I'll be wrinkly and bald." Callum then reached for more snacks and slapped his belly, "Oh, and a much larger belly too, if you keep feeding me this good." He smiled over at Emil, fondness in his eyes. The two men his safe place. He could be his complete self with no fear of judgement. That didn't mean they could tease him, which judging by the smirk on Marco's lips, Callum knew it was coming. "I've no idea what you're talking about," he said, trying to hold back the grin but failing miserably. It had been a while since Callum had been with a woman, so he was still high on the thrill of it all. "Right, fine. I hooked up with Wyatt, but that's just for you two to know... I don't want her to think I'm running around town bragging about it like she was some notch on my bed post or something, you know?" Callum shrugged and sipped his beer to cool himself down, hot under the spotlight. "It was just a one time thing, though. She's cool, but we're just friends."

[marcoscntos]

"Sure you don't." Marco elbowed Callum in the ribs jokingly. When the man finally admitted to it, Marco clapped his hands together. "Ha! Knew it!" Marco grinned, excited that someone had something going on that was enough of a distraction for him. "Just friends, hmm? You sure about that?" Marco knew it had been a while since Callum had actively seen anyone and he wanted his friend to be happy. He couldn't help it if he hoped that maybe this 'one-time-thing' could turn into something more. "You hearing this, Emil? How long you think he's going to stick to this just-friends-story?"

[loriedit]

fbi most wanted: Ivan Ortiz

[masonsgooding]

Miguel Gomez as Rafi in SMILF (1x04)

[cali-cabrera]

Ever since they had been allowed to go out on their own and their curfews had been a little later, Cali and Marco had spent more nights than she could count eating ice cream on the pier and then laying on blankets watching the stars. It was a memory so integral to her, she could even remember the date they had started with their little tradition.

When Marco had been in prison, she hadn't expected to want to keep it up, but whenever she missed him, she went and sat in their spot, a tub of ice cream with her and it was the one place she had felt connected to him. Her anger and stubbornness had kept her from visiting him, but she still had to feel close to him in some way.

As she made her way to their spot on the pier, her step hesitated slightly as she saw someone already there. It took only a nanosecond for her body to go from wariness to warmth as she realised who it was. Walking down towards him, Cali hesitated for only a second before she sat down next to him on the bench. "Hey yourself." Pulling the spoon and small tub of ice cream from her pocket, she quickly tucked in. "I didn't expect to see you down here."

She wished the butterflies in her stomach didn't appear around him, she wished that her heart hadn't skipped a beat when she'd seen him on the bench and she wished more than anything that the replays of their fight would leave her mind. "It's been a while, huh?" Without thinking, she handed her spoon over to him, laden with her favourite flavour, as she always had done. "What made you come down?"

[marcoscntos]

As she moved to sit down beside him, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in. Marco hated how unsure he felt of anything to do with Cali these days. The dynamic and relationship he had felt most confident in for the vast majority of his life, now felt like it had been upended and he had no clue where they stood anymore. "I've been making a trip down here at least once a week since I got out." he admitted, doing his best to keep his voice even and not show just how happy he was to see her again.

"I guess it shouldn't feel that long since I went five years without seeing you, but it feels like it's been ages." he admitted with a sheepish smile. "This just felt like the only place that stayed the same." He busied himself with accepting her spoon eating the bite before dipping it into his ice cream, scooping out some and handing it back to her, feigning nonchalance he didn't feel. As if the fact that she was here, of all places, and willing to sit next to him, wasn't the biggest relief. As if maybe, just maybe they could get back to the friendship he had valued most in his life, even if it broke his heart to know they would never be more than friends. He mulled over the scoop of ice cream in his mouth for a moment before offering her a smirk. "Still think mine's better." he teased, reigniting an age-old rivalry over whose flavor tasted better.

