#also i never saw buenos aires look better in a movie

[lafcadiosadventures]

i innocently go to a movie without knowing a lot about the plot and it ends up having a prison sequence

[countessofravenclaw]

Do You Want To Be A Mean Girl?

Happy DCLA gift exchange day!!! This years was little more of an challenge for me, but I think I did manage to create something quite fun. I hope you like this @supernova-ferro I'm also sorry that there's no BIA in this, but that is completely outside my wheelhouse. So you get to enjoy what happens if Luty and Simbar meet... while they try to gaze the stars

Simon was scrolling through his computer. Officially, he was writing a new song right now, while Ambar was at school, but in reality, he was on a secret mission. Mission to really surprise Ambar for their anniversary. 

Ambar was extremely hard to surprise, as they spent so much time together… But Simon was determined. He wanted to find something really unique…

The problem was that, even when he had now lived in Buenos Aires almost five years, he still was not that of the city. He didn’t even know how the public transportation worked—one of the reasons why Ambar had bought them a car right after Luna had split the fortune with her and was in the process of getting a license at the moment. 

So basically, Simon did not know many cool places in Buenos Aires that you could take your girlfriend to. There always was the theater, but they had already been to ballets and other cultural events, often with Pedro and Delfi. This had to be something unique. 

Simon gave up trying to come up with something on the spot and opened Google. He typed “things to do for an anniversary” to the search bar. There should be no shame in googling that, but he did feel just a little bit like a failure. If only the timing would have been better. 

Ambar had big exams right at the same time of their anniversary, so they couldn’t go on some big trip or anything. 

They could have gone to England or something. Ambar had been saying that she wanted to go and visit Gastón and Nina there at some point and have them show them around at Oxford and Simon agreed that it sounded like a good idea, but that would have to wait. For their anniversary, a night out would need to be enough. 

The search results didn’t seem to be that much help. Midnight stroll… flowers… all the basic stuff.

Simon edited the search, adding “ideas for Buenos Aires” to the search bar. Simon started scrolling down the search results. Maybe he should just give up and call Luna for help with ideas…

Simon’s eyes focused on a link, that he could have sworn had not been there before: Lover’s Nest ~ stargazing adventures. Simon stared at the link for a moment. Stargazing… that sounded interesting. Simon clicked the link. 

Lover’s Nest ~ stargazing adventures: Looking for a way to impress that special someone? Way to throw your proposal out of the park so you definitely get the answer you want? Or do you just really wanna feel single by yourself? Lover’s nest’s stargazing adventure events are for you! Come with us, and reserve your spot on our next picnic so you can observe the celestial elements. NOW!

Simon read the description again. He had never heard of a company called Lover’s Nest before. The description sounded too good. He wasn’t sure where this had been hiding all this time, but it was perfect. 

This was going to be it. Simon clicked the three dots on the corner of the website. Now he needed to reserve a spot for them. 

Where did they even held these picnics… and when. He saw a calendar symbol at the right lower corner and clicked it. It took him on a page which was a big calendar. Some of the days were colored purple and different times and addresses were listed on them.

So, this was like buying movie tickets? Simon looked at the weekend when their anniversary would land on. Good, the Saturday had an event… at Micaela Bastidas Park. That place was perfect. 

Simon clicked on the date… oh noh, apparently there was only two places left. Good thing he had found this when he had. Simon filled out the form to reserve two spots. After he was done, he clicked on the reserve button.

Simon was really happy that he had gotten the ball rolling on this… and with no help. He was totally capable of arranging romantic gestures all by himself…

He looked back at the screen and to his horror saw that the site had started downloading. Simon tried to click on the keyboard, but nothing worked. Almost like the computer had frozen. He had no idea if the reservation had gone through.

Simon tried to think what to do, when a text “Thank you for your reservation.” came on the screen.

Simon breathed a sigh of relief… it had worked out.

…At the same time

“Natalia, what are we doing during the weekend?” Ludmila looked up from the couch as Naty sat down holding two glasses of juice, handing other one to her. 

“We’re going to that stargazing event,” Naty looked a Ludmila. “You threatened to bury me six feet under if I didn’t come with you, since you felt too awkward to go by yourself.”

“Well, you are my girlfriend, so where I want to go, you come with me,” Ludmila shrugged and picked up her phone. “What time is it?”

“I don’t know,” Naty stared at her, “You were the one who booked it.”

“No, I wasn’t.” Ludmila stared at her back, “You were.” 

“No, you.”

“No, you.”

“YOU!”

“YOU!”

“It was supposed to be your job!”

“Well, I didn’t do it.”

“Then who did?” Naty looked at Ludmila with serious eyes.

“No one,” Ludmila remarked before her eyes widening in horror. “You mean, we don’t have a reservation for Saturday?!? Natalia! Do you know how fast the Lover’s Nest’s events fill up?”

“No.” Naty shook her head, “You mentioned this whole thing for the first time, when we talked about this last time, and you said you’d book it.”

Ludmila dove for her tablet, “We need to make the reservations now!” She scrambled on the tablet to get on the Lover’s Nest’s website and opened the calendar. 

“Pheeeewww, there are still two spots left on Saturday,” Ludmila looked up. “Natalia, you should have been more attentive. We almost didn’t make it.”

“I am not commenting on that.” Naty just shook her head. “You’re lucky that I love you.”

“Oh wait,” Ludmila looked down at the tablet, “Why is this lagging?”

Ludmila tried to tap on the tablet, but the website window looked like it was downloading nothing, and it was taking forever. “This house has terrible WiFi.”

“Let me see.” Naty took the tablet and pressed the home button… which miraculously made the loading symbol to disappear and the confirmation of their reservations flashed on the screen. 

“Oh, Natalia!” Ludmila hugged her, “You’re the best!”

***

“Simon, where are we going?” Ambar asked for, probably, for the tenth time from the front seat while Simon was driving. He had blindfolded her, once they had left the apartment.

“I am not going to tell you,” Simon smirked and rounded the corner. “But trust me… You are going to love it.”

“I hate this blindfold,” Ambar continued complaining.

“Just relax.”

“How am I supposed to relax while I can’t see and you are driving.” Ambar shook her head, “You could be running a red light as we speak. Need I remind you that I am going to be a lawyer? I would like to achieve that without you getting arrested.”

“Don’t you worry about that.” Simon laughed, “Since we are here. You can take the blind fold off.”

“Where are we?” Ambar questioned as they got out of the car. She looked around at the dark park.

“Micaela Bastidas,” Simon explained while taking her hand. “I found a company that arranges stargazing events here.” Simon pointed toward a gated area in the middle of the park. You could see the twinkling lights and hear the mood music. 

“Star gazing?” Ambar looked at Simon. 

“Great idea right…?” Simon said, before getting flustered by Ambar’s questioning face. “Or… unless you hate it… then this would have not been a good idea… But, I…”

“No, no, no,” Ambar put her hand on his cheeks, “This sounds beautiful. I just didn’t think you’d come up with something like that.”

“Well, then. Lets go.” Simon took Ambar’s hand again and they walked to the gated area. Inside there were multiple picnic blankets with lots of pillows and even couple of telescopes. 

“Ours should be the blanket number 15.” Simon said to Ambar while scanning the area. It looked like the place seemed to be sold out for tonight. “Or just the one thats unoccupied.”

“That’s empty right there.” Ambar pointed towards an empty blanket on their left. 

Simon and Ambar walked to the blanket, and sure enough, the number 15 was written in the corner of it, in golden letters.

“You’re right,” Ambar leaned onto Simon after they had sat down, “this is very romantic.”

“Always best for you.” Simon said and started leaning down to kiss her—

“Natalia! I told you that we can’t be late!” Simon and Ambar got interrupted by two voices yellingin the distance. 

“Well, it was not me who took forever in shower, was it?” 

“Well… that is not important now,” the voices continued, “We need to find out place.”

“It is very crowded here tonight.”

“You’d think people would come here to relax,” Ambar shook her head, “not to fight.”

“Well, each their own,” Simon shrugged, “We don’t need to pay attention to them.”

They turned their head back to the sky… until two shadows obscured their view. 

“Excuse me,” they looked up and saw two women, one blonde and the other having black curls, standing in front of them. “I think you are on our spot.”

“I am sorry, but that can’t be possible,” Ambar looked at the women and them back to Simon. “We reserved this spot.”

“No, we reserved this spot,” the blonde woman who had quite bossy voice crossed her arms. “Our spot was 15.”

“This is 15, but this is our spot.” Simon joined in the conversation once Ambar had stood up from the ground. “We reserved it.”

“You sure?” the curly-haired one questioned, “because I know that we reserved this. Maybe both of you thought the other one had done it and you never actually did it.”

“No, he did the booking,” Ambar had also crossed her arms, “We even have the receipt.”

“Honestly, I don’t care,” the blonde woman was not relenting, “We need this spot, so you need to move.”

“I am sorry, but we’re not moving.”

“I warn you.” The blonde woman continued, “You don’t want to mess with me. I used to be quite of a mean girl and can be again.”

“Please,” Ambar scoffed, “You probably have not even seen a mean girl. I used to reign terror both in my upper-secondary school and in my skating rink.”

“No one can match me as the mean girl.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“Well, I bet you never cut off a head from a stuffed toy you got as a gift from the boy who liked you.”

“How is that even mean? I made sure that the girl I hated failed her skating exam by making her fall.”

Once Ambar started arguing with the blonde woman, Simon knew better than to get involved. Instead, he crept next to the curly-haired one who was just watching the chaos unfold. 

“Hi,” he said to her. “This your girlfriend?”

“Unfortunately,” the woman nodded, “Should have known that would happen. The site was weird when we did the booking.” Then she turned towards Simon. “I am Naty. That's right there is Ludmila.”

“Nice to meet you.” Simon shook her hand. “I am Simon. Ambar is my girlfriend. I love your accent by the way.”

“Thanks. I am from Spain.” Naty laughed, “Yours sound funny too.”

“I am guilty of being a Mexican,” Simon nodded.

“Does your girlfriend get often in fights with other ex-mean girls?” Naty asked Simon, “Because, surprisingly this is the first for Ludmila.”

“Not usually.”

“Gotta say,” Naty chuckled, “this is kind of entertaining.”

“Yeah,” Simon looked back at Ludmila and Ambar, “They should make a game show out of this.”

~

Simon and Naty were standing on a flashy spinning stage, their backs against each other in glittering outfits. Ambar and Ludmila were standing on their own podiums at opposite ends of the stage, facing each other. 

“Welcome to our show!” Naty yelled enthusiastically. “This is the “Do You Want To Be a Mean Girl?”. The show where we determined the meanest girls in Buenos Aires.”

“Our competitors today are:” Simon continued from Naty with an enthusiastic host voice, “On the right: Ludmila Ferro! And on the left: Ambar Smith! Let the meanest meanie win.”

“Okay, ladies,” Naty suddenly pulled out a huge hot pink and black wheel out of nowhere. “You know the rules. There will be seven questions, the wheel will decide, and they will determine which one of you is the ultimate mean girl in Buenos Aires. The title comes with the picnic spot and bragging rights.”

Ludmila and Ambar were eyeing each other murderously.

“Lets start,” Simon put his hand on the wheel and spun it around.

“Okay, question number one,” Naty read off the wheel, “Who was your mortal enemy and what is your relationship now? The first answering turn goes to Ambar.”

“My mortal enemy’s name was Luna Valente,” Ambar smirked, “She was an annoying little girl who came to take over everything that was mine. She ended up being my adoptive mother’s though to be deceased niece, so we are cousins now.”

“The first opponent with a strong start,” Simon exclaimed, “Ludmila, your response?”

“My mortal enemy was called Violetta Castillo,” Ludmila started explaining, “She liked the same guy as I did and would always steal my spotlight. Her dad and my mom were kind of married, so she is my sister now.”

“Tough call,” Simon whispered to Naty.

“You wouldn’t think that you always become family with your enemies, but maybe it is more common than you think,” Naty shrugged. “We have a winner for the first round!”

Suddenly a floating scoreboard appeared above everyone's head. The score under a huge pink and black “L” read 1 while the score under the “A” read 0.

“The first round has gone to Ludmila,” Simon yelled, “In a technicality, sisters are closer than cousins. Time for round two!”

It was Ludmila’s turn to smirk while Ambar frowned. Simon spun the wheel again. 

“Question two!” Naty announced, “What happened when you met your enemy for the first time? What did you do? Ambar starts again.”

“She spilled chocolate milkshake on me, so I threw her into the pool,” Ambar explained terrifyingly calmly.

“Ludmila, your response,” Simon turned to Ludmila who looked too astonished to speak.

“Uhm, I think I yelled at her because she was getting paid for piano lessons…”

“Clear K.O.” Simon said to Naty, and the scoreboard showed that Ambar had gained the point. “Ambar wins!”

“The question three!” Naty announced and went to spin the wheel herself this time. “Hypothetical scenario, that surely happened. Your enemy covers your song. What do you do? Ludmila starts this time.”

“Well, I was late for our concert so when I arrived, what I saw shocked me.” Ludmila did a dramatic fainting motion for a second, “Violetta was singing my song and doing my choreography in the air with the harness. So, I accidentally tipped down a ladder that made the rigging system fail and she almost fell to her death.”

“Compelling story,” Simon took over, “Ambar, your response.”

“I had detention, so I was late for an Open, and my idiot ex-boyfriend had gotten Luna to sing with him instead of waiting for me,” Ambar started talking, “So I obviously broke up with him.”

“This is interesting,” Naty said to Simon, “Break up, near-death experience… how do you weigh them?”

“You don’t,” Simon frowned, “Point goes to Ludmila!”

“Question four!” Naty read off the wheel. “What would you do to get your enemy out of your house?”

“I pretended to be my mom and her dad on the phone and made them break up.”

“Stole a priceless piece of art and framed her dad.”

“Point to Ambar!”

“Next question: Worst thing you did to your minions?”

“Made them accomplishes in my schemes.”

“Broke her arm and a leg.”

“And you’re still with her?” Simon asked Naty after Ludmila’s response.

“Well, what can you do. She is adorable.” Naty shrugged. “Ludmila takes this round! This is way too even,” she said to Simon.

“Will probably end in a tie.” Simon pondered.

“Anyways…” Naty turned back to the wheel, “This next question is my favorite. You were the Mean Girl, but we know that it wasn’t you. Who made you do it? Ludmila starts.”

“My mother never got the success she wanted, so she thought she could live through me. But was I never good enough for her.” Ludmila explained.

“Opponents response.” Simon gave Ambar her turn.

“My mother didn’t want to be known as my mother in the public. She also made me believe that I was her long-lost niece to serve her own goals. She also almost burned the house down.”

“These bring tears to my eyes,” Naty said before turning towards Simon. “The winner is pretty clear. Ambar gets the point, and we once again have a tie! Well, good for us, we have a final tiebreaker question. Simon, if you would do the honors?”

“Of course.” Simon said and spun the wheel one last time. “What is the worse thing you have ever done?”

~

“You think you’re so terrible,” Ludmila snapped towards Ambar. Their fight was still in full swing. Simon and Naty were observing every twist and turn while looking pensive. “I blackmailed my childhood friend to emotionally manipulate Violetta to fall in love with him, so he could break her heart at the best time.”

“That’s not even that bad,” Ambar scoffed, “I was so jealous of Luna that I burned down our roller-skating rink. It was a pity that it was at night, so empty, and no one got hurt.”

Ludmila, Naty, and Simon just stared at Ambar while she looked like she was just now snapping back into reality. 

“You know what,” Naty swooped next to Ludmila and took her arm, “Ludmi, I think I see another empty spot over at the other side. Let's go, I am not accepting any protests. It was nice to meet you, Simon.”

“What just happened?” Ambar ran a hand through her hair and was looking extremely confused, “What did I say?”

“Well, you kind of said hat it was a pity that no one got hurt when you burned Roller down,” Simon said with the straightest face he was able to muster. 

“Oh my god,” Ambar sank down to the ground, while the realization hit her, “That’s not what I meant to say, I didn’t mean that. I am a horrible person. She just really pushed my buttons.”

“Well, you got them to leave.” Simon ran his hand on her arms.

15 years later…

“And that's how Mommy chased out a crazy lady on our second anniversary.” Simon finished the story while his daughter, Ivory Alvarez, looked at him at awe. 

“What did you tell her?”

Ambar showed up from the kitchen and sat on the couch with them. 

“Mommy!” Ivory jumped on the sofa. It sometimes felt like she had her godmother’s energy. “Did that really happen?”

“We did go stargazing on our second anniversary,” Ambar nodded, “Glad to see that Daddy remembers.”

“No!” Ivory frowned,

“Did you burn Roller down?”

“Of course not,” Simon cut in before Ambar was able to open her mouth. “Ivory, Mommy would never break the law.” Simon winked at Ambar. 

“And Aunt Luna would have killed me.” Ambar shook her head and discreetly slapped Simon on his arm.

“What happened to graze lady?” Ivory questioned. 

“Were not sure,” Ambar looked at Simon. “But we hope that she and her girlfriend are very happy. Just like us.”

