#Beto is the best hes my man

[iangallagherisadeadman]

my favorite season of Shameless is S3 and there are a lot of reasons why but one of them is cause there's a lot more of JimmySteve, which I believe is the funniest character of the show, and his involvement with the Brazilian cartel and, well, I'm Brazilian.

That being said I hate Estefania but I do like how they wrote her, I believe she is a truthful portrait of the rich Brazilian girl. She's gorgeous and handsy and works out a lot, she's a natural beauty, she's provocative, long hair perfect sculpted body... What I hate though is that the directive team specifically asked her to deliver all of her lines kind of moaning and childishly and it gets. to. my. nerves. I know why they did it, it was so it comes as sexy and spoiled, and the fact that non portuguese speakers wouldn't understand what she's saying adds to the effect. Even so, no one speaks the way she does, which is extremely theatrical, so my experience was not the best.

I do LOVE Beto, the guy that has to follow JimmySteve around. He and Estefania's dad, Nando: every time they speak portuguese they do it angry-like and deliver the lines with emphasis kind of like projecting it out even when it's not necessary, but it sounds more natural. Beto did sound like a true carioca (that being how the Brazilians who are born in the city of Rio de Janeiro are referred to), he joked around about soccer and talked to JimmySteve about his family and his experience living in the favela, and some times he would use Brazilian expressions and it was so funny to me.

[sapphiclizziebennet]

2024 election politics under the cut, i just need to vent about it for a second. no need to read it unless you're curious lol

so ideal world, biden steps down. right? i guess that's the consensus? i have a very different view on this. like, yeah, i deeply dislike the guy as much as anybody else. but i think i'm like the one person who thinks he absolutely should not step down. to the point that i'm terrified hearing the rumors that he's more open to it now. honest to god i don't think kamala harris can win that election. i have extreme doubts. if they couldn't elect hilary clinton do you really think kamala is going to win. i think everybody doubts how extremely misogynistic this country is, not even outwardly so, but still baked into the fabric of so much that's here and so much that influences the moderates.

i hate to have to grit my teeth and vote for biden, i really do. earlier in the election cycle i was genuinely going through a lot coming to terms with having to vote for him. but yeah i do think right now he's one of the few people who could win (the other person i think could win is beto, but i don't think that's gonna happen -- but mark my words, that man will be president one day). i just hate to be like if x thing happens, we're completely fucked, because that's not entirely true, but man if it won't make my blood pressure go up considerably until after november.

anyway i'm just baffled that everyone around me is like 'yeah biden should step down.' i get the sentiment behind it, absolutely. but i really think if the dems want to win... they need to think very seriously about what's going on. biden is their best chance against an opponent that already fights dirty.

oh and, if the only reason we want to vote for biden is to not have trump in office, then we need to go with the candidate who has the best chance of winning.

[olliebee66]

He Gets What He Wants

Possessive!Grave x Beto (premium mxm content here)

Contains: Graves being a sexy little shit nasty man, smut, Graves kidnapping someone lowkey

Graves was obsessed to say the least. He couldn't help it, eyes glued to the way the fabric rode up when Beto reached up to pluck the hardcover book from one of the higher shelves, the peek at the waistband of his underwear sitting just a half inch above the waistband of his jeans.

He shifted how he sat, doing his best to not get caught. It wasn't like he was doing anything unsavory, just staring, slight bulge in his jeans as he absentmindedly licked his lips.

The scowl on his face came when he watched the way some man approach his Beto, unable to make out what he was saying. He didn't like the way this man didn't respect Beto's personal space, recognizing the fake giggle from him, eyes glancing around as if to plead for some semblance of assistance from anyone.

In a moment, Graves was walking over, pretending to look at books before his gaze fell, yet again, on Beto. He chuckled and sauntered over, putting his arm around the other's shoulders.

"This guy botherin' you, sweetheart?" he asked softly, slight smirk on his face when he felt him relax, that small hand reaching up to lace together their fingers together.

"We were just having a friendly conversation, so butt out, pal." The unknown man poked Graves' chest.

"He obviously ain't int'rested, so you can butt out." he said sternly, a serious expression on his face as his free hand drifted do his waistband.

The unknown man realized what was going to happen if he didn't leave and huffed, shooting glares at both of them before storming off.

Beto let out a sigh and let go of Graves' hand before turning to face him, a smile on his face. "Thank you for that. He bothers me every day." he said, clutching the book in his hands.

"Not a problem. Just doin' my daily good deed." Graves chuckled, leaning coolly against the nearby pillar, hands shoved in his pockets. "Guess it's your lucky day." he offered with a wink.

"Definitely. I could repay you for your kindness. I'm feeling a little...generous."

"Is that right? I guess I can think of a couple things. Lemme buy that book for ya and take you out for a coffee if you'd like." he suggested before pulling his phone out. "Or, 'cause I've got some time to kill, come back with me to mine?"

Beto looked surprised at how forward he was being. "I um... I don't know." He shifted where he stood, glancing away. A gasp left him as his chin was tilted up, suddenly Graves' face just a bit away from his own.

"I'll make it worth your time." he whispered, breath ghosting against his lips.

-

"Y'look so pretty like this." Graves moaned, leaving another hickey on Beto's neck, hand wrapping around his cock, smirking against his skin as Beto let out a breathy moan. He stroked his cock slowly, leaning back, letting his eyes wander over the man on his lap, free hand on his waist, his fingers digging into his skin. "That's it, baby. Just let go for me."

"Fuck..." Beto gasped as his cock twitched in Graves' hand, hissing in pleasure as he felt a thumb over his sensitive tip, swiping away the bead of pre cum there. "Need you... please..."

If he had been any more aroused than he was right then, he was sure he would have made a mess of his boxers, quick to lay Beto back on the bed before getting his boxers off and stroking himself for a moment before grabbing the lube he had waiting on his bedside table.

Once he felt he had sufficiently coated his cock, he pressed Beto's knees to his chest and let some pour out onto his hole before putting the bottle aside and positioning himself, pushing in slowly. It took everything in him not to slam in, the hot tightness around him threatening to milk him right then.

"Too much..." Beto whined, Graves halfway inside of him. "'s too much..."

"C'mon, baby. You can take it." he cooed, leaning down and capturing his lips in a kiss before pressing the rest of the way in, biting his lip when he gasped, purring as he felt the way Beto's cock twitched between their bodies.

He waited a moment, pulling away and starting to work his hips slowly, every forward movement pressing as deep as he could get, his own cock twitching in response to the sweet sounds that his lover made.

He felt like he was in a dream, finally getting to experience what he had been craving for so long. He felt like a kid on Christmas morning, having opened all of his presents and getting everything he had wished for. Pleasure coursed through his body, his entire being. He had only ever dreamed of this and finally, it was happening. For a moment, he thought he was dreaming, but the nails raking down his back reminded him that this was really happening.

"C'mon, sweetheart. Cum for me. Lemme hear you." he nearly begged, needy. He needed this.

"Gonna... Don't stop..." he gasped, back arching as Graves his that spot deep inside of him again, his cock twitching between them and a groan leaving his lips as he clenched around his cock when he came.

"That's it baby, fuck... fuck..." Graves moaned loudly, able to give a few more thrusts before he came deep inside of him, gripping his hips and capturing his lips again in a bruising kiss.

"So good..." Beto murmured.

Graves hummed, pulling away and moving to lay beside him, cock still hard and twitching slowly as he pulled Beto close, kissing his cheek. "Told ya I'd make it worth your time." he whispered.

"Yeah." Beto sighed, running a hand through his hair before closing his eyes. "Once I can feel my legs again, I'll get out of here."

"You don't have to." Graves said quickly. "Ain't like I got anything planned for the rest of my evenin'."

"That's sweet, but I really should go." Beto said, suddenly feeling like something was off. He pushed himself up into a seated position, ignoring the ache in his backside and thighs as he moved to stand up, grabbing his clothes. As he was about to pull on his underwear, Graves grabbed him by the wrist and pulled him onto the bed again, pinning him. "H-hey."

"You're staying with me, right sweetheart?" He sounded like he was asking, but he wasn't, that mischievous glint in his eyes. "I don't wanna hurt ya."

"Hurt... Please I... I just..." Beto's eyes were wide, fear in his gaze.

"Such a good boy, saying please for me." Graves praised, causing Beto to feel confused and conflicted, the praise making his mostly softened cock twitch. "I'll make sure you're well taken care of if you stay with me, yeah?"

Beto nodded, swallowing thickly.

Graves kissed his forehead and let go of his hands before turning him onto his front and lifting his hips. "Good boy."

[raedshadowlegends]

Poker Face: The John-O Character

Omg hi howdy. Welcome back to a long essay featuring nothing groundbreaking whatsoever! Today we are going to be talking about Poker Face, the greatest show of all time. But more specifically, we're going to be talking about John-O.

For the uninformed-- John-O is a character featured briefly in the first episode of the series. He's only in two scenes but he sure is a silly little guy. Everyone loves John-O.

And upon my 17th rewatch, this time featuring my good friend @room215 , they pointed out that there seems to be a John-O-escue character in every single episode.

So we kept track of the John-O's. And now I'm going to be dissecting each one for no good reason.

Now there are no specific criteria for what makes a John-O. It's really just based on vibes. There are similar patterns between characters that are worth analyzing but for the most part you just know it when you see it.

I'll be talking about the first five episodes in this potentially very long post so grab yourself some popcorn and buckle up.

Oh and there will be spoilers. So go watch Poker Face if you haven't already, it's the best show ever actually.

Episode 1: Dead Man's Hand

John-O

BEHOLD! JOHN-O THE ORIGINAL!

There are definitely moments where I could get better pictures of him but I think this one is kinda perfect.

This is John-O. He is a silly little guy who has a history of stealing shit and breaking into places. He seems to be reformed because he states he "don't do this shit no more." So he is morally good. I trust him.

He's very silly and likes to add the suffix "-o" to the end of things he says. Like hey-o and good-o. He's just this goofy old man and his vibes are impeccable.

He's an ally to our friend Charlie Cale, helping her break into Nathalie's home despite his morals. He even offers to cut her in with his playboy sales. What a good guy.

Overall, John-O is a friend-o. He establishes our precedent of the "John-O character" being silly and the vibe that we're after.

Side Note: I love that Poker Face is an episodic show with a rotating cast of characters. It's seriously awesome and you don't see that shit often. However I am heartbroken at the loss of this man cause we probably won't see him again. It breaks my heart. I hope he's doing ok.

Episode 2: The Night Shift

"Meteor Shower" Trucker

Literally just this dude who is in one scene.

