#Betty in NY fan fiction

[smallcatwoman]

More thoughts

Well I’ve been able to listen to pretty much the whole album now and I have some thoughts.

I’ll also just share my thoughts on her orientation. I basically abandoned this blog and tumblr in general for a couple years and I’m only back for simblr stuff on my main blog and misc memes/taylor/twilight stuff on this one sometimes. And it’s kind of tentative how much I’ll actually be here at all. I’m mostly on reddit and discord now. In terms of the speculating and talking about Taylor/Karlie, obviously they broke up several years ago and the intensity of the bullying and hatred from hetero fans was too much for pretty much all of us. From the Lover period onward she pretty much dove headfirst back into the closet and seems to want to stay there, and is pretty aggressively trying to dispute rumors about this whole thing, which didn’t help with the bullying and aggression towards lgbt fans. 

This album, Lover, and her general PR stuff has such aggressive “look at me and how straight I am, I’m the most hetero to have ever heteroed, look at my boyfriend dick allcock from man island who is totally not a twink who woohoos with guys on tinder and happens to get a huge fame boost from me” I have seriously considered if the straights are right and we were all “delusional crazy pants” or whatever. Like I have tried to be open minded and really go over all the analysis of everything. 

But there is absolutely zero hetero explanation for all the stuff between her and Karlie. You can look at photos/videos from their glass closeting days and its so transparently obvious. The best best friends video, the big sur trip drawing hearts in the sand with their initials, the way that they looked at each other every single chance that we saw them together, “I came straight from Rome” etc. Even when she started bearding it was such a disaster at first. She and Calvin so transparently hated each other and he basically outed her on Twitter after the fact saying that she was a beard. Her and Tom were so obvious that interviewers literally asked Tom if it was a PR stunt and at their super hetero fourth of july photoshoot with their “boyfriends” there were all those soaking wet photos of Karlie grabbing her tits and wrestling with her on a waterslide. 

Also reputation.. how transparently it was about Karlie. “wear you like a necklace,” “I don’t want you like a best friend,” “I would fall from grace just to touch your face,” “dancing with our hands tied,” all these references to a forbidden secret love. And she specifically picked Joe as an ugly male version of Karlie that she could pretend to sing about and be like “Oh I like a boyish man” as a blanket explanation for dating people like Harry Styles who last I saw him was wearing ruffly sparkling pink and rainbow suits on stage and singing songs about sucking dick with male pronouns. It was a good arrangement, especially considering she really loved Karlie and was in it for the long haul. And it seems like she and Joe are really good friends, get along well, and he has some musical talent so they’ve even collaborated on some songs a bit. 

Then we have Karlie’s marriage, their messy breakup, Lover which was supposed to be a happy rainbow album about being happy with her true love but there were some breakup songs snuck on there (False God, Cornelia Street, Death by a Thousand Cuts) and she looked utterly wretchedly miserable, like she was crying or sullen in a bunch of pap shots (especially NY pap shots) and in the City of Lover video she is dressed in all black despite the rainbow aesthetic of the album and seems to be basically on the verge of tears during the whole show. The performance of Cornelia Street from that show gives me chills. You can hear her agony so palpably. 

Folklore and Evermore have a lot of fiction based songs, and I do think it’s reaching to say that Betty is a gay song, like folks its a storytelling/fictional song. But there are a few heart rending breakup anthems. Like some of the saddest she’s ever written. Some scary lines about standing on cliffsides. But yeah she’s happy Mrs Toe in a long term happy relationship. 

Totally. In terms of Zoe Kravitz, they’ve been friends for many years, including while she was dating Karlie. Zoe divorced her husband at the end of 2020 and there are some interesting songs about having an affair with a married woman/leaving a toxic marriage that I thought were about Karlie but.. maybe they weren’t all about her. Zoe also seems to have collaborated with her on some of the music so it wouldn’t surprise me if some of those songs were written by her too. Zoe is part of her “squad” or “pandemic bubble” along with Toe and others and when she’s gone to visit Europe ostensibly to visit Toe Zoe happened to be there shooting films and Tay seems to have taken a Paris trip with a special someone. I really don’t think she’ll come out or do a glass closeting thing again after the disaster with Karlie. She seems happy to keep her love life between herself and her partner and emphasizes that in her recent albums (yet she’s publicly dating Toe? Again it doesn’t line up) So I basically just envision them all hanging out as friends, gallivanting around Europe with Jack and other friends/maybe some of Toe’s bfs, working on music together. She seems obviously happier and not broken up about Karlie. I’ll breakdown some of my views about the Midnights songs Lavender Haze - She put out some kind of ultra no homo PR announcement about this in order to defuse the fact that this is so transparently a song about the pressure for a lavender marriage, which she really really does not want. Like she’ll be in a happy hetero relationship with this man for all the world to see if it keeps the rumors at bay, helps her with her career, and gives her some privacy with Zoe.. but marriage is a lot and she really doesn’t want to do it. I can’t believe she was so blatant about it though. Like wow. 

Maroon/Bigger than the whole Sky/Bejeweled/Question/Mastermind/Great War - Some reflection on the Karlie debacle, but she seems to be recognizing it wasn’t healthy or perfect and it’s okay that it ended. I love Maroon, it’s like Red’s sultry older sister.

Vigilante Shit/Karma - Kanye debacle, gotta have some songs about that I guess.

Midnight Rain/Labrynth/Dear Reader - I hate the voice distortion effects on these so much. It makes my skin crawl and I couldn’t listen to those more than once to analyze them. I hope to god she doesn’t ever use that again in future songs.

Would’ve Could’ve Should’ve - About John Mayer. Even us conspiracy weirdos think that one was real, he was a toxic manipulative gross man who messed her up and it was basically a last ditch effort to try to be straight. She regrets the whole thing and I understand why.

Glitch/Paris/Sweet Nothing/ Snow on Beach/High Infidelity - She’s happy with someone new and it’s very unexpected.. someone she loves and trusts and she’s been friends with for a long while. Someone who left her husband for Taylor instead of the other way around like some people. Tay still has some trust issues and fear of abandonment but seems to be happy nonetheless.