{}

Like I said, this definitely was outside of my comfort zone, but in the end I think this ended up being quite hilarious... at least in my head. Hopefully, other people think so too. PS. If this actually happened or did Simon just make it up is completely in viewer's discretion.

[oliviab-scstudyabroad]

So When Can I Go Back?

What you’ve all been waiting for, Part III!

We woke up early on Friday to catch a flight back to Buenos Aires. Once we arrived, we were starving, so my friend and I went to an Italian restaurant called Los Inmortales! My friend from Argentina recommended the restaurant to me, and it lived up to the hype. Argentina has a lot of Italian influence, so it’s known for its delicious pizzas and pastas. I ordered a pizza that was loaded with mozzarella and olives, and I devoured it in seconds.

Later, we caught up with some other exchange students who happened to be in Buenos Aires too! We stopped by the Floralis Generica, la Universidad de Buenos Aires, and el Museo de Bellas Artes. All the national museums are free in B.A. I was shocked to see several Van Gogh, Picasso, Monet, and Jackson Pollack paintings in the museum! They weren’t even enclosed by glass or anything; I was scared that I would accidentally brush into them. That night, the girls and I had a relaxing night in watching Mafalda, a famous animated movie in Argentina, like Charlie Brown in the U.S.

The next day, I woke up and went to this super hip café called Café Martinez, one of the top-rated cafes in B.A. There, I got a waffle loaded with pecans, banana, and Nutella. I always like to order something on the menu that I’ve never tried before, so I got an orange cold brew, or coffee with a few splashes of orange juice. It sounds gross, but it hit the spot. I then decided to get my miles in and walk through the Teatro Colon, La Catedral Metropolitana, and the Casa Rosada where the president lives. It’s like the White House but it’s the Pink House! I also walked by the Obelisco, where everyone flooded the streets after Argentina won the World Cup. After, I stopped by Puerto Madero, a scenic and tranquil part of B.A. where boats used to come into port. There is the Puente de la Mujer which is shaped like the spine of a woman’s back when dancing tango! Fun fact: tango was born in Uruguay and Argentina at the same time. In Puerto Madero I got a choripan, which is like a hot dog but with grilled chorizo. Can you tell that I’m eating my way through Argentina?

Later, I went to the Cementerio de la Recoleta where I saw the mausoleum of former Argentine president Domingo Sarmiento. It was amazing to see how big the mausoleums are for these prominent Argentine families! After, I got dulce de leche ice cream at Luccianos. It was so delicious but so rich that I felt a little sick afterward :/

After another relaxing night chatting with family and friends, I woke up the next day to get breakfast and go shopping at the Feria Artesenal Intendente de Recoleta. The market was filled with local artists and their creations, including jewelry, hand-made clothing, and custom mate cups! could have spent a fortune there, everything was so unique and specific to Argentina. I especially loved anything to do with Lionel Messi. It’s clear that he’s a national figure in the country. Then, I checked in at a hostel because I spent one more day in Argentina than the girls, and I walked through Avenida Corrientes and got three empanadas: jamon y queso, carne picante, and humitas. They were so tasty and even better with a cold Coke-Zero. I later met up with some other international student friends and we walked through the Jardin Japones! It was a gorgeous little sanctuary that had ponds with koi fish and plants native to Japan. There was also a spot where you could make origami and write a message, so the four of us made penguins and wrote where we were from. There was also a spot where you could write a wish and hang it up on a tree. I saw one message in scribbly handwriting that said “quiero ser futbolista”, or “I want to be a soccer player.” How precious! After, we walked an hour to the Barrio Chino, like China Town in New York. I loved looking at all the different types of sweets and drinks they sold. I didn’t realize how diverse B.A. is in terms of food and culture; it’s incredible!

My friend, Cleo, had studied abroad in Buenos Aires a few years ago, so she knew of a spot where people meet up to dance tango! We went there and we watched several couples dance around the plaza. They would often change partners and chat with each other as they were dancing. I loved how free and serene they looked; now I want to take tango classes! After, we went to a Mexican restaurant because one of my other friends, Karen, is Mexican! We had some delicious tacos, although I will say, they weren’t nearly as spicy as they should’ve been. After that, I headed back to the hostel and slept like a baby.

On Sunday, I took the ferry back to Uruguay and conclude my whirlwind of a trip. I’m so proud of how independent I was and that I got to visit some touristy spots as well as experience the authentic Argentine culture! Now, I understand why everyone in Uruguay spends their weekends in B.A. I came back to Uruguay a few pounds heavier to be sure but also with a reminder of why I love traveling so much. Argentina, tenés mi corazón!

[sapphire374]

Soy Sol: Chapter 2 (Gossip that Spreads like Wildfire)

Wattpad Link

Ch. 1, / Ch. 3 / Ch.4 / Ch.5 / Ch.6 / Ch.7 / Ch.8 / Ch.9 / Ch.10 / Ch.11 / Ch.12 / Ch.13 / Ch.14 / Ch.15 / Ch.16 / Ch.17

Luna is stunned by what she's just witnessed. She'd never expect Matteo to be cozying up so close with a random girl, especially after everything they've been through together. Luna started having doubts and her fears just came rushing over her like a waterfall. She couldn't believe that he would do this, all because she was late

When Matteo sees that it was Luna who opened the door, he immediately got up ignoring Viviana, as if she wasn't there. "Luna, I've been looking everywhere for you. You promised you would be here for my last show and you know how important this is for me. Why were you late.... again? You even promised to watch the entire show this time." Luna just stood there, staring at Matteo. Her rambunctious thoughts were clouding her judgement. She doesn't want to think about it, yet she already is. What if Matteo is cheating on her?

Matteo's face quickly changed when he saw a depressed look on her very pale face. "Que to pasa mi amor? What's the matter my love?" Matteo asks Luna in a very worried tone. Luna shakes her head from a terrified trance. "No nothing, I just came to tell you how proud I am. The arena seemed packed with loads of people. Umm yeah and I also wanted to apologize for being late. Too late it seems." Luna tries to not think about what she noticed yet the random girl staying in the room isn't making Luna feel any better. "I'm sorry who are you?" Luna questions the girl sitting on the couch who seems to not feel bad for listening on their conversation.

"I'm Viviana Marcel. Some people like to call me a very famous actress and rising singer; but if I'm being modest, I've only been in like fifteen movies," Viviana brags to Luna, showing off. "Really. Well sorry I had to ask is just I've never seen you on TV or in anything," Luna says sincerely which brings an enraged frown onto Viviana's face. "Oh, would you look at the time, it's getting late. I don't want to arrive home late since I have a very important meeting at Laix tomorrow. You know the place where famous people work together. I wouldn't be surprised if you didn't know it since you're not, well a celebrity. Ciao Matteo, I'll talk to you later." Viviana leaves after giving a wink to Matteo.

Luna's depressed look still stays plastered on her face. That girl almost reminds her of a celebrity version of Daniela, and after everything was finally going great for her and Matteo. "Luna, your smile has disappeared all of a sudden and hasn't come back. Please tell me what's wrong. I'm always here for you," Matteo states to Luna, expressing his concern. Luna almost stutters when she says, "Matteo why is Viviana here? What were you doing with her?" Matteo instantly takes a sigh of relief because he originally thought something unpleasant happened to her. "Oh, Luna you don't have to worry about her. She's just a friend I met through Rafeal. It's okay." "Matteo what would've happened if I didn't arrive at that moment," Luna asks anxiously holding on to every word she said. Matteo hesitantly replies, "Nothing. Nothing at all."

. . . . . . . .

Next Morning

Simón and Ámbar's House

Simón wakes up in his Buenos Aires home at eight o'clock in the morning. He's surprised to notice Ámbar is not there beside him. He pulls the sheets to their new bed and marches to the kitchen. Ámbar is sitting in the dining table doing some paperwork while drinking a café con leche. This brings a large smile on his face seeing how hard of a worker his soon to be wife is. "Buenos días mi amor. Good morning my love," Simón declares to Ámbar which also brings a warm smile on her face. "So, how's the paperwork going?" Simón asks Ámbar. "Honestly, it's not looking too good. I don't know if we'll be able to keep the Jam and Roller for so long especially since Vidia is considering on selling it to this company who wants to remodel it as a club and bar. They're the ones with the highest bid and if nobody comes soon to place a higher offer... we may lost it," Ámbar reluctantly replies to Simón.

"I can't believe this. First the separation of the Roller Band, then the separation of the Roller team, and now this. The worst part is how can we even tell Luna about this? How can we tell the rest about this," Simon complains while he and Ámbar give each other worried glances. "I don't know how we should tell her but one thing I know for sure is that we need to tell her soon cause what if she finds out and thinks we were lying to her this whole time. The one thing I've learned from my previous mistakes is that lying does no good and the truth always ends up revealing itself... but we'll think about that later. Right now, let's eat some breakfast cause I have a meeting to get to. Whatever happens, we need to find a backup plan to work somewhere else while I study to become a lawyer."

As Ámbar gets up from her chair, she turns the TV on. The news channel announces, "This just in! Viviana has been spotted AGAIN being very close to Matteo Balsano, the infamous 'Quiero Verte Sonreir' artist, yesterday night at his last concert for his Alla Voy Tour. Could this mean that Matteo has a new girlfriend and broke up with Luna Valente!" Ámbar and Simón both turn their heads and look at each other, shocked by what they just saw on the news. "I can't believe it! I wonder what Luna must be thinking watching this. It's just that this doesn't even make sense. Matteo would never do such a thing to Luna and even so she would have told me by now," Simón states confusingly. Simón and Ámbar are both confused and concerned about what they have just witnessed.

. . . . . . . .

Nina's Apartment

Nina accidentally spills her coffee after hearing what she just saw on the news. Gastón hears the loud noises in the living room, so he runs quickly to Nina from the kitchen to help her. "Que paso, what happened? Are you okay Nina," Gaston asks while helping her clean the mess she made. Gastón arrived last night from his job being an engineer. The company he works at has multiple branches, so he tends to travel all around the globe to set up meetings and build all sorts of new gadgets. Nina had also arrived from Oxford after finishing the semester early. She only has one year left to graduate and can't wait to travel with Gastón as a professional writer.

"Did you hear what was on the news? Apparently, Matteo has been spotted multiple times with this girl named Viviana. News outlets think that he broke up with Luna and replaced her with Viviana. I just couldn't believe it. I was so shocked I accidentally tipped over my coffee. Sorry for the mess," Nina states to Gastón. "No pasa nada. It's okay, the stain easily comes off but going back to what happened with Matteo... is this true, en serio," Gastón wonders, hoping Nina would say a 'no, just kidding' but sadly that was not the case. "Well we don't know if he did break up with Luna but the pictures that they showed of him with Viviana look very real and very close." "Esto no puede ser. This can't be true. I'm going to call Matteo right away. We have to get to the bottom of this," Gastón vividly expresses his disbelief right before turning his head and seeing the TV screen, in which he noticed the girl that's with Matteo. He doesn't for sure know who she is, but that girl appears very familiar to him. Then, Gastón remembered who she is and quickly runs to go call Matteo. After Nina puts her mug inside the sink, she rushes to go call Luna as well.

*BTW: Thank you guys for the support you've been giving Soy Sol in the last chapter. I really do appreciate it and hope you guys like the rest :D *

[demivampirew]

Don’t judge a book by its cover chapter 2.

A Cap. Syverson story.

Triggers: talking about xenophobia, white privilege, crying; cursing; slang words; stalking, panic; metion of assault

Synopsis: Rebeca is an Argentinian girl who a few months ago moved to the USA (Washington D.C) to study in university thanks to a scholarship that she was granted. She’s lonely. People don’t treat her well. Some could be understood but most of them just hate her for being a foreigner. She meets Syverson because he’s a man from the South and she has not had a good experience with people from there, but she may find out at the end that she shouldn’t judge a book by its cover.

Chapter 1

Tag: lunedelorient

- So, what does a man from the South do in Washington? You're far away from home, cowboy. - Rebeca joked after asking the question as she handed him a cup of hot black coffee as he requested.

- Cowboy? Do I look like a cowboy to you? - he asked, amused.

- You certainly sound like one to me.- she replied

- You haven't been to the South, have you?

- Nope.- she said as she took a sip of coffee with milk.

- I must say, for someone who's pre-judge for being an outsider, you're pretty judgy yourself, have you notice that? - he pointed out as he raised an eyebrow

- Maybe, but you have to admit that I do have my reasons to be judgemental.- she reasoned. Then she sighed and continued- I was a really nice girl, truly. I was just a young woman living her dream of studying abroad, in the land in which dreams come true. I was given once in a lifetime opportunity based on my high grades in my university in Argentina. I heard about the programme that the embassy offered to students with high grades and decided to apply without even believing I would get it, but luckily I did. I couldn't freaking believe it. I came here excited to have the experience of a lifetime and found that life here is not like in the movies. The sweet lady I used to be had to be replaced by a living zombie. What I'm trying to say is, that I had to be tough to resist a lot of shitty things that happened to me here, but in the same time had to be as nice as I could to anyone, because even if I'm the "privileged Latina", I'm still a Latina, meaning I'm part of a minority and my actions count. It's hard, I won't lie. I'm still trying to adapt to this life in which I matter my own business...I work every day, weeks on the grocery store and weekends as a Spanish tutor; I study hard so I keep my high grades, the main reason I have my scholarship. I try not to bother anyone, so anyone will bother me. They still do it, though. - she sighed again.- The hardest part of all of this, and this is going to sound pathetic, is that I'm all by myself. My family is far away. I call them as much as I can, but in the same time I try to avoid them a little bit so they won't find out about everything that's going on, they would not be ok with staying here if they knew how things really are. And, on top of that, I have no friends. Being a "smart ass" wasn't much of a problem at my university. On the contrary, everyone wanted you around so you could help them if they had troubles understanding something. I think is mostly because people in the UBA - University of Buenos Aires - are mostly adults. There are people of all ages, but there's a lot of people in there who study and work, so you know that they take things seriously. Here, I came to find out, it's exactly like high school, just full of rich kids that only want to party. Most of the people at my classes never worked a day in their lives. The parents pay for everything, so they party all night, sleep all day. Then, the day of the exams come and they remember that they need high grades or their daddies will cut off their allowance or, in cases like Trevor, who's the captain of the football team, they could prevent him from continue playing. Is in those days that all the sudden, I became someone worthy of their attention for other things than scream "go back to your country" or "in this country we speak English" when they hear me speak to someone in my native language over the phone.

- Is that why he was bothering you today? - Syverson asked

- I assume so, yes. Every time there's an important test, he comes to me and tries hard to make me do his exam for him. I always tell him no, of course, I don't want to risk getting caught and losing my scholarship because of that.

- Has he ever tried to hurt you before? - he asked the was anger on his voice.

- No. He's always more into pranks than punches. He broke my window twice. I found dog's shit on my doorstep many times and one time I found a dead mouse on my bag. But he never went that far, probably because I always act nice. But today I was tired of his crap, so I defied him. He said something stupid like "Isn't weird that your parents named you Rebeca being Latina?" and I replied " Isn't weird that you have a brain a never use it?" and he got angry. As I said, I usually play nice, because I know he's bad news; but this time, I was fed up. And I almost ended with a black eye or a broken nose if it wasn't for you. So thank you for saving my ass.- she concluded with a smile.

- You have nothing to thank for. - he replied smiling back at her. - Do you have a pen and a piece of paper? - he asked.

- Ye...yeah, sure. - she said confused by the odd request and looked for what was asked for in her bag and then handed them to him. He wrote a number in the paper and gave it to her.

- That's my number. You call me next time someone messes with you or you're in trouble.- he told her. It sounded more like an order rather than a suggestion. He was clearly someone used to command; the authority in his voice was undeniable.

- I don't want to bother you. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.

- You won't bother me. This is the reason why I joined the forces. I didn't only want to fight for my country, I wanted to help and protect people. Believe it or not, the second being the main one. And you are clearly someone that needs to be looked after and since you don't have anyone else, I'm glad to take that job.- he said and smiled.

- Tha..thanks -she finally accepted. Rebeca wasn't used to asking for help. She always tried to manage everything by her own, as well as she could, but she had to admit that it was nice to know that someone was willing to help her if she needs it to. - So... - she said, returning to the beginning of their conversation - You never told me what are you doing in Washington?

- I live here- he replied

- Have you lived here for long? - she asked, curious.

- A few years. I used to live in Georgia, but after my mother passed away so I didn't have anything else for me back there and, at the time, I was seeing a woman and she wanted to move here, so that's what we did.

- So you are married. - she pointed out and he laughed.

- No, ma'am. I'm not. We were together for some time, but then duty called again and she didn't want me to go, but I had to go. I had to. They needed me there. She couldn't quite get that so she left. It's been only me since then.- he explained.

- Sorry to hear that.

- Don't worry, I had time to get over it. - he assured her and finished his coffee and got up from the couch - Well, I better get going. You probably need to rest.

Rebeca walked him to the door and he reminded her to call him if she needed him and then left.