He is only here to tell Charlie about the meteor shower that evening. But he does it in the funniest fucking way imaginable. He literally gives Charlie a heart attack by just saying, "Meteor shower tonight." It's the funniest thing to me.

And I think about him way more often than I ought to. He's kinda skrunkly.

I said on the night during our analysis that he's cute in the same way on old man themed muppet is cute. Y'know? I feel like that makes some sense.

But yeah he's just here to be a jumpscare and tell Charlie about the Leonids. What a silly guy. I wish he was in more than one scene.

So far in our John-O analysis we have two quirky old dudes. The best kind of character imo.

Yeah I don't have much else to say on him </3

Episode 3: The Stall

Beto

Why does he look like that.

Anyways yeah, Beto is the John-O of episode 3. I do think he is pushing the amount of scenes a John-O can be in but it's ok cause he's kinda silly. He's just doing his job, man.

Poor guy is the one who found George's body. He's probably gonna have some issues for a while.

He's got some silly interactions with Charlie and even though they're brief, they're fun.

I actually don't have a lot to say about this guy. Whoops. My bad.

But you may have noticed he is not a skrunkly old man. That is true! He is not that.

I will be grouping this dude into the category of, "Guy who is just doing their job" under the broader "John-O" umbrella.

None of those words were in the Bible, I don't think.

Anyways, that's Beto for ya. Now we get to move on to my favorite guy!

Episode 4: Rest In Metal

Guy Who Threw The Stapler

Why the fuck would he do that.

I don't even know I can classify him as a John-O character but oh my god I think about him so much. Literally what is his deal, why the hell would he do this.

He is just here to throw a stapler at Gavin and whoop and holler. That's so fucking awesome.

That's all he does so I don't exactly know what else to say about him but I will add this:

My friends and I have been saying, "aREN'T YOU THE BAND THAT DOES STAPLEHEAD??? PLAY STAPLEHEAD!!!!!!!" to each other in the most man baby-escue voices possible for days now. It's the funniest thing on the planet.

*hits you with a stapler*

Episode 5: Time of the Monkey

Gino the Bull

This random guy in Howard Wolowitz's car.

He meets the flexible criteria of being a skrunkly old man so he gets points for that, for sure. ALSO HE'S KINDA SILLY?

He's just in the car being a silly goofy guy. These dissections are getting shorter and also worse. My bad guys, I'm really tired. Been staying up watching too much Poker Face B).

Anyways yeah, I don't know what his deal is. Very important to be a John-O, you just don't know what their fucking deal is.

I wanna say Gino the Bull is some kind of mafia/mob man? I dunno. I think it'd be funny if that were the case. That's my head canon at least.

So now we have three skrunkly old dudes, one man baby, and one Beto. Awesome.

Conclusion

I'm gonna cut this one of here before it gets too terribly long. Mainly so I can just get this posted. But also I imagine this shit is quite the long read.

My bad B).

BUT YEAH!!!

These are our first five John-O characters in Poker Face! Tune in soon to learn about the next five!

It's not gonna be as silly. Sorry. Episode 9 and 10 are major bummers and there's not much fun to be had there.

As always, thank you for reading <3

[strawberry-peach]

Beto's list of beauties

From Baby Boy to Bastard, a very subjective, superficial and non-comprehensive list of his characters so far

Bc I'm bored. Do not take too seriously, please and thank you

Daniel Mandelkern

Babiest boy of them, touch him and I'll rip your face off with a rusted spoon and my nails

Kruso

Potentially baby, but with only unsynched german subtitles my understanding of this film was... questionable

Jan Haller

Stubborn baby who bites more than he can chew, but is ready to clock you in the head with a pipe if he has to protect his own baby

Micha Heller

Stern baby, unclear potential for violence, love packed inside, he tries to do good and he tries his best

Stanislaus Katczinsky (aka Kat)

Vestigues of babyboy-ism, hints of bastard (affectionate) attitudes, ready for violence and crime to survive, protective big bro vibes, sturdy beautiful boy, vulnerable to kids, loml

Alexander von Humboldt

Unclear place in the scale, not of bad intentions and resident of bygone times, enthusiastic biology man, but still earns some extra bastard points for obvious (or maybe not so obvious) reasons

Reinhold

Bastard Boy, problematic(tm), sneaky volatile little shit, high creep energy, bad childhood kid, violence packed inside, do not try to fuck-fix, likely to backfire

Franz-Josef Böhm

PhD in Bastard and proficient practitioner, a nazi

[lexcellence]

BANSHEE???? THE COP?????

look, i went from the available choices, and my vote went to Beto anyway

Let's break these choices down, yeah?

Cyclops - tl;dr There are specific periods of time where Scott is "hot," and the vast majority of the time he isn't! Is he my blorbo? Yes. Do I run a sideblog where the header is his Foxy Grandpa Ass jutting out? Of course. Can I vote him in good conscience? I don't think so.

Colossus - the man spent how much time trying to fuck a fourteen year old? He heard Mutants were moving to a sex cult island and was baffled because his dead pal Jeff was a human. Pass.

Gambit - not even with Rogue's dick.

Wolverine - I only barely believe he can find the clit, and have ZERO confidence he could locate my prostate, and I'm unsure enough about his grooming habits that I wouldn't willingly put any part of myself in any part of him. Pass.

Iceman - Closeted Iceman? Maybe. But out Iceman is an overcompensating baby gay written almost exclusively by straight dudes, and I have a strict policy of never touching white gays who have "BBC" in their search history.

Warren Kenneth Worthington the Third - do you know what happens to Angel's love interests? I'd rather not be hatecrimed by Cameron Hodge for a few sweaty minutes of underwhelming halfhearted bottoming from a princess who provides the own stuffing for his pillows. Keep flying, birdboy.

Nightcrawler - I know, I know, the man is a sex icon, but I'm not getting involved in any of that family drama. If it's not his evil lesbian moms trying to kill me, it'd be his step-sisters trying to get back in his spandex. Not worth it, especially after all that shit in Way of X.

Havok - Matt Fraction's Clint Barton: The Mutant Flavor???? Listen, I adore a broken man who knows his place as much as the next nigga, don't get me wrong, but if I'm not picking Scott, I'm definitely not picking his Luigi.

I do appreciate his commitment to the bit, though.

Banshee - let's jump back to Cyclops for a minute. Without getting into shipping war bullshit, most of the times he's been "hot" are when he's playing off of Emma Frost, right? Emma's tertiary mutation is the ability to make everyone else more interesting just by association, because she's fucking great. I mean I just read an Iron Man book for her, for fuck's sake. Back in the 90's, when she was newly not-evil, she and Banshee were essentially the co-leads of Generation X, a book that, when it wasn't being the New New New Mutants, about two unreasonably sexy people who couldn't stand each other being unreasonably sexy at each other. Even putting that aside (and if you read a few issues, you'll get it), the man's spent decades dedicated to flying around with his tits out due to mysterious clothing damage, amd I appreciate that.

Sunspot - look, I fixated on him when I was nine, as the only character I could find who was like me at all, and that was ignoring all the gay subtext with his best friend even before it turned into outright queerbaiting. I grew up with him, and he's only gotten better since then. He's the only dude in my top 5 muties. He's flawless (give or take bad taste in men and a propensity for being whitewashed), he's perfect, he's hilarious, he's my vote AND yours, he's Sunspot.

Cannonball - in my seminal 2020 fic, "How Many Times Would You Say You've Been In Love," I summed Beto's Best Boy up thusly:

Sam laughed, a quiet, gentle, chuckle that crinkled the corners of his eyes, not that Roberto could bring himself to look at them. Instead his own eyes travelled everywhere else, from Sam's mess of a mop, to his strong jaw, to the gap in his front teeth, his okay-for-a-white-boy lips, the freckles that covered his nose, and ending up… 

Do I love Sam as a character? Absolutely, he's one of the best. But he's not hot, he's a lapse in taste. Love conquers all, they say. 😔

Bishop - as one of exactly two Black men the poll listed, I want to give Bishop his flowers, but I have never read a good Bishop story where he wasn't awful. No baby gays, but no self-hating Black genocidaires, either.

[iridescentis]

EPISODE SIX

angie is such a sweetheart <333

jade's theatrics are definitely growing on me

i don't see how walking through them as they're going through choreo is helpful

I LOVE HER YES GIRL STAND UP FOR YOURSELF

you 'don't know how to talk to her' bro maybe idk let her leave the house?? listen to what she has to say?? think logically???

león if you're going to be cocky you need a better fashion sense

HOLD ON WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT

CATO??? hands off my wife man

ramallo you are a legend yknow he seems like a better father figure than german

rafa palmer has the same vibe as cato so im choosing to see then as the same person

is??? pablo jealous?? of rafa flirting with angie??

OKAY I AM SOLD. HOLD THE FUCK UP. THEY ARE ADORABLE??? WHAT THE FUCK

they have such a fun dynamic and they've had at best two conversations

beto is high and consistently i believe it

NATI okay that's her name they never say it!!

i love beto but he is anxiety inducing

okay león is growing on me

i feel like im missing stuff because the english subtitles are dreadful

okay so delivery montage except violetta isn't going to explain the name mix up is she

sir what are you doing....

YESSS FIRE HIM!! HE IS USELESS!!!

STOP FALLING IN LOVE WITH MY WIFE. ANGIE IS TAKEN SIR. FUCK OFF UNKINDLY

olga helping violetta <3

call me crazy... im kind of getting vibes here?? girlfriend vibes perhaps??

AND DONE :D

[longboxd]

2022 comics reading log

In the early days of last year, I was inspired by some twitter mutuals to post my comics reading in the new year and kept it up from Jan 1 2022 till just about the bitter end. Something about it really helped keep me invigorated by the medium even in some pretty bleak times, so I’m going to keep it going this year, but here at Longboxd instead of on twitter, which I'm trying to spend less time at. Before I can do that though, I want to archive the 2022 entries in a spot that’s more permanent/less twitter-iffic, so here we go—pretty much every comic I read in 2022! (As transcribed from here)

Part 2: 22-38 (of 387)

(I can "only" post 30 images at a time here, so that’ll dictate the length of these catch-up posts)

22) Silver Star #1 by Jack Kirby & Mike Royer - Kirby’s Blubber? Very Beto vibes—very Lynchian, held together by spit and nonsense.

23) Shattered Earth #1 - The best story in this anthology has a horny dog that gets cucked by a wandering wasteland hippie.

24) Sun Runners #2

25) Shade, The Changing Man #50

26) True Lives Of The Fabulous Killjoys: NATIONAL ANTHEM - Narratively, it’s firmly in the "halcyon days of vertigo" mold, and that’s cool, but between Romero and Bellaire this is one of the more stunning art showcases I’ve seen in a while. God-tier coloring, IMO!