Mastermind/YOYOK/Anti Hero - Her insecurities/mental health issues. She’s been in the Hollywood spotlight for basically her whole teen and adult life. It’s caused a lot of stress, disordered eating, messed up a lot of her relationships. She’s worried that she’s controlling, and the closeting/PR stunts will be too much for anyone that she falls in love. She’s afraid of getting old in an industry that values youth and beauty above all. In terms of “sexy babies and giants on a hill” I would imagine that if you’re worried about your weight and about aging that being unusually tall kind of amplifies those fears of being too large/too old/surrounded by youngsters that you don’t  fit in with.

 I cried watching the Anti Hero video honestly. She seems really depressed in terms of Anti Hero and her last two albums. Some really concerning lyrics about standing on cliffs and “one day I’ll watch as you’re leaving and life will lose all its meaning for the last time.” Like babe.. I really hope she’s getting help. Therapists are already sworn to secrecy per their job and I’m sure she could also have lawyers cook up the NDA of the century if she’s still concerned about talking to someone. Therapy can’t just solve all her problems but there are definitely tools that she could use to cope with this situation and it’s also good to get a different, positive, non judgmental perspective on things. I really hope she’s okay and stays safe. I’ll keep an eye on things but again I can’t really promise I’ll use tumblr very much.

[fcukyeahbettyenny]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Betty en NY (TV 2019) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Armando Mendoza/Betty Rincon, Joaquin de Quiroz/Marcela Valencia Characters: Armando Mendoza, Betty Rincon, Joaquin de Quiroz, Marcela Valencia Summary:

Armando takes his new wife Betty on a cruise of the Greek Isles. Unbenknownst to him, Marcela and Joaquin are in the same boat. Literally.

[warped-historian]

Warped Tour, 2004

Dates:

June 26: Dallas, TX

June 27: Selma, TX

June 28: Houston, TX

June 29: Las Cruces, NM

June 30: Peoria, AZ

July 1: Fullerton, CA

July 2: Fullerton, CA

July 3: San Francisco, CA

July 4: Las Vegas, NV

July 6: Chula Vista, CA

July 7: Ventura, CA

July 8: Wheatland, CA

July 9: Boise, ID

July 10: George, WA

July 11: St. Helens, OR

July 13: Vancouver, BC

July 15: Calgary, AB

July 16: Bozeman, MT

July 17: Salt Lake City, UT

July 18: Denver, CO

July 20: Milwaukee, WI

July 21: Maryland Heights, MO

July 22: Noblesville, IN

July 23: Cleveland, OH

July 24: Tinley Park, IL

July 25: Minneapolis, MN

July 26: Bonner Springs, KS

July 28: Atlanta, GA

July 29: Orlando, GA

July 30: Tampa, FL

July 31: Pompano Beach, FL

August 1: Jacksonville, FL

August 2: Charlotte, NC

August 3: Virginia Beach, VA

August 4: Bristow, VA

August 5: Burgettstown, PA

August 6: Camden, NJ

August 7: New York, NY

August 8: Englishtown, NJ

August 10: Hershey, PA

August 12: Quebec City, QC

August 13: Montreal, QC

August 14: Barrie, ON

August 15: Pontiac, MI

August 16: Cincinnati, OH

August 17: Columbus, OH

August 18: Darien, NY

August 19-20: Foxborough, MA

Lineup:

Anti-Flag (Played 6/29-8/19)

Billy Talent (Played 7/20-8/19)

Bowling For Soup (Played 6/26)

The Bouncing Souls

New Found Glory

NOFX (Played 7/1-8/8)

Simple Plan (Played 7/24-7/26 and 8/1-8/5)

Story of the Year

Taking Back Sunday

Tiger Army (Played 7/20-8/19)

The Used (Played 8/19)

The All-American Rejects (Played 6/25-6/29 and 7/29-8/1)

Alkaline Trio (Played 6/25-7/24)

Bad Religion

Coheed and Cambria

The Early November (Played 6/25-7/18)

Flogging Molly

Good Charlotte (Played 8/12-8/18)

The (International) Noise Conspiracy (Played 7/28-8/19)

Lars Frederiksen and the Bastards (Played 7/20-8/18)

The Sounds (Played 6/25-7/26)

Sugarcult (Played 7/20-8/19)

Thursday (Played 6/25-7/18 and 8/6-8/14)

The Vandals

Yellowcard

Allister (Played 7/20-8/19)

Atmosphere

Avenged Sevenfold (Played 7/20-8/19)

The Casualties

From Autumn to Ashes (Played 7/20-8/2)

Hazen Street (Played 6/25-7/18)

IMA Robot (Played 6/25-7/16)

Jackson United (Played 7/7-7/13 and 7/20-8/2)

Lilix (Played 7/13)

Mae (Played 6/25-7/18)

Matchbook Romance (Played 7/20-8/19)

My Chemical Romance (Played 6/25-7/18 and 7/24)

Piebald (Played 8/5-8/8)

The Red West (Played 6/25-7/20)

The Revolution Smile (Played 7/15-7/26)

Rise Against

Rufio (Played 7/20-8/19)

Senses Fail (Played 6/25-7/18)

A Faith Called Chaos

Alexisonfire (Played 8/12-8/19)

Another Damn Disappointment (Played 6/29-6/30, 7/8, 7/13-7/15 and 7/24-7/28)

Arkham (Played 7/9-7/13, 7/16-7/23, 7/29-7/31 and 8/6-8/10)

ASG (Played 7/1-7/8, 8/1 and 8/12-8/19)

Autopilot Off (Played 6/25-7/6)

Bleed the Dream (Played 7/20-8/2)

The Briggs (Played 7/24-8/19)

Chronic Future (Played 7/25-8/4)

Die Hunns (Played 6/25-7/6)

Don't Look Down (Played 7/7-7/18)

The Eyeliners (Played 6/25-7/2)

Fall Out Boy (Played 8/10-8/19)