The next few days were quite normal. Everyone in college heard about what happened with Trevor, which make some people hate her more, others started to like her a little bit and others were scared of her - well, they were scared that "Rebeca's boyfriend" would beat the shit outta them if they messed with her. She barely knew Syverson, but she didn't bother correcting them. If that helped her get some peace, so be it, let them believe she's Sy's girlfriend. She surprised herself more than once thinking about him and using Sy instead of his full surname.

On Friday, she had to work until late to cover for the hours that they allowed at work to take the test that she missed because of the incident with Trevor. Luckily, the people at the university received a note sign by a high range officer at the police station to use as proof that she spend the day testifying about the intent of assault, so she was able to take the exam another day. She left the grocery store and started to walk towards her place. It was twenty blocks away. She usually worked until 8 pm, but that day she worked until 11 pm - the store was always open until midnight. After her shift, the owners would take her place. Rebeca knew well the way back home and there was usually some people on the streets when she went to her place after work, but this time the streets were completely empty. Not a single soul was there and it was completely dark. She started to walk at a really fast pace, wishing to get to the house as soon as possible.

After walking for a few minutes, she noticed two men, both around 25-30 years old. They were walking in the street across her but then crossed to her street. They were at a block away distance from her. She tried not to panic. Maybe those guys just needed to be on that block, that's all. When she reached the corner of the street, she turned and continue walking for another street. She knew it was risky because she didn't know the place well and she could get lost, but she needed to know for sure that was just imagination. At the corner, she saw in a car's mirror that the two guys had also turned in the same street that she did. It wasn't her imagination. She was indeed being followed. Trembling, she grabbed her phone from her coat pocket, trying to maintain calm so they wouldn't notice that she knew they were following her. Without even thinking, she searched for a number in her contacts and presses the dial button.

- Hello? Who is it? - Syverson answered with his thick Southern accent

- It's me, Rebeca. - she mumbled; she didn't want them to hear her speak

- Rebeca? I can barely hear you. Are you ok? - he asked worriedly

- I'm being followed.- she said fighting the tears of fear.

- What?! - he questioned even worrier- Tell me where you are? Who's following you?

- I don't know. There are two men around 30 following me. I was on my way home after work and I saw them and I suspected but then changed my route to see if the still followed me and yes, they are still walking behind me, a block away distance. - she explained as well as she could, almost whispering and he could hear the terror on her voice.

- Ok. Keep walking, don't stop walking. I'm on my way.- he said as he grabbed the car keys and left his house- Tell me, what street are you on?

- I don't know the name.

- Look for a street sign or something I can use to track you down. - he ordered her and she started to look, as nonchalant as possible, for any clue.

- I see a coffee shop in the next block, next to a flower store. - she informed

- Is there a house with pink roses on the entrance on the corner of the street? - he questioned

- Yes.- she replied.

- I know exactly where you are, sweetheart. Continue walking, I'll be there soon. I have to hang out now. Be brave, you're gonna be ok, you heard me?

- Ok.-she try to sound calm by she was in full panic. She continued walking as fast as she could, even though her legs felt like jelly.

Syverson put back the phone on his pocket and turned on the car and went to her rescue. He ignored several red lights and over speeded, but he didn't have the time to care about that, he needed to make it on time. He had his gun with him. He hoped he didn't have to use it, but he was no going to let anyone hurt her.

Rebeca peeked at the men trough another's car's mirror and to her horror, they were even closer. Her legs were starting to give in. She was so afraid that her body was shaken and she was starting to feel paralyzed. It was only her survival instinct what was keep her going. Moments later, she saw a car light coming from the opposite direction in which she was walking. The car started to slow down the fast pace and then she could finally see it. It was him. It was Sy. He stopped the car and she started running. He got out of the car as fast as he could. She ran directly into his arms and hugged him as tight as she could and the started to cry because of the fear and because she was happy that he was there. She was safe now. The two men started to run back in the direction that they came off as soon as they saw Syverson and his gun. He wanted to run after them, if they were predators, they could look for another victim, but his priority at the moment was Rebeca. She was trembling and crying and he needed to make her feel safe and ok. He hugged her and caress the back of her head while telling over and over "It's ok, I'm here now. You're safe. I promise".

[still-love-the-moon]

Wish you were here

I would like to say in advance, it’s all @theuniversezecho​‘s fault for what I’m gonna post. Also a big thank you to @hide-in-imagination​ because she helped me tease shortie till the bitter end. We love you shortie.

"Take it slow. Tell me all how you've grown, just for me. Could we all reminisce? Better yet, here's a pen make a list. Fill it full with all the things I've missed"

Ramiro Ponce used to love Christmas when he was a kid. The way the snow slowly danced in the air, moving loosely until it landed on the ground, how every other kid seemed to be so happier at that time of the year. He loved making snowmen, and throwing himself on the ground, rolling in the cold snow with a bright smile on his face.

He can't explain why suddenly he hates it. Why he can't stand being in the Roller and hear Luna rants about meeting all together in the Mansion to spend the holiday together, why he finds himself spacing out whenever he sees something that reminds him of her. Why he still reads the letters she wrote for him when they were younger, all the notes that they passed during classes and their pictures together. All the days spent together training for a competition.

He needs to breathe, the Roller has become too small and they are always so happy there. No one remembers her. How could they forget Ámbar? She was the one who brought them high, the best skater in the Roller.

He grabs his bag, suddenly getting up from the small table. Luna stops talking and everyone turns to him. He got their attention, but he doesn't want it. Ramiro quickly walks out of the bar, not wasting time to say goodbye to anyone. Matteo holds Jim's arm, understanding that their friend needs some time alone, making her sit down again. He is always like this during the holidays.

"'Cause I could barely drive past the school without stopping to think of you, and how we used to act the fool"

He can't stop running. It's like the cold air against his face makes him feel alive again. He can see, with the corner of the eye, the people in the cars looking at him worried. It's not normal to see a boy running in the middle of the frozen sidewalk.

Then he abruptly stops. He blocks himself on his feet, eyes locked on the old buildings. It's their old school. The place where they got closer, where they spent their days before going to the Roller to skate their problems away- turns out that her problems couldn't just disappear like that. The last place he saw her.

She was looking just as beautiful as always. Lately, she only wore complicated hairstyles, but that day she left them to fall on her shoulders. She was wearing a white blouse- almost as white as the snow that surrounds him right now- and some jeans. She never wore something like that, it always was fashionable and expensive. That was the first sign that something was wrong.

The second was her expression. She was just standing against a wall with an apathetic expression, but he knew that deep down she was fighting with her own demons.

She was leaving Buenos Aires for good. She needed a break from everyone and everything- she needed to find out who she was. She already said her goodbyes to everyone else- Monica and Alfredo.

It took him one second to realize that she was about to tell him goodbye there because of their history. Another one and he realized that she wasn't probably going back to them- to him.

He begged her to stay, to not leave them- him- behind, but she held his face in her hands, smiling sadly- her way to ask him to forgive her.

And now, he finds himself starring at the window of their old class, where they used to sneak out to spend some time away from the other people. He wishes he could go back to those times when everything was easier and when Ámbar was with him and they were all together- where they had a possibility. When he used to sneak in the Mansion in the middle of the night to watch a movie with her, trying to not wake up her godmother, or when she poked him in his arm until all his attention was on her and only her- even if she always had all his attention. When he kissed Ámbar on the balcony of her room before sneaking back to his house, leaving her with a smile on her face- that would disappear after a few hours, when they would have to deal with the real world again.

"But worst of all I wish I'd called at least a thousand times or more, just to hear what I've been missing"

He throws his hoodie on the chair in his room, letting himself fall on the bed. He misses her. He misses joking with her, getting her pissed off and then kiss her until she smiles again. He misses her blonde hair that always scented like vanilla and her cold eyes so determined on being the best. He misses her voice.

She tried to call him the first months after she left, but he couldn't find the strength to answer. To hear her voice and know what she is doing and how happy she was feeling. His life was miserable and then she stopped calling. She stopped everything.

But now, he wonders what her life was like in there, how she truly felt. If she was really happy or if she was just faking it.

"If a picture is all that I have, I can picture the times that we won't get back. If I picture it now it don't seem so bad. Either way, I still wish you were here"

Ámbar loved taking pictures and he never had found the courage to delete or thrown away any of them. He still has all over his room. On the wall, on his nightstand, and on his desk. She is everywhere and nowhere at the same time. All that is left of her now are just some stupid photos and the memories they have of her. He wants to go back in time and kiss her the day she left, to pick up the phone and speak with her. He wishes he could hug her right now and hold her close.

All of their pictures together bring him back to the good old times. When they were happy, young and in love. When she was alive.

But now Ámbar is death and he won't see her ever again. He won't see her smile, her blonde hair or he won't hear her laugh. She is gone forever. Ámbar

"Don't say everything's meant to be, 'cause you know it's not what I believe"

Matteo knocks on the door, hoping with all of his heart that Ramiro will not leave him outside at the cold. He is freezing and he knows that the other boy needs someone to rant to. He understands that he misses Ámbar, he does too. They didn't work as a couple, but they were friends and Ramiro wasn't the only one to break down when they found out she died.

He can still recall Monica's face full of tears, the phone in her hands and her trembling voice when she told them the news. Ámbar was dead. A car crash when she was going back home. The drunk driver survived, she didn't.

Ramiro opens the door, eyes red and cheeks wet with tears. There is no need to talk, not between them. Christmas stopped being a happy holiday when Ámbar died on the 23rd of December.

"It wasn't supposed to be her"- the Chilian says, trying his best to not cry anymore. The Italian smiles sadly, lowering his eyes on the ground- “No, it wasn’t”.

[darisu-chan]

Wait, why do you think Kim/Ron was better handled that Starco? They seem very similar if anything Starco has had more shippy moments

Oh boy.

I swore I wasn’t going to write an analysis for Kim Possible ever, but were we go!

Kim and Ron were friends for many, many years. They met in preschool and, ever since, they were extremely close. And, although the show portrays Ron as being just Kim’s sidekick, it’s clear he means so much more to her, in which is eventually reveald to be true during the movie special “A Sitch in Time” when Shego realizes the best way to win against Kim is if she separates her from Ron. During that movie we also catch glimpses of their relationship through the years, and how strong it really is. Note that though they’re super close, neither says that they’re like siblings. They just say they’re best friends. In fact, in one of the Christmas episodes, Kim kisses Ron’s cheek since they’re both under the mistletoe, and honestly Kim gave him a flirty look and Ron seemed to enjoy the kiss.

Kim and Ron had crushes throughout the show, with Ron having way more than Kim. The only two real love interests they had were Josh Mankey (Ron made fun of his name all the time), Zita and Yori. It’s never really clear if Kim and Josh actually dated, although Josh seemed interested. The same can be said of Zita and Ron. It kinda looked like they were going somewhere, and then nothing. However, let’s note that in season 3 only Yori makes an appeareance, showing clear interest in Ron, who remained pretty much oblivious lol.

Anyway. So, season 3 pretty much was a game changer. This is when the show actually starts exploring the nature of their feelings. In “Emotion Sickness” there’s a device that controls emotions which happens to make Kim fall in love with Ron. In this episode they also kiss for the first time. Ron thought about dating Kim, since he really thought she’d fallen for him for real. He realizes he’s not ready to date her. He breaks up with Kim, who gets really sad, until the device is removed. However, later on in the season they seem flirty with each other, different than before. Things that wouldn’t have needed explanation before, like Kim taking Ron as her plus one for her cousin’s wedding, and so on implied that there was something going on there. It didn’t need to be explicit for the audience to notice. I mean, guys, ten year old me noticed. I’m sure if you guys rewatch as adults, you too will get it.

Anyway, so “So the Drama” aired at the end of season 3, and this is the movie special which made them canon. What happened here? Kim wanted to finally date someone, and she happened to meet a guy by the name Eric, who was suave, cool, confident and straightforward, so she jumped into the opportunity of dating him. She wasn’t in love with him as much as she was infatuated. And because she was so hung up on Eric, she started ignoring Ron. Now, as for Ron, he was the one which rejected the idea of being with Kim earlier that season, or school year in show time. However, the moment Kim met Eric, he started getting incredibly jealous, specially when he was getting ignored by his best friend. It actually took a while for Ron to understand why he was jealous, and later one he comes to the conclusion that he does have feelings for Kim. And it isn’t anything new. They were always there inside of him, but they weren’t clear until he saw Kim apparently fall for someone else. Anyway, Ron’s despair actually is the reason why he noticed there was trouble. He goes to prom to get Kim. Eric is very dismissing with him, but Kim believes Ron, which is to show she still held Ron’s opinion higher than the new boy. The movie goes on, turns out Drakken was the one behind all the chaos, and Eric was actually a synthodrone created by Drakken. Kim and Ron get captured and Kim’s upset after realizing Eric was deceiving her all along. Ron attempts to cheer her up, saying they still can defeat Drakken, and that she will find the right guy. Kim asks him if there’s a guy for her out there, and Ron replies that there might be one out there. Then, he pauses and adds “or in here.” And since he indirectly confessed to her, Kim finally notices Ron. It’s done in a subtle way but it’s very telling. This gives Kim the confidence to break free and take down Drakken. After defeating Drakken, it is Kim who asks Ron to return to the prom, and they enter while holding hands. The other students look at them and Bonnie, who had been saying since season 1 they were probably dating, exclaims “Ha! It finally happened! Kim’s dating that loser!” (I’m paraphrasing here but I’m pretty sure she said something along these lines). They all cheer, meaning they had been shipping them for forever. A slow dance song starts (“Could It Be”), and Rufus pushes them to dance. As they dance, they progressively get closer until they stop dancing, they look at each other with lovesick expressions, their foreheads touch, and they kiss. Their expressions are very important, because you see all that they’re feeling at the moment. It’s a very beautiful scene. Also the lyrics of the song, sang by Christy Carlson, Kim’s VA fit them perfectly. 

So, they kiss and that’s the end of the special.

“So the Drama” was supposed to be the finale, but Disney gave us a final season. And I believe season 4 is the game changer for me in terms of other pairings. In season 4 we actually get to see Kim and Ron in a romantic relationship and what that entails. Hell, the first episode is about Ron being insecure because he’s dating the Kim Possible and he doesn’t compare. He lies to join the football team, only to discover he’s actually very good at running and he earns the position as running-back. Other instances are Kim discussing with Ron that now that they’re dating they should go out on real dates and not keep going to Bueno Nacho all the time. Ron in one episode tells Kim she can be a model because she’s so beautiful. Kim helps Ron when his parents just decide to adopt a baby out of the blue, which greatly upsets him. In that same episode, Kim gets jealous that Yori seems interested in Ron and has to make it clear she’s his girlfriend. And so on. We see them kissing more than once. During the final special, which is about them graduating high school, Ron expresses that he’s afraid something will change in their relationship if they go to different universities. I really liked their development during the special, and at the end they both know they’ll be alright, no matter what happens.

Let’s compare them to Starco.

First of all, the only relationship drama they faced was on the special “So the Drama” and it was used as a device to get them together. They had crushes. Ron more than Kim, actually, but even then, it was obvious their friendship was more important. Besides, they were supportive of each other’s crushes (unless it was Ron liking Bonnie that one episode). When Ron faced jealousy it was honestly after a whole season of development. It was only natural they would date, honestly.

Secondly, Kim and Ron being together was always shown as a positive thing. They never brought pain to each other. Just Ron being jealous during the movie, and that was quickly resolved. And although they claimed they wouldn’t date, after rewatching you get it was just denial lol. But, it was fine, because again, even if they had other friends, other relationships, they were shown to be very important to one another.

Thirdly, they got a whole season to show how their relationship had progressed from friendship to romance. I’m not saying their friendship wasn’t important, but it was definitely very interesting to see that development, and it gave us loads of shipping moments that Starco won’t get. True, KP as a show got very lucky to be renewed for one more season, and if that hadn’t happened, this series would’ve joined the many, many others in which the characters end up together until the very end. However, it goes to show how great the reception was of that finale, which left people wanting for more, and Disney delivered. Doubt it’s gonna happen in SVtFoE. I mean, I’d love it if it got renewed, but it’s very unlikely. Specially since it is the fourth season. KP only had 3, so it was far easier to make another one.

Also, this whole dramatic tension was accompanied with the plot. Granted, KP didn’t have much lore and plot points to tie down, except for Ron’s monkey powers, which without the final season, they would’ve never been fully explained. But it was still nice how this romantic aspect was as important as Drakken’s domination plans. In SVtFoE, it’s honestly felt lately that the opposite is true. With so much lore and plot points to take care of, the romantic aspect of the show seems as if it’s only stalling what truly matters. It hinders the story instead of elevating it, and fans are getting tired of it. 

As you can see, the couples might be similar in terms of “best friends who fall in love” but are actually very different.