[niaxbailey]

Nia quietly came around the other side of her kitchen island, not pressing Marco any further until he broke the silence himself. "Ah," she nodded - a low hum parting her lips in acknowledgment. "That must be difficult." It was hard to imagine his situation, but a small smile lifted at the corner of Nia's lips as he talked about Cali's dad. Clearly he held a lot of affection for the man. "That's sweet of him. I imagine growing up around here was interesting." She didn't get much of a chance to really enjoy Christmas, it felt fake back home in the city - with all the towering tree decorations and bright city lights in red and green. Nia always snuck presents under the tree for her brothers, something personal - something better then the thoughtless new clothes and other necessities from their parents. "I have a few... questions." Nia's brow furrowed, "I mean. I am just a little confused, did Cali never come visit you?" Surely he couldn't know, especially if the woman in question herself hadn't told him or written. "That makes it sound like she isn't entirely faultless. Even if she was upset at you for your choices, something like that seems worth telling you herself." She tugged her bottom lip through her teeth, "Look - I am clearly not emotionally attached in any way to all of this so I have a bit of a outsider's opinion but... I just have a hard time thinking Cali wouldn't make a similar choice for her sister." A shrug decorated her shoulders. "It's unfortunate that she suffered that loss and you weren't here, but it sounds like a loss you endured as well and... I have two younger brothers. I'd do anything for them." Even if it seemed like a wasted second chance in some ways, she figured Marco made the same decision a lot of people would. "Uh... it helped, probably kept me from getting in too much trouble." She laughed, not entirely sure how true that was but at least she hadn't marched off to tell Marcus where to shove it. There was something in the water with those Bishop boys, she'd swear.

[marcoscntos]

"He was kinda like a second dad, mine wasn't around much cause of work. When Cali and I started running around together as kids, Mr. C just stepped up, took me in like I was one of the family." he explained, a ghost of a smile tugging the corner of his mouth upwards a bit as he thought about all of the fond memories he had of Cali's dad. "There's not much to do around here, like I'm sure there was back in New York, but I think you woulda loved it." he replied to her comment about growing up in Briar Ridge, nudging Nia's shoulder lightly with his own.

At her next question, Marco straightened up a bit. She'd unintentionally hit a sore spot. This was one of the many conversations he and Cali hadn't been able to have yet. He didn't know for sure why she hadn't come to see him. He could come up with plenty of reasons why, but he had yet to actually hear it from her. "I think," he paused to let out a sigh, running his hand over his face before speaking again, "I think if anyone had reason to be done with my shit decision making when it comes to Juan, it would be Cali." She had experienced how he bent over backwards for his brother more than anyone and she had made her feelings about it quite clear even before Marco was arrested. And he couldn't blame her. Cali had probably been taking a stand, not enabling Marco's decisions when it came to his brother. "And she probably assumed my grandparents had told me. I don't know why they didn't."

He appreciated Nia's logical way of approaching the situation, but Marco would never not defend Cali's choices, even if they hurt him. With a shrug at Nia's insistence that she would have done the same for her brothers, he asked, "Would your brothers repeatedly get themselves into shit and not care at all about how it affected your family?" A weary sigh escaped his lips. Juan had ruined Marco's life with little to no consideration while also neglecting his own daughter. Marco could get over the impact on his own life, but Gabi's? That was something he wasn't sure he could ever forgive Juan for. Marco glanced to meet her gaze finally. "I guess I just get where she's coming from and I can't really blame her." He offered her a sheepish smile, as if he were a hopeless case. When it came to Cali, he supposed he was.

He let out a chuckle at her explanation. "Well, that's good. I can't say I know too many people who alcohol would keep out of trouble." he teased. "So what kind of trouble were you trying to stay away from?" he asked, raising a teasing brow at her.

[marcoscntos]

starter for: @cali-cabrera location: the farthest end of the pier

Since being released from prison, Marco had spent a lot of time trying to regain some sense of normalcy in the town- in the life- he had always known. It felt like everything, everyone, had changed in the last 5 years. And while he knew he should have expected that, it was still an adjustment. He found himself desperate for any part of what used to be his routine, and ice cream at the pier, even if he had to do it by himself, had been one of the only constants he'd gotten to experience in the last few months. He was seated on their bench, finishing up the last of his cookies 'n cream flavored ice cream when he heard someone approaching. Even with the light from the end of the pier backlighting her frame, Marco immediately knew who it was. "Hey, nina." After their last encounter at this exact spot, Marco had no clue where to even start.

[marcoscntos]

TASK TWO - CHARACTER MOODBOARD

"you came?" "you called." - a marco + @cali-cabrera moodboard