Fear Before the March of Flames (Played 7/20-7/24)

The Fuck Ups (Played 6/25-7/18)

Go Betty Go (Played 6/25-7/23)

The God Awfuls (Played 6/25-7/15)

Guttermouth (Played 6/25-7/11)

Juliette and the Licks (Played 6/25-7/7)

The Kinison (Played 8/7-8/19)

Lennon (Played 7/28 and 7/30-8/7)

Letter Kills

Minority (Played 6/28)

Motion City Soundtrack (Played 7/16-8/8)

Potluck (Played 7/1-7/6)

Pulley (Played 7/7-7/18)

Rose Hill Drive (Played 8/8-8/19)

Side 67 (Played 7/15)

Single Frame (Played 6/25-6/27 and 7/16-7/28)

Washington Social Club (Played 8/4-8/19)

1208 (Played 7/11)

Amber Pacific (Played 6/25-7/13, 7/28-8/12 and 8/17-8/19)

Audio Karate (Played 8/4-8/19)

Before Today (Played 7/6)

Big D and the Kids Table (Played 7/20-7/26)

Black Fire (Played 6/25-6/30)

Black Furys (Played 7/3)

Bottom Line (Played 8/15-8/17)

Break Dance Vietnam (Played 6/25-7/6)

Break the Silence (Played 7/16-7/26 and 8/10-8/19)

Bytch Kiddy (Played 8/12-8/14)

Candy Ass (Played 8/4-8/10)

Carne Asada (Played 7/17-7/26)

The Code (Played 8/5-8/8)

Codie (Played 7/21-7/22)

The Commercials (Played 8/10)

Crowned King (Played 7/13-7/15 and 8/10-8/14)

Early Man

Eden Row (Played 8/16-8/19)

Eight Fingers Down (Played 6/25-6/29)

El Centro (Played 7/20-7/23)

El Nada (Played 7/24-7/26)

The Erks

Fear Nuttin' Band (Played 8/7)

Fighting Jacks (Played 7/8-7/9)

Happy Campers (Played 6/25-6/30)

Harpo (Played 7/22)

H is Orange (Played 7/1)

Holden (Played 7/2 and 7/7)

Hurry Up Offense (Played 8/4-8/7)

The Hurt Process (Played 7/1-7/11)

Insofar (Played 7/1-7/23)

J4 (Played 6/25-6/29)

Jersey (Played 8/7, 8/10-8/15 and 8/18-8/19)

Keg (Played 7/10)

Killradio (Played 7/16-7/26)

Lakeside (Played 7/28-7/29)

Losing Team (Playd 7/16-7/17)

Lylah (Played 6/25-6/29)

Madison (Played 7/28-8/8)

Madrepore (Played 7/4 and 7/7)

The Matches (Played 8/12-8/17)

Melee

Number One Fan (Played 7/18-8/19)

O're The Ramparts (Played 7/18)

Only Crime (Played 7/18)

Opiate for the Masses (Played 7/28-8/8)

Oreon (Played 8/16-8/19)

Pipedown (Played 7/7-7/10)

The Planet Smashers (Played 7/28-8/4, 8/10 and 8/15-8/19)

The Q (Played 6/30-7/8 and 7/31-8/3)

Reeve Oliver (Played 7/28-8/8)

Rolling Blackouts

Scatter the Ashes (Played 7/20-7/24)

Silverstein (Played 8/2-8/8)

The Skulls (Played 8/19)

Slowdance (Played 7/7-7/18)

Spell Toronto

Stereogram (Played 7/11-7/18)

Stole Your Woman (Played 7/8-7/13)

Suffocate (Played 7/20-7/26)

The Swear (Played 7/28)

Thought Riot (Played 7/2-7/6)

Truth In Fiction (Played 7/24-7/25)

Unit F (Played 6/25-7/2)

Van Stone (Played 7/4-7/7)

Victory Within (Played 7/10-7/18)

Wanted Dead (Played 7/1-7/8)

Windsor (Played 7/1 and 7/6)

Zox (Played 8/16-8/19)

A Thorn For Every Heart (Played 6/25-7/1, 7/6 and 7/24)

The Academy (Played 7/24)

All Rights Reserved (Played 8/5-8/8)

All That's Left (Played 7/29-8/1)

Away From Here (Played 7/13-7/15 and 8/12-8/14)

Bayside (Played 8/15-8/19)

The Bled (Played 7/29-8/8)

Brazil (Played 7/1-8/19)

The Break (Played 7/22-7/28)

Day Two (Played 7/16-7/18)

Deville (Played 8/12-8/14)

Don't Look Down (Played 7/20-7/26)

Dynamite Boy (Played 6/25-6/30 and 7/16-8/19)

Eighteen Visions (Played 6/25-7/15)

Emery (Played 7/9-7/11)

Facing New York (Played 7/4)

From First To Last

Hidden In Plain View

Kiros (Played 7/13-7/15 and 8/12-8/14)

The Matches (Played 6/25-7/11)

Moments in Grace (Played 7/31-8/3)

Northstar (Played 6/25-6/27)

Not Quite Bernadette (Played 7/17-7/18)

Over It (Played 7/16-8/4)

Plans for Revenge (Played 7/3 and 7/8)

Roses Are Red (Played 7/16-7/21)

The Silence (Played 7/2 and 7/7)

Silverstein (Played 8/10-8/19)

The Snake, The Cross, The Crown (Played 7/2 and 7/7)

Somerset (Played 7/25)

The Spill Canvas (Played 7/16)

Stars Hide Fire (Played 8/2-8/6)

Still Life Projector (Played 7/8)

Stimulator (Played 7/1-7/8)

Tokyo Rose (Played 8/15-8/19)

Trophy Scars (Played 8/7-8/10)

Underminded

Underoath

Yesterdays Rising (Played 6/25-7/30)

5 Knuckle Surprise (Played 8/13)

13 Attempts to Fail (Played 7/9)

21 Rest (Played 7/6)

1090 Club (Played 7/16)

A Common Threat (Played 7/16)