27) The Terminator #1 (1990) - Chris Warner tha gawd with nice chunky inks from Paul Guinan, and a script by DH genre MVP John Arcudi that swings between terse and pleasantly purple. This and the Predator series the year before (also drawn by Warner) set the mold for decades of movie tie-in books.

28 & 29) Blood n’ Guts #1 & 2 - These are very bad comics by a weird, probably bad dude who's weird & not always bad comics I grew up with. Not much to them (this is from one of Blair's big firehose-of-comics periods) other than a *great* logo I assume was made by Dave Cooper.

30) Alien Worlds #7 - I loved this series as a kid—it's mostly an art showcase (Corben, Morrow, Anderson & Perez in this issue!) but Bruce Jones' short stories are trashy scifi paperback anthology style fun, routinely see-sawing btwn kind of hokey & total bleak nihilism, often on the same page. one story, theoretically concerned w/recreating The Thing inside an implied sketch of a Wally Wood/EC planet setting, mostly actually focuses on infidelity leading to murder (a common Jones trope). In the end everyone dies after the revelation that their parkas are hungry aliens. 

31) Eclipse Monthly #2 by various

32) Sensation Comics #6 - This is the pure, uncut shit.

33) Head Lopper #15

34) Marvel Team-Up #101 - Robot hippies and Peter Parker favorably compares the trauma of Nighthawk killing his girlfriend in a drunk driving incident to Uncle Ben’s death.

35) The Swamp Thing: Becoming TPB

36) Head Lopper #16

37) Skull, The Slayer #1 - Sorta standard Th’unda etc white adventure guy thrown into a prehistoric setting to fight dinosaurs kinda thing, (the twist being that this guy? He’s a real piece of shit!) but Steve Gan does impressive work, and Marv Wolfman’s colors are surprisingly effective.

38) The Man-Thing #8 - I haven’t read many of these. Pacing is slow if not deliberate, vampy gothic vibes. With Ploog’s squishy art, it kinda reads like a Golden Age Underground. 

_______

To be continued! Read Part 1 here

[cattatonically]

The Witch's Power Play - Mia Monroe (Covens of Eaton Falls, book 2)

Synopsis

How to tame a vampire isn’t in any of my spell books.

My life changed forever the night my coven was attacked. I was scared and alone until my bestie Leo showed up. I trust him with my life. Good thing since he dragged me to the home of a notorious vampire. Even worse, another equally terrifying vampire is in charge of keeping an eye on me.

I did my best to comply and keep my distance from the stoic, domineering man who I shared a room with. I may have tried to flirt with him a couple times, a totally dumb move considering vampires aren’t exactly fans of witches. It didn’t work anyway. Once I was able to get away from him and back to the safety of my coven, I hightailed it out of there. I thought I would quickly forget him. I was wrong.

When we reunite, Beto let’s a surprising secret slip, leading me to make a decision that we both might regret. Who am I to deny a man his need to submit? Will Beto decide to trust me with his desires? Can I learn to keep a vampire in check? Don’t know, but I’m up for the challenge. If the war doesn’t tear us apart first.

The Witch’s Power Play  is an MM paranormal romance featuring a subby vampire who just wants to be good for someone, a sassy witch embracing his toppy side, a supernatural war causing havoc, a bunch of really annoying demons who show up at the worst time, and so much pining (at first). It is book two in the Covens of Eaton Falls series. Each book features a different couple with an ongoing conflict and therefore should be read in order.

My Thoughts

We were introduced to Presley and Beto in the first book, and I’m so glad to see them in this second book of what is proving to be a very, very enrapturing series!

With the revelation that witches and vampires aren’t quite the enemies they always thought they were, Presley wastes no time going right after what he wants – and what he wants is a surly vampire named Beto. While the threat of war still looms large over their heads, there’s no time like the present for Beto and Presley to get to know each other better.

But of course, they’re in the middle of a war. And with war comes absolute, pure chaos and change. So many changes, and in such quick succession, it makes my head spin. Just as Beto and Presley are willing to accept their attachment to each other, their relationship gets thrown for a loop. But the adapt – quickly. And they keep pushing forward, especially with the support of Leo, August, and their respective covens on their side.

But it’s not all change and chaos. Some things are revealed, and do shed light to the overall tension and mystery of the series. However, the more things that are revealed, the more there is to question. But with the discovery of the person who seems to be at the heart of the war they’re instigating, there’s something to confront and combat, if not outright stop.

There is still far more danger ahead, and way more that needs to be revealed. But I’m hooked. And I can’t wait to see what lies in store for our other sassy witches and not-so-devious vampires of the Eaton Falls covens.

[polss]

What Dems would run for President if Biden did not and who would have a good shot?

Lets take a look at the list.

Candidate, Age in 2024

Kamala Harris, 58 -  One would think that being Vice President would make one more Presidential.  It’s very questionable if that has occurred. She seems to be the Democratic version of Dan Quayle. On the campaign trail in 2020 she consistently failed to excite the voting public.  Her one moment of success was raking Joe Biden over the coals about his policies in the early 1980′s that applied specifically to her as a young child. That moment of success shot her up to poll at 18% and gave her a ton of big Donor money.  By time the Primaries rolled around Harris had disinterested her voters and was polling at 3%. In real terms she is a black candidate black people don’t really like.  She frankly seems self centered and puts out a “very full of herself” vibe.  She COULD learn and improve, but for now the highest I can rate her is “Unlikely”.

Bernie Sanders, 83 - Look, I know Bernie fans love the man, but age is a HUGE part of why Democrats (56-58%) and Independents (66%) hope Joe Biden won’t run again when he is 81.  Bernie is older than Biden or Donald Trump (78 in 2024).   There is a pretty good chance Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (46 in 2024) will be the candidate barring him facing kidnapping charges over his publicity stunt of misleading illegal immigrants into flying to another state under the promise of work.  Is 83 year old Bernie going to keep pace with DeSantis’ fresh batch of regular Trump-level nonsense?  Will he be able to keep up with that dog and pony show?  Will he be able to handle the strain of campaigning?  The answer to all of those questions seems to be “Unlikely”.  That will leave the “Obama track”,  the large number of socially liberal independents capable of challenging the voting numbers of the Democratic core, up for grabs.

Michael Bloomberg, 80 - Bloomberg’s career as a Democratic Presidential Candidate appears to have been strangled to death on the stage in Nevada by Elizabeth Warren.  He has winning attributes, but Democrats will not get behind a guy who has innumerable non-disclosure contracts out there with women he offended.  Plus the Democratic party is TIRED of Clinton era leaders. His moment as a DNC candidate has passed....Now that said, if he chose to change parties and run as a republican, I think he could earn the presidency.  But as a Dem?  No.

Elizabeth Warren, 73 - The Nevada Debate Strangler. When she isn’t ending political dreams, she is following her own horrible political instincts. Her moment was the 2016 election but she instead chose to be a Hillary Clinton fan girl as the fierce drumbeat of Now POUNDED on her door for over a year. Does she have another run in her?  Probably.  Could she be a valid contender....Tougher to say.  The mood in both parties is for new younger blood. That is especially so for the Dems. Warren would need to start building alliances with younger Dems rather than hanging out with the Hillary crowd as they descend into nursing homes and dementia.  That’s really blunt and not very PC, but maybe Warren might read this and realize that she is wasting Presidential level talent.  Her best approach would likely to be guaranteeing a codification of Roe v. Wade into federal law if elected.  She among most of the female candidates seems able to take an ownership position over that, the most important issue to democratic voters.  Unlikely today, but with a ton of potential to correct.

Jay Inslee, 71 - Jay Inslee does intermittently give off a very presidential vibe, but given the mood of today’s dem he is probably too much of an “old white guy” candidate to secure the nomination.  Unlikely.

Beto O’Rourke- 50 - Now that is an interesting name.  O’Rourke has lost a high profile race for a Senate slot to Ted Cruz and just lost the Governor’s race in a less contested manner.  There is a perception that his star has faded and is going out, but is that really what we have seen?  I live in Texas and to my perception O’Rourke lost BOTH races because he inexplicably took a hard line position against guns....Like a New York position on guns.  He is very capable of charming a group of voters. And these losses and his disappointing presidential run where he appeared to lack insight are potentially great opportunities for personal growth.  The man is white Obama.  He has an Obama like positivity and is a very strong orator.  But like Obama, Beto is very very light on substance beyond being rabidly anti-gun.  If Beto O’Rourke had for example some of Andrew Yang’s policy positions, that would be a hard candidate to ignore.  The youth vote always gravitates to new positions that the core doesn’t trust.  He is a candidate who can capture the youth vote.  I am going to say this because I want this blog to continuously be very blunt....A wiser Beto in a narrower field could be like a straight Mayor Pete. O’Rourke’s challenge would be winning the nomination, not the election.  His campaigns have always excelled at registering new Democratic voters at a very high rate.  That is a good horse to ride should he get that far.  Possibly.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttieg, 40 - “Mayor Pete” is a very talented speaker with a lot of admirable political skills.  He is a brilliant performer, but there are moments when the window cracks open and you see a cutthroat bastard.  He OBVIOUSLY way overperformed in 2020, but that was entirely because of the alabaster white states that lead into the nomination processes.  Once the color of the states turned tan, Pete was done.  He has issues in his past that will prevent Black Democratic voters from embracing him and he seems to have little talent for courting Hispanic voters to offset that.  But he is a sharp guy who used his run in 2020 to buy his way out of his political dead end job as a mayor in a red state.  He could easily learn Spanish and apply his Leonard Zelig-like skillset to suddenly become beloved by that community as well.  He cleverly realized his campaign was running exclusively off his hypnotic rhetoric and no platforms of substance, so he plagiarized Andrew Yang’s platforms in an effort to stave off his fall.  He is very much the kind of “for sale to the highest bidder” Democratic candidate the DNC loves.  He is clearly being groomed by rich donors and party insiders for another race.  While he could again be somewhat relevant in the campaign, I think the view of him by black voters (who frankly are generally out on gay candidates anyway) is likely to prevent him from ever earning the nomination. Additionally I expect a very similar candidate to run in Colorado Governor Jared Polis.  Unlikely.

Governor Jared Polis, 49 - Polis is the only openly gay Governor in US history.  He is a successful businessman and he seems to have presidential asperations.  While probably not as polished as Mayor Pete, I think there is a lot more earnestness there. I think the positives run out about there. I don’t think he has done enough as Governor of Colorado to climb out of the faceless contender field. Unlikely. 