If Starco becomes canon at the end, instead of being a satisfying moment as it was in KP, it’s gonna be a tired “this pairing really did get drag down until the end, huh”

The show has of yet to show Starco as a positive pairing compared to Tomstar and Kellco, since all they bring to each other is heartbreak when it comes to romance. Kim and Ron were good for each other, because their relationship was freaking strong. Time and time again we were shown why they worked great together. And that there was nothing that could come between their bond. When it comes to Starco, yeah, things have gotten in the way of their relationship. Marco, instead of working as the male lead like Ron did, has been reduced to secondary character for most of season 3 and what we’ve seen of season 4, being replaced by Tom, who’s had way more development than Marco. Star seems to be taking one step forward and two steps backward. Instead of growing organically, they just keep hurting each other, and keep blaming other factors for their growing feelings. Notice Ron didn’t run from his feelings once he discovered them. Neither did Kim in the end. Marco and Star have. Multiple times. 

And yeah, Star and Marco are younger than Kim and Ron. By “So the Drama”, they were 17, and Star and Marco are 15. There’s still much left for them to mature. But I just feel that their feelings, the curse, and them dating other people could have been handled much differently.

Tell me what’s the point of making Marco date another girl on the last season?

Or what’s the point of dragging those relationships until the very end?

No matter when Tomstar and Kellco break up, it’s still going to feel as if Star and Marco got together too soon, given the state of things, no matter if they get together during the final minute or so of the show. Which, let’s be honest, the final episode is called “Cleaved”, they’re gonna kiss during the final few seconds as a way of showing them getting together. I have absolutely no expectations of Starco becoming canon anytime sooner.

At this point, I’m tired of all the romance. I’m tired of the shippy episodes. I’m tired of the writers of the show making their relationship more of a mess than it was before. I’m hoping Marco returns to Earth or whatever for a while just so that the boy can finally get the development he needs, away from Star. As for Star, well, there are many things going on for her, let’s hope she solves them.

Hope this long analysis cleared things up for you, anon.

[teamchampery]

Interview with Koshiro in Spur

Thank you to Tsurara on Golden Skate for the translation and permission to repost!

Koshiro Shimada, Marching Forward

Captured by the lyrics about leaving one’s old self behind

At an airport on January 4th, 2019, the junior skater had a beaming smile on his face.

At Japan Nationals last December, he competed with senior skaters and placed 3rd after SP and skated the following day’s FS in the last group. Drawing a number for the last skater, the competition went dramatic and he placed 5th overall.

“I placed 3rd at Junior Grand Prix Final in early December, and I was aiming to be in the last group for Nationals. But when that actually happened, I found out that I actually wasn’t mentally ready yet. As I skated with Daisuke Takahashi and Shoma Uno, I saw that the quality of their skating was high and my coarseness stood out. I accept that as my homework. Since I had successful quads at the warm-up and my condition was good too, I realized that the process of having extensive practices that would make me feel 100% confident was important.”

When he was looking for a place to practice after his former coach’s relocation, Stephane Lambiel in Switzerland told him that he could be of help and he moved to Europe alone. He relocated (his home rink) in July, 2017.

“There are many great coaches there, and we could communicate even though I couldn’t understand English. I was sure that I could build even better relationships with them if I made enough efforts. I was injured at 2017-18 season and I could only participate in 2 competitions. Especially when I decided to withdraw from Japan Junior, I was very unhealthy (mentally), feeling lost and didn’t know what I wanted to do next. Then, Stephane said to me, "I’m just cheering for you, and while determining what’s needed for you in order to aim high up, I’ll be following you,"* and gave me a long hug for tens of seconds. I noticed my tears just spontaneously falling down.”

Note: What Stephane supposedly said there is just my translation from Spur's summarized interpretation for the article from Koshiro's interpretation and interview responses. Please be warned that it may not match with what Stephane actually said.

When he was struggling with his injury, there was a number he was planning to use for an exhibition program: “Adios”, which he used for this season’s SP instead.

“I liked Nathan Chen’s "Nemesis", his SP number during 2017-18 season, and I was listening to Benjamin Clementine’s album. "Adios" is one of the songs in it. The lyrics about leaving one’s old self behind, it just fit me perfectly at that time, and I asked Stephane to change it for SP. I keep in mind to be conscious of advancing forward strongly while skating, and that consciousness appears to have helped me doing successful jumps. I’m glad I met this song this season.”

Training under Stéphane has made his objectives clearer this season.

“First of all, I am aiming for Beijing Olympics in 3 years. Right now, I’m just barely managing my daily practices, but my motivation for it is becoming stronger. I’m also interested in being a choreographer in the future. Stephane always searches music on Spotify. That included, there are so many things I can learn from him. The other day, we watched the movie, "Bohemian Rhapsody" and he said, "we want to use Queen’s song, don't we?" I personally like "Who wants to live forever".”

Costumes

- FS uses a mature number that he had never done before, so red and black as base colors.

- Vivid red for the SP costume, to represent cuts/wounds. His slender proportion helps his performance to look sharp on the ice.

Q&A

Q　You grew taller.

A　Yes, indeed. Since I had a very relaxed time during New Years days, maybe I got taller again. Not sure if it's jumps that's affecting my height, but I get 2 to 3 cm shorter after practicing.

Q　Are you in any way particular about your costumes?

A　I’m emotionally involved with my SP “Adios”, and the image of it in my head is cuts/wounds. As for FS “Winter in Buenos Aires”, it was my first challenge to do such a mature piece, so I discussed it with Stéphane too to decide. Oh, but I told him 'No Way' to a zebra costume beforehand. (laugh)

Q　What is Stéphane like at ordinary times?

A　When we shared a room in Canada, he cleaned up the room, saying, “I’m cleaning it because I like to.” It was quite humbling, but I had a very comfortable time thanks to him, to the point that I see why everyone calls him “Mom”, no questions asked. (laugh) Lately I can speak out my own opinions too, and our relationship might have changed a little bit, from 'the sensei I admire/worship’ to 'my coach’, perhaps?

Q　Any ideas for something special, like the pair program by Stéphane and Deniss?

A　Truth be told, Stéphane says he already has an image of three of us skating together in his head. But, to do that, I need to achieve some good results and win the right to skate together with them. So I’m trying hard. We three have about the same height now, but you know what, Deniss’ body has got exceptionally beautiful curves!

Q　Is Deniss your rival? Or best friend?

A　I hope to become his (proper) rival some time soon, because you need one in the rural environment. On our day-off, we go to climb a mountain together. He really has a variety of hobbies, and bakes cakes every day. Stéphane sometimes warns him, saying “You’re baking too many/much!” (laugh)

[mylutteoheart]

In Our Dreams

yay, it’s finally here. The final chapter of In Our Dreams. This took me a lot of work but I made it and I’m happy about how this turned out. It’s also a lot longer than the other chapters because I needed to close it properly but I didn’t want to split it up in two parts.

I just wanted to say thank you for reading and following this story. It means a lot to me and I had a lot of fun writing it.

I also wanted to say that I won’t write any other multichapters. I feel like it will take a lot of time and the fandom is slowly dying so it would be useless to me to spend so much time on multichapters. Don’t worry, I’m not done writing yet, I still have some amazing one shots in my drafts.

According to the universe, soulmates see each other in their dreams until they meet each other in real life. So every time we go to sleep. You will find your soulmate waiting there for you.

word count: 3.1k

chapter 10: Finding My Home

other chapters | find my other fics here

Luna has been restless ever since she got back to Mexico. She found it hard to fall asleep. Nothing seemed the same anymore, yet it was but something was missing and she was painfully aware of what it was. Luna hadn't had a dream with Matteo ever since they met in real life and she didn't mind until now. They have been calling and texting each other but it wasn't the same as standing face to face and being able to touch each other.

Luna decided to go out skating for a while, it always makes her feel a little bit better. She went skating next to the beach as usual. It had been like a routine for her. But what she didn't know is that this time was going to be different for her.

She was near the docks and skated on full speed. For a second, she didn't look where she was going. All of a sudden, she felt someone crashing into her and she was about to say something about it but then she saw who the guy was that she crashed into. She couldn't believe her eyes when she noticed who was standing in front of her with a big smirk on his face. It was Matteo.

She couldn't hide the smile that started to appear on her face. She was speechless so she decided to go in for a hug. They hugged each other tightly, it was like they were holding onto each other like they were holding onto their last breath.

Matteo's breathing was heavy. He tried to enjoy every minute of this moment. He has never been so happy to crash into someone. "Luna, there you are." he said.

Luna still couldn't find the words to say so all she did was look at him with a smile from ear to ear.

When it was clear to Matteo that Luna was too flustered to say anything, he went on to say: "I missed you so much that I booked a flight straight to Cancún as soon as I could."

"You're really here." she was finally able to say something.

It was his turn to smile: "Yes, I'm here."

Luna flew in his arms again. Matteo lifted her up easily and they turned around and around. It was a very happy reunion for both of them.

When he put her down, he held his hands on her waist and he looked into her eyes with such intensity before he leaned down to kiss her.  Their kiss was intense and desperate. It was obvious they missed each other. They didn't want to let go of each other. Eventually they did so they could breathe.

After they seperated, he still held her in his arms, he held her so tight she almost couldn't breathe but she didn't care. They were in each other's arms and Matteo rested his chin on her hair while she took in his smell, something she missed very much.

She found it hard to let go but she had to ask him: "How long are you staying?"

Matteo's face turned into a sad look: "Only two days."

Luna's face fell as well but tried to look at it on the positive side: "Let's make the most out of it then." and they did. They spent every minute he was in Mexico together. They haven't been this happy in a while.  Everyone around them noticed that they weren't happy while they were seperated. Their friends did everything to try and cheer them up but nothing seemed to work.  It still amazed Matteo how much they started meaning to each other in the short time they've known each other.

When it was time for him to leave, Luna accompanied him to the airport. No matter what they did, they didn't let go of each other for even a second. They were either holding hands or his arm was around her shoulder or they were hugging.

Luna didn't leave his side until it was time to board. They shared their last kiss for now. "Promise me you'll call as soon as you land." she said in an almost begging voice.

"I promise I will." he gave her a last peck on her lips and left to board the plane. She stared after him until he was out of sight. Tears were silently streaming down her face. It was always hard to say goodbye. It was probably one of the hardest things she had to do. Now, all she could do was hope to see him soon. But for now, she had to settle with face timing, calls and texts.

Luna didn't feel like skating after Matteo left so she decided to stay in the mansion and watch a movie to try and distract herself. When the movie was over, she heard her phone ring and it was the long expected call she had hoped for.

"Matteo, hi." she said over the phone.

"Hey, Luna, I just landed in Buenos Aires and I already miss you."

"I miss you too." her voice seemed to break a little. "I love you so much, chico fresa."

"I love you more." his sadness over the situation clearly heard in his voice.

For the rest of the call, they talked about everything they did in the days he visited her and didn't hang up until his phone was dead. They called for hours.

The next day, Matteo went to Roller to see his friends but he couldn't force himself to put a smile on his face. These past two days have been the best but it wasn't enough for him. It's been so hard to have her at a distance. He loved her so much that it was hard not to be able to hug her and hold her in his arms every day. He didn't know if he could do this for any longer but he didn't seem to have a choice.

Gastón approached him as soon as he walked into the cafeteria. Matteo didn't notice him until his best friend called his name. "Matteo, are you on the moon again?"

He looked up to Gastón and answered with a tiny smile: "Where else would I be?" the joke didn't make it any better for him though.

Gastón couldn't help but laughing a little. "You really miss her, don't you?" his voice got serious now.

"Yeah and I'm not sure if I can be apart from her any longer." he sighed and continued, "It's so hard, you know? The days I spent with her were great and I want it to be like that every day but that's not possible." He sat down on the nearest chair, defeated by the pain he feels of not being with the girl he loves.

"Is there no way you can be together?" Gastón asked in all seriousness.

"I've thought of so many ways but none of them are possible." he sighed again.

Gastón asked himself out loud: "What would happen if Luna's parents didn't work for Sharon?"

This gave Matteo an idea. "You're onto something here."

"What do you mean?" he asked confused.

"What if her parents didn't work for Sharon but for someone else, someone who lives in Buenos Aires?" he raised his eyebrow suggestively.

Gastón was more confused than ever and Matteo noticed.

"My mom just opened a restaurant here and is looking for a chef and someone who can help her with the staff. Her parents would be perfect for it?" a bright smile appeared on his face, he finally had hope again.

"But where are they going to live?" his best friend asked.

"They could stay in our guest house." he suggested. He got excited. "I have to tell Luna."

"Maybe you need to talk to your mom first."

"You're right, I'll call her right away." with this, he went to the lockers for a quite place to make the call.

After insisting a lot, his mom agreed to it and he immediately texted Luna to tell her the good news.

M: I found a solution to our distance issue :-)

L: Really? What is it?

M: You'll find out soon ;-)

L: Why can't you tell me?

M: It's not up to me to say

With a big smile on his face, he headed home to see if his mom already made the call. Apparently she did and she told him they were going to think about her offer.

As soon as he heard this, he called Luna.

"Matteo?" Luna picked up the phone.

"I heard your parents had a job offer." his smirk was shown perfectly when they were face timing.

"I knew you were behind this." she commented with a smile.

"Doesn't it sound amazing? You coming back to Buenos Aires. We could see each other every day in Roller again. You living near me." he listed all the advantages of them taking the offer to try and persuade her a little.

"It does but I'm not sure Sharon is going to like it." she admitted.

"My mom could talk to her to set the record straight." he suggested.

"She doesn't have to. My parents just need some time to think about it."

"Sure, I understand but I do hope they'll take the offer. I miss you so much." he admitted.

"I miss you too and it would be amazing to be back again." she smiled while thinking of being able to be in his arms again. "I have to go now, we'll talk later, okay? I love you."

"I love you too." he blew a kiss at her before she hung up.

Matteo hasn't heard anything from Luna since a couple of days ago and he started to get worried. He had no idea what happened. His mom hasn't said anything about the answer of the Valentes either. He was getting scared that they didn't want to take the offer and that Luna no longer wanted to be with him.

He tried to call her several times but she didn't answer. He didn't know what to think about this and the worries kept haunting him until one day, his mom wanted to tell him something important. She said this right before they entered their house.

To his surprise, there were lots of bags in the big hall and he had never seen them before so he asked: "Whose are these?"

His mom gave him a heartwarming smile: "Why don't you have a look in the garden?" she carefully lead him to the backyard.

He couldn't believe his eyes once he got outside. On the porch, he saw Luna talking to his dad. She seemed very happy and comfortable talking to him. Matteo, on the other hand, froze on his place. So many emotions went through him when she stood there looking so beautiful. It had felt like his breath was taken away from him. He was so happy to see her standing there in real life and it was better than every dream they ever had together or when they saw each other for the first time in real life.

Luna didn't notice him until his father left to take care of some business, he was still frozen when he saw her smile. It was even more beautiful than he remembered. While Matteo was too flabbergasted, Luna ran towards him to hug him. He got out of his frozen state right in time to catch her in his arms and hold her tight in his arms, he was so happy to be able to hug her that he lifted her her from the ground. Luna giggled in response to this.

Their hug seemed to last forever but he eventually put her down. She pouted because she didn't want it to be over but Matteo had something better in mind. Luna could tell as well when she saw the smirk slowly appearing on his face.

He intertwined her fingers with his and looked for a quiet place. Luckily for them, no one was in the guest house. He brought her over to the couch and stopped in front of it. He turned around to face her and leaned in just as she did. In no time, their lips were touching. At first, it was a slow and careful kiss, like they were checking if this was really happening. Later, their kiss got deeper and more passionate. They were caught up in each other, nothing else mattered to them. It was just him and her on cloud 9. Even though, they never wanted to stop kissing, they did to get some air.

To rest, he sat on the couch and Luna followed him as their fingers were still intertwined. He eventually let go of her hand to put an arm around her shoulder and pull her close as he could. He wanted to use every second to be with her, to hold her in his arms.

"You have no idea how happy I am to have found you in my backyard." he whispered into her ear.

Luna got chills when he heard his voice so close to her ear, his whispering always made her feel a bit weak. Luckily, she was sitting down or else she probably would have fallen through her knees. "I can imagine." she softly answered.

He gave a kiss on her hair gently in response to this. "I was so worried when you didn't call me back." he admitted after a minute of silence.

"I wanted to surprise you." she said as she rested her head on his shoulder.

"Well, you certainly succeeded." he rested his chin on her head now.

"Good." she commented with a content smile on her face.

"I'm really happy your parents accepted the offer. We should celebrate." he suggested.

"How?" she looked up to look into his eyes.

Matteo had a look of mischief on his face and Luna raised her eyebrows in confusion. He put a hand on her cheek and pulled her closer, she closed her eyes immediately after because she knew what was about to happen. They locked lips, this time they went straight to an intense kiss. They haven't kissed like this in a long time and Matteo was happy to be able to do this again.

He pulled her onto his lab to have better access to her lips. One of Luna's hands was around his neck and the other one was playing with his hair. She didn't hold back in the kiss, neither did he. Their kissing slowly turned into making out. His hands were on her waist, his thumb was playfully touching the bare skin under her shirt. He drew circles with it.

They've been making out for a long time now but Luna got back to reality and she pulled away from him. She bit her lip slightly to stop herself from kissing him again. "What's going on?" he didn't know what was going on with her and he was worried.