A Second Chance (Played 8/7)

Abandon All Hope (Played 6/29)

Abstract Giants (Played 7/24)

Addison (Played 8/3)

Aiden (Played 7/10)

Air Tight Alibi (Played 6/27)

Allotic (Played 7/6)

Ambry (Played 8/19)

Arms of Orion (Played 8/6)

Antik (Played 7/18)

The Aquabats (Played 7/1-7/2 and 7/7)

Arson Cried Fire (Played 8/17)

Athena In Hades (Played 7/8)

The Autumn View (Played 7/25)

Authority Zero (Played 6/30 and 8/1-8/5)

The Bank Robbers (Played 8/8)

Benton (Played 8/10)

Bentvalve (Played 7/4)

Best Interest (Played 7/2)

The Big Screen (Played 7/31)

Billy and the Lost Boys (Played 7/13)

Bop Skizzum (Played 7/18)

Bosio (Played 7/20)

Bowling For Soup (Played 6/25, 6/27, 7/18-8/10 and 8/15-8/19)

Box Elder (Played 7/29)

Broken Horizon (Played 7/1)

BXF (Played 7/11)

Calico Drive (Played 7/15)

Capital Tragedy (Played 8/17)

Capitol Speedway (Played 8/1)

Capone (Played 8/15)

Cellar Door (Played 7/6)

Chances Are (Played 7/8)

Cheap Suits (Played 8/14)

Cherry Bing (Played 8/18)

Chernobyl Kids (Played 8/4)

Clearmotive (Played 8/18)

Coat of Arms (Played 8/5)

Crooked Edge (Played 8/1)

De La Vega (Played 7/9)

Dead Society (Played 8/8)

Death in Graceland (Played 8/16)

Deep Enough To Die (Played 8/10)

Delay (Played 7/23)

Delinquent Monastery (Played 7/3)

Deville (Played 7/15)

D.O.R.K. (Played 7/18)

Dramatic Still Life (Played 7/16)

Drane (Played 6/26)

DV8 (Played 6/25-6/27)

Each on Set (Played 8/12)

ElseWorth (Played 7/2)

Emotional Distress (Played 8/13)

Ender (Played 7/15)

The Escape Engine (Played 8/8)

Existing Away (Played 7/19)

Fail to Follow (Played 7/17)

Fallen From the Sky (Played 7/31)

Falling Process (Played 6/29)

The Feds (Played 6/26)

The Felix Culpa (Played 7/20)

Fell Far Behind (Played 8/6)

Final Underground (Played 7/9)

Firekills (Played 6/27)

Forever July (Played 8/2)

Ghetto Lust (Played 7/1)

Good With Guns (Played 7/26)

Grand Poo Bah (Played 8/14)

Her Candane (Played 7/17)

Highland Drive (Played 8/18)

Hit The Lights (Played 8/16)

Holiday (Played 8/19)

How About No (Played 7/23)

Hydra (Played 7/2 and 7/7)

I Voted For Kodos (Played 7/20)

Ill Figures (Played 7/4)

In This Day (Played 7/29)

International Businessmen (Played 7/10)

Intro5pect (Played 7/1)

Jacobs Ladder (Played 7/31)

Jane Eyre (Played 7/7)

Johnny Action Figure (Played 8/10)

Johnny Psycho (Played 7/23)

Johnny Rock (Played 7/26)

Junior (Played 6/26)

Just For A Day (Played 7/31)

JV Allstars (Played 7/26)

Kane Hodder (Played 7/10)

Key to Arson (Played 7/8)

Kick Over The Traces (Played 8/8)

Kid Deposit Triumph (Played 7/4)

Kincaide (Played 7/13)

Last Action Zeros (Played 6/30)

Last Annual (Played 7/24)

Last Collapse (Played 7/1)

Left Alone

Legbone (Played 8/17)

Light the Sky (Played 7/2)

Logik (Played 6/30)

Losers Luck (Played 7/21)

Lucked Out (Played 8/8)

Ludo (Played 7/13 and 7/21)

Made of Koncentrate (Played 8/12)

The Malcontents (Played 7/22)

Minority (Played 6/26)

Minus Vince (Played 7/3)

Monday In London (Played 8/2)

Monty's Fan Club (Played 7/7-7/17)

Much the Same (Played 7/24 and 8/3-8/10)

My American Heart (Played 7/6)

The Nancy School (Played 7/22)

Nervous Nellie (Played 7/28-8/1)

New Tomorrow (Played 7/6)

No Red Flags (Played 7/11)

The No Talent Show (Played 8/3)

Not Long After (Played 7/11)

NSF (Played 8/12)

O'Doyle Rules (Played 6/25)

Oktober (Played 6/30)

One Mile Wish (Played 7/2)

One Way Letter (Played 7/28)

Once Over (Played 7/6 and 7/8)

Oreon (Played 8/5)

Pacer (Played 8/13)

Patent Pending (Played 8/7)

Pennyroyals (Played 8/8)

The Phoenix Rising (Played 7/24)

The Pink Spiders (Played 7/28)

Plan B (Played 8/19)

Pleased (Played 8/12)

Poopan (Played 7/7)

Powderburn (Played 6/27)

Praxxis (Played 6/25)

The Preps (Played 8/10)

The Prime (Played 8/8)

Punos (Played 8/2)

Quietdrive (Played 7/20 and 7/24-7/25)

The Radikills (Played 7/23)

Rain Fur Rent (Played 7/3)

Red With Envy (Played 7/8)

Reno Divorce (Played 7/18)

The Response (Played 7/20)

Rise or Rust (Played 7/25)

Rockett Queen (Played 6/25)

Rory (Played 7/29)

Rubberhead (Played 6/27)

Rudesquad (Played 7/30)

The Salads (Played 8/14)

Same Old Crap (Played 7/26)

Sarcasm (Played 8/7)

The Scrubs (Played 8/16)

The Second Track (Played 8/1)

Sedona (Played 8/2)

The School Play (Played 7/11)

Shadow Agency (Played 8/1)