Andrew Yang, 47 - Another Successful Businessman. He is young and vibrant.  Yang frankly grossly underperformed in the 2020 election and in retrospect probably let it get to him and got out of the race a state too soon.  Since then he ran for Mayor of New York City before realizing it was a lot of work. He was ill-suited for that position and seemed to realize it halfway through the campaign. He has walked out on the DNC and formed some weird pseudo party.  He has a disarming smile that screams ‘buddy you play basketball with”.  Yang is capable of alternating between presidential and totally approachable.  He seems honestly kind and his platforms are unique and thoughtful.  Yang had something like 105 well thought out items on his site from platforms like his very expertly conceived  and fully funded Freedom Dividend that would replace unemployment and awarded every citizen $1000 a month funded by taxes on companies like Amazon to allow every citizen to pursue greater happiness with less stress in their lives --- to getting rid of the penny, a surprisingly sound proposition that would save the country money.  But Yang came across as a game show host at times with his overcommittment to the Freedom Dividend.  Really at this point he has created a ton of debris in the way of him earning the Democratic nomination, but his strength with Independents and with much of the Bernie Crowd would make him a likely winner if he did win the nomination. He should be a possibly, but with all the baggage he is carrying, “Unlikely”.

Julian Castro,48 - He wants to be President yesterday, but lacks the intelligence to see the obvious pathway to that goal(An odd criticism for one with his collegiate background.) ....Or he is too lazy to pursue it... Or too arrogant... Or all of the above.  Has an inability to connect with the public at a presidential candidate level. I hate to pick at this, but he has a disturbing “joker-like” smile. Picks stupid issues to fight with other candidates over in debates ala Mayor Pete.  With only Nevada having a significant Hispanic population among the 2024 pre-Super Tuesday contests and Castro’s inability to charm anyone outside of his native ethnic group, Castro is another hard “No”.  He should really park his ego at the Door and run for Texas Governor.  He would win and that would open the door for a more mature Castro to win the presidency down the road.

Marianne Williamson, 70 - Williamson is weird as hell, but not hopeless.  Her campaign issues are fixable with training.  She talks around points far, Far too much, but she did reach a surprising number of people.  Honestly, I felt she was spewing unstructured babble, but after debates I talked to a lot of people who thought she was weird, but that she did make some sound points.  I am going to put her down as “Unlikely.”

Corey Booker, 53 - Sort of a hybrid of Mayor Pete and Julian Castro.  He is polished, but there is no sense of empathy that a candidate like Beto O’Rourke has in spades.  He isn’t nearly as artful of a speech maker as the brilliant Mayor Pete.  He is another young politician who picks fights on the wrong issues in debates.  He’s kind of full of shit.  He’s the kind of Politician who cries in a speech because it tests well.  One gets the feeling that if Booker ever does become president it will be because some white Democratic nominee will make Booker his vice President to solve their own “black problem” and Booker can ride those coattails into the white house.  The trouble is that scenario is much less likely with the new primary schedule.  He is a very capable politician...I just don’t see the right instincts to win on the campaign trail without a sizable head start. “No”.

Reverend Raphael Warnock, 55 - As the recipient of over 100 text messages begging for cash, I am not a fan. Warnock seems like a strange relic to me.  The black preacher who on the surface is fighting a race war but inside is chasing money and power...at least that is my impression.  I personally feel like he offers nothing to non-black voters.  After a phone worth of messages all I know is that he started with nothing and now he is a well dressed priest with political power --- “send me money”.  His advocates admire his ability to raise money and think that makes him a contender, but they fail to compute in that the man has been in two runoff elections with the fate of the Senate in the balance. There is no precedence for America electing a religious leader...especially on the democratic side. He will be seen as a risky choice by non-black voters when he inevitably runs for president.   He would probably do better than most “failed” black candidates because as a preacher he will pick up additional black female votes that other black male candidates might not.  This makes him the worst kind of Democratic Candidate...the one likely pursue and capture the nomination only to lose the election. But the primaries are stacked in his favor... “Unlikely”

Kristen Gillibrand, 55 - I think her moment has passed, probably for good.  She has played the power card too much, delaying votes to get what she wants.  Some candidates can get away with that a little, but I think she will find that she is not one of them. It’s tough enough being a female politician from New York...just ask Hillary.  The presumption among Dems in the rest of the country is that you will be difficult and prickly.   You have to have an Amy Kloubachar-type personality to overcome that.  Gillibrand has played into that stereotype. She did not show any traits in 2020 that make me think she can charm black votes in Michigan, Georgia, and South Carolina and win the nomination. “No”.

Deval Patrick, 66 - I think if he doesn’t have “it” yet, he isn’t going to get it. I think he is actually bordering on too old!  He is a slightly more personable version of Cory Booker.  I had been quite interested to see him work as I was told he was Obama-esque.  I did not see any of that.  I think everything I said about Booker’s path to the presidency is true about Patrick.  “No”

Tom Steyer, 63 -  Steyer is a Yale and Stanford educated businessman is worth $1.6B who has spent his millions of dollars of his money in fighting Donald Trump at every abuse of the government.  He has credibility among democrats in that.  In 2020, that alone had him creeping up to the 15% threshold where the DNC decides you matter.  Steyer had moments of weirdness dressed in insecurity in his answers followed by moments of George Washington level righteous ass kicking focus with a Presidential demeanor in 2020.  He presents with sincerity. Does he want to run again?  If he is capable of allowing a campaign manager to aggressively coach the weirdness out of him, he could be a strong candidate.  He seems to do well with all races.  But what are his positions? Pro environment; anti- Trump....that’s just a start if he wants to be an electable candidate. He could absolutely capture the Obama path (black voters = black voters + independents) if his platforms became more interesting and distinct.  “Possibly”

To be continued...

[observers-journal]

Little did I know when I walked into the theatre to watch Black Panther Wakanda Forever on Thanksgiving, that I'll cross paths again with this actor called Tenoch Huerta and I'll be crushing hard on him and opening a fucking blog for him. He should be honored 😋 I'm gonna use TH and his characters only for this. He's the one. He shut the list for everyone. Thanks @okay-hotshot for the tag!

Husband: Mendel from Son of Monarchs (the brains and the profession)/Ale from blue demon before he was an ass and a cheater/the loving and caring aspect of Beto from Madres + Juan from forever purge.

Boyfriend: the real, the OG Tenoch Huerta. Not even the characters he plays. The real man. Coz he doesn't want to get married 😂 and I'm not sure if he's the commitment guy. But we'll have the time of our life together. Coz I had no clue I would come across a guy who's exactly the same as me: love for the arts and sciences, life and it's philosophy, endless dancing and drinking 😂, writing, goofy asses who seemed extrovert but are very private.

Home wrecker: I will have to agree with @okay-hotshot here. It is Namor. Ugh the grip he has over me.

Ex: Rafa from Narcos/ Gavilán from Vive Por Mi/Lupe from Días de gracia. Sexy ass mofos who are crazy in the head. We would have been super intense together but it wouldn't work out eventually. Need me some stability.

Best friend: can't stop at just best friend without developing feelings for this man but okay I'll take it. I wanna be friends with many of his characters: Sombra from Güeros, Manu from Mozart in the jungle, Chavez from Semana Santa. I would love to listen to the poor Bolivian guy Carlos he plays in the 33. And El búfalo from cloroformo, hilarious!

Honorary mention: his character in Nomads was actually very sweet. It reminds me of a similar situation I found myself in with a man who cleans stuff at my office complex. He and I still chat a lot, although unfortunately I had to turn down his request for something "more than friendship".

Geez, too much oversharing here. But there you go! As you can see, I am a devout Tenoch fan and have seen pretty much all of his filmography 😂🤣

Relationship Jumbo

No one tagged me to do this, I saw this on my dash and wanted to do it because it looked fun 😂 I’ll be using Oscar Isaac and Tenoch Huerta characters. 

Husband: Santiago “Pope” Garcia (this is my gut instinct I’m sorry)

Boyfriend: Mendel from Son of Monarchs or Jake Lockley, equally tied

Home wrecker: MCU Namor (I’m not sorry, Ryan Coogler himself said Namor is the type of man who would hit on other men’s wives)

Ex: Marc Spector (I’m sorry baby)

Baby daddy: 

Best friend: Steven Grant!!!

Tagging (only if you want to!): @talokanda-forever @observers-journal @v4mpires0ap @cutelatinagirl @venting402 @sammyscrnr @namorslutfanfiction @evillkan and anyone else who would like to join!

[callmefitz]

fine. fine I did it. luca fic where massimo is trying to be a good parent for his teenage fish son. yes its the painfully awkward i know you’re gay talk. i wrote this at 2 am while projecting so this isn’t shakespeare, just a vibe. set sometime 3-4 years after the film but i think it’s implied enough.

—————————————————-

Alberto ran up the stairs, threw open the door, dropped his hat on the table and hastily washed his hands at the sink.

“Sorry I’m late,” he said breathlessly, wiping his hands on the front of his shirt, “I got caught up in, uh, well-“

“Showing off?” Massimo offered, turning from his workstation in the kitchen. Alberto laughed nervously and nodded- then paused- and shook his head while looking away.

“Well, I prefer the term ‘sharing with the community’” Alberto offered, before pulling out a large pot and placing it on the stove.

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Massimo returned to the cutting the fish, “It’s a nice bike.”

It was a nice bike. Nice enough that the kids in Portorossa frequently begged Alberto to let them sit on it or ride it around the plaza. And who was he to say no? It was the coolest thing he had ever set his eyes on, let alone owned. Of course he let them use it. Alberto had been saving up his tip money from fish delivery all winter to buy it: a shiny, brand-new, red-hot Vesta. Just like the one Erocle used to parade around town on. Giulia and Luca were going to be so excited.

Alberto began pouring cups of water into the pot as he raised the heat, waiting for it to hit a soft boil. “So how much time do we have?”

Massimo glanced out the window facing the countryside, where the distance etchings of train tracks were visible, “About an hour. Luca’s parents will meet us at the station. Then, dinner.”

“An hour. Right. We can work with that,” Alberto said, mainly to himself, as Massimo continued with his fish. They both fell into a steady rhythm, as they stirred and simmered an outrageous amount of food.