"We shouldn't do this with your parents so close." she said while still having her hands on his chest.

As much as he hated to admit it, she was right. If his parents found them like this, they would ask a million of questions and he didn't want that to happen. "You're right."

She stood up from his lap and sat back down next to him. She started to feel all the exhaustion from the travelling  so she decided to lie down and rest her head on his lap. Just a few moments after this, her eyes closed and she fell asleep pretty quickly. Matteo watched her sleep and she was so beautiful and peaceful in this state and he loved her even more now, if that was even possible.

When he felt that he was getting tired as well, he carefully lifted her head and let it rest on a pillow instead of his lap so he could lie down next to her. He had to pull a few maneuvers to do so since the couch wasn't that big. Somehow, he succeeded and he took the blanker that was draped on the back of the couch and he laid it down on both of them. They were both lying on their sides as they soon realized there was no room to lie any other way. He rested his head on another pillow and wrapped his arm around her waist. It has become an automatic reflex to him by now and they both didn't mind.

Soon, he fell asleep as well. When he closed his eyes, he saw the rink in front of him. He didn't really know what was going on but he had a familiar feeling inside of him. He tried to remember where he recognized this from and then he realized he had the same feeling when he had his dreams with Luna. He didn't know how it happened because he hasn't had this dreams since he met Luna in real life.

From out of the shadows, Luna appeared in front of him and asked: "Matteo?"

He was looking for the source of this sound but couldn't find it at first. When he skated onto the rink, Luna was suddenly standing right in front of him. "Luna!" he exclaimed.

"What's happening?" she was just as confused as he was.

"I'm not sure but we might as well make the most of the time we have here." he held out his hand to take her skating and she took it rather fast.

They were doing all kinds of tricks together, it felt like they were in real life but they weren't. They didn't care though. They've been apart for so long that they tried to spend every minute possible together to make up for lost time.

Matteo didn't want to look for an explanation for this dream because he was certain he would probably never find a proper answer. What he did know is that they were together and happier than ever. Nothing could ever seperate them again. They had all the time in the world and beyond now, that's all that mattered. But deep down he knew they still had these dreams because they had such a strong connection, they could find each other anywhere, no matter of it was a dream or the real world.

He loves her so much that it amazes him just how much you can love a person. He was sure that he would fall in love with her more and more every day and he had nothing against that. Nothing could pull them apart now, their relationship was stronger than ever and it makes him feel at home. No matter where he goes, his home is with her just as her home was with him.

[smolfangirl]

Way before I had ever called your name

A sound so sweet, of you and me - Prologue - First meetings

Hello, my dearest readers, and welcome to my new multichapter! I am so excited to finally share this with you as I have been working on (and finishing) this fic in the last 9-ish months and it owns a very special place in my heart - and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it!

Basic idea: from this fic.

Updates: Wednesday and Saturday starting on April 18th. Along with every chapter you’ll find the title for the following one on my writing page.

Thanks go out to @sky-girls who helped in the beginning of the story, and to my awesome girls who always motivated me when I needed it, you’re appreciated ladies ♥

Story: In a world where you only know who your soulmate is by calling them by their first name, Matteo soon finds that the smallest words can be the hardest to say.

Word count: 1.3k

The teacher assigned him his spot.

It wasn’t as much of a surprise to Matteo as to the brunette guy who now stared at him, completely frozen. Shocked, even. For whatever reason that boy – the teacher called him Gastón now – looked like a cow right before a car accident just because he had to share his table, but from his experience Matteo figured he’d get over it. (In two, maximum five minutes.)

Straightening his shoulders, Matteo walked up to the bench with the kind of smile that said Hey, sorry for interrupting but I’m not too fond of this either. Gastón shortly returned his gaze, a silent Whatever in his eyes but soon focused on the blackboard when the teacher started the lesson.

He silently sighed. Told himself to just get this over with.

Just like in every first class of a first day at a new school, Matteo took his brand-new pen and brand-new notebook, opened it on the first page and began to take notes. However, his attention slipped away like water dripping through his hands when he tried to catch it as a young boy, playing at an Italian beach.

It slipped because the teacher talked ridiculously slow, as if the words ran free in his head and they needed to be caught and broken in before they formed coherent sentences able to leave his mouth.

Second, it slipped because the teacher’s tie distracted him, with the bright yellow and purple and the pattern too ugly to even find the words for it.

And lastly (and mostly) because his nerves tingled from a strange desire demanding him to talk to the boy next to him.

Usually, during a first day in school, it took him roughly two classes to find a suitable possible friend. Usually, always, and he honestly had believed Buenos Aires would be no difference. However, something about Gastón made him excited to get to know him, made him excited to sit next to him for possibly a whole school year.

When the teacher shortly left the room to get the copies he had forgotten in his office, and his new classmates started chatting, he leaned over to ask something. Later, he didn’t remember what he even planned to say. Ask for a pencil? A tour through the school? Ask if this joke of a teacher always wore those bow ties?

Not that it mattered. When the name slipped across his lips, he knew.

Gastón.

His heart sped up. Fast, faster, the fastest.

For a moment, Matteo forgot how to breathe.

For a moment, his lungs burst from something he couldn’t quite yet catch, something bigger than himself.

For a moment, his whole body froze like an iceberg.

When he drew air in, his mind felt sharpened and fresh, as if he took a nap and woke up to a new, better reality. Although the effect lasted only a few second, he knew his life had spun around with no return.

“Hey, are you alright?”, Gastón brought him back to the classroom, to real life, “It was Matteo, wasn’t….” He whispered but stopped right away.

His eyes widened.

The one. The one person he never had expected to find. His soulmate.

Gastón leaned closer. Automatically, Matteo mirrored his movement. “Do we have to make out now?”, Gastón asked and in that moment Matteo decided he liked him, soulmate or not.

Two years later, Matteo still smiled when he thought of that day, the beginning of a friendship he had hoped and wished for ever since he got old enough to grasp the concept of soulmates.

The memory popped into his head again now, when Gastón met him in front of the school, a smile so big on his face Matteo was certain it hurt like hell. “Okay, you either had three cups of the Italian coffee I got you or something happened.”

If possible, his smile got wider.

“Okay…”, Matteo pondered, hand rubbing the skin on his neck for a second before he stopped, “What is it?” Still that smile.

He seriously considered avoiding his best friend if he kept on smiling that way. It was creepy, like he had found the ultimate pun and turned into the pun monster, no going back, stealing Matteo’s will to live. (Perhaps he got a bit ahead of himself.)

“Remember that girl from photography class?”, Gastón asked.

“You mean Nina, the girl you won’t shut up about since a few weeks? Actually, since the beginning of the school year?” To his satisfaction, a blush accompanied Gastón’s smile. “Nina, yeah”, he admitted, then straightened his back, “She is my soulmate.”

“What?!”

His vision blurred. Weakness sneaked into his knees, made him want to sit down. Shock might be the wrong word to describe the fear pulsing through his every cell at this revelation – it couldn’t even begin to grasp the storm inside him. For the first time he heard of someone with two soulmates, or maybe – and his heart broke just thinking about this – maybe Gastón and him weren’t soulmates, maybe they both imagined it and…

“Hey, Matteo, no need to look like you saw a ghost, I still love you”, Gastón tried to cheer him up, yet a hint of worry slipped into his voice. “Really, you can relax. I don’t feel less certain about you being my soulmate. Hey, who knows, maybe there’s a second soulmate for you too!”

That managed to get a snort out of Matteo. “Don’t be ridiculous”, he spitted out, a bitter taste in his throat, similar to the gin he once sneaked out of his dad’s liquor cabinet. (And never again.)

“Oh, come on, there are more ridiculous things. Like that movie you showed me the other night or when you dated Ámbar although you knew you weren’t soulmates and she’s, well…”

They entered the hallway. With no delay, Gastón changed, his sentence hanging in the air. His posture turned straighter, more confident while his eyes hurried through the crowd. Matteo would bet his skates that his best friend was looking for Nina.

“There’s no rule or law that allows only relationships with your soulmate”, Matteo gave it one last shot at staying on topic. (Even if Gastón had a point, dating Ámbar didn’t turn out to be a good idea.) “I mean, if that was a thing, would you leave Nina for me? Or would I have to die a broken-hearted virgin?”

His friend failed to answer as he discovered Nina and his feet carried him over before Matteo got to add: “Yeah, just leave me here, a broken-hearted virgin! Leave me and my broken heart on the floor!”

Gastón ignored him.

“You didn’t answer my question!”, Matteo shouted, only for his friend to flip him off.

To Matteo’s own surprise he never developed a feeling of jealousy towards the new girl by his best friend’s side after that day.

(Okay, maybe a bit, but only during lonely lunch meals or boring evenings when they had a date night and when Gastón spent much more time with her than with him.)

Nina seemed nice, shy at first, but she made Gastón happy. Ridiculously happy. For mysterious reasons she also liked his puns, which meant Matteo finally had to hear less of them.

Life felt good like this. He had friends, a soulmate, a place to finally call home that he stayed in for more than just one year. These supposedly-heartwarming soulmate-stories in the media stopped bothering him. After finding his own happiness he had no need to jealously stare at other’s. At all. Gastón was the kind of person by his side that he had been searching for his own life, the one friend he never wanted to let go of. Now, Matteo looked at the future without worry.

And then everything changed again when he collided with the moon.

[from-red-string]

Why?

This shout out for the simbar shippers after the lutteo ficweek, which I loved and is amazing. 

Sorry for not finishing it, I had some problems. 

Ps: Especial thanks to Ellie @fangirlelliethings for handling my excited self for this fic and proofreading for me ILY 

 Emms @rowbrinaswift I need your reaction haha

Anyway, Simbar now! I hope you like it.

“Why do you two work so well?”

When I first heard this question, my first reaction was to start laughing out loud. How could anyone think that?

We’ve had a long way to become what we are now. I’m not even sure how it started. I was a plastic rich girl from Buenos Aires and he was a waiter in Cancun. What were the chances of us meeting? What were our odds of ending up together?

But against all of the odds, we’ve met. The beginning was terrible. I thought Simón was Luna’s dog, also known as Luna’s best friend that was ridiculously in l love with her. And for Simón, I’m not sure what he thought about me for real, but he politely says that he had no problem with me even though I was mean to Luna.

After a while, I broke up with Matteo, who was in love with Luna and she liked him back. Since I needed to get away from Matteo, my best option for a pair up was Simón. Even better, we were two products of love rejection.

What better way to fix a broken heart than to meet another one?

It was cool to skate with him. We seemed connected, we had the same rhythm. The rhythm that guide me was the same that guide him. Skating together had made me realize that we worked together very well.

This realization scared me so bad. Nothing ever worked well for me naturally. I've always needed to make things to go my way. It was good for once to just let it be and it was going fine by itself. With Simón, it was easy to talk, to dance, to play, to be me, it was easy but also so intense. Every feeling I got around him was strong, awestruck, real. Nothing was a pretense.

And my stupid self had noticed how great they were, so I had this ridiculous revenge plan where I wanted to make Simón against Luna because I thought that would make her suffer as much as I suffered when she took my best friend. I didn’t realize that was a mistake until it was too late.

I was in love. Probably, I was in love with him even before that but when I noticed it, the scariest moment of my life came right after that. If I'd thought that what I felt when I was with Simón was fear, I was wrong. When Simón discovered the plan, I saw that the fear I felt before was not even close to a real fear. The only thing that made me feel good. The only person with who I could be myself and I manage to destroy all of this. I was so afraid of losing him. In that time, he told me something that was painful but true.

“You can’t lose what you’ve never had for real. All we had was a lie - your lie.”

It took me so much time to stop thinking about this sentence. Even after he had forgave me, he needed to say a billion times that he didn't mean it that way.

“I was angry hurt boy. I wanted you to feel as bad as I felt. I was yours before you first talked to me. I knew I was yours when I first saw you on Jam & Roller’s stage singing. I heard your voice and I knew it was a lost battle, I couldn’t fight against it.”

For so long, the guilt of hurting Simón followed me but we are okay now. I realized Simón doesn’t care about this anymore, so it was time for me to let it go. I’ve learned that those plans and acts only end up by hurting me and who I loved so it needed to be in the past.

About love - my first “I love you” came out on one of our secret nights, the ones when Simón would sneak in my room late night and leave early morning. I’m sure Amanda noticed the existence of male clothes in a drawer in my closet but she's never said a word about it, at least not to me.

“Do you really need this thing on all night?” Simón asked pointing at the air conditioner, taking his shirt off. “It’s winter. It’s already cold.” He complained sitting on my bed.

“I need the air on to sleep and you wouldn’t feel so cold if you'd wear some clothes.” I said coming from the closet and laughing when he gasped, but then smirked and I frowned.

“You want me with clothes on? Okay.” He reached for his shirt on the floor, provoking me. I stopped him by stepping up closer and putting a hand on his chest.

“No.” I said shaking my head and slowly pushing him to lay down. “I can keep you warm.” Then I kissed him.

Eventually, the “I love you” slipped out of my lips, shocking Simón. He already confessed his love a hundred times before and in various forms. He has never rushed me to say it back even through he wanted to hear me saying it, so hearing it from me for the first time made him really happy. Also it made me happier for feeling confident enough for saying it out loud.

Our happiness could've lasted longer if the whole 'Sol Benson' drama didn't come. The discovery that I wasn’t Sol Benson had wrecked me. First, I wasn’t Ámbar Smith, then I wasn’t Sol Benson. I freaked out. I believed that I was no one that I had nothing and no one, and the life that I've lived before was somebody else's life. Everything previous had belong to someone else, so I needed to start over. I needed a name. I chose to be the new “Ámbar Smith”, I created her before so it was time to recreate her. If Sharon Benson’s ever wished to destroy someone’s life, that was when she'd succeeded.

I felt so lost, I had no direction to go, I was a train whose rail ended but couldn't stop itself. Simón had tried to help me, to make me stop, to reach out for me, but I kept pushing him away, I confused his care for control and I didn’t need somebody to try control my life.

He tried everyday, he didn’t give up. Somehow he knew I still needed him.

When I couldn’t handle it anymore, ready for a free fall, he was there to catch me.

Together we started solving the dazzle that was me. He helped me to get to know who I am and we realized that he already was a part of me.

One day we were coming back from my therapy session in Simón's car - Luckily, he got his license during my dark phase, it was truly just luck - I have no idea how someone like him could pass. I’ve become our official driver, soon after I got my license. We figured out that was safer.

“Last song was bit lame. But that beat.” Simón commented replaying the best with his mouth. I had no idea what music is he talking about.

“Yes, obvi.” I agreed taking my eyes off the window, Simón laughed.

“You ignored the radio.” He stated shaking his head smirking. “A kiss for your thoughts.” We usually do that to get things from each other, it’s a silly joke but I enjoy it. And that would've worked if he wasn’t driving.

“Concentrate on the road and try not kill us, driver.” I replied. Although he was an okay driver, I wouldn’t bet our life on Simón’s multitasking skills. Simón grinned and turned the radio up.

 I don’t ask for you to change, baby no no no

And you don’t ask for me to change

 Tell me how we're not alike

But we work so well and we don’t even know why

 “This song is way better.” He smiled saying it. I silently agreed, smiling back, then turned back to the window again.

But I couldn’t ignore this song.

In that time, I still lived in Benson’s mansion, even through I didn’t talk to Sharon anymore. I ate in the kitchen and started being friend with Luna. She made staying there easier. Almost the whole time I spent in the mansion was with her - studying, watching movies, even cooking.

Within a year, I moved in with Simón. We were alright living together. He cooked I did the math - bills part and we divide the cleaning duties. I was finishing college, so sometimes we had a few parties to go. At one specific party there was a cold night, the people that went there were not that cool and we didn’t feel like drinking, we weren’t enjoying being there, but I needed to stay a little because it was my classmate's birthday.

“So cold!” I murmured to myself, brushing my arms with my hands, Simón gave me his jacket. Sometimes, cold seemed to be just a thing from my head because I was shaking but Simón didn't feel a thing.

“Aren’t you the one who loves the air on?” He mocked, hugging me. Simón was trying to make us leave the party and go home, he want us to have some privacy. It was taking all of me not to give in.

“It’s different.” I answered and I shivered losing my breath when he kissed a skin spot right below my ear. He knows me too well. “You’re dirty, Simón. That’s a low move.”

“I’m just a player who try to beat his enemy.” He whispered low with his lips almost glued to my ear, then gave me a hickey on the neck making me suppress the moan that arised. “Can we go now?”

He asked taking a step back to look in my eyes. I nodded unable to speak. I gave in. After all those years, Simón's effect on me was still as surprising as the first, but it’s stronger and better each time.

9 months after that night, Emma came, our first daughter. Fortunately, I had only 6 months of college to go when I got pregnant so Emma came in the right time. Emma’s birth was perfect and we couldn’t be happier. Luna is her godmother, she really loves Emma. Emma was the best unexpected thing that happened to us.

And that’s a huge fact when nothing on your parents life is as expected or has a plan set.