ShotBlue (Played 7/1)

Side Out (Played 7/29)

Silence The Wake (Played 8/15)

Silent Opposition (Played 7/10)

The Skeptics (Played 8/19)

Skylar Blue (Played 6/25)

The Skyline (Played 7/21)

The Slurs (Played 7/22)

Sometime in April (Played 8/6)

Sometime Never (Played 8/7)

The Sophomore Year (Played 7/28)

Soulfound (Played 7/30)

Sound Riot (Played 8/4)

The Spicolis (Played 8/14)

Spil (Played 7/22)

Spit for Athena (Played 8/15)

Split Habit (Played 7/24)

Spoiler (Played 6/29)

Spun On Ambition (Played 7/16)

Still Life Projector (Played 7/3)

The Story Changes (Played 8/17)

Straight Forward (Played 7/7)

Strutmore (Played 6/26)

Suburban Shock Syndrome (Played 6/29)

Suburban Tragedy (Played 7/30)

The Swellers (Played 7/23 and 8/15)

Tabula Rasa (Played 8/5)

Tel Star (Played 8/5)

Ten Second Epic (Played 7/15)

Ten Years From Now (Played 8/3)

Thin Dark Line (Played 8/4)

Today's Not Tomorrow (Played 8/18)

Tokyo Rose (Played 8/7)

Trace Element (Played 7/7)

The Trademark (Played 7/17)

Tragedy Andy (Played 7/3)

Transition (Played 8/5)

Truly Sunday (Played 7/30)

Uncrowned (Played 7/28)

Underscore (Played 8/4)

Unlabeled (Played 7/13)

Unjust (Played 7/3)

Useless (Played 8/6)

The Utmost (Played 7/4)

Victim 26 (Played 6/30)

Viscera's Recital (Played 8/13)

Waiting for Daryl (Played 7/9)

Westcott (Played 7/21)

When All Else Fails (Played 8/3)

When Sparks Fly (Played 8/16)

Youth in Asia (Played 7/26)

Youthinasia (Played 8/14)

Arcane

Astronautalis and Mes

B-Girl Temper

Cellar Door

Community Service

Crisis Center

Icon

Immortal Technique

Kanser

The Lordz Of Brooklyn

Pearl Crew

Shankini

Shebang!

Sisters of the Underground

Bring Your Own Weapon (Played 6/30)

Calabrese (Played 6/30)

Casket Life (Played 6/30)

Half Empties (Played 6/30)

Point 9 Percent (Played 6/30)

Scary Kids Scaring Kids (Played 6/30)

Sidetracked (Played 6/30)

Groovie Ghoulies (Played 7/1-8/19)

The Phenomenauts (Played 7/1-8/19)

A Wilhelm Scream (Played 8/16-8/19)

Alone at 3am (Played 8/16)

Amity (Played 7/13-8/19)

Anadivine (Played 8/7-8/8 and 8/18)

As Tall As Lions (Played 8/10-8/13)

Bear Vs. Shark (Played 7/22-7/24 and 8/15)

Before Braille (Played 7/16 and 7/18-7/20)

Before Today (Played 7/13-7/18)

Boys Night Out (Played 8/2-8/19)

Days Like These (Played 7/16-8/19)

Day Two (Played 7/21)

Don't Look Down (Played 8/6-8/7 and 8/10-8/15)

Emanuel (Played 7/21-7/24 and 8/2-8/6)

Endicott (Played 8/16-8/17)

Facing New York (Played 7/13-7/17)

Fear Before the March of Flames (Played 7/18)

Fifteen Minutes Fast (Played 7/21 and 7/26)

Fire When Ready (Played 8/7-8/8 and 8/18-8/19)

From Here On Out (Played 8/14-8/15)

Haddonfield (Played 8/13)

Half the Battle (Played 8/14-8/15)

Halifax (Played 8/4-8/14)

Haste The Day (Played 7/22-7/24)

The Higher (Played 7/13-7/17)

In Passing (Played 7/29-8/1)

In Reverent Fear (Played 7/13-7/15 and 7/18)

Junior Revolution (Played 8/17)

Kiros (Played 7/16-7/17)

The Letters Organized (Played 7/28-7/30)

Lightweight Holiday (Played 7/13-8/19)

The Matches (Played 7/13-7/17, 7/23-7/25, 8/2-8/6 and 8/18-8/19)

Much the Same (Played 7/21-7/22 and 8/16-8/17)

Noise Ratchet (Played 7/18-8/1)

Nor Am I (Played 7/21-8/19)

Nuclear Saturday (Played 7/28 and 7/30)

Offset (Played 7/18)

Salt the Earth (Played 7/26)

Secret Lives of Freemasons (Played 8/1-8/3)

Silverstein (Played 7/25-8/1)

The Snake, The Cross, The Crown (Played 7/13-7/15)

The Softer Side (Played 7/29-8/1)

Socratic (Played 7/31-8/1 and 8/3-8/5)

Split Sense (Played 7/26)

Staring Back (Played 7/13-8/19)

Tokyo Rose (Played 8/8-8/10)

Tora Tora Torrance (Played 7/25)

Waking Ashland (Played 7/13-7/15, 7/20 and 7/25)

The Working Title (Played 7/29-8/1)

[notquitehere]

First time writing fiction in years!  Literal years!  I love that the category was already waiting for me to use it over at A03.  I had wanted to post this on Fanfiction.net first but “Betty en NY” is not a category there yet, so I emailed Fanfiction.net’s support team to request that the category be created.  I will hold off on posting this on FF.net until that category is up.  Meanwhile, I think it was a blessing in disguise that FF was not quite yet ready because if we are being honest, A03 is a bigger “market” for fan fiction, anyway.  

I love to write.  I think I may have found my calling.  Why did I ignore this for so many years?  Oh, yeah. Because writing is hard.  But strangely, it is also the easiest and most freeing thing.