While his hands were lost in repetition, Alberto’s mind wandered to Luca. Massimo liked to joke about how Luca never truly left, with all the letters and phone calls sent, but Alberto couldn’t disagree more. Words couldn’t capture the way Luca would say things, like how he yelled when he was excited and talk quickly when he was nervous. And sure, Alberto could read between the lines, and infer things, like how scrunched up words meant Luca was happy or excited and messy letters and wonky lines meant he was tired, but it wasn’t the real thing. And phone calls, while better, were fewer and far inbetween, and couldn’t capture the way Luca would move when talking, whether it was the way he walked or gestured, or the faces he would make and the way he would touch your shoulder or grab your arm to make a point. So no- Luca had truly left, and while Alberto had seen glimpses and pieces throughout the months, he preferred the whole Luca he got during the summer.

One hour. One hour and Alberto wouldn’t have to rely just on letters and voices. It would be just them again, like it was every summer, whether it be sleeping under the stars in Giulia’s hideout, or swimming out to the island to watch the sunsets, or spending afternoons filling up on gelato and playing futbol on the hot pavement. Giulia would be there too, and the trio would finally be complete. Just like how it was that first summer, and just how it was now.

Had Alberto mentioned he was excited?

“The pasta is boiling over,” Massimo provided helpfully, and Alberto was thrust back into reality.

He swore under his breath, moving the pot to another eye and turning the stove off. He sighed and grabbed for a towel to wipe the sides of the pot. Turning his back to Massimo, he began searching for a strainer, but was interrupted.

“Alberto.” Massimo put his knife down and turned slightly. His face was drawn so that his eyes peeked out from under his eyebrows and bore down to Alberto (no matter how tall Alberto got, Massimo was always, well, massive).

“There is something we need to talk about before the train comes in.”

And there it was. Or, rather, there it wasn’t, because those words never came out of Massimo’s mouth. Maybe it was because, despite everything between them, Massimo just wasn’t a big feelings guy. He was a man of few words who would rather hand-paint signs, mend hats, and hand-make pasta than say “I love you.” Not that Alberto cared much, about that, he couldn’t complain honestly, but the point was that Massimo never “had talks”. If something was serious to discuss in private, it was always “Alberto, a word”. Because Massimo was a man of few words. So it was understandable, then, that that string of words elicited panic in Alberto. Because never in a million years, not even when Massimo first asked Alberto to stay with him, did they ever have something they needed to talk about.

Good thing Alberto was good at handling panic. He was basically an expert.

“Yeah, like what?”

He held his elbow out to lean against the counter in a calm manner, but missed and instead landed on the red hot stove eye. All while maintaining a smirk-turned-grimace. Yep. Expert.

That was going to hurt later. A lot.

Massimo looked at Alberto, searching for something in his face, and, upon finding it, sighed, and turned to the window where the train-tracks were. Absentmindedly, he turned the faucet of the sink on, and letting it cool for a moment, held a rag under it. Once it was wet enough, he handed it to Alberto.

“Luca is a... good kid, no?” Massimo led after a moment of contemplation. Alberto took the rag, but his face scrunched up in confusion as he held it to his elbow. Faintly, he felt the familiar tingle of flesh-turning scale as the coolness took the edge from the burn. But the beginnings of a frown was settling on Alberto as he followed Massimo’s gaze to the train tracks.

“Yeah?”

Massimo nodded. “He is very smart. He writes often. He knows fish... but not as well as you do.”

Alberto inched closer to Massimo, “Yeah, he’s pretty cool. One of my best friends but... I think you know that.”

“He is a very good friend,” Massimo said, but something felt strange about the way he said it, “Handsome, too.”

Alberto’s body froze and his face heated up. Before he could say anything contradictory, however, Massimo continued.

“I know the way you two look at each other. Young love. It’s a good thing, especially when it’s between friends who have known each other for so long.” Massimo said slowly, “And if you ever want to take Luca out for some gelato on your Vespa... then I will be very happy for you, Beto. He’s a good kid. Good for you.”

Alberto wasn’t going to lie. He had thought about it, once or twice. In his head it always played out so incredibly natural, that a part of him assumed it would eventually happen. Giulia would be busy, either delivering fish or volunteering for the cup, and he and Luca would be on their own for the day. Maybe they bike to the top of Portorosso, or maybe they went out to the island or climbed a roof to watch the stars. Sometimes it would be just them having dinner together, and something would give- one of them would brush hands with the other, lean in just a little too close and stay there... then... well, it would be just like it to was. But more. And selfishly, maybe if they were more, Luca wouldn’t leave at the end of the season.

But Alberto couldn’t think like that. Luca loved school more than anything. Well, almost anything. He would never want to take that from him.

But Massimo was right. Luca was handsome. Summers in Portorosso had been kind to him, and they’ve both put on some healthy weight and muscle over the years. Even if they hadn’t been friends, Alberto had no doubt he would have been fond of Luca regardless.

“I don’t think that’s going to happen anytime soon,” Albert said candidly. “But... Thanks. For that. I guess.”

Massimo shrugged. “You’d be surprised. Giulia tells me a lot.”

Impossible scenarios ran through Alberto’s head. The wheels were spinning so fast that smoke was practically spewing from his ears.

“Like what?”

Massimo glanced out the window again, “I guess he’ll just have to tell you when he gets here.”

[lady-literature]

Flirting Fish

Hi, I fucking love the gay fish movie and it's currently all I can think about it so rip all my other projects ig.

inspired by 'better than coffee' because I read it and the whole 'Alberto flirting with Luca' thing, kinda as a joke until it's very much not a joke anymore just made me insane so here's this now.

I do not speak Italian so I am sorry for any errors I will undoubtedly make.

They’re a few weeks into the summer the first time it happens.

Alberto has already been up for hours, helping to man the boat with Massimo and then tend to their stall at the fish market after that. After three years of living in Portorosso, he’s long since grown used to waking up before the sun has even thought of rising over the sea.

Once upon a time, Luca had been too. Back when he was un piccolo contadino, tending to schools of fish and living off the reef, instead of being well on his way to a world-renowned erudito.

“Morning, sunshine!” Alberto says laughing, throwing a tanned arm across Luca’s shoulders and slightly jostling the smaller teen. Luca groans and attempts to hide himself in Alberto’s shoulder. “Haha! Well, aren’t you chipper this morning?”

Luca tilts his head just enough to look Alberto in the eye. “It’s too early.”

“It’s almost noon.”

“It’s summer,” Luca retorts, pouting. “You’re supposed to get to sleep in during summer.”

Alberto tsks at the groggy, sleepy-eyed look on his best friend’s face.

Oh, how his fancy schooling has spoiled him.

“I, of course, understand the need for beauty sleep, amico,” he playfully runs a hand through his ruly curls, flashing a charming smile that Luca doesn’t notice since he’s trying to nap on his shoulder. “But perhaps it would work better if you didn’t stay up half the night reading.”

“How can I sleep when the Americani e Russi are revolutionizing modern science?” Luca mumbles passionately. Even half-asleep he can give entire lectures about space and scientific discoveries, the utter nerd. “Luna 2 is the first man-made object on the moon, Alberto! È incredibile! And all the journals are talking about plants and animals being sent into space. If they can return unharmed that means it’s only a matter of time before we send people up there. Riesci a immaginare? Le ramificazioni scientifiche sarebbero-”

Normally, Alberto can listen to Luca ramble on about his crazy nerd stuff for ages. He only ever understands every other word, but it’s not so much the content as it is the way Luca gets when he talks about it.

Alberto couldn’t care less about Saturn or Russian spuds or whatever else. But he does care a damn lot about Luca, so he sits and listens and nods in all the right places cause it makes Luca happy.

But right now, with Luca content and passionate and so completely vulnerable, leaning on Alberto with his eyes closed, so trusting that Alberto won’t let him fall or trip or lead him off the pier, it makes something so intensely warm bubble up in his chest. Brighter than joy, and affection, and the relief he feels whenever Luca steps off the train after months of only letters and the grainy sound of his voice through the phone.

The feeling startles Alberto with its foreignness, knocks him off balance with its intensity. So he does what he always does when he feels unmoored and adrift.

He runs his mouth and does something ridiculous.

Immediately, Alberto drops his arm from around Luca’s shoulders and grabs at both his freckled cheeks instead, pinching them hard like he’s seen Nonnas do to their nipoti.

“Cute, cute, cute!” Alberto croons, shaking Luca’s face back and forth. “Beauty and brains? Santa mozzarella, save some for the rest of us, Luca.”

Immediately, Luca’s pout disappears with a yelp of surprise and he quickly bats away Alberto’s hands.

“Beto!” Luca scolds, hands over his steadily reddening cheeks. “Don’t do that!”

“What?” Alberto laughs, arms spread out wide. He can tell Luca isn't actually mad at him, just pleasantly annoyed and exasperatedly fond. So he keeps going. “I’m not wrong! You keep that up where anyone can see you, and Guilia and I are going to have to start beating the suitors off with sticks.” He mimes whacking someone with a stick to emphasize his point. “Like, I think you might steal my title of Portorosso’s most handsome bachelor. These days everyone wants an adorable brainiac, not a roguish bad boy, you know?”

Luca just looks at him, mouth opening and closing like some sort of guppy. Then, “Roguish bad boy?” he repeats disbelievingly.

“Well,” Alberto huffs, feeling the need to defend his honor, “it’s not like anyone else in this town gets up to as much trouble as I do.”

Luca snorts, finally letting his hands fall from his face. They’re… really red, actually. Maybe he did pinch a little harder than he meant to. Alberto frowns.

“Hey,” Alberto says, grabbing Luca’s elbow and dragging him forward again. “Let’s go get some gelato. Now that you’re awake, we should have enough time to grab some before our shift at the beach if we run.”

There. Gelato makes the best apologies without actually having to say sorry. He’ll even get Luca a double scoop, since, you know, he can never quite narrow down which flavor he wants and the indecision always stresses him out.

***

The good news is that his—well it wasn’t actually a plan per se, but whatever you want to call it, it worked!

Teasing Luca did make the strange, overwhelming feeling in his chest go away. It’s also funny and something Alberto likes doing… a lot, actually.

The bad news is that the feeling eventually came back.

[peachtree-dish]

A Te Che Sei il Mio Amore Grande Ch. 2

Dopo un Giorno Pieno di Parole

Chapter summary: Alberto and Giulia grow as siblings, Giulia asks a stressful question, Alberto panics and Massimo tries to offer advice.

Giugno 12, 1969

Leaping from the cliff, Alberto deftly dove into the warm waters of the Italian Riviera. Giulia shrieked with laughter as his tail splashed a small wave over her.

“Idiota! Just wait till I get my hands on you.” Alberto grinned as she futilely tried swimming after him.

“Woah, sorellina, does Massimo know you have a mouth like that?” Alberto swam easily out of reach from her frustrated thrashing and snickered at her pout.