“Emms, your mom is sleeping.” I heard Simón, whispering to the 1 year old Emma in his arms, when I woke up from my nap on the sofa. I got up to give them a kiss.

“Hey, how was your day at the studio?” I asked letting Emma play with my hand. Simón has a studio with the Roller Band, they were a pretty famous band but they've decided to do less tours and work more on producing music. Simón says they want to give a chance to some new bands.

“Good. Emma was a success singing with Pedro. What about you? How is Fab & Chic going?” He said with his hand caressing my cheek. Oh yeah, I work with Jazmín and Delfi, we created the Fab & Chic brand clothes, there’s a store and a fashion blog, we are doing pretty well. I’m the manager, the three of us have different accomplishment functions in the company, each if us doing what is best at. Emma goes with us to work some days, since she’s on vacation from her daycare.

And now, 10 years after that day, things didn’t change much. And you could’ve thought that would be boring, well, you would be wrong. It’s not that we've found a happily ever after - we don’t. We can’t find something that doesn’t exists. But we know we are happier living together than apart, so we just live passing through whatever we need.

Okay, many things have changed. Luna and Matteo are married, Gastón and Nina aren’t yet - Nina keeps delaying it. I can’t judge it, Simón and I haven't got married neither, but we don’t need this. About us, we had twins, Ellie and Lucas, who are the best planned thing in what we succeed in.

At least, one of them was planned. The twin part wasn’t exactly expected.

But Emma is the one who changed the most. She can eat alone, wipe herself, sleep the whole night, walk and talk. Indeed, it was her question that started all this wondering.

My eyes are locked to Simón's. We are on the sofa and the twins are watching Trolls on TV.

“We don’t know why.” I answered for both of us, looking at Emma.

“It need to have reason.” Emma whispers staring the TV.

“Is it the time?” Simón mouths to me, my eyes widened. I think he’s right. Oh girl, my baby. I nodded. “Emms,” He calls her, she turns to him. “When a boy and a girl like each other,”

“No no no. I already…” Emma stands up saying with the hands on her hips. She’s undeniably my daughter. “I’m done.” And goes to the kitchen. We start laughing, the twins looking at us, confused but soon go back to watching the movie.

“You started just perfect.” I mocked getting closer to him and laid my head on his shoulder.

“I love you.” He says kissing my forehead.

“I love you.”

[thekwanderer]

Lazy day because we were in transit. We had a late breakfast where we were basically the only two in the restaurant. We did discover this delicious food item that is local to northeastern Argentina and Paraguay, called Chipas. They're these little cheese puffs that were nice and doughy in the middle. I found a recipe online and I do want to try to make them sometime. Our first stop of the day was to the right and behind our hotel. My mom had seen a bunch of people gathering the day before on this Plaza. It was a great viewpoint again to see the three countries at once. What was also cool is that you can see the two rivers colliding and mixing. The Iguazú is very brown and muddy from the falls, while the Paraná is clear and green. The two mix together, but it mostly is green. There is an obelisk on the Plaza, that I believe was installed in 1905, with the Argentina flag colors, and across the way you can see a block made for Paraguay. I think there is also one for Brazil, but from our vantage point we weren't able to see it. Because we didn't have much time, we decided to go into town for lunch. There was this place I wanted to try that supposedly had good pasta. We ordered a cab from the hotel, but when we got there, we realized it was closed for New Years. It was a bit disappointing, but we took time to wander around the downtown a little. It's obviously a small town without a lot going on and we quickly breezed through it. We decided instead just to walk back to the hotel from there. It was a lot better walking back this time since we actually knew the way. Also we got to grab a refreshing fruit popsicle to help us fight the heat. Back at the hotel, we grab a cab and make it airport. Check in goes smoothly and it seems to all be going according to plan, but suddenly our plane is delayed. This brings back painful flashbacks to our second day in Buenos Aires when our flight was delayed and we were immediately anxious. To ease the worry, we did what any normal person would do, which is eat. We went the airport cafe, but the service once again was terrible. There was a cancelled flight, so maybe there were more people than usual, but they never came by our table and even when they went to help others near us, they never even made eye contact with me! Even though there were signs explicitly telling me not to, I went up to the counter to ask for some service. We ate our food, but then paying the bill was super difficult as well! We ended up just leaving the money on the table after no one came by, and someone quickly snatched up our table. We don't even know if they got the money but whatever. We headed over to security which was of course, closed so we waited in line. By now, we saw that our flight was only delayed an hour, which wasn't too bad. We did get a sweet spot to look out the window at the tarmac. The airport is actually very close to the falls, but since there's such a thick jungle all around, all you can really see are trees. Boarding and the flight were uneventful, and suddenly we were back in Buenos Aires. It was nice going back because it was my second time in this particular airport, and I felt like a pro. I knew were the bathrooms were by the baggage claim, I knew where to pick up a taxi, and I knew the address of our hotel, which was the same as the one we were staying at before Iguazú. Even though it was overcast, we got a few shots of the towering monuments along the road. Checking into the hotel, we went up to the room and quickly repacked our stuff. We weren't that hungry, but we decided to set out looking for food. We have visited the Palermo neighborhood before, but it was our first time out at night. The lively streets that we saw during the day were now empty. Many of the shops were closed and it left the streets dark. We headed for one particular restaurant that I found on google and my mom had also seen in an airline magazine. But in regular Argentina fashion, it was closed without any explanation or notice. I was beginning to think that the gods didn't want us to eat pasta for whatever reason. We wandered the streets looking for a populated area with a few restaurants that we could choose from. I was beginning to get anxious that we wouldn't be able to eat dinner because it was after 9 at this point. I found a restaurant on the map that seemed to have good reviews and I veered my mother down the dark street. The place was called Art of the Mafia, and we stood outside contemplating the menu. Suddenly, a man popped his head out of the restaurant door holding a card with the name of the restaurant. He smiled conspiratorially at me, and shut the door. It all felt like a secret meeting and we were enticed inside. Besides another part of 4, we were the only patrons in the restaurant. The decor was themed red and black ad there were famous mobster movie posters on the wall including The Godfather and Goodfellas. There was even a poster for Breaking Bad, which I guess if you take a step back and squint it could fit as the mafia. The waiter was very nice and attentive, which was so refreshing after the terrible service we received over and over again. He came promptly to take our orders and understood it well with no questions. We ordered a caprese salad, the lamb lasagne, and a baked apple with ice cream, honey, and nuts. Overall it was a good sized meal to be split between the two of us. And by 10:30 when we left, the place was pretty packed with 4 more parties joining in. We happily walked home full and tired ending our last full day on vacation. January 3, 2017

[cryptodictation]

Bélen Potassa: “We have to learn not to shut up …

Belén Potassa's video goes viral. From a window in his house, he yells at the neighborhood: “I'm bored!” The Argentine forward is in quarantine in Albacete, Spain, strictly complying with the instructions on not leaving. As he had provisions for days he is inside. Train and record those trainings as requested in the club and invent activities: watch movies, listen to music, drink mates, paint and dance to the music of Los Palmeras. “There are about 567 infected and 60 dead in the city I am in. You do not have to panic but you have to have the alarm on,” he says by phone.

His trick is not to watch the news much. Where you are you can go to the supermarket or to the pharmacy, but not circulate without reason because they apply fines. In the distance, with friends between Buenos Aires and Cañada Rosquín, where his family lives, he recommends that Argentina take precautions: “As soon as I found out, I thought it was a virus and nothing else, that it was not dangerous. Now that I live it from It seems so close to me that the best thing is to stop the country. You have to collaborate in everything. With a little bit of everyone we are going to do better and we have to win this together, “he advises.

Potassa arrived in Spain after the historic World Cup in France 2019, in which he was part of the squad that achieved two draws (the first two points of an Argentine team in a FIFA World Cup). In the middle of that contest he made his pass: with 31 years he moved to make his first experience in European football. “The first few months the soccer issue cost me a little. They play differently here and I did not know the players. But the adaptation was good and now we are fighting for the promotion to First,” he says. There are eight games left to define the tournament and Albacete fights to go up with the leader Santa Teresa and Granada.

Since that World Cup, Potassa was not called up to the National Team again. Between the World Cup and the Pan American Games in Lima, the conflict broke out: most of the soccer players had expressed their desire for a change in the Argentine coaching staff. They discussed it at a meeting in France, after the elimination, and the idea was to set up a meeting with the president of the AFA, Claudio “Chiqui” Tapia. That never happened and when the list of calls for the Pan-American Games was known, there were absences: Potassa was left out of the list, as were her colleagues Estefanía Banini, the captain, Florencia Bonsegundo and Ruth Bravo. The four expressed their position on their social networks: the exclusion had to do with criticizing the leadership of the coach, Carlos Borrello.

“None of the players thought that she would be disaffected for asking for an improvement,” the forward says at a distance. “The silence today shows the things that are happening. That the Sub 20 is left out of a South American (she did not manage to pass the stage of groups in the contest contested in Argentina), in which you do not leave even fourth in South America, is a nightmare. Argentina fell five steps from what it was doing. Before we were below Brazil, we were going backwards. “

The player who was a six-time champion with Boca and three with the UAI Urquiza affirms: “Hopefully people will realize that what we were asking for was not crazy.”

-Do you think they won't summon you anymore?

-I keep training every day of my life. I get up with the illusion of being able to wear the light blue and white, I keep sacrificing myself. If they call me or not, the coaching staff will decide. If there is another better than I think is perfect, I will continue fighting from where I am so that Argentina returns to the place it was.

-When you meet in Spain with Banini and Bonsegundo, do they talk about this topic? Neither was cited again.

-We suffered a lot. Every time we get together the talk is always the same about what happened. We are calm, we proposed something that seemed crazy to many and today time is proving us right.

-After the elimination in the South American Sub 20, the hashtag #ChauBorrello was trending on Twitter. You saw it?

-Yes. There are many things that must be changed, also the organization and more. I here in a second division club every three weeks have nutritionists who control me. La Selección is not a neighborhood club where you get together with your friends, eat a barbecue and nothing happens. To be at your best you have to be surrounded by professionals who control you, who follow your routine and who want the Selection to continue exploiting.

-How do you see the team today?

-Of all the stages I went through and that the National Team had, I think we will go back in this one. It has to be everyone's help and we have to learn not to shut up anymore. Thus we go backwards and we cannot advance. If they cannot qualify for a South American, how are these young women going to get to a World Cup in the future? The picture seems difficult.

– Would you like someone especially in charge of the Selection?

-I would like him to be the right person, who wants women's football to grow. Let it not be a search for personal growth, but a collective one. To look at what happens in other teams and to see what happens in Argentina that we do not grow. That he listen to the players, that the outsiders share what each one lives. Who knows how to listen and take constructive criticism to improve.

From Spain, Belén Potassa follows the Argentine tournament on TV, social networks and YouTube. He says that his favorite is the UAI Urquiza because his heart is still there. And he relates that it hurts him that there is still so much difference between those who fight for the championship and those who do not: the inequality that is marked, for example, in matches such as the one that Boca beat Excursionistas 16-0.

“He turned professional, but it is still the four or five teams that always play it. I am happy for Gimnasia, for Lanús and for Racing, who have raised their level and have been growing. But I am very sorry for what happened with Excursionistas If you don't equal the possibilities, you end up frustrating the players and it doesn't help, “she says.

And he proposes investment and organization to balance the possibilities and have a fairer football: “If the clubs start looking for sponsors, to have a different structure and give importance to women, everything will improve. That is the way. We need equality in conditions of training and salaries. We have to put a lot in it. Hopefully those of us who leave football will join clubs to help from wherever we can. “

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[alyinargentina-blog]

La Semana de Clare

Back in January, Clare bought tickets to come to Buenos Aires for spring break. Neither Claudia nor I really realized how early spring break was in our time here: one month away from home and already we’re responsible for showing our friend the best places in a city we barely know anything about, as much as we’d like to think otherwise. She got here on Tuesday, my day of two classes complete with an early morning and minimal breaks to regain any semblance of sanity after six straight hours of Spanish.

Thankfully her flight was relatively uneventful, no stolen luggage or panic attacks, two things apparently she was very worried about. Her hostel turned out to be really nice, although sort of out of the way for both Claudia and I, which is more my fault than anyone else’s. But it worked as nice meeting point for the two nights we went out, as it’s basically in the heart of Palermo Soho aka the place to be if you want beers and boliches. Our first night together we decided that Mexican food was on the docket. What we ended up getting wasn’t what I would call traditional Mexican food, or “Mexican-American” that we’re used to eating back home. Clare ordered quesadillas and I got a burrito and they were basically the exact same dish, except her’s were open faced and mine was not. But boy the margs were strong and big, which is exactly what I needed after a long day.

Day two for Clare was a day full of beers, dancing, tattoos, and too many hickies for everyone’s comfort. Katie ended up getting a tattoo of a pot leaf on her butt, which is very fitting for her and honestly she rocks it. We decided to go out that night, which means a very different thing in Argentina than it does in Wisconsin, and I’m not sure Claudia and I prepared Clare enough for this. We pre-gamed on Nathan’s rooftop, which was actually very ideal, felt like I was in some indie movie with a bomb soundtrack. Unfortunately, one of the neighbors thought we were up there too late, so we were forced to head off to the boliche a bit earlier than we had hoped, which turned out to actually be too late because the line for the club we were trying to get into was literally wrapped around the block. We ended up at Kika, some place that I’d never heard of but apparently Nathan knew pretty well. It was overall a fun night, everyone maybe had a bit too much to drink, there was a lot of dancing and making out with people they shouldn’t have or that turned out to be vaguely predatory because unfortunately that’s a big part of club culture here, and me just sort of chilling and platonically dancing with Nathan because didn’t want a stranger’s tongue down my throat. The night ended around 5:30 for most of us, obscenely late for my taste but relatively early here in Buenos Aires.  

Day three for Clare didn’t start until 3 pm, when Claudia and I showed up at her hostel to drag her out of bed. Because of our insanely late start, we spent some time in the Botanical Gardens and then headed home because we were all overtired and a bit crabby. Clare stayed in, but las chicas had a good time at Alysha’s, demolished a lot of Reese’s peanut butter cups, and had a very good laugh at the fact that this apartment was decorated almost exclusively with pictures of religious figures and frog statues.

Day four included a trip to Recoleta Cemetery, where we attempted but failed to find Eva Perón’s grave, only to find out that Clare didn’t know who she was in the first place so was very indifferent to the whole ordeal, followed by a walk through the market outside the cemetery. Clare bought a remarkable amount of souvenirs that are all a bit strange, but also make a lot of sense, like a hanging planter made out of dried gourd with random things carved into it. There as a man selling stuffed artesanal bread and you better believe Clare and I got a loaf, and chowed down on it for lunch. The afternoon brought us a quick trip to a very boujee mall that none of us could even being to afford, an equally as quick trip to this bookstore in a renovated theater that I thought was going to be cool but was basically just the Argentine version of Barnes and Noble, and a very disappointing cup of coffee at a chain cafe. Some people ended up going out that night, but Clare and I stayed in her hostel and were appalled at the fact that we were confronted by four middle aged men who were apparently Clare’s dorm-mates for the foreseeable future.

We walked into the room and these men all turned, in various stages of undressing or spraying themselves with Axe body spray, and watched us come in. Clare and I both immediately stopped in our tracks, because definitely thought hostels had either an explicit or implicit age limit? It was just the most bizarre thing, and they were also trying to go sleep so she and I just ended up half whispering in a dimly lit room while these old men wearing far too few clothing slept on the bunks around us.

Yesterday was a homework day for Claudia and I because we secretly have a ton of Spanish reading to do, which takes even longer than normal homework because it’s in a foreign language that we really don’t know too much of. And academic reading in english is difficult enough even knowing all of the words, now throw in a different language where words are all literally foreign and it’s a whole different ballgame. The cafe we went to at first was absolutely adorable, but it closed really early because it was a holiday, so we went to a different place and set up camp for about three hours before heading to La Factoria del taco for dinner, which is definitely as glamorous as it sounds. The margarita we got here was passionfruit flavored and in a literal bucket pitcher and was glorious. They had real salsas at this place with spice, something not too common in Argentine food, guacamole to die for, and tortilla chips aka the most important part of any Mexican meal. Overall great dinner, will never get tired of tacos and chips with some solid dipping sauces.

Today was Clare’s last full day in Buenos Aires, and we decided that we should take her to Tigre. The morning started off alright: Katie and I were on time, Claudia was at the station, Clare said she knew where she was going. False, Clare did not know where she was going, and ended up at Belgrano instead of Retiro, which is not an easy error to make and we definitely told her to meet us at Retiro. But, much to our surprise, the trains weren’t even running out of Retiro because of construction, so we all had to go to Rivadavia to get on a real train. Clare’s SIM card, however, wasn’t working, and so we waited at Retiro for an hour because the last message she had sent was she was getting on a bus to an unknown location, presumably coming to meet us so we could all travel together. Wrong again, she actually went to Rivadavia. So after an hour and a half of waiting and miscommunication, we finally all found each other at Rivadavia and started our day.