[fcukyeahbettyenny]

Wednesdays with You

AU:  Armando/Betty

Author’s note:   I have been toying with this AU idea for a few days. It goes: What if Ricardo never made that damning video? What if the Valencia-Mendoza wedding had pushed through? What if Betty had not realized she was being toyed with and her relationship with Armando had continued along its projected tangent?

JFK AIRPORT, A YEAR AGO

Ricardo fished his phone out of his pocket and fired up his selfie camera to make a video wherein he would taunt his best friend about having to sleep with a gargoyle so they can keep her under control and take V&M back. But as he was about to hit the record button, he thought better of it. Videos were evidence, and in a game that was as dangerous as the one he and his best friend were playing, evidence was the last thing anyone needed. Ricardo pocketed his phone and got himself a big box of condoms from the airport duty-free instead. He had big plans for his best friend's girl, after all.

---

BETTY'S APARTMENT, UPPER MANHATTAN

“I’ll be right there!  Just a moment!”  Betty called out as she rushed to her little apartment’s door.  She lives by herself in East Harlem now.  She hasn’t lived in Jackson Heights with her parents for over a year.  She couldn’t and carry on with Armando, now a married man with a baby on the way.  Betty took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and put a smile on her face.  It was a Wednesday.  Armando always “worked late” on Wednesdays, only going home to -- she shook her head -- only going home Thursday afternoons.

Surely enough, it was Armando at the door when she opened it, in his arms a big bouquet of twelve red Ecuadorian roses, her favorite.  She kissed his cheek as she took them with one arm while her free hand joined his.  Like he always did, he lifted the hand that was in his and kissed it before saying, “I’m home.” The words always made Betty’s eyes a little teary.  She doubted that was ever going to change.

It has been a year since Armando and Marcela’s wedding.  It had been the biggest one that Betty had ever attended -- over 500 guests from both the fashion and showbiz industries.  Se��orita Catalina had been very kind and made her over for that one day, looking strangely sad as she helped Betty tame her wild hair into a bun.  Betty had wondered if Catalina knew about them, but decided that it wasn’t important.  Betty had made her choice, and her choice was him.

As Betty took down a vase from the shelf above her little kitchen sink, she smiled at him and cheerfully said, “Well, mi amor, I hope you’re hungry.  I talked to my mother on the phone earlier today and she gave me a new recipe for tamales. My cooking will never be as good as hers but the recipe is good.  You like chicken, don’t you?”

Armando smiled and nodded at her from where he sat on her sofa.  “I like everything you make.  You could make me poison and I would eat it happily from your hands.”

Betty felt blood rushing to her cheeks and fat tears traitorously rolled down her cheeks.  Armando visibly looked alarmed as he rushed to hold her in his arms.  He kissed her forehead and whispered into her ear.  “I’ve made you cry.  I’m sorry I always make you cry.”

Betty buried her face where his neck met his strong shoulder.  “I just missed you these past few weeks.  Marcela’s pregnancy is a delicate one, isn’t it?” He nodded, his bearded face rubbing against the delicate skin of her temple. She looked up at him and searched his eyes.  “I still stand by what I said that night on your office couch. I choose you. But if you feel that you need to leave me now  and concentrate on building your life with Marcela -- with your family -- I will let you go.” She forced herself to smile but the tears wouldn’t stop falling.  She felt like she would never, ever stop crying and yet her hands found their way to his shoulders, kneading them comfortingly as if her heart wasn’t breaking inside her.

Armando’s response was to take her face into his hands and kiss her deeply.  She found he always did that whenever he wanted to distract her -- primarily because his kisses always did.  She was so in love with him the thought of being without him makes it hard for her to breathe.  She had even ended her friendship with Nicolas, as much as that had hurt.  She vastly preferred the breathlessness brought by his lips trying to devour hers.  She always would.

He was hard against her hip now, and his hands had found their way to her bottom.  Their kisses turned deep and desperate.  Wednesdays always did that to them.  As she mouthed along his chiseled jaw, Betty thought briefly of Marcela who was at the Hamptons being cooed over by the Mendozas, probably just a little miffed about Armando regularly choosing to work through the night on Wednesdays but still none the wiser.  Why would Manhattan’s most beautiful executive and fashion’s most influential mother-to-be have anything to worry about when his assistant was such an ugly woman?  Betty thanked God and whoever might be listening for small mercies.  Nobody suspected a thing.

Armando made quick work of their clothes and carried Betty upstairs to her bedroom, kicking the bedroom door shut and locking it. It was a nervous habit he had developed after Nicolas had walked in on them on the Wednesday after his wedding last year and gotten an eyeful.  Armando and Nicolas had duked it out right there in Betty’s bedroom while Betty yelled at both of them to stop fighting, wearing nothing but a sheet.  In the end, Nicolas had asked her to choose between their friendship and her relationship with Armando.  Betty had sunk onto her bed and told Nicolas to go, her voice choked up with tears.  That was the last time she and Nicolas ever spoke.  He resigned from BAR the next day and, according to her parents, moved to Florida to be with his grandmother.

As Armando laid Betty on her bed, one of her hands reached behind her pillow and pulled out a condom packet that she kept under there.  She was on the pill but she also knew that pills weren’t fool-proof.  She handed the little packet to Armando who smiled at her before taking one and putting it on himself. Betty touched his face briefly before finally resting her hand on a strong arm. She let her hand travel down his arm and took his hand in hers.

In an instant, Armando’s mouth was on hers again and his weight pressed her down into her sheets, his body aligning with hers, preparing for entry.  She wrapped her legs around his waist and opened her mouth to his as he rained kisses on her neck and face while slowly entering her in one long stroke. Her first moan died in his throat, as did her second and third.  When she was sure she wouldn’t scream, she finally allowed herself to break the kiss, whispering into his ear.  “I love you,” she breathed over and over as she met him at every crest, his teeth biting at her shoulder and collarbone where no one would see the marks the next day.  Betty forced her eyes to open and kissed his cheek, observing him as he made love to her.  His eyes were closed and the muscles on his shoulders and chest contracted and relaxed with the effort. She could barely remember her name at that point but she forced herself to focus on him, adjusting her movements to match his and finding pleasure in giving him pleasure.  Her eyes closed again as she and Armando engaged in this most ancient of dances for what felt to her like hours.  Eventually she gave over to her climax, him following shortly after. 