“Who do you think taught me to speak like that?” Giulia stuck her tongue out, instantly regretting it when Alberto splashed her again.

“Be that as it may, you’d still need fins and a tail to even try and catch me. And unless you’ve got them hidden in this hair of yours,” He poked her wet mass of curls teasingly with his tail. “it’s not gonna happen.”

Giulia growled at him, instantly reminding him of a soaked Machiavelli which caused him to cackle with delight.

Giulia looked pleadingly at Luca who sat on the white shore with a magazine in hand, his skin turning pink under the rays of the sun.

“Hey, Luca! Are you ever going to put that magazine down?” Luca glanced up absentmindedly at her call. As he took in her expression of mutiny he balked and gently put his reading away.

“Oh, sorry! Vado!” He leaped up from the blanket and yanked off his shirt, the motion catching Alberto’s attention. The soft boy from a year ago had come back a completely different person with stronger legs and leaner features. His limbs were beginning to lengthen and become more muscular, no doubt a consequence of Luca continuing to bike while in Genoa. He grinned as Luca took a running leap and cannonballed into the waves, instantly changing into his scaled form.

Blinking the water from his eyes, Luca smiled at his two friends.

“What were you even reading, dude?” Alberto motioned to the shore with a finned hand.

“Oh, it’s this really cool article about what the Americans are creating with NASA. There’s even talk about putting men on the moon.” Luca became more animated as he spoke, his pupils widening with delight and his fins waved excitedly. Alberto looked expectantly at Giulia for an explanation.

“It’s their department that studies space and flight,” Giulia explained patiently. “Ever since Russia got one of their space-crafts up there,” She pointed at the spacious sky above them, “the Americans have been really antsy about getting something of theirs up there too. It’s all about competition.”

Alberto scoffed, “Sounds ridiculo! Why would they put humans on the moon?”

“Well, why not? Don’t you think it’d be straordinario?” Luca’s mind wandered to all the amazing possibilities that could be out in the galaxy. “Could you imagine it? The three of us sailing through the stars?” He floated on his back lost in thought, unable to see Alberto and Giulia share amused stares. Alberto shrugged and flicked water at his friend.

“I don’t know, the humans still don’t know everything about the ocean, you’d think they’d want to discover that first.”

“That’s why I’m going to be a marine biologist when I grow up.” Giulia joined Luca in floating on her back, gazing lazily up at the clouds. “What about you ragazzi, do you know what you want to do when we’re grown up?”

Alberto was startled at the question; he’d never considered anything other than traveling the world and leaving everyone behind. However, life with Massimo, Giulia, and Luca had changed that, had changed him. Luca’s expression had turned thoughtful at the red head’s question, making Alberto’s stomach twist with anxiety although he couldn’t say why.

“I don’t know, Gules, I don’t think there’s a lot of options for sea monsters.” He half-joked hoping to end the conversation there.

“Santa ricotta, a sea monster isn’t even an accurate term anymore!” She gestured wildly up into the air, splashing both boys as a result. “If anything, it’d be more accurate to call you guys uomini di mare. Anything but monsters.” She glared at them through foggy goggles, her intensity causing a fond warmth to blossom through Alberto’s chest.

“Whatever you say, sorellina.” He conceded by floating on his back, eyes closed as the hot sun caused his scales to revert back to skin as he dried.

“I think I want to be an astrophysicist.”

Alberto jerked in the water, startling both Giulia and Luca.

“Astro-what now?”

Luca floundered under his friend’s incredulity, his scales turning darker with a fluster.

“I-I want to be an astrophysicist. They study the stars and galaxy, I just think that would be really cool.” Luca looked worriedly between Alberto’s shocked expression and Giulia’s face of concern.

“Well…that sounds great!” Alberto exclaimed, gently pushing at Luca’s shoulder. The younger boy sagged in relief, his face splitting into a toothy grin. To Luca’s left, Giulia didn’t look so convinced.

“You really think so, Alberto?”

“Sure, you’re so smart I can only imagine the things you’ll find!” His smile didn’t quite reach his eyes as he spoke.

“You could come with me, I bet there would be something there that you’d love to study. You could be an engineer and we could travel the world. You and me together, vero?” Alberto floundered once again, unsure of how to answer Luca’s hopeful expression. Not willing to let his fear show, the older teen shoved his anxiety down with a silent silenzio, Bruno! Heaving an overly dramatic sigh, Alberto held out his hand nonchalantly.

“Well, if you reeeally insist on it, I guess so. Fish’s honor.” Luca laughed and shook his hand before smothering him with an enthusiastic hug.

“You’re the best, Alberto,” Luca mumbled into his oral fins.

“Heh, I try.” He caught Giulia scrutinizing him from behind Luca and he made a face just to annoy her. She rolled her eyes and mouthed ‘we’ll talk later, idiota’, before swimming towards shore.

“Hey, regazzi! We gotta head home, I still need to make the evening rounds for Papa.” Luca and Alberto pulled away, the latter making to follow after Giulia. Luca grabbed his hand before he could completely escape.

“Hey, are you really okay with me studying more once I finish in Genoa? I know we never really talked about life after school, but be honest with me.” Luca looked beseechingly at his best friend who wouldn’t quite make eye contact.

“Luca, I-”

“Ragazzi! I mean it, we gotta head back now, per favore!” Alberto scowled at Giulia’s waving figure on the shore.

“Perfect timing as always.” He muttered. Chancing a glance at Luca, Alberto continued, “Maybe we can discuss this later, ok? But just know that no matter what you want to do or be, I will always have your back. Sempre, Luca Paguro.” He emphasized his point by pointing at the bracelets on both their wrists. Luca’s face softened, releasing the tension he’d been holding. He squeezed Alberto’s hand, “Race you to the shore?”

“Oh, you are totally on.” Alberto dove past Luca, his best friend laughing and shouting with mock indignance behind him. As they reached the shore and finished helping Giulia pack their bikes, Alberto chose to ignore the knot forming in his stomach. Giulia and Luca still had five years in school, there was time for things to change. And if they didn’t… he glanced at Luca as they rode back, his eyes shining and hair bouncing in the wind. He felt something within his chest ache deeply. Well, they’d cross that bridge when they got there.

************

“Have you caught anything yet, ragazzo?” Massimo’s low voice pulled Alberto from his thoughts. He turned from the cutting board where he was slicing potatoes and looked at Massimo apologetically.

“Um sorry, cosa?” Massimo rumbled out a laugh and patted Alberto on the shoulder, returning to the stove, he continued speaking.

“You were so deep in your thoughts, I assumed you would have caught what you were fishing for. What’s wrong, Beto? I haven’t seen you this pensive since, well, never.” Alberto burned holes into the potatoes, his mood turning sour.

“Why did you and Giulia’s mom split up?” The words were out before Alberto could stop them and he felt his stomach drop. Massimo stood frozen his eyebrows raised comically high.

“Per favore perdonami, Massimo, that was really stupid of me.” Alberto winced, waiting for the blow to come, but instead, he only listened as, after a moment of silence, Massimo turned the burner on low and shuffled around in one of his kitchen drawers. The large man sat himself down slowly as if it pained him to do so. The teen noted that under the harsh kitchen light, more lines were covering Massimo’s face than before; he idly wondered when the fisherman had begun to age. Patting his massive hand on the chair beside him, Massimo motioned for him to sit.

“Qui, come sit with me, Alberto.” Alberto slid shame-faced into the chair, worried at what Massimo was going to do. “I’m not mad, piccolo, I wanted to show you something.” He pushed a faded paper towards him, the edges were already worn yellow from years of handling. It was a photo of what Alberto assumed to be a Massimo as a little kid with a girl who looked like a replica of Giulia. Massimo stood laughing next to the girl holding a fishing rod while she had a paintbrush pressed against her lip like a mustache.

“That’s my Mia and me when we were children together.”

“Now I can see where Giulia gets her…everything from.” Massimo chuckled and nodded fondly.

“I adored her, from the time I met her until we were fully grown; She was my best friend, but we were so different.” Massimo gently touched the photo, quietly overwhelmed. “Mia was very talented as an artist and so inquisitive, she was smarter than me, even from the beginning. We went to school together here in Porto Rosso and got married very young, but she was never truly happy here. She wanted to move to the city where she could get more options for work as an artist. We made it work for a while, Giulia coming into the world helped for a time.” Massimo stood to continue stirring the pot’s contents. His shoulders sagged lower as he spoke as if the world itself was beginning to rest on him.

Alberto listened intently, his anxiety building as he saw where the story was going. When Pavarotti, one of Machiavelli’s many children pushed against his leg purring, he pulled him up into his lap, stroking while he followed along.

“I am a poor fisherman, si? I couldn’t offer her the things she deserved, and I was afraid of leaving the only life I knew. Berto,” He turned to the somber teen, “sometimes when we love people, we need to let them go so that they can bloom. You are a flower, si?” Alberto scrunched his face in confusion.

“Huh?”

Massimo gestured for a moment, trying to find the right words, “you are a flower and so is the person you love, but if one flower can’t bloom and become more than it is, it… muore. Capisci?”

“I-I think so. I’m not really sure. You lost me at the flower metaphor.” Dropping his head in defeat, Massimo tried again.

“You are a flower,”

“Mamma e papa wanted different things, Berto,” Giulia announced herself by sauntering into the room with several kittens trailing behind her mewling. Setting the small number of leftovers in bowls near the door, she dropped down next to Alberto and fanned herself. She looked at Alberto, who looked back guiltily, wondering if he was getting too personal.

“My mom loved papa very much, but she had always wanted to be an artist and live farther inland to work and explore. Papa wouldn’t have been able to work that far inland since his only trade is fishing. So, they split up and now I get two different houses.” She shrugged at Alberto’s slack-jawed expression.

“What papa is trying to tell you is that he loved my mom enough to let her go so that she could become the best version of herself.” Massimo nodded gratefully at his daughter who smiled kindly in return.

“É così, and so my advice is to find someone who does the same for you.”

“Speaking of which, where’s Luca?” Alberto scowled at her sly smirk.

“He’s eating with his family tonight, apparently his mom and dad need help for the crab shows.”

“I still don’t know why that’s a thing.”

Alberto scoffed into his fist, “Says the girl who literally swam, ate, and biked for a trophy.”

“Hey, that’s different!”

“It really isn’t.”

“Is too!”

“Is not!”

“Who’s ready to eat?” Massimo placed three bowls expertly on the table, interrupting the beginning feud.

“Is too,” Alberto whispered smugly, flinching when Giulia kicked him under the table.