Tigre was super cool. The weather was nice, we had some decent food but some really pitiful churros, and I think we spent the perfect amount of time there. The markets were not at all what I was imagining when someone told me that they were what Tigre was famous for. It’s basically like a mixture of shops with interiors and stalls of homemade things, but the majority is like interior design shops that sort of look like the home good section in target. Which I’m a huge fan of, so no complaints there. I wish there had been a little bit more homemade jewelry available, because I was looking for some cool earrings, but most of the stuff we saw was really fun to look at. We also took a boat tour, which basically was an hour long boat ride looking at random vacation houses, which is also not at all what I was expecting but it was sort of relaxing. Did get splashed by a huge wave though, which was cold and very unexpected. We also didn’t have to pay for any of our train rides, which I don’t understand at all but not going to argue with free public transportation.

Tomorrow we’re getting breakfast with Clare before she heads back to Wisconsin. Very happy she came, very happy she survived her time relatively unscathed by Buenos Aires.

[spynotebook]

Ready for the return of the epic old-school recaps? Us too! We've started a crowdfunding campaign to make it happen. Visit the campaign page for The Return Of The Epic Old-School Recaps.

Guys! I actually can't wait to dig into this Law & Order: SVU season premiere in recap form! Over the last few seasons, the show has increasingly suffered from "especially heinous" writing and silent-movie acting, with the result that it's now a hate-watch for this correspondent -- but, to lean on another reference to the aughts here, I just can't quit it.

[fires warning shot of compressed air under caps-lock key] Aight, let's get this over with so we can get back to marinating in quality episodes from the past on USA Network, shall we? Chung chung!

Fade up on what I can only classify as proof that NBC is trying to penny-pinch SVU to death. You know in high-school productions of, like, South Pacific when a scene supposedly takes place on a beach, and the "sea" is two rows of blue oaktag cut into scallop shapes, with one of the theater kids who can't sing in the wings on each side, shoving them back and forth and seething because Mr. Ellroy SAID the spring play was Noises Off?

Welcome to the network equivalent, although a chyron is valiantly pretending it's "Havana, Cuba" and not a cramped corner of a Silvercup soundstage. When Will "Luke Wheeler" Chase appears with his pretty lady friend and adorable moppet, I almost expected him to have a plywood-and-suspenders "boat" on. He does not. Nor does he break into "Younger Than Springtime"; he merely bids his (we assume) little family adios and strolls off down the "cobblestone" "street."

Cut to another, verifiable street in the 212, where Lt. Olivia Benson and Noah are heading towards a corner, and Noah is whining about…well, I can't make it out over the loud whooshing sound generated by his Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome. Unless that's the sound of that vein in my forehead swelling with rage-stroke blood because oh my God when is SVU going to stop with the Noah In Peril storylines -- NO! ONE! CARES! This is a police PROCEDURAL! Please proceed…TO NEVER SHOW NOAH AGAIN! …Why do I bother. As long as MarHar Superstar is an executive producer, I have better odds of Santa finally coming through with that pony than I do of getting anyone to listen to me on the Noah tip. More on why I find the child's storylines so terribly tiresome in a moment; first, let me note that, when last seen, Noah was a toddler with straight dark brown hair and brown eyes. This Noah is twice the height -- I'd guess the actor's age at seven, minimum -- and has light brown curly hair. I just…what?

At least he's also wearing black Chuck Taylors, my own Converse of choice, but before I can sew a cool-parenting badge on Liv's sash, Liv chooses to respond to Noah's whingy "I don't wanna go!" with an overly cheery "School is fun, right?" I just don't understand why the writers do this to Mariska Hargitay, I really don't -- or why she lets them, when she has kids of her own and should know that this fakey, hesitant dialogue she's always saddled with in her scenes with Noah is not how parents speak to their children. I don't have kids, so boulder of salt, of course, but I know parents, I had parents, and this is how people who don't know how to talk to kids, or who just met a kid five minutes ago, talk to kids. Exhibit B: Noah monotones that Lucy, his nanny, wouldn't make him go, and he wishes she were his mommy. Liv:

I mean, first of all, the fuck she wouldn't; Liv is always calling Lucy at all goddamn hours to get childcare coverage because God forbid she delegate anything to Fin, plus working for this stupid family has gotten Lucy shot at, menaced by William Lewis, and I've forgotten what all else, so there is no damn way she's letting Noah horn in on her cigarettes-and-crossword time when she can drop him at school instead. Second of all, and to my point above: toughen up, Liv. It's not your first day. Kids say bratty stuff. Get over it. But no, she's got to whip off her aviators and cry-voice, "What did you say?" This is where I start giggling because I'm remembering the time, SINGULAR, I observed that I would like to go live with my grandmother, who was a lot more permissive about things like sugar cereal and…most of the other things, because grandmothers, and my mother said, "What did you say?" and because I didn't want to get kicked to death, I chirped, "Nothing!" and ran off to do a loathed chore unprompted.

Alas, it is not Barb who is in charge here, but Liv The Helicopter Friend-Mom, so Noah reads off a cue card that is very obviously positioned 140 degrees away from where Liv is kneeling that he wishes Lucy were his mommy. Liv physically flinches, but pulls it together to quaver that it looks like he's stuck with her. She takes his hand and they continue on down the street, but at the corner, she gets a call and lets go of Noah to answer it. The signal changes from don't-walk hand to walk figure, and Ryan Buggle rather too carefully proceeds towards his mark in the crosswalk, and nearly gets grease-spotted by a taxi. Liv shrieks, "NOAH!" and grabs him out of harm's way as the cab -- and all the rest of the traffic on that avenue, like, is the light red for them or not? -- careens past, and then the ADR kicks in with a bleaty "Mom-meeee" that sounds like a kitten, so how old is Noah supposed to be, seriously?

Liv clutches him and repeats that he's okay about 150 times, and if she reams him for going ahead into the street without a grownup and/or scaring the shit out of her, we don't see it, because Liv is a saint who would never raise her voice to her child. I get that seeing the quotidian discipline and negotiations of child-rearing isn't necessarily great TV, but there's a simple solution to that problem in a cop show, to wit: refer to Noah without showing him onscreen. If you must incorporate him into filmed material, write Liv like an actual parent and not a weekend-dad kiss-ass.

Cuba Luke finishes an espresso, then gets kidnapped off the street and hurled into an ancient VW bus by two burly guys. In the back of the van, he's cuffed, then greeted by Fin: "Buenos dias, pendejo." You can say that word in network primetime now?

Hey, I wasn't complaining!

Cop shop. Liv gets another call, this one from Noah's school; apparently he's got some worrisome bruises, and after asking if he's in any pain, Liv theorizes that "maybe it was another student" and "maybe he just fell." Jesus H. Gambino, writers. Has any of you ever even met a little boy? I don't think my brother took a school photo without some kind of contact injury on his face until he was 12. There's no way a New York City school is going to call a parent who is a New York City cop over minor bruising, and there's no way said cop parent isn't going to be like, "Kids bang into shit, don't call me at work unless he's bleeding," and hang up. I mean, am I the crazy one here? Fortunately for us all, Liv is distracted by the entrance of Fin, styling a pair of black shorts and a little Panama hat, and his prisoner. Carisi and Rollins exposit that Willuke, who is going by "Byron Marks" here, raped three women "that [they] know about," then split before they could arrest him. Byron, unconcerned, greets Liv with "Detective Benson. How are you?" "A lot better now," Liv smugs, and I expect her to issue a snotty "and it's 'Lieutenant'" but she doesn't, just adds, "I hope?" by way of confirming with Fin that he took Byron into custody by the book. Fin claims he did.

In an interrogation room, Byron blah-blahs smarmily about the Cuban people. Rollins and Carisi are humorlessly offended by his bonhomie, to the show's customarily non-credible-for-veteran-police degree. Enter Liv; Byron twinkles that he missed her, calling her "Detective" again, and this time she does snap that she's a lieutenant, and if he missed her, maybe he shouldn't have run. He notes that, when "wanderlust strikes," a man has no choice, and blathers on about the verbal sparring, the "heave and ho" he so enjoys; even Liv's assertion that his DNA came up a match to all three victims doesn't affect his sunny attitude, so she leans down into his face to PSA that he ruined the lives of "three! innocent! human beings!" At that, Byron joins the rest of us in having had it, blaring, "And I suppose your sanctimonious crap fills their days with sunshine, and light!" I don't care to be siding with the perp here, but the writing has left me little choice, so: seeeeriously. Byron then bets that he can guilt Liv for not following up with the survivors forever, and snots that, after a couple of years, she stopped sending them Christmas cards because she got busy with conferences and co-op meetings -- but it's cool, because another victim will come along soon enough to let Liv pour out "that goopy stuff" overflowing her heart. Burn. Doesn't seem like he struck a nerve there, as Liv shrugs, "You done?" and suggests he confess and save them all some time, since they've got him cold. Byron's like, nah: lawyer. Rollins: "What happened to the old heave and ho?" Hee. Credits.

Barba's in the house, and he's skeptical of whether they can stick the landing, given the statute of limitations. When Fin's pressed this time re: whether the arrest was lawful, his answer is a dodgier "I thought we were all on the same team!" Encouraging! For now, we're briefed on Byron's m.o.: meet prospective victims at farmers' markets, carry their bags, then threaten to cut off their breasts "if they didn't 'enjoy their afternoon.'" Barba's like, yikes, then asks how the arrest went down. Fin's story is that he was on vacay in Cuba, saw Byron, tipped the local authorities, and pinched Byron without incident. Barba doesn't buy it,

but when Liv backs Fin's play, Barba tells them to "arraign the bastard." He leaves. Liv cuts Fin a "you better not fuck me up with this" side-eye.

At the apartment of Joyce Peterson, Carisi and Rollins inform her of Byron's capture. Joyce is visibly depressed and suffering from PTSD, but when she fails to evince a sufficiently gratifying reaction to the news, Rollins duhs at her that Byron "raped you at knifepoint," like, I think she knows. Joyce mumbles that nobody cares about her, including NYPD; that's why it took them six years to crack the case. Rollins protests that they never stopped looking for Byron. Carisi tells Joyce, albeit reluctantly, that they can subpoena her, but Rollins interrupts to thank Joyce and say they'll be going.

A playground. Keesha Johnson and Rollins watch Keesha's son shoot hoops. Keesha shrugs that she can't blame her son's dad for running off; who would want to be with a victim of sexual assault? Rollins reminds her that it was in fact assault. Keesha says that's what the doctor at the ER said, and Liv, but those are just words. "Things are good for" Keesha now, finally, so she's not going to testify.

Carisi bitches that they've finally caught "this prick" and now the victims won't take the stand. Rollins notes that Byron was one of her first SVU cases (NB: it was offscreen; we've not seen him before) and talks about his very real charm, and how she could have been "one of those women." Carisi joins me in giving her a "…k" look.

Karla Wyatt answers the door to Carisi and Rollins with, "Please don't tell me he's dead." Karla is played by Amy Smart, whom I've always liked and thought should have gotten more famous than she did. It's not like she vanished; she works, but she has star quality, and didn't turn into a star. Until recently, I guess I chalked it up to bad script choices or "just one of those things," but now I have to assume she got Weinsteined some kind of way. Anyway, here she's got a significant scar on her face, and a Jabba of a husband whose response to Karla's excited report that "they caught the bastard" who raped her is, and I quote, "whoop dee doo." He goes back to watching bowling -- okay, we get it -- but perks up, and not in a good way, when he hears that Karla has to testify. Carisi's like, it's not your choice, but Frank's like, she's my wife so it is too: "Like I'm gonna let her embarrass us in front of Mikey and Joe and the guys?" Yeah, we get it. Karla cringes, possibly because her living room just turned into a social-hygiene film about the stigma of sexual violence, as Frank goes on that the other victims can shoulder the burden of court. "Actually, Karla's all we've got," Carisi grunts. Frank's like, so "those other girls" have their heads on straight. Karla sighs that "Frank knows what's right"; Rollins's attempt to argue that testifying could bring Karla closure goes nowhere. Despite six years on the job in New York City alone, Rollins has apparently never been confronted with a reluctant witness or family member.

Back at the cop shop, Liv tries to de-Amish the proceedings by noting that the Wyatts' balking is "upsetting, but not surprising." Liv is wearing a pale-peach version of what is evidently her blouse of the season -- you know, for a couple seasons it was a lightweight v-neck sweater over a cami; another season, it was that gauzy floral under the v-neck?

Lately it's this tenty notch-neck affair. Not the most flattering, IMO. Anyway, Fin suggests using grand-jury testimony from six years ago, but Liv wearies that it's inadmissible hearsay; she'll let the Wyatts mull it over for a day or two and take another run at them herself. Fin doubts that's going to work. Liv snarks that she's sorry he ruined his own vacation, then, and he shrugs that he can only do so much fishing. Liv calls him aside and asks if he's still sticking with the coincidence story. No reason to change it now, Fin says. Hee. Liv is getting heated about how unlikely it is that, with the FBI and the Marshals looking for the guy, Fin's the one who happens to stumble over Byron in Havana. "I'd rather be lucky than good," Fin says, but Liv won't leave it alone. She's shocked Byron didn't put up a fight. Fin should know better than to admit that he "may-a had a little help," but admit it he does, and adds that it's better Liv not ask from whom. This gets a full-head eye-roll from Liv, but Fin is saved from a deeply hypocritical lecture by Liv spotting Karla at the precinct desk. She's going to testify, "screw" Frank. Liv and Fin exchange "…huh" looks, but because it goes on for like 45 minutes into the act-out, it's more like "…h…uhhhhhh…hhhhhhh."

Byron's arraignment, at which he's represented, scruffily, by Randolph J. "Taub From House" Dworkin. Dworkin takes issue with every single person in the state of New York arraying themselves "versus" his client, at length, and when Barba tells him to get new material and asks for remand, Dworkin objects not just to that but to "this entire proceeding," and asks for ROR. Judge Peck is like, "ha? defendant is remanded," as Fin slinks out the back. We're not the only ones who noticed that, as Barba catches up to him outside and asks since when he attends arraignments. Ain't you watched the show lately, Rafa? The whole squad is in court for everything, because nobody else gets assaulted until the current case is discharged. Keep up. Fin does not say this, just claims he wanted to make sure it stuck this time, and what's up with "that clown show" Dworkin? Barba would kind of like an answer to that himself, as Dworkin's usual bailiwick is federal court.

Oh, brother. So Liv is trying to back Noah's teacher, Mrs. Smiley (snerk), off with the "he's a kid" explanation for Noah's bruising. While I try to triangulate an explanation of Noah's current age based on the "Kindergarten, Here We Come!" signage in the room, Mrs. Smiley explains that the nurse interviewed Noah about the bruises, and Noah said Liv gave them to him. Liv does her now-patented Starman head cock and says she finds that hard to believe.

Exactly. Mrs. Smiley observes pointedly that Liv's job sounds very stressful. Liv doesn't see what that has to do "with anything," obliging Mrs. Smiley to explain to a veteran police officer who heads up a unit devoted to sexual and domestic assault that stress can cause people to act out physically. So Liv…acts out physically, rolling her eyes and grimacing and pacing and literally clutching her forehead.

When Mrs. Smiley isn't having her histrionics, Liv fumes that this is all a big misunderstanding. Mrs. Smiley's like, riiiight. Then she asks about Noah's father, which doesn't strike me as relevant or appropriate; Liv is incensed, but confines herself to gritting that "he is deceased." Mrs. Smiley is sorry to hear that. She says Noah seems to like Lucy a lot. "She's his nanny, what's not to like," Liv cry-voices bitterly.

Mrs. Smiley 2020. Liv begs her not to go where Liv thinks she's going "with this," and repeats desperately that it's all a huge miscommunication. Mrs. Smiley is sure Liv's right. (Ron Howard: "She isn't.") She just "had to see it for [her]self." What does that even mean? If you think Liv is harming Noah, the hell good does a parent-teacher conference do? You're a mandated reporter, no? File the report. On another show, preferably, because I could not care less about Noah if I were in a coma. Liv has also had it with this scene, because she stalks off.

Cop shop. Liv is sloshing coffee everywhere. Rollins is like, maybe enough caffeine?, and asks if Liv needs an ear. Liv brushes her off, but Rollins asks again if she's okay, like, she's your boss so maybe leave it out. Alas, Liv only needs one follow-up question to start sharing, like, she's your employee so maybe leave it o-- ugh, forget it. She tells Rollins she got called into the school about "this mysterious bruise on Noah's arm," which, now that I think about it, should really not be all that puzzling since Liv commented in the previous scene devoted to this POS subplot that she thought she'd cleared "all that" up "yesterday" -- meaning she got the initial call about the bruise yesterday, then presumably picked Noah up from school, or at least saw him after she got home, and could have questioned him about the bruise or even merely looked at/for it when she was getting him ready for bed. But no, by acting like they don't live together or that Noah chills at home in a hazmat suit, the writing can amp up the threat to Liv's little family by making the bruise "mysterious." Rollins NBDs that he probably fell off the swings; that's what Liv thought, but Noah told the nurse "a different story." Rollins is gobsmacked by the idea anyone would think Liv hurt Noah. Liv doesn't know "if he's mad, if he's acting out…" You don't know if your kid is mad? Whom you live with? I fucking can't, people! Learn how humans who live together act, writers' room! And by the way, The Horror At The Corner occurred a fucking day ago; would not a veteran investigator DETECT that perhaps it's whipping the ankle-biter out of the crosswalk like a giant yo-yo that caused the bruising?