She stroked his hair as she came down from her high and while he covered her neck and collarbone with kisses, staying inside her all the while.  When he appeared to have had his fill, she felt him touch his forehead to hers and kiss her nose as he slowly pulled out of her.  She tried to follow but it would seem he had other plans as he slid further down the bed to get between her legs.  She smiled down at him and he, up at her.  When he was face-to-face with the apex of her thighs, Armando delicately ran his hands over her inner thighs, looking like he was marveling at her skin as he sucked at and kissed every inch of her before him.  He then grinned up at her as he started licking and kissing at her entrance, his practiced tongue causing Betty’s eyes to roll up into her head and her completely forget who she was as she came.

She woke up to Armando gently touching her cheek with a finger.  He was grinning down at her this time because he had apparently slid up to the headboard and gathered her into his arms, her head resting on his chest.  Betty closed her eyes and listened contentedly to Armando's chuckles and the thumping of his heart.  Betty gave him a small, unsure smile. He grinned at her in return.

“You fell asleep.  Rude, but I take it as a compliment,” he joked.

Betty blushed in spite of herself and all they had done.  “You should.  You’re always amazing,”

Armando’s expression fell at that.  “Only you seem to think so nowadays.”  He sighed then.  “Betty, I don’t think I could live without you.”

She shook her head and kissed his chest.  “You could if you needed to.  I hope that you won’t choose to, though.”  She worried her lip as she studied his face.  “I know I can’t live without you.”  Betty closed her eyes as she felt his lips on the top of her head.

Armando sounded so sad as he confessed, “I saw Marcela kissing Ricardo today so I confronted them.  I asked them if the baby was mine and she said she didn’t know.  Can you imagine?”  He kissed her head again before asking, “Is it weird that I love that baby but I wish so hard for it not to be mine?”

Betty took Armando’s free hand and kissed his forefinger for no real reason other than being allowed to do so.  

“Betty,”

She looked up at him, settling upon his eyes.  “Hmm?”

“Did you know?”

She nodded hesitantly, not meeting his eyes.

She felt him tense.  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

She held his gaze with hers.  “Because it was her secret to tell.  Besides, I would have felt like a hypocrite, telling you about her and Ricardo when we are doing the same thing.”

She felt him relax underneath her. “It’s not the same thing.”

Betty rolled away from him and clutched a nearby pillow to herself.  “It is and your know it.”

Armando followed her and wrapped an arm around her waist, drawing her close.  He whispered into her ear.  “I want a baby with you.”

Betty tensed.  There were too many complications.  Too many people who would be hurt. Too many things -- but her mouth worked faster than her brain this time.  “Me, too. I want us to be a family more than anything.” As soon as she said the words, she broke down. She turned back to him and buried his face in his chest, sobbing hard. It seemed that all she ever did lately was cry whenever she thought of the two of them -- she and Armando -- so desperately in love but having to hide that love in the shadows.  It was like trying to keep a candle under a bushel.  If they were not careful, they might end up burning the house down.

Armando looked radiant.  “Then why don’t we be a family?” His grin turned naughty.  “You know we’re good at the babymaking part,”

She wetly giggled as she mildly tapped his chest.  “I swear, Armando.  You’re twelve years old and I don’t know why I love you. But I do love you.  I kind of almost wish I didn’t.”

Armando held her tighter, his face worried.  She hadn’t seen him that worried since before they were able to get V&M back into the black several months ago.  “You don’t mean that.”

Betty relaxed. “No. I don’t. I let go of the most important people in my life to be in this with you -- my parents, Nico -- but I can’t bring myself to regret it.”

Armando sounded like he was about to cry.  “I’m sorry, Betty.  For everything,”

She kissed him and immediately got on her knees on the bed, straddling his torso.  He helped her sit on his pelvis, where she could feel his interest building again.  She lowered her body onto his and gently pressed her forehead against his.  “I’m not.  I am, however, sorry that you are in so much pain.  I wish I could take your pain from you, but I can’t.  All I can do is love you and try to make you forget for a while.” Her hand reached between them, slowly stroking him to full arousal and watching as he slowly lost himself in her touch.  She ran her thumb over the slit of his cock, enjoying the shiver she got from him with that small action.

“Betty, please...” he begged.

He really need not have, because as soon as he’d said her name, Betty had gotten off the bed, put her glasses on the bedside console, and knelt between his legs, slowly taking him into her mouth and carefully tucking her teeth away, making sure they didn't scrape him. She kept swallowing down on him until she could feel the head of his cock in her throat.  She gulped around him and grinned a little when he all but rammed himself in.  This was something she was excellent at, he’d told her time and time again.  She had long ago trained her gag reflex into nonexistence during sex, and Armando had also told her that Marcela had always found blow jobs to be demeaning and low-class.  Betty begged to differ.  She had Armando where she wanted him and she would not let go until he was satisfied.  She started her head up and down, applying suction, all the while oblivious to the growing discomfort in her neck.  The look of utter ecstasy that must be on his face (she can’t see that far without glasses) was worth any amount of pain.  There was absolutely nothing she wouldn’t do for him.  A few moments or a few hours later -- she wasn’t sure, she felt his cum paint her throat. She pumped him for every drop, even licking his shaft to take in any runaways.  When she was done, she dropped herself into his arms, her face against his neck.

“My GOD you’re incredible,” Armando breathed.

Betty shrugged.  “I have to keep you with me somehow,” Betty joked.  Armando had told her long ago in Miami never to call herself ugly and she never did after that.  How could she when he always made her feel so desired and loved?

Betty let herself get pulled into his arms again and closed her eyes when she  felt his lips on her forehead.  She couldn’t remember closing her eyes but she was drifting off again, it seemed.  

“You want my baby,” Armando stated, his thumb stroking her shoulder back and forth where his hand was on it.