***********

Hours later, Alberto was drifting on the edge of sleep. Giulia’s snores would often cause him to startle; even in human form, his senses were at a higher range, which made sleeping in Giulia’s room so much harder. Rolling onto his stomach he groaned into his pillow, willing his red-headed friend to shut up. He jerked to full consciousness, however, at a firm tap on the window. Snapping his head to the side, wincing as it popped painfully, Alberto could make out the silhouette of Luca crouching on the tree branch.

Jumping to his feet as quietly as possible, Alberto unlocked the window and followed Luca to the hideout.

“What are you doing out here this late, is everything okay?” He kept his voice low so as not to wake Giulia or Massimo.

“I told you I wanted to make sure you were okay. Are you?” Luca had most people convinced that he was an innocent adolescent when in reality he was a stubborn pain in the ass. Alberto loved that about him. He got more comfortable on the planks and accepted the fact that he might not get much sleep tonight.

“I’m fine, I promise.”

“Somehow I don’t believe you.” Luca’s tone wasn’t accusatory, but he didn’t sound happy either.

“I want you to be happy. That’s really what it boils down to.” Alberto answered honestly, looking his best friend in the eyes to prove his point.

“What about your happiness?”

“Who says I’m not happy?”

“No, I mean…” Luca raked a hand through his curls in frustration, Alberto’s eyes following the movement. “You deserve to follow your dreams and accomplish what you want. The question is what do you want, Alberto?”

Alberto stared blankly at him for a moment before looking back at the open window.

“Eight hours of sleep would be nice.”

“Alberto…” He bit back his grin at Luca’s mild glare

“Alright, honestly I don’t know. A year ago, I would have told you that I wanted to travel everywhere with you on a Vespa, but now…” He sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. “Now I’m not so sure anymore. This… is the first time I have a home and a real family, I guess I just want to hold onto it for a little while longer.” His friend frowned, his eyebrows wrinkling with confusion.

“But no one’s asking you to let it go, we’ll always come back.”

“Are you sure you will?” Luca snapped his head back in shock.

“How can you say that? I will always come back to you, and here.” He stammered, “I’ll always come home to here.” Alberto took in Luca’s determined features and felt the knot lessen ever so slightly within his stomach. He smiled and ruffled Luca’s hair, much to his aggravation.

“I know you will, I’m sorry if I ever doubted you.” He scooted closer to Luca as they watched the moon float inch by inch across the starry sky. Their shared warmth and the peaceful setting caused Luca’s eyes to flutter close, his body relaxing against Alberto’s.

“So, you think I should be an engineer, huh?” He started and shifted against Alberto trying to find his comfortable spot again.

“Why not, you’re already becoming a good mechanic. You’re good at fixing things.” Luca mumbled, his voice growing slower. Alberto huffed a laugh and started to pull away, “You fixed me.” Alberto’s mind screeched to a halt, and he glanced down at Luca’s sleeping features.

“I think it’s the other way around, amico.” His only response was a soft snore. Rolling his eyes the tender moment passed, and he pulled himself up, careful not to knock either of them out of the tree.

“Come on, dormiglione, let’s get some rest.” He pulled Luca to his feet and gently guided him back across the branch and into the room. Luca instantly curled into the warmth of Alberto’s mattress and Alberto set the blanket around him gently before curling on top of the sheets. The sound of Giulia and Luca’s snores should have set his nerves on edge even more, but Alberto only felt content and safe. After all, perhaps the best part about having a home was being surrounded by the people who loved you most.

[floralcreer]

A Genoa Holiday - Part 2

Alberto has dinner at Isabella’s house

“Oh Alberto look how tall you are now,” Isabella, Giulia’s mother said, as he and Luca walked into the home. He smiled, leaning down to kiss her cheeks as they said their hellos. “Sorry I wasn’t in when you arrived but your bag is up in Luca’s room.” She was very much like Giulia in looks, but that is where the resemblance stopped; Isabella was much calmer and patient. Alberto wondered if her spirit came from a weird mix of Massimo’s bravery and Isabella’s creativity.

“It’s fine, really. I only had a few minutes before I had to pick up Luca.” Alberto replied, smiling as Luca came into the kitchen, a big pink box on hand. “I brought Cannoli for dessert.”

“You are a credit to Massimo, Alberto. Luca, can you go fetch the girls, we’ll have dinner in the garden,” Luca nodded, rushing up the stairs, “and you can grab me that bowl up there, Mr Long Legs.” Alberto did as he was asked, grabbing the salad bowl from atop the fridge, placing it on the table and helping prep dinner. “How is Massimo?”

“Papa’s ok, still a bit shaken from the accident so I think he’s enjoying a weeks peace.” Isabella’s head went up, looking confused. “Did Giulia not say?”

“No, what accident?”

“We went out in a mild storm to help a fellow fisherman who’s engine cut out a week ago and he went over. He’s lucky to have a son who is a sea monster but it did shake him up. He… there was water in his lungs but we got him around pretty quick.” Isabella put a hand to her mouth. “He’s ok, I promise.”

“I am… he’s strong, life hasn’t been the kindest but he’s strong. I’ll call him after we’ve eaten. Poor you having to experience that. You’re very brave.” Alberto smiled, nodding and putting the salad in the bowl. “I’m going to collect those 3, heaven knows what they are up to. Sorry to ask so much of you but do you mind putting the table cloth and things out on the table?”

“Of course.” Alberto smiled, doing as he was asked. Isabella climbed the stairs, finding the 3 stood around Alberto’s case.

“I still don’t think we should look.” Bria whispered, both arms wrapped around one of Giulia’s, “if he brought you gifts he’ll give them too you.”

“Exactly.” Isabella said, making them all jump. “Also it’s very rude to look in a persons case without them. Dinner is ready.” They all mumbled apologies, rushing down stairs.

Dinner was filled with laughter, and Alberto and Bria got on so well both of their partners, for a moment, got a bit jealous. Bria hadn’t laughed so much in a while, both being able to converse, mostly about Giulia, with ease. Giulia and Luca were impressed, Bria was very shy and quiet with most people. Alberto dazzled most people he met since he started working on the boats, growing stronger and more handsome as the days passed. He told Luca in every phone call and letter how beautiful he was, but Luca knew Alberto was the more conventional attractive of the two. He didn’t mind.

“Yes, Giulia,” Isabella said, interrupting one of Alberto’s stories about him and Massimo’s trips, “you never said your father had an accident. You need to tell me these things.” The table fell into an uncomfortable silence. Alberto threw Giulia a small ‘sorry’ smile.

“I didn’t think you’d care,” she said, looking down into her wine glass. Bria threw her a sad glance, knowing what was coming next. “You’re not married. And you’re dating that guy.” They had split when Giulia was 9, but it was only now Isabella felt confident to date.

“Giulietta… He is still your father. I’m going to call him.” Isabella got up, leaving the table in the silence. Luca took her hand and squeezed it, before leaning back and quietly opening the window so they could listen. They almost held their breath. “Massimo… hi, it’s Bella, Alberto told me about what happened, are you ok?…. Yeah Giulia didn’t mention it, and she’s in trouble for not telling me… but I’m glad you’re ok. Still making me worry after all this time.”

“I’m getting the cannolis.” Giulia said, standing up. Alberto nudged Luca, a sign for him to leave the siblings for a moment.

“No I’ll get them, you stay.” Luca said, getting up.

“I’ll get more water.” Bria added, following Luca into the house. Alberto moved into Bria’s chair, putting an arm around his sister as they listened to Isabella and Massimo talk. Giulia leant in, her head on his shoulder, smiling up at him a little.

“I’m glad your here.” Giulia muttered, and Alberto squeezed her closer. “Thank you…”

“It’s what brothers are for.”

“Do you think Massimo and Isabella will get together again? The conversation was very friendly.” Luca asked, curling closer to Alberto. They were on Luca’s bed, listening to the city slow down beneath the open window. Luca started drawing circles on the older man’s bare chest, both only in shorts due to the heat. “But I don’t want Giulia to get her hopes up.”

“I know… best not say anything. I don’t like seeing her this upset. She’s really upset about her parents dating other people. I think she always hoped they would get back together one day.” Alberto replied, fiddling with Luca’s shell necklace Alberto had made for him. Luca sat up, leaning over Alberto.

“Massimo is dating someone? Is it Signora Emma? Signora Greta?” Alberto laughed, which made Luca smile.

“My lips are sealed.”

“They better not be because,” Luca leaned down and pressed a few kisses to his lips, “I have more stuff I want to say.” Alberto muttered ‘later’ pulling Luca down for more kisses. After a few moments (or minutes, Luca wasn’t sure), Luca pulled away, looking a bit embarrassed. “I… I still don’t want to do… it yet.”

“Hey, piccolo, I know,” Alberto sat up, taking Luca’s hand in his, “I’m happy to wait.”

“I don’t want anyone to hear us it’s… embarrassing…” Luca was bright red, not looking at Alberto, who just smiled, leaning down and into his bag and pulling out a letter, holding it out to Luca. “What’s this?” The younger took the letter, opening it and reading the words ‘we look forward to welcoming you too the Hotel Milano’ looking at Alberto. “Milan?”

“It’s for your birthday, I’ve got it all planned out and hey,” he took both of Luca’s hands, entwining their fingers, “I will wait as long as you need me too. I am not expecting you to ever feel like you want to do that, but it will just be us, and if you want to, then sure. I only want to if you do.” Luca was tearing up, leaping and hugging Alberto tightly.

“I love you so much. Thank you, beto.”

“I love you too bubble.” Luca grinned, rubbing his nose against Alberto’s. “I’m still not telling you who my dad is dating.”

Just a little side note; I won’t be writing Alberto and Luca’s first time. They are aged up here but it still makes me uncomfortable. If you guys want to, feel free to use this set up.

[tinyboxxtink]

“My Fairy Abogado” *Part 4*

If anyone ever wants me to put the English translations of the Spanish I use in here, please let me know.

Or are you all just googling them?😂

Tag List:

@dumauier

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@word-scribbless

@objection-argumentative

@wanniiieeee

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 5

“What the hell did he want?” 

Beto’s voice startled you from behind. 

“Beto! Language!” You scolded him, trying to shake off the fear in your voice.

“Whatever, I think we have bigger problems,” He rolled his eyes.

“What did he want?” he pressed you. 

“Nothing! Just...nothing,” you waved it off.

“It wasn’t nothing-- it was about that abogado, wasn’t it?”

“Rafael? Why would the Diablos hate Rafael?” Chloe chimed in.

“Because he sent one of them away for a very long time,”  Beto answered her.

“Yay! I knew he was a good guy!” 