Giphy

Liv whispers that she just kept thinking while Mrs. Smiley was quizzing her, "I'm the one who asks the questions." Rollins reassures her that she's a good mom, and "if anyone says different, they'll have to answer to" Rollins. Because who's a better character witness than Amarofucker McGamblingdebts over here. ...Okay, that second bit is unfair, but I stand by the first part. Shut up, Amaro. Barba stomps in just then looking for Fin, because Dworkin has filed a motion to dismiss the charges, claiming Fin kidnapped Byron.

Hee. "What if he did?" Liv grunts, not caring as much about managing her staff as she probably could. "We're screwed," Barba says. Liv looks around and chews her lip for a week before someone finally says "cut."

Motion hearing. Dworkin asserts that Fin "invaded a sovereign country" and grabbed Byron up. Barba counters that Byron is a serial rapist. Dworkin rants that that isn't a fact until a jury says so. Great, Barba says, a trial is what we want. The Honorable Johnny Sack looks disgusted with both of them as Dworkin continues that, had Fin pulled this shit even in Jersey, the arrest would be thrown out. Judge Sack asks if Dworkin wants to put Fin on trial. Dworkin says this court doesn't have jurisdiction in the first place. Barba and Dworkin joust with precedents for a while before Sack announces he'll hear arguments tomorrow.

Fin, Barba, and Liv sulk in Liv's office. Fin swears he didn't torture Byron, so the case Dworkin cited to kibosh the arrest isn't relevant. Barba hopes Fin can make that case from the stand. Fin: "I'm a credible guy!" Ringtone! Fin can't believe it doesn't matter that the arrest was in a grey area; neither can Barba, actually. He leaves, and Liv clocks him for not looping her in. Fin can live with some "mud" on his face if it means he caught Byron, but Liv can't; she intenses that, as long as she's in charge, "we do things the right way -- the legal way!" [eye-roll] Okay, Atticus. Fin's over it as well and snarks that she wanted Byron as bad as he did. She stares moodily out into the squadroom and says they fucked up not arresting Byron fast enough the first time. Fin shoots her a "well…yeah" look. She announces that she has to go home and teach her son -- pointed stare at Fin as she grabs her keys -- "that lying is a bad thing." Fin pulls a "good luck with that" face that is probably not how Ice-T was directed, but is quite amusing, because shut up, Liv.

Oh "goody," we "get to" see the aforementioned lesson. Liv is helping Noah on with a supes cute pair of octopus pajamas. Examining an adult-hand-shaped bruise corresponding to where she would have pulled him out of traffic, she asks if it hurts. It doesn't. Liv lets him know that she talked to Mrs. Smiley, and what she said the nurse said. "She asked!" Noah shrugs. Liv's like, we talked about telling the truth, remember? Noah did tell the truth: she gave him the bruise when the taxi almost clipped him.

My tax dollars at work, ladies and germs. Liv forgot! She's so sorry! Big hugs, and a reminder to tell the whole story when he tells the truth! Rueful violins are rueful, because even though Liv is doing a great job picking out cute sheets for Noah's bed, the violins have watched TV before, and this is not over!

Motion hearing. Dworkin examines Byron, and notes upon learning that Byron's job is English tutoring, "That's admirable." Barba objects without looking up from his legal pad. Hee. Judge Sack sustains it. We learn that Mrs. Byron and the Byronlet are Cuban, not American citizens, before Byron testifies that two guys grabbed him and threw him in the van, Fin cuffed him, they "drove…someplace," and he was left in the back for four hours. Here then is the torture claim, as it was over 100 degrees that day. Hearing this, Barba chews the inside of his cheek.

Fin's turn on the stand. He walks Barba and us through tracking Byron down: Byron is a big jazz fan (pfft, figures) (don't @ me), and in particular a fan of a guy named Walter Smith. Fin checked Smith's website periodically to see if Byron might have commented, and when a "B from Havana" compared Smith to Coltrane, Fin thought he might have his guy. So, he went down there, he put Byron in a van, and he convinced the local cops that he was legit and Byron was a bad actor. But he didn't torture Byron. Dworkin begs to differ, confirming with Fin that if he found a dog in a hot car he would have to arrest the owner for animal cruelty. Fin's like, I checked every now and then, and Byron never asked to get out. "Could be because he was unconscious," Dworkin says. Fin glares.

Judge Sack rules that, while he doesn't approve of Fin's tactics, they don't descend to the level of torture, and the trial will proceed. Not so fast, says Dworkin, and introduces a Mr. Formosa, a representative of the Cuban government who objects to his country's borders and laws being violated. Now it's Barba's turn to glare. Dworkin tries to tell Judge Sack he's not competent to hear a political question such as this, but Sack thinks he can deal after he eats some lunch.

And now, to lose my own lunch as Karla stomps into Liv's office to complain about the handling of the case and that the cops don't care. Liv's like, that's not exactly what's up here, which is true, and then Karla is obliged to whine, "You told me closure's a good thing, that it helps in the healing process!" They sit on Liv's Empathy Office Couch so Liv can cheerlead that Karla hasn't let the attack stop her. Karla is not a hundred that her having gotten married is evidence of her indomitable spirit (cosigned), and shovels an exposition pass about politicians deciding whether Byron gets justice in Liv's direction. Liv dunks it: for Cuba to "have standing," they have to show harm to one of its citizens, in this case Mrs. Byron, who's set to testify tomorrow. If Karla doesn't also testify, well… Told that they need her to keep the case alive, Karla's like, maybe Frank's not so dumb after all, and stalks out. Wait so but isn't she upset that the case might not go to trial? And given that it's not the cops' apathy that's endangering it, but rather a presentation of related factors which she could directly influence by taking the stand, why is Karla against participating now? The show could conceivably be taking the position that a survivor's attitude towards testifying can be changeable and/or illogical, but this doesn't feel purposeful. It feels like this part of the script never got past a first draft because everyone's focus was on this dumb wiener Noah B-plot.

Mrs. Byron testifies breathlessly that she met Byron when he came into her store. They went to lunch every day "for weeks" -- during which time, it's implied, he didn't try to rape her -- and fell in love and got married. She wails directly to Barba that it's wrong what Fin did. If Byron doesn't come back, the Byronlet, Teresa, will be destroyed. Dworkin stretches his legs after the guilt trip with a motion to release Byron ROR. Barba leaps to his feet while Dworkin needles him about only charging Byron with one count of rape instead of three, and maybe Karla's testimony isn't so solid either, hmmmmm -- and by the way, if the court isn't "competent" to adjudicate this case, it's not competent to hold Byron, either. Not sure how that argument works if you're going ahead and calling witnesses in a proceeding you don't acknowledge the validity of, but in any case, Judge Sack releases Byron to Dworkin's custody with a stern warning that they both better show up the next day. The Byrons hug.

On the courthouse steps, Barba grumbles that he wants Byron followed. He's not keen on letting Fin of all people do it, but allows it until someone else can take over, and bitterly bets that the Byrons will be en route back to Cuba by the next day.

What looks like a JFK terminal too fancy for me to have set foot in. Rollins tails the Byrons and Dworkin. She loses them, but Carisi picks up the trio. Later, Carisi explains how Fin violated international law as he and Rollins watch their tailees eating at a diner. Byron gets up to use the head, and Rollins tries to keep an eye on him while Carisi is still banging on about Raúl Castro sending a federale to kidnap Fin. Rollins is peering around Carisi's noggin and grousing that she gets it, he went to law school. After about 12 seconds they decide Byron's taking too long, and head in to check on him. Dworkin brays, "This is harassment!" It's going to get way worse if Byron isn't back there struggling with his dairy intake, Rollins tells him (sort of), and sure enough, a search of the crapper and the diner's storeroom makes it clear Byron has bolted.

Cop shop. Fin's alerted all the area airports, but Byron can't leave the country because he doesn't have his passport…so where did he go? Liv gets that liquid-bowels look and calls Karla, begging her to pick up. Then she dashes out. Um, delegating?

…HA HA HA HA, because why keep it frosty in your office like our queen Anita Van Buren when you can go out in the field without backup instead and REALLY put your foot in it? Liv charges up the front walk of Chez Wyatt, gun drawn, yelling for Karla. The front door is open. Liv has her gun sighted, but has learned nothing from the home invasion she blundered into a couple seasons back, or from doing this for 20 years, because she fails to clear the doorway, doesn't have a vest on, etc. She finds Byron seated tensely on the couch, and Karla pointing a revolver at him. She tells Liv to go away. Smiley/Karla 2020. Karla knows Liv can't do that, so can she put the gun down? Byron eye-rolls, "Women," and I don't want to laugh, but that line reading is aces. Less so Amy Smart's screechy choice on "You think this is FUNNAYY?!", which gave the line a weird top note of Real World Tami that doesn't work so well. Liv doesn't want to see Karla go to prison, but what does Liv think Karla's been living in the last six years? She sees the scar every time she brushes her teeth, brushes her hair…Byron babbles that he didn't come there to hurt her, he just wanted to explain about his family and ask her not to testify. Karla's like, GTFOH with that. Liv then goes with a "point the gun at me" approach, and I kind of want to see her get shot somewhere non-fatal like in the ass to teach her a lesson, but girlfriend never learns so let's just get on with this.

The ploy fails. Karla orders Byron onto his feet and shrieks at him about having made her beg him to cut her face. Now she wants him to beg. Byron is frozen, so Karla orders him to his knees or she'll kill him. Liv undermines her with, "No, you won't," like, shoot her in the kneecap or shut up, but you're not helping. Karla and Liv then get in a spat, basically, over whether Karla's capable of shooting Byron and how Liv can't leave her alone with Byron because blah blah blah honor-cakes, and it looks like Byron is thinking that he can make a break for it while these two dummies debate the concept of closure, but in the end he decides not to risk it, and kneels. "Now. I want you to beg me to shoot you." Karla presses the muzzle to his temple. Liv, who in this shot is standing not eight inches from Karla, keeps fruitlessly pointing her own gun at Karla's…belt? and reminding Karla she'll have to arrest Karla if she "do[es] this." Just arrest her now, fool! She's right next to you! Byron begs. Karla isn't satisfied: "You call that begging?!" She cocks the hammer, then begins to decompensate, wailing about the contents of her farmers'-market bag and Byron taking her life away. Liv murmurs platitudes about the pain returning when Karla is behind bars, but at least she's putting up her own gun and making like she's going to grab Karla's arm, finally. Liv says she's just going to take the gun, but a weeping Karla resists, and as Liv is wrenching it away, it fires into the ceiling. Liv orders him onto the ground at the point of Karla's gun, and cuffs him. "You're okay," Liv pants, but a sobbing Karla very much is not.

Cop shop. Liv hurls her blazer at a coat rack, where it lands on a hook perfectly straight. Got it in one! Nice. Barba hopes Karla thought Byron was going to assault her, presumably so he won't have to charge her, but Liv doesn't think so; nor does she think Byron broke in. She's going to take Karla's statement "in the morning" while Byron cools his heels in a holding pen overnight for tampering with a witness. Karla's not there now? I sympathize with her, but: menacing? illegal discharge of a weapon? Liv sighs that this way they can guarantee Byron shows up for court tomorrow. "If only to file false imprisonment charges," Barba sighs back, like, thank you, as I said I stand with Karla but she didn't not do anything. Barba says maybe Liv should just have let Karla shoot Byron. Liv snorts. Barba has to point out that he was joking. After a moment, Liv cry-voices, "I told her to point a loaded gun at me." Barba makes a face like "Livs gonna Liv," and Liv says, "I have a kid, Rafael. What was I thinking?" Not paraphrasing; that's the line. Barba doesn't know what to say to it either, so he pats her on the shoulder and murmurs, "Anyway." Pretty much, yeah. As he's leaving, Liv wonders if there's any way to convince a judge this isn't a political matter. Barba's like, after poor widdle Mrs. Byron cried on the stand about having her hubby taken away? Unlikely. Liv stomps off to take Karla's statement.

Said statement goes into detail about the rape -- Karla remembering trying to get through it by counting crumbs from her breakfast toast is quite affecting -- and is taken in the presence of Mrs. Byron, Dworkin, and Formosa. No idea how that's supposed to be binding, what the timeline is, whether Karla consented to putting this on Front Street for Mr. Formosa...I assume they're flooring it in the A-plot because Bruisegate ate so much runtime, but let's just go with it. Mrs. Byron is crying; Dworkin complains that this is completely out of line (amen). Liv tells him he can leave if he doesn't want to hear it. Mrs. Byron can't believe it was Byron, but Karla presses on with her story. Prompted by Liv, Karla sobs that, when Byron was done, he let her drop to the ground, then urinated on her. Dworkin starts to herd Mrs. Byron out of the room, but Liv notes that they have Byron's DNA, so they know he's done the same thing to at least two other women. Liv then works the kid angle, talking about how Noah insisted on bringing Teddy to school so he wouldn't get scared at home alone. (Fine, that's cute.) Teresa, the Byronlet, used her allowance to buy her doll a dress so she'd look pretty at Teresa's birthday. Dworkin can see the effect this is having, but Liv talks over him to ask Mrs. Byron if she really wants a rapist raising her daughter. Dworkin's like, aaaaand scene, but now Mrs. Byron wants to know what happens if she changes her mind and her story. Liv says that's fine: "All you have to do, is tell the truth." Barba asks Formosa in Spanish what the Cuban government's play is. Formosa basically says they'll stand aside if Mrs. Byron changes her testimony. Is Byron going to jail? Liv assures Mrs. Byron that her soon-to-be-ex is going to pay. Mrs. Byron wants to go home. Formosa will put her on a plane. They leave. All better! ...Yeah, I know, but again, just going with it here. Dworkin knows he's beat and asks if Barba is willing to talk. "As long as he does double digits…and the first one is two," Barba says smugly.

Everyone else shuffles out, and of course Karla has to thank Liv, although Liv says that was "all you, Karla." Karla half-jokingly asks when the closure kicks in. Liv takes her hands: "You're gonna be good. That I can promise you." You…can? Because picking up trash as part of your gun-charge probation is cl…eansing? This show, ffs.

…THIS SHOW, FFS. Okay, so Liv is fun-mom sing-songing "Who wants ice creaaaam?" to Noah and teasing him about how he ate all the strawberry ice cream AND finished the chocolate syrup too, like they're roommates and he was supposed to put it on the list or something, idek. There's a knock at the door, because Liv lives in the Felicity dorm where you can just walk into the building, no doorman, no buzzer. She does check the peephole, for once, and given who's on the other side of the door,

I suppose you could fanwank it, since they were basically living together a few years ago and he could still have a key, or have badged her doorman, but it seriously happens all the time on the show and I simply cannot accept that a longtime SVU detective who has been stalked her own self would be this blithe about home security, especially not when she has a kid now. She gets doorstepped by Brooke Shields in the next episode, no? Writers: buzzer. Videophone. Something.

Anyway, Cassidy is still foine, and flirty about Liv owing him a cup of coffee. She allows as how it's not a great time, but doesn't invite him in, choosing to make chitchat in the doorway about Cassidy's moving to Florida, and this is totally me projecting because I own three cats but Liv just standing there with the door open is giving me agita. Invite the man in already, jeez -- especially since the rambling story he's telling about deciding retirement isn't for him and moving back to Gotham to take an investigator gig in the DA's office is taking kiiiind of a long time to get to any kind of point. As I'm wondering why he didn't bring his old partner Munch with him since he's also on DA-investigator detail, and whether Belzer passed on coming back or what, Cassidy edges up to why he's really there, saying he caught a child-abuse case. SVU had to recuse themselves, he says. "That's odd," Liv says, because apparently giving Karla purpose and meaning caused a selective amnesia concerning Bruisegate in The Best Detective Ever. Cassidy's like, sooooo it's not really that odd because we're investigating you. Liv gawps at him for what feels like a month, no doubt groping for something, anything to say in the face of the utter pointlessness and inanity that is this plot twist. Cassidy comes to tell her? Not a social worker or Child Services, or IAB? Not a cop from another precinct? Not Peter Gallagher's left eyebrow? And…now they come? Over a single bruise that she can credibly explain, and presumably did already? And seriously, truly, find me someone who cares in the first damn place. YOU CAN'T. NO ONE CARES. NO ONE! NOT ONE PERSON!

CREDITS! …God.

Dear Lord in heaven, how I love to hate this 25-car pile-up of a show. Thanks so much for coming on this journey with me, and for supporting us in our quest to return to old-school epic recaps. (I dare y'all to force me to recap the Vixy Platinum episode somehow. Hee.)

Cragen 4eva, Sars