Marisol Castillo

25
Oct
2016

Review – One Last Gift

Review – One Last Gift

One last gift is a rather nasty little short.

Background

So a prompt about gift giving took me to a dark place. I had only recently drafted this scene, and knew it would be a while before it would be posted on the Ad Astra Archive. Therefore, I lifted the scene, nearly intact, and presented it as the answer to the prompt.

Plot

Barking up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Clockworks | One Last Gift

Clockworks

An endgame comes about for two characters. The scene takes place during Shake Your Body.

It is the last few moments of Boris Yarin and Marisol Castillo‘s lives. Also, she is putting the screws to him, threatening to tell his wife, Darragh Stratton, everything about their affair. Hence he is about to lose his job, his one security. He is part-Klingon, and the anticipated dishonor is far too much to bear. And so he quite literally takes matters into his own hands. Therefore, this little scene punches the members of the Temporal Integrity Commission in the gut. In addition, it moves the overall story arc along well, by pulling the reader from the end of Where the Wind Comes Sweepin’ Down the Plain to Shake Your Body to, eventually, the endgame of He Stays a Stranger.

Story Postings

Rating

This story is rated K+.

Upshot

This chilling little story did get people interested in Boris and Marisol, but not enough to really get them reading. Ah,  well. The timing was not right. However, it did work out rather well to keep me motivated and writing. There had been several times during writing The Times of the HG Wells where I had not so much lost interest as lost some of the thread of the plot. The series had far too many subplots; this scene ends two of them rather memorably.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Review, Times of the HG Wells series, 0 comments
19
Jul
2016

Portrait of a Character – Donald Oliver

Portrait of a Character – Donald Oliver

Donald Oliver is a bad guy.

Origins

The Perfectionists needed a henchman, particularly after Anthony Parker was killed by them as being insubordinate. Also, Helen couldn’t possibly sully her hands with blood. That’s a job for not only Donald and Anthony, and Daniel Beauchaine, but also for Marisol Castillo. Donald is their male traveling, murderous agent.

Portrayal

Portrait of a Character – Donald Oliver

Ben Whishaw as Donald Oliver (image is for educational purposes only)

Donald is played by actor Ben Whishaw. He seems to be a rather versatile actor. I don’t know too much about him; he was in a recent James Bond film in the role of Q. I bet he would enjoy playing a science fiction villain if the opportunity arose.

Personality

Whiny and irritating, Donald will do what Milton Walker wants him to, but he often won’t go there without a complaint. He is an utterly disagreeable person at the best of times.

Relationships

Donald has no known relationships. I had originally thought about pairing him up with Helen Walker, but the storyline was already becoming rather large and unwieldy. Rather than sowing more confusion, I decided to put them at least partly at odds. See, Donald bores her.

Mirror Universe

There are no impediments to Donald existing in the Mirror Universe, although the chances of a perfect counterpart existing go down as time marches on.

Portrait of a Character – Donald Oliver

Ben Whishaw as Mirror Donald (image is for educational purposes)

There is always room for a henchman in the Mirror, so the counterpart could end up being rather similar to our universe’s version. However, there’s little to no room for whining in the Mirror Universe, so this version, in order to survive to adulthood, has to have learned to keep his trap shut.

Quote

“Milton said I was gonna be in charge when he left.”

Upshot

At the end of He Stays a Stranger, this character was being arrested. Perhaps I’ll write his trial; it’ll be interesting to see how the Temporal Integrity Commission maintains its high levels of secrecy while trying to present evidence of temporal tampering (and keeping Rick and Carmen‘s actions during First Born a secret).

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Portrait, Times of the HG Wells series, 0 comments
05
Jun
2015

Portrait of a Character – Carlos Castillo

Portrait of a Character – Carlos Castillo

Carlos Castillo has a mixed origin.

Origins

For Doug‘s confession to Lili (in the Star Trek fan fiction book, Fortune) to be at all credible, there needed to be a history behind each of the fourteen men he had killed in the Mirror Universe. Furthermore, just like the death of the Mirror Norri, I wanted at least one of those murders to be for the flimsiest of reasons or at least be hard to take because the person would scarcely be remembered.

Then, when writing the 2013 ficlet flash dance story Conversations With Heroes, I needed a filmmaker. Carlos works for both.

Portrayal

I see Javier Bardem for this character.

Barking Up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Javier Bardem | Carlos Castillo

Javier Bardem as Carlos Castillo (image is for educational purposes only)

I wanted an intelligent, versatile actor. It was also important to me that he be of Latino descent.