“Yeah he won’t be, if he gets us killed,”

“BETO!” You threw your hands over Chloe’s ears. “Stop. You’re going to scare her,”

“Well she should be scared, if you’re willing to risk our lives because some abogado made goo goo eyes at you!” 

“That is NOT true, and you know it,” you snapped.

“Yeah Rafael is going to help us get Mami and Papi back, Beto!” Chloe yelled, making you remove your hands. 

“You can hear us?”  You asked, she nodded. 

“What do you want Chloe, do you want mami and papi back or do you want your life?” 

“BETO, Seriously,” You hit him on the shoulder.

“Don’t listen to him Chlo, he’s being dramatic,” Yaz finally piped up.

“I swear it’s like you are a woman sometimes,” She added.

“Well look what I live with!” He gestured to all three of you. “And I’m NOT being dramatic,”

“YES, you are,” You grabbed a mop and a bucket.

“Nobody is hurting us, and we’re not talking about it anymore,” You warned him as you put the mop in his hands.

“Chloe, Yaz-- wipe down the counters and windows for me, yeah?” You handed them two rags as they begrudgingly agreed. 

“Ok I’ll be right back-- ASH!” You called over to Ash at the hostess stand, she was on her phone per usual.

“Watch them for me,” You motioned between the three of your siblings.

“Watch them? You gonna start paying me for babysitting too?!” She yelled back. 

“I don’t need a babysitter, I'm 15! I’m a man!”

“Yeah a man CHILD,” Yaz laughed.

“I’ll show you man child--” Betro grabbed the mop and put it up to Yaz’s face, making her scream in disgust. 

“Ewwwww! Beto!!” She screamed as Beto chased her with the mop.

“See what I mean?”  You put your hands together in a begging stance.

“Five minutes,” She rolled her eyes.

“Thank you!”

-------

You went to the back, dialing Rafael’s number.

“That was fast,” You heard him smile through the phone.

“H-How did you know it was me?” 

“Call it lawyer’s intuition,” 

“Yeah well apparently your intuition didn't think about hanging around a Diablo’s territory,”

“What?” 

“They came in here after you left,” 

“What did they say?”

“They know you got one of them sent away,” 

“Shit--I should’ve figured that. After I gave Maria that money it figures she probably went to a Diablo dealer--” 

“Wait, did you just say you gave her the money?” 

“Yeah…” 

“You gave Ash’s mom money to go kill herself?”

“I didn’t-- it wasn’t like that!” He was frantic.

“Then how was it, counselor?” 

“I...I wanted her to calm down, so that she would be able to testify. I just wanted her to be calm. I didn’t...I didn’t think…she’d...” He trailed off, on the verge of tears.

“But she did,” You scoffed. 

“Look don’t you think I carry that around with me every day? You know that’s why I give Ash the money I give her! I thought you said she told you that,” He replied angrily.

“No, she told me that you knew who gave her the money. I don’t think she knows you’re actually the one who killed her,” 

“I didn’t kill her!” 

“Yeah you just gave her money to do it herself,” 

“Did you call me just to guilt me about the biggest mistake I’ve ever made?” He gruffed.

“No…” you sighed. “I’m sorry…” You felt a pang of guilt; you knew he was a good guy, he probably felt guilty about Ash’s mom every day and here you were shoving it in his face.

“I’m just scared,” You bit your lip.

“Did he threaten you?” 

“No, he offered for all of us to go out for some coffee later-- OF COURSE he threatened me!” You threw your hands up as it was totally obvious.

“Dammit, I’m--I’m sorry, Y/N,” He sighed. “I should’ve thought about that when Ash invited me to dinner at your place,” You could picture him pacing in his office.

“So you regret coming down here?” You asked softly.

“No! Not at all. Do...do you regret meeting me?” You could hear the fear in his voice.

“No!” You immediately answered, but then paused. “I mean, not really,” 

“If you hadn’t, you wouldn’t have a target on your back right now,” 

“Oh please Rafael, you lived here. There’s ALWAYS targets on people’s back, no matter who they know,” 

“That is true,”

“But--” you sighed nervously. “He--He did threaten the kids, and my family, if you came down here again,” 

“Fuck…” He muttered. 

There was a long pause, so long you thought he might have hung up.

“...You need to come here,” 

“I’m sorry, what?” You almost lost it laughing.

“I can’t protect you from here!” 

“I didn’t ask you to protect me!” You half laughed.

“Then why are you calling me?” 

“I called you to say stay away from us,” You sighed.

“...Do you really mean that?” You could picture his puppy dog eyes as he spoke.

“Rafael, look-- I already told you. I have to put the kids first-- I can’t put their lives in danger just because your smile makes me weak,” 

“...Does it now?” You could hear him smirking through the phone.

“Shut up, you know what I mean. I can’t put what I want before them,” You replied in a flush.

“But you said they need their parents,”

“They also need to LIVE,” You scoffed.

“Please, Diego is all bark and no bite. I grew up with his brother, they’re full of shit,” 

“Well I’m sorry I don’t have the luxury of taking that chance while I sit in my ivory tower,” You said sarcastically.

“....That’s not fair. I told you how hard I worked--” 

“Yeah and I’m happy for you! I’m glad that you got out of here, I really am. But I’m still here,” You ran your hands through your hair. 

“That’s why I’m saying come to me!” He argued.

“Are you not hearing me? I run a restaurant, Rafael! I have kids to think of! I have a LIFE here. I can’t just run away with you,” 

“I didn’t mean it like that,” He sighed. “I meant bring the kids,”

“Did you? Because I think you know that’s impossible. Where are you gonna put all of us? You’re going to rip them away from their home? Their friends? Their life? And and then, then when we’re gone they’ll just go after Mari, or worse Ashtawnja! Or do you want her blood on your hands too?”

“...That’s the last time I’m going to let you bring that up again, or I’m hanging up.” He growled.

“Fine, you’re right. But you also know I’m right-- you can’t save everyone, Raf,” You blinked back tears. “But you can save us by staying away,” 

“I...I can’t do that,” He muttered.

“YES, you can. And you better because I swear to God Rafael if you show up here and the Diablo’s take it out on me or my family I will NEVER let you out of the guilt from that,”

“Just...Look just...just let me come and talk to--” 

“NO. No, okay? Just lose this number,” You hung up abruptly.

You put your hands over your face as you slumped down the wall slowly, silent tears falling down your face. You hated having to tell him to stay away from you, that was the last thing you wanted. But you knew it was for the best. 

Little did you know, Rafael wasn’t that easily deterred. 

----

It was late, you had closed hours ago and the kids had been asleep even longer. You couldn’t sleep, you were thinking about Rafael. Suddenly, a knock on the back door of the restaurant knocked you from your guilt. You grabbed one of Beto’s old little league bats and crept downstairs, as the knocking continued. You crept closer, and swung it open, waving a bat in the intruder’s face.

“DON’T FUCK WITH ME!!!!” You screamed, only to miss the guy and fell flat on your face.

“....And what exactly were you going to do to a Diablo with a bat in your shorty shorts and a tank top, hermosa?” 

You turned to see Rafael dressed in street clothes. His usual pristine suit was replaced with a leather jacket and jeans that showed off his amazing ass, topped with the black fitted tee showed off the fact that he may be older, but he took care of his body. VERY well. He was decked out in tons of gold chains and rings, you were half shocked he didn’t have a fake grill as well. 

You leapt to your feet, trying your best not to stare. If you didn’t have kids upstairs you would jump him right there in the alleyway. 

“...Is that how they dressed when you lived here?” You smirked, trying to hide the fact that you were incredibly turned on. 

“Oh come on, you know I look sexy,” He winked. “....Or at least your nipples do,” 

You glanced down at your pretty thin tank top to see your nipples standing at full attention. You clamped your arms around your chest quickly, feeling your face growing hotter by the second.

“...It’s cold out here,” You scoffed, but you knew you were totally busted. You hurried him inside, locking the door behind you.

“Okay sexy flirting aside, I told you not to come here!”

“You said the abogado couldn’t come here, so he didn’t,” He presented himself.

“Oh right, so you think you came here under the radar in that outfit, do you?” You half laughed.

“Well that and the fact that I came down here on my bike and not in an Uber,” 

“On a bicycle Raf, seriously?” You were now snickering. 

“No, smart ass. My BIKE,” He nodded outside. You cracked the door open to reveal a black motorcycle. 

“You, ride a motorcycle?” You raised an eyebrow. 

“I do,” He smiled. 

“You are full of surprises, counselor,” You smiled as you bit your lip.

“Keeps it interesting,” He smirked, pulling on your tank top. 

“So....does this mean I can ‘fraternize’ with this Rafael?” 

“Rafa,” He corrected you, rolling the R. “And he can protect you,” 

“I never said Rafael couldn’t protect-- is that why you did this?” You suddenly felt guilty for making him think he couldn’t be who he was to be with you.

“Rafael can protect you with restraining orders and lots of legal bullshit-- Rafa can protect you, the way you need to be protected right now,” 

“And how exactly is that, ese?” You raised an eyebrow.

He smiled slightly and moved his leather jacket, revealing a Glock in his belt. Your smile quickly faded, pushing him angrily.

“What the FUCK, Rafa?” You hissed, trying not to wake the kids. “You brought a gun into my house?!”

“I thought that’s what you wanted!” 

“You thought I wanted another cholo? This place is crawling with them, Rafa. I want the nice, handsome man that came in here the other day,” You pulled on the collar of his leather jacket.

“No you don’t, you told him to leave you alone,” He looked down and away at the floor in sadness.

“I…” you put your hand over your head, running your fingers down through your hair. 

“You’re right. I did,” You couldn’t fault him for listening to you, kind of. 

“So...you gonna let me protect you or what, carino?” 

You thought about it, milling it around in your brain. You glanced upstairs towards the kids, then looked at this new “Rafa”. 

After about a minute, you walked up to Rafa, pressing your body against his. 

“Alright guapo, you can stay,” you smirked. “But THIS, can’t,” You pulled the gun from it’s holster. 

“Fair enough,” He nodded and then went outside to lock the gun under his seat compartment. When he returned, he had a huge mischievous smile.

“So does that mean we--” He started to talk but that jacket with those abs couldn’t hold you back any longer. You grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him into your face. He responded by picking you up, you wrapped his legs around his chest as you two continued kissing. You fumbled with his jacket, trying to rip it off his body. 

“Easy hermosa, this jacket’s $200,” He chuckled, calmly sliding it off his arms and tossing it on your back table. He continued to kiss you, going for your tank top to pull off when…

“Rafael?” 

You both immediately ceased the making out and turned to see a sleepy Chloe, standing at the top of the stairs staring at the two of you. 

BUSTED.