Betty lowered her eyes.  “But we can’t.  We only have this.  We only have Wednesdays and we can’t always get what we want.  If we did...”

“...we’d be married.  Marcela would be in Europe somewhere, maybe with her sister.  And then you and I would have a baby -- maybe a daughter who looks like you. That would be our life,”

Betty kissed his cheek and turned his face so that his gaze met hers.  “This is what we have and I am thankful for it.  For you. As long as I have you, nothing else really matters.”

She felt him tense again underneath her.  He always did whenever she said things like that last sentence to him.  Someday she would ask him why, but they were together and they were happy right now.  She would wait for him to tell her.  He would have to someday, wouldn’t he?  She closed her eyes and laid her head on his chest.  Whatever it was could wait.

[fcukyeahbettyenny]

From:  bettyrincon97@hotmail.com

To:  bettyrincon97@hotmail.com

Subject: "Hindsight is twenty-twenty”

I am in Florida!  I had accidentally left my iPad at home and I didn’t want to download my diary app onto the work computer Señorita Catalina had given me today, which is why I’m emailing myself this diary entry to copy-paste into my diary app later on.

Betty of the Future, if you are reading this, you might be wondering why Betty of Today decided to write this entry in English. That is because you are in a beautiful place so far from home and yet your mind wants to go back to New York for a trip down memory lane.  Memory lane -- what a warm and fuzzy image that makes!  This recounting will be anything but.  This will probably be more like being dragged by the hair through broken glass. No, broken glass would be less painful.

Today’s nightmarish recollection is about my birthday this year which was both the best and the worst because of Armando. That seems to be a theme with him.  He is both the best and the worst thing to ever happen to me.

I remember not being able to write about my birthday on the day itself because that time was such a busy and tumultuous time for me in both my professional and personal lives.

Anyway, here goes.

On my birthday I was surprised to find letter balloons that spelled out “Happy Birthday”, a musical birthday card, and a small frosted cupcake on my desk.  They were from El Peloton.  My birthdays are always a big deal at home but that was the first time people from outside of my family did something like that for me.  I was so touched I couldn’t help but cry.

I remember feeling so happy when Armando came in yelling and asking everyone what the commotion was.  I should have been offended, really, but I was so happy to see him that I guess I forgot. I am so in love with him -- was so in love with him -- that I told myself I didn’t mind that he didn’t know why El Peloton was there.  I told myself I didn’t mind that Aura Maria had to explain to him that they were there to wish me a happy birthday. I bet he remembers Marcela’s birthday.  I bet he remembers important dates in their relationship.

Speaking of Marcela, she stampeded in a few moments later, also yelling at everyone and telling us all to go back to work before dragging Armando out the door with her. For a woman who grew up in high society, she sure can’t read a room.

Later that day, Armando popped back in to see me.  Instead of apologizing for not knowing when my birthday was, he chided me about not telling him (yes, red flag).  Loca that I was, I told him that it was okay that he did not know and that as long as things were okay between the two of us, I was happy. You know what he said next?  He said we should put the matter of the erotic poem behind us and then he asked me to dinner. No apology and again, everything was about him. I think that even back then I knew he wasn’t being sincere but I chose to believe in him. He didn’t need to build me castles in the air -- I built those castles myself and locked my brain in one of them.  That’s the only explanation I can find for my foolishness.

Anyway, after that conversation, I called home and told my mother I was going home late.  That was when my mother told me that Papa was out shopping with Nico because they wanted to celebrate my birthday with me at home.  I wish I had called Armando back and told him to go take a long walk down a short pier.  If I had known... well... hindsight is twenty-twenty.

Let’s zip forward to that evening.

I remember being so happy being seated there, being sang to by my friends.  It was the first time anything like that had happened to me.  That is the part I want to treasure forever.  Before I could blow on my candle, Sandra put her hand over my mouth and asked if I had made a wish.  I told her that it had already come true.  As I said that, I reached for Armando’s hand (he was standing beside me) and at that time, I had only thought that I had lost my grip.  Now that I think about it though, I realize at he had moved his hand away.  How could I not have known he was only playing me?  The signs were all there!

Let’s zip forward again to when the party was really over.  I remember feeling sad because I was hiding my relationship from my parents.  That and because I was la otra -- the sidepiece walking two blocks down at night in a bad neighborhood in NY to meet her engaged “boyfriend” at his car like a cheap woman.  I can’t ever let my self-respect go like that ever again. 

I had thought that he was going to bring me to that dingy little karaoke bar again.  I was actually kind of looking forward to singing to and with him again.  That wasn’t where he brought me though.  He brought me to a seedy motel. What a weird feeling that gave me!  I was excited to be with him -- I was happy!  But then my mind kept going back to my moment of humiliation with Freddy as I was brushing my teeth.  That should have been a sign.  Someone  once said that suffering comes from doing what your spirit tells you not to do.  I should have known. All the signs were there.  All of the signs.  Then again, hell could have literally broken loose outside and I would not have noticed because when I opened the bathroom door, before me was the sight of Armando with his shirt half-unbuttoned.  He may be evil to the core but did he look like an angel at that moment!  Heh, angel.  Like Satan.

To be fair, he was gentle with me.  Or at least, he pretended to be. He smiled at me, held out his hand, and led me to the center of the bed.  As we knelt and kissed in the middle of that lumpy motel bed I thought I could do just that for the rest of my life and not need anything else.  If he had said, “I can’t do this.  You’re too ugly, Betty,” I would have been fine.  That is why I was surprised when he started taking off my top.  Even Freddy hadn’t bothered.  He had just buried his face in my neck, got between my legs, and raped me.  Maybe Armando was thinking of Marcela or some other model because he seemed like he was enjoying himself.  I felt happy because I thought he was enjoying himself because of me.  At that exact moment, all my bad memories of prom night came rushing back to me. I jumped out of bed, scared of Armando.  Afraid in general. Next thing I knew, we were in his car and he was driving me home.  I don’t remember much else.  I think my brain has blocked the rest. Now if only my heart could block Armando, too.