I also liked the idea of someone who has played both heroes and villains, as Carlos has a place on both sides of the pond.

Personality

In the Prime Universe, Carlos the independent documentary filmmaker is essentially looking for an easy paycheck. He is given an assignment to speak with the crew of the NX-01 and get their personal takes on the end of the Xindi War. While he does talk with everyone, he only records the following in the story: Jonathan Archer, Maryam Haroun, Lili, Jennifer, and Malcolm, who talks about Jay. For the first and last chapters of the piece, it is Carlos’s own words about the film and also about the people he interviewed. While he remains somewhat neutral, he is far from unaffected. At the end of the piece, he ends up angrily and frustratedly pitching his coffee cup against a wall.

Relationships

There are no known relationships, but there had to have been someone for Carlos, as he is Marisol‘s ancestor.

Mirror Universe

Barking Up the Muse Tree | jespah | Janet Gershen-Siegel | Carlos Castillo | MU Osh

Javier Bardem as MU Carlos (image is for educational purposes only)

Carlos is barely even known by name in the Mirror. Doug did not know his name until after he was killed. During wartime, Doug grabs the person closest to him and uses that person as a human shield. That unfortunate person turns out to be Carlos, who Doug never knows and never talks to.

Quote

“But it’s hard to not be affected, or to see what could have happened if one thing, or another, was different. These people certainly see it that way. And the reality is that this is, for the most part, just a ship full of damaged people. I know that there are those who are happy and excited about the conclusion of this war. I can’t say that I haven’t felt my own sense of relief, for I most certainly have. But I think we, as humans and citizens of Earth, I think we need to keep these people’s thoughts and aspirations and guilt and personal pain in our heads as we wave our flags and sing the United Earth anthem. We need to remember that these heroes come complete with consciences, and miseries and regrets. This victory did not come without a price. Thank you.”

Upshot

At some point, I would like to find another place to showcase Carlos, as there has got to be a spot for a filmmaker. I will try to bring him back.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Hall of Mirrors, In Between Days series, Portrait, 1 comment
04
Nov
2014

Portrait of a Character – Helen Walker

Portrait of a Character – Helen Walker

Helen Walker comes from an older storyline.

Origins

For the HG Wells stories, there had to be a few central villains. And so Helen and Milton Walker were born. He’s her father.

In the older time travel series that I had created, Helen was actually Tom Grant‘s ex, and she was mighty bossy and ruthless there, eventually joining their enemies. Hence Helen remained an enemy but some of the details were changed.

Portrayal

Helen is portrayed by actress Katie Holmes.

Portrait of a Character – Helen Walker

I wanted someone who would be pretty but could, behind a lovely smile and a sweet visage, be ruthless.

Personality

Spoiled and amoral, Helen is the face that launched a thousand time ships. But she hardly deserves the attention or the accolades. Instead, she’s tasked with “putting right what once went wrong” in history, as a nod to the television series, Quantum Leap. But Helen doesn’t do it out of altruism or a desire to get home or anything of the sort. Instead, she’s a (fairly) obedient soldier of her father’s. His dream is to save people and to be the one who prevents wars and the like. But he can’t get anything done without destroying other details of history, much like a bull in a china shop. He’s often cleaning up after Helen’s messes, too.

But at least she’s not their assassin. That dubious honor goes to double agent Marisol Castillo.

Mirror Universe

Portrait of a Character – Helen Walker

There are no real impediments to Helen existing in the Mirror Universe, but deeper future characters have several more chances to not have a perfect duplicate on the other side of the proverbial pond.

I think she’d be more careful and sensitive. I write MU women as often being beholden to, and subservient to, men. In earlier times, that would make a Mirror Universe woman slavelike. But Helen belongs to a time period where it might snag her a better husband instead. She could potentially have a better future than a lot of other MU women.

Quote

“If they like time travel so much, I bet we could work a bit together. They do their conquering – whatever they like, actually. All we need to do is keep a step ahead, and go back, either to make changes for our own purposes or, if necessary, to undo whatever they may damage. And not only will the Temporal Integrity Commission have their hands full, but so will Section 31, and the Federation, and anyone else who might have any issues with all that we are attempting to accomplish.”

Upshot

Portrait of a Character – Helen Walker

When I created the character, I had no idea that there really had been a Helen Walker who was an actress.

At the end of the series, Helen is carted off to jail. I’m not sure how to bring her back, except in prequels or flashbacks.

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Posted by jespah in Fan fiction, Portrait, Times of the HG Wells series, 11 comments